In a twenty year career that has included playing everything from metal to hardcore punk with his band The Jimmies, Portland Singer-songwriter Barry Brusseau has embarked on a formidable musical quest to arrive at the intimate folk music on his second LP The Royal Violent Birds. The music, which Brusseau describes as “atmospheric indie-folk,” is scented throughout with a sense of transformation and a tangible earnestness that recalls excellent work like Moby Grape co-founder Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence’s legendary Oar and Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis’s 2011 solo debut Several Shades of Why. Like Brusseau’s latest both of those albums marked a turn away from loud guitars (Moby Grape’s psych and Dinosaur Jr.’s alt-rock) towards a crystalline acoustic sound that seems to highlight muscianship in a clearer or at least different way.

Saving $50 from each of his day job paychecks for years to cover costs, Brusseau went through great lengths to put the LP out on exquisitely packaged vinyl and as a digital download. “I grew up loving records. Coming home after buying one, and reading everything inside and out. Holding it while listening, and letting my imagination run wild. I decided that’s what I wanted to do, make the kind of record I would have loved to get. So, I made this record for myself, because I wanted nothing more than to hold the final product in my hands.”

“Love and Adoration” starts out with some simmering finger picking, the drums then kick in with Brusseau’s lulling baritone as the guitar work builds up until the chorus washes over you. It’s all very subtle and marked by what Brusseau calls “soothing hypnotics.”

Voting for this round of The Freshmen closes at 2pm EST Friday, June 28th.

American Authors

“Believer (Brooklyn Version)”

American Authors are a Brooklyn based alt-rock band that signed to Mercury Records last year. This video for “Believer (Brooklyn Version)” is a massive dose of positivity punctuated with delightful twangs of banjo.


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Breaking Laces

“Mr. Curry Is A Cop”

More alt-rock from Brooklyn, Breaking Laces is led by Willem Hartong and the band is known for their personal and clever lyrics. In this wacky clip for “Mr. Curry Is A Cop” the group falls victim to an overzealous, porn-stached undercover policeman.


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Bridges & Powerlines

“Bushwick”

And another Brooklyn band but this one is self-described ‘optimist fuzz pop.’ Bridges & Powerlines has been making music since 2006 and just released a new EP titled Better featuring songs about different parts of everyone’s favorite borough (ie. Bushwick, Park Slope, Williamsburg, etc…)


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The Cliks

“Savanna”

Canadian rockers The Cliks are led by front man Lucas Silveira. Wondering how they got the name? It’s just a portmanteau of the slang terms for male and female genitalia. Yep. This video for “Savanna” features Lucas Silveira secretly slipping out on his paramore who quickly follows suit to no avail. Poor girl fell victim to swag.


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The Staves

“Mexico”

All in the family. The Staves are a UK sister trio that plays some seriously well crafted folk rock. This video for “Mexico” shows just how earnest they are and is highlighted by cute and artful animations throughout.


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Which video should we put on air? Vote and tell us in the comments.

We’ll be back on Monday with 5 new videos to choose from.

Since the Woodies, we signed with Red Light Management and William Morris Endeavor for booking. We have been playing a bunch of college shows, and we plan to tour more late summer and fall. We are writing new music/recording all summer.

Here’s a look at our latest video and single “Casual Vibes”. Directed and edited by Dylan Adams at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, we wanted to write a feel-good summer song that was about girls with casual, laid back, summer vibes. The inspiration for the video came when we saw this girl walking down the street with head phones in and thought it would be cool to make a video just following a girl around Nashville as she listens to our song in her headphones and walks her dog. We later decided that it would be cool if she ran into each of us in different locations along the way.

Fidlar’s debut LP is definitely Required Listening for anyone interested in having some fun this summer.

Watch Fidlar’s “Max Can’t Surf”

You can find version #1 of “Max Can’t Surf” here.

Voting for this round of The Freshmen closes at 2pm EST Friday, June 7th.

Mikhael Paskalev

“Jive Babe”

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Popcaan

“The System”

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Saylah

“Lost Soul”

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Say Lou Lou

“Julian”

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Sirsy

“Lionheart”

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Which video should we put on air? Vote and tell us in the comments.