Every Monday, “Add of the Week” unveils all the new songs going into the 88Nine on-air playlist, with one hand-picked selection put in the spotlight by a member of our music team.
“To make an anti-fascist record, you must keep kindness and compassion in the foreground.” That’s according to singer-songwriter-guitarist Peter Mulvey and SistaStrings (cellist-vocalist Monique Ross and violinist-vocalist Chauntee Ross).
The trio first met in 2016 and — despite a few unimportant differences (the classically trained sisters grew up singing in church while Mulvey is more folk/Americana) — found their humanist hearts were like-minded enough to transcend genre. The result is something special and striking, heartfelt and real, weaving elements of folk, classical, R&B, gospel and Americana.
“You and (Everybody Else)” is a song that’s clearly born of the collective stewing from these fraught recent years. Drummer Nathan Kilen pounds an insistent beat as acoustic guitar and shouted vocals cut to the quick with strong emotion, invigorating and inspiring the listener:
Last night and the night before that
You’re sitting there staring at a screen
You’ve been staring at a screen
Try’n to figure where it’s at
You and … you and … you and … everybody else
Lost child and you want to be found
You’re sitting there swimming in your mind
You’ve been swimming in your mind
And you think you’re gonna drown
You and … you and … you and … everybody else
These aren’t just lyrics; they’re a dare to make universal (and necessary) change.
You can listen to the track below; on their new album, Love Is the Only Thing; and live when they play the Back Room @ Colectivo on Oct. 9 (no promises though; we don’t make the set list). You’ll also hear the song on 88Nine starting this week, along with all of our latest adds:
- “Weird Goodbyes,” The National (feat. Bon Iver)
- “Frisco,” Little Dragon
- “Unfold,” Melody’s Echo Chamber
- “The Shuffle Man,” Robyn Hitchcock