Tom Murphy
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tommurphy25.bsky.social
Tom Murphy
@tommurphy25.bsky.social
68 followers 66 following 290 posts
Writer, musician, itinerant filmmaker
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tommurphy25.bsky.social
Taleen Kali Disentangles Ego From Self-Transformation on Urgent Shoegaze Single “Crossed”
Taleen Kali, photo courtesy the artist In the churning whirlwind of noise and melody of Taleen Kali’s shoegaze track “Crossed” one hears the touch of Going Blank Again-period Ride, maybe a hint of …
queencitysounds.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:45 AM
tommurphy25.bsky.social
Joyer’s Indie Shoegaze Single “Glare of the Beer Can” is Warmly Rendered Portrait of Fond Reverie
Joyer, photo courtesy the artists Joyer has a gift for framing fond and emotionally complex memories in a way that is more touching and affectionate than nostalgic. The atmospheric and detailed gui…
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November 13, 2025 at 6:15 AM
tommurphy25.bsky.social
Blue Tomorrows Savors Heartfelt Romantic Memories in the Wake of Heartache on Dream Pop Single “Colorado”​
Blue Tomorrows, photo courtesy the artist ​Blue Tomorrows seems to have channeled at once OMD, Feist and late 2000s chillwave on “Colorado.” The pitch-shifting/autotune on the vocals lends an other…
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November 13, 2025 at 5:43 AM
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New interview with the fantastic rock band Broken Record whose new album Routine is now out on vinyl, download and streaming. They have an album release show this Saturday 11/15/25 at the Skylark Lounge with Precocious Neophyte and Safekeeper.
Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E32: Broken Record
Broken Record, photo by Chris Carraway Broken Record is a Denver-based band that formed after singer/guitarist Lauren Beecher and bassist Corey Fruin moved to the Mile High City from Connecticut in…
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November 12, 2025 at 5:20 AM
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Girl Wilde Perfectly Expresses the Sound of the Disassociating Crashout of Romantic Disappointment on Glitch Pop Single “if love skips this lifetime, i’ll die in my room”
Girl Wilde, photo courtesy the artist The title of Girl Wilde’s “if love skips this lifetime, i’ll die in my room” is appropriately melodramatic. It expresses the moment of aching, soul deep collap…
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November 9, 2025 at 10:29 PM
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Eric Angelo Bessel’s Ethereal Ambient Single “Non-digetic Sound” Evokes a Sense of Mystery and Connection
Eric Angelo Bessel, photo courtesy the artist Eric Angelo Bessel’s latest album Mirror at Night just released on October 31, 2025. For an album filled with elegantly and carefully crafted harmonic …
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November 3, 2025 at 5:06 AM
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Just getting started.
Best Shows in Denver and Beyond November 2025
They Are Gutting a Body of Water performs at The Marquis Tues 11/4, photo by Brian Karlsson Old Deer, photo from Bandcamp Saturday | 11.01What: Moon Pussy w/Old DeerWhen: 3Where: Mutiny Information…
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October 31, 2025 at 3:48 AM
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Night Teacher’s Beautifully Brooding Slowcore Single “New Cage” is an Exploration of the Panopticon of Social Media
Night Teacher, photo courtesy the artists Night Teacher’s “New Cage” finds its visual manifestation in the superb music video directed, filmed and edited by Cat Rider. The song is about how the dig…
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October 29, 2025 at 5:36 AM
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Mark Ohai’s Moody and Surreal Post-Punk Single “Postoy” Conveys a Strong Sense of Resignation and Hope
Mark Ohai, photo by Snimok Ekrana The moody, melodic bass line that runs through “Postoy” (in English, “Wait”) by Mark Ohai anchors the ethereal synth and guitar melodies as the songwriter’s vocals…
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October 29, 2025 at 4:41 AM
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CATBEAR Evokes a Deep Sense of Regret and Yearning in the Immersive, Soulful Synthpop of “Darkness”
CATBEAR, photo courtesy the artists CATBEAR just released its new full-length For Now, For Ever (out on vinyl, CD, download and streaming) and for a taste of what the record has to offer you can li…
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October 28, 2025 at 5:01 AM
tommurphy25.bsky.social
Ehsan Matoori’s “Fountain of Eternity” Sets Rumi’s Mystic Poetry to Dance Choreography and Stirring Modern Persian Classical Music
Ehsan Matoori, photo courtesy the artist “Fountain of Eternity” by Ehsan Matoori is inspired by the work of 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Rumi with lyrics from a poem of the same. The s…
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October 27, 2025 at 5:06 AM
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Peter Litvin’s Don’t Break It” is a Humorous and Dramatic, Psychedelic Breakup Song
Peter Litvin, photo courtesy the artist The video for Peter Litvin’s “Don’t Break It” finds the singer and songwriter wandering a lonely, under-maintenanced (so it could be almost anywhere in Ameri…
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October 27, 2025 at 4:26 AM
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Pictureplane’s Introspective “Weeping Sky” is a Slow Jam For the Late Night Dance Floor
Pictureplane, photo courtesy the artist Pictureplane turns in an introspective club song for slow dancing with “Weeping Sky.” In the music video co-directed by Chris Burden we see Travis Egedy danc…
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October 25, 2025 at 5:35 AM
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Slouching’s “Medialyte” is an Ambient Coldwave Song Evocative of Retro Science Fiction Noir
“Medialyte” begins with a minimal beat setting a framing of spaciousness before the voice sample comes in with the layers of synth and textural tones. Slouching’s use of these layers is cinematic i…
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October 23, 2025 at 3:25 AM
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“Marina pt. 2” is an Ambient Jazz Fusion Portrait of Leisure Times in the Coastal Subtropics
Shrunken Elvis, photo courtesy the artists “Marina pt. 2” has a steady clip of a beat with sunny, impressionistic guitar work sketching melodies over shimmering fades. The song by the curiously nam…
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October 22, 2025 at 5:26 AM
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Birdie Swann Sisters & King Black Acid Embrace the Messy Aspects of Being a Passionate Person in Love on “Hurricane”
Birdie Swann Sisters & King Black Acid, photo courtesy the artists “Hurricane” by Birdie Swann Sisters & King Black Acid in its Birdie Swann Mix iteration lends the song a softer quality. T…
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October 22, 2025 at 2:24 AM
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Carmine Francis Reconciles His Dreams and Existential Anxieties on Tender Psychedelic Folk Pop Single “Too Much”
Carmine Francis, photo courtesy the artist An ethereal harmonic hovers as the backdrop to Carmine Francis’s single “Too Much” and truly lends his vocals and the spare instrumentation an intimate qu…
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October 20, 2025 at 4:34 AM
tommurphy25.bsky.social
SAADI Highlights the Strange and Irrational Aspects of Faith on Synthpop Single “Gotcha!”
SAADI, photo courtesy the artist SAADI’s single “Gotcha!” is a playful send-up of the concept of putting too much stake into articles of religious faith and the superstitious mindset that convinces…
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October 20, 2025 at 3:58 AM
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Springworks’ “Ultraviolet Lullabies” is Like a Psychedelic Garage Folk Theme Song to Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy
Springworks surprises us with a different mood and sound palette for “Ultraviolet Lullabies.” It’s structured around an ascending chord structure that feels like it keeps climbing upward throughout…
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October 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM
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Patrick Shiroishi’s Ambient Noise Rock Piece “Mountain take that wing” is the Sound of Ancient Life Reclaiming Consciousness
Patrick Shiroishi, photo courtesy the artist “Mountain take that wing” opens with a burst of high frequency sounds like the final emergency transmission from a starship falling from orbit. The glit…
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October 20, 2025 at 3:06 AM
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Pynch Elucidates the Gutting Sadness of Certain Kinds of Modern Love on Gorgeously Melancholic Dream Pop Single “How You Love Someone”
Pynch, photo courtesy the artists “How You Love Someone” finds Pynch exploring melancholic feelings from a slightly different angle than usual. The slow glitter jangle of the guitar melody with the…
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October 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM
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Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E31: Ches Smith
Ches Smith’s Clone Row, photo courtesy the artists Ches Smith is a drummer, percussionist and composer originally from California and now based out of New York. His career as a musician has b…
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October 11, 2025 at 2:04 AM
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Eric Angelo Bessel’s Ambient Single “Scavengers” is an Enigmatic and Haunted Evocation of the Mysteries of Hidden Depths
Eric Angelo Bessel, photo courtesy the artist Eric Angelo Bessel is half of Portland, Oregon-based, ambient post-punk experimenters Lore City. With solo work the sound palette is more abstract and …
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October 7, 2025 at 5:19 AM
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Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E30: Shonen Knife
Shonen Knife, photo by Tomoko Ota Shonen Knife is a pioneering Japanese punk band that started out in Osaka in 1981 inspired by the kind of music that influenced the Ramones like 60s girl groups an…
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October 7, 2025 at 4:37 AM
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King-Mob’s Industrial Post-Punk Single “Buddha Tombing” is Like the Menacing Soundtrack to a David Fincher Thriller
King-Mob, photo courtesy the artists King-Mob’s single “Buddha Tombing” started off as music for a short film and composed of experiments with an AKAI S900 sampler. But what has evolved from that s…
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October 6, 2025 at 4:54 AM