New Music Friday: A.G. Sully, Emma Ogier, Jessie Mazin

My Instagram Reels algorithm served me up a couple of Nashville singer-songwriters on what I assume is the come up. Who knows in the current music landscape? Both have two very DIY looking videos that have garnered many plays from me over the past few weeks.

A.G. Sully has a trip-hoppy sound straight out of the 90’s. They have a beautifully layered, whispery voice, with simple but effective synths, and a drum loop that keeps the beat while staying out of the way. The production has a soothing ethereal quality that made it easy for me to leave on repeat several times on several days.

Emma Ogier’s track has an incredible hook that was built for Instagram. It feels like the kind of hook that makes a montage hit just right in a movie about angsty Appalachian teenagers doing bored teenager stuff.

She delivers lyrics with a subdued Southern twang that I can’t tell if she’s trying to hide, slowly fading from childhood, or she’s reaching for on purpose. Either way, it’s very effective. The dreary and damp back yard in the video, complete with an orphaned car door and fent-folding trees, might as well be from one of my own memories. I’m reminded of happier times when I was the saddest I’ve ever been.

Then there is Jessie Mazin. I have actually heard of her before because I listen to her father’s podcast Scriptnotes, and at the end of one of the episodes about a year ago, he said his daughter did a song that went semi-viral. Always one to go down the rabbit hole, I quickly found and loved it. The song was called the simulation is failing.

And that’s why I knew she had pipes before Instagram fed me her absolutely incredible performance of The Precipice on Medium Sized Backyard, which is now up to 250k views in the past month on YouTube and 60k likes on IG. It’s honestly one of the most impressive live performances that I’ve ever seen. Not only is her voice insane but her guitar playing is also crisp.

There is a a rocket strapped to her back so go ahead and watch that whole video so you can say you were early on Jessie Mazin. I’ll also link to her cover of How Deep Is Your Love by Calvin Harris & Disciples because you should listen to that, too.