Vegas Wedding: The Beaches, Kacey Musgraves, Beth Orton

Episode 7 and we can hardly believe it. Alex monologues about Nevada, and the beauty of the desert, the deep history there that goes back thousands of years, and the ugliness of Las Vegas, or as Alex puts it..."the worst city I have ever been to." Thankfully he turns it all into cocktail inspiration, with a drink that will make up for a hundred bad turns at the roulette table. As Alex notes, it is based on a coffee order from Gabi Bakery, who are not sponsors but are a lovely reprieve "from almost everything else in Vegas."Follow along with our playlist for this week: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/IVOs452MM2This week's drink:Vegas Wedding1.5oz matcha-infused gin.75oz yuzu juice1oz simple syrup1 egg whiteShake all ingredients dry. Shake all ingredients with ice. Serve up in a coupe glass.Substitutions: matcha as a flavor pair can handle almost any other floral, vegetal, or fruity note – this would be great with vanilla, lavender, fennel, mint, stone fruits, or citrus added in as a substitute for the simple syrupYou can infuse the gin with a bunch of different kinds of tea, as well – something with rose hips or chamomile or even a strong oolong tea would work great here, too.----POPMERGENCY!!! When Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter put out a collab, we have to mention it. We agree, "Bring Your Love" is a dance hit, and Sabrina compliments Madonna like whoa.On to "Should Have Known Better" from The Beaches, a band we both really love. They deliver with a solid 90's full rock band sound with the classic harmonies and strong lead vocal from Jordan Miller. The Beaches excel at hooky melodies and there's no exception here. It's warranted for a song about the non-committal situationship that everyone should run from...but run from it with this earworm playing.Next up is "Dry Spell" from Kacey Musgraves' new album Middle of Nowhere. We really dig the direction Kacey has taken overall on this record, shining with her usual wit and candor while pulling in all kinds of influences from traditional Mexican and Tejano music (the true Texan musical history, as Kacey notes). We love the 6-ish different guitar layers, the cool doubled vocals, Kacey's vocals sitting so wide in the mix, and we insist you watch the video. Also, any song with the line, “Lonely with a capital H,” is a winner.Beth Orton's new track, "Waiting," from her forthcoming album The Ground Above, takes us through a heart-achingly gorgeous jazz inspired journey. One of the pioneers of folktronica in the UK, Beth's career has huge range and depth. It's a bit of a throwback to Earth Wind and Fire but make it lo-fi, which is so cool. Her voice is a main feature, pulling us into the heartbreak before, surprisingly, giving us a positive spin at the end. Deep breath here.----Alex's links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowerboyingTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flowerboyingAlex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.comJana's links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janapochopWebsite: http://www.janapochop.comJana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com