It isn’t a secret at this point that I put a lot of effort into finding great music (humbly speaking, of course). Most weeks I search, search, and search some more for hours on end, sifting through extensive lists of new releases to find a handful of songs that sounds pretty good on an initial test-hearing. On very rare occasions in that search, I’ll find a song that forces me to smile simply because it’s so good I can’t control my emotions. As is shown with “In Now and Then,” it doesn’t have to be loud or flashy, but it does have to be different, creative, and new. It’s the type of song that I adore sending to friends because I know I’ll get the reaction “…where in the world did you find this song?”

Cataldo, or the Seattle based musician Eric Anderson, is still unsigned and has been labeled by many as just another musician who signs about his feelings. But oh, the credit Cataldo deserves! It isn’t only about the lyrics, which I actually find quite whimsical in their linearity and delivery. It’s about the ability to bring out a niche sound within simplicity, with slow, simple drums, keys, and brass instruments that individually sound basic, but together sound like nothing I’ve ever heard before.