Dishing out insatiable classic pop for the last five or so years, New Move go about their creative exhibition employing hints of glam, indie rock and lurid doo wop. Their new album, Back in the Habit, drops today and it features a variety of local artists, including Illmaculate, King Who, Radiation City and more. For the track we're sharing today, we're focusing on this banger with Chanti Darling and Ripley Snell on the mic.

"The City Life" has an interesting beat from Cameron Spies on keys, Jesse Bettis on guitar and bass, and a soulful vocal melody from Chanti Darling that lasts throughout the track, playing with some very silkily delivered bars from Snell. Everything about it is just delightful, and worthy of many repeated plays.

New Move are having a release show for Back in the Habit tonight at Mississippi Studios along with some sets from Y La Bamba and Hustle & Drone. Minden, Boone Howard and the Domestics will all be making guest appearances as well.

 The next installment of Willamette Week's quarterly showcase, Pulse, is coming up tomorrow with a lineup that's set to liven things up. WW's Best New Artist Last Artful, Dodgr will be headlining the event with her lit, trappy beats and a tone of voice that brings even more intrigue to her flow.

Current Deli Portland Artist of the Month nominees Pleasure Curses will be mixing up the night with a bit of electronica just after the new musical project from Ripley Snell and Grape God, Wine+Coffee, opens up the night with their experimental hip hop outlet.

Pulse is a free, quarterly 21 and over event that's meant to feature some of Portland's best in the underappreciated hip hop and r&b scene. With lineup's like this and of Pulse's past, they're doing a damn good job at it.

In the five months since his November release of Fall Denim, Ripley Snell has been busy working on collaborations and clothing lines, and is already putting out his sophomore album, Natural Flavors, which is a six-course menu of imaginative lyricism. He draws inspiration from be-bop, hiphop and R&B, funk, metaphysics, and his Portland surroundings.

The titles of each track on 6 Natural Flavors are named after the often unnatural and additive ingredients listed on the back of a Coca-Cola. Tied with Snell's lyrical content, the album serves as a metaphor for the sugarcoating of political and socioeconomic problems which have grown over time into the everyday norm. The album is said to be inspired by and dedicated to the individuals that live on W. 3rd Ave in downtown Portland.

Speaking his mind and keeping it real, Ripley Snell is a storyteller giving insight on Portland nights, homelessness, and racism with candor. Jazz infused “Caramel Colors” speaks on “gentri-fried chicken" and feeling isolated from the Portland Spirit because of his style. “Phosphoric Acid” has whirling string loops, primal urges, and some hilarious personal hygiene disclosures. “Caffeine” begins with a sub octave vocal sample of the words “easy beats" then quickly gets to tackling the topics of STD’s and dying on the street. “High Fructose Corn Syrup” begins with some good advice:  “Let’s do things well... let’s do ‘em well,” then jumps into a flow of colorful metaphors about Monsanto's lucid dreams and hanging out with fat polar bears on frozen lakes "drinking blue chip shares." While Snell is getting lyrically deep inside issues, Neill Von Tally's beats throughout the album feature jazzy and playful instrumentation and vintage audio sampling including everything from the triangle bell to string trios and brassy melodies.

Ripley Snell will celebrate the release of Natural Flavors by performing the album in it’s entirety with a public all-ages show at the NW Portland art gallery and clothing store Upper Playground at 7pm sharp. There will be access to a free download of the album at Ripleysnell.com for a limited time when the album drops April 23rd. In the meantime, check out his album Fall Denim.

 - Brandy Crowe