Born Days - Sandy Bailey - Ribs - Lindsay Lou
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| Photo - Erica Contreras |
Born Days is the conceptual darkwave synth-pop project from Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist singer, songwriter, and producer Melissa Harris. Her first full-length album My Little Dark is set to release on October 6, 2023, through AudioSport Records.
Candidly vulnerable and emotionally complex, My Little Dark is a concept album that draws inspiration from the confessional poetry of Sylvia Plath and the childlike innocence of Dr. Seuss to narrate a mystical, sci-fi, coming-of-age, adventure of a young woman trying to survive the psychological limitations she has placed on her own reality. Mystical and melancholic, Harris’s ethereal voice escapes into dark symphonic soundscapes driven by dreamy, synth-heavy polyrhythms that paint a cinematic electronic pop soundtrack soaked in moody, hazy textures.
Drawing influences from alternative, darkwave, dreampop, and goth culture, Harris plays with a sonic palette of soft, dark, and dusty tones that mix elements of grunge, post-punk, neo-psychedelia, shoegaze, and modern pop. Deeply nostalgic and profoundly personal, My Little Dark explores Harris’s struggles with mental illness, trauma, and destructive cycling. Her distinctively soft and sweet voice is saturated with otherworldly essence that explodes into apocalyptic crescendos and escapes into ghostly innocence. Harris’s songs are brilliantly enchanting and sonically dripping with haunted textures, little spirits from the ether, and dystopian landscapes that leave you longing for a more innocent and beautiful time.
My Little Dark is a project that has been several years and several thousand miles in the making. Harris began making experimental music under the name Born Days in 2017 as a way to express herself, process her memories, and heal from the complexities of trauma to reconnect with the purity and innocence that is part of the innate order of nature. After receiving critical acclaim on her first two self-released EPs from Bandcamp, Chicago Tribune, Destroy//Exist, and Audiotree, she went on to perform live sets and music festivals with globally recognized talent like Neggy Gemmy, George Clanton, Kedr Livanskiy, and Caroline Polachek.
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Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Sandy Bailey has unveiled “I Ain’t Your Honey,” a sassy new track from her forthcoming LP, Daughter Of Abraham, out August 18th viaRed Parlor Records.
“The impact of the digital age on our social interactions is a topic that’s often circling around in my brain,” explains Bailey. “It really is bizarre to me the way we connect through our online personas. It gets especially weird when it involves internet dating. I’m fascinated by the packaging and wrapping paper we put on ourselves when we are seeking true intimacy. I wrote an earlier version of this song that had the lyric ‘I’m never crying in my pictures.’ My friends and I have gone on our share of Tinder dates and at best we would be able to laugh about how they went afterward,” she continues. “I often wonder how different things would be if our dating profiles had a list of our personality flaws and photos of our morning hair rather than our prettiest scenes and best angles.”
“I Ain’t Your Honey” follows title track “Daughter Of Abraham,” in which Bailey channels her ancestors for a tale about a former slave walking to freedom along the Underground Railroad, and “Get The Message Through,” about the irony of the current environment that we live in, where we are more connected than ever through the internet but also lonelier than ever.
”The depth of Bailey’s songwriting stems from her life and identity as a biracial woman and single mother who abandoned a Pentecostal upbringing in favor of a life of art-making and rock n’ roll. Her sound has often been compared to acts like Norah Jones, Patsy Cline, and Susan Tedeschi, though the upcoming 10-song collection, expertly produced by Bailey, showcases her bolder, more idiosyncratic attention to detail.
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Ribs, the Boorloo-based (Perth, AUS) indie-pop band known for creating honest and expressive music, Have released their latest single, 'Claws', today Friday, August 4. With a passion for connecting with others on topics that are often challenging to discuss, such as mental health, social power constructs, and healing from trauma, Ribs delivers a clashing and cathartic anthem that explores the journey of healing from intimate partner violence.
Originally conceived as a solo, stripped-back lyrical piano project by Georgina Cramond, Ribs received critical acclaim and emotional responses from audiences in her one-woman music and storytelling show, 'Interrupting a Crisis'.
Driven by a desire for collaboration and connection with other artists, Cramond found like-minded creatives to join the project, resulting in the dynamic four-piece band that exists today, with each member contributing to Ribs' authentic songwriting, supported by vibrant, immersive sounds.
Now, 'Claws' is Ribs' heaviest release to date, both in terms of content and sound. The song serves as a powerful anthem for those who have endured abuse and have embarked on a journey of healing from intimate partner violence. Drawing from her own lived experience, Georgina Cramond's poignant songwriting delves into the pain, anger, and growth that are intertwined with this transformative process.
Cramond shares, "Growing claws is about learning what you will no longer accept, how anger can be a protective and productive force, and regaining control over the jagged parts of your history." Her guarded vocals in the verses are contrasted by a commanding, hardened chorus, where she screams out, "I grew claws", to reclaim her own power and control in her life.
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Lindsay Lou shares the dreamy new single “Shame” from her forthcoming album Queen of Time, out September 29 on Kill Rock Stars Nashville. Featuring an anthemic solo from Grammy-winning guitar virtuoso Billy Strings, the song and its accompanying music video highlight the album’s continued theme of duality. “Shame” challenges the notion that we should hide any part of ourselves and celebrates the multitudes women contain.
"I don’t think shame does us any favors,” says Lindsay Lou. “There’s this lie that’s been passed down and around that we need shame, that it keeps us safe or something. I'm calling bullshit on that. We contain multitudes, and each aspect is as deserving of love as the next.” She continues, “May we all embrace the balance of feminine and masculine aspects in our nature. May we reclaim our own self-expression and uncouple ourselves from systems that aim to oppress or cast shadows of shame on the beauty of our bodies."
After the loss of her grandmother, the end of her marriage, and the overwhelming turmoil of COVID lockdowns, Lou sought out a hallucinogenic ritual that would not only inform the way she processed the waves of grief ahead of her, but led to a profound realization about her own feminine power. With a new vision of womanhood in mind, she began to see a throughline from her grandmother, to herself, to the art she was creating. Queen of Time is the result of that deeply personal spiritual journey, unfolding across eleven tracks of tender, heartbreakingly beautiful music. Lou has previously shared two singles from the album, including the title track “Queen of Time” and the folk-pop ballad “Nothing Else Matters” featuring Grammy Award-winner Jerry Douglas.
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