Pebbledash - The Melody Chamber - Vendredi sur Mer - Hélène Barbier - Howling Bells - Jesca Hoop

Photo - Emily Cardona

Pebbledash - O, The Wind.

Just ahead of the anticipated upcoming EP To Cast the Sea in Concrete (5th November), Cork risers Pebbledash share the haunting indie-folk sweller ‘O, The Wind’. Following the bands sync on the new Netflix series House Of Guiness, ‘O, The Wind’ showcases the blend of traditional Irish folk, shoegaze and post-punk that has seen Pebbledash so widely acclaimed. Led by the haunting vocals of Asha Egan McCutcheon, the track unfolds into an ethereal, dark and emotionally affecting soundscape, intertwining biting, fingerpicked electric guitar with atmospheric swells of strings and synth, warm bass lines, and driving, shuffling drums. The result drifts effortlessly between genres, enveloped in a beautiful haze of reverberated echoes and subtle field recordings.

Speaking about the track, Cormac Donovan O’Neill explains – “I think we all felt that this song represented a major departure for Pebbledash in terms of the barriers of genre we were willing to cross. 

The track’s opening section foregrounds the emotional tumult of Asha’s lyrics exploring isolation in an urban landscape and the surrealism evoked by this floating through time, delivered in the ornamented manner of a traditional sean nós tune accompanied only by soft wheeze of air passing through a harmonium’s body and Fionnbharr’s spare guitar figure. But from there, we wanted the bass and drums to carry Asha’s stark lyricism atop an off-kilter groove more akin to the likes of DJ Shadow or Portishead, propelling the listener in unforeseen directions before the song returns home in its final moments, the vocal standing alone amidst a landscape of Terry Riley-esque arpeggios and eerie sampled vocals. 

We were incredibly excited to share this song as a statement of our development, attesting to the outer reaches of our sound we sought to explore in recording this EP.”

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The Melody Chamber - 1+1.

Richmond, Virginia's The Melody Chamber, a southern gothic new romantic jangle-pop band have just released their third single "1 + 1."  The third single is the perfect blend of Psychedelic Furs meets early R.E.M.. The band came together by happenstance with Wallace Dietz of Silent Boys fame working in the same studio as Dan-O Deckelman and him walking by and hearing a song from another studio and striking up a conversation. 

Dan-O coming from a hardcore and metal background was working on a very Elvis Costello pop track invited Wallace to collaborate and the two just gelled quickly and the songs started to pour out. (There are multiple album already written from what I hear).

The self-titled debut album is out on November 7th, 2025 from HHBTM Records (USA) on vinyl and Too Good To Be True (Europe) on vinyl and CD.

HHBTM Records · 1+1 -The Melody Chamber

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Vendredi sur Mer - Si t’étais là.

Yesterday, Swiss’ Vendredi sur Mer released the single “Si t’étais là”, her first after her album Malabar Princess. The much lauded album includes “Arrêter le temps” featuring the pianist/composer Sofiane Pamart, “Malabar Princess”, “Hard” (feat. Hanni El Khatib) and “Tout résonne,” which are included in the upcoming album! Vendredi sur Mer will be supporting on stage during her 11-date American tour starting in March 2026, tour dates to be announced shortly!

The title track “Malabar Princess” sounds like a nostalgic ode to her native Switzerland and the Swiss Alps in particular. Malabar Princess marks a return to the softness and nostalgia of her early work, following a more combative phase. Born from a writing residency in Montréal, the album reflects her return to the mountains and a search for self. Sam Tiba and new collaborators Adrien Gallo and Owlle helped guide this evolution toward more organic, intimate sounds. Malabar Princess is a sincere, poetic album where the artist fully reveals herself, blending desire and truth. 

“Arrêter le temps” shows Vendredi sur Mer and the renowned French pianist/composer Sofiane Pamart bringing a touch of emotion, making this piano-voice duet a breath of fresh air on the album. Blending touching lyrics and a melancholic instrumental in perfect harmony, the track feels like an open letter, destined to resonate deeply with every listener.

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Photo -  Dominic Berthiaume & Delphine Snyers

Hélène Barbier - Kindness in a cup.

The new single, "Kindness in a Cup," is out now from Hélène Barbier's forthcoming 'Panorama.' The Montreal singer's latest full-length features Meg Duffy (Hand Habits) and showcases Barbier's charismatic and cool songwriting.

Panorama (from Bonsound and out in November), showcases a totally charismatic balance between intellectualism and nonchalance. Parallels may be drawn to Cate Le Bon though Barbier shifts between English and French over cool grooves and vines of guitar that wouldn't be out of place on a Television record. 

What Barbier does is distinct and enviable. It's rock music but it's made by someone who is clearly a consummate artist. Beneath the artful minimalism here there is a kind of maximal meaning and emotional charge that crystallizes with repeated listens. Now we have the pleasure of sharing the second single, "Kindness in a Cup" built around a hypnotic bass line, the track culminates with sublime violin arrangements, perfectly highlighting the singer and bassist'ss distinctive vocal patterns.

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Howling Bells - Heavy Lifting.

Howling Bells have announced 'Strange Life', their first album in over 12 years, will be released on the 13th February 2026 on Nude Records. Having recently released their comeback track 'Unbroken', a brooding yet soaring anthem, today they share 'Heavy Lifting', a song featuring loose-limbed drums and bluesy intonation as Juanita takes aim at the entitled and the opportunist.
 
She explains: "'Heavy Lifting' is a hazy and grunge-fuelled declaration. Like anyone who’s worked at the thing they love tirelessly, you build up great resilience. The callouses on your hands, the muscles you’ve strengthened, the swagger in your stride. 'Heavy Lifting' is a song about the thousands of miles you walk to acquire this kind of confidence; this is not anything that can be stripped away from you".
 
The single is accompanied by a video directed by Orlando Cubitt. Howling Bells will return to the stage for a very special full band sold-out show at the iconic Lock Tavern in Camden on 5th November, with more live dates to be announced soon.

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Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now.

Ahead of tomorrow’s (24 October) release of her new reworks album, Jesca Hoop shares a new video for ‘Memories Are Now’. Tomorrow, California-born, Manchester-based singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop will release Selective Memory - a live, unplugged reworking of her acclaimed 2017 Memories Are Now (Sub Pop). Joining the cast of stripped back album versions for her first three releases, this new collection finds Hoop and her two bandmates, Chloe Foy and Rachel Rimmer, capturing the record in its entirety live in Hoop’s Manchester home.

Opening the door to an intimate performance space, Selective Memory shines a new light on one of Hoop’s most beloved albums. Raw and immediate in its delivery, the record brims with luminous harmonies, lyrical richness and unguarded emotion. It is sweet and bitter, fresh and raw, and very much of the moment.

Though a return to songs first written over a decade ago, Hoop notes their continued urgency: “Though I wrote these songs 12 years ago, strangely they feel so very relevant to me today. And the album ends in one hell of a protest song… if I do say so myself.”

Ahead of the album’s release, today she is sharing her new version of the album’s title track, ‘Memories Are Now.’ Stripped of its original production, this reimagining lets the song’s core message stand in sharp relief - a defiant declaration of autonomy and strength. As Hoop sings, "Clear the way. I'm coming through. No matter what you say, I've got work to be doing. If you're not here to help, go find some other life to ruin. Let me show you the door."

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Jesca Hoop - Salarymen - Lydia Luce - Drift City - Meghan Clarisse - Clover County - The Grahams

Jesca Hoop - Simon Says.
 
California-born, Manchester-based singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop has shared a new unplugged version of her track 'Simon Says'. The single is the second to be taken from Selective Memory - a live, unplugged reworking of her acclaimed 2017 Memories Are Now (Sub Pop). Joining the cast of stripped back album versions for her first three releases, this new collection finds Hoop and her two bandmates, Chloe Foy and Rachel Rimmer, capturing the record in its entirety live in Hoop’s Manchester home.

Of the new single, Hoop says: "In Simon Says I am speaking from my Gen X perspective. Oh how times have changed. I thank the heavens that my childhood was feral and free and that I knew every climbing tree."

Opening the door to an intimate performance space, Selective Memory shines a new light on one of Hoop’s most beloved albums. Raw and immediate in its delivery, the record brims with luminous harmonies, lyrical richness and unguarded emotion. It is sweet and bitter, fresh and raw, and very much of the moment.

Though a return to songs first written over a decade ago, Hoop notes their continued urgency: “Though I wrote these songs 12 years ago, strangely they feel so very relevant to me today. And the album ends in one hell of a protest song… if I do say so myself.”

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Salarymen - If You Want Me.

After strategically drip-feeding singles throughout 2025 to build anticipation for their debut album Take It Or Leave It (October 31st) Sydney’s indie duo Salarymen are ready to deliver the final piece of the puzzle with "If You Want Me" released this weekend. 

Four years in the making, this devastating duet captures the raw ache of lost love with cinematic beauty. As the oldest song on the album, “If You Want Me” has been mesmerising live audiences nationwide, becoming the track fans most desperately wanted to see released. Now, Renee de la Motte and Thomas Eagleton finally deliver this highly anticipated gem – a vintage-laced psych pop ballad that channels the dreamy melancholia of Beach House, Mac DeMarco, and Arcade Fire. With male/female harmonies taking center stage, the track captures a similar nostalgic romanticism to Stephen Sanchez's "Until I Found You," though "If You Want Me" was written years before that breakout hit.

"If You Want Me is the most emotional track we've ever written. It's about two people who can never really let go of their past, and how your world can be flipped upside down after parting ways. Thom and I are essentially playing the guy/girl who are admitting that they've wronged each other, and lamenting the fact that it's over “ explains de la Motte.

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Photo - Ryan Usher

Lydia Luce - Ephemeral (Ft: Luke Sital-Singh).

Lydia Luce shares "Ephemeral," a moving duet with celebrated British singer-songwriter Luke Sital-Singh. An important and sober declaration of self-love, this is the latest single from the Nashville singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist's forthcoming album Mammoth, which releases on October 30.

Lydia Luce on the new single: "This song is a love song to self. When I had to go back on tour after my injuries, I made a promise to myself to take care of myself no matter what. I had to learn how to trust myself again. I hadn’t earned my body's trust, and if I was going back into this environment I had to do it in a way that would honor my body. The moment I decided to ask my friend Paul Hammer to play guitar for me on that tour I felt the stress fall off of my body. I cried to my husband. I didn’t realize how terrified I was to be back in pain playing that much. I made more and more decisions like that on that tour. I brought my own pillow, I booked aisle seats on planes so I could stretch, and I asked for help constantly. I wasn’t in pain on that tour, and now I completely trust myself to make the right choices for my body." 

Recorded in just one week at Peter Gabriel’s celebrated Real World Studios, Mammoth was produced with longtime creative collaborator Jordan Lehning (Kacey Musgraves, Joy Oladokun, Caitlin Rose), with whom Luce runs the Nashville-based string collective Lockeland Strings. 

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Photo - Natalia Via

Drift City - The Seeds.

Kentucky bred and based Drift City proudly present the lead single from their latest EP, “The Seeds”. A serendipitous taste of what’s to come, the single is the first offering from the upcoming EP, Spectral Heart Mosaics, coming in late October.

Available via SU Records, “The Seeds” is an offering that took twelve to thirteen years in the making. Produced mainly by lead vocalist Jason Rivers, additional touches were provided by the renowned Kevin Ratterman and were recorded in the summer of 2025. A melancholic tune analyzing the pain and heartbreak of a slowly dissolving long term relationship, “The Seeds” sonically mirrors these nostalgic feelings.

Described as coming to lead singer Jason Rivers as a "vehicle of my own needed new beginning",  “The Seeds” offers a refreshing listening experience. Rivers’ powerful voice calls back to greats such as The Blue Nile or Cass McCombs, clearly demonstrating the pain and emotional agony he’s experienced. Drift City's ethereal harmonies and twangy pedal steel allow the track to lie in a comforting bed of folk rock. A track about self-growth, releasing inhibitions, and achieving peace and freedom, “The Seeds” is all yours to enjoy now.

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Meghan Clarisse - Shadows of a Ghost Town (Album).

Shadows of a Ghost Town is a deeply personal and poetic exploration of place, memory, and mortality, told through the lens of the American West. Rooted in the traditions of Americana and brushed with shades of country and bluegrass, this album is both a love letter to the land and a reckoning with the ghosts we carry.

Set against the backdrop of wide-open skies, dusty trails, and abandoned towns, each track captures a moment suspended between the living and the lost. There are stories of a quiet ache that follows when something-or someone-disappears. The mountains aren't just scenery here; they're characters. So are the shadows, the silence, and the wind.

With raw instrumentation, vivid storytelling, and melodies that rise like cann winds and fall like dusk over the plains, Shadows of a Ghost Town weaves together the grit of bluegrass with the soul of country and the heart of folk. These songs don't shy away from sorrow, but they don't dwell in it either. Instead, they honor it. They ride through it.

At its core, this album is about transience-how everything we know and love eventually fades, and yet somehow, that makes it all the more beautiful. Whether it's a home, a way of life, or a person you thought you'd never lose, Shadows of a Ghost Town reminds us that some things linger even after they're gone. You can still hear the music if you know where to listen.

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Photo - Luke Rogers

Clover County - Finer Things (Album).

Emerging Georgia singer/songwriter Clover County releases her debut album Finer Things via her own label Undercover Lover Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers. Produced by Carrie K (Noah Kahan, Maggie Antone, Koe Wetzel), the album is a coming-of-age soundtrack that explores romantic, familial and platonic love with a winking charm and an observing eye. Clover shares: “Finer Things is the shoebox I keep under my bed full of old love letters and trinkets I can’t quite let go of. It's polaroids, bottle caps, and plane tickets. It’s a memorial for all the ways I’ve loved and been loved.” Along with the album she has shared the single 'Sweeter'.

Clover continues: “These songs began when I was 18 – scrawled in notebooks, half-sung into voice memos, carried with me through the years. I started recording them at 23, and at 24, they’ll start to find their place in the world. Unintentionally, they trace a timeline: from naive to knowing. Finer Things is about all the ways I’ve shown up in love and how it’s shown up for me, the fleeting and the forever. Romantic, familial, platonic. The sweetness, the sting, and the spaces in between.

This record lives naturally within the lines of country with its own indie/alternative twists – as a songwriter from the South with a love for the classics, I wanted to nod to legacy artists like Dolly Parton, Shania Twain and Sheryl Crow, while also drawing from the modern textures and tones of Hovvdy, Adrianne Lenker, Waxahatchee, Courtney Barnett and MJ Lenderman.”


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The Grahams - Worst Parts Of Me.

As they prepare to release their fourth studio album, The Bridge, on October 10th, acclaimed Americana-pop duo The Grahams – married couple Alyssa and Doug Graham – have released one more glimpse into the collection with their new single “Worst Parts Of Me.” The playful love song recalls early ‘70s melodic movement and offers a throwback to Carole King’s Tapestry era, an album that has served as an important influence for Alyssa.

“After three decades of a love affair and partnership, people always ask us our ‘secret’,” shares The Grahams. “For years we claimed our rare success was attributed to having no children. ‘Don’t have kids’ we would joke. Upon further reflection and having our daughter, we now understand our secret is deeper than that. To truly love someone in this life and beyond, you need to love not only the best but the worst parts of them.”

About the music video, Alyssa and Doug add, “Although ‘Worst Parts Of Me’ is a song we wrote in order to highlight the depth and strength of our love for one another by acknowledging our lifelong flaws with a bit of humor, we wanted the video to speak to people in a more individualized fashion. We all struggle with what we believe to be our worst parts. The video focuses on accepting our imperfections, fully embracing them and learning to enjoy the balance of the best and the worst in ourselves and how it all makes us unique.” 

The Bridge, available via Nashville’s 3Sirens label, marks the first time The Grahams are giving listeners a look into their personal lives. The deeply personal album, named after the George Washington Bridge, which transported the New Jersey natives to New York City during their formative years, was co-written with GRAMMY-nominated producer Dex Green, singer-songwriter Kate York, and GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan, finding The Grahams embracing the collaborative Nashville co-write. Alyssa (vocals) and Doug (guitars/vocals) credit these three creative ambassadors with helping them write about their lives honestly and vulnerably, diving deep into their childhood love affair that has lasted over 37 years.

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Gaby Condulețz - Jesca Hoop

Gaby Condulețz - Reality Hits.

The song is about the specific moment when you realize how much reality can hurt you when your expectations are shattered.

The melody tries to physically show the pain inside somebody's chest when reality hits. And sometimes, reality hits hard.

Gaby is an easy name to remember & she tell us - I'm 18 and I tend to write songs whenever I have a deep feeling that I want to fix in my memory like a picture or when I'm tired of crying to myself while eating ice cream. Writing and singing for me is the cure, a therapy, something I physically feel in my chest.

Produced by Ricky Ferranti at Fuzzo Studio, Mastering by Jacopo Camagni at Monkey Studio.

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Jesca Hoop - Sioux Falls.

Last month Jesca Hoop announced her sixth album, Order of Romance, the follow up to her 2019 LP Stonechild, an album that earned high praise from outlets like Pitchfork, NPR, The Guardian and The New York Times, saw Hoop perform her second Tiny Desk Concert, and was the critical high watermark of her career to date. The album was announced with the single "Hatred Has A Mother", and today Hoop is sharing a second single from the record, a track called "Sioux Falls".

A cryptic and unsettling lullaby, Sioux Falls, is a of series memories recalled in snapshots of harmony and melody a nation sleepwalking to the falls.

“Deeper into the Psychosis Cyclone as paranoia strikes. All the Preppers double up on supply and double down on guns. America the home of the free.” says Jesca “The vernacular all too familiar, like verses I learned in bible study, as the term “greater good” takes the shape of a dog whistle for the death spiral. Meanwhile, we over here are just simply looking out for each other while we manage the hard facts of life.”

Order of Romance is Hoop's most intricate and finely balanced album to date, one that draws on classic song writing, recalling anything from Gershwin to Paul Simon, but creating something that is unmistakably, indelibly Jesca Hoop.

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Jesca Hoop - Live in Manchester, UK - 2010 (IA)

From the Internet Archive (IA) this is Jesca Hoop live at Band On The Wall, a venue in Manchester, England, back on Monday 24th May 2010.

This is what the Manchester venues website had to say about Jesca prior to the gig - Jesca Hoop was born in Southern California to strict Mormon parents. She grew up singing traditional folk tunes in four-part harmony, but soon broke away from this background, becoming a homesteader and working with children. As a nanny for Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan’s three children, Hoop gained both musical experience and notoriety; Waits said of Jesca, 'Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night'. Following exposure through radio station KCRW, Jesca toured with Polyphonic Spree, Mark Knopfler, Andrew Bird and Elbow – with Guy Garvey also dueting with Hoop on her (then) latest acclaimed album Hunting My Dress.

In addition to this we can add (from Wiki) As a result of meeting Tom Piper, the touring manager of the band Elbow, Hoop moved to Manchester, England in 2008. Initially she found it difficult to adjust "as a California girl, I find it hard to stay under that canopy of cloud". After settling in the Chorlton area of the city, Hoop spent 18 months recording new material for the album “Hunting My Dress” which was released in 2010. She had parked "a lorry trailer in my back garden that we use as an extension (...) where I go to write". In the same year she signed with the US-based label Vanguard Records.[8] It was followed by the “Snowglobe E.P.” in 2011, which consisted of a handful tracks recorded prior to her move to the UK. Hoop described them as "folk songs" and the EP received a degree of critical acclaim. The following year she released “The House That Jack Built” and in 2014 “Undress”; a re-interpretation of songs recorded four years ago.

Recording Details: Source DPA4060>Chruch 9100>R09 (48kHz/24 bit) Lineage Card reader>Wavelab>Isotope RX>CDWave>FLAC.

Sound Quality: Very good (clean and highly enjoyable).

Set List:

1. Seed of Wonder
2. Whispering Light
3. Feast of the Heart
4. Four Dreams
5. Money
6. Angel Mom
7. The Kingdom
8. Phonograph
9. Moon Rock Needle
10. Out the Back Door
11. Tulip
12. Murder of Birds
13. (chat)
14. Hunting my Dress
15. (chat)
16. Enemy
17. Love and Love Again
18. Storm [off mic]

Website: Official Here.

Comments: There are FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and mp3 download files, along with the streaming material over at the Internet Archive (here).

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