Showing posts with label Leilani Patao. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leilani Patao. Show all posts

Saturday, 8 November 2025

Katy Broder - Adam Harpaz - Leilani Patao - Patchwork Rattlebag - The Clockworks

Katy Broder - Come With Me (Album).

It’s finally here: the album by Katy Broder from Liechtenstein — a woman who juggles many roles. On one hand, Katy Broder is known as the coach of Liechtenstein’s national karate team, with which she participated in the European and World Championships this summer. 

On the other hand, she has made a name for herself as a pop musician: her last two singles earned her comparisons to Roxette, Pink, and Avril Lavigne, and received extensive airplay.

Her most recent single, “Could It Be You,” alone has been played more than 300 times on radio stations around the world. This even led the Landesspiegel to headline a story about Katy Broder.


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Photo - Bella Isakson
Adam Harpaz - You Might Miss Out.

Aussie Indie Singer Songwriter Adam Harpaz released his new single 'You Might Miss Out' yesterday. You Might Miss Out‘ carves a sonic space of self-reflection for the listener; how are we feeling (generally) in our day-to-day? Are we truly connecting with both ourselves and others more often than not? 

Is there a sustainable sense of harmony between the different components of our lives? Do we have enough mental clarity to deal with the inevitable unforeseen challenges that arise in life, or are we in such a constant state of internal/external pressure that we get spun out when things alter from the ‘plan’?

The song offers a somewhat subtle, somewhat blunt commentary on the work-life balance conundrum alluded to above; perhaps the sweet spot is found within that juggling act of keeping the wheels in motion whilst still carving enough space to consistently do the things that bring us joy.

The hope is that by consciously making our overall well-being more of a priority, it enables us to find/maintain a relatively stable level of presence and content. “ - Adam Harpaz.

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Leilani Patao - daisy (EP).

Brooklyn-based (via Los Angeles) artist Leilani Patao issues 'daisy,' their label debut via Audio Antihero. Leilani calls the release a "pure experiment," and through this evolving sound, production, and withholding their work from streaming, the artist seeks to make deeper connections with listeners.

Originally debuting in 2021 at the age of 17, Leilani showcased their rich, aching voice, shaped by a background in theatre and their youthful willingness to show vulnerability through a raw lyrical honesty across a series of DIY self-releases. 2024’s ‘But What If?’ earned them their greatest exposure to date when they were featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Taking its title from the name of Leilani’s much-missed childhood dog, ‘daisy’ is described by the artist as “a pure experiment” in both sound and distribution. Leilani’s ambitious production requires the listener to find the emotion within the cracks, as their range, biting words, and ear for melody push through the wash of sound in fragments. Leilani also made the decision to remove themselves from the algorithm by withholding these songs from streaming, taking control of their work, and asking:

“Is it possible to share my music properly, pay everyone who was involved, get paid myself, and not have to interact with the many systems in place that make me dread music?” 


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Patchwork Rattlebag - Vertigo Dreams.

Salford based experimental collective, Patchwork Rattlebag have released ‘Vertigo Dreams’, the second single from their forthcoming debut album ‘Fragments 1’. Frequently incorporating other artforms, the group constructs music with a strong vocal presence, featuring instruments, synthesisers, field recordings and beats. Consisting of three core members who value collaboration and curiosity, Patchwork Rattlebag traverse the spaces between the visual, audible, invisible and ineffable.

Following the band’s recent glitchy dystopian electronica single ‘Hook, Line and Riser’, ‘Vertigo Dreams’ shows another side to Patchwork Rattlebag, incorporating breezy acoustic textures, introspective lyrics and bursts of vocal harmony. The track sees the electronic elements of their sound drifting into the background, making way for and complimenting beautifully this haunting and beguiling song- as the band plumb similar melancholic depths to artists like Gravenhurst and Nick Drake.

‘Vertigo Dreams’ searches tensions: between contentment and insecurity, aspiration and wistful acquiescence, dreams and nightmares. Its swirling, psychedelic, folk-inspired atmospheres feature picked acoustic guitar, pulsing vibraphone, and broken electric guitar phrases. ‘Vertigo Dreams’ is the sound of Patchwork Rattlebag stripped back to its singer-songwriter origins and the accompanying video for the single will send you off into a blissful dreamy haze with its hypnotic DIY shot images of starry skies, expansive fields and spacious derelict buildings- illustrating the song’s search through emotions and contemplative moods perfectly.


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The Clockworks - Through The Looking Glass.

Following their return with recent track ‘Best Days’, Galway via London fourpiece The Clockworks share new single ‘Through The Looking Glass’ and announce their second album and first album with V2 Records, ‘The Entertainment’ released on 27th March 2026.
 
With a cinematic and all-encompassing sound, The Clockworks introduced themselves with debut album ‘Exit Strategy’ in 2023 and their self-titled EP ‘The Clockworks’ in 2022, gaining acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music and BBC Radio 1. With a soundscape that pulls from seemingly disparate regions of the musical landscape, namechecking Daft Punk next to Pixies, next to Ennio Morricone, they are influenced not only by an extensive musical palette, but also through their passion for film and literature. Lyrically, singer and lyricist James McGregor writes with purpose, integrity and emotion, balancing light with darkness and finding poetic intrigue in everyday life. They will release their new album ‘The Entertainment’ in March, which was largely written and recorded independently at home, and is a project that looks at the themes of isolation, loneliness and connection.  
 
New single ‘Through The Looking Glass’ continues to showcase the fresh sound of The Clockworks and is a majestic and atmospheric track that builds in both intensity and emotion. Self-produced, led by Sean Connelly, it drops the listener straight into the middle of the action, building lyrically and musically to a climax that hits crisis point and suddenly unspools. Speaking about ‘Through The Looking Glass’, the band says;
 
“This song centers around that moment of telling someone you love them and not hearing the same thing back. It's the desperation, longing and futility of building yourself up beforehand to pour your heart out and obsessively retracing the moment a thousand times in your head afterwards.”
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Friday, 3 October 2025

Strawberry Alarm Clock - Manuel K and his Family Band - Caswell - iNNUENDO - Louis O'Hara - Leilani Patao

Strawberry Alarm Clock - Monsters / White Light.

As Strawberry Alarm Clock began to approach its sixtieth anniversary, a new album began to take shape: songs about life, everyday fears, and what comes next. With each member of the band writing and singing, just as they had for all these years, a new and powerful collection of songs emerged that deserves to be heard by listeners both old and new. 

Big Stir Records, located near Burbank, CA, where the band first emerged sixty years ago, is proud to present the next chapter in the band's saga. The first single, “Monsters”, coupled with “White Light”, brings the classic SAC sound into the here and now. The new songs, and forthcoming album, are the continuation of those long-ago ideas, shaped and strengthened anew by the times that they, and we, now live in. 

This is not the return of Strawberry Alarm Clock. In truth, they have never even gone away over the last sixty years, as films such as Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls and Austin Powers have continued to share their sounds far beyond that Summer Of Love. Perhaps the moment has arrived again has come for a new, powerful, yet familiar sound. Once again, the time has come for The Strawberry Alarm Clock.


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Manuel K and his Family Band - Like a Flower (Studio Session).

Manuel K from St. Gallen (CH) is reminding us of good old power pop – in a charming way: twanging guitars, straightforward, catchy pop melodies. And of course, the essential dose of power. All those ingredients make a good power pop song.

What makes the whole project special is that Manuel K recorded the track with his Family Band, bringing together several generations. On drums, his son Jayden; on bass, his daughter Allison; and on second electric guitar, his sister Angela. The song was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Marco Jencarelli (Philipp Fankhauser, Dada Ante Portas, among others). The video production was handled by Jonas Ruppen and Manuel Maeder of Ruppen Productions (working with well known Swiss acts such as Anna Kaenzig, Mothers Pride, among others).

“Like a Flower” is now the ninth single by Manuel K, who grew up in Mels (SG) and lives in Azmoos (municipality of Wartau / Werdenberg region of Sankt Gallen/CH), and it comes with a video release. Already with his former rock band Nextmile, Manuel K had the track in his repertoire – but it has never sounded as fresh as in this new recording with his Family Band.

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Photo - Gabby Sep
Caswell - Break/Bleed/Bloom (Album).

Suffolk Alternative-Pop riser Caswell releases the hotly anticipated debut album Break/Bleed/Bloom this week. Blending elements of downtempo electronica, ethereal deampop and indie musicality with pop and EDM sensibilities, Caswell brings a sonic intelligence and melodic clarity which sets her music apart. Lush, immersive and emotive, the album showcases how well formed Caswell’s sonic identity across its 9 tracks. 

Honest lyricism, atmospheric electronics, and driving bass and drums form the backbone of the album, with Caswell’s tender yet commanding vocal pulling each track forward through instantly repeatable melodies. The record moves fluidly between moods—at times intense and danceable, at others melancholic and understated—always retaining a subtle musicality. From the opener Your Type, which swells from ambient beginnings into a driving wall of bass and synth, to the stripped-back emotion of Written To Die, the haunting ambient beauty of Dorko Boda, the moody ‘My Bed’ with Passion Parade, and the floating alt-pop shimmer of Final Call, the album is varied, immaculately produced, and yet affectingly raw and real.

Speaking about the album Caswell explains: "Break/Bleed/Bloom is a collection of nine songs, split into three chapters: Break, Bleed, and Bloom. Break is about friction – those moments when something stops working and you have no choice but to change it. Bleed is the mourning period that follows, but also the release and healing that comes with it. Bloom is the beginning again: hope, optimism, self-exploration, before the cycle inevitably repeats. For me, this album is about leaning into endings instead of rushing past them. We live in a world that tells us to keep producing, achieving and moving forward, but I wanted to show the power in allowing things to die. That’s where the real growth happens.

It was written over three years, giving us the time and space to really live with the songs while living life. Collaborating with my long-time live band and producers kept it super authentic and organic too, and we’re so excited to finally share it with the world, before the next creative cycle begins."

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Photo -  Aidan Dowling
iNNUENDO - Rosemary.

Dublin based art-pop quartet iNNUENDO return with the new single ‘Rosemary’, offering another taste of their theatrical alternative-rock-meets-artistic-pop aesthetic drawing inspiration from the likes of Kate Bush and David Bowie, the band bring together a sound which conjures elements of CMAT, XTC, Florence And The Machine and Marina And The Diamonds. 

The new single distills the band’s aesthetic into technicolour brilliance, weaving together intricate piano lines, driving drums, and theatrical, emotive vocals to create a rich and compelling soundscape. As the track surges into its shout-along chorus, the band’s gift for infectious melody shines through, carried by taut rhythms and choppy guitar that echo the spirit of The Last Dinner Party. The second verse then takes an unexpected turn, erupting into a dazzling wall of arpeggiators that inject a renewed sense of energy and vibrancy, mirroring the electric dynamism of the band’s live performances.

Speaking about the single, the band explain: “‘Rosemary’ was inspired by one of our bandmate’s old piano teachers, who was awful to him. I started noodling around with piano motifs and the song came together almost instantly, expanding once we crafted the cutting synth line after the first chorus - that really cemented the dance-y groove underneath".


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Louis O'Hara - Finally Stick.
 
Louis O'Hara has shared his new 'Finally Stick' single, with the debut album 'A Peaceful Kind of Fun' due out 07.11 via Libertino. Of the single we are told: Opening in the glow of early love, the track captures the joy of losing yourself in someone else’s light. By the final verse, it drifts into a lower key reflecting on the exhaustion and fallout that come with endings. Arranged with piano, bass, clarinet, cello, electric guitar, and even a theremin, the song also features a spoken-word bridge inspired by 1950s vocal groups like The Capris and The Ink Spots. The result is both tender and haunting a love song that lingers long after it fades. 

A Peaceful Kind of Fun is a 14-track collection that distils O’Hara’s poetic lyricism, tender folk roots, and subtle chamber-pop flourishes into a deeply personal yet quietly universal debut. Recorded with his band His Burley Chassis and produced by James Trevascus (Billy Nomates, Young Fathers, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis) in Spain, the album is shaped by themes of memory, loss, joy, and the places and people that anchor a life.

Throughout the record, O’Hara draws from family history, friendships, and rural West Wales landscapes to create songs that are intimate yet resonant. “The Kid In Me” channels recurring dreams of playing football for Wales as an ode to imagination and daydreaming. “Just Grand” (the album’s first single) is a tender farewell to his grandfather. “Sunnyhill Farm” recalls childhood summers spent on his aunt and uncle’s dairy farm. “Munnelly” traces his grandfather’s memories of the corncrake bird in rural Ireland, entwined with the fragility of dementia. Other highlights include “Magpie”, a love song to his closest friend, “Married”, written in celebration of his brother’s wedding, and “Plant a Tree”, which gathers pieces of life advice into a song of gratitude.

New single “Finally Stick” embodies the duality at the heart of O’Hara’s writing - beginning with the joy and lightness of love’s early stages before descending into the exhaustion and fallout of a relationship’s end. Its arrangement layers piano, clarinet, cello, electric guitar, and theremin, with a spoken-word bridge nodding to 1950s vocal groups such as The Ink Spots and The Capris.

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Leilani Patao - Bird Whistle.

Brooklyn-based (via Los Angeles) artist Leilani Patao has released "Bird Whistle," the second single from ‘daisy,’ their label debut EP, which will be released via Audio Antihero on November 7th. Debuting in 2021 at the age of 17, Leilani showcased their rich, aching voice, shaped by a background in theatre and their youthful willingness to show vulnerability through a raw lyrical honesty across a series of DIY self-releases. 2024’s ‘But What If?’ earned them their greatest exposure to date when they were featured on The Tonight Show. 

Taking its title from the name of Leilani’s much-missed childhood dog, ‘daisy’ is described by the artist as “a pure experiment” in both sound and distribution. Leilani’s ambitious production requires the listener to find the emotion within the cracks, as their range, biting words, and ear for melody push through the wash of sound in fragments. Leilani also made the decision to remove themselves from the algorithm by withholding these songs from streaming, taking control of their work, and asking:

“Is it possible to share my music properly, pay everyone who was involved, get paid myself, and not have to interact with the many systems in place that make me dread music?” 

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Celestial Bums - The Brook & The Bluff - KiKi Holli & The Remedy - Cut Flowers - The Legal Matters

Celestial Bums - The Letters. Shoegaze warmth and dream pop elegance converge in Celestial Bums’ “The Letters” Barcelona’s Celestial Bums ...