Catbells - Piper Butcher - Lisa Richards

Catbells - It's Not Hard.

Dreamy melancholic shoegaze meets alt-pop singer/songwriter Catbells engages her listeners with soft hypnotic vocals, lush soundscapes, and moody melodies that capture her deep, heartfelt emotions in the most intimate of ways. Gifted with a voice like an angel, Catbells gently immerses her listeners into a world of sweet nostalgia and velvety sentiments.

The singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was introduced to the piano at age five, and by the 7th grade she was playing the guitar and writing songs about her middle school heartbreaks. After performing in several bands throughout her early music career, Catbells recently decided to focus on her own solo project.

Catbells is a somewhat enigmatic, shy wallflower type, with her name itself being an alter-ego. Named after the popular hiking spot recited in the famous children's book The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter, Catbells' cinematic music is influenced by the vast natural wild. Raised in New England, Catbells often revisits the times of her childhood in her music, where she reflects on fond memories of the seasons changing, swimming in the eastern lakes, canoeing down the river, and working on the family farm.

Her deeply personal and introspective single "Fade - Rainy Day Demo" is an intimate and open-hearted reflection of lost love. “The song really wrote itself and the music needed to match the feeling of how the words felt. There are few people who are lucky enough to escape the feeling of a completely broken heart, and feeling like the person you loved so much just moved on like it was nothing, leaving you left there with a hole where your heart once was” confides Catbells. This emotionally raw and poignant narrative and accompanying music video features innovative illustrations of a sad cat saying farewell in a starry evening background.  While on the single "Wilderness" Catbells’ soft-powered honeyed vocals float above stripped down melodies and dreamy lush acoustic soundscapes. The track was mixed by acclaimed producer Ali Chant (Aldous Harding, Perfume Genius, Soccer Mommy).

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Piper Butcher - September (E.P).

Australian singer-songwriter, Piper Butcher, follows on from the success of her smash hit singles with her shiny new EP, “September”. The debut offering is a five-track release, showcasing the talented young artist from the New South Wales steel city of Newcastle.

Leading the EP is “Haunting Your Thoughts” which has already generated close to 40,000 streams on Spotify. It’s a rocky anthem thriving on Piper’s passionate vocals and one that takes you through the story of when a trouble maker doesn’t clean up their own mess. “Long Road” is co-written with fellow roots act, Cassi Marie, and covers the long road of heartbreak. The lyrics provoke feelings of sorrow and frustration, but Piper ensures in song that leaving unhealthy people behind is a difficult but prosperous journey.

Hitting the middle of the EP is the current single, “Before The Thunder”. It has immediately struck a chord with fans and the industry alike, emanating from the storyline where someone tries to cross the line to get what they want. The song builds with emotion, entrancing you with whimsical guitars and strong melodies.

The very first song that Piper ever wrote is included in the form of “Not Yet”. It stems from pure feelings of staying in the moment which listeners correlate with on a personal level. It’s honest and calm, yet it has a depth in meaning owed to its simplicity. Closing out “September” is a steamy swarm of blues rock that immediately draws the listener in. “Soul Into Sand” sees Piper truly soaring - her voice driving the song with immense intensity and soul.

“September” is further proof that we are witnessing the launch of one of Australia’s most exciting new roots artists. It is testament not only to her talent, but also Piper Butcher’s hard work and passion for her music. Piper Butcher - “September” - is released Wed 1st September 2021.

Piper Butcher · september

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Lisa Richards - Dominoes.

Dominoes is the second single from the upcoming sixth album “I Got A Story” from Australian singer and songwriter Lisa Richards, the latest from the acclaimed singer and songwriter since she moved back to Australia from Austin, Texas. Last year Lisa returned to the USA to record in New York City to record with Tim Bright.

As Lisa explains: “Tim and I first worked together on my debut release, ‘Not Quite So Low’, then three albums later we did ‘Mad Mad Love’ and co-wrote half that album together.  We completed recording this new one on November 18th 2019 which seems like an eternity ago, given all that has transpired since then.  I lived in the USA for so long that it seemed logical to me to work with people I know and trust and have history with. So I combined tour dates in the USA with recording this new album in New York, which was, in retrospect, crazy. This recording was completed with partial support from ArtsACT for which I am very grateful.”

Lisa says that Dominoes is, "A song about being young and out of control. This song was written on piano, which is different for me as I don’t really play piano. Growing up in Townsville North QLD was wild. I don’t make a secret of the fact that I began drinking at 7 and that I was dosed on anti psychotic medication from when I was 4 or 5 years old. The sexual abuse started somewhere in there and continued until I hit puberty. Alcohol and drugs were my close friends and it’s no wonder I was all over the place!  I was super confused about men, women, sex and relationships. I remember having this desperate need to be loved and desired and the suicidal spiral that would come over me when I was rejected. Which happened a lot.  I hung out with a gang of equally confused people and we were like dominoes!

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Citrus Country - Moonshine - Ben Stalets

Citrus Country - This Heat.

Citrus Country is Milo McNulty, the acclaimed talent behind previous projects Morning Smoke and Method Actress. Returning under a fresh name, the London-based artist is set to release a new track ‘This Heat’.

When Milo’s writing style began to move beyond Morning Smoke’s ‘wall of noise’, he decided he needed a clean split from the group. With a penchant for experimenting with his artistry, Milo moved to London to launch Citrus Country and work on a new set of songs with Chris Zane (Passion Pit, The Walkmen) at Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch.

This Heat is the first of three singles - a unique dreamy song that layers complex electronic production with washy guitars and pensive tones. Carrying influence from Milo’s noisy post-punk days, some fuzzy guitars find their way in and there is still a great energy to the otherwise calm track. On top of it all perch Milo’s poetic lyrics that ruminate on

With previous acclaim from The Guardian, Clash, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit and BBC Radio, and experience playing some of the UK’s high-profiled shows, including The Great Escape, Citrus Country is set to make a name once again for himself as one of the most exciting new acts in London.

Speaking about the track, Milo said “This Heat was written during a period of my life where I found myself questioning my identity and purpose . The song aims to express feelings of despondency and loss however it was important to me that although the song sounded melancholy there was a sense of beauty and joy beneath it.”

CITRUS COUNTRY · This Heat

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Moonshine - IDWW.

Moonshine tell us their story, they also produce some wonderful music: "We are Moonshine, an indie-folk-pop band currently based in Israel. Our music is characterized by a combination of both acoustic and electric sounds along with thought-out lyrics and two voices trying to tell a story.

It all started in a rehearsal room at the well known “Rimon school of music”. With an old songbook that had piled up dust, we slowly found ourselves performing every week.

The band was formed by the end of 2018 by the band's lead singers Coral Oulu and Oshri Bitton and together with the other members of the band (Omer Yihye, Amit Mintz and David Frider) we released our debut E.P "Come back home”.

The E.P entered some international playlists on Spotify, the editors' choice at KAN 88 and a successful Netflix series in Sweden (Älska mig).

In the past year, between quarantines, we continued to create and finish our debut album, which was mostly funded by the "Headstart"crowdfunding project and in which we raised 50,000 NIS".

 

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Ben Stalets - Everybody's Laughing (Album).

Taking cues from 60s and 70s musical influences such as John Prine, Leonard Cohen, Warren Zevon, Todd Snider, Willie Nelson, and even Prince, Toledo native Ben Stalets addresses the thorns in his side on new record, Everybody’s Laughing, both personal and worldly. 

The songs were not written with an overarching theme in mind, but when it came time for the album art concept, it was the “cult leader” vibe that gave him a sense of what the underlying vision is: Collective suffering allows us to collectively suffer less.

The album is a reference to a quote from Mark Twain’s social commentary book, Following the Equator: “The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven.”

“The way I look at it,” says Stalets, “everybody is laughing, which means everyone is suffering— we’re all in this together.”

 

Ben Stalets · Everybody's Laughing

Sadie Campbell - Rebecca McCartney - Mikaela Finne - Ben Heffernan - Gal Musette

Sadie Campbell - Darkroom (E.P).

Singer/songwriter Sadie Campbell has released her new EP Darkroom. Campbell wrote Darkroom about her own mental health struggle in 2020, when isolation and uncertainty gave way to despair and, eventually, healing. On three gripping songs, the Canadian-born, Nashville-based artist tracks the mind’s disorienting descent into depression. “2020 for me felt like a darkroom," says Campbell, "It was a lot of isolation and alone time, but it was a place of creativity and development."

Last month, Campbell shared the EP’s effervescent opening track “Fade,” co-written by Vinnie Paolizzi. As Campbell explains, "’Fade’ is about finding comfort in the darkness. Being able to sit in the low points of life because you know they will eventually pass."

Holler.Country recently named Campbell New Artist of The Week saying, “Country-folk is built on the beauty of lyricism, but sometimes a particular musical interlude ends up saying far more than any one verse can. That's the case with singer/songwriter Sadie Campbell's single 'Fade.’ Across a slow, and increasingly intense, opening build of electric guitar, synths and vocals, Campbell captures the difficulty of breaking out of a darker moment.”

The Tennessee Star also spotlighted Campbell recently, raving that the “singer-songwriter has a strong sense of self, and the music that pours out of her is meaningful, purposeful, and it will draw you in like a moth to a flame.”

Campbell grew up in Pritchard, BC, a town so small she says it consists of just one general store. There, she sang in the church choir before taking off for the open-mic scene in Vancouver, ultimately dropping everything to try her luck in Music City, USA. Years of couch-surfing turned to a home in Nashville where Campbell found full-time work performing in the city’s bustling honky-tonks. No stranger to odd-jobs, she has worked as a mail carrier and karaoke host, and has serviced airplanes and flagged logging roads on ATVS in Canada.

Sadie Campbell · Darkroom

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Rebecca McCartney - Remember Less.

Rebecca McCartney returns to the city where she was raised by a family of musicians and nerds, now with her own sound and much to say. She grew up immersed in NYC’s classical music world and her early songwriting eventually led to the release of an indie-folk record under the duo name Garden Party (2020) with her close friend, Jakob Leventhal. 

Now, after a college career studying jazz and playing in an R&B band, McCartney is preparing to release her genre-bending debut EP, How You Feel. Calling on her eclectic musical influences and experiences, the upcoming record generates an edgy, ethereal sound that celebrates McCartney’s buttery vocals and absorbing lyrical insights.

Here's what she had to say about it: "I wrote this song in my college house in Minnesota, thinking about the boy I had just left behind in New York, where I'm from. You can hear me working through the day-by-day loss of the tactile feeling of our time together as his memory got farther away, even as I was trying to convince myself I didn't care. 

It's a moody fusion of R&B, indie rock, and wondering whether someone's moving on faster than you. I worked with my close friend and collaborator, Jakob Leventhal, who produced the whole EP that Remember Less is on".

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Mikaela Finne - Time Stands Still (Album).

With its Telecaster leads, acoustic strums, mid-tempo waltzes and tales of outlaw women and lost love, one might naturally assume Time Stands Still, the new album from Mikaela Finne, is a product of Nashville, TN.

Truth be told, Finne was born and spent her childhood on the coast of Finland in Vaasa, and now hails from Stockholm, Sweden, where the album was recorded with producer Brady Blade (Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and the Dukes, Jewel, Indigo Girls, Buddy & Julie Miller). Somewhat fitting for an album that’s laden with contrasts, Finne actually found as much inspiration in heavy metal as she did the country genre during her youth, the rebellious spirit she found in both prompting her to pursue her musical passion.

Like her contemporaries Sarah Shook and Lydia Loveless, Finne’s emotive vibrato is its own instrument, adding an undeniable passion to her songs and making lines like “I’ve lost count, how many times you’ve broken my heart“ even more impactful. “The country music comes from my dad,” she explains, recalling his love for Dolly Parton and Creedence. “The word ‘outlaw’, for me, [means] you do something that you love regardless of what anybody else thinks about what you’re doing. … When I was a teenager, the music and the heavy metal that I listened to were totally outlaw.”

While topics like self-awareness and confidence are certainly not new terrain for a songwriter to excavate, Finne puts her own spin on them, with lead-off track “What If I” revealing a realization that sometimes self-confidence means admitting a sense of uncertainty and taking a step back to think things through if another’s intentions don’t seem to be pure. Set to a swinging rhythm section and tasty guitar riffs, and wrapping up with a nice classic country modulation that exudes swagger and confidence, the track finds Finne “second guessing … stressing … going out of [her] mind,” but make no mistake, as she also warns the listener, she can be a bit headstrong and they best get on board or get left behind.

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Ben Heffernan - drive in movies (E.P).

Ben Heffernan’s third EP, drive in movies, sees the Canadian Folk Music Award nominated singer-songwriter move into new sonic and lyrical territory. drive in movies is a personal, cinematic collection of songs that chronicles key events in the life of a teenager: falling in love for the first time, losing someone for the first time, frustration with the world around you, and the speed in which one’s young life tends to change.

After spending the larger part of the second half of 2018 and the first half of 2019 playing over 150 shows across Canada, Ireland and the UK, Heffernan chose to record his by then well road-tested group of new songs at home. While “Drive In Movies” acknowledges Heffernan’s roots in what he describes as “classic singer-songwriter folk-pop”, it also reflects his love for 80s-inspired maximalist pop/rock productions and widescreen, stadium-sized ballads. The songs are neatly tied together through the use of vintage movie samples, which lends the EP a conceptual, unified feel.

Lead single “Movie Nights”, an up-tempo, 80s-inspired pop/rock track, reflects the frustration with the questions asked about a generation determined to see change as well as the “nagging feeling that we might just be living through the end of the world as we know it”, as Heffernan suggests. This is bookended by “When the Stars Collide”, a stadium-sized two-part singalong that leaves more questions unresolved than it answers. This is intentional, as Heffernan points out, as it “reflects the people that this EP is really about – most of us haven’t turned 21 yet. None of us have any kind of real resolution to our stories yet either.”

Ben Heffernan has become recognized as a young Canadian artist to watch over the last few years, after being nominated for Young Performer of the Year and performing at the Canadian Folk Music Awards after the release of his 2018 EP “Home”, and contributing a cover of Tom Petty’s “Angel Dream” to a Petty tribute compilation that included artists such as Matt Mays, Terra Lightfoot, and Royal Wood. Roots Music Canada called his Canadian Folk Music Award performance “a highlight”, while Spill Magazine called his cover of Angel Dream “incredible”. Among an ever-growing list of dive bars, bowling alleys, moving trains, and hair salons, Heffernan’s touring schedule has seen him play the Winnipeg Folk Festival, JUNOfest, and the Ruby Sessions in Dublin, Ireland (previous acts have included Ed Sheeran and Mumford & Sons), among other high-profile festivals and live appearances.

Ben Heffernan · drive in movies

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Gal Musette - Julia.

Gal Musette is the nom de plum of Grace Freeman, a musical prodigy who began writing piano based lyrical compositions and performing at open mics in her home city of San Clemente, CA at the age of 10. Her graceful approach to melody-driven indie-folk and French chansons has captured audiences all over Southern California. At age 14, inspired by The Magnetic Fields’ triple album 69 Love Songs, Gal recorded her own collection titled 70 Love Songs, which caught the attention of the band, and won her an opening slot on a few of their Midwestern U.S. tour dates. 

In more recent years, Gal has opened for several renowned artists such as Macy Gray, Suzanne Vega, Todd Snyder, and Donavon Frankenreiter. While her artist name is taken from bal-musette, the accordion-based, waltz-style French instrumental music, Gal’s primary inspiration is drawn from songwriters including Joni Mitchell, Regina Spektor, Bjork, Cocteau Twins, Burt Bacharach, Irving Berlin and The Cure.

In October 2021, Gal will be releasing her debut album, Backwards Lullaby, featuring a vocal duet with one of her biggest musical inspirations, Rufus Wainwright. The upcoming album explores the pangs of hopeless romances and unrequited love, what it’s like to move beyond idealized love into the acceptance of what is real and constant, as well as the cyclical nature of life and love in relationships.

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Purple Pilgrims - The Velveteins - Maygen & The Birdwatcher - Alicia Stockman - M. Byrd

Purple Pilgrims - Ancestors Watching.

Sister duo Purple Pilgrims have released the third part of a trilogy of Super 8 films that were made with friend and fellow musician Gary War. ‘Ancestors Watching’ is taken from the band’s album Perfumed Earth which was released via Flying Nun Records in what seems like another world; pre-pandemic. Due to one thing or another the sisters were delayed in releasing the third instalment, then with the emergence of Covid-19, it was temporarily lost to the archives. This is the final piece of Purple Pilgrims’ current story left to share.

“The video is our take on an ancient ritual. We were thinking about folkloric traditions, and of course our ancestors. The song is largely about being kind to oneself, and the idea that muddling our way through life can feel less daunting when we consider all our family branching out behind us, holding wisdom and strength. It’s an idea that can offer comfort when we’re feeling lost. We had this really simple idea loosely based around a maypole dance - the ancient celebration of oncoming warmer weather and new growth. May celebrations are so optimistic, always looking forward - which felt fitting as the song itself is about a new beginning too in a way.”

 this video was filmed by Gary War in the summer of 2019, freely on a hillside in Tāmaki Makaurau, with their ancestors watching on (amused we presume). Concept and art direction by Clementine and Valentine Nixon and makeup by Jessica Hunt.

As Purple Pilgrims, sisters Clementine and Valentine Nixon make music that is at once spacious and sensual, swooning and spellbound. The sisters’ intertwined voices soar and slow dive, radiating a rich spectrum of experience: journeys, homecomings, and great longing.

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The Velveteins - Cosmic Saturation.

Soaked in the bright psychedelia of the 1960’s and dipped in the indie rock explosion of the new millennium, The Velveteins are best described as a bridge between the two. Inspired after living out of a camper van on the beaches of Australia for a year, frontman Spencer Morphy returned to Canada and started the band with co-songwriter Addison Hiller in 2014. Later joined by Dean Kheroufi and Danger Sedmak, the foursome have since made a name for themselves for their incendiary live performances.

Radiating hazy energy, “Cosmic Saturation” has a trippy, laxed aura with a structurally, pop-rock sensibility. The vintage twangs on the guitars surf over an ocean of edgy, quirky melodies and soft drums that lend to a more modern indie feel. The vocals maintain a relaxed feel allowing the subtle, psychedelic atmosphere to stand out next to charming, gritty guitar riffs.

While travelling across the USA, the band were exposed to a colorful palette of sights and sounds, with a fusion of delirium, euphoria and chaos spinning the web of inspiration for their new single. Morphy shares, “Cosmic Saturation was largely inspired by our lives at the time, being constantly travelling and the lifestyle we were living playing so many shows. Driving across the country from the east to west coast, watching the interstates fly by in the dawn.” Keeping the themes of their tracks very much in the present day, their sonic taste buds draw them back to the classic flavours of the 60s, resulting in a throwback sound reminiscent of Babe Rainbow, Foxygen and Deerhunter.

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Maygen & The Birdwatcher - Jigsaw.

Minnesota based folk turned genre-bending Americana-Newgrass duo Maygen & The Birdwatcher, have just released "Jigsaw," the track is an "honest look at the dynamics of what family life really is.

Maygen Lacey is an accomplished, Midwest CMA nominated singer/songwriter with millions of streams on Spotify from listeners around the world. Noah Neumann is a wicked talented guitar virtuoso with a taste for Delta Blues. The combination of the two is Maygen & The Birdwatcher, an indie-folk duo turned genre-bending Americana-Newgrass and Soul experience you need to hear!

In many respects, Maygen and Noah couldn’t be more different. From upbringing and musical taste to the Minneapolis vs Saint Paul debate, there are few things these two agree on. The short list includes: sarcasm, the great outdoors, quality beer, and having a good ‘ol time. Maygen & Noah’s 2018 debut album, “The People We Don’t Choose,” drew on their distinctly different musical influences including Brandi Carlile, Florence + The Machine, and Balmorhea to create a collection of songs that explored family, addiction, loss and navigating the people in their lives. With heartbreak and hope intertwined throughout, it was very well received. Its single, “Comeback” currently spins on local radio, including The Current’s Radio Heartland

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Alicia Stockman - Stay Between the Lines (feat. Mary Bragg).

Utah-based country meets Americana singer-songwriter Alicia Stockman has released her new single "Stay Between The Lines." Conceived during a long journey home on the highway from New Mexico, the song is a reflection on how we all can sometimes “dance between right and wrong and personal limits and boundaries to keep life interesting.” Featuring a twangy Americana melody, reverb-drenched guitar, and dynamic vocal harmonies, this is the perfect tune to get lost in during your summer road trip.

Alicia Stockman is a Utah-based folk-meets-Americana singer-songwriter whose music pulls back the veil to reveal everyday vulnerability. Her songs are written like intimate moments, drawing listeners into a relatable emotional journey.

At a young age, Alicia Stockman began her deep love for music, compelled by the vivid storytelling of powerhouse songwriters including Patty Griffin, Brandi Carlile and Jewel.  After performing in a loud rock n’ roll band playing bars with sticky floors and belting out Stevie Wonder tunes, Alicia began writing her own music more seriously.  Realizing her new songs didn’t have a place in a loud bar with a party atmosphere, she branched out and started playing more intimate venues, quickly finding her home in the folk and Americana scene. Her whisky-dipped soulful vocals and creative takes on day-to-day realities soon sparked the interest of “Nashville’s Americana Queen” Mary Bragg who began collaborating with Alicia on her new album.

Her upcoming debut 10-track full-length album is entitled These Four Walls and is a collection of  "songs to make you feel and feel seen." The album says, “I see you. I've been there. I understand.” Written over a three year period, These Four Walls is a luminous roots release  infused with gritty blues rock guitar licks and attention worthy melodies.

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M. Byrd - Orion.

After his two singles "Mountain" and "Morning Sun", M. Byrd now releases his first EP titled Orion - four songs full of vastness and warmth, carried by the feeling of passing trees outside a backseat car window and the melancholic homesickness that sometimes goes along with. Just one year ago, the first sign of life appeared with "Mountain" and the interim summary is impressive: M. Byrd has become one of the most exciting newcomers on the European music scene, counts 3.5 million streams on just two songs, was recommended in the French Rolling Stone as well as in American blogs. This summer he plays at tastemaker festivals like Immergut, in September at the Reeperbahn Festival and next year he will support indie dance king Roosevelt on his full European tour.

Wafting reverb tails, the casually stoic drums - Byrd's music sounds like Guadagigno's "Call me by your name," at times reminiscents of Tom Petty, Sufjan Stevens or Kurt Vile, while the guitars first sound like Sonic Youth and then fade away like The War on Drugs. In the title single, "Orion" M.Byrd remembers a long-time-nameless turtle that lived with his family for years - without anyone being bothered by the fact that it has no name. In the end, it is named Orion. "It's living in the past, you held me in your hands and never called me Orion". In the accompanying video, director Constantin Timm accompanies the artist and turtle on a journey through the desert.

M.Byrd’s timeless songs shine with a feeling of strength and self-understanding that can be rarely found at the beginning of a young musician’s career - they transport the listener to the American west coast, emitting a sense of melancholic future and euphoric youth, urging them to trust their intuition and find their inner-self. “I spent many years soaking up personal and musical experiences and I’ve been learning a lot in different studios and touring situations. The music I make is thus inspired by being on the road, moving on and allowing growth to happen. I realized that the experiences on my path might also inspire other people and I hope that this will continue in the future with the songs we release.”

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