Lost Tuesday Society - Annabel Gutherz - Charm of Finches - Sylvie

Lost Tuesday Society - Lights.

Swansea Folk-pop aficionados ‘Lost Tuesday Society’ have announced a brand new album entitled ‘Bee Skin Rug’ which will be released independently on Friday 22nd of October.

‘Lights’ the first single to be taken from the ‘Bee Skin Rug’ album is a terrific uplifting burst of energy that works as a fantastic preview of what we can expect from their new works. Harmony flooded and certainly becoming a real automatic-earworm, ‘Lights’ really excels and shows off ‘Lost Tuesday Society’s new material to a T, and accompanied with the production of acclaimed long-time friend and producer Joe Gibb, LTS are kitted out to establish themselves as a tour de force in their respected genres.

Lost Tuesday Society are Jay Browning (bass) Alfie Scheinman (guitar, flute, vocals) Sarah Birch (guitar, vocals) Darran Browning (guitar, vocals) Simon Jones (drums) Kate Ronconi (violin, vocals). Lost Tuesday Society are a 6 piece band who have collectively come from a variety of differing musical backgrounds and therefore bring with them a range of personal influences; from traditional and alternative folk, grunge and shoe-gaze, funk, psychedelia and rock.

The result is a unique blend of music with intricate compositions, strong hooks and melody lines combining in a huge dynamic sound that has people up on their feet.

With four vocalists (Sarah, Kate, Darran and Alfie) in the band the harmonies are interesting, beautiful and an important element to the Lost Tuesday Society sound. With a heavier back line and driving rhythm section ( Jay and Simon) and two accomplished guitarists (in Alfie and Darran) the new material presented today has a maturity and edge which is beautifully enhanced by weaving strings (Kate),flute(Alfie) and melodica (Sarah).

Lost Tuesday Society · Lights

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Annabel Gutherz - Wild Side / Remnant.

Today, Montreal-based singer & songwriter Annabel Gutherz releases her debut album, Loose Ends. The 11-track record includes 6 previously released singles and 5 brand new tracks. The album was co-produced by Dominique Messier, a long time band member for Céline Dion and owner of Studio Piccolo in Montreal, Quebec.

Loose Ends is stylistically eclectic yet entirely authentic. It’s a comforting record that cathartically encapsulates life’s unfinished moments: “Many times in my life, I was unable to get closure. Instead, I was left to bear the weight of the words I never said and the inescapable memories that tethered me to my past, suspending time. Understanding my need to let go of these ‘loose ends,’ I turned to song,” Annabel says.

Throughout the album, Annabel explores these complex and imperfect defining life experiences with a diaristic touch. Her ardent and perspective storytelling is on full display, complimented by honeyed melodies, layered instrumentation and full-bodied vocals. She takes listeners on a journey as she writes from the heart with raw honesty and emotional conviction.

Annabel Gutherz made her debut in 2018 with the release of “Legends,” a philanthropic song whose proceeds are donated to education-based charities. After spending the past few years honing her musical talents at Berklee College of Music, the young singer-songwriter has come into her own as a promising artist to watch. On top of her musical endeavors and academic career, Annabel is the published author of children’s picture book series, Annie’s Pajammies. A portion of the proceeds from every Annie’s Pajammies unit sold is donated to help facilitate access to education in countries across the globe.

Annabel Gutherz · Annabel Gutherz - Wild Side

Annabel Gutherz · Annabel Gutherz - Remnant

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Charm of Finches - Heavy.

Sister indie-folk duo Charm of Finches today share their new single "Heavy," which is off of their forthcoming album Wonderful Oblivion, set for release on October 22nd.

According to the sisters, "This song is an expression of the sadness and frustration we feel about the state of the world. The song reflects on how, in this modern world, we have in many ways lost our connection to nature. 

Consumerism and a culture of narcissism are coping mechanisms to fill the void where that future shock, emptiness and sadness would be." Featuring Mabel on vocals and cello, Ivy on vocals and violin, with Ledwell adding percussion, piano and synth bass, the song is beautifully melancholic and folk-inspired, delivering a timely and important message about our sacred connection with nature.

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Sylvie - Shooting Star.

Sylvie's self-titled debut EP is due out this Friday on Terrible Records, and today the band are sharing a final single from the EP, a track called "Shooting Star," ahead of its upcoming release. The EP was announced in July alongside a feature on Aquarium Drunkard and the release of a single from which the band take their name. 

That single is a cover of a song from an obscure 1970s record by Ian Matthews called Later That Same Year, and a track that serves as a partial inspiration for the band's existence. Before they adopted it as a name, the band (which is led by some time Drugdealer & Golden Daze member Benjamin Schwab and features Marina Allen and Sam Burton) started using the term "a Sylvie" to refer to "a song from the past that’s incredible but for whatever reason, is basically unknown," and the group's sound is a sort of homage to lost gems like Matthew's songs, and the recordings of Mad Anthony, the Southern California group that Benjamin's father John Schwab played in during the '70s.

The band's latest single shares a similar archival bent and an appreciation for the secret songwriting gems of both past and present Los Angeles. An unreleased song that Schwab first conceived of 10 years ago with a friend and fellow songwriter called Stanley Thiel, it's a track that took on personal significance to Schwab.

"This song was one that was floating around my world for a long time," Schwab explains. "It was conceived by my good friend Stanley Thiel a while ago. He is an unknown legendary songwriter in my eyes who has inspired me and other musicians around Los Angeles over the years. There are these songwriters like him who aren’t  in the scene and don’t really play the game, but who write incredible timeless songs. You won’t hear them unless you go looking for them. I wanted to put this song on some sort of a platform for people to hear and to acknowledge the song and him."

It was a mantra/anthem type song that our whole friend group knew and loved. It was never released, and my nostalgia for that period of my life was strong, remembering a time when collaboration and community was a lot easier than nowadays being in LA and pursuing music as a profession. The song was played many times by different people and on a lot of camping trips where we would all sing it; I always loved that it brought people together. "

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Parrot Dream - Taxiway - Eddie Davis

Parrot Dream - Red Circle.

NY-based dream-pop duo Parrot Dream are sharing a new single, "Red Circle." Parrot Dream is the Brooklyn via Santiago, Chile duo of Christina Appel and Gonzalo Guerrero. Good Eye released their debut, Light Goes, which dealt with themes of disconnected memory and loss as the partners grappled with their different senses of home.

"Red Circle" is part of a set of material that they had planned on recording in a studio in 2020 and ended up recording in their home throughout the year. It's also their first new work operating fully as a duo.

"'Red Circle' has its origins in an older song that we pulled apart and rebuilt. The central song idea for this track is one we’ve held on to for a while as it’s evolved through versions and phases. The earlier version was lighter and minimalist, and we moved the song to a bit of a more somber place with space for the melody to expand. The lyrics allude to a lush, hazy kind of love that burns bright and heavy. It’s a love that requires negotiation under seductive influences; trying to hold onto clarity while consciously giving in."

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Taxiway - Prime Meridian.

Taxiway began as a lo-fi bedroom solo pop project in early 2020. The idea came in late 2019 from a Spotify playlist Taxiway founder Mike Aurand created to listen to while traveling. Aurand says, “My wife Emily and I used to strategically choose which song we’d each listen to while our plane was taking off. It was a sort of ritual for us, the official start of whatever trip we were taking.” The comprised playlist consisted of chill electronica, trip-hop, jazz, and occasional singer/songwriter tunes. Aurand says, “I initially planned to make instrumental music that resembled the songs on my travel playlist, songs to listen to while the plane taxied down the runway, the quiet, tense moment before takeoff. When the pandemic hit, I decided to keep my mind occupied by writing real songs rather than just making instrumental loops. I began missing the thrill of traveling, which brought new significance to the name.” He drew from influences like Bjork, The Postal Service, and The XX and began recording in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since Aurand shared a small one-bedroom apartment with his wife, who was studying for her bar exam only ten feet away, he had to figure out creative ways to make music without disturbing her. He recorded his vocal parts in a hushed manner, softly crooning into the microphone rather than singing loudly and forcefully. Gently strummed guitar replaced the abrasive hitting of the past. He omitted distortion pedals and power chords altogether in favor of reverb and delay effects. The resulting sound was unlike anything he’d previously recorded. He released a four-track self-titled EP of songs from those bedroom recording sessions.

Then something happened in late 2020 that changed things: A vaccine was approved, an actual *end* to the pandemic seemed possible, and Aurand’s musician friends started chatting about performing live again in 2021.  Aurand scrapped the EP and started from scratch. He sent the demos to his two friends, Joseph Jared (bass) and Caila Singleton (drums). They played their first show as a three-piece band at the Springwater Supper Club on July 21, 2021, which also happened to be Aurand’s three-year wedding anniversary. Their album, Absence, is set for release on November 5, 2021.

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Eddie Davis - Billboards & Barracudas.

Born Edward Davis McKenna in 1989, singer/songwriter Eddie Davis expressed a passion for entertaining at a young age and portrayed a natural ability to do so. 

Surrounded by vinyl, he was influenced by 60s and 70s era classic rock music and inspired by big vocals and colourful imaginative lyrics. 

This passion transformed into a genuine desire to emulate the monumental artists of that time through his own meaningful writings and performances. Using that passion to hone his craft, he is releasing his first solo project with his debut single, “Billboards & Barracudas”.

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Allison Lorenzen - Alyssa Gengos - Séan McCann

Allison Lorenzen - Mirrors.

Still reeling from the gut-punch of the distortion filled lead single “Vale” released earlier this year, many of us wondered what a full-length LP by the Denver based artist would sound like. Using the dystopian fever-dream of the aforementioned Midwife collaboration as a noise floor, the 8 songs on Tender spiral upwards like worried smoke against a low cloud ceiling, reaching towards the light but always within sight of the loamy earth surface. Shepherding lush, heavy compositions by way of synths, keys, guitars and subtle percussion, Tender finds Allison Lorenzen at her most vulnerable. Nursing old wounds from the end of a relationship and her musical project School Dance, Tender is also filled a renewed sense of heartbreak-made-triumphant that comes after the wisdom of solitude, allowing oneself to be taken care of by family and friends and, finally, documenting the way through.

The way through figures heavily on Tender. Imagery of passages through liminal spaces are replete. “Vales” occur as emotional valleys as well as McCarthy-inspired end times, “Mirrors” are portals into deep self-reflection, “Tentacles” keep pulling us back into old patterns, old memories. Musically, this non-linear approach to healing is explored through songs that move from light to dark and back again, often within the same song, if not within the same phrase.

Lorenzen’s voice has an uncanny choral quality to it. Taking a phrase that would have sounded quite beautiful sung straight in her smoky, ephemeral delivery, Lorenzen frequently raises the stakes by taking a single word through several octave changes within the same breath. Treading similar musical paths to Beach House in her penchant for writing quiet, world-shifting crescendos, the nocturnal, Styx-guiding Dream Pop of Julee Cruise and the heavy, distortion filled guitars and world-weary vocals of Miserable and frequent Tender collaborator Midwife, Lorenzen’s work comes alive in its own cinematic universe.

Recorded in Colorado, Tender is Allison Lorenzen’s debut full length. Originally intended to come out this summer, an unprecedented supply chain disruption has caused the album’s release date to be moved back to November 2021. Whited Sepulchre Records will be releasing a new single every month prior to the album’s release date.

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Alyssa Gengos - Mechanical Sweetness.

Brand new Egghunt Records signing Alyssa Gengos today releases her new single/video Mechanical Sweetness.

Quote from Alyssa: “Mechanical Sweetness” is a song about my immense frustration with the way we form human (and more specifically, romantic) connections nowadays. Social media and dating apps have turned human interaction into a painful game. These digital ways of communication have caused me so much stress, and my attempts at forging relationships through them have been short-lived and veiled with thin layers of politeness. 

When the charade between two people who don’t really know each other finally ends, these relationships can be exposed for what they frequently are: unbalanced, unhealthy, and lacking compassion. Sonically, this song mirrors my experiences with largely digital relationships. In the beginning, there are quiet moments of sparse communication where anxiety runs high, eventually leading to an outburst of emotion followed by a period of insecurity and self-questioning.

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Séan McCann - Shantyman's Life.

What does it mean to be a “Shantyman”? Much less know what he may do with his time? His life? Leave it to Canadian Celtic folk-rocker Séan McCann to spin the yarn that’ll provide all the answers in this, his new single available now!

Depending upon which side of the Atlantic your ancestors come from, a “Shantyman” is either a simple sailor, or a lumberjack, who leads his fellow labourers in song. Listen to Newfoundland’s McCann, and his new acoustic fable of the same name, and find yourself as both lost in the woods or at sea with an album chock full of anecdotes, and spirited arrangements.

A musician by birth, a professional songwriter since the 80s, McCann has become a tour de force in Canada’s rich musical landscape and history — not only as a solo artist, but also as a former bandmate of world-renowned and beloved folk rock band Great Big Sea, a group he co-founded and performed with until his exit in 2013.

Over his incredible career, McCann has dropped five successful solo albums, each touching on subjects ranging from life in his home-country to tackling cultural moments like the infamous Fort McMurray, Alberta, wildfires (2016) in which he partnered with the Canadian Red Cross. In conjunction with his philanthropy work, McCann also went on to organize a songwriters benefit in 2017 in support of veterans suffering with PTSD and addiction, enlisting his fellow musician friends, Joel Plaskett, Sarah Harmer and Jeremy Fisher. McCann’s good deeds would not go unnoticed – the musician earned the Order of Canada for his advocacy in 2020.

Coming to terms with the hauntings of his past, which ultimately resulted in a spiralling battle with alcohol addiction, coming clean and owning his truth has been paramount to who he’s become as a husband, a father, a musician, and a human. Armed with the strength and support of his wife, Andrea Aragon, McCann co-penned his first book One Good Reason (April, 2020). “It’s the story of how love saved their marriage, and music saved his life. It is the story of a man freed from the weight of a lie; a man who is changing his narrative and never forgetting... that he is not alone.”

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Angelina Luzi - Gone To Color (feat. Kurt Wagner)

Angelina Luzi - Beast.

Italian English independent female artist, Angelina Luzi launches a haunting new project which kicks off with single ‘Beast’ as she draws her listener in with her captivating, emotive vocals, which beguile and enchant as she bares her soul on this striking alt-pop ballad.

Being Italian and hugely inspired by British trip hop artists like Portishead and Massive Attack it’s clear to see how this passionate, cinematic soundscape has made its way to being released ahead of many more gems Angelina worked on during the recent lockdowns.

A fully creative artiste who not only writes, performs, and produces all her own songs and has been building up a dedicated loyal following since moving to London several years ago. Angelina explains on ‘Beast, “I wanted to treat the lyrics as though they were from the pages of my most intimate diary. On ‘Beast’ I fight with the addiction of a toxic relationship. One that is deeply dangerous, yet so familiar and misleadingly safe.”

Shot in Italy the video vividly explores in lush tones, the struggle of trying to escape something very intense while being caught up in self-destructive loop. Angelina employs a beautiful combination of electronic pads, soothing strings and ethereal harmonies to wrap us in a web of romance within a deceiving Parisian style cocoon.

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Gone To Color - Just Smile (feat. Kurt Wagner).

“When Gone To Color contacted me about working together I was struck by their sonics. They were pretty intense and inspiring so the work was a pleasure. At the time I had no idea who these guys were but they make good art and that’s enough for me, plus they seem to appreciate my way with words which is big and their approach in collaboration is right and true." -Kurt Wagner

Gone To Color is the rock/electronic duo of Tyler Bradley Walker and Matt Heim, formed in Cincinnati and now split between Atlanta and Washington, DC. Gone To Color’s sound has been described as “shapeshifting...subdued, dreamy, and surreal.” The duo’s eclecticism makes categorization hard to pin down; though, combinations of electronics, guitars, and vocals seem ubiquitous in the band’s aesthetic. Walker and Heim often synthesize their instrumental compositions through collaboration. Gone to Color’s latest single, “Just Smile,” features guest vocals from Lambchop's Kurt Wagner.

Gone to Color’s debut album, out October 15th, is stacked with an incredible host of collaborators, including Mercury Music Prize nominee Martina Topley-Bird (Massive Attack and Tricky collaborator), Pat Sansone of Wilco, sound designer Richard Devine, Angus Andrew of Liars, GRAMMY nominee Ade Blackburn of Clinic, and Jessie Stein of The Luyas. The record was co-produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Grandaddy).

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