Isla Craig - H.C. McEntire - Una Rose - Cozy Slippers

Isla Craig - Moon.

Today, Toronto based songwriter Isla Craig has shared 'Moon', the second single to be taken from her forthcoming album Echo's Reach. Of her new single, Isla says: "The new single is my humble offering into the canon of 'Moon' songs across the ages. A song that is more a vibe and a vibe that asks us to suspend the harsh frequencies of earthbound folly for a moment of reflection and feeling. Keeping it psyche and casting a spell, the lessons of the moon of which I live to tell!"

For over a decade Isla Craig has created a formidable body of work, a unique musical vision last heard on 2018’s The Becoming and stretching back to 2012’s Both the one & the other, (an a cappella suite of songs featuring some of Toronto’s best known vocalists Daniela Gesundheit, Tamara Lindeman, Ivy Mairi, & Felicity Williams). 

With Echo’s Reach, Isla presents a sophisticated set of compositions that perfectly wrap her Highland influenced melodies in an organic blanket of musical peat formed from a mix of jazz, R&B and psychedelic folk. Leading a band of luminaries that include Evan Cartwright (drums), Ted Crosby (sax) and Mike Smith (bass), Isla showcases the affecting vocal presence that has made her an in-demand collaborator with artists such as Jennifer Castle and the spiritual jazz octet The Cosmic Range.

Isla summarises: “The album is a collection of songs that express an earnest desire for meditative paces and spaces, absorbing and reflecting the sacred grounds beneath concrete city life. Echo's Reach describes a desire to illuminate and walk in the transmissions and meditations of life between the fallow and the seed.”

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Photo - Heather Evans Smith

H.C. McEntire - Soft Crook.

H.C. McEntire shares her new single “Soft Crook” via Merge Records. An unfiltered reflection of navigating depression, the strikingly hopeful song is accompanied by a DIY music video she filmed herself. This weekend, H.C. McEntire will hit the road on a fall tour supporting Bob Mould, with stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Vienna and more.

“‘Soft Crook’ was an exercise in vulnerability and trust,” says McEntire. “At its narrative core, the lyrics expose my struggle with depression through an unfiltered lens—calling it what it is, shaking hands with it, unapologetically honoring the power of its grip. It’s a mysterious and unpredictable companion that can make walking this world feel like slogging through unforgiving fields of mud.” She explains, “Navigating the nuances of pandemic isolation while under a debilitating depression fog was the most alone I have ever felt. To embody grief honestly, to embrace its clumsy and unhinged corners—to survive—required efforts and elixirs of self-preservation. The chorus became an anthem, of sorts; a mantra for letting go of guilt in needing these things—whether medication or TV shows or other vices—to offer myself some grace.”

She continues, “I also wanted to capture a moment in time last fall when I’d opened myself back up to love; a way to summon the feeling of resting deeply in my girlfriend’s arms—that safety in hold, that transfer of both white-hot surrender and soft certainty, being touched strong and gentle at the same time; when guards are down and there is peace, if only for a moment, in the quiet consent of joy. So I walked to the front porch and snapped a photo of the late afternoon sky as proof, a reminder that there is much to feel, and much to lose. That love needs to be nurtured, even if stacked with unknowns. And we need to nurture ourselves as best we can, with whatever it takes to move towards another dawn.”

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Photo - Taryn Fleischmann

Una Rose - Resolutions.

“What good comes / from you still believing?” asks Montreal’s Una Rose in “Resolutions,” the opening song on her ephemeral and exploratory debut Myth Between. The solo project of Una Rose (Rosie) Long Decter from shoegaze duo Bodywash, Myth Between finds her trading walls of sound for delicate synths, crystalline vocals and deft lyricism. Far from an exercise in apathy, the EP probes the ineffable—the way feelings circulate and stick, laughter builds and dies—seeking hope in passing impressions.

Long Decter was named after her two grandmothers, Una Decter, a social activist in Winnipeg, and Rose Long, a music teacher in St. John’s. She grew up harmonizing at Newfoundland kitchen parties, playing open mics in Toronto, and studying the songwriting of Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. A move to Montreal at 17 drew her towards dream pop and experimental music, and she founded Bodywash with Chris Steward in 2014. In 2019, they released their debut full-length Comforter via Luminelle Recordings with a follow-up forthcoming in 2023. Long Decter has also refined her musicianship as a band member for rising local acts like Helena Deland and Magi Merlin.

Bringing these experiences together, Long Decter approaches the singer-songwriter tradition from an experimental bent, drawing inspiration from Julianna Barwick’s ambient echoes and Cate Le Bon’s unknowable moods, as well as Sara Ahmed’s theorizations of affect. Composing in her bedroom via synth and voice, Long Decter wrote Myth Between from 2019-2021. She then enlisted the help of electronic producer Yoon Rachel Nam, longtime collaborator Steward, and percussionists Andy Mulcair and Ryan White to flesh out the arrangements.

Mixed by Steve Eldon-Kerr and mastered by Tom Nixon, the EP’s six tracks blend the grounded storytelling of folk with otherworldly atmospherics, lifting Long Decter’s lyrics into a space between real and imagined. Beginning with her personal experiences and observations, the lyrics expand outward. “Partly” tells a story of desire on its way out the door. “Resolutions” is a reflection on phone calls back and forth with her father; “In the Garden Digging” a tribute to her mother’s pandemic planting.

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Cozy Slippers - I Can't Keep You Safe.

Cozy Slippers announce their return with the release of their self titled debut album on Kleine Underground Schallplatten (vinyl) and Subjangle (CD) on October 14th, 2022. The First single from the album was "Nobody Knows Me, Anyhow", a love letter to alienation. A trapped narrator finds solace in knowing that anonymity makes space possible.

"I Can’t Keep You Safe" is an eerie jangler that addresses major pandemic fear - that protecting loved ones was not possible. Previously Cozy Slippers released the 7" "A Million Pieces" (Kleine Underground Schallplatten 2019), and two EPs: ‘Postcards’ (Jigsaw Record 2018) and ‘Late Night In Summertime’ (self-released 2017).

In 2019, the band toured the UK, including an appearance at the Cambridge Indiepop All-dayer. The band largely recorded the album themselves, and it was mixed by Dylan Wall (Versing, Great Grandpa, and High Sunn) and mastered by Paul Gold (The Chills, Allah-lahs).

Cozy Slippers · I Can't Keep You Safe

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Nathaniel Bellows - Allison Lorenzen - Hannah Schneider - Derrero

Nathaniel Bellows - Well Water (feat. Shara Nova).

My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Nova joins Nathaniel Bellows on the single “Well Water,” just released through Harmon Blunt Music. The pairing–built upon multiple past collaborations– creates a conversation between the two contrasting voices, which in turn captures texture, contrast, atmosphere, beauty, and surprise.

“Well Water” swims in introspection while inventorying “the self” in moments of challenge, ambiguity, indecision, or indirection. Simply put, the message is: The search for one’s place in the world–or in one’s life–is ongoing, as long as you’re willing to participate. Bellows says, “I wrote this song throughout the pandemic, and in the wake of my father’s death, all the while reflecting on the question: What makes us who we are?”

The contrast of growing up surrounded by the quiet beauty of the natural world in rural New England and now living in New York City’s urban landscape creates tension in Bellows’ music. The songs are an ongoing dialogue between internal, reflective wonder and an external sense of outward, urgent searching.

Bellows works in three creative fields simultaneously–writing, music, and visual art– exploring a cohesive artistic point of view among the three mediums to undergird his songs. He says, “I explore emotional terrain with these various creative outlets in an attempt to understand–through different vantage points–what matters to me.” He writes about memory, affect, family, legacy, the natural world, human frailty, injury, redemption, and resilience. He says, “I’m interested in unresolved images and fragments of unfinished thought and dialogue.” The engine of most of his work–writing, music, and artwork–is the constant process of reconciling the past while existing, in an ever-changing state, in the present day.

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Photo - Jake Stephens

Allison Lorenzen - The Fourth Cycle.

As the weather is starting to cool down a bit we proudly bring you this appropriately autumnal single release of "The Fourth Cycle"  by Denver based Allison Lorenzen. A staple in her live shows, "The Fourth Cycle" centers Lorenzen's prodigious and classically trained piano and features a particularly tasty pop hook that is difficult to shake once it gets it's hooks in you.

Lyrically, it seems that Lorenzen is turning her face towards the other side of the cathartic nature of the critically acclaimed Tender released last year on Whited Sepulchre Records. Lorenzen states that "The Fourth Cycle", "explores themes of intimacy and change, and the spectrum of emotion -  from grief to empowerment - that arise from facing and allowing said change." If Tender charted a way out by going through the crushing span of personal tragedy, then "The Fourth Cycle" stands on the other side of it, looking back a bit more wisened and grateful.

Recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Mark Anderson in Colorado in 2022. The song was written on piano and then the recording was built around a live drum take which was sent through analog machines such as Space Echo, Binson Echo Rec, and spring reverb to create counter rhythms, bringing the track to life.

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Hannah Schneider - Ocean Letters (album).

From the beginning of her career, Hannah Schneider has established herself as a unique musician on the Danish scene. With her love of strong melodies and well crafted lyrics, she constantly treads new artistic paths, carrying the weight of contemplation as a companion. On her new album Ocean Letters, the classic piano composition and the evocative electronic elements form a seamless kinship and create a picture-saturated tale of time.

Ocean Letters is Hannah Schneider's first solo album in 7 years. Behind her, she has 3 highly acclaimed solo albums in her own name, while in recent years she has been busy in the electronic duo AyOwA, and the performance project Philip I Schneider. Hannah has been nominated for several Danish music awards and has performed all over Europe, the UK and the US with her captivating solo performances, where she live samples, loops and creates playful soundscapes on stage. In addition, her voice has appeared in several films and TV series, including the national DR TV series Ride Upon The Storm.

With Ocean Letters, she seeks out new landscapes again. The songs create an intimate connection between the neoclassical and the modern, the near and the universal, and emphasize her cinematic, evocative expression with strength and a human humility. The pandemic as a new worldwide condition became the beginning of the new songs. The album is inspired by the book Havbrevene  (The Sea Letters) by Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen - an exchange of letters between the sister oceans the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean who write together about life in the sea and on earth. 

Central to the songs are the piano and Hannah's spherical and evocative vocals, while the productions create budding hopes with flickering electronic elements. And while it's still the strong melodies that are the focal point for Hannah Schneider, the record marks a new sonic path, with a cinematic sound that creates strong images in the listener's mind.

After the years in the internationally recognized duo AyOwA, where Hannah has written and sung in Danish, she again wanted to write in English with the new songs. But the way of writing - in more direct, minimalist lines, which come from the spoken language has stuck with her ever since. “You write in a different way in your mother tongue. And even though my father was American and I grew up with English as my second language, I had to go around my mother tongue to find my own way in the English lyrics”.

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Derrero - High Side.

Celebrated Welsh band Derrero continue an unstoppable 26-year trajectory with their new album Curvy Lines. Recorded back in Nov 2021 the album sees Derrero exploring new ways of working to expand upon their sonic palette and distinctive use of cut and paste song writing. Many ideas were traded across the web and new material was rapidly realised during 4 days of marathon studio sessions.

Maintaining a resolutely DIY approach to music making Curvy Lines demonstrates a strident and confident band who remain steadfastly unafraid to swim against the tide and self-produce and self-release uncompromising music outside of the mainstream

The members of Derrero all met at Falmouth Art college in 1993: after studies, they evolved in Brighton before settling in Newport, Wales. There they released their debut single Tiny Shoes on Size 8 Records in 1997 and also their debut LP later that same year after signing to Big Noise records in Cardiff.

Since the bands foundation Derrero have released 4 critically acclaimed albums and toured with the likes of Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Sebadoh and Granddaddy as well as collaborating on the film ‘Beautiful Mistake’ with John Cale. The band also recorded three sessions for the legendary John Peel.

Derrero · High Side

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Thallo - Womb - Signe Marie Rustad - Lesley Pike

Photo - Abi Sinclair

Thallo - Pluo.

Upcoming Welsh artist Thallo shares new Welsh language single Pluo (transl. Feathering) and announces details of her forthcoming bilingual Crescent EP, inspired by a unique subject matter and one deeply personal to Thallo – immobility.

On new single Pluo, Thallo showcases her unique sound, one that is enveloping, otherworldly, and multi-instrumented, spanning bedroom and dream-pop with subtle, textured jazz infusions and contemporary classic touches, both ethereal and utterly enthralling.

Pluo translates as ‘feathering’ in English, meaning ‘lightly snowing’ which relates to the song’s poignant opening line “I gather dust which is feathering stillness.” Inspired by the effects of a sudden condition that Thallo suffered in 2020 which caused chronic knee pain and debilitating mobility issues, Pluo touches on the peculiar pain of watching the world return to normal following lockdown, whilst Thallo was trapped in what she describes as “My own personal lockdown.” As she expands “I felt so stuck, unable to return to my normal life. But most of all, the song is a cry of fear for the loneliness and hopelessness of being left behind whilst everyone else moves forward.”

Pluo’s accompanying video, a collaboration with Welsh channel Lŵp (S4C) produced and co-directed by Aled Wyn Jones and Andy Pritchard, takes inspiration from psychological horror and is filmed at the popular ghost-hunting spot Bron y Garth Hospital - a former 1800s workhouse/hospital now abandoned and frozen in-time. As Thallo explains “The setting perfectly mirrors Pluo’s lyrics of feeling stuck and deteriorating.”

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Photo - Ted Black

Womb - Oceans.

Flying Nun Records and Pōneke’s Womb are thrilled to announce the trio’s upcoming album, Dreaming of the Future Again — out digitally and on 180g black vinyl on November 11th, 2022.

Womb is made up of siblings Cello Forrester (vocals, guitar, strings), Haz Forrester (synth, guitar), and Georgette Brown (drums). Their music is a composite of the three and builds on the shoegaze and dream pop sounds they are inspired by.

Dreaming of the Future Again is Womb’s sophomore album, recorded between 2020 and 2022, between living rooms and bedrooms, and at their dear friend and collaborator Bevan Smith’s backyard studio, Circle Blue Studios. “Dreaming of the future again” is a phrase that sprang to mind for Cello as they woke up one morning, and these are the words that tether each song on the album together.

The album builds musically from where their previous album, Like Splitting the Head from the Body, left off. The arrangements have moments that are layered, warm, and ethereal, where Georgette's driving drums are met with percussive samples, Haz’s synths bend and rise, and Cello’s textured strings stretch across the tracks. There are also sparse moments that draw you to Cello’s direct vocal delivery, for example on the opening track, Sylvan’s Song, and later in The Dove.

Lyrically, the songs trace moments across the two years recording the album, drawing on a repeated lexicon for Cello: of light and refraction; butterflies; birds; and dreaming. Each song is both personal and allegorical, and looks at connection and the things we are tethered to.

The album art is a drawing of a star-flower by band member and artist Georgette — titled, “I want you to see above your head a beautiful, beautiful star”. The drawing is on the wall of Cello and Georgette’s kitchen. The title of this artwork comes from a book that Georgette’s dad, Justin, used to read to her, guiding a visualisation of a star that is your very own, one which you can carry with you everywhere you go.

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Signe Marie Rustad - Hello It's Me.

"Hello It’s Me" sings Signe Marie Rustad in her crystal clear, inimitable voice. And with that, she’s back, three years after the release of her successful third album, When Words Flew Freely. The above lyric is taken from a song bearing the same name, the first single off Rustad’s fourth album, Particles of Faith.

Of her new single, Rustad says: "'Hello It’s Me' is about peeling off the layers and finding strength within yourself to take control over your own narrative. The lyrics reflect upon reaching an empowering point of trusting your own judgement while navigating through complicated times: “I decide how I will feel about it all, I’m gonna keep it real.I prefer forgiveness, and finding a way that works, to maintaining stable fronts. I don't do well with feeling angry over a long period of time, it just shuts down all other emotions. So the last line of the song, “I’ll be the judge of the culprit of the crime, let go I’m leaving it behind,” is kind of a mantra: Set yourself free by letting go of anger and disappointment and get on with your life.”

Known for her poetic lyrics and clever songwriting, and backed by a tight knit band that’s been with her for years, Rustad’s new album offers a natural transition from the already classic When Words Flew Freely (WWFF). However, Particles of Faith also brings something completely new and fresh.

WWFF presented a broader, organic and piano-driven Laurel Canyon-sound, and less of the Americana sound present on Rustad’s first two releases. Particles of Faith is harder to place in any genre, other than in the broader singer-songwriter tradition, helmed by pioneers such as Joni Mitchell and Carole King. But Rustad also points to a host of other inspirations.

Jansen Records · Signe Marie Rustad - Hello It's Me (DWYBO Records)

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Lesley Pike - Paper Thin.

Lesley Pike's upcoming album, Wild, focuses on the resilience that comes after pain. Ahead of its October 28th release, she shares "Paper Thin," written with folk duo The Dunwells, a fragile yet hopeful reflection on a couple's fight that Pike overheard while staying at a hotel one night in Leeds, England.

"Oh god, have I ever sounded like this?" Pike asked herself as she tried to catch some sleep. The next morning, she and The Dunwells set out to write a song which feels tender but also quite optimistic and hopeful. Delicate lap steel guitar and Pike's vocal at the forefront tell a story of comparison and the shifting perceptions of conflict that come from overhearing such a personal row between strangers.

The evolution of singer-songwriter Lesley Pike’s musical journey takes centre stage with the release of Wild. The recording artist’s fourth disc is an accumulation of confidence and drive as well as an all-important focus: producing and creating music on her terms. The result of her ambitions? Twelve stunning recordings which represent new heights in Pike’s song craft—ranging from the personal into the universal. Take, for instance, the recently released, “Bar Américain” (September 9th). 

The song chronicles Pike’s powerful storytelling abilities by way of her lyrics, which share memories of a real-life romantic encounter she had in a bar in London, England. Lines such as “We run with wild abandon / with whiskey on our breath and in our veins / we talk like we have got forever / but we kiss like we’ve got no time to waste” provide a stool-side point of view into Pike’s elations and emotional epiphanies.

“I felt confident to produce myself because I could take more risks and open up in ways I never thought possible. In the past, I always thought people knew better than me, so I would give way…. This time, I’ve realized I don’t have to outsource—I can tap into who I am for the answers.”

 This same type of intimacy can be heard in songs such as “Home” and “Tall Tales,” which convey conversational anecdotes via lyrics and vocal delivery reminiscent of folk-country-pop greats, ranging from Dolly Parton and Father John Misty, as well as Jenny Lewis and Aimee Mann. Both “Home” and “Tall Tales” dig into Pike’s internal dialogue, making listeners feel as though they are being held close in Pike’s confidence, much in the same way an old friend would be.

Lesley Pike · Paper Thin

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DOWNGIRL - Mazey Haze - Angela Strehli - Smoke and Mirrors Sound System

DOWNGIRL - Manic.

Explosive and energetic femme nu punk / grunge-rockers DOWNGIRL have doused stages around their hometown in Gadigal land in their highly flammable sonic kerosene and are kicking things up a notch with the release of their track, 'Manic', out now.

Born out of the ashes of punk outfit BoysClub, DOWNGIRL formed online during the 2021 lockdown and are gaining plenty of momentum. Within the space of a year, they've supported FANGZ and Battlesnake, cutting their teeth on lineups for Doomed Friday, Bonez Queer Party, Winter Magic Revival Festival headlined by Hermitude, Haiku Hands and Urthboy, and are set to tear it up at Chopped Festival with Amyl And The Sniffers later this year. The four-piece also just played with one half of The Veronicas for Jessie333’s new music video for 'Seeing Stars'.

Bursting onto the scene with the dynamite 'Beauty Queen', this epic second track, 'Manic', off the group's upcoming EP is 4 and a half minutes of powerful punk goodness.

The gradual build of gritty riffs and fury-driven drums match the energy of the lyrical confessions that escalate with a fight or flight intensity. By the time it gets there, it fervently begs for relief with a euphoric, wall-to-wall noise-filled chorus and its refrain, ‘Manic’. The song hits like shots of cinnamon whisky - hard, fast and to dizzying effect, with a sweet but spicy aftertaste. Each member gives it their all, and collectively let go like an unrelenting force of nature.

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Mazey Haze - The Weight of the Weekend.

Indie-rock rising talent Mazey Haze today returns with new single "The Weight of the Weekend" - the first new music to be heard since her breakthrough debut EP 'Always Dancing'. Also she announces a date supporting Feng Suave at Lafayette in London on 2nd November.

”Gotta find my way back / Gotta find my way back,” sang Nadine Appeldoorn aka Mazey Haze on the closing track of her ‘Always Dancing’ EP, released in 2021. Now, she has at last arrived. The Amsterdam based artist’s forthcoming second EP is reflective of this desire for simplicity: a collage of self-reflection, where thought, feeling and a powerful sense of place merge to make singular worlds that are entirely her own.

Toning down the more ethereal, synthetic textures present on her debut, Mazey Haze's new material finds her rooting herself to the earth, together with a little less perfectionism. Organic, acoustic sounds, her love of French New Wave cinema, Italian film scores and 60s psych-rock informs the vein of nostalgia that runs through it, finding its way back to a distant world.

Wreathed in light, cinematic with its gong-like percussion, new single "The Weight of the Weekend" traces the difficult terrain of her childhood. “It’s sensitive for me, so it was a scary song to release,” she shares. The track is released today alongside a new video shot in the streets of Bar-le-Duc in France, directed by Tara Wilts.

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration of "The Weight of the Weekend", Mazey Haze said: "This song is about me trying to figure out for myself how to connect with people and wanting to get rid of the part of me that holds me back from being free. Thinking about my childhood, myself and people in general. I find it hard to connect with myself and others, want to know why and how to get better. In this song you could say I’m talking to myself, to certain people around me and to the particular voice in my head that refuses to give me real peace and pride in anything I do."

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Photo - Paul Moore

Angela Strehli - Ace Of Spades.

Angela Strehli returns with Ace of Blues on November 18th via Antone’s/New West Records. The 12-song set is her first album in over 17 years and was co-produced by Strehli & her husband Bob Brown. For over five decades, the 76-year-old’s voice has coursed through the genre akin to blood through a heart. Her influence can be felt in the legacy of Antone’s — the iconic Austin blues club she helped found with the late Clifford Antone and where she performed & became friends with the likes of Muddy Waters, Albert King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Reed, and countless others. 

Ace of Blues pays tribute to the artists who inspired her throughout her career and features renditions of songs made famous by Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Clay and more. It concludes with “SRV,” a beautiful and personal tribute to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. As the only original on Ace of Blues, the song celebrates their friendship, creative connection, and musical bond with one of the most heartfelt, hypnotic, and hard-hitting performances on the record.

Buddy Guy calls Ace of Blues, “Tough, soulful, and sexy. My kind of blues” while Bonnie Raitt says, “Always a fan, I’m so glad Angela’s back with a new album, putting her soulful take on this collection that pays tribute to her old blues friends.” Charlie Musselwhite says, “Angela has just kept getting better. She truly loves and ‘gets’ real deal blues and what it means. It’s great to see her share her blues with us all” while Maria Muldaur offers, “Her lifelong devotion to the blues is fully realized here! This is an absolute, must-have album for any blues lover.”

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Smoke and Mirrors Sound System - Undercover (album).

Smoke and Mirrors Sound System is a project involving dozens of artists from many countries, having been locked down, we picked up our laptops, phones, tablets, mics, mixers and created the magic, playing together in a dream of musical unity that frees us to imagine the concerts that may yet be. Travel with us! less

Undercover is much more than a passion project. It’s a lifelong obsession with music, from Rhythm & Blues, Soul Reggae, Ska, Rocksteady, and 2Tone, to New Wave. A picture may tell a thousand words, but a song can transport you through time and space, or bring up long forgotten memories.

For some, listening to this album will be a soundtrack to their own formative years. For others, it will be a discovery of decades of music to dig deeper into. I encourage everyone to go back and listen to the original recordings with news ears and then, listen to Undercover to hear the spirit of those recordings along with the subtle nuances and flourishes by all the great musicians and their combined experience. This is more than a tribute. It’s a love letter in songs, a great mixtape given to those you love.

Smoke and Mirrors Soundsystem · Mad World (Tears For Fears cover)

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