Elizabeth P.W. - Y Dail

Elizabeth P.W. - The Company You Keep.

The Company You Keep was written during the midst of the pandemic. As someone who suffers from Crohn’s disease - a chronic gastrointestinal disease, Elizabeth P.W. had to live in extreme isolation for 2 years. “I had to find new ways of maintaining my relationship with friends and family. I noticed that in isolation and with all the chaos that was going on in the world, relationships changed quickly and sometimes severely. And in my isolation, ruminations ran wild. This was a blessing and a curse. To have the time to figure out your relationship to yourself and others is a gift we may never feel so strongly again, but it was not without pain, heartbreak and discord.”

Elizabeth has a Sara Barielles quality in her voice with an Ingrid Michaelson meets Glenn Campbell style of songwriting. The 11 songs explore the human condition and relationships. Elizabeth P.W. is a composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer with a passion for storytelling through music. Elizabeth weaves together her love of folk music with modern cinematic elements to create evocative and intimate scores for film and tv, and songs that tell compelling stories through unique soundscapes.

Her music has premiered in films at the Tribeca Film Festival, Hollyshorts, DOC NYC, Urbanworld Film Festival and Raindance. She’s written the music for everything from non-profit campaigns to congressional campaigns. Her recent scoring work includes Stacey Maltin's debut feature film, Triple Threat, which was released in theaters and on streaming services June 2022. She scored Gabriella Canal and Michael Fearon's short documentary, Seasons, which was published by The New Yorker and was honored as a 2022 Student Academy Award Winner. Elizabeth produced and scored the 2021 NAACP Image Award nominated short film, Gets Good Light. She is also a recipient of the 2020 - 2021 Alan Menken Scholarship.

Elizabeth P.W. · The Company You Keep

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Y Dail - Whizz Kids.

Y Dail is the musical project of 19-year-old Huw Griffiths from Pontypridd, South Wales. Since late 2020, the band have released a string of singles that have sparkled with Huw’s cinematic and playful imagination.

Whizz Kids, Y Dail’s new single and first since signing to Libertino is an inspired addition to their growing catalog, a catalog full of timeless, razor sharp songwriting.

Whizz Kids is influenced by Huw’s love of Brian Wilson and doo-wop: “I read an old interview with Paddy McAloon (Prefab Sprout) where he said he wanted to sound like Picasso with a JX3P synth……Whizz Kids is me trying to be Brian Wilson on an old Casio.”

Libertino · Y Dail - Whizz Kids

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Holly Henderson - Micah P. Hinson

Holly Henderson - The Planes.

With the release of new single “The Planes”, Holly Henderson has announced that her second album, “The Walls”, is finished, mastered, and on its way to the pressing plant for release in early 2023.
The long-awaited sophomore release from the UK alternative singer-songwriter brings a very different side to Holly’s musicality and depth. While her debut album, “Monday Green” featured Holly’s impressive rock guitar work and alternative pop anthem prowess, her new work shows a more introspective, and slightly more delicate side to her songcraft.

“The Planes”, is a beautiful retro gem that instantly pleases the ear with its silky-smooth layers of haunting psychedelic harmonies and fuzzy guitar leads. There’s a crisp organic sound encasing the track as stunning streams of consciousness collide in shimmering audio gold.

Recorded in a farmhouse in the English countryside, “The Walls” brings Holly full circle from her previous Los Angeles recorded album. Finely crafted arrangements, sonic musings, and playful themes take us on a journey with Holly as she deconstructs her Brit Pop and classic influences and reassembles them into progressive-folk wonderment.

On “The Walls”, Holly said, “This album sits within a sense of place. As a songwriter, I can only speak of my own thoughts of home and belonging. I suppose this record is a wandering eye over the fleeting moments from the last few years, of when I felt at home, and when I didn’t. When I felt like the walls were tumbling, when they kept me safe, and when they became my prison. I learned the only way of breaking these patterns, was to let people step over the threshold.

Due to the intimacy of the songs, I wanted to preserve the organic nature of the words and the arrangements. The heart of every song was recorded live, from the front room of a farmhouse in Sevenoaks - everyone facing each other, hearing each other, and working together. The sounds you hear are preserved in the moment that they happened. Tentative and selective moments were never changed in post. The other-worldly elements, synths, sounds, etc, were still captured live. 3 to 4 of us, tinkering with analogue synths, percussion, voices, iPads, etc, while the songs played. Rowan’s sensitivity as an engineer and producer, preserved every magical moment in his safe hands, while every person in the band shines throughout, regardless of trying to make this happen during the times of Covid, nothing was missing.”

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Micah P. Hinson - What Does It Matter Now.

Micah P. Hinson shares the ruminative new single “What Does It Matter Now?” from his forthcoming album I Lie To You (December 2 via Ponderosa Records). A longing folk song brimming with loneliness, “What Does It Matter Now?” begs the question of which is more painful, losing or finding love?

“When I was half the man I am today, I left my hometown of Abilene, Texas for the first time and moved to Denton, TX to try this whole music thing on a different level,” explains Hinson. “Of course, upon arrival I realized that it wasn’t what I imagined - instead of playing shows and pushing a dream, I found myself working day-wage jobs, drinking probably too much, and was quite unfocused and confused by what surrounded me. During this time was when I turned this song out, recording it in my small apartment with my tailless cat, Pixie. To this day, I can’t quite recall if I had already written it in my hometown, or if it was a creation from those lonely Denton days of my youth. I do know that it captured a very lonely, sad, and painful time for me, struggling with the concept of whether losing love or gaining love is more painful.”

He continues, “Whether the beginnings or ends are more heartbreaking, I am sure I will never know. I am not sure if we as humans will ever know. Yet, within these simple lines I sing, knowing doesn’t really matter. There is pain in our lives, and where it comes from maybe doesn’t matter as much as the fact that it exists. It doesn’t define us: our pain. It doesn’t control us: our pain. It is a teacher with lessons we must learn, and there is beauty in that.”

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The Money War - Rogue Jones - Nadine Khouri

The Money War - Somebody Loves You.

It's something that we can easily lose sight of, but WA indie-pop songwriting duo The Money War are here to remind us all of an important truth with their beautifully special new song, 'Somebody Loves You', released yesterday.

The Money War is the musical and romantic partnership of Carmen Pepper and Dylan Ollivierre. Making music together since 2016, the BMG/Mirror Publishing-signed pair have toured with none other than Meg Mac, Dope Lemon, Holy Holy and were handpicked by Neil Finn to open for his shows. In addition to playing local festival FOTSUN, they've also crossed the seas for the eponymous SXSW, BIGSOUND and Southbound Festival. They've received a stack of nominations along the way, most notably having debut album 'Home' up for the Australian Music Prize.

With two albums, and three EP's under their belts after the release of 'Blood' EP in 2021, Pepper and Ollivierre continue to add their ever-growing catalogue of music. They now share the important message found on 'Somebody Loves You'.

The track's uplifting melody melts with sincerity from the very first taste. Generously encompassing the undeniable force of love, 'Somebody Loves You' is yet another gem that affirms their knack for songwriting, with the Midas touch afforded by the chemistry of their pairing. It's an instant classic that will leave listeners floating into the ether, or perhaps into the arms of somebody that loves them.

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Rogue Jones - Triongl Dyfed.

'Triongl Dyfed' (The Dyfed Triangle), was the name for the area of west Wales in which there were multiple UFO sightings in the 1970s and 1980s. The central concept of the song is an imagined conspiracy theory that the Meibion Glyndwr holiday cottage arson attacks were carried out by aliens.

Mostly sung from the point of view of the extra-terrestrials – the song borrows from ‘Mae Gen i Het Tri Chornel’ an old welsh nursery rhyme, quotes 70s rockers Edward H Dafis’ hit ‘Mae’n Braf Cael Byw Mewn Tŷ Haf’ (‘It’s nice to live in a holiday home’) and name-checks the legendary singer and actor Bryn Fôn, who was falsely arrested on suspicion of being a member of Meibion Glyndwr, as well as Owain Glyndŵr himself. Both Edward H and Bryn Fôn were extremely accommodating in allowing the band to reference them – Owain Glyndŵr’s silence on the matter is deafening.

As with the whole album, it was recorded in Tŷ Drwg Studios, Grangetown with Frank Naughton and features appearances from Llŷr Parri on drums and Harri Rees on clarinet with everything else performed by Bethan and Ynyr.

"We believe that the second home crisis in Wales is completely out of hand we believe that government should intervene to prevent house prices from rising so dramatically and to allow young people who grew up in the area to buy an affordable home where they live" said the band. 

In case the lyrics get misconstrued; Rogue Jones are categorically not suggesting that burning second homes is the right thing to do - this is a song about aliens coming down from outer space to burn holiday homes.

Libertino · Rogue Jones - Triongl Dyfed

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Nadine Khouri - Keep On Pushing These Walls.

The Beirut-born now London-based singer-songwriter, Nadine Khouri is today sharing her new single, "Keep On Pushing The Walls" – the track emerges as the second to be lifted from Khouri's new album, Another Life which has found support so far from BBC 6 Music and Uncut. The new album, out November 18 via French label, Tailtres was recorded in London and Bristol with longtime collaborator, John Parish (PJ Harvey, Dry Cleaning) and follows her critically-acclaimed debut, The Salted Air which found praise from MOJO, Uncut, Clash, Drowned in Sound, Brooklyn Vegan and many more upon release.

On Another Life, Khouri and Parish take a minimalistic approach to both vocals and music alike: there is a serene, dreamlike quality to the songs, suffused with otherworldly, beatific textures. The soul-inflected “Keep On Pushing These Walls”, set to a stripped-down drum machine and Mellotron saxophones, is a joyous tribute to the late Canadian singer-songwriter Lhasa, who passed away in 2010 aged just 37.

“I wrote Keep On Pushing These Walls in tribute to the late, great Lhasa de Sela,” explains Nadine. “I'd seen Leslie Feist, Melissa Laveaux and others pay tribute to her life and work at the Barbican in London and came home and wrote this song. More generally, it's about songs written by another that open us up to ourselves, to each other and to the world.

“Lhasa was a one-of-a-kind artist, whose music has accompanied me all throughout my life,” she continues. “People often talk about her as an extraordinary singer or performer, but she was equally a brilliant songwriter and storyteller. I often wonder what Lhasa would make of the world today. Her humility, openness and quest for authenticity always inspire me. Her music was expansive, beyond language and genre - she sang from and for the soul.”

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T.G. Shand - Lightnode - Bazooka - Natalie Henry

T.G. Shand - WAWO.

Otautahi, New Zealand based dream pop artist, T. G. Shand is excited to present her latest single release, ‘WAWO’. Out today Friday 11 November. This is the first single off an upcoming EP due out this summer.

Delving back into her heavier Melbourne shoegaze roots, this one  feels the influences of Tamaryn and Sharon Van Etten. It's heavier than the recent tracks but has a dream pop sparkle. Self produced by Annemarie, and mastered by Bevan Smith, the track is both dynamic and ethereal.

"Most of it came together pretty quickly in a weekend, then I spent a month figuring out the bridge and how to include my precious Yamaha CP-70 piano."

T. G. Shand came to life in 2016. “After Miniatures disbanded, it’s been an outlet for music ideas and trying out guitar and bass.” Annemarie’s shoegaze roots found influences from the likes of Curve, Chapterhouse, Medicine, and equally from modern R&B/hip-hop heroes like Pip Millet and Little Simz.

T. G. Shand · T. G. Shand - WAWO

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Lightnode - To be is to be is to be/Same Time Same Place.

At the beginning of October 2022, the Swiss alternative rock band Lightnode released the album single 'Same Time Same Place', which was played on numerous radio stations throughout Europe.

Now follows the debut album entitled 'The Bright Side of The Edge'. The tracks on the album are reflective, concise and atmospheric. Roger Imboden's songs and lyrics reveal profound explorations of various topics: for example, the situation of Mediterranean refugees ("Made of Gold"), but also the view of one's own path of change and transience («Stay»), longings («Out of Range»), the comfort zone («Same Time Same Place») or dealing with low points («Back from Bottom Ground»).

In all 9 songs, a sense of hope always prevails and the realization that new worlds open up off the beaten path; if we dare to unlock the doors («Fine»). «The Bright Side Of The Edge» is a snapshot of the moment, with the unknown waiting at the edges, beckoning longingly, demanding other truths and illuminating the mysterious path to the future.

Lightnode play rock music - straightforward, real and honest. Their style is heavily influenced by 90's rock bands, sometimes recalling the energy of the Counting Crows or indie rock moments of Wilco. Occasionally, however, there are also echoes of the 60s and 70s through the distinctive organ sounds. The individual influences and musical imprints of the five musicians flow together to create their own emotional and powerful sound, sometimes softer, sometimes more powerful.

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Bazooka - Kapou Allou.

The world is falling apart but Bazooka are here with their fourth album (on October 21 via Inner Ear Records, Greece). They take us by the hand on a journey to a world above the earth, a world somewhere else. With 10 songs and their stories captured via the album artwork designed by Australian artist Montero, they transport us to the dreams and nightmares of modern life. ''Kapou Allou (Somewhere Elsewhere)'' is clearly the band's most entertaining and versatile album, their own truth. 

Bazooka’s craziness and instinctive energy are still there but accompanied by a great appetite for experimentation and situations that lead the band to an absolute letting go without any restrictions. The final result is the closest a studio album can get to the band's live performing sound, making this arguably their best album to date.

This five-piece band is originally from Volos, Greece, but relocated to Athens, comprising the core of the new underground psych-rock scene along with other bands, such as Acid Baby Jesus and Komodina 3.  Since then, they have toured Europe several times and around the United States. Their music could be described as psychedelic and very raw, like garage punk with a unique sense of youth mixed with frustration vibes.

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Natalie Henry - White Heat.

White Heat – A state of intense passion or activity. “White Heat” is the title and latest track lifted from Natalie Henry’s acclaimed album and is an obvious, yet yearning number.

Natalie leaves nothing uncovered as she hunts around her broken heart for scraps of unwanted evidence to find what caused her to love this way. Left with nothing but the music and a new lover’s sweat, she unravels it all, and winds it back together like a broken cassette.

If you haven’t discovered this impressive Australian singer-songwriter, immerse yourself in “White Heat” now. “White Heat” is written by Natalie Henry and superbly produced by Michael Moko and Catherine Britt.


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