My Name is Ian - Sarah Chirita - Redbud

My Name is Ian - You Are Amazing.

Determined to release a song for all special occasions, My Name is Ian are due to release a Valentine’s Day Indie ballad this year. Following on from their Halloween pop-punk offering, ‘Spooky Holiday’ last year, and 2018’s ‘Christmas Time Again’, ‘You Are Amazing’ will be out across all digital platforms on February 14th.

The track, which references off-kilter romantic sentiments and pairings, has long been a staple of the band’s live repertoire, and has finally been blessed with a studio recording. The track comes as the band prepare to release their latest album, ‘GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS’, due out this summer through Bubblewrap Collective.

Creatures of Cardiff, My Name Is Ian have already built a back catalogue that would have taken The Stone Roses millennia to mirror. Since 2010 their output of has dealt with break-ups, breakdowns, mysterious lion paintings and characters from the Tom Hanks movie Big. This restless productivity has seen genres including but not restricted to lo-fi, bedroom punk, garage rock, prog and anti-folk, all filtered through the pop-oriented cranium of frontman Reginald Foxwell.

Impressively prolific and prolifically impressive, bittersweet but unbroken, My Name Is Ian require your immediate attention.

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Sarah Chirita - Alphabet Soup.

This is a fabulous song from Romanian-American creative Sarah Chirita who we are told "is well versed in singing, song writing, and speaking" and this gorgeous track suggests that statement is not an exaggeration.

Sarah is described as an Americana artist, deriving inspiration from the likes of Zach Bryan, Dolly Parton, Tyler Childers, and many others. She finds herself between Americana, indie and folk.

Sarah's Romanian background played a large part in her love for folk music, whilst growing up in Texas deepened her love for Americana.

This song is for anyone who is struggling financially, was raised by a single parent, or struggled to make ends meet.

Sarah Chirita · Alphabet Soup

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Redbud - Franny.

Franny is the latest single from rising Austin-based group Redbud. It's off of their debut EP, Long Night, which is out February 24th. The band's Katie Claghorn say's regarding the song, "I wrote this song about my cat. My big, silver, mischievous barnyard cat, Francis.

I scooped Franny the kitten from an apartment complex during 2020. He was offered to me in a Facebook group after I posted about finally being ready to care for a furry friend during the Q. As Franny aged, the necessary flea baths grew more and more difficult as he grew more and more aware of what drawing a bath meant for him. He looked so pathetic one day during his flea bath that I began to sing him a lullaby.

I sang the tune (which became the verse melody) to myself for a few months before finally forcing myself to sit down and find some chords that worked alongside it."

Redbud is the brainchild of Claghorn who crafts intimate sonic portraits with whimsical, psychedelic tones and meditative, soul-exposing lyrics. Born out of pandemic, the group has blossomed into a four-piece and has become a rising staple of the Austin scene, most recently supporting Wild Pink and Why Bonnie. Long Night stands as their cohesively kaleidoscopic vision as well as a trail-sign for where their path leads in the future.

Good Eye Records · Redbud - "Franny"

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Tara Van der Kolk - Chris Williams and Kid Reverie

Tara Van der Kolk - Back In Love.

Tara Van der Kolk has released the second single from her upcoming album, Rise (due April 2023), the hopeful reflection on self-love that is “Back In Love.”

Composed after a brutal breakup, “Back In Love” is a “self-soothing anthem” in Van der Kolk’s words, an ode to the hopeful nature of rooting oneself once again.

The melodic, acoustic pop song layers Tara’s harmonies and empowering lyrics to create a peaceful, sonic cocoon.

“Back In Love” reflects on the challenges of being ‘too much’ and the recognition that for oneself and for the right people, one can never be considered ‘too much’ of anything.

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Chris Williams and Kid Reverie - Warning Bell.

“Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I’m still gonna care even if you won’t,” sings Kid Reverie in the opening line of the new Chris Williams and Kid Reverie single, “Warning Bell.” An acoustic guitar-driven groove, highlighted by swirling B3 organ fills, provides a comfortable bed for a devastating lyric. “Sometimes folks just give up. 

No matter how hard you try to navigate all of their landmines, inevitably there is an explosion,” says Williams, who wrote the song’s first four lines before bringing in Kid Reverie, known off-stage as Steve Varney, to write a chorus from a little more distant perspective. “We set about working through this idea with just the first verse written. That verse came from a very personal place,” remembers Williams. “There were long discussions about our experiences with this topic that, for me, were very cathartic, yet too close to fully embrace expressing outwardly. Steve was able to seamlessly articulate our points as he quickly wrote out the chorus that followed those first four lines.”

Throughout the pair’s upcoming album Something from Nothing, “Warning Bell” is the only track that features Varney on lead vocals. “Chris referenced the intensity of my rock record that I did as Kid Reverie back in 2018 and I took it from there,” says Varney. “In the end, he loved how I sang it, so I just went ahead and did the vocals. It felt good to make a rock song again.” 

The resulting tune feels desperate and understanding at the same time; an urgent message punctuated by a redemptive, resolute guitar solo to counter the gut-wrenching refrain of “Please, please, whatever you do, don’t let me be like you.” “Steve has a remarkable way of arriving at a vocal expression for a needed moment,” says Williams. “His delivery matched that intensity.”

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Alice Auer - That Old Quiet Lighthouse - Kalila Badali

Alice Auer - Greek Street.

British vocalist and songwriter Alice Auer returns this week with her new single "Greek Street", out now via London tastemaker label Young Poet (Conor Albert, WOOZE). With a voice to thaw the most glacial of hearts, Alice Auer first came to prominence collaborating with south London producer (and Young Poet label-mate) Conor Albert on 2021’s 'Smile' EP and her own 2022 EP 'Daydreaming'.

Since those initial releases, Alice's music has been streamed over 10 million times; she has shared the stage with acts including Nia Archives and ELIZA; received shout-outs from the likes of Justin Bieber, and has established herself as the heart and soul of a burgeoning London scene that includes contemporaries James Smith, Matilda Mann and Maya Delilah.

New single "Greek Street" - produced by Conor Albert and co-written with London songwriter and producer James Smith - exemplifies Alice Auer's supremely relatable and refreshingly modern approach to jazz-songwriting. On "Greek Street", Auer's candid storytelling and pristine vocal shine through as she reminisces about a first date in Soho. With an empathetic worldliness, she offers catharsis against the complexities and heartbreak of relationships and daily life.

Speaking more on its inspiration and how "Greek Street" came to be, Alice Auer said: "I wrote 'Greek Street' in a day with my lovely friend and very talented musician/producer, James Smith. Story wise, Greek Street was inspired by the first date my boyfriend and I went on together, at Jazz After Dark in Soho, London. I wanted to create some contrast in the song emotionally and musically, so we wrote the lyrics from the perspective of someone who had that relationship, that experience, that romance - but lost it and longs to have it back. We then took the bones of the song to Conor and let him work his magic."

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That Old Quiet Lighthouse - Laughter.

That Old Quiet Lighthouse continue to create their sad-boy multiverse with new single ‘Laughter’, out now. After doubling their social media presence through the course of a couple of months, being featured on V13 alongside numerous radio plays including on Charlie Ashcroft’s show on Amazing Radio, That Old Quiet Lighthouse are on somewhat of a roll.

Powering through with their commitment to ‘putting the emo back in wholesome (it’s in there somewhere)’, they combine the keen and emotionally charged lyricism of Pinegrove with the bittersweet textures of Alex G, with a pinch of instrumental virtuosity for good measure.

Building an audience steadily through their brilliant mix of witty banter and immersive musical storytelling, there really isn’t another band like That Old Quiet Lighthouse. Constantly featuring different vocalists and instrumentalists on songs creates what can only be coined as a ‘sad-boy multiverse’ for the listener to enjoy, following each incredibly talented featured artist down their own rabbit hole to a place of entirely different but equally brilliant musical experience.

The guest vocalist on new That Old Quiet Lighthouse single is the perfect example of this. ‘Laughter’ is an upbeat indie-pop tune, channelling folk influences through its tenor horn counter melodies. Featuring the beautiful and unique voice of Sanja Cin, the song is almost a duet - her melodies serving as an echo of a love since gone. The best way to describe it? Infectiously upbeat, irresistibly charming, a song that perfectly articulates the bizarre nature of ending a relationship with no ill will.

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Kalila Badali - Panacea.

Kalila Badali is an alt-folk/art-pop singer songwriter and psychotherapist based in Toronto. Her music strikes an ethereal balance between witchy folk and danceable (yet moody) pop. At the age of seven, Kalila taught herself to play guitar and began writing songs. Having started writing at such an early age, her performing and writing has spanned two decades. She is most influenced by St. Vincent, Kate Bush, and Aldous Harding.

Kalila officially launched her music career with the release of her Indie-Folk EP, Perfectly Collapsing (shared on “plantable paper” to reduce waste). Kalila’s EP garnered attention on CBC Radio One’s Big City, Small World. Her current project, Panacea, has received funding support from the Ontario Arts Council and FACTOR Canada and will be released in 2023. Her singles, “No Eye Contact” and “Dotty Mae” are out now on all streaming platforms.

Music represents an ongoing avenue for Kalila to express her understanding of the world as a neurodivergent person. Since graduating from University of Toronto with an M.Ed. in Counselling Psychology, Kalila has been a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario with a unique private practice working with neurodivergent, LGBTQ2SIA+, and arts workers. This balancing of her two careers as a musician and therapist has led her to offer workshops to emerging artists on musicians’ mental health.

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Esther Rose - Nathaniel Bellows - PD Martin - Tom Jenkins

Esther Rose - Chet Baker.

Esther Rose has signed to New West Records and will release Safe to Run April 21, 2023. The 11-track set was produced by Ross Farbe in New Orleans, LA and Placitas, NM and is the follow up to 2021’s acclaimed How Many Times. Alongside longtime collaborators Farbe and Lyle Werner, Safe to Run also features the acclaimed New Orleans based band Silver Synthetic on many songs, Cameron Snyder of The Deslondes, as well as Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff on the title track, a gorgeous duet that directly merges the personal with the global, superimposing feelings of spiritual displacement onto the larger, looming dread of climate grief.

Safe to Run is the quiet culmination of years spent fully immersed in a developing artistry, and presents Rose’s always vividly detailed emotional scenes with new levels of clarity and control. Her songwriting transfigures the chaos and uncertainty of a life in progress, but here she introduces a newfound pop element that attaches unshakably catchy hooks to even the darkest stretches of the journey. The album’s production takes a giant step forward. Across all of the tracks, the open-air, live-in-the-room sound she tended towards in the past was exchanged for an exploration of multitracking and overdubs.

Of the song, Rose says, “Someone sent me a DM, asking ‘do you remember me.’ I was transported into a decade-old memory; a weird weekend with a crew of dangerous college preps, a car crash. What came out is this short study of my townie life in Ann Arbor. As I was writing this song, it occurred to me how lucky I was to have survived that time of willful recklessness. I wanted to empathize with my younger self, like, ‘it’s alright, you were 23. You were out of control. I got you now. You’re okay.’”

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Nathaniel Bellows - One Small Thing.

“One Small Thing” imagines an internal and external space of reprieve, peace, and calm, away from our present day’s environments of tension, challenge, and turmoil. The song asks the question: If such an idealized place seems out of reach, what are the “small things” we can do today to make such a space feel possible?

Bellows selected the musicians who performed on “One Small Thing” based on his appreciation for their subtle, artistic approach, and their ability to connect to–and express–the emotional core of a song. Nova contrasts Bellows’ low, gravelly voice with soaring, angelic vocals. Malcolm Burn’s nuanced bass lines organically cleave the melody, singing in a beautiful, thoughtful way. Steve Decker’s open, impressionistic, even jazz-inflected drumming breathes new life into the architecture of the song through a varied series of textures and undercurrents.

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.

Nathaniel Bellows · One Small Thing (feat. Shara Nova)

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PD Martin - Strip It Down.

PD Martin and his band hit the trail as a straightforward blues-trio. But twelve bars ain’t enough and soon they are leaving the main road. 

Gig by gig, song by song, they make their way through a wetland of blues and funk, ever groovin’ to the rhythm of the almighty Soulbeat. The record you are discovering here is a report of this exciting journey. “Soulbeat Incarnate” is a diverse collection of eleven original songs. 

From the raw blues of “Artificial State of Misery”, over the funky hooks of “Come to Bed” to the extremely danceable groove of “Strip It Down”, this album, produced by JB Biesmans (Travellin’ Blue Kings), is compelling from beginning to end!

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Tom Jenkins - It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky.

Welsh Singer-songwriter Tom Jenkins has revealed a brand new video for “It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky”, the title-track of his spectacular latest solo album (out now). The official video arrives as Jenkins confirms a string of live fixtures for the new year ahead, including support shows with Cardinal Black, Frank Turner and Bastille as well as sold out headline shows in Cardiff and Trowbridge.

A sprawling and cinematic track that unfolds like a great epic told in three parts, “It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky” pins together tender vocals with cascading drum rolls, unhinged guitars and meteoric instrumental flourishes.

Of the new song, Tom explains: “”It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky” is probably the most epic track on the album, and had to really live up to the name. The song draws influences from the likes of Jeff Buckley, Daniel Johns of Silverchair and Big Thief. Lyrically, it focuses on the feeling of dread and how it creeps up on you.”

The title-track of an equally expansive and exploratory new studio album (out now, via Xtra Mile Recordings), ‘‘It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky’ is the singer-songwriter’s follow-up to 2019 solo debut ‘Misery In Comfort’.

Recorded in the depths of lockdown, Tom started tracking the album in a disused barn on an old laptop with just one microphone and a 2010 version of GarageBand. Realising he was completely out of his depth, he turned to lifelong friend and producer Todd Campbell and the pair began to turn the collection of songs into a full-length album at his studio in South Wales.

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