Josienne Clarke - Nico Ev - Brenda - Julia Sound

Josienne Clarke - The Birds.

Indie-folk artist Josienne Clarke has shared the second taste of her forthcoming new album, Onliness. On her new album, due out on April 14th, Clarke revisits songs from her back catalogue that felt buried somehow; that had never had the spotlight she felt they deserved. Originally written back in 2008, the song first appeared on and opened Clarke's first ever solo album One Light Is Gone.

Of her new single, Clarke says: "It’s about the turning of a season, the first frost of winter. The birds are making strange patterns in the sky, a signal that our days will soon be short. This version features a specific blurry guitar part, I wrote it like that to mirror the blurry movement of the birds in their weird patterns, in and out of time and sync in strange shapes and formations. I also play piano on this track which is pretty rare for me. I love it as an instrument, it's bright glassy timbre fitted perfectly for the track. I rarely play it on my music as I have the services of keyboard experts like Matt Robinson but I recorded the piano myself just to give an idea of the kind of part I was thinking and Matt liked it and said we should keep mine, so we did.”

In her own words, Josienne Clarke viewed her 2021 album – A Small Unknowable Thing – as a leap into the abyss. Finally free from the industry structure that had been built around her over the preceding decade and more, she released the album via her own label, Corduroy Punk Records. Free from her previous role as one-half of a duo and losing the genre constraints she was quickly and lazily placed within, she came out of that chapter emboldened – but still not truly free.

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Nico Ev - Angeline.

Nico Ev wrote this song during lockdown, she tells us  "The challenge of being apart from loved ones and missing out on family connections was very difficult.

It was particularly hard to accept that I was missing out on watching the little ones in our family grow and flourish in their formative years. I'm grateful to have the sound of their laughter back in my life."

Some well deserved quotes about Nico - "Nico definitely deserves to be heard beyond her online performances." - "Every time I've seen Nico play, her musical talent, combined with her warmth, sincerity and relaxed interaction with the audience, has resulted in a great gig."
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“I love the varied mix of her original songs with both little and well-known covers, the upbeat energy and vibrancy of her playing.” - “A unique and lovely voice.”

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Brenda - Cease and Desist.

Emerging Glasgow trio Brenda release Cease and Desist, the first single from their upcoming self-titled debut album with Last Night From Glasgow. The single is out 24th February, the album follows in July.

Brenda are Litty Hughes on guitar, Apsi Witana on drums and Flore de Hooge on synths. They’ve created a buzz by gigging across Glasgow - their energetic sets described as the type that “end up seared onto your brain after a single viewing” with their “impudent, inventive and extremely DIY punk-pop” (The Scotsman). Dreamy synths, witty lyrics and unapologetic enthusiasm - Brenda is your new favourite band.

“The most exciting set of the evening came from Glasgow all-female trio Brenda…their name daubed on a collapsing bedsheet behind them, like they were signalling to the media from the roof of a prison riot.” - The Scotsman

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Julia Sound - I Don't Wanna Change (featuring Larissa Tandy).

Today Julia Sound have released their new single "I Don't Wanna Change" from their upcoming album "Nothing Above The Blue Sky" (set for release on May 12 Via Boomsmack Records)

Julia Sound is a collective led by Lin Gardiner, a British-Canadian BC-based artist, composer, musician and producer. Julia Sound released their debut album ‘Heal’ in the summer of 2021 to critical acclaim. They are set to release a second full-length offering ‘Nothing Above the Blue Sky’ in May of 2023.

‘Nothing Above The Blue Sky’ is a collection of evocative, ethereal, vocal-led electronica, with 10 new songs including features by Kinnie Starr, Edzi’u and Larissa Tandy, amongst others. Different singers feature on each track, all pulled together by Gardiner. The lyrical component of the songs leans into subjects perhaps shied away from in more commercial projects - stories of loss, war, mental health as well as hope.

Inspiration for Julia Sound’s name is from an unexplained sound discovered by scientists in the 90’s. The sound, which scientists named ‘The Julia Sound’, is mysterious and dark - which can also be said for this project's tone and mood.

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Gracie Horse - Laura Roy - Certain Animals

Gracie Horse - What I'm Missing.

Wharf Cat Records have just announced L.A.-based songwriter Gracie Horse as the newest addition to their roster, and shared a music video for her recent single "What I'm Missing." Gracie Horse was a founding member of Boston based rock band Fat Creeps, and has contributed to albums by Alex Izenberg (his latest, I'm Not Here), Color Green, and Jonny Kosmo (who also produced "What I'm Missing").

“What I'm Missing,” is expansive, a world inside of a song. It’s cosmic country: there are shitty motels and perfect vocal harmonies. True crime sleuths, hours spent rotting on the Internet, and poignant allusions to working in healthcare during the pandemic. “Now everyone’s spooked/at the Motel 6/eatin’ dive bar wings/in a hazmat suit,” she sings in one particularly evocative line.  It’s a stunning song: all keys, crisp pedal steel.

About the track, Gracie writes: "When I moved to California I was very homesick for a long time, and the pandemic didn’t help. I missed my old friends and family and all the stuff we used to get into. I tried to go out and make new friends but I am really shy and at times it was such a disaster, it was hard to connect with people here- there is sort of a cultural difference between east and west coast for sure-how people talk and socialize. I started to get pretty attached to the nostalgia of my life back in Massachusetts.

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Laura Roy - Odyssey.

Two time Grammy nominated, Canadian artist, producer and songwriter Laura Roy is back with a brand new release 'Odyssey', the second single off of her newly announced EP to be released in March. This is Laura’s debut release after receiving two Grammy nominations as a contributing songwriter on Doja Cat's 'Planet Her' album in 2022.

Laura received recent support from BBC Radio, CBC Radio and Spotify Editorial Playlists: Chilled R&B Weekly, Fresh Finds, New Music Friday, R&B Weekly, R&B Fresh Finds & R&B Rising.

Produced and written with UK artist/producer Geo Jordan, this stunning new track features driving drums, emotive guitar riffs, soaring, soulful vocals and impactful lyricism. Her voice has been described as “gentle lava”. Raw, pure, vulnerable and soulful.

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Certain Animals - Miracles.

Miracles is a delicate ballad in which the pantheon of musical inspirations of Certain Animals is amply showcased. It is a song with a positive feel and a melancholy undertone, going from cheerful honkytonk piano to moody strings and back again.

Certain Animals sings about the eternal balancing act between hope and fear about what tomorrow will bring, and does so with a magical musical mix that lies between the poppy work of Electric Light Orchestra and the vaudeville numbers of Queen from the 1970s. Miracles, like the band itself, always tries to bring a loving touch and shares her love for music with the listener with this lushly orchestrated and pop song peppered with McCartnian melodic bass lines.

Certain Animals has now reached a larger audience in their home country of the Netherlands. The band has already been invited twice to play songs live on national TV and numerous times on national radio.

TCBYML · Certain Animals - Miracles

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The Pairs - Amy Stroup

The Pairs - Superhuman.

Tied together by family and soaring harmonies, The Pairs share stories of life's hope, hilarity, and hardship. Pull up a seat around their lively kitchen table for a unique blend of music that will hug your eardrums and make you want to groove.

A smattering of feelings and self-doubt, "Superhuman" tells a personal yet relatable story of realizing how we get caught up in the way we're being perceived by others instead of truly experiencing life and all the feelings that come with living. We're not perfect, so why do we put so much energy towards trying to convince people that we are? This song marks the intention to try and drop the hyper perfectionism and accept ourselves as fallible and human.

"Superhuman" reminds us that we can be wrong, that we can make mistakes, that we can say things that hurt people, and that none of that makes us bad people, or unlovable.

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Amy Stroup - Break The Feeling.

Singer-songwriter Amy Stroup creates the kind of songs that transport listeners. Known for her ability to tap into rich, emotional honesty and vivid storytelling, the self-proclaimed “song farmer” will release her fourth solo album, Since Frank, on June 23. The album's next single, "Break the Feeling,” out today, explores presence and grounding.

“Walking, hiking, and trail running multiple times a week are ways of exercise, yes, but more ways that I ground myself ritualistically,” Stroup says. “Movement helps me shake off what holds me up and at the end of a trail I never felt quite the same as when I started.”

Since Frank finds a cohesive sound thanks to producer Chad Copelin (LANY, Broncho, Ben Rector) and his expert hand at transforming live tracking into an expansive finished product, with drips of overdubs and drum samples created by James McAlister (The National, Taylor Swift, Sufjan Stevens). These handmade elements frame a range of songs Stroup wrote with herself in mind—a change from the hundreds of songs she's written for TV and film, which include backing moments on How I Met Your Father, This Is Us and Grey's Anatomy, among many others. According to Billboard Magazine, she is one of the most licensed women in music today with her work in campaigns for British Airways, Google and Nike, to name a few.

Since Frank, a 10-song collection, covers a wide range of subjects, ultimately settling on what it means to find a way to be okay on the inside. Stroup wrestles with the kind of heaviness—and reprieve—that lives inside all of us: the album begins with the lush strings of “Valley,” a stream of consciousness about how love can lift us from the depths of melancholy. “Night Wave” struggles with intrusive thoughts; there is a yearning for a fresh start on “A New Life” (feat. Broncho), and a certainty of unconditional love in “As Long As You're With Me (feat. Andrew Belle). The album ends with a resounding and hopeful message: “We'll All Be Alright.”

“These songs feel like freeze frames of pivotal emotional moments of me finding a safe place to live from inside my own body,” Stroup says. “I've done a lot of experiential therapy, self-nurturing work and beyond, to get to a more true place to live from, and a lot of the songs capture the process and pivotal points on that continued journey.”

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Dub Pistols - Waldo Witt - H.Hawkline - Zoe & Cloyd

Dub Pistols - Moving On.

Legendary party-starters Dub Pistols release their new single ‘Moving On’ featuring MC and D.J. Natty Campbell. After announcing their forthcoming album Frontline to be released March 10th through Cyclone Records, this notorious touring band are carrying the summer atmosphere into these winter months with their infamous blend of dub, hiphop, ska and jungle. Dub Pistols will also be playing a series of exclusive release week shows partnered with some of the UK’s best independent record stores- they will also be signing physical copies of the record. Listen to ‘Moving On’ Here. Watch ‘Moving On’ Here.

Having recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, the collective release the third and final offering before releasing their forthcoming LP. New single ‘Moving On’ sits amongst multiple genres as frontman and legendary DJ, Barry Ashworth wanted to write something in a different vein to anything the band have done before. He explains, “‘Moving On’ is kind of dark with a ‘Ghost Town’ feel. But it still has an uplifting message”. After going over ideas and melodies that he had written with Ashley Slater, Barry then worked with King Yoof to give the track its darker edge before bringing in Natty Campbell to voice the verses.

Natty Campbell adds, "It was a pleasure as always to collaborate with Barry and King Yoof on ‘Moving On’, it was one of those tunes that came very easily, the beat is a bit different and it was good fun to showcase different styles of vocals while lyrically sending a positive message. It's one of those tunes that goes off live and has everyone singing, so it's great to be involved in the dub pistols musical family and contributing more tracks"

Not many acts stay together for a quarter of a century and still remain firing on all cylinders. However, Dub Pistols juggernaut rolls on, exploring fresh sonic pastures and accelerating into 2023. The multi-cultural collective has involved dozens of artists and musicians over the years — some remaining for years, a few for the duration, and others just popping in for a guest appearance. Their sound has accordingly morphed a variety of times since their inception: taking in dub, punk, jungle, ska, breakbeat, hip-hop and a whole lot more, it’s been a long road travelled.

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Waldo Witt - Without A Sound.

"This was one of the last songs I wrote for the album, I was really embracing some of my earlier musical influences - the ones that first got me really excited about music like Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson. So it's kind of this psychedelic journey through time, looking through a lens of bright eyed bliss and innocence, and using that lens to try to make sense of or understand the chaos of recent years."

Long Daze, Dark Nights is the upcoming album from Waldo Witt. The artist embraces 60s and 70s psychedelia inspirations like Todd Rundgren, King Crimson, and Brian Wilson, alongside a continued adoration of 80s soft rock and disco, resulting in a vibrant sounding record, full of hooks and charismatic structural twists.

Even in its nostalgic glow, Long Daze, Dark Nights doesn’t linger too long in the past. Hook-heavy throwback odes are abundant, though also resonating with modern production and thematic pursuits. Offering poignant reflection following the past several years of tumult, the release explores themes of uncertainty, instability, and unpredictability. Waldo, his wife, and their van road-tripped through much of the pandemic, and many of the release’s lyrics were written while traveling in isolated areas throughout the country, like rural Montana and Colorado.

The result is filled with introspection and soul-searching, representative of how artistic creation can lead to great self-discovery. The release, in particular, pursues how one feels the need to create and make art. “It leads you to the experience of being completely in the moment, which is what it’s all about,” Waldo says. “The ups, downs, in betweens – all are expressions of the aliveness of being.”

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H.Hawkline - Empty Room.

H.Hawkline (Huw Evans) has shared a new track, “Empty Room” which is taken from his upcoming fifth album, Milk For Flowers out on Friday March 10, 2023 on Heavenly Recordings. This follows previous album tracks “Milk For Flowers”, “Suppression Street” and “Plastic Man”.

Talking about the track, Huw said: “A song about the middle, written before and after. I used to think that if I stayed very still, I could stop time. Houses possess this ability: moments become trapped in stillness, the whole room frozen, too big to fit through the door. I think it was me who moved. My coat buttons are made of snow, I fasten them on the beach as I think of you.”

Having used the same video for “Milk For Flowers” and “Plastic Man”, Huw extends and slightly alters the concept by again using the video for “Empty Room”, except this time with a different ending, as he explains: “This is the last time you watch the video. The ending is different but we arrive the same way as before. I wanted the ending to feel like reality but to be honest, I've never ordered a White Russian in a Stetson.” His most personal and confessional record to date, the album, was produced and features musical contributions from long-time collaborator and celebrated solo artist Cate Le Bon.

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Zoe & Cloyd - We'll Meet Again Sweetheart / Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn.

Right on the heels of Valentine’s Day, klezgrass practitioners Zoe & Cloyd release two new Organic Records singles — and with that kind of timing, what could be more appropriate than a pair of love songs that showcase the complementary musical legacies embodied in the title of their forthcoming full-length album, Songs Of Our Grandfathers?

From the rich bluegrass heritage of John Cloyd Miller’s grandfather comes “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart.” Says Miller, “This classic bluegrass number was one of four sides my grandfather Jim Shumate recorded with Flatt & Scruggs for the Mercury label in 1948. That early lineup of the Foggy Mountain Boys — featuring Jim, Mac Wiseman, Cedric Rainwater and, of course, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs — was a force of nature and set the standard for bluegrass moving forward. We were excited to revisit the energy and tastefulness of that iconic recording."

With Miller’s smooth lead vocal, bassist Kevin Kehrberg’s echoes of Rainwater’s active bass work, ace banjo man Bennett Sullivan's recap of some of Scruggs’ signature licks alongside a few twists of his own and Natalya Zoe Weinstein’s loving recreation — on the same fiddle used in 1948 — of Shumate’s original work, it’s a track that will bring a smile to those who know every note of the vintage recording even as it reflects Zoe & Cloyd’s unique creative touches.

Paired with the Flatt & Scruggs favorite is an even more widely known song with long-obscured roots in the once lively world of New York’s Yiddish language theater: “Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn.” The spelling reflects the duo’s reversion to the song’s original Yiddish, as explained by Natalya, whose winsome vocal is framed by well-crafted solos from Miller (here on mandolin), Sullivan (guitar) and Kehrberg that reveal the influence of klezmer music on the more widely known “gypsy jazz” of subsequent versions:

“‘Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn’ was originally written in 1932 by composer Sholom Secunda and lyricist Jacob Jacobs for the Yiddish theater. The title means ‘To Me You Are Beautiful.’ The Andrews Sisters recorded the English version in 1937, and the song became a worldwide sensation. Not surprisingly, this song was in my grandfather’s repertoire as well, and I used to play it with my father on piano. For our recording, I even learned the Yiddish lyrics!”

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