Nora Kelly Band - La Femme - MARBLES - Little Quirks - ALASKALASKA

Nora Kelly Band - Right Now.

The Nora Kelly Band emerged this spring sharing two rip-roaring singles, “Hymn for the Agnostics” and “Change My Mind,” while destroying audiences at Canadian Music Week, NXNE, supporting Kiwi Jr., and this past Friday celebrating early with a headlining performance in their hometown of Montreal. This week they share a new single “Right Now,” and announce their debut EP, Perfect Pig, out today.

Discussing “Right Now,” bandleader Nora Kelly stated, “'Right Now' chronicles the rise and fall of a past relationship. The song was written when I was in the throes of the breakup woes, but it also has a sense of optimism about the future. It’s sort of a pep talk to myself that things will get better, while also being an honest encapsulation of what I was going through back then. I’m proud of the song for its vulnerability, and how it details my ever-shifting understanding of love. Like now when I sing it, I tell people it was once a sad song about my ex but now it’s a happy song about my dog."

When DISHPIT imploded in the early stages of pandemic - a romantic and creative relationship gone sour, which even Kelly’s ‘screw-off, I’m tough’ nurtured punk persona was unprepared for, salvation came along in railroad adjacent acoustic country cover meet-ups with a group of friends and artists, in the earliest days of being able to meet up outside once again.

From these loose collaborative connections, the Nora Kelly Band emerged. “That’s where I first played the songs that make up ‘Perfect Pig’,” Kelly notes. “And it’s where I was so lucky to meet the majority of my band. Each member brings something special to the table: Vader Ryderwood, the 6ft 5in bass player and alien enthusiast, Ethan Soil, known as the smiliest drummer in Montreal, Rachel Silverstein, with the voice of an angel and piano skills to boot, and Dylan Keating, who plays pedal steel and has a PhD in Astro-Physics. This group of musicians have become my best friends and given back my passion for music.”

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Photo - JD Fanello

La Femme - Sacatela.

French psycho-indie-rock band La Femme announces the release of Teatro Lucido, their new studio album sung entirely in Spanish. Teatro Lucido will be released on November 4, 2022.

Along with the album announcement, La Femme has shared a new music video for “Sacatela,” the first single taken from Teatro Lucido. A very classy and colored video shot in Nice, South-West of France, that features many members of the band. The video for “Sacatela” was directed by french director Ilan Zerrouki and is about unacknowledged desires and unpursued dreams also called ‘Sacatelism.’ “Sacatela” has been played all summer long on radio stations across the US, Mexico, and France and is already a streaming success for the band.

Fresh off of their sold-out US tour, the band has also announced additional tour dates in France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, and the USA at III Points Fesitval in Miami & Levitation festival in Austin.

La Femme already holds 2 gold records in France and a Victoire de la Musique, as well as dozens of tours internationally, notably in the US, Mexico, Asia and Europe. They are among the few French artists that succeeded abroad while singing in French.

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MARBLES - Heading Out.

Earlier this summer, the Norwegian dream pop act MARBLES released a summery new jam called “Heading Out”, and now they are thrilled to share the music video, which makes literal the song’s theme of escaping city life for some much needed R&R in the splendor of nature. As the video’s protagonist (band member Ferdinand Windmer) leaves his stuffy office job and unveils the vintage car (seen above), his business suit is replaced with a superhero cape and he sets out into the open wilderness.

Hailing from Kolbotn, the black metal capital of Norway, the music of MARBLES sounds about as dramatically different from the stereotypical idea you might have of the music this nordic country tends to produce, with a colorful indie pop sound that bridges the gap between washed out guitar-driven dream pop ala Wild Nothing and Jay Som blended with the more upbeat and psychedelic pop of acts like Toro Y Moi and MGMT.  "Heading Out" is the first new MARBLES song following their self-titled debut album from 2020, and more music from the band on the way later this year

Describing their inspiration behind "Heading Out" and why they chose it as the first teaser of their new album, the band said that they hoped to encapsulate in the song the feeling of excitement and anticipation that comes with any time you get a chance to “head out” from the big city to escape; whether that be just a quick bike ride down to the river or a weekend-long camping trip. As they clarify, “It’s not just about the luxury of being able to travel, it’s about finding your own little precious moment amidst your normal day to day situation. Maybe even just in your mind and with your imagination! Being aware of a contrast between your everyday life and what you feel can be - and what you can do. Defining it is up to you.”

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Little Quirks - All My Friends Are Birds.

Little Quirks is the family that accidentally became a band. Now they are sharing their brand new EP, Call To Unknowns, via indie powerhouse Glassnote Records. Predominantly recorded in their backyard in New South Wales, Australia, Call To Unknowns combines tales of myth and magic with effortless folk-pop songwriting that unashamedly brings catchy melodies and pounding rhythms to the fore.

Along side their new EP, they have also shared a brand new video for new single 'All My Friends Are Birds’. The track is a folk-pop anthem complete with footstoms, clapping and soaring harmonies, reminiscent of US folk-rock acts like The Lumineers and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. The sentiment of the song was inspired by Jaymi’s father, who has always likened birds to guardian angels. “We talked about how it’s easy to forget that there are always people supporting you behind the scenes, so I think this song is a really nice, comforting reminder of that,” she says.

The stunning music video that accompanies the track was filmed in Glenworth Valley, near where the girls live. Directed by Little Quirks, the film clip is a magical, mystical visualiser featuring Abbey, Jaymi and Mia plus friends wearing brightly coloured velvet capes of red or blue, dancing barefoot around a maypole and performing rituals.

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ALASKALASKA - TV Dinners.

ALASKALASKA (pronounced “Alaska-laska”) share their new single “TV Dinners” ahead of their forthcoming album, Still Life, arriving October 14th on Marathon Artists (Lava La Rue, Courtney Barnett, Pond). Alongside previous singles “Still Life” and “Growing Up Pains (Unni's song)” – which drew support from BBC 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders, BBC Introducing's Jess Iszatt and more – “TV Dinners” finds writers and producers Lucinda Duarte-Holman and Fraser Rieley embrace a more free-form electronica, giving a taste of what's to come with this tantalizing new record produced by Jas Shaw (of Simian Mobile Disco). 

Full of digital sounds, drum machine and synth melodies cunningly sat beside rich, organic, acoustic instrumentation, it's a looping tug of war between everyday simple pleasures and existential dread, with “TV Dinners” highlighting one of the album's central themes, that of the privileges associated with modern domestic existence. Other themes on the album dive into the beautifully mundane as well as the pressures that come with technology, social media and climate change.

Lucinda says of the track: "”TV Dinners” was the only song on the album written during lockdown (the rest were written previous to Covid). I wrote it in about 20 minutes as a stream of consciousness kind of poem. Very literal. Even though, like a lot of people, I wasn't really sure what to do with myself under the circumstances, I was still really quite happy to have some time doing nothing - noticing the way the light changed in my flat and the sound of the birds and trees outside. 

I felt a real sense of privilege that I was able to enjoy a space in time that for a lot of people was incredibly testing on so many levels. And with that privilege, a sense of guilt: "What once was bliss, becomes a certain kind of ignorance." We all take part in it in some way - you can change the channel if the news becomes too much, or steer away from doom-scrolling, and I think you should as a way of protecting yourself, but I also think it's important to recognize that its a privilege to be able to do so."

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Melby - SPECTRA*Paris - Nick Kizirnis - Quilty Pleasures - Pixy Jones

Melby - Music Should Feel.

On a first, careless, listen, Stockholm four-piece Melby might seem like a charming, fun little jangle-pop band. Pay a little more attention however, and you’ll find their waters run a lot deeper than that. The band (Matilda Wiezell, Are Engen Steinsholm, David Jehrlander and Teo Jernkvist) have all the flash and sparkle of your favourite indie band, but add an ability to touch moods and feelings with a meaning beyond most of their peers. Their guitars, drums and synths rattle, roll and flicker around each other, all held together by the soul-shiver in Wiezell’s vocals, to make immaculate little guitar-pop gems, equally dusted with sadness and sugar.

Melby’s debut album None Of This Makes Me Worry was released in 2019, and took them on tour in Scandinavia, Germany and the UK, as well as earning them slots at prestigious showcase festivals like Norway’s by:Larm and Hamburg’s Reeperbahn. Now after a couple of years of beavering away, they’re back with the follow-up Looks like a map which will be released on October 21st with the new single 'Music Should Feel' available now.

Moving on can be painful, but as with a lot of feelings, Melby have a knack for making it sound pretty. That’s the case with their new single ‘Music Should Feel’, a warm, charming little pop cocktail of music and memory, that doesn’t need to shout or scream to work its way into your heart.

Listening to ‘Music Should Feel’ feels like spending time with an old friend. The song has an elegant swing to it, as it waltzes its way along, made even more cosy by little butterfly wing flutters of saxophone. There’s a little ambiguity in Matilda Wiezell’s vocals, a little sadness, a little comfort, and those gently-bubbling emotions fit in well with the song’s breezy tempo. It’s a song that’s easy to love, one steeped in its own memories, and a good companion to you getting lost in your own.

Wiezell says: “’Music Should Feel’ is a song about love, missing someone, and processing those feelings. Acceptance, a tribute to past experiences, and the hope for new good ones. The song came together over quite a long period, was forgotten for a while, and then was brought back to life, and got its chorus, after a lot of rehearsal and attempts at making a demo”.

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SPECTRA*Paris - Moondrops.

A few days in advance of the release of "Modernism", the new full-length from Elena Alice Fossi's dark electro project SPECTRA*Paris, the enigmatic Italian singer is now revealing a final video single: 'Moondrops' is a richly textured electro pop vignete somewhere in the excitingly wild space between The Human League, Visage, Amanda Lear, and Kraftwerk.

Charismatic, enigmatic, and absolutely outstanding, singer Elena Alice Fossi, who is best known for her work with Italian electro-trailblazers KIRLIAN CAMERA, presents "Modernism", the fifth album of her eclectic project SPECTRA*Paris.

"Modernism" is transfiguring electronic music through the prism of Elena’s voice and several collaborations with other musicians into a beautiful kaleidoscope of stylistic colours ranging from EBM, future pop, dark electronic, art pop, and various influences more.

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Nick Kizirnis - Way To Me (Reimagined).

“Way to Me,” Ohio-based songwriter Nick Kizirnis‘ forthcoming single, re-imagines his moody “indie noir” songwriting style with modular synth textures and electronic drums, transforming the song's original Roy Orbison/Twin Peaks vibe into strange yet welcoming territory.

For almost 20 years, guitarist/songwriter Nick Kizirnis has explored songs and styles ranging from Americana to pop, and from rock’n’roll to /experimental. He has worked with Tobin Sprout (Guided by Voices) and The Breeders (last years’ "The Dirt Eaters” single for 4AD). Since releasing his 10th album, The Distance, Kizirnis has seen his music shared across U.S. and Europe, and has now begun releasing a series of singles reimagining his diverse song-writing style.

Kizirnis and co-producer Patrick Himes decided to “re-imagine” “Way to Me” - a song that originally appeared on Kizirnis’ most recent album The Distance - after Kizirnis worked out solo arrangements of those lush break-up songs using loops and ambient guitars. The temptation to see what they could create with a fresh perspective was too great to resist.

On “Way to Me” singer Kate Wakefield’s (Lung) lush, dreamy vocals evoke a fever dream while Mark Patterson (Son Volt) manipulated drums veer from roots rock to electronica and almost back again. Kizirnis’ guitars melt down into a pile of circuits and wires, emerging almost unrecognizable.

Despite the change in sound the song’s story about a message of love across the distance remains intact. As Wakefield sings “You’ll find your way back to me” the song holds on to hope, trust, love and friendship that can endure any separation. “I’m really excited to share this new version of 'Way to Me.'" It’s a song I’m very proud of and it was a great experience to take it to a new place and see what was possible.” Kizirnis says.

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Quilty Pleasures - Four Posters.

The second single - '4 posters' from Cardiff collective Quilty Pleasures taken from the forthcoming album 'Quilty Pleasures' is a tale of two brothers still living in the same room as adults and having the same posters adorning their walls and the occasional tiffs that occur.

The track has a building anthemic feel with a psychedelic edge. 

Quilty pleasures is a collaboration based on the concept of bedding and sleep between producer - Frank Naughton and Wayne mcauliffe, Gid Goundrey, Jessica Ball, Paul Battenbough and Andy Fung.

'Quilty Pleasures' the album will be released on Friday 2nd September.

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Pixy Jones - Hold Your Tongue.

Pixy Jones third and final single from 'Bits n Bobs' entitled 'Hold Your Tongue' is released today Friday 26th August. Taken from anticipated debut album 'Bits n Bobs' released via Strangetown Records on the 16th September. 

Previous singles 'I'm Not There' and 'Maureen Dreams No More' have gathered support from Gideon Coe, BBC 6 Music, Adam Walton on BBC Radio Wales, and Pixy Jones was announced as Huw Stephens BBC Radio Wales Artists Of The Week in July. Support for the new releases have come from Music Blogs like Shindig Magazine, Circuit Sweet and Psychedelic Baby Magazine.

El Goodo guitarist and songwriter 'Pixy Jones' has announced that his debut album entitled 'Bits n Bobs' is due for release on 16th of September via Strangetown Records.

Branching away from the familiar El Goodo platform, Welsh psych scene stalwart Pixy Jones has himself compiled a truly remarkable collection of tracks that fluctuate from 60's harmony-rich psych pop, to Alt-Country with ringing tremelo guitar.

Pixy Jones · Hold Your Tongue

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Rachael Dadd - KiKi Holli - Lukka

Rachael Dadd - Heads Down.

This week, the wildly creative free-form songwriter, Rachael Dadd is sharing her new single, "Heads Down". The track is taken from her forthcoming studio album, Kaleidoscope, out October 14 via Memphis Industries – “a terrific album of upbeat but off-beam English folk-pop” (Uncut).

Premiering on Lauren Laverne’s show on BBC 6 Music, "Heads Down" came out of a playful music session with Rachael's youngest son, as she explains: "Having just bought my new Gretsch guitar and Wem amp, and cranking it up in my front room with Oto on the harmonica, the chords and rhythm felt fun and energizing. The words followed, inspired by someone on the radio recounting being chased by a gang with baseball bats after naively offending the gang leader. Cockiness and misjudgment are qualities of brazen teenagers and arrogant politicians alike. But rather than just waggle my finger at the others, I looked inward to find that I too have a part driven by impulsive feelings and misguided strong will. After crashing we might hopefully be able to learn and grow by practicing self-discipline and self-compassion alike."

Kaleidoscope is Rachael’s second album for Memphis Industries and follows 2019’s Flux which was released to much acclaim and which Rachael was touring when the pandemic struck. “This album is a lot more honest and personal than Flux" she shares, “but I feel the songs are universal as they are largely rooted in truth and love. If I had to pick a favourite album it would be this one because of the magical rekindling of human connection when me and my band got back in a room together again. All that magic went into these songs."

Co-produced by Rachael and Rob Pemberton (The Staves, Emily Barker, Maja Lena), ‘Kaleidoscope’ includes musical collaborators such as Maja Lena (Low Chimes), long-time collaborator Emma Gatrill (Willy Mason) and ‘Flux’ producer Marcus Hamblett (Villagers, James Holden, The Staves).

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KiKi Holli - Play To Lose.

Los Angeles indie-pop vocalist KiKi Holli creates stunning and soulful music woven with intricate emotive storytelling for a truly captivating and cathartic listening experience with an eclectic musical aesthetic. Holli draws on inspiration from her rich theatrical background, as well as from iconic artists such as PRINCE, Dusty Springfield, The Cure, Stevie Nicks and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Crafting a unique sound, KiKi Holli’s music is beautifully vulnerable and nurturing, with themes of connection, healing, personal growth, and living in the moment. If her delivery seems genuine, empathetic even that’s because it is. She’s been there. “You know, Amor fati — love your fate, love whatever is in front of you and embrace the moment,” she says.

Holli’s debut single was a breathtaking cover of Roxy Music’s “More Than This”, a raw and intimate version of the celebrated 80’s hit. Collaborating with acclaimed producer Ethan Allen (Throwing Muses, Tricky, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club), she was inspired to release her own version of the song in the midst of dealing with intense grief and loss.

Her first original song, “NEW HIGH” is a celebration of simple pleasures, finding solace in your happy place and a returning to love after a time of hardship. With soaring vocals singing sunshine-dipped melodies over lush and blissful pop rock soundscapes, “NEW HIGH” is a welcome sonic escape, collaborating again with Allen to create a landscape of music that pulls the listener into the neon glow of a surreal joy ride down the coast of Malibu.  The track received praise from the likes of Earmilk, Atwood Magazine and Buzzbands who proclaimed it "a day-brightener in which her crystalline vocals ooze optimism with every note".

In her new single “Play To Lose”, KiKi examines leaving a toxic relationship and finding your voice and confidence in the end. With layered vocals full of confidence and depth, and acoustic guitars dripping with nostalgia, “Play To Lose” is a radiating groove-infused roots pop single. “Play To Lose” reminds the listener to know your own worth and find your power even in the most hopeless of situations.

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Photo - Jen Meller

Lukka - People Of Light.

Lukka, the brainchild of German-born, New York City-based artist Franzi Szymkowiak, released her latest single “People of Light” yesterday, from her sophomore album, Something Human out this Friday, August 26. The single release is accompanied by a stop-motion lyric video.

Discussing the lyrics, Lukka shared, "the meaning of the title generally refers to all that we are and who we see is a reflection of the light. The song itself indicates that certain situations and circumstances we experience through the times causes us to change and reincarnate to different people. One can never know what kind of person they will be in 10 years from now as no one can really foresee the future."

Something Human speaks to both the head and the heart. The album’s essence is perfectly captured in its first two singles “Wisdom of the Sun” - a yin-yang ode to finding positivity in even the darkest of situations, and “Life In Reverse” where Lukka finds herself closing one chapter, to start the next. At once an escapist psychedelic synth-rock odyssey and a timely shot of science-based spirituality like the philosophical belief of reincarnation described in “People of Light,” the 10-song LP wraps messages of oneness and self-determination inside multi-layered melodicism, cultured retro-electronica, and tastefully effected guitars. “Transmitting the message of love and oneness through music is very important to me,” stated Szymkowiak.

Recorded at Brooklyn’s Transmitter Park Studio and co-produced by Franzi and Abe Seiferth (Guerilla Toss, Nation of Language) – who also engineered and mixed – Something Human’s ten tracks traverse heady psychedelia, nostalgic ‘80s new wave, and experimental pop. Lukka’s singular throughlines are Franzi’s crystalline timbre, a disarmingly sunny pre-punk melodicism, and recurring lyrical themes exploring our role in the universe and the meaning in our lives.

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Julian Taylor - Mamalarky - Queasy Pieces

Julian Taylor - Wide Awake.

How do you follow-up a career high point? If you're Julian Taylor — the Toronto-based singer/songwriter who garnered widespread acclaim for his intimate June 2020 solo album The Ridge you double down on upping your game by striving to exceed the creative fruits that have already bloomed from the artistic spark that got you there in the first place.

A lot was going on in Taylor's mind at the time of writing his new song, "Wide Awake." We were all stuck in another lockdown and he was dealing with writer's block, feeling a bit self conscious about himself, his music and about his own life and existence.

There was some turmoil going on in my family and that was troubling me too. Mostly because I felt like it could have easily been avoided and at the same time a few people close to me and some that I used to be close with were going through some huge losses in their lives. I could feel their pain but wasn't able to be there in person. So that was weighing heavily on my mind. I was going through a lot of changes and losses too and they couldn't be there for me either.

There is a universal message of hope and redemption that flows through this song. The line leading up to the chorus says it all really: "There is an abundance of hope that lies within the oceans of time / There's nothing singular about it yet it can clearly be defined."

The universe speaks to us all and it is unfolding exactly how it should be. It's rather insidious of us to believe that we can control it. Rather than try to control, we are all so fortunate to be given the opportunity to follow the path that has been chosen for us by us.

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Mamalarky - It Hurts.

Last month, Mamalarky announced their sophomore full-length, Pocket Fantasy, which is due out September 30 via Fire Talk. The album is the follow up to the band's critically-acclaimed 2020 self-titled debut LP, which earned praise from many music sites.

To mark the announce the band shared a single called "Mythical Bonds" that created an immediate stir, earning praise from the New York Times, landing on multiple best of the week lists, and even appearing on a new music playlist from Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Now, Mamalarky are back with a second single from their forthcoming LP, a track called "It Hurts".

Where "Mythical Bonds" saw Mamalarky in an anarchic and exploratory mode, "It Hurts" shows that the band are equally adept at creating quieter moments, building a mesmerizing whirl of keyboards around a Livvy Bennett's plaintive vocal performance.

"Writing about this song in this context feels extremely meta because the song itself picks at what it's like as a musician to essentially be careerizing your own experiences and emotions," Mamalarky's Bennett explains. "It's pretty bizarre to put out shit that is so personal–like, when someone loves a sad song you wrote it's like...I'm sorry we've been down in the same way? Or, I'm glad you enjoy listening to something that was essentially an intervention that I needed to have, haha.

"'It Hurts' is also a bit about the one-sided narrative of songwriters writing about their lives and relationships, for that to exist out there forever and to be consumed by people who only know the song. I'm always left wondering about the other side of the story when I hear those epic heartbreak songs, we'll just never know.

"There's one line about being 'a poorly drawn caricature,' which is what it can feel like having any of your music deciphered by anyone. The goal is to draw a really moving, poignant portrait though and I feel closer to doing that with every song we put out."

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Queasy Pieces - Been So Good To Me.

Queasy Pieces is a new project from one-man-music-making-machine Andrew Anderson; dance music done wrong / perplexing punk / and art rock for the absurd. Imagine if you mixed all your favourite foods together, from ice cream to baked beans, and somehow it still tasted good. Today, Anderson is announcing his debut self-titled album via the sharing of new single 'Been So Good To Me' and as well as new short film, Instruction Manual For The End Of The World. Queasy Pieces is due out on November 18th via FatCat.

A veteran of punk groups like Freak Genes, Hipshakes and Proto Idiot, Queasy Pieces sees Anderson use his DIY aesthetic on music that makes you move. Instead of power chords and fist pumping, this new project leans more on 808 bass hits and dance synths. “When I was 12 I wanted to be Fatboy Slim,” recalls Anderson. “Now, some 25 years later, the dream has finally come true – except I can’t afford to live in Brighton.”

Queasy Pieces self-titled first release came together over the last year, with the songs slowly assembled from fragments of ideas.“ For each song I’d try to write it around a single idea and keep things as simple as possible,” notes Anderson. “I’d come up with a song that only has one lyric, or that uses just one chord. Then I’d do whatever I could to make it sound like dance music. I didn’t know what I was doing, but luckily that didn’t matter.”

It’s been a long road to this point for Anderson, who has played in punk bands since he was 15. His first group Hipshakes were signed to legendary US label Goner Records, and after a US tour he ended up staying in the US and working as a news reader for a local radio station. After returning to the UK he worked as a wedding photographer, aircraft engineer and classical music journalist while still playing DIY music on the side.

FatCat Records · Queasy Pieces - Been So Good To Me

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Louien - Brooke Annibale - Basset

Louien - Second Best.

Norwegian indie-folk act Louien has shared new single 'Second Best', the second cut to be shared from her forthcoming EP Figure Me Out. Emerging from Nesodden, a peninsula in the Oslo fjord, Live Miranda Solberg (Louien) fuses the fiercer elements of Feist and Sharon Van Etten’s songwriting with the timelessness qualities present in the work of Carole King and Gillian Welch.

We last heard from Louien in the summer of 2021 when she shared her highly-acclaimed, liberating EP No Tomorrow. An attempt to write from a less serious perspective, it was the antidote to her 2019 debut album None of My Words which dealt with the trauma left behind by her father’s death. Out September 16th via Jansen Records, Figure Me Out is in many ways a sequel to last year’s No Tomorrow.

Thematically, the EP is about how characteristics we think of as cool, such as aloofness, are often the reverse and that it’s much cooler and, indeed, stronger to be yourself and choose vulnerability when you know it might bring pain.

“I’ve found that so many people try to stay mysterious in order to seem interesting, when in reality it’s being open and candid that’s the most attractive, at least in the long run,” explains Louien. "So many of my relationships have had this deep insecurity in their core, creating a very intense and very toxic dynamic,” she continues.

Her new single, 'Second Best', showcases Louien’s truly arresting vocal abilities. It speaks of the journey Louien has taken towards accepting her own emotions.

Of the song, Louien says “I grew up learning that some emotions are good and some bad. Later in life I’ve learned that emotions are emotions, and that they only become dangerous when we label them as such and let them scare us. This song came from my process of understanding this, and from meeting people who’d been taught that it’s safe to be emotional from a young age.”

Jansen Records · Louien - Second Best

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Photo - Shervin Lainez

Brooke Annibale - Be Around.

Indie singer/songwriter Brooke Annibale has just released her new single "Be Around." The latest peek at her forthcoming album Better By Now (out Sept. 30th through Nettwerk Music Group), "Be Around" finds Annibale leaning more into her pop sensibilities with a simpler thematic approach and a straightforward love ballad about just wanting to be in someone's company as much as possible. Under The Radar called it "an irresistible pop groove."

"On the surface, this is a simple song about falling for someone and just wanting to be around them," said Annibale. "But it's also about having the confidence to say so. I've been feeling a lot more confident in my own skin, and the way this song turned out is a reflection of that."

She continued, "I learned an Oasis song ('Champagne Supernova') and loved how the verse was all open chords and then when the chorus hits it has this big lift because of the full major chord. That's why it feels so great. I went for that feeling on this song."

"Be Around" follows the relase of the title track "Better By Now," a stark reflection that merges personal emotions with the roller coaster of current events, praised by Melodic Magazine as "intoxicating" and The Revue who called it "A terrific tune from an underrated singer-songwriter." Earlier this summer, Brooke teased the “immediately catchy” (FLOOD) lead single “What If You” and the “soaring, ethereal pop song” (Brooklyn Vegan) “5 AM” accompanied by the Genéa Gaudet-directed video. In celebration of Pride Month, Brooke also shared an inspiring op-ed via Atwood Magazine on representation, equality, authentic connection, and her journey to self-acceptance.

A fearless new collection of songs, Brooke has both emboldened her sound on Better By Now as well as entered a new phase of life after making significant strides in her mental-health journey and saying “I do” to her wife. Produced by Christian “Leggy” Langdon (Joseph, Amos Lee) and Matthew E White (Natalie Prass, Dan Croll), Better By Now features 10 blossoming indie-pop tracks that Brooke describes as a “spectrum of emotions.” In her trademark layered approach, the Pittsburgh-born, Rhode Island-based artist reflects on love, anxiety, depression, and how two seemingly opposing forces can exist at once. “The album is basically half about falling in love and half about mental health.”

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Basset - Change Of Time.

This is Sam Clark and Yasmine Shelton of the folk-duo Basset. We call Toronto home, and this gritty, massive, in-your-face, messy place is woven deep into the music we create.

After graduating from university we took a big trip to Italy. I (Sam) was coming out of the worst burnout of my life, and had made the decision not to continue with school, and pursue music instead. Yas was in a similar boat, and had decided to take some time off as well.

I couldn’t believe how much Italy looked like a movie; it was so beautiful it was almost ridiculous. While we were in Florence we got caught in the rain, and not a little shower, it was a total downpour. We were soaked in seconds, but we didn’t mind at all. We had nowhere to be, and the rain wasn’t cold, so we just stood there while the water made rivers in the streets. Later that night we took a walk, with the street lights reflecting off the canals and the wet cobblestones. It was total catharsis, and the perfect thing to mark that transition in our lives.

The water’s so warm
In this change of time

We find the closer we stand next to each other, the better we sound. Because of this, we had always wanted to record a song around a single microphone. So we set up in a barn in rural Ontario with our friend and fellow songwriter, Benjamin Dakota Rogers. It was the high heat of summer, and there was no air conditioning in the barn, no windows. We cooked and sweated our way through that session, and you can see the heat in that video. But we really captured the heart of the song in this recording.

Produced by Joshua Van Tassel (Sarah Slean, David Myles), the ten songs on our debut album, In The Clay (Sept 30), explore various themes of life in change, our travels around Northern Ontario, the Canadian and American prairies, our lives in Toronto, and the characters – from all walks of life – who have crossed our paths.

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