Sister Wives - KiKi Holli - Shannen Moser

Sister Wives - Ticking Time Bomb.

Inspired by Welsh mythology, thread throughout a cavernous mix of psychedelia, folk, post-punk, garage and 70s glam rock, Sister Wives recently announced their debut album will be released on 28th October via Libertino Records, sharing first single and video ‘Greater Place’. Now the band share new single “Ticking Time Bomb” - a track which sees them react to the societal pressure to bear a child; the ticks mirroring the biological clock.

The track's simmering verses give way to a lively, electric hook; it’s simultaneously a protest song and a party song that celebrates freedom and choice. “We wanted to expose the absurdity of having our bodies and choices so heavily monitored and managed by society, and laugh in the face of it,” the band explain. “We know our worth isn’t changed by child bearing, we are not disposable or “geriatric” after age 35, and we refuse to partake in the shaming of ourselves or others for our/their choices. And we deserve autonomy over our bodies, always!”

Y Gawres, the album’s title, is inspired by the ancient burial site on Anglesey, Barclodiad y Gawres, which translates to “The Giantess’ Apronful”. While giants are central to the nation’s folklore, it’s rare to hear of female giants. The idea led the Sheffield-based band — consisting of Donna Lee (vocals/keys/synths), Rose Love (vocals/bass), Liv Willars (vocals/guitar), Lisa O’Hara (vocals/drums) — to picture a devastating, nurturing, awe-inspiring, and most importantly feminine force of their own.

The lyrics are divided between English and Lee’s native Welsh, and the country is deeply present across the album. It’s important to Lee to represent the Welsh language outside of Wales, with the band often making connections with Welsh audience members and showing others that singing in the language is viable and meaningful.

======================================================================

KiKi Holli - Sun Playing Tricks On Me.

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.

Her latest single "Sun Playing Tricks On Me" is a sultry fever dream in a mirage of lost love. "Sun Playing Tricks", produced and mixed by Grammy nominated Ethan Allen, is an exciting alt-pop song with a soulful vibe. Recorded at Royal Triton Studios in Silverlake, CA. Mastered by Grammy winner, David Collins. The song is layered with warm sun- dripped vocals full of depth. With a new EP in the works, KiKi Holli creates relatable music that culminates into a diary of hope for listeners across the globe.

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Holli was drawn to the arts from an early age, with her passions gravitating towards music and theater. Subsequently, she found solace in these disciplines and later earned her BFA in voice and theater for further exploring her unique talents. In addition to being a trained vocalist, Holli also grew up playing the guitar, saxophone and viola. Theatrically she has appeared on stage in the plays Of Mice and Men, Three Sisters and Twelfth Night, and also played the lead role in the Rocky Horror-channeling indie film Isle of Lesbos, celebrated by Swampflix as “a politically angry, deliberately offensive, post-John Waters, queer-as-f*ck movie musical with deep roots in drag & cabaret traditions.”

Most notably, Holli co-wrote and starred in Forever Dusty, a stage musical based on the life of British pop star Dusty Springfield. The production opened off-Broadway in 2012 at New World Stages in New York, garnering coverage from The Village Voice, Reuters, The New York Times and Out Magazine. From there, the play went on to run in Los Angeles and London, as well as other cities in the U.S. and U.K.

======================================================================

Shannen Moser - Oh My God.

The Philadelphia-based artist Shannen Moser has just released a new single “Oh My God” from their forthcoming album The Sun Still Seems To Move that will be released next Friday, September 30 via Lame-O Records. Moser will celebrate the album’s release with shows in Philadelphia on 9/30 and in Brooklyn on 10/7 with support from Greg Mendez & Yours Are The Only Ears.

“Right before writing ‘Oh My God,’ I had just moved back to Philly after spending the summer in Berks County. I was working on farms and greenhouses that summer and spent a lot of my time outside. I had just ended an important relationship in my life. I was taking care of a sick parent. Everything felt unfamiliar and strange. I had spent the summer shape note singing, driving around and really exploring a natural world that I hadn’t been around in almost a decade,” explains Moser.

“Oh My God’ is a song that recognizes the multiple truths surrounding change and the timeline of our lives. It’s overwhelming and painful, but there’s also a hilarity to it. Like throwing your hands up in the air to concede that no matter how we might try, as the world turns things will change in an endless exchange of joy and sorrow".

======================================================================

Cozy Slippers - The Adam feat. Rasmus Littauer - Cindy

Cozy Slippers - Haunting Her.

Haunting Her is a janglepop gem that brings to mind The Sundays, the Smiths, early 10,000 Maniacs, and Belly. The track explores the tension when trying to support a friend, even as they make damaging decisions. Cozy Slippers debut album on Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten / Subjangle is a total treat for the anorak scene, light, breezy, topical, and catchy.  

Cozy Slippers announced their return with the release of their self titled debut album on Kleine Underground Schallplatten (vinyl) and Subjangle (CD) on October 14th, 2022.

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 · Haunting Her

======================================================================

The Adam - Geronimo (feat. Rasmus Littauer - Live Version).

“Geronimo, I feel your flow…” When a debut artist’s sound hits you square in the chops as it happens so, once in a blue moon, you can feel the tender fist of solidarity raise high in the sky from sleeping giants like Lennon and Hendrix.

Like hearing Oasis or Jake Bugg or Beck or Jack White for the first time, The Adam keeps the torch burning on ‘Geronimo’ his first solo outing, whose slide guitar conjures the pain and joy of ten thousand summers whilst his Danish comrade Rasmus Littauer, better known as cult idol School of X, obliges on dreamy 60s laced vocals.

The Adam, real name, Adam Olsson, hails from Copenhagen but has been living just outside Oslo for the past nine years, combining his guitar and music composition work with filmmaking and visual production. Having started his career in the Danish underground scene playing with instrumental surf rockers The Good The Bad, supporting the likes of BRMC (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and playing on stage with Wayne Kramer (MC5), followed by a stint in pop icon MØ’s band, The Adam decided to put down a record which he felt showed his patronage to British rock and pop music of which he’s always adored.

The Adam explains, “I've always hated musicians who come from a band and have to go solo. I’ve always loved the idea of the band, so I don’t expect anything from this, but I had some good people work on the record with me and tried to create that band energy.”

The Adam is a huge fan of Liam Gallagher and The Who but working around his own vocal restrictions he further explains, “I can pitch, and I can sing, but I don’t think my voice is a lead voice. The coolest instrument in the world is that of a lead singer, and I wish I was gifted with a voice like Jim Morrison. But since I’m not, I chose to find some people whose voices I loved and asked them to sing different songs on the record.”

Recording and producing the album with Søren Vedsgaard Christensen organist with Danish rockers The Blue Van, The Adam featuring The Adam is a debut album which is set to alight 2023. Meantime, check out the stunning visuals and debut single reminiscent of The Beatles ‘Get Back’ epic documentary footage.

======================================================================

Cindy - Thin As Flags.

Emotional Response announces volume 6 in their ongoing compilation series 'Typical Girls', and share a new track by bay area band Cindy. Here is a bit about the "Thin As Flags" track that just debuted by Karina Gill of the band Cindy.

"This song -- like most of the songs I write -- came out of seeing something in everyday life that, for reasons beyond reason, pulls together things I've thought and felt at different times. Something ordinary will crystallize a whole song, a whole mood. I noticed a flag whipping in the wind and this heartbreak song sprung up around it. This song, like all my songs, is simple and I feel lucky to be in a community of musicians who are open to the way a simple pop song can hold a mood --- like there's room built into the structure to move around in as a listener. I notice that kind of roominess in a lot of the music happening around the Bay Area these days -- in music of really different styles there's a willingness to float a mood and see what happens.

It's personal to the people making the music and also impersonal, shared, not entirely known. I think people listening respond to that qulaity. I made a solo demo of the song -- just guitar and vocal -- and then worked it out with the band. Aaron Diko wrote this both soaring and mournful keyboard part; Jesse Jackson came up with a heartbreak bass line; Simon Phillips created a drive on the drums. "

Who invented the Typical Girl?" The Slits gleefully proclaimed as they attacked sexual stereotypes way back in 1979. There are no typical girls. Just remarkable women making remarkable music, as this compilation highlights. 16 of the greatest current female fronted independent punk, darkwave and independent bands, from around the world, celebrated on limited red or classic black vinyl.

Inspired by the pioneering women of the 1st wave punk era and beyond, Emotional Response continues to bring you the sixth volume of their acclaimed TYPICAL GIRLS series. Featuring the finest in current punk, indie, darkwave female fronted music for all corners of the globe.

EmotionalResponseRecs · CINDY Thin As Flags

======================================================================

Lily Monaghan - Ariel Bui

Lily Monaghan - Sleeping Alone.

With delicately plucked acoustic guitar and a vocal performance as pure and soulful as a Prairie sunrise, Lily Monaghan’s debut single “Sleeping Alone” heralds the arrival of a compelling new voice on the Canadian roots music scene. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Lily has been building up to the release of her first EP, Introspection, in early 2023 by crafting songs such as “Sleeping Alone” in a manner that blurs the lines between folk, country, soul and pop. Working closely with producer Mark Maclure, with whom she was enrolled in MacEwan University’s music program, Lily experimented with several different musical approaches before finding the natural balance that brought out the most in her songwriting.

“I grew up listening to, practicing, and studying all types of music and I was really confused for the longest time about what genre I should commit to because I loved too many,” Lily says. “Even some of the first drafts of the tunes on this EP began as completely Pop-based because I believed audiences would like that the best. It took a lot of introspection, and it wasn’t until recently that I realized that Roots and Folk-inspired music is what feeds my soul and speaks to me the loudest, and the songs on this project are a reflection of that. I understand now that my versatility for other genres isn’t a weakness but a strength, and I intend to allow my knowledge for all styles of music to support me by bleeding into my writing and performing rather than setting me back by believing I must only choose one.”

Such self-awareness is certainly uncommon in such a young artist, and that’s reflected in Lily’s lyrics as well. On “Sleeping Alone,” a Taylor Swift-level breakup song, Lily sings, “I’m not a drinker but pour me a stiff one / I’m stuck in the ringer and no money’s enough / To look a dead man in the eyes before shooting him down.”

Other songs that will be on Introspection equally demonstrate Lily’s wise-beyond-her-years songwriting ability, the result of the influence that many of her favourite artists have had on her. “The songwriters that inspire me the most are those who make it evident that the craft is precious to them,” she says. “People like Gord Downie, Stevie Nicks and Florence Welch made a point to be eloquent and expressive through the use of literary devices and storytelling. Additionally, as a female vocalist I am also hugely inspired by strong and powerful female artists. Women such as Adele, Brittany Howard, Maggie Rogers and Miley Cyrus each have such different strengths and styles but they also set good examples on allowing yourself to musically evolve, grow, and experiment without limitations.”

======================================================================

Ariel Bui - Sixteen.

Nashville based singer / songwriter Ariel Bui has released “Sixteen”, the lead single from her forthcoming new album Real & Fantasy. The music of Ariel Bui, who Ann Powers of NPR Music once described as "a psychedelic cowgirl cool rockabilly queen”, pulls from her wide ranging musical background as a performer and music educator, blending elements of indie rock, country, soul, and psych rock into a distinct sound that should instantly appeal to fans of artists like Angel Olsen and Courtney Barnett. This album reunites Ariel with Grammy-nominated producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff), with the entire new LP recorded at his Nashville studio, The Bomb Shelter.

“Sixteen” starts as a more straightforward coming of age indie rock song about “being sixteen years old, riding in the backs of cars and going to the beach, having crushes and first loves'', but that easy-going atmosphere acts as the trojan horse for the song’s undercurrent of deeper message. The opening line of the song, “I was just sixteen, you know what I mean,” is a play on the classic Beatles line, “She was just seventeen, you know what I mean”, a subtle but powerful tweak in perspective that subverts the innuendo of that Beatles lyric by placing it in a woman’s perspective, during the #metoo era no less.

The song’s chorus, centered around the line "I may be just a little girl / I have something to say", speaks both to the specific experience this song draws on of being a teenager first trying to earn respect in a male-dominated industry, and also a response to the way girls of all ages are oppressed or abused by men and society. “I was channeling my experiences of growing up a girl in a male-dominated scene and then going on to empower girls through music education at my music school Melodia Studio and Southern Girls Rock’n’Roll Camp,” Ariel says. You can really hear the way that today's teens and young women who “have something to say'' really inspired and re-invigorated Ariel. “Sixteen”, the opening track of Real & Fantasy, was the first song Ariel wrote for the album, and the track is uplifted by that female empowerment at its center, in a time when women's and humans' rights are as important as ever.

======================================================================

Carleton Stone - Iceblynk - Rosanne Baker Thornley

Carleton Stone - Hard Day's Work.

There’s a fantasy about show business that we’ve been fed since performers started offering up their hearts on stage for public consumption. The glamour, the jet-setting, and the parties all get played up over the reality of the whole thing: a career that seeps into your real life and can dismantle your relationships, the exhaustion of the road, and more than a few hangovers. On his third solo album, the self-produced Papercut—armed with a couple lifetimes of songwriting and touring in his rear view mirror—Carleton Stone gets honest about the toll of devotion to craft while illustrating his mastery of it. Through sax-blasted Americana, power-pop laced with ‘80s synth, and dreamy, sophisticated pop melodies, the Nova Scotia songwriter blurs genres to explore a tumultuous few years and some of the scariest questions someone can ask: what the hell have I done? What if I’d gone down some other path?

“And what are some of the things that you lose when you decide to live your life like this?” Stone says. “There are parts of it where you experience the highest highs, things that feel so rare, you know—performing songs you wrote in front of sold-out audiences all the time or shit like that. I don’t take any of it for granted. But there are sacrifices, too: your relationships with your family and your friends and significant others can suffer, and you’re always on the road. There’s collateral damage, and I was thinking a lot about that, and about things that might’ve been.”

The result is Stone’s strongest and most candid songwriting to date, and finds him plumbing the depths of those feelings without succumbing to despair, gracefully switching between genuine moments of melancholy, anger, hope, self-deprecating humour, regret, anxiety, and bliss.

You don’t make music for this long without making some talented friends, and along with the aforementioned players, Papercut also features Liam Jaeger (bass), Howie Beck (percussion), Kevin Fox (cello), Tom Moffett (trumpet), Julian Nalli (saxophone), Mel Stone (vocals), and Erin Costelo (vocals). It was engineered by Stone himself, Darren McGill, and Aaron Goldstein at Union Sound (Toronto, ON), Gold Standard Recorders (Toronto), and The Loft (Cape Breton, NS), and mixed by Howie Beck. The album also spotlights some of Nova Scotia’s most compelling talent in its co-writing credits, which include Breagh Isabel, Leanne Hoffman, Dave Sampson, Dylan Guthro, and Kayleigh O’Connor.

======================================================================

Iceblynk - Tragic.

Queens, NY-based trio, Iceblynk, have announced their debut, self-titled EP will be released on October 21, 2022 via A Secret Brand. To celebrate the announcement, the band has shared their lead single “Tragic.” “Tragic” is a nostalgic indie-pop tune that expertly showcases singer Andrea Lynn’s cheery vocals as well as the instrumental prowess of Martin and James Newman.

“The EP is titled ‘Iceblynk,’” shares co-founder Martin Newman. “It’s our introduction to the world and represents who we are in the present and hints to where we’re headed in the future and what to expect from our full-length next year. It’s also an introduction to the name change.”

“We chose to release ‘Tragic’ as the introduction to our EP as its driving force and evolving richness of tightly interwoven guitars lock in the listener from the start,” adds vocalist Andrea Lynn. “While the vocal melody has a light and bright feel, the lyrics hint at a growing sense of despair/dissolution, creating a playful dissonance.”

“Production-wise, ‘Tragic’ began as a clean, jangly-pop song with a slightly quirky chord progression,” Newman continues. “But as the recording process went on and our pandemic spending increased, we added Gamechanger’s Bigsby pedal and Mastro Valvola’s Lysergic Energy Module to the mix, and the guitars warped into something more along the lines of My Bloody Valentine crossed with Emma from Lush, which gave the song more of its edge and dreamy textures. By chance theremin extraordinaire Pamelia Stickney happened to be in town while we were recording, so to break up the onslaught of guitars, we had her lay down a solo during the bridge.”

======================================================================

Rosanne Baker Thornley - Sorry I'm Late.

“The narrative that runs through this album is – life and the pieces of that journey. The insights. The moments of awe. The losses. The lessons. The determination to continue on” says Rosanne Baker Thornley. ”My inspiration comes from everywhere. From experiences and of people both good and bad. From the simplicities that live between the complexities, I have an inherent want to capture those moments and describe them.” So began a new creative journey for Thornley, and in this journey, a quiet and extraordinary shift occurred; fuelled by the magnetic musical pull that she has fed for years.

Based in Toronto, Thornley has been evolving and expanding her relationship with music (and writing) for quite some time. With her new album, Sorry I’m Late, she further delves into her craft, cultivating songs from an intensely personal space. “As my songwriting years have evolved, my writing is more grounded in writing what I know. In searching my heart and writing that. To be honest. To be vulnerable. To be brave.“ She has worked to distill those emotions that are experienced across generations, and she sheds light on the experiences and stories that have the ability to be profoundly moving. “There’s prescience in what I do. I’ve written many songs on the premise of what I thought I was writing about only to find days, months, sometimes years later that I wrote the song from the future. And though I don’t yet fully grasp the how of that, I simply let myself go with where it takes me and write it all down.” It is precisely those joys, discomforts, and authenticities that accompany vulnerability – and she has channeled those feelings into an expansive and intimate collection of songs.

Emerging on the Canadian music scene years ago, Thornley established herself as the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for ‘Daystar’, ‘Niteskool’ and ‘Bakersmith’, a critically acclaimed album “Courage” via Sony Music – as well as through repeat tours of North America and Europe – garnering both national and international media attention. From her base in Toronto, she established her reputation one show at a time, and had audiences connecting to her stories. Over the past few years, Thornley has continued to hone in on her exceptionally gifted writing talents by working with (and co-writing on) a myriad of artists albums, EPs and standalone singles. With brand new music on the horizon, Thornley has her sights on reconnecting with fans and igniting a renewed interest in her music.

 

Rosanne Baker Thornley (RBT) · Sorry I'm Late

======================================================================

Gracie Jean - Kim Ware and the Good Graces - Marek Kubala - Well Wisher

Gracie Jean - I Don't Wanna Sing The Blues Anymore.

Delving deep into a world of intricate storytelling and a heart beautifully aware of the feelings and emotions experienced by the human race, Australia’s up and coming alt-country/folk artist, Gracie Jean debuts her powerful album, ‘Romance Is Bad’, released this week.

Compared to artists such as Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Isobel Knight and Holli Col, Gracie Jean shares raw, honest and melancholic lyrics, fused with uplifting and inspiring melodies and harmonies, to paint a holistic picture of human emotion through her 9 track, ‘sad girl starter kit’ album, ‘Romance Is Bad’.

“I really wanted to convey the idea that it’s okay to feel sad, and to voice that sadness. I think often people tend to try and avoid all sad feelings. We put on masks and we ‘switch off’ the sadness when we interact with one another. I just wanted to make an album on songs where I said exactly what was on my mind. I want these songs to inspire vulnerability in others.” Gracie Jean.

Produced and mixed by Matt Wykniet in Nauti Studios (Standmore) and Mastered by Harvey O’Sullivan at Studio 303, the collection of 9 songs were written by Gracie Jean as a way of processing the feelings of sadness that she had been experiencing through her own experience of clinical depression and the emotions associated with the challenges of her mother’s 6 year journey of chronic heart failure and her parent’s marriage breakdown and her own relationship breakdowns.

“Sometimes life is just hard, and you must make a choice, sink or swim. So far, I’ve chosen to swim every single time. My songs are inspired by all the people I know who must carry so much on their shoulders every day, and who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable, and to share their struggles with people who love them. I would love to see a world where in our communities or families we carry one another’s burdens and aren’t afraid to be vulnerable and ask for help.” Gracie Jean.

======================================================================

Kim Ware and the Good Graces - Ready.

Since forming in 2006, Kim Ware and the Good Graces have toured the country, performed at countless festivals (including LEAF, where Ware was a finalist in the 2019 NewSong Singer-Songwriter Competition), and shared stages with a long list of renowned artists including Indigo Girls, Sierra Ferrell, Granville Automatic, and The Old Ceremony. She has been compared to artists like Neko Case, Drive-By Truckers, Phoebe Bridgers, and the Weepies, and has cultivated a dedicated fan base over the course of the last 15 years.

Of course, during the pandemic, her tour dates began to dry up just like every other musician on the planet. Instead of taking a break from playing, Ware simply changed the format by creating the Kimono My House Virtual Concert series with her friend Andy Gish. It began as a weekly virtual concert played from her living room, but it morphed into something that she never expected.

Launched on March 13, 2020, the intention was to provide a space where they could connect with their fellow musicians and play shows for each other using Facebook Live amid the peak of Covid quarantines and lockdowns. Two years later, it’s grown to encompass much more, with nearly 8,000 active members from all over the world. Thanks to its organic and welcoming DIY feel, KMH has become a “virtual venue” of sorts for musicians and music fans to continue to experience a real connection with each other, regardless of their physical locations. Since its inception, the group has hosted over 1200 performances. The project culminated in March 2022 with the Kimono My House Music Festival being held in Atlanta-area venues 529, Star Bar, and Waller’s Coffee Shop. It featured over 60  musicians performing in total over the course of four nights.

Playing almost weekly for two years with a built-in test audience, Ware was essentially able to live-workshop her upcoming album — her strongest collection of songs to date. Mixing the kind of old-school ‘90s indie rock that college radio was built on with the sturdy songwriting of modern Americana, Ware and her ever-shifting collective the Good Graces return with their sixth album, Ready, produced by Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo, Archers of Loaf).

======================================================================

Marek Kubala - Godspeed.

Marek has produced his best work yet, creating a unique emotive dream-pop soundscape, with ethereal vocals, hypnotic synths, and spacey guitars, which builds to a heartstring-tugging climax.

Co-produced by Andrea Gorgerino (JBAG, Kitsune Records), Marek was inspired to write Godspeed after reading acclaimed novel 'The Luminaries' by Eleanor Catton about the early entrepreneurs who travelled thousands of miles to New Zealand over the ocean to seek their fortune in the gold rush - Godspeed evokes the feelings of exhilaration, risk and danger of setting out on a long uncertain journey.

Hailing from Huddersfield, Marek has received critical acclaim with previous releases, including on Outpost and EMI Publishing (KPM), and featured on BBC Introducing, Mystic Sons, CLOUT, Americana UK, Amazing Radio, and elsewhere.

432Hz Social Club · PREMIERE | Marek Kubala - Godspeed [FBP Records] 2022

======================================================================

Well Wisher - Miserable.

That Weight, the latest album from New Jersey group Well Wisher, is a cathartic burst of catchy, feverish punk rock that addresses the heaviness of personal trauma without being suffocated by its gravity. 

After the release of 2018’s This Is Fine, front leader and Asbury Park DIY mainstay Natalie Newbold found herself writing solemn acoustic songs that strayed far from the band’s debut venture into pop-punk finery. “It was a really weird period of time where I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my songwriting,” Newbold says about the beginning stages of the sophomore record. “I was in this darker headspace of writing sad, slow songs.” After convening with her bandmates Lynsey Vandenberg, Matt Viani, and Lucas Dalakian, she realized this new direction wasn’t working. Lots of reflection and rewriting resulted in a renewed sense of the band’s identity and sound.

“It was 2020. There was so much time to reflect, nothing's going on and I'm angry,” she laughs at the obvious emotion brought about by the devastating two years. “A lot of social climate stuff, the fact that I quit my day job to pursue music fully,” she adds about becoming a touring bassist for alt-rock vets The Front Bottoms, “and then the pandemic happened. All these events contributed to a more raw and emotional record. It resonated with all of us.”

The twelve tracks on That Weight are a confluence of the group’s uncentered rock influences including The Breeders and Pixies, in addition to Newbold’s somber acoustic favorites such as Elliott Smith and Phoebe Brigders. “We were going for more of an In Utero/Pinkerton kind of thing. It's a little messy and maybe not always the proper decision in terms of production.” Close friend and producer, Erik Kase Romero’s warehouse studio proved to be the perfect environment for experimentation. Not only did the studio serve as a safe and creative space for the band, the natural reverb of the room was uniquely showcased on nearly every track. Opener “Need You Around” features distracting backing vocals that mimic intrusive thoughts as the song swings between romance and desperation. Elsewhere, punchy pop-punk signatures convey the urgency of these songs—the untethered drums bashing on “Panic,” blistering guitar work on “That Weight,” and the serrated guitar riffs of “Do Better.”

======================================================================