Conchúr White - Massage - The Lost Meridian - Stice

Conchúr White - Dreamers (E.P).

Northern Irish artist Conchúr White has released his new EP 'Dreamers', arriving ahead of UK + Ireland tours with Villagers, and Margaret Glaspy. Conchúr White’s 'Dreamers' EP was written over a year and a half long period and recorded across various different studios in the UK and US. Working with producers including Kevin McMahon (Frightened Rabbit, Real Estate) and Simon Dine (Paul Weller), the EP was then mixed by Matt Wiggins (London Grammar, Glass Animals, The Horrors).

Thematically the EP touches upon a number of pressing cultural issues and quandaries, all somewhat inadvertently rooted in a similar area – with Conchúr elaborating further: "I didn’t write the EP with a theme in mind but I’ve found there to be one. It’s about the importance of pushing yourself out the door but also giving yourself a break and understanding that everyone’s circumstances are different.”

EP opener 'Vocation Vacation' bursts into life with a tumultuous  piano run before White raises the curtain with the words "the world's at its knees, but I've got a plan / I'm gonna post Orwell over Instagram". Musing on various modern day dilemmas amid a backdrop of hushed organs, twirling bass lines and rattling percussion, "Vocation Vacation" is part commentary on influencer culture, part acceptance of getting older.

"Go Easy" follows – a delicate folk track examining a strained relationship after a shared family loss. Speaking on the track, Conchúr said "I think that we often look for something or someone to blame for loss. Relationships with friends, family, partners can be difficult because they remind you of the person who is gone." Title track "Dreamers" explores notions of small town culture and moves effortlessly between soothing folk and indie-rock bedlam, with Conchúr professing, "I've been talkin' 'bout it since I don't know when / I had excuses for days and they were 10 out of 10s" / until I finally make it I won't scream or shout / cause we've all been dreamers 'til we get found out".

"It's about feeling silly for having dreams or aspirations beyond what you've known, so you make excuses or self sabotage," Conchúr explains. "I worked with a lot of young people from the local area who at such a young age felt like they wouldn't go beyond where they were, which was quite sad. The main message is we all have a right to dream and aspire for something more whether it seems silly or not." The EP closes with "Killing Us", which was written during the first few weeks of lockdown back in March 2020. Written about trying not to regret or worry about things, Conchúr was struggling to finish the track, before stumbling across a voice-recording of his late Grandfather.

Conchúr White · Dreamers EP

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Massage - At the End of the World.

Los Angeles' Massage has shared the latest, and final single, from their forthcoming album, Still Life. Listen to "At the End of the World" here.

"This Massage LP better not sell out before I get paid, though admittedly, it should definitely be on everyone’s radar. The latest single has this wistful vibe, something akin to a movie scene where the passenger stares longingly out a window hoping/praying for a better day than today…or at least that’s how I’m hearing it," says Nathan Langford of Austin Town Hall. "Plus, the jangles and the synths give the song this wash that sounds incredibly similar to Another Sunny Day’s 'You Should All Be Murdered,' and that is 100% reason alone to steam this song and tap your toes. I mean, how many great songs can this band write? We’re going to find out when Still Life drops."

On their sophomore effort, Massage manage to take a quantum leap forward in songwriting, production, and depth, all without seeming to try. These 12 deft songs are full of late-summer sunlight and deep shadows, pained grins and shared jokes, shy declarations of love and quietly nursed heartbreak. Still Life resurrects a brief, romantic moment in the late-'80s, right after post-punk and immediately before alt-rock, when it seemed like any scrappy indie band might stumble across a hit.

The kind of music Massage makes—sunny, bittersweet, tender—is less a proper genre than a minor zip code nested within guitar pop. Take a little "There She Goes" by the La's, some "If You Need Someone" by the Field Mice; the honey-drizzled guitars from The Cure's "Friday I'm In Love,"  a Jesus & Mary Chain backbeat, and you're almost all the way there. Indie pop, jangle pop, power pop—whatever you call it, pushing too hard scares the spirit right out of this sweet, diffident music, and Massage have a touch so light the songs seem to form spontaneously, like wry smiles

Still Life sees release via Mt.St.Mtn in partnership with Bobo Integral (Spain) and Tear Jerk Records (Australia) on August 7 (barring pressing plant delays). It is offered on coke bottle green vinyl and will be distributed worldwide by Revolver USA and Cargo UK.

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The Lost Meridian - Caterpillar.

About three years after the release of 'Incomplete Puzzle', French indie/trip-hop colective The Lost Merdian just unveiled the first single from their next release with a music video illustrating the song "Caterpillar" (with the contribution of a feminist collective Collages Féministes Bordeaux).

This new track - which talks about sexual harassment and violence in public against women - will be featured on the band's upcoming EP 'Regardless of what the omen said' to be released on September through all platforms.

Founded by four boys and a girl (from various local bands such as Beautiful Lunar Landscape, In Veins or Novlang...) in 2012 around the Bordeaux city area, The Lost Meridian drawns its musical path from the roots of the British 90's/2000's scene playing around Archive, Morcheeba or The XX.

After spending about 2 years to find its own artistical figure, the band recorded a first EP called 'Useless Anger' released in 2015.Some gigs later and a couple of months spent to write new music, The Lost Meridian released 'Incomplete Puzzle' (2018) very well receveid by both professional and public audience.

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Stice - I Need Cash!!!

The digital punk duo Stice celebrate their signing to Philly indie label Ramp Local with the release of a dizzying ADHD-ASMR-breakcore-punk single “I Need Cash!!!” The track channels the frenetic energy of noise-punk contemporaries Machine Girl and Deli Girls, while also incorporating modern house sensibilities a la Against All Logic. Better yet, it's paired with another addition to Stice's vault of unhinged greenscreen'd music videos, all directed, edited and starring Stice's vocalist, Crab.

Stice vocalist Caroline Bennett aka Crab (formerly of Kiddy Pool, which would later become Machine Girl), and producer Jake Lichter aka Jark (of Maine experimental rock trio Lunch Cult) like to imagine they met as teens on the website Chatroulette, and immediately bonded over their mutual interest in the far corners of the Internet. Since their formation, Stice has been making warped industrial dance for the internet age, capturing the chaos of the digital hellscape with a bombastic and frantic absurdism.

Around 2018, the two began to email lyric snippets and sound files back and forth, which Jark, using cracked copies of Cubase and FruityLoops, dutifully assembled into rudimentary beats on Jark's Lenovo ThinkPad. Early tracks like “Vore Night” and “My Life as a Dog in Heat” proved minor SoundCloud sensations on its Industrial chart, and the duo started to gain traction on Blogspots and Tumblrs for their aggressively crack brained vocal stylings and frenetic fever-dream production. 

Compiled on their first outing The Very Best of Stice (2019), selections from this era mined such far-flung territory as the soundtrack to the PS2 tie-in video game Shark Tale (2004) and snippets of bar mitzvah hip-hop, spinning unlikely samples into booming in-your-face hype anthems. Their music videos, always directed by and starring Crab, meanwhile, gained cult followings for their shoestring resourcefulness and hyperactive editing, akin to a bad trip while surfing an iPad. In the world of Stice, bodily functions and urges get all mixed up, turned in on one another, repressed one moment and uncontrollably erupting the next. It’s Bataille’s outrageous eroticism for the post Vine age.

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Ivan Moult - Big Little Lions - Ida Mae - Ashley Shadow

Ivan Moult - Steady Hands.

Following on from his last single, ‘What More Could I Say?’, released last August on Bubblewrap Records, Ivan Moult is back with another brand new track. ‘Steady Hands’ was written a few years ago, but with Ivan setting up and honing his home studio in Cardiff, it has now finally found the light of day.

Written and recorded by Moult, the track covers the romantic coupling with his now fiancé, now also the mother of his son. Thematically, the lyrics cover the gradual maturing towards genuine adulthood, and the realisation that family life would require the shedding of some bad habits, alongside learning how to communicate properly.

As ever with Moult’s music, there’s an emotional and experiential honesty worn palpably on the sleeve, with this delivered through his typically ethereal, layered vocals and modernised take on classic 70s folk. ‘Steady Hands’ will be released across all digital platforms on June 18th. The track is accompanied by a cover of The Bangles pop classic, ‘Eternal Flame’.

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Big Little Lions - Peaceful.

Peaceful - Big Little Lions Written by Helen Austin and Paul Otten All instruments, vocals and production by Big Little Lions.

Big Little Lions have been described as ‘a blissful marriage of new folk and sophisticated pop’. Prolific songwriting, infectious folk-pop style, and an offbeat, memorable live show. This award winning duo consists of Helen Austin and Paul Otten who, despite living thousands of miles apart, have found a way to connect and create music together. 

Despite being in two different countries, they have found common ground to share their message. Call it destiny, or call it fate, call it a necessary progression for these modern times. Helen lives in British Columbia, Canada and Paul lives in Cincinnati, OH. 

But the distance provides the necessity to create in a new way. Using technology as their ally and their differences as their strength.  Their monthy single releases are their way of getting through this pandemic while all the usual album cyle release plans don’t make sense anymore. Their music is jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies, the sound of two people working side-by-side.

BigLittleLions · Peaceful

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Ida Mae - Learn To Love You Better.

Nashville-via-London duo Ida Mae have hared their new song “Learn To Love You Better” from their upcoming sophomore album Click Click Domino. Ida Mae writes, “'Learn To Love You Better' was written for a friend of ours who was wildly and selflessly in love with a partner struggling with mental health issues and wanting to do everything right. It was written on a late 1800s Mandolinetto which we later combined with 70s analogue drum machines- inspired by JJ Cale and John Martyn. We just wanted it to be a lighter breath of fresh air on the record." Click Click Domino will be released on July 16th, through Thirty Tigers.

Ida Mae will stream a full-band live performance of their new record via Mandolin on June 24th at 8PM Eastern time. Along with a pre-show cocktail hour and Q&A with Christopher Turpin and Stephanie Jean, the performance will be interspersed with documentary tour footage and track-by-track insight into each of the songs, making the event a truly immersive cinematic experience. Filmed in a secret studio in the wilds of the English countryside, this will be the first opportunity for fans to see Ida Mae perform these songs, accompanied by Ethan Johns on Drums and Nick Pini on double bass and electric bass. Tickets are currently available for purchase here.

Ida Mae will be performing at the Newport Folk Festival, which will take place July 23 - 26 in Newport, RI. “It’s our great honor to announce we will be performing at the world renowned Newport Folk Festival this year in Rhode Island,” said Ida Mae. “Having studied the performances of John Lee Hooker, Bob Dylan, Rev. Gary Davis and so many others at Newport it means a great deal to be included in this year’s lineup.”

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Ashley Shadow - For Love.

Vancouver's Ashley Shadow has returned with her new single, "For Love", out via Felte (Ganser, Au.Ra, AUTOBAHN).

Ashley released her debut in 2016 earning support at Pitchfork, Stereogum, KEXP, Brooklyn Vegan, AV Club, Under the Radar and more, in the past she has contributed backing vocals to Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Lie Down in the Light (Drag City), Pink Mountaintop's Outside Love (Jagjaguwar) and The Cave Singers' Welcome Joy (Matador). Interestingly, Shadow's twin sister, Amber Webber, plays in the group Lightning Dust and co-founded psych-rock band, Black Mountain.

This new single comes as Shadow's first since her 2016 release marking a bit of a comeback, it arrives produced by Joshua Wells (Destroyer, Lightning Dust, ex-Black Mountain) and evokes this rich, textured moodiness that to me feels kind of synonymous with Pacific Northwest – the sound definitely has a home on her debut too, but this time Shadow harnesses this palpable sense of hope. It features this lovely swaying percussion, lightly strummed guitar and oscillating vocals.

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The Go! Team - Meggie Lennon - Meg Williams

The Go! Team - A Bee Without Its Sting.

The Go! Team's new LP, Get Up Sequences Part One, is set to be released in a little under 3 weeks via Memphis Industries. The band have so far shared two singles from the record, "Cookie Scene," "World Remember Me Now" and "Pow," which have seen praise for their "ebullient, colorful energy" (Stereogum), and today the band are sharing a final single from the LP that may be the brightest of the bunch, a track called "A Bee Without Its Sting," that channels the bounce of the Jackson 5 while involving some interesting collaborators.

The lead vocals on the track are handled by Jessie Miller and Rian Woods, two teenagers from Detroit who The Go! Team's Ian Parton recruited through his relationship with the choir leader at The Detroit Academy for Arts and Sciences. Together with regular Go! Team Ninja and Niadzi Muzira, the pair (who also appear in the video) bring an infectious enthusiasm to a song that is as immediate an earworm as any in the Go! Team's catalog to date.

"When I was working on the last Go Team record 'Semicircle' I approached the choir leader of a Detroit school called the Detroit Academy for Arts and Sciences - Miss Kee and asked if any of her students were interested in singing on a Go! Team song," Parton explains. "So when it came to finding the singer for 'A Bee Without Its Sting' I thought again of Miss Kee and her students. One of the singers was a teenager called Jessie Miller whose voice was perfect for the song. She'd never been into a recording studio before, but her voice is so full of character."

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Meggie Lennon - Jardin.

Montreal-based singer-songwriter, Meggie Lennon has just shared her new single, "Jardin". The new music follows on the heels of the Exclaim, Beats Per Minute and Secret Meeting-tipped "Night Shift" whilst marking the latest track to be lifted from her forthcoming debut album, Sounds From Your Lips, out July 9 via Mothland.

The debut album arrives produced by Samuel Gemme (Corridor, Anemone, The Brooks) and features the guitar-playing of Gabriel Lambert (also of Elephant Stone, The Besnard Lakes) as well as additional contributions from her longtime friend and collaborator, Jules Henry (Super Plage). Seamlessly fusing the worlds of late 60s and early 70s psychedelia as she subtly harnesses the energy of artists like The Byrds and Tyrannosaurus Rex (later T-Rex), with early 2010-era acts such as Melody’s Echo Chamber, MGMT, and Beach House, the album, described by Lennon as "make-out dream-pop," oozes this glowing sense of optimism.

Tracks on Sounds From Your Lips flow with a breezy, laidback energy, marrying warm percussion with finessed bass lines to summon these tar-thick, sultry grooves. This latest cut, "Jardin", marks a true cornerstone to the album's radiant psych-pop aesthetic with Meggie exploring some of her deepest fantasies via the sound of crystalline acoustic guitar and swooning melodies.

Speaking about "Jardin", Meggie says: "I randomly fell upon an article about fantasy-prone personality which is a trait in which a person lives in some sort of dreamlike state and experiences a deep involvement in fantasy. It made me think of my own relationship with my inner fantasies, this secret garden (Jardin in French) I have within myself where I can do anything. I believe everyone has this "Jardin" in them where they can escape reality and let their mind go wild and this is what this song is about."

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Meg Williams - Live and Learn.

Nashville-based guitarist, songwriter, and singer, Meg Williams, performs at notable venues across the country with her full band, as a solo/duo act, and as a guitarist for other artists. She competed in the 2019 International Blues Challenge (Memphis, TN), representing the Kentucky Blues Society after winning the Kentucky Blues Challenge. 

Meg was additionally selected as the house band director for the International Women in Blues Showcase during the IBC's. Meg recorded her 2019 full length album, ‘Take Me As I Am: The Muscle Shoals Sessions,’ at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals (Nola Blue Records). 

Meg’s album has since been played on Sirius XM’s Bluesville and radio stations world-wide. Meg is set to independently release her next full length album (roots-rock/Americana), recorded in Nashville, TN, titled 'Live and Learn' in 2021.

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Molosser - Lucy Grubb - Muca & Alice SK feat Roberto Menescal - Said The Whale

Molosser - Black Oak.

On Black Oak, Swedish Molosser go for a lighter touch and lean more towards singer/songwriter and Americana than on their earlier singles. The core of the music is still their trademark interplay between two downtuned, acoustic guitars and the strong, intimate vocals of singer Tess.

Tess and Jahn of Molosser found each other in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city and home of a lively music scene. There, both were playing in various bands and constellations, mainly of the loud and noisy variety. After a while, though, they moved to a small farm in the province of Småland, where they found themselves in the company of a couple of horses, an American bulldog, a gang of cats, some chickens and three sheep. 

They started making music on their acoustic guitars, and lacking a bass player they tuned them down so they could share that duty between them. The music that emerged is colored by both their urban past and their current rural surroundings, a bit like when the blues moved from the delta to the city and got electrified, but the other way around. The nerve and drive remains, but have widened and grown to fill the windy woodlands and dusty, open fields as well as the deeper darkness beyond the edge of town.

Molosser’s music springs from a tight-knit, symbiotic relationship outside the music as well as inside it. It is built around the interplay between the two downtuned guitars, the intimate vocals, strong lyrics and meticulous, creative songwriting. Rather than using traditional acoustic guitar techniques of strumming or fingerpicking, Molosser weave deceptively simple and minimalistic lines and riffs into dancing, rolling patterns. Tess’s vocals add one more voice and deliver strong, poetical and highly personal lyrics, and on the studio recordings her drums make this little unit into a complete band. Any virtuosity involved is less about dexterity or speed and more about composition, arrangement and balance. One of the foundations for Molosser’s music is having access to two rather different musical temperaments, intent on creating a common territory – not necessarily a middle ground but rather a wide, including landscape.

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Lucy Grubb - Waste My Time.

This track is one of the few songs that I have written which seemed to just fall out of my mouth. It was a very quick process from beginning to end, and the pieces seemed to fall together effortlessly. That’s how I remember it anyway. 

When I wrote this song I believed I was writing it about a friend of mine who was going through a difficult relationship and I wanted to write it from her perspective. I imagined her listening to it years down the line, singing the lyrics in her bedroom, and that felt inspiring to me. She’s a strong person and I wanted her to know that. 

As I listen to the song now, in an almost post pandemic era, the song means something different. It represents strength and resilience and being OK with not being in control of everything. 

It’s learning to live with the cards you’ve been dealt with and knowing that you’re doing your best, and you’re not wasting your time. But maybe your best friend needs to know that the guy she’s been crying over is definitely a waste of time.

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Muca & Alice SK feat Roberto Menescal - Until We Meet Again.

“I am now officially a dad!” announced Muca to the world recently. And the timing couldn’t be better for him to celebrate the birth of his firstborn with a delightfully sunny original composition which nods respectfully to an era in Brazil where Bossa Nova ruled the airwaves and Rio and Pele were the hottest cultural touch points of a growing industrialised age.

Murillo Sguillaro better known as Muca is a Brazilian musician and producer living in London who has built a modest following which looks set to explode once his new musical adventures unfold in the coming months. With ‘Until We Meet Again’, this outstanding single from London-based composer and producer Muca, and singer-songwriter Alice SK offers up a refreshed Bossa style piece where Muca’s Brazilian roots meet the indie-folk vibes of the young singer from London. Muca just finished working with Alice SK on her debut EP, he thought her voice would suit perfectly the genre and invited her to write the lyrics and sing along.

The track features a more than exceptional guest: Roberto Menescal, one of the pioneers of Bossa Nova, who brings his acoustic guitar rhythm into the mix. Muca went to Rio de Janeiro specifically to meet Menescal and record the track with him. But the partnership started much before, when Menescal came to London on tour and the two exchanged ideas and their shared appreciation for Brazilian music and beyond.

Once the song was recorded in Rio, Muca and Alice SK worked on the final arrangements and vocals in London. The track is accompanied with a making-of, directed and filmed by Eduardo Binato, showing Muca and Menescal in Rio working together on the recording process and also Menescal talking about the history of bossa and how it all started. The combination of Alice SK’s atmospheric, soulful voice and Muca’s fine skill of fusing the old and new was the recipe for this fresh and unique piece of music.

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Said The Whale - Show Me Everything.

Said The Whale have earned their place in the Canadian music pantheon. They’ve won a JUNO Award, topped the alternative radio chart, and amassed a devoted base of fans who affectionately describe themselves as “SaidHeads” — all the while maintaining their resolute independent spirit. Now, more than a decade into their career, the Vancouver group are opening their most ambitious chapter yet.

Throughout 2020, lockdowns meant that the band members were at home, away from the relentless touring cycle that had defined most of their 14-year career. Singer-songwriters Tyler Bancroft and Ben Worcester, plus keyboardist Jaycelyn Brown and bassist Lincoln Hotchen, threw themselves fully into working on new material with producer Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat) at his Tugboat Place Studio, resulting in the most towering, maximalist music of their careers.

“Steve is an incredibly detail-oriented producer,” says Tyler. “We would work until four or five in the morning. Then sleep at his house and work the next day until late into the night. It was exhausting, but each song came to life in such an amazing way with so many layers.”

Stately piano, roaring guitar distortion, giant-sized synths and orchestral flourishes — every moment blooms with bright, vivid sounds and subtle details. But in spite of the grandiose arrangements and go-for-broke production quality, the new songs are, at their core, classic Said The Whale. Lead single “Honey Lungs” is a bright and bubbly anthem, its crunchy rock swagger shot through with frenzied drum fills and sugar-spiked pop singalongs.

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The Hello Darlins - Course - Gawain and the Green Knight - Lemon's

The Hello Darlins' - Mountain Time.

With over 450,000 combined Spotify streams off their first singles, it’s safe to say there’s been a lot of anticipation for The Hello Darlins’ debut album, Go By Feel, officially released now on all platforms. It began building almost immediately after the Calgary, Alberta-based Americana collective debuted on the scene in early 2020, with American Songwriter calling the group “the product of a talented pool of session musicians craving more,” while Americana UK stated, “It’s great to see a band put together by the talented folks who would usually be ‘behind the scenes.’”

So, who exactly are The Hello Darlins? The seeds of the band took root in 2016 when vocalist/producer Candace Lacina crossed paths again with keyboardist/producer Mike Little after first meeting at a recording studio years earlier. Once reconnected, they soon found themselves making music together in between their work with other artists, an impressive list that ranges from Shania Twain to Charlie Major, The Road Hammers to George Canyon as well as the late B.B. King.

In short order, the couple began inviting others within their circle to participate, including Murray Pulver (Crash Test Dummies), Clayton Bellamy (The Road Hammers), Matt Andersen, Dave and Joey Landreth (aka The Bros. Landreth), Russell Broom (Jann Arden), and ace fiddler Shane Guse, creating what some have called "the Broken Social Scene of Americana."

On Go By Feel, this incredible collection of talent has forged a hybrid of country, gospel and blues like no other, from the heart-wrenching ballads “Aberdeen” and “Prayer For A Sparrow” to the classic country-rocker “Mountain Time” and the album’s soulful title track.

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Course - Darkest Tower.

Buzzing Chicago-based synth/indie/pop group Course released a new video for their latest single "Darkest Tower." The latest look at their critically acclaimed debut album A Late Hour (out now), the video was released alongside the accompanying short story written by singer/guitarist Jessica Robbins. 

"'Darkest Tower' set the tone for the album," stated Robbins. "When I wrote this song, I imagined our album going in this direction as it felt very different from the songs I'd written in the past. It feels like it’s the most fluid and open of all the songs with some dark undertones. For the music video I worked with Jess Price, who is a filmmaker and also a musician/songwriter in the band Campdogzz. I shared with her the short story that goes along with the song which is about a thirteen year old boy who keeps seeing a white van on his street and funnels his anxiety through the mysterious van. The story matches the rhythm of the song, in feel and emotion, but they are vastly different in lyrics and content. Jess took the themes and imagery from both the song and story and captured the idea of surveillance and that the darkest tower is like someone watching you - a voyeuristic take of the song."

Course announced their debut earlier this year with the release of their lead single "Give It All Away," which Under The Radar called "a lush dream pop tapestry." It was followed by the "optimistic" (Consequence) standout single "Sixteen" and "Nick of Time," which was featured as American Songwriter's Daily Discovery. Atwood Magazine chose the band as one of their 2021 Artists To Watch and stated, "Course have set themselves apart as an intimately expressive alternative band brimming with irresistibly catchy tunes, cathartic emotions, and utterly stunning energy." Chicago Tribune also raved, "Course managed to craft an inventive collection of songs that blend nostaglic instrumentation with clever lyrics...a body of work that stands strong."

Comprised of veteran musicians Robbins, Chris Dye (drums), Dan Ingenthron (synth/keys), Mikey Russell (guitar), and Brian Weekly (bass), Course blends diverse aspects of dream-pop, 90's new-wave, alternative, electronic, and indie rock. Drawing on Robbins' indie-folk roots, Course incorporates polished, modern production and lush electronic instrumentation to create songs with a characteristic ethereal-industrial sheen.

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Gawain and the Green Knight - A Sleeping Place.

Gawain and the Green Knight have released A Sleeping Place, and will next perform on New York's Governors Island on June 26th as part of the Porch Stomp festival. The EP exemplifies the duo’s “literary folk” stylings, filled with allegory and inspired by mythology, or, as they put it, “folk for people who like to listen to music while pacing mournfully yet poignantly through the streets, pretending they’re the protagonist in a very beautiful film.”

Inspired by the etymology of the Greek word for cemetery, which simply means “a sleeping place,” the record sits comfortably in the deep, sometimes dark, parts of the subconscious, arranged in such a way that you remember why life can be so joyful in the first place, its tempo anything but sad.

“The Dressmaker,” one of the album’s most energetic offerings — it’s their first “stomp-and holler” song — is the story of a woman in the 1800s, beginning at the moment she realizes her husband is leaving her, and later finds her building a life for herself and her daughters. “I wanted to elevate the narrator's frustration to proper, righteous anger in spots, which accounts for the occasional rowdiness,” multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike O’Malley mentions of the arrangement. “Toward the end is an arpeggio happening at three different speeds in four different registers, shared by the piano, clarinet, and flute. They lace together like so many threads, echoing the lyrics. I'd hoped to express the triumph of the narrator's self-salvation through the repetitive act of sewing.”

The dressmaker’s story might be too small to make it into a history book and too abstract to make it onto a headstone, but provides a reflection on the quiet triumphs that make up a life, a theme found weaving throughout A Sleeping Place.

Gawain and the Green Knight · A Sleeping Place

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Lemon's - Take It Back.

Lemon's is composed of three core members: Luke Braswell, Aidan Stanford, and Susie Hydrick. As well as a few close friends who typically join Lemon's in most live settings. 

Now that the United States is officially back open, you can either find Lemon's playing an occasional gig or two throughout the city of Memphis or going from the studio to track instruments to Luke's bedroom to add post-production musical elements. 

With the eventual goal being, of course, dominate the Memphis music scene and then. . .the world.

Take It Back is a pop rock, angst-filled story of betrayal that takes place sonically in the wild-west and pulls lyrical inspiration from tracks such as 'no body, no crime' by Taylor Swift.

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Lucy Francesca Dron - James McMurtry - Lindsay Jarman - Pollena - Simone

Lucy Francesca Dron - Leftovers (E.P).

Brisbane-based songstress Lucy Francesca Dron has been turning heads with her genre-defying style and compelling storytelling, her most recent singles ‘What Is Next?’ and ‘Liquid Numbing Pain’ paving the way for highly-anticipated EP ‘Leftovers’ (out now).

Combining her enchanting fusion of indie-rock and lo-fi folk with her feathery jazz-style vocals, Dron has delivered an introspective coming-of-age journey in ‘Leftovers’, each of the five tracks representing a different stage of her transition into adulthood. Dron further explains:

“Leftovers is like a musical journal of my experience transitioning from a teenager to a young adult. Each song represents a piece of the journey, exploring themes of curiosity, anxiety, love, heartbreak and acceptance.”

Similar to a journey of self-discovery, the five tracks making up ‘Leftovers’ were once thought of as outcasts, not fitting into any of Dron’s other album concepts, until finding their rightful place within this contemplative EP as it cascades through each theme with sonic finesse.

Lucy Francesca Dron · Leftovers

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James McMurtry - Canola Fields.

In James McMurtry’s new effort, The Horses and the Hounds, the acclaimed songwriter backs personal narratives with effortless elegance (“Canola Fields”) and endless energy (“If It Don’t Bleed”). This first collection in seven years, due August 20 on New West Records, spotlights a seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns toward reflection (“Vaquero”) and revelation ( closer “Blackberry Winter”). Familiar foundations guide the journey. “There’s a definite Los Angeles vibe to this record,” McMurtry says. “The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks. Don’t know how he got in there. He never signed on for work for hire.”

The Horses and the Hounds is a reunion of sorts. McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary producer Ross Hogarth (Ozzy Osbourne, John Fogerty, Van Halen, Keb’ Mo’) at Jackson Browne’s Groove Masters in Santa Monica, California, a world class studio that has housed such legends as Bob Dylan (2012’s Tempest) and David Crosby (2016’s Lighthouse) as well as Browne himself for I’m Alive (1993) and New Found Glory, Coming Home (2006). McMurtry and Hogarth first worked together 30 years ago, when Hogarth was a recording engineer in the employ of John Mellencamp at Mellencamp’s own Belmont Studios near Bloomington, Indiana. Hogarth recorded McMurtry’s first two albums, Too Long in the Wasteland and Candyland, for Columbia Records and later mixed McMurtry’s first self-produced album, Saint Mary of the Woods, for Sugar Hill Records. Another veteran of those three releases, guitarist David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Dixie Chicks), returns with some of his finest work.

Accordingly, the new collection marks another upward trajectory: The Horses and the Hounds will be McMurtry’s debut album on genre-defining Americana record label New West Records (Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Buddy Miller, dozens more).

“I first became aware of James McMurtry’s formidable songwriting prowess while working at Bug Music publishing in the ’90s,” says New West president John Allen. “He’s a true talent. All of us at New West are excited at the prospect of championing the next phase of James’ already successful and respected career.” McMurtry perfectly fits a label housing “artists who perform real music for real people.” After all, No Depression says of the literate songwriter’s most recent collection, Complicated Game: “Lyrically, the album is wise and adventurous, with McMurtry — who’s not prone to autobiographical tales — credibly inhabiting characters from all walks of life.” “[McMurtry] fuses wry, literate observations about the world with the snarl of barroom rock,” National Public Radio says. “The result is at times sardonic, subversive and funny, but often vulnerable and always poignant.”

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Photo - Joelle Grace Taylor

Lindsay Jarman - Rue Collective.

Atlanta's Lindsay Jarman has announced an August 20 release for her debut LP The Gallery, and has shared the first single "Rue Collective" at Glide Magazine. The outlet praised the track as "a stirring whirl of throwback lounge-y jazz grooves and alt-folk soul...an imposing debut statement."

With Laurel Canyon folk vibes that mix and mingle with a Nora Jones-esque, jazz-influenced delivery and production, Lindsay Jarman’s music exudes a depth and maturity far beyond what one might be inclined to expect from a debut full-length album. But to hear her tell it, the songs are less creative endeavors and more a means of healing; of processing life’s painful moments and putting them out into the universe, enabling her to view them much like one admires the paintings on a gallery wall.

“There were extremely painful moments of my life that I was able to get some catharsis for through writing certain songs on this record … they definitely added to who I’ve become as a person,” Jarman says. “Patience is passion tamed, and the rapture that prevails the willful processing of trauma holds healing and gratification in its palm. This record offered that hand to me, and I took it. I found shelter there.”

The songwriter spent time in New York, writing jingles for a score house, before relocating to Georgia and enrolling in UGA, completing her studies in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management several years ago. While she attributes much of her musical background to her father, she also nods to the value in self-discovery and individuality, enlisting the help of friends in the Atlanta music scene and connecting with producer/engineer Damon Moon to create The Gallery.

lindsayjarman · 06 - Rue Collective

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Pollena - Stand Up.

An acclamation of glowing piano, sparkling synths, spacious percussion and confident vocals. "Stand Up" premiered this week on BBC 6 Music as Lauren Laverne's While You Were Sleeping track is a powerful new direction from rising London-based talent Pollena with a message that demands attention. 

“This year more than ever we’re ready for real change. Stand Up is about giving people the confidence that they need to make that change happen. Don’t just accept things as they are, don’t just go ‘back to normal'. It’s about expecting something better,” says Pollena

Pollena is a vocalist/songwriter who cut her teeth touring Europe in 2018/19 with neo-soul outfit Girlhood. Since lockdown she’s been writing and releasing experimental new solo tracks, collaborating with rising producers.

"Stand Up" is her third solo single, produced by DJ and musician Footshooter (previous collaborators include Poppy Ajudha and Allysha Joy with tracks released by Rhythm Section International and Dance Regular Recordings) and follows ‘The Pool’ and ‘Glitter’ (feat. BBC Radio 1 / 6 / X-Tra / Apple New Music (editorial) / Spotify Fresh Finds Pop (editorial) et al).

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Simone - Love Lessons (E.P).

After revealing four alt-pop songs "Kissing Strangers", “Boy Of My Dreams”, “everything/nothing” and “Wine”, and with each release gaining new fans and praise, New York’s Simone is releasing her 6-track pure pop Love Lessons EP. Simone’s musically diverse songwriting styles from acoustic teary to pop bops. Even at the young age of 16, Simone writes with a very strong cinematic eye here, capturing the rough edges of modern relationships in vivid detail. Today, her Love Lessons EP is rounded out with “Girl Like Me” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”.

Simone says: “Every song on “Love Lessons” tells a story about a relationship that ultimately isn’t built to last. All six tracks are written from different perspectives about experiences with love and heartbreak. I wrote all of these songs by myself in my bedroom, touching on vulnerable and way too relatable emotions. I’m really proud of the versatility showcased in this project, from pop songs to rock songs to ballads.”

At 10 years old, her worldview opened up to become a performer when she sang 2 self-written songs at an open mic in Nashville, TN. Needless to say that from an early age, New York-based Simone has set her vision on sharing her love for music. “Kissing Strangers” arrangements are sonically rich to match, mixing radio-ready pop hooks with indie rock grit and singer/songwriter intimacy. “Kissing Strangers” is a buoyant, brilliant earworm exploring the rise and fall of young love in all its exhilarating, heartbreaking transience. About “Boy Of My Dreams”, she said: “it’s a song I wrote after ending a relationship that really damaged my perception of love.”

Simone · Love Lessons EP

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MARBL - Alicia Toner - Keegan Chambers - The Felice Brothers

MARBL - Never Get Out.

When you break up with someone you love fully, you can't really let them go. Apparently, it happens, but there's always a room in your heart, one only you know, where your lover still lingers in. I remember the moment I realized that he might never get thin enough to leave through the door to his room in my heart, and how I wrote it down immediately.

This song was written not long after the latter single "It's Always Our O'clock Somewhere", and it goes together with its message, that I think a lot about lately - love is the energy of life, the answer to our constant questioning, the merging point between the random and the sacred, so when it's over, it can't really be over, it has to go somewhere.“ - MARBL

The video by Tomer Levi shows a dark cloud following MARBL everywhere as a metaphor of not being able of letting go but finally disappearing in the end.

MARBL, who also works as a vocal coach in Tel-Aviv, was able to generate a great media response worldwide with several singles and her last EP "The Flight of the Hawks". In addition to countless reviews, some of her songs have been included in editorial playlists by Amazon and Spotify.

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Alicia Toner - Joke's On Me.

Alicia Toner has been immersed in various forms of music since she was young. From performing with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall to spending over ten years performing in Dora Award winning productions by Soulpepper Theatre and Mirvish Productions, music has always been a part of the singer-songwriter's life. Blending modern folk with a pop/rock edge, her unique sound is complimented by her incredibly strong songwriting skills and powerfully emotive voice.

A song about denial, "Joke's On Me" was written in the basement of Alicia Toner's Toronto apartment, inspired by a relationship she felt trapped in but continuously decided to stay. Influenced by the musical stylings of one of her favourite artists, Brandi Carlile, the singer-songwriter wrote the deeply personal lyrics to highlight the internal conflict she was facing. With its gripping melody and rhythm, "Joke's On Me" is instantly captivating and takes the listener on a highly relatable journey. The genre defiant song aims to remind listeners that sometimes they need to seek assistance in order to do what is best for them. The song originally started out as a folky-train song, and was brought to life with the help of well known Canadian producers Stuart Cameron and Peter Fusco, who transformed it into the riveting tune it is today.

”Joke's On Me" is about the part of you that knows you need to get out and the other part that tells you everything is fine. If anybody is listening and is in a relatable experience, one of the biggest things I learned is that you can’t get out by yourself without help. - Alicia Toner.

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Keegan Chambers - Out Of My Head (E.P).

The new EP from Keegan Chambers will have you wondering why you haven't heard of her yet. Appropriately titled "Out of My Head", the record features four original songs which Keegan says she's glad to finally get out of her head and into the world wide web. The songs have been through various demo versions over the years but with a little help from Factor Canada's Artist Development grant, she and platinum award winning engineer and producer, Daniel Tsourounis, have been able to finish them - defining her sound as an artist in the process.

The first track, "Look What You've Done" comes in guns a blazing with powerful soaring melodies over infectious pop-rock instrumentals. Directly addressing her past abusers, Keegan describes the ensuing aftermath of their actions - namely navigating her all-encompassing rage and thirst for revenge. Echoing that sentiment is "Catcalling", another pop-rock anthem, featuring a seething guitar solo byJonny Nesta of the Juno-nominated band Skull Fist. 

Her country roots start to show in "Devil's Kisses" which features slide guitar, harmonica, the banjo and a moody guitar solo by Spencer LeVon of Fatality and Brother Levon. It tells the age old tale of deal-making with the devil, playing a game that's been rigged from the start.

She closes the EP with "Love at First Sight", a ballad that was originally released on her acoustic EP in 2019. This rendition is laced with organs and string lines contributed by award winning composer, Asher Lenz. After getting you all riled up with the first few tracks, it's the perfect audible digestif.

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The Felice Brothers - Jazz on the Autobahn.

The Felice Brothers have announced their new album From Dreams To Dust will be released on September 17, 2021 via Yep Roc Records. They’ve also released the official video for "Jazz On The Autobahn," the second song to be released from the forthcoming album. The stop motion video was painted and constructed by Ian Felice and took over a month to complete. Ian Felice spoke with Consequence of Sound about the origins of the new song.

"This song is a story about two people on the run. They’ve left behind their entire lives in search of something but are haunted by a feeling of looming catastrophe. They are both using each other as a means of escape," explains Ian Felice.

The Felice Brothers have also announced a US tour to celebrate the release of the new album. The tour will kick off on September 16 at New York’s Bowery Ballroom and will make stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and many more.

From Dreams To Dust sees the continuation of the new lineup of The Felice Brothers that debuted with Undress, consisting of Ian Felice, who shares songwriting and vocal duties in the band with his brother James Felice, bassist Jesske Hume (Conor Oberst, Jade Bird) and drummer Will Lawrence. The album was written and produced by The Felice Brothers, and features Bright Eyes’ Nathaniel Walcott on trumpet and Mike Mogis, who mixed the album, on pedal steel.

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Pearl & The Oysters - Edouard Landry - Jennifer Lyn & the Groove Revival

Pearl & The Oysters - Treasure Island.

Treasure Island is the name of a beloved beach town on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The TI beachfront is home to a number of pretty iconic 1950s roadside architectural landmarks, like the Thunderbird Resort’s oversize neon sign, which we reference in the opening line of the song. It’s not a hidden-getaway type of spot but to us that beach always radiated a kind of magical healing energy. This song whose basic rhythm track was composed and recorded in a 10-minute span at Rockaway studio in December 2018 was our humble attempt at bottling Treasure Island’s atmosphere, in musical form. Featuring “the funkiest drum machine ever,” according to Shags.

Flowerland is the third album from French-American duo Pearl & The Oysters, available September 3rd, 2021 via Chicago’s Feeltrip Records.

With the band having recently relocated to LA, the album was intended as the final installment of Pearl & The Oysters’ ‘Florida trilogy,’ begun on their self-titled debut (2017) and continued on Canned Music (2018), a space age odyssey equal parts fawning over the Floweredland’s natural spectacles and mourning the peril that climate change has wrought on it all.

In comparison with previous releases, Flowerland reveals more of the inner workings of Davis and Polack’s minds, with the pair trading fantastical stories about zany characters for more personal narratives detailing worries of the everyday and universal variety. While the music remains primarily indebted to the escapist optimism of late-1960s soft pop, cloudier themes such as eco-anxiety, depression, and the stresses of finishing graduate school are all explored (somewhat cryptically) in the lyrics, although never in an overwhelming way. For Davis and Polack, Flowerland was meant as an attempt to channel crippling emotions into an uplifting listen, rather than a deliberately heavy experience.

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Edouard Landry - Be Here Now.

Ed released his first full-length English-language album, Be Here Now, a few days ago.

’Edouard Landry's songs are a mix of pop, rock, folk and catchy melodies. The Sudbury, Ontario artist was nominated for the ‘Best Male Performer’ category at the Gala des prix Trille Or (2017), ‘Francophone Artist of the Year’ at the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards (2020). 

His albums Pomme plastique II and L’escalade were nominated ‘Best Album by a Francophone Artist’ at the Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards (2017 and 2019).

Ed has released his first full-length English album, Be Here Now, about finding mindfulness and inner peace to live in the ‘now’ no matter where you are. The theme of the album is learning to live in the moment.

Edouard Landry · Be Here Now

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Jennifer Lyn & the Groove Revival - Nothing Holding Me Down.

On the plains of North Dakota, USA nestled between the tall grass and the open prairie sky sits a recording studio. The sound of over driven guitars with dueling lead harmonies and classic rock undertones rips through the air followed by vocals that reach you with a deep resonation in your soul.

This type of music, uncharacteristic of the area, is akin to a sound of decades past and Jennifer Lyn and her band, Jennifer Lyn & The Groove Revival, are determined to share their spin on this style of music with the world.

Her band's latest project, titled “Nothing Holding Me Down”, features music from a woman who clearly has a soul set a blaze like a person baptized in the river of Rock n Roll. Lyn was a child heavily influenced by the sounds heard while spinning her parents’ vinyl, and that influence led her to capture various genres on this release such as Rock, Blues, R&B, and a dash of roots music. 

This album is reminiscent 60s and 70s vibe Music melted into a pot of contemporary Blues-Rock.

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Josienne Clarke - Niloo - Rhys Evan - Reliant Tom

Josienne Clarke - Sit Out.

For the first time since her early beginnings, Josienne Clarke is flying solo. No label, no musical partner, no producer. Clarke is in complete control of her songwriting, arranging, producing, release schedule and musical direction. A Small Unknowable Thing, Clarke's second solo album will be released on August 13th via her own label, Corduroy Punk Records. Today she has shared the first taste of her new album and new sound in the form of defiant new single. 'Sit out' is frustration and defiance in sonic form. “All you stand for / Makes me want to sit out” she sings over thick, driving guitars and an almost Beastie Boys-esque drum beat. The heaviest moment on the album, ‘Sit Out’ sees Clarke fully let rip.

Despite writing a plethora of critically acclaimed songs, winning a BBC Folk Award, opening for Robert Plant on his European tour, playing prominent slots on some of the UK’s biggest festivals and even taking a leading role in The National Theatre’s revival of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good (after being personally chosen by Cerys Matthews no less), Clarke felt daily self-doubt as a result of an industry that variously gas-lit, put-down, questioned and othered. It’s an experience the vast majority of women making music today can identify with. A Small Unknowable Thing is, at least in part, about recognising there are still existing structures to keep women in their place – but it’s also about having the courage to break those structures down too.

“I realised that I had to be so explicit in explaining how much I’d done in order to get credit for it,” Clarke explains. “I started saying ‘No, actually, I did all of this, can we put my name on this thing?’ It’s really resisted – it’s as if I’m being an arrogant megalomaniac for wanting the credit for stuff that I did. Now, I just do it all by myself. If there isn’t another name on it, then there can’t be a misappropriation.”

After leaving her label, musical partnership and home (Clarke moved to a small village on the outskirts of Glasgow with her husband), she started afresh. Gradually, as she slowly began to write and record once more, the album’s narrative arc emerged and Clarke found herself again. “It’s an empowered narrative, not a weak and vulnerable one,” Clarke says of the album. “It was a conscious decision to walk away from my career as it was and there’s a positive message on this record: there’s a lot of reclaiming the narrative.”

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Niloo - Funny Face.

From Niloo talks about Funny Face -  I wrote it in 2018 and was originally hoping to release it with a band I had been playing with at the time, LOOELLE. But the song felt so personal to me and didn’t fit that project’s dreamfolk repertoire. I finally recorded it in February of 2020 at the beautiful Risque Disque studio, in collaboration with my friends Shilo Preshyon of Cartoon Lizard, Jen Yakamovich of Troll Dolly and Billy Young of Isness.

The sound of Funny Face is on the surface upbeat and vibrant with its driving beat, warm synth and catchy melody. Yet, the warping tape echo sounds and distortions throughout the track maintain an underlying sense of dreamlike darkness. In a similar vein, the lyrics of the song are about stumbling through your own path in life without taking yourself too seriously. It is about honouring your mistakes and shortcomings and striving for happiness rather than perfection in a world that’s far from perfect.

In keeping with this theme, the imperfect but inevitable timing of the pandemic forced us to get creative in making the music video. I teamed up with filmmaker Ali Calladine, who shot the video as a single person director and crew. The majority of the video was shot in the neighborhood of Fernwood, Victoria and features friends and community members in their respective ‘bubbles’. The visuals of the video capture the vibrancy and drive of the music, while the action follows the main character, who searches the neighborhood in hopes of finding the source of this strange music.

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Rhys Evan - Hailstones.

Recorded just prior to lockdown, multi instrumentalist 17 year old (then 16) Rhys Evan with fellow guitarist Josh Craig recorded in our Mid Wales studio.

Hailstones is an introduction to Rhys Evan, a beautify crafted song on the struggles of young life. A long song for a single we know, but we felt it best to leave it as it is. We have a trimmed version for radio plays only, that just bring the track in on the vocal missing the lengthy intro. We felt it best not to edit the main body of the song...although we tried!

Rhys is still studying at school in Aberystwyth and he is still developing as an artist. Currently he is finding musicians to perform live, but as everyone know, schools are in chaos with constant assessments due to Covid, so these are difficult times.

We hope you find time to listen to this great track and hope a space might open up for Rhys to get onto the airwaves with his very first recording. This release will closely be followed up by his second single , “Arcade Running” with his debut EP “Tiny House EP 1” for June 2021

First on board is The Guardian and NME writer Fergal Kinney, who has written an introduction to Rhys Evan on this his first release. We hope you find him just as interesting and hope we can all help Rhys go from a bedroom artist in rural Mid Wales to hopefully someone more widely known on the national stage.

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Reliant Tom - When We Were Young.

 The band’s new stand alone single that follows up last year's acclaimed album Play & Rewind, “When We Were Young” takes the band in more upbeat and pop direction. Written by singer Claire Cuny while visiting her partner Monte Weber’s family, it captures the vitality and nostalgia of reflecting on the past in the presence of family. The instrumentation features a thumbing energetic synth bass and an afro-rock drum beat that the band had been jamming to that summer.

In Claire's words, "The song started out as a sad, slow guitar ballad I wrote while visiting Monte’s family one summer. When we brought the idea back to Brooklyn, Monte transformed the song into the more uptempo, energetic tune it is now. We changed nearly everything about the tune apart from the key and the lyrics. 

The song was sped up, with a thumping energetic synth bass, and a beat which was a loose transcription of the opening measures of a Lafayette Afro Rock tune from the 1970’s that we had been jamming out to that summer. Monte’s new direction inspired me to sing more rhythmically than my original version and even inspired a simple but heart-felt guitar riff that opens the song and is looped throughout. It’s been a rough year, we hope this song makes you smile... even if you hadn’t felt good for a while."

Reliant Tom · When We Were Young

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