Harry Foxton - Arborist - Soft Loft

Harry Foxton - One More Night.

Boorloo/Perth rocker Harry Foxton is delivering passion and soul in his latest single ‘One More Night’ out yesterday. Not a stranger to the stage, Joel Stevens who goes by the moniker Harry Foxton founded established rock outfit Foxton Kings. Branching out into his own solo project, Foxton found a new passion for music playing his own originals.

Infused in indie, rock and country, ‘One More Night’ is a reflection piece. Exploring themes of love, hurt and the possibilities of these, Foxton sings with hopeful tenderness. His lyricism in ‘One More Night’ tells a warmingly honest story.

‘One More Night’ is a modern heartland rock classic. The track boasts bright upbeat choruses, sleek vocals and flourishes Bruce Springsteen-inspired guitars. Capturing the excitement of a summer love, the song musically expresses the highs and lows of the unknowing possibilities of where love will take you.

Recently visiting Nashville to showcase his work at Americanafest and Tamworth Country Music Festival, Foxton has supported artists Boo Ray, James Carothers and Mike Miz. To add to the list, the country rock singer has supported world class acts including Lillie Mae, Golden Guitar nominees The Banks Brothers, and Portland’s Jenny Don’t and The Spurs on the NSW leg of their Australian Tour.

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

Arborist - Alabaster Skin.

Alabaster Skin is the third and final single to be taken from Belfast artist ARBORIST’s forthcoming album An Endless Sequence of Dead Zeros released 21 April, Kirkinriola Records, which melds ARBORIST’s classic musicality with the more experimental hallmarks of producer Matthew E. White and the house band of Spacebomb Studio, Richmond, Virginia, where the album was recorded.

An intriguing and boundary pushing sound to file under John Cale, Bill Fay, Howe Gelb, Lee Hazelwood, Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, Wilco’s A Ghost Is Born and The Go-Betweens.

The meditative and utterly mesmerising piano ballad Alabaster Skin was written during recent riots in Belfast, and at what ARBORIST calls “The older, bitter generation stroking hatred in the young, only to realise that they are not of the same mentality, their minds not as poisoned.” Its closing line “Honey, I’ve been dreaming of an awful rage. In another body, in another language” hints at the album’s dream state feel both sonically speaking and in its esoteric lyrics, with much of it written in the surrealist fugue of the last five years.

Alabaster Skin’s dreamy musicality comes curtesy of the lush strings of Trey Pollard (Faye Webster, The Waterboys, Nadia Reid) of the Spacebomb house band and Matthew E. White’s unique production. As ARBORIST expands on the song’s creation “I didn’t want any guitar on the track, however, after a few run-throughs it all felt a little naked and the piano a little exposed, so Matthew came-up with the idea of passing my piano signal to guitarist, Alan Parker’s, Microcosm Hologram pedal and allow Alan to tinker with it in real-time during the take.”

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

Soft Loft - Is It Me (Including Live at Hotel Winkelried).

Jorina on their Debut-EP “The title of the EP comes from a song that we saved for the album. There’s a line on there that says, ‘and you give me Joni in case I still get lonely.’ Joni Mitchell’s music helped me through all sorts of stuff over the years, and I hope that this EP will do that for others. That’s why it was so important for us to be this candid while addressing these topics: heartbreak, dealing with anxiety, self-worth, loss of identity, depression, etc.”

The material was produced by grammy-nominated Gianluca Buccellati (Arlo Parks, Biig Piig, easy life, Lana Del Rey) and cut in a snowed-in studio in Engelberg. It was written in all sorts of "safe spaces" created by the band, one of which happens to be a cozy little house in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Cut off from the outside world, often for days at a time, they would get lost in music and the bottomless well of late night conversations, and the magic would just happen.

Soft Loft is a safe haven, an attitude, a way of life. It’s where the broken and the imperfect are embraced and celebrated. Soft Loft is non-hierarchical. Soft Loft is where reality is transmuted into dreams and dreams back into reality. Judgement is suspended here. Because vulnerability is the gateway to connection. Anything goes, as long as it’s heartfelt and it flows. Soft Loft is a collective of musicians dedicated to creating safe spaces using sound. Soft Loft are: Jorina Stamm, Sarina Schmid, Lukas Kuprecht, Simon Boss and Marius Meier.

Soft Loft · Is It Me

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

Laurence-Anne - NIIKA - Casual Worker - Holly Henderson

Laurence-Anne - Polymorphe.

Montreal based artist Laurence-Anne returns with her new single 'Polymorphe' via Bonsound and announces a UK tour. Laurence-Anne is an architect of the intangible; she sculpts musical landscapes composed of haunting melodies, lush synthesizers, synthetic rhythms and hazy textures, all coated with her voice, singing in both English, French and Spanish, capable of instilling both comfort and anxiety. All of these elements come together to create a blend of dream pop, coldwave and synthpop inspired by her imagination, intimately connected to her experiences, and deeply infused with her unique perspective.

Shortly after entering the Montreal music scene, Laurence-Anne made a big splash in 2019 with her critically acclaimed debut album Première apparition, making the Polaris Prize long list, which was followed by an EP showcasing her expanded musical horizons. Thus, the groundwork was laid for the release of her second album Musivision, co-produced by Félix Petit (Les Louanges, Safia Nolin, Hubert Lenoir) on which her creative identity was crystallized. 

Following its release, Musivision received high acclaim across Canada, such as being rewarded with an Artist of the Year award at the GAMIQ, a nomination for Album of the Year - Alternative at the ADISQ gala and the album also reached number one on CISM's year-end Francophone charts and was named one of the 15 best Quebecois albums of the year by Le Devoir.

Laurence-Anne’s newest single 'Polymorphe' is a track that affirms her mastery of dream pop. Carried by lush synth arrangements and a heart-warming chorus, 'Polymorphe' is about the ever-changing nature of dreams and the desire to connect with them, as if they were entities in their own right.

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

NIIKA - Sever Ties.

Chicago-based NIIKA (the project of musician Nika Nemirovsky) is soon to be back with an exciting new release, Still a Soft One. Ahead of that today we have the first single 'Sever Ties' a beautiful and touching song which exudes a dreamy characterful vibe. Her third release is a notable departure from her other works. It’s a solo record with focus on the singer's lucious voice and dynamic guitar arrangements. Easy to listen to, but never lacking in complexities and nuance, lyrically or musically.

Born in Uzbekistan (former USSR), her music draws on a multitude of styles from many disparate parts of the world, ranging from Russian folk and rock, to American indie, soul, jazz, and rock, to bossa nova, to classical, to folk music from India, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe (to name a few). The eclectic array of makes for a spell-binding experience that feels somehow simple and elusive at the same time.

Nika has been making music that dances at the intersections of art-pop, indie rock and neo-soul for nearly 10 years. Still a Soft One seems to mark a really lovely juncture in this artist’s career. She’s been primarily performing solo for the last several years, and her sound has adapted to this new dynamic. The album gives me the same feeling of self-reflection and audio-intimacy as Nai Palm’s 2017 solo release, Needle Paw. NIIKA peels away the bigger sound and more complex instrumentation of her past records to reveal five songs that are sweet and cathartic, but still so powerful. Her lyrics are utterly relatable, often somber, but never lacking in a good bit of fire and a healthy dose of cheekiness.

The recording process for Still a Soft One saw Nemirovsky collaborating with Chicago’s Vivian McConnell (who plays under V.V. Lightbody and acted as producer and “album doula” on this record), Dave Miller as recording engineer for the guitar and some vocals,  her partner and former producer Matty Witney (Dried Spider) as co-producer and arranger, and a few other artists and engineers in Chicago and Brooklyn.

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

Casual Worker - Flooding.

Newly signed Glasgow duo Casual Worker release Model Number on 28th April. The three track EP explores our relationship with the digital world - examining themes of misogyny, data and virtual spaces.

Casual Worker are Eve King (vocals) and Hamish Wickham (instrumentation). Inspired by 80’s cold wave and gothic electro-pop, their sound has been described as “dark retro electronica” (The Roddy Hart Show). Lead single Flooding is released today 17th March - the track layers infectious electronics alongside hazy guitar and King's enchanting vocals.

Since releasing their debut EP Mousetrap in September 2022, they have received praise from The Skinny, BBC Introducing and more. The upcoming Model Number EP will be released by Last Night From Glasgow.

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

Holly Henderson - Back After Sunrise.

London based Holly Henderson is back with a reflective new single “Back After Sunrise” from her critically acclaimed sophomore album “The Walls”. Glowing with gorgeous harmonies against a retro psych-pop backdrop, “Back After Sunrise” is a song about the end of a chapter and how we look idealistically at the time spent, when it’s all nearly over.

“It’s specifically about when I was ready to leave my home, to start a new life in America, before the lockdown”, says Henderson. “But it was so obviously the wrong choice. But not every decision to walk away from something is rooted in hating someone or something, sometimes it’s just not right, and that’s almost worse. But we soothe ourselves ‘I do my little dance, where we all pretend, we’ll be back after sunrise’, until we’re ready to move on.”, she explains.

The track, which escalates from soft glimmering melancholia into a fuzzy epic, comes from Henderson’s long-awaited sophomore album, “The Walls”, where the singer-songwriter shows a very different side to her musicality and depth. While her debut album, “Monday Green” featured Henderson’s impressive rock guitar work and alternative pop anthem prowess, her new work shows a more introspective, and slightly more delicate side to her songcraft.Recorded in a farmhouse in the English countryside, Henderson’s new album brings her full circle from her previous Los Angeles recorded album. Finely crafted arrangements, sonic musings, and playful themes take us on a journey with Henderson as she deconstructs her Brit Pop and classic influences and reassembles them into progressive-folk wonderment.

On “The Walls”, Holly said, “This album sits within a sense of place. As a songwriter, I can only speak of my own thoughts of home and belonging. I suppose this record is a wandering eye over the fleeting moments from the last few years, of when I felt at home, and when I didn’t. When I felt like the walls were tumbling, when they kept me safe, and when they became my prison. I learned the only way of breaking these patterns, was to let people step over the threshold. 

Due to the intimacy of the songs, I wanted to preserve the organic nature of the words and the arrangements. The heart of every song was recorded live, from the front room of a farmhouse in Sevenoaks - everyone facing each other, hearing each other, and working together. The sounds you hear are preserved in the moment that they happened. Tentative and selective moments were never changed in post. The other-worldly elements, synths, sounds, etc, were still captured live. 3 to 4 of us, tinkering with analogue synths, percussion, voices, iPads, etc, while the songs played. Rowan’s sensitivity as an engineer and producer, preserved every magical moment in his safe hands, while every person in the band shines throughout, regardless of trying to make this happen during the times of Covid, nothing was missing.”

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

Esther Rose - Tara MacLean - Pieta Brown & JT Bates

Esther Rose - Safe To Run.

Esther Rose will release Safe to Run April 21, 2023 via New West Records. The 11-track set was produced by Ross Farbe in New Orleans, LA and Placitas, NM and is the follow up to 2021’s acclaimed How Many Times. Alongside longtime collaborators Farbe and Lyle Werner, Safe to Run also features the New Orleans based band Silver Synthetic on many songs, Cameron Snyder of The Deslondes, as well as Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff on the title track.

Yesterday, the video for “Safe to Run” featuring Alynda Segarra was released. The song is a gorgeous duet that directly merges the personal with the global, superimposing feelings of spiritual displacement onto the larger, looming dread of climate grief. Rose says, "Sonically, Ross and I threw every idea we had on this song and it absorbed everything as if it were just this mega-powerful container. We built so many layers into the outro. I love Ross’s counter-melody on the Mellotron and the high-pitched 1-note synth drone which he refers to as ‘the angels.’ Nick Cohon, of Bay Area death metal band Cormorant, brought the doom by arranging the ascending guitar outro. It was so meaningful to collaborate with Alynda Segarra and to hear the song start to fly. Alynda’s voice is this expertly tuned muscle; when they sing, you feel everything."

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

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

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

Tara MacLean - Let Her Feel The rain.

Renowned Canadian singer-songwriter, Tara MacLean, wrote “Let Her Feel The Rain” following a breakup at the age of 19 which was deeply affecting.

“I noticed that I felt numb, and I went and laid outside on the grass at night in the rain, and just let it fall on me. I just needed to feel it, to feel the pain, and then let the rain wash it away. And it did. I wrote this song when I came inside, still wet and muddy. This was the song that made me realize that music was going to save my life,” explains MacLean.

Decades later, MacLean has reimagined the song with layered background vocals and strings evocative of the lush environment which she calls home in the Pacific Northwest.

“In so many ways the song is about rebirth,” says MacLean. When it came time to shoot the video for “Let Her Feel The Rain,” MacLean returned to her ‘nest’ on Salt Spring Island to perform the song, complete with hair and makeup done by her children.

“Let Her Feel The Rain” is taken from Tara MacLean’s upcoming new album, Sparrow, released on March 31st. Reimagining 10 tracks from her catalogue, the album is the companion soundtrack to Song of the Sparrow, MacLean’s debut memoir with HarperCollins which is out now, exploring the transformative power of music in her life.

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

Pieta Brown & JT Bates - In This World / Thing or 2.

Beloved singer/songwriter Pieta Brown and acclaimed drummer and producer JT Bates (Bonny Light Horseman, Big Red Machine, Taylor Swift) have teamed up for a new pair of singles titled “In This World” and “Thing or 2.” Out now through Righteous Babe Records, the tracks were mixed by Tucker Martine (Madison Cunningham, Calexico, My Morning Jacket) and mastered by Huntley Miller (The Cactus Blossoms, Sylvan Esso, Bon Iver).

After leaving the road suddenly last year due to an unexpected shoulder complication that prevented Brown from touring for a while, Bates reached out and offered a much welcomed distraction in the form of new song collaborations while healing up at home. “Making these pieces with JT was another musical and production experiment that I learned so much from,” stated Brown. “I'm still mesmerized by how these songs I had already written with my guitar could morph so fluidly into these other sonic realms. It was fun to play the Casio, and to really explore how to sing these songs without my guitar. As a singer I love experimenting with phrasing - the subtlest shifts can make such a difference. One slur and breath and suddenly it all works. JT and I have an on-going musical chemistry that I'm not sure either of us really understands, but is what allows for our spontaneous remote collaborations to happen, without ever feeling distant.”

While the two new singles sound very much like Brown, with no guitars in the mix her voice and melodies shine in a new way. On “In This World,” an ambient hook-driven Kate Bush-esque folk-pop song, she delivers a deceptively simple lyric with her quintessential blend of emotion and irony: “Days where roads are endless dark / Nights, I could just fall apart / In these cities, old and new / Far far away from the morning dew / Oh I'd do anything in this world for you / Anything in this world for you…”

“The essence of ‘In This World’ for me is this feeling of ‘push and pull,’” she continued. “So often I feel like I would do anything in this world for the people I love. But then some days I can't even find time or space to answer a simple text message from a friend. The push of the isolating hyperspeed at which we are all receiving information. The pull of this energy I get from feeling I would do anything in this world for the ones I love.”

On “Thing Or 2,” Bates’ mastery of rhythm and electronic layering provides a stunning backdrop for Brown’s deeply moving performance that spotlights her unique and powerful use of vocal phrasing. Drifting into almost jazz territory, influences like Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, and Bill Frisell can be felt throughout the track.

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

Rogue Jones - Terry Emm

Rogue Jones - Dos Bebés (Album).

Recorded during a 5 year period which started whilst Bethan and Ynyr (Rogue Jones) were expecting their first child and ended just before the birth of their second child. Dau Fabi. Two Babies. Dos Bebés, is an album exploring life in all its messy glory – light and dark, profound and ridiculous….Raw, bombastic, vulnerable, gentle, big, playful. LIFE and LIVING….BEING ALIVE, embracing the imperfections and seeing the beauty in every moment.

“The initial sessions back in 2017 were experimental and meandering; we turned up in Tŷ Drwg (the studio home of our longtime producer Frank Naughton) with only very loose sketches of songs and often built the song up in the studio in an extremely liberating way of composing and recording.

By the end of the recording process, in winter 2021, we were up against it to finish the album before the baby arrived so a more raw and impulsive approach was taken.

The fact that we have two main song-writers who have quite different styles and influences means that the band’s songs tend to be quite varied in genre. Our first album was quite varied in its musical style and instead of intentionally trying to hone down to a ‘Rogue Jones’ sound for the second album we just wrote and recorded however we felt and embraced the eclectic nature of our sound. And it turns out that even when we try to make 70s disco, thumping dance music or soulful ballads; it still somehow comes out sounding like us and us alone.

Some songs deal directly with parenthood, but all songs are viewed through the prism of becoming parents in a way, whether they’re concerned with spirituality, religion, politics or anything else.

The album takes us through a 5 year period of our life - from hearing a baby’s heartbeat for the first time, through childbirth, toddlers scribbling on things, to pondering why so many new fathers take up Iron Man triathlons, alongside the varied themes and thoughts that floated through our heads - a song that came fully formed in a dream, one based on an alien conspiracy theory, mathematical conundrums, and politics of love. It’s a representation of our subconscious in this time.

Libertino · Rogue Jones - Dos Bebés

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

Terry Emm- Island Soul.

‘Island Soul’ is the third single to come from critically acclaimed Hertfordshire singer-songwriter Terry Emm’s forthcoming fourth album ‘Wish You Were Here’, due out May 19th. ‘Island Soul’ is a departure from the previous two singles ‘Wish You Were Here’ and ‘November Evenings’, which are both richly woven melancholic Americana tracks.

‘Island Soul’, however, is a joyous calypso built on nylon strung guitar and an infectious shuffling rhythmic groove, with Emm’s storytelling bringing emotions through amongst the lazy surf-folk vibes. Maz O’Connor’s sweet guest vocals elevate the repeating hummed sections throughout this story of an Island romance.

On the song, Emm said, “I love the atmosphere of staying in a hotel and it’s somewhere where I often find inspiration to write. There’s a certain mystery in the air as to who might also be staying there and who I might meet. When I wrote ‘Island Soul’, I was thinking slightly of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Chelsea Hotel’, but it’s also loosely based on an old demo song I wrote as a teenager about wanting to escape to live on an Island.”

Produced by and featuring the instrumental talents of Lukas Drinkwater, ‘Island Soul’ is sure to turn heads with its colourful beach-ready sound and catchy hooks. The vibrant animated video for the track, created by Holly Mcintosh & Sam Wisternoff, is a hazy daydream of dancing crabs and mermaids as Emm imagines disappearing to live on his very own desert Island. It’s another exciting single of what’s shaping up to be a gorgeous and unpredictable fourth album from Emm.

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

The Nude Party - D’Ambrosia - Smaller Hearts - The Rishis - The National Honor Society

The Nude Party - Ride On.

The Nude Party returns with Rides On via New West Records. The 13-song set was produced by The Nude Party and mixed by Sam Cohen (Kevin Morby). Rides On is the anticipated follow up to their 2020 LP Midnight Manor which debuted at #1 on the Alternative New Artists Album chart. Met with critical acclaim, American Songwriter said in their 4/5 Star review, “The sextet’s combination, some may say collision, of blues, swamp, and twang are once again dragged into the garage, dusted with Todd Rundgren’s pop dust and energized with a ragged but right bluster.” No Depression said “Rides On is The Nude Party’s steadiest collection yet, thoughtful and wide-ranging, cohesive and tight” while Glide Magazine exclaimed “The Nude Party deliver their strongest work to date with the free-flowing Rides On.”

Rides On, the band confidently says, is their best record. It’s also the most homegrown and the most organic record they have created to date. Unlike their first two albums, they decided to produce Rides On themselves. Tired of paying for studio time and being rushed, they used the funds they’d saved and spent a year building a studio space out of a barn in upstate NY. When the band met the Tampa-based engineer Matthew Horner, they discovered they had the opposite problems: Matthew had a collection of incredible gear with no studio and The Nude Party had a great new studio with no gear. 

So they invited him to move his equipment up to the Catskills to record an album together. They methodically worked at their own pace. Out were the sessions lasting a strict handful of days. In were impromptu writing moments and picking every sound as they went along. The relaxed atmosphere of the sessions, and arriving with only loosely structured material, allowed the band to thrive in the studio. It also unleashed a diverse sonic texture compared to their previous releases. The lack of pressure allowed them to record over 20 songs, including some that dabbled in electro-pop and stripped-down country before settling on the final 13 tracks.

The band recently released the video for the album’s title track, the singular “Ride On.” Shot entirely on Kodak 16mm film, the “Ride On” video was filmed at their barn in upstate NY. Sonically, the song is reminiscent of Sticky Fingers-era Stones, but its lyrics are mini-vignettes where Magee sings about persevering through adversity. Five of their songs are also featured in the new season of the Netflix hit series Outer Banks, including the brand new song “Sold Out of Love.”

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

D’Ambrosia - Sweet Maybe

D’Ambrosia returns with “Sweet Maybe,” an upbeat new song of love in limbo. “‘Sweet Maybe’ is meant to convey the experience of a reluctance to commit, in our current culture of dating apps, casual hook-ups and on-again off-again relationships,” said vocalist Kim D’Ambrogi (she/her). “This song is from the perspective of the recipient of that ‘sweet maybe,’ with the tenuous balance between the hope and frustration of what that word represents. It can be enough to keep us holding on but not enough to feel fulfilled.”

“Makin’ it easy / Then watchin’ me yearn,” sings D’Ambrogi, in smoke-sculpted vocals located where country conventions meet classic rock; reflecting on the moment when ‘maybe’ begins tipping the scales: ‘together or apart?’.

Coupling a rocky edge with a tongue-and-cheek, yet vulnerable narrative, the single alludes to the experience of floating between a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ by that fateful little hook of a word, ‘Maybe.’

 

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

Smaller Hearts - Belts and Braces.

Halifax duo Smaller Hearts began as a game. Kristina Parlee and Ron Bates tore up pieces of paper, and on each they wrote a word that could describe a song: slow, fast, quiet, loud, odd time signature, with or without certain instruments, et cetera. Through three albums, these “instructions” distilled into a catchy synth-pop laced with just enough experimentation and discord to keep things interesting.

“Belts and Braces” is about coming to the realization that too much careful planning can actually be counterproductive. There’s an intentional urgency in the bass line; the keyboard part sounds like an alarm, to mirror the anxiety of overthinking. Then, the song comes to a decisive and confident conclusion.

This is the second single in advance of their fourth LP, Rock and Roll Was Here To Stay, which will be released on April 21 via Noyes Records. Embracing nostalgia even as it refutes it, the harmonies soar while synthesizers collide with guitar feedback. Smaller Hearts continue to evolve with a set of songs that are better than ever.

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

The Rishis - Holiday.

The Rishis splits time between Athens and Atlanta, Georgia and features Max Schneider (son of Robert Schneider and Hilarie Brastet of the Apples in stereo / High Water Marks) as well John Fernandes (Circulatory System / Olivia Tremor Control).The main songwriters in the Rishis are Sofie Lute and Ranjan Avasthi. August Moon is a healing album. If feeling stressed put this album on and put on the headphones and seriously let it wash over you. RIYL: Vashti Bunyan, Devandra Banhart, and Sybille Baier.

The Rishis duo of Ranjan Avasthi and Sofie Lute hail from Athens/Atlanta, and Tacoma. They are set to release their new album, August Moon, on April 20th, 2023, via Cloud Recordings. Though the duo has been together for nearly a decade, August Moon is their long-awaited debut. The rishis are also the newest band to proudly bear the Elephant 6 logo, with many active members of the E6 collective rotating through the band's roster.

Musically speaking, August Moon is an album of gentle, lush, psychedelic songs with a hint of hazy, folk-rock. It isn't hard to imagine the rishis wandering around the subcontinent playing their songs with their friends, and everyone having a grand old time high on some lovely tea. It's hard to avoid singing along to songs like "Holiday" and "Jetstream", thanks to their catchy melodies. But August Moon isn't all folk-rock; "Holi" and "Just Between You and Me" are moody rockers that give Avasthi's songwriting muscle and make for delightful listening. Also worth noting is the Lute-sung "Make Me Love You", a country-rock ballad that will make your eyes shine. And let's not forget the closing song, "Uttar Pradesh", a tribute to Avasthi's Indian ancestral roots.

Crashingthrough · The Rishis - Holiday (August Moon)

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

The National Honor Society - As She Slips Away.

Like the rest of the world, Seattle indiepop band The National Honor Society found themselves facing the problem of isolation. Pre-pandemic, they recorded their debut album, 2020s To All The Glory We Never Had, which was well-received. So what to do for the follow-up, when the world is forced into isolation?

"This was a new process for everyone in the band as it was the first time any of us had recorded an album remotely," says frontman Coulter Leslie. "Having always historically gone to studios, there was the fear that maybe that unique studio magic or energy wouldn't be there, but what we found was that the unlimited time we had to record our parts really allowed us to explore ideas and to go in different directions that we might have, had the clock had been ticking. So I think that's why you'll hear a little more adventure in this record as compared to our first."

Thus was born To All The Distance Between Us, released April 10th via Shelflife/Discos de Kirlian/Subjangle Records, an album that carries on the band’s formula of dreamy pop and rock. Fans who fell in love with their gentle, Ocean Blue-style melodies will be happy to hear songs such as "As She Slips Away" and "Remember The Good Times," both gentle numbers that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on their debut album.

But the real reward comes from the results of the aforementioned experimenting. "Control" is a frenetic rocker with an XTC-minded urgency that wouldn’t sound out of place on current modern rock radio. "It’s Killing Me" gives Franz Ferdinand a run for their money, while "The Trigger" is a driving shoegaze inspired rocker that is relentless in its beat. Then there’s lead single "In Your Eyes," which is supple and lush in its harmonies and its gentle melody, a fine love song perfectly fit for the spring crush mixtape you know you want to make.

nhs · As She Slips Away

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

Erin K - Mary Anne's Polar Rig - Bethan Lloyd - IST IST - La Faute

Erin K - Keep Her.

With a growing audience of over 3 million streams on Spotify, following the fruitful collaboration on 2019s I Need Sound, the American-born London-resident musician has continued her work with co-producer Kristofer Harris (Belle & Sebastian, Ghostpoet) and recorded new album Sink to Swim at his Squarehead Studios in Kent.

Erin’s narrative-driven songs are as forthright and personal as they are engaging and the candid nature of her often fearlessly self-deprecating lyrics make repeated listens of the timeless songs rewarding. None more so than Keep Her.  “This song illustrates the circumstances of a girl who is bound to her relationship with a controlling partner”, Erin says. “It is written almost in the form of an encouraging letter to the dominant party, offering advice on how to “keep her by [his] side so she can’t let go”. As the verses unfold, the extent to which this girl is broken and bound are poetically revealed.”

This subject matter is intensely personal to Erin who “found myself in similar relationship dynamics in the past. It’s disturbing how reality can be so drastically altered in this way.”

The song evolved considerably from its original form to the final studio recording. “Musically, it was interesting to witness the evolution of this song, originating as something very sombre and heavy. The arrangement is lighter now, serving as a nice contrast to the subject matter”. The video for Keep Her was made in an unconventional way using cutting edge gaming technology.  Director Dylan Copeland explains, “Using camera trackers designed for gaming, and a hardware compositor designed for broadcast, we projected Erin and her guitar from our studio in London to a bench in a virtual clearing in a virtual forest in an Unreal Engine”.

 

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

Mary Anne's Polar Rig - Som En Dröm.

Rama Lama Records proudly presents 'Makes You Wonder', the new album from Malmö's art-rock-fuzz-pop duo Mary Anne's Polar Rig. Their sophomore effort is shape-shifting art rock that’s alternatively brooding and euphoric, the record is packed with irresistible melodies, needle-sharp guitars, scuffed-knees scrappiness and Hofvander’s snarling, growling and yelping vocals, but compared to their debut it vastly expands the scope of what they can do with it. The album will be out March 24th on all platforms, CD and a limited gatefold double vinyl.

A lot of the story of Mary Anne’s Polar Rig’s new album Makes You Wonder is about ambition. It’s a record the band made to explore new territory, to really see what they could do. New single, and the record’s final one, “Som En Dröm”, is that ambition made real - it’s five minutes of soaring, grandiose music, skyscraping art-rock that feels bigger than anything they’ve made before.

“Som En Dröm” (Like A Dream) announces itself with a stomping guitar riff, and grows into a swirl of jangling guitar lines and thumping drums. It feels like a song written in different chapters, with its choppy intro, rock-and-roll sing-along chorus and helter-skelter, guitar-shredding outro. But fueling it all the way is a sense of restlessness, of longing to run towards the horizon and never look back.

Singer Malin Hofvander says: “We used to call this the ‘bob hund’ song as we were working on it. They’re probably one of our all-time favorite Swedish bands, so it’s no secret that they’ve been an inspiration for us, and especially on this song. It was the last song we wrote before going into the studio, and I think that made us want to experiment with it more. Production-wise, I was really looking for that dreamy feeling of walking through different atmospheres, never knowing where you’ll end up next. Zakarias Lindhammar, who did the mix on this one, really did an awesome job. It’s probably the track I’m most proud of on the album”

About the video, MAPR says: This song was a wild ride in the studio. Much like its title (translated to "Like a Dream") we wanted it to have many parts drifting in and out of each other in a way that somehow makes sense although it's slightly unnatural. It will be released together with a music video featuring the dreamworld of a twisted detective desperately seeking signs of alien activity in Malmö. It was shot and edited by our friend Oskar Rydlinger who filmed us on tour in Germany 2018 and for several different loose music video projects over the years that never reached the surface. So he used all of that archive material he had for this video to make it really feel like a warped timeline of nostalgic memories blasting at you. We also threw in some really old videos of ourselves as kids just to go full circle with it. Guess the story is not really supposed to make too much sense... it's like a dream.... finns ingen tid"

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

Bethan Lloyd - Aria.

Bethan Lloyd is a Welsh artist whose trance inducing vocals expand over an ocean of rave inspired production, harmonic layering and otherworldly ecstasy. Her sonic exploration has taken her from training as a classical singer, immersing herself in Berlin’s experimental music scene, to learning with shamans, masters and the ancient teachings of the natural world. 

In her latest single, Aria, Bethan, producing alongside Pre-Human bandmate Isaac Ray, takes her intense explorations of the spirit and emotional realms and blends them into something playful and danceable, a gritty experimental pop.

The landscape itself often becomes the inspiration for Bethan's creativity. She is frequently journeying with her sonic tools to ancient Neolithic sites and places of awe and wonder and allowing her surroundings to inspire a unique vocal soundscape. Aria is one such example. Written in Bryn Celli Ddu, a Neolithic burial chamber on the Isle of Anglesey, Aria is an ode to the ancient Welsh, to the Sun gods and sleeping ancestors. Stirring up a sense of the forgotten past, the chorus is an emotional cry for a sense of belonging and the desire to truly find one's home.

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

IST IST - Nothing More Nothing Less.

With their upcoming third album fast approaching, IST IST are pleased to unveil the latest track to be cut from the record: “Nothing More Nothing Less”. Chiming with the overarching concept of ‘Protagonists’ (out 31 March, via Kind Violence), the Manchester band’s new single finds them stepping into the shoes of a character trapped in a complex relationship and at odds with her true feelings. As frontman Adam Houghton explains:

““Nothing More Nothing Less” is a simple love song really written from a woman’s perspective who isn’t exactly sure what she wants.” Infusing atmospheric synthesisers and inspiriting backing vocals into their signature post-punk sound, “Nothing More Nothing Less” sees IST IST delivering one of their most cathartic and climactic singles to date.

“Nothing More Nothing Less” arrives as the next-in-line in a string of fascinating singles to have been released in recent months, with “Something Has To Give”, “Stamp You Out” and “Mary in The Black and White Room”, all leading the way to their upcoming ‘Protagonists’ LP later this month (31 March). A record all about new beginnings, the album will touch on the trials and tribulations of love, tricky family relationships, and the feeling of being trapped by the past. The title is inspired by songwriter Adam Houghton’s magpie-like method of writing, with its songs placing prominent characters, fictional and non-fictional, into dystopian worlds with new and uncertain outcomes. Recorded and mixed by Michael Whalley and IST IST at Milkshed Studios, the album was mastered by the legendary Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound (The National, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol) and as its precursory singles suggest it will see Ist Ist traversing a broader spectrum of genres and sounds than ever before.

Alongside the album, IST IST also delighted to confirm news of another exciting venture - a brand new community studio. Acting in response to the shock closure of the Brunswick Mill rehearsal spaces earlier this month, a facility used by IST IST since 2018 but also countless artists from across Manchester, the band quit their day-jobs and have decided to establish their own rehearsal rooms. Built with their own bare hands and located on the third floor at Nile Mill A in Oldham with just shy of 4,000 sq ft of space, KVR Studios aims to offer a safe space to all of the creatives in the city who have been evicted from Brunswick Mill and similar spaces blighted by gentrification. The studio will boast nine rehearsal rooms in total, a blackout photo studio big enough for photoshoots and videos, and lockable storage areas to store equipment. With 24 hour access to the facilities to accommodate all schedules and needs, rooms will be available to rent in four hour blocks or monthly, with multi-band sharing opportunities also available.

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

La Faute - Watercolours.

A hidden gem from the frozen heart of Toronto, Canada, art school dropout and Sony Music Publishing artist La Faute (aka Peggy Messing) has released her lead single and music video, Blue Girl Nice Day, from the debut album of the same name.

La Faute is Messing’s dark, dreamy solo project. A visual artist, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter originally from Winnipeg, Canada, she explores themes of surface vs. depth, longing, betrayal, mourning and desire. Using tenor electric guitar and obsolete hardware samplers, she created her captivating live show and released her debut EP just before the pandemic. She chose to pause performing live due to her health, and returned to focusing on creation, finding workarounds to the problem of isolation. She connected with fellow artists and producers in France, the UK, Canada and the US to create music during this time, most recently with LA-based Topher Mohr who produced her upcoming album.

She received unanimous praise for the first single from the album, ‘Blue Girl Nice Day’, in February 2023, an unsettling, haunting song inspired by the Milgram experiments of the 1960s. The song was accompanied by an eerie video that showed the artist making a bed in a windswept field with looming power lines in the background. Messing has become increasingly interested in filmmaking, art-directing and shooting music videos for each song herself, inspired by French new wave and film noir aesthetics.

Messing is a former Girls Rock Camp Toronto volunteer, and found inspiration through helping girls get into music, offering them something that she wished had existed when she was growing up.

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

Matilda Mann - Blueburst - Alice Phoebe Lou - Panic Pocket - Davey Woodward & The Winter Orphans - Plastic Barricades

Matilda Mann - The Day That I Met You (Performance Video).

Rising British voice, Matilda Mann, today uploads an immaculate live performance to her new single ‘The Day That I Met You, which seamlessly combines a timeless sound wrapped around an also timeless message. Matilda will be playing London's Jazz Cafe on May 18th which is now sold out. Speaking about her new song, Matilda said “The world can suck. And some days it feels more like a constant than temporary. But then you meet someone, and the hand life dealt you, suddenly doesn’t feel so bad…”

Matilda Mann is a born-and-raised Londoner who has enjoyed an incredibly bright start to her still-young career in music. On the airwaves, Matilda has enjoyed tastemaker support from the likes of BBC Radio 1 where her last was premiered as Hottest Record In The World, KCRW & NPR. At press, she’s had similar impressive support from titles such as Evening Standard, Clash, The Line of Best Fit, DIY, COLORS, and NME to name a small handful. Offline on stage, she’s supported The Staves and other rising UK talents Holly Humberstone, Arlo Parks and Beabadoobee.  Matilda’s own headline shows are growing impressively having sold two London shows in 2022 (Lafayette & Earth) with a performance on the Park Stage at Glastonbury in between.

2023 will be an important year for Matilda Mann who has plenty of music on the way that’ll further highlight her enchanting, poetic songwriting. Although she is an important new British artist to look out for in 2023, her talent feels more timeless.

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

Blueburst - Vanish.

New Alt-Rock artist Blueburst releases it’s debut single Vanish today March 10, resurrecting the music career of guitarist/vocalist Criag Douglas Miller, with help from one of his musical idols, legendary guitarist Marty Willson-Piper.

As a 17-year-old budding musican soaking in the vibes of The Church’s Gold Afternoon Fix Tour at Atlanta’s Center Stage Theater in early 1990, the idea of working on an album with The Church’s legendary guitarist Marty Willson-Piper never crossed Craig Douglas Miller’s mind. “I loved The Church and thought Marty was just about the coolest guy on the planet back then. I never dreamed I’d be collaborating with him someday,” said Miller. But that’s just what happened.

The collaboration started after Miller sought out his hero Willson-Piper for help in getting musically unstuck after a 20-plus-year period untreated clinical depression, and writer’s block had led to zero finished songs. Starting out as a sounding board and coach, Willson-Piper’s role evolved from a teacher/student dynamic into a true musical partnership. And thus, Miller finally found himself with the thing he’d been sorely missing: a trusted mentor and collaborator. With Willson-Piper behind him, Miller dug in, started writing again and created an album’s worth of original songs, under the moniker Blueburst, the name of the finish on his favorite guitar.

With Blueburst, Miller and Willson-Piper have created a lush, guitar-based alt-rock sound, firmly rooted in 80s alternative and post-punk, but with a timeless feel and foot pounding pace. In a world of often overproduced, slick alternative rock, Blueburst is unapologetically retro in style, proudly wearing it’s oldwave influences on its sleeve. “Most of my friends, and a lot of younger people as well, still listening to the albums we grew up with. Because there’s a rawness and honesty in that music. That’s what we wanted to capture.

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

Alice Phoebe Lou - Shelter.

Berlin-based Alice Phoebe Lou has built an incredible reputation and fan base with her swooning vocals and other-worldly musicianship.

'Shelter' is her new single released today and It will be the first single to be revealed from her new album which will be coming later in the year. It's a gorgeous, upbeat offering that's full of light.

Originally from South Africa, Alice is currently on a huge world tour and has just announced more dates including Kentish Town Forum in December, which is exciting!

Releasing as an independent artist, Alice has had exceptional self-generated success, with around 100 million streams to her name and loyal fans all over the globe that continue to multiply.

Things have really ramped up for Alice since her last release in 2021 and 'Shelter' feels like a dreamy slice of perfection to kick off the album campaign.

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

Panic Pocket - Mad Half Hour.

A new wave of indiepop is emerging in the UK and Panic Pocket are at the forefront of it.  Playful, tuneful, sardonic and sassy, Sophie and Natalie have been friends since childhood, know each other’s secrets - and probably know a few of yours too.

Formed in 2017, Panic Pocket soon became a DIY sensation, releasing debut EP Never Gonna Happen, with Reckless Yes in 2019. For their first album, Mad Half Hour, the duo have found a new home.
For Amelia and Rob at Skep Wax, Panic Pocket reminded them of loads of bands they love  – Bratmobile, Lovely Eggs, Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre – while also seeming completely unique: “Panic Pocket know how to turn anger and humour into brilliant pop songs.”

Many of Mad Half Hour’s 10 indie-pop anthems are concerned with being at odds with life's accepted milestones, feeling alienated from the people you thought wanted the same things as you, while trying to forge your own path. So the top-down janglepop of ‘Boyfriend’ reflects on what happens when your best friend finds love…and insists on bringing it everywhere, and ‘Get Me’ answers claustrophobic questions about settling down with a not-so-silent scream over some deliciously dirty riffs.

But Panic Pocket’s superpower is their sense of fun. On Mad Half Hour, you’re never more than a few seconds away from a monster hook, killer harmony or an acerbically witty turn of phrase worthy of the band’s heroes Aimee Mann or Liz Phair. From receiving a cryptic “frog emoji” from a long-forgotten one-night stand, to ‘Don’t Get Me Started’’s streetlit walk of shame “via Morrisons car park”, no memory is off-limits, no matter how painful.

If you want punkpop exuberance, lyrics that are so truthful they hurt, plus some very infectious tunes - then Mad Half Hour is exactly the soundtrack you need, right down to the minute.

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

Davey Woodward & The Winter Orphans - Everyone Recommends.

Davey Woodward & The Winter Orphans release new single Everyone Recommends  today 10th March. The track is from their upcoming album Mystic Science, released 21st April.

Bristol-based songwriter Davey Woodward is known for his extensive career in music, including his time in The Brilliant Corners, The Experimental Pop Band and Karen. In 2017, Davey gathered a group of friends, seeking to create a new project from his solo work. The Winter Orphans are Julian Hunt, Steve Dew and Jonathan Bewley. Mystic Science is the band's third album together following their 2018 self-titled debut and 2020 Love And Optimism.

Davey describes the new album as "warm, seductive, melodic, human, mostly intimate, sometimes raucous, folk n roll", the LP is available on vinyl and digital by Last Night From Glasgow.

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

Plastic Barricades - Counting Fireworks.

London indie rock band Plastic Barricades returns with a new single “Counting Fireworks”. This is the second introduction to the upcoming third album “We Stayed Indoors”, due later this year.

Hopeful and uplifting "Counting Fireworks" is a celebration of new beginnings, the transformative power of change and the limitless potential for growth and exploration, felt so intensely by so many of us at the very start of each new year. Beauty and wonder are found in life's uncertainties, but at times this beauty becomes obscured by anxiety and pessimism.

“Counting Fireworks” is a reminder that we don’t have to face the unknown alone; together we can always sing louder.

The single is released alongside a quirky music video, that continues the tradition of weird and truly DIY video art so close to the band’s heart. Inspired by the works of Michel Gondry, David Lynch and Ok Go, the whole video was shot in one take, with no edits or cuts. Produced by the band’s art director Elina Pasok, the 4-minute and 30-second clip takes you on a bizarre trip around a flat, filled with memories, dreams and visions of the future.

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

Kindsight - Güero - Lauren Monroe - Harry Kappen

Kindsight - Madhouse Breakout Multitool.

Danish four-piece Kindsight make music that draws from 80’s and 90’s alternative rock and combines it with the shimmering Scandinavian pop that the region has become so renowned for, resulting in a sound that is both fuzzy and melodic in equal measure. Next week, the band heads to the US for SXSW and ahead of that new track 'Madhouse Breakout Multitool' is released. The single follows atmospheric stand-alone single 'Love You Baby All The Time' and continues to expand the band's sound without losing their lovable characteristics.

About the track, Kindsight says: "Madhouse Breakout Multitool concerns the true story of two siblings boarding up their house somewhere in the Danish countryside to keep safe from a breakout at the local madhouse. Taking place in a bygone age when such places could be escaped."

In 2022, the band released their debut LP via Rama Lama Records to praise such as "your new favourite band". Titled "Swedish Punk", it's an album packed with charming and infectiously catchy noise-jangle-pop melodies full of exuberant optimism and coming-of-age tales inspired by acts such as Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Snail Mail and Big Thief. The album was followed by tour dates in Scandinavia, UK and Germany.

Atop jangling guitars, Nina Rasmussen’s distinctive voice dances somewhere between that of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and Alvvays’ Molly Ranking, leaving the listened renched in the nostalgic optimism of summers gone by. There’s not a single song that would feel out of place in an 00’s independent movie. The band possess an unmistakable talent for crafting disarmingly buoyant yet achingly nostalgic indie-rock songs based on the everyday.

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

Güero - Gone Away.

Sacramento quartet Güero released their latest single “Gone Away” yesterday, from their upcoming sophomore full-length album, Wednesdays, out April 7 via Dutch Records. The guys once again tapped director Paul Bates to bring the song to life with a video.

Discussing how “Gone Away” came together, drummer Mike Ruiz noted, "This was a chord progression from Rik that came together rather quickly. There was a lot of back and forth on this song and how it should be structured… Is the solo too long? Is it long enough? Is the vibe off?... were constant talking points. Russell brought his old vox wah pedal for Shea to try out, and the vibe of the song changed dramatically. It gave it this heavy, moody, kind of dark energy that really made the first half of the song fall into place and flow into the second half.”

Güero announced Wednesdays in January with the “Streams of Light” single, which Under the Radar called it, "a lost classic reemerging from a forgotten corner of the radio.” The album was recorded live at Pus Cavern Studios in Sacramento with ace recording engineer Joe Johnson and further elevated by Oakland producer and fellow musician, Akiyoshi Ehara (The Seshen, Geographer); who amping up and dialing down dynamics added greater tones, higher fidelity, heavy delays and string arrangements.

“We always incorporate something we haven’t explored before and Aki was the maestro; he took our sound to another level. Nothing stands out as something which shouldn’t be there or what one of us wouldn’t play,” added bassist Russell Volksen.

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

Lauren Monroe - Love Is Alive.

With the release of the new video, “Love Is Alive,” singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and healing artist, Lauren Monroe, continues to honor her rock roots while spreading a message of healing through music. Co-produced with Jim Scott, the single features performances by Rick Allen (Def Leppard), Beth Goodfellow, John Ginty, Dylan Rose, and more.

“Love is a living, moving and healing experience ready to be shared and lifted in one another,” she says. “If you feel the love, please unleash the powerful energy with your communities.”

That mission is intrinsic to all that Monroe does. With her husband - legendary drummer Rick Allen of Def Leppard - Monroe started the Raven Drum Foundation to serve, educate, and empower Veterans dealing with PTSD and TBI, people in crisis, and other at-risk populations. The foundation engages music as a tool for healing, allowing participants to use rhythm, mindfulness, and energy-medicine techniques as an avenue for connection and healing, and supports complementary and alternative-medicine programs for trauma recovery.

For the past two years, Raven Drum has organized the 12 Drummers Drumming online auction, with items donated by artists such as Taylor Swift, Stewart Copeland, Zac Hanson, and more, raising over $100,000. Last year, Raven Drum invited a group of drummers, Veterans, first responders and supporters to the Amazing Grace estate to experience the magic of a drum circle and the healing benefits of music and community.

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

Harry Kappen - The Freedom Inside.

Dutch musician, multi-instrumentalist and music therapist Harry Kappen is known for making bold political statements and raising awareness on global issues through his music. While his previous music often calls for large-scale global change, his latest single “The Freedom Inside” is a gentle reminder for people to start a positive change from within themselves, which will ultimately impact the world.

“We all know we live in troubling times with war, climate change, indifference, etc.” Says Kappen. “There’s a lot of complaining everywhere (social media!) and declining trust in governments. If you want to change the world, stop nagging and whining at others and start to change yourself first and search for the freedom inside you to do so!”

In addition to being a notable musician, Harry Kappen is also a music therapist. He offers his services at a youth care center where music therapy is used to help young children cope with various problems and disorders. Harry also offers his expertise as a lecturer for an international master’s degree program in music therapy. Always playing with the magical power of music, Harry Kappen is a standout artist and musician who creates music from the soul, and for the soul.

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