I've been hiding a little bit from the blog lately... I felt pretty rough last week (hooray for catching a cold / flu thing at Christmas when you work in retail and being stuck in a spiral of never feeling completely better... that's where I'm currently at) and ended up avoiding my inbox for a while. I'm now realising that I've neglected the blog a bit, so I'm dipping my toes back in the water... and what better way to do so than to big up an album from pals of the blog, Low Island. They released their second album Life In Miniature about a month ago, and it is a shoe-in for my album of the year list, if such a thing is going to exist this year. I bloody love them, and this album, so much.
In the depths of my flu-y misery last week I found this live session of Forever Is Too Long on my Youtube homepage and was reminded why I love these guys. You should love them too. Go forth and fall in love:
Somehow, criminally, I've never posted about Emma Gatrill's solo music here before - and yet it feels that rarely a week goes by where I'm not falling in love with a track that she's had some involvement in, often lusting over those gorgeous clarinet solos. I first came to Emma's work through Matthew and the Atlas, and have recently been loving tracks that she's played on by Maja Lena, Siv Jakobsen and Rachael Dadd. She's got fingers in many a lovely musical pie! This year, alongside creating a baby (a particularly sweet collaboration with Marcus Hamblett) Emma has been busy making lots of new music. There's an EP on the way, and first track Be Brave is out now. It's a delight to be asked to premiere the beautiful video for the track - enjoy!
On the track, Emma shares: "Be Brave is about how even when someone is going through something very difficult, time continues to pass. About how we all have the strength to keep going if we keep our eyes on the horizon during hard times. It is a reminder that we need to keep looking forwards and up, even when we feel down.
This whole batch of new songs was born from an attempt to invert my writing process - starting with rhythmic elements rather than with the harmonic and melodic harp and vocals. So in this case it started with some drums that Rob Pemberton sent over. We found two really nice bars that worked well played at the same time and looped them. One plays in the left speaker and one in the night. I wrote the song around this loop, exploring a tempo and rhythmic feel I might not have otherwise found. All the upcoming songs were written in this way, with lots of contributions from a wide range of drummers and producers."
Goodness me. I love Rae Morris. So much. Her record Rachel@Fairyland is a shoe-in for my album of the year round-up (which will, in true CMAT style, arrive *very* late in the year) and it looks as if she's after a second spot in the list as she is releasing Rachel@Pianoland on 25th November. Ohhhhh yes! My personalised vinyl-only piano version of her previous record of Someone Out There is a prized possession - you could say that I'm a little bit excited for this. First track birdsong on the breeze (a reworking of Morning Isn't Morning) is out now and is completely and utterly sublime. If you love this as much as I do, Rae is heading out on tour from tomorrow (!) taking in Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and London's Lafayette on Tuesday. Now, to persuade myself that Rae is absolutely worth tackling trains for and grab a London ticket...
This is honestly one of the most exciting things to appear in my inbox for a long time - Dizzy are back!!!!! Ahhhhhhhh. I'm genuinely thrilled by this news. If you're new here, I've been sort of obsessed with them for a few years, and have a lot of love for their debut album Baby Teeth and its follow-up The Sun And Her Scorch. With more new music on the horizon for 2023, they're back with new single Barking Dog (via Communion Records) but things are looking a little different...
A new era for Dizzy sees singer Katie Munshaw donning a particularly striking mask in press photos and the music video for this track. On the (brilliant) reasoning behind this, Katie explains "I'm a very anxious and sensitive person. Thinking about taking a bunch of photos and videos of myself, especially after two years in isolation, felt a bit shocking and scary, and like something I didn't really want to do."
"I find it strange how musicians are often introverted people, yet one of the largest parts of our job is visually selling ourselves to an audience. It feels unnatural to pine for strangers' attention to afford rent or whatever, and as someone who's particularly sensitive, it isn't sustainable. To me, the mask not only represents a calloused version of myself but it lends itself to an anonymity that I love. A Jane Doe of sorts. I like the idea of a female artist making the conscious decision to take her appearance out of the question for the audience."
On the video, Katie continues: "Our director was like, 'what if you just punched yourself in your face for three minutes straight?' and I was like 'Fuck it, why not?' We did three takes and by the end of it all I was pretty teary. I don't know that I will ever forget being in that bathroom with my pal feeling very safe and understood while simultaneously scared of my own feelings. 10/10 would punch myself in the face again."
Slightly bewildering to think that the last gig I went to was in June (the lovely Memorial) - a show at which Elanor Moss was opening and was in beaaaaautiful form. Like, really good. Ridiculously talented, of course, but also a brilliant stage presence. With me just about getting over her debut EP Citrus, she's just announced the sequel, Cosmic, which is releasing via Blue Raincoat Music on 23rd February. The news arrives with the first taste of the EP, Cosmic Memory, Elanor's first full-band production. The marriage of Elanor's vocals and those strings... agh. Too good.
"'Cosmic' came after a year of exploration for me. I'd just moved to London, and was experimenting with different styles lyrically and musically, writing with friends for the first time, and visiting New York to work with my friend Oli Deakin on the new record. For the first time in my creative life I felt the freedom to be playful and experimental in the writing process, foraging for different ways to express complex feelings. Before, I was in the thick of a feeling without much perspective, this time I've embraced an approach of 'sometimes all you can do is laugh at yourself.' It's been a liberating rabbit hole to go down."
A slice of much deserved joy - Brooke Bentham is back, yesssss!!! We deserve this news. Brooke's record Everyday Nothing (and its stripped back counter-part Sunday Self) was one of my favourite releases of 2020, so I'm thrilled that she's back with a corker of a single, taken from an upcoming EP. The track was recorded with Patrick J Pearson at Middle Farm Studios.
On the track she shares: "'Over and Over' was written fast. It was my way of asking myself if I could just write a song that I didn't have to think too much about, but reflected where I was at. The last few years have been full of road trips, camping, staying indoors. It's my ode to road trips, getting away from life, feeling like yourself and enjoying being alive. I wanted it to physically sound like that."
Fancy some ethereal beauty for your Thursday morning? I've got you. The new track from néomí is a stunner. Following up the before EP from earlier this year, she's back with red balloon and I'm still very much in love - it's a joy to see the evolution of Neomi's sound across singles.
On the track, she shares: "red balloon was written in the winter of 21. I'd moved into a new home together with my boyfriend and we were going through a tough time. He suggested we write a song together so we went to the piano, sat down having not discussed a lot, and just let the music speak. Little did we know we were writing a break-up song as we parted a couple of months later. Maybe we did know, but we were just very content at that moment creating a song together. I still love that man very much, but love is a very complicated thing as you might understand. The song wasn't finished so months later I decided to finish it up with a good friend of mine. I gave it a twist, as my heart literally burst like a red balloon at that time. Now I just hope that one day I'll be lifted like a beautiful red balloon that didn't rip open."
"The song is about knowing you love someone very much, knowing you want to be with someone still, knowing it doesn't work out the way you want to, knowing that it might be over soon, trying to hold on, trying to let go, losing yourself and for that reason hoping that one day you can cope with the fact you let that one person go and feel gracious again without them."
"I'm a tangerine, peel me, throw me in the sink. Leave me there to stink."
As opening lines go, Siv Jakobsen has struck lyrical gold. Having recently shared the first part of her Gardening record, we're onto desperately awaiting part two, which is due via The Nordic Mellow on 20th January. The first taste of that half is new track Tangerine. With dream team Marcus Hamblett and Emma Gatrill adding synths and bass clarinet to the track, it's a delectable musical delight.
The track is told from the perspective of somebody who feels helpless and trapped - "I imagined someone who was held against their own will inside a run of the mill suburban house, looking out from the front room and willing for someone to come let them out. This someone is mentally stuck, a deer in headlights, scared and frozen. Not wanting to stay but unable to leave - worthless in another's world, like a carefully peeled, squashed and tossed tangerine."
I'm not posting much at the moment as I'm really struggling to find the time, but dropping in now and then to share things that I love - and at the moment, that's the debut album from Banji. It's ridiculously good. I've been a fan since the first single found its way into my inbox almost exactly two years ago, and I am all kinds of excited that the album is finally out. It's been a great soundtrack for my commutes over the past few days. You can (and must..!) listen to Freshcakes here, but to whet your appetite, there's a lovely acoustic session from a few days ago below.
Talking about the process of making the record, frontman Morris Brandt explains: "Banji's songwriting has always reflected my surroundings and environment. Big themes of this album are struggling with adulthood, self-worth and self-esteem, mental health and frustrations, addiction, and finding your own self-discipline and maturity over time. The lyrics that flowed out of me throughout the making of Freshcakes tend to be built around introverted thoughts, personal social situations, and subjects that I find difficult to dissect. Stressful feelings about mistakes made, expectations unfulfilled, and the guilt that surrounds that. At a young age I've learned to use music as an output for frustration and stress. The main thing that I wanted to do with this record was find a place for those feelings and letting them go, kind of like therapy in a way."
Agh, I love Connie Constance. Her debut album Miss Power arrives in a few weeks via Play It Again Sam and she's just shared another brilliant cut from it. You know that an artist is brilliant when each new track becomes an immediate favourite, and this is certainly the case with Connie's music - I fell in love with James on first listen a couple of years back, and have gone through obsessions with Electric Girl, Prim & Propa, Miss Power and Mood Hoover since then. I might have a new obsession now.
On the track, Connie explains: "My revenge song, this is a song for all the villains that are just a product of their environment. This is for the Joker and Harley Quinn. In this realm the villain is the peoples champion and anarchy reins. As an artist people think you just get lucky, one song blows up and that's it you're a success over night.
No one sees the years before that, they don't hear the years of music that didn't make it out the hard drives or the note pads. This song is about the lowest time in my life and in my career when Connie Constance the artist was dead and buried and it's about how I climbed out that grave and didn't let anyone take my love of writing and my hunger to share my music away from me.
If I wasn't mad before I'm definitely a bit crazy now. But I feel bulletproof cause I had to fight to get my powers back. Nobody should ever have to feel stuck or unworthy. I hope this song reaches anyone who feels trapped, scared or squashed and I hope they listen to it before and after tell their oppressor to get fucked."
You all love Divorce, right? Of course you do. You definitely should do. Not *that* divorce... the superb indie four-piece from Nottingham. They've just shared Checking Out (my current obsession) with news of their debut EP Get Mean, which is due via Hand In Hive on December 2nd. I cannot wait! If you enjoy this one - check out the equally brilliant Prettyand Services.
Talking about the track, Tiger Cohen-Towell explains: "the track was written when a group of musician friends and I did a songwriting exercise, the challenge being to write five songs in five days. I think it was maybe the 4th day of the process and I wanted to write something that was as far away from myself as possible, I was tired of my own personal narratives.
I've always loved dramatic country and western ballads and a major inspiration for the track was country-singer Marty Robbins, who writes the most intense 'gunfighter ballads', which are bordering on slap-stick in their incessant violence and all-American heroism. I wanted to flip that on its head by having a female narrator who feels justified in her heinous act because those gunfighter ballads make you root for the underdog anti-hero, even if they are behaving completely irrationally - that's a running theme in country music I think. 'Checking Out' is satirical and humorous, whilst getting into the head of a person who has been pushed too far and had enough of mistreatment in a relationship (although I don't condone murder!)"
Divorce are Tiger Cohen-Towell (vocals, bass), Felix Mackenzie-Barrow (vocals, electric guitar), Adam Peter Smith (electric guitar) and Kasper Sandstrøm (drums).
If I'm going to post irregularly, dipping in and out every week or so, it's wise to make those occasional posts something extra special, right? How about some gorgeous new Maja Lena for your Wednesday? Completely beguiling. So so stunning. Through The Wall is the second single to be taken from Maja's upcoming second album Pluto, which was produced by longtime collaborator Rob Pemberton and is releasing via Chiverin Records on 2nd December. The track sees Rob on drums, Alex Heane on bass and Emma Gatrill on clarinet (who else?!)
On the track, Maja shares: "I wrote 'Through The Wall' while we were recording the album. I wasn't
sure if it would make it onto the record, but I couldn't stop playing it and
then we ended up tracking it. Lyrically, there are themes of feeling torn
between two worlds, themes of feeling not good enough, and themes of feeling
lost. It's also about the strange passing of time."
Dream collaboration time. Imagine the stunning vocals and musical styles of Chartreuse and Orlando Weeks combined... well you don't have to, because it is here and it is a beaut. Of course it is. The blend of vocals feels so natural - might we expect them to make some more music together in the future? I certainly hope so.
On Satellites, Chartreuse share: "We've been big fans of Orlando's work for many years and were introduced over email a few years back. We sent him a piano idea we'd been messing around with that we couldn't seem to go any further with. He sent back a beautiful voice recording from his laptop microphone of an almost finished song about Satellites. He called us up and told us he was getting a space interstellar feeling, then probably a year or so later he came over and we finished the song off! Enjoy!"
So GOOD. Every single time. They never miss. New Low Island dropped at
the end of last week and is, as ever, a four-minute bop and my current favourite. They'll always manage to get me out of a big of a blog slump, too - I've simply got to share this with you all...! Along with recent single Can't Forget, new track Kid Gloves is taken from their upcoming second album Life In Miniature, due 4th November via their own label Emotional Interference.
They've also just announced - and put on sale - their next London headliner at Oval Space on March 2nd. After missing the last few I simply have to be at this one!! Tickets here.
Best news - there's a new Prima Queen track to wrap your ears around. I loved Chew My Cheeks last year (how is that last year?!) and I wasn't the only one... the best pal duo have been making a name for themselves among the likes of DIY, Dork, NME and The Line of Best Fit and have toured with Dream Wife and Wet Leg, among others. With a UK tour incoming later in the year, they're back with new track Eclipse, which is as brill as ever. This one was once again produced by The Big Moon - dreamy pairing.
On the track, they share: "It's about the hesitation of entering into a new relationship while you're still reeling from a heartbreak that fucked you up. It was quite a cathartic group experience recording the song - we got to sing the last chorus all together at the top of our lungs. We released a lot of pent up rage we didn't know we had."
A run of festivals and support shows culminates in some headline shows this November, taking in Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester and London. All dates here.
Stepping away from the acoustic songs of the last few posts to share this new track from my faves Melin Melyn. Somehow, they're able to make something as everyday as calling up your energy supplier into a psychedelic dream of a song (the lyrics are brilliant, honestly.) The aptly named Hold The Line is taken from their upcoming EP Happy Gathering which is releasing digitally on 30th September, and on vinyl in early 2023. Why not whet your appetite with last year's superb BlomonjEP?
On the track, singer Gruff shares: "I called a well known energy supplier that has recently gone into administration to get advice on my rocketing bills. I spoke to a lovely lady called Lisa. After a short chat, she asked me if I could Hold the Line for a few minutes. No problem, she promised she'd call me back. Whilst waiting, I wrote this song. She never called me back. And I promptly switched off the boiler."
I'm fully in a bit of a sad song phase at the moment, lapping up all of the gorgeous harmonic acoustic music that I can get my ears on. I shared the new one from Lizzie Reid a couple of days ago, mentioning her feature on this... it's too good for me not to share this one too. Jake Whiskin has announced his self-titled debut album with the single Drive You Home. Releasing via Dance To The Radio on 4th November, this is such a stunning taster of the record, which was produced by Lee Smith (Easy Life, Holly Humberstone) and Rob Slater (Yard Act, Crake) at Greenmount Studios, close to where Jake grew up.
Talking about the new track, Jake shares that it is "a song about a relationship that's on its last legs and plays out over a firework display whilst you internalise how much you've grown apart over the years. I pretty much wrote the whole song around the lyric 'I will drive you out your mind and then I'll drive you home'. It always felt like a duet to me so we got Lizzie Reid on board who is obviously amazing and she just took it to a whole new place."
Beautiful song alert. Album news alert. Be alert - the utterly enchanting Sophie Jamieson has shared news of her debut album Choosing (YES!) with first single Sink. The album is due via Bella Union on 2nd December. I've long been a fan of Sophie's music and I can't wait (but I guess I'll have to...!) If you like what you hear below, I'd recommend her most recent EP, Release.
Sophie describes it as "a record about hurting yourself, realising what you are doing, trying to understand why and trying to learn to stop", adding that she "spent a lot of time finding pain unbearable, trying to avoid it in every which way possible and only ever making it worse by running away. It was the most isolating experience."
"These songs are about trying and falling to love yourself and other people, trying again, getting it really wrong, seeing things blurry and then seeing them clearly, and making the choice to pick yourself up, choose yourself, set yourself free by allowing yourself to feel pain, anxiety, loneliness, and then the beginnings of joy, love and connection."
On the new track, Sophie shares: "This song comes from the vulnerable place of knowing you are about to lose control over using alcohol as a band-aid. It also bridges the undeniably strong place of realising that you can choose to rescue yourself. I wrote it with an image of being alone on a desert island, some place that was so quiet and beautiful it felt eerie, almost threatening and incredibly lonely."
Well this is all sorts of beautiful, isn't it?! Love Lizzie Reid, and chuffed that she's got a new EP on the way. Releasing via sevenfoursevensix on August 31st, it's called Mooching and I can't wait to give it a listen. Opener Love Of Her Life is a slow-burning delight. Really special. Those guitars are lush, but it's Lizzie's vocals that completely transfix. It's a double Lizzie week too, as she's on the new Jake Whiskin track, Drive You Home, which is just as brill.
On Love Of Her Life, Lizzie shares: "At the time I wrote the song, I felt like I was looking at heartbreak from a new and less naive perspective. But now I have a bit of distance on it, I can see I was still carrying a lot of baggage. For example, when I say 'I don't mind', I see now that I clearly do mind - but I have a different way of confronting my emotions."
Some brill album news for your Thursday from Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) and Jess Williamson. Both successful artists in their own right, they've joined forces as Plains and have announced their record I Walked With You A Ways, due 14th October. As a one off collaboration, supported by a North American tour, there's something special in the momentary existence of the project. Something to be truly enjoyed while it happens. First single Problem With It is out now! No problems here, in fact, I'm loving this...
Katie shares: "I'm thrilled to announce this new project and album. I've felt a connection to Jess's songwriting and a kinship with her since we met years ago. Getting to lean into the influence of the music we both grew up with while also making something that feels very current and fresh to me was a great experience and I'm so happy to finally share it."
Jess adds: "Making this record with Katie was a deeply expansive experience for me as a songwriter. I really trust her ear and sensibilities, and she encourage me to explore aspects of my songwriting that in the past I've shied away from. Katie's support was so important for me as we wrote this album. We gave ourselves permission to lean into the music that raised us and write the kind of classic timeless songs that we both grew up singing along to. For me that was The Chicks and Dolly Parton, and having a place to channel those influences was an absolute blast. My hope with Plains was to tap into something Universal. I love the album we made, and I'm so excited to play it live."
I'm staring at an empty post and wondering what to share, what to start writing... but right now, nothing is really coming close to the new record from Maggie Rogers. Predictably. I love love LOVED Heard It In A Past Life and I've been waiting patiently for this one and... I'm in love all over again. Maggie! From the first listen, a strong favourite of the unreleased tracks was Anywhere With You so here I am, sharing it with you, in the hope that you'll find it just as much of a delight as I do. The build to that passionate outro... agh.
Also more than worth a mention on this brilliant album is I've Got A Friend. So good. And all of it. Lyrically, musically, I'm in love with this record and with Maggie. I'm so EXCITED by it. Can you tell? Albums from Rae Morris and Maggie within a few weeks of each other is a ridiculous treat and it'll take something pretty special to knock Maggie's off repeat right now...
A quick post today as I'm off to London soon for a very exciting book-related
event. I'm usually not one for remixes, as a rule. Aside from some artists, they're normally just not
for me. I gave this one the benefit of the doubt though - it's
Bess Atwell, of course I had to. She's enlisted a string of musical
friends to remix tracks from her record Already, Always and the tracks
are emerging as the Already, Rearranged EP (Sept 16th). The first track sees
Igor Haefeli (Daughter) rework Time Comes In Roses and I
have to say, I'm vibing with it. Elsewhere on the EP we find
Billie Marten, Liz Lawrence and Chartreuse. Dreamy.
Bess writes: "When we decided to do a remix EP I never imagined we'd create something
I'm so proud of and excited to share. I'm a fan of every artist involved in
this project and I wanted them to have total creative freedom and to
showcase their own perspectives on the songs. Considering I gave them no
brief at all, I'm all the more proud of what we created and the tracks as a
cohesive body of work."
"I love remixes that keep roughly the same song structure but still manage
to reinvent it. Igor did an amazing job of re-contextualising this song,
gifting me the ability to hear it as if for the first time, from the
outside. I absolutely adore this remix and was so excited when I first heard
it."
On the process of remixing the track, Igor shares: "When I first heard 'Time Comes In Roses', it instantly felt like an honest and vulnerable song. The lyrics seemed as if they'd been written without too much judgement, beautifully composed yet raw. My original idea was to splinter different parts of Bess's vocal to push the stream of consciousness feel even further, but I just kept coming back to the song's original structure, back to how it flowed naturally. The colour really tilted for me once I started emphasising and manipulating some of the darker parts of the track. I think that's what I really connected with: the idea that we all have different faces, a few of which we might not be proud of but are, nevertheless inherent to ourselves."
Wyldest is back with Tin Foil Girl, the latest single from her upcoming album Feed The Flowers Nightmares, arriving via Hand in Hive on 9th September. One of my favourites from her so far, I reckon... catchy and empowering - the perfect combination. Not gonna lie, the video for this one has me kind of transfixed too, and makes me want to dig out all of my skateboarding games. Directed by Zak Watson, it showcases Wyldest (Zoë Mead) celebrating the joy of skateboarding alongside a community of skaters.
On the track, Wyldest says that it is "about finding your own superpower to achieve a real state of flow and what I'm coining 'organic happiness.' The kind of happiness that can only be achieved by doing something active rather than passive, activities that truly encourage growth.
Having dealt with more anxiety than ever in the past few years, I've really had to battle this temptation for 'quick fix' happiness, as it doesn't last and it can sometimes lead to worsened problems. I'm not particularly good at skateboarding, but it is therapy for me. I use it as a way of getting out of dark places and it works because I have no ego attached to it."
Wyldest will be performing for Rough Trade in London, Nottingham and Bristol in September to launch their exclusive silver edition vinyl, ahead of a UK headline tour through the rest of September. Dates and tickets here.
Oh my goodness. I'm completely in love with this - one of my favourite tracks
and videos of the year so far. So good! We all love The Big Moon,
right? They're back!!!!! New album Here Is Everything is due October
14th and the first single from it is as dreamy as the band themselves. The
Louis Bhose directed video will give you all of the friendship
feels. I could ramble about how brill it all is (the Pooneh Ghana album cover too...!) but I wanted to share this from Jules, sharing to Instagram recently.
Hello its jules here. I wanted to try and explain a bit where ‘Wide Eyes’ came from. Its a short song and there aren’t loads of lyrics but in that magical way that songs can mean so much and be made of so little, its tied up in a giant tangle of emotions and experiences for me and my family and our band.
It was 2021. And I was desperate to write a really big, happy song. I was 5 months into motherhood and my soul was overflowing with something but I was too physically and mentally exhausted to actually string words together and define it and make music with it. Later that year I met @jessicawinter666 who came into my life like an angel and helped me turn those jumbled feelings into a song and I think its just a mad snapshot of a time when life just felt huge and holy and raw and incredible. I was still breastfeeding, I was barely sleeping, I was losing my hair, I was pumping and sweating and crying and lonely and only just about coping but amongst all that, I felt a burning love and a new kind of happiness. I guess the world felt innocent again. For a while anyway.
For me this song feels so personal but when Soph, Celia and Fern stepped in it turned into something bigger, and it feels like friendship and promise - we have loved every minute of being back together and doing what we do. The way they have supported me not just musically but personally through the last year has been just huge and when I listen to the songs on this album I hear all of it and feel all of it again. I love them they are the best godmothers and queens of my life
So yes its hard to explain how much this song means to me, I’ve probably touched on about 0.00002% of it, but basically, after doing the whole rollercoaster of pregnancy and birth and becoming a mum and that whoooolllle mess, this song marked the time when i started to feel like myself again. And that’s SUCH an important time for a new parent. Its a place of pure relief and its so full of love and joy and Im so glad it exists.
Let's escape the heatwave for a moment and go back to July last year. Wunderhorse (AKA Dead Pretties frontman Jacob Slater) was bursting onto the scene with Teal and I was nothing short of obsessed. A few singles later, he's just shared Leader of the Pack and the obsession is back. The press release describes it as "an instant earworm" and I couldn't agree more... it has glued itself to my brain, and you won't find me complaining. The track is taken from the upcoming debut album Cub, releasing via Communion Records on 16th September, with a show at London's Lafayette on 20th October.
On the track, Jacob shares "Leader of the Pack is a song about betrayal. About not being able to escape the thing that eats away at you, it's a song written as a means of getting even."
Happy Sunday, folks. I am beyond excited to share the news that Hazey Jane are back! The indie-folk trio from London have long been friends of the blog - I premiered a video for their track Mother's Lie way back in late 2017 - but they've been away for a couple of years on a health hiatus. The time away from performing has proven productive when it comes to writing, and they're back with an EP ready to release later this year. The first taste of it arrived a couple of days ago in the shape of Be Better Today, and it is (of course) all sorts of lovely. I've missed these guys.
The band explain that the new track "addresses the difficulty we all experience when trying to empathise with people we do not understand. The song imagines "a room full of love", a space representing kindness and tolerance, from which it is all too easy to walk away. 'Be Better Today' is not merely a criticism of narrow-mindedness, but rather an invitation to pause, listen and be conscious of experiences other than our own."
"I wondered what would happen, if they made music out of me."
New artist (for the blog) time!! Following their first single Double Aquarius last month, Bells Larsen (he/they) is back with People Who Mean So Much To Me, and this one really stopped me in my tracks in the inbox last week. Featuring Leith Ross on background vocals, the track features "vignettes about three distinct relationships that I had fostered throughout the span of a single year."
Larsen adds "I wrote People Who Mean So Much To Me during the pandemic, while I was really missing community. The song is a reminder to myself that, even when I'm feeling lonely and isolated, I will continue to cross paths with incredible people and build meaningful relationships."
The track arrives with a video directed by Daniel Crawford and animated by Bachar Bachoura, Daniel Crawford and Katie Finn, and which features wasps - a theme through the record. Bells adds "the record itself it about loss, and the act of losing can be like a wasp's sting. Also, there's a voice memo that features a song about wasps that bookends the record. This is all to say that it feels like I've had a wasp following me around for the past few years. That's where the idea for the video came from."
Both tracks are taken from Good Grief, releasing via Next Door Records on 9th September. Pre-save the record here.
Dreamy collaboration time. About a month ago, I caught Elanor Moss supporting Memorial in London. A couple of weeks prior to that, Bess Atwell opening for Bear's Den. Both are incredible songwriters and artists in their own right... imagine my delight to find that they were releasing a collaboration! The track is Sober (Again) - a re-worked version of a track from Elanor's Citrus EP. As expected, it is bloody lovely. Brb, off to beg a promoter to stick these two on a line-up together so that I can hear this live.
On the collaboration, Elanor said: "I've been a fan of Bess' since she released her brilliant debut album last year. When Oli Deakin sent me the strings he'd arranged for our alternate version I knew her smoky, nostalgic voice would be the perfect fit. Then when we reached out and she said yes I was thrilled! Getting her flavour on it was really special. She nailed the delivery and really got into the character and sentiment of the song."
Bess adds: "I hadn't heard Elanor's music until Lucy (Rose) put me in touch with her about a possible collaboration, but having Lucy's endorsement meant I knew I'd soon be a fan. Elanor is a stunning lyricist and singer so it was a privilege to get to contribute vocals to this beautiful track. I chose Sober because I was struck by its simplicity, and the moving, intuitive melody."
Tumultuous political carnage aside, I've been feeling pretty under the weather this week and keeping on top of the blog has felt a bit of a chore (boo). Then - into my inbox - a quick reminder of just why I spend so much time doing this... some *very* exciting news about an artist I love, and an early listen of something new. The artist in question is Low Island (Oxford superstars/general heroes) and they've just released new track Can't Forget. I'm not sure exactly what we did to deserve this, but the track is taken from their SECOND ALBUM (!!) Life In Miniature which is releasing on 4th November, via their own label Emotional Interference. Now breathe.
Can't Forget arrives with artwork born out of a collaboration between the band, creative director and sculptor Freya Douglas Ferguson, photographer Brian Rankin and floral artist MOS. The track has a brilliant live video, directed by the band themselves... my desperation to see them live again as soon as possible is growing by the second as I watch it.
On the track, Carlos shares: "it's a reflection on the headyness of youth and a fear of growing up. Verse 2 is a nod to the day I left home; as I drove down the street, I caught my Dad crying and waving me away in the wing-mirror of my car. It's one of those memories that gets printed right onto the front of your mind and that you never forget."
I've been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days so it's a little quiet here at the moment, but I'm all sorts of excited to find new Baby Queen in my inbox. I've been fully embracing my Baby Queen era since the release of Heartstopper (on which her music features heavily, and for which she wrote the track Colours Of You). Nobody Really Cares is her latest release and it is another solid gold ~anthem~ for a generation. The message? Stop trying to please everybody else, express yourself however you want to - because who really cares?
Speaking on the track, she shares: "Nobody Really Cares is about realising it's okay to be yourself and do exactly what makes you happy because people are selfish in nature and only have so much space inside their brains reserved for you. I think it's really liberating to know that nobody cares about your self expression as much as you sometimes think they do so filtering yourself to please them is pointless."
Happy Thursday! Shuffling back towards the keyboard after a few days of work and watching the emails in my inbox pile up. It can be a little overwhelming, but also provides so much joy when I find releases from favourite artists in there - like this from Cj Pandit!!! Just a few weeks after releasing his +44 EP, he's just shared I Wonder What You're Up To Now. What did we do to deserve this?! A dreamy slice of bedroom-pop-folk to escape into and hide from the world for three minutes. He never misses.
On the track, he shares: "I Wonder is a song about getting lost in the daydream of the melancholy of something that's out of reach or doesn't exist anymore."
... hi! I've been hiding from the blog a little as I had a week off from work just now and have spent the majority of it out walking and looking for birds and bugs (bliss!) Back to work today, and writing this yesterday (time travel) thinking that I should probably share something pretty special to make up for the lack of posts lately. It didn't take long at all to realise that the new track from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs fits the bill beautifully. On repeat, honestly. Tender openings teaser you into the dance vibes - exactly what you know and love from TEED. In love.
A decade (!) on from debut album Trouble, the new track is taken from his upcoming second album When The Lights Go, releasing via his new label Nice Age on 9th September. Over 17 tracks, the new record explores the ups and downs of the intervening decade between albums - Orlando shares "I feel grateful to know that there are people who are interested in more music from me. So I want to give them something significant in length."
Following on from yesterday's Siv Jakobsen post, how about we stick with some more brilliant Nordic music? Though they currently live in Wales, I SEE RIVERS (AKA Eline, Gøril and Lill) are all originally from Norway. Having impressed fans (like me) with their beautiful harmonies and fun performances (I saw them supporting Cosmo Sheldrake in 2018 and loved their set - especially the fact they were knitting merch along the way, if I remember correctly...) the trio released their debut album Deep & Rolling Green in 2020.
The timing of the release meant that they weren't able to perform shows to promote it, instead sticking to online events. Finally, however, they're heading out on the belated D&RG tour this month! To celebrate, and to mark the start of another chapter (I hope!) they've shared their first single since the album, Your Love.
Talking about the track, they explain: "the song itself portrays a relationship that is coming to an end from the perspective of someone who is obsessively trying to find rhyme or reason in the words and actions of the other part. The almost anthemic chorus contrasts the painful acknowledgment that the relationship is not working out anymore and is now only ground for pain and difficulties."
With my birthday impending next week, it'd be rude not to share a track called
Birthday... right? I was delighted to see Siv Jakobsen was
returning last month, and when I'm just about getting over the stunner
Most Of The Time she's back with another new track. Aaaaaaaagh.
Brilliant - and relatable - as ever! She's also sharing details of three UK/EU
shows this September, including London's The Slaughtered Lamb on
29th.
On the track, Siv shares: "I imagine a vast pool of ended relationships where both parties sit at
their own gloomy ends, greatly disliking or even hating the other. I wanted
to write a song with this in mind, that there are often two deflated and
angry hearts involved, both feeling the same anger, the same sadness.
The song is also a retrospective look at a hard time in my life - my 25th
birthday - with a strong realisation that I would never want to go back, no
matter the circumstances. To me it encapsulates a mutual feeling of wasted
effort and time toward something that was doomed to fail from the
beginning."
Reasons to smile today - Maja Lena is back!!! She released the stunner of a record The Keeper just over a year ago, and she's back with news of her second record Pluto, releasing via Chiverin Records on 18th November. First single No More Flowers is out now, once again produced by the legendary Rob Pemberton and with a video directed by Martha Webb - both are a joy, and exactly what I love Maja for.
Talking about the new track, she explains: "No More Flowers marks the acceptance of a close friendship ending or changing course, and deciding to stop putting energy into something unreciprocated. I'd been re-watching Studio Ghibli films at the time and fell in love with some of the earlier heavily synth driven soundtracks. I liked the idea of some of the parts sounding like creatures from another world in conversation with each other, which Rob managed to emulate better than I could imagine. Despite the song not being of a particularly happy theme, I wanted the music to feel fun and uplifting, as sometimes change can be a really good thing, even if it doesn't initially feel that way."
Having worked for 13 years on a natural horsemanship yard and on a no dig permaculture vegetable growing project, Maja is immersed in the natural world - so it is a starting point for much of her music. She explains "I find the repetitive motions of walking, seed planting, sweeping really beneficial to writing music. I'm also very introverted so I find working alone out on the land quite recharging, it can in turn give me energy for music and gigging. My love of nature and animals feeds into the sound. I like to find sounds or riffs that might conjure landscapes in my head, for this album that's otherworldly sounds or creatures in particular."
While the previous record was very much placed in the pastoral, this one is set in an alternate world close to Pluto, a decision inspired by Maja's increasing fascination with science fiction in TV, literature and art. Intriguing... I can't wait to hear more!
I went to a gig! I had a last minute day out in London on Thursday to catch Memorial at House of St Barnabas, a members' club in the heart of Soho with a chapel hidden away in it, and it was such a delight. I've been enjoying their record for the past couple of months, and it was a treat to see them performing the tracks from it - as well as a couple of covers, and even a couple of brilliant new tracks - with a full band, including Jools Owen (Bear's Den) and Ally Mackay (Marthagunn).
As if the Memorial guys weren't enough, they had Elanor Moss and Sunflower Thieves opening for them - three artists that I love and have supported through the blog. A bit of a dreamy evening all round, and in a stunning space too. I'd not realised how much I missed getting to introduce myself to artists and other people at shows as the person behind this blog (especially when they say nice things about it in return!) and getting to tell artists I love how brilliant they are in person, too.
Since the show, I've been in a little bit of a Memorial bubble, so when I was thinking about what to post next, it had to be their latest single and video. Honest happens to be one of my favourites from their self titled record, too.
Speaking on the video, the pair shared: "we had an incredible time filming this video. We had the wonderful privilege of using a boathouse and surrounding grounds in The Lingholm Estate with massive thanks to Joe and Jenny (the owners) for letting us stay the night! The video centres around the main character (Jeremy Zinunu) who has a comfortable life, but suffers from feeling numb and lost, we act as light relief, but eventually he needs to find the strength in himself to not need us as a distraction.
Jeremy and our amazing director Gregg Houston both braved the freezing cold lake for some of those beautiful shots, we can't be thankful enough for that and everything else they and the team managed to achieve. It was essentially a holiday for us, boating on the lake, curry outside with a nice fire and staying in a beautiful holiday home."
Time for a look ahead to another of this Friday's releases - this time, it's Once Now, Then Again, the debut EP from Vermont-based musician and producer Lutalo Jones. Performing as Lutalo, they're adding a gorgeous string to their bow with recent single For Now, another brilliant sample of what is to come on the full EP later this week.
Discussing the EP, Lutalo shares: "I tend to grapple with a lot of existential questioning, I wanted to capture what it feels like to be a twenty-something in this time period, reflecting on our relationship with technology, the internet, relationships, world governments, housing... all while discovering what it means to be an adult and how our definition of what that looks like begins to shift. The vision I have for this project is not so much genre-based as it is sound-based, and that sound is just a reflection of me. I didn't want any boundaries because I'm not trying to replicate anything that's come before, I only want to be adding to music in some way."
On new track For Now, Lutalo explains: "this one follows my perspective as a black person interacting with self proclaimed allies to the struggles that Black and Indigenous groups in the U.S. face. My base understanding being that they don't genuinely have to care about our struggles and will continue to do whatever makes them feel righteous in the moment. Even if that means not listening to what these demographics genuinely need as support. My understanding is that I'll continue to be in a situation when I have to save face to just survive, like many others put in the same situation. Leading to the line 'For now I give that smile.'"
I loved discovering PRISMA a couple of months back with their single I Never Wanted To Meet You. In fact, I loved it so much that I wrote "I'm a sucker for some sisterly harmonies, and these, set atop an energetic slice of scandi-pop, are a beauty." I'm therefore delighted to share that the Danish sister duo are back, following up their Inside Out EP with new track Drive. Yay! The track is accompanied by another superb video, which sees the sisters actually driving off into the sunset at the end of it - and a rather lovely Danish sunset it is.
On the track, sisters Frida and Sirid Møl Kristensen share "we have tried to create a sound universe where you as a listener get the feeling of driving fast. The song provides a very concrete description of an exciting car ride, but we also want to make room for the listener's interpretation of the word 'Drive'. It can be your personal drive, a work drive, etc. This song is a tribute to all the people who go out in their everyday lives and chase their dreams; a tribute to the side roads; a tribute to the journey."
I have been very bad at remembering to post here, or finding time to... so I'm kicking the week off with a Monday post in the hope that it might inspire some more to follow. Easing the way into the week with another beauty of a track from Bloomsday. I'm really enjoying this duo, made up of Iris James Garrison (they/them) and Alex Harwood (he/him) - Voicemail is from their debut album Place To Land, due this Friday (10th), which I can't wait for. Any track with gardening metaphors in it gets a thumbs up from me!
On the track, Iris shares: "I wrote this song in the lockdown of 2002 as well, earlier on. It was originally called 'Propagation song' since the first lyrics I wrote for it were "I grew a propagation from the roots we planted." I felt that I was growing into someone new at the time, and that the person I had met was helping me trust in my new growth, that they had helped plant new roots in my self emotionally.
"If your leaves start growing away from me, I'll know it's meant to be" is expressing that brevity can be beautiful. Some people come into your life, you learn something essential from one another, and then you grow apart. I wrote this song as a voicemail that was never sent. Things I wish I could express to this person that I couldn't because I was unfortunately ghosted (sigh)."
Is there anything that a new Maggie Rogers track can't cure?! Goodness me I love Maggie so much - and this one felt like a personal reward from Maggie to myself. I've been snowed under with some work this week, seeing my inbox gradually getting fuller but unable to delve into it. A couple of hours after I finally finished up with the work thing, a new track from Maggie debuts on Radio 1... yes please! Previous single That's Where I Am will be happy to get a bit of a rest in my speakers because I will be listening to Want Want on repeat for the foreseeable future.
Want Want is an unashamedly joyful track on sexual desire, or as Maggie puts it - "sex and sensuality". I'm already imagining this one in a live show and.... yes?! Please. Again. Luckily, I might not have to wait too long for my next live Maggie show, as she's heading to the UK on the Feral Joy tour in November, with a date at Ally Pally on the 10th. The joy and pride that I feel knowing that Maggie is headlining such a venue...
Originally written in quarantine with Maggie's long-term collaborator Del Water Gap in Maine, the track was produced by DWG and Kid Harpoon at Electric Lady Studios in NYC, Real World Studios near Bath and Sid's Palace in Scarborough, ME. The video for the track, directed by Warren Fu, sees Maggie performing the track at a karaoke bar in NYC's Koreatown and you can watch it below...
Want Want is taken from the upcoming record Surrender - due 29th July (pre-order here.) Full details of Maggie's upcoming UK and Europe tour here.
How about some more soul soothing from néomí for your Thursday morning? Her music has been a delight to discover over the past few months, through singles teasing the release of her before EP, due in almost exactly a month's time on 24th June. not good enough is the latest taster from the EP, and another delightful listen. There's something in Neomi's vocal delivery and the production of the tracks that makes them feel so utterly intimate, as if we're not listening to music at all, but in the room with her, in conversation.
"This song is about losing the love you have for yourself. Sometimes the world can bring a lot of insecurities, along with opinions from people about you that you didn't even ask for. It actually is a reminder for myself and to anyone that listens that feeling "not good enough" doesn't mean it is the truth. It is a "I don't care" message for those who said you are "not good enough" to fit in."
Happy Wednesday, pals. If you missed it on Twitter and Instagram, the blog hit 400,000 page views last week... yikes! I celebrated by vanishing from the blog a little (life!!!!) but I'm dipping my toes back in the water / procrastinating looking at my inbox with this brilliant new video from LA's Wallice. Funeral is taken from her recent 90s American Superstar EP and the video is maybe her best yet...
Wallice shares: "The video for 'Funeral' was really important to me. It's my favourite song that I've made so far. I pictured a concert-like celebration instead of a traditional solemn funeral, sort of taking the heaviness of a funeral and treating it lightly. In my videos I like to incorporate my lyrics in a literal way, but I also try to capture the tone of them as well. This video walks the line between melodramatic and sarcastic in a way that really captures my sense of humor. The video is also more broadly a symbol for how I'm evolving as an artist - the "death" of cowgirl Wallice is meant to mark the end of that era and the beginning of the next."
Hot off the press album news time, folks. (Hey - am I the press?!)
Art Moore have just announced their self-titled debut album, due for
release via ANTI-Records on 5th August. The announcement arrives
alongside their second track, Muscle Memory, although the members of
the band are all long-familiar faces on the scene - they're a trio made up of
Taylor Vick (AKA Boy Scouts) and
Ezra Furman collaborators Sam Durkes and
Trevor Brooks.
Having worked on soundtracks with Ezra previously, Sam and Trevor originally
joined forces with Taylor with the intention of writing for movies and art
projects -
"it was like [...] let's think of a movie scene or a photograph or still
image and see if we can write some shit around it to see if we can pitch
it", says Durkes. "Four songs in, I think, after the first recording session, we realized it
was going well, and it was pretty efficient" adds Brooks.
"Making music with both Sam and Taylor has always been so easy. I record
other artists, and it's pretty rare to be so quickly on the same page with
people. We don't have to say much - we kind of get where each other is
coming from. It happens way too easily."
The pandemic saw the trio sending recordings to one another over email, adding
a digital aspect to the project. Taylor explains "I think [the pandemic] also probably contributed to the whole idea of
life, 'Well, we might as well just make an album, 'cause it's July and
things aren't any different'. We were still at home, so we thought we might
as well keep using this time." I'm glad they did - because the new track is a delight - listen below!
On the new single, Taylor shares "Muscle Memory was inspired by the many phases of life we go through
and the friendships that exist within them that inevitably transform as we
continue through life. I wanted to write about this experience from a
neutral perspective, one with the belief that it's neither a good or bad
thing but simply a given in life. It's a more fictionalized version of my
personal experience which was the kind of writing I gravitated towards most
in this band."
AHHHHH! As if a live Mika medley on Eurovision over the weekend wasn't enough, Paolo Nutini is back!!!!! Both of their debut albums were a permanent fixture in our car stereo in 2007, and listening back to These Streets as I type this (... and get distracted from typing this) I'm discovering that all these years later, I remember every word and every note of it. The end of primary school for me, I guess it was a pretty formative time for me musically - the debut album from The Hoosiers (still my faves) came out later that year and basically shaped my life from there.
Paolo last released a record in 2014, a few months before I moved away to University, and before the blog existed on this page. His return is the BEST news. We all deserve this, right? I don't have a press release (or, indeed, a direct line to Paolo) for a quote on this one - but just take my excitement over his return as all the encouragement you need to give this one a listen. Then, if you've got the time (or if you haven't) go on a deep dive into the era of music that gets you nostalgic - I'm very much enjoying my little walk down memory lane here!
It's been a minute since I did a premiere here... but we're in special
occasion territory, as the blog is nearing the big 400,000 all-time page
views! My premiere of a Pêtr Aleksänder track almost five years
ago remains the most viewed on the site (just) and if you liked that one,
you're going to love the latest form Joseph Lawrenson.
A founding member of the Leeds band Dancing Years, Joseph honed his
craft on the road and is now an in demand composer for film & TV.
Releasing today, his debut album Songs for Film is a patchwork
collection of original works, re-imaginings and reworks, and fresh
arrangements of classical staples (think Chopin, Bach.)
Taken from the record, Zero Zero Four Zero is one of the re-imagined
tracks, taking the originally instrumental 0040 from Icelandic
composer Ólafur Arnalds and adding a vocal performance by fellow Leeds
artist Jasmine Kennedy, to create a cinematic pop song with a twist. On
first listen to one of Joseph's previous singles I was struck with a
similarity to AJIMAL in his own vocal performance, so if you're into
him, or Pêtr, you're in the right place with this one. It's no secret I love
me some strings on a track so this is a bit of a dreamy one for me. Check it out on Spotify here or below!
On the track, Joseph shares: "Lyrically it explores the idea of someone cheating on their partner, from
the temptation to the resulting heartbreak and the devastation of the
ultimate betrayal. I took inspiration from a passage in William Faulkner's
'Light In August': 'You will tell me that you have just learned love; I will
tell you that you have just learned hope.' I was fascinated by this concept,
that hope can be mistaken for love. And this perfectly expresses the feeling
of the betrayed person in my song: 'that's not love you feel, it's only
hope.' I think we've all mistaken hope for love at some point in our
lives."
The record Songs for Film is out now - check it out here.
