"hanging by a thread, tryna keep it all in check, oh I lost my grip a while
ago and haven't found it yet"
Nobody does lyrics like Benedict Benjamin.
Alright, maybe they do. But he's still pretty good at them.
Hanging by a Thread is the latest single to be taken from Ben's
upcoming record Tunnel, which is due in a couple of months. He's one of
my favourite artists, creator of gorgeous sad tunes and two brilliant previous albums, Truant and Night Songs. This record is another stunner and despite our circumstances not entirely overlapping, there's always something reassuringly relatable in the lyrics. Not least as this record was written through and about the issues of isolation and anxiety that arose through lockdown, as a way of working through them.
On the new single, Ben shares: "I wrote it at a point in lockdown where I was having some trouble and couldn’t provide support to the people in my life that needed me. I was having these sudden mood swings that I couldn’t get a handle on and it was scary. The song is a thank you to the people that showed patience and love and helped me out of the hole and it’s a pledge to return the favour."
Brilliant new EP recommendation incoming - King Isis just shared scales via Dirty Hit and No Matter and it is all sorts of brill. Current single i'm fine, thx 4 asking is on repeat at the moment. So good!!!
I love a great artist origin story, and Isis' is certainly that - born and raised in Oakland, CA, music is in their blood - they were taught to play on the same piano owned by their late family matriarch and great-great-grandmother Omega King, one of the first Black opera singers in Chicago. The King Isis moniker is a nod to Omega's legacy of pursuing her passion in segregated, post-slavery America. Isis shares: "her name holds a lot of power in my house and in my family. A big part of the reason my artist name incorporates hers is to remind me that there is power in my voice, that music has always been a deep-rooted part of me, and to keep going."
Talking about the new track, Isis shares: "'I'm fine thx 4 asking' comes from moments of self-doubt and self-destruction, traversing through a place of hopelessness to hopefulness. This slump is expressed through the verses, like a cloud of dissociation, but then you're slapped in the face with a punchy chorus that represents a breakthrough moment of clarity and realization. So now you're kinda like wait - I think I can get through this - I know it's gonna take a lot of work but I swear I can do this. It is the moment of realizing that you have the agency to let go of your demons and work with your shadows, not against them."
I spent much of last year watching and rewatching Heartstopper, gushing over the show and the soundtrack. (How could you not?!) A song somewhat inspired by watching the show found its way into my inbox last week and is now finding its way into a post... I like it a lot. (I also like that the video, directed by Claire Giuffe, is like watching an episode of Stath Lets Flats or something - as Alex assumes the role of a furniture salesperson. Brilliant.) They Wouldn't Let Me In is taken from upcoming album The Answer is Always Yes, due 19th May.
Talking about the new track, Alex shares: "After watching the brilliant tv series Heartstopper, I spent a lot of time thinking about my own experiences growing up as a queer teenager. Although I was extremely lucky that the majority of my experience was filled with joy, acceptance and love, it wasn't always smooth sailing. This song is inspired by those tougher moments - not being allowed to attend my high school girlfriend's school formal, being excluded from conventional romantic rites of passage, moments of isolation and feeling like I couldn't relate to anyone around me. 'They Wouldn't Let Me In' is by far the most direct song I've ever written about this time."
Perhaps I shouldn't have favourites, but there are few artists that I love more than Cosmo Sheldrake. Fiercely creative, a little bit bonkers and almost certainly a musical magician, he makes music that is completely unlike anything else I listen to. His last record Wake Up Calls (read my review here) saw him making music from the birdsong of birds on the amber and red list in the UK - and for his latest project, he's taking us to the ocean soundscape. Oh yes.
New track Bathed In Sound is served up as the first taster of new EP Wild Wet World, which is due for release on 26th April via Tardigrade Records. The track features Cosmo alongside recordings of humpback whales, sperm whales, sounds of a bleached coral reef off Lizard Island, long horn sculpin, oyster toad fish and a buck-toothed parrot fish. You might ask what they're getting out of their work on the track - and here comes the BRILLIANT bit - through the lovely folk at EarthPercent, the Earth (yep, the ~actual~ Earth) is earning royalties from this project. So so COOL!!
Cosmo describes the track as "a song about trying to imagine myself as a whale floating in the ocean, immersed in a liquid medium full of sound, surrounded by plankton and the immense wild wetness of the ocean." There's a live video below...
Cosmo describes the EP as "a homage to the ocean" - it's composed entirely of recordings of animals and the sonic worlds which they inhabit, some of which are marine biologist Steve Simpson's recordings. Brill science incoming: Simpson's research suggests that playing the sound of healthy coral reefs to dying reefs can help tempt back keystone species and restore health to these complex ecosystems. Ooft.
Talking about the EP, which has been a labour of love over several years, Cosmo shares: "I have pieced it together slowly over a period of about ten years. It features the sounds of humpback whales singing, sperm whales clicking, Weddell seals courting, coral reefs spluttering, bucktoothed parrot fish crunching, an oyster toad fish grunting, pistol shrimp snapping, long horned sculpins honking, blue whales lamenting, and haddock drumming, and a rare recording of the voices of the UK's last remaining killer whale population who, along with their unique dialect are doomed to extinction as they are no longer fertile due to chemical contaminates in their waters."
Two Dizzy posts in a row? Yes indeed. The best news - they've just announced details of their third album, the self-titled Dizzy, which will be released via Communion Records on 18th August. The album news arrives alongside Open Up Wide - perhaps their most pop-tinged track to date, and I'm in love with them all over again.
In a beautiful act of synchronicity, the record arrives the day after their debut album Baby Teeth hits a milestone, turning five years old. The new tracks and new record give us a Dizzy who are far more confident in their art, but just as unique and endearing as the band I fell in love with all those years ago. Can not waaaait to hear more. But I'll have to.
I'll no doubt ramble lots more about the record over the coming months so for now, I'm going to focus on the new track... which Katie describes as "a tongue-in-cheek ode to a music industry we've never understood all that well." On the process of creating the new track, she explains "when we started recording the album, our producer David [Pramik] was super conscious of cutting the fat from each song. One afternoon he encouraged us to write our parts in a simpler, more 'spoonfed' fashion for easy listening, when Mack piped up cheekily 'Open up wide! Here comes the airplane!' The next morning we were all feeling a bit resentful of that mindset and 'Open Up Wide' came to be while we were having our morning coffees."
Dizzy are heading to the UK for a short run of shows in May - two London dates are already sold out, but it looks as if tickets are still available for Bristol and Brighton. Tickets here.
Ohhhh boy. There's a new track and some Dizzy news coming next week. Everybody stay calm. While I try to compose myself (this track is coming the same day as something new from Cosmo Sheldrake and I'm sure they've coordinated on purpose) this feels like as good an excuse as any to share this recent acoustic version of Birthmark. I have aaaall the love in the world for this band and I adore Katie's vocals on this track - it's a rare treat to hear their music stripped back like this and I love it!! Enjoy!
If you're digging this, here's the studio version - also, the band are hopping over to the UK to play a handful of shows in May. Both London dates are already sold out, I think, but they're also playing Brighton and Bristol - tickets here.
Folk duo and lifelong pals lilo (London based Christie Gardner and Helen Dixon who met at school in Winchester aged 11) have announced a new EP - big yes!! I Don't Like My Chances On The Outside arrives via Dalliance on April 14th, and features recent singles Settled and Just A Thought, as well as brand new track I Don't Love You Anymore. Very much enjoying these tracks and this news!
Speaking about the new track, the duo share: "I Don't Love You Anymore is about telling someone who loves you very much that you want to break up with them. It opens with the clocks changing over on New Year's Eve, as I realised that I knew how I felt, but didn't want to admit it, even to myself. The song moves through the horrible moment that you say the thing you never thought you would, and into the feeling of relief, as you get it out of your system and wriggle free from your secret.
Despite the song being quite liberating in a way, it lingers on how you've made the other person feel, and the guilt that sticks to you long afterwards. When we all went through simultaneous break ups last Summer, we would take it in turns to cry to this song in rehearsals. It's a lilo right of passage."
On the track, Neomi shares: "'I could never leave' is a track that lies very close to my heart. I think this song comes closest to my feelings than any other at this point. Every time I hear it or play it, it brings me back to this one love I had. I couldn't go, I couldn't move, I wanted to but also didn't want to. It's hard to describe but those who know this feeling know what I mean. It's about a relationship shifting, like a big force, like stars falling in the sky. Self-development, acceptance but also grief at the same time.
I really enjoyed the process of creating this song as well, together with my friend Will. It was very natural and went so quickly because the story was just so clear and came flowing out of me. It didn't need much time or thinking. It felt raw and honest, and I hope it comes across that way because it's true."
Taking a quick detour away from the sad folk and into some queer pop goodness today. A little bit in love with God Knows from Brighton's alt-rockers ARXX. The track is taken from their debut album Ride or Die, which is coming out at the end of this month (31st). The track was produced by Steve Ansell and mastered by Katie Tavini and is described by the pair as "one of the most adventurous tracks on our record". It's a bit of a departure for the duo, building on inspiration from some of their favourite pop artists - "we really pushed ourselves to step into Dua Lipa's shoes. We were able to live our Cher dreams and dive into the world of auto tune and swoopy synths."
I for one am really digging this one! Wrap your ears around it, won't you?
Just the best news! Sivu has an album coming - woooooooooo!! Having returned with single Wild Horse Running a few weeks back - his first new music since 2017 record Sweet Sweet Silent - James has just announced an album of the same name, due for release via Square Leg Records on 9th June. I will almost certainly spend the ensuing three months rambling about how brilliant this news is. The track gets a little break from my headphones, as the album news arrives alongside new single Apollo. Big love for that one!
On the new track, James shares: "it was the first song we did in the studio and so it felt like a blueprint for what the record was going to be. The word Apollo just rolled off the tongue when I was first writing this song. Diving deeper into the mythology of Apollo, being the god of poetry and music art, I pursued my relationship with creating and how I am in some ways a slave to it. Accepting that gave me a sense of freedom and a headspace to address my long-term and (at times) troubled relationship with it. No matter the lengths I have gone to at time to escape it, I get clawed back in (which I am incredibly thankful for). I will never stop writing music, I understand that now, but it is my Achilles heel."
Sivu headlines Courtyard Theatre in London on 14th June - tickets here.
