“What if I have got more love than I know what to do with?” Inge Chiles aka ings asks on ‘Kiss Your Heroes’. And the Seattle-based artist does appear to possess a deeper reservoir of love than most; for herself, for her friends, for her community, for humans at large. Indeed, ings even taps this […]
Last October I ordered LISA/LIZA’s ‘Momentary Glance’ on vinyl. An Orindal Records sampler CD felt like a bonus, when I found it at the bottom of the package. The only CD player I own is in my car – a red convertible smart car, I know. I still remember audibly saying, “What’s this?”, when the […]
It’s ironic that Brigitte Nagar (Common Holly) sings “You’re like a snake in the middle of a regular day / There was that time / I just tried to catch it / But it slithered away” on “Joshua Snakes”. As ‘When I Say to You Black Lightning’ sounds as if it were born in the […]
By Sage Shemroske Great Grandpa draw from the tarot deck when handing us their second full length LP, ‘Four of Arrows’. In a tarot deck the Four of Arrows are a sign that you’re in need of introspection, quiet, recovery. The card indicates faith in counsel or help. And so it goes. Though the wetness […]
By Anjali DasSarma Big Thief only released the subtly immersive ‘UFOF’ back in May, and today (October 11) they return with the equally enrapturing ‘Two Hands’. UFOF possessed an eerie and beautifully unsettling quality, while ‘Two Hands’ is a comforting and dialectic example of how truly beautiful music can be. Adrienne Lenker herself dubbed ‘Two […]
On ‘Turtle Taxi’, Suggested Friends bracingly glare elites in the eye whilst making music that’s outrageously fun. Self-defined as “a queer choir of mostly lesbians”, Suggested Friends interweave tongue-in-cheek masculinity with their generous blend of country, jangle pop and folk-rock. It’s a collection of ten bombastic, hook-filled bangers; as if nobody in the studio ever said, […]
Time-lapse cameras are often situated in forests to capture a plant’s growth from seed to full bloom. The final product, often seen in David Attenborough documentaries, is electrifying to the senses, the lapsing of the frames making it appear like the plant flourished in minutes rather than months. A Field Guides song is kind of […]
Griots hold an esteemed position in West African society. They are reservoirs of truth, maintaining the histories of families and land. They tell and re-tell these stories to music, keeping the people within them alive, and enlisting pride in their relatives. If Molly Sarlé happened to be born in Senegal, Mali or the like, she would’ve […]
By Sage Shemroske ‘Carnage Bargain’ opens on a fire siren with the full onslaught that is ‘Face First’, a raucous track that’s hyper-aware of what’s around the corner. From the off the Paranoyds establish their ability to take up room, there simply isn’t space for any other sound to exist once they’ve signaled go. ‘Carnage […]
No idea is a bad idea in the mind of Bonnie Stewart (Bonniesongs). The Irish art-folk virtuoso hits record on voice notes whenever one makes itself known and believes from there, it’s just about coming back to it and giving it time. It’s a mindset that permeates her debut ‘Energetic Mind’; with repetition and expansion […]
When Kurt Vile sang “Walkin’ in a pretty daze”, little did he know he’d just perfectly described the feeling of listening to Boy Scouts’ third full-length, ‘Free Company.’ Taylor Vick’s (Boy Scouts) illusory soundscapes bathe the listener in a near-permanent splendour. Album-wise its closest sibling is Sun June’s nigh-on perfect ‘Years’, in that both records […]
Ghost Orchard’s ‘bunny’ is an absurd, fragmented account of falling in love that pays little attention to chronology. A rainbow-like assortment of electronic-come-rnb gems, ‘bunny’ percolates quietly before assaulting your senses entirely, just as much as dopamine overtook its creator, Sam Hall, at the tender age of 18. So amazed was he at the intensity […]
Made by three best friends who met at a band camp, Lilith’s debut album ‘Safer Off’ is the sound of a lasting friendship built on patience, knowledge and intimacy. So comfortable are the trio in one another’s company that each band member is able to express their musicianship without fear. An artistic freedom that has […]
It’d be fair to say that Merival’s ‘Lesson‘ comprises of eight arrangements rather than songs. Her baroque waltzes indicative of an artist at play, resisting the modern-day pop song structures to fit in a classical mould occupied by Kate Bush and Joanna Newsom. It’s telling of Toronto’s Anna Horvath, the inherently curious artist behind Merival. […]
Florist’s nature obsessed counterpart Adrianne Lenker, questioned whether we are part of the earth or simply observers of it on her solo album ‘abysskiss.’ Emily A Sprague, the songwriter behind Florist, is firmly in the former camp, “I am the ground” she declares on ‘Celebration.’ While Sprague is sure she’s part of the world, less […]
By Anjali DasSarma Ada Lea’s music is like textures on a quilt, with different fabrics all meshing into one. On her debut indie rock album, “what we say in private,” released on Saddle Creek, Ada Lea is musician-come-property-developer treating each song like a house bought on the cheap, stripping it out entirely and rebuilding it […]
Joanna Sternberg is a life saver. It was a quality they discerned in Elliot Smith when hearing him for the first time, a moment that inspired the then freelance musician to make the step centre-stage, writing and performing their own songs. A self-drawn portrait of their bedroom adorns the front cover and that’s indicative of […]
On album opener ‘Rising Sun,’ Brooklyn-based singer Erin Durant casually sings “I’m going far / I’m going wide” in her balm-like voice. Those words are the mantra of ‘Islands,’ a wide-ranging exploration of lands and life. The music itself may be small-town and rooted in the traditions of the south, but its scale is immeasurable. […]
After hearing ‘At Moonset’, Flying Fish Cove’s debut album, earlier this year, we couldn’t help but fall hopelessly in love with the Seattle quartet. With its jangling guitars and breezy soundscapes, ‘At Moonset’ laid out a sprawling island of joys in front of our love-struck eyes. We lost ourselves in it entirely. News of an […]
Julia Shapiro’s first solo album “Perfect Version,” is the picture of self-expression, tucked right in with filmic hooks and laid back vocals. With her band Chastity Belt, Shapiro makes music that’s angsty and wild in the best possible way, Perfect Version is much more introspective. The songs are homemade and warm, recorded in Shapiro’s flat. […]
Ellen Kempner’s music has been a source of comfort to me for nearly half a decade now. Having first seen her back in 2016, with some band called Amber Arcades supporting, Kempner’s music has barely left my side, helping me navigate times both light and dark. From the moment Kempner sung ‘You made beauty a […]
In ‘Swim Team’, Congo-American songwriter Christelle Bofale has generated an all-consuming swirl. Rather than journeying from one destination to another, ‘Swim Team’ quite simply circles, its circuitous structures representing steam rising in the distance or the flow of a river changing directions as its water clashes against rocks. Bofale puts this formless, malleable flow down […]
As Lorde reaches the halfway point of her show, just before she plays ‘Liability’, she takes a pew and launches into a huge speech: “It was such a simple thing, a million people had been in that situation before me, had been sitting in the back of a taxi, listening to a sad song, crying […]
Taking their name from the writings of late 19th century to early 20th century Buddhist Monk Manathera Ladi Sayadaw, it’s no surprise that the mood board for Olden Yolk’s ‘Living Theatre‘ largely comes from centuries gone by. Their music is ornate, reminiscent of the tiled floors of Marrakesh and the intricate designs that sprawl over […]
Siobhan Wilson has moved about a lot in her 23 years. Born in Arbroath and raised in Elgin, Siobhan moved to Paris at 18 before returning to Glasgow, where she currently resides, five years later. Siobhan breathes out that swirl of cultures on The Departure, and it makes for a divergent, fragmented listen. The variation […]
If dystopia hosted a disco, Tacocat’s fourth-full length ‘This Mess Is A Place’ would be a strong selection from the doom-ridden DJ. The rainbow-flecked guitars, playful backing vocals and huge choruses would certainly have you on your feet, whilst the sarcastic one liners, “what a time to be barely alive” would enshroud you in reality. […]
