PACKS - Theresa Gorella - Emilee Rose - Ezra Veda - Ryan Brown

PACKS - Brown Eyes.

Last month the Toronto/Ottawa band PACKS announced their sophomore LP Crispy Crunchy Nothing, which is set for release on Fire Talk Records on March 31st. The follow up to their acclaimed 2021 debut Take The Cake, which earned accolades from outlets like The FADER, Stereogum, NYLON, Paste, BrooklynVegan, NME, Gorilla vs Bear and Bandcamp, who called the LP "the sound of classic indie rock as delivered by a promising new voice."

The album was announced with the single "4th of July", which earned best of the week nods from outlets like Uproxx, Consequence and Alt Press who called it "a delight", and now the band are sharing a second single from the album a track called "Brown Eyes".

PACKS' new LP sharpens the laid back appeal of the band's debut, displaying a newfound flair in its arrangement and production that heightens the subtle strangeness of leader Madeline Link's songwriting. Where the album's first single settled on a breezy, folk adjacent sound, "Brown Eyes" is a burst of sludgy slacker rock that holds a low key sense of menace beneath its sunny exterior.

"I had lots of fun writing this song because it’s a simple rock song about falling in love disorientatingly hard and fast," says Link. "Disorientationally? Disorientably? Love disorients me."

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Theresa Gorella - House of Broken Mirrors.

A singer/songwriter based in Nashville, Theresa Gorella writes music that is a reflection of her own experiences, and sings with rawness and honesty that is both relatable and powerful. Growing up on a raisin farm in Fowler, California, Gorella was surrounded by the sounds of country music from a young age.

After attending Long Island University-Brooklyn, she moved to Nashville to pursue country music. She got a job waiting tables at the legendary 3rd & Lindsley and was exposed to different types of music five nights a week. While refilling waters and wiping ketchup off her shirt she saw performances by Vince Gill, Dawn Sears, Beth Hart, Jonell Mosser, Chris Stapleton and Andra Day amongst many other music legends. Seeing these artists changed the way she thought about music and inspired her to form an indie rock/funk band called Poster Child with collaborator Andrew Royal.

With Poster Child, she quickly made a name for herself in the Nashville Funk scene, but felt a pull to get back in touch with her country roots. Her solo project is her way of doing just that, with a sound that blends traditional Country with elements of Soul and Americana, that she describes as “accidentally country.”

House of Broken Mirrors, the lead single off of her solo project is a must-listen for anyone who appreciates authentic and heartfelt music.

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Emilee Rose - Small Town Dream.

Bold, daring and impossible to ignore. Emily Zaletel, better known as Emilee Rose, is an emerging solo artist currently making her mark on the country music scene. Her music is highly accessible to all — with a dreamy western sound that effortlessly displays emotion and storytelling in a relatable and unique way.

Emilee’s captivating anthems have been touching the hearts of many for some time now. The rapidly rising Nashville based star loves to tell stories and relate to others through her music, using life as her biggest inspiration.

“Small Town Dream” is a dreamy country track with a unique take on traditional country sound. It tells a story about a rebel of her hometown ditching her past to create a new future for herself, through the “neon”.

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Ezra Veda - A Brand New Day.

The first time Ezra Veda started creating music was during her high school period. In the school band it became clear that she had a beautiful voice. Soon the first proposals came from the music industry to write songs and specially to sign with them. The then-teenager let it all happen resignedly. "I'd better finish my studies first and then I'll see what else comes my way," was her answer.

A few years later, the time has come. The now 22-year-old releases her first single A Brand New Day. A beautiful pop song in which Ezra's voice is perfectly at home.

The single opens small and subdued and grabs you from the start and then slowly opens and guides you to an apotheosis to return to a sensitive outro. Before you know it, you're at the end of the song and you think, hold on wait a minute and you'll listen to it again.

TCBYML · Ezra Veda - A Brand New Day

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Ryan Brown - After Midnight.

Ryan Brown’s newest release, titled “After Midnight” was written by Tony Luke Jr. All proceeds from the single will be donated to The Sound Mind Network, an organization focused on healing addiction and mental illness through music and the arts. 

This is a song that reflects upon some of the struggles many people face. Over the course of the song, the lyrics demonstrate how social media contributes to the growing rates of depression, anxiety, and addiction, to name a few. While the song talks about these issues, it promotes hope for a new day, a new life. With this song, Ryan and Tony’s goal is to help others find hope again.

Ryan’s music showcases the depth and vulnerability in being a teenager, and explores the ups and downs that people of all ages experience. Aside from her love for singing, Brown also enjoys playing guitar, piano, and ukulele.

Brown feels so incredibly lucky that she can share her experiences with the world. She hopes while you listen to her music, you find comfort in knowing that you aren’t alone.

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Megan Brickwood - Gal Musette - Vanity Mirror

Megan Brickwood - Fifth Mile.

Rising musician, singer, and songstress Megan Brickwood is absolutely thrilled to release her beautiful sophomore EP Fifth Mile.

To celebrate the release, Megan has chosen to highlight the title track from the EP, “Fifth Mile.” “‘Fifth Mile’ is one of those 'special gift' songs that I wrote from start to finish very quickly,” Megan Brickwood explains. “One night I decided to try out the CGCFCE tuning and this picking pattern started taking shape. Once that was written, the story for the song just opened up and the song kind of wrote itself from there.

The lyric structure of the song is pretty simple – when I see it written out I realize just how spare the lyrics are – and for someone who is generally a pretty wordy songwriter it was kind of a treat to write this dreamy, abstract tune and really just dig into the vibe and feel of it. I think that the production honored that intention so well, and I think as the title track it's a good representation of a running theme in the EP, which is giving permission to oneself to dream and go off into the unknown....throwing caution to the wind. This track really embraces that on a number of levels.”

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Gal Musette - Plateau.

The new single from Southern California born and bred baroque pop singer/songwriter Gal Musette is entitled "Plateau", the track was written when Gal was in the chaotic traffic that Los Angeles is known for. Gal confides, "While driving the lyrics started coming out as a form of venting, basically I was babying out/complaining about how much time I spend in my car. 

But as the lyrics progressed, they kind of revealed a season of numbness and monotony I was stuck in, and the driving became a metaphor for how I felt in general, going through the motions, mindlessly traveling through life without much direction or emotion."

Sonically, "Plateau" is a cinematic indie pop tune filled with a melodic tenderness rarely seen in today's musical landscape. The kaleidoscopic song highlights a nostalgic bearing melody with fresh and quirky undertones.

Gal Musette has toured with The Magnetic Fields, Donavon Frankenreiter, and has collaborated with Rufus Wainwright and has been profiled by the likes of NPR and Ladygunn, among others.

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Vanity Mirror - Tuesday's News.

 Vanity Mirror, dreamy lo-fi bedroom pop via Toronto and Los Angeles, have just announced their highly anticipated debut LP PUFF (due out Spring 2023 on We Are Busy Bodies) with an advance single and video for the song Tuesday’s News. Tuesday’s News features colorful piano riffs and artful backbeats from Vanity Mirror’s Brent Randall (Gentle Brent, Electric Looking Glass) and percussionist Johnny Toomey (The Turns, Electric Looking Glass). Randal describes Tuesday’s News as “a warm and fuzzy front parlor piano rock piece.” 

This homespun multitrack pop experiment was recorded on a hand-me-down piano in an empty house in Detroit during a February snow storm. While lyrically meditating on winter doldrums the song hopes to hug you with sunny hummable optimism. Randall suggests, “Spin it loud on your living room hi-fi whilst wearing your favorite apple green cardigan.” The result is a multitrack experiment, a nostalgic sweet pop song that is hopeful, beautiful and utterly sentimental. Nods to Emitt Rhodes, Idle Race and The Raspberries are present throughout.

The music video for Tuesday’s News was made with LA based graphic designer/videographer extraordinaire Mat Dunlap. Randall says, “Mat is an old friend and an expat who works with a tonne of Canadian bands. If you know you know!” On the premise of the video, Randall explains, “Johnny had this idea where I’m a chauffeur and I drive around a series of characters that are all Johnny in different costumes.  Johnny, when not drumming in Vanity Mirror, works at a Hollywood costume house and has access to all sorts of great costumes. 

We had limited time and resources so we decided to shoot it against a green screen using a makeshift prop car.  You know in old 50’s movies how they would fake driving around by cutting in stock footage behind the drivers?  We love that look, you can always tell it’s obviously fake. So we leaned into this idea with the green screen and it made for a pretty charming and hilarious video.  I’m singing along to the track and driving around “LA” and picking up these hilarious characters: a 70’s jogger, a far out 60s space dude, a marching band drummer and even a full on lion at a taco stand.”

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Foyer Red - Murray A. Lightburn - Tomten

Foyer Red - Plumbers Unite.

Brooklyn’s Foyer Red makes sweet yet abrasive songs that careen into delightfully unexpected places. The group’s potent art rock embodies a spirit of collaborative exploration, as a seemingly endless supply of ideas accrue and collide as part of a spirited musical conversation between the band’s members, a sensation that is heightened by the often literal conversation occurring between their three principle vocalists. The band started as a trio with singer and clarinetist Elana Riordan, drummer Marco Ocampo, and singer/guitarist Mitch Myers.

The three would email each other song ideas and record the ones that stuck. In 2021, they started playing music together in the same room and immediately came out with the Zigzag Wombat EP, which earned high praise from outlets like Stereogum, BrooklynVegan and Pitchfork. Though they had been a band for only a few months, their self-recorded and charming debut proved that they had hit the ground running almost fully formed with a distinct, tongue-in-cheek, de-constructive take on indie rock.

Instead of sticking to their guns and re-treading similar ground, Foyer Red reinvented itself as a five-piece, adding singer and guitarist Kristina Moore and bassist Eric Jaso, and became a fixture of the NYC scene in 2022, sharing stages with artists like Cola, Empath, Babehoven, Why Bonnie, Peaer, Momma, Mamalarky, and Diane Coffee.

In December, the band announced their signing to Carpark Records (The Beths, Cloud Nothings) and today Foyer Red have returned to announce their debut LP Yarn The Hours Away, which will be released on the label on May 19th. To mark the announce the band have shared the first single from the record, a track called "Plumbers Unite!"

 
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Murray A. Lightburn - Once Upon A Time In Montréal.

Murray A. Lightburn, the longtime frontman of Montreal’s acclaimed The Dears, will release his deeply personal new album 'Once Upon A Time In Montreal’ on 31 March via Dangerbird Records. Ahead of that Murray is pleased to share the title-track single, along with a video created  by the production team at 4-VU.

Lightburn lightheartedly jokes that 'Once Upon A Time In Montreal' is an audio version of a biopic, inspired by the passing of his father - a jazz musician from Belize who moved to Montreal via New York to reconnect with his teenage sweetheart.

Discussing the new single and album title-track, Murray says: "After getting an education in Jamaica and England, my mom got a job in Montreal as a nurse. My father was living in New York. They had dated back in Belize and reconnected years later in New York. My father didn’t really want to leave for Montreal, but he did. And it was hard for him: the harsh winters, the language barrier, the colour of his skin.

He was a skilled musician but that was barely going to keep the lights on — never mind feed a growing family. His lack of formal education, and his lack of French, limited his opportunities. Nevertheless, he just wanted to be with her. So he figured out a way, and that’s what his life was mostly about, I think — what I’ve deduced. Maybe there’s way more to it and that’s the romantic version, but it’s a version at least I can understand. Nothing else computes. My parents stayed married for 56 years.”

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Tomten - Mind How You Go.

Tomten are a baroque pop quartet based out of Seattle, Washington. Brian Noyes (vocals, keys, guitar) and Lena Simon (bass, vocals) (Kairos Creature Club, formerly of La Luz) met in 2008 and began demoing each other’s songs at Cornish College of The Arts.

Tomten started playing shows and rearranging their sound and lineup by 2010, after Gregg Belisle-Chi (guitar) and Jake Brady (drums) joined the band. Tomten‘s debut, Wednesday’s Children arrived in Summer of 2012 shortly before Belisle-Chi left the band. Tomten recorded their sophomore record The Farewell Party (2014) with Jason Quever of Papercuts in San Francisco and Sacramento, CA. Dillon Sturtevant (bass) joined the band as Lena departed.

The Unknown recording studio in Anacortes, WA started by Nicholas Wilbur and Phil Elverum (Mt. Eerie) has become the go to spot for the band’s more recent recordings – the lush piano driven Cremation Songs (2017), and Synth Pop informed Viva Draconia (2018). Tomten‘s newest album Artichoke (out April 28) is a collaborative foray into psych folk, power-pop, and glam country, a balance between songs by Noyes, Sturtevant, and two co-written with Brady.

Artichoke is a warm pastoral daydream, with inspirations drawn from the Madcap folk rock of the Incredible String Band, to the syrup soul of The Delfonics, the country tinge of Happy End or Gene Clark, with the gentle guitar picking of John Martyn or Bridget St. John.

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Josienne Clarke - Nico Ev - Brenda - Julia Sound

Josienne Clarke - The Birds.

Indie-folk artist Josienne Clarke has shared the second taste of her forthcoming new album, Onliness. On her new album, due out on April 14th, Clarke revisits songs from her back catalogue that felt buried somehow; that had never had the spotlight she felt they deserved. Originally written back in 2008, the song first appeared on and opened Clarke's first ever solo album One Light Is Gone.

Of her new single, Clarke says: "It’s about the turning of a season, the first frost of winter. The birds are making strange patterns in the sky, a signal that our days will soon be short. This version features a specific blurry guitar part, I wrote it like that to mirror the blurry movement of the birds in their weird patterns, in and out of time and sync in strange shapes and formations. I also play piano on this track which is pretty rare for me. I love it as an instrument, it's bright glassy timbre fitted perfectly for the track. I rarely play it on my music as I have the services of keyboard experts like Matt Robinson but I recorded the piano myself just to give an idea of the kind of part I was thinking and Matt liked it and said we should keep mine, so we did.”

In her own words, Josienne Clarke viewed her 2021 album – A Small Unknowable Thing – as a leap into the abyss. Finally free from the industry structure that had been built around her over the preceding decade and more, she released the album via her own label, Corduroy Punk Records. Free from her previous role as one-half of a duo and losing the genre constraints she was quickly and lazily placed within, she came out of that chapter emboldened – but still not truly free.

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Nico Ev - Angeline.

Nico Ev wrote this song during lockdown, she tells us  "The challenge of being apart from loved ones and missing out on family connections was very difficult.

It was particularly hard to accept that I was missing out on watching the little ones in our family grow and flourish in their formative years. I'm grateful to have the sound of their laughter back in my life."

Some well deserved quotes about Nico - "Nico definitely deserves to be heard beyond her online performances." - "Every time I've seen Nico play, her musical talent, combined with her warmth, sincerity and relaxed interaction with the audience, has resulted in a great gig."
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“I love the varied mix of her original songs with both little and well-known covers, the upbeat energy and vibrancy of her playing.” - “A unique and lovely voice.”

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Brenda - Cease and Desist.

Emerging Glasgow trio Brenda release Cease and Desist, the first single from their upcoming self-titled debut album with Last Night From Glasgow. The single is out 24th February, the album follows in July.

Brenda are Litty Hughes on guitar, Apsi Witana on drums and Flore de Hooge on synths. They’ve created a buzz by gigging across Glasgow - their energetic sets described as the type that “end up seared onto your brain after a single viewing” with their “impudent, inventive and extremely DIY punk-pop” (The Scotsman). Dreamy synths, witty lyrics and unapologetic enthusiasm - Brenda is your new favourite band.

“The most exciting set of the evening came from Glasgow all-female trio Brenda…their name daubed on a collapsing bedsheet behind them, like they were signalling to the media from the roof of a prison riot.” - The Scotsman

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Julia Sound - I Don't Wanna Change (featuring Larissa Tandy).

Today Julia Sound have released their new single "I Don't Wanna Change" from their upcoming album "Nothing Above The Blue Sky" (set for release on May 12 Via Boomsmack Records)

Julia Sound is a collective led by Lin Gardiner, a British-Canadian BC-based artist, composer, musician and producer. Julia Sound released their debut album ‘Heal’ in the summer of 2021 to critical acclaim. They are set to release a second full-length offering ‘Nothing Above the Blue Sky’ in May of 2023.

‘Nothing Above The Blue Sky’ is a collection of evocative, ethereal, vocal-led electronica, with 10 new songs including features by Kinnie Starr, Edzi’u and Larissa Tandy, amongst others. Different singers feature on each track, all pulled together by Gardiner. The lyrical component of the songs leans into subjects perhaps shied away from in more commercial projects - stories of loss, war, mental health as well as hope.

Inspiration for Julia Sound’s name is from an unexplained sound discovered by scientists in the 90’s. The sound, which scientists named ‘The Julia Sound’, is mysterious and dark - which can also be said for this project's tone and mood.

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Gracie Horse - Laura Roy - Certain Animals

Gracie Horse - What I'm Missing.

Wharf Cat Records have just announced L.A.-based songwriter Gracie Horse as the newest addition to their roster, and shared a music video for her recent single "What I'm Missing." Gracie Horse was a founding member of Boston based rock band Fat Creeps, and has contributed to albums by Alex Izenberg (his latest, I'm Not Here), Color Green, and Jonny Kosmo (who also produced "What I'm Missing").

“What I'm Missing,” is expansive, a world inside of a song. It’s cosmic country: there are shitty motels and perfect vocal harmonies. True crime sleuths, hours spent rotting on the Internet, and poignant allusions to working in healthcare during the pandemic. “Now everyone’s spooked/at the Motel 6/eatin’ dive bar wings/in a hazmat suit,” she sings in one particularly evocative line.  It’s a stunning song: all keys, crisp pedal steel.

About the track, Gracie writes: "When I moved to California I was very homesick for a long time, and the pandemic didn’t help. I missed my old friends and family and all the stuff we used to get into. I tried to go out and make new friends but I am really shy and at times it was such a disaster, it was hard to connect with people here- there is sort of a cultural difference between east and west coast for sure-how people talk and socialize. I started to get pretty attached to the nostalgia of my life back in Massachusetts.

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Laura Roy - Odyssey.

Two time Grammy nominated, Canadian artist, producer and songwriter Laura Roy is back with a brand new release 'Odyssey', the second single off of her newly announced EP to be released in March. This is Laura’s debut release after receiving two Grammy nominations as a contributing songwriter on Doja Cat's 'Planet Her' album in 2022.

Laura received recent support from BBC Radio, CBC Radio and Spotify Editorial Playlists: Chilled R&B Weekly, Fresh Finds, New Music Friday, R&B Weekly, R&B Fresh Finds & R&B Rising.

Produced and written with UK artist/producer Geo Jordan, this stunning new track features driving drums, emotive guitar riffs, soaring, soulful vocals and impactful lyricism. Her voice has been described as “gentle lava”. Raw, pure, vulnerable and soulful.

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Certain Animals - Miracles.

Miracles is a delicate ballad in which the pantheon of musical inspirations of Certain Animals is amply showcased. It is a song with a positive feel and a melancholy undertone, going from cheerful honkytonk piano to moody strings and back again.

Certain Animals sings about the eternal balancing act between hope and fear about what tomorrow will bring, and does so with a magical musical mix that lies between the poppy work of Electric Light Orchestra and the vaudeville numbers of Queen from the 1970s. Miracles, like the band itself, always tries to bring a loving touch and shares her love for music with the listener with this lushly orchestrated and pop song peppered with McCartnian melodic bass lines.

Certain Animals has now reached a larger audience in their home country of the Netherlands. The band has already been invited twice to play songs live on national TV and numerous times on national radio.

TCBYML · Certain Animals - Miracles

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The Pairs - Amy Stroup

The Pairs - Superhuman.

Tied together by family and soaring harmonies, The Pairs share stories of life's hope, hilarity, and hardship. Pull up a seat around their lively kitchen table for a unique blend of music that will hug your eardrums and make you want to groove.

A smattering of feelings and self-doubt, "Superhuman" tells a personal yet relatable story of realizing how we get caught up in the way we're being perceived by others instead of truly experiencing life and all the feelings that come with living. We're not perfect, so why do we put so much energy towards trying to convince people that we are? This song marks the intention to try and drop the hyper perfectionism and accept ourselves as fallible and human.

"Superhuman" reminds us that we can be wrong, that we can make mistakes, that we can say things that hurt people, and that none of that makes us bad people, or unlovable.

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Amy Stroup - Break The Feeling.

Singer-songwriter Amy Stroup creates the kind of songs that transport listeners. Known for her ability to tap into rich, emotional honesty and vivid storytelling, the self-proclaimed “song farmer” will release her fourth solo album, Since Frank, on June 23. The album's next single, "Break the Feeling,” out today, explores presence and grounding.

“Walking, hiking, and trail running multiple times a week are ways of exercise, yes, but more ways that I ground myself ritualistically,” Stroup says. “Movement helps me shake off what holds me up and at the end of a trail I never felt quite the same as when I started.”

Since Frank finds a cohesive sound thanks to producer Chad Copelin (LANY, Broncho, Ben Rector) and his expert hand at transforming live tracking into an expansive finished product, with drips of overdubs and drum samples created by James McAlister (The National, Taylor Swift, Sufjan Stevens). These handmade elements frame a range of songs Stroup wrote with herself in mind—a change from the hundreds of songs she's written for TV and film, which include backing moments on How I Met Your Father, This Is Us and Grey's Anatomy, among many others. According to Billboard Magazine, she is one of the most licensed women in music today with her work in campaigns for British Airways, Google and Nike, to name a few.

Since Frank, a 10-song collection, covers a wide range of subjects, ultimately settling on what it means to find a way to be okay on the inside. Stroup wrestles with the kind of heaviness—and reprieve—that lives inside all of us: the album begins with the lush strings of “Valley,” a stream of consciousness about how love can lift us from the depths of melancholy. “Night Wave” struggles with intrusive thoughts; there is a yearning for a fresh start on “A New Life” (feat. Broncho), and a certainty of unconditional love in “As Long As You're With Me (feat. Andrew Belle). The album ends with a resounding and hopeful message: “We'll All Be Alright.”

“These songs feel like freeze frames of pivotal emotional moments of me finding a safe place to live from inside my own body,” Stroup says. “I've done a lot of experiential therapy, self-nurturing work and beyond, to get to a more true place to live from, and a lot of the songs capture the process and pivotal points on that continued journey.”

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Dub Pistols - Waldo Witt - H.Hawkline - Zoe & Cloyd

Dub Pistols - Moving On.

Legendary party-starters Dub Pistols release their new single ‘Moving On’ featuring MC and D.J. Natty Campbell. After announcing their forthcoming album Frontline to be released March 10th through Cyclone Records, this notorious touring band are carrying the summer atmosphere into these winter months with their infamous blend of dub, hiphop, ska and jungle. Dub Pistols will also be playing a series of exclusive release week shows partnered with some of the UK’s best independent record stores- they will also be signing physical copies of the record. Listen to ‘Moving On’ Here. Watch ‘Moving On’ Here.

Having recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, the collective release the third and final offering before releasing their forthcoming LP. New single ‘Moving On’ sits amongst multiple genres as frontman and legendary DJ, Barry Ashworth wanted to write something in a different vein to anything the band have done before. He explains, “‘Moving On’ is kind of dark with a ‘Ghost Town’ feel. But it still has an uplifting message”. After going over ideas and melodies that he had written with Ashley Slater, Barry then worked with King Yoof to give the track its darker edge before bringing in Natty Campbell to voice the verses.

Natty Campbell adds, "It was a pleasure as always to collaborate with Barry and King Yoof on ‘Moving On’, it was one of those tunes that came very easily, the beat is a bit different and it was good fun to showcase different styles of vocals while lyrically sending a positive message. It's one of those tunes that goes off live and has everyone singing, so it's great to be involved in the dub pistols musical family and contributing more tracks"

Not many acts stay together for a quarter of a century and still remain firing on all cylinders. However, Dub Pistols juggernaut rolls on, exploring fresh sonic pastures and accelerating into 2023. The multi-cultural collective has involved dozens of artists and musicians over the years — some remaining for years, a few for the duration, and others just popping in for a guest appearance. Their sound has accordingly morphed a variety of times since their inception: taking in dub, punk, jungle, ska, breakbeat, hip-hop and a whole lot more, it’s been a long road travelled.

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Waldo Witt - Without A Sound.

"This was one of the last songs I wrote for the album, I was really embracing some of my earlier musical influences - the ones that first got me really excited about music like Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson. So it's kind of this psychedelic journey through time, looking through a lens of bright eyed bliss and innocence, and using that lens to try to make sense of or understand the chaos of recent years."

Long Daze, Dark Nights is the upcoming album from Waldo Witt. The artist embraces 60s and 70s psychedelia inspirations like Todd Rundgren, King Crimson, and Brian Wilson, alongside a continued adoration of 80s soft rock and disco, resulting in a vibrant sounding record, full of hooks and charismatic structural twists.

Even in its nostalgic glow, Long Daze, Dark Nights doesn’t linger too long in the past. Hook-heavy throwback odes are abundant, though also resonating with modern production and thematic pursuits. Offering poignant reflection following the past several years of tumult, the release explores themes of uncertainty, instability, and unpredictability. Waldo, his wife, and their van road-tripped through much of the pandemic, and many of the release’s lyrics were written while traveling in isolated areas throughout the country, like rural Montana and Colorado.

The result is filled with introspection and soul-searching, representative of how artistic creation can lead to great self-discovery. The release, in particular, pursues how one feels the need to create and make art. “It leads you to the experience of being completely in the moment, which is what it’s all about,” Waldo says. “The ups, downs, in betweens – all are expressions of the aliveness of being.”

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H.Hawkline - Empty Room.

H.Hawkline (Huw Evans) has shared a new track, “Empty Room” which is taken from his upcoming fifth album, Milk For Flowers out on Friday March 10, 2023 on Heavenly Recordings. This follows previous album tracks “Milk For Flowers”, “Suppression Street” and “Plastic Man”.

Talking about the track, Huw said: “A song about the middle, written before and after. I used to think that if I stayed very still, I could stop time. Houses possess this ability: moments become trapped in stillness, the whole room frozen, too big to fit through the door. I think it was me who moved. My coat buttons are made of snow, I fasten them on the beach as I think of you.”

Having used the same video for “Milk For Flowers” and “Plastic Man”, Huw extends and slightly alters the concept by again using the video for “Empty Room”, except this time with a different ending, as he explains: “This is the last time you watch the video. The ending is different but we arrive the same way as before. I wanted the ending to feel like reality but to be honest, I've never ordered a White Russian in a Stetson.” His most personal and confessional record to date, the album, was produced and features musical contributions from long-time collaborator and celebrated solo artist Cate Le Bon.

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Zoe & Cloyd - We'll Meet Again Sweetheart / Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn.

Right on the heels of Valentine’s Day, klezgrass practitioners Zoe & Cloyd release two new Organic Records singles — and with that kind of timing, what could be more appropriate than a pair of love songs that showcase the complementary musical legacies embodied in the title of their forthcoming full-length album, Songs Of Our Grandfathers?

From the rich bluegrass heritage of John Cloyd Miller’s grandfather comes “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart.” Says Miller, “This classic bluegrass number was one of four sides my grandfather Jim Shumate recorded with Flatt & Scruggs for the Mercury label in 1948. That early lineup of the Foggy Mountain Boys — featuring Jim, Mac Wiseman, Cedric Rainwater and, of course, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs — was a force of nature and set the standard for bluegrass moving forward. We were excited to revisit the energy and tastefulness of that iconic recording."

With Miller’s smooth lead vocal, bassist Kevin Kehrberg’s echoes of Rainwater’s active bass work, ace banjo man Bennett Sullivan's recap of some of Scruggs’ signature licks alongside a few twists of his own and Natalya Zoe Weinstein’s loving recreation — on the same fiddle used in 1948 — of Shumate’s original work, it’s a track that will bring a smile to those who know every note of the vintage recording even as it reflects Zoe & Cloyd’s unique creative touches.

Paired with the Flatt & Scruggs favorite is an even more widely known song with long-obscured roots in the once lively world of New York’s Yiddish language theater: “Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn.” The spelling reflects the duo’s reversion to the song’s original Yiddish, as explained by Natalya, whose winsome vocal is framed by well-crafted solos from Miller (here on mandolin), Sullivan (guitar) and Kehrberg that reveal the influence of klezmer music on the more widely known “gypsy jazz” of subsequent versions:

“‘Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn’ was originally written in 1932 by composer Sholom Secunda and lyricist Jacob Jacobs for the Yiddish theater. The title means ‘To Me You Are Beautiful.’ The Andrews Sisters recorded the English version in 1937, and the song became a worldwide sensation. Not surprisingly, this song was in my grandfather’s repertoire as well, and I used to play it with my father on piano. For our recording, I even learned the Yiddish lyrics!”

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Bis - DAMEFRISØR - Daddy Long Legs - Bed Signs - Suzi Moon

Bis - Shopping For Tattoos.

Bis release single Shopping For Tattoos on Friday 17th February, following recent album Systems Music For Home Defence. Much like the rest of the LP, Shopping For Tattoos is characteristically infectious, described as "declamatory electro pop punk" by The Scotsman.

The album was released in November 2022 and the band define it as "born out of a wistful, slightly corrupted nostalgia for a simpler era that may or may not have existed at all". It is available on vinyl, CD and digital from Last Night From Glasgow.

Since their formation bis have continuously developed their sound, from their initial punk synth-pop roots to tracks crafted for sweaty nightclubs. Sci-Fi Steven, John Disco and Manda Rin first entered the scene in 1994 and were soon the first unsigned band to ever appear on Top of the Pops, playing their unmistakable Kandy Pop in 1996. 

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DAMEFRISØR - The Grip.

Bristol-based ones to watch DAMEFRISØR have released new single "The Grip" the latest tase of the band's upcoming debut EP 'Island of Light - out 24th February via Permanent Creeps Records.

New EP 'Island of Light' was produced by Alex Greaves (Working Men's Club, bdrmm, Lice) and recorded at The Nave Studios in Leeds. The EP arrives ahead of upcoming dates with Lynks and VLURE, as well as a headline tour of their own in March with stops in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Portsmouth, Bristol and London.

Latest single "The Grip," perfectly encapsulates the essence of what DAMEFRISØR went out to achieve with their debut project; large industrial soundscapes – staying true to their roots in shoegaze, whilst elevating the arrangements with upbeat, dance and club-influenced elements. “We tried to give space to let the bass and percussion drive the song alongside the giant cavernous grinding lead line starting in the first chorus,” the band notes. “After that it was a case of finding guitar and synth phrases to contrast and compliment the driving forces without making things too muddy."

The band's drummer and "The Grip" lyricist Nyle Dowd added more insight into the track's meaning: “It’s a short story essentially about running away from things, that feeling of being trapped by your decisions or the decisions of others and being swallowed up by guilt. The paranoia that comes from something being fucked up in your life, it can be overwhelming…”.

 


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Daddy Long Legs - Silver Satin

DADDY LONG LEGS, New York City's most diabolical Rhythm & Blues street gang, have shared their new track “Silver Satin” from their upcoming and eagerly anticipated new album Street Sermons, to be released on March 17th via Yep Roc Records. The group describes the track as an experience where “we take the listener on a trip through New York City’s underground rail system with a bottle in hand concealed by a brown paper bag. Lose yourself in a song dripping with tremolo and electric piano, but whatever you do, don’t fall asleep on the subway.”

The group previously released the track “Street Sermon” which sees the group beseeching their troubled congregation to “Work with one another/Not against each other” as the Brooklyn band evolve into a chain gang that sounds like they’re emanating through the cracks of a hot and sticky subway station.

The band's fourth studio album represents a wellspring of bottled-up feelings and emotions that need to be taken to the streets. Produced by Oakley Munson of the Black Lips at Old Soul Studios in Catskill, NY the band expands upon a sound that’s all their own and features guest appearances from Punk Rock legend Wreckless Eric providing backing vocals on "Nightmare" and "Silver Satin" and The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian on "Ding-Ding Man," In dark times DADDY LONG LEGS continue to shine their light everywhere they go, leaving a piece of themselves on stage every night because it’s in them and it’s got to come out.

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Bed Signs - Tongue Shred.

The Charlotte, NC indie duo bed signs are back with “Tongue Shred,” the second single to be released from their upcoming album Silver Lining Breakdown.

“‘Tongue Shred’ came together so easily and naturally that we felt like we really had something once it was finished,” explains bed signs’ co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Chris Lonon. “‘Tongue Shred’ is the first song that we wrote in what I consider a ‘backward’ style. I had never written a song where the music did not come first and the melodies and lyrics last. This song is the total opposite. I wrote and arranged all the music around Casey’s melodies and lyrics that she sent to me in an iPhone voice memo. The emotional rawness of that original iPhone recording is so cool that it made it onto the final track, juxtaposed against the studio recording.”

“The video for ‘Tongue Shred’ was our first attempt at making a ‘live-action’ video,” adds Casey Livingston, the vocalist, and lyricist of bed signs. “The idea runs somewhat ancillary to the song. It’s based more on impressions of what the song means than what it actually means. ‘Tongue Shred’ is about a person on the verge of leaving their relationship at home and walking out that very night. What that really entails – leaving everything you know; your home, your spouse, maybe kids, your past, your identity; becoming a ghost in your own story. The idea was also that this is not necessarily a ‘bad’ or a ‘good’ thing – it just is – and every action has consequences and rewards. We shot it in just a few days and although it obviously doesn’t look like we spent millions on it, I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish.”

 

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Suzi Moon - Any Other Way.

Suzi Moon has just released a new video for the song "Any Other Way" which comes from her critically-acclaimed debut LP "Dumb & In Luv." The video was shot at one of Moon's recent shows in Pittsburgh and was directed by Dan Brenkert and edited by Moon herself.

Moon has drawn the attention of fans, journalists, and bands around the world. Upon its release, Goldmine Magazine hailed it as "one of the best albums this year" and John Gentile at Punk News called it his favorite album of the year.

Suzi has recently announced tours supporting The Queers and Agent Orange which will take her all across the United States through the entire spring and beginning of summer before she heads to Europe for festival appearances and other shows. With this endless touring, along with the massive success of her debut LP and 2 EPs, she is available for podcasts, features, and other press! Suzi has loads of availability for phone, email, and Zoom interviews before she heads out for months and months of touring.

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Neev - Matt Corby - Surf Friends - Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra - La Ratte

Neev - Fast Patterns.

Since the release of her debut single in 2019, Glaswegian artist Neev has built a reputation for discovering beauty in the small details. Her talent for storytelling and worldbuilding has earned her early support from the likes of BBC Radio 1’s Sian Eleri and BBC Radio 6 Music’s Tom Robinson, as well as a sync on BBC drama Waterloo Road.  On April 28th, the now London-based musician is set to release her debut album, Katherine, a collection of intricate indie-folk songs that pack a lyrical punch.

Today, Neev has shared her new single ‘Fast Patterns’. Written from the point of view of an imperfect friend, the song is about not knowing how to be there for someone in their darkest moments. It asks how far you should go for a friend in need and at what point you need to take a step back.

Buoyed by the experience of engineering, mixing and producing her 2021 EP Currants almost entirely alone whilst the country was in lockdown, much of Katherine was recorded at Neev’s home studio and the homes of a host of talented musician friends. “It was really important to me that the album wasn’t only a group of songs but that it would also be a learning curve for me, and it was! I learnt so much about arrangement, frequency, the range of my voice and the way I like to construct songs and write,” she says.

Katherine carries all of the trademark sounds of Neev’s previous releases. Acoustic guitars, soaring string arrangements and layered backing vocals can be found throughout, but this time they’re bigger, at times, calling to mind artists like Marika Hackman and Fenne Lily. Every song on Katherine is tied to the idea of identity.

 

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Matt Corby - Big Smoke.

Today, Matt Corby released his hallucinatory new single “Big Smoke,” the newest single from his upcoming album Everything’s Fine (out March 24th via Communion). Next month Corby will kick off a limited run of intimate shows across the US with sold-out shows in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and Toronto.

His first album in five years, Everything’s Fine vividly captures the personal and creative growth of Matt Corby who, like many, was tipped belly side up recently. Beyond the global touring pause, on the day he was meant to start recording his new album, Corby and his family were instead rescued by a neighbor. Their home had been engulfed by the flood waters that raged through Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, in early 2022.

After nervously watching his heavily pregnant partner and young son be whisked away in a small inflatable dinghy, he got to work ferrying provisions to stranded locals and digging rotting mud out from beneath his home. With their home inundated by floodwaters, the whole family moved into Corby’s Rainbow Valley Studios during the album’s recording process. Juggling familial responsibilities with his creative pursuits was a one-of-a-kind pressure cooker circumstance that galvanized his artistic evolution.

“I'm currently rebuilding a lot of my foundational stuff,” Matt shares. “Covid changed me a lot, slowed me down. I feel like I've become aware of a lot of the stuff I need to work on, and I'm happy to start – and I have been. All of that chaos helped me not be neurotic with this album process and get to the point where I accepted things. Like, I couldn’t sit and stew over how something sounded and potentially make it worse if I was needed elsewhere."

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Surf Friends - Dreaming.

Hot off the heels of their latest single ‘Something Real’, Surf Friends release the second single, ‘Dreaming’, from their upcoming album Sonic Waves. Taking a step further into their kaleidoscopic sound whilst keeping in line with their blissful rock sensibilities, Brad Coley and Pete Westmoreland dish out even more ethereal melodies and guitar loops on ‘Dreaming’, enveloping listeners in its heavenly wash of sonics.

“This song is about how nature provides us with the environment we need to slow us down, allowing us to see more clearly the direction we want to take.” Surf Friends say of the track. “It is about that very moment we become aware and feel our potential, see the direction and take the helm.”

Along with the single, Surf Friends have announced two album release shows in March to celebrate the release of their upcoming album, Sonic Waves. Taking place in their hometown, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland as well as surf capital Whāingaroa/Raglan, Surf Friends will be joining forces with Power Nap (in Raglan), DJ The Bermuda Triangle and King Of The Sadboys (in Auckland) to put on an epic night of music, and showcase their new tunes live and in the flesh. Surf Friends will also be performing at Field Of Dreams Festival on Saturday the 18th of February, alongside Te Huhu, Arthur Ahbez, Wellness and more.

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Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra - Hilton.

Just over a month from now, Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra will release their anticipated new album Racing The Storm on March 17th via Bella Union. Ahead of the release, and having previously shared videos for the singles “Right Here” and “Mikos”, Emiliana & TCO now share a captivating video for new single “Hilton” directed by Aarich Jespers (TCO) & Anaïs Dyckmans. Taking its inspiration from David Hockney, “Tango” by Zbigniew Rybczyński and “Here” by Richard McGuire, the video is a one-shot of Emiliana, The Colorist Orchestra and dancers together in a small living room, projected onto objects and re-shot. In the end we see a broken image of ‘one scene’. This image underlines the eclectic vibe and groove of the song and speaks the language of isolation and being together in online meetings, dreams and fantasies.

Picture this: a big storm is brewing overhead. You’re careening through the backroads of rural Iceland, trying desperately to catch your flight out of Reykjavik as the skies darken behind you. You’ve just had one of the best songwriting sessions of your life, in a farmhouse deep in the Icelandic countryside, but none of that matters now. You’ve found yourself in a race against time to get all your work to the next studio and continue working on your album—one that just might turn out to be one of the most important of your entire career.

This exact scenario is what befell Belgian duo The Colorist Orchestra and Icelandic-Italian singer-songwriter Emiliana Torrini during one of the many recording sessions for their new collaborative album—and the experience was so emblematic of the entire awe-inspiring, chaotic, life-affirming process, that they ended up naming the record Racing the Storm.

The Colorist Orchestra knows a thing or two about controlled chaos. Since their inception in 2013, close friends and multi-instrumentalists Aarich Jespers and Kobe Proesmans have taken on the task of reinterpreting other artists’ discographies with their unique blend of pop, electronic and world music. In 2015, they entered into a collaboration with Emiliana, who at that time was already well into her own illustrious career, having released six studio albums, as well as the international hit “Jungle Drum”.

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La Ratte - Astray (Album).

If you like your blues dirty and rocking hard, then La Ratte and their debut album may be just the thing to get you off your chairs, put on your dancing shes and go see where your air guitar is stashed.

Astray is the album where seasoned and street savy musicians Harm van Essen (guitar/vocals) Jochem Jorrisen (drums) and Nikolas Karolewic (bass) meet in their passion for hard hittin' Swamp Blues, Roots and Rock n' Roll. It surely confirms the musicians' punky attitude towards music.

La Ratte is a three piece band formed as a well fitting misalliance. It started out with two Dutch musicians, Harm van Essen and Jochem Jorrisen, with a punk attitude towards music. Harm started to record demos that put La Ratte in a new direction. The new material needed a bass player to play the songs live, and Nikolas Karolewicz from Münster Germany was asked to join the band.

Since late 2021, La Ratte has been based around Harm’s wayward songwriting, raw vocals and fiery guitar playing, Jochem’s explosive drumming and Nikolas’ steady and old school bass groove. The combination nails a contemporary blues sound by delivering a swampy catchy roots album.

The new album, Astray, was recorded in 7 days at Studio De Krakeling, built in a former mental asylum. Each of the eleven tracks explores a different side of American Roots music, taking inspiration from the energy of Texas Blues, hypnotizing Mississippi Hill Country groove, and the catchiness of Louisiana Swamp Pop classics.

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My Name is Ian - Sarah Chirita - Redbud

My Name is Ian - You Are Amazing.

Determined to release a song for all special occasions, My Name is Ian are due to release a Valentine’s Day Indie ballad this year. Following on from their Halloween pop-punk offering, ‘Spooky Holiday’ last year, and 2018’s ‘Christmas Time Again’, ‘You Are Amazing’ will be out across all digital platforms on February 14th.

The track, which references off-kilter romantic sentiments and pairings, has long been a staple of the band’s live repertoire, and has finally been blessed with a studio recording. The track comes as the band prepare to release their latest album, ‘GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS’, due out this summer through Bubblewrap Collective.

Creatures of Cardiff, My Name Is Ian have already built a back catalogue that would have taken The Stone Roses millennia to mirror. Since 2010 their output of has dealt with break-ups, breakdowns, mysterious lion paintings and characters from the Tom Hanks movie Big. This restless productivity has seen genres including but not restricted to lo-fi, bedroom punk, garage rock, prog and anti-folk, all filtered through the pop-oriented cranium of frontman Reginald Foxwell.

Impressively prolific and prolifically impressive, bittersweet but unbroken, My Name Is Ian require your immediate attention.

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Sarah Chirita - Alphabet Soup.

This is a fabulous song from Romanian-American creative Sarah Chirita who we are told "is well versed in singing, song writing, and speaking" and this gorgeous track suggests that statement is not an exaggeration.

Sarah is described as an Americana artist, deriving inspiration from the likes of Zach Bryan, Dolly Parton, Tyler Childers, and many others. She finds herself between Americana, indie and folk.

Sarah's Romanian background played a large part in her love for folk music, whilst growing up in Texas deepened her love for Americana.

This song is for anyone who is struggling financially, was raised by a single parent, or struggled to make ends meet.

Sarah Chirita · Alphabet Soup

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Redbud - Franny.

Franny is the latest single from rising Austin-based group Redbud. It's off of their debut EP, Long Night, which is out February 24th. The band's Katie Claghorn say's regarding the song, "I wrote this song about my cat. My big, silver, mischievous barnyard cat, Francis.

I scooped Franny the kitten from an apartment complex during 2020. He was offered to me in a Facebook group after I posted about finally being ready to care for a furry friend during the Q. As Franny aged, the necessary flea baths grew more and more difficult as he grew more and more aware of what drawing a bath meant for him. He looked so pathetic one day during his flea bath that I began to sing him a lullaby.

I sang the tune (which became the verse melody) to myself for a few months before finally forcing myself to sit down and find some chords that worked alongside it."

Redbud is the brainchild of Claghorn who crafts intimate sonic portraits with whimsical, psychedelic tones and meditative, soul-exposing lyrics. Born out of pandemic, the group has blossomed into a four-piece and has become a rising staple of the Austin scene, most recently supporting Wild Pink and Why Bonnie. Long Night stands as their cohesively kaleidoscopic vision as well as a trail-sign for where their path leads in the future.

Good Eye Records · Redbud - "Franny"

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