Alice Auer - That Old Quiet Lighthouse - Kalila Badali

Alice Auer - Greek Street.

British vocalist and songwriter Alice Auer returns this week with her new single "Greek Street", out now via London tastemaker label Young Poet (Conor Albert, WOOZE). With a voice to thaw the most glacial of hearts, Alice Auer first came to prominence collaborating with south London producer (and Young Poet label-mate) Conor Albert on 2021’s 'Smile' EP and her own 2022 EP 'Daydreaming'.

Since those initial releases, Alice's music has been streamed over 10 million times; she has shared the stage with acts including Nia Archives and ELIZA; received shout-outs from the likes of Justin Bieber, and has established herself as the heart and soul of a burgeoning London scene that includes contemporaries James Smith, Matilda Mann and Maya Delilah.

New single "Greek Street" - produced by Conor Albert and co-written with London songwriter and producer James Smith - exemplifies Alice Auer's supremely relatable and refreshingly modern approach to jazz-songwriting. On "Greek Street", Auer's candid storytelling and pristine vocal shine through as she reminisces about a first date in Soho. With an empathetic worldliness, she offers catharsis against the complexities and heartbreak of relationships and daily life.

Speaking more on its inspiration and how "Greek Street" came to be, Alice Auer said: "I wrote 'Greek Street' in a day with my lovely friend and very talented musician/producer, James Smith. Story wise, Greek Street was inspired by the first date my boyfriend and I went on together, at Jazz After Dark in Soho, London. I wanted to create some contrast in the song emotionally and musically, so we wrote the lyrics from the perspective of someone who had that relationship, that experience, that romance - but lost it and longs to have it back. We then took the bones of the song to Conor and let him work his magic."

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That Old Quiet Lighthouse - Laughter.

That Old Quiet Lighthouse continue to create their sad-boy multiverse with new single ‘Laughter’, out now. After doubling their social media presence through the course of a couple of months, being featured on V13 alongside numerous radio plays including on Charlie Ashcroft’s show on Amazing Radio, That Old Quiet Lighthouse are on somewhat of a roll.

Powering through with their commitment to ‘putting the emo back in wholesome (it’s in there somewhere)’, they combine the keen and emotionally charged lyricism of Pinegrove with the bittersweet textures of Alex G, with a pinch of instrumental virtuosity for good measure.

Building an audience steadily through their brilliant mix of witty banter and immersive musical storytelling, there really isn’t another band like That Old Quiet Lighthouse. Constantly featuring different vocalists and instrumentalists on songs creates what can only be coined as a ‘sad-boy multiverse’ for the listener to enjoy, following each incredibly talented featured artist down their own rabbit hole to a place of entirely different but equally brilliant musical experience.

The guest vocalist on new That Old Quiet Lighthouse single is the perfect example of this. ‘Laughter’ is an upbeat indie-pop tune, channelling folk influences through its tenor horn counter melodies. Featuring the beautiful and unique voice of Sanja Cin, the song is almost a duet - her melodies serving as an echo of a love since gone. The best way to describe it? Infectiously upbeat, irresistibly charming, a song that perfectly articulates the bizarre nature of ending a relationship with no ill will.

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Kalila Badali - Panacea.

Kalila Badali is an alt-folk/art-pop singer songwriter and psychotherapist based in Toronto. Her music strikes an ethereal balance between witchy folk and danceable (yet moody) pop. At the age of seven, Kalila taught herself to play guitar and began writing songs. Having started writing at such an early age, her performing and writing has spanned two decades. She is most influenced by St. Vincent, Kate Bush, and Aldous Harding.

Kalila officially launched her music career with the release of her Indie-Folk EP, Perfectly Collapsing (shared on “plantable paper” to reduce waste). Kalila’s EP garnered attention on CBC Radio One’s Big City, Small World. Her current project, Panacea, has received funding support from the Ontario Arts Council and FACTOR Canada and will be released in 2023. Her singles, “No Eye Contact” and “Dotty Mae” are out now on all streaming platforms.

Music represents an ongoing avenue for Kalila to express her understanding of the world as a neurodivergent person. Since graduating from University of Toronto with an M.Ed. in Counselling Psychology, Kalila has been a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario with a unique private practice working with neurodivergent, LGBTQ2SIA+, and arts workers. This balancing of her two careers as a musician and therapist has led her to offer workshops to emerging artists on musicians’ mental health.

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Esther Rose - Nathaniel Bellows - PD Martin - Tom Jenkins

Esther Rose - Chet Baker.

Esther Rose has signed to New West Records and will release Safe to Run April 21, 2023. The 11-track set was produced by Ross Farbe in New Orleans, LA and Placitas, NM and is the follow up to 2021’s acclaimed How Many Times. Alongside longtime collaborators Farbe and Lyle Werner, Safe to Run also features the acclaimed New Orleans based band Silver Synthetic on many songs, Cameron Snyder of The Deslondes, as well as Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff on the title track, a gorgeous duet that directly merges the personal with the global, superimposing feelings of spiritual displacement onto the larger, looming dread of climate grief.

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

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

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Nathaniel Bellows - One Small Thing.

“One Small Thing” imagines an internal and external space of reprieve, peace, and calm, away from our present day’s environments of tension, challenge, and turmoil. The song asks the question: If such an idealized place seems out of reach, what are the “small things” we can do today to make such a space feel possible?

Bellows selected the musicians who performed on “One Small Thing” based on his appreciation for their subtle, artistic approach, and their ability to connect to–and express–the emotional core of a song. Nova contrasts Bellows’ low, gravelly voice with soaring, angelic vocals. Malcolm Burn’s nuanced bass lines organically cleave the melody, singing in a beautiful, thoughtful way. Steve Decker’s open, impressionistic, even jazz-inflected drumming breathes new life into the architecture of the song through a varied series of textures and undercurrents.

The contrast of growing up surrounded by the quiet beauty of the natural world in rural New England and now living in New York City’s urban landscape creates tension in Bellows’ music. The songs are an ongoing dialogue between internal, reflective wonder and an external sense of outward, urgent searching.

Bellows works in three creative fields simultaneously–writing, music, and visual art– exploring a cohesive artistic point of view among the three mediums to undergird his songs. He says, “I explore emotional terrain with these various creative outlets in an attempt to understand–through different vantage points–what matters to me.” He writes about memory, affect, family, legacy, the natural world, human frailty, injury, redemption, and resilience. He says, “I’m interested in unresolved images and fragments of unfinished thought and dialogue.” The engine of most of his work–writing, music, and artwork–is the constant process of reconciling the past while existing, in an ever-changing state, in the present day.

Nathaniel Bellows · One Small Thing (feat. Shara Nova)

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PD Martin - Strip It Down.

PD Martin and his band hit the trail as a straightforward blues-trio. But twelve bars ain’t enough and soon they are leaving the main road. 

Gig by gig, song by song, they make their way through a wetland of blues and funk, ever groovin’ to the rhythm of the almighty Soulbeat. The record you are discovering here is a report of this exciting journey. “Soulbeat Incarnate” is a diverse collection of eleven original songs. 

From the raw blues of “Artificial State of Misery”, over the funky hooks of “Come to Bed” to the extremely danceable groove of “Strip It Down”, this album, produced by JB Biesmans (Travellin’ Blue Kings), is compelling from beginning to end!

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Tom Jenkins - It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky.

Welsh Singer-songwriter Tom Jenkins has revealed a brand new video for “It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky”, the title-track of his spectacular latest solo album (out now). The official video arrives as Jenkins confirms a string of live fixtures for the new year ahead, including support shows with Cardinal Black, Frank Turner and Bastille as well as sold out headline shows in Cardiff and Trowbridge.

A sprawling and cinematic track that unfolds like a great epic told in three parts, “It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky” pins together tender vocals with cascading drum rolls, unhinged guitars and meteoric instrumental flourishes.

Of the new song, Tom explains: “”It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky” is probably the most epic track on the album, and had to really live up to the name. The song draws influences from the likes of Jeff Buckley, Daniel Johns of Silverchair and Big Thief. Lyrically, it focuses on the feeling of dread and how it creeps up on you.”

The title-track of an equally expansive and exploratory new studio album (out now, via Xtra Mile Recordings), ‘‘It Comes In The Morning, It Hangs In The Evening Sky’ is the singer-songwriter’s follow-up to 2019 solo debut ‘Misery In Comfort’.

Recorded in the depths of lockdown, Tom started tracking the album in a disused barn on an old laptop with just one microphone and a 2010 version of GarageBand. Realising he was completely out of his depth, he turned to lifelong friend and producer Todd Campbell and the pair began to turn the collection of songs into a full-length album at his studio in South Wales.

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The Faux Faux - Kendall Lujan - Hannah Scott - Jesse Hite - BC Camplight - Cody Hall

The Faux Faux - Cold Hearted Woman.

Faith Vern, lead singer of notorious Manchester punk band PINS, has shared new single ‘Cold Hearted Woman’. The single, a swaggering and smoky number, marks the launch of her new solo project, The Faux Faux, as well as the relaunch of the Drowned in Sound Singles Club. “We’ve always championed Faith’s work in the ultimate punk gang PINS” says Drowned in Sound founder Sean Adams. “We got talking a couple of years ago, when she sang with Iggy Pop at the BBC’s legendary Maida Vale studios and kept in touch.”

“When I murmured that I was thinking of bringing back the label, Faith mentioned a solo project… and as I absolutely adored what she sent over, here we are, restarting the singles club that previously kicked off the careers of Kaiser Chiefs, Bat for Lashes, Martha Wainwright and more. This is track one from what will be a slowly released 10-track compilation of new artists I love, with a new track arriving each month.”

With a chill in its bones and a fire in its belly ‘Cold Hearted Woman’ is a debut single that feels as if it has just marched off the set of Peaky Blinders or John Cassavetes’ Gloria. “I’ve always been intrigued by Cindy Sherman, Sylvia Plath, Gregory Crewdson, Virginia Woolf, Nan Goldin to name a few,” explains Faith Vern, “these writers, poets, photographers, artists, who have shown us the beauty and the desperation in the mundane.”

Vern continues “After the birth of my first child I needed more space which meant moving from my one bedroom flat in Prestwich to a ‘proper’ house. Somehow my husband and I convinced ourselves that we should head to the country, little did we know that lockdown was lurking… I was writing about being somewhere and feeling trapped, anxiety and coping mechanisms.” “The chorus ‘I’m a Cold Hearted Woman’ is of course tongue-in-cheek, it’s almost like once everything, all your personality, freedom, joy, is forced out of you, you just sorta go ‘ok fk it, you think I’m cold, well yes, here it is...’ ”

 
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Kendall Lujan - Forger Me Knots.

The striking talents of rising Portland artist Kendall Lujan will be impossible to miss in the coming year. Her indie-operatic voice stratifies songs through octave runs, making moody, melodic folk rock. To rise out of Portland's flush music scene is no easy feat, Lujan has been making herself heard by singing harmonies in AC Sapphire’s backing band The Shoulderpads.

In her latest project Lujan steps out in front of the band. Many folks introduction to Lujan will be “Another”, a song of lingering desire that floats Lujan’s vocal range over a small symphony of archtop guitar and strings. Her strengthy voice –which ranges from mountain holler to bird-like warble, seems to hang in the air. She sings a song about retracing steps to the point where love was lost, and resolves to regain that trail in another life.

Lujan opens the moody “Dot My I’s” solo, fingerpicking guitar, giving us a chance to hear her commanding voice. Layered vocals and gentle driven drums join Lujan in a pocket groove. Enjoy her lyricism as she asks “how can these memories be so sweet, and other times only sting?” Lujan comes to Portland from the upper-left-most corner of rural Washington. She’s had bands before but the time of the pandemic created an opportunity for Lujan to do things differently. She moved to Portland, and saw the isolation of relocation and lockdown as a chance to really dig into her own songs. The trained piano player picked up a guitar.

Lujan’s songs concentrate on growing up, and figuring it out, and she  turns experience into a story to make the point. The natural singer and songwriter put together a band with Micah Hummel (drums) Sam Arnold (bass) and recorded at the Map Room in Portland with Dominik Schmidt producing.

kendall lujan · Forget Me Knots

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Hannah Scott - Into Your Grief.

Taken from the forthcoming EP “Ancient Lights”, “Into Your Grief” is the new single from Surreybased contemporary folk artist Hannah Scott. The EP is a collection of old songs Hannah thought deserved to be dusted down and played to audiences once more. Into Your Grief was written towards the end of 2008 as her three year relationship was breaking down.

Hannah says, “I’ve often found myself too afraid to say how I really feel. As I’ve got older and realise the impact that not being fully open and honest has, I definitely see this as a weakness and it’s something I’m working on. Somehow expressing those feelings in lyrics is easier. My relationship had been on the rocks for a while and we hadn’t voiced it. I played my then partner the song and we both started crying and that was that! We are still good friends 15 years later.”

Ancient Lights takes its name from the house she grew up in, a Tudor building in Suffolk, named by her father because of its leaded light windows. These take centre stage in the EP artwork created by her mother. Hannah had the idea to name a record after the family home in her early twenties but she knew she’d have to wait until she was older in order to have some old songs to record so the title would make sense! Two close family bereavements in the space of a year as well as the period of quiet which the pandemic and lockdowns brought set Hannah on a path of reflection as she rediscovered some of her oldest material.

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Jesse Hite - Just A Kid.

Heart-felt lyrics wrapped in a saucy bass-line, catchy chorus, and a head bobbing groove; with remnants of Gorillaz, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arctic Monkeys, and The 1975.

This opening song for the upcoming EP Vol. 1 is really a look into getting older and fighting with the feelings of aging, depression, and anxiety. How have 30 years already past? I still feel like a kid. I am just a kid. I was always “the kid” in the local music scene. Always the youngest one on stage and still keeping up with the veterans. But now, that is no longer the case. I think everyone has this disconnect at some point in their life. As time goes on, our lives get busier and life seems to speed up day by day. We all want to feel young forever.

Jesse Hite is an American artist living in the French countryside as a musician, producer, and singer-songwriter. His experience exploring and living on the West Coast of America, travels through Asia and Europe, and time spent living in France has taken his lyrics and songwriting to a whole new level. He has combined those life experiences inside his home studio and molded them into a piece of art for all music lovers to enjoy. He shares his honest experiences through his intricate storytelling-like song style. His songs are groovy, atmospheric wonders with poppy hooks and deep stories.

TCBYML · Jesse Hite - Just A Kid

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BC Camplight - The Last Rotation Of Earth.

BC Camplight has just announced news of his new album, The Last Rotation Of Earth, out May 12th via Bella Union. To accompany the announcement, BC Camplight has shared a lyric video for the LP’s title track and first single. Is there a curse that says Brian ‘BC Camplight’ Christinzio cannot move forward without being knocked back? That the greatest material is born out of emotional trauma? Whilst making his new album, The Last Rotation Of Earth, Christinzio’s relationship with his fiancé crumbled after nine inseparable years. 

The album follows this break-up amid long-term struggles with addiction and mental health. The outcome is an extraordinary record, with Christinzio describing it as “more cinematic, sophisticated and nuanced than anything I’ve done before.” He goes on to describe how the separation altered his creative focus and caused him to “scrap 95% of what I’d already recorded”, finishing The Last Rotation Of Earth in two months and making what he believes is his most vital album.

Still, Christinzio doesn’t see any of this as a story of redemption. “This is not a story of victory,” he says. “It is a document created in the shadow of incredible darkness. One from which the creator hadn't planned on escaping, and still doesn't. Hence the title of the album. It is the result of an illness that I've battled my whole life. It isn't something that the world has done to me. It's the world I live in and it's no one's fault.”

 

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Cody Hall - Made My Day.

Independent Country artist Cody Hall from Lethbridge Alberta has a brand new song available on streaming services today February 10th

“Made my day”, the third track recorded with Bucket Brigade Studios and producer Joel Pearson, highlights the story of young love and has an alternative-pop flare that compliments the country flare that Cody is known for.

Cody's previous releases, “One of Them Boys” (August 2022) and "The Dark" (February 2022), both hit regular rotation on local stations here in Alberta and together have over 300 plays on Sirius XM’s Top of the Country channel.

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Bethan Lloyd - 7Descent - Marcus Lowry - Rowlette

Bethan Lloyd - No Umbilical.

Bethan Lloyd is a Welsh artist whose trance inducing vocals expand over an ocean of rave inspired production, harmonic layering and otherworldly ecstasy. Her sonic exploration has taken her from training as a classical singer, immersing herself in Berlin’s experimental music scene, to learning with magicians, masters and the ancient teachings of the natural world. In her latest single, No Umbilical, Bethan, producing alongside ‘Jet Pack Dog’ bandmate and master of noise Isaac Ray, takes her intense explorations of the spirit and emotional realms and blends them into something playful and danceable, a gritty experimental pop.

No Umbilical had been through a variety of alternate versions before arriving at the one we hear today from the upcoming album, Metamorphosis. Talking of impossible hertz and becoming the feeding ghost, it has always retained the stark lyrical ambition of its predecessors, but in its final form, Bethan and co producer Isaac Ray opted for a softer, rolling production, that hints at a 90s nostalgia with a modern twist.

Bethan’s lyrics delve into the philosophy of animism and her classical vocal training shines through in the choral layering that brings the piece to a close. Accompanied by a video shot on a now vintage handheld camera, on the outskirts of Berlin, in a decaying building where nature tries to regain a hold, No Umbilical, both aurally and visually, places itself in a liminal space between past and present, consumerism and ancestry.

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7Descent - Prisoner.

7Descent’s music video for their new song, “Prisoner” is a reminder that sometimes simplicity works best. Feauring new Lead Singer/Vocalist Saffron. The video is a multi-angled live performance, making it a very intimate experience for the viewers and the fans. Once the chorus hits, a “delayed” camera effect adds a cool effect layer to the video. Lead singer, Saffron belts her heart out and pours her soul into her debut performance. Saffron brings a new creative element to the band. She is heavily influenced by rock opera and her stage presence is authentically natural as she is a trained belly dancer.

“Prisoner” talks about the feeling of being trapped by love. The band recreates the emotion of the lyrics in their live performance with absolute abandon.The whole video focuses on the band and the band only. No props, no distractions bringing back the vibe of original rock bands from the 70's era.  Shot in one of Nashville's biggest sound studios, the viewer entertained by the live performance.  Ed Taylor's  lengthy but intentional guitar solo enters the song on cue reminiscent of a live rock concert. AJ Cremins on drums and Brian Coffey on Bass are in harmony with the shredding of Ed Taylor's guitar and Saffron's gritty intentional vocals.  Saffron carries those edgy long notes as if you are taken into a rollercoaster ride of emotions through rock music.

7Descent, consisting of four members, is a band that seeks to bring a personalized tone into the Nashville scene. Each member has their own feats and accomplishments that contribute to the band’s style. Influences ranging from metal mixes to opera & 80’s rock, the band hopes to showcase their personal style and unique approach to their music.

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Marcus Lowry - One Million Lights.

Marcus tells us: "One Million Lights” speaks directly to the beauty of life and the painful acceptance of its ephemerality.

At the time of writing my new single, I was reading Mary Oliver’s Devotions and was so inspired by her view of the world. It felt like she was so in tune with life and nature, embracing death with such calm and acceptance.

I struggle with anxiety and hurry sickness, so the inevitable passing of time is definitely a recurring fear for me. The songs on my upcoming album and the journeys depicted in their lyrics act as my own personal reminder that fear can threaten my ability to explore all of life’s richness.

So far in my career, I’ve been working as a guitarist in Montreal, accompanying other artists and singer-songwriters mostly in the jazz and folk scenes. I feel that I have grown so much throughout the process of crafting my debut album.

Marcus Lowry · One Million Lights

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Photo - Joanna O'Malley

Rowlette - Dreamer.

“Dreamer”, Rowlette’s first release of 2023, is an inspiring and intimate folk-pop track. In the unusual setting of a discount store, the song captures the beauty in everyday moments, and the feeling of knowing someone truly believes in you.

“I love this song because of its simplicity” says Rowlette, “I wrote it about a day a friend of mine came to visit me in my hometown. It was a wintery Sunday evening during the pandemic and there was really nowhere to go. We ended up going to Mr. Price and having a great time - it’s one of those places you always find things you didn’t know you needed! I got a lovely journal to write down what I wanted for the year, and I assumed he would think I was a bit silly, but instead he was just really supportive.”

“Obviously big gestures and that are nice, but I think there’s nothing better than when you can tell someone really believes in you and has your back.”

Talking about what she’d like from the song Rowlette hopes it reminds people to tell the people around them they believe in them; “Honestly there’s so much fake crap out there and online, I think the impostor syndrome is real for everyone! Tell your friends “You got this!” We all need to hear it sometimes.”

The acoustic pop track was produced by Dave Skelton and mastered by Aidan Foley. The singer’s distinctive vocals sit beautifully on top of her trademark acoustic guitar, alongside piano and some orchestral elements mixed with modern pop percussion and bass.

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