Oct 31, 2021

Adam Hattaway and The Haunters • Riding the River • 2021




Adam Hattaway & The Haunters are steeped in the sound of American rock n' roll from the 60s and 70s. They update classic motifs for modern audiences and "Keep Walking" is a testament to that. In an endearing performance video, leader Adam Hattaway tells a tale of longing through raw, emotive vocals, engulfed by twangy guitars and classic Americana riffs. The warm strings of a fiddle is brought by musician Flora Knight. This track, along with the rest of their upcoming double album 'Rooster' due out November 19th, was entirely recorded on a 4-track tape in true classic rock style, highlighting the gritty DIY nature of the music.

Oct 30, 2021

Billy Bragg • "Waiting for the Leap Manifesto" • 2021



This one is for all the fans of Billy Bragg as well as all my beloved voters of West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country.

Best. Endorsement. Ever.

Elephant • Calling • 2021



Sunny melancholy in a major key. That is the sound of 'Elephant', a band that was born in the year in which a virus almost knocked out the music business. The lockdown forced all musicians to reconsider their way of life, and ‘Calling’ is Elephant’s fitting and resilient response: 

“Sure, I’ll work as hard as I can in this life. For a house, a car, a kid and a wife. But I’ll try to build something, out on my own, that can’t be torn down, after I’m gone”

Early 2021, Elephant impressed with their debut EP, with subtle grooves and sobering lyrics. It was picked up by pop journalist Leo Blokhuis (“Something special is happening in Rotterdam” ), several songs were added to the playlist of Amazing Radio (UK/US) and ‘Midnight in Manhattan’ peaked at the 12th position of the ‘verrukkelijke 15’ chart of Dutch national radio.

Billy Bragg • Mid-Century Modern • 2021




Of course Billy Bragg is singing about resilience on his latest album: in one form or another, he’s been exploring that idea all along. The Million Things That Never Happened is Bragg’s first solo LP since 2013, and a million things have definitely happened since then, including a worldwide surge in political nativism, Black Lives Matter and a growing awareness of police brutality, and a global pandemic. In other words, there has been plenty to test the resilience of a singer and songwriter with Bragg’s outlook. Although time has softened the sharp edges that characterized Bragg as a young man, and the sound of his music has evolved, he has never strayed far from the themes that inspire him. They’re apparent on the new album in “Mid-Century Modern,” where he acknowledges that even his own views remain a work in progress. Admitting that you don’t have all the answers is an act of deference from a guy whose songs have been rallying cries for equality and justice for close to 40 years, but Bragg is self-assured enough to open himself up to new perspectives. —Eric R. Danton

Oct 27, 2021

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah • Dee, Forgiven • 2021



Dee, oh Dee, For a moment I couldn’t see thee Disappear through the glass But never fear, it’ll pass  Red was the pillow Under skull white sheets Dead as a minnow Washed right up by a bloodthirsty sea Oh well forget the mirror Forget the touch That was always too much That was never enough to survive  Breathing in the morning With cocaine’s wooden stare She snorted up all the wild honey And said please don’t tell all your friends that we’re here For now we’ll be forgotten  As we glide through the air By the chin on our hairs Like the skin on a pair of red eyes...

Oct 26, 2021

Quinn Christopherson • Bubblegum • 2021


Quinn Christopherson has been hard at work since bursting onto the scene in 2019 when he won NPR’s Tiny Desk competition. Since then he has toured the US with Courtney Barnett, Lucy Dacus, Shura, Portugal The Man and more and is now readying his highly anticipated debut album.  

But before the album is released, Quinn is giving us the I Am Bubblegum EP, produced by Bullion (Westerman, Sampha, Nilüfer Yanya), the founder of Deek Recordings, a thoughtful and emotionally intuitive collection of songs. Through storytelling and gorgeous sonic arrangements, Quinn shows why he is tapped to be one of the breakout stars of 2022.  

Along with announcing the EP and the news of his label home of Play It Again Sam, he is also dropping new music in the form of the song “Bubblegum”, accompanied by a music video directed by frequent creative collaborator Emma Sheffer. 




Quinn tells us “Bubblegum is about evolving and growing as a person. It should be celebrated to not know who you are. So often we're pressured to nail down and define our identity, as if it’s something finite. However, who I am isn’t written in stone waiting for me to unearth it. Things change and that’s the point. Bubblegum chronicles some of my evolution as a person.” 

Anticipation around the songwriter has been earned with his previously released singles "Erase Me," and "Raedeen." In his music, Quinn addresses his childhood and his role as a transgender indigenous person navigating Alaska's social landscape through his music. 

Oct 25, 2021

Kramer • The Crying • 2021




"I’m not at all sure of where this one came from. The pandemic? Yet another failed collaboration (the most recent one of so very many, after three decades of working alone)? Repeated estrangements from my daughter, each new one lasting longer than the previous one? Or is it the cumulative weights of all three? We give up on Love when we imagine that Love has given up on us, or purposefully failed us, or forsaken us in its cruelty. As humans, Tears are our most common and most blinding recourse. The sound of them falling rings like a mote of fire around a bell;

Sugarplum Fairies • Sugarfree • 2021


Described by Brooklyn Vegan as "An ethereal dose of twangy, breathy, late-night dreampop," Sugarplum Fairies are only just giving us a taste of their upcoming collection. Altar Songs 1998-2021 (due out December 2021) is a snapshot of Sugarplum Fairies’ evolution from its 1998 origins as a Vienna-raised/California-based husband and wife duo, which - after a personal and creative breakup in 2013 - resulted in the moniker for a rotating artistic collective spearheaded by vocalist/songwriter Silvia Ryder.


"Moody and evocative"
– Psychedelic Baby

"An ethereal dose of twangy, breathy, late-night dreampop"
– Brooklyn Vegan

"“Sandy Says” is a perfect preview of the album. The dreamy, ethereal new tune serves as a stunning collaboration between Sugarplum Fairies frontwoman Sylvia Ryder and Girl Skin’s Sid Simons."
– Indie88

"Singer-songwriter Silvia Ryder produces a hazy and intimate noise, subtle enough that you can capture it from afar...In the veins of Beach House, The Velvet Underground, and Mazzy Star, the simmered-down track mimics an act of easing into a deep sleep at a birthday party."
The Alternative

"You would’ve thought you stepped straight into the past with this track. “Heart Hell” presents Silvia Ryder’s vocals as bluesy as Nico and emphatic as Hope Sandoval."

– EARMILK

Oct 21, 2021

Dancing On Tables • Black • 2021




"‘Black’ is essentially a story about a friend of ours who went through a break up that completely crushed him. They weren’t together anymore, but it seemed like his life was more dominated by them than ever. The title plays on the mourning aspect of someone post-relationship, going through the different stages of accepting that something is never coming back.

Rowan // Youth & Youthhood • 2021




Rising Cork trio Rowan are sharing their new single "Youth And Youthhood." The new cut follows on from the band’s recently released EP Everybody Talks, which shot the band on to the scene in their native Ireland and beyond.

‘Youth and Youthhood’ is a wistful ode to “the trials and tribulations of navigating life as a teenager,” explain the band, adding, “The song reminisces on the fickle nature of young relationships and the baptism of fire that is your first house party. The transition into adulthood can be a scary unknown territory, contrasted by the complex golden days of yore.” 

There’s a rootsy shamble to the band’s latest single, adjoined by meandering guitar lines and a general guilelessness to frontman Dylan Howe’s endearing tales of innocent adolescence.  

Fieh • Grendehus Funkadelic • 2021

 

"Smooth and soulful" DIY

"An explosion of summer energy" The Fader

"Charming slice of jazz-infused soul" The Line Of Best Fit

"Norway's Fieh make songs that feel like neo-soul in an indie pop context" CLASH

"An experimental, entirely unique sound that defies genre or trends" Wonderland

Drug Couple • Lemon Trees • 2021




They used to be a “Brooklyn band”. They got married, moved to the Vermont woods, and built a studio in a two-hundred-year-old barn that they named ‘Freelandia’. They grow marijuana, like country and American indie rock, and they are never going back again.

Appearing from that haze of love and hash with an ounce of creative clarity that’s ripe for public consumption, the couple are pleased to present: “Lemon Trees”. 

Oct 20, 2021

Carson McHone • Hawks Don't Share • 2021



“McHone's unapologetic temperament shines through her lyrics and she matches it with flawless performances on vocals, guitar and harmonica.” —NPR

“There’s a delightful sense of traditionalism within the melodies of Carousel, but [McHone] never feels bound to it either.” —Rolling Stone


The past year and a half shifted everyone's lives dramatically. I’ve been off the road and off the stage, and for the most part in seclusion since I flew home in the middle of a tour on March 12th, 2020. Although sequestered, I’ve been lucky enough to use this time to explore new creative ground and cultivate new creative relationships. I am excited now to begin sharing the results and honored that the wonderful folks at Merge Records have signed on to help me spread the word! The first song is “Hawks Don’t Share,” performed with Daniel Romano and David Nardi. It was mixed by Kenneth Roy Meehan and mastered by Kristian Montano. The accompanying video celebrates collective creativity and affirms that we are all, in our own way, artists; that life itself is a work of art. A big bouquet of thanks is due to the Camera Varda crew who embodied these characters for me and helped bring this vision to life. Cheers to the joining of forces!

Oct 19, 2021

Cheval Sombre • Althea • 2021



The new EP features two cover versions sandwiching a crystalline reworking of ‘Are You Ready’ (from Days Go By) by Pete ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember. The former Spacemen 3 man also produced the title track, which is an incredible, ornate reworking of The Grateful Dead’s ‘Althea’, from their 1980 album, Go to Heaven.

Oct 15, 2021

Iven • Eight New Songs • 2021

 

Eight New Songs was recorded very quickly with a lot of love. 

Slack Times • Can’t Count on Anyone • 2021




"Recalls the heyday of '80s college radio when jangly bands filled playlists."
- Brooklyn Vegan

"Slack Times has a knack for delivering explosive jangle pop that brings the Rickenbacker sound full front center."
- Glide


Slack Times is a jangle pop recording project from Birmingham, AL. Chris McCauley (Holy Youth, Bad Hops, The Blips), Stuart Norman (Holy Youth, Bad Hops, Dommel Mosel), and Will Stewart (solo songwriter, Timber, The Blips) began writing songs on Chris’ back porch in the late summer/fall of 2020, drawing on shared influences such as The Feelies, Yo La Tengo, and early R.E.M. 

They Owe Us • I’m Your Biggest Fan • 2021




It’s a California sound that evokes a Polaroid kind of day: colorful, and bright, and timeless, while welcomingly hazy at the edges. There’s an ease to it, the feeling of lying in the sand and not having to go anywhere; meandering piano, some oohh-la-la harmonies, and some horns, for good measure.

Oct 13, 2021

Benjamin Lazar Davis • "Remember" • 2021




"He plays instruments in a way that makes them feel less like strings and wood and wires, and more like stop-motion scenes witnessed through the rear-view mirror of life's highway." - NPR Music

"...an exceedingly catchy bit of psych pop magic." - Under the Radar

"As hopeful as it is devastating, a plaintive cry for guidance that simmers with the knowledge that we grow in the not-knowing." - Consequence of Sound

Sei Still • Me Persigue • 2021




Expressionist rather than psychedelic in intent, they say that the songs on ‘El Refugio’ “allude to childhood, dreams, desire, loneliness, paranoia and hope. A longing for a different reality that breaks the monotony of daily life. It's more about sensations than something you can describe in words. I think what makes music great is that it has to be experienced so we try to part from a specific mood or emotion, which is something very abstract that people can interpret in their own way.”

Oct 7, 2021

Elijah Wolf • "Yesterday, With You" • 2021



Brooklyn-based artist and songwriter Elijah Wolf released a new single “Yesterday, With You” which features performances by Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes), Paul Spring (Holy Hive), Josh Jaeger (Angel Olsen) and Kevin Copeland (Lightning Bug). The song follows a breakthrough summer that included a Newport Folk Festival debut, his first-ever UK headline tour and a packed performance at the End of the Road Festival that ended in a roaring standing ovation. “Yesterday, With You” is his first single release following his new album Brighter Lighting that was released earlier this year via Trash Casual Records

The Money War • Miles Away • 2021


"If you've been paying attention to the world of Australian music over the last few years, then the chances are good you've heard of WA duo The Money War." Tone Deaf

"You make this one feel comfortable as a well warmed doona while hiding deceptively barbed lines amongst it that suddenly make you a little forlorn... a little sad."
4 / 5 (Tommy Faith, Triple J)

"I've got so much time for this band and how can you deny this optimistic, hopeful warmth. it's faith and trust is contagious, love it!" 4.5 / 5 (Declan Byrne, Triple J)

"Are you two kidding me with this pop pureness? An instant charmer that I'm gonna be humming all week." 4 / 5 (Dave Ruby Howe, Triple J)


Oct 6, 2021

Wet Leg • Chaise Longue • 2021



June saw the arrival of the brand new Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg with their storming debut single “Chaise Longue”; since then the song has clocked up over 3,000,000 streams, over 1,000,000 video views and won Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers fans in the likes of Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Iggy Pop, Florence Welch and film critic Mark Kermode.

Now, the two-piece are ready to unleash their next single, “Wet Dream”. A 2 and half minute slice of exuberance as unforgettable and buoyant as “Chaise Longue” that cements them as one of the most thrilling bands to emerge this year. Teasdale explains its origins: “Wet Dream is a breakup song; it came about when one of my ex’s went through a stage of texting me after we we’d broken up telling me that ‘he had a dream about me’.” The video – directed by Rhian Teasdale – is like something out of Věra Chytilová and Salvador Dali’s wildest dreams. DM

Oct 5, 2021

ratbath • fairy forts • 2021


written in paris, france
recorded on an iphone

black sack, the faces pass on the train
big grin, he’s lost in sin-mple pleasures shamed
you’re new, so new to this place
but just a few towns away

you are oddly-sorted
fairy forts and banshees call your name
newgrange, the causeway
a giant's claim to fame

speck of dust, you must recall your home
corpses at wakes, triscoll and fairy forts
we sat in class and I got a vision of a sash
covered in blood and stairs go up and up and up

I heard the words
you explained the same red round of fabric lost in pain
the steps, a death and bullets into legs
I spoke in poems, takes a brave one to say

the classroom was so grey I could never dip into my astral supply
this time, loosened the shine
talk of tier na nog untwined our minds
we cry at different things but we’re inside an orb of pain
it’s black and hard, our limbs are shards
there’s always fairy forts

 

Keeled Scales • Nuçi’s Space 21st Anniversary Benefit Compilation • 2021


100% of the funds from this digital-only Bandcamp compilation, available for a limited time from October 1 through December 31, 2021, will go directly to Nuçi’s Space, a nonprofit organization in Athens, GA, whose mission is to prevent suicide. Nuçi’s Space operates a musician and mental health resource center which provides low-cost practice space, gear rentals, etc., and offers subsidized mental and physical health care for musicians and artists in the Athens area. 

They’re celebrating their 21st anniversary of pivotal work in the music community. You can read more about what Nuçi’s space is doing for mental health advocacy and suicide prevention here: 


This undertaking would not be possible without the kind donations of the artists, managers, labels, designers, and musicians that went out of their way to support mental health advocacy in music.

 

Steakhouse Records • You're Gonna Be Great 2 - A Compilation in Support of Fund Texas Choice • 2021


All proceeds from this compilation will be donated to Fund Texas Choice. 


SHR_C06 

Released by Steakhouse Records 
Exactly 3 hours and 53 minutes worth of good music.


The Reds, Pinks & Purples • I Only Ever Wanted to See You Fail • 2021

Oct 4, 2021

Cindy • 'To Be True' • 2021




Cindy is a band built around the singing and guitar playing of Karina Gill. She became a musician only recently, having sat on the sidelines while ex-partners and friends made their stabs at it. Gill describes a chance encounter with an abandoned Squire Strat left in the basement by a previous tenant, “mummified in electrical tape with the remnants of a burrito on the head stock”, that led her to begin carefully strumming her way through simple chords and making her own songs. After one interesting self-released LP, still finding their footing, the band made the masterful and buzzed-about Free Advice, which went from a limited cassette on local SF label Paisley Shirt to vinyl pressings on Tough Love (UK) and Mt St Mtn (USA).

People Years • For Real Now • 2021




 
“One can hear the influence of groups like Talking Heads, the Black Angels and Tame Impala… [yet People Years] blend psychedelia with slacker rock and power pop to make for a sound that stands on its own.” – Neil Ferguson, GLIDE MAGAZINE
 
"... enjoyably bizarre and firmly in the camp of angular and oddball indie rock." - Jen Dan, THE BIG TAKEOVER

Marie Minet • Reviens mon coeur • 2021




A clear and mesmerising voice. Powerful lyrics with nostalgic touches. Deep melodies softened by Cape Verdean influences. This is what makes Marie Minet’s fusion of genres as sublime as it is innovative. In her raw, but poetic way, she tells life stories that echo her generation.

Oct 2, 2021

Constant Follower • What's Left to Say • 2021


"One of the most beautiful records I have ever been privileged to be a part of, filled to the very brim with moment after moment of poetic clarity, and not a moment too late...an interior force to be reckoned with. I've never experienced anything quite like it. It weaves elements of the past around a future I was wholly unaware of before hearing these breath-taking songs, each one a kind of memorial to a memory that may or may not have merely been imagined or hoped into existence.- Kramer (Shimmy-Disc Founder)


"The track perfectly captures a picture of tranquil beauty and unvarnished honesty."
Under the Radar

“The neo-folk music of Stephen McAll and his band, Constant Follower, is intimate, unvarnished. Its raw inner beauty casts a deeply affecting spell. McAll’s husky murmur and the sensitive accompaniment is a rare source of comfort, like gently flickering log fire embers on the darkest night of the year. McAll and co have composed the perfect huddling soundtrack. It’s swaddled in sadness, but always offers hope.”
The Scotsman

“A beautiful piece of songwriting, with its simple poignancy carrying with it the wisdom only experience can offer.”
Clash Magazine

“More brilliant new music from Scotland. From Stirling, it's the sublime Constant Follower.”
BBC Radio Scotland



Mike Etten • "Drive" • 2021




Drive was inspired by a late night trip down a country back road, touching dark memories of that ride and wrong turns made in the past. The tune starts with a simple guitar figure that unfolds and winds its way through changes, with a mix of percussion and drum machines bouncing around it. It felt like it lent itself to pedal steel, so I asked Tristan Shepherd (Dougie Poole band) to put down some tremolo-y tracks and a wild fuzzed out solo in the middle that really gave this one its character. I improvised a lead synth track that I really like too, it has that first-take spontaneity which I tried to capture whenever I could through the whole recording process. Drive feels full of confusion and hope at the same time, with me trying to move towards a more peaceful station, a more loving vision, and accepting that chaos can always be around the next corner.

Bestfriend • Hannah in the City • 2021




"Pitch-perfect"
– Under The Radar

"Canadian duo Bestfriend have always dealt in intricately crafted slices of sun-drenched nostalgia. New single "Hannah in the City" is no exception
."
– The Line of Best Fit

"Creating dreamy songs that turn seemingly personal, lonely experiences into universal ones – Bestfriend is something special"

– Luna Collective

"Intimate...evocative......dreamy"
– EARMILK

"The sweet, yet angsty new track sees Bestfriend at their most relatable. The transportive, nostalgic new single is all about missed opportunities. “Hannah In The City” sees the band’s Stacy Kim and Kaelan Geoffrey delivering bittersweet, tender bedroom pop melodies."
– Indie88


"Known for their storytelling breadth and melodic nuances... the duo’s newest single has an upbeat, entrancing melody with lyrics that play on the nostalgia of the past and the complexities of maneuvering one’s youth"
– Vents Magazine

dwi • Freak N Out • 2021




Vancouver music scene veteran and bass player for The Zolas, dwi has just released his debut album Mild Fantasy Violence on Light Organ Records. Mild Fantasy Violence is a record about feeling disconnected from the normalities of relationships and society. “It’s about using extremes of both escapism and deep self reflection to come to terms with everyday life,” says dwi.
 
The album takes the listener through a musical journey where dwi brings together sadness and joy, explosions of love and fear, and warnings of the darkness of addiction and the struggle of supporting the ones you love. Fans of Mac DeMarco, Thom Yorke and Real Estate will jump on dwi’s open vocals, chill synth sounds, and rolling delicate grooves. The songs are personal yet familiar, soothing to the ear, and full of dark hope. dwi has received international airplay and favorable press from music critics in The Province, Georgia Straight, as well as internationally in the UK’s Joyzine and NL’s Music Zine, among others.