Amana Melome’ reframes ‘Recalibration’ through rhythm on ‘RECALIBRATED’
With her new collection ‘RECALIBRATED’, Amana Melome’ revisits the material from Recalibration from a noticeably different perspective. Where the original album focused on reflection, reconnection and personal change, this companion project is lighter on its feet, using rhythm and reinterpretation to explore what comes after that process. The collection moves across deep house,Continue Reading
Glass Rabbit let the pressure break on ‘Damn Shame’
Glass Rabbit understand that tension is often more effective when it is allowed to build slowly. And on their new single ‘Damn Shame’, the Portland quartet begin in a hazy, almost weightless space before gradually allowing that restraint to fracture. The result is a track that moves convincingly between dream-pop,Continue Reading
Flame bring their live identity into focus on ‘Medea In Blue’
Flame’s debut live EP Medea In Blue offers a straightforward document of a band whose music appears to depend heavily on interaction, dynamics and atmosphere. Recorded live in a rehearsal studio in Edinburgh, the six-track release avoids excessive polish in favour of preserving the feel of a shared performance. Across theContinue Reading
Martin Kuiper reflects on time, ambition and memory on ‘Prison Of Modesty’
Martin Kuiper’s Prison Of Modesty brings together songs written across more than thirty years, making it a record shaped as much by reflection as by composition. Some of its earliest material dates back to 1998, while other songs were completed much later, giving the album a naturally broad perspective on relationships, ambition,Continue Reading
The Schisms find a looser, brighter edge on ‘I Learn To Love’
There is a restless quality to ‘I Learn To Love’ that suits The Schisms well. As the first glimpse of forthcoming EP Tejas, the track finds the Austin trio pushing towards something more immediate and less shadow-bound than the mood of their previous album Moon, while still holding onto the strangeness thatContinue Reading
Translucent Veil set the tone with ‘The Veil’
As the opening track on Translucent Veil’s self-titled album, ‘The Veil’ provides a clear introduction to the North Carolina band’s approach. Rooted in classic psychedelic and hard rock, the song draws on familiar reference points without overstating them, favouring a more natural, band-led feel. The influence of artists such asContinue Reading
Sidio makes a stylish entrance with dreamy debut single ‘Blue Jeans’
Brooklyn R&B newcomer Sidio makes an effortlessly stylish introduction with debut single ‘Blue Jeans’, turning years of internal conflict into a dreamy, richly produced first statement. Built around grooving percussion and swirling synths, the track steadily expands through layers of harmonies before tumbling into a wonderfully chaotic bridge and emphatic final chorus. ThereContinue Reading
Bloodkin reflect on loss and continuity with ‘Flowers & Ash’
After nearly four decades, Bloodkin have accumulated the kind of history that inevitably shapes any new record. Flowers & Ash arrives as the first album the Athens, Georgia band has made following the death of founding member Daniel Hutchens in 2021, and that loss forms an important part of the record’s emotionalContinue Reading
Ryan Yingst finds solace in the hard parts on ‘A Nice Neighborhood to Have Bad Habits In’
There’s something quite powerful about an artist choosing not to tidy up the difficult parts of life, and on his new release A Nice Neighborhood to Have Bad Habits In, Ryan Yingst leans fully into that instinct. The Philadelphia-based indie-folk singer-songwriter turns addiction, grief, family fracture and personal upheaval into anContinue Reading
evolution 9’s ‘Sweet Number One’ turns a lost 80s song into a power-pop revival
On their new offering ‘Sweet Number One’, evolution 9 leans into a familiar but enduring strain of guitar-led pop, drawing from British Invasion songwriting and 70s power-pop without overcomplicating the formula. Led by songwriter and keyboardist Dave Follweiler, the track is built around bright guitars, layered harmonies and a steadyContinue Reading