Photo by Taylor Deas
Avery Friedman – Photo Booth
alternative / indie rock
Melodic-first songwriting and deceptively gentle performances are carefully balanced with sharp jabs of sonic oddities on “Photo Booth” a recent single from Brooklyn’s Avery Friedman. This whimsical tune capsulizes the simple euphoria to be found on a night out with friends, larking around, enacting shenanigans in the precarious secrecy of a photo booth. Inspired by a particular night out which the artist says “felt like an encapsulation of spin-the-bottle-type ‘second adolescence’ that many queer people experience when coming into themselves after their adolescent years pass,” “Photo Booth” sees Friedman utilise pop melodies to express youthful sentiments while also experimenting and fleshing out the song with colourful instrumentation, indicating a musical maturity. “Photo Booth” is taken from Avery Friedman’s upcoming debut album, New Thing, which is set for release via Audio Antihero on April 18th.
Antoine Flipo – Noir
modern classical / electronic
From the newly released album With Limits, Belgian producer Antoine Flipo demonstrates his ability to seamlessly attach modern classical sensibilities to leftfield electronica while keeping things perpetually serene on “Noir”, a single replete with gentle solo piano, heavenly ambient strikes, and meticulous percussion that eventually leads everything toward tartish distortions. “Noir” is the kind of song that tempts you into a false sense of security with beauty only to rip your world apart with next-level mindfuckery. But somewhere in the middle of that journey, Flipo has carefully crafted moments that imbue the listener with a sense of balance, wonder, and escape.
Calming River – Macdui Island
ambient
The mysteries of nature are alluded to with astute contemplation on “Macdui Island”, a recent track from the UK ambient artist Joshua Malcolm, aka Calming River. With a gentle fingerpicking style, Malcolm composes cascading notes that are mostly pacific, but that also hint at something more sinister through beguiling sharps. Macdui is a mountain in Scotland, not an island, so what Calming River is saying with that title is open to interpretation. However, with the swirling tones of ambient textures enveloping the sturdy musical formations, it’s not impossible to envision the separation and reclassification of geographical features; the fey aura of the music inspires an appreciation of what’s hiding behind the facade of our physical world.
Kylie Rothfield – Temporary
indie pop
The US-based singer-songwriter Kylie Rothfield enacts a brand of alternative pop smoother than butter on her recent single “Temporary”. While the production of this track boasts minimalist drums and shimmering guitars, it’s the melody and Rothfield’s understated vocal performance that do most of the heavy lifting. In this song about the pains of casual relationships, the narrator here wants a closer connection with their romantic partner but is left cold by someone who can’t make an effort (“You only date me in your living room”). If only human relationships were simple enough that we could just walk away, but the protagonist is compelled to keep coming back (“I blocked your phone on Saturday, I keep on calling anyway.”). This exploration of toxic relationships is pulled off with verve and a pop sensibility that lifts it from its humdrum subject matter to something more profound.
Corde Oblique – Eleusa Consumpta
neofolk
Taken from the recent album Cries and Whispers, Italian neofolk outfit Corde Oblique seem to be summoning spirits from the underworld on “Eleusa Consumpta” a track as danceable as it is shamanistic. Through folkish acoustic instrumentation and vocals steeped in intensity, Corde Oblique energize the listener with possessed expressions of fiery rhythms before a finale of decadent strings and uplifting vocals soothe. The track comes accompanied by a striking video shot in the medieval Bulgarian church St. George the Victorious, further associating the music with the transcendent.