Musroe explores emotional contrast on ‘Left2Rot/Now’
There’s a quiet confidence to ‘Left2Rot/Now’, the latest two-track release from Montréal-based artist Musroe. Instead of treating the songs as separate statements, she uses them to trace a small emotional shift, moving from pressure and disorientation into something calmer and more open. ‘Left2Rot’ is the heavier of the two. BuiltContinue Reading
Eli Derby finds a clearer emotional voice on ‘LOVESHY’
LOVESHY finds Eli Derby settling into a more defined version of his sound. Across twelve tracks, the Maryland singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist brings together contemporary R&B, pop and guitar-led soul while keeping the focus firmly on desire, uncertainty and the complications that come with opening yourself up to somebody else.Continue Reading
Lilia Asha steps into the shadows on ‘My Morbid Reverie’
Lilia Asha’s ‘My Morbid Reverie’ feels like a snapshot of emotional disorientation caught before it could be tidied up. Written in one sitting, the track leans into uncertainty, memory and the unsettling sense of no longer recognising the person you once were. But instead of presenting those feelings through aContinue Reading
Chip Greene ignites a bigger, bolder sound on ‘Strike a Match’
Chip Greene has spent years refining a sound that sits somewhere between Nashville rock, Americana and piano-driven alternative music, but ‘Strike a Match’ feels like a clear attempt to push that foundation into something much larger. Co-written with Katie Cole before the pandemic and rediscovered years later, the track carriesContinue Reading
Scott Lowder reflects on loss with ‘Ghost of You’
Scott Lowder’s ‘Ghost of You’ has been a long time coming. Written more than a decade ago after the death of a close friend, the song has remained with him through years of family life, work and live performance before finally reaching the form he wanted to release. Instead ofContinue Reading
Awaywhere opens a bright new door with ‘New Misty Morning’
There’s a gently surreal quality to Awaywhere’s new single ‘New Misty Morning’, but the track never becomes so abstract that it loses its melodic pull. Created by visual artist and musician Justin Kleiner, Awaywhere is conceived as a wider multimedia universe, and this release offers a useful glimpse of howContinue Reading
Lone Till Payday take stock on ‘the People and the Places’
Lone Till Payday’s debut album the People and the Places is built less around a single genre than a shared approach to songwriting. Across the record, the North Jersey collective move amongst a multitude of diverse alternative textures, but the most consistent element is the way the songs remain closely tied toContinue Reading
Tom Ymani turns romantic frustration into bright, restless pop on ‘Amorium’
There’s an appealing tension at the centre of Tom Ymani’s Amorium. Across the double single, the Brussels-based artist takes the uncertainty of wanting someone who may never want you back and turns it into something vivid, melodic and built for movement. Bringing together ‘I Want You Way’ and ‘Encore Plus’, theContinue Reading
George Styles revisits an old musical partnership on ‘How Will I Ever Know’
George Styles follows ‘Better Conversation’ with ‘How Will I Ever Know’, a new alt-rock single shaped as much by circumstance as by design. The track marks his first recording collaboration in 25 years with drummer Tommy Street, a former bandmate with whom he spent several formative years playing bars, basementsContinue Reading
COMMUNIST SEX MAGIC find beauty in collapse on ‘What a Charming Life’
Liverpool outfit COMMUNIST SEX MAGIC arrive with a debut album that seems almost determined to reject the idea of easy listening. What a Charming Life is loud, murky and deliberately uncomfortable in places, but beneath all that distortion sits a surprisingly thoughtful record about disillusionment, identity and the difficulty of staying humanContinue Reading