Running a site dedicated to highlighting new music, you would think it would feel exciting being ahead of the curve, discovering something special before it takes the world by storm. While I have been lucky enough to experience that sensation a few times, more often such discoveries leave me strangely frustrated. Imagine hearing a transcendent piece of music that truly connects with you, followed by the sudden realisation that you might be one of just a handful of people in the world to have heard it. Nice as it is to have a little oasis all your own – and it’s a beautiful notion that every piece of art, no matter how obscure, will mean the world to someone somewhere – I want the art that resonates with me to reach as many people as possible, so that they might share the same connection I feel. Enter ‘In Your Head’, the debut single from LA based outfit Gown, an astonishing piece of dream pop far too beautiful to be wasted on me alone. Its wistful haze, the tender plaintive vocals, the cathartic release of emphatic drums and haunting guitar that it all builds toward. It is a perfect paragon of the genre at its best, and it deserves to be heard the world over.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Charm of Finches – Clean Cut
Probability has no memory. It doesn’t matter how many times a coin may have turned up tails, the next flip has just as much chance of showing heads as any other. Every flip of the coin, every roll of the dice, is a world unto itself; what happened before has no influence on what comes next. When times get tough, we can view our lives in just the same way. Every day has the chance to be a fresh start if we wish, free of all the baggage that preceded it. ‘Clean Cut’, the new single from Melbourne based sister duo Charm of Finches, applies a similar way of thinking as a way to move on in the wake of a break-up. Leaving the misfortunes of the past behind, and letting the new day bring with it a fresh roll of the dice. Taken from their forthcoming album Marlinchen in the Snow, out 19th April, its rich harmonies, understated strings and bold emphatic drums make this one truly charming slice of baroque pop. With its memorable self-directed music video, interpreting the cut ties as the strings of marionettes come to life, further deepening the track’s bewitching appeal.
Top Tracks: Oliver Hohlbrugger – Velveteen
Thrilling as it is to hear something entirely new, music that makes you think “I’ve never heard anything like this“, sometimes it’s just as thrilling to hear music that makes you think “I didn’t know they still made music like this anymore“. Hearing a track that so perfectly embodies the vibe of a by-gone era, while still managing to add its own unique twist, you can almost imagine being flung back in time to hear a classic song for the very first time. With his new single ‘Velveteen’, Norwegian artist Oliver Hohlbrugger astutely captures the protopunk spirit of acts like Iggy Pop and The Velvet Underground. Raw and rough around the edges, boasting unrelenting energy and unassailable swagger. Its gutsy driving pace, akin to Bowie’s ‘Suffragette City’, ignites something within you with a kind of zeal that almost feels like a forgotten art. And just when you think the tank must be running on empty, it pulls a spirited sax solo out of reserve as one final parting gift.
Top Tracks: Exploring Birdsong – The Collapse
Much as we love to hear about works of art born in mere minutes in a sudden rush of inspiration, I think there’s a similar romanticism to be found in projects that need fresh perspective from an older, wiser self in order to be fully realised. Maybe the artist needed time to hone their craft before they could realise their vision, or there was some missing piece in need of discovery, or maybe fate was just intent on saving the final form for a special occasion. Sometimes great paintings can go years between brushstrokes, noteworthy novels can go through many drafts before going to print, and in the case of ‘The Collapse’ sometimes bands can breathe new life into old demos. Spellbinding progressive pop trio Exploring Birdsong – reflecting first on where they started, before looking forward toward their debut album – have taken what started life as a piano demo and reimagined it as one of their most heavy and fierce outings to date. With its gut punch bass and towering chorus, the final destination is well worth the journey.
Top Tracks: Dover Lynn Fox – Winter Son
The most commonly sited advice for budding authors is to “write what you know”. It’s a good rule of thumb for songwriters too; turn those butterflies in your stomach into a love song, channel heartache into a cathartic break-up ballad etc. But rules are made to be broken, and to my mind ‘Winter Son’ follows a very different philosophy – write what you need. What you yearn for, what you’re missing. Penned in the wake of her father’s cancer diagnosis, Canadian singer/songwriter Dover Lynn Fox’s latest single doesn’t linger on the sadness and fear which comes with such revelations. Instead ‘Winter Son’ is alight with a sense of hope and comfort. The punchy rhythm section driving you forward to take each day as it comes. The breezy earworm melodies and Dover’s warm wistful vocals finding light on the road ahead. Brimming with confidence and polished to a perfect finish, this track manages to turn a time of great uncertainty into something solid and dependable to lean on.
Top Tracks: Kohla – Sweetest Love
There’s something about ‘Sweetest Love’ that feels like listening to a vinyl record for the very first time. Flicking through an old crate full of them until a particular cover catches your eye. Sliding the record from it’s sleeve with a delicate touch, blowing away a fine coating of dust. Dropping the needle, being absorbed by the analogue hum and crackle, before some warm soulful voice spills out of the speakers like witchcraft. The tactile intimacy of the whole ritual. Hearing a piece of music that may have stirred generations of listeners before you, and yet in that moment it’s just you and the song. Between the soft record-like rustle to the production, the hushed romanticism of Kohla’s gossamer vocals, and the austere elegance of the piano arrangement which plays like a lullaby from a cherished music box, ‘Sweetest Love’ has an enamouring air of timeless beauty to it.
Top Tracks: The American Hotel System – Fire
The pen is mightier than the sword. This old adage often gets misinterpreted as just some flowery metaphor, when the truth is far more literal. Words are the most powerful tools mankind has ever created. The right combination strung together could be enough to start or end a war, incite hate or inspire love, change the way others view the world, even echo through the ages long after we’re gone. Most of us might never find the right words to change the world, but such a powerful tool at our disposal can still shape the lives of those around us. It all depends on how you choose to wield them. ‘Fire’ is a reminder of how deep something spoken in anger can cut. How instead of letting our pride, arrogance and frustration light a spark we can’t undo, we can make the conscious decision to use our words to lift up those around us and speak a better world into being. In pairing that heartening message with soaring elegant strings, alongside expressive percussion and anthemic vocals that remind me of Manchester Orchestra, The American Hotel System have said everything right to earn themselves a new fan.
Top Tracks: Amelia Coburn – When The Tide Rolls In
The English language is a marvellous mish-mash of countless tongues and traditions. We’ve inherited words from Romans, Normans, Celts, Saxons, Danes etc., and invented plenty of our own along the way. Kingdoms and empires rise and fall, and yet some part of them still lives in everyday conversation. It’s often said music is a universal language, but there’s a charm to those tracks able to show it as the same kind of diverse and storied mosaic as our mother tongue. ‘When The Tide Rolls In’ is a rich tapestry all its own. There’s a bright airy indie folk vein that weaves its way throughout, soft swells of strings that offer a sweeping cinematic feel, an undercurrent of Celtic romanticism, hypnotic Eastern flourishes bringing a mystical and exotic air, and a heartbeat percussion that echoes something ancient and primal. All that woven together provides a backdrop for Amelia Coburn’s voice, wearing her broad accent proudly and conjuring a wealth of vivid imagery, to stamp her own unique perspective and identity. This first single from her forthcoming debut album Between The Moon and The Milkman, out 8th March, see Amelia speak in a folk music dialect all her own, and I’m left intrigued to hear more.
Top Tracks: The Crane Wives – The Well
There’s more music in the world than ever before; more than we could ever hope to listen to in one lifetime. Most of it will inevitably pass us by. Part of the trade off in always chasing new releases for the blog is that I have less opportunity to look back at everything I missed. For this reason I tend to avoid covering established acts that I’m unfamiliar with as I feel unable to do them justice. Knowing the path a band has taken often feels like necessary context for where they are now. But rules are meant to be broken. I’m a music writer second and a music enjoyer first. There’s no final call for boarding a band’s hype train, you can join the ride at any time. For established fans of indie folk outfit The Crane Wives, I’m sure ‘The Well’ represents a triumphant return as their first new music in 7 years. For me, it’s a peek through the keyhole at a whole new world just waiting to be explored. From its arresting opening lines (“All the words I couldn’t say to you, Fill up the spaces in my chest, Like spare coins poised on the tip of my tongue, I make a wish and hold my breath“) and distinctive harmonies, to the way that its closing guitar solo unwinds, ‘The Well’ has been a stunning discovery to end the year on – don’t let it pass you by.
Top Tracks: Kitty Perrin – Death Metal
We’re all guilty of trying to hide from our own thoughts sometimes. It’s often our first instinct when times are hard. When thoughts we’d rather not deal with keep echoing in our heads, we resort to drowning them out; headphones on, music loud, blocking out the whole world, our own thoughts included. Yet in doing so we risk drowning out the good as well as the bad. The reassuring words of those that love and care for us can be blocked out just as easily. As hard as it is for someone’s kind words to resonate louder than your own dark thoughts, it’s even harder for them to register when they’re having to compete with the metal blaring out your headphones too. The new single from Norwich based singer/songwriter Kitty Perrin captures the frustrating feeling of trying to love someone through the walls they’ve built. What starts as a tender plaintive folk ballad soon builds in scope and intensity, with the overdriven guitar and emphatic percussion of its closing moments feeling like a last ditch attempt to be heard through the noise.
Belwood Music 