Top Ten EPs of 2022

Time now for what always proves to be our most hotly contested list each year. EPs are such an important creative tool for new artists especially, and there’s such a wealth of them out there that we barely scratch the surface of them with the few that fit in our Spotlight! series. In a way this feels like the most important list of the season as it gives us chance to shine a light on releases that we don’t otherwise get the opportunity to talk about. Great things often come in small packages, and here are our picks for the EPs that left the biggest impressions in 2022. Continue reading

Top Tracks: Quiet Sonia – Fragments

I’ve heard it said that art is how we decorate space, while music is how we decorate time. But some pieces of music seem to almost bend time to their own designs in a way that goes far beyond mere decoration. Some music can leave you so absorbed, that an age can pass and yet feel only like a fleeting moment. ‘Fragments’, from Copenhagen based chamber rock outfit Quiet Sonia, is just such a track. Though it takes you on a journey, it does not whisk you away with any sense of urgency. It’s a slow burner that shifts gradually from one elegant vignette to the next, while savouring the stillness in between. The deep brooding baritone of Nikolaj Bruus, reflective stream of consciousness style lyricism reminiscent of latter day Nick Cave, the interplay of cinematic strings, bright piano melodies and soft autumnal folk guitar; all these elements unfurl slowly to reveal their beauty. And yet, somehow, this sparse and sprawling eight minute opus feels so ephemeral and fleeting that you can’t help but want to stay awhile longer all the same.