SEE: MF Tomlinson – ‘Strange Time’: rising alt.folk talent announces debut album
MICHAEL TOMLINSON is the main man in the sorta-solo project MF Tomlinson, in which he plys a very neat line in indie folk/roots songcraft with a grainy bearhug of a voice. Australian by birth but based in London, Michael has just dropped the video for “Strange Time” a song very much about the upending of …
SEE: Tamar Aphek – ‘Drive’: a psych-blues stormer from Tel Aviv
ALREADY something of a guitar goddess in her native Tel Aviv, Kill Rock Stars, that seminal imprint that’s hosted the like of Elliott Smith, The Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney and more, have tempted Tamar Aphek through their doors, the better that we should swoon for her. And once you’ve climbed aboard for her new single, “Drive”, you …
EP REVIEW: Quiet Marauder – ‘Tiny Men Parts’: a critique of the male condition in bounce-along indiepop
Tiny Men Parts nails masculine creepiness and ineptitude with insouciance and tons of guitar pop like they used to make
ALBUM REVIEW: Dark Sparkler – ‘Are You With Me Or Against Me?’: fine modular retrotronica
If you’re a fan of a real exploration of retro synthesisers and the beauty they bring, like soundscapes with atmosphere and depth that stay edgy and have bags of ambience without, y’know, being ambient per se, Are You With Me Or Are You Against Me? could be just the album for you
EP REVIEW: Laura Groves – ‘A Private Road’: pristine and dreamy debut; socially distanced gig announced
A Private Road is a dreamscape, swirling elements of modern electronica, shoegaze, soul and folk into a set on which you really get a sense of Laura while she also remains wraithlike, a blur of whisper and talent at the core
NEWS: Cory Hanson announces second solo LP; see the country-psych grace of ‘Paper Fog’
CORY HANSON, singer-guitarist with LA psych seducers Wand, has today unveiled the video for “Paper Fog”, a very first preview of what’s to come from his second extra-curricular outing, Pale Horse Rider, due from the dependably lovely Drag City come spring. Watch the video, below. Drag City say “it’s a record as much about Los Angeles …
EP REVIEW: Sophie Jamieson – ‘Release’: a brilliant, introspective four tracker
Her voice and songwriting are so very strong; there’s no doubt Release is her best yet
ALBUM REVIEW: Hjalte Ross – ‘Waves Of Haste’: gorgeous, nuanced indie-folk hits you in the chest
Composed at an isolated lighthouse on the Lofoten Islands, Hjalte’s second reaches inside your chest and doesn’t stop squeezing. Truly lovely
ALBUM REVIEW: Various artists – ‘Ambient Layers’: a state of the art, 20-track journey on 7K!
Ambient Layers is quite a trip through the current state of the blissful/emotive sonic arts. There’s so much to burrow into here, experience deeply. Set it on repeat and let it guide you through a whole, amniotic diurnal cycle. It’s really very great.
PREMIERE: The Ricos – ‘What Comes Next?’: the big question posed as a righteous noise-pop surge
RISING Philadelphia indie outfit The Ricos, who we last touched base with on these pages when we took a look at and really, really liked their Spirit State EP back in high summer, are back with a cracker of a new single, “What Comes Next?” which they’re releasing this Bandcamp Friday. We’re delighted to be …