News
Brighton’s Welsh guitar virtuoso Gwenifer Raymond announces Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark, a cosmic leap from her folk-horror roots. The new album and its fiery single, “Jack Parsons Blues,” meld ancient mysticism with astrophysics, translating the unfathomable equations of the cosmos into intricate, otherworldly fingerpicked melodies. Prepare for a journey beyond the terrestrial.
Ron Sexsmith announces his 18th album, Hangover Terrace, sharing lead single “Don’t Lose Sight.” Recorded in London, the new record moves away from recent pastoral contentment to explore a more wounded and introspective space. Sexsmith frames it as grappling with the “emotional residue” of the pandemic years—a collective headache set to his signature, impeccably crafted melodies.
NYC experimental pop duo Water From Your Eyes (Nate Amos, Rachel Brown) announce their ambitious new album, It’s A Beautiful Place. Watch the Brown-directed video “Life Signs,” the disorienting first single blending a nu-metal backbeat with soaring choruses. The band cites a diverse palette, invoking “Blade Runner with a touch of WALL-E…Kubrick and Asimov with a hint of Jay and Silent Bob,” to describe the album’s looming, wide-eyed scope.
James Yorkston has announced his new album, Songs for Nina & Johanna, featuring collaborations with Nina Persson (The Cardigans) and Johanna Söderberg (First Aid Kit). The Scottish songwriter’s sixteenth LP for Domino arrives on August 22nd. Recorded in Stockholm with members of The Second Hand Orchestra, the album is previewed by two new songs and videos, “A Moment Longer” and “Love / Luck,” which are available to stream now.
Editrix announce their third full-length and Joyful Noise Recordings debut, The Big E. Arriving with the news is the album’s title track, a maelstrom of galloping fretwork from guitarist/vocalist Wendy Eisenberg, anchored by the stuttering, intricate interplay of bassist Steve Cameron and drummer Josh Daniel. Named for its foundational, recurring E chords, the track operates with a jittery precision, inching them ever closer to the centre of the avant-rock constellation.
BC Camplight has released the powerful new video for “A Sober Conversation,” the title track from his anticipated new album, out June 27th on Bella Union. The single sees frontman Brian Christinzio confront past trauma and sobriety. The release comes ahead of a major tour, including his biggest headline shows at London’s Roundhouse and the O2 Apollo in Manchester.
Taken from his forthcoming new album, The End, watch the Ellius Grace-Directed video for ‘Welcome to My Mountain’, the latest single from Junior Brother, one of Ireland’s most distinctive voices. Built on a hypnotic whistle riff, the track lurches through unpredictable time signatures, a sprawling beast mirroring modern unease and ancient myth, a headlong plunge into a darkly surreal topography.
Modern Nature are set to release their new full-length, The Heat Warps, on August 29th via Bella Union. Accompanying the announcement is the release of “Pharaoh,” a track that immediately distinguishes itself as a potent, motorik throb, hinting at a sharpened focus from a band increasingly unafraid to push their own boundaries.
Liverpool’s five-piece band The Shipbuilders return with their latest single, Hills of Mexico, drawing inspiration from the Spanish Civil War and Ernest Hemingway’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’. Matty Loughlin-Day explains: “Whilst reading the book, so many powerful lines and images jumped out at me…I wanted to capture the sense of drama, adrenaline and anticipation that comes across in the text…”
Cory Hanson’s new single “Bird on a Swing” offers a more reflective, sepia-toned sound from past works. Featuring the same core band from Wand’s Vertigo album, the track blends ’70s singer-songwriter influences with lush, Hollywood’esque production. Along with it’s poignant lyrics (“I gave it all up to the empire”), it highlights a shift towards an “impartial view of life on the ground.”
Emily Hines’ latest single, All of Our Friends, continues to channel introspective depths, calling to mind the melancholic and tender vibes of Adrianne Lenker. Watch the accompanying video, directed by Nashville filmmaker Abby Holmes. Hines said of its origins: “I wrote this song in a guy’s bedroom while he was working in the other room. Fresh out of college, I was naive and earnest, putting everything under a microscope…”
Gareth Bonello, aka The Gentle Good, has written an in-depth guide to his new album ‘Elan’ (also featuring audio and video). The album is a psychedelic portrait of Cwm Elan, the Elan Valley in Powys, Wales. It explores the landscape, history, and politics of the area that was flooded at the end of the Victorian era to create a series of reservoirs for drinking water. Out now on Bubblewrap Collective.