Margaret Glaspy – Love is Real
Why We Love It: Margaret Glaspy‘s new single ‘Love Is Real’ is a song that captures you and won’t let go; an ode to love. Haunting and quivering, Glaspy’s vocal is a thing of majesty flecked with soul and draped in finger-picked acoustic guitars and sighing strings, its that rarity a voice that’s lived it, rendered with poignant lines like “its hard to win when you feel you’ve got a losing hand“. Glaspy sings a wistful and yet somehow powerful testament to wanting to exist in the world despite the struggle, when she sings “love is real/hope is strong/life is hard/ but you belong” her sentiment becomes universal. It’s an absolutely sublime heart-swelling moment of life-affirming reflection.
Margaret shares: “For the last 3 years, I’ve been humming this song. What you hear now is a voice memo of myself and Julian Lage playing it in our Brooklyn laundry room put to a string arrangement recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas.” (Bill Cummings)
Vero – Cupid
Why we love it: Stockholm’s Vero have shared details of their debut album ‘Unsoothing Interior’, due for release on May 6th via PNKSLM. They’ve also shared the albums brilliant lead single ‘Cupid’ that’s breathless vocals and serrated guitars shares similarities with the delivery of Kim Deal and the hook-laden sound of Elastica. Concerning lust and control, this visceral and discordant song is dipped in nonchalant cool, simmering before waking bolt upright with an empowering melody and fantastic fuzz guitar-wielding outro.
“Cupid was the first song we wrote that made the album” the band commented. “We had made a couple of demos before, but we weren’t loving them. They all sounded a bit too pretty and safe, so when the drums for Cupid were done, we took a guitar and started making these wheeling, chaotic noises, and that was it. That was the sound that set the tone for our album. The lyrics are a bit dream-like, it’s about lust and control.” (Bill Cummings)
Opus Kink – I Love You, Baby
Why we love it: Opus Kink have released their new single ‘I Love You, Baby’, the first from their debut EP which will land in the summer via Nice Swan Records.
When you look at the band members in Opus Kink and the various instruments they play you know you are probably in for a wild ride: Angus Rogers (lead vocals, guitars), Sam Abbo (bass, backing vocals), Fin Abbo (drums, percussion), Jazz Pope (keys, synth, backing vocals), Jack Banjo Courtney (trumpet), Jed Morgans (saxophone). And that is exactly what ‘I Love You, Baby’ is. Yes, a love song, but this is Opus Kink and so the pace is going to be frantic. Following on from last years singles ‘This Train’ and ‘Wild Bill’, this track is a chaotic funky punky blast of adrenalin – and the use of the trumpet gives Opus Kink a raucous twist to their sound.
The band expand on the single: “‘I Love You, Baby’ is a sweet, tender love song charting one careless heart’s adventure through purgatory. Signed with a sticky kiss from Opus Kink to you”. (Julia Mason)
Nixer – Outsider
Why we love it: Nixer have released their new single ‘Outsider’. It follows the previous single ‘People Feel’ which saw them grab attention from Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq, Jack Saunders and Gemma Bradley with BBC 6Music ‘Spotlight Artist’ and BBC Radio 1 ‘Next Wave Artist’ slots.
‘Outsider’ has a more ominous tone than we have heard from previous singles. It will be the third track on their debut EP People Feel which will be released in May 2022. The EP’s narrative will be based around a house party and ‘Outsider’ tells one part of the story. It opens with the chatter at a house party, about concern for ‘other’ people they haven’t seen before. The vocals are haunting here and yet there is still the synths and guitar riffs that give Nixer an edgy soundscape. The subject matter is a little more serious than previous tracks but it demonstrates evolution for the band and demonstrates a shift in story-telling while still retaining the complex dance beats and synths in the music (Julia Mason)
Landon Lloyd Miller – Feel It Again
Why we love it: The name of Landon Lloyd Miller may already be familiar to some of us as the former frontman of the Shreveport, Louisiana “space western” band, The Wall Chargers, but now he is branching out on his own. Miller’s solo career officially launches on 4 March 2022 when his debut album Light Shines Through is released on Twin Mesa Records.
Speaking about the upcoming album, Landon Lloyd Miller says “I’ve always been nervous to say something was truly mine, in case someone doesn’t like it, but Light Shines Through isn’t the work of a person who’s hiding behind a band’s moniker. It isn’t fiction. It’s me.”
In advance of Light Shines Through, Landon Lloyd Miller has already shared two great singles from the new record –‘Bluebonnet’ and ‘Light Is Growing’ – and now hot on their heels comes the third track to be taken from it, ‘Feel It Again’. And just like its two predecessors, ‘Feel It Again’ breathes in the air of hope and positivity as it barrels along with a spring in its step and the broadest of smiles on its face. (Simon Godley)
Moriah Bailey – So You Say…
Why we love it: Another week, another gem from Keeled Scales. The small independent record label from Austin, deep in the heart of Texas has done it again, this time with Moriah Bailey. The Oklahoman harpist and songwriter has just shared her new single ‘So You Say…’, her first new release since the album Sitting with Sounds and Listening for Ghosts five years ago and it is an absolute delight.
Talking about the new song, Moriah Bailey says: “’So you say…’ emerged from a place of speaking and not being heard but also deeply struggling with mental health. The song sounds bright in ways but holds a heaviness. It sits with the weight of being diminished, struggling to find a way out of a particular mindset, and losing a sense of self in someone else’s perceptions, wants and ideas. I’m most excited to share it because it features really stunning contributions from Sarah Reid (violin), Ryan Robinson (percussion), and Ricky Tutaan (guitar), and it is the first time that I’ll be sharing a song that includes a bigger sound world than harp, voice, and effects.”
As Moriah Bailey explains ‘So You Say’ marks a creative departure from her earlier music. Here she conjures up a magic spell from the disparate elements of harp, violin, percussion and guitar over which the serenity of her voice floats. (Simon Godley)
Tomberlin – Happy Accident
Why we love it: Fusing double-tracked harmonic vocals that evoke Better Oblivion Community Center with lo-fi fuzz guitar that is very reminiscent of the best ’90s U.S alternative rock, Tomberlin aka Sarah Beth, uses the hypnotic guitar hook to mesmerising effect, sending you into a trance that transfixes you to the speaker.
The expansive, dense sound is accentuated by Cass McComb on guitar which gives it added weight and depth. This is the first cut to come from her second LP ‘i don’t know who needs to hear this” out 29th April on Saddle Creek.
What they say: “‘Happy Accident’ is a song about relational obscurity. Trying to sort out who you are or who you were to someone. Is this relationship romantic or is it just sex? Do you want to spend time with me or are you just bored? Do I make my own decisions that are good for me or are my decisions predominantly based on what I think you might want or need? I was kind of walking through moments in previous relationships in my life. I wanna know why someone wants to get to know me. Do you want to know me or just your idea of me? Do I want to know you or just my idea of you?” (Jim Auton)
Kitty Perrin – The Escapist
Why we love it: Spinning this unassuming debut single, it really gets under your skin. Kitty Perrin is both disarming and engaging, perfectly matched by the ambling pace of this folkish indie song she’s sharing ahead of her debut EP, Stick It Out, out May 6th. I get tingly Camera Obscura and Sarah Records vibes from ‘The Escapist thanks to its candid, self-searching lyrics that lean into the darker sides of ourselves. But it’s the striking combo of confidence and vulnerability in this new voice that really sets it apart and makes the song sparkle.
Perrin says: “When I was processing a recent break-up, it eventually dawned on me that I was doing my best to avoid taking responsibility for my role in it. I realised that I’d been glad my ex had ended things so badly because it meant that I was the victim. ‘The Escapist’ is about that desire I had to feel blameless at the end of that relationship, and our ability to invent false histories for our own peace of mind”. (Trev Elkin)