DoomFolk StarterKit – 2Hands
Following on from singles ‘Sun Self‘ and ‘Kristofferson/StarStuffs‘, DoomFolk StarterKit (the recording project of Portland’s David Swick) is back with a brand new song. Existing within a conflicted state familiar in our contemporary moment, ‘2Hands’ finds a narrator caught between a need to retreat and rest and the seemingly endless task of working in order to stay afloat. A challenge faced with Swick’s trademark brand of introspective sincerity.
Field Guides – Margaret
“Attempting to not just represent the world, but show it to us anew.” That’s how we described Ginkgo, the forthcoming album from Field Guides on Whatever’s Clever in our preview of lead single, ‘Salmon Skin‘. Latest track ‘Margaret’ takes its inspiration from the nineteenth century author and women’s rights activist Margaret Fuller, her transcendentalist belief in the possibility of change lingering over an otherwise melancholic scene of domestic conflict. “And all that we have is ours for the taking” goes the final line, amended slightly from those which come before it, shimmering if not with hope then some mysterious precursor. Check out the video by Caleb Bryant Miller, Rebecca El-Saleh and Kupstas himself below:
Ginkgo is out via Whatever’s Clever on the 26th June and you can pre-order it now.
Fronjentress – Moon
Consisting of a rotating band of musicians based in Portland, Fronjentress unites artists who share an interest in the styles and themes of country music. “Classic country for contemporary times” is how the project describes its output, utilising traditional instruments and tropes to create something rooted within the present moment. Out this week on Perpetual Doom, latest album Baby Got Problems displays not only the aching melancholy of classic country music but also its wit and wry humour, as demonstrated on lead single, ‘Moon’. “If they told us that the moon / could be our new home pretty soon,” it begins:
Well, I’d pack a single bag
and go drifting
because this world has gotten strange
I surely won’t miss the rain
from my lonely paradise up in space
Baby’s Got Problems will be released on 14th May via Perpetual Doom. Order it now via Bandcamp.
Old Moon – Eastern Skies
Old Moon is the project of Tom Weir from Lyme, New Hampshire, who next month is releasing a brand new album titled Cities of the Plain via à La Carte Records and Love Chain Tapes. New single ‘Eastern Skies’ introduces Old Moon’s style, opening as an electrified folk song stark and expansive enough to live up to the McCarthy reference of the album’s title, but soon evolves into gothic shoegaze clamour. Weir’s vocals emerge from this with a brooding intensity, as though suspended within the sound, or else conjuring the heavy, sparkling tone itself.
Otracami – Pipe Scream
The project of Brooklyn-based songwriter Camila Ortiz, Otracami pitches itself between open coastal landscapes and gloomy bedrooms, working to unveil the mystery within both worlds. Latest single ‘Pipe Scream’ evokes the building pressure of an interrupted flow, its spacious, dreamy sound belying the desperation beneath the surface. There might not be a crashing crescendo within the track itself, but the promise of release is ever-present, even if the dam holds for now.
pipe scream
until it’s not
water pools behind my eyes
until i let it fall
Photokem – Future Minister
Consisting of Nana Acheampong (vocals), Leah Blom (violin), Nico Fennell (instrumentals/production), Jack Kelly (instrumentals) and Evan Ryckebusch (cello/bass), Photokem is an Austin-based outfit formed in 2021 after the group read Acheampong’s writing in the University of Texas’ BlackPrint publication. None of them had recorded music before, and Acheampong had never sang in public, which makes the richness and detail of debut EP Luffon Bright all the more impressive. ‘Future Minister’ introduces the style, its arrangement moving from quiet folk and emo-inflected rock to vivid orchestral swells, all tied together by Acheampong’s conversational yet striking delivery.
Shrill Pill – Still Alive
Northampton, MA’s Shrill Pill introduced their new EP Sparky on Hand Over Foot Records with the plucky and raucous ‘Loud and True’, though the latest single shows a different side to the band. ‘Still Alive’ offers an altogether more restrained sound, its quiet folk sensibilities creating a space reflective and warm, but within this subdued mood the lyrics still hold a feistiness. “War stories and war trophies are not the same at all,” goes one verse. “One you win and one you tell your friend you love but never call / Memory is better than an elegy / Keep me in your thoughts but please don’t talk to me.”
Troy Everett – ripples / outcast
The music of Maryland-born, D.C.-based artist Troy Everett encompasses a whole range of genres. From orchestral strings and electronic beats to more metal-adjacent screaming, his work lifts elements from across the stylistic gamut to bring to life his reflective and vulnerable themes. New double single ripples / outcast is the perfect example of this range, the first a mournful classical composition, the latter a stark and confessional pop song which slots alongside the work of artists like G. Brenner. “I feel like an outcast in my own mind,” Everett sings as the song builds around him, frenzied beats and lush classical arrangements coalescing into something urgent and poignant.