Allison Lorenzen – The Fourth Cycle
Following on from the magnificent Tender on Whited Sepulchre Records, Denver‘s Allison Lorenzen has returned with brand new single, ‘The Fourth Cycle’. The song probes into the multitude of emotions which accompany significant change, from bereavement to impetus and everything in between, without too much by way of intent or judgement. Rather its slow sound sits within this conflicted headspace, examining the situation’s each and every nuance, if only to ground itself as things around it shift and alter.
Annie Sumi x Brava Kilo – Chattels
A vehicle for artists Annie Sumi and Brava Kilo to work through their histories, Kintsugi is described as an “anti-racist, interactive, multi-disciplinary art installation” which explores ideas of heritage and historical trauma in the context of the Japanese Canadian internment. The installation opens this week at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto, and the duo are also releasing an EP of the same name. Kintsugi, the Japanese practise of mending what was broken. First single ‘Chattels’ draws upon archival documentation which listed the belongings stolen from their ancestors during this period, both acknowledging the injury sustained through such losses and applying the imagery to the wider experience of alienation and stigma.
You can find out more about the project on the Kintsugi Installation webpage.
Gillian Stone – Raven’s Song
Writing of single ‘Amends‘ back in July, we described how Toronto/Tkaronto-based artist Gillian Stone combines post-rock and folk to explore themes of addiction and mental health struggles, with that track focusing on the anger stage of grief. Latest single ‘Raven’s Song’ continues the development, moving onto the bargaining period and complicated by what Stone calls a “state of limerence.” It’s a song which captures a mind seized by obsession through natural imagery. Stone carrying a torch through a nocturnal forest, a place of dark rivers and eyes in the night, hoping to go down to the water and snuff out the fierce burn in her hands. The song’s video was co-directed by Emma Buchanan and Amir Heidarian along with Stone herself. Watch below:
‘Raven’s Song’ is available now from the Gillian Stone Bandcamp page.
H.C. McEntire – Soft Crook
Following her 2020 sophomore solo album Eno Axis, H.C. McEntire has returned with a brand new single. Titled ‘Soft Crook’, the song is what McEntire describes as “an exercise in vulnerability and trust,” a slice of stark country rock that explores her experiences with depression. A refusal to shrink away from the experience in all of its struggle and pain, looking the beast right in the eyes and finding power somewhere deep within. Albeit not the power of bold action, but instead the quiet, lasting courage that comes with treating yourself with kindness and understanding. “The chorus became an anthem, of sorts,” McEntire describes, “a mantra for letting go of guilt in needing these things—whether medication or TV shows or other vices—to offer myself some grace.”
Do whatever dose you need to
to make it through the night
Half Gringa – Miranda
With new EP Ancestral Home coming early in 2023, Chicago‘s Half Gringa has shared the first single ‘Miranda’ as an introduction. A song which builds upon the themes seen on 2020’s Force to Reckon and last year’s single ‘Sevenwater’, it nevertheless takes a more introspective tone. The change mirrors the recording process, which saw Isabel Olive move away from the fast-paced collaboration of recent albums and back to the intimacy of her earlier solo work. “I love collaborating, but at heart, I’m very introverted,” Olive explains. “Having a rich inner life is essential to me, which I think can overlap with both collaboration and solitude. I sense that each project I work on demands something different of me, and I’ve been trying to listen to my own instincts for that more and more.” Check out the video directed by Olive along with Robert Salazar below:
‘Miranda’ is out now and available from the Half Gringa Bandcamp page. Ancestral Home will be released on the 27th January.
June McDoom – Stone After Stone
Raised in South Florida and now based in New York, June McDoom is readying the release of her self-titled debut EP on Brooklyn label Temporary Residence Ltd. Her music is influenced by a love for 60s and 70s folk, intricate jazz and early soul discovered while studying a degree in Jazz Performance, and the reggae of her childhood home. McDoom takes all the ingredients of typical folk music and updates it for new audiences and a new era, exploring themes of self-discovery and self-acceptance along the way. Lead single ‘Stone After Stone’ is a good example, the timeless vocals swirling amidst instrumentation that is rich and multi-layered, despite its hushed nature.
Kathryn Mohr – Holly
With new release Holly coming soon on The Flenser, California-based multi-instrumentalist Kathryn Mohr has shared the title track as the latest single. Building upon the spacious lo-fi soundscapes of 2020 album As If, the song sees Mohr embrace a stormier ambience, something drawn perhaps from the surroundings of rural New Mexico where she recorded the album with Madeline Johnston (Midwife). What results is no less introspective than the previous record but somehow larger, as though Kathryn Mohr has excavated a larger space within herself, complete with its own climates and depths.
wanted / need her / tell her father
hero holly / feeling sorry
heat up heaven to unsettle
feel it / hold it / take it slowly
out of reach of my hands
Holly is out via The Flenser on the 21st October and you can pre-order it now
Weeper – Petal
Based in Buenos Aires, Weeper is the project of Mary Craig, José Sanchez and Agustina Perrotta. Their latest release, an EP called Morale out now on Ghost Mountain Records, arose from a break the band took from working on a full-length album, a collection of six songs they describe as “self-soothing” which aim to comfort and console amidst life’s worries. Lead single ‘Petal’ illustrates this nicely, combining melancholy and solace with its fingerpicked twelve-string guitar and gentle melody. “Hanging on like a petal,” Craig sings, “aching through season,” on a track Weeper describe as “an ode to accompanying oneself through life.”
Ziyad Al-Samman – Hard To Say
After spending time in various bands around London, half-Syrian, London-based songwriter Ziyad Al-Samman decided to go it alone, developing a distinctive brand of psych pop which employs equal parts fun and feeling. Out via Handsome Dad Records, new single ‘Hard To Say’ is the ideal introduction for the uninitiated, a dreamy track which overlays retro nostalgia to the pressing present moment, serving as both a tribute to and subversion of classic pop. “I always wanted a charming and pompous ‘lala’ sing along on a track, much used by my favourites Pulp and Blur in their early writing, and this just fit the song perfectly,” Al-Samman says. “I like the innocence and playfulness it brings to the climax of the song. Did you know ‘la’ actually means ‘no’ in Arabic?” Watch the video directed by Andrea Mae Perez below:
‘Hard to Say’ is out now and available from all the usual places.