Climbing a rung up the mainstream ladder with every new release, The National’s rise in popularity continues unabated. But regardless of your opinion of the band’s more recent output, Pembrokeshire-born, London-based artist Bryde‘s cover of ‘Brainy’ is a timely reminder of what they were before the lyrics grew increasingly literal and they become the kind of outfit which casually enlists the help of Taylor Swift. A sparse, cryptic track which seethes with an underlying intensity, as though the subtext the moment comes unspooling as the song develops. Bryde pulls this tautness ever tighter, capturing every inch of the crackling energy while making the song her own.

Griffin Moyer – Like No One Else

“If you’re going to say something, you might as well be honest.” That’s the maxim under which Nashville-based songwriter Griffin Moyer works. Having left a career in geological survey to pursue music, Moyer is about to release the LP Liar’s Disguise via Like You Mean It Records, and new single ‘Like No One Else’ invites the listener into the straight-talking emotion of his sound. A track where longing is accompanied by a nostalgic sixties warmth, lifting the ache at its centre into its own kind of romance.

Liar’s Disguise is coming soon via Like You Mean It Records.

Jess Kallen – Ink

LA-based musician Jess Kallen has been a staple of the local scene for a while, touring and recording with numerous bands, including the likes of Rosie Tucker and Alex Lahey. Next month, they will release their debut album Exotherm on New Professor Music and to celebrate they have released a brand new single. Titled ‘Ink’, it combines crunchy guitar and a springy sense of momentum. “Monday, Tuesday, Thursday / the time flies when nothing changes,” Kallen sings in what begins as a frustrated ode to everyday monotony, before the big chorus arrives to shake things up. Which is fitting, as Kallen describes ‘Ink’ as a song “about being stuck in a rut, and escaping by surrendering to an impulse.”

Exotherm will be released on 21st June via New Professor Music. Pre-order it now on Bandcamp.

John Hollywood – Leavings

Houston-born, California-based songwriter John Hollywood might draw his main inspiration from the likes of John Prine, Guy Clark and Bob Dylan, but new album Beauty Sleep shows his focus is very much on the present. Take ‘Leavings’, a song about the ever-deepening climate catastrophe delivered with the stark fervour of an old-time Bible preacher, where a father picks through the ashes a failed society for something which might outlast the oncoming violence. “What can I give to my son to help him? / What can I leave him after I’m gone?” Hollywood asks in the opening lines. “I’d leave him my land but the land is forsaken / I’d leave him my house, but the house has burned down.” The song gathers around itself with tumultuous foreboding, the sound of a society reaching its dead-end with no time to turn around.

Nathan Xander – Drive My Car

“He’s a big man, got no feeling below the knee,” opens ‘Drive My Car’, the latest single from Nathan Xander’s Three Waltzes. “When he goes down, getting back up sure ain’t easy.” The track is indicative of New York songwriter’s ability to paint such vivid portraits with so little, each song an elegant slice of life as lived within an uncertain present, be it Xander’s own quest for sobriety or the mind-bending experience of living with twenty-four hour news. As ‘Drive My Car’ highlights, this is delivered with equal parts sincerity and knowing humour, resulting in a wisdom that might not know how life is going to shake out, but is sure enough along for the ride.

Some folks drink, some folks smoke
Tonight, we’ll do a little of both
And if we die, at heaven’s door,
Please don’t tell them I let you drive my car

Nymphlord – Stinks 4 Lyfe

Raised in the forested foothills of Northern California, singer-songwriter and producer Nymphlord says her music was influenced by everything from “90’s alt rock [and] misty bush-whacked trail walks” to “Britney Spears crop tops, dog bites turned scars, and dust-covered pom poms.” This goes some way to explaining the distinctive Nymphlord style, which combines radio-ready pop hooks with a ferocious feminist punk energy and an ethereal experimentalism that sees acoustic guitar become otherwordly. Written in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, ‘Stinks 4 Lyfe’ channels every ounce of fury, frustration and vulnerability into three minutes of catharsis.

Don’t tell me you want it
Don’t tell me you need it
Do you think it’s worth it
Do you think I’m worth shit, hey

‘Stinks 4 Lyfe’ is out now via Lauren Records and available from the Nymphlord Bandcamp page.

Rain Gregorio – Myrtle on Holiday

Having previously recorded under the moniker Mount Rainier, LA’s Rain Gregorio decided to revert to his own name for new EP, Myrtle on Holiday, coming soon via Anxiety Blanket Records, and the switch sees the sound push into newly personal territory too. “It gave me the confidence to excavate part of myself using the observational side of songwriting,” as Gregorio explains. “This is the first time I’ve made something that is true to myself as a songwriter.” The title track is the perfect introduction, its lush yet controlled beat ebbing and flowing as Lexi Vega (Mini Trees) lends backing vocals, all resulting in a sense of closeness which only amplifies the overall emotional resonance.

Sweetbreads – Chaos Is

Led by Brooklyn singer-songwriter Melody Stolpp, Sweetbreads make country-inflected indie pop that they say “will bend your ear, twist your pretty little heart, and get your hips swaying.” Following last year’s EP Out Of Range, Stolpp has again worked with long-time collaborator Nick Watt to write a new song, ‘Chaos Is’. “[It’s] a song about teenage life in the suburbs,” Stolpp describes, “with all the boredom, recklessness, and soul searching that come with it.” The track’s slow build captures the direction of such days, building from seemingly mundane beginnings into something with real emotional charge, and in doing so manages to recreate some of the heightened magic of those formative years.

The Tines – Collarbone

Formed in 2019 from members of acts such as Ports of Spain, Laundry Day, Quiet Giant and Ryxno, The Tines is an indie rock outfit based in New Haven, Connecticut. Back in 2022 they released their self-titled album on Funnybone Records, and latest single ‘Collarbone’ is the ideal entry point for those who let the initial release slip past their radar. A track which combines shimmering dream pop with a more pressing indie rock rhythm, the reverbed vocals drifting above it all to give the whole thing a sunny if enigmatic vibe, drawing the listener into its psych-inflected world.

The Tines is out now via Funnybone Records and is available from Bandcamp.

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After a hiatus from music, Yasi Lowy moved to San Francisco in 2018 and returned as Bad Tiger. Released in 2020, album The Goat and the Bad Tiger was the first product of this new period, but far from being the full realisation of Lowy’s goals, it merely opened the doors to new possibilities. With new ideas in hand, Bad Tiger worked with Mackenzie Bunch at Coyote Hearing Studio on a new EP, Sanctuary. ‘Clear Vision’ is our first taste of the release, a bedroom pop track stretched taut with strength of feeling. A track which holds paradoxes in its palm with a sense of curiosity. “I know what I want so long as it’s gone,” Lowy sings, “so long as it’s out of sight, I’ve got clear vision.”

Head to the Bad Tiger Bandcamp page for info on pre-ordering Sanctuary.

bedbug – songs about ghosts

When bedbug released their last full-length, life like moving pictures, back in 2020, it was something of a conclusion. The final part of a trilogy of albums that began with on 2016’s if i got smaller grew wings and flew away for good, it marked the end of a significant stage of the project’s life. It served “not only as a conclusion,” we wrote in a review, “but a summation of what bedbug has come to mean over the previous few years.” So the natural question was, what comes next?

After a little wait, the answer is now revealed. bedbug has evolved Pokémon-style into a full band and announced a self-titled EP, to be released in March on the inimitable Disposable America. To display this new direction, bedbug have unveiled the EP’s lead single, a reimagining of ‘songs about ghosts’, which initially featured on if i got smaller…. Check it out below:

Big Nothing – A Lot of Finding Out

Philly-based outfit Big Nothing are set to release their second record Dog Hours this coming February. Their first on Lame-O Records, the album captures the buoyant blend of compassion and confidence that makes Big Nothing so compelling. Equal parts intimate alt-country and bold power pop, as highlighted by lead single ‘A Lot of Finding Out’ with its acoustic guitars and elastic bounce.

Julia Blair – Waste Away

Making her name fronting Wisconsin country rock outfit Dusk, whose 2018 self-titled record on Don Giovanni Records won wide acclaim, Julia Blair has gone solo for brand new album Better Out Than In on Crutch of Memory. After the bright and fierce nineties-inflected pop rock of lead single ‘Relax’, new song ‘Waste Away’ shows off another side to Blair’s work. A considered meditation on the dissolution of a relationship wrapped within a rich arrangement of strings. The track comes complete with a video directed by Finn Bjornerud, with choreography by Monica Endres.

Better Out Than In is out via Crutch Of Memory and you can pre-order it from the Julia Blair Bandcamp page.

Bryde – Silver Suns

Hailing from Pembrokeshire and now based in London, Bryde has won acclaim with an emotive and cathartic brand of indie rock. Following on from 2020’s The Volume of Things, Bryde is opening 2022 with the first taste of a brand new record. With its tenderhearted piano foundations, ‘Silver Suns’ explores the diversity of love, pushing beyond the stereotypical images to delve into ideas of self-acceptance and non-judgemental affection.

Georgia Harmer – Austin

Following on from first single, ‘Headrush‘, Toronto‘s Georgia Harmer returns with new track, ‘Austin’, on Arts & Crafts. Building on the rich and nostalgic sound of the first song, ‘Austin’ tackles homesickness and familial love with a special focus on Harmer’s father and his experiences as a touring musician. Indeed, Harmer Snr. plays lead guitar on the track, recorded in the family living room. A tangible link to the connection which sparked the song in the first place. “Went to Austin Texas for a day / To everyone I saw I said your name,” she sings in the opening line. “The setting sun the hot wind on my face / Felt like home an unfamiliar place.”

We were cowboys in another life
But I am you your other life is mine
Often when I speak to you I cry
Never can explain the reason why
Never understood the reason

KASHKA – isolation

Last winter saw the return of Toronto-based dream pop project KASHKA with latest release, soft. Part of Kat Burns‘s ever-evolving style, the record lived up to its title with its gentle and welcoming sound, providing a nook in which the listener can sit and contemplate the current moment. Single ‘isolation’ captures this mood through the muted beauty of a snow day, looking for common humanity within the experience of being cut off from the world.

soft is out in February and you can find it on the KASHKA Bandcamp page.

Lofi Legs – My Silence

Combining garage rock and bedroom pop with psych and surf sensibilities, San Francisco‘s Lofi Legs are out to capture the highs and lows of life. Ahead of their album Leg Day on Italian-American label We Were Never Being Boring Collective, they have unveiled lead single ‘my silence’ to welcome us into this style. A song smack back in the middle of a Venn diagram between poignant and playful. “‘My Silence’ started as a conversation on shrooms about how I had gotten quieter,” explains Paris Cox-Farr, “and in the song I am picking apart my silent vulnerability to see if there’s something happening inside.”

Night Shop – Let Me Let It Go

Next month sees the release of Forever Night, the full-length album from LA‘s Night Shop on Dangerbird Records. To add to the anticipation for what we’ve described previously as a “triumphant meditation on nocturnal life,” Justin Sullivan has unveiled a brand new single, ‘Le Me Let It Go’. With a band featuring Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), Will Ivy (Flatworms) and Anna St. Louis, as well as engineering from Jarvis Taveniere (Woods), the song finds a bona fide supergroup at the height of their chemistry. Check out the video by Jeff Davenport and Cooper Kenward below:

I was halfway through my time on this earth. When I had a strange feeling like I had at my birth. Surrounded by strangers, crying in some room. I felt myself at such a remove. And I loved them all but I couldn’t say how, I just screamed a lot and then I shut my mouth.

Forever Night is out via Dangerbird Records on the 11th February and you can pre-order it from the Night Shop Bandcamp page.

Quiet Hollers – Garden of Love

Louisville outfit Quiet Hollers returned this January with Forever Chemicals, what they describe as their “joyfully nihilistic” fourth record. True to their genre-bending spirit, the album draws from all facets of the rock style to create a sound at once mischievous and sincere, leaning toward the darker end of the spectrum without sacrificing the steely will beneath the gloom. Single ‘Garden of Love’ is and example of the record’s earnest side, a yearning track fired by propulsive drums and lifted by the evocative delivery of lead Shadwick Wilde.

Rascal Miles – Locusts

We’ve previously described Rascal Miles‘s Tailor-Made as an examination of “both the violence and banal practicalities of becoming the person you are meant to be,” and latest single ‘Locusts’ is no different. Taking inspiration from Ennio Morricone and the world of Spaghetti Westerns, the track confronts post gender transition dysphoria and the hostility of the world with a sense of defiance. “I am who I am, and sometimes it seems like the whole world is out to get me, but even if we’re marching into an outnumbered battle in our fight for acceptance, we’re stepping out of the shadows and into the light,” Miles explains. “No more hiding. No backing down. Bring on the locusts.”

You can grab a copy of Tailor-Made from the Rascal Miles Bandcamp page.

Lee Switzer-Woolf – The Negative Twin

Having been a part of bands like Launch Control and The Seasons in Shorthand, 2022 sees Reading-based artist Lee Switzer-Woolf step out on his own with debut single, ‘The Negative Twin’. Taken from full-length Scientific Automatic Palmistry, out by All Will Be Well Records this February, the song introduces the darkly ruminative tone of Switzer-Woolf’s sound. A sparse and haunting track which nevertheless carries a stark urgency beneath its inky surface. Like an undercurrent pulling toward some unfortunate conclusion.

Erisy Watt – New Same

This spring sees the release of Eyes like the Ocean, a new record from Portland’s Erisy Watt on American Standard Time Records. Lead single ‘New Same’ welcomes us into the world of the record, one as indebted to contemporaries like Haley Heynderickx as the sixties stars of the genre. “I was reflecting on habits, trying to break the old and shape the new, and I was feeling stuck,” Watt explains. “We all want to blossom into the best versions of ourselves and often forget that it takes time, that it’s never a linear path. Old voices linger. Old behaviours crop up.” ‘New Same’ is a recognition of this fact, learning to adapt one’s outlook as the landscape shifts below.

Anna Westin – Bright Burning Mess

‘Bright Burning Mess’ finds Canadian poet and songwriter Anna Westin working at the intersection of her various artistic outlets. With both spoken word and sung lyrics populating the lushly ethereal folk arrangement, the track slots in alongside those contemporaries like Cassandra Jenkins. Songs looking to push the possibilities of language within the indie folk movement, and elevate the emotions found within.

‘Bright Burning Mess’ is out now more about Anna Westin’s work on her website.

Kimberly Morgan York – Real Thing

Though it was recorded way back in 2006, only to be released in 2022, Kimberly Morgan York’s debut LP Found Yourself a Lady transports you far further back than that. Recorded with The Everlovin’ Band and featuring Brad Morgan of the Drive-By Truckers, Found Yourself a Lady is a country record in the classic sense. A collection of songs occupying a timeless space of love and loss, as demonstrated by single ‘Real Thing’. A romance so fierce it could never burn for long, but oh how warm it is in the moment.

Call your momma we ain’t coming tonight
I need some lovin by the pale moon light
She’ll forgive you and I won’t wait
Tomorrow I’ll call in late

Found Yourself a Lady is out now and you can find more about Kimberly Morgan York’s work on her website.

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A new volume will be posted every few weeks and will offer a collection of really great songs that we’re determined not to let slip past our radar.

Blushing – Weak 

Working out of Austin, Texas, Blushing is a quartet made up of two husband and wife couples that make a shimmering brand of shoegaze that stokes the flames of nostalgia while pushing ahead into new territory. With the band set to release a new EP, Weak, they’ve unveiled the title track as a single to whet our appetites. The track, which nods at forebears such My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive as well as contemporaries like Pains of Being Pure At Heart, weaves a gauzy atmosphere and feedback and reverb, though the poppy vocals are also allowed to bob to the surface.

Check out the video below, which was directed, filmed and edited by drummer Jake Soto with help from Eddie Chavez.

Weak is to be released via Austin Town Hall Records on the 26th January, 2018, and you can pre-order it from Bandcamp.

Amparo – Ruby

Amparo is the project of Arizona’s Lela Amparo, who is due to release their debut EP, Rains, later this week, the first ever release on label Taabiir. The first single from the record, ‘Ruby’ combines sombre piano, sparse guitar and minimal spoken samples to form something that sounds moving and elegiac. The track was inspired by the rhythms of the natural world, as Amparo explains. “This past summer I spent time in Gothenburg, Sweden surrounding myself with the nearby woods. The original intention was to continue crafting electronic music, however after a friend loaned me his guitar, the outcome was entirely different. Over the course of two days, I sat down and began to sketch out guitar hooks and loops, which would eventually transpire into this EP.”

Rains is due for release on the 10th of December via Taabiir.

Veronica Bianqui – Victim

Multi-instrumentalist Veronica Bianqui makes music inspired a variety of sources, melding the 60s pop with classic soul and finishing off with the rough edges of garage rock. While her debut album is not scheduled for release until 2018, new single, ‘Victim’, gives a good insight in her sound and aesthetic. Bianqui’s sister died young after struggling with drug use, and the song plays as an attempt to prevent such tragedies, imploring those struggling addiction to find the strength to change and live. As such, ‘Victim’ is about breaking patterns of self-victimization in order to heal and grow, maintaining an upbeat, positive vibe despite the grave matter at hand.

‘Victim’ is available now from Veronica Bianqui’s Bandcamp page.. All of the proceeds are being donated to the Harm Reduction Coalition, who fight to promote the health and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by drug use.

Lavender Child – Happy Illusions

Based in Toronto, Canada, Lavender Child makes what they describe as “ethereal dreamscapes” intended to “inspire listeners to reconnect with nature, community, and themselves.” The result is something pitched halfway between indie pop and ambient, taking equal inspiration from Grouper, Julianna Barwick and Sharon van Etten. The lead single from a new EP, Reflections, ‘Happy Illusions’ demonstrates the vivid, dream-like soundscapes that Lavender Child conjures, evoking not only a sense of wilderness but also a rich inner life too, as though the interior and exterior are merged into one soaring fabric.

Lavender Child‘s EP, Reflections, is out on the 1st December.

1971 – Anxiety (In The Depths Of Northwestern Ontario)

Cameron Glen Cranston, bassist and founding member of 1971, very sadly died earlier this year aged just 25. The band have called it a day in response, but have decided to release their final two recordings as a cassette single, No Matter Where You Go, There You Are.

One of those tracks, ‘Anxiety (in the Depths of Northwestern Ontario)’ was written for Cranston back in 2016, during a very difficult period before his death. We’re glad we have ‘his’ song,” the band told Exclaim! “even though it’s hard to listen to sometimes.”

The song deals in the kind of sparse and expansive Canadian indie rock that will appeal to fans of Wintersleep or Summering, the pain and emotion that inspired it spiking in punky yelps during the chorus, and whipping into a blizzard of squealing guitar and pounded drums for the finale.

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are is out Dec 1st and available via the 1971 Bandcamp page.

Joe Russell-Brown – Post-Youth Depression

Recorded on nothing but a laptop and cheap microphone in his grandmother’s bungalow, Joe Russell-Brown’s debut EP Post-Youth Depression manages a surprising anthemic richness to accompany what is still an undoubtledly lo-fi sound. The title track is the perfect example of this, coming off as a jagged celebration of times gone by, detailing the facets of teenage years in boring towns that become suddenly beautiful in hindsight.

Post-Youth Depression is out now via Warren Records and you can grab it from Bandcamp.

Bryde – Desire

Bryde is the recording project of Pembrokeshire native Sarah Howells, who makes a dark blend of indie rock and pop that probes at the sinister underbelly of love and relationships. Following on from her debut EP, ‘Desire’ is a new single that furthers this style, serving as a critical, semi-disgusted look at a relationship gone wrong. According to Howells, the songs is about “our need for instant gratification, about desire’s addictive qualities and how they can make us behave,” charting the transforming or transmogrifying power of love and lust. Here, passion is not the beguiling force of Hollywood movies, rather an instinctive, near-animalistic force capable of destroying your sense of self and better judgement.

‘Desire’ was released earlier this month via Seahorse Music, and precedes Bryde’s debut album, pencilled in for next Spring.

Little Star – Providence

Starting out as the solo project of Portland, Oregon’s Daniel Byers, Little Star grew to include band members John Value and Julian Morris for 2016’s Being Close this year’s self-titled record. However, returning to his roots, Byers has taken to the studio as a solo act once more to record a new EP, Even in Dreams, that will be released next year on Good Cheer Records. Until then, we have ‘Providence’ as a taster, a track that combines an intimate bedroom pop with 80s college rock, with elements of shoegaze thrown in for good measure—resulting in a song that blends emotion and deadpan observation in a way similar to the excellent Friendship record we reviewed a few weeks ago.

Even in Dreams will be released on Hidden Bay Records and Good Cheer Records on the 12th January and you can pre-order it now. In the meantime, check out the Big Star Bandcamp page for their previous albums.

Allegra Krieger – So Glad You Said Goodbye

Based in New York, Allegra Krieger is a songwriter rooted in the traditions of folk, as much of a storyteller as a musician. Indeed, as with much of the best folk, her debut album Circles deals with themes of moving, coming out of a period spent “living on the road; in tents, caves, strangers couches.” As such, the record feels like a sincere attempt at communicating the experience of life, with situations and relationships always beginning and ending, the narrator left to navigate the constant change and subsequent heartache. ‘So Glad You Said Goodbye’ is a perfect example, pitched on the vague space between heartsick and wistful, finding solace or strength in the act of moving forwards.

Circles is out now and you can get it from the Allegra Kriger Bandcamp page.

Me and The Moon – Standing Still

After much praise for their debut single, ‘Get Away’ , Guildford trio Me and The Moon are back with a second single on My Little Empire Records. ‘Standing Still’ is an indie-pop song with shoegazey elements and near mathy influences, making for a track that’s both upbeat and melancholic in the best way possible.

The single is out via My Little Empire, and available now from Bandcamp.

Be sure to check out our previous Bright Sparks posts via the tag, and keep your eyes peeled in the opening weeks of 2018 for the next edition.

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