This summer sees the release of Farther Away, a full-length Cry Babe album, and one which shows a clear evolution from the earlier release. The trio have embraced the dark, heavier side of their sound, a new commitment that extends right down to the metal typography of the artwork. The spirit set out on “Be Cool” is still present—the vocal range, the clever writing—but now everything is delivered with a newfound weight.

Take lead single ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’. Opening with a doom-laden stagger, the track brings to mind the likes of Yowler‘s Black Dog in My Path, though from within this sluggish mass rise small channels of lightness and energy. The vocals are crooned and clear, and capable of dragging the drums into a frantic rhythm that attempts to escape the consuming dark of the rest of the sound. The feat is never quite achieved, every acceleration matched by a new deep dark lull, but nevertheless, there are moments of release in the crescendos.

This effect is perhaps unsurprising given the inspiration of the track. “The name came about because our lead singer wanted a title that would let anyone know what the song was about,” they explain. “So we went with an homage to one of our favourite movies, whose starring actor, Sheila Vand, has coincidentally seen our band perform.” That is Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, a film which inverts its own title to present a protagonist not only able to walk alone in the dark, but to flourish there.

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Adrianne Lenker – cradle
German Error Message – Hopelessness
Jo Schornikow – Incomplete
Grizzly Coast – Half-Light Boy
Taylor Hamilton – Might Say
Porridge Radio – Give / Take
Patio – Scum
Ruthie – Spirit Now Moves
Esther Rose – Don’t Blame It On the Moon
Blood Cultures – Flowers For All Occasions
Puddle-Cuddle – Compost
Mess – Dead Space
Cry Babe – Soft Honk
The Painters – Pieces of Life
Two Meters – Ground
Erin Durant – Take a Load Off
Michelle Blades – Ring
Eric & Magill – Thanks to Sciences
Foundlings – Caught Up on You
Craig Finn – Something To Hope For
JW Ridley – Homesick (Out The Blue)
Pieket – Eternal Recurrence
The Curfews – Rose
Emily Fairlight – Body Below
Raggedy – Brainwash
Barrie – Saturated
Blush – Forever Is a Long Time
Shane Leonard – Empire Builder
Con Davison – Sofa Bed
Gold Light + Snakemusk – The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
The Chats – Pub Feed
Shutups – Yellowjacket
Izzy Heltai – Stuck In Stone
Adam Ostrar – Take It Back
The Death Of Pop – Last
Toledo – Some Samurai
Yot Club – Japan
Evan Thomas Way & The Phasers – Long Distance
K. Campbell – Heads Up
The Duke of Norfolk – As the Heralds Revere You
Leaky Engine-John Birch Society Blues
naps – treading
Vieo Abiungo – What the Rain Restores
Old Earth – The Friends ∴ The Gods
Good Good Blood & Astral Social Club – Heathen Astronaut

Like what you hear? Catch up with the rest of our Monthly Mixes!

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‘Glasses’ pitches somewhere between a soulful and timeless lilt and a Mitski-style loud-quiet crunchy indie rock song, Genevieve’s vocals morphing from soft and dreamy to powerful yelp. ‘Picard’ on the other hand is a feminist anthem which tells the story of drinking alone watching Star Trek, asking questions about approval and independence.

how can I be my own woman
and also yours too?

“You’re not my friend just some creepy guy” goes ‘Soft Honk’, a song about putting up with the males of our species. The group vocals are offset with a constant droning background synth and a sense of burning righteous anger, especially in the final line, “And I said, fuck you.”

Closer ‘Johnny’ starts as a bouncy post punk number, but gets increasingly raucous as it advances, devolving into a joyous mess of guitar and Oh Rose style full-throated yells (what the lyric sheet describes as “**orgasms fakely and loudly**”), another sardonic dismantling of partriachal norms. It’s a fitting end to a short but powerful EP.

I don’t wanna go outside today
I wanna run and hide

“Be Cool” is out now and you can get it on cassette (although be warned, it’s almost sold out) or digital download from the Cry Babe Bandcamp page.

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