England had since come to think the Oscilla project had run its course. “A short lived experiment that took more energy than it gave,” as she described in a recent post. But after a series of chance encounters with old friends and collaborators, including Omar Akrouche (of Worthitpurchase) who offered a chance to record at his backyard studio in Los Angeles, and another who inspired a visual aspect to the project. “I have been experimenting with ‘film soup’,” England explains, “altering the chemical properties of film by soaking it in salt, boiling water, various household liquids to create a collection of images for my new EP.” What emerged was Drink Up the Sun, a new EP that will be released next year which shows there is life in Oscilla yet.

Lead single ‘Tornado’ gives an indication as to what to expect from the release. With England’s vocals and guitar joined by Akrouche’s bass and guitar and Jason Slota’s drums, the song weaves a sound at once dramatic and subtle, evoking the blind violence of its titular phenomenon with understated control. “Watched it burn like a fire / lit up like a wonderous feeling,” as England sings in the opening lines, “watched it take out everything / devastate with no intention.” But the track is more than an experiment in juxtaposition. It soon becomes clear the sound’s quiet sincerity functions something like a plea in the face of elemental danger. An attempt to will oneself onto surer ground.

I keep watching the sky
hoping that the stars will help me
hoping that the wind don’t toss me back
all those hurt feelings

only want for a steady hand
restless hands don’t make plans

‘Tornado’ is out now and available from the usual places. Drink Up the Sun is set for release in 2024.

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Doubling as a tribute to Berman and an anti-suicide pact with himself, I can’t believe civilization is still going here in 2021! Congratulations to all of us, Love DCB is far more than imitation or pastiche. Indeed, there are no covers on the record, with John Vanderslice choosing to instead celebrate creation and experimentation. The result evokes the spirit of David Berman far more successfully than any cover album, pushing beyond the conventions of the genre to achieve those intangible things that marked his work.

After the ode to survival that was ‘I get a strange kind of pleasure from just hanging on,’ Vanderslice has unveiled a brand new single that furthers this style. ‘Taverns Of The Neo Subcortex’ marries beats with acoustic guitar to weave an off-kilter backing, as the vocals offer earnest advice on the art of perseverance. “This song is filled with nods to David’s writings, especially his amazing The Portable February,” Vanderslice told Under the Radar. “The last song on the EP with any kind of guidance, the lyrics warn the listener to be vigilant about their mental health. ‘Don’t leave death a nice clean shot.'”

Photo by Andrea DeSouto

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“I don’t write protest songs in the traditional sense, but I’m always listening to the voices of people around me. These stories are told from the perspective of the underdog, the 99% of us that are working people. They might not be literal protest songs, but the lives of the people within these songs speak at the same volume if you listen.”

Check out the track in the player below:

The album, Under Branch & Thorn & Tree, will be released on the 17th July and you can pre-order it now from Full Time Hobby.

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Dark Shores is an album about space. According to various interviews it began as a concept about space exploration and wars but the human element came to the fore. The album is still influenced by space, but rather than flying saucers and lasers, the ‘space’ here is an empty vacuum, the ultimate isolation. From the opener ‘Diamond Drill’, with a closing refrain echoing ‘Its a lonely life’, you realise the album is not going to be the most upbeat listen. ‘Satellite Moon’ and ‘Dark Shores’ further the imagery of space as emptiness. ‘Maureen’s’ and ‘Little Wishes’ are full of the same hope and regret that made ’Bonfire’ so enthralling. ‘Last Grains’, a song set in a not-so hard to imagine broken future about just that, is quick and desperate, capturing perfectly the antinomic pressures put on modern persons juggling family, employment and social status. ‘Trap Door’ clings to a chink of light in darkness. These are songs crafted carefully to entwine the fantastic and the recognisable, perfect examples of his paradoxical use of fantasy to portray reality.

Showalter is not afraid to change his sound to suit the stories they tell. The early version of ‘Spacestations’, recorded for the brilliant Shaking Through series, was packed with epic synths and was worlds away (no pun intended) from the acoustic singer-songwriters he is often compared with. Since, the song has been striped back, synths replaced with a more familiar guitar, but the switch highlighted just how versatile Showalter can be. Leave Ruin was classic folk strumming, Pope Killdragon experimented with metal-tinged noise, and now we have sci-fi synths and succinct rock. His voice and lyrics would be effective against any musical backdrop and Strand of Oaks can therefore go in any direction. I for one cannot wait to follow.

Buy Dark Shores on CD from Ten Atoms or digitally via Bandcamp.

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