As the title suggests, the tone is most often hopeful and defiant, but there are the personal bumps in the road. ‘Centuries’ deals with the struggle of having the bravery to be oneself in an often unwelcoming world (“I close my eyes, pretend that I don’t see / A thousand judging eyes building blocks around me”), while ‘Only Obvious to You’ is a break-up song full of un-bitter acceptance and a tinge of regret.

The album was also made during a time of personal tragedy as Devora’s mother passed away just before the band began to record. It therefore operates on both micro and macro levels, the very personal grief combining with the wider grief of seeing whole communities persecuted, the the current climate of sexism, racism and homophobia mirroring the hostility of experience for those in mourning.

“The year and a half that I spent writing the songs for this album was probably the most difficult time of my life personally,” Devora tells label Topshelf Records. “I found myself in fear not only of losing my mom to her illness, but of losing my space within society as a queer woman, and watching space get taken away from so many others.”

But ultimately, If you’re not afraid, I’m not afraid is a record about responding to these feelings. About folding all of that pain and loss into a shape that is manageable to carry, if never quite comfortable. Some loads cannot be lightened, some weights never made weightless, but the very strain of bearing them can reveal a previously unknown strength. Devora captures this feeling neatly in a line on ‘Bloomed’, one of the tracks on the album that confronts these emotions head on.

My little tender soul
Bloomed and in control

If you’re not afraid, I’m not afraid is out now on Topshelf Records. You can get it in a variety of formats from the Queen of Jeans Bandcamp page.

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Tancred – Reviews

“I wanted the album to have a timeless feel to it,” says Jess Abbott of Tancred’s new record, Nightstand. “So you could hear my stories of love and loneliness and sense that these are themes that have existed for everyone forever.” Such an attitude of empathy runs through the lead single, ‘Reviews’, with difficulties shared and worries admitted in the hope of connecting to others feeling equally troubled. Abbott divulges honest details of being female and queer in the twenty-first century not just as some effort to map her own experience, but to reach out to others, on the basis that we are less alone when facing problems together.

Nightstand is set for release in June on Polyvinyl and Hand in Hive, and you can pre-order it now from the Tancred Bandcamp page.

Buck Meek – Cannonball!

Not content with being part of one of the best folk rock bands in operation with Big Thief (whose Capacity was one of our favourite records of last year), Buck Meek has recorded a self-titled solo album to be released this spring. As lead single ‘Cannonball!’ attests, these are blues-tinged folk tracks steeped in style and storytelling, though Meek’s bio does his sound more justice than we ever could:

“Buck Meek’s songs are for the lost dogs of honest mechanics, good guys and girls born into a life of crime, runaways, snow spirits, the ghosts of Central Park, unsung diving-board stars, the affection shared through gambling, and so on. Bred in Texas, more bread in New York City, Meek spins outlaw ballads and quotidian fairy tales into a yarn.”

Buck Meek is set for release on the 18th May and you can pre-order it now via Keeled Scales.

Clara Marie – Boat or Bike

The press release for Clara Marie describes her as a “curious concoction of Northern Irish nymph meets Edith Piaf in a David Bowie-esque daydream,” which might sound quite the claim, at least until you hear her music. Because, upon listening to debut single ‘Boat or Bike’, the summary makes sense—or rather, it hints that ‘making sense’ might not quite be the primary aim of Clara Marie songwriting. From the syrupy slow opening, the song draws the listener into an uncanny and alluring version of real life, where the thin veneer of logic has been poked through, and all sorts of strangeness has seeped through the space. Complete with a suitably surreal video shot by Alex Villaluz, ‘Boat or Bike’ is a beguiling introduction into what appears to be a world as beautiful as it is strange.

‘Boat or Bike’ is out now, and Clara Marie is currently working on her debut EP, so be sure to keep an eye on her Soundcloud and Facebook page for further information.

Painted Forest – Witness

Painted Forest is a bedroom pop / lo-fi project from Philadelphia. Back in February they released an EP called Detective Series, three songs built on distorted guitar and a kind of chilled out, off-kilter charm. Standout track ‘Witness’ is the perfect introduction, its guitar surreal and giddy and somehow accentuating the sense of easy melody. The lyrics are equally strange, staccato lines that conjure images of vampires and spiders, delivered in a melancholic mumble.

“What did
We do
To him
Plunge the
fangs in
For us”

Pema – Depend

Pema is another project of Alex Cohen of Alex Napping, whose Mise En Place was another of our favourites from 2017, though the pop/RnB-influenced style is something of a departure from that sound. The new Pema album, Bad Habits, set to be released this spring has lofty and challenging intentions. The mission statement of the record is “to represent the sense of shame that society burdens on women,” charting the experience of Cohen as she explored her own character flaws. Lead single ‘Depend’ is one such example, offering an unflinching gaze on the ingrained conviction that women need male validation to succeed or even survive. As the onion-eating video attests, such an attitude is neither comfortable or productive, though the self-flagellation is in reality anything but, the whip held by an invisible hand that has grown accustomed to its power.

Bad Habits is set for release via Topshelf Records on the 18th May and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.

FRANKIIE – Glory Me

FRANKIIE are a dream pop outfit from Vancouver. After releasing their folk-tinged debut EP back in 2015, the band moved in various directions, including writing and recording solo music, becoming a schoolteacher, starting a fashion line and retreating to a small island community to work and surf. These changes gave each member a renewed sense of purpose, and soon FRANKIIE came together again, this time with the aim of making a new record.

Lead single ‘Glory Me’ is our first taste from the forthcoming album, and signals a move towards a indie rock sound. It has some shadowy, almost goth elements, with juxtapose nicely with the catchy chorus and bright dreamy sound. Thematically the song tackles mortality, and displays a newfound cohesive writing process. The blurb describes it as “a contemplation of life and death” which “explores the questions of meaning and purpose – feelings that were heavily shadowing their lives before they took time for individual self-discovery”.

Boys – End of Time

Hailing from Umeå in northern Sweden, Nora Karlsson records a nostalgic brand of indie pop under the moniker Boys. This spring sees Karlsson release her debut full-length album, Rest in Peace, and ‘End of Time’ serves as the perfect introduction to those unfamiliar with her sound. Backed by a dreamy field recording of children having fun to really amp up the rose-tinted vibe, the song unfurls in a sweetly serene tale of yearning. The result is a version of regret that has been weathered by time, the sharp edges smoothed into a tactile round, making for something you want to handle and draw comfort from in times of need.

Rest in Peace is set to be released on the 11th May via Punk Slime Records and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.

The By Gods – Wait Up

The By Gods are a garage pop trio from Nashville, comprising of Tye Hammonds (drums) and husband and wife duo, Natalie (bass) and George Pauley (guitar). Last year the band released an Move On, an LP inspired by “a potent blend of musings on small town religion, depression, terrorist attacks, global politics and the subsequent social media backlash of all those events.” The album re-purposed 90s flavoured alternative rock for our turbulent times, meaty power chords and swaggering percussion laying the groundwork for vocals that have a shade of the David Bazan about them.

My favourite track on the album, ‘Wait Up’has recently been given the video treatment, starring the band’s pups Dookie and Wheezy. It’s a perfect opportunity to catch up if you haven’t heard it already, the smoldering 90s vibes eventually erupting in a crescendo of feedback-drenched guitar and pummeled drums. Check it out below.

You can get Move On now from The By Gods Bandcamp page.

Sun June – Young

It’s not often bands form in snatched moments of free time while working in the editing rooms of world famous directors, but Sun June (apparently) did just that. Laura Colwell and Stephen Salisbury put the long hours to good use, consolidating their ‘regret pop’ sound with a varying band that has now settled into a quintet. Lead single ‘Young’ offers a glimpse into retrospective heartbreak of their debut LP, Years—a release described as a “we’ve-been-broken-up-a-long-time” record. This is staring back in time not to find answers or cast blame, but instead for the fleeting chance to warm your face on the now lost glow of past love.

Years is to be released this June on Keeled Scales, and you can pre-order it now.

Queen of Jeans – U R My Guy

Taking inspiration from the 60s girl group sound, but finding its portrayal of women problematic, Philadelphia’s Queen of Jeans wrote ‘U R My Guy’ to turn gender norms on their head. As such, the track manages to both embrace the girl group aesthetic while subverting the facets that now prove outdated and/or misogynistic, enabling it to transcend any preconceptions of the genre. Indeed, the entire album, Dig Yourself, is a lesson in balancing style and meaning, former a strong reminder that sweet pop music does not have to be all sugar and no substance.

Dig Yourself is out now via Topshelf Records and you can snag it from Bandcamp.

VedeTT – It Seems To Be Natural

Hailing from Angers in France, VedeTT make a moody brand of dream pop driven by a dark energy and assertive drums. Single ‘It Seems to be Natural’ sets out their style perfectly, with the melancholic vocals undercut by a glowering, unstable vibe that adds something of a dangerous dimension. The track builds in momentum across its run time, but the vocals never quite break their hazy wrapping, meaning that the whole thing maintains an oneiric strangeness.

Losing All is out now on Echo Orange and you can find out more here.

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The week saw the second such collaboration, this time with Philadelphia blog sensation Swell Tone. Curated by Shana Hartzel, Summer of Sad is a ten-song release featuring a range of styles and genres linked by the common themes of being 1) summery, 2) sad, 3) great. Or, as Shana puts it:

“Summer of Sad is about the quiet moments of the hottest season. It’s the warm breeze on a moonlit night and the mellow release of melancholia as you float down the river on an inner-tube in the hot, hot sun. A collaboration between Philly music blog Swell Tone and Slovakian tape label Z Tapes, the compilation combines 10 songs from female artists and female-fronted bands to create a dual atmosphere of summer’s brightness and the depths of longing. As if time were being kept by the creak of an old, back porch swing, the songs sway with an effortless sincerity.”

‘Icebergs’ by Bevelers opens, playing like some mountain hymn for the twenty-first century, while ‘Bad Way’ by Pop & Obachan is a slow, dreamy rock jam that seems caught between light and dark. “You arrived a surprise in the strangest way,” sings Emma Tringali, “what started as hate ended as a beautiful thing”. Lomelda’s glitchy folk rock follows, ‘Ya w/Me?’ insular and downbeat yet also somehow warm in its incredibly human heartbreak:

“So you don’t wanna be a family
You told me
Sitting at the table that my grandparents left for me
I just poured you another glass
Did ya notice
The silence that passed is all that lasts?
Where did ya go?”

Summer Flake’s ‘Shoot and Score’ is a slightly off-kilter rock tune, the vocals sliding over the music in monotone sheets, always threatening to deepen into something more dark or dangerous but never quite following through. ‘bat’ by CBMC’s ÓOR is a submerged bedroom number, the instrumentation rippling like the surface of a pond, while Queen of Jeans’ cover of Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams’ is seized by a timeless, romantic melancholy, the dramatic drums and crooned vocals conjuring that perfect tortured state unique to country singers and Hollywood actors.

The second cover, Candace’s rendition of Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Way Home’, is similarly arresting, snaking between fond sadness in the verses and the carefree forgiveness (or at least forget) in the chorus. Mia Loucks follows this with ‘summer’, a song both muffled and bright, as though sung the bottom of a swimming pool, lit electric blue during a sweaty August night. Sarah M.’s ‘t-shirt’ worms its way gradually out from beneath heavy bass, the energy rising across its run-time, before Deer Scout closes the release with ‘Haus’. Half-paced and soft, this is a song for those late summer nights where autumn comes knocking, darkness arriving a little too early, cool damp creeping into the fabric of things. Luckily, Dena Miller’s vocals are the perfect antidote, weaving a blanket in which to wrap yourself, through the night and winter both.

Working as a stellar release in its own right, as well as an introduction to ten acts that will soon be amongst your favourites, Summer of Sad is pretty much the perfect compilation, and a great example of the special things that can happen when enthusiastic people team up and combine their energies.

Summer of Sad is out now and you can get it now from the Z Tapes Bandcamp page, including a rather lovely cassette edition. All digital sales will be donated to Slovakian charity, Esther, who help people live again after domestic abuse.

Cover art drawn by Victoria Engle, colored Caitlin McCann

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