The project of Agriculture’s Leah B Levinson, Cali Bellow makes music concerned with the tension and interplay between the interior and exterior, real and fictional. Thematically, new album Ciao Bella owes as much to Dark Souls and The Muppets as it does Ursula Le Guinn and Joanna Russ, not to mention the environment of Altadena, California. A deep consideration of ideas of artifice and abstraction which always challenges limitations, be they of genre, gender or spirituality. Taking inspiration from songs like ‘Full Of Happiness’ by H.O.T. and ‘I, Me, Mine’ by Godflesh, as well as the hyperactive soundtracks of games like Sonic, new single ‘Goldin Scepter’ is a microcosm of the wider album. A myriad of influences deconstructed and rearranged in order to build a world of its own. “I wanted to pull on the zany character that a lot of ska, funk and pop music teases and push it to a more monstrous effect,” as Levinson explains.

country girl – your favorite girl

Blending an upbringing in classical music with a present love of pop, country girl creates music to bring to life those small personal experiences which make life worth living. Having recently signed with the FADER Label, the project is now back with a new single ‘your favorite girl’, the ideal introduction for anyone unfamiliar with the project. “A song about the movie scenes we film, direct, and act in our heads while in the frenzy of a crush,” as the artist explains. That pressing desire to be a main character in story, however small that story might be. Even if it just means being someone else’s favorite girl.

I wanna look you in the eye
Oh man it gets me every time
I wanna shine inside your world
I wanna be your favorite girl

‘your favorite girl’ is out now via FADER label and available from the usual places.

Death And The Maiden – Waratah

Based in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Aotearoa/New Zealand trio Death And The Maiden take not only their name from an engraving by Edvard Munch, but their entire atmosphere. A meeting of strength and vulnerability, shadow and light. Moreover, a willingness to embrace ambiguity within a sound which draws upon everything from electronic, folk and psych to house and dance. Released via Fishrider Records (southern hemisphere) and Occultation Recordings (northern hemisphere), new album Uneven Ground is perhaps their most experimental to date, though conversely sees them embrace pop too. Single ‘Waratah’ displays such contradictions in all their alluring layers, allowing freedom and restraint to sit side by side.

dog eyes – drive

“A reach towards an almost cinematic brand of pop that leaves none of the emotion behind,” we wrote of ‘moment’ by dog eyes, “where friendship is at once the most intimate and soaring experiences one might be lucky enough to hold in their life.” The song typified the Oakland band’s new album holy friend, which explores how relationships and connection not only shape us but morph over time. With the record now out via Grand Jury Music, dog eyes have released a new single, ‘drive’. An example of the more folk-adjacent side of the album, the song tells the story of a road trip into the mountains with all the quiet seclusion of the leafy backroads, gentle guitar and ramshackle percussion sparkling sleepily behind sincere vocals. The result feels like a small and sweet moment grasped in its moment of transience and fixed to tape.

I would not say words if I did not mean them
Tired of monotony
Just drive this Sequoia please
To some distance where I cannot see
Where I’ll forget how to tell where I am

Dogwood Tales – driver’s side fantasy

Based in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Dogwood Tales originated in 2016 with Ben Ryan and Kyle Grim and soon expanded to become a full band with the addition of Danny Gibney (bass), Stephen Kuester (pedal steel) and Jake Golibart (drums). Working within a country-inflected rock style, the project has released a number of albums and EPs, most recently Rodeo via WarHen Records, and is putting out a brand new tape later this summer. Latest single ‘driver’s side fantasy’ introduces the sound, occupying that post-Drive-By Trucker’s sphere alongside the likes of MJ Lenderman. Watch the video filmed by Travis Legg below:

‘driver’s side fantasy’ is out now and available from the usual places.

Dwi Riana x Orkes Garasi – Ku Bisa

Indonesian-Canadian artist Dwi Riana has made a name for working across genres, finding inspiration in everything from folk, hip hop and traditional music to bossa nova and jazz, and new single ‘Ku Bisa’ is the project of yet another direction. “I had the amazing opportunity of composing for an Indonesian short film titled A Day Apart on the Seventeenth, directed by Noel Pendawa,” they explain, a process which saw them team up with Toronto-based Indonesian Keroncong band, Orkes Garasi. Channelling the themes of Pendawa’s film, the song explores ideas of homesickness by melding Keroncong and folk styles, and the result sees the narrator turning to dreams as their only mode of escape.

‘Ku Bisa’ is out now via streaming services.

Mother Sun – Giant Bog

“I think with these songs we wanted to create a record that sonically speaks to the magic that is constantly unfolding all around in the natural world.” That’s how lead Jared Doherty describes Mother Sun’s latest album, Meadow 6, which is coming soon via Earth Libraries. Fittingly, many of the songs originated when playing guitar outside in the garden, with the Kamloops, BC outfit not only exploring the diversity of nature but humanity’s relationship with it. Something to escape into, to explore and study, cultivate and exploit. Crafted from a vivid psych-rock sound that reaches towards jazz, krautrock and retro folk, the album comes to form an environment of its own, as captured by new single and closer, ‘Giant Bog’. A sprawling track which serves as a kind of retro-futurist hothouse within which all manner of things can sprout and grow wild.

Stephen Becker – I Held An Echo

This October, Stephen Becker is releasing his new full-length Middle Child Syndrome via Record Euphoria. The album sees the LA-born, Brooklyn-based songwriter work in the indie-psych tradition of the late noughties/early 2010s, adding jazz and baroque pop sensibilities to a more traditional singer-songwriter style. An effort, at least in part, to rise above the mundane present, as though to be trapped within conventions is to be restricted by the same inability to communicate effectively that haunts our everyday lives. Single ‘I Held An Echo’ hints at the widescreen scope of the resulting sound, though the glitch and shimmer of the dreamlike arrangement hints at the precarity of any attempt to escape our usual constraints.

Middle Child Syndrome is out on the 25th October via Record Euphoria and you can pre-order it from Bandcamp.

Yammerer – ESZ – Erth Station Zebra

How do you convince people to engage with album-length work in this age of streaming and algorithmic playlists? Liverpool’s Yammerer have one potential solution. Erth Station Zebra might be packaged as an album on Bandcamp and the like, but the release is intended as a single composition. Or as the band put it, “a transcendent odyssey” which runs through six movements across its forty-four minutes. Previous releases like Reality Escape Resort might have positioned them in the contemporary post-punk revival, but there was always something different about the outfit. An extra level of ambition and invention. Erth Station Zebra sees them embrace this side of their work wholeheartedly, leaning into transportive psych to not only revitalise the appetite for in-depth pieces of work, but position themselves as one of the UK’s most interesting projects to keep an eye on moving into the future.

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within its own indeterminate system [which] enables, and highlights, a degree of separation between one reality and any conceptualization of Yammerer. Creating a nebulous space to explore and experiment.

Including ‘Poisonous Reptilian…’, EP Reality Escape Resort further expanded this ethos. Its songs dragged the listener through a variety of post-punk and psychedelic worlds with breathless intensity, the vocals ranging from hyper-zealous to stingingly deadpan. A series of singles followed, from the manic sub-two-minute whirlwind of ‘Boa Constrictor’ to the patient, simmering causticity of ’50 HB’, not to mention the slow-dawning sunbleached richness of ‘The Beachgoer’. Another song, another head. Yammerer a beast with more faces to meet yet.

Ahead of a forthcoming debut full-length, Yammerer are back with brand new single ‘Tell Me What The Ancient Astronaut Theorists Believe’. The record concerns protagonist Jon Vertigo and their attempts to negotiate whatever stage of capitalism we find ourselves occupying now, pushing further into the existential themes raised on previous singles, and ‘TMWTAATB’ throws us right into this tumultuous headspace. Blending the needling menace of Bambara, an exultant energy and their trademark deadpan humour, Yammerer reflect the contemporary moment back at us. Confused, crazed and furious, haunted by the sense the truth is just around the corner, that the future can be restored to what it was meant to be.

Photo by Nick Brickland

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New EP Reality Escape Resort, released via Restless Bear Records, makes this clear, pitched somewhere between the bizarro experimentation of Snapped Ankles and the wry punk wrath of early Protomartyr. Like the latter, Yammerer are ambitious and wide-ranging in their ideas and references, and the EP is ordered according to the overarching themes. The first three songs of the release present “an account of the causes of suffering; Delusion, Aversion and Attachment, respectively,” the band explain, with the final track providing “an account of the cycle of these three causes.”

Taking on delusion, opener ‘Airport’ is a bullish song where the upbeat mood is undercut by a seam of menace, the buoyant sound masking some great void, one just waiting for the fuel to run out so that it might swallow you whole. Given the theme of the track however, this is never acknowledged, instead more and more gasoline is burned as the vocals grow increasingly frantic, as though escape is possible if only you keep moving. But in reality by going higher and higher you only increase the eventual fall.

We wrote about ‘Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co’ in a preview a few months ago, a song which “combines the dark prophecies of Nick Cave with The Fall’s caustic charm and creates a sonic beast of many heads—each snarling and sneering and prone to howls of execration.” ‘YVES HD’ follows with its hectic psychedelic energy, a hyperactive track that teeters on the lip of carefree abandon and stares into the depths of unhinged release over the edge.

All three tracks occupy a curious space, that brief moment between losing control and fearing the result, an exalted state of forward motion that cannot last and will surely terminate in fiery violence. But for now, before the heat and force and flames are upon us, there’s a thrill to be had, an escape from reality, so long as one keeps their head down, thoughts to a minimum, and submits to the force.

In keeping with its thematic role on the release, closer ‘Seasons 13-31’ is vast and sprawling, finding momentum and dying and rising again. The vocals veer from a raucous punk shout to sardonic conversation, all unfurling with the seamless logic of some manic prophet, yelling his convoluted sermon at the ceiling and walls.

Reality Escape Resort is out now via Restless Bear Records and you can get it from Bandcamp.

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Real Life Buildings – Racing the Sun
Nice Apple – Are You Still There?
V.V. Lightbody – Babe, Honestly
Nico Hedley – Late Bloomer
Gracie Gray – Morphine
Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else – Bloodletting
Pleasure Systems – Heirloom
Ana Roxanne – Slowness
Kin Hana – Fog
Rainwater – Pink Flowers
Christelle Bofale – U Ouchea
Prudence – Smile & Nod
Operators – Faithless
Belaver – Driver
Mr Husband – Friends
Rose Hotel – Running Behind
Jeremy Squires – Somersault
Bad Books – Lake House
Yammerer – Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co
Britt – Trial Period
Wild Yawp – Femme Girl
Forest Management – Blue Leaves
Robert Stillman – Ritual
Everyone is Dirty – Hit-Girl
Merin – Coral Island
Lavender Bones – Over Again
Luke De-Sciscio – R.O.B.Y.N.
Anna Wiebe – Fortune
Young Elk – Gossip Magazines
Emma Frank – I Thought
Eamon McGrath – GUTS
Jacob Faurholt – The Dark Isn’t Right

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

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Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else – Hot Spring

Joined by Ben Austin (cello), Grant Engstrom (lead guitar), Pat Lyons (pedal steel),
Tina Scarpello (vocals) and Jack Schemenauer (percussion)—AKA Everyone Else—Spencer Radcliffe has made a new record to be released this month on Run For Cover Records. Adopting something of a country vibe, the release of Hot Spring is timed perfectly, the record concerned with transitions and seasonal change. The title track finds snow once more, winter clinging on or returning unannounced, while second single ‘Bloodletting’ finds something of a reprieve. “Spring is done, the battle’s been won,” Radcliffe sings. “Everyone survived the unloading of guns.” The order of the tracks is flipped on the album itself, lending a new weight to a line in the former: ” You know it’s best not to believe in everything you’re told.”

Christelle Bofale – U Ouchea

Based in Austin, Texas, Christelle Bofale combines soul, dream pop and jazz to form a distinctive sound, drawing upon her Congolese roots to further add to the personal nature of her music. Thematically, the record is one of conflict, from the juxtaposition of gentleness and ferocity in the sound to the lyrical explorations of bravery, honesty and doubt—coalescing into an evocative meditation on the contemporary black experience. Single ‘U Ouchea’ is a worthy introduction, its cyclical nature unfurling slowly across the seven-minute run time, yet underpinned by an oblique tension, some inner force running against the ethereal style.

Emma Frank – I Thought

There’s no one genre tag that will adequately describe the music of Emma Frank. With the pursuit of a number of styles, often within the same song, the New York artist has created a uniquely shifting sound that is never satisfied with remaining in any one place. Be it folk, pop, jazz or R&B, Frank dips into any number of stylistic influences, though the sound is tied together by the honeyed warmth of her vocals.

Having signed with Justin Time Records/Nettwerk, Frank has recently released a brand new single, ‘I Thought.’ The track confronts the impulsive and drastic, the people who change their lives on the whim of tenuous crushes, burning bridges with all that came before in the blinkered blur of the moment. Frank considers herself a member of this group, but the track is a reminder of the value of a slower kind of living—the meaning of things cultivated over time, weathering fleeting fancies to achieve a more substantial weight.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
Don’t burn the bridge that you’re walking over
But I lay the first brick down in the wall between us
I kept the first secret
I kept the first secret

There’s never a limit to how much we change
And I thought we’d finished
I thought I was to blame

Check out a video from the visual artist Ayo Tsalithaba below:

Keep an eye on the Emma Frank website for news of more releases.

Operators – Faithless

Montreal-based project Operators sees Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs), Devojka and Sam Brown (Divine Fits, New Bomb Turks) combine their talents to form an urgently electronic sound. The project feels like the sonic progression of Handsome Furs, synths and beats weaving a pressing sound somewhere between Cold War and sci-fi, Boeckner’s familiar vocal style only adding to the insistent motion.

Ahead of new record Radiant Dawn, Operators have released the single ‘Faithless’. With its rigid beat and cold synths, the song opens as a kind of brutalist pop song, though eventually takes on a variety of other elements so as to form an almost transcendental crescendo.

Radiant Dawn is out on the 17th May via Last Gang Records.

Bad Books – Lake House

Bad Books is a collaborative project between Kevin Devine and Andy Hull and Robert McDowell of Manchester Orchestra. Their first album in seven years, III will be released this summer on Loma Vista Records, and sees Devine and Hull alternate writing duties. The first single, ‘Lake House’ is Hull’s creation, leaning closer to his Right Away, Great Captain! sound than Manchester Orchestra, his distinctive brand of morose hope feeling as striking as ever. “‘Lake House’ is quite a personal song to me, Hull explains. “We tried to place it in a sonic environment that felt three dimensional. Instead of just hearing the song left and right, we wanted to have the sounds feel forward, backwards, above and below.”

III will be released digitally on the 14th June, and physically on the 21st June via Loma Vista Recordings.

Robert Stillman – Reality

Hailing from the northeast United States but now based in the UK, Robert Stillman composes experimental music that incorporates features of classical, jazz, minimalism, electronic and folk, pairing the futuristic digital sounds with a more traditional American style. His latest record, Reality, intends to, as Stillman puts it, “draw attention to, and unconditionally praise, the directly experienced world,” something achieved through an intense attention to detail that conjures a sense of intricacy and wonder. With an intuitive, spontaneous style, the album possess an organic, living spirit, each track its own ecosystem within which the various elements interact and converse.

Rose Hotel – Running Behind

Marking a change from the lo-fi intimacy of debut EP, Always A Good Reason, the forthcoming Rose Hotel (AKA Jordan Reynolds) album embraces a full-band sound. But the record promises to retain the earnest tone that made the debut so special. As such, while I Will Only Come When It’s A Yes displays a variety of influences, from shoegaze to retro girl group, Reynold’s burning spirit acts as the through line. ‘Running Behind’ attests, the track’s upbeat country rock distorted in a kind of Neutral Milk Hotel manner, Reynold’s vocals soaring and swooping within the clamour.

Check out the video directed by Reynolds and filmed/edited by Casey Doran:

I Will Only Come When It’s A Yes is out on the 31st May and you can pre-order it now.

Yammerer – Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co

One of Liverpool’s best kept secrets, Yammerer eschew promotion and social media presence in favour of old fashioned hype, developing a psych-tinged brand of post-punk that’s only as odd as the world from which is emerged. Take new single ‘Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co’, which combines the dark prophecies of Nick Cave with The Fall’s caustic charm and creates a sonic beast of many heads—each snarling and sneering and prone to howls of execration.

‘Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co’ is out now via Restless Bear Records and you can grab/hear it from all of the usual places.

Anna Wiebe – Fortune

New Behaviour, the 2016 debut record of Guelph songwriter Anna Wiebe, might have utilised relatively simple folk arrangements, but rich harmonies and Wiebe’s offbeat style transformed them into nuanced and genre-challenging songs. Her follow-up record All I Do Is Move, said to be concerned with “cycles, and the mental growth and movement that comes with life’s lessons,” promises to see an embrace of more complex arrangements. Though it is Wiebe’s idiosyncratic eye that will again prove to be its biggest strength. Lead single ‘Fortune’ gives us a glimpse at the evolution, the creeping, snaking vibe grown vivid by a full band, Wiebe’s vocals combining with the instrumentation to form a near-hypnotic rhythm.

Merin – Coral Island

Describing themselves as a “melancholy power pop quartet,” Winnipeg-based band Merin combine the bummed-out vibes of slacker rock with a more hopeful spirit, leading to a sound that’s at once grounded and bright. The title track of their latest EP, Coral Island, is perhaps the perfect example. “As I get older and fatter,” sings lead Cole Neusteaeder in the opening line, “I try my best not to just get sadder,” imagining an escape to a tropical island as though warmer climes might stave off the concerns. Only this is the twenty-first century—the coral reefs are dying and the pacific islands are being reclaimed by the sea. At least at the end of the world, we no longer have to worry about growing old and fat.

Check out the literal garage rock video below:

Coral Island is out now and you can get it from the Merin Bandcamp page.

Wild Yawp – Femme Girl

New York’s Wild Yawp is perhaps best described by their own name—WILD (adj): uncontrolled or unrestrained, especially in pursuit of pleasure, YAWP (n): a raucous noise; a cry; a shout. With Emily Bielagus on vocals/guitar, reba hasko drumming and sid solomon providing bass/backup vocals, the band create a boisterous, in-your-face sound that is equal parts fun and aggressive. New single ‘Femme Girl’ being a case in point, taking on the arrogance of Straight White Males with all the energy of a runaway train—combining the caustic wit of The Coathangers with the breakneck snarl of Priests to transform an uncomfortable situation into an affirming one.

Eamon McGrath – GUTS

Eamon McGrath’s prolific career has encompassed a wide range of styles and genres, though his music has always been united by a heartfelt spirit and DIY attitude. Latest single ‘GUTS’ sees an introspective turn, tackling addiction and its accompanying emotions of guilt and sadness with an affirming openness and vulnerability. The tone therefore veers between self-deprecation and a strange kindness, working to acknowledge the frustration of dependence and the poison that brings, while trying to carve out an opening to relieve the pressure in order to start the slow healing process.

The song comes complete with a video by Sheila Roberts and Ryan Brough, with art and performance direction from Michael Bright. Check it out below:

‘GUTS’ is out now and you can get it from the Eamon McGrath Bandcamp page.

If you enjoyed Vol. 24 then be sure to check out all previous Bright Sparks lists, and head on over to our Reviews page for a more in-depth read.

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