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Dutch artist Sander van der Toorn returns to Kit Records, following his much-loved work with analogue-decayed folk duo Love is Yes, in 2024. While Sander's signature haze of tape-smeared synthesis and motorik guitar is ever present, "kom-kom" represents a departure from the elysian warmth of Love's debut.

The industrial throb of tracks like 'FIVE' and 'Rainhum' bear the deconstructed hallmarks of krautrock pioneers Neu!, and even the dystopic glow of artists like Plastikman or Pole. When kom-kom's harmonic ambitions resurface, such as on the synapse-aching 'Dwarsdoor', or the glassy structures of 'Hazenhart', the effect is startling.

van der Toorn cites the inspiration of Morton Feldman and Sarah Davachi when describing his work less as a linear listening experience, more a collection of sculptures that can be viewed from different angles. In this way, kom-kom doesn't have to move forward; the encounter can be one of stillness, of static objects given movement by the beholder's shifting perspective.

Sounds like: John Fahey being stretched into infinitely long pieces of spaghetti.
Recommended if you like: intercontinental rail travel, Mark Fisher, a nice malbec.

Limited edition of 100 cassettes, with risograph printed artwork.

In 1964, Martin Denny looked beyond the Hawaiian and Asian influences of his previous records to find another place to plant his umbrella in the sand, as well as in your drink: the sounds of Latin America. With this new sound to hang his exciting arrangements on, Latin Village has long been considered one of Denny's high-water marks, and Jackpot is thrilled to have this long-cherished LP back in print. This is an album that rips through what was considered "The Now Sound From Overseas," a sophisticated mash-up of sambas, bossa novas, and Latin jazz. From the first track, "Angelito" (the hit song written by Réne y Réne, later to also be covered by Trini Lopez & Herb Albert), all the way through to its closer, "Flying Down To Rio" (a song which Roxy Music later referenced in their 1972 song "Virginia Plain”), the album is a hypnotic listen. Latin Village also drops in some serious jazz numbers, with respected compositions such as "On Green Dolphin Street" by Kaper & Washington (which has been covered by Miles Davis, Bill Evans & Sarah Vaughn), "Malagueña" the sixth movement in Ernesto Lecona's Suite Andalucía & "Corcovado" by Antônio Carlos Jobim (who merged samba with jazz to create bossa nova). Latin Village is comforting in its familiarity within Denny's sonic world, but steps refreshingly out of the smoke-filled Tiki bars of his previous records and straight into the sunlight where this music still strolls around in a listener's heart, soul, and mind. “Latin Village is a triumph of Martin Denny’s search for a new style, post-exotica.” – ALLMUSIC, 4 stars.

Local Action is proud to present Daughters, the debut album by Jennifer Walton.

Walton is a beloved figure across various sectors of the alternative music underground. Outside of her own music and soundtrack work, she has been a live drummer for Kero Kero Bonito, collaborates with Sarah Midori Perry on the pair’s Cryalot project, has remixed Metronomy and worked with Iceboy Violet, BABii and more. She also makes music and DJs with close friends aya and 96 Back under the name Microplastics, and recently contributed to London collective caroline’s acclaimed caroline 2 album.

The first seeds of Walton’s debut album were sowed during touring North America in 2018, where whilst ticking off life-long music goals, Walton’s father was dying of cancer. Grief is a constant presence throughout Daughters, and specifically the surreal nature of having to process it amongst a blur of airports, flight connections, hotel rooms and battles for stolen medication with the American healthcare system. Strip malls, drug deals, panic attacks; the artificiality of downtown American city districts dovetailing with reality in its most brutal form. Miss America for a day while life is changed forever.

Weaving between real life diary entries, travelogue-style storytelling, imagery that ranges from mechanical to religious and a scattering of fiction (though we are obliged to mention that ‘Shelly’ is based on a true story), Daughters climaxes with the staggering run of ‘Saints’, ‘Miss America’ and its title track. Sampling unattended machines harmonising bleeps into the void in a London hospital ward, ‘Saints’ narrates Walton taking her father to and from cancer research trials, “sat, hunched and sick in the concourse as minutes became hours”. And to be very real for a moment, Jen is a friend, and first hearing the ‘Miss America’ demo is up there with the most emotional moments we’ve had in 15 years of running this record label.

Finished in London across the second half of 2024, Daughters features musical contributions from some of the closest friends and collaborators that Walton has made in her time as a musician: aya (who also mixed the album), Daniel S. Evans, Joshua Barfood and Nick Granata (all of Shovel Dance), Alex McKenzie (of caroline and Shovel Dance), Aga Ujma and Bob Lockwood.

High Roller Records, bone vinyl, ltd 300, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, lyric sheet, download code Mit »Romantik III« präsentiert das österreichisch-ungarische Duo Bergfried den Nachfolger von »Romantik I« (2022) und »Romantik II« (2023). Die Formation besteht aus Erech von Lothringen, der alle Intrumente bedient, und Sängerin Anna de Savoy. Der Name Erech von Lothringen ist in Underground-Zirkeln nicht gänzlich unbekannt, ist der Wiener doch Urbeber zahlreicher verschiedener Projekte, vorzugsweise aus dem Black-Metal-Bereich, wobei die Interessen des Bandleaders deutlich breitgefächerter liegen. Beim neuen »Romantik III« handelt es sich um ein ausgesprochen eingängiges, sehr melodisches Album, das hier und gar nicht so düster klingt, wie die Songtitel vermuten lassen könnten. Im positiven Sinne grenzt das Material hier und da schon an Pop („Fallen From Grace“), wobei natürlich (fast) immer Melancholie mitschwingt. Auf »Romantik III« wird Erech von Lothringen unterstützt von Schlagzeuger Fabio Alessandrini (bekannt von Annihilator, Bonfire und Enforcer). Des weiteren sind als Gastsängerinnen neben der beeindruckenden Anna de Savoy aktiv: Maria Nesh von Red Eye Temple, Sarah Kitteringham von Smoulder sowie Damna von Elvenking.

Modern ambient minimalism with early music/baroque influences. Minimal and nuanced, Diary of a Candle is a consoling, melodic suite from acclaimed experimental composer, musician, and producer Faten Kanaan. On this album Faten uses counterpoint as a narrative tool to create music that is mysterious, smudgy, and deeply melodic. From the repetitive structures of modern minimalism and early music/baroque influences - to more languid textural ebbs and tides, there's a warmth in her use of synthesizers that gives her work a curiously timeless feel. Composing intuitively, her music creates its own world - one that isn't easily categorised. Diary of a Candle is punctuated with tender woodwinds and richly-layered strings, touched by the hazy atmospheres of 1970s/1980s films. Its understated heart-on sleeve romanticism follows the rhythm of nature: it bends in the breeze, drifts through the air, and settles on the ground. The ambiance is not an escapism, but the re-focusing of a lens through which humans are no longer the protagonists. Instead, a landscape's intimate details become the central figures. With the sparseness of Hiroshi Yoshimura's 1982 album 'Music for Nine Post Cards' as a starting-point influence, Faten's music exudes a wistful yet hopeful sentiment, honouring moments of beauty in the world around us. Some of the album titles are inspired by East-Asian rites and folkloric superstitions, often related to nature. All music written performed and mixed by Faten Kanaan. Mastered by Heba Kadry(Björk, Bon Iver, John Cale, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Deerhunter, Cate Le Bon, & many more). For fans of Kali Malone, Steve Reich, William Basinski, Sarah Davachi, Stars Of The Lid, , Mary Lattimore and Oneohtrix Point Never.

Auf Doppelvinyl bietet Kuschelrock die schönsten Weihnachtslieder. 24 Titel mit Wham!, Chris Rea, Melanie Thornton, José Feliciano, Shakin Stevens, Kelly Clarkson, Coldplay, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Bing Crosby und vielen mehr

Am 13. Oktober 2023 verabschiedete sich die Melbourne-Band Camp Cope mit einem letzten Auftritt vor einem begeisterten, ausverkauften Publikum in der legendären Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Zwei Jahre später haben Run For Cover & Poison City Records ,The Final Show - Live at Sydney Opera House", um diesen besonderen Moment der Band bei ihrem letzten Live-Auftritt zu feiern. Die Vinylversion dieser Veröffentlichung enthält neun Songs aus dem letzten Auftritt, darunter Titel aus jedem der beliebten Alben der Band. Dazu gehören Songs wie ,Lost (Season One)" aus ihrem selbstbetitelten Debütalbum sowie Titel aus ,How to Socialise Make Friends" von 2018 und ihrem Abschiedsalbum ,Running with the Hurricane" von 2022. Alle Elemente, die die Musik von Camp Cope so besonders machen, sind hier versammelt - Bassistin Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich und Sarah Thompsons Schlagzeug harmonieren wieder einmal perfekt miteinander, während Gitarristin Jennifer Aslett die unverwechselbare Stimme von Sängerin Georgia Maq mit noch mehr Stimmung untermalt. Die Band ist auch nicht allein - Julia Jacklin ist bei ,The Screaming Planet" dabei, und ein Chor aus Freunden wie Rin McArdle und Courtney Hartmann singt bei ,Sing Your Heart Out" mit. Camp Cope beendet diesen letzten Auftritt passenderweise mit ,The Opener" - einem Song, der von den unglücklichen Erfahrungen einer Band inspiriert ist, die versucht, sich in einer sexistischen, von Männern dominierten Musikszene zurechtzufinden. Hellmrichs unverkennbare Basslinie eröffnet diese letzte, erweiterte Version des Songs, den die Band über zehn Minuten lang spielt. Begleitet von einem Chor aus Freunden auf der Bühne und einem ganzen Opernhaus voller Fans, die mitsingen, wirken die letzten Zeilen des Songs über anfängliche Ablehnung wie eine erfüllte Prophezeiung: ,See how far we've come not listening to you."

[k] 11Wall Guitar (Since You Said Goodbye) [feat. Vince Gill]

THE CULT 1994 ALBUM FROM THE ENIGMATIC NORWEGIAN BLACKENED DOOMSTERS.
PRESENTED ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME. Carpathian Full Moon formed in Norway in 1992 & was responsible for the sole full-length album, ‘Serenades In Blood Minor’; considered somewhat of a lost classic of melodic Scandinavian blackened doom. The style was reminiscent of acts such as Ophthalamia, as opposed to the more traditional & conventional style of black metal which was sweeping Europe at the time. ‘Serenades In Blood Minor’ was originally released on Avantgarde Music in 1994 & showcased refined musicianship as well as an eclectic mix of influences, whilst incorporating elements of progressive music into the compositions to give a rich texture throughout (members went on to form the more prog rock based act, Julia Dream). A darkly atmospheric opus which evoked the grandiose nature of black metal, but with a more melodic & often sombre doom core, ‘Serenades In Blood Minor’ saw Carpathian Full Moon sculpting an identity of their own with this release, before eventually splitting up. ‘Serenades In Blood Minor’ was recorded & mixed in October & November 1993, at Waterfall Studios in Oslo & is presented for the first time on the vinyl format. "

"Album Blurb:
Robert Plant's ""Saving Grace"", sein erstes Album mit einer neuen, hochkarätig besetzten Band, ist, wie er es nennt, ""ein Liederbuch der Verlorenen und Gefundenen"". Es entstand während der Lockdowns in „The Shire“, als Plants übliches Umherwandern fast verboten war. Auf dem englischen Land fand er engen Kontakt zu einer Gruppe von Musikern - der Sängerin Suzi Dian, dem Schlagzeuger Oli Jefferson, dem Gitarristen Tony Kelsey, dem Banjo- und Streicherspieler Matt Worley und dem Cellisten Barney Morse-Brown -, die alle eine gemeinsame Vorliebe für seine stimmungsvollen Lieder hatten. Saving Grace wurde von Plant und der Band produziert und über sechs Jahre hinweg in den Cotswolds und an den walisischen Grenzen aufgenommen. Das Album haucht einem Schatz von Songs von Memphis Minnie, Bob Mosley (Moby Grape), Blind Willie Johnson, The Low Anthem, Martha Scanlan, Sarah Siskind und Low neues Leben ein."

"Album Blurb:
Robert Plant's ""Saving Grace"", sein erstes Album mit einer neuen, hochkarätig besetzten Band, ist, wie er es nennt, ""ein Liederbuch der Verlorenen und Gefundenen"". Es entstand während der Lockdowns in „The Shire“, als Plants übliches Umherwandern fast verboten war. Auf dem englischen Land fand er engen Kontakt zu einer Gruppe von Musikern - der Sängerin Suzi Dian, dem Schlagzeuger Oli Jefferson, dem Gitarristen Tony Kelsey, dem Banjo- und Streicherspieler Matt Worley und dem Cellisten Barney Morse-Brown -, die alle eine gemeinsame Vorliebe für seine stimmungsvollen Lieder hatten. Saving Grace wurde von Plant und der Band produziert und über sechs Jahre hinweg in den Cotswolds und an den walisischen Grenzen aufgenommen. Das Album haucht einem Schatz von Songs von Memphis Minnie, Bob Mosley (Moby Grape), Blind Willie Johnson, The Low Anthem, Martha Scanlan, Sarah Siskind und Low neues Leben ein."

RELEASE INFO: Robert Plant's "Saving Grace", sein erstes Album mit einer neuen, hochkarätig besetzten Band, ist, wie er es nennt, "ein Liederbuch der Verlorenen und Gefundenen". Es entstand während der Lockdowns in „The Shire“, als Plants übliches Umherwandern fast verboten war. Auf dem englischen Land fand er engen Kontakt zu einer Gruppe von Musikern - der Sängerin Suzi Dian, dem Schlagzeuger Oli Jefferson, dem Gitarristen Tony Kelsey, dem Banjo- und Streicherspieler Matt Worley und dem Cellisten Barney Morse-Brown -, die alle eine gemeinsame Vorliebe für seine stimmungsvollen Lieder hatten. Saving Grace wurde von Plant und der Band produziert und über sechs Jahre hinweg in den Cotswolds und an den walisischen Grenzen aufgenommen. Das Album haucht einem Schatz von Songs von Memphis Minnie, Bob Mosley (Moby Grape), Blind Willie Johnson, The Low Anthem, Martha Scanlan, Sarah Siskind und Low neues Leben ein. MARKETING: Umfassende Marketingkampagne mit Print-Anzeigen in MINT, Classic Rock, ROCKS, Slam Magazine und GoodTimes. Begleitend Digitalmarketing mit Fokus auf Onlineversandhändler.

“'Lyceum' is a fountainhead of unqualified greatness. It’s a strange, sad sound harking back to old school tunesmanship – Aztec Camera, ‘Rattlesnakes’, prime-time Felt – but the whole affair is permeated with a resonant, almost tearful quality. ‘Lyceum’ is reminiscent of Galaxie 500’s ‘Today’ in that it sounds like it cost less than a round of drinks to produce. But the lo fi sound merely enhances the misty glazed-pop sound and raises the hallelujah choruses to the forefront. Rather than drowning them in production mush. Don’t pass it by”.
– Bob Stanley, Melody Maker 1989
Hailing from the suburbs of Glasgow, this five-piece are best known for their three starry-eyed albums on the renowned Sarah Records - this being an expanded version of their first (an eight-track 10” at the time).
By the tail end of the 1980s the independent music scene in the UK was turning its back on the polish and over-indulgence of the mid-80s with its gated drums and wallpaper production. And those who weren’t stretching the boundaries of sonic innovation had tuned back to the post-punk ethos of ramshackle charm and zealous melody, even dousing the spirit with some political fervour once more. Influences were more likely to be Television and the Television Personalities than MTV.
The Orchids and The Sea Urchins were the first two bands to release 7” singles on the Sarah label having previously begun their recording existence on a shared flexi disc in 1987 (The Sea Urchins went on to become Delta, whose classic album ‘Slippin' Out’ from 2000 will be the second release on Circuitry). The Scottish five-piece released ‘I’ve Got a Habit’ and ‘Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink’ as EPs before really finding their feet with ‘Lyceum’; the tracks, remastered from the original Toad Hall tapes are included on this reissue as are the three songs from the ‘What Will We Do Next?’ 7” (this collection closes with the frazzled stretch that is ‘Yawn’). 'Lyceum' was originally released in August 1989.
The album opens with ‘It’s Only Obvious’ and its gloriously youthful chorus of “who needs tomorrow when all I need, all I needed was you”. James Hackett somehow appears both forthright and rejected, something that one of their musical heroes The Go-Betweens also had down to a fine art. It barely takes a breath until midway through side two where ‘Hold On’ (sounding suspiciously like an unlikely objective) descends into the intro of ‘Blue Light’, the counted-in ‘1, 2, 3, 4’ whispered like the most hopelessly dejected rally. If that sounds depressing it isn’t. This record by The Orchids was a spirited source of comfort for an 18 year old at the time and still shudders with the best type of melancholy, one that’s spirited not indulgent. If you’re not familiar with the band’s charm, this is where you should begin.
'Lyceum' is released on double black vinyl by new label Circuitry.

As with The Limiñanas, rock is here an affair of the heart. Between new wave pleasures, psychedelic sensibilities and nods to the great sixties icons, Her Wild Love maintains the passion, without ever curbing the love of risk. Faithful to its intuitions, the duo refines the contours of a singular style. From Sarah's words to Rafael's notes, the pieces embroidered by Her Wild Love find their own balance. Crossed by cinematographic atmospheres and melancholic effluences, their music evokes the black magic of Mazzy Star, the incantations of PJ Harvey, but also the audacity of a band like Warpaint.

Saint Etienne kündigen mit 'International' ihr 13. und zugleich letztes Studioalbum an, das am 5. September 2025 bei Heavenly Recordings erscheint. Nach 35 Jahren Bandgeschichte, unzähligen Stilwechseln und Projekten jenseits der Musik ziehen Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley und Pete Wiggs damit einen Schlussstrich unter ihr gemeinsames Schaffen im Studio. International ist ein stilistisch vielseitiges Album, das von langjährigen Weggefährten, Heldinnen und Freundinnen mitgestaltet wurde – darunter Confidence Man, Vince Clarke, Erol Alkan, Paul Hartnoll (Orbital) und Nick Heyward. Die Songs spiegeln sowohl den nostalgischen Rückblick als auch die ungebrochene kreative Neugier der Band wider. Mit dem bewegenden Abschlusstrack Last Time verabschiedet sich das Trio endgültig von seinen Fans – aufrichtig, wehmütig und voller Wärme.

Saint Etienne kündigen mit 'International' ihr 13. und zugleich letztes Studioalbum an, das am 5. September 2025 bei Heavenly Recordings erscheint. Nach 35 Jahren Bandgeschichte, unzähligen Stilwechseln und Projekten jenseits der Musik ziehen Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley und Pete Wiggs damit einen Schlussstrich unter ihr gemeinsames Schaffen im Studio. International ist ein stilistisch vielseitiges Album, das von langjährigen Weggefährten, Heldinnen und Freundinnen mitgestaltet wurde – darunter Confidence Man, Vince Clarke, Erol Alkan, Paul Hartnoll (Orbital) und Nick Heyward. Die Songs spiegeln sowohl den nostalgischen Rückblick als auch die ungebrochene kreative Neugier der Band wider. Mit dem bewegenden Abschlusstrack Last Time verabschiedet sich das Trio endgültig von seinen Fans – aufrichtig, wehmütig und voller Wärme.

Rockitman and Millennium Man were recorded in the summer of 1996 around the time bushpilot re-emerged from a hiatus following making the recordings that would become the album '23' to appear 3 times in short sucession at that years Leeds Sound City festival. The appearances led to interest from a major label in the USA, but as usual life got in the way ..With a new drummer in the shape of Nick Tonge of Leeds heavy noise merchants Zoopisa Rockit man and Millennium Man took from improvisations developed working with legendary Leeds producer Richard Formby in his studio and turning them more into songs: Richard thinks of them as 'Frankenstein creations'. We think noise rock with heavy Can influence compressed into two 3 and half minutes blasts of furious joy.The video was created by award winning Leeds artist Sarah Doyle, who also created the cover artwork. The video stars British rocker Vince Taylor, a key unfluence on a young David Bowie, and a host of model spaceships.
Originally intended for release in 2021, well covid got in the way, so here it is at last!

A city pop solo album released exclusively in Australia under the name "Hiroshi" by the renowned guitarist "Hiroshi Yasukawa (ex-DEW)" who has participated in works such as Jiro Inagaki and Soul Media's "Funky Stuff", Kingo Hamada's "Midnight Cruisin'" and Hatsumi Shibata's "Live/Entertainment Special". After about 41 years, this is the first reissue with obi and made in Japan!

For most members of the band it's the best album. But, tragically, the release of Operation Heavenly in 1996 was overshadowed by the sudden death of drummer Mathew Fletcher. The promotional tour was cancelled, the surviving members of the band went into emotional hibernation and no-one could bring themselves to celebrate these vibrant, upbeat songs. So, this release by Skep Wax Records, nearly thirty years on, is more like an album launch than a re-issue. Time has healed most wounds, and the songs on Operation Heavenly feel like they can finally emerge onto the stage, with Mathew's spirit very much alive: his effervescent witty drumming sounding as fresh now as it did then. These tracks are gleeful, melodic, sophisticated and knowing. The tough riot grrrl edge that Heavenly had developed a year before with seminal singles P.U.N.K. Girl and Atta Girl, has been blended with a deliberate quantity of Britpop styling. Heavenly were clearly listening to what was going on, liked the energy, but didn't necessarily feel the need to join in. Some of the tracks (eg Ben Sherman) are as jaunty as early Blur, but the lyrics, mocking a narcissistic boyfriend for his obsession with hair, clothes and his own erections, show that Heavenly didn't need or want to be part of the la - or even ladette - herd. Operation Heavenly was the band's first release on a label other than Sarah Records. Matt Haynes and Clare Wadd had brought that exceptional label to a deliberate and dramatic end. The liaison with US punk label K Records continued - as did the duets with Calvin Johnson: Pet Monkey is a moving duet between a growling Calvin Johnson and a sweet-voiced Cathy Rogers, as they dramatize another complex, maybe doomed relationship, with another self-centred boy finding himself frustrated by a girl who won't take any shit. But in the UK, Heavenly needed to find a new home - and Wiija Records were welcoming hosts, ushering the band into a brasher, less cloistered world: the production on this album is brighter than before, the artwork is colourful and upbeat. With tracks as catchy and as complete as Fat Lenny, Trophy Girlfriend and Space Manatee there was an expectation that Heavenly might finally emerge from the indiepop shadows and trouble the charts. And who knows if this might have happened. Mathew was lost before the album was released, and the band had no choice but to bring things to an end. This reissue also contains two tracks that appeared on the B side of the 7" single of Space Manatee. They are both cover versions, and along with Serge Gainsbourg's Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges on the main album, these vivacious assaults on Art School by The Jam and You Tore Me Down by The Flamin' Groovies show that the band, briefly in its prime, could happily embrace any variant of pop music and make it something Heavenly.

Since its founding back in 2014, Blume has carved a unique place in cultural landscape, issuing free-standing works, spanning the historical and contemporary, that represent singular gestures of creativity within the field of experimental sound. Joining their broad efforts in building networks of context and understanding that already includes the works by Werner Durand, Sarah Hennies, Bruce Nauman, John Butcher, Jocy de Oliveira, Mary Jane Leach, Valentina Magaletti, Alvin Curran, Julius Eastman, Alvin Lucier, and following the first ever vinyl release to attend to James Tenney's legendary Postal Pieces, the label now presents the first LP published by the visionary Swiss composer Jürg Frey. Drawing from the transformative power of breath and resonance, this release represents one of the most profound explorations of musical metamorphosis to emerge from the contemporary experimental landscape.

The completed work represents a "conjunction of these two artists" that has "activated a transformative form of experimentalism." These renderings "dance with an airy lightness, humour, and play, imbuing them with a beauty and emotiveness that can be rare within experimental music." They exist as "breaths, carrying the curiosities of life, belonging to no time and all time, to no one and everyone: a human music to be inhaled and pondered, for which the outcome remains unknown." In this liminal space between composition and interpretation, between breath and resonance, Zurria and Frey have created something that transcends the boundaries of experimental music itself, offering what might be called a metaphysical cartography of sound in its most essential form. As Bradford Bailey observes in his penetrating liner notes, "music is rarely a fixed entity," existing instead in a state of perpetual flux, "taking on the influences of its interpreters and performers." This fundamental truth finds its most eloquent expression in the transformative collaboration between Italian flutist Manuel Zurria and Frey, longtime member of the Wandelweiser Group. Where conventional recordings might preserve a definitive version, this release activates what Bailey calls "states of unknowing and continued experimentation," allowing Frey's compositions to evolve into entirely new dimensional territories. The original string quartet and piano works dissolve into breath-carried architectures of sound, where "the original remains in a constant dialogue with its transformation." This is not mere arrangement but ontological metamorphosis - an alchemical process through which crystalline harmonies are reborn as atmospheric phenomena.

The metaphysical dimensions of this transformation become clear through detailed analysis of the musical result. Where Frey's original compositions operate through what he calls "basic confidence in the clear and restricted material," Zurria's interpretation activates entirely new perceptual territories. Space holds almost atomic sense of weight against the airy punctuations of timbres, textures, and tones, creating "suspensions of time within which questions and identities posed by instrumentation fade." The Extended Circular Music pieces - each comprising "a small number of bars to be repeated an undetermined number of times" - become organizations of sound that defy being definitive or fixed. Originally scored for different combinations of violin, viola, cello, and piano, these works now exist as pure phenomena of breath and resonance, where "hanging, breath-length utterances dance and intertwine amongst complex harmonic clusters and conjunctions."

The philosophical implications of this transformation illuminate a lineage of composers who have moved "away from abstraction and responding to the need to create" something beyond mere technique. Drawing parallels to Morton Feldman's understanding of non-functional harmony, Zurria's approach represents "a transformative form of experimentalism" that activates what Frey calls the "thaumaturgic power" of music - its capacity to heal and transform consciousness itself. The result is "a radical reimagining of ambience: sprawling sonorities and resonances adrift in space, carrying the liberated traces of the work's former incarnations and their truths." In Zurria's interpretation, Frey's String Quartet n.3 becomes something approaching "an organ played in slow motion, its seals leaking," while the Extended Circular Music pieces transform into "glacial chords from a diverse palette of voicings, harmonies, timbres, and tones."

Performed by Manuel Zurria. Recorded and mixed by Zurria at BigCardo, Catania between 2022-2024, with mastering by Bruno Germano at Vacuumstudio, Bologna, this Blume release represents a profound exploration of musical transformation.

Folk-Musik hat die schlechte Angewohnheit, als eine todernste Angelegenheit dargestellt zu werden. Sie ist etwas, zu dem man weint, sie ist übermäßig heilig, sie ist feierlich von Kritikern und Historikern betrachtet. Aber das Folk Bitch Trio, die ehemaligen Highschool-Freundinnen Heide Peverelle (,they/them"), Jeanie Pilkington (,she/her") und Gracie Sinclair (,she/her"), haben einen gemeinsamen Sinn für Humor , der tief in ihre Musik eingebettet ist und sie zum Leuchten bringt, sicher vor den selbsternsten Fallen des Genres. Now Would Be A Good Time, ihr Debütalbum, erzählt lebendige, viszerale Geschichten und ist witzig und dunkel-ironisch in der Art von Schriftstellerinnen wie Mary Gaitskill oder Otessa Moshfegh. Ihre Musik klingt vertraut, aber die Songs sind modern, jugendlich, singen akut durch dissoziative Tagträume und ärgerliche Trennungen, sexuelle Fantasien und Medienüberflutung, all die belanglosen Ressentiments und kleinen Demütigungen, die Anfang zwanzig in den 2020ern sind. ,Cathode Ray" beginnt mit Vorsicht, seine ersten Harmonien kommen in großen, schleifenden Seufzern an. Es ist verletzlich, aber auch ein wenig bedrohlich, mit , einem weit offenen Refrain und einem geräumigen, luftigen Beat, der alles verankert. ,Moth Song", ein Song über unerwiderte Liebe und ,von so durchgedreht zu sein, dass man sich wie im Wahn fühlt und verrückte Dinge halluziniert", bildet das sparsame Herzstück des Albums, wobei Anita Clarks wogende Geigenstimme wie in einem Traum in den Fokus hinein- und wieder herausdriftet. Andere Songs sind nicht so schräg, sondern schildern brutal vertraute Momente am Ende von Beziehungen: Der spannungsgeladene, emotional flüchtige Torch-Song ,The Actor" handelt laut Peverelle davon, ,zur One-Woman-Show deines Partners zu gehen und dann Schluss zu machen". In ,Hotel TV", einer hypnotischen, nächtlichen Träumerei, geht es darum, ,einen Sextraum über zu haben, während man neben seinem Partner sitzt, und der Partner ist ein Lügner", erklärt Pilkington. Die stärkste Verbindung zwischen dem Trio, abgesehen von der Freundschaft, ist Musik. ,Wir haben alle darüber gesprochen, dass wir Musik liebten, als wir aufwuchsen, , und dass wir wussten, dass Musik ein großer Teil unseres Lebens sein sollte", sagt Pilkington. Dieses Gefühl, dass Musik eine angeborene Berufung ist, im Gegensatz zu Hobby oder Torheit, war berechtigt: Das Folk Bitch Trio tourte bereits auf durch Australien, Europa und die USA und unterstützte dabei so unterschiedliche Bands wie King Gizzard, Alex G und Julia Jacklin. Sie haben bei Jagjaguwar unterschrieben, einer Heimat für einzigartige Ikonen und Ikonoklasten (Bon Iver, Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, UMO und andere), und sie haben ihre ersten eingefleischten Fans mit schillernden Harmonien und bissiger Lyrik gefunden, die über Genreerwartungen und Publikumsgrenzen hinausgehen. Das sind die Herausforderungen: Es geht darum zu lernen, wie man ein Leben ohne Liebeskummer und Verlierer-Ex lebt, wann man im zeitgenössischen Nihilismus versinkt und wann man mit seinen Freunden lacht, und warum sich das Leben so flüchtig und unwirklich anfühlen kann. In diesem Sinne fühlt sich Now Would Be A Good Time wie ein Handbuch für das moderne Leben an: eine Botschaft dreier stolzer Folk Bitches, die gemeinsam Schönheit und Weisheit finden, wo sie können.

Alice is a vocal harmony trio made up of three persons, joined by a cheap synth and limited virtuosity. Together, they craft a kind of future folklore that’s part funny, part apocalyptic — half-soft, half-harsh, half-sad, half-simple, half-complex, half-controlled, half-Yvonne Harder, half-Sarah André, half-Lisa Harder.

Since their last album L’Oiseau Magnifique, Alice have spent time on the road — in cars, in trains, out in the open. Accustomed to writing outdoors, they slowly stitched together a collection of new songs. After two years of performing in clubs, bars, stairwells, carpentry workshops, activist agricultural fairs and roadside shoulders, they took their Oiseau Magnifique just about everywhere. It felt like time to sew these new pieces together — a quilt of humour and soft words, something we could really use in these half-sweet, half-fascist times.

Les Châteaux Faibles is the name of one of their latest songs, and naturally, the title of their new album. It captures the group’s ethos perfectly — a search for refuge in fragility, in a weakness that’s better when shared. A collective sensitivity to bring us closer, stronger — united in our Châteaux Faibles.

Bitterviper is an all-new configuration of individuals and intent. Nikos Veliotis (cello), Taku Unami (synthesizer), Sarah Hennies (percussion) and David Grubbs (piano, guitars) have all participated - solo and as collaborators - in some of the most striking avant music-making of the past couple of decades. Their quartet"s collective minimalist interplay passes through dense harmonic fields, transcendentally ionized ambient moods and soundtracks.

Alice is a vocal harmony trio made up of three persons, joined by a cheap synth and limited virtuosity. Together, they craft a kind of future folklore that"s part funny, part apocalyptic - half-soft, half-harsh, half-sad, half-simple, half-complex, half-controlled, half-Yvonne Harder, half-Sarah André, half-Lisa Harder.

Nach den Erfolgen des Merchcowboy Mixtapes Vol. 1 und Vol. 2 erscheint am 18. Juli 2025 der dritte Teil des Benefizsamplers. Dieses Mal unterstützt man #LeaveNoOneBehind sowie PRO ASYL und stellt sich so klar gegen Rechtsruck und Ausgrenzung und positioniert sich für bedingungslose Humanität. Unter anderen unterstützen Die Toten Hosen, Die Ärzte, Deichkind, Broilers, Heaven Shall Burn, Donots, Madsen, Grossstadtgeflüster, Sondaschule, Montreal, Deine Cousine, Juli, Ebow, Lara Hulo, H-Blockx, Heisskalt und viele weitere der bekanntesten Namen der deutschen, alternativen Musikszene das Projekt. Allesamt Bands und Künstler*innen, die politisch aktiv sind und sich für eine weltoffene, tolerante Gesellschaft einsetzen. Das Merchcowboy Mixtape Vol. 3 wird durch Musik Spenden für die Organisationen #LeaveNoOneBehind sowie PRO ASYL sammeln. Also genau die Organisationen, die sich täglich für die Förderung gelebter Demokratie, die Unterstützung von Geflüchteten sowie Bekämpfung von Faschismus einsetzen. Alle Bands und Künstler*innen verzich-ten hierbei auf Gagen - der Erlös aus dem Verkauf des Samplers wird vollständig zu gleichen Anteilen an beide Organisationen gespendet.

The band has shared bills with Billy Strings, Sierra Hull, Sarah Jaroz, Della Mae, Tony
Trischka, Michael Daves, earned spotlights from The Bluegrass Situation, Bluegrass
Today, Folk Alley, WFUV, American Songwriter, and spent fve weeks atop the Roots
Music Report Traditional Bluegrass Song Chart. Their frst album in four years,
Homegrown features three Woody Guthrie songs (including Woody's iconic "Pastures
of Plenty"), a Woody Guthrie/ Arlo Guthrie cowrite, and songs by Peter Rowan and
John Hartford."

The Night/Tainted Love, is the latest 45 release from BDQ featuring Sarah Orpen on vocals, and is taken from the forthcoming album The Ultimate BDQ, for this single we decided to go big or go home, both of these tunes are our absolute favourites, and were so much fun to record.

The Night is an all time banger and an absolute floor filler, the Frankie Valli version is a brilliant tune, so we thought why not bring this album project to a close with a female vocal version, and Sarah as usual knocked it out of the park with her slamming vocal take on this fabulous classic.

Tainted Love is a tune that we all agreed would be fun to record, and we weren’t wrong its no mean feat to approach a tune of this magnitude with the full respect it deserves, the bass line thunders along driving the tune like an express train in a hurry to deliver the goods, and yet again Sarah was well up to the task, this tune fits a lot of punch into its 2 minutes 18 seconds, we hope you enjoy it as much as we do

Albums are usually released and then a couple of single releases are taken from the album, however we decided to flip this usual way of doing things on its head, we have released almost all of the tunes on 45 first, and now we are busy compiling them into the album, which i have to say is sounding great.

This release brings this covers project to a close with a bang, the album will bring all of them together as one with some updated mixes with subtle changes to the 45s.

“Extremely highhgrade psych” (MOJO, 2024) “Immaculate sounding new psychedelia“ (Maggot Brain, 2024) “Alexander succeeds in capturing the post-psych grandeur that he’s aiming for while also creating one of his headiest offerings yet” (Raven Sings The Blues) “Psych lifer in a bloozy Americana mode. The whole thing hangs loose like a frayed rope tied to a river tube… essentially, a choogler’s dream.” (Viking’s Choice / NPR Music) “Plug in and space your face” (Aquarium Drunkard) Originally on Tape via Arrowhawk (please go check more releases on this wonderful label) - Now on Vinyl Presented in a high gloss laminated outer sleeve with artwork by Jake Blanchard - Both sets of art joining together to complete the picture. 36 minutes of sonic bliss for your ears and brain. Side 1 - Dark Star Side 2 - Dark Star (continued) "Jeffrey Alexander is a lifer. He has been flirting around the underground for the past thirty years - starting in Baltimore in the mid-90s and later percolating in Providence, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and, now, Philadelphia. Throughout this span, he has run various record labels, worked in a bunch of record shops, organized music festivals, managed live venues, FM deejayed, jammed econo, booked endless tours and performed in a gaggle of groups from Black Forest / Black Sea to Dire Wolves to Jackie-O Motherfucker to The Iditarod and points in-between. And now we have The Heavy Lidders. Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders takes the freaked improvisation of Alexander’s instrumental band - DWLVS / Dire Wolves Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band - into the world of song. Heady songwriting, ethereal jazz and Trad Gras-y blues stomps all feature. Backed by members of Elkhorn and Kohoutek. This vinyl (in 2 volumes) you hold in your hands is a collection of live Lidders that will surely wax your stem, and how! When Record Crates United invited JA+THL to perform at their inaugural garden party, not only did the Lidders show up with a one-off Live/Dead cover as a surprise gift for Keith and Sarah, but they rolled in with the Jesse Sheppard mobile multi-track truck, as well. Fucking pros, mate. Most of the material here was captured that sunny afternoon in suburban New Jersey - and thank the Godz that we have this plastic burner. I missed the set, but Kenneth Higney was there and gave it two thumbs up! I know them Lidders have a deluxe studio LP lined up for September, but til then, this little box will comfortably help you break on through. But don’t be fooled into thinking this is a mere EP. It’s SEVENTY SIX minutes of pure medicated goo. Now dose your capstan and pinch your roller. Shit is about to get Lidded." - Glen Burnout (on Sun Ra’s arrival day 2023)

BPitch Berlin setzt die Erweiterung seiner Klangwelt fort und präsentiert die neunte Ausgabe von WE ARE NOT ALONE, einer 12-Track-Compilation, die eine Brücke zwischen verschiedenen Formen und Rahmen schlägt, die von einer echten Liebe für den Underground zusammengehalten werden.

Jede WE ARE NOT ALONE-Compilation ist ein Beweis für die stilistische und genreübergreifende Vielfalt, die BPitch ausmacht, und bietet einen Einblick in verschiedene Subkulturen und verbindet Künstler aus aller Welt mit einer gemeinsamen Vision. Von Acid bis Industrial, von EBM bis Trance - Genrebezeichnungen verpuffen und machen einem Gefühl Platz, das jedem Künstler die Möglichkeit gibt, seine eigene Interpretation einer Energie zu dokumentieren, die das Label und die Veranstaltungsreihe seit ihren Anfängen getragen hat. Verspielt wie immer, ohne dabei den funktionalen Kern von Techno aus den Augen zu verlieren, ist WE ARE NOT ALONE pt. 9 ein Versuch, ein Gefühl zu dokumentieren, und eine wichtige Momentaufnahme einiger der aufregendsten Stimmen der elektronischen Musik.

Prism Shores are Montreal janglers with one foot planted in ramshackle C86-indebted indie pop and the other in the shimmer of early English shoegaze. While their sound is reminiscent of perennial genre reference points (Sarah, Creation, Flying Nun), the band leaves their own idiosyncratic stamp. Out From Underneath, their new record due out January 17, 2025, on Meritorio Records, tackles young adult ennui and the adjustment of settling in an unfamiliar city, its lyrics dealing with the growing pains experienced during a time of upheaval. It is contemplative and chock-full of emotional depth; a nighttime album that channels self-reflexive melancholy into some form of catharsis.

[e] A5 Emotional; Producer – EasyFX; Producer [Vocals Produced By] – Patrik Berger; Written-By – A. G. Cook, Charli XCX, Finn Keane (2), Fredrik Berger, Martin Stilling, Patrik Berger

Murder by Death has earned a much needed break. The 25 years the band has spent on the road have been catching up to them lately, so they’ve decided to take a step back from touring before it grinds them to dust. This year, they’ll be embarking on a massive farewell tour, hitting more than 50 cities in the US, UK, and Canada. And as their parting gift, they are leaving behind their tenth album, Egg & Dart. Murder by Death has accomplished more than they’d ever dreamed since forming in Bloomington, Indiana, in 2000, when Turla and cellist Sarah Balliet started the project with fellow college dorm-mates under the name Little Joe Gould. They traveled the world several times over, released ten studio albums, built an intensely dedicated following, and shared stages with artists from a wide array of genres.

Listening to CD3, I'm reminded of how the Vincent Over The Sink record '22 Coloured Bull Terriers' made me feel all those years ago. There's a free ranging quality to it.

It feels calmly capable of doing whatever it wants. It feels mysterious and self-generating, almost aloof to the humans who made it. I adored that record; it cascaded into so many epiphanies.

I don't want to implicate Cooper and David's music in any fleeting desire towards currency, but listening to this CD3 record over the last few weeks has felt weirdly, thematically correct. There's an echo-ey kind of referentiality to it. Not to particular styles of music, but to the recently elapsed histories those styles of music evoke. It's something that Th Blisks kind of gestures towards, but which this project seems to own entirely.

It's a kind of melted reconfiguration of popular (occasionally popular-on-the-fringes) styles. These familiar sounds are reconfigured and muddied. Hindsight frames the sources in an almost primordial light, to the extent that they feel like folk art.

Glyphted and Franzbranntwein sound like pop songs stripped to their bones and distorted, as if the styles they vaguely recall are as old as time. It's a stunningly weird effect. Songs like The Duchess and Farmhand exacerbate this impression. The record comes to feel yearningly ahistorical. But in a way that feels pertinent?

It might just be where my head is at, but the implacable nature of the record feels important to me, somehow. It's something far, far north of post-modern but... ancient too. - Shaun Prescott

Divine Dances. In plural form.
The fourth album from DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson couldn't have a more explicit title.


Masters of emotions and feelings, the duo has always known how to express melancholy and nostalgia with precision. Yet this time, all their efforts have concentrated on a single goal: taking listeners by the hand—no, by the ear, obviously!—to bring everyone back to the dance floor and explore a variety of atmospheres together.


And naturally, a variety of styles. Funk, ndombolo, electro, hip hop or zouk, each new vibration discovered carries away the previous one to form a dancefloor where all eventually come together.
Divinely light.


The body, surrendered to this call to dance in all its forms, has been so caught up in the whirlwind of groove that the mind has fallen in behind it to continue as one. Words explode into syllables that metamorphose into notes, then perfectly align with those from the score.


One second. A bit of attention. Caught by an irrepressible groove, then comes the moment to slalom through melodies to discover, at the turn of a rhyme, a new meaning. Approached head-on, certain overly serious themes would empty the room and bring the atmosphere down to lead levels. The diagonal approach, humor, and apparent nonchalance of the two men are the best weapons at their disposal. Their Trojan horse to put substance into their form(s). To evoke transidentity, consent, economic malaise as well as the spiritual, or to tell little stories of frustrated loves, seemingly insoluble but which will end well.


Anthony Hilaire for Creole words, Sarah Solo for hip-swiveling soukous, Patrick Bebey for pygmy flute notes, and Grégoire Mahé to bring electricity to DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson's songs; styles blend in a musicality worked into its smallest interstices.


Gathered on this dance floor illuminated with 80s disco brilliance, you observe brassy notes slithering under the electronic veneer, synthesizer keys splashed by furious hip movements. To raise your eyes to connect with the spiritual is to watch the sky become constellated with crystalline Fender Rhodes notes, destined to fall like rain on the heavy bass of afrobeat groove.
Smiles attached to faces, no one should think they can get through the ten tracks of Divine Dances while remaining seated : he's doomed to fail.


OUT MAY 2025 DELUXE WHITE VINYL 180 G /CD / DIGITAL

The band is guitarist and vocalist Zedek, bassist Winston Braman, and drummer Gavin McCarthy (Karate), now joined by newest member, pedal steel guitarist Karen Sarkisian. On The Boat Outside Your Window, Sarkisian"s counter melodies and oblique augmentations created with non-traditional tools like an ebow, add an otherworldly quality to songs. The grit of Zedek"s guitar and drive of Braman and McCarthy are met with synth-like swells and more harmonic density. The album features guests Nancy Asch (percussion) and Beth Heinberg (piano) whose subtle touches are added to "Shoes" and "Aliyah". The record was recorded with Andy Hong, mixed by Seth Manchester, and mastered by Sarah Register. Zedek"s mastery of songwriting is on full display on The Boat Outside Your Window. Her unique musical voice remains potent and pointed. Cultivating her sound with purpose and an unflinching view of humanity, Zedek"s words and music are both invigorating, and capable of deep emotional complexities. The Boat Outside Your Window is Thalia Zedek reaching new heights, reinforcing her status as a peerless songwriter and voice.

The band is guitarist and vocalist Zedek, bassist Winston Braman, and drummer Gavin McCarthy (Karate), now joined by newest member, pedal steel guitarist Karen Sarkisian. On The Boat Outside Your Window, Sarkisian"s counter melodies and oblique augmentations created with non-traditional tools like an ebow, add an otherworldly quality to songs. The grit of Zedek"s guitar and drive of Braman and McCarthy are met with synth-like swells and more harmonic density. The album features guests Nancy Asch (percussion) and Beth Heinberg (piano) whose subtle touches are added to "Shoes" and "Aliyah". The record was recorded with Andy Hong, mixed by Seth Manchester, and mastered by Sarah Register. Zedek"s mastery of songwriting is on full display on The Boat Outside Your Window. Her unique musical voice remains potent and pointed. Cultivating her sound with purpose and an unflinching view of humanity, Zedek"s words and music are both invigorating, and capable of deep emotional complexities. The Boat Outside Your Window is Thalia Zedek reaching new heights, reinforcing her status as a peerless songwriter and voice.

The project by Jens-Uwe Beyer and Thomas Venker boasts a remarkable origin story. In 2017, Venker, co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of Cologne’s Kaput magazine, hosted a gathering at Beyer's house, bringing together journalists, creatives, and musicians. To mark the occasion, the pair decided to join forces for an impromptu ambient-electronic performance, presenting themselves as a two-man band. That evening, donned in special costumes designed by artist Sarah Szczesny and fuelled by a generous amount of Japanese whisky, Hasan Poppu was born. Over the course of the pandemic, the duo thought about creating a record based on the live recording of their premiere show. However, the synergy of their collaborative creative energies led them in entirely novel directions. Their self-titled, double-sided album traverses a wild and raucous terrain, moving swiftly from hybrid noise-techno to giddy party ecstasy, to strange and shadowy atmospheres.

Including remixes by YPY, Hibotep, Lena Willikens, Efdemin and Barnt, the 11 tracks span a dizzying array of experimental dance-facing styles. 'Die-Biden' kicks off as a high-vibrational vocal experiment seemingly voiced by a sentient German vocoder. 'Kodō' follows, featuring Venker's playful mantra set against a stomping beat. Willikens' reimagining of 'Teiko' transports the track to obscure realms inhabited by strange creatures emitting ungodly sounds. Meanwhile, Efdemin's take on 'Ekusutashī' pulsates with a kinetic buzz. Flipping over to the B-side, 'Sakura' is a euphoric wall of drone punctuated by eerie whispers and mystical singing. Then, the second installment of 'Kodō' takes a fresh trajectory with a touch of Barnt’s electronic groove stylings. Finally, Hibotep's 'Shojo no yo ni flp' serves as the finsher – an unrepentant trance belter that disintegrates into sampled fragments. Loosely translating to "broken pop music," Hasan Poppu is informed by Beyer and Venker's shared love for Japan. The band takes their cues from the country’s rich sonic cultures while also drawing on Venker's wordsmith background and Beyer's flair for melding melodic tech-house with song-based synth-pop. Originally out on Beachcoma Recordings, Hasan Poppu’s debut album gets a new lease of life on Osàre! Editions with a digital and limited edition cassette tape release. Sarah Szczesny reprises her role in shaping the visual identity of Hasan Poppu by creating beautiful, painterly artwork for the record. words by Hannah Pezzack

"Something Soft", das zweite Album der irischen Post-Punk-Brandstifter M(h)aol, ist alles andere als soft. Von der ersten Note des Eröffnungsstücks von "Something Soft" bis zu den verzerrten Schreien des letzten Stücks fühlt sich die Platte antagonistisch gegenüber dem Konzept der Sanftheit an, klanglich und thematisch. Es ist eine unapologetische Annäherung an intersektionellen Feminismus, Tierschutz, Konsum und den Kampf um einen Platz in einer Welt, der es an Empathie mangelt. Was M(h)aol bietet, ist Katharsis in zwei Formen: die Art, die man bekommt, wenn man anderen gegenüber offen ist, und die Art, die man bekommt, wenn man mit Recht etwas kaputt macht. Wut und Empathie effektiv zu kanalisieren ist ein Akt der Widerstandsfähigkeit, und um "Something Soft" zu machen, mussten M(h)aol besonders widerstandsfähig werden. Nach ihrem gefeierten Debüt "Attachment Styles" änderte sich das Line-up von M(h)aol und bestand nun aus dem Kerntrio Constance Keane (Schlagzeug/Gesang, sie/ihr), Jamie Hyland (Bass/Gesang, sie/ihr) und Sean Nolan (Gitarre, er/ihm). Dieser Prozess veränderte die Herangehensweise der Band an das Songwriting und die Auftritte und führte zu einem unerwarteten Durchbruch. "Something Soft" zeichnet sich durch einen dringlicheren Sound aus, der sich eng um den Rhythmus von Hyland und Keane legt. In Songs wie "Pursuit" und "Snare" verbindet sich Keanes Gesang mit dem Schlagzeug, als würden ihre Worte durch ihr Spiel zum Leben erweckt und direkt aus ihrem Körper kommen. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser ängstlichen und schwadronierenden Tracks nimmt ihre Stimme den Raum eines inneren Monologs ein, in dem sie von einem angespannten Heimweg und von der Misogynie im Green Room aus einer Position der drolligen Beobachtung heraus erzählt - eine universelle Erfahrung, die in spezifischen Details wiedergegeben wird. Wie seine Vorgänger "Attachment Styles" und die "Gender Studies" EP wurde auch "Something Soft" von Jamie Hyland aufgenommen. Es ist die technisch ausgefeilteste der bisherigen M(h)aol-Aufnahmen, denn die Band, zu der auch Sarah Deegan vom Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra am Bass gehört, zog in das Dubliner Ailfionn Studio, wo sie die räumlichen Gegebenheiten und das Studio-Equipment nutzten, um ihrem Sound mehr Nuancen zu verleihen. Die zusätzlichen Sessions und das Können hinter den Reglern waren ein Segen, aber für eine Band, die es gewohnt ist, unter extremem Zeitdruck zu arbeiten, war dies eine unerwartete Herausforderung: Konnten M(h)aol das Gefühl der Unmittelbarkeit beibehalten, das ihre Musik bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt geprägt hatte? Songs wie "DM:AM" zerstreuten diese Sorge schnell, indem sie innerhalb von 20 Minuten aus einem Drone entstanden, den Nolan spielte, während Hyland ihr Aufnahme-Equipment aufbaute und sich beeilte, den Song einzufangen, sobald Keane und Deegan dazukamen. Eine der geisterhaften Hymnen von "Something Soft", "1800-Call-Me-Back", begann als Scherz, dass die Band einen Fußballgesang schreiben sollte, wurde aber weitaus komplexer - die köstliche Balance aus Chaos und Klarheit, die sie gefunden haben, wäre ohne Zeit unmöglich gewesen. "I Miss My Dog" ist weniger spontan, aber seine Meditation über Trauer baut sich in einem halsbrecherischen Tempo auf, von Rückkopplungen über Keanes Schlagzeugspiel und Gesang bis hin zu einem spektakulären Schluss, der die Trauer in Bass und Gitarre erstickt, eine der größten technischen Leistungen von M(h)aol bis heute. Der Feinschliff unterstreicht den schelmischen Charme von M(h)aol und lässt das Intime hymnisch wirken, indem persönliche Erfahrungen genutzt werden, um die allgemeinen Systeme, unter denen wir leben, zu beschreiben. Für diejenigen, die sich in den Songs von M(h)aol wiedererkennen, ist das Hören von "Something Soft" wie ein Sprung in einen lang laufenden Chat-Thread, voller Wut und Humor.