So here we are…again. A never ending, vicious circle of weekday drudgery under grey skies and in freezing homes whilst the rich get richer and the Tories stink more and more like a dead rat under your floorboards for the past few weeks.
Happy happy joy joy. Hope this is bringing you further down into a pit of gloom and despair. Sorry everyone. Maybe some of these will cheer you up, it’s Tracks of the Week. Some might not. But that’s life guys. Peaks and troughs. Have a nice wallow then pull yourself out and have a nice dance.
JFDR – Spectator
Why we love it: JFDR is the latest project of Jófríður Ákadóttir, the Icelandic experimental singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of the musical groups Samaris, Pascal Pinon, and Gangly. She has just announced the release of JFDR’s third album, Museum, which will be out via Houndstooth on April 28th.
Museum’s lead single is ‘Spectator’. Talking about the song and its accompanying video, JFDR says, “‘Spectator’ is an anthem for the codependent, a lullaby for the ones slightly codependent and for those who have never felt it; a mirror into the raw thought process of someone deep in the trenches of it. The video was made with my good friend Timothee Lambrecq, and the unmissable support from my husband Josh Wilkinson and old bandmate Áslaug Magnúsdóttir. The clouds represent thoughts, and getting swallowed by a big cloud is symbolic of the thoughts that can overtake you, when you lose your ground. I also wanted to reference the album and its artwork that centers around a statue, representing energy frozen in time. I truly hope this song makes someone feel seen. It can take a long time to learn to navigate big emotions, whether they’re your own or others’. I was feeling it at the time.”
On ‘Spectator’, JFDR creates a soft, delicate musical atmosphere from which the magic and mystery of her voice emerges. A stillness exists within the song that is as compelling as it is strangely unsettling, a beautiful balance of light and shade. (Simon Godley)
Bully (featuring Soccer Mummy) – Lose You
Why We Love It: Bully aka Alicia Bognanno shares new track ‘Lose You’ on Sub Pop. The single was recorded in 2022, at MMK Studios and Alicia’s House in Nashville, and features vocal harmonies from Sophia Allison aka Soccer Mommy. It’s an indie rocker with a vocal full of passion, and incredibly heartfelt. It feels so personal. The harmonies with Soccer Mommy are simply delicious and bring another layer to the track. I love the slight static reverb of the guitar and the ebb and flow of the song. The instrumentation in combination with the solo vocals show off the talent of Bully to a tee.
Bognanno says: “When ‘Lose You’ came about it was the first time I’ve considered having someone else sing on a Bully song. I love Sophia’s voice and have always admired everything she does so to me it was a no brainer. Watching her soar out of the Nashville scene and dominate indie music worldwide has been a joy. Writing ‘Lose You’ was a way for me to work through the pain and reality of impermanence. It doesn’t make it any easier but reflection is often followed by growth and to me that’s what life is all about.” (Julia Mason)
Fräulein – Pet
Why We Love It: because who wouldn’t want a grunge renaissance?!? The last EP from Fräulein was chock-a-block full of filthy guitars that sounded like Courtney Love had laid them down, and this is no exception. And the drums. The drums sound like they’re being played in my ears, the hi-hat is spine tingling in the verse. The production could not be any better as once the quiet bit is over and the scuzz overdriven distortion smashes in, the vocals are lo-fi and low in the mix. Everything you want from an early 90’s grunge record but made for 2023.
“The word ‘pet’ means a lot to me” explains Joni Samuels. “…I love it because it can be a term of endearment, but it can also be slightly patronizing. This theme fits nicely with the cyclical riff of the track, a kind of pattern that you can’t get out of”. (Jim Auton)
Captain Starlet – Family Tree
Why we love it: With a name like Captain Starlet, this is a band surely destined for great things. And just one listen to ‘Family Tree’ will most certainly affirm this view. Recently recruited to the roster of local independent imprint Safe Suburban Home, the York four-piece have launched their recording career with this their debut single which was released on cassette and all digital platforms on 17th February this year.
Following a series of recent support slots in their home city to Bull, Willie J. Healey, and Snapped Ankles, Captain Starlet have already been carving out a strong reputation for themselves as a formidable live act. And on ‘Family Tree’ they have captured much of the sparkling drive, energy, momentum, and sheer joy they achieve in concert. The song’s enchanting melody glistens and soars from the get-go putting you in cheerful mind of the major-key creations and three-part harmonies of Teenage Fanclub were they aligned to the sort of euphoria Evan Dando was once capable of producing as he sought to bridge a gap between grunge and pop. (Simon Godley)
Deerhoof – Sit Down, Let Me Tell You A Story
Why We Love It: Deerhoof have released ‘Sit Down, Let Me Tell You A Story’, the second track to be taken from their forthcoming album Miracle-Level which is set for release on 31 March via Joyful Noise Recordings. The album will be their 19th and incredibly their first to be made entirely in a proper recording studio. It’s also their first sung entirely in bassist and vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki’s native Japanese language. ‘Sit Down, Let Me Tell You A Story’ doesn’t sound quite like anything else. It is utterly unique and utterly beguiling. Beginning with Satomi’s vocals it then heads off on a quirky spiky path, all frantic chaotic guitars, jumping all over the place. Satomi reigns it all back in again until the chaos somehow blends together to produce a cohesive one, led by a drumbeat. What an off kilter joyous sound it is too, before Satomi takes us to the end and leaves us with a huge smile and a warm feeling inside.
The album Miracle-Level looks at the state of the world and thinks, “It’ll be a miracle if we survive.” But miracles are what humans do as our planet’s most inventive and unpredictable species. I cannot wait to hear what else Deerhoof has to share through the lens of their unique view of the world. (Julia Mason)
Mega Bog – The Clown
Why we love it: The experimental artist Erin Elizabeth Birgy is Mega Bog and she returns on 19th May 19th via Mexican Summer with her new album, End of Everything, the eagerly awaited follow-up to 2021’s delightfully impressive Life, and Another.
The forthcoming record’s lead single is ‘The Clown’ and as Erin Elizabeth Birgy explains “‘The Clown’ is about the terrible, sensual, and chaotic release of merging one’s own multitudes, showing love to the darkness and insecurities, having curiosity about what is beyond presumed perceptions—surrendering to the uncontrollables, while nourishing the small statues of what we do have control over within ourselves.”
There is a supernatural presence to ‘The Clown’, a spirit force that once drove the experimental pop of early Associates’ records and now finds itself transported forty years hence into this rolling, fiercely overblown piece of sonic theatre. You’ll be hard pressed to listen to a more gloriously compelling song this week, or any other week for that matter. (Simon Godley)
Magnetic Skies – You Shine On
Why We Love It: There seems to be a real resurgence in 80s synth-pop sounds currently, with a number of new bands popping up with that influence very prominent. London’s Magnetic Skies have released their new single, ‘You Shine On’ via independent label ReprinT Records. The track definitely has the vibes of Pet Shop Boys or even early Human League. The vocals of Simon Kent and Jo Womar complement each other beautifully, particularly with the overlapping section. The synth backdrop and that beat throughout gives it an ethereal yet raw quality. It does not feel slick and polished, and is all the better for it.
Magnetic Skies expand further on the inspiration behind the track: “This is a love song, a story about two people finding each other despite divisions from outside, and about being true to yourself even when that doesn’t fit with expectations from society or other people. It’s celebrating a really positive self-belief.”
Magnetic Skies were formed in 2019 by Simon and Jo with a shared love of 80s synth-driven post-punk. They produced a set of EPs during 2020. In 2021 the band evolved into a 4-piece, with the recruitment of guitarist Carlos Aguilar and drummer Lenin Alegria. With their debut album set to be released in 2023 things are looking rosy in the world of Magnetic Skies. (Julia Mason)
Eaves WIlder – Are you Diagnosed?
Why we love it: Eaves Wilder recently announced details her debut EP Hookey, set for release on Friday 24th March via Secretly Canadian. Eaves has also shared the brilliant third single to be taken from the EP, ‘Are You Diagnosed?’.
‘Are you Diagnosed’ effervescently pairs awesome hook laden guitar pop with big chunky chords and tumbling percussion with insidious vocals that details Eaves’s bitter experience of the British mental health service CAMHS and how hard it is to even get treatment. She sings with black humour of her experience of having to play the system in order to get the help she needed. Lyrically both intensely personal and ladled with bitter irony (“You pull your sleeves to an Intact wrist/Back to the bottom of the waiting list/ Never jumped off a moving bus?/ Well wait another 6 months”), it’s a tongue-in-cheek dig and a deliberate de-romanticisation of mental illness set to a tuneful and awesome soundtrack.
“I first entered the Child and Adolescent Mental Health services – or CAMHS – when I was eleven.” explains Eaves. “Although they did finally help me, and I left at the age of fifteen, ‘Are You Diagnosed?’ is basically a stream-of-consciousness, scream for help rant/report about what it’s like in those awful, quiet waiting rooms, and consulting rooms.
As CAHMS is so dangerously underfunded by the government, the deal is- the closer you are to death, the higher up the waiting list you go. Which on average is around 16 months. And people with eating disorders are competitive anyway, so it’s very easy to look around the waiting room, and think, ‘I need to be the most ill person here. I need to get … ill-er than the girl with the bandages on her arms, or the tube up her nose – or I’ll never get treated. I’m going to make my way up that list.’
The key thing is getting your diagnosis. There’s no treatment until diagnosis. You don’t know what is happening to you. And a lot of people doubt you are ill anyway. They (friends, family, teachers) think that you’re making it all up, I think that’s easier for them. And so the biggest question is, over and over: “Are you diagnosed? Are you diagnosed?”
Heidrunna – ‘YCBCC’
Why we love it: Icelandic singer Heidrunna returns after a busy 2022 releasing her debut album Melodramatic last Spring. She’ll also be playing a headline show at Paper Dress Vintage in Hackney on March 8th – her first ever London performance.
On ‘YCBCC’, she’s reminiscing on a relationship that never was and drowning in the nostalgia of what could have been. With enigmatic vocals, Heidrunna balances the bitter sweetness of heartache and catastrophic break ups, with a delightful spiraling suite of woodwind, strings and almost cinematic majesty, floating with a wistful magical almost French pop atmosphere somewhere between Melody’s Echo Chamber and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Onboard for production is Liam Howe, whose portfolio includes Lana Del Rey, MARINA, FKA twigs and Ellie Goulding. Album artwork and single covers were designed by fashion illustrator Julia Verhoeven who has had works widely exhibited including showings at the V & A and The Hayward. (Bill Cummings)
