The Predatory Wasp
It’s Friday right, so really I should be posting something party-appropriate to soundtrack your #bignightout but I now live in Devon so instead here’s a short ambient piano track complete with birdsong: perfect for watching the sun go down over some rolling fields or gently lapping beachside waves.
Stupid Things is taken from s u r r e n d e r, the upcoming third full-length record from Princess Century AKA Canadian musician and producer Maya Postepski which was written following a break-up with her girlfriend and is – according to Postepski – “a feeling album, not a thinking album”. Stupid Things itself is engrossingly subdued electro-pop, sitting comfortably in the space between abject devastation and tentative optimism, the rallying cry of “got to dance it away” a final, desperate act to free yourself from the heartache of the past.
Willy Mason is younger than me, but sounds like he’s had about a billion more years worth of life experience. His voice, worn and occasionally cracked but also soft and occasionally sumptuous, suggests he’s seen a lot, suffered a fair amount and is bang up for telling you all about it. Taken from his new album Already Dead, Gilded Lie is great for the first few minutes, before becoming overwhelmingly, staggeringly brilliant for the final 30 seconds or so when ghostly synths and a gently strummed guitar combine perfectly to make you (or me, at least) burst into tears.
Little Things is one of two new tracks released by US indie rock darlings Big Thief this week, the first new music since 2019’s Two Hands – one of two albums they put out that year. Driven forward by a propulsive rhythm, it’s a big emotional wallop round the head that it’s impossible not to get caught up in, thanks to shifting drum patterns, meandering, increasingly intense guitars and singer Adrianne Lenker’s urgent, confessional vocal.
Electronic folk innovator, recent Paul Hamlyn Foundation award winner and TPW favourite, Me Lost Me’s latest single is taken from her forthcoming EP The Circle Dance and comes accompanied by a kaleidoscopic music video filmed on location at Sunderland’s Penshaw Monument. Gently haunting and instantly compelling, like much of her work Acrobat On The Roof seamlessly blends the old with the new, creating something unique, timeless and understatedly beautiful.
I very rarely miss clubbing these days. It all just feels like a bit too much effort and the recovery time is just way too hideous to contemplate. Gigs are fine as you can can be home at a reasonable time (yes, I’m aware how old and boring this makes me sound: I’m ok with this) and festivals are different, and worth it. But clubbing isn’t something I’ve yearned for during lockdown in the same way I would have a few years ago. But then records like this come along and I feel almost sick with desire to be all fucked up in a club with a load of other sweaty people, fingers clutching a bottle of water, a mindless grin slapped all over my big stupid face.
Helmed by producer and saxophonist Pete Cunningham, the Bristol-based Ishmael Ensemble’s announced themselves as a new force in UK jazz with their 2019 debut A State Of Flow, a record I completely missed as I am vehemently opposed to anything jazzy, or jazz-related. Until now it seems, as I absolutely love their new album Visions Of Light, and Feather in particular which is amongst the more beautifully chill things I’ve heard for ages. It would actually be easier if this record didn’t exist as I was quite happy in my jazz-ignoring bubble, but here we are.
Eternally Recurring is the lead single from New York City-based Colombian guitarist and composer Jan Esbra’s forthcoming debut album Temporary Objects: a collection of 10 improvisations and spontaneous compositions that draws influence from a variety of artists including Steve Reich, Pauline Oliveros, Blank For.ms and Lightbath. Created using guitars, samplers and various effects pedals, it’s incredibly minimalistic and initially stark – clinical even – but over time starts to exude a real warmth and depth of character that completely draws you in.
Unheard Delia was originally released as an exclusive vinyl with Electronic Sound alongside Peel’s cover feature back in March, but it landed on streaming platforms today so thought it was worth highlighting. It includes extracts from an interview with pioneering BBC Radiophonic Workshop artist Delia Derbyshire conducted by writer Jo Hutton in early 2000, around 18 months before Delia died, and consist of lovely, gentle washes of synth overlaid with Delia passionately talking about everything from her production techniques to how her music was often considered “too sophisticated for the BBC 2 audience”, and is completely mesmerising.
This is a new collab from funk/soul music artist, producer, and songwriter Tim Rose and R&B and multi-instrumentalist DDidThat, the fourth in a series of reflective, funk-inspired lofi compositions. It’s a real, head-nodding vibe of a record, rolling unhurriedly along on shuffling breaks, gentle guitar and meandering Rhodes-y piano: the ideal soundtrack for drifting away to lands more pleasant and peaceful.
The Predatory Wasp 