Not new, but good. Taken from her 2024 album Someday, Now and on my radar as she’s on the Glastonbury line-up. Strong Fleetwood Mac vibes in the melodies.
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Katy J Pearson – Save Me
Astrid Sonne’s remix of Mount Kimbie’s The Trail sounds absolutely nothing like the original, and is all the better for it: chopped, stuttering and deeply atmospheric, her own ghostly vocals providing significant chills.
Penned at his hometown of Wheaton, Maryland, soul boy Jalen Ngonda returns with Just As Long As We’re Together – a smooth, soulful nod to classic Motown, with effortless falsetto, warmth, and lush instrumentation. Channeling the spirit of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Ngonda delivers a heartfelt ode to love, wrapped in rich melodies and timeless charm.
https://jalenngonda.bandcamp.com/track/just-as-long-as-were-together
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Walt McClements – Sirens
I saw Walt McClements support Mary Lattimore in a tiny venue in a town most of you have never heard of last year, and it was pretty amazing hearing him create an overwhelming wall of sound from an accordion, a loop pedal and not much else. One woman fainted! But it was quite hot and she was quite old, so take from that what you will. You get a sense of the power and grandiosity of his music from Sirens, the latest single to be released from his upcoming album On a Painted Ocean, due out in April on Western Vinyl.
https://waltmcclements.bandcamp.com/album/on-a-painted-ocean
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Marina Zispin – The Bells (time will tell)
Now You See Me, Now You Don’t is the brilliant debut LP from Marina Zispin, the project of Bianca Scout and Martyn Reid. Scout, a composer and vocalist, has built a reputation for blending ambient, spoken word, and contemporary classical elements, with past work including The Heart of the Anchoress and last year’s incredible Pattern Damage. This new collaboration continues her exploration of fragmented memory and shifting perceptions, but with a (mostly) more upbeat tone that much of her previous work.
https://scenicroute.bandcamp.com/album/now-you-see-me-now-you-dont
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Japanese Breakfast – Mega Circuit
To celebrate the best Glastonbury lineup in years, here’s a recent track from one of the many acts I’m extremely excited to see. Mega Circuit presents a darker, guitar-driven sound, reflecting on contemporary masculinity and the search for identity in challenging times. The track features renowned drummer Jim Keltner, known for his work with artists like Jackson Browne and Dolly Parton. The accompanying music video, co-directed by Zauner and collaborator Adam Kolodny, complements the song’s introspective themes. Which, yes, isn’t exactly three pingers deep in a field vibes, but is still excellent.
https://michellezauner.bandcamp.com/album/for-melancholy-brunettes-sad-women
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serpentwithfeet – BEG QUIETLY
serpentwithfeet spends a lot of time in bed, and would like to tell you about it. His new GRIP SEQUEL release features six new compositions alongside alternative versions of three tracks from last year’s GRIP: a new version of ‘Lucky Me’ with strings, and remixes of ‘Spades’, featuring Ogi and Destin Conrad, and a ‘Damn Gloves’ remix by Baile Funk featuring Ty Dolla $ign, TH41 & Azzy. “I created GRIP SEQUEL because I had more to say [about sex]*” says serpent “I had more [sexy]* questions about intimacy [and sex]* and this was a fun [and sexy]* way to explore.
*my [sexy] additions
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One Track Mind: Puma Blue
The Atlanta-based artist on the overwhelming emotion of a seminal live performance
The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!
Emerging from London’s DIY scene, Puma Blue’s early work stitched together smoky jazz, lo-fi R&B, and dreamlike alt-pop, earning comparisons to King Krule and Jeff Buckley. His 2021 debut In Praise of Shadows was a nocturnal fever dream of hushed falsettos and submerged drums, but with his latest LP antichamber, he takes an even starker approach – paring everything down to its barest, most vulnerable form.
Recorded alone in a house in Decatur, Georgia, antichamber is a ghostly exhale of a record, a collection of hushed confessions and vaporous melodies that feel like they might dissolve if you listen too hard. The sultry groove of his past work is gone, replaced by something even more fragile – just an acoustic guitar, some distant echoes, and a voice that sounds like it’s whispering secrets into the void.
For his One Track Mind selection, Puma Blue breaks the rules and picks a deeply affecting live performance of two songs from a jazz legend.
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Demdike Stare, Kriston Pilon- Belly Up
I have fond, if slightly intense, memories of Demdike Stare’s Before My Eyes nights they used to put on in a tiny London basement, especially one where my friend took too much K and ran, pretty much crying, from the room. Their new album sees them in their usual chaos mode, as they destroy and piece back together piano and vocal recordings by US filmmaker-musician Kristen Pilon, with unsurprisingly unsettling results. For fans of The Caretaker, crunchy drums and feeling generally a little bit tense.
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Adam F – Circles Revisited
Celebrating the re-release of one of the influential drum & bass singles of all time and the album from which it came, Adam F’s 1997 debut Colours. To record new versions of the tracks Adam F dug out all his old hardware which had long been hidden away. Over a span of two years he reworked the original music, from restoring vintage instruments like his Fender Rhodes piano to enlisting UK jazz legends like Julian Joseph. Vocalists including Kirsty Hawkshaw and the late MC Conrad re-recorded their parts, while new solos from contemporary artist added fresh life to the tracks. Circles still sounds as good as is always has – a true classic.
The Predatory Wasp 