Stream: Not Going Back - Henry Nowhere

Big sun kissed California feelings seep out of this lovely hazy lo-fi gem from west coast native musician Henry Nowhere.

Having started in music as an on-call guitarist in the Bay Area and with a four-year global tour with Day Wave under his belt, Henry recently moved to LA. It is there that he recorded his new EP, Not Going Back, and earlier this year released his first single Problems of the Heart.

The title track from his forthcoming EP, Not Going Back layers beautiful fuzzy guitars and sparkling melodies that combined with his sleepy vocals to feel like that warm sun resting on my skin.

Describing the song, Henry says:

“The feeling of being lost and content is a recurring theme in my writing. There is a big part of me that wants to drop it all, wander about and appreciate the world’s wonder. I know this impulse does not make me special in the least. For me music serves the purpose of giving the listener that sort of care free getaway in a 3 minute bite-size form. That was my goal for this song and most of the EP for that matter.”

This song takes me back to memories of that Bay Area sunshine, surrounded by warmth, hope and nature.

Stream: Out Of Doubt - We Are The Way For The Cosmos To Know Itself

Danish trio We Are The Way For The Cosmos To Know Itself are back with Out Of Doubt, the follow-up to their utterly beautiful single Flashbacks.

This is another beautiful piece of dreamy electronic pop. Blissful synths carve out a complex layered melody whilst female vocals plead with an emotive urgency. This track is the sound of barely holding your emotions together - recognising how you feel and letting it take over for a moment, as you lose yourself.

Out Of Doubt is a song about nostalgic feelings. Feelings of love for people you have known - the ones you have fought for and the ones you had to let go. And it captures that bitter-sweet romanticism so well.

Stream: Brown Paper Bag - Yoshi Flower

Having first appeared on these pages back in March, Yoshi Flower is back with a new single and a record deal with Interscope Records.

In comparison to the woozy psychedelic high of Just On Drugs, Brown Paper Bag feels like the inevitable come down. The sound here is similar, but the atmosphere here is generally darker. A thick fuzzy guitar line carves up the bridge before creating the space for each of Yoshi’s verses. And there is an undeniable magic here to the rapid flow of grimy lo-fi hip hop Yoshi is peddling. It’s all just a little bit anarchic.

Describing Brown Paper Bag, Yoshi says:

“This one is for freedom, sonically and all else. The beginning of the new alternative. We think the things that matter to us are the superficial things...our phones, our cars, our clothes. Things that we believe give us serenity, they are fleeting and damaging to our psyche and environment. But when you think about what really gets you through this life it is the little things. For me, it is a brown paper bag. It held my lunch when I was bullied, it holds my 40oz and more when I want to get high, it helps me breathe and calms me down when life gets too lifey.”

Check it out below:

Stream: Nomads - Esches

Esches is the creation of German-born singer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Summerfield, and Nomads is his new single.

With a musical style that calls to mind Bon Iver and James Blake, Summerfield has a similar focus on texture and lightly damaged falsetto vocals.

Nomads rides along on a crisp, R&B inspired beat. In constrast to something that feels mechanical, Summerfield’s vocal performance and instrumentation feel alive, imperfect and organic. A piano refrain gently drifts past, a melody is gentle picked out on a guitar and Summerfield declares us nomads with a tentative hopefulness.

Nomads has a range to it that I love - it is considered, yet tentative moving forwards before gradually opening up. Getting to know this song feels like the experience of getting to know a person - it’s cautious, only gradually uncovering itself.

Check out Nomads below:

Stream: Show You - CXLOE

CXLOE has already made a bit of a name for herself in her homeland of Australia. Now with new single Show You, her first international release, she is set to blow up widely.

Show You is the kind of pop record that feels like the quickening of your pulse when slip just a little bit deeper in love than you anticipated... One of those moments when someone knows exactly what to say to pull you in. This track has vocals that come tumbling out of CXLOE’s mouth as though they can’t quite come soon enough, and the backing track is the musical equivalent of a firework display going off in your gut.

Lyrically, Show You represents that moment when the veil drops and you make your feelings clear. That scary, beautiful and vulnerable moment where it feels like it’s possible that anything could happen.

Describing the song CXLOE says:

"I wrote 'Show You' in LA with my friend, Sam Farrar. I wanted to write something that felt different to my last two singles, a sound that wasn't necessarily so moody, but still carried the weight of all my emotions at the time. I really wanted to push the love/sex boundaries and 'Show You' was the outcome of that. This song makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time and that's very fitting for me! I often struggle with my words in any type of relationship and can't seem to articulate how I feel; it makes me too nervous. This song is for when words aren’t enough. For when words won't do. When you need to show someone how you feel instead."

I love the excitement this record conveys: anything could happen...