Watch: Sirens — Sunflower Thieves

I wrote about the beautiful music of Leeds-based duo Sunflower Thieves earlier this year, after I put them through at my stage of judging Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition in 2020. Back again with a new single, and now a video, Sirens only reinforces in my mind how much promise and talent the pair, Amy and Lily, have.

Once again leveraging their trademark dream-folk sound, Sunflower Thieves have gently embellished their sound with the kind of subtle touches that add to the song without distracting from its emotional core. Amy and Lily’s vocal harmonisation continues to be the central draw, but gently modulated sounds combine with acoustic guitar, light percussive sounds and keys to add to the song’s melody.

Whilst it could be mistaken for a love song, the duo highlight that it’s really about friendship, perhaps irrespective of whether that exists within a purely platonic relationship or not:

“Sirens’ is a song about friendship, inspired by particular people. When things feel overwhelming, tuning into a relationship or friendship with someone who needs you can keep you grounded, and keep you both moving forwards.”

I’m lucky enough to have some of those people in my life, and I recognise and am grateful for the grounding security of those connections with people that endure. They can act as a form of gravity, stopping me from losing my bearings and my place when I require it most. I’ve missed Thanksgiving by a day, and I’m not American, but here it is anyway… Enjoy, and thank you.

Listen: The Windlass — Oribu

As it turns colder in the Northern Hemisphere, I am increasingly for comfy clothes, warm jumpers and thick socks. The nights have well and truly drawn in, and I find myself just wanting to wait the winter out.

Oribu’s new song, The Windlass, feels purpose-made for this time of year. Crisp beats, haunting synths and intimate vocals create the feeling of evenings walking alone, your breath visibly hanging in the air.

The production work is the real star of the show here. Blending elements of alternative hip hop and electronic music, the sound has a fractured and otherworldly aesthetic that suits the vocal performance perfectly.

Perhaps the sound of isolation is to be expected. The Windlass and Get By (the associated EP the track is from) were created during the first Italian lockdown. As a duo, producers Paolo Donato and Edoardo Staffa managed to work online together with singer Rocco Zilli, from the Italian band Mòn, to create The Windlass. The result is surprisingly cohesive — a cool, beautiful slice of frozen jazz-influenced electronic music.

Listen: F.E.M. — Lillies In The Valley Of Violets feat. Annie Maxwell

With an infectious and bouncy melody, the latest song from Lillies In The Valley Of Voilets, aka LIVV, shimmies gently between its crisp and punchy drums and glossy keys. It’s ultimately Annie Maxwell’s vocal that lingers after the song has ended, however — her flowing, stream of lyrics seemingly tumbling from her lips with a ferocity and honesty that never dulls.

Maxwell started collaborating with LIVV, real name Aaron Sternick, on her album Keystone and his debut single With You, which ultimately inspired F.E.M., as Sternick describes:

“While working on the [With You], we had a backup single from an early batch of pandemic demos. Annie sent me an incredible voice memo track with hooks galore, and in between the “With You” session we’d come back to this track and bounce ideas off one another. What I see now is that “With You” taught us a lot of lessons about production and developing hooks and grooves that we would apply with MUCH greater success to this new track.”

F.E.M. itself is a take-down of the tech-bro mentality, and it was a very deliberate decision for Sternick to have Maxwell’s voice front and centre:

“The project LIVV actually started as a much more angry concept — welcoming to all kinds of feelings of rage, despair, and loneliness as long as they weren’t coming from cis-male voices. Annie used this song as an opportunity to send up the Bezos/Musk/Zuck technoRATi and offer a healthy dose of appreciation for becoming less online. Annie never minces words or skimps on lyrical delivery, and I am extremely proud of how strongly the message of F.E.M.”

Check out F.E.M. below:

Listen: Here — Grace Kay

Following on from her recent song Play, Los Angeles-based musician Grace Kay has returned with her new single, Here.

Here gently sparkles with a west coast folky beauty. Quiet yet also ever-so-slightly epic, Here has a hushed intimacy that feels thrillingly authentic.

The song weaves together Kay’s specific personal experiences together with more universal ones to make a song that feels both personal and relatable… Her lyrics touch on having panic attacks on trains, crying to Fleetwood Mac and yet also finding catharsis in sadness and escape through a road trip. Discussing the song’s inspiration, Grace says:

“My best friend lost seven friends and family members during our freshman year of college, and I’ll never forget how that affected her. I was there for her then, and we moved through it. Then, she was there for me in 2019 when I was finally able to escape a very toxic relationship that left me with the scars of panic attacks and led me to cut my bangs in protest of it all. The fact of the matter is time heals all, and I know she’ll be there for more celebrations and bumps in the road, and I’ll always just be happy to be here with her now.”

Listen: Shapeshift — Blanco Tranco

Shapeshift fizzles with the taut, energetic and emotive sound of early-90s shoegaze meets dream pop.

First impressions of vocalist Tiff’s husky performance evokes the feeling of Harriet Wheeler’s gorgeously brittle vocals for The Sundays, with a dash of the deadpan delivery of Sleeper’s Louise Jane Wener. And whilst those vocals continue to standout, Blanco Tranco feel like a complete package. Shapeshift opens with searing feedback that gives way to propulsive drums, infectious wandering bass and glittering guitars, creating a coherent and complete record.

Hailing from Melbourne, in addition to Tiff, Blanco Tranco are comprised of bassist Mark, guitarist Matt and Sophie on drums. Having formed in early 2020 and inspired by surf-rock and shoegaze, the four-piece only briefly got to play together live before the pandemic. Shapeshift came out of the ensuing lockdown, with recording happening between Melbourne’s lockdowns. Describing the track, Matt said:

“I wanted to go for a very 80s/90s grungy shoegaze feel for the track. I was listening to lots of DIIV, Duster, MBV and Beach Fossils when I wrote the guitar parts. The track was very fun to record, particularly the feedback during the intro. Before we recorded the song, we were intending for the track to go straight into the verse but during the session I could hear parts that had a bit of feedback, and it sounded really good. So good, in fact, that I thought we should make it the first thing you hear in the song.”