Listen: Cool Guy — Girlhouse

I wrote about Girlhouse’s hazy sun-kissed sound last year upon the release of her single Happy Now, and Cool Guy is cut from the same cloth. Having garnered Radio 1 and 6Music airplay with recent single paul blart mall cop, Girlhouse, real name Lauren Luiz, now has her sights set on another forthcoming EP, appropriately titled the third ep.

On Cool Guy, Girlhouse continues to channel the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Soccer Mommy, but with just a touch of the polish of post-Folklore Taylor Swift.

Somewhat universally relatable in its theme, albeit to anyone who isn’t the kind of person the song depicts, Cool Guy is a song about those who live with a sense of aloof detachment and privilege. The song’s sound and production treatment fits that theme perfectly — the gradual pace and glossy sheen hits like a musical slow clap. Describing the song’s inspiration, Luiz says:

“The term ‘cool guying’ means to acquire a slight amount of clout and become a complete weirdo. I wrote this with my friend Mark Campbell when I was feeling a lil zesty about some of the clouty people in my life. In all seriousness, no shade on them, I just had to figure out if that was of value to me. I had an ex that got mad at me for calling him ‘cool’ and that was really confusing to me until he ended up actually being very very ‘cool.’”

Cool Guy plays into the broader themes of the forthcoming the third ep, as Luiz describes:

“I split this ep in two acts. The first act follows the euphoria of avoidance, doing everything to detach from all feeling while playing house. The back half is meant to snap you into reality with darker sounds and themes, I talk about losing friendships not only to death but also to the flow of life, and I try to be more vulnerable with the person I love and ask them straight up, “please don’t stop loving me”. The theme of this ep is really about coming to grips with reality and the growing pain that comes with it. I hope you like listening to this train wreck as much as I liked writing it.”

Check out Cool Guy below:

Watch: Heavy — PELA

Following on from their lovely song (and gorgeous live video), Tell Me, Brighton pair PELA are back with new song Heavy.

PELA’s latest song takes a song about feeling slow and heavy and combines it with the kind of groove that feels like it could lift the darkest of us out of the doldrums.

The duo, made up of Hannah Coombes and Olly Shelton, describe Heavy as “kind of an anxious indie-pop”. Co-written with British musician Liz Lawrence, the new song deliberately juxtaposes the song’s optimism with its insecurity, its organic sounds with electronic ones. It feels like a testament to the duality that exists in all people and all things.

Heavy is the latest song to be unveiled from PELA’s imminent debut EP, Little Ceremonies. That release is PELA’s “first time bringing together a body of work that’s connected”, the band say. As they explain the relationship between the two tracks heard to date and the rest of the EP, PELA describe Heavy and Tell Me as songs that:

“Confront frustration and anxiety, both personal and societal … (whereas the three songs that follow are) a way to transform these feelings. How making everyday acts ceremonial and precious can be a way to find joy, peace and solace from anxiety and pain.”

Check out PELA’s live performance of Heavy, recorded live at St Mary’s Church, below:

Listen: Don't You Give Up On Me — Joshua Idehen

A long-term favourite of mine, British-born Nigerian Joshua Idehen is back, but this time with his debut release as a solo project.

When I first heard Don’t You Give Up On Me, I didn’t know it was by Idehen, an artist whose work I am very familiar with. All the same, the emotive, honest and soulful performance caught my attention. Idehen’s vocal performance provides a grounded honesty — an authentic and poetic flow that could only come from British streets. The gospel chorus that gives the song its chorus surrounds the listener in a calming determination and optimism.

Idehen’s work has always struck an emotional chord for me — thoughtful and compassionate, modern yet timeless. The importance of compassion, for each other and for ourselves, was clearly on Josh’s mind when he wrote this piece, as he explains:

“This was the first beat Ludvig (the producer) sent me, and I pretty much finished the lyrics by that day’s end. It’s a poem about second chances and forgiving yourself. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel people are too quick with each other these days: I know I’ve been guilty of it at times. This is a plea for a bit more patience with each other, and for me to be a bit more patient with myself.”

Let’s all have a bit more compassion, for each other, and for ourselves.

Listen: Yes! — Willah

With a warm electronic bed and bouncy beats, Willah’s debut single Yes! wiggles with a gentle excitement. Vocals have an authenticity that gives the song a grounded feeling—slightly nerdy in a Metronomy and Hot Chip way, but all the more accessible as the result.

It is the chorus of Yes! that really delivers… Willah’s vocal little more than a sassy, “Uh hu, yeah yeah” refrain that loops over and over in my brain, whilst sounds ping pong around like synaptic fireworks.

Yes! is a song about the kind of romance where even the participants know won’t last. The energy on display is reflective of those bubbling emotions as eyes meeting, and words go unspoken, upshot with a cooling slice of melancholy. I am excited to hear more. Check it out:

Watch: Forget About It — Antoine Chambe

Antoine Chambe has just come in with what feels like the perfect compliment to my last post. Where It Got Away From Me floated on a current of reflective melancholy, Forget About It is the upswing that is coming out the other side.

The electronic production of French musician Antoine Chambe gives Forget About It a bouncy, playful feeling the captures the sensation of jumping into your favourite trainers. Whilst the filtered, French indie house sound is very familiar, Chambe pulls in the vocals of Swedish duo Tomode in a way that gives this a fresh feeling. Tomode’s vocal give the song a big shot of humanity. If Chambe’s production is box fresh pair of sneakers, the vocals are the excitement of a journey to see a certain someone you just can’t wait to be around.

Having historically produced for other artists and labels, Antoine has gradually been building his reputation under his own name. His 2017 track Dream Of Me charted on Soundcloud’s top of the world deep house and has almost 10 million plays, whilst his 2019 track Easy Come scored radio play and success in China, racking up over 250 million streams. Forget About It is taken from Chambe’s forthcoming debut album, Riverside, due in June 2022.