WATCH: Alice SK – ‘On The Road’

Having received acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music’s Steve LaMacq, London-based alt-folk artist Alice SK has now unleashed new aspects of her musical spectrum with twisted music video for latest release ‘On The Road’. The song and video brilliantly tell the cautionary tale of a toxic relationship, taking us on an emotional rollercoaster as the cracks start to show. 

The scene is set with slow, soft keys and SK’s luscious, smokey vocals, but as song escalates around the emotional chorus – “Momma says he’ll take my heart, turn it to ash / I’m on the road…” – we begin to realise she is trapped. As the romance turns sour in the second verse, we’re able to feel her pain as the tempo increases when she battles with her inner voices and towards the realisation that “there’s no turning back” from the choices she has to make to regain her power.

Juxtaposing a lilting folk-strewn musicality with a hauntingly poignant raw emotion and sense of foreboding, ‘On The Road’ showcases Alice SK’s beautifully resonant lyrical storytelling perfectly.

Watch the eerie, Seb Gilmore directed, new video for ‘On The Road’ here:

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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NEW TRACK: Softcult – ‘Shortest Fuse’

Following on from their previous single ‘Haunt You Still’ – a bittersweet reflection on the mark we leave on others in the extended aftermath of a breakup – Canadian duo Softcult have shared their latest track, ‘Shortest Fuse’. A melodic lament to the vice-like grip of life under capitalism, the single is another haunting blend of the band’s trademark shadowy riffs, urgent vocals and commanding beats.

Formed of twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn Horn, Softcult have had a busy few years touring with the likes of Incubus and MUSE, as well as releasing a trio of excellent EPs: Year Of The Rat (2021), Year Of The Snake (2022), and See You In The Dark (2023). Now, the pair are gearing up to release another collection of songs, with new single ‘Shortest Fuse’ providing listeners with an insight into what they can expect from the duo in the coming months.

Speaking about the inspiration behind the track, Softcult explain: “Capitalism seems to be designed to keep underprivileged people toiling in a never ending cycle of debt and poverty where their labor is underpaid in order to profit their employers. The benefits of capitalism are rarely equally distributed, accruing wealth to a very small percentage of the population. Built on the notion of greed, benefitting only by paying workers less than what their labor is worth, it’s difficult to not become disenfranchised with capitalism when you exist in this reality and see no end in sight. We can’t become complicit in a system that is designed to keep us down.”

With their shimmering guitar tones, swirling FX and gentle dual vocals, Softcult provide listeners with a moment of respite from the pressures of everyday life on ‘Shortest Fuse’. Watch the band’s self-directed accompanying video for the track below.

Follow Softcult on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Facebook & X

Photo Credit: Kaylene Widdoes

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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New Track: Ski Lift – ‘Double Yellow’

‘Double Yellow‘ is the latest single by Ski Lift, the project of Welsh born/Croydon-based songwriter Benji Tranter with Elizabeth Walsh on bass and vocals and Adam Fletcher on drums. With its nostalgic sound, enchanting melody, and evocative lyrics, it captivated me on first listen.

The music kicks off with a gritty, grunge-infused strumming of rhythm guitars accompanied by a cool drum groove. The soft vocals gracefully float atop the guitar, while a subtle low harmony accentuates the main vocal line with a touch of melancholy. Eventually, the track drops, with the drums adopting a richer and warmer tone and the track builds for a big chorus marked by a fuzz-laden guitar chop followed by the lyric hook “my little universe” – underscoring the theme of our shrinking world during lockdown – a line you just have to sing along with. As a call-and-response melody follows, the guitars step back to give the vocals a central spotlight.

With shades of ’90s bands like Weezer, whose influence is easy to hear, the track also brings to mind more contemporary artists like Soccer Mommy and Palehound. 

A song written over lockdown, it captures the newfound fascination in the mundane and ordinary that we felt over that time, confined indoors with little to do but embark on our daily walks. The song paints vivid images of common-place things that often escape our notice in ‘normal’ daily life. Of the lyrics, Tranter explains:

“During the lockdown of 2021, I explored my local area on foot most days – Broad Green, Waddon Marsh (overshadowed by the giant gasworks which have since been torn down) and Wandle Park. I became familiar with, and fond of, many little details and aspects I hadn’t noticed in busier times. I felt strange knowing that when life sped back up, I might not see those places again in the same way.”

Having shared a stage with bands such as Holiday Ghosts, ARXX and Mary in the Junkyard, Ski Lift have already received radio play and support from the likes of BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson and Radio X’s John Kennedy, demonstrating they are a band not to be ignored.

Watch a beautiful live session of ‘Double Yellow’ that the band recorded for Sub Cat Records; really highlighting their tight musicianship and the intricate harmonies they’re able to create.


Catch Ski Lift live on 29th March at The Cavendish Arms’ London Indie Pop Weekender – get tickets here.

Ella Patenall
@ellapatenall

Photo Credit: Jas Kisbee

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WATCH: Schande – ‘Relevant Campaigns’

Having been a big fan of noise-pop-shoegaze-tinged legends Schande for a while now, with my love of them being revived when they charmed our ears playing our first gig back after covid in 2021, I’m super excited to hear that they’ll be releasing their new album in April this year, via Thurston and Eva Moore’s record label. And now, following last year’s scuzzy ’52 Hz’, they’ve shared a truly enchanting new single.

To be honest, I can’t seem to stop listening to ‘Relevant Campaigns‘ and crying. It’s a thing of pure beauty. Its twinkling grace. The whirring to-ing and fro-ing, like the constant rippling of the tide that keeps going even when everything else seems like it’s stopped. The shimmering hooks that rise and fall. Jen Chochinov’s whispering vocals fading in and out with an understated melancholy.

Written while Jen’s mother was terminally ill, it’s an exquisite rumination on the fragility of life and the strength of love. Of the track, she explains:

“It was a way to conjure love and healing and try to balance out my own fear and anxiety which felt all too consuming. After my mom passed away at the end of 2023, this song being released now feels like a gifted timely reminder to hold on to what was shared while navigating loss. ‘Relevant Campaigns’ is essentially about picking your battles, to really assess where your priorities and energies lay because time is such a finite resource. More to the point it’s about choosing love, hope, and resilience.”

‘Relevant Campaigns’ is accompanied by a really beautiful animated video. Co-created by Sarah Lippett and Duncan Barrett, it perfectly depicts the heartfelt sentiment of the track as the protagonist engages in a stirring silent dialogue with the moon. Watch it here:

Once Around, the upcoming new album from Schande, is set for release in April via The Daydream Library Series, the house record label of Thurston and Eva Moore’s Ecstatic Peace Library collective.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Heidi Weber

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