WATCH: Sophie Kilburn – ‘I’m In Love With My Therapist’

A ’90s inspired indie-pop belter, Sophie Kilburn has shared her latest single ‘I’m In Love With My Therapist‘. It’s the second single from her debut EP, following ‘Movements’, which also blew us away at GIHE. Shades of Americana ring out through the song, with the Derbyshire artist reflecting LA’s Sunset Boulevard. Fans of Haim, Phoebe Bridgers, and Maggie Rogers might just find Sophie Kilburn to be their new favourite artist.

A fiery fusion of old-school rocker and modern pop warrior, Sophie Kilburn captivates and commands her due attention. ‘I’m In Love With My Therapist’ is a display of assured and beautifully crafted song-writing. The addictive vocal hook lingers in your mind long after the song has finished. It’s a euphoric release, both emotionally and musically. Fierce guitar riffs, oozing a stadium anthem feel, interlace with the driven percussion and thumping bass line. It is foot-stomping emotion, displaying the strength that comes from being so in touch with your emotions, as Sophie sings of both being lost as well as knowing that she needs to get out. The musical drive and the honest lyrics create a poignant juxtaposition.

In her own words, Sophie describes how ‘I’m In Love With My Therapist’ came to be:

“It was lockdown number two, and I was annoyed at myself for killing yet another plant and the story of the song just fell from my frustration. When you go to therapy, you are trying to understand your emotions and behaviours. Sometimes that digging causes confusion, you start to project feelings – like your longing to fall in love – onto a person who ‘gives you the time of day’. It is quite a morbid thought that the only person who you feel who gets you and you can share anything with, is your therapist… They know everything about you, and you know nothing about them but the consistency of being emotionally intimate with them causes feelings to grow to the point of breaking point.”

The music video, shot with an all-female team led by Marieke Macklon, has shades of the Truman Show, with the cameras watching Sophie closely. It’s obsessive and bordering on invasive, powerfully illustrating the all-consuming nature of anxiety and depression and perfectly expressing the sentiment of the song.


Sophie Kilburn’s debut EP, My Room Made Me Public, is set for release next month.

Jaz Kelly
@surfjaz

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Track Of The Day: French For Rabbits – ‘The Overflow’

In a soothing dream-pop escape, New Zealand’s French For Rabbits bring us to a safe space to just breathe – even if only just a moment, in latest single ‘The Overflow‘. Having chiseled their craft for nearly a decade, the artistry of French For Rabbits amalgamates a bond between effortlessness and attention to detail; a close kept eye, and the timely intuition to let go. 

Alleviation plays an instrumental role as ‘The Overflow’ bubbles in sync with festering anxiety. Front-woman Brooke Singer is stewing in a battle so familiar to artists of all kinds as she balances on a beam between productivity and simplicity. “Too long that I’ve been gone, terrified of not getting things done, And every day there is still less time to do it in…”. She daydreams of the lucidity of a simple life, but knows herself as an ongoing creator even when “The Overflow” leaves her drenched in her own emotions. 

Melodic guitar riffs, sparkling synth accents and swirling vocals lay a bed of comfort adjacent to In The Valley Below, TOPS, Pony Girl and Angus & Julia Stone. The bellowing chorus of ‘The Overflow’ rings with angelic layers that saturate Singer’s tone, while still keeping room for the track’s euphoric, other worldly instrumental.

French For Rabbits beautifully combines a folk-like tenderness and endearing earnest emotion that is wrapped in the irresistible digital glimmer of dream-pop in ‘The Overflow’.

‘The Overflow’ is out now via Reckless Yes.

Jill Goyeau
@jillybxxn

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WATCH: Meggie Brown – ‘Dusty Smells’

Having already been championed by the likes of Alex Kapranos, and The Guardian – who named them as ‘One To Watch’ at the beginning of 2020 -, North London-based artist Meggie Brown has now shared the first song taken from their upcoming new EP.

‘Dusty Smells’ is an anthem for anyone wrangling with their identity or trying to find their place in the world. Brown’s delivery is pure poetry, almost like spoken word, as they share a nostalgic take on identity. The lyrics transport us to a trashy old working men’s club, somewhere in suburbia, which allows us to reflect on who we are. It’s proper storytelling, amplified by super-sleazy guitars, primal drums and a trippy, art-rock outro that celebrates little nuggets of our collective memories – like skin on custard and getting all dolled up to show that you’re a fully functioning adult.

There’s such originality here; Brown’s vocals and lyrics sparkle, and the music feels fresh and exciting. When Brown sings “Why do I bother?” it feels like a revelation – something to liberate and inspire anyone who’s ever struggled to fit in.

Of the track, Brown – who recently came out as transgender – explains:

“Coming to terms with one’s gender identity has been both beautiful and challenging during this lockdown. When I wrote and recorded ‘Dusty Smells’ and the EP I wanted them to match through sound how non-binary those emotions and realisations were… True to the circumstance, Dusty smells is very nostalgic trying to connect the old ways with the new, the feeling of home, the smells and associations whilst trying to understand our place as young adults, why do we bother?“

‘Dusty Smells’ is accompanied by an immersive, artfully created, video, directed by Myfi Mountfordand produced by Creature Fleur. Watch it here:

HOME, the upcoming EP from Meggie Brown, is set for release later this year.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

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ALBUM: Anika – ‘Change’

Moving beyond the punishing sounds and default to doom-saying that’s often defined her previous work, Berlin-based musician Anika‘s new album Change is a more positive cut, possessing some of her most accessible work yet. Set for release via Sacred Bones & Invada Records on 23rd July, the album is not without its jagged, angsty moments, but on the whole it’s certainly a cleaner offering.

Fans of the musician’s existing output – a 2010 solo debut performed alongside Beak> and a string of releases with Exploded View – will recognise the blueprint of locked drum & bass grooves, noisy synths and Anika’s haunting voice floating above it with a cracked serenity that feels as though it could collapse into tears or hysterical laughter at any moment. The key sonic difference with Change is its polished quality, which lends a new refinement and approachability to Anika’s work. At times it feels a little too neat, lacking that terrifying, paint-stripping howl that makes for the best Exploded View tracks. Having said that, it opens up a new side to Anika, one that many will want to hear more from.

Anika reports that the words on Change were written largely “on the spot”, going some way to explaining the recourse to simple yet enigmatic refrains, felt most urgently on tracks like the thunderous opener ‘Finger Pies’ and the disquieting ‘Rights’. Her willingness to employ a smoother set of sounds allows for some unexpectedly great pop moments. ‘Critical’ is lead by a neat synth line that could have come straight from Jane Weaver’s Modern Cosmology, wonderfully plucking the song from the murk of a driving rhythm section.

‘Change’ is an excellent track, epitomising the huge shift Anika makes as an artist on this record. It offers a guarded optimism in its hedged refrain “I think we can change” and tempers the album’s concerns about the destructive nature of man, articulated on tracks like ‘Never Coming Back’ (inspired by Rachael Carson’s book Silent Spring and our destruction of the natural world), enabling us to find consolation in our agency as individuals to avert future consequences of human activity. It is telling that ‘Change’ is the eponymous track and that its central idea was chosen to be the defining theme of the album, creating room for a more sanguine outlook.

The album closes with ‘Wait for Something’, which, like ‘Change’, plays a crucial role in forging the overall mood of the piece. Emerging out of the claustrophobic terror of ‘Freedom’, we are encouraged to find solace in its vagueness, in the belief that some salvation will come, even if we cannot conceptualise the form it might take. People often draw the obvious and not entirely helpful comparison between Anika and Nico, but as the drums kick in here it feels more like we’re listening to the Velvet Underground’s Loaded, pushing us into the realm of unadulterated pop rock. Sitting on those flying keys and cymbal crashes, listeners can really feel the joyous optimism Anika seeks to leave them with.

Sonically drifting away from brutal electro-terror and thematically more positive than earlier efforts, Anika’s Change is an interesting transitional album in sound and spirit, not entirely comfortable in its optimism, but telling for its willingness to seek it out.

Follow Anika on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Sven Gutjahr

Lloyd Bolton
@lloyd_bolton

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