LISTEN: Sunken – ‘Show Me Your Mind’

Having previously supported the likes of Babeheaven, and newly signed to 7476 (Matt Maltese, Lizzie Reid, London band Sunken have now shared a dreamy new single. A fierce blend of throbbing bass and sharp synths, ‘Show Me Your Mind‘ is a song “about the subtleties of how someone presents themselves to you“. There is so much scope for exploration in that topic, and this song zeros in on it wonderfully.

The drum beat and the rich bass line form a solid core that carries the song from slower opening bars into its intense ending, as the pace picks up and the synths build until the track swells into bursting emotion. The musicality provides a foundation for Poppy Billingham’s incredible vocals that match its force perfectly. Billingham has a strong, captivating voice that sweeps you into the raw torment of the track.

The lyrics are simple, with repeating phrases that shift as the relationship progresses. They imagine a setting for that feeling that inspired the track; it embodies that sense of being in limbo with someone you can’t quite grasp with any sense of certainty. The lack of specificity allows you to project your experiences of people who are closed off – regardless of how an individual holds their guard up, this song reflects that universal feeling that you’re not getting the whole picture.

‘Show Me Your Mind’ is an intensely emotional song that combines lyrics, vocals and a stirring musicality into a genuine and powerful track. With only slight changes in intonation, it captures the joy in sharing what you know of someone, the fear of what you’re being shut out of, and ultimately the hope that an unfolding relationship may reveal the rest to you. It’s open-ended in a way that’s almost optimistic, but doesn’t shy away from that initial pain.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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WATCH: Softcult – ‘Spit It Out’

A lush, swirling guitar tune that gently encourages listeners to face their unconscious bias, Canadian duo Softcult have shared their latest single ‘Spit It Out’. Since the release of their debut EP Year Of The Rat earlier this year, the pair have been busy working on new material, with this new offering building on their existing manifesto to resist and relieve the pressures that come with existing in a patriarchal world.

Formed of Ontario-based twins Phoenix and Mercedes Arn Horn, Softcult cut their teeth playing live shows in their local town of Kitchener, before moving on to bigger audiences on the North American tour circuit. Their experiences of playing and working within a male-dominated industry formed the foundation for their current sound, which is born from the desire to reject toxic standards of femininity and embrace a more equal world.

‘Spit It Out’ embodies this outlook, as the band explain in more detail: “The song is about rejecting harmful ideologies that we’ve come to accept as normal, even though they perpetuate our own oppression. Most people understand that misogyny, sexism, racism, etc are wrong, but don’t often notice when it occurs in our every day lives, in the media, or how we’ve been conditioned to perceive the world. We can even unknowingly become part of the problem because we’ve internalized these ways of thinking. We wrote the song about resisting societal standards which only serve to benefit those that hold power over others. By simply refusing to accept these ideologies, we can weaken the pillars in our society that allow oppression and injustice. It all starts with questioning them in the first place, and then deciding that we aren’t going to continue to contribute to them.”

Watch the video for ‘Spit It Out’ below.

Follow Softcult on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter

Photo credit: Judith Priest

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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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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