EP: Miss Grit – ‘Impostor’

The phenomenon of impostor syndrome, something most of us have either heard about or experienced first hand, often refers to an internal and individual belief that you are not as qualified or capable as others perceive you to be. On her second EP Imposter, Miss Grit (aka Margaret Sohn) proves she is anything but her record’s namesake. This self-released offering depicts Sohn’s misplaced feelings of being fraudulent through her own lens, and addresses her life-long journey through racial impostor syndrome which she experienced as a half-Korean girl growing up in the white suburbs of Michigan.

‘Don’t Wander’ is a short and sweet-sounding start of strings and murmured vocals which sets the listener up for guttural gusto in later tracks when these sceptical thoughts begin to take a firmer hold. “If they think you’re somebody / You’ll have to prove you’ve got what they want,” sings Sohn in ‘Buy The Banter’ which is a more explicit narrative of power plays in our attempts to stay relevant and the incessant need to convince others of our abilities.

“I wish I was blonde”, Sohn coos in the ethereal intro to ‘Blonde’, its choral crescendo shows harmonies that echo Shoegaze veterans Ride, and aurally signifies how these thoughts can be overly intrusive. ‘Grow Up To’ acts as an audible wish-list as Sohn continually longs to achieve more, while musically, it demonstrates how the multi-instrumentalist can merge gnarly guitars and luscious melodies to create powerful soundscapes that boast a well-produced polish. ‘Dark Side of the Party’ is a perkier extension of these sounds and recalls those of fellow polymath St. Vincent.

Despite anxieties of impersonating musicians, Sohn has created a cathartic collection of tracks which sees her put a sonic stamp on her ever growing talents as a musician, singer and producer. If this is the soundtrack to self-doubt, what delights can we expect to hear from the eventual sounds of self-confidence?

 

Listen to Impostor on bandcamp or Spotify

Follow Miss Grit on Instagram & Facebook

Charlotte Croft
@croft_charlie

Photo Credit: Natasha Willson

 

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ALBUM: Tamar Aphek – ‘All Bets Are Off’

Israeli artist Tamar Aphek arrives on the legendary Kill Rock Stars with an indie rock pedigree to rival some of the label’s most celebrated acts. After close to a decade playing wild guitar licks and fronting some of Tel Aviv’s most prominent rock bands, Aphek got a taste for the solo life and promptly moved to Paris to focus on her song-craft.

Stepping into her new role in style, she teamed up with fellow Israeli Yonatan Gat (ex-Monotonix) to record her first Tamar Aphek EP, Collision, released in the summer of 2014. She turned down the guitars, dipped back into the classical piano training of her youth, and started to explore the full range of her voice. Until that point she had considered herself to be more of a guitarist than a singer, though it’s hard to reconcile that fact with the confidently deadpan and sophisticated voice we encounter on All Bets Are Off. People will inevitably make comparisons with Nico but Aphek’s vocal style is less scorched and droning, though still dry enough to cut through even the knottiest of her tightly wound, jazz inflected songs.

Much of the recording for All Bets Are Off was completed some years ago with her original touring band, but Aphek has been in no hurry to release it. Instead, she has taken an intuitive yet purposeful approach to producing the album herself, re-sculpting and layering the instrumentation where necessary to best suit her stories of jealousy, injustice, anger and revenge. Take a moment to compare the Bandcamp demo of ‘Russian Winter’ (aka ‘The Second I Am Gone’, from 2013) with its stonking final form on the record to see how Aphek’s vision has paid off. Powering in on scuzzy guitars and precision drums and exiting with an out-of-nowhere farfisa final eighth, ‘Russian Winter’ sets the tone for an album that’s packed with sudden diversions and unruly intermissions.

Aphek is at her most aggressive on ‘Crossbow’, last year’s pummeling first single, boosting her villainous tale with motorik propulsion and a flashy guitar line that brings it all together. Her production skills come to the fore again on the strung-out funhouse-mirror funk of ‘Too Much Information’, turning a potential clown car of a song into a woozy mid-album set-piece of beautifully controlled chaos. Elsewhere, ‘Show Me Your Pretty Side’ is a discomfiting, sax-strewn, stalkerish track that goes heavier on the twang, recalling a more cynical Holly Golightly or early Eleni Mandell.

Aphek never wavers in her commitment to the rollercoaster approach she has adopted, though her tricks can start to wear a little thin on longer songs like ‘Beautiful Confusion’ and ‘Nothing Can Surprise Me’. For the most part, though, All Bets Are Off is a thrillingly cohesive ride that’s not afraid of ambiguities or of going to extremes. There’s a lifetime of musical experience at work here, more fully revealed with each repeated listen, confirming Tamar Aphek as one to keep a close ear on.

Listen to Tamar Aphek’s new album All Bets Are Off on bandcamp or Spotify

Follow Tamar Aphek on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook for more updates.

Alan Pedder
@_neverdoneing

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Track Of The Day: Hadda Be – ‘Another Life’

This was the song I needed to hear on a rainy January afternoon in lockdown. As it blasts through my speakers, Hadda Be‘s ‘Another Life’ has a riotous, live energy that takes me back to sweaty basement bars and the buzz of watching a great band play with the people I love. It’s exciting and it’s hopeful.

The song’s melancholic lyrics (“it covers me in worry, now that’s all I ever know”) are buoyed by jangly guitars, frenetic drums and a joyful, shout-a-long chorus. Marrying indie power-pop with a real post punk sensibility, ‘Another Life’ reminds me both of the Primitives, and that I need to go and have a dance as soon as humanly possible.

Formally known as Foundlings, this (rather-appropriately named) single marks a fresh start for Hadda Be, who return with a refreshed line-up, as well as a new name. With their debut album due in spring, it feels like they’re a band at the height of their powers – and I can’t wait to hear more.

 

Hadda Be’s debut album will be available on three flavours of vinyl, CD and download via Last Night From Glasgow on 30th April. 

Vic Conway 

Photo Credit: Luthiem Escalona

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Track Of The Day: Madame So – ‘Real Friends’

An off-kilter reflection on how friendships change and develop over the course of time, Madame So has shared her latest single ‘Real Friends’. Following on from previous releases ‘Generation Y’, ‘You Say’ and ‘Who Are We To Judge?’ this new offering sees the Paris-born, London-based songwriter tackle the ever-evolving ways we prioritise and reassess our existing relationships.

“This song is about how some friendships can be very superficial, and how some people can be very fickle in their interactions with others and use them to pass-time and/or as playground companions,” Madame So explains. Full of her distinctive vocals, energetic rhythms and eccentric riffs, Madame So reaches the mature realisation that there’s “no U-turn on good memories” once a friendship has reached its expiry date, and that it’s better to move on alone than to drag it out any longer.

Whilst the song deals with a weighty subject, Madame So approaches it with her trademark fun and fierce style, moving past her troubles in a defiant and articulate manner. ‘Real Friends’ comes at a time when we’re all reconsidering the most important parts of our friendships, and it’s a slick observation on how we progress past the obstacles that affect them.

The single is accompanied by a colourful lyric video created by Tomas Santos that you can watch below.

Follow Madame So on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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