NEW TRACK: Coolgirl – ‘Silverlight’

A synth-soaked exploration of the intense, transitory nature of infatuation, Dublin-based artist and producer Lizzie Fitzpatrick aka Coolgirl has shared her latest single ‘Silverlight’. Taken from her upcoming EP, which is set for release later this year via VETA Records (HAVVK, Sive, DYVR, Maria Kelly, St. Bishop), the track is a mesmeric blend of whirring synth textures, glitchy beats and a subtle, jagged vocal.

GIHE fans will recognise Fitzpatrick as the front person of grunge trio Bitch Falcon, but under her new moniker she uses electronics and synths to create vivid, sometimes ambient, sometimes upbeat sounds. After releasing a handful of singles over the past few years and performing live alongside the likes of HAVVK, Alyxis and Plus One, Coolgirl is preparing to share a new EP, with ‘Silverlight’ being the first hint of what listeners can expect from the upcoming release.

“‘Silverlight’ is a deep synth-wave track that encapsulates the feeling of being sucked into another person, another world, completely devoid of outside life,” Fitzpatrick explains. “Heavy synth lines swirl around in a pit of muddy bass and relentless rhythm. I used vocals chopped up in a sequence that portray lost bits of conversations remembered suddenly and swiftly forgotten.” Curious, experimental and ambient are all words that lend themselves to Fitzpatrick’s sound, but ultimately, her new music is as cool as her namesake and we look forward to hearing more of her thrilling creations in the near future.

Catch Coolgirl playing live in Ireland at Limerick City’s annual Feile na Greine music festival on 18th and 19th August.

Listen to ‘Silverlight’ below.

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Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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EP: Circe – ‘Drawing Wings From The Light’

Inspired by the collision of her past and present, Drawing Wings From The Light, the new EP from London-based artist Circe is a passionate, rapturous collection of slickly produced dark pop tracks.

On her debut record, She’s Made Of Saints (2020), Circe lingered in the shadowy, dystopian ether of cult leaders (‘Dancer’), Stranger Things (‘Steve Harrington’) and The Handmaid’s Tale (‘Ten Girls’), but on her latest offering, she willingly shares personal epiphanies, unfiltered heartbreaks, precious teenage secrets and cell-shaping theatrical experiences with her listeners.

Circe celebrates the lust, frustration and chaos that comes with being a woman who refuses to be scorned, blending pop melodies with poetic lyrics, seraphic vocals and cinematic synths to celebrate the power of these unfiltered feelings. “Take my blood instead of wine” she offers on opening track ‘Riot Of Sunlight’, a disorientating blend of reverb-heavy riffs and dizzying electronics. Originally written when she was a teenager after she saw Jez Butterworth and Mark Rylance’s critically acclaimed play Jerusalem at the theatre, the song has evolved into a euphoric rush of atmospheric sound that becomes more addictive each time it’s listened to.

Whether Circe is finding inspiration in essays titles like Femininity Weaponised: A History Of Women With Swords In Art on the sensational ‘Undone’, vehemently celebrating female sexuality and romantic infatuation on ‘Going Down’, or ruminating on what happens when you surrender to lust on the glistening ‘Mess With Your Head’ – each track on Drawing Wings From The Light feels like a sonic manifestation of power.

She provides her listeners with a delicious head rush that feels akin to taking a bite of forbidden fruit. Her playful exploration of desire and experimentation with gender boundaries on ‘My Boy Aphrodite’ is equally as charming, underscored by her sultry vocals, dazzling electronics and a deeply relatable sense of longing for love and acceptance.

On first listen, ‘Glow (You Always Tell Me I Have This Glow)’ appears more subdued than her other vivid offerings, but it showcases the effervescent side of her song-writing superbly. Circe’s quiet anger smoulders across three minutes: “Move away / so I don’t tear you down too” she sings, her warnings enhanced by the Mach Richter-inspired ‘Nature of Daylight‘ violin parts (which Circe played herself) as well as the sampled sounds of scissors snipping through her own hair.

Blending the biblical story of Samson and Delilah with her own experiences of casual misogyny to create the narrative for ‘Glow’, Circe blurs the lines between myth and reality, exploring the murky territory that sits in between. Her hushed threat of “I am a hurricane” sees her defiantly reclaim her self autonomy in the face of this adversity.

Drawing Wings From The Light ends on a distinctively melancholic note in the form of ‘I’m Still Not Sorry For What I Said’. Unexpectedly recorded in one take in the studio whilst she was confiding in friend and producer Steven Ansell, it feels like a poetic voicenote from a lover intoxicated by heartbreak. It’s a glitchy, down-tempo confession that captures the raw truth of a moment of desire that still manages to retain Circe’s idiosyncratic charm.

Like her mythical Greek namesake – who was described as “a sorceress…able by means of drugs and incantations to change humans into wolves, lions, and swine” – Circe is a captivating force of nature who finds power and comfort in her dark pop fantasies. Drawing Wings From The Light is a total euphoric delight that highlights her potent, impressive songwriting talents.

Listen to Drawing Wings From The Light here

Follow Circe on Spotify, bandcamp, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter & Instagram

Photo Credit: Zak Watson

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

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NEW TRACK: wormboys – ‘Mostly Still’

A light-hearted, endearing grunge-pop tune that acknowledges the awkwardness of social interactions, wormboys have shared their latest single ‘Mostly Still’. Released via non-profit Leeds-based label Come Play With Me, the Leeds four piece deliver their self described “queer moody creepy noise-pop” with joyful flair on this new offering, which forms part of a series of digital releases that Come Play With Me are supporting in order to showcase queer artists in the North.

Formed of vocalists and guitarists Sop Satchwell and Harry Tunnicliffe, bassist Ruth Pearce and drummer Jake Maiden, wormboys make fun, fuzzy, melodic tunes about the realities of everyday existence. On ‘Mostly Still’, the band gently explore the anxieties around interacting with others again in a post-lockdown world, and being unable to react spontaneously in the moment.

“We started collaborating on this song together just before the pandemic hit,” explains bassist Ruth about the track, “so this release has been a long while coming. The feel of the song is reflected somewhat in the story of its writing.” Guitarist Sop adds more: “It feels a little different to our previous releases, more tender and a bit more poppy. I brought the bones of this song to a practice and we worked out the rest together, it has something of all of us in it.”

You can catch wormboys live in London when they play for us at The Shacklewell Arms on Friday 8th September. They’ll be supporting Welsh rockers CHROMA, alongside new Brighton band UrgentSea. Tickets are cheaper in advance and available to buy on DICE here.

Listen to ‘Mostly Still’ below.

 

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Photo Credit: Sam Joyce

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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NEW TRACK: heka – ‘i’m the thorn’

A gentle blend of melancholic lyrics and evocative, ambient synth textures, Francesca Brierley aka heka has shared her latest single ‘i’m the thorn’. Taken from her upcoming EP, swan songs, which is set for release on 22nd September via Practise Music, the track is inspired by the Italian-born, London-based multi-disciplinary artist’s ruminations on a broken romance.

“’i’m the thorn’ meditates over the spoils of an unhealthy relationship,” heka explains. “It’s about love that doesn’t work and ends up hurting both. It’s about feeling liberated by putting an end to it and still sensing a bond with that person through the mutual wounds inflicted. It was conflicting to feel comforted by it and I wanted to express the dichotomy of that feeling.” Through her poetic words and considered instrumentation, heka explores these clashes of emotion, offering her listeners a moment of respite whilst doing so.

The opening line of the new single also references the title of heka’s upcoming EP swan songs – “I wait for your song to calm / I wait for your song / your swan song” – which is a collection of six affecting “butchered folk” tracks. It’s an intimate, warm exploration of the songwriter’s experiences of life, love, loss and nostalgia, all filtered through a classical-contemporary musical lens. heka moves through these states with impressive transience and grace, reflecting the growth and resilience that comes with processing these often complex emotions.

Listen to ‘i’m the thorn’ below.

Pre-save heka’s swang songs EP here

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

Photo Credit: Holly De Looze

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

 

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