New Track: Death Valley Girls – ‘Sunday’

Having been big fans of LA’s Death Valley Girls for a few years now, I’m super excited to hear that they will be announcing their new album at the end of next month. Our second taster from the upcoming release (following 2021’s ‘It’s All Really Kind Of Amazing’) comes in the form of truly dreamy new single, ‘Sunday‘.

Oozing a glistening, ethereal splendour, ‘Sunday’ offers a sweeping slice of anthemic, soul-strewn psych-rock. Building with a fizzing energy, it harks back to the psychedelic sounds of the ’70s California scene, whilst showcasing the bands’ ability to create something that is utterly unique. Reflecting on the process of addressing your pain and being honest with yourself, it’s a beautifully immersive trip into the cosmic world of Death Valley Girls; stepping away from some of their previous scuzz-filled post-punk offerings, but no less stirring. So, bathe in ‘Sunday’s blissful haze as Bonnie Bloomgarden’s distinctive impassioned vocals ripple throughout this uplifting shimmering soundscape.

Of the track, Bloomgarden expands:

“Recently I realized I have been numbing, medicating, intellectualizing, and avoiding my pain and feelings for most of my life. Over the past few years I learned you have to feel and move through your feelings or they get stuck, and then you become a vessel or container for all the feelings you are trying to avoid! If you acknowledge, feel, and process them, you get to release and move them out of you! This song is to honor that process! Feel your feelings, be so sad you wanna cry forever, and then move on, you gotta keep moving!”

‘Sunday’ is accompanied by a wonderfully trippy, animated, Alice-In-Wonderland-inspired video, directed by Arturo Baston. Watch here:

Islands In The Sky, the upcoming new album from Death Valley Girls, is set for release on 24th February via Suicide Squeeze Records – pre-order here. And catch Death Valley Girls live when they’re over in the UK next month – more info here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Neto Velasco

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New Track: girl with dream – ‘HRT’ (Heart Replacement Theory)

A creator of dreamy, bittersweet “songs to make or break your heart,” Montreal-based artist Chris Lawson aka girl with dream has shared her debut single ‘HRT’ (Heart Replacement Theory). Full of hazy riffs, gentle beats and Lawson’s smooth vocals, the track is a warm reflection on the transgender songwriter’s own experiences of transitioning, as well as an anthem for others, urging them to embrace and celebrate their own identities.

Playing as a bassist in indie-rock band Dresser and many other musical outfits gave Lawson the skills and experience they needed to begin making their solo offerings. Working alongside drummer Rhys Climenhage, Lawson crafts vulnerable, yet buoyant indie-folk sounds under her girl with dream moniker, with ‘HRT’ being the first of many lullaby-esque tunes to come from the new artist.

girl with dream has developed from a private outlet for Lawson to explore her own inner thoughts, into a platform that is connecting communities and sharing the joy of queer and trans stories. Lawson’s music centers around “the sacred power found in embracing yourself and participating in an act of healing, guided by self love and harnessing agency.”

Speaking about her debut single ‘HRT (Heart Replacement Theory), Lawson explains: “This song is as much a celebration of transitioning, an anthem for those who are set free by taking that step for themselves, as it is for everyone facing the struggle to connect with others and to show them who we really are and how we really feel – even when that casts us into vulnerability.”

Listen to ‘HRT’ (Heart Replacement Theory) below.

 

Follow girl with dream on bandcamp, Spotify, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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New Track: Miss Grit – ‘Lain (phone clone)’

An anime-inspired, alt-pop tune that explores the duality of self perception, New York-based, Korean-American musician Margaret Sohn aka Miss Grit has shared their latest single, ‘Lain (phone clone)’. Taken from their upcoming debut album, Follow The Cyborg, which is set for release on 24th February via Mute Records, Sohn’s latest offering is another altruistic mix of cinematic electronics, ultra clear vocals and glitchy beats.

“I feel like the divide between my inner and outer self can grow so big sometimes that it feels like I’m being eclipsed by this big cringey monster,” Sohn explains about the conflicting states that informed their new track. “I wanted to write this to mock the monster and remind myself I’m not powerless against it.” Taking cues from the anime Serial Experiments Lain (Yasuyuki Ueda) – which centers around a girl whose online self attempts to drag her physical self away from reality – ‘Lain (phone clone)’ is Sohn’s musical interpretation of this push-and-pull scenario.

As a mixed-race, non-binary artist, Sohn has always used their art in order to explore, connect with, and understand their own identity further. Their self-released 2021 EP, Impostor, addressed a “life-long journey through racial impostor syndrome,” whilst their Talk Talk EP tackled the complexities of relationships.

Intrigued by the duality of android life, Sohn’s upcoming full length record was heavily inspired by films such as Her, Ex Machina, and Ghost in the Shell, as well as essays by Jia Tolentino (from Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion) and Donna Horroway’s A Cyborg Manifesto. They continue to find new ways of dismantling these concepts on their latest offering ‘Lain (phone clone), adding more evocative and stimulating electronic soundscapes to their impressive repertoire.

Watch the video for ‘Lain (phone clone)’ below.

Pre-order Follow The Cyborg the debut album from Miss Grit here

Follow Miss Grit on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Hoseon Sohn

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: Jessica Winter ft. Lynks – ‘Clutter’

A buoyant alt-pop anthem that celebrates the relief that comes with destroying the relics of an old relationship, London-based artist Jessica Winter has shared her latest single ‘Clutter’. Taken from her upcoming EP, Limerence, which is set for release on 10th February via Lucky Number, the track is a cathartic blend of playful synths and dancing beats, featuring the vocals of avant-garde artist Lynks.

Inspired by her desire to de-clutter her life both physically and mentally, Winter wrote this single whilst in the midst of a house move. “I found love letters, photos and other bits from relationships over the years that at the time meant so much, yet hold no significance now,” she explains about the process. “I’ve carried these things around with me all this time and a spring clean was needed; physically and spiritually from all past and present relationships! Lynks embodies a divine solitary strength so there’s no one better than him to help deliver this message.”

The single is accompanied by a music video directed by Ella Margolin. The visuals feature Winter and Lynks as they follow a group of women who have have left their husbands in order to seek a new life, filled with independent energy and hotness. The tumultuous effect of romantic relationships is something Winter explores from different perspective on her upcoming EP. “Limerence was written during a time when I was trying to understand my relationship to love and my behaviours around it,” she comments. “Love confuses me so much and I think this EP demonstrates that.”

Winter not only self-produces and writes all of her own music, she has also collaborated with the likes of The Big Moon, Jazmin Bean, Phoebe Green, Sundara Karma, Walt Disco and Brodka. In February, she will support Rebecca Black on her UK and Ireland tour, including a  show at London’s Heaven. Grab your tickets here.

Watch the video for ‘Clutter’ below.

 

Follow Jessica Winter on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok & Facebook

Photo credit: Nan Moore

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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