NEW TRACK: Twin Rains – ‘Laws Of The Universe’

A sweeping, cinematic rumination on the impact our actions have after we’re gone, Toronto-based dream-pop band Twin Rains have shared their latest single, ‘Laws Of The Universe’. Following on from their previous release ‘You’re the Only One’, the track is a heady, swirling interpretation on personal legacy, inspired by a key episode of the hit TV show, Succession.

Formed of Jay Merrow, Christine Stoesser and live drummer Greg Smith, Twin Rains write, record and produce all of their own music. Signed to Rough Trade Publishing, the band create emotive, psych-tinged, synth-soaked sounds that have been licensed for use on TV shows and movies. Their potent blend of Christine’s soft vocals with noisy, distorted guitar sounds makes for immersive listening, and their latest track ‘Laws Of The Universe’ spotlights this songwriting skill. The single also marks the first time that Twin Rains have used strings on a track, performed by Toronto musician Jessica Deutsch.

“Inspiration can come from anywhere,” explains Christine about ‘Laws Of The Universe’. “The concept of this song was prompted by an episode of Succession, the one where Kendall speaks at his father’s funeral, saying basically: ‘Yeah we know he wasn’t a nice person—but look at what he accomplished.’ So one moment I’m watching TV and the next I’m in deep contemplation because I found this to be such a profound philosophical debate: what’s more important? Your life and how you treat the people and places in it, or your legacy?”

Contemplations like this have inspired many of the the tracks on Twin Rains’ new LP, which they have been busy working on. Look out for more details on the release in the near future.

Watch the video for ‘Laws Of The Universe’ below.

Follow Twin Rains on bandcamp, Spotify, Facebook, Twitter (X) & Instagram

Photo Credit: Shane Chiasson

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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LISTEN: Circe – ‘Glow (You Always Tell Me I Have This Glow’)

Following on from her previous cinematic release ‘Riot Of Sunlight‘, London-based dark-pop artist Circe has now shared her new single, ‘Glow (You Always Tell Me I Have This Glow’). Taken from her upcoming EP, Drawing Wings From The Light, which is set for release on 19th July, the track bristles with a potent anger, explored through Circe’s seething-yet-poetic lyricism, atmospheric synths and intriguing use of ASMR-inducing samples.

On first listen, ‘Glow’ appears more subdued than Circe’s recent vivid offerings, but it retains her idiosyncratic charm and showcases the shadowy, effervescent side of her song-writing, which her debut EP She’s Made Of Saints highlighted beautifully. Inspired by “a powerful rage” directed against “the slights and casual misogyny of the music world”, her hushed threat of “I am a hurricane” sees her defiantly reclaim a sense of power and self autonomy in the face of this adversity.

From the candid opening lyric – “fucked it up first / so I didn’t have to know” – 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 hair own hair. Blending the biblical story of Samson and Delilah with her own experiences to create the narrative for ‘Glow’, Circe blurs the lines between myth and reality once more, exploring the murky territory that sits in between.

‘Glow’ is accompanied by a stylish lyric video, and the news that Circe will be playing a headline show at The Windmill in Brixton on 21st September. Watch the video below and grab your tickets here.

Circe UK Live Dates 2023
21st September – The Windmill, Brixton – London

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

Photo Credit: Zak Watson

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

 

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NEW TRACK: Circe – ‘Riot Of Sunlight’

A commanding, euphoric rush of cinematic dark-pop, London-based musician Circe has shared her latest single ‘Riot Of Sunlight’. Taken from her upcoming EP, Drawing Wings From The Light, which is set for release on 19th July, the track is a delightfully disorientating blend of reverb-heavy riffs, dizzying synths and seraphic vocals, all delivered with Circe’s distinctive and vivid charm.

“I wrote ‘Riot Of Sunlight’ when I was a teenager, now 10 years later I’m finally releasing it in its final form – all because of some magic I was blessed enough to encounter twice,” Circe explains about the context of her new track.

“When I was 15, completely by chance, I watched Jez Butterworth’s + Mark Rylance’s critically acclaimed play Jerusalem [now hailed as the greatest play of the century]. A week prior to this, I was disregarded by a frustrated science teacher as an ‘ungrateful fantasist obsessed with glamorising the occult’ — so when my wide eyed teenage self was witness to Jerusalem — a play and performance of such colossal, glorious, gigantic magic — my heart was completely derailed, and by the end of the play I existed on an entirely different plane to the one I walked in on. The next morning I wrote the first incarnation ‘Riot of Sunlight’ – a disciple-like sonic ode to Jerusalem.

Skip forward 10 years I was feeling disillusioned, suffocating under a soulless corrupt government when Jerusalem — like the fucking marvel it is — unexpectedly returned to theatres and I watched again, as ‘a rainbow hit the earth + set fire to the ground’ and I finished the song.”

Inspired by this collision of her past and present, Circe has created another passionate, rapturous offering on ‘Riot Of Sunlight’, which becomes more addictive each time it’s listened to. “Take my blood instead of wine” she offers, as the track builds to its blissful conclusion. This single is the opening track to her upcoming EP, and we can’t wait to hear the record in full.

Listen to ‘Riot Of Sunlight’ below.

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

Photo Credit: Zak Watson

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

 

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