LISTEN: Indigo Sparke – ‘Pressure In My Chest’

‘Pressure In My Chest‘ is the first track from Australian born/New York based Indigo Sparke’s upcoming album, Hysteria. Profound in its simplicity, the track sets the tone for an album that promises to explore rich emotional depths.

The song begins with soft vocals and guitars, with light touches of percussion shimmering in the background; a gentle track, slow paced with soft notes throughout. As more instruments are introduced, it doesn’t get louder or busier – instead, every line complements every other, so the music swells. It grows bolder as the song ramps up to its most intense point, echoing the sensation of the titular pressure.

The music feels almost minimalist, but only because the different instruments are working together so effectively. They provide a firm foundation for the vocals to dance over, carrying the impassioned feeling of the song; the lyrics float, adrift in the emotion that the song preserves. The lyrics themselves don’t give any direct details of the story that has brought us to this point, but they don’t need to. The sentimental metaphors in the verses, with vague allusions to ambitions and relationships, are universal enough that anyone can project their own personal context onto them.

Regardless of the experiences that cause it, the intensity of the feeling in the chorus is easy to connect to. The lyrics perfectly describe the way that emotions, when they’re powerful enough, feel like they’re manifesting physically and eclipse whatever else is around you in that moment. As a standalone song, ‘Pressure In My Chest’ captures and reflects that sensation. Of the track, Sparke explains:

“In the birth of memory, there is the eternal moment of time. All things exist here. Through night dreams and wishes, and hot tears and laughing stars, I carried myself to the desert to traverse the landscape of history and reconcile the ever present Pressure in my Chest.“

As a teaser for the new album, ‘Pressure In My Chest’ paves the way for a record that is heavy with emotion, beautifully capturing the essence of the most intense feelings people can experience.

Watch the new, Madeline Clayton-directed video for ‘Pressure In My Chest’ here:

Hysteria, the upcoming new album from Indigo Sparke, is set for release on 7th October via Sacred Bones.

Kirstie Summers
@actuallykurt

Photo Credit:  Angela Ricciardi

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Five Favourites: Jemima Coulter

Whilst you may know them from being one half of Hailaiker, or from their collaborations with the likes of Squirrel Flower and Novo Amor, Bristol-based artist Jemima Coulter has now released their debut solo album. Reflecting on themes such as unrequited love and chasing happiness – through both their own lived experiences and imagined situations – Grace After A Party is a beautifully poignant collection. Flowing with a shimmering, folk-strewn musicality, each track showcases Coulter’s raw, heartfelt vocals and ability to create stirring, emotion-rich dreamscapes with a swirling, immersive allure.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of their debut album, we caught up with Jemima Coulter to ask about the music that has inspired them the most. See below for their choices of their five favourite albums, and be sure to treat your ears to Grace After A Party as soon as possible…

Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
I drew a lot from this album while writing Grace, mostly in thinking about storytelling and the details in the lyrics that make it compelling. The stories told in this album combined with the nuanced melodies makes it feel so directed, so itself and also perfectly balanced – never too much going on. Each section in a song sits perfectly on its own and in context of other sections, each song on the album sitting perfectly on its own and also tied to the others. I think the use of space in this album is not something I’ve found anywhere else; I don’t know what they used for the reverb, but listening to it, it’s all really ‘verby, but in a way where it’s like this special Carrie & Lowell room that’s a specific kind of dark and echoey but doesn’t make everything sound floaty and washed, and also ties the closer sounding guitar with everything else. Maybe it’s just the best mix I’ve ever heard ha. I listened to Carrie & Lowell a lot when I was driving, around the age of 19-20 – the combination of night-driving and this music seemed to swirl into an endless road. I’ve always wanted to recreate that in an album – you put it on and you’re there, it’s like a physical space, each song a room in a house, and the same things are in the rooms each time you listen but you’re still picking each of them up and turning them over in your hands and each object conjures an emotion in you.

Camille – Le Fil
Someone showed me ‘Quand Je Marche’ one morning and it was in my head for literally years until I found it on this album. There was a period while I was working on Grace (I think autumn 2020) – I was missing someone and I couldn’t sleep and I walked the perimeter of Bristol a few nights for nearly four hours each time and I remember walking the side of a steep A-road listening to this. I think she does nearly everything with her mouth? It’s really minimalist, but it taught me about using drones and melody and kind of inspired me to keep exploring that idea that you often just hear in folk. It’s also totally the opposite of what I tend to do with production and I love how her melodies totally carry the whole album. It has loads of repeating melodic themes and moments, almost like ‘acts’ and interludes which makes it theatrical, but in a really good way… It’s just a wicked album. 

Sea Oleena – Weaving a Basket 
I just think this is the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. It makes time stand still. No other words. 

John Martyn – Glorious Fool 
I was shown this album fairly recently, after being aware of a few John Martyn songs. The bass in his music takes me somewhere – I don’t think I’ve heard anything like it. Sometimes it’s like it’s just John and that fretless bass and everything else is just highlighting whatever they’re doing. His music makes me think about timing and atmosphere more than anyone else’s at the moment. He’s not doing anything particularly dense with his melodies or his words, it’s all very felt and is almost improvisational. It seems that the songs are really recordings in the sense that they don’t feel concerned with how they’d stand-up as live performance, and that’s something I find about this particular album and in his other ones, that them being crafted in the studio in darkness and in the atmosphere absolutely comes through. I was reading Phill Brown’s autobiography Are we Still Rolling? and it includes a bit about them recording John Martyn’s One World album – they had speakers across a lake and recorded parts the other side of the water to create a massive outdoor reverb. The combination of nature and technology fits with the crossovers I hear in John Martyn’s music; he was clearly so ahead and on the brink of mixing jazz, folk and electronic experimentation. ‘Small Hours’ from that album is the best night-time song. 

The Blue Nile – Hats
The thing I love about this album is that it feels like film music because it is so secured within timbre limitations and concept limitations. It’s like an ’80s rework of the Casablanca soundtrack or something. It sounds so ’80s/early ’90s it’s almost like a modern day pastiche of that period of pop. Again though – maybe a theme going on here -, there’s so much space and anticipation in these songs which I’ve found really liberating, like “yes, repeat that bit 8 times”. The whole thing is a massive argument against concision for me – like, fuck being concise; be indulgent, do a fade out. There’s three songs on that album over six minutes, and it’s an absolute pleasure to be inside them for the whole six minutes, I want to be able to do that more than anything, really.

Massive thanks to Jemima Coulter for sharing their Five Favourites with us!

Grace After A Party, the debut album from Jemima Coulter, is out now via Hand In Hive.

Photo Credit: Christina Russell

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PREMIERE: Greenness – ‘Destroy / Enjoy’

Following the release of two EPs and acclaim from the likes of BBC Introducing and BBC Radio Sussex, Brighton-based Anglo-French duo Cécile Frangi and Graham Pratt – aka Greenness – have now announced the release of their debut full-length album and shared the first taster from the collection.

A poignant reflection on the ongoing paradox of humanity in chaos as nature continues to bloom, ‘Destroy / Enjoy’ offers a beautifully ethereal soundscape. As twinkling hooks sparkle alongside Frangi’s rich, crystalline vocals, it ripples with a lilting musicality and heartfelt emotion, shimmering with a captivating grace, as comforting pastoral images are evoked in the mind of the listener. With a glistening, folk-strewn allure reminiscent of This Is The Kit, this latest offering from Greenness showcases the duo’s ability to create something utterly exquisite; ‘Destroy / Enjoy’ bathes delicately in its refined otherworldly charm, whilst immersing us completely in its blissful majesty.

Of the track, the band explain:

“‘Destroy / Enjoy’ is about using positive energy to shake off tired old systems and embracing this beautiful, natural world”

Sunrooms, the debut album from Greenness, is set for release on 20th May via Cécile Frangi’s own label One Fern Records. Catch the duo live on 24th March at The Folklore Rooms, Brighton (raising money for Warchild).

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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LIVE: Grace Petrie @ Stanley Arts, 12.11.2021

Having initially bought tickets to see Grace Petrie back in May 2020, it was with great excitement that I finally got to witness her politically-charged, yet beautifully uplifting, folk anthems live on 12th November. And it was with even more excitement that, having been a Croydon resident for over three years now, I was able to attend an event at charming local venue Stanley Arts (formally Stanley Halls), just down the road in South Norwood. As a South London resident, it made a particularly nice change to be able to walk to and from a gig, when normally I have to brave various modes of public transport to venture across to the other side of the city…

And the venue seems to suit Grace Petrie’s understated, yet strident, charm perfectly. Sitting in the picturesque old community hall (that now strives to be a completely inclusive space with a focus on hosting LGBTQIA+ creatives and artists of colour), as Petrie introduces us to her “songs of social justice”, a refreshing sense of togetherness seems to unite the crowd and she’s greeted with cheers for the first song of the set – ‘Farewell To Welfare’; one she says that she used to end with, but has now decided to open with as “if that wasn’t politically up your street, the rest of the gig is not for you!” And she’s right; this particularly resonant offering, this longing for a socialist revolution, continues throughout the set, and it’s right up my street – both politically, and musically. 

Continuing with an emotive track from 2017’s Heart First Aid Kit, ‘Coldwaterproofjacket’, Petrie invites us all to sing along to the catchy chorus, and we joyfully oblige; accompanying her own exquisite, rich vocals and lilting melodies to this beautifully heartwarming ballad. And the endearing, friendly vibes continue as Petrie introduces us to multi-instrumentalist Ben Moss, who is not only her musical partner, but was unintentionally her housemate for 6 months during the first of last year’s lockdowns – “We’ve come out of it much closer than we were, there’s not many people I could spend six months locked in a house with. But we got through it!” (in fact she seems to be so fond of him, and in awe of his talents, that later in the set she shares that she has considered setting up a crowdfunder to clone him…) 

It was during this first lockdown that Grace Petrie wrote her latest album, Connectivity – a poignant collection of tracks reflecting on our connection to, and unity with, other people to keep us going through hard times. Taken from this album, Grace introduces ‘Storm To Weather’ as being for “us storm-battered socialists who don’t know when this hurricane is going to stop…” A stirring sentiment oozing an empowering message of solidarity and resilience and, as we all join in with heartfelt gusto to the mainline of the chorus “I will love you forever and we’ll dance again next year”, I feel an overpowering raw emotion, heeding this political call to arms to keep going; to keep fighting for change, for better times…

Following the twinkling grace of ‘Ivy’, a song dedicated to Petrie’s niece who came into the world during Glastonbury 2014 – thankfully after Dolly Parton’s set (which I too was lucky enough to witness!), there’s another offering from the new album. A moving reflection on the confused headspace that can come from mixed messages and unrequited feelings, ‘The Last Man On Earth’ showcases Ben Moss’ immense musical skill as he switches between banjo and fiddle, alongside Petrie’s immersive crystalline charm; poignantly juxtaposing the raw emotion of its heartfelt sentiment with a refreshingly joyous musicality and instantly catchy energy. 

Taking a brief interlude from her own songs, Petrie then hands over to Moss to take centre stage as we’re treated to one of his own, solo offerings – the chiming traditional folk sounds of ‘Bold Reynard’, a lilting ode to the “modern day fox”. 

Resuming her unifying, politically-driven passion, Petrie introduces 2017’s ‘God Save The Hungry’ as an “alternative national anthem” – clarifying that, although God may not be her thing, if he was then surely there are more worthy people in need of saving than the Queen. As she sings with a fervent emotion – “God save the hungry, God save the poor, God save those desperate souls whose lives are torn apart by war. God save the homeless and those with disabilities, and all the other targets of this heartless ideology.” – I’m struck by this extremely pertinent sentiment, once again showcasing Petrie’s knack for combining resonant, necessary themes with an utterly unique, shimmering musicality. 

Reviving our appreciation of Ben Moss, we’re then reminded of a project that he and Petrie worked on together throughout lockdown. Recording a rendition of a song beginning with each of the 26 letters of the alphabet each day, the two of them united with fans at a time when small pleasures were especially important; bringing a little joy into our locked-down lives, connecting us to each other, with each of these covers, and in the process raising money for The Big Issue. Petrie explains that on each of their gigs on the current tour, they’ve been picking out of a hat which one of these covers to play, and “hope it’s not ‘Xanadoo‘”… We end up with V and so ‘Venus’ it is – a fun-filled, folk-tinged rendition of the classic ‘80s hit – such a special rendition in fact, that we forgive Grace for forgetting some of the words.

Following the rousing, heartfelt emotion of the beautifully accordion-accompanied ‘Some Days Are Worse Than Others’,  Petrie explains that the reason she is dressed so smartly is not actually because she has a snooker match after the gig, but to convey the message of the next song – the poignant and empowering ‘Black Tie’. Addressing the damaging effects of enforced gender norms, it was written as a message of hope to Grace’s younger self, and to those like her – she explains that as an unhappy teenager, she had to deal with society telling her she was wrong, but today she is proud to be a butch lesbian: “I turned 30 and instantly stopped giving a fuck.” Tonight, Petrie dedicates the song to all her trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming siblings, and urges us all to protest transphobia at this time when it is more important than ever to stand together and protect each other against those who are seeking to oppress us. And, as we all sing along to the lyrics “and the images that fucked you were a patriarchal structure, and you never will surrender to a narrow view of gender…”, I feel an overwhelming sense of unity, a fierce determination to be the best ally I can possibly be and stand with my trans siblings, today and every day. Because trans rights are human rights, trans women are women and trans men are men. Non-binary people are valid. And every single one of us, whatever gender, race or nationality we may be, deserve equal rights, safety and joy.

Following an enlivening call and response crowd participation for Queer As Folk’s ‘Northbound’, Petrie returns for a welcome encore with the closing track of her latest album, ‘The Losing Side’, for all her comrades – “If I’ve spent my life on the losing side, you can lay me down knowing that I’ve tried.” A stirring way to end the set, leaving us with a poignant sense of hope and unity. A sense of joy at finding solidarity in each other, and a determination not to give up in the face of adversity.

So, thank you to Grace Petrie (and Ben!) for such a lovely evening. A perfectly cathartic experience in these strange times, reminding me of the connection that music can bring, offering a comforting message of solidarity and resilience at a time when we need it the most.

Plus, I got to be home and in bed by 11pm! 

Listen to/buy Grace Petrie’s latest album, Connectivity, now. And read a recent interview with her on Get In Her Ears here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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