WATCH: Ali Comerford – ‘Knots’

Kilkenny-based Ali Comerford has recently shared ‘Knots’, a beautifully understated meditation on anxiety. It’s the title track of her upcoming folk-based and classically inspired debut album.

‘Knots’ is poignant in its simplicity, with stunning raw vocals accompanied by tender piano arpeggios. Such barebones instrumentation creates space and allows us really to focus on the vocals and what Ali has to say; there are no distractions. The music is intimate, as though Ali were sat in the room playing just for you, providing comfort and reassurance that you are not alone. Of the track, Ali explains:

“‘Knots’ is a song I wrote about anxiety, something we all struggle with at one time or another. At the time, I was going through a stage of intense anxiety. I worried about the fact that I hadn’t released any music, about whether people would enjoy my songs or not and also over-analyzed every little thing I had ever done wrong. I wasn’t sleeping properly and found I was lying awake at night replaying old conversations and feeling ashamed and embarrassed.”

In the chorus, she sings: “Because I worry like no other / It’s always one thing or another”. It paints a bold picture of how we can all feel when our minds are full of anxious thoughts, whirring like an overworked machine. “It keeps me awake and it makes me wonder / If I am alone in this” – these final lines show how lonely it can feel in times of anxiety, but with Ali’s generous self-expression and relatable content, we can feel it together.

Ali Comerford has impressive musical credits, having toured the world, performing classical viola on stages such as the New York Carnegie Hall, the London Royal Albert Hall and Dublin’s National Concert Hall. Her years of experience in the classical music world have evidently been extremely valuable, teaching her to make every note count, as is showcased in this poignant latest solo offering.

Watch the lyric video for ‘Knots’ here:

Knots, the debut album from Ali Comerford, is set for release on 29th July.

Jazmine Kelly
@surfjaz

Photo Credit: Shane Hatton Photography

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Track Of The Day: Nun Habit – ‘Marigolds’

A song about eczema, ‘marigolds’ by London five-piece nun habit packs way more of a punch than that description might lead you to expect.

It comes in hard and fast, leaping immediately into a big sound – there’s no gradual build up. Instead, this tightly-structured song is the kind of atmospheric track designed for speakers that make the floor throb. Rich growling bass balances out the shriek of the guitars, interweaving the strings to form an excellent platform for trippy burbling keys.

The low, aching vocals give the song a sense of vulnerability. The lyrics themselves are simple and self-aware, with a lot of feeling in every line and the emotion behind the words is clear. The song drips with anxiety, with exhaustion with toxic-masculine culture; with the resolve to stop caring about the ignorant, judgemental things people say. The vocals draw their power from the lyrics and their grounded tone is uplifted by the roaring music behind them.

There’s a sharp drop part way through; a great use of silence that trips you up, but quickly sweeps you back into the intoxicating sound. This, followed by the abrupt ending, reinforces how well ‘marigolds’ lures you into an entirely different headspace. It sucks you in and spits you out and leaves you wondering where to go for more. (The Kickstarter for their new album hedge fun is a good place to start.)

‘marigolds’ comes with a B-side consisting of a moody house edit by producer Josh Albiston. This version is lighter and slower-paced. It’s spaced out so you can feel more of the texture in the piece. Whilst it’s almost twice as long, it doesn’t feel it. The bright, popping sounds are softer, with gentler drums and vocals that are stripped right back. There’s still a chirpy rhythm to it, but it feels more house party than club dance floor. It fades away until just the throbbing bass line is left; until everything eventually drifts away into silence leaving you, still, eyeing that Kickstarter page.

‘marigolds‘ is out now, ahead of the release of nun habit’s debut album, hedge fun, set for release in August.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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LISTEN: CHANG – ‘Tinderella’

Like blisters from a glass slipper, CHANG’s latest release epitomises the frustration we might feel when walking home from an abysmal date. A modern, grisly take to fairy tale romances, ‘Tinderella’ radiates a headbanging heat that would set a mosh-pit alight. Though catchy, its muddled, almost confused narration and sections of random noise are heavy haphazardness at its finest. Fuelled by drummer Jeff “The Jingle” Ingle’s feverish energy, this song angrily launches us into a regimented beat that is simultaneously crashing and catchy.

Though singer Alexandra “Geez” Amargianitakis’s pacing of the vocals in ‘Tinderella’ is reminiscent of Poly Styrene’s in ‘I am a Poseur’, her grungy tone pushes the band into the 90s Riot Grrrl arena, with her Courtney Love-esque crooning veiled in the vigour. Laced with allusions to Snow White with lyrics like “mirror mirror” and “who is the fairest of them all?”, the song reflects a world in which dating is doomed with debauchery. It’s when the song slows that we really get to see the lustre of some of the lyrics though. Alexandra’s sultry singing is juxtaposed with vividly grotesque imagery like “I’m a deep-fried slug / slithering deep back down to the earth.”

With various pace changes, it’s clear that ‘Tinderella isn’t mindless chaos but has pockets of deliberate, carefully constructed aptitude. Despite having garnered the attention of BBC Radio 6 Music and Radio X, it’s early days for CHANG. But one thing is for sure, there will be several monstrous melodies to come.

Watch the video for ‘Tinderella’ below.

Follow CHANG on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Jay Mitra
@punkofcolour

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Track Of The Day: Piney Gir – ‘Voice Of The Ages’

Following 2019’s seventh album You Are Here, London-based, Kansas-raised GIHE fave Piney Gir has now announced a new EP, Astral Spectra, which is set for release later this month. And now, ahead of the EP, she has just shared a characteristically uplifting new single.

Flowing with the jangle of twinkling hooks and an immersive sunny energy, ‘Voice Of The Ages’ reflects on the necessity of facing your demons to come out stronger in the end. As the distinctive shimmer of Piney’s luscious celestial vocals soar with an effervescent splendour alongside the striking grandeur of the track’s almost orchestral sounding musicality, a wonderfully majestic indie-pop anthem is created.

Oozing a swirling, psychedelic sense of nostalgia, ‘Voice Of The Ages’ retains its own unique sparkling grace, showcasing Piney Gir’s trademark honey-sweet and harmonious uplifting pop-sensibilities. Of the track, she explains:

“This song simply flowed, it was like a message from the subconscious mind or a force of the universe channelling through me. I couldn’t get it out of my head quickly enough; it couldn’t have been written any faster.” 

‘Voice Of The Ages’ is out now via Reckless Yes. Astral Spectra, the upcoming EP and the first part of a set of concept EPs, is set for release 25th June. Pre-order here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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