Track Of The Day: Tomberlin – ‘Sunstruck’

A tender ode to self autonomy and prioritising your own emotional well-being, American songwriter Sarah Beth Tomberlin has shared her latest single ‘sunstruck’. Taken from her second album, I don’t know who needs to hear this… which is set for release on 29th April via Saddle Creek, the track is a comforting reflection on the often difficult journey towards actively choosing to love yourself, explored through her gentle guitar picks and poignant lyrics.

From breaking away from her religious roots as a Pastor’s daughter in Kentucky, to relocating to New York to play music and featuring as a guest vocalist on Phoebe Bridgers’ last album Punisher, Tomberlin’s unconventional journey into music has paved the way for her exquisitely confessional songwriting. On her latest single ‘sunstruck’, she muses on the need for time with one’s self in order to move past an un-balanced relationship, as she points out in the succinct lyric “nothing will come / from an ever flowing cup / when you’re too fucked / to fill it back up.”

“This is an aerial view love song that is also not a love song,” Tomberlin explains about ‘sunstruck’. “It is more a love song to forced distance, time alone with yourself, letting go, searching for yourself and the healing that takes place when you make those things an active focus in your life. These things are choices, they don’t just happen on their own. You can choose to practice them or you can choose stagnancy. This is a love song to the growth that often can take place if you choose to tend to your own life’s garden.”

Listen to ‘sunstruck’ below.

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

Photo Credit: Michelle Yoon

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: O Hell – ‘Untangle’

A shadowy, captivating soundscape that documents a personal metamorphosis, Brighton-based artist and producer Lucy Sheehan aka O Hell has shared their latest single ‘Untangle’. The follow up to their debut single ‘Down’, the track sees Sheehan unravel their feelings of disconnecting from a past relationship, carving a new narrative of self-autonomy via shuddering synth lines, twitchy beats and crystalline vocals.

After years spent touring and recording music in alternative bands around the UK, Sheehan has ventured into fresh sonic territory under their new moniker O Hell. Influenced by a love of eclectic, brooding soundscapes and a desire for creative independence, their debut single ‘Down’ was an “exercise in refusing compromise.” With new single ‘Untangle’, Sheehan explores this process further, finding catharsis and strength in deconstructing yourself and re-building a new identity.

“I wrote ‘Untangle’ when I was living alone in a cabin,” Sheehan explains. “This song came up and felt like a rare moment of clarity, that I was in the process of becoming an ‘I’ rather than part of a ‘we’, and that process could either be a brutal erasure or in fact a rebirth. The song is about disentangling from a person, who you can no longer discern yourself from, where the ‘I’ has become lost in ‘us.’”

“I was getting interested in making beats and then cutting it up at random – removing the odd snare, hat or kick with my eyes closed, so I landed with this slightly twitchy beat that immediately inspired the rest of the song. I was listening to a lot of Christine & the Queen’s La Vita Nuova and Nine Inch Nails, so when Ben Hampson and I got it in the studio, it was a delicate process of finding that hyper-pop dynamic, balanced with deranged sonic details.”

O Hell will make their live debut supporting Thyla at the Hope & Ruin in Brighton on 25th May.

Listen to ‘Untangle’ below.

Follow O Hell on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Annie Dorrett

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Maud – ‘Nobody’

A shadowy electro-pop gem that champions personal growth and self-autonomy, Norwegian producer & songwriter Maud has shared her latest single ‘Nobody’. Released via her own imprint Maud Records and taken from her upcoming album, the track smoulders with a hard earned confidence, reflected in Maud’s dense beats, moody synth textures and direct lyrics.

Maud aka Kristine Hoff grew up in a relatively isolated part of Northern Norway and studied electronic music at Kristiansand’s University of Agder. She channels her personal experiences into her distinctive, dark-pop sounds and has released a string of singles to date, including ‘Bad Things’ ‘Baby Girl’ and ‘Alone Together’ to date. On her latest track ‘Nobody’, Maud pushes her boundaries of self-acceptance and arrives at a place of inner strength.

“‘Nobody’ is vulnerable and intimate, but it also substantiates the chaos we may feel inside of us from time to time,” Maud explains. “Even though the song may come off as distressing, I want the listener to feel empowered and fearless when listening to it. ‘Nobody’ is the inner voice telling you to stay true to yourself and stop worrying about what others think.” Through her pulsing beats and commanding electronics, Maud has crafted a beguiling new soundscape that radiates with her new found confidence.

Listen to ‘Nobody’ below.

Follow Maud on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: ZAND – ‘Inappropriate’

An industrial-tinged pop tune that revels in the idea of not fitting the mould, Blackpool-based dark pop artist ZAND has shared their latest single ‘Inappropriate’. Lifted from their brand new EP UGLY POP (released today), the track is another stellar example of ZAND’s talent when it comes to creating savage yet sweet “ugly pop” gems.

“’Inappropriate’ is taking one of the words that has been used to patronise and belittle artists like myself who don’t fit a friendly, cookie cutter manufactured stereotype,” ZAND explains about the track. “[It’s] putting a sarcastic, embracive spin on it laced with a bit of irony. It’s a vent for the judgement I have faced in this industry by certain people. I’ve really enjoyed taunting those same people with my music.”

ZAND’s wit and defiance in the face of their critics shines through in their candid lyricism and polished, yet punishing beats. Produced by ZAND and DJ/producer Daktyl (Major Lazer, Halsey) and mixed by Thomas Mitchener (Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, La Roux), ‘Inappropriate’, like the other four tracks on the UGLY POP EP, is a delightfully wicked tune that celebrates self-autonomy and persevering in an industry that often tries to soften an artist’s unique edge.

“UGLY POP is a very intimate project to me, with it being the first body of work centred around my own genre as an ‘ugly popstar’” ZAND continues. “This EP acts as a little taster for this, and what UP represents. I’m stoked to be birthing this little batsh*t part of me out into the world” – and we’re stoked to be listening to more of ZAND’s warped and wonderful beats.

Watch the video for ‘Inappropriate’ below.

Follow ZAND on Twitter, Instagram & Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Sophie Thompson

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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