LISTEN: Queen Cult – ‘Blackhole’

Queen Cult vocalist and guitarist Maisie Johnson describes the Macclesfield band’s new single ‘Blackhole‘ as a song she wrote to herself during a difficult time. Examining that period following a break up when you re-evaluate your life to figure out what it looks like without that other person’s influence, the titular blackhole is the dark place inside your own head when you struggle to stop overthinking and end up losing your sense of self.

It begins softly, with gentle chimes creating a drifting sensation, making you feel lost in an atmosphere of confusion. The signature Queen Cult guitar leaps in with a quicker tempo, but that initial feeling lingers beneath.

The lyrics acknowledge the pain of the person you normally turn to when you have difficult things to work through being the one person you can’t turn to now. They’re direct, but are delivered with depth, amplified by the strings roaring beneath them. It almost feels like a conversation as they echo the things you might hear from well-meaning friends trying to be comforting, but equally could be simply the platitudes you tell yourself to hurry up the healing process. They capture the internal conflict, jumping between “Tell myself I’m gonna be fine” and “Don’t tell me time will heal / Babe, I’m still allowed to feel”.

Despite being explicitly drawn from one particular experience, this track focuses so well on that internal personal introspection that it’s easy to project your own experiences onto; that period of readjustment is necessary, no matter how the relationship ended. Queen Cult have nailed that sweet spot where this song is simultaneously intensely personal and universally accessible.

‘Blackhole’ takes you on through the entire process of healing and growth, flowing between the different emotional stages – the loud, roaring confusion as you work out the new shape of your life. Both the tense impatience of wanting to be able to move on and the frustration at the entire situation juxtaposed with the softer moments that drift between sad reflection on the lost relationship and a hopeful, positive look towards the future. Finally, it reaches the upbeat sense of making progress and the feeling of relief and empowerment from things starting to make sense again.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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New Tracks: Lou Moon – ‘Driftwood’ / ‘Thunder’

‘Driftwood‘ is the perfect metaphor for a song that delicately floats along, conjuring up a warm summer’s evening by the ocean. It is one of two singles released by Welsh Bristol-based artist Lou Moon, taken from their upcoming debut EP Drifting I & II. 

‘Driftwood’ features a warm atmospheric guitar complemented by bright sparkling vocals that are brought to life with a touch of delay, whilst the piano chords sustained underneath give it further depth and body. The song is beautifully balanced and carefully delivered; you take in each word sung, bringing to mind the folky flavours of the likes of Laura Marling and This Is The Kit.

The earnest lyrics give a sense of freedom, as Moon explains: “It’s definitely comparable to the feeling of wanting to come out as queer all over again.” As someone who vividly remembers the weight of not “coming out” and the lightness of freedom following acceptance, this is a line that chimes with a stirring resonance.

Accompanying single, ‘Thunder‘, sounds more melancholic, based around rich strumming acoustic guitar. The similarly introspective lyrics about the vulnerabilities of relationships and using thunder as a metaphor for mental health are brought to life through lush vocal harmonies and fragile vocal delivery. The two songs perfectly complement each other. 

Moon describes the songs on the EP as “about relationships to the self, to others and to the natural world, as well as the fragility and intangibility of those things.” The songs were written and recorded over the last decade, with help from the musical friends and collaborators they found at university in London. They describe the project as an archival journey back into the experiences and emotions they’ve felt and the different people they’ve been over the last ten years. 

You can check out ‘Driftwood’ and ‘Thunder’ on Spotify, and keep your eyes peeled for the EP Drifting I & II, which is coming out later this year via Skivvy Records.

Ella Patenall
@ellapatenall

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LISTEN: Malka – ‘Matriarch’

Tamara Schlesinger has been making music for over fifteen years, first as the leader of alt-folk collective 6 Day Riot and since 2014 as a solo artist under the name MALKA. Her music has been featured on Hollywood blockbusters and TV series (127 Hours, Scream IV and Skins), and across MTV and Netflix. So, now, 2023 sees the return of MALKA with her upcoming synth-based album, Anatomy of Sight.

‘Matriarch‘, the second single to be taken from the album (following ‘Flashlight’), further expands MALKA’s journey into synths and solo production; and as the opener sets the tone for the album as a whole. Of the track, MALKA explains:

“(Matriarch is about) that feeling of trying to juggle everything, trying to find that balance in life and wondering whether you have made the right decisions along the way. But it is also about that fierce pride of succeeding with something, especially when you have achieved it alone.”

The song begins with an eerily ethereal chime – an organ-like/slide guitar sound – quickly leading into the intro where MALKA’S voice is centred and layered, among the bouncy ’80s synths, becoming expansive as the chorus builds. Emanating both light and shade with its swirling soundscape, the second verse oozes a sense of vulnerability, the lyrics alluding to leaving a bad situation and starting over – “change the story now, every page just feels the same”. Moments of confusion are displayed in the voice distortion of the middle-eight, whilst the empowering chorus returns throughout; reminding us of those bitter sweet moments when navigating personal adversity. A shimmering, stirring reflection on life’s challenges and achievements.

Anatomy Of Sight, the upcoming new album from Malka, is set for release on 29th September via Tantrum Records.

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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LISTEN: chiika – ‘VILLAIN’

After a year which saw her receive support from BBC Radio 6Music and BBC Asian Network, and perform on both Truck Festival’s Main Stage and the BBC Introducing Stage at The Big Feastival, chiika returns as her villainous, pyromaniac alter-ego – releasing a song about holding onto a grudge and setting things on fire: “…very healthy coping mechanisms of course!”

Exploring the theme of revenge, ‘VILLAIN‘ is for those of us that “just want to burn it all down”; justified angst trading love for hate. Produced and mixed/mastered by Tonie, the track showcases chiika’s ability to evoke evocative imagery of fire and ash through her lyrics (in both English and Hindi), her hypnotic vocals matched only by the intensity of the Hindustani-inspired instrumentation. A slow-burn of progressively punishing percussion and distorted guitar disorder. “This could have been something more / This could have been something so beautiful!”

Taking inspiration form the East of her Indian heritage, and the West of her British upbringing, the Oxford based artist’s cathartic, cinematic power-pop song is set ablaze with a dangerous chorus leading to a satisfying conclusion; “a song which burned like fire,” exploring “facets of personality, situations, and ideas” to enkindle an emotional response. “I was naive and in love… / But I’m bittersweet / Might leave a sour taste on your tongue.”

From her 2021 debut extended play, Unlearning, through last year’s Dounia-inspired EP, Cure, Antidote, Commotion, through to this latest track, chiika’s music is ever-changing; a reflection of her emotionally-driven musical growth and do-it-yourself confidence. “God, I’ve waited for the day / When the villain gets her way.”

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

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