ALBUM: Weekend Recovery – ‘Esoteric’

A welcome follow-up to their riotous recent singles, Weekend Recovery’s latest third album Esoteric builds on the distinct sound the band has built for themselves.

The album leaps into action with ‘Chemtrails’, the wildly catchy refutation to misinformation that dropped late last year. It keeps the energy high for the next few tracks, solidifying the unique flavour of this band. Continuing the fierce attitude of ‘Chemtrails’, ‘Dangerous’ blasts into the ears with its fast drums and throbbing bass, juxtaposed with its subtle lyrics that are gifted a profound sense of social commentary by the sirens remixed into the background.

Third track, ‘In The Crowd’, features the album’s first guest appearance. Joel Arthur’s (Hydeout) vocals on this and also ‘No Saint’ later on offer a rich deep contrast to those offered by Weekend Recovery’s vocalist Lori. The way the two voices play off each make for a striking mirror and adds depth to the songs on which he appears – his softer bass rumble platforming Lori’s rich tones in a way that heightens the attitude in them.

Lori’s vocals in every song are imbued with a sardonic, sarcastic weight. It’s particularly evident in ‘I Don’t Like You Anyway’, which has fantastic amounts of sass and is pitched perfectly. Every jab she makes feels like you’re siding with her against the world, never the target of her derision.

The title track comes at the midpoint of the album. ‘Esoteric’ is wonderfully chosen to demonstrate how skilled this band can be. The heavy bass line and quick drums set the stage for the vocals and fuzzy guitars to scream, aching with feeling and capturing the essence of what makes Weekend Recovery unique.

The album mellows out as it goes on, flexing the band’s versatility and offering a counter to the rough attitude you’ve come to expect. The gentle tracks are no less powerful or memorable than the ones that roar, however; ‘Her’ being a stand out. The dips in pace launch into new emotional heights, using the layers of music to carry you along with its mood, before leaping back into the familiar Weekend Recovery punch of ‘No Guts All The Glory’.

The arrangement takes you on a finely crafted emotional journey. The soft vulnerable songs feel like they’re exposing a hidden truth beneath the upbeat angry ones, hinting at a soft reaction to the same infuriating subject matters. Each song is a joy to experience on its own, but the relationship between the tracks carries a lot of power. The movement between songs tells its own story, whilst the construction of the album as a whole shows off how much thought and effort Weekend Recovery have put into constructing their music. 

Esoteric is out now via Criminal Records. Catch Weekend Recovery live at Tramlines Festival in Sheffied on 23rd July.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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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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EP: Emily Magpie – ‘She’

Following her alluring 2020 debut LP, Let’s Talk About the Weather, and last year’s ethereal extended play, When the Space Between Was so Much Less, Bristol based songwriter and producer Emily Magpie steps into the water for her deeply personal new EP, She. Filled with soothing alt-pop melodies shimmering on the surface, it offers a poignant reflection on her own experience being a woman,“which is beautiful and messy!”

Opening with ‘She Said’, Emily, in celebration of her best friends, sings in lush vocal harmony with the most important women in her life; the subtle elegance of sun-drenched guitar evoking summer warmth and better days. Below the surface of the water, haunting lyrical hypnosis from ‘Down in the Deep‘ submerges the listener in raw emotion – a delicate, yet complex, dream-pop soundscape of synth, guitar, and piano, elevating Emily’s mesmerising multi-layered vocals. “My salt bathing lungs / The lines on their tongues / Is that what you sold to me? / Half spun cigarettes / Can’t work with less / The wheel still spins the same.”

Imagining herself “drifting around the bottom of the sea,” Emily explores the feminine – “which exists outside of gender” – encapsulating the light and dark. Closing with ‘Blistered Tongue’, Emily finds herself beyond the aphotic zone; ghostly reflections shimmering to the percussive groove and brooding synth-driven melody. Don’t be afraid! Through atmospheric arrangement, Emily embraces both the sparkling beauty and the melancholic unknown of the feminine, as Kieran Ball and Max Harrison provide additional instrumentation, swirling in Emily Magpie’s effervescent electronic mix. “Feminine energy is badass and there’s a massive history of it being suppressed which it’s important to challenge by us being heard.”


She, the new EP from Emily Magpie, is out now via  Def Pressé. Buy on bandcamp now.

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

Photo Credit: Hannah Lisa

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