Five Favourites: Heather Woods Broderick

Having played and toured with the likes of Sharon Van Etten and Beth Orton, LA based artist Heather Woods Broderick has just released her fifth album, Labyrinth. Partly written during the lockdown of 2020, the album offers a beautifully honest reflection on life and the difficulties of navigating the modern world. Oozing an anthemic, sparkling splendour and glistening allure, each track chimes with a captivating heartfelt resonance.

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 Labyrinth, we caught up with Heather to ask about the music that has inspired her the most. So, read about her five favourite albums, and make sure you watch the atmospheric new video for latest single ‘Crashing Against The Sun‘ below...

Cindy Lauper – She’s So Unusual
This record was released the year I was born. It was an outlier in my parents’ record collection, one that was mostly made up of folk/singer songwriters of that era. It was my absolute favourite record to put on as a young girl, and I have vivid memories of the babysitter coming over and playing this record while we all danced around laughing together. It was most definitely the most upbeat music I can remember listening to as a young child, and it left a huge impression on me. I love how this record is catchy, silly, and strong at the same time.

Tricky – Pre Millenium Tension
I listened to this record on many runs over the course of writing Labyrinth. It was a big inspiration as far as rhythm and beats go for me. I really love the simple repetitive nature of hip hop / trip hop music, and I think Tricky does an amazing job melding genres. I love the use of the closed high hat in these beats (and in a lot of hip hop), and this influence showed up in the beats I made for the record.

Gigi Masin – Talk To The Sea
Beats and soft synths – I’m a big fan. The simple meditative beats and simple melodies that echo through this record have really infused into me over many many hours of repeated listening. The kind of record that makes time become amorphous. This would definitely be a desert island disc choice of mine, and I think the simple tones and beats in this record really influenced me and my desire to make my own beats.

Phil Collins – But Seriously
This is one record that punctuated my childhood. The song ‘Another Day In Paradise’ was on the radio a lot as a kid. I can remember this song coming on while we were driving around in the family Volkswagen Vanagon. The soft synth sounds of this record and era in general are sounds that I am so drawn to, so I feel like I can attribute that pull to my experience hearing them at a formative age.

Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes – Music For Saxofone and Bass Guitar
Repetition – I’m a big fan of it, and this record is all about it. It settles you into a groove and it lets you stay there. I love the concept of this record and have played it countless times. These guys are incredible players, and I’m always impressed when players that can shred choose not to. It feels like their individual styles have room to come forward with this ‘less is more’ approach.

Massive thanks to Heather for sharing her Five Favourites with us! Watch the atmospheric new video for latest single ‘Crashing Against The Sun’ here:

Labyrinth, the new album from Heather Woods Broderick, is out now via Western Vinyl.

Photo Credit: Sophie Kuller

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WATCH: Alex Lahey – ‘They Wouldn’t Let Me In’

Following the release of lead single ‘Good Time’, the infectious ‘They Wouldn’t Let Me In’ is the latest single from Australian artist Alex Lahey‘s upcoming third album and debut for Liberation, The Answer Is Always Yes; a reflective post-punk track inspired by the isolation she experienced during her teenage years. “I spent a lot of time thinking about my own experiences growing up as a queer teenager…being excluded from conventional romantic rites of passage…feeling like I couldn’t relate to anyone around me.”

Finding inspiration after watching the coming-of-age TV romantic comedy-drama ‘Heartstopper’ (adapted from the webcomic of the same name by Alice Oseman), Alex put into words those tough moments many queer teens experience as they try to adapt to a seemingly non-inclusive world: “I couldn’t get into the bar or the church / Or the backseat of your mother’s car / The club or the bus or the band where no one plays guitar / The dance at your school / Or the change rooms at the swimming pool / The haunted house down the street / That all those people died in…”

Venturing into a furniture store for the accompanying music video – co-directed with Claire Giuffre – Alex Lahey furnishes us (literally!) with a multitude of emotions. Through self-discovery, co-writing alongside Chris Collins, she revels in the absurdity through propulsive rhythm and cathartic honesty; finding comfort in discomfort.

“Living in a world that wasn’t made for you makes you pretty strong and adaptive… It also makes you realise how absurd everything is. With this record, I wanted to get weird because the world is weird, and it’s even weirder when you realise you don’t fit into it all the time.”

“They wouldn’t let me in / C’mon just let me in / Why don’t you just fucking let me in?”

The Answer Is Always Yes, the upcoming album from Alex Lahey, is set for release on 19th May via Liberation.

Ken Wynne
@ken_wynne

Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana

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EP: The Ethical Debating Society – ‘Mutual Indecision’

Writing bubblegum pop melodies before tearing them apart with riot grrrl moxie, The Ethical Debating Society’s (TEDS) DIY punk attitude and multi-faceted lo-fi sound has been preserved on their latest six track extended play, Mutual Indecision; a collection of previously unreleased songs recorded at Sound Savers – Mark Jasper’s Hackney warehouse studio.

Produced by Jasper (Witching Waves), mastered by Dai Jones, and released by Radical Possibilities, the Mutual Indecision EP features vocalist/guitarist Tegan Christmas, vocalist/guitarist Kris Martin, and drummer Eli Tupa obliterating rough DIY indie with cathartic and justified rage! Opening with pop-punk anthem ‘Poor Liam‘, the three-piece examine the “alright-jack-shit generation” under the microscope; the “petri-dish for patriarchy”. “You have, and you are, a tool / That’s so fucking precious…”

‘Emoticon‘ – another whiplash-inducing headbanger – disturbs with distorted chaos, Tegan and Kris harmonising over obnoxious guitar riffs, frustrated with social change. Kicking over her drum kit and strapping on her guitar, Eli shreds lo-fi sludge on ‘Prawn Operation‘; screaming Spanish lyrical angst against male entitlement, before switching back to percussion for the punishing ‘Paywall’ – life as commodity: “Buy, buy, or bye bye.”

‘Pantomine‘ follows with equally irresistible visceral lyricism; challenging alpha male bullshit as abrasive riffs strain under the ferocity of raw instrumentation. Closing with ‘London Particular‘, the London-based trio implore you to look around: your estate regenerated and community lost… “…the fog clears and your heritage has gone. Now all the flats and all the shops ask you for money you haven’t got.”

Following their 2015 debut LP, New Sense, and in anticipation of their long-awaited sophomore record, Mutual Indecision delivers equally spontaneous scuzz, sounding as if TEDS got together in the studio, hit record on analog, and jammed unapologetically through the feedback – an imperfect punk record that is chaotically perfect.

mutual indecision e.p. by the ethical debating society

Catch The Ethical Debating Society playing live for us next month, on 19th May at Shacklewell Arms, supporting Hypsoline with Rom Coms. Tickets here!

Ken Wynne
@ken_wynne

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New Track: Cosmic Ninja – ‘Cardiac Unrest’

Living up to the vibe you might expect of a band called Cosmic Ninja, their newest track ‘Cardiac Unrest‘ is a fast-paced futuristic banger. 

Kicking off with a low but bouncy bass riff throbbing through the first few bars, it rapidly ramps up with a raucous, powerful rage, as strings and synths leap into the fray. The resulting soundscape feels like a battlefield – exciting and dangerous, rushing with righteous adrenaline. The lyrics match this energy; phrases like “step up step up, we’re not messing around, we’re gonna hold our ground” are delivered with an infectious passion. It’s difficult to listen to this song and not end up on the band’s side against the oppressive forces they’re facing off against.

Blending a sense of personal determination (“I’m doing my own thing and i don’t give a fuck what you think”) with an undefined foe that feels much wider-reaching (“we’ve got to put a stop to this somehow”), the lyrics are left open for you to project your own concerns onto, whether you’re worried about bigoted governments with too much power or a single bully persecuting you alone. Regardless, the energy is the same. The synths scream and the drums roll like thunder; inspiring all the fury and confidence required to stand up and fight back.

The track ramps up to a screaming crescendo, before rolling back into the chorus then ending abruptly on the “we aren’t fucking backing down”. There is no room for misinterpretation here: ‘Cardiac Unrest’ is a statement, a promise and a threat all in one.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

Photo Credit: Rupert Gammond

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