Seattle indiepop band The National Honor Society found themselves facing the problem of isolation. In 2020 they recorded their debut album, To All The Glory We Never Had, which was well-received. So what to do for the follow-up, when the world is forced into isolation? “This was a new process for everyone in the band as it was the first time any of us had recorded an album remotely,” says frontman Coulter Leslie. “Having always historically gone to studios, there was the fear that maybe that unique studio magic or energy wouldn’t be there, but what we found was that the unlimited time we had to record our parts really allowed us to explore ideas and to go in different directions that we might have, had the clock had been ticking. So I think that’s why you’ll hear a little more adventure in this record as compared to our first.” Thus was born To All The Distance Between Us, released April 10th via Shelflife/Discos de Kirlian/Subjangle Records, an album that carries on the band’s formula of dreamy pop and rock. The National Honor Society is Coulter Leslie (Lead vocals, guitars), Jerry Peerson (Lead guitar, backing vocals) Andrew Gaskin (Bass, backing vocals), and Will Hallauer (Drums).

Heavenly formed in 1989 from the ashes of legendary Oxford band Talulah Gosh, in which all four original members – Amelia Fletcher (vocals/guitar), Peter Momtchiloff (guitar), Rob Pursey (bass) and Mathew Fletcher (drums) – had played. Cathy Rogers joined later on keyboards/vocals. They released four studio albums, that are all being re-issued on vinyl by Skep Wax Records: in November 2022 Heavenly Vs. Satan was reissued and Le Jardin De Heavenly, originally released in 1992, is the second offering (and, to celebrate, the band are re-uniting to play two sold-out dates at Bush Hall in London in May: at the live shows, drums will be played by Ian Button. Mathew sadly took his own life in 1996). By the time their second album was ready, Heavenly were an established part of the Sarah Records stable in the UK and honorary members of the International Pop Underground in the USA, where Le Jardin De Heavenly was released by K Records.

After meeting at a memorial for a mutual friend, Tony Molina (Ovens) and Sarah Rose Janko (Dawn Riding), both fans of each other’s respective musical projects, bonded over a shared love of The Byrds and Bill Fox. So they decided they wanted to record all they’d been pouring their hearts into and The Lost Days was born. The Lost Days released Lost Demos, in April 2021, on cassette by Oakland label The Long Road Society, and on vinyl with the Spanish label Mapache. Inspired by the solo work of Bill Fox, The Byrds, Dear Nora and Guided by Voices, The Lost Days started recording what was to be their first full-length LP,  In The Store: ten tracks in thirteen minutes. In The Store came on March 17, 2023 on Speakeasy Studios SF, a new label run by friend Alicia Vanden Heuvel of the Aislers Set and Tony’s long term Slumberland labelmates.  

Brook Terrace is Californian (but with Italian origins) Zachary Vito, a man who, to make his debut album, quit his job and used unpaid leave in order to fund a plane ticket to the UK just to work with Bill Ryder-Jones, who had just announced he’d opened a home studio. Vito was involved in many from the San Francisco area, including Union Pacific, Sonny and the Sunsets, Blades of Joy and April Magazine. When he discovered Billy Ryder-Jones (co-founded of The Coral, and solo artist, writing both his own albums and film scores, as well as producing records for other artists) specifically his 2016 album, West Kirby County Primary, Zachary fell in love with his music which served as a soundtrack to the artist’s life. So, after seeing an Instagram announcement, Zach took a chance and sent over some demos. Ryder-Jones invited him to spend a productive week of recording sessions in his home studio.  Vito found himself in the small seaside town of West Kirby, delicately breathing life into already beautiful songs alongside producer and songwriter Bill Ryder-Jones. Brook Terrace was born.

Scott William Urquhart is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist from Stirling, Scotland. His debut album, A Recipe For Reverie, was released in January 2020 following a run of self released singles and EPs and, in 2022, Golden Sunlight Mountain Snow was out. Scott’s music has been described as peaceful and meditative and is characterized by single take solo guitar compositions, often in open tunings, released on micro-edition lathe vinyl pressings coupled with original paintings and upcycled sleeve art.
On April 14th, a collaborative album with Stirling-based group Constant Follower -led by Stephen McAll-  Even Days Dissolve, will be released. For Even Days Dissolve, Urquhart and Constant Follower frontman Stephen McAll drew from a very specific inspiration: after a violent attack that left him partially paralyzed, on the long road to recovery, McAll often found relief to the works of Scottish poet Norman McCaig. Those same poems serve as the inception point for Even Days Dissolve. Central to this record is Urquhart’s magnificent guitar work, which serves as the album’s instrumental core, incorporating blues and folk into the record’s arrangements.