fhae is a Meanjin-based experimental DIY solo project created by Ellena Ramsay, in which they combine ambient acoustic guitar and gut wrenching vocals. The project was first established in early 2021 and their first EP Fruits and Vegies quickly followed that same year. Ellena uses creative bedroom production paired with abstract household and DIY recording equipment. Layered vocals and melancholic harmonies are employed to devastating effect as they venture through various concepts and delivery methods, as with their “gibberish album” — ehu ofepr which doesn’t adhere to any language guidelines.
“It’s so easy to laugh/ it’ so easy to “It’s so easy to laugh It’s so easy to hate It takes guts to be gentle and kind“
Oggi non c’è spazio per parlare delle novità discografiche, per esaltare le ultime uscite o per raccontare di qualche canzone o album che mi appassiona o mi ha appassionato. Oggi, nel mio cuore, c’è spazio solo per Mimi (e per Alan e per i loro figli). Per Mimi Parker che era nata cinquantacinque anni fa in Minnesota e che, da allora, con il suo modo di essere schivo e gentile, è riuscita ad arrivare dritta al centro delle nostre anime, che ora si scoprono straziate, non senza un po’ di pudore e imbarazzo. Pudore e imbarazzo perché nessuno di noi conosceva davvero Mimi Parker e sentirci in diritto di essere tristi, distrutti, devastati, sembra un’arroganza, un’invasione della privacy e un’offesa al dolore altrui. Eppure non poss(iam)o che esserlo. Distrutti. Devastati. Con un buco al centro del petto, con un senso di vuoto che non sarà facile colmare tanto in fretta.
André Salvador and the Von Kings is a “none-hit wonder” from Nashville, led by multi-instrumentalist Tim Cheplick. Musicians come and go under the group’s umbrella, and none of them are named André Salvador. Cheplick self-released a couple of albums under the moniker before signing to the not-for-profit, patron-funded, cool-as-hell record label Last Night from Glasgow in 2020. Paul Provenzano became the group’s drummer after answering an ad to play a gig on his birthday. They headed to Nashville to record the foundations of the self-titled album with producer Robin Eaton (Lionlimb, Jill Sobule) at Club Roar studios, and finished it back up in Brooklyn. Andre Salvador and the Von Kings arrived in the Summer of 2020. After the release and before the pandemic upended gigs, multi-talented David Voss joined the group adding piano, organ, synth, and background vocals both live and in the studio. The band felt so at home recording in Nashville that they went so far as made it their actual home, relocating in 2021. For their second LP for the label, they wanted a bigger, messier album. This took the form of recording in 5 studios for the 14 tracks, mostly in Nashville, including stops at Club Roar, Deadbeat, Powerplant, and Fancy Fish Studios. The sound is filled out on the record by a wider palette of instruments and guest appearances like Paul DeFiglia on bass and Penelope V on vocals. So Psychic is out today, Friday 30th September, and a new album, Draped Apes, will be out on November 25th.
The Slow Summits is a four-piece pop band from Linköping, Sweden: Anders Nyberg, Lead vocals/Rhytm guitar/Percussion, Mattias Holmqvist Larsson, Bass guitar/Backing vocals, Karl Sunnermalm, Lead guitar/Acoustic guitar/Harmonica, Fredrik Svensson, Drums. In their own words, “a bunch of stressed out middle class dreamers trying to write songs that will make the late washing up, the lawn mowing on rainy days, the ironing of non-iron shirts, the paying of past due bills and the early Saturday mornings in front of a telly showing people playing video games, a bit more jolly. Hopefully our songs will make you wonder, laugh, or nod in agreement. At best, they’ll be a momentary cure for the angst of everyday life, and will make you dance till your socks come off“. Their previous releases consists in the -in some of the most indie corners of the indie establishment (like here), fairly acclaimed- EP Languid Belles and the singles Safe And Sorry, Not The One, Then Again and (Just Another) Holy Night.
A few months ago Lightning In A Twilight Hour released on the Spanish label Elefant Records, the magnificent Overwintering. this is the third album of the project led by Bobby Wratten, in collaboration with Ian Catt, Beth Arzy, Anne Mari Davies and Michael Hiscock. Her Own Refrain, the song which opens the second part of the album, is sung with Anne Mari Davies and it is a “deconstructed dub-pop. Traditional elements being removed, leaving a ghost of a song whose chorus suddenly switches into sharp focusand displays the most electronic facet of the album“. The video is a journey from darkness to light and back again, through a succession of colors that Raquel Calvo has masterfully chosen to blend with the melody of the song. A real treat for the imagination that fits perfectly with the group’s imagination.
Indie Sunset in Rome 