Ray Seraphin is a Bay Area  songwriter and musician who builds “raucous, large-scale rock songs, then hushes them to ghostliness around intimate, murmuring vocals that tickle the inside of your ear”. He was part of Talkies, Mean Jolene, Glitz, Lenz and Impediments before going (almost) solo as R.E. Seraphin. His debut album was Tiny Shapes (Paisley Shirt Records/Mt.St.Mtn.) in 2020 and a couple of EPs preceded and followed it: A Room Forever EP (Paisley Shirt Records/Mt.St.Mtn.), in 2020 and Swingshift EP (Mt.St.Mtn./Dandy Boy Records/Safe Suburban Home) in 2022. Fool’s Mate is Seraphin’s second-full length under his own name. It was recorded with Jason Quever of the Papercuts at his home studio in Crockett, California. Seraphin had been playing with a full band as the lockdown eased, and this album reflects the live chemistry that he’s developed with his crew: guitarist Joel Cusumano (Sob Stories, Body Double), drummer Daniel Pearce (Al Harper, Reds, Pinks, & Purples), bass player Josh Miller (Chime School, Extra Classic), and keyboardist Luke Robbins. Seraphin, Pearce and Miller recorded the basic tracks live, then added Robbins’ keyboards in overdubs. In addition, Seraphin’s frequent collaborator Owen Adair Kelley of Sleepy Sun contributed acoustic and slide guitars, while his wife Hannah Moriah sang background harmonies. “The lyrics are meant to evoke a sense of corporeality — there are references to skin, sweat, teeth, and breath throughout the album, which I intended to unsettle the listener,” says Seraphin. “On the surface, they are love songs but there’s a suggestion of something more ominous.”

London based singer-songwriter, Ned Roberts, has three studio records to his name –Ned Roberts (2014), Outside My Mind (2017) and Dream Sweetheart (2020)- and has featured frequently on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Scotland. His bittersweet songs sit comfortably among the classics of the Laurel Canyon era, with a timeless quality and a poetic turn of phrase. With shows across Europe and America, live highlights include a tour with celebrated songwriter Anais Mitchell, plus support slots for Joe Pug, Micah P. Hinson, Those Pretty Wrongs, and Sarabeth Tucek amongst others. Two of his critically acclaimed albums were out for the Aveline label (home to Ani Di Franco), and he has a decade long creative partnership with renowned US producer and songwriter Luther Russell (Sarabeth Tucek, Fabiano do Nascimento). Ned has just released his fourth studio album, Heavy Summer. Teaming up again with producer Luther Russell, and sound engineer Jason Hiller, the record was cut and mixed in 6 days in the late LA summer heat. Recorded mostly live to a vintage 8-track tape machine, Luther (keys, mellotron, guitars, drums) and Jason (bass) doubled as an expert band. Heavy Summer showcases both sides of Ned’s creative output, with gorgeously constructed band takes, recorded during the heat of the day, and intimate acoustic numbers, recorded just as night drew in. Throughout, there is a sense of searching, of something just beyond reach. “Days into days / a uniform parade / Run ‘cross the fields / is salvation on the way? / To ease the sense of time / Go steady on the wine / I’m young and I’m old / I’m living and I’m dying.’ Solo acoustic closer, The Breakers, with Sarabeth Tucek on backing vocals, brings the record to a meditative end.