Brooklyn singer-songwriter Jackie West’s songs follow her protagonists across city blocks, into and out of different rented rooms, and down farflung highways that form backdrops for liminal moments in her life. But even when she describes feeling lost -whether in someone else or in the world- West never sounds less than certain of her capacity to navigate the situation, singing in a voice that seems to be able to phrase any thought indelibly. More than two years after her first EP (Find Indigo), out in 2022, her debut album, Close to the Mystery (out May 10th via Ruination Records Co.), threads together moments of searching and reaching out from a variety of relationships and settings. Its masterful baroque-pop songs form abstract scenes in a larger story about a self and worldview taking shape. The varied musical treatments mimic her changes in setting and vantage. She breaks up sophisticated harmonies recalling bossa nova and classic R&B with cycling chord progressions influenced by folk (Tiny Flowers ii), progressive pop, and shoegaze (Snow Amplified). Led by producer/mixer/multi-instrumentalist Sarah Pedinotti (Lip Talk, Kalbells), West’s team of crack musicians accommodate these intrepid shifts, including Shahzad Ismaily, guitarist Adam Brisbin, Nico Osborne (Nicomo), singer-songwriter Katy Pinke, and more. Recorded live with the band, West’s alluring, jazz-inflected vocals sit commandingly at the center of the mix, bringing a diverse collection of classic singers—Sibylle Baier, Vashti Bunyan, Hope Sandoval, Peggy Lee.

THE IAN FAYS are a Northern Californian indie pop-rock group comprised of identical twin sisters, Lizzie and Sara. The Fays released their first album, The Damon Lessons, via Homesleep in late October of 2003. In the years to follow, the twins toured the US and Europe multiple times after their subsequent releases, Dylan’s Lost Days (2008) and Jensen’s Camera (WWNBB 2011). On Halloween 2013, in celebration of their 10 year anniversary as a band, The Ian Fays released The Most Spectacular Party, and again toured extensively before taking a hiatus to foster a new generation of little Fays. On October 31st, 2023, in celebration of their 20 year anniversary as a band, The Fays released the title-track single from their upcoming album, Viola, followed by two more tracks, Olive Says and New Year’s Eve. The new album Viola, 5th LP release from the twins, was published on February 16th, 2024 via WWNBB Collective. On March 13th, the band attended one of the most important showcase festivals in the world, SXSW in Austin, Texas.