Atwood Magazine is excited to share our Editor’s Picks column, written and curated by Editor-in-Chief Mitch Mosk. Every week, Mitch will share a collection of songs, albums, and artists who have caught his ears, eyes, and heart. There is so much incredible music out there just waiting to be heard, and all it takes from us is an open mind and a willingness to listen. Through our Editor’s Picks, we hope to shine a light on our own music discoveries and showcase a diverse array of new and recent releases.

This week’s Editor’s Picks features Bleach Lab, Soda Blonde, Mara Connor, Witch Post, Arny Margret, and Fright Years!

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Bleach Lab’s next chapter opens with a rush of raw, urgent energy. “You look so pretty when you cry,” Jenna Kyle sings hot on the mic, ever the beacon of unfiltered, uncompromising emotion. “Makes them wanna break your heart to watch you die inside.” Reverb-drenched guitars glisten and roar around her as driving drums pound out a heavy beat, filling the air with a hazy tension that goes far beyond the physical spectrum.

you look so pretty when you cry
makes them wanna break your heart
to watch you die inside
you’ve been running all your life
late night talks and smoking
in the shadow of the night

he said he wants you
but it’s too much
he loves you
but it’s not enough

In many respects, this is Bleach Lab doing what Bleach Lab do best. The South London-based band channel pain into passion on “Drown,” an angsty, achingly intimate eruption from hauntingly dark depths. Independently released November 13^th, their first single since last year’s debut album Lost in a Rush of Emptiness is as intense as it is utterly all-consuming: A sonically and emotionally charged release dripping with heat, heartache, and that breathtaking vulnerability that has made Bleach Lab one of my favorite groups from day one.

“It’s about being stuck in a toxic cycle of going back to the same person, or always ending up with the same person even though they may not be that good for you,” Kyle tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s trying to break out of that cycle and find the confidence to move on.”

The band hit their high in a gut-wrenching, soul-baring chorus – pouring fuel on the metaphorical fire in a captivating, dramatic climax:

you hurt yourself to feel alive
holding up the whole weight of the sky
when you want something you let it rule your life
holding onto things that don’t feel right

Not only is this Bleach Lab’s first release since their LP, but it’s also their first self-produced single, with guitarist Louis Takooree and drummer Kieran Weston sharing the credits.

“We wanted to challenge ourselves to write something a bit grungier with this one,” Weston explains. “At the time of writing this, we were keen to explore a heavier sound. So we went into the studio, listened to a load of early The Cure and Nirvana, and came out with the grungy guitar. From there, it all fell together quite quickly. Now we’re self-producing, we were able to take it from writing stage to a fully-fledged song within a matter of days.”

Takooree agrees, noting how he feels “Drown” is “authentically ‘us’” – an honest and genuine expression of the band’s artistry. Bleach Lab spent a lot of time writing and trying to perfect and progress their sound over this past year, “attempting to introduce newer elements whilst also staying true to what we love,” adds bassist Josh Longman.

when you hold me like you do
sitting by your window
morning lights just coming through
tell me i was made for you
i forget the reason i was getting over you

he said he wants you, but it’s too much
he loves you, but it’s not enough

The result, at least as far as “Drown” is concerned, is a resounding, soul-stirring success that finds them pushing forward, all while staying true to those things that have long made their music special and unique amongst their alternative cohorts. A longtime Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch and six-time Editor’s Pick, Bleach Lab are one of the UK’s most exciting indie acts – with a heavy, lush shoegaze-y sonic identity and soul-stirring lyrics full of depth, unfiltered emotion, and substance.

In naming their debut one of 2023’s best albums, I praised them for delivering an experience that is at once wondrous and wistful, thought-provoking and deeply evocative: “As enchanting as it is achingly intimate, Lost in a Rush of Emptiness is an immersive collection of inner reckonings and soul-stirring reflections on what it means to be alive,” I wrote. “Wave after wave of shiver-inducing shoegaze, glistening indie rock, and dream pop wash over the ears as Bleach Lab drench their audience not just in breathtaking sound, but in visceral emotion.”

I might as well have been writing about “Drown” as well, considering how catchy and cathartic this song is. Never before have the words “you hurt yourself to feel alive” given rise to such mixed feelings of sadness and euphoria.

you hurt yourself to feel alive
holding up the whole weight of the sky
when you want something you let it rule your life
holding onto things that don’t feel right

Of course, the magic of a great song lies in its ability to continually spark powerful feelings in a listener – something “Drown” does all too effortlessly, because this is, without a shadow of a doubt, a truly great song.

oh the lights are coming on
and you’re still hanging around
why don’t you just go home and leave me here to drown
or you could lie and tell me baby i’m the one
in the morning when i wake up
we both know you’ll be gone

you hurt yourself to feel alive
holding up the whole weight of the sky
when you want something you let it rule your life
holding onto things that don’t feel right

I suppose I can now say that “The Saddest Thing” brings me immense joy. That is, provided the ‘thing’ in question is Soda Blonde’s latest, intoxicating single. The Irish indie pop band’s second song of the year continues where its predecessor “Bully” left off, dwelling in an intimate rabbit of hole of unrequited love, self-deception, and “the melancholy of imagined connections as a way to fill an emotional void.”

It’s all about you
I’m only going out if you’ll be there
I’m hiding all my shame
With something nice to wear

I haven’t met you yet
Isn’t that the saddest thing about it
It’s for the best
I know and you know it

“It’s a reflection on the tender parts of ourselves that often remain unseen,” lead singer Faye O’Rourke says. Her lyrics, as blunt as they are brooding, echo these sentiments, sending shivers down the spine as together, she and her bandmates Adam O’Regan, Donagh Seaver-O’Leary, and Dylan Lynch deliver a haunting, harmony-soaked reckoning.

Thank you very much
For the books that you will lend me
But I only like them because I like you
Thank you very much
For the songs that you’re showing
But I only like them because I like you

Born in the aftermath of Little Green Cars’ dissolution, Soda Blonde have quickly become one of my all-time favorite bands since their debut in 2019, consistently winning me over with spellbinding songs full of raw humanity and seductively catchy melodies. And while tracks like “Don’t Mind Them,” “Small Talk,” “Bad Machine,” and “Terrible Hands” are my current most-listened-to tracks out of their discography, I wouldn’t be surprised is “The Saddest Thing” makes the list come this time next year; for out of angst and aching, Soda Blonde have once again spun sonic gold.

I don’t believe there are no regrets
I can’t get it out of my head now
If someone says that to you they’re a liar
I don’t give a damn I know it’s true

I need a selfish distraction
That’s the saddest thing about it
It’s for the best
So I focus to find you

Thank you very much
For the books that you will lend me
But I only like them because I like you
Thank you very much
For the songs that you’re showing
But I only like them because I like you

Thank you for the years
That I’ve already imagined
But I only dreamt them as a distraction
And everything about myself
That I could never handle
But I only like you because I need to

I imagine the ‘American Dream’ will be analyzed, reanalyzed, scrutinized, and reassessed nonstop over these next four years. For those of us so-called “progressives,” it’s a dark time in American life; a wannabe fascist ideologue has risen, once again, to the highest levels of power, causing a nationwide reckoning with our country’s identity and place in the world.

The results of the presidential election were still sinking in when Mara Connor dropped a revamped version of her latest single, “American Dream” (initially released in early October). Titled “American Dream (Hometown Heroes & Beauty Queens),” the softer, acoustic remake of her Springsteen-esque anthem brings out the pain, the sorrow, and the biting social commentary at the heart of her music, much like slowed-down versions of “Born in the U.S.A.” do for that ’80s classic.

Rosie works a double at the diner
Can’t afford the weekends off
Since she got the slip last December
From her secretary job
Her oldest son’s back in the service
She hopes he’ll make it home for Christmas

Some people get what they want
The rest they just get by
Some people they get to live
The rest just try to stay alive
And hometown heroes and beauty queens
Their hopes are blown to smithereens
They go on chasing
The American Dream

This is truly a brutal, no-holds-barred reflection on the so-called ‘American Dream’ that millions spend their lives chasing but never attain – thanks, at least to some degree, on those voters who “placed their bets on the wrong team,” as she puts it.

“This song is my worst fear coming true in real time,” Connor tells Atwood Magazine. “Life imitating art. Watching people get conned into voting for a so-called ‘American Dream’ that doesn’t include them and electing a cartoon villain to our nation’s highest office.”

“The history books will remember this dark moment when America chose a pathologically selfish, sexual predator and convicted felon over an accomplished woman of color to our nation’s highest office. For years ‘we the people’ have watched him spew his poisonous rhetoric, sow fear and bigotry in an already divided country, defy democracy, promise to strip us of our fundamental rights and healthcare, pillage our environment, subjugate women and oppress minorities, make the rich richer and the poor poorer… and now America invites him to return to the White House like a wounded victim asking its perpetrator to stick the knife in deeper. In times of great upheaval and moral decay, we need art and music more than ever.”

Billy slips some liquor in his coffee
As he opens up the bar
It’s been six years since he was sober
Used to be a football star
Now he just watches it on TV
Reliving it and reminiscing
Clutching his cup of joe and whiskey

Some people get what they want
The rest they just get by
Some people they get to live
The rest just try to stay alive
And hometown heroes and beauty queens
Their hopes get blown to smithereens
But they’ll die chasing
The American Dream

“American Dream (Hometown Heroes & Beauty Queens)” aches inside and out as Mara Connor sings about a few hometown heroes and beauty queens – all real, relatable people, with real, relatable problems. Emotions run high as she sings, softly and soulfully, first about Rosie, who’s been working double shifts at the diner ever since she lost her secretary job; next about Billy, the ex-football player who slipped into alcoholism over these past six years; and lastly about Julie, the mother who takes her kids to the rally of her favorite presidential candidate – “another billionaire who swears he’s for the Proletariat.”

Julie takes her children to the rally
Of her favorite candidate
Another billionaire who swears he’s
For the Proletariat
He promises to help the miners,
Soldiers and moms who work at diners

Ultimately, it’s the poignant, bittersweet truth of Connor’s chorus that stings the most: “And hometown heroes and beauty queens, their hopes get blown to smithereens. But they’ll die chasing the American Dream.” It hurts to think that a majority of hardworking Americans just voted against their own interests, and while only time will tell just how true that statement turns out to be, the events of this past month already suggest a dark future filled with political retribution, corruption, and cuts to critical social services.

Of course, no one knows what the next four years have in store, and while I’m hoping for the best – that those folks like Rosie and Billy get the help and support they need – I’m also bracing for the worst. Mara Connor’s “American Dream (Hometown Heroes & Beauty Queens)” – with its prescient lyrics and heartrending, emotionally raw vocal performance – is a perfect, if not especially powerful soundtrack for this moment in time.

Some people get what they want
The rest they just get by
Some people they get to live
The rest just try to survive
‘Cause hometown heroes and beauty queens
They placed their bets on the wrong team
All in the name of the American Dream
All in the name of the American Dream

Witch Post are rough, they’re raw, and they are without a doubt an artist to watch in 2025. The brand-new duo of Scottish musician Dylan Fraser and American singer/songwriter (and two-time Atwood Editor’s Pick) Alaska Reid have burst onto the scene with “Chill Out,” a feverish indie rock eruption that feels like it was born in the garage and refined in a bedroom studio.

It’s churning and charged, callous and composed all at once – a sleazy seduction yelling at us all to ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out!

Gob full of shit
Drink in your mouth
I’m tryna hear what you say
I couldn’t figure it out

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ahhhh
Come on just give it up now

And once again my heart broke
while you sat there drinking
And just for once
Just for once I couldn’t
give a damn what you’re thinking

“‘Chill Out’ is a crooked teeth, sweaty bar conversation of a song,” Fraser and Reid tell Atwood Magazine. “We wanted to draw elements from bands such as the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Hole to create this rough round the edges track.”

“It’s blood pumping through the veins and outbursts of emotional confusion that flow throughout this song. Diving into the venomous tongue that comes with a relationship breaking down.”

I’ll buy you a drink
I’ll spin you around
Come on you gotta admit
You’re only bringing it down

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
I don’t wanna be down
I give you everything that you want
Come on just give it up now
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out

And once again my heart broke
while you sat there drinking
And just for once
Just for once I couldn’t
give a damn what you’re thinking

Dramatic and dreamy, unapologetic and unrelenting, “Chill Out” is sonic adrenaline: An invigorating catalyst here to energize and ignite the flames flicker deep down inside.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out

Árný Margret’s heavy, aching soul is exposed on “I Miss You, I Do” as she dwells in a space of blue, brooding nostalgia and unfiltered longing, burdened by the weight of a not-so-distant past and the bittersweet pain of her present. “Twenty-three and a midlife crisis,” the Icelandic singer/songwriter sings softly over a warm blanket of acoustic and electric sound. “Will you sing me to sleep? You’re so far and I’m tired of calling, dreaming of the day we meet.” Her voice is rich, tender, and hauntingly delicate, the emotions she puts into every word as powerful as the emotions she withholds.

For as we all know, it’s both what you say, and what you leave unsaid, that ultimately lingers in our hearts.

But I miss you, I do
And I hope you do

Released October 16^th, 2024 via One Little Independent Records, “I Miss You, I Do” is both Árný Margret’s first song of the year and the title track off her upcoming sophomore album (set to drop March 7^th, 2025). Made with a who’s-who of producers that includes Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, Hurray For The Riff Raff), Andrew Berlin (Gregory Alan Isakov, Rise Against), and Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman, Bob Weir, The National), the follow-up to 2022’s debut album they only talk about the weather has been billed as a record of growth, maturity, movement, and change.

“The main thing I wanted for this album was for it to be different,” Margret shares. “When I listen to the last one, I feel like it’s mainly about me and the guitar. It’s very stripped back. I wanted to do more – I love the banjo, the fuller sound, I love the American sound, so recording it all over there made a big difference.”

“I’ve always worked with the same people in the same places, so I never thought I could do this – work with all these people who record with some of my favourite musicians. I really admire everyone on this. And pushing myself out of my comfort zone, that’s quite rewarding.”

Talk in the morning or so very late in the evening
You’re a hard one to catch
I guess I’m the same, to you anyways
It’s the way it lasts

Oh, I miss you, I do
And I hope you do
Oh, I miss you, I do
And I know you do

Ultimately, it’s that sheer distance that can come between two hearts that hits the hardest on “I Miss You, I Do,” cutting deeply because it’s so much more than a physical wedge, but an emotional one as well. As she repeats the words, “I miss you, I do,” Margret doesn’t just long to be with her love once again; she wants that metaphysical connection that makes two souls intertwine, becoming one.

One day we’ll meet like nothing ever happened
Talk about the bruises on our feet
And we’ll think of the time
we shared once upon a time
Linking arms on the street

Oh, I miss you, I do
And I hope you do
Oh, I miss you, I do
And I know you do

In much the same spirit as finding hope in a hopeless place, Fright Years’ cinematic “Stars” embraces freedom in the face of illness, loss, and their enduring, crippling weight. Released October 9^th, the Edinburgh band’s third single of the year (following January’s tantalizing and taunting “Evil” and March’s messy, sweaty “Blue”) captures the red-hot passion and deep emotional wherewithal I’ve come to love in their songs. Produced by Theo Verney (English Teacher, Lime Garden), “Stars” finds frontwoman Jules Kelly reckoning in real time with her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis and his inspiring response to it.

You saw life as a heavy beach
A hundred miles in a steady line
So when you find that you’re going nowhere
You face the sea and you let it shine

You said ‘I can’t believe that I’ve been so lucky
To have it all and it all for good’
So I will go ‘till my legs stop running
To see the world in the way you could

‘Cause now I know that
oh it will never be enough
To feel desire in a race for nothing
I see stars now, I need stars out
To keep me going

“I wasn’t trying to write about it, and to be honest it felt quite weird that I was,” Jules Kelly shared upon the track’s release. “But if you have ever experienced something like that, you’ll understand that it consumes absolutely everything. I asked my dad why he wasn’t angrier; I just thought he was the unluckiest person in the world. But he said he still considered himself a very lucky person.”

“In fact, he couldn’t believe just how lucky he had been to have had such an amazing life and to have been so happy. I just found it unbelievable that he could have that perspective. ‘Stars’ is about losing faith in your own power, and then finding new freedom in exactly that –  ‘I see stars now, I need stars out to keep me going.’”

Most of us would expect to meet such horrible news with an endless parade of anger, frustrating, and so on – surely anything other than happiness. Whatever it is that made Mr. Kelly find joy through pain, I’d love to find a bit of that myself: For there’s nothing more powerful, and nothing more profound, than the power to look up when all signs point down. Inspired by a truly inspirational human moment, “Stars” is an indie rock anthem of finding – and becoming – the light in our own darkness. Perhaps we, too, can see the stars – with a little help from the ever-enchanting Fright Years.

You could paint me a real hard time
So I picture you as a little boy
Feeling all that I do tonight
Yet you still found love and you still had joy

Cause now I know that
oh it will never be enough
To feel desire in a race for nothing
I see stars now, I need stars out
To keep me going

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