Every Friday, Atwood Magazine’s staff share what they’ve been listening to that week – a song, an album, an artist – whatever’s been having an impact on them, in the moment.
This week’s weekly roundup features music by Winnetka Bowling League, Medium Build, & Dawes, The Coronas & Gabrielle Aplin, Portraits of Tracy & Duckwrth, Sinai Vessel, Devarrow, Rixoy, eaj & Hindia, Half Happy, Sadye, Sophian & King Ibis, House of Protection, Horse Jumper of Love, Temmpo & RMGN, ERNIE, & Snowblood!
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:: “This Is Life” – Winnetka Bowling League, Medium Build, & Dawes ::
Mitch Mosk, Beacon, New York
It’s a Chappell Roan summer for most of my friends, but for me, it’s a Chappell Roan and Medium Build summer: Ever since the release of his fifth studio album Country this past April, I’ve been diving deep into singer/songwriter Nick Carpenter’s artistry, exploring his extensive back catalog while keeping the new record on repeat most weeks, together with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and a few other alternative and indie pop albums.
Given Country’s relative freshness (and the fact that Carpenter’s been on and off tour ever since the album dropped), I didn’t expect much in the way of “new” Medium Build music any time soon. Imagine my surprise when, last week – having just been announced as Atwood’s “Artist of the Month” for July – Medium Build features on Winnetka Bowling League’s new single “This is Life,” a collaborative track that also includes Dawes’ very own Taylor Goldsmith.
Arriving just a month after Winnetka Bowling League’s own debut album Sha La La, “This Is life” radiates with a deep sense of connection, nostalgia, warmth, and tenderness. It’s a song of perspective and reflection – of memory and time and life’s highlight reel. We all have one, and in this track we get to hear from Winnetka Bowling League’s Matthew Koma, Medium Build’s Nick Carpenter, and Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith as all three artists take their own unique journey down memory lane, recognizing this existence for what it is: A beautiful jumble of highs, lows, and in-betweens:
[Verse 1: Winnetka Bowling League]
Hollister perfume made the boys dream of hand jobs
Got drunk in parking lots of shitty chain restaurants
Us singing Brand New way before Jesse got caught
The summers in Montauk before it got whitewashed
All-time lows and all-time record highs
Friends from home like old ghosts from past lives
Comes and goes in a blink, in no time
This is life, this is life, this is life…
This is life, this is life, this is life…
Earnest and cheeky, “This Is Life” is as much a song about being a human being as it is one of kinship, with a newly formed friendship coming to life (and to light) in three and a half minutes of musical reverie.
“When I first met Matt from Winnetka Bowling League, we gushed about Taylor from Dawes,” Nick Carpenter says. “He told me they were friends. I didn’t believe him until he got me free Dawes tickets. Then he sent me this song and said me and Taylor were gonna write on it. I didn’t believe him but here we are. Point is y’all should believe Matt Koma. This song rocks.”
[Verse 2: Medium Build]
From being so broke, I did sex shit on Craigslist
To hearing I made it from pеople more famous
The way that your folks arе security blankets
To wrinkled and racist and dirt on some pavement
The way we’re taught to dance in the end zone
I think God’s a dog out the window
Laughing at a joke only friends know, oh
Koma, for his part, adds some perspective to how the track itself actually came to life, and how he brought everyone together. “There was this song going kind of viral on TikTok called ‘Rectangular’ and it was at the same time I started seeing videos of Medium Build / Nick in his signature shorts / dangling earring / swooning the internet with his passionate and relatable observations on the weird life experience,” Koma says. “I was poking a little fun when I posted a TikTok dressed as Nick, performing ‘Rectangular,’ and we became fast internet buddies. On his next trip to LA we hung out at my studio and he noticed the Dawes poster on my wall… we bonded over our extreme fandom of Dawes and Taylor’s songwriting. I sent Taylor some of Medium Build’s music and he loved it, weeks later covering his song ‘In My Room’ at a show where Nick was in attendance. I had started a little nugget of a first verse with ‘This Is Life’ and sent it to our group chat seeing if they’d be down to complete the love circle with a musical gesture and, lucky for me, they were down. Taylor is our hero and I can’t (but will) speak for Nick when I say this is one of the coolest moments of our lives to be on a song with him.”
Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith has his own unique perspective on “This Is Life,” reflecting on what the song means to him. “There’s a Joan Didion quote from her novel ‘The Last Thing He Wanted’ that hit me hard enough to take up permanent residence in my notebook: ‘When I look back on what happened I see mainly fragments, flashes, a momentary phantasmagoria in which everyone focused on some different aspect and nobody at all saw the whole.’ It’s how most of life seems to feel all of the time,” he says. “And Matt nailed it when he wrote that first verse of “This Is Life.” It’s an ambitious title, and he fully delivered on the premise. To be invited to be a part of it was a blast and an honor. I was quickly becoming a massive Medium Build fan when Matt told me what he had in mind for the song, but once I got to hear what Nick contributed I realized he’s a real motherf**r of a writer. In my experience, it’s not always easy to sink into someone else’s vision for a tune, and he did it as truthfully and elegantly as anyone possibly could. I was just painting with the colors that the song provided. While writing it, I didn’t know it would end up as the last verse though. So that was pretty cool. I’m just really proud people are gonna see Dawes’ name next to these other two for a song like this.”
[Verse 3: Dawes]
The first time I smoked at my big sister’s condo
A mouthful of Combos, one with the cosmos
Every thought turned into an obsession
A constant precession of theories on heaven
Like maybe death is time redirected
And hate is just the love we’ve rejected
I passed out while these thoughts intersected
Worth noting is how Nick Carpenter goes off on his own to sing “this is the life” in the final chorus, a nod to (a) how cool it is that he’s singing on a song with one of his musical heroes, and (b) the fact that we only get one chance at this thing – we only get one life, use it or lose it. It’s a reminder of how fragile everything is, and yet how incredible an opportunity it is to be alive, active, and engaged with the world.
And while it’s still very much a Chappell Roan / Medium Build summer, I have a feeling it may just morph into a “This Is Life”-kind of summer as well… wistful as this song may be, it hits home in the very best of ways.
:: “That’s Exactly What Love Is” – The Coronas ft. Gabrielle Aplin ::
Christine Buckley, Connecticut
Gabrielle Aplin is among the criminally underrated singer/songwriters in the indie pop scene, and this reviewer waits with bated breath for anything she releases. I’ve also heard pop-rock The Coronas, of course – the beloved Irish band’s Spotify bio says “we didn’t expect our name to go viral!” – who have a veteran following, having been in the business for more than 15 years. This simple, soft, deceptively deep rumination on love reminds me of “If The World Was Ending” by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels. Danny O’Reilly’s voice is exceptionally emotive, which both contrasts with and complements Aplin’s signature intimate delivery. There aren’t that many lyrics in this building, keyboards-and-rhythm-driven track, but they are poignant and truthful:
G: And are you even hurting?
D: Of course I’m hurting.
G: You seem unfazed.
D: I’m completely broken!
The release coincides with The Coronas’ announcement of their upcoming seventh LP, Thoughts & Observations, coming Sept. 27, which the band describes as a “powerful, melodic record which takes an incisive look at life, relationships and art.”
:: “Found But Dilla” – Portraits of Tracy ft. Duckwrth ::
Ciaran Short, New York, NY
Growing up, rather than playing the radio, my parents always played albums. So for the first ten years of my life or so, until my older brother got an iPod for his birthday, the only way I heard music was on albums which would be listened to front to back. Today I still prefer to listen to full albums over playlists or jumping around between random songs. Listening to an album is an experience, similar to watching a movie where I can become immersed into another world. However, my fondness for albums is challenged every time a deluxe album is released. I understand the business and streaming advantages, but to me it’s like revising history. My opinion is fixed and a couple new remixes won’t change it. I still listen though, at the hopes of being surprised and on Drive Home: Parting gifts by Portraits of Tracy, I got a nice surprise.
“Found but Dilla” featuring Duckwrth is not just a remix of Portraits of Tracy’s 2023 hit song “Found,” but truly a new musical endeavor. With updated production, featuring a new instrumental arrangement and the heavy use of drums calling to a J. Dilla aesthetic as well as a purposeful verse from the dual singing and rapping talent Duckwrth, the song truly feels new. Tactfully experimenting with an already good song is extremely dangerous and frequently feels forced, but Portraits of Tracy keeps the reigns on the reworked production which results in a shift from the contemplative and engaging “Found,” and turns it into a laidback and airy song that still maintains a level of punch that keeps the song fluctuating between R&B, alternative, and pop, all the while keeping the listener captivated.
:: “Best Witness” – Sinai Vessel ::
Mitch Mosk, Beacon, New York
The second single off Sinai Vessel’s upcoming third album has made me an instant, overnight fan. Released in late May, “Best Witness” is a charmingly vulnerable alt-rock outpouring from a gentle, ruminating soul – and a moment of raw, exposure for Sinai Vessel’s Caleb Cordes, who holds nothing back in wearing his heart on his sleeve. “Is it harder to find a friend now, or is it harder just to find friends like I have known them thus far in my life?” the North Carolina-based singer/songwriter wonders aloud, aching openly as he dwells in a reflection and inner reckoning:
‘cause out here
i care for me best
out here
i’m my best witness
“‘Best Witness’ is a song about aging into the realization that very few people are going to know you better than you know yourself, and those that do are unlikely to grow in number,” Cordes tells Atwood Magazine. “When faced with a tough truth, one can either choose despair or joy, and it’s fun to present something with elements that list in both directions.”
when you’ve known how good it can be
when you’ve seen how good it gets
what isn’t and what cannot be
won’t let me forget
out here
i have lived with less
out here
i’m my best witness
“Best Witness” follows this March’s song “How” as the second tease off Sinai Vessel’s forthcoming third LP I SING, out July 26th via Keeled Scales. It’s a soul-stirring enchantment – sonically light, yet heavy with feeling – and one that brings us face-to-face with the humanity behind the artist. Cordes lovingly calls it his “most open aping of Tom Petty yet.”
“This tune is probably the prime example of what I set out to do with this record – to write hooks, to write polyphony, to meet the listener more than halfway,” he explains. “And Tom Petty was so good at that – his music functions just as well with a passive listen as it does with your full attention. It stands up to both being ignored and indulged, as both a soundtrack and a conversation, and somehow he never loses his essence along the way. I aspired to that with this tune big time, and I’m excited about where I wound up.”
Sinai Vessel recently released I SING‘s equally mesmerizing third single “Laughing” – which is well worth the listen in its own right – but I keep finding myself drawn back into his touching performance on “Best Witness,” a song that reminds us of life’s inextricable duality: We are alone in this world, and yet we do not have to be. Poignant and provocative, thoughtful and bittersweet, “Best Witness” succeeds at capturing our shared human condition.
sweet brother, can i call you?
i’m not doing well
can you state the obvious?
will you say you love me still?
‘cos out here
i’m my only friend
out here
i’m my best witness
:: “Likewise” – Devarrow ::
Josh Weiner, Washington DC
My week-long road trip to Quebec last week was full of music, and while most of it may have been jazz– the Montreal International Jazz Festival provided the backbone of my itinerary– I’m definitely in the mood for some new Canadian jams of any genre right now, given how much positive memory-making that country just provided for me. I thus am very happy to hop one province over to New Brunswick, hit up the rural coastal town of Moncton, and check in with local folk singer Graham Ereaux, who performs under the alias Devarrow.
It seems this guy likes to take his time between releases– he’s back now with his first album since 2019, which in turn was his first one since 2015. As long as he delivers the goods when he is in town, though, everything is fine with me. And that does seem to have been the case here with “Likewise,” an early excerpt from the upcoming Heart Shaped Rock. This new song is a well-produced modern folk track anchored by some tender lyricism. “All I ever think about is you, my sweetest love,” Devarrow sings, before openly inviting said figure to, “Call me in the night when I feel restless. Call me in the night when I feel tested.”
“This record is largely influenced by consciously trying to focus on the things that bring joy to our lives,” Devarrow says of his new music. “The world feels scary, and I wanted to inspire people to see the things that are good, and the areas we do have control, in a world where we feel so powerless.” These are meaningful themes, and it will be fulfilling to see Devarrow continue what he’s started on “Likewise” once Heart Shaped Rock arrives this fall.
:: 故障 – Rixoy ::
Frederick Bloy, London, England
Since the boom of the genre in the middling 2010s, vaporwave has proliferated innumerably. It lives a double-life, still possessing an elusive, esoteric mystery, whilst existing as the soundtrack for an online age. Resultantly, it might be fair to describe it as an over-saturated sound; there is only so much ’70s funk that can be repurposed before it all starts to haze into one, shimmering, low-fidelity smog.
However, 故障 is an EP of notable promise. It demonstrates a level of competence often forsaken by the morass of mallsoft offcuts, championing nostalgic rhythms and melodies, siren-like vocal samples, and, naturally, prominent and imperturbable bass lines. Even more encouraging is an opening track of a different tone. It’s something solemn and beguiling, a refreshing step away from the standard washed-out funk you might expect from such a release. Should this modicum of true originality be capitalised upon and expanded, Rixoy could well manufacture further vaporwave that deserves mention in an increasingly glamorous pantheon.
:: “right where you left me” – eaJ ::
Joe Beer, Surrey, UK
eaJ (aka Jae Park) just released his new single “right where you left me” featuring Hindia. Despite delivering a more introspective, pensive lyrical theme, sonically the track packs a punch with its energetic, mood-boosting vibe. Rocky guitars collide with anthemic drums and eaJ’s soaring vocals, emitting a bold and vibrant atmosphere that will keep you hitting that repeat button.
Written from a flipped perspective, “right where you left me” is a thought-provoking and reflective track that touches on the importance of being compassionate to other people in your life. eaJ shares, “It is written from the outlook of someone who is waiting for a loved one to come back from an emotional journey of self-discovery. They understand that life isn’t a movie and that things change from time to time. With a big heart of understanding and wanting to be of help for the person more so than one’s self, they sacrifice their own emotional well being to further encourage the other to explore as much as possible, with the reassurance that they will be right where they left them, if they choose to return.”
A poignant and compelling release, “right where you left me” is a note to be a little more empathetic to others, wrapped up in an intoxicating, summer-soaked anthem.
:: “Slow Down” – Half Happy ::
Mitch Mosk, Beacon, New York
Half Happy’s first single of the year is heavy, moody, and brooding, but nonetheless exhilarating: A melancholy enchantment that enriches the ears, even as the Welsh band send pangs through our hearts. Independently released June 20, “Slow Down” aches from the inside out as the Cardiff four-piece helmed by Rosalie Miller remind us to take life step by step, bit by bit:
Slow down little bird,
Right now
You see your hands on this rope.
Time to go.
So now little bird,
Take time
To see the world and it’s hopes
So don’t fall under…
You find it hard to say
Feeling, like it’s gonna stay
“You often see people you love let stress take over to a point where it consumes,” Miller says. “It’s hard to tell them to stop or tell yourself to stop. ‘Slow Down’ is a message, really. Stop what you’re doing, look around and try and find some joy, shut out external noise, go have a boogie in your room or something.”
“I’m usually quite selfish with my songwriting and my lyrics only help me out, but I wanted to write for someone else just as much as myself with this,” she continues. “I swear everyone around me was going through something at the same time, just one thing after another. It was quite relentless and there was no break. I was listening to a lot of Mac Miller which inspired the melody – I tend to listen to him when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I wanted to turn something stressful and lonely into something good. It’s probably the softest song we have released but fits perfectly in context with the next tracks we have coming out. It feels very special to us.”
Run through a normal day
Feet falling through tiny grains of sand
You mean this isn’t what you planned?
Stock taking another feeling
Caught myself again midnight dreaming of home
Do you remember where you came from?
Turn off all the lights in your room
Fingertips through air let me take you
Slow down, slow down, slow down…
Hypnotic guitars reminiscent of Parachutes-era Coldplay glisten and glow around Miller’s sweet voice as, over a heavy, hearty beat, she encourages us to take a breath. The title “Slow Down” couldn’t be any more literal, or any more meaningful if the band tried.
Fear is fake so jump
Tell me when
two three four
Drop into distance
You feel a million miles away
Too high to listen
Push yourself away from retrograde
You’ve got some distance,
You feel a million miles away
Slow down, slow down, slow down…
A spectacular return following last year’s string of singles “Runaway Girl,” “Boozy,” and “Say This Twice,” “Slow Down” is an intoxicatingly dreamy world unto itself – one that soothes and stirs as Half Happy strive to make us feel whole. Needless to say, we’ll be paying very special attention to this award-winning band over the months to come.
:: “Taste for Blood” – Sadye ::
Chloe Robinson, California
There is a powerful quote by Atticus that goes, “She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings.” Canadian alt-pop singer/songwriter Sadye is a great example of someone who has done just that. Her vibrant, electro banger “Taste for Blood” showcases bold heart-pounding beats and smooth, seductive vocals. The piece is a narration of overcoming demons and desiring to help someone else do the same. The track is deeply therapeutic, but also highly thrilling as well.
Sadye has battled a lot in her life, one of those obstacles is recovering from cancer. She often uses sarcasm to cope with pain. Songs like “The Joke Is On Me” and “Pretty Traumatized” are catchy releases that display that beautifully. Her mesmerizing music exudes so much raw heart, drawing fans closer in. “Taste for Blood” is another addictive offering with the same intimate openness.
:: “Million Miles” – Sophian ft. King Ibis ::
Mitch Mosk, Beacon, New York
Restless energies finds their way out into the universe through Sophian’s latest angsty, aching single. Released June 28, “Million Miles” pairs the Boorloo / Perth-based indie rock band with Nadene Burchell, lead singer of fellow Perth group King Ibis, for a soul-stirring rush of raw desire, red-hot yearning.
I can’t sleep
Standing on my feet all night long
I wanna forget how all this feels
and just runaway
Cause I can’t do this anymore
I feel like I’m drowning,
I’m barely surrounded by the things
That make me feel so alive, feel so alive
Sometimes escape feels like the only salvation. “‘Million Miles’ delves into the profound struggle of feeling inadequate despite relentless effort,” frontman Sophian Manik tells Atwood Magazine. “Through an intimate conversation with co-writer Nadene, the song captures the raw emotions of striving for perfection and battling self-doubt. The lyrics explore the realization that self-worth isn’t determined by others’ expectations but found within oneself. This deeply personal narrative reflects the journey of recognizing that one’s best efforts are valid and meaningful, even without immediate success or external validation.”
Manik and Burchell blends their voices into a singular, stunning pillar of passion in the track’s emotionally charged, gut-wrenching chorus:
Looking past the edge of this mess
that I’m living in now
I’m sure that I am
Only moving closer and closer to figuring it out
What lies ahead for me
Is not a million miles away
The lead single off Sophian’s upcoming debut EP (and their eighth overall song release since debuting in 2022), “Million Miles” is a fantastic introduction that immediately hits hard and leaves a lasting mark, both on the ears and the heart. Cathartic, aching, and anthemic all at once, Sophian are easy to fall for and impossible to ignore.
:: “Being One” – House of Protection ::
Josh Weiner, Washington DC
Today is the Friday in between July 4th and the weekend, which I must say feels rather like those couple weeks of school between Thanksgiving and winter break – technically, we still have to work, but you could probe all 3.8 million square miles of this fine nation and find not a soul who wants to work at a time like this. It’s going to take some seriously energetic and motivational music to get me through this type of day – luckily, I was able to encounter just that when I came across “Being One,” a fast-paced and uplifting new single by almost-as-new EDM duo, House of Protection.
“Being One” marks just the third release from Los Angeles-based artists Aric Improta and Stephen Harrison, who came together to form House of Protection just over a month ago. They out out their debut single, “It’s Supposed to Hurt,” and then followed up with “Learn to Forget” later on this spring. Now, “Being One” completes their initial trifecta of singles successfully, thanks to some fine work by Harrison in the recording booth (“Being one, turn in the night, chasing the light, earthless and bright,” he sings intoxicatingly), with Importa and guest producer Jordan Fish supporting him splendidly on the drums and the beat machine, respectively.
“I’ve always loved playing drum & bass, so Jordan and I immediately clicked on the rhythmic ideas,” says Importa. “As a whole, I feel like Steve’s vocals were a huge step up from our previous demos and it gave us a new dynamic to work with moving forward.” How exactly they’ll make the most of that dynamic on their upcoming projects will be exciting to observe, indeed.
:: “Wink” – Horse Jumper of Love ::
Mitch Mosk, Beacon, New York
The first thing that strikes me about Horse Jumper of Love’s new single (every time I listen, I might add) is just how heavy it is. A wave of thick, lush overdrive washes over the ears as “Wink” begins, immediately beckoning us deeper into the Boston band’s world as they begin to unveil their new album, Disaster Trick (out August 16th via Run for Cover Records). Frontman Dimitri Giannopoulos’ voice aches from the inside out as raw emotion spills out of him, a sense of longing and unresolved tension in his poetic, weighted words.
A man came back
With nothing to show for it.
He said do you feel the wind?
Do you know the evil thing I did?
In my garden
I didn’t need you to bring me down.
If your sky is
Empty, you should just keep me around.
Dumb with luck
You made up some disaster trick
You shot me a little wink
We covered so much ground
“I was inspired by a Russian short story called ‘Leaves’ by Dimitry Bakin,” Giannopoulos shares. “The story is partly about people leaving their home for something better but when they return they are back to the same place they started. The story shed some perspective on my own life and the ebb and flow of pushing forward for something better and going back to your old ways.”
“Wink” forces us to think about identity, perspective, and place a little bit differently. It compels us to consider who we are and how we’ve changed – and what change even means. Life can feel like one big question mark at times, and while Horse Jumper of Love certainly offer us no answers in this song, their music is itself a space of refuge, provoking questions and inviting us to think deeply, and critically, of the human experience.
And that, in itself, is worth a commendation.
With just a gesture
I didn’t need you to say much more
If my sky is
Empty, I should just not ask for so much.
A man came back
With nothing to show for it
And your arms have never looked
More empty than they do from here.
In my garden
I didn’t need you to bring me down
If your sky is
Empty, you could just keep me around.
:: “Before You Go” – Temmpo ::
Joe Beer, Surrey, UK
Temmpo turns up the heat with his new release “Before You Go.” If you think the song title sounds familiar, then you’d be right – Temmpo has taken the chart-topping hit from Lewis Capaldi and transformed it into a dance pop anthem.
Temmpo is the musical project of Australian writer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and artist Tonino. Taking complete creative control of his music, he shares, “I have always loved reworking classic songs and find it both fun and challenging to reimagine classic works. These new releases were always some of my favourites so I drew inspiration from my love of the original versions to see how far I could take them into a new direction. I produced all of the records and got my wife Frida Amundsen (aka Bad Lucy) to sing the covers at a slower, more natural tempo. We then bumped up the speed to these covers and shifted keys to make it fit a more modern, commercial dance sound.”
His rendition of “Before You Go” will be sure to have you up on your feet, as playful, high-energy beats collide with vibrant synths and kaleidoscopic melodies. This is “Before You Go” unlike anything you’ve heard before.
:: “Laundry Day Dreaming” – ERNIE ::
Mitch Mosk, Beacon, New York
True to its name, “Laundry Day Dreaming” was born while ERNIE was midway through a dry cycle, perhaps watching his clothes tumble around that little hotbox and wondering what it was all for. The Newcastle-based artist’s second single of the year is a dreamy, aching, and wistful reverie: His tender voice haunts the eardrums as glistening, effected guitars and heavy drums wash over and through us, capturing the stillness – and the seduction – of a moment of intimate introspection.
We all know that moment well: When there’s little else going on or nothing to truly focus on, our minds wander and our thoughts run rampant – often bringing us back to those moments and memories, faces and places that mean the most to us.
Sitting in the car with rain on the brain
It felt as though you didn’t have the time
Not wanting to play a part in fixing what remained
Of my war-torn, waterlogged mind
I was stumbling around with my head on the ground
When I heard that you had took off in the night
And you’d landed in Greece and in stifling heat
You were taking another swing at life
“‘Laundry Day Dreaming’ was written all in one go on a rainy weekday morning in 2020 as I sat in the launderette waiting for my clothes to dry,” the part-time chef and full-time singer/songwriter – née Joe Ernest Allan – tells Atwood Magazine. “During idle moments like that my mind tends to race, I think about the past and the mistakes of my youth a lot, and this song is a product of that. It’s got a dreary, sleepy vibe that I love, but it’s hopeful and uplifting in parts too.”
“To honour the simple way that the song came together, we purposely didn’t overcomplicate things in the studio and basically just played it live together as a band and left all the bells and whistles from my first EP out of it. I’m so proud of it, it’s a live favourite for all of us and I hope other people connect with it too.”
The deputy head said you’re light years ahead
Of all of the other kids your age
But they sat at the back and they pointed and laughed
And a part of me died on that stage
Now in search of the cause I am darkening your door
And I know that I’m in the wrong place
But the eggshells are down and you’re tiptoeing ‘round
In the shadow of my furrowing brow
Heavy and heartfelt, churning and charged, “Laundry Day Dreaming” is an all-consuming, cathartic indie rock upheaval – a passionate, powerful eruption of dreamy and dramatic, hazy and fuzzy sound that leaves us feeling drained and invigorated all at once. Vulnerable yet no less vibrant, ERNIE invites his audience to join him in dwelling in the depths of existence; it’s a fraught place to be, yet one worth visiting every now and then, whether to reconnect with ourselves or reflect on where are, compared to where we’ve been.
Or if you just want to relax in five minutes of heavy, bold brooding, you can do that too: “Laundry Day Dreaming” is a rainy day hypnosis, a gorgeous indulgence that grips us from end to end, relenting only once it’s made its mark on us – ensuring we never forget this song. ERNIE’s name, or that spellbinding, cinematic guitar solo at the track’s end!
With more songs on the way and his sophomore EP reportedly slated to release this Autumn, there has never been a better time to become an ERNIE fan – and with a song as moving and moody as “Laundry Day Dreaming,” that job just got a whole heck of a lot easier.
You never let me down
You just tiptoed around and barely made a sound
I was tearing down the house
My mind was so busy you kinda faded out
But it wasn’t your fault
I was ticking and ticking and I went off in your arms
And I hope you found peace
And laughter-soaked-lovin’
in your new home by the sea
:: III – Snowblood ::
Chloe Robinson, California
Dark and daring metal/rock artist Snowblood’s new album III is utterly motivating. The ominous 8-track collection reminds us that even at our lowest points we can still prevail. It presents feminine rage at its finest and we are compelled by that empowering angst. She reveals, “Writing these songs pulled me through one of the darkest periods of my life. I hope its existence can inspire others as much as it has inspired me to keep moving forward, always.”
The work commences with “EXPLODING WITH POWER.” The piercing vocals and bouncing static beats crafts intensity to the song that is magnetic. Lyrics like “I’m so much stronger everyday inside,” provides listeners with the strength to become greater themselves. “RIP MY EYES OUT” is another potent piece all about suffering in an awful world and not wanting to be awake to see the tragedy. This one is so prevalent especially with all the misfortunes happening today. The wistful, twinkling puts you in a hazy, dream-like state. “I HATE EVERYONE” highlights her fiery tone soaring over illuminating, lazar synths. It is the ultimate fierce anthem for releasing pent up tension. These and other intoxicating standouts on III make the album a must-listen.
Dani Artaud, the mastermind of Snowblood, is a versatile talent continuously reinventing herself. Inspired by her Gemini star sign, she possesses many sides to her music and we are hooked on her eccentric quality. Artaud’s immense love for metal really shows in the heart and soul of this passionate offering.
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