Reviews
‘Carefree’- Stefanie Michaela, throwing the windows wide open
Sometimes the most powerful thing a song can offer is permission to stop overthinking, release the pressure and enjoy the moment before it disappears. That is exactly what Stefanie Michaela delivers on ‘Carefree’, a wonderfully bright and life-affirming pop anthem that captures the exhilarating feeling of finally letting the weight fall from your shoulders. Full of warmth, movement […]
‘Rovine’- Tulegon, building a life from the beautiful ruins of memory
On his sophomore album ‘Rovine’, Milan-based singer-songwriter Tulegon draws together lyrics written across more than two decades, transforming childhood recollections, changing cities, relationships and questions of destiny into a deeply personal portrait of a life still being understood. Its title, translating as “ruins,” immediately establishes the record’s central tension. Ruins are evidence of loss, but they are also […]
‘Sonder’- The Fiends, looking beyond the crowd
A crowded street can make the world feel either overwhelmingly connected or strangely anonymous. And on their latest offering ‘Sonder’, Swansea four-piece The Fiends explore the moment when that anonymity briefly dissolves; when a stranger passing a shop window or sitting across the aisle on a bus is suddenly recognised as the centre of a life every bit […]
‘August Came’- GISKE, capturing the golden fade of summer
Some songs arrive like a season changing outside an open window. They feel warm at first, bright with possibility, before revealing the faint sadness that comes from knowing the light will not last. And ‘August Came’, the latest single from Norwegian guitar-pop trio GISKE, appears to live entirely within that beautiful moment of transition. Built around chiming […]
‘PROMISES’- CRYSOFTLY, pushing melodic rap into bold new territory
There’s a compelling contradiction at the centre of ‘PROMISES’. Created within the close confines of a Vancouver bedroom, CRYSOFTLY’s new EP carries ambitions that stretch far beyond those walls. The project is intimate in construction but expansive in intent, bringing melodic rap into contact with jersey club rhythms, seductive drill textures and the polished emotional drama […]
‘I Don’t Want To Know’- Faint Halos, reconnecting with a human pulse
There is an important difference between returning to music because you miss it and returning because silence no longer feels acceptable. For Philadelphia-based Faint Halos, the second route appears to have been the more urgent one. At the centre of the project is songwriter Paul Hashemi, who stepped away from making music for more than a decade […]
‘How You Left Me Still’- Mark Cee, giving sudden absence a lasting weight
Grief rarely begins with understanding. More often, it arrives as interruption: a conversation unfinished, a familiar presence removed without warning, or the unsettling realisation that the chance to say goodbye has already passed. And on his new single ‘How You Left Me Still’, New York artist Mark Cee remains inside that first stunned silence, creating an intimate reflection […]
‘Dance Again’- Patti Zlaket, returning with a renewed purpose
Twenty years between albums can sometimes turn a return into an exercise in nostalgia. On ‘Dance Again’, however, Patti Zlaket sounds less interested in recreating an earlier chapter than in discovering what remains possible after time, experience and circumstance have reshaped the artist behind the songs. After watching Immediate Family, the documentary centred on the musicians whose […]
‘Livin Like A Local’- Liz Nash, finding the real Florida beyond the tourist trail
Florida is often reduced to a postcard: beaches, theme parks, palm trees and an endless promise of sunshine. But on her new release ‘Livin Like a Local’, Mount Dora singer-songwriter Liz Nash looks beyond that familiar surface, offering a warmer and more personal portrait of the place she calls home. The fourth single from her developing ‘Florida Songs’ project, the […]
