Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Rome’s Diana Tejera Releases a Sultry New Bop

Diana Tejera is a Rome-born and-based Spanish-Italian multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and producer. Tejera can trace the origins of her music career to her childhood: she started studying the piano when she was nine and guitar when she turned 13.

In 1997, she went to CET Mogol, where she studied composition. The following year, her career started in earnest when she joined pop duo Pink! The duo’s first album Sixtematicamente, which Tejera wrote herself, was released to critical praise.

By 2000, Pink! expanded into a quartet — and then rebranded themselves as Plastico. That same year, Plastico won the 11th San Marino Festival with “Strani sintomi,” which was written by Tejera. The band went on to write and record Sensible al tatto, an effort they supported with a tour opening for Lúnapop — and a national tour across Italy.

In 2002, Plastico appeared at the 52nd Sanremo Festival, where they performed the Tejera penned “Fruscìo. They then released incontri casuali, which was also written by Tejera.

By 2003 Plastico broke up and Tejera went forward with a solo career that featured original material, as well as collaborations with a number of fellow Roman artists, including Tiziano Ferro. Her collaboration with Ferro lead to “E fuori è buio,” which appeared on Ferro’s 2006 album Nessuno è solo and “Scivoli di nuovo,” which appeared on 2008’s Alla mia etá.

Tejera is also an composer for short and feature-length films. Her work on Francecso Colangelo’s short films L’ultimo passo, il male assoluto, and La decima onda have won several awards.

The Spanish-Italian artist’s latest EP Aún was released last month. The EP, much like her forthcoming full-length album features material written and sung in English, Spanish and French. Interestingly, a number of Aún‘s songs have appeared on Rai3’s Kilimangiaro.

The EP’s latest single “Volveré” is sleek and slickly produced bit of pop centered around glistening synths arpeggios, skittering beats, a relentless motorik groove paired with Tejera’s yearning vocals. The end result is a glittering bop that may remind some listeners of Little Boots and others — but that focuses on coming back to someone, which gives the song a euphoric yet relieved air.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Red for Stop is a mysterious French indie outfit that has won the KR Home Studio Discoveries contest three of the past four years. The act’s latest single, the woozy “You Are Alone” is a slick synthesis of 120 Minutes era MTV alt rock and trip hop centered around twinkling keys, stuttering beats, shimmering feedback-drenched guitars, soaring strings and an anthemic hook are paired with coquettish vocals. The end result is a song that brings Sneaker Pimps and Slowdive to mind — but with a subtle yet visceral sense of menace.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Mathieu Saïkaly’s Intimate and Gorgeous “If it’s all a choice”

Mathieu Saïkaly is a French electronic music producer and artist, who started his career in earnest when he turned 17: Saïkaly started a YouTube channel that initially featured recordings of the French producer and artist doing covers — but gradually he began releasing original material. Much like countless other young artists across the world, Saikaly started developing and honing his own style, discovering what resonated with him. Writing and singing lyrics in English and French, Saïkaly searched for ways to make his knowledge of both languages work together on a project, which he improved upon each year. 

When Saïkaly turned 20, he started to go out beyond the confines of his bedroom. He didn’t quite know where or how to start a music career but his friends told him he should sign up for Nouvelle Star. He wound up winning the 2014 season — singing an Elliott Smith song in the final. He was signed to a major label and released his full-length debut, 2015’s A Million Particles, which featured the viral hit “From Glass To Ice,” a song that amassed over four million streams on Spotify.

When he turned 24, the French producer and artist decided to go the independent route: He created his own label, which released his sophomore album, 2019’s Quatre Murs Blanc, an intimate and impressionistic album that focused on emotions first and the story second. The album featured album track”Mama Oh I Swear,” which amassed 400,000 Spotify streams.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Plus jamais te revoir,” a trippy and mind-bending track centered around tweeter and woofer rocking beats, shimmering and wobbling synth arpeggios and Saïkaly’s achingly tender vocals. The end result was a song that felt like a vivid fever dream. His latest single “If it’s all a choice” further cements his reputation for being a restless experimentalist, who constantly alters his sounds and approach.

In the case of “If it’s all a choice,” Saïkaly has crafted an intimate song centered around a sparse yet gorgeous arrangement featuring the French artist’s expressive vocals accompanied by strummed, acoustic guitar. Thematically, the song deals explores the role of free will and that of fate in all of our doings — particularly when it involves affairs of the heart. And perhaps more than any other song in his catalog, “If it’s all a choice” seems the most informed by deeply personal, lived-in experience.

“I keep exploring. I changed my way of producing. My two albums were recorded in studio, I observed a lot the sound engineers, I learned a lot,” Saïkaly says in press notes. “Today, I feel able to translate my music, to make things sound the way I want. And that unlocks other ways of creating. Alone, you don’t have a time limit, unlike in the studio.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Mysterious electronic duo Kasablanca emerged last year with the release of their debut EP, Human Learning. The six-track effort saw the duo firmly establishing a sound that tapped into 80s analog synth nostalgia while combining paired with the rhythmic fundamentals of house and techno. The EP eventually garnered the support of underground and main stage DJs alike globally.

The duo capped off a big year by collaborating with Lane 8 on “Run,” which amassed over 15 million streams and a #1 airplay spot on SiriusXM’s BPM station. Adding to a growing profile, the mysterious duo debuted their live show setup during a worldwide stream broadcast with DJ MAG.

The duo close out the year with the 2-track effort “Cronus”/Volition,” the follow-up to their applauded debut EP. The A-side “Cronus” is centered around a slick and dense, Kraftwerk meets John Carpenter-like production featuring layers of glistening synth arpeggios-driven melodies, skittering beats and a relentless motorik groove. The euphoric B-side “Volition” is deep house banger with nods at Kraftwerk and Daft Punk, centered around a chopped up vocodered vocal sample, wobbling synth arpeggios and thumping beats. Both tracks reveal a forward-thinking yet retro-futuristic take on house.

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Emerging Swedish Producer AWQA Teams up with Visiteur’s Sir Boyfriend on Menacing “Boiling Cuts”

AWQA is a mysterious and emerging Stockholm-based electronic music producer. Although he’s a newcomer in the Swedish electronic scene, he has a background in rock.

The emerging Swedish producer’s fourth and latest single “Boiling Cuts” features Visituer‘s Sir Boyfriend. The collaboration’s origins can be traced back some time ago: AWQA met Sir Boyfriend, when the Visituer frontman was filling in on drums for Lynx Rufus, an indie rock/indie pop outfit. Coincidentally, while AWQA emerged as an electronic music producer, Sir Boyfriend has stepped out into the limelight as a solo artist.

Centered around an uneasy and menacing production featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering tweeter and woofer rattling beats paired with Sir Boyfriend’s falsetto crooning, “Boiling Cuts” may remind some listeners of The Knife and of ADULT. — but with a subtle yet noticeable alt-pop sensibility. Thematically, the song discusses isolation in a very visceral fashion.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: London’s Blue Lab Beats Teams up with Accra, Ghana’s Killbeatz and Fela Kuti on Dance Floor Friendly “Motherland Journey”

Rising, London-based Jazztronica production duo Blue Lab Beats — producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr, DM — had rather humble origins, as bedroom producers, who remixed tracks by the likes of Dua Lipa, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and others. The duo’s sound quickly morphed to incorporate jazz, soul and hip-hop influences while staying true to their British/London roots. Since the formation, the London-based duo have quickly exploded into the national and international scenes: they’ve played played Glastonbury — and they’ve opened for the likes of the legendary Roy Ayers and Thundercat. They’ve also contributed a remake of Bobby Henderson‘s Blue Note Records‘ classic “Montara,” which appeared on last year’s Blue Note Re: imagined compilation. And adding to a growing profile, the duo’s work has amassed over 25 million streams to date.

2021 has been a busy year for the rising British production duo: They’ve released a handful of critically applauded singles including “Dat It,” “Blow You Away (Delilah)” and “Sensual Loving,” which have seem them collaborating with the like of Stones Throw Records affiliate Kiefer and Afrobeats star Ghetto Boy. And as you may recall last month,I wrote about “Labels,” which featured a  J. Dilla meets The Midnight Hour-like production centered around soaring strings, boom bap beats and a sinuous bass line.

The production serves as a lush and mesmerizing bed for thoughtful and lovelorn verses from London-based emcee Kofi Stone that find him questioning the need for labels to define what his romantic relationship is to others. The song also features a soulful hook by London-based vocalist Tiana Major9.

Those four singles will appear on the duo’s long awaited new album and Blue Note Records full-length debut Motherland Journey. Slated for a February 25, 2022 release, the album is a result of two-and-a-half years of work that celebrates pushing boundaries, taking risks and overcoming adversity. Starting out with over 70 demos, the duo meticulously whittled them down to the final 17-track album.

“This album took us two-and-a-half years to finish, our longest process to make an album, but it was so worth it,”the members of Blue Lab Beats say in press notes. “On this album you’ll hear many fusions of genres and inspirations that we gathered throughout that time frame and especially to work on so many of the songs during the first lockdown it was a test in itself. We had to figure out so many different ways to achieve what we exactly wanted sonically and having Blue Note to help us achieve that was an absolute blessing. Many of the vocal features and instrumentalists on this album are great friends of ours and it’s just so amazing to have family on this album.”

Motherland Journey‘s fifth and latest single, album title track “Motherland Journey” features Ghanian producer KillBeatz and the vocals of the late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Co-written by the duo and Killbeatz in Accra, Ghana, the song was blessed by the estate of Fela Kuti. Featuring a warm, dancehall meets Afrobeat-like production, featuring a looping and shimmering guitar line, skittering beats, regal horns, “Motherland Journey” is an upbeat, club friendly bop. But underneath those dance floor vibes, the song suggests that Africa is the future — and for some, it’ll be an introduction to the legendary Kuti and the sounds of Africa in a crowd-pleaisng fashion.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Perform “Robot Stop” and “Hot Water” at Levitation

Levitation Festival (initially founded as Austin Psych Fest) can trace its beginnings to a simple idea devised by the members of JOVM mainstay act The Black Angels in the back of a tour van back in 2007: “Let’s invite all of our favorite bands and all of our friends for our version of a music festival.” 

The inaugural Austin Psych Fest was in March 2008 — and by popular demand, the festival expanded to a three-day event the following year. Within a relatively short period of time, Austin Psych Fest became an international destination for psych fans across the globe, with the festival featuring lineups that included up-and-comers, cult favorites, legendary and influential acts and a headlining set from the festival’s founders, The Black Angels. A few years ago, the festival was renamed Levitation in honor of Austin psych rock pioneers The 13th Floor Elevators, but in in its almost 15 year run, the festival has helped spark a new, international psych rock movement while inspiring the creation of similar events across the globe, including Levitation Festival events in Chicago, Vancouver, France and a SXSW showcase, as well as other special events in Europe and Latin America.

Late last year, Levitation Festival’s record label, The Reverberation Appreciation Society announced the launch of a new live album series, Live at LEVITATION. Comprised of material played and recorded throughout the festival’s history, the live album series specifically captures and documents key artists in the contemporary psych rock scene. Of course, many of these moments were also important moments of Austin’s live music scene. 

  • The live series’ first album Kikagaku Moyo — Live at LEVITATION featured two different Kikagaku Moyo sets — their 2014 Levitation Festival set, which was one of the Japanese psych rock act’s first Stateside shows and their return to Levitation back in 2019, during a sold-out Stateside tour, which included a stop at Warsaw that year with Japanese krautrockers Minami Deutsch.
  • The series’ second album The Black Angels — Live at LEVITATION featured the festival’s founders The Black Angels. The Black Angels live album is comprised of material recorded at Austin Psych Fest 2010, 2011 and 2012, and captures a rare glimpse of the festival’s earlier, more humble days. And of course, for Black Angels fans, like myself, the album features live version of six songs from their first two albums — Passover and Directions to See a Ghost. 
  • The series third album Primal Scream — Live at LEVITATION features the legendary and influential British psych rockers — currently, Bobby Gillespie (vocals), Andrew Innes (guitar), Martin Duffy (keys), Simone Butler (bass) and Darrin Mooney (drums) — during their career spanning 2015 LEVITATION set. The set featured hits from landmark albums like  Screamadelica, Give Out But Don’t Give Up, XTRMNTR and others

The Reverberation Appreciation Society surprised psych rock fans with the surprise release of the fourth installment of their Live at LEVITATION series — King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard — Live at LEVITATION. The double LP features the acclaimed JOVM mainstays’ 2014 and 2016 Levitation Festival appearances.

The Aussie JOVM mainstays’ 2014 appearance is presented in full on the first LP. That set is historic because it’s their first North American show, ever — and it includes a live performance of their then-unreleased “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz” suite. The rest of the set includes early versions of material loved by fans today while offering a look into the creative process of a band that was just about to explode into the global scene. After their 2014 North American tour, the band spent the summer in Brooklyn recording I’m Not Your Mind Fuzz and Quarters.

The second LP consists of King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard’s 2016 Levitation Festival appearance: The band returned to celebrate the release of that year’s critically applauded, mind-bending effort Nonagon Infinity. Unfortunately, that year’s festival was canceled because of severe weather; but the recording on the second LP is one of two shows Gizz played at Barracuda thats weekend. Sadly, Barracuda is no longer.

Both shows were recorded by Craig Lawrence and mixed by the band’s mastermind Stu Mackenzie at their Melbourne-based studio — and specifically mastered for vinyl. To celebrate the live album’s release, The Reverberation Appreciation Society and the band released some blistering live footage of the band playing Nonagon infinity rippers “Robot Stop” and “Hot Water.” Play loud and then rock out.

The vinyl release will feature four unique colorways, each limited to 2000 in a matte gatefold featuring unique gold foil embossed numbered jackets numbered 1-8000. The first run will be the only one with those features — and a special record for anyone who collects records.

The album is also bundled with a super limited edition of tees, tie dyes and screen printed foil prints featuring artwork by Alan Forbes from the 2016 show and the long lost 2014 poster by C.M Ruiz.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Fluer bleu.e Returns with a Hazy and Wistful Visual for Shimmering “sun”

Deriving their name from a French expression that gently mocks sappy lovers, the Paris-based indie rock duo Fleur bleu.e — Delphine and Vladimir — features two accomplished musicians, who have been performing and writing music since they were both children: Vladimir was a guitarist in French garage rock band Brats, an act that recorded and released a Yarol Popouard-produced album that was supported with touring across France with BB Brunes. Delphine began playing cello in classical orchestras before learning guitar and playing at alternative festivals across Paris with her first band Le Studio Jaune.

When the duo met in 2019, they bonded over a mutual love of The Smiths, Beach House, Françoise Hardy and Elli et Jacno among others, and a desire to craft music that was emotionally ambiguous while being fueled by their teenage myths. Seemingly influenced by dramas and nightmares, their artistic vision is to go beyond the prism of the gender binary and call upon the listener to express their fragility, celebrating one’s inner world and the beauty in imperfections.

The Parisian duo released “Horizon” to critical applause late last year. Building upon a buzz worthy profile in their native France, the Parisian duo released “STOLT 89” earlier this year, a track that brought Bloom-era Beach House to mind while being an emotionally ambiguous feminist manifesto. Both of those singles will appear on the duo’s Ben Ettter-produced full-length debut slated for release next year. 

In the meantime, the forthcoming album’s third and latest single “sun” sees the members of Fluer bleu.e crafting an infectious yet beautiful song that adds elements of folk and jangle pop to their singular take on dream pop. The end result is a song that sounds like Beach House meets The Sundays. But underneath the song’s sunny instrumentation, the song is a bittersweet meditation on depression, the search for a soulmate embodied by the sun and the stifling nature of the gender binary.

Directed by Clémentine Chapron and shot on Super 8 during golden hours, the recently released video for “sun” evokes the heartbreak, loneliness and depression at the heart of the song. Throughout the video, there are subtle reminders that the sun is never far away — whether brooding in a small apartment or out on the streets.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Daniel Feldman is a Rockville, MD-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter, musician, who has had a lengthy and varied music career: He’s best known for a seven-year stint as the frontman of Baltimore-based indie rock outfit Yo No Say. He’s currently one-half of synth pop duo Airplane Man with lifelong friend and creative partner, Tim Sommers.

Since its formation, Airplane Man has released a handful of singles that have earned over a million streams each — all while receiving praise from Billboard and landing on Spotify playlists like New Music Friday.

Feldman’s solo recording project Sleepy Gary derives its name from two different sources: “I first heard the name Sleepy Gary in the context of a TV show called Rick and Morty,” Feldman explains. “In the episode, a suburban family becomes infested with brain parasites that present themselves as old friends via fond yet false memories. One of those parasitic cerebral manifestations is a nonexistent family friend named Sleepy Gary who wears a classic sleeping cap and pajamas and never opens his eyes more than halfway. 

“The character resonated with me because I myself am simply a mental parasite made of false memories.. ehem.. I mean, because I have always felt sleepiness was part of my identity” Feldman continues. “As a teenager I would start my pre-high school shower and end up napping on the bathroom floor, only to awake to an Amazonian climate and the sound of my mom pounding on the door, yelling that I was about to miss the bus again.

“In college I slept through nearly every one of my 8am literature classes. The sleepiness grew and grew until it became a monster that kept me up all night and ruined every morning. Something about that character in Rick and Morty nudged me subconsciously to own it. I am sleepy and that’s ok. I used to lay awake at night before playing shows with my old band. I figure, now with a name like Sleepy Gary if I don’t sleep.. I’ll just be that much more in character. Maybe it’s a way to lean into my anxiety around sleep. I also have to admit there’s just something to the way it sounds. It reminds me of a character you might meet in a gangster movie by Martin Scorcese or something.”

Feldman’s Sleepy Gary debut 21 Love Songs is a three-volume collection that took over seven years to complete and was written in three different cities —DC, Baltimore and New York. The album was completed last year while Feldman was quarantined in a 600 square foot Bushwick apartment with roommate and producer, Gabriel Stanley. Stanley co-produced the album. Grammy-nominated Dave Weingarten mixed the album. Grammy Award-winning Alex DeTurk.

The album sees Feldman quickly establishing a sound and songwriting approach that meshes elements of bedroom pop and psych pop. Thematically, the album is an ode to the many iterations of love we experience throughout our lives: unrequited, sensual, half-hearted, budding, obsessive and long-lost but while occasionally expanding upon what a love song actually is and focuses on.

In keeping with the album’s title, Feldman will release a song off the album every 21 days over the course of a year. The album’s latest single, the Tame Impala-like “W.D.I.L.Y.” Centered around tweeter and woofer rocking beats, reverb drenched guitar, glistening synth arpeggios, an enormous hook “W.D.I.L.Y.” sees Feldman pairing arena rock and club rocking bombast with intimate and achingly vulnerable lyricism: The song’s narrator longs for the old-school love song sort of love. But he finds himself alone, after yet another unrequited love. And yet it’s not completely hopeless; it’s the sort of song in which you see yourself in — and recognize that it’s a profoundly universal experience.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Acclaimed Melbourne-Based Act Mildlife Performs “Citations” on South Channel Island

2017 was a breakthrough year for the now-acclaimed Melbourne-based outfit Mildlife — multi-instrumentalists Jim Rindfleish, Adam Halliwell, Kevin McDowell and Tom Shanahan: Their full-length debut Phase, a mind-bending mix of jazz, krautrock and trippy grooves quickly became a word-of-mouth sensation among open-minded DJs and crate-diggers searching for that perfect, as-of-yet undiscovered-but-incredible beat. Their emergence — and their profile — was solidified by some extensive touring that demonstrated a loose-limbed live approach that thrilled and won over new fans, including the BBC’s Gilles Peterson.

By the end of 2017, the album received critical praise from  Resident Advisor, Uncut,and The Guardian, as well as airplay on BBC Radio 6. Adding to a growing profile, the album landed a handful of award nominations including Best Album at the 2018 Worldwide FM Awards,  Best Independent Jazz Album at the 2018 AIR Awards and Best Electronic Award nomination and win at the The Age Music Victoria Awards. DJ Harvey also included album track “Magnificent Moon” on his Pikes compilation Mercury Rising, Vol. II.

The Melbourne-based quartet have also opened for Stereolab, JOVM mainstays King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Harvey Sutherland. Their first national headlining tour was sold out, and they immediately followed up with a ten-date UK and European tour, which was culminated with a homecoming set at Meredith Music Festival.

Mildlife released their sophomore album Automatic through Heavenly Recordings late last year. The album, which debuted at #10 on the Aussie charts, saw the band crafting much more danceable material, centered around tightly structured arrangements that allow room for melodic improvisation paired with ethereal vocals. Interestingly, the album manages to further cement the Aussie outfit’s approach and reputation for effortlessly gliding between live performance and studio songwriting. Capping off the year, Automatic won an ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album.

Unable to play shows in person and in front of living, breathing, sweating and dancing humans, the mebmers of Mildlife travelled by boat to a long-abandoned 19th Century island fort on South Channel Island to play for fairy penguins and abalone poachers.

The end result: Live from South Channel Island, a 70 minute concert film and live album, in which the band recreate their live show while framed by Port Philip Bay. Live from South Channel Island is slated for an April 29, 2022 release through Heavenly Recordings/[PIAS] — and the band shared the album’s first single, an expansive live rendition of the Wish You Were Here era Pink Floyd meets jazz fusion-like “Citations,” which appears on Automatic. Of course, the accompanying live footage is at simultaneously eerie and jaw-dropping.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Haiku Hands Releases an Infectious Banger

Critically applauded Aussie electro pop act Haiku Hands — Claire Nakazawa, Beatrice Lewis and Mie Nakazawa — embarked on their first Stateside tour back in 2019, and the tour included a number of applauded, attention-grabbing sets at SXSW, opening slots for the likes of Japanese punk act CHAI, JOVM mainstays Tame Impala and Sofi Tukker, Chicago-based emcee CupcaKke and footwork producer DJ Taye.

Building upon a rapidly growing national and intentional profile, the Aussie trio released their self-titled, full-length last year through Mad Decent. Primarily recorded in Melbourne with Joel Ma (a.k.a. Joelistics), the Aussie electro pop outfit’s self-titled debut further cemented their reputation for a sound and aesthetic that’s rebellious and unconventional.

While featuring collaborations with Sofi Tukker, Mad Zach, Machine Drum, Mirac, Hermitude‘s Elgusto and Lewis CanCut, the album thematically probes technology, relationships and the absurd — with incisive social commentary. “The record explores an attitude of empowerment, humour and positivity whilst also delving into darker themes and expressions,” the members of Haiku Hands explain. “We aimed to be original in our creative choices, we were influenced by multiple genres and artists but were aiming to create something that sounded new and different.”

“Conclusions” is the first bit of new material from the acclaimed Aussie electro pop outfit since the release of their self-titled debut. Centered around thumping and driving beats, pulsating blown out bass lines and ethereal melodies paired with a chanted hook, “Conclusions” is a head banging club anthem with a spontaneous, stream of consciousness feel.

“‘Conclusions’ is a driving in the car late at night, volume maxed, head banging, face scrunching kind of track,” the Aussie electro pop trio say in press notes. “Pulsing burnt basslines and driving drums juxtaposed by floating melodic vocals instantly transport you to the organised chaos of Haiku Hands’ car yard complete with guard dog.  Written in full stream of consciousness mode and off a beat written on an iPhone on a plane by Suburban Dark, it’s a timely effortless take on human differences, ideas and why none of it matters when you’re in the zone.” 

The recently released video for “Conclusions” was shot by three a cinematographers in three different cities late at night. Featuring the members of the acclaimed act taking late night rides through misty, two-lane blacktop, deserted Sydney parking lots and Melbourne median strips, the video is wild trip through lucid, fever dreams, glitches in the matrix and some unpredictable and unexpected moments.

“Conclusions” will appear on a limited edition, classic black vinyl reissue of their self-titled debut, slated for a February 4, 2021 release through Spinning Top Records and Mad Decent.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Penelope Isles Release a Gorgeous and Mind-Bending Visual for “Have You Heard?”

Brighton-based indie rock outfit Penelope Isles — founded and led by sibling duo and co-songwriters and co-vocalists Lily and Jack Wolter — had a breakthrough year back in 2019: Their self-produced, full-length debut Until The Tide Creeps In was released to critical acclaimed globally. The band supported the album with some relentless touring that included sharing stages with The Flaming Lips and The Magic Numbers, as well as three Stateside tours, including a stop at the inaugural New Colossus Festival.

The duo’s Jack Wolters-produced sophomore album Which Way To Happy was released last month through Bella Union. The album’s material was forged during a period of emotional and professional upheaval for The Wolters and for Penelope Isles. The band spent much of 2019 touring across Europe and America with their bandmates. When the pandemic struck early last year, the band — understandably — felt as though everything was falling apart: much like countless other folks across the world, the members of Penelope Isles found their plans and hopes in an indefinite stall. Along with that, Jack and Lily were dealing with their own respective heartaches and the departure of two bandmates. The departing bandmates were replaced with Henry Nicholson, Joe Taylor and Hannah Feenstra for the recording of the album. “A godsend after a low time,” Lily Wolters says. 

The Wolters along with Nicholson, Taylor and Feenstra holed up into a small cottage in Cornwall to start work on the new album when lockdowns were instituted everywhere. Claustrophobia kicked in, existential anxiety over the pandemic permeated everything and emotions — naturally — ran very high. “We were there for about two or three months, ultimately,” Penelope Isles’ Jack Wolter recalls. “It was a tiny cottage and we all went a bit bonkers, and we drank far too much, and it spiralled a bit out of control. There were a lot of emotional evenings and realisations, which I think reflects in the songs. Writing and recording new music was a huge part of the recovery process for all of us.”

Finished away from the confines of the Cornwall-based cottage and further flushed out with arrangements by acclaimed composer Fiona Brice, the band’s sophomore album finds the band further emphasizing the core traits that have won them acclaim globally: the bond between Jack and Lily, a desire to celebrate life in all of its facets and a sensitivity towards complex feelings. But interestingly, Which Way To Happy may arguably be their most ambitious effort to date: Sometimes, the album’s material swoons, sometimes it soars. Other times it bravely says “it’s OK to not be OK.” And this is while seeing the band balance on a sonic and stylistic tight rope between expansive cosmic pop, and intimate, earnest songwriting. 

In the lead up to the album’s release, I’ve written about four of Which Way To Happy‘s singles: 

  • The cinematic “Sailing Still.” Centered around a shimmering and brooding string arrangement, gently strummed guitar, thunderous drumming, a soaring hook and Lily Wolter’s achingly tender vocals, the heartbreakingly gorgeous track evokes a deep yet familiar yearning for peace in a mad, mad, mad world — while sonically bearing a resemblance to Lily Wolter’s collaboration with Lost Horizons. 
  • “Iced Gems” is a gently undulating track featuring twinkling keys, fluttering and atmospheric electronics, thumping beats and Lily Wolters’ achingly plaintive vocals. And while being a decided sonic departure, the song is centered around somme deeply intimate lyricism and the duo’s unerring knack for crafting infectious, razor sharp hooks. 
  • “Sudoku” is a slow-burning and lushly textured bit of dream pop/shoegaze centered around shimmering guitars, plaintive and expressive vocals, a soaring hook and a fuzzy power chord driven solo.
  • “Terrified,” a sun-dappled, hook-driven bit of jangle pop but underneath the breezy and upbeat vibes, the song is a reflection on maneuvering a mad, mad, mad world with anxiety — and somehow pretending that you’re not crumbling on the inside.

The album’s fifth and latest single, the breakneck “Have You Heard?” was written by Lily Wolters and sonically is one-part Brit Pop, one-part jangle pop, one-part psych pop centered around rousingly anthemic hooks and Lily Wolters’ achingly tender and ethereal vocals. According to the band, the song was inspired by labelmates The Flaming Lips and much like that equally acclaimed act’s work, “Have You Heard?” manages to be upbeat — but that manages to be a bit deceptive, as the song has a bittersweet and uneasy undertone.

The recently released video was directed by renowned director Jamie Thraves, who has worked on gorgeous and mind-bending visuals for the likes of Radiohead and Coldplay. Shot in a cinematic black and white, the video is split between a surrealist narrative in which the band’s Lily Wolters has the power to hurt people just through words told forward and backwards paired with some great live-performance footage, which captures their live energy.