Coral Grief – Wow Signal

“Rich guitars, glowing synths, driving bass, and ethereal vocals swirl around skeletal drum beats to create a textured, intricate sound that is experimental, playful, and catchy”, the self-description from Coral Grief. Although, I probably wouldn’t have come up anything better. Lena Farr-Morrissey, Sam Fason and Cam Hancock know what they are doing – and they do it well. On their LP, Daydrops the Seattle-based trio display wisely-crafted songwriting with smart, but not too affected instrumentation. Listen carefully to Wow Signal, from the soft unassuming opening to Lena’s distant cries at around 3.44, this is a superb production. Top marks for the accompanying video, too.

Judith Parts – Meadowsweet

She is a composer, music producer, sound designer, violin player and a singer, from Estonia, currently based in Copenhagen. Growing up in Estonia Judith was exposed to a lot of wild nature. She has a particular interest in the connection, and dissonance, we humans have with nature and a lot of her work is inspired by that relationship. With Meadowsweet from the album of the same name, Judith Parts has created a haunting, somewhat eerie song with file manipulation, computer chicanery and found sounds(?). Engaging and interesting sleeve artwork.

Maija Sofia – Four Winters

“I gave him four winters, the man is gone, but he took something of me with him”. sings Maija Sofia, then, a few lines later she says, “I’m going out tonight, I’ll wear the dress that I was raped in”. Later in the song, she tells us, “I’m not scared of anything”. The words to Four Winters are challenging, yet Maija’s striking voice, while both plaintive and determined, urges you to listen even more closely.That’s not surprising as the Galway singer-songwriter says her True Love LP, “Is about enchantment, exorcisms, bewilderment and loving wildly”. This is a first-class album with anaccompanying  evocative video for Four Winters.

Nameless Ghost – Slow Down

Now here’s a cut from the album, Under The Surface that I’ve just got around to including in a LEM volume. No excuses, it’s simply that sometimes I need the right moment to slot in a song so tender and moving as Slow Down. Dave Colman out of Toronto performs and produces under the moniker of Nameless Ghost. He says his songs are about loss, grief, and mental illness. Do take the time to explore all of Dave’s songs here – so good. And a big thumbs up for the sleeve artwork by Steve Coleman (brother?). 

Novelty Island – Turn To Me

It says here, “Novelty Island is the surreal-pop project of Liverpool-based songwriter/producer, Tom McConnell”. What it doesn’t say of course, is every music-writer and his brother will make references to Wings era McCartney, a slight nod to Ray Davies and a dash of Sid Barrett. But push all the Trainspotting to one-side and you’ve got a jolly well conceived LP with, Wallsend Weekend Television and a decidedly catchy pop song in, Turn To Me, complete with a Liverpudlian nasal twang. 

Sideshow Tom – Don’t Worry Kid

Not sure what to make of Sideshow Tom. Producer Cresset took care of two cuts, apart from that all I know is Tom is out of Syria and says the following, “Musician and song writer. Clown too. Ghostwriter if you want”. The album Sea Sick Child has a DIY quality, but that may be deliberate. Some nice songwriting going on here, plus a jaunty instrumental with harmonica.

Two Shell – Ghost2 & Nashville ງhost]

Mysterious duo Two Shell from London present Ghost2 EP with 8 variations of Ghost2. Some mere seconds, others a wee bit longer, all verging on peculiar. Their LP, Lil Spirits is available on their own Mainframe imprint, complete with a cheeky bonus track, Mum Is Calling that harks back to primitive game sounds. Are Two Shell messing around or should we take them seriously? Your answers on a postcard, please.

Surusinghe – Get Flutey (Dub)

Melbourne-born, London-based producer and DJ, Surusinghe is best known for her innovative and percussive, bass-driven music. Her new Get Flutey EP she says is, “A testimony to new and old sounds and demonstrates an explosion of progression of sound inspired by two years in clubs”. Put Surusinghe’s Get Flutey EP on if you are planning to keep the party going and wake up the neighbors. Excellent!

Feeo – Hermit

Theodora Laird is Feeo and she has a distinctive voice, an attractive voice. The producer, musician and multidisciplinary artist likes to play around with sounds and genres as you will hear on her EP, Ah, Hunger! Savor Hermit, but make sure you check out Red Meat. “Each song in, ‘Ah, Hunger!’ depicts an encounter with hunger in the form of an entity, an anthropomorphized representation of human desires or needs”. Says Feeo “I formatted them in this way after a lot of research into transactional relationships between humans and deities across various pagan/ folk practices, specifically inspired by the tension lying between prayer and sacrifice”. You can hear Feeo’s lovely voice on Sensual from Loraine James’ For You And I album, a favorite at LEM. The sleeve art is a bit on the disturbing side. 

Shae Tull – Dust In The Moss

As this one begins you may well wonder where it is going. But, don’t worry, everything sorts itself out, particularly when you consider that Shae Tull says this about their work, “Allegedly outsider singer songwriter, dwelling in hazy lofi recordings. I make music to save myself”. Everything about the mini LP, Fishing In The Plastic Ice Cube is a little bit wonky, even the sleeve artwork is atypical. Then again, Shae Tull give a few more clues, “I’m stationed in Southern Ontario. My mini album of songs mostly written in the early half of 2023. There aren’t many, but there are words and sounds, regardless. My number one biggest influence would have to be Daniel Johnston. I got into his stuff when I was 16/17, a very rough place in my life at the time, and I was quite obsessed for a while”. Well does that help? No matter, I like what Shae Tull is doing.

Bar Italia – Changer

Here’s a tip don’t going doing a Google search for Bar Italia without also saying music or band, ‘cause the results will let you know that there is a Bar Italia in every country in the world, often at least a dozen or more in Metropolises like London or Rome. So why did Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton decide upon the name? Your guess is as good as mine, although I do know that before joining the band, Cristante brought out a number of lo-fi pop songs under the alias Nina, while Fehmi and Fenton released a grunge-inspired EP under the name Double Virgo. Their album, Tracey Denim is on Matador Records and the single, Changer is jolly nicely executed. Yes, yes, I can hear the references, all the same this London trio are intent on carving out their own style. They have some tour dates coming up in the US, Canada and Europe, you may want to check ‘em out.

Little Annie Meets Night Foundation – Inertia

If you’re not familiar with Little Annie, you have a lot of catching up to do. If you do happen to recognize the name, apart from dating you, you’ll remember Annie Anxiety on Crass Records, the beginning of Rubella Ballet, working with Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound label, collaborating with The Wolfgang Press, Current 93, Coil, Nurse With Wound, Lee Perry, Swans, Gary Clail and more. American-born, Ann Robin Bandes is an multidisciplinary artist, and avant-garde icon, she has remained relevant for over four decades with her most recent collaboration with South Florida-based producer and label owner Richard Vergez. Annie and Richard met back in 2016 after a gig at the ICA in Miami through their mutual friend: Drew McDowall of Coil. Sharing a requited spirit for visual art and music, they became fast friends and began collaborating, conjuring what you hear on Inertia. For this project, Vergez records under the moniker Night Foundation, the release is on his Noir Age label. We selected the Dub version of Inertia because it’s outstanding.

Persia White – Beautiful Liar

“Love Letters album is an expression of my love, vulnerability, and passion”. Says Persia White, adding, “I’m a musician, artist, film maker, actress, and creative explorer of life. Each song represents a Love Letter to someone who filled, broke, or emptied my heart. It was a deeply personal experience creating this album.The seeds of this music were buried deep in my heart for 10 years. I had to push past the pain to let them grow”. You’ve got to agree, Ms. White does a stellar job on Beautiful Liar. “It’s a little histrionic” announced my producer as she tried to sing along, while ignoring the grimace on my face.

Zulu Vibes – Conscious Dub

Lion’s Den is a label, a sound system and studio out of Berlin, for their Lion’s Choice series they teamed up Zulu Vibes from France with singer Prince Chamba and musician friends Macca Dread and Crucial Rob for the EP, Prince Chamber Meets Zulu Vibes. Crucial Dub workouts here with Conscious Dub being our favorite. Play loud, play often. 

Listen to the Podcast here

Artwork by Howard G Tate “Acadia National Park series #6” 1999 40” x 40” (detail) giclée on archival paper. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection