Life Elsewhere Tower is slap bang right in the heart of hurricane land. At this time of the year, tropical storms rush in, we get torrential rain for an hour or so, then it’s back to normal, if normal is humidity to choke on and stranded cars because of the flooded streets. Other than that we get a lot of sun, we never need to wear socks and shorts ’n’ tee shirts are standard uniform. Oh, and yes we do get power outages. 

Precisely as we were about to record the commentary track for LEM Vol 333, the warning came in, a massive storm was heading our way and most likely we’d be without electrical power for a while. As if almost on cue, just as we pressed record, a few words spoken then a gigantic roll of thunder accompanied by impressive but scary lightening and the power went down. As soon as we had electricity again, we quickly laid down an intro and outro, knowing we could be in darkness again, at any moment. So there you have it, pop-pickers, this volume is sans the voice-over, but no worries, all the details are right here. Enjoy the show.

Carnations – I Die

I like everything about this cut from Sydney band, Carnations. I Die is from their debut self-titled five-track cassette on the Urge imprint. Everything works here, the relentless bouncy beat, along with the gloomy title repeated over and over. Not an easy task to accomplish, yet this bunch of talented folk deliver with an almost naive charm. Make sure you check out all the cuts. Nice quirky video, too.

Bedchamber – Patterns 

As this one begins, I’m prompted to blurt out, “I know this!” Then the vocals kick in and I realize I almost spoke too soon. Yes, there is that little hook that does sound familiar, but this four-piece from Jakarta, Indonesia are clearly doing their own thing. Patterns comes from Bedchamber’s LP, Capa City, with nine cool tracks to investigate.

Joyful Forfeit – Please Don’t Change

Here is a challenge, listen to Please Don’t Change right up until the bridge before the vocals come in. See if you can describe how you think the vocals will sound. Joyful Forfeit surprised me. This cut is so well accomplished as is the album, Everything Came To Light. Hailing from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Kody Stieve presents as Joyful Forfeit who says “Over the past several years he has developed migraines, where I have difficulty with my field of vision, thought processing, and overall discomfort for periods of time.  Much of that discomfort is in my eyes, where they feel extremely heavy, or painful and that they’ll just fall out of my face”. This goes a long way to explain the emotional and autobiographical mood of Kody’s work. Excellent.

Lemonade Baby – Tints (ft. Kevin Collett)

At this point we are we are satisfyingly familiar with the releases from Australian producer, Lemonade Baby. So, it will come as no surprise we give a big thumbs up to this collaboration with fellow Brisbane based artist Kevin Collett. About the single Tints, LB says, “I actually had the vibe and lyrics but just needed a title for the song. I met up with Kevin in the studio and showed him the idea and then laid down a verse in 3 takes. The title Tints sorta works, you can’t see people’s eyes thru tinted glasses, or there is even saying, rose-tinted-glasses which is in theme with the concept.” We don’t recommend dancing while you drive, but you will want to wriggle your bum around to this one.

Varsity – Head In The Clouds

Stephanie Smith, Dylan Weschler, Patrick Stanton, Jake Stolz and Paul Stolz are Varsity, they are out of Chicago and they make splendid music. I listened to Head In The Clouds a number of times on headphones to make sure I was correct in noting how good the production is. Not complicated or tricky, simply well executed. Interesting artwork for their series of sleeves, too.

Holly Powers – Make Me Feel Light

Aww, Make Me Feel Light captured me immediately. Holly Powers confidently uses delicate vocals and harmonies alongside her accessible yet intriguing melodies. This Edinburgh-based songwriter clearly has a lot of talent. I want to hear more from Holly, much more.

Luke De-Sciscio – The Girl With A Thorn In Her Side

This is interesting, following on from Holly Powers another singer-songwriter who uses restrained vocals and a simple finger-picked acoustic guitar. Luke De-Sciscio is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist out of Bath in the West of England. He says he was introduced to the guitar by his grandfather at a very early age. He spent his teenage years in rock, funk and blues bands before moving onto a canal boat, away from the city, with no electricity or heat, which may explain Luke’s seemingly austere, yet charming style.

T.G. Shand – Cinnamon

Annemarie Duff uses the moniker T.G. Shand. The T. G. Band are, Matt, Lucinda, Richard, Hope, Jamie and together they make an agreeable EP. Here is another reason to keep a watchful eye on the talent coming out of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Munan – Luv Me   

Mr. Taxi Driver was the last single we raved about from South Korean/Australian artist Munan. He’s back with another taste of his upcoming debut EP. We are always curious to learn what a song is about Munan explains that  Luv Me is about unrequited love, and how far I will go to get her attention. He also gives us some surprising recording details, “Most of the recordings of the instruments were done in one or two takes. For instance, the acoustic guitar at the end was recorded on my phone while I was looking for ideas on how to finish the song. The demo recordings for Luv Me sounded great that I decided to use it, giving the whole song a natural feel to it”. We approve. And, kudos to Mammal Sounds for continuing to send cool music our way.

Bathe Alone – Some Things Never Change

Bathe Alone – Childhood

I’m quite sure it won’t take you too long to figure out why I selected two cuts from Bathe Alone. This is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Bailey Crone based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Bailey plays everything from drums, guitar, bass to vocals on the project and aims to create songs you can “lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling to.” We did, many times. The album, Fall With The Lights Down is very special. We need to know who is the older lady featured on the cover of many of her sleeves?

Iceboy Violet – Black Gold (Feat. Florence Sinclair)

Rapper, producer and performer, Iceboy Violet from Manchester says his LP, Not A Dream But A Controlled Explosion is a project about the role desire and fantasy plays in our lives. What is considered fake is constantly constructing the world we want to live in and the people we want to be, as we brush up against fantasy, as we feel the everlasting tug of desire, our reality is pressed into shape almost entirely by daydreaming, hallucination, and yearning. Iceboy Violet also adds, “Non binary and Icy as fuck” No reason to argue with any of that. Do take note of the spectacular artwork and photography. A rewarding album.

Lee Gamble – She’s Not

On the album, Models, Birmingham, UK, producer, Lee Gamble takes the concept of the pop producer to its logical extreme – examining how intonation and language is engineered to monopolize our attention, his uncomfortably addicting, magical realist inversion of pop plays like a bewitching symphony of earworms. Half-remembered fragments of dream pop sung by cybernetic voices in an almost wordless language. Sometimes the words are right there we can make out through the dust – before they’re split into fractal shapes and devolved into gibberish. It’s pop music, but it ain’t background music.

Meredith Edgar – Washed Up

Over on the other side of experimental you’ll find recognizable music as performed by San Francisco talent, Meredith Edgar. An appealing voice and a smart, sparkling production for this tale of woe. Sometimes, an uncomplicated song is satisfyingly perfect.

Elliott Fullam – End Of Ways

“End of Ways is a bridge to healing as it was written during the period of helping a loved one escape an abusive household while working though its lingering horrors to find peace” writes Elliott Fullam. Elliott’s sophomore full-length album, End Of Ways is a blend of home recordings as well as studio recordings. Discover this one with caution, emotion is upfront and cannot be ignored.

Fir Cone Children – It Feels Complete 

It could be surmised that Alex Donat of the extraordinary Blackjack Illuminist label is quite possibly visiting from another planet. This man has energy beyond known human abilities. To list his mind-boggling activities would make your head spin. Suffice to say, Herr Donat continues to impress us with everything he does, including his pet project, Fir Cone Children. His latest LP, The Urge To Overtake Time is thunderingly good. It’s bold, it’s brash in parts, it’s dark and unrelenting, it’s perfect for annoying the neighbors. It’s Alex at his best. We selected the slightly sombre, It Feels Complete because we love Alex’s voice here and the polished production. Terrific artwork, too.

Karma – How Ya Feel

Courtesy of London’s System Music, producer Karma gives us a stellar dub workout with How Ya Feel. Complete with a few recognizable samples, this tasty production avoids dipping into obvious cliches, instead opting for tight carefully organized six-minutes of late-night body-rubbing rhythm. Sure it came out a few years back, but c’mon, it’s still a beauty and I spotted the original 12” going for 150 UK pounds recently.   

 

The artwork is by Alton Banks 1946 – 2023 “Dog bites dog” 1997 35” x 35” digital print on archival paper. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection