Curating new music for LEM requires many hours of listening and listening again. Then an honest assessment is made. 

Joni Void – Thank You For Your Silence

Gaza Is The Moral Compass is a 16 track grassroots benefit compilation supporting Palestinian-led mutual aid groups on the ground in Gaza. Organized between Palestinians in the diaspora and Palestinians fighting to remain on their land in Gaza, these projects support daily survival, education, access to food, and community self-determination in the face of genocide and ongoing colonization. This important collection comes to us from Beacon Sound out of Portland, Oregon, who have a catalogue you need to explore. In the liner notes we learn, “At the time of this writing, December 2025, Israel has violated the ceasefire agreement over 500 times, killing hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza, who are at the heels of a UN-sanctioned American occupation. The magnitude of horror we have witnessed in Palestine and the Arab-Iranian region since October 2023 transcends imagination. In The Lancet, a statistical study conservatively estimates approximately 3 million life-years robbed from Gaza. It is this reality through which this album has come about, and this reality in which we must ground ourselves”. Joni Void is the artistic persona of Montréal-based French-British producer Jean Néant formerly known as Johnny Ripper, Être Ensemble, Loud Life and La Poisse. Thank You For Your Silence’s stark, eerie music bed complete with found sounds delivers a striking much-needed commentary. Beautiful sleeve art. A benefit compilation to believe in.

Adelaide – Holding

I’m not certain if Adelaide Wilson considers  herself a multimedia creator, although she certainly does not hesitate to share her Music, Film, Photography and Collage work via her website. And why not indeed. You got it you flaunt it. Except, Ms. Wilson is not showing off. As it happens she is rather good at what she creates, especially the music part. OK, I love Holding the title cut of the album. Adelaide has one of those voices I could listen to over and over in part because she is so precise as she sings, plus her emotions are not shaded by affections. “and i’d share my whole heart with you stuck painters tape and elmer’s glue, to every surface that it would cling to” she reveals in Holding. Everything about this song works so well, the gentle beginning, almost lullaby-like segueing into Casey Cheatham’s drums complimenting Adelaide’s mounting passion. Then the final lines of Guilt (cont’d) “i’m fickle i’m fortified, i’ve been wrong since i’ve opened my eyes” tell me perhaps Adelaide Wilson underplays her artistry as a songwriter. 

Dry Cleaning – Hit My Head All Day

From the first moment I heard Dry Cleaning, when was it? A couple of years or so ago? I’ve been following their progress with interest. Then along comes their latest long-player, Secret Love with liner notes getting a bit grandiose, “Here, the south London four-piece take their place in rock’s avant garde,” followed by a labored barrage of epithets, “catalysing the paranoia of early 80s US punk and hardcore with the dry strut of Keith Richards, stoner rock, dystopian degradation, playful no wave and pastoral fingerpicking,” followed by “Florence’s delivery, meticulously calibrated to her bandmates’ soundscapes, asserts her in a lineage of spoken-word artists stretching from Laurie Anderson to Life Without Buildings’ Sue Tompkins”. When I got to the Laurie Anderson reference I will admit to almost not listening to Dry Cleaning again. What next I wondered, a tip-of-the-hat to the Flying Lizards with their iconic version of Money featuring Deborah Evans-Stickland? The fact is, I’ve been pleased with Dry Cleaning’s output, never thinking to load them with unnecessary Trainspotting references. Frontperson Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton and bassist Lewis Maynard don’t need that kind of nonsense. Delightful cover artwork.

The Orielles – You Are Eating Part Of Yourself

The Orielles – To Undo The World Itself

According to their bio, sisters Esme Hand-Halford and Sidonie Hand-Halford met Henry Carlyle Wade at a house party in Halifax and bonded over a love of Pixies and Sonic Youth. Alright, I won’t pick on them for the Pixies reference, but Sonic Youth, oh, come on. Here’s the best part, they make very cool music which is why I’m sharing both cuts from their upcoming album, Only You Left out in March on Heavenly Recordings. You must check out the videos for both cuts shot in part at Salford Trinity Church and in Barcelona. Plus, the video for Beams/Someday Later – Live at Stoller Hall (with The Northern Session Collective is a must see. And do search out an interview with the trio where their shyness is almost obscured by their gorgeous Yorkshire brogues. If I do get the opportunity to have chat with Esme, Sidoni and Henry I promise to ask why they chose a name that sounds like a Doo-Wop outfit from the 50s? Excellent music, not to be overlooked! 

Field Commander Ali – She Was Picking Flowers

“My songs often express the literal goings on in my life – the lyrics are raw and unbridled (and maybe a bit unhinged, too); but underneath this immediacy is a heavy hum that I think sounds like not knowing. How I wish to know!” Says Ali Mollica who adds she is a folk song person living on the South Coast of NSW, Australia. How mysterious this album is and how intriguing. Listen carefully to each cut and take note of Ali’s descriptions above, sinister is another word you may find yourself reaching for. Ali even includes her coughs and splutters. Her LP, The Next From Field Commander was recorded in her bedroom in Stanwell Park, a beachside town surrounded by bushland. Where the Great Dividing Range meets the Tasman Sea, Mollica worked quickly in the early part of 2025, utilizing little more than a classical guitar and a 4-track tape recorder to execute her vision. Neve Ireland plays percussion on She Was Picking Flowers. This album is an excellent example of why I love bringing you new music you may otherwise never hear.

Lala Lala – Heaven 2

With extraordinary hesitation I have to let you know there is a part in Heaven 2 that reminds me so much of brilliant Irish artist, Sorcha Richardson. It’s where the phrase “come over” is repeated. I’m quite sure Lillie West as Lala Lala has never heard Sorcha. All the same, both artists share a curious vulnerability in their singing even though Ms. West does emanate a certain confidence in her well-executed music. “Heaven 2 is very melodramatic,” says West. “I was definitely feeling very doomed and defeated when I wrote it.” And the song does start with a bit of gloom. But it is lush, with West’s vocal building and building like a cloud swelling before a storm. For many years, West lived in Chicago, where she established her project Lala Lala as part of that city’s indie scene, releasing several records on the Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art. West left Chicago to search for more and, in the process, wrote her new album, Heaven 2. On her journey, she landed in New Mexico, where she lived off the grid in Taos. She then made her way to Iceland, where she lived for two years on and off, with the off being in London, where she grew up. Eventually she headed to Los Angeles where she has, almost surprisingly, fallen in love and found herself settled. You need to know, this is a good album.

Marry Me Marie – In The Hard Times

From the forthcoming debut album to be released January 2027, take note it’s a FREE download only available on Bandcamp. Here we have the mastermind and head honcho of the always first-rate Shoredive Records, Nico Wardell presenting as Marry Me Marie. Mr. Wardell is by now an expert on Shoegaze and Dreampop having focussed on those genres for his enterprising label. A deep dive into his catalogue would be time worth spending. After all, Nico says this about Shoredive, “Unique sounds for unique people.We hope to surprise you.” In The Hard Times could be regarded as verging on a sombre tone if it were not for Nico’s deft hand at shining a ray of hope as the song moves along. He is really good at what he does. Another lovely sleeve.

R. Missing – Killing The Club Heart

Sometimes you have to ask, “Is imaging important?” In the case of R. Missing you would usually be on the money if you said “Yes!”except the the cover of their new single Killing The Club Heart deliberately ignores the most-often moody-disdainful fashion-diva style shots of chanteuse Sharon Shy. Instead with have a stark blood-red cover with the title center ranged left, in white Futura Medium. As it happens this cover works perfectly with Sharon’s deadpan, icy-cold vocals and Toppy Frost’s determined rhythm bed. What I like about R. Missing’s music is their consistency in creating superb electro pop while at the same time exploring numerous genres. Do explore their back catalogue and numerous videos. The brazen stance they take creatively is perfectly realized, many have tried this process, most fail, R. Missing thankfully know what they are doing and do not compromise.

Walking Lands – The Water Holds Me

Split releases always appeal to me. Two for the price of one, an old idea, but a good ‘un. Repetidor Records out of Spain have an impressive catalogue featuring top tier Spanish alternative artists and lot of guitars. The label are on to a good idea here with Walking Lands sharing real estate with Shonen Bat. Coincidently, this release is titled Split with each band getting three tracks. Barcelona band, Walking Lands are Clara Román, Paloma Durán and Ernest Gómez with The Water Holds Me prove they have much to offer with their well-crafted music. What first caught my attention is the seemingly quiet allure they conjure while burnishing an obvious love of good ol’ rock ’n’ roll. Here is a band I would willingly take a detour to see live. 

An Ocean Of Embers – Flowers of Quartz

Stop me if you have heard this before…no, listen up! It’s never too much to wax lyrical on the consistent stellar output from Shoredive, the enterprising label based out of Brighton. From Nantes, France, Jimmy Arfosea is on guitars, bass and virtual instruments also handles the writing and production, while Tiphaine Urquijo provides the vocals on Flowers of Quartz from the Quartz EP. A listening tip: play this EP as loud as possible in your motor and head to the beach. If no beach is nearby, head back home and politely warn your neighbors you are about to have a listening party. Another lovely sleeve.

Frances Murray – Right

As I’m listening to Right from Frances Murray my wonky ol’ brain flashed back to my early 80s interview with a then up-and-coming NYC band who were destined to become the darlings of the indie scene. “The singer never did sound so earnest as Frances Murray” I mused. Self-affirmed dreamer, songwriter, producer, ex-punk rocker and apparently, failed vegan, Frances Murray writes and performs with a vulnerability almost belied by her raw energy. “I make the shit your hardcore boyfriend cries to in his car,” she writes. Her album, Dreamer drops in March and you should prepare yourself for a collection of songs immersed in honest observations, tender and upsetting. I’m curious to know how Frances writes her lyrics. Does she jot ideas down and then paste them together later? Or do they emerge fully formed like, “Your emotions feel like poison. Need to clear the air or I’ll die. You know it ain’t right.” With the unreserved instrumentation this is emotional listening. Ms. Murray has made a powerful long-player. Digest attentively.

Need For Mirrors – Pagans VIP

Oh my! Jungle, Drum & Bass, Electronica all served up in a very tasty package by acclaimed D & B expert Need For Mirrors combining a deep, lived knowledge of the culture’s roots and ethos with a zealous fixation on only ever pushing the music forward. New Zealand-born, London-based Joe Moses as Need For Mirrors shares the LP, Dub Pack Vol 1 with darker, more experimental material and tightly wound rollers built for late sets and low ceilings. Essential listening.

Persian Meets Miles J Paralysis – Smoke Mari (Miles J Paralysis Breathwork Dub)

Yes, that is the iconic voice of Reggae star Linval Thompson utilized to full effect in this deep meditative Dub excursion. Stripped back to a raw essence, the vocals whirl, while hypnotic keys and dub bass complete the psychedelic mosaic. On the Mysticisms imprint out of London, Dubplate #12 is 2nd in the series of Persian remix EPs. Yorkshire’s own young electronic folklore master, a fast-rising name, Miles J Paralysis steps up to mixing board to give us a dark and brooding production marrying perfect touches of vocal samples. A perfect synergy of old and new. Made for the discerning.

D-Echo Project – Across Water

“Our sound fuses many different styles, from Dub, Funk, Jazz and Soul to Electronica and Dance” say Valter Silva and Rogério Coelho of D-Echo Project. Thankfully, they didn’t mention Smooth Jazz! D-Echo Project began in early 2010 by the two Portuguese friends, Across Water is their latest long-player. Their back catalogue is certainly worth considering. You have to give credit for the superb production and of course the whistling.

Photograph by Norman B “James shares his honest assessment of English sweets” Brighton, UK, circa 2006. Digital print courtesy of Norman B’s collection