The Fat Angel Sings

Aoife O’Donovan is a singer-songwriter living in Brooklyn. Produced by fellow GRAMMY-winner Joe Henry (Bonnie Raitt, Rhiannon Giddens) and featuring guest appearances from Allison Russell and Madison Cunningham, “Age Of Apathy” finds O’Donovan’s gift for poetic imagery and unconventionally alluring melody in full bloom as she confronts the sense-dulling barrage of the digital age. Amid symphonic arrangements that reveal a stunning mastery of her craft, Aoife puts forth a statement of defiance and radical love — one that reaffirms her as one of our most vital songwriters today.

O’Donovan recorded Age Of Apathy through a unique arrangement with Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, logging daily hours on-site at their studio with GRAMMY-nominated engineer Darren Schneider (Deep Purple, Koryn Hawthorne, Trivium) – who also mixed the album – all the while collaborating entirely remotely with Henry. While her previous albums were composed and recorded in an adrenalized rush between tours, the creation of Age Of Apathy was more deliberate and methodical — a rare silver lining amid the stillness of COVID living.

O’Donovan found the routine freeing. Remote collaborations — particularly with bassist David Piltch and drummer Jay Bellerose — introduced unexpected rhythms and textures into the architecture of the songs, allowing O’Donovan to bend her sound into more expansive shapes. And with the expert guidance of Joe Henry, she was able to develop the dreamy, richly orchestrated — but never overwrought — soundworld that gives “Age Of Apathy” its distinct and enveloping aesthetic. 

Releases January 21st, 2022

2022, Yep Roc Records
“Age of Apathy” her third full-length studio album produced by Joe Henry, will release January 21st, 2022.

Lily Konigsberg premieres the second single, “Sweat Forever,” from her forthcoming LP Lily We Need to Talk Now . Recorded (like the rest of the album) with producer Nate Amos, whose project Water From Your Eyes recently released their critically-acclaimed LP Structure, “Sweat Forever” departs from the album’s guitar-based first single, instead showcasing Konigsberg in a more electronic environment in something closer to her pure pop mode, bringing her unique perspective and melodic sensibility to a song about a moment of transition.

“‘Sweat Forever’ was the first song successfully recorded for the album,” Konigsberg explains. “It’s mostly about the bad part of going through a huge change in your life and the confusion surrounding that. But now I’m in the good part, so there’s something to celebrate. Sweat on brother!”

Lily We Need To Talk Now is a record Konigsberg – a Pitchfork Rising alum, Fader Gen F artist, and member of the beloved art rock band Palberta – has been slowly chipping away at since 2016, revising and re-recording the songs over the years (by her estimation, there have been 12 different versions). The eleven-track collection is her first proper full-length, following her anthology of EPs and unreleased tracks, The Best of Lily Konigsberg Right Now, released earlier this year. Catchy the whole way through, like much of the poppy and plainspoken indie rock output that’s made her a fixture of the NYC underground in recent years, “Lily We Need To Talk Now” is a record about processing the aftermath of a loss. In her own words, it’s about “overcoming heartbreak in all those different phases,” or, in even more universal terms than that, “it’s the stages of grief.” And part of going through those stages, as is evident on witty bangers like “Sweat Forever”, is getting ready for the the funny and exciting things that come next.

“Lily We Need to Talk Now”  will be released on October 29th.

At the beginning of 2020, Church Girls signed to Anchor Eighty Four Records, a Los Angeles based label that had just celebrated a decade in business and carried weighty alumni like The Story So Far and Grayscale. From across the country, out of Philly, came Mariel Beaumont (vox/guitar), Mitchell Layton (guitar/vox), Vince Vullo (bass/vox), and Julien Varnier (drums/vox) with their sophomore LP, The Haunt, that grounded the band in a gritty, chest-pounding sound.

Now, a little over a year later, they’ve continued to grow with A84’s roster of similarly anthemic acts, and while remaining on the label are also announcing their signing to Big Scary Monsters (American Football/Proper./Illuminati Hotties) for UK . With labels like these, who needs enemies?

The saying goes that home is where the heart is, but sometimes there’s a shift in location. From an environment that traps you, even when surrounded by people you love, to a lengthy stretch of I-85 where you finally recognize the power you have to establish your own freedom, Church Girls is a band that finds comfort in change. Based in Philly, the band’s latest single “Basement” finds revelation in escape while channelling the spoken-word delivery of The Hold Steady and the sheer force of Mannequin Pussy.

Vocalist Mariel Beaumont (she/her) explains. “It’s about realizing home was no longer what we thought it was when a family member’s battle with alcoholism came to a head. The song is still hopeful in a way since we knew we’d always have a home in each other.

Mariel Beaumont: vocals, guitars, trumpet, piano, op-1
Mitchell Layton: guitars, vocals
Julien Varnier: drums, vocals
Vince Vullo: bass, vocals

“Basement” written by Mariel Beaumont and Mitchell Layton.

The new album from Church Girls ‘Still Blooms’ is out 10/8/21 The song is out now via Anchor Eighty Four Records (world wide) and Big Scary Monsters (EU/UK).

This week new project Coco, a trio consisting of Maia Freedman from Dirty Projectors, Dan Molad of Lucius, and Oliver Hill Pavo Pavo, shared a video for their new single titled “Come Along” It is the latest release from their forthcoming self-titled debut studio album, which will be out on October 29th via First City Artists/Awal.

The band states in a press release: “The skeleton of ‘Come Along’ was recorded live, all together, with Oliver on guitar, Maia on drums, and Danny on bass. The underlying chord loop plays throughout as other instruments are weaved in one by one, picking up momentum and rolling forward as everything joins in harmony. The video mimics the song in this way, portraying our individual days-in-the-life with each of us filming one another on handheld camcorders. The day culminates in our first performance together as Coco, at a house show in Oliver’s garage with our friends as backing band. When it all came together we were pleased with the juxtaposition of the comically low fidelity and fast-paced editing, like a homemade action movie. Just as releasing music anonymously felt natural in 2020, it now feels natural to share ourselves and delight in the connection we make with our listeners.”

Last year, Dirty Projectors shared an EP anthology album, 5EPs, released via Domino Recordings. 

Hatchie the dream pop project of Australian musician Harriette Pilbeam, shared a new song “This Enchanted” via a video for it. It is her first single for Secretly Canadian and her signing with the label was also announced on Tuesday. “This Enchanted” again finds Hatchie ably putting a modern spin on early ’90s shoegaze music, producing a song that’s at once pleasing to old school fans of the genre but is also accessible to contemporary listeners with no proven affinity for shoegazers. The video finds Pilbeam wandering around a city at night while wearing angel wings, as well as showing her performing the song with her band.

“This Enchanted” is Hatchie’s first single since the 2019 release of her acclaimed debut album, “Keepsake” which came out via Double Double Whammy. The song came together in February 2020, while Pilbeam and her romantic partner, and Hatchie guitarist, Joe Agius (who also releases music as Rinse) were writing in Los Angeles and working with producer Jorge Elbrecht (Sky Ferreira, Japanese Breakfast, Wild Nothing).

Pilbeam had this to say about the song in a press release: “‘This Enchanted’ encapsulates everything I wanted to do moving forward from my first album. I started writing it with Jorge and Joe in February 2020 and completed it from afar in lockdown later in the year. We had been talking about making something dancey but shoegaze.

“It’s one of the more light hearted, lyrically vague songs of my new recordings about falling in love; it’s not a perfect relationship, but you’re enthralled by one another and it’s an easy love. It’s one of the most fun songs I’ve written, so it was a no-brainer to pick it as my first solo release in almost two years. It feels so right to be working with a label as exciting as Secretly as I step into new territory with Hatchie. I’ve been counting down the days until its release for a long time.”

“This Enchanted”, the new single out now on Secretly Canadian and Ivy League Records: