Norway’sGirl in Red is unleashing the darkness from within on her inky latest single “Rue.” “I wrote this song for my loved ones who are affected by my mental health. I will always try my best to get better for them, and I am forever grateful for their presence in my life,” writes Marie Ulven Ringheim of “Rue” an ode to the Euphoria character of the same name – with Girl in Red’s haunted vocals rising like the spires of a gothic cathedral.
Norwegian lo-fi artist Marie Ulven scored a viral hit with her first ever song, I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend, in 2017, which has since been played 80 million times on Spotify.
Born in the quiet North West Norwegian town of Horten in 1999, her early obsessions were The Simpsons and finger boarding, until she was given a guitar at the age of 12.
Her stage name was inspired by the first girl who broke her heart – who will forever remain unaware of the tribute. “I haven’t told her and I’ve never said her real name anywhere,” she said.
Ulven has been called a queer icon, but she hopes her lyrics will one day be unremarkable. “We need queer art to make it normal,” she told the New York Times.
For fans of: Beabadoobee, Florence + The Machine, The 1975
I’d never heard of Brooklyn’s Cassandra Jenkins before her latest album, but she’s well-credentialed. She was set to tour with Purple Mountains before David Berman’s suicide and has also worked with The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and The Fiery Furnace’s Eleanor Friedberger. Berman is referenced on ‘New Bikini’ – “After David passed away/My friends put me up for a few days/”
“An Overview on Phenomenal Nature” sounds dubious on paper, an indie-folk record that celebrates nature, adds monologues about how men have lost touch, and incorporates the kind of new-age textures you’d expect on a 1980s Van Morrison record. But it’s lovely in practice, pretty and warm. Jenkins’ vocal is intimate and she’s a good enough lyricist to keep things interesting, casually dropping the word “panoply” into ‘Crosshairs’ and titling a song ‘Ambiguous Norway’.
Jenkins’ main collaborator is producer and multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman. Kaufman’s a member of the amazing Bonny Light Horsemen and who has worked with The National, Taylor Swift, and Josh Ritter. The arrangements are often key with lovely woodwind parts, while the dual lead guitar parts on ‘Ambiguous Norway’ are gorgeous.
A gorgeous, shimmering set of songs that combines ultra-smooth pop sounds (recalling the softer moments of Destroyer’s “Kaputt”) with sweet ambient textures. Fantastic song writing work, as well. A joy to listen to, and a clear early contender for 2021’s album of the year.
For UK Dinked special edition, go here: dinkededition.co.uk/cassandra-jenkins-an-overview-on-phenomenal-nature
The Band of Musicians:
Cassandra Jenkins– vocals, guitar Josh Kaufman– guitar, voyager, harmonium, banjo, synth, bass, piano, organ ~and~ JT Bates– drums, auxiliary percussion Eric Biondo– drums Michael Coleman– synth Stuart Bogie– flutes, saxophone Doug Wieselman– sax Oliver Hill– violin, viola, string arrangement Annie Nero– bass Aaron Roche– synth Will Stratton– guitar Ben Seretan– drone
All songs written and performed by Cassandra Jenkins Produced and mostly engineered by Josh Kaufman at The Boom Boom Room, Brooklyn, NY
Singer-songwriter Stevie Knipe has been making music for close to a decade, since they were a college student in upstate New York recording in a dorm room. But Knipe (who uses they/their pronouns) has really taken a leap forward in terms of both sonics and songcraft with the excellent Driver. While previous Adult Mom albums had a spare, bedroom-recording feel, Driver is more of a band album, with bright production and songs that carefully and vividly map out an early-twenties travelogue full of crisis, memory, hope, and the kind of intense moments that feel almost debilitatingly hard-hitting at that age — even if you’re just starting to become wise enough to know they’re ephemeral.
Half Waif has shared a new song called ‘Take Away the Ache’. The latest offering from Nandi Rose arrives with a lyric video directed by Kenna Hynes. “This is a song about the paradoxes of loving,” Rose said of the new song in a press release. “How we ask the impossible of each other, how we promise what we can’t give. But I don’t mean this cynically—I actually find it quite remarkable. It’s kind of an incredible feat of imagination and will, the way we help each other transform our darkest moments into something bearable, like a game of make-believe. ‘It’s not an ache,’ you might say, ‘it’s an ember.’ And so together we stay warm by the fire of what we’ve created, lit by a sweet lie that makes it all okay for a while. To love is to believe in a kind of magic.”
Half Waif also recently released a 7″ single featuring ‘Orange Blossoms’ on the A-Side and ‘Party’s Over’ on the B-Side, Her last album was last year’s The Caretaker.
“This is a song about the paradoxes of loving,” Nandi Rose says of her new single as Half Waif. “How we ask the impossible of each other, how we promise what we can’t give. But I don’t mean this cynically – I actually find it quite remarkable. It’s kind of an incredible feat of imagination and will, the way we help each other transform our darkest moments into something bearable, like a game of make-believe. ‘It’s not an ache,’ you might say, ‘it’s an ember.’ And so together we stay warm by the fire of what we’ve created, lit by a sweet lie that makes it all okay for a while. To love is to believe in a kind of magic.”
Angel Olsen has announced a new box set called “Song of the Lark and Other Far Memories”. The release—out May 7th via Jagjaguwar recordings the release includes her last two albums, All Mirrors and Whole New Mess, as well as a bonus LP with bonus tracks, alternate takes, remixes, a cover of Roxy Music’s “More Than This,” and more.
Originally conceived as a double album, All Mirrors and Whole New Messwere distinct parts of a larger whole, twin stars that each expressed something bigger and bolder than Angel Olsen had ever made. Released in 2019, All Mirrors is massive in scope and sound, tracing Olsen’s ascent into the unknown, to a place of true self-acceptance, no matter how dark, or difficult, or seemingly lonely. All Mirrors is colossal, moving, dramatic in an Old Hollywood manner. Recorded before All Mirrorsbut released after, Whole New Mess is the bones and beginnings of the songs that would rewrite Olsen’s story. This is Angel Olsen in her classic style: stark solo performances, echoes and open spaces, her voice both whispered and enormous.All MirrorsandWhole New Mess presented the two glorious extremes of an artist who, in these songs, became new by embracing herself entirely.
Now, with Songs of the Lark… And Other Far Memories, these twin stars become a constellation with the full extent of the songs’ iterations: all the alternate takes, b-sides, remixes and re-imaginings are here, together. Alongside, a 40-page book collection tells a similar story, not just through outtakes and unseen photos but through the smaller, evocative details: handwritten lyrics, a favourite necklace, a beaded chandelier. As if it could be more plainly stated (there’s nothing more),
The box set will also come with a 40-page book. “It feels like part of my writing has come back from the past, and another part of it was waiting to exist,” Olsen said of the box set in a statement.
Among the tracks on the Far Memory bonus LP are Johnny Jewel’s remix of “All Mirrors” and Mark Ronson’s remix of “New Love Cassette.” There’s also an alternate version of “Whole New Mess” called “It’s Every Season (Whole New Mess),” which you can hear below.
Angel adds one cover here: a loving, assertive rendition of Roxy Music’s “More Than This.” It is a definitive collection, not just of these songs but of their revelations and their writer, from their simplest origins to their mightiest realizations.
In 1968, Mi’gmaq folk singer, poet, and director Willie Dunn released “The Ballad of Crowfoot”, a short film looking at colonialism from the perspective of Indigenous peoples in North America. Set to his ballad of the same name about the influential 19th century Blackfoot chief, it juxtaposed archival images and newspaper headlines detailing the many injustices they faced, including stolen land, the killing of buffalo, disease, religious conversion, and more. Considered by many to be the first Canadian music video, the film employed techniques used decades later by documentarians like Ken Burns, establishing Dunn as one of the most vital voices of his generation.
Kevin Howes remembers being introduced toThe Ballad of Crowfoot as an Ontario high school student in the ’90s when an English teacher showed it in class. “It was very affecting to watch, but to be honest, I think its depth went over my head at the time,” he says. “Not only until years later when I started digging into music a lot deeper and came across Willie’s second album, I was able to put the two together.”
The Toronto-based music historian and DJ featured several tracks by the Montrèal-born artist and activist on the Grammy-nominated Light in the Attic compilation Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985, including the scathing “I Pity the Country,” which gave Howes the opportunity to meet Dunn and learn more about his career. The singer passed away in 2013, but their conversations would be the impetus for curating Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology, a 22-song collection spanning his entire career. Like fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dunn got his start playing coffeehouses in the ’60s, before getting involved with the National Film Board of Canada, directing films including 1969’s These Are My People…and 1972’s The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and tirelessly advocating for Indigenous and environmental issues (even running for political office in 1993).
“To honour someone like Willie Dunn, you have to put in a lot of work, this isn’t a simple playlist and a couple quick interviews,” says Howes. “Something that was very important for me as a producer of the project was to engage Willie’s family, peers, and people who were influenced by him as much as possible.”
One of those people was Willie’s son, Lawrence Dunn, who not only served as the anthology’s associate producer, but also shared first hand experiences of growing up with his father and seeing him performing festivals and powwows in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. “He used to tell me stories at night, and he wouldn’t have a book. Sometimes he would bring a book, and I’d go ‘Oh why are you bringing that?,’” recalls Dunn. “The stories that came out of his head were always the best ones.”
Besides “The Ballad of Crowfoot” and “I Pity the Country,”Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies also includes “Charlie,” a highlight from Willie’s 1972 self-titled album. The song tells the tragic tale of Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old boy who froze to death after running away from a residential school in 1966. Created by the Canadian government’s Department of Indian Affairs and ran by Christian churches, these schools separated an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children from their families, forcing them to abandon their native languages, and exposing them to frequent physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their teachers. Inspired to make music after hearing Hank Williams, other songs see him proudly celebrating his mixed background (his father was English/Cornish; his mother was Mi’gmaq), drawing equally from European poetry and Indigenous folklore and real-life heroes.
Despite Willie having a worldwide following and mentoring several generations of artists (some of whom contributed to the anthology’s extensive liner notes), mainstream success largely eluded him throughout his career. “He was always grinding the axe and trying to push his music out to a wider audience, but he ended up hitting a lot of walls,” says Dunn. “I think part of that has to do with the content of the kind of music he was singing and the message he was putting out.” Still, many of the topics Willie sang and spoke about are all-too-relevant today, including environmental destruction. Dunn notes the parallel between the singer’s involvement in the 1977 James Bay Festival—a nine-day Montréal event in support of the James Bay Cree who were fighting a hydroelectric dam being built on their territory—and the Wet’suwet’en people fighting the same against a federal pipeline in recent years.
Similar to the Native North Americagatherings that took place across Turtle Island around the compilation’s release, Howes hopes to organize live events celebrating Dunn’s music and films when the pandemic is over, and views Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Diesas a “beginning of something that could unfold for others down the road.” “Willie has more than enough incredible music, I could see other anthologies following this in the future,” he says. “There’s more to be heard.”
Maple Glider’s aka Tori Zietsch striking emotionality is at the centre of her performances, leaning into an intimacy that is achieved by way of deeply personal reflections and velvety melodic compositions. Her vocals melt into layers of plucked acoustic guitar and lulling piano, drawing on the sombre styles of folk contemporaries with a stark tenderness and introspection that assumes the listener is inside her bedroom as she plays for herself. After experiencing falling in and out of love, traveling extensively, writing non-stop, and basking in the lengthy European summer hours, Tori returned to Melbourne late 2019 with a soundcloud account full to capacity of demos. Maple Glider was officially set to take flight.
Tori enlisted Tom Iansek (Big Scary, #1 Dads, The Paper Kites, Lisa Mitchell, Hockey Dad, ) to produce and record some of the many, many songs she was ready to get down. During the shared time spent at our studio BellBird, the wider team (Jo & Tom F. lol) got to fully appreciate the wonderful artistry and beauty of Maple Glider, and welcomed her to the family. To date Maple Glider has released two gorgeous singles – “As Tradition” and “Good Thing”.
Both songs’ music videos were made with creative collaborator and housemate Bridgette Winten, in the 5km radius around their Brunswick home (a limit due to COVID lockdown measures). Working with colour and contrast, and shot on Super 8, Maple Glider plays off her surroundings, whether it’s lush creek-beds, neighbourhood rose gardens, or a party for One at home.
We’re also very happy to announce we’ve teamed up with the very passionate Partisan Records (Laura Marling / Fela Kuti / Cigarettes After Sex / John Grant) to release Tori’s music all over the world!
Great songwriting, wonderful arranging and a great voice. electric first moment when you hear a song for the first time that sounds like a classic that’s been part of your soundtrack for years but you know you haven’t it’s just perfectly constructed. a restorative for the soul.
One of those special occasions when a new song becomes an instant classic in the blink of an eye – Triple J Unearthed
Beautiful and devastating… ‘Good Thing’ is a gorgeous indie folk number and a perfect example of that uninhibited, vulnerable quality. – American Songwriter
A series of hairs-on-the-back-of-your-arm moments – For The Rabbits
‘Good Thing’ is a delicate ballad, but with all the emotional resonance of a greek tragedy – The Rodeo
Channelling a rich and supple aesthetic throughout, her bold yet tortured voice reigns supreme on this light and airy composition – Mystic Sons
The sound of Helen Ballentine aka Skullcrusher is not nearly as violent as her alias might imply. Instead her gentle and almost fragile ambient-infected songwriter folk might break your heart instead of your bones. The artist who performs as Skullcrusher crafts work that on the surface is hardly as menacing as her moniker. The simmering, acoustic guitar-centered songs on her debut EP will not collapse your noggin with aggressive rage, distorted noise or irrational violence.
Last year’s self-titled debut EP was a blissful testament of beauty and vulnerability and felt like a fitting soundtrack for a more introverted life. And since 2021 doesn’t look quite different for now, the haunting sound of Skullcrusher will most likely comfort us this year as well. A full album is expected over the course of this year and we’re pretty sure it will be wonderful no matter if the pandemic is still raging or not. Ballentine also shared her personal hopes for the year with us:
“You can definitely expect more music from me and perhaps some drawings and visual art. My hopes for this year are to become more comfortable with myself and as a result be able to connect with more people through art.“
Issued by the indie music powerhouse Secretly Canadian Group (home to Angel Olsen, Bon Iver, Moses Sumney, Sharon Van Etten and others), which has an ear and eye for breakout talent, Ballentine’s work aligns with the company’s aesthetic: smart, insightful sounds that draw on classic forms but explore them from inventive new angles.
“Farm” the new song by Skullcrusher, out October 19th on Secretly Canadian.
Posting some pictures of mysterious blue VHS tapes yesterday, it looks like Lucy Dacus is teasing new song ‘Thumbs’. With similar VHS packages sent out to fans, one lucky Reddit user and VHS receiver said, “She has performed it live a bunch (I actually heard her perform it at Webster Hall in 2019). This version is super sparse and the song itself is devastating. There is no video to accompany it — it’s just a blue screen with a looping image of a VHS spinning.”
Lucy Dacus previously tweeted that the track, which is a live fan favourite, was her favourite lyric ever written, when asked back in December.
And if you’re still not convinced that ‘Thumbs’ is destined to wow when its dropped, there’s was even a dedicated Twitter account called “Has Lucy released Thumbs Yet?”,
Lucy Dacus, shares a devastating new single, “Thumbs.” The Richmond, Virginia native penned the song during a 15-minute drive to dinner in Nashville, about a moment she shared with a friend during her freshman year of college. She describes what happened as “significant,” but something she hadn’t thought about for a while.
Dacus first performed the song more than two years ago while on tour with Boygenius—the group she formed in 2018 with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker. With her bandmates’ encouragement, she shared a gut-wrenching memory on stage.
“Like most songs I write, I wasn’t expecting it, and it made me feel weird, almost sick,” she says. “I knew I wanted a long time to get used to playing it since it made me feel shaky, so I ended sets with it for about half the shows I played in 2019. Before I played it, I would ask the audience to please not record it, a request that seems to have been respected, which I’m grateful for.”
The single is her first of the year. After releasing a series of singles throughout 2019, her EP, 2019, was released on November 8th of that year. 2020 was quiet for the artist, who shared one collaboration with Hamilton Leithauser, “Isabella.” Between her 2016 full-length debut, No Burden, and 2018’s Historian, Dacus stripped back the rock-edged percussion-driven production and began honing her heartfelt song writing and lyrical delivery. Dacus grows more sure-footed with each release, chronicling a coming-of-age narrative with evolving perspectives and musical approaches.
The Bones of J.R. Jones—the project of New York singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Robert Linaberry—will release a new EP called “A Celebration”, which was largely inspired by the sprawling deserts of the Southwest. Today he shares the EP’s second single, premiering below, and it’s a wistful, weathered folk number about yearning to “Stay Wild.”
I don’t mind the night / and the dark it brings / to my skies, Linaberry croaks in the opening verse, his voice more ember than flame. Later, Linaberry sings like he’s praying, or like he’s trying to submit to something larger than himself: I want the tinny taste of love / across my teeth / I want to feast / I want to be / a storm raging / I want to believe / in the American Dream.
“It’s the perfect distillation of what I wanted the EP to feel like,” the Catskills musician tells American Songwriter of “Stay Wild.” “It set the precedent and tone for the rest of the songs. I really wanted to tap into the vastness of the desert, which can make you feel so small, but there’s a certain strange freedom that comes with that smallness, with that insignificance—you feel exposed and in a way that makes you more open to the unknown wildness all around you.”
“Stay Wild” also arrives with a video—directed by Joshua Zimmerman and choreographed by Jacqui DeFranca—that shows a scruffy, stick-wielding Linaberry dancing in the headlights of his pickup truck. The flick, featured below, is a visceral complement to the song.
“I wanted ‘Stay Wild’ to toe the line of realism and the fantastical,” says Linaberry. “It was important to me that it reflects on how the mundane parts of life can overflow and the only outlet would be an ungraceful somewhat ugly response. In the case of the video, it was a dance performed by someone who does not dance… Hopefully once you lose yourself in that moment something spectacular could happen.”
“The EP and the art that comes along with it really does reflect every aspect of this song for me,” he explains. “The prints, the designs, the songs, the melodies, the words… all of it was designed to reflect a restrained explosion or an appreciation of that explosion. I wanted to feel it in my chest, but not have it be so otherworldly that it was unrelatable. Everyone can fall into the monotony of their days and then at some point, there is a subtle pop, a change, something that makes you want to get lost, to live, to lose yourself to a whim. That’s what I was after with A Celebration.”
You can hear that profound, lose-yourself quality in every fibre of “Stay Wild.”
The Fat Angel Sings 