“Consolations”, my debut EP, is a collection of songs written over the last year or so, so-called because I wrote them to “console” myself, to find comfort when things were turbulent or when I felt somehow disconnected from world around me.
My music emerged from a world of books, paintings, and poetry, as well as a love of song, and for me, it is a weaving together of those loose strands, an assembling and mending of the fragments of the things I love, that might otherwise have remained scattered across my life and never quite have come together.
Born to a musical family in rural Wales, Greta Isaac started writing songs as a child, often in her native Welsh language. The poetic traditions and storytelling of her homeland continue to shape and influence her artistic process; one that has culminated in her forthcoming EP “Pessimist” due out next spring.
Cramming joy, sorrow and hope into each of her explosive pop tracks, Greta Isaac is about to embark on the release of a collection of songs written across an 18-month period of self-reflection.
Greta, with other writers and producers wrote in their bedrooms, tracked vocals in tiny box studios and worked on the tracks bit by bit over months and months, letting them breathe before coming back to them when it felt right. Her first offering “Power” combines a sharp message with choral arrangements and minimal background music; an almost a cappella song about the effect of poisoned compliments. Singer-songwriter, Greta Isaac, expresses the effect of poisoned compliments in her commanding new single “Power”.
Greta says, “This is about how I feel being looked at as a woman and how I can feel useless without the affirmation of the male gaze. Each line starts as a compliment then slowly transitions to sinister promises. The idea of being complimented about my appearance and when I haven’t accepted them, or actively challenged them, my appearance and my femininity is used as a weapon against me”.
‘Pessimist‘ is the lead track from Welsh Singer Songwriter Greta Isaac’s forthcoming EP. Built upon insistent nagging guitar loops, beguiling multi faceted vocals and bombastic choruses that have hints of Taylor Swift, releasing the frustration and self annoyance at constantly dragging yourself down. It comes after an 18-month period of artistic and personal self-reflection for Isaac. She says: “I wrote this song about seeing the contrast between having this very childlike carefree mindset and that suddenly switching into this negative, exhausted state of mind. This song is a perspective song, an ode to myself.” Fantasically refreshing!
With her clear talent for crafting the catchiest of pop melodies, the forthcoming EPPessimist takes influence from the poetic traditions of the musical family in rural Wales where she grew up. Now in London and working closely with writers and producers like Martin Luke Brown and Matt Zara, this new single becomes especially personal for Greta with its bedroom written lyrics and tiny box studio recordings.
Lael Neale directs and stars in the official video for “Acquainted With Night,” the title track from her new album, which is available worldwide from Sub Pop Records. Neale says: “‘Acquainted With Night’ is another homemade video that explores my complex relationship with technology. I am drawn to archaic machines, but that doesn’t mean I want to slip backwards into some idealized past. I’m more interested in stepping out of time entirely.”
Acquainted With Night features ten tracks, and includes the previously released standouts “Blue Vein,” “Every Star Shivers in the Dark,” “For No One For Now,” and the aforementioned title track. The album was composed and arranged by Neale, produced and mixed by Guy Blakeslee, and mastered by Chris Coady. Lael’s new album Acquainted With Night is a testament to this poetic devotion. Stripped of any extraneous word or sound, the songs are lit by Lael’s crystalline voice which lays on a lush bed of Omnichord. The collection touches on themes that have been thread into her work for years: isolation, mortality, yearning, and reaching ever toward the transcendent experience.
Lael grew up on a farm in rural Virginia, but for nearly 10 years called Los Angeles home. Those years were spent developing her song writing and performing in venues across the city, but the right way to record the songs proved more elusive. She says, “Every time I reached the end of recording, I felt the songs had been stripped of their vitality in the process of layering drums, bass, guitar, violin, and organ over them. They felt weighed down.”
Acquainted With Night has seen international praise from the likes of MOJO, who in its 4-star review, raved, “Who knew the world was lacking a country-folk version of Broadcast until now?” France’s Télérama said, “Stripped of frills, young Lael Neale sings the starry nights of her native Virginia. With grace and grit. And the soul of an old bluesman. Lael Neale confirms her talent with an intense second album.” Meanwhile Uncut in its feature on Acquainted With Night, offered this, “A thing of shimmering beauty, led by Neale’s otherworldly voice with its shades of Vashti Bunyan and Julia Holter.”
Neale and producer Blakeslee, recently performed songs for Flood’s Magazine’s “Neighborhood Sessions,” who says, “The pair took turns filming each other perform their new tracks—appropriately shot with grainy, camcorder-esque quality—on a farm in the area where Neale grew up. The back-to-back solo guitar performances of Neale’s “Blue Vein” and Blakeslee’s album opener “Sometimes” prove just how much musical chemistry the two share together. In a moment of illumination the solution presented itself: do the simple thing. In early 2019, in the midst of major transition, she acquired a new instrument, the omnichord, and began recording a deluge of songs. Guy Blakeslee, who had been an advocate for years, set up a cassette recorder in her bedroom and provided empathic guidance, subtle yet affecting accompaniment and engineering prowess. Limited to only 4-tracks and first takes, Lael had to surrender some of her perfectionism to deliver the songs in their essence.
Acquainted with Night is now available through Sub Pop Records. In the U.K., and in Europe will receive the album on white vinyl (while supplies last).
“Why We’re Excited: A little serendipity never hurt anyone, and it seems to be the very thing songwriter Lael Neale needed. In this case, that stroke of fortune was a friend loaning Neale an omnichord. That loan led the recent Sub Pop signee to tap into a wellspring of inspiration that directly led to her upcoming album, Acquainted with Night. With three singles, including the gorgeous “Blue Vein”, to judge from, we can only hope that Neale’s friend let her keep that omnichord. They’re a perfect match.”
“The grandeur of the organ tones, joined by a tinny drum machine, give it a similar feel to Beach House’s more recent albums.” [“Every Star Shivers in the Dark”] – Brooklyn Vegan
“Against a beat and organ based tones, Neale belts the vocals out like she’s singing to anyone who will listen. Her voice echoes like a ringing bell or alarm, the simplicity of the song’s structure works with her voice as the catalyst.” [“Every Star Shivers in the Dark”] – Closed Captioned
“…Lael taps into something universal, city or country, that we all long for, connection…and if you find the time to listen to Lael’s music, you’ll find plenty to love as well.”[ “Every Star Shivers in the Dark”/“Five Things We Liked This Week”] – For the Rabbits
“An absorbing two-chord hymnal” [“Every Star Shivers in the Dark”] – Joyzine
“‘Every Star Shivers in the Dark’ is far more reflective in its delivery, there is an undeniably optimistic undertone and a dreaminess liberally sprinkled throughout. It brings a crescendo of twinkling key changes at the end of the track which linger long in the mind like the last rays of sunshine on the perfect Summer day.” – Still Listening
While Lael returned to her family farm in April 2020, Los Angeles is a player on this album, and “Every Star Shivers in the Dark” is an ode to the sprawling city, the outskirts of Eden. One can envision her walking from Dodgers Stadium to downtown, observing strangers and her own strangeness but determined to find communion with others. “Blue Vein” is her personal anthem, a Paul Revere piece that gallops through the town as a strident declamation. It is an amalgam of thoughts, concerns, and lessons as she nearly speaks the words, unmasked by flourishes, ensuring the meaning cuts through.
Normally a morning person, Lael recorded most of these songs in the darkening of the early evening, and so became Acquainted With Night.
“Neale impressed us with ‘Every Star Shivers In The Dark,’…she’s back with another new track, the entrancing “For No One For Now.’ Like Neale’s prior single, this one is minimal and reflective while maintaining a strong backbeat. But rather than build to a cathartic breakthrough, ‘For No One For Now’ lingers in the unresolved tension, less a song than an atmosphere to exist inside.” – Stereogum
“‘For No One For Now’ is deceptively simple and strangely haunting and hypnotic.” [#1/ “Song of the Week”] – Under the Radar<
The inevitable messiness of life is what makes it so painful, interesting and enjoyable, but learning to be okay with it all is much easier said than done. Nashville-via-Texas singer/songwriter Katy Kirby is well on her way in that journey. On her debut album “Cool Dry Place”, Kirby tries to decide what’s worth holding on to and what’s worth seeking, but also allows herself the freedom to pause and just revel in precious moments, like a drunken walk home (“Peppermint”) or the fantasy of protecting someone you love (“Eyelids”).
Whether slipping into playful metaphors or arriving at an important realization, Kirby sounds, at once, comfortable and uncomfortable with the fluidity of interactions and situations, which is what makes this record more than just an incredibly pleasing collection of songs. Wants and needs are blurred, relationships shapeshift, but more than anything, a human desire for intimacy and understanding underpins it all. After dropping in and out of school, religion and recording music, Kirby is searching for a sustainable source of warmth—whether a person, a plant, Target lingerie or “a secret chord that David played.
Katy Kirby is a songwriter and indie rock practitioner with a writerly focus on unspoken rules, misunderstandings of all kinds, and boredom. Kirby was born, raised, and home schooled by two ex-cheerleaders in small-town Texas, where she started singing in church amidst the soaring, pasteurized-pop choruses of evangelical worship services. After high school, Kirby moved to Nashville, where she managed to graduate college with a rapidly expanding circle of artistic allies, an amorphous collection of leftist beliefs, and a few handfuls of songs. After a series of painful failures to complete a record that reflected the temperament of those songs, Kirby finally turned to dear friends and co-conspirators to form a band capable of constructing a satisfying full length.
Based out of Glasgow, Lizzie Reid is a hot-off-the-presses songwriter, who despite only starting releasing her music earlier this year is already making quite the impression. Back in March, working with producer Oli Barton-Wood, Lizzie finished recording her debut EP, “Cubicle”, just days before the UK-wide lockdown arrived. With the record due out in January, this week Lizzie has shared the latest single from it, “Always Lovely”.
A song about insecurity, Lizzie has suggested Always Lovely is about, “obsessing with the idea of perfection and worth – whether that be about your physical appearance, your personality or social identity”. It’s a deeply personal track, the song’s lyrical content mirrored perfectly in the intimate musical setting, Lizzie’s swooping vocal delivery drawing you close to the speaker, as if she’s whispering her words directly into your ear. Equally impressive as the jaw-dropping vocal, think the poise of Laura Marling and the emotional depth of Black Belt Eagle Scout, is the brilliant guitar-playing, it has a visceral, physical quality, chords hewn straight from her body direct to the tape. If intimacy can often be characterised as a softness, in Lizzie Reid’s music it becomes a strength, an exploration of her experiences and emotions shaped into a personal monument of hope for the world at large, and one that’s very exciting indeed.
She made a marvellous case for her then-forthcoming EP Cubicle earlier this year with the scintillating ‘Been Thinking About You’, and today the full twenty-minute proposal is here. Lizzie Reid explores folk reminiscent of Waxahatchee and Courtney Marie Andrews on her debut seven-track confessional, out now on Seven Four Seven Six Records.
Below, you’ll find each of the songs on this gorgeous EP explained in Lizzie Reid’s own words.
‘Tribute’
I recorded this in one take on my iPhone the day that I wrote it. It was a last-minute decision to make it the first track of the EP and I’m very glad it happened. ‘Tribute’ is a song about letting go of a past relationship. It’s about seeking something new in other people and it not working out. I realised that I had to let go of feeling in control, having expectations and to be okay with the idea of change. The lyric “I don’t regret a word that I said, when I was in your bed” consistently transports me back to those moments of being completely vulnerable with someone. It’s a reminder that although we’ve had to say goodbye, I hold those moments close to me and don’t take for granted the time spent.
‘Seamless’
‘Seamless’ was written a couple of months after my break-up with my first girlfriend. It was one of the first times I had written lyrics that were particularly on the nose. The process left me feeling a tad uneasy and I wasn’t sure I liked the result. But then I listened to the demo on the train from London to Glasgow. I had tears streaming down my face. That was when I realised we had written something deeply personal to me. Having recorded it in the house and the fact that my cat makes an appearance at the end makes the song feel that little bit more exposed, to me.
‘Always Lovely’
This song is about insecurity. Feeling like you’re not quite up to it. It’s about obsessing with the idea of perfection and worth – whether that be about your physical appearance, your personality or social identity. This is the oldest song on the EP so I was quite young and very unsure of myself when I wrote it. I’ve come a long way since then but there is always room for more self-discovery and reflecting – especially when you have had nearly a year of lockdown to live through!!!
‘Been Thinking About You’
This was written around the same time as ‘Company Car’ in the summer of 2019. I had a lot of affection for a very good friend of mine and I needed to vent that in some way. He was such a support for me at a time I wasn’t feeling my best. But ultimately I was going through quite a confusing time and felt guilty that I couldn’t support him in the same way he supported me. There is a definite relief in this song compared to the other tracks. That represents a very much needed release for me, at the time of writing it.
‘Company Car’
2019 was a year of self-discovery for me. I did a lot of thinking and growing. ‘Company Car’ was a way of expressing my frustration about my sexuality. I realised that I wasn’t fully accepting of it. It feels weird speaking about it now as I have come to accept and feel pride in my queerness. I can’t speak for the whole LGBT+ community but I think it’s something a lot of us have had to go through and are still working on. It’s a difficult process to accept something that you’ve grown up to believe isn’t ‘normal’. The lyric “my feet don’t work and it feels they never will – there’s a company car on the way” is about me feeling that I am not capable of functioning as myself or by myself, and not dealing with my/society’s expectations.
‘Cubicle’
I wrote this song in tears the morning after a very emotionally-demanding night out. I wasn’t sure if I was the happiest I had ever been, or if I was completely heartbroken. I don’t know how it’s even possible to confuse the two. I locked myself in a toilet cubicle of an underground jazz bar in Glasgow. I was having a bit of a panic attack and knew I needed to calm down before facing the rest of night. This evening marked the end of something, and the beginning of something else.
“Cubicle” EP is out January 22nd via 7476 Records.
This song is an anthem of sorts about the possibility of each new, seemingly meandering and unimportant day. I use the reference to Bloomsday, born from James Joyce’s “Ulysses”, as a substitute for any day, just a normal, nothing special, any day. The song is meant to inspire the agency we have over our participation in any day. Although it feels like much of the time we are being pulled along in life, we have the instrumentality to find within us light and belief.
I also have a music video for the song which you can view now! Because this song reminds me of the capacity I have for influencing my own day, the days of others, and a larger connectivity, I wanted to express that in the video as I was coming up with the concept. I wanted to write a visual story that showed the simplicity of that exchange. I had the idea of this cake being passed around in a very simple “pay it forward” fashion…one person is shown kindness, light, belief, wisdom… and can choose to pass that along to someone else.
FYI *We did not eat this cake afterwards as it had to be frozen multiple times between shoot days AND many fingers and clothing articles ended up in it or upon it, so it went in the bin…sadly* RIP Bloomsday cake.
Since I’ve been sequestered at home for the past year, I’ve been reminded of the specific beauty and complexity of Oklahoma and the fascinating things being made here and I want to share that with others. in celebration of vacationing in your own back yard, I’m giving away a mega-prize of Oklahoma-made products to someone. It will include art prints and objects by some of my favourite local artists, a guitar pedal from a local boutique pedal company, books by local authors and on local interest, local food products, and other goodies. All you have to do to enter is pre-save the album on your favourite streaming service – make sure to tick yes on receiving updates so we can contact you if you win!
My new EP ‘I Guess We Live Here Now’ will be out April 9th on Real Kind Records. Pre-order and listen to new single ‘Bloomsday’ now. Pre-order the Limited Edition 10″ vinyl record exclusively on Bandcamp now.
Raised in the rolling hills of North Yorkshire on artists such as Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, and Kate Bush, Billie Marten’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Writing of Blues and Yellows’, was released in 2016 when she was still just 17, while its follow-up ‘Feeding Seahorses By Hand’ was similarly lauded in 2019.
“Flora Fauna”, was recorded with Rich Cooper in London. Marten’s new material blends those signature hushed, resonant vocals with a rapid pulse and rich instrumentation, her inspirations now stretching from krautrockers Can, to Broadcast, Arthur Russell, and Fiona Apple.
Also completing musical Top Trumps is Guy Garvey from the band Elbow, providing guest vocals on the ‘Walnut’ track.
Built on the minimalist acoustic folk foundations she made a name for herself with, ‘Flora Fauna’ is a more mature, embodied album fostered around a strong backbone of bass and rhythm. Shedding the timidity of previous work in favour of a more urgent sound, the songs mark a period of personal independence for Marten as she learned to nurture herself and break free from toxic relationships – and a big part of that was returning to nature.
“I wasn’t really treating myself very well, it was a bit of a disruptive time. All these songs are about getting myself out of that hole – they’re quite strong affirmations. The name Flora Fauna is like a green bath for my eyes. If the album was a painting, it would look like flora and fauna – it encompasses every organism, every corner of Earth, and a feeling of total abundance.”
I can’t begin to express to you how much I’ve wanted this to be in the world, I am so excited and ready. We started this thing a while back and it’s all stringing together quite beautifully now. A total fresh and untouched slate. Thank you ever so much for your patience and kindness throughout, and in the meantime, here is “Garden of Eden”. It’s about the competition to grow and constantly be better, about how we all desperately need to be fed and watered and given space to thrive, and yet we’re so subscribed to this idea of pushing and evolving that we’re not actually doing the living part. So my message to you is thank you and I hope you can slow down and FEEL again. X
There’s an absolute bombardment of new things to come so stay with me, Billie Marten.
Canadian singer-songwriter. Jerry Leger has been releasing records since 2005, so far he has released 13 albums (7 solo, 3 credited to Jerry Leger & The Situation and 3 with his side projects, The Del Fi’s and The Bop Fi’s). Leger’s last three major albums Early Riser (2014), the double LP Nonsense and Heartache (2017) and Time Out For Tomorrow (2019) were all produced by songwriter/musician, Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies.
From Toronto, Canada. Jerry Leger has been called “one of Canada’s best” by Exclaim, a “gifted storyteller” by The Toronto Star and “One of the best Canadian songwriters” by Rolling Stone.
“Time Out For Tomorrow” is his masterpiece.” – ROLLING STONE’
“Songs From The Apartment” is a lo-fi collection of songs recorded solo at home, most of which had been written, quickly demoed and forgotten about. The performances are relaxed, intimate and raw. Time Out For Tomorrow: Deluxe Edition’ & ‘Songs From The Apartment: reissued as a Limited Edition Red Vinyl’ out March 26th
Bored At My Grandma’s House is the moniker of 19-year old Leeds-based Amber Strawbridge, starting out as an exercise in passing time when she was quite literally bored at her grandma’s place. First single & EPp opener ‘Showers’ is about time alone & listening to your mind – “do you ever think of showers as like a new beginning?“ is a poignant opening line, about that therapeutic space for you to really think and let your thoughts surface. In Amber’s own words “showers are a kind of therapy in my opinion, they give you time to reflect and think without influence from anything external.” born in Whitehaven, Cumbria to musical family, and raised on the likes of Bowie & Pink Floyd there was always plenty of opportunity to mess around on the various instruments lying around the house.
Attempts at proper music lessons went awry as Amber shunned the rules & rigidity, and so instead she gradually taught herself piano, guitar & drums. after time travelling in Cambodia, teaching English & helping with projects in various villages, Amber stayed with her grandma & began to use the aeons of spare time to make tunes on garageband & upload them to soundcloud. as a wave of BBC introducing support rolled in, coupled with a move to Leeds to study music, the bedroom set-up evolved & a full EP began to take shape. Playing all the instruments & self-recording most of the EP at home, Amber took the tracks to Alex Greaves (Working Men’s Club, bdrmm) at the Nave studio for live drums & some final mixing flourishes, leaving an EP full of lo-fi charm but with a studio feel.
Inspired by Slowdive, Wolf Alice & Alvvays, “Sometimes I Forget You’re Human Too” showcases Amber’s singular vision of indie-pop, on an ep that deals with topics like humanity, nostalgia & the current refugee crisis. speaking on the EP title Amber says “Sometimes I Forget You’re Human Too” is the realisation that everyone is the same. in the sense that we are all human, everyone has issues and problems to face, everyone makes mistakes and has success. I used to compare myself to others a lot and think ‘wow they have their life together’ or ‘how are they so happy all of the time’ but that’s not the case it’s just what you can see on the outside …so it’s kind of an EP of self assurance and reminding myself that it’s ok to not have it together all the time because no one does as we’re all just human after all” .
The EP is just the start for Bored At My Grandma’s House “I’ve already got a few tracks which I’m thinking could be potentially for an album, I’d definitely like to do a bigger project next and have the sound I’d like in mind. I’ve recently just got a band together so hopefully when live shows are resurrected 2021 is looking to be anything but boring for Amber Strawbridge.
The beautiful third album from the New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Esther Rose. It’s all about transience and change, but her voice is a brilliant centre point and protagonist to keep it all flowing along. Another really delicious young voice as part of the Full Time Hobby family.
Esther Rose was in perpetual motion when she wrote her third album, “How Many Times”. In the span of two years, she moved three times, navigated the end of a relationship, and began touring more than ever. The New Orleans-based singer-songwriter used that momentum while she penned her third studio album. That’s why, as the album title’s nod to the cyclical nature of life implies, there’s a rush that accompanies How Many Times as if you’re experiencing an awakening, too.
Esther Rose announced her new album How Many Times, due out on March 26th via Father/Daughter Records and Full Time Hobby. It’s her third full-length, and it follows her 2019 album You Made It This Far. The announcement also came with a Sarrah Danziger-directed music video for the title track. The new single mixes Rose’s tried-and-true country roots with a doo-wop-esque sway and some sha-la-la’s for good measure. Add fiddle, lap steel and acoustic guitar to Rose’s winsome, compassionate vocals and timeless tale of heartbreak that needs to be numbed, and what’s not to love? “It’s not really just about feeling better, it’s about feeling it, whatever it is,” Rose says of her forthcoming album.
Rose expands her alt-country sound into a blossoming world of folk pop and tender harmonies. A collection of complete takes recorded live to tape with rich instrumentation, soul-tugging hooks, and resonating vocal melodies, How Many Times carries you into the room in which it was made. There to help realize this was co-producer Ross Farbe of synthpop band Video Age, who Rose also credits for bringing a stereo pop glow to these new songs.
Rose’s journey through the past few years has been one of saying yes to new opportunities, all while nurturing and playing in bands in the New Orleans country music scene. The arrival of How Many Times is evidence of the sweeping growth Rose has undergone, both personally and artistically. She’s turning towards her troubles and facing them head-on, ready to feel whatever’s necessary in order to keep growing upwards and outwards.
The Band:
Matt Bell: Lap steel Lyle Werner: Fiddle Esther Rose: Vocals + Acoustic Guitar Cameron Snyder: Drums + Harmonies Max Bien Kahn: Electric Guitar + Harmonies Dan Cutler: Upright Bass + Harmonies Ric Robertson: Acoustic Guitar on Track 7 Howe Pearson: Drums + Harmonies on Tracks 3, 5 Gina Leslie: Electric Bass + Harmonies on Tracks 3, 5
All songs written by Esther Rose
‘How Many Times’ out March 26th, 2021 on Father/Daughter & Full Time Hobby.
The Fat Angel Sings 