Atwood Journal is happy to share our Editor’s Picks column, written and curated by Editor-in-Chief Mitch Mosk. Each week, Mitch will share a group of songs, albums, and artists who’ve caught his ears, eyes, and coronary heart. There may be a lot unbelievable music on the market simply ready to be heard, and all it takes from us is an open thoughts and a willingness to pay attention. By way of our Editor’s Picks, we hope to shine a lightweight on our personal music discoveries and showcase a various array of recent and up to date releases.
This week’s Editor’s Picks options Bleach Lab, Soda Blonde, Mara Connor, Witch Publish, Arny Margret, and Fright Years!
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Bleach Lab’s subsequent chapter opens with a rush of uncooked, pressing power. “You look so fairly if you cry,” Jenna Kyle sings sizzling on the mic, ever the beacon of unfiltered, uncompromising emotion. “Makes them wanna break your coronary heart to observe you die inside.” Reverb-drenched guitars glisten and roar round her as driving drums pound out a heavy beat, filling the air with a hazy pressure that goes far past the bodily spectrum.
you look so fairly if you cry
makes them wanna break your coronary heart
to observe you die inside
you’ve been operating all of your life
late evening talks and smoking
within the shadow of the evening
he mentioned he needs you
nevertheless it’s an excessive amount of
he loves you
nevertheless it’s not sufficient
In lots of respects, that is Bleach Lab doing what Bleach Lab do finest. The South London-based band channel ache into ardour on “Drown,” an angsty, achingly intimate eruption from hauntingly darkish depths. Independently launched November 13th, their first single since final yr’s debut album Misplaced in a Rush of Vacancy is as intense as it’s totally all-consuming: A sonically and emotionally charged launch dripping with warmth, heartache, and that breathtaking vulnerability that has made Bleach Lab certainly one of my favourite teams from day one.
“It’s about being caught in a poisonous cycle of going again to the identical individual, or at all times ending up with the identical individual although they might not be that good for you,” Kyle tells Atwood Journal. “It’s making an attempt to interrupt out of that cycle and discover the arrogance to maneuver on.”
The band hit their excessive in a gut-wrenching, soul-baring refrain – pouring gas on the metaphorical hearth in a charming, dramatic climax:
you harm your self to really feel alive
holding up the entire weight of the sky
if you need one thing you let it rule your life
holding onto issues that don’t really feel proper
Not solely is that this Bleach Lab’s first launch since their LP, nevertheless it’s additionally their first self-produced single, with guitarist Louis Takooree and drummer Kieran Weston sharing the credit.
“We needed to problem ourselves to jot down one thing a bit grungier with this one,” Weston explains. “On the time of scripting this, we have been eager to discover a heavier sound. So we went into the studio, listened to a load of early The Treatment and Nirvana, and got here out with the grungy guitar. From there, all of it fell collectively fairly shortly. Now we’re self-producing, we have been in a position to take it from writing stage to a fully-fledged track inside a matter of days.”
Takooree agrees, noting how he feels “Drown” is “authentically ‘us’” – an sincere and real expression of the band’s artistry. Bleach Lab spent quite a lot of time writing and making an attempt to excellent and progress their sound over this previous yr, “trying to introduce newer parts while additionally staying true to what we love,” provides bassist Josh Longman.
if you maintain me such as you do
sitting by your window
morning lights simply coming by
inform me i used to be made for you
i neglect the explanation i used to be getting over you
he mentioned he needs you, nevertheless it’s an excessive amount of
he loves you, nevertheless it’s not sufficient
The outcome, no less than so far as “Drown” is anxious, is a powerful, soul-stirring success that finds them pushing ahead, all whereas staying true to these issues which have lengthy made their music particular and distinctive amongst their different cohorts. A longtime Atwood Journal artist-to-watch and six-time Editor’s Choose, Bleach Lab are one of many UK’s most enjoyable indie acts – with a heavy, lush shoegaze-y sonic id and soul-stirring lyrics stuffed with depth, unfiltered emotion, and substance.
In naming their debut certainly one of 2023’s finest albums, I praised them for delivering an expertise that’s directly wondrous and wistful, thought-provoking and deeply evocative: “As enchanting as it’s achingly intimate, Misplaced in a Rush of Vacancy is an immersive assortment of interior reckonings and soul-stirring reflections on what it means to be alive,” I wrote. “Wave after wave of shiver-inducing shoegaze, glistening indie rock, and dream pop wash over the ears as Bleach Lab drench their viewers not simply in breathtaking sound, however in visceral emotion.”
I would as properly have been writing about “Drown” as properly, contemplating how catchy and cathartic this track is. By no means earlier than have the phrases “you harm your self to really feel alive” given rise to such combined emotions of unhappiness and euphoria.
you harm your self to really feel alive
holding up the entire weight of the sky
if you need one thing you let it rule your life
holding onto issues that don’t really feel proper
After all, the magic of a terrific track lies in its capacity to repeatedly spark highly effective emotions in a listener – one thing “Drown” does all too effortlessly, as a result of that is, with no shadow of a doubt, a very nice track.
oh the lights are approaching
and also you’re nonetheless hanging round
why don’t you simply go house and depart me right here to drown
or you might lie and inform me child i’m the one
within the morning when i get up
we each know you’ll be gone
you harm your self to really feel alive
holding up the entire weight of the sky
if you need one thing you let it rule your life
holding onto issues that don’t really feel proper
“The Saddest Factor”
by Soda Blonde
I suppose I can now say that “The Saddest Factor” brings me immense pleasure. That’s, supplied the ‘factor’ in query is Soda Blonde’s newest, intoxicating single. The Irish indie pop band’s second track of the yr continues the place its predecessor “Bully” left off, dwelling in an intimate rabbit of gap of unrequited love, self-deception, and “the melancholy of imagined connections as a technique to fill an emotional void.”
It’s all about you
I’m solely going out for those who’ll be there
I’m hiding all my disgrace
With one thing good to put on
I haven’t met you but
Isn’t that the saddest factor about it
It’s for the very best
I do know and it
“It’s a mirrored image on the tender elements of ourselves that always stay unseen,” lead singer Faye O’Rourke says. Her lyrics, as blunt as they’re brooding, echo these sentiments, sending shivers down the backbone as collectively, she and her bandmates Adam O’Regan, Donagh Seaver-O’Leary, and Dylan Lynch ship a haunting, harmony-soaked reckoning.
Thanks very a lot
For the books that you’ll lend me
However I solely like them as a result of I such as you
Thanks very a lot
For the songs that you just’re exhibiting
However I solely like them as a result of I such as you
Born within the aftermath of Little Inexperienced Vehicles’ dissolution, Soda Blonde have shortly grow to be certainly one of my all-time favourite bands since their debut in 2019, persistently successful me over with spellbinding songs stuffed with uncooked humanity and seductively catchy melodies. And whereas tracks like “Don’t Thoughts Them,” “Small Speak,” “Dangerous Machine,” and “Horrible Palms” are my present most-listened-to tracks out of their discography, I wouldn’t be stunned is “The Saddest Factor” makes the listing come this time subsequent yr; for out of angst and aching, Soda Blonde have as soon as once more spun sonic gold.
I don’t consider there are not any regrets
I can’t get it out of my head now
If somebody says that to you they’re a liar
I don’t give a rattling I do know it’s true
I want a egocentric distraction
That’s the saddest factor about it
It’s for the very best
So I focus to seek out you
Thanks very a lot
For the books that you’ll lend me
However I solely like them as a result of I such as you
Thanks very a lot
For the songs that you just’re exhibiting
However I solely like them as a result of I such as you
Thanks for the years
That I’ve already imagined
However I solely dreamt them as a distraction
And every part about myself
That I might by no means deal with
However I solely such as you as a result of I must
“American Dream”
by Mara Connor
I think about the ‘American Dream’ will probably be analyzed, reanalyzed, scrutinized, and reassessed nonstop over these subsequent 4 years. For these of us so-called “progressives,” it’s a darkish time in American life; a wannabe fascist ideologue has risen, as soon as once more, to the very best ranges of energy, inflicting a nationwide reckoning with our nation’s id and place on this planet.
The outcomes of the presidential election have been nonetheless sinking in when Mara Connor dropped a revamped model of her newest single, “American Dream” (initially launched in early October). Titled “American Dream (Hometown Heroes & Magnificence Queens),” the softer, acoustic remake of her Springsteen-esque anthem brings out the ache, the sorrow, and the biting social commentary on the coronary heart of her music, very like slowed-down variations of “Born in the united statesA.” do for that ’80s traditional.
Rosie works a double on the diner
Can’t afford the weekends off
Since she received the slip final December
From her secretary job
Her oldest son’s again within the service
She hopes he’ll make it house for Christmas
Some individuals get what they need
The remaining they only get by
Some individuals they get to reside
The remaining simply attempt to keep alive
And hometown heroes and sweetness queens
Their hopes are blown to smithereens
They go on chasing
The American Dream
That is actually a brutal, no-holds-barred reflection on the so-called ‘American Dream’ that tens of millions spend their lives chasing however by no means attain – thanks, no less than to a point, on these voters who “positioned their bets on the flawed group,” as she places it.
“This track is my worst worry coming true in actual time,” Connor tells Atwood Journal. “Life imitating artwork. Watching individuals get conned into voting for a so-called ‘American Dream’ that doesn’t embrace them and electing a cartoon villain to our nation’s highest workplace.”
“The historical past books will bear in mind this darkish second when America selected a pathologically egocentric, sexual predator and convicted felon over an achieved girl of coloration to our nation’s highest workplace. For years ‘we the individuals’ have watched him spew his toxic rhetoric, sow worry and bigotry in an already divided nation, defy democracy, promise to strip us of our elementary rights and healthcare, pillage our surroundings, subjugate girls and oppress minorities, make the wealthy richer and the poor poorer… and now America invitations him to return to the White Home like a wounded sufferer asking its perpetrator to stay the knife in deeper. In instances of nice upheaval and ethical decay, we’d like artwork and music greater than ever.”
Billy slips some liquor in his espresso
As he opens up the bar
It’s been six years since he was sober
Was a soccer star
Now he simply watches it on TV
Reliving it and reminiscing
Clutching his cup of joe and whiskey
Some individuals get what they need
The remaining they only get by
Some individuals they get to reside
The remaining simply attempt to keep alive
And hometown heroes and sweetness queens
Their hopes get blown to smithereens
However they’ll die chasing
The American Dream
“American Dream (Hometown Heroes & Magnificence Queens)” aches in and out as Mara Connor sings about a couple of hometown heroes and sweetness queens – all actual, relatable individuals, with actual, relatable issues. Feelings run excessive as she sings, softly and soulfully, first about Rosie, who’s been working double shifts on the diner ever since she misplaced her secretary job; subsequent about Billy, the ex-football participant who slipped into alcoholism over these previous six years; and lastly about Julie, the mom who takes her youngsters to the rally of her favourite presidential candidate – “one other billionaire who swears he’s for the Proletariat.”
Julie takes her youngsters to the rally
Of her favourite candidate
One other billionaire who swears he’s
For the Proletariat
He guarantees to assist the miners,
Troopers and mothers who work at diners
Finally, it’s the poignant, bittersweet fact of Connor’s refrain that stings essentially the most: “And hometown heroes and sweetness queens, their hopes get blown to smithereens. However they’ll die chasing the American Dream.” It hurts to assume {that a} majority of hardworking Individuals simply voted towards their very own pursuits, and whereas solely time will inform simply how true that assertion seems to be, the occasions of this previous month already counsel a darkish future full of political retribution, corruption, and cuts to essential social companies.
After all, nobody is aware of what the following 4 years have in retailer, and whereas I’m hoping for the very best – that these of us like Rosie and Billy get the assistance and help they want – I’m additionally bracing for the worst. Mara Connor’s “American Dream (Hometown Heroes & Magnificence Queens)” – with its prescient lyrics and heartrending, emotionally uncooked vocal efficiency – is an ideal, if not particularly highly effective soundtrack for this second in time.
Some individuals get what they need
The remaining they only get by
Some individuals they get to reside
The remaining simply attempt to survive
‘Trigger hometown heroes and sweetness queens
They positioned their bets on the flawed group
All within the title of the American Dream
All within the title of the American Dream
“Chill Out”
by Witch Publish
Witch Publish are tough, they’re uncooked, and they’re indubitably an artist to observe in 2025. The brand-new duo of Scottish musician Dylan Fraser and American singer/songwriter (and two-time Atwood Editor’s Choose) Alaska Reid have burst onto the scene with “Chill Out,” a feverish indie rock eruption that feels prefer it was born within the storage and refined in a bed room studio.
It’s churning and charged, callous and composed suddenly – a sleazy seduction yelling at us all to ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out!
Gob stuffed with shit
Drink in your mouth
I’m tryna hear what you say
I couldn’t determine it out
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ahhhh
Come on simply give it up now
And as soon as once more my coronary heart broke
whilst you sat there ingesting
And only for as soon as
Only for as soon as I couldn’t
give a rattling what you’re considering
“‘Chill Out’ is a crooked enamel, sweaty bar dialog of a track,” Fraser and Reid inform Atwood Journal. “We needed to attract parts from bands such because the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Gap to create this tough spherical the sides observe.”
“It’s blood pumping by the veins and outbursts of emotional confusion that circulate all through this track. Diving into the venomous tongue that comes with a relationship breaking down.”
I’ll purchase you a drink
I’ll spin you round
Come on you gotta admit
You’re solely bringing it down
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
I don’t wanna be down
I offer you every part that you really want
Come on simply give it up now
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
And as soon as once more my coronary heart broke
whilst you sat there ingesting
And only for as soon as
Only for as soon as I couldn’t
give a rattling what you’re considering
Dramatic and dreamy, unapologetic and unrelenting, “Chill Out” is sonic adrenaline: An invigorating catalyst right here to energise and ignite the flames flicker deep down inside.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill out
“I Miss You, I Do”
by Arny Margret
Árný Margret’s heavy, aching soul is uncovered on “I Miss You, I Do” as she dwells in an area of blue, brooding nostalgia and unfiltered longing, burdened by the load of a not-so-distant previous and the bittersweet ache of her current. “Twenty-three and a midlife disaster,” the Icelandic singer/songwriter sings softly over a heat blanket of acoustic and electrical sound. “Will you sing me to sleep? You’re up to now and I’m bored with calling, dreaming of the day we meet.” Her voice is wealthy, tender, and hauntingly delicate, the feelings she places into each phrase as highly effective because the feelings she withholds.
For as everyone knows, it’s each what you say, and what you permit unsaid, that finally lingers in our hearts.
However I miss you, I do
And I hope you do
Launched October 16th, 2024 by way of One Little Unbiased Information, “I Miss You, I Do” is each Árný Margret’s first track of the yr and the title observe off her upcoming sophomore album (set to drop March 7th, 2025). Made with a who’s-who of producers that features Brad Prepare dinner (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, Hurray For The Riff Raff), Andrew Berlin (Gregory Alan Isakov, Rise Towards), and Josh Kaufman (Bonny Mild Horseman, Bob Weir, The Nationwide), the follow-up to 2022’s debut album they solely speak in regards to the climate has been billed as a document of progress, maturity, motion, and alter.
“The primary factor I needed for this album was for it to be totally different,” Margret shares. “Once I hearken to the final one, I really feel prefer it’s primarily about me and the guitar. It’s very stripped again. I needed to do extra – I like the banjo, the fuller sound, I like the American sound, so recording it throughout there made a giant distinction.”
“I’ve at all times labored with the identical individuals in the identical locations, so I by no means thought I might do that – work with all these individuals who document with a few of my favorite musicians. I actually admire everybody on this. And pushing myself out of my consolation zone, that’s fairly rewarding.”
Speak within the morning or so very late within the night
You’re a tough one to catch
I assume I’m the identical, to you anyhow
It’s the best way it lasts
Oh, I miss you, I do
And I hope you do
Oh, I miss you, I do
And I do know you do
Finally, it’s that sheer distance that may come between two hearts that hits the toughest on “I Miss You, I Do,” slicing deeply as a result of it’s a lot greater than a bodily wedge, however an emotional one as properly. As she repeats the phrases, “I miss you, I do,” Margret doesn’t simply lengthy to be with her love as soon as once more; she needs that metaphysical connection that makes two souls intertwine, turning into one.
In the future we’ll meet like nothing ever occurred
Speak in regards to the bruises on our toes
And we’ll consider the time
we shared as soon as upon a time
Linking arms on the road
Oh, I miss you, I do
And I hope you do
Oh, I miss you, I do
And I do know you do
“Stars”
by Fright Years
In a lot the identical spirit as discovering hope in a hopeless place, Fright Years’ cinematic “Stars” embraces freedom within the face of sickness, loss, and their enduring, crippling weight. Launched October 9th, the Edinburgh band’s third single of the yr (following January’s tantalizing and taunting “Evil” and March’s messy, sweaty “Blue”) captures the red-hot ardour and deep emotional wherewithal I’ve come to like of their songs. Produced by Theo Verney (English Trainer, Lime Backyard), “Stars” finds frontwoman Jules Kelly reckoning in actual time together with her father’s terminal most cancers prognosis and his inspiring response to it.
You noticed life as a heavy seaside
100 miles in a gentle line
So if you discover that you just’re going nowhere
You face the ocean and also you let it shine
You mentioned ‘I can’t consider that I’ve been so fortunate
To have all of it and all of it for good’
So I’ll go ‘until my legs cease operating
To see the world in the best way you might
‘Trigger now I do know that
oh it’s going to by no means be sufficient
To really feel want in a race for nothing
I see stars now, I want stars out
To maintain me going
“I wasn’t making an attempt to jot down about it, and to be sincere it felt fairly bizarre that I used to be,” Jules Kelly shared upon the observe’s launch. “However when you’ve got ever skilled one thing like that, you’ll perceive that it consumes completely every part. I requested my dad why he wasn’t angrier; I simply thought he was the unluckiest individual on this planet. However he mentioned he nonetheless thought of himself a really fortunate individual.”
“The truth is, he couldn’t consider simply how fortunate he had been to have had such a tremendous life and to have been so comfortable. I simply discovered it unbelievable that he might have that perspective. ‘Stars’ is about dropping religion in your personal energy, after which discovering new freedom in precisely that – ‘I see stars now, I want stars out to maintain me going.’”
Most of us would anticipate to satisfy such horrible information with an countless parade of anger, irritating, and so forth – certainly something aside from happiness. No matter it’s that made Mr. Kelly discover pleasure by ache, I’d like to discover a little bit of that myself: For there’s nothing extra highly effective, and nothing extra profound, than the ability to lookup when all indicators level down. Impressed by a very inspirational human second, “Stars” is an indie rock anthem of discovering – and turning into – the sunshine in our personal darkness. Maybe we, too, can see the celebs – with a bit assist from the ever-enchanting Fright Years.
You may paint me an actual onerous time
So I image you as a bit boy
Feeling all that I do tonight
But you continue to discovered love and you continue to had pleasure
Trigger now I do know that
oh it’s going to by no means be sufficient
To really feel want in a race for nothing
I see stars now, I want stars out
To maintain me going
— — — —
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