flowerovlove - Get With You

A short but (oddly) sweet take on aspiration and inspiration, the video to 'Get With You' was directed by flowerovlove's brother, Wilfred Cisse.

She says that the video is "a metaphor for chasing after your higher self, chasing after the person you want to be, your dreams and your goals. Joyce is going after flowerovlove from London to LA to pursue her dreams!"

The 17 year old South Londoner continues to create a buzz with every track she releases. She'll be playing both Reading and Leeds at the end of August and a full UK tour follows immediately afterwards. 

ENOLA - Strange Comfort (Official Music Video)

ENOLA, a Melbourne based singer/songwriter producer and multi instrumentalist, released their first EP back in 2019. 'Strange Comfort' has a real sense of dark post punk foreboding about it but it doesn't feel like a pastiche, instead it feels like that musical moment in time is being reinterpreted for the modern age with this song. They say of the track "There is a comfort in knowing that suffering can be a universal experience. We are alone, yet together in our aloneness"

There's a sense of chaos and unpredictability within the song, particularly in those moments when the spoken word elements overlap with the sung and the tempo switches up and down, creating a complex sense of texture. I reiterate what I've said recently about the current Australian punk scene: There is definitely something in the water at the moment. Something good.

The Linda Lindas - "Tonite"

This brief slice of energy and defiance from teenage punk superstars The Linda Linda's is a cover of a Go-Go's song. As such, it's very much a case of the new faces of LA punk saluting their illustrious and legendary forebears. The Linda Linda's began life as a covers band and have said that they've covered more Go-Go's songs than anyone else. 'Tonite' has been a favourite for a while, with the band particularly liking the sentiment behind the line "We rule the streets tonight until the morning light." An assured and insanely catchy piece of work that is made for summer.

Ellur - Close To You (Official Video)

I really love this emotionally raw, self lacerating punk pop take on love gone wrong. The video was filmed in Bridlington and perfectly suits the mood of the song. I hadn't encountered Ellur before I saw this video, and in fact she's only released a few tracks, but I am now expecting great things from her and looking forward to hearing more. 

Emma Back - If I Knew

I first came across the work of Emma Back when I was working as Music Editor at The F-Word. She sent me her song 'Shadow' and told me about her community musician and activist work. I was sufficiently intrigued to arrange an interview with her. 'If I Knew' sees her continue to work with looping and violin, but there's a summery feel to this take on introspection that feels refreshing. Always worth a listen. 

Miya Folick - Ordinary

It feels like it's been a couple of years since we heard from Miya Folick and, as such, 'Ordinary' is a welcome return. This quiet tale of introspection imposter syndrome sits well next to her earlier single 'Malibu Barbie'. 2018's Premonitions album never really seemed to get the attention it deserved, but despite this I am quietly keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that she's working on a new album.

Sharon Van Etten - Mistakes (Official Video)

Another 6Music playlist song, 'Mistakes' is taken from the new Sharon Van Etten album We've Been Going About This All Wrong. As with Mitski's recent album, there are overtones of 80s synth infused pop rock, and this is very much the case with the anthemic 'Mistakes', which is a great listen and definitely one you can dance to. 

Amyl and The Sniffers - Hertz

'Hertz' is one of those songs that's been knocking about on the 6Music playlist ever since it was released last year. The by now very much established Amyl and The Sniffers are a tight punk band whose singer, Amy Taylor, gives off vibes of US punk and No Wave acts such as The Avengers and Bush Tetras. Like Press Club, they are an Australian band, which really suggests that there's something in the water over there when it comes to knocking out exciting punk bands who know their Stooges from their Saints. It's taken me a while to hear and get into Amyl and The Sniffers, but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for them from now on.

I have been to the library

I've spent the past few months reading and re-reading all of the Mercedes Lackey Valdemar books, which came in very handy during the two weeks in June/July when I had Covid. If you've never encountered the work of Lackey before, think Game Of Thrones, but without the dragons and with griffins, horses and (occasionally) cats instead.

I'm planning to re-read all the Tamora Pierce Tortall books next (less griffons and dragons, more cats...) but decided it would be a good idea to pause in-between fantasy universes in order to avoid confusion.  

As such, I've been to the library and I've topped up my book pile.