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Bonnie Kemplay - I’ve Known You (EP)
A set of dreamy and close-told stories, presented with Kemplay’s wide-ranging fragility. The title track presents a microcosm of the whole: it’s a plainly set out, quietly paced song, both highly introspective and generous in sharing secrets of the inner-heart; and it’s a celebration of close relationships. From there, the rest of the EP just falls into place naturally, with songs such as ‘Beginners’, ‘Paper Angel’ and ‘Dandelions’ revealing new facets of the artist’s nostalgic, memory-tracing writing. The Line Of Best Fit has written this excellent profile
Cutscene - A Piece of Life (Debut EP)
A debut EP which crackles with energy and ambition right from the first huge wave of guitars and drums which hits after a subtle fade-in of anticipatory sound. That’s the stunning opening noise-tinted track ‘Concrete Line’, which reluctantly gives way to four accomplished songs; another highlight is ‘Steep Morning’, a stop-start song packed with declamatory vocals and huge splashes of sound. The title track, which closes the record is a sweeping yet rapid-fire swathe of euphoria. Together, these tracks showcase a versatile and extremely promising band who I am guessing are going to be showing up on plenty of stages and playlists into 2027.
she’s green - swallowtail (EP)
Photo credit: Liam Armstrong
A detailed, seven-track study in mid-20s shoegaze, ‘swallowtail’ makes pleasant and immersive listening, from the steady pacing of ‘locket’ through the dreamy ‘dear ivy’ and right up to the irregular, epic journey of ‘close your eyes’, this EP tracks different aspects of emotion. As you journey with She’s Green, those aspects shift in and out of focus, providing gentle landing points in what becomes a lush flight of fantasy.
Outside of the EP realm, I also highly recommend ‘Understand’ by Grace VanderWaal, ‘Dependent’ by Alessi Rose and Orla Gartland’s soundtrack album for ‘Trying’. Oh and the return of both Snow Patrol and Kylie Minogue on their collab ‘These Alarms’ — give it a spin!
KEXP live performances are invariably good - and they publish new ones every few days so it’s worth subscribing. This set from Gurriers is pretty sick.
As mentioned last week, GTSF cropped up recently. It’s an astoundingly ‘big’ festival in feel and ambition. I went for two days this year and- here’s my write up for LeftLion.
As always, check the Release Tracker! And do not miss, this Friday, albums from Cinder Well (‘A Blooming Body’) and Gracie Abrams (‘Daughter from Hell’).
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