For those of you taking notes you’ll know in the last volume 325, the whole show was dedicated to various genres of electronic music, and there are so many. In this volume we are going to focus in on another genre that gets broken up into numerous sub-genres, singer-songwriter, acoustic, indie-folk, pop-folk, alt-folk, yes, I could go on – yet there is another sub-genre that consistently gets included that list, this is what at one time we used to call the blues, now we have labels such as sad, emotive, melancholy, heartbreak, emo, I even saw miserable attributed to a collection of songs recently. OK, not exactly uplifting, yet there is an unusual wealth of impressive songs in these sub-genres – so for the next 60 minutes have a box of tissues ready as we explore music to cry along to.

Computerwife – Lexapro

Born and raised in Atlanta, now based in New York, Adeline Warncke started Computerwife at 18-years-old as a Soundcloud experiment. From her self-titled LP, Lexapro qualifies as maudlin not least of all because of her contorted vocals that sound as if they were recorded in another room down the hall. Do use this cut as an intro to delve into her other songs. The sleeve art is bit scary, too.

Flowerguts – Para

“I wrote this album during the biggest transitional period of my life” says Tomcat of Flowerguts, adding, “I make music sometimes!Halcyon is an album about growing up”. Based in Portland, Oregon they have a surprisingly large back catalogue, almost every track includes that DIY signature hum of lo-fi equipment.  

Winten – Anything You Like

Written over a two year period in the confines of Winten’s bedroom, the album,Waving To My Girl offers a tender and triumphant collection of songs that reflect on romantic and familial heartbreak, growing pains, insecurity and acceptance, all the while acknowledging and loving an ever-present inner child. Sparkling, guitar-led opener Anything You Like contemplates the difficulty of saying goodbye to a love that cannot survive despite the intimacy that engulfs it. Bridgette Winten is an accomplished singer-songwriter from Melbourne, I’m so pleased to include in this show. I do love how so many Australian artists pay respects to the original owners of the land they live, for examplem Bridgette writes, “All songs, written, performed and recorded on land that is rightfully owned by the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land”.

Sulka – Weekend

This Glasgow band is fronted by singer-songwriter-guitarist Lukas Clasen who looks like a much more handsome Tom Cruise says my producer, who reckons she is connoisseur on these matters. Lukas is accompanied by Fionn Crossan, Jimi Maffei, and Niamh Baker with additional backing vocals from Kim Grant and Chris McCrory and a fine effort they have all made on the LP, Distractions.

Babe Martin – Knocked For Six BHX

Babe Martin is the musical project of singer-songwriter Zoë Larsen Cumming from Auckland, New Zealand. Knocked For Six BHX is about the emotional upheaval involved in visiting family in another country. “At its core it’s about living apart from people that you love and the inevitable goodbye after a catch up,” she explains. “It’s about family, airports, and old feelings you’ve not felt in a while sneaking up on you when you least expect”.   Knocked For Six BHX is on Babe Martin’s excellent The Versoix EP. In case you were wondering, BHX is Birmingham airport, UK.

Niika – Sever Ties

Nika Nemirovsky originally from Uzbekistan now resides in Chicago and uses Niika as her stage name. Her captivating EP, Still A Soft One venture into a jazzy vein which works so well with her warm, slightly delicate voice. She’s not whispering, but Niika does sound as if she is in nibbling distance of your ear. Alluring is a description that captures some of the essence of Sever Ties, yet you know the title tells another story.

Primovere – Funeral

You could argue that Primovere are taking this idea of sad songs a little too far with Funeral. Although, if you digest their explanation you my have a different opinion, “Funeral is a journey through the anxieties of the past which, matured under the winter snow, are transformed into the hope of a future light-heartedness in spring. We bury our devotion to what scares the shit out of us, humming scraps of old songs in the shade of a lighthouse”. Primovere hail from Turn, Italy and go on to explain, “We are a collective of 8 people including doctors, nurses and educators. the collective was born in the early spring of 2021 in the thaw of the post-pandemic condition. we put buds and leaves together”.

Kindelan – Can’t Sleep

Laura Kindelan’s debut EP, You Can Reach Me If You Try makes it clear she isn’t about to mess around or hold back, she gets straight to the point, “I wanna get home at 4 am” she reveals at the beginning of Can’t Sleep, adding, “and pretend I never left”. Then follow along with her lyrics and I think you’ll agree she Can’s Sleep because of broken love affair. Great writing here from this talented soulful singer-songwriter and guitarist out of Yorkshire. 

Samana – Seven Years

Ah, yes, Rebecca Rose Harris and Franklin Mocket came to my attention a few year ago. Understandably, I was enchanted by their exquisite ability to create brilliantly-crafted music, loaded with an ambience that is hard to define without writing an essay. Dharma is the couple’s latest EP and as expected, they are in top form sharing intimate stories, but the question has to be, are these true reminiscences or products of their fertile imaginations? No matter, as Samana, Rebecca and Frankie have forged a style that is unique and perfectly lovely. You need to know the cover photo by Rebecca is of naked Frankie scampering across a field. 

Bekah Robertson – Gold

“My album, Searching For Gold is a project that started in 2021,” says Bekah, “I was doing a lot of reflection and creative writing about my life at the time. It’s a journey through love, heartbreak, obsession, mental health, and toxic relationships”. Also know as Bek, the Scottish artist continues, “It’s up to you which songs relate to you and which are cautionary tales. I went through a journey of discovery not only in my songwriting but also in the practical side of music.” This is a remarkable collection of songs with Bekah responsible for everything, including the production. 

Brittain Ashford – Slow Talk

I have played Slow Talk over and over again. Brittain reflects on the death of her father. She say the album is centered around, “finality and making regrettable decisions” By the time the reality of her father’s passing resonated she believed that no one could understand. Adrift and consumed by grief she unceremoniously ended an engagement and found herself attempting to figure out what could possibly come next. This song touches me. Oh, that ending! The production on this LP by Mark Robertson is impeccable. The album is titled Trotter, half of Brittain’s family name, her father’s name. Brittain Ashford, originally from Seattle, now resides in Brooklyn. 

Vargkvint – Hecate

Who needs words when you can make music as emotive as this. Sofia Nystrand grew up n the Swedish archipelago of Roslagen, she lived close by the harbour where ferries arrive from Finland, and her bedroom window offered a clear view out over the ocean. ‘Hav’ took its name from the Swedish for ‘the sea’, and though she lives in Stockholm now, its power and mythology remain a constant companion. “When I’m not close,” she confesses, “I feel a bit disoriented.” The title of Sofia’s album, Månens Hav, you see, means ‘Oceans of the Moon’. So, it makes perfect sense that the title we selected, Hecate was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. Hekate assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone, guiding her through the night with flaming torches. Truly inspirational music.

Wildes ft. The Flaming Lips – True Love (Make Me Believe)

“As someone who has spent hours of my life crying to music, my songs are crafted with 86% teary salt water, I can confirm you can, and should cry to my music”, this is the response Wildes sent to us after we announced this volume was “music to cry your eyes out to”. The British multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter certainly knows how to share her emotions with music, she says, “I wanted to add this final song to the album, Other Words Fail Me as an ode to self love and radical acceptance of yourself, no matter who you are, or what you have experienced. Never in a million years would I have believed The Flaming Lips would be the band to help bring this song to life”. Impressive.

Léa Sen – Luv Him (about u)

The 23 year-old producer & artist from Paris, France, living in London explains, “Luv Him (about u) explores experiences that are deeply real, confronting head-on the unsavory parts of life and of my own mind. On the EP, You Of Now, Pt. 2 I was just a bit more honest with myself about who I am, and how flawed I am. But no matter how flawed I am, I still care for myself”. I love her fragile, almost faltering voice set against glitchy, unknown sound sources. Tantalizing. 

John Calvin Abney – She May Just Be Far

John is out of Austin, Texas, Departure Nocturnes is his third instrumental record exploring geography, weather, memory, and loss. He says the recording took place during spring rain storms at his home studio in south Austin. That detail conjures up a cinematic scene with a slowly panning camera capturing a figure at a piano, silhouetted against an open window with wispy linen drapes softly moving as the natural light pours in, gradually changing from dark and foreboding to bright and golden. The camera zooms in and lingers briefly on the pianist’s hands, then pulls back and continues with a gentle retreat as the image fades to black, or maybe a misty gray, no, perhaps brilliant white and the credits roll…this is how I listen to John Calvin Abney’s beautiful music. Do make sure you search out Abney’s outstanding work. A special note for the captivation sleeve art by Ruth B. Loveland, a visual artist from Norman, Oklahoma. 

…and not a dry eye in the house.

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The artwork is by Gretchen Lowell “Flower study #6” 1998 45″ x 45” digital print on treated paper. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection