Deep Dark South
Bendrix Littleton
«Bendrix Littleton is the writing and recording project of Nashville-via-Dallas musician Bennett Littlejohn. The project’s namesake, Maurice Bendrix—the protagonist of Graham Greene’s 1951 novel The End of the Affair—is described by enotes.com as «sometimes an unreliable narrator, for he is so consumed by jealousy, self-pity, self-hatred, and bitterness, that he measures everyone else by himself…[and] confesses that from time to time ‘a demon’ takes possession of his brain. It’s an appropriate moniker for the self-aware, malaise-filled songs of Bendrix Littleton’s debut, Deep Dark South. While in the album is imbued with the contradictions and painful beauty of the modern American South (as opposed to Greene’s WWII-era London), the hazy, solitary narrative voice remains.»
NNA Tapes, September 2020
Hyper Romance
Jadu Heart
«Jadu Heart, otherwise known as Bristol-based duo Alex Headford and Diva Jeffrey, have always been a bit of an elusive proposition. Last year’s debut album Melt Away moved from trippy-pop one minute to experimental bedroom electronica the next, their sound as hard to pin down as the pair themselves, who preferred to hide behind their masked alter-egos, Dina and Faro. On their second album, Hyper Romance, it’s all change. The masks and monikers have been ditched for distorted guitars and delay peddles. The result is a very grungy take on the ecstasy and tragedy of falling in – and out – of love. Jadu Heart’s romantic vision is full of pagan imagery: the object of their affection a devil with ‘snakes in her hair, rejecting heaven and dancing in the fire.» (NME)
VLF Records, September 2020
The World is Really Fucked but This Show Will Be Pretty Good
Rachel Lark
A nice piece of trash from Oakland-based singer/songwriter Rachel Lark who is back with a presciently comedic single and video, The World’s Really Fucked But This Show will Be Pretty Good. Featuring toilet paper thrones and an upbeat soundtrack to the apocalypse, it follows the release of ‘The Unicorn Song’ and is the second offering from Lark’s new EP Sex and Balances. She says about herself: «I’m Rachel Lark, and I’m a multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter who has made a name for herself amongst perverts, psychedelic party throwers, festival attendees, and college students. My music is weird, disruptive to the patriarchy, and sexually explicit. That’s why all of my support has come from badass weirdos like yourselves. You’ve given me love, loyalty, and occasionally, your money!»
DU Rec, September 2020
The Ascension
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens grows on you. On and his first album in five years, the art he works with is alluring, the sound somewhat like a later day version of Jon & Vangelis. There’s an invitation to escape the woes of the world but it also beckons us to relax and let ourselves sink into the day. Just as we do, the tone becomes more urgent so that we soon think we understand that we are being led to some kind of cosmic cataclysm. That’s when things become playful, and the beat goes on to rock us before taking on a more sacral turn. Stevens was born in Detroit. He plays a large number of instruments and has been the recipient of a number of music awards. His eight’s album is positively psychedelic. (sgs)
Sufjan Stevens, October 2020
Something More Live Performance (Ibiza Lockdown)
Roisin Murphy
Murphy’s distinctive voice and style first rose to fame in the late nineties as a part of the trip hop duo Moloko, together with partner Mark Brydon. She’s originally from County Wicklow in Ireland but moved to Manchester as a teenager. Roisin Machine, the new album this song is taken from, is her fifth as a solo artist. It seems less raw than her former work despite Roisin running around in a sheer green nighty, reminding me of dancing to glam rock in a discotheque, but in soulful way. «The clip for ‘Something More’ is part of a whole series of innovative ‘Live at Home’ videos created in recent months. In ‘Something More’ a camera follows Murphy on her way through the splendor of an empty Italian villa before finally diving into the pool.» (sgs)
Skint/BMG, October 2020