David Boothby: We Pretend We Are Birds

David Boothby, member of post-rock act Peninsula, recorded a few solo pieces in his home in Wales. It was a long time coming - he started tinkering in 2021, but the result is a cohesive EP, We Pretend We Are Birds, with three tracks that should be enjoyed as one long track. He was inspired by his two daughters tottering around the house and while many other artists put their offspring in the vocal booth and/or have them playing along, Booth only used a few vocal snippets and let the music itself do the talking.

With elements of synth-driven progressive rock and gently meandering soundscapes, Boothby created a longform lullaby of sorts, a dreamy excursion that will give kids a handle what music for grownups can be. No sign of condescending easy-on-the-ears melodies with lazy percussion bits that are repeated ad nauseam. His bandmates helped him out a bit, but the tracks are his babies alright.

Words about music (849): Otis Redding

If you want to be a singer, you've got to concentrate on it twenty-four hours a day. You can't be a well driller, too. You've got to concentrate on the business of entertaining and writing songs. Always think different from the next person. Don't ever do a song as you heard somebody else do it.

Otis Redding

Voyage 35: "Departures" CD for sale at European tour dates

Bassist Colin Edwin and former PT touring guitarist John Wesley will play the early Porcupine Tree stuff with their Voyage 35 project, with Alessandro Vagnoni on drums and Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari on keyboards and vocals. The merch table will have copies of their Departures CD, with their take on The Nostalgia Factory, Even Less, Signify, Dark Matter and The Nostalgia Factory (Headphone Binaural Mix). They also bring the band's original light show, Fruit Salad Lights, with them.

The Happy Somethings: A Healthy Dose Of Hope

English twee trio The Happy Somethings set out to record a wealth of optimistic songs for their new album A Healthy Dose Of Hope. Not the naive kind, mind, or the even worse cheesy ones. So the prospect o becoming a mother soon also comes with the realisation that a drink will come in handy to keep a modicum of sanity in the middle of sleep depravity (You'll Grow Up Quick) or settling for hanging out with a friend when the love or your life has not shown up yet (Just Being With You).

With wit and sarcasm playing catch, A Healthy Dose Of Hope is a reality check that will put a smile on the listener's face. It will take off one's mind from the troubled times, replacing big worries with a peak into the band's domestic ones. They make it sound so easy, but most musicians will come up short try writing ace lo-fi songs with earworm potential. Plus they are awfully prolific too, which is a bit unfair for all those struggling artists whose wells have ran dry.

Icarus Phoenix: Choke

Singer-songwriter Drew Danburry wrote a deceptively upbeat song about running away from toxicity. for his folk rock band Icarus Phoenix. Choke finds him breathing freely again and the relief is almost palpable. As per usual the track is also available as a solo acoustic version, which is actually far more intense than the full band version.