Elmer: nothing

Lo-fi musician Eddie Mead has been releasing music in various guises for over 20 years. Naming himself Elmer now he resurfaces with a new album after a 5-year hiatus brought upon him by (mental) health issues. He named it nothing, a self-deprecating title for a journey into his inner self by way of shoegaze, sludge, psychedelica and sounds inspired by old school arcade games.

He has obviously has had a hard time getting rid of his demons - some of the meds took away all joy in his life. By using a shitload of tracks some of the tracks come close to collapsing, but it when it somehow clicks - as in the sprawling hosting ghosts and the slow moving wimpontherocks - Mead manages to get a grip on both himself and the listener.

heavyskint: Headstone

Scottish blues-infused rockers heavyskint pinched just a bit from All Along The Watchtower for their Headstone single, probably not enough for having a day in court for copyright infringement, but it will give them a way in into the boomers market.

The song deals with making mistakes and not being to rectify them properly, which pisses them off. Plugging in and churning out a track with plenty of swagger was a good way to blow of some steam. The video was made by Daniel Blake and Jamie Kelly.

HCTF premiere - Temp Wishes: Mist Into the Morning

Chicago-based Josh Chicoine (The M's, Cult Canyon), Edward Anderson (1900s, Mazes), Colby Starck (Mar Caribe, Bobby Conn), and Glenn Rischke (AM Slingers, Bora Bora) are early risers, taking a walk with Mist Into the Morning, the new single by their Temp Wishes. They take it slow in '70s funk kind of way, serving up a leisurely mix of percussion, bells and whistles, and the sounds of the great outdoors. They obviously know where they are going, but there is no need to name a definite destination.

Their self-titled debut album will be released on vinyl on November 6 via Sanzimat and Rattleback Records.

Salomea: "stick around" video

Watch the Salomea video for stick around, the opening track from their axxxis album: "Singer and composer Rebekka Salomea leads her band through emotional minefields, snapshots taken during night life and of course the wicked ways of love. While the subject matter has been covered umpteenth times, she has found new ways to tell the tales that need to be told."

The Gentle Spring: Down with Love

Anglo-French melancholic pop trio The Gentle Spring show off their education by quoting Shakespeare's famous line "If music be the food of love, play on" spoken by Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, in Twelfth Night at the start of the video for their new single Down with Love.

It is a nice contrast make a song sounding a tad optimistic while being seriously disappointed. Lead singer Emilie Guillaumot nailed those mixed emotions rather well. Love is likened to a game of scrabble and sometimes one might stuck with a subpar set of letters.