Hans Hjelm: The Night Electronic

Swedish composer and guitarist Hans Hjelm started out as an indie rocker, before going into jazz and ending up - for now - as a progressive electronic music explorer. On his new album The Night Electronic he went back to the instrumental tracks from his previous release Into The Night and invited singers Hildur Höglind and Viktor Westerlund to bring their A-game supplying dreamy vocals.

The five tracks deal with human insecurities. Bookended by Mantra and its reversed titled Artnam it is a search for clarity. Anyone who has been lost in thought about what it the meaning of life is, while staring at the sea (Shores) or watching nightfall (Aftersun), can relate to a concept like this. The two CD only reworked bonus tracks of his first album Factory Reset are nice of have, but they take away a bit from the carefully curated flow of the core album.

Ciao Lucifer: Do Do Do

photo: Bibian Bingen

Dutch indie pop duo Ciao Lucifer label themselves proudly as feel-good musicians, but the lyrics dig a little deeper. Their new single Do Do Do is about a guy who has taken the empathy thing a bit too far, shouldering other people's burdens, while the involved party could be better off trying to deal with it and find a solution that will actually solve the problem. Note the use of a bespoke 10-string guitar, which can handle the bass part as well.

Martyrs: "Twist The Cap" video

Welsh synth duo Martyrs have made a video for Twist The Cap, a track from their Church Street EP: "It may seem that Michael Hall and Jon Howells are making it up as they go along - synth driven 80s inspired dance is not associated with meaningful lyrics, so superimposing their easy-on-the-ears music with challenging words feels a bit awkward at first. Having the best of both worlds is no mean feat, and it made the completion of this collection of songs a cumbersome process. Thankfully they persisted."

» Martyrs on Bluesky

HCTF review of the Church Street EP

DBA!: Little Rivers

Liverpool based indie rock quartet DBA! turned up the bass for their new single Little Rivers and threw in a Pixies-esque guitar for good measure. The boredom of going through the motions in converations they could not care less about - "How's the wife, how's the kids" - is almost palpable. They are on the way up, while the other hopefuls in the music scene they dedicate this song to got proper jobs and maybe already mortgaged up their lifes. video was directed by Dylan Cubbin.

Leah Callahan: Our Lady of the Sad Adventure

Boston indie singer Leah Callahan hits the ground running on her new album Our Lady of the Sad Adventure with the sprawling opener Fall in Love with your Mind, mixing shoegaze and psychedelic rock, a musical love baby conceived by the 60s and 80s. Callahan shuns the sign-posted main roads. As a long serving member of the Boston underground in bands like Turkish Delight and Betwixt before flying solo, she does not have to prove anything.

Her legacy is intact, but by adding more albums on a regular basis, she is still growing and challenging herself. The hirsute main riff of New Punk almost drowns out her vocals, but she raises to the occasion. Title track Our Lady of the Sad Adventure is smooth, but not schmaltzy, making yacht rock cool for a change by adding gnarly sounding synths as a counterpoint for the tight rhythm section./p>