zakè: Statica Memoria

Analogue loving ambient musician Zach Frizzell does not like to rush things with zakè project. Kicking off his new album Statica Memoria with two slowly unfolding tracks, All Things Made Distant and No More Forever, both lasting nearly half an hour each, is asking quite a lot from the listener, but for those who are willing to give in, it turns into a very relaxing experience.

The warm sounding drones and occasional shifts in tempo and volume are trance-like, with the details slowly showing themselves, requiring undivided attention. The Light Was Withdrawn and the title track Statica Memoria are relatively short, but their slow moving washes of textures are as equally intense. Frizzell's classical training enables him to project an emotion by taking resonance to its outer limits.

Kristóf Hajós: Dark Matter, Light Heart

photo: Marcel Heijnen

Amsterdam-based Hungarian indie crooner Kristóf Hajós teamed up with like-minded American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Blake Rundle for his new album Dark Matter, Light Heart. Rundle wrote and performed nearly all of the music, providing a safe space for all the doubts and fears that Hajós put into his words.

After tackling ageing on 6:00PM and feelings of displacement on Geography, he is now going for a lighter, more contented and self-assured approach while confronting life's roadblocks and pitfalls. Naming one of his songs Bravo, You Made Me Cry sums up that attitude quite nicely. And laughing at yourself with Oh Hope, You Whore can be helpful as well.

Martyrs: Grey Wolf Grey

Welsh synth duo Martyrs are in full-on retro mode on their new single Grey Wolf Grey, using every '80s production trick they had at their disposal as they look into the mirror to find out that their hair has lost its shine and is turning grey. Lamenting the fact that nobody warned them that this could happen - "They don’t sing about it on the radio".

Jon Howells put his recently acquired Fender Bass VI to good use to supply both rhythm and melody, besides his array of guitars, synths and choice bits of tubular bells. Singer Michael Hall unleashed his inner New Romantics crooner capabilities. It does not sound new, but it does sound that it has been always there waiting to make itself finally heard decades after it was created.

Bad Waitress: In The Hollow

Toronto quartet Bad Waitress have left the constraints of punk far behind on their In The Hollow album. The anger and angst are still there, but they cast a far wider net both musically and lyrically. Naming one of their songs I Wish I Was A Mars Volta is a dead giveaway. They have inserted elements from art-rock, noise and progressive metal into their sounds, plus quite a few good old power chords, as the solid bit adventurous backing for songs that deal with gender and sexuality, growing up in the sticks and rampant consumerism.

They cover a lot of ground, running the risk to take on more than they can chew, but somehow it all fits. It has been five years since their previous album No Taste, after which the band members went their separate ways before regrouping and discussing what they had learny in between. That pause plus life experience did wonders for the intensity and far more mature subjects that have found their way into their art.

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.

Barbican Estate: Atlas

Japanese duo Barbican Estate quickly made a name for themselves in the UK underground scene after their moved to London in 2022. On their new single Atlas they cherrypicked drone elements of synth-driven downtempo and post-rock on top of a motorik back beat.

It is easy to picture them on a small stage bathed in strobe lights as they stretch the song even further than the six minutes of this studio effort. Too much of a good thing? Not for fans of the Durutti Column and Can, who will have no trouble let themselves be transfixed, with a few choice guitar notes to break the spell every now and then.

British Birds: Murmurate, Oscillate

English quartet British Birds have come up with a loveable mix of psychedelic garage rock, XTC-flavoured New Wave and the Kinks in their late '60s early '70s vaudeville leanings. Murmurate, Oscillate is an album that is bursting at the seams with musical ideas, a true cornucopia of twists and turns, plus it will have listener reaching for the dictionary more than once.

They face life's relational stumble blocks with a wry smile and the occasional snide remark (Blame Game), but they don't a turn a blind eye to the world's more pressing problems as well. Some of their friends joined the army and came back with a bad case of PTSD (Polka Dot Eyes). The insightful lyrics deserve undivided attention. The darkness is never far away, but throwing a joyous blanket over it will offer a bit of reprieve.

Low Horizon: Weak

Houston, TX lo-fi rock trio Low Horizon are back with Weak, their new single as a taster for their forthcoming full-length A Hundred Times The Same Way. The foundation of the track is a growling and unrelenting guitar riff propping up singer John Gottlieb celebrating coming out of his shell now that he has found love, but also slightly worried that it might not last.

Alex O'Toole & Simeon Bartholomew (n000000000): n000000000.1

Australian noise duo Alex O'Toole (drums) and Simeon Bartholomew (guitar) are about creating music on the spot n000000000 project, as an outlet besides their usual forays into math rock and post-rock in various bands in the Sydney underground. After performing all improvised live shows they decided to lock themselves for an album, so that a wider audience can find out what they are all about.

Careful listening to each other when embarking on such a journey is key, because it would all fall apart if they wandered off into different directions. O'Toole and Bartholomew have developed an instant rapport, enabling them to lock into a groove and make a sharp turn that they did not know was coming until it presented itself as a logical step for the piece.

Salomea: axxxis

With their amalgam of jazz, soul and hip-hop German-American quartet Salomea made friends in both genres, and quite a few outside those two three. On their latest album axxxis the band's 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.

With a band that can follow every subtle turn she throws at them, with drummer Leif Berger working a double shift as the driving force and safety net, Rebekka Salomea is ready to make a mark outside Germany. She has a voice that loses none of its power when she turns it down to a whisper. This is their fourth album, so putting on an one hour plus show with high-quality songs just outside the mainstream is no problem at all.

Lost Signal & The Happy Somethings: Stairs from the Moon

Some things are not supposed to work, but somehow they do. Stairs from the Moon, a collaborative single made by Matt Couchman electronics project Lost Signal and twee trio The Happy Somethings, is a fine example for getting it right against all odds. Wrapped in Couchman's Ultravox-esque soundscapes, the trio's shared vocals manage lift-off in a dreamy trip to outer space. There, being freed from everyday hassles, they can claim everything as belonging to them, as kids like to do when they are convinced that they are the centre of the universe.

Jo Carley And The Old Dry Skulls: Boneyard Rituals

English old school vaudeville blues trio Jo Carley And The Old Dry Skulls are branching out soundwise on their new album Boneyard Rituals. Stephane Spitz came on board to play saxophone on about half of the tracks and there is also an on point instrumental, The Dread, that deserves to be used for a late night horror show on TV. Core members Jo Carley and Tim Carley have been at it since 2014, always looking for new ways to play music that sounds as old as the hills.

Lucky for them there is always an audience for upbeat tongue-in-cheek songs about the devil, the full moon, the walking dead and black magic. Shuddering a bit while being fully aware that nothing of it is real feels nice. Who wouldn't want the opportunity to get his or her life in order by summoning an entity that can grant that wish?

Gary Calamar: Odd Numb3rs And Slanted Rhymes

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Gary Calamar's album Odd Numb3rs And Slanted Rhymes is the kind of record that could turn up after a house was razed to the ground to make way for something new and ugly. His love for gentle melodies is both timeless and seriously out of step with is fashionable right now, but make no mistake: his lyrics will raise some eyebrows in stuck-up households who will cry wolf when they are being exposed to "Well, you can meditate while I masturbate. We'll see who finishes first". Music geeks will have field day collecting all the references he sneaked into songs.

Calamar's mix of power pop and psychedelica plus his way with words make Odd Numb3rs And Slanted Rhymes an album made by a fan of music for fans of music, provided they have a sense of humour. And as a respected music supervisor for TV he could get hold of Robyn Hitchcock, Maria Taylor and Mark Mothersbaugh who all said yes to his request to supply some backing vocals. The songs are easy on the ears for sure, but only careful listening will unveil all the layers of this tapestry of sounds and lyrical wit. He is a lovable smart ass, the kind of guy that who can derail a polite conversation with an off-the-cuff remark that people can't help laughing about.

Scaled Alps: Let the Alpine Play

Californian quartet Scaled Alps are all over the place on their Let the Alpine Play album, switching between goth, psychedelic, rock, funk, rap and jazz without missing a beat. They tried to capture Los Angeles by night, where the promise of sex, looking for a high and the danger of violence are caught up in a never-ending tug of war. The overall sound is a bit muffled - especially the vocals - as if the band were recording the songs in a safe spot, hiding from the rage outside.

It is a sonic portrait of the seedy side of the City of Angels (or any big city for that matter). The band obviously have a love-hate relationship with their place of residency. Pointing out the gems lying in the dirt gets equal billing with the horrors. Sunny-side up real estate brokers and soccer moms will hate it, but fans of bands like Bauhaus and Nick Cave an the Bad Seeds can pick it up without blinking an eye.

Wyatt: Morning

Manchester slacker garage rockers Wyatt wrote their debut single Morning shortly after an amp broke down during a show. It made them realise that such a thing isn't that big of a thing to worry about, because shit happens. If anything, they got a nice melancholic tune with a hint of optimism out of it.

Morning is released via Heist or Hit, available on all the usual digital outlets. The video was directed by Seth Lloyd.

Female Gaze: linea nigra

photo: Clay Lyon

Tuscon, AZ based alt-rock trio Female Gaze throw a spanner in the works to kick off their linea nigra. The short instrumental the future is already hurting me starts with birdsong and takes a sharp left with a power chord that sounds almost Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger segueing into morose, pondering bass part setting the stage for the title track, a meandering track with just a hint of Tex Mex.

They are not afraid to push repetition to the limit, creating tension and only offering release when it suits them. Female Gaze create their own safe spaces and don't welcome outside visitors with open arms. A song like mamaya may contain surf elements, but its undertow is treacherous, with singer Nelene DeGuzman acting a captivating indie rock siren. This is an album that is an emotional roadmap and the sign-posted song titles along the way make it clear that some of the destinations are not particularly wholesome. Get on board and get lost.

Age of Life: Emergence, Pt. 1

You can think big and you can think really big. German musician Chris Burda, half of post-rock duo Collapse Under The Empire, has tried to capture the story of the evolution of life on planet Earth by writing cinematic synth-driven pieces about notable geological periods, to be released on two albums. Naming his solo project Age of Life he realised that such an undertaking could be a lot to take in, so the first album will be available shortly, while the second one will see the light of day in 2027.

Emergence, Pt. 1 deals with the early stages of life, which started out as unicellular living organisms that became more in the Cambrian era. The continents were adrift - they never stopped - and the first signs of consciousness popped up. Nature had to compete with unfair odds and life was nearly wiped out more than once. Burda took a bird's eye to all that, cherry picking from the highs and lows..

Simon Karolis: Furious Racehorse

Simon Karolis, nom-de-plume of Dutch musician Arend Jan van der Scheer, has come out of hibernation with Furious Racehorse, the lead single for his forthcoming album Where To Find Back The Flow. He was the lead singer of LPG, an indie band who made three well-received albums between 2005 and 2012. He has been flying solo since then.

Currently working as a teacher in The Hague he had to squeeze in the recordings of his new songs between his day job and domestic chores. The soft-spoken folk-tinged single is about dreaming about bigger things, but being held back by reality. Spoiler: he is the horse and he does manage to break free in the end. Ilse Hamelink played a wonderful melancholic yet powerful violin part. He shot the video in the dunes near The Hague, with his son Isaac lending a hand.