Further Listening:

5. Windowsill Leave A Lasting Impression

Windowsill is the project of Matt Maruskin, something of a regular on the music scene of his home city of Los Angeles, where he has spent several years performing both under the Windowsill moniker and in various other projects. The world last heard from Matt back in 2018 following the release of his album Say for Certain, and for his next move he is picking up where that record left off. Written in the aftermath of that record, Matt’s new record Dwindlesill has been a number of years in production, only completed to Matt’s exacting standards after he upgraded his entire records setup. With that record set for an October release via Anxiety Blanket Records, this week Matt shared the second single from it, Lasting.

Described by Matt as, “a belated love letter”, Lasting sets out to discover, “a clearer narrative from this time that was ultimately complex and confusing; a time guided by my own romantic passion and fettered by our incongruence”. Clocking in at the best part of nine minutes, Lasting is a delightfully shuffling affair, shifting subtly as it moves from the creaking minimal intro through to the understated drive of the middle section. Particularly wonderful is the drum track, while it feels effortless and lilting, it is anything but, taking on an almost jazzy quality as the sticks clip the cymbal rims amid the crack of the sharp, splashy snare. The track ends, both surprisingly and delightfully, with a gentle collapse into the sort of wheezing organ outro that wouldn’t sound out of place on a King Creosote record. Complex, intriguing and pushing the boundaries of what their music is known for, this is Windowsill at their most ambitious and hints at very exciting things to come when Dwindlesill lands in our lives next month.

Dwindlesill is out October 18th via Anxiety Blanket Records. For more information on Windowsill visit https://www.instagram.com/damnwhatthehell.

4. Another Day Another Umarells Single

Quickly becoming something of a fixture around these parts, Umarells are a Manchester-based five-piece, formed on a trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and named in honour of the Italian word for retired men who watch construction sites. After releasing their debut single last November, and subsequently making their London debut at our now retired monthly gig nights, the band have been making quiet waves as they build to the November release of their debut EP, One More Day, the title track of which the band shared this week.

One More Day is a song about “one of our really close friends and missing them”, as guitarist Josh Yeung put it, “it’s a dedication”. While the subtext here is of loss and a longing for what was, it is not a song that seems to revel in sadness, instead it shimmers with the positivity of happy memories, “we were younger then, we’re even younger now in our hearts”. It’s only towards the song’s close as the guitars seem to swell around vocalist Imogen Badrock that the sense of loss overwhelms the memories, “can’t take the days without you, another drink without you, another laugh without, another dance without you”. There’s something emotive about the music Umarells make, something in the dancing melodies and driving guitars, they’ve just got that it factor, that feeling of a band who are on the verge of something really special.

One More Day EP out November 8th via Fear Of Missing Out Records. For more information on Umarells visit https://linktr.ee/umarells.band.

3. Haley Heynderickx’s New Single Is Blooming Marvelous

I was getting very excited last month when Haley Heynderickx shared Seed Of A Seed, her first new material since releasing her stunning debut album, I Need to Start a Garden, some six years ago. Haley ramped things up a notch this week, as she confirmed that track was the title track of her new record, which will arrive at the start of November via Mama Bird Recording Co. Celebrating that excellent news, Haley also shared the second taster of the record, in the shape of her new single Foxglove.

Similarly to much of Haley’s work, Foxglove has a certain escapist quality to it as she explains the track is, “my daydream tune craving a slower and simpler pace of life. Sometimes it all feels so far away – living in a city being so removed from a life entwined with nature”. As ever with Haley Heynderickx’s music as much of the story is in the music as the words, the drum-beat skittering like a train carrying you away, as the acoustic guitars flitter and bound like a seed head in the breeze, the two play off beautifully, pulling at your soul like the city and countryside, the busy chaos and the quiet solitude. Atop it all is Haley’s vocal, she too seems to be being pulled in different directions, “tell me truly what is your dream? Tell me truly is it the city life?” Despite the poised delivery, there’s just a hint of melancholy lingering in her voice, a sense that while there are moments of togetherness, can two souls with such opposite baseline desires ever truly coincide anywhere outside of daydreams, “we grow tired over the day, we grow tired over and over thinking”. As beautiful, mysterious and compelling as ever, the long wait for Haley Heynderickx’s return is proving very much worthwhile.

Seed Of A Seed is out November 1st via Mama Bird Recording Co. For more information on Haley Heynderickx visit https://www.haley-heynderickx.com/.

2. It’s Time To Shower Shower Curtain In Praise

Featuring on these pages back at the start of August, Shower Curtain are a four-piece NYC band led by Brazilian-American artist Victoria Winter. That was around the release of Wish U Well, the near title track of their upcoming debut album, Words From A Wishing Well. Since then the band have been touring extensively with Bleary Eyed and Flooding, and return this week with the latest taster of their debut, in the shape of a new single, Benadryl Man.

A song exploring Victoria’s relationship with, “sleeping and anxiety”, Benadryl Man is something of an insomnia-induced nightmare, as she explains, “I see a figure sitting on my couch and it prevents me from entering a stage of peace, moreover not feeling safe in my home“. That in-built creepiness is mirrored in the instrumentation, a Wednesday-like slice of bedroom-noise, complete with strings and distorted, gliding electric violins. The whole thing has a sense of dreamy unease, the glistening vocals meeting a steamroller of distortion and feedback, a visceral slash of angsty apprehension. Sinister, creepy and just a little unhinged, Shower Curtain’s take on a nightmare is no easy listen, but it sure is exciting.

Words from a wishing well is out October 18th via Angel Tapes / Fire Talk Records. For more information on Shower Curtain visit https://www.showercurtainband.com/.

1. Ead Wood Are Just Treemendous

A regular on the fertile Bristol music scene, Ead Wood began life in 2018 as the solo project of songwriter Ed Soles. Since then the band have expanded to their current five-strong lineup, performed at festivals from Glastonbury to Dot-to-Dot, shared stages with the likes of Siv Jakobsen and Oracle Sisters, and released a string of well-received singles and EPs. Following up on last year’s EP, A Sparkling Gift, and recent single Menu, this week the band shared their latest single Peace In The Pines.

Peace In The Pines takes its inspiration from a month-long cycle trip Ed took in Spain and Portugal. It was a trip that inspired Ed not to settle down, or at least not to settle, as he explains, “there is always pressure to ‘settle down’, buy a house, get a steady job but it’s just as important really to find space for new adventures and experiences, if not at least that sense of wonder and beauty that can only be found in nature“. Recorded with producer Tim Rowing-Parker, the track’s sound seems to have little to do with either Bristol or Iberia, instead, it leans into the world of breezy, West Coast Americana, all lithe guitar lines, breathy vocal chimes and flourishes of slide guitar, as Ed longs for the freedom he felt, “I wish I didn’t have to go, I wish that I could stay, one more week or one more day, I found peace in the pines, the purple heather and the goarse, gonna leave it behind, of course, of course, of course”. Particularly lovely is the brassy breakdown, reminiscent of the likes of Here We Go Magic or Strawberry Runners as Ed dips away from the centre stage to let the horns do the talking. There’s a playfulness here that runs through Ead Wood’s music, a sense of gradually working out a path for their music, one that’s never looked more promising than it does right now.

Peace In The Pines is out now via Breakfast Records. For more information on Ead Wood visit https://linktr.ee/EadWood.

Header photo is Ead Wood by Sofie Keller