Further Listening:

5. adults Aren’t Crying It’s Just Been Raining On Their Faces

South London is a fertile breeding ground for the DIY indie-punk sound, but few do it better than adults. The quartet of long term pals who initially bonded over their love of indie-pop, DIY, and Burgess Park, have gradually carved out a niche for themselves in the UK-scene, cemented with their 2022 debut, for everything, always. For their next move, adults took to, “rooftops and warehouses in South London” and spent three months with “long-time co-conspirator”, Rich Mandell, crafting the songs that would become their upcoming second record, the seeds we sow are sprouting buds nonetheless.

Described, somewhat self-deprecatingly, by the band as some, “bouncy, fuzzy junk about miscommunications in love”, crying finds adults, at their rapid-fire best. As the lyrics find them worrying about a potential conversation that hasn’t even happened yet, the music too has a certain anxious swirl, the lead-guitar whirring like an unresolved rumination, as the rollicking rhythm section clatters and hums along like the middle ground of Trust Fund and Los Campesinos! Sure, they still maintain their aversion for capital letters and way with a brilliant melody, but here adults show they’re moving forward without forgetting where they came from. No tears please – adults are on fire.

the seeds we sow are sprouting buds nonetheless is out October 31st via Fika Recordings. For more information on adults visit https://www.sclubadults.co.uk/.

4. Lael Neale Brightens Up Any Morning

It was back in April that Lael Neale shared the breezily unforgettable charms of her latest offering, Altogether Stranger, a record that found Lael, “oscillating between rural solitude and urban chaos” as the Virginia raised musician returned to the LA buzz. As Lael prepares to embark on a European tour, this week she shared her new single Some Bright Morning, an outtake from the Altogether Stranger sessions, now getting its own moment in the spotlight.

Some Bright Morning’s protagonist is wonderfully relatable, asking what it is to be a human in a polarized world and questioning the “grass is always greener” mentality that powers consumerism and the endless drive for self-improvement, “that’s always pulling us out of the present moment”. Musically, Some Bright Morning, perhaps surprisingly considering it just didn’t make the cut, does seem to pick up where Altogether Stranger left off. So yes, the omnichord, so key to Lael’s earliest material, remains as omnipresent as ever, but while it was once a wistful comfort blanket, in recent material Lael has really found the knack of giving it the perfect accompaniment. Here we get Lael’s take on the 60’s girl band sound, all driving Velvet Underground-like guitar chords, shakers, and skittering drumbeats. It would make a great soundtrack if anyone were to ever undertake an arthouse remake of Austin Powers. Atop it all remains Lael’s voice, the ultimate cherry on the top; she has that natural, effortless cool that so many have failed to pull off over the years, from the exquisite tempo changes to the gentle vibratos, even her wordless do-do-dos at the song’s close are the stuff of magic. Lael might have been, “feeling like the end of times was with us”, but like the rest of us, she knows the only answer is to get up, try again, and hope that the bright mornings that make it all worthwhile are coming to us all.

Some Bright Morning is out now via Sub Pop. For more information on Lael Neale visit https://laelneale.com/.

3. Tyler Ballgame Believes In A Thing Call Love

One of this summer’s breakout stars, Tyler Ballgame has become the name on everyone’s lips. It’s all pretty far removed from the pivotal moment that brought Tyler here. He was in New England, depressed, isolated by the pandemic, and living in his parents’ basement. There, he realised he was destined to make music, “I think I’m meant to sing for people”. Tyler put himself out there and grafted. When New England didn’t work out, he took an office job in Los Angeles, having never set foot there before, and threw himself into the open mic scene and was embraced by the musicians who heard his remarkable voice. Everything came from there; he met the people who would produce and perform on his record, and the seeds of For The First Time, Again, his debut album, were planted. With the album set to arrive in January, this week Tyler shared the latest taster of it, I Believe In Love.

The song marks another turning point in Tyler’s work, representing the first time he wrote a song knowing it would appear on his debut album, producer Jonathan Rado telling him to, “write the biggest song in the world“. Written over two days at this kitchen table, the result is Tyler’s version of, “an anthem about love of love and the fools it makes“. The song feels like a gentle departure for Tyler, his unmistakable croon initially accompanied by fuzzy bass flourishes and ticking drums that put me in mind of Matthew E. White. From these lovely, but relatively muted beginnings, the song really explodes into the chorus. Tyler sings, “I believe in love and that’s fine”, before a Randy Newman like descending piano part takes him swooping away into the realms of the just plain gorgeous, even as the lyric descend into admonishment, “was it so naive to think it wanted me alive?” Tyler Ballgame doesn’t need me to tell the world about him, his path is set and he’s going to be a thoroughly deserving star.

For The First Time, Again is out January 30th via Rough Trade Records. For more information on Tyler Ballgame visit https://tylerballgame.com/

2. Looney Bergonzi are The School Band You Always Wanted

A six-strong collective from Bristol, Looney Bergonzi variably describe their music as, “Post (Art School) Jangle” or, more simply, “Non-Pop”. Whatever they might entitle it, the band’s music is starting to catch some good sets of ears. With no music in the world, they’ve already opened for Mermaid Chunky, toured with Louis O’Hara, and now found a record label to call home, BWGiBWGAN (pronounced Boogie-Boogan), a Welsh independent label run by some excellent people with excellent pedigree. The band are set to release their debut EP, Looney Bergonzi, EP1, in November, and this week shared their debut single, Year 6 Disco.

As you might expect from the title, Year 6 Disco is a flashback to 2011, and the primary school leaving creators thoughts and anxieties at the time, “all your friends are dancing, wearing sparkles, sliding to the left, then to the right. You’ve convinced yourself you’re a vampire and you decide sulking under the table balancing cola and lemonade is the most mysterious thing you can do. The lights don’t turn green for you“. While I don’t want to besmirch their non-pop stylings, Looney Bergonzi are thankfully more accessible than that might suggest; the sing-speak vocals will appeal to fans of Dry Cleaning, while there’s also something of the lo-fi ramshackle of the likes of Honeyglaze or Westside Cowboy. Where they really excel is the sheer array of ideas on show, and the way they fuse them in a coherent fashion, we’re greeted by angular guitars that have a touch of midwest emo, and joined by flourishes of folkish violins, Do Make Say Think-like jazzy post-rock drum rhythms, and gorgeous twin vocals, writ large with the lonely life of the outsider. Early days of course, but Looney Bergonzi feel like they might just be the right band at the right moment, after fourteen years of waiting, the lights are turning green.

Looney Bergonzi, EP1 is out via BWGiBWGAN Records. For more information on Looney Bergonzi visit https://www.instagram.com/looneybergonzi

1. Intention Is All Dead Gowns Ever Wanted

Dead Gowns, aka Genevieve Beaudoin, is an artist who has been popping up on these pages from time to time for a number of years now, first catching my ear with 2022’s How You Act. Even at that point, Genevieve had already been active on the New England scene for a number of years, with a debut EP released all the way back in 2018. All this meant that the February release of the debut Dead Gowns album, It’s Summer, I Love You and I’m Surrounded by Snow, was undeniably a long time coming, and thankfully well worth the wait. This week, Dead Gowns announced a new pressing of the album was on the way, and with it shared a brand new Double-A single, Everything You Wanted/Intention.

The lead track, if the presence of a music video is anything to go by, Everything You Wanted is, “a song about failure. About recognising limitations or maybe just the impossibility of a situation”. The whole track is writ large with the pain of an unspoken ending, as Genevieve sings of how, “it’s not like it was but it’s not like it wasn’t”, over a backing of tumbling pianos and swampy, smouldering drum rhythms. Intention is arguably an even more fully realised piece of songwriting, all twangy guitars, textural percussion, and swelling brooding intensity. Genevieve’s mesmerising vocal has never sounded more like Mother’s Kritstine Leschper (pretty much the highest compliment I have), as she wrings every drop of emotion out of a tale of fights that repeat on a loop and the friend who’s got the strength to pull you out of your own personal Ground Hog Day. This is a timely reminder of the many gifts Genevieve Beaudoin has at her fingertips. She is a songwriter with that magical quality to stop you in your tracks, who just seems to be getting better with every release.

Everything You Wanted / Intention is out now via Mtn Laurel Recording Co. For more information on Dead Gowns visit https://www.deadgowns.com/.

Header photo is Dead Gowns by POND Creative