K Á R Y Y N "PHYSICS UNIVERSAL LOVE LANGUAGE (PULL)"
KÁRYYN creates music at the intersection of sound, spirit, and physics – sonic worlds that don’t just describe emotion, they conduct it. PHYSICS UNIVERSAL LOVE LANGUAGE exemplifies this, with a title that encapsulates her lifelong endeavor to translate love into systems of energy and truth. At its heart, PULL is a left of center pop album about courage: the courage to collapse, to love, to surrender, and to emerge.
Built from voice, strings, modular synths, and gravitational rhythms tuned to 432Hz, the album incorporates arrangements informed by Armenian and Middle Eastern musical traditions, woven subtly through rhythm and melody. KÁRYYN’s voice remains the centre throughout, shifting between fragility, intensity, and control as the music moves between intimate and expansive states.
PULL is a bold, transcendent journey through KÁRYYN’s own human revolution. It is about gravity. About the collapse and coherence that define human experience. It is, in every way, a gravitational pull toward the truth: a sonic architecture of love, rupture, and rebirth.
Koyo "Barely Here"
From Pitchfork…
Barely Here’s an immediate, deeply earnest album; the members of Koyo seem to really believe in the power of this sound, and they want you to believe, too. Joey Chiaramonte’s impassioned vocals cut through the shimmering crunch of “Jet Stream Wish,” elevating what should sound like Hot Topic pastiche into a tight-sounding throwback anthem. The singles are clear highlights: the pit-ready “You Hate Me”; “Irreversible,” which recalls The Movielife with the spite dialed way up. The pummeling riff that powers “It Happens to the Best Of Us” sounds primed for either the KROQ Weenie Roast stage or an American Pie sequel trailer. In the wrong hands, those points of reference could land like an affectation, but instead, the band’s embrace of them feels genuine.
Sharkswimmer "Course Correcting"
Written over several months and recorded with producer/engineer Brian Dimeglio (Bartees Strange, Pinkshift, Superbloom) and mastered by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Koyo, Soul Blind), Course Correcting is, at its core, a remarkably well-crafted, aggressive alt-rock EP that befit the band’s DIY roots. Disarmingly earnest lyricism that evokes the most heart-wrenching ballads of ‘90s emo serves as a perfect counterbalance to the record’s sonic aggression, anchoring it to the humanity that makes up the record’s spiritual center. Largely a vehicle for vocalist/guitarist and principle songwriter Justin Buschardt to exercise the emotional trauma of divorce, Course Correcting explores the universality of heartbreak against a backdrop of anthemic, guitar-driven tracks that would be as at home on the Jade Tree catalogue of the 90s as they are next to contemporary acts such as Drug Church or Militarie Gun.
Miss Grit "Under My Umbrella"
For their second full-length album, Under My Umbrella, Miss Grit has lifted the lid on their internal world, lasering in on the anxieties and heartbreak of the past two years, following their acclaimed debut Follow the Cyborg.
On this album, Margaret Sohn – aka Miss Grit (they/she) – channels the noirish atmosphere of classic trip-hop bands, while adding a hefty dose of maximalism and a dream-pop sensibility. The title is a nod to the iconic Rihanna song and embraces Sohn “…letting people in more on this record and trying not to shy away from that. I’m leaving the cyborg behind, I’m letting it all out.”
This record started to take shape when Sohn returned from an intense touring schedule where they’d driven themself around North America totally alone. When they returned home, Sohn found themself yearning to capture that specific, less restrained energy of playing live.
Under My Umbrella not only presents Sohn’s gift for complex production, but also the boldness of finding your voice, and ultimately is about coming to terms with yourself, your imperfections, and your complex interior world.
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