Animal, Surrender! "A Boot For Every Bane"
Back in 2023, bassist Peter Kerlin (Sunwatchers, Chris Forsyth Solar Motel Band, Bent Arcana, Everloving) and drummer Rob Smith (Gray/Smith, Rhyton, Pigeons) ritualistically burnt their passports, ate the ashes, and began conspiring together under the guise of Animal, Surrender!
Kerlin’s spidery and melodious 8-string electric bass pushes the expected language of that instrument into terrain more often inhabited by lutes or pianos, and begs to interweave with a drummer like Smith who slyly punctuates, hisses, and propels against the grain. The duo’s often wordless music is spun from threads of lost folksongs and polyrhythms into hypnotic, latticework compositions whose melodies and beats shift like cat’s-cradles strung between their constantly moving hands.
Their eponymous debut on Ernest Jennings Record Co. in 2024 found haunting covers of Nick Drake and Mike Wexler lurking amongst a tangle of lean, progressive originals, all crafted with the terse economy of post-rock, but reflecting a kaleidoscopic, pastoral vision in its eyes.
Their forthcoming album, A Boot for Every Bane (2025 EJRC), builds upon the incantatory language of the first while inviting the talents and mercurial instincts of pipe organist Curt Sydnor (Greg Saunier, Yonatan Gat, Peni Candra Rini) into the magick circle.
Laveda "Love, Darla"
With Love, Darla, Laveda creates visceral sounds that mirror the harsh noise and static of the sprawling cityscape. Genevich’s lyrics reflect chaotic nights stumbling through the city in a drunken fog, confronting the anxieties of a conflicted and incongruent world, and the struggle to find and hold onto things worth loving and living for. The record begins with a minute of guitar feedback building into the driving No Wave-esque song, “Care”, which sounds like a lost track from Sonic Youth’s Sister. Songs like “Cellphone” and “I Wish” are motorik, muscling forward with spoken, prosaic lyrics that read like abstract poems. “Dig Me Out”, on the other hand, is a more heartbroken effort with a soft gravity that pulls you into its calm undertow- a likely favorite for fans of bands like Blonde Redhead. Wholly, the record is familiar yet fresh, harnessing the power and aesthetic of 80’s punk and 90’s grunge- filtering them through a fresh and original contemporary lens. Love, Darla is a masterful exercise in fusing memorable ear worms and frantic, eruptive energy- an active volcano.
Now with the support of Bar None Records and their dense and legendary catalogue of artists behind them, Laveda continue their prolific journey. With Love, Darla, Laveda’s listeners will ride through the dark undercurrents with them- feeling the packed heat of the cluttered subway car and hearing the steel and concrete grinding together as sparks ignite in flashes of light. They will also ride the line as it emerges into the light of day, moving across open water- the world opening up to see the clouds busting in the sky like dying stars exploding in an unimaginably beautiful, exciting, and endless universe. description
Ivy "Traces of You"
The impossible happened: Ivy returns with 10 new songs, built from original sessions with Adam Schlesinger and completed with care.
Traces of You captures their timeless magic along with the help of Bruce Driscoll (Freedom Fry), Jody Porter and Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne), Eric Matthews (Cardinal) and Joey Waronker (Beck).
La Chooma "Local Spirits"
Psychedelic dub, Afro-Latin rhythms and cosmic grooves come together on La Chooma’s self-titled debut for Batov Records. Drawing on Moroccan Gnawa, Colombian cumbia, Afrobeat, Jamaica dub & roots, and cosmic jazz, the six-piece ensemble create deep, hypnotic music rooted in global traditions and shaped for contemporary dancefloors.
Having already captivated local audiences with their hypnotic, organic live performances, La Chooma – now a six-piece ensemble – have been steadily building an international following. Initial singles “Magic Plant” and “Huachuma” earned support from tastemakers including BBC Radio 6 Music’s Deb Grant and Tom Ravenscroft.
La Chooma draw dotted lines across time and space, finding hidden connections and shared frequencies, pulling threads together into a sound that hypnotises the mind and moves the body.