Yumi Zouma "Present Tense"
Yumi Zouma, the collaborative long-distance project originally created between friends online, have been self-producing their infectious blend of delicate pop tapestries by way of home recordings since the release of their debut EP in 2014. Composed of vocalist Christie Simpson, bassist / vocalist Josh Burgess, guitarist / multiinstrumentalist Charlie Ryder, and drummer Olivia Campion, Yumi Zouma have returned with Present Tense, the band’s fourth and most comprehensive studio album. On Present Tense, Yumi Zouma bolster their sonic palette with an arsenal of live drums, grand pianos, orchestral strings, and woodwinds, to develop a sonic confidence that has grown with the release of 2017’s Willowbank and 2020’s Truth or Consequences.
Recorded in between Los Angeles, London, Florence, New York and New Zealand, Present Tense effortlessly glides between ballads like “Where The Light Used To Lay”, and bangers like “In The Eyes of Our Love” – arguably one of the most immediate songs the band has ever written. On “Mona Lisa”, the quartet adds to their vast collection of undeniable melodies, with Simpson’s adlibs and harmonies shining bright atop a battery of percussion and saxophones.
Little Boots "Tomorrow’s Yesterday’s"
“Arriving seven years after ‘Working Girl’ – Little Boots’ most recent LP and the second to be released on her independent label On Repeat Records, after 2013’s ‘Nocturnes’ – the album was conceived during a time of global uncertainty and one that saw singer-songwriter Victoria Hesketh facing a situation that rings true to many worldwide – out of work with an abundance of time on her hands.
‘Tomorrow’s Yesterdays’ sees the hitmaker return to her roots, self-penning and producing the majority of the record’s 11 tracks from her parents’ home near Blackpool in the north-west of England, where she started out her career on YouTube, sharing videos of herself performing and developing a devout fanbase that has stuck with her for over a decade.”
April March "In Cinerama"
April March has quite the resume: an animator on Pee Wee’s Playhouse and for Madonna’s “Who’s That Girl” video, and collaborating with Brian Wilson, Jack White, LL Cool J, Jonathan Richman, Ronnie Spector and Bertrand Burgalat. But she also has an acclaimed recording career, heavily influenced by French pop music, making a name for herself in France with her self-produced albums as well as albums with Bertand Burgalat and Aquaserge.
Following a quarter century of recording, March unveiled In Cinerama as a vinyl-only release for Record Store Day in 2021. It was an unprecedented success, selling out of its small run before most could hear the magic. In Cinerama has a wide sonic span from Nigeria to California, with Fela Kuti’s drummer Tony Allen at the helm and The Beach Boys’ Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford by his side, as well as talented friends ranging from the French underground to Nashville; The 11 tracks, co-written and co-produced by Mehdi Zannad, recall the 5th Dimension, Belle And Sebastian and even your favorite Gainsbourg or Curt Boettcher productions but stand on their own just as fresh and contemporary as the waves of Malibu or a Parisian Uber.
Drug Church "Hygiene"
Drug Church is a band without fear. For the past ten years, the Albany and Los Angeles-based five-piece have been staunchly creating their own singular path in making distinctly outsider music that’s somehow at once welcoming and instantly satisfying. The band’s songs revel in sonic contradictions, seamlessly combining crushing aggression with bulletproof hooks, while the lyrics unflinchingly explore life’s darkness and discomfort with sardonic wit—and without judgement. On Hygiene, their impending fourth full-length, Drug Church is as uncompromising as ever, and it has resulted in their boldest set of songs to date. Drug Church are still demanding that the listener comes to them, not the other way around, and with Hygiene, they just might.
Hygiene is in fact an incredibly appealing album despite being difficult to categorize—or perhaps because of it. Recorded with producer/engineer Jon Markson and clocking in at a lean 26 minutes, the record makes it abundantly clear that Drug Church aren’t content to rest on their laurels. Across ten strikingly dynamic songs, Nick Cogan and Cory Galusha alternate between massive riffs and some of the most unexpectedly melodic guitar playing that has ever touched Drug Church’s music, while Chris Villeneuve and Pat Wynne’s rhythm section unflaggingly shakes the ground. The band’s foundation in hardcore still provides plenty of stagedive-inspiring energy, but even Patrick Kindlon’s signature roar has taken a tuneful turn with layered vocals, raw harmonies, and cadences hooky enough to have listeners shouting along after one listen.