Bat Fangs "Queen of My World"
Born of a shared love of hair metal, partying, and the reckless spirit of rock and roll, Washington D.C./ Carborro, NC duo Bat Fangs brings a fiery combination of shredderistic guitars and heavily harmonized hooks. Guitarist/vocalist Betsy Wright (Ex Hex) and drummer Laura King (Mac McCaughan, Speed Stick) united after playing a show together in their respective projects, with the goal of pushing Wright’s pop focused songwriting in a bolder, brasher direction. Taking up the primary songwriting role and shifting to guitar, Wright steps outside of the typical Ex Hex sound with Bat Fangs’ rowdy rock.
Elena Setien "Unfamiliar Minds"
Basque artist Elena Setién shapes the ethereal into immediate on the stunningly pristine songs of Unfamiliar Minds. Her command of melody and resolute voice are complemented by lush arrangements that surround the listener in a world of intimate beauty. Setién is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, collaborator and improviser, having worked with artists like Mary Lattimore and Steve Gunn as well as composing for film and television. On Unfamiliar Minds, Setién reflects on isolation, confusion and harnesses uncertainty with optimism on ten ghostly wonders that capture ineffable feelings in radiant detail.
Maya Shenfeld "In Free Fall"
Sounding like Caterina Barbieri covering Wendy Carlos’s gamechanging “A Clockwork Orange” OST, Berlin-based artist Maya Shenfeld’s debut is a thoughtful, gorgeous expression of limber synth technique and advanced compositional skill.
Shenfeld’s musical background is diverse: she’s played in punk bands, composed for new music ensembles and worked in a fine art context. On “In Free Fall” she attempts to distill her experiences into a coherent whole, and does so while taking thematic cues from German artist and theorist Hito Steyerl, whose work is referenced in the title. Shenfeld originally trained as a classical guitarist and studied composition before having her horizons expanded by punk and improv. More recently, she studied with Italian modular whizz Caterina Barbieri, whose influence looms large in Shenfeld’s harmonious synth-led compositions.
Phew "New Decade"
Phew, the prolific Japanese experimental artist also known as Hiromi Moritani, has announced a new album. New Decade is out October 22 via Mute—her first release for the label since 1992’s Our Likeness. The lead track is “Into the Stream.” Check out the video directed by Lisa Aoki below.
According to Phew, the album centers on the perception of time. “During the ’80s, and up until the ’90s, things progressed along a line from past to present to future, but I think that’s changed, especially since the start of the 21st century,” she said in a statement. “Personally speaking, I’ve stopped being able to see a future that extends from the present.”