Wow, what a great name for a band - there's no swiping past aliensdontringdoorbells (yes, it's written like that) is there? The name came from a witnessed conversation between a six year-old and an old man on a New York Subway platform. The man turned to the boy and...
Kiirstin Marilyn: There Are No Cats in America
New York based Kiirstin Marilyn's new album, released in October, is an album like no other I've heard this year. There are No Cats in America is a thirteen track look at the human race, our relationships with each other, with animals and with society in general, and...
Giulia Millanta: Tomorrow is a Bird
Italian singer songwriter Giulia Millanta has been based in Austin, Texas, for some time now and it seems to agree with her; she has just released her seventh album, Tomorrow is a Bird. A born storyteller, Giulia's lyrics weave their way through ten Americana / rock...
Artio: Stand Alone and Do Your Dance
Leeds band Artio (Hol Brazill, Ieuan Jones and Rob Arkle) released their third EP in September, finding that the pandemic fuelled creativity and so ventured into the studio to record, live music laying somewhere between limited and non-existent these days. Stand...
Good Habits: Going for Broke
As places to be stuck in lockdown go, New Zealand would seem to be a good one. Luckily for both them and us, that's where UK alt folk duo Good Habits have been - the March lockdown came at the end of the New Zealand tour and they haven't been able to move since. I...
Michael Bernard Fitzgerald: Love Valley
One of the things we have learnt in 2020 is how much we value the small things in life; the intimacy of just being with someone, creating memories, feeling love, feeling at home. Although we may have valued those things before, it's taken a global pandemic for us to...
English Rain: Echoes of You
As I write, I'm sitting in rain lashed London, listening to an eminently listenable band called English Rain, who hail from Australia. Strangely, although I've not tended to write often about Australian musicians, this is the second in succession and the third in the...
Sarah Jane: Tainted Timeline
Australian singer and songwriter Sarah Jane has made a name for herself in the world of alt rock and her second album, Tainted Timeline, released on 23 October, is another venture into this genre, with more than a smattering of folk tones added to the mix. Written and...