Helen Gillet - Bangkok Silver (2020)

 

GENRE : solo cello, singer-songwriter, jazz, folk, experimental, Belgium,

RECORD LABEL : self-released

Here's a wonderful experimental cello singer-songwriter album that I randomly discovered on Bandcamp. Helen Gillet is a Belgian-born songwriter and surrealist-archaeologist. Her music is a beautiful and interesting mixture of folk, jazz, pop, funk and classical. I found this album to be very enjoyable and impressive, not only for its various musical stylings and superb cello playing - it's also an interesting mix bag of different moods and emotions. Gillet's songs range from introspective and melancholy, to fun and bouncy, to joyful and amusing, to experimental and strange. She sings in two different languages - English and French. I personally don't know which songs are originals and which are covers, but it doesn't really matter because she makes all these songs her own. I particularly love the first two songs.

I really wish she'd sort out the colour design of her Bandcamp page though. All that white text on white background is painful on the eyes, haha!

Stream/Download the album here :

https://helengillet.bandcamp.com/album/bangkok-silver

Liebeskid - Silvery Clear and Snow (2021)

 

GENRE : singer-songwriter, dark pop, downtempo, dark ambient, trip-hop, Germany

RECORD LABEL : self-released

Liebeskid is a solo music project of Anja Nischwitz - a Russian songwriter living in Germany. I randomly came across this song while I was trawling through Bandcamp. It's a slow dark haunting ballad that makes me feel like I'm dissolving. The song is driven by dramatic tremolo'd keyboards, and backed perfectly with bursts of pulsing dark trip-hop electronics, and Nischwitz's beautiful accented vocals centered down the middle of the mix. A lovely winter song. She has a bunch of other songs/releases on Bandcamp too. Go check them out.

Stream/Download the song here :

https://liebeskid.bandcamp.com/track/silvery-clear-and-slow

Renée Reed - J’ai rêvé EP (2021)

 

GENRE : dream folk, indie folk, dream pop, Cajun, singer-songwriter, acoustic

RECORD LABEL : Keeled Scales

Straight from the prairies, this is a wonderful little fantasy folk EP by Cajun songwriter Renée Reed. It consists of two English language originals and two French cover songs. Instantly her voice reminds me of Hope Sandoval (one of my all-time favourite singers) and 60's French pop extraordinaire Francoise Hardy. These 4 songs are languid and dreamy. It brings to mind hazy summer fields and sweet birdsong, daydreaming amongst the flowers.

After writing this I realized that this EP is actually an accompaniment to her self-titled debut album, which I haven't listened to yet. I was tempted to scrap this write-up and review her full-length album instead, but then I figured that this EP could use some love as a stand-alone release. Why not? I love EPs, and you should definitely give this one a spin. Or at least a good old click.  

Stream/Download the EP here :

https://reneereed.bandcamp.com/album/j-ai-r-v

Charlotte Carpenter - Blood Ties pt.2 (2018)

 

GENRE : alternative rock, alternative folk, singer-songwriter, indie rock, indie folk, alternative folk

RECORD LABEL : Babywoman Records

I first became aware of English songwriter/musician Charlotte Carpenter via the podcast appearance she did on The Subliminally Inevitable Show, where she discussed her record label Babywoman Records and her own personal story as a DIY songwriter, musician, and entrepreneur. I really enjoyed listening to what she had to say. She seemed like a cool, sweet, fiercely independent woman that's wise beyond her years, and works really damn hard to carve out her own little niche in the big bad world of music. I knew I had to check her music out, and her record label.

Her songs generally tend to fluctuate between raw powerful alt-rock and delicate acoustic indie folk. Regardless of what musical direction she chooses to explore, she always packs a hard punch.  

'Blood Ties pt.2' isn't one of her newer singles, but who cares. It's an unsettling yet beautiful reflection on the nature of loss and grief, and how these terrible but inevitable human experiences affect relationships.

Charlotte is currently working on her debut full-length album, which I'm looking forward to hearing.

Stream/Download here :

https://charlottecarpentermusic.bandcamp.com/

Babywoman Records :

https://babywomanrecords.bandcamp.com/

Grouper - Shade (2021)

GENRE : experimental pop, ambient, singer-songwriter, noise, drone

RECORD LABEL : Kranky

Grouper is the music project of experimental songwriter/musician Liz Harris. Her latest release is 'Shade', and it's my personal favourite work of hers to date. Beautiful, bare, stripped-down, sleepy, introspective folk music mixed with tape loops and ambient noise experimentations. It's almost unbearably raw and intimate, with room sounds, squeaky fret noises and owls hooting in the background. I personally hope she releases more albums like this. 

Stream/Download the album here :

https://grouper.bandcamp.com/album/shade

William Patrick Corgan - Cotillions (2019)

GENRE : acoustic, alternative folk, americana, country, roots, singer-songwriter,

RECORD LABEL : Martha's Music

William Patrick Corgan is Billy Corgan. Billy Corgan is William Patrick Corgan. This guy shouldn't need any introduction. He gets a lot of shit from the media, and people in general, but he's a truly incredible artist/musician, and his three solo works to date (TheFutureEmbrace, Ogilala & Cotillions) are among my favourite albums of his vast discgraphy, and easily rival/exceed anything he's done with The Smashing Pumpkins.

I really wanted to NOT like 'Cotillions'. I think it takes audacity to release a 17-track album, but it's so damn good if you let it play out. There's only maybe 1 or 2 songs that I could take or leave, which is pretty impressive. I do admit that there's an undoubted samey-ness to the songs on this album, but it's a beautiful album to take in in its entirety during long drives through barren country landscapes. The lyrics are mostly nonsensical (ridiculous) to me, but I accept them. They do resonate in some strange way that I'm unable to put my finger on. 

Overall I do love this album. One that gets better and better with subsequent listens. Available to buy from Amazon, iTunes, etc...