On The Stereo: March 2022

Celebrating our pick of the month’s best new music, featuring Elles Bailey, Brooke Combe, Phoebe Green, Margaret Glaspy and more

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RIDING OUT THE STORM BY ELLES BAILEY
Such is the quality of Elles Bailey’s new album Shining In The Half Light that we could pick any of its 10 tracks and it be a worthy choice for our stereo. Forced to choose, we’d go for the smoky songcraft of recent single Riding Out The Storm – but we thoroughly encourage giving the whole record a spin.

MY VOICE BY NUHA RUBY RA
A rumbling riff sets the ominous tone on My Voice, the latest slice of post-punk from Nuha Ruby Ra. As the song shifts and slides and the beat waxes and wanes, the only constant is a captivating sense of unease.

THE GOOD YEARS BY ROXBURY
With its combinations of dazzling synths, unshakeable drums and urging bass, The Good Years by Roxbury, New Jersey’s Rigbi is like a car ride late at night – the street lights still shine bright but the roads are clear and you can get where you need to be.

MAKE IT EASY BY PHOEBE GREEN
Make It Easy is the captivating new single from Manchester’s Phoebe Green. There’s an other-worldly aesthetic that will appeal to fans of Billie Eilish’s ‘bury a friend’ and the innovative percussive flares only add to the dark electro-pop feel.

THE ICK BY PANIC SHACK
We all know about The Ick, that moment when someone does something that’s such a turn-off there’s no way back. On Panic Shack’s incendiary new single, that point comes when a date makes a cuppa and puts the milk in first. Unforgiveable!

MISS ME NOW BY BROOKE COMBE
Every new song from Brooke Combe feels like a giant step forward and Miss Me Now is her latest leap. With a sultry riff and steady beat adding a dance feel to her soulful rhythm & blues sound, it’s also a sign of her impressive versatility

Brooke Combe: Miss Me Now is a sign of her impressive versatility. Photo: Island Records

BUMMER YEAR BY GOOD LOOKS
Bummer Year is a moment of quiet contemplation from Austin’s Good Looks that finds singer Tyler Jordan reflecting on old friendships and divergent paths in life. The ruminative midpoint guitar solo perfectly echoes the song’s sentiment.

SIDEWAYS BY FLASHER
On new single Sideways, Flasher return with an expanded palette. Now a duo of Emma Baker and Taylor Mulitz, each based on a different side of the United States, the space between them provides ample room for sonic exploration

MONEY WORRIES BY BLOOD
What starts out as a funky post-punk salvo on Money Worries soon mellows out into a dainty acoustic passage. The gear shifts don’t end there as the Philadelphia-based sextet Blood lurch irresistibly back to life.

LAST LETTER BY ALASTAIR BROWN
Armed with little more than his guitar and achingly sincere voice, the emotion at the heart of Alastair Brown – singer/songwriter’s Last Letter isn’t just real, it punches you in the stomach to ensure you feel exactly what he’s going through – powerful stuff!

LIGHT PINK BY PALM FRIENDS
“Warm me up like butter in a pan on low heat,” sings Shawna Stennes on Light Pink by Minneapolis alt-rock band Palm Friends. It’s a fitting line for a song that, before you know it, has completely melted you with its slow-burning charm.

CALL ME BY JUICY
Belgian alt-pop duo Juicy are back with their latest effervescent banger, Call Me. Taken from debut album Mobile, there’s a magpie-esque ability to gather as many shiny things as possible into their musical nest

PARCEL DECHAMP BY FAKE TURINS
Parcel Duchamp is the latest offering from North London art-pop collective Fake Turins. With hints of The Magic Band, there’s alchemy to be heard in the way all the disparate elements materialize and meld together.

HEART SHAPE BY MARGARET GLASPY
With her up-close vocals and the song’s similarly forefronted guitar, there’s no room for singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy to hide on Heart Shape. Not that we’d want her to, her openness and warmth remain as positively affirming as ever.

Listen to these songs and other On The Stereo selections on the Songwriting Magazine Spotify profile

Click here for more new music

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