Edition #109
Today, we recommend the new songs by Tusks, GHLOW, Pina Palau, Clocktopus, and Michele Ducci.
This week’s edition has two faces: a loud, overwhelming, maybe even aggressive one and a soft, tender, calm one. Yet both are equally intriguing—from the sensitive ballads of Tusks and Michele Ducci to the raw power of GHLOW and the gigantic opulence of Clocktopus.
You can listen to today's curation on selected streaming services:
Spotify • Apple Music • YouTube Music • Bandcamp
Tusks – Body Ache
Featured last year with the exceptional Artificial Flame, Tusks’ next album release, Gold, is coming closer. Body Ache is the latest and last single, perfectly incorporating the essence of the British singer-songwriter’s beauty: A slow ballad maximising effect through radical minimalism. Tusks leaves room for brief silences and places subtle decorations into the song’s composition.
GHLOW – Levitate
Last week, the Stockholm-based duo GHLOW released their new album, Levitate, including a namesake track. The sound of Emille de Blanche and Nikolay Evdokimov is abrasive. The guitar screams and lurches like sirens in the night. Chainsaw synths. Levitate lingers between the raw energy of punk and the melancholy of post-punk—but primarily, the song is an unstoppably forward-pushing bolt of energy.
Michele Ducci – River
Italian musician Michele Ducci used to be one-half of the electro-pop band M+A. Now, Ducci switches lanes, pursuing another sonic vision that results in River, the first single of his upcoming album, Sive. The song is a hauntingly stunning piano ballad, highlighting Ducci’s whispering-smokey voice. River flows slowly yet with intense intimacy, providing a calming counterpoint to NYC’s overstimulation, which prompted the song.
Clocktopus – My Riders
The Dutch band Clocktopus is a beast with many tentacles, each bringing different sounds to the table. The collective built a studio in the Thai jungle and recorded an album. And the result—as demonstrated in the track My Riders—sounds incredible. A groovy banjo hook meets raspy vocals until the composition explodes in shouts and massive brass lines, and strings add depth in the background: It’s an overwhelming thing.
Pina Palau – Get A Dog
Swiss singer-songwriter Pina Palau just released her second album, Get A Dog. The namesake song is a heartfelt indie-folk song, warm and earthy, accompanied by captivating storytelling. Driven by a steady beat, the slow electric guitar spreads tenderness, while the acoustic one indulges in playfulness. Get A Dog warps around you like a blanket and crawls under your skin.
