The Matinee ’22 v. 035 is a very special edition. For starters, each of the nine songs are either from a woman singer-songwriter or a female-fronted band. Second, nine different countries are represented (actually 11 since two artists are multinational). It’s like we’re having our own little Eurovision, and one of the artists will be participating in the mega-music competition.
If you’re in the mood to judge more music, there is always the Songs of March 2022 playlist on SoundCloud and Spotify.
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys – “Autobiography of an Evening” (Berlin, Germany via Johannesburg & Cape Town, South Africa)
RIYL: Emma Ruth Rundle, Chelsea Wolfe, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
In Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys‘ near-decade as a band, they’ve turned melancholy into a stark and spine-tingling affair. They are a more melodic Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, but equally as gripping as indicated by recent singles, “Play” and “Amsterdam”. That is until now, as the Berlin-based collective deliver arguably their bleakest and most tantalizing number on “Autobiography of an Evening”.
This song is deliciously devouring and wonderfully foreboding with the drums trembling and the electric guitar ringing with sinister effect. Kruger’s voice is both calm yet ominous, and she sounds like she is about to enter a life where night exists for eternity. That she is the sacrifice so that another person can feel power and liberation.
“The smallest hurricane
Has slipped between my lungs
Won’t you help me get it out
With a blade a breath a tongue
Let’s suck all the light
From the core of the night”
Simply awesome from one of the most underappreciated bands on the planet. From a band that to us is one of the best around today.
In addition to Kruger (vocals, guitar), the band includes Liú Mottes (guitar), Andreas Miranda (bass), and Martin Perret (drums, percussion and electronic production). Their new album, Teen Tapes (for performing your own stunts), will be released on June 4th via German Unique Records and Polish Schubert Music Europe. Pre-order it on Bandcamp.
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Jenny Berkel – “Kaleidoscope” (Ontario, Canada)
RIYL: Reb Fountain, Sandy Denny, Cowboy Junkies
The release of Jenny Berkel‘s third record, These Are The Sounds Left from Leaving, is a long time coming. Berkel’s sophomore record, Pale Moon Kid, was released almost six years ago, and it gained a lot of attention. Her songwriting truly stood out, as Berkel could effortlessly transplanted listeners into her songs. Since then, she’s become even more of a wordsmith, releasing poetry and other literature as well as creating some incredible music.
On “Kaleidoscope”, the latest single from These Are The Sounds Left from Leaving, Jenny Berkel’s music is as captivating as ever. Starting with just gently strummed acoustic guitar, Berkel’s voice paints a picture of a night drive through America. It’s a reflection on how easily people are sold lies, and how language loses its meaning when fiction becomes accepted. Musically, the single is a true stunner. Berkel’s vocal range is impressive on “Kaleidoscope”. At times her voice is deep, and others it soars above the track. Underneath lies some gorgeous strings, which are provided by Colin Nealis, who’s worked with Andy Shauf and The Deep Dark Woods recently.
Pre-orders for Berkel’s forthcoming new album, These Are the Sounds Left from Leaving, are available at these links and directly on Bandcamp. It will be released on April 8th via Outside Music.
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Kindsight – “Queen of Cowboys” (Copenhagen, Denmark)
RIYL: Camera Obscura, Sixpence None the Richer, Hater
If the calendar read March 1992 or even 2002, Kindsight would probably be every other person’s favorite band. With songs like “Don’t You Grow Up”, “Sun Is Always in My Eyes”, and “Hi Life”, their music would have been on movie soundtracks, such as Empire Records, She’s All That, and Cruel Intentions. Maybe this generation will have its own renaissance of coming-of-age films, so that this great little Danish band can reach a broader audience. In the meantime, they’re darlings of the Scandinavian indie sphere with their diverse and unpredictable sound, but they should pique more ears with “Queen of Cowboys”.
With its bubbly twee notes and catchy, jangly guitar riffs, memories of Camera Obscura and Sixpence None the Richer in their prime will stream through older music fans’ minds. For younger listeners, they’ll get to understand why the music of ’90s was considered to be more than just entertaining but symbols of millions of disenfranchised younger people. The alluring qualities of “Queen of Cowboy” represent the hopes and dreams while the angst-inflicted vocal and lyrics of Nina Hyldgaard Rasmussen reflect those same dreams being quickly dashed. On this tune, Rasmussen tells the story of a woman trying to make ends meet through nondescript means. She is, however, still royalty.
“Evita
Was living on a corner
She had a stand
But slingin’ information didn’t warm her
Queen of cowboys on her way
All the cowpokes scream hurray
Queen of cowboys on her way”
Kindsight are Nina Hyldgaard Rasmussen (vocals), Søren Svensson (guitar), Anders Prip (bass), and Johannes Jacobsen (drums). Their new album, Swedish Punk, arrives March 25th via Rama Lama Records. Pre-order it on Bandcamp.
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HVOB – “A Piece of Me” (Vienna, Austria)
RIYL: Trentemøller, Dahlia Sleeps, M83
After sharing “Eyes Alive” and “Bruise”, HVOB‘s fifth album, Too, is shaping up to be one of those rare electronic outputs – a sensational out-of-body experience. As such, the LP will be best experienced in places with no distractions, so that every beat, tone, key strike, rhythmic pulse, and lyric can be consumed. Anna Müller and Paul Wallner’s ability to make music that sounds like it originated in a faraway place or dimension is what separates HVOB from other electronic duos. They take us on one of the most gorgeous, cinematic journeys of the year with “A Piece of Me”.
This song was made for the cinema. Loosely following the patient, widescreen blueprint that Anthony Gonzalez (M83) used to score the soundtrack for Oblivion, Müller and Wallner create a stunning, cosmic drama. While the soundscape hovers where only the stars exist, Müller’s tale is very much grounded on Earth. She shares her experience living in a toxic relationship, where even to this day the very sight of the other person leaves her battered. “Every time I see you / You take a piece of me”, she lushly yet powerfully sings. For all that he took from her, Müller has the final say, and her words are like daggers. “You never listen, you just take / And I know you’ll never find love because you never pay full attention / And that’s not love”.
April 8th is when we’ll get to fully experience HVOB’s art on TOO. It can be pre-ordered here.
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Honeyglaze – “Female Lead” (London, England)
RIYL: Molly Burch, Why Bonnie, Roller Derby
When a band can get a rising TV and film star to be in one of their videos, you know they must have a good thing going. And do Anouska Sokolow (vocal, guitar), Tim Curtis (bass), and Yuri Shibuichi (drums) have a great thing happening with their project, Honeyglaze. The young south London trio could very well be the UK’s biggest breakout stars of 2022 with their infectious pop, insightful stories, and their debut album arriving just after Easter. Jojo Macari, star of Netflix’s The Irregulars and Sex Education, sure thinks so as he is featured in the opening scene of “Female Lead”.
Inspired by The Shangri-La’s “Leader of the Pack”, Honeyglaze deliver their interpretation of retro Brit-pop, and it’s a gem. The song is breezy and delightful, creating the sensation one gets when walking outside on a beautiful spring day. Although the track is based on the sounds of the ’60s, it also possesses a contemporary slant, namely in Sokolow’s saccharine vocal and her ’80s-inspired story. She sings about wanting to dye her hair blonde after watching her favorite film, which seems innocent enough. Dig deeper into her lyrics, however, and her tale is also a critique of the entertainment industry, where the blondes have and continue to get the prime roles.
“I watched my favourite movie
And thought that maybe I could be
Just like the female lead
So I went out to buy some bleach
I put it in my black hair
And waited for an hour
But when I washed it out
Oh, God, I’ve let my mother down
I look nothing like Madonna
More like an ’80s horror film
I’ll have to wear a hat
Until my golden hair turns black”
This clever track is from HONEYGLAZE. Pre-order the LP ahead of its April 29th release at at these links. The album will be released on Speedy Wunderground.
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Sea Lemon – “Turn Away” (Seattle, USA)
RIYL: Hazel English, DIIV, Alvvays
We’ve talked a lot about 2021 being a hard year to follow up for fantastic debut records. However, in under three months, 2022 is already giving last year a run for its money. One debut we’re waiting for this year is from, Sea Lemon, the solo project of 26-year-old songwriter Natalie Lew.
Sea Lemon released their first single, “Sunday” late last year. With the hazy dreampop single came an announcement that Sea Lemon plan to release their debut EP in 2022. Lew then followed that up with the lush stunner “Fortune Teller”.
Sea Lemon are back again with their third single, “Turn Away”. “Turn Away” is a nostalgic dream pop song, like the first two Sea Lemon singles. Jangly guitar defines the song’s sound, and it’s a perfect complement to Lew’s voice, which has an intentional lo-fi quality to it. The pairing is just magical, and only adds to the perfectly constructed vibe on “Turn Away”. There’s plenty of great guitar work on the song, from the leads to the hypnotic jangle under everything. Like many artists, Lew looks back at the last couple of years and how social interactions have changed from being isolated, and how that can contribute to social anxiety.
The single is out on Spirit Goth Records.
Mi Von Ahn – “Satellites” (Umeå, Sweden)
RIYL: Land of Talk, The Weather Station, The War on Drugs
Some artists embrace you with their music. Others, you wish you could reach through the speakers and embrace and thank the artists for creating a song with which we can empathize. For creating a song that we think is about us. If we could do this, we would hug Mi Von Ahn immediately after “Satellites” finishes.
A warmth swells within the track, as the arrangement possesses a similar slow-building urgency heard in The War on Drugs’ and even Fleetwood Mac’s music. The interplay between the rhythm guitar and the echoed chime of the second guitar establishes the dreamy tone at the start and then the lithe drums and the pulsating bass take over. Von Ahn’s lush voice is not heard until just after the 30-second mark, but when it arrives our attention is fixated in her direction. We listen intently to her words, which explain how we all try to be someone else. We become satellites encircling the orbit of others in order to appease them in order to be accepted. However, we may be doing more harm than good. We could be destroying ourselves and the relationships we’ve forged.
The song is taken from Mi von Ahn’s forthcoming new album, Reverie, which includes the stirring single, “Damaged Goods”. The LP is out March 25th on Bolero Recordings.
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Amanda Tenfjord – “Die Together” (Trondheim, Norway)
RIYL: London Grammar, Holly Humberstone, Cannons
When Amanda Tenfjord released her debut single, “First Impression”, back in 2018, we never forgot about her, sharing her music in the four years since. She captivated us with her stirring voice and the intimacy of her music and songwriting. Soon, she’ll get to leave a lasting first impression on the rest of the world, as she’ll be representing Greece at Eurovision 2022. While she was born in Norway, her full is Amanda Georgiadis Tenfjord. So one country’s loss is another nation’s gain. But regardless of nationality, fans of the popular music contest will be blown away when they hear “Die Together”.
Tenfjord’s voice is at first streaked in autotune while the instrumentation is sparse. Despite the stripped back approach, an emotional yearning pierces through Tenfjord’s soft voice. She opens up about the end of a long-term relationship, as she sings:
“Are you having a good time?
Doesn’t seem like you’re all fine
We don’t laugh anymore
And when we cry we do it on our own”
Gradually the song builds before it reaches a grand, cinematic climax that is oh so Eurovision. While the ending theatrics are big, they pale in comparison to Tenfjord’s soaring vocal and final words.
“I won’t lose you for another
And if we die together now
I will hold you ’til forever
If we die together, die together now”
The song is out on Propeller Recordings. Another tidbit about Tenfjord: she is studying to be a doctor. This is just another reason to cheer for her regardless of who she represents and what career she ends up pursuing.
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Little Quirks – “The Rain” (Central Coast, Australia)
RIYL: The Wild Reeds, The Staves, First Aid Kit
Sisters Abbey (vocals/guitar) and Mia (drums) and cousin Jaymi (vocals/mandolin) first caught our attention on back Halloween of 2017 when they shared “Run Away”. At the time, they were very young teenagers (Mia was just 13 years old!). The song showcasing their warm and infectious brand of indie-folk and folk-pop. Since that time, the family trio have become favorites Down Under, and they recently signed with Glassnote Records. Their first single with the label is pure Americana perfection.
This song was made to be heard live. It was made with audiences in mind, where people could bask in the gorgeous melodies of the trio, have their chests swell when Abbey’s vocal hits an aria that touches Dolores O’Riordan levels, and sing alongside the band during the euphoric chorus. If the skies should happen to open while this tune is playing, then those above must have been listening as well because for Abbey this song is about liberation. It’s about feeling the freedom of dancing and singing in the rain, just like Gene Kelly once did.
We said once and we’ll say it again, Little Quirks were born to play Newport Folk Festival and Pickathon. It will happen one day and very soon at that.
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