highclouds.org

Barcelone-raised artist Gisela Fulla-Silvestre, better known as NOIA, amazed us back in 2016 with the release of her debut EP, Habits, and with her singles “Nostalgia Del Futuro After a silence of three years, she is back with a new single, “Ausencias” (‘Absences’ in English), that introduces her sophomore EP. If you are familiar with NOIA‘s music, you will fall in love again with her crystalline, mystical synth-pop. Definitely more experimental than some of her previous singles, “Ausencias” keeps all of its secrets hidden in its atmospheric and unpredictable atmosphere.

Two years after The Demonstration, Los Angeles darkwave and post-punk act Drab Majesty have announced the release of their third album. Produced by Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv, this conceptual record will reinterpret the mythological story of Narcissus from a modern and perspective, incorporating elements from modern science fiction and reflections on technology. According to the press release, the album is “a journey of self-reflection, nostalgia, love, beauty, and heartbreak told across eight addictive and emotional synth pop anthems – a seemingly classic tale delivered unblinkingly through the frame of the modern world. The expansive and quite uplifting first single “Ellipsis” is already available and it comes with a Thomas McMahan-directed video.

What follows is panic prayers, the three-track EP from the London-based singer, songwriter, and producer who goes simply by Bernardo. At-times beachy, then reggae-like, and even transitioning into a jazzy interlude midway through, the opening track exposes Bernardo and her backing band’s capacity to act as a jam band. The accompanying video – an arty ditty that features the singer-songwriter burning incense and playing air guitar in a dimly lit apartment that ends up literally going up in flames – fully proves that Bernardo has the coolness factor. This mood melts well into final track “S.H.M.,” which is a return to the basic girl-and-her-guitar sound like Bernardo has built her reputation on thus far.

Freak Slug is the brainchild of British singer-songwriter Xenya Genovese, a twenty something multi-talented artist whose musical influences range from psychedelic pop of the sixties to 80’s New Wave, 90’s grunge. For Nice Guys, Genovese took the risk to cover a legendary post-punk and cold wave song, Originally opening Joy Division‘s iconic debut album Unknown Pleasures, the dystopian track is reinterpreted here with a bedroom pop aesthetic. In her very own version, the claustrophobia and the chaos are replaced by a bittersweet feeling of nostalgia but the original message sounds still vibrant and relevant.