Listening.

LP · Mexico City

Singer-songwriter / Bolero adjacent

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Adela Nuñez — Lluvia Doble

Casa Hueca (LP)

A debut that arrives without theatrics. The voice sits inside the room rather than declaring at it. The closing track has been on rotation all week.

EP · Lagos

Polyrhythmic electronic

Logged by Linus Embry

KOJO ATA — Counterweight (II)

Counterweight (EP)

Six tracks, every one of them built on a different rhythmic spine. It is the kind of record that makes you forget your laptop is open.

LP · Reykjavik

Ambient / Chamber

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Half-Light Quartet — Northbound, Slowly

Cartography (LP)

Closer to a long exhale than an album. Useful at 4 am when you have written yourself into a corner and need the room to stop talking.

Single · Brooklyn

Indie production

Logged by Linus Embry

Marlowe Stinson — Trade Wind

Trade Wind (Single)

A producer who used to ship internal tools for a fintech and now releases small, immaculate singles every six weeks. Sounds like the work he describes.

Mixtape · Kathmandu

Field recordings + dub

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Sangye Norbu — Lhasa Tape, B-side

Lhasa Tape (Mixtape)

Forty-three minutes of mountain wind through processed tape. The kind of record that makes the rest of the day feel slower.

EP · Berlin

Post-punk / Spoken word

Logged by Linus Embry

Pia Ardent — Working Hours

Working Hours (EP)

A four-track EP recorded inside a converted warehouse the artist lives in. The lyrics are about logistics and refusal. It works.

LP · Kyoto

Modern classical / Solo piano

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Theo Wakahiro — Pillars

Pillars (LP)

Solo piano, eleven movements, no overdubs, no sweetening. Sounds like someone who has practiced more than he has performed.

Single · Mexico City

Choral electronic

Logged by Editorial Team

Olive & Iron — Cathedral Light

Cathedral Light (Single)

A duo who release one single every two months and disappear. Each one feels lifted from a different decade of music we never made.

LP · Lisbon

Jazz vocal

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Mira Velasquez — Late Vienna

Five Cities (LP)

A debut that should not feel as settled as it does. The arrangements never crowd the voice. The voice never tries to win.

Live · Oslo

Folk / Live recording

Logged by Linus Embry

Junebug Telemark — Norwegian Hours

Norwegian Hours (Live)

Recorded across one weekend in a cabin north of Oslo with two microphones. The mistakes are part of the record.

EP · Montreal

Bedroom pop

Logged by Editorial Team

Anaïs Trentham — Slow Currency

Slow Currency (EP)

Recorded entirely on a phone over six months. Sounds like every line was second-guessed and then kept anyway.

LP · Glasgow

Slowcore

Logged by Linus Embry

Halford Bay — Quiet Engines

Quiet Engines (LP)

The kind of record that takes about a month to start working on you, and then refuses to leave.

Single · Buenos Aires

Producer / Vocal-led

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Yuki Saavedra — Tide / Lobby

Tide / Lobby (Single)

A two-track release with no follow-up announced. Has been on the rotation through the whole flagship-review writing window.

Single · Dublin

Folk / Story-song

Logged by Editorial Team

The Tin Lantern — Side Door

Side Door (Single)

A working trio. The lyrics tell a story without forcing it. The song ends exactly when it should.

LP · Helsinki

Composer / Mixed media

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Petra Halland — Field Notes (II)

Field Notes (LP)

A composer who scores documentaries for a living and releases LPs as a parallel practice. The parallel practice keeps the day work honest.

LP · Essex

Art pop

Logged by Vera Sokolov

Imogen Heap — Ellipse (full album)

Ellipse (LP)

Re-listening for the long profile. Holds up at fifteen years older than I remembered the record being.