Today, Friday, February 24th marks the release of Bria’s follow up EP Cuntry Covers Vol. 2 on LP/CD/DSPs. Building on the tried-and-true/bold-and-new duality of Cuntry Covers’ first offering, Vol. 2 delivers a deeper dive into the duo’s brilliant alchemy of traditional and contemporary reinterpretations. Bria has shared an official lyric video for her sultry reinterpretation of Mary Margaret O’Hara’s song “When You Know Why You’re Happy” which you can watch HERE.
“Mary Margaret O’Hara is a creative force and one of my favorite Canadian artists” shares Bria. She adds “I have been a huge fan of hers for quite some time and really wanted to try my hand at one of her songs for Vol. 2. She is a real queen of vocal improvisation. It’s a trait of hers that I’ve always admired, so I really wanted to explore that when recording this cover. The video for this track is special to us, a sort of collage of memory; fragmented footage of summer taken over the last two years is dispersed throughout shots of a vast winter scene, filmed while we finished the record up North with our live band.”
Bria has confirmed a new show on February 28th at No Somos Nada in Mexico City, Mexico with additional shows on March 9th at Zebulon in Los Angeles, CA and March 18th at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, ON. These live shows will showcase songs from Cuntry Covers Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Additional dates to be announced soon.
Tour Dates: Tue. Feb 28 - Mexico City, MX - No Somos Nada Thu. Mar. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon Sat. Mar. 18 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
What people are saying about Bria:
“Cuntry Covers Vol. 2 “skirts the edges of the genre [country music] and ultimately leaves the listener with a very satisfying subversion of the classics the duo have chosen to interpret.”- Northern Transmissions
“Here’s a haunting, dystopian version version of Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? by Bria - it’s always an honor to hear the songs live on” - Paula Cole
“it’s an other-worldly take on the Karen Dalton standard…” [“Green Rocky Road”] - Clash
“Where Dalton’s original is quite lo-fi and scratchy, Bria have added some fidelity and warmth to it through golden-strummed guitars and a lackadaisical but precise beat.” [“Green Rocky Road”] - Beats Per Minute
“It’s the third track that’s truly mind-blowing, however. An ode to the late, great trailblazer, Loretta Lynn, Bria turns the classic ‘Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin (With Lovin’ On Your Mind) into a vibrant pop song that ABBA or The Primitives would be proud of.” - The Rodeo
“Salmena’s raspy tinged voice provides a depth of longing and fractured tenderness on her cover of Karen Dalton’s track, “Green Rocky Road.’” [“Green Rocky Road”] - Ears to Feed
“The band’s version will win over any Jennings fans, or fans of old country.” [“Dreaming My Dreams Of You”] - Northern Transmissions
“Cuntry Covers Vol. 1 seamlessly drifts between classic country references and a new perspective of reimagining what country could sound like” - Tonitruale
About Bria: As its name suggested, the intimate and sultry Cuntry Covers Vol. 1 was always going to have a follow-up. Led by the brooding vocals of Bria Salmena, Cuntry Covers Vol. 2 is every bit as potent as its predecessor whose noir-inflected alternative country-rock stood in sharp contrast to the singer’s commanding delivery as leader of post-punk revivalists FRIGS. Debuting the project in 2021, the languid, reverb-drenched Cuntry Covers Vol. 1 saw her artfully collaborating with multi-instrumentalist Duncan Hay Jennings and reimagining a carefully picked collection of Americana anthems.
Vol. 2 pushes the envelope further and harder. Encompassing feverish takes on tracks by Gillian Welch, Paula Cole, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Robert Lester Folsom, Glenn Campbell – by way of Nick Cave – and the late, great Loretta Lynn, Bria’s deliciously dark approach shimmers through these six startling songs.
Created during a break from Salmena and Jennings’ work in Orville Peck’s world-conquering backing band, Vol. 2 was recorded directly after Peck’s second album and Bria’s US tour supporting Wolf Alice. Embracing contrast, the sunny circumstances in which Vol. 1 was made were flipped on their head. Instead of a bucolic barn in the Canadian countryside, they recorded the new tracks in chilly Toronto, huddled together in their tiny makeshift home studio, with Jennings at the controls. “There’s a lot of chaotic energy to it, because it’s us cramped in a space where we’re all also working and living during the dead of winter,” explains Salmena, who also enlisted the help of local Toronto musicians Lucas Savatti (FRIGS), Simone Baril (US Girls, The Highest Order, Darlene Shrugg, Partner), Andrew Manktelow, and frequent collaborator Jaime Rae McCuaig.
While Vol. 1 was Bria’s attempt at subverting country music’s conservative roots and primarily white and heterosexual agenda, here the emphasis was on experimentation. The duo purposely split the two sides of the EP, with the A-side acting as more of an homage to the tracks covered, and the B-sides interpretations taking on a more traditional route with the source material. “We wanted to mess with things,” she says. And while Vol. 2 might be less personal, it’s just as idiosyncratic, with half of the reversions staying truthful to the originals and others taken to a different universe entirely. Building on the tried-and-true/bold-and-new duality of Cuntry Covers’ first oering, Vol. 2 delivers a deeper dive into the duo’s brilliant alchemy of traditional and contemporary reinterpretations. The added experimental flourishes, from dizzying electronica and pulsing bass to sax-driven soul, take Bria’s new EP into previously uncharted territory, signaling a thrilling new step in Bria’s adventurous evolution.
Bria Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
Tracklisting: 1. Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? 2. When You Know Why You’re Happy 3. Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) 4. By The Time I Get to Phoenix 5. I Dream A Highway 6. See You Later, I’m Gone
On April 14th, Shannon Lay will release a 9-song digital album of covers entitled Covers Vol. 1. She shares “I absolutely love doing covers. It’s such a joy to offer my perspective on songs I admire and spread the word about amazing artists. Covers Vol. 1 is the first in a series of cover records celebrating my obsession with shannonizing songs.”
For her debut cover, “Angeles” by Elliott Smith, Lay shares “If I had a nickel for every minute I’ve spent listening to Elliott Smith I’d be a very rich woman. His intricate thoughtfulness always fills me up. “Angeles” was one of those songs I was always quite intimidated to learn but upon finally trying it came together so naturally. Then Debbie Neigher topped things off with an amazing piano outro. I love feeling Elliott’s spirit embedded in the musical scene at large. Anywhere notes are played he lives on.” Directed by Kai MacKnight you can watch this charming homage to Smith and her home, Los “Angeles” HERE.
Lay will embark on a 8-date run opening for Whitney starting on March 20th in Denver, CO, with additional shows in Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco, ending on March 30th in her home city of Los Angeles. She will then head overseas in April playing headline shows in France, Manchester, Bristol and London with performances at Sound & Vision Festival in Cambridge, UK and Roots of Heaven Festival in Haarlem, NL. See below for a full list of dates.
Mon. Mar. 20 - Denver, CO - - Bluebird Theatre ^ Tue. Mar. 21 - Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre ^ Wed. Mar. 22 - Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell ^ Sat. Mar. 25 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile ^ Sun. Mar. 26 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater ^ Mon. Mar. 28 -San Francisco, CA - The Chapel ^ Tue. Mar. 29 - Menlo Park, CA - Guild Theater ^ Wed. Mar. 30 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent ^ Sat. Apr. 15 - Toulon, FR - Faveurs de Printemps Tue. Apr. 18 - Manchester, UK - Gullivers Wed. Apr. 19 - Bristol, UK - The Cube Thu. Apr. 20 - London, UK - Kings Place Fri. Apr. 21 - Cambridge, UK - Sound & Vision Festival Sun. Apr. 23 - Haarlem, NL - Roots of Heaven Festival Wed. Apr. 26 - Dublin, IE - Cobblestone
^ w/ Whitney
Shannon Lay Covers Vol. 1
Tracklisting: Angeles (Elliott Smith) From the Morning (Nick Drake) Blues Run the Game (Jackson C. Frank) Close My Eyes (Arthur Russell) The Keepers (Ty Segall) I Lost Something in the Hills (Sibylle Baier) Glow Worms (Vashti Bunyan) I’m Set Free (The Velvet Underground) I Am Slow (OCS)
On Friday, May 19th, Hannah Jadagu (pron. juh-dah-goo) will release Aperture, her first full-length effort on CD/LP/CS/DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop. The 12-song album, which features “What You Did,” “Lose,” “Admit It,” and “Say it Now,” was co-produced by Jadagu and Max Robert Baby at Greasy Studios Paris, mixed by Marcus Linon, and mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Mastering.
While her debut digital-only EP What Is Going On? was heavy on layered reverb, making Jadagu’s vocals feel “shy,” she took what she calls a more “intimate, up close” approach while recording her voice for the LP. That experimentation is best heard on the rousing lead single “What You Did,” which leverages crushing accusations against the song’s unnamed subject. Screaming static and a crunchy guitar part softens under Jadagu’s calm delivery as she sings: “Act like it’s best if we make amends, but I don’t wanna talk to you again.”(Damn). Watch the official video “What You Did,” which stars Jadagu, and is directed by Leia Jospé.
Jadagu’s What Is Going On?, and follow-up singles “All My Time Is Wasted,” and previously released Aperture-highlight “Say It Now,” have earned her praise from the likes of Brooklyn Vegan, The FADER, For the Rabbits, Alternative Press, Guitar World, Jezebel, SPIN, Stereogum, Ones to Watch, Under the Radar, Dork, CLASH, The Independent, DIY, The Line of Best Fit, The Forty Five, and Our Culture.
CLASH says “Say It Now” is “A lucid slice of indie pop, the hazy guitars wrap themselves around a lyric that refuses to shy away from difficult questions.” The Line of Best Fit raves, calling it “a triumphantly dreamlike stitching together of smooth R&B tones and spacious indie instrumentation, with pop elements bleeding through the seams.” Stereogum offers this, “[‘Say It Now’] is “a dreamy, poppy indie-rock song with a chorus big enough to sweep you away.”
Jadagu also toured steadily, playing shows and winning over audiences across the US and Europe opening for the likes Faye Webster, Beach Fossils, Wild Nothing, Ritt Momney, Metronomy and Arlo Parks, and performing at Denmark’s Roskilde Festival in July and Pitchfork Music Fest in London. A headlining North American tour announcement will follow in the coming weeks.
More on Hannah Jadagu’s Aperture: Fresh out of high school, Hannah Jadagu released her debut EP, What Is Going On?, a collection of intimate bedroom pop tracks recorded entirely on an iPhone 7, which was, at the time, Jadagu’s most accessible mode of production. An off-the-cuff approach to music making and instinctive ability to write unforgettable hooks belied the intensity of Jadagu’s subject matter. In a short run time, What Is Going On? confronts some of the nation’s most urgent struggles all through Jadagu’s compassionate perspective. “I want my songs to be both super intimate and still universally relatable,” Jadagu says. “With the EP, so many people told me that the songs resonated with them on a personal level, and that’s what I’m always hoping for.”
Resonate it did; What Is Going On? is Jadagu’s first Sub Pop release, but she’d been putting out music on SoundCloud for years, garnering a small online fanbase as she settled into an aesthetic, and recognition from a broader audience was overdue. “It really took off when I became a percussionist in my middle school’s band,” she says. “Writing songs started as a hobby and quickly became a passion to the point that I spent all my free time recording.”
On May 19th, 2023 Jadagu premieres Aperture, her first LP and most ambitious work to date. Written in the years between graduating from high school in Mesquite, TX and her sophomore year of college in New York, Aperture finds Jadagu in a state of transition. “Where I grew up, everyone is Christian; even if you don’t go to church, you’re still practicing in some form,” Jadagu says, laughing. “Moving out of my small hometown has made me reflect on how embedded Christianity is in the culture down there, and though I’ve been questioning my relationship to the church since high school, it’s definitely a theme on this album, but so is family.”
As a kid, Jadagu followed her older sister – a major source of inspiration who she refers to as “the blueprint” – to a local children’s chorus, where she received choral training. “I hated it,” Jadagu admits. “But it taught me how to harmonize, how to discover my tone, how to recognize and write melody.” The aching single “Admit It” is dedicated to Jadagu’s sister, whose boundless love and impeccable taste has been a constant for Jadagu ever since she was a kid. At home, the siblings were raised on mom’s Young Money mixtapes and the Black Eyed Peas (to whom she credits her love of vocoder) but it was in the sanctity of her sister’s car that Jadagu discovered indie artists who would go on to inspire her work.
“Lose” showcases Jadagu’s love of contemporary indie auteurs as it weaves a spare and unpretentious guitar riff with barebones piano chords all while Jadagu sings about the thrill and underlying fear that comes with beginning a new relationship. It is, in her words, a “classic pop song.” “The things we haven’t done/ Play out in my mind/ Would you just give me time?” she sings, nearing the end, as the skittering drumbeat propels the song from a place of contemplative yearning to defiance. “Every track on this album, except for “Admit It”, was written first on guitar, which is an instrumental throughline,” Jadagu says. “But the blanket of synths I use throughout helps me move between sensibilities. There’s rock Hannah, there’s hip-hop Hannah, and so on. I didn’t want any of the songs to sound too alike.”
Emblematic of this ethos is the single “Warning Sign,” which starts out as an acoustic, R&B slowburner before a muscular electric guitar enters the mix and the song morphs into something akin to psychedelic. “I knew I could make another album on my phone, but I wanted to make sure that I was leveling up, especially for the debut,” Jadagu says. So she began the difficult process of searching for a co-producer capable of complementing her work without dominating it. Enter Max Robert Baby, a French songwriter and producer who captured Jadagu’s attention with his take on Aperture’s lead single “Say It Now.” The duo worked together remotely, sending stems to one another via email, before eventually meeting in-person for the first time at Greasy Studios on the outskirts of Paris.
“When I recorded my EP, it was all MIDI, but in the studio Max and I worked with a ton of analog instruments,” Jadagu says. “There’s some Glockenspiel on the album, calling back to my percussionist days, and some synth warping that adds texture.” While What Is Going On? was heavy on layered reverb, making Jadagu’s vocals feel “shy,” she took what she calls a more “intimate, up close” approach while recording her voice for the LP. That experimentation is best heard on the rousing “What You Did,” which leverages crushing accusations against the song’s unnamed subject. Screaming static and a crunchy guitar part softens under Jadagu’s calm delivery as she sings: “Act like it’s best if we make amends, but I dont wanna talk to you again.”
An aperture is strictly defined as an opening, a hole, a gap. On a camera, it’s the mechanism that light passes through, allowing a photographer to immortalize a moment in time. For Jadagu, the word perfectly encapsulates the mood of her debut album. In the years it took her to complete, she faced moments of darkness, sure, but the process of making it, her first ever in a professional studio, was ultimately a cathartic experience, one she now shares with you, the listener. Let the light in.
Hannah Jadagu Aperture
Tracklisting: 1. Explanation 2. Say It Now 3. Six Months 4. What You Did 5. Lose 6. Admit It 7. Dreaming 8. Shut Down 9. Warning Sign 10. Scratch The Surface 11. Letter To Myself 12. Your Thoughts Are Ur Biggest Obstacle
Beach House will release Become, a new five-song EP, as a Record Store Day crystal-clear vinyl exclusive on Saturday, April 22nd, 2023.
“The Become EP is a collection of 5 songs from the Once Twice Melody sessions. We didn’t think they fit in the world of OTM, but later realized they all fit in a little world of their own. To us, they are all kind of scuzzy and spacious, and live in the spirit realm. It’s not really where we are currently going, but it’s definitely somewhere we have been. We hope you enjoy these tunes,” Alex and Victoria/Beach House.
Become, which features the songs “American Daughter,” “Devil’s Pool,” “Holiday House,” “Black Magic” and the title track, was produced by Beach House, with mixing by Alan Moulder (track 1), Trevor Spencer (tracks 2, 3, 5), and Caesar Edmunds (track 4), and mastering by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound.
Once Twice Melody earned “Best Albums of 2022” placement from the likes of The New Yorker, Variety, The Ringer, Under the Radar, Brooklyn Vegan, The AV Club, Stereogum, PAPER, PASTE, All Music, PopMatters, Pitchfork “Readers Poll,” Gorilla vs. Bear, Treble, Magnet, No Ripcord, Uncut, Uproxx “Critics Poll,” and more.
Once Twice Melody also peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Albums Sales Chart, the band’s first-ever record to do so. It also debuted at #1 on the Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Tastemaker Albums, and Top Current Album Sales charts (see Billboard’s March 1st news story). The album also spent six weeks at #1 on the NACC 200 College Charts. Beach House also performed Once Twice Melody standout “Superstar” on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
In 2022, Beach House’s ”Space Song,” the duo’s track from their 2015 album Depression Cherry, became the group’s first certified Platinum single.
What people are saying about Beach House: “Once Twice Melody is one of the best records of the year and a testament to the virtue of constancy” (“The Best Music of 2022”) - The New Yorker
“Once Twice Melody is their most definitive and probably best work — and even more remarkably in these ADD-addled times, they’ve done it with a sprawling, 18-song album that is around 80 minutes long (#5/”The Best Albums of 2022, Jem Aswad”) - Variety
“Melody is mesmerizing, and it raises exciting possibilities of how Beach House’s sound could evolve in the next decade-plus (#18/”The 33 Best Albums of 2022”) - The Ringer
“Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally doled out four perfectly sweeping segments for their eighth full-length; taken together, they represent the pinnacle of the band’s craft. There are far too many highlights to single just one or two out: Once Twice Melody is an album that keeps on giving, immersive and rewarding, a marvel to get lost in.” (#23/”The 50 Best Albums of 2022”) - Stereogum
“From the majestic opening notes of the title track to the last electronic flourish of closer “Modern Love Stories,” Once Twice Melody is the culmination of everything Beach House do best.” (#45/”The 50 Best Albums of 2022”) - PASTE
Beach House Become EP Artwork
Tracklisting: 1. American Daughter 2. Devil’s Pool 3. Holiday House 4. Black Magic 5. Become
Naima Bock has shared an official video for her striking new single, “Lines” which is now available on all DSPs from Sub Pop/Memorials of Distinction. This stand-alone track was engineered & produced by Ali Chant in 2022 at The Playpen Studio, in Bristol, UK.
Bock reveals “Lines is about what we do to each other, some call the dance of intimacy, exchanges. What we are given, carry with us, then subsequently pass on to others- good and bad. How the recipient is often undeserving of the negative side of this reality. It’s about trying to dodge blame and the loneliness of guilt. It’s about the irony of impermanence and unhealthy patterns coexisting; ‘nothing stays’ but ‘nothings changed’. The idea of change I had grown accustomed to but the reality that some things won’t change until you actively work on them is something new to me, preferring to adopt a slightly lazy attitude and misunderstanding the saying ‘all passes’. Sometimes it doesn’t pass quickly enough. It’s also a song about anger, and the familiarity of not knowing where to put it.” You can watch the official video for “Lines” which was directed by Kit Harwood HERE.
Naima will return to the US on Friday, March 3rd performing songs from her critically acclaimed debut release Giant Palm. See below for a full list of dates.
Praised for its originality, warmth, and ambition, Giant Palm has been heralded as one of last year’s finest debuts so far with features from CLASH, Loud & Quiet, The Quietus, and Uncut, and receiving rave reviews like “Album of the Week” from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan (Indie Basement), The Line of Best Fit and inclusion on Pitchfork’s “34 Great Records You May Have Missed”, Spring/Summer” list.
Giant Palm also appeared on multiple year end lists, including #1 on Brooklyn Vegan’s “Indie Basement: Top 40 Albums of 2022” as well as its “50 Best Albums of 2022” list. The album also appeared on additional “Best of 2022” lists from Stereogum (#24), Loud & Quiet (#22), Clash (#42), and Our Culture (#50).
US 2023
Fri. Mar. 03 - Brooklyn, NY - Public Records
Sat. Mar. 04 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
Sun. Mar. 05 - Washington, DC - Songbyrd Cafe
Wed. Mar. 08 - Seattle, WA - Barboza
Sat. Mar. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Gold Diggers
UK/Europe 2023
Tue. Mar. 14 - Bristol, UK - Thekla Social*
Wed. Mar. 15 - Norwich, UK - Norwich Art Centre*
Thu. Mar. 16 - O2 - Oxford, UK - Academy Oxford*
Fri. Mar. 17 - London, UK - Heaven*
Sat. Mar. 25 - Bristol, UK - Ritual Union Festival
Sat. Apr. 01- Manchester, UK - Fair Play Festival
Sat. May. 27 - London, UK - Wide Awake Festival
Fri. Jun. 09- Sat. 10 - Ipswich, UK - Brighten The Corners Festival
*Supporting Orlando Weeks
What People Are Saying About Naima Bock’s Giant Palm:
“There’s a bit of ’70s Brian Eno in her vocal delivery and an echo of John Cale in her arrangements, but the fusion of her disparate cultural influences makes for an enchanting sound entirely Bock’s own.” [“Giant Palm”] - New York Times
“Exquisite solo debut” - ★★★★ MOJO
“Quiet, melancholy and occasionally divinely uplifting (8/10)” - Uncut
“Hugely ambitious - the individual pieces are delicately arranged, the end product solid as steel” [ “Music of the Month”] - The Quietus
“A real gem…[it’s] cinematic and spectral; it makes one contemplate things like energy flows and meditation and the long arc of history.” [“Album of the Week”] - Stereogum
“Giant Palm, is quietly dazzling, drawing from a wide range of influences including ’70s British folk, jazz, and Tropicalia.” [“Album of the Week, Indie Basement”] - Brooklyn Vegan
“This album has an unforced charm, making it an ideal accompaniment to long summer nights” ★★★★- The Times of London
“Naima Bock’s ‘Giant Palm’ is - frankly - exquisite. A truly special listen” - CLASH
“Steady and calming, intimate and revelatory, sporadically startling - it’s a record as unique as Bock’s history (8/10)” - Loud and Quiet
“As a debut, Giant Palm situates itself in a specific tradition without being constrained by convention - finding a voice in ten tracks that occupy their own lifeforce, almost set in motion by the elements.” ★★★★ - DIY
“Giant Palm is a stellar debut and one of 2022’s more distinct releases (8/10)” - The Line of Best Fit
“Though she took a roundabout path to make and release Giant Palm, the way Bock shares her profound moments and little insights with a generous spirit makes for an often brilliant debut.” ★★★★ - All Music
