A Sunlit Walk in The Underground Forest: New Pop, Folk , Rock and Indie Music We Loved
Welcome to A Sunlit Walk in The Underground Forest - a series where I handpick new music I love!
Featuring Chenayder, Poligone, Karissa Love, Maya J'an, ZASKA, Melina Malone, PLEASURE PILL, Sabriel, WOODEN OVERCOAT, Luluc & Whisper Doll.
This edition features: A song that sounds like you are hearing it through the halls of a 1970s bungalow with plush carpeting everywhere; a dreamy song where the opening lyrics are “Time space Quantum Leaping babe/ While I’m drinking my coffee”; a song that blends a Western movie style soundscape with dreampop and shoegaze; a music video that has a ‘forest folk-horror movie set starring a glamorous medieval princess in lace’ vibe to it; a song that I can imagine being right at home in the world of Julio Torres’ HBO show ‘Fantasmas; a song that feels like sunshine sparkling on flower petals in a kaleidoscopic meadow; a song that 100% sounds like it is from the B-side of a Beatles LP from the 1960s; and more!
A Sunlit Walk In The Underground Forest ☀️ Light Pop • Folk • Electronica • Calm
Sabriel - renee (bootleg)
This is taken from the newly released deluxe edition of the album ‘Through the Cherry Gates’ from artist and producer Sabriel. ‘renee (bootleg)’ is the bizarro sibling of the original, with a lot of it sounding like you are hearing it through a wall or through the halls of a 1970s bungalow that has pastel-toned plush carpeting everywhere. The whole soundscape of this has a distant, hazy quality that makes it enchanting to listen to.
Connect with Sabriel
Instagram | Facebook
Chenayder - Wonder
I am obsessed with retro computer technology (we have a fully functional 1980s Mac at home that I film with constantly, and I also have a 3D-printed miniature version of it) and the 1997 movie ‘Clockwatchers’, so when I came across this on YouTube, I was in my element.
The music video for ‘Wonder’ is sublime - it has an eerie, surreal quality to it with velveteen visuals saturated with a plush analog quality. There is also a hint of David Lynch (with also maybe a dash of ‘Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared’).
The song itself is hypnotic, the chorus bringing to mind Tom’s Diner, with shimmering harmonies. ‘Wonder’ is the work of a true artist.
Connect with Chenayder
Instagram | X
Tail Of The Hare - Karissa Love
I first came across Karissa Love via her video faith, trust & pixie dust | spring time tarot reading, being drawn to the spellbinding visuals. I was delighted to discover that she also releases music and poetry. ‘Tail Of The Hare’ is taken from ‘All Creatures In The Realm Of Earth’, which has a magical quality to it that reminds me of cassette tape audiobooks I got from the library as a child.
The music video has a ‘forest folk-horror movie set starring a glamorous medieval princess in lace’ vibe to it, which I love - the opening line “This is a tall tale/A perspective told over nettle steeped tea” drawing you into its world.
One of my favourite lines from this is ‘You may run quick/ but I have more to prove’.
Connect with Karissa Love
Instagram
Poligone - Oublier quelqu'un
I can kind of imagine the electronic soundscape of this being right at home in the world of Julio Torres’ HBO show ‘Fantasmas’ (which is truly one of the best and most creative shows of the decade). I can imagine the shimmering, pastel shell-like music tinkling around the walls of the felt houses in the artwork. This was released via label Les Disques du Crochet, who I only recently discovered, and am having a fantastic time going through their entire release catalog.
Connect with Poligone
Instagram
Connect with Les Disques du Crochet
Instagram | Facebook
ZASKA, Melina Malone - Ever Cross Your Mind
It is always a good time when Zaska releases new music. This song sees him team up with Dublin artist Melina Malone, who is possibly one of the best Neo-Soul vocalists/artists in Ireland. ‘Ever Cross Your Mind’ opens like sunshine sparkling on flower petals in a kaleidoscopic meadow, ascending into a fantastical soundscape (that has a slight bit of a flamenco vibe to it here and there). This has an air of smoky mystery to it, and it is utterly sublime.
Connect with ZASKA
Instagram | Facebook | X
Connect with Melina Malone
Instagram | Facebook | X
Whisper Doll - Am I A Knife
Photo Credit: Riley Nalatova
This new song from NYC band ‘Whisper Doll’ has a deliciously dark 1990s element running throughout it - I love the slightly spooky refrain of ‘wants you to be free’ prior to the chorus, the latter blending the grungey alt-rock of the verses with some shoegaze touches.
On the new song, bandleader Fiona shares, “This song is my reaction to seeing men get indoctrinated into an ideology that tells them lust is sin and seeing the blame get placed on women. This makes me feel like a knife because I am in the body of a woman and can inspire feelings of desire separate from my own soul. Seeing the bodies of women become detached from their minds. Like dolls…"
Connect with Whisper Doll
Instagram
Maya J'an - new june
The opening lines, “Time space Quantum Leaping babe/ While I’m drinking my coffee” are the words of a songwriting genius that bewitch the listener immediately.
The saturated azure blue of the thumbnail drew me to this - there is a quality to this shade of vibrant blue that feels nostalgic (I think I automatically associate it with music and art from the 1990s). The music is gentle and heavenly, the vocals and music floating around the hypnotic folk style beat, like harps shimmering in the glittering winds of the heavens. Divine.
Connect with Maya J'an
Instagram
PLEASURE PILL - Stand Still
This is taken from the EP ALIVE, which is out now via Quiet Panic. This 100% sounds like it is from the B-side of a Beatles LP from the 1960s. This quality is present in the sunshine-soaked harmonies, the psychedelic nature of the guitars, the reverbed strings in the periphery, and how dreamy and huge all of it sounds together.
On the song frontman Jonah Paz says it is "My personal favorite track from this EP. It's easy to make a song sound large with Marshall amps and Les Pauls—it's a whole other challenge to make something feel big with just acoustic instruments. Pleasure Pill can do both."
Connect with PLEASURE PILL
Instagram
WOODEN OVERCOAT - Finally Arrived
The opening of this sounds like the first shot of a Western movie, showing the grand expanse of the canyon. This morphs into dream-pop and shoegaze adjacent territory, with vocals (and I am aware that I am saying this a lot in this article, but there appears to be a theme) that really do sound like they are from the era of The Beach Boys.
On the song Brant Hajek says, "I wrote 'Finally Arrived' when I was thinking a lot about social media, which I was completely off of for many years. Like many songs, it's actually about multiple things all at once. Some of it reflects my own experience at the time going through grief and relationship issues, and it's also about the delusions many people have about fame, making it big, becoming larger than life"
"I think the through-line is actually about the fragility of our relationships to others in our lives. I was feeling that many people take others for granted and can sometimes treat people as expendable, which is something I find really sad."
Connect with Wooden Overcoat
Instagram | Facebook | X
Luluc - Rewarding Melody
Photo by Mischa Baka
This is a new song from the Australian duo Luluc (Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett), taken from their upcoming album ‘Sweet Thief.’ When I listened to this for the first time on Bandcamp, I thought it was an archival release from the 1970s - I was genuinely surprised that it was, in fact, a current release. This floats over the ears like honey, like bees buzzing over the flowers in a summer garden. The vocals are double-tracked to heavenly perfection - the soundscape gentle, with a plush analog finish.
On the album’s overarching theme, Zoë says, “We're constantly told that we have to be part of specific groups, that we're part of movements, but life is actually an individual experience. What you do with your life is in your hands and no one else's. Doing harm to others, trying to get one over on other people, is all based on delusions and false promises. Far more important is the individual relationship you have with your life.”
Connect with Luluc
Instagram | Facebook | X
Spotify Playlist
About Eimear O Sullivan
Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)
Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com
In this blog section we host new music releases, artist features and handpicked playlists by the Musicngear staff.
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