The Underground Forest - Volume 31
Welcome to The Underground Forest! This month's collection features; a song inspired by 1980s horror; a song that sounds like a tape saturated wonderland; a song that will breathe life back into you and remind you of the wonderful parts of being alive; a DIY post punk song with some serious New York underground at night vibes; an eerie song that could be from the pastel world of Sophia Coppola (think The Beguiled) mixed with Death Becomes Her or The Stepford Wives; and more!
Featuring Jordan Duffy, RÓIS, Red Sky July, idkraeven, Fake Dad, Balderdasch, The Submissives, Willy Nordoff & nyghtingale.
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Nights Like These - Jordan Duffy
Produced by Party Nails, this new release from singer-songwriter Jordan Duffy (who you may know from being Engineer Jordan on the Best Friends podcast) is an ode to 1980s horror movies.
The music video is glorious, the opening sequence giving serious 1980s babysitter slasher vibes. The song opens with a glorious saxophone solo floating over the mist, a throbbing arpeggiated bassline hinting at the darkness that awaits, the haunting, powerhouse vocals coaxing you into the shadows.
Connect with Jordan Duffy
YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Website
CITÍ - RÓIS
Eerie ambience, with an ancient, otherworldly presence shimmering at the very edges of your ears, CITÍ is taken from the album MO LÉAN. The opening vocals have a pagan quality to them (when I read the Bandcamp footnotes of the album this made sense, as it “re-imagines the tradition of keening in Ireland that goes back to pre-christian times, a practice in which women, or bean caointe, would keen a lamenting wail at the side of a coffin during a wake” you can read more here).
I listen to a lot of music, but I can say, without a doubt, that this does not sound like anything else I have heard before, it is alive, it is unique, it sounds like a wild and unpredictable landscape underneath a brooding sky, where ancient stories and mystery lie beneath the brambles and undergrowth.
Connect with RÓIS
YouΤube / Spotify / Instagram / Website
Stones and Brambles - Red Sky July
This new song from Red Sky July (made up of Ally Mcerlaine, Shelly Poole and esteemed vocalist Haley Glennie-Smith) is a gentle folk song that will transport you to the terrain in the song artwork; this feels like being out in nature, like breathing in fresh air.
This was written by Shelly Poole, in the aftermath of and her husband - Ally McErlaine’s (Red Sky July’s guitarist) brain hemorrhage (Ally has thankfully made a full recovery), on the song Shelly says “This is a song originally written on a little holiday in the Highlands. Traveling to Scotland was quite a feat and Ally couldn’t walk properly but we were determined to try to do what we loved, including being outside and enjoying nature. Everything, even simple things like walking over stones and brambles, was a disaster waiting to happen but I needed to pretend we were ok for a while. It’s a happy heartfelt lyric but it somehow feels a bit sad.”
The vocals have the magical quality that only the very best folk music has; this is a song that feels like it can pour the life back into you in the way being out in nature can, it reminds you how precious life is, in a way that makes you savor and appreciate the relationships you have in your life, and how important it is to be there for each other. Utterly wonderful.
Connect with Red Sky July
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luv2much - idkraeven
Taken from the album NETHERWATER, which delves into the artist’s story, being placed into foster care when she was three years old, and being at the receiving end of emotional abuse from her adoptive parents for the majority of her early life, this album explores her journey and eventual escape and victory over dysfunction.
Luv2much is the second song from the EP and it is achingly beautiful; there is something in the lush, lofi, dreamy quality to it that makes it incredibly addictive, in the very specific way that a song you stumble across online has, (although the genre, sound and vibe are very, very different, Slayyyter’s Mine has this quality also).
The 808s are incredible, the vocal melody addictive, the whole song feels kind of like a memory, the chorus is gut-wrenching “I thought for me, you’d fight harder / But if I don't make you happy, don't bother / Leaving me be is like / Taking my water in critical heat / Please, don't step any farther”.
Connect with idkraeven
YouΤube / Spotify / Instagram / X / TikTok
Touch Me - Fake Dad
Another hit from duo Fake Dad, this has dreamy shoegaze vibes, and is somehow both very 1970s and 1990s at the same time (it reminds me of Soccer Mommy slightly).
The chorus will sweep you away into the sky and beyond. Glorious.
Connect with Fake Dad
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / Website / X
Service with a Smile - Balderdasch
If you have ever worked in customer service or as a bartender; you have without a doubt been told to do so with a smile, no matter what horrors you are being subjected to by the public, which, over time, gradually depletes your sanity.
If you need something to make you feel sane again, this song from London-based, Cork native Balderdasch is for you. A surreal opening descends into the most all-consuming bassline you have ever heard, over which lyrics that serve as razor-sharp insights flow. This is a breath of fresh air.
Connect with Balderdasch
Spotify / Instagram / X
Maybe Someday - The Submissives
This sounds like a mix between the surrealism of Picnic At Hanging Rock and The Stepford Wives; it sounds like singing in a ballgown while the haunted pink mansion burns to the ground behind you, this is eerie, a bit camp and so, so wonderful.
Connect with The Submissives
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Facebook
Mullein - Willy Nordoff
Warm, rich textures flow over your ears - this is taken from the EP prunus envy, which was written, produced, mixed & mastered in its entirety by Willy Nordoff.
The vocal textures are lavish, the analog textures and instrumentation all blend together to form a dreamlike wonderland.
Connect with Willy Nordoff
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / X
Too late - nyghtingale
Taken from the EP heaven on earth, which was written, produced, mixed, mastered by NY-based artist nyghtingale.
This has some serious nighttime in 1990s New York vibes; with its dreamy blend of post-punk and shoegaze, made all the more enticing by the DIY quality - this is kind of haunting, it is kind of lonely, and it is absolutely mesmerizing.
Connect with nyghtingale
Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Instagram / 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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