Spellling – Under The Sun

Back in 2021 I chanced upon the stunning third album by Spellling, the current performing identity of Chrystia Cabral, and it was a record that endured so much that year that I ended up writing about ‘The Turning Wheel’ and rating it as one of my albums of the year (you can read the full piece here: https://fruit-tree-records.com/2022/01/07/spellling-the-turning-wheel/) The thing I loved about her music was its boundless disregard for any conventional formular, Chrystia rarely takes the obvious melodic path and yet her vocal acrobatics and natural exuberance make everything she creates sound so right and vital. What a delight it is then to point you in the direction of some new Spellling music for 2023, this is from ‘The Mystery School’ released on August 25th by Sacred Bones Records…

Cut Worms – I’ll Never Make It

The new eponymous Cut Worms album is out now on Jagjaguwar, it is the third album from New York singer-songwriter Max Clarke and as this tune clearly shows, his ear for a classic vintage sound and talent for conjuring an achingly beautiful song remain on an upward trajectory. It is a wonderful video too, packed with images of loneliness, loss, insecurity, fear and warm love within the simple storyline, this one will melt your heart…

Sierra Ferrell – Making My Way

Performing a brand new track live for the camera at Railbird Festival 2023 in Lexington, Kentucky, this Sierra Ferrell giving us the purest possible example of her mouth watering potential as a performer within the traditional Americana sphere. No wonder Rounder Records wanted to offer her a three album deal back in 2018, her grasp of the basics are nailed on and that is all too rare; she knows how to pluck a melodic structure out of the air and when she sings it is done with conviction, no fakery… sometimes that is all you need to cut through, I hope that proves to be the case here…

Rio 18 feat. Young Gun Silver Fox – She’s In LA

This is a frighteningly insistent slice of summer pop with welcome echoes of disco and soulful electro, exactly as depicted in the video this is the optimum kind of music you want pumping out when driving around a city on a summer day. It is the work of Wales maestro Carwyn Ellis who may be known to some as the main man in Colorama, it is Carwyn’s vocal that gives this synth laden track that all important human touch, the beating heart of the uplifting groove. ‘She’s In LA’ is out now on Légère Recordings…

Emma Tricca – King Blixa

Emma Tricca has been on my radar as a captivating purveyor of bohemian, explorative Folk for around fifteen years now. Her sound and overall look recall that exotic late sixties, early seventies period when acoustic songwriters allowing their freak flag to fly was almost an obligatory prerequisite. But Emma is the real deal, her music does not pose or posture, it almost feels like she found Vashti’s gypsy wagon abandoned by the roadside two decades ago and vowed to reignite its musical journey into the 21st century, caressing out some sumptuous albums along the way, of which ‘Aspirin Sun’ released earlier this year on Bella Union is surely another…

Malphino – Octopus

And finally for this week, some exotic live sounds from Malphino, playing a track that features on their brand new ‘Sueno’ EP released as a 10″ 4-track disc on Lex Records in the UK. They are described rather mysteriously as an outer-national band hailing from an imaginative island which kind of says enough really doesn’t it? Just dig into these glowing sounds that fuse Brazilian and Colombian tropical, rhythmic vibes across a vintage cinema canvass. All good for my money…