Chlara shows that she is an artist who is at the peak of her powers on #acousticNOW. The honey-voiced 26-year-old Chlara is regarded as a rising star in Asia as well as further afield. Astonishingly, three of her songs – ‘The Nights,’ ‘ Say You Won’t Let Go,’ and ‘ILYSB’ – which all appear on her brand new album, #acousticNOW, have each received over 20 million plays on Spotify. Chlara takes a varied selection of songs – from hits by Ed Sheeran and Avicii to Justin Bieber and Tears For Fears – and reimagines them in her own unique acoustic guitar arrangement.
While eight of the album’s tracks have previously been available via several different digital EPs and singles, Chlara has recorded four new tunes to round off the album. She serves up an impassioned version of Train’s matrimonial proposal ‘Marry Me,’ and Air Supply’s ‘Goodbye’. She closes #acousticNOW on a warm intimate note with ‘Slow Dancing In a Burning Room,’ a song from US tunesmith John Mayer’s 2006 album, Continuum.
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Leila released her debut album “Glass Highways” on October 28th, along with a new music video for “Go On Young Soul”. The album contains 10-track, produced by Tim Carr.
Leila said of the album, “10 syrupy tracks about a 20-something’s bittersweet love story, immortalized forever so even I can never forget it. What a journey it’s been! When I started writing these songs, I never thought that 1. they would take so long and 2. I would become so attached to the feelings and moments accompanying their unfolding. But what is life if not making memories with strangers while creating something larger than yourself, that’ll hopefully outlive you someday? Regardless, I confess I put an inordinate amount of time and attention into every word, note, riff, swell (I have OCD) and detail of this album. I did my best to be as sincere in my sound and lyrics as possible, but ultimately you’ll receive it in your own way, and I can only hope you like it! If you’re unsure you can stomach an entire 53 minutes of some girl serenading you with ambivalent nostalgia, may I recommend listening to my album while driving. I love driving and take long drives frequently, and can confirm that this album pairs nicely with the open road and a bittersweet sense of escape. It’s called Glass Highways, after all. This record was produced and mixed with the help of amazing Tim Carr. Mastering was done by Phillip Shaw Bova.
The Human Demands is the fifth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald, and was released on 30 October 2020. The album includes the singles “The Hudson” and “Crazy Shade of Blue”. That same day, Macdonald’s official website and official Instagran profile confirmed the album for release.
In an interview with Wonderland, Macdonald said, “It’s an album about life and the ups and downs that come with it. It’s never easy for anyone and I don’t think we give ourselves enough credit sometimes. We’re just expected to constantly be going 100mph all the time and that can be demanding for anyone. I wanted the album title to reflect the reality of life for the majority of people. I started writing these songs back in 2018 and continued through 2019. I started the recording process in February this year. Like everyone else we stopped in March and didn’t get back to it for 3 months. I was worried that it would have a negative impact having a huge break in the middle but thankfully it was the opposite. Myself, my producer Jim and all the wonderful musicians were just excited to be making music again. We felt genuinely lucky to be in the position that we could have a bit of normality back in our lives.” After the release of the album Macdonald said on her Instagram account, “I’m so pleased to finally share it with you all. It’s been a very difficult year for all of us, we’re not all in the same boat but we’re facing the same storm. This is an album about life and its many ups and downs. It’s not always straight forward and everyone is facing their own battles. I hope this album can be a comfort in these turbulent times. I am extremely proud of it. It feels like a special record coming out at an important time. Thank you so much for all your support over the past 15 years. I wouldn’t be anything without you.”
Seventeen years have passed since Ane Brun delivered her critically acclaimed debut album Spending Time with Morgan. On her latest outing, After the Great Storm, the Stockholm-based Norwegian artist still displays a singular knack for painting words that leap off the page of a lyric sheet. For seven studio albums, that stunning voice, incandescent and searingly raw in its emotional honesty, has wrapped its spun silver sound around folk, chamber pop, and electronic textures. This autumn, she returns with not one but two albums worth of new original material and some of the best songs of her prolific career.
Written during the summer of 2019 in a remote cabin deep within the Norwegian mountains, After the Great Storm and next month’s How Beauty Holds the Hand of Sorrow were born out of heartache and creative inertia that stymied her a few years, as Brun paused for a moment to mourn the death of her father. She has said that both records examine her “frustration over the state of the world, how to grieve for a loved one, existentialism, love, relationships, loneliness, inner struggles, [and] sleepless nights.” Brun might not have set out to capture the zeitgeist of the moment with her latest offering. Still, the irresolution and unease that pervade these nine tracks perfectly mirror the anxiety and social isolation that have engulfed this post-pandemic era.
The album kicks off with “Honey”, a soulful love-letter to adolescence and a celebratory trip-hop trip down memory lane. Inspired by an unearthed cassette tape of music made in her teens, the song sees Brun reconnect with her younger self’s bold optimism. That initial, unbridled joy and innocence are slowly wrapped in darkness as the record progresses. On the smoldering title track, she channels 1990s downtempo and Sainkho Namtchylak at her most ethereal, as Brun’s lilting voice floats high above dense, knotty beats. Her latest single “Crumbs” never quite lifts off, even as it embraces a delightful doo-wop for the 21st-century vibe. Joined by the background vocals of Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson, this Julee Cruise meets the Ronettes number perfectly describes the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a dead-end, co-dependent affair, but it meanders melodically.
One listless song aside, After the Great Storm, is full of striking highlights like the Knife-esque, rapturous banger “Take Hold of Me”, the anguished yet hopeful closer “We Need a Mother”, and haunting environmental anthem “Feeling Like I Wanna Cry”, with its slinky, skittering percussion and sumptuous visuals. Each frame of this astonishing video brims with breathtaking flowers that wither and bloom. An elegant meditation on death, “Fingerprints” is one of the most beautifully penned tracks of the year, on par with Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel’s equally hypnotic “Island of Doom”. In seven exquisite minutes, Brun bottles her grief for us as she sings, “I miss you” over and over like a mantra, reflecting on that loss. Like an echo from the past, she reminds us that those who have departed from this life linger long after they have passed through that final door.
Six months after it dropped this February, the eastern-imbued single “Don’t Run and Hide” still stops you dead in its tracks. With its infectious chorus, cascading strings, and a rallying call for empathy, Brun becomes the ultimate cheerleader. Begging you to fight the demons of self-doubt, she sings, “Fear is choice, a lonely exile / It’s a cloud dimming the landing lights / When you find yourself between reality and dreams / Accept and breathe.” It is the first track she wrote during her session in the mountains, and it will remain one of the absolute highlights of this album for years to come.
In a season full of shockingly good releases, Ane Brun’s eighth album of original music is a slow-burning delight, full of melodies that linger long after the record has stopped spinning. For 47 minutes, she holds her aching heart up to the sun, begging for warmth and some semblance of order to all the chaos that surrounds her, yet she is defiantly tethered to hope. These bruised, elegant songs cut to the core of what it means to be uniquely human. With the arrival and subsequent onslaught of COVID-19, death has quickly moved into the foreground of our global thoughts, and Brun’s latest collection is a reminder that life has an expiration date, and every ticking second is a gift.
Kat Dahlia embodies the definition of a rising star, drawing inspiration from a plethora of genres from Afrobeat and Latin urban to R&B and pop. Now, the Cuban-American singer-songwriter dives head first into her Latin roots with her highly-anticipated Spanglish album, SeVeN, premiered today exclusively on Flaunt.
The10-track project is sweet, honest, fierce, and empowering. Written by and for women, each record is fused with a uniquely female perspective offering a healthy dose of vulnerability, sorely lacking in Latin music often written by men. SeVeN is a well-curated collection of Kat’s standout singles including “Vale Na”, “Si Yo No Voy,” “Facil,” and “Dime Si Te Llego” featuring Fuego.
This album solidifies the last 2 years of her life and her friends’ lives, highlighting love, breakups, and self-reflection. Kat states, “It’s been 7 years since I released my debut single ‘Gangsta’ and I wanted to have a title for this album that spoke to the evolution of my entire career thus far. I feel more like me than ever. This album is dedicated to my girls, my best friends, and all my fans. I love you.”
Between the powerful vocals, sweeping production and effortlessly cool songwriting, Dahlia serves up a perfect, no-skip soundtrack for any occasion. After her departure from Epic Records, the independent artist proves you don’t need a major label to make it in the music industry.
Tracklist:
01․ I’m Doin’ Good 02․ Si Yo No Voy 03․ Fácil 04․ Vale Na’ 05․ Nadie Me Quiera 06․ Mojada 07․ Tu Tortura 08․ Dime Si Te Llego 09․ Honest 10․ Push Up
♥ Bubble Days... 