The MOnday: 10.02.25

An album and 2 songs; 2 videos; and a conversation with India Arkin

Listen to this

Some cracking releases to mark February. Check my latest monthly playlist for lots more!

Arliston - Disappointment Machine

‘Disappointment Machine’ is the wonderful debut album from Arliston — it’s a record which defies conventions in many senses, presenting multiple conflicting angles: warm, yet stark; comforting, yet challenging; clearly focused to a goal, yet frequently entangled in loss and loneliness.

The title track is described as being “permeated with a sense of loss, confusion and desire”, written to reflect “the relatable idea of repeating patterns of behaviour that many of us fall into, whether that's by choice, accident, or simple refusal to change.” That description rings true for the album as a whole, which is expertly crafted from start to finish (and deserves a full review when I find some more time). Look out for the subtly flittering ‘Monks of Lindisfarne’ and the close but pushy murmurs of ‘Nests’.

Fiona-Lee - To Make Me Feel Good

‘To Make Me Feel Good’ comes from Fiona-Lee’s imminent EP 'Nothing Compares To Nineteen' — it’s a punchy, soaring song which sees her firmly challenging societal conventions and their effect on mental health. So beautifully written and a great vehicle for this singer-songwriter’s versatile and captivating voice.

ODEONS (feat Abbie Parker) - Blood Not Soul

Here, Finland’s producer duo ODEONS team up with Abbie Parker to produce a really well-balanced track which combines all right elements of sweeping nu-metal/rock with cinematic vision.

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Two videos this week…

If you read last week’s post, you’ll know that Katherine Priddy recently released ‘Daybreaker’ with poet laureate Simon Armitage — a seasonal and sublimely entrancing song which unfolds into a soaring description of nature and hope. She’s since recorded a very special live version, performed with the LDN Features band. Apparently, this was filmed and recorded in a single take, which is an amazing achievement and reflects the incredible talent assembled in that room at London’s Konk Studios.

This is the video to accompany ‘Another Life’ by Dirty Nice. It’s a single from the band’s upcoming album ‘Planet Weekend’ (23rd May) which is described as “a concept record based around a theme-park.” Unsurprisingly, the cartoon sketches the band have come up with have led to online success.

Dirty Nice is the music project of Charlie Pelling (composer for Channel 4 TV comedy Don't Hug Me I'm Scared) and Mark Thompson.

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Self-indulgence lives on…! Have a read of my recent interview with 1921 Records’ India Arkin. She was a brilliant interviewee, and spoke openly to me about her journey from fine art to music, how she writes, and the importance of a supportive music scene like the one in North East England.

Don’t miss this week

Friday 14th Feb: Lots of releases (and not all of them with a V’s Day theme, thankfully) including singles by the entrancing Carla Aakre and Jessie Reid, and full albums from Mallrat (‘Light hit my face like a straight right’), Nicole Hale (‘Some Kind of Longing’) and The Lumineers (‘Automatic’).