New Music – Queen City Sounds and Art

Mark Weatherley’s Ever-Evolving Downtempo Single “Petrichor” is Like the Soothing Soundtrack to Transitional Seasons

Mark Weatherley, photo courtesy the artist

The beats in Mark Weatherley’s “Petrichor” shouldn’t work. The breakbeats start and stop, seem to change directions, pick back up and yet it all fits together like a moving puzzle with the harmonic and melodic motes of sound arranged so that the song constantly has an evolving and effervescent atmosphere. Like the direct experience of late spring weather when the environment hasn’t seemingly decided how it’s going to be except moment to moment. Weatherley captures as best a person can these micro-changes in mood and texture and fit that into the format of a song. There are no immediate touchstones but in the multitude of moments employed in the song one can hear peeps of late-90s Moby, sampled organic percussion and layers of luminous haunted sounds that drift through but soothe rather than startle. And then the song is over. What sets it apart from a good deal of electronic music is that the repetition never fully feels like it because Weatherley’s arrangements are so detailed and ever-shifting without feeling jarring and at worst merely disorienting in a way that feels comfortable. Listen to “Petrichor” on Spotify and follow Mark Weatherley at the links provided.

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Josaleigh Pollett’s Lushly Meditative “Cherry” is an Existential Dream Folk Song About Re-Examining Identity

Josaleigh Pollett sounds like she’s drifting through an environment as much as a song on “Cherry.” The languid pace and intimate yet deep mood is reminiscent of Strange Mercy-period St. Vincent. The gentle strums of guitar like rhythm and texture with layers of synth giving atmospheric definition to the song as Pollett’s voice seems to tell a story of people who have a lot of history together and thus have been through many of the same struggles and travails of shared experiences but things have gotten to the point where in spite of these long-held bonds some things feel like they’re no longer the ties that bind and coming to terms with being weary of old ways and habits of living and of mind. Yet not throwing away the memories and their significance for the kind of person you are now even if you’ve outgrown what felt so critically important at an earlier part of your life. The song sticks with you and like the lingering thoughts from deep within that never fully leave your psyche it leaves a strong impression well after the song is over. Listen to “Cherry” on Bandcamp and follow Josaleigh Pollett at the links below. The new album If I Let It Quiet is out now on vinyl, digital download and streaming. Pollett is alo currently on tour in the American west through August 14th with a performance at D3 arts in Denver, Colorado.

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SPYCAMERA’s “Hey You” Fuses Synth Pop and Dissonant Art Pop to Express a Sense of Connection in a Disconnected World

“Hey You” sounds like SPYCAMERA took strands of Tubeway Army, early Radiohead and in general the song and its music video are reminiscent of that corner of the 90s when record labels were still trying to find the next big thing and would greenlight albums from bands that seemed or actually were outside the mainstream yet had a sense of melody and songwriting. Except that SPYCAMERA looks like a rivethead and an enigmatic garage rocker formed a band and held on to a sense of the mysterious and creatively eccentric. In the music video we’re informed this is “Room 5” of a forthcoming album called 12 Rooms suggesting each song is its own world and flavor but so far the band is revealing it has a knack for an unusual hook like Everclear influenced more by New Wave and alternative rock than punk. The words in the song seem to be sentiments of holding on to the only things and people that make disordered world make sense even when sometimes it hurts. Watch the video for “Hey You” on YouTube and follow SPYCAMERA at the links provided.

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Annie Elise’s Shoegaze-y Synth Pop Single “everything” is Like Being Caught Up in the Euphoria of a New Love

Annie Elise’s production choices on “everything” from the vocal processing and the layering of bright and hazy synth sounds in a drifting rhythm serve a sense of feeling being caught up in the emotional moment. The way the vocals switch from a warping and fluidly pitch shifting in the beginning so there is a touch of hyperpop sensibility without being of that aesthetic. The song expresses a charming sense of infatuation and melancholy mood at the feeling that you might be too much, too caught up in your own psychology to be adequate for the moment with a new relationship but feeling so strongly about it all that you’re not willing to give up even if things feel a little overwhelming because it clearly matters so much as a larger part of one’s life. The song bursts with emotions and then settles into a tranquil fadeout without wasting a moment of time and conveying so much in a mere two minutes twenty seconds. Fans of Jockstrap and Caroline Polacek will appreciate what this songwriter has been up to lately. Listen to “everything” on Spotify and follow Annie Elise at the links below.

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applied communications’ Retro Synth Pop Single “return of jafar” is a Song Suggesting We Re-Examine What We Think Are Our Dreams

applied communications, photo courtesy the artist

There is something surreal and relatable about applied communications in the video for “return of jafar.” It looks like something made on an iMac in the 90s, appropriate given the cinematic reference of the title with its own resonances for the themes of the song as well. Throughout the song Max Wood relates what sounds like the inversion of the usual nostalgia of youth like someone who is deeply skeptical of the concept in the face of lived reality. But he whimsically delivers lines that are dryly amusing yet insightful like a music resonant with the sensibilities of a Daniel Clowes comic. The line “I have this vision I can’t see/It’s always driving me/To something I don’t believe” and the bit about the “jazz interlude” reveals a level of sardonic wit that isn’t heard in much music. With the song ending with the repeated line “return of jafar” fits the rhythm of what we’ve been hearing but also a sly nod to hey this thing you think you’ve always wanted out of life, is it really what it’s cracked up to be or do you maybe take what you think your aspirations might be a little less to heart and be willing to do things differently. Nothing about the song is too on the nose and that’s part of the appeal behind it sounding like a bizarre alternative soundtrack to a lost computer and New Age self-help informercial. Watch the video for “return of jafar” on YouTube and follow applied communications at the links below. The new album applied communications bites the big one released September 25, 2026 via Rare Noodles in collaboration with Bar/None Records.

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Josaleigh Pollett Guides Us Out of the Hypnosis of Insomniac Thoughts With Electro Pop Single “Bed of Quiet”

“Bed of Quiet” finds Josaleigh Pollett initially sketching thoughts against a backdrop of impressionistic sound but goes into gear exploring themes of insomniac thinking. The steady beat and Pollett’s voice anchor the song while swells of tone and minimal guitar comes in to accent lines until the song expands into full-flung expression before seemingly fading into a harmonic outro. The song captures well the sort of thoughts one can go over endlessly when you can’t sleep if you’re prone to overthinking mistakes and better options because you could have made better decisions for your life and how it can be hard to accept your perceived mistakes rather than accept that maybe your conscious mind can’t know or think of everything or account for every possibility in the moment. Life can present itself to you as a high stakes game but most things in life aren’t necessarily imbued with a sense of catastrophe yet we can convince ourselves that everything is a life or death decision without considering the pressure we put on ourselves and others in the process. The song takes on a more playful tone than that and feels more like an odd yet soothing dream given its themes of nighttime anxiety and in that way serves as a passage out of that headspace. Listen to “Bed of Quiet” on Bandcamp and follow Josaleigh Pollett at the links below. Pollett is touring this summer in the wake of the release of the new album If I Let It Quiet out July 24, 2026 on vinyl, digital download and streaming.

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Annie Elise’s Intimate and Otherworldly Synth Pop Single “make a wish” Encourages Us to Act On Our Dreams

One of the things that is immediately striking about Annie Elise’s single “make a wish” is how it establishes a dreamlike mood with sounds seemingly drawn from “vintage” electronic sources of the late Twentieth Century. The vocals are processed and the arpeggiated synths sequenced like they were originally composed on an 8-bit or 16-bit machine. And the sound palette is both reminiscent of early chillwave and a more modern glitch aesthetic at the same time. The effect is song that creates a psychological space for the listener to consider the song’s themes of yearning and the need to act on one’s dreams and desires rather than be stuck in a state of stasis being held captive by hyperfocused aspirations and reach for what you really want and not merely what you’ve told yourself is the only perfection worth pursuing. Fans of early Purity Ring will appreciate Elise’s arrangements and inventive use of tone and processing of sound sources to lend them a paradoxically intimate and charmingly otherworldly quality with sonically rich resonance. Listen to “make a wish” on Spotify and follow Annie Elise at the links provided.

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Charlotte Greve’s Cinematic Pop Single “Membranes” Layers Vocals, Drones and Playful Rhythms to Express Leaning Into an Acceptance of Impermanence

Charlotte Greve’s simple percussion and low key bass line paired with her layered vocals and ethereal synth drones lend “Membranes” a cinematic quality reminiscent of the more experimental end of tUnE-yArDs. One images images akin to the multi-media presentations of mid-80s Laurie Anderson particularly when the expressive sax comes in the later parts of the song and the ways in which Greve accents her vocal lines to lend the words a thematic and visual aspect as she sings about the constant motion and forward momentum of her mind and body that she seems unable to fully control as embodied by the line “If there’s one thing that does not change it is the will to change.” Then words about trusting one’s inner processes and leaning into the impermanence of the current moment and embracing the changes that are beneficial while working through those which seem challenging. Greve’s facility with combining rhythm, texture and melody as a unified whole with a playful and direct energy makes the single fascinating beginning to end. Listen to “Membranes” on Spotify and follow Charlotte Greve on Instagram. Her new album WATERBODIES releases October 2, 2026 via New Amsterdam.

Akiyoshi Yasuda’s Ambient Piece “day4 by memento” Induces the Listener Into a Deep and Transformative Environmental Awareness

Akiyoshi Yasuda, photo courtesy the artist

Akiyoshi Yasuda immediately puts us in a time and place that feels familiar yet enigmatic from the beginning of “day4 by memento.” The constantly present harmonic drone is like the background energy of an urban environment like a steady presence of the human collective. The layers of textural rhythm and resonating tones and swells of abstract sounds all interact to create a tapestry of noise that flows into your brain like becoming fully aware of the world around you that you normally take for granted which could be startling but Yasuda’s composition is more soothing and it causes you to pay attention to details you might not otherwise and notice things like the occasional processed piano work through the haze of closer sound sources mixing with all other sensory elements. The song is like a musical Zen experience in which one becomes present and accepting of what is around you without judgment or becoming overwhelmed by one’s hyper awareness. And then the sonic energy recedes seeming to have taken no time but in fact brought you along for that journey for over five minutes. The production on the piece itself is impressive for how Yasuda placed each sound component and orchestrated them all for a singular listening experience that conveyed experiences beyond what music often does. Listen to “day4 by memento” on Spotify and follow the Japanese composer at the links provided.

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Bondo’s Hypnotic Yet Cathartic Post-Hardcore Single “Running Back” Draws You In With Its Sonic Contrasts

Bondo seems to sketch and stretch out musical ideas on “Running Back,” like its structure was arranged like stringing together journal entries. Connecting thoughts and feelings with a hypnotic and meditative bass line and drums. The vocals are nearly laconic and meditative but the guitar fractures that peace and feeds back slightly to give the song some evocative dissonance. The song’s mood is reminiscent of a more mellow Unwound or more discordant Versus song which is what makes it immediately relistenable. It is economical in its composition and hits the dramatic notes at the right times with a sense of emotional urgency. What isn’t as obvious initially is how it isn’t conventional in its structure. There is no intro or outro, just moments in time in the songwriting and the way it draws you into its dreamlike tone and thrilling moments of peak catharsis. Watch the video for “Running Back” on YouTube and follow Bondo at the links below. The band’s latest, self-titled, album releases July 24, 2026 on limited vinyl, digital download and streaming.

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