New Music – Page 11 – Queen City Sounds and Art

CTZNSHP Returns With the Dark, Moody and Dissonant Post-Punk Song “Hawaii”

CTZNSHP recently released Lost Loves (A Collection Of Rarities), a compilation of early demos, practice space recordings, previous and more recent studio recordings. The Montreal-based post-punk band garnered attention a little over a decade ago for its commanding and spacious guitar and emotionally charged vocals with lyrics of uncommon psychological insight. The lead single “Hawaii” sounds more melancholic like a dark surf rock song Chris Isaak might sing. Its lightly distorted guitar lead threatens to break apart in any moment and the vocals similarly so in its urgency. And as the song progresses that initial impression splinters because it sounds more desparate and dissonant than anything you’d expect from Isaak and more like something in the vein of Preoccupations or Protomartyr and how both bands can dip into a fractured sensibility and then back into coherence reflecting the actual experience of having a moment of peak emotion. Listen to “Hawaii” on Bandcamp and follow CTZNSHP on Instagram.

014LN’s Darkly Sensuous and Alluring Downtempo Neo Soul Single “Creep With Me” is Overflowing With a Yearning For Complete Connection

01L4N (pronounced Oilan) recently released the downtempo neo soul single “Creep With Me.” The song with production by Brittany Campbell (aka 01L4N), Aaron Day and Dayloop with vocal contributions from The Last Artful, Dodgr has a dreamlike quality that draws you into its words of desire and a yearning for complete connection and commitment with one’s beloved in a deeply emotional, physical and spiritual way. The loping bass line pulses with a lingering dynamic off which hazy atmospheric melodies flow with the sensuous vocals in luminous cool colors of tone. The mood of the song is reminiscent of the more experimental moments of Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah albums with commanding and alluring performances from Campbell that bring you back in to revisit the spell the song weaves. Listen to “Creep With Me” on Spotify and follow Brittany Campbell at the links below.

Brittany Campbell on Twitter

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Brittany Campbell on YouTube

Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E34: PINES

Josh Hight is a former member of post-punk band The Detachment Kit until the mid-2000s when the group relocated to Brooklyn. He operated for a time as a solo artist under the moniker Irons before relocating to the UK and immersing himself in the world of photography, film and soundtracks. The later came about in part after Hight met Richard Norris at a Stone Club event in London. Norris is perhaps best known for his production work with the likes of Psychic TV, Marc Almond, Sun Ra, Robert Fripp and Joe Strummer but also as a member of influential electronic dance group The Grid. In 2025 Hight released his debut EP from his new solo project PINES with In His Wake, produced by Norris. The record as the name perhaps hints at is a product of grief, disillusionment and the soul searching that happens subsequent to hitting life’s low points. But the music that has come about is made up of gorgeously melodic atmospheres and poignant expressions of loss, the dull reality of much of adult existence and its relative lack of inspiration and leaps of discovery, melancholic reflections on past relationships and a yearning for the collapse of the current mode of human civilization and its capture by oligarchic monetization through digital channels and a more transcendent and vital future once that dissolution is well under way. Musically it’s like a cosmic slowcore, pastoral shoegaze form of psychedelic pop that at times is reminiscent of Hawkwind’s more accessible moments and shades of The Zombies. With guest musicians like Andy Bell (Ride, Oasis), Emmett Kelly (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, The Cairo Gang) and Dottie Cochran (Deary) it’s a richly emotional experience and one that seems more complete than EP often does.

Listen to our interview with Josh Hight on Bandcamp and follow PINES on Instagram.

Pullman Returns With Pastoral Ambient Single “Weightless” Featuring Former Members of Tortoise, Codeine and Eleventh Dream Day

Pullman returns after two decades with a new album Pullman III due out January 9, 2026 on Western Vinyl. The group which includes former members of Tortoise, Codeine, Eleventh Dream Day and Rex is primarily a studio project recording pastoral soundscapes with mostly acoustic instruments offers us a new single in “Weightless” with a free flow of warm guitar, textural and impressionistic percussion and a nearly hypnotic rise and fall dynamic as the main harmonic sounds seem to shimmer and glimmer in an organic pattern. It has a quality like a sonic suspension constantly resonating and revealing details of its quality with each moment. Listen to “Weightless” on YouTube and follow Pullman at the links below.

Pullman on Bandcamp

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Kat KIKTA’s Sound Art Piece “Your Voice In My Ear” Challenges Conventional Notions of Desire and Romance

It’s best to set aside musical expectations when hearing/watching the video for Kat KIKTA’s sound piece “Your Voice In My Ear.” The background harmonics establish a dreamlike mood and the dialogue between a human woman and a processed voice whose source is implied to be a sentient machine intelligence in which there is a sensuousness and even sexual aspect to the way the voices interact. The touch of delicate rhythm along with the drones is very much more an ambient companion to the mood in the sonic foreground. It may be conceptually something like science fiction without the special effects but it speaks to the very human phenomenon of people falling for each other purely through vocal contact or even indirectly through letters or online because they feel a connection for the other person and a sense of ease, comfort and emotional attraction that can bond people together in a way that transcends more outward and superficial factors. It captures the essence of a modern experience of desire in a way few “songs” ever do. Watch the video for “Your Voice In My Ear” on YouTube and follow Kat KIKTA at the links below.

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Kat Kikta on Twitter

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Kat Kikta on Instagram

Kat Kikta on Bandcamp

Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E33: Laveda

Laveda formed as a dream pop band in Albany, New York in 2018. The core duo of Ali Genevich and Jake Brooks released two outstanding albums of deeply introspective, atmospheric and tender records with 2020’s What Happens After and 2023’s A Place You Grew Up In. As though the title of the latter was a prompt to evolve creatively Laveda relocated to New York City the same year and whether it was already happening then or more came together once in the big city the band evolved in a decidedly different sonic direction without losing its instincts for crafting memorable melodies and vivid, emotionally vibrant and immediately relatable lyrics. 2025’s Love, Darla marked a change in style for a more gritty, more angular, almost No Wave sound as though Genevich and Brooks had delved further into the Sonic Youth catalog and found their way to the likes of Live Skull and, perhaps unrelated, The Cleaners From Venus. The new album sounds like the work of people who made the move to pursue their art further and didn’t come out the other side jaded. Instead transformed and challenged to do something to reflect their own development as people and artists.

Listen to our interview with Genevich and Brooks on Bandcamp and follow Laveda at the links below.

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Cry9c’s Darkly Moody and Enigmatic “Play Pretend” is Reminiscent of Modern Avant-Post-Punk and Early Ambient Industrial

“Play Pretend” has a kind of icy moodiness, enigmatic energy and imaginative production that makes you wonder if Cry9c is tapping into the same frequency of creativity as more left field post-punk bands like The Serfs, Kaput and Luna Honey. The interweaving layers of rhythm, minimal guitar riffs, drones, distorted harmonics and lightly echoing vocals are reminiscent of an update of late 70s and early 80s proto-industrial pop like the members of the band listened to a lot of Cabaret Voltaire, Indian Jewelry and Drab Majesty at the same time. But the song has its own wonderfully dark resonance like the more accessible band at the noise show or the startling refreshingly different arty Witch House band at a more generally conventional post-punk show. The energy of the music is reminiscent of late 2000s American DIY scene with an elusive air of mystique and that’s a rarefied quality these days. Listen to “Play Pretend” on YouTube and follow Cry9C at the links below. The self-titled EP released October 16, 2025 and is available for digital download, streaming and on cassette.

Cry9c on Bandcamp

The Title Track to Lizzy Rose’s New Album Faultlines is an Indiepop Map to Emotional Health in a Time of Catastrophe

The simple piano figure and soft programmed drums that open the title track to Lizzy Rose’s new album Faultlines (released October 24, 2025) eases us into a tender song about life starting to come apart. The urgent synth arpeggios later in the song perfectly embody the moment when you can no longer ignore the fissures in one’s relationship and one’s life and are forced to deal with them before you feel you’re ready. But in the song, Rose’s vocals are steady, strong and gentle and while conveying the truths of coming to terms with aspects of one’s life that can be unpleasant also show how we can get through this time with grace through emotional honesty, patience and a willingness to take on life’s challenges as they are without having to over-dramatize or catastrophizing the situation at hand. It is honestly a perfect song for reminding oneself that this approach can be taken to just about everything even when it all feels like nothing can make it better. The new album was written and recorded six years ago by the singer/songwriter who is finally bringing the music to light and as circumstances now make clear it’s emerging at just the right time at a time of crisis for many. Listen to “Faultlines” on Soundcloud and follow Lizzy Rose at the links below.

Lizzy Rose on YouTube

Lizzy Rose on Instagram

Lizzy Rose on Bandcamp

The Noisy’s “Ballerino” is a Heartwarming and Affectionate Indie Rock Tribute to a New Romance

Philadelphia’s The Noisy released its new album The Secret Ingredient Is Even More Meat on October 24, 2025 via Audio Antihero. Lead singles “Ballerino” demonstrates an aspect of the band’s songwriting that perfectly displays its knack for a solid pop hook in the vein of 90s indie rock bands like Velocity Girl and The Breeders. The perfect blend of guitar grit and irresistibly melodic vocals and a buoyant spirit courses throughout the song along with a touch of wistful melancholia. But really it seems like a sweet and affectionate song recounting heartwarming memories of a romantic relationship. The music video has a playful, fantastical whimsical quality that thoroughly embodies the sentiments and energy of the song. Watch that video on YouTube and follow The Noisy at the links below.

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The Noisy on Instagram

The Noisy on Bandcamp

Reykjavik Kids’ “Hyper Etrian (Gleaming Universe)” is a Buoyant and Immersive Synth Pop Song About Unplugging From the Attention Economy

Reykjavik Kids, photo courtesy the artists

Reykjavik Kids offer their usual richly rendered synth melodies on “Hyper Etrian (Gleaming Universe).” With a mix by James Aparicio, the song seems to make a commentary on the mediated nature of how we often interact with the larger world these days and how there is an impulse to break with that and the pressures of presenting an image to be judged and consumed. Maybe it’s not a commentary on how always performing or the social inducement to do so is ultimately unsustainable and corrosive to the human psyche and to our relationships with each other. Whatever the origins of the song’s lyrics the layers of saturated synth tone and a retro synth pop aesthetic and modern, vivid production with strong low end is immersive and carries you along with in its buoyant energy and vibrant tones from beginning to end. Fans of MGMT and M83 will appreciate the sonic and emotional places the song goes. Listen to “Hyper Etrian (Gleaming Universe)” on Spotify and follow Reykjavik Kids from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and not in fact Iceland, at the links below.