SubmitHub – Page 3 – Queen City Sounds and Art

“Fine” is Cosmic Madness’ Psychedelic Folk Song About Letting Go of Outmoded Habits and Leaning Well Into Where You Want to Be

Cosmic Madness, photo courtesy the artist

The lyrics to “Fine” by Cosmic Madness seems to unspool a narrative of reflection as a means of looking forward, of establishing a personal framing as the foundation of what comes next in one’s life. The guitar and vocal melody interweave and shift in tone from introspective to assertive as the song progresses in a way that feels like something growing and branching out and embracing what nurtures the expansion. The minimalism in the earlier parts of the song fill in with a backdrop of luminous harmonics and guitar allowed to drift in phasing passages that curl around the percussion and rhythm guitar to convey a sense of well being that uplifts the melancholic mood of the song borne of learning to let go of the habits of mind and living that no longer serve the life you want and are already leaning into. Listen to “Fine” on YouTube and follow Cosmic Madness at the links provided.

Cosmic Madness on Apple Music

Cosmic Madness on TikTok

Erin Frisby’s Vulnerable and Impassioned Protest Folk Single “F*cking Bitch” Honors the Memory of Renee Good

No one with a shred of conscience of basic decency will forget the ICE execution of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 7, 2026 or the subsequent act against Alex Pretti in the same city on January 24. Nor the demented and uncreative words of Good’s “alleged” killer, “Fuckin’ bitch” and its gross dehumanization of a person who was simply trying to leave an area where the President’s de facto private army was present in force while occupying a city on the pretext of a manufactured crisis and operating outside even the loosest interpretations of the operational mandate of ICE and CBP. Washington DC-based songwriter Erin Frisby, clearly deeply affected by the incident, wrote a song taking those words tossed at Good after her extrajudicial murder as a title. Frisby’s voice is sensitive and vulnerable yet strong in its conviction as she sings her words and reclaims the concept as a symbol of everything feared by fascists and misogynists (a lot of overlap there) who project their insecurity everywhere in acts of violence of various kinds and lately finding a state-sanctioned vehicle for that with joining ICE with little training or qualifications. Frisby’s guitar work is spare but keeps the rhythm and defiant tenor of the song going and helps render the impassioned words immediately accessible. Folk music after the 60s can often be simply a creative exercise and fine on its own, Frisby with this song imbues the style with the fiery and pointed yet emotionally nuanced power of something from back when folk music was the format of a lot of protest music. Watch the video for “F*cking Bitch” on YouTube and follow Erin Frisby at the links below.

Erin Frisby on Bandcamp

KEEP YA NOSE OUT Processes Grief With an Aching Poignancy on the Neo-Soul and Drum and Bass Flavored Single “I WILL SEE YOU CRY”

KEEP YA NOSE OUT, photo courtesy the artists

On its single “I WILL SEE YOU CRY” KEEP YA NOSE OUT combines indie-adjacent minimal guitar pop with DnB breakbeats and soulful vocals with some processing to give it a glitch edge. The dual vocal delivery and the way the song is arranged is equal parts reggaeton-flavored hip-hop and neo soul. The song expresses a reaction to emotional betrayal that is deeply vulnerable and does nothing to mask the hurt. That the song’s production leans into an atmospheric moodiness over the urgent beats adds to its impact especially when the lead vocals draw out the lyrics toward the end of the song like the meaning of the song could be either wanting to see someone cry not necessarily because of the hurt experienced but to see some kind of normal human reaction that might elicit an acknowledgment that the pain isn’t something experienced alone. Listen to “I WILL SEE YOU CRY” on Spotify and follow KEEP YA NOSE OUT at the links provided. The London, UK-based duo released its new EP I’m Still Mates With My Demons EP on February 13, 2026.

keepyanoseout.com

KEEP YA NOSE OUT on Facebook

KEEP YA NOSE OUT on TikTok

KEEP YA NOSE OUT on Instagram

KEEP YA NOSE OUT on YouTube

Metropolis Ensemble, Erik Hall, Sandbox Percussion Present a Cinematic and Emotionally Rich Version of Simeon ten Holt’s “Canto Ostinato Sections 74-87”

Metropolis Ensemble, Erik Hall, Sandbox Percussion, photos courtesy the artists

Metropolis Ensemble’s Andrew Cyr, Erik Hall and members of Sandbox Percussion are set to release their version of Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt’s landmark 1976 piece Canto Ostinato via Western Vinyl on April 3, 2026. But for now you can take in an granular level of composition and energetic performance of the “Canto Ostinato Sections 74-87” from the newly rendered work. This portion of the recording highlights the dramatic, cinematic and expressive aspects of ten Holt’s original and the collaborators’ attention to the finer details of the performance that build from smaller components into a dynamic and nuanced, vibrant emotional whole with an ebb and a flow like life itself. What emerges in the listening is how the work allows for individual expression interweave with those of all the players in an organic manner that heightens the contributions of all into a larger whole like a collective, intuitive form of performance that strikes the listener in a similar fashion, a sort of collaborative feeling of a sense of something bigger. Listen to “Canto Ostinato Sections 74-87” on YouTube and follow the artists at the links below.

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Sandbox Percussion on Facebook

Metropolis Ensemble on Instagram

Drum & Lace Soundtracks a Future Science Fiction Body Horror Classic on IDM Ambient Single “Lichen”

Drum & Lace, photo by Priscilla C. Scott

“Lichen,” the lead single from Drum & Lace’s forthcoming EP Terra (out March 13, 2026 via Mesh), is brimming with richly saturated synth tone in the foreground and layers of well-crafted percussion/textures and rhythmic bass coursing through the song. The music video looks like a kind of video from an alien scientist examining a biological specimen through a high tech imaging method that links observable phenomena with boxes and lines as a graphic interrelational tool. The sound design approach of the composition and arrangement immediately puts your mind into a state of curiosity and wonder and wanting more of where this music and the visuals are leading without a word having to be spoken or lyrics providing a narrative. Alex Garland, David Cronenberg, Flying Lotus should tap the cleverly named Drum & Lace for soundtrack work in upcoming films because Sofia degli Alessandri-Hultquist clearly has a keen ear for futuristic vibes and a command of combining IDM, ambient and dubtechno aesthetics. Watch the video for “Lichen” on YouTube and follow Drum & Lace at the links below.

drumeandlacemusic.com

Drum & Lace on Instagram

Drum & Lace on Bandcamp

Norwegian Punk Band Poor Bambi Demands to Be Heard in the Oligarchic Twilight on the Spirited “Let Me Speak”

Norwegian punk band Poor Bambi recently released its debut album Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We’re Drowning (out February 6, 2026 on Apollon Records) filled with songs that have eclectic musical roots but a coherent and emotionally charged sound. The new single “Let Me Speak” seems to echo the sentiments of the title of the album and the title track itself. Soaring guitar lines and charging rhythms are punctuated by spirited vocals that deliver words coming from a place of someone who has felt ignored by the powerful and privileged but the social/economic/political climate for that status quo is coming to an end as people seem to be waking up to the possibilities of not settling for the bare minimum while a corrupt and grossly debauched elite treat other people and the planet itself as disposable and not worthy of respect with a long held expectation that the non-powerful should be quiet and take what’s given. But like most things in the world of society and politics that’s a contingent reality that can change abruptly when a mass of people refuse to go along with the oppressing narrative and seize what’s rightfully theirs. The song has that kind of energy. Fans of Cheap Perfume and Sweeping Promises will appreciate the sounds and attitudes Poor Bambi is offering. Listen to “Let Me Speak” on YouTube and follow Poor Bambi at the links below.

Poor Bambi on Facebook

Poor Bambi o TikTok

Poor Bambi on Instagram

JOMOON Alchemically Combines Sonic Darkness and Transcendence on Experimental Downtempo Track “Her Veins”

“Her Veins” by JOMOON begins with a menace like standing next to a portal to a dark and mysterious dimension. The distorted pulse and swirl that is in the foreground early in the song is reminiscent of Geoff Barrow’s and Ben Salisbury’s soundtrack work for Annihilation. It conveys a deep sense of an otherworldly presence offset by the introspectively soulful vocals that shine in a different manner at the halfway mark when the melodies shimmer in and through the track with bright, ethereal tones like a soothing breeze providing an emotional uplift. Fans of HIDE and Church Fire will appreciate the creative soundscaping and almost sound design approach to the composition of the song and how it employs both musical darkness and psychic transcendence as emotional colorings in blurring the line between rhythm and tone. Listen to “Her Veins” on Bandcamp and follow the Rome, Italy-based artist JOMOON at the links below. The full-length album Sugar released on January 30, 2026 via NOISEBERRY.

jomoon.fm

JOMOON on Instagram

Half Shadow’s New Psychedelic Folk Single “Fruit” is a Song About Savoring the Grounding Experiences of the Lived Existence

Half Shadow, photo courtesy Jesse Carsten

The touch of reverse delay on the guitar at the beginning of Half Shadow’s “Fruit” gives it the proper sonic entryway to a song about reflecting on the good things one has cultivated in life. And of the things that bring a grounding meaning to one’s everyday existence. It celebrates the details that are often missed and taken for granted and the cycles that give the context to the lived experience. The gentle acoustic guitar running through the song pair well with the minimal percussion as well as with Jesse Carsten’s warmly sensitive vocals. It is a layered rhythm that functions as a texture that lends the song a comfortingly tactile quality. Musically it is reminiscent of early 70s psychedelic pop, like a softer side of Cat Stevens, or early Devendra Banhart. Whatever actual stylistic touchstones the song and the rest of the Wind Inside 7” (out March 6, 2026 via Antiquated Future Records) has, “Fruit” is one of the finest recent songs written about savoring life and personal growth and accepting and embracing that which grounds you in the vitality of existence. Watch the video for “Fruit” on YouTube and follow Half Shadow at the links below.

halfshadow.cargo.site

Half Shadow on Facebook

Half Shadow on Instagram

Half Shadow on Bandcamp

Paula T’s Hyperpop Single “Sugar Tits” Examines the Contradictions of Preserving One’s Identity and a Yearning to Be Desired

Paula T’s second single “Sugar Tits” (following “Canary”) begins with a bit of a statement of intention in a spoken word intro. But then the song with its surreal and at times whimsical melodies is couched in a driving beat that lends it the quality of a more straightforward pop song. But the whole thing is more than a bit subversive as the singer’s lyrics explore the contradictions of wanting to be desired and adored but also not wanting to be defined by what someone else desires and what they want you to be rather than who and even what you really are as a human that is never always completely one thing or another in the grand scheme of a lifetime. And how if you’re just human with genuine feelings that you don’t’ always express in a way that fits into some kind of commodified identity you might face rejection. Nevermind how you can’t be all things to anyone and how often you’re not enough for other people in the ways they expect. It’s a short song at two minutes eleven but Paula T seems to bake a lot of commentary and personal insight into a song that is also an undeniably fun and boundary-pushing hyperpop dance song. Listen to “Sugar Tits” on Spotify and follow Paula T on Instagram.

Old Man of the Woods Conjures a Deep Sense of the Beautifully Otherworldly in the Looped Vocals of “Edges of Pleasure”

Old Man of the Woods, photo by Ian Lowell

Old Man of the Woods is the project of Miranda Elliott. The songwriter, producer and singer has an album called Cape Perpetua due out March 10, 2026. But for now you can get lost in the ambient vocal collage of “Edges of Pleasure.” For the music video we see scenes from a stained glass projected against images of branches at dusk. The layers of vocals are arranged to complement and build into an almost iterative field of sound and conveying a sense of the otherworldly. Accompanying the looped and lightly processed vocals is perhaps a touch of a harmonic background but the focus is certainly on the way a human voice can be its own instrument and utilized in a musical way that goes beyond what we’re used to in anything resembling mainstream music. Fans of Lucky Dragons and Married in Berdichev will feel an immediate connection to this music using unconventional methods to create something of undeniable beauty and evocative power. Watch the video for “Edges of Pleasure” on YouTube and follow Old Man of the Woods at the links provided.