Maya Bon, the singer-songwriter behind Hudson, New York’s Babehoven, views light as one of life’s few fundamental truths. In times of pain, we often look to simple things we can rely on, and light is as reliable as they come. Babehoven’s first full-length album 'Light Moving Time' revolves around Bon’s view of life as a confusing, jarring, and kaleidoscopic experience filled with contradictions, loss, and change, so it’s no wonder Bon often looks to light — not so much for specific answers, but as a pillar of continuity and a marker of time.
Bon has built a solid partnership with her musical collaborator and producer Ryan Albert over the last few years, releasing several EPs together since 2018. Their work displays Bon’s emotionally incisive approach to songwriting that draws just as much power from abstract poetry that asks big questions as specific, personal vignettes. Similarly, 'Light Moving Time' rests on lyrics that zoom in and out, inviting listeners to bring their own experiences to these songs when her writing is more cryptic, and stew in the moments when Bon presents her entire heart on a platter.
https://babehoven.bandcamp.com
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Iris James Garrison and Alex Harwood come together as Bloomsday, the Brooklyn-based indie pop duo formed in 2019. The band is fronted by Iris (they/them), who sings with warmth and darkness in the quiet hours where shadows and ghosts rise to the surface. Over the course of 2020, Bloomsday’s debut album Place to Land was recorded as a collection of songs written throughout Iris’ gender transition. The songs weave through periods of loss, upheaval, hope, fear and setting oneself free. The album explores the yearn to find homes in other people, places, addictions or memories; ultimately finding a place to land within the self. The duo expresses their learned lessons through difficult growth that they witnessed in one another over the years, with playfulness and heart wrenching melodies, they hold space for whatever comes up. The "brotherly dynamic" brings tenderness and trust to the songs, as the two set out on a new chapter with their first ever LP.
https://bl00msday.bandcamp.com
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Katy Rea’s debut album, The Urge That Saves You was recorded entirely live. The empath rock, hook-filled record provides plenty to cling to all while splitting off into cinematic, dark psychedelia. The seamless shifts transpire masterfully, a unique mark of Rea’s talents. Her lead vocal is intense, melodic, and endlessly dynamic. This coupled with the touching restraint of the talented musicians joining her who’ve played with the likes of Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes, Widowspeak, and more makes for a timeless collection of what Rea calls “premonitions, prayers, and warnings.”