introvertallison – jeremy parks
The verdict
“jeremy parks pours a lifetime of love into 'allison', a tender folk-rock tribute that's one of our faves this september”
'allison' is an intimate, unguarded single. feels a bit like letter you weren't supposed to read, deeply moving in its emotional honesty. parks describes it as a tribute to the greatest love of his life, and that sincerity saturates every note. recorded primarily at his home studio with drums and bass tracked remotely, the track came together in just a day or two, but it's all just details when it sounds this warm. it shuffles along at just the right pace, calling to mind belle and sebastian at times, and holding a kind of simplicity that the best indie folk has. it's a heartfelt, beautifully honest single.
jeremy parks is an atlanta-based artist who wears every hat on this release. songwriter, producer, performer. collaborators niel brooks handling mixing, mastering and bass, and dillon napier on drums. that small, trusted circle shows in how cohesive the track feels, everyone pulling in the same direction. parks clearly isn't interested in overthinking things; he found the song, tracked it quickly, and let the honesty do the heavy lifting. it's simple, great and direct. that's a rare skill worth paying attention to. a favourite this month.
thank u for making this jeremy parks 💌
celtic lindisfarne – antony perkin
The verdict
“antony perkin weaves lindisfarne's sacred history into a gorgeous folk ballad, ancient in spirit and achingly beautiful”
'celtic lindisfarne' opens with a reverent hush, a stillness that belongs to stone churches and empty coastlines. perkin draws on the spiritual traditions of the lindisfarne monks and you can hear both in the way the song moves. unhurried, candlelit, heavy with meaning. there's a lovely texture here that feels ethereal, voices and instruments layered to evoke something older than the recording itself. the lyrics circle around familiar ground: light pushing through darkness, new growth in the ruins, the stubborn way people keep going. it's a lovely, evocative single.
antony perkin is a composer and storyteller based in bradford, england. his work sits at the intersection of celtic folk tradition and contemporary indie, pulling threads from ancient liturgy and turning them into something that breathes in the present day. 'celtic lindisfarne' is part of a broader project exploring the spiritual and musical heritage of the north east, and it's clear perkin has spent serious time with that history. there's a patience to how he writes that not every folk act manages. a lovely, thoughtful voice.
thank u for making this antony perkin 🕯️
dawn – petra jasmiina
The verdict
“petra jasmiina crafts a tender cottagecore daydream in 'dawn', turning longing into a vivid nordic idyll”
dawn is an escapist love letter written before the life it describes exists. petra jasmiina builds an ordinary morning with a partner in a small countryside home, every detail precise and achingly hopeful. the production blends folk pop warmth, a lovely room sound, with dreamy guitar textures, keeping things intimate without ever feeling sparse. there's a softness here that earns its vulnerability, and it's got a lovely daydream vibe. it's a gorgeous, soft and ambitious single.
petra jasmiina is a finnish singer-songwriter and producer based in new york city, blending nordic folk traditions with cinematic pop hooks. she's been described as what happens if taylor swift and aurora met in a forest. since arriving in nyc in 2015 she's performed at venues like pete's candy store, scandinavia house and the united nations. her 2022 music video for 'naive' picked up best pop music video at the europe music awards. there's a lovely creative world-building going on here, so we can't wait for what's next.
thank u for making this petra jasmiina 🌾
beautiful day – andy smythe
The verdict
“andy smythe delivers a sun-drenched slice of acoustic rock joy, channeling beach boys warmth with soaring vocals”
'beautiful day' earns its title without a hint of irony. smythe builds the track around bright acoustic textures and a vocal performance that moves from intimate croon to full, open-throated joy. it lands a little somewhere between jeff buckley's control and harry nilsson's playfulness. the single follows his critically acclaimed album 'quiet revolution' and a sold-out headline show at london's blackheath halls, and you can hear that confidence in every note. guitarist paul challenger and producer dave palmer help shape an arrangement that stays crisp and joyful throughout, the power pop influences worn proudly but never overstated. it's a incredibly warm, optimistic record, which i definitely need more of these days.
andy smythe is an independent singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in london, originally from shropshire, with over two decades in the uk acoustic and folk-rock scenes. he's logged more than a thousand live performances and released eight studio albums, including 'poetry in exile' and 'quiet revolution'. his writing moves across topics from the human condition to the anxieties of artificial intelligence, always with intricate arrangements and a literate edge. he's drawn praise from mike scott of the waterboys and picked up airplay across bbc introducing. it's that kind of range takes years to build, and we love it.
thank u for making this andy smythe ☀️