Tag Archives: dream pop

N NAO – Nouveaux Langages – Volume I (Mothland)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description: L’auteure-compositrice-interprète de pop expérimentale montréalaise N NAO, alias Naomie de Lorimier fait appel à une pléthore d’artistes – Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Helena Deland, Das Beat, Ben Shemie (Suuns), Regularfantasy, Sea Oleena, Bénédicte, ainsi que son fidèle collaborateur Charles Marsolais-Ricard alias Charlin – sur Nouveaux Langages (17 juillet 2026 via Mothland), un nouvel album-double comprenant des collaborations, des remixes, ainsi que des démos inédits de son album nommé sur la longue liste du Prix de Musique Polaris 2025, Nouveau Langage. Ce dernier alliait avec brio chanson en français minimale et ambiante, transe aux boucles vocales et accroches mélodiques répétées, le tout paré de textes relationnels, de récits éco-féministes et de réflexions métaphysiques; l’artiste mettant en musique la « puissance de la douceur » sous le signe du feu.

À l’instar de son prédécesseur, Nouveaux Langages puise à même les timbres enregistrés sur bandes magnétiques, les arrangements mêlés d’instruments électroniques (synthétiseurs, boîtes à rythme, modules d’effets) et acoustiques à cordes (harpe, guitares, piano) où nichent aussi cloches, échantillonnage, soundscaping et field recordings, arborant lui aussi des sonorités oniriques et éthérées. Pour le Volume I de ce nouvel ouvrage, N NAO revisite avec qui elle collabore des souvenirs façonnés à deux, s’inspirant de ces genèses impromptues pour guider le processus créatif. Le Volume II, lui, fait vœu de la dévoiler dans toute sa vulnérabilité, se déclinant en une série de pièces-phares enregistrées sur un 4-pistes lors d’une résidence au Couvent des Petites Franciscaines de Marie à Baie-Saint-Paul au printemps 2023.

Montréal experimental pop singer-songwriter N NAO a.k.a. Naomie de Lorimier calls upon a plethora of artists—Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Helena Deland, Das Beat, Ben Shemie (Suuns), Regularfantasy, Sea Oleena, Bénédicte, as well as her longtime collaborator Charles Marsolais-Ricard a.k.a. Charlin—on Nouveaux Langages (July 17th, 2026 via Mothland), a new double-album featuring collaborations, remixes, as well as unreleased demos from her Polaris Music Prize long-listed album, Nouveau Langage. Her 2025 release skillfully combined minimal and ambient French-language song with a trance of vocal loops and repeated melodic hooks, all adorned with relational lyrics, eco-feminist narratives, and metaphysical reflections; the artist setting to music the “power of gentleness” under the sign of fire.

Like its predecessor, Nouveaux Langages draws from dreamlike and ethereal sounds recorded onto reel-to-reel tape via arrangements mixing electronic instruments (synthesizers, drum machines, effects modules) and acoustic string instruments (harp, guitars, piano), which also house bells, sampling, soundscaping, and field recordings. For Volume I of this new work, N NAO revisits memories shaped together with her collaborators, drawing inspiration from these impromptu beginnings to guide the creative process. Volume II, on the other hand, vows to unveil her in all her vulnerability, taking the form of a series of unreleased origin pieces recorded on a 4-track during a residency at Couvent des Petites Franciscaines de Marie in Baie-Saint-Paul in the Spring of 2023.

Volume I

  1. Déjà (feat. Sea Oleena)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Naomie de Lorimier
Voix, guitare acoustique et échantillonneur: Naomie de Lorimier
Voix et synthétiseurs modulaires: Charlotte Loseth
Harpe: Coralie Gauthier
Guitare acoustique: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard, Naomie de Lorimier et Charlotte Loseth
Mixage: Naomie de Lorimier
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

  1. Nouveau Langage (Charlin Remix)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Voix, piano, orgue, synthétiseur et échantillonneur: Naomie de Lorimier
Guitare acoustique, échantillonneur, batterie et programmation: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Batterie et programmation: Samuel Gougoux
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard et Naomie de Lorimier
Mixage: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

  1. Fleuron (feat. Helena Deland)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Helena Deland
Paroles additionnelles: Helena Deland
Voix: Naomie de Lorimier
Guitare électrique et voix: Helena Deland
Guitare acoustique, basse et batterie: Patrick Holland
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard et Patrick Holland
Mixage: Patrick Holland
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

  1. Echo (Ben Shemie Remix)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Ben Shemie
Voix, échantillonneur et cloches: Naomie de Lorimier
Synthétiseur, échantillonneur, voix, batterie et programmation: Ben Shemie
Guitare synthétiseur: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Batterie et programmation: Samuel Gougoux
Programmation: Simone Provencher
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard
Mixage: Ben Shemie
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

  1. Corps (feat. Lou-Adriane Cassidy)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Naomie de Lorimier
Voix, synthétiseur, échantillonneur, batterie et programmation: Naomie de Lorimier
Voix, batterie et programmation: Lou-Adriane Cassidy
Basse: Alexandre Martel
Synthétiseur et échantillonneur: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Batterie et programmation: Samuel Gougoux
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Naomie de Lorimier et Alexandre Martel
Mixage: Naomie de Lorimier
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

  1. Pleine Lune (Das Beat Remix)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Das Beat
Paroles additionnelles: Paulina Mertl
Voix: Naomie de Lorimier et Paulina Mertl
Synthétiseur et programmation: Alexander Cowan
Guitare électrique, synthétiseur et échantillonneur: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Batterie et programmation: Samuel Gougoux
Programmation: Simone Provencher et Jean-Bruno Pinard
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard
Mixage: Alexander Cowan
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

  1. Destin (RegularFantasy Remix)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Olivia Meek
Voix, synthétiseur, batterie et programmation: Naomie de Lorimier
Synthétiseur, batterie et programmation: Olivia Meek
Harpe: Rosalie Gauthier
Guitare acoustique: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Batterie et programmation: Samuel Gougoux
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard
Mixage: Olivia Meek
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

  1. Château d’eau (Bénédicte Remix)

Paroles et musique: Naomie de Lorimier
Réalisation: Maxime Gordon
Voix et synthétiseur: Naomie de Lorimier
Synthétiseur et programmation: Maxime Gordon
Harpe: Rosalie Gauthier
Synthétiseur: Jon Nellen
Synthétiseur: Charles Marsolais-Ricard
Batterie et percussion: Samuel Gougoux
Prise de son: Jean-Bruno Pinard
Mixage: Maxime Gordon
Matriçage: Francis Ledoux

MOTH046-DE

The Durutti Column – Renascent (London Records Ltd)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description: ‘Renascent’ marks the long-awaited return of legendary Manchester outfit The Durutti Column, their first new studio album in over fifteen years, produced by Keir Stewart.
Around the guitar work of Vini Reilly, the album plays between sonic atmospherics and structure: warm ambient washes, piano, beats and guest vocal turns by a new generation (Caoilfhionn Rose on “ Agonistes” and Lucas Elliot on CD bonus track “All they See is Fire ).

2026, The Durutti Column under exclusive licence(sic) to London Records

The Chills – Brave Words (Expanded And Remastered) [Fire Records]

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Label Description: The Chills reveal legendary debut Brave Words (Expanded and Remastered) will be released on double LP including a disc of unheard extras out 13th October on Fire Records. Remixed and remastered under the supervision of Martin Phillipps, this special release will feature brand new reimagined artwork by Martin.

The Chills have long been recognized as one of New Zealand’s most influential bands, Brave Words is a shining example of their unique sound and has been praised as a masterpiece by critics and fans alike.

“This is what a living legend looks and sounds like” Rolling Stone

Unwed Sailor – High Remembrance (Current Taste Music)

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Formed in the late 90s, Tulsa’s Unwed Sailor embrace a unique form of bass-led, instrumental pop with post-rock dynamics that glide between white-knuckled heaviness and breezy melodicism. Since returning from a decade-long pause in 2019, a prolific spree of creative exploration and genre blending has yielded their finest work to date, including Mute The Charm (2023), Underwater Over There (2024), and Cruel Entertainment (2025).

To craft their eleventh album, High Remembrance, founding member Johnathon Ford brought a series of home-recorded drafts, demos, and hooks to the studio, where they came to life with long-time collaborators Matt Putman (drums) and David Swatzell (guitar) guided by themes of nostalgia and the bittersweet comforts of memory. Across the album’s eight tracks, there are shades of peak era alt-rock grit, late 70s AM radio swagger, and rapturous New Wave abandon, among other touchstones that defy easy categorization.

“Truest Sentence” opens with vinyl crackle and a tremolo chime that summons an effortless groove full of layered guitars, complex percussion, and Ford’s distinctive bass guitar buzz, as catchy and head-noddingly punchy as ever. Lead single, “West Coast Prism”, pairs an indelible melodic hook with upbeat drums and a jangly arrangement that transforms into a driving, technicolor refrain. True to its title, the song evokes white light splitting into a spectrum, as spacious synths and soft backing vocals create an aura of melancholic bliss; Ford fittingly cites “a deep fondness for the ocean, surfing, redwoods, and rocky coastline of Oregon” as the spiritual backdrop for its environment.

Inspired by the ways that memories create personal identity, “Don’t Let Go” could be a lost alternative radio earworm with its taut pacing, crunchy tone, and woozy guitars, while its deceptively simple rhythm section and glitchy electronics root it firmly in the present. “Cinnamon” forefronts beautifully arranged acoustic guitar countermelodies, along with layers of subtle detail, choral vocals, and relaxed, upper-neck bass guitar strums. According to Ford, the song is “a tribute to the 70s and 80s country music that soundtracked family trips to the desert when I was a kid,” with Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty” as a particularly meaningful anchor point.

At this point in Unwed Sailor’s storied career, Ford finds some of his strongest inspiration in reflecting on where the project began, while perpetually pushing it forward with new ideas, arrangements, and genre infusions. “It’s become about holding onto the things you love the most,” he notes, “including yourself.” His chord-driven bass playing remains the common thread through the band’s records, lending a familiar gravitas and warmth to every new collection.

The second side of High Remembrance commences with “Punk Broke”, an homage to the band’s Seattle origins – and David Markey’s famed documentary, 1991: The Year Punk Broke – where whammy-bar wobble, palm muted picking, and shimmering synth stabs lead into an anthemic guitar solo that descends over a field of crisscrossing melodies. With its twang, reverb, and cumulus clouds of slow-attack keys, “Gingerman” evokes a nighttime desert drive with the cobalt fade of the day behind a jagged silhouette of distant mountains, while the sonic contrasts and layered mix of “Three Jewels” offer up the album’s most rewarding headphone listen.

Title track, “High Remembrance”, showcases Unwed Sailor’s ability to employ a relatively simple arrangement to create a memorable, widescreen finale and embody the tone of the album as a whole. Written back during the band’s hiatus in the 2010s, the song feels like a familiar forest trail seen during all four seasons at once, and as it closes with a long fade, we are left in the blurry, liminal space of memory, absorbing the last few moments of a reverie before returning to reality.

℗ + © 2026 Current Taste
Written, Performed & Recorded by Unwed Sailor (Johnathon Ford, Matthew Putman, David Swatzell, Patrick McGill)
Produced by Unwed Sailor and Kendal Osborne
All songs mixed by Kendal Osborne & Johnathon Ford
Mastered by Mat Leffler-Schulman
Assistant Engineer – Tristan Wright
—-
Engineered by
Matthew Putman at Electric Nebraska in Ft. Smith, AR
Kendal Osborne at Closet Studios in Bixby, OK
Johnathon Ford at Current Taste in Tulsa, OK
—-
Artwork/Design/Layout/Text/Font by Gary Prendergast
Published by Current Taste Music (BMI) / Mute the Charm Music (ASCAP)

galen tipton & Shmu – dewCLAWS (Orange Milk Records)

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Label Description:

Within ‘dewCLAWS’ is a digital orgy of goo-ey deconstructed and psychedelic club & dance music, including features from Hakushi Hasegawa, diana starshine, Ko T.C. & many others. Off the heels of the huge success of ‘You Like Music’ galen’s most recent collabo album with OM co-founder & dds heavyweight, Keith Rankin aka Giant Claw, as well as a collabo album with underground legend Holly Waxwing, galen brings all of their hallmark environment and naturesque zigzags that are beautifully balanced by Shmu’s emotional flurry of colorful tapestries, as their styles collide in a record that is both zany & in search of a new language for deeper emotions yet uncovered


All Songs Written, Arranged, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Galen Tipton & Shmu

Album, Single Artworks, Art Layout & Album Title by Mas Guerrero

Hakushi Hasegawa appears courtesy of Brainfeeder Records

Orange Milk Records 2025

xlmxkhfi – In The Threat Of Evening (Waxing Crescent Records)

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Label Description: Waxing Crescent is very happy to announce the new project from xlmxkhfi (al-makhfi, which translates to the hidden one). Based in Beirut, Sarah Huneidi is an editor and audio visual artist, and is co-founder of Shatr, a collective that aims to excite, nurture and showcase experimental modes of poetry and literature. I discovered Sarah thanks to Clair (HotGem), and listened to her EP ‘afterthought’ on VV-VA, which showcases ambient, dream pop sounds, produced through processing textures, vocals, and melodies on both hardware and software.