With the release of the single "Play Me A Christmas Song", Stephen Dowd manages to bottle the very specific, blue-hued silence that falls over a living room once the wrapping paper has been cleared away. It is a curious thing, really, how a melody can act less like a sound wave and more like the smell of a candle that was blown out five...

Headmaster recently delivered "Seasons Autumn Vol. 2", the expansive second act of his ambitious four-part tetralogy exploring the cyclical, heavy machinery of human existence. You genuinely have to marvel at the real-world context grounding this record. The London-based multi-instrumentalist happens to be the actual CEO and Executive Headteacher Designate of the Hertswood Academy Trust. He channels his meticulous craft into this dynamic, thundering soundscape,...