Listening to Marie Chain’s new single, “Holy Water,” is like turning a corner to find yourself in the midst of a sacred ritual already unfolding. It’s a gathering by a riverbank, but the river is made of sound—a compelling, moving current of Global Soul that tugs you in before you’ve even had a chance to decide if you want to get wet. https://open.spotify.com/track/2cvoVVph7OUL2iUNs1KPJB?si=7eceaad2ae824ed6 The beat has...

Martin Lloyd Howard has engineered a peculiar but entirely hypnotic time-slip on his new solo single, "Hidden Andalucia". Here is a piece of acoustic fingerstyle that defies basic gravity, built upon delicately plucked arpeggios that float above a soft, rhythmic bassline. https://open.spotify.com/album/5N48ROhSDPPCQiy8IOydGs?si=HAir8cZET7y9cg5r36PJQw As a classically trained English guitarist, Howard knows exactly how to manipulate the negative space between notes. He anchors the outer edges of this...