<p><span><span><span>- I’m not overly familiar with Melbourne producer, Hektor. Well, he only has a one-hundred-and-fifty FB likes. I hope, however, that his new EP, </span><em>Rituals</em><span>, makes him a more memorable figure when it comes to booking Australia’s dance circuit. I don’t think he’s come up through the dance scene, but rather, as some of the best producers do, he benefits from a classical music education and beyond that, some kind of career doing soundtrack music - though I don’t, to be honest, know what.

<p><span><span>- When a band is led by someone as mercurial as <strong>Will Toledo</strong>, it’s often wise to expect the unexpected with each new release. Such is the case with Car Seat Headrest, the American indie rock band whose last studio recording was a track-for-track remake of their 2011 self-released opus <em>Twin Fantasy</em>. Fittingly for this utterly weird year, Toledo has taken to wearing a gas mask as alter-ego Trait, while for this new album, he assembled his musicians to record the songs twice and mash the results together.

<p><span><span>- Coming through with a trim, five song track listing, this new release dons the cap of an EP. Looks are inherently deceiving though. These five songs amount to a bee’s dick under an hour’s worth of material. Combined, it should all be consumed in a single sitting, the material blends together as smooth as butter in a saucepan. These are five distinguished pieces with a galvanised musical movement. Due to their sheer length, they don’t lend themselves to being listened to on repeat as individual songs.

- Isolation has become more than just a debut album name for pop sensation Kali Uchis. Released in 2018, the project was a wide success and led to a series of singles and guest features on the path to the eventual follow up. This was, of course, before the COVID pandemic struck and left Kali unable to release whatever was in store. With ongoing delays, Kali has instead opted to release a four-track EP entitled TO FEEL ALIVE, comprised entirely of songs written and recorded in isolation.

<p><span><span><span>- Apparently, if you live in Melbourne, you’ll know Claire Birchall</span><strong> </strong><span>a lot better than I do, thanks to her band, </span><strong>Claire Birchall &amp; The Phantom Hitchhikers</strong><span>.

<p><span><span>- Roza Terenzi has just released her debut album, <em>Modern Bliss</em>, on <strong>D. Tiffany</strong>’s label, <strong>Planet Euphorique</strong>. Terenzi and <strong>DJ Zozi</strong> collaborated for Planet Euphorique's inaugural EP in 2018 and Modern Bliss is the label's first LP.

<p><span><span>- Stalwart followers have heard me bang on about the hypnagogic hip-hop scene for long enough, praising artists like <strong>MIKE</strong>, <strong>Standing On The Corner</strong>, and recent convert <strong>Earl Sweatshirt</strong> for their dreamy explorations of sample based jazz-rap. LA based Pink Siifu sits adjacent to scene progenitors, New York's<strong> sLUms </strong>collective, plying their abstract poetry with rasped yet reserved fusions of spoken word and RnB.

- SAWAYAMA, the self-titled debut from London based Japanese singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama is a revelation. Sure she’s influenced by fellow Londoners Charli XCX and Kero Kero Bonito, but Sawayama’s scope on this record covers exciting new territory. From the hard rock of STFU! to the disco-affected album highlight Comme des garcons (Like the Boys Do), Rina Sawayama finds her own ground amidst a golden age of experimental pop.