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Montreal’s Ada Lea (the moniker of Alexandra Levy) latest single is “hurt,” her first new piece of music in 2021. “hurt” lives in a snowy Montreal winter, a city that Levy calls home and lives and breathes through her music. It thrums with bass and brooding keys, as Levy uses frank language and imagery: “somebody hurt me badly, now I’m stuck in a rut // now I don’t know my body // I could say it or say nothing at all // take a walk or take none at all // get on a bus back to montreal // tell my friends or say nothing at all.” When the song hits its peak, her voice is carried by a swirl of strings and quick-tempoed keys.
Like 2020’s woman, here EP, “hurt” was recorded in LA with producer/engineer Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers, Better Oblivion Community Center), and a band that includes Johanna Samuels (backing vocals), Harrison Whitford (guitars, bass), Eve Parker Finley (strings) and Tasy Hudson (drums). In the accompanying video, directed by Monse Muro, Levy sits at a decorated table, awash in desaturated colors. Peculiar images and colors flash through as the song grows in intensity.
"I wanted to find a way to communicate complicated feelings using the simplest language possible,” says Levy. “I came with a narrative and removed almost every detail, so as not to obfuscate the feeling - but left it open in terms of a resolution: was this hurt necessarily a bad thing?”
“hurt” follows Levy’s woman,> here EP (2020) and her debut, what we say in private (2019), a collection of raw, confessional, and at times messy emotions, presented through beautifully colorful pop songs. “hurt” is a first taste of what’s to come.
With Trying Not to Have a Thought, Algernon Cadwallader juggle intrinsic musical connection and shrewd lyrical intention with remarkable poise. The album’s title perfectly captures that dual approach: the effort to resist being mentally bogged down by the bottomless list of daily atrocities, and the band’s decision to let their unspoken connection guide this rejuvenated take on their classic sound. “This is just what comes out of us when these four people get in a room,” Helmis says. And this record is exactly that: an Algernon Cadwallader album that's leisurely, intensely, tremendously their own.
The 21st installment of Saddle Creek’s Document series features Whitmer Thomas, a multi-hyphenate whose unique vision has percolated across a range of mediums including TV, film, podcasts, and music. Tilt was recorded in Los Angeles with Jay Som and features contributions from Ian Farmer (Slaughter Beach Dog, Modern Baseball).
With I Hope We Can Still Be Friends, his debut for Saddle Creek, Dean Johnson makes a pact with the listener: He will sing you his truth in the most heartfelt and charming way possible, if you promise to keep an open mind.
