Listen: Two More Years by Caleb L’Etoile

Starting with the kind of garage-influenced percussion leveraged by Hot Chip, Caleb L’Etoile’s Two More Years is a song made of just two notes.

The whole record rides along in the same grunge-y, dirty synth pattern. With L’Etoile’s vocals layered into the mix, and atop one another, the simplistic nature of his performance contrasts to the distorted chaos of the instrumentation.

The combination of the vocal and instrumental elements provide the song a kind of internal innocence. As a song, Two More Years is about the experience of losing someone important from your life, and imagining running into them again. Caleb’s vocals have the feel of an internal monologue, his mind ticking over as he envisions bumping into this person… the mental exercise of trying something on and exploring how it would feel. Does my pulse race? Do we click back into a familiar repartee? Does this still hurt?

Overall, Caleb L’Etoile has made a remarkably affecting piece of music out of something surprisingly minimal. The rawness he employs only adds to the sense of emotional honesty.

Listen: lØve! By Ambergrove featuring Dre Ishmail

lØve! is a chaotic, psychedelic and beautiful collage that recently I have found myself consistently coming back to it.

Originally created to be a b-side by the artist collective Ambergrove, lØve! is a song they have been sat on for some time. Having initially decided not to release it, the group unearthed it again, just as they wrapped up the recording of their debut album.

The song lØve! is actually a riff on an Ambergrove fan favourite, dØves!, taking that earlier song and reversing it. Despite being just two minutes long, dØves! moves through two distinct movements, creating an almost two-act, theatrical feel to the song. lØve! is similar, but arguably more dramatic, extending things by a minute, and adding what feels like a third act.

The crunchy, sample heavy production style clearly owes a debt to Bon Iver’s landmark album 22, A Million. Ambergrove leverage the same contrast between multi-layered electronics combined with the crisp and clean vocal that opens up here at the one-minute mark.

In contrast to dØves!, itself a distinctive and experimental track, lØve! is bolder, the sound of a group of artists pushing confidently into new sounds. This is particularly the case in the way they create the space for UK hip-hop artist Dre Ishmail to deliver a heartfelt, clear eyed vocal as the song draws to its conclusion.

Overall, I found the track affecting, distinctive and original. Check it out below:

Listen: You Wanted This by Jodie Nicholson

It has been almost four years since Newcastle-upon-Tyne musician Jodie Nicholson first appeared on BlackPlastic.co.uk with Move, a sophisticated, dark piece of progressive pop.

Since then, we have also heard from Jodie with her single Why Would You (Go), a song with the drama of far off thunderstorms. The fact that even this song is now almost three-years-old breaks my brain a little. Jodie’s music has stuck with me in a way that means I find myself often coming back to it, and I had no concept of how much time had passed since first hearing of her.

The good news is that she is back with not just a new single, but a whole album. Entitled Safe Hands, the new album opens with this latest single, You Wanted This, making it the perfect (re-)introduction to Jodie’s sound and latest vision.

With gentle-yet-insistent piano chords and a hushed vocal, Nicholson’s latest song unfurls slowly before these initial elements are joined by slow, considered synths and a dubby, heavy four-four beat. Jodie’s vocals take on a filtered effect, creating the intimate feeling of a voice note left on your phone, but also providing remarkable contrast as she opens up on the bridge. As ever, the effect is astounding, both cinematic, and remarkably restrained.

Those hushed vocals are perhaps intended to be the sort of memo you record for yourself, with You Wanted This being a song about the complex feelings Nicholson has about being a musician. The song is an overt reminder of the drive that led Nicholson to make music in the first place, as she describes:

“To me, You Wanted This is about remembering why I fell in love with music in the first place. As a kid, I was obsessed with Avril Lavigne, wished I was one of Roger Waters’ backing vocalists, always searching for cool music that no-one else was listening to, wanting to be on (British TV talent show) Stars In Their Eyes and sitting in the back of the car pretending I was in a music video, singing all moody through the window… It’s thinking back to how I viewed music then and regaining that child-like excitement for the music I make now as an artist. I’d like to think that if I ever have a wobble, this track will serve as a personal reminder of why I love being an artist and what I can be capable of. Unintentional, but it’s a pretty nice feeling.”

You Wanted This is out now, and will be followed by the album, Safe Hands, via Quiet Crown / Absolute on 10 May 2024. You can also see Jodie live in the UK in May and June, with tickets available here:

18 MAY | Glasshouse ICM, Gateshead

04 JUN | Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds

05 JUN | Lower Third, London

06 JUN | Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

08 JUN | Crofter's Rights, Bristol

09 JUN | Komedia, Brighton

11 JUN | YES (Basement), Manchester

12 JUN | SWG3 Poetry Club, Glasgow

Listen: Change Your Life by Just A Leo

Just A Leo are a duo who look to create a sense of nostalgia, with an electronic DIY aesthetic from their bedroom studio. With Kalliope providing vocals, and Andie on drums and bass, the pair share keys and production duties, as they fuse elements of dance, synth and electronic pop, soul, and house.

On new single Change Your Life, Just A Leo have created a deep, synth-led piece of pop music. The song is a tribute to the experience of embarking on life-changing actions and decisions. Inspired by the pair’s planned move from Australia to Europe, the song was created shortly before they moved. Change Your Life is based on the band’s ‘future-active reflection on how important this event would be’. Having now completed their move, the pair say:

‘Since being in Europe — it's been the best thing we've ever done. We've grown as people, had so many new experiences, immersed ourselves in a new culture, grown up, encountered soul-crushing challenges and overcome them. Now we feel fierce, like we can take on anything that this life will throw up to us. Whatever sense of stability you have isn't real. So you might as well take that leap of faith. Is it really that scary to step into the unknown when it's the only place we exist in?’

That sense of taking a step into the unknown, and the fear and excitement that comes with it, is captured perfectly on Change Your Life. The song’s synths and melodic bass tones evoke the sounds of Europe’s Mediterranean coast, and the desire and anticipation is tangible, particularly in the song’s bridge. It is a moment of reflection and peace before the song moves forwards, taking us towards our own change, as the bass and percussion kicks in one last time.

Watch: Reckoning by Jakke

Having originally establishing is career in alternative rock, Jakke gradually found his creativity transcended genre classifications. He began making dance music and evolving as a DJ, blending live instrumentation and electronic elements together to move audiences.

On his latest single, Reckoning, Jakke continues to experiment across genres, fusing the confessional potential of the singer-songwriter format with the emotional resonance of electronic music. Created with the fans of Lane 8 and Chris Martin’s Coldplay in mind, the song looks to wrestle with the negative consequences of war, conflict, and hardship. Discussing Reckoning, Jakke says:

‘The message of this song came to me after feeling distraught by the horrors of war and suffering that I routinely saw online in the news and social media. Whether it was disturbingly tragic images from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, South America, or beyond, I felt overwhelmed with sadness and unsure of just how to respond. I wanted to acknowledge(…) what I saw and felt, without adding to all the noise online. It is my hope for this song to be a way to speak out to everyone going through such misfortune to say “I see you and I feel for you”. I hope anyone else who hears this can bring awareness and empathy to those who do not have the luxury of safety and peace.’

The music itself is deftly produced, electronic elements layered together to create a subtle foundation for Jakke’s melodic vocal and a melodic piano refrain. The result is crisp and modern, yet emotive and, ultimately, human.

Check out Reckoning below, or stream it on your platform of choice here.