motel void

Three more songs we recommend — this time we’ll be travelling around the world again.

MARNI – YUMA

Yuma, the new single by the American shoegaze band Marni, is the final track from their new five-song EP flm era, which was released in the first half of October. Yuma isn’t as heavy as some of the band’s other tracks, but that only makes it more impactful – the transitions and various guitar tricks really shine here. I especially loved the break in the middle, when the vocals suddenly sink under a layer of effects that melodically reminded me of Have A Nice Life, and the guitars begin to roar. A very dignified ending to an excellent EP.

MARIEK – LANDFILL MIND

mariek is a solo project by Maria, a 23-year-old artist based in Moscow. Honestly, I don’t know many Russian artists in this indie genre – and given the current global situation, I subconsciously haven’t really been seeking them out either – but this song really caught my attention. mariek has a great feel for this genre, and it immediately reminded me of tracks somewhere between Clairo and Soccer Mommy. I especially appreciate that it’s entirely her own work, including production, instrumentation, and the subsequent post-production. Landfill Mind has very high quality across all elements – the vocals are excellent and perfectly suited to the genre – and there’s strong potential for her to break through soon in this scene, maybe even appearing on various bedroom-pop playlists.

TORIYAMA – GOLDSTAR

When my friend and I first started making songs as kids, the very first one we liked – we were about 13 – was called Goldstar, so I have a fairly nostalgic connection to the name. However, this Goldstar is definitely several levels above that. I really like the tape-like sound, as well as the backing vocal that surfaces from time to time and supports the lovely melody – urgent, whispery. Add to that an especially well-crafted and interesting instrumental part… I must say: very few people handle this genre as well as Toriyama.