Check out new releases from Jakarta-based quartet Guernica Club, Dutch singer-songwriter Anne-Fay, and LA-via-Chicago musician Houses.
Guernica Club – Self Esteem in Progress (Wonder Kreatif Media)
Jakarta-based quartet Guernica Club present their debut EP, Self Esteem in Progress. The four-track debut is a nostalgic ride with colorful synths and danceable melodies reminiscent of 80’s pop music. While sonically the EP is filled with upbeat and uplifting dream-pop bops, the group covers topics such as the isolation and loneliness that came along with the pandemic. The Indonesian group is made up of four members: Kenisa (vocals), Fathur (bass and producer), Raynaldo (guitar), and Yosua (keyboard). Listen to Self Esteem in Progress out now via Wonder Kreatif Media.
Anne-Fay – Reaspora (Onyx & Ivory)
In her new album REASPORA, Dutch singer-songwriter Anne-Fay explores her familial roots and follows the diaspora of her family. Anne-Fay has white skin and was born to a Black mother. Growing up in the Netherlands, she acknowledged her white-passing privilege but felt compelled to further understand her family’s history and their ties to the diaspora. Says Anne-Fay, “the brutal colonial past of the Netherlands has ensured that I live here in a privileged country, with beautiful people around me. My work is about acknowledging the past, recognizing in the present, and creating a beautiful future together.” In an exploration of her identity, Anne-Fay traveled to Aruba, Curaçao, Suriname, and Ghana to learn more about her history, and while there, worked with local producers to find the right mix of styles for her album. Listen to Reaspora (Onyx & Ivory) out now.
Houses – Drugstore Heaven (Downtown)
LA-via-Chicago musician Dexter Tortoriello – aka Houses – released his third full-length album Drugstore Heaven, taking on the same name from his 2018 EP. The full-length album contains the previously released singles “Paranoid”, “Automatic”, and “Bad Checks,” as well as the four-song 2018 EP Drugstore Heaven. With all the songs on the album, Houses says “The best of these songs were written for my dead friends that I’m still trying to impress 15 years later. The worst of them are probably the ones where I’m trying to impress you.” Says Houses, “this record is a memorial for the people and places I knew back then and the life we lost along the way.”
