Aaaaand we did it. It’s the end of this month, and this is the third edition of this column.

You know how I was banging on about you being a clean slate at the end of last month? Well, now you get to give up the pretence. It’s very nearly the end of the first month of the year. I can’t believe we did it.

In celebration, I’ve arranged a small list of tunes for you. Songs on the fragility of life, remembering evil, and struggling against yourself. I hope you like them. Celebrate good times, come on. Doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo, doo.

Ascend/Descend

Murdock Street

What would you do if your house burned down? Be pretty angry? Start a hardcore band? Maybe not, but that’s exactly what Ascend/Descend vocalist Michelle Dugan did.

“It all came to fruition after the fire,” Dugan told Vanyaland. “I had so much anger from that and other things I was going through, and I was writing a lot. I thought I might as well put all this to good use. It was a total catharsis, not just from the fire but for other things as well.”

On their debut EP, Ascend/Descend channel that fury into a constant stream of breakneck, bile-spitting call-outs of past enemies (“I wish that I could hate you, that’s what you deserve”), capitalist culture (“you’re bound to material greed – something that you’ll never need”), and vulnerability (“to feel safe is a privilege… don’t tell us it’ll be okay – you don’t know that, you never will”).

What Girl Wasted

I'll Be Your Mirror

Trans artist and musician Local Honey already has an extensive portfolio of thought-provoking, challenging art behind her, and this video/music piece is no exception. Taking in a trip through America’s gorgeous national parks as well as glitterball-lit studio-shot locations, it’s equal parts jarring and beautiful.

NSFW if your job doesn’t like you to look at butts at work, and check out the video description to read about some of Local Honey’s creative process.

The Birds Outside Sang by Florist

Florist

The Birds Outside Sang

Florist made me do a small cry on the inside when I first heard them. Emily Sprague’s spoken-word at the end of A Hospital + Crucifix Made Of Plastic got me right in the eyes.

Sprague started writing The Birds Outside Sang while recovering from a bike accident that left her with a broken arm and neck, but, thankfully, alive. Little wonder, then, that the songs that followed are spindly hugs that cradle your saddest, and then your most hopeful, emotions.

I also find the pastel-hued and pixellated album artwork very calming and comforting. Whoops, there I go crying again.

The album is out today.

Two White Cranes

Unattached

Roxy Brennan is always doing excellent DIY music things in Bristol (where I am too) and this release on Art Is Hard is no exception.

On Unattached Brennan deals with disassociation, a thoughtlessly partying partner, and the realisation that you’re not quite where you predicted you’d be a few months ago. The lone guitar line adds to the dreamy stream of consciousness atmosphere, and Brennan’s songwriting is typically clever and relatable.

DIY label Art Is Hard has launched a cute new service today where you can buy songs along with their own pin. See Two White Crane’s coffee-shaped one above and grab it here.

Demo 2015 by Girl_Anachronism

Girl Anachronism

Demo 2015

A trashy, furious duo singing about gendered bullshit and general nonsensical shit, too? Certainly.

I can’t make out anything vocally on Quest of Failure apart from the title, the scrappy harmonies on Girl Anachronism slay and I’m hearing “I’m a biscuit, I’m a faucet” on Angry Girls Club. One membership card, please.

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