I’ve been revisiting albums from my past recently, and it’s funny how much you can forget until you turn that music back on. You can entirely forget the significance a song holds for you and the memories it’s woven into until its melody resurfaces. It brings back echoes of profound heartaches, periods of intense joy, and moments of transition or change. It’s wild how you can’t predict which memories will become linked to specific songs, but it’s fun to revisit them and see what you remember. Maybe some of these will be that for you: 

Nia Archives – Unfinished Business

“For the longest time I thought I just wanted to be loved,” English DJ and songwriter Nia Archives whispers at the start of new newest track “Unfinished Business”, “I just don’t want anyone to make me feel unloved.” The Leeds-raised 24 year-old has been at it for a while, slowly etching her name and style into the drum and bass / jungle scene for a number of years. Her debut EP (all the way back in 2021 A.D.) “Headz Gone West” broke through into the cultural zeitgeist and attracted jungle and dance fans across generations (check out Off “Wiv Ya Headz”, a jungle remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads WIll Roll”). Now, as she prepared to release her debut record “Silence Is Loud”, she’s dropped Unfinished Business, a wispy and frenetic dance track that feels both urgent and contemplative, Nia contends with feelings of the a lover who is living in the past; with someone who won’t let go. Silence Is Loud is out April 12th via HIJINXX/Island Records. 

Angélica Garcia – Color de Dolor 

Grief is hard to pin down. The road to healing through grief is nuanced, non-linear and full of both intense pain and joy. For LA-based experimental pop artist Angélica Garcia, it is the wellspring from which she pulls for her forthcoming album, “Gemelo”. Color De Dolor, the first single from the record, is a kaleidoscope of textures that evoke the imagery of a tapestry of emotions. Sung entirely in Spanish, Garcias vocals float passionately atop strutting percussiveness and warmly ethereal synths that flow through the track like a late summer breeze. It’s beautiful – full stop. “Gemelo” is out June 7th via Partisan Records. 

Dana Gavanski – Song for Rachel

Losing a friend takes absolutely everything out of you. It’s like the floor drops beneath you and you begin a freefall (but the ground was solid just a second ago!) London by way of Vancouver songwriter Dana Gavanski is preparing to release her third full length LP “LATE SLAP,” and has dropped a steady stream of curiously strange and catchy tracks leading up to its release such as “How to Feel Uncomfortable” and “Let Them Row.” “Song for Rachel” delicately weaves a tapestry of meditative melodies, accompanied by mid-tempo drum beats, whimsically sweet synth lines and deadpan bursts of piano. It’s enchanting and somber. LATE SLAP is out 4/5 via Full Time Hobby.

Blue Hawaii- Diamond Shovel 

Hyperactive and aggressive, Blue Hawaii’s Diamond Shovel feels like how it must feel to shove your head inside of a fax machine at 100mph (or 160 km per hour for our metric-system using friends). The Canadian electronic duo is gearing up to drop their second LP, “Feeling Celebrated,” and they’ve just unleashed a frenzied dance track that samples Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.” With pounding techno beats and metallic melodies that wouldn’t sound out of place at NYC’s Limelight club, Diamond Shovel is deeply fun. 

H.Pruz – Dawn 

I’ve been sufficiently blown away by Brooklyn-based artist H.Pruz. Their songs evoke a softness and ease that one can really lean on and relax into. Their last single “I Keep Changing” was beautifully meditative and deeply catchy. As they prepare to release their debut record “No Glory,” they’ve given us another single to ponder. Dawn floats gently down a tapestry of whispered dreams and soft hues, embracing the listener in what feels like a big warm blanket. “No Glory” is out next Friday, 3/29 via Mtn Laurel Recording Co. 

Words by Conor Rooney