Across March, my listening habits seemed to have focused around female and feminine voices whilst listening to new releases and delving back in time (as I’m often inclined often to do.) Whether conscious or not, we have seen new releases from Aldous Harding and Lykke Li which rest on a spectrum of female emotion with Strawberry Switchblade, Dry Cleaning (soon to head to Australia as part of Vivid) and Lambrini girls.

Rage, beauty, trees and flowers, something about March’s music was exploring the diversity of female song writing. That said, there was still plenty of time for Australian male fronted projects such as EXEK and Buzz Kull, providing my mandatory monthly dose of post punk and darkwave. And whilst I was unable to talk to RZA, Wu-Tang Clan touring Australia again meant we had to visit Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Obviously, because they ain’t nothing to f’with.

Sliced by a Finger Nail by Dry Cleaning

Another perfectly deadpan monologue wrapped in wiry post-punk, where the banality of language becomes strangely seductive. It lingers in that precise space between irony and sincerity that you’re instinctively drawn to and makes me very curious for the forthcoming Vivid Show.

I Know by Swapmeet

This band genuinely excites me, power and precision is most certainly present.

Arriverderci Back Pain by EXEK

It’s just a Fleshwound, Darling was the song that really broke me into Exek and evidently, I’m into them writing about pain. A hypnotic, motorik pulse drives this into something quietly obsessive, equal parts restraint and unease.

Cult of Celebrity by Lambrini Girls

Not the first band to ever critique this subject but there is something fun that shines through the evil of the world in their version. It’s violent and their ferocity makes them hard to ignore.

Different This Time by Cornelia Murr

My music library decided to suggest I revisit this and I was glad it did. Such a dreamy cinematic world that Murr inhabits it becomes timeless and of somewhere else.

Trees and Flowers by Strawberry Switchblade

I don’t know what conversation prompted a visit back to Strawberry Switchblade. I highly recommend doing a deep dive for their music and their aesthetics. Timeless and emotive.

Flowers in Bloom by Tom Misch

Whilst we are on the topic of flowers…the opening track for the new Misch record found it’s way onto my record player.

Important to You by Lottie McLeod

There’s a diaristic honesty here that feels almost too close, as if you’re overhearing something not meant for you.

Belljar Convenience by Daily Toll

I’ve mentioned this band in my wraps before and I will continue to do so. I first heard Fated to Pretend and had to explore the whole record. It’s great, direct and sounds like friends playing live in a room together. I want to hear more of that.

Honeycrash (Angie McMahon Edit) by SASAMI

This version softens the edges into something more emotionally expansive, letting the vulnerability sit at the forefront.

One Stop by Aldous Harding

Harding has a place in most of the RUSSH team’s heart and we can’t wait for the rest of the record.

Knife in the Heart by Lykke Li

The queen of pain in pop providing us with an apocalyptic energy.

Knowledge by media puzzle

A cool, cerebral energy runs through this, with just enough tension to keep it from feeling detached.

Eden by Avalon Emerson and The Charm

Expansive and transportive, it builds a world you can disappear into. There’s a sense of emotional clarity beneath the electronic sheen that feels quietly euphoric.

Black Gate by Buzz Kull

Darkwave at its most immersive, driven by a relentless undercurrent of tension. Dwyer continues to deliver consistently perfectly formed dark worlds.

Evergreen by Ladytron

If you fell in love with Ladytron’s Seventeen and haven’t been able to let go of that feeling, Evergreen proves why that attachment endures, sleek, melancholic, and eternally cool.

So Low by Synthia

This came on the radio and reminded me of its melancholic brilliance, while still holding onto a subtle brightness. It captures that fragile balance between despair and light.

Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothing To F’With by Wu-Tang Clan

No caption necessary.

Listen to the full playlist here for new music from James Blake, Soulwax, and Widowspeak as well as some archival Alys favourites from Pale Saints, Mazzy Star and Sun Kil Moon.