Gabby Smith, also known as Gabby’s World, has embarked on a yearlong marathon to showcase her forthcoming album. GABBY SWORD is set to be released at the end of 2023, under her own label, Carrot All Records. Every month, the singer-songwriter and producer is unveiling a new single —each a vivid snapshot of her life— drawing inspiration from her love and marriage with fellow musician Barrie Lindsay (yeah, that Barrie), her far-flung adventures from France to Maine, and a myriad of other meaningful and introspective moments.

The ninth single in this epic rollout is “Powerful,” a song that demonstrates how strong love can endure change and distance; a “moon and ocean kind of bond,” as she sings. She elaborates, “The day my wife, Barrie, left our shared apartment to write her 2022 AOTY album Barbara, I felt the immense power of our connection. However, I also grappled with the uncertainty and apprehension of how our relationship would evolve with distance.”

Similar to challenges that strengthen relationships, the song grows throughout its 3-minute course, while keeping its genuine rawness. It begins with a sense of fragility but quickly gains strength before culminating in an ecstatic epiphany, characterized by swirling vocals. Considering how challenging long distance relationships can be, this touching song is almost reminiscent of a fairy tale. [tears of joy]

Following on from the acclaimed debut LP, 2019’s Happy To Be Here, New York based indie pop artist Barrie Lindsay AKA Barrie has announced the upcoming release of her sophomore effort Barbara. Her latest single is the jarring yet gorgeously hopeful track “Quarry”, to which she has also released a stunning accompanying music video.

Barrie has already explained that Barbara will be a deeply personal record, as it was written in a transformative period of her life; during the aftermath of her father’s death yet also whilst she was falling in love with her now wife, Gabby.

She elaborated: “The album is diaristic, but not in obvious or intimate ways. Music is my job, and it’s also intensely personal. I want the music to connect with people, but have reservations about the toll it takes on the artist to have to live up to whatever the music ends up representing for the listener. To connect with people about grief is beautiful, but I don’t want to relive the trauma of it at every show and interview. I also don’t want to become desensitized to my sadness. There’s both rawness and a measure of control in the album; I want to make sure the project and the person are tied, but only by certain limbs.”

Before adding:

“Since I wrote, played, and produced the album by myself in isolation, with the help of my wife, it felt like it should be self-titled, but maintain that same sense of separation I achieved with the music. Barbara is my legal name, my formal name. No one calls me Barbara except the bank and the government, and odd occasions when my dad inexplicably introduced me that way to friends. Since my name and moniker are Barrie, calling the album Barbara felt like the fitting way to keep that balance between intimate and public.”

As a single, “Quarry” hones in on two important themes highlighted above – falling in love yet also isolation – and conveys these two dichotomous feelings exquisitely. Opening rather menacingly with throbbing synths, it gives way to the infectious chorus with a pulsating bass line that Barrie’s voice bounds over delicately. Placing violent, visceral lyrics such as “Dripping blood from your foot at the quarry” in the same verse as the innocent “Baby, I love you” also creates a striking contrast between Barrie’s fear of separation and isolation and her pure and overwhelming feelings of love.

The video accompaniment to “Quarry” – directed by Emmy-Award winning Robert Kolodny – follows Barrie around in her daily life as she periodically chops sections of her hair off. Performing ordinary errands and socialising, she enters a party where she meets a woman whose hair looks as equally hacked at as hers. It’s then that the pair join together, shaving each other’s hair, recognising that they have met someone who truly understands them.

A touching if not bizarre metaphor for falling in love, “Quarry” conveys a universal experience in such a way that feels uniquely Barrie’s whilst still managing to strike a chord in this listener’s brittle heart.

Returning strong after a short hiatus is hard. Returning after a long hiatus is even harder. Yet Brooklyn based psychedelic dance outfit Psymon Spine have pulled it off with grace and brevity.

Their first track in three years, “Milk”, features Barrie Lindsay on vocals, aiding core members Noah Prebish and Sabine Holler. Having played all together in the band Barrie, the chemistry and symbiosis between them is electric.

Starting out with darker electro-pop elements, with the vocal stylings and contributions from Barrie, “Milk” is transformed into an 80’s funk-infused soundscape. The final rendition sounds like a fusion of an infectiously groovy Donna Summer track and a funkadelic Friends single. “Milk” declares that summer is here, despite Covid’s best efforts. Psymon Spine will not be stopped.

With its thrusting bassline, that coalesces with the pointedly strummed guitars, the track acts as a new direction for the band. It’s one that fuses the simplistic yet delightful hooks with off-kilter dance beats in a way that surprises at each introduction of sound.

Whilst the track is playful in tone, with Barrie Lindsay’s frivolous vocals oozing over the track, the tight and concise background work draws “Milk” into a warped space, one filled with adventure and exploration at its heart.

The smart electronic drums give the track a retro, 80’s feel. Yet the chorus fills the space with complete euphoria, amalgamating into a synth-pop explosion, a pure cathartic release of sonic joy. Psymon Spine have created a cool and collected return to music.

The sustained, harmonious “ahh” seated underneath Barrie’s vocals complete the track’s slightly off-centre vibe. “Milk” ends up on with stunning vocals, as descending scales lead the track to a bittersweet yet ultimately satisfying final.

Back in May, Brooklyn’s indie-pop five-piece Barrie released their lovely debut album, Happy To Be There, and announced on Instagram that they were stepping away from their previous band structure, turning the act into Barrie Lindsay’s solo project. Barrie has now announced a brand new EP, Happy To Be Here (Ext), which will feature two new songs as well as alternate versions of the tracks “Clovers” and “Chinatown”. According to the artwork, this new release was probably made before the formation change. In any case, one thing is certain: the two alternative versions and the first original track, “Drag”, are here and this is as dreamy and charming as before.

Brooklyn’s five-piece Barrie are readying the imminent release of their debut album with a brand new single, “Geology.” Even if the title suggests something earthy – it was released on Earth Day by the way – the groove of this new song sounds totally in line with their lush yet airy dream pop.

About the inspiration of the track, Barrie‘s leader Barrie Lindsay explained:

[su_quote]I wrote this song in 2015, a few months after I bought my first guitar. I was listening to Best Coast on Song Exploder talking about “Feeling Ok.” Bethany Cosentino said she was inspired by 90s movies soundtracks like Clueless, She’s All That, 10 Things I Hate About You. It blew my mind because I loved that music but didn’t realize you could take it seriously. That’s where “Geology” came from.[/su_quote]

With “Geology,” we’ve already heard four amazing songs from the 10-track record. Stay tuned cause Happy To Be Here is here very soon.

Following up on “Clovers” and “Darjeeling,” Brooklyn’s dream-pop band Barrie are releasing a brand new song taken from their forthcoming debut. Although it’s titled “Saturated,” this new track sounds sparser than the two previous singles. About “Saturated”, their frontwoman Barrie Lindsay detailed:

[su_quote]It is pretty pure. It came out fully formed, sounding mostly like how it sounds now. It’s minimal and exposed, kind of vulnerable but in a confident way. I want people to relate to that state of pure, open saturation. I want this song to feel like a crush.[/su_quote]

A few weeks ago, Brooklyn’s five-piece Barrie announced the release of their debut album and shared the lead single “Clovers“. They’re now unveiling a new song, “Darjeeling”, which keeps on showcasing their strong taste for spring-like and lush dream pop. Barrie‘s new track also comes with a Wes Anderson-esque video which was directed by Zach Stone and Madeline Leshner. About the creative process of the song and visuals, Barrie Lindsay stated:

[su_quote]The opening line of the song – “the city towed my car the first night I got in” – is true; my car got towed when I first moved to New York. The first night I hung out with Spurge and Noah, we went to this warehouse party in Bushwick on the train tracks, which was totally new to me. My car was in Manhattan, and when I went back to find it at 3 am it was gone. So I walked along the West Side highway to the impound lot. At 4 am it was this eerie wasteland of abandoned cars. It was in the honeymoon phase of moving to New York and I remember feeling very happy and surreal in the tow lot. I’ve had a lot of experiences like that in the city, and I think I had that feeling in mind with this song — it’s kind of a collection of those vignettes.[/su_quote]

Before adding:

[su_quote]Like almost everything with this band, the video came about in an eerily/surreally natural way. The song is about moving to New York and the origins of the band, and in discussing that with the director, we discovered we’re from the same small area in Massachusetts. So we went home and filmed tons, trying to capture the feeling of creativity in isolation. And then filmed with the band to get the excitement and energy of finding people to create with.[/su_quote]

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mfPmR44wMc”]

After a series of amazing singles released throughout 2018, Brooklyn-based multidimensional quintet Barrie have finally announced the release of their debut album. The 10 tracks of the project, that they describe as a collection of well-crafted pop songs that are little bit fucked up, were written by singer and guitarist Barrie Lindsay. As you might have guessed, Barrie is mainly her project and she also co-produced the album with Jake Aron.

This exciting announcement comes with the release of a first single, “Clovers”. Fed by floating vocals, a hopping piano and shimmering synths, the spring-like song sounds like a very promising appetizer. Listen to the track below and pre-order the album via Bandcamp.