A Song For Friday: Maria Somerville

Dream along with Luster. Also, new releases from Raiiio, Ian Hawgood, Sarah Cahill & Regina Myers, Anzû Quartet, Beach Bunny, Wishy, Fib, Onelia, SUMAC & Moor Mother, and Bells Larsen

I’ve been dreaming along with Maria Somerville for weeks now, thanks to the canny publicist at 4AD, the venerable UK label known for art rock, dream pop, and electronic music. So I’m thrilled to see Luster, her second album, out for all the world to hear today. I was not familiar with Somerville, an Irish singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, so I went back and listened to her 2019 debut, All My People, and found the lovely, diaphanous roots of what comes to full flower on Luster. There’s an arm’s length reticence to that early work, almost as if Somerville was unsure how much of herself to share.

Luster, however, is a generous album, masterfully blending all those 4AD genres in a way that feels fresh and very personal. Somerville has wisely sequenced the album to highlight her variety of approaches, touching on Cocteau Twins-like explorations and the more angular ambiance of David Sylvian, among others, in ways that renew our relationship to the pioneering sounds of the past.

One of my favorites on the album is Violet, which launches with a driving, mechanical beat and a two-chord riff that seems to be leading ever onward. Gradually, she introduces more guitars and keyboards, creating a hazy cloud that’s filled with noise when you peer into its depths. The noise becomes more explicit as the song goes on, while her voice maintains its composure, almost as if to say: Come what may, we can go on. We can survive.

Make sure to listen to all of Luster and, if you want more of the world of Maria Somerville, I’ve been hearing great things about The Earlybird Show, her mixes on NTS.

Listen to most of the songs for Friday here or below.

Also Out This Week

Raiiio - Otros Principios This debut solo album by Raimundo Atal, a Chilean multi-instrumentalist now based in New York, is filled with moments of drama throughout its snapshot soundscapes. Layering keyboards, guitars, flutes, drums, and samples, Atal shows a sure hand at narrative architecture. A perfect example is Dennis, the longest track here, which starts with a hint of ambience that grows in intensity, adding a beat and some high whistling sounds. About five minutes in, a searing, serpentine guitar arises, bringing into focus all the tension Atal has built with such expertise. I first became aware of Atal in 2024 from his dark, edgy contribution to Mandatory Liberation Vol. 1, the Gold Bolus label’s kaleidoscopic compilation for Palestine. He has laid out his “other principles” in full on this album. Sign on for a compelling and immersive listen.

Ian Hawgood - Well Here We Are This deeply consoling album is full of warm, natural sounds and comforting melodies, all surrounded by a halo of atmosphere that only enhances everything.

Sarah Cahill & Regina Myers - D. Riley Nicholson: UP There’s no false advertising in this world premiere recording of this two-piano piece commissioned by Cahill and Myers in 2020. Composed by Nicholson as a series of upward motifs, it lifts the spirit while also engaging the mind with its fascinating structure. The occasionally tangled sections only serve to throw the brighter passages into relief. Cahill and Myers play through it all with a dazzling insouciance.

Anzû Quartet - Adjust You don’t have to dig deep into AnEarful’s archives to find high praise for the activities of Olivia De Prato (violin), Ashley Bathgate (cello), Ken Thomson (clarinet), and Karl Larson (piano). In 2020, they formed Anzû in homage to Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, which was composed for the forces he had available in Stalag VIII-A, a prisoner-of-war camp in Görlitz, Germany, in which he was imprisoned during World War II. Focused on commissioning and composing for this lineup, their debut album features world-premiere recordings of Thomson’s Uneasy and Anna Webber’s Adjust. I was lucky enough to hear the latter in the group’s stellar performance at Roulette in March (more to come about that!) and especially loved the slinky and barbed third movement, which was filled with wild pizzicato and witty finger tapping from De Prato and Bathgate. The comical end of the movement had the group moving in unison, sounding like Carl Stalling’s cat chasing Raymond Scott’s mouse up a chimney. While Webber’s piece belies her jazz roots, Thomson brings plenty of swagger to Uneasy, with the four instruments in dialogue or at odds in all sorts of inventive ways. Their next album will enter a crowded field by taking on Messiaen’s piece, but I’m sure their approach will be special.

Beach Bunny - Tunnel Vision Chicago’s Lili Trifilio describes herself as a “sad lady” on her Bandcamp page. And if the third album by her band was designed to be an antidepressant, she couldn’t have done a better job. In 10 songs over 29 minutes, the driving rhythms, grungy bass, soaring guitars, and the onrush of lyrics and melodies do not let up for a second. Occasionally, the band slows down just enough to nail another perfect chorus. But, mostly, the experience is like dashing through an amusement park where the rides are all about coming of age and managing your relationships. And we all have a fistful of those tickets, don’t we?

Wishy - Planet Popstar This new EP from the Indianapolis rockers showcases the lighter side of the “shiny and crunchy” sound of Triple Seven, their excellent debut from last year. Some songs (Chaser, especially) even graze the dance-folk brightness of planet Dubstar, one of my favorite destinations in the 90s. The future looks brighter on Wishy’s orb than ours, and it’s so easy to get there - just press PLAY.

Onelia - Mothers And Fathers Indie rock in its most trad form is alive and well in the hands of this Boston band, especially on the smeared Dinosaur Jr.-isms of Questions, which is sandwiched between two quieter songs on Onelia’s latest EP.

Fib - Heavy Lifting While this post-punk quartet has been plying their trade in Portland, OR since 2020, they are now located in their spiritual home of Philadelphia, PA. Echoes of Philly greats like Palm and Empath resound through their tight, mathy songs. Chiming, chorused guitars interlock and do battle with busy drums that seek to match their every twist and turn, finding new seams of art-rock gold in every song. And that’s no lie.

SUMAC and Moor Mother - The Film I already compared Moor Mother’s last album, The Great Bailout, to Scott Walker for its unflinching look at history and its adventurous music. Now she’s giving me flashbacks to Soused, Walker’s 2014 collaboration with avant-metal band Sunn O))), by collaborating with a post-metal trio consisting of Nick Yacyshyn (drums, percussion, synths), Aaron Turner (guitar, vocals, electronics), and Brian Cook (bass). SUMAC’s slashing, sludgy guitars, death-march drums, and barbed-wire bass create a nearly sculptural background for Moor Mother to splash her words on, each song a poetic reminder of harm done by the oppressor to the oppressed. While The Film does not yet feel as coherent as The Great Bailout (or Soused, for that matter), I feel more of its structure and stories will be revealed by further listening. Get started now.

Bells Larsen - Blurring Time Larsen describes his second album as “about actualization,” which may be as understated as his sun-dappled folk rock songs. That’s because Larsen’s transition from female to male is baked into the tracks, with his former high voice—recorded in 2022—singing in harmony with his new deeper voice. It sounds sweet, blending perfectly with the acoustic guitars and canny production touches, and sends a powerful message about how the old self is always present, even as we grow and change. The songs would be profound even without knowing the background. As Larsen sings in the title track, “It’s not as simple as either or/I’m both and I’m more/ Most of all I’m unsure.” As hinted at by that “either or,” Blurring Time is further proof, along with zzzahara’s Spiral Your Way Out from earlier this year, that Elliott Smith’s influence is ever present in 2025. Larsen sings one song in French, reflecting his Montreal background, and recently had to cancel his U.S. tour because of our president’s war on trans people, which insists your passport must reflect your gender at birth. This is how a country becomes isolated from the best of global culture. Fortunately, no one can prevent anyone from streaming Blurring Time or playing it on their physical media of choice. May many people do so, starting with you.

Note: The graphic above is based on a photo by Cáit Fahey.