February has been another month of fantastic musical output. With an array of outstanding records from artists both new and returning, we’ve had the tough task of narrowing it down to five.

Sun June – Somewhere

Secret Meeting says:

A number of the album’s songs see Colwell sticking a pin in the U.S map – with New Orleans, Manhattan and Los Angeles all hosting expositions. But, regardless of definitive location, it’s Colwell’s mind’s eye that plays the true host to Somewhere’s ruminative narratives. Burying deep within herself, it’s not always the easiest of situations that she revisits, but the willingness to expose herself – digging deep on Real Thing, for example, into the questions that keep us awake at night – that brings a richness to her storytelling that matches the depth of the band’s newfound sound.

Mush – Lines Redacted

Secret Meeting says:

Musically, Lines Redacted feels like a leap forward for Mush. The angular, staccato punk of last year’s 3D Routine still has a place in Mush’s sound, but everything feels more considered, more focused, and more thoughtful. It’s as though they grabbed the chance at their debut record with both hands and threw all they had at it, whereas, this time around they’ve taken a deep breath, and allowed their songs to grow.

Also, check out our interview with Mush here.

The Hold Steady – Open Door Policy

Secret Meeting says:

Open Door Policy is graced with the storytelling prowess of the best work; characters (old and new) appear and disappear, and threads are traced back through their dense history.  Basking in a back alley beauty, like sunbeams reflected through discarded beer bottles, we are once again thrown headfirst into tales of middle America, where the coasts become a dream, and a cast of misfits balance miracles with mundanity 

The Weather Station – Ignorance

Secret Meeting says:

Ignorance is littered with sprawling and boundless gems that cascade around Lindeman’s velvet vocal. Atlantic, the rueful ode to the climate crisis, is charming and reflective in equal measure. Propulsive, whirring guitars intersect the delicate brass interludes as Lindeman muses – ‘I should get all this dying off my mind, I should really know better than to read the headlines.’ Throughout, Lindeman wrestles with the impending questions that lie ahead – all the time anchored as the central conductor amongst the developing layers. And whereas her delicate words once carried her vision, she is now the complete package. Her introspective words are married in unison to the thick layers of instrumentation that crash in waves of warmth throughout the record.

Lael Neale – Acquainted with Night

Secret Meeting says:

As the opening words of Lael Neale’s new record, Acquainted with Night, fall from the speakers, an ironic tranquillity descends. Although Blue Vein begins with a snapshot of wintery isolation, the image is an apt starting point – before the rural Virginia native guides us through a softly pitched landscape that spreads its wings into a message of freedom.

Once you have made your way through the albums above, we would point you towards our interview with Wild Pink on their brilliant new record A Billion Little Lights. There was also an array of EPs released throughout the month, with highlights including Maria BC, Lizzie Reid and career.