This week’s guide is by CF Smith and contributors Words By Shoaib, and Irfan Ayaan.
Each Friday at Twistedsoul, we showcase a small selection of new releases that have caught our collective ears. We search Between The Cracks to bring you new music that won’t fit in a tidy little genre box but that sparks with fierce originality. This week, we’re highlighting albums from Rachel Kitclew, Al Wootton, Brenda and more. Lend an ear to the music, and if it strikes a chord, show some love to the artists and labels by supporting them.
Albums
Rachel Kitchlew – Flirty Ghost
UK jazz continues to thrive with Rachel Kitchlew adding her name to the mix. The contemporary harpist, trained in classical music, blends the delicate technicalities of jazz with ambient and experimental sounds on her debut album, ‘Flirty Ghost’. Joined by Sholto, David Bardon, Josh McClorey, and Alexis Taylor, the quintet takes us on a journey that is very easy on the ear and very enjoyable. ‘Leopard Slug’ was the first track I heard from the album and remains my fave amongst a stellar set. The beautiful track ‘Truncate’ shimmers with a calming harp jazz soundscape. ‘Cyclical’ is another standout piece, as is the subtle yet deeply engaging groove of ‘Panther Jam.’ Flirty Ghost shows respect and influence from greats like Henry Mancini and Dorothy Ashby, combining it with undeniable modern innovation. We’ve been playing Flirty Ghost on rotation for a few weeks and this stunning and uniquely crafted project is one that you won’t want to miss! – CFS
Seventh Shadow of the Sun – Outer Gaze
Seventh Shadow of the Sun has been on the Twistedsoul radar for quite some time. The elusive project from Western Maryland brings forth a meditative and mystical nine-track album. Outer Gaze, released once again via Estavelle Records, goes down a slightly less dark route than last year’s Lithochromatic album, but don’t mistake the lighter touch for a loss of depth. This time around, on Outer Gaze, the band opts for a sonic landscape that feels like wandering through a daydream, where each track is a different shadow from the past. The album opens with ‘House of the Soothsayer’, a track that, if ever the term space jazz was destined to find its definition, this would surely be it. As the journey progresses, cuts like ‘Endless Empire’ draw listeners into an ethereal experience, with laidback flow that gently lifts and twists like a soft breeze. In ‘Nocturnal Savage’, listeners are treated to a haunting melody that delves into reflective depths, serving as a reminder that this band refuses to be boxed into any one style or structure. SSOTS’s ability to craft such evocative soundscapes while experimenting with new tonal palettes showcases their evolution without straying too far from their roots. As the album wraps up with ‘Harmonious Lifeforms’, we unsuspecting earthlings find ourselves once again amid the cosmos, serenaded by celestial signals and droid cacophony. Once again, SSOTS leave us all eagerly anticipating what path they might take us down next. – CFS
Al Wootton – Rhythm Archives
Rhythm Archives emerges as Al Wootton’s most conceptually focused statement, transforming vintage drum machine archaeology into visceral post-punk minimalism. Following his Holy Tongue collaborations and purple-funk dubstep explorations as Deadboy, Wootton visited Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio’s legendary collection of rare drum machines, capturing their individual rhythms and quirks before processing them into something entirely his own. The resulting eight-track exploration channels industrial, dub, post-punk, and proto-techno sonics through a distinctly modern filter. March opens with pulsating rhythms that drone, flash, and bang, establishing the album’s sinister and viscous aesthetic. Slow Rock and Beguine showcase Wootton’s talent for claustrophobic minimal synth textures, while Foxtrot demonstrates his ability to find groove within the most angular constructions. Shuffle and Bajon reveal the true genius of his approach, taking these vintage machines’ fundamental character and warping them through contemporary production techniques that feel both reverent and revolutionary. Swing and No Selected complete this minimal exploration with tribal-ambient undertones that would make Muslimgauze proud. This is hypnotic, controlled chaos that pays tribute to drum machine pioneers while pushing their sonic DNA into thrilling new territories. Essential listening for adventurous ears seeking the intersection of nostalgia and innovation. – IA
Tomas Raae and Eline Hellerud Åsbakk – …før de spredtes
This album feels like walking through a pine forest in fog, quiet, reflective, and full of emotional weight. …før de spredtes, the collaboration between Danish composer Tomas Raae and Norwegian vocalist Eline Hellerud Åsbakk bridges centuries-old Nordic folk songs with modern improvisation and jazz. It doesn’t just preserve tradition; it reshapes it with care. Take Drømte Mig En Drøm I Nat, for instance. It’s rooted in a 14th-century melody, but here it’s spacious and mysterious, like hearing a memory echo through a cavern. Åsbakk’s voice floats above the instrumentation with a sense of wonder and restraint. Then there’s Jeg Savner Din Stemme, which pulls no punches. It’s sparse and cinematic, just voice and minimal accompaniment, but it grips you with its fragility. Longing doesn’t get more honest than this. The whole record is intimate and immaculately produced, with quiet urgency humming beneath every track. Raae and Åsbakk aren’t just interpreting tradition, they’re giving it new breath. If you’ve ever wanted folk music that’s haunting, grounded, and timeless, start here. – WBS
Saint Abdullah & Eomac – Of No Fixed Abode
This one’s been sitting on the pile for a while, so happy to finally share our thoughts on this brillant album! Saint Abdullah & Eomac’s Of No Fixed Abode is one of those rare records that doesn’t just explore cultural memory, it lives inside it. Released in March on The Trilogy Tapes, the album draws from 50 years of Persian pop. It reimagines it through raw electronic grit, ambient dread, and experimental beatwork. There’s tension throughout: between past and future, nostalgia and noise, home and displacement. Take ‘Without Any’ where Jason Nazary’s drums chase spectral samples across nearly nine minutes. It feels like eavesdropping on a ritual halfway between memory and invention. Or ‘Children Of Alcoholics Drunk On Revolution’, a finale that combines spoken echoes and digital distortion into something both wounded and defiant. This isn’t music for passive listening. It’s dense, physical, and at times deliberately disorienting. But underneath all the fragmented beats and modular haze is a clear emotional thread: a search for belonging when home is everywhere and nowhere at once. Of No Fixed Abode isn’t just an album, it’s a statement carved into static. One of the year’s most important listens. – WBS
Brenda – Bath Time
Hudson Whitlock, known for his work with Surprise Chef and Karate Boogaloo, takes a deeply personal turn with Bath Time, a collection of cinematic indie-soul ballads steeped in melancholy and elegance. The album carries the warmth of retro soul while embracing a modern, vulnerable aesthetic. Whitlock’s falsetto glides over lush arrangements of guitar, Farfisa organ, violin, and layered backing vocals, creating a sound that feels intimate yet grand. The opener, ‘I Always Want What I Can’t Have’, sets the tone with a slow-burning groove and heartbreaking lyricism, its strings and subtle percussion framing Whitlock’s emotional delivery. In contrast, ‘Take A Hint’ adds a touch of rhythmic playfulness, balancing wistful lyricism with sharper, almost tongue-in-cheek phrasing, a reminder of Whitlock’s versatility as a songwriter. Throughout Bath Time, the contributions of Melbourne’s tight-knit soul scene, Darvid Thor, Lachlan Stuckey, Jethro Curtin, and others, enrich the textures without overshadowing the album’s intimate core. The result is a heartfelt suite of songs that lingers long after the final note. – WBS
