Latest Posts

22° Halo – “Bird Sanctuary”

April 20, 2024

Philadelphia based 22° Halo is the current project of Will Kennedy and “Bird Sanctuary” is the latest single. 22° Halo has toured with Joel Johnston of Far Caspian fame (and is also on his label Tiny Library Records), so this isn’t just some flash in the pan. With two albums under his belt, it’s fun to hear someone who has quite obviously found their sound – in this case excellently crafted bedroom pop with some lo-fi undertones. Jangly guitar and an underrated bass riff combine with Kennedy and collaborator Kate Schneider’s dulcet, duetting tones (side note: today I learned that “duetting” has two t’s). All of this to say… what a delightfully twee composition. Definitely brings to mind the type of pop bands like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Grandaddy made their bread and butter. As per Kennedy, the track is about “listening to your partner and trying[...]

Far Caspian – “Pool”

July 25, 2023

Irish singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Joel Johnston, aka Far Caspian, has evolved into an musical auteur, rising in popularity on the back of a pair of EPs and debut album Ways to Get Out, the artist has become fully self-contained. He directs his own videos, shoots his press shots, creates his own artwork, and started a record label (Check our previous features on Far Caspian Here, Here, and Here). His debut album has garnered over 30 million streams since its release late in 2021, which is all the more impressive as the project started in 2020; the impetus of Far Caspian being as a Soundcloud feature to garner interest in Johnston’s production talents. He continues the momentum with sophomore album, The Last Remaining Light and with the ineffable and captivating single, “Pool.” The single pulls on your heart and entrances like an Elliot Smith cut, dazzles you with production and[...]

Far Caspian – “Pet Architect”

July 5, 2023

Far Caspian is the moniker under which Irishman Joel Johnson produces music and “Pet Architect” is his latest single. Tight drums along with subdued, stripped down guitars move this track along at a steady clip, but you thoroughly enjoy the journey. His vocals walk the line between an almost whisper yet maintain a warm, melancholy tone throughout. If you’ve never heard him before or you’re looking for a similar sound, you wouldn’t go amiss with Sparklehorse, Autolux, or The Radio Dept. Johnson speaks to the nature of the of the song: “I wrote ‘Pet Architect’ after a Crohn’s flare up I had on tour that made me feel alienated from the rest of the group… I was reading about Japanese architecture and how they filled in tiny spaces on the street between buildings with condensed buildings and I felt like that worked as a metaphor for how I felt being[...]

Far Caspian – “The Last Remaining Light”

May 2, 2023

Irish songwriter/producer Joel Johnston aka Far Caspian (check out our previous feature on them here) brings his magnetic and ineffable sonics to you with his latest single, “The Last Remaining Light,” the title track of his upcoming LP, due out July 14th. Let the textured and layered atmospherics and soft harmonized vocals wash over you as the warmly strummed guitar lines shift and evolve, wrapping around you as the enigmatic track develops. Patient but entrancing like a full moon on a clear autumn night, the song will calm you while giving you access to expanses for you to explore. Here is Johnston discussing the genesis of the newly released single: “I had a nightmare that my mum passed away and when I woke up I felt terrible. It made me think of what life would be like if she wasn’t here and I wrote this song to symbolize how much she[...]

Far Caspian – “Arbitrary Task”

March 6, 2023

Coming out of the gate strong in 2023, Ireland-based Far Caspian (lead by Joel Johnston) delivers a sublime lo-fi indie gem. “Arbitrary Task” occupies the same place in your head you go when you’re doing laundry or driving to work, but is indisputably the more preferable of the three. Clocking in at just over two minutes, we take a guitar-driven dance to just past the halfway mark to a drum interlude, which then meets back up with the guitar (and Joel’s melodic vocals) to finish things out. As far as comparisons go, listeners of Day Wave or Hazel English would find a lot to enjoy with Far Caspian and I sincerely hope you get a chance to check him out! With a strong following at almost 500k monthly listeners on Spotifiy and the back of Tiny Library Records, keep your ears open for more from FC.