Weyes Blood! Hemlocke Springs! Samia! Wet Leg! Julien Baker!

View this email in your browser

Hello,

It was the Grammys this week. Taylor Swift had a boogie. Ben Affleck remembered that marriage to J-Lo means double the award ceremonies. Harry Styles won album of the year and pissed everyone off 1) because he's not Beyoncé 2) because he made an ill-judged comment about "things like this" not happening to "people like me" (forgetting he is a handsome straight white man). Lil ol' Wet Leg won TWO Grammys, looked generally shell-shocked and said everything was magical a lot. Kim Petras made history as the first transgender woman to pick up a gong for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Beyoncé became the most-Grammied person ever, despite being overlooked (again) for the big awards. Lizzo did a great speech.

This week, it's the BRITs and we're hoping for some mayhem. It's on a Saturday for the first time in ages which we pray means the speeches and the dancing will be a little bit messier – ours will be. Here's who's performing and how to watch.

Weyes Blood comes to London
Tonight we're going to see Weyes Blood play at Roundhouse and we're hyped! There's a possibility we were in the same sandwich shop as her over Christmas but it might have just been someone who looked a bit like her. Either way, she did not sing her sandwich order (disappointing) but tonight, all being well, we will hear her beautiful voice belt out some of the tracks from 2022's stunning, 'And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow'. Here's a really great interview with Natalie Mering (AKA Weyes Blood) by Miami writer, Celia Almeida.

Get to know... Hemlocke Springs
Hemlocke Springs is a TikTok star. But unlike a lot of TikTok stars, she's not really obnoxious and didn't get loads of views by posting a video of her mum hearing her song for the first time and crying. She's sorta awkward and a bit weird and makes really great synth-pop. Steve Lacy likes her, as does Grimes. We sent her some questions and she sent us some answers. Give 'em a read!

Samia's sad, sad songs
God, Samia's second album is so good. She's on tour in the US at the moment and judging by the videos, the audience are being reduced to a soggy, sobbing puddle on a nightly basis. We met her in London at the end of last year to talk about all things 'Honey'.

The boys are back
The brilliance of that Rolling Stone boygenius cover almost made us quit journalism. ("What's the point of anything if it isn't this?" etc). Anyway, a while back we had a chat to Julien Baker for our podcast series, Trash In The Attic, which we only just got around to editing. She's, as you would expect, a right laugh! Listen to it here.

Get Raye to No.1
Raye finally released her debut album 'My 21st Century Blues' last Friday. Stuck on a label who were reluctant to release a full-length record, she decided to become an independent artist and thank God she did. The record is a triumph and a big eff you to the label bosses who wanted to keep her down. She's asking for help to get it to the top spot. If you can spare £4.99, buy it on iTunes. We love an underdog story.

On the playlist this week
New music this week comes from new Dirty Hit signee, King Isis (pictured), Dolores Forever, METTE, Girl Ray, Rachel Chinouriri and lots more. Listen here and follow it for new music every Friday.

A plea! Support The Forty-Five by doing these things. It's really helpful!

Add to our tip jar on Patreon. Every single penny goes towards paying our writers and photographers.
Subscribe to our YouTube
Follow us on Instagram (and like our posts, even if you're fairly ambivalent to them)
Follow us on Twitter

SUBSCRIBE TO THIS NEWSLETTER

Forward

Copyright © 2023 The Forty-Five, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weyes Blood! Hemlocke Springs! Samia! Wet Leg! Julien Baker!

Older messages

Probably the best album of 2022

Angel Through The Looking Glass

The problem with festivals

A love letter to Mitski (but not in a creepy way)

Chill out, what ya yelling for?

You Might Also Like

How David Johansen Made Rock & Roll Less Safe for Everyone

NYU Online Film & TV Certificate Course

Oscars 2025: Best, Worst, and Most WTF Moments

Paramount+ Adds 100+ ‘MTV Unplugged’ Episodes; The Global Rise of African Music

Quintelium (Interview)

Farewell, David Johansen, the Ultimate New York Doll

David Johansen: 12 Essential Songs

Trump, Vance Berate Zelensky in Bizarre White House Spectacle

New Music This Week - Panda Bear, Yazz Ahmed, Mdou Moctar, Ella Fitzgerald and More

It was never going to be me