Three October Songs You’ve Never Heard

Hundreds of hours of music are added to streaming services every day. In this steady influx of material, we most often only notice the most popular releases. So, here's 3 recent tracks by talented artists who you've likely never heard of.

DYL - Lowtide

Release date: October 2nd
Country: USA
Genres: chamber folk, folktronica, singer-songwriter

“Lowtide” comes to us from the recent Fireside Deluxe edition of DYL’s 2022 debut album “A Requiem For The Future”. The track leaves the listener wondering why it didn’t make the original record, because it more than holds up its extremely high standard of quality. A gradually expanding, mysterious buildup leads into a simple, acoustic first half; just beyond the middle point of the track, however, huge, monumental drums begin to boom, accompanying a slowly building, grand, beautifully haunting instrumental, which, on the line “forced an end to begin again”, fades out into noise, hinting at more to come. DYL’s vocals are subtle and smooth throughout, and his writing is excellent, and at times very touching; it’s elevated in concept, but not at all pretentious or disconnected in execution. The production is absolutely stellar, making the entire song feel like a voyage into outer space, particularly in the tail end. Overall, this is an extremely strong track from an artist with extremely high potential who I believe many more people should be aware of.

8.4/10

Westfalia - D-End

Release date: October 11th
Country: Italy
Genres: psychedelic rock, industrial rock, trip hop

Italian band Westfalia recently released the fifth single from their upcoming album, and, while it is definitely the most refined version of their sound yet, it still demonstrates the potential for further growth. The hazy, sprawling mix benefits the unorthodox sound, and the rhythm is very fun and energetic; the highlights of the track are the softer chorus segments, which give center stage to the bass and the more subtle, soft, melodious vocals than the start of the track. The vocal delivery is quite varied and very charismatic, giving the track a great deal of charm. However, I do believe this track suffers somewhat from the lack of lyrical diversity, with it feeling like it just misses out on the rather fine balance of repetition with variety. Additionally, I think that when the sound, feel and content you go for is as strange, impenetrable and enigmatic as that of this song, the track needs to be more varied instrumentally and structurally in order to keep the listener equally engaged the whole way through. In conclusion, it’s a pretty solid, quite catchy track, and one that shows large amounts of promise, but simultaneously it still has some flaws that are quite difficult to ignore.

6.6/10

Soft Avalanche - Come Back

Release date: October 18th
Country: Denmark
Genres: gothic rock, alternative rock, indie rock

The latest track from Soft Avalanche, the “collaborative solo project” spearheaded by Danish musician and producer Anders Ankerstjerne, “Come Back” follows a lot of the best traditions of the gothic-like aesthetic and indie sound that it goes for. It’s somewhat reminiscent of The Cure’s recent output in its wispy, dark sound, and mournful lyrical content. The arrangement and the production of the track are executed in a really engaging way, with the distant, foggy sound of some of the instruments, particularly the loud, slow-paced, ringy drums, and the ethereal backing vocals giving the song a real feel of melancholy and nostalgia, to match the song’s themes of trying to deal with grief and loss. The writing is great; it feels very fragile and sincere, which, just like the production, fits the theme of the song excellently. Ankerstjerne’s soft, wistful vocal delivery also radiates genuine sadness, adding significantly to the impact of the track. The slowburn buildup also adds to the feeling of finality, of the inexorable approach of the end. In conclusion, I believe that Ankerstjerne has found a very engaging niche with Soft Avalanche, and I look forward to seeing where the project evolves from here. For now though, with “Come Back”, he and his collaborators have produced an extremely enjoyable song.

8.2/10