Release Radar: March 2023
At the end of each month, Afterglow presents a staff-picked list of new albums and singles that left a lasting impression on our ears.
Written by Afterglow Staffers
Here are our favorite albums and singles released by femme artists during March 2023 to celebrate Women’s History Month. For more reviews of recent releases, check out our album review page!
Photos courtesy of Hadriel Gonzalez, Jessica Gurewitz, and Eleanor Petry
GLOWING Singles We Loved This Month
“The Grants” by Lana Del Rey
In her rosy single “The Grants,” Lana Del Rey opens a melodramatic conversation with a loved one contemplating what memories she might take with her when she ascends to heaven because, as her pastor told her, “When you leave, all you take / Uh-huh is your memory.” Faint piano notes softly whisk the listener away while the songstress sports a breathy colloquial vocal tone. — Sydney Meier
“Strangelove” by Lebanon Hanover
A hypnotic tribute to Depeche Mode, Lebanon Hanover plunges listeners into an alluring trance with lush electronic textures and full-bodied vocals characteristic of darkwave and post-punk. The British/German duo infuse their own style into the 1987 classic by sporting a deeper cadence in this song about erratic and impassioned love. — Lyndsey Segura
“Sucker Punch” by Rachel Bochner
NYC-based pop vocalist Rachel Bochner learns to be a post-love menace and plans to break hearts on her newest release, “Sucker Punch.” Backed by the grit of an electric guitar and simple, thumping drums, Bochner unapologetically belts, “Want you to waste a couple years on thinkin’ I’m the one / Just to wind you up / For the sucker punch.” — Deborah Hill
“labour” by Paris Paloma
The perfect way to close out Women’s History Month, U.K.-born songstress Paris Paloma showcases divisive lyrics backed by warm instrumentals that speak to women’s generational traumas on her newest single, “labour.” She sings earnestly about performing fruitless efforts, and emotes genuinely about working toward breaking cycles of abuse. — Arundhati Ghosh
“Internal Affairs” by Buzzy Lee
With soft, sweet vocals and a climbing crescendo track, Sasha Spielberg, better known by her moniker “Buzzy Lee,” teases her upcoming LP with a spellbinding and moody title track. She paints a picture of loving someone to the point of madness and being frightened of loneliness with lyrics such as, “How can I know that it's that far / When you’re so close to me? / It hurts sometimes / And I will love you mad / The maddest of all mad.” — Jencie Tomasek
La Hora de Perrear by La Goony Chonga
Image courtesy of La Goony Chonga
Florida native La Goony Chonga’s La Hora de Perrear is an empowering Latin trap record that unapologetically celebrates female sexuality. La Goony's defiant flow pulls from a range of cultural and stylistic influences, performing her Cuban-American identity through a blend of trap, neo-perreo, and reggaetón. By promoting femme social and sexual autonomy, the 31-year-old's third record is a powerful amalgamation of Megan Thee Stallion’s unabashed self-confidence and Flo Milli’s adversarial lyrical content. The album’s final track, “Mas duro” (“Harder”), reiterates the pervasive theme of empowerment as the Miami native boasts, “Tengo fortaleza, independencia … Me siento libre / Tengo libertad” (“I have strength, independence … I feel free, I have freedom”). Throughout its nine tracks, La Hora de Perrear invites listeners to confidently assert themselves by explicitly voicing their desires and publicly embracing their femininity through dance. — Lyndsey Segura
Hello Mary by Hello Mary
Image courtesy of Frenchkiss Records
Cymbal crashes wash over a gritty, growling riff, ushering in Helena Straight’s echoing, haunting vocals in opener “Stinge.” Delectably noisy, Brooklyn rock trio Hello Mary’s self-titled debut album packs 30 minutes of grunge, oscillating between atmospheric shoegaze melodies and explosive instrumental interludes. Standout “Looking Right into the Sun” marries snarling distortion with a steady bassline, topped off with enchanting, hypnotic vocals, while follow-up headbanger “Rabbit” forcefully accelerates into a blazing guitar riff. With only a momentary respite in slower paced “Droopy Eyes,” the authoritative rockers charge back into a heavy instrumental clamor in “Evicted” and punchy drum fills in “Comfort.” In all 10 tracks, Hello Mary manages a calm, effortless riot, just loud enough to thrash along to. Siren-like vocal harmonies inject psychedelia into crunchy distortion, but in closers “Special Treat” and “Burn It Out,” the trio completes their transformation into hard-rock snake charmers. — Wayne Lim
Manzanita by Shana Cleveland
Image courtesy of Hardly Art
Shana Cleveland may have gotten her start with the Seattle surf-rock band La Luz; meanwhile, she’s held her own with her third solo album Manzanita — a psychedelic folk-driven journey across the musical West coast. The record’s lyrically desolate and vocally consistent second song, “Faces in the Firelight,” displays the uniformity of Cleveland’s borderline-compulsive dedication to her loved one. The L.A. singer repetitively declares she will “wait for you” with no underlying annoyance, but rather an understanding of the necessary commitment needed to help a relationship survive. Cleveland’s purposefully persistent use of peaceful instrumentals throughout every song on the album displays a transfixing beauty within simple tranquility. “Ten Hour Drive Through West Coast Disaster” is a spoken word recollection of exactly what the title indicates, a 10-hour drive along the American West Coast. The poetic lyricism of the disarray transpires around them as “flames and fire planes” consume what nature is left. Cleveland asserts, “We’ll find a way to love this world” and cites different raw elements like “waterfall[s],” “crystal trail[s],” and “rainbows” as a way to reaffirm stability. She can tell the other person on the drive is “scared” because the chaos around them is “so loud,” but that shouldn't take away their ability to be emotionally still. — Sydney Meier
Endless Affair by Alibhe Reddy
Image courtesy of MRNK UK
Strikingly sensitive Irish-born Alibhe Reddy bears her soul once again in a mix of signature vibrato vocals and soft indie electric guitar chords on her sophomore album, Endless Affair. Through embarrassment (“Shitshow”), self-deprecation (“Last to Leave”), and grief (“Pray for Me”), the blonde singer’s dreamy vocals intertwine with soft acoustic plucking, hushed snare drum riffs, and the occasional punchy feature of an electric guitar that is sure to get your head bopping in between all of the longing. Resembling a stoking fire, the record flickers and burns the way a campfire would, moving from a soft, slow glowing ember into a consistent and blazing flame almost effortlessly, allowing Reddy to deliver honest lyrics like, “Who wants to say what’s on their mind? / Circle the drain while you finish your last line / Let’s stay for a little while / We could avoid the inevitable” on the B-side, “Good Time.” Gut-wrenching and raw, the delivery of this project comes at the perfect time, beckoning you to let go of things dragging on and instead bloom into your own this coming spring. — Deborah Hill
Me and the Glassbirds by Heejin Jang
Image courtesy of Doom Trip Records
Making music from Seoul — and from the soul — Heejin Jang crafts a seemingly simple 11-track album that has more to offer for those willing to peel back the layers of intrigue. Song lengths range from 2:58 (“Wings Customization”) to a whopping 13 minutes (“Our Brief Eternity”). Jang experiments with noises and sounds ranging from a cacophony of people talking to odd groans placed sporadically throughout the compositions. It’s a confusing, yet thought-provoking work where familiar sounds of bell chimes and the like play in a perpetual loop of organized chaos with feelings of general unease simmering below the surface. Akin to wading through a vast apocalypse, let the sounds resembling helicopter propellers and buzzy static transport you to someplace where you’ll get lost if you aren’t careful. — Jencie Tomasek