Now Hear This! #024 – Ken Pomeroy, LEATHERS, IOTA PHI, Loose Choir

Now Hear This! In this episode, we are featuring three female artists along with a female-fronted band, Loose Choir. The offerings range from the glorious, evocative tones of Ken Pomeroy to the enchantress-like voice of Rae Boys. Thus, we present the vocal elegance of Ken Pomeroy, the synthpop of LEATHERS, the art pop of IOTA PHI, and the alt-rock of Loose Choir.

We’ll bring you a new post every so often, songs from which will regularly be added to our accompanying “Now Hear This” Spotify playlist.

Find all past Now Hear This! installments right here: https://v13.net/features/now-hear-this/.

Ken Pomeroy – “Coyote (feat. John Moreland)”

Folk singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy, aka McKenna Pomeroy, recently released “Coyote (feat. John Moreland),” a song written for her grandmother.

Pomeroy shares:

“My Mamaw named me ᎤᏍᏗ ᏀᏯ ᏓᎶᏂᎨ ᎤᏍᏗᎦ which means little yellow-haired wolf. BUT I was called coyote because I was sly. I wrote coyote about me realizing I had grown to be the coyote and not the wolf. My Mamaw is a very prominent part of who I am. She taught me about my heritage and allowed me to grow up learning tribal customs and stories. This one is for her.”

Pomeroy’s Cherokee heritage is reflected in her gift for storytelling, while her rich, expressive voice immerses listeners in elusive, melancholic tones, at once haunting and beckoning.

LEATHERS – ‘Ultraviolet’

At the end of summer, LEATHERS, the electro-pop/dream-pop/shoegaze project of musician and visual artist Shannon Hemmett, released her debut album, Ultraviolet.

Talking about Ultraviolet, LEATHERS says,

“I got my hands dirty in every aspect of this record, not just with the songs and the lyrics, but making my own music videos, photographs, and designing an entire visual motif for the project. I find it so satisfying to create a total aesthetic.”

Entry points on the album include “Phantom Heart,” a pulsating, electro-pop tune with the vaguest hints of new wave, along with the title track, featuring Hemmett’s sighing, dreamy vocals, forging an atmospheric soundscape.

IOTA PHI – “The Trip”

Athens, Greece-based singer-songwriter and producer IOTA PHI, aka Ilia Darlin, recently unveiled her brand-new single/music video, “The Trip,” a swirling blend of alt-pop, R&B, and art-pop.

Suffused by wistful, marginally melancholic vocals, the melody glides atop softly radiant textures, evoking dreamy, magical emotions. For some perplexing reason, “The Trip” conjures up memories of Julia Fordham because of its mythical, almost mystical, feel.

“I dream dreams with my eyes open / Feel feels with my heart broken / You try to be real in a world that’s so unreal.”

The video, directed by IOTA PHI, with its interplay of dark and light, evokes the sensation of living amidst the remnants of the past.

Loose Choir – ‘Shy Side’

Indie/alt-rock/moody folk outfit Loose Choir releases their debut album, Shy Side, a 10-track collection of songs residing somewhere between alt-folk and mid-’00s alternative rock. Shy Side was recorded at the Chico, California studio of Chris Keene, who plays live guitar for Loose Choir.

The trio, made up of Rae Boys (vocals), Tatton White (guitar, bass), and Noah G. Prado (drums), creates nostalgic-flavored melodies highlighted by Boys’ complex vocals, akin to the merging of Stevie Nicks and Dolores O’Riordan. There’s a push-pull inflection to Boys’ voice that’s irresistibly alluring and wickedly unguarded.

Speaking subjectively, favorite tracks include “Sun on Sea,” “Patinadora,” “Wait On,” “Shadow Hum,” and the darkly sensuous “Spell of Self.”