A Sunlit Walk in The Underground Forest: New Pop, Folk , Rock and Indie Music We Loved
Welcome to the new edition of A Sunlit Walk in the Underground Forest - a series where I hand-select some of the best new music releases!
Featuring Adrian Crowley, Soléa, Jah Wobble, Tian Qiyi, Josaleigh Pollett, Chris Walla, Bunny White, Fraternal Twin, The Veldt, Snuggle Ninja and Genevieve Stokes.
This edition features: a song about an Irish adventurer from the 1920s who travelled from Belfast to Hollywood, a song that feels like it takes place in the graveyard of a gothic stop motion animation à la ‘The Corpse Bride’, a song that sounds like the startup music to a retro PC game; one that simulates a tropical paradise-like environment that you can escape into in order to get away from the stresses of 1990s NYC city living, a song where the vocals sound like they come to your ears from a glittering pastel seashell, a rendition of Strawberries Fields Forever with some electronics that are straight from down the rabbit hole; a song whose opening sounds like it could be the theme music of a 1960s cooking show, hosted by a woman who looks like Elizabeth Montgomery from ‘Bewitched’ and more!
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A Sunlit Walk In The Underground Forest ☀️ Light Pop • Folk • Electronica • Calm
Bunny White - Family Affair
I listed Bunny White’s 2025 album ‘The Higher the Hair, the Closer to God’ as being one of the best of 2025. I am such a fan of the artist that I am technically breaking the rules for this series, as it is supposed to only focus on recently released music, and this song came out in March, but ‘Family Affair’ is so good that I had to include it.
There is something to the artist Bunny White that reminds me of Jackie Onassis; porcelain-like Americana beauty blended with pastel suburban housewife glamor, all wrapped up with something just under the surface that you can’t quite put your finger on. (Nicole Kidman has this quality, especially in Gus Van Sant’s ‘To Die For’).
The opening to this sounds like it could be the theme music of a 1960s cooking show, hosted by a woman who looks like Elizabeth Montgomery from ‘Bewitched’. The vocals are soulful and haunting, truly sounding like they were recorded in a different time. Utterly magical.
Connect with Bunny White
Instagram / X
Josaleigh Pollett feat. Chris Walla - Bed of Quiet
One of my favourite podcasts is ‘You Are Good’ (shout out Alex Steed and Sarah Marshall), so you can imagine my surprise when I was looking back through some of the episodes last week and saw that Josaleigh Pollett had been a recent guest on it, discussing the 1989 movie ‘UHF’ (a movie I had literally never heard of, but will be watching before the week is out).
‘Bed of Quiet’ (taken from the upcoming album ‘If I Let It Quiet’) sounds like the startup music to a retro PC computer game; one that simulates a tropical paradise-like environment that you can escape into to get away from the stresses of 1990s NYC city living. Something about the cloud-like analog dreaminess of the pads made me picture the rainbow colors of 1970s Polaroid VHS tapes. As the song progresses, it veers into indie-rock territory, with a scattering of slightly odd samples throughout that make it all the more intriguing.
On the song the artist shares, "Bed of Quiet is an over-thinker's anthem. A song for the sleepless, and the hours spent playing and replaying scenarios on a loop in your brain where there is no right decision, digging for a yes or a no in a mountain of perhaps. We wanted the production to feel like it belonged in the middle of the night, when you're not quite yet dreaming, but suspended above your body like a projected film of the last few week's events you can't stop watching, playing too loud for sleeping. When Chris Walla sent us some instrumental recordings from the early 2010's he'd yet to use, they fit perfectly into the fitful, crumpled sheets of the bed we were making. The post-chorus vocal "a little doubt-" is also the only time Jordan sings on the record, pitch-shifted all to heaven, of course."
Connect with Josaleigh Pollett
Instagram
Genevieve Stokes - Moon Walker
I came across Genevieve Stokes during the week through the star-sprinkled music video for ‘Never in Love ’, which I found to be spellbinding.
This is taken from the album ‘Hiding Places' which the artist released independently. There was a magical quality to the album that reminded me of the folk band The Unthanks (specifically ‘Lines Part Three’ from their album ‘Lines’, which features them performing the poetry of Emily Brontë over piano arrangements). ‘Moon Walker’ is the closing song of the album, and there is something about the darkness of the piano, the uneasy strings, and the ghostly airiness of the vocals that makes it feel like it takes place in the graveyard of a gothic stop motion animation, à la ‘The Corpse Bride’
I hold the pain, it grows
Rage forced the rabbit, forced the rabbit in a cage
I also love ‘Medicine’ as it has a slightly off-kilter Victorian quality to it.
Connect with Genevieve Stokes
Instagram | Facebook | X
Adrian Crowley - Quinn the Adventurer
Photo by Mathieu Zazzo
Storytelling is woven deep into the tapestry of Irish culture; in fact, for a country so small, the impact our folk tales and stories have had on the world at large is unparalleled. This obviously weaves its way into Irish music and folk music, and when done well, it sets your imagination alight and ignites your curiosity and thirst to find out more.
‘Quinn the Adventurer’ exemplifies this, detailing the story of an Irishman named James Quinn from Belfast (a.k.a. Tim O'Brien) who made it to Hollywood, where he at one point ended up being an extra in a Charlie Chaplin movie.
Things took a bizarre turn when “L.A. newspapers reported his arrest upon exhibiting a collection of Amazonian shrunken heads at the Long Beach Pike amusement park. Charged with the theft of the collection (valued at $25,000), Quinn was convicted of first-degree burglary and sentenced to San Quentin State Prison. Yet, thanks to the extraordinary twists of his life, he never served his sentence, instead skipping bail before resurfacing in Panama, on his way to Havana, Cuba”
The song has a slinky, alley-cat quality to it, giving the feeling of a noir private detective movie set in LA, which only serves to enhance the feeling of the era in which the story takes place (the 1920s).
The chorus is in falsetto and is slightly haunting, like singing to the night sky against the silhouetted skyline of 1920s LA.
Keep up with Bring Your Own Hammer
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | BlueSky | X
Keep up with Dimple Discs
Bandcamp | Facebook | X | Instagram
Soléa - Time
I randomly came across this on YouTube and was captivated by the shimmering clouds of musical textures that floated to my ears, paired with the plush fairytale-like vocals. The whole thing makes you feel like it takes place in a magical garden from a dream, where the vocals come to your ears from a glittering pastel seashell.
Connect with Soléa
Instagram | X
Strawberry Fields Forever - Jah Wobble and Tian Qiyi
I will never, for as long as I live, forget the first time I heard ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ as a teenager. I am far from alone in this, on the subject Jah Wobble sharing, "This is the one that started everything for me – the song that opened my psyche as a small boy in the East End... I don't think we've tried to compete with the original. What we've done, I hope, is honour the mystery of it."
The above is a rendition by Jah Wobble and Liverpool's Tian Qiyi. The vocals have a hypnotizing, dreamy1970s double-tracked quality to them, with some electronics that are straight from down the rabbit hole. The song builds, not giving it all away at once; taking you on a psychedelic journey. I really want to listen to this while lying in the grass looking up at the endless blue skies.
On the rendition Jah Wobble shares, "The dub sensibility runs right through it — there's a lot of space in the mix, a lot of trust in the listener. I don't think we've tried to compete with the original. What we've done, I hope, is honour the mystery of it — let it breathe in a slightly different room, with different instruments, and see what happens. It still feels like more than music to me."
Connect with Jah Wobble
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | X | Instagram | Soundcloud
Connect with Tian Qiyi
Bandcamp | Instagram | X | TikTok
Fraternal Twin - Solitude
There is a whole sound/vibe that I have started filing under ‘sounds like it was plucked directly from the 1990s Seattle alternative music scene'”. ‘Solitude’ absolutely qualifies for this; a darkness soaked to the core of the music, something of the nihilism of the 1990s lulling you in like the sweet embrace of a sedative.
Connect with Fraternal Twin
Instagram | X
The Veldt - Morning, June and Yesterday
Photo by James Neumann
This swims down to your ears on a wave of colossal sonic textures, sweeping you up and building anticipation; the way the bed of sound interacts with the vocals makes this sound like it is from another time. There is a quality to this that makes it feel like it could be from a previously undiscovered Cocteau Twins album. This would be incredible to get to experience live.
On the song, Daniel Chavis shares, “Morning, June and Yesterday' stands as a powerful sonic mantra for the soul, effortlessly returning the listener to the core essence of a natural mystic; it is a truly hypnotic soundscape that resonates with depth, emotion, and intricate musical layers in every single way. feedback layered drone in a beautiful way."
Danny Chavis adds, "Morning, June and Yesterday' dictates the art of Drone and its never-ending quest for the artistic repetition of soundscapes in texture and visual sound patterns and form, cognitive dissonance of sound".
Connect with The Veldt
Bandcamp | Facebook | X | YouTube | Instagram
Keep up with Little Cloud Records
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | X | Instagram
Snuggle Ninja - Destiny
There is a whole treasure trove of music awaiting you on the internet- you just have to dig around for a while, and you will find it. ‘Destiny ’, taken from the Manchester duo's new EP ‘Fields’ is shimmering and warm and kind of reminded me of the opening of The Cranberries song ‘Dreams’. The song takes its time building over a sparkling electropop soundscape before the vocals come in. (I have said this before and I will say it again, intros over 30 seconds are fine, in fact welcomed; the listener has the capacity to handle it). The music video features glittering purple cloud-like visuals, further drawing you into its world.
Connect with Snuggle Ninja
Instagram | Facebook
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About Eimear O Sullivan
Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)
Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com
In this blog section we host new music releases, artist features and handpicked playlists by the Musicngear staff.
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