A Sunlit Walk in The Underground Forest - November 2025
Welcome to A Sunlit Walk in The Underground Forest. This week's edition has a darker flavour, in honor of Halloween.
Featuring Mel Denisse, Josaleigh Pollett, Hannah Schneider, Ger Eaton, СОЮЗ (SOYUZ), Dre Dupuis, Radderall, Muzzy Fossa, Cable Boy & The Goods
A Sunlit Walk In The Underground Forest ☀️ Light Pop • Folk • Electronica • RnB
Here is a taste of what is in store; an eerie shoegaze/alt rock song that sounds like it plays to you from a haunted cassette tape; a song inspired by a childhood viewing of the horror movie Poltergeist; a song with cavernous textures that was recorded in a museum; a song with a lavish string section that sounds like it is from the 1960s; a song that was recorded in the artist’s laundry room using a Tascam 488; a song with a wonderfully bizarre music video that feels like it is trying to hypnotize you; a song that sounds like a roadtrip under endless blue skies; and more!
Mel Denisse - going nowhere
This music video could have made its worldwide premiere after Sick Sad World within the 1990’s MTV world of 'Daria'; so that should tell you what deliciously dark textures are in store for you.
Inspired by the book 'The Serpent & the Wings of Night', the soundscape is a blend of grunge, alt-rock and eerie vocals, wafting to your ears from a haunted cassette tape.
Connect with Mel Denisse
Instagram
Josaleigh Pollett - Radio Player
Opening with shimmering static and a melancholic soundscape that is constantly in motion, this will immerse you into a ghostly house of childhood memories. This is goosebump-inducing, Josaleigh’s voice entrancing you from somewhere beyond what you can perceive. I could also kind of imagine this being in the movie 'I Saw The TV Glow'.
On the song, the artist says, "Radio Player is a song about memory and fear, loosely based on seeing the movie Poltergeist at too young an age. It is a journey through the hallways of childhood that we leave a light on within. A pink light flickers on and beckons the listener through, releasing them changed and covered in ectoplasm five minutes later.”
Connect with Josaleigh Pollett
Bluesky / Instagram
Lighthouse - Hannah Schneider, Christian Balvig
The sonic world of this song is really interesting; as the artist invited “musicians she admired into her residency at the historical Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen to create music”. You can hear the cavernous textures you would normally associate with the grandeur of a museum running throughout the world of 'Lighthouse', which gives it a deeply surreal feeling, like you are existing within a different dimension of time. This is the first release from her upcoming album 'In This Room' which is due to be out in Spring 2026.
Connect with Hannah Schneider
Instagram
Hollow - Ger Eaton
If someone told you that this was a hit from the lavish musical world of the 1960s, you would believe it. Taken from the album 'Season Changes', on which the artist says “Season Changes’ is essentially an old fashioned break-up LP. All of the songs deal with the complexities, both emotional and physical, that come with the ending of a very long and significant relationship. Mirroring the seasons, ‘Season Changes’ charts the often inevitable decay of a relationship, from the glowing bloom of its Spring, gradually ebbing away to its wintery conclusion."
I am officially anointing the string section in 'Hollow' as being amongst the most luxurious I have heard as of late; it feels like sinking into a velvet chair or diving into a pool of silk. The vocals are bewitching, the instrumental gentle and soothing, if you are feeling isolated or alone, this will be your companion.
Connect with Ger Eaton
Website / X / Instagram / Facebook
Крок / Krok - СОЮЗ (SOYUZ)
This song feels like a mystery; it feels like it is from a dream of a memory; existing in the spaces in between, accompanying you as you wander through a place that was once familiar, but now feels vast and slightly alien. The vocals are ghostly, the music swirls uneasily around them, lulling you into its surreal world.
In order to give some context on the band's fourth album:“Krok” means “step” in Belarusian - and for Alex Chumak and his band this word comes with a lot of meaning. It’s the title and theme that run throughout СОЮЗ (SOYUZ)'s fourth album, reflecting the journeys the band has navigated in recent years, having moved to Warsaw due to political unrest in their homeland of Belarus and the outbreak of war in Ukraine.” [via Bandcamp, you can read more here]
Connect with СОЮЗ (SOYUZ)
Bandcamp / Facebook / Instagram
Dre Dupuis - Dream
Taken from the artist’s debut album - this was recorded in the artist’s laundry room using a Tascam 488, which results in a musical world that feels like a warm mug of coffee on an autumnal San Francisco day.
This will get you from the opening chords, the double tracked vocals floating dreamily overhead, the DIY element at its core giving it an orange glow - this will keep you cozy this winter.
Connect with Dre Dupuis
Facebook / Instagram
Radderall & Muzzy Fossa - Duplicity Life
I highly recommend you listen to the Ohio based duo’s single ‘Planted’ from earlier on this year; their new song ‘Duplicity Life’ being taken from their new concept album ‘The Club Is Open’, out via Wax Mage Records.
This is seductive, enticing you from somewhere in the shadows at dusk; urging you to give in to your darkest desires. The music video is wonderfully bizarre; and has the vibe of something that would come across on TV at 4am, that you suspect is trying to hypnotize you. This makes for perfect Halloween night listening.
Connect with Radderall & Muzzy Fossa
Facebook / Instagram
Keep It Safe - The Goods
The concluding song of the band's new album ‘Don't Spoil The Fun’ feels deeply nostalgic - it feels like a road trip under endless blue skies, looking out the car window at the scenery going by. The song deals with reminding yourself to look after your mental health, so hopefully this will urge you to do this today. There is something deeply comforting and refreshing at the heart of this song.
Connect with The Goods
Instagram
Connect with Dandy Boy Records
Facebook / Instagram
Cable Boy - Purple (End of The World)
The dreamiest shoegaze I have heard all year, with uneasy apocalyptic undertones running throughout. This gets you from the word go - the plush soundscape and bewitching vocals bringing you into an unsettling dimension where something is unravelling at the seams. I highly recommend the surreal, horror movie adjacent music video (which was directed by Aisha Bolaji).
Connect with Cable Boy
Bandcamp / Instagram
Spotify Playlist
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
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