Kevin Bronson on August 23rd, 2022

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Catching up with recent singles from Amindi, Blondshell and Paper Pools …

AMINDI, “Cyclops”

Smooth and supremely confident, “Cyclops” arrives on the one-year anniversary of Amindi’s magnetic, eight-song EP, “Nice,” which featured highlights such as “Haircut,” “Telly” and “Slideshow.” “‘Cyclops’ is a self-affirming mantra in the form of a fire song,” the Inglewood singer-songwriter says. “It is full of manifestations for people who can’t be fucked with.” Wouldn’t think of it. “Touch like a Midas gold,” indeed.

BLONDSHELL, “Sepsis”

You immediately know where Sabrina Teitelbaum stands in “Sepsis,” her third single under the name Blondshell. Which is on her own two feet. “I think I believe in getting saved / Not by Jesus validation / In some dude’s gaze,” she sings. The single, the follow-up to “Kiss City” and “Olympus,” is another exercise in dramatic, soft/loud dynamics. “In the thick of COVID, I became obsessed with Hole’s song ‘Doll Parts’ and it inspired me to write something cathartic and pissed,” the songwriter says. “I wrote ‘Sepsis’ as a way of getting anger out — anger towards people who have treated me as if I didn’t deserve very much care and anger towards myself for accepting that treatment. I wanted to create some accountability with this song and also sing about the counterproductive nature of trying to outrun loneliness. Most importantly, I wanted to give myself permission to be as dramatic as possible and say aloud that I’m afraid bad feelings might actually kill me.” See Blondshell opening for Porridge Radio on Sept. 7 at the Lodge Room.

PAPER POOLS, “Portraits”

The follow-up to “Evil” and “Turn on Your Lights,” the hauntingly trippy “Portraits” is the latest single from Paper Pools’ debut EP, “It’s in Our Mind,” out Friday. Says songwriter and former Jehovah’s Witness Allen Orr: “This song was inspired by a psychedelic experience I had during the COVID lockdown. The title, ‘Portraits,’ alludes to a friend of mine. She’s a wonderful painter, and we did mushrooms together. It was one of the more visionary experiences I’ve had. It wasn’t like anything I encountered during my childhood. So much organized religion, and especially Jehovah’s Witnesses, is formal and structured. What my friend and I experienced was more like a journey. There was a moment when I thought the two of us were twins in a womb. It felt like we had traveled from birth to death. Then there were other times when I was basically looking down upon myself. It was intense. I know I didn’t actually experience these things, yet they felt very real and turned out to be deeply meaningful.”