This edition of LITM Singer-Songwriter Picks brings to you tender indie folk, defiant anti-war disco-funk, and cinematic indie-pop. The list features artists Jeremy Parks, Sheykh Forever, and The Afterword.
Jeremy Parks - Wait on Me
Finding grace in the in-between, ‘Wait on Me’ by Jeremy Parks is a tender reflection on feeling behind in life and learning to trust your own timing. The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter wrote, produced, and performed the track himself, with Niel Brooks on bass, and he keeps things intimate and sparse. Gentle acoustic guitar and expressive vocals sit at the center, while soft textures drift in around them to give the song a quietly cinematic glow. Landing somewhere between classic pop and indie folk, it treats waiting not as failure but as a kind of devotion, and there’s real comfort in that patience. It’s a song for anyone who has ever compared their timeline to someone else’s, and it gently reminds you that the things worth having will still be there when you arrive.
Sheykh Forever - I’m Your History
Opening a debut album with a statement of identity, ‘I’m Your History’ by Sheykh Forever confronts displacement and the experience of being told that your history and your home don’t belong to you. The project of London-based, Iraqi-born artist Mostafa Al, Sheykh Forever wrote, produced, mixed, and mastered Fire in the Master’s House entirely at home over about four years, blending vintage hardware with digital tools. That DIY intensity shows in the track’s dense layers, which pull from funk, warped pop, and heavy electronic grooves in the spirit of Nicolas Jaar and Blood Orange. It turns anger and urgency into something you can move to without ever dulling its edge. It’s a bold, defiant opener that demands to be heard, and it makes a powerful case for the album that follows.
The Afterword - Dancing Bear
Closing out their debut EP with a song that feels as big as a lifetime, ‘Dancing Bear’ by The Afterword sprawls across centuries to explore memory, longing, absurdity, and hope. The British indie-folk duo of vocalist and lyricist Tom Walkden and classically trained pianist Alex Billig, who first played together in the Oxford band Wolventrix, have a knack for the cinematic. Here, that gift goes into something wistful and a little surreal. Billig’s piano gives the song a graceful, unhurried pulse, and Walkden sings with a bittersweet, self-aware warmth that keeps the bigger ideas grounded. The chorus gives the EP its title, Floating Up To Meet You, and it lands like a lifted weight, tender and quietly hopeful. It’s an ambitious finale, and a promising first chapter from a band that clearly has a lot of stories left to tell.
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