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TSR
286

Subsonic Eye
Singapore Dreaming

 
 
 

Their fifth album, Singapore Dreaming, centers their hometown through a more focused lens. Where previous album All Around You comprised a space to sit with the complex feelings inspired by the intense world we inhabit, Singapore Dreaming is that intense world itself — Subsonic Eye’s interpretation of their high energy urban context refracted through straight-to-the-point, poppy, ergonomic songs tinged with tension that could explode at a moment’s notice. Despite the newly honed vision, Singapore Dreaming still has all of Subsonic Eye’s signature elements: spellbinding walls of tone, hooky riffs, zippy rhythms, and punches in the perfect place — all led by singer Nur Wahidah’s dreamlike voice, whose vaporous and velvety character always makes the layers whole. more info→

10 tracks

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five albums,
a re-issue,
two singles,
an EP,
and a split.



check out everything we released in 2024→
seek out the wisdom of our 2024 release guide→

Thanya Iyer


TIDE/TIED

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order Thanya Iyer - TIDE/TIED On her third full-length TIDE/TIED, Montreal artist Thanya Iyer expands on the future-folk designs of sophomore album KIND with washes of jazz-inflected pop and ensemble ambience. While Iyer explored a more personal journey of self-love on KIND, she, her band, and cohort of guest musicians embark on a new way of moving on TIDE/TIED, prizing collective care and communal healing as antidotes to the dissonances of living in a colonial, capitalistic world. more info →

On music discovery:

When writing about a song or album, the convention is to use the present tense. A piece of music, although representative of and influenced by the era in which it was created, is ultimately always experienced in ~the present~. We built this website while pondering ways that we could, at every turn, focus on discovery by bringing music we released years ago relevantly back into the present, challenging how we collectively talk and think about “new” music. Discovering new music is exciting, but so is discovering music that’s simply

new to you.

It’s our hope that you'll enjoy digitally crate digging through this online home of ours, finding and connecting with the 250+ albums we’ve released with 140+ artists from all around the world over the last 16 years. Directly below are a few of our favorites to get you started.

However you’ve found yourself here presently, thanks so much for stopping by! We couldn’t do this without your support and enthusiasm.

-All of us at Topshelf

 
i illustration by Dylan England of Del Paxton.
t   toe - For Long Tomorrow

For Long Tomorrow

toe Knifeplay - Animal Drowning

Animal Drowning

Knifeplay o Weatherday - Come in

Come in

Weatherday p   Gulfer - S/T

S/T

Gulfer A Great Big Pile of Leaves - Pono

Pono

A Great Big Pile of Leaves s Record Setter - I Owe You Nothing

I Owe You Nothing

Record Setter h e Sweet Pill - Where the Heart Is

Where the Heart Is

Sweet Pill l   Ratboys - Happy Birthday, Ratboy

Happy Birthday, Ratboy

Ratboys Elephant Gym - Dreams

Dreams

Elephant Gym f   Mid-Air Thief - Crumbling

Crumbling

Mid-Air Thief

toe


NOW I SEE THE LIGHT

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NOW I SEE THE LIGHT (2024), toe’s fourth full-length album, is a bridge between the experimental restraint of their later work and the explosive abandon of their earlier output. From the opening tracks, toe balance serpentine passages against meditative repetition. On “LONELINESS WILL SHINE,” “サニーボーイ・ラプソディ,” and “NOW I SEE THE LIGHT,” Hirokazu reprises his role as part-time vocalist, breaking the band yet further from the instrumental work that formerly defined them. As a whole, NOW I SEE THE LIGHT closes the loop between early and late toe, giving them a clean slate for their new outlook. more info →

Peel Dream Magazine


Rose Main Reading Room

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TSR264

Across its fifteen songs, Rose Main Reading Room ultimately proposes a world of marvels and compelling complexity: “Oblast” cheekily prods at mutually assured destruction; “Ocean Life” explores the infiniteness within ourselves; while “R.I.P. (Running in Place)” unpacks an all too familiar stagnation. It’s all part of, and crucial to, Rose Main Reading Room’s transportive power, ever reaching for the wonder and magic of the world we live in. more info →
 

Sobs


Air Guitar

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/ vinyl
/ cassette
/ digital
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order
TSR252

Dedicated to the power of pop music, Sobs are Singapore’s premier indiepop propagandists. A thirty-minute trip for the post-Internet consumer, Air Guitar calibrates inventive pop hooks for the indie rock lover, instantly accessible yet intricately arranged. more info →
 

Ekko Astral


pink balloons

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/ cassette
/ digital
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pre-order
TSR279

Ekko Astral are here to uplift, a mission exemplified by the frenetic and bewitching pre-release singles “baethoven” and “devorah,” cornerstones of pink balloons in both style and theme. The former serves as a reminder to keep your larger than life personality in a world that wants to downsize you, where the latter proclaims urgent solidarity with missing and murdered people. Such crucial messages of upliftment are the foundation of pink balloons, and, by extension Ekko Astral, whose thrashing debut leaves no stone of solidarity unturned. more info →
 

topshelf playlists


Just like our catalog, our playlists cover a lot of sonic ground. Check them out on
apple music
spotify
 
 

phase distorter 4: a math rock playlist


listen →

staff selections


listen →

porch


listen →

begin again.


listen →

topshelf 101


listen →

on tour


listen →

Philadelphia DIY lifer Maneka announces new album "bathes and listens" with two new tracks

Maneka

On his 2025 follow-up, bathes and listens, Maneka's Devin McKnight focuses his vision on the project's musical identity, resulting in a more grounded album that still tests the extremes of McKnight's songwriting talent. Elements of shoegaze and slowcore are prominent, but engineer Alex Farrar's exceptional production (Wednesday, Snail Mail, MJ Lenderman) makes bathes and listens cohesive, yet still distinct from any one style. read more →

 

We've launched a donation initiative for aid in Gaza — Join us in the fight for liberation!

To combat the devastation caused and yet to come, we are raising funds for The Sameer Project, a donations based aid initiative run by Palestinians in the diaspora. Currently, The Sameer Project is focused on the distribution of food, water, and tents in South Gaza. Their work is of the utmost urgency as the Israeli blockade continues. Learn more about The Sameer Project and donate today read more →

 

DIY folk hero Mal Devisa releases new anthology album "Palimpsesa"

Mal Devisa

Palimpsesa features some of Mal Devisa's earlier songs plus a whole fresh batch of previously unreleased material, newly mixed and fully remastered. Lead singles "Old Intro" and "Skyline Arms-Reach Out" flip between two distinct sides of the Mal Devisa coin, with the former highlighting Carr's effortless flow over a scrappy, boom-bap and the latter showcasing her sky soaring voice weaved in beautifully with art-pop atmospherics. It's a completely stunning return. read more →

 

Mal Devisa shares two previously unreleased singles "O Ivory" + "To Be Unwilling"

Mal Devisa

"'O Ivory' reflects a snapshot of experiences that I've had with becoming who I am today. The verses echo the quiet and peace that I feel when I watch a good film or make a nice cup of coffee. With 'To Be Unwilling', I don't really know what to say about it other than that I truly feel the presence of my ancestors when I sing some of these lyrics, not physically but in my heart. I think about them, and their time on this planet." read more →

 

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