Skullcrusher

Skullcrusher is the project of New York–based artist Helen Ballentine, who first captured attention with the intimate, hushed folk of her debut album "Quiet the Room" (2022). On her second album, "And Your Song Is Like a Circle", she expands her sound: vaporous folk intertwines with crystalline electronics, fragile vocals drift over subtle synthesizers, piano, and layered percussion.

The album was born after Ballentine returned to the Hudson Valley, where she grew up, following years of intense isolation and reflection. The songs circle themes of grief, memory, and transformation, creating emotions that are deeply felt but never fully graspable. From the dreamlike “Exhale” to the turbulent “Maelstrom” and the piano-driven “Dragon,” Skullcrusher crafts a world that is at once intimate and expansive, a space where music and experience gently meet.

Ballentine describes her work as a circle that grows with every new piece: each composition adds another line, an attempt to capture the ungraspable – a circle she continues to trace throughout her career.

Jo Geller, better known as jo from school, recently joined the Chess Club Records family. This puts her right alongside the independent label’s impressive history of homegrown artists who went on to find major success. She is now following in the footsteps of alumni like Wolf Alice and Billie Marten, an artist Jo has admired for a long time.

At 22 years old, jo from school writes songs that are graceful and carefully crafted, but they hit with an emotional weight that feels way beyond her years. Her music gets its unique character from her love for spontaneity and imperfection. She is first and foremost an artist who focuses on doing things her own way, which is exactly what makes her material so authentic.