Posts

HARE - Jaunt - Bokito - The Black Delta Movement - Chloe Styler - Sharaya Summers - Pale Rivers

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HARE - Rolls Along. Background - HARE is the project of New Jersey based songwriter and musician Sebastien Isaac, accompanied by drummer Michael Santa Cruz, keyboardist Jon Caplan, and guitarists James Licata and Graham Orbe. After honing his songwriting during his time in college, Isaac returned to NJ and began showcasing at open mics around the tri-state area.  He soon began collaborating with Santa Cruz, Caplan, Licata and Orbe, developing a new unified sound, and set his sights on breaking into the New York City music scene. Seb, admittedly, doesn't have all the answers. The NYC based pop-rock artist understands that his journey, up till now, has all the benchmarks of many millennial coming-of-age stories: a passion placed on the back burner, pursuing a pricey degree, accumulation of debt, a transitional period of stasis, and, finally, lifting the passion off the back burner in spite of all the raised eyebrows.  He knows that happiness may just be a fool’s errand, but

Vamos - You Are Wolf - Em Joy

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Vamos - Outsiders. Background - After a nearly three-year wait, Chicago garage punks Vamos are about to drop their sophomore LP, 1~2~3, via Maximum Pelt, a Windy City-based, small batch cassette and record label that specializes in punk, garage, psych, noise and experimental music. Vamos (Ryan Murphy-guitar/vocals, Will Wood-bass, Josh Lambert-drums) formed during Chicago’s epic blizzard of 2011 and began playing the city’s thriving DIY scene, quickly garnering the attention of local blogs, including Chicagoist, who described the trio as having “a potent and turbulent energy both live and in their recorded material.” On the live front, Vamos graduated from playing shows at local underground venues, including Wally World and Animal Kingdom, to touring nationally, with show and festival appearances on both coasts, in Austin, Texas during SXSW and in their hometown for Riot Fest. Vamos released the Heatwave EP in spring of 2013 and followed up quickly that winter with the EP Midwaste

Gris-de-Lin - Archie and The Bunkers - Tremends

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Gris-de-Lin - Muhammad Ali. Background - Gris about the song: "Inspired by a true story – a patient escaped from a local hospital and broke into my old flat overnight, leaving behind a pile of clothes and a nametag that read ‘Muhammad Ali’. This got me thinking about incarceration, whether physical or mental, and the idea that ‘whatever you do to me I will still have freedom of thought’." Gris-de-Lin is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Dorset. Her music is a heady mix of post-rock, blues and alt-folk peppered with warped electronics. Her debut album, Sprung, comes out on BB*Island in April 2018. The album was recorded in a nursery school and saw her playing virtually all of the instruments herself — from guitars and synths to drums and saxophone. Working with producer/engineer Chris Hamilton (Torres/Kite Base), she also drafted in Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey/Anna Calvi) to play drums on several tracks. Alongside her solo projects, Gris-de-Lin has worked with a

Trampled By Turtles - Chakra Efendi - Willie Breeding - Scratch

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Trampled By Turtles - The Middle. Background - The much-adored Minnesota sextet, Trampled By Turtles have shared their new single, ‘The Middle’, the second to be taken from their forthcoming album Life Is Good On The Open Road, due for release via Thirty Tigers on June 1, 2018 - you can listen to the new single here. After an indefinite hiatus, the band are returning with their first new album in four years following in the wake of previous Billboard-charting records which have included three No.1s on the Bluegrass and Folk charts. Life Is Good On The Open Road is the welcome return that the group’s legions of passionate fans have been waiting for. Led by the songwriting of lead singer Dave Simonett, the new songs touch on key elements from the entire spectrum of Trampled By Turtles’ body of work, while creating something that sounds fresh and invigorated. Simonett, and bandmates Erik Berry, Ryan Young, Dave Carroll, Tim Saxhaug and Eamonn McLain reunited at a cabin in the Minneso

Ruby Vidor - Diamond Thug - Basement Revolver

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Ruby Vidor - Ten Days. Background - Ruby Vidor, is a 19-year old Melbourne based singer-songwriter releasing her debut independent single, 10 Days. 10 Days is a song about the pain and heartache when time conspires against a relationship. It’s melancholy and gentle vocal underlies the heartbreak that weaves through the captivating melody.  The lyric starts with a question - can the relationship survive? As the songs builds it reaches the conclusion that the relationship has come to a natural end. “I wrote this song whilst studying in New York. Relationships start with such promise and yet often the timing is just not right” stated Ruby Vidor. As a songwriter, Ruby loves to tell stories that are inspired by real life experiences. She has a passion to tell a story that connects her with her audience. The folk vibe and love of storytelling is inspired by her greatest musical influences, Missy Higgins, Joni Mitchel and Birdy. Her musical style ranges from Pop, to Indie and even a

Annabel Allum - Bryde - Drinks - Dead Man's Knee - Birdpeople

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Annabel Allum - Rascal. Background - Guildford-based Annabel Allum shares boisterous new single Rascal, her second offering of the year following acclaimed January release Beat The Birds and critically successful 2017 EP All That For What. Loaded with pulsating hooks and the enigmatic singer-songwriter’s tenacious vocals, Allum oozes charisma and once more showcases her ability to marry folk-style storytelling with snarling fuzzy indie. “Rascal pinpoints a phase in time when it felt like no matter what I was doing, it wouldn’t be right”. Allum says, “Trying to look after myself, the people close to me, the people around me, and never finding a balance in any of it. I would either give too much or nothing at all. I still do that. It’s quite a sad song. Self-scrutiny, really. I guess I’m just still learning that it’s okay to not be able to please everything all the time”. Alongside the striking sonic aesthetic of her music, her original look and self-styling has led to endorsements

GRDNS - The Division Men - Preoccupations

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GRDNS - Juniper. Background - Psych-rockers GRDNS share latest effort Juniper, the second cut from their upcoming EP out later this year. Emerging from the largely forgotten and multi-cultural northern city of Bradford, the indie quartet burst onto the scene in February with woozy, off-kilter rock number Night Dance before heading out on the road with Husky Loops and whenyoung, drawing widespread acclaim in the process. Discussing the release, frontman Jacob Lyons stated: "Juniper takes influence from both the modern and vintage surf sounds with a prog/alt section at the end but doesn't particularly sound like either. It was the first song we got together as a full band and the lyrics frequently reference the colour blue and a few of its colour palette relatives. The meaning of the song is open to interpretation, like all the rest will be". GRDNS' own blend of psychedelia, heavily influenced by Tame Impala and Humbug-era Arctic Monkeys, has already landed them su

MAWD - Atlantic Machine - Krantz - Ganser

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MAWD - Dark Room. Background - MAWD is the moniker of California musician and songwriter Madeline Matthews. Her stunning compositions fuse rock’n’roll, folk/blues and pop. The soulful, textured timbre of MAWD is diverse and ranges anywhere from a breathy and sultry folk/blues vibe, to a powerful Janis Joplin-esque/Karen O. belt.  Her vocals perfectly imprint upon the sonic foundation laid by quivering electric guitar, haunting harmonies, classic acoustic folk rhythms, south western inspired Americana bass lines, and full percussion. MAWD is a true musician playing the piano, guitar, ukulele, bass, accordion and some banjo as well. MAWD’s upcoming single ‘Dark Room’, profiles the feeling of isolation that so many of today’s use experience today. “I felt like I was going crazy, sitting in my dark dingy dorm room, struggling with the longing for a comforting feeling, trying to fit in, feeling like a stranger in my skin, and discovering a new dark part of my mind”, reveals MAWD. ‘Da