Four More: The Alpacas - The Wicked Whispers - Coast Modern - Henry Jamison

The Alpacas - Wax.

Background from the band - In some ways our new single is about being happiest playing a gig. But it's also about how being social when you don't always want to be is a trade off for doing what you love. Getting what you want also means keeping yourself in check.

Musically, it’s as if Johnny Ramone joined The Strokes as a 3rd guitarist. Lyrically it's also inspired by the song 'Left of the Dial' by The Replacements from their 1985 album 'Tim'.

Our forthcoming album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Kevin Dietz (The Cranberries, Alexisonfire, Placebo, Nelly Furtado). It was recorded at Metalworks in Toronto and Slipone Digital in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. 

The Alpacas are Nick Harper, Greg Lee, Brett Garner, and Brent Lee: a four-piece rock and roll band from Barrie, Ontario. The Alpacas aim to write honest, hooky, and heavy tunes that strike a balance between raw and refined. The Alpacas live show is loud and quiet, fast and slow, tidy and unkempt –– but above all, The Alpacas look to create some good time vibes and entertain an audience.

With a tight indie rock feel, 'Wax' explodes with the choruses and just rocks in between. The band pack power chords alongside a belting rhythm and just hook you in.

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The Wicked Whispers - If I Set You Free.

Background promo - The new double A side single “If I Set You Free / Zodiac Girl” released on 21st Sept via Electone Records. Two years on from their debut album Maps of The Mystic, and with a plethora of sold out vinyl releases and UK / EU tours under their belts, Merseyside’s fast-rising psychedelic sons The Wicked Whispers return with news of a brand new double A side single release in If I Set You Free / Zodiac Girl.

Though rather than re-tread the ground that brought the band their initial swell of attention, these new tracks reveal the band to be revelling in a new-found focus; ideas come fully formed, hooks latch on instantly, and where once their bristling fountain of creative concepts threatened to overshadow the songs underneath, their more direct approach to the craft is a refreshing shift to their own more distinctive strain of the genre.

If I Set You Free, punctuated with organ flourishes, dramatic guitar stabs, and a tumbling vocal melody, calls to mind The Coral at their best, while Zodiac Girl – the perfect counterpart to If I Set You Free - shows the band’s more wistful and thoughtful capabilities, with its soaring refrain of “Zodiac Girl”.

Live Dates:
Oct 6 This Feeling, Water Rats, London
Oct 21 Buyers Club, Liverpool
Oct 27 Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
Nov 26 Vortex Lounge, Cumbernauld

The video for 'If I Set You Free' is a sixties psychedelic feast of colours, whilst the song oozes those timeless vibes of days gone by. The band bring their own fresh ideas to the table and create a spectacular sound. Highly recommended!

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Coast Modern - The Way It Was.

Background - Step onto a jungle cruise with Coast Modern and explore the wonders of the new track, 'The Way It Was'. A few Coast Modern facts - 10 million streams across three songs with previous songs, "Guru", "Animals," and "Hollow Life" hit #1, #2 and #3 on HypeMachine respectively. 

The band played their first shows at SXSW this March, toured with The Wombats, BØRNS this Summer and plan a US tour with The Temper Trap this Fall, plus festival appearances at Bumbershoot, The Meadows and Life Is Beautiful.

Live Dates:
September 2 - Bumbershoot - Seattle, WA
September 19 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR***
September 21 - Commodore - Vancouver, BC***
September 23 - Life is Beautiful - Las Vegas, NV
​September 25 - Gothic - Denver, Colorado***
September 27 - Varsity - Minneapolis, MN***
September 28 - Metro - Chicago, IL***
September 29 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI
September 30 - Phoenix - Toronto, ON***
October 1 - The Meadows - Flushing, NY
October 4 - Royale - Boston, MA***
October 5 - TLA - Philadelphia, PA***
October 6 - 930 Club - Washington, DC***
October 8 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA***
October 9 - 3rd and Lindsley - Nashville, TN***
October 11 - Granada - Dallas, TX***
October 12 - White Oak - Houston, TX***
October 13 - Emo's - Austin TX***
October 16 - Observatory North Park - San Diego, CA***
October 17 - Observatory - Orange County, CA***
October 18 - Belasco Theatre - Los Angeles, CA***
October 19 - Warfield - San Francisco, CA***
*** supporting The Temper Trap​
 
'The Way It Was' is one of those songs that demonstrate a band that are happy to do their own thing. There is a loose feeling throughout, along with sing along vocals, ideas galore, sometimes a little quirky, often happy, this is one fine song

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Henry Jamison - Real Peach.

Background - Henry Jamison, is an extraordinary songwriter who will be releasing his debut EP called The Rains on October 14th via Akira Records, and has now shared “Real Peach”, the brilliant first single from the EP, ahead of its official release this Friday, August 19th and a brief Northeast tour later in August.

Assuming that a person’s interesting lineage or pedigree in such things has any relevance at all, which is certainly unclear, Henry Jamison was perhaps predisposed to songwriting. His great-great-great-great-great-great-great (etc.) grandfather was the 14th century poet John Gower (friend to Chaucer and Richard II) and his great-great-great-great grandfather was George Frederick Root, the most popular songwriter of the Civil War era.

Probably more relevant is that his mother is an English professor and his father a classical composer who gave him a Korg 8-track recorder and his first guitar, so Henry has some talented writing roots in his bones, and the songs that comprise The Rains prove this to be fact. These songs show a central interest in exploring inner worlds, observing their treasures and holding none in contempt. They run the gamut from an earnest reckoning with romantic upheaval ("Real Peach"), to a knee-jerk and distorted view of the same ("Through a Glass"), to storm-driven dreamscapes ("The Rains" and "Dallas Love Field").

Live Dates:
8/25 - Burlington, VT - New City Galerie
8/27 - Brooklyn, NY - Pete’s Candy Store
8/28 - Portland, ME - The Garage
8/29 - Cambridge, MA - Zuzu

'Real Peach' is typical of the overwhelming quality of the October EP release 'The Rains'. Comprising of five beautiful songs, thoughtful words sung with tenderness are accompanied by an understated and predominately acoustic soundtrack. Melodic through and through, and with delicate harmonies, the EP really is something quite special.

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