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| Photo - Nicole Osrin |
London alternative singer-songwriter Oliver Beardmore has enlisted Brooklyn experimental shoegazers Punchlove for new single 'Ammonite'. Oliver Beardmore plays a single release show at The Elephants Head in Camden this coming Monday, 20th October. A wistful slow-burn that builds from dreamlike textures into a crushing alt-rock finale, ‘Ammonite’ is a searing exploration of projection and self-inflicted hurt.
Co-produced by Beardmore and Xav Sinden, and mixed by Matt Glasbey (Bloc Party, Sorry, Alt-j), hushed guitars and gauzy atmospheres mirror the push-pull of intimacy and blame, with Punchlove’s Jillian Olesen and Ian Lange-McPherson adding a potent depth to Beardmore’s vision.
On the song's lyrical inspiration, Oliver Beardmore said: "The song is about being drawn to people who share the same insecurities or flaws. We project our issues onto each other, but that weight often causes hurt that no one else is really to blame for. There’s freedom in no longer searching for your flaws in someone else, and relief in calling off that search. In the end, you can hurt yourself more than anyone else ever could - but there’s something almost hedonistic in giving yourself away to someone who’ll let you."
In recent months, Oliver Beardmore has become the support act of choice, playing alongside Gia Ford, Junodream, Late Night Drive Home and Steve Mason, as well as headlining sold-out shows across the UK. With early support already from BBC Radio 1 and BBC Introducing, he’s fast establishing himself as a striking new addition to the UK’s alt-rock landscape.
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| Photo - Nick Fancher |
This week Saintseneca released “Bitter Suite,” the final pre-release single ahead of their ambitious 21-song double album Highwalllow & Supermoon Songs that arrives on October 31 via Lame-O Records. Imagined as a ten-song landscape (tracks 1-10) orbited by two sonic “moons,” the new song appears on Cinnamon Moon (tracks 16-21), which will be withheld from streaming services and only available on the vinyl LP or for purchase on Bandcamp.
Saintseneca have also announced a fall album release tour that will kick off on November 5 in Pittsburgh, PA and make stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Asheville, Chicago and more. The tour will culminate in a pair of hometown album release shows on November 22 and 23 at Rumba Cafe in Columbus, OH.
The album was born from a period of personal struggle when Little hit a years-long stretch of burnout and found unexpected healing and a creative spark in painting. What began as a meditative artistic practice grew into a collection of paintings that became the basis for a solo exhibition in a hospital gallery and ultimately the hand-painted gatefold jacket that houses the new album. Longtime collaborator Glenn Davis helped shape the recording sessions, while producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) brought the songs into full focus with expansive, layered mixes.
Like the “Green Ink Pen” that sparked it all and appears as a song the Viridian Moon, Highwalllow & Supermoon Songs feels more found than written. “I wanted this album to reflect that—some songs were found on the landscape, others were found on two moons, orbiting that landscape like satellites, disparate pieces pulling on each other, creating a world of song,” Saintseneca's Zac Little explains.
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| Photo - Nicole Cecile Holland |
Penny & The Pits track "Thick Black Gloves" is a revenge fantasy about retaliating against creeps and stalkers, perfectly encapsulating the sour-mouthed riot grrrl energy praised by Bandcamp.
Quote: “It pees me off so much that I can't just walk down my own damn street without constantly scanning the shadows!” says Stevens. “The song is a bit of a revenge fantasy for me, but it doesn't necessarily translate directly through the lyrics. So I really wanted to make a music video that could help augment those themes.”
I have this ridiculous leather trench coat that I wear all the time, and men often comment that I look like I'm about to commit a murder. So the trench coat inspired the video, really. I wanted to create an atmosphere that wasn't explicitly violent, but focused more on confidence and dominance.
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| Photo - Philip Svensson |
Anna von Hausswolff debuts “Struggle With The Beast”; her nine minute opus of stirring movement, anthemic ritualism, and maximalist composition. The experimental composer and musician fiercely melds the pipe organ, guitars, percussion, violin, viola, cello and double bass with a magnetic saxophone piece from Otis Sandsjö, all with her impending ethereal vocals.
“I wrote this song after a close friend experienced a psychosis,” von Hausswolff reveals. “There was something unstoppable and completely disconnected about her, as if she were living and reigning in a parallel universe of some kind. She was so far away from the person I knew, as if all of her social barriers had completely dissolved. There was a new, weird brilliance to her way of communicating and being. She had no filters. I'm glad she's back to normal today, but it made me think of how vulnerable and complex we all are, and that there are layers of unresolved trauma and unspoken truths within everyone.”
Anna von Hausswolff’s work carves out space for the celestial and the transcendent to enter into the modern world. Throughout the years von Hausswolff’s releases cemented her as an artist of unpredictable and vast creativity – always moving forward, always fusing tradition with experimentation in unimaginable ways. On ICONOCLASTS, her forthcoming album and first with YEAR0001, her sound evolves again, bringing a poppier and more vibrant element to her moving songs. The album was produced by Anna von Hausswolff and longtime collaborator Filip Leyman, marking a new chapter in von Hausswolff's music and featuring appearances from Ethel Cain, Abul Mogard, Iggy Pop and Maria von Hausswolff.
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Dandelion & The Drop - Tall Order.
The third and penultimate single from D&TD exercises a departure from their usual variety of reggae-based grooves, into a downbeat-driven soul track, maintaining the sound of Leon King’s meticulous guitar work, soft Flugal and Tenor horn lines, deep dubby bass tones and Dan’s signature vocal sound.
In today’s world of rising division and dwindling opportunity, Tall Order lands with a raw and timely urgency. In a society where youth services are being stripped away, the cost of living climbs relentlessly, and opportunities for progression feel further and further away, Dandelion lends his voice to the unheard. With bolstering empathy, he speaks to the frustration of a generation struggling to be seen, understood, and offered a future. But beyond the critique lies a mindset - resilient, defiant, and necessary - that we can all carry forward.
The track hits hard. No frills, no filter. Just groove-laden basslines, infectious percussion, and head-nodding rhythms that demand your solidarity on the subject. Dandelion’s verses cut through adversity, weaving through the song with sharp observation. As the song builds, it rises into something more: a fierce, liberating celebration of life - one that insists on joy and coming together, even in the face of struggle.
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The wait is over, thine day doth upon us all, The Bats' 11th studio album Corner Coming Up is out into the world. Since their inception in Christchurch (New Zealand) in 1982, The Bats’ music has earned them indie royalty status. With a devoted following around the world, they remain one of New Zealand’s most cherished and enduring exports, and this album continues their legacy, blazed in greatness.
The Bats are Robert Scott, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean and Malcolm Grant, the much-loved indie rock band from Aotearoa. The new album strikes a very distinctive and familiar chord that exists in the hearts of fuzzy-loving fans all round the world. The brand new video for title track 'Corner Coming Up' is featured today on Beehive Candy.
Throughout their 40 plus years of existence, and now with album number 11 ready to share with the world, The Bats have stayed true to their roots, creating timeless music that continues to resonate with fans old and new.
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