Showing posts with label Redspencer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Redspencer. Show all posts

Saturday, 28 January 2017

Seven On Saturday: Redspencer - Lio Nicol - Imaginary People - Tashaki Miyaki - King Ropes - The Weeks - Hannah Lou Clark

Redspencer - Ride It Out.

Background - Redspencer shares a new music video for "Ride It Out". Despite only having a four-track EP to their name, Redspencer have already garnered avid praise from the likes of NME, CMJ, Triple J, Indie Shuffle, and Time Out New York with ‘Ride It Out’ included at #14 in their Best Songs of 2015.

The four-piece’s eponymous debut EP is a hark back to the band’s humble beginnings, evoking images of balmy, mid-summer drives along the coast with the windows down. The sunny, reverb-swathed guitar- pop of lead single ‘Happy Slow Riverbends’ captures that image to a tee, rousing comparisons to the likes of Spoon and Real Estate.

With festival appearances at Brisbane’s Big Day Out, By The Meadow, Camp Casual, and Laneway Festival’s annual Live Music Safari – not to mention tour supports with Guantanamo Baywatch, The Preatures and Holy Holy – to their name, Redspencer are soon to be firing on all cylinders as they gear up for the release of their keenly anticipated debut album. Facebook here. Amazon mp3 here.

Our second feature for Redspencer this time with the new music video for 'Ride It Out'. Musically this is a bright yet peaceful indie song with a bags of melody, the video reflects all of this with a retro "days gone by" feel.

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Lio Nicol - 1 (EP).

Background - Lio Nicol is both sage and sass. With honest yet quirky lyrics, she has found a way to reflect her sense of humor while maintaining her grace, setting her apart from other singer-songwriters.

After a few semesters of studying biology at the University of Montana, Nicol left her hometown of Missoula and relocated to California in 2010 to pursue a career in music. A talented pianist and guitarist, Lio Nicol has found her greatest passion lies within songwriting. Inspired by the legendary Diane Warren, Nicol’s songwriting is a reflection of her thoughts, heartbreak, and love. Her powerhouse vocals and catchy indie-pop melodies have led to her being describes as an early Mariah Carey meets Florence and The Machine.

Lio Nicol has toured and recorded with some of the industry’s top musicians as well as Grammy award-winning producers. She has performed all over North America in a variety of concerts including the Dragon Boat Festival, Durango Expo, House of Blues San Diego, The Mint in Los Angeles and many others. Music fans have recognized her 4-octave range and impressive stage presence and continue to come back to her shows again and again. Website here, Facebook here. Buy EP here.


The new EP simply called '1' features four tracks. We featured the fourth song (Blame) back in early November last year describing the track as "pristine indie pop". Well with another three songs making up the EP, I personally think that was a fair enough observation, with even more variety and style to enjoy.

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Imaginary People - Mr Hesitance.

Background - Imaginary People shares "Mr. Hesitance," a song about an incompetent politician. Following 2014’s critically acclaimed opening volley EP, composed of espionage-themed singles, and their 2015 politically tinged full-length debut Dead Letterbox,  New York’s Imaginary People return with their second full-length release, entitled October Alice, due in April 2017. The album was again produced by Kevin McMahon (Swans, Titus Andronicus, Real Estate), reprising his role from their debut LP.

The band swings for the fences on their sophomore LP, recorded in a barn in upstate NY, via a grittier approach, with an eerie, reverb-laden wall of sound abundant throughout, cannily crafted via the use of a second drum kit inside a silo. It mirrors the morbid subject manner of the album, easily their most disarmingly personal material to date. Imaginary People is Dylan Von Wagner (vocals), Mark Roth (guitar), Justin Repasky (keys), Kolby Wade (drums) and Bryan Percivall (bass). Facebook here.


Once again Imaginary People combine musical power and passionate committed vocals and arrive with so much more. 'Mr Hesitance' is our second song feature for the band and again they impress. Time to check out their back catalogue!

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Tashaki Miyaki - Girls on T.V.

Background - The Los Angeles-based duo Tashaki Miyaki will release their highly anticipated debut album 'The Dream' on April 7 via Metropolis Records. This week the band shares the first taste of the upcoming release with the single "Girls On T.V." "This track emerged out of observing fame culture," Paige Stark explains. "Things like the emergence of reality TV stardom and social media celebrity have elevated fame culture to a new sphere. We are living in Andy Warhol meets Orwellian vision of the future and I find it terrifying. It's all about "likes" and numbers and now our country is being run by a monster who was created by this very machine. The title is playing on the perspective I'm singing from a media brainwashed girl that only wants to be famous like the girls on tv."

The band was born out of a late night jam session in early 2011, when local legend Joel Jerome recorded what would become the band's first original song, "Somethin' is Better Than Nothin" and a cover of the Everly Brothers' classic, "All I have to do is Dream." Within a few weeks of posting the songs to Bandcamp, the band was invited to London where they played their first ever live show to a packed crowd at the legendary 100 Club.

Tashaki Miyaki has spent the past couple years writing and recording their debut LP, The Dream, produced by Singer/Songwriter/Multi-Instrumentalist Paige Stark and engineered by Dan Horne (Cass McCombs, Allah Las). As a writer for The Fader once observed of the band’s hypnotic sound, “It's so pretty I’m afraid saying anything else might diminish it". Bandcamp here, Facebook here. Pre order album here.


'Girls on T.V.' is a multi layered song that is steeped in richness. With melodic chord changes and a powerful soundtrack, the vocals are kept up enough in the mix to add further feeling to the piece.

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King Ropes - Dirt.

Background - On King Ropes' debut album Dirt, frontman/guitarist Dave Hollier writes deeply expressive songs rooted in the highs and lows of human experience.  Layered with sonic textures and melodic hooks, these songs resonate with hard-won insight and timeless emotional struggles while reflecting life's beauty, terror and complexity.

King Ropes—the name is borrowed from a Wyoming saddlery store, generates musical and emotional fireworks throughout Dirt, with such insistent tunes as "Dogleg Boy," "Lurch on Sister," "International Shortwave" and "Shovel and a Pickaxe" exemplifying Hollier's vivid songwriting and the band's infectious punch, maintaining a gritty, organic vibe that underlines the album's title.

"After years of working with my hands, I was at a place in my life with a severe lack of dirt under my fingernails," Hollier explains.  "So I guess that calling it Dirt is a bit of an incantation, hoping to attract more of it back into my life.  Musically, I felt pretty strongly about balancing out the pretty, sweet elements with the raw, gritty stuff, both in the sounds and the lyrics." Website here, Facebook here. Amazon mp3 (album) here.


The debut album 'Dirt' comprises of ten creative and varied songs. The band pack plenty of natural feeling into their music, whilst taking their core sound in a variety of directions. Sometimes full on rockers, occasionally softer and reflective, they are always consistent in imaginative song writing. A very fine album.

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The Weeks - Talk Like That.

Background - 'Easy', the highly anticipated new album from rising Nashville-via-Mississippi band The Weeks, is set for release April 7th on Lightning Rod Records. The new video for “Talk Like That,” the album’s first track, debuts today featuring live footage shot entirely by the band’s own drummer, Cain Barnes.

The Weeks recorded 'Easy' over the course of two weeks at Memphis, TN’s Ardent Studios with producer Paul Ebersold. The band left Nashville to record in order to disassociate themselves from their everyday routines in the city, and to find a halfway point between their two homes old and new, Mississippi and Nashville. "Memphis has always been the capitol of North Mississippi to us", says guitarist Sam Williams. "We went there to be at Ardent. We knew Paul had learned everything from John Frye and John Hammond so we figured that was the spot. It’s important to keep those historic studios alive and not let them become museums."

Of the record, frontman Cyle Barnes says, "We called it Easy because every time I make music with these guys, it’s easy. It feels good. But the other side of it is there’s nothing easy about being in a band. There’s nothing easy about staying together for ten years and still wanting to make music. We have the hardest and easiest job on the planet. But it works for us." Thematically, Easy explores new ground for the band. Bassist Damien Bone explains, "We just wanted to make a rock record. We weren’t as concerned making it a southern rock record. The southern thing is always going to part of what we do." Pre-order here, Website here, Facebook here. Talk Like That mp3 here.


'Talk Like That' is a punchy, full on rocker, with powerful vocals supported by some feisty musicians who clearly want their share in matters. The video kind of underlines all of this, and with some good old rock'n'roll hooks thrown in, I cannot help but like the song.

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Hannah Lou Clark - Don't Sweat It.

Background - Hannah Lou Clark has announced her brand new EP ‘The Heart And All Its Sin’ will be released through Quatre Femmes Records / PIAS on March 24th. Hannah has also unveiled the first single, ‘Don’t Sweat It’, which was premiered on Huw Stephen’s BBC Radio 1 show. 

‘The Heart And All Its Sin’ has been mixed and co-produced by Tarek Musa from Spring King and is a collection of songs exploring the complexities of love and loss. Hannah has laid her soul bare in these songs in a way that others would never do.‘Don’t Sweat It’ bravely addresses the yearnings of the heart in times of turmoil; with lines like “champagne takes the edge off me” she can see that whilst giving into our vices can’t help the heart heal, it can be a welcome distraction.

Recorded in Urchin Studios, ‘The Heart And All Its Sin’, focus has been on giving space to the guitar, creating emotion and drama by exercising restraint. With the encouragement of Tarek and appreciation of artists such as Steve Reich, Hannah has also developed the drum machine side of things, creating her own loops from a variety of recorded sounds.

‘The Heart And All Its Sin’ points to a painful understanding of what drives and degrades real love. Having shared stages in 2016 with the likes of Ezra Furman, Thurston Moore and Gaz Coombes as well as headlining her own tours, Hannah Lou Clark is excited to announce details of her 2017 tour (see our tour page). Facebook here. Amazon mp3 here.


Hannah Lou Clark is another artist receiving a second feature on Beehive Candy this time with the new song 'Don't Sweat It'. Guitars and vocals both pack plenty of energy, each teasing out some more hooks and melody.

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Wednesday, 26 October 2016

Midweek Muse: Otis English - Redspencer - Hand Habits - Carroll - Pepperhead

Otis English - Trigger.

Background promo - This past August, Otis English made his debut with “Young Kids, Old Love,” a breakout hit that quickly climbed to #1 on Hype Machine, was added to Spotify’s New Music Friday among other coveted playlists moving the song into both the Global and Top 20 US viral charts, and was part of Apple Music’s “Best Of The Week,” giving the song a cumulative 1M streams to date.

With his upcoming single, “Trigger,” scheduled for release on October 24th, Otis continues to speak to the darkness within while simultaneously dragging you into the light. With a big voice, beautifully twisted lyrics and a natural storyteller approach to performing, Otis has arrived in time to replenish the current well of truly meaningful artists. If his voice doesn’t break your heart, his lyrics, a window into his strange and nomadic history, definitely will.

Otis’ upbringing was far from ordinary. His history reads more like a chain of mishaps and tragedies than it does the upbringing of a songwriter. From accidentally burning down his childhood home to watching his father’s health drastically deteriorate while living out of his car, Otis doesn't glaze over the negative and the challenging parts of life. Instead, he takes those experiences and makes them bloom into beautiful melodies. With a pen and a guitar, he turns discomfort into something beautiful and relatable.

This wanderer now sets out a bold, new adventure. Otis will be releasing his debut EP in collaboration with indie label Crooked Paintings. This upcoming collection of songs is cinematic, but unapologetically gritty in the best kind of way. It’s catchy, inspired, and exactly what you want to hear from an artist who demands your attention, not with antics, but with honest, insightful stories and an undeniable voice. Facebook here.


Our second song feature for Otis English and this time with 'Trigger'. Last time around (back in August) we spoke of  "unrestrained commitment and very distinctive vocals" the latest song confirms that was no one off. Trigger adds passion and power to the equation and it's no surprise the song is getting a good number of plays in just a couple of days.

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Redspencer - Rainbows.

Background - In late 2013, rural-born brothers Dave and Aiden McMillian traded the sun-drenched plains of northern New South Wales for the rich cultural tapestry — and comparatively dreary weather — of Melbourne. 2015 sees the two siblings (alongside Andre Franco on bass, and Alex Buchanan on guitar) continue to draw influence from their provenance in Redspencer.

The four-piece’s eponymous debut EP is a hark back to the band’s humble beginnings, evoking images of balmy, mid-summer drives along the coast with the windows down. The sunny, reverb-swathed guitar- pop of lead single ‘Happy Slow Riverbends’ captures that image to a tee, rousing comparisons to the likes of Spoon and Real Estate. Latest single ‘Fuss’ (taken from their forthcoming debut LP) however, channels the trademark non-chalance of ‘90s cult-classics Yo La Tengo — complete with jangling guitars and mellow harmonies, blanketed with layers of groggy analogue synth. Below the surface lies the poignant musings of songwriter Dave McMillan, whose lyrics have been described as “existentialism for the everyman”. It makes for an undeniably arresting, and at times, all too earnest combo.

Despite only having a four-track EP to their name, Redspencer have already garnered avid praise from the likes of NME, CMJ, Triple J, Indie Shuffle, and Time Out New York with ‘Ride It Out’ included at #14 in their Best Songs of 2015. With festival appearances at Brisbane’s Big Day Out, By The Meadow, Camp Casual, and Laneway Festival’s annual Live Music Safari – not to mention tour supports with Guantanamo Baywatch, The Preatures and Holy Holy – to their name, Redspencer are soon to be firing on all cylinders as they gear up for the release of their keenly anticipated debut album. Facebook here.


The new single 'Rainbows' is taken from the forthcoming album 'Perks'. Easy going vocals and harmonies are backed by an equally relaxed guitar lead music arrangement. Sometimes the most catchy songs are the ones that don't over do the layers, I think this song, is a case in point.

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Hand Habits - All The While.

Background - "Meg Duffy, aka Hand Habits, is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Upstate New York. She has been putting her time in on the road and in the studio over the past two years with  pacific northwest band Mega Bog, and the Kevin Morby Band, making an impression on everyone she comes across with her natural charisma and uncharted talent as a multi-instrumentalist. But let Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void) be her open invitation to the world to step inside and take a much deeper look into who Duffy actually is. Tracked in an Upstate New York living room, then finished in her current home in Los Angeles - it is appropriate that this album was recorded by Meg herself - for Meg, who has an acute ear for detail, has touched every corner, has seen every vision 'til its end. 

Because of this, Wildly Idle feels incredibly intimate, like a secret between her and the listener. It hits soft, like warm water, and before you know it it is all around you - a bath, and Meg's whisper has made its way inside you. Like many bedroom-debuts before it (The Microphones, Jessica Pratt, Little Wings, Grouper)  let this be the first of many to come, for Meg has music in her touch - and this is only the beginning. But let us not look to the future now, but instead stand alongside her, our trust in her will, both humble before the void, with her first chorus as the mission statement; 'hold you like a flower, hold you like an hour glass'."- Kevin Morby. Facebook here.

A gentle guitar lead introduction swiftly followed by Meg Duffy's dreamy vocals takes the listener into 'All The While'. The song is melodic and develops in power, without losing the sensitive calm feeling, which may sound like a contradiction, in which case please listen and see if you get my drift.

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Carroll - Talking To My Own Mirage.

Background - Carroll have recently upped sticks and moved from Minneapolis to Philadelphia to sleep on people’s floors and write their new album As Far As Gardens Go. Produced by the band and mixed by Jon Low (he’s worked on things for The National and The War On Drugs), their second full-length release is due for release on November 11th via Shattered Orb.

First taste of As Far As Gardens Go is found in the form of "Talking to My Own Mirage," (aka the first song to be lifted from the album). Here’s what Carroll has to say about the track:

"Talking to My Own Mirage’ is meditation on the distances that separate all of us. A song about accepting the pull of the unknown and embracing its consequences. People drift and we’re left staring down infinite copies of ourselves, floating above it all in effortless tandem". Website here.

Upcoming shows:
October 29 - Brooklyn, NY at Elvis Guesthouse w/FRAME
November 11 - Philadelphia, PA at The Barbary
November 12 - Philadelphia, PA at Sofar Anniversary Show
December 2 - Philadelphia, PA at All Nite Diner.


'Talking To My Own Mirage' mixes delightful vocals with a vibrant soundtrack that is comprised of sweeping guitars and synths and a vibrant rhythm. Totally catchy, if the album reflect these traits the band deserve to be noticed.

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Pepperhead - See Through You.

Background - Sydney based alternative rock band Pepperhead got together in 2015 quickly writing and recording their debut EP 'The Housefox Sessions' and making their live debut in 2016, rocking the legendary Annandale Hotel. The first single ‘See Through You’ is no-nonsense alternative modern rock at its finest. A pop, punk, grunge masterpiece, each listen highlights a new muse making it hard to pin to a specific genre or comparison ‘sounds like’.

Close your eyes and you could imagine a Debbie Harry-fronted Ramones at CBGB’s in the 70s, at the same time, the EP evokes a “Foo Fighters meets the Strokes” sound and style, making it modern, different yet familiar and instantly catchy. Louisa Thomas (vocals) says, “‘See Through You’ is one of the first songs we wrote and therefore a straightforward choice for our debut single. Its also a pretty good benchmark for our live sound which we really wanted to capture in recording, and a massive thanks goes to Ryan at Housefox Studios for getting it down.”

'The Housefox Sessions' EP was recorded at Housefox Studios on Sydney's Northern Beaches by Ryan Miller, mixed by Shane Edwards at Karma Sound Studios in Thailand and mastered by Rick O’Neil at Turtlerock in Sydney. Pepperhead is Mark Trevena (drums), Dan Walker (bass), Kieron Haycock (guitar) and Louisa Thomas (vocals). "The Housefox Sessions" EP will be released 28th of October. Website here.


'See Through You' is typical of the straight down the line rock songs to be found on The Housefox Sessions EP. As you can see on the video for their first single, the band just get on and play, doing their thing, without any pretentiousness. This is one fine rocking EP.

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Zanna Black - Smoke and Mirrors Sound System - Remy Garrison - The Names - The Inciters

Zanna Black - This Town. With melancholic guitar and the loveliest vocals, Zanna Black lets out into the world her latest single, ‘This Tow...