Sydney-based indie-pop artist Holly Wild embraces the messiness of life through dreamy guitar, catchy choruses and emotionally honest storytelling on new album ‘Technicolour’, released this weekend.
Following her debut album 'Fire' released in 2024, Wild continues to discover and shape her own personal sound, drawing from the experiences, relationships and emotions of her own life. Produced with Grammy-winning producers including Brian Forbes, the album channels these familiar experiences into a dynamic and colourful soundscape.
‘Technicolor’ explores the complicated spaces between love, jealousy and self-worth. Wild moves from the extremes of consuming love to the quiet moments of questioning self-worth, turning small, unspoken moments of her life into tracks grounded in emotional honesty. The album celebrates the contradictions of choosing to feel deeply and being many things at once.
The 13-track album paints this vivid portrait of human emotion with catchy indie-pop melodies, bubbly vocals, and infectious hooks. Slower acoustic moments weave throughout, with intimate verses swelling into anthemic choruses. Wild leans into moments of angst and defiance through powerful vocals belts and haunting textures, while stripped-back tracks make room for airy vocals, chiming guitar arrangements and a more unfiltered intimacy.
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We have had the pleasure of featuring a couple of track from the new album, now we are delighted to feature the full album (released this weekend) on Beehive Candy! ‘Murmurate, Oscillate’ kicks off with Lie Down With Dogs, Stand Up With Fleas, a rousing expression of exasperation at our passivity in the face of lame authority. British Birds are acute observers of the English political scene, shrouding their observations in humour and surrealism. Polka Dot Eyes is another piece of sharp social observation: it portrays Lancashire lads – friends from school – who join the Army and return home physically and mentally damaged. The song is simultaneously disturbing, funny and catchy as hell.
From the fog of disinformation and doubt that surrounds us all in 2020s Britain, British Birds embrace the darkness, but with wit and verve – no slogans, no easy answers – and with an energy that helps us escape the mundanity of a declining island. This might all sound a bit bleak, but it’s not: every single one of the songs on this album has a chorus as big as a house.
There are personal songs too: Scary Movies is a poignant description of Bobby and Emma’s grandfather, who delighted in showing them horror films when they were kids – giving them sneak previews of the darkness they’d come to embrace as adults; Just Like Them is a celebration of introversion: it might not be fun, but it’s better than being an idiot. (Paradoxically, any other introverts who hear this song will feel impelled to join in in the chorus.)
Blame Game and Thunder Claps examine the darkness inherent in relationships: there is always an impending storm, if you recognise the low hum of the imminent thunder. Once again: the choruses of these songs confound the melancholy sentiment.
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Ian Churchward of The Legendary Ten Seconds continues his musical journey with the new album 'Our Unfinished Business.' The Legendary Ten Seconds is the music project of Ian Churchward who is the former guitarist of The Morrisons, who were featured on John Peel's Radio One show in 1987.
Ian has a deep passion for blending rich historical narratives with his distinctive sound. His musical project took on new life in 2013 when Lord Zarquon joined forces with Ian, bringing additional depth to the recordings. Since then, a talented roster of guest musicians and vocalists have stepped in to contribute to the studio projects, the most recent being Jay Brown, who co-composed and helped to record the evocative Sci Fi Hi Fi album. This is an astronomy/science fiction themed album which includes a song about a rogue planet.
As The Legendary Ten Seconds Ian has made a name for himself in the folk-rock genre, notably for his historically inspired albums. He has received critical acclaim for the work chronicling the Wars of the Roses and the life of Richard III, focusing on England’s 15th century. The music is more than just entertainment; it's a dedication to keeping history alive through story-driven songs that resonate with modern listeners.
In addition to crafting meticulously researched and artistically compelling albums, Ian has donated part of the proceeds from his music sales to a scoliosis charity. In 2018 he took the historical work to new heights with the release of the Mer de Mort album, commissioned by the Mortimer History Society in honour of its tenth anniversary. This album is a historically accurate collection of songs that delve into the fascinating and impactful history of the Mortimer family, from their roots in Normandy before the Battle of Hastings to their role in the 15th century. The album features narrative interludes read by the late actor John Challis—known for his iconic role as Boycie in Only Fools and Horses—who was a proud patron of the Mortimer History Society.
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Saycouth blends elements of Jazz, dance and Soul with storyful lyrics from singer Mikayla DeBassio, creating a lush soundscape underpinned by groove. Saycouth dropped three singles and videos in ’25, along with appearing at Nashville shows & parties. Their charismatic live performances shared the stage with house and soul DJs Soulsixnine and Erica Schultz from WNXP’s the brunch.
In 2026, Saycouth brought a new set of songs to life at Wild Feather Recordings with producer Zach Kasik. The first single “Where Do We Go” is in equal parts, a dangerous love song and an allegory for our current times…with a decidedly Shakespearean twist.
The new single "Heartbreaker" was released a few days back along with a lyric video, directed by Jason Stoltzfus. The band are celebrating the release with a free show at Living Waters Brewing in Nashville this coming Wednesday (details 'here').
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| Photo - Meri Björn |
Finnish dream pop duo Eidetic Dreams released their long-awaited debut album Shields this weekend via All That Plazz. Four years in the making, the record combines towering walls of guitars, thunderous drums, shimmering pop melodies and an unwavering belief in the importance of tenderness. Formed by singer-songwriter Siiri Kähönen and guitarist-producer Antti Heikkilä, Eidetic Dreams have spent the past four years developing a sound that balances the ethereal beauty of dream pop with the intensity of shoegaze and the emotional immediacy of indie pop.
At the heart of Shields lies a deceptively simple idea. In a world that increasingly rewards cynicism, emotional distance and the appearance of toughness, perhaps softness is a form of strength. The album was born out of idealism, friendship and the belief that good people can still prevail. Kähönen and Heikkilä openly embrace their romantic worldview, rejecting the notion that vulnerability or naivety should be considered weaknesses.
For Eidetic Dreams, romance is more than a musical aesthetic. It is a way of approaching the world, an active choice to remain open to beauty and human connection even when doing so feels increasingly difficult. The album's title reflects this philosophy. Each song becomes a shield of its own, a place of refuge from the noise and harshness of the outside world. Rather than building barriers through emotional detachment, Eidetic Dreams find protection in tenderness.
Musically, Shields is both intimate and expansive. Its sound is built around enormous drums, dark synthesizer basslines and luminous guitar melodies, with influences from 1980s pop production woven into a distinctly contemporary dream pop landscape.
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The past two years have marked a surprising and welcome renaissance for The Spongetones. Having celebrated their 40th Anniversary with a sold-out concert in their home state of North Carolina – a show preserved for posterity on a hit live album from Big Stir Records – the band has been hard at work pushing forward in the studio ever since. ]
The current lineup of founding singer-songwriters Jamie Hoover (guitar), Steve Stoeckel (bass), Pat Walters (guitar) and recently-inducted drummer Eric Willhelm –not only delivered three new powerhouse studio tracks in support of the live album, but continued on this year with a series of old school standalone guitar pop singles. Each one (“So Long,” “(I Really Need) To Kiss You,” “Lifetimeline” and “The Music At The Close”) has left its mark on indie pop radio and playlists worldwide, and each has showcased a different facet of the band's pop acumen.
The fifth in the series, “Starting To Feel,” performs the amazing feat of introducing a new voice from among the talent on hand in the band's lineup while preserving everything about The Spongetones' enduring identity. “This is the first time in the band’s history that someone other than Jamie, Pat, or me has sung lead vocal,” says bassist Stoecke. He's referring to Willhelm stepping to the fore to deliver the soaring melody over an emotive backing track (and a wall of signature harmonies) that couldn't be crafted by any band other than The Spongetones.
It's Willhelm's second co-written song with Spongetones co-founder Hoover, who sang lead on this past June's joyful hit “(I Really Need) To Kiss You,” but his debut in front of the band (while also still manning the drum kit) and he's more than up to the challenge of lending a voice to this lush, moving tale of recovery and rebirth. Willhelm explains, “As with the first co-write with Jamie, this was another series of chords and a melody line I’ve had bouncing around in my head since the early '90s. All this time it’s just been a la-la thing in my head. Jamie remedied the la-la part!”
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