It's been a while since we last featured Hannah Scott and Beehive Candy are delighted to share her latest release 'In Your Light' the first single from her forthcoming EP, Threads (due 19 June). Hannah is a Suffolk-born, South London-based contemporary folk artist, whose consistently produced fabulous songs with the latest being no exception. As a gentle teaser for the EP I'll just add, if you like this song, you are going to love the rest!
Hannah tells us: Some songs are written, recorded and released within months, while others wait patiently for their time to shine. In Your Light falls firmly into the latter camp, having been written as a gift for Hannah’s mother’s 50th birthday - some 15 years ago - because she couldn’t afford to buy her a present. The song showcases Hannah’s gift for storytelling, with gentle, poignant lyrics and nostalgic warmth, enhanced by her rich vocals and soaring string lines.
Threads follows Hannah’s widely praised 2024 album Absence Of Doubt and marks the first release she has both written and produced. She worked alongside acclaimed engineer Adrian Hall (Tori Amos, Anna Calvi), and recorded piano, acoustic guitar and vocals at home, with a makeshift vocal booth inside her wife’s wardrobe! These songs are inspired by family, nostalgia and grief - and, perhaps unexpectedly, a desire to change the rental market for the better.
As the lyric suggests (“With grace and thought and faith // You taught me to create”), Hannah’s mother, Judith is also an artist. She has created a series of artworks for the EP and its two singles, all featuring Hannah’s childhood home, which is the theme of title track.
============================================================================
Argo and the Violet Queens are a psychedelically driven band based out of Washington DC, who aim to synthesize and reimagine the 20th century’s most pre-eminent genres in a modern setting. Sonically, all four members make unique contributions to the band’s sound, from their implementation of seventies dance sensibilities, abstract auditory textures, and rhythmic flourishes informed by jazz tradition, the band maintains an open canvas for their eclectic influences to take form.
A guiding ethos for Argo and the Violet Queens comes from the band’s deliberate explorations of contexts in which dance music has previously flourished. By drawing comparisons with our current moment, Argo and the Violet Queens create the conditions for critical reflections of social issues to occur in tandem with celebrations of resilience and community. Ultimately, though, Argo and the Violet Queens make killer psychedelic-rock tracks which hold a mirror up to the listener, allowing one to engage with sonic worlds that are pensive, and hopeful in equal measure.
When writing and recording their new single ‘Casablanca’, Argo and the Violet Queens took inspiration from Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary ‘Get Back’ and sat down together in the studio as a full band as if they were going to perform live. No separation, no over-dubs or studio trickery, just the refreshing raw electrifying energy and of a band that have grown up together, playing together.
One of three live studio recordings the band completed in the last days of 2025, ‘Casablanca’ is a potent distillation of the chemistry Argo and the Violet Queens have developed over three tours, over 65 live shows and countless hours spent rehearsing that year.
============================================================================
 |
| Photo - Peter Smith |
Rising alternative post-grunge trio I See Orange return this March with their new single 'Wine Boy'. The new single comes fresh off the back of performances at New Colossus Festival in New York City, before heading to Austin, Texas for SXSW, with backline provided via the band's new sponsorship from Orange Amps. These consecutive US showcase appearances mark a significant step in the band’s international growth, following a strong run of UK festival performances across 2024–2025 and expanding global radio support.
Blending the grit of 1990s grunge with a modern melodic edge, 'Wine Boy' continues to define I See Orange’s heavy yet hook-driven alternative rock sound. Built around driving basslines, textured guitars and powerful vocal delivery, the single grows from its spacious, tight verse to the grungy tones and layered harmonies, blending fuzzy guitar work with infectious melodies to showcase both a rock intensity and a commercial edge.
Formed in 2022 after lead singer and bassist Giselle Medina relocated from Mexico to the UK, I See Orange quickly found creative chemistry with British musicians Cameron Hill (guitar/backing vocals) and Charlie Hart (drums). Their debut EP Lonesome Joy established their signature blend of post-grunge weight, classic rock influence and contemporary alternative energy.
============================================================================
After releasing a slew of riveting singles, coldwave perfectionists TRAITRS are proud to share their new album, Possessor. Out this weekend on all streaming platforms, the new album is packed with ten songs filled with reverb-drenched guitars, rushing 808s, and haunting, yet mesmerizing vocals.
Previous singles on the album have been described by critics as evocative and deeply human, driven by themes of grief, isolation, ecstatic release, and the darker corners of the subconscious.“Burn In Heaven” showcases TRAITRS’ signature blend of atmospheric synths, driving rhythms, and emotionally charged lyrics. The song delivers a powerful and anthemic sound that marks a bold evolution in the band's sonic landscape.
A melancholic meditation wrapped in gothic electronics, "i was ill, you were wrong" finds TRAITRS exploring their most vulnerable terrain to date. It is a track that holds the listener close in the cold, balancing raw intimacy with a sweeping cinematic scale. The single deepens the duo’s position as essential voices within modern post punk.
“Dream Drowning” evokes a sense of urgency with its thought-provoking lyrics. On the captivating new track, TRAITRS aim to analyze the meanings and emotions behind their dreams. Showcasing the horrors of everyday life on an endless loop, the Canadian duo create a track shrouded in mystery.
============================================================================
Scarlett Macfarlane returns with “Immortal,” a powerful and defiant pop-rock single built around themes of resilience, self-worth, and inner strength. Written as an empowering anthem, the song embraces the idea that while life’s challenges may knock us down, something essential within us remains unbreakable.
“I wanted to write a song that made you feel empowered and inspired,” Scarlett explains. “A song that made you want to put a fist in the air. A song that reminded you of your own strength and fortitude.” For Scarlett, immortality isn’t about living forever in a literal sense, but about the endurance of identity and creation. The idea that what we make and who we are continues long after moments of struggle pass. “Our essence is ultimately unkillable,” she says. “We have this crazy inner fortitude to come back swinging.”
The concept of immortality has long resonated with Scarlett, shaping both the song’s title and its central message. The track leans into bold, arena-ready energy, combining modern pop production with classic rock foundations to create something designed to feel larger than life. “Who comes out the gate with an arena-ready song and sings about all of us being immortal?” she laughs.
The song came together quickly, written during an unexpected moment of inspiration while waiting at the gym. Realizing she didn’t yet have a song in her catalogue that matched the empowering energy she gravitated toward while working out, Scarlett set out to write one herself. The recording process with Grammy-winning producer Scott Jacoby helped bring that vision fully into focus, particularly when the chorus was reworked to drop into half-time, giving it the impact she had imagined from the beginning. “I wanted that sort of Queen ‘We Will Rock You’ impact,” she says. “When we made that change, the chorus really landed the way I always imagined.”
============================================================================
 |
| Vision Impact Photography |
Hector Gannet released their new single “Seven Signs” on Friday, ahead of their third record which is expected to arrive in the autumn of 2026. The band are currently in Austin, Texas for SXSW, adding to their live history with Elbow, Sam Fender and Richard Thompson.
Hector Gannet’s emotive sounds have been praised by music lovers from Chris Packham to Sam Fender and acclaimed as “North Shields’ answer to Crazy Horse” (Uncut Magazine). This reception is now justified by new single “Seven Signs”, a rousing soul sermon which blends the group’s North Eastern heart with touches of Dexy’s, Style Council-period Paul Weller and a bit of the Boss.
The single’s soulful power is there in the sweet brass parts, arranged by North Shields-resident US brass expert Jason Holcomb, who has worked with Ohio soul supremos The O’Jays. But where Hector Gannet’s music is anchored in past rock and pop classicism, the words take it somewhere else – towards a wonderfully literate Tyneside modernism. The song opens with a wheezing Gabriel relocated to the edge of Springsteen’s Born To Run, “Pulling at the feathers / Underneath his motorcycle vest.” The narrative then builds to a widescreen consideration of class, moral responsibility and redemption. A hoped-for state of grace comes “one revelation at a time”.
“Seven Signs is about the God Complex,” says lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Aaron Duff. “And how those suffering from it seem to actually believe in their powers. I used a lot of Biblical references with the lyrics, which informs the vocal delivery and leans into the soulful drive we ended up with. The first time I heard the horns I just couldn’t help shouting 'Dexy’s!’ Jason [the brass arranger] really hit the nail on the head there.”
============================================================================
