Showing posts with label Siv Jakobsen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Siv Jakobsen. Show all posts

Friday, 20 January 2023

Siv Jakobsen - Tomten - SUEP - Allie Crow Buckley - Wookalily - Bad Pelicans

Siv Jakobsen - Gardening (Album).

Acclaimed Norwegian songwriter Siv Jakobsen today releases her highly anticipated third album Gardening. Jakobsen will embark on a European tour in support of the album this February, including a newly announced London headline at The Social on 23rd May.

The first seeds of what would become Gardening arrived in Siv Jakobsen’s mind unexpectedly – unwelcomely, even. Returning to a city she once called home, her mind and body were overcome by memories – both physical and emotional – that pulled her back into a time she had thought was long buried. As she walked through her old haunts, memories of a “destructive and difficult relationship” rose up from her past like a monstrous weed. Its roots had not been exterminated and it suddenly poked through the cracks of her consciousness, five years after the fact.

She headed back to Oslo as the pandemic took hold, lockdown allowing her even more time and space to unpack and untangle her knotted thoughts. In the verdant Norwegian capital she was able to take walks in the forest just five minutes from her home, tend to her patio garden and occasionally see friends. All the while, her mind continued to process the spectre that had reared its head, words coming out onto the page, revealing a cutting new depth to her candid writing style.

Gardening is at once Jakobsen’s most emotionally intimate and her most musically expansive record. The title comes from one of the album’s flagship moments, the “crazy jungly sounding” track “Gardening” – but is a thematic link throughout the album. “This record is me doing an intense amount of emotional gardening,” she says. “I was just raking through my mind and pulling stuff out, and then it grew back again, so I pulled it out again.”

Early highlight “Romain’s Place” sets the scene for the start of this process. Jakobsen puts us into the place where she first felt the past encroaching, staring out the window of her friend’s house at the place she once called home, envisioning her ex standing there on the sidewalk; “I swear that you look just the same / You haven’t aged at all.” Unrepressed memories of anger and being screamed at float up, unbidden but undeniable; “How am I back here again, afraid again,” she sings, speaking of a place that is both literal and mental.


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Tomten - Grapefruit Sea.

"I always wanted to write a kind of nightmare music hall song of some sort, a misadventure song that is still foolish and lighthearted. I had the main acoustic part of this tune and no lyrics and we got together at the Unknown and decided on a form and recorded the whole thing almost the way it is now. All the lyrics came later, I used to sit in the bleachers of the baseball field near my apartment during the beginning of the pandemic for hours into the night and work on songs and these lyrics came from that and perhaps some wine and sleep deprivation. It's like our version of "Sloop John B" with black mold poisoning, maybe a little inspiration from Eno's "Backwater" too." -Brian Noyes

Tomten are a baroque pop quartet based out of Seattle, Washington. Brian Noyes (vocals, keys, guitar) and Lena Simon (bass, vocals) (Kairos Creature Club, formerly of La Luz) met in 2008 and began demoing each other's songs at Cornish College of The Arts.

Tomten started playing shows and rearranging their sound and lineup by 2010, after Gregg Belisle-Chi (guitar) and Jake Brady (drums) joined the band. Tomten's debut, Wednesday's Children arrived in Summer of 2012 shortly before Belisle-Chi left the band. Tomten recorded their sophomore record The Farewell Party (2014) with Jason Quever of Papercuts in San Francisco and Sacramento, CA. Dillon Sturtevant (bass) joined the band as Lena departed.

The Unknown recording studio in Anacortes, WA started by Nicholas Wilbur and Phil Elverum (Mt. Eerie) has become the go to spot for the band's more recent recordings - the lush piano driven Cremation Songs (2017), and Synth Pop informed Viva Draconia (2018). Tomten's newest album Artichoke (out April 28) is a collaborative foray into psych folk, power-pop, and glam country, a balance between songs by Noyes, Sturtevant, and two co-written with Brady. Artichoke is a warm pastoral daydream, with inspirations drawn from the Madcap folk rock of the Incredible String Band, to the syrup soul of The Delfonics, the country tinge of Happy End or Gene Clark, with the gentle guitar picking of John Martyn or Bridget St. John.

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SUEP - Just A Job.

Fresh for being BBC 6 Music playlisted and announcing a UK tour for Independent Venue Week’s 10th anniversary, the London (via Brighton) indie supergroup SUEP drop fresh single ‘Just A Job’, the final track taken from their debut mini album ‘Shop' following on 27 January, Memorials of Distinction.

‘Just A Job’ is a firm fan favourite at their live shows, and the closest SUEP have come to writing an anthem.  Simultaneously evoking plodding despair and stoic acceptance, it’s described by the band as “A lament and an ode to outsiders, late-risers and lost souls and a protest song against having to do the arduous tasks that tend to pile up in life” to a backdrop of 80’s Yamaha synth and drumbeat and fronted by a playfully dour Josh Harvey with backing vocals from Georgie Stott.

SUEP is led by Georgie Stott (Porridge Radio, Garden Centre) and Josh Harvey alongside George Nicholls (The GN Band, Joanna Gruesome, The Tubs), William Deacon (PC World, Garden Centre), and Ollie Chapman. Together they make oddball car-boot-sale pop songs with a sprinkling of theatrical storytelling inspired by a mutual love for Paul McCartney, Jona Lewie, the B-52s, Devo and other performative freaks enjoying themselves.

‘Just A Job’ is the third single taken from SUEP’s debut album ‘Shop' following the now BBC 6 Music playlisted ‘In Good Health’ and last years’ ‘Misery’ and ‘Domesticated Dream’, both championed heavily by Steve Lamacq and Marc Riley with the latter inviting them in to record a BBC 6 Music session on 26 January, with press coverage in Independent, Fred Perry Subculture and Clash (among many others).

SUEP have built up a strong live following playing countless gigs over the last couple of years, with their first ever headline show at London’s Stag Head selling out immediately. They’ve toured with contemporaries such as Garden Centre and Ex-Void as well as performed at 2022’s The Great Escape. SUEP are now embarking on a UK-wide headline tour as part of Independent Venue Week’s 10th anniversary celebrations.

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Allie Crow Buckley - Greatest Hits.

Los Angeles indie songstress Allie Crow Buckley recently announced her new album ‘Utopian Fantasy’ will be released on May 19th via Nettwerk. She has also shared a new single and video ‘Greatest Hits.’ With her rollicking new single ‘Greatest Hits’, Allie describes the psychedelic and euphoric track as, “Riding top down through purgatory - resigning to whatever is. The feeling of leaving your body - as one does when chaos ensues. A psychedelic laugh!”.

Video director Jeanette Getrost adds, “The forest was an important setting for this video as much of Allie’s writing of this record involved being so close both in proximity and her relationship to nature. I referenced a lot of imagery from Greek myth and Czech fairy tale films, as well as some time in the English countryside where Allie and I spent one evening watching Rock and Roll Circus and Zeppelin performances.  What derived from this was essentially a narrative on inspiration and the mystery and wonder of the creative process—the result being a wild trip in the forest.” In addition to Jeanette, Buckley enlisted renowned cinematographer Micah Van Hove (Weyes Blood, Tim Heidecker) to bring their vision to life.

Allie Crow Buckley’s music is a world unto itself. A journey from deep within the forest to the coastal cliffs. She is known for her balance of ethereal, soaring melodies, strong rhythmic elements, and heavy, rooted low end. This balance, coupled with her allegorical sense of lyricism, lends itself to being both beautifully meditative and unsettling at times.

She draws inspiration from numerous sources - from Black Sabbath to Joni Mitchell, and Todd Rundgren, to painters, and poets as well as mythology and her love of classical music from her years of formal training as a dancer. Following the release of her acclaimed debut 2019 EP ‘So Romantic’, she released her debut LP ‘Moonlit and Devious’ in 2021 to praise from The New Yorker, NPR, Under The Radar, Paste and more and has opened for Jenny Lewis and Maggie Rogers on tour.

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Wookalily - Old New Mill.

With awe inspiring four part harmonies, low bowed double bass, flutes, trumpet, banjo and more, Wookalily create a masterful and sweeping sonic tapestry that will leave audiences rapt with wonder, and wanting more.

Their debut album, All The Waiting While, and the subsequent gloriously uproarious gigs, tantalised and secured lifelong fans in Ireland, the UK and beyond. Recorded on traditional analogue equipment by the award winning producer Julie McLarnon (The Vaselines, Jeffrey Lewis, Lankum, King Creosote) Wookalilys second album, Everything is NormaL Except the Little Things Inside My Head, explores the gentle nuances of cathartic melancholy whilst retaining that essential and unforgettable Wookalily sound, five women, ten instruments.

This is an ambitious folk music. Daring to dissolve musical and generic boundaries. Irreverently intertwining the disciplines of blues, rock, punk and more to create a unique and singular musical menagerie that must be witnessed to be truly experienced.

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Bad Pelicans - Dance Music.

The Bad Pelicans release a clip for ‘’DANCE MUSIC’’, second single of their upcoming début record ETERNAL LIFE NOW to be released March on Géographie Records.

Starring cult actor from the french avant-garde Walter Shnorkell, this video embodies the raging ennui that fueled the band’s inspiration for this record. Never nostalgic, but confidently timeless, and hungry for change, Walters charismatic personna allegorizes the juvenile pulse that will perpetually push this band.

Little quote from the band about the song : The Bad Pelicans new single Dance Music has a metamodern intention, encapsulating an 80s new wave tinted approach allied with urgent Post-Punk, feedback-pilled production, portraying the "blasé" apocalyptic sound that defines their new record, Eternal Life Now coming out February 24th via Géographie Recs.

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Saturday, 19 November 2022

Signe Marie Rustad - Jackson Mico Milas - Ruth Lyon - Siv Jakobsen

Signe Marie Rustad - Bark Up Someone Else's Tree.

Norwegian singer songwriter Signe Marie Rustad has shared 'Bark Up Someone Else's Tree', the second taste of her forthcoming new album, Particles Of Faith.

Of her new single, Rustad says: "The song is about how it's easy to close your eyes to the stuff that doesn't work in a relationship, as long as there is passion and you (think you) are in love. Looking in the rearview mirror, you might have known all along what would be the downfall, but letting go when you are emotionally attached to someone can be extremely hard. At least it is for me."

Known for her poetic lyrics and clever songwriting, and backed by a tight knit band that’s been with her for years, Rustad’s new album offers a natural transition from her already classic third album, When Words Flew Freely (WWFF). However, Particles of Faith also brings something completely new and fresh.

Particles of Faith is hard to place in any one genre, melding the Americana sound present on her first two albums with the broader singer-songwriter tradition, helmed by pioneers such as Joni Mitchell and Carole King. But Rustad also points to a host of other inspirations.

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Jackson Mico Milas - Blu Terra.

Accomplished musician and composer Jackson Mico Milas unveils his debut album today. ‘Blu Terra’ brings together eleven tender and emotive compositions and finds the London based artist hitting his stride.

As a very young musician and just out of college he changed countries, and honed his musicianship and life experiences in New York, at Nylon Studios. Jackson has carved out a highly successful career to date, with numerous award-winning film and TV scores including partnering with Tim Minchin on Sky Atlantic's Upright and composing for the Earth Hour campaign winning an LIA Awards nomination. Jackson gained early prominence with his band High Highs, who were signed to Elton John’s Rocket Records label, and toured with the likes of Vampire Weekend, Empire Of The Sun and Sky Ferreira.

On ‘Blu Terra’, Jackson comes of age, and delivers a matured and elegant suite of compositions on this debut album, encompassing acoustic, alt-folk and jazz elements to deploy soaring and heartfelt songs. The long player features a cast of great players, including Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie 'Blackstar'), Robby Sinclair (Chet Faker/Nick Murphy), Troy Simms (Lee Scratch Perry) and Veronique Serret (Joanna Newsom's Y's Street Band). Mixing & production by Dave Harrington of Darkside, and the album is released on R&S Records, the home to ground-breaking talent such as Aphex Twin, James Blake, Nadine Shah, Lone, Djrum and many more over its 40-year tenure.

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Ruth Lyon - Stone (Live at Sage Gateshead).

Newcastle folk/chamber-pop artist and songwriter Ruth Lyon has released her new single "Stone", the latest taster of upcoming EP 'Direct Debit To Vogue', out 25th November via Pink Lane Records. The new EP was produced by John Parish (Aldous Harding, PJ Harvey, Parquet Courts) at his Bristol studio, and will also feature the recently released singles "Trouble" and "Clown".

Sleek new single “Stone” looks at the messy yet ultimately redemptive nature of a long-term relationship. Speaking more on the inspiration behind new single "Stone", Ruth said:

"I was influenced by Fiona Apple on this track with her use of simplicity, repetition, monotonous rhythms and development of texture to give power to words. ‘Stone’ looks at the crazy beautiful mess that is any relationship. Bonding yourself to one human for the rest of time is crazy - it’s elemental yet completely mundane all at the same time. Fusing two worlds has the power to feel-earth shatteringly good but also completely destructive - the push and pull of losing yourself yet finding yourself in someone else. The words came out on the page like a poem in one morning and have never changed. The song is raw and I am really grateful to John Parish for being so respectful of the nature of the track, giving it life without taking any of the simple power away. Lady Nade’s haunting tones really lift this song and I am so happy we could work together on this!"

On new EP 'Direct Debit To Vogue', Lyon explores themes of self-doubt, insecurity, emotional masochism, and the weight of arbitrary expectations - all unravelling through offbeat, sophisticated chamber pop and anti-folk, commanded by her soulful vocals and witty yet raw lyricism.

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Siv Jakobsen - Sun, Moon, Stars.

Norwegian singer-songwriter Siv Jakobsen has released her new single "Sun, Moon Stars" featuring Ane Brun - the latest taste of her upcoming third album 'Gardening' - out on 20th January 2023 via The Nordic Mellow. The new single arrives swiftly off the back of a UK tour with Chicago indie rock band Beach Bunny.

“Sun, Moon, Stars” offers the biggest moment of reprieve from the upcoming album’s thematic weight. Gloriously arranged with silvery strings and elegiac horns that subtly build alongside the song’s swelling current, it finds Jakobsen singing through a storm and coming out the other side thanks to someone who has become a bedrock of her life, singing “You are the reason I am alive”.

It is also graced by harmonies from her fellow Norwegian, the legendary Ane Brun. “A big part of why I wanted her to sing on this song in particular is because a lot of the influence I have from Ane is in it,” Jakobsen says. “The style of the guitar, the strings, it just felt like it was a nice nod to how she’s inspired me, so to have her sing on it felt like a full circle moment. From the 16 year old Siv singing Ane’s “Rubber & Soul” in a high school recital, to waiting for Ane outside her gig in Boston as an aspiring songwriting student and mega fan of 22, to becoming colleagues and friends and singing together on Sun, Moon, Stars over a decade later."

Speaking more on the release of the new single Jakobsen said: "Sun, Moon, Stars was written in November, a good few years ago. I remember humming the melody and working out the lyrics whilst out walking on a particularly dreary, dark and wet evening. Inspired by my least favourite month of the year and the heaviness I tend to feel during it, as well as the beauty and hope I’ve found in a companion that has the ability to pull me out of the dreariest corner of my mind, even during the darkest month of the year."

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Friday, 21 October 2022

Siv Jakobsen - This Lonesome Paradise - JEEN - Staples - Roslyn Witter

Photo - Jørgen Nordby
Siv Jakobsen - Tangerine.

Siv Jakobsen has released her new single "Tangerine", the latest taste of the acclaimed Norwegian singer-songwriter's upcoming third album 'Gardening' - out on 20th January 2023 via The Nordic Mellow. Jakobsen has also announced a UK tour this November supporting Mom + Pop signees Beach Bunny, with stops in London, Bristol, Manchester, Brighton, Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow.

Sharp yet surreal new single “Tangerine” is told from the perspective of someone who feels helpless, disposable and worthless. “I imagine this person trapped in a house, needing help and not being able to ask, then locking eyes with a neighbour and silently asking for help they’ll never get,” Jakobsen says.

Lyrically inspired by the work of Japanese author Haruki Murakami, Siv Jakobsen's stronghold of lyrical imagery is undoubtable. ["I’m a tangerine, peel me / Throw me in the sink, Leave me there to stink / I’m a tangerine, squeeze me, Let me drip down your lip"] Siv sings over a serene arrangement of hushed acoustic guitars, soft electronics and synths courtesy of Marcus Hamblett (Laura Marling, James Holden) and bass clarinet from Emma Gatrill (This Is The Kit, Lucy Rose).

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration behind "Tangerine", Jakobsen said: "I imagined someone who was held against their own will inside a run of the mill suburban house, looking out from the front room and willing for someone to come let them out. This someone is mentally stuck, a deer in headlights, scared and frozen. Not wanting to stay but unable to leave - worthless in another's world, like a carefully peeled, squashed and tossed tangerine."

Siv Jakobsen's upcoming third album 'Gardening' was produced by Hans Olav Settem and Simen Mitlid, mixed by Zach Hanson (Bon Iver, Hand Habits, Sylvan Esso, The Tallest Man On Earth), and features instrumental contributions from Emma Gatrill and Marcus Hamblett.

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This Lonesome Paradise - Nightshades (Album).

This Lonesome Paradise - the band of drifters whose western noir was born in the hazy Astoria underground released their new album Nightshades today October 21st. 

Since recording and releasing the last album the band uprooted and transplanted to Joshua Tree, Ca. At a show in Los Angeles they quickly connected with local musician DJ and Producer Pat Kearns (Goat Mountain Recording), and set up to record their second LP in his off-the-grid one-of-its-kind solar powered studio in the desert. The conditions were already perfect for their sophomore effort, but leader E. Ray Bechard maximized the time by bringing in Taylor Kirk (Timber Timbre) to produce, Bart Budwig to engineer, and George Cessna (Slim Cessna's Auto Club) to contribute.

Taylor Kirk had this to say about the new album: “Not having much experience producing live-off-the-floor recordings, I was deeply grateful to arrive in the high desert to find that E. Ray had assembled an expertly crooked roadhouse band and location for the Night Shades session. Inside of eight days at the incredible Goat Mountain Studio in Landers, California, alongside engineer Bart Budwig and This Lonesome Paradise we almost instantly turned some very foggy-formed demos into beautifully spontaneous renditions of eleven tracks vaguely resembling a Morrissey-fronted Gun Club on a Slab City holiday.

The thrill of making these recordings in first and second takes from cactus framed vistas turned to envy as the songs organically morphed into their own exotica-lounge-casino-rock genre. While generously encouraged to interfere, I’m not entirely convinced I earned the producer credit. But I will proudly take it, along with a ton of ideas for the next one.” - Taylor Kirk (Timber Timbre)


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Photo - Laura-Hermiston
JEEN - Little Idea.

Today JEEN reveals her latest full-length album, Tracer, co-produced with Ian Blurton.  She discloses, “Making this record helped me stay above water instead of going to the bottom, or at least make peace somewhere in between.” There is a vulnerable and fragile quality to her vocals: both warmer and less angular. One quickly realizes that Tracer is an immersive and intimate experience. A challenge or even a dare, to sit with and allow oneself to be taken in and even more so taken over.

“Little Idea” out today is a stripped-down song about wanting something and hoping it wants you back; like the point you give in after burning out on it for so long. JEEN continues, “I think on this album I was trying to convince myself it’ll all be ok, or if it’s not maybe that’s ok too… that quote ’find what you love and let it kill you’ sums it up pretty good for me.”

JEEN takes us down the rabbit hole of decades past, yet this feels very present. The influences are here: grunge, punk, garage, shoegaze, prog and psych rock. Tracer exudes the warmth of something familiar without being or feeling nostalgic. Every great record shares what the artist loves and inspires them with the listener. This is where Tracer absolutely shines. Yet this is all JEEN and this is her best—so far.

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Staples - Unjust Jeans (And Guillotines).

Meanjin/Brisbane group alt-rockers Staples release their instantly addictive track 'Unjust Jeans (And Guillotines)' today October 21, and you can bet it's going to stick like honey. Since forming in 2019, the band has released an EP 'Another Melodramatic Mess', sold out shows around Brisbane and last year they supported the Last Dinosaurs.

Returning to the stage in 2022 to launch their single 'Optimist', Staples look forward to releasing their highly anticipated sophomore EP out on November 18. The next release that we're lucky to witness is 'Unjust Jeans (and Guillotines)', a song as memorable as its title.

With a feel-good, bop-ready beat and nostalgia-dipped rhythm, 'Unjust Jeans (and Guillotines)' is one of those tunes that will effortlessly inspire smiles and get people moving. The tune is synonymous with festival season and sunny days spent with mates outdoors, and evokes a sound that could be a mix of The Smiths, The Cure but with a unique indie-rock twist. Though it's a fun tune, it isn't without substance, with lyrical gems like ‘revolution isn’t served on silver spoons’ given space to strike a chord. Speaking further about the song's story, Staples explain:

"Blending driving post-punk basslines, glistening synths and nostalgic jangle-rock guitars, “Unjust Jeans (and Guillotines)” explores the bleak reality of worker exploitation and corporate greed under late-stage capitalism, while encouraging solidarity and hope within the hopelessness." That hopeful energy comes through strong on 'Unjust Jeans', and will no doubt earn the group even more support. So far, they've had consistent 4ZZZ airplay for three of their singles - ‘Talkerspace’, ‘Shoegrazze’ and 'Optimist', as well as drumming up reviews by presenters over at Triple J Unearthed.


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Roslyn Witter - Chasing Fireflies.

Slaight Music signing Roslyn Witter, daughter of award-winning country star Jim Witter, is a charismatic, distinctive and organically-nuanced tenor. 

She's an exceptional siren whose gift of artistry bypasses cliché and stakes her authenticity as both singer and songwriter in the genre known as "three chords and the truth."

Witter's truth lies in a naturally intuitive voice and a phrasing that zigs when you expect it to zag and a lyrical prowess that expresses natural emotions and opinions. "Chasing Fireflies" elicits joy and encourages introspection. Inspired by a hike with her husband, it's about spreading love and enjoying the little things in life with your partner.


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Listen To BCMR (Beehive Candy Music Radio) streaming 24/7 with all the music featured on Beehive Candy in recent weeks and an eclectic mix of music from days gone by. BCMR-HERE 

Sunday, 4 September 2022

Siv Jakobsen - Deux Furieuses - The Steele Syndicate - Laveda

Siv Jakobsen - Romain's Place.

Acclaimed Norwegian singer-songwriter Siv Jakobsen announces her third album 'Gardening' will be released on 20th January 2023 via The Nordic Mellow and shares new single "Romain's Place". The new single follows recently shared tracks "Birthday" and "Most Of The Time" - all of which are set to feature on new album 'Gardening'.

Throughout her career, Siv Jakobsen has lived much of her life on the road, in that time supporting and touring with acts including Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Damien Jurado, José González, The Lumineers and Susanne Sundfør. New single "Romain's Place" was written in the midst of one such tour, inadvertently re-opening a door she'd previously thought firmly closed.

A starkly beautiful examination of a previous relationship haunting one's subconscious, Jakobsen's precise and affecting lyrics ("For every time you screamed my way / I’ve kept a bruise / All down along my spine") are sung with a delicacy she's now renowned for, atop a lush backdrop harps, trumpets, soaring string arrangements and Jakobsen's intricate finger picked guitar work.

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration behind "Romain's Place", Jakobsen said: "Right before the pandemic hit, I was on a small tour and found myself back in a city I used to call home. I hadn’t been back since I left it (and the relationship I had there) behind a good few years ago. I felt quite shocked with how my body and mind reacted to being back, and realised quickly that I had some emotional unpacking to do. I was staying with my friend Romain at the time, and for me my time in his apartment encapsulates this realisation and the start of me dealing with these ghosts from my past that had laid dormant for a while. I was so overwhelmed at the time that it felt as if I was going crazy. I really did feel haunted, as if I had jumped into a time-machine and was somehow back in the past."
 

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Deux Furieuses - All We Need Is Sanctuary.

Refusing to compromise on their stirring brand of articulate post punk that tackles issues of injustice with an unflinching attitude and meticulous musicianship, “All We Need Is Sanctuary” is an arms open wide plea for a world whose occupants are all too ready to watch it burn.

As poised as it is punchy, the track pits ringing guitars against big drums with shimmering percussion and imploring vocals as the song contrasts the insanity of city existence during the pandemic lockdown with the sanity of a life in nature. Deux Furieuses explain: “‘All We Need Is Sanctuary’ is our SOS from this scorched Planet Earth. It describes a journey from the pandemic pressure of an overcrowded city to an old world of trees, springs, paths and stars. An SOS from scrambled minds in search of the sanity of sanctuary, as the sanctuary itself is under threat of extinction.”

‘All We Need Is Sanctuary’ follows ‘Know The Score’ and ‘Bring Down The Government’ as strident samplers of what to expect from Deux Furieuses third full-length LP, 'Songs From Planet Earth'. Landing on 11 November, the album is the band’s second with Xtra Mile Recordings and was written over the course of the last two turbulent years.

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The Steele Syndicate - Weekend's Coming.

Did you know that tomorrow is your day off? Even if it's not, that feeling you just experienced, that fleeting moment of sweet relief - that's what this new song ‘Weekend’s Coming’ is all about. This beautiful slow-burner from Brisbane/Meanjin brass-led octet The Steele Syndicate is out now.

With a four-piece horn section and equally-weighted rhythm section, the exceptionally talented group's live raucous energy has made them a festival favourite, with appearances at 2021's Woodford Folk Festival, Caloundra Music Festival, Mitchell Creek Festival, Tablelands Folk Festival and headlining Summer Sounds in Melbourne/Naarm.

The title track from their upcoming album –and the second song to be released after the brilliantly infectious and cheeky 'One Beer (Is Never Enough)'– has the groovy funk-rockers continuing to impress with 'Weekend's Coming'.

Taking us on a more heartfelt journey than ever before, 'Weekend's Coming' is more 'swoon' than high-energy tune. And it's a beauty. Embellished with their signature horn-led magic, the song erupts in cathartic release with blissful harmonies and a singalong outro that feels as uplifting and majestic as a band that is half-brass instruments should.

A sincere and emotive indie-rock number that builds from the mood of a melancholic Monday up to an anthemic cry, it's a desperate plea for the weekend and everything it represents. Steele McMahon elaborates:

"The tune is a cathartic release from the day-to-day grind, and taps into the shared human experience of hard work for something important. Even in the hardest of times, what gets us through is knowing what we're fighting for. And the weekend is always just around the corner."

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Laveda - Surprise.

Chewing through a gauzy blend of 90s-tinted driving guitars, ethereal vocals and glimmering melodies, “Surprise” arrives as another glimpse into Laveda’s awaited second LP ‘A Place You Grew Up In’, due early next year.

Bringing to mind the likes of Alvvays, Soccer Mommy, Big Thief or My Bloody Valentine, the track is a  hazy slice of feel-good dream-pop with a bitter sting in its tail. “Surprise” is gauzy and glittering with sun-drenched rhythms — but its lyrics take a darker turn.

Jake Brooks explains: “The lyrics are meant to juxtapose the happy sunshine feeling throughout the song. “Surprise” is about dealing with loneliness and loss in this modern age. The overall sound represents how bright and happy we present ourselves on social media. But in reality, everyone’s depressed and stressed over the rapidly devolving state of society.”

With murky, despondent lyricism at odds with its upbeat aura, the track taps into the listlessness and loneliness that comes along with young adulthood. Vocalist Ali Genevich adds: “”Sonically, “Surprise” is the bright song on the new record. Lyrically it embodies a lot of my personal feelings that came after I graduated from college in the same year the pandemic hit. I couldn’t help but feel low for a while, and once I came out of my writer’s block everything I wrote had this big sad mood.”

Following on from earlier single “bb”, the track arrives as another gleaming glimpse into the band’s awaited second LP. With much of the record tracking completed in the summer of 2021 while staying on a ranch just outside of Los Angeles, Genevich says: “I think recording the album was a very therapeutic process, and it helped us find some new meaning in a lot of the songs. It definitely did for “Surprise”.”

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The Hengles - Books of Moods

The Hengles - Cover Up (Album). Experience a trip down memory lane with The Hengles' latest album, Cover Up. This Dutch indie band revi...