Showing posts with label Teeniest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teeniest. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 May 2023

Inkfields - Teeniest - Rob I. Miller

Inkfields - The Third Side of the Coin (Album).

The Third Side of the Coin is the second album from Edinburgh based artist Inkfields, following on from the single of the same name, it sees the songwriter dicing with fate on the toss of the coin.

Eclipsing his previous releases with a carefree, bluesy soul tinged record that builds from his classic bedroom indie sound, The Third Side of the Coin feels like the complete package in the context of Inkfields work to date, weaving between psychedelic glimpses and classic indie guitar sounds. There’s a feeling of optimism and confidence emitting from the record, highlighting Inkfields as a songwriter at the top of their game.

Moving from surf tinged indie to funky disco enthused pop The Third Side of the Coin swaggers along with delighting harmonies, unnerving chills and locked in grooves that assault the senses in the best way possible. Inkfields, the guise of Samuel James-Griffiths, began in Dresden, Germany as a spontaneous after work street music experiment, moving through Sweden, Southern Germany and finally to Edinburgh. The music has been forged through thousands of hours of street music across dozens of cities in Europe, from -12 to +40 degrees, through rain, snow, wind and sun.

Over the years the music has journeyed through genres and matured with time, releasing debut album Beneath the Waves in 2018, followed by a single a month experiment through a lot of lockdown, and has found his true sound on The Third Side of the Coin. Each of the tracks on the Creative Scotland funded The Third Side of the Coin will have a specific piece of artwork made for them, to outline certain species of animal and plant that are endangered in Scotland, raising awareness of some unusual species that people may not be aware of.

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Teeniest - Billie Eilish won't follow me.

Teeniest is a duo from Brooklyn, New York (USA). Their music is alive with beauty and color, whether it's a gentle acoustic folkie tune or an all-out electric guitar rock assault.

This quirky song takes a wry look at pop stardom and music streaming algorithms, with a good dose of kind-hearted humor. 

We brought a unique sound to this project, with clarinet, Rickenbacker electric guitar and bizarre chanting voices. It's weird but fun and accessible.

 

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Rob I. Miller - The One.

When Rob I. Miller (Blues Lawyer) found that the records he’d once leaned on to help him through heartbreak weren’t working for him anymore, he wrote his own. The result is Companion Piece, a collection of heart-on-sleeve songs building on the classic guitar pop tradition of pairing melancholy with melody, out May 12 on Miller’s own Vacant Stare Records.

Primarily known for playing in bands, Miller has released solo music before, but Companion Piece is his first album under his own name; a choice that reflects the vulnerability underpinning these 11 self-recorded songs, each one representing a different stage of post-break-up grief from the shellshock of rejection and rumination over the past, to fantasies of a future that never came to pass and the cautious blooming of feelings for someone new. It is, he says, “my attempt to contribute to the canon of break-up albums.”

First single “Wedge” is a damaged pop song featuring sampled drums and heavily distorted guitar about the feeling of being an unwitting pawn in an emotional game played by the other person. “Borrow” and “Wrong for Us” use sunny alt-rock and downcast late ‘90s indie touchstones to excavate the heartbreaking awkwardness of situations like having to explain to your friends why someone doesn’t come around anymore.

On “The One” Miller wonders over an anthemic chorus if a new fall (as in falling in love) “will be the one from which I die”—a mix of morbidity and sanguinity unabashedly lifted from the Teenage Fanclub playbook. “I was really inspired by that song ‘Norman 3,’ how ballsy it is to just say ‘I’m in love with you’ for three-and-a-half minutes,” he says. “It’s seemingly so unafraid—I’m just going to be as sensitive and vulnerable as I want to be right now.”

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Tuesday, 7 December 2021

Teeniest - Alyssa Gengos - Gabrielle Metz - Buster Baer

Teeniest - A Hand to Hold Forever.

Beehive Candy are really fond of these two artists music whether together as Teeniest or apart in other ventures. This song is no exception as the (and we quote) "acoustic-guitar-based and thematically seems all warm & fuzzy, but the accompanying vibraphone and eerie science fiction/horror undertones create a rather unsettling vibe."

The video notes tell us: This music video for this song is inspired by the virtual reality game, Lone Echo 2, an emotional highlight of which is two friends holding hands. In this outer space adventure, the two friends are Captain Olivia Rhodes and her assistant robot, Jack.

Excellent writing and voice acting (Troy Baker and Alice Coulthard) really give Jack and Liv vitality and personality. Olivia has a fully-realized human character. Through banter, jokes, and working side by side, she becomes your friend -- this emotional connection is the real surprise in VR.

When she is in peril, you feel a visceral need to come to her aid. Of course you know it's all a digital illusion. But the magic of VR happens because the immersive illusion becomes "real.”  What fascinates me are multiple levels of perception, illusion, and meaning in VR, and the Lone Echo games raise interesting questions about consciousness, artificial intelligence, and human connections.

A hand to hold forever in this world
A hand to hold forever

A simple question: what do you want?
Shouldn't have to answer with excuses and caveats
I pursued everything and I felt no fear
At the end of the line everything is clear
All I really need is

A hand to hold forever in this world
A hand to hold forever

It was unexpected, out of the blue
Didn't fear rejection - you knew what was true
The world was no longer what it seemed to me
Just a simple gesture was everything to me
All I really need is

A hand to hold forever in this world
A hand to hold forever

The end is coming, I'm gonna disappear
Memories are flooding, some I hold so dear
One surpasses everything, stands outside of time
Feeling the warmth of your loving hand in mine.
Oh I think I found it

A hand to hold forever in this world
A hand to hold forever.

 

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Photo - Morgan Hamilton
Alyssa Gengos - Cheerleader of The Universe.

During this past year, when the stimuli from the outerworld ceased, Alyssa Gengos was having some weird-ass dreams. In one that stuck with her, she dreamt that an old school bully was being kind to her. “That was a very strange dream for me to have because I don't think about this person really ever,” she says. 

“But it reflected to me that I have this really deep desire to be liked.” So poignant was this realization that it makes two appearances on her debut full-length Mechanical Sweetness, which melds her dreams and personal nostalgia into a new-wavey indie rock homecoming album.

Quote from Alyssa: “Cheerleader of the Universe” is sort of surreal; it’s a bunch of associated phrases that form a comforting lullaby. I think of the Cheerleader as the fairy godmother inside my own head. My grandma was a cheerleader, and so was my mother, and I became one in high school as well. I never really wanted to do that as a kid – I just kinda fell into it because my friends and I decided we’d all do it together. 

Still, I felt like I was doing some service continuing this cheerleader mythology that my grandma had started. Now, facing the next chapter of my life, I call upon the Cheerleader of the Universe for guidance. The music video is dreamlike, matching the sentiment of the lyrics. In it, I frolic across a Southern California beach in a dress I sewed myself.

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Gabrielle Metz - More Hearts Than Mine.

Gabrielle Metz bares her vulnerable side in her cover of Ingrid Andress’ “More Hearts Than Mine”.  If there was ever a perfect cover song for Metz, this is it. Not only does this song showcase her beautiful range and vocal inflections, but it also conveniently brings to light her attention to the vocal details paired with her ability to transition into character in order to correctly convey the emotional experience of this song. 

She grabs the listener from her first note and keeps us mesmerized until the final note. Her sometimes gritty vocal combined with her emotional delivery is exceptional.  The deliberately honest lyrics are perfectly conveyed with the silvery vocals from Metz matched with a beautifully simplistic piano line (Damon Fichter, Nashville, TN and produced by George Alexander, Nashville, TN). 

If they were to break your heart, they’d be breaking a lot more hearts than just one. “The first time I listened to Ingrid’s song I was immediately transported into her world and felt a deep connection to the lyrics.  I typically do not record covers but I have been itching to record this song since 2019.”  - Gabrielle Metz

Gabrielle has been nominated for Alabama Music Awards Best Female Country in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. She has also been nominated for Alabama Music Awards Best New Artist in 2018 and 2019. Gabrielle is also on Country Sways 2021 Artist to Watch.

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Buster Baer - Sleepy Baby.

Indie-pop artist Buster Baer has just released a new song, “Sleepy Baby.” The track serves as a sweet little ode to the sleepiest of lovers with gentle, romantic lyrics, an upbeat melody, and a swinging beat. The tune matches Baer’s vintage style perfectly, creating an aural experience that will leave his audience moving and grooving to the warmth of his music. “Sleepy Baby” is a reminder from Buster Baer that it’s ok to not be ‘on’ all of the time and to get some sleep. The track is now available on digital music platforms worldwide.

“Sleepy Baby” is more than just a cute little diddy. Buster Baer describes his inspiration for the song: “Almost every single romantic partner I’ve had seems to have picked up some weird guilt about falling asleep while we’re hanging out. I don’t know who made them feel like they had to be a performing monkey, but having a person feel comfortable enough to sleep around you is an extremely intimate and beautiful thing.” Baer, who produced the track and played all the instruments himself, expands, “I just wanted to provide some evidence to the collective unconscious that there are lovers who won’t expect you to deny your biological necessities for their egos, and I did it by producing huge, glorious cascades of violins and trumpets, which I didn’t know how to play prior to recording."

Hailing from Hermosa Beach, CA, Buster Baer is a uniquely gifted multi-instrumentalist. Baer’s love of music first led him to the drums at age 12, but he did not get serious about music until years later. He moved to New York for college to pursue beat poetry, where he first learned the guitar, and later, the bass guitar. From there, his musical journey took him to New Orleans and San Francisco before landing back in LA. Inspired by Bootsy Collins and The Beatles, Buster Baer aims to push the boundaries of music and “give people a smile or a tear when they need one shaken loose.”

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Tuesday, 22 June 2021

Lakes - Jennifer Nichole Porter - Teeniest - Janita

Lakes - Matches.

Watford (London) based six-piece ensemble Lakes share second single ‘Matches’ from their forthcoming new record ‘Start Again’. The band recently announced their signing to Big Scary Monsters for the new album, out 30th July.

‘Matches’ is an exploration of political division, set to a backdrop of glistening guitars, a driving melody and the band’s signature harmonised dual lead vocals. “Watching the way political discourse has played out over the past few years and the tension that comes with polarising views - it’s exhausting. No one wants to be proven wrong.” says co-lead singer Roberto Cappellina. “There’s a need for space to have real conversations with each other and to listen. This song is about reaching out to have those conversations.”

After a handful of self-releases and a stint of heavy touring with the likes of Nervus and Orchards, the pandemic forced Lakes to slow down, having been catapulted a long way in a short space of time through consistent hard work and sheer tenacity. The six individuals that make up Lakes took the opportunity to formulate new ideas ready for their newest offering, and fired by a strong ‘do it yourself’ ethic, they collaborated remotely on bringing each other’s stories to life. The resulting album, mixed by Neil Strauch (Owen, Owls, Joan Of Arc, Anathallo, Slow Mass etc), captures themes of healing, hope and relief.

“This batch of songs has been a vehicle for healing for all six of us in some way, so there are a lot of different but raw themes throughout the record. Even though we’re currently all isolated from each other, the one person you can’t escape is yourself,” says Cappellina. “We talk about anything from mental health to addiction; from break ups to cutting out toxic friends, to postpartum psychosis. We’ve been to some dark places between us, but ultimately, ‘Start Again’ is about coming out the other side. This record is about facing that darkness, owning it and letting go of the past. It’s about being at peace with it and moving forward and saying that it’s actually OK to start again.”

Inspired by midwestern emo giants American Football’s LP2, ‘80s pop rock icons Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel and stimulated by the sonic legacies of their scene peers (The Appleseed Cast, TTNG, Broken Social Scene and Bon Iver),  the band was born out of drummer/guitarist Matt Shaw’s newfound desire to write music. Within the space of a month, he had the basis for an EP (2018’s The Tahoe EP and 2019’s The Geneva EP) and an album laid out. With former bandmate Roberto Cappellina on vocals, those early works were recorded on a single mic and PC. Soon the pair were joined by Blue Jenkins (vocals, glockenspiel, keys), Rob Vacher (guitar), Gareth Arthur (guitar) and Charlie Smith (bass).


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Jennifer Nichole Porter - Sun Come And Shine.

Award-winning musician Jennifer Porter has just released her eighth album, Sun Come And Shine.  During preparation for her newest project, Porter’s transcendent songs and inimitable velvety voice attracted the attention of legendary drummer and music director Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, whose prodigious, decades-spanning body of work Jennifer had long admired.  Mr. Purdie insisted that Jennifer record live with his band at his favorite studio in New Jersey.  Within days, dates were set at Jankland Recordings, for the summer of 2020.  A Covid-safety protocol was set up at the studio, with strict masking and social-distancing guidelines. What followed was a series of memorable adventures, with trips from Maine (where Jennifer lives) to New Jersey, squeezed in between Covid surges and self-imposed quarantines.

The stellar band assembled by Mr. Purdie included George Naha on guitar (Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave), and Wilbur Bascombe on bass (James Brown, B.B King, Bo Diddley) and Miho Nobuzane (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas) who shared keyboard duties with Jennifer. Esteemed guest artists on the project include Grammy-winners Christian McBride and Cindy Cashdollar and Grammy nominees, Ron Paparozzi and Jennifer’s friend, C.J. Chenier.  On several songs, the band was joined by horn players Steve Jankowski (Blood Sweat And Tears, Chicago) and Tom Timko (Blood Sweat And Tears, Tower Of Power).

Sun Come And Shine includes ten songs, nine of them originals by Jennifer.  The album was mixed by the talented Jonathan Wyman, and mastered by multiple Grammy-winner Adam Ayan.  Sun Come And Shine is released under Porter’s own label, Cougar Moon Music.

Jennifer is the winner of the 2019 Independent Music Network Award for Best Female Crossover Artist, the 2020 We Are The Music Makers Award for Best Roots / Blues / Americana album, and a 2015 Independent Music Awards nominee for best Jazz With Vocals album.  Her song, Road to Redemption, from her 2018 album, THESE YEARS, hit #1 on National Indie Radio, and the Independent Music Network’s, New Music Weekly’s, and National Radio Hits’ Country charts.

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Teeniest - Better Smile.

Background from Teeniest: It's been a couple of years since we've recorded a new song, but now we're happy to write to introduce you to “Better Smile” - the new song by the New York duo, Teeniest.  

It’s a song we wrote about being sunny despite all the darkness. “Better Smile” has a rootsy vibe, with slide guitar and accordion. 

On upright acoustic bass is Pete Toigo, who has played and recorded with artists ranging from Natalie Merchant to Terry Adams of NRBQ.



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Janita - I Forgive You.

Janita’s new album, Here Be Dragons (ECR Music Group), arrives on the heels of multiple, triumphant single releases. Billboard Magazine writes, “Janita is creating a timeless, sensuous, musical mosaic that deserves to be heard. This woman’s got the goods.”

Following two single premieres on Spotify’s coveted New Music Friday playlist and racking up over half a million views for her music videos for singles “Digging In The Dirt” and “Not What You’re Used To,” Janita has won a new-found global audience.

Already an iconic music figure in her native Finland, the long-time New York City resident has enjoyed critical acclaim fused with commercial success—an uncommon achievement which propelled her across 60,000 miles of touring for over 100 performances on both sides of the Atlantic in 2018 and 2019.

Recent singles “Bliss I Once Had This,” “I Do,” and “Our Love Is All We Have,” have garnered her national TV, press, and media in the United States and Europe following their releases.

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Friday, 6 December 2019

Imperial Daze - Silent Forum - Natalie Bouloudis - West Wickhams - M Ward - Oliver James - Thom Sawyr - Teeniest - Sam Weber

Imperial Daze have released 'Centerpole'. We have featured the band a couple of times this year and the latest song reinforces just how talented these indie rockers are. === Silent Forum have a brand new album entitled 'Everything Solved At Once'. Having featured the band a few times I have to say the album lives up to expectations, with the band keeping the interest and intrigue rolling throughout. === Another artist who has been on our radar for sometime is Natalie Bouloudis who today shares 'Outlaster' a moody, atmospheric and addictive song. === West Wickhams today release 'He's Acquired A New Face' the a side of two impressive, distinct and hook filled songs. === With a new album scheduled for April next year M. Ward creates anticipation with the first taste entitled 'Migration Of Souls'. === Comprising of four songs Oliver James has released 'The Hardest Part' an E.P that takes in folk, indie rock, psych and mixes it all up beautifully. === Thom Sawyr shares 'Help Me Out' a striking song with wonderful vocals and a musical arrangement that adds even more. === Teeniest new song 'Set Me Up Boys' is simply gorgeous, with a fabulous choice of musical instrumentation and those warm melodic vocals, that regulars to Beehive Candy should find familiar. === Finally today we have a new lyric video from Sam Weber for 'Probably Not' a refined singer songwriter piece and a taste of next January's new album release.
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Imperial Daze - Centerpole.

And the band tell us... Since forming in 2016, and our first single release in 2017, we’ve released 2 EPs, scored a short film, built own own recording studio in a disused eel warehouse in Tower Bridge, and shared stages around the UK with the likes of The Maccabees, Mystery Jets, Nilufer Yanya, All We Are and Matt Maltese.

Our latest EP, Surfaces Sensibles was released in June 2019 and received a very positive response from UK radio, with singles being playlisted on Radio X and Amazing Radio as well as receiving a multitude of spot plays across the BBCnetwork and being invited for interviews with the likes of Amy Lame and Guy Garvey over at BBC6 Music.

The song we’re sharing with you now is called Centerpole and is about a dialogue with someone close who is stuck in a loop and struggling with addiction, depression and self-doubt.

In contrast to its heavy subject matter the song itself is an up-beat, groove based crooning number, as equally indebted to 90’s US hip-hop as it might be to Lee Hazelwood or Toro Y Moi.

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Silent Forum - Everything Solved At Once (Album).

4-piece Silent Forum are a contrary bunch. Cardiff dwelling but lacking the quirky and often dulcet left-of-centre pop of their Welsh contemporaries, Silent Forum instead offer up a much edgier angular noise, perhaps more representative of the gritty streets of London from which they originally came.

Yet Silent Forum’s sound isn’t straightforward. It’s a textured, technicoloured trip that separates it from punk’s three chords or post-punk’s monochrome doom. Silent Forum have been described, very fittingly, as an “uncouth Talking Heads” (Buzz magazine), sharing a sophistication and playfulness of the latter with “the progressive pop sound of XTC and the new wave idiosyncrasy of Squeeze” (Destroy/Exist). Or as Silent Forum put it, many of their songs are “punky without being punk.” Rejecting both geographical and musical pigeonholing, the themes of ‘Everything Solved At Once’ also veer towards the unexpected. Avoiding cliched break-up or party tracks, Silent Forum’s album is in part themed around a disgruntled office worker, with an awareness of the tongue-in-cheek humour in juxtaposing corporate life lyrics with jagged punk numbers.

One single Spin is an observation of the boredom and misery of the average office worker, whilst Robot offers a character piece written from the perspective of a jaded, stressed and deskbound employee. The bleak lyrics, “I feel a shortage of high pressure in my life/ I need the office chair/ I need spreadsheets I hold dear/ I love coffee, I hate beer”, play out over a merging of 70’s punk and early noughties jangling indie of a Good Shoes variety.

Other songs are themed on Silent Forum’s experience of being in a band, such as How I Faked The Moon Landing, an exhilarating shape-shifting track reminiscent of Simple Minds’ Berlin dance scene inspired new-wave, or more recently The Horrors, Skying-era, whilst taking influence from LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture. Released as the album’s first single in 2018 it ironically picked up a tonne of BBC Radio play given its lyrics: “Music’s not business, we’re destined to be a local band not on the local radio.”

Whilst album track Pop Act is a 6-minute pop song with a deep dark groove, written as a two-fingered response to a DJ who called the band too serious. Elsewhere on the record Silent Form touch on Spanish folk music on Credit to Mark Sinker, with its wonderfully chaotic mix of trumpets, discordant guitar lines, sleazy bass and Flamenco pattern; there’s the “face-melter” Outmoded, a track indebted to David Gilmour’s transition into noise-rock; Safety In Numbers dips its toe into British folk style guitar (curtesy of some Nick Drake influence), crossed with Nu Jazz drumming and a nuanced Johnny Marr guitar jangle; Kind of Blue is jazz inspired with a subtle touch of baggy’s stoner haze; Great Success is awash with The Cure-esque nostalgic melancholy, and album title track Everything Solved At Once is deliberately ‘pop’ with a Samba like break-down. Silent Forum have a special magic whereby their music has echoes of every seminal band you ever loved across every pioneering and forever fresh genre of the last four decades, yet crammed into edgy, enthralling, infectious songs with a fervent originality and unrivalled energy.

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Natalie Bouloudis - Outlaster.

There’s a giant tidal wave incoming; the world is in chaos but there is assurance in the cool and defiant vocals of Natalie Bouloudis in Outlaster, the first single to be released in two years by the London-based and Sussex-bred singer-songwriter.

Outlaster is a song for our time, inspired by Bouloudis’ life-long fascination of the dystopian genre, be it Margaret Atwood’s bleak myths of an unreachable paradise or the sound of dripping oil against one of Ridley Scott’s burnt orange skies. Outlaster combines storytelling with a tenacious spirit, painting visions of a not-too-distant apocalyptic future which is nevertheless overcome with strength of character. An ode to hope and reconciliation and a much needed beacon to lead us out of the gloom of 2019.

Outlaster speaks of endurance, Bouloudis sings of ‘savage beauty’, hard lessons and redemption, with directness and lyricism. The song bursts into action with pulsating drums and an urgent glissando bass that conjures up a sense of suspense. The tension continues to rise like a cool mist, with plucked violin dancing across the droning guitar riff before an explosive release into the hook-laden chorus. It is an exhilarating and transformative listening experience, driven by a melody that rises and falls hypnotically like the waves on an energetic sea, and with vocals that soar on each undulating crest, effortlessly evoking reminders of Patti Smith. The song culminates in a spectacular outro, both melodic and imaginative, completing the track’s triumphal arch.

This is an anthem for survival at a time when we are haunted with the idea of extinction. ‘Here comes disaster’ and ‘I’m the outlaster’ Bouloudis sings, in her unmistakably smoky tones, with both a power and a level of control that can only derive from performing regularly. Outlaster offers an atmospheric soundscape, a revelation to anybody who wishes they could hear David Bowie’s Rock & Roll Suicide for the first time again, only this time with a female vocal reminiscent of the lurching tones of PJ Harvey and the soulfulness of Cat Power.

Bouloudis says, ‘what makes the dystopian genre so captivating is how it provides a thrilling and escapist ride full of awe but even more importantly, it holds up a mirror to human nature’. In Outlaster, we are introduced to the themes to be found throughout the forthcoming EP, Devil is Doubt which she says has ‘moments of reconciliation throughout the record’ but just like Outlaster ‘it holds together with a unifying sense of an unbreakable spirit pushing ahead of existential agonies.’

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West Wickhams - He's Acquired A New Face.

West Wickhams are a psychedelic garage noir duo from the Isles of Scilly, Tresco. Consisting of Jon Othello and Elle Flores, West Wickham’s music manifests itself with such style, the effect is a timeless body of sound. Hailing from Tresco, the island of lost souls, subtropical plants and shipwrecked figureheads, the pair recently relocated to Richmond Surrey, proclaiming themselves an imagined rival gang to punk style icons, the Bromley Contingent.

Their colourful history brings a depth to their sound reminiscent of legendary bands such as The Doors, Blondie and Siouxshie and the Banshees.

However, the band themselves declare their influences largely from sources outside the music industry; Whitby Abbey, Pipe Organs, Flowers, Polka Dot Cats, Dark Punk, Gothic Novels and Rock n Roll Autobiographies, Castles, Abstract Painting, Euphoria, Mist, Autumn, Halloween, Optical Illusions, Edgar Allan Poe and Andy Warhol.

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M. Ward - Migration Of Souls.

M. Ward has revealed plans for his latest album, 'Migration Stories', to be released on 3rd April 2020 via Anti Records. Captivating first track, 'Migration of Souls' is out now.

A prolific writer, producer and performer, M. Ward has established himself as one of modern American music’s most unique and versatile voices. For his tenth album, he journeyed to Quebec, Canada to work with Arcade Fire’s Tim Kingsbury, Richard Reed Parry, producer/mixer Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Florence and the Machine) and Teddy Impakt. Together they recorded a collection of 11 songs inspired by stories of human migration. Languid, hazy and often dream-like in narrative, these songs have their origins in pictures from newspaper and television reports, stories told by friends and tales from Ward’s own family history. At Arcade Fire’s Montreal studios the assembled talents recorded what he describes as “11 largely instrumental ballads - a sci-fi fast forward to a more silent night many generations from here to a maybe-era where movement is free again.”

Says Ward of the stories which informed these songs, “Some time went by, the stories wove together and I remember them now closer to characters in a dream of how people could treat each other than any kind of front-page news realism. I think music subconsciously - whether writing or listening - is a filter for me. Helping to process all the bad news into something new to build from. Some records to me are like self-fulfilling prophecies - visualizing change to wish something into being. Those records inspired this one.”

M. Ward’s music has always felt intricate, intimate and otherworldly. With Migration Stories he breathes beautiful life into vignettes of human flight, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy as it reckons with a world that feels more divided than ever before, even as its inhabitants grow more inextricably linked by the day. With a rich, emotive croon - which Uncut Magazine once likened to “honey drizzled onto a dry creekbed” - he conveys a huge depth of emotion, captured in the studio, almost entirely on the very first take.

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Oliver James - The Hardest Part (E.P).

San Diego-based Oliver James creates hushed psych folk pop, falling somewhere between Nick Drake and REM. The singer-songwriter has always been reluctant to follow any trend or singular direction, choosing instead to follow the path of the individual song’s inspiration, rarely treading the same artistic ground twice.

The band was born out a friendship between Oliver and key collaborator Brett Levine, who bonded over red wine, 1970’s television shows and a pervasively satirical optimism. From the start, they have sought out other artists who reflect their creative spirit. Their debut album was recorded at NYC’s Magic Shop with engineer Brian Thorne (responsible for David Bowie’s final albums, Blackstar and The Next Day) and their subsequent releases have all been tracked at San Diego’s Pacific Beat studio with producer Alan Sanderson (Rolling Stones, Weezer, Fleetwood Mac). By 2017 the band was gigging full time as a six piece, replicating their detailed studio productions on stage, while their song streams and video content chalked up tens of thousands of organic streams.

Oliver James’ new EP, The Hardest Part, is a song-cycle about the fragile, darker and uncertain aspects of being in love, and showcases their most haunting, personal and intimate songwriting to date. As Oliver reflects, “As human beings, we’ve all experienced the immense highs and tremendous lows of falling in and out of love. I think these songs speak to all of us.”

The songs are grand in scope and sonic quality, augmented by pedal steel, string orchestra and brass sections. “Good music should give the listener a feeling of belonging and should underscore the good times and sooth the bad times,” James asserts. “And both times are important....Like Brian Eno says, ‘there can be no flowers without fertilizer.”

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Thom Sawyr - Help Me Out.

“Help Me Out” is an acknowledgment that we aren’t alone in this world and, in order to overcome life’s adversities and the challenges that humanity faces we need each other.   Together we can make it happen but alone often times it is hopeless.   The goal is that we can find the strength in ourselves to be there for someone else in their time of need.

I remember when I wrote the song I was applying it to so many different experiences I had gone through in my life and wanted to try and make it universally applicable to any challenge that requires a helping hand.  Transcend your fear, love your neighbor and help someone who needs it. -Tasso Smith (Thom Sawyr)

The brainchild of music executive and singer-songwriter Tasso Smith, Thom Sawyr is a project inspired by frustration with the status quo. After touring with bands like Panic! At the Disco, Walk the Moon, and P!nk, Tasso moved into A&R and creative management where he continued to hone his skills as a songwriter. He now presents Thom Sawyr as an illumination of the strife for a meaningful existence. In a time where music has fallen into the shallow depths of materialism and fame, the EP offers perspective on what music should truly represent.

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Teeniest - Set Me Up Boys.

Teeniest introduce us to “Set Me Up Boys,” a new song -- about giving up on, and drowning your wounded dreams -- a mercy killing of sorts.

The vibe is distinctive, with unusual instrumentation, including dulcimer and vibraphone. Teeniest are a duo from New York.




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Sam Weber - Probably Not.

Acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist, Sam Weber is sharing the new big picture rock’n’roll single, ‘Probably Not’ – this is the latest to be taken from Weber’s third album, Everything Comes True which is set for release in the UK via Sonic Unyon Records on January 10, 2020. Produced by LA-based Tyler Chester (player with Andrew Bird, Joan Baez, Jackson Browne), the new record will be trailed with 2020 UK dates – these to be announced shortly.

Tipping hat to the sprawling guitar sounds of Bruce Springsteen, Alice Coltrane and The Band, ‘Probably Not’ pulls on buzzing riffs and a wanderlust swagger that places itself amidst the vast American landscape, sonically paying testament to the themes of the album. It’s a record well-versed in a road worn wisdom with Weber saying of the new single: “‘Probably Not’ is about driving through the night like one of those fish with the lantern on its head that lives in the deep ocean. You follow the road into the abyss and listen to the radio and thoughts pass through your mind as you drive, contemplating existence, overthinking everything.”

Alongside Weber’s own skill for storytelling and guitar playing, the new album finds the artist borrowing the skills of a heavyweight cast of session players including guitarist, Dylan Day (Jenny Lewis), pedal steel player, Rich Hinman (St Vincent, Cyndi Lauper), guitarist-vocalist, Adam Levy (Tracy Chapman, Norah Jones), trombonist, Elizabeth Lea (Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend) and percussionist, Justin Stanley (Prince, Beck, Paul McCartney) amongst a whole host of other names. The stellar roster is further cemented with the Grammy Award-winning engineer, Gavin Lurssen.

Weber, who draws heavily from his experiences travelling across the North American continent, looks to build upon the foundations cast by his recent New Agile Freedom EP, as well as earlier LP releases, Shadows in the Road (2014) and Valentina Nevada (2016). Everything Comes True explores the psychological and physical excursions that come with touring heavily – lyrically and musically painting a vivid narrative of the emotional journeys that come with spending extensive stints away from home, as well as the stories that accumulate.

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