Showing posts with label The Clockworks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Clockworks. Show all posts

Saturday, 8 November 2025

Katy Broder - Adam Harpaz - Leilani Patao - Patchwork Rattlebag - The Clockworks

Katy Broder - Come With Me (Album).

It’s finally here: the album by Katy Broder from Liechtenstein — a woman who juggles many roles. On one hand, Katy Broder is known as the coach of Liechtenstein’s national karate team, with which she participated in the European and World Championships this summer. 

On the other hand, she has made a name for herself as a pop musician: her last two singles earned her comparisons to Roxette, Pink, and Avril Lavigne, and received extensive airplay.

Her most recent single, “Could It Be You,” alone has been played more than 300 times on radio stations around the world. This even led the Landesspiegel to headline a story about Katy Broder.


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Photo - Bella Isakson
Adam Harpaz - You Might Miss Out.

Aussie Indie Singer Songwriter Adam Harpaz released his new single 'You Might Miss Out' yesterday. You Might Miss Out‘ carves a sonic space of self-reflection for the listener; how are we feeling (generally) in our day-to-day? Are we truly connecting with both ourselves and others more often than not? 

Is there a sustainable sense of harmony between the different components of our lives? Do we have enough mental clarity to deal with the inevitable unforeseen challenges that arise in life, or are we in such a constant state of internal/external pressure that we get spun out when things alter from the ‘plan’?

The song offers a somewhat subtle, somewhat blunt commentary on the work-life balance conundrum alluded to above; perhaps the sweet spot is found within that juggling act of keeping the wheels in motion whilst still carving enough space to consistently do the things that bring us joy.

The hope is that by consciously making our overall well-being more of a priority, it enables us to find/maintain a relatively stable level of presence and content. “ - Adam Harpaz.

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Leilani Patao - daisy (EP).

Brooklyn-based (via Los Angeles) artist Leilani Patao issues 'daisy,' their label debut via Audio Antihero. Leilani calls the release a "pure experiment," and through this evolving sound, production, and withholding their work from streaming, the artist seeks to make deeper connections with listeners.

Originally debuting in 2021 at the age of 17, Leilani showcased their rich, aching voice, shaped by a background in theatre and their youthful willingness to show vulnerability through a raw lyrical honesty across a series of DIY self-releases. 2024’s ‘But What If?’ earned them their greatest exposure to date when they were featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Taking its title from the name of Leilani’s much-missed childhood dog, ‘daisy’ is described by the artist as “a pure experiment” in both sound and distribution. Leilani’s ambitious production requires the listener to find the emotion within the cracks, as their range, biting words, and ear for melody push through the wash of sound in fragments. Leilani also made the decision to remove themselves from the algorithm by withholding these songs from streaming, taking control of their work, and asking:

“Is it possible to share my music properly, pay everyone who was involved, get paid myself, and not have to interact with the many systems in place that make me dread music?” 


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Patchwork Rattlebag - Vertigo Dreams.

Salford based experimental collective, Patchwork Rattlebag have released ‘Vertigo Dreams’, the second single from their forthcoming debut album ‘Fragments 1’. Frequently incorporating other artforms, the group constructs music with a strong vocal presence, featuring instruments, synthesisers, field recordings and beats. Consisting of three core members who value collaboration and curiosity, Patchwork Rattlebag traverse the spaces between the visual, audible, invisible and ineffable.

Following the band’s recent glitchy dystopian electronica single ‘Hook, Line and Riser’, ‘Vertigo Dreams’ shows another side to Patchwork Rattlebag, incorporating breezy acoustic textures, introspective lyrics and bursts of vocal harmony. The track sees the electronic elements of their sound drifting into the background, making way for and complimenting beautifully this haunting and beguiling song- as the band plumb similar melancholic depths to artists like Gravenhurst and Nick Drake.

‘Vertigo Dreams’ searches tensions: between contentment and insecurity, aspiration and wistful acquiescence, dreams and nightmares. Its swirling, psychedelic, folk-inspired atmospheres feature picked acoustic guitar, pulsing vibraphone, and broken electric guitar phrases. ‘Vertigo Dreams’ is the sound of Patchwork Rattlebag stripped back to its singer-songwriter origins and the accompanying video for the single will send you off into a blissful dreamy haze with its hypnotic DIY shot images of starry skies, expansive fields and spacious derelict buildings- illustrating the song’s search through emotions and contemplative moods perfectly.


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The Clockworks - Through The Looking Glass.

Following their return with recent track ‘Best Days’, Galway via London fourpiece The Clockworks share new single ‘Through The Looking Glass’ and announce their second album and first album with V2 Records, ‘The Entertainment’ released on 27th March 2026.
 
With a cinematic and all-encompassing sound, The Clockworks introduced themselves with debut album ‘Exit Strategy’ in 2023 and their self-titled EP ‘The Clockworks’ in 2022, gaining acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music and BBC Radio 1. With a soundscape that pulls from seemingly disparate regions of the musical landscape, namechecking Daft Punk next to Pixies, next to Ennio Morricone, they are influenced not only by an extensive musical palette, but also through their passion for film and literature. Lyrically, singer and lyricist James McGregor writes with purpose, integrity and emotion, balancing light with darkness and finding poetic intrigue in everyday life. They will release their new album ‘The Entertainment’ in March, which was largely written and recorded independently at home, and is a project that looks at the themes of isolation, loneliness and connection.  
 
New single ‘Through The Looking Glass’ continues to showcase the fresh sound of The Clockworks and is a majestic and atmospheric track that builds in both intensity and emotion. Self-produced, led by Sean Connelly, it drops the listener straight into the middle of the action, building lyrically and musically to a climax that hits crisis point and suddenly unspools. Speaking about ‘Through The Looking Glass’, the band says;
 
“This song centers around that moment of telling someone you love them and not hearing the same thing back. It's the desperation, longing and futility of building yourself up beforehand to pour your heart out and obsessively retracing the moment a thousand times in your head afterwards.”
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Saturday, 24 September 2022

Joan & The Giants - Alice SK - Ella Therese - Lindsay Munroe - The Clockworks

Joan & The Giants - Hardest Part.

Beloved alt-pop indie band Joan & The Giants from Boorloo/Perth have finally releasing their debut EP 'Me & You' via Tomboi Records and it is one that fans old and new will embrace and hold dear for a long time to come.

Following a handful of stellar single releases, Joan & The Giants' long-awaited debut EP sees musical and romantic partners Grace Newton-Wordsworth and Aaron Birch with band mates Riley Sutton and Liam Olsen hone their craft with a stronger pop-production sensibility, that collides beautifully with their folk-informed anthemic-indie roots, heartfelt lyricism and that hint of magic that can't quite be put into words - but is captured perfectly with music.

Grace speaks more on the inspiration and themes explored: “The 'Me & You' EP is a collection of deeply personal songs that capture moments shared by two people. Stories centered around love, rebellion and definitely a touch of heartbreak. To me they are all songs that share vulnerable moments that we’ve personally gone through in the last few years, and we hope they connect with those who listen."

Opening with strong emotive indie-pop is ‘The Weekend’, a rebellion against modern grind culture and the mentality of 'living for the weekend'. The song reflects the band's new mantra to live every day with the same enthusiasm: live like you're 17, fall in love but never fall in line, and spend time with someone whenever it feels right - because why should we only reserve our joy for days that the capitalist calendar dictates? With a melody that seeps in and sticks, earnest drums and cherry-sweet vocals, this is a memorable tune dripping in honeyed rhythms.

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Alice SK - Daisy Jane.

Alice SK has been raising eyebrows with a series of vintage-noir style singles recently that combine her haunting soulful voice and fresh sounds of the London scene that express authentic stories and work their way into the soul of the listener.

Next, Alice SK presents, ‘Daisy Jane’ where she proves her ability to work across different styles as she changes up her sound to a more washed-out, stripped back, acoustic palette. With gorgeous harmonies, a sparkling 10-string guitar and warm bass, the combination of Alice's lyrics and unique stylised melodies captivate the listener as the song escalates.

Written as a love song to all the amazing women in her life, ‘Daisy Jane’ is a very beautiful anthem for sisterhood, expressed with a great maturity and poise. Sounding like a jangly 60’s-esque Joni Mitchell psych-folk classic, with ‘Daisy Jane’, Alice SK has once again delivered a single that is both intriguingly unique, yet engaging and memorable all at the same time.

On the song’s new sound and lyrical themes, Alice explains, “Muca played me the music of the Brazilian Viola and it was such a beautiful pure sound that the lyrics had to reflect the music in the sense that I wanted the lyrics to be 'true'. So, I thought of what the purest form of love that I've experienced is and it lies with the female presences that I've been lucky enough to have been surrounded by from- my mum, my sisters and my friends.”

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Ella Therese - THIRTYFOUR.

Calling out the emphasis on youth and the perpetuating ideal that there is a 'limited time' to achieve success, new song 'THIRTYFOUR' (Out Now) by WA artist Ella Therese serves as an unapologetic celebration of breaking down barriers to fulfil your dreams, and one that she hopes will encourage conversation about shared experiences.

Making her dazzling debut in 2020 with 'Feelings', Ella has already played WAMFest 2021, Fremantle Arts Centre alongside Banjo Lucia, and had Siobhan Cotchin and Indoor Fins play her last single launch. Following the 2021 release of her intoxicating second single 'Confusion', comes new alt-rock track 'THIRTYFOUR'. In an empowering move to maintain ownership and artistry, Ella will also be releasing the song as an NFT.

This is a soulful and arresting mantra that gets straight to the core of its message with plenty of heart and a catchy hook. 'THIRTYFOUR' sees Ella embracing her power, and demonstrating that we can resist and liberate ourselves from the shackles of expectation by calling out the bullsh*t, and doing what we want with confidence. The song also universally speaks to demanding more, maintaining high standards, and chasing your ambitions - regardless of the limitations society may try to place on us. Driven by a strong beat and an understated soft alt-rock sound, Ella's voice and the message it delivers are given full reign to be heard loud and clear - as they deserve to be.

Written in response to the initial feeling of being 'too old' to start her music career, particularly as a female artist, 'THIRTYFOUR' is poised to spark conversations with its audience.

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Lindsay Munroe - Wild Me.

We last heard from Manchester based artist Lindsay Munroe when she released her 2021 EP, Softest Edge, a record written on a week-long perspective-shifting solo trip to the Lake District. In the time since that first trip, Munroe has developed a writing practice built around isolating herself in nature. Today, she is sharing her new single, ‘Wild Me’, the product of another week spent alone in the Lake District.

Since Munroe’s departure from an oppressive church and the end of a long-term relationship, she’s been on a journey of learning exactly who she is when she’s totally free. “A lot of my music over the past 3 years has been about difficult things that I have been through - leaving the evangelical church, dysfunctional relationships, big breakups - and all of those are encapsulated in 'Wild Me'” she says. “But ultimately the song is me realising that the core things never changed; when I was a child I was a 'tomboy', I was obsessed with being outside, I was stubborn and sensitive and smart and quite weird,” she continues.

Lots of us experiment with trying on different personas in our teenage years, most ultimately stumbling across the right fit somewhere down the line. However, in her adolescence, Lindsay found herself shying away from her true, more ‘wild’ self. “I  was singing backing vocals in folk bands, wearing floral dresses, shrinking myself to fit into a conservative church environment, desperately trying to find that sense of self and freedom I had as a child,” she explains. “And when that whole tumultuous time was over, I looked around and realised that the same things were true about me now as when I was young. I dress androgynously, I feel most at home outdoors, I'm stubborn, sensitive, smart and still pretty weird.”

It took Munroe years to make the difficult decision to break from the church she had been involved with since her mid-teens. When she finally did, and at the same time went through a breakup, her identity was shaken to its core. On her debut EP, 2020’s Our Heaviness, she explored the pain and turbulence that came with the departure. The EP garnered praise from BBC Introducing, DIY and The Line of Best Fit, and even an Instagram shoutout from one of Munroe’s heroes Sharon Van Etten. In 2021, on her second EP, Softest Edge, we found Munroe embracing the opportunity for growth, both personally and professionally. Instead of writing with the pure catharsis of Our Heaviness, Munroe applied her new sense of endless possibilities to her songwriting, exploring the depths of genre and production while lyrically drawing from a wider pool of experiences. Her single ‘Parallel’ even made it onto the soundtrack of hit BBC show Conversations With Friends.

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The Clockworks - Advertise Me.

Galway four-piece - THE CLOCKWORKS - return with their rousing new single: “Advertise Me”. Arriving ahead of an extensive run of UK + European shows throughout the Autumn, the track is also the first new music from the band since the release of their essential debut EP ‘Endgame’ earlier this year.

“Advertise Me” is a scintillating, scathing new track that sees The Clockworks confront the hypocrisy of a sanctimonious society that moans more than it does take action. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios and produced by the band in collaboration with Michael Rendall (The Jesus and Mary Chain, Shed Seven, Black Grape), The Clockworks explain of the caustic new cut: “The idea for this song started with the line: ‘complain about consumers from the comfort of my Mac’. It got me thinking about contemporary culture and that feeling of dissonance that comes from criticising society while continuing to conform to it. The song is partly a satire in answer to this feeling.”

Simmering with spiky rock energy and once more boasting The Clockworks’ knack for scorching lyrics that hold a mirror up to society, the track plucks influence from a range of decades and genres. The band add:

“Todd Rundgren was a musical and production influence for this one. David Bowie. The Last Shadow Puppets. Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Interpol. The Cure. Pixies are usually brought up at some point in writing a new song.”

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Telemac - Evie Williams - bauhofer - Nick & June - Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys - Mercury's Antennae

Photo - Philippe Poulénas Telemac - Telemac (EP). Telemac draws its strength from the tension between new wave , garage , and psychedelic r...