BEEHIVE CANDY

Band Aparte - Cherry Chapstick. Background promo - Band Aparte announces debut album. From down the end of Los Angeles, the bare bones gravepunk duo Band Aparte strips down and combines elements of gothic rock, synthpunk, and beachy lo-fi as macabre appreciation simmers in the gut of the city.  Vocalist Brian Mendoza effortlessly channels Joy Division and Nick Cave, crooning into a death bouquet with his shirt unbuttoned. But he's not doing it to imitate Morrissey's aesthetic --  Band Aparte's shows are fast and fierce, and the crowd works up a sweat at every venue they play. It's a dangerous mixture that has crushed nights alongside such bands as Cruelty Code, Roses, Ghost Noise, and Terminal A. Memory On Trial [Manifesto] LP, CD, Digital, CS Release Date: August 19, 2016. Live: September 23-24 - Pioneertown, CA - Desert Stars Festival . With a funky deep riff 'Cherry Chapstick' calmly and determinedly builds into a uncluttered straight piece of post-p

Velvet Kills - Red Shoes. Background promo - Paris/Berlin based unsigned electro/punk/dark wave act Velvet Kills is an electropunk/rock duo with Susana Santos on vocals/bass & Harris Iveson on guitar/synths. Velvet Kills is a thoroughly modern and urban endeavour, speaking directly to today’s society - with all its anxieties, addictions, destructiveness as well as  exhilaration.  You'll find in their driving beats raw emotion, and a terrific darkness. The sound is complex, almost abstract - a combination of cinematic textures, gritty guitars, and potent vocals. The group's music and attitude, both have  been shaped by the influences of bands and artists like Joy Division, Alan Vega, Malaria!, Kas Product, Iggy Pop, The Clash, and Lou Reed. The group came to life in 2015, beginning with a chance encounter on a trance dance floor where Susana and Harris discovered their mutual love for rock, synths and beige Steinberger guitars. Velvet Kills has since gained a steady follo

The Low Countries - The Invisible Ray. Background promo - The Low Countries, until 2013 an indie-folk duo, are now resurrected as a five piece band. They've just released the brilliant ‘An Extended Play EP’ following up the Libera Awards nominated 'Sun Street (2015)'. It’s a kind of comeback for Nigel and his songs, Six Of The Best from the Low Countries – songs re-imagined and given the full band experience recorded in a pro studio assisted by a band of great musicians, people and friends. The band came together to help Nigel and Els perform at the launch of their final album 'The Invisible Ray' (2013). This proved to be so enjoyable they found they couldn't stop. Nigel, feeling 'songed out' and a bit mental at the time, was then persuaded by the rest of the band to enter the studio and record six of the best. A last hurrah that sounds amazing... Nigel and Els formed the Low Countries in 2007 and they've released 8 or so albums and other sundr

          Mark Allen-Piccolo - Moonglow. Background promo - Bay Area based artist Mark Allen-Piccolo has released his debut album Left From Here via Noble Steed Music.  Allen-Piccolo's debut single, "Do For You" exclusively premiered with The Deli Magazine San Francisco. Of the single, Mark said, "Life is full of routine, responsibilities, demands from other people. Usually, you're so busy that you don't even have time to think about what it all means or adds up to. The song is a kind of dream about being freed from these responsibilities, and imagining what your life could be like if you could spend all of your time exploring your inner life--even better, exploring it with a companion who truly accepts you for who you are." Mark Allen-Piccolo just released his second single, "Moonglow" with Elmore Magazine, who raved the track "takes you into the mind of an artist whose head is swirling with centuries of musical infuelnce." Allen-

Geowulf - Saltwater. Background promo - Bu rgeoning London independent label 37 Adventures (Jones, Deptford Goth, salute) have added another string to their bow, with the signing of Geowulf - a dream pop duo based between London, Gothenburg and Berlin. Originally from Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, Star and Toma met in their teens. Despite both her parents being musicians, Star only found her voice 3 years ago - the pair naturally joined forces and have written together ever since. Channelling sweet sounds reminiscent of Beach House, Mazzy Star and Lana Del Rey, Geowulf's debut offering 'Saltwater' is a sinuous and melodic pop single; a bright and uplifting introduction to a band we're going to be hearing much more from. The single features on the forthcoming 37 Adventures label compilation 'Odd Numbers Volume 1', which is due for release on 5th August and showcases new and select cuts from the label's brilliant roster. Geowulf is Star Kendric

Hilary Woods - Sabbath. Background bio - Hilary Woods is a music and visual artist from Dublin, Ireland. As a teenager she recorded two double platinum selling albums on Columbia Records as bass player in Irish indie trio JJ72, touring extensively in Europe, the US and Japan. At twenty two she hung up her bass for a paint brush, left the band and welcomed the arrival of a baby girl that same year. She enrolled in fine art college just as her friends were all graduating and dropped out midst her first group critique, opting to study English Lit and Film instead. Throughout college she became increasingly restless, suffered long bouts of insomnia and was slowly drawn back to what had stuck; basic piano chords her father had taught her as a child. She started piecing together ideas for piano thru headphones as her flatmates slept and after drifting in and out of various bands around the city, she made a decision to concentrate on her own material, tentatively crafting songs and explori

Matt Sellors - Blinded By You. Background promo - Well-known for previously fronting Bristol-based band Yes Sir Boss, and sharing stages with multiple award winning artists Joss Stone, Cee Lo Green, Madness and Paloma Faith to name but a few. Matt Sellors has now launched a solo career and tipped heavily as one to watch from many industry insiders, including BBC Introducing. His debut single comes ahead of his much anticipated Secret Garden Party Performance. Matt’s instantly infectious and catchy Debut single, Blinded By You, is a deeply personal and emotive song married to a feel good vibe and upbeat tempo that makes it an easy world to dive into. Often vocally compared to Paulo Nutini, Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)and Kings Of Leon, his distinct deep and rich voice is disarming and soulful and totally not what you would expect. Blinded By You has all the hallmarks of a hit including a hook line that you will find yourself whistling everywhere you go.     Catch Matt Performing Live: 23

Art d'Ecco - She So Hot. Background - After a period of dark, personal turmoil, d’Ecco escaped the city life and relocated to the Gulf Islands of British Columbia to embark on a journey of much needed soul searching and personal rediscovery. He spent three years in relative seclusion on the island retooling, writing, and overcoming the obstacles of isolation and regret. “I’d fled a bad scene in Vancouver – my life was spinning out of control and I needed a refresh. I was burnt out and over playing music. The scene. The debauchery...” - Art d'Ecco With Day Fevers, d’Ecco peers through a lens of nostalgia with nods to glam rock, classic rock n roll, krautrock, spaghetti westerns, and new wave psychedelia. He sought to deliver an album that flowed like a playlist, spanning different genres with himself as the sonic rug that ties it all together. Starting with “Sunrise” and closing with “Sunset,” Day Fevers travels through themes of desire, isolation, nostalgia, and personal d

Beautiful Machines - Free. Background promo - Winner of the 2014 Independent Music Award for Album of the Year, Beautiful Machines released their much-anticipated second album, Bridges last month. Bridges takes the band in a new direction, deepening their exploration of live analog/electronic music. The album is purposefully arranged to take the listener on a journey, like cycling through a Tron-grid landscape to launching into a euphoric stratosphere. Thoughtful, dynamic and full of rich powerful choruses, wide lush verses and tangential bridges, this album strikes a chord and "bridges" technology and emotion. The 2nd of a trilogy and thematically bridging Disconnect : : Reconnect (2014) with its following concept album Singularity (2017), think of Bridges as an inter-dimensional gateway connecting a circuit or a thought. “Bridge symbolizes transformation and change,” describes frontman, Conrad Schuman.  “Before me was a bridge: transparent, beam of light guiding and ac

Benny Mayhem - Song For Absent Friends. Background promo -  Benny Mayhem has covered a lot of ground, literally and figuratively. Written in a hotel room in the Austrian Alps, his latest single 'Song For Absent Friends' is both a tribute to and a product of, the songwriter's considerable world travels. From being a guitar-strumming teenager in his bedroom at the turn of the millennium, to a decade as the shirtless-and-writhing frontman of Perth rock monsters Project Mayhem, to performing 450+ shows in nine countries worldwide... the musical journey of Benny Mayhem has its own overfilled passport. From a home base on the west coast of Australia, Benny Mayhem has toured the world in a way that few other artists have considered... as a wandering troubadour. And through this lifestyle choice, Benny has toured continental Europe twice and the UK thrice; working his way up from busking outside tube stations to the UK's festival circuit within two years. But, more important

Don DiLego - Drive Like Pirates (single edit). Background - Magnificent Ram A, the new album from musical troubadour Don DiLego, out last week via Velvet Elk / One Little Indian Records. Seeing  it’s roots form in Portland, OR with producer/engineer Gregg Williams (Blitzen Trapper, Dandy Warhols, The Decemberists), and wind it’s way back East to the wooded Pennsylvania retreat that is Velvet Elk Studios, DiLego has released a stunning collection of songs, laced with gorgeous melodies and haunting vocals. Many of the original sessions found their way onto his last album, 2012’s Western & Atlantic, which won an Independent Music Award for “Best Roots/Alt Country Album.” The remnants of those original sessions form the foundation of a project he’s long thought about…a collection of click-track free analog recordings that embrace their imperfections and happy accidents. On the heels of producing the recent releases from Jesse Malin (New York Before the War, Outsiders) and Hollis