Background - The Settlement (formerly known as Buddha in a Chocolate Box) are a five-piece rare alternative/folk outfit, sticking to their southern stomp roots. Their journey is to develop and spread an Australian folk/roots sound, never to be pigeon holed. Fuelled by fiddle and strong rhythm their music is bound to invoke!
An exciting year looms for The Settlement in 2015, with constant festival gigging, and the release of their debut album.
It all starts with their debut single with the new band name, 'Stomp' will be released 10th July 2015. Website Here.
This is a gutsy song which I sense has every band member playing from the heart. The 'alternative folk' genre may be a crowded place these day's however somehow I would imagine The Settlement wont find that the least bit troubling.
More from Australia - After releasing the first single 'I Don’t Think You Like Me' off their upcoming Figurine EP (out in July) earlier this year, Tired Lion have dominated Australian radio play (climbing as high as 10th most played song on triple J), blown listener’s minds with their ‘Like a Version’ mash-up of Violent Soho’s ‘Saramona Said’ and the Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘1979’. They've taken out the 2015 WAMI Award for best rock song, won Channel V’s Discover music video competition, and sent the band lapping Australia three times with shows supporting the likes of Gyroscope, The 1975, Kingswood, Luca Brasi, and British India. Now, with brand new single “Suck”, Tired Lion have also been announced as the winners of the Triple J Unearthed competition to play Splendour In The Grass 2015 - joining an honoured list of previous winners such as Airling, Kingswood, Art vs. Science, and Millions. Opening the festival on Friday July 24 - Tired Lion are playing alongside some of the world’s greatest live acts.
So it's all happening for Tired Lion, bags of positive energy in the song 'Suck' that has that listen again quality, enjoy.
Another band to watch out for and we are told - Bourbon Street Beat's new single 'Crossing On a Bend' and b-side 'She's His Woman' showcase their signature sound perfectly. Inspired by 50s and 60s bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Band, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, as well as Rock’n’Roll legends like Elvis, Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash, each of these influences are apparent in technique and style yet reinterpreted to give Bourbon Street Beat an indie edge. Iain Hammond (vocals and guitar), Joe Morrison-Hay (bass) and Andy Mackenzie (drums) met at university and formed the band in 2012. Their last EP 'Knuckles of Brass' earned them a strong following in Manchester with this release set to spread the word even further.
The comparisons above may be valid however as I have said before, if you set expectations high you have to deliver. I am seriously enjoying their music, this band deliver a fresh defined sound, the inspiration has paid off.
OK final band and their words first - On July 3rd, The Switch will release 'We're Fooling No One EP', their third release since april of last year. Their sly tactic of promoting themselves by relentlessly releasing good records at a high pace (thereby making music writers mention how good they are in print on a regular basis) is starting to pay off, and this year they are booked to the Øya-festival, the biggest music festival in Norway. They expect to play for quite a large crowd, and this EP is, among other things, a reminder to the public that they play pop songs as well as the trippy purgatory-prog of their second album ("B for The Beast", Bangles and Brass Records, 2015). We, and they, hope and think you will like it very much, whoever you may be.
This is such a beautiful song with incredible harmonies riding over a gentle driving rhythm and then to top it all they prove they can rock, and can they. Expect to hear more.
The Talks are embarking on an extensive UK tour punctuated by European festival appearances, full details & website - Here.
In just a short space of time The Talks have built themselves a compelling live reputation across the UK and Europe for delivering sweaty, high octane, dance floor filling shows, treading the boards with the likes of Madness, The Specials, Rancid, The Beat and many more. 'Commoners, Peers, Drunks and Thieves' was released on 24th November 2014, sale figures continue to rise and the tracks are continuing to attract air-play globally.
They really do have that Ska feel, reminiscent of the Two Tone sound and yet with their own styling and passion. From Hull, England, they are most definitely worth checking out.
OK read this carefully, we will be asking questions and this is a fail/pass feature! Davey Lane'snew single, intriguingly titled "Davey Lane's Duo-Monophonic Explorations Vol.1", is his first in a line of releases for 2015, and a conceptual world first. The double A-side single contains I'll Set U Free, a collaboration with King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard singer Stu Mackenzie, and The First Flung One To Crash, teaming up with Lane’s You Am I band mate Tim Rogers. Contained within each track of this digital and limited-edition vinyl release, are 3 completely different versions of each song. Listened to in stereo, you hear the collaborative efforts of Lane and his esteemed guests. But with the balance panned to the left, a solo Davey Lane version of the song is revealed, and in turn, panned to the right, you hear Rogers' or Mackenzie's, both in mono (hence "Duo-Monophonic"). Completely independent from each other instrumentally and vocally, yet a cohesive match when played together - a world first in this form.
Now I had to read that a couple of times but that's probably just me, however I was intrigued as to how this might all work out. Actually if all of that had not been explained I would probably be none the wiser, what makes this far more than an interesting exercise is the quality of the music, which is good, the featured track reminds me in part of The Beatles, now that has to be a complement.
Swedish indie-band The Black Sun's Darling have released a new single 'Our love falls out of'. After the Swedish duo was formed in 2014, Julia & Sebastian started recording music in their living-room. Earlier this spring the band released two singles "This One's for You" and "Believe In" . The new single "Our love falls out of" is about falling out of love without being able to do anything about it. Their website Here.
'Our love falls out of' has a brooding and emotional feel, which then kicks into life keeping the whole song absorbing. They have also just produced a video for another song - 'This One's For You' which demonstrates the depth and diversity the band have, I like!
New Zealand band New Gum Sarn have announced a new album 'New Gold Mountain' and tour dates. We are told - New Gold Mountain has just as much to do with the countryside around Puhoi in New Zealand than Auckland, where the band New Gum Sarn formed.
“The (debut) album was recorded where I grew up in a valley in the countryside,” says singer/guitarist Oscar Dowling. “The closest town is Puhoi which is a 15 minute drive along a dirt road. It’s a historic bohemian village, famous for cheese and the puhoi pub. The first time my dad went to the pub the barkeep told him to ‘get f##### hippie’.”
New Gum Sarm also features Sophia Lawler-Dormer on drums, Dave Weir on bass, and Durham Fenwick on guitar (who co-founded the band with Dowling).
The band claim inspiration from the band Television through to Neil Young and others including the East Brunswick All Girls Choir. Whatever the inspiration, there is something quite 'stand out' in the featured track 'Money Talks', more than enough for us to want to feature it.
Hippo Campus have a considerable amount of 'buzz' going on around them at the moment here's some background - They met in High School and are still yet to hit legal drinking age but following an explosive SXSW - which marked their first shows outside their native town - they released their debut EP ‘Bashful Creatures’ (produced by Low’s Alan Sparhawk). The buzz around the band at the Austin music festival was also noticed by the producers of Conan O’Brien’s television show who booked them to perform single ‘Suicide Saturday’ at the soonest opportunity. Having just completed their first tour of the US and UK they return for their first UK headline show and a run of dates with Modest Mouse, and also to play at Reading & Leeds festival. In the US Hippo Campus have been confirmed to support Real Estate and My Morning Jacket on their forthcoming tours.
Oh it would be so easy to snub these young upstarts, grumpy old blogger and all that, but the song is annoyingly good, really annoyingly good, so enjoy the buzz but above all enjoy the music!
Here we go a quoting again - Australian singer-songwriter Calan Mai (aka Jordan Lawrence) recently unveiled his new single 'Black Box' and has followed up with a live studio session. It features a new track 'White Dove', a cover of Eminem's 'Stan' and three tracks off his upcoming debut EP 'Days on the Rock Face', out July 10th (worldwide) via Canvas Sounds. 'Live at The Den' was recorded in Gold Coast, Australia a few months prior to relocating to Manchester with fellow Canvas Sounds signers, FAIRCHILD and Lyon Apprentice. The makeshift studio is also were he recorded his debut EP with producer/mixer Adam Lyons. It's been a patient build up for the 24-year-old Lawrence who showed his potential years ago as a teenager, winning the 2006 Australasian Children's Songwriting Competition. It's no surprise that his primary focus is still lyrics - often retrospective, grounded in past events. His debut single 'We've Got Love' was released early last year and has notched up over 90,000 Soundcloud plays and received airplay on Triple J, Amazing Radio and debuted at number 10 on the KKBB Singles Charts in the US.
'Black Box' is a fine song, dreamy and gentle as it develops and builds, new layers sneaking in without losing it's original direction and feel. Facebook HERE.
Their words - Ol’ Silver Tongue, a garage rock duo out of Oakland CA, is comprised of Boronkadonk on vocals/guitar and C. McCock on percussion/vocals. They are releasing their debut EP Nobody Special independently on June 27th at The Independent in San Francisco CA. C. McCock and Boronkadonk met at a salsa dance party in 2014. Their conversation quickly turned into a shared interest in music. Soon after Boronkadonk had C. McCock over to play music in his garage studio. They have worked on many original tunes and covers by The Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, The Gorries, and others. Ol’ Silver Tongue artisinally blends American and world music then surrounds it with cherry red hard rock candy. When not playing crushingly rugged rock music C. McCock cooks with local food pop up Two Mamacitas Kitchen and plays as a session drummer with many groups in the Bay Area. Boronkadonk writes and teaches music while taking care of his 110 pound dog Osito. Website HERE.
Sometimes stripped down, good old basic rock with a strong twist of roll does wonders. For me this is what 'garage rock' is all about, the featured song has some 'Hendrix' vibes, but enough originality for this to be a compliment.
We are informed - On June 23, 2015, Portland, Oregon-based Chris Marshall & The August Lightwill celebrate the release of their latest full-length, Some Kind of Dream, a departure from the alt. country/Americana of previous offerings, and an expansion of the new ground they started to chart on 2012's Waltz EP. Some Kind of Dream is produced by Patti King (The Rentals, Radiation City), who is also a member of - and band leader for - The August Light (which also features Ryan Reetz on keys, William Joertz on bass, and Joel Swift on drums), Some Kind of Dream is a genre-bending punch that proves Marshall is a songwriter able to meld atmospheric rock, spacious melodies, and folk traditions into songs that are both gorgeous and poignant. Out went the old and in came the rest with Some Kind of Dream. Most notably, the rest includes an array of synthetic sounds. “These Days,” its shadowy emotion buttressed by the lyrical realisation that “these days, I prefer the night,” leans toward doomy trip hop. “Castle” owes to producer Clams Casino, an artist that has played a significant role in shaping the sound of modern hip-hop. But “Break Bread” cuts closest to folk. And “Go Straight Home,” written after the death of Marshall’s grandfather, is just a gorgeous soul song with the uplifting horn arrangements to prove it.
This is some album, take a listen to 'Feel Like Running' and if you like it, the album will deliver even more incredibly well produced songs. It's one of those albums where you can never be certain what the next track will deliver, in a good sort of way.
And the bio reads - It starts simply enough - a chord, a phrase, a riff, a melody. Josh Flagg and his band experiment with these basic ingredients, rearranging and combining them into an unexpected whole. What is not simple is explaining the depth of the material. Josh’s songs can be anthemic, wrenching, smouldering, poetic, dynamic or anywhere in between. He crafts lyrics and sounds that can unsettle or soothe; that surprise and reward you with repeated listens. Once you’ve heard one of his songs, you can’t get it out of your head. Flagg is following up the taut, beautifully constructed power pop gems on his debut full length Devastate Me with the darker, harder, more complex songs of the EP Lights Out. Featuring a three pronged guitar attack, soaring vocals and asymmetrical songwriting, Lights Out itself is the precursor to Flagg's second full length album due out Fall (autumn for us Engerleesh) 2015. Website HERE.
Lush powerful guitar hooks and an equally powerful voice compete and compliment wonderfully throughout 'Lights Out'. Indie rock with a punch.
More fine words - Hailing from Sydney, Mary and Chris are Polarheart. Having played alongside each other in previous projects, the duo began writing together in early 2013. They found a strong chemistry, and a year later Polarheart was born.
Their combination of dreamy vocals and abstract soundscapes, now combining elements of garage, trap, and RnB makes for a captivating listening experience. Drawing on a range of musical influences with classical training in common, and a love for pop and electronica, Polarheart continue to explore new sounds and unique ways to convey relatable messages through their music.
Their debut single Paralyse has received airplay in the UK and the US, as well as across Australia. The track has had over 73,000 plays on SoundCloud and was featured on MTV Iggy, Hillydilly and Nylon Magazine US. Their follow up single Livealie received positive on line reviews from around the globe, was played on Triple J, and was played on the runway as part of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival Sydney 2015. Moving from strength to strength, the duo’s third single Hypnotise, received rave reviews, and plenty of airtime, including Triple J. Facebook HERE.
Some times you just need a dreamy pop song with fine vocals and a well crafted backdrop. Add some hooks that embed themselves (painlessly of course) and we have something like 'Dystopia'. Best served with a chilled cocktail and canapes.
This is the first in an occasional series featuring legitimate and approved material from the Internet Archive (archive.org). All we ask is that you consider supporting the Internet Archive if you enjoy the material reposted here.
This then is Ryan Adams and The Cardinals and a superb concert performed at Das Haus, Germany, on the 17th October 2006.
One reviewer had this to say about the concert - 'This has become Ryan's most talked about and heavily downloaded show. Its worthy of the praise. Please don't let this be the only Cardinal show you get. This show is a great example of the semi acoustic shows that would follow in 2007 - make no secret in the fact I feel they were the best live act in the world from 2005 to 2009'. Another added - I've never heard Ryan Adams before. Well, once on a Mountain Stage broadcast, but it didn't make a huge impression. I listened to this stream as I dl'd the tracks and can't quite put my finger on what makes this recording so rich, but it's definitely got the 'something special' going for it, like I want to hear this over and over on some long lonely cross-country road trip.
Sound Quality: 16bit: Soundboard. The occasional dropouts between songs are from the original soundboard feed and are present on all soundboard recordings from this show.
Set List:
Disc 1:
01 Intro
02 Magnolia Mountain
03 > Hallelujah
04 Blue Hotel
05 To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)
06 New York, New York
07 She Wants to Play Hearts
08 Chin Up, Cheer Up
09 Freeway to the Canyon
10 Harder Now That It's Over
11 [Fade Out]
Disc 2:
01 [Fade In]
02 Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)
03 Easy Plateau
04 Peaceful Valley
05 Trouble On Wheels
06 Firecracker
07 Why Do They Leave?
08 A Kiss Before I Go
09 Dear John
10 Cold Roses
11 Bird Song [Jerry Garcia]
12 > Wild Flowers
13 Let It Ride
About The Internet Archive: The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library. Its purposes include offering permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format.
Founded in 1996 and located in San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes: texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in our collections, and provides specialized services for adaptive reading and information access for the blind and other persons with disabilities.
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Michael Hixis an NYC-based composer and musician originally from Tennessee. His music incorporates synthesizers, guitar and voice to build complex dynamic structures that evolve over time, delving the human condition and the metaphysical dimension. His work draws upon classical minimalism, sacred music and late-Romantic styles. Aeon is Hix's first full length album, a cinematic work separated into six movements which will be released on Tuesday, June 16th. HERE.
Close your eyes, lay back and just drift away. Sounds like words from an advert, however this is music you need to immerse yourself in. Calming and gently changing, a musical journey.
The world has suffered one of the worst economic crisis ever. 20 years ago the american dream was the main thinking in many people. Nowadays to be optimist is difficult for most of them. This is why Pepe Mateos decided to tell a story about the "Hard Money" times. A song that will make you think about it. An Ep where the Longing is the main ingredient and Pepe Mateos' Vocal is trying to express the Feeling of this people who work very very hard all around the world for what they earn.
Here's a taste of 'Hard Money' the Kane Roth Remix being my favourite plus for deep house fans the original mix of 'What We Still Have' from a while back. Pepe Mateos info HERE. Check him out.
"Coming off of a stellar interpretation of The Rolling Stone's "Gimme Shelter," Bobby Nourmand is back up to his usual musings, which is re-envisioning timeless classics.
This time around, he's taking on a song from one of the most iconic and storied albums of all time, Abbey Road. Honing in on the highly recognizable electronic harpsichord melody paired with Lennon's guitars, Bobby walks us back into 1969. The vocal harmonies add to the haunting nature, providing a textural soundscape full of incredible depth."
His take on the track BECAUSE is really something (sorry couldn't resist). This is both clever and engaging and it's free to download (HERE), what more do we want? Iv'e also included his mix of The Doors - Peace Frog which I regard as stunning.
Dimond Saintsis an Oakland based duo, that has quickly emerged to push the boundaries of electronic music. Their sound drips of passion and a firey depth. Their live show is both explosive and soulful, creating a place where heavy bass and angelic melodies collide. They recently released Henry Green - Slow - Dimond Saints Remix described as 'A delicate balance of eloquent house & broken bass; comfortably sliding between genres. All ready getting major support from House & Bass DJ's alike'.
They really do slide between genres and what's more they do it eloquently and with style. More info HERE.
A Copy For Collapsehas released their second full-length LP 'Waiting For' via the label No Sense of Place, bringing them closer to indie chill, dance and dreampop territory than ever before. It is available digitally and on 12'' vinyl through the label No Sense of Place. This Italian electronic duo is comprised of Daniele Raguso and Aria Myrskya.? Strongly influenced by artists such as Telefon Tel Aviv, Boards of Canada and Toro Y Moi, they blend such genres as chillwave, electro, synthpop and nugaze, creating a dreamlike sound backed with memorable beats. ?
This is a fabulous album. Shoegaze that you can dance to and become absorbed by, and a host of other genres lurking to gently draw your attention. More about them HERE.
Smooth Ends are a London based band. They have just released their first EP, and to use their fine words it happened - "after lots of hard work and passion. We self produced the whole thing, from the music to the artwork, and everything in between. We are active in the London music scene, with lots of ideas and upcoming events". They continue - "We would like to share our music with you, since we know that you would appreciate the hard work behind it".
Two things really impressed me about Smooth Ends. First of all their short and to the point message actually implied the passion was pretty genuine, secondly, the music. After all is said and no matter how much buzz you create, it's always going to be the music that counts. Well it is for Beehive Candy and we are impressed. (Facebook HERE).
Tiny Rhymes have this to say - We are Tiny Rhymes; a indie/chamber-folk group with members from Canada and Buffalo, NY. We're releasing the lead single "Arrows" off our upcoming album which is out June 23rd.
Sharon Mok continued - I've always played piano, but decided to pick up the guitar for this current batch of songs, and set out to create melodies influenced by my childhood experience with both Chinese opera and classical music.While writing and recording in Buffalo, I met cellist Katie Weissman and we instantly hit it off. Weissman’s diverse technique and smooth, dark melodies added necessary dimension to the songs.
My attention was grabbed with the description 'indie/chamber-folk group'. I mean it just has to work does it not? Well I think it does if the song 'Arrows' is anything to go by. Wonderful. (Facebook HERE).
We have received the following - Melbourne band Magic Bones, release their new single ‘Danger I Am’, a taste of their forthcoming album due for release in 2015. Keeping in tune with their latest releases, ‘Danger I Am’ is a driving garage punk duet, drowning in desire and urges to be drawn in by the unknown.
High energy, no nonsense and exciting, but enough about me, no seriously they come across as all of that. 'Danger I Am' is instant 'play it again' material. Comparisons such as the B52's should be received as positive and complimentary, the driving mayhem is totally theirs to own. (Facebook HERE).
Finally and what a finally! And we quote - Celebrating over 40 years in music, one of the most pivotal reggae bands of all time Third World will release their first major song of the year “YimMasGan” on June 16, 2015 on Ghetto Youths International. The Damian Marley produced song, which will also be accompanied with a new music video directed by Jamaica’s own Ras Kassa, is a fresh take on the 1974 original track by The Abyssinians. Yim mas gan means let him be praised in the ancient Ethiopian Amharic language. This is the second song written by The Abyssinians that Third World recorded. The first was “Satta Massagana,” released in 1975 on Chris Blackwell's Island Records.
One of Reggaes most consistently outstanding bands and an absolute pleasure to feature on Beehive Candy. No real need to add anything else, unless you are extremely late to the party! (Facebook HERE).
What it is? - another page where music videos can also appear. It's just the start, there is no master plan, actually there is no plan, we are making it up as we go along.
What it is not? - original, revolutionary, ground-breaking and definitely not the benchmark.
However somewhere in the back of Beehive Candy's mind lurks the spark of an idea that may just up the game. Not yet though, time is in demand and 'the other page' will just lazily build and alter as and when it does. So take a look if you want, videos will come and go and hopefully some will spark your interest. You never know what might turn up.
Beehive Candy would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the following unashamed plug. Actually that's not strictly true. Paper Garden Records (PGR) have as some of you have no doubt spotted, been a source of some great music that has appeared on this site in recent years.
First of all, PGR have a series of free concerts in Brooklyn this July featuring - Salt Cathedral, Stranger Cat, Zongo Junction, The Love Supreme, Soul Khan, Deuce Ellis, Amani Fela, Arms and Emanuel and The Fear.
In addition to the concerts, there's a chance to listen to some of the acts, to check out just what so many of us will be missing out on! Oh well there will be some with smiling faces, so good for them eh?.
There's a real mixture here, Electronic, Funk/Soul/Jazz, Hip Hop and Indie Rock. I won't pretend everything is to my taste, however a lot is.
So no apologies, just some very fine music. You can find out more HERE.
Also one of our PGR favourites Pree, have a new video out featuring the song 'The Dog' from their recently released album RIMA. It's a fine song and a cheerful video.
Finally Little Tybee can also get in on the act. Their song 'For Distant Viewing' from 2013 remains a real favourite of mine and having not seen the video before lets add that to this spontaneous and very, very unashamed plug.
What they say - Sydney based psych-rock trio The Walking Who (Rohin Brown, Jay(Bird) and Paul Mclean) announced a brand new single on Monday 'My Future Wife' alongside the news of a forthcoming UK/EU tour, which includes performing at London's Citadel Festival and a headline show for Communion Presents at The Old Blue Last on 22nd July. This will be the band's first return to Europe since their debut in 2014, which saw Maz Tuppuni of Communion/XFM proclaim it was one of his favourite gigs of the year.
What we say - A psychedelic sixties vibe with alt rock quality, well that's what came into my head, this is an enjoyable track, big thumbs up from the Beehive.
And we quote - ‘Where The River Runs’ is the sumptuous second single from Malpas, due for release on Killing Moon Records on 17th June 2015. One of the highlights from their forthcoming debut album ‘Rain River Sea’, it layers swelling synths, intricate rhythms and mandolins under falsetto vocals to create a compelling slice of folk-tinged electronica. Malpas is singer-songwriter Ali Forbes and producer Andy Savours, who has worked with The Horrors, Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine amongst others.
And we reckon - It was the expression 'electric folk duo' that first gained my attention. This just builds and builds, beautiful layers of sound and contrasting dynamic vocals, pretty good eh?
Here we go quoting again - 'Feel Alive', was released on May 15th, is feelgood anthemic pop, perfect listening in the summer sunshine and a great introduction to the music of Aleks Grey. Born in Volda, Norway, Aleks was introduced to music through classical piano lessons when he was just three years old, but he was soon drawn to blues, soul and rock and roll. By the age of ten he was writing his own songs and by twelve he had become an accomplished guitarist.
Beehive comments - Sparing you the rest of Alek's history, the simple summary is, he has developed into an extremely talented performer, as witnessed in the featured video, bringing a real feelgood feeling for us all!
More words from someone else - Prodigious 19-year old singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tom Misch has given BBC 1Xtra favourite Kiko Bun's Jamaican roots-inspired single 'Where I'm From' the remix treatment, to brilliant effect. With a string of Hype Machine No. 1s to boast of, and support from Majestic Casual, BBC Radio and countless others, this latest rework further confounds and exceeds Tom's reputation.
More words from Beehive - We have featured Kiko Bun before, this remix is stunning, how many superlatives are we allowed to use, absolute talent remixes absolute talent.
Final quote this time around - Follow the Lionare a Leeds based alternative rock band who formed in 2013, quickly gaining a strong following thanks to their energetic and infectious live sets. The band have played a range of venues across the north west of England and will be hitting the festival scene this summer with appearances already confirmed at Live at Leeds, Tramlines and Long Division.
Final words from us - Oh this band are talented. Swirling alt rock music and Daniel Francis has a voice that is just so right for the songs. The others deserve recognition to - Daniel Francis - Lead Vocals and Guitars, Richard Swann - Lead Guitar, Mase - Bass, Paul Smith - Keys and Vocals, Danny Jay Barnett - Drums.
We are not exactly hot off the press with this song which was released in March, with the exception of the new official lyric video of 'Matt Simons - Catch & Release (Deepend Remix)'.
After its release back in March, the track fully exploded on line resulting in millions of views on Soundcloud, Youtube and massive support throughout the blogosphere. The track stormed the Hypem Charts (overall) resulting in one number 3 and two number 1 positions in a row. Plenty of radio airplay as well.
For no other reason than to brighten Beehive Candy up this Tuesday we unashamedly jump on the bandwagon. Better late than never with this excellent song!
Some background - Lady Lowis a rock quintet comprised of Jimmy Sweet (vocals, guitar), Rachel Maxann (vocals, synth, bass), Eden Lee (vocals, drums), Kaitlin Wolfberg (violin) and Hannah Blumenfeld (violin). Sweet had always wanted to start a band that combined love’s passion and old school rock and roll. After returning to L.A. by way of London, he formed Lady Low. Maxann found her way to the City of Angels after growing restless in the Big Easy. She brought aboard her old friend Lee, and after enlisting the help of local string talents Wolfberg and Blumenfield, the world’s first romance rock group was born. Lady Low is not the first musical expedition for these romance rock pioneers. Jimmy has been rocking for years, starting out with legendary San Francisco rock band, The Richmond Sluts. He still performs with the Goodtime Boys, a ‘70s cover band, along with members of Hot Hot Heat, Fleet Foxes, The Heavy, and Beachwood Sparks.
Lady Low are new to Beehive Candy, it's a while since we have featured any music that could perhaps be termed 'romance rock', whatever I like their music & that's a good enough reason to share.
Dan Latner has this to say about his new album 'No Fun Intended'.
The album really snowballed accidentally into existence. In 2012, I received a writing grant for a comedy album, and headed out to woodshed in Prince George, BC (Northern Canada), where a long term girlfriend was living. We broke up 2 days into the visit (that's funny right?) and then I moved to Sri Lanka where I wrote most of the songs. I've been bouncing around Asia and Africa ever since. I wrote "In a Hotel" and "Girls with Glasses" in Nepal, so you could say that the album was written mainly during my travels.
You can find out more about Dan over at his website (Here), A fiddle player and very amusing, it's also been sometime since Beehive Candy have featured something a little more light hearted. For me the music and lyrics really work, on the featured song, it's more a gentle parody of what if's. It's different and highly enjoyable.
The Winachi Tribe are introduced to us with the following words - The psychedelic funk of George Clinton, the brooding menace of Massive Attack, the rolling hypnotic beats of Happy Mondays and the vision and flow of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five are all essential ingredients to the sound and style of The Winachi Tribe, a sonic soul, electro funk collective who are unconstrained by boundaries or formula's, musically or culturally. Lyrically explosive and musically diverse, the band were born from the belly of Northern D.Funk collective China White. The Winachi Tribe are an exceptional band of musicians and producers who have collaborated and toured with a range of artists from Ian Brown to Alabama 3, Keith Allen to The Furious Five. Percussion legend Inder Goldfinger was a member of Ian Brown's band for thirteen years, and vocalist Liam and keys player Antony collaborated with Keith Allen in the studio and also toured with him as vocalists in his band 'Fit Les' as part of his Olympic opera 'Will Cliff Be There?'
The bands first single 'Time for Love' is scheduled for release on the 20th July (A1M Records). Well the pedigree is most definitely there and on the strength of the featured piece below, so are all the vital ingredients.
UK Live Dates:
18th July - Single launch at Water Rats, London with 'Alabama 3' DJ set and support from Italian Band La Strange
27th August - Vinyl launch, The Ruby Lounge, supports TBC
29th August - Victorious Festival, Portsmouth, opening for Primal Scream & The Flaming Lips
5th September - Manchester Met Uni, 'The Second Coming' with Aziz Ibrahim, The Clone Roses, Cressa (DJ Set)
7th November - Shiiine On Weekender, Minehead Arena, Somerset with Happy Mondays, Stereo MCs, 808 State.
Abandoned Delta appear to be a no nonsense and to the point band. They are an East Nashville-based Indie Americana group whose self-titled debut record has now been released.
This is how they explain the release - The band wanted to put out a document of songs with no names or production credits attached because "Music is oft-times clouded in politics, over-branding and marketing manifestos that present stories other than the ones the songs tell. Who cares who wrote and performed on it or what label it's on? If it connects with the listener, then the job is done. There should be no other filters preventing that from happening."
This is the first track from the album, the expression or genre 'Indie Americana' is always going to be a draw with myself, however in the end, it's down to the music. Well for me the music not only matches the description, these are fine old tunes and worthy of a large amount of interest and a bigger audience to enjoy!
Jade The Moon tell us - 5 6 7 8 was written in a two hour session with no preconceived ideas about where the session would go. We had a lot of fun with creating this. I started dancing around the kitchen pretending to be a ballet dancer, singing 5 6 7 8 at the top of my lungs, which eventually became the backbone of the song. The remaining lyrical content can be difficult to hear, but on closer listen you can hear that there is an honest search for something tangible and real. Whether it's a search for love, happiness or just an escape from the everyday we found it for a brief moment.
We say, looking forward to your debut EP this summer, on the strength of this, it's one to watch out for.
Next up we have Alma and her debut EP Dark Matter. The description goes - A self-titled experimental project with producer Virtu, the songs soar with cinematic influence. She first came to the scene with "Avalanches," co-produced by Sound Remedy & Kill Paris.
Alma has a beautiful voice that can smoothly flow across the unobtrusive and yet occasionally powerful and dreamy musical accompaniment. She can also belt out some spine chillingly high notes.
And so to Woodes x Elkkle. They are described as follows - their panache for painting vivid soundscapes has led them to delve deeper into their delicately lush world to create their second single, Cocoon. With the perfect measure of tender swooning to lull you in, coupled with compellingly quirky percussion and sparse instrumentation, Cocoon dabbles in mystic realms, which will leave you with a premonition of what’s to come on their forthcoming EP.
Well that saves us from having to come up with any poetic prose. Much easier just to direct your attention to this delightful track, both the vocals and intricate sounds are pretty special, it has that 'play me again thing going'.
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Finally we have POPOF(nee Alexandre Paounov), - Featuring the handsome voice of Arno Joey, "Words Gone" is a stunning slice of electronic music with crossover appeal, giving us a taste of what is in store for the album. Cadenza boss Luciano’s remix dives into tribal percussion, while main man Jamie Jones flips into a new gear, introducing a new melody, deep pads and emotive keys.
POPOF's forthcoming album Love Somebody out on June 29. A long standing and influential name in dance music, this Jamie Jones remix has already garnered considerable attention. We would add quite rightly so, it's why non dancers like me can still enjoy a little bit of deep house (behind closed curtains of course)...
Reloaded - 06/June/2015 - PJ Harvey's ninth studio album recorded with a studio audience in January is eagerly awaited. Word is that the material is similar in style to the fantastic 'Let England Shake' album, however the lyrics have a more global nature. This featured and probable audience recording (excellent quality) from 2007 is another reminder of how much I simply love her music. Polly Jean has truly earned the respect she has, always surprising, fascinating and always herself.
Some artists can fall into a 'love them' or 'do not love them' category quite comfortably. PJ Harvey has plenty of people who readily claim to love her music. There are probably plenty of music fans that would also say, 'hmmm'.
However I would wage a bet that there are a lot of music lovers out there, who having heard her music wander off thinking 'interesting' and find themselves coming back again and again to hear some more. I am fascinated by PJ Harvey, there is something about some of her songs, that hits home, and yet can I put it in simple terms? Wikipedia lists her genres as - Alternative rock, indie rock, experimental rock, lo-fi, folk rock, electronica, art rock, and punk blues.
Legendary British radio DJ John Peel featured her on a number of occasions in session, on his late night radio programme, sadly he is no longer with us, to perhaps get things in context. Anyhow enough of my personal musical conundrum, this is from the Beacon Theatre show (on Broadway - upper Manhattan New York), and is from her current tour, recorded on the 10th October 2007.
Set List:
01 To bring you my love
02 Send his love to me
03 When under ether
04 The devil
05 White chalk
06 Man-size
07 Angelene/My beautiful leah
08 Nina in ecstasy
09 Electric light
10 Snake
11 Shame
12 Big exit
13 Down by the water
14 Grow grow grow
15 The mountain
16 Silence
17 Rid of me
18 Water
19 The piano
20 The desperate kingdom of love
Sound quality: Very good - the audience audio suggests this is an excellent audience recording, I could be wrong.
We are informed that - Seven-piece, New Orleans rock hybrids The Revivalists announced their upcoming studio offering, Men Amongst Mountains set for release on July 17th 2015 via Wind-up Records. The band, known for their enigmatic live shows, continue to tour across the country this summer, with a slew of upcoming dates and festival appearances, including two album release shows in NYC on July 15th and 16th at Bowery Ballroom and The Music Hall of Williamsburg.
We say The Revivalists are aptly so called, there is a depth to their music that is so rich. Funky and Soulful and yet Alt Rocking, a crazy mixture that simply put, works. More HERE.
MAYE has teamed up with Simon Field on a release, reworking Night Bus by Lucy Rose, resulting in an amazingly warm production with tastes of deep house and indie dance adding a very current feel still honouring the original. Can we tell you more? No, nothing like a little minimalism, that's all they told us, so that's enough. Excellent track though.
Their bio tells us - San Francisco based blues/indie rock trio Fritz Montana formed in early 2013 with the goal to create music that keeps your feet dancing and your head banging. Growing up as products of the Bay Area’s suburbs, three ambitious and passionate young men met on a whim and haven’t looked back since. With their minds set on proving that rock and roll isn’t dead.
All I will say is this band are natural blues rockers, engaging from the first riff, rock and roll has another pair of safe hands to bang your heads to.
The story goes - It’s not often you come across an artist that truly grabs you and takes hold. Emerging from the chaos of New York, Julietta shines through as a dramatic and heartfelt siren, like a warrior suited for battle. It's no wonder her music is able to tell such a captivating story; lyrics seamlessly turn to visuals as her voice articulates the narrative. A universally relative theme of love and loss is a huge part of Julietta’s context, and is something she wears on her sleeve.
As I read the above words I wondered which direction this song would follow. Well in fairness, I was happily surprised, if you set the bar high you have a long way to fall, this one just soared away leaving some 'Goosebumps' as promised.
Finally we are informed - Brisbane 4-piece rock outfit The Bacchanales have been very busy for the past year, growing a dedicated fan base on the streets of Brisbane with their heavy and groove-laden 90-style rock. Since the release of their debut EP in 2014 they have been lucky enough to play with Holy Holy, Bad Dreems, Harts and The Belligerents, and now they are ready to release the first single 'Sandcastles' from their forthcoming sophomore EP.
What a band! The single is an edit from a nine minute track on the E.P. and it is gorgeous. It has been available for a week or so. I'm to old to get excited about forthcoming releases, what is this band trying to do to me, excitement at my age!
Closet Straights we are told are - a young, scrappy team of talented multi-instrumentalists from Melbourne, Australia. The quintet were born out of troubadour front man Alex Lashlie's desire to have his ethereal compositions fleshed out for a live environment. Individually, each member of Closet Straights brings their own inspirations and inclinations that reach from the far out regions of jangle-pop to the vast plains of true-country ramblers. As a unit however, these differences cum together to create a melting pot of true fusion.
They first worked together in late 2013 and have now arrived at a point where their music has been described as 'heavy pop'. Well heavy, jangly, or whatever else, their recent single release 'Zadie' is a fine song to kick off this edition. It has that ethereal feel around it, I like the word ethereal, so only award it when justified, yep - ethereal heavy pop will do nicely. Bandcamp HERE.
So what do we know about Bunnygrunt? Well first of all we know that whoever wrote their promo has a superb way with words, we read - They started off twee but spent so much time on the road that they learned how to rock. The missing link between Teenage Fanclub and Teenage Wasteland, like a bat out of hell baby, Bunnygrunt was born to run. They’ve been tearing it up for years now—legends of the underground teaching the indie kids how to rock and the rockers how to weep. Fueled by the kindest dog in St. Louis, the immortal Rusty, Bunnygrunt’s spent their lives stuck in the middle of a nowhere that used to be a somewhere (the gateway to the west that’s now seen as a hateway to the rest), and you can hear it in every note of their beer-soaked, hopefully desperate and hopelessly hopeful, music. And just like the union men who built the schools and the fire stations of St. Louis all those years ago, Bunnygrunt does their work and moves on. No glory necessary, no need to thank them.
What can we add to that, other than listen, no even better, turn in up unsociably loud and share with your neighbours. Bunnygrunt Volume 4 is released July 17th 2015 and it's a corker!
Fox And Fowl are a Brisbane based indie pop trio. They have a really catchy song 'Spark' that we are able to share, one with a little storyline as follows - A song with a surprising meaning, singer and keyboard player Lachlan explains that 'Spark' is based on the worldwide uproar surrounding Brazil's preparation prior to hosting the FIFA World Cup last year. "We wanted to highlight the fact that the Brazilian government and FIFA were spending millions of dollars on Cup, while millions of Brazilians were living below the poverty line and struggling with their every day life. The country was "just a spark away" from igniting in uproar and riots," he says.
'Spark' is the next step in an exciting new direction for Fox & Fowl with politically charged undercurrents and a fresh new sound emanating from the trio. Whatever the story this song hooked me in straight away, so enjoy!
The band have some live dates:
Friday June 5 | Brighton Up Bar, Sydney - w/Polish Club and Special Guests
Saturday June 6 | Grace Darling Hotel, Melbourne - w/The Sand Dollars, DIET. and Louis Spoils
Saturday June 27 | Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane - FREE SHOW w/Denpasar.
Sometimes just the background to a band that we receive sets the tone and expectation very high, so when I read the following about The Cheap Thrills, I was hoping for something exciting.
The Cheap Thrills' release their new single 'Rusty' on July 13th, encapsulating the band's energy and youth with an added Psych/Pop vibe. Aged just eighteen and nineteen, the band have already headlined 02 Academy shows, have been selected as winners of the coveted Liverpool Sound City Youth Award 2012 and played the Calling Out stage of Kendal Calling in the same year. Since then, The Cheap Thrills have played successful gigs in London, as well as supporting Cast, The Rifles, The Moons, The Jezabels, Wave Machines, Skaters and Superfood. Regulars on BBC Introducing Merseyside, the band have also been featured in The Guardian's 'Breaking Bands Column'.
No anti-climax with this band, the featured song has a level of maturity that surprises, they have that 'natural energy level' that carries on after the song has ended.
We have been hearing quite a lot about Sasha McVeigh this year and share the excitement around her album release 'I Stand Alone' due out imminently on June 8th. Just some of the notable points regarding Sasha are:
· Tipped as one to watch by Taste of Country. UK country singer who has been embraced by the US country scene. · Performing alongside some of the biggest names on the circuit in America (inc. Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban) · Recently played to a packed crowd at C2C at the O2. Sold out main stage performance at Hay Festival, screened by BBC Worldwide. · Chosen as Best of the Best by Mark Forrest & BBC Introducing. · Been booked for six main stage slots at country music festivals this summer in the US. · Opened the ACM awards kick-off concert in Las Vegas with Hunter Hayes. · Announced by anti-bullying designers Amour Propre as their new ambassador.
Not bad eh? so enjoy the video for 'Someone To Break My Heart' if the video appeals, the album's a must!
There has been some real 'buzz' around May, who is based in Melbourne, Australia. Yesterday was the release day of her new single 'I Could Have Been Someone' (written by May), her second release for 2015.
The press release quite rightly describes May's singing and musical accompaniment - With orchestral blends of contemporary soul and dark pop, May pairs hauntingly beautiful melodies with evocative vocals to create a distinct and powerful sound.
This is one of those songs that casts it's shadow across a range of musical styles and genres and yet flows along with grace and beauty. You can gather from that, I like it. It's on iTunes HERE.
OK final band and their words first - On July 3rd, The Switch will release 'We're Fooling No One EP', their third release since april of last year. Their sly tactic of promoting themselves by relentlessly releasing good records at a high pace (thereby making music writers mention how good they are in print on a regular basis) is starting to pay off, and this year they are booked to the Øya-festival, the biggest music festival in Norway. 
