We first featured Flora Hibberd in April and she returns today with 'In Violence' an atmosphere drenched song where her imagination and creativity are again notable as is her fabulous voice.
With close to forty thousand views since last Friday the new video from Lola Marsh for 'Echoes' has attracted a lot of attention, not surprising really it's a hook fuelled psych folk piece and the video is fabulous.
Coming out this Friday is the brand new E.P. from Magnetic Skies titled 'Hold On' and along with this they will also release their second single 'Refugee'. As this is our fourth feature for them this year, I think it safe to say we like them (and some).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flora Hibberd - In Violence.
Born in East London but currently residing in Paris, Flora Hibberd has been described as ‘intelligent and measured…there is a profound intuition in her work’ and her songs as ‘deeply rooted in the timeless lyricism of Dylan and Cohen.’
With influences as diverse as Nick Cave, Joan Baez and Jacques Brel, she moves effortlessly between acoustic folk traditions and the bruised indie of PJ Harvey, Jason Molina and Cat Power. Her powerfully emotive voice, evocative melodies and poetic lyrics combine beautifully to give her songs a deeply haunting and unforgettable quality.
Flora’s debut single ‘The Absentee’, was released March 2019, was a bold statement of intent and announced her as a powerful newcomer. Follow-up single, ’In Violence’ is Flora’s follow-up single, out July 12th. Flora states that this commanding new song ‘comes from anger, specifically about something that I witnessed happen to a friend, and more generally about all the people that are put in that position every day. It is painful, but I don’t think it is entirely dark. There is power in the anger.’
Her debut single ‘The Absentee’, released by ClearLight Records / Declared Goods, is out now. New single ‘In Violence’ is out now. The Absentee EP is scheduled for release September 2019.
Lola Marsh are pleased to release their new single Echoes, out now, along with a brand new video directed by Indy Hait. Lola Marsh - aka vocalist Yael Shoshana Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Gil Landau - cut an upbeat tone on this new offering, sending the listener on a dizzying psych-folk journey complete with Cohen’s honeyed vocals. The accompanying video provides a visual art feast, featuring Gil and Yael with multiple versions of themselves. The band creates an army with 70’s vintage stylings, and like opposite sides of a mirror, play with energy and urgency both against and towards each other.
“"Echoes is about that feeling you sometimes have when you want to disappear, but at the same time, want to be found. That scary beautiful moment just before falling asleep, when you are the most lonesome version of yourself. And it’s for Maya."- Lola Marsh
Lola Marsh create music that combine clever lyrics with deep warm harmonies. Together with their 5-piece live band, they first made waves at Primavera Sound in 2014, following which the duo immediate gained industry attraction. It wasn't long till the band graced the stages on the festival circuit including Primavera Sound, Exit and Pukkelpop, as well asintensively touring Europe. Following their breakthrough success, their debut album Remember Roses was released in June 2017 (Anova Music / Universal Music Group).
The leading single 'Wishing Girl’ became a fan favorite and was featured in ads for leading brands such as Ebay and California Lottery. The band have made a big impact internationally; featuring in leading publications, gaining positive reviews, climbing to the top of Spotify’s most viral charts, and hitting over 40 million streams that are growing by the day. Their popularity crossed over to Hollywood and they co-wrote a song for the film “Criminal”, and were featured in the hit TV series "Better Call Saul".
Hot on the heels of supporting Heaven 17, synth-rock band Magnetic Skies are set to release their second EP, “Hold On”, in July 2019 via the independent ReprinT Records label. Lead track “Hold On” just came out as a single with a second single “Refugee” to be released on 19 July 2019.
Following on the heels of the duo’s debut EP, “Dreams And Memories”, which received glowing praise, the 5 tracks on the new release showcase the diverse elements of the band’s output, moving from synth pop and rock to ambient soundscapes. The songs feature Kent’s delicate and instinctively melodic vocals set against Womar’s synth backdrops, evoking the emotionally-charged hooks of some of the 80’s defining pop bands, such as Japan, Duran Duran and Tears For Fears.
“Refugee” is an uptempo synth rock track dealing with the nature of reality and the suffocation of anxiety and panic: “I’m drowned in confusion/blind by illusion/I want to find a reason/something to believe in”. The track is a re-recorded and re-worked version of a song Simon had written before the band was formed, and features a video of him as an astronaut taking off from Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower, in which the Queen is seen making a guest appearance.
We have a couple of tracks from Madame Psychosis namely 'Crashing Down' and 'Kapow'. The bands mixture of indie rock and alt pop is very impressive, whether they are performing more melodic and refined pieces such as 'Crashing Down' or full on rockers like 'Kapow', they give every song their all, and do so with considerable class.
Smoking Alaska recently released their new E.P. 'Bring Me Back a Souvenir', and these Dutch indie rockers can and do cover plenty of differing styles. From slick and pleasing indie rock like 'Sirens in the Sky' to the more expansive and vibe filled 'Allegory of the Cave', the new E.P is imaginative and genuinely worth listening to in full.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Madame Psychosis - Crashing Down / Kapow.
Madame Psychosis is a five-piece alt pop & indie rock band from Toronto. Members include singer Michelle Mondesir, guitar players Bret McCaffrey and Rene Ip, drummer Jaina Tharakan, and bass player Giovanni Paola.
The band released their debut album in June 2017 and received a positive response. Most notably, the single “Space Motorcycle” cracked Alan Cross’ Top 11 Playlist. The album was also featured on 94.9 The Rock FM‘s artist spotlight, Generation Next, in May of 2018. Four songs from the debut album were showcased, including “Space Motorcycle”, “Run”, “On Top of The Game”, and “Mellow”. The band supported the album by performing at venues across Toronto, including at the legendary Opera House and The Horseshoe Tavern.
Madame Psychosis is now working on new material for their upcoming album. They released the “soaring” single “Crashing Down” in May, 2019 ahead of their two showcase performances at Canadian Music Week 2019. They also released a music video for the single. “A song that takes the listener on a poetic journey”, “Crashing Down” is the followup to “Just Wanna Be Myself“, which was released in January as the lead single. The band performed the song live on Global News’ national broadcast of The Morning Show.
Smoking Alaska is a dutch indie-rock band that takes inspiration from bands like Nothing but Thieves and Foals. 'Bring Me Back a Souvenir' is an EP with the overarching theme of getting out of your confort zone.
We want the entire EP to be listened to as much as possible so any of the 7 songs can be featured in playlists/blogs. For convenience sake I'll just be focusing on the opening track of the EP called 'Sirens in the Sky'. 'Sirens in the Sky' is about dealing with anxiety and panic-attacks and how those things can affect your relationship aswell. It's an energetic indie-rock song with a lush guitar sound and a melody that swings back and forth.
Dreamy guitars changing into warm distortion by Thijs, extensive bass riffs with a deep sound performed by Frank, a tight drum by Wiebe and a unique voice from Alex that come together to form a whole. Smoking Alaska knows how to create a good atmosphere with their huge variety from soft melancholic songs to hard alternative rock. The foursome, who describes their music as indie/alternative rock, has been active as a band for over 5 years.
'In Motion' from AVA is a refined ambient soundtrack with a mixture of violin and piano that blend and flow together beautifully.
Clear shares 'Somnium' a dream pop track that exudes atmosphere, as the distinct vocals and layered sound-scape creatively merge together.
Our second feature this year for Davina and The Vagabonds this time with 'I Can’t Believe I Let You Go' another bluesy piece with some fine jazz vibes running alongside.
We have to go back over two years for our last song feature from Laughed the Boy however their latest track 'Sun' sees them still writing catchy indie rock and bodes well for their next album due in August.
Katrina Parker title track for her new album is 'Stars' a powerful folk ballad where her vocals are packed with emotion and sincerity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVA - In Motion.
AVA is Anna Phoebe (Jorja Smith, Erland Cooper) and Aisling Brouwer – a duo who create ambient soundscapes based on intricate interplay between violin and piano. Both are professional composers in their own right; Aisling for film and TV and Anna for multi-platinum selling bands and artists, but it is through AVA that the pair carve out their own musical identity in collaboration with each other.
They have just released their debut album Waves on One Little Indian Records (Poppy Ackroyd, Manu Delago, Roger Goula, Gabriel Olafs, Amiina, Björk) – a deeply personal record, written for those looking to find solace in a world full of unrest.
Alongside their album release they also share a brand new video for single 'In Motion', and announce a string of dates with Erland Cooper.
As British residents born and raised in mainland Europe, the musicians started writing Waves with the Brexit referendum on the horizon. In the wake of the vote, the music became a search for common identity against a backdrop of uncertainty, expressed through their emotionally driven post-classical music.
Coming from mixed European backgrounds (Anna Phoebe is German/Greek/Irish and Aisling Brouwer is Dutch/Irish) and having each grown up moving around multiple countries, the pair respectively made Britain their home, meeting for the first time and writing together in 2015. “When Aisling and I started writing together, it was against this background of social and political turmoil – we were both trying to understand our identities within a country where we had built our lives” explains Anna Phoebe.
“The sessions we had together were an escape from all the noise. We would take breaks from writing and walk onto the beach, looking across the water at the outline of the French coast...discussing what it was to be European in a country where people had voted to reject Europe. All those mixed up emotions found their way into the music, exploring the complex layers of identity we all have — the layers of who we are and where we fit in.”
No strangers to a constantly changing surrounding environment, their relationship to the violin and piano-based pieces they composed together became one of emotional catharsis. Through AVA, they found their musical counterpart and individuality.
Somnium is the elevating debut single from Australian singer and songwriter Clear. The atmospheric dream-pop track encourages listeners to slow down and allow themselves to dream again.
“Somnium is an anthem for the dreamers. Our society can often discourage us from believing in the value of our passions, so the song is about being present— appreciating our collective human disposition to be idealistic, ambitious, daring and hopeful... about allowing ourselves to believe in our creative abilities, not stifling or dismissing them... to see the world around us as a smorgasbord of potential. Everything we have created was once pure imagination, after all... and to stay soft... open. To understand vulnerability is true strength. To bring back that inner child and remember our creative nature... to believe in it again.” - Clear
Somnium, Latin for ‘dream’, is about the freedom that can be found in allowing yourself to pursue passions for passion’s sake and chase ambitions outside the pursuit for material wealth. Clear’s honest lyrics meet the audience where they are at; stirring feelings of familiarity in the meanings, addressing the vulnerable nature of our human lives and evoking authentic emotional response. The song was self recorded by Clear in her hometown in rural Victoria and had been an experimental work in progress since 2017, July of 2019 will be it’s unveiling
Clear is carving a place for herself on the Fraser Coast performing at her local in Hervey Bay. In early 2019, she debuted on Triple J Unearthed with the simple and stripped back For You, Somnium the unconventional and ambitious follow up.
Davina and The Vagabonds - I Can’t Believe I Let You Go.
Davina and the Vagabonds have announced a brand new release date for their album SUGAR DROPS, the first album from the label Red House Records out on August 2. Their track, “I Can’t Believe I Let You Go,” was just featured on Rolling Stone’s “10 Best Country and Americana Songs to Hear Now.” Listen to “I Can’t Believe I Let You Go” here.
The album marks the first time singer/songwriter/pianist Davina Sowers entered a proper studio to record an album. The Minneapolis-based artist holed up in Nashville’s Compass Sound Studio with producer (and Compass Records co-founder) Garry West, along with her trumpeter, string arranger and husband, Zack Lozier, and a rotating cast of powerhouse players including Todd Phillips (David Grisman, Robbie Fulks) on bass, Doug Lancio(Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Tom Jones) on guitar and Reese Wynans (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa) on Hammond B3.
SUGAR DROPS is distillation of bluesy barroom baritone and bravado, graveyard jazz grooves, and noir-ish confessional lyricism backed by boisterous piano, guitar, and strings. Eclectic, engaging and instilled with a deep respect and knowledge for the Great American Songbook, SUGAR DROPS is the actualization of longstanding intent for Davina.
“It represents about 100 years of Americana; I did exactly what I wanted to do,” she says.
Davina grew up in Altoona, PA, which she now describes as “awesome in the industrial era, but horrible for high school.” She developed a heavy drug habit in high school, which morphed into heroin dependency, left her homeless, sent her in and out of jail, and brought on all manner of trouble. Kicking dope on the streets, she “got clean, started the band, and worked [her] ass off every day since.”
Laughed the Boy began as an outlet for honest and unpretentious 90’s nostalgia inspired songs. After splitting time between writing songs intended for video games and his own solo material, he decided to combine the two into one project when he went into the studio with his brother Sean to record their EP “Out of the Blue”.
The band’s catchy melodies and fuzzy guitar playing drew comparisons to artists such as Weezer, Sloan, and Pavement. The two brothers added bass player Brennan Hrehoruk to the lineup and began playing the songs live. While rehearsing for shows, the trio ended up with an album’s worth of fresh material and headed into the studio once again to record their debut full length LP Here is Fine released in 2017.
After a busy year that saw the band tour while also releasing 2 new singles, the trio slowed things down and took a patient approach to writing and recording their follow up album “Change of Scenery.” Working with producer Dylan Frankland, brothers Chris and Sean spread recording sessions out over 5 months, crafting each song to represent a different mood while adding new elements such as piano and violin. “Change of Scenery” will be out August 9th.
Katrina Parker knew from a very young age that music was her calling. Swinging in her backyard in rural North Carolina, belting Patsy Cline at the top of her lungs, she felt connected to the pure joy of expression and knew it was something she was meant to do. “Music was total catharsis. It provided me both a means of escape from the world around me and a way to connect to the people around me - something lifesaving for a painfully shy, awkward kid,” Parker remembers. This love of music carried over into her teenage years and young adulthood.
After a move to LA where she worked on honing her songwriting and playing live whenever and wherever she could, Katrina found herself on Season 2 of NBC’s The Voice where she progressed into the top 8 contestants, gaining thousands of new fans and glowing nods from LA Weekly and Rolling Stone. It was a whirlwind experience that ended abruptly, leaving Parker to check off all the post-reality competition boxes. Red carpets and TV appearances became the norm, but the busier she became ‘maximizing’ her opportunity, the further away she felt from what made her love music in the first place. Her full-length album, In & Out of the Dark, was created in the turbulence of this period. “I was overthinking the entire thing, working from my head instead of my heart and missing the mark,” Parker reflects.
Feeling buried beneath the trappings of post-reality TV, Parker abruptly cut ties and stopped her promotional appearances. Her focus shifted to developing a sense of normalcy and reconnecting to that original spark, taking time to remember why she started singing and writing in the first place. The image she called back was from her childhood - swinging in the backyard, singing her heart out all by her lonesome, bathed in the natural reverb of her rural surroundings, doing exactly what she was born to do. She continued to cultivate that feeling and began writing again, this time with a clear touchstone for why she was making music.
Parker’s new album, Stars, reflects the duality of a childhood spent in rural North Carolina and an adulthood in LA, shifting between sinuous Southern roots and starry Laurel Canyon magic. Parker describes it as “Sparkling Desert Pop/Folk with a lot of warmth, a little bit of magic, and a touch of banjo.” Producer Josh Doyle of 3 Theory Music knew it was important to not overwhelm the songs with ornamentation, leaving Parker’s rich and tender voice front and center. The resulting recordings are clearly made from a place of confidence, channeling the clear-eyed nuance of Gillian Welch, the emotionality of Hozier, and the deep-rooted Americana of Over the Rhine.
Jasmine Rodgers has shared a live video recording for 'Underwater' featuring Scott Matthews. It's a refined modern folk song and this production really is quite special.
Rod Picott has a voice just made for intimate Americana music as is witnessed with 'Mama's Boy' where his raw and personal vocals are so engaging.
Folk rock (perhaps with the emphasis more on rock) comes in the form of 'Ladidadida' by Union Duke a vibrant and hook laden song from beginning to end.
Two new singles for the price of none as Mercvrial share a couple of videos for 'Carnival' and 'Otherworld'. There both from their upcoming EP 'The Stars Like Dust' and the band deliver some fabulous shoegaze mixed with dream pop.
We featured the audio for 'Skin' by Rose Ette a couple of months back, however they now have a brand new video for the song, so I thought it's a fine tune, lets give it another play.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jasmine Rodgers - Underwater (featuring Scott Matthews).
Jasmine Rodgers releases Underwater, a live recording made at Kore Studios in May. Featuring Ivor Novello Award winning Scott Matthews, Underwater also features Danny Keane on cello. “I wanted to capture us all together in one room because I think the energy is different and more intense. I’ve been fortunate enough to support Scott on his last tour and I knew it would be really fun to do this. It’s a song with deep meaning for me and both Scott and Danny got it.” Filmed by Pavel from Ropo Films, the video is available to see here.
Jasmine Rodgers is a London born musician of mixed parentage and says this has nurtured a deep love of many different genres. Her solo shows feature her complex guitar picking styles and intricate vocals, effortlessly veering from folk to rock music, which is why Ivor Novello award-winning musician Scott Matthews invited her to support him on his latest tour (last one NCEM, York, 25th Jan 2019). Her song ‘Follow You’ was recently featured on Fatea Magazine compilation.
Her solo forays take her to more folk based territory, and last August she travelled up to Shetland to perform at a sold out show with Jenny Sturgeon (Jenny Sturgeon Trio, Salt House). Jasmine also has a solid fanbase in the Japanese anime world thanks to her work as frontwoman to British rock band Boa, who wrote and performed the soundtrack to award winning anime Lain Serial Xperiments.
Jasmine is currently working on new material set for release later this year and her recent collaboration with Scott Matthews and Danny Keane has culminated with a live video recording at Kore Studios.
Rod Picott's brand-new album is Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil. Many of the new songs were promted by a heath scare that rattled Picott through the winter of early 2019.
Fact is, physicans don't make telephone calls at night. If they do, you take it seriously. "I've already called in a prescription," the doctor said when he called Picott one evening. "They're waiting for you. Your heart is about to either A) seize up or B) jump out of your chest and it will be messy. You don't have enough paper towels if B happens."
It took several weeks to chase down the devil causing the heart issue during which time Picott also underwent back surgery. In the end, the sum of his health issues informed Picott's new album profoundly in both the writing and the recording.
Along with hiis modest recording gear, Picott set about making an album as honest, raw and uncontrived as his spine would allow. Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil opens the door even wider on his typically vivid vignettes.
Webster’s Dictionary defines “Union Duke” as a raucous collision of alt-rock and twang, bringing crowds to their feet with songs from the heart.
Soaring harmonies, driving rhythm, and infectious enthusiasm have seen these five guys from youth to young manhood. With three albums, countless festival stages, and hundreds of thousands of kilometers in the rearview, the band is excited to be touring new music, filming videos, and winning new fans everywhere they go.
In the two years since their last record Golden Days, Union Duke has been steadily travelling and unravelling across the country, and they’re ready to share the lessons they’ve learned with a slate of new music. In the coming months, four new songs of love, distance, heartache and revelry will be finding their way into your ears, eyes and hearts.
International collective Mercvrial release not one but two singles - "Carnival" and "Otherworld". Both come from the band's upcoming EP The Stars Like Dust out everywhere on August 9th.
Mercvrial is an eclectic group with shoegaze and dream-pop tendencies that imprint on the sounds of Ride, Slowdive, The Chills and other artists of the like that they embraced during their formative years. On their new singles - “Carnival” and “Otherworld” - we hear thick guitar beds provide backdrop to atmospheric vocals.
Their accompanying music videos take on inspiration from Rain Parade’s “This Can’t Be Today” and Prometheus respectively, using vintage footage of carnival and sci-fi scenes. The videos also nod to VH1’s TV show Pop-Up Video, where brief pop-up factoids and comments of the band and visuals appear throughout.
The Stars, Like Dust - the new EP from Mercvrial takes its name from the Isaac Asimov work of the same moniker. It explores the size and significance of human beings on a big rock hurling through space and the ensuing feelings of existential bewilderment. The Stars, Like Dust will be available on all platforms August 9th.
Rose Ette debut new first video "Skin" from their debut album "Ignore the Feeling" (Miss Champagne Records). “You said you were ready to listen, didn’t you?” Oh get a grip, he replied, keys already jammed in the ignition. I thought you meant something serious. He revs the engine up, neck bowed toward the wheel, not at you. Nu-metal blares from the radio and squashes the silence.
What good is rock and roll without a love story? Even in 2018, among the uneven power struggles and problematic dudes, someone is going to look across the room at someone else and wish they could stand over there, instead of standing here alone. Pretty basic aspect of the human experience, yeah? But somehow, though we can define our political stances in unambiguous terms, our affection remains a mercurial subject for words. On some days, it’s easier to argue with a GOP granddad over the existence of global warming than to face that someone across the room and tell them just what magnetic force draws you near.
“Oh, boo hoo,” say the stable, the pairs coupled in high school, the loveless bachelors in IT. But in the realm of Rose Ette – ostensibly modern-day Houston, spiritually Olympia or London from two or three decades back (respectively) – the mental hurdles that block both parties from honest and true bonds are real struggles worth fighting for. With their proper debut Ignore The Feeling, our four romantics (led by singer/guitarist Teresa Vicinanza capture those challenges in a bell jar; even manic obsessions and unwanted stalkers shine with the opal glow of Lush, or Camera Obscura, or any of your favorite C86 tapes from your lost (or invented) youth.
Don’t let these bottled sprites deceive you, though - even with the sweet perfumes of girl groups and C86 tapes long gone, Rose Ette still bear claws. Three years ago, their first EP Jungle featured the unpolished diamond of “AH AH”, a shredded telegraph from a much murkier garage (and, admittedly, a completely different crew). That tempered snarl still comes out here on “Awake”, a hefty slice of Speedy Ortiz-sized fuzz to remind everyone that the battle’s not yet over: “I’m awake, but I’m running out of time.” You can’t stage a head-on assault when old enchantments still grip the blade, after all.
Mind you, Rose Ette can fire back with charms of their own when they take the stage. Back in August, the gang picked up a limited run of Ignore the Feeling LPs before their day show at Athens Popfest. Right after their blissful set at Little Kings Shuffle Club, folks piled up at the merch table for a copy, and the line backed up to the patio. Our protagonists have allured many a crowd in the past three years, jumping on bills with Deerhoof, Fred Thomas, Dressy Bessy, and La Luz, to name a few. Like a heart possessed by either desire or stress (or both at once), these illusionists don’t stand still.
Of course, all love-weary prose aside, Ignore The Feeling simply snaps a deceptively rosy thumbnail of a band in flux. And while Rose Ette might stand up for the silenced lover, don’t expect Vicinanza and her crew to soften their own voice any time soon.
Kazyak create a smooth, layered indie rock vibe with 'Smoke Jumper' there's a live feel that the video emphasises further.
'L.O.V.E.R.S' is released today as Bryony Dunn shares some vibrant, upbeat, feel good and pretty catchy modern pop.
Kacy & Clayton have just released 'The Forty-Ninth Parallel' as a taste of their October scheduled album 'Carrying On'. Their ability to mix genres with class is demonstrated here, it's Americana and more!
Rebecca Binnendyk shares 'Brick By Brick' a stylish contemporary pop ballad with something of a classic feel, her gorgeous vocals and refined musical backdrop are splendid.
Finally we have Arche with 'My Only' a beautiful indie pop song where the chorus is dreamy and the musical hooks are everywhere.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kazyak - Smoke Jumper.
"Smoke Jumper is a floaty, high-powered jam where listeners will feel swept off the ground by a strong breeze. "
Kazyak is an indie rock band based in the Twin Cities. The band has recorded 2 EPs (1 unreleased) and an LP (unreleased) and finds it's source in a deep pool of experimental music.
The live lineup includes: Peter Frey (guitar), Andy Wolfe(guitar), Pat Hayes (synth, piano), Tyler Safranek (bass), and Nick Grewe (drums).
The band finds its source in a deep pool of midwestern music, drawing on theabstract side of Bob Dylan's songwriting and lofty sonic architecture from the likes of 12 Rods, Fat Kid Wednesdays, Tiki Obmar, and Halloween, Alaska. The group has shared the stage with many, including LA indie rockers the Local Natives and Duluth-based Trampled by Turtles, and continues to collaborate closely with Minneapolis-based engineer/drummer Brett Bullion.
I’m an independent singer songwriter based in the Surrey Hills who bakes, busks and looks after a dog, 6 chickens and 3 ducks when I’m not writing and performing punchy alt-pop songs. “L.O.V.E.R.S” comes out today along with a B-side called “On Loop”. “L.O.V.E.R.S” a brassy, sassy squeeler of a song, will have you chanting about your desire for a fickle hook up in no time.
I have had a lot of support for the track from BBC introducing with multiple radio plays and a live session on the 17th July along with other local radio support.
With her heart in the past and her eyes on the future, Bryony’s glistening left of centre pop music bristles with energy from across the solar system. The young songwriter’s thoughtful commentary on life, love and 21st century online existence was first explored through her debut EP Full Bloom and is now continued with the imminent release of her new single L.O.V.E.R.S.
Growing up in the countryside of the Surrey hills, immersed in her parents eclectic record collection, an untameable passion for music was ignited by the fires of Coldplay, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush and Paul Simon. Bryony’s comfort zone was singing in school choirs and shows and one day as if pre-ordained, she was compelled to sit at the out of tune piano in the family dining room and start writing songs.
L.O.V.E.R.S is the current incarnation of a sound that is constantly evolving and mutating. The pop heroines Lorde, Taylor Swift, Florence and the Machine and Christine and the Queens are currently burning in her mind as she writes, records and performs her zesty new music.
Kacy & Clayton will release Carrying On via New West Records on October 4th, 2019. The 10-song set was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and recorded by Tom Schick at The Loft, Wilco’s recording studio & rehearsal space in Chicago, IL. Carrying On follows the international acclaim for their previous records Strange Country (which Q Magazine called “A beautiful album that nudges a classic past into a brave future”) and 2017’s The Siren’s Song (described by Uncut as “Ageless and beguiling. A classic record for this or any other time.”).
The music Kacy & Clayton make is inextricable from where they grew up. The second cousins sing about the kind of people you’d find in Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan (population very few). Their sound is equal parts homespun, coming from a family and community where playing music is an ever present part of social gatherings, and the rare country, blues, and English folk rock they obsess over and collect. It’s an arresting amalgamation of psychedelic folk, English folk revival and the ancestral music of Southern Appalachia. For Carrying On, Clayton cites as influences: Bobbie Gentry’s Delta Sweete, Hoyt Axton’s My Griffin Is Gone, Cajun fiddle music, and the steel guitar of Ralph Mooney, who played on many of the records that defined the Bakersfield country music scene of the 1950s. Sixties psych has also woven its way into these new songs; Kacy enjoys telling people that they live 250km from the mental hospital that coined the term “psychedelic.”
Having toured almost nonstop for the last two years, Carrying On was conceived and honed on the road and recorded immediately after a jaunt across Western Canada, mostly as live takes with the minimum of overdubs. The songs having been tried and tested before audiences each night with Kacy & Clayton offering, “This album has, by far, the most intense and confident performances we’ve ever done on record and I hope that intensity will be felt by the listener.”
Adult-contemporary pop artist Rebecca Binnendyk is on a mission to use her songs for greater good. The Canadian singer-songwriter, who has delivered medical supplies to the Maasai tribe and taught sex education and music to young people in Uganda, plans to pair the promotion of her second album, I Don’t Belong To You, with raising money for Plan Canada, a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls, and The Orchid Project (UK), which aims to abolish female genital mutilation which affects 3.9 million women and girls globally.
“The music is the platform, but the bigger picture and more important work is supporting women globally in social and economic ways,” says Rebecca. “I have a very deep love of people and this inner belief that anything is possible if you try. That’s very much the way I live my life.” The tango-infused title-track, “I Don’t Belong To You,” co-written with Ireland’s Mark Caplice (Eurovision) and Twin Monarch’s Rob Shiels (Taken, Ryan O’Shaughnessy) is a message of female empowerment, delivered in a sultry and strong manner that categorically says, “I am my own person.” It’s her “angry song,” she says, about men who use their wealth and power to take advantage of women and girls.
Produced by Steve Wingfield(Sandi Patty), with four co-writes with Irish duo Twin Monarch, most of the nine original songs on I Don’t Belong To You are relationship-focused, from the breakdown of a marriage in the sprightly pop of “Baby Back” to the unconditional love expressed in the ballad “I Like It When You Love Me.”
The first single, “Brick By Brick,” however, has a dual meaning. “When we were writing the song, Trump was talking about building a wall between the United States and Mexico, so we were discussing the division between cultures, races and even countries,” Rebecca says. “But it’s also about walls being built between people, inspired by a friend who hadn’t talked with his parents for years, because of a disagreement. The question we wanted the song to ask is can we accept our differences, forgive and move on?”
Through their first video clip for 'My Only', Arche embarks us into a unique odyssey with the arch of « A ».
These kiddos who seem to come directly out of the nineties, built their universe through a weirdo aesthetic with a baseline composed by colorful gym suit, mismatched outfits and all kinds of vintage object.
Plunge into the colorful Arche’s universe where the carelessness borders the insolence.
Back in March when we first featured Izzie Walsh I described her voice as "gorgeous" and her music "vibrant and pleasing". Today's release of 'Clouded Mind' reassures me that I wasn't overstating matters, as she shares another delicious slice of Americana music.
Amsterdam based singer-songwriter and film composer Daan Hofman has shared 'First delight' under the moniker of Phonettes. The song is hard to define, it's synth pop and yet it's also somewhere between Indie folk and pop, whatever it's original and catchy - that will do!
Party Hardly return to Beehive Candy for a fourth time with 'Rats In The Kitchen' another powered up alt rocker where the band lay out their message in a potent and uncompromising manner.
Elijah James And The Nightmares round off today musical sojourn with a video for 'Movie In Your Eyes'. The Liverpool indie rock band provide a creative musical backdrop and the impassioned vocals are wonderful.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Izzie Walsh - Clouded Mind.
Manchester singer songwriter Izzie Walsh has released her new single Clouded Mind, which is out now via Someone Great/PIAS.
Clouded Mind follows her recent single Sidelined, debut EP The Curse and successful single Take Me Back. With a unique sound that blends country, bluegrass, folk and Americana, Izzie Walsh has built an impressive organic fanbase over the last couple of years. Not only does she have two BCMA Awards and an Indie Week UK award under her belt, Izzie is also a former BBC Introducing Artist of the Week and recently performed on ITV’s Cold Feet.
With honest lyrics and a striking vocal, which are backed by an intricate and rhythmic melody, Clouded Mind is a modern Americana track which builds to an upbeat chorus. The track flits between the feelings of melancholy and hope, which matches the songs meaning of the different emotions and circumstances life can bring. Izzie says;
“This song is a message to say that, whatever your story, you have a chance to clear a ‘clouded’ mind from all the hurt, loss and hardship that life brings. Trust yourself, to know you’ll get stronger."
Izzie has been performing around the world over the last year, including a support slot with Curse of Lono, festival performances at the likes of Dot to Dot and Bluedot and her own sold out headline shows at Manchester’s Deaf Institute and London’s The Slaughtered Lamb. She also runs popular regular open-mic nights at the Bay Horse Tavern and Hatch in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Phonettes is the project around the songs of Amsterdam based singer-songwriter and film composer Daan Hofman.
About two years ago he started writing material from scratch with only an analog synthesizer, two guitars and a computer. He sings, plays all instruments, and wrote and produced all the tracks of the upcoming EP Algorithm Love.
The songs of Phonettes are shaped by minimalistic beats with dreamy vocal choirs, pickin’ guitars and warm analog synth sounds, even flirting with laid back techno, but preserving the song as its beating heart.
This summer Phonettes is going back in time. New single First Delight is a new-wavish synthpop song, celibrating the spark of youth. On the outer borders of childhood, where we were high on life and restless from everything that was to come.
Leeds indie outfit Party Hardly launch rousing new anthem Rats In The Kitchen, the second track lifted from forthcoming EP Modern Strife Is Snobbish, dropping later this summer.
Feverishly developing their eclectic style with aggressive punk overtones, the jangly rockers continue to impress with their politically charged output, cutting through their hometown’s fierce DIY scene with aplomb and attracting praise from all corners of the online community (The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, DIY, Dork).
“Rats In The Kitchen is a metaphor for the demonization of young people by the older generation”, states frontman Tom Barr. “Throughout history these views have seldom changed, with the irony being that our grandparents would have viewed our parents in exactly the same light. Also, we had rats in our kitchen this one time”.
Having already supported fellow indie risers The Magic Gang and Trudy and the Romance and gained BBC 6 Music airplay (Steve Lamacq), the foursome are primed to continue their ascent with a slew of live dates in the coming months.
Party Hardly’s Rats in the Kitchen is out 11th July and will be available via all digital platforms.
Live Date: 27th July – Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds.
Elijah James And The Nightmares - Movie In Your Eyes.
Elijah James And The Nightmares are an indie/rock band from Liverpool, UK. Drawing influences from Elliott Smith, Joy Division and Pixies, they burst onto the music scene in May 2017. Stepping on stage for the first time together in front of a capacity crowd to headline popular local venue, District and performing at Liverpool Sound City Festival. Since then the band have created a significant buzz around them, playing to large crowds in major cities all over the country and in September 2017 they also released their debut live EP ‘Live From Elevator Studio’.
Movie In Your Eyes is the bands sophomore single release taken from their upcoming debut double album ‘Because I’m A Giant’ which is due for release in September 2019. The single showcases an impressive sonic orchestral composition, comprising of over 15 different acoustic instruments. Combined, these instruments, along with Elijah James’s signature baritone vocal create a magnificent, intense and epic sound.
‘‘Movie In Your Eyes is a song about lost youth and gentrification. Focussing on the building on or demolishing of our favourite teenage hangouts, those places that contain our youthful ghosts and exist in our nostalgic anecdotes. It was inspired by my experiences of watching the old places I frequented as a teenager being knocked down and turned into modern, soulless, more profitable expansions. This single will be promoted alongside a cool, monochrome music video following the same themes of destruction and loss.’’- Elijah James
Movie In Your Eyes will be supported by a brand new music video. The video’s fresh concept features an overriding theme of skyscrapers and demolition. Set in monochrome, it will flick between concepts of brutalism, gentrification, and change supported by various clips of Elijah James And The Nightmares playing the single live. Like the song itself, it is frantic in parts, and smooth, slick and cinematic in others.
Basset have just released 'Waterloo' and I have to say I am mightily impressed. Their acoustic musical combination of instruments ensures they have a fresh and distinct sound and the vocals add vibrancy and energy, they are ones to watch out for, I would suggest.
Art pop band Zooni have just released their new single 'Cotton Blue' a gently paced song, where the musical arrangement is well structured with plenty of clarity for each musician and just right for the heartfelt vocals.
Finally The Switch have shared 'What If' taken from their upcoming album. The band have a refined musical approach, melodic and crisp the originality is notable, this album tease suggests their fifth full-length 'Birds of Paradise' will be a splendid affair.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basset - Waterloo.
Basset is a young and rising all-acoustic group, consisting of vocalist Yasmine Shelton, songwriter/musician Sam Clark, and twin brothers Aaron and Noah Philipp-Muller. While they draw on folk traditions from both sides of the pond with their heavy use of fiddle, mandolin and cello, their original tunes also take inspiration from old blues music (hear Shelton’s powerful vocals), 50s and 60s rock, and their shared classical background. Their inventive style has earned comparisons to The Punch Brothers, Belle and Sebastian, and Of Monsters and Men. They recently released their debut single, “Dave and the Queen of Toronto”, and are set to release their debut EP in late June.
Basset often uses the old bluegrass method of gathering around a single microphone for their live shows, filling the room with their infectious love for each other and the music they play. There’s never a dull moment between tunes either, as audiences get a glimpse into the charming – and at times ridiculous – antics of this tight-knit group of friends.
The band was formed in Winter of 2016 while all members were studying liberal arts at Victoria College, at the University of Toronto. Sam and Aaron, both songwriters from a young age, were first year roommates and fast friends, frequenting open mics around the university with their acoustic arrangements, sometimes accompanied by Noah on the cello. Still in need of a lead singer, Sam turned to Yasmine. He had been bewitched by her a capella rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” at an open mic at the college, and they had since become good friends.
Now a quartet, the band’s first gigs involved playing background music at college functions; however, the goal was always to develop their own original music. They quickly grew out of the university scene, and now, almost three years on and having left their college years behind them, the band has played some of Toronto’s premier music venues, including the Painted Lady and Lee’s Palace, as well as regular house concerts across the city. They have appeared at the Summerfolk music festival and Heartwood Concert Hall in Owen Sound, and developed a supportive network of industry professionals who view the band as a young act brimming with promise, sharing stages with The Lifers, NEFE, and Citizen Jane.
London-based art-pop newcomers Zooni have just released their new single ‘Cotton Blue’ via Square Leg Records. Big nods to the likes of Alt J, Sufjan Stevens & Broken Bells in here >>
‘Cotton Blue’ follows the April release of their debut single ‘Pany’, which appeared on the Radio X Evening Playlist, was included on Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’ and ‘Hot New Bands’ playlists, and was followed by a packed performance at The Great Escape Festival.
Discovered by Mercury and Brit award winning producer Charlie Andrew (Alt J, Nick Mulvey, Marika Hackman), the band - Peter Martin, George Godwin, Ben Clark, and Matt Glasbey - mix hypnotic beats with delicate piano, angular guitars, and haunting vocals.
Talking about the single, they explain "Cotton Blue is an introspective song about giving up on a broken relationship. It was written and demoed on a retreat to the Welsh countryside with the producer Jay Pocknell.”
Following the outfit’s previous bodies of work “We’re Fooling No-One” and the Norwegian Grammy-awarded “The Switch Album”, they return with fifth full-length “Birds of Paradise”. Lead-vocalist Thomas Sagbråten and co-author of the bulk of the album says “We tried to make a musical universe with slightly different laws of nature than real life. A bit less gravitation. The air is thicker. It’s hyper realistic, but also unreal.”
From budding seeds to the overarching themes of this viridescent volume, the septet hones something every-bit stylistically varied, surrealistically inclined and tactile, like a brightly plumaged exotic bird lost in the upper stretches of the northern hemisphere.
Second slice “What If”, from the upcoming LP pays homage to the modern man-child’s fear for getting his sh*t together. Think early-Wild Beasts with the charm of Mac DeMarco’s “Salad Days”. It vaults clichés of dream-pop and works as the perfect announcement of the album, with its enchantingly artificial birds of paradise sounds in the final quadrant of the four-minute-feat from keyboardist Arthur Kay Piene.
“The other side of the divide between me and the world might not be worth the trip”
Peter Vollset, the lyricist of the band says “The lyrics are questioning the oft-repeated notion that “proper” adult life is boring and miserable and that protesting or postponing this is just childish and selfish. At the same time, the not quite proper adult narrator isn’t exactly a beacon of self-love and sunshine themselves, so who knows you know?”
Sound technician and repeat The Switch-collaborator Christian Engfelt (Serena Maneesh, Fieh, Band of Gold etc.) decided to make this his most meticulous work with the band yet, blowing by every self-imposed deadline in a year-long on-and-off series of recording sessions which resulted in an extraordinary sounding album; coherent and tight, but with great attention to detail.
Harry Heart has released his first UK single 'Montaigne'. Within moments it's clear that Harry has a fine voice however it's the vocal delivery that sets him apart and with a fresh indie rock backdrop, this is a fabulous song.
'Bigger Than Me' from Carrie Scrimgeour is a noteworthy singer-songwriter piece, the vocals are energised and driven, supported by a simple and sturdy musical backdrop.
Children of the Sünround things off today with the gorgeous song 'Emmy' a track that exudes memories of the sixties West Coast music scene, with just enough of a modern twist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry Heart - Montaigne.
Harry Heart is one of those artists that come along very rarely in a lifetime. A dual resident and native to Sydney, Australia and East London outskirts of Walthamstow respectively. This young troubadour has come of age. Recently invited on his first ever UK headline tour, Harry captivated crowds at a total of 20 shows in just two weeks. The relentless tour-schedule proved to be worthwhile, resulting in BBC airplay and accumulating almost half a million streams across Spotify and Apple Music, driving the 26 year old into a creative frenzy, the fruits of which will fuel a series of upcoming Harry Heart releases in 2019.
The first single to be released since Harry Heart's foray into the UK is Montaigne.
Striking a perfect balance of confident, guitar-driven indie rock with a gentle desperation, evident in Heart's emotive vocals and powerful lyrics, fans of Heart's previous work will notice a common theme in Montaigne; brutal honesty.
“I learned a lot from [Michel de Montaigne]’s essays” Heart explains. “The concept that really resonated with me was showing all sides of yourself, good and bad. I channelled that idea in this song, honesty’s the best policy, people are over being filtered and refined”.
After releasing the 2018 EP First Endorphin, Harry toured Australia twice, and made his UK debut, while also performing at Australian Music Week and featuring on Apple's Best of the Week: Pop playlist. With the wheels now very much in motion, a new EP is on the horizon.
“Touring always helps improve the tracks before I step back into the studio. Lately the songs come in little waves, similar batches of tracks, so a new EP just made sense.”
Montaigne is the first taste of the forthcoming Hands in the Hive EP, to be released later this year. If the single is anything to go by, fans of the young East Londoner can expect a refreshing dose of sincerity driven directly from the giant voice and finesse guitar playing of Harry Heart.
Carrie Scrimgeour is a singer / songwriter based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Carrie has studied at the Academy of Music and Sound and the MGA Academy of Performing Arts. Carrie and her band have had tracks featured on Jim Gellatly’s New Music Podcast as “a band that’s going places”.
She has played top Scottish venues such as the O2 Academy in Glasgow, The Glasgow ABC and the Oran Mor. She has worked with West End star Kerry Ellis, singing at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh, as well as learning from Rachel Tucker, Adam Garcia and Jonathan Reid Gealt.
Upbeat and inspiring, her energetic, feel-good songs give a distinctly Scottish twist to a playlist that might include A Great Big World, Imagine Dragons and WILD. Her writing, infectious in its optimism, has shades of country rock and folk running through its veins.
“I want to give people something to smile about, and send a positive message about believing in yourself and knowing that, ultimately, everything will be fine.”
Children of the Sün releases their second single, Emmy, from their upcoming debut album. Children of the Sün brings back the best part of the vocal harmony hippie era of the 60´s and 70´s with their debut album Flowers.
The album is set for release the 26th of July on The Sign Records. Mixing blues rock with a warm feel good folk/country vibe, their sound is retro yet fresh. The band debut album holds strong influences from Janis Joplin, Free and Joe Cocker, still the band can be placed somewhere in the same atmosphere as The Allman Brother Band, Jefferson Airplane and Canned Heat. A reincarnation of the 60´s feeling of nature, soul and rock music can be found in Children of the Sün’s debut album.
Flowers holds seven songs playing for 34 minutes. Album cover is done by Maarten Donders that previously provided artwork for bands as MaidaVale, Graveyard, Blues Pills and Chelsea Wolfe. Children of the Sün hailing from the deep woods of Värmland, Sweden brings both nature and freedom to their album.
The recording was done in ES Music in Karlstad, Sweden. Children of the Sün won the Swedish national music competition Livekarusellen in 2018. In 2019 the band was added to The Sign Records rooster, the label have among other released bands as Hällas, MaidaVale, Heavy Feather and Svartanatt.
The second single from the forthcoming album by Touch the Buffalo is the title track 'Heart Is For', where the alt rockers deliver a sprightly and beautifully produced song.
Vilde returns for a third time this year with another notable song entitled 'Through The Fallopian', the vocals are once again a dominant focal point, however the musical backdrop adds some real depth to the track and the video takes that even further.
Arkansas Dave has just shared 'Diamonds' a song drenched in Americana vibes, the gentle pace and heartfelt vocals ensure this soulful track digs deep into our emotions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Touch the Buffalo - Heart Is For.
“Heart is For” is title track, and the second single to be released off of Touch the Buffalo’s upcoming album, “Heart is For”.
Band Bio: The DC-Based indie rock band, Touch the Buffalo, is a wild, heart-pounding circus of sound. Their live shows are electrifyingly fun – the raw energy of their sound and catchy melodies may cause fits of dancing.
Since their debut show in December 2016, Touch the Buffalo has released a three track EP, entitled “Ulrich”, they’ve played festivals with headliners such as Good Charlotte, Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray, and Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, and they’re set to release their first full length album in the Summer of 2019.
Band Members: Jon Johnson – lead vocals, ukulele, piano, Tyler Beard – backing vocals, guitar, piano, Jonathan Ibarra – drums.
I was born and raised in Melbourne, now I live in Stockholm. I played in a lounge-pop band as a teenager for a few years in Australia. Big limitations on creativity. Pop focused. Had a good time for a few years, got airplay on national radio & won some lame awards that were apparently prestigious. Got quite boring though. So I started Kins. A 4-piece rock band, with ideally no concept other than “no more creative limitations”.
Which of course is a farce - there’s always creative limitations of some sort. In essence I’d just swapped them out for some fresh, new and fun limitations. That spent a few years morphing from a solo project into a band which we all came to hold dear. Eventually it had run its course & we moved on to other things. So I started Vilde. Still aimless of course I decided that a fun course of action would be to release one album per year.
Which brings us to the fallopian. This is single #3 of album number 3, here’s a few words I had to say about it. “From fetus to adulthood, our options expand. These days it's overwhelming just how much choice some of us have. It can be a strong catalyst for the manifestation of FOMO & apathy. I think it's important to consider that and to take an active mental step against it. 'Through the Fallopian' is emoted upon that, it's a song of optimism and love.”
After living in Austin, Texas for over a decade now, Arkansas Dave is now finding his stride. A year after the release of his debut album, Dave finds himself writing for his sophomore record and road testing his new material. 2018 proved that this rising talent made his indelible mark in Americana and Roots rock music.
Gracing the stages of the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland to AmericanaFest in Nashville to SXSW in Austin, Arkansas Dave is looking to his future and how he plans to use the momentum he has gained since his debut.
“2018 was a good year for me. I released my debut album, toured across Europe for almost two months and gained memories & experience that has forever changed my outlook on my career. It’s given me more inspiration to write songs that really connect with my audience. After playing my record live, I feel that I need to add more originals to my set; so, I’m focused on writing new material that I can include in my live set – and towards the next record.”
In between playing shows and writing new songs, Dave has crafted his second official video from his eponymous debut album for his song, Diamonds. The video echoes the same warmth and nostalgia the song proclaims during the journey of the story. Shot on his property west of
Austin, Dave showcases his more sentimental side in this film. “We shot this video all in one day. Starting at the studio my wife and I have downtown Austin, then traveling out to our property close to Lake Travis. This is a very personal song for me, so I wanted to capture a different side of my personality; and shooting this video in my most comfortable environments really help set the tone of the film. I really enjoyed filming it.”
Arkansas Dave is back in the studio with plans on releasing individual singles while working on his next record. Cutting his first record in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at the renown FAME Recording Studios with the legendary Swampers; Dave now has the ability to record his second
album in comfort at home in Big Indie Studios in downtown Austin, Texas. With new music coming soon, you can expect good things from an invigorated, inspired songwriter looking to expand his sound and audience.
Gearing up for another set of shows in the UK next month, Dave will be in rare form performing solo in different intimate venues. Known for his high energy blues-rock shows with his band, Dave will be showcasing his songs this tour in the same way he wrote them – with only his acoustic guitar.
