From R.W. Roldan we have the new album 'Can You Feel This' and what a gorgeous album it is. His mixture of folk and Americana is melodic and produced to a very high standard, however it is the story telling lyrics that make a fabulous difference. They are totally engaging and can't but help draw the listener in, this collection of songs is thoroughly recommended for a listen!
Misty Blues recently released their 8th studio album 'Pickled & Aged. They are a natural blues band who take their music into other musical areas without losing that blues centred feel, they can add in some funk, jazz or whatever, the music remains consistently honest and quite addictive, this is a class act.
We have a music video from Acoustic Black for one of their singles 'Destiny Ride' which is also included on their forthcoming album. The bands mixture of feisty vocals, acoustic and electric rock combination is well demonstrated by the featured song, and overall there is an upbeat vibe at the centre of their music.
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R.W. Roldan - Can You Feel This (Album).
Born to an outlaw biker father and 16 year old mother, R.W. Roldan came of age in the Los Angeles of the 60’s and 70’s. His family spent a few years homeless, prompting him to join the navy at 17. His young life was full of hard circumstances and difficult environments but Roldan always seemed to soften things with his easy knack for storytelling.
Upon returning to California from his time abroad, R.W. worked all around the San Fernando Valley, immersing himself in the blues and Americana scene. He gravitated towards music and poetry, appreciating contemporary wordsmiths like Dylan and Dr. Seuss as much as American treasures such as Yates and began crafting his own indelible blend of country blues folk rock - a sound that lands somewhere between Hank Williams and Cowboy Junkies.
R.W. now splits his time between his house in the Topanga hills and a newly-purchased dwelling that once belonged to Fatty Arbuckle in Silverlake, where he’s building a studio in the basement. It was professed to be haunted for the past 12 years, but R.W. found it a suitably creative environment to craft the songs on his official solo outing, Can You Feel This, due out August 17th.
The new LP puts Roldan's adept storytelling front and center, backed by his easy going guitar, mandolin and dobro chops. Tracks like “Big Skies” and “Falling Star” paint an authentically haunting, nostalgic panorama of Los Angeles, while laidback ballads such as “Lauryn’s Song” reveal a sweeter side to the man. It’s all melted in the sweet butter sauce of producer Max Allyn who recently signed R.W. to his AllsWell Records imprint out of Nashville.
From Gina Coleman - I’m the lead singer of Misty Blues ... 2019 International Blues Challenge Finalists. Misty Blues is a female led band from Berkshire County Massachusetts playing traditional and original blues with a hint of funk, soul, jazz and tent revival gospel since 1999.
The band has recorded and shared the stage with Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers, and opened for contemporary blues artists like Tab Benoit, John Primer, Albert Cummings and Michael Powers.
Misty Blues has toured New England extensively and performed in New York City, Harrisburg, Mishawaka, Knoxville, Birmingham, Memphis and New Orleans.
The band has aired on B.B. King's Bluesville, Ole Harv's Blues Revue and Oogie Richards' Mighty Mouth Blues. The band’s original recordings have hit the airwaves throughout the U.S. and the UK.
We just released our 8th studio album on July 1, 2019 entitled "Pickled & Aged".
What would have happened if Sublime and The Clash had been set up as one band? Maybe it would have sounded something like ACOUSTIC BLACK from Freislassing (Bavaria / Germany). The Band sets up new standards to alternative acoustic-rock and is really freshing up its genre.
Bass and drums deliver an authentic rock sound whilst the special character of the costume guitar, in combination with distinctive lead vocals, form the bands unique sound. Diversifying modern arrangements round up the music and present the genre in a completely new light.
Of course, the album is about sex drugs and rock ’n’ roll but also everyday occurrences such as travelling, wanderlust and enjoying life. Also one and the other taboo subject is thematized in a cheeky and humoristic way. The 11 songs of the album will put you in a good mood straight away and will leave you wanting more.
Aweful released 'Me Me Me' a five song E.P earlier this month. A maelstrom of uncompromising rock and roll the trio deliver hook filled rock that mixes garage basics with more sonically imaginative moments and it's a blast.
A month after featuring Bjørn Tomren for the first time he returns with 'Bad Science Fiction' the title track from his album due next month. His Americana folk style is slowly paced and a little sombre on this atmospheric and beautiful song.
The Warp/The Weft were featured here with 'A Sun Filled Room' at the beginning of June, and they return with the full album (Dead Reckoning) from which that track came. I have to say this is a really good collection of material where the bands progressive folk and psychedelia is notable throughout. If you can, then listen to the whole piece, bands like this deserve to be heard, their imagination and creativity, positively demands it!
Sunscreen return for a second time this year with 'Think About You'. last time we commented that "the bands alt rock style is uncluttered, each instrument has it's space, with the vocals adding further melodic vibes". That's something they clearly have the knack for, this is fabulous song.
From Bristol (England) we have Laid Blak and their second full album 'About Time'. Fans of reggae from any era should absolutely love this band and their oh, so, fabulous music. File under "sublime".
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Aweful - Me Me Me (E.P).
Chicago’s Aweful, which features Traci Trouble (HotLips Messiah), Lucy Dekay (Mystery Actions) and Izzy Price (Velcro Lewis Group), released their debut vinyl EP 'ME ME ME' via BeerCan Records on Friday, August 2. The band celebrated the release with a show at The Empty Bottle in Chicago
and played gigs in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin the weekend of the release.
"Traci Trouble is back with a brand new three-piece combo called AWEFUL, and it’s a sweeping new sound you might not expect. Joining up with Lucy Dekay (Mystery Actions) and Izzy Price (Velcro Lewis Group), this new project juts forth with a streamlined, layered vocal and a wiry guitar tone; it’s a new direction; a subdued sonic approach with slithering dynamics and cavernous depth.
Echoing solid 80’s Gun Club and Fur Bible’s chorus pedal-soaked vibes with a wall of dripping female vocals cascading over what sounds like a primitive and ominous lost Love and Rockets outtake, AWEFUL are a welcome new breath of fresh air to Chicago’s underground sounds.
Stepping aside from pandering to the pedantic tropes of endless post-punk operatives, AWEFUL draw out a more luscious and moaning fuzzed-out experience, drilling their sticky repetition into your cortex with songs that pull you in immediately. Fans of Grass Widow, Wax Idols, and The Breeders take note; this band is turning those same corners and will soon turn those same heads.” -Todd Killings 2018.
Bjørn Tomren releases the title track from his upcoming album ‘Bad Science Fiction’, which is due for release on 20th September via Norwegian powerhouse Propeller Recordings.
The modest yet mesmerising Americana-Folk track 'Bad Science Fiction' captures a delicate Johnny Cash-esque, while maintaining Tomren's poetry-like, enigmatic storytelling.
Inspired by an article he came across, Bjørn says of the track “I wrote the song after having read an article on truth-out.org about depressed climate-scientists grieving the human caused climate changes and the impact it has on the planet and its species. Through a blog they find some comfort in sharing their mourning's. Even though it’s quite a concrete inspiration it´s not as obvious in the lyrics."
Tomren hadn't intended it to take this long before releasing his debut but life got in the way. ‘Life’ included navigating his native Norway from South to North numerous times – on skis, in a rowboat, walking – resulting in the world record for such crossings and a career path that includes studying Psychology, Greek and Philosophy, working in a mental hospital and working as a clown in a small family circus.
The Warp/The Weft, active since 2012 in and beyond New York's Hudson River Valley, has earned praise for its uniqueness and song-crafting from casual and devoted listeners alike.
Blending traditional and avant-garde styles, the warmth of a good wool sweater and the sometimes-bleak cold of an upstate winter, the progressive folk and psychedelia that the band brings to bear is propelled by poetic lyrics and a "spirit-conjuring" lilting tenor that prompted psych-folk legend Tom Rapp (of Pearls Before Swine) to ask, "Can I have your voice when you're through with it?"
The band will release its third LP, DEAD RECKONING, in August 2019. Trevor Larcheveque: Bass/Vocals, Christian Lark: Drums, Shane Murphy: Vocals/Guitar
Chris Pellnat: Lead Guitar.
Ahead of the release of their highly anticipated Falling In An Elevator EP this Friday via Spunk! Records, Sunscreen announce they will be hitting the road on an East Coast tour next month. Recently joining the New World Artists family, Sunscreen will embark of on a string of live dates, visiting Wollongong, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, kicking off Thursday 29 September.
Produced by Simon ‘Berkfinger’ Berkelman (Philadelphia Grand Jury, Art Vs. Science), Falling In An Elevator exudes a beautiful toughness across its five tracks. Reflecting the psyche of a romantically confused young person trying to survive in the big city, the EP was written over the course of years, and explores concepts like romantic idealisation, heartache and self-possession with frank, powerful vulnerability.
Following the release of 'High Over Love', a slice of dynamic, hook-driven rock, and latest propulsive and romantically charged single, 'Think About You', Falling In An Elevator sees the band find their lush, indie-rock sound informed by a new-found confidence and lucidity. The previous singles received strong online and radio support with adds to Fbi Radio rotation, triple j play, adds to Spotify's Broad Chords and Chords + Cardigans, and the accompanying music video for 'High Over Love' added to rage.
Having recently supported the likes of DMAs, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Jen Cloher and Ali Barter on tour and taking stage at Farmer & the Owl and Grampians Music Festival, Sunscreen hit the road last month in support of 'High Over Love', performing to packed out venues in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Sunscreen prepare to do it all again, with their captivating performance and unheard new material in tow.
Bristol’s Laid Blak have trailed a unique path through the music jungle and picked up influential friends on the way. They don’t come much bigger these days than this key ally – Ed Sheeran. The red-haired one is a big fan, so much so that he used a section of the band’s earlier signature tune, ‘My Eyes Are Red’( 3.6 million views on You Tube) in one of his own album chart busting songs and to close his shows.
It’s a useful thing to have in the creative locker, but Laid Blak’s new second full album, ‘About Time’, more than stands on its’ own merits. Core members, DJ Bunjy and MC Joe Peng, easily use every strand of elements that turn their ears and make a musical cocktail that is heady and delicious. There’s something for everyone, regardless of age or musical taste on ‘About Time’. It comfortably straddles styles that cover a range of bases in contemporary reggae music. And most of the time it’s anything but laid back!
Sure, the breezy album opener ‘Cool Dude’ is more low-key, the band taking the brave step of introducing themselves here with a track that is programmed riddims, rattling percussion, piano, keyboards and restrained, jazzy, minimal bass! It’s – well – cool, but filled with humour, whistling, street observed lyrics, scatter-fire vocals and am easy confidence that radiates. But after that the fare on offer heats up, seeing a glorious classic dancehall style tussle on ‘Mic Man’ with the fabulously UPFUL and agile vocals from Tita Lau adding a winning dimension. The guest female singers – Tita and the equally dextrous Tanya Lacey – add a soulful and playful dimension to other up-tempo blasters like ‘It’s A Pity’( the first single), ‘Hold On’, and ‘Serious’ which head out into anything from lovers rock to a sleng teng, old school step it, rub a dub, wrap it up, mash it groove with fat horns, melodica, wailing guitar, sound system busting bass and kicking rhythms.
There is some serious business attended to in ‘Changing’, which illustrates how priorities change in life, and how in ‘No Way Out’ and the darker, more militant Aswad era take in ‘I Feel It’, that life isn’t easy. But that period of reflection is a temporary break as it’s always the contrast of celebrating life in the cheeky, chatty Smiley Culture vibe of ‘Little Bit of This’, and the Mediterranean holiday romance possibilities in ‘Fatal Attraction’. Fresh, fun and fabulous while flowing with great tunes, this is an irresistible album of the band’s distinctive brand of street soul. It’s so powerful that the band felt the need to do a rush release of it! This is music that just can’t be contained or limited. Laid Blak don’t fail in their objective to bring ‘a fun filled sunshine dance music that keeps your feet moving and your face smiling.’ So, bang on cue, spring and summer is a’ coming, and about time too! Fire up the barbeque, slap on the jerk chicken to the flames, grab an ice cold Red Stripe and put on ‘About Time’! Let the party begin!
“About Time” is released by Sugar Shack Records on Strictly Limited (500 copies) Clear Vinyl on 16th August 2019 distributed by Shellshock and available from good retailers worldwide.
Hayley Marsten new single 'Red Wine, White Dress' is a refined country rocker that exudes quality and feeling and is a very good indicator for her forthcoming debut album.
Reina del Cid has released 'Bernadette' the first song from her 'Morse Code' due out in October. This is my first listen to Reina and clearly I am a little late to the party, nonetheless what a pleasure it's going to be playing catch up.
Miriam Clancy has shared 'The Bells' the lead off single from 'Astronomy', her first album in nine years and it's a gorgeous rocker where the solid soundtrack and her gliding melodic vocals although seemingly opposites work fabulously together.
Sarah Jane Scouten striking new song 'Ballad of a Southern Midwife' mixes folk, country and rock together which is rather good in it's own right, however it's the determined passionate vocals that really stand out.
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Hayley Marsten - Red Wine, White Dress.
Hayley Marsten has just released her new single ‘Red Wine, White Dress’ and its accompanying video. The release comes off the back of ‘Wendy’, Marsten’s most successful single to date, which received widespread airplay across Australia and peaked at #25 on the CMC charts. It was added to both ABC Local and ABC Country playlists and has received over 185,000 plays on Spotify. That’s the past and the future is ‘Red Wine, White Dress’ as well as Marsten’s upcoming debut album Spectacular Heartbreak, set for release on 30th August – pre order here.
Marsten co-wrote ‘Red Wine, White Dress’ with Brad Butcher, a Golden Guitar and QMA winner. She’d fostered the idea for a long time to describe how someone can stain your life or make you feel a little ruined – the red wine on a white dress. ‘It wasn’t until I was going through a break-up that it felt like the relationship had stained Brisbane for me in a way that meant I could write it,’ said Marsten. ‘I felt like there was nowhere we didn’t go, nowhere I could escape the grief and confusion, and it brought up all my most suppressed fears.’
‘It was incredibly confronting to record,’ said Marsten, ‘but I feel like it embodies what the album is about, the strength to show your vulnerabilities. Luckily time is the best kind of emotional wine stain removal.’ The track was recorded in LoveHZ Studios in Sydney with Matt Fell, an ARIA and Golden Guitar winning producer, while the video was shot in Brisbane with Duncan Toombs from The Filmery.
Speaking about the video, Marsten said ‘I really wanted to shoot it in Brisbane because the city is so tied up in the song. Duncan and I wanted to keep the video dreamlike to represent the haze of a confused relationship, while we focused on the two sides represented in the song: the vulnerability of the white dress and the anger of the red wine.’ It was filmed at Can You Keep a Secret, a bar in South Brisbane. ‘It was the perfect backdrop because it literally looks like it’s stuck in time,’ said Marsten, ‘and instead of heading for the obvious visual of red wine on a white dress we wanted the video to be tinged red like a stain on my mind.’
The release comes just two weeks before Marsten releases her debut album, after which she’ll embark on her first headline tour while also supporting artists including Troy Cassar-Daley and Fanny Lumsden. The tour will take her through Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania and with the new album under her belt, it’s sure to be a tour that fans will long remember.
Celebrated Minneapolis singer/songwriter Reina Del Cid has released "Bernadette," the first song from her new album MORSE CODE out October 4. Reina Del Cid's storytelling prowess shines on the song, which appears to feature a visitor from the artist's past. "It feels like I lost a friend, I find myself wondering, will she haunt my home again, oh my Bernadette."
Reina Del Cid notes that she was finishing up the album and the melody for "Bernadette" came to her and wouldn't leave her alone. "It was almost like a ghost named Bernadette was tapping me on the shoulder and demanding that her story be told. So I booked an extra day in the studio, brough the band back in, and we recorded this one on the fly with no rehearsals."
MORSE CODE was recorded at The Library recording studio in Minneaplis with frequent collaborator Toni Lindgren (guitar), Andy Mark (bass), Nate Babbs (drums) and Matt Patrick (organ), who also serves as producer. Reina Del Cid has amassed a devoted and engaged fan base with her Youtube channel, Sunday Mornings with Reina Del Cid, which began in 2017. She has amassed over 30 million views and over 127,000 subscribers. Fans eagerly await her posts on Sunday mornings, which range from folk standards to obscure tracks to originals. Those fans turn out to catch her live as well as she performs in the US and abroad. A full list of tour dates is below, and additional shows will be announced soon.
Long before she adopted the moniker Reina del Cid and developed a music career online, Rachelle Cordova was a quiet bookish kid from Fargo, ND. In the summers she tended sugar beet crops with her dad, writing down lyrics and poems in a notebook on the long drives out to beet fields scattereed across North Dakota and Minnesota. As an honors student at University of Minnesota, she met Toni Lindgren, a skilled guitarist from Fond du lac, WI, and the two formed a musical bond that has spanned eight years, four studio albums, countless tours, and over a hundred Sunday Mornings videos.
New York and Pennsylvania-based, New Zealand-bred singer/songwriter Miriam Clancy returned earlier today with "The Bells," the leadoff single from Astronomy, her first album in nine years.
"With an evocative title like 'The Bells,' Miriam Clancy announces her return with noise and urgency," High Clouds editor Arnaud Marty wrote on "The Bells". "Sounding as a reintroduction and a reinvention... there’s both an evanescent beauty and a dose of strength and self-confidence to the track, a combo that makes it assuredly magic and elusive."
Although Astronomy is Clancy's first official full-length album stateside, the album will assuredly land as a reintroduction and a reinvention to her predominantly New Zealander fanbase. Its ten songs represent a cathartic fork in the road borne out of existential crisis, including moving her and her four children to the US earlier this decade.
Crafted over several years of sessions in New York City with producer Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Astronomy brings massive changes to Clancy's sound, specifically swooning electric guitars, wurlitzers, early 90’s drum machines and analogue synths.
Sarah Jane Scouten - Ballad of a Southern Midwife.
Steeped in North American and British Folk music, Sarah Jane's music delivers a signature mix of vintage folk and country, with modern sounds and subjects.
Originally written for Sarah Jane's first album 10 years ago, Ballad of a Southern Midwife comes from the imagination of a young and naïve songwriter, cured with age, and once again released with more hell-fire than ever.
Raised in a musical family on Bowen Island BC, where harmony singing was more common than watching television, Sarah Jane commits to her roots, using her warbling voice and knack for storytelling to captivate and transport her audiences. Her songs run the emotional gamut, creating a world of characters who come alive in her often haunting and equally whimsical ballads.
Her upcoming fourth album "Confessions", recorded in Toronto with veteran producer Andre Wahl (Light Organ Records), is a further exploration of Americana sounds and song forms. It is a collection of revelatory songs -- a series of confessions -- which valorize, condemn and eulogize the most important relationships of her life to new harrowing heights.
We are unashamedly fans of the music that Annabel Allum consistently creates and 'Alter To Alter' just reinforces that. This time we have a powerful alt rocker that is packed with genuine emotion and supported by a fabulous musical arrangement.
Leeds (England) three piece Shadowlark have shared their new single 'Bleed My Heart' where synths glide within an indie pop / rock style and the atmospheric vocals develop into a dreamy chorus.
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Annabel Allum - Alter To Alter.
Slacker-pop sensation Annabel Allum’s startling development continues to gather pace with the arrival of rousing new single Altar to Alter, taken from new EP Gravel Not The Grave, set for release 13th September via cult London label Killing Moon.
Swapping shows at local pubs in her hometown six nights a week for acclaimed performances around the world, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the rise of the emerging songwriter. Her glaring potential continues to show few boundaries, with the Guildford native’s fierce indie licks scrawled across an expanding punk repertoire of vital, snarling songs that resonate deeply throughout her growing fan base.
"Altar to Alter is my protest song, and I’m super proud of how it turned out”, Annabel revealed. “It’s all about saying what you mean to say and standing up for what you believe in. In my head there’s an altar in everyone’s mind where they go and choose what they wanna change, and how they’re gonna change it. Lyrically the song has a lot of religious themes running through, because we are our own religion and our own God. We forget to respect ourselves and our own powerful abilities to change things”.
Long marked out as one to watch, the swell of praise for Annabel Allum from all corners is resounding. Long-time championed by BBC Radio 1 (Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders), she’s hit the daytime playlist, performed a live session at the iconic Maida Vale studios and featured on their SXSW stage, a festival she’s now taken by storm twice. Other notable shows include a dream-come-true emotional performance at Reading festival, as well as The Great Escape & Live At Leeds; tours with Nadine Shah, Alex Lahey and Beth Ditto have been the perfect way to cut her teeth in the presence of esteemed artists with several more opportunities lined up this autumn.
Beyond music Annabel keeps a well maintained, genuine aesthetic – this has lead to deals with indie clothing companies Bastien Classics and Cheap Monday. She has also had acoustic tracks included in feature film Spaceship (BFI, BBC).
Altar to Alter is the third single taken from the punkster’s new six-track EP (pre-order here), set for release 13th September. Recorded with Adrian Hall (Goldfrapp, Anna Calvi, Du Blonde), it promises to be the most comprehensive example of her sound and style to date. In support of the release Annabel will be taking in various festivals as well as her own headline tour this autumn.
Leeds threepiece Shadowlark have announced new single Bleed My Heart which will be released on 15th August.
Forming in the halls of their local college in their hometown of Leeds, Shadowlark first introduced themselves in 2017 with debut single Do Your Worst. After gaining support from BBC 6 Music and Radio X, they secured a publishing deal with Warner Chappell, and over the last two years, have performed shows at the likes of Glastonbury and Live At Leeds, alongside support shows with George Ezra and Dylan Le Blanc.
Influenced by artists such as Portishead, War on Drugs and Bat For Lashes, Shadowlark are proud of their Northern roots and wear their hearts on their sleeves through their introspective and emotive alt-pop sound, which is a portrayal of real-life experiences and genuine everyday reality. As the band say; “we write real songs about real things that happen, and we play them to real people who care and will connect with them because these things happen to them too.”
Following on from last year’s single Hunger, new single Bleed My Heart, produced and mixed by long-term collaborator Dan Austin (Massive Attack, Biffy Clyro, Doves), continues the band’s ethereal and poignant sound. Opening delicately with atmospheric synths and rich yet haunting vocals, the song builds to a dramatic chorus, showcasing the significant meaning about the power of talking to one another in an upbeat and mesmerizing way. Lead singer Ellen says;
“Although this song was obviously originally written about a break-up, the message really is - talk.It's not always easy, but it always helps. Anything good takes time and work, don't be afraid to talk. ‘When trouble's never spoken, no questions ever asked, nothing comes of hoping, you've got to work to make things last.’ A lot of people can relate to that in different ways, I'm sure.”
Alongside Bleed My Heart, the band also have two standalone tracks featured on Take Us Home: Leeds United, an exclusive Amazon Prime documentary about Leeds United, which has been narrated by Russell Crowe and is released on Friday. They include The Way It Falls and a cover of Marching On Together. Ellen has also re-recorded the team’s official song, which is the first time it has featured a female vocal.
North America have just released 'My Baby's No One's Girl' a melodic and earnest indie rock song that is lush and just so natural.
Seazoo share 'Throw It Up' a feisty indie pop / rock song with a message and bags of hooks along the way.
We featured 'Coming Loose from Llovers back in May and they return with 'Honestly' which is another gorgeous indie rocker.
The Achievers new song 'No One Remembers' is a refreshing and refined roots and blues rock piece with notably fine musicianship, vocals and harmonies.
From Australia we have The Jensens and their brand new album 'Hyacinth Haze' where these genre spanning musicians have created a splendid and varied collection of songs, and really are worth our full attention.
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North America - My Baby's No One's Girl.
East London quintet North America return with their latest offering ‘My Baby’s No One’s Girl’. Written, recorded, produced and released by the band themselves, My Baby’s No One’s Girl encapsulates North America’s infectious energy and charm with its soaring guitar work and lyrical poetics.
Narrated by frontman P.F. Phillip, the song is a candid letter of warning about a lover slipping through your fingers. Describing those intimate moments of a relationship they thought would never end, My Baby’s No One’s Girl is a realisation of being blinded by love as fond memories turn to bittersweet retrospect.
North America are a London based 5-piece creating viscerally energetic and introspective indie-rock that embodies the anthemic quality of their songwriting. Hailing from São Paulo and California, frontman P.F. Phillip met guitarists Gabe Coulter, Jack Rennie, bassist Sandro Giacometti and drummer Sam Roberts at the world famous Metropolis Studios before forming North America in 2017 over a refined appreciation of trashy American comedies and questionable pizza joints.
Fresh from their main stage support for The Lightning Seeds at Create Festival, North America head into the studio to record their debut EP offering.
Welsh noisy indie-pop maestros Seazoo announce their return with swaggering new effort Throw It Up, the lead single from the band’s upcoming sophomore album set for release early next year.
Recorded at Big Jelly Studios with Mike Collins (Girl Ray, Pip Blom), the group’s second full-length effort demonstrates a fresh approach and follows critically acclaimed 2018 debut LP TRUNKS, shortlisted for The Welsh Music Prize alongside acts including Boy Azooga, Gwenno, Gruff Rhys and Manic Street Preachers.
Heavily influenced by the likes of Yo La Tengo, Courtney Barnett and Grandaddy, the rousing five-piece have enjoyed significant support throughout the tastemaker community and across the airwaves (BBC Radio 1, 6 Music), with their glowing reputation as an exceptional live act leading to appearances at SXSW, The Great Escape and Green Man and slots with IDLES, The Lovely Eggs and Circa Waves.
Discussing the release, frontman Ben Trow stated: “I see a lot of people rejecting aspects of modern life, like tech, tech platforms, even careers as a way of trying to improve happiness. Some people make extreme lifestyle changes, like moving into a forest, or selling-up and moving into a van. But I also see people getting rid of their smart phones or deleting their social media. So I guess the song’s about making the decision to reject something in an attempt to improve well-being”.
Produced by Ben Trow and Mike Collins, Seazoo’s Throw It Up is out 13th August and will be available via all platforms.
Live Dates (message for press passes)
25 Aug – Golden Lion, Wrexham
01 Sept – End Of The Road
20 Oct – Swn Festival, Cardiff
Further solidifying their fledgling status as one of the North East’s finest emerging acts, Teesside risers Llovers continue their ascent with glistening new effort Honestly, the second track taken from debut EP Things That I Don’t Understand, out 30th October via Think Tank? Records.
Layered with their trademark anthemic overtones, the quintet’s immense potential is demonstrated once more in their latest psych-pop infused single, and follows their thrilling slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend alongside Dylan Cartlidge, Slowthai and The Orielles earlier this summer.
Drawing widespread acclaim throughout the online community (NME, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Dork, Wonderland) and across the airwaves (BBC Radio, 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X) over the last 18 months with a series of early releases, the band have already demonstrated their swaggering live potential supporting acts including Sundara Karma, Dream Wife and VANT and will be heading out on the road this autumn to coincide with their debut EP release.
“Sonically the track is unlike anything we’ve done before”, reveals co-frontman Jack Brooks. “We’re always really excited to show people the breadth of what we can do and Honestly allows us to showcase another side to us that I think is really exciting. It’s about sharing a momentary connection with someone. I get so caught up in these moments myself and often find myself puzzled over how real these connections are, or whether they’re merely driven through circumstance, timing and enough delusion to allow these moments to manifest in a romanticised version of themselves”.
Produced by Chad Male (Cape Cub), Llovers’ Honestly is out 14th August via Think Tank? Records and will be available on all digital platforms.
Live Dates (message for press passes)
17 Aug – Hardwick Live Festival
13 Sept – The Georgian Theatre, Stockton
Innovative Blues band The Achievers are set release their fantastic new album The Lost Arc this September 6th, have just released single No One Remembers.
The Achievers are one of the most talked about and critically new bands on the UK Blues and Roots music scene; with a reputation for innovation and originality, they prove that soul, groove and song craft still matter in the blues.
The bands brand of modern, secular ‘Dancefloor Gospel’ has catapulted them from near complete obscurity to rave reviews and big-stage appearances across Europe.
Following the success of their 2018 debut album, ‘Live at The SVA’ the UK Blues Federation have chosen The Achievers as finalists in this years 6th UK Blues Challenge, seemingly recognising the need to modernise and diversify the genre. With their infectious rhythms, joyful melodies and four-part harmonies The Achievers stand proudly as British Blues & Roots outliers.
It's been over two years in the making, but it's finally here - The Jensens rise to the top with their heavily anticipated debut album Hyacinth Haze.
Having blasted through the cosmos with the effervescent 'Coma', peered through the psychedelic haze of 'Mt. Mura', all before settling down with some soothing sax lines on 'Four Chambers', The Jensens' have taken fans on a rollercoaster of sounds, emotions and sensations across the album's three releases.
The long awaited debut LP is the result of The Jensens locking themselves away in the studio, experimenting and recording for the better part of a year. Pushing the boundaries of their sound like never before, the seven-track album incorporates aspects of prog rock, disco and electronic to the group's signature indie rock sound, a mesmerising mix which keeps things refreshing from start to end.
"The songwriting is more complex, there's more mature lyrical themes and more experimental production too" guitarist and vocalist Nathan Kendall explains, "It was written and recorded during a time in our lives where we questioned everything we were doing, as musicians, as friends, as lovers, as human beings and as a band. The album is a relinquishing of the naivety of youth and an acceptance of reality and the world around you."
The quintet are still pinching themselves from their Splendour In The Grass debut, not to mention their wins at the prestigious QUBE Effect, taking home the 'Telstra Innovation' and 'JMC Best Original Song' awards the weeks prior. Prior singles 'Coma' and 'Mt. Mura' saw spins on triple j and triple j Unearthed, racking up over 30,000 streams between them, having landed in Apple Music's 'The New Rock' playlist along with Spotify's 'New Music Friday AU & NZ', 'Indie Arrivals' and 'Chords + Cardigans' playlists.
With two EP's already released, the youthful Everybody Talks (2016) and the melancholic Sexless (2017), The Jensens have since gone on to share the stage with the likes of The Vaccines, Last Dinosaurs, Spiderbait and Twin Peaks. Adept festival stage rockers too, The Jensens have performed at tastemaker events such as Splendour In The Grass, The Blurst of Times, Mountain Goat Valley Crawl, Valley Fiesta, Jungle Love, Grampians Music Festival.
Wooden Arms latest single 'Pillar Of Salt' was released on Monday. We have to go back to September 2017 for our previous feature of the band, however this is a gorgeous song and reminded me of just how they impressed us back then with their genre spanning music.
'Old Hitler' from Dublin band BATS heralds their first new album in seven years entitled 'Alter Nature'. The song is a potent and powerful rocker that exudes excitement and drama, the vocals are embedded deep in the mix and surface with atmosphere along the way, this really is imaginative and solid rock.
Just a month on since we shared 'Sun from Laughed The Boy we now have the pleasure of featuring the whole album from which that track was taken namely 'Change Of Scenery.' Their catchy indie rock is just so likable, it's fresh, creative and unpretentious with just a little edge to some songs to keep it intriguing.
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Wooden Arms - Pillar Of Salt.
The new Wooden Arms single "Pillar of Salt" is out now! A previously unreleased song from the Tide era, it is being released in celebration of its five year anniversary. "Pillar of Salt" is available now on all major digital platforms.
Wooden Arms are a contemporary quintet from the UK that draw from alternative, classical, and trip-hop styles.
"Trick of the Light", their sophomore record due out Spring of 2017, marks a change in sonic texture from Wooden Arms' debut release, "Tide". The band's new sound is markedly more contemporary and heralds something of a departure from the classical chamber music styling of their debut. Infused with a greater use of rhythm and ethereal melodies, Wooden Arms' instrumentation has also grown to include more production and electronic elements - shaking off the shackles of ‘folk music’ pigeonholing, towards something newer, darker, more strange.
The band's evolution has not only shifted their sound - but also their composition process. Previously a solo writing process by classically trained pianist Alex Carson, the evolution of Wooden Arms' sound has transformed them into a writing trio between Alex Carson, Jeff Smith (Trumpet & Guitar) and Alex Mackenzie (Drums). Through this more collaborative style of writing the band has developed a more refined and richer sound.
Dublin avant-rock 5-piece BATS have announced details of their first new album in 7 years, 'Alter Nature', and have shared the first single to be taken from the record, 'Old Hitler'.
Having formed in 2006, the band released their EP 'Cruel Sea Scientist' in 2007, their debut LP 'Red In Tooth & Claw', produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, in 2009 and ‘The Sleep Of Reason’ produced by These Arms Are Snakes’ Chris Common in 2012. Sporting their own brand of science inspired metal/post-hardcore and surprisingly danceable post-punk, the band have received critical acclaim from the likes of the Quietus, NME, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound and more.
With the forthcoming release of their third studio album ‘ALTER NATURE’, BATS seek to continue their ongoing quest of promoting science and reason while combating superstition and pseudoscience with blastable riffs and existential grooves. This evident on the new single 'Old Hitler', with the band explaining:
"Old Hitler was a legendary giant hammerhead shark, nicknamed by US naval officers in the midst of WWII. This song posits the question... what if Old Hitler showed up at the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945? What carnage would he have wrought? This question and many more answered on ALTER NATURE."
'ALTER NATURE' is a full-frontal attack to all of the senses. BATS incredibly idiosyncratic and cacophonous yet entirely rousing experimental noise-rock delves into intelligent and complex territory both lyrically and musically, but BATS understand that it need not exclude it from having a raw, rhythmic energy and a strong sense of melody.
This translates perfectly into their live shows and has seen the band earn plaudits and fans playing alongside the likes of The Locust, These Arms Are Snakes, The Jesus Lizard, Gang Gang Dance, Sebadoh and Chrome Hoof. BATS will also play this year's ArcTanGent festival with further live dates TBA.
7 years in the making, the band have purposefully set about honing and crafting these tracks with precision and dedication. If you’re lucky enough to have heard BATS before or have even seen them live, then this incredibly strong third effort should be instantly recognisable as a consummate and direct snapshot of the devastatingly efficient unit; let alone as another step towards wherever the band might take themselves. If you're still yet to hear them, then you could have picked no better space-time.
Laughed The Boy's brand new album is now out and it's called, Change of Scenery.
For this LP, Laughed The Boy had to jump out of their comfort zone. The band went into the studio not knowing how the songs would sound and gave themselves enough time to play around with new ideas. There were a lot of firsts on this album, like the first time playing piano on their recordings and the first time they had someone record violin for them.
Laughed The Boy's previous album, Here is Fine, was recorded over three, straight sweaty days on a hot August weekend in 2016. Change of Scenery, on the other hand, was recorded over the course of a week that spanned from August to December of 2018.
It really let the songs breathe and gave the band time to reflect on what they were working on. There were many times where they went down a rabbit hole with producer Dylan Frankland. They were never really satisfied with an initial idea, they always wanted to see where else they could go. If something sounded too pretty, Dylan would step in and say it needs to sounds weirder or darker, and the group would know exactly what he meant.
Codewalkers brand new single 'Roadman' sees the bands eclectic mixture of rap, rock and reggae working beautifully, there is an instant hit of vital energy and a groove that is fabulously hypnotic.
The Blue Highways have released a video for 'He Worked' ahead of their debut E.P due out on the 23rd August. Already gaining recognition within the Americana community it has to be said that this song is a right little rocker that fires off hooks in all directions.
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Codewalkers - Roadman.
Cardiff's Codewalkers return with their brand new single 'Roadman'. After being selected for this years BBC Horizons project, figure headed by BBC Presenter Bethan Elfyn, Codewalkers find themselves with more momentum than ever.
Cardiff-based brothers: Producer, Ben Dabson and Guitarist, Dafydd Dabson, have been making noise together since before they could talk. Codewalkers was formed in 2016 when they recruited vocalist Seun Babatola to provide a message to their music. The trio were joined in 2018 by Bassist Chay Lockyer and Drummer Aled Lloyd.
Their music is a mix of rock, rap and reggae. Ambitious in scope and featuring a mix of live and electronic instruments, it moves from catchy reggae hooks to hip-hop grooves. Often drawing on his childhood experiences in Nigeria, lyricist Seun Babatola can cover serious issues in his writing - gender, violence, societal expectations - but the music is always full of life and energy. It makes you dance, it makes you think.
A few words about 'Roadman' by Seun - Codewalkers Lead Singer "Roadman’s based on the feelings of inadequacy we all have as we start off in our journey into independence, some later than others. It’s a fact that our society is increasingly expensive when you’re young or without resources. ‘Living in my mum’s basement’ is still something people get dissed for, when in fact it’s the only affordable option.
It also deals with the pressure to be more: more dangerous, more confident, more wealthy, etc. The image versus the reality. I remember being broke, living at home, still studying while everyone else seemed to be making money and climbing that corporate ladder, making waves in their respective fields. At the end of the track is the calm realisation that we are what we are. I am a Roadman. Not because I’m a gangster, not because I make paper. I’m a Roadman because I’m confident and competent and still too broke not to be chasing dreams on the street level."
Formed in early 2018, London based four-piece The Blue Highways have already supported some of the biggest acts in the genre, including Iris Dement at the Sage Gateshead, and Bennett Wilson Poole on their first UK tour.
They now announce the release of their debut eponymous EP, due for release on August 23rd 2019.
A commanding live act with big vocals, close harmonies and narrative led songs; The Blue Highways are three brothers Callum Lury (Vocals / Rhythm Guitar); Theo Lury (Drums), & Jack Lury (Lead Guitar) and Bass guitarist Peter Dixon. The band were noticed early on by the Americana Music Association as ‘ones to watch’, before being offered showcase slots at Summertyne and AmericanaFest. Bob Harris and his team also took a keen interest, with the band recording a Under The Appletree session, whilst appearing on numerous stages for them both last year and over the year ahead.
The four-track EP combines songs of love and life with the first single He Worked questioning life choices, possible regrets and not always playing by the rules, whilst Matter Of Love, co-written with Dave Burn of Orphan Colours, follows the ending of a relationship, knowing it should end, but neither person having the guts. The EP effortlessly eases from biting guitars and bluesy pianos riffs to stripped back acoustic and pedal steel.
The band also appeared at numerous festivals over the past 18 months including Country2Country at the O2, Ramblin' Roots and Country in the Afternoon. They are also regulars on the London gigging circuit having recently played with Wildwood Kin, The Fargo Railroad Co, Speedbuggy USA and Matt Woods and the Natural Disasters.
The Wedding Present have shared a taste of the re-recording of their 1989 album 'Tommy' with 'Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy! Titled 'Tommy 30' the re-work of this early compilation material feels like an upgrade, the experience, maturity and warmth adds so much more, as does the overall production. This is not a nostalgia trip, rather a recognition that The Wedding Present circa 2019 can reinterpret older songs and breathe new and relevant life into them and boy do they achieve that.
Louise Lemón has released a new single comprised of 'Almond Milk' and the B side an acoustic version of 'Not Enough'. Our fourth feature for Louise, her previously described death gospel has moved more towards psych rock without losing any of the atmosphere or originality that has consistently set her apart from her peers.
We have a new lyric video from Sis and the song 'Moon at the Peak' a gentle dreamy piece taken from their 'Gas Station Roses' album. It's a little genre defying, however it's also quite gorgeous.
Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster has a new album entitled 'Take Heart, Take Care' due for release at the end of this month and from which we have 'Educated Guesses' as a preview. His style of indie folk and notable vocals pretty much explain the huge number of streams the previous album received, this song suggests that trend will continue.
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The Wedding Present - Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy!
Brighton UK's The Wedding Present return with Tommy 30, a re-recording of their essential early tracks compilation Tommy on HHBTM Records (North America) - Scopitones (Europe).
George Best became The Wedding Present's first album in 1988. But Tommy, released one year later, was made up of the early songs from the singles and radio sessions that had catapulted them from being bedsit musicians into indie darlings: "Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy!" with its purposefully super-fast guitars, "You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends" an anthem for those long time Wedding Present fans, "My Favourite Dress" the only single in the collection that ended up on George Best, the classic, fraught tale of losing one's first love that perfectly played on the heart strings and began David Gedge's legacy of understanding everyone's heartbreak.
Tommy 30, a brand-new re-recording of Tommy, did not come about simply as a "follow on" to George Best 30. The band felt, during a Tommy 30th anniversary concert tour, that the songs had grown and evolved. Enter a more confident vocalist... an altogether growlier guitar. A bigger sound. The urgency of a 25-year-old Gedge is replaced with a charming vocalist with years of experience. Everything's warmer and, maybe, gentler... but in a satisfying way. It's like your old friends have come home to see you.
Louise Lemón is releasing new single ‘Almond Milk’, the latest cut from her album A Broken Heart Is An Open Heart.
The Swedish artist pairs soulful vocals with the macabre undertones of Chelsea Wolfe and Lorde. Stark, reverberating guitars cut through forlorn lyrics as the song builds to its melancholic climax.
Louise tells us that ‘Almond Milk’ is about "not letting go of the thought that your love would last forever. A bittersweet feeling that I’d stay no matter what. Regardless of what happens and not being able to see that the love has run out."
Her latest full length is an album of psych-rock tinged pop that was produced and mixed alongside regular collaborator Randall Dunn (Chelsea Wolfe / Thurston Moore / Algiers) in Copenhagen and New York.
The album has been taken on the road with a European tour with Sólstafir (IS, several shows at Eurosonic ESNS (NL), a well-received Roadburn Festival appearance (NL) and a Scandinavian tour.
Gas Station Roses, Sis’s second full-length album, is the Berkeley-based band’s devotional document of six months spent in the dream zone of the studio. Lovingly made, with earthen percussive elements, chance technique, inside a glimmering forest full of synths and guitars, the album reunited Sis for their most assertive musical statement yet.
It all started with a visit to Lark in the Morning, a legendary store full of percussion instruments in Berkeley. The band left with a gopichand, a one-stringed lute from Bangladesh, a huge African drum, and pan flutes. Meanwhile, singer and multi-instrumentalist Jenny Gillespie Mason, also the founder of Native Cat Recordings (Meernaa, John Vanderslice, Luke Temple, Brijean) was writing at home on an OP-1 synth and tenor guitar, and readying her sketches to bring to co-collaborators and husband and wife team Carly Bond (electric guitar, flutes, vocals) and Rob Shelton (synths, programming), both of the band Meernaa.
Originally envisioning a quieter acoustic album to complement the darkly swooning r ‘n b of their debut album Euphorbia (Native Cat Recordings 2018), once in the studio, the band started playing each other songs by other artists before getting to work on anything, such as “Shadows from Nowhere” by the obscure dream-pop 80s band Blue Gas, the feminist and funky album Raw Like Sushi by Neneh Cherry, and the anthemic weirdness of Toto. It seemed, rather than head towards quietude, the band was keen on recreating the dramatic, layered beauty, the dance-ready and big moments of 80s-era recordings. Unabashedly drawing from the well of that musical era’s emotional yet funky potency, you can hear Blue Nile, Grace Jones, Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel in the elegantly shifting soundscapes of the album.
A longtime solo artist, Mason did not intend to form a band. When she stepped into the studio with Bond and Shelton in 2017, who, by chance assignment, were her engineers for a solo project at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, she had no idea where the session would take her. Being a mother to a toddler and a baby at that point, Mason was unsure if she could fit music into her life again. But with Bond and Shelton, the recording process was so fun and unpredictable, and the undeniable lure of creating music together so strong, that any fear of balancing art with the raising of children was stamped out. The trio emerged from the studio a few months later as bandmates and co-producers, having completed their debut album, Euphorbia (Native Cat Recordings 2018).
Gas Station Roses’ songs travel through varying emotional states just like one going through one’s own life, but each song is marked by hopeful tenderness. There’s the grungy lust-driven rock of “Weathered Romeo,” the plaintive Japanese pop-influenced ballad to a suffering partner, “Moon at the Peak,” the Afropop-tinged “Automatic Woman” with its message of defiance against misogyny, and the robust compassion of the final song, “Human Poses,” in which Mason sings “they’re roughin’ heaven up…turn it all off, I”m gonna turn it all off.” Going into the studio during a turbulent time on the Earth, turning it all off, gave Mason a therapeutic way to understand and cope with all that was happening politically, while trying to offer something beautiful back to the world. In her words, Gas Station Roses is about “desiring life so badly still as a grown-up, getting the joy and beauty in big gulps, but also recognizing its limitations, corruptions, and sadness, more than I ever would as a child. And in the face of that, choosing to smile and stay awake to the beauty around us.”
Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster's new album 'Take Heart, Take Care,' is due out August 30 on Big Legal Mess. The former Water Liars (14+ million streams on Spotify) indie-folk artist has earned raves from NY Times ad NPR and fans like Julien Baker and opening slots for Pedro the Lion but he's outdone himself on his sophomore record.
Musically, the Arkansasan's signatures are there: a sort of windswept soundscape; his vulnerable tenor; gorgeous melodies; and guitar figures that weave from Americana touchstones into unexpected indie rock territory. Lyrically, it's his most nuanced work to date; it's a result of finding a life with some balance in it.
Whereas much of his previous work explored darkness, there's a sense of curiosity on this album that's illuminating, examining different aspects of life (including darkness). As with his strongest work, it conjures humid Southern nights and kudzu-encased vistas but with unpredictable scenes and lines that cut to the core. I'm telling you: this is a great, great record.
Bridal Party return just a couple of months after we first featured them, this time with 'Speak Easy' just ahead of their debut album release. Once again the bands art pop is beautifully melodic and imaginative, the albums looking good.
Indie rock band Suggested Friends share a music video for 'Cygnets' a deliciously melodic rocker and a slightly paranoid video.
Just a month after his first UK single 'Montaigne' Harry Heart is back with 'Work It Out'. Once again his vocals really impress, the alt rock arrangement adds further originality, the forthcoming Hands in the Hive EP, is out 6th September.
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Bridal Party - Speak Easy.
Victoria, BC art-pop quintet Bridal Party have always had the goal of making pop music they like. Now with the approaching release of debut full-length Too Much (due August 23rd on Kingfisher Bluez) the band find themselves at a critical moment: as songwriters and collaborators presenting their personal vision.
Principal lyricists Suzannah Raudaschl and Joseph Leroux formed Bridal Party with bassist and producer Lee Gauthier and drummer Adrian Heim in 2015. Jordan Clairmont joined on keys in 2017. Their initial EP release Hot Daze (2015) found chart success on college radio and some modest but promising support through placement on Bandcamp Weekly. Their second EP, Negative Space (2017) charted well and lead to six-figure streams of lead single Fruitless on Spotify. Beatroute (BC) magazine describes Bridal Party as “a perfect marriage of indie pop and soul.”
The band recorded Too Much over three separate week-long immersive studio visits in 2017 and 2018. This disparate recording process would ultimately undo and reform everything the band knew about their sound. A playful and unflinching lyrical voice was honed, drawing on themes of care and self-love as well as their sombre opposites. Each players’ particular handle on their instrument resonates without tuning out the chemistry of influence the members enjoy with one another.
The resultant record is a vibrant collection of songs of uncanny intimacy, thriving from experimentation in studio that remains honest to the band’s live set. Whether it’s the confessional lyricism and feathery textures of “When I’m Naked”, the plaintive riddle and bedlam of “Armour”, or the celebratory disco of the title track, Too Much shines a light on the band’s interior joys and terrors in equal measure.
A broad sonic landscape that shares territory with Crumb, U.S. Girls, and early work of The Cardigans, Too Much is due Friday, August 23rd, accompanied by a relentless tour schedule.
Suggested Friends are an indie rock quartet with a firm grounding in queer identity, fusing DIY punk roots with the interweaving guitars of 90s indie and a sometimes tongue-in-cheek take on the performative masculinity of 80s rock. There’s a tenderness to their songwriting, with lyrics reflecting on cultural malaise, trauma recovery and the banal absurdity of everyday life. Personal politics can come with an incisively dry sense of humour too.
Turtle Taxi is their second album and demonstrates just how far they’ve come from the raw, scuzzy sounds of their DIY debut; unrepentant in letting the pop hooks loose. The choruses are big, harmonies frequent, and guitar solos abound - this is a lush, textured leap forward. Suggested Friends are more confident, acknowledging emotional pain and exploring how this affective space elides with a more expansive sense of injustice in the world.
On "Pretty Soon Your Grave Will Be A Landfill" the earnestness and absurdity of gaslighting politicians is laid bare, through to the futility of naming social ills and not acting on them on "At Ease". The album’s title track, "Turtle Taxi", talks about the relationship between love as a labour and the focusing in on life as an opportunity for that to flourish in all directions – (‘teach ‘til I die, let this all pass by…’).
The quieter numbers on the record, such as "At Ease" or "Blooms", recall folkier inspiration such as The Weather Station and Hiss Golden Messenger, through to the alt-pop oddness of "Nilufer Yanya" and "Blood Orange". But for parallels as a socially conscious, high-energy and vulnerable punk pop band, think Martha or Charly Bliss - though they’d argue for that perfect sweet spot between Weezer and Abba!
Recorded in rural Norfolk over two separate sessions a year apart, album was able to flourish into a more collaborative effort, incorporating Faith’s wife Meghan on percussion and Sickroom Studio's Owen on trumpet - plus plenty of time to experiment with overdubs and piano flourishes to up that classic-rock vibe that simmers just under the surface.
Suggested Friends formed in late 2015 following a chance meeting at a gig between Christabel (drums) and Faith (guitar and vocals). They were soon joined by Jack on guitar, who had met Faith through an activist group in London. Mammoth Penguins’ Emma Kupa is the most recent addition on bass, having worked with Faith on a number of projects over the past four years.
Still bathing in acclaim from the likes of BBC Radio 6, Amazing Radio and Record of the Day after the recent release of his last single Montaigne, Sydney via Walthamstow London artist Harry Heart shares the solemn and smooth-tongued new single Work It Out from his upcoming EP.
Earlier this year, Harry Heart was invited on his first ever UK headline tour, 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.
The second single to be released since Heart's foray into the UK is Work It Out, from the upcoming Hands in the Hive EP. Work It Out exudes indie-rock maturity with lyrical prowess, gritty guitar work, and a mix of urgency and poise in its delivery. Heart unpacks the origin of the song:
“I was listening to so much Otis Redding for a while there, I wanted to hear my take on Soul. That tempo’s a great platform for lyrics. The track talks about the strains of balancing ambitions with good relationships, trying to stay sane and keep problems at bay.”
After releasing the 2018 EP First Endorphin, Harry Heart 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.
Work It Out is just a taste of the forthcoming Hands in the Hive EP, out 6th September.
