Still Corners - Konsequence - Tired Kid

Still Corners have released the title track 'The Last Exit' from their fifth studio album due out in January 2021. We are a little bit late to the party with this song, however it's just to good to let pass by and gives a good feel for their next musical journey. === Konsequence have shared 'Oh, Look At The Time' and it's a paced and rhythmic song with the vocals immersed in a richly textured musical envelope. === Tired Kid shares 'Make Time' which has a beautiful and timeless alt rock feel to it, a sense of looking back and reliving times gone by, without being overly sentimental.

 

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Still Corners - The Last Exit.

The Last Exit is the fifth studio album from Still Corners, which will be released on 22nd January 2021 on Wrecking Light Records.

With the shimmering desert noir sound the band has become known for, The Last Exit takes you on a hypnotic journey, one filled with dilapidated towns, mysterious shapes on the horizon, and long trips that blur the line between what’s there and not there. Greg says, “We found something out there in the desert – something in the vast landscapes that went on forever."

The Last Exit consists of eleven beautifully crafted songs with organic instrumentation, clean-toned guitar, spacious drums and the smoky croon of Tessa Murray. Album highlights include “The Last Exit”, “White Sands” and “Shifting Dunes” all of which evoke the vast space of the desert and rolling unconcerned skies.

The album was brought further into focus by the pandemic when almost everything was forced to stop. Tessa explains, “There's always something at the end of the road and for us it was this album. Our plans were put on hold – an album set for release, tours, video shoots, travel. We’d been touring nonstop for years, but we were forced to pause everything. We thought the album was finished but with the crisis found new inspiration and started writing again.”

It was in this context that songs like ‘Crying’, ‘Static”, ‘Till We Meet Again’ were written, reflecting on the impact of isolation and the need for social contact and intimacy.

First single, ‘The Last Exit’ is the final chapter of the Still Corners’ Road Trilogy. What began with ‘The Trip’ and was followed by ‘The Message’ concludes with the stunning ‘The Last Exit’.  The video, inspired by the 1975 film Picnic at Hanging Rock, finds Tessa pulled into the mysterious rocks of Joshua Tree.  Tessa explains -

"In a world where everyone thinks all the corners of the map are filled in we like to suggest there's something beyond that, something eternal in the landscape and in our psyche.  Maybe you don't see it every day but it's there and that's what we are trying to connect to."

With a galloping beat, teardrop vocals and silver-tone guitar, The Last Exit races down a lonely highway to destination unknown. Elegant and searching with a grand piano ending, The Last Exit will remind you of another world beyond the one you see.

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Konsequence - Oh, Look At The Time.

Red-eyed, sleepless nights filled with existential crises and tormented dreams are the order of the day on Munich outfit Konsequence’s new track ‘Oh, Look At The Time’. 

Centred around the fear of losing out on opportunities, and lethargically letting life pass you by, the track conveys these emotions through deadpan lyrics and sarcastic wit.

Munich-based brothers Tom and Mike Zitzelsberger have made music together for most of their adult life. Their familial bond allows them to be completely candid with each other – able to express their creative ideas without fear of judgement or rebuke.

Producing emotionally charged electro pop with post-punk affectations, the pair have previously collaborated with the likes of Rome Fortune and Rory Fresco. Nostalgic synths are backed up by motoric drums; melancholia and teenage trauma are countered with a sense of optimism.

Konsequence · OH, LOOK AT THE TIME

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Tired Kid - Make Time.

New single, “Make Time,” takes an autobiographical look at Tired Kid’s day-to-day life; some of it mundane but relatable, ultimately attached with a bit of happiness.

Tired Kid is the moniker for Thomas Kelly, a musician/composer based in Toronto. Thomas tries to create music with a vintage warmth and psychedelic nature. 

Inspired by bands from all eras of time, he picks out elements from each like a florist picking out flowers to create a bouquet of sound for eager ears to listen upon. Pure familiarity, pure nostalgia.

tiredkid55 · 02 MAKE TIME

Cajsa Siik - Grace Gillespie - Anne Malin

Cajsa Siik  hit our radar a few times in 2017 and it's great to have her back with Part 1 of her new album 'NINJŌ PT1' from which we have the first track 'This Is Not Malibu' which is an excellent example of this fabulously crafted collection of music. === Grace Gillespie makes her fourth appearance here this year with 'Hoppers' and once again her creative and melodic music shines beautifully. === Anne Malin has released another song from the forthcoming album 'Waiting Song' this time we have 'Hourglass' where the rich musical backdrop supports heartfelt and superb vocals.

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Cajsa Siik - This Is Not Malibu.

Cajsa Siik is back in force on the new album "Ninjõ". The album, produced by Siik together with Erik Moberg, shows an artist who once again manages to invent herself by being playful, stripped down and powerful. "Ninjō", which will be released in two parts in 2020/2021, has all the ingredients that characterize an album signed by Cajsa Siik: strong melodies, stripped-down arrangements with precision and lyrics that go straight to the heart.

Cajsa Siik describes one of the singles ”Gate Keeper” like this - ”Gate Keeper is one of the key songs on the album. Like a little backbone.The melody wrote itself and has an ease about it, yet the lyrics is all about tension and resistance. I guess it’s about the art of trying to be there for someone else. Still be there for yourself.To be someone to count on in life and to trust, despite all your destructiveness and flaws. Maybe it’s when you dare to accept the shit that you carry around that you can fully be there and be loved?When you stop ignoring what scares you the most.”

Cajsa Siik released her debut album in 2012 and has since put out 3 studioalbums and 1 EP. Over the years she’s been praised in international media outlets such as Q Magazine, BBC6, Line of Best Fit and Nylon. Her latest album, ”Domino”, took her on a European tour supporting Mitski added to performing her own headline shows in Berlin and London.

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Grace Gillespie - Hoppers.

Grace just released a new single from the EP, “Hoppers”. The track takes influences from the folk, alternative and dream-pop traditions capturing the frantic energy of life and contrasting it with the stillness of death, providing a backdrop to her intriguing vocal melodies.

Grace Gillespie is a London-based artist and producer originally from Devon, who spent much of 2017 touring as part of the live line-up for 4AD’s Pixx. In 2019 Grace received PRS’s WMM funding and consequently released her debut EP ‘Pretending,’ which garnered support from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, Clash and Earmilk. This year she has received support from the ‘Help Musicians’ ‘Do it Differently’ award, and is using this to release an EP in the autumn. Some of her notable live shows include supporting James Morrison at Dingwalls, Camden and headlining the folk stage at Tipping Point festival in Newcastle. 

 Her first two singles found their way onto Spotify’s ‘Fresh Folk’ playlist and received extensive support from Apple Music, appearing on their ‘A-List’ and ‘Best of the Week’ playlists, as well as backing from NME, Crack In The Road and The Wild Honey Pie. Her most recent singles have been playlisted on Spotify’s ‘Fresh Folk’,‘Garden Indie’ & ‘The Lovely Little Playlist’. She has received radio plays from BBC 6 music as well as being a featured artist on BBC Introducing London. Her early demo of ‘Restoration’ saw her tipped to Q Magazine by Newton Faulkner and brought her to the attention of Kaleidoscope, who worked with her to produce her first solo releases in 2018. Her sound takes influences from the folk, alternative and dream-pop traditions, providing a backdrop to her intriguing vocal melodies, shifting harmonies and introspective lyricism.

Grace Gillespie · Hoppers

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Anne Malin - Hourglass.

Quote from Anne Malin Ringwalt on the track: “Hourglass” started, lyrically, from my sense of detachment from time during the pandemic. When I wrote “somewhere an hourglass stands at night / sand slips by in the moonlight” I was feeling—at the depth of Will and my unemployment—out of control but loving the experience of how dense our days together were, how our days blurred together. I was picturing time as something far away from us. The image of sand inside the hourglass got me thinking about summer, though, and all the ways I’d enjoy my time pre-covid. As I wrote, I moved from this sense of temporal bewilderment to my relationship with Will. We’re getting married late this summer, so when I sing about “last July” I’m singing about Will proposing to me—how time seemed to be opening up for us then, the possibility we felt. How does one enter that sense of possibility from a pandemic? I tried to sing towards that.

Some of you may remember Anne Malin's last record, the atmospheric and intense Fog Area (2018), which I had the honor of working. Since then, the duo has relocated to Nashville from South Bend (they're originally from NC and Kentucky) and, while struggling like the rest of us with the onslaught that has been 2020 (unemployment, pandemic, sickness) has crafted the sublime Waiting Song, a record about what it means for everything to stop, which I'm sharing with you today. This is not a wallowing, though. In their words, they sing "towards a garden they wish to inhabit."

The ghostliness and atmosphere of Fog Area are still present here, as are Anne Malin Ringwalt's distinctive vocals and excellent lyrics (she is also a poet, publishing under the name AM Ringwalt), but there is also a new glow and energy in her partner William Johnson's wonderful instrumental settings (and his increasing use of pedal steel), which add a balancing playfulness and earthiness. Waiting Song stays true to the duo's always idiosyncratic vision while allowing  country and pop influences to creep further in and create some truly memorable songs.

Flora Hibberd - Lone Kodiak - The Bats

Flora Hibberd is back with a new single and video for 'I'm Gonna Leave You' ahead of next Friday's 'Archipelago' E.P release. Last year we had the pleasure of featuring Flora on four occasions and the new collection of songs showcases her wonderfully distinctive vocals alongside some beautiful musical arrangements. === Lone Kodiak deliver some powerful alt rock with their new song 'PDX '97'. It has all the vital ingredients for a stadium style sing-along anthem, and plenty of passion to reinforce the piece. === Back in 2017 we shared a couple of fine songs from The Bats and the long standing New Zealand indie band are back with 'Another Door' where their ability to create fresh new and fabulous songs remains intact.

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Flora Hibberd – I'm Gonna Leave You.

Flora Hibberd was born in London and lives in Paris. In 2019 she released her debut EP, The Absentee, with London-based indie Clearlight Records. Autumn 2020 sees the release of her second EP, Archipelago, recorded in Burgundy at the turn of the year. 

Flora has numerous smaller projects that you can find on Bandcamp and Youtube, including a collaborative album produced during confinement, and covers of songs by artists including Jason Molina and Townes Van Zandt. 

Archipelago will be released on September 25 2020. Recorded at New Year’s over eight days in a country house in Burgundy, the five songs travel the landscape of love and loss, the terrain of a relationship that is failing –or at least changing –where we simultaneously encounter the joy of freedom and the pain of letting go. Archipelago was arranged and produced by Paris-based Viq, who says, “Flora has a remarkable ability to generate original melodies and intriguing lyrics. 

There is something particularly moving about her deep vocal presence and the subtleties of her renditions. My work consisted only in accompanying them to territories that perhaps seemed unexpected to her –but where we finally met.”Of the EP, Flora says, “these five songs stand for a memory specific and universal. Rupture in its phases, ever-shifting and nonlinear. Love and loss and enduring love. Here, a cluster of islands in an un-distant sea.”

 

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Lone Kodiak - PDX '97.

is an east-Los Angeles based rock trio loosely inspired by (without being derivative of) Hum, Explosions in the Sky, The Cure, and Deftones. Founded in 2016, the band released 2 EPs, became a feature of LA’s independent venue circuit, and was among BuzzBands.LA’s Bands to Watch in 2018 before a serious motorcycle accident involving bassist Daniel Alden sidelined them for most of 2019. 

The unscheduled pause gave them time to reflect and refocus, shuffling their roster by adding drummer Josh Harris and returning furiously in July 2020 with “Make It a Weapon,” produced by Kyle Mangels. 

It’s the first single from their forthcoming 6-song collection, a song lead singer/guitarist Dainéal Parker described in a recent interview with BuzzBands.LA as “motorcycles and protests and getting in trouble.”

Having wrapped production just before the pandemic hit, Lone Kodiak hopes a drawn out release schedule and effective marketing of their new catalog will land them a solid tour in 2021.

LONE KODIAK · PDX '97

 

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The Bats - Another Door.

The Bats have kindly shared a second single, ‘Another Door’ from their upcoming album ‘Foothills’. Guitarist and vocalist Robert Scott has said on the single, “This song is wee ditty about opportunities both missed and taken. It came together really quickly with the band.” Although more lyrically reserved than other songs, ‘Another Door’ is fuelled by familiar and overwhelmingly lush harmonies and features a hypnotic tremolo guitar motif woven throughout. The anticipation for ‘Foothills’ to land on November 13th is ever-growing!

“When meaning falls down and we’ve all left this place. And nothing seems to fit, now we’ve left the race behind
Today”

The video for ‘Another Door’ was filmed not far from where the band recorded their upcoming ‘Foothills’ album and was a collaboration between The Bats’ very own Paul Kean, and FlowStateFPV. Acting as a snapshot of where ‘Foothills’ was immortalised, the video also plays around with hidden (and not so hidden) meanings — but what one takes from it is truly up to the viewer.

Spanning the last 38 years, The Bats have now clocked ten incredible albums; each one seeing the band evolve with new material from the prolific songwriting hand of Robert Scott —and their upcoming Foothills is no exception. Add to that tally the extra singles, b-sides, EPs, compilations and tribute songs they’ve recorded, creating a succinct setlist is a nearly impossible task.

Foothills was recorded in Spring 2018 at a country retreat pop-up studio. At that time, 15 songs were captured and immortalised in the Canterbury foothills of the Southern Alps, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Only too well, The Bats know the possibilities, potentialities and sonic vistas that arise when one takes the reins for the recording process in a beautiful place that’s on home turf.

Robert Scott, on the making of Foothills has said “Time marches on... finally, we found a gap in our busy lives and chose a week to convene. We found a house that is usually inhabited by ski field workers — Kowai Bush, near Springfield about an hour west of Christchurch and of course nestled in the foothills of the mighty Southern Alps. The songs had been written, demo’d and arranged for some time, but still with a little room for trying things out in the studio. Many carloads arrived at the house, full of amps guitars and recording gear, we set up camp and soon made it feel like home; coloured lights, a log fire, and home cooked meals in the kitchen. We worked fast, and within a few days had all the basic backing tracks done, live together in one room, the way we like to do it - it’s all about ‘the feel’ for songs like ours.”

Natalie Schlabs - Sonny Winnebago - Crawford Mack - Maxwell Stern

Natalie Schlabs returns here for a third time this summer with 'Don't Look To Close' and it's another reminder that her forthcoming album is a gorgeous collection of imaginative tracks. === Sonny Winnebago shares the beautifully upbeat modern pop song 'Lemonade' where feel good vibes roam free. === Crawford Mack impressed us back in July with 'Depends On Where You Stand' and his brand new release 'Firing Squad' continues the trend from this refined singer songwriter. === Maxwell Stern has released 'Pull The Stars Down' a catchy and smooth flowing song with a country rock feel, ahead of his debut album 'Impossible Sum' due next Friday.

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 Natalie Schlabs -  Don't Look To Close.

Nashville-based singer/songwriter Natalie Schlabs writes songs that explore the complicated emotions and perspective-shifting moments that make up family relationships. Her music often blends sublime vocal harmonies with lyrics about the secret desires and difficulties of living life among loved ones. Her first full-length album Midnight With No Stars was celebrated for its willingness to explore the personal. New Slang praised the album for revealing “a rugged truthfulness we often save for conversations with ourselves.” There’s a richness and clarity to Schlabs’ voice reminiscent of artists like Norah Jones and Jill Andrews, making her a popular choice for harmonizing background vocals. She frequently collaborates with other musicians on tour and in the studio. 

 Her stunning duet with Irish-born artist Ben Glover “Fall Apart” features vocals that “ring and resound like a fork tapping crystal” (hyperlink) and was Song of the Week on The Bluegrass Situation in 2016. Schlabs’ introduction to Nashville music came through collaboration, singing background vocals for fellow Texan Ryan Culwell and performing with Katie Herzig at Paste Studio NYC in 2018. “I think there’s something cool about the act of stepping into someone else’s sound and blending with it. It’s a challenge, and a kind of freedom, too.” Like many other Nashville musicians, the West Texas native grew up singing in church, but unlike others the majority of her early musical experiences took place at home with family. Her three brothers were musicians— one a pianist, one a guitarist and drummer, and one guitarist and songwriter— her mom sang, and her grandfather, a guitarist and vocalist who performed classics, often invited the family to sing with him. “It was very normal for all of us to be together in a room, playing instruments and singing together. My love for music comes from my family, and my love for family is often the substance of my songwriting.”

Breaking a bit from her country roots, Schlabs’ new album Don’t Look Too Close (set for release October 16, 2020)steps into indie territory with a compelling mix of instrumentation laced with solo vocals that bloom into easy, delicate harmonies. Co-produced by Juan Solorzano and Zachary Dyke, with Caleb Hickman on saxophone and her husband Joshua Rogerson bass,the albumswells and ebbs with elegant, absorbing shapes. The songs are moody, candid, and tender, each featuring Schlabs’ characteristically sleek vocals front-and-center, backed by charming instrumental moments that add form and depth to the melodies. “Juan’s got a great ear. He created really original textures with layered guitar. That’s a big part of the sound of the record.” Recorded the year of her 30th birthday and largely written while pregnant with her first child, the album naturally focuses on tensions between past and present. “I was thinking about how to raise a child, how to pass down values. There’s a dismantling of what I thought I knew. What do I value in my life and where did those things come from? What do I want to share with my children and what do I want to spare them from?”

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Sonny Winnebago - Lemonade.

Drawing inspiration from 1970s influences including Harry Nilsson and Cat Stevens, Sonny Winnebago is the stage name of Welsh-Australian pop troubadour Harvey Jones.

With a slice of his childhood spent making Lemonade in Perth, the musician eventually relocated to Wales; swapping lemons for guitars. Occupying his free time by perfecting his craft, Winnebago has moulded a sound that is bright, avant-garde pop; even when exploring the sombre themes in life.

Layered with a warm-hued melody and Winnebago’s soft vocals, his new infectious offering Lemonade is a perfectly crafted uplifting anthem for the warm summer days. Discussing the inspiration behind the track, he says: “I was walking to my job as a barista one sunny day, and saw some little go-getters selling lemonade outside their house. I thought that was really cool and reminded me of when I used to make lemonade from a lemon tree we had in the back garden.”

Having teamed up with producer Charlie Francis, and session musicians Davey Newington (Boy Azooga) and Matt Evans (KEYS), the feel-good bop sparks the nostalgic sound and recollections of being back in a classroom.

The artist tells us: “Everyone's got good memories of picking up a recorder or triangle in school, so we used lots of instruments. Davey brought along some shakers, there’s also a ukulele, woodblock, kazoos & a kalimba. My school instrument was the flute, so we put that in too.”

Sonny Winnebago · Lemonade---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Crawford Mack - Firing Squad.

Intimately involved in all aspects of his art; Glaswegian singer-songwriter Crawford Mack is not just a composer and lyricist, but a video and art director, the whole focused on the perfect expression of his musical vision. The jazz trained singer, guitarist and lyricist has concocted a musical sound that, in his words, found ‘the sweet spot between Led Zeppelin and Joni Mitchell’.

We see a change in the singer, as he swaps orchestral melodies for downtempo acoustic stings in his second offering ‘Firing Squad’. Building a sharp momentum using melodious gentle guitar riffs and a rhythmic drumbeat, ‘Firing Squad’ explores the power of a guilt-ridden conscience that one might feel due to their own behaviour; specifically targeting the action of mistreating others.

Accompanied by a short film conceptualised by the songwriter, the new music video directed by Liam Hendrix Heath, borrows heavily from space oddity era Bowie and Stanley Kubrick; following an astronaut’s journey through suburbia and his past in a jarring, mirroring the claustrophobia and hidden menace of the track.

The lyrics draw on the use of power to oppress the powerless and were inspired by a reference in a William Mcllvanney book to the blindfold used in firing squads being to spare the shooters seeing the condemned eyes. The teacher in the film embodying a particular personal memory for Crawford.

Discussing the new music video, Crawford tells us: “I didn't want to go for something obvious with a literal 'Firing Squad' and soldiers because I think I've seen plenty of that in music videos before. Liam and I spent a long time over lockdown talking through what the song was about for me, until one day out of the blue, he came up with the idea of the astronaut walking past tableaus that are flashbacks of his life. The idea grew from there until we started to create our antagonist teacher character for the final face-off.”

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Maxwell Stern - Pull The Stars Down.

Maxwell Stern Unveils New Single From Upcoming "Impossible Sum" LP on Lauren Records who will release Maxwell Stern's debut solo album, Impossible Sum, on September 25th.

"Brave the trains and meet me across town. We’ll go out spinning stories, trying to pull the stars down." sings Stern in this song that is the product of a lot of drunken reminiscing with old friends in new places.

"I think it's really easy to romanticize the past which can be kind of an unhealthy thing to do, to just kind of live in nostalgia-world and think that things aren't ever going to be as good as they were. I think it's ultimately about developing a healthy relationship with your memories but not letting them rule you." Stern says of the track, adding "Remembering that appreciation for the past and hope for the future aren't mutually exclusive and in fact, sometimes they can reinforce each other."

Impossible Sum may be Max’s first solo record, but it certainly isn’t a solo effort. In addition to Laura Stevenson, a stacked personnel of other longtime friends and collaborators helped Max bring these songs to life, including Adam Beck (Sincere Engineer, Into It. Over It.), Matt Arbogast (The Gunshy), Jon Hernandez (Timeshares) and Kyle Pulley (who produced, engineered, and mixed the album).

For Maxwell Stern, Impossible Sum—his first proper solo record after being in bands like Signals Midwest, Meridian, Timeshares—is an honest-to-God effort to wrangle heartfelt and sometimes confusing feelings of adjustment, displacement, and settling into song. These songs have the kind of heart-on-the-sleeve vulnerability that fans of his other bands have come to admire, but presented in a completely unfiltered fashion, existing exactly as they need to be.

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HMS Morris - Rue Snider - Spunsugar

HMS Morris return here for a third time this year with today's single release 'Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol'. It's a richly layered electronic song with gorgeous vocal reprises between a solid rhythmic soundtrack. === As this is Rue Snider's eight appearance on Beehive Candy, I thinks it's only fair to say we like his music and today's new release 'David Bowie's Clothes' helps explain our fascination with Rue's ever evolving and refined material. === Spunsugar are another band who are making their third appearance here this year with their new single 'Belladonna' where they give Shoegaze some pop sensibilities with striking results.
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HMS Morris - Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol.

Following the release of two pre-covid singles ‘Babanod’ and ‘Poetry’, HMS Morris are back with the third in the series, ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol', which translates as ‘International Students’. The single is released today September 16th.

HMS Morris HQ is nestled on the edge of one of the most multicultural streets in Cardiff, City Road. It’s a noisy, colourful cosmopolitan crush of restaurants, shisha bars and barbers, which have recently been invaded by posh student accommodation projects. But while this may have been the initial impetus behind ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol’, by the time it had solidified into a definite sound and feel it was no longer a rant about fancy student halls.

Rather it had become an assertion that the world be a better place if we were all International Students. In the context of this summer’s global race-relations reckoning, there is a general moral imperative for us all to become students of the international: to watch the news as if it’s our own story, to actually take it in, to learn and adapt our behaviour. We should be prepared to immerse ourselves in other cultures, just like the international students of City Rd do.

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Rue Snider - David Bowie's Clothes.

David Bowie’s Clothes is the first single from Rue Snider’s fourth full length album Puzzle Pieces, releasing winter 2020/21. It’s a song about the beginning of healing. Rather than pine for a lost love the lyric reflects on the disappointment of being unable to share in another person’s joy. The touring David Bowie exhibit that ended its run at the Brooklyn Museum in 2018 was a powerful, overwhelming, transformative exhibition that serves not only as the impetus for this track but as a metaphor for obstacles to detachment.

“I’ve written a lot about being sad and I’ve used songs to catalogue many of my emotions through the characters I sing about. This song is about a real person and a real situation. When this relationship ended I started going to therapy after a period of deep depression and I was able to address a lot of my unhealthy behavior. It took a while to realize how much my actions contributed to the dissolution of that coupling and this song is one of the many attempts to write about that and take responsibility.”

Before the pandemic Rue toured America extensively playing bars and coffee shops in thirty-seven states, and built a loyal fan base one show at a time. Almost all of those shows were solo and performed on an acoustic guitar played through a Fender Blues Jr.

Rue’s first three records as well as his five EPs, and multiple singles are primarily full band affairs capturing different permutations of indie rock. The forthcoming Puzzle Pieces is a piano based album influenced by artists like Joni Mitchell, Father John Misty and Lana Del Rey. Puzzle Pieces was made in Nashville with Jon Estes engineering and producing. It was mixed by Phil Joly and mastered by Philip Shaw Bova.

Rue Snider · David Bowie's Clothes

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Spunsugar - Belladonna.

Spunsugar, a gothgaze trio from Malmo, Sweden, have just dropped this new single ‘Belladonna’. Following on from the release of their breakthrough debut EP ‘Mouth Full Of You’ last year, a collection that cemented them as one of the finest emerging shoegaze outfits of the moment as well as garnering support from Steve Lamacq at BBC 6Music, Swedish trio Spunsugar now return to announce their highly-anticipated debut album ‘Drive-Through Chapel’, out on the 2nd October via Adrian Recordings.

Two out of three members of the trio Spunsugar, Cordelia Moreau and Elin Ramstedt, befriended one another in a small town outsider clique at age thirteen. Their individual music tastes, Cordelia’s twee-pop, jangle and grunge and Elin’s metal, hardcore and post-rock blended into a mutual love for shoegaze, noise rock and dream pop. At age fifteen they started a four piece band, Elin on lead vocals and rhythm guitar and Cordelia on drums. They discovered that they thrived when writing music together. But even when the band split up, they continued to write songs.

Fast forward to post upper secondary school. After months of hardly speaking to each other, they both ended up in Malmö. After not writing music together for five years they recorded two lo-fi songs in Cordelia’s student apartment and it was as if no time had passed. They looked for a rehearsal space and within weeks they recorded a demo. But they wanted a real live bass player. Cordelia had recently bonded with a university classmate over guitars and they decided to send him a copy of the demo and asked if he would like to come play with them. Felix Sjöström became an intrinsic part of the project immediately. With his influence, their sound became more distinguished, all of them bringing different inspirations to the songs. Now they all have prominent roles within the band but they are also, fundamentally, friends.

Spunsugar are works at a faster paced than a lot of their shoegaze peers and accompanied by electronic drums. They are more often compared to Curve, Swervedriver or Ringo Deathstarr rather than the likes of Cocteau Twins or Slowdive. Although heavy on effects, nothing is hidden within the music, including the lyrics. The lyrics are heavy with pop cultural references, stemming from Cordelia’s love for obscure genre films. Often driven by riffs rather than soundscapes, they focus equally on having a prominent bass as well as prominent guitars.

Adrian Recordings · Spunsugar - Belladonna

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Lauren Hulbert - Cindy Lee Berryhill - Owen Meany’s Batting Stance

Lauren Hulbert has released 'Gone In One' today and it's a striking song with thought provoking lyrics, determined vocals and a distinctive musical arrangement. === Anti folk artist Cindy Lee Berryhill shares 'Woke Up From A Dream' a song that has an intriguing back story and is engaging and melodic. === Owen Meany’s Batting Stance released 'Breakfast Again' a few days back and it's a must hear and simply gorgeous song from alt folk artist Daniel Walker.
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Lauren Hulbert - Gone In One.

Lauren Hulbert announces the release of “Gone in One” today September 14. The single exudes strength, resilience and vulnerability found both in the midst and aftermath of an unhealthy relationship. Gritty determination permeates while a seamless instrumental tug of war introduces the reflexive moving forward and feeling pulled back. The single is off her upcoming EP, Superbloom, due out October 30.

“Gone in One” explores a feminine/masculine yin and yang as harmonies serve as a beautiful fragility to the high energy, grungy guitar. Flamenco style clapping subtly undertones the song with equal parts passion and pain connoting an incredible strength. Driving guitars swell and yearn while pulling into an inner exploration of Hulbert asking, “How fast can you run?” in one breath and “Will you remember me?” in another. Hulbert says, “This song is a vulnerable, personal account of unknowingly losing oneself in someone else, which is lonely, confusing, and scary.

It was like being stuck in a fog not knowing how to get out, looking to others to show me the way but just becoming more lost. I was constantly running internally, but getting nowhere, until I was exhausted into total indifference and I felt like the real me had been erased. Eventually, I realized I was the only one that could really save myself, so I dug really deep and found the strength to get out, which was incredibly hard. I didn’t know when or how I’d heal, but I knew I was on the right path.”

Superbloom was inspired not only by the sound of the EP itself but also by Hulbert blooming back to life; following a dangerous foot injury while on a surf trip in Indonesia, she was practically immobile for six months and it was unclear if she’d ever be able to walk again. While the music for this EP didn’t come from the injury, it was a very dark time for her – life, as she knew it, had ended, and her artistic momentum was devastatingly quelled. Fortunately, over a year later, she has healed and credits the experience as terrifying but ultimately beneficial – one that allowed her to reassess her life, align with what’s important and has made her all the more grateful for health and opportunity – and to be performing and sharing her music again.

Lauren Hulbert · Gone In One

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Cindy Lee Berryhill - Woke Up From A Dream

Cindy Lee Berryhill, New York Anti-folk founder and singer-songwriter, reveals a longstanding family secret in new song that touches on the zeitgeist of white entitled culture and reveals how some white families are not all they appear to be and that some are more akin to a David Duke nightmare. When Berryhill was in her 20s, during time spent between NYC and her longtime home of San Diego, writing songs for what would be her debut album Who's Gonna Save the World (Rhino 1987), she had an extraordinarily memorable dream.

She tells it best: In this dream, I was a retail clerk at Macy's hoping for a promotion. I mentioned my intention to my friends and coworkers looking for some support. Much to my surprise they told me they didn't think a promotion was likely to happen.

Why? Because of the color of my skin. - But I was white with light hair like them, what was the problem? - They led me to a mirror and I saw that I was now a black girl. - I burst into tears, knowing my chances at jobs and promotions had just drastically diminished. - And then I woke up.

A few years ago, as I was recording my 7th album The Adventurist (Omnivore 2017), I took a popular DNA test that informs you of your likely ancestry and some medical proclivities. A surprise was revealed when I received the results. I was part sub-Saharan African. Not that 6% sub-Saharan African next to my 94% European ancestry meant very much on the pie chart, but what it did do was expose a hidden history of my grandmother Fay and where she’d come from. If I was 6%, then my father was approximately 12% and my grandma was roughly 24%.

Through the U.S. census I found out that Grandma Fay Grant (Berryhill by marriage) and her brother, mother and father had all identified as black on the 1900 census. Some time before 1910 the family of four left their home and large extended black family in Charleston, S.C., and moved to Los Angeles, Calif. Then on the 1910 census the family now identified as white. This passing as white,and my grandma’s to-the-death-secret, are her story. My story is one of being a white girl who writes songs in a white man’s world.

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Owen Meany’s Batting Stance - Breakfast Again.

Owen Meany’s Batting Stance announces new alt-folk single and sophomore album via LHM Records. With his music distinguished as ‘impassioned literary folk’, Owen Meany’s Batting Stance is the pseudonym of singer-songwriter Daniel Walker.

Following the release of his self-titled EP, Daniel has spent the last few years exploring the thrills of the live circuit, whilst constantly perfecting his craft. Now, the Canadian native returns with the announcement of his new full-length ‘Feather Weights’, teasing listeners with new single ‘Breakfast Again’ with LHM Records.

Projecting hints of The Mountain Goats, Jenny Lewis, and Conor Oberst to inspire his sound, he tells us: “Their deliberate approach to lyricism coupled with the fact that they emoted a similar high-pitched, nasal vocal delivery proved to me I didn’t need to have a raspy baritone or angelic falsetto to be a singer, let alone songwriter.”

Teamed with delicate lo-fi guitar strings and Daniel’s harmonious, yet flavourful vocals; new offering “Breakfast Again” lyrically explores the implications of a lost love. Discussing the inspiration behind the track, he says: ‘Breakfast Again is about the emotions: the worries and resolution that come with no longer sharing a life with someone important to you’

Accompanying the track is a hazy visual, in which proves to be simple but effective in telling its narrative. Featuring the frontman himself, the new minimalistic music video blends cloudy and clear shots of the lonesome artist dwelling in his thoughts over a cup of coffee. Later on, in the video, we see Daniel laying in the river; a metaphorical representation of drowning in his emotions.

Recorded above a fishmonger’s shop in the Halifax Regional Municipality, his highly anticipated debut album ‘Feather Weights’ consists of eight singularly voiced short stories that explore everyday theming with deep insight, and thoughtful perspective. Boasting the Owen Meany live band with bassist Cailen Alcorn Pygott, and keyboardist Siobhan Martin, together they showcase soft chords of folk pushed into the angles of indie rock.

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Hailey Whitters - The Luxembourg Signal - Malin Pettersen

Hailey Whitters appeared here in July with her stunning song 'Janice At The Hotel Bar' and returns now with 'Happy People' which is another catchy and impressive piece. === We featured The Luxembourg Signal a couple of times back in 2017 and then lost track of them, however they are back with '2.22' as a taster for their next album 'The Long Now' and it's good to note that their mixture of Dreampop and Shoegaze is sounding real good. === Malin Pettersen shares 'Wildhorse Dream' ahead of the album 'Wildhorse' set for release on October 16th. The song itself is a melodic slice of modern Americana with bags of charm.
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Photo: Harper Smith

Hailey Whitters - Happy People.

Hailey Whitters releases a sunny animated video for “Happy People” (co-directed by Harper Smith and Drew Wittler) from her critically-acclaimed new album, The Dream, out now via Pigasus Records / Big Loud Records / Songs & Daughters. The song was co-written with Lori McKenna and originally recorded by Little Big Town in 2017.

“This song has always felt like a step-by-step guide to happiness,” explains Whitters. “I wanted the visual to be bright and colorful to match the character of the record, as well as accessible to both children and adults. My friend Drew Wittler did the animation and he sprinkled Easter eggs throughout of my musical imprint and Iowa upbringing. My aim is to take viewers on a walk through my ‘happy place’ and hopefully remind them of their own along the way.”

The video follows the release of Whitters’ Live In Studio Session series which delivered five live performances throughout the month of August. Watch videos including a reimagined piano version of “Dream, Girl,” “Heartland,” “Janice at the Hotel Bar,” “The Devil Always Made Me Think Twice,” and “The Faker.”

Just featured as an “Emerging Artist” by People, Whitters is spotted among the all-genre roundup with the outlet raving, “With her chill, guitar-driven sound and powerful vocals, Hailey Whitters stands out as an up-and-coming country star.” Garnering more high-profile media looks, The Dream was named one of “The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)” by American Songwriter and Paste Magazine. SPIN also marked “All The Cool Girls” on their list of “The 50 Best Songs of 2020 (So Far).”

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The Luxembourg Signal - 2.22.

Dreampop and shoegaze indie super group The Luxembourg Signal brighten up today with the debut of their new single '2:22" a blast of dreampop perfection that comes in makes a statement then stops quickly leaving you wanting even more. The kind folks at Austin Town Hall debuted the track this morning.

With the release of their self-titled debut album on Shelflife Records in 2014, The Luxembourg Signal quickly attracted a loyal following among fans of dream pop/indie pop music, and received enthusiastic reviews for their pop sensibilities, angelic vocals and lush soundscapes.

Their follow-up LP, Blue Field (Shelflife/Kleine Utergrund Schallplatten) released in 2017, garnered even more praise and revealed a bolder, darker and more developed sound with its expanded seven-member lineup of Beth Arzy & Betsy Moyer (vocals), Johnny Joyner (guitars), Brian Espinosa (drums), Ginny Pitchford (keyboards), Daniel Kumiega (bass) and Kelly Davis (guitars).

Now, for their third LP, the transatlantic group based in London, Los Angeles and San Diego, once again returned to the studio with engineer Mark Rains and have produced the highly anticipated The Long Now (Shelflife/Spinout Nuggets), a 10 song album that imagines a blurred horizon that lies between light and dark, and the fleeting nature of all that we hold.

"The Long Now" (phrase coined by Brian Eno) refers to a long-term way of perceiving time. As an alternative to the accelerated way that we experience our lives, it allows us to make sense of our brief but tumultuous time here, by understanding our place in a much larger timeline as history plays out.

shelflife · The Luxembourg Signal - 2.22

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Malin Pettersen - Wildhorse Dream.

Malin Pettersen's album 'Wildhorse' is set for release on October 16th. Stories seem to follow Malin Pettersen wherever she goes, whether it's in the streets of Oslo, Norway, or in the quaint neighborhoods of Nashville, Tennessee.

Raised by a country musician father and a mother who deeply loved jazz, Pettersen grew up surrounded by music. Those early influences and the stories behind them drew her to American culture and arts, including folk and bluegrass. In 2009, she formed the popular country band Lucky Lips, supplying engaging lead vocals to their debut 2010 EP Third Door to the Right. They quickly found success with their engaging blend of traditional folk elements with a modern edge. They continued to release a trove of music over the next few years, including two well-received albums and even participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013. A slight sonic shift on their third record, 2016’s Coming Home, brought the group to a new level of acclaim, eventually earning them a slot at Nashville’s AmericanaFest in 2018.

Propelled by the success of Lucky Lips, Pettersen went onto release her first solo album References Pt. 1 in 2018. It won widespread critical praise and even earned her a Spellemann Award (Norwegian Grammy). Later that year, Lucky Lips teamed up with Norwegian blues legend Amund Maarud for their collaborative record Indian Butterfly.

The tightly-knit creative community that Nashville harbors kept calling to Pettersen. Those pilgrimages back to the U.S. resulted in the creation of Alonesome, her powerful 2019 mini-album. That release earned her praise from Rolling Stone Country, Paste, Billboard and more. With just her voice and her guitar, the project showcased both Pettersen’s emotive vocals and her expert songwriting, capturing the beautiful complexities of human emotion.

After an Ameripolitan Awards nomination led her back to Tennessee, she returned to Nashville to begin recording her most important project to date. Pettersen tapped into her experiences of exploring America and the creative relationships she developed along the way to create something brand new.

“Even though most of the groundwork was all done live together in one room on both previous albums, there are more layers on this one and it stretches towards more of a cinematic soundscape,” Pettersen says. "There is more California, Bobbie Gentry and cosmic-ness on this one."

Die With Your Boots On Records · Malin Pettersen - Wildhorse Dream

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Jillette Johnson - Bee Bee Sea - Sandtimer - Deepfake Moneybomb

Jillette Johnson releases 'Annie' and announces her new album due in a few months time, the new song is a gorgeous slice of modern folk pop with hints of timeless country. === We have featured the first two singles from their upcoming new album 'Day Ripper' and now we have the title track from Bee Bee Sea namely (of course) 'Day Ripper' where the bands nod towards The Beatles is notable. === Sandtimer are another band who have appeared here a couple of times already in 2020 and are back with 'You Never Had Control' a stripped back track that exudes plenty of personal feeling. === Deepfake Moneybomb has released his self titled album and it's streaming in full below. Always on the lookout for different, creative yet accessible music we are delighted that all those boxes have been ticked with this talented and crafted release.
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Jillette Johnson - Annie.

Jillette Johnson has announced the February 12 release of It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You, her first new album in four years. Returning with a newfound creative confidence, the Nashville-based singer/songwriter delivers a fully-realized collection of ten new songs featuring candid lyricism and a bolder, bigger sound. Along with the announcement, Johnson shares the rollicking new single “Annie” with a self-directed, DIY video shot during quarantine. An ode to her other half’s ex-girlfriend, “Annie” offers a different take on songs about “the other woman” as Johnson expresses genuine appreciation for the positive impact her role played in his life.

“Annie is a thank-you letter, and a tribute to all the past relationships that make us who we are,” explains Johnson. “The ones that prepare us to find fulfilling partnerships. My partner has shared his heart with some badass women and I'm super grateful for it. May we be in an era finally, where women can see each other as allies, and not threats.”

Jillette Johnson has established a reputation for her ruminative pop/folk, piano-driven songs and powerful vocals, releasing her 2013 debut Water in a Whale and 2017 Dave Cobb-produced follow-up All I Ever See In You Is Me to widespread acclaim ranging from Billboard and Paste to Marie Claire and ELLE. She began writing songs at the age of eight, becoming fully immersed in music by high school and quickly learning first-hand about the prevalence of predators in this volatile, ever-changing industry. Now on the other side of a journey through pain and struggle to gratitude, forgiveness, and, ultimately, acceptance, It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You sees Johnson taking full control of her career for the first time. She recently spoke about the process with American Songwriter and shared her debut single “I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere,” which Rolling Stone describes as “a spaced-out trip that recalls Harry Nilsson or Elton John at his most decadent.”

“The lessons I learned from those early industry experiences are why I’ve held so tightly to making this album on my own with people I trust,” Johnson explains. “It would have been easy to lean into the melancholy. It was an act of rebellion to not indulge in the pain, to look beyond it and not wallow.”

Produced by Joe Pisapia, It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You injects Johnson’s intimate, piano-written songs with buoyant pop melodies and a shot of guitar-driven, alt-rock muscle. From the lilting, self-destructiveness of “I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere” and the somber reflection on “Angelo” to the irreverent humor in “What Would Jesus Do?” and the impulsively romantic title track, It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You showcases Johnson’s hard-won optimism.

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Bee Bee Sea - Day Ripper.

Following the release of first two singles 'Daily Jobs' and 'Gonna Get Me', Bee Bee Sea have now released the title track for their upcoming new album 'Day Ripper', out on 9th October on Wild Honey Records.

One of the few heavy psych-garage songs on the record, the track is based on a riff progression alternated with Beatlesque choruses. Similarly to previous single 'Daily Jobs', the song further elaborates on the idea of living a suffocating and claustrophobic existence. Aside from the title, another nod to the Fab Four is on the artwork, designed by Yuri Pierini at Slack Studio: an illustration of legendary footballer George Best, occasionally known as The Fifth Beatle.

Bee Bee Sea – Wilson Wilson on guitar and vocals, Giacomo Parisio on bass, and Andrea Onofrio on drums – met fresh out of high school and immediately bonded over music. “When there’s no good shit around you better form a band” runs their motto – and so they did. Sixties classics like the Beatles, The Who, and The Stones formed the bulk of their repertoire as a covers band, and they played in any bar that would have them. “We were into bands,” explains Wilson, “and over time we became more rock, and started to get into punk.”

And now they stand ready to unleash 'Day Ripper' on the world, ten incendiary tracks full of edge, tension, and fuelled by frustration – “ripper” is very much the right word. From the catchy, effervescent chug of single ‘Be Bop Palooza’, to the filthy garage punk of ‘Drags Me Down’ and ‘Telephone’, it’s a record that throws you around the room before pinning you up against the wall and screaming in your face. Songs barrel along like a whirling dervish, all galloping drums and frantic power chords, occasionally teetering on the brink of collapse. Yet such chaos is precisely what makes 'Day Ripper 'so compelling, and so fun.

Bee Bee Sea · Day Ripper

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Sandtimer - You Never Had Control.

‘You Never Had Control’ is the latest single from Sandtimer’s upcoming second album, ‘Running In Sunlight’. The song charts the feeling of waking up, seeing terrible things happening in the world and feeling partly responsible, no matter how irrational this feeling might be.

‘You Never Had Control’ is an expression of coming to terms with one’s own powerlessness when faced with huge, unpredictable events, and an encouragement to carry on the struggle for progress regardless.

The album Running in Sunlight, which will be released this October, sees the band take a loose and immediate approach to the creative process, with the songs being written and recorded over a short time frame, with sparser instrumentation than their previous music.

“This album isn’t about anthems,” says Simon Thomas, vocalist and guitarist. “It’s our attempt at exploring the raw edges of the climate we live in- the uncomfortable parts as well as the beauty. We wanted to give ourselves space to do this intimately and honestly.”

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Deepfake Moneybomb - Deepfake Moneybomb (Album).

This is not your typical singer-songwriter music - it's accessible but off-kilter and veers off into surprising directions. The "folk" feel of these songs is anchored by acoustic guitar and dulcimer, while embracing instrument combinations that include clarinet, vibraphone as well as some electronic sound. The songs on this record are strange little works of art that are drawn from the search for something of substance and meaning amid all the chaos we see everywhere.

First, why put out an album at all during a pandemic, when there are limited opportunities to perform the songs? "The World Won't Let Me Believe" is why - it's an unabashedly sincere, perhaps even corny, anthem for our times.

You might think the song "Existential Dread" would be a depressing slog in neurotic self-indulgence, but instead it's a sparking, sprightly, dulcimer-driven waltz. And when was the last time you heard a song about quantum mechanics? Look no further than "Super Colliders" which gives a shout-out to physicist Erik Verlinde while tossing in some William Blake for good measure.

Deepfake Moneybomb is singer-songwriter from New York (USA). He could be considered a “bedroom” artist because of his creative process, though he does perform live as well.

Deepfake Moneybomb · Deepfake Moneybomb

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Stephen Becker - Juanita Stein - Deadletter

Stephen Becker has shared 'Clean' along with an imaginative video, the song itself is a smooth flowing and gently melodic piece. === We have shared two songs by Juanita Stein so far this year and now we make it three with 'L.O.T.F' as the alt rock artist continues to create standout songs. === Now based in South London Deadletter have just released the powerful rocker 'Fit For Work' where the band kick up a storm, inter-spaced with some hypnotic vocal moments.
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Stephen Becker - Clean.

Stephen Becker has announced the release of a new EP the first under his own name out October 30 on NNA Tapes. Nothing Sun Under the New expresses exactly the kind of poetic sleights-of-hand we encounter throughout this short, brilliant offering. This compact record is filled with aphorisms flipped on their heads, reversals of logic and intuition, dislocations of causality and expectation. Alongside the announcement, Becker shared an entrancing music video for the album’s lead single “Clean,” which was directed by Johnny Frohman & Gerard Marcus, and stars a charming Marley McDonald. On the song Becker explains: “‘Clean’ is about escaping technology, cell phones, social media - the way we clean ourselves with water, and how doing the same with technology would destroy it (i.e. submerging your phone in a bathtub). So cleaning is also destruction, and maybe it takes a little destruction to really get clean.”

For Stephen Becker, music is a stream of consciousness. Originally working as the Trees Take Ease moniker, the Brooklyn based artist is stepping out from under the branches and releasing music under his own name for the first time. It marks a shift, a new beginning, that initially started out as a casual bedroom project but quickly blossomed into something significant. This new chapter starts with EP Nothing Sun Under the New.

Equal parts weird and sublime, Becker resides in a sonic universe that bends into a state of oblivion and relishes the fleeting moments. This uninhibited approach creates a kaleidoscope of textures where songs about frozen drinks and old teachers exist against a backdrop of propulsive synths, screwy percussion and lo-fi guitar hooks. “I think there’s a lot of power in the right melody and the right chord progression and the right sonic environment and that to me has as much emotional weight as anything that I’m saying,” he says.

Attending concerts as a teen with his Dad and playing in jazz band throughout high school led Becker to experiment with different improvised arts, rubbing shoulders with different genres and practises. This curiosity, along with his talents, secured him a place at Oberlin college in Ohio, studying guitar performance. There, Becker witnessed performances from the likes of Deerhoof, Frankie Cosmos, Yo Yo Ma and Fred Frith that inspired him to merge his skills as a jazz musician and guitar expert and dive into songwriting.

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Juanita Stein - L.O.T.F.

Juanita Stein has released a new song, ‘L.O.T.F’, from her upcoming third album, ‘Snapshot', which is set for release via Nude Records on 23rd October in all formats.

‘L.O.T.F’ follows the recent release of the LP’s title track and a second song, ‘The Mavericks’, which picked up early support from the likes of Mojo, Clash and 6 Music for Brighton-based, Australian songwriter, who first became known for her work as singer and guitarist in Howling Bells.

The song taps into the theme that runs throughout the album, which was recorded following the sudden loss of Stein’s father in 2019. As Juanita explains, it is “an ode to growing up in Australia, tinged with a sad bitterness.” It is a devilish intersection of a song, with introspective lyrics swimming through snarling guitars.

About the album: It feels fundamental to understanding the devastation and eerie silence thrust upon us after his sudden death,” begins the Brighton-based, Australian songwriter Juanita Stein, discussing the moment of great sadness that inspired her new record. “It was a daunting task to sum up the life of one man such as my father. He was endlessly inspiring, charming, deeply talented and passionately spiritual. He admirably, and at times frustratingly, carried the torch for his own musical career until the very end.”

It’s within this processing of a life well-lived and attempting to wrestle with the tides of her own grief, that what would become the album began to ebb and flow out of Stein, who first became known for her work as singer and guitarist in Howling Bells.

“After I felt I had enough songs,” Juanita explains, “I was moved to reach out to producer Ben Hillier, who I’d been a fan of since hearing records he made with Clinic, Elbow ad Doves to see if he might be interested in making this album with me.”

Unlike her first two solo albums, “America” (2017) and “Until The Lights Fade” (2018), which were made in just a few weeks and both at studios in the US, ‘Snapshot’ was recorded over the course of eight months at Agricultural Audio, not far from Juanita’s home.

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Deadletter - Fit For Work.

Hailing from Yorkshire though now South London rooted, DEADLETTER channel the droll fury of The Fall and the lopsided rhythm of Gang of Four into a strain of vehement post-punk, exploring the darker side of existence through a lens of narrative-driven levity. Now the band release their potent second single "Fit For Work", following the release of debut single "Good Old Days" in May this year.

The last year has seen DEADLETTER emerge as a genuinely thrilling live prospect, showcasing their brand of chaotic hedonism across the country supporting the likes of Squid, Viagra Boys and Avalanche Party. Debut single "Good Old Days" was a clear stylistic marker of the band’s vision and received both regional BBC and 6Music play.

New single "Fit For Work" follows in that vein, offering an acute, angered study into bureaucracy, and loss of personal identity. DEADLETTER are experts in the field of intensity; seamlessly switching from conversational verses into unadulterated post-punk fury - "Fit For Work" is a huge statement of intent from the band.

Of new single "Fit For Work", frontman Zac Woolley writes: "Fit For Work was a concept a long time before it was a song. As a band, and as a writer, we [I] have always regarded the call and response strategy as biblical. The idea of having a conversation during the delivery of art leads to this absurd metaphysical tangent of acknowledging your art is art whilst performing it; similar to when artists use the line “I wrote this song for you because…” what they are doing, when you think about it, is taking away the idea that what they’re creating exists in itself, and is in fact an entity that exists in a wholly real world.

As a song, "Fit For Work" is about more than just the Department for Work and Pensions. It provides a mirror to the world, and specifically the Britain of today.  The ideas explored within the track are seemingly exaggerated accounts of reality but, upon close examination, have worrying roots in true experience, with the track aiming to parallel the savagery of the narrator in the song with the actual brutality of our government.

The declaration of someone as ‘Fit For Work’ is symptomatic of the apathy and bureaucratic cruelty prevalent in society, where being unable to meet a certain ticked number of boxes (either literally or metaphorically), equates to the surrender of personal autonomy, and by extension, individual identity.

DEADLETTER · Fit For Work

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