Royal Castles - KEG - Looms - Ziemba - Ashley Shadow (feat. Bonnie Prince Billy)

Royal Castles - Schönsee.

Produced by Zane Whitfield (The Glorious Sons, Sarah Harmer), this triumphant 90s rock anthem sparkles and uplifts, as it reminds us of our resilience as humans, and that sunnier days are always around the corner. We dedicate it to all of our grandparents, who worked so hard to give us a better life.

"Schönsee" means beautiful lake, named after the Russian-Mennonite colony in ode to drummer Katrin Sawatzky's ancestors, who made the Great Trek across Europe by caravan to escape religious persecution in WWII.

Prominently featuring the voice and songwriting of Katrin, who sings in both German and English, this song builds upon the German lullaby often sung to Katrin as a child, telling the story of curiosity, resilience, fear and hope for a better life.

"Schönsee" summons an inner feeling of safety and peace when the world around you feels chaotic. The feeling of triumph after tribulation. The elation of making it out alive.

==========================================================================

KEG - Farmhands.

Brighton based 7-piece Keg today announce their new single "Farmhands" alongside an otherworldly animated video directed by Andrew Howarth - which drops the septet into the "Smelve Village" - eventually succumbing to a sea-beast-version of the band's guitarist Frank Lindsay.

Keg have quickly seen their profile rise over the past 6 months, with widespread acclaim from BBC 6Music (Steve Lamacq, Huw Stephens), NME, So Young Magazine, DIY Magazine, Clash Magazine, The Line Of Best Fit and more, coinciding with a relentless touring schedule with acts including Squid, Talk Show, The Lounge Society, Opus Kink, Bull, Blue Bendy and LICE.

New single "Farmhands" was produced by the band and mixed by Sean Oakley (Show Me The Body, Sorry, Scalping, Kae Tempest) and is the latest single to be lifted from Keg's debut EP 'Assembly'.

Described by the band as: "a lovestory to St James Street [in Brighton] and its many erratic personalities and the eternal clash of oat flat whites and heroin poos" - "Farmhands" carefully builds from its driving, post-rock opening, singer Albert Haddenham riling against the gentrification of Brighton's city centre: ["My bamboo products quake in their cupboards / My macchiato spills over the plant ladder / All the greasy spoons hemmed in by bike shops / Their dishwashers shrink and fall down the drain"] - interspersed with trombone-laden breaks and moving towards an erratic brass-fuelled crescendo.

Speaking on the track's accompanying video, the band said: "In the summer in Brighton, the city council were giving homeless people train fare money to leave the city. I remember thinking this is an obscene solution to a really serious undeniable housing issue. The stark contrast of real poverty and gentrified coffee/juiceries is quite startling along most of the south coast, I’m sure everyone has an equivalent. The video came from us imagining the lyrics taking place in a small magical toadstool town of ‘smelves’ and seeing their reaction. If I could summon a sea beast I would."

==========================================================================

Looms - A Different Variety of Same (E.P).

What was originally written at the beginning of a supposed to be busy 2020 for Looms turned into a larger recording project as they navigated the pandemic. The themes of love, loss and isolation were in place pre-shutdown but turned out to be all too timely as they were eventually completed remotely.

The EP release includes two brand new tracks, "A Different Kind of Light" and "Nothin' Didn't Change," closing and coalescing with a sound that FLOOD Magazine noted it lands, "somewhere between the alt-country flavors of Wilco and the heartland rock inclinations of The War on Drugs."

The band shares:

Speaking a prayer of longing and uncertainty
Delicate ground crumbles at only the thought of steps
But the drum shows there is a path
As guitars churn and chug and swirl
Weaving the singular now…

Here is a bouquet of the gathered years
The countless unfolding of momentary togetherness
Standing in circles has been so important
To ring the bounds of the ancient well
And glimpse the divine as it slips
From the flat, black waters of the underneath
This is the sunken source of many tongues
Where our sciences and our spells are but a different variety of same.

==========================================================================

Photo - Ian Torres

Ziemba - Fear.

El Paso-based artist, Ziemba – a moniker for songwriter, producer, vocalist and pianist, René Kladzyk – is sharing her new single, "Fear" alongside details of a new album titled Unsubtle Magic which is set for release on December 10, 2021, via Sister Polygon Records. The new record arrives as the latest installment of Kladzyk's Ziemba project following previous releases that found support at Pitchfork, i-D, FADER, Stereogum, Vogue, Bandcamp Daily and more.

This first single acts as a fitting introduction to the musically eclectic album which touches on zany New Wave, baroque-pop and 1970s art-rock. Kladzyk's upright Steinway piano sits at the beating center of "Fear," flanked by fuzzy guitars and emphatic percussion.

Speaking about the single, Kladzyk explains: "One time a psychic told me that a curse was placed on me in the womb, and of course that was bullshit, she tried to sell me $800 in crystal therapy to lift the curse. But at the same time, intergenerational legacies of addiction, abuse, trauma and mental illness seep out at very inconvenient moments and for me often take the form of wondering if I’m cursed to destroy myself or the ones I love, just like some of my ancestors. This song is a journal entry from a day I felt very weighed down by that baggage.

"Musically, "Fear" is indebted to The Roches, the Plastic Ono Band, Richard and Linda Thompson, and John Cale. Arranging it was a fun and intuitive process in collaboration with Don Godwin, and it arrived pretty naturally at its final state."

==========================================================================

Ashley Shadow (feat. Bonnie Prince Billy) - Don't Slow Me Down.

The Vancouver, B.C.-based songwriter, Ashley Shadowhas just shared the video for her recent Pitchfork, Stereogum and Brooklyn Vegan-tipped single, "Don't Slow Me Down" (feat Bonnie "Prince" Billy). The visual piece, directed by Tyler McLeod, comes off the back of critical acclaim for the recent album, Only the End – out now via Felte – which found positive support from Pitchfork, MOJO, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, All Music, Secret Meeting and more upon release.

The video is a moving addition to the music. Filmed separately it finds Ashley and Bonnie "Prince" Billy (aka Will Oldham) connecting in isolation to produce something that touches on nostalgic references, presented with stuttering tape reels and analog effects.

Speaking about the making of the video, Ashley says: "Since we had trouble connecting in the flesh with Will Oldham we decided to get creative with our approach to this video. I asked Will to send some footage to the song with little direction and said to get as weird as he wanted with it, he’s a professional.

When Will’s footage arrived Tyler McLeod and I were pumped up and the gears started turning. The creative juices were flowing and it all unfolded a wave of cosmic vibrations. Through analog effects and nostalgic references the video took on its own life and we succumbed to the creative forces of multi-dimensional techniques. Thus a video was born."

==========================================================================

The Kut - Reptaliens - Roni Bar Hadas - Melted Wings - Abby Sage

The Kut - ANIMO.

Rock solo artist The Kut (PhD) has announced a US distribution deal with Amplified (Alliance / AMPED / MNRK), for her hotly anticipated second album and released a brand new video single ANIMO.

Meaning ‘courage’ or ‘spirit’, ANIMO and the accompanying music video were released yesterday and funded by Arts Council England. Dubbed by NYC Takeover as ‘the revolution waiting to erupt’ the latest Kut single is fierce; pepper sprayed with haunting melodies, driving beats and unapologetically packed with grrrl power.

Written in support of recent women’s rights demonstrations in the UK, the single is the first of a series of releases, leading up to The Kut second album, due June 2022. The forthcoming album features all seven members of her collective of women in music, with the ANIMO single featuring Diana Bartmann (drums), Jennifer Sanin (bass/vocals) and Alison Wood (guitar/bass) performing alongside The Kut.

The Kut’s debut album ‘Valley of Thorns’ was produced by James LeRock Loughrey (Skindred, White Zombie, Bjork) and spent two weeks in the UK Rock Albums Chart (No.7) and No. 18 in the Independent Albums Chart. The album was distributed via Cargo Records, who stay on as UK & Europe distributor.

Her latest single hit the UK Sales Chart on Christmas Day (No.65) and spent four weeks in the Physical Chart (No.10).  These releases have spawned significant interest in the UK and USA, including support from Kerrang!, BBC Introducing, Total Rock, Hard Rock Hell, Planet Rock, Metal Hammer, Sirius XM, AAA, College stations, with videos selected for playlist by MTV USA, MTV-U, LATV, AXSTV & Music Choice.

==========================================================================

Photo - Dan Crayonton

Reptaliens - Like A Dog.

Portland band Reptaliens announce its new LP Captured Tracks with the single & video "Like a Dog" The video is a homage to 90s tv tropes and public access television.

Reptaliens are ready to be direct. After exploring surreal realms of high-concept synth-pop across two acclaimed albums, the Portland, Oregon, duo found newfound clarity in a stark, grounded approach. That may seem unexpected for such a colorful act—known for heady lyrics about conspiracy theories and transhumanism—but Cole and Bambi Browning have streamlined to the lean, propulsive essentials on their self-produced new LP, Multiverse.

Shelving the dreamy synths altogether and working without their other bandmates due to lockdown, Reptaliens reset, picking up their guitars and emphasizing the catchy attack that’s been there all along. Drawing inspiration from the spontaneous energy of the ’90s alternative canon, the pair hit a surge in momentum after a casual-turned-revelatory listen to Jane’s Addiction’s 1990 classic “Been Caught Stealing.” Without even aiming to make a Reptaliens song, they wound up penning the set’s lead single “Like a Dog,” a sun-soaked groove-bomb that’s blissfully unencumbered by sonic baggage. “That really kicked it off,” Cole recalls. “It was so fast and easy and fun that we said, ‘Let’s do more like that.’”

Oregon natives Bambi and Cole started Reptaliens in the mid-2010s as a multi-faceted vehicle for their most adventurous urges. Across their first two Captured Tracks albums —FM-2030 (2017) and VALIS (2019)—they established themselves as dedicated dreamers and deep thinkers, filling their wooly, homespun synth-pop with meditations on outré science fiction and philosophy. With some help from friends, they’ve been able to tackle big questions and explore vast sound worlds. Tapping Julian Kowalski (guitar), Bryson Hansen (synth), and Tyler Vergian (drums) for their previous albums and shows, Reptaliens have bewitched crowds during extended national tours with STRFKR, Turnover, and Turnstile.

==========================================================================

Roni Bar Hadas - Fear.

Roni tells us: "I have always had a complicated relationship with putting my own self care needs before others' expectations or demands of me. Suffering from writer's block last year, I found myself with a new focus to liberate myself from self-criticism."

"Fear" has a deliberate air of empowerment and was written from a place of happiness, breaking my cycle of only writing during low periods. Recording it at home allowed me to go in with greater freedom of mind in a more relaxed setting - free to create something I could dance to.

If I decide to try being healthy, it better be because of me.

This lyric signifies my understanding and constant striving to remember to be mindful of my own needs, so that the motivation for my self care stems from within myself.

==========================================================================

Melted Wings - Capture Love.

Melted Wings is the multi-genre musical project of Michael Wynn, guitarist and founding member of bands Trains of Winter and Vicky von Vicky, who were active in the Kingston and Toronto music scenes in the 90’s and early 2000s.

After several years of not making music, Melted Wings has had a prolific output of songs since 2017, releasing multiple singles and EPs, along with a new album set to come out in early 2022. It all began after playing a handful of songs for a friend of his late father’s in 2017, who encouraged and challenged Wynn to keep making new music. From this initial boost, Melted Wings was born, and the first EP, The Bane of My Existence, was completed and released.

Each album and EP has had broad musical and genre-twisting influences. From folk, country, rock, pop, funk, disco, and alternative, to new wave, electronic, and EDM. From Johnny Cash, Pixies, ABBA, and Grease, to Handsome Furs, Depeche Mode, and TRST. The songs have gravitated lyrically towards love, unrequited love, broken relationships, social issues, and the impact of human existence. Wynn tends to latch onto catchy and quirky phrases, such as “You are the fire that fuels the flames of all my fears,” in “Bane of My Existence,” or “Oh when you run don’t slip and fall, you’ll scrape your skin, bare bums and all,” from the streakers in “Rolling Night.”

==========================================================================

photo - cloudytots

Abby Sage - Fever Dream.

Today LA-via-Toronto singer/songwriter Abby Sage shares her EP "Fears of Yours & Mine."

The 6-track collection is a weighty emotional journey inspired by the trajectory of a relationship from start to finish. Here, Abby plainly expresses her feelings and anxious state of mind, an inward exploration that ultimately leads to self-love and discovery. Created with the help of producer Jeff Hazin (glaive, renforshort, Anna Sofia), the EP emanates quiet confidence and pulls at the details.

"I called the project 'Fears of Yours & Mine' because the whole thing plays upon fears and moments of doubt that l held within a relationship and the path I was on as a whole," Abby shares of the record. "Fear kept me from continuing one journey but pushed me directly into another. Part of that was the creation of this project. 'When I Leave,' 'Fever Dream,' and 'Space for Me' all touch on various problems and doubts within the relationship whereas 'Wasting Away,' 'Smoke Break,' and 'Residing in the Sky' speak on the ending of it all and the ultimate rediscovery of self."

The EP's focus single"Fever Dream" is a moody affair that finds Abby reaching through hazy synths for reassurance in a relationship that's not there. It's a song that burns with hushed intensity as we see Abby peering into a situation where things aren't reciprocated. "Maybe I need you like you don't need me," she intones.

"'There’s a fire in your mind I can’t deny the way it burns me too.' This line is my favorite because it encapsulates the feeling of trying to fix someone knowing the damage it is ultimately causing yourself," Abby shares.

==========================================================================

Favours - Parliamo - The Vaulted Skies - Black Pines

Favours - Escaping.

Favours is made up of Jacq Andrade, Alexander Zen and Mark Andrade. They released their first LP Made to Wait in 2020. Their song “Stowaway” was featured on Netflix and CBC Gem. Recently, Favours built a home recording studio in a former halfway house in Mimico. The studio serves as a practice space and home to Alex, as well as their central creative hub for all music videos and photography projects.

Favours’ EP, Left Behind, was released November 12th 2021 and it features a fresh dream pop, new wave sound inspired by their shared love of the 80’s new wave sound and a DIY post-punk feel. The band collaborated with a strong team for this upcoming EP. 

They enlisted the talents of Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning to play bass on the EP, the engineering chops of Tallies’ Dylan Franklin, who engineered the drums and bass, and the mixing prowess of Alexandre Bonenfont. Previous singles have been featured on NPR, David Dean Burkhart and charted #1 on Canadian College Radio.

Favours · Escaping

============================================================================

Parliamo - The Parliamo Manifesto (E.P).

Perth, Scotland based 6-piece Parliamo release their eagerly anticipated new EP 'The Parliamo Manifesto' via Modern Sky (The Coral, The Lathums, Abbie Ozard). Drawing from a plethora of influences from The Avalanches and Massive Attack to Super Furry Animals and The Beta Band – Parliamo bring together witty social commentary–styled lyricism with a distinctive songwriting approach very much of their own.

Widely adored by their Scottish contemporaries including Walt Disco, Glasvegas, The Ninth Wave and VLURE, the band have also seen co-signs from The Libertines' Carl Barat, Primal Scream's Simone Butler and Scottish actor Robert Carlyle. They've inarguably backed this support up, quickly rising through the ranks of new Scottish acts with momentous back-to-back sold out at shows at Glasgow's King Tuts and Dundee's Hunter S Thomson.

The band's newly released EP 'The Parliamo Manifesto' is the culmination of over a year's songwriting and is a bold statement of intent from the 6 piece. Employing a charming tongue-in-cheek approach to some of the slightly darker aspects of life which young people face today, the record touches on the complications of religious pressure on "Catholic Guilt", spiraling addiction on "Who Needs a Reason?", mental health on "She’s Only Human" and the awkward beauty of young love on EP opener "Paul & Barry".

The baggy, swaggering sound of the band and the often darkly humorous nature of the lyrics, stands in stark contrast with some of the subject matter, echoing the band’s propensity for laughing in lieu of crying. In a world of such turmoil and uncertainty, ‘The Parliamo Manifesto’ aims to reconcile people with positivity through vibrant, energetic music, whilst providing a relatable commentary on the modern world and the inner workings of the minds of young people. With lyrics sometimes written and delivered in the Scottish vernacular, the record offers a somewhat unique perspective on the simultaneously charming and terrifying nature of modern life.

Parliamo · The Parliamo Manifesto

==========================================================================

The Vaulted Skies - What If I Were The Boy?

James Scott (Guitar, Vocals) talks us through the story of the song… “A long time ago, at a college far, far away, I was paired up on an acting assignment with one of the popular girls. While we were alone in a rehearsal space, she asked me if I wanted her to do something to me, using a phrase I didn’t understand at the time, because I was naive and innocent. I assumed it would involve some kind of physical pain or humiliation - like a wedgie! - so I said no.

I realise now of course, that she was propositioning me. Given that context, I also realise that she said something else that alluded to a very troubled home life. Knowing what I know now, while I still wouldn’t have taken her up on her offer (she was high, as usual), I wish I’d recognised the cry for help underneath it all. I don’t know what happened to her. I can’t find her on social media. Mutual friends
have lost touch with her.

I may be inventing a reality that never came to pass, and she might be perfectly fine; but this song captures the panic I felt when the memory of unwittingly rejecting her advances suddenly came back to me, which haunts me to this day.”

==========================================================================

Black Pines - Chains.

Following on from the enormous response to their breakthrough singles ‘Heaven’s Son’, ‘Power’ and ‘Hope’ last year, as well as their stripped-back collection ‘Isolation Tapes’ in early 2021, Essex-based outfit Black Pines are back once again to deliver their bluesy new release ‘Chains’.

Channeling a bold and atmospheric direction this time around, ‘Chains’ sees the five-piece return in stellar form. With its bold and soaring textures, shimmering hooks, and bouncing aesthetic, they are truly breaking out of their comfort zone on this blistering new effort.

Speaking about the new offering, they said, “This was the first track we created after our debut 3 singles. It marks a somewhat noticeable creative swerve, and a change of attitude when it comes to our songwriting - likely motivated by our Covid-induced isolation. It’s more fun and less forgiving, and pushes Tom’s vocals to new heights.

“Sonically, ‘Chains’ was born from a love of what Nothing But Thieves and Royal Blood had created recently, as well as paying homage to the pitch bending, tone destroying guitars of past players like Tom Morello or Prince!”

Black Pines · Chains

==========================================================================

Cousin Kula - Ovlov - SHEAL - Courtney Cotter King

Photo - Alfred Thirolle

Cousin Kula - Something So Sweet.

Bristol's Cousin Kula today release their new single "Something So Sweet", the final taster of their debut album Double Dinners, out November 26th via Rhythm Section.

With co-signs from the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD, Cousin Kula's forthcoming debut album Double Dinners follows their 2017 EP 'OODLES', 2019's 'STROODLES' EP, along with their 2020 'Casa Kula Cassette', which caught the attention of beloved tastemaker and DJ Bradley Zero who swiftly signed them to his Rhythm Section label.

New single "Something So Sweet" is a prime example of the band's undeniable ability to blur the lines between sweeping psychedelia and blissful jazz. Arguably the best showcase of Joe Milkinson's jazz drumming prowess, the track is wonderfully interspersed with stunning saxophone turns, intricate guitar passages and electrifying synths.

Speaking on the new single release the band said: "The production really stands out on this one and is testament to Doug’s hard work engineering and mixing the whole record from home. Most of the tunes on the album are live takes - Doug built his own ribbon mics, dozens of acoustic panels, and engineered the whole thing so that we could record everyone together from separate rooms in the house - all to get a live feel that lends itself so well to these tunes."

Cousin Kula have created their own musical universe of otherworldly pop serenity with vastly distinct, but complementary elements: “the possibilities of jazz, the emphatic energy of club culture, and the sonic tapestries of psychedelia” CLASH Magazine remark.

Living and recording together, nestled in the sun-drenched hills on the outskirts of Bristol, Cousin Kula are masters of their craft, and also of restraint; widely regarded by their fans for their superior live show. Having performed live in various bands for the past 10 years since their early teens, not being able to hit the stage during lockdown took its toll on these musicians. Ever resourceful, however, Cousin Kula began a series of their own home-made live sessions, which lead in turn to a Boiler Room Session and further a request from XL signees BADBADNOTGOOD to record a live adaptation of their new single.

Now, Cousin Kula flutter into the collective consciousness with a timeless slice of psychedelic soul on debut album Double Dinners. The latest band to emerge out of the buoyant Bristol music scene, they have stripped back all excess baggage for their most accomplished recordings to date.

==========================================================================

Ovlov - Eat More.

We're a little over a week away from the release of Ovlov's third full length Buds, which will be out next Friday on Exploding In Sound. Their first new music following a long layoff after the release of their beloved 2018 LP TRU, the album has been one of the more heavily anticipated of the fall, earning praise from outlets like Pitchfork, NPR, FADER, Uproxx, Paste, MTV, BrooklynVegan, and Stereogum who ran a feature that dives into the band's history and influence last month. Today the band are sharing a final single from the record, a track entitled "Eat More."

"'Eat more' is about that last person I fell in love with, and I wrote it once I realized I had fallen in love," explains Ovlov singer and lead songwriter Steve Hartlett. "They did not feel the same at the time, however. Thus it being so needy, lyrically. One of my favorite guitar parts I’ve ever written, though!"

Formed in 2009, Ovlov are the kind of cult phenomenon that seems to never stop growing despite the stop-start pattern of the band's existence. Led by songwriter and guitarist Steve Harlett, the Connecticut four-piece has released two LPs and a handful of EPs over the last decade and have broken up more times than they have made albums in that span, and yet their reputation (and with it their audience) has steadily expanded, largely as a result of a kind of grassroots, word-of-mouth excitement that feels of a piece with the band's DIY origins. Fixtures at now legendary Brooklyn venues like Shea Stadium, the band's two LPs (2013's AM and 2018's Tru which both saw release on the Brooklyn label Exploding In Sound) have seen them praised for picking up the torch of '90s indie rock groups like Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, making what NPR described as "big, fuzzy rock n roll that you can drown in," while carving out a unique sound that has had a surprisingly persistent influence on the indie rock bands that came after them.

Recorded with the same producer and engineer who has handled every Ovlov album, Michael John Thomas III at his Black Lodge Studio in Brooklyn, Buds is the latest document of Ovlov’s slow and sturdy evolution. But this time, the band’s become even more of a family affair. Though Steve’s long been riffing alongside guitarist Morgan Luzzi, the band was started with Steve’s younger brother Theo on drums. This time around, their older brother Jon joined them on bass—and their dad, Ted, even stops in to rip a sax solo on “Cheer Up, Chihiro!” Considering the Hartlett brothers learned how to play music together, it’s a full circle moment as they all come together in service of making Ovlov’s most fully realized statement yet.

==========================================================================

SHEAL - Gravity.

Following her recent single, “Dark,” SHEAL is revealing a new, melodic piano-led ballad.

“‘Gravity’ is about what it’s like when you choose to love someone in spite of hurt and difference,” the artist explains. “Rather than running away from tenuous relationships, holding space for the other person to be themselves with all their flaws and beauty.”

While her previous single explores the experience of fear shrinking one’s inner world, “Gravity” charts its expansion through love.

Lilting clarinet and strings elevate the grace of this song’s gentle beauty, which is one of SHEAL’s most ambitious pieces, both lyrically and production-wise. It conveys the feeling of weightlessness at the centre of “Gravity.”

“I think a lot of my writing is me finding my voice. I’ve always been inspired by beauty and beauty in music, and that’s inspired me to create. My challenge was always finding my voice and feeling like I had something worthwhile to say.” explains SHEAL, Toronto-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

==========================================================================

Courtney Cotter King - Electric Feet.

Courtney Cotter King has just released her newest song "Electric Feet," a 50's and contemporary style jazz pop song about the happiness her children spread, especially when they dance.

Courtney dedicates “Electric Feet” to moms everywhere and the creative chaos that ensues with their children. Inspired by the “booty-slide-slide” (her oldest’s first signature dance move), it’s all about dancing along with kids’ endless energy, rather than trying to dim it down. From the same planet as Pharrell William’s “Happy” and Ray Lamontagne’s “You Are The Best Thing”, it’s one to lift the spirits with it’s upbeat fun from start to finish.

Courtney Cotter King was born with a piano as an appendage and is inevitably attached to the keys. A raw talent, with smooth vocals and lyrics beyond her years, Courtney commands a room with merit for listening. Courtney’s artistry at the piano drives her blue-eyed soul, singer-songwriter genre. Of her unique sound, Marmoset Music Publishing said, “Piano-driven arrangements informed by classical and jazz come off effortlessly, evoking both early 70s Stevie Wonder and 90s Tori Amos. Smart, soulful, and surprising, Courtney's tunes easily marry sound with story.” She has performed with a long list of artists including, Meghan Trainor, Melanie Safka, and Courtney Marie Andrews.

CourtneyCotterKing · Electric Feet

==========================================================================

The Jaws of Brooklyn - Maria Pellicano - Rebecca McCartney - Chris Kelly

The Jaws of Brooklyn - Fever.

Seattle-based band, The Jaws of Brooklyn, announce the release of the 60s influenced Garage Soul Pop single on November 12. It’s off the album, The Shoals, due out in early 2022. Lyrically the song represents embracing every facet of being a woman – especially anger, and being unabashedly unapologetic in showing up fully in every expression of emotion, despite how “unattractive” or unacceptable it might be to society.

The Jaws of Brooklyn fully express these emotions on “Fever” with a sensual, gritty determination. Lead singer Lindsay Love, says “It touches on being someone’s desire but never their ‘dear.’ It’s about pulling the tape off my mouth to finally speak up and get loud without caring how I’m perceived. It also touches on female sexuality from a purely physical stance that dispels the historical notion that women are always seeking something more from men.”

The band recorded the single in The Shoals region of Alabama at Sundrop Sound, the studio owned by Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner and John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars). The single features Alabama Shakes/Brittney Howard background vocalists Shanay Johnson and Karita Law.  Muscle Shoals Alabama’s rich musical history that includes the likes of Aretha Franklin, Rolling Stones, and Otis Redding, weaves its way into Jaw of Brooklyn’s very essence. 

The Jaws of Brooklyn formed when Radio Raheem’s three members (Zia Uddin-Drums, Paul Christofferson-Bass, Bryan Cohen-Guitar) met singer Lindsay Love in Seattle during the height of the COVID pandemic in August 2020. They recorded a series of 60’s flavored Rock n’ Roll and Soul demos in Cohen’s basement, which included background vocal contributions from Black Pumas’ Lauren Cervantes and keyboards from Funky 2 Death’s Melissa Montalto. The demos caught the ear of Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner and Fitz and the Tantrums and Lady Blackbird writer/producer Chris Seefried.

The Jaws of Brooklyn · FEVER

==========================================================================

Maria Pellicano - Forever and Ever.

Inspiring Singer/Songwriter, author, teacher and coach, Maria Pellicano is set to release her transformative single, ‘Forever and Ever’ on 12th November 2021. A song that takes us on a journey of moving through our inner darkness and discovering what lies beyond.. In other words, painting the darkness with colours of hope.

“Often, we don’t want to look at our own darkness, because we are afraid we will find something we cannot solve.. I wanted to highlight that it’s really there for people.. If we want to grow, we have to confront that there are parts of us that we cannot solve.. you need to become aware of it and sit with it.”

After working with producer, Joshua Hennessy, of Pivotal Music Melbourne, on the creation of the track, Maria plans to combine the song with her existing tools as an experienced author, teacher and coach, to create a powerful message to those looking to grow and develop their voice, presence and confidence.

Music and songwriting have not only allowed Maria to express her own soulful song, but have been a gift that has touched and inspired so many people throughout every stage of her life.

==========================================================================

Rebecca McCartney - For Avery, in June.

Rebecca McCartney returns to the city where she was raised by a family of musicians and nerds, now with her own sound and much to say. She grew up immersed in NYC’s classical music world and her early songwriting eventually led to the release of an indie-folk record under the duo name Garden Party (2020) with her close friend, Jakob Leventhal.

Now, after a college career studying jazz and playing in an R&B band, McCartney is preparing to release her genre-bending debut EP, How You Feel. Calling on her eclectic musical influences and experiences, the upcoming record generates an edgy, ethereal sound that celebrates McCartney’s buttery vocals and absorbing lyrical insights. Rebecca is stoked to share her new single out this Friday, November 12th.

Here's what she had to say about it: "I wrote 'For Avery, in June' for my friend who has been knocked down by relationships so many times. Every time she gets hurt by one of these emotionally illiterate men, I just want her to be okay. So the song’s about that, about calling her back home, and saying that even when these men don’t show up for her, I’ll be there. It’s sad but hopeful. A good song to listen to with small tears and then call your friend you haven’t talked to in a year".

==========================================================================

Chris Kelly - Your Day Begins Again.

Cardiff Singer/Songwriter Chris Kelly announces his latest single 'Your Day Begins Again.'

Released independently the single will be streaming everywhere on Friday 26th November.

Former Front-man of 90's Cardiff Band 'The Scooters' Chris Kelly has made quite a name for himself across Wales as a tour de force on the live music circuit. Honing his craft as an accomplished Singer/Songwriter, Chris Kelly has played extensively across all of South Wales and impressing many an audience with his unique brand of Acoustic Americana Pop.

Beast PR · Chris Kelly - Your Day Begins Again

==========================================================================

Dana Gavanski - Kaya Usher - Parrot Dream - Lydia Brownfield

Dana Gavanski - Letting Go.

Following on from her debut album Yesterday Is Gone and her covers EP Wind Songs both released in 2020, Serbian-Canadian musician Dana Gavanski gives us a taste of what's to come next with her brand new single "Letting Go."

It's a slice of wide screen psychedelic pop. Dana and her band are also heading out on the road with Porridge Radio this week, a tour they will be embarking on by train in the interest of lowering their environmental impact.

Of the new single Dana says: "It's like a little mantra for me to sing, though maybe it’s a tad unconventional being that it’s not necessarily the kind of positive message we all associate with pop mantras. It’s more of an account of how the mind works to undermine us. It’s a subverted mantra. In the chord sequence I was trying to excite my ears and explore different melodies."

==========================================================================

Kaya Usher - Heart Clicks.

Kaya Usher's first single as a recording artist is Heart Clicks, a song about the transcending power of love and the ways in which it unites humanity.  The song comes a week ahead of the November 17 release of her debut album, All This Is, produced by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene and Nyles Spencer. Mastered by Grammy award-winner Emily Lazar, the 10-track project also features Andrea Nann on back-up vocals and two of Usher and Downie’s children, Lou and Willo. Bringing to life the couple’s dream of one day forming a family band, All This Is will self-released and distributed by Arts & Crafts Productions, the label behind Downie’s solo career.

"This is a very personal album for me, not only because I get to jam out with my kids, but also because music has helped me to rise up and transcend what was holding me back,” says Kaya Usher. “Everyone can connect to music. My hope is that this album helps others reach new heights too.”

All This Is represents a reset. It is Usher’s story, told for the first time through a series of songs. Haunting melodies and soul-searching lyrics create an experience for the listener that reflects Usher’s awakening process, a journey that began when she fought breast cancer in her forties. The album speaks to her unraveling, her epiphany and, finally, her metamorphosis.

Kevin Drew met Usher in 2013 through Downie, and they soon became good friends. Their collaboration is heard throughout the album, in its robust compositions, ambient chords and hypnotic rhythms. Featuring her son Lou on keyboard and drums, her daughter Willo on harmonies and Usher playing classical guitar, organ, harmonica and providing vocals, All This Is is an offering almost thirty years in the making. The project was recorded at The Bathouse Recording Studio — a studio owned and managed by The Hip, near Kingston on the shores of Lake Ontario. The album art was designed by Willo.

==========================================================================

Parrot Dream - The End.

NY-based dream-pop duo Parrot Dream are sharing a new single, "The End." It's third and final in the band's 2021 song cycle following "Automatic System" and "Red Circle."

The band shares, "'The End' was not in fact written in response to world events. We were experimenting with big dark synth sounds and wanted to create something minimal but deep & dynamic. The lyrics are essentially final thoughts as a chapter closes and one created world ends. We all move through several worlds during the day; worlds we create ourselves, worlds created by systemic repression, worlds of relationships, worlds created by the illusions of capitalism, to name a few. The world ending in this song is specifically a world built around two beings facing a fire and brimstone type of demise."

Parrot Dream is the Brooklyn via Santiago, Chile duo of Christina Appel and Gonzalo Guerrero. Good Eye released their debut, Light Goes, which dealt with themes of disconnected memory and loss as the partners grappled with their different senses of home.

"The End" is part of a set of material that they had planned on recording in a studio in 2020 and ended up recording in their home throughout the year. It's also their first new work operating fully as a duo.

==========================================================================

Lydia Brownfield - Against The Light.

Lydia Brownfield announces the release of the single “Against the Light." It’s an anthem for those trying over and over again despite the odds and also a reckoning for those getting in their own way.  It’s off the upcoming album, Dig, due out November 19.

The frantic and impulsive tempo symbolizes a moth banging around the dark searching for the light. When she finds it she throws herself against it: “Around and round this light I’m flying banging loudly into the night, torn and broken but not beaten, I will throw myself again and again and again against the light”.

It reflects two areas of Brownfield’s own life she strives to get right, her music career and past relationships. She says, “This song kind of sums up my life. Even after failing at relationships, we all do it again. And again and again. We have to try. I always have to try. It’s the same with music. I’ve been at this for decades. But I still throw myself at it as hard as I can, with whatever I have. Or whatever I have left.”

Brownfield plays acoustic guitar, piano, strings and synths on “Against the Light”. The single produced by Fred Blitzer, also features Andy Harrison on electric guitar, Jeff Martin on drums, and Phil Maneri on bass.

The album travels the euphoric highs of being in love and the dramatic lows of breaking up and discovering internal power. Through genre-bending twists and turns of folk, punk, and pop, it explores the journey of getting caught up in someone else and losing sight of one’s journey of self-discovery.

Lydia Brownfield · Against The Light

==========================================================================

Alyssa Gengos - Mae Mae - KAVYA - Phonosonics

Photo - Morgan Hamilton

Alyssa Gengos - Gothenburg English.

Alyssa is a multi-talented producer who's been making records auteur-style on her laptop for years ("I feel most comfortable when I'm completely alone" she says in the bio below). Her music is straight forward in style, but elegant in construction and form.

Here's what Alyssa had to say about the meaning behind the song and the video: I began writing “Gothenburg English” in my head while walking around the titular city near the end of my Scandinavian sojourn. Six months prior, I’d left a long term partner behind in New York City, hoping the relationship would survive. It did not. I finally accepted the end of it while wandering around Gothenburg and the Delsjö wilderness on the outskirts of the city. A friend told me the local accent is one of the most sing-songy in the Swedish language, and it’s audible when speaking English, too, creating a kind of “Gothenburg English.” I think of this song as a road song in the sense of American road novels and movies. I sing about my travels during this time, and admit the realization that I came to once I returned home: I was ready to move on from the relationship that had brought me so much stress and misery. I

eventually left New York for my home of Los Angeles, where I filmed the music video for this song with the help of some of my oldest friends. In it, the audience gets a glimpse into my home studio , as well as different locations that left marks on my adolescence, as I connect the person I was when I first started making music to the person I have become.

During this past year, when the stimuli from the outer world ceased, Alyssa Gengos was having some weird-ass dreams. In one that stuck with her, she dreamed that an old school bully was being kind to her. “That was a very strange dream for me to have because I don't think about this person really ever,” she says. “But it reflected to me that I have this really deep desire to be liked.” So poignant was this realization that it makes two appearances on her debut full-length Mechanical Sweetness, which melds her dreams and personal nostalgia into a new-wavey indie rock homecoming album.

==========================================================================

Photo - Eliot Lee Hazel

Mae Mae - Squishy.

Atlanta-born and Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Mae Mae has released “Squishy,” the first single and video from her debut EP, Gummy Heart Eyes. With shimmering xylophone and mischievous bass fluttering throughout, “Squishy” is magnified by a kaleidoscope of whimsical sounds and an infectious hook as the track emulates the joyous emotions you feel when you’re surrounded by people you love.

Inspired by the bliss she feels from life’s little pleasures, Mae Mae’s storytelling reflects how her wide-eyed wonder and optimism collide with the world around her. The same is true of the song’s video, which depicts a home movie-style walk through a garden with her very sweet four-legged companion. 

The video’s calm and inviting aesthetic mirrors Mae Mae’s earnestness, “Squishy” is unconventional yet welcoming, reflecting how her distinctive charm blends into pop appeal.

==========================================================================

KAVYA - Lay Your Head Down.

‘Lay Your Head Down’ marks the 2nd release from KAVYA’s debut EP 'Know Me Better'. The song talks about what are the ingredients required for a friendship to stand the test of time. Friendship is a priceless gift which should be honoured and a common theme to be observed in a relationship of any form. What are the ingredients required to build on a promising friendship?

For KAVYA, it starts off with being present in the physical form with the other, opening up multiple conversation points, and understanding what makes the other person. Then, delving a bit deeper and exploring the future prospective she sees with the other, how she can contribute and enhance the other’s life and vice versa.

Aligned with prospective, it is equally important for her to uncover the individual’s aspirations and expectations so that she can be the friend who can encourage the other to achieve them, be aware and mindful of her role to not disappoint the other when expectations aren’t met. And in this entire process, if things don’t go as planned, she opens up the opportunity to ‘lay your head down’ and just be present as that is the truest point of friendship achieved - once of accepting the circumstances as is and not giving up on someone who you have invested your time and opened your heart too. That is the key to sustain a fruitful friendship built over time.

"Lay Your Head Down was written over many years where I found myself wanting to understand the various layers of all my friendships and what truly makes them special. This track is a tribute to my curiosity to connections made between people."

==========================================================================

Phonosonics - New Again (Album).

Phonosonics is a Canadian Rocksteady and Early Reggae band, pleased to announce their latest album New Again. Since 2015, this group has been dazzling audiences with their reverent yet modern take on Rocksteady, Ska and Early Reggae. Phonosonics began as the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and producer Spencer Cleave and has grown to be one of Canada’s fastest emerging Reggae acts.

The band has been racking up accolades since their earliest days. Their releases have been featured on some of the most listened-to Reggae radio shows in the world and consistently charted in the top 10 on Canadian independent radio. They have opened for The Wailers and served as backing band for The Fabulous Lolo, Sister Nancy and Leroy “Heptone” Sibbles.

These connections to the worldwide Reggae community came in handy when production began on New Again in 2019. The album was slated for a 2020 release, but unfortunately sidelined by the pandemic. The group persevered and tenaciously finished putting together a beautiful and vintage-sounding collection of Rocksteady, Early Reggae, Ska and Blue Beat style tunes with a positive message.

With their characteristically painstaking commitment to authenticity and respect for the source material, New Again feels more like it could have been produced in 1970s Kingston than 2020s Victoria. Drawing on their friends in the Reggae community, they were able to recruit artists such as Leroy Sibbles, Horseman, Montreal’s Dr. Watson, and Roger Rivas of the Aggrolites to join in on the record. New Again is the story of rebirth and redemption, and its themes have taken on new meaning these past years. Phonosonics want you to know it's never too late to turn it all back around, and make it new again.

==========================================================================

KIN - Massage

KIN - The Runaways.

Ambient indie pop band KIN return with their most ambitious single yet, The Runaways. Following the success of their first three singles, which have been collectively streamed over 310,000k times on Spotify, their new track, unleashed last Friday, is a pulsating pop anthem with dreamy guitar riffs, beautiful melodies, and mesmerising beats. The song is produced by Josh Tyrrell (Lana Del Rey, Mark Ronson, Tony Visconti) and released with 3tone Music. 

The band is formed of Grace (performance maker and model), Ritu (lead in the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy and star in the film Red Notice alongside Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson) and Adam (last seen on stage at the National Theatre).

Their music blends electronic keys and catchy guitar riffs to produce a sound that is unique, dynamic, and constantly evolving. Influences include indie powerhouses such as The XX, Warpaint, Still Corners and Foals as well as female-fronted bands like Chromatics, Cocteau Twins and Soccer Mommy.

==========================================================================

Massage - In Gray & Blue.

Just a few months after releasing their acclaimed second album Still Life, Los Angeles indie-pop band Massage returns with Lane Lines — a six-track EP out in early 2022 on Mt.St.Mtn. (Cindy, Flowertown, Blues Lawyer) that finds the quintet expanding on their Sarah-meets-Creation Records sound with new touches of soft psychedelia, Feelies-ish frenzy and Haçienda-era escapism.

"This sparkling homage to New Order's Ibiza period is the first single off Massage's new Lane Lines EP.  If the first Pains album is your favorite, Massage are very much in that vein, but with a little more emphasis on '80s British indie, from Mary Chain noise to Field Mice preciousness. The lead track, 'In Gray & Blue,' is a warm, melodic winner that draws from a very specific influence -- the guitary half of New Order's 1989 Ibiza-made album Technique."

The band didn’t plan to follow Still Lines so quickly. But after the pandemic further delayed that multi-year project, Alex Naidus (guitar, vocals, former Pains of Being Pure at Heart), Andrew Romano (guitar, vocals), Gabrielle Ferrer (keyboards, percussion, vocals), David Rager (bass) and Natalie de Almeida (drums) leapt at the chance to make music together again in real life and started gathering on random summer evenings in the tiny rehearsal-space studio of producer-composer Andrew Brassell (Susanna Hoffs) with no clear goal in mind.

Lane Lines is the surprise product of those informal sessions — a flash of pent-up creative energy that serves as both a companion piece to Still Life and an exploration of textures and influences that didn’t quite fit the full-length but have always been deeply embedded in the band’s DNA, with new echoes of 1980s artists that sought to refract the 1960s through their own skewed prisms: Flying Nun, the Paisley Underground, The Feelies covering The Beatles, “Second Summer of Love” New Order.

==========================================================================

James - Nichole Wagner - The Alex Leach Band

James - Miss America (Library Session).

James are pleased to announce the release of The Campfire EP, available on November 19, 2021. Filmed at Broughton Hall in the UK’s Yorkshire Dales earlier this year, the EP features uniquely intimate versions of three tracks from James’ latest album, All The Colours Of You along with the added bonus of their classic “Just Like Fred Astaire,” taken from their 1999 record, Millionaires.

The Campfire EP will be exclusively available on the James store and at the merchandise store on their forthcoming tour. The release will be limited edition, numbered and include a QR code to download the Campfire videos.

Tim Booth says “The beginning of the new James 9 piece began at Broughton Hall. The sessions there felt magical. Here is a slice of the magic that we created around a campfire one evening...”

James will perform tracks from the new record and many more from their rich catalogue on the forthcoming arena tour with special guests Happy Mondays.

==========================================================================

Nichole Wagner - Raised By Wolves.

Austin, Texas's Nichole Wagner is back with another single and video to preview her upcoming full length album (2022). Once again teaming up with producer Justin Douglas, Wagner's 'Raised By Wolves" features a full band and does an amazing job of highlighting her chops as both a songwriter and a performer.

Confronting her upbringing in an honest and interesting way, Wagner says of the track:
Life as a child could be unpredictable (thanks to an alcoholic mother) and I had to grow up very early, taking on responsibilities that were unfair to my age.  It toughened me up but left scars and that trauma has a way of showing up when I don’t expect it. I would joke about having been raised by wolves, something I’d tell people to soften the edges when they didn’t understand where I was coming from - a shorthand to avoid sharing details. I’ve been doing a lot of work through it these past few years and it’s showing up in my writing in a way that I hadn’t been comfortable with before.

"Raised By Wolves" and it's video, which was created by Austin's Seela, come a few months after Wagner shared the first look at her upcoming album with the track "Monsters" and it's video. With these two tracks already set upon the musical world, it's easy to get excited about the aforementioned record. Wagner continues to grow and write compelling songs that are both incredibly enjoyable from a sonic perspective as well as highly relatable lyrically.

==========================================================================

The Alex Leach Band - Slip Slidin' Away / Up To You.

Although he has helped carry on the legacy of bluegrass founding fathers, singer/songwriter/guitarist Alex Leach and the eponymous band he fronts are joining contemporaries like Billy Strings in redefining what modern roots music and bluegrass are through originality and a purposeful evolution away from long held stereotypes. I’m The Happiest When I’m Moving, their Jim Lauderdale-produced Mountain Home Music Company debut, marked the starting point of that evolution, blending a couple of traditional-sounding touchstones with more contemporary original material and some organically framed nods in the direction of Americana and the broader roots music world.  Now, with the release of two new singles that display the breadth of their multifaceted talent, The Alex Leach Band are doubling down on their commitment to blazing their own, unique musical trail.

On the bluegrass side, “Up To You,” written with producer Jon Weisberger, delves deeper into Leach’s propensity for thoughtful lyrics and his fondness for the progressive and newgrass-flavored sounds of musical progenitors like the Country Gentlemen and Cliff Waldron & the New Shades of Grass. The band — Miranda Leach (vocals), Joshua Gooding (mandolin, vocals), Jason Johnson (banjo) and JT Coleman (bass), along with guest violinist Chris Sexton of Nothin’ Fancy and legendary studio drummer Tony Creasman — delivers a solid groove and supple, distinctive solos, as Leach delivers a meditation on how our views of situations reflect our individual outlooks and experiences.

“I am very excited to release ‘Up To You,’” notes Leach. “I brought the idea to Jon a few months back about an optimist and a pessimist on a trip together, and how each of them viewed a stressful situation. After writing for a bit, we decided to let the listener be the one to decide if they thought of themselves as a positive thinker or a negative thinker. I also want to compliment how tastefully the band played and sang on this track. I hope this song will cause the listener to think about how they deal with situations, all while groovin’ to the music — but at the end of the day, take it exactly how you want, it’s completely ‘up to you.’”

In contrast to the original “Up To You,” the group’s cover of Paul Simon’s “Slip Slidin’ Away” foregoes the ‘grassy accents of the banjo and delivers instead a carefully crafted yet utterly natural reading that focuses tightly on the singing of Alex and Miranda. Framed by Leach’s inventive guitar figures and Sexton’s subtle violin, the husband and wife duo reveal Simon’s enigmatic parables with intimate, sympathetic tone and phrasing, making the familiar masterpiece feel as if it’s being heard for the first time.

Syntax Creative · The Alex Leach Band - "Slip Slidin' Away"

Syntax Creative · The Alex Leach Band - "Up to You"

==========================================================================