Alice Costelloe - Niloo - Album Club - Charlotte Rose Benjamin - Nora Kelly Band

Alice Costelloe - California.

Having played in bands since she was 12 years old, London born musician and songwriter Al (Alice) Costelloe signed to Mute records at just 17 as half of shoegaze two-piece ‘Big Deal’. The band released 3 critically acclaimed albums, garnering enthusiastic support across British radio with multiple singles playlisted at BBC 6 music. Further to this, the inclusion of the duo’s song ‘Dream Machines’ on the soundtrack of blockbuster movie ‘Divergent’ helped deliver them to a wider audience, amassing 70,000 followers online and over 10,000,000 streams.

After years of international touring, supporting the likes of Depeche Mode and The Vaccines and appearing at festivals such as SXSW, NOS Alive and Reading & Leeds, Costelloe disbanded the band after a breakdown within the partnership made continuing impossible. Disillusioned with life on the road, and traumatized by the tumultuous relationship within the project, Costelloe suffered a crisis of confidence in her musical capabilities and was resolved to never write or perform again, taking up a job as a nanny instead. 

However, whilst walking back from a shift one night she chanced upon the members of ‘Superfood’ (Dirty Hit) outside a local bar who convinced her to not give up on music and to play bass with the group as they toured their new album. Encouraged by the band members, as well as her partner ‘VANT’ (Parlophone) who she also began to tour with, Costelloe began to consider creating her own music again and tentatively started work on recording home demos which form the basis of her upcoming singles.

 

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Niloo - All in the Name.

Niloo tells us 'All in the Name' is the sophomore single off of my self-titled EP, and it’s the follow-up to To Feel It Deep.

All in the Name is a mellow dream-pop track about the solitude, reflection and calm one often experiences after the ending of a turbulent relationship. It is about re-discovering yourself after the dust settles, taking stock of the lessons you have learned from past relationships and coming to some clarity about dynamics that you won’t accept in the future. The lyrics, along with the vocals and the musical arrangement of the song, create a mood that is soothing and bittersweet.

This peaceful little track was made in collaboration with the amazing folks at Risque Disque Studios in the summer of 2021. The dynamic percussion was created and tracked by Jen Yakamovich of Troll Dolly; equally melancholy and playful Wurlitzer was dreamed up and performed by Finn Smith; last but certainly not least, bass guitar, co-production and mix was done by Shilo Preshyon of Cartoon Lizard.

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Album Club - Different Hours.

Album Club are a band of creatives that initially gathered to discuss music in The Laurieston, an iconic Glasgow bar in 2019. The group was started by MJ McCarthy who brought friends together to dissect albums, track by track over drinks. This gathering then morphed into something more, and the band was born over lockdown in 2020. Although not all the members were musicians, an album emerged, something beautiful created in defiance of adversity. It is an album of friendship and community crafted by a group of people brought together by a love of music.

Album Club is made up of MJ McCarthy and Adam Scott of Zoey Van Goey, playwright Douglas Maxwell, actress and writer Isobel McArthur, novelist and playwright Cathy Forde, Rhona NicDhughaill of the Gaelic arts company Theatre Gu Leor, journalist Peter Geoghegan and Emma Pollock and Paul Savage of The Delgados. 

The album also borrows backing vocals and contributions from friends around the world. The album was recorded at Chem19 in Glasgow and is set to be released by Last Night From Glasgow on the 13th May 2022. The first single from the album, The Hard Part was released in January and has been played on Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio Scotland. Second single, Different Hours is released today 25th March.

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Charlotte Rose Benjamin - Slot Machine.

Brooklyn-based artist Charlotte Rose Benjamin has just released a new single “Slot Machine” from her forthcoming debut album, Dreamtina, which is set for release on April 22. The song pairs jaunty guitar hooks with Benjamin’s stream of conscious, lighthearted lyrics about unrequited love and the “inbetween” feeling of being a millenial/gen Z cusp. The video was shot by Benjamin and frequent collaborator, Hlif Olafsdottir, documenting a leisurely day on a Williamsburg Ferry, a Chinatown Arcade, a Dime’s Square dive bar and their favorite downtown karaoke spot.

Benjamin describes “Slot Machine” as a “Sunday-morning-strolling-through-a-New-England-Beach-town kind of song,” relating it to her hometown of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. “I think there’s a waspy country club vibe that comes to mind when people hear that I’m from Martha’s Vineyard,” explains Benjamin. “That definitely exists, but most people who are privileged enough don’t choose to live there in the off season. I always identified more with the towny girls from the movie Mystic Pizza. I had a wonderful childhood, but living on an island can be incredibly isolating. My music has changed so much since I left, but I think I’ll always have a little bit of a twang in my writing because of where I grew up.” On recording the video, Benjamin says “My best friend Hlif and I got day drunk and took the Williamsburg Ferry into Chinatown with a camcorder and a dream.”

Self produced alongside her bandmates, Nardo Ochoa, Matti Dunietz and Zoe Zeeman, Charlotte Rose Benjamin’s debut album finds her analyzing her identity in correlation to romantic relationships and in comparison to “Dreamtina,” a fictitious namesake for the effortlessly-perfect girl you see and aspire to be. Under the Radar broke the news of the album, premiering the pyromaniac-puppet-show video for her song “Satisfied,” calling the song “an irresistible power pop hook, paired with instantly quotable lyrics.”

Previously released songs, “Cumbie’s Parking Lot” and “Heat Stroke Summer,” were released as an a-side/b-side single last Summer, receiving praise from Clout Magazine, which called out Benjamin’s “acerbic wit and penchant for crafting fun and memorable indie rock tunes.” The Deli named “Heatstroke Summer” its Song of the Summer. Her songs “deep cut” and “Cumbie’s Parking Lot” were featured on Spotify’s Fresh Finds: Indie playlist for more than 10 weeks. Last week, Benjamin performed alongside Japanese Breakfast and Weyes Blood in The Unfinished Fest showcase at the acclaimed SXSW festival.

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Nora Kelly Band - Hymn for Agnostics.

What happens when a break-out post-punk artist runs smack into the big COVID slowdown? A gorgeous album’s worth of alt-country tunes of course. Say howdy to the Nora Kelly Band who now release their debut single, “Hymn for the Agnostics,.”

Pre-pandemic, the Nora Kelly-led band DISHPIT made Exclaim’s ‘Class of 2020 - Best New Band’ list in both Montreal and Toronto, and recorded their debut album DIPSHIT with Steve Albini. But when everything changed, so did Nora. She looked inward, asked hard questions about her relationships, and went to rock’s roots. Out poured tunes about love, independence, and checking into the Purgatory Motel. Last summer she and friends played her songs by railroad tracks that run by her Mile End neighborhood, and people flocked to sing along until the cops chased them off. Words spread, propelling The Nora Kelly Band to play rowdy gigs at Ursa and other Montreal venues.

Discussing “Hymn for the Agnostics”, Nora noted, “When I was 11, I had my first panic attack about my impending mortality. To calm myself I began praying to God every night, although who’s God, I couldn’t have told you. I wasn’t raised religious. In my adulthood the panic attacks have become less frequent, but my need for spiritual understanding has remained. ‘Hymn for Agnostics’ is for those of us who have no religion to lean on but who’s faith in the spiritual is supported in our connections with each other, the planet and ourselves.

I have experienced many moments that led me to feel there is some kind of design. Ghost sightings, the psychic connections between a parent and child or two best friends, DMT and the power to keep fighting when it’s easier to give up, have all played a part in my spirituality. Hopefully this song will play a part in yours.”

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Say She She - Heavy Gus - Sister Ray

Say She She - Blow My Mind.

Say She She have released their fiery and seductive sophomore single “Blow My Mind.” The song follows their recently released debut single and video “Forget Me Not” – both tracks have earned early support from KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. The band has also announced their debut 45 Forget Me Not b/w Blow My Mind, which will be released May 20th, 2022 via Colemine/Karma Chief Records.

A song about returning to reignite the fire of a former flame you still carry the torch for – even  after all these years. “‘Blow My Mind’ is about a love that you can’t seem to get rid of and you can’t quite get enough of,” explains Say She She member Nya Gazelle Brown. The impassioned and sultry cries “Mayday in my heyday, crying out for you to save me!” teeter between youthful yearning and blazing independence. Let the dreamscape bridges guide you to climactic hindi riffs, accented with operatic cries that will lift you yonder.

Named as a silent nod to Nile Rodgers (C’est chi-chi!: It's Chic!”) - Say She She, an all female discodelic soul band will transport you with their dreamy harmonies, catchy hooks and up tempo grooves. The band's sound is a hat tip to late 70’s girl groups with the three strong female lead voices of Piya Malik (featured in El Michels Affair, and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Gazelle Brown, and Sabrina Cunningham - whose vocals soar through a set doused heavily with funky bass lines, rhythmic wah guitar, melodic synths and lilting bansuri flute lines, bursting into a seamless blend of dreamy harmonies and catchy hooks. A multicultural, multi-instrumental, collaborative melting pot, pulling sounds and styles from all corners of their record collections.

The Brooklyn-based three part harmony girl group have been making their way steadily through the New York City scene for a couple of years now. Backed by a roaring roster of some of NYC's finest musicians (former Antibalas, Charles Bradley, Dap-Kings and Sharon Jones, The Shacks, The Frightnrs, Twin Shadow, Combo Lulo, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Lee Scratch Perry). As Say She She, they have appeared in Brooklyn Paper and Bushwick Daily. Separately, the members of the band have been covered in: The Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Billboard, Pitchfork, NPR, Pop Matters, Paste Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, American Songwriter, have toured extensively with Chicano Batman as backing singers doing everything from Coachella to Tiny Desk, and performed at Gilles Peterson WorldWide Awards in London. Collectively, their songs have garnered over 8.8 million streams.

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Heavy Gus - Dinner For Breakfast.

California-based trio Heavy Gus released a new song “Dinner for Breakfast” alongside a fever-dream music video. With The Lumineers’ Stelth Ulvang and Blind Pilot’s Ryan Dobrowski, the track was engineered and mixed by Parker Cason (Margo Price, All Them Witches, Coin) and mastered by Pete Lyman (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile). The accompanying music video, directed by maven Ben Fee (Band of Horses, The War on Drugs, Modest Mouse), shows singer Dorota Szuta navigating a whimsical dreamscape. In the upside down world of “Dinner for Breakfast,” she sings from a table set for one inside a shoulder-deep river and she traverses a long desert road on a skateboard pulled by mules and bicycles. The track is off their forthcoming debut album Notions, which is out later this year via BMG.

“’Dinner for Breakfast’ is a long-distance love song,” explains Heavy Gus singer Szuta. “It's about how lonely that can be at times, especially living in a small desert town, and the things we do to take care of ourselves, or at the least, distract ourselves from the disconnect.”

Heavy Gus formed in 2020 in the high desert of Bishop, California. Songwriting couple Szuta and Ulvang began writing together and teamed up with drummer Dobrowski as the songs took shape. The trio drove cross-country to record at one of Nashville’s oldest studios, Creative Workshop, working with Cason on the songs that would become their debut album, Notions. The yet-to-be-announced debut showcases Heavy Gus’ vulnerable yet captivating song writing, shining with spaciously vibey rock accompaniment. Reminiscent of L.A. bands like The Breeders and Acetone, Dobrowski’s tasteful drumming paired with Ulvang’s instrumental landscaping provide a familiar cushion for Dorota’s lush guitar tones and frank lyrics and vocals.

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Sister Ray - Reputations.

Sister Ray, the project of Edmonton-born songwriter, Ella Coyes (they/she) is today sharing their new single, "Reputations" which follows on from recent tips from Paste Magazine, Exclaim and more for earlier singles, "Visions"  and "Crucified". The new track comes as the latest to be taken from Sister Ray's forthcoming debut album, Communion which is set for release on May 13 via Royal Mountain Records (Alvvays, Wild Pink, U.S. Girls). They will support Communion with a full run of North American dates (TBC shortly), these come off the back of a recent slot at SXSW and previous shows opening for Julien Baker and Mount Eerie.

Communion is a raw, meticulously-crafted portrait of momentous, ordinary moments; experiences that define your past and instruct how you move through the world. It’s also a break-up album invested in exploring the motivations behind actions, rather than attempting moral judgment. It’s about “shitty shit” says Coyes. Backed by Ginla, the Brooklyn-based duo behind early Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker and Lorely Rodriguez (Empress Of), Communion is anchored by guitar melodies that bear an undercurrent of turmoil and echoes with the wisdom of hard-won lessons.

The new single signposts another crucial part of the forthcoming debut album documenting a true coming-of-age tale when Coyes packed up and traveled the length of Canada. Speaking about the track, they say: "I wrote this song to make myself feel better about breaking up with my partner and moving across the country. It felt so joyous to me when I was writing it, to say some of the things out loud that I had been tentative about for so long. It’s one of the most “produced” songs on the record, and we leaned into it. This was my little anthem and I wanted to hear some of that in the production."

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Papercuts - Laurie Biagini - Palm Friends

Papercuts - Palm Sunday.

"Palm Sunday" is a dreamy, romantic indie rock track that feels like it could have come out any time since the first post-punk era, but is singularly Papercuts. The track contains blissfully dreamy guitars and a floating chorus. Papercuts primary member Jason Quever says of the song; “it’s about lost love and unfulfilled potential. It’s about someone you never quite forgot about, but left you feeling epically let down and full of longing.”

Jason Quever has been releasing timeless guitar-based dream pop as Papercuts since 2004, impervious to trends or micro genres that have come and gone around him. In that regard, his contemporaries are artists like Hiss Golden Messenger, Fruit Bats, Andy Shauf or Kings of Convenience – artists who are more concerned with song craft and perfecting their sound, and less concerned with gimmicks or fitting into a specific scene. Past Life Regression is his new album and it’s a journey into the dreamier reaches of psychedelic folk-pop that digs deep into influences as wide-ranging as The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Spiritualized, Echo & The Bunnymen, Leonard Cohen and late 60s pop of various flavors.

Crafted shortly after Jason’s relocation back to the San Francisco Bay Area after several years in LA, the new album revels in the tensions between the pleasures of homecoming and the collective miseries of the pandemic and our current political upheaval. The return home and the enforced isolation of lockdown lend the album a mood of contemplation and immersion in memory. The results are beguiling, from the lush sunshine pop harmonies of first single “I Want My Jacket Back” to the trippy farfisa-driven space-pop of “Lodger” to the gorgeous, Bunnymen-tinged “Palm Sunday.” 

As always, Jason’s songcraft, arranging and production are immaculate, (Quever has been tapped to work with dream pop luminaries Dean Wareham and Beach House as of late) as evidenced by the elegant chamber-pop of “My Sympathies” and the epic flow of “The Strange Boys,” “Hypnotist” and “Remarry” in the album’s warbly second half. The mood of longing and recollection is a perfect match for the album’s dreamy textures and for the unusual times we’re living through. It’s a true testament to the resilience of the Papercuts project that after several acclaimed albums, Jason still has much that’s new to say, and is continually finding new ways to say it.

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Laurie Biagini - I'm Doing Fine.

Laurie Biagini (Bee-Ah-Genie) is a songwriter-singer from Vancouver, British Columbia Canada, whose music would appeal to fans of 1960’s California sunshine pop.  Her sound and compositions have been compared to The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, Carol King, The Carpenters, and Jackie DeShannon.   Her main influences include these artists along with The Beatles, The Byrds, The Monkees, The Turtles, and Jan & Dean.

Laurie has played piano by ear since age five, alongside ten years of classical piano training. She only started writing music in August 2006, after writing her first song which came to her with music and lyrics simultaneously one afternoon as she was commuting home from work. Since then, she has completed and released four albums: “Ridin’ the Wave” (November 2008) “A Far-Out Place” (March 2010)  “A Go-Go Girl in a Modern World” (November 2011) "Sanctuary of Sound" (May 8, 2013).

Almost all of Laurie’s songs have been written, composed, performed and recorded by herself, with the exception of a few songs from her third and fourth albums which featured guest vocals, guitar tracks and lyrics. Laurie is currently in production of her fifth album "Stranger In The Mirror."

Laurie Biagini · I'm Doing Fine

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Palm Friends - Light Pink.

Minneapolis-based quartet, Palm Friends are today sharing "Light Pink", the final advance single to be lifted from their forthcoming EP, The Delivery which is set for release this Thursday, March 24 via Forged Artifacts. The group has found support for this EP so far from the likes of Under The Radar, FLOOD, The Alternative, Mindies, Here Comes The Flood and more. The new EP, mixed and mastered by Ben Etter (Deerhunter, Cate Le Bon) follows the band's 2019 debut EP, Nice Weather.

Palm Friends first came together as a means of healing. After his brother passed away, guitarist and singer Jesse Pedersen moved from New York back home to Minnesota to be with his family. As part of the grieving process, he called up some of his high school friends and asked if they wanted to start a band. With Jon Lindquist on drums, Will Burnton on bass and Jesse on guitar and vocals, the band quickly recorded their debut EP. The result was an ebullient indie rock six-song burst, the sound of a band in its early stages having a blast together. Soon after, Shawnna Stennes joined, and the final Palm Friends lineup was solidified.

The band wrote most of The Delivery together over quarantine before recording in three ten-hour sessions at The Terrarium in Minnesota. The result is a truly collaborative effort, on a songwriting level but then also on a deeper, emotional level. As a songwriting duo, Jesse and Shawnna play off of each other’s strengths, from Jesse’s indie rock songcraft to Shawnna’s warm yet melancholic lyrics but as a full group, this is really a collaboration centered around healing and friendship.

New single and EP-standout, "Light Pink" is a wistful remembrance of falling in love with someone so slowly and easily that you don’t realize how deeply you’ve fallen till you look up. Over raindrop-like guitars and swirling piano by Pat Horigan, Shawnna sings, “Warm me up like butter in a pan on low heat/Hardly noticed now I’m in deep.”

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Hailey Whitters - Blue Violet

Hailey Whitters - Boys Back Home.

Iowa-born and Nashville-based rising Country star Hailey Whitters has just released her highly anticipated third album 'Raised' via Pigasus Records/Songs & Daughters/Big Loud Records. Also released is the Harper Smith- directed video for the album’s single “Boys Back Home” that was shot on location in Hailey’s hometown of Shueyville, IA.

Hailey Whitters is currently in the midst of her debut headline Heartland Tour which will culminate with two shows at her hometown honky tonk DanceMor Ballroom in Swisher, IA on May 6 and 7. She will also hit the road this summer with Jon Pardi on his Ain’t Always The Cowboy Tour.

"This song was inspired by the boys I grew up with. On any given Friday night we used to pile in the back of one of their pickup trucks, get a bottle of cheap Hawkeye vodka and drive out to a clearing in the middle of the woods where we’d start a fire and sit around all night drinkin' and talkin' about life,” explains Whitters.

“I grew up with a lot of wild boys that turned into strong, hardworking men. They had my back then and I know they still have it now. I wanted to sing this song as a way of saying thank you and celebrating them. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without ‘em.”

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Blue Violet - Rabbit Hole.

A raw and minimalist ballad that tactfully grapples with addiction, self-destructive cycles and the powerlessness that comes with watching a loved one go through a hard time, “Rabbit Hole” is a shimmering and stripped-back sampler of the duo’s forthcoming full-length LP.

Gauzy and subtly heartbreaking, with a sound as tender and exposed as its lyricism, guitarist Sam Gotley began laying down the track’s foundations in the car after a long day at the studio. Speaking of “Rabbit Hole”’s inception, he says: “This was one of those songs that exploded onto the page (I had to write and record voice notes frantically to get it all down without forgetting something), but it took a lot of fine-tuning to finish. This was an emotional song to record. Musically speaking, we kept things very bare and wanted to shy away as much as possible from electronic instruments and excess overdubs, so the end result is something quite natural using a lot of acoustic instruments, which the live room at Middle Farm Studios captured beautifully.”

Citing a series of vintage influences, including Nick Cave’s “Nobody’s Baby Now” and Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel”, “Rabbit Hole” contends with two differing perspectives: one spiralling and self-destructive, and the other determined to pick-up the pieces and cobble them back together.

And for all its vulnerability, the track proved an emotional one to lay down in the studio. Feeling compelled to retreat into herself and create an atmosphere where she felt completely alone with nobody listening, vocalist Sarah Gotley was “met with four weeping men in the control room” after she recorded the track’s vocals.

Expanding on “Rabbit Hole”’s backstory, she explains: “To me this song is about protection. Whether that’s protection of self or protection of others. It has always felt like a very delicate subject to approach, being that so many people can relate to it on some level. So, approaching it with honesty, personal experience and sensitivity was the only way that felt right. Addiction from the viewpoint of someone who is on the outside looking in is such a fragile topic. Trying to address these emotions without feeling contrived, or playing on the pain of others for personal gain is difficult.”

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The Slackers - The Cactus Blossoms feat. Jenny Lewis - Tom Jenkins - Colatura

The Slackers - Hanging On.

New York City reggae legends The Slackers have released “Hanging On,” the second single from the band’s upcoming record “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” which comes out April 15th. This record, their first in 7 years and 15th full-length in their career, is now available on Pirates Press Records’ web store.

“Hanging On” is a mantra that almost every band, including The Slackers, have had to deal with during the pandemic. “Being in NYC in March of 2020 was an experience I wouldn’t wish upon my enemies. People talk about how great it was to get off the road or spend extra time with their family, but I was already tight with my family. We rallied and my apartment became a law office, a college classroom, a recording studio, a mail-order merch warehouse, and a high school classroom. We did what we had to do to keep going,” said saxophonist Dave Hillyard.

The process for bringing this album to life was, by all accounts, one that was met with twists and turns that would make most bands implode. The band used their sound engineer’s house to practice and record while also trying to accommodate everyone’s personal situations. “The main challenge/s we had to overcome in making the record had to do with distance, finding a way to involve Vic and Glen, who live on the West Coast and thus 3000 miles from the rest of the band. We put half the band in one room, half the band in another, we continued to wear masks around each other, put a giant shield around the drums and just hoped for the best. Glen and Vic very graciously gave up their West Coast lives to live at Marc Critelli’s house for 2 months while we completed the majority of the record,” remarked drummer Ara Babajian.

The band previously released an adorable and hilarious puppet video for the title track “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya.” The song was written by the band after the initial wave of COVID was over but it was certainly not the end of the pandemic.

Rootfire · Hanging On

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The Cactus Blossoms feat. Jenny Lewis - Everybody.

Acclaimed Americana duo The Cactus Blossoms have released a new video for the song “Everybody,” featuring Jenny Lewis. The song is featured on their recently released album One Day.

The Cactus Blossoms will also be kicking off the next leg of their U.S. tour on March 19th starting in Red Wing, MN. Jack Torrey, who launched the band with his brother, Page Burkum, writes, “When I wrote the song it was originally from one person’s perspective, but one morning when I was drinking coffee it hit me as a conversation between two people and really came alive for me. I heard Jenny singing it in my head and couldn’t hear it any other way, so I hopped on the phone and called her to see if she’d be interested in singing on it. I’m so glad she was into the idea.”

Page remarks that “We had the chance to open a little run of shows with Jenny a few years ago and to hear her amazing voice and watch her cast her spell over her audience night after night was truly inspiring. She’s a heavy hitter in every way possible so it's a dream come true to hear her voice on one of our songs.”

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Photo - Drew Roxanne

Tom Jenkins - Back Roads.

Tom Jenkins has announced his signing to independent label Xtra Mile Recordings. The ex-Straight Lines frontman has also unveiled the video for new single “Back Roads”, a twinkling, country-tinged track that nods to Jenkins’ rural roots, highlighting the solitude and struggle of the job that has taken lives in the rural community.

Speaking of his excitement around the new signing, Tom says: “I’ve had the privilege of sharing almost my whole journey in music with Xtra Mile Recordings. From the label releasing some of my favourite bands and artists, to eventually putting out my own music as a teenager and through to my early twenties with two Straight Lines album campaigns. I’m very excited to begin this new chapter as a solo artist and grateful to be working once again with a great group of people with a great vision and ideas for their roster.”

Likewise, Xtra Mile Recordings add: “Everyone at Xtra Mile is thrilled to be reacquainted with Tom. We loved Straight Lines and have been floored by his new album. We can’t wait to start the campaign and continue our work with Tom in 2022 and beyond.”

The news comes off the back of successes with his self-released 2019 solo album “Misery In Comfort” and 2020 EP “When The Coal Dust Settled”, a patriotic folk release in support of the victims of the South Wales Valley flood.

Tom Jenkins hails from the high country of the South Wales Valleys, with the ex-coal mining communities and rugged farming landscape forming his identity and ingraining itself in the singer-songwriter’s sound. Born into a hill farming family, a life in music seemed worlds away but somewhere along the line Jenkins’ path changed: at first playing in local rock bands before eventually fronting Straight Lines, releasing albums with his old school friends and touring with the likes of Motorhead, The Presidents of the USA and more.

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Colatura - Kids Like Us.

In the midst of their debut appearance at SXSW in Austin, New York City trio Colatura has released their latest single, “Kids Like Us” this week. The track is featured on Colatura’s debut album, And Then I’ll Be Happy, set to arrive April 22, with a hometown performance set for that night in Brooklyn at The Sultan Room. 

Discussing the track, guitarist/vocalist Meredith Lampe noted, "This song is about collective family baggage, mental illness, and destructive patterns that can repeat generation after generation. We wrote it from the perspective of one sibling calling another to remind them that they made a pact to never have kids in the hopes of cutting off the negative cycle and to stop passing down traits that they wish they didn’t have themselves. The music video was made by our friend Matt Sklar (of the band Phantom Handshakes) using a collage of footage from each of our childhoods.”

Featuring the triple songwriting attack of Jennica Best (bass/vocals), Digo Degorio (guitar/vocals) and Lampe (guitar/vocals), Colatura has been called, "Fleetwood Mac with shoegaze guitars," by Fadeaway Radiate, and described by Popmatters as, “Drawing on a range of influences from '50s female-fronted outfits to Manchester post-punk and all manner of noisy things, Colatura sounds both of and out of its time, delivering music that seems to have always been.” Sonically, their foot is in a number of genres, writing music that is sometimes dreamy, sometimes heavy, with pop-leaning melodies and post-punk atmospherics.

Formed in 2019, the trio, joined by a drummer live, has played notable shows throughout New York City supporting acts such as Nation of Language, Pom Pom Squad, and Oceanator, amongst others, receiving praise from NYC tastemakers and music blogs alike. The band announced And Then I’ll Be Happy in January, with the single, “Team Sport,” which Brooklyn Vegan called, “a dreamy, warm treat in the dead of winter,” and led Under The Radar to state, “The upbeat surf guitar, blissful washes of synths, and brilliant bursts of melody make for a decadent dream pop reverie, recalling classic influences like Cocteau Twins as well as contemporaries like Alvvays or Yumi Zouma.” They followed with “Scars” last month, leading The Revue to say that Colatura create "melodies that have the same effect of a cool ocean breeze on a hot day.”



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Edie Carey - Annabel Gutherz - Jesper Lindell feat. Amy Helm - The Blue Chevys - The Filthy Causals

Photo - Steve Willis

Edie Carey - The Chain.

Folk/pop singer-songwriter Edie Carey is readying her latest collection of songs for her eleventh album The Veil due 6/3/22. Produced by Scott Wiley, the album features Grammy-nominated friend and frequent collaborator Rose Cousins and Mai Bloomfield (Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles). Throughout the twelve songs set, Carey weaves her “gentle story-telling, rich with humanity and insight.”

The first single, “The Chain,” was written with her friend and fellow Colorado songwriter Megan Burtt in her kitchen. “The Chain” is about feeling like we are never enough in the eyes of another, that no matter what we do or try to prove, their view of us remains unchanged. It’s a song of realization, of recognition and, ultimately, of letting go.  

“You can’t quite believe how lucky you are to write a healing song with a friend in your kitchen and then get to witness the magic of it becoming something real and tangible and beyond what you could have imagined in the studio,” says Carey.

 

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Annabel Gutherz - Retrograde.

“Retrograde” arrives on the heels of Annabel’s debut album, Loose Ends, which was released in late 2021. In contrast to the softer ballads that featured prominently on the album, Annabel's newest single taps into a more maximalist pop-rock sound. Filled with driving drums, anthemic production and deliciously infectious pop hooks, "Retrograde" represents the beginning of a fresh chapter for this rising artist.

Expanding on what inspired the track, she says: “I noticed a shared sentiment amongst my friends, family, and me in the wake of the pandemic — a feeling of stagnation in our respective ambitions and pursuits, or worse, a sense of retrogression. Upon having an insightful conversation with my mom, who seems to have a blueprint of life's greatest lessons, I came to the understanding that no one is ever stagnant. We are always learning, growing, and moving forward as a result... In other words, we are ‘never in retrograde.'"

Annabel Gutherz is a singer-songwriter hailing from Montreal, Canada. Combining her compelling and diaristic storytelling with honeyed melodies, distinct vocals and her keen musical ear, Annabel’s songs take listeners on a heartfelt journey packed with raw honesty and emotional conviction. Fiercely committed to her craft, Annabel graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Music Studies and is now completing her Master’s of Arts degree in Songwriting at Berklee as well.

Annabel ended last year with the release of her debut album, Loose Ends, a stylistically eclectic yet entirely authentic record that cathartically encapsulates life’s unfinished moments. The album was co-produced by Dominique Messier, a long time band member for Céline Dion and owner of Studio Piccolo in Montreal, Canada.

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Photo Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez

Jesper Lindell feat. Amy Helm - Twighlight.

Swedish Americana singer Jesper Lindell’s second album, Twilights (coming March 18, 2022), is a creative tour de force, a compelling mix of blue-eyed soul and down-to-earth classic rock, a timeless sound coming anew from Scandinavia. During two years of setbacks – weathering label issues, a pandemic, cancelled tours, and a kidney disease to boot – Jesper and his band had little else to do but write and record music. 

The result is a remarkable new album recorded in their own studio in Brunnsvik, outside of Ludvika, Sweden. The record is produced by Lindell and Björn Pettersson, but is at its core a collaborative effort from the heart and soul of the whole band. This was fundamental to the recording sessions from the get-go – to encourage ideas and influences from all six members of the band. 

As the cherry on top, the album has three luminous guest singers: Swedish singer Klara Söderberg, one half of sister-duo First Aid Kit; French rockstar Theo Lawrence; and American singer Amy Helm, daughter of The Band’s Levon Helm. Though Twilights is inspired by legends like The Band and Van Morrison, the point has never been to copy or even imitate, but to listen and learn. To emulate an attitude, more than anything, and to follow their example in the creative process.

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The Blue Chevys - Got that Feeling.

 “A band that has crossed many rivers to bring you roots music that stirs your soul.” The magic recipe behind The Blue Chevys remains a secret, but it deserves credit that they have been able to keep the band together for more then 30 years. Besides friendship, it’s without doubt based on the willingness and desire to keep evolving by combining Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll and Americana. The new album “ The Night Calls” is the perfect example. A beautiful eclectic mix which reflects perfectly how the band successfully intertwines different roots styles with only one purpose and that is to stir your soul.

 In 2019, The Blue Chevys is celebrating its 30 years anniversary and the band is touring to support the release of a compilation album ‘Twice Fifteen”, that clearly proves the band’s evolution throughout the years. Thanks to some live concert broadcasts on Belgium national radio Classic21 and Nancy WebTV in France, the fan-base grows throughout Belgium and France.

However, this is not where the story ends. The journey continues as The Blue Chevys is to release its next album “The Night Calls” on the respected Belgium roots-label NAKED in March 2022. The first singles of the album, “Willow Tree” and “Got that Feeling”, are been well received and guarantee many more years of fun and livemusic! Current Members: Kris Bries ( Vocals & Harp), Frederic Martello (Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals), Philippe Martello (Percussion), JeanLuc Cremens (Bass Guitar), Sven Smekens (Rhythm Guitar), Kim Vandeweyer (Trumpet) en Koen Desloovere (Saxophone).

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The Filthy Causals - Runaway.

Established in late 2018 The Filthy Causals are an exciting four piece Indie, Alternative Rock band from the South West of England. 

The band are hard at work creating new music and gigging at every opportunity.  Check out our Social Media for upcoming gigs this year.  Sam (Vocals/Guitar), Scott (Lead Guitar), Max (Drums), Dan (Bass)

Runaway - The Filthy Casuals, takes you back in time to re-live good times and Run away to a better place.

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Silver Lining - Yawners - The Slocan Ramblers

Photo - Julia Marie Naglestad

Silver Lining - Your Everything.

Bringing together members of two prominent Norwegian acts, The Northern Belle and Louien, folky Americana quartet Silver Lining has sometimes been dubbed a supergroup in their native country. Moving on from the sound of their mostly acoustic debut, the band introduces a broader Americana sound on their sophomore album, Go Out Nowhere. With a widescreen, heartland sound, and a groovy backbone, reminiscent of Aaron Lee Tasjan, Erin Rae, or The Band.

Consisting of four instrumentalists, three of them also singer-songwriters, Silver Lining debuted with the low-key and mellow Heart and Mind Alike in 2018. The album was well received in the band’s home country, and reached a much wider audience, thanks to several “streaming hits” reaching millions of plays.

A telling illustration of the thriving Norwegian Americana scene is the musicians’ willingness to collaborate – on stage, on each other’s records, and in new constellations. One early example is the birth of Silver Lining. Bringing together members of then-emerging The Northern Belle, and the now-defunct Rattlers, the musicians came together for a Gillian Welch tribute show in 2015. They quickly discovered that this project had potential outside of playing cover songs, and quickly started rehearsing and writing.

The angelic voices of Stine Andreassen and Live Miranda Solberg fit perfectly with the rougher, Dylanesque voice of Halvor Falck Johansen. The three singers’ acoustic guitar interplay is interwoven with and elevated by Bjørnar Ekse Brandseth’s electric guitars, pedal steel, and dobro.

 

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Yawners - Rivers Cuomo.

After releasing Yawners’ debut album in 2019, Elena Nieto found herself at the end of a whirlwind year. Her debut LP Just Calm Down showcased the Madrid musician’s love for huge, hooky alternative rock moments chased with the hummable accessibility of power pop. It was a combination destined to set the international stage ablaze. After gracing stages at SXSW in the U.S. and Eurosonic in the Netherlands, the pandemic caused Nieto to reflect on the present moment through the lessons of the past. The exciting songwriter returns in 2022, newly signed to Big Scary Monsters (UK), she releases a brand-new album on May 6th, Duplo, and shares a blistering new track and video, ‘Rivers Cuomo’, taken from the album. The Weezer man himself said “this is a really pretty song” upon hearing it.

“I usually write very literal songs, I don't usually use metaphors or anything like that, and this is the perfect example” says Elena, talking about the track. She expands; “The song is about writer's block; it's about trying to write a song and not coming up with anything good.” Although Yawners remains a solo project, the track bursts with the muscle of an entire backing band, the perfect vehicle for the songwriter’s fully formed ideas and soaring punk influenced melodies.

Elena tried a trick to overcome her writer’s block, that she learnt from Cuomo when writing the album. “I really like Weezer and Rivers Cuomo has always made me curious. When I was in the process of composing the album, I read an interview in a Chilean newspaper in which he revealed a trick he has developed to write songs. He has an Excel file in which he writes phrases, chord progressions, and more, and creates songs with a formula that puts together the bits and pieces that match. I thought this was really cool and I wrote the chorus of my song about this. On a melodic level I am very proud of the guitar solo in this song. Guitar solos are something that seem not to be trendy anymore, but the reality is that when a well-done solo appears in a song it’s very hard not to enjoy it haha.”

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The Slocan Ramblers - A Mind With A Heart of Its Own.

A new single dropped today from Toronto bluegrass band The Slocan Ramblers. It's a fire-breathing cover of Tom Petty's "A Mind With a Heart of Its Own."

Bluegrass music is nothing short of catharsis for The Slocan Ramblers. On their new album Up the Hill and Through the Fog (coming June 10, 2022), the all-star Canadian roots ensemble channels the past two years of loss into a surprisingly joyous collection of twelve songs intended to uplift and help make sense of the world. Though the past few years have brought the group accolades–their 2019 album was nominated for a Juno Award and the band earned the Momentum Band of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2020–that same momentum was abruptly halted by the pandemic’s brutal impact on live music.

Over the next year, bandmates Adrian Gross and Darryl Poulsen both lost close family members and their bassist decided to step back to spend more time at home. They channeled these tumultuous changes into some of their most honest and direct compositions yet. Up the Hill and Through the Fog showcases the breadth of their varied influences while staying true to their roots in the rough and tumble bluegrass scene of Toronto’s no-nonsense bars and dancehalls. From Frank Evans’ classic, dusty vocals, to John Hartford-inspired lyrical musings, it’s all buttressed by impeccable musicianship, and emotionally raw songwriting from the three core members. This is roots music without pretension, art powerful enough to cut through the fog of the past two years and chart a more hopeful course forward.

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Scrunchies - Ben Talmi - Monophonics

Scrunchies - Parallel.

Dirtnap Records recently announced the addition of Scrunchies to their roster, and now the band is back with a new single called "Parallel."

"We wanted “Parallel” to be like "Squirrel Song" by Shellac, and have these jarring, uneven measures to the verses." says Scrunchies vocalist and guitarist, Laura Larson, adding "I was also very interested in having Danielle do this Kim Gordon-esque deadpan call-and-response vocal delivery in the bridge, almost as a juxtaposition to the song's loose theme of both self-imposed and external hope + idealism vs turbulence + obstruction of being a woman making art during late stage capitalism."

Scrunchies is a Minneapolis, MN-based rock band formed by Laura Larson (she/her; guitar, vocals) and Danielle Cusack (she/her; drums, vocals). Larson earned notoriety early on, leading brash punk band Baby Guts. She is also currently a member of seminal dance-punk drums and bass trio, Kitten Forever. Cusack, raised by veterans of the 70s NYC art and music scene, also came to prominence in the Twin Cities music scene as a teenager with her indie grunge rock band, Bruise Violet.

Larson and Cusack began Scrunchies after mutual admiration of each others' bands as well as a short stint together in a Buzzcocks cover band called Buzzcuts (with Clara Sayler of Babes in Toyland). Both are passionate about encouraging young women and queers to find empowerment in playing music and embracing a DIY ethos.

Dirtnap Records · Parallel

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Photo - Josh Goleman

Ben Talmi - Ralph & Mary.

Berkshires, the new album from Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/producer Ben Talmi. According to the artist, Berkshires is "a love letter to my hometown of Pittsfield, MA nestled between the mountain ranges and valleys of Berkshire County."

Ben is best known as an orchestral arranger for artists like Wild Nothing and Manchester Orchestra, but it's his nostalgic, down-to-earth songwriting that takes center stage here. Lead single "Ralph + Mary" bounces along with charming fingerpicked guitar and Talmi's signature string arrangements anchoring the track.

Ben notes, "Ralph & Mary'' is a true story about my grandparents who served in WWII and used my grandfather's GI bill to fund their diner, “The Sugar Bowl” which they ran for 40 years." Much of the album is dedicated to friends and characters from Talmi's childhood, and his appreciation for Pittsfield and the surrounding area shines throughout the album's eight tracks.

At its best, this record reminds me a lot of Belle and Sebastian with a hefty dose of Paris 1919-era John Cale thrown in as well. Many tracks (especially the lovely "Canoe Meadows") make brilliant use of a string quartet, and I really love Talmi's excellent ear for a catchy melody. In an age where screens and information anxiety seem to be inescapable, I hope that listening to this album makes you think back to a simpler time and place in your lives.

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Photo - Emily Sevin

Monophonics - Warpaint.

Today, Bay Area-based Monophonics announced their upcoming full-length Sage Motel, out May 13th via Colemine Records. The world's premier psychedelic soul band, Monophonics, cordially invites you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel. A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive without ever knowing how they got there. It's where individuals find themselves at a crossroads in life. The album announcement comes with a video for the first single “Warpaint.”

What started as a quaint motor lodge and a common pitstop for travelers and truckers in the 1940s morphed into a bohemian’s hang by the 1960s and 1970s. Artists, musicians, and vagabonds of all types would stop there as seedy ownership pumped obnoxious amounts of money into high end renovations, eventually attracting some of the most prominent acts of the era. But when the money ran out, The Sage Motel devolved into a place where you rent by the hour.

Sage Motel, Monophonics' fifth studio album since 2012, tells its story. Once again produced by brilliant bandleader Kelly Finnigan, the album captures a timeless sound that blends heavy soul with psych-rock. With their previous album, It’s Only Us, selling over 10,000 physical units and garnering over 20 million streams, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the most impactful bands in the country. It’s Only Us was praised by Billboard, FLOOD, Cool Hunting, and American Songwriter, who said “Take some Norman Whitfield-era Temptations, add Sly and the Family Stone circa There’s a Riot Goin’ On’s greasy funk, inject early 70s Curtis Mayfield Superfly, Marvin Gaye vocal dynamics and Isaac Hayes’ Hot Buttered Soul dust, sprinkle in a pinch of Isley Brothers’ silky ballads and you’ve got a reasonable aural idea of the ballpark Monophonics are playing in.”

“Warpaint,” the leading single from Sage Motel, reveals the vices of each resident and confronts the struggles of substance abuse and addiction. Their warpaint becomes compulsory to face the day, tolerate the struggle, get through the hardest parts of the world, humanity, life and to fight the good fight. Cloaked in heavy riffs and robust vocals, “Warpaint” gives you the first look through the doors of the Sage Motel.

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Good Wilson - Jesse D'Kora

Good Wilson - Bats From The Buffet.

Good Wilson remain true to their signature vibe on their new track "Bats from the Buffet": feelgood soundtrack meets serious self-irony. The single is about an honest reflection of the "Butterfly Effect," the infectious madness that defines the third decade of the 21st century. 

The song is thus a contemporary document of the previous years, but at the same time a statement, a heartfelt "Foff" to all idiotisms.

In "Bats From The Buffet" Good Wilson have processed pent-up frustrations, caused by inequalities, injustice, fake news, egocentrism and unsolidarity. So, all those qualities and things that the pandemic has brought to light. Packaged in a soft, tongue-in-cheek indie-pop track, "Bats From The Buffet" is meant to remind you that it's okay to be angry sometimes.


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Jesse D'Kora - You might not be.

Jesse D’Kora makes indie / dream pop music with a style that is inherently lofi as he writes, records, mixes and masters all of the music in his spare bedroom in Salford (UK). Jesse tells us "I have embarked on a musical journey this year whereby I am going to release a single every month, ‘you might not be’ is the 3rd instalment and chosen song for March 2022.

Inspired by a documentary on The Talking Heads, this release is a little different to the others. I wanted to make something a bit weird and incorporate ideas and sounds from other genres and styles.

Lyrically it's inspired, like many of my other songs, about getting older, particularly the context is in view of having a conversation with a younger version of yourself. Often it’s easy to focus on the regrets and the mistakes and think how you would do things differently if it all could be redone, but ultimately without the mistakes the knowledge to do what's right so we are ultimately bound to follow the same path."



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49 Winchester - Megan Knight - Kindsight - Men Without Hats

49 Winchester - Russell County Line.

49 Winchester will release Fortune Favors The Bold on May 13th, 2022 via New West Records. The 10-track set was co-produced by the band and Stewart Myers (O.A.R., The Infamous Stringdusters) with additional recording & production by Kenny Miles (Wayne Graham). Rolling Stone Country has praised 49 Winchester’s live performance while Whiskey Riff called the band “....one of the greatest up and coming country music acts out there right now.” 49 Winchester’s New West Records debut follows their acclaimed 2020 self-released III, which American Songwriter named “...a confident collection that gives voice to the band’s pure, unfettered intents” while Americana Highways called frontman Isaac Gibson’s songwriting “Unforgettable,” saying, “...together they are distinctly and proudly Appalachian — carrying on and reinventing the musical traditions of their region with a sound that is wholly and distinctively their own.”

Filmed in the band’s hometown of Castlewood, Virginia, the video features a visit to the Clinch River where their neighborhood and childhood homes were situated. It also features the once bustling downtown, with the old train station, post office, hotels still standing from the Appalachian coal boom, having become weathered by the time the band members were growing up in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. The video depicts, quite literally, 49 Winchester revisiting their roots. Frontman Isaac Gibson says, “The drone shots really show how gorgeous Southwest Virginia is. It was great to be able to capture the essence of home on video. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I'm excited for the fans to see it and those who are from far and wide to get a little taste of central Appalachia.” SPIN also previously premiered "Annabel," the leadoff track from Fortune Favors The Bold as well.

Formed on Winchester Street in the small mountain town of Castlewood, Virginia (population: 2,045), 49 Winchester started as a group of neighborhood teenage friends set on a calculated DIY path. In 2014 they independently released their eponymous debut, followed by 2018’s The Wind, and 2020’s celebrated III. Reflecting on his early days as a jack-of-all-trades stone mason, where it was about trying to make ends meet in an effort to keep the band rolling along, frontman Gibson can’t help but be grateful for a well-earned notion at the core of the band’s ethos — anything worthwhile in life is built brick-by-brick. “Everything has to be built. And very few people are going to achieve success overnight,” says Gibson. “We didn’t start out as a bunch of hot shot pickers out of Nashville. We started out on the ground floor — very basic songwriting and instrumentation. But we kept working at it, always progressing in what we wanted to do and how we wanted to sound — each song better than the previous one, the show this evening better than last night.”

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Megan Knight - Take It To The Grave.

Nashville recording artist and pop-country superstar, Megan Knight releases her new haunting single and lyric video "Take It To The Grave".

"In this track, the woman was left feeling unloved and had acted out because of it, now as she sits in regret she wonders if she should confess her wrongs or simply keep them buried in the past forever." - Megan Knight

Megan's wide vocal range makes this song unique and personalized. The theme of this song is that some things "Are better left unsaid." These words that are left unsaid are taken to the grave with Megan. The powerful lyrics can relate to anyone with a deep dark secret.

Megan is an artist that is not afraid to be vulnerable. Music has always been a therapeutic outlet for Megan, so her songs are authentic, honest, and raw. "Take It To The Grave" relays real-time emotion, and her vocals are powerful and robust. This song is dynamic and is portrayed through a slower tempo with an acoustic guitar.

 

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Photo by Line Hvid

Kindsight - Queen Of Cowboys.

Danish four-piece Kindsight make music that draws from 80’s and 90’s alternative rock and combines it with the shimmering Scandinavian pop that the region has become so renowned for, resulting in a sound that is both fuzzy and melodic in equal measure. Releasing their first material in 2020, the up and coming Danish four-piece have been quick on the rise, picking up steam with a series of new singles over the last 18 months. On March 25th, their debut album Swedish Punk will be released, Queen of Cowboys, out now, the last single ahead of the release

Kindsight formed when front-woman Nina Hyldgaard Rasmussen and guitarist Søren Svensson bonded over a shared love of The Sugarcubes. They went on to recruit bass player Anders Prip and drummer Johannes Jacobsen and over the past few years have earned a reputation within Copenhagen’s thriving indie scene for their exciting live shows.

On the album’s title, Rasmussen says “Swedish Punk’ was an off the cuff term our producer, Adam, came up with when we needed a working title for a new song we wrote during the recording sessions. Our bass player, Anders, then wrote some lyrics based on the working title and we ended up liking the whole ‘Swedish Punk’-thing so much it became the name of the album”.

There’s a real coming of age charm to Swedish Punk. ‘Don’t You Grow Up’ was the first song the band ever wrote together. Written in “a time when we thought to be a sunny teenage rock band, you had to write songs about teenagers in the sun,” they say. Atop jangling guitars, Rasmussen’s distinctive voice dances somewhere between that of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and Alvvays’ Molly Rankin, leaving the listener drenched in the nostalgic optimism of summers gone by. Lead single ‘Sun Is Always In My Eyes’, an unrelenting indie-pop earworm, continues in that same vein. Recalling a time when life was carefree, the band say the track is about ‘stealing money from your mother and feigning to run away from home. Being blessed and unable to see because you've got too much sun in your eyes’.

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Men Without Hats - If the World Should End Today.

Hot on the heels of “love in the age of war,” new wave electro-pop pioneers, Men Without Hats, return with a collection of 14 new original compositions – Again (Part 2). Led by original founding members Ivan and Colin Doroschuk, Men Without Hats have been rounded out since 2016 by industry veteran Sho Murray, and augmented on this record by Colin’s daughter, soprano Sahara Sloan.

The album was recorded on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on top of the Malahat Mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean, from July 2020 to January 2021. The themes explored on Again (Part 2) reflect the band’s unique take on current affairs (“If the World Should End Today,” “The Human Race”), love (“All Into Stars,” “The Love Inside your Heart,” “When Does The Love Begin”), the meaning of life (“Just Another Day,” “Nancy’s Room,” “Where The Wild Go”), and the state of the art (“My Love,” “Heaven,” “My Own Advice”).

With a mixture of the latest digital technology and the best of the analog world (including an actual prophet 5 synthesizer that was used during “The Safety Dance” recording session), Men Without Hats continue their voyage into the world of synth-pop, with a sound forged in the past and hardened by their life experience and commitment to the future.

For the past 10 years, Men Without Hats have toured the world with the cream of 80’s royalty, playing for crowds in North and South America, Europe, Scandinavia, Jamaica, Australia, Mexico, and South Africa, in fact reaching even more people and places than the first time around. Their crossover sound and message is resonating with a new generation of fans eager to understand and appreciate the 80’s influences in their own current brand of pop.

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