“Perfect”, Rowlette’s third release of 2022, is a vulnerable and intimate folk-pop track. The song explores the relationship with one’s body and our tendency to chastise it, despite all the amazing things it enables us to do.
Nowadays we are bombarded with beauty ideals that are often unattainable. “I find it crazy that the beauty ideals we are being sold can be so contradictory. For example in Ireland and the UK we are sold fake tanning products and sunbeds, yet in parts of Asia they’re being sold skin whitening bleach and they’re covering up on the beach.” said Rowlette.
“I think it’s definitely something that most girls have gone through at some point, and presumably most guys too. Phases where you look at food as some kind of enemy, rather than nutrients that fuel your body. Or where you look in the mirror and all you can see are the things you want to change, rather than this incredible vessel that does so much for you.”
There’s plenty of statistics to back up the songwriter’s observation - with a large UK government study finding that “61% of adults and 66% of children feel negative about their body image most of the time” and several smaller scale irish studies describing similar findings.
The track is an acoustic pop-ballad produced by Dave Skelton and mastered by Aidan Foley. The singer’s distinctive vocals sit beautifully on top of her trademark acoustic guitar, alongside piano and some orchestral elements mixed with modern pop percussion and bass.
Mysterious newcomer Elron Gardy has released his debut single "Reflex and Movement" and announces his debut live show, headlining Laylow in London on 10th November. Written and produced by Gardy, with the help of Luca Caruso (beabadoobie, Yellow Days, Orlando Weeks) on drums, the track stands as a spiralling, unsettling piece of indie rock and a compelling introduction to his world.
With influences ranging from Brian Wilson, The Flaming Lips and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, to Cape Verdean singer Cesária Évora and French composer Michel Legrand - Elron Gardy's sound is one that is near impossible to pin down - described by Gardy himself as "mystical genre hopping".
Speaking on the lyrical inspiration behind "Reflex and Movement", Elron Gardy said: “This song is about how mankind has convinced itself that it has surpassed evolution and that we are better, or at least above, all other things that live on our planet - when in reality we are simply just another species that roams it. By denying our animal instincts we have moved further towards an existence of rootlessness, loneliness and anxiety. With our lack of care for the things that gave us life, that life will inevitably, at some point, be taken from us. But perhaps without humans the world would be better off…”
"Reflex and Movement" signals more music to come from Elron Gardy in the near future. The project was in part inspired by the creator's struggles with Depersonalisation/Derealisation - a dissociative illness which makes one feel as if reality is crumbling around them. Removed from their body and emotions while everything they see seems fake and unreal while plagued with intrusive existential thoughts. It has been described as enlightenment’s evil brother but in reality, no truth is to be garnered from it - just fear.
During this illness, which has now largely retreated, the man behind Elron Gardy delved deep into mythology and nature, as both somehow provided relief. One day he heard the sound of the North American aquatic bird, the loon, and at that time it sounded like all of eternity in one call and prompted him to write a song with the loon as a prominent feature. Quickly more music and a full story appeared, within 3 months there were 20 songs and a feeling of hope within the chaos. So this project is one of longing and romance but also an empowering message of recovery and the beauty of existence.
When Elle Celeste started playing music for public consumption in her early twenties, she wanted to make the most amount of noise and be as wild as possible—screaming her head off and slapping audience members in the face as she fronted an acid rock band. She considered it a good gig, as long as she could hold a note long enough that it felt like she was going to pass out.
A lot has changed since then for the resident of Calgary, Alberta. In 2014, she and her primary musical collaborator Kirill Telichev formed the band Copperhead, making self-described “21st Century folk music” that blended punk, ambient and electronic sounds with traditional elements. Over the course of making two well-received independent albums, and sharing stages with the likes of Art Bergmann, Elliott Brood, Lindi Ortega, Terra Lightfoot and The Strumbellas, Elle got exposed to the wider music world and where she envisioned her place within it.
It’s led to Elle Celeste’s debut solo album, Call On Me—released independently today—which builds on the foundation that Copperhead laid, taking it into more expansive musical territory while delving deeply into Elle’s personal experiences through its lyrics. Although Telichev still played a major role in the creation of Call On Me, it became a moment when Elle felt confident in taking full control, making fully fleshed-out demos and harnessing the full range of her unmistakable, smoky voice, which some may liken to Sharon Van Etten or Cat Power’s Chan Marshall.
Recording got fully underway in December 2019 at the National Music Centre in Calgary, overseen by Casey McMechan, better known as the Techno DJ/producer Tyrek. When lockdown restrictions halted their work in the studio, sessions continued remotely over the next 18 months, with Telichev eventually coming on board to co-produce several tracks and mix the end results. In spite of all of that, Call On Me is a stunningly cohesive collection that utilizes modern technology to fully express Elle’s unflinching songwriting.
“Every Story Has Two Sides” is the hotly anticipated follow-up to The Pleasures’ barnstorming debut single “The Beginning of the End”.
As two of Australia’s most loved and respected country and Americana artists, the union between Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan was destined to turn heads - and “The Beginning of the End” certainly did that. Released in January of this year, it quickly lit up YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music, as well as scoring high rotation on Double J, ABC Country, ABC Local and iHeart Country. Add to that the support of CMT in Australia and the USA, and airplay on many programs in the UK, including shows across the BBC.
“Now it’s time for the next chapter”, says Lachlan of the new single. “Far from being a token duet, Every Story has Two Sides couldn’t exist without the both of us. It’s as much an argument as it is a song - filled with passion and desperation - when we sing this live it feels like we’re actually screaming at each other - and it felt like that in the studio too”.
The new release coincides with The Pleasures’ second short South Eastern tour, including a festival appearance at Dashville Skyline and live dates in Victoria and NSW. The band includes brilliant multi-instrumentalists Damian Cafarella and Brad Bergen on bass and drums, respectively.
"It's very exciting to be releasing another taste of this raucous project and to be hitting the road with the band again”,says Catherine. “Every bit of this record screams heartbreak and sticky pub floors and this next single is no exception to that!”
Michelle & Jason Hannan - Wastelands (feat. Howard Parker).
“’Wastelands’ is a song I wrote that compares the end of a long relationship with being trapped out in the badlands. I wanted to write something with a dark feel that would introduce the concept of the album, which mostly features songs from the darker side of life. Howard Parker’s pedal steel and dobro set the mood and Michelle just sings it to perfection,” says Jason Hannan, the song’s composer.
Besides Michelle (vocals), Jason (guitars, bass, mandolin, drums, vocals) and Howard (pedal steel, dobro), “Wastelands” features the talents of Patuxent Records recording artist Shannon Bielski on fiddle. Both the single and the upcoming album are produced by Jason Hannan and Howard Parker.
Michelle & Jason’s last album, Cheater’s Waltz, met with critical acclaim and was included on many country/Americana publications’ “best of” lists for 2021. As with Cheater’s Waltz, Michelle & Jason’s new album Out There in the Dark will feature the talents of Howard Parker on pedal steel guitar, dobro, and vocals.
The Toronto-based project, Blunt Chunks, helmed by Caitlin Woelfle-O'Brien (of Jaunt) has today returned with her new single, "Wasted" which is out now as part of the Fire Talk Records Open Tab series. The new track follows the self-titled EP which was released in May via Telephone Explosion Records and found widespread acclaim.
The new single, "Wasted" finds Woefle-O'Brien – who collaborates with the likes of Scott Hardware and members of The Weather Station, Broken Social Scene and Luna Li as part of Blunt Chunks – wrapping forlorn piano around gentle, atmospheric percussion, melding this with her celestial vocals. She once again taps into her unique blend of spacious, psychedelic country to explore deep emotions and balance the light with the dark. Speaking about the track that comes produced by David Plowman (The OBGMs, Islands), Caitlin says:
"This was really fun and intense to do. I got together with my producers and a few good friends who are wicked musicians and we put this song together in a few days. It was different from the way we recorded the EP, which took more or less two years. David Plowman pulled not one, but TWO all-nighters because he had to catch a flight and needed to finish the song beforehand. Honestly, the last couple of days recording this song were hectic but I trusted in the process and David’s perfectionism. We had a few revisions and just kind of did the best we could in the minimal time we had. I think it turned out beautifully and also reminiscent of some 90’s songs I love, it’s giving Mazzy Star vibes a little bit."
Indie rock band, Futurebirds, have teamed up with guitarist/producer Carl Broemel from My Morning Jacket to create a new EP, Bloomin’ Too. Bloomin’ Too follows the releases of “Buffet Days”, “Sinz & Frenz”, and features the brand new track, “St. Teresa”.
Along with the EP release, today the Futurebirds announce the forthcoming release of the Bloomin' LP, a compilation of the two Bloomin' EPs into a full-length vinyl album. Delivered on heavyweight vinyl, the limited edition LP is expected to hit stores May 26, 2023.
Recorded at the legendary Ronnie’s Place in Nashville, two worlds collided building a sincere kinship and solidarity. Futurebirds’ Carter King says, “Carl is really in tune with what the band is and what it strives to be. He’s engaged and understands our vision…And it’s great to be able to defer to someone you respect so much with creative decisions in the studio…”
“Buffet Days”, “Sinz & Frenz”, and “St. Teresa” are all part of the seven-track collection which sets the tone and meaning. The EP in itself is “a vortex of sonic textures”, says writer Garret K. Woodward. He goes on to say that this, “album ricochets from cosmic space, rock to rough around the edges, alt-country dreamscapes, sandy beach bum odes to kick in your step pop ballads — all signature tones and musical avenues at the core of the Birds' wide musical palette.”
London-based trio Dance Lessons share double A side single ‘Wet Batteries / ‘I Like Lies’, mixed by Andrew Maury (Lizzo, Shawn Mendes, Kimbra, Lewis Del Mar) in NYC.
Dance Lessons are a female fronted and produced band, made up of Ann, Tom and Nat. Blending alternative pop, electronica, disco, soul and jazz, the trio create their own genre that they’ve coined ‘Serrated Pop’. They create music for fans of the likes of Little Dragon, Porij, SAULT, and Jungle, whilst embracing influences from further afar with nods to icons such as Massive Attack, Bjork and Rosin Murphy.
Dance Lessons are the product of an actual dance-off between Tom and Ann at a house party back in 2019, after Tom took the crown with a slut drop, the pair got talking and established that they shared a love of disco, soul, jazz, alternative and pop. From this, Tom invited Ann along to the new project he was starting with long-time friend and collaborator, Nat and thus, Dance Lessons were born. Having released their first three, critically acclaimed singles during the midst of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the fear and uncertainty of releasing music during this time, threw all their inhibitions away, and encouraged the trio to focus on music they love. Their new double A side ‘Wet Batteries / I Like Lies’ is the product of this.
‘Wet Batteries’ is an upbeat, funky tune, with dreamy vocals and smooth saxophone backdropped by fierce electronics with an angsty riff reminiscent of Bjork’s ‘Army Of Me’. The track is a celebration of being carefree and holding onto your inner child. The single’s juxtaposition of high energy versus the ethereal lightness, opens questions to everything. “It's about keeping that Peter Pan personality alive” they add.
‘I Like Lies’ is a softer, soulful and more sensual single, with Ann’s enticing vocals at the forefront. Floating through on dreamy sax and electronics, this shimmery track is made up of attitude, embracing stroppy childishness within an adult context. It explores the idea that blissful ignorance might not offer much resolution but it can be healing in its own way, as Ann repeats “don’t speak the truth,” acknowledging that the heartbroken are better off unaware.
Luke Warm and The Cold Ones are sharing a nostalgic and reflective single, the alternative and folk rock inflected “Paradise Lost.” Written by lead singer Greg Chomut after visiting a friend he hadn’t seen in awhile, the song’s lyrics flowed out of him.
Emotive guitars, earnest vocals, and the violin skills of Dreamhouse Studios’ Kara MacKinlay create a melancholic overture which illustrates the importance of caring for what you have before it’s too late.
Luke Warm and The Cold Ones is a rock band based out of Thunder Bay, Ontario. As such, their music is reflective of the Northern experience of living ina small Canadian town.
The variety of influences which their five members bring to the band creates a sound that is familiar and new at the same time. Everything from punk to folk, metal, classic rock, and hip hop seamlessly blend into a refreshingly contemporary sound. Much of their music focuses on the more painful side of the human condition, but in a fun way that gets people moving and having a good time in a therapeutic manner.
Berlin-based shadow-pop newcomers Bad Hammer have announced that their debut album, End Of An Age, will be released on November 25th. Bad Hammer blends melancholic melodies with poignant guitar riffs, meandering along warm synth pads and subtly driving drum beats to dazzling effect. Thematically the songs that make up End of an Age are connected by referring to a state of being on hold, undetermined, between looking forwards and back, holding on to something and anticipating change.
Their new single, 'Court Of Love' is cocktail of punchy post–punk drums, cool synth waves and psychedelic guitar riffs. “Come on baby sue me right” sings Lisa Klinkhammer, summoning the courtroom as a stage for the end of a relationship.
On their new single, Bad Hammer says: “The song deals with a potential destructiveness and almost sportive hostility in and post relationships that finally end (in divorce), while the video takes a rather light-hearted perspective on the economics in the court of love."
The self-produced music video for 'Court of Love' depicts a day in the lives of 'Bad & Hammer', a successful divorce lawyer duo. Within the documentary style video out-dated TV ads for their services pop up, reminiscent of the aggressive 80s/90s TV ads by New York lawyer Jim “the hammer“ Shapiro.
Bad Hammer are Lisa Klinkhammer (synthesisers, vocals) and Johannes Badzura (guitar, drums, vocals). In 2019, they released their debut EP, Extended Play, and have been touring extensively throughout Europe ever since, opening for like-minded artists including Molly Nilson, Sean Nicholas Savage, Jaakko Eino Kalevi and more.
Indie-pop duo Hunting have announced their upcoming third album, You’ve Got Love (But It Even Tears You Apart), for a November 11 release via Nevado Music, sharing a first single from the record - a cover of the Sparklehorse song “Piano Fire,” in honor of what would have been Mark Linkous’ 60th birthday tomorrow.
Hunting have covered a Sparklehorse song on each of their albums. Discussing the inspiration to cover “Piano Fire”, Bradley noted, "I’ve always loved the Sparklehorse album ‘It’s a Wonderful Life'. It was given to me at a time when it was exactly what I was looking for sonically and emotionally. I find Mark's lyrics so interesting and surreal. Mark's mom actually got a message to us after hearing our cover of 'Gold Day', it was so incredible and heartbreaking. 'Piano Fire' is one of the more upbeat songs on that album and I thought it would be a perfect cover for us.”
On You’ve Got Love (But It Even Tears You Apart), Hunting reject the clichéd fairy tale ending and dive deep into all sides of love: the beautiful and the ugly. The duality of the record is perhaps best summarized on the track “Hit Me Jane,” when Ferguson sings, “go fuck yourself. Are we still in love?”
Bradley and Jessicka (who also releases electro-pop music under her own name) know a lot about the ups and downs of love given that they’ve been married for 10 years. On the balmy sounding “This Year,” we get a glimpse into their schedule during pandemic lockdowns - highlighted by day drinking in local parks - and the heart-eyed highs they’ve had together. But on the piano-pop duet “Hollywood Love Song,” the pair are upfront with the challenges of being in a long-term relationship and come together to sing, “love is trouble.”
A queer-feminist singer-songwriter who has an opinion on everything. From LA to Boston to Nashville, Julia Jade has brought her penchant for introspective storytelling and songs of social conscience everywhere she’s gone.
Jade creates quirky, piano-based indie pop with something for everyone— thought-provoking lyrics for the dreamers and witty/sarcastic one-liners for the skeptics.
Her style is most notably equated to those of Dodie, Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, and Kate Nash. It is nearly impossible not to sing along to this suit-wearing femme who doesn’t take herself too seriously.
This is a gorgeous song with a timeless vibe, the video takes us back to the day's of Diners and enhances the 50's & early 60's feel of the song. The humour is subtle and works!
The amazing Melissa Carper has announced her forthcoming LP Ramblin' Soul, out on November 18 via Thirty Tigers, with the release of its first single and video this week, "Ain't A Day Goes By."
Of the track, written after the death of her beloved dog Betty in 2014, Melissa says, "This song is very emotional for me. It was difficult to go through my Dad's death, then my Mom's death only a year later, and really, in a sense, losing my younger brother to severe mental health issues that have changed his personality completely. Betty's death crushed me because she had been through it all with me. The grief just started pouring out at that point. I wrote ‘Ain't A Day Goes By’ within a year of her death, but could not sing it without crying until recently, so I haven’t performed it much in my shows. Now, it gets its rightful debut on Ramblin' Soul because it is a true soul song.”
In 2021, Melissa released her critically-acclaimed LP, Daddy’s Country Gold, which was lauded by NPR, Rolling Stone, No Depression, Wide Open Country, Folk Alley, and so many more. In 2020, she decided to relocate from Nashville to an Austin, Texas-area farm, trading her work on the farm for room and board in a tiny trailer, plus all the organic veggies and fresh air she could handle. She also found her muse again, resulting in Ramblin' Soul, full of soulful grooves and vintage R&B, mixed in with her signature old-school country and jazz stylings. Her message is about joy and heartache, but also celebrates the simple things in life. In this turbulent time in history, a reminder that the world is still beautiful is always a good thing.
Following the release of Guise’s debut album Youngest Daughter earlier this year, the folk fourtet are confirming its long-awaited release on vinyl today Friday (9 September). Commemorating the release, the band are delighted to present a new tour video for Youngest Daughter’s magnificent opening track: ‘The Boy & The Thief’.
A song that according to lead vocalist Jessica Guise “appeared like a snowball to the face”, so too does it burst from the blue with a supercharged sense of adventure.
With its lyrics delivered at a breathless pace, ‘The Boy & The Thief’ envelops the listener in a tale of love and luck that will resonate with anyone who has ever been waiting for their numbers to finally come up in the lottery that is life. As Jessica explains:
“Sometimes writing a song is like carving a sculpture or fishing by the side of a very still lake, but sometimes it’s just like being given a present that you have to unwrap really really quickly before it disappears. This was the latter; it started forming in my head on a long walk home one day and I had to run home to get it written before I forgot it. It’s about a friend of mine who was having no luck in love, and how we both consistently made terrible choices… The video is a tongue in cheek tour video aiming to capture the spirit of friendship, adventure and honesty that’s behind the band.”
From its spartan acoustic beginnings, to the galloping celtic thrum that soon overtakes; ‘The Boy & The Thief’ balances frenetic guitars with the finest of fiddle playing and makes for an exhilarating introduction to Guise’s accomplished debut album.
Melbourne, Australian singer-songwriter, Karen Harding is halfway through the release of her 4 track debut EP, I’ve Got A Secret, releasing a track each month. Her third and latest single release from the EP, ‘Drive Away’ is released today Friday 9th September, 2022.
Written during the Melbourne, Australia Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, ‘Drive Away’ speaks to the desire to leave the mess, the difficulties and the current life experience behind and just escape.. or ‘Drive Away’.
“It is so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness and routines of life and sometimes we all experience days where it just seems so much easier to run away or escape the life we’ve created for ourselves. ‘Drive Away’ was written when I was experiencing this feeling. It was me, sitting with my guitar, daydreaming about the possibilities of getting away from my covid lockdown restraints.”
The four track EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ is being released one single at a time, each month, and will be available in its entirety by October 2022. The EP is available for purchase at Bandcamp in digital download and CD formats.
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based folk/pop singer-songwriter with a passion for sharing a relatable expression of human emotion and inner experience within her music. For Karen, music is a soul conversation, that allows the masks that we hide behind to fall away for a moment of sharing.. a moment of mutual understanding.. in a language that does not discriminate in any form.
Celebrated Welsh band Derrero continue an unstoppable 26-year trajectory with their new album Curvy Lines.
Recorded back in Nov 2021 the album sees Derrero exploring new ways of working to expand upon their sonic palette and distinctive use of cut and paste song writing. Many ideas were traded across the web and new material was rapidly realized during 4 days of marathon studio sessions.
Maintaining a resolutely DIY approach to music making Curvy Lines demonstrates a strident and confident band who remain steadfastly unafraid to swim against the tide and self-produce and self-release uncompromising music outside of the mainstream.
The members of Derrero all met at Falmouth Art college in 1993: after studies, they evolved in Brighton before settling in Newport, Wales. There they released their debut single Tiny Shoes on Size 8 Records in 1997 and also their debut LP later that same year after signing to Big Noise records in Cardiff.
Since the bands foundation Derrero have released 4 critically acclaimed albums and toured with the likes of Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Sebadoh and Granddaddy as well as collaborating on the film ‘Beautiful Mistake’ with John Cale.
After the successful release of the first single 'Leaving Town', the Swiss band Dear Misses follows up with the second single from their country concept album - and the story about the outlaw Frankie Trombone continues.
With "Don't Let Her Down" the five-piece band devotes itself entirely to the country rock of the late sixties; two-part lead vocals in the style of the Flying Burrito Brohers, a honky-tonk piano straight from the Southern speakeasy and a pedal steel guitar that sweetens Frankie's heartbreak with a little hope.
Because in the new single 'Don't Let Her Down', Frankie Trombone is on the run, alone in the wilderness with the cold wind blowing around his ears. Alone with his Colt and a bottle of Booze, he ponders his sins and mourns his lost love, whom he will probably never see again.
Quivers, of Melbourne, Australia, have been an underground cathartic jangle pop band for long enough now to last year prick up the ears of Pitchfork, NPR and R.E.M., but it’s with a new 7” before their first US tour that they finally release the bats out of a cave and the secrets out of the bottle. Both songs see Bella Quinlan take lead vocals for the first time since the band’s full re-imagining of R.E.M.’s Out of Time (endorsed by the band themselves with fire emojis). Side A is a new original, ‘If Only’, and side B is a cover of Lucinda Williams’ mercurial ‘I Just Wanted To See You So Bad’.
All the best 45s slow down time and ask you to dance, so “If Only” is both darker and more danceable than 2nd album Golden Doubt could ever be (Ba Da Bing, 2021). While the bass and drums burn, and arpeggiated guitars scatter, Bella sings about longing for someone at the wrong time. If only I could make you love me, before you move overseas, what a fucked up thing to want, love should just be. The song is all if onlys, pushes and pulls, a song messed up by other songs about love. Bella says “it felt good to make a 7” which is a pop song but a really confused one, where every line goes back and forth between different feelings - more like love is in reality.” Don’t let it get into your lungs, she sings as the song lets too much into its lungs and just coughs up more guitars and tape loops. When recording "If Only" the band tried to imagine “being on a festival before Joan Jett, The Motels, and The Breeders and everything goes quiet and Quivers just has to deliver something.”
The recording of “If Only” is in a more minimal direction for Quivers, recorded in sessions for an upcoming 3rd album in Melbourne/Naarm again with producer Matt Redlich (The Paper Kites, Ball Park Music). Drummer Holly says, “once we found a pocket together on this song we wanted it to be a short song that feels long and big, where the more space you leave the bigger it gets. It felt really right to sing alongside Bella, to hear her sing let romance rot all while sounding so into someone.”
The Lucinda Williams cover on side B quickens the pace and speeds time back up. Live, it kicks ass. The song was chosen for a cover according to Bella because “we all love lucinda Williams - there’s something very special about her honest lyrics and that pared-back, relaxed drawl. She’s really one of a kind! In my old Subaru Forester ‘World Without Tears’ was the only CD I had in it for the longest time, and we used to play it on our road trips to gigs. When the car died on a freeway and had to get junked for good, the CD went along with it. We chose “I Just Wanted To See You So Bad” to cover because we think it’s a hidden gem from her, and it felt so good to have a bit of a shouted call and response.”
It is a song that is certain about love. It is the rush of feelings as you drive that car in the middle of the night because you just want to see someone so bad. These two songs together show that Quivers want to drive in the middle of the night too, and after the “earnest earworms” (NPR) and “effortlessly tuneful jangle pop” (Pitchfork) of second album Golden Doubt what’s up ahead for the band might really surprise you. Grief and loss are hopefully in the rear mirror, and all kinds of other monsters real and imagined are up ahead. Bats everywhere. Tape loops in the sky.
The new album by Nervous Twitch is like a guide to UK and US indiepop and indierock with nods to Mambo Taxi, Huggy Bear, Modern Lovers, Television Personalities, the Pixies, Sleeper, Ash, Lovely Eggs, Dressy Bessy, and even a bit of Swearin'. I could go on and on, but I say just check out their third single / video "History of the Wild West."
Nervous Twitch—talk about a perfect band name! Listening to their fifth album, Some People Never Change, it’s hard not to notice the nervous energy of front woman Erin Hyde’s vocals. Nervous Twitch built a solid reputation for songs that bristle with punk energy, mixing a vibe that also incorporates girl group passion, post-punk angularity, and even the occasional surf guitar cool.
Some People Never Change offers up a baker’s dozen tracks that deal in attitude and the personal. “We Don’t Care” takes on critics with a snarl, “What The Hell” takes on the frustrations of modern life, while “The History of The Wild West” deals with escaping the world for a less stressful one. But it’s not all anger as an energy; “This Mad At The World” is a ballad that show you can relate your frustrations in a gorgeous, acoustic ballad. “You Never Let Me Down” is a delightful love song with a girl-group vibe, while “Forgive Yourself” offers up a meditation in self-forgiveness.
Worldcub share new single ‘Look Through The Keyhole’ and announce concept album ‘Back To The Beginning’ & Accompanying EP Worldcub invite you into the time warp of their pulsating new single ‘Look Through The Keyhole’ on the 21st of October, a hypnotic, West Coast tinged, surf inspired jaunt through past lives and memory. The track is part of a concept titled Back To The Beginning, a collection of tracks which has since developed into an album of the same name slated for release in 2023 and a supplement EP titled BTTB Series 1 released on the 4th of November via Ratl Records.
Worldcub’s Dion Hamer adds "...’Look Through The Keyhole’ is about a magic door to a time warp where you can step into a past life. It’s all about revisits, we do it all the time, we revisit our passions, memories, old haunts, old Elvis collection, last night’s Pizza, it’s never the same experience. The song in itself is a revisit, the first version of the track was written 10 years ago."
Worldcub, are a group from North Wales piloted by brothers Cynyr (guitar & vocals) and Dion Hamer (guitar & vocals), they began their musical journey under the name CaStLeS, taking influence from 70s/80s Paul McCartney and DIY ‘Fantastic Man’, William Onyeabor. They produce material from their home studio on the hills of Eryri, splicing together elements of surf guitar music, kraut-rock grooves and hypnotic psych tinged Cymru vocal harmonies.
Their self-released, site-specific themed debut album Fforesteering gained coverage on major platforms such as The Guardian and UNCUT Magazine, with air time on BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Cymru & Wales. The band also earned their debut performance slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading & Leeds Festival back in 2016 and found success playing shows as part of the 'Horizons 12' scheme; which included a recording session at the historic Maida Vale Studios in London.
Today, LA/London based alt-pop artist Abby Sage shares her new single “Backwards Directions” and its accompanying music video directed by Aidan Dick (they/them). The release follows last month’s announcement of her forthcoming EP The Florist out October 21st via Nettwerk.
“Backwards Directions” sees Abby Sage continuing to amaze with sheer sonic beauty alongside an earnest vision that draws listeners deeply in. While Abby effortlessly delivers relevant and profound alt-pop songs, she does so in disparate ways, allowing for little comparison and much originality to shine brightly through. “‘Backwards Directions’ is about constantly making the same mistakes, not moving forward as planned, and asking for forgiveness or at least a sense of understanding for wrongdoing and lack of growth,'' says Abby Sage.
The track’s music video is taut and transfixing, showing off Abby’s metaphorical expression through the pairing of her intimate sound and director Aidan Dick’s arresting visuals. The video was shot backwards, adding an artistic layer to a song that digs deep into the human psyche by asking yourself for peace in order to move forward again.
On the “Backwards Directions” music video, Abby Sage expresses:“Aidan & I knew we wanted to shoot this video backwards and reintroduce a movement piece with Ryan Brennan (who was also in the ‘Force of Habit’ music video. I wanted to bring back Ryan to emphasize the message of the song. Ryan & I move through this video with frustration and a sense of dissonance. I wanted to portray two people falling back into each other despite a growing mental divide. It’s one of my favorite videos because I really do think it tells the story of backwards directions in a beautiful way.
This song is about desiring a woman even though she's "Cruel" to you, and the heartache that ensues.
There's a mix of pleasure and pain. You have fun together, but know it will hurt afterwards. The drums and bass have an up-tempo disco funk feel, balanced by a melancholic and almost eerie vibe from the horn melody. So it's sexy and dancey, with somber undertones.
The title of this track is also the title of our first full-length album, filled with nine soulful songs mostly about "amour" and heartbreak in a mixture of English and French. "Cruel" is a word that works in both languages, an essential choice for us as bilingual artists. Produced by Murray Pulver, the LP is recorded 'live off the floor' to capture our vintage soul aesthetic and live performance energy.
Fable is the mesmerising and powerful third album from South London based 4-piece The Little Unsaid, introduced via its first single Vibrant Life, an intense stream of consciousness reminding us not to lose momentum, imagination, and curiosity in these dark times.
The Little Unsaid have always evaded categorization, blending on the new record an expansive multi-instrumented post-rock approach to song structures; touches of jazz’s improvisation; an earthiness that hints at folk and roots influences: and a dramatic art-rock edge heightened by frontman John Elliott’s intense delivery (with a hint of the dramatic that nods to John’s other works as a composer for stage, with his music featuring in Cruise currently touring the West End).
The Little Unsaid’s incredible live energy (with the band having played countless UK/European tours and festival appearances, including a set at Glastonbury 2022), has been harnessed on Fable with the entire record being carved out of hours of raw live improvisation recorded during an impromptu visit to Dorset Mill Farm studio following a cancelled gig. As frontman John Elliott explains:
“Without pre-written material or musical ideas, we set up in one room and recorded long improvisions until the sun went down, seizing on the energy and positivity we found through playing again (post-lockdown). We had one rule: Every idea had to come to us in the moment; melodies, rhythms, lyrics.”
Fable’s lyrical themes capture this moment in time, described by John as “Songs which unavoidably reflect the chaos and simmering collective anxiety that was (and still is) everywhere around us while we recorded but held together by a defiant and palpable sense of gratitude and joy.”
‘My Love Is Right’ is a psychedelic pop/soul song about keeping faith in yourself and being confident in your love. It’s the first taste from her upcoming fourth album, ‘Ne pas trop rester bleue’ (due February 2023)
Warm piano and bass guitar set the tone of ‘My Love Is Right’ before a drum fill throws us into the verse, with Laure Briard’s vocals chanting; “I have to clean the bad vibrations, make everything ok”.
The song shifts gears with layers of strings, vocal harmonies, guitar and keys pulling us up into the self affirming chorus. Tasteful orchestral embellishments combine with vintage rock instrumentation, creating a symphonic pop sound.
Acclaimed Norwegian singer-songwriter Siv Jakobsen announces her third album 'Gardening' will be released on 20th January 2023 via The Nordic Mellow and shares new single "Romain's Place". The new single follows recently shared tracks "Birthday" and "Most Of The Time" - all of which are set to feature on new album 'Gardening'.
Throughout her career, Siv Jakobsen has lived much of her life on the road, in that time supporting and touring with acts including Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Damien Jurado, José González, The Lumineers and Susanne Sundfør. New single "Romain's Place" was written in the midst of one such tour, inadvertently re-opening a door she'd previously thought firmly closed.
A starkly beautiful examination of a previous relationship haunting one's subconscious, Jakobsen's precise and affecting lyrics ("For every time you screamed my way / I’ve kept a bruise / All down along my spine") are sung with a delicacy she's now renowned for, atop a lush backdrop harps, trumpets, soaring string arrangements and Jakobsen's intricate finger picked guitar work.
Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration behind "Romain's Place", Jakobsen said: "Right before the pandemic hit, I was on a small tour and found myself back in a city I used to call home. I hadn’t been back since I left it (and the relationship I had there) behind a good few years ago. I felt quite shocked with how my body and mind reacted to being back, and realised quickly that I had some emotional unpacking to do. I was staying with my friend Romain at the time, and for me my time in his apartment encapsulates this realisation and the start of me dealing with these ghosts from my past that had laid dormant for a while. I was so overwhelmed at the time that it felt as if I was going crazy. I really did feel haunted, as if I had jumped into a time-machine and was somehow back in the past."
Refusing to compromise on their stirring brand of articulate post punk that tackles issues of injustice with an unflinching attitude and meticulous musicianship, “All We Need Is Sanctuary” is an arms open wide plea for a world whose occupants are all too ready to watch it burn.
As poised as it is punchy, the track pits ringing guitars against big drums with shimmering percussion and imploring vocals as the song contrasts the insanity of city existence during the pandemic lockdown with the sanity of a life in nature. Deux Furieuses explain: “‘All We Need Is Sanctuary’ is our SOS from this scorched Planet Earth. It describes a journey from the pandemic pressure of an overcrowded city to an old world of trees, springs, paths and stars. An SOS from scrambled minds in search of the sanity of sanctuary, as the sanctuary itself is under threat of extinction.”
‘All We Need Is Sanctuary’ follows ‘Know The Score’ and ‘Bring Down The Government’ as strident samplers of what to expect from Deux Furieuses third full-length LP, 'Songs From Planet Earth'. Landing on 11 November, the album is the band’s second with Xtra Mile Recordings and was written over the course of the last two turbulent years.
Did you know that tomorrow is your day off? Even if it's not, that feeling you just experienced, that fleeting moment of sweet relief - that's what this new song ‘Weekend’s Coming’ is all about. This beautiful slow-burner from Brisbane/Meanjin brass-led octet The Steele Syndicate is out now.
With a four-piece horn section and equally-weighted rhythm section, the exceptionally talented group's live raucous energy has made them a festival favourite, with appearances at 2021's Woodford Folk Festival, Caloundra Music Festival, Mitchell Creek Festival, Tablelands Folk Festival and headlining Summer Sounds in Melbourne/Naarm.
The title track from their upcoming album –and the second song to be released after the brilliantly infectious and cheeky 'One Beer (Is Never Enough)'– has the groovy funk-rockers continuing to impress with 'Weekend's Coming'.
Taking us on a more heartfelt journey than ever before, 'Weekend's Coming' is more 'swoon' than high-energy tune. And it's a beauty. Embellished with their signature horn-led magic, the song erupts in cathartic release with blissful harmonies and a singalong outro that feels as uplifting and majestic as a band that is half-brass instruments should.
A sincere and emotive indie-rock number that builds from the mood of a melancholic Monday up to an anthemic cry, it's a desperate plea for the weekend and everything it represents. Steele McMahon elaborates:
"The tune is a cathartic release from the day-to-day grind, and taps into the shared human experience of hard work for something important. Even in the hardest of times, what gets us through is knowing what we're fighting for. And the weekend is always just around the corner."
Chewing through a gauzy blend of 90s-tinted driving guitars, ethereal vocals and glimmering melodies, “Surprise” arrives as another glimpse into Laveda’s awaited second LP ‘A Place You Grew Up In’, due early next year.
Bringing to mind the likes of Alvvays, Soccer Mommy, Big Thief or My Bloody Valentine, the track is a hazy slice of feel-good dream-pop with a bitter sting in its tail. “Surprise” is gauzy and glittering with sun-drenched rhythms — but its lyrics take a darker turn.
Jake Brooks explains: “The lyrics are meant to juxtapose the happy sunshine feeling throughout the song. “Surprise” is about dealing with loneliness and loss in this modern age. The overall sound represents how bright and happy we present ourselves on social media. But in reality, everyone’s depressed and stressed over the rapidly devolving state of society.”
With murky, despondent lyricism at odds with its upbeat aura, the track taps into the listlessness and loneliness that comes along with young adulthood. Vocalist Ali Genevich adds: “”Sonically, “Surprise” is the bright song on the new record. Lyrically it embodies a lot of my personal feelings that came after I graduated from college in the same year the pandemic hit. I couldn’t help but feel low for a while, and once I came out of my writer’s block everything I wrote had this big sad mood.”
Following on from earlier single “bb”, the track arrives as another gleaming glimpse into the band’s awaited second LP. With much of the record tracking completed in the summer of 2021 while staying on a ranch just outside of Los Angeles, Genevich says: “I think recording the album was a very therapeutic process, and it helped us find some new meaning in a lot of the songs. It definitely did for “Surprise”.”
Gold Coast (Yugambeh Country) based First Nations musician Dani Teveluwe (pronounced 'tee-va-loo') is set to captivate with her spirited and soulful take on acoustic-pop with her debut EP, ‘Into The Deep’, out yesterday.
Formerly a primary school teacher, the singer-songwriter broke down the walls of her comfort zone and took a courageous leap into music. It seemed impossible at first, but with inspiration from a David Bowie quote, she summoned the determination to make her dream a reality. Dani explains:
"This EP is a culmination of a lot of courage. Not so long ago I lived another life and I never would have believed this (releasing 'Into The Deep') would be possible. And it wouldn’t have been, without courage."
Recorded at Big Note Studios, produced by Tim Goodburn, and mastered by Paul Blakey, this body of work celebrates bravery, and is also an exploration of love in all its forms - romantic, compassionate, and love for the self. Dani's music weaves this common thread throughout, with each song showcasing a different story, and musical mood to suit. Fittingly, the EP artwork was painted by award-winning visual artists, Tamara Armstrong (known for her Women of Colour collection), inspired by the EP's theme and the words of David Bowie.
First, we’re taken on a gentle acoustic-led journey with the opening track, ‘Double Shot’. A tale of compassion for someone who can’t see that their behaviour is hurtful to those around them. Carefully sorrowful trumpet notes emphasise the delicate nature of this situation. Overall, it’s smooth and emotively delivered.
Lewis & Clarke released his first art folk single “Aurora 15:34,” in eight years on August 30. This song is both a eulogy and a rallying cry against the systemic violence and racism that pervades our society. Tension and sparseness underlay the composition as the song climaxes in a flurry of woodwinds and strings mimicking that of social, spiritual, and civil unrest before subsiding into the steady heartbeat of an 808 kick drum.
Elijah McClain was a 23-year-old black American who died after a violent police encounter. He was a massage therapist who loved animals and often played violin for stray cats at Petco. Elijah was listening to music and dancing when he was detained on his way home from picking up an iced tea for his brother in Aurora, Colorado. Bodycam footage at the 15:34 mark reveals an officer saying, “Leave your camera there”.
The song is included on the upcoming Lewis & Clarke LP and contains orchestral elements of Lou Rogai’s recent Cathedral LP (2018). It is his first Lewis & Clarke release since 2014’s Triumvirate. In the interim, he has been producing, scoring, composing, and raising his family, including 17-year-old Julian Rogai, who performs double bass on this track.
Lou Rogai is a songwriter and composer. His voice and vision resonate throughout Lewis & Clarke’s signature sound of lush, long-form art-folk compositions. The moniker references the fellowship and correspondence between C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke. His work has been lauded by major music publications, indie radio, and broadcast programming including heavy rotation on NPR’s All Things Considered for over a decade. He has released albums on his own imprint in a fiercely independent manner and performed throughout North America and Europe. He has steadily and quietly established a body of work and garnered a following while exploring his musical path, connecting with the human condition through themes of birth, growth, aspiration, conflict, and mortality.
Milk Teeth, the new single from Edinburgh duo Slim Wrist, is a slice of deliciously tantalising washed out synth pop. It has a darker feel to earlier releases, propelled by its pulsing bass and ominous groove, though it eventually succumbs to the duo’s more typical dreamy sound.
Milk Teeth is the third single and final taster ahead of upcoming debut album Closer For Comforting (due September 9) and follows on from the fragmented dreamy pop of first single and BBC Introducing Scotland Track of the Week The Soft and lush wave of blissed out noise pop Details.
Slim Wrist (FKA Super Inuit) are Fern Morris and Brian Pokora, their assertive beats and organic tones combine pop sensibilities with an understated poignancy. Their music has drawn comparisons to the likes of Cocteau Twins as well as Portishead, Broadcast and Sylvan Esso.
Alt-pop indie darlings Joan & The Giants are back with a tune that will make you want to live your Tuesdays with as much enthusiasm as your Saturdays - get ready for 'The Weekend', out yesterday ahead of their debut EP 'Me & You' coming out on September 23 via Tomboi Records.
Joan & The Giants have been standing tall since forming in 2019. The talented Boorloo/Perth-based group centres around musical and romantic partners Grace Newton-Wordsworth and Aaron Birch, sharing their beautiful craft together with bandmembers Riley Sutton and Liam Olsen.
Garnering attention from tastemakers around the country, the band have released two singles so far this year, 'Slow Motion' and most recently 'Home Song'. Now, their new single 'The Weekend' is the third release from their highly anticipated debut EP 'Me & You' (out on September 23), and like its folk-informed alt-pop predecessors, it's one that's set to soar.
A rebellion against modern grind culture and the mentality of 'living for the weekend', this track reflects the band's changed philosophy to live every day with the same enthusiasm: live like you're 17, fall in love but never fall in line, and spend time with someone whenever it feels right - because why should we only reserve our joy for days that the capitalist calendar dictates? With a melody that seeps in and sticks, earnest drums and cherry-sweet vocals, this is a tune dripping in emotive lyricism and honeyed rhythms, guaranteed to charm ears and dazzle hearts everywhere it's heard.
During the pandemic's beginning, Gracie found a sense of freedom from routine and tapped into this liberating feeling for 'The Weekend'. She explains: "There was an excitement and a lack of responsibility that was so refreshing and turbulent. I think when we started getting back to reality and going to work and grinding to push a music career again, that pressure and ‘baggage’ came back onto my shoulders, and I really didn’t want to live purely for ‘the weekend’ or wait for a Friday night to feel some kind of relief."
