Dearly Beloved - Red Telephone - Kristina Dervaitis - Surf Friends

Dearly Beloved - Trees Dream Of You.

Toronto barrage rock sextet Dearly Beloved have released their latest single, “Trees Dream Of You,” from their upcoming new album, Walker Park, due out this Friday via Sonic Unyon Records. Discussing “Trees Dream Of You,” songwriter/producer/bassist Rob Higgins called it a battle of ego vs. nature… “the majesty of forests, and their righteousness, to me, is inspiring. If only humanity could be more like a forest.”

The follow up to 2019’s Time Square Discount, which was written entirely while on the road and recorded in a two-week blitz with Daniel Rey at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606, Walker Park took shape while Higgins was writing and recording at home, in his Phoebe Street studio, to cope with the pandemic. While brutal for all, the lockdown provided a never before experienced freedom to work patiently and use the studio as an instrument itself, eventually mixing the album with bandmate and Slow Pineapple production partner Tyler Beans.

The sessions delivered thematic ambition, sonic verve, and evocative playing in spades, while never skimping on the scorched-earth riffs Dearly Beloved have become known for. The work and craft that went into the album conveys the deeply weird world in which it was spawned - “Listening back now, the record appears to reflect the absurdity of those times,” notes Higgins.

For the past 16 years, the Beloved’s collision and fusion of pop and hardcore sensibilities, melody and menace, has offered up unabashed stoner rock coiled like smoke around a magma core of psychedelic post-grunge. Walker Park anchors itself in the lessons learned and launches the band on an exciting new trajectory. “The songs started as super long bass and drum jams I built myself at home,” explains Higgins. “I’d play for like 15 minutes and record it all. Then I’d go looking for good bits. Once whittled into a form I’d send the song to the band to freak out on.” Of the 16 finished tracks arising from those sessions, 10 eventually coalesced as Walker Park, with songs selected to reflect the zeitgeist in a cohesive way while also communicating a narrative arc.

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Red Telephone - Waiting For Your Good Days.

Cardiff post-punk outfit 'Red Telephone' are set to release their highly anticipated debut album 'Hollowing Out' on the 31st March 2023. The only single taken from it 'Waiting For Your Good Days' is out now.

Hailing from Cardiff, Red Telephone’s richly layered alt-rock could have emanated from a club in Blade Runner's dystopian LA - combining angular guitars, Krautrock-inspired rhythms and New Wave-tinged synths with infectious pop sensibilities. Drawing on post punk and synth pop influences, the band has been catching the attention of DJs across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, Absolute Radio and Radio X; with comparisons to the likes of MGMT, Super Furry Animals, Mitski and Berlin-era Bowie being drawn.

The band have recently appeared at BBC 6 Music Fringe Festival, Focus Wales, Swn Festival, Other Voices and Llangollen Fringe, supporting Warmduscher. With previous single releases on Welsh-based labels Libertino Records and the Popty-Ping Recording Company, the band's highly anticipated debut album is set to be released in March 2023.

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Kristina Dervaitis - Everything & Nothing.

When I released my first album, I was still in a bit of denial about my future as a musician. It still didn't seem real. I was a midlife Obstetrician/Gynecologist who had only just started songwriting and performing, and suddenly I found myself releasing music for the first time.

This time around for my sophomore album, Quickening (April 2023), things are starting to feel more real! The album was produced by Canadian singer/songwriter Matthew Barber who has worked with the likes of Noah Reid.

My new single, "Everything & Nothing," is about denial. More specifically, climate change denial. I over think, over read, over want, over need everything and nothing…

Sometimes a sign is right in front of our face, but we're too close to it to fully grasp the meaning – we look past it and tell ourselves an alternate story that's more palatable. But this can be dangerous – some signs just can't be ignored without grave consequences. Though this song may seem like an ominous warning, I hope you're able to enjoy the music and focus on the positive side of life too - Kristina Dervaitis.


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Surf Friends - Something Real.

Indie two-piece Surf Friends make their welcome return with the announcement of their first full-length project in almost four years - Sonic Waves - out digitally and on CD March 17 2023 via Flying Nun Records. Sonic Waves sees the duo of Brad Coley and Peter Westmoreland joining forces with long-time producer, Mark Howden, to take on new musical directions, whilst retaining their dreamy psych-surf energy that put them on the musical map all the way back in 2009, when they debuted their self-titled EP.

The album was mostly written and recorded between 2019-2021, and is their first full length release since their hypnotic 2019 offering, Doing Your Thing.

Surf Friends say of Sonic Waves that “the focus of the record was to keep it raw and more distorted than previous releases. Most of the tracks’ guitars had separate channels recorded via a Peavey Rage 108 distortion amp - as a side note, Jeremy Toy (She’s So Rad, Leonard Charles, Sommerset) put this together like 25 years ago for Brad when he was his guitar teacher! Mark Howden also pushed us a bit in production, which was cool.”

To celebrate the announcement of Sonic Waves, Surf Friends have revealed the album’s first sun-drenched single, ‘Something Real’. From the sound of the song’s first strums, the dynamic duo take their listeners on a visceral sonic ride that embodies the weightless, euphoric feeling of hot summer days. The song is accompanied by a self-directed music video which perfectly captures the organic, carefree sentiment that the song emits, featuring Brad’s camping adventures with his kids and a few other bits of surfing footage.

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Sabrina Sekuloski - Arborist - Erny Belle - The Minks - YOVA

Sabrina Sekuloski - Red Convertible.

Rising Sydney, Australia-based singer-songwriter Sabrina Sekuloski just shared her new track “Red Convertible.” “Red Convertible” was co-written with her father Sasha Sekuloski, a singer, songwriter, and guitarist himself, and produced by renowned producers Ken Caillat (Fleetwood Mac) and Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Reeves, Jason Mraz, Five For Fighting and OneRepublic).

“The songwriting process for this single started back in 2018 so it’s really nice to see this song come to life,” Sabrina Sekuloski explains. “I still remember writing the chorus, it happened really naturally and quickly. The lyrics and melody came out together and the vibe was so infectious that I started dancing in my room. I wrote the Billy Joel reference in the chorus first and just kept adding them in when we started working on the song in 2022. When there’s mention of ‘the piano man’ in the bridge, you can hear a piano being introduced which I thought was a nice touch. When I brought the song to my dad in 2022, he found an old guitar riff he’d written in 2019 that we thought suited the song - which is what you hear in the verse, it formed a cool groove for the song.”

“‘Red Convertible’ came about from a longing to escape from the mundane day-to-day activities that leave one feeling uninspired and burnt out,” Sabrina Sekuloski continues. “The title of the track was taken from the last line in the chorus which is a daydream of doing things you’ve never done that make you feel alive.”

Sekuloski sketched out the original idea for “Red Convertible” on her iPhone’s Voice Memos app back in 2018. Then in 2022, during a songwriting binge that yielded over 150 songs, she rediscovered the melody for “Red Convertible” and finished writing the tune with her father, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Sasha Sekuloski. “2022 was a crazy year for songwriting, I went through some old voice memos and just felt very inspired,” Sekuloski adds.

Bri · Red Convertible

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Arborist - Dreaming in Another Language.

Arborist, aka Belfast native Mark McCambridge, announces details of his third album An Endless Sequence of Dead Zeros released 21 April 2023. Produced by Matthew E White at his Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia and bearing all the hallmarks of his sound and that of the Spacebomb Houseband, it sees Arborist merge a driven experimentation with a classicist approach to song structure and melody, with esoteric lyrical themes born out of the fugue of the last few years and evoking a dream-state. File under John Cale, with his skill of framing a beautiful melody in a song which pushes the limits of what a song can be. Other touchstones for the album include Bill Fay, Howe Gelb, Lee Hazelwood, Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, Wilco’s A Ghost Is Born and The Go-Betweens.

First single ‘Dreaming In Another Language’ is a spiralling, looping slice of kaleidoscopic psychedelic Americana which mediates on dreams and our submission to a dreamlike state, touching on many of the album’s themes: religion, family, death, artistic life. The hypnotic nature of ‘Dreaming In Another Language,’ is perfectly accompanied by the video from director Sam O’Mahony, featuring Arborist playing a protagonist in a looping dream. “The visual reflects the song’s lyrics without representing them literally.” explains O’Mahony, “It invites the listener to disappear into their imagination and crosses the boundary between fantasy and reality”.

Arborist expands ““It taps int the song’s continuous guitar loop, there are three different versions of myself seemingly condemned to repeat the same actions over and over; from birth to death to rebirth, colliding with each other along the way.”

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Erny Belle - Island Time.

Erny Belle has shared another insight into her cinematic universe, this time with a video for fan favourite, 'Island Time' - from her debut album, Venus Is Home. The video, directed and produced by the artist herself — and made with the support of NZ on Air — was shot by prolific film-maker Ezra Simons, and showcases some of his signature photography eccentricities on a warm bed of analogue film stock.

Of the song, Erny Belle has said, "'Island Time' is an ode to the Pacific. I picture myself and the times I spent looking out at the view from Te Arai beach, from the waters edge and my sister's porch. I spent a lot of time contemplating my creative visions and the loss and prospects of love on the horizon. The chorus is a mantra on perseverance and self belief".

"Though there's a lot behind the love story, I think really it's a love song to pacific culture and beautiful brown people, maybe I needed to give myself that back".

"My good friend Navakatoa plays The Man From The Islands. He is also the bassist for the Erny Belle band, It's special that we've been able to capture ourselves at this time, I think it's really sweet we'll be able to look back at it in years to come and be reminded of everything we were doing musically at this time. It was shot at Te Arai, which is a special place to me." - Erny Belle

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The Minks - Creatures Of Culture.

The Minks are Nashville’s “psychedelic-blues” band, heavy on the rock and roll. We’re talking low-down, all the way, purse-lipped, eyes-shut, head-whirling kind of groove. In 2015, on a search for creative community, Nikki Barber started the band based on the idea that "if you don't create, you'll combust".

Just like a rock and roll circus, you never know what you're going to get, but you know it’ll be good. The band’s palpable sound has roots in every music fan’s top ten—from Lou to Patti to Creedence to Hank - but blends them into something totally original and current.

Mixed with raw, jangly instrumentation and soulful saccharine vocals, it’s as much a throwback as it is an answer to the often overlooked underbelly of Nashville’s rock and roll scene. Look for them, on tour forever, spreading the gospel of letting your hair down and having a good time. The Minks are here. Let's boogie.

 

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YOVA -  Hurt Like No Hurt.

This January, experimental pop duo YOVA have returned with the compelling new track “Hurt Like No Hurt” and a digital bundle of new tracks - out now. Described by the duo as “departing from a place where Giorgio Morodor meets John Barry, to a destination where The Stooges meet The Supremes”, the track was arranged by legendary Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey, Anna Calvi).

A cathartic listen carved from visceral lyrics and pulsing electronics that build to a transcendental climax, vocalist Jova Radevska says of “Hurt Like No Hurt”:

“”Hurt Like No Hurt” is a song about relationship ghosting, the merry-go-round of breaking up and making up, and the inevitable finality of it all. An ultimate realisation that there comes a point where no matter what, there’s just no going back; when the only choice is the inevitable grief and acceptance of loss in order to emerge as a stronger person. Sometimes no further words need to be spoken, the sound of silence is enough.”

Arriving as the first glimpse of new music from YOVA since the release of their debut album ‘Nine Lives’ last year, “Hurt Like No Hurt” is filled with YOVA’s trademark experimental magnetism while utilising oscillating electronics, cinematic mandolin strums, and clarion call-like trumpets to create something otherworldly.

Featured as part of a ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’ digital bundle which is released this January, the full track-listing also includes a stripped-back rendition of the duo’s track “Rain” (previously remixed by Erasure’s Vince Clarke), alongside an instrumental version of “Hurt Like No Hurt”.

YOVA · Hurt Like No Hurt

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The C.I.A - Emma Tricca - Villages - The Primitives

The C.I.A - Bubble.

The C.I.A.’s Surgery Channel is ripe with straightforward conviction. The trio made up of Denée & Ty Segall and Emmett Kelly have constructed a world where everything is piercing and pinpointed. Every word brings confrontation – The C.I.A. make you question what could be happening here…or what they’re after.

Ahead of its yesterdays release, they revealed a new video and single “Bubble” — a story of anxious desire. We will be consumed by what we must consume. Restraint backfires and drives a person to madness. Or maybe that’s just what they want you to think. It feels as though Denée (vocals, lyrics) is whispering directly in your ear, amplified by the suspense of tick-tocking drum machine beats. Ty (bass, percussion, back up vocals) and Emmett (bass, synth, back up vocals) paint a jarring and dissonant landscape behind Denée’s story.  Words are rhythm at The C.I.A.

The C.I.A. is communicating from an electrified, pulsating, metallic playpen that wants you to strut. Surgery Channel shows punks a new way to move while remaining loyal to the traditions of catharsis and social commentary.

Ty and Emmett’s basses could easily be swapped for bone drills and you might not be able to tell the difference. Emmett’s modular synth envisions an environment reminiscent of the instrument itself, a mess of wires and pulsing red lights. Ty’s subtle use of electronic and analog percussion fluctuates between the sound of a metal tray hitting the floor, and the swish of an ultrasound scan. At times, it projects the feeling of being probed and investigated. You could assume this reality has been lived by those at The C.I.A., though most listeners could only fear it. So... just how little of this portrayal is solely a work of imagination? 

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Emma Tricca - King Blixa.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Emma Tricca has announced the release of her new album Aspirin Sun due out April 7th via Bella Union and is available to preorder here. To celebrate the occasion, Tricca has shared a colorful and captivating video for first single “King Blixa” directed by Francesco Cabras. Commenting on the track Tricca says: “Since childhood I have always been fascinated by folk stories. From Italo Calvino to Homer to British and French Troubadour ballads. The magical element of turning the impossible into the possible is what inspired this poem/song - like in the line, I would ask the sailors to break their solitude.”

“It felt like I was driving through tunnels,” Emma Tricca says of her fourth album – her first for Bella Union. A phosphorescent panorama of undulating color, shape and sound.

As with any transformation, it is this sense of movement that underpins Aspirin Sun and its bold new form, ebbing and flowing, continually unfurling. The tunnels led the Italian-born, London-based singer-songwriter towards something expansive and far-reaching: an entirely new and experimental collection of songs. But they also drew her closer to her late father, and her memories of him driving them both in his small white Fiat, darting through the Alps and whizzing through darkened passageways, where shafts of light flickered ahead of them in the distance.

Light and shade; past and future; love and loss. “I was in uncharted territory trying to understand what was happening to me,” Tricca says. In the winter of 2018, only months after her mystical third album St. Peter was released, her father died, submerging her in a subaqueous world of grief. “I think that the loss really informed the tunes a lot,” she muses. And the tunes quickly emerged. Tricca decided to spend a few months in New York during the summer of 2019 – and started recording Aspirin Sun in her long-time collaborator Steve Shelley’s studio.

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Villages - Play The Fiddle All Night.

Canadian folk-rock quartet Villages have shared their new single “Play the Fiddle All Night,” the next offering from their upcoming album Dark Island, out February 17 via Sonic Records. Propelled by masterful rich instrumentation and timeless Celtic music influences, “Play the Fiddle All Night” arrived with a behind-the-scenes music video.

"The song was written after reflecting on the traditional poem ‘The Dark Island,’” says Villages, made up of members Matt Ellis, Travis Ellis, Jon Pearo and Archie Rankin. “Stirring up thoughts of mortality and what of our home on Cape Breton Island would be pined for when the time comes. The song presented itself very quickly and we finished it only a few days before we were scheduled to record. There was a striking similarity in themes carried in both the poem and our tracklist, so it ultimately gave namesake to the album. The song immediately felt vital to the record and given the spontaneity of it all, it was one of the more exciting experiences in songwriting that we’ve had.”

“Play the Fiddle All Night” follows the uplifting “Love Will Live On,” which arrived with a cinematic music video and was met with acclaim from outlets including Earmilk and Atwood Magazine, who said that the track “emphasizes the charm of simple living.” Over the holidays, the band treated fans to their jubilant holiday original “Merry Christmas (From the Dowie Dens)”.

Villages’ forthcoming album Dark Island finds them penning a euphoric and reverent love letter to their native Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The album has already garnered support from the CBC who said, “With Dark Island, the band can easily claim its own folk niche,” and Music Connection Magazine who hailed it as "a masterpiece, delivering a combination of gently harmonized vocals and maritime-shanty melodies alongside lilting instrumentals ... a soothing ethereal experience.” Produced by JUNO-winning composer and producer Joshua Van Tassel (David Myles, Great Lake Swimmers, Fortunate Ones), Dark Island results in a type of Celtic music that respects its heritage while taking sonic chances. These musical risks can be credited to early influences like indie rockers Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian, as well as their previous incarnation as acclaimed indie-rock outfit Mardeen.

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The Primitives - Panic.

The legendary indiepop band The Primitives debuted the b-side "Panic" from their new 'Don't Know Where to Start' EP. As we enter the winter season, the weather is turning cooler and grayer, but UK’s The Primitives have something to warm your heart and get your feet moving. HHBTM is proud to present the band’s latest single and first new material in five years.

"Don’t Know Where To Start" is a three minute blast of pure pop perfection; with its organ-driven melody and vocalist Tracy Tracy’s superb singing, we’re equally reminded of the late Ronnie Spector and The Muffs’ Kim Shattuck. In other words, "Don’t Know Where To Start" ticks all the Primitives’ pop charm boxes for those who know. It’s followed by the moody punk edge of "Till I’m Alive," sung by Paul Court. Also included is a live recording of "Panic," taken from the band’s 2017 Part Time Punks session. The single closes with a fuzzy acoustic version of "Don’t Know Where To Start."

The Primitives won hearts and minds in 1988 with their debut album Lovely and its Top Ten UK hit single, "Crash." They would have more charting singles over the course of the next four years, releasing two further albums before disbanding in 1992.They reformed in 2009 and have since released two albums and a handful of singles.

HHBTM Records · The Primitives - Panic

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Siv Jakobsen - Tomten - SUEP - Allie Crow Buckley - Wookalily - Bad Pelicans

Siv Jakobsen - Gardening (Album).

Acclaimed Norwegian songwriter Siv Jakobsen today releases her highly anticipated third album Gardening. Jakobsen will embark on a European tour in support of the album this February, including a newly announced London headline at The Social on 23rd May.

The first seeds of what would become Gardening arrived in Siv Jakobsen’s mind unexpectedly – unwelcomely, even. Returning to a city she once called home, her mind and body were overcome by memories – both physical and emotional – that pulled her back into a time she had thought was long buried. As she walked through her old haunts, memories of a “destructive and difficult relationship” rose up from her past like a monstrous weed. Its roots had not been exterminated and it suddenly poked through the cracks of her consciousness, five years after the fact.

She headed back to Oslo as the pandemic took hold, lockdown allowing her even more time and space to unpack and untangle her knotted thoughts. In the verdant Norwegian capital she was able to take walks in the forest just five minutes from her home, tend to her patio garden and occasionally see friends. All the while, her mind continued to process the spectre that had reared its head, words coming out onto the page, revealing a cutting new depth to her candid writing style.

Gardening is at once Jakobsen’s most emotionally intimate and her most musically expansive record. The title comes from one of the album’s flagship moments, the “crazy jungly sounding” track “Gardening” – but is a thematic link throughout the album. “This record is me doing an intense amount of emotional gardening,” she says. “I was just raking through my mind and pulling stuff out, and then it grew back again, so I pulled it out again.”

Early highlight “Romain’s Place” sets the scene for the start of this process. Jakobsen puts us into the place where she first felt the past encroaching, staring out the window of her friend’s house at the place she once called home, envisioning her ex standing there on the sidewalk; “I swear that you look just the same / You haven’t aged at all.” Unrepressed memories of anger and being screamed at float up, unbidden but undeniable; “How am I back here again, afraid again,” she sings, speaking of a place that is both literal and mental.

Siv Jakobsen · Gardening

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Tomten - Grapefruit Sea.

"I always wanted to write a kind of nightmare music hall song of some sort, a misadventure song that is still foolish and lighthearted. I had the main acoustic part of this tune and no lyrics and we got together at the Unknown and decided on a form and recorded the whole thing almost the way it is now. All the lyrics came later, I used to sit in the bleachers of the baseball field near my apartment during the beginning of the pandemic for hours into the night and work on songs and these lyrics came from that and perhaps some wine and sleep deprivation. It's like our version of "Sloop John B" with black mold poisoning, maybe a little inspiration from Eno's "Backwater" too." -Brian Noyes

Tomten are a baroque pop quartet based out of Seattle, Washington. Brian Noyes (vocals, keys, guitar) and Lena Simon (bass, vocals) (Kairos Creature Club, formerly of La Luz) met in 2008 and began demoing each other's songs at Cornish College of The Arts.

Tomten started playing shows and rearranging their sound and lineup by 2010, after Gregg Belisle-Chi (guitar) and Jake Brady (drums) joined the band. Tomten's debut, Wednesday's Children arrived in Summer of 2012 shortly before Belisle-Chi left the band. Tomten recorded their sophomore record The Farewell Party (2014) with Jason Quever of Papercuts in San Francisco and Sacramento, CA. Dillon Sturtevant (bass) joined the band as Lena departed.

The Unknown recording studio in Anacortes, WA started by Nicholas Wilbur and Phil Elverum (Mt. Eerie) has become the go to spot for the band's more recent recordings - the lush piano driven Cremation Songs (2017), and Synth Pop informed Viva Draconia (2018). Tomten's newest album Artichoke (out April 28) is a collaborative foray into psych folk, power-pop, and glam country, a balance between songs by Noyes, Sturtevant, and two co-written with Brady. Artichoke is a warm pastoral daydream, with inspirations drawn from the Madcap folk rock of the Incredible String Band, to the syrup soul of The Delfonics, the country tinge of Happy End or Gene Clark, with the gentle guitar picking of John Martyn or Bridget St. John.

Tomten · Grapefruit Sea

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SUEP - Just A Job.

Fresh for being BBC 6 Music playlisted and announcing a UK tour for Independent Venue Week’s 10th anniversary, the London (via Brighton) indie supergroup SUEP drop fresh single ‘Just A Job’, the final track taken from their debut mini album ‘Shop' following on 27 January, Memorials of Distinction.

‘Just A Job’ is a firm fan favourite at their live shows, and the closest SUEP have come to writing an anthem.  Simultaneously evoking plodding despair and stoic acceptance, it’s described by the band as “A lament and an ode to outsiders, late-risers and lost souls and a protest song against having to do the arduous tasks that tend to pile up in life” to a backdrop of 80’s Yamaha synth and drumbeat and fronted by a playfully dour Josh Harvey with backing vocals from Georgie Stott.

SUEP is led by Georgie Stott (Porridge Radio, Garden Centre) and Josh Harvey alongside George Nicholls (The GN Band, Joanna Gruesome, The Tubs), William Deacon (PC World, Garden Centre), and Ollie Chapman. Together they make oddball car-boot-sale pop songs with a sprinkling of theatrical storytelling inspired by a mutual love for Paul McCartney, Jona Lewie, the B-52s, Devo and other performative freaks enjoying themselves.

‘Just A Job’ is the third single taken from SUEP’s debut album ‘Shop' following the now BBC 6 Music playlisted ‘In Good Health’ and last years’ ‘Misery’ and ‘Domesticated Dream’, both championed heavily by Steve Lamacq and Marc Riley with the latter inviting them in to record a BBC 6 Music session on 26 January, with press coverage in Independent, Fred Perry Subculture and Clash (among many others).

SUEP have built up a strong live following playing countless gigs over the last couple of years, with their first ever headline show at London’s Stag Head selling out immediately. They’ve toured with contemporaries such as Garden Centre and Ex-Void as well as performed at 2022’s The Great Escape. SUEP are now embarking on a UK-wide headline tour as part of Independent Venue Week’s 10th anniversary celebrations.

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Allie Crow Buckley - Greatest Hits.

Los Angeles indie songstress Allie Crow Buckley recently announced her new album ‘Utopian Fantasy’ will be released on May 19th via Nettwerk. She has also shared a new single and video ‘Greatest Hits.’ With her rollicking new single ‘Greatest Hits’, Allie describes the psychedelic and euphoric track as, “Riding top down through purgatory - resigning to whatever is. The feeling of leaving your body - as one does when chaos ensues. A psychedelic laugh!”.

Video director Jeanette Getrost adds, “The forest was an important setting for this video as much of Allie’s writing of this record involved being so close both in proximity and her relationship to nature. I referenced a lot of imagery from Greek myth and Czech fairy tale films, as well as some time in the English countryside where Allie and I spent one evening watching Rock and Roll Circus and Zeppelin performances.  What derived from this was essentially a narrative on inspiration and the mystery and wonder of the creative process—the result being a wild trip in the forest.” In addition to Jeanette, Buckley enlisted renowned cinematographer Micah Van Hove (Weyes Blood, Tim Heidecker) to bring their vision to life.

Allie Crow Buckley’s music is a world unto itself. A journey from deep within the forest to the coastal cliffs. She is known for her balance of ethereal, soaring melodies, strong rhythmic elements, and heavy, rooted low end. This balance, coupled with her allegorical sense of lyricism, lends itself to being both beautifully meditative and unsettling at times.

She draws inspiration from numerous sources - from Black Sabbath to Joni Mitchell, and Todd Rundgren, to painters, and poets as well as mythology and her love of classical music from her years of formal training as a dancer. Following the release of her acclaimed debut 2019 EP ‘So Romantic’, she released her debut LP ‘Moonlit and Devious’ in 2021 to praise from The New Yorker, NPR, Under The Radar, Paste and more and has opened for Jenny Lewis and Maggie Rogers on tour.

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Wookalily - Old New Mill.

With awe inspiring four part harmonies, low bowed double bass, flutes, trumpet, banjo and more, Wookalily create a masterful and sweeping sonic tapestry that will leave audiences rapt with wonder, and wanting more.

Their debut album, All The Waiting While, and the subsequent gloriously uproarious gigs, tantalised and secured lifelong fans in Ireland, the UK and beyond. Recorded on traditional analogue equipment by the award winning producer Julie McLarnon (The Vaselines, Jeffrey Lewis, Lankum, King Creosote) Wookalilys second album, Everything is NormaL Except the Little Things Inside My Head, explores the gentle nuances of cathartic melancholy whilst retaining that essential and unforgettable Wookalily sound, five women, ten instruments.

This is an ambitious folk music. Daring to dissolve musical and generic boundaries. Irreverently intertwining the disciplines of blues, rock, punk and more to create a unique and singular musical menagerie that must be witnessed to be truly experienced.

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Bad Pelicans - Dance Music.

The Bad Pelicans release a clip for ‘’DANCE MUSIC’’, second single of their upcoming début record ETERNAL LIFE NOW to be released March on Géographie Records.

Starring cult actor from the french avant-garde Walter Shnorkell, this video embodies the raging ennui that fueled the band’s inspiration for this record. Never nostalgic, but confidently timeless, and hungry for change, Walters charismatic personna allegorizes the juvenile pulse that will perpetually push this band.

Little quote from the band about the song : The Bad Pelicans new single Dance Music has a metamodern intention, encapsulating an 80s new wave tinted approach allied with urgent Post-Punk, feedback-pilled production, portraying the "blasé" apocalyptic sound that defines their new record, Eternal Life Now coming out February 24th via Géographie Recs.

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WILDES - Signe Marie Rustad - Waldo Witt - Best Fern - Mary Anne's Polar Rig - Elly Kace - Gabrielle Shonk

WILDES - True Love (Make Be Believe).

London singer/songwriter Ella Walker aka WILDES has recruited The Flaming Lips for her new single "True Love (Make Me Believe)" - the final taste of her debut album Other Words Fail Me - released last Friday via AWAL. The new album was produced by St Francis Hotel (Michael Kiwanuka, Greentea Peng, Little Simz).

More than a documentation of her artistry: WILDES' debut album Other Words Fail Me is a testimony of hard-won survival. After a long period of false dependency ending with her leaving an abusive (both professional and romantic) relationship, Walker scraped together the shards of a world shattered, and at last, she has built herself an entirely new reflection. For its soaring closing track "True Love", WILDES and producer St Francis Hotel (aka Declan Gaffney) wanted to perfectly capture the highs and lows of learning to love yourself.

Speaking more on the release, and the collaboration with The Flaming Lips, WILDES said: "This past year has been full of pinch-me moments, but today, releasing ‘True Love feat. The Flaming Lips’ is certainly one of the biggest. I wanted to add this final song to the album as an ode to self love and radical acceptance of yourself, no matter who you are, or what you have experienced. Never in a million years would I have believed The Flaming Lips would be the band to help bring this song to life - so thank you to the band, for bringing vivid technicolour to this rainbow of a song."

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Signe Marie Rustad - Waiting.

Ahead of the release of her forthcoming third album, Particles Of Faith, critically acclaimed Norwegian singer songwriter Signe Marie Rustad has shared new single 'Waiting'.

Of her new single, Rustad says: "I wrote this song many years ago, before I had released any of my music. There always seems to be this one song on every record that has been with me for the longest time and then suddenly finds its place. For the Particles of Faith album, 'Waiting' is that song. A snapshot of what it feels like when you find yourself observing your own life instead of living it. At times, I’ve found it too hard to open up to my own emotions, thoughts, and passion, because the intensity of it – good or bad – has felt like too much to handle. Easier then to just dip my toes in, instead of emerging my whole body."

Known for her poetic lyrics and clever songwriting, and backed by a tight knit band that’s been with her for years, Rustad’s new album offers a natural transition from her already classic third album, When Words Flew Freely (WWFF). However, Particles of Faith also brings something completely new and fresh.

Particles of Faith is hard to place in any one genre, melding the Americana sound present on her first two albums with the broader singer-songwriter tradition, helmed by pioneers such as Joni Mitchell and Carole King. But Rustad also points to a host of other inspirations.

Jansen Records · Signe Marie Rustad - Waiting (DWYBO Records)

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Waldo Witt - Tragicomedy.

Long Daze, Dark Nights is the upcoming album from Waldo Witt. The artist embraces 60s and 70s psychedelia inspirations like Todd Rundgren, King Crimson, and Brian Wilson, alongside a continued adoration of 80s soft rock and disco, resulting in a vibrant sounding record, full of hooks and charismatic structural twists.

Even in its nostalgic glow, Long Daze, Dark Nights doesn’t linger too long in the past. Hook-heavy throwback odes are abundant, though also resonating with modern production and thematic pursuits. Offering poignant reflection following the past several years of tumult, the release explores themes of uncertainty, instability, and unpredictability. Waldo, his wife, and their van road-tripped through much of the pandemic, and many of the release’s lyrics were written while traveling in isolated areas throughout the country, like rural Montana and Colorado.

The result is filled with introspection and soul-searching, representative of how artistic creation can lead to great self-discovery. The release, in particular, pursues how one feels the need to create and make art. “It leads you to the experience of being completely in the moment, which is what it’s all about,” Waldo says. “The ups, downs, in betweens – all are expressions of the aliveness of being.”

The creative process for Long Daze, Dark Nights began in the summer of 2020, in Taos, New Mexico. Waldo and his van trekked to a variety of studios and ensuing musical collaborations, with new and old friends alike. Much of the recording took place at the late Radio Milk studios in Austin, owned/operated by James Petralli (White Denim). Ample work was also done at Waldo’s home in Chapel Hill, NC.

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Best Fern - On and On.

The music captured on Earth Then Air, the debut album from ambient pop duo Best Fern, encourages a gentle wonderment of the world. Musicians Alexia Avina and Nick Schofield recorded the collection of delicately balanced songs while in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, surrounded by the elemental glory of the Rocky Mountains. The natural wonder of their environs, along with the access to a myriad of acoustic instruments, helped the duo create their most grounded work to date as they reached closer to earth than air for inspiration.

Beginning with the propulsive rhythm of opening track ‘On And On’ and the crystalline structure of lead single ‘Way Inside’, it’s clear that Earth Then Air marks an arrival of form. Throughout the album, Best Fern sustain an ethereal middleground between ambient and pop, inviting a fluid approach to their roles as co-musicians and co-producers. The result is a seamless blend of their sensibilities: dulcet melodies giving way to trance-inducing pools of texture, empyrean vocals lifting up ribbons of sound. Earth Then Air is centred as much around songs as it is with atmosphere. Touchstones for the unacquainted listener could be the spacious emotional containers of Majical Cloudz or the fractalized flows of Kailtyn Aurelia Smith.

As the album progresses through the pizzicato wonderment of ‘Evolving Tide’, to the honeyed staccato of ‘See Me’, there is a subtle undercurrent that unwinds the listener. This is most evident at the ending of ‘Jindalee’, where the fading vibraphone melody is overlaid with the sound of guitar lines being time-stretched, literally slowing down. That this unwinding leads into the album’s most vulnerable moment (Avina’s titular refrain throughout ‘Do You Want Me?), is proof that Best Fern have plotted the album’s journey carefully, maximising both mood and emotional resonance. Earth Then Air is a remarkably soothing experience, reminding the listener that we, too, can be soft and sure like pine and fir, supple like the wind around a mountain.

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Mary Anne's Polar Rig – Dopamine Detox.

Rama Lama Records proudly presents 'Makes You Wonder', the new album from Malmö's art-rock-fuzz-pop duo Mary Anne's Polar Rig. Their sophomore effort is shape-shifting art rock that’s alternatively brooding and euphoric, the record is packed with irresistible melodies, needle-sharp guitars, scuffed-knees scrappiness and Hofvander’s snarling, growling and yelping vocals, but compared to their debut it vastly expands the scope of what they can do with it.

The album will be out March 24th on all platforms, CD and a limited gatefold double vinyl. The new single 'Dopamine Detox' is out now, a groovy single where Primus meets Mike Krol. Fittingly for a song that’s about trying to break free, it rattles along with so much energy it feels impossible to hold it back. The song blends together a splatter of guitars and drums, as vocalist Malin Hofvander dreams of getting away from it all. Its initial snappy, puppy-ish indie morphs into a mid-song doomy, staggering dirge, before it crashes back into indie rock again for some cathartic release.

About Dopamine Detox Do you struggle to remember a time when most of the world lived outside the four walls and cold white light of your phone? The glum feeling of that little online box leading you around your life by the nose is a familiar one for a lot of people, and it’s one that Mary Anne’s Polar Rig lash out at on sparky, rambunctious new single “Dopamine Detox”.

Fittingly for a song that’s about trying to break free, “Dopamine Detox” rattles along with so much energy it feels impossible to hold it back. The song blends together a Jackson Pollock splatter of guitars and drums, as vocalist Malin Hofvander dreams of getting away from it all. Its initial snappy, puppy-ish indie morphs into a mid-song doomy, staggering dirge, before it crashes back into indie rock again for some cathartic release, spiced with a few samples of people proclaiming themselves free of internet addiction. Or at least, as free as it's possible to imagine yourself to be.

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Elly Kace - Disappear.

Elly Kace, an acclaimed and internationally renowned opera singer, is thrilled to share details of her forthcoming album Object Permanence, which is due for release on March 31, 2023 via Bright Shiny Things. With her latest full-length, her songs have become deeply personal and yearning. In 2021, Kace explored new sides of herself with her debut pop album Nothing I see means anything, a densely conceptual and boundary-pushing collection of songs that explored her introspective and danceable side.

The new album, though, is the encapsulation of her ceaseless searching and her willingness to be pushed to new creative heights, all while excavating her grief and turning it into something healing and stunning, as expressed in the lead single “Disappear,” out now.

Serving as the album’s opening salve, “Disappear” eases its listeners into an hypnotic, auditory hallucination buoyed by the siren of Kace’s vocal talents, embellished and complimented by subtle, yet urgent, trumpet playing by Will Miller and layers of frenzied guitars, angelic harmonies, cymbal flourishes and controlled jazz drumming via Colin Croom. Kace’s lyrics, sung over layers of her own voice and an unsettling backing track, are meditative and magical: “So I'll be ready for that last breath / the truth is - it might do nothing at all / But I know one thing / When I stare at you too long, you / disappear. / Isn't it nice? / we might not really be here.”

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Gabrielle Shonk - People Pleaser.

Montréal-based singer-songwriter Gabrielle Shonk has announced her new album Across The Room to be released February 24 via Arts & Crafts. She shares a new single with official music video directed by Gerardo Alcaine, in which she is sick and tired of being a “People Pleaser.” This year, Shonk will join The Barr Brothers and Charlie Winston on tour, respectively, in addition to select headlines.

How do you come back to yourself? First, it’s important to understand you have become lost, and admit you’ve veered off path. How then do you begin to piece yourself back together? This is the journey the JUNO Award-nominated singer and songwriter takes us on with her sophomore album. The eleven-track record chronicles the big and small feelings of heartache, and the hope that comes with endings and new beginnings. This excavation of self and purpose seemed to be a long time coming.

“It's not always the easiest to look inward. But, when it is easy, you hold on to all those small victories— finding a sense of wholeness within yourself,” says Shonk. The spellbinding full-length arrives in the wake of two splits—one romantic, and one with the major label behind Shonk’s debut. Shonk emerges with a refreshed creative freedom, which she powerfully wields alongside longtime friends and collaborators, co-writer Jessy Caron of the band Men I Trust and producer Jesse Mac Cormack (Helena Deland).

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On Hiatus

We are taking a break for a while. It's a chance to get away, think about where Beehive Candy is going, think about our next steps and the potential to change and  improve.

Or maybe we have run our course. Your opinions would be appreciated. You can leave a comment below or email us at perfectradio@btinternet.com or if you are on Twitter connect with us @perfectradio1

Either way a shortish break will do us good!

A hearty thanks to everyone who has visited us in 2022 (& years previous) and to all the artists, their record labels, PR representatives and everyone else in the loop that enables us to share such fine new music. See you all in 2023 & take good care.

Seasurfer - Chris Williams and Kid Reverie

Seasurfer - Dive in (the alternative Mix EP).

This "fan-edition" is only available via Bandcamp and features four alternative mixes of songs from the debut Seasurfer album "Dive In" with singer Dorian E. The album brought Seasurfer worldwide attention in the dreampop and shoegaze scene, and was released by the cult label Saint Marie Records from the US/Texas.

The "Winterblume keen K-Mix" was done back in 2014 by producer keen K in Berlin, where Dorian recorded the vocals for Dive In. The other mixes are based on the last Seasurfer live shows with more electronic drums and sounds. In particular, the scene hit "Stay" gets a new, thrilling face here with its new beat machine drums and more electronics.

Dirk: "I'm still in love with Dorian's vocals and the wall of sound of Dive In. The album opened a lot of doors and it felt good to play these songs live, also with other singers. But they work better with drums more in the front, the whole sound is different and more powerful. The keen K mix is back from 2014 and has a different, more pop sound. It doesn't fit with the album, but again Dorian's voice works so well. I think fans of Dorian and of Seasurfer will like the tracks." Active since 2013, Seasurfer is the Hamburg-based band around songwriter & fuzz-reverb-lover Dirk Knight, forgoing the way of the conventional band by working together with a collective of singers & musicians to assist in building his idea of sound.

Back in the Nineties Dirk was in the so-called "Heavenly Voices" scene with his former band Dark Orange on the German cult-label HYPERIUM, collaborating with the likes of Robin Guthrie from Cocteau Twins and John Fryer (4AD, Mute Records, This Mortal Coil). As Seasurfer, he released four albums and some EPs and singles working with singers Dorian E. from Berlin, Julia from dream pop band Chandeen, Elena Alice Fossi from Kirlian Camera, Krissy Vanderwoude from US shoegaze band Whimsical, Apolonia and Ricardo Veloso from Porto.

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Chris Williams and Kid Reverie - Half A Mile.

Chris Williams and Kid Reverie’s new album began with an inquisitive search for a simple sound. Having heard Steve Varney’s (Kid Reverie) open-back banjo accompanying fellow songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov on a YouTube video, Williams began tracking down something similar for his own personal collection. “That banjo sounded so amazing on one condenser mike, and I wanted to find one like it,” says Williams. After a long search, he landed on Varney’s website. Williams noticed that he offered lessons and decided to sign up for one or two. “I was so taken with his work and his instrument that I’d pay to talk to him,” Williams chuckles. Kid Reverie recalls, “Chris always came to our lessons with a solid idea. I routinely found myself saying something like, ‘This is great, now let’s make it a song.’”

The pair have just announced the upcoming album Something from Nothing—due out March 3rd, 2023. Born from their initial collaboration, the pair eventually c0-wrote the twelve songs that became Something from Nothing. C0-produced by Williams and Varney and mastered by Varney, the two played every instrument on the album—with the exception of Michael McKee who joins in on drums for five songs and Ayda Varney who plays cat toy sounds on a tune. “This process was very cathartic. It took a trying time for both of us and allowed us to open ourselves to a writing partnership that neither of us expected. I am grateful for this amazing musical experience and hope everyone enjoys these songs as much as we loved creating them!” Kid Reverie affirms that he’s “rarely had such deep collaboration with another songwriter. For so long it felt like we were just doing lessons. I think it took both of us quite a while to realize we were co-writing songs and making an album.”

This week, Chris Williams and Kid Reverie shared the first listen from Something from Nothing, the ebbing and flowing “Half a Mile.” Written a few tunes into Williams’ and Varney’s time writing songs together, “Half a Mile” was a marked point of exploration for the pair, entering a mix of time signatures and tempo changes. “Every writing session we had, I was blown away by Steve’s in-depth knowledge of theory, song structure and catalog of hundreds of songs and examples within each at his fingertips,” remembers Williams. “Very useful when reaching for ideas and inspiration.”

 

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Eric Selby - Julian Never

Eric Selby - Horseshoes & Hand Grenades.

This song is about the concept that life is going to happen so you can either be an observer or a participant. Action is more important than words, so since participating will ultimately make you happier, get off your duff and take charge of your life.

"'Sh*t happens' and you can’t always rely on other people that you think are in your corner and when they do let you down, their remorse is fleeting, reflecting the immediate gratification that this social media world delivers in almost faster than real time," shares Eric Selby. "So what do you do? Well, hope is not a strategy so you must plan and execute your life your way because the promises and intent of others are often thrown around without care."

When not being a single Dad to four awesome daughters and spoiling his cat (who thinks he's a dog), Eric is a sought-after artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist. After many years behind both the drumkit and mixing board, Eric has stepped out front, releasing his first solo, original music in 2020, including the Do, Baby EP, as well as two singles: “Anxious Zen” and “Another Page.”

Eric Selby · Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

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Julian Never - Grassharp.

Julian Never have released "Grassharp," the second single from their debut LP, Pious Fiction. The song is clearly inspired by the Flying Nun catalog, Prefab Sprout and other odd underground pop hits by Chris Spedding and Dwight Twilley.

Pious Fiction sees release via Mt.St.Mtn. (100 copies on Natural vinyl, 200 copies on Black vinyl, very limited “Meyyer Lemon” for Monorail Music in Glasgow) on January 13, 2023.

Julian Never is the latest vehicle for former Mayyors drummer Julian Elorduy’s jangle pop alter-ego. An evolution in songwriting that produced the short-lived, but much loved Fine Steps.  Pious Fiction is 15 tracks of bittersweet, sun-warped jangle self-recorded off and on over the last four years in a variety of Sacramento homes and warehouses with the help of former Mayyors bandmate Mark Kaiser (also of Castle Face goth punks Male Gaze), a Tascam half-inch reel-to-reel and a borrowed mixer.

The album is built upon a solid base of guitar-centric pop that is richly layered with ethereal synths and piano, and intertwined with themes of love, loss and the ghosts of Elorduy’s Catholic upbringing, all delivered with his captivating tenor.

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The Trouble Notes - Jake Thistle - The Legendary Ten Seconds

The Trouble Notes - Never Dream Alone (featuring Carola Zerega & Freddy Dubois).

The Trouble Notes’ “Never Dream Alone” is a fantastical folk-pop ode to dreamers inspired by the cosplay community. Sitting between traditional folk, modern classical, and tribal dance music, The Trouble Notes have released their new fantasy-tinged folk-pop anthem “Never Dream Alone”

Written for and filmed at the 2022 Summer edition of Elfia, Europe's largest outdoor Cosplay festival, the video showcases the energy of the song with vibrant visuals and eclectic costumes - inspiring listeners to embrace their dreams and imagination

A call to embrace the fantastic, wonderful and weird, “Never Dream Alone” showcases the band’s quintessential classical-cross-over style, holding elements of an epic film score within the structure of a modern Folk Pop song. The fantasy-tinged violin melodies and string arrangements are a nod to the epic scores of the genre, while the operatic vocals of Carola Zerega and Bennet Cerven carry the message of unity in diversity. On full display is the energetic rhythms of the mind-blowing percussionist Oliver Maguire, whose unique hand drumming techniques elevates the listener to new heights.

Florian Eisenschmidt’s rock inspired riffs on guitar are the backbone on which pianist Frederic Dubois creates the harmonic soundscapes that shape “Never Dream Alone” and bring the listener into a fairytale realm with unity at its core. “‘Never Dream Alone’ is an epic ode to the dreamer,” says Bennet Cerven, Violinist for The Trouble Notes. “It was an easy song for us to write because we have always identified ourselves as such. We wanted to create a piece of music that captures the fantastic spirit of our favorite films and stories while being inclusive and easy to sing along to!” Overall, this track will take you on an auditory journey through realms unknown - so be sure not to miss it!

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Jake Thistle - Ghosted Road.

Things have certainly come full circle for Jake Thistle. The rising singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist knew he wanted to be a musician at three years old, when he saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Now, Thistle is 18 years old; and yet, his resume boasts performances with – you guessed it – the Heartbreakers. Not to mention a performance slot at Tom Petty’s posthumous (and virtual) 70th birthday celebration.

Thistle has just released his newest single, “Ghosted Road,” along with the accompanying video. Both the track and the video are available via all streaming platforms now. "Ghosted Road began less out of story and more from trying to paint a scene,” shares Thistle.

“I actually wrote the song under a blinking traffic light outside a house I was staying at, so the song came from wanting to convey how lonely that atmosphere seemed at that time of night. The song is a continuation of my love of writing about roads, traveling, and the overall mystery of going to new places."

The video for “Ghosted Road” was shot live, as Thistle recorded the track at Lakehouse Studios in New Jersey. The video captures the process of crafting the song as well as a particular moment in Thistle’s career.

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The Legendary Ten Seconds - Jolly Summer Scarecrows / Jack Rattenbury.

The Legendary Ten Seconds started off as the solo music project of Ian Churchward during the time when he was the lead guitar player of The Morrisons who were featured on John Peel's radio one show back in 1987.

In 2013 Lord Zarquon joined Ian's music project and since then the line up has gradually expanded and various guest musician's and vocalists have helped out in the recording studio.

Jolly Summer Scarecrows is a song about the annual summer scarecrow competition in Torquay. The song is taken from the new Sagas of the South West album.

All about St Marychurch
And down along Babbacombe way
Jolly summer scarecrows
Put on a bright display
Jolly summer scarecrows
Put on a bright display.

We also have the story of the smuggler Jack Rattenbury who was born in Beer in 1778.

Jack Rattenbury the smuggler
Was born in the village of Beer
Where his family lived in poverty
With no comfort throughout the year
Jack Rattenbury the smuggler
Was born in the village of Beer.

the legendary ten seconds · Jolly Summer Scarecrows

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