Sunday Selection: Stone Cold Fox - Auna Sims - Adeline Hotel - The Maytags

Stone Cold Fox - Contagion.

Background words - The best kind of road trips are the ones that are spontaneous. You know where you want to go, you have a final destination in mind - you just don’t necessarily know how you’re going to get there. But that’s OK, because it’s all about the journey, right? Brooklyn-based four piece, Stone Cold Fox want to take a road trip with you- they’ll get you to where you want to go, you just gotta let them take the wheel, because in the end whatever will be, will be. And the soundtrack? Their forthcoming EP, Tunnel Vision.

Tunnel Vision is a stunning contradiction- a collection of journeys made up of distorted dance synths that bleed with a rock-heavy heart. Written, recorded and produced over a period of two years, the sound of Tunnel Vision resembles a mindset that is anything but narrow minded- instead, it’s a collection of tracks that skew in every which way, that ultimately steer back to it’s original course to create a wistful, cohesive sound. “Tracks started as total rock songs, then turned into chilled electro songs, eventually finding its way somewhere comfortably in the middle,” explains guitarist and vocalist Kevin. “They find middle ground with a rock core and a dancey pulse,” he adds. So, imagine a world where John Lennon is rose from the dead and conceived a love child with The Strokes while listening to LCD Soundsystem and Beat Connection - that’s the kind of world that Tunnel Vision creates.

'Contagion' is synth pop which leans towards indie rock if you follow? It's the first song on the five track EP 'Tunnel Vision' and each track is equal to the quality of the featured song. Hard to easily categorise, the last sentence in the promo piece above is not that wide of the mark.

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Auna Sims - Dance The Extra Mile.

Background bio - Auna Sims' second song, "Dance The Extra Mile" picks up where her first left off, giving us a first row seat to her musical journey. She is off and running, or dancing, as the case may be. In "Right Place," there was an earnest exploration of performance, creation and identity.  "I wrote this song when I was struggling with the 'Why try again' questions," said Sims of the first material she had released. Now that musical identity seems to have found itself a bit more. "This song is about unapologetic joy in perseverance."  

She had to suffer through adversity from an unknown source to make her work.  She grew up in a home infused with music, the oldest of ten musically gifted children. She herself was a prodigiously talented child and studied classical music and piano throughout her youth. As she embarked on her formal secondary education in music an idiopathic hand and arm injury made playing piano impossible for her, just days before she was to audition for the head of the Atlanta Symphony. Auna was devastated.  But she persevered.  "The struggles lead me to my crumbs of truth and those crumbs tend to grow and turn into hope," she says of the undying love of music that impelled her to create music however she could.

As she continued her journey, music consumed Auna, Her tastes broadened and she began to consume a wide ranging array of pop music. Shortly thereafter, she began to play the piano one-handed and write songs with pop structures. She developed her voice and what she could do with performance, limited though she may be.  The music she kept to herself as she compiled composition upon composition. Throughout, she asked herself, "Does success determine art or is the drive to create and express the true beauty?" she asked.   Now she says, "That mile is calling, and it must be danced, sung, written, found, lost, explored, reached, and ultimately released in order to become the courage and comfort I crave for myself and wish to share."

I really like 'Dance The Extra Mile' however I am struggling to describe quite what it is, that makes it stand out from the crowd. Auna has a distinct and commanding voice that appeals, and musically there is an attractive melody. I suppose it is the commitment, the sheer level of emotion, that gives the song that extra kick, looking forward to hearing more.

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Adeline Hotel - Near You.

Background words - Adeline Hotel is the project of songwriter Daniel Knishkowy. It's Alright, Just The Same (May 13 via Wild Kindness Record Co.) was produced by guitarist/composer Will Stratton and recorded at the Buddy Project in Queens, NY and Will's house in Beacon, NY. It's Alright, Just The Same maintains the intimacy of How Strange It Is To See EP while expanding the band arrangements.

Like all Adeline Hotel work to date, the record is fundamentally concerned with the balance between people and place;about the desire for change and the need for stability;getting high in your ex's apartment and laughing at the Silver Jews;constant questioning and trying to get out of your head;driving through the rain as spring becomes summer;making your world just that little bit larger; about singing along to Big Star with your best friend.

'Near You' is the second of nine songs on the forthcoming release 'It's Alright, Just The Same' and the second single release. The album is a collection of really well constructed folk and folk rock orientated songs, that centre around Daniel Knishkowy's fine vocals, plus the musicianship is first class. A good single from a very good album.


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The Maytags - Marry Ya.

Background promo - Des Moines retro-soul outfit The Maytags announce debut full length, Love Lines, available July 1, 2016 via independent release, and share the album's first single, "Marry Ya." 

Love Lines smoulders with the intensity of a relationship that just ended. Recorded at Nashville's The Bomb Shelter with Andrija Tokic, who has also recorded Benjamin Booker and Alabama Shakes, the album sees Smith achieving a bit of the latter band's gut-busting, almost-preternatural howling on cathartic opener "Pushing Up Rivers." A three-part "Suite for Green Eyes," written as a whole by Smith and Tim Sanders (sax), inhabits the aftermath of a breakup: bitter sweet acceptance, tempestuous reflection, and the lustful confusion of running into an ex once it's all over.

As much as Love Lines is born out of a breakup, it's also an artifact of a seven-piece band that has been honing its chops on the road. "Musically we worked our asses off on this," Dustin Smith says. "Me and Tim got together for the initial writing sessions and really tried to draw a lot of inspiration from the Daptone crew, Stax, Al Green. Just to name a few." The songs were then taken to the band and arranged as a unit, with each member having creative input on each song. The Maytags then tracked the whole album to 2 inch tape in less than 30 hours." That follows December 2014's Nova EP, recorded at the same studio and tracked to 2 inch tape in 19 hours

Dustin Smith's lyrics often reference the cultural geography of his home town Des Moines, Iowa, a music and arts community with a rising national profile highlighted by praise from the Talking Heads' David Byrne and glowing explorations from Politico and The Atlantic. But Smith's words also help evoke the Maytags' journey to this sultry nine-song set, one that also runs through Smith's time in New York — where studied jazz as a drummer — and the band's recording sessions in Tennessee. Other band members have roots in St. Louis; all studied jazz, mainly in central and northern Iowa. If there can be a New South, then there can be a sound that's Midwest Nouveau. 

Retro soul, blues, grooves, funk and a few other styles, make the bands debut album 'Love Lines' something very special. 'Marry Ya' is but a small sip from a full glass, when it comes to, what's in store on this fabulous album. Whilst the influences of others may be there, this band pick up on an idea and develop it into a song to remember. If any of the above mentioned genres and styles appeal to you, I urge that you check this album out in July, it's a good one!
 
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Genre Mix: David Trull - Daniel Trakell - Dear Thieves - Broadway Sounds - Hunter As a Horse

David Trull - Beautiful World.

Background bio - Back in his high school days, with one faithful roadie and one faithful Fender amp in tow, David Trull was a regular feature at the Roadhouse in Webster Groves, MO. Every Tuesday, the Roadhouse Bar and Grill would have local blues hero Alvin Jett onstage to lead a jam session. David headed to the Roadhouse, rain or shine, for three years’ worth of Tuesdays. On that stage, David struck his musical roots in the soil of the blues. His great loves at that time were The Allman Brothers and The Derek Trucks Band; he was known to laugh in rapture at the grinding, throaty “breathing” of Derek Trucks’ guitar.

Years later, at college, David found a different kind of treasure: he discovered The Milk Carton Kids. Their blend of eclectic, punchy song‐writing and limpid melodies inspired him to write music more restrained, music more focused on lyrical power. He began by covering several of his favourites at an open mic night in the spring of 2013, where his rendition of “Michigan” was received with a standing‐o. Along with two friends, David formed a musical trio called Bourbon & Bitters. (By all accounts, he was the ‘bitters’ in the relationship.) This act was the vehicle for him to try his hand at song‐writing, and he wrote and performed over a dozen songs over the remainder of the semester, touring through Southern California in support of these new compositions. Upon graduation, he scraped up enough cash between graduation gifts and tips from local gigs and recorded his debut EP Sowing Season, which later became a popular add at CMJ stations. Those songs are about beginnings, David says, which seemed like a proper theme for his first effort.

David, now home in his native St. Louis, is no longer at the beginning of things. He has completed his first full length album, Coin Toss inspired by and composed during his hiking of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route across France and Spain. He’s tasted some of life, and it’s a broad world, with many beautiful things in it; but at the same time, much is fragile and out of reach. The sweet certainties of childhood, which are so celebrated in Sowing Season, are harder to hold onto the further you go into the world we’ve inherited. The pain of losing those footholds will be on full display in his new album‐ but that shouldn’t surprise any of David’s devoted listeners. For a man with his feet in the blues, writing about loss, heartache, and the humour of it all is nothing less than second nature.

The full length album 'Coin Toss' (out June 3) is a pleasing collection of songs, of which the featured track 'Beautiful World' is pretty representative. With a predominately acoustic feel, if you like something a little more gentle and laid back, the quality of song writing and performance, makes this an attractive option.

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Daniel Trakell - Wasted Light.

Background promo - Daniel Trakell has spent the better part of the last decade writing and recording several albums and touring Australia and the world with Melbourne groups Fire Underground and Dancing Heals. As both bands came to an end, finding himself with an ever-growing collection of home demos and no outlet, Trakell went in to Abbotsford studio The Aviary to record his debut solo record with friend and talented producer/Gotye percussionist Joshua Barber.

First track off the forthcoming six-track EP is Wasted Light, which has already received glowing reviews and featured in mixtapes on such desirable blogs as I Heard A Whisper, Me And All My Friends, Being Blogged and The Revue, to name a few.  The Beatles-esque tune also received instant spins on Triple J, with the network’s Music Director and presenter Richard Kingsmill giving it four stars on Unearthed, while Home & Hosed host, Dom Alessio said, “It’s like Elliott Smith on a magical mystery tour.”

Daniel was recently announced as one of six winners of Triple J Unearthed's 2016 NIDA competition, selected to have a music video for another track from the EP produced by NIDA's finest filmmaking students.

Wasted Light features Joshua Barber on bass and drums, Nicholas Lam on guitar, strings by Jonathan Dreyfus and Nick Pietsch on trombone.  
Says Daniel, “Wasted Light was the last track I wrote for the EP, the demo was very much a straightforward piano and vocals song. When I brought it to Josh we felt it should have an extended outro, he laid down 2 sets of drum takes which gave us the Beatles-y direction and we built the rest over that.”

'Wasted Light' really does have a Beatles musical feel to it. Vocals are delicate and refreshing whilst the background music gradually builds into something quite special. The production is very good, as is the song.

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Dear Thieves - My Street.

Background promo - Dear Thieves are a hard hitting alternative indie two piece, hailing from Melbourne, Victoria. The band consists of Joel Hansen and Jesse Jones, who down sized from a four piece indie rock band in Brisbane, to take their business south of the Queensland border in 2013. Since then they have been prolifically fine tuning the two piece sound, to bring a unique and melodic change to the two piece outfit.

Their last self-titled EP, released in 2014 was described as “glistening indie rock, with a charged romanticism” and set the tone for their upcoming single “My Street”. The new single was recorded at Melbourne’s very own Head Gap Studios, and at the helm was head engineer, Neil Thompson. The song itself is about big nights and there big repercussions, drawn from artist experience.

With their high energy live shows, which leave no muscle dormant and no stone unturned, the boys are ready to take Dear Thieves to bigger, and much louder pastures.

Dear Thieves crank the music up with 'My Street' a blistering rock'n'roll piece. With the powerful sound that rock duo's can create, the pair deliver a well crafted song that strikes a good balance between noise and detail. 'My Street will be released 20th of May 2016.

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Broadway Sounds - Exclusive Love / Digital Influence.

Background promo With an impressive following in their native Australia, afro-infused electro-funk pioneers Broadway Sounds will finally be bringing their effervescent retro fun to the rest of the world, with an EP release scheduled ahead of some UK festival appearances this summer. The "Exclusive Love/Digital Influence" EP release will drop on 20th May via 100 Billion Wires and features the brand new title track.

Today the band are thrilled to share the new video for the track, alongside the news that they will be playing Glastonbury Festival on Saturday 25th June. Meeting at the intersection of afro rock, boogie funk, township jive, afro funk, kwela jazz, soca, RnB, folk and soul, Broadway Sounds are a new breed of psych-pop that push the boundaries and make it work.

100 Billion Wires is a new London based independent label project set up as a labour of love by 3 friends to support exciting new left field music from the grass roots. Drawing on their collective experience of working in labels, live and music publishing, across acts ranging from Young Fathers, ho99o9, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Peanut Butter Wolf to The Fall, Shabazz Palaces, Metronomy & The Streets - eclectic tastes are reflected in the label's approach to releasing new music from emerging artists.

Broadway Sounds will play the following live dates this summer, with more to be announced shortly:

25th June - Glastonbury Festival, Somerset UK
15th July - Beatherder Festival, Lancashire UK
23rd July - Hootenanny, London UK
24th July - Secret Garden Party, Cambridgeshire UK

'Exclusive Love / Digital Influence' is a mixture of classic funky sounds with a more modern electro twist and even the odd Kraftwerk moment. It's fun and ticks a whole lot of boxes for me.


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Hunter As a Horse - Fallen Leaves.

Background promo - A haunting, psychedelic synth-infused journey filled with stories of wolves, spirits and a first kiss shared in the woods, "The Two Magics”, is a powerful debut EP from Hunter As a Horse. The sound is distinctly their own - a surprisingly comfortable blend of folk, disco and pop with dark cinematic leanings.

Co-produced by Ewan Pearson, the release is the result of a year-long self-imposed exile from London to rural Italy. The band, Paul Gala on synths and machines and Mia van Wyk on vocals and guitar, moved south to “channel the gods of dark cinematic Italo disco” where they built a studio in an old farmhouse in Tuscany, previously owned by the local sorcerer “il terzo occhio” (he who has the third eye), and began writing and honing their sound in earnest.

The band cite influences as diverse as Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, Lali Puna and Johnny Cash, “anything arpeggiated” and of course are heavily influenced by Italo and the sounds of the 80s.

I am so, so impressed by the debut EP 'The Two Magics'. Featured song 'Fallen Leaves' is one of five mini masterpieces, as Hunter As A Horse develop intensely beautiful music. 

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Friday &: The Phantom Sound - The Redhill Valleys - Vague - Bencoolen - Manon Meurt

The Phantom Sound - Crushing.

Background promo - The Phantom Sound recall the best of the 70’s & 80’s with contributions from the Punk & New Wave hall of fame in the powerhouse of a single: “Crushing” out May 16th 2016. The band’s powerful sound and brooding vocals of songwriter Marisa Schlussel has seen the likes of BBC and Amazing radio jump on board the good ship Phantom.

“Crushing” the standout track from the band’s special edition release of debut album “The Phantom Sound”, begins with a truly defiant swagger befitting of the punk ethos. With the unstoppable momentum of an out-of-control steam locomotive, the track leads to its iconic chorus that would be at home at both grimy rock clubs and major summer festivals.

Following her dream of working with the very artists that inspire her, Schlussel sought out the legends of the late 70’s and 80’s Punk & New Wave movement, aspiring to make sure that they loved her music. As it turn’s out, they didn’t need much convincing with Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, R.E.M.) on producer duties, legendary drummer Clem Burke (Blondie) picking up the sticks and Pierre DeReeder (Rily Kiley) all keen to contribute to what has fast become an album dripping in era-defining talent, featuring icons from the past and future.

Marisa falls into the future icon bracket, set to follow in the footsteps of Punk Rock royalty. The powerful self-titled album bulges at the seams with huge, power punk rock influenced tunes grabbing the attention of the likes of BBC Introducing London with multiple spins from supporter Gary Crowley and Amazing Radio after winning the top voted song on Charlie Ashcroft’s Audition Show for “Get to Me”. The colossal album has also seen plays on Sirius XM Radio and Genya Ravan's show on Little Steven's Underground Garage Channel.

The strength of their sound has seen the band from London receive plaudits as far as Canada and the U.S. with radio success and an invite to play Canadian Music Week 2016, representing the UK in Toronto citing influences ranging from David Bowie, Roxy Music, Blondie and The Romones.

UK Dates:
19/05         Brighton           The Great Escape
23/06         Maidstone        Earl’s    
25/06         London            The Garage

'Crushing' has all the attitude of a punk laden rock'n'roll song. Vocals have that menacing edge and the band just play guitar driven rock, with the swagger a song like this needs.

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The Redhill Valleys - Wrong Way Turns Out Right.

Background from the band - We formed as The Redhill Valleys in the fall of 2014. Today, we're sharing our single and stream of our debut album. The self titled record is out today!

The three of us had worked and collaborated together in various situations over the years, but when we got together for the first time, it clicked. We found common ground in our writing and playing styles due to our shared love of Rock and Roll, Folk, vintage R&B, and classic Country. Before long we had twelve songs written that were eclectic, but still sounded like they belonged together.  We crafted this record, our debut, for a year in the recording studio. We wanted to straddle the line of getting it just right, but without it sounding stale or mechanical.

Wrong Way Turns Out Right is a special song to us. It's one of the earliest songs that was written for our record, and set the tone for many that followed. More significantly, it's the song that was the initial vehicle for us to find our collective voice. We knew we wanted to write songs with an emphasis on harmonies and this was the first song our voices really melded together - when we felt that we had something special. - Redhill Valleys (Cheslea, Danielle & Tim).

This has been a good week for albums and The Redhill Valleys debut is definitely one of them. That they have spent time on the album is born out by the quality and craft of every song. The mixture of musical styles each member brings to the band, comes together and leaves us with a selection of great music, the featured track being no exception!

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Vague - Vacation.

Background promo - Vienna five-piece, Vague have dropped their first UK single and video Vacation, through Siluh Records.

The five young guys from Austria produce sounds with heavy distortion, reminding of alternative indie scenes of the 80sand 90s on both sides of the Atlantic. They describe their music as often: blurry, melancholic, clever, combining indie ethics with traditional songwriting.

Vacation is a brilliant slice of indie pop, showcasing the band's innate ability to pen a hook, which compliments the voice of the lead singer. Reminiscing of a by gone time, the guitar driven song is moving, nostalgic and effortlessly cool.

Vague have released their first EP titled 'Tempdays' last year and 2016 sees them release their debut full length: 'In The Meantime'. Vacation is the the first release off the album, released via Siluh Records.

The press release references the retro feel of the 80/90's indie scene that comes across with the song 'Vacation'. A reasonable point of view, I would add that had it been released way back then, it would have been up with some of the best songs. It's a fine song, one that is as welcome in 2016 as any time past.

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Bencoolen - In Color.

Background promo - After months of rehearsals and shows, Bencoolen is gearing up to release their highly-anticipated new album, In Color, out Summer 2016. The 6-song record will feature the full spectrum of the band’s sound; from a gentle ballad, a reggae rock song, and heavier, “maximalist” rock. Recently the group has just launched the title track from the record, "In Color," which you can listen to and post, above.

Bencoolen was able to raise more than $6000 for the record, and has made a recent push to travel to new cities and universities to share their music. The band's sound, either recorded or live, will definitely touch Bencoolen listeners. Whether you are the lonely bartender on a Wednesday somewhere in New Jersey, or a rowdy fraternity house playing air guitars with us and singing songs you hadn’t yet heard; you have all of our energy. The hours of practice and of travel have garnered accolades from features in USA Today College, to opening for Cold War Kids, and more.

The first single, “In Color,” is simply a story about growing up. We are all born with creativity and color inside us, but as we learn, that beauty gets lost. When the bartender asks him, “What’s your name, what’re you in here for?,” The man simply says, “I’m the wind blowing through and I used to live in color” without identity or purpose for himself. As he drinks he wanders the bar, he looks at the beautiful pictures on the seemingly ordinary bartender’s walls. He then watches him work, content with where he is, and what he has done. That opportunity for self-reflection helps the man find inspiration to live beyond paying bills and doing the “right” thing to essentially find himself again.

Featured song 'In Color' has a distinct reggae feel to it, and some high quality musicianship accompanying the suitably adapted vocals. It's one of those songs that starts out well and just keeps on getting better!


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Manon Meurt - To Forget.

Background promo - Upstart Canadian imprint Label Obscura is proud to announce the vinyl reissue of the debut EP by Czech Republic shoegaze/ noise pop quartet Manon Meurt, making it available in North America for the first time.

These quickly rising shoegaze stars have played alongside The Raveonettes, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, LSD and the Search for God, and My Bloody Valentine. During the sound check for the latter, while Kevin Shields was still in the locker room, MBV’s sound engineer actually complained that Manon Meurt were playing too loud.

Manon Meurt is Vojtech Pejša (guitar, vocals), Káta Elznicová (vocals, guitar), Jirí Bendl (drums) and Jana Karlíková (bass guitar, giggler). They hail from the small Czech town of Rakovnik, located just outside of the capital, Prague. Inspired by the British shoegaze movement of the early 90s, bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Ride and Slowdive have clearly helped shape the band’s sound.

Originally self-released on vinyl in their native country in autumn 2014, this self-titled 6-track 12-inch record sold out shortly after its initial release and now fetches upwards of $50 USD via Discogs. This debut album shows the band in a number of different musical moods, from the rollicking opener “To Forget” to the dreamy atmospherics of both “‘94” and “Until You Can” and the show-stopping B-side closer “Blue Bird”, nicely bringing the album to a close and foreshadowing what lies ahead for this exciting new band.

Label Obscura, as a website and record label, was created with the goal of shining a light on some of their favorite labels, bands, and albums from the past and present, with a focus on indie rock that never got a vinyl release or is currently out of print.  This reissue will be limited to 200 copies on white vinyl in North America, and will be available through the label’s website and via select independent record retailers. All copies come packaged with a high quality plastic inner sleeve and a digital download card. It is also available digitally via the label's Bandcamp.

The song may have been around for a year plus, however the vinyl release should prove popular and remind us of the quality of the bands music. Shoegaze that morphs into dream pop, whatever the genre 'To Forget' captures the more powerful side of the band and makes for a great introduction.


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Suzerain - Identity (New Album - May 27th)

Suzerain - Always (Radio Mix).

Background promo - We live in a world that is rapidly changing around and within us. Each day is a time capsule: a snapshot of who and where we are at that precise moment. Perspective is key, but by nature human consciousness isn’t built to process experiences in such a manner. People can struggle to get a helicopter view when they’re stuck in the eye of the storm that is life. It’s a concept which London noise merchants Suzerain have been exploring with second album 'Identity' – their very own dystopian nightmare born from the winds of change.

“We made this album across two years,” reveals singer Thomas Pether. “So it took a while to break into something we wanted it to be. Identity is something that is difficult to grasp on a day-to-day basis, it can change but isn’t always obvious. For us, this album feels like our identity at the moment.”

“We wanted to strip away as much as possible,” continues guitarist Rich Summer. “It sounds like a cliché but the more we removed, the more it sounded like us. We have a tendency to try everything we can and see what sticks, but this time once we found the heart of the music, we stripped everything down to that one little nugget that was the identity of the track, in a way.”

Enlisting the talents of respected producer Steve Lyon (Depeche Mode, The Cure, Siouxsie Sioux), the electro rock outfit strived to create something truly exciting, something brand new, something so very now that its process pushed their artistic vision to its very limits. As the pieces slowly fitted into place, so did the understanding that identity is the invisible carpet beneath our feet: a journey of self-discovery, and how the results of such naked introspection place us in equilibrium with the other forces of life.

“It’s not a concept album by any stretch,” says Thomas. “But it certainly does have elements of that. Our track 'I Know You So Well' came from how we can be seen through our digital footprint in the world, and 'Hide Yourself' is about opening up to other people by not hiding yourself, by just being you. Which to be honest is something we all want to do! So there were many things that crossed over in actually defining ourselves on this record.”

“We recorded so many songs that didn’t make the album,” continues Rich. “We decided that if anything sounded like another band could have done it, we didn’t want to include it. The music had to be something that could only be done by us. And embracing that side of us was both a blessing and a curse! But the result is that anyone listening to this record would have to grab a whole group of genres to figure out where we belong.”

Suzerain release their new album 'Identity' on May 27th. The featured song 'Always' gives a good indication of the brooding sound the band create. They are adventurous and the album does not sit comfortably in any particular genre. As a result we are treated to a mixture of indie rock songs, instrumental tracks, and softer imaginative pieces. It's hard to think of any specific band to reference them against, as they test out so many different ideas. This for me is one really fine album, the band are extremely capable, vocals are seemingly customised to each song, and we have a group of people who are not trying to follow a specific format that stifles their imagination.

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