Frøkedal - So Below - Alexa Dark

Frøkedal - Stranger.

Background - Acclaimed Oslo, Norway based artist Frøkedal is now sharing her new single ‘Stranger’. Celebrated by the likes of The New Yorker, The Sunday Times, The Independent and Q Magazine; new single ‘Stranger’ is a worthy successor to her Norwegian Grammy-nominated debut LP of 2016, ‘Hold On Dreamer’.

The track explores the promise of new beginnings – both in a lyrical and more literal sense – with ‘Stranger’ signalling the first in a series of standalone singles this year for Norwegian singer/songwriter/producer Anne Lise Frøkedal. 

“I was working with my own dogma on the last album,” Frøkedal explains, “the fact that I wanted everything to sound very simple and ‘less is more’ in terms of instrumentation. This time round, I wanted to work song-by-song for a little while, just to liberate myself I guess. We just followed the track and did what we thought was best for each individual song, and somehow they ended up sounding quite natural and organic – dry vocals, not a lot of effects, but probably more textured and detailed in a way.”

Despite track-by-track production, Frøkedal’s lyrical output took a much more thematic approach: “When I started writing this new material, I was picturing different ages or stages in our lives when our vision gets a little blurred. I wanted the songs (and the characters) to channel these critical moments when decisions are dominated by emotion and not necessarily by logic,” she says.

Though the new tracks are not written, or presented, in clear chronology, ‘Stranger’ does feel like a natural place to start – written from the perspective of a young person, leaving behind their childhood and stepping out into the unknown. “It’s an adventurous song, and looks upon the future positively, but in a sense of leaving behind all you know in hope of what’s around the corner. It looks back on that urge to leave with a certain nostalgia; how being a young dreamer is both a beautiful and naive thing.” Facebook here.

Last years 'Hold On Dreamer' album, was one of my favourites for 2016 and with new song 'Stranger' Frøkedal continues the momentum. It's fresh and understated musical arrangement makes a fine backdrop for her melodic and purposeful vocals. With more singles to follow this year, I hope we can share some of them in due course.

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So Below - Ruin.

Background - Following on from the success of single 'Hard', released late last year, New Zealand born goth-pop artist So Below has returned with a brand new single, 'Ruin'. Co-written with Sombear of Now, Now and Chelsea Jade - with additional production from The Naked and Famous' Aaron Short - the track takes cues from the darker reaches of electronica while readapting the modern dance format for a midnight-hued take on pop music.

Set to a tapestry of pulsing bass and heavy duty kicks, ‘Ruin’ acts as an ode to disappointment, emphasizing the emptiness after placing your trust in those who do not deserve it.  Using the more electronic hints of Trent Reznor’s work in Nine Inch Nails as a reference point, So Below’s vocals glide over the track’s steadily enveloping instrumental, applying pressure and intensity leading into the track’s crescendo, a wash of full bodied synths and emotionally wrought lyricism.

Teaming up in the UK for the first time with London based label Limited Health (S4U/Raveena), ‘Ruin’ is a realization of So Below’s full potential as one of pop music’s most impactful and innovative artists. Bringing together shades of modern electronica’s darker side as well as a maturity of songwriting beyond her years, So Below’s latest single is a masterful take on pop’s tried and true formula - leaving a track that’s as subtle as it is intense, engaging existing fans while surely inspiring a wave of new ones. Facebook here.

This is the forth appearance of So Below on Beehive Candy, this time with the new single 'Ruin'. It's true to say that it's a little less goth, with some fine dance orientated electronica adding a different dimension. Overall So Below remains consistent in delivering some superb hook laden material, so much so, that a fifth appearance seems pretty likely!

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Alexa Dark - Empty Drinks.

Background - Alternative rock songwriter and guitarist, Alexa Dark, announces her debut EP, Empty Drinks/Empty Hearts, due out August 2017. The album was produced by Angelo "Doc" Velasquez (The Weeknd's Trilogy, The Fray, Christina Perri) and mixed by Patrick Kelly. Alexa Dark also debuts her new single and music video, "Empty Drinks.

Raised between Spain, London and Germany, now based in New York City and London, the songs are inspired by Alexa Dark's transient lifestyle. The songs were written in bedrooms, planes, between drinks outside East London clubs during early  morning hours and on the concrete of various metropolitan cities. Conceived in heartbreak, in transit and from boundless nostalgia, these tracks intertwine cultural and personal narratives, influenced by the Spanish singer songwriters played in her childhood kitchen, in addition to female rock legends such as Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and Kim Gordon.

Empty Drinks/Empty Hearts is a collection of songs cultivated in the brief moment when the party is over, when the sobriety comes just before the morning does. "Blur" is one of the first songs Alexa wrote and has evolved to cater to many different relationships and situations throughout her life. "Nothing More" is an "anti-love" song, about loving but in an untraditional sense. Referring to the EP's title, "Empty Drinks" is a party anthem that encapsulates the sober realization and reflection on the emptiness felt at the end of the night. Website here, Facebook here.

We featured 'Blur' just last month and the latest track shared 'Empty Drinks' deserves our attention as well. We stated in our previous article that her "vocals are well suited to alt rock, tuneful with just a little rock'n'roll edge". That seems a fair assessment in light of this fine new song. Alexa Dark is a natural alt rock artist with some quality musicians alongside, adding some alt rock power.


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Singer Soldier - Gilbert Neal - The Hentchmen - Livingmore

Singer Soldier - Bones To Ashes.

Background - Inspired by organic instrumentation, Singer Soldier is an alternative country band from Metro Detroit that is founded by Nick Marko on vocals/guitar and Darrell Bazian mandolin/guitar. 

Influenced by Mazzy Star and Johnny Cash, Singer Soldier takes eclectic instruments like bassoon, cello, violin, synth, glockenspiel, banjo and guitars creating a folk, classical sound. The albums ambient interludes craft an absorbing texture to the songs and fluidity to the records.

Nick Marko tells us "I was produced by Michael Ivins of The Flaming Lips, released two national records under Sony and Greyday and have recently completed the second album, Illusions Of Stability, under my solo project called Singer Soldier. It has elements of alternative rock, alt folk, classical and electronic". Website here, Bandcamp here.

'Bones To Ashes' is the first of six songs on 'Illusions Of Stability'. This is a fabulous collection of songs packed full of variety. The consistent elements are the high quality of musicianship, and the melodic vocals. After that Singer Soldier explore different styles and musical instruments, doing so with attention to detail throughout.


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Gilbert Neal - Drop of You.

Background - Gilbert Neal is to release a new single 'Drop of You' from his latest album 'The Mayor of Estes Park'. Gadabout, raconteur, ne’er-do-well-er. Gregarious and fecund. An artist who has said his dream is to be the American Susan Boyle with an album title (Dirty Red Pagan) suggested by Andy Partridge of XTC. Gilbert Neal is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter with a uniquely imaginative multi-genre style that’s refreshingly difficult to categorize. In addition to his contributions as an indie rock solo artist, his adventurous, exploratory spirit has even found him performing in a Genesis tribute and a country music line-dance band.

Born in Buffalo, NY and currently based in North Carolina, Gilbert Neal has performed in various bands, jazz ensembles and theater productions throughout the years. However, at the heart of it, Gilbert is first and foremost a songwriter, with most of his lyrics being quite personal, telling a specific story or referring to a particular incident. Thematically, Gilbert is inspired by religion, politics, sex, loss and parental love. His sometimes quirky songs can be tongue-in-cheek, theatrical and somewhat socialist, frequently weaving in sexual, and godless messages in the lyrics. Gilbert says he strives to make each album 1) a cohesive piece of work and 2) guaranteed to possibly make a fantastic musical!

Gilbert has been inspired by an eclectic mix of musicians ranging from XTC and Stevie Wonder to Steely Dan, Radiohead and the Les Humphries Singers. His current band features Gilbert on vocals, piano, guitar and bass, Steve Camilleri on drums, Darrelll Nutt on percussion, Marko Marisic on additional guitar, and Pamela Henderson on backing vocals.

His fifth album, 'Mayor of Estes Park' was released in Summer 2016. His previous four albums include 'Drink The Beast With Me' (2006), 'Our Deepest Apathy…' (2008), 'Vultures and Diamonds' (2010) and 'Dirty Red Pagan' (2013). Website here, Facebook here.

Fifteen tracks make up 'The Mayor of Estes Park' from which 'Drop of You' is now a single release. It also makes a very good introduction to last years album, if it passed you by, like it did me. Anyhow having now played catch up, I'm glad I have, Gilbert Neal is one imaginative and creative person, his musical back catalogue will take a little longer to work through!

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The Hentchmen - Worry Converter.

Background - This week Dirty Water Records goes back in time to spotlight our catalogue on notorious Detroit rockers, The Hentchmen. Their origin dates back to October 1992, when founding members John and Tim, bored with commercial radio, set out to play stripped down, primitive Rock 'n' Roll. 

Using the same blunt and essential instruments (organ, guitar and minimal drum kit) as their Sixties Garage Punk heroes, the boys rebirthed a savage "hit and run" sound that would soon prove to drive the young at heart into a feeding frenzy of countless brood to drive 'Detroit Rock City' all over the music map again.

The Hentchmen were one of the most popular live acts in lower Michigan throughout the '90s. Featuring organist/vocalist John Szymanski, Guitarist Tim Purrier, and drummer Chris Handyside. The band played its first proper show at Paycheck’s Lounge more than two decades ago (Feb. 20, 1993, to be precise) They began performing around Ann Arbor and Detroit, gaining a small but rabid fanbase. They released their eponymous debut and produced several indie singles, eventually scoring a contract with Norton Records in New York City.  

"The Hentch" began touring nationally, keeping their home base in Michigan while seeing the rest of the country. They released another album before Handyside was gone, replaced by drummer Mike Audi. With Audi on board they recorded Broad Appeal and Motorvatin', both popular local hits that never quite branched out into larger exposure. 

Still, one didn't need to pity the Hentchmen. They'd been at it for almost a decade, and had toured ten times more than your average garage rock slickers. In other words, those in the know already knew. In 2003, Norton issued the Three Times Infinity LP to critical and local acclaim; a year later, the band debuted on the Times Beach imprint with Form Follows Function. Italy released Hentch.Forth.Five, a collection of early works, in 2007. The band sometimes featured Jack White onstage and on record prior to him forming the White Stripes. 

The Hentch-Forth album and Some Other Guy single released in 1998 on Italy Records are now much sought after by collectors. In 2010, Dirty Water Records released a collection of rare singles as a series (forming a jigsaw puzzle that is the album's cover art) onto a composite LP. You can get your filthy mitts on them right here. Website here.

That's a young looking Jack White above, a part time contributor to The Henchmen. 'Worry Converter' might not be new, it is however a blast of totally natural rock'n'roll, and as Dirty Water Records are in the mood to remind us of them, why should I even consider arguing..


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Livingmore - Cocoon.

Background - Los Angeles duo, Livingmore are ready to emerge from their cocoon with their debut record, Ok To Land. Taking cues from acts like Rilo Kiley, Mitski and Jenny Lewis, and adding their own eccentric and optimistic touch, the indie two-piece have channeled the ultimate feel good album, Ok To Land, just in time for summer.

The band, comprised of songwriters Alex Moore and Spencer Livingston, who met in Los Angeles in 2014, have already begun to generate buzz from the HypeM blogosphere with the release of their self-titled EP in 2015. Drawing inspiration across several genres and from acts such as Garbage and The Kinks to Belle and Sebastian, Moore and Livingston write dreamy, optimistic songs that sound like, in their own words - “a mixture of Blondie and The Everly Brothers.”

From the childlike essence of trying to decide what to do when you grow up in ‘Cocoon,’ to the upbeat and straightforward ‘Never Slow Down,’ to the slow and dreamy ‘Transition,’ Livingmore’s first full length record is a lush collection of indie pop tracks with an underlying theme of optimism.

Their first single from their new record, “Cocoon,” is slow-burning, guitar heavy track, with flourishes of western-tinged riffs layers over Moore’s crooning melodies. On the inspiration behind the track, Moore notes: “You realize growing up isn’t just like, you’re a kid and then you’re an adult. There’s all these things in the middle, and it’s easy to get stuck in a phase in your life where you feel cocooned, in a way.”

The record’s anthemic title track, ‘Really Mean It’ is accompanied by an animated stop motion video created by Moore’s brother, Dillon. “We really just wanted to make a video that was totally organic and back to basics but at the same time unique and fresh. That’s kind of what this band is really about when you get down to it,” he explains.

“We never really plan when we’re going to write, we just wait for it to happen,” Livingston notes, while explaining the band’s songwriting process. Each song has a totally organic approach - sometimes born from Livingston playing a melody and Moore composing accompanying lyrics on the spot; other times with both of them writing songs separately and meeting in the middle.

“We can be reborn in all kinds of different ways, where now we feel like butterflies again. We’ve regained confidence in ourselves and are ready to move to the next chapter, whatever that may be,” Moore explains defiantly. Livingmore are certainly ready to emerge from their own cocoon - look out for Ok To Land, coming this summer. Website here, Facebook here.

'Cocoon' is a bright and breezy indie song, where melodic vocals and subtle harmonies are accompanied by a refined musical arrangement. It's very catchy and at just over two minutes long, is also a tease and a half for the debut record.

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Avalanche Party - Ruby Cikada - Ratboys - Cool Ghouls - Surfer Blood

Avalanche Party - I’m So Wet.

Background - Avalanche Party frontman Jordan Bell says; “This is a song born from staring at the Irish Sea, in all its frothing, rolling, flirtatious glory, battered and broken by the gale and rock to which it is eternally bound. A tempting, trembling, perilous Vista which, direct to our brain, shouted ‘Yes! …I’m So Wet’. Add to that a few verses inspired by our tour manager’s Army background and we were ready to go. With water comes life - and we are alive indeed.”

Released via Leeds’ Clue Records (Allusondrugs, NARCS, Team Picture), ‘I’m So Wet’ follows the band’s previous R1 and 6Music supported single ‘Solid Gold’. Having previously toured with the likes of The Amazing Snakeheads, VANT and Public Enemy, Avalanche Party are currently on an extensive UK & EU run - taking in a set at this year’s Camden Rocks, June 3 (5pm at Be At One, Camden High St).

Avalanche Party’s sound and energy brings an intensity and immediacy reserved for only the most compelling of artists. Brimming with vigour, lyrics are spat through gritted teeth and notes are played through white knuckled fists – their raucous sound pendulums between the likes of The Stooges, Fat White Family and The Amazing Snakeheads. The reputation the band has earned in recent times has gained them main support slots with the likes of Public Enemy and VANT, praise from Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq and Vic Galloway alongside a 6 Music session and slots at the Leeds and Reading Weekend. Facebook here.

A slower paced, yet thumping rhythm makes 'I’m So Wet' stand out pretty much straight away. The vocals are edgy and passionate, and collectively the song is both potent and pleasing.


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Ruby Cikada - All You Pretty Girls.

Background - Formed in 2012, Ruby Cikada is a-five piece alternative/psyche-rock band based out of Toronto, ON. 

Suiting a range of tastes, the band has taken a 'variety' approach to live music in its 'psyche pop' oriented songwriting and progressive arrangements, harvested from a diverse range of stylistic traits and disparate genres that range from folk to funk and grunge to jazz.

Since their inception, Ruby Cikada have been performing almost exclusively within the Toronto underground, however consistently putting out albums which include Magicikada (2014), EP (2015), and finally, Ep II in June 2017.

The band released the album online yesterday June 1st, and this will be followed by a release show in Toronto at the Piston on June 8th. Facebook here, Bandcamp here.

The second of six songs on EPII 'All You Pretty Girls' gives just a glimpse of the whole. Ruby Cikada are a band that fit skillfully into a number of genres, and a keen sense for melody and arrangements is another clear strength, as their second EP comfortably demonstrates.

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Ratboys - Westside.

Background - Chicago's Ratboys, led by singer/guitarist Julia Steiner and guitarist Dave Sagan, will release its sophomore album entitled "GN" on June 30th (Topshelf Records). Drawing influence from the down-to-earth sincerity and confessional confidence of Kim Deal and Jenny Lewis, the songs on "GN" (aka ‘goodnight’) “largely detail experiences of saying goodbye, finding your way home, and then figuring out what the hell to do once you’re back.” says Steiner.

Steiner and Sagan felt the impulse to make music together from the get-go – they first met as university students, quickly put out an EP together, and started performing as an acoustic two-piece in dorm rooms and backyards. During the next few years, the friends travelled separately, eventually reunited, and recorded what would become the first Ratboys record, AOID, which the folks at GoldFlakePaint describe as ‘a gleaming, joyous, raucous display of melodic indie-rock.’

After a year and a half of touring the US and Europe as a plugged-in full band (featuring the additions of drums, bass, and trumpet), the members of Ratboys returned to Chicago and holed up at Atlas Studios for two weeks to record with engineer Mikey Crotty (who had previously worked with the group on the songs 'Not Again' and 'Light Pollution'). ‘This time around, we were lucky enough to feature the talents of friends who play the pedal steel, accordion, cello and violin to give the songs an extra something,’ says Steiner. ‘Dave finally got to show off his ridiculous skills on the pocket piano, and the whole thing felt like one big loving experiment.’

Those good times and long days yielded the 10 songs that make up GN, which Evan Hall of Pinegrove calls "a delectable chapter in the Ratboys story." Bandcamp here, Facebook here.

Our second feature for Ratboys following 'Control' which we shared back in April. New song 'Westside' can be described as an alt rock song that features melodic hooks throughout, which was exactly what we said about the last track. So I thinks it's fair that we add consistently fine music, this time around.

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Cool Ghouls - (If I Can't Be) The Man.

Background - San Francisco's Cool Ghouls have shared the video for their single "(If I Can't Be) The Man", which was featured on their 2016 album 'Animal Races'. 

Cool Ghouls is a rock'n'roll band from San Francisco on Empty Cellar Records. A band for playing rock'n'roll - that electric American folk art - without pretense. Think of rock'n'roll less as a genre and more as an action. A ritual performed with electric guitars and a drum kit to conjure a certain youthful spirit.

Inevitably, when listening to Cool Ghouls, you may recall performers of the past, other summoners of this same spirit, whose fingers were also channels through which rock'n'roll was made physical. But this band's purpose is not to reference, fetishize, or even celebrate these incarnations of rock'n'roll that came before them. Their intention is to animate their medium - bring to life the inanimate framework that is rock'n'roll. Get the kids dancing. Get the floor at the house party to cave in. Not to sound like a rock'n'roll band, but to do what a rock'n'roll band does. A band for playing rock'n'roll.

They have toured the world and released 3 full-length albums: Cool Ghouls, A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye, and Animal Races. Facebook here.

'(If I Can't Be) The Man' is now accompanied by a music video. Last years creepy clown epidemic has hopefully passed by, allowing Cool Ghouls to bring back a level of daftness, precisely where clowns belong. As a side point the song is absolutely fabulous.


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Surfer Blood - Taking Care Of Eddy.

Background - Surfer Blood has released the video for their single "Taking Care Of Eddy".

When talking about the video co-director Niko Guardia said, "The main idea with the Taking Care of Eddy video was to match the intense energy in parts of the song, juxtaposed with the pretty and soothing melodies. 

We wanted the world within music video to be full of strange pretty lights and ominous settings, yet our main characters are not deterred from roaming and squashing the creatures known as 'Eddys'." 

US & Canada Tour Includes Dates With The Shins can be found on Beehive Candy's tour news page, Facebook here.

Manic guitars and a feisty rhythm, compete with melodic vocals, indeed, it's not clear which direction the song might take next. 'Taking Care Of Eddy' is full of hooks, the video adds too, rather than distract from the music, overall it's one blast of great music.


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Spaceface - Hollow Everdaze - Head North - Kim Free

Spaceface - Spread Your Head.

Background - Spaceface’s music video for their single “Spread Your Head” is a hallucinatory, head-first dive into the pysch-rock band’s Merry Prankster-esque adventures. It offers a visually fantastical, mind-bending glimpse of the band’s live performance, while featuring a mysteriously bizarre character called Glowworm, dancing throughout. Led by frontman Jake Ingalls (guitarist/keyboardist of The Flaming Lips), Spaceface's “Spread Your Head” comes off the band’s recent album Sun Kids and is the perfect catalyst for their upcoming tour.

The music video was shot in conjunction with scenes for the film Extremeophilia, in which the band is featured. It offers an even further look into the touring life of Spaceface, as it follows the journey of Glowworm, played by G’nat. Frontman Jake Ingalls, who also is a member of The Flaming Lips, explained, “Our video is sort of a little glimpse into what it’s like on the road with us. It was shot as a much smaller part in our friends’ movie about an interplanetary glow-worm that withstands brutal conditions and has come to Earth to keep the fabric of spacetime together. Somehow, she crosses paths with Spaceface for about two weeks and engages in endless partying.”

Spaceface hits the road this summer, with a Digital Tour Bus sponsored tour in support of the video and their latest album, Sun Kids, released this April. “We booked the tour ourselves a while ago,” Ingalls shared. “I’m hyped because we’ve upped the ante with a bunch of new sound reactive LED’s, and new tunes like the one featured in the video! We’re touring in support of our new record, Sun Kids, which came out just last month. We also get to play with a lot of really great bands such as Broncho, Sugar Candy Mountain, Flaural, and tons of others.” Live dates on Beehive Candy's tour news page. Website here, Facebook here.

'Spread Your Head' is already getting noticed. An expansive psych rock song that gently allows the power to unfold, the video adds some of the bands live capability and the many hooks do the rest.


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Hollow Everdaze - Cartoons.

Background - "Cartoons" is the latest single from the upcoming album Cartoons, due June 23 via Deaf Ambitions. Hollow Everdaze capture the urgency of a band who have traced their own weird, divergent path through the haunted backwoods of songwriting.  

It shows through in their stunning debut EP, released in 2013 which received rave reviews from Australia’s most highly respected journalists and earned them support spots for international artists including The War On Drugs (US), Unknown Mortal Orchestra (NZ), and Wavves (US), plus saw them join American Football (US) on their East Coast tour of Australia in 2015.

Having spent the last year working on the release of their debut full length album, recorded by rising Melbourne producer, John Lee (known for his work with Beaches, Lost Animal, The Ocean Party), mastered by David Walker (NUN, Beaches, GOAT, Jen Cloher) at Stepford Audio, and with video and art collaborations from James Thomson, Niv Bavarsky and Micheal Olivo, the band are set to unveil their newest work to the world. Facebook here.

The second time on  Beehive Candy this year for Hollow Everdaze and this time with the title track 'Cartoons' from the album due for release later this month. It's another psychedelic pop/rock song, we mentioned last time that the band clearly have the knack for this type of music, the latest share kind of confirms that massively!


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Head North - Pulse.

Background - Buffalo, NY-based, cosmic rock band Head North announce their debut LP, The Last Living Man Alive Ever In The History Of The World, due out on June 2nd. The album was produced and mixed by Brett Romnes (I Am the Avalanche) and mastered by Jesse Cannon (Animal Collective, Man Overboard) at Barbershop Studios in Lake Hopatcong, NJ. Head North is currently gearing up for the release of their full body of work and accompanying tour.

The concept album revolves around an alternate world where both God and love are forbidden. The personal narratives are told through the perspectives of principal songwriters Brent Martone, Ben Lieber and Alex Matos, whose driving force can be heard through their transition from harder, louder rock driven tracks to the more atmospheric and dreamy second half of the record. 

Martone's gritty lyricism and the accompanying instrumentals reflect the groups evolution, as they reflect on their previous release and more forward with an air of wisdom and continued understanding of the band's place in the world, and the alternate universe they've created. Live dates on Beehive Candy's tour news page. Website here, Facebook here.

The bands music is described as cosmic rock and a listen to 'Pulse' explains that. It also happens to be deliciously original, the energy and passion really does make the song noticeable, at the very least and a second listen was quite compulsive.


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Kim Free - Goth Blues.

Background - Kim Free has a new EP 'Goth Blues and Other Hues' which was just released on Spotify and iTunes. It also features a gorgeous remix from Andorkappen.

To recap, she’s a classically trained violinist whose love of popular music has compelled her to compose, record and perform the enchanting bewitching music that’s uniquely her sound. Toward the end of the first decade of the new millennium, she embarked on a her first recording project, under the name ‘Black Church’. These avant-goth cassette-only releases and the performances that went with them gave her a small but dedicated cult following.

In 2012, she shed her pseudonym and released Angel Shadow as Kim Free. It was followed a year later by Nevermind the Blue Skies, a 14-song collection of dreamy pop. Kim continues her evolution with her most ambitious project yet - Slips. Slips sees Kim reunited with producer Alex De Groot, who she first worked with while playing violin for the Zola Jesus world tour. 

For Slips, Kim has recorded several songs with a full rock band - a first for her. She navigates the delicate balance between these songs and her more familiar violin-based numbers with aplomb. The Slips project will initially be presented to the public through a series of digital EPs. The first, Make Me Yours, was released in December 2016. The second, Malibu, was released March 2017. Bandcamp here.

Kim Free has impressed me twice this year and 'Goth Blues' makes it three. Her superb musicianship and gorgeous vocals, combine to provide a gently melodic and atmospheric song. I do urge you to check out her other material!

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