Jamie Lynn Vessels - wojtek the bear - Rue Snider

Jamie Lynn Vessels - Dear Love.

Background - "Storm Coming" is Jamie Lynn Vessels' new blues-rock album, released last month. Jamie Lynn Vessels is a soulful rock and blues artist with her roots in songwriting. Likened to Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow, this six-foot tall rocker will captivate the audience and command the stage as a solo act or with her full band. She has embraced New Orleans as her musical hometown, and the city has done her the same, affording her the opportunity to add grit and soul to her style and music.

No matter where JLV travels and plays, there is something undeniable about her songs and musical appeal... whatever your taste, Jamie's voice and presence will capture you. Her music is soulful, bluesy, filled with intricate lyrics and beautiful stories, and delivers a stunningly intoxicating ride of rock 'n' roll.

Jamie has had the opportunity to play with local celebrities at Jazz Fest, French Quarter Fest, and the Mahalia Jackson Theatre. Jamie has opened for Dilana, Roxie Watson, Grayson Capps, and others. She has played around the country and has regular solo and full band shows in and around the Crescent City.

Jamie’s first full-length album “Home” and EP were released in 2013. Her new all-original sophomore album was released April 19th, 2018, featuring Cranston Clements (Cyril Neville, Boz Scaggs, Irma Thomas, Twangorama), David Brouillette (Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue, Vivaz!, Kyper, Dick Deluxe, Voodoo Grove), Sam Shahin (Naughty Professor), and other New Orleans locals as guest musicians, engineers, and artists. Blues-rock and songwriting are just the beginning. Jamie's live performances and her raw, soulful sound have evolved since her start in live music in 2012. It's not just a concert -- It's an experience. WEBSITE.

With fourteen tracks 'Storm Coming' is packed full of some refined blues rock material. The moods and momentum vary along the way, sometimes full on with rock energy, other times more restrained and sensitive. 'Dear Love' is a more blues ballad orientated piece, which helps showcase Jamie Lynn Vessels vocals well, however expect a whole load more in terms of variety and you can be sure the musicianship is consistently high in calibre.


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Wojtek the bear - oil & water.

Background - Scottish Fiction Records are proud to present oil & water; the second single from Glasgow indie four piece wojtek the bear's forthcoming album a talent for being unreasonable. 

Following on from the success of their maiden EP, wojtek the bear tucked themselves away to work with in-demand producer Chris McCrory (Catholic Action) to record a talent for being unreasonable at Shady Lane Studios in late 2017.

oil & water deftly mixes pointed percussion with gentle instrumentation as lead single Tam Killean calmly broods that "one's too many, but a hundred's never enough."  Of the lyrics, Killean describes the track as being a song about addiction, be that to something or someone.  "I think we all have those low-level addictions that we probably don't even realise are there so it's about sort of being aware of what you're doing whilst also feeling like you can't actually, or maybe don't want to, stop it."

oil & water is out now digitally via Scottish Fiction Records. A talent for being unreasonable will be released on limited edition blue vinyl and digitally on 25th May 2018 via Scottish Fiction Records. TWITTER.

Upcoming Shows:
Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh – Thursday 24th May
King Tut's Glasgow – Friday 25th May
Drummonds, Aberdeen – Saturday 26th May
Droughy Cobber, Elgin – Friday 1st June
Mad Hatters, Inverness – Saturday 2nd June
Head of Steam, Newcastle – Friday 20th July
West Riding Refreshment Rooms, Leeds – Saturday 21st July

You have to go back to June 2016 for Beehive Candy's only other feature for wojtek the bear, that said as soon as we received the new song 'oil & water,' I remembered them and had a feeling, it would be a good one. Last time around we had a "breezy indie pop" piece, the new song is a little more towards alt rock, that said the melodic vibes are there and the hooks gently dig in deep.

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Rue Snider - Experiment In Love.

Background - Timeless and genre-bending singer songwriter Rue Snider releases "Experiment In Love", the second single off of his forthcoming record, City Living. The track follows the sucess of the first single off of the album, "Vamonos."

Of "Experiment in Love" Rue valiantly proclaims, "Experiment In Love is one of several songs on my forthcoming record City Living that deal with heartbreak, loss, and obsession. The record is a snap shot of life in New York in the mid 2000s and that picture would be incomplete without presenting a good bit of sadness. New York City is a magical place that affords boundless opportunity but very often everyone is moving so fast that fundamental human needs get ignored or pushed aside. It can wreak havoc on one's emotions and mind. Heartbreak and loss are part of the experience of being alive and they are especially part of the experience of living in New York where ambition often trumps love."

Heavily influenced by the sounds of the 80s, from Cyndi Lauper to R.E.M, Rue's new album City Living presents an aural experience of the downtown Manhattan scene in the mid-2000s brought to living color in 2018. Rue's lyrics are informed more often that not by his personal life experiences. Broken Window, released in 2016, speaks of his journey to sobriety - a time defined by a hunger for consciousness and by dramatic emotional battles. City Living now serves as the musical prequel to Broken Window. A more upbeat record, City Living is colored by the sometimes blissful ignorance of living life unintentionally before waking up to an awareness of the reckoning and difficult choices that are ahead. WEBSITE.

We featured the first single 'Vamonos' just a month ago, and hot on it's heels is the second single 'Experiment In Love'. Rue Snider crafts some excellent music, his attention to detail is equally matched by his interpretation of human experiences, and turned out as engaging and honest musical journeys. Fresh and always intriguing, his genre sliding music is proving to be very addictive.

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DIET - Therese Lithner

DIET - Danny Boy.

Background - Melbourne five piece DIET are set to launch their third single “Danny Boy”, a live show favourite, that recites a passionate “…how are you?” from one brother to another over an interstate phone call. Following on from their 2017 single releases that included the ode to the classic Aussie tradition of streaking in “Clothes Off”, and the heartfelt love letter that was “Take Me”.

“Danny Boy” features all the classic DIET hallmarks of nostalgic synthesizers and playful guitar lines influenced by classic UK underground sounds of yesteryear.

DIET have officially joined the artist roster of leading Australian Talent agency New World Artists. It follows on from supporting Australian band Polish Club across a sold out National Tour and playing a number of sold out shows up the east coast that included their now legendary PIZZA Party at Melbourne’s infamous “GASO”. 

The band are continuing to roll out the calorie crunching fun with billing on Melbourne’s Cherry Rock Festival, a headline National tour for Rare Finds and a ten city support run for indie-rock stalwarts British India through ’til July. DIET are: Ben O Loughlin, Carlos Tinsey,  Ted Mitchell, Andrew Taylor, William Clancy. FACEBOOK.

Our first exposure to Melbourne's DIET is 'Danny Boy' (not the classic "pipes are calling" song), a vibrant indie rocker of sorts, where the synths and guitars playfully swirl around each other as the vocals add just a hint of stadium rock vibes. It's no wonder this is a live show favourite, that said the band keep it natural and cool on the studio version.


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Therese Lithner - Eye.

Background - The new single 'Eye' has just been released. "The lyrics for 'Eye' was written separately and then I made the guitar track and song melody. It was written (except lyrics) in what felt like an instant. I wanted to keep the shape exactly the way it was when I played the song for the first time, and instead build on it with more instruments. The song is about a lack of communication, the pain of unsuccessfully trying to reach another person."  - Therese Lithner

With a past in bands like Vaken and My Sound Of Silence, Therese Lithner was an active part of Umeå's flourishing music scene in the early 2010's. To begin writing songs for a solo project wasn't an obvious choice or any direct plan but fell more like a coincidence. It was during a session in the rehearsal room, when it suddenly was as the 90s shined through and old childhood idols got free play. With reverb on vocals and guitar, Therese began improvising material, wrote three songs on pure inspiration and recorded them on her mobile phone. Somehow they felt different and the idea of ​​a solo project began to take shape.

After Therese moved down to Stockholm, she found a rehearsal space south of the city and started working on the material that now has resulted in an EP, set for release on June 19 via Lazy Octopus Records on 12" vinyl and digitally. FACEBOOK.

Following on from our feature for the track 'Drown' back in early April we now have 'Eye' ahead of next months EP release. We described the previous song as "an atmospheric rocker with a rhythmic and addictive feel to it," whereas 'Eye' is all about the passionate and enticing vocals. Not that the musical backdrop is lacking in substance, there's plenty of energy around, however the pace is slower, and Therese Lithner takes centre stage doing so with grace and commitment.

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The Special Pillow - The Orange Peels - Umbra & The Volcan Siege

The Special Pillow - Hudson River Dreamboat.

Background - For the past two decades, The Special Pillow have operated from the margins of the marginal, creating a distinctive string-driven sound—a heady brew encompassing concise ’60s-flavored pop gems, dreamy psychedelic reveries, and a propulsive drive redolent of the antipodean indie acts of the ‘80s. In 2015, Yo La Tengo shined a light on the Pillow’s shadowy demimonde with their cover of the band’s “Automatic Doom.” Now, The Special Pillow unleash Sleeping Weird, their senses-shattering sixth album.

Since the dissolution of cult heroes Hypnolovewheel, songwriter and majordomo Dan Cuddy has played bass with such notable combos as Sleepyhead and XL Kings, but has reserved his own compositions for The Special Pillow.

Sleeping Weird is the group’s third project with engineer Mitch Rackin, recorded and mixed at Brooklyn’s Seaside Lounge recording studio. Featured players are charter Special Pillow member Katie Gentile (Run On, Mad Scene) on violin and viola; longtime collaborator Peter Stuart (Headless Horsemen, Tryfles) on a staggering arsenal of guitars; and Eric Marc Cohen (Fly Ashtray) on drums and percussion. All the band members contribute vocals, and the ensemble is enhanced by the keyboards of Ariella Stok (Sloppy Heads) and horns courtesy of Steven Levi and Cheryl Kingan (The Scene Is Now).

A much-abused hyperbolic trope of recent years posits that a given work of art has special resonance with “the way we live now” or is needed “now more than ever.” We won’t attempt to convince you that Sleeping Weird is such a topical watershed. The Special Pillow are in it for life and their lives are reflected in these songs: The days are getting dark and they want a way to keep the world at bay, sweep everything under the rug, and retreat to a cryogenic tomb. But it’s getting older every day and they’re concerned about it and it seems as though their skulls may burst into flames if they don’t speak out loud. They’re floating on, and singing. WEBSITE.

'Hudson River Dreamboat' is a fine example of 'Sleeping Weird' an album consisting of eleven finely crafted songs. The Special Pillow's musicianship is of a high calibre, the vocals and harmonies polished and melodic. However it's the natural feel, the differing levels of energy and brightness, and variety, that makes this collection really stand out.

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The Orange Peels - Trespassing (Album).

Background - If The Orange Peels got paid each time a music critic said, “It’s the kind of music that makes you feel like you’re speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway with the top down,” they’d be billionaires. The Orange Peels formed in 1997, rising out of the ashes of Allen Clapp and his Orchestra—whose debut album 100 Percent Chance of Rain was heralded in the heyday of the burgeoning American indie-pop movement.

The band has featured members of The Mummies, The Ocean Blue, Half Japanese, and Continental since its inception, and has never stopped evolving. In this decade, the lineup has solidified with Clapp on vocals, guitars and keyboards; Jill Pries on bass; John Moremen on lead guitars; and Gabriel Coan on drums. This incarnation is now into its third album together, exploring ever more sophisticated pop landscapes while keeping melody as its North Star.

Clapp’s ear for pop magic has landed his tunes and vocals in major ad campaigns for Coca Cola, Target, and Samsung. On the band’s last tour opening for Matthew Sweet in the summer of 2015, Sweet fell in love with guitarist John Moremen’s playing during the soundcheck for their first show together. The next two years would see Moremen recording and touring with the pop legend leading up to the release of Tomorrow Forever.

On its 7th album, Trespassing (April 2018, Minty Fresh), the band doubles down on melody and experimentation making perhaps the ultimate Orange Peels album. Recorded at the band’s redwooded retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains, it’s a study in contrasts—organic outdoor drums vs. programmed digital computers; tack pianos and string quartets vs. icy synthesizers. After all, they’re looking at life from both sides now. In the dawn of 2018, it almost feels like the world is finally ready to discover The Orange Peels. WEBSITE.

'Trespassing' is a gorgeous album and being able to share it in full, makes describing it less of an issue. Right from the opening song 'Camera 2' my anticipation was set very high and the band fulfil that promise with style and beauty. Describing the collection as Indie pop feels like something of an understatement, calling it future gold is to cheesy and an over used expression, pressing play, kicking back and immersing yourself, is the best option, and by far...

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Umbra & The Volcan Siege - Someone Will Love You But Its Just Not Me (Album).

Background - Chicago psych collective Umbra & the Volcan Siege have released their fourth full-length on vinyl, cassette (via TMB Limited) and for digital download.

The album features bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Jim Licka (The Luck of Eden hall) accompanied by a core group of musicians (Curtis Evans on guitar, Russ Mallord on drums, Pete Trillo on bass) and joined by guests from the bands Blood People, Oh My God and The Luck of Eden Hall on various tracks.

Umbra and the Volcan Siege was founded in 2006 by Jim Licka embracing his "super hero ultra-identity" as Umbra.. Umbra is surrounded by his siege of musicians which help create a sound-scape of genre bending music.
 
Umbra and the Volcan Siege has released 3 albums and have now released their 4th "Someone Will Love You But It's Just Not Me". WEBSITE.

Psych rock and a whole lot more, 'Someone Will Love You But Its Just Not Me' is a delicious collection of brand new rock and roll, that deserves the "timeless" accreditation. In fact the band visit so many differing points within the rock genre directory, that I am relieved to share the whole album. From psychedelic to blues to prog and more, there is something for every rock fan, the fact that this collective are just so good, really does seal this deal. 


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GRDNS - Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread - Steven Adams & The French Drops

GRDNS - Roulette Love Gun.

Background - Psychedelic rockers GRDNS share Roulette Love Gun, the third cosmic offering from their forthcoming EP out this summer via Dance To The Radio.

Loaded with intricate, soaring guitar lines and hazy, atmospheric vocals, the quartet’s latest reverb-laden number ebbs and flows with precision and shows a band brimming with creativity following widespread acclaim from the online community.

Having fast established themselves within the Yorkshire music scene and beyond, the four-piece will look to build on impressive support slots alongside Gengahr, Husky Loops and whenyoung with their debut festival appearances at Live At Leeds and Gold Sounds in the next few months.

Produced by James Kenosha (Pulled Apart By Horses, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Rhodes) GRDNS’ Roulette Love Gun is out now and will be available on all platforms. GRDNS is Jacob Lyons (vocals/guitar), Sam Gledhill (guitar), Cameron Harrison (bass) and John Fitzpatrick (drums). TWITTER.

Our third feature for GRDNS this year, again with another track from their forthcoming EP  this time we have 'Roulette Love Gun'. There is a lush and expansive feel from the opening moments as the band tease us again, taking another musical direction and doing so with style. Dreamy alt rock with a dash of psychedelic overtones, on the strength of these three tracks I think it's safe to say the EP is stunning.

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Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread - Less Than Positive.

Background - Michael Nau will release his new, full band album ‘Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread’ through Full Time Hobby on 3rd August. ‘Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread’ is the follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed album ‘Some Twist’ and its extension ‘The Load’ EP. 

The band have unveiled the first track from the album, ‘Less Than Positive’. Of the song, Michael says "This song's been around and part of the live thing for a long time. I'm not sure how or why it came back around during this session, but it was recorded on the final day. The apartment where we recorded this album has a big spiral staircase in the entrance of the building - we set up drums in there for this one, and hung a mic from the ceiling. Other than harmonies, nothing was overdubbed.".

“There was a musical language that we created; something without a guiding pattern that you could really just jump into and see where things could go,” Michael Nau says of the process of recording ‘Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread’. He’s wildly poetic, especially when recounting his dedication to music, and the work that led to this particular collection of delicately passionate songs. “These things became the vehicle by which we traveled, giving us reason to spend most of our lives in a van of uncertainty.”

The sprawling new album was recorded in guitarist Benny Yurco’s one-bedroom apartment in downtown Burlington, Vermont. Nau and his collaborators had a cool little set up going in Yurco’s spot — drums and bass took over the bedroom, the guitar amp in the bathroom, Nau’s vocals and piano in the living room, and a vibraphone in the kitchen. It’s the first time one of Nau’s records happened all in one place, and “it feels most like a band record than ever before”. Nau and this particular group of musicians held it down together as a true team, which is why Nau named the record in their honour.

The songs on this layered record sound sunny and familiar, like sharing stories and worries with a close friend on a late summer day. In a gorgeous and natural way, he contemplates his own process, those feelings of uncertainty. “Making it too hard just comes easier,” Nau croons on ‘Funny In Real Life,’ an exquisite meditation on creation and self. “Truth is such a beautiful force/And every time we find the chorus/There’s no second-guessing the real/I don’t ever know how I feel.” FACEBOOK.

Michael Nau's vocals are everything Alt Country and Americana needs to set the mood and feeling for these styles. The first taste of the album due in August is 'Less Than Positive' a steady, personal and beautifully natural song that is totally engaging from the opening moments. Without any exaggeration, I am left eager to hear some more...

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Steven Adams & The French Drops - Ex Future.

Background - Steven Adams & The French Drops share the video for their new single "Ex Future", taken from the album Virtue Signals, out this Friday, 4 May, via Hudson Records. Anger seldom sounds as enticing as it does on Virtue Signals. It is an album that rails against the iniquities of the world and meshes the personal with the political, without ever smacking the listener around the head. Adams (former songwriter/singer/guitarist with The Broken Family Band and Singing Adams) can’t help but be witty and empathetic even as he rages, and the fury is wrapped inside his characteristically sweet melodies.

Virtue Signals captures the sound of a band finding “its own thing”. Laurie Earle (Absentee, Dan Michaelson & The Coastguards, Wet Paint) plays guitar with a loose, intuitive touch; Michael Wood – who had played bass with The Singing Adams – switches to keyboards here, while Daniel Fordham (drums) and David Stewart (bass) from The Drink complete the band.

Following a few years of performing and recording solo (see 2014’s House Music and 2016’s Old Magick), Adams says he wanted to put together “a band where everyone was following their noses. I’ve been calling the shots for ages now, and now I can lean on these people, make more noise. It’s fair to say we share a lot of the same thoughts and feelings about the state of the world. But mostly we talk about food.”

It’s over 16 years since Adams started making music with The Broken Family Band, generating critical acclaim with each subsequent release and maintaining a dedicated cult following ever since. So, all these years later – having been called a national treasure enough times to fill a pirate’s chest, without ever having become an actual pop star – why does Steven Adams still do it? “I write songs and I play them and I try not to overthink it or to feel reliant on this for anything other than what it is; sounds, words, feelings, and an excuse to hang out with good people. That’s virtue signaling, in case anyone asks.” WEBSITE.

With a deep bass riff and lighter vocals 'Ex Future' begins to build layer by layer, into a polished and addictive alt rocker of sorts. The lyrics add intrigue, the band are as tight as anything and the emotional feel builds with intensity, totally play me again music!


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