Sauropod - Naomi Greene - Margot - Tim Carr

Sauropod - Headed

Background - Oslo, Norway based trio Sauropod, made up of – Jonas Røyeng (guitar, vocals), Kamilla Waal Larsen (bass, vocals) and Jørgen Natland Apeness (drums) have released their new single ‘Headed’ via Propeller Recordings. With a natural gift for simultaneously delivering energetic, punk-leaning songwriting with irresistibly catchy hooks - those attributes are more evident than ever on the ferocious new single.

The latest signing to Propeller Recordings (Sløtface, Highasakite, Frøkedal etc) — new single ’Headed’ switches from uplifting, acoustic-tinged pop rock to searing grunge-punk with incomparable ease.

Speaking a little more on the lyrical depth behind the new track, Jonas explained: '"I think to us it's foremost a song about getting away from people with hazardous attitudes who try to bring you with them, if you let your guard down. Sometimes the best thing to do is to get the hell out of there and start over!"

Quickly becoming a force to be reckoned on the live stage, the band’s recent live credits include Øya Festival (NO), Trondheim Calling (NO), Eurosonic (NL) and Visions Festival (DE) - as well as touring the whole of Norway with label mates Sløtface, and supporting them at last year's sold out Camden Assembly show in London. The band are currently preparing for an extensive touring schedule kick-starting later this year, as well as writing for the release of their first album on Propeller Recordings - penned for release in 2019. TWITTER.

We featured Sauropod a couple of times in 2017 and now we can share 'Headed' the bands brand new single release. We previously described their music as "indie rock with punk energy" and with the new track there is no shortage on those two fronts, this time around I would just add that there is a healthy twist of garage rock along the way.

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Naomi Greene - Collision.

Background - Leading with a harp or an electric guitar, Parisian-born musician and Los Angeles transplant Naomi Greene focuses her song craft on raw emotions and parallel worlds. Her soulful voice and layered arrangements conjure an authentic vision that’s a first rate, experimental balance between indie folk and progressive pop. The result is mystically enchanting, hypnotically enveloping, and naturally beautiful.

At its heart, Greene’s solo music holds the power to suspend time and space, teleporting you to some of your rawest moments that she has written lyrics to. It requires your pause and allowance for her sound to wash over you, a warm and mesmerizing envelopment by her clear, rich voice.

It’s hard to believe Naomi Greene has been on the earth for a mere 25 years as her old soul speaks lifetimes and her lyrics tell of experiences not meant for the young. In truth, she’s a bit of a mystic, and most certainly a poet and storyteller. Naomi Greene is the genuine deal and the Los Angeles artist you’ve been waiting to hear. Naomi Greene lends vocals on La Femme’s latest album “Mystère.” FACEBOOK.

'Collision' is a beautiful combination of gorgeous, other worldly vocals and a superb musical arrangement, that seemingly twirls around the singing, adding more feeling, and an air of intrigue and mystery. 

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Margot - Twenty Six.

Background - In April South London’s Margot emerged with he strikingly accomplished debut single Desensitised, a dream-pop lament to the repetitious nature of modern capital-city life, and are now following this up with the similarly well-honed Twenty Six.

Having already taken inspiration, both positive and negative, from their concrete surroundings, and reflecting on the way the external city impacts on a person’s life, Margot decide to turn the camera inwards on the infectious new single. “It is a discussion with myself, a self-reflective hangover” says vocalist Alex Hannaway,“where you make pledges to yourself, full up with anxiety and memory loss. Think the artwork pretty much sums it up.”

From the opening lackadaisical anti-riff onwards, the touchstones to dream-pop artists old and new are apparent, yet there’s a unique thread running throughout. This is generated by the collective way the quintet creates not only their music, but art and visuals as well.

Making a decision to be completely self-sufficient through the creative process, Margot record over long weekends at drummer Ben Andrewes' place, in between working weeks. This DIY approach and the autobiographical realism are reflected in the subject matter of the songs. FACEBOOK.

Back in April we featured 'Desensitised' by Margot and without hesitation are pleased to now share 'Twenty Six'. The bands laid back dream pop manner is proving to be pretty addictive stuff, the vocals and also the lyrics are engaging, there is something about Margot, I'm not sure quite what, but it's definitely good!

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Tim Carr - Take Me There.

Background - Tim Carr is a Los Angeles based singer, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist.  His music is a stunning mix of instrumental interludes, and minimal folkesque songs inspired by African rhythms, melodies of the French Romantics and 60s pop.

Raised in Marin County, Northern California, Carr was surrounded by a family of musicians. At an early age he immersed himself into music and studied Jazz drums at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts. After graduating with a BFA, Carr soon began working with notable acts including HAIM, Julian Casablancas and Nick Cave, to name a few. His time with the band The Americans saw him performing on Letterman, recording with T Bone Burnett, as well as being featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary ‘American Epic’, which was produced by T Bone Burnett, Jack White and Robert Redford.

Carr’s highly anticipated upcoming EP Swing & Turn, is the follow up to his 2016 release The Last Day of Fighting, which found success being featured on Robert Redford’s ‘Watershed’ soundtrack, alongside the likes of Beck and Thom Yorke. Swing & Turn is titled after the feeling of movement, like a dance between intimacy and independence, which is also a common theme in the music. Having mixed, produced and engineered the five track release himself, Swing & Turn is the perfect balance of dissonance and consonance, with unexpected swelling harmonies, lilting rhythms and minimalistic pop.

Leading single 'Take Me There’ is a compelling tale touching on the desire to escape apathy, highlighting the need to either let go and fully love or let go of a love. Carr expresses this poetic melancholy through his raw and understated tones, emitting the purest of expressions. His use of delicate instrumentation, ethereal vocal harmonies and graceful melodies, succeeds in crafting a poignant yet beautiful song. TWITTER.

With a subtle selection of styles and influences Tim Carr develops an engaging vibe with 'Take Me There', a modern folk song where attention to detail musically, provides a rich and appealing backdrop to some melodic and sincere vocals.

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1099 - The Black Delta Movement - Beanpole

1099 - Blindpassasjer (Album).

Background - Formed 15 years ago, 1099 is an instrumental post-rock collective from Trondheim, Norway.  

Having released two double albums, a self-titled debut in 2012 and “Young Pines” in 2015, the Norwegian five-piece group is about to issue their third album “Blindpassasjer”, which means Blind Passenger in English and is set for release on May 11th via All Good Clean Records.

Featuring 12 instrumental tracks all recorded, mixed and mastered in Autumnsongs Recording Studio in Trondheim by Rhys Marsh, the new album has a quite dark and melancholic atmosphere. 

With influences as diverse as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Swans and Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, 1099 combine elements of post-rock, space-rock and dark jazz to conjure a sound that is intensely engrossing and all of their own. FACEBOOK.

One of the good things about an instrumental band is that language barriers are not an issue, that said in the last few years, I have found myself increasingly engrossed by songs sung with lyrics I cannot understand. Whilst the album 'Blindpassasjer' might not challenge me lyrically, with some certainty I can confirm it really does captivate me musically. If this was a ship then post rock would be it's sturdy anchor, allowing the music to turn gently with the tide in varying directions with even the odd wave of jazz along the way. 

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The Black Delta Movement - Butterfly.

Background - Hull’s 6 Music-supported psych-rock outfit, The Black Delta Movement, have this week announced details of their debut album, ‘Preservation’, due out via Clubbed Thumb Records (distributed by Non Delux/Cargo Distribution) on August 3, 2018. In-line with sharing news of the album’s release, the group are sharing the video for recent single, ‘Butterfly’. The band will be performing a one-off show at The Strongroom, London on June 23, 2018.

Recorded with producer, Mike Burnham (Fuzz Club Records, Holy Wave) at his Lovebuzz Studios, London, ‘Preservation’ emerges as the segue between The Black Delta Movement’s early years, and where they are sonically propelling towards. Speaking about ‘Preservation’, which ties together influences drawn from BRMC, Thee Oh Sees and The Black Angels, frontman, guitarist and primary songwriter, Matt Burr says, “‘Preservation’ is literally preserving a series of songs that we felt really proud of that either never got recorded or we felt had grown over the years.”

Over the years, the band have earned approval from the likes of Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre),  Alan McGee (Creation Records) and Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie/The The/Primal Scream), alongside sell out UK/EU tours and previous slots with the likes of Drenge, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Temples. The band will support the release of ‘Preservation’ with a full UK tour throughout September and October, dates to come shortly. WEBSITE.

Back in March we described the bands forthcoming album as "Sometimes full on garage rock, other times timeless psychedelic grooves, more often a mixture of both, the bands flowing psyched out vocals and potent guitar driven rock, is highly contagious" Along comes the video for 'Butterfly' our second song feature, and one that I reckon confirms our initial observations, and some!


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Beanpole - Farmer Loved An Onion.

Background - Beanpole's unreleased LP is on it's way and the single "Farmer Loved An Onion" has now been shared. The LP, 'All My Kin', which features members of Primus and Spent Poets, will be out 8/31 on Chimera Music. When speaking about the song, guitarist Larry LaLonde says, "To get the vibe of recording a Beanpole song, you have to place yourself in a secluded farm valley full of mutant hillbillies trying to recreate melodies that were found on a broken record of Disneyland ride music."

As for the album, Chimera Music's Sean Lennon states, "It's a concept album for post-modern America.  It chronicles the epic tale of Chicken Boy and his dangerously interrelated family. Years of isolation have resulted in the birth of a child who is part man and part poultry.  Despite obvious adoration for their uniquely feathered offspring, having fallen upon hard times they consider the unthinkable: will Chicken Boy be sacrificed to feed his hungry family?"  Bassist Les Claypool adds, "If Fellini, Dali, and Captain Kangaroo got together in their teens and ate peyote, this is the album they would have recorded."

All My Kin is the strange and somewhat unbelievable album collecting the music of an artist by the name of Beanpole. “Starving artist” must have been their mode of recording as stories of farming, eating, and disfigured animal-human hybrids course throughout the record. Very little is known about Beanpole, but it is widely recognized by collectors that most of the music originated from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some sources maintain Beanpole is still active, although evidence remains unsubstantiated.

Primus’ Les Claypool claims he attempted to release a decade’s worth of Beanpole recordings on his Prawn Song label in the ‘90s. We’re told that the tracks were delivered to the mastering studio on worn-out cassette tapes and dusty DATs. As legend has it, when Claypool played the mastered tracks to his distributor, the response from company executives was poor. As a result, Claypool was summarily dismissed from his business relationship with the distribution company, effectively ending his label. For nearly 20 years thereafter, the tracks were to remain forgotten. Fast forward to 2016 when Claypool was touring with Sean Lennon as The Claypool Lennon Delirium. Les played the old, neglected recordings to Sean, who decided that the world was finally ready for Beanpole! CHIMERA.

Lovers of music that is more than a little bit beyond "out there" may well find 'Farmer Loved An Onion' something to engage with. The vocals made me think of Tom Waits initially, a little smoother and deeper, but definitely having some bar room gusto. The music is equal to the challenge adding even more "out there" intrigue, and somehow I have to say this is one of those albums I just have to hear the day it's released.

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Falcon Jane - Joshua Burnside - Melby

Falcon Jane - The News.

Background - Grief is so complicated. It fills you with unanswerable questions, fear, sadness, and incomparable emptiness – but it is also about moving on and healing. There has been a lot of loss in the Canadian news lately, nationwide, and in my own community. “The News” is about losing someone you love and trying to find them amidst the dense, emotional fog of grief. I hope it can help aid those who are grieving by reflecting some of the complicated emotions we are feeling.

There have been severe floods in my community over the last year. One of the last ones swelled the Grand River, washing a little boy out of his mother’s arms. I was so deeply affected when I heard about it – my partner and I had driven through the area where it happened only hours before. There are a lot of commonalities between “The News” and this boy’s story. When the next flood hit, I couldn’t help but try to capture some of what my community and I had been collectively feeling.

Water can be powerful and destructive, beautiful and cleansing. Its constant flow reminds us to keep moving forward – yet we are at the mercy of the current, the rainfall, and the floods. TWITTER.

June 1 - Maggiolly's - Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival, ON
June 2 - Vibes in the Valley - Mulmur, ON
June 15 - Hillsburgh Library Opening, ON
June 26 - Monarch Tavern, Toronto, ON
July 14 - Burdock, Toronto, ON
July 27 - Monarch Tavern, Toronto, ON

'The News' is melodic, sensitive and touching. Dealing with grief is a subject many might to choose to avoid, when it comes to song writing and performing. Falcon Jane demonstrates both empathy and passion with this song, singing about reality on the other hand, is something many artists do. After all when you come away from escapism and denial, reality is always there to greet you.


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Joshua Burnside - A Man Of High Renown.

Background - Singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside follows up his Northern Ireland Music Prize winning debut album Ephrata, with a brand new EP entitled All Round The Light Said, due out on 29 June via Quiet Arch. Weaving elements of Irish traditional and European folk music with hints of Americana, he creates songs that are understated yet passionate and heartfelt.

The EP features four new songs. In lead-single “A Man Of High Renown”, he blends a joyous waltz complete with air organs and accordions with often violent and disturbing imagery, dealing with the shame of sins committed in childhood; “where the dusty garage floor, along your soft skin tore.” Clash premiered the single saying, "From the delightful accordion lines to the thumping percussion, 'A Man Of High Renown' has a physical side to its engrossing poetry."

A multi-instrumentalist, Burnside plays most of the instruments on the album but was also joined by a number of collaborators and producers with whom he’s worked with over the past few years, most of whom have their own solo projects. These include his brother Connor on drums and percussions, Clark Phillips on bass and Sarah Martin on trumpet.

Following the release of Ephrata Joshua Burnside has had a busy year clocking up four million plays on Spotify, with two sell out London shows, appearances at International festivals including Reeperbahn and The Great Escape. He has also had extensive radio play and support from the likes of Guy Garvey, Tom Robinson, Tom Ravenscroft, Lauren Laverne, Huw Stephens and Phil Taggart. Joshua performed at the Atlantic Sessions in Portstewart, as well as the music trail for Other Voices in Dingle in December. FACEBOOK.

The thought of Irish traditional music mixed with European folk and Americana is on the surface a little like looking at a menu of fine foods in a high class restaurant, which I could never afford. Without wanting to over play that illustration 'A Man Of High Renown' does have a good helping of the core ingredients, along with plenty of natural charm.

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Melby - Reject.

Background - Since debuting with catchy single Human early 2016 things have moved steady for Stockholm psych pop act Melby. Last year's debut EP received praise from both Swedish and international sources such as Amazing Radio, Ja Ja Ja and Line of Best Fit, making Melby one of the most exciting names on the Swedish indie scene. Today, new single Reject is released followed by European tour dates in London and Berlin during the summer.

The band often gets comparison to fellow swedes Dungen and Amason but Melby’s dynamic sound, with influences from folk, psych, indie and pop, stand out. The quartets light, semi-psychedelic folk pop is led by Matilda Wiezell’s enchanting voice which fits perfectly with Melby’s unique musical landscape. The band consists of Wiezell, Are Engen Steinsholm (guitar), David Jehrlander (bass) and Teo Jernkvist (drums) and formed when living together in a Stockholm shared housing.

Reject, their first new material in over a year, is a development of the band's already characteristic sound, adding an energy that's mostly been seen live to this date. Are, guitarist and author of the song, explains: "We all wanted an energetic song to play live. David had this great, kind of spiteful guitar part and bass line for the intro, and a melody for the verse. Back then with a weird synth sound. Building on that, we speeded up the song, and finished it together. At the time, I was annoyed with a person close to me. As I walked around being cranky, I started writing the lyrics, and they wound up being about building up anger for a long time, being awfully stubborn, and longing for redress".

The single is the first taste of the new, fresh material that the quartet's been working on since releasing their ambitious EP which of more is to expect after the summer. On June 5, Melby make their international debut at Sebright Arms in London (w/ label mates Chez Ali and Delsbo Beach Club), followed by a Berlin show in August. Reject is released on all platforms via Stockholm label Rama Lama Records (Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes, Kluster, Chez Ali etc.). TWITTER.

Lively and with a refreshing pace 'Reject' is a fine indie song where psych vibes comfortably rub shoulders with moments of pop and folk rock. The vocals are delightful, the music is detailed and assessable, the catchy nature of the piece is constant throughout.

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BEEHIVE CANDY ON FACEBOOK: Please note that we are currently unable to access our Facebook account. Despite numerous suggestions and online help (hmmm) service assistance the problem remains. Once/if the problem is resolved we will decide the way forward. Because of the intrusive nature of Facebook (tracking/data collection when logged off etc), I will not ask anyone involved with Beehive Candy to use their own private devices to assist, on principle.

Joy Autumn - Cedric Warner Sparkman - Christopher Pellnat

Joy Autumn - Go.

Background - Go is singer-songwriter Joy Autumn at her most vulnerable. The sparse nature of the song allows room for its listener to breathe into Autumn’s pain, intimately feeling her internal struggle between loving someone so deeply and yet desperately needing to tell them to go.

With lush strings and cinematic harmonies, Joy’s raw and breathtaking vocals float from first verse until final second. Go transports any listener back to that heartbreakingly necessary moment of convincing yourself that you can and will leave. The song is a part of Joy Autumn’s upcoming EP, Midnight, an atmospheric indie-pop record about the dark side of making it as an artist in Hollywood.

“The hardest thing you can possibly do is walk away from someone that you viscerally love and feel is a part of you. In that moment,  I realized that I had to pick my own well-being, even though the distorted reality is that I perhaps loved this person even more than I did myself.” WEBSITE.

Lush and enticing vocals are all apparent from the opening moments of 'Go' a dreamy and intimate song that is both personal, vulnerable and above all, quite mesmerising.

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Cedric Warner Sparkman - Black Rabbit.

Background - "Black Rabbit," the new Cedric Warner Sparkman song that we have the extreme pleasure of releasing, was in the works for five years. It was worth the wait. Cedric would never be accused of working too fast, but it's worth the wait. 

His new concoction is a glam-tinged confection of great harmonies and killer riffs. An amalgam of T-Rex guitars meet postpunk drums and are held together by Cedric irresistable, gooey melodies. A three part pop suite awaits the listener. Three minutes later, you're going to want to go on the sonic journey again.

Cedric Warner Sparkman grew up in the small Eastern Kentucky town of Hazard. His grandfather was in The Kentucky Hilltoppers, and his father was the lead guitar player in The Cornerstones. He was involved in musical theater from age ten, which pushed his musical inclinations towards melody and drama instead of the grunge rawk and country music that his peers preferred. 

Listening to his father's Beatles records and his brother's Pet Shop Boys tapes only developed that interest further. He was a member of Great Went, Varsovia, and Candidate before striking out on his own with his first solo single, PSB. BANDCAMP.

'Black Rabbit' is vibrant and rhythmic and as far as I am concerned could have been twice as long and still needed a second spin immediately. It's alt rock with a good hint of pop and it's fabulous!

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Christopher Pellnat - Ode to Olivia Rhodes - ft. Erin Pellnat.

Background from Chris Pellnat - This song is inspired by the virtual reality (VR) video game, "Lone Echo," which is played on an Oculus Rift. "Lone Echo" blew my mind, not just because of the amazing visuals and the simulated feeling of being weightless in space - but also because of the immediate connection you feel with the main characters.

You play as a robot (Jack) and your companion at the space station is a live person (Olivia Rhodes). Phenomenal voice acting by Troy Baker and Alice Coulthard, respectively, really bring these characters to life. What fascinates me are multiple levels of perception, illusion, and meaning in VR, and the game raises important questions about consciousness, artificial intelligence, and human connections.

As "Jack" you are an AI robot (even though you know you're actually a human being sitting there with a VR headset on in your room) and you feel a connection with "Liv" - who is human - but of course both are actually 3-D virtual reality illusions - one of which you "inhabit". But this inhabitation is so convincing that you are completely immersed. Olivia speaks to you like you're human, so you really feel like a conscious piece of AI, and that she is your friend.

So the magic happens because you buy into the illusion - suspend disbelief. It kind of sneaks up on you. Suddenly you are Jack in a very real way. The illusion becomes all. So this song is written from Jack's perspective - as multi-layered as that is.... Chris Pellnat: TWITTER - Erin Pellnat: BANDCAMP.

Regulars to Beehive Candy may well have noticed that we have featured Christopher and Erin Pellnat both collectively and as solo artists a few times now, and whilst the music remains this good, why not! 'Ode to Olivia Rhodes' gently tells it's story, allowing the energy levels to gradually build and the melodic hooks to dig in very deep.

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