Oldermost - Same To Me.
Background - “Same To Me” is the brand-new second single that Philadelphia’s indie rock band Oldermost ahead of the release of their new album How Could You Ever Be The Same? that AntiFragile Music is releasing on Friday, July 13th, following its rollicking lead single "The Danger of Belief”. The introspective song was one of the first written for their new album, and is one of its gorgeous, hazy stand-outs. It’s also frontman Bradford Bucknum’s thesis about love, and how embracing change is a liberating act that permits deeper possibilities of loving someone and loving one’s self. It also highlights the bands’ penchant for creating era-blending Americana-infused rock & roll with a more indie rock vibe in the vein of The War On Drugs (their Philly contemporaries!) or Wilco.
How Could You Ever Be The Same? includes two songs that Oldermost previously released but felt like had a home on the new album, including the undeniable track “Honey With Tea”, and the similarly lush “Finally Unsure”. How Could You Ever Be The Same? also spotlights the bands' evolution into more complex sonic territory, on the heels of the momentum built from the band’s previous releases. Self-produced by the band and mixed by Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs, Allison Crutchfield) and mastered by Ryan Schwabe (The Districts, Big Thief, Hop Along), the album is an all-star Philadelphia collaboration in the truest sense.
How Could You Ever Be The Same? also highlights the paradoxical blend of neuroticism and mysticism of lead-singer Bradford Bucknum, whose vocal delivery oscillates between semi-theatrical energetic bursts to gentle, sugary crooning. At times, despairing wit and questionable advice buoyantly tumble over a sea of lush strings; at other times, the songs dig their heels in the genre and the classic-rock enthusiasm of Mike Sobel’s guitar, the steady but experimental rhythms of Stephen Robbins’ focused and passionate drumming and Dan Wolgemuth’s unique and melodic bass playing. The music is both familiar, yet fresh - it hints at nostalgia without stumbling into kitsch. At some moments the music sounds urbane, almost high-brow and literary, and at others times, it's wild and unrefined. WEBSITE.
It was back in August 2016 that we first came across Oldermost and for whatever reason we lost track of them pretty much straightaway. It says something for the band that I knew we had featured them before, and so now we can pick things up again with 'Same To Me' their brand new single. It's a cool and calm rocker that drifts towards Americana and is enriched by some gorgeous vocals and melodic hooks.
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Tempesst - A Little Bit Of Trouble.
Background - Tempesst announce the release of their second EP Doomsday - along with the release of new single ‘A Little Bit Of Trouble'. Detailing an ill-fated encounter with some less than courteous Londoners - the new single signals an exciting step up for the Australian, Sunshine Coast born 5-piece. Speaking a little more on the lyrical beginnings of the song, Toma Banjanin said: “The week we started writing the instrumentals for the track we had a bit of an incident at a pub in east London. Some guys were giving Andy (Toma’s brother, and Tempesst drummer) a hard time about his jacket or hat or something and everyone was pretty drunk. The song was written to capture the memory for eternity."
Following the band’s acclaimed, Adult Wonderland EP - both ‘A Little Bit Of Trouble’, and the band’s forthcoming second EP 'Doomsday' stand as impressive steps forward for the band. Sonically they continue to evolve, experimenting with more instruments, layers and sounds; maintaining their classic 60s / 70s influence but, still giving a very welcoming nod to modern psych, folk, and indie.
"I swear to god they are looking at me again / A little bit of trouble at the end of the line" Toma sings in A Little Bit Of Trouble's stomping verse, suggesting a sense of paranoia, or perhaps remorse for a familiar, reoccurring situation. Set to a backdrop of sun-kissed guitar licks and sumptuous string arrangements - 'A Little Bit Of Trouble' is arguably Tempesst strongest and most potent release to date. Closing the song declaring "I'm leaving all my bad behaviour behind" - Toma is on defiant mission to better himself - no matter who or what might stand in his way.
The forthcoming EP, 'Doomsday' touches on a sense of morality within the band, with Toma explaining "I have been caught in a ‘meaning of life’ spiral which I guess is pretty normal in your 20’s. It’s the first time that I’ve felt so aware of my mortality and it probably doesn’t help that the Facebook and Netflix algorithms keep feeding me documentaries on the topic". The band will be extensively touring the Doomsday EP over the summer months, with a headline UK tour, and US support tour set to be announced in the coming weeks. TWITTER.
Tempesst are another band we first discovered back in the summer of 2016, and the new single 'A Little Bit Of Trouble' is our fourth feature for the band. The bands well crafted alt rock might reflect on a less than happy incident in an East London pub, however the track still sounds warm and inviting to listen too, as the strings and guitars intermingle to great effect, behind refined vocals and harmonies.
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Tuesday, 19 June 2018
Sunday, 17 June 2018
Jaicee Rentz - Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread - Orions Belte
Jaicee Rentz - Superzoomy Space Ships (feat. Kaleb Schnepf)
Background - Teen singer-songwriter Jaicee Rentz hails from the sunny shores of San Clemente, California where the breezy ocean vibes made an indelible impression on her. Themes of nature and space are often swirling around her lovely rustic-Inspired tunes, influenced by the anthemic dance pop of Carly Rae Jepsen and the earthy acoustics of The Lumineers.
Jaicee’s debut release, Colors, is a striking calling card for her warm, mature vocals and tactile musings - the kernels of which were all received as midnight downloads, captured as song sketches and later fleshed out into full productions at Roshambo Sound. In the studio, Jaicee multi-tracked keys, guitar and banjo while stamping each track with her punchy, nuanced vocals and oddball sound flourishes. A prodigious musical outpouring, reminiscent of early Beck in its tight grasp of sonic scope and psychedelic turnarounds.
“I want to give away my tiny wisdoms” she admits, deflecting focus from her overt grasp on emotive modern pop. Shrugging away comparisons to other top 40 acts in her age bracket, Jaicee innocently assumes the audience for her debut will probably be limited to ‘grandmas and grandpas.’ The truth is that her dialed-in indie sensibilities and unburdened storytelling play beautifully together and smack with the promise of future expansion.
And while Jaicee certainly harnesses the bloom of youth on such off-the-cuff numbers as “Superzoomy Space Ships”, she sounds equally as comfortable with the aching melancholy of the EP’s title-track. “Mainly, I write about living in the moment, since regret has always been a big teacher for me” she reflects, revealing an awareness beyond her years. “I regret a lot of things I didn’t do and there’s a lot of people whom I never had the chance to tell I love them.” INSTAGRAM.
What a breath of fresh musical air 'Superzoomy Space Ships' is! It's one of four songs on the 'Colors' EP where originality and well crafted material rub shoulders, as Jaicee Rentz allows her imagination to deliver some impressive material.
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Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread - Funny In Real Life.
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.
Following the release of first track 'Less Than Positive' a few weeks back, the band have now unveiled a new single, ‘Funny in Real Life’. “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.
The musicianship is impressive and provides a gently paced and refined backdrop on 'Funny In Real Life' a song that registers somewhere on the Americana spectrum. Michael Nau's vocals are both distinct and personal adding character and charm, this should have wide appeal.
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Orions Belte - Atlantic Surfing.
Background - Fans of krautrock/psychedelic rock should check out the latest single 'Atlantic Surfing' from Orions Belte. ‘Mint’ is the debut album by Norwegian inventors, Orions Belte. When looking at the influences for a band, there are few as eclectic and far-reaching than those of this Oslo-based collective. They describe themselves as equally inspired by Nigerian 70s rock, postcards from the French riviera, Formula One races at the Monza track in Italy, to when Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali in the ‘Fight of the Century’ in 1971. Expansive and unique.
Band members Chris Holm and Øyvind Blomstrøm make a living out of touring and creating for Norwegian names such as Sondre Lerche, Young Dreams, and Nathalie Nordnes, and so are almost always on the road and exploring different sounds wherever possible. When their paths crossed for the umpteenth time in 2016, their mutual dream of starting an instrumental project together finally found a spark. Holm’s companion from the Bergen scene, Kim Åge Furuhaug, was the match, and Orions Belte was born.
Handsomely hazed vocals and inventive melodies combine with rhythmic vocabulary that draws equally and naturally from psych rock, hard funk, and soul. It's the work of an assured craftsman with a preferred set of sonic parameters and shows off the band's skill in a lucid, loose fashion. The lo-fi sizzle and compression gives it the feel of an artefact, a lost treasure transmitted through decades of overdubbed tapes which matches the stunning and occasionally unsettling artwork for the cover by VICE-featured illustrator Steph Hope.
The band have successfully drawn on the psychedelic as well as the electronic and indie - you’d be forgiven for making comparisons to the likes Unknown Mortal Orchestra or Khruangbin here. Orions Belte sound like they’re in their own galaxy - a galaxy where they are soundtracking cosmic movies that haven’t been made yet, where landscapes are coloured in as they’re hurtled past and where music is the only language spoken by everyone. WEBSITE.
With a driving Krautrock orientated beat and moments of psychedelic bliss 'Atlantic Surfing' clearly has it's comparisons, however as for me they are only very good ones, I see no problem with that. As the band are credited with a variety of styles, if they are of this standard, then I can only wait with anticipation to hear the full album.
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Background - Teen singer-songwriter Jaicee Rentz hails from the sunny shores of San Clemente, California where the breezy ocean vibes made an indelible impression on her. Themes of nature and space are often swirling around her lovely rustic-Inspired tunes, influenced by the anthemic dance pop of Carly Rae Jepsen and the earthy acoustics of The Lumineers.
Jaicee’s debut release, Colors, is a striking calling card for her warm, mature vocals and tactile musings - the kernels of which were all received as midnight downloads, captured as song sketches and later fleshed out into full productions at Roshambo Sound. In the studio, Jaicee multi-tracked keys, guitar and banjo while stamping each track with her punchy, nuanced vocals and oddball sound flourishes. A prodigious musical outpouring, reminiscent of early Beck in its tight grasp of sonic scope and psychedelic turnarounds.
“I want to give away my tiny wisdoms” she admits, deflecting focus from her overt grasp on emotive modern pop. Shrugging away comparisons to other top 40 acts in her age bracket, Jaicee innocently assumes the audience for her debut will probably be limited to ‘grandmas and grandpas.’ The truth is that her dialed-in indie sensibilities and unburdened storytelling play beautifully together and smack with the promise of future expansion.
And while Jaicee certainly harnesses the bloom of youth on such off-the-cuff numbers as “Superzoomy Space Ships”, she sounds equally as comfortable with the aching melancholy of the EP’s title-track. “Mainly, I write about living in the moment, since regret has always been a big teacher for me” she reflects, revealing an awareness beyond her years. “I regret a lot of things I didn’t do and there’s a lot of people whom I never had the chance to tell I love them.” INSTAGRAM.
What a breath of fresh musical air 'Superzoomy Space Ships' is! It's one of four songs on the 'Colors' EP where originality and well crafted material rub shoulders, as Jaicee Rentz allows her imagination to deliver some impressive material.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread - Funny In Real Life.
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.
Following the release of first track 'Less Than Positive' a few weeks back, the band have now unveiled a new single, ‘Funny in Real Life’. “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.
The musicianship is impressive and provides a gently paced and refined backdrop on 'Funny In Real Life' a song that registers somewhere on the Americana spectrum. Michael Nau's vocals are both distinct and personal adding character and charm, this should have wide appeal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orions Belte - Atlantic Surfing.
Background - Fans of krautrock/psychedelic rock should check out the latest single 'Atlantic Surfing' from Orions Belte. ‘Mint’ is the debut album by Norwegian inventors, Orions Belte. When looking at the influences for a band, there are few as eclectic and far-reaching than those of this Oslo-based collective. They describe themselves as equally inspired by Nigerian 70s rock, postcards from the French riviera, Formula One races at the Monza track in Italy, to when Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali in the ‘Fight of the Century’ in 1971. Expansive and unique.
Band members Chris Holm and Øyvind Blomstrøm make a living out of touring and creating for Norwegian names such as Sondre Lerche, Young Dreams, and Nathalie Nordnes, and so are almost always on the road and exploring different sounds wherever possible. When their paths crossed for the umpteenth time in 2016, their mutual dream of starting an instrumental project together finally found a spark. Holm’s companion from the Bergen scene, Kim Åge Furuhaug, was the match, and Orions Belte was born.
Handsomely hazed vocals and inventive melodies combine with rhythmic vocabulary that draws equally and naturally from psych rock, hard funk, and soul. It's the work of an assured craftsman with a preferred set of sonic parameters and shows off the band's skill in a lucid, loose fashion. The lo-fi sizzle and compression gives it the feel of an artefact, a lost treasure transmitted through decades of overdubbed tapes which matches the stunning and occasionally unsettling artwork for the cover by VICE-featured illustrator Steph Hope.
The band have successfully drawn on the psychedelic as well as the electronic and indie - you’d be forgiven for making comparisons to the likes Unknown Mortal Orchestra or Khruangbin here. Orions Belte sound like they’re in their own galaxy - a galaxy where they are soundtracking cosmic movies that haven’t been made yet, where landscapes are coloured in as they’re hurtled past and where music is the only language spoken by everyone. WEBSITE.
With a driving Krautrock orientated beat and moments of psychedelic bliss 'Atlantic Surfing' clearly has it's comparisons, however as for me they are only very good ones, I see no problem with that. As the band are credited with a variety of styles, if they are of this standard, then I can only wait with anticipation to hear the full album.
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Saturday, 16 June 2018
Telete - Sons of Bill - Treetop Flyers
Telete - Like Honey.
Background - Following shows with Julia Jacklin, Rainbow Chan, Totally Mild, Hatchie and high praise for their deeply affecting sound, akin to "being mown down in a field of violets", Perth chamber/dream pop duo Telete (Teh-leh-tee) announce the wide release of 'Spectator', their surprise debut EP on Friday 22 June. Their new single 'Like Honey', delivering "what it says on the tin" (Nat Tencic, triple j) is out now.
Drawing inspiration from acts such as Broadcast, Julia Holter and Beach House, Perth’s Telete (Mai Barnes & Hayley Ayres) weave strings, synth lines and canned percussion together to build warm-hued compositions that simmer underneath intimate vocals.
Telete's "dramatic and delicate" heartrending version of a lullaby (Declan Byrne), 'Like Honey' has already oozed its way onto playlists for triple j Home and Hosed, triple j Unearthed, Triple R's Out On The Patio, RTRFM's Out To Lunch and more. Plush with thick synths and strings, the track swirls brightly in waltz time around a comforting, centrifugal sadness.
"I wrote [Like Honey] after an awful breakup last year, and I remember bawling my eyes out as I scribbled down the words. But every time I sang them, they hurt less. There’s a strange comfort in saying an uncomfortable truth out loud: you take something you’ve internalised, a feeling that you carry in your stomach and chest and heart, and you push it all the way back out." - Mai Barnes. BANDCAMP.
'Like Honey' is a gorgeous mixture of chamber and dream pop that is sensitive and engaging, allowing beautiful atmospheric soundscapes to emerge. It's one of eight tracks on the new EP, and I have to say, there is not one track that fails to charm and dig some deep musical hooks in. Telete have something very special going on here, one that is well worth checking out.
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Sons of Bill - Firebird '85.
Background - Central Virginia’s band of brothers, Sons of Bill, have announced the release of their new album 'Oh God Ma'am' on 29 June on Loose.
Following the release of singles 'Believer/Pretender' and 'Easier', they have now unveiled new track 'Firebird '85'. "I guess the song is technically “about” a construction worker having a strange redemptive daydream about getting off work. Or maybe he's dead? Still not sure", James tells Uncut Magazine, "I just like the idea of ordinary people, living out their ordinary lives, lost in some grand, cosmic drama inside their own head. It’s how all of our lives are. Just another feel-good song about the inner void."
'Oh God Ma’am', Sons of Bill's latest LP is the band’s most coherent artistic statement to date-- subtle, risky, and sonically ambitious. Recorded both in Seattle with west coast indie legend Phil Ek (Shins, Fleet Foxes) and in Nashville with Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson) and mixed by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol) the album shows the Wilson brothers moving beyond the galvanic Americana-rock comfort zone of previous efforts, for a more elegant and restrained sound-- a darker, and more complexly layered rock record that manages to be the band’s most emotionally intimate and sonically expansive. Insistent, dancey rhythms and dreamy, hook-filled, pyrotechnics abound, creating a deceptively anthemic mood around songs that are in and of themselves intensely introverted.
'Oh God Ma’am' is a coming-of-age record for an over-stimulated age-- equal parts post-adolescent anxiety and old-soul humility-- literate, gorgeous, and darkly contemplative. WEBSITE.
Sons of Bill will tour the UK and Europe in August:
Mon 13th - The Hope, Brighton (UK)
Tues 14th - Omeara, London (UK)
Weds 15th - Tunnels, Bristol (UK)
Thurs 16th - Brudenell, Leeds (UK)
Fri 17th - Broadcast, Glasgow (UK)
Sat 18th - Soup Kitchen, Manchester (UK)
Sun 19th - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (UK)
Tues 21 Aug - Blue Shell, Cologne (DE)
Weds 22 Aug - Milia Club, Munich (DE)
Thurs 23 Aug - Musik & Frieden, Berlin (DE)
Fri 24 Aug - Stage Club, Hamburg (DE)
Sat 25 Aug - Once In a Blue Moon Festival, Amsterdam (NL).
Less than a month since Sons Of Bill first graced our pages we now have the follow up track 'Firebird '85'. The Americana qualities are again notable, albeit this time the band take a more country rock direction, doing so with refinement and plenty of heart.
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Treetop Flyers - Needle.
Background - London soulful country rock outfit Treetop Flyers return with their eponymous third album, due out on 24 August via Loose. Weaving blissful 60s tinged West Coast Americana with a British rock’n’roll swagger, the album oozes with soulfulness, thanks to singer Reid Morrison’s rich, warm vocals, stunning close harmonies and the atmospheric warble of a Mellotron.
The band shared video for the taster track "Needle" (directed by long-time band collaborator Sam Ford) via Clash, who called it; "a bold, vivid return, one that finds Treetop Flyers pushing themselves further and further". The song is based round a looped section at the end of a record about not wanting a moment to end. As Reid explains; “I had just got out the shower and I was listening to an old Ted Hawkins record. I lost track of what I was doing and heard this noise, I couldn't work out what it was but it sounded like the best drum sound I'd ever heard… with the old school hiss and everything. I thought my flatmates were playing a tune or something. I then remembered I had put the record on and the record had reached the end but had this perfect loop.”
The band was originally formed by Reid Morrison, Laurie Sherman and Sam Beer, who met whilst playing in other projects as part of the West London folk scene. Although their name, Treetop Flyers, will always be linked to the Stephen Stills song, they settled on it as they all felt like outsiders but have stuck together ever since through line-up and life changes. They have most recently been joined by Rupert Shreeve on drums, who has added another dimension to their style and took the songs in uncharted directions that were previously out of reach. On the new record they are also joined by saxophonist Geoff Thomas Widdowson from Loose label mates Danny and The Champions Of The World.
Treetop Flyers follows the band’s two previous critically acclaimed albums, their debut The Mountain Moves from 2013, which was praised by The Guardian who wrote that it; “effortlessly captures the spirit of late-1960s west coast pop-rock: the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,” as well as Q, who wrote that they; “share with Midlake custody of a brood of Buckingham/Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac licks, likewise the Mac’s mood of unrequited yearning.” Their second album Palomino, from 2016 was praised by Uncut, who called it; “a fittingly great-sounding record, with the band magically tight and melodically assured as they play songs bathed in an evocative ’70s West Coast glow, while drawing on influences including outlaw country, soul and Nigerian psych.” WEBSITE.
It's always pleasing to see country rock music spread it's wings beyond North America, and with 'Needle' the Treetop Flyers not only do that, they do so with grace, style and plenty of natural feeling. This is one very special song, the soulful vibes are everywhere, I am mightily impressed!
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Background - Following shows with Julia Jacklin, Rainbow Chan, Totally Mild, Hatchie and high praise for their deeply affecting sound, akin to "being mown down in a field of violets", Perth chamber/dream pop duo Telete (Teh-leh-tee) announce the wide release of 'Spectator', their surprise debut EP on Friday 22 June. Their new single 'Like Honey', delivering "what it says on the tin" (Nat Tencic, triple j) is out now.
Drawing inspiration from acts such as Broadcast, Julia Holter and Beach House, Perth’s Telete (Mai Barnes & Hayley Ayres) weave strings, synth lines and canned percussion together to build warm-hued compositions that simmer underneath intimate vocals.
Telete's "dramatic and delicate" heartrending version of a lullaby (Declan Byrne), 'Like Honey' has already oozed its way onto playlists for triple j Home and Hosed, triple j Unearthed, Triple R's Out On The Patio, RTRFM's Out To Lunch and more. Plush with thick synths and strings, the track swirls brightly in waltz time around a comforting, centrifugal sadness.
"I wrote [Like Honey] after an awful breakup last year, and I remember bawling my eyes out as I scribbled down the words. But every time I sang them, they hurt less. There’s a strange comfort in saying an uncomfortable truth out loud: you take something you’ve internalised, a feeling that you carry in your stomach and chest and heart, and you push it all the way back out." - Mai Barnes. BANDCAMP.
'Like Honey' is a gorgeous mixture of chamber and dream pop that is sensitive and engaging, allowing beautiful atmospheric soundscapes to emerge. It's one of eight tracks on the new EP, and I have to say, there is not one track that fails to charm and dig some deep musical hooks in. Telete have something very special going on here, one that is well worth checking out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sons of Bill - Firebird '85.
Background - Central Virginia’s band of brothers, Sons of Bill, have announced the release of their new album 'Oh God Ma'am' on 29 June on Loose.
Following the release of singles 'Believer/Pretender' and 'Easier', they have now unveiled new track 'Firebird '85'. "I guess the song is technically “about” a construction worker having a strange redemptive daydream about getting off work. Or maybe he's dead? Still not sure", James tells Uncut Magazine, "I just like the idea of ordinary people, living out their ordinary lives, lost in some grand, cosmic drama inside their own head. It’s how all of our lives are. Just another feel-good song about the inner void."
'Oh God Ma’am', Sons of Bill's latest LP is the band’s most coherent artistic statement to date-- subtle, risky, and sonically ambitious. Recorded both in Seattle with west coast indie legend Phil Ek (Shins, Fleet Foxes) and in Nashville with Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson) and mixed by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol) the album shows the Wilson brothers moving beyond the galvanic Americana-rock comfort zone of previous efforts, for a more elegant and restrained sound-- a darker, and more complexly layered rock record that manages to be the band’s most emotionally intimate and sonically expansive. Insistent, dancey rhythms and dreamy, hook-filled, pyrotechnics abound, creating a deceptively anthemic mood around songs that are in and of themselves intensely introverted.
'Oh God Ma’am' is a coming-of-age record for an over-stimulated age-- equal parts post-adolescent anxiety and old-soul humility-- literate, gorgeous, and darkly contemplative. WEBSITE.
Sons of Bill will tour the UK and Europe in August:
Mon 13th - The Hope, Brighton (UK)
Tues 14th - Omeara, London (UK)
Weds 15th - Tunnels, Bristol (UK)
Thurs 16th - Brudenell, Leeds (UK)
Fri 17th - Broadcast, Glasgow (UK)
Sat 18th - Soup Kitchen, Manchester (UK)
Sun 19th - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (UK)
Tues 21 Aug - Blue Shell, Cologne (DE)
Weds 22 Aug - Milia Club, Munich (DE)
Thurs 23 Aug - Musik & Frieden, Berlin (DE)
Fri 24 Aug - Stage Club, Hamburg (DE)
Sat 25 Aug - Once In a Blue Moon Festival, Amsterdam (NL).
Less than a month since Sons Of Bill first graced our pages we now have the follow up track 'Firebird '85'. The Americana qualities are again notable, albeit this time the band take a more country rock direction, doing so with refinement and plenty of heart.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Treetop Flyers - Needle.
Background - London soulful country rock outfit Treetop Flyers return with their eponymous third album, due out on 24 August via Loose. Weaving blissful 60s tinged West Coast Americana with a British rock’n’roll swagger, the album oozes with soulfulness, thanks to singer Reid Morrison’s rich, warm vocals, stunning close harmonies and the atmospheric warble of a Mellotron.
The band shared video for the taster track "Needle" (directed by long-time band collaborator Sam Ford) via Clash, who called it; "a bold, vivid return, one that finds Treetop Flyers pushing themselves further and further". The song is based round a looped section at the end of a record about not wanting a moment to end. As Reid explains; “I had just got out the shower and I was listening to an old Ted Hawkins record. I lost track of what I was doing and heard this noise, I couldn't work out what it was but it sounded like the best drum sound I'd ever heard… with the old school hiss and everything. I thought my flatmates were playing a tune or something. I then remembered I had put the record on and the record had reached the end but had this perfect loop.”
The band was originally formed by Reid Morrison, Laurie Sherman and Sam Beer, who met whilst playing in other projects as part of the West London folk scene. Although their name, Treetop Flyers, will always be linked to the Stephen Stills song, they settled on it as they all felt like outsiders but have stuck together ever since through line-up and life changes. They have most recently been joined by Rupert Shreeve on drums, who has added another dimension to their style and took the songs in uncharted directions that were previously out of reach. On the new record they are also joined by saxophonist Geoff Thomas Widdowson from Loose label mates Danny and The Champions Of The World.
Treetop Flyers follows the band’s two previous critically acclaimed albums, their debut The Mountain Moves from 2013, which was praised by The Guardian who wrote that it; “effortlessly captures the spirit of late-1960s west coast pop-rock: the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,” as well as Q, who wrote that they; “share with Midlake custody of a brood of Buckingham/Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac licks, likewise the Mac’s mood of unrequited yearning.” Their second album Palomino, from 2016 was praised by Uncut, who called it; “a fittingly great-sounding record, with the band magically tight and melodically assured as they play songs bathed in an evocative ’70s West Coast glow, while drawing on influences including outlaw country, soul and Nigerian psych.” WEBSITE.
It's always pleasing to see country rock music spread it's wings beyond North America, and with 'Needle' the Treetop Flyers not only do that, they do so with grace, style and plenty of natural feeling. This is one very special song, the soulful vibes are everywhere, I am mightily impressed!
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Friday, 15 June 2018
Odetta Hartman - Piney Gir - Sarah Sharp - Deux Trois
Odetta Hartman - Sweet Teeth.
Background - NYC artist Odetta Hartman, who will release her new album 'Old Rockhounds Never Die' through Memphis Industries on 10th August, has unveiled a new song ‘Sweet Teeth’. “Featuring sounds from a construction site, this song depicts a bold young woman defiantly determined to rebuild herself,” explains Odetta. “It’s an anthem to independence, self-acceptance, irreverence, and generally just not giving a f*k about what anybody else thinks.”
'Old Rockhounds Never Die' is a bonanza of beautiful contradictions: intimate yet fiercely internationalist, spiritual and yet tangible, sweet and also sexy. It convenes with the ghosts of the past while marching relentlessly forwards.
Drawn from experiences as far-flung as riding a train from San Francisco to Chicago with an old-style, rootin'-tootin' cowboy for company ('Cowboy Song'), to experiencing the intense natural beauty of Icelandic waterfalls ('Dettifoss'), it’s a record that taps into the musical traditions of the past while being a collection of songs about living in the moment.
Raised by pioneering parents on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, NYC, Odetta’s milieu was a “colourful culture of artistry,” that included early exposure to community activism, renegade film screenings, poetry readings and trips to CBGB's. Inchoate punk and hip hop were aural wallpaper, as were the 45s spinning in the household jukebox featuring her dad’s extensive collection of soul and afrobeat records, as well as her Appalachian mother’s classic country selections. A classically trained violinist with a penchant for back-porch banjo, Odetta combines these variegated sounds of her childhood with her personal passion for folk music and the musicological legacy of Alan Lomax. Lomax is writ large on 'Old Rockhounds...' at least in spirit anyway. Odetta plays all the instruments on this and her debut '222'. TWITTER.
I'm always on the look out for music that is different, unique or refreshingly "out there" so when Odetta Hartman's 'Sweet Teeth' came along, the first thing I noticed was the Cowboy Soul description. That's both a clever and pretty honest description, add the fact that the track is both addictive and original, and a whole lot of positive boxes have been ticked!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Piney Gir - The Great Pretend.
Background - Transatlantic pop chameleon Piney Gir returns with a shimmering new single called “The Great Pretend”, which is a celebration of analogue gear with a sound that nods back to when music was on the cusp of change, just before synth pop and just after punk rock. Channeling Tony Visconti, Julee Cruise and Roxy Music, the song blends angular art rock with hooky riffs and strong melodies. Piney’s lyrics are a little twisted and dark but with an ability to mean two things at once, like a backhanded compliment from Dorothy Parker.
Over the past few months Piney Gir has been touring with Gaz Coombes around the UK, Dublin and Paris and is also one of Gaz’s backing singers. She heads out on the next leg of the tour in June, supporting Gaz’s solo shows. Her live set-up features Garo Nahoulakian, who also plays in Gaz Coombes’ band. Catch Piney on TV tonight as she sings with Gaz Coombes on Later With Jools Holland.
The song was inspired by an eventful night spent at cult author Neil Strauss’s home in Malibu, where he lives in Rick Reuben’s tree house. As Piney explains; “I arrived on a balmy LA night with a full moon and the warm sea breeze lilting over the palm tree silhouettes, it was a real ‘how the other half live’ moment, this place was like paradise, full moon, palm trees. I introduced myself to the bodyguard at the door and took my place at the large table I was led to. There was an ex-prostitute-cum-presenter vomiting loudly in the toilet, there was an artist whose thing was painting large oil paintings of stills from porn films, then there was me and next to me was Matt the founder of Light In The Attic Records.
I tried my first pickleback (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickleback) which is a dangerous kind of truth serum, and it got pretty weird; all the while I had this worry that I was some kind of an imposter, what am I doing in this treehouse in Malibu with this glitterati? I sometimes feel like I’ve got little girl lost syndrome, and Neil actually called me up on it and we had a very ‘sh*t got real’ kinda conversation, he had this ability to tap into my psyche in a way that I hadn’t encountered before. I was telling these people stuff I’d never told anyone and I left confused and elated by this weird night. This song is about that experience and how polarising it was in my strange brain. I knew I would never forget that night, although I didn’t know it would inspire a song, but here it is.” WEBSITE.
There is a gentle understated indie rock feel to 'The Great Pretend', the vocals are instantly pleasing, the musical arrangement clever and almost quirky at times, however it's those melodic hooks that really dig in deep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah Sharp - Right Through Me.
Background - Sarah Sharp’s forthcoming EP Dream, produced by one of Rolling Stone's 10 Artists You Need To Know Phoebe Hunt (of Phoebe Hunt & the Gatherers), has just been released, and it captures a moment in time when her life began to upturn after the passing of a beloved artistic ally, Slim Richey.
Instead of resisting profound foundational shifts, she bravely surrendered to the enormous changes and experienced an awakening. Pairing with Hunt was the obvious choice, as "Phoebe is the queen of setting an intention and creating and holding the space to let the universe and the many wonderful musicians in her orbit do their work."
"Everything about working with Sarah Sharp on this collection of songs has felt in alignment with her personal journey. Vulnerably raw and honest, she is unabashedly proclaiming her inner truth for us all to experience along with her. Tucked away in a corner of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, sleeping on my living room floor, she made the journey to play with the group of musicians I have met in NY and trusted me to help bring her songs to life." - Phoebe Hunt.
2018 has already been a game-changing year for Sarah.She is one of the winning recipients of Austin’s prestigious Black Fret grants which has given her access to financial assistance and an advisory board comprised of Austin’s leading music industry professionals.
As a solo artist, and a former member of the Jitterbug Vipers, Sarah has topped the Austin music award polls as Best Female Vocalist, Best Producer, Best Songwriter, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Band of the Year, and Best Jazz Band. While in The Jitterbug Vipers, Sharp was praised by outlets such as NPR, Culture Collide, Downbeat Magazine and The Austin Chronicle. FACEBOOK.
Bluesy and soulful vocals and a sophisticated musical backdrop give 'Right Through Me' a classy and funky feel. Sarah Sharp sings with feeling and sensitivity adding even more of a timeless structure to her work.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deux Trois - Late Night Girls / Dave.
Background - "Health is quiet, loud, strange and pretty. The record is a public confession, a list of probable symptoms, or a thirty-minute long joke about my life as an alien woman. The story of Health is like: if one of your co-workers was a defined manic pixie dream girl to all of your customers, but you knew she was actually a weirdo bitch twenty-four hours a day.
The disconnect between appearance and reality, not just a comparison and contrast of the two ideas: we've delved into that theme in our videos as well as our album design. It can be endearing to be weird, but when you see yourself there, sometimes you feel like you're offending people just by breathing around them.
I keep myself at an arm's length from many things because I like to write about them in silence and isolation; by the nature of the work I love, I can't live in every moment with my loved ones without feeling deep anxiety or gathering ideas for future work. It is difficult for almost everyone I know. I'd say this record mostly looks at the fictional and real life of a person who is me, being that every song touches on my truth, my interpretations of the truth in others, or my assumptions of universal truth and the ways each are affected by my distance between my experiences and my memories, with each step I have taken to come to the current.
In Health, every song is blue and warm black. Dave, Salt, and Late Night Girls all have some red, white, and/or glitter to them. Health is Deux Trois' first venture into product design, filmmaking, heuristic art practice, and music. The oldest ideas in Health are from 2015, the newest ideas are yet to come. I hope the record stays with you as these songs have with us. Thank you for listening." TWITTER.
The two singles from the 'Health' EP are 'Late Night Girls' and 'Dave', two fine examples of the varied and intriguing nature of this collection of songs. Sometimes sounding quite stripped back with a simmering tension not far off, there are more melodic moments and the energy levels ebb and flow, overall this is a strong and imaginative EP, as Deux Trois carve out their own very engaging sound.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background - NYC artist Odetta Hartman, who will release her new album 'Old Rockhounds Never Die' through Memphis Industries on 10th August, has unveiled a new song ‘Sweet Teeth’. “Featuring sounds from a construction site, this song depicts a bold young woman defiantly determined to rebuild herself,” explains Odetta. “It’s an anthem to independence, self-acceptance, irreverence, and generally just not giving a f*k about what anybody else thinks.”
'Old Rockhounds Never Die' is a bonanza of beautiful contradictions: intimate yet fiercely internationalist, spiritual and yet tangible, sweet and also sexy. It convenes with the ghosts of the past while marching relentlessly forwards.
Drawn from experiences as far-flung as riding a train from San Francisco to Chicago with an old-style, rootin'-tootin' cowboy for company ('Cowboy Song'), to experiencing the intense natural beauty of Icelandic waterfalls ('Dettifoss'), it’s a record that taps into the musical traditions of the past while being a collection of songs about living in the moment.
Raised by pioneering parents on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, NYC, Odetta’s milieu was a “colourful culture of artistry,” that included early exposure to community activism, renegade film screenings, poetry readings and trips to CBGB's. Inchoate punk and hip hop were aural wallpaper, as were the 45s spinning in the household jukebox featuring her dad’s extensive collection of soul and afrobeat records, as well as her Appalachian mother’s classic country selections. A classically trained violinist with a penchant for back-porch banjo, Odetta combines these variegated sounds of her childhood with her personal passion for folk music and the musicological legacy of Alan Lomax. Lomax is writ large on 'Old Rockhounds...' at least in spirit anyway. Odetta plays all the instruments on this and her debut '222'. TWITTER.
I'm always on the look out for music that is different, unique or refreshingly "out there" so when Odetta Hartman's 'Sweet Teeth' came along, the first thing I noticed was the Cowboy Soul description. That's both a clever and pretty honest description, add the fact that the track is both addictive and original, and a whole lot of positive boxes have been ticked!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Piney Gir - The Great Pretend.
Background - Transatlantic pop chameleon Piney Gir returns with a shimmering new single called “The Great Pretend”, which is a celebration of analogue gear with a sound that nods back to when music was on the cusp of change, just before synth pop and just after punk rock. Channeling Tony Visconti, Julee Cruise and Roxy Music, the song blends angular art rock with hooky riffs and strong melodies. Piney’s lyrics are a little twisted and dark but with an ability to mean two things at once, like a backhanded compliment from Dorothy Parker.
Over the past few months Piney Gir has been touring with Gaz Coombes around the UK, Dublin and Paris and is also one of Gaz’s backing singers. She heads out on the next leg of the tour in June, supporting Gaz’s solo shows. Her live set-up features Garo Nahoulakian, who also plays in Gaz Coombes’ band. Catch Piney on TV tonight as she sings with Gaz Coombes on Later With Jools Holland.
The song was inspired by an eventful night spent at cult author Neil Strauss’s home in Malibu, where he lives in Rick Reuben’s tree house. As Piney explains; “I arrived on a balmy LA night with a full moon and the warm sea breeze lilting over the palm tree silhouettes, it was a real ‘how the other half live’ moment, this place was like paradise, full moon, palm trees. I introduced myself to the bodyguard at the door and took my place at the large table I was led to. There was an ex-prostitute-cum-presenter vomiting loudly in the toilet, there was an artist whose thing was painting large oil paintings of stills from porn films, then there was me and next to me was Matt the founder of Light In The Attic Records.
I tried my first pickleback (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickleback) which is a dangerous kind of truth serum, and it got pretty weird; all the while I had this worry that I was some kind of an imposter, what am I doing in this treehouse in Malibu with this glitterati? I sometimes feel like I’ve got little girl lost syndrome, and Neil actually called me up on it and we had a very ‘sh*t got real’ kinda conversation, he had this ability to tap into my psyche in a way that I hadn’t encountered before. I was telling these people stuff I’d never told anyone and I left confused and elated by this weird night. This song is about that experience and how polarising it was in my strange brain. I knew I would never forget that night, although I didn’t know it would inspire a song, but here it is.” WEBSITE.
There is a gentle understated indie rock feel to 'The Great Pretend', the vocals are instantly pleasing, the musical arrangement clever and almost quirky at times, however it's those melodic hooks that really dig in deep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah Sharp - Right Through Me.
Background - Sarah Sharp’s forthcoming EP Dream, produced by one of Rolling Stone's 10 Artists You Need To Know Phoebe Hunt (of Phoebe Hunt & the Gatherers), has just been released, and it captures a moment in time when her life began to upturn after the passing of a beloved artistic ally, Slim Richey.
Instead of resisting profound foundational shifts, she bravely surrendered to the enormous changes and experienced an awakening. Pairing with Hunt was the obvious choice, as "Phoebe is the queen of setting an intention and creating and holding the space to let the universe and the many wonderful musicians in her orbit do their work."
"Everything about working with Sarah Sharp on this collection of songs has felt in alignment with her personal journey. Vulnerably raw and honest, she is unabashedly proclaiming her inner truth for us all to experience along with her. Tucked away in a corner of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, sleeping on my living room floor, she made the journey to play with the group of musicians I have met in NY and trusted me to help bring her songs to life." - Phoebe Hunt.
2018 has already been a game-changing year for Sarah.She is one of the winning recipients of Austin’s prestigious Black Fret grants which has given her access to financial assistance and an advisory board comprised of Austin’s leading music industry professionals.
As a solo artist, and a former member of the Jitterbug Vipers, Sarah has topped the Austin music award polls as Best Female Vocalist, Best Producer, Best Songwriter, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Band of the Year, and Best Jazz Band. While in The Jitterbug Vipers, Sharp was praised by outlets such as NPR, Culture Collide, Downbeat Magazine and The Austin Chronicle. FACEBOOK.
Bluesy and soulful vocals and a sophisticated musical backdrop give 'Right Through Me' a classy and funky feel. Sarah Sharp sings with feeling and sensitivity adding even more of a timeless structure to her work.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deux Trois - Late Night Girls / Dave.
Background - "Health is quiet, loud, strange and pretty. The record is a public confession, a list of probable symptoms, or a thirty-minute long joke about my life as an alien woman. The story of Health is like: if one of your co-workers was a defined manic pixie dream girl to all of your customers, but you knew she was actually a weirdo bitch twenty-four hours a day.
The disconnect between appearance and reality, not just a comparison and contrast of the two ideas: we've delved into that theme in our videos as well as our album design. It can be endearing to be weird, but when you see yourself there, sometimes you feel like you're offending people just by breathing around them.
I keep myself at an arm's length from many things because I like to write about them in silence and isolation; by the nature of the work I love, I can't live in every moment with my loved ones without feeling deep anxiety or gathering ideas for future work. It is difficult for almost everyone I know. I'd say this record mostly looks at the fictional and real life of a person who is me, being that every song touches on my truth, my interpretations of the truth in others, or my assumptions of universal truth and the ways each are affected by my distance between my experiences and my memories, with each step I have taken to come to the current.
In Health, every song is blue and warm black. Dave, Salt, and Late Night Girls all have some red, white, and/or glitter to them. Health is Deux Trois' first venture into product design, filmmaking, heuristic art practice, and music. The oldest ideas in Health are from 2015, the newest ideas are yet to come. I hope the record stays with you as these songs have with us. Thank you for listening." TWITTER.
The two singles from the 'Health' EP are 'Late Night Girls' and 'Dave', two fine examples of the varied and intriguing nature of this collection of songs. Sometimes sounding quite stripped back with a simmering tension not far off, there are more melodic moments and the energy levels ebb and flow, overall this is a strong and imaginative EP, as Deux Trois carve out their own very engaging sound.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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