Brooks Thomas - Sarah Nixey

Brooks Thomas - Good Sleep.

Background -  Brooks Thomas are an experimental electro-pop group based in the Bronx. Fusing elements of R&B with classic soul and electro-pop, Brooks Thomas is sharing their lead single “Good Sleep”, the first taste of their new album Poison.

The brainchild of Danny McDonald, Brooks Thomas concocts unconventional electronic R&B that's inspired by classic soul and artists like Dirty Projectors and Miguel - disparate influences that share a common thread: intensity of feeling. Exploring new ways to reach those emotional heights, Danny began programming beats, pushing Brooks Thomas's bassist Rocky Russo towards experimenting with pedals to change the textures, and having their dual singers Colleen Cadogan and Arianne Lombardi create three-part harmonies that deviate from the standard 1-3-5. What they recorded at home became a script for their live performances, where fresh colors and depths would be discovered as they translated the digital maelstrom into an organic setting. Those recordings would then get re-digitized, spliced together and warped as Danny reworked the production. Poison's opener "Fade In", for example, features the live recording of an old song Colleen wrote about Danny played backwards over a reversed saxophone sample. It ends with harmonies pulled from the penultimate song, "Gravity", unintelligible in their manipulations.

All of it lives as a creative feedback loop, the recordings affecting the live show affecting the recordings. Life was affecting the music too, of course, but not in a way Danny nor Colleen were conscious of. Though they weren't aware of it yet, these songs were about the end of their romantic relationship. Drugs and alcohol mixed with denial to shield the musicians from the truth of their own work. Looking back, they could hear it… as much as the hazy electro-R&B of "Faded" is about being lost in substance abuse, it reflects the unhealthy codependency of a souring romance. Where the David Longstreth-gone-Motown of "Hard Wind" is a breakup song written before the split, the weighty realization of the end floats in on "Gravity”.

In that way, the Poison track sequencing very clearly acts as a time-lapse of this failing relationship. If anything, it's made their music that much more impassioned. As emotional as it's been for them to live these songs again on stage, their bandmates - close friends who'd been as much a part of their relationship as the former couple themselves - have been right there with them. They've all experienced the agony of that sort of dynamic in their own lives, and getting to share it with their bandmates in such interesting, intimate fashion has only strengthened them as a band. Together, Brooks Thomas has taken everything from their uptown world -- their helter-skelter neighborhood, the flowing alcohol, their sundry influences, the prolonged heartbreak -- and distilled it into Poison, a rare, inimitable album. Stunning even as it burns, it's a toxin well worth drinking down. WEBSITE.

The tenth and final track on Brooks Thomas new album 'Poison' is 'Good Sleep', a slower paced song which combines classic soul and modern production techniques. As for the remainder of the album, I am pleased to say that you really can expect to hear considerably more variety and the promoters use of the expression "experimental" is not out of place. The band explore and create some splendid pieces, fused together with an overall sound nonetheless their ability to test boundaries results in some very exciting and hook laden material.

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Sarah Nixey - Coming Up For Air.

Background - Sarah Nixey is delighted to announce her brand new shimmering nocturnal album Night Walks, which is due out on 5 October via Black Lead Records. “Coming Up For Air” is the first single to be taken from the record and her first release in over six years - a four-track EP comprising the single and three definitive remixes by Ön, Father and Butler Elves. “Coming Up For Air” showcases the glittering electronica and 1970s analogue recording techniques used on the new album. The song explores themes of teenage mental health illness and parental love – the antithesis of her previous band Black Box Recorder’s “Child Psychology”.

Written whilst struggling with insomnia, Night Walks is set in a metropolitan sub-world where everyone dodges the dangers of reality. The lyrics describe episodes that take place over one night, spanning several decades, in a tiny enclave, at the heart of London's bohemia. It is a modern, sophisticated album, rooted in classic record making. Nixey won over audiences as the singer of darkly glamorous pop group Black Box Recorder at the turn of the 21st Century, along with fellow band members Luke Haines (The Auteurs) and John Moore (The Jesus and Mary Chain). The band just released a box set of all three albums called Life Is Unfair via One Little Indian.

Since then, Nixey has honed her own musical voice with an eclectic solo career. Night Walks arrives seven years since her second solo album Brave Tin Soldiers, which was described by The Independent as “a thing of subtle gorgeousness,” and Uncut called it an “understated triumph.” Her debut solo album Sing, Memory, from 2007, was praised by CD UK who said; “In a time before Alison Goldfrapp and perhaps Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sarah Nixey was the closest thing you’d get to royalty in the charts.” For this new album, Nixey made a conscious decision to move away from her previous solo work by not focusing solely on electro pop or the live instrumentation approach. This time, she wanted to use a blend of electronica and classic 1970s analogue recording.

A few years ago, Nixey had just started writing and recording again at her home studio, after taking a break from music to have her third child, but was forced to stop when she became ill.  She had entered a long phase of insomnia, which no doubt contributed to her illness, and this sleeplessness continued during her recovery period. In 2016, she began writing songs again, during the early hours of the morning. As Nixey explains; “I discovered that the best time to write songs was in the middle of the night, and without any interruptions, I also recorded the demo tracks then too.”  Her writer/producer husband Jimmy Hogarth then offered to help record the songs in the studios they own and run in North West London.

With whip smart lyrics and an ear for an adventurous avant-pop tune, it’s Sarah’s captivating voice that truly mesmerises. Alternating between a soft whisper, rhythmic talking and full-blown soprano, she manages to encapsulate inky dark nights bathed in a neon-glow, full of desperation, mystery and passion. WEBSITE. 

If you desire a song that has timeless pop sensibilities, an imaginative arrangement and vocals that are enticing and just cannot be resisted then 'Coming Up For Air' is pretty much all of that. Surely that's enough to be getting on with. As a teaser for what we can look forward to in October, this is encouraging at the very least.

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Polyplastic - Night Flight

Polyplastic - My Prescription.

Background - LA-based, post-punk band Polyplastic share their music video for "My Prescription" off their just released EP, Not No.

Polyplastic is the project of Los Angeles natives Charlie Ellis and Emily Ibarra. Inspired by his time as a welder in North Philadelphia, Ellis’s songwriting is influenced by industrial and post-punk genres, marrying lyrical melodies with angular guitar lines and a driving rhythm section.

With a few bare-bones demos, the band started playing shows in LA and touring the US, supporting acts such as Wolf Alice, Ryley Walker, Draemings, and Tennis System. Polyplastic have released a few one off singles over the past few months, leading up to the release of their EP, Not No, due out June 29th. The band will be touring nationally, in support of the EP. TWITTER.

Earlier this month we shared 'Next Slide' by Polyplastic and commented that - "The band develop intriguing post punk orientated music where the vocals are just right for the genre adding depth and passion, whilst the musical backdrop is solid and robust". With the new song and video for 'My Prescription' we have another musical treat, as their atmospheric music and creative visual interpretation pretty much confirms the duo are really carving out a distinct and compelling sound.


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Night Flight - God Knows.

Background - London based band Night Flight have just released their much-anticipated second EP ‘Carousel’, featuring previously released singles ‘Parade’, and ‘God Knows’.

The five-piece encapsulate sounds from a pleasing variety of eras and genres, with the EP offering up a stunning journey centred around topics ranging from the drive of chasing a dream, to personal defiance and resilience in search of closure.

Alongside today’s EP release, the band are also sharing a beautifully shot video for latest single ‘God Knows’. Filmed across a stretch of fields in Wiltshire fields, strange geometric shapes begin to unfurl across seas of wheat and barley.

 Speaking a little on the new ‘Carousel’ EP, frontman and songwriter Samuel Holmes said: "Carousel marks a departure (band pun intended) from the itinerant lust of our debut EP. Exploring themes of self-doubt, nostalgia and a more contemplative tone”.

The director of the ‘God Knows’ video Ben Cowan went into a bit more detail on the idea behind the visuals: "I wanted to weave intrigue and tension with light and landscapes in creating this narrative. Crop circles spark debate around the world, my goal was to build a story grounded in a simple understandable theory that is no-less impressive than the other wilder claims. The circles are both of the land and alien to it, part of the wonder and attention they draw is the precision and intricacy of the patterns, but here we find the simplicity of construction, the crop circle methodology more mind blowing, more fascinating than science fiction or fantasy... Just don’t get caught!” TWITTER.

Back in April we shared the music video for 'Parade' and it's a real pleasure to be able to do the same now for 'God Knows'. We had this to say in our first feature - "Melodic and beautifully crafted the gentle vocals are totally engaging and the band deliver music with heart and quality, ensuring the emotion and feeling of this song resonates gorgeously." 'God Knows' is all of that with just a little more musical bounce this time around. I think it's reasonable to assume that Night Flight are firmly on Beehive Candy's radar.


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We Were Promised Jetpacks - Haiku Salut - Basement Revolver

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Hanging In.

Background - Scottish rock mainstays We Were Promised Jetpacks have shared emotionally wrought new single ‘Hanging In’ and announced a brand new album, their first in four years, to be released on 14th September via Big Scary Monsters. The band will also embark upon an enormous tour in the UK, EU and US throughout September, October and November. The More I Sleep The Less I Dream marks a new chapter in We Were Promised Jetpacks’ career. It’s about going back to the heart of who they are, a high school band that never stopped. It’s about four people who have grown up together, making a conscious choice to keep writing music and seeing where that takes them.

“The album is so much about us going back to our basics and relying on our instincts.” Mike says. “There’s a range of songs that span everything we do as a band, and we’re the connection between them. It feels like this album is us.”

The musicians connected with producer Jonathan Low (The National, Sufjan Stevens, Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs) and were inspired by his approach to their vision and his grounded style. After making their prior albums in England, Scotland and Iceland, it felt like a good opportunity to try crafting songs in the U.S. The album was recorded over the course of five weeks at Minor Street in Philadelphia and Long Pond in New York’s Hudson Valley in early 2018.

First emerging a group of 20-year-olds in 2009, with their exciting debut These Four Walls, the four members went on to release two further widely lauded albums throughout their ‘20s, 2011’s In the Pit of the Stomachand 2014’s Unravelling. Each band member turned 30 during the making of new album The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream, and felt like vastly different people to the four 20-year-olds that they were when they first started releasing music. Having spent ten years almost consistently writing and touring, it was time to decamp home to Scotland and take a breath. They reverted back to their original four members and dealt with several behind the scenes changes. They celebrated a few marriages and tried to remember who they were when not on the road. A decision was made. No more touring until a new album had been written. WEBSITE.

We Were Promised Jetpacks have all the hallmarks of a band who can instinctively produce natural and passionate rock music. 'Hanging In' is a very fine song, the vocals are fabulously Scottish, the band relaxed and in full control, and the music is jam packed with exquisite rock and roll hooks.

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Haiku Salut - The More And Moreness.

Background - Following the announcement of their forthcoming album There Is No Elsewhere via PRAH Recordings on 7 September, Haiku Salut share the second single "The More and Moreness". The track sees the Derbyshire trio working again with Glastonbury Brass, with an ambitious interweaving of electronic and organic, natural and unnatural with the triumphant warmth of a brass band in full flow. The video was shot by their friend and collaborator, fellow Derby-based artist Grawl!x (aka James Machin), and sees them go on a covert mission in the local countryside.

Sophie Barkerwood from the band explains more about the track and video: "The More and Moreness" started life as the soundtrack for an ice-cream van on the North-West coast. We were asked to write something illuminating for a travelling art exhibit and the bones of this song are it. It used to have a whole different twinkly introduction. A dead music box, in a dreary seaside town, coming back to life. The end section with the accordion loops and the brass band were written very quickly, I barely remember how that came together. One day it wasn’t there and then it was, in all its moreness.

In January 2017 we travelled to Somerset to record the brass sections with Glastonbury Brass, they were amazing to work with. Brass band in winter, a feeling I can’t quite place, belonging or pride? We went for a drink with a few of them afterwards and it was warming to hear about their community.

We wanted to continue the sense of belonging and solidarity in the video and decided to work with with our longtime friend and collaborator James Machin from Grawl!x. The video is an inky dark noir, we play a group of revolutionaries working together to bring an explosive change to the World. Much like the brass band, the revolution is bigger than the sum of its parts.

Video director, James Machin (Grawl!x), said; “The premise came from a short film I wrote a few years ago. We then combined that with the idea of Haiku as a band of revolutionaries, which I thought was quite a striking image. Mainly, the theme relates to the album in that it's about community resisting oppressive bullies.” WEBSITE.

The musical arrangement and production of 'The More And Moreness' is of a very high quality, allowing the imagination and creativity that has gone into this piece to come through in a stunning manner. The video adds even more, telling a silent story, and collectively we have a beautiful and thought provoking piece of music.


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Basement Revolver - Dancing.

Background - “Dancing” is the new single to be taken from the album Heavy Eyes by hotly tipped Canadian indie rock trio Basement Revolver. An up tempo but still heavy-lidded fuzz pop number, the song is about confronting feelings of boredom with a cry for adventure. As singer Chrisy Hurn explains; “When I’m feeling down, I like to borrow a car and drive until I am lost – it makes me feel better and distracts me a little. So, yeah, break out of your shell and dance… or get some fresh air.”

Blending 90s-infused indie rock with fuzzy dreamy pop and poignant, yearning lyrics, Basement Revolver have honed a sound that is capable of stripping listeners of inhibition, yet heavy hitting enough to leave a lasting impression. Unable to disguise the emotion in her voice, songwriter Chrisy Hurn shares intimate stories and personal wounds from her past. The band is rounded out by Nimal Agalawatte on bass and Brandon Munro on drums.

Their ascent to the spotlight has been a steady trajectory, capitalising on the success of their debut single “Johnny” in 2016. The track garnered endorsements from DIY Magazine and Exclaim! as well as respected tastemakers Gold Flake Paint, who hailed it a “favourite song of the year” contender. They were signed by Memphis Industries’ UK sub-label Fear Of Missing Out, who released their debut self-titled EP in 2016. They followed this up with the Agatha EP in 2017 where the single “Bread & Wine” reached the B-list on Radio BBC 6 Music and also garnered support from John Kennedy at Radio X. The band have racked up over one million plays on Spotify across the two EPs.

To record their debut full-length, the band returned to local studio TAPE where they had recorded both their EPs. They had build up a solid relationship with producers Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell, as they continued to hone their signature sound. In this comfortable environment, they found the freedom to get heavier for some songs and more laid-back for others. As Chrisy explains; “It also gave me the confidence as a writer to not take myself so seriously, to let myself get cheesy or goofy with some songs.” TWITTER.

Just a month to the day since we featured 'Knocking' Basement Revolver have introduced their new single 'Dancing' much to Beehive Candy's delight. I have checked, and yes this is feature number eight for them, but far from any kind of obsession for this band, it really is a simple case of their music resonating on so many levels and our ability to share it, that keeps them surfacing here.


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Dyan - Guerilla Toss - Lewisburg

Dyan - Absence.

Background - "Absence is about leaving, but not before inquiring about doubt." the band explain. "It could be about being in love with a person whose loyalty is to someone or something else, realizing it, and then you move on. Or holding on to what you want to hold on to, even if it's painful." 

Minimal, inventive, and introspective, Dyan’s music offers more than you’d typically expect from the now-common guitar/synths/drums trio - which makes sense, as the trio is about as uncommon as you’ll find. Dyan was started by Alexis Marsh (singer/guitarist/bassist) and Sam Jones (guitarist/synths), a film scoring duo who fell in love and got married...and then, perhaps unexpectedly, got divorced. The growing and healing from those divides fueled the songs on what became the group’s debut album, Looking For Knives, which the two continued to create despite the fraught emotional territory. But the real twist was the addition of the third member: Dan Dorff Jr. (drums/synths), whom Alexis had started seeing in the meantime. Born of an old creative partnership, an expired romance, a new love, and an unlikely new friendship, Dyan defies all odds by simply being, and further shatters expectations with poignancy, unity, and optimism.

Since their debut album, Dyan released the single “What Fiction Is For,” which stayed on Spotify’s Ultimate Indie playlist for 16 weeks. With the upcoming release of a new EP, titled Absence, and a cover of the Jose Gonzalez song “Cycling Trivialities”, Dyan shows no sign of slowing down, which means even if we can’t hope to navigate complicated relationships with their deft maturity, at least we’ll have their music to help guide our way. TWITTER.

In the few days that 'Absense' has been streaming it's already gained considerable attention, and that is hardly surprising. This is a refined and flowing indie song that has so much going for it. What on the surface seems to be a simple enough musical arrangement, manages to overflow with feeling and warmth. The vocals delicately entice you in further, as Dyan deliver one gorgeous track.

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Guerilla Toss - Meteorological.

Background - Guerilla Toss has announced its third LP for DFA, Twisted Crystal, due Sept. 14. The video for the album's first single, "Meteorological" was made by Giraffe Studios.

Analog synthesizers give tangible life to the works of Guerilla Toss. Whether it be the sound of a rocket ship, a kitten-with-a-wah, distorted dolphins, or a clavichord made out of honey-baked ham, the band consistently finds new ways to bring together the many ideas that combine to shape each new batch of art-rock puzzle pieces. 

Twisted Crystal, Guerilla Toss’ new LP, feels more personal than ever for the band.  Angular yet irresistibly catchy, this collection of pop songs pulls influence from powerful groups like The Slits, ESG, Gina X, and early Madonna, with sing-speak vocals from Kassie Carlson nodding to legendary artists like Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones, and Lizzy Mercier Descloux – combining this all into a twisted, crystalline concoction. 

Oracles and enigmatic egos are common lyrical themes, but charismatic instrumentality springs the listener back to extraterrestrial comfort. Old favorite sounds ring true from the trusty Sequential Circuits Six Track Synthesizer and Clavia Drum Machine. New, more refined sounds are molded and polished by drummer/producer Peter Negroponte, whose passion for perfection and creation goes far beyond an all-consuming Tetris effect.  Peter has truly excelled on this new recording, creating a complex networks of beats and sound that become easily intertwined with the rhythmic fabric of life. WEBSITE.

Rhythmic and shall I say, just a little off-centre, 'Meteorological' is quirky, in a wonderful way. The video only adds to the alternative and zany vibes, this is addictive, uplifting and pretty much impossible to sit still to!


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Lewisburg - Wasted / Clear The Air.

Background - “Wasted feels so bittersweet to me. Bitter in that it draws from the sadness of nostalgia, but also is about finding the courage to walk your own path, no matter your doubts. Clear The Air is about how things are a bit screwed, it's basically saying we gotta get out of this mess of a society we've created for ourselves.”

Lewisburg are a band from North London born out of the solo project of singer-songwriter Ali Robertson. Described as dark-country they are influenced by acts such as Phosphorescent, Eels and The Deep Dark Woods. The band craft mellifluous, nostalgic songs with occasional widescreen sensibilities.

Through Lewisburgs’ previous release ‘Slow Morning / Terminal’ the band received airplay on LA radio station KCRW, BBC6 Music and Amazing Radio and also earned plaudits from several online tastemakers. 4-Piece Lewisburg includes members Ali Robertson (guitar, lead vocal), Julien Baraness (lead guitar), Alessandro Taglione (bass) and Adrien Latge (drums)

The double A-Side was recorded early this year in the band’s own studio in Haringey, North London. They favour a quick, predominantly live way of recording. ‘For us this is the best way to do it. We work fast, we try to retain the human element in our recordings wherever possible.’ Lewisburg are currently putting the finishing touches to a pending EP which will be released in the autumn.

Lewisburg new double A-Side ‘Wasted / Clear The Air’ might be from a North London based band, however their sound easily crosses the Atlantic and would be comfortably conceived in the home of Americana. Described in part as dark country, the bands music is so full of hooks and quality, putting their music into any one or two categories, seems to short change them. 


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