Free Love - Art Brut

Free Love - Playing as Punks.

Background - Glasgow’s disco-pop duo Free Love (fka Happy Meals and consisting of Suzanne Roden and Lewis Cook) have announced their new EP ‘Luxury Hits’, due for release November 9th and shared a brand new single from the EP, ‘Playing as Punks’, out today. The duo have also announced their own run of headline shows in London, Manchester, Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow.

Since their seductive Euro disco-flecked single ‘Pushing Too Hard’ came out in late July, the duo have rounded off a busy summer of festival bookings with a live performance at Gottwood, Lovebox, supporting Django Django & Sylvan Esso at Edinburgh International Festival and a live 6 Music session for Vic Galloway (sitting in for Marc Riley) after Tom Ravenscroft made them his 6 Music Recommends. Their credentials as one of the best new live acts continues to go from strength to strength - they will be supporting James Holden and The Animal Spirits on a string of UK tour dates next week, starting at London’s Southbank Centre on 4th October, followed by their own run of headline shows which was announced today, then finishing off their fruitful year with a New Years Eve performance at the famous Edinburgh’s Hogmanay with Metronomy & Franz Ferdinand.

The duo’s new 8 track EP ‘Luxury Hits’, which features previous underground dance-pop favourites ‘Synchronicity’ and ‘Pushing Too Hard’, is an open-hearted love letter to possible futures. With the political continuing to linger beneath their dance party, the duo describe the EP as a “trans-temporal projection through pop music for dancefloors. The music is about breaking through the limitations of our surroundings, not through escapism but defining a new reality on our own terms and breathing it into existence.” Featuring 6 brand new tracks, the record is a tropical soup of sonic utopias - channeling balearic nightcrawlers, wistful acid drenched production, French vocals and glittering italo and synth-heavy rhythms - served in the mercurial bowl of here and now.

Free Love emerged in 2014 as Happy Meals from Glasgow’s renowned musical hub The Green Door Studio (the birthplace of other critically acclaimed DIY acts like LAPS, Golden Teacher, Total Leatherette and more). Their debut album Apéro on Night School Records was shortlisted for Scottish Album Of The Year in 2015, and was followed up by their second album last year, Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony, on Optimo Music. TWITTER.

Disco-pop is not a genre Beehive Candy has featured that often however 'Playing as Punks' is so wonderful how could we possibly ignore it. Actually this gorgeous song I would argue, goes way beyond any specific categorisation, it's warm, atmospheric, very catchy and imaginative.


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Art Brut - Hospital!

Background - Art Brut has announced their new LP Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out!. Along with the album announce, they also shared their new single "Hospital!", which is out now on all DSP's. Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out! is out 11/23 on Alcopop! Records and is produced by award-winning folk musician Jim Moray.

Berlin-based post-punk art rock band, Art Brut, are delighted to announce details of their new album, Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!, which will be released on 23rd November via Alcopop! Records.

The record’s striking artwork comes courtesy of contemporary German pop artist Jim Avignon—a hugely respected cult figure in the art and Techno subculture in Berlin, he currently lives and works both in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and in Berlin.

Alongside the album, the band are also very pleased to announce a run of UK headline tour dates for February and March 2019. The band’s forthcoming London headline show at Boston Music Room on 7th November sold out in just 24 hours, and they play a further London headline show on 17th January at The Garage.

To celebrate the news the band have revealed the video for their new single ‘Hospital!’, in which a delightfully fragile ‘Eggy Argos’ traverses the pitfalls of modern life. It’s a stark juxtaposition with the deeply personal track for the band’s larger-than-life front man and huevo-namesake Eddie Argos who, three years ago, found himself dangerously ill in hospital. TWITTER.

More punk than post punk and more rock than art rock 'Hospital!' is a feisty and straight to the point song. Based on a real life experience where the patient hated every minute in hospital, deciding to change his lifestyle rather than return, in true punk tradition three years on, that whole lifestyle change thing is on the back burner again...


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Anne Marie Almedal - Malojian - Louise Lemón

Anne Marie Almedal - You Keep Me At Arm's Length.

Background - Norwegian singer-songwriter Anne Marie Almedal has shared a new single from her forthcoming album 'Lightshadow', which is due out 26th October 2018. The single is also accompanied by a stunning new video by Pål M. Laukli.

Somewhat destined to be the first track of Anne Marie Almedal’s new album 'You Keep Me At Arm’s Length' arrives with just Anne Marie’s commanding vocals and Nicholas Sillitoe’s wistful folk guitar accompaniment, a brooding piano and synth bass slowly adding momentum. 

Melancholy as ever,  bittersweet, focused and full of longing, the new single is a bold blend of folk, electronics, indie-dream-pop and nonchalant vocals. It’s a song about unrequited nearness, love forlorn, hopes and dreams flailing in the distant horizon. Something familiar, something new.

'You Keep Me At Arm’s Length' was recorded in Anne Marie’s hometown Kristiansand in a summer break with producer/co-writer Nicholas taking time off his busy soundtrack schedule together with new-found producer/multi-instrumentalist Alf Vaksdal. Drums were added by the young and talented Marius Trøan Hansen, and Nicholas returned home to London to polish the mix with producer Tim Bran (London Grammar/Halsey/Birdy). The result, a one-listen-and-you’re-hooked defining new direction and perfect introduction to the new album. FACEBOOK.

Calm, relaxed and oh so engaging, Anne Marie Almedal vocals shine on 'You Keep Me At Arm's Length' a refined modern indie folk song. The musical backdrop adds more vibrancy to the track as it gradually builds as a beautiful accompaniment.   


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Malojian - Beardness.

Background - Northern Irish songwriter and musician Malojian (aka Stephen Scullion), releases a deluxe version of his recent Northern Irish Music Prize shortlisted album Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home, featuring seven extra demos, acoustic and live versions of album tracks. Blending folk and Americana with psychedelia, Scullion weaves intricately drawn vignettes with imaginative and contemplative songwriting, dotted with warmth and humour.

Malojian shares a brand new track "Beardness", which blends the music of title track “Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home” and the words to lead-single “Beard Song”, which fit like a glove. 

Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home (Deluxe Edition) will be available as an 18-track CD via Quiet Arch Records on 30 November. There will also be a package of the original vinyl album with the 18-track CD and a bonus 7 inch single. The CD and Single can be bought separately for those who already own the vinyl album. He's playing shows all over Ireland and heading to England for a few dates (see below).

Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home was recorded in a lighthouse on the remote picturesque island of Rathlin off the coast of Northern Ireland and only accessible by boat. The coastal element is reflected in some of the songs and imagery, with Vikings landing ashore in “The Beard Song” video and in the vintage seaside feel of the video for title track “Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home”. The album features guests including; Teenage Fanclub’s Gerard Love, session drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M., Atoms For Peace, Roger Waters), bassist Jon Thorne (Yorkston/Thorne/Khan, Lamb) and more, enhancing Malojian’s musical vision.

Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home is Malojian’s fourth studio album, following his debut The Deer’s Cry in 2014, Southlands in 2015 (nominated for the Northern Irish Music Prize), the Steve Albini produced (and also Northern Irish Music Prize nominated) This Is Nowhere in 2016. There’s an accompanying documentary about the making of There Is Nowhere, which documents the rush to complete the album in just four days at Steve Albini’s studio in Chicago. WEBSITE.

Opening with some sonic guitar blasts, the song quickly settles into a steady alt rocker as 'Beardness' gathers momentum and feeling. Hints of psychedelic influences are both there vocally and within the music on this rather catchy song.

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Louise Lemón - Cross.

Background - Following on from last year’s critically praised debut album ‘Purge’, Louise Lemón returns with her ambitious new single ‘Cross’ taken from her highly anticipated new album, due for release in March 2019. The Swedish ‘Death gospel’ artist has delivered a truly awe-inspiring release that sees her channel the confident and sultry vibes of the early Fleetwood Mac-era, producing a tighter and more focused sound in the process.

Since the release of ‘Purge’ last year, Louise has been focusing her attention on more elementary deep sounds and even more profound lyrics. ‘Cross’ sits as the example of what we can expect from this new record, confident and captivating throughout with her immensely strong vocals in the foreground.

Experimenting with instrumentation and production since her last full-length, Lemón is a rejuvenated presence on these new songs. Shaking off the expectations of her past, she is looking to tread a new path with her latest material, taking cues from the 60s and 70s psych-rock and soul era to influence her new direction. The sound is crisper, cleaner but unmistakably her.

“’Cross’ is one of the last songs I wrote for this album and this song, as well as the whole album, is about acceptance and growing” Louise says. “To dare to really listen to the most inner thoughts. Not judging instead trying to learn and rather than running from something owning it. Looking back to rise forward.”

Speaking about the new album, Louise added, “I wanted to make it this album both darker and brighter. We've used far cleaner sounds than ever before, concentrating on creating darkness in new ways. The songwriting has been very focused. I’ve evolved as a woman and with my writing I’ve explored new feelings, going further and deeper in to the ways I’ve felt and the situations life's brought me to. It was such a blessing to be able to work with my band so closely, they are very much a part of the soundscape and we couldn’t be happier to have had Randall Dunn produce it.” WEBSITE.

It was back in April 2017 that we last featured Louise Lemón, I have to say I didn't realise it had been that long. 'Cross' makes for a grand return, the gospel style chorus is notable as are Louise's confident and melodic vocals. There is plenty of additional energy in the musical arrangement, this is a splendid return, one that is full of promise.

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Karine Polwart - Hilma Nikolaisen

Karine Polwart - Laws Of Motion.

Background - Multi-award winning songwriter and musician, theatre maker and published writer Karine Polwart - six-time winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including 2018 Folk Singer of The Year - is today sharing the title track from her forthcoming album release, Laws of Motion, (due out October 19, 2018 via Hudson Records). Polwart’s seventh release, it’s the follow-up to 2017’s much-praised A Pocket of Wind Resistance, which earned Karine & co-writer Pippa Murphy a New Music Scotland Award, alongside nominations for the 2018 Scottish Album Of The Year & Radio 2 Folk Album Of The Year. Laws Of Motion - recorded alongside long-term collaborators Inge Thomson and brother Steven Polwart - will arrive amidst a 13 date UK tour, including London’s Cadogan Hall on October 17, 2018.

A Pocket Of Wind Resistance used the migratory habits of geese to crack open universally human societal & ecological issues. Across Laws of Motion Polwart continues to coalesce the familial and the familiar alongside the unsettling and the unknown, driven as ever by her gift for empathy and accessibility. Subject matter as disparate as Trump, WW2 & holocaust survivors are drawn together by the laws of the album’s title alongside the experiences of migrants and allegorical folk & children’s stories. Speaking about the broad focus of the album (which includes several co-writes with Martin Green), Polwart says; “I didn’t set out to write songs on a unified theme - they’ve just landed that way. Perhaps that’s no surprise, given the times we’re in.”

Laws of Motion is the latest in an evolving series of collaborative projects across which Polwart has combined music & storytelling with politics & environmental-societal issues. Karine wrote A Pocket Of Wind Resistance (a Songlines & BBC Radio 3 Late Junction Album Of The Year) as a musical companion to her acclaimed theatre debut Wind Resistance, now published via Faber & Faber and selected by Robert McFarlane as a Guardian Book of 2017. The production, which debuted at the Edinburgh International Festival with a residency at The Royal Lyceum Theatre, was written, musically directed and performed by Polwart, winning her the Best Music and Sound Award at the 2017 CATS. Alongside three other nominations, it also placed Polwart on the shortlist for the Best Actor ‘Scottish Oscar’ in the Sunday Herald Culture Awards. WEBSITE.

'Laws Of Motion' is clearly a thoughtfully constructed folk song, and I have to say that the lyrics alone captured my attention. Their intuitive and beautiful delivery and the gorgeous musical arrangement and performance anchors the track. Personally the soon to be released album is going to be a compulsive listen.

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Hilma Nikolaisen - Election Day Blues.

Background -  Norwegian musician Hilma Nikolaisen announces her new album Mjusic, which is due out on 30 November via Fysisk Format. She shares the first single "Election Day Blues", saying; "Change isn't always for the better, everything will not always be ok. To accept and adapt is not an option when things are actually going to hell. Fortunately, there might still be time to break the vicious cycle. We can do better."

Mjusic is Nikolaisen’s follow-up to her warmly received debut Puzzler (2016). It takes its title from a childhood punk band she started together with her brother Ivar in 1987, at the tender age of five. This time Ivar Nikolaisen (Kvelertak) appears on several of her songs, along with other siblings, and so the mjusic continues.

Hilma played in several significant underground bands during her teens and early adulthood, before she had somewhat of an indie-breakthrough as bass player in her brother Emil’s internationally acclaimed shoegaze outfit Serena Maneesh (4AD). Emil also appears on Mjusic, playing drums on “Only Me” and “Light Shines”.

While Puzzler was years in the making, with songs written over a longer stretch of time, Mjusic was conceived in a more spontaneous way. This time Nikolaisen has acted more freely on her intuition and imagination throughout the process. The result is a sparkling album that builds upon her debut, but utterly refined and with more attitude and immediacy. Different styles and colors come together in Mjusic, and they’re all unmistakable Hilma. BANDCAMP.

Uncomplicated and catchy 'Election Day Blues' is an engaging and likable modern rocker. Hilma's vocals give this song some unique character, this is one of those songs where a second listen is decided upon well before the end.

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Hajk - Fröst

Hajk - Dancing Like This.

Background - 'Drama' – of the interpersonal kind – that’s what Hajk have turned their focus to in 2018. The band burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut album last year, garnering support around the world as well as making a name for themselves in their home country of Norway. Now, the highly anticipated follow-up 'Drama' has been announced for February 2019 – a record that both pulls at the heartstrings and urges you to dance away your sorrows. Lead single and first taste of what is to come arrives in the form of the bubblegum-flavoured new cut, 'Dancing Like This'. It's a lyrically melancholy and wide-eyed love song, with an addictive melody that looks to sugarcoat your tears.

Hajk’s 2017 debut received praise from the likes of Astrid S, Sigrid and Kimbra, as well as actress and model, Chloë Grace Moretz. International acclaim came in waves from Noisey, Stereogum, The Line of Best Fit, Drowned In Sound, V Magazine, The Independent, Indie Shuffle, and more, noting their idiosyncratic, yet supremely catchy pop tunes, while likening them to everything from Fleetwood Mac and Aztec Camera to Dirty Projectors and Little Dragon.

With their second album, 'Drama', a more self-assured band reveals themselves. Sharpened by more studio experience, they have once again produced the record themselves, taking extreme care over every second and minute detail of their work. Blending analogue and digital sounds, switching between programmed arrangements and live takes from the studio, drawing on three lead vocalists and an assortment of guest musicians, Hajk conjured up whatever was necessary to fulfill their creative vision.

The title 'Drama' relates to the drama of humanity and a somewhat naïve yearning for love in a world in which love can sometimes seem in scarce supply. 'Drama' is due for release on February 1st via Jansen Records. FACEBOOK.

We featured Hajk and their 2017 debut three separate times as they impressed Beehive Candy so much. With 'Dancing Like This' we have another enticing indie pop song, as expected the melodic hooks are everywhere and the band provide a vibrant backdrop for the ever pleasing vocals.

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Fröst - La Vénus d'Argent.

Background - Fröst have just released their debut album Matters and the record’s sultry bilingual lead track La Vénus d’Argent as a stand-alone digital single via Lost Room Records.

Fröst is the work of Steve Lewis (Fujiya & Miyagi’s synth player and producer) and French-Swedish sound artist Johanna Bramli (vocalist for Stereolab offshoot Imitation Electric Piano). Together they create a sound that effortlessly blends a bilingual French pop aesthetic with cool electronica, hypnotic motorik beats and trippy psychedelic soundscapes. With comparisons to Kraftwerk, Broadcast, Silver Apples, The Golden Filter and Goldfrapp.

Their music has garnered coverage from Mixmag through to Prog Rock, The Line of Best Fit through to Resident Advisor with massive radio support from Lauren Laverne as well as Nemone and Gideon Coe (BBC 6 Music), Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1) and John Kennedy (Radio X) - among many others.

Matters was written by Fröst, produced by Steve Lewis, mixed by Ed Chivers and mastered by Eric James at Philosophers Barn Mastering. It is released today on CD, Vinyl and Digitally via Lost Room Records.

Fröst have been confirmed to support 77:78 at Oslo, London on 15 October, with additional UK shows next month: WEBSITE.

Live:
2 October: Sebright Arms, London
3 October: Prince Albert, Brighton
6 October: Dials Festival, Portsmouth
13 October Shake The High Road Festival, London
15 October: Oslo, London (supporting 77:78)

'La Vénus d'Argent' is a gorgeous combination of seductive vocals and some layered and cleverly crafted electronica that is driven by simple set of beats. Hints of psychedelic feeling come and go, this is very addictive music.


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