Just a couple of songs today. First off we have Scary Hours with 'The Real Disease' a song with a message that is conveyed through thoughtful lyrics and some robust musicianship.
Gathering Of Strangers have shared an acoustic live session version of 'Lady' and although I am a little short on info about the band, the video and song stand on their own merit, this is refined alt rock.
Scary Hours - The Real Disease.
Scary Hours create unsettling and raw anti-folk, rich with socio-political humor and the confrontational spirit of punk and hardcore.
Band spearhead Ryan Struck is officially from Jersey, but his songwriting is chock full of references to work life in NYC. The term “Scary Hours” is actually pulled from the Wu Tang Clan track from their 97’ album Forever. It seemed appropriate considering the hours Ryan was working in the city and also references the late hours of a party, when everyone is most intoxicated and you’re not sure what you did the next day. Often Ryan would find voice recordings from those nights that he didn’t remember making and the bones of Scary Hours debut album, Live to Serve, were built on those memos.
Struck cut his teeth in various punk and hardcore bands through his teen years and early 20’s and is currently a sought after multi-instrumentalist who moonlights on bass with The 65’s and drums in Voice of Doom. Reluctant to coin himself as a solo artist, Scary Hours was conceptualized with the intent of writing stripped down acoustic songs, and while it contains some of the jingle and gloss of punk-tinged acoustic pop, Scary Hours debut album is more basement show than coffee shop - Elvis Costello meets Lawrence Arms or possibly a Bukowski-esque Bright Eyes.
MwS have shared 'Moonlight' a smooth, melodic and soulful song with that all important wow factor that makes the piece stand out.
'Sea Will Return You' is from the Southern California folk ensemble Eve & The Vagabond Tales. The vocals are beautifully melodic and the bands musical structure is wonderful and full of Americana refinement.
We don't often feature remixes however Future Rootz have created some really enticing music that is just crammed with quality and fresh creativity, it's just got to be shared, this really is exceptional!
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MwS - Moonlight.
Although the pair recount working with other talented musicians and producers, the scene is unquestionably stronger on the British Isles so a move was always on the cards. However, the whole plan was nearly derailed early on as the pair booked tickets into the UK on the very day we decided to leave the European Union. It’s a wound reopened recently with the uncertainty in the air around the subject and growing worry about the position of touring musicians in the UK.
"The Brexit decision made us feel a bit uneasy about heading to the UK only at the beginning... We have a lot of faith in London, which we know is a very open city that somehow needs people from all over the world. We knew that this was the place for our music so we had to make it happen regardless. In the last months though, there is a lot of worry around Brexit for touring musicians."
The duo first graced the airwaves with their debut EP ‘Swim’. Written and produced between the UK and Italy, with a carefully curated roster of different artists and producers.. The project has since racked up over 600K Streams on Spotify and had support from the likes of Complex, Clash, BBC 6 Music, The BBC Introducing Mixtape, Amazing Radio. They followed up with the beachy, pop-soul leaning ‘Island’. Produced by Grammy winning Aamir Yaqub (Ne-Yo, Rihanna, Will.I.Am) - Island was their first release solely created in the UK. Spotify got behind the track again, with support on their influential “Alternative R’n’B” playlist.
Looking forward to 2019, Giulia and Francesco are looking to take their art to the next level with a string of single releases and a full EP in the summer months. Their last singles were both supported on a number of official Spotify Playlists. This led to support from Jamz Supernova on BBC Radio 1Xtra and BBC Introducing London. The duo are looking to expand on their live presence this year, with live dates for Wilderness Festival confirmed, as well as a fast-selling London headline show. Although their next single is titled ‘Moonlight’ - it’s an exquisite piece of sunshine alt-pop, with a disco feel.
On the track, the duo state: “Moonlight was inspired by a dream Giulia had after watching La La Land. Most of the images come straight from the surreal atmosphere of dreams, where you can sometimes meet ‘your self’ and find the courage to break out of your comfort zone. The song is also an invitation to focus on the positive side of things in order to reach your full potential.
Eva & The Vagabond Tales, a folk ensemble based in Southern California and led by charismatic Russian-born Eva Mikhailovna, are set to release a new album, their second in May. Titled Uncharted Ocean, the album features ten original songs that combine western, old folk and ragtime traditions into a musical melting pot, creating a unique and alluring sound that transcends time and continents.
David Fleming of NPR describes their sound as having “the feel of old Europe.” Performing alongside Eva as The Vagabonds are Jake Pflum on percussion, Alan Arteaga on electric guitar, banjo and ukulele, Jasmine Capitulo on accordion and Benjamin Purper on bass. Produced by Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, The Bones of J.R. Jones), the album also includes Claudia Chopek (Father John Misty, Moby) on violin and viola, Christian Dupree (Jack Johnson) on cello, and Logan Coale (Natalie Merchant) on upright bass.
The song “Sea Will Return You” was released as a single digitally on May 10. Uncharted Ocean will be released digitally, on CD and on “Sea Green” vinyl on May 17. The band will play a special album release showcase at Hotel Café on May 15. The video was directed by Mikhailovna with the help of Pflum and aerial camera operator Miguel Galindo.
Says Mikhailovna: “This album combines songs from every season in my life. The songs were written over a period of ten years, and some of the instrument tracks we managed to salvage are so ancient that you can almost hear the hours trying to catch up with you as you listen to it. Layering the new crispy clear recordings on top of the older ones gave the album a lot of character.
A lot of these songs have a reoccurring theme of the ocean. There are songs about someone sailing away and never coming back, a mysterious lighthouse where you have to watch your every step, someone who would rather stay comfortable in shallow waters, and a song about memories sinking into the deepest parts of the ocean where nobody can find them. I liked the name “Uncharted Ocean” not only because of the ocean metaphors, but also because this album was like uncharted territory in my own life. This was my first time working with a producer, and my first time letting someone else enhance my songs, pushing them in directions I didn’t think they could go. “
Future Rootz is a collective of Chicago-based mixed media DJs who spin and remix global roots, tropical bass, world electronic and Latin house music. The collective produces events in Chicago highlighting local and international artists and DJs from all over the world. Future Rootz just released its first record as a label, What Goes Up (Remixed), on limited-edition vinyl.
What Goes Up (Remixed), which includes remixes by Maga Bo, Ron Trent, AfroQbano, Sound Culture, Sol Power Sound, Kevin Ford and Jose Marquez, is a companion piece to 2017’s What Goes Up.
True to its original intent as an evolving musical experiment, Chicago Afrobeat Project now angles its afrobeat roots sideways, pushing a vocal-heavy band that drips with slippery funk and rhythmic hiphop. After years working with Tony Allen, master drummer behind Fela Kuti and the creator of Afrobeat, the group’s grasp of the musical form is uncontested. It’s the deviation from tradition that continues to make the band’s sound contemporary and relevant.
With the addition of male emcee Legit and female vocalist Rhea the Second, tightly executed hip-hop verses scatter across the top of CAbP’s bubbling Afrobeat rhythms. Rhea’s soaring vocal melodies intersect with the full horn section, which at times will either punctuate to emphasize these vocals or intertwine with the vocal melody itself. The sound is rich, and there’s a lot to sink your teeth into whether you’re a fan of Fela or the burgeoning young Chicago hiphop scene.
The group began in 2002 as a collective of musicians sharing a common interest in West African rhythms. Quickly they realized that mixing Afrobeat with Chicago house, indie rock, hip-hop and jazz opened new avenues for experimentation.
Fast-forward hundreds of tour dates and five studio releases later, and the group has found ways of interpreting Afrobeat through American urban sounds. Through it all, CAbP has been at the center of the emergence of the North American Afrobeat scene. On its newest releases, What Goes Up Remixed (2019) and What Goes Up (2017), the band features special guest Tony Allen, as well as many Chicago vocalists and MCs.
Allen, once exclaimed by Brian Eno as “perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived,” plays kit on all 10 tracks, recording his signature beats behind the band and vocalists. This collaboration makes Chicago Afrobeat Project the first American Afrobeat band to produce a full-length studio record with Tony Allen.
Taking the vocal helm on the album are Akenya (Noname, Chance the Rapper), JC Brooks, Kiara Lanier, Legit (Chance the Rapper), Ugochi, Oranmiyan and Rico Sisney/Maggie Vagle (Sidewalk Chalk). The band’s new vocal-laden approach makes the songs on What Goes Up concise and intentional, and markedly different from CAbP’s prior recordings.
A staple of the American live music scene for years, the band’s live show now combines its historically instrumental style with the new vocal approach. Crowds feed off the spontaneity of the soloists and enthusiasm of the band.
The Curls new single 'Lemon Lime' is a rhythmic psych/indie pop song with bags of originality. The fabulous musical arrangement competes with some slightly quirky but pleasing vocals, all coming together just right.
It's been over a year since we last featured Diamond Thug, this being their forth appearance on Beehive Candy. We have the new video for their recent release 'Tell Me', the band's distinct sound and quality continues to impress and appeal.
Jeanines emphasis on short to the point bursts of indie music are nonetheless very catchy, you just have to play each song twice, that's all!
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The Curls - Lemon Lime.
Chicago, Psych-Pop band The Curls have debut their new single "Lemon Lime". The track comes off their forthcoming album Bounce House due out June 7th, 2019 on Diversion Records.
The Curls hail from Chicago but seem to mentally reside in outer space or perhaps the lush palm tree lined hills of Hollyweird. An all-star cast of accomplished Chicago musicians led by songwriter Mick Fansler, the group blends genres like these health nuts blend their smoothies. As such, their music has been labeled Psych Pop, Art Rock, Nu-Angular Guitar and even Hardcore Experimental Power Adult Contemporary.
After being praised by Stereogum, Pitchfork, Under The Radar, The 405, and more, and following their 2017 album, Super Unit, The Curls have been avidly playing prominent music festivals including 2018's Pitchfork Music Festival and this year's SXSW, leading them to share stages with popular music greats like Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, Maps and Atlases, and Post Animal.
Formed in a basement in Kommetjie, a small surf town on the southern tip of Africa, Diamond Thug combine Sub-Saharan rhythms with indie pop dreamscapes, with a vitality and energy bursting from the seams of each track that becomes juxtaposed with melancholic themes.
Lead singer Chantel Van T’s luscious vocals wash over layers of guitar, synth-bass and pounding drums with a certain quiet power. When Chantel was a teenager, she wanted to be a quantum physicist, which may explain some of Diamond Thug’s lyrical subjects.
The band’s debut album Apastron was set within the depths of space, with celestial bodies and laws of planetary motion being used as metaphors for earth-bound problems. New EP Gaiafy turns inward to human experience, pairing nihilism and existential crises with allusions to climate change.
The band tell us that new track ‘Tell Me’ is “an empathetic song, dealing with the acceptance that suffering is a shared experience of all of life, albeit to differing degrees. Through our suffering, we are healed and can offer our healing to others in the form of sharing experiences.”
Brooklyn's Jeanines specialize in ultra-short bursts of energetic but melancholy minor-key pop. With influences that run deep into the most crucial tributaries of DIY pop — Messthethics, the Television Personalities, Marine Girls, early Pastels, Dolly Mixture — they've crafted a style that is as individual as it is just plain pleasurable. Alicia Jeanine's pure, unaffected voice muses wistfully on the illusions of time, while My Teenage Stride/Mick Trouble mastermind Jed Smith's frantic Motown-esque drumming and inventive bass playing provide a thrilling rhythmic foundation.
"Winter In The Dark" and a lovely, jaunty cover of The Siddeleys' "Falling Off Of My Feet Again" provide great insight into what Jeanines are about. 60s-meet-80s melodies combine with timeless guitar jangle in a way that recalls everything from The Aislers Set and Saturday Looks Good To Me to more recent DIY pop groups like Parsnip and Chook Race. Album opener "Either Way," "Hits The Bone" and "Where We Go" hearken back to some of the most intriguing bands of the C86/C88 era, when bands like Jesse Garon & The Desperadoes crafted perfect pop gems enlivened by the inspiration of punk.
Gorgeous songs like "Where I Stand," "Too Late" and "In This House" are windows into Alicia's lyrical style and inspiration. She expands: "I'm kind of obsessed with mortality and how weird the passage of time is so I think my lyrics reflect that. I definitely lean into that kind of melancholy state of mind when trying to think of lyrics, while trying to avoid cliches!" The marriage of the minor-key melodies and melancholic lyrics is powerful and make Alicia's songs all the more memorable, especially so on songs like "No Home," with its echoes of girl harmony post-punk groups like Grass Widow and Household.
Clearly, with 16 great songs included, there is a lot at work here on this standout debut album. Jeanines have been compared to such cult pop icons as Dear Nora, Black Tambourine, and more recent acts like Veronica Falls and Girl Ray, but their dark, modal melodies and pensive, philosophical lyrics, along with Smith's versatile but ever-economical musicality, ensure them a place of their own in today's crowded but boisterously healthy DIY pop scene.
'Wild Things' is the debut single from Lookalikes a duo made up of Al Currie and Joel Skurrie. It's an impressive indie piece with plenty of depth, power and some fine vocals.
Diving At Dawn has shared 'The Humbling of a Good Man' an expansive sounding and well arranged song with plenty of melodic hooks and some excellent story line lyrics.
From Lord Sonny The Unifier we have the new album 'Final Notice!' which is accompanied by a short biography (see below) that adds some real insight into the album and it's final arrival. As for the music, well the collection strides across differing rock genres, expect plenty of imagination and a truck load of hooks along the way.
We shared a couple of songs from Nathan & Jessie last month and 'Worse Than Worse' makes for a fabulous third track to include, their infectious warmth and delicious vibes are hard to resist.
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Lookalikes - Wild Things.
Emerging from Melbourne’s vast musical melting pot, duo Lookalikes prove they are far from ordinary with their unique debut single ‘Wild Things’.
Surging with joy and oozing charm, the electric indie bop swoops in with an onslaught of groovy bass tones, folk-spiked guitar riffs, and gliding harmonies. The first glimpse into their upcoming EP, it’s refreshing to see their inception have such clarity and vision.
Taking pointers from Maurice Sendak’s famous novel, ‘Wild Things’ encourages the listener to stand up for what they believe in, and truly be themselves. “It's about strengthening your character and letting your walls come down in doing so. It’s throwing away the feeling of everyone being against you and throwing down your barricades to express yourself free of judgement,” singer Al Currie explains.
Lookalikes is the project of Al Currie and Joel Skurrie, both of whom have been heavily involved in music since a young age. Beginning their collaboration in 2016, the grand reveal of 'Wild Things' proves that their years of hard work has paid off masterfully.
With the launch of their live shows and debut EP still yet to come, there’s lots to look forward to from the pair; a promise these Lookalikes will be familiar faces in no time.
Featuring an orchestral accompaniment recorded over Skype (potentially the worlds first skype-orchestra), we have the new video to accompany the debut single ‘The Humbling Of A Good Man’ from Diving At Dawn (a new project from Pete Hobbs of The Boy Least Likely To).
Talking about the track, Pete explains "'The Humbling of a Good Man' is a soundtrack to everyday life. Dreams fall by the wayside, ambitions get cut to the quick and lives aren’t lived to the fullest. The song finds the protagonist at the end of a journey, the end of a dream, crash landing back into suburbia and trying to make sense of where he’s been and what’s to come”.
Released just this week, Pete goes on to explain the inspiration for the video. “The Humbling of a Good Man is a song about a guy realising that his dreams and ambitions aren’t going to be fulfilled and contemplating what his future will look like. For the video I moved the character slightly on into the future, hopefully showing that whatever happens in life there is always some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Brooklyn-based alternative rock band Lord Sonny The Unifier is lead by Gregory Jiritano. Jiritano began playing guitar at age 8, formed his first band band at age 12, and began playing in NYC bars at age 16. After the loss of his recording studio a fire in 2015, he had to throw in the towel - and his unfinished album - or regroup. He regrouped. Jiritano conspired with good friend Carmine Covelli to play drums, soon met Tyler Wood, a keyboard-wizard-freak and sound guru, Tyler swore by his good friend Derek Nievergelt on Bass, and thus Lord Sonny the Unifier was formed...and album completed.
"I began playing guitar at age 8 and so I cannot remember life without a guitar in my hands or very nearby. It was a $20 acoustic guitar my mother brought me back from Mexico. After moving on to an electric guitar, I joined a band at age 12 and miraculously we got gigs at schools, local fairs and church basements. At 16 I began playing in bars in NYC and the surrounding boroughs. 2 years later I began writing, and it was at this time I got very interested in the recording process and decided it would be best if I owned my own recording equipment in order to be a self reliant musician and to begin sonic experiments without restrictions, either by studio cost and time restraints or record label handicaps. It was also then that I decided it would be best to concentrate solely on my own songs and projects and not be distracted by playing other peoples music in other bands no matter how lucrative or exciting the prospect might be.
"And so began the real journey. I spent those early years working with John Schumann (who later started an effects pedal company called Schumann Electronics) I isolated this band in the mountains of Massachusetts and wrote and recorded using only modified analog effects and stringed electric instruments aided by John’s electronic wizardry often over dubbing up to 40 guitars. It was a time of extreme sonic experimentation. We worked for 6 years recording there on a 24 track 2inch tape machine using only analog outboard gear and stringed instruments…even the drum sounds were produced by stringed instruments.
"Unfortunately, none of this music was released and due to its’ extreme recording techniques we never performed live and we then went our separate ways. I moved the studio back to Brooklyn and began a solo project playing all the instruments and limiting the guitar tracks to 12 or so and after 3 years that recording was also complete. Misfortune again struck and as I was plotting its’ release and promotion the building the studio was in caught fire and burnt to the ground and everything I had purchased to pursue the dream of recording was gone. I now had no money to promote this just completed album and so it too was abandoned. I needed to regroup in order to plot the next step.
"The next step is this new release FINAL NOTICE! I decided to not purchase a new studio but rather to use ones available to me and to pay up front as in the end it would be a more expedient way to accomplish the recordings. I’d plotted with my good friend Carmine Covelli to play drums and soon thereafter met Tyler Wood who is a keyboard wizard freak and also a sound guru in the studio. It was he who swore by his good friend Derek Nievergelt on Bass and so Lord Sonny the Unifier was created.
Nathan & Jessie are chronic world travelers, drawing inspiration from all they’ve encounter on their wayfaring journey. They have played in dive bars around the California desert, in the streets of New Orleans, on the subways of NYC, and listening rooms rooms and performing arts centers across the globe including Mexico City and Paris.
Along the way, they’ve picked up awards for ‘Best Blues’ and ‘Best Country’ Song at the Temecula Valley Music Awards, recorded live sessions for Acoustic Guitar Magazine and Nashville’s WMOT Roots Radio, and played alongside folk luminaries like Handmade Moments and Dustbowl Revival.
Their sophomore release, You’re the Star, is the follow-up to their incredibly self-assured 2018 debut, That’ll Never Be Me. Many of the songs on the new LP were crafted late at night while on tour. Tired and cold, often with nowhere to go, fingerpicking and singing to a new city, Nathan & Jessie comforted each other with their music.
That warmth and sense of well-being can be felt in the resulting recordings. It’s if Django Reinhardt and Peggy Lee decided to pull their material from the Great American Songbook - it’s chock full of style, yet there is little pretense with these two. They are simply sharing their lives through their music and, fortunately for us, these two individuals lead their lives in a very unique way.
