Lucy & La Mer - Mappe Of - Emily Breeze - Café Spice

Lucy & La Mer has shared an upbeat video for 'Discover'. Oozing positive and feel good vibes this indie pop song is an absolute charm.

Canadian avant-garde folk artist, Mappe Of (a moniker for Tom Meikle) has just released a wonderful song entitled 'Unkno'. It's something of a folk epic as Tom's superb vocals and a clever, intriguing musical background garner immediate attention.

Our third feature this year for Emily Breeze is for her latest single 'Heaven's Gate'. Described as "a glacial slice of Sci-Fi propaganda" (see more below) the songs musical arrangement conveys other worldly notions, Emily's vocals are once again impressive as they drive the piece forward.

Café Spice return here for a second occasion with their brand new single 'Open Door'. Once again the beautiful vocals and exquisite harmonies are simply wonderful, this trio are most certainly on my must hear music list. 
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Lucy & La Mer - Discover.

Lucy & La Mer is the LA-based indie project of singer/songwriter Lucy LaForge.

Known for her bright melodies and disarming lyrics, Lucy wrote her debut EP Little Spoon while living aboard a sailboat after a bad breakup. The folk pop EP charted on College Radio in 2015, followed by a national tour and 2 semi-finalist spots in the International Songwriter Contest.

After landing in LA, Lucy began performing live with a full band and caught the attention of major press like the LA Times. Lead by Lucy’s welcoming stage presence and unmistakable attire (the band wears colorful bowties and decorates the stage), their live shows have gained attention for their interactive audience participation and focus on community activism.

Lucy has garnered acclaim from the likes of Billboard, Huffington Post, Refinery 29 and Earmilk to name a few. The songstress has shared the stage with everyone from electronic artist Moby, folk sirens Joseph, to emo rockers Bayside. She is endorsed by Kala Brand Ukuleles and stays close to her fans by live-streaming every weekend on the band’s facebook page. Her message is about positive self-belief, self-care, and honest self-expression.


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Mappe Of - Unkno.

The Canadian Avant-garde folk artist, Mappe Of - a moniker for Tom Meikle - is now sharing the beguiling new single ‘Unkno’. Released in the wake of ‘Ailynn’, ‘Unkno’ is the latest to be lifted from the forthcoming nine-track sophomore record, The Isle Of Ailynn, which is due for release on November 1, 2019 via Paper Bag Records.

Recorded at Bathouse Studio, Ontario (operated by the multi-award-winning Canadian band, The Tragically Hip) with longtime collaborator Will Crann and engineer Nyles Spencer (Broken Social Scene, Gord Downie), The Isle of Ailynn documents a fantasy world through nine different landscapes that draw parallels between a mythological space and everyday conflicts, troubles and fears within our lives. ‘Unkno’, which makes up one of the nine distinct environments, sonically situates Meikle alongside the likes of Grizzly Bear and The Antlers, pulling on resplendent string sections and Meikle’s velvet-soft vocals.

Speaking about the new single, Meikle says: “‘Unkno' explores how violently the barriers of distance, language and culture can separate us when our hearts and minds are closed.  The second half of the song features these two distinct vocal lines, one descending and the other ascending, that I like to envision as the two parties in this fictional land having this same core belief, yet somehow manifesting it in nearly opposite ways.”

The Isle of Ailynn looks to follow-on from the Toronto-based artist’s critically acclaimed 2017 debut, A Northern Star, A Perfect Stone (tipped by Stereogum, NPR, Consequence of Sound and Paste) marking a more focused theme and progressive understanding of genre and songwriting. Meikle’s debut release would find him on tour with the likes of Martha Wainwright and Bahamas whilst amassing over five-million streams on DSPs. UK dates are set to follow the new release in early 2020, these to be announced shortly.

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Emily Breeze - Heaven's Gate.

The fourth single from Emily Breeze’s debut album Rituals, “Heaven's Gate” is a glacial slice of Sci-Fi propaganda which was inspired by a documentary about the 90’s Christian U.F.O cult of the same name. Emily says, “I was interested in how a seductive promise of eternal salvation can compel a person to hand over all personal agency to devote themselves entirely to a belief system, especially one as bizarre and deadly as Heaven's Gate”.

Written from the perspective of the cult leader, this is interstellar Doo Wop for all the drifters, loners, dropouts and seekers out there. Emily and her cohorts invite you to join the psychedelic dance, cast off your earthly shells and drink the Kool Aid!

Produced by Bristol luminary Stew Jackson, writer, producer for Massive Attack, who has also worked with Tom Waits, Patti Smith and Nick Cave, Rituals has received airplay from Radio X, BBC Introducing in the West and Tom Robinson (BBC Radio 6) who described Emily as a “21st century Patti Smith”.

Other praise for Rituals includes Louder Than War stating that it is “As vital a statement on what it is to be alive in 2019 as any of the more celebrated, male, bands currently garnering all the praise." God Is In The TV refers to “the kind of delicious noirish pop that Luke Haines specialise in. If there is a soundtrack to the world gradually falling apart this is it!” and MOJO magazine draws comparisons to Jarvis Cocker and describes “A tempestuous debut, Rituals accentuates the drama of its songs, swathing them in black humour”.

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Café Spice - Open Door.

Café Spice have just released their latest single ‘Open Door’. This is the third single to be released by the phenomenally talented trio, and their second single release this year. A beautifully orchestrated song that features all three distinct voices creating a trifecta of harmony and accompanied by a sweet core progression of melancholic pros.

Born from a love of singing in harmony, beautifully crafted songs and plain naan bread, Manchester based all female indie folk band Café Spice have been blessing our eardrums with heavenly and autumnal harmonies since the release of their first single ‘Lauren’ in 2018.

Since then the trio, made up of Georgia Gage (Scotland), Niamh Feeney (Ireland) and Eleanor Lang (The North), have been performing gigs in most major cities across the UK and a significant series of gigs in Bangkok earlier this year. Not to mention a sold out full band gig at Jimmy’s in Manchester and supporting the legendary singer songwriter Boo Hewerdine!

The single, Open Door, is a song about two people who love each other and although they want deeply to be together at this moment in time it’s not possible. The trio tells us, “it’s about having to say goodbye to someone when you know that you love them, when you know it’s not the end of your story and when you know it’s not forever. You’re leaving them for now, leaving them in pain, but leaving with an open door behind you.”

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Just Like Honey - Cliffs and Caves - The Cheap Thrills

Just Like Honey recently released 'The Wood Room Sessions' an album of acoustic and stripped back versions of some of their songs. The band have taken the original alt rock and dream pop material into new territory and wow does it work, as their music morphs into Americana, folk and other genres doing so with constant beauty and demonstrating excellent vocals and musicianship.

From Cliffs and Caves we have 'Defiance' accompanied by a music video. It's a song with a clear message and the piece takes the duo into a determined and earnest indie rock vibe, with hints of their folk instincts adding depth. 

Liverpool synth/alt rock band The Cheap Thrills have just released 'Time Waster'. Energised and hook fuelled, the single is a taster for 'Vue Du Monde' their new E.P due out in mid October. On the strength of this song, that is something to be anticipated!
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Just Like Honey - The Wood Room Sessions (Album).

During the production of their critically acclaimed 2018 album "The Weight of the Stars", Alternative Rock/Dream Pop band Just Like Honey had the idea to record acoustic versions of a handful of their songs.

As the abstract idea took tangible shape in spring 2019, musicians sans traditional rock pedigree like American violinist Miranda Avery and Israeli cellist Telalit joined forces with the band during two extensive recording sessions.

During the Wood Room Sessions Just Like Honey’s songs took on a life of their own. Stripped of the bands’ usual guitar noise, the tracks started to reveal their hopelessly romantic heart. Much to the band members’ own surprise, a few of the songs even turned into some kind of American Folk courtesy of Darlene Jonasson’s ability to play the mandolin and thanks to the inexplicable use of a resonator guitar. On a side note you may be interested to learn that “Out in the Storm”, one of the tracks eventually laid down during the Sessions, was written by Patrick Le Mar on the spur of the moment during the first stint of recording.

It deals with the mystery of missing people and merely took shape in its Bluegrass version as of yet – a fact that might change in the not-too-distant future. According to one’s personal gusto The Wood Room Sessions could either be considered as a side project of Just Like Honey or simply as a yet undiscovered facet of the band, which has picked up its electric guitars again in the meantime and continues to lay on the fuzz and the reverb on every occasion.

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Cliffs and Caves - Defiance.

Mother/Daughter duo Cliffs + Caves announce the release of the music video for their lead single "Defiance", recently featured on their critically-acclaimed album release Capsize. Stepping away from their traditional Indie-folk blended sound, Cliffs and Caves create a fierce indie-rock song that breaks the silence of anyone who has been victimized or silenced before.

Written as a battle cry, standing up for the powerless who can't speak up for themselves, the song was originally inspired by an interview from a victim of sexual violence. The song takes on different meanings for every person who listens - breaking the silence and speaking out against any type of oppression no matter how big or small it may seem. Overall, Cliffs + Caves aims to say "we won't be quiet anymore" and hopes that the lyrics of "Defiance" will empower others to speak out and speak up to help others who may be being silenced by their own oppressors or bullies.

 In an era of female empowerment, mother-daughter duo Lindsey and Claire Justice are unabashedly sharing their voices to empower others through their unique blend of indie-folk music.

The duo has worked with well-known producers Jamie Candiloro (R.E.M., The Eagles) and Chris Jacobie (Penny & Sparrow, Duncan Fellows) to develop their musical style that showcases the depths of their skills as songwriters and instrumentalists with intimate lyrics lilting intrinsically over smooth musical progressions. Balancing powerful harmonies with delicate acoustic soundscapes, their newest EP, Capsize, explores the musical ingenuity that's created when artistry runs in the family.


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The Cheap Thrills - Time Waster.

The Cheap Thrills are a synth rock band from Liverpool. Renowned for producing sonic pop songs with infectious hooks and melodies.

'Time Waster' is the new single released from EP "Vue Du Monde" a glimmering and bold statement of intent that shows that these scousers mean business. The EP will be released digitally and in vinyl format on the 18th of October through Eighties Vinyl Records.

"A glimmering and bold statement of intent that shows that these scousers mean business."

Recent singles 'Saint Or Sinner', 'Codependence' & 'Smile When You Sleep' were played by John Kennedy & Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6 & Radio X and featured on Spotify's 'Hot New Bands' and 'Indie List’.

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Molly Linen - Ria Hall - Beatific

Molly Linen just released her new single 'When They Didn't Care'. Molly's vocals are described as beguiling, emotive, yet serene, which I agree is a fair assessment, she is also a creative songwriter as is witnessed by this very fine song.

New Zealand vocalist Ria Hall has a new single out entitled 'Cause & Effect' a gorgeous mixture of classic reggae music and her natural soulful vocals, backed by vocal harmonies that again add those reggae vibes.

Duo Beatific have a new video for' She Loves Him' the first single from their debut EP out in December. The vocal harmonies are wonderful as this dreamy song drifts along sounding carefree and relaxed.
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Molly Linen - When They Didn't Care.

Lost Map Record’s latest signing Molly Linen returns with a new single ‘When They Didn’t Care’, released on streaming services and via Lost Map’s PostMap Club series on 27th September. It is taken from Linen’s debut Outside EP which follows on 4th October.

Molly Linen is a Shropshire-born, Glasgow-based songwriter and guitarist. Her beguiling voice is both emotive yet serene recalling the dulcet whispered tones of Cat Power, layered upon melodic guitar lines which draw influence from artist such as Devon Sproule and Nick Drake.

Linen’s latest single 'When They Didn't Care’ touches on, as Linen explains, “Worrying too much about what other people think, and the moment you realise that they don't actually really care.” The single follows the release of Linen’s wonderfully received debut single ‘Away’ (May 2019), which was described as “remarkably mature, so beautifully focused, and so frightfully exciting” by influential blog For The Rabbits, and included on several high profile Spotify playlists including NPR’s ‘New Music Friday’ round-up as well as producer Lar Gotrich’s own playlist. At radio, the debut single was played on BBC 6Music (Gideon Coe) and BBC Radio Scotland (Vic Galloway and Roddy Hart), whilst unreleased tracks from the Outside EP have received additional support from Pete Paphides (Soho Radio) and Cerys Matthews at 6Music.

Molly Linen’s forthcoming debut Outside EP is a collection of accomplished, atmospheric and personal songs written in, and inspired by, Linen’s life in rural Shropshire and the West End of Glasgow where the EP was recorded. As Linen expands “Some of the songs on the Outside EP reflect on my personal experiences of being out in nature and feeling the many emotional benefits, whilst others are observations of being in particular environments and noticing small details.”

The Outside EP was written by Molly Linen (guitar/vocals) and features Beth Chalmers (keyboard, harmonium and vocals), Liam Chapman (drums, synth and vocals) and Gemma Fleet (bass). It was recorded by Ronan Fay at Green Door Studios, Glasgow, and mastered by Steven Ward. ‘When They Didn’t Care’ is released on 27th September as a digital single on streaming services and via Lost Map’s PostMap Club, with the Outside EP following on 4th October digitally and on 10” vinyl.


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Ria Hall - Cause & Effect.

New Zealand-vocalist Ria Hall returns with her first new music in nearly two years with the single ‘Cause & Effect’. This waiata is the first taste of a new album inspired by current political, social and racial climate, one that musically brings together elements of classic reggae and soul.

‘Cause & Effect’ combines Hall’s stunning voice with an all-star band, creating a sound that evokes memories of classic 70’s reggae and soul, with a modern, slick and conscious tilt.

Co-written and produced by Laughton Kora, the track features Kora himself alongside Rob Ruha & Troy Kingi on backing vocals, members of L.A.B. & Sons of Zion making up the band, and a horn section led and arranged by Warren Maxwell (TrinityRoots).

‘Cause & Effect’ is the first single from Hall’s second full length album, which will be released January 24, 2020.

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Beatific - She Loves Him.

San Francisco-based duo Beatific released a visualizer for "She Loves Him," the first single from their debut EP out in December.

"This song is about the merging of two bodies and souls... and the unshakable faith that everything is alright in the world when you are held in the bliss of pure and summery love," singer/songwriter Elad Marish says on the single.

"Engulfed in serenity and drenched in creativity, Beatific offers their terrific new single titled ‘She Loves Him," Jammerzine raves in their review. "Beautiful vocal harmonies abound over a captivating crystal clear guitar riff that carries the music forward like a lucid dream."

Known for his sound design and mixing videos for A-list clients like Beyoncé, Eminem, and The Jonas Brothers, Marish was a songwriter long before becoming a respected industry figure and President of the American Association of Music Producers. While not Marish's first band or side project by any means, Beatific is the first collaboration between him and Jeremy Black, the former drummer of Apollo Sunshine known more recently for his collaborations on the Bon Iver and The National-organized music festival PEOPLE. Their collaborative debut EP, Sunshine, arrives December 6th.


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Hunting - Ruthie - Martian Subculture - Tokyo Tea Room

Hunting have just shared 'Whatever You Need'. It's a mixture of alt and electro rock with a smooth flowing vibe and plenty of upbeat energy.

From Ruthie we have 'The Tide' ahead of her debut EP ‘Universal Heartbreak Now’ which follows in November. It's beautiful and melodic pop that is gorgeously arranged.

Understated and dreamy psych rock comes our way in the form of 'I Love My Friends' by Martian Subculture. It's also quite hypnotic.

We have a music video from Tokyo Tea Room for 'Things Are Changing'. The psych pop bands song is gentle and dreamy with the vocals down in the mix, sounding distant which just adds to the track. 
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Hunting - Whatever You Need.

"Whatever You Need" is about meeting someone you like so much you’d do anything to make them happier, give up anything to make their life better.

"For me, I met that person right before leaving town to live in Europe for two months to write songs and try to catch Bowie’s late 70’s Berlin vibe.  Though, all the while I felt like it’d be way more fun if she was there tripping around with me.  The lyrics ‘We’ll get high on our Fame, all stoned on our vain’ is a reference to what it must have been like to be Bowie and Iggy Pop lighting up that city."

Hunting is barely recognizable as the same band that released a debut album five years ago: it’s gone from a solo project to a trio, from folk to catchy electro-rock, and from wistful melancholy to buoyant exuberance. All this can be heard on the group’s sophomore album, Whatever You Need, due out in summer 2019 via Nevado Music.

Songwriter-producer Bradley Ferguson initially intended the album as a quick follow-up to 2014’s rootsy Hunting LP, but the initial sessions stalled. Instead, Bradley put Hunting on the back burner: he produced an electro-pop LP for Vancouver vocalist Jessicka, and acted as a bassist-for-hire in an array of projects.

Hunting eventually got back on track with the addition of two new members: Jessicka came on board as a full-time backing vocalist, while songwriter Dustin Bentall joined as a co-frontman. “We went back and started the album from scratch,” Bradley remembers. “We decided to approach it in a more organic way. I had been editing it to pop perfection — but then we breathed new life into it and it came together really quickly.”

Dustin Bentall is a well-travelled troubadour in his own right, and he contributed five of his own songs to the recording sessions at Afterlife Studios. Dustin says, “I had this batch of songs that weren’t really going to fit my next record, and I realized they worked seamlessly with Hunting.”

Bradley and Dustin’s songs mesh perfectly on Whatever You Need, tied together by pillowy vintage synth pads and surging rock rhythms. Returning collaborator John Raham (Destroyer) acted as engineer as well as drummer, Paul Rigby (Neko Case) added additional guitars, and Mother Mother’s Ryan Guldemond co-wrote a handful of tracks.

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Ruthie - The Tide.

Blessed with the ability to conjure challenging emotions into melodic and engaging pop, the hotly-tipped Ruthie shares her brand new single ‘The Tide’. It’s the first track to preview her debut EP ‘Universal Heartbreak Now’ which follows on November 22nd. It follows her three independently released singles ‘Land of My Lover’, ‘Spirit Now Moves’ and ‘What Kind of Woman’.

With ‘The Tide’, Ruthie expresses bittersweet feelings with a sweeping beauty that elevates the mood of the moment. Set to a dreamy backdrop of modern pop and country-tinged folk, it drives to a crescendo in which her multi-layered vocal harmonies surge to create a choral wall-of-sound. Ruthie’s style echoes the likes of Angel Olsen and Jenny Lewis back to Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell, while her distinctively English accent adds a unique touch.

“‘The Tide’ is another banger about feeling terrible,” says Ruthie. “It’s about sitting in my room feeling lonely, like the sea had just spat me out onto a deserted beach. It’s definitely melodramatic and now I can’t remember ever feeling that way, but that’s the alchemy of songwriting: you can crystalize a feeling that becomes an object to look at rather than an overwhelming tidal wave. I also wanted to echo a very classic country music narrative of ‘Once I had everything, but now I’ve lost everything.’”

The four-track ‘Universal Heartbreak Now’ EP represents the biggest statement of Ruthie’s career to date. Eoin Loveless of Drenge contributes haunting duet vocals and psychedelic flavoured guitar to ‘No One On This Earth’, while all four tracks were mixed by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Future Islands). The songs were all written with Ruthie’s creative collaborator Ben Lewis.

Ruthie’s timeless, lovelorn songwriting has enamoured a growing following. She’s gained wide-ranging airplay including Radio 1, Beats 1, 6 Music and BBC Introducing at home along with daytime spins at triple j and double j in Australia and New Zealand. Key playlist adds include Spotify’s New Music Friday UK, Amazon’s Fresh Indie plus lists curated by NME, Dazed and DIY. Add Nylon and Wonderland to an ever-growing range of backers and it’s clear that Ruthie is on the way up.

Ruthie started playing her debut headline set with a homecoming show at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds before impressing at the Bluedot and Deer Shed festivals. She has also supported new Domino artist Sasami plus Anna St. Louis and Barrie.  Further live dates:

12th Oct – Tenement Trail, Glasgow
19th October – SWN Festival, Cardiff
30th November – All Dayer with The Magic Gang, Leeds.


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Martian Subculture - I Love My Friends.

"I Love My Friends was written in the midst of a lot of my friends and I growing up really fast for many different reasons.

It’s basically a love letter to all those who have kept me occupied with dumb s throughout long periods of very very dull s. There’s also a line in their about a friend of mine naming her cat ‘Lofi’" -Martian Subculture

From his base in Ireland’s Limerick City, Martian Subculture creates leftfield, lo-fi psych rock. An eerie, restrained vocal is surrounded by kooky, comatose guitars on tracks that oscillate between themes of love, loneliness and interplanetary exploration.

Recorded alone in a bedroom studio, Martian Subculture introduces his latest single “I Love My Friends” as another invitation into a new sonic universe.

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Tokyo Tea Room - Things Are Changing.

As life progresses, various pressures and influences, both internal and external start to pull you in a myriad directions, requiring choices to be made on a personal plane. Resolving yourself to an unyielding whole and accepting the best way to deal with these changes is the theme of hazy Canterbury psych-pop band Tokyo Tea Room’s mesmeric new single ‘Things Are Changing’. The sonics are reminiscent of bedroom-pop artist of today in MUNYA, Men I Trust or Inner Wave as well as taking cues from Tame Impala, DIIV and Mazzy Star.

Primary songwriter Daniel Elliot elaborates on the meaning behind the track: “‘Things Are Changing’ is about recognising yourself growing up, seeing yourself change and trying to find a balance. The lyrics are telling a story of someone discovering their own flaws, analysing them and moving forward.”

It’s a relatable theme, and has great synergy with the group’s approach to song-crafting and production. Deciding on a fresh start at the beginning of 2019, and realising how much their sound had matured, the band removed all their previous output from digital services, choosing indeed to move forward in their new sonic direction.

This bold approach however hasn’t stopped Tokyo Tea Room achieving success on a wider level including live slots alongside Wolf Alice and Super Furry Animals, acclaim on key tastemaker site The Line of Best Fit and spins on audio indie bible BBC 6 Music. As well as this they’re rapidly building cult following in the hazy corners of YouTube and Spotify, resulting in over one hundred thousand plays in six months on Spotify alone for the last two singles.

A key tenet of the band’s approach is their focus on aesthetic, which is strong and consistent throughout, and unique whilst holding a candle to the canon of psychedelic and shoegaze pioneers they take inspiration from. For this release, they have teamed up for a forthcoming music video with established Brighton-based visual artist InnerStrings, a well-known figure in the Psych scene who has previously been involved in events such as This Is Psych Fest, and this year’s Bella Union’s Great Escape Festival showcase.

Tokyo Tea Room are Daniel Elliot (Synths/Vocals), Ben Marshall (Bass), Beth Plumb (Vocals/Keys), Sam Teather (Drums), Ryan Debling (Guitar) and Graham Nunn (Guitar)


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