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An electrifying year for Tiny Magnetic Pets has seen the band playing festival dates and headline shows as well as recording their third studio album. The new EP ‘Girl In A White Dress EP’ is set for release today on Happy Robots Records.
Lead track, the sumptuous Girl In A White Dress, is a song about re-connecting with your former carefree self - the person you were before becoming tied down with the realities of modern life. A fan favourite from their debut album, it was compared to St. Etienne & Stereolab. The band have taken the track’s driving motorik beat & mellotron strings and re-worked it in way in keeping with their punchy and invigorating live sound.
With its rolling melodic basslines Kicked Off In Ikea displays the band’s New Order influence. In a rare Jarvis Cocker-esque lyrical turn, this track is inspired by an event when a Black Friday sale went horribly wrong, ending in a near riot. It is a sly dig at modern out-of-control consumerism: “come for the sale but keep your soul…”
The second half of the EP takes a reflective turn. All The Mad Things is serene, ambient and quirky – layered vocal loops, spoken-word lyrics and trumpet show the band’s more experimental side. The mellotron-drenched instrumental Above & Overture closes the EP in style. Using entirely vintage ’70s instrumentation, this could be a lost soundtrack to an Antonioni film re-imagined for the 21st century.
In the last few years the band have gained strong support for their blend of electronic European pop. Founder of the Blitz club, Rusty Egan, has been an enthusiastic champion and remixed their track ‘Control Me’. As well as being reviewed and featured in Electronic Sound Magazine, The Irish Times, MOJO and more, they have supported Dave Keuning (The Killers) Michael Rother (NEU!), Wolfgang Flür of Kraftwerk (who collaborated on their last studio album) and they completed a 20 date UK tour with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark in 2017.
Tiny Magnetic Pets are on tour in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Denmark & Holland in October-December as special guests of Midge Ure (1980 Vienna/Visage Tour) and over the same months will be back on the road with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark for their Souvenir 40th Anniversary Tour.
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Winehouse are set to release their debut single, “Pretty Lips” on November 15th. Pretty Lips is an indie late night drive song with jazz undertones, perfect for lovers of both modern and classic sounds. With its sweeping saxophone and smooth vocals, the track sonically emotes the feeling of reminiscing on past love.
Pretty Lips is one of four songs that Winehouse will feature on their debut EP, set for release in late February. The band gathers musical influences from classic jazz, funk, and rock artists, as well as more current sounds like Hippo Campus and Boy Pablo. The upcoming EP is a collection of experimental pop music that incorporates a modern sound with a nostalgic feel.
Winehouse is a band from Olympia, WA that is emerging full-force into the alternative pop music scene. In an age where music trends are ever-changing, Winehouse aims to create a timeless, experimental pop sound that everyone can feel. The band is known for delivering a captivating concert experience that bridges the gap between the stage and the audience. Through both their recordings and live shows, Winehouse hopes to promote artistic exploration and inspire listeners to dive head-first into a new world of music.
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Sweden based artist and producer Julia Jonas is releasing new single ‘Lift You High’, taken from the forthcoming EP Air which sees her sharing her honest and at times challenging life experiences.
The new track combines introspection with the idea of perseverance and patience – whilst dealing with struggle, the overall message is one of hope.
Julia was born in Cape Town but grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. Having spent years of her childhood in a conflict-ridden country, later followed by the challenges of adapting to a society with little resemblance to her roots, music became her way of expressing herself and she started exploring and experimenting with sounds in her basement home studio as a means of escape.
These experiences inform the subject of the new single. She tells us that “the track reflects a feeling of loneliness and alienation when feeling pressured to fit in but having the strength to strive for diversity and tolerance despite it. Being quite obviously different in a world where people strive for uniformity creates very strong feelings of loneliness and exclusion.
In this case I was inspired by people with a sexual orientation that deviates from the majority. When your identity is the difference that separates you from the majority, you easily feel judged and rejected.”
Julia Jonas will release the single ‘Lift You High’ today. New EP Air will be available everywhere November 29th.
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About ‘Circles’ - A beautifully evocative release both lyrically and musically, ‘Circles’ was written and composed by Martha in Canada. The singer was inspired by watching fireflies dancing in the night sky, seeking partners. She was struck by how we all essentially follow a similar ritual. The song’s gently pulsing percussion and sweetly swirling strings give it a cyclical feel, which fits the Leicester artist’s radiant chorus – ‘Keep it Going Round and Around” – atop a lilting, picked guitar and perfectly deployed double bass.
About ‘Here Comes The Snowstorm’ EP ”Life rarely brings blocks of pure joy or pure despair. More often the emotions – hope and hopelessness; gravity and levity – all bleed into one another, and I hope these songs reflect that.” Martha Bean
Though united by a bittersweet theme, each of the five tracks on Martha Bean’s new EP stands alone, inspired by real events. Be it the eponymous tale in ‘Slippers to a Wedding’ (“We aren’t perfect – we have to laugh at each other,” says Martha); the emotional vision of a lonely widow captured on ‘Beneath the Shadows’; or the hopes and fears of a new mum expressed on ‘When I Hold You In My Arms’ (Martha became a first-time mother, to Leon, this February), the highs and lows of contemporary existence are all on show. Conveyed via spacious, ambient alt-folk topped by Martha’s skilled guitar picking and silky vocal, her songs evoke artists such as Fionn Regan, Phoebe Bridgers and Lisa Hannigan
Recorded and engineered at home by Martha herself (the versatile musician also played guitar, piano, mandolin and bass, as well as scoring all the string parts), ‘Here Comes the Snowstorm’ has already made an impact in 2019 thanks to two of its tracks – ‘Slipper to a Wedding’ and ‘When I Hold You in My Arms’ – being aired on Tom Robinson’s BBC 6Music show. Co-produced by Martha’s partner Joel Evans (aka Tiny Eyes), who also weighed in on percussion, synths and Wurlitzer piano, the EP features Joe Manger on drums, Rob Rosa (Maniere des Bohémiens) on violin, Mirka Hoppari on viola and Martha’s father John on cello.
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On November 14 Bellarine born and Melbourne based Fenn Wilson released his eagerly anticipated debut album Ghost Heroin, expertly navigating the bumpy road from darkness to catharsis.
Fenn continues to draw from his own rich life experience when crafting songs and also has a knack for tapping into raw emotions, which seem to bubble just below the surface while waiting to be summoned. His delivery of every single lyric and note is meticulous. Attention to diction drives home each song's message, clarifying intent.
'I'd put down my track and then Shannon Bourne would put down his track and then we had cello come in and then piano come in, and so it built and built and built...everybody was moving their way around the melodies that were already there.' Fenn Wilson
This album's title Ghost Heroin references the inescapable torment that often attaches itself to painful memories, but uplifting moments - such as the album opener/second single Lost My Way - illuminate dappled light within the shadows. The first single to be lifted from Ghost Heroin, Eye On You is pared-back, with a guitar-and-vocal arrangement that swells incrementally with the introduction of each additional instrument until those celestial chorus harmonies seal the deal.
'I can’t get over how good it is. It’s not often the elements of writing, performance, arrangement, orchestration and production coalesce into something you can actually describe as ‘perfect’ . This track (Lost My Way) is rare.' Jonathan Alley, Triple R.
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From their 2019 release Myths We Tell Our Young, Unspoken Tradition’s “Cold Mountain Town" is a love letter to the dynamic mountain city of Asheville, North Carolina and the growing pains it is facing in these changing times.
In an effort to acknowledge the city's historically rich musical culture, the band has released a video containing archival footage of Asheville juxtaposed with the ongoing construction happening to meet the demand for tourism. The video, filmed at Zillicoah Beer Company and other locations around Asheville, was directed by Bob Peck and produced by Mountainwater Films for Mountain Home Music Company. It's also a song about the struggles of a hometown musician chasing a dream that might have turned out to be a myth.
“For the album Myths We Tell Our Young, we explore themes of mountain culture and how it is evolving. There is no better example than Asheville, NC,” says Ty Gilpin, Unspoken Tradition’s mandolinist, vocalist and writer of this song, in The Bluegrass Situation post. “I’ve lived and played music in this city for over 25 years and watched it change and grow while still holding strong to its rich appalachian music culture. This song is dedicated to artists that continue to struggle and survive in this ‘Cold Mountain Town.’”
Myths We Tell Our Young debuted at #5 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart, saw a chart-topping song with “Dark Side of the Mountain” and received praise from Bluegrass Unlimited saying, “They drive as hard as any of the older bands of yesteryear, but with a new approach that incorporates influences from various newer sources. They are at once part of the tradition and shapers of a new sound. Their sound is a virile, volcanic blast as the instruments and vocals jump out in a torrent of notes and words. It’s compelling and challenging all at once. ”
Unspoken Tradition is about new, original Bluegrass. Inspired by their own influences and the roots of traditional music, they bring a sound that is both impassioned and nostalgic, hard-driving but sincere. Their 2019 release from Mountain Home Music Company, Myths We Tell Our Young, debuted at #5 on the Billboard Bluegrass charts and has seen 5 top-charting radio singles, including a #1 spot on the Bluegrass Today chart for “Dark Side of the Mountain.” Their material is mostly original and reflects the ever-changing culture of Western and Central North Carolina where they call home.
The band has earned a fervent following in the Southeast, selling out shows in Asheville, NC as well as the legendary Station Inn in Nashville, TN. They have also performed twice on the coveted Watson (main stage) at MerleFest. With heavy airplay on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction and ever-growing streaming numbers, Unspoken Tradition is a fast-rising voice of a new generation of roots music artists. Their debut recording, Simple Little Town (2013) saw quick success in radio and with tastemakers. Their follow-up release, Miles Between was featured on the nationally syndicated NPR show The World Cafe. Represented by Midwood Entertainment, Unspoken Tradition plays nationwide.
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Glasgow based band Walt Disco have today shared the video for recently released single 'Dancing Shoes'. Directed by Dylan Moore, the video also encompasses a remix by rising Glasgow producer/DJ, TAAHLIAH. The band are also currently touring the UK with fellow Glaswegians The Ninth Wave, and will be joining The Joy Formidable for 3 dates at the end of November. Full details on dates further below.
Within the newly released clip, the main protagonist (portrayed by Walt Disco singer James Potter) is stuck in a loop of temptation, euphoria and madness, as he loses control of himself to three hedonistic apparitions invoked by his desire to escape reality. Poised delicately between the 80's New Romance sound and a more modern post-punk approach - 'Dancing Shoes' finds Walt Disco at their visceral best.
Oscillating between dream-like and nightmarish states, the character’s journey in the video appears to reflects the cyclical path of self-destruction on which many get lost along the road to excess; partnering aptly with the song's lyrical essence. “I wrote Dancing Shoes about a year and a half ago," singer James Potter notes. "It was during a time in my life where I was really struggling to deal with noticing pain and depression within my immediate family and found it difficult to talk about, so I used the writing of this song as therapy. It is very sad but I feel better now it’s written and hope others can take comfort from the song too.”
Recorded in Chris McCrory’s home studio (Fat White Family, Goat Girl, Catholic Action) around a similar time to when they recorded 2018-single 'Drowning In Your Velvet Bed', the new single has been a staple in their live shows for over a year and a half. Having gained notoriety for their drama-filled and unpredictable live shows, recently touring with the likes of Sports Team and opening for Interpol, Walt Disco’s blend of crooning vocals, angular guitars and dark shimmering synths is really something to behold.
Indebted to the rich history of Scottish 80s pop and post-punk bands they hold dearly, Walt Disco channel The Associates and Simple Minds, all whilst still firmly keeping one foot planted in the present day. They're a band whose influences derive not from just music itself, but much more so from love, glamour and androgyny. Their music is a gateway to a space of lust, loss and everything in-between.
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The Adobe Collective effortlessly embody what is rapidly becoming known as the “high desert sound”. Based in Joshua Tree, CA their surroundings reflect a kind of no-frills authenticity that is baked into their music - cosmic desert americana with flashes of psychedelia, country, and indie rock. At times hard hitting, at other times heartfelt and tender, rather than stick to a ready-made musical template, they let the rhythms of the California desert guide their creative path. This path is leading them to the release of All the Space That There Is via Love/Sands Records / JTM Music on January 10th. Founded in 2011 by husband and wife duo Tim & Faith Chinnock at their 1937 historic adobe house just minutes from the entrance to Joshua Tree Park, the current lineup includes Caleb Winn, Chris Unck, and Tyler Saraca.
Working out of Unck’s High Lonesome Studio, their third full length album All The Space That There Is, a self produced effort, was crafted in an un-rushed process through stream of consciousness musings from the past and present. “I’m always pleasantly surprised by how consistently seemingly unrelated thoughts can fit together to make a cohesive story out here in the desert,” Tim reflects. “Almost like the subconscious can see the through-line before the conscious mind realizes what is happening.” Unck adds, “With Adobe we’re always saying, ‘what haven’t we done?’ we want to look around and explore.” It’s a complex album filled with a sense of wonder — three-part harmonies here, lush synth layers, steel guitar flourishes, and epic drum swells there— meant to give a peek into the challenges and successes of making an authentic life in the American Southwest. All The Space That There Iswill woo you, take you in, then send you rocketing out into the cosmos.
Tim and Faith’s harmonies blend effortlessly — which makes sense since they first began singing together as high school sweethearts — as the band brings a unique energy and sound. Unck spent time touring the world opening for Pink with Atlanta based southern rocker Butch Walker, Caleb grew up playing rock ’n roll in Ohio and later joining the house band at legendary live music venue Pappy and Harriet’s, and Tyler who has played with other High Desert groups Desert Rhythm Project and Gene Evaro Jr. landed in the desert with his Boston based band Build A Machine and decided to stay even when his bandmates gave up the rent and skipped town. The Adobe Collective have a sound all their own but have been listed next to artists like Gram Parsons, Queens of the Stone Age, Cracker, and Donovan as acts that embody the high desert sound. This album further solidifies their place in the high desert music pantheon. -
As the name implies All The Space That There Is covers a lot of ground — especially sonically. Mid-tempo chill, up-tempo indie pop, stratospheric jams, flashes of psych rock, and even some good ‘ol country twang. “It was like a zen moment…an out of body experience,” say Unck about his simultaneous roles recording, co-producing, and playing lead guitar. “I suspend myself somewhere in between placing mics, pushing the record button, listening for the count off, and playing what comes to me. It usually reveals something super odd and then I get excited. I try to keep only what is exciting.” To further add layers of desert influence, the band called on Joshua Tree neighbor Nathan Sabatino (who is best known for his work with the Philadelphia band Dr. Dog) to mix the album. Sabatino’s warm touch is evident throughout and along with mastering by Los Angeles based Brian Lucey (mastered 7 Grammy winning records) this album shimmers.
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