Hipbone Slim and the Kneetremblers - No Thee No Ess - Paul Holden - Buffalo Nichols - Little Galaxies - The Connells

Hipbone Slim and the Kneetremblers - Tremblin' (Album).

Over the last 20 years Hipbone Slim and the Kneetremblers have established themselves as a foremost force in the worlds of rock n roll, garage, beat, surf and all in between. They have recorded 13 highly acclaimed albums and a whole load of 45s on labels such as Voodoo Rhythm, Beast, FOLC, and Dirty Water. Not to mention various other related side-lines and pseudonym releases!

The Kneetremblers are fronted by Hipbone Slim aka Sir Bald on guitar, vocals and song-writing duties. He is ably assisted by Bash Brand on hitting things. Bruce’s musical CV is extensive and includes Thee Milkshakes, Headcoats, Holly Golightly, Masonics, Wreckless Eric and two albums with Link Wray.

On this release Baldie and Bruce are joined by Gez Gerrard or Cheeseman or Sleepy Matt Radford on slapping things. You’ll also hear Spencer 'The Colonel' Evoy (frontman of MFC Chicken) on saxophone and Slim Cyder on piano on several tracks. Many of these particular tunes were originally released on vinyl under the semi alter ego ‘Hipbone Slim and the Crowntoppers'. Thanks also to various other pals from Sir Bald Diddley and his Ripcurls and/or The Nine Ton Peanut Smugglers (Kid Wig, Johnny and Barry Temptations) for all your efforts in trying to make these recordings a little more listenable!

This splendid nay resplendent double CD package brings together no less than 40 tracks by the ultra-prolific, greatly under-rated, hardest working band in rock n roll show business.

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No Thee No Ess - Dimmer Switch.

Cardiff Psych Rock phenomena 'No Thee No Ess' are poised to release their 2nd single from anticipated new 'Dimmer Switch' Album out via Surk Recordings this September.

'Dimmer Switch'' is the 2nd single to emerge from the new LP and will be released on Friday 27th August, and 'Dimmer Switch' Album will be released on Friday 17th September 2021.

No Thee No Ess is a collaboration between Paul Battenbough (The Cosmic Array, King of Despair) and Andy Fung (Derrero, Cymbient). The two musical and visual artists first met whilst working in the kitchen of a Cardiff arts centre and bonded through a shared love of The Beach Boys, Neil Young, and West Coast psychedelia.

The partnership creates spontaneously, conceiving songs and ideas in the studio and then recording straight away to preserve their freshness and immediacy. The eighth No Thee No Ess album, 'Dimmer switch' was recorded with musician/producer Frank Naughton at his legendary Cardiff studio, ‘Ty Drwg.’

Naughton contributes additional instrumentation, bringing new lysergic colours to songs like “kaleidoscopic” and "Chorus.” The result is among no thee no ess’ most adventurous works to date, rich with experimental energy while retaining their characteristic blissed out vision. Dimmer switch will be released by Surk Recordings on vinyl, CD, streaming, and digital download in August 2021.

No Thee No Ess · Dimmer Switch

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Paul Holden - Help Me Anytime You Want.

Hailing from Liverpool, hugely gifted singer/songwriter Paul Holden is back with his new single ‘Help Me Anytime You Want’.

Coming from strong roots previously fronting band ‘The Talkabouts’, and having performed with The Pretenders, China Crisis, and The Bluetones, Paul’s solo career took off amidst covering ‘Imagine’ at Liverpool’s M&S Arena to 10,000 people as part of ‘The Number One Project’ for charity.

Paul exceeds his reputation in the new single with a contemporary synth based sound, whilst sitting perfectly alongside his hauntingly beautiful melodies, and dulcet tones.

The mystique surrounding Paul’s musical journey has always been prevalent, due to the fact that he suffers from a rare muscle condition called ‘Nemaline Myopathy’ that has resulted in him being in a wheelchair.

Un-phased, Paul Holden has returned with this spellbinding single, also ahead of his new EP ‘Say It To The Sun’ which is out on Thursday 19th August.

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Photo - Dustin Cohen

Buffalo Nichols - Lost & Lonesome.

Buffalo Nichols, Fat Possum’s first solo blues signing in nearly 20 years, has announced the release of his self-titled debut album, due on 15th October. The Austin, TX-based guitarist, songwriter and vocalist has also shared lead single 'Lost & Lonesome, a tender, aching ballad. “‘Lost & Lonesome’ was inspired by years of traveling alone, wandering city streets looking for a place to call home maybe for a night, maybe forever,” explains Carl “Buffalo” Nichols.

“It takes you back to those moments in life when you must leave home either physically or figuratively — going somewhere unfamiliar and on your own. The soundtrack to a wandering soul. An ode to loneliness. When you see a wandering soul, all you can do is wonder how they got there. This song gives a glimpse into the mind of that traveler looking for a friend and a place to call home.”

Since his earliest infatuations with guitar, Buffalo Nichols has asked himself the same question: How can I bring the blues of the past into the future? After cutting his teeth between a Baptist church and bars in Milwaukee, it was a globetrotting trip through West Africa and Europe during a creative down period that began to reveal the answer.

“Part of my intent, making myself more comfortable with this release, is putting more Black stories into the genres of folk and blues,” Nichols explains. “Listening to this record, I want more Black people to hear themselves in this music that is truly theirs.” That desire is embodied in his self-titled debut album, composed largely of demos and studio sessions recorded between Wisconsin and Texas.

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Little Galaxies - Waking Sea.

Venice Beach rock quartet, Little Galaxies is back with the music video for their reflective single "Waking Sea." Directed by Sara Alessandrini, the video showcases the track's hopeful message set to a summer beach backdrop. 

“This is a song about finding peace in the wreckage. It was inspired by a car accident and my awakening in the years to follow as I healed from injuries and learned to accept my fate by surrendering to the pain to heal and transcend from it,” explains lead singer Jeanna Fournier. 

Little Galaxies was founded by Fournier and Amir Eshraghi, who recruited Andreas Sandnes on bass and Lucas Crouch on drums. The ensemble experiments with their own unique sonic dreamscape, drawing influences from psychedelic rock, dream pop, and folk.

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Photo - Bryan Regan

The Connells - Steadman's Wake.

Raleigh-based band The Connells shared “Steadman’s Wake,” the title track of their upcoming album, due September 24 via Black Park/Missing Piece Records. The song is currently streaming on Stereogum which writes, “the track will surely appeal to fans of the Connells’ fellow Southern jangle-rockers R.E.M., and you might hear some Drive By Truckers in the sauce when they launch into the chorus..." In addition to releasing their first album in 20 years, the band has planned a run of fall US tour dates; tickets are available now.

"I generally find writing lyrics to be the most challenging aspect of songwriting and with ‘Steadman's Wake’ that certainly proved to be the case.” says Mike Connell, “ I set out with the modest ambition of tackling the opioid crisis, the futility of war, and the events in Charlottesville, VA a couple of years ago, all in the context of a four minute pop song (being facetious, obviously). The other guys in the band really liked it, and felt that of all the tunes we were working on it best expressed where we ‘are’ individually and as a band."

Despite the two decades since their last recording, The Connells never quit performing, and Mike Connell never stopped writing songs. Steadman’s Wake features eight new songs and 3 re-recorded versions of previously-released demos which originally appeared on 2001’s Old-School Dropouts CD. This is also the band’s first album to feature two new members, guitarist Mike Ayers and drummer Rob Ladd (who have been in the lineup since 2002 and 2012, respectively), and the band’s first record with Mike Connell taking a prominent role as vocalist.

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Gal Musette - Spencer Callum - Opeongo

Gal Musette - Ghost.

Gal Musette is the nom de plum of Grace Freeman, a musical prodigy who began writing piano based lyrical compositions and performing at open mics in her home city of San Clemente, CA at the age of 10. Her graceful approach to melody-driven indie-folk and French chansons has captured audiences all over Southern California. At age 14, inspired by The Magnetic Fields’ triple album 69 Love Songs, Gal recorded her own collection titled 70 Love Songs, which caught the attention of the band, and won her an opening slot on a few of their Midwestern U.S. tour dates. In more recent years, Gal has opened for several renowned artists such as Macy Gray, Suzanne Vega, Todd Snyder, and Donavon Frankenreiter. While her artist name is taken from bal-musette, the accordion-based, waltz-style French instrumental music, Gal’s primary inspiration is drawn from songwriters including Joni Mitchell, Regina Spektor, Bjork, Cocteau Twins, Burt Bacharach, Irving Berlin and The Cure.

In October 2021, Gal will be releasing her debut album, Backwards Lullaby, featuring a vocal duet with one of her biggest musical inspirations, Rufus Wainwright. The upcoming album explores the pangs of hopeless romances and unrequited love, what it’s like to move beyond idealized love into the acceptance of what is real and constant, as well as the cyclical nature of life and love in relationships.

 “Summertime,” the first single from the EP, was released in June and tells an overwhelmingly nostalgic and bittersweet narrative about short-lived friendships, like romances, that fade with the season’s change. The romantic and warm nature of the song overflows with a joyous indie-folk melody laced with snippets of loss and heartache.

Gal’s newest single, “Ghost,” is rooted in tragedy and carries her listeners through the struggle of being in love with two people at the same time. Heart-wrenching vocals and gentle piano fill this song with raw emotion, painting a vivid portrait of pain, passion, and longing - but also leaving much of the song’s meaning open to unique interpretation. Gal confides “there’s no one meaning to be understood from the lyrics- I would hope that each listener could take something a bit different from them. The “ghost” could be seen as a metaphor for an imaginary friend that stuck around a little overdue- even when you’ve grown up and shouldn’t be clinging to those fantasies anymore.”  Indie-rock band Coma Culture is featured on the song and adds to a harmony full of ecstasy and emotion.

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Photo - Angelina Castillo

Spencer Callum - Seaside.

With an arm’s length list of credits stretching from the likes of Kesha, Dolly Parton and Deer Tick, to Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town, pedal steel savant Spencer Cullum is one of Nashville’s most in-demand session cats. 

That’s in addition to making up half of acclaimed, primarily instrumental space-country duo “Steelism.” Clearly he’s had little trouble fitting in since moving from his native London to Music City by way of Detroit eight years ago, even if it’s mostly meant blending into the background. “I guess I’ve always hidden behind [the instrument],” he deadpans. “I’m always the guy who looks like he’s studying for a test in the background.”

Now, with a debut solo album, Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection, paying homage to the ’60s and ‘70s psych-pop, folk and proto prog heroes of his homeland, this Nashville sideman’s stepping out from the shadows into the spotlight. 

The album is being released September 24th via Full Time Hobby. Along with a supporting cast of fellow Music City stage and studio aces like guitarist Sean Thompson and multi-instrumentalist Luke Reynolds, as well as singing and writing partners like Caitlin Rose, Andrew Combs, Erin Rae, Annie Williams and James “Skyway Man” Wallace — he’s bringing a bit of Britain to Tennessee.

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Opeongo - dreadful sorry clemency.

Opeongo is the moniker of 28-year-old singer-songwriter Keegan Trumpour of Midland, Ontario. After releasing debut LP Miasma in 2019, Opeongo is preparing his sophomore album, we’ll all go with (the-will-o’-the-wisp).

Opeongo returns with a bigger and bolder single “dreadful sorry clemency,” reimagining the protagonist Clementine from the traditional folk tune and Elliott Smith song. “dreadful sorry clemency” encapsulates loss - of mercy, lenience, and forgiveness. 

We can survive a lack of empathy and understanding with a little bit of warmth, compassion and care for one another.

Opeongo · dreadful sorry clemency

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Jessica Pearson and the East Wind - Megan McCormick feat. Amanda Fields - HuDost

Jessica Pearson and the East Wind - Laundry Song.

We are taught to carry and hold onto shame and guilt in our lives; to keep everything bad that happens, all the mistakes we’ve made, to ourselves. To hide ourselves from the world and only show the shiny exterior we’ve created to mask the pain and shame. Jessica Pearson and the East Wind’s new single “Laundry Song” is out today, bringing celtic influences to the surface of the duo’s sound and celebrates traditional sounds of their ancestors and heritage from Ireland and Scotland.

Jessica Pearson is a Canadian born storyteller with a voice like melting honey on a summers eve. Accompanied by Maddy O’Regan on the fiddle, they bring to life tales of the past and express the beauty and heartbreak of the world today.

In 2017 they released their debut EP Grave and Garden Songs to a sold out crowd at LIVE! On Elgin. Playing over 80 shows a year in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, they have been writing songs and collecting stories from all over the world.

Their music blends folk, roots and East Coast bluegrass to create a unique sound of their own. From a cappella tunes sung in the middle of the audience to recollections of growing up in Canada, Jessica Pearson and the East Wind will take you on a journey with their dynamic live shows and entertaining story telling.

Jessica Pearson and the East Wind · Laundry Song

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Megan McCormick - Upside and Backwards feat. Amanda Fields.

Today, the Nashville-based producer, songwriter, and acclaimed guitarist Megan McCormick returns with her first new single of 2021 “Upside Down and Backwards” featuring Amanda Fields. The song was written by the duo and was produced by McCormick, who has continued to expand into production over the last few years. This week, McCormick will perform with Allison Russell at the Newport Folk Festival.

“‘Upside Down and Backwards’ was born from a serendipitous moment when an old-timed Christmas record started skipping,” explains McCormick. “The song began stirring and the next thing I knew my partner and I were on a tangent, recording every part, writing lyrics, and building this song around the record skipping sample I’d recorded on my phone. The whole thing was finished in a day, just from us being totally consumed by what seemed to come from outside ourselves. We acted more like conduits. But, the crux of the song is about awakening to love and how we’re willing to reach so deeply and so far for something.”

Megan McCormick is a Nashville, TN-based guitarist, songwriter, producer, and engineer. She’s performed and toured with Jenny Lewis, Connor Oberst, and Haerts, and has produced music by Ryan Culwell, Aubrie Sellers and Cruz Contreras. McCormick is an in-demand and inventive musician, lending support to a variety of performers and songwriters.

“Upside Down and Backwards” follows her 2020 single “Human Condition.” NPR Music said, “Megan McCormick has been known around town for years for her delicate depth and incisiveness on acoustic and electric guitar alike, which keeps her plenty busy backing other performers. In late March, she ended a half-dozen-year gap in output under her own name with the track ‘Human Condition,’ an electronic pop-R&B dreamscape that surrounds her reedy ruminations in fanciful instrumental counterpoint and insinuated groove.” McCormick has a new album in the final stages of production, with plans to release a flow of new music.

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HuDost - Beat the Drum Harder.

Award-winning music duo HuDost are calling on planet conservation with the release of their pressing new single and mesmerizing new music video, “Beat the Drum Harder.” Led by Montreal, QC artist Moksha Sommer, and Bowling Green, KY artist Jemal Wade Hines, the song is from HuDost’s forthcoming November 2021 album, Anthems of Home.

“The single addresses our disconnection from — and harm of — the planet, and our awakening to the needed return,” the band says. “It is a joyous and celebratory call for us to open our ears and consciousness to the heartbeat of the earth that brings us back to the source.”

For the music video, HuDost was able to partner with esteemed choreographer Rebecca Steinberg and accomplished videographer Sam Boyette. They worked with the WKU Dance Program & WKU Dance Company and involved almost 20 additional dancers. “The creation process was challenging as all preparations were done within the restraints of Covid,” HuDost recalls. “Rehearsals were conducted via zoom, and all preparation was done separately.

“It was only on the day of filming that everyone came together in-person, freshly vaccinated, and delighted to work. That in-person union was a symbolic mirroring of the greater message of the song and video… “Even if we are estranged or isolated from our greater source, the return can and will happen.”

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Ruth Lyon - The Sun Harmonic - Erez Zobary

Ruth Lyon - Fast Food

Ruth Lyon is a singer-songwriter of intense honesty and an impulse to say it how it is. Making a unique brand of ‘baroque-pop’ she bares her soul with courage and conviction - full of stark self-reflection but also a knowing nod to the absurdity of life. She returns to drop her latest single “Fast Food”.

Upbeat and effervescent, “Fast Food” is an irresistible pop gem that draws you in from the get-go with Ruth’s captivating and confident vocal delivery over an incredibly danceable rhythm section. It’s impossible to stay still while listening to Ruth’s lighthearted take on an almost nihilistic sense of timelessness many of us felt over the past year. Supported in the chorus by more captivating melodies and euphoric brass, “Fast Food” will grab a hold of your attention and not let go.

In 2019 Ruth released her first single “I’d Give It All” (under the name Ruth Patterson) which received support from 6 Music, Radio X and Spotify editorial. In 2020 Ruth cemented herself as one of the North East’s most important voices, when Sage Gateshead named her Artist-in-Residence. Over the course of the year, despite being thrown into turmoil by the pandemic, Ruth released two more singles, the evocative “Sink or Swim” and “Somebody Else”, for which she received the PRS Women Make Music award and was named as BBC Introducing in the North East’s Hot Tip 2021.

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The Sun Harmonic - All to Myself.

The Sun Harmonic is a Canadian folk-rock band led by small town songwriter Kaleb Hikele, a prolific recording artist based in Toronto’s east end. Kaleb is releasing a new folk album, Coast to Coast, recorded in five studios across Canada; 

The first folk-pop single “To the Blue” was tracked in Ottawa and Montreal. The second single, folk-punk song “Flying Over Saskatchewan,” was released with a fan favourite pandemic-style Zoom music video. Contrasting love songs, “All to Myself” and “A Song for Her,” will be released throughout the summer before the album drops on streaming services in October 2021.

Kaleb Hikele has created original independent music all from his home studio since 2009, Coast to Coast will be the fifth studio album and 15th studio release as an artist. Before the pandemic, The Sun Harmonic shared a stage with Charlotte Cardin at Winnipeg’s Festival Du Voyageur 2020, showcased by Canada’s Walk of Fame, just before live shows went dark. 

Their latest EP It’s All Okay, Thanks To You brought the infectious single “Sign On The Road” into heavy rotation on satellite radio, now spinning on turntables across Canada.

The Sun Harmonic · All to Myself

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Erez Zobary - To Bloom.

Toronto-based R&B/pop artist Erez Zobary has a timeless voice, in more ways than one. Raised on Stevie Wonder and Amy Winehouse, Erez’s soulful vocals echo the sounds and styles of her youth. Lyrically she is raw and uninhibited, writing openly about universal, yet highly personal, feelings of self-worth, uncertainty, and vulnerability. Combined with her down-to-earth sense of humour and natural charisma, which she displays online and onstage, Erez engages with a growing fanbase who resonate deeply with her message of empowerment, and find joy and connectivity in the community she has fostered.

Over the last five years, Erez has played to audiences around the country, from sold-out shows at venues like Lee’s Palace and the Taste of Danforth festival in Toronto, to packed theatres at TEDxQueensU in Kingston, and the National Music Centre in Calgary, as a participant in the RBC Master in Residence Program with Steven Page. In 2019, Erez was selected by HoneyJam as one of Canada’s up-and-coming female artists.

Erez has released 3 EPs in collaboration with various artists, including Enoch Ncube of Moneyphone (Erez & Enoch Love You, Twenty), and Brahny (Love and Lots of Sleep), to create music that combines her distinctive sense of storytelling with experimental sounds, and diverse genres. In 2019, Erez partnered with frequent musical collaborators Adam Eisen and David Lipson to create her first full-length project, July Clouds, which received national attention for songs like Love Me (CBC Song of the Week) and Before I Knew You (Spotify Fresh Finds).

Now Erez turns inward, at a time of great self-discovery and uncertainty, to create a collection of deeply personal songs. On her upcoming project, Erez draws from the anxieties, challenges, and changes facing her, and many like her, who are searching to understand themselves.

Erez Zobary · To Bloom

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