Ålesund - My Name is Ian - William The Conqueror - Sneakpeek - Krooked Kings

Ålesund - Rode Off Into The Sun.

Bristol-based alt-pop outfit Ålesund release their single 'Rode Off Into The Sun', today May 12th 2023. The second single to come from their upcoming EP, Rode Off Into The Sun is a triumphant, up tempo, galloping tune that is made for summer months.

Fronted by the ethereal vocals of British-Norwegian singer-songwriter Alba Torriset, Ålesund's sound is a fusion of dreamy pop hooks, atmospheric soundscapes and alternative rock riffs, which have drawn comparisons to the likes of Kate Bush, Florence and the Machine and London Grammar.

Lyrically, Rode Off Into The Sun reflects on the admiration held for a character who knows her worth, who picks herself despite any adversity and makes the best out of any situation.

“I was so impressed by a friend who had been dealt a rough hand and instead of wallowing and seeing the glass as half empty, she just dusted herself off and charged on with making the best out of her life. It was inspiring to witness and became the main theme of the song”, says vocalist and lyricist Alba Torriset.

 

======================================================================

My Name is Ian - Thank You.

‘Thank You’ is the latest release from the Cardiff-based band, My Name is Ian. The track is released today May 12th and is a tribute to the people who have supported them over the years, drug smuggling, Stephen Mulhern and falling in love.

‘Thank You’, is the first track from the band’s upcoming 8th studio album: ‘GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS GO BANANAS’. The record will be full of the trademark blend of catchy pop melodies, witty lyrics, and infectious energy. Songs about hating your life, loving your life, Norwegian families, coconut crabs, 90s television shows, feeling like a loser, not trusting the government and Peppa pig. There is something for everyone.

Creatures of Cardiff, My Name Is Ian have already built a back catalogue that would have taken The Stone Roses millennia to mirror. Since 2010 their output of has dealt with break-ups, breakdowns, mysterious lion paintings and characters from the Tom Hanks movie Big. This restless productivity has seen genres including but not restricted to lo-fi, bedroom punk, garage rock, prog and anti-folk, all filtered through the pop-oriented cranium of frontman Reginald Foxwell.

======================================================================

William The Conqueror - The Puppet And The Puppeteer (Live at Marshall Studios).

William The Conqueror have just unveiled their new single ‘The Puppet and the Puppeteer’. Taken from their forthcoming album ‘Excuse Me While I Vanish’, out 28th July on Chrysalis Records, the track is the follow-up to last month’s single ‘Somebody Else’. Produced by the band in a playground of vintage gear and mixed by Barny Barnicott (Arctic Monkeys, Sam Fender, Kasabian), the ten tracks on ‘Excuse Me While I Vanish’ marry earworm tunes with insistent, imperious, soaring rock shapes, punctuated by chorus hooks that are simultaneously nuanced and anthemic.

“’The Puppet and the Puppeteer’ could be a Jekyll and Hyde or Frankenstein's monster story—about wrestling with or losing control of your creation—who controls whom,” explains frontman Ruarri. “I definitely feel like William has the upper hand sometimes.” Harry and Nae add, “It's a favourite for us in our live shows. It deserves to be played loud, on a big sound system. You can bring the hustle, the mosh and the lighter sway to this party.”

‘Excuse Me While I Vanish’, very nearly didn’t happen. Following the imposition of lockdown restrictions, Joseph found himself cocooned at home in Cornwall, ruminating on an uncertain creative future, watching on as his wife Mandy, a valiant mental health social worker, engaged with the all-too-real dilemmas of the pandemic-riven here and now. Her example motivated Joseph to become a temporary care worker, an experience which would provide renewed focus and influence the songwriting on the new album.

“My wife was insomniac for the first six months of lockdown, which made it impossible for me to moan or grieve the fact that everything I’d been working on for the last five years had come to a standstill. It was a much-needed perspective and made me realise what a selfish undertaking William had been – navel-gazing with my head in the clouds when what people needed was boots firmly on the ground, preferably on the feet of someone like Mandy.”

======================================================================

Sneakpeek - Strawberry Reality.

Los Angeles duo Sneakpeek share their latest single, “Strawberry Reality,” a psychedelic liquid lullaby inspired by Dora Hiller’s visual artwork, which she creates collages from vintage magazines, and appears in Sneakpeek’s artwork.

“Strawberry Reality” is the third single shared from Hiller and Aric Bohn’s long awaited sophomore album, Scene Within A Dream, due out June 2, following “Serendipity,” in March, which Under the Radar called, "an intoxicating haze of pulsing rhythms and iridescent synth textures.” And “Dreams That You Discarded,” which signaled the duo’s return last November. Buzzbands LA called the single, “exhilarating and vaguely dangerous, with Hiller’s airy vocals casting sublime charms over swirling, rubbery synths.”

Sneakpeak released their self-titled debut album in 2013 on Burger Records, with the LA Times hailing it as a, “noisy nine-track album offering up heavy, druggy guitar riffs that’d make Kurt Vile (or Lou Reed) proud.” While that record combined elements of dream pop with grungy, garage-rock sludge, Scene Within A Dream finds the duo heading in new directions.

Surrounded by walls of synthesizers and vintage drum machines in their Glassell Park studio, Dora and Aric leaned into their psychedelic abandonments, pushing their mostly analogue gear to its limits. “We love obscure electronic music from the 70s, 80s + 90s,” notes Hiller, “and wanted to experiment with a new sound that embodied those elements but with our own spin on it.” Throughout Scene Within A Dream, Sneakpeek explores the world of dreams, the mysteries of nature, mortality, magic and manifestation; old Hollywood studios, non linear timelines, synchronicity, and paranormal experiences, leading the listener out onto a surreal, dreamy dancefloor.



======================================================================

Krooked Kings - All Out of Good Days (Album).

On the back of a stand out SXSW, rising Salt Lake City based indie rock quintet Krooked Kings have released their brand new album, All Out Of Good Days.Produced by surf-rock darling Day Wave, the album is a body of work built on garage rock roots and decorated with indie-pop choruses.  With 13,000 tickets sold on the west coast of North America before the album release, Krooked Kings are a DIY success story who have built a fan base on the back of a committed touring schedule, driving guitars and vibrant vocals, All Out Of Good Days promises to take Krooked Kings to the next level. Speaking on the project, they state:

 ‘We’re just five guys from Utah making music both for pleasure and to process our experiences of the world. This album is a scrapbook of thoughts and feelings bound to the time we wrote it. It’s about the weird time between college and the rest of your life and everything that surrounds that. About how utterly confusing, depressing, and joyful it can be.’

A grass roots band who were raised in the Mormon faith before taking the decision to walk away from the religion and embrace music, Krooked Kings are a unique band with a unique story. In 2019, a group of five college friends from the University of Utah came together to write music and play shows in backyards and basements. Over the course of the last few years, the band has proven time and again their ability to write heartfelt indie rock gems. After signing with Los Angeles based indie label Nobody Gets It Records in 2020, the band released their breakout single, “‘96 Subaru”, which has amassed over three million streams. By September 23, 2021, Krooked Kings released their debut project, The Comedown. After the release, Krooked Kings hit the road on two support tours with Goth Babe and Rare Americans, as well as three headline dates in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles.

======================================================================

Kacey Johansing - Jérémie & The Delicious Hounds - LOW-RES

Kacey Johansing - Daffodils.

Today Kacey Johansing announces the upcoming release of her new album Year Away. The LA-based songwriter has also shared a new video for “Daffodils,” the first single and a stunning centerpiece to the album, built from a pastiche of looping samples, swirling Mellotron and dazzling vibraphone. Year Away will be released on July 28th via Night Bloom records.

An elegiac tribute to someone facing death with grace and curiosity, “Daffodils” finds Johansing confronting own mortality by observing the brief lifespan of a flower. “Keep your heart open wide, you never know your time / Keep your heart wild, true flower child”, Johansing sings as she says goodbye to an elder, while the band reaches a grief-stricken crescendo of woodwinds and chiming bells.

Johansing writes, “Daffodils are one of the first flowers to bloom as the earth begins to thaw, coming even before spring and often emerging from the snow. The vibrant yellow is a sign that a seasonal shift is on the horizon, a gesture of hope and light, even in the darkest of times.”

Throughout Year Away Johansing traverses similarly uncharted emotional landscapes brought upon by the changes occurring all around her. When the world came to an abrupt standstill in 2020, she found herself simultaneously processing this recent personal loss while trying to make sense of a new global reality. She began to fear her Los Angeles musical community was vanishing, as friends and collaborators continually announced they were leaving the city. Across the ensuing months, Johansing found herself increasingly untethered by a world of isolation and political upheaval.

It was in returning to her piano nightly that she found the greatest solace, feverishly writing the songs for a new album. This new sense of time and focus served to help deepen her songwriting. As Johansing recalls, “I felt like a metamorphosis happened during that time. There was a lot of personal growth and healing.” 

======================================================================

Jérémie & The Delicious Hounds - 'We Haven't Met Yet.

Jérémie & The Delicious Hounds are new-age fosterers of soul music with a uniquely Canadian twist. Hailing from St. Boniface, the old French quarter of Winnipeg, they have crafted their identity as bilingual artists with their first full-length album, Cruel. Infusing nine fun-loving songs about amour and heartbreak in a mixture of both English and French, the LP serves as an authentic representation of the languages they speak at home. With the support of seasoned producer Murray Pulver, Cruel was recorded "live off the floor" to capture their vintage soul aesthetic and vibrant live performance energy.

The record's focus track, "We Haven't Met Yet," came about when lead singer/guitarist Jérémie came up with some lyrics for a chorus and shared them with lead guitarist Ryan Toupin, who found them inspiring and wrote several verses. The lyrics reminded Ryan of his single days when he would feel too shy to approach any of the beautiful girls he encountered, whether on the bus, at a bar, or in this case, at the library. He had always fantasized about meeting an intelligent girl who shared his love of books.

The Delicious Hounds name is a play on words about their "delicious sound" of smooth melodies, juicy guitar riffs and tasty horn licks. Jérémie's smooth yet smoky voice is accented with a brilliant brass section to deliver round after round of phenomenal hits on golden platters. His staple friendliness, positive vibes and charismatic nature culminate into a profound presence that leaves listeners swooning for another bite of the eight-piece band's modern twist on old-school rhythm and beats.

======================================================================

LOW-RES - Därför (Album).

Following on from the release of their highly praised four-track EP ‘Du å ja’ last year, Swedish duo LOW-RES now return for 2023 to deliver their explosive new album.

Right off the release of their most recent single ‘Stigma’, teaming up with seminal artist Johan Hinders of Audionom for the release, LOW-RES anticipates their album, ‘Däför’. The pair return with all the same power and captivating post-punk textures they are known for. Brimming with a raw and driven aesthetic that flows elegantly between their electronic and organic elements, their newest release cements them as one of the more riveting names on the scene today.

Stockholm based duo LOW-RES writes pulsating pop tunes influenced by 90s ambient guitars and analog synthesizers. They made their debut in 2021 with the full-length album ”Varför” featuring guest appearances by Jukka Rintamäki (Silverbullit) and Per Nordmark (Fireside) among others. A four-track EP "Du å ja" followed in 2022 with a refined sound of analog drum machines and Swedish lyrics.

The eleven songs on ‘Därför’ drag you in, one by one, to a parallel universe where music from bygone eras, like krautrock, early electronic pop/rock and psychedelia, are alive and well and sounding as fresh as ever in modern-day Sweden.

“Varför and Därför belong together,”says LOW-RES. “Both records were written in the same vein and with the same approach: fast, creative and with many collaborations that colour the expression. We have a lot of fun making music and it works as an antidepressant. We just heard the term Art Therapy and that pretty much sums up why we do this.”

Adrian Recordings · LOW-RES - Därför

======================================================================

ANGHARAD - Natalie Gray - The Bablers - Georgia Mooney

ANGHARAD - Because I Am A Woman.

ANGHARAD is an artist and songwriter with fire, passion and unflinching honesty at the core of all her music. The first single from her debut solo album had to be ‘Because I Am A Woman’, a confident and positive ‘call to arms’.

As ANGHARAD explains: “‘Because I Am A Woman’ was written as a response to the widely accepted beliefs in the music industry that it’s not possible to be a mother and have a successful career.

I received some hostile reactions myself when I announced that I was pregnant. I was told that I was unambitious and that I was no longer serious about following a career in music. These outdated, sexist attitudes need to change.

This is a call to arms to any woman who has experienced similar attitudes and expressing the need to stand up for change. Rather than getting angry about it, this song says “yes we can!” And “yes, we are capable of anything!” I believe it is possible to have both, and do both well, when society will allow us.

======================================================================

Natalie Gray - The Me I Pretend To Be.

The Me I Pretend To Be is the latest single from Synth-Pop artist Natalie Gray. Grabbing inspiration from some of Natalie’s favourite artists such as Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, as well as more recent artists such as Paramore, Kings Elliot and Lawrence, this song embodies the desperation of losing yourself and hiding behind a smile and a cliche whilst it feels that your world could crumble at any second.

Following the success of Natalie’s previous single “Fire” supported by BBC introducing, The Me I Pretend To Be steps away from her usual upbeat and colourful sound and brings a more honest and nostalgic feel, touching on the reality of living with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, a theme that a lot of us can relate to.  This latest track is Natalie’s first time opening up about her own personal experience with living with PTSD and struggling to find her old self.

Instead of reaching for your hairbrush and throwing your best 80s dance moves infront of the mirror, The Me I Pretend To Be will have you opening your old photo albums and coming face to face with your own demons.

Natalie has teamed up once again with childhood friend and personal agony aunt Jack Craig, (the producer behind “Dance Floor” and “One In A Million”) to create this vulnerable and heart string grabbing song.

======================================================================

The Bablers - Mr King.

Bablers founder, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Arto Tamminen – who's led the band, now alongside Janne Haavisto (drums, vocals), Pekka Gröhn (bass, keyboards, vocals), and Hannu Pikkarainen (guitar, vocals) since its late '70s genesis – tells us about the track and how it difers from the boisterous guitar pop of the two prior single. “It's built to be a classic big piano pop ballad, the kind you've rarely heard since the golden days of pop.” And that's exactly what “Mr. King” delivers: intimate, intense, bold, confdent, and powerful, the tune has a million dollar melody that sticks in your mind, and a timeless message. As with all of the tracks from the LIKE THE FIRST TIME sessions, the song is played 100% live with original instruments: upright piano, electric guitar, bass and drums. The band’s sound is glued together, tight yet fexible, and the take heard here has a magic and a mood you can almost touch. It makes you listen, demanding attention that will be rewarded.

Tamminen lays out the backstory behind the emotive lyrics, ofering insight into the choice to release the song as the English monarchy – and so much of the world – enters a new era. “It’s been a long day. A lot of public activities. Horses and soldiers. Roaring audiences. Applause. Flags. Smiling faces,” explains Arto. “Finally, at the castle, someone is knocking at the door. It's troubadour asking permission to sing a song, crafted especially for the occasion. Permission is granted. He starts to sing, and in the chorus asks the most important question...”

Both the deft handling of the subject matter and the richness of the music mark a true change of pace after the previous two singles from The Bablers. That versatility won't surprise longtime fans or anyone who's heard the band's thrillingly eclectic and lovingly crafted 2021 Big Stir Records album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS. But it's all too rare to hear a new work of this depth and purity of sound on the radio these days, and that alone is reason to celebrate another triumph from THE BABLERS, who are rapidly ascending to the throne they have long deserved: the Kings of Finnish Guitar Pop, and royalty on the global stage as well.

======================================================================

Georgia Mooney - Break It Off.

Pulling inspiration from the theatrical sounds of ABBA and Rufus Wainwright, ‘Break It Off’ is pure high drama, a melodramatic and shamelessly camp take on infatuation ending in pain, fuelled by desperate yearning and stubborn sentimentality.

Georgia Mooney shares “it is about being powerless to somebody’s charms. When a relationship is terribly bad for you, but the infatuation is overwhelming. When you’re not receiving enough in return, there is a desperation that the person will have a miraculous epiphany and realise they’re actually madly in love. There is an inability to let go of that hope, to the extent where the only option is to be dumped ruthlessly!” Mooney’s celestial vocals dance above luscious layers of instrumentation: gentle piano, a 70s-esque synth, and shimmering strings, all buoyed by bass and shuffling drums reminiscent of classic 60s pop.

 The ‘Break It Off’ video sees a dazzling 80s-worthy collaboration with Eora-founded aerobics queens Retrosweat. Devised as “if Pat Benatar made an instructional workout video”, Georgia Mooney sings as a portrait on the wall of a beautiful, surreal set that the trio of dancers perform in. As well as being wonderfully theatrical, it’s also the avenue through which Mooney presents an ode to one of her greatest loves - Benedict Cumberbach. She shares, “It is no secret that I have something of a celebrity crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. I do not suffer from celebrity worship syndrome in general, nor do I ever get star struck, I cannot explain the spell that was cast on me when first I clapped eyes and ears on Cumberbatch. Surely something to do with the rather lovely, clever-sounding accent and the period costume attire…When I wrote the lyric “you’re not a patch on Benedict Cumberbatch”, I gave myself the rest of the day off.”

Georgia Mooney's upcoming debut album ‘Full Of Moon’ features previously released singles ‘War Romance’ and ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’. The record is a meticulously crafted sonic universe that tells stories of the beauty and potency of vulnerability, and the complexities of connection and perception, carried by Mooney’s soaring ethereal voice over lush, cinematic soundscapes.

======================================================================

Panic Pocket - Jeanines - The Strange Dream - Jo Caseley

Panic Pocket - Get Me.

London-based Sophie Peacock and Natalie Healey have been friends since childhood, know each other’s secrets - and probably know a few of yours too. Panic Pocket are sassy, sardonic and bursting with amazing songs.

Fuelled by claustrophobia and frustration, new single Get Me is consumed by the desire to push the escape button. Lyrically, the song grapples with a fear of commitment and a determination to defy life expectations.

This sense of cathartic destruction is mirrored in the music. Get Me sees the band stomping on the distortion pedal, building a life-affirming anthem from layers of chunky riffs. The deliberately lo-fi video, shot on an old digital camera Sophie found in the attic, is delightfully deadpan – all snarls and eye rolls against candyfloss backdrops.

Get Me was the obvious choice for the opening track on debut album Mad Half Hour, where Panic Pocket set out their intentions and give you a safe space to scream it all out with them. If you want punkpop exuberance, lyrics that are so truthful they hurt, plus some very infectious tunes - then Mad Half Hour is the soundtrack you need, right down to the minute.

======================================================================

Jeanines - Each Day.

Over the course of two well-received albums and numerous singles and compilation appearances, Jeanines have captured the ears of discerning listeners with a sound that recalls a diverse swathe of pop history, from 60s folk-pop and girl-group tunes to 80s DIY pop to solid gold 90s touchstones like The Aislers Set, The Cat's Miaow and the post-Black Tambourine bands of Pam Berry.

Now they're back with their first new tunes since 2022's Don't Wait For A Sign and the hits just keep on coming. "Each Day" is moody jangler that delivers melodic and emotional heft that belies its brief 1:43 length. Destined for 1,000 indiepop mixtapes, it's exactly the kind of song that the 7" was invented for.

"What The Echoes Say" is a strummy delight, showcasing Alicia Jeanine's lovely vocal harmonies to maximum effect. "Tilt In Your Eye" wraps up this ace single -- it was Jeanines' contribution to Where It's At Is Where You Are's ace 2019 compilation "The Moon And Back" and appears here on vinyl for the first time.

======================================================================

The Strange Dream - Miss Annie.

As psych rock goes this is very good. Capturing the vibes of days gone by there is enough originality here to make the song stand out and the gorgeous vibes really do resonate so well. Ive got to say I kind of love this one, anyway about the band.

Hailing from the dark corners of some of Manchesters dingiest bars, Strange Dream are the cities most exciting new two piece psych-rock experience. Off the back of their instrumental debut ‘Orange’ the band release ‘Miss Annie’, a soaring guitar track with melodic riffs and driving vocals packed with jangly guitars and shimmering beats just in time for the coming summer.

‘Miss Annie’ started as a word game for guitarist and vocalist Vincent Strange, seeing how many coded narcotics he could fit into the songs verses, “So miss Annie and her pet are fiends (amphetamines) coco & dean lost in their dreams (codeine) St.Mary’s at the harbour (marijuana) Like she does (LSD) there’s no harm in her”. This second single was also the bands first real song writing collaboration, “Virgil already had the instrumental & never really intended to make anything more of it but I thought it could be a full song so I wrote three different versions and we picked them apart used the bits we liked. The chorus was from a song I wrote years ago but it seemed to fit right. For ages we really didn’t like how it turned out but we tweaked the music and words until we cracked the code.”

Strange Dream are a newly formed Manchester duo that fuse an array influences and energies to create imaginative and exciting sound-scapes resulting in dreamy and energetic psych-rock with garage roots and an indie edge. The track was written, recorded and produced by the bands two members, Vincent Strange and Virgil Strange using anything from ash trays and shoes in the recording process to create the tracks unique sound. ‘Miss Annie’ is the just a taste of the bands dreamy yet sometimes sleazy sound.

======================================================================

Jo Caseley - Houseless Never Homeless.

Jo Caseley cut her teeth busking the streets of Kings Cross, landing her first real gig in a smoky blues bar next to a strip club. While miles away from where her humble and authentic stylings have landed, it served as a character-building exercise that honed Jo’s ability to write and perform songs about real life, people, places and experiences.

Her forthcoming album, “High On Heartstrings”, is full of such songs – highlighting her ability to place the listener in the moment and narrate a story in its purest form. “Houseless Never Homeless” is the first single lifted from the release and inspired whilst reading her late American Grandmother’s memoir where she was drawn to a chapter called Houseless Never Homeless. It was post World War I during The Great Depression, Caseley’s Grandmother was a child, times were tough, and the family of six were living out of their Model T Ford, desperate for work and a better life.

The song talks about how a child can be houseless, but whilst surrounded by love and hope, never feel homeless. It was a beautiful sentiment that Caseley felt compelled to share especially in the wake of the rise in homelessness in Australia within the past four years. She felt the message was as significant now as ever and took the idea to her friend and mentor, Bill Chambers.

“Bill was the perfect person to write this special song with. He has a great appreciation for the old times and hard times and was so genuinely invested in helping me share my heritage and the stories of my American family”, says Caseley. “Houseless Never Homeless” was brought to life in The Rabbit Hole Recording Studio by Kasey Chambers’ band featuring Brandon Dodd on guitars, Jeff McCormack on bass, Syd Green on drums and the swelling heart strings of Bill Chambers’ lap steel guitar; the perfect pairing in production for Caseley to share this special song of hope and dreams which was co-produced by Brandon Dodd and Syd Green.

“The comfort I find from feeling close and connected to my grandmother, singing her story years after her passing is immeasurable. I hope it can bring comfort to others knowing that with love and hope, anything is possible”.

======================================================================