Skinny Lister - Pressing Strings - Aaron Smith & The Coal Biters

Skinny Lister - Company Of The Bar.

Skinny Lister are excited to confirm details of their sixth studio LP titled ‘Shanty Punk’, for release on 20 October via Xtra Mile Recordings. The album announcement is coupled with the unveiling of its leading single, “Company of the Bar.”

A song built for the road and the endless adventures it can promise, “Company Of The Bar”, fuses three themes that have loomed large throughout Skinny Lister’s output: drinking, traveling, and the sea. Combining these into one driving, no-nonsense celebration of the virtues of hanging out down the pub with mates and loved ones; it’s a barnstorming addition to the Skinny catalogue and one that pines to be heard bellowed out at your local gig haunt. 

As Dan Heptinstall says: “It’s a simple sentiment, but one that is at the heart of the Skinny Lister philosophy. This is a song that has been built for the rugged road, and we can’t wait to hear it belted back at us on our upcoming US and UK Tours later this year!”

The track is the leading single to be cut from ‘Shanty Punk’, Skinny Lister’s sixth long-player; a concept album that’s all about, well, Skinny Lister. As Dan explains: “Shanty Punk is our concept album – and the concept is Skinny Lister. It’s a pure distillation of what makes Skinny Lister tick, and perhaps a collection of songs that leans further into our folky routes than we’ve ventured in some years. It felt to us like it was time to touch base and celebrate the essence of the band, while at the same time – giving it a fresh and dynamic feel.”

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Pressing Strings - Your Love.

Acclaimed Annapolis, Maryland-based trio Pressing Strings has released their new studio album. And I For You via Warren Haynes’ Evil Teen Records. …And I For You, the seventh full-length album from the three-piece whose influences range from folk, blues, rock, funk, soul, and reggae, includes the lead single “Your Love” and recent track release “Carousel.” Coinciding with the album release, Pressing Strings has issued the official music video for the infectious “Your Love.”

“Writing and making this record was a great experience for me personally and the band,” shares lead guitarist and vocalist Jordan Sokel. “It’s not always an easy process and we weathered a lot of stuff in the past couple of years for it to come together in the way that it did. It’s a great feeling to finally release something out to the world that you love and are proud of. We hope people dig it!”

And I For You marks the most fully realized set of songs yet from Pressing Strings and their first record to feature all members sharing the singing and helping with the harmonies. The album touches on timeless themes that resonate and find meaning at a time when turmoil and tenacity seem so predominant within a weary world. The 11-song collection, produced by Steve Wright, reminds us that gratitude, devotion, and the wisdom to recognize that even in the midst of uncertainty there are virtues that are important to cling to, which, in turn, can ultimately lead to true satisfaction.

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Aaron Smith & The Coal Biters - The Legend of Sam Davis Album).

Embark on a journey through time to the rugged and untamed landscapes of Newton County, Arkansas in the 1820s, led by the masterful storyteller and musician, Aaron Smith. Step into the world of the eccentric mountain preacher, Sam Davis, as he sets out on a quest to find his long-lost sister. Experience the heartbreak and tragedy of the Trail of Tears, and marvel at the courage of the outlaw pioneers who braved the unknown.

With Aaron‘s powerful storytelling and thoughtful musical arrangements, you'll meet unforgettable characters, such as a mother mourning her wayward sons and a midwife who traveled on horseback to deliver countless babies. These are the true stories of resilient people in tough times, filled with heartbreak, rage, longing, and love. You will feel their pain and joy, and experience the sense of community and isolation that defined their lives in a bygone era.

Banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, dobro, pump organ, clarinet, and jug band percussion provide an authentic and evocative accompaniment to the stories being told. The album includes a beautiful coffee - table compendium that reveals deeper insights into the stories with essays, family photos, maps, and original artwork for each song by Newton County artist, Dreama Phoenix.

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Oslo Twins - Jill Andrews - Charlie Kaplan - Blanco White

Oslo Twins - Back To Nothing.

Bristol born dream-pop outfit Oslo Twins have released the title track from their upcoming debut EP 'Back To Nothing'. The new EP will be released on 12" vinyl and digitally on 28th July via Fascination Street Records, a new label founded by producer Ali Chant (Yard Act, Perfume Genius, Aldous Harding, Katy J Pearson) in partnership with Bristol's Factory Studios.

The band's upcoming debut EP 'Back To Nothing' is subtly influenced by dance, industrial and lo-fi music of the 80s and 90s, adorned with distinctive, hooky pop melodies, all connected by a sense of distance and the tension between unity and isolation.

New single and EP title track “Back To Nothing” is lyrically suggestive of romantic loss, yet its steady rhythm and bright legato synths evoke a sense of calm acceptance. The violin courtesy of Tom Connolly (Quade) adds a melancholic folk depth, before the song arrives as its rich, euphoric climax. “I wouldn’t say it was about longing, but the stage after,” says Eric. “I wrote the lyrics by the River Avon in Bristol on a warm evening. It’s a melancholic, reflective song.”

Speaking more on its inspiration, vocalist Claudia said: "Sometimes you know that something is coming to an end, but you’re not quite there yet - you’re in the mournful, wistful transition period. There’s a sense of steady movement in both the lyrics and the music, but it’s ambiguous whether it represents progress or surrender."

Led by songwriters Claudia Vulliamy and Eric Davies, completed by Ed Lyness (keys), Will Snelling (bass/guitar) and Luke Brown (drums), over the past 18 months Oslo Twins have taken the London and Bristol live music scenes by storm, supporting acts such as Blondshell, The Comet Is Coming, The Last Dinner Party, Folly Group, English Teacher, Do Nothing and Honeyglaze.

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Jill Andrews - Better Life.

Nashville singer-songwriter Jill Andrews just unveiled her new single “Better Life” off her forthcoming album Modern Age (out August 18th on Vulture Vulture/Tone Tree). The nucleus to Modern Age and the song that inspired the record, “Better Life” finds Andrews grieving the loss of a “golden-haired beauty queen” to addiction, wishing there had been another path. The track also features guest vocals from fellow Nashville favorite Becca Mancari. Holler debuted the track and called it “a delicious slice of soft 70s country pop that brings to mind the sadder moments of Golden Hour or the luscious introspective dream pop of Weyes Blood.”

"I traveled back to my hometown in East Tennessee after hearing the news of a childhood friend who had passed away after a long battle with addiction,” stated Andrews. “While I was there, I swung by our old neighborhood. I drove by her house and walked to the bus stop where we used to stand on all of those cold, dark mornings together. I had known her since second grade. She was with me at the AMC Theater when I saw Titanic for the first time, crying into the same box of popcorn. She was with me when I smoked my first cigarette (one of her Grandmother’s Benson and Hedge’s 100’s that she had sneakily lifted from some mystery drawer). 

She was with me the day that I decided to see if the fire extinguisher worked on the school bus and promptly sprayed white foam all over my friend’s and new found enemies’ heads. It turns out it worked very well. Standing there as an adult, at the bus stop, I was struck by how close we had lived to each other. If I turned left, I could see my house, and if I turned right, I could see hers. It was startling how different our lives were, even back then. And how our paths grew further and further apart as we got older. So far apart that we really didn’t recognize each other anymore.”

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Charlie Kaplan - Talkin' French.

This week we're announcing the new Charlie Kaplan LP due on September 15 and follow up to 2020's excellent Sunday, and we're presentling "Talkin' French," a jangly, blissful ode to his wife, with a brief instrumental detour through outer space.

My wife’s first language was French, and I’ve always felt a little like the Gomez to her Morticia. When this song came together, I was incredulous it was about her: I’d never written a love song before for fear it’d fall short of my feelings. But with her as the slender verse, me as the smitten chorus, and the bridge as the life we escape to together, I finally feel like I got it. Of particular note is Winston Cook-Wilson’s gorgeous, out-of-time passage, recorded at the piano in my childhood home, where he is momentarily relieved of the song’s jangling gravity before falling back to earth and into form.

Singer-songwriter Charlie Kaplan’s releases play like tours through a musical memory palace. The Office Culture bassist’s guitar-based songs are overrun with ear-catching gestures redolent of classic rock radio hits, Americana standards, baroque pop micro-symphonies, and more-music that shaped him personally and artistically at a formative age. Ten years ago-during a time when the logistics of making an album seemed impossible-Kaplan began to catalog his acoustic phone demos around themes, feels, and personal associations. Eventually, he created a roadmap for an entire imagined discography. His new LP, Country Life in America, contains the earliest entries into this canon, painting a picture of a young man bursting with ideas, not certain where to channel his energy and not overly worried about it.

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Blanco White - Tarifa.

Blanco White has announced his new album Tarifa will be released 29th September via Nettwerk (Miya Folick, Matt Maltese), and has shared the lead single and title track. The new album release will coincide with a headline run across the US, Canada and Europe this autumn, culminating in a momentous homecoming at the Barbican in London on 21st November.

Tarifa is the second full length album from the project of Londoner Josh Edwards following his 2020 debut On the Other Side which has since seen over 130 million streams and led to tours with Jose Gonzalez and Gregory Alan Isakov as well as hugely popular world tours of his own, including a sold out night at London's famous Union Chapel. New album Tarifa was written predominantly in the town of the same name in southern Spain; the southernmost tip of Western Europe just 5 miles from Morocco. Self-producing, Josh also collaborated extensively with afro-jazz collective Nubiyan Twist’s percussionist Pilo Adami (from Cascavel a town in the southeast of Paraná a southern Brazil state below São Paulo) who co-produced most of the record.

Nathan Jenkins aka Bullion (Westerman, Nilüfer Yanya) also contributed back in London with additional production in the final stages. It was recorded between Tarifa and Blanco White's home studio in London, almost entirely on a mobile recording rig.

The album's title track and newly released single "Tarifa” was the first to surface from the album's writing sessions in Spain, following a debilitative chronic pain diagnosis. Imbued with the sunshine and restless energy of Tarifa’s famously windy climate, the song is adorned with swirling electronics and punctuated by more organic percussion elements, all tied together by Edwards' inviting vocal and his intricate, finger-picked work on the charango - a Bolivian instrument in the guitar family - made by luthier Juan Achá Campos.

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alice does computer music - Sandy Bailey - Grandaddy - Royal Castles - Denise La Grassa

alice does computer music - Coiled.

This week alice does computer music shared her new single "Coiled." The song is the second single from the cellist, songwriter, and producer's upcoming debut album, Shoegaze 5G, due out August 4th, 2023, via Jolt Music. The record was mixed by Mari Maurice (More Eaze) and mastered by Andrew Weathers.

In “Coiled,” alice does computer music entwines the fragments of her musical influences and memories in beautifully unmoored ways. Acoustic cello riffs are juxtaposed with bit-crushed drums that swirl into distorted, cavernous sound collage.

About the single, Gerlach says: "I keep accidentally pocket-dialing the SOS button on my iPhone’s lock screen. the pattern feels significant, like my subconscious is alerting me to an internal emergency. There’s a theory that there is no such thing as memory, only experience and its decay. With each occurrence I remember and forget the previous instances, lost in the uneasy stillness of being unmoored in time. coiled is a summoning of ghosts, a moment of panic as experience fragments into unawareness."

alice does computer music is an electronic project by cellist, songwriter, and producer Alice Gerlach. Conjuring a hazy space between pop and experimentalism, Gerlach’s work takes inspiration from an eclectic range of music such as ambient, avant-garde pop, breakcore, and noise. Her debut full-length, Shoegaze 5G, collects and exhibits the fragments of her wide-ranging influences, resulting in vivid, poetic electronic music.

 

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Sandy Bailey - Daughter Of Abraham.

Today Massachusetts-based artist Sandy Bailey releases the gorgeous title track to her scorcher of an album, Daughter Of Abraham (out on August 18th via Red Parlor Records).

The house Sandy lives in in Massachusetts was built in 1765 and she was told the house was a sheltering stop on the Underground Railroad. Inspired, Sandy wanted to connect with and honor her ancestors, and imagined a story where they may have traveled that route to freedom, and sought refuge in her house. She imagined her ancestors seeing their descendants living in the house that once hid them. It's a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, that it can prevail under the cruelest, most impossible conditions. Wrap your ears around it here:

The haunting track tells the story of Abraham, who set off on foot in 1859 from "Carolina to Massachusetts" with holes in his shoes and hunger in his belly, to find his way to freedom. "I am a daughter of Abraham...whenever I'm lost / Don't know where I'm goin' / I walk and I start singin'...Light of the day, my inner flame / I am weary, guide my way," she sings.

Sandy is a biracial single mom who left her Pentecostal upbringing to play rock n' roll. With elements of soul, blues, gospel, and classic Americana, Daughter Of Abraham tells Sandy's story - one of a working-class American woman, and explores themes of loneliness, survival, getting lost, and finding your way again.

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Grandaddy - The Town where I'm Livin Now.

Modesto, CA’s influential indie-rock group Grandaddy have announced a special digital release of the Sumday: Excess Baggage, a thirteen-track collection of rarities and b-sides from the Sumday-era that unfolds like a lost Grandaddy album and is set for release on August 25 on Dangerbird Records. The band has also unveiled lead single “The Town where I’m Livin Now” alongside an official video, a spacy, wistful ode to the dissonant American landscape of California’s hardscrabble Central Valley.

Grandaddy leader Jason Lytle said, “I like making songs like this. Lots of bleak but sweet visuals. Everyday stuff available for everyone to see...but some of us just end up with the twisted work of documenting it.”

In May, Grandaddy announced Sumday Twunny, a limited edition 4-LP boxed set to be released on September 1 via Dangerbird Records. The collection includes the remastered original album as well as a complete 4-track demo version titled Sumday: The Cassette Demos, and Sumday: Excess Baggage. “After many years of hammering away at writing and recording as Grandaddy, Sumday seems to be the center of it and where it all peaked. To the journalists we were, ‘On the verge of greatness, underrated, overlooked, unsung.’ It was a tumultuous and exciting time for us for sure. Also very exhausting,” Lytle said.

“Revisiting this material and reflecting on those times has been a double edged sword. Bittersweet is an apt word, I suppose. Twenty years after the fact, I'm just grateful to be alive and kicking… celebrating that moment in time by re-releasing the original album, B sides and extras of that era, and even some raw cassette demos of the album itself a sort of sketchbook/rough draft of the LP in cassette form. So be it then. ‘On the verge of greatness, underrated, overlooked, unsung.’ This is what all of that sounds like.  I'll take it.”

Grandaddy formed in 1992 and have released five official LPs, most recently 2017’s Last Place. Grandaddy members include Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Tim Dryden, and the late Kevin Garcia, who passed away in 2017.

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Royal Castles - Bad Business Barbie.

Royal Castles describe themselves as a contemporary garage-rock band from Guelph, Ontario. Going by "Bad Business Barbie" they are all of that and pack some style and attitude for good measure on this highly addictive track.

The band tell us "As a band, we've really hit our stride (we've got three albums now!) which is why we wanted to mix it up and keep things fresh. In a first for Royal Castles, our drummer Katrin Sawatzky took the lead on the songwriting direction and vocals.

"Bad Business Barbie" is a bold love letter to the women who are tamed by patriarchy – a rally cry, a confession about vulnerability, power, freedom and the secrets we keep. We celebrate women everyday in our lives, and this is one of the ways we want to show it."

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Denise La Grassa - Dawn of the New Day.

Chicago-based singer-songwriter Denise La Grassa continues her inspiring musical journey with the impending release of The Flame. This powerful collection of 10 songs is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit - attributes that also embody her own 'North of 40' journey, itself ignited by the closing of Lincoln College in Central Illinois. “I was heading into my sixth year of transforming the former jazz studies program into one with more practical music production and business degrees," La Grassa says. "The closing was a shock to everyone as the college had been around for 157 years. It was then I decided to follow my own dream by focusing full-time on songwriting and performance.”

The Flame blends raw roots-rock and soulful blues with Americana as the musical bedrock for two profound ideas: the significance of inclusivity in a united nation and the transformative power of immigration, inspired by La Grassa's own family history.

The album encapsulates La Grassa’s advocacy for social change. The album's title pays homage to the inherent strength that lies within a nation when it looks out for all people, particularly those who have been marginalized. La Grassa's poignant lyrics and soulful melodies serve as a rallying cry for compassion, urging listeners to embrace unity and stand up against injustice.  “I feel compelled to write music that reminds us as human beings why we’re here," La Grassa explains. "Jesus really had a simple message: ‘love one another and uplift the poor and marginalized.'"

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Equipment Pointed Ankh - Fake Fever - Erin K - The Goods

Equipment Pointed Ankh - Trucks to Gettysburg.

In terms of the headiest of heady jammers the Louisville, KY weirdo supergroup Equipment Pointed Ankh comes has made a name for themselves in creating uncompromising and unpretentious experimental music that appeals to the freaks and casual listeners alike. The group's magnetic pulse on their newest album Downtown! puts them in league with the Kraut conspirators while bouncing with a nervous, wiry rhythm of bands like This Heat. We think you'd dig it, or we wouldn't be sending this to you. The first single "Trucks to Gettysburg" is out now.

Welcome to the eternal now of Equipment Pointed Ankh, whose instrumental, electronics-squishing avant rock/future jazz will baffle and delight your earholes for years to come. Set your cruise controls in the direction of a fun, beer chugging midwestern American version of the tightly buttoned Euro adventurousness found on that sparkly Recommended Records 2xlp comp.

Equipment Pointed Ankh are from a Louisville, KY lineage that spawned the Endtables and Your Food, grew with Squirrel Bait, extended into Gastr Del Sol, King Kong, and the Web, then casually emerged into the present with Valley of Ashes, Sapat, Road House and Flanger Magazine (the last three consisting of actual EPA members!!) They initially appeared as the brainchild of former Tropical Trashian Jim Marlowe, and while his first release of smoldering Kraut throb (Live on Sophomore Lounge and recognized by cover art featuring a doomed cowboy's naked dong) was a signpost to the future, the true EPA really began on Without Human Permission (Astral Editions/ Sophomore Lounge) with the addition of the now constant lineup of Chris Bush, Dan Davis, Ryan Davis (no relation!), and Shutaro Noguchi. They created spontaneous constructions of drums, synths, guitar, and sundry other instruments that were then edited into structural cohesion within the glorious freedom and sonic possibilities of a legitimate recording studio with an utterly simpatico recording engineer (this being RI's Seth Manchester at Machines with Magnets). This approach continued with the Changing Legs cd (Newton's Kidney) of all possible permutations of duo improvisations between members and then followed by the giddily melodic grooves of From Inside the House lp (Bruit Direct Disques).

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Fake Fever - Graveyard Shift.

Nostalgia is a powerful drug. It can provide a quick escape or a warm blanket of comfort in times of need, but what happens when that temporary sugar rush of the past begins to corrode and fade? The longer that NYC-based singer/songwriter/producer Andrew Barnes spent in the nostalgic space that previously defined his chillwave/bedroom pop project Fake Fever, the more he felt these reflective comforts dissipate over time and found the harsh realities of the present staring back more ferociously than ever. After three years of false starts, new surroundings, bandaid ripping, chaotic experimentation, and refinement, what resulted is Fake Fever's highly-anticipated sophomore full length release - Inside The Well - a bittersweet breakup album with nostalgia.

"When I initially tried to piece together ideas for my 2nd album, I was hitting a wall and slowly realized that I had spent so much time over the last few years trying to recreate this essence of my childhood and my past and existing in this escapist place where I was constantly looking backwards, that I was doing a horrible job of living in the present and trying to progress, both creatively and personally." Barnes says. "This album encompasses that sometimes-painful process of loosening the grip on the past so that you can free yourself to move forward."

While the previous Fake Fever full length "Surrogate" made a splash in various online "-wave" circles during the 2020 height of isolation with its hazy, subdued trip through a lazy river of vaporwave-tinged dreams and memories, "Inside The Well" is a much more awake, emotional, and polished slate of pop-centric material. This 11-song, 42-minute yearning, aquatic pop journey fluidly weaves together new genre flourishes to the Fake Fever sound, ranging from shoegaze ("Autotoxemia", "Pressure Tank") to house ("Palace Intrigue") to footwork ("Sozu") to 2000s indietronica revival ("Graveyard Shift") to drum & bass ("Canvasing"), with the chillwave ethereality ("Coral Ring", "Sunrose") and tape-warped melodies ("Unknowable") that resonated with listeners on "Surrogate."

"After spending most of my musical life playing guitar and drums in heavy bands, this whole avenue of creating electronic and pop music is still so new to me, even after a handful of years of doing it now. Part of the reason this album took so long to make is because I spent an equal amount of time trying to refine what I had figured out and done well kind of by accident as a total novice on the last album, and an equal amount of time trying to get away from my musical crutches that I had developed over the past few years and expand my sound with brand new techniques as a songwriter and producer that took a ton of trial and error to finally bring within reach."

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Erin K - Breathe (Live) The Crypt Studio.

Acclaimed American-born London-resident musician Erin K just released her new playful and beautiful “antifolk” style singer-songwriter album ‘Sink To Swim’ (out 30th June).

Erin has recorded a gorgeous live session version of ‘Breathe’ from the album at The Crypt studio in London. Wondered if you might like to feature / share it?

On the song & session, Erin said- “In this song I am speaking to my former childhood self, questioning the decisions she will make to lead up to this present moment. Under seeming pressures to perform and act up to other’s standards, the option to choose a different path is presented alongside the ever present reminder to simply “breathe” in every moment. We had a wonderful time recording this live in The Crypt Studio in London, with my bandmates flying in from 3 different countries. This live arrangement of the song differs a little from recording studio production which is now released on my album Sink To Swim. We arrived at this production after a month long tour in Italy and I wanted to capture it during this session. I’m very excited to share this!”

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The Goods - The Goods (E.P).

Oakland California’s The Goods have just announced the release of their debut self-titled EP on Dandy Boy Records with an accompanying video for the song “David Jones Is Dead.” The Goods combine big guitars, huge hooks, and sweet British Invasion-style harmonies into a distinctive power pop tapestry on their debut. Self-produced in the band’s own studio in Oakland, CA, The Goods’ debut EP draws on decades of hooky punk and power pop from the 1960s through the 1990s. 

The three song 7" (with an exclusive fourth digital track) combines classic influences and timeless sounds with a fresh and playful energy. The lead single and video “David Jones Is Dead” calls to mind the band’s songwriting influences both new and old; Redd Kross, Young Guv, Tom Petty, Matthew Sweet, The Jam, Green Day and Cheap Trick. Reflecting on the process of writing “David Jones Is Dead” singer and guitarist Rob Good had to say, “I set out to write the shortest song I possibly could, all killer no filler, every bit of fat around the edges trimmed off. Lyrically, I was thinking about all these rock and roll icons that are now dying, and how their death brings up so many emotions - not only remorse for the loss of the person, but also nostalgia about the good times you had with their music and the friends you enjoyed it with. Ultimately it’s a celebration of that music and those good times.”

Avoiding retro-revivalism, The Goods' music is earnest and unironic, with just enough grit and muscle to balance its sugary sweetness. Dandy Boy label owner Bobby Martinez describes the connection between himself and singer/guitarist Rob Good, “I’m a big power pop fan and he was writing huge power pop songs. Not in a bleached hair/ leather jacket/ Buzzcocks way or a straight college radio/ 90’s alt way- but somewhere in between. There’s an element of Redd Kross camp over Cheap Trick timelessness that adds this level of fun and cheekiness. It never feels too serious or posturing yet avoids going full on cornball cartoon band. It’s completely self aware and doesn’t fall into some retro revival affectation. Rather than trying to duplicate classic power pop from the late 70’s or 90’s “left-of-the-dial” underground, they manage to sound organic. It’s power pop by guys who grew up learning their instruments by listening to Green Day and the Descendents and playing in punk bands. Guys who spent their formative years with Lemonheads and Jam CDs in their cars.”

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