Bo Milli - Margo Cilker - Montao - The Breath

Bo Milli - Come After Me.

Bergen, Norway-based indie-rock starlet Bo Milli has announced her long awaited debut EP will be released this autumn and has released its latest taster, new single "Come After Me".

Tipped by many to be one of the next breakout Norwegian artists, Bo Milli's new single "Come After Me" follows recent track "Making Friends" and arrives ahead of a coveted slot at Øya Festival this Saturday.

Blending richly textured dream-pop with surging indie rock, Bo Milli's new single "Come After Me" is adorned with an irresistibly youthful edge. "I'm on my own / overthinking" Milli cries in the track's exhilarating chorus; punctuated by crushing guitar strums and propelled forward by a zestful rhythm section.

Co-produced by Odd Martin (Sigrid, Sløtface) and co-written with Henrik Michelsen (Maisie Peters, Little Mix), "Come After Me" is again emotionally fuelled by the cold Bergen night life - a recurring theme across her debut EP - with Bo Milli this time specifically overthinking on her journey home from a party...

Speaking more on "Come After Me", Bo Milli said: "I'm fantasising about a big romantic gesture from someone I'm worried might not be that interested. I'm walking home from a party they're still at, overthinking the whole night and feeling that if they come after me, that'll somehow prove we're on the same page. Although I haven't told them how I feel, I hope they'll know to leave the party and run after me like in the movies."

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Margo Cilker - With The Middle.

Margo Cilker is set to return with her highly anticipated second album Valley Of Heart’s Delight on September 15 via Loose. In anticipation of the release, she is sharing the record’s final single, “With the Middle,” a stirring ballad about the all-too-familiar struggle for self-care. Holler praises "'With The Middle' is everything we’ve come to expect from Margo Cilker, one of the most distinctive and self-assured voices to have stepped out of the world of American country-folk in the last few years". Of the track, Cilker offers:

"After hearing 'With the Middle' about 30 times on a video shoot, my friend Bart texted me, 'Regarding your middle song. Have you considered napping?' I guess this is a song for those of us who can’t nap. It takes me to a time when I felt incredibly fragile. I like the way Sera’s production bolsters the song; the track was almost unbearably lonely before the drums, bass, piano and steel."

Cilker initially announced Valley Of Heart’s Delight with opener “Lowland Trail,” which saw Rolling Stone exclaim, “The singer-songwriter is poised to have a breakout year.” They went on to name the track one of the "20 Best Country Songs of 2023 So Far" listing Cilker among standouts like Megan Moroney, Zach Bryan, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Leon Bridges, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Ashley McBryde, Morgan Wade, Lainey Wilson, and more.

The forthcoming 11-track set was produced by Sub Pop alum Sera Cahoone (who also contributes drums) and recorded by John Morgan Askew (Neko Case, Laura Gibson) with studio players from The Decemberists, Band Of Horses, and Beirut. The title Valley Of Heart’s Delight refers to a place where Cilker can't return: California’s Santa Clara Valley, as it was known before the orchards were paved over and became more famous for Silicon than apricots. She is the fifth generation of her namesake born there, and in this new collection of songs, family and nature intertwine as guiding motifs, at once precious and endangered, beautiful and exhausting.

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Montao - Costa Del Mersey.

Oh this is really good and it's an opportunity for Beehive Candy to add some more genre traveling under our belt! For me it's a mixture of 'Old School Meets Today' and it's done with creativity and style, so enjoy, as we add the background story. As a homage to his home town of Liverpool, Montao has returned with a dreamy sun drenched track, lovingly named after the coastline along Merseyside. The track interweaves amidst a variety of nuances and musical suggestions, whilst slapping a massive smile on your face.

The head nodding laid back vibe transcends the picture being painted with simple instructions...to kick back, spin this over the summer months, and to simply have some fun! This hazy ray of trip hop brings Montao back onto the scene, and Costa Del Mersey is a welcome addition to his collection

After decades of experience as a multi instrumentalist, recording artist, music publicist, artist manager, and everything else in between, these aspects have fused together and spawned a new musical landscape in the world of Montao. Following the incredible success of his single releases to date, including a plethora of international radio support, multiple blog features, and playlist placements, Montao returns with string of releases dropping throughout the rest of 2023 under the umbrella of Def Pressé Records.

His up coming collaborations will include tracks featuring Slug (Atmosphere), Copywrite, Koncept, RoQy TyRaid, and Lane Shuler. His music transcends from the depths of quirky samples, sofa style beats, and paints a cinematic story based around all the elements of the stories he creates combining elements of Trip hop, Hip hop, and Lo-fi influences. Encapsulated amidst the terrain of a curious and sometimes confusing world, Montao is putting things right…one beat at a time.

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The Breath - Don't Rush It.

The Breath announce details of their new album, ‘Land Of My Other' and share new track "Don't Rush It". Ten original tracks of raw, gorgeous, acoustic-minded music. Songs that tell stories in ways that soothe, stir, exalt, and touch emotional chords that will bring tears of lamenting joy, to your eyes. ‘Land of My Other’ is set for release on vinyl, CD and digital via Real World Records on 13th October 2023.

"If it all falls tomorrow, be glad of today" …sings Ríoghnach Connolly, on "Don’t Rush It", the first song to feature from the album. It might be about the toll we pay for leaving home, the mistakes we make by hurrying grief or something else… it’s the opening track of an album where Connolly’s emotions run the gamut: righteous, sorrowful, joyous. Authenticity is at a premium. Shame is cast aside.
‘Land of My Other’ is written and performed by the sublime partnership of Ríoghnach [Ree-uh-na] Connolly and guitarist Stuart McCallum.  For the widely acclaimed duo, this is the third album under their moniker The Breath.

"We work like two halves of a single songwriter," says McCallum, the Manchester-based composer and producer. "Imagine a guitarist and a singer who are not separate but are separate people. We just have this really special connection that lets us listen, adapt and evolve a piece of music together."

Connolly nods her agreement. "Stuart is the yin to my yang," says the BBC Folk Singer of the Year, her north of Ireland accent un-tempered by two decades of Manchester living. "He has one face. I have many. He's very measured. I'm not. I like mayhem. He doesn't. I know where I am with him."

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Lucy Lorenne & The Early Birds - Laura Groves - Ora Cogan - Echo Ladies

Photo - Mediaroid

Lucy Lorenne & The Early Birds - Tamagotchi Nights.

Melbourne's dynamic six-piece indie pop rock outfit, Lucy Lorenne & The Early Birds, are dropping a vibrant and nostalgia-driven pop anthem, 'Tamagotchi Nights', accompanied by an equally charming music video today Friday, August 11.

With her debut EP, 'Summers Gone', already under her belt, the charismatic Lucy Lorenne and her band continue to grow their endearing sound as they explore new depths of sonic and lyrical maturity with this power pop anthem that takes a colourful trip down memory lane.

'Tamagotchi Nights' – co-written by Lucy Lorenne, Matt Hargreaves and Flagrant Artists producer Ben Oldland (Ūla, Ashwarya, Alley Eley, Genes, Sian Fuller) –  is a vibrant boppy number that pays homage to childhood innocence and fantasy. With an air of melancholy for the more innocent times gone by, the song captures the essence of post-millennial nostalgia.

Lucy Lorenne & The Early Birds create a captivating soundscape that goes on a joyful trip down memory lane. Opening with an 8-bit synth riff, the track bursts with a delightful blend of upbeat guitars and charming video game-like synth lines, infusing the song with a playful atmosphere. The driving drums keep the energy soaring, while Lucy Lorenne's absolutely adorable vocals and heartfelt lyricism add a touch of innocence and sincerity to the mix. Effortlessly weaving together the catchy 8-bit elements with infectious indie-pop hooks, the track is a mixed bag of emotions that builds to an exhilarating and euphoric chorus.

 

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Laura Groves – Radio Red (Album).

Much of Radio Red, the first full length album Laura Groves has released under her own name, was written, produced and recorded by Groves in her studio, watched over by two radio transmitting towers. “I became very drawn to them and they became like symbols to me; they were always awake, sending their messages, the red lights always came on at night and watched over whatever was going on in my life.” The album deals with themes of communication - missed and intercepted signals, chance meetings, synchronicities, the channels through which we try to express our true feelings, the outside interference that can get in the way and the joy of letting go and allowing the messages to flow freely.

Working its way through years of Laura’s life as an artist - early experiences of releasing music, live performance, touring, build up and breakdown, the record was a way to tune in to the many, often conflicting signals of fragmented memories. “I’ve always been very sensitive and open to what’s happening around me, and also struggle with the sheer amount of noise sometimes. There was a radio tower on the hill opposite the house where I grew up - I would look out at the network of streetlights winding up towards it and it all had a sort of mystery to me. It was a kind of escapism and a comfort, with an undertone of melancholy that was hard to put into words. I think that glow, that strange feeling, is what I’m always searching for and exploring through making music and artwork.”

This is the wavelength Laura is tuning into and trying to pin down in “Sky at Night” and the “faraway feeling” that she talks about being consumed by in the hymn to miscommunication and determination “Any Day Now”. This faraway feeling makes itself known as the need to open up and show emotion in the chord voicing of “Synchronicity”, true friendship, togetherness and isolation in our online world in “Sarah” and the heartbreak that can come with the breakdown of communication in electric piano love song “I’m Not Crying”. The “Silver Lining” of the final track, which returns to Laura’s early love for fingerpicked guitar, leads us back to the power of the redemptive love that always seems to show up just when everything seems lost.

Self-recording and production is a core part of Laura’s songwriting process. “I remember years ago getting hold of some basic recording software and being instantly drawn in. The idea of being able to layer up my voice was a dream, like building an orchestra out of what I had at home.” The passion for home-recording, using the resources available at the time, working through limitations and capturing textures through layering, forms the foundation of Groves’ experimental and off-centre pop music and electrified folk music. The sound world of Radio Red is made up of echoes and snapshots of half-remembered pop songs, piano ballads, chopped up TV theme tunes, ambient synthesized sounds and electronic music; tuning in between channels without fully belonging to any one of them, with the comfort, familiarity and strangeness that can come with hearing voices on the radio.

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Photo - Stasia Garraway

Ora Cogan - Katie Cruel.

Experimental singer-songwriter Ora Cogan will release her new album Formless on Aug 25, an LP that finds beauty, absurdity, humor, and unlikely joy in the bleakest of times. Cogan’s smoky, psychedelic approach to gothic country and hazy folk merges with post-punk, groove, psych rock, and traditional balladry.

This week Cogan releases "Katie Cruel,” a tragic ballad about a sex worker traveling with light infantry soldiers. ‘Once they called me the roving jewel, now they call me Katie Cruel.’ The haunting track is a defiant, vindicating, feminist proclamation that flips the script on the way women are vilified.

Ethereal vocals and a shuffling brush snare lay over a sitar-like guitar pattern to underscore the strength of the lyrical message. "You can demean a woman and call her 'Katie Cruel’," said Cogan. “So what… F if I care!”

Formless, finds beauty, absurdity, humor, and unlikely joy in the bleakest of times. Cogan’s smoky, psychedelic approach to gothic country and hazy folk merges with post-punk, groove, psych rock, and traditional balladry. "Katie Cruel" follows the VHS/Super 8 video for the first single “Cowgirl” and the haunting "Dyed."

Recorded in mostly off-the-floor takes with rhythm section David Proctor and Finn Smith on analog tape at Vancouver Island’s Risque Disque studio and co-produced by Cogan and Loving’s David Parry, the album features international guest stars including Cormac Mac Diarmada from LANKUM, who plays strings on “Feel Life,” and a duet with Y La Bamba on “Ways of Losing.”

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Echo Ladies - Coming Home.

Last month, Malmö, Sweden shoegaze/dreampop trio Echo Ladies announced that they have signed to Rama Lama Records/Gazehop Records and will release their second album Lillies on 8th September 2023.

Commenting on the track, the band say: “‘This song is heavily inspired by two of our favourite bands, A Place To Bury Strangers and The Jesus & Mary Chain. Our aim was to make the song feel like a big wave of noise, feedback and guitars that hits you in the face. Can’t remember how many layers of fuzzed and distorted guitars are on this track, but it’s maaany.”

Echo Ladies are Matilda Bogren, Mattis Andersson and Joar Andersén—three school-friends who, after playing together in a few different bands, realised that they worked best on their own. In 2014, after looking for “a name that represented our sound”, they became Echo Ladies, partly inspired by the name of the drum machine from another of their favourite bands, Echo & The Bunnymen (though their own drum machine, for now, remains nameless).

Following a quiet spell for the band while the rest of the world turned upside down, Echo Ladies are now proudly returning with their second album Lillies, recorded and mastered by Joakim Lindberg at Studio Sickan in Malmö, and following on from their acclaimed 2018 debut Pink Noise on Sonic Cathedral, which was one of Rough Trade’s albums of the year.

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Tiiva - Enny Owl - Steep Canyon Rangers

Tiiva - Fireflies.

Immersive and captivating, Fireflies takes shape as a love letter to London. Reflecting since they moved away from London, Tiiva shares more; Leaving the city and then looking back at how much I got from being there, how shaping and important all those challenges were, the loneliest points becoming something that made me stronger, the loves I had there and heartbreak becoming some of the best memories of my life.

The nostalgia we feel for somewhere is a reminder of seeing importance and beauty in moments that at the time we don't quite understand. Going to the big city to find my identity was a beautiful awakening and I felt like I needed to write this love song to the place that helped me.

The new single arrives as the follow up to Cellophane which came out back in June in collaboration with Polly Scattergood. The powerful track came as an important reminder of cherrish art and expression.

Since their launch, artist and producer Tiiva has made a name for themself with their recipe of reflective lyricism, pop euphoria and weightless production. Writing songs with humbling transparency, Tiiva’s fearless approach to music has resonated with many, already scooping support from the likes of Clash, DIVA, Them., The Line of Best Fit, Wonderland and many more.

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Photo - Paula Crichton

Enny Owl - Nicolette.

The British-born, Los Angeles-based musician Enny Owl is thrilled to announce her forthcoming album, Homes in Humans, set for release November 3, 2023 on Weird Sister Records. Alongside the album announcement comes the full-length’s lead single, “Nicolette,” and its beautiful accompanying music video, directed by Paula Crichton. The ethereal siren song that is Enny Owl’s voice is fantastical throughout the new song, replete with dazzling harmonies and a plethora of fascinating instrumentation backing her up, and lyrics readymade to fend off all the dark forces in your life.

Speaking on the themes of the song, Enny says “This song is about the fear of opening up after being hurt so many times before. It’s for the quiet and gentle hearted. “Nicolette” is a reminder to be brave enough to find the strength and magic that was within you all along.”

Homes in Humans is a concept album based on the overall theme of healing and finding oneself. During the lockdown in March of 2020, Enny connected with her listeners by asking them to submit their names and what was on their mind at the time. She created different songs inspired by each response. Homes in Humans sees the singer-songwriter expand upon some of those songs to create a cinematic collection. Musically, the album explores a combination of Enny’s folksy storytelling roots, her love for the celtic/fantasy soundscape, and an experimental nod to pop music.

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Steep Canyon Rangers - Recommend Me.

Asheville, NC - Many a great tune has been inspired by a more long-form literary work—Zeppelin’s “Ramble On,” “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane, and Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights,” to name just a few. Now, North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers are the latest to add their names to that list with “Recommend Me,” their latest single from an upcoming album entitled Morning Shift.

The song’s co-writer and lead vocalist, Rangers’ banjo man Graham Sharp, remembers its origins clearly: “My friend Wiley Cash wrote a wonderful book called When Ghosts Come Home. He sent me a copy of it and asked if there were any songs that I might find in the story.” Luckily, Sharp and co-conspirator (and newest Steep Canyon Ranger) Aaron Burdett chiseled out a tender, album-closing song inspired by When Ghosts Come Home’s father-daughter relationship. With Sharp on guitar instead of his usual 5-string banjo, “Recommend Me” evolves from a finger-picked solo piece to a full, classic-Rangers sound; the refrain a charming reassurance from once character to the other. “When they start talking you'll defend me / When the roll is called you'll recommend me.”

“Recommend Me” is the latest single from Steep Canyon Rangers’ upcoming album, Morning Shift—due out September 8th on Yep Roc Records. Produced by the distinguished Darrell Scott and engineered by the legendary Dave Sinko, Morning Shift found the Rangers recording their 14th studio album in Bat Cave, North Carolina, at the Inn Bat Cave, a historical refuge settled near a long-forgotten crossroads of Southern Appalachia. This was the perfect space to feel confident in expanding upon that Carolina sound, the perfect runway to let their well-oiled machine do what it does best- craft stories from the ground up, as a unit. “It was like going to recording camp,” said Scott, “We ate together, we stayed at the Inn together the whole time, and we recorded. Going about it that way made for a very organic record. We had a great engineer with Dave Sinko, who could in essence create a studio space in a rustic, historic home.”

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Chloey Rose - Saveria

Chloey Rose - Shot You Down.

Delivering powerful pop songs with a theatrical twist, Chloey Rose has been captivating audiences at major venues up and down the UK and in Europe with her dramatic, soaring vocals that have attracted comparisons to Adele and Paloma Faith.

Drawing inspiration from Kate Bush and Taylor Swift, Chloey has just released brand new single ‘Shot You Down’, an edgy pop ballad full of dark sounds that could become the theme tune for the next James Bond Movie.

‘Shot You Down’ follows the story of being in an unhealthy relationship and the strength it can take to walk away. Written by Chloey Rose and produced by Aron Bicskey, the track builds from smoky late night piano atmospheres to become a powerful anthem for getting up again once you’ve been cut down, with a nod to Nancy Sinatra’s classic track ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’.

As a songwriter, Rose’s debut single ‘Golden Dreams’ was released in 2016, followed by a string of singles including ‘Hearts On The Line’, which was named Track Of The Week on BBC Radio Lincolnshire and A Best Track of 2021. Not only, a talented singer-songwriter, Rose was a finalist in Miss Lincolnshire in 2018/19 and has also been cutting her acting chops, with the leading role as Ruth Ellis in ‘The Thrill of Love’ and as Leading lady Nina in the BBC’s ‘First World War Musical Show’, amongst numerous other stage and TV appearances.

The video for ‘Shot You Down’ sees Chloey on neon-lit streets in the twilight hours as she searches for answers. The track weaves its hypnotic repeating refrains around her, growing and growing with intensity as she works through her emotions. “I’ll paint your name all over this town”, Chloey sings in this epically woven ballad which combines big production values with raw feelings to really work its way under the listener’s skin.

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Saveria - mosaic.

Get ready to be amazed as Canada's own Saveria takes the world by storm with her mind-blowing vocals and ground-breaking style! From earning a Family Channel co-write at the age of 13 to winning CTV's 'The Launch', rocking American Idol with 5 million views, and most recently becoming a RBCxMusic First Up Artist, and opening for the Canadian icon, Alanis Morrisette. Saveria's proven to be a star.

Through soul-stirring melodies and its emotional choir-like essence, "Mosaic" unveils a powerful message of optimism, assuring you that even in the darkest times, there is a grand design waiting to unfold. Embrace the belief that a higher purpose guides your path, leading you toward healing and restoration. Saveria aspires to be an exceptionally forthright musician and lyricist, allowing her artful sonic tapestries tell the stories of a life in search of understanding.

Don't miss out on this incredible journey as Saveria rises to stardom! It's time to experience the extraordinary talent of Saveria in all its dazzling glory! What better way to do so with her new debut album, "Mosaic", filled with electrifying singles and jaw-dropping videos that will leave you in awe!

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