Background - Brighton math-rock band Delta Sleep announce their return, sharing a new video for their first single in 3 years entitled ‘El Pastor’. The new single is taken from the bands highly anticipated second record, which follows on from their widely acclaimed debut album ‘Twin Galaxies’, which earned plaudits from the likes of Clash, GoldFlakePaint, Q, Rock Sound and more.
Accompanying the new single, Delta Sleep have also announced a US tour (dates below) to start this autumn. The quartet’s live show is a force to reckoned with. Intense, captivating and extremely tight, they win over their audience at every turn. This has led the band to tour across the UK, Europe, Japan and Mexico since their 2008 formation, whilst also repeatedly appearing at festivals such as ArcTanGent, Handmade Festival, Truck Festival and 2000 Trees. FACEBOOK.
Tour dates: June 9th - Arundo de Festival // Torello // Spain 16th - Portals Festival // London // UK July 22nd - Truck Festival - Oxford // UK August 16th - Arctangent // Bristol // UK 23rd - Chicago // Beat Kitchen // US 25th - Columbus // Big Room // US 26th - Pittsburgh // The Fun House // US 27th - State College, Pennsylvania // House Party // US 29th - New Jersey // Flemington DIY // US 30th - Philly // Johnny Brenda’s // US 31st - Boston // House Show // US September1st - New York // Gold Sounds // US.
Crisp and rhythmic music contrasts beautifully with more melodic vocals and harmonies on 'El Pastor' which occasionally explode with intensity, this is math rock at it's best.
Background - Having been one of the world’s foremost professional dancers for more than 20 years, Sweden’s Uma E Fernqvist has now taken her love of movement and music to compose her very first EP, ‘Reverse’, just released on the 11th May via Jubel.
Inspired by the ethereal 90s trip-hop movement, spearheaded by Lamb and Portishead, as well as her own involvement in the cinematic world of dance, ‘Reverse’ plays as a truly mesmerising experience. Bringing together a mix of blissful instrumentation and pulsing percussion, Uma E is setting herself up as an artist with great passion and a true eye for captivating rhythm.
From the glitching, Bjork-inspired opener ‘Stay’ to the atmospheric closer ‘For You’, ‘Reverse’ aims to collect all the various inspirations from her career in theatre and bring them to a more personal and intimate arena. Haunting yet vulnerable, her debut EP is the result of a life of sheer expression poured out on stereo.
Speaking on the EP, Uma stated: “The songs on "Reverse" have grown out of thoughts about finding back to something in oneself, in relation to how one get affected by “life”... about waiting for one self, finding back to something lost. But I want the texts to be open for interpretation, the lyrics have double, triple meaning ... To me, they even have change meaning during the time spent completing the Ep'n.
Both me and the songwriter and producer Peter Svenzon were inspired by the 90's Trip hop and groups such as Massive Attack and Portishead. We investigated and experimented for a long time to find the right sound, and found that the textures were very important and that we wanted a cinematic feel that is especially noted in intron and outron at Ep'n. In the search for the right sound, we also contacted the multiple Grammys winner Mandy Parnell at Black Saloon Studios in London for mastering the songs.” FACEBOOK.
Uma E Fernqvist's first EP is an impressive affair, as is demonstrated by 'For U' where flowing atmospheric vibes, are matched by gentle and emotive vocals that exude feeling. At just over eight minutes this song draws the listener into a fascinating musical world of textures and blissful backdrops.
Background - British synth band and self-styled indiepop chameleons Spray present their new single 'Anthologised by Cherry Red', a tongue-in-cheek anthem for today's music industry.
Founded in 2001, Spray is comprised of Ricardo Autobahn (synthesizers) and Jenny McLaren? (vocals, guitars), both formerly of the Cuban Boys, who took their chaotic technopunk to number 1 on the Festive 50 (twice), recorded one of the best Peel Sessions ever and went head-to-head with Sir Cliff Richard in a Christmas Chart Battle (but ultimately lost). Their hit single 'Cognoscenti Vs Intelligentsia' (a.k.a. 'The Hamster Dance Song') sold a million copies, reached number 4 in the UK single charts, landed them on Top of the Pops and, in the words of John Peel, was “the most requested song I’ve had since 'God Save The Queen'.
In a mathematically constructed list presented by RockListMusic.co.uk, the Cuban Boys registered as the 30th most popular band in the history of the John Peel Show, ranking ahead of the Inspiral Carpets (31), The Cure (34), Nirvana and The Stone Roses (=tied at 35). BBC producer Mike Engles selected the Cuban Boys' first Peel Session as one of his top 10 all-time favourites, alongside Nirvana, The Damned and Ivor Cutler.
'Anthologised by Cherry Red' came about after a chat Ricardo Autobahn had with a fellow musician. When asked what he was currently up to, he uttered the beautiful phrase “oh, I’m at that stage in my career where I’m being anthologised by Cherry Red”. A lot of Spray’s inspiration and ideas come from everyday comments and this went straight in the band notebook.
"The song is not a critique of Cherry Red as we're actually big fans of the label. It’s more a straightforward story song about a fading rock band finding success in their twilight years," says Jenny McLaren. "It’s also an observation about the state of the music industry. If the business is based on catalogue reissues, where are the catalogue reissues of the future going to come from?" BANDCAMP.
Spray are just bubbling over with catchy vibes on 'Anthologised By Cherry Red', a song that despite it's upbeat nature, does make some very relevant observations regarding today's music business. That said I reckon it will make you smile just as much as it might make you reflect on deeper matters.
Background - Brooklyn based duo Pollens have recently released their latest single “$$$_PSA” via Emerging Indie Bands. The track displays offbeat, conversational delivery, dense polyrhythms, layered themes, drum machines, and dynamic arrangements that will leave you wanting more. It is through Jeff Aaron Bryant and Elizabeth “Emay” May’s brilliant lyricism, which contain ‘lists’, that has their listeners on the edge of curiosity.
We all want to know the meaning behind the song we listen to...or is there a meaning? Pollens have confirmed that their “songs aren’t about anything...that’s a promise.” For this track, “$$$_PSA”, focuses on a “few flavors of moneyed people- their entitlement, the space they’re taking up on the train, their shoes and conversations, and every so often we hear someone else making an announcement,” says Pollens. Their eccentric way of seeing the world can change our perspective on everything!
They check out all the “affluent” people on the train and are making their own announcement. Give it a listen and challenge yourself to never hear anyone over an intercom or public address system the same as you had before. Says Emerging Indie Bands, “it is only a sadness it has taken this long for me to get around to introducing their avant-garde creativity.”
Pollens belong in a world where guitars are not needed, lyrics come off as ‘lists’ to be shouted, not sung, and songs lie on a bedrock of intricate, yet visceral percussion. There are too many artists who tend to overthink things- aesthetics, sound, lyrics- but it all comes naturally to Pollens. With music originating back to 2008, Pollens has grown and been compared to notable artist such as tUne-yArDs and Animal Collective. Their music is truly avant garde. There is no norm. There are loose parameters, bursts of neurotic energy tempered by melodious breaks, but then back to it- a pulsating undercurrent layered to perfection and we find ourselves completely immersed and engaged.
If there is one thing you can learn from this duo, it’s that you don’t need a big band to make yourself heard. According to Jeff, “with a tiny band, we’re totally free to explore sparse, dumb, over committed ideas without a lot of risk or investment.” FACEBOOK.
The song title gives us a pretty good hint that '$$$_PSA' is going to be different. It's also intriguing and yes the claim of being "avant garde" is not without substance. Most of all though this is gorgeously addictive and massively refreshing and the bonus is this type of Pollen doesn't make me sneeze.
Background - Berlin-based artist, Laura Carbone, takes the darker path on this shoegazy new single, "Tangerine Tree." Her eagerly anticipated second album, Empty Sea, is set for release June 8th, 2018 on Future Shock Records in Canada and the USA. "To me, this song is like a vivid dream inviting you to dive in and float in it for a while. It gives the comfort of a familiar feeling that keeps on visiting you once in a while in your sleep. It's a temporary feeling -- it'll be over and that's fine." -Laura Carbone
Fresh off her recent tours with Jesus and Mary Chain, INVSN, and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, and performing two consecutive years at SXSW in Austin, Berlin's dark starlight Laura Carbone is excited to unleash her sophomore follow-up to the 2016 Sirens.
Written in Los Angeles and recorded at the infamous RAMA Studios with Christian Bethge, you can hear the noisy transatlantic influences of the now Berlin-based darkstar. Listening to lots of Nick Cave while on tour with The Jesus And Mary Chain was an influence in developing the sound for the new record; but the noisy feedback and heavy reverb on tracks such as “Cellophane Skin” and “Crisis,” is balanced with more harmonious numbers on the album, among which are “Tangerine Tree” and “Lullaby.”
The album title Empty Sea comes from the Brother Grimm's fairy tale "The True Bride" in which a kidnapped princess must empty a lake with a spoon full of holes. "There were moments when I really doubted myself as I had some blocks, retreating to LA to write really gave me the courage to get the album together, the experience of overcoming doubt made me think about the girl with the spoon." WEBSITE.
'Tangerine Tree' is dreamy and has something of a lighter shoegaze feel to it, the vocals are well up in the mix however, adding melodic overtones along with some emotional pull. It's a captivating song, Laura Carbone's musical influences have added to her creativity rather than taken over, the album will be well worth checking out.
Background - If we follow the narrative of Rosie Carney as expressed through her songwriting, 2017’s ‘Awake Me’ was about the undefeated kernel of hope inside us all that gets us through each day. It was a public acknowledgement of the mental health struggles that engulfed her late teen years and her harrowing rise and fall in the major label system. Today, her new single ‘Bare’ conveys a sense of solitude, but, as Rosie points out, solitude is a tender and creative muse, allowing us the reflection needed to be our best selves, let go of the past.
She says of the song: "Bare was one of those songs that took me about 20 minutes to write. It felt like the song was already written, and all I had to do was play it aloud. It stems from the feelings of solitude and isolation you experience after going through something negatively impacting. I tried to write the song in stages of that experience, the first verse being the most raw and vulnerable, and the last, letting go. I don't necessarily think solitude is a negative thing, but actually very positive. It allows us to get to know ourselves better within each situation. I tried to capture that strength in this song."
Produced in Ireland with her frequent collaborator Orri McBrearty, ‘Bare’ looks to build on highly acclaimed singles ‘Winter’, ‘Your Moon’ and ‘Awake Me’. These few tracks have racked up over eight million streams on Spotify and received acclaim from NPR, and many more. The praise lead to 2017 performances at Latitude, Seven Layers and the Bon Iver, National and Cillian Murphy curated Sounds From a Safe Harbour. This spring she embarks on her biggest run of shows yet supporting Haux in 11 countries across Europe and North America. Rosie recently signed a deal with London-based Akira Records (Phoria, Henry Jamison, Henry Green) and is currently working on her debut album.
Having spent half her life in the music industry already, Rosie Carney packs an extraordinary sense of lived experience into her music. At 13 she left school in Donegal, Ireland to showcase her work in New York and Los Angeles, getting signed to a major before she could legally drive. Her later teen years were spent largely grappling with her own health, trying to navigate the confusion of her ailing mental health in the wake of trauma while simultaneously having to assert herself creatively in a large commercial system. Throughout her youthful evolution, the one constant has been her songwriting, which is both cathartic and empowering. TWITTER.
It's over two years since we first featured Rosie Carney and since then every song we have received, without exception, has been featured (without hesitation), as she continues time after time to impress. 'Bare' continues the trend, it's what else to say that is the problem, maybe just listen (please) is enough....
Background - When Billy & Dolly started work on Five Suns, their third album, they had three main items on their agenda: loud guitars, dirty keyboards, and the end of the world. "This is the 3rd single from our upcoming record Five Suns. Each single shows a different side of us and the record, whether that’s who is taking on the lead vocal, or the way we approached the instrumentation.
San Francisco duo Bill Rousseau and Dahlia Gallin Ramirez first broke through in 2004 with their heavy, Moog-centric outfit, The Monolith. After five good years, The Monolith called it quits, but the duo stayed together, went into songwriting hibernation in Dolly’s basement, and reemerged as Billy & Dolly, recording two albums, and sharing the stage with the likes of The Apples in Stereo, Dr. Dog, and Corin Tucker.
To hear them perform as a duo, with Rousseau on acoustic guitar and Ramirez on Wurlitzer electric piano, is to hear their gift for vocal melodies and beautiful arrangements. But to hear them play a loud, sweaty show with drummer Elliott Kiger and bassist Charley Hine is to understand them in their element. This element is fully captured on Five Suns and its 12 tracks about — among other things — post-apocalyptic love, galactic desertion, and Jane Eyre.
Recording at Oakland’s New, Improved Recording with long time collaborator Jay Pellicci (Deerhoof, Sleater Kinney, The Dodos) they trusted their instincts and shirked computers in favor of tape. On tracks like “Setting Sun” and “Marooned,” they pulled out studio tricks from the 1970s playbooks of Iommi and Page to give Billy & Dolly’s exquisite compositions bursts of near Black Sabbath levels to contrast the sweetness of the pair’s vocals. WEBSITE.
The juxtaposition between fiery rock riffs and lighter melodic vocals, really works as is evidenced by 'Setting Sun', a sub two & a half minutes blast of natural rock & roll.
Background from Mushy Callahan - We’re Mushy Callahan – a band of brothers (no, seriously) who have been crafting our own blend of alternative rock with a hint of contemporary flare since 2013.
Our grassroots approach to writing, recording, and releasing our music has seen us travel across Canada and the UK. Our debut EP Man on the Run was quickly followed by our full-length Makings of a Man.
We’re pleased to share our brand new Revelations EP with you. Deep Meadow, the EP’s opening track/lead single, was inspired by the urge to run from your past and never look back. We wanted the song to have a happy, upbeat tone.
It’s meant to evoke positive feelings, with general optimism about starting anew. We like to open with it during our live performances – so naturally, we thought it should lead off the record. FACEBOOK.
The first of six tracks on the bands new EP is 'Deep Meadow' a vibrant alt rocker where the band are tight and solid, whilst the vocals add some passion. The other songs add more variety, through pace melody and feeling, I think it's fair to state, these brothers no how to rock.
Background - Canadian indie-rock trio Basement Revolver have released their expansive new single “Baby” from their debut album Heavy Eyes, which is due out via Fear Of Missing Out Records on 24 August.
Weaving melancholia with fuzzy dreamy pop melodies and a heavy guitar undercurrent, lead-singer Chrisy Hurn shares intimate stories and personal wounds from her past, revealing a deeply affecting and rewarding insight:
“I feel a lot of emotions, sometimes annoyingly so. Baby is about feeling sad and down even though you are generally happy about everything and everyone in your life. It’s about feeling confused about what I want in life, and how that affects other people. It is about crying a lot and feeling like I was burdening my partner with those questions (even though he has always been completely sorry) and not wanting him to feel like he was the source of my anxiety. It is also about my tendency to retreat when things get too overwhelming, to spend all day and night in my bed and watching Netflix and eating Doritos.”
Basement Revolver head over to the UK for the very first time in May for The Great Escape and a headline show at Paper Dress Vintage in London on 22 May. Photo credit - Rohann Agalawatte, TWITTER.
Basement Revolver have carved out their own definitive sound and it's one that has consistently impressed me. So 'Baby' makes it half a dozen features for the band, it's emotional and powerful rock and roll, packed with charm and putting it mildly, the debut album sounds very, very promising!
Background - Through a blend of understated rock, baroque pop and wide-skied atmospheres, The Ophelias explore the juxtapositions of youth on their album, Almost.
Having formed the band while still in high school, bassist Grace Weir, guitarist/lyricist Spencer Peppet, percussionist Micaela Adams, and violinist Andrea Gutmann Fuentes first met at a time when each were independently serving as the “token girl” in various dude-bands from their hometown of Cincinnati, OH. Coming from varied musical backgrounds (ranging from garage-rock, to surf, to opera), the distinct talents and influences of each member collided in unexpected ways at the band’s first rehearsal. It was here the band discovered that their chemistry wasn’t rooted in a shared musical reference point, but in the creative relief from the expected censorship of being a sideperson.
“In the past we had all kind of been the ‘girl in the band,’ in some capacity,” Peppet said. “Having a band of all women eradicates that possibility logistically, but also makes for a really creative environment without the patronization that often comes along with being the ‘girl in the band.’”
Produced by Yoni Wolf, the new album Almost glides between palatial assuredness and pallid introspection, looking back on youthful yearning — the uncertainties, the traumas, the anxieties — without discounting its soft beauty. The Ophelias steer Almost through the lineage of coming-of-age confessionals, and affectionately document their growth into a warm, fractured adulthood. INSTAGRAM.
Now this is good! 'Fog' is a fascinating mixture of pop sensibilities, where fabulous vocals and harmonies, are accompanied by an imaginative and creative musical arrangement.
Background - Swedish artsit Many Voices Speak has announced the release of her debut album 'Tink Town' on 31 August via Strangers Candy. "'Necessaries' is about the progress and crisis you find yourself in when your certainties weaken or even withdraw. It reflects my own attempts to replace cynicism with knowledge and humility for the conditions of life", she says about the first single taken from the album.
Featuring the dreamy singing and songwriting of Matilda Mård, Many Voices Speak was born out of Mård's move from Stockholm to the smaller Swedish industrial town of Borlänge. Less distraction gave way to creative rejuvenation and a revitalized approach to music.
Mård found liberation in one of the Borlänge more unlikely places — the karaoke bar. It became a “free zone” for her, she says, “far away from my own self doubts and prestige about music.” After piling songs for years without ever releasing anything, she was relieved of the pressure she felt towards her own creations and began again as Many Voices Speak.
Her debut EP Away for All Time was released in 2016 and received early attention online with its nostalgic lead single "Video Child" and an airy cover of Rodgers and Hartz's classic "Blue Moon," garnering support from Spotify, Stereogum, Noisey, WNYC, Idolator and more, while landing Many Voices Speak highly on the Hype Machine charts and a poignant placement in Riverdale. WEBSITE.
There is a gentle flowing vibe coursing through 'Necessaries', the vocals are sensitive, dreamy and melodic, the musical backdrop adds some power and atmosphere and is arranged with precision and beauty.
Background - Blues-punk-rock outfit Johnny & the Bootlegs released their EP NYC Rags today, for a delicious taste of NYC nightlife to devour whole. Blending a perfect mix of gritty rock n' roll, heartfelt-blues, and a dash of punk to taste, the band barrels their way through the urban jungle of NYC, with equal parts of debauchery and genuine reflection in tow.
The songs on NYC Rags were written by lead vocalist and guitarist John Santiago (aka Johnny) during his time as a general manager of the legendary New York City venue, Webster Hall. Immersed daily in the NYC entertainment and nightlife scene, the new tracks reflect some of his personal trials and tribulations throughout a “wild six years”. Santiago shared further on the inspiration of the EP's five-track collection. "'Thrift Shop' speaks about the odd underlying nature of wearing someone else's clothing, while 'NYC Woman' is a direct discussion of the extremes present in NYC dating. 'Hesitant' is a haunting ballad that piggybacks on the damage of those extremes, causing people to hold back, cautious of city love. 'Wings' is a broken hearted guitar tribute to Jimi Hendrix asking an ex to“fly away”. Lastly, 'Hey, Jenny' is about the desire and need for love, though unrequited in the face of screaming sincerity."
NYC Rags comes as the band's second release, and a follow-up to their full length self-titled album, which was released last summer. "With the addition of Ryan Adams on drums, the sound is transforming a bit to expand our blues and rock repertoire," commented Santiago. "Our first album was entirely with Danny Kenny, who has taken more of a songwriting/arrangement role, in addition to management duties. In addition, Erik has contributed more to the backing vocals and has switched to Modelo Especial... and I've recently become obsessed with J. Cole." NYC Rags was recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by engineer Jeff Berner (Psychic TV, Chris Cubeta and the Liars Club, NAAM, Heliotropes) through the summer and fall of 2017. WEBSITE.
Thursday, May 31 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NYC Friday, June 8 – Asbury Park Brewery – Asbury, NJ Wednesday, June 20 – Silvana – Harlem, NYC.
The first of five tracks on the 'NYC Rags' EP is the song 'NYC Woman'. The bands concoction of blues and punk rock is at the very least feisty and potent. That's not to say the band cannot slow things down a little, they do and what's more they can add in some melody along the way. It's the raw natural delivery that makes Johnny & The Bootlegs standout, and an apparent love for what they are doing.
