Quality Not Quantity: Miss Chain & The Broken Heels - Colette Kavanagh

Miss Chain & The Broken Heels - Uh Uh / Standing The Night.

Background - It’s been quiet for some time for Miss Chain and The Broken Heels, the extensive touring after their second album (The Dawn, released by Burger, Bachelor and Tre Accordi), band members went their own way to persue solo careers, starting a booking agency, buidling a studio, and just taking a breath, italian style. After few months things started to get togetheragain, they did some shows in the spring of 2016 and baboom: Here is their new classic two song single, fresh and new, as if there hasnt been some kind of hiatus. 

You can easily hear it exactly 1 second after you let the needle drop on the Side A track, after few chords Miss Chain and the gang ooozes a warm feeling into your head and heart! Hell, they are back, with all the goodtime melodies enriched with their typical melancholy vibe. While the first track is a classic uptempo powerpop tune, the flipside presents a slower hipshaker, and although the velocity has been taken out this one is still a fine, mellow mood maker that leaves you hungry for more!
 
This single has been pressed in limited edition, so you should hurry to snatch a copy. Both albums has been sold out as did most of the other releases of their meanwhile huge discography. A couple of shows are planned for the last two months of 2016, a bigger tour through europe is in the works for 2017, as well as a third full length. Bandcamp here and Facebook here.

'Uh Uh' and 'Standing The Night' are a couple of upbeat Rock'N'Rollers that just groove along, with a classic and oh so pleasing feeling, from start to finish.

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Colette Kavanagh - Hold On.

Background - Colette Kavanagh is a singer-songwriter originally from Blessington, Co. Wicklow.  She now lives in Calverstown, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare in Ireland.

She attended the Holy Faith Convent in the Coombe, Dublin 8 where she was taught singing and dancing from the age of 7 by the Holy Faith nuns and grew up with her father playing piano and her mother singing along while encouraging all the children to join in Sunday afternoon singing around the piano.  
  
In 2007 Colette was asked to be a guest singer on a 10 day tour of Ireland with Johnny Cash’s guitarist, Bob Wootton from Nashville, Tennessee.  This tour gave Colette the confidence to begin writing and recording her own songs eventually leading to her debut album ‘Further Down The Line’ drawing on many country influences. Colette has been regularly performing in Dublin and the surrounding counties as well as having many requests to sing at numerous events including RTE television’s ‘Franc’s DIY Brides’. 
  
In 2014 Colette’s song “Rebekah’s Lullaby” was used in a short film “Skunky Dog” written and directed by James Fitzgerald of OIC Media and has won 13 awards to date to include Winner of Best Short Drama at the Royal Television Society Awards in RTE. In November of 2015, Colette started working and recording her new songs with Martin Quinn Producer and Owner of Jam Studios in Kells, Co. Meath which are getting extensive radio and internet airplay on BreezeFM, EastCoastFM, SpiritRadio, SouthEast Radio to name but a few and all across the USA.

Her music videos, including fan-favorites “Hold On”, “Someday” and her latest release “Last Kiss”, have received an especially warm reception in the US market. These videos have appeared on television screens spanning from New York City to Los Angeles and everywhere in between via music video outlets such as Bongo Boy TV, THECOOLTV, R n R TV, Video Diversity and H2O Television, to name a few. Website here.

Colette Kavanagh is another artist who slipped quietly under our radar earlier this year, and the song 'Hold On' is just to fine a piece to ignore. A gentler more middle of the road ballad, may not be the first type of song you might expect here on Beehive Candy, however Colette has such a dreamy melodic voice, so why not!

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Sunday Double: Anousheh - Tobin Sprout

Anousheh - Get to You.

Background - Electro-Pop artist Anousheh has just launched newest buzz-worthy single, "Get To You," for your listening pleasure. Anousheh's fresh style combines Pop sensibilities that offers a unique, and slightly nostalgic sound for your ears. The songstress has been garnering the praise of fans and critics alike who can't get enough of her hypnotic vocals and captivating instrumentation.

Anousheh is known for her epic melodies, and the Grammy-nominated songwriter has captivated audiences both overseas and in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Drawing early influences from some of her 90's music idols like Tori Amos, Bjork, and Radiohead, her songwriting style has always been rooted in introspection and metaphor. As an adult, Anousheh's love of pop music, hip hop and indie rock has focused her songwriting into hook-driven, thoughtful pop songs-- and in line with artists like Tove Lo, Ellie Goulding and Halsey. Facebook here and Website here.

With a deep bubbling synth soundtrack Anousheh's vocals melodically glide effortlessly above the soundtrack of 'Get to You'. It's a catchy Electro pop song where both vocals and music compete to hook you in.

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Tobin Sprout - Future Boy Today/Man Of Tomorrow.

Background - How do you bring a child’s curiosity to life? For Tobin Sprout, formerly of indie rock icons Guided by Voices, the answer is to revisit it with the wounded tenor of an aging piano man; someone searching, desperately, for his place in the cosmos. The Universe and Me is Sprout’s sixth solo album; hatched during a seven-year gestation period that included unearthing lost recordings (the single, “Future Boy Today/Man of Tomorrow” for one, was being saved for GBV), and digging through a treasure chest of memories in his home studio in Michigan, where Sprout composed behind his shambling grand piano and trembling, boyish voice. Each home recording was captured live with Sprout’s new band — which led to marvelous imperfections.

The Universe and Me takes  a deliberately primitive approach that focuses on feeling, as opposed to production. The result is a vague bridge  between the ballads of psych-era Beatles,  and the haunting vulnerability of Daniel Johnston’s Hi, How Are You?. It’s no surprise, then,  that Sprout penned and illustrated his own magical children’s books as The Universe and Me  plays like a deceptively dense reimagining of simple subjects like comic books, finding your purpose in life, and growing old.

Many of the 14 tracks acts like a diorama of a boy’s imagination, like “Future Boy/Man of Tomorrow,” which was inspired by Sprout's fascination with superheroes from his childhood. The wistful "When I Was A Boy" is a short, stunning ballad relating childhood grounding to adulthood. “Walk Across the Human Bridge” is a heavy-hitting rocker driven by shredding and lyrics describing the decline of humanity. “Tomorrow From Heaven” is about dealing with the sadness that follows death. Pasted together as a collage, as opposed to a rigid whole, and we have  the soundtrack to Tobin Sprout’s life.

The Universe and Me will be available on Burger Records on February 3rd, with a limited pressing of a baby blue vinyl for the first 300 copies. Following the release, Sprout and his new band will embark on a nationwide tour. This will be his first tour in over a decade, supported by Burger Records, who’ll be reissuing Sprout’s mid-'90s Matador albums — Carnival Boy and Moonflower Plastic — in the months ahead. Website here.

'Future Boy Today/Man Of Tomorrow' is an honest rock song with swirls of psychedelic overtones adding a real richness to the piece. This is one of the more energised "full on" songs from the forthcoming album, which mixes the styles and pace of material, whilst delivering fourteen individual and very solid tracks. 

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Genre Wander: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The Darts - Vibronics meets Conscious Sounds

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Fireproof.

Background - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s 2005 self-released debut album set a precedent for how bands might begin to approach making music independently. The record — which vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Alec Ounsworth wrote entirely by himself— received widespread critical acclaim and was named one of “The 50 Most Important Recordings Of The Decade” by NPR.

In the ensuing years, Ounsworth has continued pushing himself creatively, releasing three additional Clap Your Hands Say Yeah full-lengths (for which he again wrote all of the music and lyrics) and issuing two solo projects. The group has also grown a robust international fanbase: In 2015 alone, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah toured in Latin and South America, Japan and Europe. All of these experiences have helped Ounsworth refine his vision for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, as the group heads into its twelfth year and the release of its fifth album, The Tourist.

Like previous Clap Your Hands Say Yeah records, The Tourist nods to Ounsworth’s musical heroes—a group that includes artists such as John Cale, Robert Wyatt, Tom Waits and Nick Cave. However, this album also shows a natural progression from previous records. “Better Off” and “The Vanity Of Trying” are lush, keyboard-augmented songs, while “A Chance To Cure” and “Ambulance Chaser” are rhythmically askew, and the sighing “Loose Ends” is delicate, acoustic-based folk-rock.

No matter what the style, however, The Tourist‘s arrangements are laser-sharp and deliberate, without feeling labored-over. For example, “Down (Is Where I Want To Be)” combines piano flickers with anxious keyboards, gnarled electric guitars and teeth-baring drums—but yet feels cohesive, not chaotic.

The Tourist emerged from a period where Ounsworth was doing a lot of intense soul-searching, and processing personal events that irrevocably shaped his life and future. But although most of these songs came together during this time of reflection, he considers the record to be cathartic—an exhale of sorts, rather than a collection of songs where he was indulging in self-pity or letting things stagnate or fester.

“The album was a type of purge,” he says. “A purge of certain emotional confusion that manifested itself in the last several years. It was not an easy album to make, by virtue of the fact that it was an emotional time for me.”

Having that space and freedom to explore as part of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is crucial to Ounsworth and a vital part of the band’s identity. As anyone who’s seen him perform a living room show will attest, this mindset also often results in songs with dramatically different arrangements. But as a musician and leader of an independent project, Ounsworth prides himself on honesty across all aspects of the band, from live performances to the studio. Website here and Facebook here.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are one of those bands where the wait for new material always seems worth it and 'Fireproof' suggests that remains the case. As for the song well in part it's a juxtaposition of being understated and gentle, whilst the rhythm is funky, fresh and energised. What's more the arrangement is just right for the thoughtful lyrics and there delightful delivery.

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The Darts - Running Through Your Lies.

Background - The Darts (US) are an all-grrrrl garage-psych-rock supergroup featuring Nicole Laurenne (The Love Me Nots, Motobunny, Zero Zero), Rikki Styxx (The Two Tens, The Dollyrots, Thee Outta Sites), Christina Nunez (The Love Me Nots, Casual Encounters, The Madcaps), and Michelle Balderrama (Brainspoon).

The band formed in early 2016 when, after watching each other’s bands from the sidelines for years, Nicole and Michelle realized there was no good reason why they shouldn’t just start writing songs together already. With six songs ready, Rikki and Michelle recorded their tracks in Los Angeles and then Nicole and Christina tracked their parts in Phoenix. Arizona producer Bob Hoag then masterfully stirred the mess together over a piping hot console. The results are two smoking 10” vinyl EPs full of garage riffs, girl-group harmonies, fuzz bass, farfisa organ, badass drum fills, and all-around lo-fi-turned-hi-fi goodness.

Soon after their October 2016 release, the singles “Running Through Your Lies” and “Revolution” enjoyed instant radio airplay and  “Take What I Need” was selected by Sirius/XM’s Underground Garage channel as “The Coolest Song In The World 2016.” The band played its first live show in October, 2016, and signed with London’s Dirty Water Records shortly thereafter. The Darts will tour across the southern US in January 2017 with Oakland’s all-girl rock duo Steel Cranes, and then… The Darts will invade Europe on tour in May 2017. Bandcamp here, Facebook here.

The first of six tracks on the EP and 'Running Through Your Lies' immediately lets the listener know that The Darts have some real depth to their music. Mixed with more feisty garage rock, the collection of songs may be small in number, but they pack a punch and demand your attention throughout!

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Vibronics meets Conscious Sounds - Half Century Dub  - 50 years in the mix.

Background - As Dub Reggae music becomes a global force, Vibronics & Conscious Sounds present an album that celebrates 50 years of dub music. Dougie Wardrop & Steve Vibronics present an album that takes classic music from each decade of dub, starting with 1970s Jamaica music right up 2010s worldwide dub sounds. The two prominent UK Dub producers will take each decade in turn, as the listener is catapulted across half a century of roots rocking Reggae music. This unique dubwise concept album will feature reworking of classic tunes from 1970s, 1980s, new versions of crucial music from the Conscious Sounds & Vibronics back catalogue from 1990s & 2000s and some brand new future dubs for the 2010s. Dubwise music across 50 years.

Vibronics meets Conscious Sounds and Half Century Dub - 50 years in the mix 2 X Maxi 10" includes a Limited Edition Vinyl singles January 2017 and also Vinyl / CD / Digital Album Release January 2017. Website here.

If you go to their website (link just above) there are nine songs to listen to, unfortunately we cannot embed the music here, however to wet your appetite a little, we have Vibronics - Furious Dub & Conscious Sounds Mix (Taken From Personal 10), as an indicator of the quality and musical delights due in January.

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Weekend Wonders: Nevāda Nevada - Rayne - Gregory Clark - The Byzantines

Nevāda Nevada - 900 Days.

Background - Nobody ever really quits music. Not if they ever really loved it. One can try, but it always creeps back, until one day the air is once again being caused to vibrate in the most necessary to actualize being. It is how it should be.

Several years ago, Kathryn Musilek, frontman for Nevada Nevada, was a fixture in the vibrant and close-knit Iowa City, Iowa music scene, playing in numerous bands and just being generally omnipresent therein. In some way, this was the natural result of a life long love and study of music, having learned several instruments. A significant other used Kathryn as an entry point into this world, and once on the inside, spread their lovin' all over, with the knowledge of everyone in town--everyone, that is, but Kathryn.

This betrayal hurt so bad, it required that Iowa City be left behind in favor of Brooklyn and the creation of music be left behind in favor publicizing the same. It was a sort of "I need to be a new me" sort of deal. As we all know, though, a creator of things as gifted as Kathryn cannot suppress the urge to make things for long. And so there was born Nevada Nevada.

Nevada Nevada is a rock 'n' roll band from Brooklyn with more than a hint of its midwestern roots. It is part Wilco, part Guns 'n' Roses. There is americana and folk, but there is even more rock 'n' roll. Facebook here.

Distinct and melodic vocals drive '900 Days' forward, accompanied by a powerful musical soundtrack that develops into something quite expansive and somehow manages to grows even further as the song unfolds.

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Rayne - Chemicals.
Gregory Clark - The Home Song.
(From the Various Artist Compilation 'This Is Not A Game', released 9/12/16).

Background - Platform Records and Platform Songs (Publishing) will celebrate it's tenth anniversary in 2017.

To mark our first decade, rather than just 'looking back', Platform is releasing a 15-track various artists compilation, including bands, singers and songs very recently signed to our business. The album contains just under an hour of indie-pop and indie-rock music. Platform Records here.

Album Tracks are:
1. Late Hala - 'Good Thing'
2. Warm Winters - 'Prehistoric Skies'
3. Rayne - 'Chemicals'
4. Ross Trigwell - 'Safe Forever'
5. Bobo & The Demeraras - 'She'
6. Gregory Clark - 'The Home Song'
7. Jon Vautier - 'Leave The City Dead'
8. George Diaz - 'Can't Say'
9. Emporium - 'Magical Things'
10. The Ultra - 'Universe in Two'
11. Indiana Foxx - 'Spectre'
12. The Buddha Pests - 'Tanker'
13. James Blames - 'The Bad Old Days Are Back'
14. Voodoo Rays - 'Wider Sea'
15. Liquorice River - 'Back To The Beginning'

Rayne's 'Chemicals' and Gregory Clark's 'The Home Song' are just a small taste of the quality and variety to be found on the new compilation album from Platform Records. If you have a liking for indie pop and rock, then this really is a fine collection of artists and songs, that are well worth getting to know.

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The Byzantines - Jamaica.

Background - Hailing from the great South Australian state that brought you two giant balls, Farmer’s Union iced coffee and Cooper’s Pale Ale come brit pop band The Byzantines. The boys are excited to announce their new EP, set to release via Marshmallow Pavement Records on February 17th, 2017. The band are also announcing an east coast Australian tour during February and March in support of the new EP. The tour kicks off at The Karova Club in Ballarat on Friday Feb 24 with label-mates The Montreals, and Melbourne Garage-Rock darlings BATZ. They’ll make their way up the coast on a 9-date tour, hitting Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and other cities along the way.

There’s nothing pale about these Adelaide lads and best mates; vocalist Michael Pietrafesa, guitarist David Zammit, Jose Moucho on bass and Johnny Zervas on drums. The Byzantines have incorporated a varied mesh of sounds and layers, all the while feeling organic and staying true to the British sound that bands like The Stone Roses and Primal Scream made famous. 

Using the opportunity to promote their debut EP and supported by the Brit music icons such as Fred Perry Subculture and Liam Gallagher’s clothing label Pretty Green, The Byzantines embarked on a European/ UK trip in 2014. Coming off the success of that international tour, the guys were invited by Rolling Stone Magazine to play a sold out Workers Club show in Melbourne for their Live Lodge event supporting The Delta Riggs.  After copping some abuse from their tour manager for drinking The Delta Riggs rider, The Delta Riggs guitarist and talented engineer and producer Alex Markwell was laughing his head off and a friendship was born. Markwell offered to help produce and engineer the EP so in 2015 the boys decided to hit the recording studio.

Recorded between competing national tours and other commitments, the boys also enlisted the help of friends Dan Crannitch (Love and Other Crimes) to assist with pre-production and Luke Godson (Luke Million/The Swiss) to help capture the more electronic aspects of the band’s sound. The initial session birthed ‘Jamaica', ‘a swaggering hot mess’ (Rolling Stone Magazine), which set the benchmark for the rest of the EP. The first listens from the new recordings are ‘Jamaica’ and ‘She Moves’, available on triple j unearthed, both singles lauded from critics and fans alike. Facebook here. 


The video for 'Jamaica' is part story and part music. Musically the band make the most of Jamaica's reggae vibes, and put their own rock'n'roll stamp on the song. Based on this track alone The Byzantines could well destined for greater attention next year.

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Thursdays Treasure: Red Sleeping Beauty - The Regrettes - Mr. Elevator

Red Sleeping Beauty - We Are Magic.

Background - Red Sleeping Beauty formed in Stockholm in 1989 by singer Kristina Borg, singer/guitarist Niklas Angergård (Acid House Kings), guitarist Mikael Matsson (The Shermans), and bassist Carl-Johan Näsström. They made a huge impact on the international indiepop scene with two fantastic albums and a series of singles and EPs. Their first release was in 1992 with EP Pop Sounds (Marsh Marigold), followed by four 7"s all on different pop labels (Somersault, Motorway, Grimsey, and Sunday) before returning to Marsh-Marigold for the first full length Bedroom. They then signed to the legendary Siesta Records to release their fifth single Sick & Tired, their second album Soundtrack, and a compilation of singles.

Album named after the band’s female singer. On the recent album ”Kristina” Red Sleeping Beauty is a duo consisting of vocalist Niklas Angergård and Mikael Matsson with help from Kristina Borg on vocals on four songs. The album title is a tribute to her. - She’s had a tough struggle with cancer but things are looking brighter now. We expect her back as a full time member on the next album, the band states.

First album in 19 years time - ”Kristina” is the band’s first album in 19 year’s time. But that doesn’t mean the members have been disconnected from making music all these years. Niklas has released numerous albums with Acid House Kings on Labrador while Mikael Matsson has released several albums with both The Charade and The Shermans on Skipping Stones Records and Shelflife. Record label here.

'We Are Magic' has rich synthy vibes and beautifully smooth melodic vocals. The song has something of a timeless feel to it, almost as if the band have picked up from where they left off nineteen years previous.

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The Regrettes - A Living Human Girl.

Background - The band is releasing their debut album, Feel Your Feelings, Fool! a month from now. The Regrettes are Lydia Night's latest project with friends Genessa Gariano (guitar), Sage Chavis (bass) and drummer Maxx Morando. The Regrettes have been tearing up the LA club scene playing with Kate Nash, Peaches, Bleached, Deap Vally, PINS, La Luz and Summer Twins leaving L.A.'s jaded rock critics to write such things as "Everybody was floored by The Regrettes—the new poster children for local teen garage rock." and "The Regrettes rocked with a ferocity and penchant for hooks that schools most indie rockers twice their age. They will surely run an empire in ten years tops."

A song by The Regrettes is, essentially, a diary entry into Lydia’s life. “My music is a spectrum of every emotion that I have felt in the last year, and you can hear that when you hear the songs. Everything that is happening in my life influences me. It’s everything from boys, to friends, to being pissed off at people, to being really sad. Just everything.”

The most intoxicating draw of The Regrettes is their bashful, heart-on-your-sleeve temperament - writing urgent and fast-paced pop songs with a punk rock mentality. “The way that we write, it’s all based on honesty,” muses Lydia on the group’s punk aesthetic. “If I finish a song, I’ll just leave it - I won’t really go back to it. I like things to feel in the moment and I don’t want it to be perfect. If I work on something too much I lose it and get bored and I want to do the next one.” Website here and Facebook here.

We first featured The Regrettes in early August, and it's great to be able to share another song, this time from next months album release we have 'A Living Human Girl' the second of fifteen gorgeous, vibrant, punky songs in the collection. Energised and genuine, this is one band to watch out for, come the new year!

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Mr. Elevator - Sunshine Daydream.

Background - Mr. Elevator – formed in Southern California in 2012 by Thomas Dolas and Justin Martinez (and their mutual love of Donovan) – eschews guitars for vintage synthesizers, organs, and electric pianos, distinguishing themselves within the fuzzy, distorted contemporary Psych-Pop scene.

Today on Brooklyn Vegan, Mr. Elevator shares the first track and video "Sunshine Daydream" from their upcoming album.  'When the Morning Greets You,' is scheduled for release in February 10, 2017, on Rad Cat Records.

Under the original name Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel, the band began playing shows as a three-piece with bassist Wyatt Blair, and a short-while later, in 2013, relocated to Los Angeles where they released their first album, 'Nico & her Psychedelic Subconscious,' with Burger Records. After a few years of live shows, perfecting their sound alongside acts like Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Onlys, The Black Lips, Allah-Las, and more, Mr. Elevator recently completed their second album, 'When the Morning Greets You'.

On 'When the Morning Greets You,' the bands’ love for vintage keyboard sounds, concept albums, and 70s pop remains intact, furnishing an album that entrances listeners and evolves over the course of its run-time into an array of bright, complex patterns and shapes. The upbeat, colorful pop feel of Side A, for example, is slowly engulfed in the lush, synth-heavy soundscape of Side B (pointing in at least two distinct directions in regards to the sound of the next album).

With the addition of a fourth member to the performing band, Mr. Elevator will be supporting the release of 'When the Morning Greets You' with national and international live dates. Facebook here.

If it was not for the more modern production and audio quality 'Sunshine Daydream' could be taken as something from the sixties psychedelic music scene. A little bit quirky and a whole lot gorgeous melodic and catchy, my only complaint is it's over so quickly, still with more on the way who can complain!

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