GREY \\ WATER - The fin. - Tom Rosenthal - Guts - Tom Walters

GREY \\ WATER - Jimmy.

Background - GREY \\ WATER is a culmination of close friends blending their influences to create one distinct sound. 

As a band they wanted to create a song that challenged them to maintained their DIY spirit, while recording new material at a studio for the first time. To delve into a variety of creative processes. 

Lead singer Charlotte Grace Victoria's thoughts on the song: "I feel as though the story of Jimmy and his significant other reflects the same idea. On the surface, there is a couple in the midst of honeymoon love, yet along with that, there is an undertone of the pressure to change and evolve into something new." Facebook here.

Some brisk and bright guitar lead music introduces 'Jimmy'. When the beautiful vocals join in, the songs emotional feel deepens, and the melodic hooks really dig in.

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The fin. - Pale Blue.

Background - Arriving just in time for the start of summer proper, ‘Pale Blue’ is a sun-bleached slice of disco-tinged lysergia akin to Currents era Tame Impala. Yuto Uchino’s infectious melodies have a hint of Bee Gees’ irresistibility about them, and his impressive full-bodied production approach builds towering walls of synth and funk guitars around his hooks. The organic and electronic elements warp and merge tactfully to make a heady musical trip. It’s the second track to be taken from new album following ‘Afterglow’, the LP is expected to land next year. 
  
The fin. are a group comprised of Yuto Uchino (vocals and synths), Ryosuke Odagaki (guitar), and Kaoru Nakazawa (drums / bass). Since their formation in 2012 as an extension of Yuto’s musical vision (he wrote and recorded their initial records in his bedroom), they’ve performed to thousands of rapturous fans at major festivals including Fuji Rock, SXSW and Rising Sun. Staking their claim on America in 2015, they embarked on a major tour there, which included a performance at SXSW, before signing to Lost In The Manor the same year to release their debut UK EP ‘Night Time’. Last year’s ‘Through The Deep’ EP was a cleverly refined follow-up and it prefaced their decision to move to London that autumn. 

Their tenure here has seen them develop themselves artistically through collaborations writing, recording, and touring with a wealth of British artists and producers like Brad Spence, All We Are, Ten Fe, Circa Waves, Last Shadow Puppets, Petite Noir, FEWS, Anchorsong, Slow Dance and many more. They’ve just finished a world tour that included the UK, Japan, USA, China, Thailand and Malaysia along with a showcase at SXSW and another to come at The Great Escape. Praise has built quickly around the group and they’ve achieved over two million Spotify plays for their stylish Europhile blend of synth-pop, chillwave and dream-pop, complete with English lyrics addressing universal themes of everyday uncertainties. Latest single ‘Afterglow’ will be remixed by FEWS and Anchorsong (a huge fan of the band having played at their all-nighter parties in East London), and with it they’re evidently reaching the zenith of their artistic maturity, making vital and exciting new music for the road ahead. Pertinently, The fin. are a reflection of the idea that music is rooted in feeling and not borders. Facebook here.

Our third feature for The fin. who first came to my notice getting on for a couple of years ago. New track 'Pale Blue' has a hint of classic disco hidden amongst the bands excellent melodic sensibilities and a clever arrangement that allows both vocals, harmonies and the fine musicianship, all to shine.

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Tom Rosenthal - Take Over.

Background - Tom Rosenthal has this to say about his new music video ‘The video is about a couple meeting on a train for the first time and the starting of a romantic spark that prompts the male character to give the female character a pineapple but it's a magic pineapple... Hannah is an incredible animator with a style totally unique to her and I've been lucky enough to work with her for a few years now. Our previous collaborations have been viewed over 4 million times so something must be right!'

With songs featuring on a number of TV soundtracks (‘Skins’, ‘Hard Knocks’, 'Kid Poker'), major films including 'Comet', 'Anesthesia' and 'The Odyssey' (2016) as well as Vodafone’s official campaign, Rosenthal has seen his audience grow firmly, promptly and rapidly with more and more demand for his music.

It is worth mentioning that he’s achieved all this fully on his own and without any help from a manager, record label, publisher, booking agent, PR or PA. Subsequently his YouTube channel, showcasing his award-winning music videos (which he’s won for Best Video at the European Independent Film Festival 2017), has now amassed well over 30 million views and his Spotify streams well over 60 million…

Now he’s just released his much-anticipated new album ‘Fenn’. Sonically it fits high up there with the likes of Bon Iver, James Vincent McMorrow and Father John Misty.

The album 'Fenn' was written and recorded following the birth of his 2nd child (named Fenn) and is his most ambitious project to date. Having previously stuck to simple acoustic instrumentation, here Rosenthal expands into the world of trumpets, choirs, and 1970's Moogs. Comprised of 15 varied tracks, 'Fenn' was composed as an antidote to the troubled and shifting times of 2016. So apart from 'P.A.S.T.A', here we find songs ranging from reflections on modern man's coffee habits (‘What's Getting You Down, James?’), to songs simply focused on rising above it all (‘Throw The Fear, It Won't Be Me’).

Conclusion? Tom Rosenthal is an odd pearl worthy of your attention, so sharpen your ears, put your headphones on and let the music do the rest. Facebook here.

I think it's eminently fair to say I'm just a little late to the party when it comes to Tom Rosenthal. 'Take Over' being my first conscious listen to his music, leaves me urgently checking out his other material. A fabulous song!


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Guts - Everybody Wants to Be a Star (feat. Wolfgang).

Background - The energy levels are spiking into the red with Guts latest fuzzy retro synth infested groove cut ‘Everybody Wants To Be A Star’ (ft. Wolfgang). With a plethora of guests and varied palette of sounds encompassing afro, soul, jazz, funk, hip hop and more, the French producer is aiming to ‘Stop The Violence’ and instead create a world of pure joyous united vibes with their new EP of the same title.

The unpredictable nature of life for a band with members scattered around the globe have forced Guts to give his line-up a shake to start their various tours in the best possible conditions. A Brand New Revolution!

So Leron Thomas gave way to Wolfgang Volburn, who is also lead vocalist of The Ephemerals. Mary May climbed onto Lorine Chia’s throne. Beat Assaillant plucked a mic from the air that was still burning from the flow of Von Pea. With Florian Pellissier remains riveted to the keyboards, versatile Greg F. on the guitar and Nico Rajao on drums, Guts has gobbled up the miles and bestrode stage after stage at the head of a revitalised live band.

New recruits had kept enhancing the well-practised repertoire with their vibes, redefining some of the contours, adding a bit more soul here or a lightness of touch there. Their impact was so great, in fact, that changing line-ups have become part of the band’s identity.

Galvanized by this new alchemy, Guts and his new-look live band stopped off in the studio to compose and record some new tracks which he has brought together on Stop the Violence, a five-track record that’s more like a mini-album than a simple EP.

High on this regenerating juice, energy levels spiking into the red, Ain’t Perfect, Pick Me Up, Everybody Wants to Be a Star, Drummer’s Delight and the title track light up boxes marked soul, afro, disco and jazz, brighten a groove carpeted with retro-funky keyboards and the brass of Cotonete, Heavenly Sweetness’s resident jazz-funk specialists.

Two birds with one stone, since Guts and his live band will obviously use Stop the Violence to set the stage ablaze after burning up people’s decks. Label website here, Facebook here.

Mixing retro synth styles and more modern musical sounds 'Everybody Wants to Be a Star (feat. Wolfgang)' is a buoyant, upbeat and very catchy song. A perfect summer soundtrack song, to dance or listen to.


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Tom Walters - Marlborough.

Background - Tom Walters is an up-and-coming folk-rock artist based in the inner suburbs of Sydney. Walters has spent the last year crafting a catalogue of catchy, riff-based tunes to be released as an EP in the near future. The music is a blend of John Butler-esque finger-style guitar, acoustic pop sentiments in the realm of Ed Sheeran, and some classic rock and roll vibes to keep things fun!

Walters has a simple mission; “write songs that have a heart and a hook.” 

‘Marlborough’ is the debut single for Tom Walters. The song was first demoed in February at One Flight Up Studios in St Peters along with a handful of other tracks. In April, Walters was back in the studio to start tracking Marlborough for single release. The song was produced by head engineer Adam Barns at One Flight Up. Walters also enlisted the help of ‘Stormbird’ drummer Nedad Teofilovic as a session player during the recording process. The recording was completed in early May with additional vocals, guitars, synths, and percussion laid down to fill out the track.

Tom says on the creation of the track, “‘Marlborough’ began when I was still living at home. My Dad was teaching himself how to play ‘The Rain Song’ by Led Zeppelin on my guitar, so he kept tuning it in this bizarre open style tuning. Sometimes I couldn’t be bothered to tune it back so I would just jam with it in this open tuning and sure enough, some interesting riffs started to flow out of me, including the main ‘Marlborough’ riff. I felt as though I understood the instrument better in this new open tuning and song after song started tumbling out of me and my guitar.” 

‘Marlborough’ is a melting pot of Tom Walters’ musical influences. The acoustic guitar riff is then layered over with gritty electric guitars, simple attacking rock grooves on the drums, and some synths to add depth to the sound.

The vocals move from single layer melodies to increasingly rich harmonies as the song progresses. Lyrically the song is about finding comfort in a person, losing that person, and then finding new comfort in activities and substances that offer short term healing but perhaps will prove damaging in the long term. Tom Walters can be found playing at the Town Hall Hotel in Newtown, Sydney Wednesday nights. Bandcamp here.

Apart from the fact that it's the other side of the world to me, I could quite happily spend my Wednesday evening at The Town Hall Hotel listening to Tom Walters. With his stated mission being to “write songs that have a heart and a hook.” featured song 'Marlborough' suggests he is well on target to achieve that goal.

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Premiere: Squarehead - Thought Fractals (EP)

Squarehead - Perties (Thought Fractals EP).

Background - Squarehead is the stage name of Melbourne music producer Tobi Yamamoto. After playing bass guitar for various Australian independent artists, including 2010 Triple J Unearthed winners Blud, Tobi ventured into the world of production with Squarehead in 2011.

Since releasing their 2013 debut release ‘Fables’, Squarehead have performed along side many of Melbourne's most creative recent exports such as ALTA, Andras Fox, Halcyon Drive, Rat & Co, Willow Beats and Yeo; including billing at the boutique festivals Inca Roads, Castle Music Festival and Paradise Music Festival.

Their long awaited subsequent release ‘Two-Track’ in 2015 received much attention from local radio stations such as PBS, SYN, and RRR, as well as platforms like Soundcloud, where it totalled over 19 thousand listens.

Squarehead is often seen in the Melbourne live scene as a trio, with a combination of live instruments and electronic samples, combining the raw energy of a band with the meticulous layering of electronic music production.

‘Thought Fractals’ was self-produced and mastered by Adam Dempsey from Deluxe Studios. The new EP shows a refined, mature side to Squarehead’s epic instrumental pieces, whilst maintaining the uniqueness observed in their previous releases. Facebook here, Bandcamp here.

'Perties' is the second of five instrumentals on 'Thought Fractals' the brand new EP from Squarehead. From the outset I was impressed with this EP, it's awash with rich layers of melodic synths, dynamic beats, and not surprisingly some bass guitar, alongside an eclectic mixture of additional sounds. Different musical directions are explored, some catchy hooks and vibrant melodic moments are never far away. If you asked me to define the genre, I would say electronic to keep things simple, in reality it's considerably more than that, so lets just add Fabulous.

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Guided by Voices - Parsons Rocket Project - 1403

Guided by Voices - Just To Show You.

Background - Guided by Voices new album How Do You Spell Heaven is set for release on 11 August 2017. Guided By Voices is on a roll. You could argue, but please don't because I have a headache, that GBV is never not on a roll, that Robert Pollard's output plows past the word "prolific" like prolific is standing still in a snowbank; and that's true, but this new version of the band (Doug Gillard, Bobby Bare Jr, Mark Shue, Kevin March) has given Pollard new tools to complement his song-hammer. Thus, ergo, quod erat demonstrandum: roll. 

Hot on the heels of the smothered-in-plaudits double album August By Cake comes this hot and heavy fifteen-tune long player, a melody-dense thwack to the earholes that will both energize you and deplete your body of its remaining music-appreciation enzymes. Recorded by the band in New York, and by Bob in Ohio, How Do You Spell Heaven capitalizes on the current incarnation's tour-buffed shine without sacrificing eternal GBV verities such as but not limited to: off-kilter rhythmic jolts; krazy chords; purposefully imperfect harmonies; and fragmented structures that start and stop on a coin of small denomination and go somewhere else, and quickly.

For example: Leadoff track "The Birthday Democrats" features a surfeit of pop hooks and swaggering sure-footed wordplay before dissolving like a perfect dream into Beatles-esque sound collage. "King 007" starts off like an acoustic demo from Tommy before shifting gears into a galloping riff-driven hyperspace guitar battle, before pivoting back to some kind of weirdo hybrid of the two… and then stops short just when you think you've got the thing pinned down. "Pearly Gates Smoke Machine" opens like the best thing Marc Bolan never wrote and then stubbornly refuses to cohere into an actual song, instead serving as a platform for some entertainingly normcore guitar pyrotechnics, while "How To Murder A Man" channels David Bowie channeling Scott Walker. Is this enough? Is it ever? How about "Nothing Gets You Real," a deceptively straightforward breezy number that sounds like Pollard looking back at his life-in-rock and nodding, with a melancholy smile, at past versions of himself. It'll make you cry, if you have a human heart.

There's more, much more, but you know that already. The easiest, laziest way to sum up Guided By Voices' latest album, the move we can't fail to resist making, is the most obvious: How do you spell heaven? Shout it from the rafters: G-B-V. Website here, Facebook here, live dates on Beehive Candy's tour news page.

I just do not know how Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices, continue to be so inspired, creative and able to produce the quality and quantity of music, that has spanned their career. For me the new song 'Just To Show You' sits somewhere in the alt rock genre, it's melodic and devoid of any unnecessary extras, and at the same time fresh and pleasing. Another album is on it's way, and once again I am full of anticipation.

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Parsons Rocket Project - Exit Launch.

Background - Atlanta-based Parsons Rocket Project has announced they will be releasing their self-titled debut EP in August. Comprised of six tracks, this is a beautiful mixed bag of dream-gaze, indie rock and space rock. For now, they are previewing their first single 'Exit Launch', which occupies a sweet spot between Blonde Redhead, My Bloody Valentine, Bowery Electric and Slowdive.

Parsons Rocket Project takes its name from American rocket propulsion engineer, chemist, and occultist Jack Parsons.  The band formed in 2015 when drummer, lyricist, and titular figurehead Jody Hasty started collaborating with bassist Paul Curry, guitarist Jeff Holt, and multi-instrumentalist producer/engineer Benjamin Price at Studilaroche in Atlanta. They were later joiined by K. Michelle Dubois on vocals.

The band laid down the tracks for this album in the very studio where Benjamin Price has also worked on releases by Gang of Four and The Hives, among others. The album was mastered by Joe Lambert (Lou Reed, Animal Collective, The National, Hot Chip, Deerhunter, Panda Bear, Washed Out).

his debut EP represents a significant moment in time for the band, who were challenged to overcome very real struggles involving drug abuse, a terrible automobile accident, and the low-level daily drama of domesticity. Some of the ambient and psychedelic exploration is rooted in real trauma – both physical and emotional – while some of it is celebratory in nature, rooted in the unique awareness of a temporary conscious being in our universe.

'Parsons Rocket Project' will be released digitally on August 11, with vinyl to follow via the New Texture label. The digiital version already available for pre-order via Bandcamp here, Facebook here.

'Exit Launch' is the first of six tracks on the bands debut EP due in August. The band are clearly comfortable and capable of taking songs in different directions, whilst maintaining a core overall sound or style, that is easily identifiable as theirs. The featured song is a fine indicator of Parsons Rocket Project quality and imaginative music, the EP adds more depth and substance, as debut's go, this is something for the band to be proud of.

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1403 - Tonight.

Background - East London-based singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer 1403 has been something of an enigma over the past few years. 

Popping up in various guises writing and collaborating with artists such as Sasha, Disturbing London's G-FrSH and Cypress Hill to name a few, he has also contributed to various film scores and advertising campaigns across a wide range of genres and styles.

During this time, he was introduced to Grammy Award Winning Philadelphia based producer Joe ͚The Butcher͛ Nicolo (Fugees, Billy Joel, Lauryn Hill). The pair quickly formed a unique bond which has seen 1403 travel to the US on several occasions over the past couple of years to transform his solo demos into studio recordings.​ Facebook here.

'Tonight' mixes intimate vocals and initially, a stripped back acoustic musical soundtrack. As the arrangement builds, it adds another layer of melody, whilst supporting those beautiful and enticing vocals. The overall effect is wonderful, this is a track that suggests some very good music will follow.

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Men I Trust - NØMADS - Anja Kotar

Men I Trust - You Deserve This.

Background from the band - We recorded You Deserve This last summer. We weren’t supposed to do any music that afternoon, we were really chilled out and in a great mood. We were playing with some rhythms and started having fun with detuned and off-phase synths. 

We recorded the guitars and the final vocals last month following our initial idea: it’s all about relaxing, wishing good to oneself and others and the nostalgic joy of feeling part of the universe.

Founded in 2014, Men I Trust, is an indie-dance band from Montreal (Canada) who produces its own music videos. “We love smooth sounds, calm melodies and simple rhythms that relax, but make your right foot tap and your chin bounce on the beats. We are all in DYI: we record, mix, master and shoot our music videos ourselves, and we’re loving it!” tumblr here, Facebook here.

Ambient vibes, soothing vocals, and a fine melodic feel ensures 'You Deserve This' is a song that registers. Adding in the gentle and understated musical arrangement, really does complete the circle with this delicious track.


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NØMADS - Dementophøbia.

Background - “Dementophøbia” is the June instalment of NØMADS’ ongoing, year-long conceptual album Phøbiac, with each song being a case study based around a different rare or clinical phobia. Dementophobia is the fear of losing one's mind, and its accompanying single is a blistering, fuzzed-out, post-punk explosion that captures the nature of NØMADS as a dynamic post-punk duo. Phøbiac is the follow-up to NØMADS’ critically-acclaimed 2014 full-length, Free My Animal.

The more you question if there are voices in your head, the more the question itself becomes a voice. In a time when so many things about our daily world seem insane, Dementophobia is a phobia that is likely more common than it is diagnosed. On the track, frontman Nathan Lithgow sings the paranoid refrain "Find a faster, louder way to give. Something wrong is always happening; just a prayer for a partial lobotomy. Excuse me I'm all out of me.” 

The duo is the brainchild of Nathan Lithgow (My Brightest Diamond) who handles bass and vocal duties, and Garth Macaleavey (the technical director at National Sawdust) on drums. True to form with all of NØMADS’ output, the duo relies heavily on Lithgow's melodic, yet razor-sharp distorted bass, paired with Macaleavey’s powerful drumming. Together, the band conjure up the sonic power of early Battles' work, as well as the gritty, razor sharp execution of 90's post-rock bands like Death From Above, Trans Am or Tortoise. 

We featured 'Achluphobia' back at the beginning of February describing that song as "a powerful full on rocker, where the vocals pour out every last gasp of breath and the guitars and drums take a pounding. Raw and solid, it's also highly addictive." As we dip back into the year long 'Phøbiac' album with the latest track 'Dementophøbia' we are treated to another blast of energised post punk music, and again there is something about the overall sound that is compelling and demanding to be played again.

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Anja Kotar - How To Be Cool.

Background - 20-year-old Electro Pop artist, Anja Kotar, has released the first single off her debut album, “How to Be Cool”. The song has been dubbed a “summer jam”.

This single is more than just a catchy tune though; it’s been described as a “musically intricate” track that "pushes all boundaries on what a pop song should sound like"; with a "catchy hook which will inspire you to break out every dance move you know".

Anja Kotar had her first taste of the arts while studying piano, dance and acting in the blockbuster movie Gremo mi po svoje and its sequel while in Ljubljana, Slovenia. After moving to San Jose, California in 2012, Anja continued her studies at the Valley Christian Conservatory. It was then that she became heavily involved with theater and jazz. Anja used her time at VC Conservatory to perform in multiple shows and even start writing and directing full length productions such as; “Godspell.” Anja also earned a Voice Certificate from Berklee College of Music after taking online courses while she was in high school. Upon graduation Anja attended the prestigious Broadway Artist Alliance in New York City. At 17 she then completed her widely successful Kickstarter project, which had 156 supports who pledged anywhere from $5 to $1000 in return for background footage, memorabilia and lastly, NOMAD itself.

After the release of her EP Anja was invited to perform at the Slovenian Song Festival (DSZG) the longest running festival in the country that features the country’s top talent and is the most viewed show in the country. After performing her original "Cas je zdaj" (The Time Is Now) and "Too Cool” live, Anja was nominated by RTV for Best Performance, Best Song, and Best New Artist, walking away with 2016’s Best New Artist. She then was nominated for Best Pop Song at the 2016 American Songwriting Awards. 

Currently Anja is working to complete her Bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music nearly two years early on top of working with three–time Grammy nominated producer Pascal Guyon on releasing her full length debut album along with an online store that will connect music and fashion. Website here, Facebook here.

It's about time we freshened Beehive Candy up with some funky, modern electro pop, the sort that blows those old cobwebs away. 'How To Be Cool' does all of that, it's fun, young and vibrantly, just right for summer.


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Jessica Lynn - Fos - Lo Tom - the Good Graces - Tamino

Jessica Lynn - Crazy Idea.

Background - Being hailed as “the New Woman in Country,” and “Shania's Successor,” Jessica Lynn is fast on her way to becoming a household name.  

In the last two years, the New York singer/songwriter has completed three highly successful nationwide tours of the United States and has seen her first two full length concert television specials, “This Much Fun – Live from the Winery at St. George,” and "Jessica Lynn - Takin' Over - Live from The Paramount " be met with rave reviews and seen by millions of viewers nationwide across America.

She has sung her country’s National Anthem twice in New York’s famed Madison Square Garden by special invite, signed a major publishing deal with publishing giant Round Hill Music that had her in Nashville writing with today’s top hit writers, and wrapped up three national summer tours sharing stages with Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Hank Williams Jr., The Band Perry, Thompson Square, Jake Owen, Sammy Kershaw, Clint Black, Montgomery Gentry, Phil Vassar and others. 

Last year, Jessica hit the road with country legend Jo Dee Messina for a west coast tour and recently had the honor of opening for the “Queen of Country Music” herself, Loretta Lynn.  

Her high-energy and dynamic live show has garnered rave reviews from critics worldwide with the CBS Evening National News calling her a "Rocket Force."  

2016 saw Jessica on her first international tour in Canada and Europe and she released her debut self-titled EP.  The first official music video and single from that EP, "Not Your Woman," hit #1 for four weeks in a row on "The Iceman's Top 40 New Country Chart." The Iceman’s chart is the only New Country Countdown show listed and recognized in the 2016 Country Music Association’s Industry Guide.

2017 will take Jessica and the band around the world once again with a busy schedule that includes a summer long European/UK tour in support of her brand new EP, “Look At Me That Way,”. The new EP produced and co-written in Belgium by acclaimed Producer Patrick Hamilton (Katherine Jenkins, David Garrett), includes three new cuts that will be making their way to UK and European radio this summer. Website here, Facebook here, UK live dates on Beehive Candy's tour news page.

'Crazy Idea' merges modern country and pop styles together, in an upbeat and vibrant manner. Jessica's melodic & cheerful vocals are well up in the mix, supported by some top quality musicianship, no wonder the attention she is receiving.

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Fos - Captain Free.

Background - London based Greek born artist Katerina Koutouzi, aka Fos, is releasing her third album “Captain Free” on the artist's own label, Near The Exit Music. The captivating melody of the main song from which the album takes its title, dominates this record. Captain Free takes you on a journey from Dalston neon market stalls reflected in kerbside puddles to the silvery darting fish swimming in the clear Greek island waters. Squidgy beats and airy synth complemented by a gentle voice full of promise, blow over the listener like a familiar summer breeze. 

Katerina has recorded, produced and mastered this record herself and you can feel that this is a song that has been lovingly nurtured into being. When she was a girl, Katerina grew up on a small Greek island and her island memories paint a sort of glorious technicolor-nostalgia over this beautifully formed, catchy electro pop song conceived in the bustling city.

The rest of the album takes the listener on a sailing trip through varied musical waters. The whole album evolves around the theme of sailing on one's sailboat in the vast blue as a symbolic metaphor on the meaning of life and being alive. Following in the footsteps of her second album “Rock”, “Captain Free” is a well crafted assortment of all the different elements that Koutouzi likes to play with. 

Fos brings together traditional acoustic instruments like the daouli Greek drum, ancient instruments like the conch-shell, other acoustic instruments including the piano and the accordion, an electronica style of programming beats using pebbles, shells and bells. Katerina often sings in different languages, using the sound of a language as another sound tool but also using voice as an instrument. This contemporary approach blends styles such as dance music, song structures using simple archetypal melodies, ambient soundscapes using her own field recordings of natural sounds like the sound of waves and minimal instrumental explorations. The pieces sometimes sound like a sound collage of different instruments and natural sounds, but with an overarching aim of creating a certain atmosphere and an emotional reaction. Website here, Facebook here. 

Not so much one of nine songs but four of nine as 'Captain Free' takes us on a musical journey through four parts, alongside five other fabulous tracks. The whole album is an imaginative breath of fresh air, with an eclectic mixture of musical sounds, intricate beats and more. If you like the featured song, the album is a must.

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Lo Tom - Covered Wagon.

Background - Lo Tom is made up of David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Trey Many (Velour 100, Starflyer 59), TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs), and Jason Martin (Starflyer 59), friends who started playing music together when they were still pretty much kids. The band will release its self-titled debut LP on July 14 on Barsuk. The band has shared its second single, "Covered Wagon".  

While many bands are a collaboration between artists with a message, a shared vision for a record, or an idea of a sound they want to create, Lo Tom is a group of friends who missed making noise together and wanted to hang out. The off-hand -- almost dismissive -- way they talk about the experience of making their self-titled debut masks the excellence of the music they’ve written and produced together as Lo Tom, but perhaps their casual approach to the whole endeavor is part of why it came out so great.

Recorded over two different sessions when they could find the time to spare, the four friends gathered with half-formed riffs and beats to see what would come out of it. The album’s thematic direction is loose and conceptual. The melodies recall Pedro the Lion and TW Walsh, the guitars sparkle with hints of Starflyer 59, and the songs hurtle through the major keystones of guitar rock - tight conversation between percussion and guitar, heavy fuzz, and some genuinely joyful breakdowns that give way to catharsis. Lyrics were mostly written by Bazan, who would take a melody and make up words quickly, then finish them over time.  

What makes this record special is not just how it’s built on melodies and riffs and songs with the looseness and ease of four friends who have been making music together for decades, but how vibrant and energetic and smart and funny and fun it is. For fans of a particular brand of indie-rock founded in the seventies and eighties and honed in the nineties and oughts, Lo Tom is one of the best things to arrive in a very long time. Website here, Facebook here.

Our second feature for Lo Tom this month following on from 'Overboard' a couple of weeks ago we now have 'Covered Wagon'. We have already remarked on the experience and quality of Lo Tom, hopefully this second share confirms our high regard for the new album is indeed well deserved.

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the Good Graces - Remember the Old School.

Background - Mining the same rich vein as ’90s alt-country favorites like Freakwater and Whiskeytown, the Good Graces unspool delicate, warbling indie-folk and jangling roots pop. The project originated in 2007 but really started gaining momentum when it was handpicked by the Indigo Girls to open their 2015 summer tour. More of a community musical collaboration than a band, the Good Graces are the brainchild of singer, songwriter and guitarist Kim Ware and include a rotating cast of a dozen musicians playing the typical four-piece accouterments, as well as piano, harmonica, mandolin, wind chimes, cello, violin and more.

“I’ve never really called it a band,” Ware says. “I'm kind of weird about that term, which is a little silly, but I’ve always liked to mix it up depending on what I'm doing at the moment. I'm super fortunate to have a lot of really talented friends, but many of them have their own thing going on, and it's hard to expect the same group to be available all the time. I’ve always called on different people."

But Ware’s attitude has evolved on this point recently, given her deepening connection with the core members of the Good Graces’ latest iteration—pedal-steel and electric-guitar player Jonny Daly, and Uncle Green drummer Pete McDade, who were a key part of the sound and creative process on new record Set Your Sights (out July 7 via Pretty New Songs / Potluck Foundation). “Making this record did help me settle on a solid lineup that I'm going to at least be using for shows—Jonny, Pete, Lee Kennedy, Chad Mason and John McNicholas. I can’t overstate the importance of their contributions to the Good Graces.”

True to form, Set Your Sights was written on Ware's front porch on acoustic guitar. Touting such influences as Neko Case, Laura Veirs, K.D. Lang and Lydia Loveless, Ware's Southern drawl and straightforward, confessional lyrical style are at the forefront of the songs, while the production is atmospheric and exquisitely layered, showcasing a menagerie of styles. 

Exploring themes such as getting older, past relationships and coming to terms with your place in the universe, this album is Ware's attempt to examine past missteps. "People so rarely learn from their mistakes,” she says. “Everyone talks about it, and it's easy to throw that out there, but we so rarely focus on why we made a mistake in the first place. It's important to not just treat the symptom but the underlying cause. I think that should be the bigger focus."

In the past, Ware has been described as a less surly Lucinda Williams or a country-fried Liz Phair. This time around, she also channels Beth Orton's spaced-out Trailer Park soundscapes, especially on album opener "Out There," which asks the age-old question, "Are we alone in the universe?” Website here, Facebook here.

'Remember the Old School' is catchy from the opening riffs. Packing a sprightly, powerful, rhythm alongside some fine rock guitar work and vocals that are organically just right for high spirited rock songs, such as this one.

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Tamino - Habibi.

Background - The first born son of a Flemish, anthropologist mother and an Egyptian, salesman father who met in the West-African republic of Guinee, 20 year old Tamino Moharam Fouad's first artistic love was theatre. ‘It must’ve been the first bite of the performance bug’, he explains. ‘I always had an interest in translating feelings, emotions and ideas into something else, something beyond the casual state of affairs’. Intuitively, his mother named him after the hero and prince in Mozart’s opera ‘The Magic Flute’.

The search for ‘alternative worlds’, as Tamino describes it, also guided him towards literature – ‘there’s seldom a quiet moment where you won’t find me reading a book’ – and, eventually, music. While in high school Tamino was your typical fourteen year old punk rocker, playing in bands inspired by bands like Billy Talent. An adolescent phase, looking back, because at home his mom’s record collection opened up his ears and mind to other, alternative worlds. The pop genius of The Beatles and Serge Gainsbourg, for instance, or the smoky, blues bar ballads of Tom Waits’ ‘Closing Time’, and the heartfelt, empowering music of Malian songbird Oumou Sangaré. 

‘According to my uncle, as a youngster, I was always scanning the car stereo for oriental flavoured tunes’, Tamino says. This is where the bloodline comes in. Some of the music he was exposed to at home were the albums of his late grandfather Moharam Fouad, a renowned actor and singer in the Arab world, from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. ‘My mother played his music around the house, and I remember being particularly taken by his live recordings with orchestra. There’s a certain kind of raw emotion in his singing, and in Arab music in general, that is mostly absent from Western music. Even when the tunes are kind of cheesy, there’s always something real, something sincere embedded in the voice. Complete surrender, much less calculated than most Western music. Oum Kalthoum, one of the most famous Egyptian singers, also had it; that intense kind of testimony about a past, scarred life of hardship and poverty. Just like Edith Piaf, someone else I very much admire’.  

When, near the end of high school, Tamino added Radiohead and Jeff Buckley – ‘ever since I was singing in punk rock bands, people kept dropping his name’ – to his roster of artists to be inspired by, it become obvious: ‘I wanted to pursue music. I could either do it by myself in my bed room, or I could broaden my horizons, meet and work with new people, learn new things’. He left his Antwerp suburb, moved to Amsterdam and enrolled in its music academy.   

Tamino’s debut EP for Unday Records is not only a showcase of his impressive vocal range, but also an impressionistic tableaux of his many moods and talents. Introspective yet bold. Otherworldly yet firmly grounded in tradition, electrifying yet embalmed in finesse. Unday Records Facebook here.

'Habibi' is a beautiful song. Tamino is upfront about his musical influences, and with ones of the calibre mentioned above, I personally expected to feel let down by the track. Rather the vocals and music exceeded my expectations, this is natural talent, and I am now impatient to hear more.

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