Mercy Flight - H.C. McEntire - Caroline Says - Rat the Magnificent

Mercy Flight - Entropy. 

Background by Steve York of Mercy Flight - The band Mercy Flight is a natural evolution of my music. Together with powerhouse musicians – Tony Rabalao & Thomas McKay (Joy Drop), Ricky Tillo (Lady Gaga), Dan Miller (Valerie Dour) and Katey Morley (Gypsy Soul) - we combine to create Mercy Flight’s indie folk sound with a modern twist.

“Entropy,” the first single from our forthcoming record, explores the importance of human connection in a disintegrating world. Technologies designed to bring us together are tearing us apart and destroying our physical realities. “Entropy” is a reminder to connect in the moment.

Set for release on June 15th, Humanizer continues to explore the relationship between humanity and technology. I’ve watched the music industry change from the inside over the past 20 years, and reflect what I’ve witnessed on our new album. Humanizer was recorded straight to analog tape at Revolution Recording in Toronto. FACEBOOK.

'Entropy' mixes indie pop and folk together with some refined vocals and harmonies and a polished musical arrangement. The lyrics are thought provoking and with more material on it's way this is a really good introduction to Mercy Flight.

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H.C. McEntire - Baby's Got the Blues.

Background - H.C. McEntire Invites her family and community into frame for her “Baby’s Got the Blues” music video. 

Back stateside after a trio of sold-out shows in London, two of which were supporting Angel Olsen, H.C. McEntire is sharing a new music video for “Baby’s Got the Blues” off her stellar solo debut, Lionheart.

Director Jared Hogan on creating a visual for the song: "In talking with Heather, we knew that we wanted this video to touch on universal wounds of depression and suffering, but established in a more poetic narrative. We also knew we wanted family and community to play an integral role. All of the subjects in the video are connected to Heather’s life in one way or another, and that was very important to us. The song strikes this beautiful balance between darkness and hope, and we wanted the video to do the same." WEBSITE.

Americana roots vibes course there way through 'Baby's Got the Blues' an earnest and pleasing song. The accompanying video adds further interest, to what is a very engaging track from the 'Lionheart' album.


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Caroline Says - Mea Culpa.

Background - Austin-via-Alabama songwriter Caroline Sallee aka Caroline Says has released a video for “Mea Culpa” to announce US summer dates with label mate Jessica Risker.  “Mea Culpa” is featured on the second Caroline Says album, No Fool Like An Old Fool, which arrived in March on Western Vinyl.

Discussing the video’s creation, Caroline stated:  I made this video with my friend James Pritchard. I asked him to film it because I liked his instagram photos (@________._____.___.__._._). He told me he had never filmed anything before, but we went for it anyway. We decided to make a video that was entirely shots of reflections of water. We spent 2 days  wandering around looking for different puddles and creeks for him to film my reflection. I think James bought a camera that shoots video after we made this music video.

Sallee recorded No Fool Like An Old Fool while simultaneously working three jobs – finding the time was no easy task and her living situation didn't make it any easier – a dank, mildewed basement apartment with noise from her landlords above bleeding through all day.  The hurdles she navigated to record naturally led to ad hoc recording techniques, and endless sonic experimentation, often leading to her use of the computer as an instrument.  Sallee loosens her earthly tether with No Fool, allowing her songs to float to ever higher altitudes on clouds of loops, immaculate melodies, and hypnotic harmonies, as she sings about aging, the daily grind, and hometown stymie.  Lyrics were inspired from an array of sources, including the 1971 film ‘Panic in Needle Park’ and the idea of being in love with a heroin addict.  A NPR story about a young Iraqi man who was killed in an ISIS bombing just before moving to New York City to become a professional dancer.  Terrence Malick's ‘Badlands’ and Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska.  While the song “Black Hole" features multi-voice harmonies sung from the perspective of 50's spree killer Charles Starkweather.

No Fool Like An Old Fool is a fine soundtrack for a kind of liminal state… honest in its weariness, glad to be done with the day, carrying itself into tomorrow with a bleary-eyed sense of wonder and hope for the future. FACEBOOK.

US Tour Dates with labelmate Jessica Risker
08/01 – Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie’s
08/02 – Houston, TX @ Big Top Lounge
08/05 – Knoxville, TN @ Scruffy City
08/08 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
08/12 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle

Gentle vocals and enchanting harmonies are supported by a simple and primarily acoustic backdrop on 'Mea Culpa', one of those songs that allows the hooks to subtly work there way in.


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Rat the Magnificent - Olon.

Background - Rat The Magnificent share new single 'Olon'. Made up of members of Family Manderson, Sunshine Republic, KLLR, Hot Sauce Pony, Modern Men and Brenda, Rat the Magnificent are a heady mix of obstinance and oblivion. Think an overlapping of a Venn diagram made up of Jesus Lizard, Sally Bowles, My Bloody Valentine, Slint, Oxbow and Son House and you’re in the right borough.

The trio’s cacophony of beguiling yet unnerving fuzz-laced experimental noise rock has earned the group a reputation as a must-see live act, having played with the likes of McLusky, IDLES and Adam Betts. Not least, they have also previously recorded with Steve Albini earning the rare would-be plaudits of “I’d have no problem with you being my house band.” Now with an EP and several singles to their name, Rat The Magnificent are set to release their debut LP, ‘The Body As Pleasure’. A collection of 10-tracks that fully encompass the raw, unhinged energy and dark melodic sensibilities that have garnered them much acclaim in the past.

However, like all strong drinks - the whiskey, the coffee - you need balance in strength. The core trio of Anderson’s open blasted guitar checks primitive tradition and bleeds into Davies’ evangelical bass and Dodridge’s fervent drum rhythms, providing a bed for Anderson to belie his vocals. Brooding in white hot intensity, the albums lyrical content tackles personal yet assimilable topics such as the immediacy of desire, animal magnetism, familiar high-stakes anxiety and trial by fire learning. Dexterous vocals layer often voyeuristic glimpses into both the bands misfortunes and success, backed up by oblique and often deceptively catchy instrumentation.

The band celebrate their influences in a caustic yet melodically conscious manner that is both familiar and new. The influences run fast and loose throughout the record, from the direct power and languishing darkness of Swans, Sonic Youth, Peaches and The Birthday Party, right through to 60-80s New York minimalism a la Tony Conrad and La Monte Young. Almost all of the tracks contain microtonal elements; from the bends in ‘Marrtalon’, to the rising synths at the end of ‘The For’, to the guitar gradually riding “out of tune” on ‘The Inevitable’ - The devil is in the details.

Recorded over the course of three years with Brad Hemsell, ‘The Body As Pleasure’ also features huge range of inimitable guest musicians, who add even further depth and dynamics to the record. Guests include: Ian Catskilkin (Future Of The Left, Art Brut), Jen Macro (MBV, Graham Coxon, Charlotte Hatherly, Hurtling), Stephen Gilchrist (Graham Coxon, The Damned, The Cardiacs, Vic and Bob), Jeff Fairley (Cheel Ghar) and Caroline Gilchrist (Hot Sauce Pony). WEBSITE.

Our second helping of Rat The Magnificent and 'Olon' confirms that this is a band who can do full on rock & roll swagger with both style and intensity.

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Lucy and the Rats - Lyla Foy - LT Wade - Ennor

Lucy and the Rats - Melody.

Background - Lucy And The Rats is the new band from now London based singer/guitarist Lucy Spazzy, formerly one third of Australian punksters The Spazzys. 

Once settled in London in 2015, she set about assembling a new band being “bored of playing at home by herself”, subsequently linking up with guitarist Joe To Lose (Los Perros, Johnny Throttle), bassist Mike Cannibal (Animal Cannibal), and drummer Manu (Thee Tumbitas).

A pair of ear grabbing singles followed as the band made a stir on the live scene in the Capitol, in turn nationally and all over the world sharing stages with the likes of Buzzcocks and Paul Collins along the way.

Produced by Johnny Casino and Jim Diamond (White Stripes, Dirtbombs), their first album is an inescapable tap on the shoulder of the broadest attention and recognition, a sweet sounding proposition so so easy to run off with. FACEBOOK.

It was in late 2016 that we first came across Lucy And The Rats, then they disappeared pretty quickly off our radar until now, where the new music video for 'Melody' reminds us of what a vibrant and feisty band they are. Musically there is a punk infused feel, with plenty of hooks and their natural rocker energy.


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Lyla Foy - Far Behind You.

Background From Lyla…. This is Far Behind You, the first single from my new record. It’s about chasing a dream that never happens: an ode to that mission. If creative frustration makes you feel trapped or tiny - keep chasing - or at least write about it.

After finishing the track, I wanted to see if I could get another voice in there with mine, ideally that of Jonathan Donahue from Mercury Rev. 

I managed to get an introduction via email and very quickly he replied complimenting me on the song and agreeing to get in the driver’s seat to record his parts. There was nothing about the way he sung my words that emulated me, it simply became him.

Patrick Wimberly (Chairlift, Solange, MGMT) mixed the single and completely brought it to life with a whole new intensity. So here’s this weird little pop song. Hope you like it! WEBSITE.

'Far Behind You' opens with some distant dreamy vocals and is soon accompanied by some smoothly layered synths and a driving beat. Jonathan Donahue's vocal duet adds a further dimension to what is a refined and charming song.


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LT Wade - My Sun And Stars.

Background - Alternative rock artist LT Wade shares his new single, "My Sun And Stars" off his forthcoming LP, Transient. Transient is the name of the record LT Wade's life has been very transient over the last 2 years. He started recording the album in London, UK before moving to San Francisco where he continued work on the album, then finally finishing it in NYC after his move. 

The album embraces all three cities sonically. It has elements of the West Coast with songs like "My Sun & Stars" and "Lost Angeles." "Hard To Know" and ‘Hell of a Night’ have the more European almost Krautrock feel to them and "This City" and "A Summers Dream" were recorded in NYC this past winter with jazzy saxophones and more industrial tones.

The album was written, recorded, produced and mixed by Wade himself. Wade enlisted one of his best friends Olly Betts of ‘The Duke Spirit’ in his studio ‘The Crows Nest’ in London for the drums. When he moved to NYC, Wade started working with another friend and fantastic musician Grant Zubritsky (Chet Faker's Band) who played sax, keys, and bass on 2 tracks of the album. The “secret” track at the end of the song “This City” is a cut and paste interview Wade recorded and put to music with a friend - it's an extension of the song about the trials and tribulations of NYC. WEBSITE.

Live Date: 07.27 - Pianos (w/ Nosh (Skaters), The Fluids, Tolani - New York, NY.

'My Sun And Stars' has something of a retro rock and roll feel to it, where the vocals are melodic and very engaging, the music is superbly arranged, this is one atmospheric and very catchy song.

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Ennor - West Coast.

Background - In its title alone, Ennor’s ‘West Coast’ forms a suggestive link between their roots in the south westerly tip of England and the blissed-out Californian vibes their music emits. In a sense their most traditional song yet, the track wields a melodic sensibility that is timeless to the folk traditions of the UK. Idyllic, romantic, but with a soft rock warmth and edge that would have the late Tom Petty humming along approvingly, ‘West Coast’ is a stunning injection of the rock rhythms and grandeur of Americana into folklore musical storytelling. Bathed in soothing harmonies and abounding in cinematic guitar work, it’s everything we’ve come to expect from Ennor: compelling, boundlessly energetic and matchless songwriting.

With their musical and emotional roots embedded in the far corners of Cornwall, Ennor write songs that have a palpable sense of openness and raw emotion. It’s the culmination both of their journeys across the UK and a nostalgic longing for the Cornish sea. By turns folk and rock, the four-piece’s infectious sound has garnered attention from London to Penzance, as well as the acclaim of BBC Introducing. 

The poeticism and sincerity of frontman Tom Elliott is propped by the blistering work of the rhythm section. Adam Williams’s driving drums and the dexterous string work of guitarist Jack Rennie and bassist James Creed have earned their sound a new moniker: ‘Californwall’ - a fitting epithet to describe the perennial summer communicated in their songwriting. Drawing influence from the likes of Frank Turner, The Gaslight Anthem and The War On Drugs, Ennor spent the summer of 2017 touring their sunshine sounds across the UK to the like of Ronnie Scotts, The Eden Project and Boardmasters, before heading into the studio to record new works ready for 2018 and the turn of the seasons. FACEBOOK.

Cornwall's Ennor make their third appearance on Beehive Candy this year with 'West Coast'. The bands upbeat folk rock sound has a slightly mellower and reflective feel to it this time, however the band remain very addictive to listen to, maybe it's the combination of fresh Atlantic weather and the influences of Pacific coast charm, whatever - it's extremely good music.



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Kris Angelis - St. Jude the Obscure - Black Grapefruit

Kris Angelis - Photobooth.

Background - "Photobooth is about a real night that I thought would be the beginning of something and it turned out to be the end, but the joy and hopes of that night were saved forever in the photos. I wrote it because I've always thought photo booths were romantic and that concept would be fun to write a song about, but also as a bit of a catharsis for a heartbreak. The song is more upbeat and nostalgic than one might imagine, because its about those memories captured in the flashes of the photo booth. On a larger scale its about the moments in life that could become tainted by how they ended up, but trying to allow them to keep their happiness." ~ Kris

Accomplished singer-songwriter, Kris Angelis, visits bittersweet nostalgia on her new single, “Photobooth.” Over the years, Angelis has experimented with a myriad of sounds and ideas, though never straying from the lyrical reflections and life experiences that make her music undeniably relatable. Whether she’s sticking to her folky, Ingrid Michealson-esque roots, or toying with pristine pop productions, she never strays from the heart of who she is — a storyteller. Her 2013 release “The Left Atrium” and 2017’s “Heartbreak is Contagious” received critical acclaim and saw time in the Top 10 on iTunes Singer/Songwriter charts, solidifying her as a songwriter and artist alike. Her songwriting has garnered her a number of awards including the 13th International Acoustic Music Award for Best Female Artist, LA Music Critics Award for Best Female EP, and she was named a finalist at the 2016 International Songwriting Competition. Her recent return to the studio to work with producer Billy Lefler found Angelis settling back into the rootsy folk-pop sound she started with, and the inspiration for “Photobooth” quickly followed.

On her newest single, “Photobooth,” Angelis reflects on the power of a single pivotal moment transpiring over a matter of seconds. Bright and breezy, the beat ebbs and flows with carefree abandon that instinctively transports listeners to a happier place. Angelis captures the same sunny disposition with her pristine vocals, draping the melody in a lightness that gives power to the evocation that such a meaningful moment can induce. As she croons about first kisses behind a curtain, captured in black and white on paper, you can feel the sense of yearning and gratefulness throughout each clap-and-repeat chorus. Once again, Kris Angelis has put real-life moments into stunning melodic stories on her new single, “Photobooth.” WEBSITE.

'Photobooth' is a gently unfolding singer, songwriter affair that quickly perks up and begins to charm the socks off me. Hints of folk Americana occasionally surface, the lyrics and their gorgeous delivery are refined, and those musical hooks are pretty much everywhere. It's perhaps a sign of my age that photo booths provide me with some fond memories, so much better than the instant gratification of a selfie, honest!

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St. Jude the Obscure - I'm The Wolves.

Background - St. Jude the Obscure are an art pop 2-piece, residing in Liverpool. Formerly known as Feral Love and Bird, now, Adele Emmas and Christian Sandford have undergone a metamorphosis that led to St. Jude the Obscure. Referencing the patron saint of lost causes and Thomas Hardy’s most miserable novel, Saint Jude the Obscure’s music is neither a lost cause or dripping with misery. Instead, it’s literate uplifting synth-pop with more than a hint of Regina Spector, Florence + the Machine and Bat For Lashes.

Recently commissioned to create a soundtrack for WWI poet Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Futility’, to accompany an opening of his memorial, St Jude the Obscure tend to pair poetic lyrics with airy electro-pop beats. ‘I’m The Wolves’ is their most recent example of a metaphorical account of individual truth-seeking.

The band explains: “’I'm The Wolves’ is a song about independence and freedom of spirit, the need to escape a somewhat chaotic world and to reconnect with the simplicity of nature. It celebrates how strength can be found in the vulnerability of choosing to walk your own path even though it might be a solitary one at times.“ FACEBOOK.

Whether this is art pop, synth pop, or electronic might be open to debate, that 'I'm The Wolves' is delicious and very catchy as it smoothly charms its way into my life, needs no further consideration.

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Black Grapefruit - Mind.

Background - After building a fervent following as SOS in their native Pacific Northwest and on SoundCloud, Black Grapefruit drove across the country and settled in Brooklyn in 2014; a year later they left the borough and made their new home in upstate New York. 

Getting away from the city wasn’t a retreat or a hideaway, though; it forced them out from the cover of the crowd, forced them to confront who they were, as a band and as individuals. To start the album they first had to break old habits in the heat of a Lokata sweat lodge and the dirt of their garden. In a house where pre-war means pre-War of 1812, in rooms where people were born and died, All My Relations came together.

To achieve the ambitious sounds of their new album, the duo synthesized Randa’s mother’s West Indian roots and the gospel of her father’s American South. Exuberant, headphone-filling vocal harmonies and syncopated percussion are present, and Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms anchor tracks with impassioned vocal samples and lush string arrangements. The assertive low end and double-time trap hats of their previous album return, but the sonic palette has widened to befit the ambition and scope of the project. 

The abiding arrangement philosophy is balance: in a sequence emblematic of the assurance and depth of the album, an atmospheric field recording anchors the slow-burning emotion of “05,” a high-wire act of masterly vocal production that crescendos into ecstasy before giving way to the irresistible exuberance of “Mind.” WEBSITE.

'Mind' gives just a partial indication of what to expect from the twelve tracks that make up the new album titled 'All My Relations'. This is both an ambitious and creative selection of music, where attempting to give the collection any one characterisation, is difficult to say the least. It's all that the promo above tells us, and much of it is addictive, demanding a second listen and more, Black Grapefruit have developed a unique and very fine style of music.


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Ana Silvera - El Ten Eleven

Ana Silvera - Circle Of Chalk.

Background - Since the 2012 release of her debut album, 'The Aviary', singer-songwriter Ana Silvera's work has garnered broad acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Her uniquely ethereal brand of alt-folk has seen her perform at SXSW, Iceland Airwaves Festival, Liverpool Royal Philharmonic and more, whilst recent collaborations include composing for Royal Ballet, duetting with Imogen Heap and singing original songs with early music consort Concerto Caledonia.Now six-years after her last full-length record, Silvera is about to release her sophomore album, ‘Oracles’.

“It was Marcus Davey, artistic director of the Roundhouse, who was really the Oracles fairy-godfather. I’d sung in choirs till the age of 15, so that was always my musical foundation. Then Marcus mentioned this great, experimental in-house choir [REC] who were keen to collaborate. It was a very open-ended commission, basically ‘do what you want, use the choir somehow’. I don’t think either Marcus or I realised how much I needed to write this piece”.

Poignant, dreamlike and beautiful, and written following the sudden loss of her mother and brother, ‘Oracles’ was Silvera’s way to transmute her grief into a cathartic work of art. “I wrote ‘Oracles’ in a state of absolute urgency and emergency – it felt like I had been buried in the ground myself, and writing this music was a small pocket of air, my chance to breathe again”.

In 2011, the song-cycle was debuted with REC, and the following year was performed as part of a sold-out concert on the Roundhouse Main Stage, earning Silvera a nomination for a British Composer Award. She then returned to the Roundhouse Theatre to make a live recording of the piece, which forms her second full-length album. The recording features Silvera as a soloist, a choir led by Josephine Stephenson and a stellar line-up of guest musicians including pianist Bill Laurance (Snarky Puppy), double bassist Jasper Høiby (Phronesis) and drummer Jacob Smedegaard (Fiction, Du Blonde) as well as Simran Singh (violin), Anne Chauveau-Dhayan (cello) and Naomi Morris (percussion).

The result is a haunting yet life-affirming collection of songs whose lyrics explore loss, love, salvation and the journey towards acceptance, themes that are underscored by beguiling, weaving choral lines, mellifluous Debussian piano melodies, subtly off-kilter percussion and rapturous strings, all unified by Silvera’s dynamic vocal style which evokes the delicate yet theatrical prowess of Kate Bush, combined with what the Arts Desk described as a “Björk-like spontaneity’.

Conceptually, the piece follows the arc of a ‘quest’ – a folk tale that begins with a search for a tangible or symbolic goal and ends with a triumphant return home. “On reflection, I see my quest was to fathom this experience and - though it no longer existed in the familial sense of the word - to find my own way back home”. ‘Skeleton Song’, an Inuit-myth inspired tune about a woman who is sung back to life, is a fragile yet powerful paean to the female figures surrounding Silvera who “painstakingly pieced me together again”. ‘Catherine Wheels’, the epiphanic closing song, whose swelling strings push the song-cycle to an emotional climax, celebrates “the kind of earth-bound, steadfast love” that allowed Silvera to finally reckon with her past and come to terms with the present.

Says Silvera, “I can honestly say, I found it so moving that post-performance, audience members would come and speak to me about their own experiences of bereavement. Making that human connection and finding we are not alone is perhaps the greatest healer of all”. WEBSITE.

Opening with rhythmic drums and vocal chants 'Circle Of Chalk' soon begins to have an expansive feel to it. Ana Silvera's vocals are captivating, powerful and dramatic, and as the song continues to develop additional elements to the musical arrangement, these further complement the hypnotic and beguiling singing. Despite the track being over six minutes in duration, I was left eager to hear it again, along with everything else that will follow.

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El Ten Eleven - Phenomenal Problems.

Background - Seminal post-rock duo El Ten Eleven, have announced the release of their new album Banker’s Hill (out 8/10 via Topshelf Records). They have also released the lead single “Phenomenal Problems” and its corresponding live video. The video is an up close and personal look at the formative duo’s meticulously-honed skills at work… crazy how much sonic force two people can conjure!

Armed with merely a double-neck bass/guitar, drums and a dizzying array of pedals, El Ten Eleven create complex, resounding music from scratch, onstage, with no help from laptops or additional musicians. Made up of Kristian Dunn (bass, guitar) and Tim Fogarty (Drums), they utilize multiple looping pedals to create songs that sound as though they are being played by at least six people… most first-timers to an El Ten Eleven show are stunned that the band is a duo. It’s a refreshing sight in this age of letting the computers do all the work!

Banker's Hill is a nine-song exploration into the challenge of living in the moment. The bands' music has been described as “meditation in motion,” which seems apt - the album explores the paradox of beauty in anxiety, the importance and effect of family and the fleeting possibility of satisfaction. Since the band’s inception in 2002, they have always been just two people who produce their own records. For Banker’s Hill, the band brought producer Sonny Diperri (Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors) into the fold, which is the first time the duo has ever worked with an outside producer, and moved up to the beautiful Panoramic House studios in Stinson Beach on the beautiful Northern California coast to create their seventh album (also, their first for Topshelf Records). TWITTER.

Rock duo's always seem to pack a punch and El Ten Eleven are no exception. 'Phenomenal Problems' is however far more than just sonic energy, there's melody, variations in sound that with two people live, seems remarkable, and above all else, this is a fabulous and hook laden blast of post rock.


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Sauropod - Naomi Greene - Margot - Tim Carr

Sauropod - Headed

Background - Oslo, Norway based trio Sauropod, made up of – Jonas Røyeng (guitar, vocals), Kamilla Waal Larsen (bass, vocals) and Jørgen Natland Apeness (drums) have released their new single ‘Headed’ via Propeller Recordings. With a natural gift for simultaneously delivering energetic, punk-leaning songwriting with irresistibly catchy hooks - those attributes are more evident than ever on the ferocious new single.

The latest signing to Propeller Recordings (Sløtface, Highasakite, Frøkedal etc) — new single ’Headed’ switches from uplifting, acoustic-tinged pop rock to searing grunge-punk with incomparable ease.

Speaking a little more on the lyrical depth behind the new track, Jonas explained: '"I think to us it's foremost a song about getting away from people with hazardous attitudes who try to bring you with them, if you let your guard down. Sometimes the best thing to do is to get the hell out of there and start over!"

Quickly becoming a force to be reckoned on the live stage, the band’s recent live credits include Øya Festival (NO), Trondheim Calling (NO), Eurosonic (NL) and Visions Festival (DE) - as well as touring the whole of Norway with label mates Sløtface, and supporting them at last year's sold out Camden Assembly show in London. The band are currently preparing for an extensive touring schedule kick-starting later this year, as well as writing for the release of their first album on Propeller Recordings - penned for release in 2019. TWITTER.

We featured Sauropod a couple of times in 2017 and now we can share 'Headed' the bands brand new single release. We previously described their music as "indie rock with punk energy" and with the new track there is no shortage on those two fronts, this time around I would just add that there is a healthy twist of garage rock along the way.

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Naomi Greene - Collision.

Background - Leading with a harp or an electric guitar, Parisian-born musician and Los Angeles transplant Naomi Greene focuses her song craft on raw emotions and parallel worlds. Her soulful voice and layered arrangements conjure an authentic vision that’s a first rate, experimental balance between indie folk and progressive pop. The result is mystically enchanting, hypnotically enveloping, and naturally beautiful.

At its heart, Greene’s solo music holds the power to suspend time and space, teleporting you to some of your rawest moments that she has written lyrics to. It requires your pause and allowance for her sound to wash over you, a warm and mesmerizing envelopment by her clear, rich voice.

It’s hard to believe Naomi Greene has been on the earth for a mere 25 years as her old soul speaks lifetimes and her lyrics tell of experiences not meant for the young. In truth, she’s a bit of a mystic, and most certainly a poet and storyteller. Naomi Greene is the genuine deal and the Los Angeles artist you’ve been waiting to hear. Naomi Greene lends vocals on La Femme’s latest album “Mystère.” FACEBOOK.

'Collision' is a beautiful combination of gorgeous, other worldly vocals and a superb musical arrangement, that seemingly twirls around the singing, adding more feeling, and an air of intrigue and mystery. 

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Margot - Twenty Six.

Background - In April South London’s Margot emerged with he strikingly accomplished debut single Desensitised, a dream-pop lament to the repetitious nature of modern capital-city life, and are now following this up with the similarly well-honed Twenty Six.

Having already taken inspiration, both positive and negative, from their concrete surroundings, and reflecting on the way the external city impacts on a person’s life, Margot decide to turn the camera inwards on the infectious new single. “It is a discussion with myself, a self-reflective hangover” says vocalist Alex Hannaway,“where you make pledges to yourself, full up with anxiety and memory loss. Think the artwork pretty much sums it up.”

From the opening lackadaisical anti-riff onwards, the touchstones to dream-pop artists old and new are apparent, yet there’s a unique thread running throughout. This is generated by the collective way the quintet creates not only their music, but art and visuals as well.

Making a decision to be completely self-sufficient through the creative process, Margot record over long weekends at drummer Ben Andrewes' place, in between working weeks. This DIY approach and the autobiographical realism are reflected in the subject matter of the songs. FACEBOOK.

Back in April we featured 'Desensitised' by Margot and without hesitation are pleased to now share 'Twenty Six'. The bands laid back dream pop manner is proving to be pretty addictive stuff, the vocals and also the lyrics are engaging, there is something about Margot, I'm not sure quite what, but it's definitely good!

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Tim Carr - Take Me There.

Background - Tim Carr is a Los Angeles based singer, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist.  His music is a stunning mix of instrumental interludes, and minimal folkesque songs inspired by African rhythms, melodies of the French Romantics and 60s pop.

Raised in Marin County, Northern California, Carr was surrounded by a family of musicians. At an early age he immersed himself into music and studied Jazz drums at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts. After graduating with a BFA, Carr soon began working with notable acts including HAIM, Julian Casablancas and Nick Cave, to name a few. His time with the band The Americans saw him performing on Letterman, recording with T Bone Burnett, as well as being featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary ‘American Epic’, which was produced by T Bone Burnett, Jack White and Robert Redford.

Carr’s highly anticipated upcoming EP Swing & Turn, is the follow up to his 2016 release The Last Day of Fighting, which found success being featured on Robert Redford’s ‘Watershed’ soundtrack, alongside the likes of Beck and Thom Yorke. Swing & Turn is titled after the feeling of movement, like a dance between intimacy and independence, which is also a common theme in the music. Having mixed, produced and engineered the five track release himself, Swing & Turn is the perfect balance of dissonance and consonance, with unexpected swelling harmonies, lilting rhythms and minimalistic pop.

Leading single 'Take Me There’ is a compelling tale touching on the desire to escape apathy, highlighting the need to either let go and fully love or let go of a love. Carr expresses this poetic melancholy through his raw and understated tones, emitting the purest of expressions. His use of delicate instrumentation, ethereal vocal harmonies and graceful melodies, succeeds in crafting a poignant yet beautiful song. TWITTER.

With a subtle selection of styles and influences Tim Carr develops an engaging vibe with 'Take Me There', a modern folk song where attention to detail musically, provides a rich and appealing backdrop to some melodic and sincere vocals.

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