Irish art punks Silverbacks delve into themes of false idolatry and deeper connection in their latest track ‘Just In The Band’ out now on PK Miami.
Produced by Daniel Fox from fellow Dubliners Girl Band, 'Just In The Band' carries the same nagging unease as previous single 'Dunkirk' with taut drums and unrelenting bass underpinning seasick guitar arps and Daniel O’Kelly’s blunt commentary on the ‘problems down the back’. Feedback soaked and frazzled, it sees the band step further away from their indie roots and more into the groove - if the groove covered itself in petrol and dared you to light the match.
Silverbacks are a thrilling prospect, delivering their own louche take on NYC-indebted rock: slack enough for the tastemakers while also mining the gems of a pop vein, catching the ears of those with a taste for a good hook. Now a full-fledged five piece after graduating from the bedroom project of songwriting brothers Kilian and Daniel O’Kelly, they ply their trade with as much emphasis on the dry humour running through Daniel’s lyrics as the propulsive, triple guitar-led onslaught in their music. TWITTER.
Upcoming Irish shows: December 1st: Other Voices 2018, Dingle (Hennessy Music Trail) December 8th: Whelans, Dublin.
We shared 'Dunkirk' back in June and the new single 'Just In The Band' is another feisty rocker. The vocals have a splendid punk feel to them, the driving guitars add some melody, and collectively this is a hook fuelled beast of a song.
Anna Karenina is now releasing a mini album called Acting And Reacting, following up her debut album Brain Ghosts and Goosebumps released in 2015.This time she’s looking out towards society, away from her brain ghosts.
Wondering how you can best fit in your role as a daughter, friend, lover, employee, “an adult” and a woman. How society makes you play your determined role, in both good and bad. The title Acting and Reacting is referring to the spectacle that is life, playing the roles that’s expected of you. These are songs about being a sensitive person in a world that’s whirling.
Co-producers to this record are Ida Lindberg (Me and Skinny Joon) and Willie Alin (Dean Allen Foyd, Music Is The Weapon). The three of them have been producing partly together and partly in pairs with the intention of getting different styles in the production.
While Ida and Anna-Karins work is thoroughly and carefully produced, Willie is more hands-on and together they make the perfect dynamic trio, creating a sound of Kate Bush-inspired art pop cross-bred with psychedelic rock. WEBSITE.
Comprising of six tracks 'Acting and Reacting' really is a feast of high quality art pop / rock that explores different ideas with assured confidence. There are no passengers here, every song is a packed full of creativity, so much so that calling the collection a mini epic, seems like something of an understatement.
Blue Child Collective - Eye Of The Needle feat. Sol.
4 years on and 4 records down, South West fluid groovers Blue Child Collective are set to take their newest offering, Wake Up To The Sound, around the country as a 5-piece on an 11 date national tour this summer. Out yesterday (November 23), the album's current single Eye Of The Needle (featuring Sol from Band of Frequencies) is the finest example to date of the Collective's feel-good roots with a touch of reggae.
The product of positive collaboration between frontman Dan White, Kiwi darling Emjay Angeni, sax man Lindsay Baker and many musicians from the wider Collective, Wake Up To The Sound is an album spanning countries, cultures and communities.
Featuring Bobby Alu on drums/percussion, Ken Allars (Caravana Sun) on trumpet/keys, OJ Newcomb (Band Of Frequencies/THUMP) on bass and Angela Iimura on BV’s, plus special features from Sol Carroll (Band Of Frequencies/Afro Dizzi Act) on vocals and Taro Terahara on bansuri, the album is truly a collective effort exemplifying what can be achieved through human connection.
Captured at Yama-Nui Studio on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast by PaulieB (The Beautiful Girls/Bobby Alu/George), Wake Up To The Sound is a sonic journey in which the magic of the location can be heard - from thunderstorms to singing tropical birdlife - yet will transport listeners far beyond their own backyard.
With singles Wattle Tree Corroboree, Dive and the title track Wake Up To The Sound attracting widespread airplay through 2018, including spins on triple j’s Roots N All, the Collective received a well-earned nomination for West Australian Music’s Best Regional Act. WEBSITE.
'Eye Of The Needle' mixes a funky musical backdrop which includes something of a reggae vibe to it, with some distinct and fabulous vocals. It's polished, upbeat and oozes charm.
Roxy Rawson - The Good Shepherd. Roxy Rawson is set to release her full-length debut album ‘Quenching the Kill’ - out 30th November. Gamboling somewhere close to the ‘Anti-Folk’ category by way of a manipulated punk-y violin and plush multi-layered constructions, leftfield chanteuse Roxy Rawson has enjoyed a cult presence on the Parisian and London music scenes. Now based in San Francisco Bay and ready to release her full length debut, Roxy is an artist whose flair for the unconventional demands the World’s attention.
A period of ill health forced Roxy to take an extended musical hiatus over the past few years, ‘Quenching the Kill’ is Roxy’s triumphant reintroduction to the music scene and an endearing aperture into an ascending artist losing life as she knew it, transitioning into recovery and ultimately regaining hope. The “strives for authenticity in the face of muted creativity” says Roxy “in an industry where emotional vulnerability is often supplanted by commercialized sentiment”.
Quenching the Kill hits striking form with its apt synthesis of rawness and sophistication. Behind mild unexpected arrangements often lurks rampant urgency, enrapturing the listener with Roxy’s PreRaphaelite vocals habitually blending with sudden Spektor-esque snap-along oscillations.
From the lonely rustic loops of ‘Black Eyed Soup’ to the percussively plucky delivery of ‘Rounded Sound’ , even seemingly downbeat ballads like ‘Iron Shoes’ take an unforeseen uplifting twist - all showcasing Roxy’s playground of musical creation, painting wistful melodies which often provide a veil to solemn subject matters. Roxy teamed up with producer and friend Ben Lamdin whose characteristic analogue production has also seen him produce for the likes of Lizzy Parks, Alice Russell, Josa Peit and Jamie Cullum. FACEBOOK.
'The Good Shepherd' is one of ten tracks on the new 'Quenching To Kill' album. Such is the variety found on the new album the featured song highlights only part of Roxy Rawson's musical sophistication. Sometimes a little quirky, other times sincere and moving or mischievous or even mysterious, Roxy explores musical styles, with so many ideas, that this really is a fabulous albeit musical roller coaster of an album.
The new video from whimsical space pop/psych artist Polartropica is entitled ‘Wild Lyfe’. The single features dreamesque soundscapes, playful instrumentation and ethereal vocals. The eccentric visuals narrate how we are all the same underneath our facade and that we need to treat all creatures with kindness and respect.
Polartropica is the music endeavor of Los Angeles based, whimsical space-pop artist, Ihui (eeway) Cherise Wu. Born in Taiwan yet raised in California, Wu successfully combines quirky pop melodies, futuristic synths and classical string arrangements, creating a genre of bubblegum psychedelia that you’ve never heard before.
Polartropica derived after Wu heard a song which couldn’t be defined by a genre - ‘Polartropic’ by Mark Foster. Admiring the contrast between both ‘polar’ and ‘tropical’, Wu decided to formulate a place where things can exist where they don’t belong. Polartropica fuses elements of complete opposites together with the outcome resulting in a unique, ethereal sound that defies all sonic worlds. Using both organic and synthetic instruments, Wu conceived a visionary dream world for listeners to escape to. Wu professes, “I wanted to create a healing, inspiring and empowering space with just the right amount of disco-party!"
Integrating 90's pop, classical arrangements and intergalactic space-pop, Polartropica is guaranteed to feed your imagination, with their eccentric and distinguished sound. WEBSITE.
The music is sublimely gorgeous as layers of crystal clear synths and an intriguing rhythmic arrangement support the lush enticing vocals making 'Wild Lyfe' a joy to listen to.
London-based “anti-music” collective Moderate Rebels’ second album ‘Shared Values’ is like a lot of their music so far – it happened almost by accident. “We went into the studio with a couple of songs to record an EP, and we ended up with an album-length EP. We like to just let things happen and for songs to mostly write themselves. It’s a case of mucking around and seeing what feels right and what doesn’t. We say it all the time, but it’s important to note – we don’t intend anything. We don’t feel like ‘artists’ with grand statements to make.
“We view ourselves as just passing on ideas or questions, which we also enjoy expressing in condensed and concise terms. We think we’re all living in an era when lots of people feel they have lots of questions (perhaps that’s every era?) and we seem to touch upon that. Doubt, uncertainty, vague language, conflicting information and opinions – these are all inspirations. To us, being ‘anti-music’ is about valuing exciting ideas over technical ability. There’s nothing better for a Moderate Rebels song than a bunch of questions that us and others are grappling with. We don’t believe in easy answers, but we believe in asking lots of questions – always.”
Moderate Rebels say they used certain mottos again to develop the ideas for this new album - less chords and words – vague and direct, complicated but simple – and tracks on the album would seem to indicate that.
‘The Value Of Shares’ touches on modern life turning virtual and full of substitutes. ‘Stranded In Brazil’ is a song of confusion about the modern environment via Terry Gilliam, ‘Faith & Science’ seems to illustrate the inspirational feelings of unanswerable questions and the healthy consequences of a position of doubt, as opposed to the ‘I’m 100% right’ attitude that is feeling increasingly common in certain areas of life in 2018. And so on...
Moderate Rebels released their first single ’God Sent Us’ in late 2016, then the 5-song ‘Proxy’ EP & debut album ‘The Sound Of Security’ in 2017. The ‘Shared Values’ album includes 2018’s singles ‘Beyond Hidden Words’, ‘I Love Today’ and latest song, ‘Faith & Science’. Moderate Rebels ‘Shared Values’ album, will be released 30th Nov 2018 on Everyday Life Recordings. TWITTER.
Regulars to Beehive Candy may well recall that Moderate Rebels have consistently impressed me with their music releases over the past year or so and finally their second album 'Shared Values' is about to land, accompanied just ahead of the release by another track from the collection entitled 'The Value Of Shares'.
The first of ten songs on the new album 'The Value Of Shares' is our fourth share (if you excuse the pun) from the new collection and once again, showcases their minimalists lyrics and hypnotic musical style. Despite their unique and readily identifiable sound, the pace and arrangements regularly vary across the album and the hooks are in constant free flow. I remain very impressed!
Brighton post-punk experts Thyla share accomplished new offering Blue, the second adrenaline-fuelled release taken from the band’s eagerly anticipated debut EP What’s On Your Mind out 1st February.
Tipped for big things from the very start of the year, the four-piece found themselves spotlighted amongst NME’s 100 Essential Acts for 2018, and have fast solidified their status as one of the UK’s finest emerging indie acts with a slew of support slots alongside the likes of Slaves, Sunflower Bean, and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever.
Buzzing across the airwaves (BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X, KCRW) and summoning praise from all corners of the press (Pitchfork, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, DIY), the rising rockers’ latest release underlines the captivating vocals and majestic lyricism of frontwoman Millie Duthie, with their rich, anthemic quality adding to the growing excitement surrounding the outfit.
Discussing their upcoming release, the quartet stated: “The lyrics came from a similar place to the themes and ideas found in many of our other songs. Blue as in, I got the blues, hones in on the rapid and unstoppable rate of change in the way we interact with people. Blue as in, the colour of the Twitter and Facebook interface, makes for an ironic double entendre. The things making us sad, is the colour of sad, “I’m blue” is both the cause and the symptom!” WEBSITE.
Our fifth feature for Brighton's Thyla this time with new song 'Blue'. It's opens as a thumping rocker before acquiring a little more refinement as the vocals kick in. A mixture of melodic moments and unashamed full on post punk, once again the band stand out in style.
For this recording ElectroBluesSociety went back to basics and teamed up with Mississippi blues man Boo Boo Davis.
Together they revisited classic Chicago blues and recorded seven songs. These will all be released as singles during the coming months.
For Boo Boo this was also a trip down to memory lane; this Howlin Wolf song was regular in the Davis Brothers Band repertoire during the 18 years that they were the weekend house band in Tabby’s Red Room, a famous juke joint in East St Louis. WEBSITE.
More natural blues that Electro this rendition of 'Tell Me' features some incredible harmonica playing, pure blues vocals and an overall vibe that is just plain addictive.
Stephen Kellogg releases Objects in the Mirror today Friday, November 23. Produced by fellow Americana singer-songwriter Will Hoge, the 12-track set was recorded over the course of a single week in Nashville, TN and tracked live with minimal overdubs. “I wanted to make an album that sounded and felt like the ones I grew up loving," says Kellogg. "Bob Seger and Cat Stevens, Tom Petty and Rod Stewart. Emotional records where the songs relate to each other and the lyrics are front and center.”
Ahead of release, Rolling Stone Country praises, “...Objects in the Mirror captures the talent, spontaneity and humanity of Kellogg’s songwriting and presents it in a soulful, folk-rock packaging that is refreshingly free of pretense and studio polishing,” adding that single “High Highs, Low Lows” “unfolds like John Prine fronting the Heartbreakers.” Proving to be a standout from the album, American Songwriter describes the nostalgic track as “a slowly building folk anthem with chiming piano, gentle pedal steel and a raw, vulnerable vocal performance from Kellogg.”
Among the album’s many underlying themes of nostalgia, family, hope, and hard work, is Kellogg's unwavering respect for the influential women of his life—from his four young daughters (to whom he relays a series of tear-jerking fatherly sentiments in “Song For Daughters”) to his beloved late-Grandmother (immortalized in a beautifully nostalgic soundbite at the title track’s opening) to his wife of 16 years (the subject of his latest single “Love Of My Life”). The Boot recently premiered "Love Of My Life," and the track was later named one of Rolling Stone Country’s “10 Best Country & Americana Songs of the Week.” In an interview with Noisetrade earlier this week, Kellogg divulged that he channeled inspiration from a 1946 Gibson Southern Jumbo guitar to finish the version of the song heard on Objects in the Mirror.
“We were in [Chicago Music Exchange] before the place opened and there was one guitar and one guitar only on a stand in a room of hundreds of guitars,” he explains. “I picked it up and started strumming and it just felt and sounded so perfect...Suddenly the lyrics and melodies that had been missing seemed to be there waiting for me. I know it sounds kind of new age or whatever, but that’s how it goes sometimes. A guitar has a song in it.” Kellogg goes on to share that he traded three of his guitars for the Gibson and left the next day to record Objects in the Mirror in Nashville. Objects in the Mirror will be available everywhere digitally and on vinyl via the Kellogg Family Store.
'High Highs, Low Lows' gently opens with some fine guitar playing and the natural and instinctively Americana vocals. The musical arrangement gradually expands, as this timeless sounding song subtly appeals on so many levels.
The new single from gritty indie pop artist is entitled ‘Gold & Blue’, the single is a story of hope, faith and companionship in a world of turmoil and distractions. Showcasing infectious melodies, soaring gang vocals and driving drums that all build into an anthemic chorus, 'Gold & Blue' fills you with optimism, a fitting yin to the dark first single’s yang.
Van Bellman is the brainchild of Brooklyn-based musician Zac Taylor. You may have seen him playing guitar on TV with multi-platinum band American Authors, or perhaps carrying your luggage at the Gansevoort Hotel on Park Avenue a few years back. And maybe you didn’t hear, but he doesn’t shine shoes anymore. Instead, Taylor has been cultivating this new project and is now ready to present it to the world. An eclectic mix of bluesy rock and indie pop, Van Bellman’s music was written with purpose.
The second single “Gold & Blue” is a story of hope, faith and companionship in a world of turmoil and distractions. "I like that it’s a bit concrete and a bit abstract as far as what the colors or themes could represent,” confides Taylor. "For me, it’s a hopeful message of sticking together through bitter trials and tribulations, cutting through the noise of the modern world to really listen to someone.” Showcasing infectious melodies, soaring gang vocals and driving drums that all build into an anthemic chorus, “Gold & Blue” fills you with optimism, a fitting yin to the dark first single’s yang.
The NYC music scene has shaped Taylor into a respected collaborator, hired gun, and songwriter. Van Bellman is the byproduct of all of these experiences. You have no patience for a whole record. No one does. So the Van Bellman tunes are coming at you one by one. TWITTER.
Striking, melodic and overflowing with resplendent hooks 'Gold & Blue' is an impressive indie pop song, that has one of those sing along choruses that is just so infectious.
Mirny Mine's debut album 'The Other Part' is a cinematic journey into the darker parts of dream pop, which is very suitable now, while the fall begins to get its hooks into us. Annas dark voice leads us through shoegazey bits where you hear both parts of sixties pop and new wave. Sometimes, you get a whiff of a more gothic Lana Del Ray just to be replaced by the spirit of English new wave queen Danielle Dax.
But all with a distinctive own sound and expression. It is not strange that Mirny Mine's music is cinematic because Anna Sundström, the woman behind the name, is already an established photo artist/photographer. And the desolate and barren parts in the music has obviously taken inspiration from Annas home island Gotland.
Beside photography, the multi-instrumentalist Anna (she plays almost everything on this album) has always played music and finally, she had put together a collection of songs that she felt were ready to share with everyone. We are very pleased that she chose Novoton to do it because we have always enjoyed Annas music a lot and are convinced that this is the first step on a long journey with much more amazing music. BANDCAMP.
Two songs from the new Mirny Mine album 'Dream' and the title track 'The Other Part' which between them give a good feel for this intriguing collection of songs. Brooding and expansive the album is a mixture of slow shadowy dream pop that combines with elements of Goth Rock and well crafted and layered sounds. The overall effect is both moving and thought provoking as the music impacts on your own imagination and emotions.
Irish singer-songwriter Rosie Carney’s brand new single, “Zoey” is now available. The song follows the recent release of “Orchid” and “Thousand" (feat. Lisa Hannigan) which have collectively been streamed over 3 million times on Spotify since September. The tracks will appear on Carney’s highly anticipated, deeply personal debut album, Bare, which comes out January 25 via Akira Records.
With her full-length debut still to come, Carney’s music has already been streamed over 18 million times, and she currently has over 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Of “Zoey” specifically, Carney says, “Every time we pulled the project up I would just call it the ‘Zoey Deschanel’ song. It was a joke at first, only because the song painted scenes of a rainy-day romance in my head. I kept seeing the final scenes of 500 Days of Summer in a loop, and I just remember feeling so melancholy, which is a feeling I quite enjoy. I wanted to make it feel like a warm blanket for people to hide under whilst listening.
The long-awaited Bare is the product of personal struggles Carney endured while navigating a rapid rise in the music industry at a young age. Discovered and signed to Universal Music’s Polydor at the age of 16, she fought to assert herself creatively within a large commercial system—facing pressure to co-write and even change her name—while simultaneously grappling with depression, anxiety and an eating disorder borne from personal trauma. By 18 she was dropped by the label without ever releasing a song, and ultimately left the major label system entirely. Throughout it all, the one constant has been her songwriting, which is both cathartic and empowering.
Carney was born in Hampshire, England and at 10 years old moved to Donegal on the northwest coast of Ireland. Inspired by the rugged and picturesque landscapes of her new home, she began writing music. In 2013 she received widespread attention with a performance on Ireland’s leading live music TV series “Other Voices.” That same year she played London’s Bushstock, the first of many high profile festival billings including Latitude in the U.K., Electric Picnic in Ireland, Seven Layers in Amsterdam and SXSW in Austin. She recently supported Haux on a 28-date tour of 12 countries, including the U.S. and Canada, and is currently on tour in the U.K. and Europe. TWITTER.
We are now into double figures in terms of how many times we have featured Rosie Carney on Beehive Candy. 'Zoey' is yet another beautiful song, with a delicate soothing vibe, the occasional background harmonies are sublime, the album is just weeks away.
Following on from last year’s critically praised debut album ‘Purge’, Louise Lemón returns with new single ‘Not Enough’ taken from her highly anticipated new album A Broken Heart Is An Open Heart due for release in March 2019. The Swedish ‘Death gospel’ artist’s jaw-dropping vocals are backed by delicate piano, reverb drenched percussion on the new track, building to a climax with fuzz-drenched guitars and pounding drums. On the subject matter of the song, Louise tells us that "Not Enough is a song about staying in a relationship that you know already ended. When you're in something so destructive but still just can't let go."
Experimenting with instrumentation and production since her last full-length, Lemón is a rejuvenated presence on her new album, taking cues from the 60s and 70s psych-rock and soul era to influence her songwriting, channelling the sultry vibes of the early Fleetwood Mac-era. Louise will showcase the new material live with shows lined up at Eurosonic and Roadburn Festivals, along with a European tour with Sólstafir.
Produced and mixed alongside regular collaborator Randall Dunn (Sunn O)))/Myrkur/Chelsea Wolfe) in Copenhagen and New York, the record was exclusively recorded using vintage microphones and amplifiers to create the most organic sound, with each track recorded live in the studio.
Speaking about the new album, Louise added, “I wanted to make it this album both darker and brighter. We've used far cleaner sounds than ever before, concentrating on creating darkness in new ways. The songwriting has been very focused. I’ve evolved as a woman and with my writing I’ve explored new feelings, going further and deeper in to the ways I’ve felt and the situations life's brought me to. It was such a blessing to be able to work with my band so closely, they are very much a part of the soundscape and we couldn’t be happier to have had Randall Dunn produce it.” WEBSITE.
Following on from the song 'Cross' which we shared back in October Louis Lemon is back with 'Not Enough'. The Death Gospel description remains relevant and saves me from trying to think up another expression for this expansive and alluring music.
Chicago’s The Thin Cherries, which features members of The Luck of Eden Hall, The Streets on Fire, Belmondos and Phenomenal Cat, have dropped their sophomore album On Moose Island.
The Thin Cherries on Moose Island, incorporate elements of baroque rock, synth pop, shoegaze and folk. The Thin Cherries is the newest musical project founded by scene vets Steven Delisi and Mark Lofgren.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Delisi is a musician with a background in theater and film production. His former band, Phenomenal Cat, blended his pop/punk sensibilities with the folk influences of his band mates. Songwriter/vocalist/bassist Lofgren is one of the founders of psychedelic pop/rock mainstays The Luck of Eden Hall, who have toured Europe and released music on a variety of independent labels, including Headspin Records and Fruits de Mer Records. In 2014 he released his solo debut, The Past Perfect.
The band is rounded out by multi-instrumentalist Darren Shepherd, keyboardist Birdie Soti, drummer Gabriel Palomo and vocalist Sophie Senard. FACEBOOK.
The new 'On Moose Island' album covers a good number of genre styles, doing so with class both musically and through the distinct and highly engaging vocals. It's one of those collections that has a consistent overall sound and yet manages to keep you guessing as to what direction they will take next. From indie rock to more folk orientated numbers, plus some psychedelic flourishes this is an album to hear in full.
