The Wedding Present - Louise Lemón - Sis - Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster

The Wedding Present have shared a taste of the re-recording of their 1989 album 'Tommy' with 'Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy! Titled 'Tommy 30' the re-work of this early compilation material feels like an upgrade, the experience, maturity and warmth adds so much more, as does the overall production. This is not a nostalgia trip, rather a recognition that The Wedding Present circa 2019 can reinterpret older songs and breathe new and relevant life into them and boy do they achieve that.

Louise Lemón has released a new single comprised of 'Almond Milk' and the B side an acoustic version of 'Not Enough'. Our fourth feature for Louise, her previously described death gospel has moved more towards psych rock without losing any of the atmosphere or originality that has consistently set her apart from her peers.

We have a new lyric video from Sis and the song 'Moon at the Peak' a gentle dreamy piece taken from their 'Gas Station Roses' album. It's a little genre defying, however it's also quite gorgeous.

Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster has a new album entitled 'Take Heart, Take Care' due for release at the end of this month and from which we have  'Educated Guesses' as a preview. His style of indie folk and notable vocals pretty much explain the huge number of streams the previous album received, this song suggests that trend will continue.
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The Wedding Present - Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy!

Brighton UK's The Wedding Present return with Tommy 30, a re-recording of their essential early tracks compilation Tommy on HHBTM Records (North America) - Scopitones (Europe).

George Best became The Wedding Present's first album in 1988. But Tommy, released one year later, was made up of the early songs from the singles and radio sessions that had catapulted them from being bedsit musicians into indie darlings: "Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy!" with its purposefully super-fast guitars, "You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends" an anthem for those long time Wedding Present fans, "My Favourite Dress" the only single in the collection that ended up on George Best, the classic, fraught tale of losing one's first love that perfectly played on the heart strings and began David Gedge's legacy of understanding everyone's heartbreak.

Tommy 30, a brand-new re-recording of Tommy, did not come about simply as a "follow on" to George Best 30. The band felt, during a Tommy 30th anniversary concert tour, that the songs had grown and evolved. Enter a more confident vocalist... an altogether growlier guitar. A bigger sound. The urgency of a 25-year-old Gedge is replaced with a charming vocalist with years of experience. Everything's warmer and, maybe, gentler... but in a satisfying way. It's like your old friends have come home to see you.

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Louise Lemón - Almond Milk / Not Enough.

Louise Lemón is releasing new single ‘Almond Milk’, the latest cut from her album A Broken Heart Is An Open Heart.

The Swedish artist pairs soulful vocals with the macabre undertones of Chelsea Wolfe and Lorde. Stark, reverberating guitars cut through forlorn lyrics as the song builds to its melancholic climax.

Louise tells us that ‘Almond Milk’ is about "not letting go of the thought that your love would last forever. A bittersweet feeling that I’d stay no matter what. Regardless of what happens and not being able to see that the love has run out."

Her latest full length is an album of psych-rock tinged pop that was produced and mixed alongside regular collaborator Randall Dunn (Chelsea Wolfe / Thurston Moore / Algiers) in Copenhagen and New York.

The album has been taken on the road with a European tour with Sólstafir (IS, several shows at Eurosonic ESNS (NL), a well-received Roadburn Festival appearance (NL) and a Scandinavian tour.


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Sis - Moon at the Peak.

Gas Station Roses, Sis’s second full-length album, is the Berkeley-based band’s devotional document of six months spent in the dream zone of the studio. Lovingly made, with earthen percussive elements, chance technique, inside a glimmering forest full of synths and guitars, the album reunited Sis for their most assertive musical statement yet.

It all started with a visit to Lark in the Morning, a legendary store full of percussion instruments in Berkeley. The band left with a gopichand, a one-stringed lute from Bangladesh, a huge African drum, and pan flutes. Meanwhile, singer  and multi-instrumentalist Jenny Gillespie Mason, also the founder of Native Cat Recordings (Meernaa, John Vanderslice, Luke Temple, Brijean)  was writing at home on an OP-1 synth and tenor guitar, and readying her sketches to bring to co-collaborators and husband and wife team Carly Bond (electric guitar, flutes, vocals) and Rob Shelton (synths, programming), both of the band Meernaa.

Originally envisioning a quieter acoustic album to complement the darkly swooning r ‘n b of their debut album Euphorbia (Native Cat Recordings 2018), once in the studio, the band started playing each other songs by other artists before getting to work on anything, such as “Shadows from Nowhere” by the obscure dream-pop 80s band Blue Gas, the feminist and funky album Raw Like Sushi by Neneh Cherry, and the anthemic weirdness of Toto. It seemed, rather than head towards quietude, the band was keen on recreating the dramatic, layered beauty, the dance-ready and big moments of 80s-era recordings. Unabashedly drawing from the well of that musical era’s emotional yet funky potency, you can hear Blue Nile, Grace Jones, Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel in the elegantly shifting soundscapes of the album.

A longtime solo artist, Mason did not intend to form a band. When she stepped into the studio with Bond and Shelton in 2017, who, by chance assignment, were her engineers for a solo project at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, she had no idea where the session would take her. Being a mother to a toddler and a baby at that point, Mason was unsure if she could fit music into her life again. But with Bond and Shelton, the recording process was so fun and unpredictable, and the undeniable lure of creating music together so strong, that any fear of balancing art with the raising of children was stamped out. The trio emerged from the studio a few months later as bandmates and co-producers, having completed their debut album, Euphorbia (Native Cat Recordings 2018).

Gas Station Roses’ songs travel through varying emotional states just like one going through one’s own life, but each song is marked by hopeful tenderness. There’s the grungy lust-driven rock of “Weathered Romeo,” the plaintive Japanese pop-influenced ballad to a suffering partner, “Moon at the Peak,”  the Afropop-tinged “Automatic Woman” with its message of defiance against misogyny, and the robust compassion of the final song, “Human Poses,” in which Mason sings “they’re roughin’ heaven up…turn it all off, I”m gonna turn it all off.” Going into the studio during a turbulent time on the Earth, turning it all off, gave Mason a therapeutic way to understand and cope with all that was happening politically, while trying to offer something beautiful back to the world. In her words, Gas Station Roses is about “desiring life so badly still as a grown-up, getting the joy and beauty in big gulps, but also recognizing its limitations, corruptions, and sadness, more than I ever would as a child. And in the face of that, choosing to smile and stay awake to the beauty around us.”


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Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster - Educated Guesses.

Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster's new album 'Take Heart, Take Care,' is due out August 30 on Big Legal Mess. The former Water Liars (14+ million streams on Spotify) indie-folk artist has earned raves from NY Times ad NPR and fans like Julien Baker and opening slots for Pedro the Lion but he's outdone himself on his sophomore record.

Musically, the Arkansasan's signatures are there: a sort of windswept soundscape; his vulnerable tenor; gorgeous melodies; and guitar figures that weave from Americana touchstones into unexpected indie rock territory. Lyrically, it's his most nuanced work to date; it's a result of finding a life with some balance in it.

Whereas much of his previous work explored darkness, there's a sense of curiosity on this album that's illuminating, examining different aspects of life (including darkness). As with his strongest work, it conjures humid Southern nights and kudzu-encased vistas but with unpredictable scenes and lines that cut to the core. I'm telling you: this is a great, great record.


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Bridal Party - Suggested Friends - Harry Heart

Bridal Party return just a couple of months after we first featured them, this time with 'Speak Easy' just ahead of their debut album release. Once again the bands art pop is beautifully melodic and imaginative, the albums looking good.

Indie rock band Suggested Friends share a music video for 'Cygnets' a deliciously melodic rocker and a slightly paranoid video.

Just a month after his first UK single 'Montaigne' Harry Heart is back with 'Work It Out'. Once again his vocals really impress, the alt rock arrangement adds further originality, the forthcoming Hands in the Hive EP, is out 6th September.
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Bridal Party - Speak Easy.

Victoria, BC art-pop quintet Bridal Party have always had the goal of making pop music they like. Now with the approaching release of debut full-length Too Much (due August 23rd on Kingfisher Bluez) the band find themselves at a critical moment: as songwriters and collaborators presenting their personal vision.

Principal lyricists Suzannah Raudaschl and Joseph Leroux formed Bridal Party with bassist and producer Lee Gauthier and drummer Adrian Heim in 2015. Jordan Clairmont joined on keys in 2017. Their initial EP release Hot Daze (2015) found chart success on college radio and some modest but promising support through placement on Bandcamp Weekly. Their second EP, Negative Space (2017) charted well and lead to six-figure streams of lead single Fruitless on Spotify. Beatroute (BC) magazine describes Bridal Party as “a perfect marriage of indie pop and soul.”

The band recorded Too Much over three separate week-long immersive studio visits in 2017 and 2018. This disparate recording process would ultimately undo and reform everything the band knew about their sound. A playful and unflinching lyrical voice was honed, drawing on themes of care and self-love as well as their sombre opposites. Each players’ particular handle on their instrument resonates without tuning out the chemistry of influence the members enjoy with one another.

The resultant record is a vibrant collection of songs of uncanny intimacy, thriving from experimentation in studio that remains honest to the band’s live set. Whether it’s the confessional lyricism and feathery textures of “When I’m Naked”, the plaintive riddle and bedlam of “Armour”, or the celebratory disco of the title track, Too Much shines a light on the band’s interior joys and terrors in equal measure.

A broad sonic landscape that shares territory with Crumb, U.S. Girls, and early work of The Cardigans, Too Much is due Friday, August 23rd, accompanied by a relentless tour schedule.

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Suggested Friends - Cygnets.

Suggested Friends are an indie rock quartet with a firm grounding in queer identity, fusing DIY punk roots with the interweaving guitars of 90s indie and a sometimes tongue-in-cheek take on the performative masculinity of 80s rock. There’s a tenderness to their songwriting, with lyrics reflecting on cultural malaise, trauma recovery and the banal absurdity of everyday life. Personal politics can come with an incisively dry sense of humour too.

Turtle Taxi is their second album and demonstrates just how far they’ve come from the raw, scuzzy sounds of their DIY debut; unrepentant in letting the pop hooks loose. The choruses are big, harmonies frequent, and guitar solos abound - this is a lush, textured leap forward. Suggested Friends are more confident, acknowledging emotional pain and exploring how this affective space elides with a more expansive sense of injustice in the world.

On "Pretty Soon Your Grave Will Be A Landfill" the earnestness and absurdity of gaslighting politicians is laid bare, through to the futility of naming social ills and not acting on them on "At Ease". The album’s title track, "Turtle Taxi", talks about the relationship between love as a labour and the focusing in on life as an opportunity for that to flourish in all directions – (‘teach ‘til I die, let this all pass by…’).

The quieter numbers on the record, such as "At Ease" or "Blooms", recall folkier inspiration such as The Weather Station and Hiss Golden Messenger, through to the alt-pop oddness of "Nilufer Yanya" and "Blood Orange". But for parallels as a socially conscious, high-energy and vulnerable punk pop band, think Martha or Charly Bliss - though they’d argue for that perfect sweet spot between Weezer and Abba!

Recorded in rural Norfolk over two separate sessions a year apart, album was able to flourish into a more collaborative effort, incorporating Faith’s wife Meghan on percussion and Sickroom Studio's Owen on trumpet - plus plenty of time to experiment with overdubs and piano flourishes to up that classic-rock vibe that simmers just under the surface.

Suggested Friends formed in late 2015 following a chance meeting at a gig between Christabel (drums) and Faith (guitar and vocals). They were soon joined by Jack on guitar, who had met Faith through an activist group in London. Mammoth Penguins’ Emma Kupa is the most recent addition on bass, having worked with Faith on a number of projects over the past four years.


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Harry Heart - Work It Out.

Still bathing in acclaim from the likes of BBC Radio 6, Amazing Radio and Record of the Day after the recent release of his last single Montaigne, Sydney via Walthamstow London artist Harry Heart shares the solemn and smooth-tongued new single Work It Out from his upcoming EP.

Earlier this year, Harry Heart was invited on his first ever UK headline tour, a total of 20 shows in just two weeks. The relentless tour-schedule proved to be worthwhile, resulting in BBC airplay and accumulating almost ​half a million streams across Spotify ​and​ Apple Music.

The second single to be released since Heart's foray into the UK is Work It Out, from the upcoming Hands in the Hive EP. Work It Out exudes indie-rock maturity with lyrical prowess, gritty guitar work, and a mix of urgency and poise in its delivery. Heart unpacks the origin of the song:

“I was listening to so much Otis Redding for a while there, I wanted to hear my take on Soul. That tempo’s a great platform for lyrics. The track talks about the strains of balancing ambitions with good relationships, trying to stay sane and keep problems at bay.”

After releasing the 2018 EP First Endorphin, Harry Heart toured Australia twice, and made his UK debut, while also performing at Australian Music Week and featuring on Apple's Best of the Week: Pop playlist.

Work It Out is just a taste of the forthcoming Hands in the Hive EP, out 6th September.

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Trace Decay - Darrin Bradbury - Winona Oak - Ted Z and The Wranglers

Trace Decay have released a very fine indie pop - rock song entitled 'Passivity', where their gliding vocals, smooth guitar work and layered synths make the most of this hook filled track.

From Darrin Bradbury we have 'Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs' the title track and one of eleven on the album. His lyrics are wry and so engaging and his delivery reminiscent of a younger John Prine on this sublime song, a real teaser if ever there was for an album.

Winona Oak  might be up in the millions in terms of song streams and hardly in need of our support but 'Break My Broken Heart' is just to good to miss out on, so we haven't.

Americana with a buzz was my first impression for Ted Z and The Wranglers and their new song 'Guests On Sunday Morning', it's also my second impression and that's good enough.
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Trace Decay - Passivity.

Arriving with their infectiously smooth sophomore single, Melbourne indie-poppers Trace Decay are anything but passive on their self reflective 'Passivity.'

Charming and brazen, Trace Decay’s infectious brand of melancholy pop is a unique blend of haunting spaces and melodic undertones. Expanding on their own brand of self proclaimed "slacker pop-rock", 'Passivity' delves into the regularities of routine, and the relatability of that constraint.

"It's a statement on how easy it is to fall into passive mode and how it can make one feel trapped in the humdrum pattern of day to day life. Passivity perfectly captures the inner workings of someone who has outgrown old patterns and seeks a new path," frontman Jordan De Pasquale explains.

Bursting onto the scene with their debut single ‘How Did it Come To This’, Trace Decay quickly gained attention with positive reviews on triple j Unearthed, a spin on triple j's Home & Hosed and praise from tastemaker Purple Sneakers. Combining sarcastic yet honest and heartfelt lyricism with their signature retro synths and catchy guitar hooks, Trace Decay's distinctive sound takes influence from acts like The Cure, Blur, The Magnetic Fields & Beach House.

Establishing themselves as formidable live performers, especially with the recent addition of their fourth live performance member, hometown fans at last night's single launch were lucky enough to catch a slew of unreleased tracks which ensure Trace Decay have plenty up their sleeves to keep things heating up right into Summer!

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Darrin Bradbury - Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs.

Like a more self-deprecating, decidedly morose John Prine, or perhaps a more jovial Guy Clark, New Jersey native Darrin Bradbury's songs are riddled with hilarious, obvious-once-you-hear-them observations on mundane everyday life.

The eleven songs on Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs, Bradbury's new release on ANTI- Records, leave listeners singing along with sometimes ridiculous, often dark, but instantly familiar tunes.

Produced by Kenneth Pattengale (The Milk Carton Kids), Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs is a collection of songs born from dealing with depression and the pressures of life in the only way Bradbury knows; by poking fun at it. "It's an album trying to combat depression, to laugh your way out of depression, and to be honest and accurate with that depression," Bradbury quips. "I try to write things that make me chuckle, and that chuckling is usually making peace with the existential dilemma of both the times and life in general."

With only one co-writer on the entire album-ANTI- label-mate, friend, and fellow esteemed Nashville musician, Jeremy Ivey-Bradbury's one-of-a-kind style is allowed to shine brilliantly, unobstructed by outside opinion. The tracking of Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs was completed in a similarly simple way; using the same combo of musicians for every song on the record. Aside from producer Pattengale's mellotron and vocal contributions and the aforementioned Ivey's bass and piano playing, only two extra musicians were called to round out the band; Alex Muñoz on additional guitars and Dillon Napier on drums. The only exception is the lone guest vocalist on the album, modern outlaw country queen and long-time supporter of Bradbury, Margo Price, who adds a sombre harmony to a track titled "The Trouble With Time."


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Winona Oak - Break My Broken Heart.

Swedish born, LA-based artist Winona Oak releases her new single “Break My Broken Heart” via Neon Gold Records / Atlantic Records. The single is accompanied by another stunning music video directed by Andreas Öhman  The song follows her runaway debut single “He Don’t Love Me”, which has amassed 6.5 million streams across all platforms to date.

Winona Oak about “Break My Broken Heart”: “You have to be brave to love someone with all your heart. But the biggest risk in life is to not take any risks at all. As long as we’re breathing, what’s one more scar?”

Born and raised in the Nordic forests of Sweden on a small crop of land called Sollerön - known as the Island of the Sun - Winona Oak is every bit as enchanting as her origin story. With a childhood spent encountering more animals than people, she grew up a trained horse acrobat and pursued creative expression however she could, writing poetry and songs from a young age. Born into a musical family, Winona sang throughout her youth and began playing violin at 5 years old and piano at 9 years.

After moving to Stockholm to pursue her passion for music, a leap of faith to attend Neon Gold Records’ writing retreat in the Nicaraguan jungle in 2017 led her to Australian electronic maestro What So Not. She would go on to co-write his next two singles "Better" and "Stuck In Orbit", eventually stepping into the spotlight as both the writer and featured artist on his 2018 single "Beautiful", which took home the 2019 AIR Award for Best Independent Dance Single at the Australian Independent Music Awards.

Last year, Winona Oak covered “Don’t Save Me” from fellow Neon Gold Records signees HAIM for the label’s 10 year anniversary compilation: NGX: Ten Years of Neon Gold. The minimal production allows Winona Oak’s ethereal voice to shine through, slower than the original and drenched in ethereal melancholy. Now signed to Neon Gold / Atlantic Records and published by Warner-Chappell, she closed out 2018 collaborating with The Chainsmokers on their viral hit single “Hope”, co-written by Winona and featuring her stunning lead vocals, and currently boasting 300 million streams across all platforms globally.


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Ted Z and The Wranglers - Guests On Sunday Morning.

The new single from Ted Z and The Wranglers, is entitled 'Guests on Sunday Morning' the track is a raucous Americana song highlighting twangy blues guitars, layered infused melodies and stomping percussion.

Ted Z and The Wranglers, of Southern California, deliver outlaw country-charged rock. Ted's catchy story-songs are fully-realized tales of love, regret, getting older and getting in trouble. The band stirs up it's Americana influences, featuring quick picking and bluesy slide guitar over galloping train beats and swinging shuffles.

The Wranglers are Collin Mclean (bass), Jackson Leverone (lead and slide guitar, vocals) and Jordan Lipp (drums). The band has honed it's sound on big stages and in biker bars alike. They get audiences dancing and bring them back for more.

Ted Z and The Wranglers were signed to Rip Cat Records in 2015. Their first label release, Ghost Train, was recorded at Yellow Dog Studios in Wimberley, TX and produced by Monty Byrom (Big House, Eddie Money). 2017 Winner Hard Rock Rising LA, Jam in The Van (2017) Headlined Sturgis Buffalo Chip (2018).

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/fyo͞oɡ/ - Kacy & Clayton - Maddee - Jay Elle - Michael Blakeman - Dominic Sen

Taken from there new Temp'rall Sho'gazing album we have a couple of songs from /fyo͞oɡ/ namely 'Better' and 'Blues After Hours'. The two tracks give a good feel for the whole, Katarina's vocals are exceptional and the musical arrangement polished, the compositions mixing Jazz and Blues and taking the material in differing directions is wonderful.

Kacy & Clayton return with a second song and video ahead of their album release, this time we have 'High Holiday' another genre spanning song which for convenience sake I will describe as up skilled Americana.

'Clouds' by Maddee is a gently paced soulful song with just a hint of the blues, her vocals are strikingly good, just right for this type of music.

Jay Elle brand of pop is refreshingly uncomplicated as witnessed by 'Sickly Sweet' a catchy and unpretentious piece that veers a little towards modern folk.

With some eighties synth rock vibes Michael Blakeman has shared 'Brazier To The Lake' a solid rocker with plenty of hooks throughout.

Finally today Dominic Sen has released a video for 'Hear Me, a song that is attempting to convey a deeper message whilst remaining a rather pleasing dance pop number.
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/fyo͞oɡ/ - Better / Blues After Hours.

There is a new album from New Orleans based Jazz/Blues duo “/fyo͞oɡ/” entitled “Temp'rall Sho'gazing”. The co-founders of fyo͞oɡ/ consists of Katarina Boudreaux and Sam Tepper who set out to create originals and perform music that grips the soul and imagination in the process. This release is comprised of 3 originals mixed with tastefully chosen cover tunes which are both experimental and sometimes unexpected.

Mainly falling in a more the old school Jazz and Blues tradition in song choices and original compositions, this album also touches occasionally into the funk territory and often times has a very gospel approach. Katrarina’s soulful and headstrong vocal style much like Billy Holliday or Ella Fitzgerald are nicely accompanied by Sam Tepper’s virtuoso blues/jazz playing on piano and keyboards that could be compared at times to the great Stevie Wonder.

"This is the first collaborative project I have embarked on. Sam walked in on a gig, and we've worked together ever since. The three originals are co-written, and it is the first album I have not played keys on (three previous studio albums)."

Katarina Boudreaux and Sam Tepper are the cofounders of /fyo͞oɡ/. New Orleans based, /fyo͞oɡ/ creates original music and covers music that grips the soul and imagination in the process. Katarina is a writer, dancer, teacher, and musician. Her novel "Platform Dwellers" is available from Owl Hollow Press. She is the current director of Noladancing. Sam Tepper is a genuine human being and virtuoso musician.



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Kacy & Clayton - High Holiday.

Kacy & Clayton will release Carrying On via New West Records on October 4th, 2019.  The 10-song set was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and recorded by Tom Schick at The Loft, Wilco’s recording studio & rehearsal space in Chicago, IL. Carrying On follows the international acclaim for their previous records Strange Country (which Q Magazine called “A beautiful album that nudges a classic past into a brave future”) and 2017’s The Siren’s Song (described by Uncut as “Ageless and beguiling. A classic record for this or any other time.”).

The Mike Trask directed video for the song “High Holiday” was released earlier this week.  The song features the legendary musician Charlie McCoy on bass harmonica who is well known for his contributions to infamous recordings by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Simon and Garfunkel, and more.  McCoy is also featured on "That Sweet Orchestra Sound," Carrying On's closing track.  Clayton has stated "I'd heard he was still doing sessions and got excited. One of my favorite things he's ever done was on Tom T. Hall's "In Search of a Song."

The music Kacy & Clayton make is inextricable from where they grew up. They sing about the kind of people you’d find in Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan (population very few). Their sound is equal parts homespun, coming from a family and community where playing music is an ever present part of social gatherings, and the rare country, blues, and English folk rock they obsess over and collect.  It’s an arresting amalgamation of psychedelic folk, English folk revival and the ancestral music of Southern Appalachia. For Carrying On, Clayton cites as influences: Bobbie Gentry’s Delta Sweete, Hoyt Axton’s My Griffin Is Gone, Cajun fiddle music, and the steel guitar of Ralph Mooney, who played on many of the records that defined the Bakersfield country music scene of the 1950s. Sixties psych has also woven its way into these new songs; Kacy enjoys telling people that they live 250km from the mental hospital that coined the term “psychedelic.”

Of Carrying On, Jeff Tweedy said "When I first heard Kacy and Clayton, I was struck by how much detail and nuance they had absorbed from what sounded like a large swath of my record collection. When I told them that they were as good as the artists they were drawing from, I’m not sure they believed me. On this record I don’t hear those influences as much as I hear them taking the things they love so intimately and telling their own story. I think they’re a truly great band.”


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Maddee - Clouds.

Toronto-based artist, Maddee is today sharing her soulful new cut, ‘Clouds’ - listen here. Taken from the forthcoming debut six-track EP, ’Red Mind’, which is due for release this coming autumn, the new single finds the 20-year-old artist expanding on her previous sound to introduce a gripping network of jazz-indebted R&B and slap-back electronica.

Thematically, the ‘Red Mind EP’ deals with the ramifications of a negative relationship and the emotions that Maddee felt throughout that period, from love to infatuation and naivety. Speaking about ‘Clouds’, which features the co-production of Gray Rowan (Charlotte Day Wilson, The WAYO) and coasts along to the groove of off-kilter percussion and stuttering organs, Maddee says: “This song was written about getting over an unhealthy relationship. It’s about coming back to myself and my strength.”

Maddee cut her teeth initially with features on the ‘Colours EP’ from Toronto-based producer, Harrison - from here, she picked up slots opening for the likes of Lil’ Yachty, Willow Smith and Tennyson, alongside which she showcased across festivals including SXSW, NXNE and Field Trip. A pair of debut singles were released in 2017 (produced by Toronto’s Birthday Boy and Shagabond respectively), earning the buzz-building artist tips from tastemaker blogs, Majestic Casual and the attention of Red Bull Sound Select who handpicked her as one their spotlight artists.

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Jay Elle - Sickly Sweet.

My name is Jay Elle. I am a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. I write pop songs, most often appearing under the label “singer-songwriter.” The songs are a bit on the mellow side for the most parts these days. Since it’s only my guitar and myself at the moment you might say that the overall sound could also fit in the urban-folk category.

I play a nylon string Ovation guitar which gives me a fairly unique sound. Think of it as a reprieve from the digital world for a moment, a vacation island for your ears.

Sometimes you meet people who truly change your life. Certainly, make an unforgettable impression. This song is a trip down memory lane. A good one. A song can take you on a journey. I hope it will get listeners dreaming and revisiting their own pleasant experiences. I love the groove. It's meant to be relaxing while carrying you to your own memories.


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Michael Blakeman - Brazier To The Lake.

‘Brazier To The Lake’ will be in digital stores on the 9th of August. The ‘Future’ EP by Micheal Blakeman will be released 23rd of August.

Future is the experimental debut EP from Michael Blakeman. The Perth musician has re-directed his progressive energy into the circuits of the analog, the lead single Brazier To The Lake a synthwave revitaliser.

After spending years on various rock and metal projects, the EP is Michael’s first foray into the sounds of the 80s. Self-produced and recorded in his home studio, Future matches revivalist gore with an emphatic melancholic energy. The lead single Brazier to the Lake a dark and brooding march of operaHc drama and retro-futuristic voguing.

Fueled by the complexity and experimentation of metal music, composition and songwriting quickly became a large part of his musical focus. Michael's second love is technology, and it wasn't long before he learned how to combine them by pursuing audio production and sound engineering.

Fast forward to 2019 and Michael has released his first solo EP effort, Future. “This release was a huge step outside of my comfort zone,” says Michael. “I’ve been involved with music for a while, but nearly all of that time was spent playing guitar in various bands. I wanted to push myself by creating something of my own from the ground up. Earlier this year I became enamored with the classic Minimoog synth sound, so I decided to take a deep dive into the sound and aesthetic of the era it inspired.”

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Dominic Sen - Hear Me.

Lightyears clear of the cataclysm that spawned them, and the event horizon that almost unmade them, Dominic Sen, seventh and only surviving child of the supermassive black hole at the centre of “The Evil Eye Galaxy,” drifted around space in limbo ‘til they intercepted the radio waves of broadcasts from 1980’s and 1990’s Earth. Depicting a colourful and thriving pop culture, these songs of our civilisation drew Sen to the Sun like a moth to our humble intergalactic flame, and thus Sen arrived and fell in love with the meretricious myth of Earthbound stardom.

Channelling the pervasive and alienating sense of their own otherness, Sen works on our planet as an artist where they have created their debut LP. Visitor is a love story, a space opera, a thought experiment telling the tale of Tal Naata, a biologically human female coming from a distant and socially progressive civilisation to study Earth. Taking Tal Naata’s story as their prism, Sen casts our own primitive ideas of gender and social cohesion back at us in shimmering crystalline pop, a sound which hearkens back to those old transmissions which led them here.

Lead single ‘Hear Me’ documents the impasse in traditional gender dynamics on Earth between masculine desire and feminine self-definition. It is, in Sen’s words, about “the sobering reality of an experience gap between Tal Naata and her cis-male partner. It is impossible for him to fully know the hardships faced by women. He will never truly know the fear of walking home alone at night, never grasp the small ways in which his behaviour diminishes her complexity and wholeness.” As someone from a civilisation with no gender inequality, Sen attributes Tal no internalised misogyny. “It makes her acutely cognisant of the truth while still baffled that her gender alienates her from her partner more than the fact that she is a literal alien." The accompanying video represents the internal odyssey that Tal, and classical mythic heroines like her, have to undergo to assert and define themselves in environments that threaten their sense of autonomy.

‘Visitor’ will be released on Roll Call Records on October 18. It will be immediately available for pre-order, including as a limited edition LP in “Interstellar White” vinyl. Its hook-laden sounds are a thrilling homage to our recent past and their dance-inspiring concepts foretell a new transhumanist era. May Sen in their distant cosmic perfection continue to inspire and be inspired.


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Deux Furieuses - North Mississippi Allstars - Rev Rev Rev

We were introduced to Deux Furieuses just a month ago, and they are back with 'Civilians', the second song share from their forthcoming album 'My War Is Your War'. It's a striking rocker with plenty of punk determination and a potent riff that is impossible to ignore.

North Mississippi Allstars have shared a video for 'Up And Rolling' the title track from their scheduled October album release, and it's a gorgeous mixture of soulful blues and natural roots rock, it's also an almighty teaser for the album!

Rev Rev Rev new single 'One Illusion Is Very Much Like Another' is accompanied by an intriguing video, as the bands mix of psych and shoegaze is given a clever visual interpretation, that said, the song remains solid and stands on it's own feet.
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Deux Furieuses - Civilians.

Civilians is the second instant gratification track - following the John Kennedy Radio X premiered Year of Rage (July 2019) - to be taken from deux furieuses forthcoming second album ‘My War is Your War’ (out 18 October 2019 on Xtra Miles Recordings).

Civilians is inspired, as the band explain, by a "robot politician on TV denying what was clearly true", the brutalised riff tackling the demise of empathy for our shared humanity in a post-truth world.

Musically and lyrically, Civilians’ is indicative of the long-player ‘My War is Your War’. The forthcoming album expands on the punk duo’s debut album ‘Tracks of Wire’ by taking the predecessor’s post-punk and Riot Grrrl influences and injecting it with a darker, angrier rock sound.  It is an impassioned sonic energy that represents the alarming rise of social injustices and right-wing power since the debut’s release.

deux furieuses are Scottish vocalist and guitarist Ros Cairney and London Greek drummer Vas Antoniadou. Since their beginnings in 2013 they have earned a reputation for uncompromising politically charged rock which has seen them championed by the likes of Q Magazine, Classic Rock, Louder Than War, and Radio X DJ John Kennedy, whose enthusiasm caught the attention of Frank Turner leading to the duo supporting him at the Roundhouse, London for Lost Evenings Festival 2017.

Raised on a fiery blend of Irish and Greek music, 80’s post-punk and 90’s alt rock, and bonding over a love of early PJ Harvey and Kate Bush, their music, as evident on the new single Civilians, is a visceral and impassioned call to arms against the world’s inequalities and rising storms.

Civilians is produced by Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) and mixed by Mark Freegard (The Breeders), it is released as an instant grat for anyone who pre-orders and pre-saves the digital album from 6 August.  The album ‘My War is Your War’ follows on 18 October (CD, vinyl and digitally), both released via Xtra Mile Recordings.


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North Mississippi Allstars - Up And Rolling.

North Mississippi Allstars are set to return with 'Up and Rolling' on 4th October via New West Records. The 12-song set was produced by Luther and Cody Dickinson and recorded at The Zebra Ranch, their family studio established by their father, the legendary Jim Dickinson in Independence, MS. The album also features guest appearances from Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell, Cedric Burnside, Duane Betts, and Sharde Thomas. 'Up and Rolling' finds North Mississippi Allstars getting back to their roots and recapturing the communal spirit upon which the band was founded.

In 1996, a photographer from Texas, Wyatt McSpadden, travelled to North Mississippi looking to photograph local musicians. Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson had grown up just south of Memphis and cut their teeth playing experimental rock & roll together, as well as the roots repertoire pioneered by their father, Jim Dickinson, a legendary producer (Big Star, The Replacements) and session player (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan). Their feet were firmly planted in the North Mississippi mud and music scene, and they were excited to show Wyatt around their community, to introduce him to the musical families of Otha Turner, RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. “Wyatt was so smooth nobody felt he was taking photos,” Luther recalls. “No one was self-conscious or posing. Wyatt had a cloak of invisibility."

A month after McSpadden took those photos, the newly formed North Mississippi Allstars made their Memphis debut, incorporating their father’s concept of roots music as a framework for improvisation and blending experimental/psychedelic excursions into Hill Country anthems. In just a few short years, their lives would then be forever changed with the release of their debut album  'Shake Hands with Shorty' in 2000. They wouldn’t see most of the photos for over two decades until McSpadden tracked the brothers down in 2017. Luther says, “The images stopped me in my tracks and blew my mind. The music that changed our lives was captured in these photographs. Cody and I wanted to set the music free and record an album to accompany these photographs illustrating what Mississippi music sounded like in 1996 - and what it sounds like now.”  'Up and Rolling' takes listeners on a tour of this vibrant and rural community: through the hills and along the back roads to Otha’s home, to Junior Kimbrough’s nightclub, and RL Burnside's house parties.

Along with their originals, they covered some of their favourite songs by these local heroes, with help from Cedric Burnside and Sharde Thomas, Otha Turner’s granddaughter. “She was only a child when she became his apprentice and heir to the bamboo throne of fife and drum music,” says Luther. “Now she’s the Queen of the Hill Country and my favorite singing partner.” In addition to duetting with him on RL Burnside’s raunchy 'Peaches,' she also sings with Luther on Otha’s 'Call That Gone.'

Mavis Staples keeps NMA marching on the freedom highway, singing on her family’s classic 'What You Gonna Do?', which originally appeared on The Staples Singers’ essential 1965 album.


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Rev Rev Rev - One Illusion Is Very Much Like Another.

The new single 'One Illusion Is Very Much Like Another' by shoegaze / psych band Rev Rev Rev, has just had a video shared.

Since the release of their self-titled debut album back in 2013, Rev Rev Rev – based in Modena, Italy – have repeatedly been hailed as one of the finest new shoegaze bands, clocking up airtime and praise from BBC 6 Music, NPR, Drowned In Sound, Clash Magazine and Bandcamp Daily.

The new album, produced by James Aparicio (Spiritualized, Cult Of Dom Keller, Dead Vibrations), marks also their signing on cult indie psych label Fuzz Club.
Veering away from the blistering psychedelic noise-rock that’s to be found on most of the album – as seen in the first single, ‘Clutching The Blade’, released back in March – ‘One Illusion...’ is instead a ritualistic shoegaze-y drone that explores repetition and texture over their usual sonic belligerence.


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