The Slackers - The Cactus Blossoms feat. Jenny Lewis - Tom Jenkins - Colatura

The Slackers - Hanging On.

New York City reggae legends The Slackers have released “Hanging On,” the second single from the band’s upcoming record “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” which comes out April 15th. This record, their first in 7 years and 15th full-length in their career, is now available on Pirates Press Records’ web store.

“Hanging On” is a mantra that almost every band, including The Slackers, have had to deal with during the pandemic. “Being in NYC in March of 2020 was an experience I wouldn’t wish upon my enemies. People talk about how great it was to get off the road or spend extra time with their family, but I was already tight with my family. We rallied and my apartment became a law office, a college classroom, a recording studio, a mail-order merch warehouse, and a high school classroom. We did what we had to do to keep going,” said saxophonist Dave Hillyard.

The process for bringing this album to life was, by all accounts, one that was met with twists and turns that would make most bands implode. The band used their sound engineer’s house to practice and record while also trying to accommodate everyone’s personal situations. “The main challenge/s we had to overcome in making the record had to do with distance, finding a way to involve Vic and Glen, who live on the West Coast and thus 3000 miles from the rest of the band. We put half the band in one room, half the band in another, we continued to wear masks around each other, put a giant shield around the drums and just hoped for the best. Glen and Vic very graciously gave up their West Coast lives to live at Marc Critelli’s house for 2 months while we completed the majority of the record,” remarked drummer Ara Babajian.

The band previously released an adorable and hilarious puppet video for the title track “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya.” The song was written by the band after the initial wave of COVID was over but it was certainly not the end of the pandemic.

Rootfire · Hanging On

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The Cactus Blossoms feat. Jenny Lewis - Everybody.

Acclaimed Americana duo The Cactus Blossoms have released a new video for the song “Everybody,” featuring Jenny Lewis. The song is featured on their recently released album One Day.

The Cactus Blossoms will also be kicking off the next leg of their U.S. tour on March 19th starting in Red Wing, MN. Jack Torrey, who launched the band with his brother, Page Burkum, writes, “When I wrote the song it was originally from one person’s perspective, but one morning when I was drinking coffee it hit me as a conversation between two people and really came alive for me. I heard Jenny singing it in my head and couldn’t hear it any other way, so I hopped on the phone and called her to see if she’d be interested in singing on it. I’m so glad she was into the idea.”

Page remarks that “We had the chance to open a little run of shows with Jenny a few years ago and to hear her amazing voice and watch her cast her spell over her audience night after night was truly inspiring. She’s a heavy hitter in every way possible so it's a dream come true to hear her voice on one of our songs.”

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Photo - Drew Roxanne

Tom Jenkins - Back Roads.

Tom Jenkins has announced his signing to independent label Xtra Mile Recordings. The ex-Straight Lines frontman has also unveiled the video for new single “Back Roads”, a twinkling, country-tinged track that nods to Jenkins’ rural roots, highlighting the solitude and struggle of the job that has taken lives in the rural community.

Speaking of his excitement around the new signing, Tom says: “I’ve had the privilege of sharing almost my whole journey in music with Xtra Mile Recordings. From the label releasing some of my favourite bands and artists, to eventually putting out my own music as a teenager and through to my early twenties with two Straight Lines album campaigns. I’m very excited to begin this new chapter as a solo artist and grateful to be working once again with a great group of people with a great vision and ideas for their roster.”

Likewise, Xtra Mile Recordings add: “Everyone at Xtra Mile is thrilled to be reacquainted with Tom. We loved Straight Lines and have been floored by his new album. We can’t wait to start the campaign and continue our work with Tom in 2022 and beyond.”

The news comes off the back of successes with his self-released 2019 solo album “Misery In Comfort” and 2020 EP “When The Coal Dust Settled”, a patriotic folk release in support of the victims of the South Wales Valley flood.

Tom Jenkins hails from the high country of the South Wales Valleys, with the ex-coal mining communities and rugged farming landscape forming his identity and ingraining itself in the singer-songwriter’s sound. Born into a hill farming family, a life in music seemed worlds away but somewhere along the line Jenkins’ path changed: at first playing in local rock bands before eventually fronting Straight Lines, releasing albums with his old school friends and touring with the likes of Motorhead, The Presidents of the USA and more.

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Colatura - Kids Like Us.

In the midst of their debut appearance at SXSW in Austin, New York City trio Colatura has released their latest single, “Kids Like Us” this week. The track is featured on Colatura’s debut album, And Then I’ll Be Happy, set to arrive April 22, with a hometown performance set for that night in Brooklyn at The Sultan Room. 

Discussing the track, guitarist/vocalist Meredith Lampe noted, "This song is about collective family baggage, mental illness, and destructive patterns that can repeat generation after generation. We wrote it from the perspective of one sibling calling another to remind them that they made a pact to never have kids in the hopes of cutting off the negative cycle and to stop passing down traits that they wish they didn’t have themselves. The music video was made by our friend Matt Sklar (of the band Phantom Handshakes) using a collage of footage from each of our childhoods.”

Featuring the triple songwriting attack of Jennica Best (bass/vocals), Digo Degorio (guitar/vocals) and Lampe (guitar/vocals), Colatura has been called, "Fleetwood Mac with shoegaze guitars," by Fadeaway Radiate, and described by Popmatters as, “Drawing on a range of influences from '50s female-fronted outfits to Manchester post-punk and all manner of noisy things, Colatura sounds both of and out of its time, delivering music that seems to have always been.” Sonically, their foot is in a number of genres, writing music that is sometimes dreamy, sometimes heavy, with pop-leaning melodies and post-punk atmospherics.

Formed in 2019, the trio, joined by a drummer live, has played notable shows throughout New York City supporting acts such as Nation of Language, Pom Pom Squad, and Oceanator, amongst others, receiving praise from NYC tastemakers and music blogs alike. The band announced And Then I’ll Be Happy in January, with the single, “Team Sport,” which Brooklyn Vegan called, “a dreamy, warm treat in the dead of winter,” and led Under The Radar to state, “The upbeat surf guitar, blissful washes of synths, and brilliant bursts of melody make for a decadent dream pop reverie, recalling classic influences like Cocteau Twins as well as contemporaries like Alvvays or Yumi Zouma.” They followed with “Scars” last month, leading The Revue to say that Colatura create "melodies that have the same effect of a cool ocean breeze on a hot day.”



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Edie Carey - Annabel Gutherz - Jesper Lindell feat. Amy Helm - The Blue Chevys - The Filthy Causals

Photo - Steve Willis

Edie Carey - The Chain.

Folk/pop singer-songwriter Edie Carey is readying her latest collection of songs for her eleventh album The Veil due 6/3/22. Produced by Scott Wiley, the album features Grammy-nominated friend and frequent collaborator Rose Cousins and Mai Bloomfield (Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles). Throughout the twelve songs set, Carey weaves her “gentle story-telling, rich with humanity and insight.”

The first single, “The Chain,” was written with her friend and fellow Colorado songwriter Megan Burtt in her kitchen. “The Chain” is about feeling like we are never enough in the eyes of another, that no matter what we do or try to prove, their view of us remains unchanged. It’s a song of realization, of recognition and, ultimately, of letting go.  

“You can’t quite believe how lucky you are to write a healing song with a friend in your kitchen and then get to witness the magic of it becoming something real and tangible and beyond what you could have imagined in the studio,” says Carey.

 

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Annabel Gutherz - Retrograde.

“Retrograde” arrives on the heels of Annabel’s debut album, Loose Ends, which was released in late 2021. In contrast to the softer ballads that featured prominently on the album, Annabel's newest single taps into a more maximalist pop-rock sound. Filled with driving drums, anthemic production and deliciously infectious pop hooks, "Retrograde" represents the beginning of a fresh chapter for this rising artist.

Expanding on what inspired the track, she says: “I noticed a shared sentiment amongst my friends, family, and me in the wake of the pandemic — a feeling of stagnation in our respective ambitions and pursuits, or worse, a sense of retrogression. Upon having an insightful conversation with my mom, who seems to have a blueprint of life's greatest lessons, I came to the understanding that no one is ever stagnant. We are always learning, growing, and moving forward as a result... In other words, we are ‘never in retrograde.'"

Annabel Gutherz is a singer-songwriter hailing from Montreal, Canada. Combining her compelling and diaristic storytelling with honeyed melodies, distinct vocals and her keen musical ear, Annabel’s songs take listeners on a heartfelt journey packed with raw honesty and emotional conviction. Fiercely committed to her craft, Annabel graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Music Studies and is now completing her Master’s of Arts degree in Songwriting at Berklee as well.

Annabel ended last year with the release of her debut album, Loose Ends, a stylistically eclectic yet entirely authentic record that cathartically encapsulates life’s unfinished moments. The album was co-produced by Dominique Messier, a long time band member for Céline Dion and owner of Studio Piccolo in Montreal, Canada.

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Photo Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez

Jesper Lindell feat. Amy Helm - Twighlight.

Swedish Americana singer Jesper Lindell’s second album, Twilights (coming March 18, 2022), is a creative tour de force, a compelling mix of blue-eyed soul and down-to-earth classic rock, a timeless sound coming anew from Scandinavia. During two years of setbacks – weathering label issues, a pandemic, cancelled tours, and a kidney disease to boot – Jesper and his band had little else to do but write and record music. 

The result is a remarkable new album recorded in their own studio in Brunnsvik, outside of Ludvika, Sweden. The record is produced by Lindell and Björn Pettersson, but is at its core a collaborative effort from the heart and soul of the whole band. This was fundamental to the recording sessions from the get-go – to encourage ideas and influences from all six members of the band. 

As the cherry on top, the album has three luminous guest singers: Swedish singer Klara Söderberg, one half of sister-duo First Aid Kit; French rockstar Theo Lawrence; and American singer Amy Helm, daughter of The Band’s Levon Helm. Though Twilights is inspired by legends like The Band and Van Morrison, the point has never been to copy or even imitate, but to listen and learn. To emulate an attitude, more than anything, and to follow their example in the creative process.

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The Blue Chevys - Got that Feeling.

 “A band that has crossed many rivers to bring you roots music that stirs your soul.” The magic recipe behind The Blue Chevys remains a secret, but it deserves credit that they have been able to keep the band together for more then 30 years. Besides friendship, it’s without doubt based on the willingness and desire to keep evolving by combining Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll and Americana. The new album “ The Night Calls” is the perfect example. A beautiful eclectic mix which reflects perfectly how the band successfully intertwines different roots styles with only one purpose and that is to stir your soul.

 In 2019, The Blue Chevys is celebrating its 30 years anniversary and the band is touring to support the release of a compilation album ‘Twice Fifteen”, that clearly proves the band’s evolution throughout the years. Thanks to some live concert broadcasts on Belgium national radio Classic21 and Nancy WebTV in France, the fan-base grows throughout Belgium and France.

However, this is not where the story ends. The journey continues as The Blue Chevys is to release its next album “The Night Calls” on the respected Belgium roots-label NAKED in March 2022. The first singles of the album, “Willow Tree” and “Got that Feeling”, are been well received and guarantee many more years of fun and livemusic! Current Members: Kris Bries ( Vocals & Harp), Frederic Martello (Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals), Philippe Martello (Percussion), JeanLuc Cremens (Bass Guitar), Sven Smekens (Rhythm Guitar), Kim Vandeweyer (Trumpet) en Koen Desloovere (Saxophone).

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The Filthy Causals - Runaway.

Established in late 2018 The Filthy Causals are an exciting four piece Indie, Alternative Rock band from the South West of England. 

The band are hard at work creating new music and gigging at every opportunity.  Check out our Social Media for upcoming gigs this year.  Sam (Vocals/Guitar), Scott (Lead Guitar), Max (Drums), Dan (Bass)

Runaway - The Filthy Casuals, takes you back in time to re-live good times and Run away to a better place.

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Silver Lining - Yawners - The Slocan Ramblers

Photo - Julia Marie Naglestad

Silver Lining - Your Everything.

Bringing together members of two prominent Norwegian acts, The Northern Belle and Louien, folky Americana quartet Silver Lining has sometimes been dubbed a supergroup in their native country. Moving on from the sound of their mostly acoustic debut, the band introduces a broader Americana sound on their sophomore album, Go Out Nowhere. With a widescreen, heartland sound, and a groovy backbone, reminiscent of Aaron Lee Tasjan, Erin Rae, or The Band.

Consisting of four instrumentalists, three of them also singer-songwriters, Silver Lining debuted with the low-key and mellow Heart and Mind Alike in 2018. The album was well received in the band’s home country, and reached a much wider audience, thanks to several “streaming hits” reaching millions of plays.

A telling illustration of the thriving Norwegian Americana scene is the musicians’ willingness to collaborate – on stage, on each other’s records, and in new constellations. One early example is the birth of Silver Lining. Bringing together members of then-emerging The Northern Belle, and the now-defunct Rattlers, the musicians came together for a Gillian Welch tribute show in 2015. They quickly discovered that this project had potential outside of playing cover songs, and quickly started rehearsing and writing.

The angelic voices of Stine Andreassen and Live Miranda Solberg fit perfectly with the rougher, Dylanesque voice of Halvor Falck Johansen. The three singers’ acoustic guitar interplay is interwoven with and elevated by Bjørnar Ekse Brandseth’s electric guitars, pedal steel, and dobro.

 

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Yawners - Rivers Cuomo.

After releasing Yawners’ debut album in 2019, Elena Nieto found herself at the end of a whirlwind year. Her debut LP Just Calm Down showcased the Madrid musician’s love for huge, hooky alternative rock moments chased with the hummable accessibility of power pop. It was a combination destined to set the international stage ablaze. After gracing stages at SXSW in the U.S. and Eurosonic in the Netherlands, the pandemic caused Nieto to reflect on the present moment through the lessons of the past. The exciting songwriter returns in 2022, newly signed to Big Scary Monsters (UK), she releases a brand-new album on May 6th, Duplo, and shares a blistering new track and video, ‘Rivers Cuomo’, taken from the album. The Weezer man himself said “this is a really pretty song” upon hearing it.

“I usually write very literal songs, I don't usually use metaphors or anything like that, and this is the perfect example” says Elena, talking about the track. She expands; “The song is about writer's block; it's about trying to write a song and not coming up with anything good.” Although Yawners remains a solo project, the track bursts with the muscle of an entire backing band, the perfect vehicle for the songwriter’s fully formed ideas and soaring punk influenced melodies.

Elena tried a trick to overcome her writer’s block, that she learnt from Cuomo when writing the album. “I really like Weezer and Rivers Cuomo has always made me curious. When I was in the process of composing the album, I read an interview in a Chilean newspaper in which he revealed a trick he has developed to write songs. He has an Excel file in which he writes phrases, chord progressions, and more, and creates songs with a formula that puts together the bits and pieces that match. I thought this was really cool and I wrote the chorus of my song about this. On a melodic level I am very proud of the guitar solo in this song. Guitar solos are something that seem not to be trendy anymore, but the reality is that when a well-done solo appears in a song it’s very hard not to enjoy it haha.”

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The Slocan Ramblers - A Mind With A Heart of Its Own.

A new single dropped today from Toronto bluegrass band The Slocan Ramblers. It's a fire-breathing cover of Tom Petty's "A Mind With a Heart of Its Own."

Bluegrass music is nothing short of catharsis for The Slocan Ramblers. On their new album Up the Hill and Through the Fog (coming June 10, 2022), the all-star Canadian roots ensemble channels the past two years of loss into a surprisingly joyous collection of twelve songs intended to uplift and help make sense of the world. Though the past few years have brought the group accolades–their 2019 album was nominated for a Juno Award and the band earned the Momentum Band of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2020–that same momentum was abruptly halted by the pandemic’s brutal impact on live music.

Over the next year, bandmates Adrian Gross and Darryl Poulsen both lost close family members and their bassist decided to step back to spend more time at home. They channeled these tumultuous changes into some of their most honest and direct compositions yet. Up the Hill and Through the Fog showcases the breadth of their varied influences while staying true to their roots in the rough and tumble bluegrass scene of Toronto’s no-nonsense bars and dancehalls. From Frank Evans’ classic, dusty vocals, to John Hartford-inspired lyrical musings, it’s all buttressed by impeccable musicianship, and emotionally raw songwriting from the three core members. This is roots music without pretension, art powerful enough to cut through the fog of the past two years and chart a more hopeful course forward.

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Scrunchies - Ben Talmi - Monophonics

Scrunchies - Parallel.

Dirtnap Records recently announced the addition of Scrunchies to their roster, and now the band is back with a new single called "Parallel."

"We wanted “Parallel” to be like "Squirrel Song" by Shellac, and have these jarring, uneven measures to the verses." says Scrunchies vocalist and guitarist, Laura Larson, adding "I was also very interested in having Danielle do this Kim Gordon-esque deadpan call-and-response vocal delivery in the bridge, almost as a juxtaposition to the song's loose theme of both self-imposed and external hope + idealism vs turbulence + obstruction of being a woman making art during late stage capitalism."

Scrunchies is a Minneapolis, MN-based rock band formed by Laura Larson (she/her; guitar, vocals) and Danielle Cusack (she/her; drums, vocals). Larson earned notoriety early on, leading brash punk band Baby Guts. She is also currently a member of seminal dance-punk drums and bass trio, Kitten Forever. Cusack, raised by veterans of the 70s NYC art and music scene, also came to prominence in the Twin Cities music scene as a teenager with her indie grunge rock band, Bruise Violet.

Larson and Cusack began Scrunchies after mutual admiration of each others' bands as well as a short stint together in a Buzzcocks cover band called Buzzcuts (with Clara Sayler of Babes in Toyland). Both are passionate about encouraging young women and queers to find empowerment in playing music and embracing a DIY ethos.

Dirtnap Records · Parallel

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Photo - Josh Goleman

Ben Talmi - Ralph & Mary.

Berkshires, the new album from Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/producer Ben Talmi. According to the artist, Berkshires is "a love letter to my hometown of Pittsfield, MA nestled between the mountain ranges and valleys of Berkshire County."

Ben is best known as an orchestral arranger for artists like Wild Nothing and Manchester Orchestra, but it's his nostalgic, down-to-earth songwriting that takes center stage here. Lead single "Ralph + Mary" bounces along with charming fingerpicked guitar and Talmi's signature string arrangements anchoring the track.

Ben notes, "Ralph & Mary'' is a true story about my grandparents who served in WWII and used my grandfather's GI bill to fund their diner, “The Sugar Bowl” which they ran for 40 years." Much of the album is dedicated to friends and characters from Talmi's childhood, and his appreciation for Pittsfield and the surrounding area shines throughout the album's eight tracks.

At its best, this record reminds me a lot of Belle and Sebastian with a hefty dose of Paris 1919-era John Cale thrown in as well. Many tracks (especially the lovely "Canoe Meadows") make brilliant use of a string quartet, and I really love Talmi's excellent ear for a catchy melody. In an age where screens and information anxiety seem to be inescapable, I hope that listening to this album makes you think back to a simpler time and place in your lives.

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Photo - Emily Sevin

Monophonics - Warpaint.

Today, Bay Area-based Monophonics announced their upcoming full-length Sage Motel, out May 13th via Colemine Records. The world's premier psychedelic soul band, Monophonics, cordially invites you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel. A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive without ever knowing how they got there. It's where individuals find themselves at a crossroads in life. The album announcement comes with a video for the first single “Warpaint.”

What started as a quaint motor lodge and a common pitstop for travelers and truckers in the 1940s morphed into a bohemian’s hang by the 1960s and 1970s. Artists, musicians, and vagabonds of all types would stop there as seedy ownership pumped obnoxious amounts of money into high end renovations, eventually attracting some of the most prominent acts of the era. But when the money ran out, The Sage Motel devolved into a place where you rent by the hour.

Sage Motel, Monophonics' fifth studio album since 2012, tells its story. Once again produced by brilliant bandleader Kelly Finnigan, the album captures a timeless sound that blends heavy soul with psych-rock. With their previous album, It’s Only Us, selling over 10,000 physical units and garnering over 20 million streams, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the most impactful bands in the country. It’s Only Us was praised by Billboard, FLOOD, Cool Hunting, and American Songwriter, who said “Take some Norman Whitfield-era Temptations, add Sly and the Family Stone circa There’s a Riot Goin’ On’s greasy funk, inject early 70s Curtis Mayfield Superfly, Marvin Gaye vocal dynamics and Isaac Hayes’ Hot Buttered Soul dust, sprinkle in a pinch of Isley Brothers’ silky ballads and you’ve got a reasonable aural idea of the ballpark Monophonics are playing in.”

“Warpaint,” the leading single from Sage Motel, reveals the vices of each resident and confronts the struggles of substance abuse and addiction. Their warpaint becomes compulsory to face the day, tolerate the struggle, get through the hardest parts of the world, humanity, life and to fight the good fight. Cloaked in heavy riffs and robust vocals, “Warpaint” gives you the first look through the doors of the Sage Motel.

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Good Wilson - Jesse D'Kora

Good Wilson - Bats From The Buffet.

Good Wilson remain true to their signature vibe on their new track "Bats from the Buffet": feelgood soundtrack meets serious self-irony. The single is about an honest reflection of the "Butterfly Effect," the infectious madness that defines the third decade of the 21st century. 

The song is thus a contemporary document of the previous years, but at the same time a statement, a heartfelt "Foff" to all idiotisms.

In "Bats From The Buffet" Good Wilson have processed pent-up frustrations, caused by inequalities, injustice, fake news, egocentrism and unsolidarity. So, all those qualities and things that the pandemic has brought to light. Packaged in a soft, tongue-in-cheek indie-pop track, "Bats From The Buffet" is meant to remind you that it's okay to be angry sometimes.


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Jesse D'Kora - You might not be.

Jesse D’Kora makes indie / dream pop music with a style that is inherently lofi as he writes, records, mixes and masters all of the music in his spare bedroom in Salford (UK). Jesse tells us "I have embarked on a musical journey this year whereby I am going to release a single every month, ‘you might not be’ is the 3rd instalment and chosen song for March 2022.

Inspired by a documentary on The Talking Heads, this release is a little different to the others. I wanted to make something a bit weird and incorporate ideas and sounds from other genres and styles.

Lyrically it's inspired, like many of my other songs, about getting older, particularly the context is in view of having a conversation with a younger version of yourself. Often it’s easy to focus on the regrets and the mistakes and think how you would do things differently if it all could be redone, but ultimately without the mistakes the knowledge to do what's right so we are ultimately bound to follow the same path."



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