Shannen Moser - A VOID

Shannen Moser - Paint By Number.

Philadelphia-based artist Shannen Moser announced their first album in more than four years The Sun Still Seems To Move will be released on September 30, 2022 via Lame-O Records. They also shared the official video for the album’s opening track “Paint By Number.”

“I wrote this song at a time when days truly just felt like the days were bleeding into one another. I had been experiencing a lot of change in my life and the dichotomy of monotony and chaos at the same time was really confusing - things felt slow and in that I found a lot of comfort despite the sadness and uncertainty. “‘A series of quiet moments makes forever’ you reply” - Leaning into the stillness of those kinds of feelings can be extremely humbling. This song is really an attempt at gratitude for the loved ones in my life and the experience of being able to quiet the darkness for one another,” explains Moser.

On The Sun Still Seems To Move, Moser’s third studio album, they take the arresting simplicity of their previous albums I’ll Sing (2018) and Oh, My Heart (2017) and combine it with orchestral swells and rich harmonies. What started as a simple vocals-and-guitar record soon shifted, as Moser experienced a sudden loss. Two years into writing the record, The Sun Still Seems To Move morphed into a texturally diverse and palatial sonic universe, mimicking the immeasurable scope of ever-changing circumstance. “At a certain point I was like, let’s just go for it. Let’s just really lean into the sadness of the world. I really wanted to make a thing that I had never made before, because I was feeling a way that I had never felt before,” explains Moser.

To piece together the patchwork of The Sun Still Seems To Move, Moser enlisted the help of their extended music community, including co-producer Alex Melendez, Tyler Bussey (Thank You Thank You/Strange Ranger), Julia Peters, Maxwell Stern, Tyler Carmody, Mark Nestman, Eric Muth and Josh Marre (Blue Ranger). Banjo, saxophone, cello, lap steel, woodwind and synth adorn the album, decorating Moser’s arrangements but never overwhelming them.

“Being able to have a space with my friends and make a record where I was allowed to fully make this art in the face of that pain was really, really beautiful,” they say. “The hands that have touched this record are really special.”

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A VOID - 5102.

Taken from their awaited second album ‘Dissociation’, due 9 September, the discordant new track blends clear and clamouring vocals with steady guitar lines and shadowy drum beats reminiscent of the grunge greats.

Drawing influence from the likes of Hole, Silver Chair, and Babes In Toyland, “5102” sees A VOID craft a sound that pays homage to the past while simultaneously making a hell-for-leather run toward the future.
Seesawing between calmer moments of melancholy and more emotive explosions of throbbing instrumentals and turbulent riffs, the track is rhythmic and riled-up in equal measure. Vocalist Camille Alexander explains:

“”5102” is a sombre grunge track starting with dissonant guitars that slowly progress into a deep emotional outburst. A  swim in the moonlight ending in a mermaid attack. The track’s mysterious name is ‘2015’ backwards: the year it was written, long before it was recorded. It’s about womanhood, using the metaphor of witches who have been stripped of their powers and their magic.”

The track arrives with a fantastical official video that offers a twisted take on some familiar fairy tales. Directed by the band’s own Camille Alexander, it was shot by Aeris Houlihan from Hexenhaus Productions and Claudia Du Lièvre. Starring Richard Simpson and Paige Burley alongside the band, additional footage was contributed by Neil Anderson.

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Slum Summer - Radio Drive

Slum Summer - Living In Milk / Tenderize The Night.

We first featured Slum Summer back in November 2018 describing them as a vibrant indie rock band. The two songs featured from the new album confirm all of that and more, they really do impress! From San Diego, CA, and made up of two British expatriates along with two US natives we can comfortably quote them as "a special relationship - a special new band."

Living in Milk is their second album, following up their 2019 debut, ABABO. Standing out from 99% of recent releases, this is NOT a pandemic album, having been written and recorded before all that happened, and, refreshingly, featuring no songs about isolation, staring at walls, craving human contact, etc. Instead you will find songs about houses being engulfed in flame, houses being choked by snow, hotels suffocated by storms; songs about riding the Greyhound into northern California, desperately hiding out in dilapidated cinemas; songs about dying in prison, and about listening drunkenly to the Grateful Dead. Or maybe you'll come to your own conclusions what the songs are "about," if that even matters to you.

The record builds on the sound of their debut, with indie-rock and indie-pop styles being stretched out in different directions, drawing on 60s guitar jangle, moments of punkish abandon, Laurel Canyon folk-rock balladeering, and occasional diversions into more metallic territory. You can certainly listen to the album and make some guesses about what their record collections might look like, but Slum Summer is developing a sound and style that is distinctly their own. The supple playing from guitarist Jen Edwards, drummer D.J. Anderson and bassist Grant Stewart underpins guitarist/singer Hugh J. Noble's unique writing, cryptic and rich with obscure references, strange half-jokes, and oddly unsettling imagery.

zlumzummer · 01 - Living In Milk

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Radio Drive - One Breath Away (E.P).

Radio Drive featuring Kevin Gullickson had just released a full album in September of 2021, titled “Before The Day is Through”. It was still the early winter months of 2022 in Minnesota, where Kevin lives and has his home studio. 

The timing wasn’t quite right to resume live performances, so Kevin being the ever busy musician, songwriter and recording artist, decided to record some new song ideas before the arrival of spring. He didn’t want to undertake such a huge project as a full album and yet had too many songs to just release a single, so a 4 song EP was the perfect option.

Looking for more of a pop feel to the album, Kevin worked with Steve “Mr Mig” Migliore to do the final mix and mastering. Steve has worked with several platinum selling artists, including Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Madonna

The four songs each have a different feel and meaning. 

• I Believe I Believe: A song of faith and hope, something we all need.
• Moment by Moment: Cherishing the precious moments we have with our loved ones.
• Be Yourself Tonight: So many difficulties people deal with can be resolved by becoming their true and authentic self.
• Don’t You Know: The deep commitment of love drawing out the best in someone.

Before the official release of the EP on August 5th, 2022, songs were already gaining attention. “Don’t You Know” won the Top Finalist Award for Best Rock Song by the World Songwriting Association (WSA).

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Heavy Gus - Roofman - Splitting Edges - Nervous Twitch

Heavy Gus - Paracosm.

California-based indie/rock trio Heavy Gus just released their debut album Notions. Available everywhere through BMG, the collection of songs blur the lines between grungy garage band fare, hazy desert surf, and dreamy, sun-soaked indie rock.

The group also shared the official video for "Paracosm," a powerful visual that shows singer/songwriter/guitarist Dorota Szuta's recent pregnancy through time lapse. "Inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin and a low-grade fever, this song is the outstretched hand grasping for answers to deep questions, and is ultimately a reminder of how beautiful it can be to remain empty handed," she stated. "One thing that helps me move through times of hardship is remembering how small we are. Being alive is purpose enough."

Formed in the high desert town of Bishop, CA, Heavy Gus is led by songwriting couple Szuta and multi-instrumentalist Stelth Ulvang (The Lumineers) along with percussionist Ryan Dobrowski (Blind Pilot). The band took shape during the pandemic when couple Ulvang and Szuta (a marine scientist who also has a background in music playing with Laura Gibson and Gill Landry) took a socially distanced road trip to Nashville — picking up Dobrowski in Colorado along the way — to record at Creative Workshop. The result is a poignant offering that Under The Radar called “genuine live-wire indie rock sound.”

Their debut offering calls to mind everything from Meat Puppets and The Breeders to Yo La Tengo and Acetone in its artful balance of hope and fatalism, loneliness and desire, strength and vulnerability. While all three bandmates came to Heavy Gus from very different worlds, they fit together like puzzle pieces, bound by the kind of love and trust that can only grow from years of deep kinship. Notions was engineered and mixed by Parker Cason (Margo Price, All Them Witches, Coin) and mastered by Pete Lyman (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile).

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Roofman - Fly Off, Fall Down, Come Back.

Some songs need the glitz and blitz of big city life, the concrete jungle and the urban drama, drenched in white noise. Others simply a forest, the serene whisper of the wind in the leaves. 

It’s not hard to guess which world Thijs van der Meulen alias Roofman is coming from. The reason his achingly beautiful upcoming debut album “Still The Mess I Was” sounds so big and glorious is that he decided to record it in Hamburg’s analogue heaven, Clouds Hill studio (a.o. The Killers, Peter Doherty, Elbow). The trees and the streets, the calm and the storm: Roofman is a man of contrasts.

With "Fly Off, Fall Down, Come Back" Roofman celebrates his real debut. The absolute contrast to the soft-washed 2:30 standard mush, this is an epic 8-minute track in which sound and songwriting are absolutely in the foreground.

This song was engineered and recorded live to 24 track magnetic tape by Johann Scheerer and Sebastian “Muxi” Muxfeldt at Clouds Hill Recordings, Hamburg, Rothenburgsort. Mixed by Johann Scheerer. Mastered by Chris von Rautenkranz at Soundgarden Mastering. Drum tech by Herr Schmidt.

 


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Splitting Edges - Your Waves.

Splitting Edges are a two-man band with roots in Southeast London and St. Albans. Bringing raw lyrics, punk energy and a unique sound to the indie-rock genre. Their latest single 'Your Waves' is a light-hearted and soulful love ballad written when the duo were finishing college. The song is about an unconfident boy who meets a polar opposite and finds himself falling for the “it girl". He thinks she has everything together until he gets to know her and realises she’s got just as many problems as he has. But when they’re together their troubles are all but forgotten.

“Splitting Edges are all about exploring new sounds that represent our generation and the times we live in. Our sound is defined by our experiences in life - from these experiences, we have an arsenal of details and stories to talk about in our music. For me, it’s almost like the songs are all pieces of a bigger picture.”
- Lydon Peacock

This single comes off the back of their successful 'Sympathy Smoke' EP and single 'Bleak Mornings', which saw Splitting Edges further develop their unique spin on rock and indie sounds to the world. Recently signed to DMY Artists we are proud to showcase and facilitate their rise to certain stardom.

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Nervous Twitch - We Don't Care.

It's pretty hard to put into words but I'm gonna try, but seriously I'm still way excited to be working and bringing this new album by Nervous Twitch on the awesome UK label Reckless Yes to your attention. I've been following Reckless Yes for a few years and have become a big fan of not only their roster but also the way they do business and how they treat others and create a solid inclusive community, so working with them is a big honor. 

This new album by Nervous Twitch is like a guide to UK and US indiepop and indierock with nods to Mambo Taxi, Huggy Bear, Modern Lovers, Television Personalities, the Pixies, Sleeper, Ash, Lovely Eggs, Dressy Bessy, and even a bit of Swearin'. I could go on and on, but I say just check out the fsecond single "We Don't Care" which debuted at God Is In The TV. If you want a promo copy hit me up, but you can stream or download the album below. The band are up for doing mix tapes, features, guest editor spots, you name it, and we have a few exclusive still up for grabs so seriously like reach out. ~ Mike 

Nervous Twitch—talk about a perfect band name! Listening to their fifth album, Some People Never Change, it’s hard not to notice the nervous energy of front woman Erin Hyde’s vocals. Nervous Twitch built a solid reputation for songs that bristle with punk energy, mixing a vibe that also incorporates girl group passion, post-punk angularity, and even the occasional surf guitar cool.

Some People Never Change offers up a baker’s dozen tracks that deal in attitude and the personal. “We Don’t Care” takes on critics with a snarl, “What The Hell” takes on the frustrations of modern life, while “The History of The Wild West” deals with escaping the world for a less stressful one. But it’s not all anger as an energy; “This Mad At The World” is a ballad that show you can relate your frustrations in a gorgeous, acoustic ballad. “You Never Let Me Down” is a delightful love song with a girl-group vibe, while “Forgive Yourself” offers up a meditation in self-forgiveness.

Reckless Yes Records · 9. We Don't Care

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The Valery Trails - Angus MacRae - Pixy Jones - Man The Lifeboats

The Valery Trails - Zancudo.

The Valery Trails announces the release of their indie-rock single, “Zancudo.” Through keenly observed detail, swirling instrumentals, and a spirited melody, “Zancudo” captures the mood of the sleepy little Costa Rican beach community and its people. It’s off the album, The Sky is Blue, out August 12.

“Zancudo” was written after a pre-pandemic spontaneous trip to Costa Rica. The Valery Trails frontman, Andrew Bower says, “I’m always drawn to end-of-the-earth’ locations, partly because you meet interesting people there who tend to have fascinating stories about how they got there, so I wanted to try and write about that.”

On the upcoming album, The Valery Trails takes the listener through a globetrotting exploration infused with energized guitar-walled hues. In 2020 Andrew Bower moved back to Brisbane following an extended period of travel that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The album chronicles Bower’s stops around the world, including Jaisalmer India, the sleepy little beach community in Zancudo, Costa Rica, and Brisbane, Australia, where the journey started and ended.

The album was mixed in North Carolina by Scott Solter. He has recorded and mixed an eclectic mix of artists, including The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, St Vincent, and his own avant-garde / ambient projects such as Boxharp and The Balustrade Ensemble.

The Valery Trails · Zancudo (Radio Edit)

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Angus MacRae - Single Cell.

British composer and musician Angus MacRae, shares chilling new single ‘Single Cell’, the second track to be shared from his upcoming album Vivarium due out September 30th via Nation of the Sea. Evocative falsetto vocals lead ‘Single Cell’, it is a fantasia of haunting vocal melodies and introspective solo strings, a dark lullaby which culminates in a climax of swirling strings and orchestra. The new track is inspired by the magic and mystery of childhood imagination, with both a sense of danger and wonder running through its seams.

Angus Macrae, represented by Manners McDade,  is a rapidly rising voice in contemporary classical music. His work spans across film, television, ballet, theatre, concert performances and contemporary dance. His many notable collaborations include scores for Olivier Award winning productions performed across London’s West End, internationally touring ballets and contemporary dance shows by some of the world’s leading choreographers, as well as numerous other acclaimed film and theatre projects.  Alongside this, MacRae's innovative work as a solo recording artist expands on his classical roots, pairing panoramic electronic backdrops with intimate instrumental recordings, to create transportive, elegiac compositions of unflinching emotional honesty.  His work has reached a global audience, having previously released two full length albums and a number of EPs via labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, !K7, 1631 Recordings and his own imprint Nation of the Sea.

MacRae is set to return with the new album Vivarium; a spectral and otherworldly journey into the lost worlds of childhood imagination, due out September 30th via Nation of the Sea. Written over the course of a year, the upcoming album is his most ambitious work yet, pairing intimate piano solos with soaring string lines, hypnotic vocal melodies and ghostly orchestral textures. Vivarium breaks down the definitions of classical music, spanning across multiple genres, drawing on a broad range of influences from across the musical spectrum; from Jon Hopkins and Son Lux right through to James Blake. Lead single ‘Amulet’ has received high acclaim from the likes of KEXP, Scala Radio, BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM.

Angus MacRae · Single Cell

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Pixy Jones - Maureen Dreams No More.

Pixy Jones announces brand new single 'Maureen Dreams No More' which is the 2nd single to be taken from anticipated debut album 'Bits n Bobs' released via Strangetown Records on the 16th September.

El Goodo guitarist and songwriter 'Pixy Jones' has announced that his debut album entitled 'Bits n Bobs' is due for release on 16th of September via Strangetown Records. Branching away from the familiar El Goodo platform, Welsh psych scene stalwart Pixy Jones has himself compiled a truly remarkable collection of tracks that fluctuate from 60's harmony-rich psych pop, to Alt-Country with ringing tremelo guitar.

Pixy had this to say about the release: The album was originally intended as a solo project under the pseudonym of “Wallace Russell”. I recorded it alongside the recording of Zombie (El Goodo) whenever I could get in the studio. There are some really old songs that have always been overlooked for 'El Goodo' albums for one reason or another, a few new ones which I wrote specifically for this, and a couple that would have probably ended up on the intended double album version of Zombie if we’d kept going with the double album idea. 

I’ve since ditched the 'Wallace Russell' name and gone back to 'Pixy Jones' as I figured there’s no need to have a pseudonym if nobody knows who you are in the first place. Even though I dropped the name I’ve kept the walrus mask for now as it is more photogenic than my actual face.

Pixy Jones · Maureen Dreams No More

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Man The Lifeboats - Born Drunk.

Salty seafarers Man The Lifeboats are delighted to launch their brand new album: ‘Soul of Albion’ - confirmed for release on 14th October 2022 via Wood Head Records. Charting a new course with a breeze as stiff as they like their drinks, the quintet lead the way with the rip-roaring new single: “Born Drunk.” A folk/punk firecracker broiling with fiddles, accordions and acoustic guitars played with gusto, it’s a rambunctious drinking song guaranteed to loosen your lips and get your pistons pumping.

Inspired by an unusual tattoo and a Martin Carthy song (amongst a menagerie of other things), “Born Drunk” takes the listener on a voyage through all that makes life’s rich tapestry so rich… and random. Led by frontman Rich Quarterman, it’s a breathless monologue that touches on politics and people, history and healthcare, religion and, well, getting royally rat-arsed. And in what’s got to be a lyrical first, there’s even time to rhyme “Palestine” with acting legend “Paddy Considine” too.

But what does it all mean? Rich Quarterman explains: “Man The Lifeboats played a festival with the great Mr Carthy and he introduced one of his songs by saying: 'this is a load of nonsense, it doesn't mean anything', which I've always thought was a fine approach to songwriting. The title came from a tattoo on an undisclosed person, and the rest of the lyrics are absolute nonsense. Or are they? Maybe there are some kernels of meaning in there somewhere. Paddy Considine features as his name rhymes with Palestine and Northern Line, but also because he's an absolute hero and a brilliant actor. We tried to get him in the video but he was too busy with some TV show called Game of Thrones…”

Recorded more-or-less live at the iconic Rockfield Studios in Wales, the band cite a cocktail of influences including a hint of Hubert Parry's Jerusalem, a dash of Pachelbel's Canon, and slug of that Pogues Whiskey, that when thrown together ultimately get you “Born Drunk”.

Catherine Elms - Karen Harding - Bite The Boxer - Chemical Club

Catherine Elms - Monday Eyes.

Catherine Elms is a dark pop singer-songwriter who combines untamed intensity with softly-defined edges; introspective and fierce in equal measure. Drawing on the raw, heartfelt emotion of Tori Amos and the brash power of Amanda Palmer, Catherine has found an evocative and cathartic style that is all her own. A self-taught non-classical pianist with a soft yet powerful voice, Catherine creates an epic and transcendent sound that explores millennial frustrations with sensitivity and quiet hope.

This third studio single ‘Monday Eyes’ sees Catherine’s rich vocals and haunting piano accompanied by an orchestral soundscape. Her confessional lyrics rail against the falsehood that we exist in a world where anything is possible, if only we prove ourselves to be “good enough.” The cinematic sound elevates this deeply personal and intimate journey into something powerful and universal. ‘Monday Eyes’ is accompanied by a compelling conceptual music video that blends Catherine’s spirited performance with the striking visuals of Scott Chalmers (videographer for Jamie Lenman, Birdeatsbaby, Saint Agnes).

 Speaking more on the meaning behind ‘Monday Eyes’, Catherine says: “I wrote this song during a bit of a quarter-life crisis, when trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Like many of us, I had always believed that if I just worked hard enough and proved myself worthy through collecting achievements, everything would fall into place, and success would find me. I realised that this is untrue. I found myself in a job that dampened my spirit, feeling like an awkward impostor, longing for something more, and mourning the future I’d envisaged for myself that never came. I think so many of us can relate to the feeling of getting to our twenties and entering the ‘real world,’ thinking “is this it?”.

 

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Karen Harding - Til The Ocean Meets The Shore.

Following the passion and excitement shared from the first single release of her Upcoming EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’, Melbourne, Australia based singer-songwriter, Karen Harding is set to release the second single, ‘Til The Ocean Meets The Shore’ today Friday 5th August 2022.

Written during the Melbourne, Australia Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, ‘Til The Ocean Meets The Shore’ is a deeply reflective and uplifting acoustic guitar focused story that dives into challenges felt and a realisation of how far we have come, and the determination that we can truly achieve anything we put our mind to, if we do not give in.

The four track EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ is being released one single at a time, each month, and will be available in its entirety by October 2022. The EP is available for purchase at Bandcamp in digital download and CD formats.

Music has always been a part of Karen’s life, beginning piano lessons at the age of 6 and singing lessonsat 14. She has played at many cafes and bars around the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in a combination of solo, duo and band performances, that have contributed to the sound that you hear today.
Building her repertoire, with 6 single releases under her belt, Karen has been steadily growing her following and name, having won the November 2021 Bendigo Bank sponsored Independent Songwriter Talent Show on Radio Eastern FM in Melbourne, Australia, for her single, ‘Anxiety’, Top 10 winner for the World Songwriting Awards, for her single, ‘Something Special’ and a nominee for Best International Artist on Crags Radio Independent Artist Awards in February 2022.

KarenHarding · Til The Ocean Meets The Shore

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Bite The Boxer - Way Out.

Way Out is the third single in a string of dreamy alt-pop releases put out by Bite The Boxer, following on from Forgotten (released in April) and Like A Ghost (June). 

Way Out combines a gritty and melancholic influence from 90s trip-hop with lush synths and vocal production from modern alternative pop to set a mood that seeks to take the listener on a journey to a dark place but in a comforting and familiar way.

Bite The Boxer (AKA Matt Park) often produces his music live on Twitch streams and has this to say of his process: “writing music live with people watching encourages me to trust my instincts and produce by feel; nobody wants to watch me do fine tuning and tweaks for 2 hours. 

I try to avoid over-thinking the process. If I can finish a 2.5 hour stream with the bulk of a song finished, and it sounds good then that’s an ideal result.”

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Chemical Club - Hell In A Heatwave.

Arts & Crafts newest signee, Ottawa duo Chemical Club, are sharing another new single, “Hell In A Heatwave”, with a video directed by their fanclubwallet bandmate Hannah Judge. The new track is an “honest look at who you are and how you can improve upon that,” the band says. 

“Actively seeking self improvement and pursuing positive changes over neutrality and repetition. Leaving unhealthy habits behind and holding yourself accountable for your own actions and behaviors. Staying comfortable and rejecting positive change is usually the easier option in the short term, but to actively pursue growth is necessary for long term fulfillment.”

Chemical Club is the project of Eric Graham (he/him) and Michael Watson (they/them). The duo performs tight, catchy indie rock songs, perfect for road trips or coming of age soundtracks that deftly weave naturalistic lyrics with reflections on love, death, insecurity, and growth. Having grown up around the corner from each other, the pair didn’t truly connect until their teen years when they began playing together in garage bands. 

In 2019, they formed Chemical Club and have since released a series of homespun, self-released singles and EPs that’ve earned them a passionate following over the course of the pandemic. In addition to Chemical Club, both members perform in ascendant indie rock project fanclubwallet, with Watson serving as fanclubwallet's co-writer and producer.

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