Skinny Lister - Triggers & Slips - Mary Anne's Solar Rig - Ocean Valley

BEEHIVE CANDY ARE TAKING A SHORT BREAK NOW - WE SHOULD BE BACK THIS COMING WEEKEND. In the meantime enjoy today's new round up! 

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Skinny Lister - Embers.

Before they hit the road this Autumn, Skinny Lister, are releasing a new video for “Embers.” The band who are touring the UK and Europe in support of their acclaimed fifth album ‘A Matter of Life & Love’, invite you to bask in one of its most heart-warming moments.

A strident example of the Skinnies’ feel-good, shanty-folk at its very finest, “Embers” also embodies many of the core themes that course through their latest album. As Dan Heptinstall explains:

“”Embers” is a song about friendship. The simple joy we feel in the warmth of good company. It also raises a glass, and enjoys a moment of reflection, to those friends we may have lost along the way. A celebration of the here and now but with a healthy dose of nostalgia.”

Echoing the sentiments of the song, the video is accompanied by an official video filmed by The Film Smith. Capturing a family affair with fires and music, it sees Skinny Lister revelling in good times with friend and folk legend Roger Wilson (who plays fiddle on the recording), plus the Dunton Bassett Folk Club, a group of musicians who happen to feature a certain special guest…

“The video was a joy to shoot. We were blessed with the fine company of Dunton Bassett Folk Club musicians, of which Party George (Max and Lorna’s dad) is one. He’s been attending the weekly Leicestershire folk night for over 30 years, and long may he continue to do so. It was great to hang out with these excellent folk around the fire, have a few drinks and play a bunch of tunes. Heart warming stuff!”

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Triggers & Slips - What Do You Feed Your Darkness (Album).

Existing somewhere between country, folk, and roots rock, Triggers & Slips have been making music blurring the lines of genre for over a decade. Breaking these rules and proverbial boundaries has resulted in a fiercely-loyal following akin to other genre-benders like Lucero and Frank Turner in their hometown of Salt Lake City.  With their 2012 debut EP and two albums under their belt, the band is now set to share their most fully-formed and emotionally-mature work to date, What Do You Feed Your Darkness?

While the music is unabashedly honky-tonk in its origins – rife with pedal steel, twangy electric/acoustic guitar work, and lead singer/songwriter Morgan Snow’s country drawl that belies his roots as a sixth-generation Utah native – the songs themselves subvert classic country storylines of love, loss, and substance abuse by viewing them through a gritty, real-world lens. Snow has lived every line and every phrase within.

The emotional weight of the album is right there in the title — What Do You Feed Your Darkness? — a moniker borne from Snow's turning inward after a lifetime of battling his own demons, going through a divorce, and his experiences as a social worker in the mental health field.

"I've done my best to dance around it in my music," he says of his profession. "But I think I'm at that point where it's so much a part of my story and it comes through in my songwriting...it's hard to avoid. It's that moment of 'something's speaking to you in this realm; you should follow it.’

“I don't want to come across like I've got it all figured out," he adds, noting that his profession doesn't mean he's a perfect being. "I'm also a part of this journey we call life, and this record is a pretty good, honest snapshot of my struggles over the last five or six years."

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Photo by Ebba G Ågren

Mary Anne's Solar Rig - Summer Girl.

Rama Lama Records proudly welcomes long time favourites Mary Anne’s Polar Rig to the family! “MAPR” are a band we have followed since the debut single ‘Surfaced’ was released in 2018, a song we still regularly play on our gig nights. The debut album ‘Makes You Happy’ was released in 2021 and continued to build their signature style somewhere in between slacker rock and fuzz pop. Mary Anne’s Polar Rig are now back with the new single and video ‘Summer Girl’.

Mary Anne’s Polar Rig are a duo who’s a part of a new generation of bands from Malmö where noisy feedback loops and distorted solos are as important as cute melodies and dancy chord progressions. Paired with a careless attitude á la Pavement but with a more explosive sound and an extremely energetic live performance they create a unique combination of slacker rock and fuzz pop which is both catchy and cocky at the same time. Live they are joined by 3 more band members who adds extra depth to their sound.

In this melodic guitar inferno Mary Anne’s Polar Rig go on a cruise that will remind you of some classic 90’s bands like Weezer and The Breeders. In a leather racing suit Fast Malin Hofvander embodies the anti summer girl, sweating on the beach, while Filthy Harald Ingvarsson plays a dune-top-tapping-guitar-solo in uncomfortably tight clothing. This is a groovy rock banger served sunny side up and YOU are here to lean back and enjoy the ride.

‘Summer Girl’ is available to stream and download now via Swedish indie label Rama Lama Records (Melby, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes, Wy, Kindsight etc.) Mary Anne’s Polar Rig are “Fast” Malin Hofvander and “Filthy” Harald Ingvarsson.

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Ocean Valley - Home.

Australia’s beloved psychedelic surf rock outfit Ocean Alley have announced their upcoming fourth album Low Altitude Living, to be released independently on October 14. The band is also about to embark on their West Coast U.S. tour — earlier this year, Ocean Alley sold out nearly every venue along their eight-show tour of the Midwest and East Coast, including Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, Terminal West in Atlanta, and The Sinclair in Boston. The album announcement comes paired with their latest single “Home”, a profession of love for both people and place.

Opening the record with a feeling of warmth and familiarity, “Home” is soaked with bright tones and subtly adorned with twinkling keys. The song is a product of the band’s opportunity to slow down in 2020, with space to reconnect with themselves and the environment around them. Guitarist Mitch Galbraith explains, “We’ve felt more connected than ever to the people and places that are around us at home. Normally, we’d be spending most of our year away on tour, but we felt very lucky to spend the last two years with the people we love.”

While the six-piece could have rinsed & repeated the styles and sounds of their previous full-lengths – the ARIA Award-nominated Lonely Diamond (2020), their ARIA Gold-certified breakthrough Chiaroscuro (2018) and self-assured debut Lost Tropics (2016) – Low Altitude Living, produced by longtime collaborator Callum Howell, sees the band construct their broadest ranging sonic framework yet. As suggested by the diverse feels of previous singles “Touch Back Down” and “Deepest Darkness”, Ocean Alley cohesively honors the traditional features of their distinct sound while equally giving it a refreshing and exciting new edge. Mitch shares, “It’s no secret that we don’t want to repeat ourselves…there’s a constant sense of betterment, growth and exploration.”

Where in the past, Ocean Alley have cited the influence of ‘70s stalwarts such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, this new album sees the band explore their musicality through pure instinct. They experiment with sludgey ‘90s alt-rock on the reverb-laden “Changes”, they bring a side of bluesy slide guitar akin to the Commodores on cruisey ballad “Snake Eyes”, while the haunted and sensual “Parking Fines” would slot right into an Interpol record. Lach Galbraith (keys/vocals) shares, “Pushing each other to try new things, inside and outside of music, is really important for us to keep things fresh. Musically our songwriting has become more intricate as we explore new styles and techniques in recording.”

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Rowlette - Elron Gardy

Photo - Joanna O'Malley

Rowlette - Perfect.

“Perfect”, Rowlette’s third release of 2022, is a vulnerable and intimate folk-pop track. The song explores the relationship with one’s body and our tendency to chastise it, despite all the amazing things it enables us to do.

Nowadays we are bombarded with beauty ideals that are often unattainable. “I find it crazy that the beauty ideals we are being sold can be so contradictory. For example in Ireland and the UK we are sold fake tanning products and sunbeds, yet in parts of Asia they’re being sold skin whitening bleach and they’re covering up on the beach.” said Rowlette.

“I think it’s definitely something that most girls have gone through at some point, and presumably most guys too. Phases where you look at food as some kind of enemy, rather than nutrients that fuel your body. Or where you look in the mirror and all you can see are the things you want to change, rather than this incredible vessel that does so much for you.”

There’s plenty of statistics to back up the songwriter’s observation - with a large UK government study finding that “61% of adults and 66% of children feel negative about their body image most of the time” and several smaller scale irish studies describing similar findings.

The track is an acoustic pop-ballad produced by Dave Skelton and mastered by Aidan Foley. The singer’s distinctive vocals sit beautifully on top of her trademark acoustic guitar, alongside piano and some orchestral elements mixed with modern pop percussion and bass.

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Elron Gardy - Reflex and Movement.

Mysterious newcomer Elron Gardy has released his debut single "Reflex and Movement" and announces his debut live show, headlining Laylow in London on 10th November. Written and produced by Gardy, with the help of Luca Caruso (beabadoobie, Yellow Days, Orlando Weeks) on drums, the track stands as a spiralling, unsettling piece of indie rock and a compelling introduction to his world.

With influences ranging from Brian Wilson, The Flaming Lips and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, to Cape Verdean singer Cesária Évora and French composer Michel Legrand - Elron Gardy's sound is one that is near impossible to pin down - described by Gardy himself as "mystical genre hopping".

Speaking on the lyrical inspiration behind "Reflex and Movement", Elron Gardy said: “This song is about how mankind has convinced itself that it has surpassed evolution and that we are better, or at least above, all other things that live on our planet - when in reality we are simply just another species that roams it. By denying our animal instincts we have moved further towards an existence of rootlessness, loneliness and anxiety. With our lack of care for the things that gave us life, that life will inevitably, at some point, be taken from us. But perhaps without humans the world would be better off…”

"Reflex and Movement" signals more music to come from Elron Gardy in the near future. The project was in part inspired by the creator's struggles with Depersonalisation/Derealisation - a dissociative illness which makes one feel as if reality is crumbling around them. Removed from their body and emotions while everything they see seems fake and unreal while plagued with intrusive existential thoughts. It has been described as enlightenment’s evil brother but in reality, no truth is to be garnered from it - just fear.

During this illness, which has now largely retreated, the man behind Elron Gardy delved deep into mythology and nature, as both somehow provided relief. One day he heard the sound of the North American aquatic bird, the loon, and at that time it sounded like all of eternity in one call and prompted him to write a song with the loon as a prominent feature. Quickly more music and a full story appeared, within 3 months there were 20 songs and a feeling of hope within the chaos. So this project is one of longing and romance but also an empowering message of recovery and the beauty of existence.

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Elle Celeste - The Pleasures - Michelle & Jason Hannan feat. Howard Parker - Blunt Chunks - Futurebirds & Carl Broemel

Photo - Sebastian Buzzalino

Elle Celeste - Call On Me.

When Elle Celeste started playing music for public consumption in her early twenties, she wanted to make the most amount of noise and be as wild as possible—screaming her head off and slapping audience members in the face as she fronted an acid rock band. She considered it a good gig, as long as she could hold a note long enough that it felt like she was going to pass out.

A lot has changed since then for the resident of Calgary, Alberta. In 2014, she and her primary musical collaborator Kirill Telichev formed the band Copperhead, making self-described “21st Century folk music” that blended punk, ambient and electronic sounds with traditional elements. Over the course of making two well-received independent albums, and sharing stages with the likes of Art Bergmann, Elliott Brood, Lindi Ortega, Terra Lightfoot and The Strumbellas, Elle got exposed to the wider music world and where she envisioned her place within it.

It’s led to Elle Celeste’s debut solo album, Call On Me—released independently today—which builds on the foundation that Copperhead laid, taking it into more expansive musical territory while delving deeply into Elle’s personal experiences through its lyrics. Although Telichev still played a major role in the creation of Call On Me, it became a moment when Elle felt confident in taking full control, making fully fleshed-out demos and harnessing the full range of her unmistakable, smoky voice, which some may liken to Sharon Van Etten or Cat Power’s Chan Marshall.

Recording got fully underway in December 2019 at the National Music Centre in Calgary, overseen by Casey McMechan, better known as the Techno DJ/producer Tyrek. When lockdown restrictions halted their work in the studio, sessions continued remotely over the next 18 months, with Telichev eventually coming on board to co-produce several tracks and mix the end results. In spite of all of that, Call On Me is a stunningly cohesive collection that utilizes modern technology to fully express Elle’s unflinching songwriting.

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The Pleasures - Every Story Has Two Sides.

“Every Story Has Two Sides” is the hotly anticipated follow-up to The Pleasures’ barnstorming debut single “The Beginning of the End”.

As two of Australia’s most loved and respected country and Americana artists, the union between Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan was destined to turn heads - and “The Beginning of the End” certainly did that. Released in January of this year, it quickly lit up YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music, as well as scoring high rotation on Double J, ABC Country, ABC Local and iHeart Country. Add to that the support of CMT in Australia and the USA, and airplay on many programs in the UK, including shows across the BBC.

“Now it’s time for the next chapter”, says Lachlan of the new single. “Far from being a token duet, Every Story has Two Sides couldn’t exist without the both of us. It’s as much an argument as it is a song - filled with passion and desperation - when we sing this live it feels like we’re actually screaming at each other - and it felt like that in the studio too”.

The new release coincides with The Pleasures’ second short South Eastern tour, including a festival appearance at Dashville Skyline and live dates in Victoria and NSW. The band includes brilliant multi-instrumentalists Damian Cafarella and Brad Bergen on bass and drums, respectively.

"It's very exciting to be releasing another taste of this raucous project and to be hitting the road with the band again”,says Catherine. “Every bit of this record screams heartbreak and sticky pub floors and this next single is no exception to that!”

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Michelle & Jason Hannan - Wastelands (feat. Howard Parker).

“’Wastelands’ is a song I wrote that compares the end of a long relationship with being trapped out in the badlands. I wanted to write something with a dark feel that would introduce the concept of the album, which mostly features songs from the darker side of life. Howard Parker’s pedal steel and dobro set the mood and Michelle just sings it to perfection,” says Jason Hannan, the song’s composer.

Besides Michelle (vocals), Jason (guitars, bass, mandolin, drums, vocals) and Howard (pedal steel, dobro), “Wastelands” features the talents of Patuxent Records recording artist Shannon Bielski on fiddle. Both the single and the upcoming album are produced by Jason Hannan and Howard Parker.

Michelle & Jason’s last album, Cheater’s Waltz, met with critical acclaim and was included on many country/Americana publications’ “best of” lists for 2021. As with Cheater’s Waltz, Michelle & Jason’s new album Out There in the Dark will feature the talents of Howard Parker on pedal steel guitar, dobro, and vocals.

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Blunt Chunks - Wasted.

The Toronto-based project, Blunt Chunks, helmed by Caitlin Woelfle-O'Brien (of Jaunt) has today returned with her new single, "Wasted" which is out now as part of the Fire Talk Records Open Tab series. The new track follows the self-titled EP which was released in May via Telephone Explosion Records and found widespread acclaim.

The new single, "Wasted" finds Woefle-O'Brien – who collaborates with the likes of Scott Hardware and members of The Weather Station, Broken Social Scene and Luna Li as part of Blunt Chunks – wrapping forlorn piano around gentle, atmospheric percussion, melding this with her celestial vocals. She once again taps into her unique blend of spacious, psychedelic country to explore deep emotions and balance the light with the dark. Speaking about the track that comes produced by David Plowman (The OBGMs, Islands), Caitlin says:

"This was really fun and intense to do. I got together with my producers and a few good friends who are wicked musicians and we put this song together in a few days. It was different from the way we recorded the EP, which took more or less two years. David Plowman pulled not one, but TWO all-nighters because he had to catch a flight and needed to finish the song beforehand. Honestly, the last couple of days recording this song were hectic but I trusted in the process and David’s perfectionism. We had a few revisions and just kind of did the best we could in the minimal time we had. I think it turned out beautifully and also reminiscent of some 90’s songs I love, it’s giving Mazzy Star vibes a little bit."

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Futurebirds & Carl Broemel -  Bloomin Too (E.P).

Indie rock band, Futurebirds, have teamed up with guitarist/producer Carl Broemel from My Morning Jacket to create a new EP, Bloomin’ Too. Bloomin’ Too follows the releases of “Buffet Days”, “Sinz & Frenz”, and features the brand new track, “St. Teresa”.

Along with the EP release, today the Futurebirds announce the forthcoming release of the Bloomin' LP, a compilation of the two Bloomin' EPs into a full-length vinyl album. Delivered on heavyweight vinyl, the limited edition LP is expected to hit stores May 26, 2023.

Recorded at the legendary Ronnie’s Place in Nashville, two worlds collided building a sincere kinship and solidarity. Futurebirds’ Carter King says, “Carl is really in tune with what the band is and what it strives to be. He’s engaged and understands our vision…And it’s great to be able to defer to someone you respect so much with creative decisions in the studio…”

“Buffet Days”, “Sinz & Frenz”, and “St. Teresa” are all part of the seven-track collection which sets the tone and meaning. The EP in itself is “a vortex of sonic textures”, says writer Garret K. Woodward. He goes on to say that this, “album ricochets from cosmic space, rock to rough around the edges, alt-country dreamscapes, sandy beach bum odes to kick in your step pop ballads — all signature tones and musical avenues at the core of the Birds' wide musical palette.”

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Dance Lessons - Luke Warm and the Cold Ones - Bad Hammer - Hunting - Julia Jade - Melissa Carper

Dance Lessons - Wet Batteries / I Like Lies.

London-based trio Dance Lessons share double A side single ‘Wet Batteries / ‘I Like Lies’, mixed by Andrew Maury (Lizzo, Shawn Mendes, Kimbra, Lewis Del Mar) in NYC.

Dance Lessons are a female fronted and produced band, made up of Ann, Tom and Nat. Blending alternative pop, electronica, disco, soul and jazz, the trio create their own genre that they’ve coined ‘Serrated Pop’. They create music for fans of the likes of Little Dragon, Porij, SAULT, and Jungle, whilst embracing influences from further afar with nods to icons such as Massive Attack, Bjork and Rosin Murphy.

Dance Lessons are the product of an actual dance-off between Tom and Ann at a house party back in 2019, after Tom took the crown with a slut drop, the pair got talking and established that they shared a love of disco, soul, jazz, alternative and pop. From this, Tom invited Ann along to the new project he was starting with long-time friend and collaborator, Nat and thus, Dance Lessons were born. Having released their first three, critically acclaimed singles during the midst of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the fear and uncertainty of releasing music during this time, threw all their inhibitions away, and encouraged the trio to focus on music they love. Their new double A side ‘Wet Batteries / I Like Lies’ is the product of this.

‘Wet Batteries’ is an upbeat, funky tune, with dreamy vocals and smooth saxophone backdropped by fierce electronics with an angsty riff reminiscent of Bjork’s ‘Army Of Me’. The track is a celebration of being carefree and holding onto your inner child. The single’s juxtaposition of high energy versus the ethereal lightness, opens questions to everything. “It's about keeping that Peter Pan personality alive” they add.

‘I Like Lies’ is a softer, soulful and more sensual single, with Ann’s enticing vocals at the forefront. Floating through on dreamy sax and electronics, this shimmery track is made up of attitude, embracing stroppy childishness within an adult context. It explores the idea that blissful ignorance might not offer much resolution but it can be healing in its own way, as Ann repeats “don’t speak the truth,” acknowledging that the heartbroken are better off unaware.

Dance Lessons · Wet Batteries / I Like Lies

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Luke Warm and the Cold Ones - Paradise Lost.

Luke Warm and The Cold Ones are sharing a nostalgic and reflective single, the alternative and folk rock inflected “Paradise Lost.” Written by lead singer Greg Chomut after visiting a friend he hadn’t seen in awhile, the song’s lyrics flowed out of him.

Emotive guitars, earnest vocals, and the violin skills of Dreamhouse Studios’ Kara MacKinlay create a melancholic overture which illustrates the importance of caring for what you have before it’s too late.

Luke Warm and The Cold Ones is a rock band based out of Thunder Bay, Ontario. As such, their music is reflective of the Northern experience of living ina small Canadian town.

The variety of influences which their five members bring to the band creates a sound that is familiar and new at the same time. Everything from punk to folk, metal, classic rock, and hip hop seamlessly blend into a refreshingly contemporary sound. Much of their music focuses on the more painful side of the human condition, but in a fun way that gets people moving and having a good time in a therapeutic manner.

Luke Warm · Paradise Lost

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Photo - Chris Filippini

Bad Hammer - Court Of Love.

Berlin-based shadow-pop newcomers Bad Hammer have announced that their debut album, End Of An Age, will be released on November 25th. Bad Hammer blends melancholic melodies with poignant guitar riffs, meandering along warm synth pads and subtly driving drum beats to dazzling effect. Thematically the songs that make up End of an Age are connected by referring to a state of being on hold, undetermined, between looking forwards and back, holding on to something and anticipating change.

Their new single, 'Court Of Love' is cocktail of punchy post–punk drums, cool synth waves and psychedelic guitar riffs. “Come on baby sue me right” sings Lisa Klinkhammer, summoning the courtroom as a stage for the end of a relationship.

On their new single, Bad Hammer says: “The song deals with a potential destructiveness and almost sportive hostility in and post relationships that finally end (in divorce), while the video takes a rather light-hearted perspective on the economics in the court of love."

The self-produced music video for 'Court of Love' depicts a day in the lives of 'Bad & Hammer', a successful divorce lawyer duo. Within the documentary style video out-dated TV ads for their services pop up, reminiscent of the aggressive 80s/90s TV ads by New York lawyer Jim “the hammer“ Shapiro.

Bad Hammer are Lisa Klinkhammer (synthesisers, vocals) and Johannes Badzura (guitar, drums, vocals). In 2019, they released their debut EP, Extended Play, and have been touring extensively throughout Europe ever since, opening for like-minded artists including Molly Nilson, Sean Nicholas Savage, Jaakko Eino Kalevi and more.

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Photo - Jessicka Yliruusi

Hunting - Piano Fire.

Indie-pop duo Hunting have announced their upcoming third album, You’ve Got Love (But It Even Tears You Apart), for a November 11 release via Nevado Music, sharing a first single from the record - a cover of the Sparklehorse song “Piano Fire,” in honor of what would have been Mark Linkous’ 60th birthday tomorrow.

Hunting have covered a Sparklehorse song on each of their albums. Discussing the inspiration to cover “Piano Fire”, Bradley noted, "I’ve always loved the Sparklehorse album ‘It’s a Wonderful Life'. It was given to me at a time when it was exactly what I was looking for sonically and emotionally. I find Mark's lyrics so interesting and surreal. Mark's mom actually got a message to us after hearing our cover of 'Gold Day', it was so incredible and heartbreaking. 'Piano Fire' is one of the more upbeat songs on that album and I thought it would be a perfect cover for us.”

On You’ve Got Love (But It Even Tears You Apart), Hunting reject the clichéd fairy tale ending and dive deep into all sides of love: the beautiful and the ugly. The duality of the record is perhaps best summarized on the track “Hit Me Jane,” when Ferguson sings, “go fuck yourself. Are we still in love?”

Bradley and Jessicka (who also releases electro-pop music under her own name) know a lot about the ups and downs of love given that they’ve been married for 10 years. On the balmy sounding “This Year,” we get a glimpse into their schedule during pandemic lockdowns - highlighted by day drinking in local parks - and the heart-eyed highs they’ve had together. But on the piano-pop duet “Hollywood Love Song,” the pair are upfront with the challenges of being in a long-term relationship and come together to sing, “love is trouble.”



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Julia Jade - unfaithful.

A queer-feminist singer-songwriter who has an opinion on everything. From LA to Boston to Nashville, Julia Jade has brought her penchant for introspective storytelling and songs of social conscience everywhere she’s gone. 

Jade creates quirky, piano-based indie pop with something for everyone— thought-provoking lyrics for the dreamers and witty/sarcastic one-liners for the skeptics. 

Her style is most notably equated to those of Dodie, Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, and Kate Nash. It is nearly impossible not to sing along to this suit-wearing femme who doesn’t take herself too seriously.

This is a gorgeous song with a timeless vibe, the video takes us back to the day's of Diners and enhances the 50's & early 60's feel of the song. The humour is subtle and works!

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Melissa Carper - Ain't A Day Goes By.

The amazing Melissa Carper has announced her forthcoming LP Ramblin' Soul, out on November 18 via Thirty Tigers, with the release of its first single and video this week, "Ain't A Day Goes By."

Of the track, written after the death of her beloved dog Betty in 2014, Melissa says, "This song is very emotional for me. It was difficult to go through my Dad's death, then my Mom's death only a year later, and really, in a sense, losing my younger brother to severe mental health issues that have changed his personality completely. Betty's death crushed me because she had been through it all with me. The grief just started pouring out at that point. I wrote ‘Ain't A Day Goes By’ within a year of her death, but could not sing it without crying until recently, so I haven’t performed it much in my shows. Now, it gets its rightful debut on Ramblin' Soul because it is a true soul song.”

In 2021, Melissa released her critically-acclaimed LP, Daddy’s Country Gold, which was lauded by NPR, Rolling Stone, No Depression, Wide Open Country, Folk Alley, and so many more. In 2020, she decided to relocate from Nashville to an Austin, Texas-area farm, trading her work on the farm for room and board in a tiny trailer, plus all the organic veggies and fresh air she could handle. She also found her muse again, resulting in Ramblin' Soul, full of soulful grooves and vintage R&B, mixed in with her signature old-school country and jazz stylings.  Her message is about joy and heartache, but also celebrates the simple things in life. In this turbulent time in history, a reminder that the world is still beautiful is always a good thing.

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Guise - Karen Harding - Derrero - Dear Misses - Quivers - Nervous Twitch

Guise - The Boy And The Thief.

Following the release of Guise’s debut album Youngest Daughter earlier this year, the folk fourtet are confirming its long-awaited release on vinyl today Friday (9 September). Commemorating the release, the band are delighted to present a new tour video for Youngest Daughter’s magnificent opening track: ‘The Boy & The Thief’.

A song that according to lead vocalist Jessica Guise “appeared like a snowball to the face”, so too does it burst from the blue with a supercharged sense of adventure.

With its lyrics delivered at a breathless pace, ‘The Boy & The Thief’ envelops the listener in a tale of love and luck that will resonate with anyone who has ever been waiting for their numbers to finally come up in the lottery that is life. As Jessica explains:

“Sometimes writing a song is like carving a sculpture or fishing by the side of a very still lake, but sometimes it’s just like being given a present that you have to unwrap really really quickly before it disappears. This was the latter; it started forming in my head on a long walk home one day and I had to run home to get it written before I forgot it. It’s about a friend of mine who was having no luck in love, and how we both consistently made terrible choices… The video is a tongue in cheek tour video aiming to capture the spirit of friendship, adventure and honesty that’s behind the band.”

From its spartan acoustic beginnings, to the galloping celtic thrum that soon overtakes; ‘The Boy & The Thief’ balances frenetic guitars with the finest of fiddle playing and makes for an exhilarating introduction to Guise’s accomplished debut album.

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Karen Harding - Drive Away.

Melbourne, Australian singer-songwriter, Karen Harding is halfway through the release of her 4 track debut EP, I’ve Got A Secret, releasing a track each month. Her third and latest single release from the EP, ‘Drive Away’ is released today Friday 9th September, 2022.

Written during the Melbourne, Australia Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, ‘Drive Away’ speaks to the desire to leave the mess, the difficulties and the current life experience behind and just escape.. or ‘Drive Away’.

“It is so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness and routines of life and sometimes we all experience days where it just seems so much easier to run away or escape the life we’ve created for ourselves. ‘Drive Away’ was written when I was experiencing this feeling. It was me, sitting with my guitar, daydreaming about the possibilities of getting away from my covid lockdown restraints.”

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.

Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based folk/pop singer-songwriter with a passion for sharing a relatable expression of human emotion and inner experience within her music. For Karen, music is a soul conversation, that allows the masks that we hide behind to fall away for a moment of sharing.. a moment of mutual understanding.. in a language that does not discriminate in any form.

KarenHarding · Drive Away

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Derrero - Morning Star.

Celebrated Welsh band Derrero continue an unstoppable 26-year trajectory with their new album Curvy Lines.

Recorded back in Nov 2021 the album sees Derrero exploring new ways of working to expand upon their sonic palette and distinctive use of cut and paste song writing. Many ideas were traded across the web and new material was rapidly realized during 4 days of marathon studio sessions.

Maintaining a resolutely DIY approach to music making Curvy Lines demonstrates a strident and confident band who remain steadfastly unafraid to swim against the tide and self-produce and self-release uncompromising music outside of the mainstream.

The members of Derrero all met at Falmouth Art college in 1993: after studies, they evolved in Brighton before settling in Newport, Wales. There they released their debut single Tiny Shoes on Size 8 Records in 1997 and also their debut LP later that same year after signing to Big Noise records in Cardiff.

Since the bands foundation Derrero have released 4 critically acclaimed albums and toured with the likes of Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Sebadoh and Granddaddy as well as collaborating on the film ‘Beautiful Mistake’ with John Cale.

Derrero · MORNING STAR

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Dear Misses - Don't Let Her Down.

After the successful release of the first single 'Leaving Town', the Swiss band Dear Misses follows up with the second single from their country concept album - and the story about the outlaw Frankie Trombone continues.

With "Don't Let Her Down" the five-piece band devotes itself entirely to the country rock of the late sixties; two-part lead vocals in the style of the Flying Burrito Brohers, a honky-tonk piano straight from the Southern speakeasy and a pedal steel guitar that sweetens Frankie's heartbreak with a little hope.

Because in the new single 'Don't Let Her Down', Frankie Trombone is on the run, alone in the wilderness with the cold wind blowing around his ears. Alone with his Colt and a bottle of Booze, he ponders his sins and mourns his lost love, whom he will probably never see again.

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Quivers - If Only.

 Quivers, of Melbourne, Australia, have been an underground cathartic jangle pop band for long enough now to last year prick up the ears of Pitchfork, NPR and R.E.M., but it’s with a new 7” before their first US tour that they finally release the bats out of a cave and the secrets out of the bottle. Both songs see Bella Quinlan take lead vocals for the first time since the band’s full re-imagining of R.E.M.’s Out of Time (endorsed by the band themselves with fire emojis). Side A is a new original, ‘If Only’, and side B is a cover of Lucinda Williams’ mercurial ‘I Just Wanted To See You So Bad’.

All the best 45s slow down time and ask you to dance, so “If Only” is both darker and more danceable than 2nd album Golden Doubt could ever be (Ba Da Bing, 2021). While the bass and drums burn, and arpeggiated guitars scatter, Bella sings about longing for someone at the wrong time. If only I could make you love me, before you move overseas, what a fucked up thing to want, love should just be. The song is all if onlys, pushes and pulls, a song messed up by other songs about love. Bella says “it felt good to make a 7” which is a pop song but a really confused one, where every line goes back and forth between different feelings - more like love is in reality.” Don’t let it get into your lungs, she sings as the song lets too much into its lungs and just coughs up more guitars and tape loops. When recording "If Only" the band tried to imagine “being on a festival before Joan Jett, The Motels, and The Breeders and everything goes quiet and Quivers just has to deliver something.”

The recording of “If Only” is in a more minimal direction for Quivers, recorded in sessions for an upcoming 3rd album in Melbourne/Naarm again with producer Matt Redlich (The Paper Kites, Ball Park Music). Drummer Holly says, “once we found a pocket together on this song we wanted it to be a short song that feels long and big, where the more space you leave the bigger it gets.  It felt really right to sing alongside Bella, to hear her sing let romance rot all while sounding so into someone.”

The Lucinda Williams cover on side B quickens the pace and speeds time back up. Live, it kicks ass. The song was chosen for a cover according to Bella because “we all love lucinda Williams - there’s something very special about her honest lyrics and that pared-back, relaxed drawl. She’s really one of a kind! In my old Subaru Forester ‘World Without Tears’ was the only CD I had in it for the longest time, and we used to play it on our road trips to gigs. When the car died on a freeway and had to get junked for good, the CD went along with it. We chose “I Just Wanted To See You So Bad” to cover because we think it’s a hidden gem from her, and it felt so good to have a bit of a shouted call and response.”

It is a song that is certain about love. It is the rush of feelings as you drive that car in the middle of the night because you just want to see someone so bad. These two songs together show that Quivers want to drive in the middle of the night too, and after the “earnest earworms” (NPR) and “effortlessly tuneful jangle pop” (Pitchfork) of second album Golden Doubt what’s up ahead for the band might really surprise you. Grief and loss are hopefully in the rear mirror, and all kinds of other monsters real and imagined are up ahead. Bats everywhere. Tape loops in the sky.

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Nervous Twitch - History of the Wild West.

The 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 their third single / video "History of the Wild West."

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.

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