Sunglasses For Jaws - Miesha & The Spanks - Mara Simpson

Sunglasses For Jaws - What Does It Look Like.

London based outfit Sunglasses For Jaws today release their new single "What Does It Look Like" - the third track to be shared from upcoming album Everybody's Made Of Bones, out June 3rd via Pony Recordings. Widescreen, psych-rock with a penchant for the dramatic, David Bardon and Oscar Robertson along with recently recruited vocalist Oliver Huband recorded Everybody's Made Of Bones at Sean Ono Lennon's studio in upstate New York.

Produced by Lennon's partner Charlotte Kemp Muhl and mixed by Elliot Heinrich (Temples, Sorry, Parquet Courts) - the album examines the story and struggles of Huband's character 'Frank', with Huband's hushed singing and spoken word narratives impeccably delivered across the sprawling, kaleidoscopic instrumentals. A cacophony of horns, driving guitars and lilting xylophone runs, new single "What Does It Look Like" provides a cinematic insight into the band's new album.

Speaking on the new single, Huband said: "We ask questions for the purpose of getting answers, and if your question remains unanswered, you’ll just keep asking the question. Over and over. And we, humans, love to ask questions as much as we like to find answers. ‘What does it look like’ is a broad, vague, all-encompassing question that has a million different answers. Everything can be everything, anything can be anything. It’s a question that speeds into the highway eternally, picking up information and passengers and ideas and thoughts along the way. It’s everything that appears on your tv screen, on billboards, in your dreams, behind your eyes, the incessant overload of visual and psychological stimuli. It’s the coke can and the wet soil, and everything in between. Don’t try and answer this particular question. Trust me. The pursuit is a hell of a lot more fulfilling than the destination."

Sunglasses For Jaws at its core is the project of drummer and bassist Oscar Robertson and David Bardon. A rhythm section session pair, touring the world together playing for acts including Sinead O'Brien, Geowulf, Nick Waterhouse, Yak and This Is The Deep - the creative duo explain: "Sunglasses For Jaws is our vessel to experiment and make any kind of music we want to. This time we've given it a lot more intention and thought, and we wanted to create an entire little world.”

Adding more context to the full project, the trio added: "Everyone has versions of themselves – exteriors, barriers, walls, personalities, facades, fronts and so on. They separate people and make them unique. But everyone is made of blood, bone and skin. And bone is the most breakable. The hardest. The weakest. The softest. The most beautiful, smoothest component of the body, holding the entire artifice together. And whatever experience you live or embody, it’s your bones that get the beast in motion. This record is about the different experiences lived. The various forms and iterations of a person – where they place themselves, who they exist with, how they behave, how they recover. Frank does all of these things throughout the record, taking on the personage of the narrator, the protagonist, the psyche and, to some extent, all three at the same time. He doesn’t fear jumping in at the deep end and allowing himself to really feel. He feels so much that he feels in in his bones. When we get wet, we get soaked to the bone. When we feel adrenaline, we feel it in our bones. And when we write music and lyrics and throw art and romance and human complexity into the world… we do it with our bones."

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Miesha & The Spanks - Singles (E.P).

Miesha & The Spanks offer a dynamic mixture of punk, garage and hard rock embellished with straightforward lyrics, gritty production and hard hitting performances. Inspired by proto punk classics like The Runaways, MC5 and The Stooges, and 90s riot grrrl/grunge like L7 and The Gits, M&TS conjure an energy that hits you in the face, throwing you into a world of killer riffs and sweaty gig venues.

Originally a punk rock kid from the East Kootenays, front-woman Miesha Louie started this project a decade ago after moving to big city Calgary, AB. She toured and released like crazy, building momentum and a reputation for her DIY approach, with any drummer up for the challenge. Joined by Sean Hamilton five years ago, he brought big Bonham style that’s intuitive like John Freese, always creating the right feel for the song.

Recorded in Brighton UK, their 2018 release Girls Girls Girls was produced by Danny Farrant of punk legends The Buzzcocks. The album reached #1 on Earshot!’s National Loud charts, and had singles hit #7 on CBC 3’s R3-30, and #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown. It received multiple adds on SiriusXM Canada, and was even given attention from Rodney Bingenheimer’s Sirius XM show in the US. At the YYC Music Awards, Girls Girls Girls brought home Rock Recording Of The Year and Single Of The Year (“Summer Love”), as well as securing Miesha as Female Artist Of The Year.

Girls Girls Girls saw Miesha & The Spanks on their second cover of Beatroute Magazine, and was accompanied by 30 dates across Canada, with festival appearances at Blizzard Music Fest (Rossland BC), Canadian Music Week (Toronto), Sled Island (Calgary), Rifflandia (Victoria BC), Halifax Pop Explosion (Halifax), Big Winter Classic (Calgary), The Great Escape (Brighton UK), FOCUS Wales (Wrexham UK), and Breakout West (Whitehorse YK).

Taking a brief hiatus while Miesha birthed twins, M&TS are back with their next release, Singles EP. While the Covid-19 pandemic did slow down production, the duo have put their full weight behind first singles “Unstoppable” and “Wanna Feel Good” – a juggernaut garage rock banger and a gritty fuzzed out anthem, respectively – reminding us that sometimes head first, full throttle, is the only way to get it done. Both songs received adds to SiriusXM Canada’s CBC Radio 3 and Indigenous Peoples’ Radio, with features on The Verge and Rodney Bingenheimer Show. Wanna Feel Good charted Top 10 on the Indigenous Music Countdown.

What was meant to be a mixed tape of self-serving, standalone tracks for radio and licensing, Singles EP instead became a collection of songs influenced by the immediate life-changing effects of life during lockdown. Working with Western Canadian Music Award winning artist/producer Leeroy Stagger was meant to reign in Miesha & The Spanks, to clean up the noise for crisp, polished songs – but visited from the ghost of punk rock past, Stagger instead turned it up (way up) and imbued their crunchy mono-guitar sound with extra doses of fuzz and feedback, guaranteed to get the blood pumping.

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Mara Simpson - Reason.

UK multiinstrumentalist and story-teller Mara Simpson has shared new single ‘Reason’, a heady blend of alt-folk, analogue synth and classical composition. Serving as the first taste of her third studio album, ‘Reason’ is a tale of quiet rebellion and taking back control, a theme that is central to her upcoming release.

Whilst the struggles of 2020 will go down in history, for Mara it was 2019 that was the tough one.  A year spent consumed by worry, whilst in and out of hospital with her one-year-old daughter, had left Mara feeling like she was playing a constant game of catch up with a world that wouldn’t slow down. With songs ready to be recorded for her new album, she headed into the studio to record with her producer. “I stepped into the studio not needing my hand held, just my voice heard” explains Mara, who quickly came to the realisation that she was working in a toxic environment with a producer whose moods everyone had started to dread. “Ironically, at the end of a year spent managing my daughter’s breathing issues, I had an asthma attack induced by the studio’s hypoallergenic cat” she laughs. “Enough was enough.”

It was whilst waiting for a train that she had the sudden realisation that the album she was recording would never see the light of day. Struck by an overwhelming feeling of failure, Mara began to ruminate on the time and money she had wasted but then something clicked. “Perhaps it’s something about train stations, the coming and the going that allows one’s stagnating frame of mind the grace and space to clear” she says. “The funny thing is, upon realising failure, the despair I’d been feeling was now replaced with something else...Relief”.

Feeling re-energised, Mara called her dream producer Ellie Mason, of Voka Gentle, and together the pair began working on a new record. “I’ve been more hands on with this album than I’ve ever been, taking a much more active role in production. Through the whole process Ellie has heard my voice, and been open to any possibility” explains Mara. “We’ve stumbled across golden moments, recording four-part harmonies in Brighton’s oldest church, using every drum there is in Brighton Electric, layering New Zealand bird song with tape-delayed piano, all thanks to her nurture, playfulness and grace” she continues.

With her new material, Mara Simpson hopes to promote a gentle, yet radical shift toward kindness and it’s this warmth that can be both heard and felt across her new record. ‘Reason’ is available to stream and download now, with the new album to follow in Autumn 2021.

Mara Simpson music · Reason

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Fresh - James - Outronaut

Fresh - My Redemption Arc.

London DIY punks FRESH today share brand new track ‘My Redemption Arc’ and announce new five track EP ‘The Summer I Got Good at Guitar, out April 30th on Specialist Subject Records.

FRESH have worked tirelessly since their inception – touring with the likes of The Beths, PUP, Adult Mom and more, releasing two albums and amassing a devoted fanbase following appearances at Fest, Manchester Punk Festival and The Fest in Madrid amongst others. For a band that have existed for a relatively short period of time, the four-piece have already released a hefty catalogue of work – prolific, ever evolving and always fresh (in every sense of the word). The UK punk scene continues to suffer at the hands of Covid-19 and following a year of no live shows, ‘The Summer I Got Good at Guitar’ is here to remind us not only of what we’re missing but of what we’ve got to look forward to when FRESH can finally tour again.

My Redemption Arc’ and EP closer ‘Cry For Help’ were written back to back following a tour in Europe, each referencing a time when lead singer and principle songwriter Kathryn Woods felt alienated abroad. Featuring Phoebe and Sophie from Kathryn’s other band cheerbleederz on vocals, new single “’My Redemption Arc’ is a reflection on how your problems are still your problems, no matter where you are in the world and how far away from home you may be” she says. “I also reference an old friendship that ended suddenly, and how funny it is that you can still have deep attachments to somebody that you haven’t had contact with in years (“sometimes I still read things in your voice”).”

Lead single ‘Girl Clout’, which was released last month, is a musical embodiment of frustration and pure visceral anger. “I wrote it in two minutes and as soon as we jammed it out together, we knew that it felt right” says Woods. “Themes include power, not being taken seriously by male musicians and bands, and being tokenised. It’s also about seeing through performative male allyship, owning your space in punk music as a woman and venting your frustrations through good old-fashioned rock and roll.‘

FRESH have been an unwavering fixture within the UK punk scene since their first record in 2017. A joy to behold live, the band includes musical peer Myles McCabe of ME REX, while lead singer Kathryn Woods is a member of a number of heralded indie and punk bands, including cheerbleederz and ME REX alongside McCabe. With future plans to tour alongside a new album, FRESH show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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James - Beautiful Beaches.

Today, UK alternative band James announce the release of a brand-new track, taken from their forthcoming album All The Colours Of You. “Beautiful Beaches” is available now across all DSPs, with the album following on June 4, 2021.

A resident of Topanga Canyon for many years, Tim Booth wrote the lyrics of “Beautiful Beaches” in response to climate change migrations and the subsequent increasingly regular Californian fires bringing devastation to his community. It was inspired by a friend who lost his 'fire proof' home and had to flee for his life to the beaches and a recurring vision Tim had last year of earthquakes and fires in California - a vision which resulted in his family packing up and leaving the Canyon. ‘That life we left behind, we’re racing down to those beautiful beaches’.

“We love how this song is so uplifting, focusing on new beginnings,” Tim says. “I like the idea that many might not know the backstory and hear it as a post Covid holiday song! Praying that the lyrics don’t turn out prophetic."

“Beautiful Beaches” follows the title track and first single “All The Colours Of You”, released last month. It too is a personal account, tackling the Trump based Covid year and civil rights struggle head on.

James’ sixteenth studio album, All The Colours Of You was recorded in part before the Covid pandemic struck and is produced by the Grammy award-winning Jacknife Lee (U2, REM, Snow Patrol, The Killers). Matching the energy of the lyrics, Lee brought a fresh approach to James’ sound, working remotely from his studio with Booth (Lee’s Topanga Canyon neighbor) and liaising in a daisy chain with fellow band member Jim Glennie, reimagining their demos, and capturing the band in all their virtual glory.

The result is a record with the most fresh and festival ready tracks of their 39-year career, the sound of one of Britain’s best bands, deconstructed and reassembled by one of the world’s most renowned producers.

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Outronaut - World War Tour.

Led by guitarist/composer Steve Gerlach (Tommy Keene, John Cale, Plush) and featuring members of The Tossers and Sons Of The Silent Age, OUTRONAUT is largely an instrumental affair that leaves room for the imagination.

The third video from the Chicago quartet‘s latest album, Kill The Light, is an animated battle between good and evil set to an instrumental prog-surf epic. 

Emerging animator P-Chan, aka Phil Fujiwara, brings the villain - COVID 19 personified - and the healthcare hero together on top of the Statue of Liberty for a life-or-death showdown against a backdrop of blown-out band footage shot at Liars Club in Chicago. 

Think King Crimson doing a surf-noir soundtrack for survival.

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Shannon McNally - Bailey James - A.A. Triggs - Muca & La Marquise - Breena Rose

Shannon McNally - I've Always Been Crazy.

“I have always loved his defiantly existential but immediately accessible common man’s music and how it boogies,” says Shannon McNally of the man whose timeless music is the subject of her new album The Waylon Sessions, Waylon Jennings. Upon the album’s completion, McNally’s collection of tunes ended up being not so much a tribute as it is a recontextualization; a nuanced, feminine rendering of a catalog long considered a bastion of hetero-masculinity. “The world has changed a lot since these songs were first recorded,” says McNally. “I have never heard a woman sing any of them, but these tunes are poignant and relevant to me and to women in general right now.”  

With The Waylon Sessions, McNally set out to revisit the songs and spirit of Waylon Jennings, a legend with whom she’s always had an ongoing fascination. Over and over again, she manages to locate a smoldering intensity, a searing hurt buried deep within the music’s deceptively simple poetry, and she hones in on it with surgical precision on this new album, which features special guests like Jessi Colter, Buddy Miller, Rodney Crowell, and Lukas Nelson. “The world has changed a lot since these songs were first recorded,” says McNally. “I have never heard a woman sing any of them, but these tunes are poignant and relevant to me and to women in general right now. As a songwriter, bringing a song to its full potential so that a larger or different audience can connect is all I’ve ever cared about.”

McNally knew that assembling the right band would be essential to capturing Jennings’ mix of laid back charm and swaggering bravado, so she called AMA-winning guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams) to help her assemble a team that included drummer Derek Mixon (Chris Stapleton), pedal steel legend and longtime Jennings bandmate Fred Newell, Texas keyboard mainstay Bukka Allen (Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker), and bassist Chris Scruggs (Marty Stuart, Charlie Louvin). Working live and raw, they tracked sixteen songs in just five days, relying on instinct and intuition to guide their decisions at every turn. As brilliant as the band’s performances are, it’s McNally that breathes new life into the music here, tackling the tunes with an honesty and a maturity that transcends genre and gender. She doesn’t swap pronouns or couch her delivery with a wink; she simply plays it straight, singing her truth as a divorced single mother in her 40’s in all its beauty, pain, and power.

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Bailey James - Over You.

Teen country sensation Bailey James just released "Over You" as her latest single. Arriving in the wake of "Swore I Was Over It" and "Bitter," this uptempo rocker marks the prolific young songstress' third single of 2021. With incredible guitar riffs accompanied by a rhythmic, almost jazzy piano part, “Over You” is a true country rock hit. The high-energy intro sets the tone for the rest of the song. James rides its wave for the entirety of the track, never letting the beat falter or the music slow. The verses’ gorgeous harmonies showcase her unbelievable range. The 18-year-old’s old-school voice is smooth as whiskey.

“Over You” isn’t your typical country anthem about pickup trucks and dirt roads. It’s also not your typical breakup ballad with woe-was-me lyrics and gentle guitar. This is a feel-good anthem for the strong-willed and independent. The lyrics are about being able to leave an unworthy lover in the dust without needing to find a rebound. In the chorus, James cleverly asserts that anyone who thinks she “needs another lover to get under, to get over you” is “dead wrong.” No more crumpled-up tissues and running mascara –– this song will make you forget all about your ex and empower you to find strength within yourself instead.

You would be hard-pressed to find another 18-year-old with a resume like Bailey James'. With more than 200,000 followers across her social media channels, this breakout artist is stamping her name all over the music industry. With a Top 40 hit under her belt, well over a quarter of a million combined streams on Spotify alone, a golden ticket to Idol and many more noteworthy accolades, this PA native is only just getting started. She has appeared and performed at legendary venues such as the Bluebird Café, the Wildhorse Saloon and The Listening Room as well as at CMA Fest and on WSM-AM, the home of the Grand Ole Opry. She recently became involved with Song Suffragettes, the only all-female country music singer-songwriter weekly showcase in Nashville. 

Outside of her solo work, she is a member of the Highway Women, an all-female country group fronting a musical movement to support other women in country music and beyond. She has also followed in the footsteps of country music icons Rascal Flatts and the late Charlie Daniels by joining The Jason Foundation as their first national teen ambassador. This foundation is dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide by raising awareness through education and empowerment. She's partnered with them for numerous campaigns, including their current "Tennessee Won’t Be Silent" campaign, which calls attention to the silent epidemic of suicide. Bailey’s genuine love for music and helping others shines through in everything she does and only promises to grow stronger as she continues her musical journey.

Bailey James · Over You

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A.A. Triggs - The Florist And The Moon.

The second single for my A.A. Triggs project is out now. Check out “The Florist and The Moon” on any platform. 

"Coming from his humble beginnings as a street busker, the track is a relieving liberation to Triggs’ imaginative potential, pursuing music as a full time career after 20 years; “It felt scary, liberating and cathartic – it felt like a homecoming,” he shares.

The Florist and The Moon is, in essence, a lustful indie-folk track that will pull you into a distant longing for love, and a fantastically theatrical dream.

Triggs’ lyrics are saturated with harmonic, golden synths in a wonka-like fixture of violets and pale blues. All while his calming and abundantly grounding voice echoes in the breeze, similar to the tones of King Krule, with the longing of Tom Waits.

A.A. Triggs · The Florist And The Moon

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Muca & La Marquise - Cheap Red Wine.

Following their previous singles and having received coverage on Amazing Radio, Essentially Pop, A&R factory, Lost In The Manor, Home Cooking Share, Listen To Discover and Vally FM 98.5 (to name but a few). The latest addition to their growing discography is the single 'Cheap Red Wine’.

It’s a thoughtful and mellow ballad, building up to a big ending, reminding of a mix of Kate Bush and Foioanna Apple blended with Chris Isaack’s Wicked Games

The music is accompanied by a beautiful video animation by Kelly Emrich, who completely captured a women’s moment of sadness and thoughtfulness

“When I first started storyboarding and deciding on color palettes for the video, I knew that I wanted to convey the aching loneliness, anger, and resignation that the song evokes. My animations generally tend to be emotionally driven over having concrete plots, so I wanted to give this song a companion piece that delved into the despair of the song. The swirling abstractions reflect the increasing inebriation of the girl throughout the video as red wine is bought and then steadily consumed. The video and song finishes as the afternoon slips into dusk. Overall drawing and editing this video was a great process. I work with hand drawn frame by frame, so it was definitely laborious but also really fun to create.”

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Breena Rose - Back To The Memories.

From Breena - "I would like to share my latest release “Back to the Memories”, a song that tells the story of a relationship that took a twist."

I am a singer-songwriter originally from Denver Colorado creating music based on my own life and story.

Beyond that we do not know that much more about Breena beyond the fact that this is one gorgeous song to enjoy!

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Gillian Stone - Robinson Kirby - The Catenary Wires - The Highway Women - Ashley Monroe

Gillian Stone - Shelf.

Gillian Stone is a Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist whose work has been described as “a mix of Black Mountain, PJ Harvey and Weyes Blood” (PhotogMusic). Her songwriting draws from post-rock, art-rock, folk, minimalism, and ambience. Born and raised on Vancouver Island with Icelandic heritage, Stone channels the influence of outer landscapes in her inner lyrical worlds and soundscapes. Her music is often the product of processing her darkest emotions, particularly those related to shame, depression, addiction, self-doubt, and loss. She juxtaposes these themes with textures that range from tender to explosive in order to produce a singular sonic environment.

Stone’s debut release, “Bridges,” was described as “a dark and beautiful song; a song of many textures” (Monolith Cocktail) and “achingly vulnerable” (The Joy of Violent Movement). Her new single, “Shelf,” co-produced with experimental cellist Michael Peter Olsen (Arcade Fire, Haim, The Hidden Cameras), is a droning lullaby that explores feelings of alienation and dissociation after a trauma. The video for “Shelf” is Stone’s directorial debut, filmed in collaboration with Toronto filmmaker John M. Hall.

Stone holds a BFA in Jazz Studies from Vancouver Island University and an MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of Toronto. Her vocals and playing have been featured on projects by Alli Sunshine (FORCES), The Fern Tips (Beams, Ace of Wands), Völur (Blood Ceremony), and Althea Thauberger. She has performed in several notable festivals, including NXNE, Canadian Music Week, Open Ears Festival, In the Soil Arts Festival, and the Victoria International Jazz Festival.

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Robinson Kirby - Find a Way.

Breezy Canadian folk-rock duo Robinson Kirby are off to “Find A Way” when it comes to lost affections in this, their heartwarming love-quest of a new single and video. Freshly pressed from their 2021 seven-track album offering, Little Dreams, the rhythm section of “Find A Way” instills a sense of beautiful calm, reminiscent of a gentle stream while the satiny vocal tones send the listener floating through the song with a feeling of warming assurance.

The song features a graceful, echoey twang of the electric guitar, and its solo, along with the slide of the lap steel, tie the instrumentation together seamlessly. These elements combined create a serene audible flow that contrasts the turbulence surrounding the song’s theme based on the uncertainty of lasting love. Love may be blind, but we can always find our way through. These sentiments are suggested by the lyrics: ‘I don’t look at you the same, since we played the losing game, but I will try and find my way.’

With that in mind, “Find A Way” is a song about revelation, and what we uncover both about ourselves as well as our loved ones during times of uncertainty amidst emotional strife. The overall message is relatable, as those who have felt love dwindle in the past have oftentimes found themselves questioning who they are, what they could’ve done differently and, perhaps, making peace with the circumstance by accepting that their counterparts' hearts may no longer be aligned with mutual perception of love.

‘Lay me down beside what happened here, wasn’t my love bigger than your fear,’ brings about the suggestion that it may come time for one to accept that, despite their best efforts, the love given may not always be the saving grace we’d like it to be. When it comes to the single, as well as the Toronto-based band’s Little Dreams EP, Robinson Kirby describes the songs therein by saying, “They reflect a time of growth and change in our lives. Conceptually, the songs are about love, searching for connection, and finding your place in the world.”

The Little Dreams EP, which hosts the lead single, was written between studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and while living in Los Angeles. They cite their musical influence as being the spirit of singer-songwriters from the genre’s heyday in the 70s, but with a fresh, modern approach. Robinson Kirby consists of lead singer-songwriters, Luke Robinson (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Madelyn Kirby (vocal, guitar), as well as Jonathan Elyashiv (bass) and Ross Hodgkinson (drums, percussion). “Find A Way” is backed by the talents of Paul Phelan (lap steel) and Harrison Lenz (backing vocals).

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The Catenary Wires - The Overview Effect.

The new single "The Overview Effect" off the upcoming Catenary Wires album 'Birling Gap' has been released. I would try to string together some sentences to help sell this track/album/band, but I mean it's Rob & Amelia of Heavenly / Talulah Gosh / Swansea Sound / the list goes on. This single, this album, this band is pretty much indiepop essential listening. Indie pop comes of age.

The Catenary Wires feature Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey, once of Heavenly and Talulah Gosh. These early bands, once denigrated for being ‘fey’ or ’twee’: the wrong kind of female, have been re-evaluated in recent years. Their songs, apparently sweet and fizzy, were always smarter and darker than they seemed, while the band were radically independent, and an influential part of the movement that became riot grrrl.

In the Catenary Wires, Amelia and Rob are still in love with making pop songs with complex messages. This, their third, album is full of melody, and rich with backing vocal harmonies – but now the tunes are vehicles for startlingly honest adult concerns: the fractured relationships, anxieties, passions and politics of people who live on an island that’s turning in on itself. The Catenary Wires know that pop music is just as good at conveying dark, difficult emotions as it is at celebrating teenage love. The Go-Betweens and XTC proved that, and this record has comparable ambitions.

Birling Gap is a significant place. On the South Coast of England, it’s where steep chalk cliffs resist the rough seas of the English Channel. It’s where iconic images of England are created and re-created. A landscape beloved of patriots – the sturdy white cliffs standing proud and strong against the waves. It’s also a place where people, despondent and doomed, have thrown themselves off the cliffs. It’s where The Cure shot the Just Like Heaven video. It’s where romantic lovers go for passionate storm-tossed assignations. It’s where Shakespeare sent King Lear, blind and abandoned, hell-bent on self-destruction.

SKEP WAX · THE CATENARY WIRES - The Overview Effect

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The Highway Women - Dead Man Walking.

Female country supergroup the Highway Women have released the music video for their song "Dead Man Walking." A ginger, a brunette and a couple of blondes walk into a dilapidated backwoods barn. They just rolled up to the scene in a black Camaro, prepared to wreak vengeance upon an all-too-cliche cheater. With no signs of remorse, the Highway Women break away from their goody-two-shoes persona to ensure this unfaithful lover gets his just desserts.

Just like the single, the “Dead Man Walking” music video projects serious attitude, showcasing a previously unseen, rebellious, headstrong side of the band. Armed with a container of gasoline and flaming matches, Drew, Kristen, Jess and Bailey came dressed to kill. Their symbolically dark attire tells listeners that they mean business.

If the fuel dripping from the man's face didn’t make his gruesome fate clear enough, the video’s final scene certainly eliminates any doubt. It follows the Highway Women as they strut away from the building, which has been completely engulfed by flames. As this performance proves, these ladies have the capacity to set the country music world afire in much the same way. The track features rocker Erin Coburn (Guitar). Erin is a member of The Be a Highway Woman Collaborative launched by The Highway Women in 2020.

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Ashley Monroe - Groove.

The GRAMMY-nominated Nashville star Ashley Monroe released the official video for "Groove," the third song to be taken from her fifth studio album Rosegold out April 30 via Mountainrose Sparrow/Thirty Tigers. The new song follows the release of "'Til It Breaks" and "Drive."

"This one is the one I could listen to over and over," explains Monroe. "When Aaron Raitiere, Mikey Reaves and I wrote this, we knew it was cool. But I was hell bent on getting so many grooves in there that it was almost like a duet with me and the instruments. I had Chris Powell, Brian Allen and Zach Casebolt come in to give it so much groove, that no one could resist moving when they heard it. They slayed! I wrote this to all who like how they groove, and a tad to Nashville in the second verse. It is the 'don’t act like you don’t see me vibes.'"

Last month, Monroe spoke with Garden & Gun about the forthcoming album who said, "Monroe’s vocals shine through powerful harmonies, soaring choruses, and lyrics that blend vulnerability with vivid imagery and wordplay." Rosegold’s first single "Drive" was covered by Pitchfork, People, Stereogum, and Rolling Stone, who said, "The album’s lead single 'Drive' picks up where Sparrow left off and goes further, highlighting Monroe’s genre-hopping balladry with a trip-hop breakbeat, breathy falsetto, and murky electric guitar."

Written and recorded over the past two years, Rosegold finds Monroe pushing her sound in bold new directions, layering lush vocal harmonies atop dreamy, synthesized soundscapes and sensual, intoxicating beats. Rather than make demos of songs that appear on Rosegold, Monroe tracked and co-produced the album a-song-at-a-time, bringing ideas into writing sessions and inviting her collaborators — Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift, Lady A), Mikey Reaves (Maren Morris, Needtobreathe), Jake Mitchell (Ashley McBryde, Luke Bryan), Jordan Reynolds (Maddie & Tae, Dan + Shay), Ben West (Maddie & Tae, Lady A), and longtime producer/co-writer Tyler Cain (who co-wrote "Has Anybody Ever Told You" with Ashley) — to help build and produce full tracks in the studio. The record was mixed by engineer Gena Johnson (John Prine, Jason Isbell), who worked with Monroe to help make the disparate styles and production on the album cohere into a powerful, moving work.

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ViVA Trio - Dawn-Song - Big Little Lions - Vinok - The Lagoons - Moli

ViVA Trio - Siren Song.

Award-winning and Internationally acclaimed Canadian female vocal group ViVA Trio are set to summon audiences out to sea with this, their stunning new single, “Siren Song.” The three-piece’s two sopranos Anna Bateman and Katya Tchoubar, along with mezzo-soprano Erin Fisher, discovered a rare silver lining in the interruption of their international touring schedule due to COVID-19; the newly-freed up time meant they could create some new musical masterpieces to follow their breakthrough debut, Nothing Else Matters.

Telling the ancient sailor’s tale of the ‘Siren’s’ hypnotic voice and powerful lure, “Siren Song” instantly surrounds, haunting and hypnotizing from start to finish between its electronic mixing and multi-layered vocal mastery. “Anna naturally has the highest voice in the group,” Tchoubar shares and jokes of Bateman’s role as the song’s ‘siren.’ “We usually refer to her as the dolphin of the group!” “She’s not wrong!” Bateman laughs. “My voice is just happy there.”

Featuring the three artist’s signature powerful vocals, “Siren Song” serves as a preview for what’s to come with ViVA Trio — both with this single and their forthcoming sophomore and third release; currently being finessed in tandem, the two albums reveal a new yet familiar sound, style, and story for the Mississauga, Ontario-based group.

“Cinematic, electronic, ethereal, and dramatic are some of the words I would use to describe the sound we are creating for this next push of music,” Fisher shares of “Siren Song,” and beyond. “We’re pouring all of our creativity into these upcoming releases.” Set to feature full storylines, characters, costumes, elaborate makeup, hair and effects for their live shows, album art, and music videos, the theatrical overtones reflect each member’s professional background in opera and stage arts.

“It’s been a while since any of us have done character work on stage,” Tchoubar hints. “We’ll be leaning into our roots, and we look forward to revealing our hybrid show — blending a concert with mics with a staged show featuring a full plot line.”

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Dawn-Song - She Has Spoken.

Released physically via Ffynnone Records on the 28th of May, 'For Morgan', the beautiful debut album by Dawn-Song will be available on Limited Edition Vinyl and Compact Disc.

Come with us on an epic journey from Dark to Light, an extraordinary tale of total excess to finding ones inner calm, a musical time-capsule 'For Morgan' is an audio letter from Father to Son. Welshman Nick Evans originally from Penarth, South Wales found himself in the centre of London's consuming Music Business in the 90's. His Elemental Records a pioneering Label was home to Alabama 3, Rocket From The Crypt amounst others.

"I made an album of my songs with some wonderful collaborators over the last couple of years. When I’m gone I wanted to continue to be able to sing for my son Morgan if he needed me. My father published a small book of poetry before he died and if I’m missing him a lot I read a bit of it and I feel reconnected. I also wanted to make something my mother could enjoy. So the record is for Morgan" - Nick Evans AKA Dawn-Song

"When we were young We dreamed of creating a better future We Screamed, We Shouted We Loved, We Lost But We Lived Sometimes Together, Sometime Apart And Now I hear my friend talking from a future to his son I hear my friend imploring the world to do and to be better I hear the same song with a different sound I hear the Byrds, I hear Crass The shoutings gone, replaced with fragility and love I hear dawn Song" - Ffynnone Records

Nick Evans 34 · 03 She Has Spoken

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Big Little Lions - We Were Young.

Big Little Lions have been described as ‘a blissful marriage of new folk and sophisticated pop’. Prolific songwriting, infectious folk-pop style, and an offbeat, memorable live show. 

This award winning duo consists of Helen Austin and Paul Otten who, despite living thousands of miles apart, have found a way to connect and create music together. Despite being in two different countries, they have found common ground to share their message. Call it destiny, or call it fate, call it a necessary progression for these modern times. 

Helen lives in British Columbia, Canada and Paul lives in Cincinnati, OH. But the distance provides the necessity to create in a new way. Using technology as their ally and their differences as their strength. 

Their monthly single releases are their way of getting through this pandemic while all the usual album cyle release plans don’t make sense anymore. Their music is jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies, the sound of two people working side-by-side.

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Vinok - River.

VINOK is not just another indie-rock band, it’s a statement of authenticity and social change to create a new culture of justice in a land of unknown. Giving a voice for the marginalized and bluntly bringing to attention crucial problems of a global society is what the band is all about. Their topics range from disability rights to feminism, politics and religion. Vinok’s sound is an unusual mix of experimental rock and indie art-pop spiced with notes of garage punk, pulp grunge and even hip-hop.

The hints of a Wild West atmosphere are to symbolize everything the band stands for - an attempt to build freedom and hope in a harsh opportunistic world by challenging the establishment. VINOK provides fresh, powerful and insightful music with deep syncopated rhythms, haunting lyrics, soaring powerful vocals and a molotov cocktail in the face of evil.

Co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist Nathalie has practiced as a mental health professional and expressive arts therapist working extensively with people who witnessed a wide array of abuse and neglect. As a journalist, VINOK’s co-founder and drummer Ilya has witnessed the atrocities executed by authoritarian and corrupt regimes in Eastern Europe and the sheer poverty that resulted from them. The band’s virtuoso bassist Anton comes from war-torn eastern Ukraine and says, “Music is my salvation”.

“river” is the namesake of a masterpiece written by American novelist Flannery O’Connor. Much of the symbolism within the song is in reference to her renowned story “River”. This song is about redemption and all of the pain that comes with it before one is truly set free.

“We have been inspired by much of Flannery O’Connor’s bold, truthful, gothic and often violent writing style,” said Nathalie, the lead vocalist of the band. “For example, our previous EP Wise Blood (hence the name being based on one of O’Connor’s novels) used a lot of similar symbolism”. “For some, river can be seen as a tragedy but for us it is definitely a story of redemption,” said the band’s drummer Ilya.

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The Lagoons - Sedated.

From The Lagoons - Our brand new single, "Sedated," is a reminder to enjoy not only the destination but the journey too.

"Sedated" has psychedelic, trippy elements you'll see reflected in our music video.

We wrote and recorded "Sedated" back in 2018, but felt it was darker than what you heard in last year's debut album, Midnight Afternoon.

The Lagoons are the musical project of Southern California-raised multi-instrumentalist brothers Ryan and Joey Selan. The duo writes, records, and produces music out of their home studio in Los Angeles.

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Moli - Insomnia.

Falling down the rabbit hole of social media and your own thoughts - a feeling we all know too well.

When the Belgian singer-songwriter Moli was failing to fall asleep in a hostel in London and fell down that rabbit hole, she ended up writing a song about it. With "Insomnia", she deals with feeling stressed out, not being able to sleep and sleep paralysis.

She says: "I wrote Insomnia while I was in London. At the time I was staying in a youth hostel. Always a bit of a hit and miss. I was very used to it as I nearly always stayed in hostels on writing trips and had had some great experiences but some not so great. This one particular night, I had been assigned a shared dorm on the ground floor and my bed was on the top bunk situated right next to the window where this one bright light shined directly onto my bed in my face. It was summer, the room was super hot so we also needed to keep the window open and people were being super noizy outside, I couldn't sleep at all. 

I was lying there tossing and turning all night and anxiety creped up on me. I spent a while on my phone going through the news and social media and that stressed me out even more. I went down a rabbit hole of thoughts about life, had a little existential crisis. I was in the studio the next few days and felt inspired by that experience among other sleepless nights and the nights where I have sleep paralysis to write Insomnia." "Insomnia" is part of Moli's recently released mini-album, Préface.

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