Posts

Carta - Granfalloon - Ben Catley - Port Cities

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Carta - Madeira. Background - Saint Marie Records is honored to release the fourth album from San Francisco Bay Area collective Carta. The evocativetitled The Sand Collector’s Dream is everything music should be in 2017—completely original and soaked in a despair that is both absolute and yet somehow uplifting. Dreampop/ambient outfit Carta was born in 2002 as a bedroom recording project by Kyle Monday, Jason Perez, and a revolving cast of San Francisco musicians. The Sand Collector's Dream is their fourth record. An album of vast stylistic breadth, the band’s description of their sound as ‘paranoid inner-vacuum micro-dub and ruminative post-space hypno-drone’ still doesn’t convey it. Just say it’s the missing link between Another Green World and Young Marble Giants. Songs of water & ghosts, what the band so eloquently refers to as 'the eternal internal struggle', they trace a journey from entanglement to solitude, from optimism to defeat. Carta functions as a

Ryan Joseph Anderson - Belle Game - The Karpinka Brothers

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Ryan Joseph Anderson - City of Vines. Background - Chicago singer, songwriter and band leader Ryan Joseph Anderson has followed up his acclaimed 2014 debut, The Weaver’s Broom, with the stunning City of Vines, which has just been released on vinyl, CD and for digital download. Ryan Joseph Anderson’s solo career began in April 2014 with the release of his debut album, The Weaver’s Broom. The album, engineered and co-produced by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hooray for the Riff Raff), was hailed as one of the best Americana records of the year. Songs from The Weaver’s Broom made "best of" lists at Daytrotter and Songpickr and were featured at Paste and Magnet. American Songwriter said that Anderson "evokes the open-tunings of Nick Drake as well as the barroom howl of Tom Waits."  Before going solo, Anderson was known as the bandleader and songwriter for the beloved Chicago roots outfit Go Long Mule, as a guitar slinger for garage rockers Rambos, and as a produ

Sc Mira - Common Holly - Satellite Mode

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Sc Mira - Mexico. Background - ‘Mexico’ is the new single from the forthcoming ‘Keep Crawling’ EP. Sc Mira formed in 2013 when singer-songwriter Sadye Cage met lead guitarist Ty Vega and the duo began playing acoustic gigs in their home town of Winnipeg, Canada. However, coffee shops and open mic nights barely scratched their creative itch, and it wasn’t long before they found themselves enlisting additional musicians to play live and in the studio with them; and so their 2015 debut, 'Waiting Room Baby', was born.  Produced by Vega and mixed by Montréal legend Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat), the critically auded six-song album found its way onto several best of year-end lists in Canada and was a record that,  according to Noisey, “will give you the bad feels in a good way.” Now, two years after Sc Mira discovered their darkness, the band is back with a new collection of songs, beginning with the aptly titled 'Keep Crawling' EP, from which ‘Mexico’ i

Smoke Rings - Majken - Ian Randall Thornton - The Max Tribe

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Smoke Rings - Happiness. Background - Yearning for a slice of 'Happiness' Melbourne five piece Smoke Rings plug-in with a bittersweet new single from their double A side 7" Go To Hell and a string of live dates.  Strengthening their penchant for writing incredibly well constructed melodies, 'Happiness' sees the band once again pay homage to 90s brit-pop in three minutes and thirty three seconds of clever instrumentation and cavalier lyrics. Recorded with producer extraordinaire Malcolm Besley (City Calm Down, The Creases), the band take a sonic leap forward from their debut self titled offering while retaining their signature melancholy.  Pricking ears with 2016 single 'Rose Coloured Glasses' from their debut EP, Smoke Rings achieved spins and praise from triple j's Richard Kingsmill and Dom Alessio. With an add to triple j's sister station Double J and love from key community radio stations nationwide, they've been solidifying a strong n

FAERS - Joey Sweeney & The Neon Grease - Prawn - Lunar Hand - Me for Queen - Freedom Baby

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FAERS - Last Of Our Kind. Background - FAERS’ latest single ‘Last Of Our Kind’ is a rousing reflection on the state of modern guitar music, an allegorical love story, and a clear nod to their childhood heroes The Maccabees. Written during a songwriting retreat to the welsh countryside, and recorded in Gothenburg with producer Anders Lagersford, ‘Last Of Our Kind’ is a shimmering example of the bold and brazen songwriting that inspires youngsters to pick up guitars and form bands in the first place. Steven Anderson-Howard’s rich vocals are bolstered by intensely atmospheric and colourful production as the song effortlessly mounts to a heady climax. ‘Last Of Our Kind’ is the sort of song that leaves a lasting impression in the hearts, minds, and ears of listeners long after it’s finished. It’s a clear and powerful indicator that there’s still life left in that old dog we call rock and roll. FAERS’ singer Steven Anderson-Howard met his future bandmates at his popular weekly indie nig

Mo Kenney - Macy Todd - The Vex - Norma - Bunny

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Mo Kenney - If You're Not Dead. Background - This is the year that Mo Kenney plugs in, quite literally. Known for her smooth vocals and fearless lyrics, the Canadian singer is back with her new album The Details, on September 29th, 2017. Mo has released two records with long-time producer and Canadian rock mentor Joel Plaskett since 2012. With her third album, Mo comes fully and completely into her own as an artist; she swaps her trademark acoustic guitar for a Fender Mustang, tracing her own strange, devastating, and ultimately hopeful trip through the trials and tribulations of booze-fuelled breakdowns, clouds of depression, and disintegrating relationships. On each of its 14 tracks, Mo unflinchingly confronts her annihilation and eventual redemption, leaving nothing out. The concept album is her most personal and cohesive work to date. Combining elements of bruising rock ’n’ roll, vivid psychedelia, and haunting, left-of-the-dial pop, Kenney navigates the darkest waters in

Lauran Hibberd - Year of October - Michael Malarkey - Soviet X-Ray Record Club - Kansas Smittys House Band

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Lauran Hibberd - Old Head Young Shoulders. Background - Lauran Hibberd’s low-key, beautifully arranged nu-folk single “Old Head Young Shoulders” seems to drift through eardrums and straight into the listeners’ souls. Innocent, soft and with more than a breeze of fresh air around it, it will warmly appeal to the fans of Lucy Rose, Laura Marling or Billie Marten. In ‘Old Head Young Shoulders’, this Isle of Wight based singer/songwriter manages to convey wisdom and talent well beyond her tender years. At just 19, Lauran is beautifully skewing her love of literature with her ethereal vocal and delicate guitar style.  If The Guardian’s Kitty Empire named Ben Howard ‘a surfing troubadour high on a new wave’, we’d like to hail Lauran Hibberd ‘a truthful spirit high on a low key nu-folk wave’. Why? With the hope this will encourage you to hear this 2:51min sonic window into this genuine teenage girl’s existence. Already supported by BBC Radio 1, BBC 6Music and Radio X, Lauran says: “T

The Sinking Feeling - Broken River

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The Sinking Feeling - One (EP). Background - The Sinking Feeling is testament to the fact that you can take crushing self-doubts and turn them into something else. With three totally unique personalities and backgrounds, the band converge on subjects of depression and loss. Each with their own trials, each member contributing to the unique dynamic that is proof that there is beauty and worth in every tribulation. Hailing from Glasgow (Scotland), the band has already put out four quality releases including a split tape with Nai Harvest. Their own brand of emo punk music has won them fans across the UK and a strong cult following in Glasgow. They’ve toured and supported with the likes of Mineral, Make Do and Mend, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), Tigers Jaw, Nai Harvest and many more modern emo stalwarts becoming the name on everyone’s lips in the scene. The Sinking Feeling recently finished recording 'One' with Bob Cooper (Nai Harvest, Self Defense Family, Brawler