Annabel Allum - Shadowlark

We are unashamedly fans of the music that Annabel Allum consistently creates and 'Alter To Alter' just reinforces that. This time we have a powerful alt rocker that is packed with genuine emotion and supported by a fabulous musical arrangement.

Leeds (England) three piece Shadowlark have shared their new single 'Bleed My Heart' where synths glide within an indie pop / rock style and the  atmospheric vocals develop into a dreamy chorus. 
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Annabel Allum - Alter To Alter.

Slacker-pop sensation Annabel Allum’s startling development continues to gather pace with the arrival of rousing new single Altar to Alter, taken from new EP Gravel Not The Grave, set for release 13th September via cult London label Killing Moon.

Swapping shows at local pubs in her hometown six nights a week for acclaimed performances around the world, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the rise of the emerging songwriter. Her glaring potential continues to show few boundaries, with the Guildford native’s fierce indie licks scrawled across an expanding punk repertoire of vital, snarling songs that resonate deeply throughout her growing fan base.

"Altar to Alter is my protest song, and I’m super proud of how it turned out”, Annabel revealed. “It’s all about saying what you mean to say and standing up for what you believe in. In my head there’s an altar in everyone’s mind where they go and choose what they wanna change, and how they’re gonna change it. Lyrically the song has a lot of religious themes running through, because we are our own religion and our own God. We forget to respect ourselves and our own powerful abilities to change things”.

Long marked out as one to watch, the swell of praise for Annabel Allum from all corners is resounding. Long-time championed by BBC Radio 1 (Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders), she’s hit the daytime playlist, performed a live session at the iconic Maida Vale studios and featured on their SXSW stage, a festival she’s now taken by storm twice. Other notable shows include a dream-come-true emotional performance at Reading festival, as well as The Great Escape & Live At Leeds; tours with Nadine Shah, Alex Lahey and Beth Ditto have been the perfect way to cut her teeth in the presence of esteemed artists with several more opportunities lined up this autumn.

Beyond music Annabel keeps a well maintained, genuine aesthetic – this has lead to deals with indie clothing companies Bastien Classics and Cheap Monday. She has also had acoustic tracks included in feature film Spaceship (BFI, BBC).

Altar to Alter is the third single taken from the punkster’s new six-track EP (pre-order here), set for release 13th September. Recorded with Adrian Hall (Goldfrapp, Anna Calvi, Du Blonde), it promises to be the most comprehensive example of her sound and style to date. In support of the release Annabel will be taking in various festivals as well as her own headline tour this autumn.

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Shadowlark - Bleed My Heart.

Leeds threepiece Shadowlark have announced new single Bleed My Heart which will be released on 15th August.

Forming in the halls of their local college in their hometown of Leeds, Shadowlark first introduced themselves in 2017 with debut single Do Your Worst. After gaining support from BBC 6 Music and Radio X, they secured a publishing deal with Warner Chappell, and over the last two years, have performed shows at the likes of Glastonbury and Live At Leeds, alongside support shows with George Ezra and Dylan Le Blanc.

Influenced by artists such as Portishead, War on Drugs and Bat For Lashes, Shadowlark are proud of their Northern roots and wear their hearts on their sleeves through their introspective and emotive alt-pop sound, which is a portrayal of real-life experiences and genuine everyday reality. As the band say; “we write real songs about real things that happen, and we play them to real people who care and will connect with them because these things happen to them too.”

Following on from last year’s single Hunger, new single Bleed My Heart, produced and mixed by long-term collaborator Dan Austin (Massive Attack, Biffy Clyro, Doves), continues the band’s ethereal and poignant sound. Opening delicately with atmospheric synths and rich yet haunting vocals, the song builds to a dramatic chorus, showcasing the significant meaning about the power of talking to one another in an upbeat and mesmerizing way. Lead singer Ellen says;

“Although this song was obviously originally written about a break-up, the message really is - talk.It's not always easy, but it always helps. Anything good takes time and work, don't be afraid to talk. ‘When trouble's never spoken, no questions ever asked, nothing comes of hoping, you've got to work to make things last.’ A lot of people can relate to that in different ways, I'm sure.”

Alongside Bleed My Heart, the band also have two standalone tracks featured on Take Us Home: Leeds United, an exclusive Amazon Prime documentary about Leeds United, which has been narrated by Russell Crowe and is released on Friday. They include The Way It Falls and a cover of Marching On Together. Ellen has also re-recorded the team’s official song, which is the first time it has featured a female vocal.


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North America - Seazoo - Llovers - The Achievers - The Jensens

North America have just released 'My Baby's No One's Girl' a melodic and earnest indie rock song that is lush and just so natural.

Seazoo share 'Throw It Up' a feisty indie pop / rock song with a message and bags of hooks along the way.

We featured 'Coming Loose from Llovers back in May and they return with 'Honestly' which is another gorgeous indie rocker.

The Achievers new song 'No One Remembers' is a refreshing  and refined roots and blues rock piece with notably fine musicianship, vocals and harmonies. 

From Australia we have The Jensens and their brand new album 'Hyacinth Haze' where these genre spanning musicians have created a splendid and varied collection of songs, and really are worth our full attention.
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North America - My Baby's No One's Girl.

East London quintet North America return with their latest offering ‘My Baby’s No One’s Girl’. Written, recorded, produced and released by the band themselves, My Baby’s No One’s Girl encapsulates North America’s infectious energy and charm with its soaring guitar work and lyrical poetics.

Narrated by frontman P.F. Phillip, the song is a candid letter of warning about a lover slipping through your fingers. Describing those intimate moments of a relationship they thought would never end, My Baby’s No One’s Girl is a realisation of being blinded by love as fond memories turn to bittersweet retrospect.

North America are a London based 5-piece creating viscerally energetic and introspective indie-rock that embodies the anthemic quality of their songwriting. Hailing from São Paulo and California, frontman P.F. Phillip met guitarists Gabe Coulter, Jack Rennie, bassist Sandro Giacometti and drummer Sam Roberts at the world famous Metropolis Studios before forming North America in 2017 over a refined appreciation of trashy American comedies and questionable pizza joints.

Fresh from their main stage support for The Lightning Seeds at Create Festival, North America head into the studio to record their debut EP offering.

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Seazoo - Throw It Up.

Welsh noisy indie-pop maestros Seazoo announce their return with swaggering new effort Throw It Up, the lead single from the band’s upcoming sophomore album set for release early next year.

Recorded at Big Jelly Studios with Mike Collins (Girl Ray, Pip Blom), the group’s second full-length effort demonstrates a fresh approach and follows critically acclaimed 2018 debut LP TRUNKS, shortlisted for The Welsh Music Prize alongside acts including Boy Azooga, Gwenno, Gruff Rhys and Manic Street Preachers.

Heavily influenced by the likes of Yo La Tengo, Courtney Barnett and Grandaddy, the rousing five-piece have enjoyed significant support throughout the tastemaker community and across the airwaves (BBC Radio 1, 6 Music), with their glowing reputation as an exceptional live act leading to appearances at SXSW, The Great Escape and Green Man and slots with IDLES, The Lovely Eggs and Circa Waves.

Discussing the release, frontman Ben Trow stated: “I see a lot of people rejecting aspects of modern life, like tech, tech platforms, even careers as a way of trying to improve happiness. Some people make extreme lifestyle changes, like moving into a forest, or selling-up and moving into a van. But I also see people getting rid of their smart phones or deleting their social media. So I guess the song’s about making the decision to reject something in an attempt to improve well-being”.

Produced by Ben Trow and Mike Collins, Seazoo’s Throw It Up is out 13th August and will be available via all platforms.

Live Dates (message for press passes)
25 Aug – Golden Lion, Wrexham
01 Sept – End Of The Road
20 Oct – Swn Festival, Cardiff

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Llovers - Honestly.

Further solidifying their fledgling status as one of the North East’s finest emerging acts, Teesside risers Llovers continue their ascent with glistening new effort Honestly, the second track taken from debut EP Things That I Don’t Understand, out 30th October via Think Tank? Records.

Layered with their trademark anthemic overtones, the quintet’s immense potential is demonstrated once more in their latest psych-pop infused single, and follows their thrilling slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend alongside Dylan Cartlidge, Slowthai and The Orielles earlier this summer.

Drawing widespread acclaim throughout the online community (NME, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Dork, Wonderland) and across the airwaves (BBC Radio, 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X) over the last 18 months with a series of early releases, the band have already demonstrated their swaggering live potential supporting acts including Sundara Karma, Dream Wife and VANT and will be heading out on the road this autumn to coincide with their debut EP release.

“Sonically the track is unlike anything we’ve done before”, reveals co-frontman Jack Brooks. “We’re always really excited to show people the breadth of what we can do and Honestly allows us to showcase another side to us that I think is really exciting. It’s about sharing a momentary connection with someone. I get so caught up in these moments myself and often find myself puzzled over how real these connections are, or whether they’re merely driven through circumstance, timing and enough delusion to allow these moments to manifest in a romanticised version of themselves”.

Produced by Chad Male (Cape Cub), Llovers’ Honestly is out 14th August via Think Tank? Records and will be available on all digital platforms.

Live Dates (message for press passes)
17 Aug – Hardwick Live Festival
13 Sept – The Georgian Theatre, Stockton

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The Achievers - No One Remembers.

Innovative Blues band The Achievers are set release their fantastic new album The Lost Arc this September 6th, have just released single No One Remembers.

The Achievers are one of the most talked about and critically new bands on the UK Blues and Roots music scene; with a reputation for innovation and originality, they prove that soul, groove and song craft still matter in the blues.

The bands brand of modern, secular ‘Dancefloor Gospel’ has catapulted them from near complete obscurity to rave reviews and big-stage appearances across Europe.

Following the success of their 2018 debut album, ‘Live at The SVA’ the UK Blues Federation have chosen The Achievers as finalists in this years 6th UK Blues Challenge, seemingly recognising the need to modernise and diversify the genre. With their infectious rhythms, joyful melodies and four-part harmonies The Achievers stand proudly as British Blues & Roots outliers.


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The Jensens - Hyacinth Haze (Album).

It's been over two years in the making, but it's finally here - The Jensens rise to the top with their heavily anticipated debut album Hyacinth Haze.

Having blasted through the cosmos with the effervescent 'Coma', peered through the psychedelic haze of 'Mt. Mura', all before settling down with some soothing sax lines on 'Four Chambers', The Jensens' have taken fans on a rollercoaster of sounds, emotions and sensations across the album's three releases.

The long awaited debut LP is the result of The Jensens locking themselves away in the studio, experimenting and recording for the better part of a year. Pushing the boundaries of their sound like never before, the seven-track album incorporates aspects of prog rock, disco and electronic to the group's signature indie rock sound, a mesmerising mix which keeps things refreshing from start to end.

"The songwriting is more complex, there's more mature lyrical themes and more experimental production too" guitarist and vocalist Nathan Kendall explains, "It was written and recorded during a time in our lives where we questioned everything we were doing, as musicians, as friends, as lovers, as human beings and as a band. The album is a relinquishing of the naivety of youth and an acceptance of reality and the world around you."

The quintet are still pinching themselves from their Splendour In The Grass debut, not to mention their wins at the prestigious QUBE Effect, taking home the 'Telstra Innovation' and 'JMC Best Original Song' awards the weeks prior. Prior singles 'Coma' and 'Mt. Mura' saw spins on triple j and triple j Unearthed, racking up over 30,000 streams between them, having landed in Apple Music's 'The New Rock' playlist along with Spotify's 'New Music Friday AU & NZ', 'Indie Arrivals' and 'Chords + Cardigans' playlists.

With two EP's already released, the youthful Everybody Talks (2016) and the melancholic Sexless (2017), The Jensens have since gone on to share the stage with the likes of The Vaccines, Last Dinosaurs, Spiderbait and Twin Peaks. Adept festival stage rockers too, The Jensens have performed at tastemaker events such as Splendour In The Grass, The Blurst of Times, Mountain Goat Valley Crawl, Valley Fiesta, Jungle Love, Grampians Music Festival.

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Wooden Arms - BATS - Laughed The Boy

Wooden Arms latest single 'Pillar Of Salt' was released on Monday. We have to go back to September 2017 for our previous feature of the band, however this is a gorgeous song and reminded me of just how they impressed us back then with their genre spanning music.

'Old Hitler' from Dublin band BATS heralds their first new album in seven years entitled 'Alter Nature'. The song is a potent and powerful rocker that exudes excitement and drama, the vocals are embedded deep in the mix and surface with atmosphere along the way, this really is imaginative and solid rock.

Just a month on since we shared 'Sun from Laughed The Boy we now have the pleasure of featuring the whole album from which that track was taken namely 'Change Of Scenery.' Their catchy indie rock is just so likable, it's fresh, creative and unpretentious with just a little edge to some songs to keep it intriguing. 
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Wooden Arms - Pillar Of Salt.

The new Wooden Arms single "Pillar of Salt" is out now! A previously unreleased song from the Tide era, it is being released in celebration of its five year anniversary. "Pillar of Salt" is available now on all major digital platforms.

Wooden Arms are a contemporary quintet from the UK that draw from alternative, classical, and trip-hop styles.

"Trick of the Light", their sophomore record due out Spring of 2017, marks a change in sonic texture from Wooden Arms' debut release, "Tide". The band's new sound is markedly more contemporary and heralds something of a departure from the classical chamber music styling of their debut. Infused with a greater use of rhythm and ethereal melodies, Wooden Arms' instrumentation has also grown to include more production and electronic elements - shaking off the shackles of ‘folk music’ pigeonholing, towards something newer, darker, more strange.

The band's evolution has not only shifted their sound - but also their composition process. Previously a solo writing process by classically trained pianist Alex Carson, the evolution of Wooden Arms' sound has transformed them into a writing trio between Alex Carson, Jeff Smith (Trumpet & Guitar) and Alex Mackenzie (Drums). Through this more collaborative style of writing the band has developed a more refined and richer sound.

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BATS - Old Hitler.

Dublin avant-rock 5-piece BATS have announced details of their first new album in 7 years, 'Alter Nature', and have shared the first single to be taken from the record, 'Old Hitler'.

Having formed in 2006, the band released their EP 'Cruel Sea Scientist' in 2007, their debut LP 'Red In Tooth & Claw', produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, in 2009 and ‘The Sleep Of Reason’ produced by These Arms Are Snakes’ Chris Common in 2012. Sporting their own brand of science inspired metal/post-hardcore and surprisingly danceable post-punk, the band have received critical acclaim from the likes of the Quietus, NME, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound and more.

With the forthcoming release of their third studio album ‘ALTER NATURE’, BATS seek to continue their ongoing quest of promoting science and reason while combating superstition and pseudoscience with blastable riffs and existential grooves. This evident on the new single 'Old Hitler', with the band explaining:

"Old Hitler was a legendary giant hammerhead shark, nicknamed by US naval officers in the midst of WWII. This song posits the question... what if Old Hitler showed up at the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945? What carnage would he have wrought? This question and many more answered on ALTER NATURE."

'ALTER NATURE' is a full-frontal attack to all of the senses. BATS incredibly idiosyncratic and cacophonous yet entirely rousing experimental noise-rock delves into intelligent and complex territory both lyrically and musically, but BATS understand that it need not exclude it from having a raw, rhythmic energy and a strong sense of melody.

This translates perfectly into their live shows and has seen the band earn plaudits and fans playing alongside the likes of The Locust, These Arms Are Snakes, The Jesus Lizard, Gang Gang Dance, Sebadoh and Chrome Hoof. BATS will also play this year's ArcTanGent festival with further live dates TBA.

7 years in the making, the band have purposefully set about honing and crafting these tracks with precision and dedication. If you’re lucky enough to have heard BATS before or have even seen them live, then this incredibly strong third effort should be instantly recognisable as a consummate and direct snapshot of the devastatingly efficient unit; let alone as another step towards wherever the band might take themselves. If you're still yet to hear them, then you could have picked no better space-time.


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Laughed The Boy - Change Of Scenery (Album).

Laughed The Boy's brand new album is now out and it's called, Change of Scenery.

For this LP, Laughed The Boy had to jump out of their comfort zone. The band went into the studio not knowing how the songs would sound and gave themselves enough time to play around with new ideas. There were a lot of firsts on this album, like the first time playing piano on their recordings and the first time they had someone record violin for them.

Laughed The Boy's previous album, Here is Fine, was recorded over three, straight sweaty days on a hot August weekend in 2016. Change of Scenery, on the other hand, was recorded over the course of a week that spanned from August to December of 2018.

It really let the songs breathe and gave the band time to reflect on what they were working on. There were many times where they went down a rabbit hole with producer Dylan Frankland. They were never really satisfied with an initial idea, they always wanted to see where else they could go. If something sounded too pretty, Dylan would step in and say it needs to sounds weirder or darker, and the group would know exactly what he meant.

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Codewalkers - The Blue Highways

Codewalkers brand new single 'Roadman' sees the bands eclectic mixture of rap, rock and reggae working beautifully, there is an instant hit of vital energy and a groove that is fabulously hypnotic.

The Blue Highways have released a video for 'He Worked' ahead of their debut E.P due out on the 23rd August. Already gaining recognition within the Americana community it has to be said that this song is a right little rocker that fires off hooks in all directions.
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Codewalkers - Roadman.

Cardiff's Codewalkers return with their brand new single 'Roadman'. After being selected for this years BBC Horizons project, figure headed by BBC Presenter Bethan Elfyn, Codewalkers find themselves with more momentum than ever.

Cardiff-based brothers: Producer, Ben Dabson and Guitarist, Dafydd Dabson, have been making noise together since before they could talk. Codewalkers was formed in 2016 when they recruited vocalist Seun Babatola to provide a message to their music. The trio were joined in 2018 by Bassist Chay Lockyer and Drummer Aled Lloyd.

Their music is a mix of rock, rap and reggae. Ambitious in scope and featuring a mix of live and electronic instruments, it moves from catchy reggae hooks to hip-hop grooves. Often drawing on his childhood experiences in Nigeria, lyricist Seun Babatola can cover serious issues in his writing - gender, violence, societal expectations - but the music is always full of life and energy. It makes you dance, it makes you think.

A few words about 'Roadman' by Seun - Codewalkers Lead Singer "Roadman’s based on the feelings of inadequacy we all have as we start off in our journey into independence, some later than others. It’s a fact that our society is increasingly expensive when you’re young or without resources. ‘Living in my mum’s basement’ is still something people get dissed for, when in fact it’s the only affordable option.

It also deals with the pressure to be more: more dangerous, more confident, more wealthy, etc. The image versus the reality. I remember being broke, living at home, still studying while everyone else seemed to be making money and climbing that corporate ladder, making waves in their respective fields. At the end of the track is the calm realisation that we are what we are. I am a Roadman. Not because I’m a gangster, not because I make paper. I’m a Roadman because I’m confident and competent and still too broke not to be chasing dreams on the street level."

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The Blue Highways - He Worked.

Formed in early 2018, London based four-piece The Blue Highways have already supported some of the biggest acts in the genre, including Iris Dement at the Sage Gateshead, and Bennett Wilson Poole on their first UK tour.

They now announce the release of their debut eponymous EP, due for release on August 23rd 2019.
A commanding live act with big vocals, close harmonies and narrative led songs; The Blue Highways are three brothers Callum Lury (Vocals / Rhythm Guitar); Theo Lury (Drums), & Jack Lury (Lead Guitar) and Bass guitarist Peter Dixon. The band were noticed early on by the Americana Music Association as ‘ones to watch’, before being offered showcase slots at Summertyne and AmericanaFest. Bob Harris and his team also took a keen interest, with the band recording a Under The Appletree session, whilst appearing on numerous stages for them both last year and over the year ahead.

The four-track EP combines songs of love and life with the first single He Worked questioning life choices, possible regrets and not always playing by the rules, whilst Matter Of Love, co-written with Dave Burn of Orphan Colours, follows the ending of a relationship, knowing it should end, but neither person having the guts. The EP effortlessly eases from biting guitars and bluesy pianos riffs to stripped back acoustic and pedal steel.

The band also appeared at numerous festivals over the past 18 months including Country2Country at the O2, Ramblin' Roots and Country in the Afternoon. They are also regulars on the London gigging circuit having recently played with Wildwood Kin, The Fargo Railroad Co, Speedbuggy USA and Matt Woods and the Natural Disasters.


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The Wedding Present - Louise Lemón - Sis - Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster

The Wedding Present have shared a taste of the re-recording of their 1989 album 'Tommy' with 'Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy! Titled 'Tommy 30' the re-work of this early compilation material feels like an upgrade, the experience, maturity and warmth adds so much more, as does the overall production. This is not a nostalgia trip, rather a recognition that The Wedding Present circa 2019 can reinterpret older songs and breathe new and relevant life into them and boy do they achieve that.

Louise Lemón has released a new single comprised of 'Almond Milk' and the B side an acoustic version of 'Not Enough'. Our fourth feature for Louise, her previously described death gospel has moved more towards psych rock without losing any of the atmosphere or originality that has consistently set her apart from her peers.

We have a new lyric video from Sis and the song 'Moon at the Peak' a gentle dreamy piece taken from their 'Gas Station Roses' album. It's a little genre defying, however it's also quite gorgeous.

Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster has a new album entitled 'Take Heart, Take Care' due for release at the end of this month and from which we have  'Educated Guesses' as a preview. His style of indie folk and notable vocals pretty much explain the huge number of streams the previous album received, this song suggests that trend will continue.
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The Wedding Present - Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy!

Brighton UK's The Wedding Present return with Tommy 30, a re-recording of their essential early tracks compilation Tommy on HHBTM Records (North America) - Scopitones (Europe).

George Best became The Wedding Present's first album in 1988. But Tommy, released one year later, was made up of the early songs from the singles and radio sessions that had catapulted them from being bedsit musicians into indie darlings: "Go Out And Get 'Em, Boy!" with its purposefully super-fast guitars, "You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends" an anthem for those long time Wedding Present fans, "My Favourite Dress" the only single in the collection that ended up on George Best, the classic, fraught tale of losing one's first love that perfectly played on the heart strings and began David Gedge's legacy of understanding everyone's heartbreak.

Tommy 30, a brand-new re-recording of Tommy, did not come about simply as a "follow on" to George Best 30. The band felt, during a Tommy 30th anniversary concert tour, that the songs had grown and evolved. Enter a more confident vocalist... an altogether growlier guitar. A bigger sound. The urgency of a 25-year-old Gedge is replaced with a charming vocalist with years of experience. Everything's warmer and, maybe, gentler... but in a satisfying way. It's like your old friends have come home to see you.

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Louise Lemón - Almond Milk / Not Enough.

Louise Lemón is releasing new single ‘Almond Milk’, the latest cut from her album A Broken Heart Is An Open Heart.

The Swedish artist pairs soulful vocals with the macabre undertones of Chelsea Wolfe and Lorde. Stark, reverberating guitars cut through forlorn lyrics as the song builds to its melancholic climax.

Louise tells us that ‘Almond Milk’ is about "not letting go of the thought that your love would last forever. A bittersweet feeling that I’d stay no matter what. Regardless of what happens and not being able to see that the love has run out."

Her latest full length is an album of psych-rock tinged pop that was produced and mixed alongside regular collaborator Randall Dunn (Chelsea Wolfe / Thurston Moore / Algiers) in Copenhagen and New York.

The album has been taken on the road with a European tour with Sólstafir (IS, several shows at Eurosonic ESNS (NL), a well-received Roadburn Festival appearance (NL) and a Scandinavian tour.


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Sis - Moon at the Peak.

Gas Station Roses, Sis’s second full-length album, is the Berkeley-based band’s devotional document of six months spent in the dream zone of the studio. Lovingly made, with earthen percussive elements, chance technique, inside a glimmering forest full of synths and guitars, the album reunited Sis for their most assertive musical statement yet.

It all started with a visit to Lark in the Morning, a legendary store full of percussion instruments in Berkeley. The band left with a gopichand, a one-stringed lute from Bangladesh, a huge African drum, and pan flutes. Meanwhile, singer  and multi-instrumentalist Jenny Gillespie Mason, also the founder of Native Cat Recordings (Meernaa, John Vanderslice, Luke Temple, Brijean)  was writing at home on an OP-1 synth and tenor guitar, and readying her sketches to bring to co-collaborators and husband and wife team Carly Bond (electric guitar, flutes, vocals) and Rob Shelton (synths, programming), both of the band Meernaa.

Originally envisioning a quieter acoustic album to complement the darkly swooning r ‘n b of their debut album Euphorbia (Native Cat Recordings 2018), once in the studio, the band started playing each other songs by other artists before getting to work on anything, such as “Shadows from Nowhere” by the obscure dream-pop 80s band Blue Gas, the feminist and funky album Raw Like Sushi by Neneh Cherry, and the anthemic weirdness of Toto. It seemed, rather than head towards quietude, the band was keen on recreating the dramatic, layered beauty, the dance-ready and big moments of 80s-era recordings. Unabashedly drawing from the well of that musical era’s emotional yet funky potency, you can hear Blue Nile, Grace Jones, Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel in the elegantly shifting soundscapes of the album.

A longtime solo artist, Mason did not intend to form a band. When she stepped into the studio with Bond and Shelton in 2017, who, by chance assignment, were her engineers for a solo project at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, she had no idea where the session would take her. Being a mother to a toddler and a baby at that point, Mason was unsure if she could fit music into her life again. But with Bond and Shelton, the recording process was so fun and unpredictable, and the undeniable lure of creating music together so strong, that any fear of balancing art with the raising of children was stamped out. The trio emerged from the studio a few months later as bandmates and co-producers, having completed their debut album, Euphorbia (Native Cat Recordings 2018).

Gas Station Roses’ songs travel through varying emotional states just like one going through one’s own life, but each song is marked by hopeful tenderness. There’s the grungy lust-driven rock of “Weathered Romeo,” the plaintive Japanese pop-influenced ballad to a suffering partner, “Moon at the Peak,”  the Afropop-tinged “Automatic Woman” with its message of defiance against misogyny, and the robust compassion of the final song, “Human Poses,” in which Mason sings “they’re roughin’ heaven up…turn it all off, I”m gonna turn it all off.” Going into the studio during a turbulent time on the Earth, turning it all off, gave Mason a therapeutic way to understand and cope with all that was happening politically, while trying to offer something beautiful back to the world. In her words, Gas Station Roses is about “desiring life so badly still as a grown-up, getting the joy and beauty in big gulps, but also recognizing its limitations, corruptions, and sadness, more than I ever would as a child. And in the face of that, choosing to smile and stay awake to the beauty around us.”


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Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster - Educated Guesses.

Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster's new album 'Take Heart, Take Care,' is due out August 30 on Big Legal Mess. The former Water Liars (14+ million streams on Spotify) indie-folk artist has earned raves from NY Times ad NPR and fans like Julien Baker and opening slots for Pedro the Lion but he's outdone himself on his sophomore record.

Musically, the Arkansasan's signatures are there: a sort of windswept soundscape; his vulnerable tenor; gorgeous melodies; and guitar figures that weave from Americana touchstones into unexpected indie rock territory. Lyrically, it's his most nuanced work to date; it's a result of finding a life with some balance in it.

Whereas much of his previous work explored darkness, there's a sense of curiosity on this album that's illuminating, examining different aspects of life (including darkness). As with his strongest work, it conjures humid Southern nights and kudzu-encased vistas but with unpredictable scenes and lines that cut to the core. I'm telling you: this is a great, great record.


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Bridal Party - Suggested Friends - Harry Heart

Bridal Party return just a couple of months after we first featured them, this time with 'Speak Easy' just ahead of their debut album release. Once again the bands art pop is beautifully melodic and imaginative, the albums looking good.

Indie rock band Suggested Friends share a music video for 'Cygnets' a deliciously melodic rocker and a slightly paranoid video.

Just a month after his first UK single 'Montaigne' Harry Heart is back with 'Work It Out'. Once again his vocals really impress, the alt rock arrangement adds further originality, the forthcoming Hands in the Hive EP, is out 6th September.
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Bridal Party - Speak Easy.

Victoria, BC art-pop quintet Bridal Party have always had the goal of making pop music they like. Now with the approaching release of debut full-length Too Much (due August 23rd on Kingfisher Bluez) the band find themselves at a critical moment: as songwriters and collaborators presenting their personal vision.

Principal lyricists Suzannah Raudaschl and Joseph Leroux formed Bridal Party with bassist and producer Lee Gauthier and drummer Adrian Heim in 2015. Jordan Clairmont joined on keys in 2017. Their initial EP release Hot Daze (2015) found chart success on college radio and some modest but promising support through placement on Bandcamp Weekly. Their second EP, Negative Space (2017) charted well and lead to six-figure streams of lead single Fruitless on Spotify. Beatroute (BC) magazine describes Bridal Party as “a perfect marriage of indie pop and soul.”

The band recorded Too Much over three separate week-long immersive studio visits in 2017 and 2018. This disparate recording process would ultimately undo and reform everything the band knew about their sound. A playful and unflinching lyrical voice was honed, drawing on themes of care and self-love as well as their sombre opposites. Each players’ particular handle on their instrument resonates without tuning out the chemistry of influence the members enjoy with one another.

The resultant record is a vibrant collection of songs of uncanny intimacy, thriving from experimentation in studio that remains honest to the band’s live set. Whether it’s the confessional lyricism and feathery textures of “When I’m Naked”, the plaintive riddle and bedlam of “Armour”, or the celebratory disco of the title track, Too Much shines a light on the band’s interior joys and terrors in equal measure.

A broad sonic landscape that shares territory with Crumb, U.S. Girls, and early work of The Cardigans, Too Much is due Friday, August 23rd, accompanied by a relentless tour schedule.

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Suggested Friends - Cygnets.

Suggested Friends are an indie rock quartet with a firm grounding in queer identity, fusing DIY punk roots with the interweaving guitars of 90s indie and a sometimes tongue-in-cheek take on the performative masculinity of 80s rock. There’s a tenderness to their songwriting, with lyrics reflecting on cultural malaise, trauma recovery and the banal absurdity of everyday life. Personal politics can come with an incisively dry sense of humour too.

Turtle Taxi is their second album and demonstrates just how far they’ve come from the raw, scuzzy sounds of their DIY debut; unrepentant in letting the pop hooks loose. The choruses are big, harmonies frequent, and guitar solos abound - this is a lush, textured leap forward. Suggested Friends are more confident, acknowledging emotional pain and exploring how this affective space elides with a more expansive sense of injustice in the world.

On "Pretty Soon Your Grave Will Be A Landfill" the earnestness and absurdity of gaslighting politicians is laid bare, through to the futility of naming social ills and not acting on them on "At Ease". The album’s title track, "Turtle Taxi", talks about the relationship between love as a labour and the focusing in on life as an opportunity for that to flourish in all directions – (‘teach ‘til I die, let this all pass by…’).

The quieter numbers on the record, such as "At Ease" or "Blooms", recall folkier inspiration such as The Weather Station and Hiss Golden Messenger, through to the alt-pop oddness of "Nilufer Yanya" and "Blood Orange". But for parallels as a socially conscious, high-energy and vulnerable punk pop band, think Martha or Charly Bliss - though they’d argue for that perfect sweet spot between Weezer and Abba!

Recorded in rural Norfolk over two separate sessions a year apart, album was able to flourish into a more collaborative effort, incorporating Faith’s wife Meghan on percussion and Sickroom Studio's Owen on trumpet - plus plenty of time to experiment with overdubs and piano flourishes to up that classic-rock vibe that simmers just under the surface.

Suggested Friends formed in late 2015 following a chance meeting at a gig between Christabel (drums) and Faith (guitar and vocals). They were soon joined by Jack on guitar, who had met Faith through an activist group in London. Mammoth Penguins’ Emma Kupa is the most recent addition on bass, having worked with Faith on a number of projects over the past four years.


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Harry Heart - Work It Out.

Still bathing in acclaim from the likes of BBC Radio 6, Amazing Radio and Record of the Day after the recent release of his last single Montaigne, Sydney via Walthamstow London artist Harry Heart shares the solemn and smooth-tongued new single Work It Out from his upcoming EP.

Earlier this year, Harry Heart was invited on his first ever UK headline tour, a total of 20 shows in just two weeks. The relentless tour-schedule proved to be worthwhile, resulting in BBC airplay and accumulating almost ​half a million streams across Spotify ​and​ Apple Music.

The second single to be released since Heart's foray into the UK is Work It Out, from the upcoming Hands in the Hive EP. Work It Out exudes indie-rock maturity with lyrical prowess, gritty guitar work, and a mix of urgency and poise in its delivery. Heart unpacks the origin of the song:

“I was listening to so much Otis Redding for a while there, I wanted to hear my take on Soul. That tempo’s a great platform for lyrics. The track talks about the strains of balancing ambitions with good relationships, trying to stay sane and keep problems at bay.”

After releasing the 2018 EP First Endorphin, Harry Heart toured Australia twice, and made his UK debut, while also performing at Australian Music Week and featuring on Apple's Best of the Week: Pop playlist.

Work It Out is just a taste of the forthcoming Hands in the Hive EP, out 6th September.

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Trace Decay - Darrin Bradbury - Winona Oak - Ted Z and The Wranglers

Trace Decay have released a very fine indie pop - rock song entitled 'Passivity', where their gliding vocals, smooth guitar work and layered synths make the most of this hook filled track.

From Darrin Bradbury we have 'Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs' the title track and one of eleven on the album. His lyrics are wry and so engaging and his delivery reminiscent of a younger John Prine on this sublime song, a real teaser if ever there was for an album.

Winona Oak  might be up in the millions in terms of song streams and hardly in need of our support but 'Break My Broken Heart' is just to good to miss out on, so we haven't.

Americana with a buzz was my first impression for Ted Z and The Wranglers and their new song 'Guests On Sunday Morning', it's also my second impression and that's good enough.
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Trace Decay - Passivity.

Arriving with their infectiously smooth sophomore single, Melbourne indie-poppers Trace Decay are anything but passive on their self reflective 'Passivity.'

Charming and brazen, Trace Decay’s infectious brand of melancholy pop is a unique blend of haunting spaces and melodic undertones. Expanding on their own brand of self proclaimed "slacker pop-rock", 'Passivity' delves into the regularities of routine, and the relatability of that constraint.

"It's a statement on how easy it is to fall into passive mode and how it can make one feel trapped in the humdrum pattern of day to day life. Passivity perfectly captures the inner workings of someone who has outgrown old patterns and seeks a new path," frontman Jordan De Pasquale explains.

Bursting onto the scene with their debut single ‘How Did it Come To This’, Trace Decay quickly gained attention with positive reviews on triple j Unearthed, a spin on triple j's Home & Hosed and praise from tastemaker Purple Sneakers. Combining sarcastic yet honest and heartfelt lyricism with their signature retro synths and catchy guitar hooks, Trace Decay's distinctive sound takes influence from acts like The Cure, Blur, The Magnetic Fields & Beach House.

Establishing themselves as formidable live performers, especially with the recent addition of their fourth live performance member, hometown fans at last night's single launch were lucky enough to catch a slew of unreleased tracks which ensure Trace Decay have plenty up their sleeves to keep things heating up right into Summer!

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Darrin Bradbury - Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs.

Like a more self-deprecating, decidedly morose John Prine, or perhaps a more jovial Guy Clark, New Jersey native Darrin Bradbury's songs are riddled with hilarious, obvious-once-you-hear-them observations on mundane everyday life.

The eleven songs on Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs, Bradbury's new release on ANTI- Records, leave listeners singing along with sometimes ridiculous, often dark, but instantly familiar tunes.

Produced by Kenneth Pattengale (The Milk Carton Kids), Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs is a collection of songs born from dealing with depression and the pressures of life in the only way Bradbury knows; by poking fun at it. "It's an album trying to combat depression, to laugh your way out of depression, and to be honest and accurate with that depression," Bradbury quips. "I try to write things that make me chuckle, and that chuckling is usually making peace with the existential dilemma of both the times and life in general."

With only one co-writer on the entire album-ANTI- label-mate, friend, and fellow esteemed Nashville musician, Jeremy Ivey-Bradbury's one-of-a-kind style is allowed to shine brilliantly, unobstructed by outside opinion. The tracking of Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs was completed in a similarly simple way; using the same combo of musicians for every song on the record. Aside from producer Pattengale's mellotron and vocal contributions and the aforementioned Ivey's bass and piano playing, only two extra musicians were called to round out the band; Alex Muñoz on additional guitars and Dillon Napier on drums. The only exception is the lone guest vocalist on the album, modern outlaw country queen and long-time supporter of Bradbury, Margo Price, who adds a sombre harmony to a track titled "The Trouble With Time."


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Winona Oak - Break My Broken Heart.

Swedish born, LA-based artist Winona Oak releases her new single “Break My Broken Heart” via Neon Gold Records / Atlantic Records. The single is accompanied by another stunning music video directed by Andreas Öhman  The song follows her runaway debut single “He Don’t Love Me”, which has amassed 6.5 million streams across all platforms to date.

Winona Oak about “Break My Broken Heart”: “You have to be brave to love someone with all your heart. But the biggest risk in life is to not take any risks at all. As long as we’re breathing, what’s one more scar?”

Born and raised in the Nordic forests of Sweden on a small crop of land called Sollerön - known as the Island of the Sun - Winona Oak is every bit as enchanting as her origin story. With a childhood spent encountering more animals than people, she grew up a trained horse acrobat and pursued creative expression however she could, writing poetry and songs from a young age. Born into a musical family, Winona sang throughout her youth and began playing violin at 5 years old and piano at 9 years.

After moving to Stockholm to pursue her passion for music, a leap of faith to attend Neon Gold Records’ writing retreat in the Nicaraguan jungle in 2017 led her to Australian electronic maestro What So Not. She would go on to co-write his next two singles "Better" and "Stuck In Orbit", eventually stepping into the spotlight as both the writer and featured artist on his 2018 single "Beautiful", which took home the 2019 AIR Award for Best Independent Dance Single at the Australian Independent Music Awards.

Last year, Winona Oak covered “Don’t Save Me” from fellow Neon Gold Records signees HAIM for the label’s 10 year anniversary compilation: NGX: Ten Years of Neon Gold. The minimal production allows Winona Oak’s ethereal voice to shine through, slower than the original and drenched in ethereal melancholy. Now signed to Neon Gold / Atlantic Records and published by Warner-Chappell, she closed out 2018 collaborating with The Chainsmokers on their viral hit single “Hope”, co-written by Winona and featuring her stunning lead vocals, and currently boasting 300 million streams across all platforms globally.


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Ted Z and The Wranglers - Guests On Sunday Morning.

The new single from Ted Z and The Wranglers, is entitled 'Guests on Sunday Morning' the track is a raucous Americana song highlighting twangy blues guitars, layered infused melodies and stomping percussion.

Ted Z and The Wranglers, of Southern California, deliver outlaw country-charged rock. Ted's catchy story-songs are fully-realized tales of love, regret, getting older and getting in trouble. The band stirs up it's Americana influences, featuring quick picking and bluesy slide guitar over galloping train beats and swinging shuffles.

The Wranglers are Collin Mclean (bass), Jackson Leverone (lead and slide guitar, vocals) and Jordan Lipp (drums). The band has honed it's sound on big stages and in biker bars alike. They get audiences dancing and bring them back for more.

Ted Z and The Wranglers were signed to Rip Cat Records in 2015. Their first label release, Ghost Train, was recorded at Yellow Dog Studios in Wimberley, TX and produced by Monty Byrom (Big House, Eddie Money). 2017 Winner Hard Rock Rising LA, Jam in The Van (2017) Headlined Sturgis Buffalo Chip (2018).

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/fyo͞oɡ/ - Kacy & Clayton - Maddee - Jay Elle - Michael Blakeman - Dominic Sen

Taken from there new Temp'rall Sho'gazing album we have a couple of songs from /fyo͞oɡ/ namely 'Better' and 'Blues After Hours'. The two tracks give a good feel for the whole, Katarina's vocals are exceptional and the musical arrangement polished, the compositions mixing Jazz and Blues and taking the material in differing directions is wonderful.

Kacy & Clayton return with a second song and video ahead of their album release, this time we have 'High Holiday' another genre spanning song which for convenience sake I will describe as up skilled Americana.

'Clouds' by Maddee is a gently paced soulful song with just a hint of the blues, her vocals are strikingly good, just right for this type of music.

Jay Elle brand of pop is refreshingly uncomplicated as witnessed by 'Sickly Sweet' a catchy and unpretentious piece that veers a little towards modern folk.

With some eighties synth rock vibes Michael Blakeman has shared 'Brazier To The Lake' a solid rocker with plenty of hooks throughout.

Finally today Dominic Sen has released a video for 'Hear Me, a song that is attempting to convey a deeper message whilst remaining a rather pleasing dance pop number.
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/fyo͞oɡ/ - Better / Blues After Hours.

There is a new album from New Orleans based Jazz/Blues duo “/fyo͞oɡ/” entitled “Temp'rall Sho'gazing”. The co-founders of fyo͞oɡ/ consists of Katarina Boudreaux and Sam Tepper who set out to create originals and perform music that grips the soul and imagination in the process. This release is comprised of 3 originals mixed with tastefully chosen cover tunes which are both experimental and sometimes unexpected.

Mainly falling in a more the old school Jazz and Blues tradition in song choices and original compositions, this album also touches occasionally into the funk territory and often times has a very gospel approach. Katrarina’s soulful and headstrong vocal style much like Billy Holliday or Ella Fitzgerald are nicely accompanied by Sam Tepper’s virtuoso blues/jazz playing on piano and keyboards that could be compared at times to the great Stevie Wonder.

"This is the first collaborative project I have embarked on. Sam walked in on a gig, and we've worked together ever since. The three originals are co-written, and it is the first album I have not played keys on (three previous studio albums)."

Katarina Boudreaux and Sam Tepper are the cofounders of /fyo͞oɡ/. New Orleans based, /fyo͞oɡ/ creates original music and covers music that grips the soul and imagination in the process. Katarina is a writer, dancer, teacher, and musician. Her novel "Platform Dwellers" is available from Owl Hollow Press. She is the current director of Noladancing. Sam Tepper is a genuine human being and virtuoso musician.



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Kacy & Clayton - High Holiday.

Kacy & Clayton will release Carrying On via New West Records on October 4th, 2019.  The 10-song set was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and recorded by Tom Schick at The Loft, Wilco’s recording studio & rehearsal space in Chicago, IL. Carrying On follows the international acclaim for their previous records Strange Country (which Q Magazine called “A beautiful album that nudges a classic past into a brave future”) and 2017’s The Siren’s Song (described by Uncut as “Ageless and beguiling. A classic record for this or any other time.”).

The Mike Trask directed video for the song “High Holiday” was released earlier this week.  The song features the legendary musician Charlie McCoy on bass harmonica who is well known for his contributions to infamous recordings by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Simon and Garfunkel, and more.  McCoy is also featured on "That Sweet Orchestra Sound," Carrying On's closing track.  Clayton has stated "I'd heard he was still doing sessions and got excited. One of my favorite things he's ever done was on Tom T. Hall's "In Search of a Song."

The music Kacy & Clayton make is inextricable from where they grew up. They sing about the kind of people you’d find in Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan (population very few). Their sound is equal parts homespun, coming from a family and community where playing music is an ever present part of social gatherings, and the rare country, blues, and English folk rock they obsess over and collect.  It’s an arresting amalgamation of psychedelic folk, English folk revival and the ancestral music of Southern Appalachia. For Carrying On, Clayton cites as influences: Bobbie Gentry’s Delta Sweete, Hoyt Axton’s My Griffin Is Gone, Cajun fiddle music, and the steel guitar of Ralph Mooney, who played on many of the records that defined the Bakersfield country music scene of the 1950s. Sixties psych has also woven its way into these new songs; Kacy enjoys telling people that they live 250km from the mental hospital that coined the term “psychedelic.”

Of Carrying On, Jeff Tweedy said "When I first heard Kacy and Clayton, I was struck by how much detail and nuance they had absorbed from what sounded like a large swath of my record collection. When I told them that they were as good as the artists they were drawing from, I’m not sure they believed me. On this record I don’t hear those influences as much as I hear them taking the things they love so intimately and telling their own story. I think they’re a truly great band.”


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Maddee - Clouds.

Toronto-based artist, Maddee is today sharing her soulful new cut, ‘Clouds’ - listen here. Taken from the forthcoming debut six-track EP, ’Red Mind’, which is due for release this coming autumn, the new single finds the 20-year-old artist expanding on her previous sound to introduce a gripping network of jazz-indebted R&B and slap-back electronica.

Thematically, the ‘Red Mind EP’ deals with the ramifications of a negative relationship and the emotions that Maddee felt throughout that period, from love to infatuation and naivety. Speaking about ‘Clouds’, which features the co-production of Gray Rowan (Charlotte Day Wilson, The WAYO) and coasts along to the groove of off-kilter percussion and stuttering organs, Maddee says: “This song was written about getting over an unhealthy relationship. It’s about coming back to myself and my strength.”

Maddee cut her teeth initially with features on the ‘Colours EP’ from Toronto-based producer, Harrison - from here, she picked up slots opening for the likes of Lil’ Yachty, Willow Smith and Tennyson, alongside which she showcased across festivals including SXSW, NXNE and Field Trip. A pair of debut singles were released in 2017 (produced by Toronto’s Birthday Boy and Shagabond respectively), earning the buzz-building artist tips from tastemaker blogs, Majestic Casual and the attention of Red Bull Sound Select who handpicked her as one their spotlight artists.

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Jay Elle - Sickly Sweet.

My name is Jay Elle. I am a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. I write pop songs, most often appearing under the label “singer-songwriter.” The songs are a bit on the mellow side for the most parts these days. Since it’s only my guitar and myself at the moment you might say that the overall sound could also fit in the urban-folk category.

I play a nylon string Ovation guitar which gives me a fairly unique sound. Think of it as a reprieve from the digital world for a moment, a vacation island for your ears.

Sometimes you meet people who truly change your life. Certainly, make an unforgettable impression. This song is a trip down memory lane. A good one. A song can take you on a journey. I hope it will get listeners dreaming and revisiting their own pleasant experiences. I love the groove. It's meant to be relaxing while carrying you to your own memories.


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Michael Blakeman - Brazier To The Lake.

‘Brazier To The Lake’ will be in digital stores on the 9th of August. The ‘Future’ EP by Micheal Blakeman will be released 23rd of August.

Future is the experimental debut EP from Michael Blakeman. The Perth musician has re-directed his progressive energy into the circuits of the analog, the lead single Brazier To The Lake a synthwave revitaliser.

After spending years on various rock and metal projects, the EP is Michael’s first foray into the sounds of the 80s. Self-produced and recorded in his home studio, Future matches revivalist gore with an emphatic melancholic energy. The lead single Brazier to the Lake a dark and brooding march of operaHc drama and retro-futuristic voguing.

Fueled by the complexity and experimentation of metal music, composition and songwriting quickly became a large part of his musical focus. Michael's second love is technology, and it wasn't long before he learned how to combine them by pursuing audio production and sound engineering.

Fast forward to 2019 and Michael has released his first solo EP effort, Future. “This release was a huge step outside of my comfort zone,” says Michael. “I’ve been involved with music for a while, but nearly all of that time was spent playing guitar in various bands. I wanted to push myself by creating something of my own from the ground up. Earlier this year I became enamored with the classic Minimoog synth sound, so I decided to take a deep dive into the sound and aesthetic of the era it inspired.”

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Dominic Sen - Hear Me.

Lightyears clear of the cataclysm that spawned them, and the event horizon that almost unmade them, Dominic Sen, seventh and only surviving child of the supermassive black hole at the centre of “The Evil Eye Galaxy,” drifted around space in limbo ‘til they intercepted the radio waves of broadcasts from 1980’s and 1990’s Earth. Depicting a colourful and thriving pop culture, these songs of our civilisation drew Sen to the Sun like a moth to our humble intergalactic flame, and thus Sen arrived and fell in love with the meretricious myth of Earthbound stardom.

Channelling the pervasive and alienating sense of their own otherness, Sen works on our planet as an artist where they have created their debut LP. Visitor is a love story, a space opera, a thought experiment telling the tale of Tal Naata, a biologically human female coming from a distant and socially progressive civilisation to study Earth. Taking Tal Naata’s story as their prism, Sen casts our own primitive ideas of gender and social cohesion back at us in shimmering crystalline pop, a sound which hearkens back to those old transmissions which led them here.

Lead single ‘Hear Me’ documents the impasse in traditional gender dynamics on Earth between masculine desire and feminine self-definition. It is, in Sen’s words, about “the sobering reality of an experience gap between Tal Naata and her cis-male partner. It is impossible for him to fully know the hardships faced by women. He will never truly know the fear of walking home alone at night, never grasp the small ways in which his behaviour diminishes her complexity and wholeness.” As someone from a civilisation with no gender inequality, Sen attributes Tal no internalised misogyny. “It makes her acutely cognisant of the truth while still baffled that her gender alienates her from her partner more than the fact that she is a literal alien." The accompanying video represents the internal odyssey that Tal, and classical mythic heroines like her, have to undergo to assert and define themselves in environments that threaten their sense of autonomy.

‘Visitor’ will be released on Roll Call Records on October 18. It will be immediately available for pre-order, including as a limited edition LP in “Interstellar White” vinyl. Its hook-laden sounds are a thrilling homage to our recent past and their dance-inspiring concepts foretell a new transhumanist era. May Sen in their distant cosmic perfection continue to inspire and be inspired.


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Deux Furieuses - North Mississippi Allstars - Rev Rev Rev

We were introduced to Deux Furieuses just a month ago, and they are back with 'Civilians', the second song share from their forthcoming album 'My War Is Your War'. It's a striking rocker with plenty of punk determination and a potent riff that is impossible to ignore.

North Mississippi Allstars have shared a video for 'Up And Rolling' the title track from their scheduled October album release, and it's a gorgeous mixture of soulful blues and natural roots rock, it's also an almighty teaser for the album!

Rev Rev Rev new single 'One Illusion Is Very Much Like Another' is accompanied by an intriguing video, as the bands mix of psych and shoegaze is given a clever visual interpretation, that said, the song remains solid and stands on it's own feet.
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Deux Furieuses - Civilians.

Civilians is the second instant gratification track - following the John Kennedy Radio X premiered Year of Rage (July 2019) - to be taken from deux furieuses forthcoming second album ‘My War is Your War’ (out 18 October 2019 on Xtra Miles Recordings).

Civilians is inspired, as the band explain, by a "robot politician on TV denying what was clearly true", the brutalised riff tackling the demise of empathy for our shared humanity in a post-truth world.

Musically and lyrically, Civilians’ is indicative of the long-player ‘My War is Your War’. The forthcoming album expands on the punk duo’s debut album ‘Tracks of Wire’ by taking the predecessor’s post-punk and Riot Grrrl influences and injecting it with a darker, angrier rock sound.  It is an impassioned sonic energy that represents the alarming rise of social injustices and right-wing power since the debut’s release.

deux furieuses are Scottish vocalist and guitarist Ros Cairney and London Greek drummer Vas Antoniadou. Since their beginnings in 2013 they have earned a reputation for uncompromising politically charged rock which has seen them championed by the likes of Q Magazine, Classic Rock, Louder Than War, and Radio X DJ John Kennedy, whose enthusiasm caught the attention of Frank Turner leading to the duo supporting him at the Roundhouse, London for Lost Evenings Festival 2017.

Raised on a fiery blend of Irish and Greek music, 80’s post-punk and 90’s alt rock, and bonding over a love of early PJ Harvey and Kate Bush, their music, as evident on the new single Civilians, is a visceral and impassioned call to arms against the world’s inequalities and rising storms.

Civilians is produced by Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) and mixed by Mark Freegard (The Breeders), it is released as an instant grat for anyone who pre-orders and pre-saves the digital album from 6 August.  The album ‘My War is Your War’ follows on 18 October (CD, vinyl and digitally), both released via Xtra Mile Recordings.


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North Mississippi Allstars - Up And Rolling.

North Mississippi Allstars are set to return with 'Up and Rolling' on 4th October via New West Records. The 12-song set was produced by Luther and Cody Dickinson and recorded at The Zebra Ranch, their family studio established by their father, the legendary Jim Dickinson in Independence, MS. The album also features guest appearances from Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell, Cedric Burnside, Duane Betts, and Sharde Thomas. 'Up and Rolling' finds North Mississippi Allstars getting back to their roots and recapturing the communal spirit upon which the band was founded.

In 1996, a photographer from Texas, Wyatt McSpadden, travelled to North Mississippi looking to photograph local musicians. Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson had grown up just south of Memphis and cut their teeth playing experimental rock & roll together, as well as the roots repertoire pioneered by their father, Jim Dickinson, a legendary producer (Big Star, The Replacements) and session player (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan). Their feet were firmly planted in the North Mississippi mud and music scene, and they were excited to show Wyatt around their community, to introduce him to the musical families of Otha Turner, RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. “Wyatt was so smooth nobody felt he was taking photos,” Luther recalls. “No one was self-conscious or posing. Wyatt had a cloak of invisibility."

A month after McSpadden took those photos, the newly formed North Mississippi Allstars made their Memphis debut, incorporating their father’s concept of roots music as a framework for improvisation and blending experimental/psychedelic excursions into Hill Country anthems. In just a few short years, their lives would then be forever changed with the release of their debut album  'Shake Hands with Shorty' in 2000. They wouldn’t see most of the photos for over two decades until McSpadden tracked the brothers down in 2017. Luther says, “The images stopped me in my tracks and blew my mind. The music that changed our lives was captured in these photographs. Cody and I wanted to set the music free and record an album to accompany these photographs illustrating what Mississippi music sounded like in 1996 - and what it sounds like now.”  'Up and Rolling' takes listeners on a tour of this vibrant and rural community: through the hills and along the back roads to Otha’s home, to Junior Kimbrough’s nightclub, and RL Burnside's house parties.

Along with their originals, they covered some of their favourite songs by these local heroes, with help from Cedric Burnside and Sharde Thomas, Otha Turner’s granddaughter. “She was only a child when she became his apprentice and heir to the bamboo throne of fife and drum music,” says Luther. “Now she’s the Queen of the Hill Country and my favorite singing partner.” In addition to duetting with him on RL Burnside’s raunchy 'Peaches,' she also sings with Luther on Otha’s 'Call That Gone.'

Mavis Staples keeps NMA marching on the freedom highway, singing on her family’s classic 'What You Gonna Do?', which originally appeared on The Staples Singers’ essential 1965 album.


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Rev Rev Rev - One Illusion Is Very Much Like Another.

The new single 'One Illusion Is Very Much Like Another' by shoegaze / psych band Rev Rev Rev, has just had a video shared.

Since the release of their self-titled debut album back in 2013, Rev Rev Rev – based in Modena, Italy – have repeatedly been hailed as one of the finest new shoegaze bands, clocking up airtime and praise from BBC 6 Music, NPR, Drowned In Sound, Clash Magazine and Bandcamp Daily.

The new album, produced by James Aparicio (Spiritualized, Cult Of Dom Keller, Dead Vibrations), marks also their signing on cult indie psych label Fuzz Club.
Veering away from the blistering psychedelic noise-rock that’s to be found on most of the album – as seen in the first single, ‘Clutching The Blade’, released back in March – ‘One Illusion...’ is instead a ritualistic shoegaze-y drone that explores repetition and texture over their usual sonic belligerence.


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