Les Flâneur - The Sonder Bombs - Imogen Mahdavi

Les Flâneur brand new album 'A Long Season' is simply breathtaking. Comprising of eight rich and creative songs featuring a variety of guest vocalists this really is impressive, touching and engaging music that will appeal to a wide range of music lovers, as it takes us from dream pop moments, through to more dramatic pieces ===== The Sonder Bombs return just a month since we shared 'What Are Friends For?' with another new single entitled 'Crying Is Cool' where the melodic hooks are again everywhere on this refined alt rocker. ===== London-based singer-songwriter Imogen Mahdavi has just released 'Some Things Are Best Over Said' a song that showcases her distinctive falsetto vocals wonderfully, this is one highly addictive track.

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Les Flâneur - A Long Season (Album).

Five years of working, three languages, artists from many different countries, and even Continents. So this album was born, not out of ambitions, but out of a true Flâneur attitude, which led the producer Alex Marchetti to involve friends and singers from Italy, Sweden, Brasil into his project.

Friends and artists who added their talent and voices to the tracks he'd been writing aside his main project, the band Il Disordine delle cose. Some, as Alice Greco, were found by lucky chance, during an evening out with friends at a local gig. Others, as Hanna Turi, played at the house concerts he used to organise in his country house. There are many reasons why this is a relevant album to listen to, right now.

The fluid electronic texture, the sincerity of lyrics, the catchy songwriting. But most of all, this album comes out of people joining souls in music, out of human exhanges, out of travels. In a time when we're all stuck, due to circumstances, it's important to remember how much beauty travels, and encounters, can bring.

Le Flâneur is a dynamic figure: he can sit in a bistro observing the world that flows in front of him, but he is also a tireless walker, covering great distances, travelling random routes. A condition that allows him to observe everything that happens around him, without haste. A kind of involuntary hero, who fights against the approval of costumes and reaffirms his personality. He just wants to save himself.

The project: Les Flâneurs is an idea of producer Alessandro Marchetti, who's also a member of the indie band Il Disordine delle Cose. They released 3 albums (Quite Please, Warner Chapell). The full-lenght "La Giostra" was recorded in Iceland with the sound engineer of Sigur Ros and "In the Right Place" in Scotland in the studio of Mogwai and Belle and Sebastian.

Over those years Alessandro recorded some songs with a different soul, now collected under the name Les Flâneurs, involving collaborations with several artists he met in these years.  The sound ranges between indie, electronic and folk, with a significant use of synths, drum machines and orchestral sections.
He liked the idea of working with different singers, especially girls. It's a sort of collective project, with Alessandro working as "director" as well as producer, in which everyone has brought their talents helping to improve the songs. The songs feature artists from different countries: from Italian Carlot-ta, to Swedish Hanna Turi, to Brazilian Priscila Ribas. There is also a featuring (clearly unauthorized) by Edith Piaf.

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The Sonder Bombs - Crying Is Cool.

Midwesterner upstarts The Sonder Bombs have today announced their new album Clothbound, out January 29th on Big Scary Monsters (UK/EU) and Take This To Heart (US), and share new track / video ‘Crying is Cool’. Produced in Philadelphia during quarantine with Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Beach Bunny), their new record captures a band burning at both ends.

“Crying is Cool” could be considered a spirited highlight reel of Willow Hawks’ voice—the melody dips into doo-wop cool before it reaches for the rafters. The single is also The Sonder Bombs at their most earnest and educational, teaching listeners of all ages that it’s okay to hole up with your feelings as long as you give them room to grow and bloom. The band operates on a singular syllabus, where feeling is fine, as long as you’re letting yourself feel at all.

“Crying is cool” is all about validation and vulnerability” says lead singer Willow Hawks. “Being there for friends when they need it as well as being cared for. That solidarity is such a beautiful thing and we really wanted to capture the goodness in that with the video! Our director Ben Lieber had the brilliant idea of a weekend cabin getaway with friends which fit so perfectly with the message of the song and then our genius stylists Chlo & Mick just brought the full vision to life! We’re so excited to share “Crying is cool” and this next chapter of The Sonder Bombs with the world!”

For The Sonder Bombs, self-confidence starts when it crosses paths with self-analysis. Their debut defined a new era of socially conscious, unapologetic pop punk. The alt-folk quartet began as a duo in 2016, with Hawks and her writing partner Jimmy Wilkens trading off abrasive and melodic punches against a DIY universe which places gender politics at the bottom of a list of priorities.

Now, the Cleveland quartet have doubled down on their second record. 2018’s debut MODERN FEMALE ROCKSTAR was their first bet: an all-caps attack against a male-dominated scene brandishing a ukulele and dry wit as chosen weapons. A year and some change passed, where their relentless touring ethic and tough love caused a homegrown fan base to explode worldwide. Clothbound, like the title suggests, weaves a different narrative—one of loss, letting go, and losing patience with losers. If the first record introduced unapologetic sensitivity, Clothbound searches for the root causes of other key elements.

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Imogen Mahdavi - Some Things Are Best Over Said.

London-based singer-songwriter Imogen Mahdavi releases her new single, “Some Things Are Best Oversaid.” Featuring Imogen's distinct, falsetto vocals dance elegantly atop floaty melodies and twangy, country style guitars, creating a hypnotic release. Reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, Imogen’s simple and minimalist arrangements, combined with echoing harmonies give you an uplift feel to cleanse the soul.

Imogen Mahdavi is known for her unique and rich vocals, which tell a thousand stories. With a slew of wistful indie-pop releases under her belt, the musician has forged her own path, carving her name with her beautifully introspective creations. Radiating with sincerity and grace, Imogen is unlike anything you’ve heard before.

Following the success of “Crowd of Thoughts”, a hauntingly epic track produced by Grammy Winner Eddie Serafica (Hamzaa, James Bay, Buddy Guy), Imogen is unveiling the incandescent “Some Things Are Best Oversaid”. Her distinct, falsetto vocals dance elegantly atop floaty melodies and twangy, country style guitars, creating a hypnotic release. Reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, Imogen’s simple and minimalist arrangements, combined with echoing harmonies give you an uplift feel to cleanse the soul.

Inspired by the likes of Joan Baez and Anita Carter, Imogen wanted to reignite the old romance of country songs, whilst simultaneously creating something for people to dance to. “Some Things Are Best Oversaid” narrates wearing your heart on your sleeve, not only romantically, but also with your friends, family and creative passions. The songwriter confides, “Life is short and I am not one to be coy about my love for someone. If you make me happy I want to shout it from the rooftops and show my appreciation. I think we get too fixated on being too much for others, not being cool enough, but there is nothing more dope to me than an honest heart and someone who isn't afraid of being judged for showing it.”

Imogen Mahdavi · Some Things Are Best Over Said

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Call Me Spinster - Lorraine Nash - She's Got Spies - Partner - Ana Mae

Call Me Spinster shared 'Here You Are' this week and it's a refreshing mixture of sixties girl group pop, fabulous vocals and harmonies with a splendid accompanying video. ===== From Ireland we have Lorraine Nash who today releases 'River'. Lorraine's notable vocals exude a classic folk style whilst retaining a fresh contemporary feel and the musical backdrop is just right. ===== She's Got Spies released 'Super Sniffer Dogs' a couple of days back and it's originality and catchy nature is just so addictive. ===== Partner share their feisty indie rocker and fourth single 'Honey' taken from their next album 'Partner's Never Give Up' due next month. ===== We don't know much about Ana Mae beyond the fact that today she has released the beautiful and dreamy 'That I Would Do' it's one of those short, sweet and just plain wonderful "play me again tunes".

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Call Me Spinster - Here You Are.

Chattanooga trio Call Me Spinster has announced the December 11 release of their self-titled EP via Strolling Bones Records. The debut release from sisters Amelia, Rachel and Rosalie, Call Me Spinster is an extraordinary example of the transcendent musical bond only siblings can share. Along with the announcement, the band has released their dreamy first single “Here You Are” and a quirky, dance-filled music video. 

Filtering Debbie Harry energy through a bouncy ‘60s girl group chord progression, the song opens up into walls of unexpected slide guitar and vocal harmonies with catchy lyrics that celebrate the strange and electrifying moment of meeting your child for the first time.

“‘Here You Are’ was our first original song, written shortly after Amelia gave birth to her first child,” the group explains. “It describes the moment of meeting a person that you feel you should know after carrying and nurturing them for nine months, but instead you are met with a completely foreign little face, a ‘weary rambler’ from another dimension that just so happened to pick you for this cosmic go-around. The video celebrates this strange and fleeting beauty of being human. We wanted to capture moments between us that were raw, intimate, and unapologetically joyful, particularly in this moment of pain and disconnectedness.”

The sisters of Call Me Spinster began playing together while working as teachers in various international locales, mostly performing covers when they would get together for low-key events and family weddings. They quickly developed a repertoire of well-loved pop, R&B and ‘90s boy band songs, which morphed into something new when approached through left-of-center arrangements for stand up bass, accordion, banjo, ukulele and a drum set-up they lovingly referred to as “trash percussion.” After all three sisters relocated to their hometown, the trio quickly gained a reputation in the supportive Chattanooga music scene, and within a few years they were applying their distinctive approach to songs of their own. 

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Lorraine Nash - River.

21-year old multi-instrumentalist, Lorraine Nash, is fast becoming one of the shining lights in Ireland’s folk scene. Lorraine returns with her newest single ‘River’ set for release October 23, 2020. ‘River’ is the third single from her debut EP Wildflower released June, 2020, and is a follow up to singles ‘Wildflower’ and ‘Changing Tides’.

With its rhythmic flow the single ‘River’ is the most directly influenced by trad music from Lorraine’s debut EP Wildflower. The song tackles the feelings of grief and loss experienced with the end of a relationship, either romantic or friendship. We all have our own path to travel but it is the events of our life that determine its course. The message is one of hope however; that you will overcome the obstacles life throws in your path and find where you belong.

Performing since she was a child, Lorraine is a talented pianist, guitar, harp, flute and violin player, skills that she has brought to the recording studio to create her debut EP Wildflower. Equally at home in Irish Trad, Lorraine’s original material brings an eclectic mix of music traditions to the table while ensuring that her own unique voice and élan comes through.

Recorded, mixed and mastered in Clonmoyle East with Herring Ahern ‘River’ is out today October 23, 2020.

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She's Got Spies - Super Sniffer Dogs.

She’s Got Spies releases her new album ‘Isle of Dogs’ on the 6th of November. It’s preceded  by the single ‘Super Sniffer Dogs’ on the 23rd of October it was debuted last night on Janice Long's BBC Radio Wales show.

With music hall style pianos, bounding percussion, fizzing guitars and a playful vocal, new single ‘Super Sniffer Dogs' is inspired by Laura’s time spent visiting Poplar on the Isle of Dogs, an area of high  contrast with the rich, banking area of Canary Wharf and large, destitute council estates. It’s about an  imaginary dystopian festival with lots of restrictions in a high walled destitute area. Despite its serious  themes, which is juxtaposed by a catchy singalong melody, it’s a joyous tuneful romp.

She’s Got Spies’ second album ‘Isle of Dogs’ refers to an area of London, Laura Nunez’s hometown,  as well as the state of turmoil of the island of Britain. The follow up album to her debut Welsh language  album ‘Wedi’, ‘Isle of Dogs’ features songs written over the last decade. She’s Got Spies is the project  of Laura Nunez and her cast of collaborators. She spends her time between Cardiff and London, she’s  multilingual and can sing in Welsh, English and Russian.

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Partner - Honey.

Partner share the video for one of their most rock shredding songs "Honey." A live favorite from the past year, Honey is the fourth and final single, from Partner's Never Give Up (November 20th on You've Changed Records) the follow up to their break out debut album, In Search of Lost Time.

"Honey is the origin story of Josée's golden axe. In this track we recall how she first found her way to our house and joined the band. It came with a note (from Josée's dad) 'This guitar sounds just like honey going down.' Get ready for some straight up rock n roll." - Partner

Never Give Up is Partner’s second full-length album, following 2017’s In Search of Lost Time. In the years since their first release, the band has developed their “post classic rock” sound, leaving behind 90s rock comparisons. The new album retains elements that will be familiar to Partner fans, such as guitar solos and humorous subject matter, but with more structurally adventurous songs and abstract lyrics. They have spent the last several years on tour with drummer Simone TB, and this is evident in the looser and more confident performances captured on the album. Never Give Up was recorded by Steve Chaley at Palace Sound in the summer of 2019.

The band described the process of making the album. “In October of 2018 we found ourselves in a dark and quiet rehearsal space. We were practicing for a two person show, the first one we had played in many years. We were at a crossroads as a band, and we had no idea what the future held. All we knew was that we were going to be making music together. We weren’t sure what this music would sound like or who would be playing it with us. And then the songs started to arrive. Some of them fully formed, like the first songs we wrote. It was as much a surprise to us as anyone else when we realized we had the beginnings of our second album.”

Not all the songs came so easily. Some took over a year to complete. Some taunted the band with their elusivity. Some forced Partner to rip them apart and build them back together more than once. Never Give Up was written in rehearsal spaces, in the band’s bedrooms, in a condo, in friends’ and strangers’ houses, Air BnBs, in a cafe and on Josee’s couch and in the studio, and in the booth. “We talked. We were honest with each other and honest with ourselves. Sometimes it was a lot. And when it got to be almost too much we would repeat to each other, first as a joke and then not as a joke at all, ‘never give up’.”

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Ana Mae - That I Would Do.

Ana Mae's second single 'That I Would Do' will be released digitally via Eggy Records today 23rd October 2020.

That's all the information we have at this time, however this a short blast of dreamy music that's really worth a feature on it's release day!!

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Kacy + Clayton and Marlon Williams - Yawn - Michael Bernard Fitzgerald

Kacy + Clayton and Marlon Williams have shared the beautiful song 'I Wonder Why'. Kacy and Clayton have been featured a few times before on Beehive Candy and this new collaboration with Marlon Williams is gorgeous and a foretaste of their 'Plastic Bouquet' album due in December. ===== Yawn has just released 'Wasting Time' and it's a dreamy, melodic and atmospheric song delivered in a heartfelt and genuine manner. ===== Michael Bernard Fitzgerald is a talented and respected folk and singer songwriter artist and his latest song 'Heart Of It' is wonderfully arranged, with his personable vocals packing real feeling.

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Kacy + Clayton and Marlon Williams - I Wonder Why.

Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams are set to release their debut collaboration Plastic Bouquet on December 11th, 2020 via New West Records. The 11-song set was produced by Kacy Lee Anderson & Marlon Williams and was recorded in Saskatoon, SK and Nashville, TN.

Between his critically acclaimed, self-titled debut in 2015 and its equally acclaimed follow up, 2018’s Make Way For Love, the New Zealand-based Williams has played many of the world’s major festivals, toured and performed with Bruce Springsteen, Florence + The Machine, Brandi Carlile and Lorde. He has won multiple New Zealand Music Awards and APRA Awards, and was handpicked by actor & director Bradley Cooper to appear in the Academy Award-winning film A Star Is Born. He also appears in the films True History of the Kelly Gang and the upcoming Lone Wolf. Building a discography of five albums since 2011, the Saskatoon-based Kacy & Clayton delivered a pair of critically acclaimed albums, The Siren’s Song in 2017, and Carrying On in 2019, both produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Beyond praise from Q Magazine, Uncut, and more, they racked up millions of streams and toured with Wilco, The Decemberists, Ray LaMontagne, among others.

As far apart as Christchurch, New Zealand and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan may seem, the three musicians find common ground between a lifelong shared passion for Western Country, Folk, and Troubadour traditions on Plastic Bouquet. “We wanted to see if we could meld hemispheres,” says Williams. “I’m bringing this Pacific style of country music with the harmonies and choral elements. Kacy & Clayton have a super identifiable sound. They embody everything I love about North American folk. There’s a rural weariness where they’re telling tales that have been told a million times in their own way. I feel the strength in it.”

While his Summer was in full swing, Williams hopped a flight to the below 20 degrees of Saskatoon for Christmas 2018. The three wrote and recorded the bulk of what would become Plastic Bouquet over the course of just three weeks, with final sessions to follow in Nashville, TN in September of last year.

In the end, Kacy, Clayton, and Marlon have brought sounds and traditions together and unlocked undeniable chemistry. 

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Yawn - Wasting Time.

Yawn is a project by artist and musician Julia McDougall. Prior to moving west, Julia lived and worked as a musician in Berlin and produced her self-titled EP alongside Polaris prize nominee Andy Shauf. 

A long time member of Canada’s folk music scene, Julia aims to extend the intimacy of her work to her audience: her performances are familiar, close, and connected. Yawn’s debut EP listed at number one on CITR radio and was included in the top 100 albums played by CITR in 2019. Yawn was also shortlisted as finalists in CITR’s Shindig competition.

Julia’s songwriting leads Yawn’s dream-pop sound. Simultaneously hopeful and resigned, Yawn captures the stasis of our lives caught between technology and the natural. In 2020, Julia was accepted to an International songwriting residency at Banff’s prestigious Centre for the Arts in March of 2020, cut short by the novel coronavirus.

Yawn · Wasting Time

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Michael Bernard Fitzgerald - Heart Of It.

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald is a Canadian singer/songwriter who has collected an audience of fans across North America drawn to simple honest words and a genuine smile. Having released 4 full-length albums to date, Fitzgerald has spent his career since 2006 creating music, touring, developing as a songwriter, and connecting with audiences. Fitzgerald’s unique and innovative ideas coupled with his inherent warmth allow him to engage with people in a way that always leaves them meaningfully connected.

After over a decade of working with labels, creating songs with top-tier L.A. songwriters and producers including Jone Levine (Drake, Dua Lipa), Brian West (Maroon 5, K’naan), and Dennis Herring (Ra Ra Riot, Modest Mouse) on About You, and spending some time in the charts with “I Wanna Make it With You” (2016) and “One Love” (2016), Fitzgerald has finally found himself and a calm, rooted, unfeigned sound at home. A career of touring across Canada and around the world sharing the stage with artists like Bryan Adams, Ben Harper, Dan Mangan, Sam Roberts, Joel Plaskett, and Kings of Leon has brought Michael back to his hometown, Calgary Alberta, to create his newest record Love Valley.

If it was in a small club or larger theatre like the Vogue in Vancouver, the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, or on the big stages at a festivals like Calgary Folk Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Firefly Festival or Mountain Jam (to name a few) the spirit of honest connection with people has always existed in Fitzgerald’s performances. Today, he knows the value of time spent living in the moment and continues to go forward fostering the experience of connecting one song, one room, one fan at a time.

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald · Heart Of It

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Promise And The Monster - The Yorks - Strawberry Pills - Janita - WA Wa Punx

Promise And The Monster latest song 'Closed My Eyes' is a good example of why Billie Lindahl under that moniker has received so much recognition, this is a beautifully crafted track. ===== Yesterday The Yorks released the exquisite song 'Many Things' where fabulous vocals and a gentle backdrop make this dream pop song so special. ===== From Athens Greece we have the duo Strawberry Pills and their distinctive new single 'Porcelain Face' where Gothic vibes are found alongside a post punk kind of soundtrack. ===== Janita has shared 'Not What You're Used To' along with a video, the song is a moody rock ballad that digs it's hooks in deep. ===== WA Wa Punx have shared a video for 'Danny Sucks At Video Games' ahead of it's November release, both video and song are wonderful with some classic rock and roll feeling and just a little punk edge.

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Promise And The Monster - Closed My Eyes.

Having established herself as one of Sweden’s most esoteric and mesmerising songwriters, with critical acclaim from Uncut, Mojo, Clash and Pitchfork, and shows with the likes of Chelsea Wolfe, Mark Kozelek and Jens Lekman in recent years, Promise and the Monster (aka Billie Lindahl) has now returned to deliver her latest sweeping single ‘Closed My Eyes’, lifted from her forthcoming new EP ‘Chewing Gum’.

Capturing more of that dark yet enticing sound that she is known for, ‘Closed My Eyes’ makes for an incredibly rich and inviting return. As her debut single through new label Icons Creating Evil Art, the new offering sees her re-emerge in a whole new light, channelling a smooth and lofty aesthetic that sets her uniquely powerful front and centre.

Speaking about the new single, Billie said, “I wrote 'Closed My Eyes' surprisingly quickly after thinking about the ambiguity in that image, closing one's eyes for various reasons. It was good fuel. The women in this song are out roaming in the streets. Marilyn is famous and Kimberly and Brenda got killed by Ted Bundy. The song was pretty easy to record compared to the other songs - it was a Paranoid moment so to speak. You know when Black Sabbath recorded their album Paranoid they just needed an extra song and came up with that riff, and bam: history. It worked just that same way with this song.”

Billie’s musical education started young, playing Swedish folk on the cello at school by day and recording mix tapes by night. She became fascinated with Nick Drake, Kaki King and Elliot Smith, writing her debut EP ‘Antarktis’ and first album ‘Transparent Knives’ at the age of 18, having been picked up by Imperial Recordings. With a father playing country bands and mother into an eclectic mix of jazz and alternative rock, from day one her tastes were always going to be fluid.

ICEA · Promise And The Monster - Closed My Eyes

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The Yorks - Many Things.

The Yorks released the dream-pop single, “Many Things” yesterday October 19. Harmonies pair and intertwine on “Many Things” to explore love as purpose while contemplating the impossibility of life without the beloved in question. The single evokes the crystalline clarity of pure love through crisp melodies and a gentle instrumental caress.

“Many Things is off the EP, Purple Sunsets, due out November 13. Consisting of meditations on love and disillusionment, the new three-song EP, Purple Sunsets, marks the transition from the band’s previous accompaniments to Jorge Rodrigo Azanza’s fresh solo style – a sweet, lyrically innocent sound.  Built around the musings of the multi-instrumentalist, the EP encapsulates Azana’s dreamy vision of Los Angeles love and Ecuadorian roots. A sophisticated, slightly flamboyant style flavors The Yorks tender, lighthearted tunes.

Born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, Jorge Rodrigo Azanza spent his youth on the floor of his bedroom, teaching himself guitar and pouring over bootleg CDs with music by The Beatles, The Kinks, and Prince. In 2017, The Yorks saw positive reception after the release of their first self-titled EP, featuring Liaison and Parking Lots. Produced by Gardens & Villa’s Chris Lynch and Adam Rassmussen, the record sparked interest at college radio and online publications.

The Yorks Band · Many Things

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Strawberry Pills - Porcelain Face.

Greek band Strawberry Pills have announced their debut full-length called "Murder to a Beat", which comes out on October 30 via Inner Ear Records and shared the first single "Porcelain Face".

The gothy synth duo from Athens (consisting of Valisia Odell and Antonis Konstantaras) explore the full spectrum of the dark sound and create tracks inspired mainly by the 80's minimal movement and post punk, with a few electric and goth elements added. The group's upcoming debut album is heavily influenced by everyday life in the city of Athens, social issues and of course, the violent turns that love and romance can take.

Antonis says about the song: "Love and hate walk holding hands in the dystopian playground that is the basement of a maniac. "Porcelain Face" is (in our mind) an audio horror film set in the '70's and we treat it that way. It's narrated by the perpetrator while the victim is caught in his/her web. What happens next? We don't know, or do we?"

The album title is inspired by the queen of crime, Agatha Christie. The idea is that right before a live performance Strawberry Pills were poisoned, but by whom? Who of all of their songs protagonists did it…?

"Murder To A Beat" combines elements of fiction, horror, death and romance. Everything is pervaded by darkness, mystery, cynicism and enigma. Massively inspired by various forms of art. From film noir and crime fiction to the art movement of symbolism (Gustave Moreau) and photography. For example "Voyeur", the opening track of the album, is an ode to Guy Bourdin’s voyeuristic photography while “Porcelain Face” is about an alluring femme fatale.
Sonically, with this album Strawberry Pills aim for a fresh dark sound while paying homage to the '80's.

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Janita - Not What You're Used To.

Janita celebrates the release of her new single, “Not What You’re Used To,” now available everywhere music is sold and streamed. This new single is the fourth from Janita’s forthcoming new album, Here Be Dragons. The album was produced and recorded by indie-music luminary Blake Morgan in New York City.

Critical acclaim fused with commercial success is rare in the music world, but for Janita, this coveted combination is simply the norm. Already established as an iconic recording artist and music figure in her native Finland, Janita (pronounced YA-nee-tuh) moved to New York City early in her career, building on those initial successes by launching her American recording career with two Top-40 Billboard hits. 

Her albums that have followed, Haunted, and Didn’t You, My Dear?, have cemented her reputation as a powerful multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger—while garnering further recognition for her electrifying and unique talent as a singer. That reputation has propelled her across 60,000 miles of touring for over 100 performances in the United States and Europe over the past three years, alone.

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WA Wa Punx - Danny Sucks At Video Games.

‘Danny Sucks at Video Games’ is a song for our times. We’re all Danny. We’re all locked in futile combat with our screen avatar, failing again and again to get into the ‘Hall of Fame’. It’s garage, it’s punk, it’s electro, it’s 8bit graphics and it’s the best song of this hideous year.

This is a crazy world and we all need a gut-busting adrenaline rush to induce some socially distanced moshing in order to shake out what remains of our frazzled brains. With a stupidly infectious second album on the way, skate kids and gamers will be gliding round to these lyrics for the foreseeable:

“Danny sucks at video games, he’ll never make it to the Hall of Fame. All his combos are the same. Cos Danny sucks at video games” There’s a suitably retro gaming video on YouTube for the single along with a call to action which will celebrate everyone’s most epic ‘gaming fails’ a la Danny. This song really does capture the spirit of 2020 which, let’s face it, completely ‘sucks at video games’.

WA Wa Punx are Dylan Rippon and Cory Jarnagin. The duo met when Dylan was touring the States with his band Bears From Labrador. Cory lives in Seattle and Dylan lives in London and Amsterdam. Dylan explains their first meeting in Bremerton, a nowhere town in the Pacific Northwest,

“I had a bad feeling about the venue. Thrash metal. Too much leather, too many tattoos, too many beards and piercings. We were drinking a few beers when this fresh-faced kid with a huge smile and a Texan drawl introduced himself as the support act. He proceeded to pull out his iPod and explain how he was going to just plug it in and freestyle. I looked at him, full of hope and enthusiasm, then at the sweaty crowd of metal heads. Could get ugly. Half an hour later Cory took to the stage. The room was silent. He fumbled about. Then he started rapping. It was good. It was so good and funny as hell. It was like an Andy Kaufman sketch where you think it’s all going wrong and the guy's a total amateur but the whole thing was planned out. The next twenty minutes were a joy, Doing a project with Cory was a no-brainer.”

You may not yet have heard of WA Wa Punx, but you’ve almost certainly heard them. Their music has featured on numerous TV shows like ‘Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown’, ‘Made In Chelsea’, ‘Big Brother’ and ‘NASCAR Raceday’. Bradley Cooper is currently encouraging folks to vote in Pennsylvania backed to the sounds of WA Wa Punx classic ‘Hooty Hoo’. This one’s for all the geeks, freaks and video sheikhs. ‘Danny Sucks At Video Games’ is released on November 2nd on Hero Rhymes With Zero.

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The Luxembourg Signal - Rosie Carney - Terra Lightfoot

The Luxembourg Signal are back with two new singles 'Mourning Moon' and 'The Morning After' ahead of their new album 'The Long Now' due out this coming Friday. Mixing dream pop and indie rock these two tracks suggest the album as a whole will pack plenty of creative and varied material. ===== Rosie Carney is one of the most (deservedly) featured artists we have on Beehive Candy and her new version of Radiohead's song 'Bones' is taken from her lockdown rendition of Radiohead’s seminal mental health album 'The Bends' due in December. ===== Terra Lightfoot makes her seventh appearance here with the new song and video for 'Consider the Speed' and it's yet another hook filled and melodic rocker.

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The Luxembourg Signal - Mourning Moon / The Morning After.

Dreampop and shoegaze indie super group The Luxembourg Signal dropping two new singles this afternoon with "Morning After" at Joy of Violent Movement and "Mourning Moon" at the Week in Pop. Their new album 'The Long Now' is out on Shelflife Records and Spinout Nuggets on October 23rd.

With the release of their self-titled debut album on Shelflife Records in 2014, The Luxembourg Signal quickly attracted a loyal following among fans of dream pop/indie pop music, and received enthusiastic reviews for their pop sensibilities, angelic vocals and lush soundscapes.

Their follow-up LP, Blue Field (Shelflife) released in 2017, garnered even more praise and revealed a bolder, darker and more developed sound with its expanded seven-member lineup of Beth Arzy & Betsy Moyer (vocals), Johnny Joyner (guitars), Brian Espinosa (drums), Ginny Pitchford (keyboards), Daniel Kumiega (bass) and Kelly Davis (guitars).

Now, for their third LP, the transatlantic group based in London, Los Angeles and San Diego, once again returned to the studio with engineer Mark Rains and have produced the highly anticipated The Long Now (Shelflife/Spinout Nuggets), a 10 song album that imagines a blurred horizon that lies between light and dark, and the fleeting nature of all that we hold.

"The Long Now" (phrase coined by Brian Eno) refers to a long-term way of perceiving time. As an alternative to the accelerated way that we experience our lives, it allows us to make sense of our brief but tumultuous time here, by understanding our place in a much larger timeline as history plays out.

The LP echoes these concepts in tracks like the jangly and upbeat ‘The Morning After’ which evokes the optimism of sunrise at dawn while the dynamic and gritty '2:22' conveys the paralysis of being confined in a digital world. 'Lost Hearts' and 'Mourning Moon' reveal vague and simple lyrics that bring up memories that are anything but vague and simple -- From fundamental disagreements with a mate over a history that cannot be rewritten, to the very moment of the loss of a loved one. 

shelflife · The Luxembourg Signal - Mourning Moon

shelflife · The Luxembourg Signal - The Morning After

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Rosie Carney - Bones.

Rosie Carney announces her lockdown rendition of Radiohead’s seminal mental health album The Bends. It is due on December 11th via Color Study (Lav, Charli Adams, Haux) and today she also shares her recording of “Bones”.

Tackling a ground-breaking stretch of pop history requires tact and dedication to make it your own. Rosie Carney’s personal connection to the music brings to bear her stunning take of The Bends, highlighted in her arrangement of “Bones”.

“I recorded “Bones” the day before I flew home to spend the rest of lockdown with my family in Ireland” Carney explains. “I listened to it nonstop as I travelled from my flat in London into the middle of nowhere. Every single line resonated with me on such a deep level and after this one I became far more confident in how I wanted the songs to sound if they were mine.”

Like so many others this year, Carney’s original career plans and mental health were derailed by the pandemic. Having to abandon her recording plans, she relapsed into depression and decamped from London to her bedroom in her parent’s house in Ireland. While receiving treatment there she decided to cover ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ but when she saw how many people had already done it, she changed tack and went for the LP in full as a bigger challenge.

Sketching out most of the album on Garageband she drafted in co-producer JMAC (Haux, Luz) who added violin, viola, cello, drums, horns, woodwinds and vocoder remotely.

It’s not the first time Carney’s battles have dovetailed with her love of Radiohead. She recalls going to see them as a teenager and having an anxiety attack in the arena. She blacked out and woke up in the first aid room. Now, covering the band as therapy, it’s a poetic example of things coming full circle.

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Terra Lightfoot - Consider the Speed.

Nearly three years since the release of her critically acclaimed album New Mistakes, soulful rocker Terra Lightfoot shares the new single and video for "Consider the Speed", the title track off new album Consider the Speed, released today on Sonic Unyon Records.

Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee at legendary Royal Studios, the new single sees Lightfoot supported by drummer Steve Potts, bassist Eli Abrams, and keyboardist Lester Snell — and was produced by Jay Newland and engineered by Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell.

Celebrating the release of her new studio album, Lightfoot will perform an exclusive album release on Saturday October 17 starting at 7pm EDT. This full-band concert will deliver the powerhouse performances that fans have come to expect from the acclaimed songwriter-guitarist-vocalist. The ticketed livestream will feature Lightfoot and band (bassist Eli Abrams and drummer Glenn Milchem); tickets are now available via Terralightfoot.com and sidedooraccess.com.

Alongside the single, Lightfoot releases a new video for the song, directed by Mat Dunlap, videographer and graphic designer for The Sheepdogs, Andy Shauf, and Rose Cousins. For the freewheeling video, Dunlap transplanted some of the song's Southern energy into Hamilton, Ontario's historic Gage Park.

“This video shoot was so much fun,” Lightfoot recalls. “We borrowed some bikes from my manager's mom, and Mat made a mask to look exactly like my drummer Frankie (who is American and couldn't cross the border to be with us). The video shoot was mostly me yelling "AWWW" at every dog that walked by. Gage Park is a local dog-walking mecca, so this probably happened every five seconds. Mat was shooting from a rickety old bike trailer I borrowed from a friend, so the other half of the video shoot was me asking “Dude... are you okay?" While we were shooting the bandshell performance, a French immersion pre-school class was watching us from the field. It was probably a half hour of the same song, but they loved it and danced the entire time. That's definitely the vibe you see on camera.”

“We came up with the idea after Terra was texting me photos from a sunrise bike ride and the light looked amazing,” says Dunlap. “I knew Terra was going for a lot of bike rides during the pandemic and thought it could be a fun thing to lean into. It’s such an unabashed love song that it seemed like the video needed to have Terra front-and-centre with her heart on her sleeve. It’s also a rocker, so we added a little glam flavouring with the stars and the band as silhouettes just to keep it fun and weird. In the end, it was one of the most enjoyable video shoots ever because we basically just biked around Gage Park while Terra waved and sang to every dog in sight.”

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The Bats - Elthia - Kindsight

Long standing New Zealand indie band The Bats are back just four weeks after they shared 'Another Door' with the final single a beautiful, mellow and moving piece called 'Gone To Ground' taken from their upcoming 'Foothills' album due next month. ===== Elthia is a singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles who has just released 'i love you, but you make me cry'. Her defined and pleasing vocals give the track distinction, with the melody and rhythms adding even more hooks. ===== Kindsight are a new band from the Copenhagen indie scene who this week share their second single 'Terminal Daze', which is an original, melodic and refreshingly catchy track. 

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The Bats - Gone To Ground.

The Bats have unveiled their final single ‘Gone To Ground’ from upcoming album Foothills — out November 13th via Flying Nun Records.

‘Gone To Ground’ is a moving, moody song from the never-ending pen of Robert Scott and sees the band interpret and explore the paths we lead in life to consider where yours might take you. This single is a tune from the “before times” that seems strangely relevant now, seeing how we’ve all, for the most part, “gone to ground” and to many it can feel like “no one cares”. ‘Gone to Ground’ is generously served up with lashings of spooky EBow and a sense of soft reflection. Enjoy!

Robert Scott on ‘Gone To Ground’ — “Hide and seek, do we want to be found.... maybe not. Many people have gone to ground in these tricky times. A slight sense of unease pervades the song with the spooky strains of an E bow filtering through the trees. You could walk the marshes and go far. It's funny how you can draw connections between fictitious tales and present day life.”

Annabel Kean has said on the ‘Gone To Ground’ video, “This is by far the longest we’ve spent on a video. We started about a year ago when we heard an early mix of the song, but the discovery of perpetual motion by way of spinning veges really opened a can of worms. Then it took us three attempts to pluck up the courage to light a guitar on fire.” Co-director Callum Devlin adds, “It was a total collaboration, and a very instinctive process. We wanted to try and capture what we felt listening to the song. There’s an uncertainty and a mystery to the lyrics that I feel lead us somewhere a bit more conceptual.”

Spanning the last 38 years, The Bats have now clocked ten incredible albums; each one seeing the band evolve with new material from the prolific songwriting hand of Robert Scott —and their upcoming Foothills is no exception. Add to that tally the extra singles, b-sides, EPs, compilations and tribute songs they’ve recorded, creating a succinct setlist is a nearly impossible task.

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Elthia - i love you, but you make me cry.

Elthia is a singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. With a songwriting style that references her favorite influences from pop music, while still showcasing the elegance of fingerstyle guitar, Elthia has been penning beautifully nostalgic songs, taking listeners on a colorful adventure.

Following the release of her debut EP, Island of Mine, Elthia is unveiling her new single, “i love you, but you make me cry.” The song was the beginning of her new venture towards indie-pop music with dance elements, showcasing delicate instrumentation, soft, dreamy vocals and glittery guitar harmonics.

Thematically the song was inspired by the pieces of a broken relationship; it’s about trying to reach someone, but they keep putting up their walls, trying to protect themselves, and every time you try to dig a little deeper, it hurts a little more. Elthia explains, “The message of the song is to tell the story of what it’s like to love something that hurts you every time you try to understand it. I wanted to show the duality of the two ideas that are constantly at war while existing inside of you, and showcase what the breaking point would actually be, if there is one at all.”

“i love you, but you make me cry” finds inspiration in magic, with lines like “immersed in your hypnosis, willing to suffocate”, meaning, “I’ll keep obsessing over you, even if I put myself in danger”. The song is about the obsession, knowing that you’re getting hurt and still wanting to reach out anyway. The hypnosis and spells create an image of otherworldly forces taking over you, and that’s what this love feels like.

Emanating sincerity and a raw edge, Elthia shows the emotion behind the song, right down to the shakiness in her vocals. She confides, “I wanted the listener to feel like they could break down to this song as well; I feel like the best time and place to listen to this song is when you need to cry.

Elthia · i love you but you make me cry

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Kindsight - Terminal Daze.

Kindsight is a new act from the Copenhagen indie scene and the first act outside of Sweden to sign with Rama Lama Records (Melby, Chez Ali, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes etc.). Late August, the young quartet released their debut single 'Who Are You' - a warm, nostalgic and atmospheric indie pop song. Today, the band will put out their second single 'Terminal Daze' - an effort that cements their place as one of Scandinavia's most interesting new bands.

Kindsight are Nina, Søren, Anders and Johannes and formed out of Nina and Sørens shared love for The Sugarcubes. According to the band, the two of them then recruited drummer Johannes to "drag him out of an unsettling obsession with jazz-music" and bass player Anders was chosen "only because of his looks and his ability to fit into small bags.".

The quartet makes retro-tinged indie pop that is instantly appealing and addictive. Nina's vocals crowns the atmospheric soundscape perfectly and makes Kindsight something that's been missing in Scandinavia for a long time.

Who Are You, "a summer song written in January" was just the first taste of their melancholic beauty which we will hear a lot more from the upcoming year as the band are ready to finally share their music. Next comes 'Terminal Daze', another perfectly tuned and polished indie gem that continues to show that the young quartet already are very home in their sound.

Kindsight on 'Terminal Daze': "After countless attempts at keeping Kindsights somewhat rowdy rhythm section quiet in the verses and complementary to the singing, Nina Hyldgaard allowed in her own words, one “Sausage of a song”, and Terminal Daze came to be. As unrelenting as a big train- steady as it goes."

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Ida Mae - Soë Blue - The Silverbeets - Will Powers

Ida Mae released 'Raining For You' this week and the Americana duo really do serve up something special, the vocals are creative in themselves and glide over a wonderful acoustic backdrop. ===== Soë Blue appeared on Beehive Candy back in April with her debut single 'Karma' and we are pleased to share today's release 'Totally Confused' which is a funky, soulful and beautiful song. ===== For The Silverbeets we only have to go back three weeks for their last feature and now we have the brand new track 'Girlfriend' which takes their indie art rock into a rhythmic and slightly psychedelic direction. ===== Will Powers (the brainchild of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Oli Palkovits) today shares 'Woven and Shattered' and it's a fabulously layered rocker with notable vocals and bags of hooks.

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Ida Mae - Raining For You.

The Americana duo Ida Mae have released "Raining For You," the title track from their upcoming EP. Raining For You will be released on November 20th via Thirty Tigers.

"This was one of the first tracks we recorded as Lockdown measures began here in Nashville TN," writes Ida Mae. "It's a simple love song written from the perspective of a friend of ours, someone I knew that was losing themselves in the darker memories of a past romantic relationship. Through social media and memory I think many people today can find themselves feeling like a helpless voyeur, watching the self-destructive behaviour of someone brilliant they love but feel powerless to help.”

Describing the story behind the Raining For You EP Ida Mae writes, "Our last show was in San Antonio Texas when we were flown home from our tour schedule and into quarantine. The years before had been the biggest adventures of our lives, two Brits on our own travelling and playing non stop shows across the length and breadth of the USA and Europe. We played a rollercoaster of shows from Entertainment Centre’s in Wisconsin to Stadiums in New York. In all that time we’d been collecting scraps of conversation, words and sounds from our experiences on the road.  We’d been piecing together the bones of our next album in hotel rooms and the backs of taxis every spare moment we had. Collecting fragments of what felt like a strange, ragged, dream-state journey. All the plans we’d made for recording the next album had gone out the window, so we wired the house into our lockdown studio and began to self produce"

There’s a genuine 'Bonnie & Clyde’ perspective to Ida Mae’s songwriting, reflecting the wild expanse of America as viewed through the eyes of two restless lovers. The husband-and-wife duo have toured roughly 120,000 miles of the USA and Canada to date, earning rave reviews and performing at festivals like Bonnaroo and Philly Folk Festival, and alongside artists like Willie Nelson, Greta Van Fleet, Allison Krauss and Marcus King. All the while Ida Mae was at work writing new material inspired by their experiences on the road as well as their favorite American authors (Kerouac, James Baldwin, Ferlinghetti, Raymond Carver).

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Soë Blue - Totally Confused.

Here comes bright music for dark times: 'Totally Confused', the new single by young Zurich-based Soë Blue, gives a nod to the good old days of northern soul with its joie de vivre. Mixed with a some bits of funk and pop - these tunes are exactly what we need now!

Specially as there's a lot to be worried about in these times. And be it the question how to combine music, work, love, friends and family. 

That's what 'Totally Confused' is about: So many things to do, so little time. Or, to say it with the words of Soë Blue: «This can make your head spin. But one day we'll be dancing in the sun again».

Soë Blue brings back sunshine. And when she sings, she brings back memories of Adele, Amy Winehouse, Simply Red, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone and Aretha Franklin as well. Don't you think?

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The Silverbeets - Girlfriend.

Australian indie art rockers The Silverbeets present their 'Girlfriend' single, the second taste of their new 'Halcyon Days' album, which is the band's third multi-track release. This long-play will be released on November 13.

Formed in 2014, The Silverbeets are Farnz Cordeaux (rhythm guitar, vocals), Jamie Scott (lead guitar, vocals), Nigel Hope (bass) and Bill O’Brien (drums). Their sound is also heavily influenced by their “5th member”, producer and multi-instrumentalist Ernie Oppenheimer.

The Silverbeets hail from Hobart, Tasmania - the small Australian island state at the bottom of the world. This relative isolation has led the band to craft an idiosyncratic sound that borrows from luminary rock acts like Pink Floyd, The Byrds, David Bowie, Radiohead, The Pixies, Queen, Fleet Foxes, Simon & Garfunkel, Nick Cave and Neil Young, among others.

With a rich dark green sound interspersed with multi-coloured stems, their non-formulaic style is distinct. Like their forthcoming 8-track full-length album, this single evoke the spirit of artists such as Can, They Might be Giants and XTC.

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Will Powers - Woven and Shattered.

New single, "Woven and Shattered," is carried by a polyrhythmic riff, with lyrics that reflect the sense of seamlessness/continuity between our inner and outer worlds.

Will Powers is the brainchild of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Oli Palkovits. Oli won the 2019 NOFMA Outstanding Album award for his 2017 self-release Flowers of Atacama. 

Following the release, he moved to Montreal, where much of the material that would become the Will Powers’ debut EPs was written. 

He has since moved back to Sudbury and is currently working on several albums with members of Murder Murder and Tommy and the Commies.

Will Powers · Woven And Shattered

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Judson Claiborne - Hermitess - Keegan Powell

Judson Claiborne have just released 'The Trimmergrant' along with a video, the song itself is strangely addictive and highly original, bet you have to give it atleast a second listen. ===== Hermitess returns with a new four song E.P entitled 'Celestial'. We featured 'Followers' from her last E.P back in June and this new collection is most welcome from this very talented artist. ===== Keegan Powell latest song 'Rock N Roll Kind Of Night' has already recieved considerable attention, that's not overly surprising as he delivers a timeless rocker with some melodic psych vibes.

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Judson Claiborne - The Trimmergrant.

Judson Claiborne, the Chicago-based project and a moniker for ex-Low Skies frontman, Christopher Salveter has this week shared his new single, "The Trimmergrant" via La Société Expéditionnaire (Strand of Oaks, Daniel Knox).

"The Trimmergrant"t' is a track that exposes the strange lawlessness behind the Redwood Curtain with Salvater lamenting the tragic disappearance of marijuana trimmers in the mountains of Humboldt County, CA. It comes ahead of the new EP, When a Man Loves an Omen which is out Nov 13.

Briefly recapping, Chris is previously known for his work as a founding member and frontperson of the Pitchfork-tipped "apocalyptic desert rock" band, Low Skies (signed to Flamethrower Records, also Russian Circles, Mannequin Men) who supported the likes of Explosions in the Sky, Neko Case and Band of Horses in their time. This new EP comes off the back of four previous releases – earlier material included a slew of noteworthy guests: members of Mute Duo, Tal National, Roommate, and Drag City Records signees – as Judson Claiborne which found the band opening for Bill Callahan, John Grant and Lower Dens. 

As Judson Claiborne, Christopher dials down the apocalyptic murder ballads and desert dirges of Low Skies to find something more reflective and in-tune with his storytelling nature (earlier tracks reference tree-dwelling bank robbers, a self-immolating anti-war activist, a disappeared marijuana trimmer amongst other characters). 

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Hermitess - Celestial (E.P).

Hermitess is putting out another EP this year, entitled 'Celestial' it's actually out today Thursday. It's ben described as "somewhat spontaneous and a bit of a surprise!"

Celestial is a four song EP by Hermitess. Recorded in the summer of 2020 under a mixture of unforeseen circumstances, an act that was speculative and hopeful in strange times. Mostly self produced and recorded, it plots new possibilities for future creations. Celestial is the second in a series of EP’s that build upon each other both in theme and sound. Cascading harps and and voices combined with programmed beats, and unexpected instrumental touches such as pedal steel and saxophone, suggesting deep folk roots colliding with the modern times.

Hermitess releases are concepts gathered around a chosen theme, each one a small world contained like a vignette in a snowglobe. Celestial is meant as a bit of a counterpoint and companion to the Tower Ep which came out this summer. At its core Celestial is about finding orientation in a time that feels very disorienting. Like the starry void it aims to conjure, this EP speaks to being untethered and not knowing what the future holds, while taking stock of what it means to be human with a shared worldly existence.

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Keegan Powell - Rock N Roll Kind Of Night.

Keegan Powell is a Toronto-based songwriter/guitarist/singer. Powell started his journey writing and recording in Teenage Kicks (Resolute/EMI) as guitarist on their debut album ‘Spoils Of Youth’ recorded with Alain Johannes (Queens Of The Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures).

While being guitarist and co-songwriter for Dine Alone Records/Captured Tracks band Chastity, Powell has also released several singles and EP’s under his own name. 

His first single ‘The Door’, released 2018, was included on Apple Music’s Breaking Rock Playlist. His latest EP “Is+Was” featured singles, ‘Beginning Of Life’, featured on CBC radio 3, and ‘All The Love’, which sound-tracked acclaimed director Kazik Radwanski’s film, ‘Anne At 13,000’. Powell’s debut solo LP is slated for a 2021 release.

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Sun June - Randell Bramblett - Flor and the Sea

Sun June share a new music video for 'Karen O' along with announcing their new album 'Somewhere' due next February. Karen O is a seductive, dreamy indie rock song with plenty of atmosphere. ===== Randell Bramblett has a forty year musical career and has worked with a good number of rock and blues finest artists. With a new album due next month he gives us a stylish yet natural rocker in the form of 'Rocket To Nowhere' to mull over ahead of the release. ===== Flor and the Sea recently shared a video for 'A Candid Lie' and it's a sumptuous indie, electro song that is gorgeously arranged.

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Sun June - Karen O.

Austin indie-pop 5-piece Sun June have announced their new album Somewhere with a music video for "Karen O." The album will be released February 5, 2021 via Keeled Scales and Run For Cover.

Somewhere is Sun June at their most decadent, a richly diverse album which sees them exploring bright new corners with full hearts and wide eyes. Embracing a more pop-oriented sound the album consists of eleven beautiful new songs and is deliberately more collaborative and fully arranged: Laura played guitar for the first time; band members swapped instruments, and producer Danny Reisch helped flesh out layers of synth and percussion that provides a sweeping undercurrent to the whole thing.

They've called this album their 'prom' record; a sincere, alive-in-the-moment snapshot of the heady rush of love. "The prom idea started as a mood for us to arrange and shape the music to, which we hadn't done before," the band explains. " Prom isn't all rosy and perfect. The songs show you the crying in the bathroom, the fear of dancing, the joy of a kiss - all the highs and all the lows."

“ 'Karen O' is one of the only songs we've written that takes place over the course of a single night, and we hope we captured what it feels like when you're completely worn out but can't bring yourself to go home and go to sleep. It's about the kind of night you let heartache swallow you whole, and you find yourself heading straight toward the things you should be running away from. The actual Karen O is a hero of ours of course, and in the song, she spurs on a lonely night of reflection about what could be versus what can't. It covers some of our favorite topics-love, performance, regret, and hereditary drinking problems-and explores how we sometimes choose to heighten grief rather than reduce it. It also features a voicemail mailbox, which is unfortunate.

We shot the video out on a Texas Hill Country ranch with a spotlight ranchers use to check on cattle at night (very Texas of us). We thought the stage lights and disco ball helped draw out the connection between feeling an emotion and performing it, both for yourself and others. We got lucky and happened to shoot during a lightning storm, so we went full melodrama with it." 

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Randell Bramblett - Rocket To Nowhere.

Randall Bramblett will release Pine Needle Fire on November 13th, 2020 via New West Records. The 12-song set was produced by Bramblett and Gerry Hansen and is the follow up to his acclaimed 2017 album Juke Joint At The Edge Of The World. In addition to his solo work over the course of his illustrious 40-plus-year career, Bramblett has recorded, performed and composed alongside rock luminaries like Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Winwood, The Band’s Levon Helm, Widespread Panic, Marc Cohn, and more. With Pine Needle Fire, he recognizes a thread throughout its songs. Bramblett says it is “about time passing, or at least grappling with the realization that you don’t have an infinite amount of time left like you think you do when you’re young. 

So there’s the mortality part of it. And then another part has to do with our current situation in this country. I grew up protesting in the ‘60s and ‘70s, so I’ve always felt connected to politics. Now I’m really hung up on it. And you look around and there’s a lot of people that are kind of desperate for change and for justice...or maybe they’re just desperate. They’re trying to hang on in this world. I’m one of them. Most of us are, to some degree.” These everyday people populate Pine Needle Fire, in which Bramblett provides a clear-eyed and engagingly detailed study of lives ordinary and unconventional, loves resilient and vanished and moments that have passed and are also yet to come.

Bramblett previously shared the album track “I’ve Got Faith In You,” calling the song “... genuine and trustworthy, a pierce of sunlight through those dark clouds we seem to be encountering all too often these days." “I’ve Got Faith In You” comes complete with something of a musical bonus: a slide-guitar melody performed on Duane Allman’s famous 1961/1962 Gibson SG. It’s the same one heard on the Allman Brothers’ legendary At Fillmore East and particularly famous for being the instrument played on the live recording of “Statesboro Blues.” 

Bramblett said, “Pine Needle Fire is filled with people on their different journeys through life…experiencing loss, getting up before dawn to go to work, knowing time is running out, remembering lost love, hearing the wolf at the door and feeling lucky to be alive. Jason Slatton and I wrote ‘I’ve Got Faith in You’ several years ago. I thought it fit in nicely on the record as a voice of encouragement and support. We were able to borrow Duane Allman’s original Gibson SG for that session and my old friend, Tommy Talton, used it to play a beautiful slide guitar solo. Since Tommy knew Duane when they were both living in Macon, GA, using that guitar created a circle of sound and memory for us all. It helped capture the feeling of longing and hope that we needed to complete the record.”

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Flor and the Sea - A Candid Lie.

About Candid Lie - The video’s festival setting is a familiar and bittersweet sight to all music lovers in a time of global anxiety. Two masked characters (later revealed to be band members Marc Aretz and Chaem) cavort in the crowd, intercut with performance footage of Flor and the Sea onstage. It’s a contrast that highlights their tinderbox potential, realised sonically through their exemplary future pop sound on this standout track. The new wave atmospherics, vibrant and fluid guitar fills and unforgettable refrains reveal a band who have written the atmospheric foot stomper they set out to write. Produced at their Munich studio with the help of Dieter Dolezel and mixed by Moritz Enders at the hit-making Tritonus Studio in Berlin, Flor and the Sea have created a masterly indie pop anthem that radiates the joys of summer, freedom and untrammelled optimism.

About Kings & Queens - The songs of Flor and the Sea’s debut EP Kings & Queens invite their listeners to surrender themselves to the stream of music: to dream, to dance and to defy the world’s insistent tumult for a moment. Rich in stylistic fusion, pop elements meld with electronica references throughout their songwriting, inviting a host of esoteric influences from dubstep to synth pop to trap to join them. It’s a melting pot of style that recalls the work of Flume, Miike Snow or Alt-J. Co-produced by composer Dieter Dolezel and mixed by Moritz Enders (Casper, Kraftclub), the songs are a multidimensional exploration of sound. From the lilting, mythology-evoking arpeggios of ‘Arcadia’ to the propulsive electro ambience of ‘Dark Minds’, and the bleak dystopian piano keys chiming throughout ‘Reconnect’, Kings & Queens reveals a restless group with a unique musical chemistry, one not keen on travelling the same musical road twice.

Munich-based indie/electropop duo Flor and the Sea was originally founded in 2015 as a five-piece project. With the release of debut singles ‘Hold Your Breath’ and ‘Shed No Tear’, as well as bigger live gigs at Digital/Analog Festival and the Muffat Winterfest among others, the band generated a lot of buzz in short time and was featured as ‘Band of the Week’ by the Suddeutsche Zeitung/SZ Junge Leute in early 2017. After the band split up later that year, Marc Aretz (guitar/synth) and Chaem (vox) decided to keep Flor and the Sea alive as a duo. They redesigned their sound from scratch, incorporating influences from bands like Alt J, Radiohead and Portishead. The singles ‘Dark Minds’ and ‘Reconnect’ were birthed from the rubble and led to widespread acclaim, receiving regular airplay on radio stations like Ego-FM, Bayern 3, M94.5 and BR Puls, and landing positive reviews on international blogs like Composer's Toolbox and York Calling. Capping it all, the duo performed live on Radio Fritz ‘Live on Air’ for the first time. Alongside the production of their debut EP Kings & Queens, Flor and The Sea also resumed live performances in 2019 and put together an elaborate new program with their own light show, visuals, masks, and the support of additional live musicians. A first taste of this show was presented at renowned festivals Theatron Musiksommer and Sound of Munich Now in 2019.

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