The Valery Trails - Angus MacRae - Pixy Jones - Man The Lifeboats

The Valery Trails - Zancudo.

The Valery Trails announces the release of their indie-rock single, “Zancudo.” Through keenly observed detail, swirling instrumentals, and a spirited melody, “Zancudo” captures the mood of the sleepy little Costa Rican beach community and its people. It’s off the album, The Sky is Blue, out August 12.

“Zancudo” was written after a pre-pandemic spontaneous trip to Costa Rica. The Valery Trails frontman, Andrew Bower says, “I’m always drawn to end-of-the-earth’ locations, partly because you meet interesting people there who tend to have fascinating stories about how they got there, so I wanted to try and write about that.”

On the upcoming album, The Valery Trails takes the listener through a globetrotting exploration infused with energized guitar-walled hues. In 2020 Andrew Bower moved back to Brisbane following an extended period of travel that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The album chronicles Bower’s stops around the world, including Jaisalmer India, the sleepy little beach community in Zancudo, Costa Rica, and Brisbane, Australia, where the journey started and ended.

The album was mixed in North Carolina by Scott Solter. He has recorded and mixed an eclectic mix of artists, including The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, St Vincent, and his own avant-garde / ambient projects such as Boxharp and The Balustrade Ensemble.

The Valery Trails · Zancudo (Radio Edit)

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Angus MacRae - Single Cell.

British composer and musician Angus MacRae, shares chilling new single ‘Single Cell’, the second track to be shared from his upcoming album Vivarium due out September 30th via Nation of the Sea. Evocative falsetto vocals lead ‘Single Cell’, it is a fantasia of haunting vocal melodies and introspective solo strings, a dark lullaby which culminates in a climax of swirling strings and orchestra. The new track is inspired by the magic and mystery of childhood imagination, with both a sense of danger and wonder running through its seams.

Angus Macrae, represented by Manners McDade,  is a rapidly rising voice in contemporary classical music. His work spans across film, television, ballet, theatre, concert performances and contemporary dance. His many notable collaborations include scores for Olivier Award winning productions performed across London’s West End, internationally touring ballets and contemporary dance shows by some of the world’s leading choreographers, as well as numerous other acclaimed film and theatre projects.  Alongside this, MacRae's innovative work as a solo recording artist expands on his classical roots, pairing panoramic electronic backdrops with intimate instrumental recordings, to create transportive, elegiac compositions of unflinching emotional honesty.  His work has reached a global audience, having previously released two full length albums and a number of EPs via labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, !K7, 1631 Recordings and his own imprint Nation of the Sea.

MacRae is set to return with the new album Vivarium; a spectral and otherworldly journey into the lost worlds of childhood imagination, due out September 30th via Nation of the Sea. Written over the course of a year, the upcoming album is his most ambitious work yet, pairing intimate piano solos with soaring string lines, hypnotic vocal melodies and ghostly orchestral textures. Vivarium breaks down the definitions of classical music, spanning across multiple genres, drawing on a broad range of influences from across the musical spectrum; from Jon Hopkins and Son Lux right through to James Blake. Lead single ‘Amulet’ has received high acclaim from the likes of KEXP, Scala Radio, BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM.

Angus MacRae · Single Cell

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Pixy Jones - Maureen Dreams No More.

Pixy Jones announces brand new single 'Maureen Dreams No More' which is the 2nd single to be taken from anticipated debut album 'Bits n Bobs' released via Strangetown Records on the 16th September.

El Goodo guitarist and songwriter 'Pixy Jones' has announced that his debut album entitled 'Bits n Bobs' is due for release on 16th of September via Strangetown Records. Branching away from the familiar El Goodo platform, Welsh psych scene stalwart Pixy Jones has himself compiled a truly remarkable collection of tracks that fluctuate from 60's harmony-rich psych pop, to Alt-Country with ringing tremelo guitar.

Pixy had this to say about the release: The album was originally intended as a solo project under the pseudonym of “Wallace Russell”. I recorded it alongside the recording of Zombie (El Goodo) whenever I could get in the studio. There are some really old songs that have always been overlooked for 'El Goodo' albums for one reason or another, a few new ones which I wrote specifically for this, and a couple that would have probably ended up on the intended double album version of Zombie if we’d kept going with the double album idea. 

I’ve since ditched the 'Wallace Russell' name and gone back to 'Pixy Jones' as I figured there’s no need to have a pseudonym if nobody knows who you are in the first place. Even though I dropped the name I’ve kept the walrus mask for now as it is more photogenic than my actual face.

Pixy Jones · Maureen Dreams No More

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Man The Lifeboats - Born Drunk.

Salty seafarers Man The Lifeboats are delighted to launch their brand new album: ‘Soul of Albion’ - confirmed for release on 14th October 2022 via Wood Head Records. Charting a new course with a breeze as stiff as they like their drinks, the quintet lead the way with the rip-roaring new single: “Born Drunk.” A folk/punk firecracker broiling with fiddles, accordions and acoustic guitars played with gusto, it’s a rambunctious drinking song guaranteed to loosen your lips and get your pistons pumping.

Inspired by an unusual tattoo and a Martin Carthy song (amongst a menagerie of other things), “Born Drunk” takes the listener on a voyage through all that makes life’s rich tapestry so rich… and random. Led by frontman Rich Quarterman, it’s a breathless monologue that touches on politics and people, history and healthcare, religion and, well, getting royally rat-arsed. And in what’s got to be a lyrical first, there’s even time to rhyme “Palestine” with acting legend “Paddy Considine” too.

But what does it all mean? Rich Quarterman explains: “Man The Lifeboats played a festival with the great Mr Carthy and he introduced one of his songs by saying: 'this is a load of nonsense, it doesn't mean anything', which I've always thought was a fine approach to songwriting. The title came from a tattoo on an undisclosed person, and the rest of the lyrics are absolute nonsense. Or are they? Maybe there are some kernels of meaning in there somewhere. Paddy Considine features as his name rhymes with Palestine and Northern Line, but also because he's an absolute hero and a brilliant actor. We tried to get him in the video but he was too busy with some TV show called Game of Thrones…”

Recorded more-or-less live at the iconic Rockfield Studios in Wales, the band cite a cocktail of influences including a hint of Hubert Parry's Jerusalem, a dash of Pachelbel's Canon, and slug of that Pogues Whiskey, that when thrown together ultimately get you “Born Drunk”.

Catherine Elms - Karen Harding - Bite The Boxer - Chemical Club

Catherine Elms - Monday Eyes.

Catherine Elms is a dark pop singer-songwriter who combines untamed intensity with softly-defined edges; introspective and fierce in equal measure. Drawing on the raw, heartfelt emotion of Tori Amos and the brash power of Amanda Palmer, Catherine has found an evocative and cathartic style that is all her own. A self-taught non-classical pianist with a soft yet powerful voice, Catherine creates an epic and transcendent sound that explores millennial frustrations with sensitivity and quiet hope.

This third studio single ‘Monday Eyes’ sees Catherine’s rich vocals and haunting piano accompanied by an orchestral soundscape. Her confessional lyrics rail against the falsehood that we exist in a world where anything is possible, if only we prove ourselves to be “good enough.” The cinematic sound elevates this deeply personal and intimate journey into something powerful and universal. ‘Monday Eyes’ is accompanied by a compelling conceptual music video that blends Catherine’s spirited performance with the striking visuals of Scott Chalmers (videographer for Jamie Lenman, Birdeatsbaby, Saint Agnes).

 Speaking more on the meaning behind ‘Monday Eyes’, Catherine says: “I wrote this song during a bit of a quarter-life crisis, when trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Like many of us, I had always believed that if I just worked hard enough and proved myself worthy through collecting achievements, everything would fall into place, and success would find me. I realised that this is untrue. I found myself in a job that dampened my spirit, feeling like an awkward impostor, longing for something more, and mourning the future I’d envisaged for myself that never came. I think so many of us can relate to the feeling of getting to our twenties and entering the ‘real world,’ thinking “is this it?”.

 

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Karen Harding - Til The Ocean Meets The Shore.

Following the passion and excitement shared from the first single release of her Upcoming EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’, Melbourne, Australia based singer-songwriter, Karen Harding is set to release the second single, ‘Til The Ocean Meets The Shore’ today Friday 5th August 2022.

Written during the Melbourne, Australia Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, ‘Til The Ocean Meets The Shore’ is a deeply reflective and uplifting acoustic guitar focused story that dives into challenges felt and a realisation of how far we have come, and the determination that we can truly achieve anything we put our mind to, if we do not give in.

The four track EP, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ is being released one single at a time, each month, and will be available in its entirety by October 2022. The EP is available for purchase at Bandcamp in digital download and CD formats.

Music has always been a part of Karen’s life, beginning piano lessons at the age of 6 and singing lessonsat 14. She has played at many cafes and bars around the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in a combination of solo, duo and band performances, that have contributed to the sound that you hear today.
Building her repertoire, with 6 single releases under her belt, Karen has been steadily growing her following and name, having won the November 2021 Bendigo Bank sponsored Independent Songwriter Talent Show on Radio Eastern FM in Melbourne, Australia, for her single, ‘Anxiety’, Top 10 winner for the World Songwriting Awards, for her single, ‘Something Special’ and a nominee for Best International Artist on Crags Radio Independent Artist Awards in February 2022.

KarenHarding · Til The Ocean Meets The Shore

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Bite The Boxer - Way Out.

Way Out is the third single in a string of dreamy alt-pop releases put out by Bite The Boxer, following on from Forgotten (released in April) and Like A Ghost (June). 

Way Out combines a gritty and melancholic influence from 90s trip-hop with lush synths and vocal production from modern alternative pop to set a mood that seeks to take the listener on a journey to a dark place but in a comforting and familiar way.

Bite The Boxer (AKA Matt Park) often produces his music live on Twitch streams and has this to say of his process: “writing music live with people watching encourages me to trust my instincts and produce by feel; nobody wants to watch me do fine tuning and tweaks for 2 hours. 

I try to avoid over-thinking the process. If I can finish a 2.5 hour stream with the bulk of a song finished, and it sounds good then that’s an ideal result.”

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Chemical Club - Hell In A Heatwave.

Arts & Crafts newest signee, Ottawa duo Chemical Club, are sharing another new single, “Hell In A Heatwave”, with a video directed by their fanclubwallet bandmate Hannah Judge. The new track is an “honest look at who you are and how you can improve upon that,” the band says. 

“Actively seeking self improvement and pursuing positive changes over neutrality and repetition. Leaving unhealthy habits behind and holding yourself accountable for your own actions and behaviors. Staying comfortable and rejecting positive change is usually the easier option in the short term, but to actively pursue growth is necessary for long term fulfillment.”

Chemical Club is the project of Eric Graham (he/him) and Michael Watson (they/them). The duo performs tight, catchy indie rock songs, perfect for road trips or coming of age soundtracks that deftly weave naturalistic lyrics with reflections on love, death, insecurity, and growth. Having grown up around the corner from each other, the pair didn’t truly connect until their teen years when they began playing together in garage bands. 

In 2019, they formed Chemical Club and have since released a series of homespun, self-released singles and EPs that’ve earned them a passionate following over the course of the pandemic. In addition to Chemical Club, both members perform in ascendant indie rock project fanclubwallet, with Watson serving as fanclubwallet's co-writer and producer.

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Lukka - Abby Sage - The Fades

Photo - Jen Meller

Lukka - Life In Reverse.

Lukka, the brainchild of German-born, New York City-based artist Franzi Szymkowiak, released her latest single “Life In Reverse” this week, from her sophomore album, Something Human due August 26.

Discussing the track, Franzi noted, “‘Life In Reverse’ talks about the end of a close relationship, as both partners realize that time has changed them. And that one shouldn’t be afraid of that change… 'only a matter of time and you get used to it’” - watch + share “Life In Reverse” via YouTube.

Something Human speaks to both the head and the heart. The album’s essence is perfectly captured in its first two singles “Wisdom of the Sun” - a yin-yang ode to finding positivity in even the darkest of situations, and “Life In Reverse” where Lukka finds herself closing one chapter, to start the next. At once an escapist psychedelic synth-rock odyssey and a timely shot of science-based spirituality, the 10-song LP wraps messages of oneness and self-determination inside multi-layered melodicism, cultured retro-electronica, and tastefully effected guitars. “Transmitting the message of love and oneness through music is very important to me,” stated Szymkowiak.

In essence a solo project supported by a semi-fluid band, Lukka’s sound is rooted in Franzi’s early influences growing up near Dresden, Germany – the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin – and, more recently, David Bowie, early Brian Eno, Flaming Lips, and Deerhunter. Extensive busking and performing around the world included four years in Australia, where she embraced that region’s new wave of psychedelic synth rock, including Tame Impala, Pond and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

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Abby Sage - The Florist.

Today, LA/London based alt-pop artist Abby Sage announces her forthcoming sophomore EP The Florist out October 21st via Nettwerk. The announcement arrives with the release of the stunning title track single. 

Abby Sage’s upcoming EP is fueled by a love for character sketches, with each song becoming a tiny play or narrative. Take the new single “The Florist,” and its depiction of a woman who can bring beauty to the lives of others. “I’m someone who’s so protective of their friends,” shares Abby. “When something is broken, I want to fix it. And a florist is someone who through their actions makes a room prettier – because flowers always manage to do that.”

Commanded by a pillowy production, deliberately impassive vocals, and a skittering drumbeat, “The Florist” is an appetizing slice of soulful indie goodness. Gentle and quiet songwriting is at the forefront, with labelmate Boy Willows providing a hand in co-writing a portion of this beautiful and sweeping track that enthralls with notable and radiant power.

Abby Sage’s The Florist EP is a follow-up to her 2021 debut EP Fears of Yours & Mine, a collection of songs that was just the beginning in showcasing her commanding sound and precarious outlook of the world around her. Abby expresses, “The last project was a very personal take of what I was immediately experiencing at the time while this project feels a bit grander scheme and observational. I had nothing that was immediately bringing me either intense pain or joy (I normally experience things in extremes this way), there was something about this period that felt over looming and bigger than myself. I was in London taking the tube from session to session and felt like a sponge. One time there was a particular group of kids next to me and I listened to their conversation for the duration of the journey along with a few other snippets of chatter around me. I wanted to write about the experience of others, the unfamiliar coinciding with the familiar.”



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The Fades - You Follow Me Around.

London based post punks The Fades are back with a new album - You Follow Me Around is the first cut from it & a taste of what’s to come. With DJs like Steve Lamacq, John Kennedy & Marc Riley supporting various releases & glowing write ups in Louder Than War, Fresh on The Net & alike, The Fades are a band who’ve consistently turned adversity to their advantage, finding the best in life while not taking themselves too seriously.

Recorded in Brixton, South London using an array of analogue equipment, You Follow Me Around is a raucous indie post-punk blast of alternative pop, recalling the time when lead-singer Dave Lightfoot was stalked by both an ex-partner & his own cat clambering for affection at home - a sort of dual experience of enforced attention from very different sources. “The song was written at a very difficult time when this ex-partner was seriously harassing me” says Dave. “It made me ill & I lost so much weight but in the usual ‘Fades’ way, I managed to make light of it by linking the song to my cat, who was also harassing me but in a much more loving way. Basically, I took the positive approach to a very stressful situation & then a song came out of it”.

In true punk DIY style, The Fades recorded their debut single above a chip-shop on the Staines Road in West London. It was quickly picked up by Steve Lamacq who played it on national radio & soon a buzz was building around the band. Then explosive gigs with bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Bloc Party, The Mystery Jets & German rockers Art Brut gained them a reputation for raucous mayhem, including a penchant for multi-band clothes swapping on stage! Next up, US indie label Cranky Girl Records arranged for an East Coast tour of the States alongside some American releases, which all culminated in a whirlwind of gigs, parties & scintillating scotoma!

Buoyed on by a new-found enthusiasm when they sold out of their 2020 vinyl album Ragnarok & embracing the ‘new reality’ of working from home during lockdown with many a remote writing session, the band went back into the studio to record upcoming LP Night Terrors, from which You Follow Me Around is taken.

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Will Sheff - Pale Blue Eyes

Photo - Bret Curry

Will Sheff - Enstrangement Zone.

Today, Will Sheff known for leading the critically acclaimed indie-rock stalwarts Okkervil River across nine beloved albums announces ‘Nothing Special’, his debut solo album set for release on 7th October via ATO Records.

While Sheff acknowledges that the album’s title opens him up to some cheap digs from music writers, ‘Nothing Special’ is not mere self-deprecation: it’s a record that wrestles with the dream of rock and roll exceptionalism and the realignment of values necessary to move past youthful delusion and give your day-to-day life a more mature sense of meaning and hope.

Says Sheff, “When I was just a kid, I got caught up in the dream of being a rock and roll star. Like so many other young people, I fell in love with the idea of being called to this glorious path outside of ordinary life. And I ended up in a band with people who felt this same call - especially our brilliant drummer Travis Nelsen, who was like a brother to me. We would trade tales of hilarious antics and outrageous excess and tragic death like they were almost scripture. Travis and I fell out painfully, and he died in the early weeks of lockdown. I think a big part of ‘Nothing Special’ centres around grieving for him, grieving for everything my friends have lost, grieving for the rock and rock and roll myth, and trying to open my eyes to a more transcendent reality.”

Sheff sets this emotional journey to arrangements that contain subtle surprises, referencing baroque pop, blurred-lens synth ballads, sci-fi psychedelia and the widescreen ambience of 1970s and ‘80s ECM Records releases. It’s a record that follows its own idiosyncratic yet intuitive internal logic as we follow Sheff — and his expansive list of collaborators — into whatever’s next for us, both individually and collectively.

Accompanying today’s announcement is a video for ‘Estrangement Zone', a song that sets Sheff’s less-than-hopeful vision of society’s decline to retrofuturistic digital timbres more associated with Oneohtrix Point Never or Boards Of Canada than Okkervil River. Directed by Johnny North and prominently featuring Marcus Paek as a character simply called The Youth, it’s a mystical desert fantasy that’s part ‘Dune’, part ‘Stalker’. Says Sheff: “I think of the ‘Estrangement Zone’ video as a kind of magical spell the crew and I were trying to cast — a parable about endings and beginnings happening simultaneously.”

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Photo - Honey Davis Wilkinson

Pale Blue Eyes - Little Gem.

Following the announcement of their debut album Souvenirs, coming out on September 2 via Full Time Hobby (Dana Gavanski, Silverbacks), Devon’s Pale Blue Eyes has today shared a new track from the record. The accompanying video, directed by Dylan Friese-Green and Aubrey Simpson, captures the band on the road, crammed into a Nissan Micra, cruising through the English countryside. Watch it here

Speaking of the track, the band said “Little Gem is about relationships and gardening. We call Lucy [PBE drums and synths] The Emo Gardener. She’d painstakingly cultivate her little greenhouse only to be left distraught when the tomatoes got blight – swearing and weeping by the compost heap. The song is a metaphor for our band's journey. It’s about breaking down, then finding a way around – growing new tunes, cultivating them and sometimes having to start again from scratch.”

Souvenirs was recorded in PBE’s own Penquit Mill studio, just south of Dartmoor, the studio having been funded by a bank loan and endless part-time jobs. PBE are the couple Lucy and Matt Board, crucially aided by Motown-mad bassist Aubrey Simpson. Matt (vocals/guitar) and Lucy (drums/electronics) met at Dartington College of Arts in South Devon, a storied establishment that’s been enlivened over the years by people including Igor Stravinksy, Yul Brynner and John Cage. Lucy’s dissertation was titled “An Investigation into Sheffield's Alternative Music Scene Between 1973 and 1978, with Particular Reference to Cabaret Voltaire.” The PBE album was mixed and mastered by Dean Honer (Eccentronic Research Council, Moonlandingz). Dean has been an integral part of Sheffield's electronic scene and has mixed artists including Róisín Murphy, The Human League and Add N To (X).

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Cari Cari - Flight Attendant - Phil Thornalley

Cari Cari - Welcome To Kookoo Island.

Cari Cari have shared the newest single to be released from their forthcoming album Welcome To Kookoo Island due out on September 16th, 2022 via Perla Nera Records. Despite sharing a name with the album, their new single ‘Welcome To Kookoo Island’ takes the listener on a soft and gentle daydream, stepping away from their usually zestful and energetic bursts of psychedelia.

“While Cari Cari was founded with the aim of placing their music in a Tarantino flick, ‘Welcome To Kookoo Island’ would probably be a better fit for Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom” says guitarist Alexander Koeck. The new single sees the duo unplug their electric guitars and take the listener on a magical boat ride down the Mississippi, longing for the innocence of childhood, letting go of the trouble of adult life and, as the lyrics say, “whatever I can’t change I will just let go”.

Cari Cari is Stephanie Widmer (vocals, drums & didgeridoo) and Alexander Koeck (vocals, guitars). Since their inception, Cari Cari have been tirelessly working to create their own world, carefully crafting everything from their music to their artwork, videos to set design in-house. This meticulous attention to detail has earned the band a loyal following; Rolling Stone Magazine called them ‘the biggest discovery of Primavera Sound Festival’, their die-hard fans sold out 1000+ capacity rooms across Europe and their debut album was praised by the likes of NME, KCRW, Rolling Stone, IndieShuffle and many more.

However, for the band, all roads have led them to Kookoo Island. The product of years of world-building, Welcome To Kookoo Island, was born from a desire to retreat from modern-day life completely. “Kookoo Island is our libertatia, the utopia of what we think the world should be like,” explains Widmer. “It seems to be cuckoo to dream of such a place right now, but dreaming of what we want the world to be like is the first step towards making it a reality,” she continues.

Cari Cari · Welcome To Kookoo Island (Master)

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Flight Attendant - Crybaby.

Flight Attendant has unveiled the video for new single "Crybaby" and announced their upcoming debut full length will be out on September 30th. Flight Attendant belongs to that breed of rock bands made in Nashville, where their sound is nothing less than a sonic unicorn. Blending sounds of grunge with power-pop hooks, viola and light synth textures, they have begun to create a hypnotic sound and energy all of their own.

The group met through many shared interests, friend circles and glasses of wine. Karalyne (Lead Vocals, Keys, certified Sommelier, originally from Kansas City, Kansas) met Vinny Maniscalco (Vocals, Guitar, award-winning bartender, originally from Boston, Massachusetts) while bartending together at Nashville restaurant 5th & Taylor where Nikki Christie (Vocals, Viola, great at drinking wine, originally from Los Angeles, California) joined in too. It didn’t take many nights of cocktail making and wine tasting before the band formed. With the addition of drummer, and long time drinking buddy Derek Sprague (drums, lager lover and also from Boston, Massachusetts) the lineup was complete. Together the group has released a collection of singles including pulsating grooves like “Man of Chaos,” which was described by numerous media outlets as one of the best singles of 2020.

Flight Attendant has played sold out shows from Nashville, TN, to Austin,TX, including SXSW 2022, Tomato Art Festival and the Nashville Film Festival - where they have entranced audiences, sold out merch and created a fitting example of what's to come. They are now gearing up for a European Tour in the Fall to support their debut album, produced by Grammy Winning engineer and producer, Charles Yingling. With the help of their cabin crew, Flight Attendant is quickly making a name for themselves on the global stage.

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Phil Thornalley - Fast Car.

A quick scan of the many records Phil Thornalley has worked on, and you’ll quickly spot some of the biggest names in popular music, including Bryan Adams, Thompson Twins, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, XTC, Duran Duran, and even Paul McCartney. Phil co-wrote and produced Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 worldwide smash “Torn,” and has written hits with Pixie Lott (“Mama Do”) and BBMak (“Back Here”). A kind of rock’n’roll Zelig, his name is probably on countless records in your collection, although you probably didn’t even know it was him.  That bass line on The Cure’s “Love Cats”? That’s Phil. The haunting and ethereal production on Prefab Sprout’s “When Love Breaks Down”?  That’s Phil too.

Now, on his latest offering, Now That I Have Your Attention, Phil Thornalley steps out of The Swamp (his North London studio) to unveil 11 catchy and brand-new original songs (plus three bonus tracks on the CD!) that find him exploring the production stylings pioneered by the Electric Light Orchestra’s Brummie boffin, Jeff Lynne.

Thornalley celebrates the fine musicality and pure joy of Lynne’s widescreen symphonic string sections, the bare-faced brutality of his straight-ahead rhythm bed tracks, and plenty of multi-tracked and stacked harmony vocals. On tracks like “Stand By Love,” and “High On Your Supply,” Thornalley makes more than a passing nod towards Lynne’s carefully layered sonic tableau, from the multiple acoustic guitars to the highly specific electric guitar lines.

Clearly, it’s a sound that Thornalley can’t get out of his head. “Maybe we should have called it the Traveling Phil-burys,” Thornalley jokes, “but I enjoyed the earlier ELO records, and the way they married a crummy beat combo with the grandeur of a full orchestra - it was over-the-top but infectiously musical, creating a foundation of the oxymoronic ‘controlled’ rock and roll drums and a super simple bass guitar.”

Why, you may well ask, would a lauded and Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer (and the focus of a recent in-depth career retrospective story in the American trade magazine, Tape Op) decide to record an album with both feet planted haphazardly in the squelch of the seventies sounds of ELO and glam rock? Because it’s fun.

“When I listen to pop radio these days,” says Phil Thornalley, “no one seems to be having any fun. In my teenage years, every other record you heard was ridiculous. I think that sense of fun is missing from today’s often turgid, doleful would-be soul singers moaning about their millionaire ennui.”

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Little Quirks - Charlie Houston - Fresh

Little Quirks - Maybelle.

Little Quirks – Australian sisters Abbey and Mia and their cousin Jaymi – are excited to reveal new single 'Maybelle' - another undeniably catchy folk-pop earworm, lifted from their forthcoming Call To Unknowns EP – out August 25th via Glassnote Records.

Abbey Toole muses, “Maybelle is a story of a woman with a wild mind and imagination. She travels town to town, sharing stories of her adventures. Over time, the news spreads and she becomes the legend of Maybelle. “I wanted to write a song that would draw audiences to dance and get excited! I wrote it while stomping my feet around the house and clapping to the beat.

“This one was especially fun to record as we got everyone involved in the recording in a big room to stomp, clap and chant. Maybelle is fun and energetic, our favourite song to play live. We can’t wait for everyone to finally hear it!”

The band has had a busy year so far having toured their high-energy live show through USA and UK. Today they are very pleased to announce a handful of Australian dates across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. 'Maybelle' is the next installment from the band’s new EP following previously released singles 'Florence’s Town', 'Someone To Hold' and 'The Rain'.

Little Quirks’ 2018 single Crumbled has been a runaway favourite on Spotify with over 4 million streams and they have amassed a loyal following for their powerful and distinctive DIY videos on YouTube, including an impressive version of ABBA’s 'SOS'.

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Charlie Houston - Dinosaurs In The Garden.

The 22-year-old singer-songwriter, Charlie Houston is following her Spotify USA Viral 50 track, "Wide Awake", which she recorded with the Grammy-nominated electronic duo, ODESZA with her new single, "Dinosaurs In The Garden" – out now via Arts & Crafts. 

Speaking about the new single which finds Charlie tapping into a more grunge-pop sound, she says: "'Dinosaurs In The Garden' is about the fear of getting your heart broken while in a relationship. While you have no reason to suspect it’s going to happen, there is always looming anxiety about the fact that you’ve allowed yourself to fall for someone and now can’t control whether it works out or not.”

Houston, whose “contemporary R&B-inflected pop straightforwardly addresses the meaningful mundanities of Gen Z life” (Bandcamp) is following her 2021 genre-bending debut five-song EP, I Hate Spring which received praise from Zane Lowe, Rolling Stone, and SPIN, while landing a Spotify Times Square Billboard. As she prepares the release of her second EP, due out later this year, she will be joining ODESZA on their mammoth stadium tour which commences tomorrow, as well as concluding her cross-Canada support tour with JUNO Award 2022 Artist Of The Year, Charlotte Cardin.

Charlie Houston · Dinosaurs In The Garden

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Fresh - Why Do I.

London punks Fresh have shared a brand new video for 'Why Do I', the closing track of their new album 'Raise Hell'. The track resolves the record with our protagonist breaking free of a toxic relationship, joyously riding into the sunset singing doo-wops. It’s the first time on the album that the inner conflict settles, and contentment takes precedence.

Talking about the new video, lead singer and principal songwriter Kathryn Woods said “After getting back from an intense UK tour, we thought it'd be nice to have a fun day out at the beach on the bands dime. A seagull stole one of our doughnuts, and another one pooped on Dan. They may have been the same seagull, we will never know.”

On the track itself, she expands; “Sadness and self-doubt are acknowledged and present on ‘Why Do I’, but they don’t hold power over you anymore. There’s power in starting from scratch. Think Nicole Kidman signing divorce papers in 2001-vibes. There’s a real catharsis and joyous presence to this song, upbeat do-woop vocals, guitar riffs with a touch of delay and soaring lead vocals make it a great note to end the record on."

Fresh have been an unwavering fixture within the UK punk scene since their first record in 2017. A joy to behold live, Woods honed her craft not only fronting Fresh but as a member of several heralded indie and punk bands, including cheerbleederz and ME REX alongside Fresh bandmate Myles McCabe.

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Improvement Movement - Forever Honey - Melting Dreams - Paper Foxes

Improvement Movement - 11:00.

With so much of the music industry feeling constantly inundated with projects being disguised as indie music by major labels, there seems to be a level of exhaustion around the discovery of new bands. The Atlanta, GA-based Improvement Movement sets out to vertically and horizontally integrate all your needs with their debut project, Don’t Delay, Join Today! – out July 29, 2022, through Acrophase Records – which is a collection of songs that might gravitate towards fans of Drugdealer, Altin Gun, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, as well as fans of startups like Theranos, WeWork, and Juicero.

In all seriousness, the project is a special amalgamation of insanely talented Atlanta musicians who have found a way to collaborate with each other under the band title. Improvement Movement includes (but is not limited to) a rotating cast of Atlanta musicians like Tony Aparo, Zach Pyles (credited on projects from Washed Out, Neon Indian, and Deerhunter to name a few), Marshall Ruffin (Lonnie Holley, The Mount, RUFFIN), Clark Hamilton (klark.sound, Safari Williams) – each a full-fledged artist in their own right – to execute their recordings and live shows. The band was aided in finishing the album by artists and producers including Kelly Pratt of Beirut playing all the woodwinds on the album and Jason Kingsland who mixed the album (notable credits include Band of Horses, Father John Misty, Belle and Sebastian).

You are about to permanently alter the course of your natural life with…Improvement Movement

Usually when a band starts an album cycle a press release is written in an effort to build a story around the band with mentions of all star producers and recording trips that yielded songs from the most famous studios on earth. For Improvement Movement we are here to dispel any of the unfounded rumors being spread that lay heavy claims of the project being mislabeled as a “cult” or “multi-level marketing scheme”. By the end of this EPK you will find yourself a believer in the greatest movement the world has ever seen.

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Photo - Rita Iovine

Forever Honey - I've Been Down.

Yesterday Brooklyn rock outfit Forever Honey will be sharing their new single "I’ve Been Down.”  It’s the second of two singles off an upcoming EP titled “Could I Come Here Alone.” Lyrically, “I’ve Been Down” draws upon the personal experiences of singer Liv Price, who explains the song’s inspiration: 

"I’ve Been Down" is about an instance of trying hard to force feelings for someone and what that point of staleness and auto-pilot looks and feels like–mentally checking out all the time; staring at the ceiling; going through the motions. 

I had this realization one night of how many times I let relationships continue beyond their expiration dates.  In general, I’ve always had a tendency of doubting myself and second guessing what my gut is screaming at me, feeling like I’m just mistaken and need to try harder.  So, it took me much longer than I’d like to admit to recognize that I don’t actually owe anyone my love or company. And that my feelings for someone aren’t something I can just turn on and off, or will into existence.

The rest of the band breathes an air of melancholy into the poignant subject matter with catchy finesse. Instrumentally nodding to their shoegaze inspirations (e.g., Mazzy Star, The Sundays), chiming guitars weave in and out, complementing the emotive and directive vocals. Like so many Forever Honey songs, guitarist Mekonnen masterfully translates the sorrowful lyrics into equally expressive guitar riffs.

Forever Honey · I've Been Down

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Melting Dreams - Like Me.

‘Like Me’ is a soft and mysterious ode to dreams. It contemplates both the sweetness enveloping a dream and its in-satiety; it speaks both of the euphoria and the anxiety that come with chasing after it. Most of all, it speaks of vulnerability – the laying bare of the skin (and of the heart) – that comes with revealing it to others.

Lush strings pull us up to the heights of adrenaline, while tense drums and enigmatic melodies seem to bring the warning of tragedy. Together, they embody the stomach-turning sensation of anticipation and the indistinguishable feelings of fear and excitement. Yet, gentle synths and xylophones wrap us on a cloud – the drunken haze of dreams is lulling and luring.

The angelic vocals travel from soft whisper to powerful belt – there is vulnerability in sharing one’s heart, but there's also courage – and so the voice trembles but rejoices at the thought of possibility, gaining strength, and guiding us to a culmination that is supported by the band's atmospheric and powerful wall of sound.

The band is sharing the first theme from their debut album; they’re giving in to their most vulnerable moment. The question that now beckons to be asked is: Will you like it?

Melting Dreams are a dark dream-pop band formed by Inês Rebelo (Vocals and Vocal Production) and Asaf Rahamim (Songwriting and Production) who teamed up with Artur Lenivenko (piano and synths) and invited musicians from all over the globe to record their debut album, Can You See Me?, set for release in September 2022. They are greatly inspired by film-noir, animation films, and acts such as Kate Bush, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, and Patrick Watson.

Melting Dreams · Like Me

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Paper Foxes - Heartstrings.

Phoenix-based 5-piece, Paper Foxes are back with their new single ‘Heartstrings’, taken from their upcoming new album Paradise Deluxe. With a genre-bending sound that blends elements of indie, disco and electronic music, the new single see’s the band venture further into the realm of synth-pop with an 80s-inspired, heavily electronic soundscape.

Full of bright yet warming analogue synth, punching electronic drums and thick, throbbing bass ‘Heartstrings’ quickly captures an uplifting feel as the intense, fluorescent electronic instrumentation takes hold. The effortlessly emotive, infectiously catchy lead vocal soon enters, instantly introducing the song's main hook with a cool, chilled delivery which emphasizes the track's edge. Reminiscent of the likes of M83 and MGMT, this is a fresh approach from the band, a move away from the guitar-led sound of their previous releases.

Made up of CJ Jacobson (vocals, guitar), Patro Gaston (synths), Oliver Lemke (guitar), Robert Ciuca (bass) and Henri Bernard (drums), Paper Foxes have garnered over 100 thousand streams to date, making a name for themselves with their unique brand of alternative-indie come new-wave. Having gained recognition after being named ‘the best-unsigned band in AZ’ by Alt Press in 2020, the band gained a number of sync deals with Netflix, MTV and A&E before setting out on a tour of the southwest United States with Hunny and The Happy Fits.

Now back with more material from their upcoming new album due for release in 2023, the band continue to establish themselves as an exciting up-and-coming band surely set for big things.

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Why Bonnie - Solis - Tanzos

Why Bonnie - Nowhere, LA.

New-York-by-way-of-Texas transplants Why Bonnie share a new single, “Nowhere, LA” from their debut album, 90 in November, out August 19th on Keeled Scales. On “Nowhere LA” - LA as in Louisiana - Blair Howerton uses a broken down car on an isolated road as a metaphor for a stalled relationship: “I know I walk fast, but my heart moves so slow,” she sings. Howerton elaborates: “Inspired by a true story of breaking down in the middle of nowhere Louisiana with an ex, this song is about looking at a relationship in the rear view mirror. Once you’re further away from a place, you can see it all more clearly and with a bit more understanding.” In-step with previous singles “Sailor Mouth,” “Hot Car, “90 in November,” and “Galveston,” “Nowhere, LA” is emotionally-charged and driven by rousing guitar.

90 in November is inspired by fellow Texans Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, alt-rock like the Lemonheads and the Replacements, the eccentric pop of Sparklehorse, and Sheryl Crow.  As Uproxx points out, “Why Bonnie glistens with the same sun-soaked sentimentality as that of their label-mates…early singles from their upcoming debut album, 90 In November, flash polish in Howerton’s ambitious lyricism and reassuring melodies.” 

Through 90 in November, Howerton propels her songwriting forward into new realms of emotional sincerity and her band to new heights of sonic adventurousness. The songs are full of poetic, cinematic lyrics that flash like colorful scenes glimpsed from the window of a car as it barrels along an interstate highway cutting through the Lone Star State, each one a road stop revealing a different facet of Howerton’s experience. The album is a dynamic introduction to a more raw-edged indie sound from a band who have matured from bedroom dream pop into a sophisticated rock act, their evolving sound a reflection of the journey undertaken by Howerton on this vividly rendered collection of songs.

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Solis - Jungle.

Glimmering with balmy rhythms that are as sleek as they are lo-fi-tinged, “Jungle” is a scintillating masterclass in gauzy pop production.  With alluring, sun-drenched melodies that nod to poignant and melancholic themes but ultimately reach an all-the-more optimistic conclusion, Solis says of the track:

“I wrote this song when I realised there’s always an option, always a way out, the hardest part is realising that. The EP as a whole was written from a place where I didn’t feel I belonged and was dreaming of something else “Jungle” and “Osmosis” in particular are about living in the city and being part of the rat race, the never ending cycle of work and spend and very little time for living.”

Taken from the Manchester-based artist’s new five track EP ‘Open’, the release comprises five tracks including hypnotic earlier single “Be Together” and debut release “Jigsaw”. Across its five tracks, Solis flexes her knack for dreamy vocal melodies, ethereal rhythms and glinting, laidback percussion. Written by Solis, recorded at her home in Moss Side and produced by Andy Connor, ‘Open’ also features Jack Winstanley on bass and Max Barron on drums to bring the EP’s stellar set of songs to life.

Opening up about writing and recording ‘Open’, Solis explains: “I wrote these songs about 4 years ago. As soon as we finished recording, I had a really serious car accident which had me recovering for a very long time and I’m finally ready to release this body of songs. This EP ‘Open’, will be followed by a second EP shortly after, both EPs were intentionally written to follow each other and act as a big body of songs.”

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Tanzos - Mood Swings.

Austrian Indie Rock artist Tanzos delights with his latest rock single ‘Mood Swings’ available now. After the success of his single ‘Birdy,’ the singer returns with his new guitar driven single focused on capturing the complexities of a struggling mind.

Launching straight into an energetic outburst characterized by his usual squalling guitar riffs, Tanzos sonically embodies a conflicted psyche. The chorus, raw and passionate, while favoring the snappy guitar, also provides space for his robust vocals and powerful lyricism that raise supreme and convey the eruption of repressed emotions.

The multi-faceted artist, is no stranger to the music industry. Previously the frontman of the indie -rock band ‘Zeronic’ and with two nominated albums in the ‘Best Alternative’ Category at the Austrian Music Award ‘Amadeus’, Tanzos’ success is a growing trend.

Using the indie-rock aesthetic, ‘Mood Swings’ showcases an unapologetically commentary on mental health. While the electrically charged guitar riffs pulsate throughout the track mimicking the cacophony of clashing emotions, Tanzos’ energetic verses accentuate the overwhelming feeling of pent-up tension.

About the single, Tanzos says: “Mood swings is quite an unfiltered and direct song. I was trying to capture the difficult emotions of someone who is already used to internal struggles. But sometimes it´s just too much, you get overwhelmed and lose control“.

Tanzos · Mood Swings

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Tallies - Steven Keene

Tallies - Memento.

The Toronto-based band, Tallies are today sharing their new single, "Memento" which comes as the final advance preview of their forthcoming album, Patina which is out this Friday, July 29 via Kanine Records (US), Hand Drawn Dracula (Canada) and Bella Union (UK/EU). The latest single arrives following a string of recent tracks which have found support at many major publications and notable radio stations.

Speaking about this new single, Sarah of the band says: "I am a firm believer in “what goes down must come up,” people usually say the opposite, but this is a motto I’ve used throughout my life. When things aren’t going well, they have a tendency to bounce back. 'Memento', to me, is my pick-up song. When I sing “gotta get you on your way now”, I’m saying that it’s time to move on and move forward. I’ve had many moments in my life where I’ve lost momentum and felt directionless like I’d fallen into a black hole. It’s hard to crawl out of the hole and get back on track. I think there are a lot of people who spend their time thinking about how they need to get back on track. Listen to this song and remind yourself it’s time to look forward and lean into the future."

The balance of optimism and something more world-weary and wise is symptomatic of Tallies' music, this new single "Memento" lays into those ideas once more while drawing on gliding, shoegaze-adjacent jangle-pop reminiscent of The Sundays, Galaxie 500, Ride, etc. While many of their songs are upbeat, with Frankland’s breezy guitar lines drenched in reverb, soaring over Cian O'Neill’s propulsive drumbeats, Sarah’s lyrics pull out deep thought and emotive responses to day-to-day struggles.

Coming produced by Graham Walsh (of Holy Fuck, previously helmed records by METZ and Alvvays) alongside Dylan Frankland of the band at Palace Sound, Baskitball 4 Life and Candle Recording in Toronto, Patina arrives as a true labor of love; one that was delayed due to the pandemic but ultimately marks a truly rewarding collection for the band. Upon sharing the music with labels, it pricked the ears of Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde – a hero of the band – who signed Tallies to his Bella Union label, providing "a light at the end of a dark tunnel" according to Sarah Cogan of the band.

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Steven Keene - Soon.

New York-based singer-songwriter and folk artist Steven Keene is adept at handcrafting consistently powerful and timely songs with the ability to resonate across generations, with deeply meditative lyrics and lessons that deliver progressive,  universal messages of hope to the collective consciousness.

The newest emanation of Keene’s signature ethos arrives in the form of his latest single “Soon” (out now via Reviver Records), a track that seamlessly melds a James Agee-styled social critique with the ardent defiance of the best in American protest music. Once again leveling the sights of Keene’s masterful compositional craft dead-center on the faltering heart of the matter, “Soon” holds an unflattering yet hopeful creative mirror up to the great lumbering leviathan of a numb world sleepwalking into yet another World War.

Whether motivated by ignorance or outright disregard for the most costly lessons of human history, or by an equally untenable lack of collective self-awareness — it has now become frighteningly clear that the world is falling in, single-file, behind political pied-pipers bent on night-walking us straight into chaos. An eloquent creative effort to reclaim some sense of collective reason and spiritual autonomy, “Soon” represents a kind of exorcizing incantation against unwanted hate, propagated by powerful corporate and governmental interests who run the world and have too much to gain by sowing discord around difference.

Steven Keene · Soon

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Jackson Mico Milas - Free Time - David Beck - Bill Scorzari

Jackson Mico Milas - White Noise.

Accomplished musician and composer Jackson Mico Milas unveils his debut album this November. ‘Blu Terra’ brings together eleven tender and emotive compositions and finds the British artist hitting his stride. New single ‘White Noise’ follows first album track drop ‘Lost In Seasons’, which has picked up airplay from BBC 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews and came alongside a hypnotic visualizer for its B-side ‘Katia Standing Alone’.

On ‘White Noise’, Jackson’s eclectic sonic vista expands from the hushed acoustic lushness of ‘Lost In Seasons’, inviting the listener further into his intimate world, with subtle electronics and gorgeous airy atmospheres layered over organic drums and double bass. ‘White Noise’ washes over the listener like a cool summer breeze, with Jackson’s soft vocal hooks and melancholic tones penetrating that inner psyche. The accompanying video is the first of three videos which will progressively expand visually to narrate the Album’s journey to a November 2022 release. “White Noise” sees Jackson on a secluded beach, the waves and sea foam crashing behind as the song’s moods progress and expand.

Having cut his teeth at New York’s Nylon Studios, Jackson carved out a career with award-winning film and TV scores including a long standing collaboration with Tim Minchin on the acclaimed Sky Atlantic drama ‘Upright’.

On ‘Blu Terra’, Jackson comes of age, and delivers a mature and elegant suite of compositions encompassing acoustic, alt-folk and jazz elements to set up soaring and heartfelt songs. The LP features a cast of great players, including String arrangement on ‘June’ comes from Elliott Wheeler (Musical Director/Composer on ELVIS), and Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie 'Blackstar'), Troy Simms (Lee Scratch Perry).

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Free Time - That's Rare.

Free Time announce third full-length album 'Jangle Jargon' out September 30, 2022 and share first single 'That's Rare.' Six years on since the release of 2016’s In Search of… album, ex-Panel of Judges frontman and Melbourne-via-NYC luminary Dion Nania returns with Free Time’s third studio album in eight years, Jangle Jargon.

The album was recorded chiefly in two parts, beginning in 2017 in Ridgewood, Queens, with engineer Jarvis Taveniere (Purple Mountains, The Avalanches, Molly Burch) and guests Martin Frawley and Amy Franz (Twerps, Super Wild Horses) from Nania’s home in Melbourne, Australia.

After a period of quiet in which he focussed on his academic work, Nania, now living in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Williamsburg, returned to these original sessions in 2021 with a bag of new material and regular collaborators Jonah Maurer and Mike Mimoun. After a while demo’ing new material with Maurer during the pandemic, Nania discovered that he shared an apartment building with engineer John Epperly (Veldt, Daddy Long Legs, Baby Shakes), and so without further ado they booked in time to track new material and mix the 2017 sessions. After a few roadblocks, including Mimoun’s newborn baby Noam arriving the day the album’s tracking sessions were to begin, the band eventually had themselves a record.


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David Beck - Miner's Song.

When it came time to take his new collection of songs into the studio, noted bassist, songwriter, producer, and recording artist David Beck started the process with a simple, albeit off-the-wall, question that led the entire project into a new, adventurous atmosphere. “I’d discovered this idea with my buddy Ryan Quiet when I was producing his single,” says Beck. “We talked about these hypothetical situations—what if Dwight Yoakam did a record that was produced by The War On Drugs? What if Robert Earl Keen-like stories were seen through a Coldplay soundscape lens?” With those stylistic guidelines, Beck’s imagination and artistic creativity thrived.

Having an affinity for both Texas storytellers by like of Keen, Guy Clark, and Rodney Crowell and the modern indie rock of Coldplay, The War on Drugs, and Big Thief, Beck’s upcoming album Bloom & Fade creates a cinematic world built around endearing storytelling and a soft, airy sonic palette. While Keen and Coldplay may seem like polar opposites of the musical spectrum, finding the connective tissue between those two worlds gave Beck additional perspective for Bloom & Fade’s pensive, visceral reflective nature.

While previous solo efforts, Good Nature and Tascam, Vol. 1 & 2, embraced a lo-fi temper and tone, Bloom & Fade is a cascade of vibrant, crisp, and warm sonic hues and tones that channel central Texas meadows wet with morning dew, bouquets of Hill Country wildflowers, the low hum of city streets, and the ambient splendor of being beneath a cloudless starlit sky. “This record, I had a very clear goal,” says Beck. “There were some discoveries along the way, but I wanted to make the best-recorded album that I could at a high fidelity studio. I’ve always messed around with the format, but I wanted to do one without any restrictions.”

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Bill Scorzari - The Broken Heart Side Of The Road.

Bill Scorzari is excited to release “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” as the 2nd single (and 2nd music video) from his upcoming album, The Crosswinds of Kansas (independently released Aug 19). In “The Broken Heart Side of the Road,” Scorzari recounts a hard tale of the destruction of a relationship, set to traditional roots music, while with upbeat mandolin and banjo lines prominent in the mix, and a Dobro swell tugging at your heart in the distance.

He tells Glide Magazine, “I started writing ‘The Broken Heart Side of the Road’ back in 2015 and then it kind of fell off my radar for a while. When I returned to New York after the end of the Now I’m Free tour in 2019, I found that it fit really well with the other songs I was writing at the time, and so I made a few changes to the lyrics and reworked the song structure until it felt right. The lyrics sprouted right out of the chord progression and, at least on some level, are grounded in time I spent in my childhood, learning from my dad how to plant and care for growing things. I especially loved being able to work a lyric into the first chorus, about the risks of planting corn too early in the season. ‘And then a cold rain in the morning corkscrewed my cold-planted corn, and then half my crop took twice the time to grow.’”

Bill recorded the acoustic guitar and vocal tracks for “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” (and much of the 13-track album) in his studio—First Thunder— in New York in late 2020. In mid 2021, after many people had gotten vaccinated and it appeared to be relatively safe to travel again, Bill drove to Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville, TN (where he previously recorded Now I’m Free 2019) and met with album Co-Producer Neilson Hubbard (drums, percussion), Michael Rinne (upright bass), Fats Kaplin (fiddle), Matt Menefee (banjo), Brent Burke (Dobro), Will Kimbrough (mandolin), and Engineer Dylan Alldredge to record their parts live there together for the song. Later, in September of 2021, Bill returned to Nashville to work with Dylan on the final mixes and they recorded Marie Lewey and Cindy Richardson Walker, a/k/a The Shoals Sisters, singing the backing vocals to “The Broken Heart Side of the Road.” Lewy and Walker recorded backing vocals for a few of the other tracks. For some of the other songs, Rinne also plays electric bass, in addition to his upright, and Kaplin adds his richly melodic and rhythmic sensibilities on pedal steel guitar, and viola, in addition to his fiddle.

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