Nels Johnson - Louie & The Wolf Gang - Jeremy Garrett - Cassi Marie - Kramies

Nels Johnson - The Light That Guides Me.

Nels Johnson recently released the Americana single “The Light That Guides Me". It’s off the upcoming album release, “Ios,” due out October 14. “The Light That Guides Me” delves into a father/son relationship asking, “If he passed away, how would I want to remember our time together?” The single wistfully remembers and processes loss while finding hope within it all.

The single takes a nostalgic look at positive memories growing up, some real, some contrived, all of them gone and not here anymore. Johnson says, “I love the nostalgia of the first verse, of finding a picture of an old loved one in an attic and being surprised at how different and young they used to look, and just remembering them in a new and different way.” The song also looks to the past as a guide through challenges in the present, “as I travel through this distant and foreign land, longing to grow into a man.”

On “Ios,” Johnson leans into the theme of surrender, coming to grips with who you are as a person and what makes you happy. The songs embrace the human experience and stories that shape and change us along the way. A visit to the Grecian island, Ios, inspired the record’s theme. Johnson wrote three songs on the album, “Rest,” “Holy Men,” and part of “Surrender,” while on the island. He says, “It was a place of total relaxation, which freed me up to slow down, quiet all the loud voices and get in touch with what I was feeling. It’s hard to describe, but I experienced a sense of freedom and just comfort in my skin that I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced before.” Those themes are captured in the songs that led to the album being named after the island.

Nels Johnson · The Light That Guides Me

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Louie & The Wolf Gang - Hot Wheels.

Louie & The Wolf Gang have been causing quite a stir in Swiss rockabilly-scene over the last months. They have already thrilled audiences at concerts at major festivals such as the 'Tiki Bash' or 'Rockabilly Stomp' at the legendary KuFa Lyss - where they were immediately invited to play again on 23.9.22 with legendary The Polecats and others. Since spring of this year, the band have also been playing in numerous renowned clubs and festivals.

No wonder, their sound makes you dancing an partying. At the same time, the three-piece are enjoying airplay on radios across the globe - from Rete Uno/Tre, SRF1, Option Musique, BeO to countless international stations.

Just in time for their next tour dates, Louie & The Wolf Gang release their new single 'Hot Wheels'. The track is another rousing rockabilly smasher, inspired by scene-heroes like The Stray Cats, Restless and The Blue Cats.

«Hot Wheels» is a plea for a living club culture. It speaks to those who are bothered as soon as people are enjoying themselves, be it at a club-concert or rockabilly-festival. Louie & The Wolf Gang say: Celebrate instead of complaining about the «noise»! So the track is a homage to the countless clubs and festivals whose lives are made difficult by angry citizens and neighbors - which often leads to the closure of the locations. Until a new album is released in 2023, Louie & The Wolf Gang will release a bunch of new singles.

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Jeremy Garrett - I Am The River Wild.

Earlier this year, Jeremy Garrett (from the GRAMMY-winning Infamous Stringdusters) returned to the bluegrass roots that first brought him accolades and critical attention when he released his third album for Organic Records, River Wild. 

Alongside a successful tour on which Garrett was joined by some of today’s top players, the album’s first single, “What’s That You’re Doin,’” reached No. 1 on Bluegrass Today’s weekly chart and Garrett was featured on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction Sidetracks segment. 

Now, Garrett has released a music video for the album’s title track. Leading off the album, the moody “I Am The River Wild” carries a double meaning, capturing the voice of the river and of Garrett himself. 

“This song, co-written by Rick Lang, is a picture of how rivers are born and become mighty. Untamed and free. Wild. Perhaps they can be held back, but not when the storms come raging in,” says Garrett. “It feels like I am describing myself as the river as I sing this song.” “We made the video for this song in a pristine part of the southern Colorado wilderness, way up in the mountains, where life to rivers begins,” Garrett told The Bluegrass Situation. “The wolf and the moose bring an amazing feeling to the video and the story unfolds nicely in that setting.”

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Cassi Marie - Starving Heart.

At just 20 years of age, Moreton Bay’s Cassi Marie has been consistently achieving success not only as a solo artist but also as a member of two impressive bands over the past couple of years.

Stepping back into the solo driver’s seat for her latest release, “Starving Heart”, Cassi again reminds us why she is one of the most exciting and talked about talents in Australian country music.

“Starving Heart” brings about a more contemporary and edgier sound to her music. Cassi says the song is about “someone who struggles to let love into their heart and finds it easier to run than to let themselves be loved”.

Cassi’s strong work ethic and bubbly personality has seen her tick many things off her bucket list. She won the Gympie Muster Talent Search at just 12 years of age, penned hundreds of songs and released her debut EP produced by the legendary Bill Chambers in 2019. More recently, releasing singles such as “Walls” and “Burn” has seen the young artist continue to evolve in both songwriting and musicianship, playing several instruments on these recordings. Since 2020 she has been working with the bands The Kindly Ravens and The English Rain, lending her voice and songwriting talents to tracks such as “Silver and Gold” and “Everywhere I Go”.

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Kramies - Owl and the Crow.

Originally written while travelling through Ireland, “Owl and the Crow” arrives as another dreamy glimpse into Kramies’ forthcoming self-titled LP. Initially just an acoustic outtake, the new single was finally recorded in one take on a late Californian night in Jerry Becker’s Oakland Studio.

As time went on “Owl and the Crow” only grew, with layers and images captured by Kramies’ on his travels. With glimmering acoustic guitar licks flirting with eerie instrumentals and compelling vocals, the new track follows “Hotel in LA” as a second taster of Kramies’ self-titled LP, arriving on 9 September 2022.

Of the new single, Kramies explains: “I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to say this before, because I can’t really understand completely how I process things without relying heavily on the emotions I use to create everything, but “Owl and the Crow” is one of the songs on the LP that means the most to me.”

“For one of the first times in my life I recognise instantly where the story and emotion from this song comes from. I rarely remember anything that isn’t emotionally heightened, if something doesn’t carry bits of historic emotional imagery then I don’t really care about it or remember it. This song has stayed with me. There are a few unspoken landmarks on this LP for me and “Owl and the Crow” is one of them.”

Set for release this September, the new ‘Kramies’ LP showcases a huge spectrum of creativity and sound in a short span of time. Produced by and featuring a whole host of special guests including Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Tyler Ramsey of Band of Horses and Jerry Becker of Train, the record also includes an appearance from Jim Bogis who has played with Counting Crows and Stevie Nicks.

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Night Swimming - The Orchids - Lilly Winwood - Girlpuppy

Night Swimming - Freight Train.

Bath-based dream pop five-piece Night Swimming are pleased to announce the release of their debut double single ‘Freight Train // A Wall’ today August 12th.

Formed in 2021, the band have spent the last year honing in on their sound at sold-out headline shows in their home city of Bath and supporting the likes of China Bears and Parlophone Records’ own Sad Night Dynamite. They were also scouted by the Close Encounters Club to be featured in Glastonbury Festival’s 2022 ‘Longlist’ - chosen to be one of their 90 top acts.

Night Swimming’s sound incorporates the ethereal, melodic elements of the early Wolf Alice EPs and Slowdive albums; combining them with the minimalism of local idols Portishead and Massive Attack.

Produced by Calum Wotherspoon at Joe’s Garage in Bristol, and mastered by Novatines’ Tom Cory, their debut release Freight Train // A Wall is instantly striking. Combining atmospheric guitars, ethereal vocals and airy synths with echoing percussion and hypnotic choruses; each individual element is equally as evocative, while perfectly blended with a sugary sweet delivery that you can’t help but get lost in.

Freight Train was written as an introductory piece to the second track ‘A Wall’. The use of trip-hop influenced rhythms and sustained atmospherics evoke a trance-like feel, conveying a strong sense.

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The Orchids - Didn't We Love You.

Sometimes it can take several years to realise what you’ve been missing.  Sometimes it can even take decades....  (If you already know all about The Orchids, well, you’re going to like Dreaming Kind a lot.)

The Orchids were making sophisticated pop music right back in the early 1990s when Sarah Records first started.  Their songs were as emotionally pure as anything else on that label, but they were always a step ahead of their peers in terms of song arrangements and musical ambition.  With a casual, unpretentious air they made writing perfect pop songs seem easy, almost accidental, and several great releases followed.  The Orchids gained a passionate following: people knew a good thing when they heard it and they hugged it close.  But now it’s time for the rest of the world to be let in on the secret.

The songs themselves are a beautiful mix of strength and gentleness.   They wrap you in a powerful embrace, making you feel comfortable and secure – and then whisper their insecurities and anxieties into your ear.  They say: ‘it’s OK to admit weakness.   It’s OK to be fragile.  That’s where true strength comes from’.  From Glasgow, and proudly Scottish, the band shares a musical lineage with other great groups from that city, from Aztec Camera to Orange Juice, Lloyd Cole to Teenage Fanclub. All bands that specialise in song-writing that that can tell big stories through small fragments, that can make the ordinary extraordinary.

Producer Ian Carmichael has helped the band create a perfectly-crafted masterpiece. He subtly accentuates the drama of the songs, with a sophisticated choreography and gloss that never overwhelms the tenderness of the music.  In ‘This Boy Is A Mess’ (the first single from the album), the lyric confesses frailty while the music gets stronger and stronger.  It is bittersweet and exhilarating at the same time. ‘I Want You, I Need You’ has harmonies as big as a house – but the yearning message remains intimate and close.  ‘I Don’t Mean To Stare’ is a sophisticated new version of the track that first appeared on the Under The Bridge compilation earlier this year.

Album opener ‘Didn’t We Love You’ daringly opens up empty spaces where the reverb of the drums is the only thing you can hear... and then floods your ears with a harmonised chorus, sweet guitar melodies and sweeping effects.  Even then, the lyrical lament, expressing the desire to live in a better place - a place unspoilt by the greedy phonies who’ve taken over – comes across as clearly as if Hackett were leaning over for a friendly chat in the snug bar of The Orchids’ favourite Glasgow pub.

The Orchids · Didn't We Love You

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Lilly Winwood - Keep It Spinning.

“They say musicians can’t always be music lovers but that, by far, is not the case for me,” says songwriter Lilly Winwood. “I think a lot of music has saved me in so many ways and this song recognizes that.” The song she’s speaking of is Winwood’s brand new single, “Keep It Spinning,” a breezy rocker that sits comfortably between a Tom Petty classic and a late 90s country radio hit. “Do you ever have one song that just really does it for you and puts a smile on your face?” Winwood quips. “And you play it over and over and over again?” She channeled that feeling, but with a spin, tying it in with relationships, her career, and even her newly found sobriety—the impetus for a number of songs from her upcoming album Talking Walls.

“I’ve been chasing that song that came right at the moment when I thought all I had was lost.”

Burned out after her last album cycle and in the midst of a pandemic, Winwood took a job to pay the bills—but she couldn’t stop writing. She knew she was on the cusp of something important. “I’d be working in a restaurant all day and then at night, come 3 a.m., I’d be pulling half-written songs out of my apron,” she recalls. “Then it all came together.”

Talking Walls captures that tumultuous period during the pandemic, with Winwood literally “talking to the walls” as she looked inward with new purpose. Penned over long sleepless nights, with clear eyes and a willingness to ask tough questions, each song takes a different tack into the introspective wind, backed by a minimalist-roots sound. The now East Nashville-based artist (and daughter of Grammy-winning British rocker Steve Winwood) simply wrote her story and brought it to her band at Nashville’s Trace Horse studio—no producer needed.

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Girlpuppy - I Want To Be There.

Last month, girlpuppy (aka Becca Harvey) announced her debut LP When I'm Alone, which was produced with Slow Pulp member Henry Stoehr and Alex G guitarist Sam Acchione and will be out October 28th on Royal Mountain Records (Wild Pink, Pillow Queens). 

The album arrives on the heels of her Swan EP, her 2021 debut on the label that she made with producer Marshall Vore who is known for his work with folk dynamo Phoebe Bridgers. The five song collection drew remarkable acclaim immediately, earning praise from outlets like NPR, FADER, Paste, Under The Radar, Coup De Main, Office Magazine, i-D, Line of Best Fit and NYLON who called her "one of indie folk's most promising newcomers."

This week, girlpuppy is sharing a second single from her forthcoming LP, a contemplative track built around a tumbling acoustic guitar shuffle entitled "I Want To Be There".

“I wrote 'I Want To Be There' about the pain I felt when my old landlord kicked me and three of my best friends out of our dream home, and all three of my roommates moved to New York," Harvey explains. "I was left all alone in Atlanta and it was a really bad time for me. I was jobless and I felt like I had no friends which made me wonder what was wrong with me, which kind of made me spiral into self-hatred. I like to call this one the “self hate anthem” of the album."

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Shannen Moser - A VOID

Shannen Moser - Paint By Number.

Philadelphia-based artist Shannen Moser announced their first album in more than four years The Sun Still Seems To Move will be released on September 30, 2022 via Lame-O Records. They also shared the official video for the album’s opening track “Paint By Number.”

“I wrote this song at a time when days truly just felt like the days were bleeding into one another. I had been experiencing a lot of change in my life and the dichotomy of monotony and chaos at the same time was really confusing - things felt slow and in that I found a lot of comfort despite the sadness and uncertainty. “‘A series of quiet moments makes forever’ you reply” - Leaning into the stillness of those kinds of feelings can be extremely humbling. This song is really an attempt at gratitude for the loved ones in my life and the experience of being able to quiet the darkness for one another,” explains Moser.

On The Sun Still Seems To Move, Moser’s third studio album, they take the arresting simplicity of their previous albums I’ll Sing (2018) and Oh, My Heart (2017) and combine it with orchestral swells and rich harmonies. What started as a simple vocals-and-guitar record soon shifted, as Moser experienced a sudden loss. Two years into writing the record, The Sun Still Seems To Move morphed into a texturally diverse and palatial sonic universe, mimicking the immeasurable scope of ever-changing circumstance. “At a certain point I was like, let’s just go for it. Let’s just really lean into the sadness of the world. I really wanted to make a thing that I had never made before, because I was feeling a way that I had never felt before,” explains Moser.

To piece together the patchwork of The Sun Still Seems To Move, Moser enlisted the help of their extended music community, including co-producer Alex Melendez, Tyler Bussey (Thank You Thank You/Strange Ranger), Julia Peters, Maxwell Stern, Tyler Carmody, Mark Nestman, Eric Muth and Josh Marre (Blue Ranger). Banjo, saxophone, cello, lap steel, woodwind and synth adorn the album, decorating Moser’s arrangements but never overwhelming them.

“Being able to have a space with my friends and make a record where I was allowed to fully make this art in the face of that pain was really, really beautiful,” they say. “The hands that have touched this record are really special.”

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A VOID - 5102.

Taken from their awaited second album ‘Dissociation’, due 9 September, the discordant new track blends clear and clamouring vocals with steady guitar lines and shadowy drum beats reminiscent of the grunge greats.

Drawing influence from the likes of Hole, Silver Chair, and Babes In Toyland, “5102” sees A VOID craft a sound that pays homage to the past while simultaneously making a hell-for-leather run toward the future.
Seesawing between calmer moments of melancholy and more emotive explosions of throbbing instrumentals and turbulent riffs, the track is rhythmic and riled-up in equal measure. Vocalist Camille Alexander explains:

“”5102” is a sombre grunge track starting with dissonant guitars that slowly progress into a deep emotional outburst. A  swim in the moonlight ending in a mermaid attack. The track’s mysterious name is ‘2015’ backwards: the year it was written, long before it was recorded. It’s about womanhood, using the metaphor of witches who have been stripped of their powers and their magic.”

The track arrives with a fantastical official video that offers a twisted take on some familiar fairy tales. Directed by the band’s own Camille Alexander, it was shot by Aeris Houlihan from Hexenhaus Productions and Claudia Du Lièvre. Starring Richard Simpson and Paige Burley alongside the band, additional footage was contributed by Neil Anderson.

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Slum Summer - Radio Drive

Slum Summer - Living In Milk / Tenderize The Night.

We first featured Slum Summer back in November 2018 describing them as a vibrant indie rock band. The two songs featured from the new album confirm all of that and more, they really do impress! From San Diego, CA, and made up of two British expatriates along with two US natives we can comfortably quote them as "a special relationship - a special new band."

Living in Milk is their second album, following up their 2019 debut, ABABO. Standing out from 99% of recent releases, this is NOT a pandemic album, having been written and recorded before all that happened, and, refreshingly, featuring no songs about isolation, staring at walls, craving human contact, etc. Instead you will find songs about houses being engulfed in flame, houses being choked by snow, hotels suffocated by storms; songs about riding the Greyhound into northern California, desperately hiding out in dilapidated cinemas; songs about dying in prison, and about listening drunkenly to the Grateful Dead. Or maybe you'll come to your own conclusions what the songs are "about," if that even matters to you.

The record builds on the sound of their debut, with indie-rock and indie-pop styles being stretched out in different directions, drawing on 60s guitar jangle, moments of punkish abandon, Laurel Canyon folk-rock balladeering, and occasional diversions into more metallic territory. You can certainly listen to the album and make some guesses about what their record collections might look like, but Slum Summer is developing a sound and style that is distinctly their own. The supple playing from guitarist Jen Edwards, drummer D.J. Anderson and bassist Grant Stewart underpins guitarist/singer Hugh J. Noble's unique writing, cryptic and rich with obscure references, strange half-jokes, and oddly unsettling imagery.

zlumzummer · 01 - Living In Milk

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Radio Drive - One Breath Away (E.P).

Radio Drive featuring Kevin Gullickson had just released a full album in September of 2021, titled “Before The Day is Through”. It was still the early winter months of 2022 in Minnesota, where Kevin lives and has his home studio. 

The timing wasn’t quite right to resume live performances, so Kevin being the ever busy musician, songwriter and recording artist, decided to record some new song ideas before the arrival of spring. He didn’t want to undertake such a huge project as a full album and yet had too many songs to just release a single, so a 4 song EP was the perfect option.

Looking for more of a pop feel to the album, Kevin worked with Steve “Mr Mig” Migliore to do the final mix and mastering. Steve has worked with several platinum selling artists, including Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Madonna

The four songs each have a different feel and meaning. 

• I Believe I Believe: A song of faith and hope, something we all need.
• Moment by Moment: Cherishing the precious moments we have with our loved ones.
• Be Yourself Tonight: So many difficulties people deal with can be resolved by becoming their true and authentic self.
• Don’t You Know: The deep commitment of love drawing out the best in someone.

Before the official release of the EP on August 5th, 2022, songs were already gaining attention. “Don’t You Know” won the Top Finalist Award for Best Rock Song by the World Songwriting Association (WSA).

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Heavy Gus - Roofman - Splitting Edges - Nervous Twitch

Heavy Gus - Paracosm.

California-based indie/rock trio Heavy Gus just released their debut album Notions. Available everywhere through BMG, the collection of songs blur the lines between grungy garage band fare, hazy desert surf, and dreamy, sun-soaked indie rock.

The group also shared the official video for "Paracosm," a powerful visual that shows singer/songwriter/guitarist Dorota Szuta's recent pregnancy through time lapse. "Inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin and a low-grade fever, this song is the outstretched hand grasping for answers to deep questions, and is ultimately a reminder of how beautiful it can be to remain empty handed," she stated. "One thing that helps me move through times of hardship is remembering how small we are. Being alive is purpose enough."

Formed in the high desert town of Bishop, CA, Heavy Gus is led by songwriting couple Szuta and multi-instrumentalist Stelth Ulvang (The Lumineers) along with percussionist Ryan Dobrowski (Blind Pilot). The band took shape during the pandemic when couple Ulvang and Szuta (a marine scientist who also has a background in music playing with Laura Gibson and Gill Landry) took a socially distanced road trip to Nashville — picking up Dobrowski in Colorado along the way — to record at Creative Workshop. The result is a poignant offering that Under The Radar called “genuine live-wire indie rock sound.”

Their debut offering calls to mind everything from Meat Puppets and The Breeders to Yo La Tengo and Acetone in its artful balance of hope and fatalism, loneliness and desire, strength and vulnerability. While all three bandmates came to Heavy Gus from very different worlds, they fit together like puzzle pieces, bound by the kind of love and trust that can only grow from years of deep kinship. Notions was engineered and mixed by Parker Cason (Margo Price, All Them Witches, Coin) and mastered by Pete Lyman (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile).

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Roofman - Fly Off, Fall Down, Come Back.

Some songs need the glitz and blitz of big city life, the concrete jungle and the urban drama, drenched in white noise. Others simply a forest, the serene whisper of the wind in the leaves. 

It’s not hard to guess which world Thijs van der Meulen alias Roofman is coming from. The reason his achingly beautiful upcoming debut album “Still The Mess I Was” sounds so big and glorious is that he decided to record it in Hamburg’s analogue heaven, Clouds Hill studio (a.o. The Killers, Peter Doherty, Elbow). The trees and the streets, the calm and the storm: Roofman is a man of contrasts.

With "Fly Off, Fall Down, Come Back" Roofman celebrates his real debut. The absolute contrast to the soft-washed 2:30 standard mush, this is an epic 8-minute track in which sound and songwriting are absolutely in the foreground.

This song was engineered and recorded live to 24 track magnetic tape by Johann Scheerer and Sebastian “Muxi” Muxfeldt at Clouds Hill Recordings, Hamburg, Rothenburgsort. Mixed by Johann Scheerer. Mastered by Chris von Rautenkranz at Soundgarden Mastering. Drum tech by Herr Schmidt.

 


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Splitting Edges - Your Waves.

Splitting Edges are a two-man band with roots in Southeast London and St. Albans. Bringing raw lyrics, punk energy and a unique sound to the indie-rock genre. Their latest single 'Your Waves' is a light-hearted and soulful love ballad written when the duo were finishing college. The song is about an unconfident boy who meets a polar opposite and finds himself falling for the “it girl". He thinks she has everything together until he gets to know her and realises she’s got just as many problems as he has. But when they’re together their troubles are all but forgotten.

“Splitting Edges are all about exploring new sounds that represent our generation and the times we live in. Our sound is defined by our experiences in life - from these experiences, we have an arsenal of details and stories to talk about in our music. For me, it’s almost like the songs are all pieces of a bigger picture.”
- Lydon Peacock

This single comes off the back of their successful 'Sympathy Smoke' EP and single 'Bleak Mornings', which saw Splitting Edges further develop their unique spin on rock and indie sounds to the world. Recently signed to DMY Artists we are proud to showcase and facilitate their rise to certain stardom.

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Nervous Twitch - We Don't Care.

It's pretty hard to put into words but I'm gonna try, but seriously I'm still way excited to be working and bringing this new album by Nervous Twitch on the awesome UK label Reckless Yes to your attention. I've been following Reckless Yes for a few years and have become a big fan of not only their roster but also the way they do business and how they treat others and create a solid inclusive community, so working with them is a big honor. 

This new album by Nervous Twitch is like a guide to UK and US indiepop and indierock with nods to Mambo Taxi, Huggy Bear, Modern Lovers, Television Personalities, the Pixies, Sleeper, Ash, Lovely Eggs, Dressy Bessy, and even a bit of Swearin'. I could go on and on, but I say just check out the fsecond single "We Don't Care" which debuted at God Is In The TV. If you want a promo copy hit me up, but you can stream or download the album below. The band are up for doing mix tapes, features, guest editor spots, you name it, and we have a few exclusive still up for grabs so seriously like reach out. ~ Mike 

Nervous Twitch—talk about a perfect band name! Listening to their fifth album, Some People Never Change, it’s hard not to notice the nervous energy of front woman Erin Hyde’s vocals. Nervous Twitch built a solid reputation for songs that bristle with punk energy, mixing a vibe that also incorporates girl group passion, post-punk angularity, and even the occasional surf guitar cool.

Some People Never Change offers up a baker’s dozen tracks that deal in attitude and the personal. “We Don’t Care” takes on critics with a snarl, “What The Hell” takes on the frustrations of modern life, while “The History of The Wild West” deals with escaping the world for a less stressful one. But it’s not all anger as an energy; “This Mad At The World” is a ballad that show you can relate your frustrations in a gorgeous, acoustic ballad. “You Never Let Me Down” is a delightful love song with a girl-group vibe, while “Forgive Yourself” offers up a meditation in self-forgiveness.

Reckless Yes Records · 9. We Don't Care

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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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