DOWNGIRL - Mazey Haze - Angela Strehli - Smoke and Mirrors Sound System

DOWNGIRL - Manic.

Explosive and energetic femme nu punk / grunge-rockers DOWNGIRL have doused stages around their hometown in Gadigal land in their highly flammable sonic kerosene and are kicking things up a notch with the release of their track, 'Manic', out now.

Born out of the ashes of punk outfit BoysClub, DOWNGIRL formed online during the 2021 lockdown and are gaining plenty of momentum. Within the space of a year, they've supported FANGZ and Battlesnake, cutting their teeth on lineups for Doomed Friday, Bonez Queer Party, Winter Magic Revival Festival headlined by Hermitude, Haiku Hands and Urthboy, and are set to tear it up at Chopped Festival with Amyl And The Sniffers later this year. The four-piece also just played with one half of The Veronicas for Jessie333’s new music video for 'Seeing Stars'.

Bursting onto the scene with the dynamite 'Beauty Queen', this epic second track, 'Manic', off the group's upcoming EP is 4 and a half minutes of powerful punk goodness.

The gradual build of gritty riffs and fury-driven drums match the energy of the lyrical confessions that escalate with a fight or flight intensity. By the time it gets there, it fervently begs for relief with a euphoric, wall-to-wall noise-filled chorus and its refrain, ‘Manic’. The song hits like shots of cinnamon whisky - hard, fast and to dizzying effect, with a sweet but spicy aftertaste. Each member gives it their all, and collectively let go like an unrelenting force of nature.

======================================================================

Mazey Haze - The Weight of the Weekend.

Indie-rock rising talent Mazey Haze today returns with new single "The Weight of the Weekend" - the first new music to be heard since her breakthrough debut EP 'Always Dancing'. Also she announces a date supporting Feng Suave at Lafayette in London on 2nd November.

”Gotta find my way back / Gotta find my way back,” sang Nadine Appeldoorn aka Mazey Haze on the closing track of her ‘Always Dancing’ EP, released in 2021. Now, she has at last arrived. The Amsterdam based artist’s forthcoming second EP is reflective of this desire for simplicity: a collage of self-reflection, where thought, feeling and a powerful sense of place merge to make singular worlds that are entirely her own.

Toning down the more ethereal, synthetic textures present on her debut, Mazey Haze's new material finds her rooting herself to the earth, together with a little less perfectionism. Organic, acoustic sounds, her love of French New Wave cinema, Italian film scores and 60s psych-rock informs the vein of nostalgia that runs through it, finding its way back to a distant world.

Wreathed in light, cinematic with its gong-like percussion, new single "The Weight of the Weekend" traces the difficult terrain of her childhood. “It’s sensitive for me, so it was a scary song to release,” she shares. The track is released today alongside a new video shot in the streets of Bar-le-Duc in France, directed by Tara Wilts.

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration of "The Weight of the Weekend", Mazey Haze said: "This song is about me trying to figure out for myself how to connect with people and wanting to get rid of the part of me that holds me back from being free. Thinking about my childhood, myself and people in general. I find it hard to connect with myself and others, want to know why and how to get better. In this song you could say I’m talking to myself, to certain people around me and to the particular voice in my head that refuses to give me real peace and pride in anything I do."

======================================================================

Photo - Paul Moore

Angela Strehli - Ace Of Spades.

Angela Strehli returns with Ace of Blues on November 18th via Antone’s/New West Records. The 12-song set is her first album in over 17 years and was co-produced by Strehli & her husband Bob Brown. For over five decades, the 76-year-old’s voice has coursed through the genre akin to blood through a heart. Her influence can be felt in the legacy of Antone’s — the iconic Austin blues club she helped found with the late Clifford Antone and where she performed & became friends with the likes of Muddy Waters, Albert King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Reed, and countless others. 

Ace of Blues pays tribute to the artists who inspired her throughout her career and features renditions of songs made famous by Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Clay and more. It concludes with “SRV,” a beautiful and personal tribute to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. As the only original on Ace of Blues, the song celebrates their friendship, creative connection, and musical bond with one of the most heartfelt, hypnotic, and hard-hitting performances on the record.

Buddy Guy calls Ace of Blues, “Tough, soulful, and sexy. My kind of blues” while Bonnie Raitt says, “Always a fan, I’m so glad Angela’s back with a new album, putting her soulful take on this collection that pays tribute to her old blues friends.” Charlie Musselwhite says, “Angela has just kept getting better. She truly loves and ‘gets’ real deal blues and what it means. It’s great to see her share her blues with us all” while Maria Muldaur offers, “Her lifelong devotion to the blues is fully realized here! This is an absolute, must-have album for any blues lover.”

======================================================================

Smoke and Mirrors Sound System - Undercover (album).

Smoke and Mirrors Sound System is a project involving dozens of artists from many countries, having been locked down, we picked up our laptops, phones, tablets, mics, mixers and created the magic, playing together in a dream of musical unity that frees us to imagine the concerts that may yet be. Travel with us! less

Undercover is much more than a passion project. It’s a lifelong obsession with music, from Rhythm & Blues, Soul Reggae, Ska, Rocksteady, and 2Tone, to New Wave. A picture may tell a thousand words, but a song can transport you through time and space, or bring up long forgotten memories.

For some, listening to this album will be a soundtrack to their own formative years. For others, it will be a discovery of decades of music to dig deeper into. I encourage everyone to go back and listen to the original recordings with news ears and then, listen to Undercover to hear the spirit of those recordings along with the subtle nuances and flourishes by all the great musicians and their combined experience. This is more than a tribute. It’s a love letter in songs, a great mixtape given to those you love.

Smoke and Mirrors Soundsystem · Mad World (Tears For Fears cover)

======================================================================

Melby - Popup - The Labrit Project - Pat Razket - Klô Pelgag - Melissa Carper

Melby - Hammers.

On a first, careless, listen, Stockholm four-piece Melby might seem like a charming, fun little jangle-pop band. Pay a little more attention however, and you’ll find their waters run a lot deeper than that. The band (Matilda Wiezell, Are Engen Steinsholm, David Jehrlander and Teo Jernkvist) have all the flash and sparkle of your favourite indie band, but add an ability to touch moods and feelings with a meaning beyond most of their peers. Their guitars, drums and synths rattle, roll and flicker around each other, all held together by the soul-shiver in Wiezell’s vocals, to make immaculate little guitar-pop gems, equally dusted with sadness and sugar.

Melby’s debut album None Of This Makes Me Worry was released in 2019, and took them on tour in Scandinavia, Germany and the UK, as well as earning them slots at prestigious showcase festivals like Norway’s by:Larm and Hamburg’s Reeperbahn. Now after a couple of years of beavering away, they’re back with the follow-up Looks like a map which will be released on October 21st with the last single 'Hammers' available now alongside an animated music video by Isabelle Friberg.

From the temperamental opening bars of “Hammers”, all moody and dark, you might imagine that Swedish four-piece Melby have lowered you into the centre of a storm. Instead, “Hammers” is a piece of swirling indie-pop that paints in light and dark, complex emotions and ambiguity recast as a glittering four-minute earworm.

Clicking play on “Hammers'' can feel like cracking open a ship inside a bottle, a pop song that contains a dramatic, detailed and fully-formed world inside its borders. After the splash of thunder that opens the track, and recurs here and there within, “Hammers'' transforms into light-footed, sparkling and merry indie rock. Matilda Wiezell’s vocals paint a picture of a village idyll, but with a little disquiet humming beneath the surface. That unease however, doesn’t stop “Hammers” beautifully soaring into its chorus, a real feeling of release and freedom, blended with a little chaos fraying its edges. 

Guitarist Are Engen Steinsholm says: “’Hammers’ is an associative, free-flowing journey into the memory of my home-town: A small place in northern Norway, with spectacular sceneries and a community that's warm if you belong, and harsh if you don't”.

======================================================================

Popup - Soltice

Popup have returned with the new single Solstice. The Glasgow guitar-pop group got their start back in 2004 and quickly became one of the UK's most talked about young bands. The next few years saw them touring extensively, grabbing high profile support slots and garnering media praise for their candid lyricism and infectious buzz. 

They were heralded "the most exciting band in Glasgow" (Is This Music?) and toured across the USA, including playing SXSW, before even releasing their debut album. Popup released A Time And A Place in 2008, but the band split in 2010. They quietly reunited in 2020 and self-released album Whimpers.

Last Night From Glasgow are thrilled to bring you new single Solstice; a track that honours the sound of their breakout success but also illustrates how time has given the band space to mature and mellow since their start as teenagers. Solstice includes b-side track Hitting Nine that premiered on The Roddy Hart Show. Upcoming album Promise will be released in March 2023

======================================================================

The Labrit Project - Way Down.

London-based guitarist and music producer Muca, (Los Bitchos, L.A. Salami, Alice SK) teams up with UK singer and vocals performer Randolph Matthews to release a new duo track and remix under his new world music project, The LABRIT Project. A striking world, tribal Brazilian roots track embellished with an outstanding performance from on Randolph Matthews vocals, ‘Way Down’ also comes with a modern and fresh remix.

Both tracks complete each other. The original sounds like classical tribal world music with the uniqueness of Brazilian berimbau, yet with Randolph Matthews bringing his infectious vocals and performance style to create something fresh. The original track has Serra Petale on drums (Los Bitchos) Rafael Kalil on Cello, and Bahia on pandeiro. The remix is a unique mix of vocal performance and beat-making with guitars, drum programming and electronic conjuring into something intoxicating.

Both artists have known each other since Muca moved from Brazil to the UK. Muca produced some of Randolph's songs in the past, but now as he's releasing his project, he wanted Randolph to be one of the first artists he worked with. After the recording and the mixing of the original track, Randolph came up with the idea of getting some of the stems and playing around with them. He then sent it back to Muca with unique new ideas. They then decided to create a remixed version, combining Randolph's ability to create amazing vocals and percussive loops with Muca's guitars and programming.

On the process, Muca explains: "As a producer, you must always keep updated on new forms of making music. When I started to learn finger drumming and the MPC, I found I felt it would be a great place to start adding this new knowledge to my music.”

The video for the remix, filmed and directed by Giovanni Mattei and performed by dancer Thiely Volga, is set around a powerful and moving performance in São Paulo's downtown Roosevelt Square in a semi dusk vibe. On the video Mattei said, “The mix of jazz and pop with an intense beat of Muca's and Randolph's sound gave us a chance to create a film that extracts colours from a grey metropolis like São Paulo. But the result was incredible, and the dance conveyed the intensity of the track.”

======================================================================

Pat Razket - Night of O'Malley.

When wild folk-meets-pirate collective Pat Razket release their third studio album - "Hymns from the Abyss" - on October 25, we find a band that has both refined its craft and developed new dimensions.

"Hymns from the Abyss" is an album where death, booze, sorrow and happiness are alternating. Where Irish melodies meet Nordic sadness and melancholy meets frenzy. Where dancing always belongs and where fragile hope is the most beautiful thing there is.

Does that sound like a lot in one package? When nine musicians from very different backgrounds are all allowed to influence the ensemble, a creative melting pot is created where Irish folk music, Metal, Scandinavian melancholy and Americana ultimately become something of its own. "Hymn of the Abyss" is thus a broad album where the stories and the energy keeps it all together.

"Hymns from the Abyss" grew out of the isolation of the pandemic. When Pat Razket's intense touring came to a halt, the members decided to put all their energy into a new album. The process was different from previous album recordings. The songs were written over a long period of time, allowed to develop bit by bit. The arrangements and musical ideas were determined during a pre-production phase, something completely new for the band. Under the supervision of producer Andreas Morén in Studio Fluff, Västerås, Sweden.

======================================================================

Klô Pelgag - À l'ombre des cyprès.

Klô Pelgag has unveiled a new video for her track "À L'ombre des cyprès", ahead of her debut UK headline show this October. Singer-songwriter Klô Pelgag has gotten us accustomed to strikingly colourful and innovative music videos. The one for her song “À l’ombre des cyprès” is no exception. It was directed by her frequent collaborator Soleil Denault, who earned a Félix at last year’s Gala de l’ADISQ for her video for the song “Mélanine.”

“The À l’ombre des cyprès video shows Klô Pelgag being pursued by her monstrous alter ego” reveals Soleil. This contemporary fable represents the need to take back your power in the face of adversity. We all have a monstrous alter ego and, when it awakes, we feel breathlessly chased by its negative thoughts. In this video, we illustrate Klô’s quest for emancipation and rebirth; we witness her ultimate empowerment”.

Last week Klô Pelgag received four nominations ahead of the next Gala de l’ADISQ, after earning 13 of them last year, matching the record established by Céline Dion. The categories in which she is nominated are: Female Singer of the Year, Concert of the Year, Direction and Scenography of the Year, and Artist of the Year – International Reach. The winners will be revealed on November 2 and 6.

Klô Pelgag recently returned from the Sukiyaki Meets the World Festival, where she was reunited with her Japanese fans after several years of absence. She is now set to wrap up her “Notre-Dame-Des-Sept-Douleurs” tour this fall with a few shows in France that had been postponed during the pandemic, as well as her first ever concert in London, England, on October 11 at the Lexington.

======================================================================

photo - Lyza Renee

Melissa Carper - Ramblin' Soul.

Melissa is THE ramblin' soul - of the song she says: "I wrote 'Ramblin' Soul' driving down the road on a familiar trip from Arkansas back down to Texas. I had just spent time with some musician friends and was feeling re-energized. On this trip, I realized just how much that free, ramblin’ life I’ve lived over the years has stimulated my creative process.  Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee have been states I just keep making the rounds to, as well as New Mexico and Minnesota, so these places made their way into the song.  I say 'you can't keep me in a hole, 'cause Lord I'm a ramblin' soul.' 

By that I mean, if something isn't working for me and making me happy or it seems I've gotten in a rut somewhere, then I move on to whatever the next thing is that feels right, or I get out of town for a bit to find some new inspiration and fresh perspective.  That is really the gist of it, trying to go with the flow of life wherever it seems the Universe is guiding me."

Ramblin' Soul is the follow-up to her 2021 LP Daddy's Country Gold, which was praised by Rolling Stone, NPR, No Depression, Slate, Saving Country Music, and many, many more.

======================================================================

McDermott & North - Rachael Dadd - Lost In Japan

McDermott & North - Elope.

Beloved indie folk songwriters McDermott & North are back with their heartfelt sounds, this time with a sweet and sophisticated plea to marry a lover in their new single 'Elope'.

The talented songwriting duo have been winning hearts around the East Coast with their busking performances and beautiful songs since 2016, from which time their dedicated fanbase has amassed and only continues to grow. Their charismatic music making has likewise caught the attention of artists Ben Lee and Alex Lloyd, and consequently invited them to support on their separate tours. Stages at Bluesfest, TEDX Talks Brisbane and Bigsound have also showcased the pair in 2019, and they've two sold-out headline shows in their hometown - just to name a few.

The innocently earnest 'Elope' is sure to once again melt hearts, as Patrick McDermott and Rhys North do so well, with this release being their second for the year after the swaying 60s-inspired tune, 'All Things Come And Go'.

This considered and carefully-crafted song is set to evoke nostalgic memories of that sweet, innocent feeling of being so hopelessly in love that you're ready to abandon everything and tie the knot. Weaving through romantic invitations to escape into the sunset, declarations of love and heading down the aisle, 'Elope' charms all the way through with beautiful harmonies that glide effortlessly to a climactic final chorus, pirouettes through waves of strings before landing gracefully on an impressive baritone outro.

"Elope" was written during Patrick McDermott's first real relationship. It's about vulnerability and innocence of the heart when you're caught in the throes of love.

======================================================================

Rachael Dadd - Children of the Galaxy.

The wildly creative free-form songwriter Rachael Dadd is sharing her new single, "Children of The Galaxy." ’Taken from her forthcoming 14 October album Kaleidoscope, the single was written on electric guitar with the hot spring sunshine beaming down from a deep blue sky.

Says Rachael: "We were locked down, I was living with my two children, solo parenting. Life needed a certain amount of escapism, and music and songwriting were providing this. A combination of listening to Sun Ra at the time, the hot sleepy sunshine, and finding this particular pattern of notes meant I could feel as if I were on the other side of the earth's atmosphere, and imagine other civilizations and a different way of life compared to our own. "We are stardust, we are golden" from Joni Mitchell's Woodstock, was probably a subconscious influence. From up in space, we might look down and understand how precious life is, all of it born of and connected to the universe."

Co-produced by Rachael and Rob Pemberton (The Staves, Emily Barker, Maja Lena), Kaleidoscope includes musical collaborators such as Maja Lena (Low Chimes), long-time collaborator Emma Gatrill (Willy Mason) and Flux producer Marcus Hamblett (Villagers, James Holden, The Staves), and is Rachael’s second album for Memphis Industries following 2019’s Flux which Rachael was touring when the pandemic struck. "If I had to pick a favourite album it would be this one because of the magical rekindling of human connection when me and my band got back in a room together again”, she adds, "All that magic went into these songs."

Over the years Rachael has toured across Europe and Asia including appearances at Greenman, Cambridge Folk and Glastonbury Festivals. Having performed alongside Rozi Plain, This is The Kit, Alabaster DePlume, Francois and the Atlas Mountains and Michael Kiwanuka, she will be playing some intimate instore shows in October to celebrate the album’s release before heading out on a UK Tour in November and December.

"Many of my musical heroes are my best pals. I feel so lucky to have so many inspiring people close by and even luckier to be able to share music and stages together, particularly with all my band members and with Kate and Rozi of This Is The Kit, and Maja Lena who I am excited to be touring with this year”.

======================================================================

Lost In Japan - On My Way.

After a year of preparing and releasing “Before The Blink”, “Red Line” & “ Congrats” London, Ontario’s Lost In Japan releases the first part of their sophomore LP “Night Talks Pt. 1”.

Lost In Japan saw great success with the releases of “Red Line” (#18 on Billboard) and “Lonely” (2021 Winner of Corus Entertainment’s Summer Song Contest). They’re now following up that success with new tracks “Before The Blink” & “Congrats”, developing the next chapter in the blossoming career of one of London, Ontario’s premiere up-and-coming bands.

“Congrats” tells a story of acceptance regardless of how difficult the situation may be. The single was produced by Grammy Award winner Matt Snell at Noble Street Studios in Toronto.

Lost In Japan Music · On My Way

======================================================================

Shelf Lives - Chris Pellnat - Eliza Edens

Photo - Derek Bremner

Shelf Lives - Skirts & Salads.

South London duo Shelf Lives return this week with new single and video "Skirts & Salads", marking a year since the release of their self-titled debut single "Shelf Life". The new single is released today alongside a typically idiosyncratic video created by Ben Pollard. "Skirts & Salads" is the first new music to be heard following their widely praised debut mini-album 'Yes, offence' - released on the band's own Not Sorry Mom Records imprint in April earlier this year.

Originating from Toronto, Canada and Northampton in the UK respectively, Shelf Lives consists of vocalist Sabrina Di Giulio and guitarist/producer Jonny Hillyard – who now both reside in South London. New single "Skirts & Salads" was co-produced by the band's frequent collaborator SPACE (IDLES, Do Nothing) and was written shortly after the recording of 'Yes, offence' was wrapped, at a time when the pair had the likes of Vegyn, Deftones, Aphex Twin and Turnstile on heavy rotation.

That diverse sounding board helps to assimilate Shelf Lives' own unique sound. An unholy melting pot of explosive electronic percussion, searing guitar work and irrepressible vocal turns, "Skirts & Salads" lyrically finds Sabrina taking aim at societal female stereotypes.

Speaking on the lyrical inspiration behind the new song, Sabrina said: "Skirts & Salads is inspired by general female stereotypes, we've kept it pretty obvious with the lyrics. It's written and delivered in a tongue in cheek manner and we thought it would be interesting incorporating chauvinistic language but using it to our advantage in a way; referring specifically to the line "I like/want my girls like that".  Without really realising it we are highlighting how annoying it is, as well as how deeply rooted these ideas and language are in our society and....sub-consciousness."

A high-octane trashy pop banger based on a porn sample that spawned a shopping list of female stereotypes; rather than mount a soapbox, however, Sabrina absorbs those stereotypes and spits them back out in the chauvinistic hook “I want my girls like that” – delivered in an ironic drawl. The title itself mocks the reductive way society still thinks of women, with Sabrina contemplating the first things that generally come to mind. “I was like… I love a salad? That’s one,” she laughs. “And that’s the whole point. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s about the annoyance of that being the whole definition. What are women? Skirts and salads.”

======================================================================

Chris Pellnat - Go (Album).

Recorded as the pandemic was ebbing and recently released (Sept. 16), "Go" is a rather positive statement overall, but is colored by darkness as well. 

It brings together unusual instrumental juxtapositions (vibraphone, dulcimer, guitar, clarinet, guitars...) and direct lyrics that build a distinctive message and vision.

Chris Pellnat is a songwriter from Hudson, NY, USA. In addition to solo work, he also plays electric guitar in the band, The Warp/The Weft and is 1/2 of the duo, Teeniest.

Having been featured as a solo artist and with his other musical ventures here on Beehive Candy on a number of occasions, Chris continues to impress both creatively and with some beautifully crafted songs.

======================================================================

Photo - Anthony Mulcahy

Eliza Edens - Tom and Jerry.

Eliza Edens final single off her beautiful new LP We'll Become the Flowers. Tom and Jerry is a beautiful country-pop tune, buoyant and classic, a nod to childhood cartoons and that deeply relatable running on a treadmill feeling.

Here's Eliza on the song: I watched hours and hours of Tom and Jerry on Saturday mornings when I was a kid. The story is the same every time and yet it’s always so satisfying. Somehow it resurfaced in my mind as a way of explaining how hard we try to accomplish things that are forever out of reach—such as fighting for a dying relationship—even though Tom will just never catch Jerry! It’s an apt metaphor for the tension of always wanting or yearning for something and for two characters always going after each other. I wrote this song to try and find some levity during a difficult breakup.

"On Eliza Edens’ sophomore album We’ll Become the Flowers, she seeks to understand what happens after the end. Whether grappling with heartache or a loved one's mortality, the Brooklyn-based songwriter reimagines endings not as finite events but as devotional experiences that give way to new beginnings. Edens takes inspiration from folk luminaries such as Nick Drake, Karen Dalton and Elizabeth Cotten, sowing her compositions with introspection born from her own grief. What emerges is a glowing collection of songs that serve as a map through tumult, toward hope.

Edens sings and writes with an equally tender reverie as in her 2020 debut album Time Away From Time. But where We’ll Become the Flowers diverges, is in its narrative vulnerability. Each song is bursting: with sorrow, with anger, with the miracle of existence. “I wrote this album out of emotional necessity,” Edens says. ""I had just gone through a breakup. And around the same time, my mother was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease. I was spending a lot of my time trying to understand what it means to watch the hopeful person who raised me seem to slowly fade away before my eyes.” As the pandemic loomed, Edens turned to music: ""This project was a rope I used to pull myself out of misery, to view the despair I was feeling from a different angle. It was also my escape.”

======================================================================

Flight Attendant - Sohodolls - Blue Violet - Ella Tiritiello - Kalila Badali

Flight Attendant - Honeysweet.

Flight Attendant recently announced their upcoming debut full length will be out on September 30th and they are heading out for tour dates in the US and Europe. "The debut album by Flight Attendant stands as a fine testament to the development of a exciting new band who have adopted such an eclectic mix of sounds and styles from their home in Nashville." say Louder Than War of the upcoming LP.

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.

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.

======================================================================

Sohodolls - Letter To My Ex (Thank You, Goodbye).

London's influential electro-rockers Sohodolls are back! After being out of the limelight for more than a decade, a globally enforced lockdown revived one of their classics ‘Bang Bang Bang Bang’ into an unexpected viral TikTok hit among the Gen Z glitterati, which has inspired the band to reform and release some stunning new music.

Musically, ‘Letter To My Ex (Thank You, Goodbye)’ may take its cues from ‘Bang Bang Bang Bang’, however, Maya von Doll’s return can only be described as a perfect pop anthem for any break up. Blending old school beats and new wave synths with that sauciest of Britpop wit, alongside hook laden singalong parts, it is a poignant single to capture her, and some of her band members’ actual real life present divorce situations as only they can.

Maya von Doll never holds back with her favoured kinky BDSM language to express her breaking free from an unhappy situation, “'So, if I could press rewind, untie the ribbons from my eyes, unkiss the kiss that led to this, no swallowing of the lies you spit'.

No stranger to cult following and success, Sohodolls debut album in the naughties ‘Ribbed Music for the Numb Generation’ has always gone down well with a young crowd, having been the sound of one of ‘Gossip Girl’s’ most famous striptease scenes from Leighton Meester to writing pop bangers with the likes of Charli XCX and then this unexpected viral revival in 2021, Maya von Doll recalls,

“One morning I received a flurry of frantic texts from friends, saying Madonna has just shared and tagged your song, I was in the middle of a house move, no internet so I had no idea, but it was crazy.”

======================================================================

Blue Violet - Favourite Jeans.

Blue Violet are back with news of a new EP, single and a spread of Scottish tour dates this Autumn.

Directly following their debut album ‘Late Night Calls’ (released in the Spring of 2022), the band have been busily working towards its successor in the shape of a new EP entitled: 'Love, Hate & Forgiveness’. Confirmed for release on 21st October, the four track release will feature two acoustic reworkings of ‘Late Night Calls’ classics, plus two brand new offerings including the new single “Favourite Jeans.”

While described by Blue Violet as “a continuation of themes, both sonically and lyrically, that we explored on our debut album”, the songs of the ‘Love, Hate & Forgiveness’ EP mark a distinctly different writing chapter for the duo. Whereas the songs heard on their debut album ‘Late Night Calls’ date back to a prolific month-long session in 2019 with producer Rob Ellis (Anna Calvi, Marianne Faithful, PJ Harvey) at Devon’s Middle Farm Studios; their upcoming material is a glimpse of how the pair spent the inescapable lockdown of the following year.

“For all of the chaos and hardships that Covid brought to the world it also provide ample time for people to be creative” reflects singer Sarah Gotley of the ‘Love, Hate & Forgiveness’ EP. “So although we only released our debut album in April this year we wanted to bring out some of the music that we'd been working on in that time”.

Songs of social distancing and hand-sanitising, these are thankfully not. Instead the duo used the time as an opportunity to step away from the humdrum of the everyday and into the imaginative, character-driven worlds Blue Violet so capably envision. The material of ‘Love, Hate & Forgiveness’ EP is the first to emerge from these sessions and finds them expanding their universe.

======================================================================

Photo - Ebba Lange

Ella Tiritiello - Take it Personal.

After impressing with her debut single ‘Say Something’ earlier this year, 16-year-old Ella Tiritiello has returned with her gorgeous follow up single, ‘Take it Personal’.

Take it Personal comes as a reminder that honesty is always the best policy. Sharing more Ella explained:‘The inspiration came from how you often say to people to not take it personal and “it’s not you, it’s me”, but maybe sometimes it’s better to just keep it straight.’

Despite only just turning 16, Ella Tiritiello has already put herself firmly on the map. With her debut single ‘Say Something’ already at over a quarter of a million streams and a knock-out live performance at the prestigious ‘Brilliant Minds’, this year has already been a big one for the rising teenager.

Born in Kristianstad, a small town in the south of Sweden, Ella Tiritiello was raised by music lovers on a potent diet of powerhouses including the likes of Diana Ross, Adele and Sia “I loved to sing their songs in my room, but I never wanted anyone to hear, mostly because of my stage fright. I couldn’t see myself stand in front of people and sing.”

Now Ella stands as a young artist who’s already overcome her biggest fear. In 2021 Ella was selected by the Tim Bergling Foundation (Avicii’s father) to sing, perform and release Avicii’s ‘For A Better Day’ alongside the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, she rose to the challenge and performed to 16,000 people. A huge undertaking for any artist, let alone a 14 year old with stage fright.

Her effortless vocal talents and authentic stage presence instantly won over the crowd as her confidence blossomed before their eyes.

======================================================================

Kalila Badali - No Eye Contact.

Kalila Badali is a singer, songwriter, and psychotherapist based in Toronto. Aside from her solo project, Kalila is a lead vocalist and songwriter of the indie band, Shy By Shy. As an individual with a learning disability, writing music became an important source of self-efficacy and self-expression for Kalila. By teaching herself guitar and songwriting, she was able to express her understanding of the world from the perspective of a neurodivergent, learning-disabled person.

The song “No Eye Contact” and the Panacea EP is meant to be an expression of the sense of helplessness, hope, and longing for deep understanding that can come from having mental illness and disability while servicing this same population’s mental health needs. Kalila’s hope is to promote acceptance for the diversity of brains that have always been present and often misunderstood through her music and her practice as a therapist.

“No Eye Contact” is written about one of Kalila’s online dating experiences, and the absurdity of thinking you have a connection with someone and then finding that the so-called connection just exists in this weird online world of text and not so much in real life. As a therapist, Kalila also hears this same kind of story over and over again with her clients; it really is a universal experience!

“Something I keep returning to about the title is how it plays into neurodivergence and how significant eye contact is a tough subject for many neurodivergent people,” says Kalila. “Whether it’s giving too much or not enough, people are often making commentary about what eye contact communicates. In this song, I was also trying to reconcile with my own panicked response to having no eye contact while being present in person, but also in how much more projection and fantasy could take place when there was no eye contact at all during the online interactions.”

Kalila Badali · No Eye Contact

======================================================================

Joan & The Giants - Alice SK - Ella Therese - Lindsay Munroe - The Clockworks

Joan & The Giants - Hardest Part.

Beloved alt-pop indie band Joan & The Giants from Boorloo/Perth have finally releasing their debut EP 'Me & You' via Tomboi Records and it is one that fans old and new will embrace and hold dear for a long time to come.

Following a handful of stellar single releases, Joan & The Giants' long-awaited debut EP sees musical and romantic partners Grace Newton-Wordsworth and Aaron Birch with band mates Riley Sutton and Liam Olsen hone their craft with a stronger pop-production sensibility, that collides beautifully with their folk-informed anthemic-indie roots, heartfelt lyricism and that hint of magic that can't quite be put into words - but is captured perfectly with music.

Grace speaks more on the inspiration and themes explored: “The 'Me & You' EP is a collection of deeply personal songs that capture moments shared by two people. Stories centered around love, rebellion and definitely a touch of heartbreak. To me they are all songs that share vulnerable moments that we’ve personally gone through in the last few years, and we hope they connect with those who listen."

Opening with strong emotive indie-pop is ‘The Weekend’, a rebellion against modern grind culture and the mentality of 'living for the weekend'. The song reflects the band's new mantra to live every day with the same enthusiasm: live like you're 17, fall in love but never fall in line, and spend time with someone whenever it feels right - because why should we only reserve our joy for days that the capitalist calendar dictates? With a melody that seeps in and sticks, earnest drums and cherry-sweet vocals, this is a memorable tune dripping in honeyed rhythms.

======================================================================

Alice SK - Daisy Jane.

Alice SK has been raising eyebrows with a series of vintage-noir style singles recently that combine her haunting soulful voice and fresh sounds of the London scene that express authentic stories and work their way into the soul of the listener.

Next, Alice SK presents, ‘Daisy Jane’ where she proves her ability to work across different styles as she changes up her sound to a more washed-out, stripped back, acoustic palette. With gorgeous harmonies, a sparkling 10-string guitar and warm bass, the combination of Alice's lyrics and unique stylised melodies captivate the listener as the song escalates.

Written as a love song to all the amazing women in her life, ‘Daisy Jane’ is a very beautiful anthem for sisterhood, expressed with a great maturity and poise. Sounding like a jangly 60’s-esque Joni Mitchell psych-folk classic, with ‘Daisy Jane’, Alice SK has once again delivered a single that is both intriguingly unique, yet engaging and memorable all at the same time.

On the song’s new sound and lyrical themes, Alice explains, “Muca played me the music of the Brazilian Viola and it was such a beautiful pure sound that the lyrics had to reflect the music in the sense that I wanted the lyrics to be 'true'. So, I thought of what the purest form of love that I've experienced is and it lies with the female presences that I've been lucky enough to have been surrounded by from- my mum, my sisters and my friends.”

Alice SK · Daisy Jane

======================================================================

Ella Therese - THIRTYFOUR.

Calling out the emphasis on youth and the perpetuating ideal that there is a 'limited time' to achieve success, new song 'THIRTYFOUR' (Out Now) by WA artist Ella Therese serves as an unapologetic celebration of breaking down barriers to fulfil your dreams, and one that she hopes will encourage conversation about shared experiences.

Making her dazzling debut in 2020 with 'Feelings', Ella has already played WAMFest 2021, Fremantle Arts Centre alongside Banjo Lucia, and had Siobhan Cotchin and Indoor Fins play her last single launch. Following the 2021 release of her intoxicating second single 'Confusion', comes new alt-rock track 'THIRTYFOUR'. In an empowering move to maintain ownership and artistry, Ella will also be releasing the song as an NFT.

This is a soulful and arresting mantra that gets straight to the core of its message with plenty of heart and a catchy hook. 'THIRTYFOUR' sees Ella embracing her power, and demonstrating that we can resist and liberate ourselves from the shackles of expectation by calling out the bullsh*t, and doing what we want with confidence. The song also universally speaks to demanding more, maintaining high standards, and chasing your ambitions - regardless of the limitations society may try to place on us. Driven by a strong beat and an understated soft alt-rock sound, Ella's voice and the message it delivers are given full reign to be heard loud and clear - as they deserve to be.

Written in response to the initial feeling of being 'too old' to start her music career, particularly as a female artist, 'THIRTYFOUR' is poised to spark conversations with its audience.

======================================================================

Lindsay Munroe - Wild Me.

We last heard from Manchester based artist Lindsay Munroe when she released her 2021 EP, Softest Edge, a record written on a week-long perspective-shifting solo trip to the Lake District. In the time since that first trip, Munroe has developed a writing practice built around isolating herself in nature. Today, she is sharing her new single, ‘Wild Me’, the product of another week spent alone in the Lake District.

Since Munroe’s departure from an oppressive church and the end of a long-term relationship, she’s been on a journey of learning exactly who she is when she’s totally free. “A lot of my music over the past 3 years has been about difficult things that I have been through - leaving the evangelical church, dysfunctional relationships, big breakups - and all of those are encapsulated in 'Wild Me'” she says. “But ultimately the song is me realising that the core things never changed; when I was a child I was a 'tomboy', I was obsessed with being outside, I was stubborn and sensitive and smart and quite weird,” she continues.

Lots of us experiment with trying on different personas in our teenage years, most ultimately stumbling across the right fit somewhere down the line. However, in her adolescence, Lindsay found herself shying away from her true, more ‘wild’ self. “I  was singing backing vocals in folk bands, wearing floral dresses, shrinking myself to fit into a conservative church environment, desperately trying to find that sense of self and freedom I had as a child,” she explains. “And when that whole tumultuous time was over, I looked around and realised that the same things were true about me now as when I was young. I dress androgynously, I feel most at home outdoors, I'm stubborn, sensitive, smart and still pretty weird.”

It took Munroe years to make the difficult decision to break from the church she had been involved with since her mid-teens. When she finally did, and at the same time went through a breakup, her identity was shaken to its core. On her debut EP, 2020’s Our Heaviness, she explored the pain and turbulence that came with the departure. The EP garnered praise from BBC Introducing, DIY and The Line of Best Fit, and even an Instagram shoutout from one of Munroe’s heroes Sharon Van Etten. In 2021, on her second EP, Softest Edge, we found Munroe embracing the opportunity for growth, both personally and professionally. Instead of writing with the pure catharsis of Our Heaviness, Munroe applied her new sense of endless possibilities to her songwriting, exploring the depths of genre and production while lyrically drawing from a wider pool of experiences. Her single ‘Parallel’ even made it onto the soundtrack of hit BBC show Conversations With Friends.

LindsayMunroe · Wild Me

======================================================================

The Clockworks - Advertise Me.

Galway four-piece - THE CLOCKWORKS - return with their rousing new single: “Advertise Me”. Arriving ahead of an extensive run of UK + European shows throughout the Autumn, the track is also the first new music from the band since the release of their essential debut EP ‘Endgame’ earlier this year.

“Advertise Me” is a scintillating, scathing new track that sees The Clockworks confront the hypocrisy of a sanctimonious society that moans more than it does take action. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios and produced by the band in collaboration with Michael Rendall (The Jesus and Mary Chain, Shed Seven, Black Grape), The Clockworks explain of the caustic new cut: “The idea for this song started with the line: ‘complain about consumers from the comfort of my Mac’. It got me thinking about contemporary culture and that feeling of dissonance that comes from criticising society while continuing to conform to it. The song is partly a satire in answer to this feeling.”

Simmering with spiky rock energy and once more boasting The Clockworks’ knack for scorching lyrics that hold a mirror up to society, the track plucks influence from a range of decades and genres. The band add:

“Todd Rundgren was a musical and production influence for this one. David Bowie. The Last Shadow Puppets. Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Interpol. The Cure. Pixies are usually brought up at some point in writing a new song.”

======================================================================

Mamalarky - Emily Breeze - Declan O'Donovan - Kindsight - Hohnen Ford - The Company Stores

Mamalarky - Shining Armor.

Mamalarky's highly-anticipated sophomore full-length, Pocket Fantasy, is due out September 30 via Fire Talk. The follow up to the band's critically-acclaimed 2020 self-titled debut LP, the album's early singles have generated a great deal of excitement, with the lead track "Mythical Bonds" earning praise from the New York Times, who said "Mamalarky make math rock sound like fun" and appearing on a new music playlist from Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, while second single "It Hurts" landed on multiple best of the week lists.

Now Mamalarky are back with a final single from their forthcoming LP, a track called "Shining Armor". Accompanied by a video animated by Alex Futtersak, who is known several striking visuals he has created for Cautious Clay and Crumb, the track is the kind only Mamalarky could have created, delivering a blend of tightly wound indie rock, wobbly, jazz-inflected wildness and moments of arresting beauty played against their most abrasive.

"This song goes out to conveniently anonymous YouTube haters," says singer Livvy Bennett. "Shining Armor is an invitation for anyone who has shit to say about how I play guitar to go ahead and reveal themselves and play a little song for us! When I wrote this I was getting a bunch of comments about my gender and appearance and how that corresponds with how I play guitar. The only response was to covert that anger into something that's genuinely so fun to play.

"Alex Futtersak (@chippy_zone) took this idea and crafted a whole world around it, where our music is essentially breaking a curse over these angry knights in armor. I actually sent him some DIY motion capture from my room so some of the moves are true to form."

======================================================================

Emily Breeze - Ordinary Life.

Bristol-based indie noir-pop artist Emily Breeze returns with a bitter sweet new single Ordinary Life, dripping with brit-goth nostalgia and sad-pop synth lines via Sugar Shack Records on September 23rd 2022.

Emily’s previous single ‘Confessions of an Aging Party Girl’, received airplay from Lauren Laverne, Don Letts and Tom Robinson alongside continued support from BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Introducing in the West. Ordinary Life continues in this vein, a reflection on a gloriously misspent youth and a celebration of the magic, misery, miracles and monotony that are sewn into the fabric of everyday existence where you are the hero of your own mythic quest.

Speaking of the inspiration for the song Emily says, “It’s a quest that involves biblical first loves and tragic one night stands, epic all nighters and the quiet desperation that follows as your dreams disperse like the fronds of a dandelion clock in the cold morning air. You blink, two decades have passed and you become the thing you always despised, a three dimensional, functional adult with reasonable expectations... Or perhaps it's the theme song to the end of a John Hughes movie set twenty years after Prom night, except it's not prom night, it's Butlins and Mike Leigh is directing but Simple Minds and Souxsie Sioux are still sparkling in the spotlight, and so are you.”

Ordinary life is the opening track to Emily’s third solo album Rapture which she describes as “A collection of coming-of (middle) age stories which celebrate flamboyant failure, excess and acceptance”, due for release January 2023.

======================================================================

Declan O'Donovan - Get Thee Behind the Wheel (Live at Afterlife Studios).

The musical vastness and ambivalence of Declan O’Donovan’s sound is reflected by the picturesque backdrop between his home of Whitehorse in Canada’s Yukon and the urban centres from Toronto to Montreal that he frequents. 

For over a decade, the Canadian has succeeded in creating stylistically unique fusions of the most diverse of song writing approaches. Nothing is too strange, too big or too far: alternative folk, psychedelic rock, classical piano, you name it.

Albums with an eccentric richness of ideas like his self-titled debut (2012) or the larger-than-life “Broken Sky” (2017) have made O’Donovan one of the most sought-after musicians in Canada. Comparisons range from Tom Waits to Randy Newman or Harry Nilsson, but of course don’t really do the creative maverick and his unmistakably rough timbre any justice. His new release “Get Thee Behind the Wheel” once again shows that he’s riding a wave of his own, subject to his own transformations.

======================================================================

Kindsight – Love You Baby All the Time.

Danish four-piece Kindsight make music that draws from 80’s and 90’s alternative rock and combines it with the shimmering Scandinavian pop that the region has become so renowned for, resulting in a sound that is both fuzzy and melodic in equal measure. Releasing their first material in 2020, the up and coming Danish four-piece have been quick on the rise, picking up steam and their debut album, Swedish Punk, was released in March earlier this year and was followed by tour dates in Scandinavia, Germany and UK. Now they're back with atmospheric the new single Love You Baby All the Time, an indie pop gem recorded close after the album's release.

The band says: “For about 200.000 years, humanity has successfully postponed complete annihilation as each human takes part in a sort of symbiotic ritual with a person they would like to see several more of sometime in the future. “Love You Baby All the Time” seeks to present this occurrence loud and clear and with no further comments.”

Kindsight formed when front-woman Nina Hyldgaard Rasmussen and guitarist Søren Svensson bonded over a shared love of The Sugarcubes. They went on to recruit bass player Anders Prip and drummer Johannes Jacobsen and over the past few years have earned a reputation within Copenhagen’s thriving indie scene for their exciting live shows. The praised debut album Swedish Punk is finally available on vinyl, as a red limited edition.

On the album’s title, Rasmussen says “Swedish Punk’ was an off the cuff term our producer, Adam, came up with when we needed a working title for a new song we wrote during the recording sessions. Our bass player, Anders, then wrote some lyrics based on the working title and we ended up liking the whole ‘Swedish Punk’-thing so much it became the name of the album”.

======================================================================

Hohnen Ford - Close To Your Heart.

London-based singer-songwriter Hohnen Ford just announced a European tour in October supporting Matt Maltese and shares her new single "Close To Your Heart" - the latest track to be heard from upcoming debut EP 'Infinity', out 26th October via Young Poet. Debut EP 'Infinity' was written and produced by Hohnen Ford herself, features writing collaborations with Matt Maltese, and was mixed by Tom Carmichael (Porridge Radio, Wu-Lu).

A prodigious songwriting and vocal talent – Hohnen Ford has made an immediate impact. Very quickly given the seal of approval by jazz aficionado Jamie Cullum, she's gone on to receive notable support from Spotify (featured in their New Music Friday and Fresh Finds playlists), alongside coverage on esteemed publications including The Line Of Best Fit, CLASH Magazine and Whynow.

Hohnen Ford's achingly sincere, yet irresistibly entertaining and romantic prose, paired with her delicate piano arrangements position her as one of the most exciting songwriters to surface in recent times. Newly released single "Close To Your Heart" is further evidence of her gift, as she contemplates the emotional intricacies of relationships. Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration of new single, Hohnen Ford said:

"Close To Your Heart is about rekindling love for your person. Daring yourself to love like it's day one, and acknowledging bad habits. Taking responsibility for your own emotions and being able to laugh at yourself - step outside the emotion in that moment to stop yourself from bickering or causing a fight and remembering why you love that person. I wrote it to remind myself to make sure the hassle and stresses of day to day life don't get in the way of my relationships."

======================================================================

The Company Stores - Savannah.

The Company Stores independently releases The Family Album, their third full-length album, today September 23. The powerful and sultry voice of lead vocalist Ileana Ille captivates the audience with her ability to express raw emotion, while the band unites many influences to lay down bold grooves amidst dynamic crescendos.

“This album tells a story of everything being turned upside down; both personally and across the country,” says Matthew Marks, the primary lyricist for the band. “It is about family and understanding the triumphs, failures, tendencies, and choices of the people who came before, in order to understand how to successfully navigate where you are going.”

No Depression’s Amos Perrine writes, “The album had me from the opening track, ‘Savannah,’ which could have easily been on a Steely Dan record (notably the guitar parts), by way of the jazz group Return to Forever. The vocals by Ileana Ille glide over the instrumentation much like those of Return to Forever’s first vocalist, Flora Purim, did. Ille’s vocals are but one of the many textured layers that blend together in unexpected ways.”

======================================================================