Friday Five: Feuds - Teddy and The Love Gang - Emily Capell - Manwomanchild - Smoke Season
Feuds - River Of Wine.Background promo - Brisbane's Feuds herald the dawn of a new musical era in their journey with their unmistakably stadium-worthy single 'River Of Wine'.
Anthemic from start to finish, the crowning glory of 'River Of Wine' lies in its chorus, which is driven by what is arguably one of the most colossal vocal hooks in recent memory. Frontman Jeremy Hunter was inspired by his struggles with using alcohol as a crutch, and never finding the peace he craved. "The bulk of the track comes from the struggles I was having with drinking a couple years back, suffering these awful bouts of depression for days afterwards, in this never ending cycle," says Hunter.
Feuds are a curious beast; not exactly a new band, but not exactly old either. They performed in various forms under a different moniker for years, building up a respectable following and supporting the likes of Bad//Dreems, Holy Holy, Harts, and The Belligerents. Now they're ready for a musical genesis, a rebirth that sees them baptised in a 'River Of Wine'.
Their debut EP in this new, reinvigorated form is due out in late August, with live shows to follow.
'River Of Wine' leans towards indie rock, and as described above has a powerful chorus that really makes the song stand out.
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Teddy and The Love Gang - Childhood.Background promo - Teddy and the Love Gang is an Oslo based weird-pop band coming to the table with fresh faces, open eyes, a cache full of catchy music and the childlike ambition to take over the world. They combine groovy and catchy melodies and the expression of the child with a dark and moody sound that appeals to an adult audience without taking itself too seriously.
The lyrics focus on important topics and they ask philosophical questions about our existence, while the sound takes you back to your best memories of your childhood and all of it's early video game glory.
"Childhood" is the first single full of heartwarming nostalgia that makes you want to move and dance with no abandon...just like a little kid. Teddy and the Love Gang want you to experience their musical fairytale beyond what you have experienced before!
'Childhood' is a highly like-able mood lifter. There is something about weird pop like this that just puts me in a good place.
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Emily Capell - Brixton Prison.Background promo - The refreshing Emily Capell returns with a new EP “The Notorious M.L.E.” and lead single “Brixton Prison”. Catching the eye of legendary music producer Steve Osborne (New Order, U2, Gregory Porter, The Doves), this bright eyed, bushy tailed 21 year old from North-West London has been honing her sound in the Oxford studio under the careful eye of this masterful producer. “Brixton Prison” is the lead track from a new 5 track EP. The track showcases Emily’s bittersweet, gritty lyrics about prison life over a candy-coated, catchy melody. “Joey” is a frisky homage to her then QPR hero, Joey Barton and “Who Killed Smiley Culture?” is a quizzical, sombre tribute to the reggae pioneer. Emily’s influences from her parents record collections (Johnny Cash, The Smiths, The Clash to The Libertines, Blondie and Jamie T) are conspicuous and flattering. Her sound is a mixture of blues, pop, ska and indie. She plays her Gretch Electromatic guitar with aplomb and her storytelling has a ‘real world’ dark edge infliction, doused in a light hearted delivery.
Emily began writing songs and playing gigs since she was 14. She is the complete antithesis of her generation – whilst her peers were bingeing on junk TV and finding idols from reality talent shows, Emily was devouring her parents record collections and creating a style and look that represented her character and music. Previous releases have caught the attention and support of John Kennedy, Gary Crowley, Robert Elms and Steve Lamacq and an endorsement from the Joe Strummer Foundation and Fred Perry has put Emily on the path to success.
Emily plays a regular residency at The Dublin Castle (London), and booked festivals this summer include Secret Garden Party (11am, Where The Wild Things Are Stage and 8pm The Living Room) , Glastonbury (23/6 Strummerville Stage at 7pm and 25/6 The Leftfield Stage at 3pm with Billy Bragg, Will Varley and Lewis & Leigh).
Live Dates:
18/06 - Rhoda Dakar (Bodysnatchers) 100 Club, London
04/07 - Dublin Castle, London (8.30pm)
18/07 - Cabaret Futura
01/08 - Dublin Castle, London 8.30pm
12/08 - The Elgin (Ladbroke Grove), London 10pm
In my misspent youth I did know a few folk who had the pleasure of the wonderful hospitality of 'Brixton Prison'. Emily Capell's song is absolutely gorgeous, and I highly recommend checking out her new EP.
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Background bio - Manwomanchild is a rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania fronted by David Child.
The band was started in Rhode Island in 2008. In February 2010, the band release a self-titled EP recorded at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, RI. The band’s lineup for the EP and album consisted of David Child on vocals, guitars, and synths, Mason Neely on drums, and Craig Gifford on bass. In May 2010, Manwomanchild released the song “Chile La Roja” in support of Chile’s 2010 World Cup team. The song was featured in 4 national newspapers and on 2 Chilean TV networks.
The band released its self-titled debut album on 12/14/2010 on West Cortez Records. In 2013, Manwomanchild moved to Philadelphia. In April 2014, they wrote and recorded the soundtrack for Decidedly‘s iOS and Android game “Floyd’s Worthwhile Endeavor“.
In September and October of 2014, the band released the singles “Wedding Toast” and “Recent History”, followed by another, “The Telepath Returns,” in December of the same year. In March 2015, “The Difficult Years” was released. Music blog “Surviving the Golden Age” described the song’s sound as “LCD Soundsystem being fronted by Ben Gibbard” as well as “hybrid glam rock/chamber pop”. Bandcamp preorder (Here).
It was October last year that Beehive Candy first featured ManWomenChild. 'I Know A Man' is from the second album due out on June 28th and is an indicator of the fine music you can expect. You can also hear the first single off the album 'Change The Channel' via the Bandcamp link above.
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Smoke Season - Loose.Background bio - Ask Smoke Season where they get their hazy blend of psychedelic Americana and electro-soul from and they’ll give you two words: “manifest destiny.” Los Angeles-based Gabrielle Wortman and Jason Rosen, the duo that comprises Smoke Season, both grew up around the NYC area, ironically meeting in California after their separate musical paths brought them to make the move west. Their sound stems from what they call “east coast heads and west coast hearts."
From the outside looking in, the first thing one notices about this fiercely independent duo is the buzz that has mounted around them in recent years — earning them a place as "the up and coming band you wish you were in” (Pancakes & Whiskey, 2015). However, it’s where this buzz is generating from that makes for Smoke Season’s most defining characteristic.
Since forming in 2013, Smoke Season has proven themselves to be in a constant state of artistic fervor, with a flurry of activity and creative output surrounding them at all times. They’ve independently released 3 EPs, 5+ music videos, toured tirelessly with internationally known acts and become a regular on the stages of nation-wide festivals, such as SXSW and CMJ.
Judging by their millions of Spotify plays and acclaim from major press outlets (Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Clash Magazine, LA Weekly, and The New York Times to name a few), it looks like their hard work is finally paying off.
The duo has consistently (if not stubbornly) foregone traditional routes and branded their artistic output as multi-sensory in nature. Their live show is a great example of this, employing synchronized light shows, smoke and unique sampling — all of which are programmed and executed by the duo. “We want audiences to do more than just hear what we’re making. We want them to see, smell, feel it as a multimedia experience. Jason and I both studied film scoring as college students so a fully immersive experience was somewhat undeniable,” Wortman explains.
'Loose' is the second song on the fabulous 'Ouroboros EP'. It's hardly surprising Smoke Season have been noticed far and wide, their highly stylised indie music is so well crafted and absorbing.
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