The City and Horses - Bleeding Knees Club - MKB ULTRA - First Hate - Old Sault
The City and Horses - Shades.Background - Last Friday, The City and Horses released their new album, Ruins. This marks the third album of The City and Horses under Paper Garden - and treats listeners to an array of indie-pop, idiosyncratic songs - fresh, familiar, and all about the funk.
The City and Horses are out to get you. To get you feeling better about your breakups, screw ups and photos needing touch ups. Following in the footsteps of melodic mopers before them, TCAH make music for the disaffected.
Front man Marc Cantone, who works as a children’s television producer by day, writes idiosyncratic songs that are fresh, familiar and all about the funk (emotional or otherwise). And the emotional funk is a key aspect of the band. Having spent his adult life in the throes of OCD, Marc has become a dedicated and vocal supporter of mental health rights and issues. Website here, Facebook here.
'Shades' is the first of twelve songs on the brand new 'Ruins' album. The City and Horses have consistently written and produced appealing indie music, and the quality just keeps on coming with this latest release. I simply chose the first song to share because I was spoilt for choice and as it's first on the album it's first on Beehive Candy!
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Background - Bleeding Knees Club’s new EP Chew The Gum was released a little earlier this month. Frontman Alex Wall spent time in New York and Los Angeles and released three solo albums as Wax Witches on Burger Records. Upon moving back to Australia, Alex immediately dove back into writing for Bleeding Knees Club and has been working with producer John Patterson of The Grates. The band also just signed with Inertia Music and added Michael Barker (guitar), Gio Alexander (bass), and Nick Leighton (drums) to the lineup to make BKC a full live band for the first time.
The four track EP is the first fresh material from BKC since 2013's anthemic single "Feel." All four songs were produced by long-time friend (and fan) John Patterson from The Grates, and the title track recently received a NSFW visual accompaniment via a music video conceived by frontman Alex Wall and starring band members Michael Barker (guitar), Gio Alexander (bass), and Nick Leighton (drums).
In their time, BKC have notched up an enviable list of shows worldwide with the likes of Wavves, Best Coast, Black Lips, OFF! and more, plus festival appearances at Splendour In The Grass, Falls Festival, St. Kilda Festival and Sounds Of The Suburbs. We are thrilled that they are back in the live game, having just announced a string of Australian headline dates with support from weirdo psych rockers The Pinheads (excl Adelaide, Hobart and Mandurah. Website here, Facebook here, tour dates on Beehive Candy's tour page.
The video is "a little different" for the EP's title track 'Chew The Gum', however it works in a bizarre way. Musically though, everything immediately comes together with some vibrant upbeat no nonsense rock'n'roll that dives from punk to indie and elsewhere on the blistering four song EP.
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MKB ULTRA - Black Ship.Background - A veteran Seattle musician, Mia Katherine Boyle combines singer/songwriter craft with musical collaborations bringing hints of American folk, soul and experimental. Her musical friends, including Jack Endino complementing her on wild psyche-blues guitar, inspire new directions but she remains grounded in confessional, blues-tinged rock. Their first full length together as a band, the eponymous MKB Ultra, shows them at their sizzling, storming best.
MKB Ultra’s self-titled third album is made of songs crafted out of power riffs and and pop song structure, then deconstructed into interludes of madness, or rather, controlled chaos. Infused with soul-inspired vocals, it both harkens back to a time when rock was wild, finding a combined sound of magnetic rock riffs and sonic rebellion.
Mia says, “Most of the songs were written during a difficult time in this country - Enron, 9-11, the Iraq invasion. Things were not going well politically. Sadly, they have only become more relevant which inspired me to re-record them and add a few more songs that represent my struggle to move beyond political rhetoric and get closer to the spiritual understanding that love is real and personal power is real".
The lead track is “Black Ship,” -- alluding to the journey of slaves, the maritime voyage goes mutinous to rhythmic melodies and a relentless groove. This band's understanding of rhythm is played out perfectly by turning invocations like “Cause & Effect,” “Forever Now,” and “Strange Attractors” into powerful anthems. Bandcamp here.
A thumping beat and some funky rock ardour underpins 'Black Ship'. Vocals are naturally blues rock in nature as MKB ULTRA deliver an intense and pleasing alt rock song.
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Background - Danish duo First Hate have shared a video for new single "The One." The track is from their forthcoming new LP A Prayer For The Unemployed, out May 12th on Copenhagen-based label Escho Records. "This is a song for all the lovers who weren’t supposed to be together after all," the duo explain, "And for all the people waiting to find the right one. Patience is not only about being able to wait it’s also about how you behave while you wait, Life is not always about keeping your promises, it’s about following your heart."
First Hate also announces a string of European tour dates in support of the release this Spring. You can find current dates and more info on the band and album below. Stay tuned for additional international tour dates to follow.
Rising from the snake pit into the international spotlight, it’s been a short and steady climb for Copenhagen duo First Hate. Since the release of their self-titled debut EP in September 2014, which featured hit singles “Girls In The Club” and “In My Dreams”, the band showcased early on music that transcends genres, making the underground more accessible through piercing beats. In support of the EP, they toured with both Trentemøller (October 2014) and Iceage (April 2015).
Summer 2015 was spent in the studio which resulted in the follow-up EP The Mind Of A Gemini (released on Escho in March 2016). Headline shows at Lille Vega in Copenhagen and Tape in Aarhus proved the band's steady rise was now hitting a bigger audience, with singles “White Heron” and “Trojan Horse” getting heavy rotation on national radio. 2016 found the band on the road with fellow Copenhageners Lust For Youth around Europe plus tours across Asia and North America and festival dates across the world including a notable triumphant set headlining the Countdown Stage at Roskilde Festival. Facebook here, tour dates on Beehive Candy's tour page.
'The One' isn't just catchy it's infectious. There's a little taste of New Order in the songs structure and delivery, however the band are striking both with the deep and darker vocals alongside a sophisticated musical arrangement that morphs between rock and dance with ease. Fabulous song!
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Old Sault - Sleeping With Danger.Background - Named as an ‘Artist to watch in 2016’ by triple j Unearthed, Old Sault, releases her first single for 2017 ‘Sleeping with Danger’ on Friday April 29, and also announces her much anticipated debut EP.
‘Sleeping with Danger’ portrays a dark and mysterious side to Old Sault. Combining an indie folk sound and heavy drum work with her hushed, understated vocals; emotive lyrics breathe real life in to the track. Old Sault has been hard at work in the studio recording her debut EP Mostly Worried, due out May 12, under the guidance of ARIA-winning producer Govinda Doyle (Angus & Julia Stone).
The EP’s first two singles ‘Ghost’ and ‘Sail Home’ were well received with the former gaining local praise from triple j’s Dom Alessio and Richard Kingsmill as well as internationally from Italian tastemaker blog ‘Going Solo’. With two successful singles under her belt and a previously unseen live show, ‘Sleeping with Danger’ is the next piece in musical puzzle in the lead up to her debut EP making 2017 looking to be a break out year for Old Sault.
Old Sault releases ‘Sleeping with Danger’ on all platforms and debut EP Mostly Worried Friday May 12. Live shows to be announced soon. Facebook here.
We featured Old Sault a couple of times last year and the latest song 'Sleeping With Danger' continues the high standard of music we were enthralled with previously. Alt rock that builds from an understated beginning into a more expansive piece, as mentioned above Old Sault is an artist to watch out for.
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