Glass Hour - Ryan Wong - Midnight Faces - Imitating Aeroplanes
Glass Hour - Burn.Background - Glass Hour are pleased to share their new single “Burn”, which is now available. This song takes a slight departure from our familiar piano and guitar tracks and incorporates electronic elements to make an upbeat, catchy tune.
It speaks of abrupt silence, unfamiliar territories and the uncertainty of allowing someone to slowly fade from memory.
“Burn” is taken from our debut album Minute Hand (advance link) which is set for release on August 18. It’s a breakup album - an illustration of love, heartbreak, and recovery.
Glass Hour is a pop-rock band from Montreal. With a generous incorporation of piano combined with a signature guitar sound, their music ranges from massive arena rockers to intimate, soul-warming songs. Website here, Facebook here.
The new single 'Burn' is also one of ten tracks on the bands forthcoming album 'Minute Hand'. Whilst the featured song gives a flavour of whats to come, Glass Hour can and do mix the themes and styles in what is a really strong collection of material. The albums title track is particularly outstanding, and overall the songwriting and performance is consistently of high quality.
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Background - Ryan Wong's new single "Good Lovin'", will be featured on his forthcoming debut album 'More Milk' out 8/4 on Empty Cellar Records.
Though Ryan Wong’s boyish charm might be obvious to anyone who’s seen him perform solo or with his group the Cool Ghouls, what might not be obvious about the artist behind More Milk is that he is, in fact, lactose intolerant. What’s up with that? What kind of milk are we talking about anyway?
Well, sometimes a songwriter in a rock group has a jolt of creativity that results in some great numbers for the band (that’s the milk), and then even more ideas that might have to find their way into another icebox (more milk). While there’s a delicate acoustic sketch or two on this home-recorded cassette, don’t let Wong’s easygoing attitude or vocal style belie his ability to turn a great idea or two into a fully ambulant creature of a tune. Ryan—handling guitar, bass, and keys with a rotating cast of bandmates and roommates filling in on percussion and woodwinds—makes it happen. Just try to listen to the two-note, triple time trill that drives “Good Lovin” without imagining approaching an overcast San Francisco day with a Mr. Natural stride.
If you should stroll into a club in the Mission on a chilly evening or find this tape in your dealer’s deck, why not slow down and take it in for a moment? There’s a little something in these six songs for the deadheads, for John Cale obsessives, and for tough rockers in derby jackets and boots who like to eat mushrooms, sit in the grass and listen to the Emerson Brothers. I’m willing to bet there may even be something for you—Ryan’s probably holding and has plenty to go around. Bandcamp here.
'Good Lovin' is a fast tempo and vibrant song, where the rhythmic & melodic vocals are supported by a tight and somewhat stripped back soundtrack, which is fine as the vocals really do carry the song.
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Midnight Faces - Devils Money.Background - Barely into his teens, Matthew Doty began making music with childhood friend Jonny Pierce (of The Drums), resulting in a full-length album released by Columbia Records. At age twenty, he went on to co-found post-rock instrumental giants Saxon Shore with Josh Tillman (aka Father John Misty), releasing three EPs, and two albums produced by Dave Fridmann (MGMT, Tame Impala, Flaming Lips.)
Originally a duo of Matthew Doty (guitar/bass/synth) and Phil Stancil (vocals/guitar/bass), Midnight Faces ‘Heavenly Bodies ’ LP was the first to feature drummer Paul Doyle as a full-fledged collaborator and the thrilling expansion of a sound begun on 2013’s ‘Fornication’ LP. For that album – Midnight Faces’ debut – Stancil brought vocals to Doty’s existing songs; 2014’s ‘The Fire Is Gone’ saw a more thorough partnership emerge between the two musicians, and praise for the record flowed from outlets including SPIN, Entertainment Weekly, Nylon, AV Club, Conan and more. Consequence of Sound premiered a full album stream of ‘Heavenly Bodies’, followed by a performance on Seattle’s KEXP. Fred Falke- who is known for a wide array of indelible remixes for artists like Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, The Whitest Boy Alive, and more – also remixed their first single, “Heavenly Bodies.”
Midnight Faces will released their new single “Devils Money” via Dangerbird’s Microdose series (here) on July 28th. Facebook here.
A short synth intro announces 'Devils Money' which quickly builds into a dreamy alt rocker where energy and melody combine to create a refined sounding track.
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Background - Imitating Aeroplanes is the new project of Tord Øverland Knudsen (The Wombats) and Marius Drogsås Hagen (Team Me) – a collective output tallying five albums, multi-million sales and streams, repeat Billboard charts, international play-listing and widespread acclaim, including a Norwegian Grammy Award and multiple NME / MTV Award nominations.
On paper, it’s an impressive pairing, but this is one partnership more destined -- than designed. Marius and Tord have been playing and writing music together since childhood, recording their first demos to cassette circa ’96. The pair grew up in small Norwegian town Elverum before embarking respective international careers, with their latest planetary pursuit landing in Tokyo – the cultural heartland of forthcoming album ‘Planet Language’, released September 22 via Propeller Recordings.
Lead single ‘Hourglass’ was the first track penned for the album, representing new beginnings for the band but also a rather poetic return to form. “Hourglass’ was written in my parent’s basement,” Tord explains, “which took us back to where it all started, like a couple of 12-year-olds just nerding out and playing music again.” The main hook is comprised of mandolaika – a mandolin/balalaika hybrid – and Marius’ monophonic melody, with the original basement recording surviving the final album cut.
Extensive touring in 2017 kicks off with Imitating Aeroplanes’ first official performance at Parkteatret on Tuesday, August 8th as part of Oslo’s renowned Øya Festival program. Tour details on their Facebook here.
There is a smooth flowing vibe right from the beginning on 'Hourglass'. The musical arrangement slowly develops into a melodic mixture of indie and electro sounds, whilst the gentler vocals add substance and drive the song along.
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