Hockey Dad - The Fireflys - Gasoline Lollipops
Hockey Dad - Homely Feeling.Background - Australian surf-rock duo Hockey Dad unveil the suitably raucous visuals to latest single Homely Feeling, the first taste of their sophomore album Blend Inn set for release on 9th February via Manchester Indie label LAB Records.
An ode to the search for that sense of homely comfort whilst being miles away from your roots, this for Hockey Dad being the small, laid-back coastal town of Windang, Australia, Homely Feeling is a fuzzy blast of youthful energy. Now the tune is accompanied by a video that’ll make you pine for the glory days of MTV; a drained pool, inebriated-skating-grandpa antics and a whole heap of mates capture the charm and energy of youth with which Hockey Dad won hearts originally.
Billy Fleming (drums) and Zach Stephenson (guitar, vox) have come a long way since sneaking underage into their local dive venue to catch their favourite bands. Once able to get their own regular slots they quickly built an ever-growing following, before releasing a debut EP Dreamin’ in 2014, then 2016’s acclaimed debut album Boronia. The 18 months since Boronia’s release has seen the duo tour extensively through Australia, before heading out to North America to take in SXSW, jump on a Canadian tour with Dune Rats, play shows in the UK and Europe before finally taking in some of their home country’s biggest venues with the iconic Wavves.
This stretch of playing live, and the reaction to their debut record has allowed Hockey Dad to ally the youthful electricity they possess in abundance with renewed sense of perspective, and an expanded mind-set. “We’re still kids,” reflects Fleming “But we’re just a little bit more... tinged”
Landing in Seattle, the recording of Blend Inn began with renowned audio engineer and producer John Goodmanson (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Cloud Nothings) at Robert Lang Studios. The studios, supposedly haunted, echo with their iconic past - housing many of rock’s legends over its time, The Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Death Cab For Cutie, Alice In Chains, for example, but most notably Nirvana, who recorded their last single inside - the mic used by Kurt Cobain still hanging in tribute. Here, Hockey Dad found a home away from home - immortalising their time in the album artwork, which depicts the house in a film photo captured by Fleming.
The single Homely Feeling is out now on all streaming platforms, and LP Blend Inn will be out on 9th February via LAB Records. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.
It's around eighteen months since we were first introduced to Hockey Dad and back then I stated "the duo's brand of indie pop is just so bright and smile inducing." Fast forward to 'Homely Feeling' their latest single and the sound has matured into some vibrant energised surf rock. It's looking good for the next album.
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Background - The Fireflys are an Alt Americana band from Runcorn, north west England, who release their first single 'Grace' in November 2017. The track comes from their fifth studio album, which is slated for release early next year.
The songwriting of vocalist/guitarist Lee Wylding underpins The Fireflys' creative output, augmented by bassist Sam Bramhall, pianist Chris Tann, drummer Andie Packer, acoustic guitarist Joe Paul Forber and guitarist Phil Conway. Marking the beginning of a new generation of UK Americana/alternative guitar based bands, The Fireflys are indebted sonically to the likes of Neil Young and Tom Petty, as well as the links of R.E.M. and City & Colour.
The band are regularly played at Old Trafford stadium on match days and have been featured on MUTV, BBC Manchester and That's Manchester TV, affording them the cult status across the Northwest of England.
Fireworks Magazine has labelled them "The UK's answer to Counting Crows", whilst Mike Peters of The Alarm descrived them as "a good mix of REM and The Gin Blossoms" during a recent live television interview. FACEBOOK.
'Grace' is clearly influenced by all that is good with Americana music and the host of genres and identities that seem to come under that umbrella term. Fast, refined and raw enough to ensure the passion and heart shines through, The Fireflys have something quite special going on here.
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Gasoline Lollipops - Mustangs.Background - Colorado-based band Gasoline Lollipops shares new track "Mustangs". "Robert Louis Cole, who traveled the South on a one-car tour with Gasoline Lollipops frontman Clay Rose a few years ago, wrote 'Mustangs' as a sparse acoustic blues," the band explains of the track, "we're honored to give it a rollicking full-band treatment on Soul Mine." Gasoline Lollipops will be playing an album-release show at Fox Theatre in Boulder on 12/16, along with a number of other shows listed below:
11.15 - 12.3 - Belgium and the Netherlands
12.16 - Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO
1.19-21 - Ambergris Caye, Belize
12.31 - Hodi's Half Note - Fort Collins, CO
1.5 - Alamo Drafthouse - Denver, CO
1.26 - Vail Ale House - Vail, CO
1.27 - The Historic Lariat
Gasoline Lollipops is a Colorado band that combines the sincerity of dirt-floor folk with the energy and rebelliousness of punk. It's an all-new incarnation of alt-country that’s both high-energy and heartfelt, like the American highway's soundtrack. This year marked the release of the GasPops' debut full-length album, Resurrection, and the band’s first-ever vinyl release, Soul Mine, will be celebrated at the Fox Theatre in Boulder on Saturday, December 16.
Colorado Daily readers voted Gasoline Lollipops "Best Local Musician/Group" for 2017, and in 2016, Denver Westword named Gasoline Lollipops Colorado's Best Country Artist. 2014 and 2015 brought multiple awards and accolades to the Gasoline Lollipops, including being selected to play six showcases in Austin during SXSW 2014; getting voted "Best Local Musician/Group" in the Colorado Daily's 2014 and 2015 polls; being selected as one of only six bands across Colorado for the highly coveted SpokesBUZZ Emerging Artists Incubator program; and winning the Oskar Blues Battle of the Bands in 2015. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.
Our second feature for Gasoline Lollipops in a couple of months and following on from 'Soul Mine' this time we have 'Mustangs'. Gritty, edgy and most certainly dirt-floor, this is a fabulous rootsy song that is both mean & addictive!
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