Brooke Annibale - Paper Hawk - Phillip Broussard - Frog Eyes
Background - Singer-songwriter/guitarist Brooke Annibale will release her third full-length album Hold To The Light on June 8th. The new record marks Annibale's return following her 2015 critically acclaimed album The Simple Fear and features several major departures in terms of both songwriting and production. Annibale sheds a few layers of her folk-acoustic skin and introduces a new indie-pop direction offering a fusion of textured electronic and traditional instrumentation centered around Brooke's stunning voice and keen, soulful lyricism. This week she released her radiant new single "Glow.
The songs on Hold To The Light develop like Polaroid photos: each reveals a memory suspended between the perspective of the past with all its wistfulness, pain, and joy, and the revelations of the present. Produced by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive) at his Great North Sound Society in Maine, Hold To The Light features contributions from seasoned artists Zachariah Hickman (Ray Lamontagne, Josh Ritter) on bass; Josh Kaufman (The National, Josh Ritter) on accompanying guitars; Sean Trischka on drums; and Matt Douglas (Sylvan Esso, Mountain Goats) on woodwinds. Brooke's thoughtful, layered songwriting anchors the production to explore a range of narratives working through themes of seeking truths, letting go, and reconciling the past with the present. WEBSITE.
Tour Dates:
06/02 - Newark, OH @ The Bootlegger
06/03 - Cleveland, OH @ Music Box Supper Club
06/08 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Three Rivers Arts Festival
06/15 - Philadelphia, PA @ Philadelphia Folksong Society
06/16 - New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall
06/17 - Northampton, MA @ The Parlor Room
06/19 - Burlington, VT @ The Skinny Pancake
06/21 - Boston, MA @ Fraser Performance Studio
07/03 - Edgartown, MA @ Harborview Hotel - WMVY Porch Concert Series
07/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe - 2nd Stage (w/ The Sweeplings)
07/15 - San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods (upstairs) (w/ The Sweeplings)
07/16 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (w/ The Sweeplings)
07/18 - Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett (w/ The Sweeplings)
07/29 - Allison Park, PA @ Hartwood Acres
08/16 - Fort Collins, CO @ Magic Rat.
The soft melodic vocals glide above the musical arrangement on 'Glow' a rhythmic and flowing indie pop soundtrack, where traditional instrumentation mixes alongside imaginative electronic swirls of sound.
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Background - Crafting an intimate, ethereal sound, inviting you into their private world, Paper Hawk’s debut EP The Tide is released this week through Brighton’s boutique record label Folklore Sessions. The 4-track record signals the beginning of a new adventure for this emerging band. Alongside digital distribution on iTunes and Spotify, a limited run of 50 physical copies will be available in June, a month after the digital release date. Each record comes with a handwritten thank you letter, additional artwork, and a signed art print. Although new to the scene, Paper Hawk have swiftly left their mark playing across the country with sets at Glastonbury, 2000 Trees, YNOT and the Alternative Escape Festival.
Recorded in the living room of their Brighton flat the record marks a cathartic release from a tumultuous few years. From the defeated notes of ‘Trails’ - a hypnotising whisper chronicling the throes of a volatile relationship - to the comforting promise of support in ‘Northern Sky’ - The Tide is a collection of songs written with a hand-on-heart approach and striking honesty.
Produced by Josh Trinnaman (the brain of jazz-IDM fusion band, Luo), the intimate guitar and vocal arrangements are brought to life with rich soundscapes and electronic ambience, creating a dream-like atmosphere that draws you in and keeps you captivated.
Paper Hawk is an alt-folk duo currently based in Brighton, who combine intricate guitar driven melodies with hushed tones and raw confessional lyrics. A collaboration of two songwriters, Rebecca Brandler and Scott Booth, the project began after the two met a few months after both moving to Brighton to study. Rebecca heard Scott playing a cover of ‘Ocean’ by John Butler and instant musical sparks were ignited and she knew she wanted to write music together. The bond was then nurtured in a cold basement flat with muted rehearsals to avoid complaints from the neighbours but has proven to pay off, being nourished into a harrowingly beautiful EP with layers that muster unique strength, blanketed with velvet vocals.
We featured the song 'Trails' from the new EP just last month, and it is with pleasure to be able to do the same for 'Written In The Lines,' with Paper Hawk's splendid new EP being released just yesterday. The latest song features some beautiful vocal harmonies, accompanied by a refined musical soundtrack, driven along by a resonating bass line.
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Background - In November 2017, Seattle-based acoustic blues-pop singer-songwriter Phillip Brousard released his debut EP, "Wavelength." The EP was dedicated to the memory of his father. First single, "Just Wanna Believe" thrust Phillip into the national spotlight, garnering critical praise and radio airplay.
Born and raised in Washington State, Phillip Broussard discovered his passion early in life, when his father brought home a guitar. His father's original intention was to play the guitar himself, but he soon found Phillip picking up the guitar, when he didn't think anyone was watching. Phillip grew up under the influence of his father's favorites, Pink Floyd, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton. What started as just a few chords, ignited a desire to share his new found passion with the world.
Then, tragedy struck at 18 years old, when Phillip's father, grandfather and uncle passed away within 6 months of each other. Phillip put down his guitar and enlisted in the United States Navy, in an attempt to quell his grief. Early on in his Naval career, someone handed Phillip a copy of John Mayer's cd, "Room for Squares". This album reignited Phillip's passion for the guitar. In 2007, Phillip deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. During this time, he refined his guitar skills… TWITTER.
'All Over Again' has some notable Americana characteristics to it, as the accomplished acoustic guitar playing and natural vocals of Phillip Broussard accompany each other, within this engaging and inviting song.
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Background - Frog Eyes are set to release their final album Violet Psalms May 18th on Paper Bag Records, and have shared the new single "Your Boss's Shirt." 17 years after their teetering debut, the Vancouver band unveils Violet Psalms—a giddy lament; a gnashing jubilee; a rain-drenched allocution on hope vs. horror, paradise vs. pride, Marx and Brexit and bad acid trips.
It's an ending like a beginning. "We were trying to pretend it was our first record," Carey Mercer says. This is their final record, Frog Eyes' last gasp—but the art-rockers wanted to capture the energy of a debut, the freedom you feel "when there's no expectation that anyone will actually listen." They made it at home, burrowing under the house where Mercer lives with drummer Melanie Campbell. The goal was to blot out the world, focusing on what they could grow down there, four musicians in a basement. Could they squeeze out ten songs? Was there enough paste in the tube to squeeze out 10? "In the end there was. Which is rad."
No guests, no engineers. A self-invention. Violet Psalms began with its frantic, reverb-drenched guitar, squiggling over a modulation pedal. Next Mercer and Campbell concocted the drum parts—imagining them as onomatopoeia then recording them in fragments, kickdrum by kickdrum, tom by tom, with tailored effects. "The goal was to disorientate," Mercer explains, but also to work by instinct, gut—a cut-up of music and image, songs that coil back and kiss. The band pruned as they went, adding Terri Upton's bass parts, taking other parts away. Whereas past LPs used piano, Shyla Seller worked with shimmering synths—chords like bleeding watercolour, shadows casting on a wall. TWITTER.
On the 1st April we featured the track 'Idea Man' (you can also checkout the bands tour dates in that edition), and now just over a month later, we have 'Your Boss's Shirt' to enjoy ahead of the bands final album release later this month. Once again the vocals are distinct and fascinating, as the band develop some slow chunky beats and more, all of which interacts beautifully.
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