Crooked Ghost - Living Hour - Love Canon - Pastis
Dreamy post-punk rockers Crooked Ghost have announced that their new album 'Skeleton House' will be released on CD on November 23, followed by a limited edition 12" vinyl release in February 2019. Ahead of this, the Asheville, NC outfit presents their 'Sleepwalker' single, accompanied by a video, directed by Rome Widenhouse.
"Skeleton House' is the band's sophomore long-play - a dark and hazy dreamscape of lush and angular melody, with a stark lyrical rawness touching upon such subjects as addiction, trauma, loss, superstition, and everything that gets left behind after a catastrophic event. The album consists of eight tracks, ranging from dreamy and playful to anguished and harrowing. Billowing vocal patterns weave intricate stories between shimmering guitar crescendos, cascading synths and mathematical percussion.
This album follows up their debut LP 'Strange Burial Rituals', released in March 2017. This new offering has two distinct halves: the first is lighter, the second darker. The whole thing plays out like a story, or rather, two opposite stories that are intertwined.
"The song 'Sleepwalker' was one of the first written for the new album, and everything about it just worked. The song itself is in reference to addiction and a dissolution of ones sense of self; self-medicating and numbness. I wanted to bring light to something dark, yet still tell an honest story. Something about this song has always stood out for us, says frontman Ray Clark. FACEBOOK.
If your new to Crooked Ghost then 'Sleepwalker' gives a good indication of the bands overall sound, albeit they can and are sometimes a little more moody and atmospheric and on occasion lyrically quite dark. That they are creative and often intriguing in the direction they take, adds a level of expectation for each track in this collection.
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Winnipeg’s Living Hour recently announced its sophomore LP, Softer Faces, due out March 1 via Kanine Records. A follow-up to their highly-praised 2016 S/T debut, it features the haunting, ethereal vocals of lead singer Sam Sarty accompanied by lush, expansive instrumentation.
The band shared a first taste of their new record with hazy, hypnotic leading single “Bottom Step”, and now they’ve released a lyric video for the track. NPR says "Bottom Step" “softly but assertively navigates the feeling of rejection, accented by delicate synth and brass. The song's accompanying visuals expand upon the protagonist's yearning for solitude, as Sarty enjoys a solo swim.”
The band has announce tour dates for early 2019, including performances in Saskatoon, Calgary, Rossland, and Edmonton before heading to Austin for SXSW. Full tour dates can be found below.
Living Hour has been expanding since their humble basement beginnings in 2015. Now a quintet, rounded out by Gil Carroll (guitar), Adam Soloway (guitar, vocals), Alex Chochinov (drums, trumpet, orangelle), and Brett Ticzon (bass, vocals), Living Hour’s emotive vocals, intricate harmonies, with dreamy washes of guitar, bass, keys, and horns sees the band pulling from many genres to create their own diverse vibe that's intimate, honest, and vulnerable. WEBSITE.
Beautifully dreamy and melodic 'Bottom Step' is awash with emotion and feeling. The layers of sound slowly develop, with a feeling of calmness that comes from the refined arrangement and soothing vocals.
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Continuing to feature selected songs from their Cover Story album, Love Canon releases a live video of "Graceland." Filmed live at Eugenia Hall with the Bluegrass Situation in Nashville, Tennessee, the song features the band along with Lauren Balthrop's accompaniment vocals.
Known for their sophisticated and energetic Grass-infused covers of iconic 80’s-era pop and rock songs, the band backs the smoky vocals of Jesse Harper and Balthrop with the positive bounce of the original song but with the athletic instrumental breaks Love Canon is known for.
Lead singer and guitarist Jesse Harper says, “I have always been a fan of Paul Simon. Graceland is one of those records I have played over and over again. It’s been in heavy rotation on my stereo for at least 20 years. I love the songwriting and the musicianship. I think this tune fits with bluegrass instrumentation particularly well, and it was beyond fun getting to jam with Mike Barnett (fiddle) and Lauren Balthrop (vocals) on this tune.”
Nothing is hidden in this live take of the Paul Simon classic, which allows the nimble dynamics of Love Canon’s playing and singing to shine as it does on the album, released from from Organic Records in July of this year. SPOTIFY, Lauren Balthrop WEBSITE.
We don't often feature cover versions on Beehive Candy however this version of 'Graceland' just has to be shared. An outstanding song is given a refreshing makeover where bluegrass and dual vocals give the piece a pleasing feel, so now I have two splendid versions of a timeless song.
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'Valour Valour' is the second single of the Finnish rock n roll band 'Pastis' upcoming debut LP 'Circles' (release 8th February 2019).
It was recorded and co-produced by the award-winning producer Lauri Eloranta, and it also features trumpet virtuoso Antero Priha who has performed with the likes of Ray Charles, Carla Bley and Freddie Hubbard.
The band created great excitement with their first single 'Amazon' (released 13th June 2018) and have established themselves as one the most promising Finnish rock n roll bands to attract an international audience. FACEBOOK.
'Valour Valour' has all the quality and subtly modern musical production techniques allow for, and yet it has sixties pop and rock vibes coursing right through it. Add to that just how very catchy indeed compelling this song is and Pastis new album cannot come soon enough!
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