Heavy Heart - Mt. Doubt - Josh Alexander - Wy - Trudy and the Romance - Alice Tambourine Lover

'Dowsabel' by Heavy hearts is a refined meeting of dream pop and alt rock, a combination that works exceptionally well. From Edinburgh we have Mt Doubt and 'Unravelling' where polished musicianship and distinctive vocals are notable. Josh Alexander shares a tender modern folk song which is both melodic and beautifully arranged. Our second taste of Wy's promising new album this month, and it comes in the form of 'Tired II', the rest will be released a month today. It's appearance number six on Beehive Candy for Trudy and the Romance whose 50's mutant pop remains wonderful and very catchy. Alice Tambourine Lover round things off today with 'Blow Away' as elements of psych, blues and cool rock come together with genuine feeling.

Heavy Heart - Dowsabel.

Expertly crafted dream pop has become something of a personality trait from London alt-rockers Heavy Heart and in spellbinding latest release Dowsabel their trademark approach is firmly on display once again.

The second of three tracks, mixed and co-produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Gabe Wax (The War On Drugs, Fleet Foxes, Soccer Mommy). Dowsabel provides the ideal follow-up to January release Bed Bug, capitalising on their widespread critical acclaim from the likes of The Line Of Best Fit and Clash.

Heavily touted across the airwaves courtesy of BBC Radio 1’s Phil Taggart and BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, the bustling quartet have become well-known for their dynamic and atmospheric live shows with slots alongside fellow indie risers Another Sky and Honey Lung already ticked off over the last few months.

Touching on the origins of the track, the band revealed: “Dowsabel is an old English word for sweetheart, and this song is about a love affair, but it’s a bittersweet, broken and defeated one. It’s about the jagged edges and the blood we draw; the damager that we do to each other in the name of love. Living in a room filled with dust, dying flowers, and the ghosts of unspoken words, we’re together but alone, too afraid to walk away, prisoners in an unlocked cage”. Produced by Patrick Fitzroy and Gabe Wax, Heavy Heart’s Dowsabel is out now and available via all digital platforms.

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Mt. Doubt - Unravelling.

Scottish Fiction are proud to present Unravelling, the brand new single from Edinburgh alternative five-piece Mt. Doubt.

Returning with their first new music of 2019, Unravelling sees Mt. Doubt working with producer Rod Jones (Idlewild, The Birthday Suit) at Post Electric Studios, giving the band a fresh lease of life.  The single builds throughout with chiming keys and melodic guitars swooning behind rich, warm vocals.

Lyrically the track continues to display frontman Leo Bargery's penchant for societal observations.  The song rails against the negative impacts of our phones, social media and the culture of incessant self-documentation whilst yearning for a reconnection with the natural world; sequoia trees, buzzards and all.

Unravelling was be released digitally on all platforms on 29th March 2019 via Scottish Fiction.

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Josh Alexander - Closing.

The majority of 2018 saw multi-instrumentalist Josh Alexander working as a bike mechanic and finishing his studies whilst residing with his girlfriend in the Netherlands. This time abroad, steeped in the cultivation of story and discipline, nurtured Josh’s expressive power and the emergence of his rousing single Closing.

Closing is a heart breaking exposition into the beauty and pain of long distance love. The struggles with time zones, distance, intimacy and simple connection are expressed with undulating emotion and gospel-like declarations, countered with the delicate moments of reunion and the tender memories that are a made in such a circumstances.

Seeing this song come to fruition was a long time coming. Closing came really naturally to me when I began writing it and I knew I had to use it somehow. My girlfriend and I had been apart for a while, and it was becoming more apparent to formulate lyrics around the struggles of long distance relationships. Peter and I thought we would just do a short acoustic version and smash it out in a day, but 5 days in the studio later, we had a full and final version that we couldn’t have been any happier with.’ - Josh Alexander

Music has always been a vital part of Josh’s life. Whether it was learning to write songs at age 11, or performing in front of various crowds, there was no doubt for him that music was paramount. After spending time in his teenage years learning multiple instruments, such as trumpet, guitar, drums and piano, Josh Alexander began to fully flesh out his musical ideas, bringing them to life modestly in his own bedroom. The result of this was a surplus of 60 tracks, but it was not until he moved to the Netherlands in 2018 that Closing was realised.

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Wy - Tired II.

Ahead of the release of their highly anticipated second album 'Softie', Swedish duo Wy have today shared a new taster of the record; the sincere and anthemic 'Tired II'. Written about being close to giving up, but pushing through your lowest moments, the spellbinding single is accompanied by a deeply personal video, which was directed by the band's singer Ebba and features both herself and fellow member/lover Michel.

Ebba says of the video, "We filmed it during the fall and winter of last year, which was a really tough time for both of us. I had a job that was killing me, we broke up with our current record label, we fought with our friends, we were forced to leave our apartment and cancel our tour. It was just a lot at the same time. We came up with the idea because we wanted to balance out the drama of the song with something simple and personal, and because of the circumstances the video became really important to us. I get very emotional when I watch it because this is the first time one of our videos is showing Michel how I see him, and how he sees me."

The band's earnest eleven track sophomore album is set for release on 30th April via Hybris/Beatnik, and includes the previously released, BBC 6Music supported singles 'Pavements' and 'Softie'. It follows their debut LP 'Okay', which became something of an underground sensation and garnered the highest praise with comparisons to Slowdive, Cigarettes After Sex and Mazzy Star. The new record is set to further cement their position as one of the most exciting bands around right now.


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Trudy and the Romance - Doghouse.

Trudy and the Romance reveal new single Doghouse alongside a vintage semi-cartoon video in the storied lineage of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam, directed by Homer & Farley and animated by Thunderpuss (AKA Amber McCall). It’s dropping just after they’re set to let their unique doo-wop sound loose in Austin, Texas, as an official SXSW showcase act for 2019, including a session with acclaimed tastemaker Desert Daze.

The timeless sound is accompanied by a timeless silver-screen theme; regret at a lovers’ squabble, a relatable yearning for putting romantic mistakes right. On this frontman Olly Taylor explains the video as “a noir with vibrant cartoons; troubled ne'er-do-well Little Johnny is lonely and out of luck. Fortunately magic sparks and the wonderful world comes to party.”

It’s the second act in their ride through the mutant 50s pop and self-declared alligator rock-n-roll of their eagerly-anticipated debut album Sandman. Following scene-setting opener The Original Doo-Wop Spacemen it maintains their flair for dreamboat-pop through Spector rhythms, and nods to Jonathan Richman, Louis Prima, Brian Wilson’s wall of sound, film composers Henry Mancini and Bernard Herrmann, and the golden age of Disney.

”Doghouse is our Hollywood thud & number 1 hit in another dimension. Waiting on a lover & always caught in the rain” says Olly, “With glitter on its socks to put diamonds on the soles of your shoes. An all-night fiery dance-floor bop, half way to heaven on the roof of a 7 car pile-up.”


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Alice Tambourine Lover - Blow Away.

'Blow Away', is the first single off Down Below, a new album by psych/blues/desert rock duo Alice Tambourine Lover.

Wandering between lazy Mazzy Star/Cowboy Junkies atmospheres and more gritty moments reminiscent of Mark Lanegan, the comeback of Bologna-based duo Alice Tambourine Lover lingers on their stripped down psych blues signature sound, this time plunging more on the psychedelic side, still keeping a folk-like authenticity.
   
Alice Tambourine Lover were founded in 2011 as a side-project of psych band Alix, with five albums released among which Ground, recorded by David Lenci and Good One, recorded by Steve Albini. In 2012 they played All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival, headlined by Neurosis, Shellac, Red Fang, Uzeda.
   
They have released, all on Go Down Records, Naked Songs (2012), Star Rovers (2013) and Like A Rose (2015), which features two songs by Dandy Brown (Hermano, Orquesta Del Desierto) and John Garcia (Kyuss, Unida, Hermano).


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