Sarah McQuaid - Joce Reyome - The Gracious Losers - Crocodyle
For the second and third singles of her new album and video series The St Buryan Sessions, Cornwall-based singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid delves deep into her back catalog to resurrect “Charlie’s Gone Home”, the first original song she ever recorded as a solo artist, then jumps forward again with “The Day Of Wrath, That Day”, a powerful instrumental composition for electric guitar.
Originally recorded on her 1997 debut album When Two Lovers Meet, “Charlie’s Gone Home” wasn’t a brand new song even then, Sarah recalls. “I’d actually written it back when I was still living in Philadelphia, so it would have been the late 1980s or early 90s. I can remember very clearly the day I wrote it – back in those days I was still thinking of myself not as a songwriter but as a folksinger who happened to write an occasional song when inspiration struck, so to speak.
“I remember reading an interview with some poet whose name I can’t remember, where she said that when she felt a new poem starting to arrive it was like an oncoming train, and she had to rush to her desk to be there ready with pen and paper when the train pulled in to the station.
“Well, this song hit me exactly like an oncoming train, only one that was barrelling along at full steam with whistles blaring. It really knocked me for six, and I remember just sitting on the sofa crying and trying to wipe the tears off my guitar so they didn’t mark the finish – not because it was a sad song but just from the overwhelming emotional impact of writing it.
“It’s been kind of a special song for me ever since, and a lot of people have told me it’s a special song for them, too – at least two different people said ‘Well, I hope “Charlie’s Gone Home” is going to be on it’ as soon as I told them about the project.”
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From Joce: Allow my new single "Cross My Heart" to transport you to summertime. This will be one to listen to at max volume, driving in the car on a comfy summer night.
When I was first starting to write my own music, it was very tame and folky, just me and an acoustic guitar. I really wanted to explore other genres, and started listening to some Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Earl Hooker to feel that sound that comes from an old soul. And all of a sudden, this straight blues idea came to mind, and I said "Damn! I gotta get on this!"
It was a fantastic experience working with Erin Costelo and Colin Buchanan (Paper Lions) on this song. In my day-to-day life I am very easy-going, almost to a fault. When it came time to say "yes" or "no" or "I don't like that" during recording, I struggled a bit. But I learned very quickly that only I know what I want it to sound like, and nobody is going to know if I don’t tell them!
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Glasgow-based Folk outfit The Gracious Losers have done the near-impossible, cutting a full record with a 15-piece band. As one-man acoustic shows and sparse live sets dominate the musical landscape, Gracious Losers, headed by songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Lilley, have succeeded in draping listeners in a full-bodied orchestral experience on their new album “Six Road Ends,” while leaving ample room for vulnerable stripped-down moments and opportunities to get down.
The Gracious Losers are a 9-piece supergroup, featuring members of Sister John, Thrum, God Help the Girl, The Parsonage, Sporting Hero and the Berie Big Band, The Gracious Losers draw on their shared and disparate musical influences including celtic folk, 70s psychedelia, and outlaw country. The album title, 'Six Road Ends' refers to an arcane place in Northern Ireland, where six rural roads haphazardly converged at one perilous junction. The crossing no longer exists, and thus has assumed a mythical quality despite once being very real - a place of stuckness, hesitation, and risk. Lilley’s intricate songwriting reflects these themes, feeling at times planted in an intersection and at others moving lightspeed toward uncertainty.
The lead single “Loath to Leave,'' premiering on Here Comes the Flood, follows the throughline of impermanence with a lightly plodding funk groove, unexpectedly melancholy lyrics, and decaying organ frills alluding to a peaceful evaporation. Wailing slide guitar propels listeners along as the track evolves through what feels like time and space. The track’s video underscores the detachment from spacetime, as Lilley and vocalist Amanda McKeown fluctuate freely between chairs in a “perpetual state of magic” before disappearing altogether. The duo can be seen in a state of waiting in a liminal living-room, passing the time by checking watches or kicking the ground, before resolving the tension created by transitional moments with a sense of relief.
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With precision, drive, and wit, three-piece garage rock band, Crocodyle, has a unique ability to articulate the otherwise inexplicable.
Coming off the release of their last single, “I Feel Good,” which set the internet positively abuzz last summer, Crocodyle is dropping their newest track, “Passenger Seat,” along with its accompanying video. “This song is a direct address to all your special someones,” shares Crocodyle.
“Whoever makes you feel like the coolest version of yourself, whoever is the easiest to laugh with, whoever feels best by your side. It’s nice to have somebody who you know you can run to when nobody else makes sense, and ‘Passenger Seat’ is a rocker dedicated to whoever that is for you.”
The video for “Passenger seat” was filmed in and around residential Nashville under the artistic guidance of Seth Endelman. Endelman is a Nashville-based videographer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and label owner.
“Passenger Seat” is the latest single from Crocodyle’s forthcoming EP, Sharing a Twin Bed, which is set for release in April. Sharing a Twin Bed was produced by Lincoln Parish, the former lead guitarist for Cage the Elephant. Parish left Cage the Elephant in 2013 to follow his passion for producing.
“Crocodyle hits every note that defines punk rock for me,” says Parish. “Their music is young, energetic and fun whilst still maintaining pop sensibilities of artists well beyond their years, I’m excited to see what’s next for these dudes!”
Crocodyle has played in cities all over the US and toured the UK, making a stop in Ireland. Spotted at a small club in Dublin, they were invited to do two sets at Ireland's "Coachella," Electric Picnic, headlined by Kendrick Lamar and The Prodigy.
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