Lavinia Blackwall - The Subtheory - Red Telephone - Neev - Stay Lunar - Jesse Roper
Lavinia Blackwall - The Damage We Have Done.
Lavinia Blackwall’s work with prolific Glaswegian psych-folk outfit Trembling Bells has earnt her a reputation as one of the best voices in the scene, many critics have likened her singing prowess to that of Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny. Along with Trembling Bells she has released seven full-length albums and performed as the backing band to folk legends Bonnie Prince Billy and The Incredible String Band’s Mike Herron. In 2020 she releases Muggington Lane End, her debut solo album released under her own name. In 2021, she and Laura J Martin released Wyndow, the debut self-titled album from their new psychedelic-pop project.
Now, Blackwall is releasing her new single ‘The Damage We Have Done’, a powerful dose of folk-rock and the sign of new things to come. Inspired by Percy Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’, the single is about the brevity we have on this planet. “It’s about the fact that we can't take anything with us, hoping to leave behind something meaningful and the hope that one day we'll all meet again. The realisation that there is an environmental and spiritual consequence to the lives we choose to lead,” says Blackwall.
Recorded at ‘The Barn’, the studio Blackwall shares with her partner and producer Marco Rea at their home in Hardgate, Scotland. “We really went down the rabbit hole with this one,” says Blackwall, speaking of the recording process. “Strings, thumb piano, far too many guitar parts. I must have recorded the vocals about 60 times and was really struggling to get it right, but we got there eventually,” she says. “With the chord progressions and circular movement of the verses, the sound of it is very individual. I don't think it sounds like anything else out there right now”.
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The Subtheory set out their stall early for a busy 2023 with an ethereal, atmospheric new single; Cut to Black. Eerie piano leads you to floating, airy synths, jangling guitars laid upon a descending bass groove with Cate DeBu’s melancholy cautionary tale of a life spent playing the odds on both sides.
There is an intriguing contrast between the sweet, dreamlike quality of the music and melodies juxtaposed with the harsh and slightly bitter tang of the lyrics. “There will be a certainty for those who like to bet..”
The Subtheory are building a head of steam as they springboard of a successful 2022 with a series of releases planned throughout Spring off the back of a number of live shows in the UK as well as mini European tour in early Summer. Cut to Black is available from today March 31st 2023 on their Bandcamp as well as Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music and more.
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Hollowing Out, the debut album from Cardiff-based five-piece Red Telephone will be released on 31st March 2023. The dystopia-tinged album deals with themes of alienation, identity and monotony, as well as exploring contemporary social dilemmas such as the trappings of ambition in a saturated pop culture age, the pervasive nature of modern media and social media fatigue. Sonically, the band draw from an array of influences; ranging from Berlin-era Bowie, brooding synth-led film soundtracks such as Blade Runner and Uncut Gems, the art rock of Kate Bush and St Vincent, as well as modern electronic pop artists such as MGMT, Mitski and Tame Impala.
Speaking about the upcoming album, singer Declan Andrews said; While putting together ‘Hollowing Out’ we were really getting into synths; drawing quite a bit on brooding, synth-led film soundtracks like Blade Runner, Scarface and Uncut Gems. Part of this was out of necessity - it was the initial 2020 lockdown when I wrote most of the songs in my bedroom and I’d got my hands on emulations of classic synths which gave me free reign to really explore this territory of sounds. I also had the free time to watch and rewatch a lot of movies such as those just mentioned. All of this definitely crossed over with the band’s prior love of film, Bowie’s Berlin-era sound, his work with Iggy and albums like Little Dark Age by MGMT too.
Basically, those dystopian soundscapes that evoke a lot of mood and imagery. As a band we’ve been drawn to them for a while, especially since visiting Berlin and exploring Bowie’s stomping ground (quite run down and not very touristy areas) but also after playing Tallinn Music Week in 2019. The post-Soviet landscape was pretty striking in parts of Tallinn and we discovered bands like Molchat Doma for the first time, who were using synths and electronic elements in ways that got us excited and has definitely rubbed off on our approach since.
We really wanted to integrate these sounds and influences into a modern sounding record rather than just looking back though, so we spent a lot of time getting the bass and low end sounding as big and distinctive as possible - we were really influenced by the likes of Kendrick Lamar in this respect. Similarly, dystopian themes seem as relevant as ever; with the saturated and pervasive nature of modern media which the album explores lyrically, as well as topics like social media fatigue and alienation.
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Scottish indie-folk artist Neev has released new single ‘The House’ ahead of the release of her debut album, Katherine, on April 28th via Trapped Animal. Since the release of her debut single in 2019, Glaswegian artist Neev has built a reputation for discovering beauty in the small details. Katherine, a collection of intricate indie-folk songs that pack a lyrical punch. The album carries all of the trademark sounds of Neev’s previous releases; acoustic guitars, soaring string arrangements and layered backing vocals can be found throughout, but this time they’re bigger.
Every song on Katherine is tied to the idea of identity. “Each song explores the different facets of an individual,” explains Neev. “Them as someone’s child, someone’s sibling, someone’s partner. Someone as the gender (in my case, female) they identify as, someone as the job they do,” she continues.
New single, ‘The House’, was written from the point of view of someone who had big dreams but ignored those wants and now feels too old or past it to pursue them. The speaker finds themself trapped in a domestic setting - The House - and instead of feeling like it’s a place of comfort or joy, it's a place that traps her.
Of the single, Neev says: “When writing this song I certainly had in mind the stereotypical trope of a classic 50s housewife, stuck at home with a very prescribed set of tasks and interests they were allowed to explore. In this song, and in other songs on the album, I found myself exploring the woman’s relationship to art and their constraints within that. Historically, women with creative interests were often encouraged to explore those things as hobbies rather than occupations and I think this song touches on the idea that there existed a lot of women in history that weren’t able to explore who they truly were creatively due to societal constraints.”
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Following on from earlier single, 'I Like It When You're around', Stay Lunar present their next in a long-line of fantastic singles, 'Distance'. It's been a long run to this point for Stay Lunar, but as the tracks keep coming out the sound gets tinges of a band nearing the fully formed and developed sound.
'Distance' has the sound they've carried so well through their career, the ever-so-present and versatile sonic that always feels like it could soundtrack a film, but there's something slightly more immediate and certainly more forthright about the band's latest offerings.
'Distance' is the launch pad of the band's much promised change in direction, not that it was needed, but chief writer in the band, Harry, has always intended to push the boundaries of the project and 'Distance' is the first real slice of Stay Lunar's take on the Are-These-Guys-Really-English sound.
Taking cues from their British contemporaries like Far Caspian & early stage SPINN, whilst nodding to the likes of Day Wave and The Drums further afield, Stay Lunar are offering a quintessentially British take on a much loved and revered sound. Of the track, singer Harry Leigh said: "Distance is a song about running away from your problems, and how it always catches up with you one way or another."
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Based in Victoria, BC, Jesse Roper has amassed 11M+ streams on Spotify alone with his penchant for writing modern indie infused blues music and delivering bombastic live performances buoyed by his virtuosic guitar playing.
"Make It All Work Out" is the first of multiple energetic, fresh, soulful and r&b inspired tracks produced by famed JUNO-nominated producer Gus van Go. The forthcoming LP harkens the voices of JJ Cale, Leon Bridges, Alabama Shakes, while maintaining Roper's strong and unique expression in the genre.
The DNA of the new single is about how Roper recognizes that his life’s structure can make it difficult for someone to attach themselves to him in a way that feels like their dreams and goals are getting satisfied too.
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