Lawn Chair - Lanterns On The Lake - Dutch Uncles - Orchard Sky
Ever since their stage debut in late 2021, German-American art punk band Lawn Chair have relentlessly rehearsed, recorded and played shows, including appearances at showcase festivals such as Reeperbahn and Waves Vienna. The band, fronted by Seattle-born Claudia Schlutius, has quickly gained recognition in the German indie scene with a guitar-driven energetic sound, Schlutius’ powerful stage presence and meticulous songwriting. Last month, the band released ‘Sunset Heartbreak’, a single that has garnered the group early support from the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music and DIY as well as comparisons to bands like Gustaf & Bodega.
On their new single ‘Punkrock Band’ Claudia Schlutius says: “Don’t we all sometimes just want to start a band and live the glamorous life of rock stars cruising the streams of showbiz? Probably not, which is why the maddeningly cheerful acoustic guitars in all their glory of the 90s contrast the ambition the lyrics provide. Looking at you Michael Stipe,” she continues.
After releasing a self-produced debut EP in the spring of 2022, Lawn Chair returned to the studio in the autumn to record their follow-up. Eat The Beans And Wear The Jeans! was recorded with the help of esteemed producer Olaf Opal (The Notwist) and L.A.-based mixer Chris Coady (Beach House, Future Islands, TV On The Radio), who helped take the songs to the next level. The new songs present a new and interesting twist to timeless topics like unrequited love, the despondent boredom growing up in the countryside and the hardships of show business. With this new EP Lawn Chair are underscoring their rightful ambitions to a much larger audience.
======================================================================
With their much-anticipated new album Versions Of Us due out June 2nd via Bella Union, Lanterns On The Lake now reveal their epic new single, “String Theory”. With Radiohead’s Philip Selway delivering a bravura performance on drums and vocalist singer Hazel Wilde one of her most powerful vocal turns, the track is arguably the dynamic standout from this career-best album.
Commenting on the track singer and songwriter Hazel Wilde says: “String Theory is a song about reflecting on what might have been and might, in some way, still be. It finds beauty and solace in the multiverse theory and the idea that out there somewhere, vibrating on their own frequency, exists another fully realized version of yourself where your story turned out differently.”
Lanterns On The Lake previously released the single “The Likes Of Us” and also recently shared a stunning live version of the track recorded at The Old Church in Northumberland.
======================================================================
Dutch Uncles, Manchester’s much-revered electro art rock quartet, have just released their long-awaited sixth album, True Entertainment, via Memphis Industries to widespread worldwide acclaim. Album standout "Damascenes" is this week released as a single alongside a new visualiser with behind the scenes studio footage, coinciding with the announcement of further tour dates and a headline slot at this year's Twisterella Festival in Middlesbrough.
"Damascenes" marries future funk synth vibes with a truly magnificent vocal from Duncan Wallis (with added BV's from Everything Everything's Jonathan Higgs). Lyrically, it borrows from The Simpsons, specifically an episode where Lisa considers that angels might indeed exist after visiting an archeology exhibition...
Vocalist/lyricist Duncan Wallis discussed the lyrical inspiration behind the song: "This definitely felt like the song we broke ground for the album with. The demo is worlds, if not galaxies, away from the finished product musically speaking (electric drums provided the only rhythm as I recall, and not a guitar in sight, just synths), and lyrically I found myself right at the beginning again, clumsily trying to straddle two ideas: one Simpsons based, the other personal; both of which were just too righteous to give up.
"On the one hand, I could retell the story of Lisa Simpson coming round to the possible existence of Angels after discovering a skeleton on an archaeology exhibition. "At the same time I could journal a weekend away of soul searching in Glasgow, beginning and ending in its transcendent Central Railway station (there is indeed a piano in there – or was at least), which was topped off by a chance encounter with the then leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, just days before the election was determined on the way home. A truly life affirming scenario and one hell of a hangover cure."
======================================================================
Blurring the lines between Southern Rock, Soul and Country, Orchard Sky's fresh new sound comes from a combination of Krystle Dos Santos's powerful vocals, and the hard driving work of lead guitarist Mitch Smith and bassist Andreas Wegner.
Dually based in Vancouver and Edmonton, Orchard Sky’s self-titled debut EP -- out now on all digital platforms -- includes their latest single “Rollin’ 7s” (featuring Clayton Bellamy of the Road Hammers), a blend of lipstick, dynamite and the roll of the dice. Already finding a home at Canadian Country Radio, “Rollin’ 7s” is a foot-stomping track that demands turning the dial up to eleven.
It follows on the heels of Orchard Sky’s 2022 single “Canadian Party Song” an instant country-rock anthem that Rogers SportsNet deployed as a the soundtrack to last year’s NHL playoff series between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. As SportsNet Music Supervisor Carson Illidge said, “It makes my job very easy when I’m pitched such great songs. This one’s a ripper.” Along with other heart-pumping tracks such as “Flashbang” and “Honest,” Orchard Sky’s EP delivers a sound guaranteed to fire up your soul.
Since Smith and Wegner teamed with Dos Santos early in 2022, everything has fallen into place. What Krystle brought to the band was not only her stunning voice, but also a creative energy that she’s previously displayed as a solo artist and stage performer. Along with earning two Western Canadian Music Awards, she has appeared in productions of Dreamgirls, The Chelsea Hotel: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen, and her own cabaret-style musical, Hey Viola!, a tribute to Canadian Civil Rights heroine Viola Desmond.
======================================================================
Comments