The Deer - Mexican Dogs - Art Moore - Nurdjana

The Deer - I Wouldn't Recognize Me.

The Deer announce their new album The Beautiful Undead due September 9 on tastemaking indie label Keeled Scales (Katy Kirby, Sun June, Twain, Buck Meek) and share its first single, “I Wouldn’t Recognize Me” via official music video.

The Deer’s 2019 label debut Do No Harm marked a set of breakthroughs for the Austin five-piece. Bandcamp called it a “a country-rock dream machine,” while NPR described it as "haunting and gorgeous ... moody and incapacitating." The album topped the KUTX chart and earned a nomination for the Austin Music Awards’ Album of the Year. When live music took global pause, The Deer had momentum to sort. They took it to the studio, a pressure cooker not only for creativity, but suddenly, for existential contemplation. The result is an uninhibited collection reflecting upon what it means to lose your sense of purpose.

Lead single “I Wouldn’t Recognize Me” is a vibrant embrace of the endlessness of change, in fact, an energized readiness for it (All in all is falling upon us). Lyricist and frontwoman Grace Rowland considers it a letter to a younger self. Rowland shares: If I could go back and give my younger self some advice, she may not even realize it’s her. But I would tell her to care for herself like she does for the world, to take a stand for what she believes in, and to be ready for it all to change. The self is a collective of different versions of the same person, and it will always be up to that little girl - and every person she decides to be at every time in her life - to set her future self up for success, and to be kind to and forgive her past self.

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Mexican Dogs - When Its Gone.

Liverpool rock’n’rollers  Mexican Dogs have unleashed the video for new track “When It’s Gone”. The retro-tinted video arrives as the trio announce their signing to Fretsore Records for what will be their debut album, just a year after signing a deal for their self-titled debut EP (out now).

Of the recent signing, Mexican Dogs explain: “We’re honoured and thrilled to have signed our first album deal with Fretsore Records. We’re so pumped to have our music played on the likes of Radio X, BBC 6 Music, Planet Rock and Absolute Radio that this next step felt like a no brainer. We’re playing the new tracks on the road so can’t wait to get them out into the world. Looking forward to working with Ian Sephton and the team on our first big album rollout..”

With recent release “When It’s Gone” serving as a thunderous testament to a band who are going places fast, the accompanying new video is a nod to the cavorting canon of ‘70s glam-rock influences that brought the track to life.

Directed by Liverpool-based Dan Hewitson, who has previously worked for clients including BBC Match of the Day, Adidas, Liverpool Sound City and Record Store Day and directed music videos for the likes of Jamie Webster, Red Rum Club, SPINN, and Trudy & The Romance, the video sees the band deliver a playful live performance of the rugged and raucous track.

Evoking the allure of rock’n’roll of yesteryear,  the new cinematic accompaniment to “When It’s Gone” is all sepia tones and fuzzy static shots — with a healthy dose of leopard print shirts, glitter-clad drums, fur-trimmed coats and long hair hammering to rip-roaring riffs.

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Art Moore - A Different Life.

Last month Art Moore announced their debut self-titled LP which will be released via ANTI- on August 5th. A new group composed of Boy Scouts' Taylor Vick and Ezra Furman collaborators and bandmates Sam Duerkes and Trevor Brooks, Art Moore announced the record with a single called “Muscle Memory,” and today the band are back with a new track from the LP entitled “A Different Life”.

Art Moore's songs are composed like short stories, with each one functioning like a vignette, a window into an emotional circumstance. The electronic elements that gild Art Moore are subtle, but add distinctive shading to each story. The strobing synth pulse that undergirds “A Different Life” shifts the weight of the song dramatically from a heartbroken lament to something that bristles with the endless possibility that comes part-and-parcel with a breakup.

"A Different Life was inspired by the experience of daydreaming up another version of your life," Vick explains. "I can easily get caught up in the imaginary worlds in my head, overwhelmed by the endless possibilities and versions of me that exist within them. But I am most fascinated by the version just parallel to this one, the one with only a few differences or enhancements. This song is about the experience of longing for that not so far off possibility."

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Nurdjana - Do the Right Thing (Revision).

Nurdjana is a Canadian vocalist who was born and raised in the Netherlands. She’s been immersed in music ever since as a little girl she tagged along with her dad Rob de Rijcke.

He was a singer/songwriter and guitarist and when Nurdjana started singing it was only natural to start making music together.

Rob was a composer of dreamy songs full of love and sadness. Nurdjana and her dad won songwriter competitions, recorded music and played lots of gigs together. He was a modest man and modesty doesn’t bring fortune and fame. But that was not what he was after. He was only after poetry and that was what he found.

Nurdjana is a true advocate of her father’s music and after taking a break from singing when he passed away, she is back full force; determined to put her dad’s music back in the spotlight. Her sound has been described as delicate, yet soulful and jazzy.

Her first EP, ‘Coming Home,’ was released on June 14th. All songs are written either by Rob or by the duo of father and daughter, some completed by Nurdjana after he passed away.

Nurdjana · Do the Right Thing (Revision)

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The Local Honeys - Art Moore - Pitou

The Local Honeys - Better Than I Deserve.

Linda Jean Stokley and Montana Hobbs, better known as the beloved Kentuckian duo, The Local Honeys, have a gifted way with words—particularly the playful colloquialisms and regional idiosyncrasies from their home in the Bluegrass State—that simultaneously connects the past and present, old and new. They bind stories with warm vernacular that makes those in-the-know feel warm and welcome and those not, well, flat out curious to hear more. 

The Local Honeys’ newest is “Better Than I Deserve” from their upcoming self-titled album (out July 15th via La Honda Records), of which the title itself was an everyday motto of Hobbs’s Papaw; a positive answer for the oft-asked question, “How are you doing?” A moody two-step, “Better Than I Deserve” tells the story of Montana’s grandfather who was an orphan, a U.S. naval pilot, and a war survivor. “‘Better than I deserve’ was his motto in life and carried him through many hardships,” says Hobbs, who built the whole song around his iconic informal greeting.

Their first release on La Honda Records (Colter Wall, Riddy Arman, Vincent Neil Emerson), The Local Honeys features ten winsome vignettes of rural Kentucky, conjuring 90’s alternatives sounds with hillbilly Radiohead lilts, soaring above layers of deep grooves and rich tones masterfully curated by longtime mentor Jesse Wells, a GRAMMY-nominated producer, musician (currently a member of Tyler Childers’ band The Food Stamps), and Assistant Director at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State.

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Art Moore - Muscle Memory.

Art Moore make vivid, heartbreaking short stories. Each song on the newly formed three-piece’s self-titled debut album is its own individual universe of bittersweet feeling: a brief snapshot of a moment in time that captures the fragility and occasional impossibility of human connection. The ten tracks that comprise the record are deft character studies, zeroing in on restless widows, shy beginners, jilted friends and friendly exes, chronicling minute moments — road trips, casual dates, games of truth or dare — with rich detail and subtle wit. The result is a world of remarkable emotional complexity, an album-length study of loneliness, heartache, and loss that’s sweet but never saccharine, sad but never maudlin. Featuring the inimitable songwriting of beloved Oakland luminary Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts set in sharp relief against lush production from Ezra Furman collaborators Sam Durkes and Trevor Brooks, it’s a quietly wondrous record — a set of songs that sketch out the struggle and beauty of coping with everyday life.

When Durkes, Brooks and Vick first set out to collaborate, the idea of Art Moore, as a band, or Art Moore, as a cohesive, ingratiating record, was still a ways away. Durkes had become close with Brooks through his work on Ezra Furman’s 2019 record Twelve Nudes, and the two had  begun work on her soundtrack for the Netflix series Sex Education. The pair already knew Vick, who had established herself as a prolific cult solo artist with Boy Scouts, and asked if she would be interested in lending her voice to the recordings.

“We all met up at the studio, and it was never even like, ‘Let’s be a band’, that was never a thing,” recalls Durkes. “It was more like, ‘Let’s think of a movie scene or a photograph or still image and see if we can write something around it.” Reflecting on those initial sessions, Brookes adds, “we wanted to work on something new outside of what we were so used to doing.”

Spurred by that early collaboration, the trio decamped to a studio in Oakland in January 2020, where it quickly became clear that a wellspring of inspiration lay untapped. They fell into an easy rhythm: Brooks and Durkes would work on a track from the instrumental demos they had made together, while Vick sat outside, writing hooks and lyrics. When she was done, she would come inside, lay down what she had written, and the process would repeat. The trio’s remarkable efficiency gave them the confidence that they had more than a handful of demos on their hands; the contours of Art Moore were beginning to take shape.

Art Moore · Muscle Memory

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Pitou - Big Tear.

The music of Amsterdam-born singer and songwriter Pitou is characterized by her mesmerizing, multicolored voice, and her unique compositions. Enchanting tales, moving from delicate and intimate to grand and orchestral. As a child she sang in a professional classical children’s choir. In search of independence she started writing her own music.

Her latest single “Big Tear” is the perfect example of her love to blend pop music with classical instrumentation. Showcasing unexpected harmonies and song-structures, vocal layering and poetic, storytelling lyrics, the song transcends into a beautiful kaleidoscope of hypnotic rhythms. The harp loop mirrors the feeling of an angry, but not bitter energy, similar to a child unable to solve a puzzle due to not having learned the tools. Pitou explains, "This went well with the lyrics, a formative childhood memory translated into a fable.”

With a fearlessness towards weirdness, there are no boundaries to the music of Pitou. She shares, “I tend to write songs that serve a personal purpose. A bit of hopefulness or light that I need, a reminder of something I should give more attention, a guideline for how I’d want to live my life, or just the processing of something that’s happened. The underlying theme is often ‘how to be human’. I suppose the upcoming album could also be seen as a sort of ‘How To Human’ guide, one that I needed at the time.”

Pitou has garnered acclaim from the likes of The Independent, BBC 1, BBC 6 Music and Radio X, and has performed all over Europe (UK, Turkey, France, Italy, Belgium and more), in venues such as Paradiso (NL) and L’Olympia (FR) and festivals such as The Great Escape (UK) and Best Kept Secret (NL).

The unique musical universe that Pitou has carved out for herself has become even more substantial - a translation of this modern world into intriguing, richly layered musical tales.

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Art Moore - Martin Leary - Certain Animals - Fe Salomon

Art Moore - Snowy.

Art Moore, a new project from Taylor Vick (best known as the songwriter behind Boy Scouts) and Ezra Furman collaborators Sam Durkes and Trevor Brooks, are announcing their signing to ANTI- and the release of their debut single "Snowy."

Durkes, Brooks and Vick first set out to collaborate with the intended goal of pitching their music for film and television projects. Durkes, a member of Furman’s band, had just completed work on Furman’s soundtrack for the Netflix series Sex Education and knew Brooks through his own work with Furman. The pair were already familiar with Vick, who had established herself as a prolific cult solo artist with Boy Scouts, and asked if she would be interested in assisting for their gestational soundtrack project. The idea of Art Moore, as a band, or Art Moore was still a ways away.

“We all met up at the studio, and it was never even like, ‘Let’s be a band’, that was never a thing,” recalls Durkes. “It was more like, ‘Let’s write for movies and art projects’ — let’s think of a movie scene or a photograph or still image and see if we can write some shit around it to see if we can pitch it.”

Decamping to a studio in Oakland in January 2020, it quickly became clear that the three musicians worked well together. They fell into an easy rhythm: Brooks and Durkes would work on a track from the instrumental demos they had made together, while Vick sat outside, writing melodies and lyrics. When she was done, she would come inside, lay down what she had written, and the process would repeat. The trio’s remarkable efficiency gave them confidence that they could work on something with more depth than what had been the projects initial scope.

“Four songs in, I think, after the first recording session, we realized it was going well, and it was pretty efficient,” says Brooks. “Making music with both Sam and Taylor has always been so easy. I record other artists, and it’s pretty rare to be so quickly on the same page with people. We don't have to say much — we kind of get where each other is coming from. It happens way too easily.”

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Martin Leary - Waiting For.

Martin Leary is an indie rock and alternative artist based in Glasgow. Releasing debut EP “The Fear” in late 2019, Martin became a bit of a studio artist working in the HQ Glasgow, with producer and owner Gregor McPhie, through lockdown releasing “All in Good Time EP” and various singles such as “

Both official music videos for “Angel” and “Sleeps Alone” were shortlisted on the Weekender Music Video of the Year for 2021 and 2020 respectively. These can be streamed on Youtube channel.

After playing various semi acoustic gigs with Calum Doherty joining on lead guitar towards the gig of 2021. The pair are now joined with JP (bass) and Craig Lennon (drums) to complete a full band ready for gigging. Debut gig as a band will be in Glasgow - Audio - 4th of June.

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Certain Animals - Grief.

Grief begins as a piano ballad based on classical songwriters, where, as it turns out, the venom is in his tail. Echoes of Abbey Road and fragments of Electric Light Orchestra merge into an extremely warm track, about a romance that has gone cold.

Beatlesque choirs sing that sometimes love means letting go. With their hearts on their toes, and both feet firmly rooted in the old-fashioned concept of just making good songs, Certain Animals march on to a crescendo of harpsichord and glockenspiel to finally play the final chord on a piano that, like the song of love, has not withstood the times. 

With the release of their last two singles Midnight TV and Angels In Disguise, Certain Animals has now reached a larger audience in their home country of the Netherlands. The band has already been invited twice to play songs live on national TV. 

Hold On, Sun King and Younger Than Now, the first three singles have also been very well received by the media internationally. The singles were added to playlists on national radio stations. In Belgium single Younger Than Now was on the playlist of national radio VRT 2 and played on Studio Brussel the national pop station. 

In the US and the UK you still can hear all singles on Amazing Radio USA and Amazing Radio UK. Other countries where Certain Animals' music was played on radio are: the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Croatia, Canada, USA, Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Poland.

TCBYML · Certain Animals - Grief

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Fe Salomon - All Or Nothing.

Continuing an arc of lyrically evocative and sonically adventurous single releases so far in 2022, Fe Salomon, returns with a brand new track: “All Or Nothing”. Released on 20th April, the new single finds the rising solo artist conjuring a cinematic alternative/pop masterclass from painterly reminiscence. Taking the listener back to a period strewn with precarious paths, toxic friendships and difficult choices, it’s a song that ultimately finds Salomon summoning strength from sour times. 

“‘All Or Nothing’ is a song about a shared journey coming to an end” affirms Fe. “It’s inspired by a group of friends. Friendships that were often toxic, yet comforting and familiar.  Set in the imagery of walking from the Holloway Road in London, to the east coast of England with the hope of turning over a new chapter.” 

With her back against the wall and faced with the decision to go “All Or Nothing”; Fe’s gamble has evidently paid-off in dividends, with this resultant single making for a richly rewarding listen, laced with a resonant emotional gravity. 

Initially written in a hotel room, the track was fully finished in 2021 with the assistance of esteemed classical arranger: Johnny Parry, of whom Fe was once a member of the Johnny Parry Trio with. Featuring soaring classical strings and makeshift drum kits, the track’s stuttering percussives owe their origins to household kitchen curiosities including woks and pans; offering a delectably avant-garde counterpoint to the track’s lush orchestral stylings.

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