White Summer - Carter Lou & The Project - JR Green - Grim Streaker

White Summer - Zero In Tennis.

Background - White Summer have announced their 'Zero In Tennis' single launch shows along with a new video.

After securing airplay on Triple M and Triple J off the back of the release of their EP‘ I Know A Place We Can Love’, White Summer gained momentum in the local and national scene and secured support slots with such acts as DMAs and Kingswood. 

After two EP’s and Double A-Side releases, the guys have had their eyes set on displaying a complete body of work, their debut album. 

“Zero In Tennis” is the lead single taken from the bands forthcoming debut album due early 2018 and was recorded at the Grove Studios with acclaimed producer Burke Reid who has worked with the likes of Peter Garrett, Sarah Blasko, Courtney Barnett and DZ Deathrays. Facebook here, live dates on Beehive Candy's tour news page.

'Zero In Tennis' is a vibrant alt rock type of song, where the energy and melody combine to make a splendid backdrop for some real rock'n'roll vocals, that add another layer of feeling to this piece.


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Carter Lou & The Project - Evil Game.

Background - Carter Lou on "Evil Game": "'Evil Game' is about the moment I saw an ex for who they really were, and saw how they truly made me feel: a depressed, insecure and degraded version of myself. 

They were a person that all of my friends and family always mentioned not being fond of, but I always ignored their warnings. This song is me standing up for myself in a mentally abusive relationship and telling myself that I deserve better."

A refresher on Carter Lou & the Project: Lead by Washington, D.C.-based musician Carter Louthian, Cart er Lou & the Project's beginnings stem from tragic circumstances. The night before he was set to go to college, Lou snapped: his two best friends had recently killed themselves a day apart, and his girlfriend had just broken his heart. 

Combined with the reality of the packaged post-college suburban life he was heading toward, he felt even more emptiness. He boldly told his parents that he wasn't going to university in the morning and has chosen to pursue music instead. Since then, the band has packed out numerous headlining shows and earning a prestigious endorsement from PRS Guitars. Facebook here.

Our second feature for Carter Lou & The Project, back in May we described their music as a tight, rhythmic rocker that doesn't try to be anything else. 'Evil Game' adds some bluesy rock vibes, and a powerful musical arrangement competes with some gritty and passionate vocals.

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JR Green - Technicolour Native.

Background - About ‘Technicolour Native’ “Imagine a jungle so verdant in its wonder that the sharp arrows of hardship can’t reach you through the forest’s fertile thicket. It’s your very own wilderness to ramble through, the noble savage emblazoned in brilliant technicolour. And we’re with you, through adversity and in battle.”

Get lost in the sonic arbours of JR Green with ‘Technicolour Native’, a babbling brook of crystal melodies and pure arpeggios plashing gently against your wearied soul. Buoyed by the birdsong vocals and ensconced in the lap of its silken production, ‘Technicolour Native’ is an aural escape from the quotidian cares of life. It’s a meditation on beauty and retreat delivered artfully into your eardrums by the Green brothers, those Celtic troubadours whose beatific songwriting continues to find new and bigger sonic pastures. Above all, ’Technicolour Native’ is a symbolic saunter to the heart of what it means to be alive and to be human, regardless of time and place.

About JR Green, Somewhere between peat-bog and youth culture rises JR Green, brethren progeny of the Pictish heartlands. Hailing from Ardnamurchan, the most westerly point in perfidious Albion, siblings Jacob and Rory Green offer Celtic tradition fused with unyielding, veracious lyricism and thunderous, euphoric songwriting. Balderdash to your Bon Ivers and codswallop to your Mumfords, the brothers Green have lain to rest the epoch of sexless, gritless folk-pop with their atavistic clarion-calling strains. 

Thanks to 2015’s Bring The Witch Doctor EP, (released via Hits The Fan), and its two irresistible singles - ‘Nigerian Princess’ and ‘First Blood’, JR Green became fixtures on 2016’s ‘Ones To Watch’ lists, receiving plaudits on the wireless all over the BBC from Huw Stephens and Phil Taggart on Radio 1, to airplay on 6Music and BBC Radio Scotland. Highlights from the past year include a live concert for Vic Galloway (alongside C Duncan and Trembling Bells) as part of BBC Music at Celtic Connections, two shows at The Great Escape, performances at LA’s MusExpo and numerous festivals and shows throughout UK and the continent. Their new digital-only single ‘Technicolour Native’ precedes the five-track Flora EP in August, with a string of live dates planned throughout summer including TRNSMT, Belladrum Festival and Colour Television, their very own monthly residence in Glasgow, which starts on the 28th of July. Website here, Facebook here.

The intricate musical opening for 'Technicolour Native' attracted my attention. When the vocals kick in the song develops some real edge and emotion. JR Green are getting noticed, and on the strength of this one track, that's hardly surprising.

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Grim Streaker - Miami Girl.

Background - Grim Streaker's have a new video for the single "Miami Girl", which is featured on their new EP 'Girl Minority'. When talking about the video lead singer Amelia Bushell said,"“I went to Miami with [guitarist] Dan [Peskin] recently, and this man just walked up to him, ripped his shirt off, punched his face and asked him if he wanted to die! 

The song is inspired by that kind of random, comically dumb violence — it’s a version of someone experiencing Miami to the fullest via some gruesome events. It’s fast-paced, all-out and go.”

Grim Streaker plays the kind of loud, fast, abrasive punk that emerged in L.A. and D.C. in the early-80s, mixed with a dose of the snotty, mid-tempo punk of late-70s New York and London. The band’s sound lies somewhere between that of the Adolescents, the Dead Boys, X-Ray Spex and Fugazi, with layers of guitar noise reminiscent of current bands like A Place to Bury Strangers, White Lung and METZ.  

Singer Amelia Bushell, guitarists Dan Peskin and Micah Weisberg, bassist Bill Dvorak and drummer Piyal Basu formed the band in late 2016. Since then, the group has been making a name for itself in the venues and DIY spaces of Brooklyn, with live shows quickly becoming known for the wild stage antics of Bushell. 'Girl Minority' came out on Friday 7/7. Facebook here.

One and a half minutes of purified punk comes in the form of 'Miami Girl'. Fabulous, timeless and energised, this is a real blast of highly addictive rock.


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Tunabunny - Ed Prosek - King Washington - Alexa Dark - Carter Lou & The Project

Tunabunny - Blackwater Homes.

Background - Tunabunny release second new track in three years "Blackwater Homes" and announce the pre-order of their 5th album also a double "PCP Presents Alice In Wonderland JR" released June 23rd on HHBTM Records.  

PCPPAIWJR creates a universe of sound, music for the internet age. As our access to music expands, its entire history sits at our fingertips just waiting to be heard.  Just waiting to inspire, this is the future of music—a glorious eclecticism that results in something original and urgently now. You can hear echoes of T Rex, Slits, Electrelane, Chills, Human League, John Cage, John Cale, GBV, Beefheart, Ono, Eno, Fine Young Cannibals, Fleetwood Mac, Luc Ferrari, Bananarama, ? and the Mysterians, Smiths, Syd Barrett, Sun Ra, and on, and on.

You’ll want to know about the title, you’ll have questions about the title. Turn on your TV, open up your laptop, sift through your phone, pay attention to the surreal dystopian nightmare all around us. PCP Presents Alice In Wonderland Jr is quite simply what it means to be alive in 2017. Facebook here.

We featured 'Incinerate' earlier in the month and then along comes 'Blackwater Homes' and a chance to share a second song from the bands forthcoming album. As regards the album we said "The album takes us from psych to indie rock and a whole load of other places. Sometimes it's quite avant garde other times hook laden and sparkling, there is never a dull moment", I think the new song might just reinforce that!

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Ed Prosek - Flesh & Blood.

Background - Californian singer-songwriter Ed Prosek releases new EP Flesh and Blood Part 1.

Recorded in Berlin, the artist has flipped the perspective from his previous work, with his new output yielding a much darker, heavier sound. Prosek brings together his singer songwriter roots and a more complex exploration of raw sound, instrumentation and arrangement, moving away from his folkier roots.

At the end of April he teased with "Tear It All Down", a track inspired, in part, by post-apocalyptic 2009 film, The Road. "Tear It All Down" tells a story of perseverance, but ultimately hopelessness. Borne out through both the lyrical themes and the music itself, it’s as if the very weight of the sound of the chorus is the burden of uncertainty carried by us all, and the emptiness of the verses, the stark and brutal void of the calm before the storm. The fear of the unknown is a palpable presence within the song.

Prosek’s evolution from acoustic singer songwriter to this new direction has been a natural progression through both his personal growth as an artist, and a reflection of a less certain world. Ed Prosek will be on a headline tour throughout Germany and the Netherlands in May, with festival dates and international showcases throughout the summer. Website here, Facebook here, live dates on Beehive Candy's tour page. 

Title track from the EP (Part 1), and 'Flesh & Blood' gently grows into a rich and layered singer, songwriter piece of notable quality. One of three songs it demonstrates well Ed Prosek's ability to turn up the power and emotional feel with great effect.

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King Washington - My Reflection.

Background - LA-based indie rockers King Washington have just released the official music video for their second album single "Superman," from their forthcoming studio album Potential. The album is due out May 19 in digital, CD and LP formats, and is available now for pre-order (here). The Pledge Music pre-order is also live (here), and includes exclusive bundles with signed product. 

"Superman" captures the frustrations of the artist - the feelings of not being good enough despite countless time and effort to improve and succeed. It buddies up to the band's inspiration behind the album title Potential and together, both titles reflect the push-pull of trying to get recognized, while also balancing the need for outside gratification to mark one's assessment of their own talent. The video crystallizes this as the camera follows fine artist Danielle Lee throughout her day as an aspiring artist. Ultimately, as King Washington's Tyson Kelly points out, "There is an underlying message that good things come to those who perservere." 

Drawing from diverse influences such as Grizzly Bear, The Crash Kings, The Talking Heads, The Beatles and Crosby, Stills & Nash, Los Angeles’ own King Washington are in the midst of creating the New California sound. By fusing classic vocal harmonies and lyrical melodies with a contemporary approach to songwriting, the band has created a unique sound that is as creative as it is familiar.

This album sees members Tyson Kelly (guitar, keys, vocals), George Krikes (lead guitar, vocals), and Billy Lee (bass, vocals) joined by David Contreras on drums. With two albums behind them, and a tour history that includes playing over 150 shows across the US since 2014 (sharing the stage with the likes of The Artic Monkeys, Collective Soul, and Ambrosia), King Washington plans on continuing the trend of blowing audiences away across the nation... as one of LA Weekly's top live shows in Los Angeles. Facebook here, live dates on Beehive Candy's tour page. 

The vocals and harmonies stand out on 'My Reflection' an indie rocker that has plenty of melodic hooks, along with a feisty beat that gives the song an additional dimension to the overall piece.


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Alexa Dark - Blur.

Background - Alternative rock songwriter and guitarist, Alexa Dark, announces her debut EP, Empty Drinks/Empty Hearts, due out August 2017. The album was produced by Angelo "Doc" Velasquez (The Weeknd's Trilogy, The Fray, Christina Perri) and mixed by Patrick Kelly. 

Raised between Spain, London and Germany, now based in New York City and London, the songs are inspired by Alexa Dark's transient lifestyle. The songs were written in bedrooms, planes, between drinks outside East London clubs during early  morning hours and on the concrete of various metropolitan cities. Conceived in heartbreak, in transit and from boundless nostalgia, these tracks intertwine cultural and personal narratives, influenced by the Spanish singer songwriters played in her childhood kitchen, in addition to female rock legends such as Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and Kim Gordon. 

Empty Drinks/Empty Hearts is a collection of songs cultivated in the brief moment when the party is over, when the sobriety comes just before the morning does. "Blur" is one of the first songs Alexa wrote and has evolved to cater to many different relationships and situations throughout her life. It's a "fuck it" anthem, of sorts, but still portrays vulnerability, baring her bones. "Nothing More" is an "anti-love" song, about loving but in an untraditional sense. Referring to the EP's title, "Empty Drinks" is a party anthem that encapsulates the sober realization and reflection on the emptiness felt at the end of the night. Website here, Facebook here.

Alexa Dark's vocals are well suited to alt rock, tuneful with just a little rock'n'roll edge. 'Blur' is one very catchy song, the music is a little understated allowing the song both lyrically and through it's fine delivery, to shine through.

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Carter Lou & The Project - Do Or Die.

Background - Lead by Washington, D.C.-based musician Carter Louthian, Carter Lou & the Project's beginnings stem from tragic circumstances. The night before he was set to go to college, Lou snapped: his two best friends had recently killed themselves a day apart, and his girlfriend had just broken his heart. 

Combined with the reality of the packaged post-college suburban life he was heading toward, he felt even more emptiness. He boldly told his parents that he wasn't going to university in the morning and has chosen to pursue music instead. Since then, the band has packed out numerous headlining shows and earning a prestigious endorsement from PRS Guitars. 

"Do Or Die" is the first single from Carter Lou & the Project's forthcoming self-titled album, produced by Mark Williams and Rick Beato (Shinedown, Needtobreathe). The single's lyrical content arises from Lou's past heartbreak and finding the strength and trust to fall back in love again. Facebook here.

'Do Or Die' is a tight, rhythmic rocker that doesn't try to be anything else. Energised music alongside passionately natural vocals makes for a fine personal introduction to the band.

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