Crystal Eyes - O-SHiN - Avalyn - Violent Vickie

Photo - Walter E. Neuman

Crystal Eyes - Like A Movie.

The Calgary, Alberta-based psych-rock/dream-pop band, Crystal Eyes are now sharing their new single, "Like a Movie" which comes off the back of support for earlier releases from FLOOD Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim, CBC Radio and more. The new single is the latest to be lifted from the forthcoming second record, The Sweetness Restored which is set for release via the beloved Madrid label, Bobo Integral (Motorists, Ducks Ltd, Quivers) on April 22.

Crystal Eyes, who are made up of Erin Jenkins (singer/guitarist) and a revolving cast of musicians, currently Jordan Tettensor (guitar), Joleen Toner (synth), Will Johnson (bass) and Paul de Andrade (drums) describe the new record as a "feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread." The Sweetness Restored displays a kind of wistful self-awareness right from the start, it's a collection of ten tracks that flirt with musical influences ranging from new wave, psych-rock and shoegaze, with songs driven by melody and steeped in texture.

Recorded at Montreal's Breakglass Studios with producer/engineer, Andrew Woods (The Operators, Legal Vertigo, Basia Bulat) before being mixed by Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Peter Gabriel) the record contains thoughtful attention to musical detail thanks to the talented team of artists behind the project. And with the beautiful, warm tones of the Neve console, it's at once a unique sound, but one that feels comfortingly familiar. The prolific Scott' Monty' Munroe (Preoccupations, Chad VanGaalen) contributed bass and the talented Eve Parker Finley composed and performed string arrangements.

With the new single, the band once again harness saccharine psych-pop sounds and place these into a jangle-pop formula. Speaking about the track, singer Erin Jenkins says: "'Like a Movie" is three minutes of indie rock bliss in the artistic vein of Sharon Van Etten or Alvvays. The secret to its sound is a classic Hammond organ with Leslie speakers, a kick-ass guitar solo and the backing of a string quartet that calls to mind flashbacks of Neutral Milk Hotel. If love is 'like a movie', how will the ending be?"

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O-SHiN - Visitor.

O-SHiN, the project of rising electronic producer Stefanie Martens, has shared new single ‘Visitor’. In the last 6 months, O-SHiN shared critically acclaimed singles ‘Holy Night’ and ‘Silence Is My Nature’, both of which called to mind the technicolour electronica of acts like Four Tet and Maribou State and garnered widespread support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music and Clash Magazine.

In 2016, Stefanie was travelling from Rome to Amsterdam when she found herself onboard an aeroplane with a terrorist. The harrowing experience had a profound effect on the artist. “For the first time in my life, I experienced the fierce feeling of death being really close, not knowing if you’ll survive or if these are your last seconds on earth,” she says. “It was an intense experience and this song [Visitor] helped me cope with the emotions I was feeling at the time.”

Born in Germany after her parents returned home from the Soviet Union in the 1970s, O-SHiN found her voice through experimentation, and an inner journey that continues today. The name O-SHiN, meaning “time for a good cry” in Japanese, is symbolic of her relationship with existence. Moving from Germany to the Netherlands, spending a lot of time in Sweden and the States, she finally settled in Berlin, a fertile breeding ground for her artistic outlets.

O-SHiN’s long awaited debut album is complete and scheduled for release in Autumn 2022. With her new material, O-SHiN encapsulates many of the conflicting emotional and societal dilemmas that she has observed since she was a young girl. Issues like loss, acceptance and also appreciation for life have become particularly prominent following her experience on board the flight. ‘Visitor’ is out now via Galaxy Cat Records.

O-SHiN · Visitor

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Avalyn - When We Were Nothing.

This week sees the release of AYALYN's  stunning new single "WHEN WE WERE NOTHING," an abstract look back at the highs and lows of naïve youth. Avalyn formed in late 2021 after long-time friends Andy Power (Guitar & Vocals) and Ben Croft (Lead Guitar) decided to start writing together due to them both being dissatisfied with their previous musical efforts. Soon joined by Cain Garcia (Drums) and Emily Turnbull (Bass & Vocals), the band appeared all over their local music scene in 2021, including playing their first gig supporting Junodream alongside Lime Garden at The Shipping Forecast in Liverpool, as well as going into Whitewood Recording Studio with Robert Whiteley to record their latest offering. 

Influenced by the great punk powerhouses, Avalyn takes their cues from the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive & Lush. What emerges is the ferociously uplifting sound that can be heard on the group’s latest track; "When We Were Nothing," out now. Featuring mastering work from the Lead Singer & Guitarist of the seminal 90s Shoegazing band RIDE, Mark Gardener, the track melds brooding experimentalism, with an unshakeable punk sound. Thrashing guitars play under Power’s haunting vocals, as he sings about the euphoric uncertainty that comes with youth, and the always present, uncertain future. 

“When We Were Nothing was the second song we ever wrote together as a band,” says Power. “Our guitarist Ben brought in the main riff and I could tell from the beginning it was going to be great, so I wrote a verse for it and then we wrote the lyrics together.  Everything really came to life once we brought it into the practice room with the addition of Cain’s drum part and Emily’s bass and vocal Recording with Rob Whiteley was a lot of fun as we felt like he was able to help give us the freedom to experiment with the sounds we wanted as well as being able to put all our ideas together into a cohesive mix. The mastering job from Mark Gardener was the final touch that has taken the song to another level and we’re excited to continue working with him going forward.”

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Violent Vickie - Lovelace (Kontravoid Remix).

After performing in Florida and Mexico, Violent Vickie returns with “LOVELACE” (Kontravoid Remix) , a sad, powerful darkwave remix of her original track. “LOVELACE” (Kontravoid Remix)  is the third track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in April 2022.  Vickie wrote "LOVELACE" after watching a disturbing documentary about Linda Lovelace's experience in the porn industry. 

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon.  

Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.  Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.   Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in March 2022.

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Crystal Eyes - Niloo - Tamar Berk - Ali Sperry - Wildlife Freeway - Hannah Schneider

Photo - Rebecca Reid

Crystal Eyes - Don't Turn Around.

The Calgary, Alberta-based psych-rock/dream-pop band, Crystal Eyes have just shared their new single, "Don't Turn Around" which comes off the back of support for last month's release, "Wishes" which went on to find support at FLOOD, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim and more. The new single is the latest to be lifted from the forthcoming second record, The Sweetness Restored which is set for release via the beloved Madrid label, Bobo Integral (Motorists, Ducks Ltd, Quivers) on April 22.

Crystal Eyes, who are made up of Erin Jenkins (singer/guitarist) and a revolving cast of musicians, currently Jordan Tettensor (guitar), Joleen Toner (synth), Will Johnson (bass) and Paul de Andrade (drums) describe the new record as a "feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread." The Sweetness Restored displays a kind of wistful self-awareness right from the start, it's a collection of ten tracks that flirt with musical influences ranging from new wave, psych-rock and shoegaze, with songs driven by melody and steeped in texture.

Recorded at Montreal's Breakglass Studios with producer/engineer, Andrew Woods (The Operators, Legal Vertigo, Basia Bulat) before being mixed by Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Peter Gabriel) the record contains thoughtful attention to musical detail thanks to the talented team of artists behind the project. And with the beautiful, warm tones of the Neve console, it's at once a unique sound, but one that feels comfortingly familiar. The prolific Scott' Monty' Munroe (Preoccupations, Chad VanGaalen) contributed bass and the talented Eve Parker Finley composed and performed string arrangements.

On the new single, "Don't Turn Around" the band turns the dial on some of the forthcoming album's post-punk aesthetics and 00's indie-rock sounds, nodding towards the Show Your Bones era of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Metric and The Raveonettes. Speaking about the new track, Jenkins says: "We wrote this track starting with the synth line and formed all the other parts around that. The drums are actually built off a loop of the live drumming (played by Kenny Murdoch), that our producer, Andrew Woods, built. The guitar part (that guitarist Jordan Tettensor) wrote felt incredibly Joy Division - this is one of the darker tracks on the record. We were definitely going for something moody and also sanguine."

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Niloo - To Feel It Deep.

Niloo tells us "To Feel It Deep is the first single off of my self-titled EP. To Feel it Deep is a catchy, nostalgic and heartfelt dream-pop tune about the grief experienced from a heartbreak you can see coming from a mile away. 

The song begins with a simple yet conspicuous guitar and bass line, blended with warm vocals that carry the intimate lyrics through a build that grows into a lush and energetic arrangement. This song was crafted in the middle of the 2021 heatwave, at Risqué Disque Studios in the beautiful Cedar, BC, with the help of Jen Yakamovich of Troll Dolly on the drums and vibraphone, Shilo Preshyon as co-producer//audio engineer//mixer//bassist, and finally, Jonathan Scherk, who mastered the EP.

For the music video, I worked with the talented director and filmmaker Ali Calladine, who previously shot the music video for my debut single, Funny Face. We aimed to create a simple, yet beautiful music video that highlighted the introspective and emotive elements of the song. 

The visuals interweave three scenes that represent three different facets of post-heartbreak reflection: a vocal performance scene highlighting the lyrics, a movement scene with evocative choreography, and lastly, a water scene representing renewal. The music video features choreography and performance by Ella Huber of The Space Collective, as well as performances by myself and Youssef Ben Ammar."

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Tamar Berk - Your Permission.

Indie pop singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Tamar Berk has released the lead single from her upcoming sophomore album Start At The End, titled “your permission”. This new single is the first new music from Tamar since her full length album from 2021, The Restless Dreams Of Youth, which was just nominated for album of the year and best pop album at the San Diego Music Awards.

The song, which also opens the new album Start At The End, starts out small and intimate – with just Tamar’s voice and some wurlitzer keys – before steadily building up additional layers of vocals and instrumentation until the song arrives at a huge sing-along chorus, showing off the full dynamic range of her songwriting abilities in a relatively small package.

Speaking to the inspiration and lyrical meaning behind “your permission”, Tamar writes “There are days, or even periods of my life when I just want to stop having to be me, and step outside of myself and be someone else…not have to deal with my usual anxieties, issues, and the obsessive thoughts in my head. Just the thought of not being in my head, even for just a day, seems so incredibly liberating!  My thoughts can be quite intrusive and annoying and I suppose, it would be nice to experience not having to deal with being myself for a day or making any decisions. The title of the song “your permission” came to me as I thought about moments when I find myself apologizing for stating my opinion, needing something, or simply standing up for myself. My first instinct is always to apologize which I find myself doing sometimes…ultimately the title is ironic.”

The single is also accompanied by a music video in which many different ghostly versions of Tamar are overlaid on top of each other, each wearing different outfits as they all sit down to play at the same piano, a clever mirroring of the track’s opening lyric “can I ask your permission to be someone else today?”.

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Photo - Fairlight Hubbard

Ali Sperry - Excuses.

Venerated Nashville singer/songwriter Ali Sperry has just released "Excuses," the latest from her forthcoming LP, In Front Of Us, out on March 11th.

"Excuses" calls out those who can't take responsibility for their actions - "In keeping with the archetypal characters in this record, 'Excuses' centers around the person who you want to give the benefit of the doubt to but repeatedly lets you down, a person that makes a mess and holds no accountability," says Ali of the track. "As I continued to tease out the lyrics to the second verse, I found myself picturing our then president and wondering whether in his quietest moments he was ever able to experience the weight of the harm he was doing."

With Owen Biddle on bass, Jen Gunderman on keys, Kai Welch on synth, and Sadler Vaden’s rip-roaring guitar, Ali was able to explore a broader palette of colors, and channel into the music some of the innate anger that comes with being human.

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Wildlife Freeway - Flea.

Wildlife Freeway, the artist moniker of songwriter Sunny Atema, released her debut album Sunny on Alex Ebert's Community Music label, available to stream worldwide. The album features a collection of exquisitely crafted, moody, whimsical indie-folk songs that courageously plunge into the depths of human emotion.

“A wildlife freeway is a bridge for animals to safely cross over busy roads, so when we humans are rushing off in cars to our parties, the animals can get to their forest fairy parties too,” says Atema on the project and album. “The name also speaks of wildness and life on the road. The actual road, putting in the miles, brings us eye to eye, connecting without a screen between.”

A few years back after her beloved dog passed away, Sunny Atema packed her real upright piano in the back of her station wagon and toured the entire US. “I was so sad, I died too. I felt like a kite whose string was cut loose, longing for Earth,” she explains. The music shows were raw, both painful and joyful, surrounded by the perfect presence of people beckoning her back to their shared world when she felt disconnected from it. It was in New Orleans on that very tour that she was introduced to Alex Ebert, and soon after they entered the studio together.

“I don’t normally produce other artists, so when Sunny showed up at the studio unannounced, I had no notion of producing anything,” Ebert recalls. “But as soon as she sat down at the baby grand, I was inspired. This was a uniquely personal kind of music. I approached the production itself delicately, as if the songs themselves would shatter to pieces if a callous move was made.  I wanted to make sure the whole album felt the way I felt when I first heard her at my studio - like we are each being let in on a secret.”

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Hannah Schneider - Mirror Sphere.

With a minimalist and sensitive tone, Hannah Schneider's new single Mirror Sphere tells a monumental story about the beginning of life. Mirror Sphere returns to the amoeba's path from sea to land in an organic, ambient pop song. The single is the second single from Hannah Schneider's upcoming album Ocean Letters. Mirror Sphere was released on February 25 via Copenhagen label Midnight Confessions

The singer is one half of the celebrated duo AyOwA who have received significant international support from the likes of Huffington Post, The Independent, VICE, The Line of Best Fit, CLASH Magazine and Wonderland Magazine as well as airplay from both BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens as well as BBC Radio 6’s 6mix with Nemone. Independently, Hannah Schneider has been nominated for several music prizes in Denmark, and has performed all over Europe, the UK and the USA. Her spherical voice has appeared on several big Scandinavian TV series, recently in the international nordic TV series Ride Upon the Storm.

Hannah Schneider released the first single from her upcoming album in November ’21. “We Will Be The Only Sound In The World” is told from the perspective of a conch shell, about the grains of sand and waves that have left their mark over time:

“We Will Be The Only Sound In The World opens on an austere,
elegant piano topped by Hannah’s deliciously haunting voice,
crystalline yet ethereal at the same time. It’s one of those mystical
voices with the power of summoning up the past, present,
and future” pop off.us

The mysteries of nature and the oceans have inspired all the new songs, and the story of Mirror Sphere is told from the perspective of the amoebas - life at the beginning of the earth.

“I wrote Mirror Sphere in the middle of the darkest times of the pandemic. It felt like it was a crucial moment in history - almost as if it was the end of it all. I came to think of the earth's long history, and that everything happens over billions of years - all the way back from the time the amoebas decided to go ashore, to become animals and later humans. We're just part of the long haul, and that’s kind of a consolation!”

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Clever Hopes - Dropper - The Inevitables - Crystal Eyes

Clever Hopes - The Other Side.

A few years ago, Andrew Shaver directed the musical, Once, in Montréal. Eva Foote walked in to audition for “Girl,” the female lead, and blew him away. Every night after the show, the whole team would drink whiskey and play songs in the dressing rooms until the wee hours – including Andrew and Eva. 

This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and musical collaboration. A few months later, Andrew’s girlfriend flew home from Paris to tell him to pack his bags. Tired of the fighting, he did. He hit the highway out of Montréal and called his buddy Matthew Barber (who produced the album). The two of them spoke for hours as Andrew drove to Toronto. 

This was the beginning of a new chapter for Andrew, that would see him bounce around a few winter sublets before heading to Australia to – as a buddy so wisely suggested – flip his chi. Artefact chronicles the journey of that flip. Clever Hopes was born when he got back to Canada and played those songs for Eva.

Clever Hopes · The Other Side

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Dropper - Ok Ok Ok.

The third single from NYC band Dropper is a break-up anthem called "Ok Ok Ok" and it's out Jan. 21. "I think most people have gone through at least one breakup or had a friendship end that pretty much wrecked them for a little while. "Ok Ok Ok" is about going to a party and being hyper-aware of that other person’s presence. It’s about trying to overcome discomfort but in the process overcompensating and being (maybe just a little) petty. It’s about that desire to prove to that other person, and to yourself, that you’re okay when maybe the truth is, you’re not." -Andrea Scanniello

Dropper is the brainchild of Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist Andrea Scanniello, a lifelong musician and veteran of the NYC indie rock scene. Having played in local favorites like High Waisted, Stuyedeyed, TVOD and Russian Baths, Dropper shows Scanniello stepping into the spotlight as a songwriter and vocalist. She is joined by longtime collaborators Jono Bernstein (also of High Waisted), Yukary Morishima and Larry Scanniello.

The band will self-release their debut record, Don’t Talk to Me, in February 2022. Written and recorded pre-pandemic, the LP centers on the ennui and spiritual exhaustion that comes with working in the service industry and participating in a local scene: the drinking, the late nights, the shallow friendships born over too many beers and cigarettes. Scanniello wrote the record as she scraped by working odd bar jobs and even a bowling alley, a painstaking personal inventory of her life thus far, born of an ugly break-up and analyzing the habits and patterns that no longer serve her as she reaches the end of her twenties.

They say the record is for “People who have worked in the service industry too long and become curmudgeons at the ripe old age of 26. People who are lonely yet want to be left alone. People who drink because they are sad but also sad because they drink. Bisexuals with crumbs in their bed. Optimistic pessimists. Those with seasonal allergies. But overwhelmingly for people who, in lieu of being crushed by the eternal weight of existence, choose to scream internally with a smile upon their face.” In other words, all of us – every millennial struggling to remain true to themselves in a world as unrelenting as this one.

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The Inevitables - Florida Moon.

The Inevitables announce the start of Pre-Orders on Jan 21st for their new 7’ EP “Florida Moon” (EP release March 25, 2022 on LAW Records).

What if your love story was just beginning at the end of the world? Former Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello and Westbound Train frontman Obi Fernandez of The Inevitables explore that question on their lovers rock-inspired new single “Florida Moon” (out now in advance of an upcoming 7’ EP to be released March 25, 2022).

“We wanted to write a love song about people who have only found each other just as their world is ending,” says Fiorello, “Are they going to fight for it? Or are they just going to say ‘why are we bothering to try to start something new when it's the end?’ When you're so deeply in love, yet things start to go awry, you have a choice whether you're going to fight for it, or whether you're going to succumb to the heaviness and just let it sink you”.

A multimedia project encompassing both comics and some fine ska music, The Inevitables story is based on a group of nobodies trying to save the world. While Fiorello and Fernandez have put together some great talents on both platforms, the aggregate on the music side also includes Matt Appleton (Reel Big Fish), Billy Kottage, John DeDomenici (Jeff Rosenstock, Bomb The Music Industry!), Alex Stern (Big D And The Kids Table) and Sean-Paul Pillsworth (Nightmares For A Week). Opening with the line ‘Are you running out of life to live under the Florida moon?’ the track’s stark juxtaposition of dark lyrical content and light, delicate melodies represents a spin on a central theme of The Inevitables universe, that of “Paradise and Grime”.

Our story starts in the not-so-distant future when Big Pharma has been able to produce a “cure for death.” Of course there’s a big number on the price tag for such a coveted item, which further divides the mega wealthy from the working class. It’s about time the corporations get a reality check that playing God has consequences and death is inevitable.

LAW Records · The Inevitables "Florida Moon"

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Crystal Eyes - Wishes.

The Calgary, Alberta-based psych-rock/dream-pop band, Crystal Eyes are today announcing details of their new record, The Sweetness Restored which is set for release via the beloved Madrid label, Bobo Integral (Motorists, Ducks Ltd, Quivers) on April 22, 2022. They are sharing details of the new album alongside the first single and its accompanying video, "Wishes."

Crystal Eyes, who are made up of Erin Jenkins (singer/guitarist) and a revolving cast of musicians, currently Jordan Tettensor (guitar), Joleen Toner (synth), Will Johnson (bass) and Paul de Andrade (drums) describe the new record as a "feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread." The Sweetness Restored displays a kind of wistful self-awareness right from the start, it's a collection of ten tracks that flirt with musical influences ranging from new wave, psych-rock and shoegaze, with songs driven by melody and steeped in texture.

Recorded at Montreal's Breakglass Studios with producer/engineer, Andrew Woods (The Operators, Legal Vertigo, Basia Bulat) before being mixed by Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Peter Gabriel) the record contains thoughtful attention to musical detail thanks to the talented team of artists behind the project. And with the beautiful, warm tones of the Neve console, it's at once a unique sound, but one that feels comfortingly familiar. The prolific Scott' Monty' Munroe (Preoccupations, Chad VanGaalen) contributed bass and the talented Eve Parker Finley composed and performed string arrangements.

On the first single, "Wishes", the band serves up a conflicting happy/sad mood designed to be something that you can dance to, complete with a trippy rock 'n' roll fairy tale music video that's somewhere between Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz. Taking inspiration from the sounds of New Order and The Cure, the track makes use of the ghostly therevox, a touch-controlled theremin proudly made in Windsor, Ontario. Speaking about the single, Jenkins says: "'Wishes' is a song about the spiritual act of wishing as a form of the creative process, and the ultimately delicate and complicated relationship between dream and reality. It’s also a song about faith and redemption. Although we will experience loss and pain, we always have the promise of a new wish."

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