Holly Miranda - Juliet Quick - Living Hour - Marville - Porshyne

Holly Miranda - To Be Loved.

Background - Holly Miranda's new single is "To Be Loved".  It follows her prior singles "Golden Spiral" and "Exquisite" the latter of which features T.V. On The Radio's Kyp Malone. "Exquisite" also had a video which was directed by Kyp. All three tracks will be available on Holly's new LP 'Mutual Horse', out 2/23 on Dangerbird Records. You can pre-order the LP here. Holly will also be playing a handful of NYC & L.A. shows including a show at Park Church Co-op in Brooklyn.

The Dangerbird studio in LA also inspired the album’s title - “Mutual Horse comes from this image we hung in the studio. It was a photo of the singer-songwriter Cris Williamson - “We printed out photos of her from the 1970s and taped them up around the studio; that was our vibe.” One of those photos was of Williamson and another woman holding the reins of a horse; the two women are staring at each other, but the horse is staring at the camera. Eventually someone scrawled the phrase “Mutual Horse” beneath the picture. “It doesn’t feel like just mine,” Miranda says of the album, which took its name from the graffiti. “It feels like it belongs to everybody who worked on it. I opened myself to collaborating this time around, which made me really vulnerable.”

Miranda grew up between Detroit and Nashville, two music towns that would influence her own journey in a very profound way. She began playing piano at the age of six, taught her self-guitar at 14 and moved to New York at 16 to start her professional career. For nearly 20 years, she’s been performing, writing and producing with some of the best talent in the business. She has performed with the likes of Karen O, Lou Reed, The XX, and Lesley Gore. She released two records with her band The Jealous Girlfriends and has co-written and produced a mass of other projects. FACEBOOK.

Tour Dates:
2/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Hotel Cafe
3/8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
3/22 - Brooklyn, NY @ Park Church Co-op.

We featured the song 'Exquisite' back in November and 'To Be Loved' is another fine single and is included on the 'Mutual Horse' album due next week. Once again the vocals are distinct and very appealing, the music allowing them to shine right through, whilst giving the song further momentum.

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Juliet Quick - Changeling Part I.

Background - Brooklyn-based, alt-folk artist Juliet Quick shares her new track, "Changeling Part I," from her forthcoming EP, a 3-part song series, Changeling EP. The Changeling EP is due out April 6th on all DSPs.

Juliet Quick is currently based in Brooklyn, where in 2016 she began playing with a backing band made up of collaborators Philip Joy on drums, Nathan Kamal on violin, and Oliver Mashburn on guitar. Quick grew up in the Hudson Valley, and her art has always been in conversation with that landscape. In addition to her music, which relies heavily on that setting for its tone and imagery, she has written a chapbook of research-based poems on the Hudson River.

Changeling is a 3-part song series, using the folkloric trope of the changeling, in which a child is stolen by fairies and replaced with an imposter, to explore feelings of alienation from the self and the familiar that characterize early adulthood. They don’t follow a strict narrative, so much as trace different points in the evolution of that psychic experience. The imagery is heavily grounded in the landscape of the Hudson Valley, where the artist was raised. It was recorded in Carmel, NY, where it was engineered and co-produced by Rees Shad in his own studio. The orchestral strings were arranged in a collaboration with Juliet Quick, Rees Shad, and Nathan Kamal. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Tour Dates:
03.04 - Sunnyvale - Brooklyn, NY
03.31 - Rockwood Stage 3 - New York, NY.

'Changeling Part I' is a gorgeous and quite unique indie folk song, where Juliet Quick's vocals are quite beguiling and the musical arrangement adds a chamber folk dimension to this sumptuous and almost epic piece.

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Living Hour - Tous les garcons et les filles.

Background - Winnepeg band Living Hour announces a new covers EP, Lovely, Lonely: A Collection Of Covers For Hollow Hearts, which will be released on March 2, 2018. The EP includes covers of Nico, Avi Buffalo, The Ink Spots and Françoise Hardy. The band will also be touring to SXSW, see full list of tour dates below.

Sink into the drowsy guitars and blissful, washed-out textures of Winnipeg’s Living Hour. The band made up of dream-pop revivalists’ atmospheric and pillowy melodies are coloured by psychedelic accents and the enthralling coos of vocalist Sam Sarty. Brushed-Snare Beats, droning reverberations, and wobbly romanticism conjure up a tranquil and exploratory state of mind. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Tour Dates:
03/05 Minneapolis, MN @ Memory Lanes
03/06 Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
03/08 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop*
03/09 St. Louis, MO @ The Sinkhole*
03/10 Russellville, AR @ The Cavern*
03/11 Houston, TX @ Super Happy Fun Land*
03/12 Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas – Strange Brew 7
03/13 Austin, TX @ Javelina (Force Field PR / Danger Village Official SXSW Showcase)
03/16 Austin, TX @ The Electric Church (Wallflower Records x Fuzzland Presents)
03/19 Hot Springs, AR @ Low Key Arts (Valley Of The Vapors)*
* = w/ Look Vibrant.

Francoise Hardy original version was released way back in 1962 and was an outstanding pop song for that era. Living Hour have slowed the pace with their rendition of 'Tous les garcons et les filles', the dream pop interpretation adds atmosphere and charm, I am fascinated as to how they will interpret one of Nico songs!

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Marville - Thinking Sense.

Background - Brisbane/Meanjin-based guitar-drums duo Marville have released new single Thinking Sense with lo-fi visuals by songwriter/guitarist Ash Kerley (of Girls Rock!). Marville also announce their impending second LP Terra Alpha, out via Regressive on March 30 with an East Coast launch tour to follow.

Written "in a sitty share house", Kerley's yawning, powerful vocals parse caustic jabs on Thinking Sense that are just as often aimed at herself. Propelled by relentlessly dirty, crunchy guitar and Doug Palmer's furious drumming, Thinking Sense has already made fans at community radio (RRR, PBSFM, 4ZZZ & more) and explores the landscape of how humans relate to each other when dignity is removed from the equation, with self-respect quickly following.

Marville's intensely human bare-bones approach has earned them myriad praise across their local scene, with multiple placings in the 4ZZZ Hot 100 and Sonic Masala calling first LP Vayan Con Dios "an album of unabashed tension, atmosphere and slack-jawed nihilism". Crowned winners of the 2017 Billy Thorpe Scholarship at the Queensland Music Awards last March, Marville's second LP Terra Alpha is a journey through the hot, crushing tension that comes before the quintessential melodramatic Queensland storm.

Produced by Joe Hammond (Courtney Barnett, Jen Cloher, Fraser A. Gorman) at his Pots and Pans studio, Terra Alpha's release will be followed by an East Coast launch tour, with a regional tour across Queensland to be announced. Marville's singularly enthralling, high-decibel live show - previously on display at the Brisbane leg of Gizzfest 2017 and as support for peers Cable Ties and Wet Lips - must be experienced to be fully understood. BANDCAMP, FACEBOOK.

Marville - Terra Alpha LP - East Coast Launch Tour
FRI 20 APR - The Bearded Lady, Brisbane
SAT 5 MAY - The Forresters, Sydney
SUN 6 MAY - The Servo, Wollongong
THU 10 MAY - The Old Bar, Melbourne.

'Thinking Sense' is one unpretentious rocker that just cuts to the chase and carves out some robust rock grooves with passion, emotion and determination.

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Porshyne - Miles Away.

Background - Porshyne are an atmospheric rock five-piece hailing from Brighton. Formed in 2014, early releases from the band such as ‘Residue’ and ‘Locked In’ have helped to cement their name within the Brighton music scene, leading to them playing shows alongside the likes of Black Peaks, Valerian Swing, Town Portal and many more. The band then went on to release their highly anticipated debut EP ‘Environmental Music’ in 2017, which received praise from the likes of Dan P Carter’s BBC Radio 1 Rock Show, Upset, Alt Press, New Noise Magazine and Kerrang! Radio, with the latter likening the band to Radiohead, Tool and QOTSA. Now the band are preparing to release their new single ‘Miles Away’.

In the time between ‘Environmental Music’ and ‘Miles Away’, Porshyne have been mindful to use their time well, and to relentlessly dedicate themselves to honing their sound even further. The new single sees a natural evolution in the band’s heavily textured dynamics, shifting the focus onto their cinematic and melodic sensibilities, accentuating any previous comparisons to Radiohead. Amongst this Porshyne still stay true to some of their heavier roots in their instrumentation, by interlacing complex guitar sequences with powerful and intricate rhythms that continue to draw from their prog and math-rock influences.

Thematically, ‘Miles Away’ is similarly introspective. Speaking about the new single, Fergal Lyden (frontman/guitarist) says “The song is about wasted time and regretting the number of wasted days which pass and are then quickly forgotten about. It’s about the guilt and regret of unrealised opportunities, missed because of inaction and procrastination, and of the realisation that certain ambitions are drifting out of reach and becoming less and less attainable with the passage of time.”

Porshyne have retained their unique and atmospheric framework on ‘Miles Away’, continuing to expertly merge their multifarious and technical collective influences, whilst also finding a route into deeper and more diverse melodious concepts, which will appeal to listensers both above and below the surface. Whilst ‘Environmental Music’ was a bold statement of intent for Porshyne, ‘Miles Away’ is testament to the bands dedication to further developing their collective creative ambitions, to build something that will leave many eagerly anticipating what’s yet to come.

It's almost a year to the day that we first featured Porshyne and the new song 'Miles Away' (this is the single edit) is impressive. The bands expansive rock sound is notable, even the refrains on this track have a layer of simmering tension. Last time around the expression atmospheric rock was cited, I think I would add dramatic for this track, and a very fine listen.

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Jordan Klassen - Holly Miranda - Geoff Gibbons

Jordan Klassen - Dominika.

Background - Jordan Klassen is thrilled to unveil his new music video for the song, “Dominika.” “Dominkia” is off Klassen’s new studio album, Big Intruder, out now via Nevado Music.

Klassen says, “For the ‘Dominika’ video I wanted to make something that was playful like the song; silly in an honest way. We were inspired by a lot of late 80s/early 90s music videos where it felt like the artist just shot a bunch of footage of them hanging around and lip syncing.”

Big Intruder is an album about growing up and making adult decisions. The eleven tracks, which Jordan Klassen wrote, recorded and produced himself, venture away from the whimsical soundscapes of his past work and exude themes of growth and maturity, both in lyrics and sound. Klassen previously strived for a cinematic sound, avoiding drum kits but tried to embrace the idea of  'band' on this record. Big Intruder speaks to the dilemma of the overwhelming array of choices available in life, and the doubt and caution that become excuses to avoid commitment. The resulting songs are intimate and personal, guided by a sense of honesty and vulnerability.

Jordan Klassen is a decorated songwriter in his own right who has spent more than a decade quietly crafting music that has been deemed 'unsentimentally sincere' and 'whimsically hopeful'. He recently released his EP, Curses, which was an assembly of brooding pop songs that continue in it's predecessor's exploration of mental illness and hushed vulnerability since his 2016 LP, Javelin. Writing about his life experiences is one of the essential elements in Jordan’s creative process – particularly events that he had deemed as his failures. FACEBOOK.

'Dominika' is refined & melodic with a mature indie pop feel to it. The video is an imaginative nod to music promo's from days gone by, even so it's the song that stands out as hook after hook dig in.


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Holly Miranda - Exquisite.

Background - The new single from Holly Miranda entitled "Exquisite" features T.V. On The Radio's Kyp Malone. “I’ve always been a proponent of not making the same record twice,” Holly Miranda says. “Some people find a niche and go with that, but I need to try something different every time.”

That’s more than apparent on “Exquisite” first new material released by Miranda since 2015.  More than just an artistic step forward, it’s a whole new way for her to make music. “This really is the most collaborative record I’ve ever done,” she says. “It’s first time I’ve shared so much of the writing and the production, the meat and bones of making an album.” This song finds Holly bridging the gap between 2010’s experimental synth laden release The Magician’s Private Library and her stripped-back, soulful self-titled record.

Miranda grew up between Detroit and Nashville, two music towns that would influence her own journey in a very profound way. She began playing piano at the age of six, taught her self-guitar at 14 and moved to New York at 16 to start her professional career. For nearly 20 years, she’s been performing, writing and producing with some of the best talent in the business. She has performed with the likes of Karen O, Lou Reed, The XX, and Lesley Gore. She released two records with her band The Jealous Girlfriends and has co-written and produced a mass of other projects. FACEBOOK.

'Exquisite' is a delightful collaboration with Holly Miranda joined by Kyp Malone. The duel vocals are astonishing, the song exudes atmosphere and feeling & the production is of a very high standard.

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Geoff Gibbons - Ain't Goin' Back.

Background - A trip to the cradle of North American music was a signpost of the journey to the Buffalo Hotel. Geoff flew South to the cities of sound: Muscle Shoals, Nashville and Memphis. "When I got back home I wasn't just inspired, I was altered," Geoff remembers. Echoes of this experience permeate the musical tapestry, most pointedly with the harmonies of The Sojourners, a soulful trio of male backing vocalists who impart an ecclesiastical aura of Southern gospel.

Sepia-tinted panoramas and meticulous song craft: Across the breadth of the 12 songs that comprise his latest release Buffalo Hotel, singer-songwriter Geoff Gibbons breathes life into lyrics with facile economy, metaphoric ease and an ear for conversational proximity.

As verses turn the pages of the stories, Gibbons drops the listener directly into the dramas as he silhouettes a vibrant cast of characters in sheer authenticity. Backed by players from a tight community of first call studio musicians, Geoff's soul deep vocals are imbued with experience and empathy. Against the intimate grain of his voice, the players reflect his themes with subtle flourishes and stellar musicianship.

From Vancouver, BC, Canada, Geoff is a full time working musician and a producer-engineer who has lived his life immersed in music. Geoff Gibbons avows that the tales he tells on Buffalo Hotel are based on real stories that he needed to turn into songs. "As writers we have worlds inside of our brains and there's always something we've not experienced. 'What If I had done this? If I was there what would it feel like?' There's an element of that -- like a lush dream that permeated my consciousness. This is who I am. I have always been true to music. I'd like to have this music come out and affect peoples' lives; to haunt them in the best possible way." FACEBOOK.

The opening song on 'Buffalo Hotel is 'Ain't Goin' Back' and it is typical of the wonderful tracks that follow. Soulful Americana might be a starting point, the album explores differing styles, however always present are the natural heartfelt vocals & the influence of musical styles that can be found much further south of Vancouver. A fabulous collection of material, from a genuine and creative music professional.

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