The Blue Hour - Smoke Season - Brass Box - Life in a Blender - Jon C Butler

The Blue Hour - On The Wall.

Background -  Seattle-based 4AD-styled ethereal folk-noir duo The Blue Hour present their new video for 'On The Wall', the second single from their new album 'Always'. This 11-track offering is replete with swoons whirling the listener into the ether, wisped along with sonic elements cherished by fans of Kate Bush, This Mortal Coil, Marissa Nadler, Dead Can Dance, and Chelsea Wolfe.

The new video was created by Carl Andrén, a young man from Gothenburg, Sweden, whose childhood love of drawing has evolved into a truly unique approach to video production and animation.  The band also recently introduced their video for 'One More Mystery', based on original animation created by Rayhan Khan and produced by Rooster Studio.

'Always' comes on the trail of the duo's 'Kyoto Songs' single, featuring a beautiful rendition of The Cure classic 'Kyoto Song'.

Living near Seattle, Brian and Marselle Hodges have been inspired by their life amongst the moss and mud and the ferns and forests of the Pacific Northwest, their raw mix channeling the purely natural and the esoteric via The Blue Hour.

Blending traditional folk melodies with dream pop, ethereal wave and synthpop, the result is ethereal folk-noir that is unique to them, charged with haunting ambience and some classical structures. This potent cocktail creates an otherworldly and hypnotic effect, focusing on texture and rhythm and beautiful discord ... and most of all magic. WEBSITE, BANDCAMP, FACEBOOK.

We featured a couple of tracks from The Blue Hour a couple of months back and the second single 'On The Wall' & it's accompanying video are a welcome addition.The creative ideas and diversity of styles, ensures the duo keep surprising me, with their unique and fabulous music.


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Smoke Season - Wolves.

Background -  Smoke Season's new single "Wolves" has now been released. LA buzz-band Smoke Season is fresh off their UK tour where they debuted new music. The new material features a shift in creative direction which showcases anthemic melodies, rocksteady grooves and hard hitting beats - including their latest single, “Wolves." 

The indie-electronic duo, once referred to as “Fleetwood Mac with beats" has upcoming singles featuring Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys and a collaboration Sonny Diperri (Animal Collective, Portugal the Man).

Los Angeles-based Gabrielle Wortman and Jason Rosen, the duo that comprises Smoke Season, seem to form their own genre of music drawing on electro-pop, rock steady and soul.

In the past 2 years, Smoke Season has independently released an EP with a corresponding short film (which received features at 2017 Cannes Film Festival and 2017 Hollyshort Film Festival), and toured nationwide.  

Their millions of Spotify plays and acclaim from major press outlets (W Magazine, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Clash Magazine, LA Weekly, and The New York Times to name a few), are proof that their sound is resonating with fans throughout the country. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

'Wolves' has already gained considerable attention which is hardly surprising. The songs catchy electro vibes & melodic vocals will most likely see the "plays" grow a whole lot more.

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Brass Box - Moonlight Desires.

Background - Brass Box presents their video for "Moonlight Desires" The video was directed by Joey Halter, and plays with old school filming techniques. "Moonlight Desires" was originally written by Laurence Gowan, a Canadian pop star from the 80s who now fronts the band Styx. The track was released in 1987 under his solo project Gowan. After discovering the music video for the song was filmed onsite at Teotihuacan (Mesoamerican pyramids) in northeast of Mexico City, Brass Box felt the need to record a cover fo the track, as an homage to the native Canadian and the pyramids (especially after Ammo developed a slight obsession with Teotihuacan after visiting in mid-2013).

With enchanting dream goth/ shoegaze tracks, Brass Box takes listeners on a journey through life, death and the darkness that swells beneath the surface. The inception of this artistic force began with front woman Ammo Bankoff; her obsession with being lost at sea and the intangible as the makeup for her musical expression.

After demoing multiple songs, she contacted her long lost friend Neil Popkin to join her after running into each other at a seedy Echo Park bar. The duo had originally met several years prior at an underground new wave/ goth party in Los Angeles. The bands in which Bankoff played (Tête, Black Flamingo) occasionally shared bills with Popkin’s bands (War Tapes, Rituals). Due to their musical connection both musicians naturally collaborated.

Neil then brought in guitarist Matt Bennett (War Tapes) and drummer Pablo Amador (Rituals), to round out the heavy sounds of Brass Box. Since joining forces the quartet has assembled lush compositions of melody and noise while recording in their Downtown Los Angeles home studio. Some describe the sound as a mix between My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins, but you can decide for yourself. BANDCAMP, FACEBOOK.

Maybe it's just the video but 'Moonlight Desires' has something of a psych feel, alongside the mixture of dream pop & shoegaze that compete with each other beautifully as the song develops.


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Life in a Blender - Happy Enough.

Background - For over 25 years, Life in a Blender has been the canvas for singer and songwriter Don Rauf's blackly comic landscapes. The group has released eight albums ranging from screaming punk to orchestrated chamber pop, and has brought the high theatrics of its live act to stages from Berlin to Austin to Toronto to Brooklyn and Seattle.

Don Rauf formed the band with high school friend Dave Moody (then bassist, now cellist), and within a couple of years had acquired the drumming services of Ken Meyer. Guitarist Al Houghton and bassist Mark Lerner joined in 1992, and violinist Rebecca Weiner Tompkins signed on in 1993. While the band's core lineup has remained remarkably constant for the past 18 years, the list of former members, guest artists, and collaborators includes Chris Butler (The Waitresses, Tin Huey), Chris Rael (Church of Betty), Jonathan Gregg, John Linnell (They Might Be Giants), Gavin Smith (Les Sans Culottes), Susan Hwang (Debutante Hour), Brian Dewan, and Olivier Conan (Chicha Libre, Las Rubias Del Norte).

Life in a Blender (featuring Don Rauf of Seattle), squirreled away at Old Soul Studios in the summer of 2016 at Old Soul Studios in Catskill, NY, to record their most personal album ever.  Each CD comes with its own special tissue. In between endless bowls of pale pasta and bourbon from a can, a visibly distraught Blender committed their secrets to tape. Kenny Siegal manned the large recording knob. 

In the title song "Happy Enough," lead singer Don Rauf laid bare the workings of his tortured innards. "Happy Enough is not for cowards," said Rauf, through three-day-old growth (not hair). "I hope you feel as bad as I did when I wrote it.

Some of the better songs are inspired by (not stolen from) other people's works of art. A few of the songs were written for the Bushwick Book Club, a project developed by the shimmering Susan Hwang.  The BBC forces musicians to write songs based on books and other written works. WEBSITE.

The title track & the first of ten songs 'Happy Enough' is a gentle opener. Be prepared for the incredible assortment of sonic brilliance that follows. Sometimes loud & full on, other times crazy, this is a fabulous collection of individual pieces that all battle to be the best!

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Jon C Butler - When The Walls Went Down.

Background - Jon C Butler is a writer and singer from Leicester, England who first came to attention with the classic album Shakespeare Alabama by Diesel Park West at the dawn of the nineties. With a particular awareness of the beauty and richness of sixties American west coast rock'n'roll the band were responsible for a clutch of highly invigorating albums from 1989 to 2011.

'When The Walls Went Down' is a contemporary take being filtered through time. Taken from Jon's  'brilliantly infectious' album Universal Stranger, the song is a sonic shoot along the decades since the Great Society.

“Well, my take on it at least”, says Jon. “I wonder if we could have got things together better than we have? I certainly think so, but you never know! Maybe this actually is the best we can do!” — Jon C Butler

The soul-searching resonance of the lyrics also take us into familiar territory for Jon - wrong turns and the passing of time. A deft reminder of those infrequent moments when, maybe, we should have let our emotional walls come down and allowed our hearts to rule our heads. 'When The Walls Went Down' is available from 10 November 2017 on Strataville. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

'When The Walls Went Down' has some thought provoking lyrics that are passionately delivered by Jon C Butler. Emotionally charged the song simply demands to be noticed, the accompanying video adds to the narrative, it's time to go & check out the album.


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Marlon Brando Island - Essie - Artificial Pleasure - Jon C Butler - Strange Americans

Marlon Brando Island - A Troubled Past.

Background - The origins of Marlon Brando Island lie in the prolific bedroom recordings and determinedly DIY ethos of vocalist and guitarist Marcus Fulcher, whose up-and-at-’em attitude would soon establish him as a notable presence on London’s solo singer/songwriter circuit. However, it took the muscular contributions of Marco Testa Ryan (drums) and Edward J Thorpe (bass) for Fulcher’s sprawling, widescreen songs to realise their full potential. The London trio’s aggressive, experimental, innovative post-punk output has been variously likened to artists as diverse as Shellac, The National, Cloud Nothings, Talking Heads and Future Islands. 

The glue that binds these disparate influences into a cohesive and intoxicating alt-rock unit is the band’s shared belief that music can be transformational, that it should make such an impression on the listener as to change them for ever. And with a sound as stimulating as Marlon Brando Island’s, that change will only be for the better.

About ‘A Troubled Past’ “When that part of you died, did you feel nothing?” A gritty blast of passionate post-hardcore, where an abrasive six-string arcs across a pounding bass and drum track that strains under its own sense of urgency, ‘A Troubled Past’ delves into themes of apathy and self-righteousness, inspired by frontman Marcus Fulcher’s experiences as a support worker. “I was always appalled but equally fascinated by how inept yet at ease people were in just losing humans between the cracks,” he explains. “It was frightening how that gets rationalised.” The track’s rawness lies in its original conception as a demo, before South London producer Paul of Sound (Goat Girl) turned it into something altogether larger. Yet it retains an exposed feel, leading to an effect both unsettling and ecstatic. ‘A Troubled Past’ makes its mark as an ode to the lost as well as an exhilarating call to arms. Facebook here.

Energy and passion combine with 'A Troubled Past' a sub three minute rocker, that cuts to the chase and left me hitting the replay button straight away.

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Essie - Someone.

Background - Essie is the stage name of alt/rock guitar player and vocalist Essie Laugharne from Perth, Western Australia. Her signature sound is a confident mix of bluesy guitar chops and soaring vocals. 

Essie's debut EP Run Red and single “Sugar Rush” drew on an earthy mix of influences from The Black Keys, U2, and Gin Wigmore, as well as Australian talents Little Birdy and Eskimo Joe. Hailed in press as “Alternative rock with a superb 70s twist”(Fireworks Magazine), the success of these DIY releases prompted Essie to relocate to London in 2015 to pursue a career in music. 

Essie’s new single “Someone” will be released in March 2017 through The A&R Department. This song was written in Essie’s university days, and re-vamped with a fresh set of lyrics during her work with The Animal Farm in 2016. “Someone” was recording at The Animal Farm studios in South London, by Jamie Dodd, with all music and lyrics written by Essie Laugharne and Ben Pohlmann. 

“This song is a typical breakup story, but with gritty undertones of the sorrow and melancholy that can come with the territory.”- Essie 

“Someone” draws influence from the Arctic Monkeys AM album, as well as Band of Skulls, coupled with Essie’s typical Amy Winehouse inspired vocals. It’s as raw as any heartbreak, which suits her trio style performances well: the simplicity of growling guitar riffs, punchy drums, and backbone bass, with vocals soaring overhead.

Performing with her trio, Essie is a regular in the UK capital's clubs, where she is building a devoted fan base enthralled with her raw, confessional songwriting and assertive blues guitar. Her mini EP titled Not Easy was released on The Animal Farm label in September of 2016. Website here, Facebook here.

A little mix of funk and bluesy vocals add to the chemistry as 'Someone' an alt rock song hits the spot, and builds from there.


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Artificial Pleasure - All I Got.

Background - Following their explosive arrival to the scene last year, London quartet Artificial Pleasure have shared their follow up track ‘All I Got’ which has earned the band yet another rush of acclaim. A disco-infused track with shades of Bowie, ‘All I Got’ has been noted for its modern twist that sends an honourable nod to the past.

Now Artificial Pleasure are ready to present a brand new video for their latest single ‘All I Got’. The track is taken off their forthcoming EP ‘Like Never Before’ which follows on April 21st. They band will also play their debut headline show at The Camden Assembly on April 25th.

Directed by the band’s previous collaborator Dylan Holmes Williams (Huntar, O Chapman), the video for ‘All I Got’ moves in surprising directions with a mad chef, camp theatricality and vibrant dance moves all contributing to its surreal visuals. Actor and West End figure Sebastien Torkia (Sweeney Todd, Guys and Dolls, A Streetcar Named Desire) stars as the demented chef who is determined to win over his diner’s date at all costs. Website here, Facebook here.

A fabulous video needs a song to match and 'All I Got' more than achieves that requirement. High Octane rock'n'roll that is delivered in an effortlessly cool manner, and head turning vocals ensure this is a song that will and is getting noticed.


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Jon C Butler - A Little Misunderstanding.

Background - 'There has been a misunderstanding hasn’t there?' laughs Jon C Butler. 'I mean, we all know it isn’t meant to be like this and maybe there should be a reassessment of the deal.

Although we all start out in life with good intentions and kind hearts, things don't always turn out as we hope.

Maybe life has taken us down one too many roads less travelled. Or it’s thrown us a curveball when we needed an easy catch. Or perhaps we flew too close to the sun. Or we made a wrong choice at the crossroads.

We can't go backwards, of course. Carpe Diem! But, sometimes, when we take a quiet moment of reflection to make sense of our life, we're allowed to wonder if perhaps there was a little misunderstanding somewhere along the way.’ A Little Misunderstanding is available from 14 April 2017 on Strataville. Website here.

Well I have had more than a few of these down the years, 'A Little Misunderstanding' is a refined alt rock song with just a hint of Americana about it, and plenty of hooks to pull the listener in.

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Strange Americans - No Punches.

Background - Strange Americans share the video for their track "No Punches". "'No Punches’ explores the relationship between the American Dream and the American Reality," the band explains, "...few of us question the meaning of work, what purpose that work is meant to serve and what direction it will take us in life." The track is from their forthcoming new album, 'Borrow You, Brother,' out later this year. This Saturday April 1st, the band will headline a hometown show at Denver's Hi Dive.

Musically, Strange Americans’ third full-length album, 'Borrow You, Brother' remains committed to the general guitar-driven, blue-collar Americana rock element that permeates their earlier releases. This latest album, however, diverges in subtle ways : from the keys to the drums, bass and guitars, the sounds, tones and parts are more explorative. At times this means dynamic restraint, craft, control and beauty ; at others it means total freedom, chaos and noise.

For the better part of a year, the Denver, CO band made three trips to The Echo Lab in Denton, TX, where they worked with engineer/producer Matt Pence (Centro-matic, Justin Townes Earle). Pence’s penchant for the creative process combined with the band’s original vision for the songs drove the tracking and mixing process and resulted in a unique record that is simultaneously novel but grounded in tradition. Lyrically, the songs tend to explore social themes including income and wealth inequality, individual success and materialism, but also work, travel and happiness.

It’s a little raw, a bit loud, unapologetic and honest. It’s blue-collar rock and roll and it’s something that Denver’s Strange Americans are crafting with both brawn and finesse. Facebook here.

'No Punches' has a well travelled and developed feel, the band are tight and the vocals laid back, however between them the passion and commitment is all apparent, in what is just right rock and roll.


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