Helven - Unite The States Project - Peter Joly - Lilly Hiatt - Oracle Sisters

Helven - if i could be like u.

Norwegian alt-pop artist Helven has shared dreamy new single 'if i could be like you', the second to be taken from her debut EP volume 1, due out via Jansen Records on Jan 14th 2022. Helven, aka 21-year-old Jenny Bakke, fuses together honest, true and contemporary lyrics with inspiration from pop music of the past, capturing the experience of life as a 21-year-old woman in the 2020’s.

Inspired by the many lessons her brother, who has autism and Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, has taught her, Helven is on a mission to wear her heart on her sleeve. Each of the five tracks that make up volume 1 focuses on a different emotion that she has struggled to express in the past: envy, care, love, sadness and frustration.

Last month Helven shared debut single ‘u my homie’. Delivering her signature smoky vocals atop laidback trip-hop beats, the lyrics were pulled from text messages and notes Helven wrote whilst helping her childhood friend through a tough time. Today, she shares new single 'if i could be like you', a track that deals with the secretive and painful feeling of envy. “You know that I would do anything to be like you” she sings, atop gentle guitar strums and hazy synths. “I have always tried to love myself, at least most of the time. But occasionally I’m haunted by jealousy” she says. “For a time I felt like I would do anything to be like someone else, to have lived another life and even to die like someone else. But now I'm glad I chose to be me.”

Attaching a particular feeling to the autobiographical stories she tells in her music has helped her find a true sense of self. Her message to her generation is simple. “In order to survive in this increasingly chaotic world, we need to listen to our feelings more, and express them proudly”. 'if i could be like you' is out now via Jansen Records and available to stream and download via all of the usual channels, volume 1 will follow on January 14th.

 

Jansen Records · 9AM RECORDS: Helven - if i could be like u

==========================================================================

Unite The States Project - Battle Stations.

Presentation by the band: The Unite The States Project is a newly formed concept formed by New Jersey rock musicians and featuring Ram Jam's Myke Scavone who have decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States and all over the globe.

“The "Unite The States Project" is a concept from four New Jersey musicians who come from an original recording band with Full Lengths and EPs released in the US and Europe, but who decided to use an alias on this project as to not offend any fans. Even though the band is split between leaning left and right in the political arena they all agreed that the current state of things are corrupt and needed to be addressed. They decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States (and all over the globe).

The so called "woke" mentality and the Governments’ links to the so called Big Business/Big Tech/Big Pharma lobbies to the disadvantage of common people. The Unite The States Project first single/video "Battle Stations" depicts a bit of it all in a pop rock kind of vibe. Lyrically the song covers everything from woke mentality to the fake/propagandized media to expose the general state of corruption.

The overall goal of the Unite The States Project is to show - no matter where you stand politicly - that we can still come together for a united cause and that it’s time for the people to take notice of what is happening in our countries before we end up in a Marxist world, which has been tried before and didnt turn out so well.”

Wayne Olivieri, Gar Francis, Johnnie Rago, Dan Skye, Special Guest : Myke Scavone (Ram Jam/The Doughboys), Unite The States Project.

==========================================================================

Peter Joly - Easy Has Never Been The Way (Album).

'Easy Has Never Been The Way' is the much welcomed new Peter Joly album release, where once again we have a continued demonstration of masterful songwriting that will hit you where it matters - right in the soul. 

Streaming now on Bandcamp the eleven new tracks are also delivered in eco-friendly wallet jacket adorned with original artwork by master painter Henia Flynn.

Peter tell us "I couldn't be more proud of this record; produced by Chicago's own uber talented Jon Williams and chock full of notable Chicago players whom I've recorded and performed live with spanning these two most recent projects."

==========================================================================

Lilly Hiatt - Simple.

Lilly Hiatt returns with Lately via New West Records. The 10-song set was co-produced by Lilly and her drummer Kate Haldrup at Death Ladder in East Nashville, TN. Lately is the follow up to Hiatt’s highly praised Walking Proof, which was among the first records released to feel the full wrath of the soon-to-be raging pandemic that would bring the world to its knees. Despite the timing of its release, the long player was named a “Best Album of the Year” by Rolling Stone, No Depression, Magnet Magazine, and more. 

Met with critical acclaim, Slant Magazine said in their 4 out of 5 star review, “Lilly Hiatt’s Lately is the artist’s most daring, experimental album to date,” while American Songwriter said “It marks a certain maturity that underscores Hiatt’s authenticity as both an artist and individual, and the strength she possesses when it comes to propelling that presence forward. Ultimately, Lately becomes a timely testimonial to all she’s achieved thus far.” Holler said “...she’s forged her own distinct fusion of country balladry, confessional indie pop and classic rock” while Glide Magazine said “...if there is any justice in the world, Lately will find the audience it truly deserves.”

As each day passed following the release of Walking Proof, more events were postponed, moved, and ultimately canceled. The sudden stillness forced Lilly to take a long, deep look inside and despite having a new album just released, she went back to doing what she does best: she picked up the guitar and started to write. What could have been devastating ended up being therapeutic, and Lilly learned how to find fulfillment in quieter places versus the adrenalized life she was used to.

==========================================================================

Oracle Sisters - Take the Lead (Live with the Elmire Quartet).

Parisian trio Oracle Sisters have just shared ‘Midnight Afternoon - Live at La Ferme with the Elmire Quartet’, a stunning three track EP of completely new material, recorded at their now iconic studio in the south of France. This is closely followed by the band setting off on an 18-date tour across the UK & EU where they will preview never-before-heard material from their highly anticipated debut album, to be announced soon, and which the band first spoke about with V Magazine.

Undisputed riders of the heart Oracle Sisters have partnered with friends The Elmire Quartet for an EP that pairs the band's trademark romanticism with understated, timeless string arrangements. Midnight Afternoon opens with "Take the Lead", an invitation to waltz away the final minutes of dusky daylight. "Silk Sunset Streams" is a diary entry; a lonely serenade from the heartworn soul of a poet wandering through the longest of afternoons. The record closes with hazy, rose-tinted memories of friendship on the epistolary "Old Friend".

Oracle Sisters’ are modern musical revivalists, influenced by jazz, rock and roll and 100 years of bards and composers. Written across Europe and recorded in the south of France, this new EP “is an  intimate, live and arranged performance of our earliest songs, written from experience and some of the first we worked on arriving in Paris, taking about 3 years, while working on other stuff (Paris I, II and the upcoming  album), to get the recordings and arrangements perfect,” the band say.

==========================================================================

Parliamo - Late July - Lilly Hiatt - BlackieBlueBird

Parliamo - Echo In My Chamber.

Perth, Scotland based 6-piece Parliamo release their new single "Echo In My Chamber",  lifted from the band's upcoming EP 'The Parliamo Manifesto', out October 7th via Modern Sky (The Coral, The Lathums, Abbie Ozard).

Drawing from a plethora of influences from The Avalanches and Massive Attack to Super Furry Animals and The Beta Band – Parliamo bring together witty social commentary–styled lyricism with a distinctive songwriting approach very much of their own.

New single "Echo In My Chamber" represents the band's most high-reaching moment to date; an armoury of joyous harmonies, crunching indie-rock guitars and a chorus to rival the very best. Speaking on the new track the band said, "Echo In My Chamber is a story of infatuation rather than love, with the lyrics telling of a dichotomy within yourself as you struggle with how you really feel about someone. The chorus is essentially a conversation with oneself, as you grapple to remind yourself not to get too carried away too quickly."

The band's upcoming debut EP 'The Parliamo Manifesto' is the culmination of over a year's songwriting and is a bold statement of intent from the 6 piece. Employing a charming tongue-in-cheek approach to some of the slightly darker aspects of life which young people face today, the record touches on the complications of religious pressure on "Catholic Guilt", spiralling addiction on "Who Needs a Reason?", mental health on "She’s Only Human" and the awkward beauty of young love on EP opener "Paul & Barry".

The baggy, swaggering sound of the band and the often darkly humorous nature of the lyrics, stands in stark contrast with some of the subject matter, echoing the band’s propensity for laughing in lieu of crying. In a world of such turmoil and uncertainty, with ‘The Parliamo Manifesto’ the band are aiming to reconcile people with positivity through vibrant, energetic music, whilst providing a relatable commentary on the modern world and the inner workings of the minds of young people.

Written and delivered in the Scottish vernacular, the record offers a somewhat unique perspective on the simultaneously charming and terrifying nature of modern life.

==========================================================================

Late July - Heartbeat.

Late July, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is described variously as indie pop, orchestral pop, or alternative pop. Simone began writing music and singing at the age of 12 after an accident at school where a TV fell on her head crushing her vocal box.She is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, drums, and piano.

Her debut EP, Side Swept, was released in 2010 and features the guitar, bass, and keyboard work of Adrian Ellis.From that EP, two singles were featured in the web series Out with Dad: "Side Swept" in season 1, episode 4 and "A Well Kept Secret" in season 1, episode 7. Her follow-up EP, Hospital Quiet, was released in 2011. The single "What's Left" was featured in season 2, episode 5  of the web series Out with Dad. 

The single "Truth or Dare" from her third EP, When the Curtain Falls, is on the soundtrack for the film How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town. Her fourth EP, Marathon, was released in 2017.  Throughout 2019 and 2020, she has released a series of singles, including "Confetti",  "Calling to the Moon", and "Cloud and Crown". These singles along with several upcoming release will be included on her fifth EP, Oceania.

==========================================================================

Lilly Hiatt - Lately.

Lilly Hiatt will return with Lately on October 15th via New West Records. The 10-song set was co-produced by Lilly and her drummer Kate Haldrup at Death Ladder in East Nashville, TN. In celebration of “Cassette Week,” the cassette version of the album will be released a week early on Friday, October 8th. Lately is the follow up to Hiatt’s critically acclaimed Walking Proof, which was among the first records released to feel the full wrath of the soon-to-be raging pandemic that would bring the world to its knees. Despite the timing of its release, the long player was named a “Best Album of the Year” by Rolling Stone, No Depression, Magnet Magazine, Slant Magazine and more. 

NPR Music called Lilly “...one of the great 21st Century Southern Rockers,” saying, “...she’s a striving, self-made heroine of country-accented indie rock” while Rolling Stone said “Hiatt proves herself to be Nashville’s indie-rocker-to-watch on this collection of Big Star-worthy jangle anthems and introspective psych-folk.” Rolling Stone Country called the album “...exhilarating…” saying, “At once electrifying and dreamy, the follow-up to Hiatt’s breakout Trinity Lane cements her as a vital voice.” Pitchfork said, “...Walking Proof winds through moments of incandescent joy, gentleness, cathartic noise, and even unease...It’s as if Hiatt has emerged from a dark, uncertain period as a stronger, bolder artist, winding up with an album that encompasses a full spectrum of feeling as it rocks with abandon” while Paste Magazine said in their 8 out of 10 star review, “This is music to liberate yourself to.”

As each day passed following the release of Walking Proof, more events were postponed, moved, and ultimately canceled. The sudden stillness forced Lilly to take a long, deep look inside and despite having a new album just released, she went back to doing what she does best: she picked up the guitar and started to write. What could have been devastating ended up being therapeutic, and Lilly learned how to find fulfillment in quieter places versus the adrenalized life she was used to.

Today, The Boot premiered the video for the album’s title track. Lilly says, "'Lately' is all for you. I'd like to let you in on the strife and hope that came from the last year for me. The song is a dream that can come true, even if that dream changes over time. Dylan Reyes took the dream and turned it into a vivid trip for our video and here it is."

==========================================================================

BlackieBlueBird - The Love We Once Knew.

Copenhagen's dream pop duo BlackieBlueBird releases new single "The Love We Once Knew"

BlackieBlueBird are the vocalist Heidi Lindahl and the composer Nils Lassen; together they create delicate torch songs of reverb and echo that captivate the listener with resonating guitars, wailing harmonicas, maudlin mandolins and a choir of lonely mermaids that sporadically embraces Heidi's golden voice. The echoes of love and longing, hellos and deceiving goodbyes live within her unique and clear vibrato in a feel-good melancholic way.

The duo received great reviews worldwide for their two albums "Ghost River" and "Goodbye in July", led by the delicate and enchanting voice of Heidi Lindahl, where their sound has been compared to Nick Cave's "Murder Ballads" and Enya.

BlackieBlueBird are now back with the new single "The Love We Once Knew" which leverages the dreamy romanticism but preserves the melancholy of their previous works. The pandemic turmoil has led the duo to explore new avenues and enrich their sound with drums – a path that will hopefully lead to more songs for a brand-new album next year.

==========================================================================

Horse Lords - Jonathan Emile - Bartleby Delicate - Sour Widows - Lilly Hiatt

Horse Lords impress us with 'People's Park' an instrumental that is original, addictive and accompanied by a figure skating video that works alongside beautifully. === Jonathan Emile new album 'Spaces-In-Between' is featured in full along with a video for 'Try A Likkle More', collectively this is a wonderful mixture of reggae music with so many other genre influences enriching the piece. === Luxembourg artist Bartleby Delicate has a brand new single 'From Top To Toe' which mixes electronic music with a folk based anchor, the result is creative and original. === Described as a bedroom rock group Sour Widows obviously make good use of that particular room space with 'Open Wide' a slow paced track with fabulous harmonies and a close up and personal feel throughout. === It's only February and yet Lilly Hiatt is back with us for a third appearance this year with 'Candy Lunch' ahead of next months 'Walking Proof' album release, this time we have a more gentle and melodic country rocker to indulge upon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Horse Lords - People's Park.

Horse Lords have shared a music video for their single "People's Park" from their forthcoming album The Common Task (releasing March 13 via Northern Spy). The song title comes from a public park established by the Young Lords, a Latinx liberation organization. It was built both as a community-run community space and as a bulwark against development on a vacant tract of land in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, which at the time had a large Puerto Rican population who correctly feared they were being pushed out. A modest utopian project compared to some of the other points on the album's titles' map of socialist modernisms but an inspiring assertion of the public's right to occupy public space.

"The music was an experiment in testing the limits of genre--in this case, reggaeton." says Horse Lords, "The project was approached with great respect for the history, techniques and repertoire of reggaeton, trying to extrapolate from rather than impose upon. The standard drum pattern underwent a process of distillation and recombination (this we must admit was not a minimally invasive procedure), mutating into a tiling rhythmic canon. Reggaeton's links to dub were emphasized in the production, overall the hope being a balance of reverence and playfulness.

The director, Corey Hughes, explains what inspired the video: "There is something other wordly about figure skating. The movements look supernatural, like they are floating in space or a virtual environment. What I really responded to in the track and the choreography is the balance between structured repetitive elements and looser improvisatory elements. I adopted a similar approach for the cinematography of the video, combining more formal static shots with fluid, energetic, and reactionary camera movements. Like the skaters themselves, the movement of the camera fluctuates in and out of sync with the track."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Emile - Spaces-In-Between Album).

Spaces-In-Between features 10 original compositions and was produced by well-known Montreal musician Paul Cargnello (Wesli, Lakes Of Canada, Satellites), along with his brother Christopher.  Two 'pre-release' singles off the album have already been well received by media internationally: the energetic Savanna, and the gospel-folk influenced acoustic ballad Moses.

Now, with his third and most recent release Try A Likkle More, Jonathan’s versatility and creativity continue to shine.  In Jonathan's words, “ Try A Likkle More, is a song about how time and effort equal love. In patois, “a likkle more” or “a little more”, means “see you later” or “au revoir”. In the lyrics, I play on the idea of time and love as a participatory action rather than an emotion or a passive state. Jamaica in itself is a colour filled phenomenological experience. The roots riddim with its easy skank and swaying guitar and bass are set at the speed of rural Jamaica. You can hear the one drop against the slow crash of waves. The guitar melody opens and closes the song like a story book.”

The Try A Likkle More video is an ode to the Jamaican diaspora that explores the concept of family, love and generational memory. Like Savanna and Moses, the video for Try A Likkle More was shot in Jamaica in the parish of Westmoreland, in Savanna-la-Mar (his family’s hometown) as well as in Negril, with a Canadian-Jamaican film crew. The video explores Jamaica and it’s lush abundance of the tropical island through the directors lens with vivid colours and brightness as he captures all of its beautiful memories, having the magic of love displayed in every shot. This is what carefree Negril looks like.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bartleby Delicate - From Top To Toe.

Bartleby Delicate is full of contrasts - with folk music rooted in the heart and his recent love for experimental electronic music. Starting as a singer-songwriter venture, the project morphed into a blend of philosophical phrases, finger picking guitar and experimental electronics, at times reminiscent of Daniel Johnston, at times akin to Bon Iver or James Blake.

This songwriting ability and nuanced performance style has led to support slots with the likes of Rhye, Tom Odell and Aldous Harding alongside festival appearances at The Great Escape, Reeperbahn Festival and SPOT Festival to name a few. Alongside this, he has been awarded accolades such as ‘Best Upcoming Artist’ at the Luxembourg Music Awards and best act at Crossroads Festival 2019.

The Luxembourg artist’s new single ‘From Top To Toe’ is an amalgamation of his analogue and digital vision that features dream-like synths and crisp, pulsating beats thanks to production with German electronic musician Taison (Lali Puna, Portmanteau) that Goerens has been a fan of for years. After travelling 1500km to play a show in Munich in which Taison happened to be the sound engineer that night, the two bonded on both a human and creative level. The pair agreed to collaborate on future releases and to dive deeper into Bartleby’s indietronica universe.

Monochrome with a touch of colour, ‘From Top to Toe’ tackles the paradox of memories we can’t remember, the subject of irrepressible memories, and their habit of worming their way to the forefront of your brain when you least expect it, Bartleby tells us "I’ve had some disconcerting experiences the last few years. The strange thing is that I struggle somehow to remember the exact origin of them but still those memories are haunting me. I think we are all constantly trying to repress things from our past and they come back from time to time fully present in front of us: from top to toe."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sour Widows - Open Wide.

Sour Widows are a bedroom rock group from the Bay Area, formed in 2018 by longtime friends Maia Sinaiko, Susanna Thomson and Max Edelman, and recently joined by Sam Edelman on bass.

Songs marked by driving harmonies address themes of relationship and reflection; layers of warmth, grit, and depth surface and fade in their two guitar dynamic. Carried by Edelman’s inimitable drumming, the four draw from influences including Big Thief, Duster, Pile and Forth Wanderers to create heavy harmonic alternative rock.

The term ‘bedroom rock’ is a nod to this intimacy - it could mean sleepy, dreamy, or weepy - as it captures the emotion behind the music. Post-Trash calls their debut single ‘Tommy’ “a perfect synthesis of slacker pop and punk’s tamer edges,” and asserts the band “is slated to blow up the indie scene.”

Through progressions that shift from subtle to biting, Sour Widows expose tender moments with an edge.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly Hiatt - Candy Lunch.

Lilly Hiatt is set to release Walking Proof on March 27th via New West Records. The 11-song set was produced by former Cage The Elephant member Lincoln Parish (Lucinda Williams, Lissie) and features guest appearances by Amanda Shires, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Luke Schneider, and Lilly’s father, the legendary singer-songwriter John Hiatt. John’s appearance on “Some Kind Of Drug,” marks the first time the pair have appeared together on one of her records. Walking Proof is the anticipated follow up to Lilly’s breakthrough Trinity Lane, which appeared on many year-end “Best Of 2017” lists including NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and more. Lilly also received an “Emerging Act of the Year” nomination from the Americana Music Association.

Following a whirlwind year of touring in support of Trinity Lane, and stripped of the daily rituals and direction of life on the road, Lilly found herself alone with her thoughts for the first time in what felt like ages. “When you’re out there on the road, you’re just kind of living, and you don’t have the chance to stop and think about how everything you’re experiencing is affecting you,” Lilly says. “When I got home, I realized there was a lot I needed to catch up on.” She did what’s always come most natural to her in times of questioning and uncertainty: she picked up a guitar.

As rewarding as Trinity Lane’s success was, the collection came from an emotionally challenging place, and Lilly found herself frequently visiting the hurt and struggle that inspired it as she spoke candidly to the press about her painful breakup, her struggles with sobriety, and the overwhelming sadness of her mother’s suicide.

Rather than succumbing to the weight of it all, Lilly managed to emerge stronger and more serene from the experience, treating it as a foundation from which she could begin the essential work of re-examining her relationships and the world around her. “When I got that little gap in my schedule, it gave me the chance to appreciate some mental stillness,” Lilly says. “I can be a pretty anxious person, but I found a sense of peace by deconstructing all of these interactions and emotions I’d experienced and reconfiguring them into songs. It helped me make sense of everything and learn to relax.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Barb Carbon - Nicolas Godin - Lilly Hiatt - The Modern Society - Malena Zavala

Barb Carbon shares 'Patience' a fresh sounding indie rock meets roots rock kind of song with plenty of hooks throughout. === Accompanied by a video filmed around the Palace of Versailles Nicolas Godin has just shared 'Catch Yourself Falling' featuring Alexis Taylor, a relaxing, melodic and smooth song. === Less than a month since her first appearance here Lilly Hiatt returns with another new song entitled 'P Town' a powerful and passionately delivered country rocker. === The Modern Society debut single 'Bad Thoughts' is an impressive affair, the young band packing passion and determination both musically and visually. === Malena Zavala returns to Beehive Candy for a third time with 'I'm Leaving Home' a beautiful song with the mixture of Anglo and Latin influences ensuring originality and subtle splendour once again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Barb Carbon - Patience.

Barb Carbon is an independent folk/roots-rock musical artist from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She performs as a solo act, as well as with her musical partner, Arrie Bozeman, in the band The Ain’t Sisters.

Cutting her teeth as a traveling street performer before taking to the stage, she has spent the past 20 years honing her craft. Now, at long last, she is putting her music out into the world. Her influences are evidenced in her beautifully raw and gritty sound. Shades of Shovels and Rope, The Avett Brothers, and Lucinda Williams punctuate her melodies, while her earnest, inspired songwriting was clearly shaped by early encounters with The Indigo Girls and Brandi Carlile. Offering up a catalog of songs that are deeply personal yet refreshingly accessible, Carbon gives us a glimpse into her own experience and then artfully strips away the layers, exposing the nerve and laying her finger on the emotional essence of our shared struggles and hopes.

The Fighter (2019) is the first solo endeavor for the budding troubadour, but as a member of her main outfit, The Ain’t Sisters, Carbon has already begun her ascent. On the heels of their first record, Marrow (2018), the dynamic ensemble has experienced a regional surge, selling out Decatur, Georgia’s renowned Eddie’s Attic, Rattling the walls of Atlanta’s Terminal West, and sharing the stage with such acclaimed acts as Donna the Buffalo, Brad Parsons and Starbird, and Tank and the Bangas.

Garnering the attention of industry legends including Jim Lauderdale, Joe Craven, and Billy Gilmore (The Grass is Dead), the future is certainly bright for this up and coming artist. Keep an eye out for a sophomore effort from The Ain’t Sisters in 2020, and more solo offerings from Carbon in 2021.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nicolas Godin - Catch Yourself Falling feat. Alexis Taylor.

Following excellent reviews for his new album Concrete and Glass, out now via Because Music, Nicolas Godin has shared a beguiling video for “Catch Yourself Falling”, one of the standout tracks from the album, which features Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip on vocals. The video was filmed in the gardens and alleys Palace of Versailles and features a goofy young king roaming the gardens and generally surveying his kingdom. Of the video director Joseph Bird says: “I had heard Nicolas grew up in Versailles then all I could imagine when listening to the track is a young boy exploring the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, then to make him a young king with red hair sounded even better!”

In its soft ambient pulse and melting minimalism, lead track “The Border” is a perfect entry-point to Godin’s hymns to buildings, arranged and co-produced with Pierre Rousseau. Elsewhere, current single "The Foundation", which features guest vocals from Cola Boyy sees the Oxnard singer and activist brings soul to the righteously engaged track whilst the squelchy synths and buoyant grooves burn slow, allowing the stealthy arrangements and message room to resonate.

While Godin’s vocoder vocals also hark back to Air’s early work, the album accommodates a diverse spread of guest vocalists. Psychedelic soul singer Kadhja Bonet sings with measured serenity over tremulous synths on “We Forgot Love”, while Russian experi-pop artist Kate NV brings a gracefully aching romanticism to the blissful swoon-pop of “Back to Your Heart”. Additionally, Australian conceptual provocateur Kirin J Callinan contributes a vocal of restrained drama to “Time On My Hands”, a midnight-drift soft-pop ballad with a silky allure.

Between its title-track and the sultry, smoky jazz stylings of closer “Cité Radieuse”, Concrete and Glass is an album that truly travels, in tune with its global pitch. For Godin, it marks another milestone in a musical journey that began when Air’s 1998 debut album, Moon Safari, became the sublimely weightless soundtrack of its time. For Concrete and Glass, Godin builds on his storied past with tremendous finesse, charm and fluency, opening fresh windows of perspective at every lovingly executed turn.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly Hiatt - P Town.

Lilly Hiatt is set to release Walking Proof on March 27th via New West Records. The 11-song set was produced by former Cage The Elephant member Lincoln Parish (Lucinda Williams, Lissie) and features guest appearances by Amanda Shires, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Luke Schneider, and Lilly’s father, the legendary singer-songwriter John Hiatt. John’s appearance on “Some Kind Of Drug,” marks the first time the pair have appeared together on one of her records. Walking Proof is the anticipated follow up to Lilly’s breakthrough Trinity Lane, which appeared on many year-end “Best Of 2017” lists including NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and more. Lilly also received an “Emerging Act of the Year” nomination from the Americana Music Association.

Following a whirlwind year of touring in support of Trinity Lane, and stripped of the daily rituals and direction of life on the road, Lilly found herself alone with her thoughts for the first time in what felt like ages. “When you’re out there on the road, you’re just kind of living, and you don’t have the chance to stop and think about how everything you’re experiencing is affecting you,” Lilly says. “When I got home, I realized there was a lot I needed to catch up on.” She did what’s always come most natural to her in times of questioning and uncertainty: she picked up a guitar.

As rewarding as Trinity Lane’s success was, the collection came from an emotionally challenging place, and Lilly found herself frequently revisiting the hurt and struggle that inspired it as she spoke candidly to the press about her painful breakup, her struggles with sobriety, and the overwhelming sadness of her mother’s suicide. Rather than succumbing to the weight of it all, Lilly managed to emerge stronger and more serene from the experience, treating it as a foundation from which she could begin the essential work of re-examining her relationships and the world around her. “When I got that little gap in my schedule, it gave me the chance to appreciate some mental stillness,” Lilly says. “I can be a pretty anxious person, but I found a sense of peace by deconstructing all of these interactions and emotions I’d experienced and reconfiguring them into songs. It helped me make sense of everything and learn to relax.”

The resulting eleven songs found on Walking Proof walk the line between Lilly’s rough, rock and roll exterior and her tender, country roots, exuding a bold vulnerability as she takes a deep and unflinching look in the mirror. What emerges is a maturity in her writing, an abiding sense of calm in the face of chaos as she learns that sometimes, you have to let go in order to get what you want most.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Modern Society - Bad Thoughts.

Cheshire alternative pop fourpiece The Modern Society have announced their debut single Bad Thoughts, released this weekend. Aged between only 17 and 18-years-old and forming the band whilst still at school, The Modern Society have a unique sound that blends indie and rock with funk and pop alongside youthful and direct lyrics.

Debut single Bad Thoughts, which was produced by Simon Jones (The Verve), opens with subdued pomp before building to a rock chorus backed by vivacious guitars and singer Lucas’ gravelly vocals. Lyrically addressing the dangers of not discussing mental health, the track is backed by a poignant video shot by Cinframe Productions, which features varies guises of the band themselves. The band say;

“Bad Thoughts is about the importance of addressing poor mental health in the 21st century, trying to avoid the distraction from our mental states. The song is accompanied by visuals demonstrating the danger of suffering in silence and how quickly life can turn upside down.”

The Modern Society have been building their local following playing shows in and around Cheshire over the last year, including a recent show at Manchester’s Band on the Wall. They will be performing at the Tivoli in Buckley tonight and the Jacaranda Club in Liverpool on 28th February, with further live dates announced soon. The Modern Society are Lucas Humpheys (vocals & piano), Declan Fowles (drums), Jack Varah (guitar & backing vocals) and Connor Loman (bass guitar and backing vocals).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malena Zavala - I'm Leaving Home.

Malena Zavala has today released new single ‘I’m Leaving Home’, and details of her second album, ‘La Yarará’, to be released April 17 on Yucatan Records. Zavala will follow the release with a headline show at London’s Courtyard Theatre on April 23. The follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2018 debut ‘Aliso’, ‘La Yarará’ cements Zavala as a new Anglo-Latin talent, with a unique songwriting perspective on where she’s from, where she’s headed and where her music can take us.

When you’re born in Argentina to parents with Italian passports, then grow up from a young age in Hertfordshire, it’s easy to feel like an outsider. Who are you? Where are you from? What do you sound like? Spanish language, Latin culture, Home Counties – which is the most you? With the gloriously rich and transporting ‘La Yarará’, Malena Zavala has come home. A beautifully-wrought love letter to the culture in her DNA, its ten songs are vivid, vital hymns to the various aspects, colours and shades of Latin music and culture: cumbia, reggaeton, Afro-Cuban, Afro-funk, Andean folk, Argentine folk, bolero-son. And all sung, in a mixture of Spanish and English, in Zavala’s passport-to-paradise voice.

“When I started making music it was more about expressing my emotions, and learning to write and produce music myself,” she explains. “With my first album Aliso, I had to get something off my chest. But now with this second album, it was about exploring and overcoming my identity issues – about not knowing where I belong. That’s something I’ve felt my whole life.”

After the release of ‘Aliso’ – described as “gently warped and beguilingly melancholy guitar pop” by The Guardian in their 4 star review - Zavala toured all over Europe and the UK supporting Lord Huron, Blanco White, and Men I Trust, before hitting the festival circuit. She then spent three months writing her second album in Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain.

Zavala and her close circle of collaborators recorded ‘La Yarará’ in two weeks last September at Urchin Studios in London Fields, with Zavala producing and Dani Bennett Spragg (Baxter Dury, The Amazons) engineering. “Urchin is a really beautiful, all wooden studio, which was really important for the sound of this album,” says Zavala. “I wanted it to feel like Buena Vista Social Club. I wanted to play the room, to feel the walls and wooden floors.” ‘I’m Leaving Home’ is out now and ‘La Yarará’ will be released on the April 17 on Yucatan Records.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ah - Jody and the Jerms - World/Inferno Friendship Society - Lilly Hiatt - Revolution, I Love You - Plastic Bubble - Modern Pomp

The Ah returns with 'The Factory Girl' just a few weeks after sharing 'Watermelon Tears' also taken from his forthcoming 'Mere Husk' album, the two songs suggesting this could well be a very creative collection of songs. === Jody and the Jerms have released their new E.P entitled 'Today' we shared one song from it last November and we have all four fabulous songs to devour today (if you excuse the pun). === Another band making a second appearance here are World/Inferno Friendship Society and the wonderfully titled track 'Having A Double Life Is So Hard (But Obviously Something You Enjoy) V1', where the music is again dynamic, addictive and original. === Lilly Hiatt has just released 'Brightest Star' a refined country rocker with plenty of heart and soul. === Another band back on Beehive Candy for a second time are Revolution, I Love You this time around we have the new track 'Vicious Vicious' the last single ahead of their next album and a powerful, yet detailed rhythmic rocker. === Accompanied by a cassette version of their new E.P Plastic Bubble have just released 'The Sitting In A Tree E.P' which is an ear catching indie psych pop collection of songs. === We have four really strong songs from the new Modern Pomp Dark Disco album 'Torn Apart', where originality exudes, and addictive instrumental music is ever present.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ah - The Factory Girl.

The Ah—solo project of composer and musician Jeremy Gustin (Rubblebucket, Okkervil River, Delicate Steve, Marc Ribot, Albert Hammond Jr, etc)—shared the second single from his forthcoming sophomore full-length Mere Husk. Following the lead single "Watermelon Tears," which caught the attention of PASTE ("displaying the happy energy of life"), The New York Times ("a burst of comic relief") and others,"The Factory Girl" features Gustin's friend, Yuan Liu, on vocals, who also stars in the track’s accompanying music video.

On the song, Gustin explains, "'The Factory Girl' is based on a traditional Irish song I first heard Margaret Barry sing. When struck by the beauty of the melody and the phrasing, I challenged myself to see what I could do with it to completely change the vibe, but keep the integrity of the melody. As I decided to not have vocals here, the narrative of the original, of course, is lost. But my friend Yuan just happened to be over my place at the moment I was recording this and I asked her to improvise some dialogue, which she did brilliantly. This of course alters the original narrative but keeps the underlying theme of love intact." The release of Mere Husk will be celebrated in conjunction with Gustin's forthcoming photography book Foundscapes (releasing with 11A Records) at Brooklyn NY's Step Bone Cut on February 1st. Mere Husk is available for preorder on Bandcamp (with a limited quantity of the album and book available as a bundle) and will be out January 31st via NNA Tapes.

Jeremy Gustin is a one-of-a-kind drummer who has toured and recorded with Rubblebucket, Okkervil River, David Byrne, Marc Ribot, Delicate Steve, and Albert Hammond Jr.. He has long been in demand for his ability to bring a touch of the unorthodox to highly structured and improvised musical settings alike, so it should come as no surprise that on his own solo project, The Ah, Gustin explores the outer boundaries of his imagination to the fullest. The Ah's new album Mere Husk, the follow-up to 2017’s Common Bliss, sees Gustin once again crafting animal noises, water sounds, miscellaneous found audio, and his own playing into a harmonic language that straddles the line between his love of pop songcraft and his equally strong attraction to the abstract. Rather than employ gurgling fish tank bubbles and dolphin calls for their ambient properties alone, for example, Gustin bends them beyond recognition so that they mimic synths or serve the role of instrumental parts in an arrangement that falls together like a classic "song" --- whether Gustin includes vocals or not. "I love songs and melody," says Gustin. "As much as I like unusual stuff, I'm a song guy at heart."

Gustin's longtime passion for photography gives us a window into The Ah's animated sonic universe. Whether he is out touring or just walking home from the grocery store, his eye is constantly drawn to the interplay of color, texture, and shape calling out to him from surfaces the rest of us might pass by without so much as a glance. A typical Gustin photograph captures what he refers to as “Foundscapes”: for example, multiple layers of posters on a Tribeca wall stripped and frayed to form an unintended collage; chipping paint rendered in such three-dimensional detail that it seems to invite your fingers to run across its contours; delicate veins of copper rust slowly eroding on a dented expanse of bright blue.

In several respects, The Ah is Gustin's musical answer to his visual Foundscapes. "When I'm writing music," he explains, "I look at it as something akin to archeology. It's not like 'This specific thing happened to me so I want the music to sound a specific way.' It's more like I'm chiseling away until a shape emerges and it starts to seem like music. In a way, I let the music create itself. I don't even see it as I'm creating so much as I'm just finding things. These materials are all around us all the time." As intuitive as Gustin's process may be, Mere Husk expands dramatically on the vision introduced with Common Bliss. Though twirling from playful to solemn and back again, Gustin's music is as easy to take in as watching the myriad shades of colorful marine life swimming through an aquarium.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jody and the Jerms - Today (E.P).

Following success and attention for singles released in late 2019 such as ‘He Doesn’t Know Me Much At All’ and ‘Never Going Home’, the indie-pop trio from Oxford have released their debut EP titled ‘Today’. Not only have the group been making an impact in their hometown of Oxford, but have sparked attention internationally with rotation plays from one of Spain’s biggest radio stations RTVE.

The EP has 4 tracks, starting with punchy title track ‘Today’, which showcases the melodic sounds of lead singer Jody Jeger’s voice, impactful drumming from Alex Bridge and an uplifting and bright guitar solo from Niall Jeger.

Tracks such as ‘Breathe’ show characteristics of twee pop with male/female harmonies and a catchy melody. While ‘He Doesn’t Know Me Much At All’ is certainly the most upbeat track, the EP has levels and dynamics with ‘Back In The World’ being a more chilled out number.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

World/Inferno Friendship Society - Having A Double Life Is So Hard (But Obviously Something You Enjoy) V1.

World/Inferno Friendship Society are back with a new single from their upcoming All Borders are Porous to Cats LP. The album is set to be released on January 17th 2020 via Alternative Tentacles. Catch the band on tour throughout January and February.

World/Inferno Friendship Society's long awaited new album dares you to try and decipher it’s multi-layered, encrypted message, while dragging you kicking and screaming through a succession of flashbacks, alternate realities and drug and alcohol induced delusions. While World / Inferno is known for its utter disregard for boundaries of genre, All Borders are Porous to Cats deliberately pushes the limits of what could possibly be perceived as punk rock. It scores tales of fugitives, arson, larceny, perjury, drug addiction and freedom with elements of soul, funk, latin, polka, and classical music, as well as World /Inferno’s signature punk cabaret sound. 3 years in the making, 4 missed release dates, 5 lost band members, many a bridge burned, and a defamation lawsuit waiting to happen, The World /Inferno Friendship Society invites you to enjoy the fruits of their perpetual torment.

Take it as a promise, and a patent fact: All Borders Are Porous to Cats. The World/Inferno Friendship Society’s 7th full-length LP finds the collective reset and reinvigorated, behind the lyrics of Jack Terricloth, apparent possessor of the punk rock fountain of everlasting style and rage. The album follows Cat in the Hat (no relation), an undocumented refugee who is framed for a crime and requires the assistance of a ragtag gang of miscreants, academics, orchestra-caliber musicians, and radical insurgents—sometimes art does in fact imitate life!

The album sees the band at its most expansive musically—covering everything from Bowie-esque ballads to Balkan punk stomps—to 2 Tone ska, and inflammatory lyrically, with tales of romance, righteous indignation, and resistance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly Hiatt - Brightest Star.

Following a whirlwind year of touring in support of Trinity Lane, and stripped of the daily rituals and direction of life on the road, Lilly found herself alone with her thoughts for the first time in what felt like ages. “When you’re out there on the road, you’re just kind of living, and you don’t have the chance to stop and think about how everything you’re experiencing is affecting you,” Lilly says. “When I got home, I realized there was a lot I needed to catch up on.” She did what’s always come most natural to her in times of questioning and uncertainty: she picked up a guitar.

As rewarding as Trinity Lane’s success was, the collection came from a emotionally challenging place, and Lilly found herself frequently visiting the hurt and struggle that inspired it as she spoke candidly to the press about her painful breakup, her struggles with sobriety, and the overwhelming sadness of her mother’s suicide. Rather than succumbing to the weight of it all, Lilly managed to emerge stronger and more serene from the experience, treating it as a foundation from which she could begin the essential work of re-examining her relationships and the world around her. “When I got that little gap in my schedule, it gave me the chance to appreciate some mental stillness,” Lilly says. “I can be a pretty anxious person, but I found a sense of peace by deconstructing all of these interactions and emotions I’d experienced and reconfiguring them into songs. It helped me make sense of everything and learn to relax.”

The resulting eleven songs found on Walking Proof walk the line between Lilly’s rough, rock and roll exterior and her tender, country roots, exuding a bold vulnerability as she takes a deep and unflinching look in the mirror. What emerges is a maturity in her writing, an abiding sense of calm in the face of chaos as she learns that sometimes, you have to let go in order to get what you want most.

Lilly Hiatt has also announced her initial tour dates in support of Walking Proof, launching April 2nd in Atlanta, GA. Prior to the tour, Lilly will embark on a run of solo acoustic dates supporting Hiss Golden Messenger beginning tonight in Wilmington, NC.  Please see all dates below.

Walking Proof will be available on compact disc, across digital platforms, and standard black vinyl. A Limited Edition Translucent Turquoise Vinyl Pressing featuring a Black & White 12x12 insert of the cover artwork will be available at Independent Retailers. A limited to 500 copies edition autographed by Lilly Hiatt will feature One-Of-A-Kind Random Colored Vinyl, a Black & White 12x12 cover artwork insert, and a box of colored pencils is available for pre-order now via New West Records.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Revolution, I Love You - Vicious Vicious.

Revolution, I Love You releases "Vicious Vicious” via Redeye USA. This is the last single the band will release before the arrival of their next album, Black Feathers.

The song takes a refrain heard often in the wake of too-frequent episodes of police violence against Black Americans and warps it, twisting it to reveal the words' sinister and callous undertones. The band manipulates textures throughout, running drums too hot through an old 4-track, chopping a vibraphone solo into something alien, and bending deep bass synths in ways that demand a subwoofer, creating an atmosphere charged with anxiety.

Coming in 2020, Black Feathers will be Revolution, I Love You’s first full-length record since their 2011 debut LP, We Choose to Go to the Moon. Black Feathers drops on February 7, 2020 and is available for pre-order here.

Revolution, I Love You is Rob Lindgren (lead vocals), Jason Reynolds (guitar), and Jeff Ormsby (drums). Noisetrade described the band’s first record as “exactly what’s been missing in your life”, praising its “perfect mix of real-world instruments and digital flourishes”. The Philadelphia-based band has been a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, performed at Toronto’s NXNE, and has a song included in the British National Library Sound Archive.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plastic Bubble - The Sitting In A Tree E.P.

Indie psych pop group Plastic Bubble's have a new release, The Sitting in a Tree EP. This 5-song platter is available physically in a limited cassette release from Louisville's Humanhood Recordings and is available for streaming and download on the label's site and our bandcamp page.

Matt Taylor formed Plastic Bubble in 2012 as a vehicle for the indie psych pop material he was recording at home with a rotating cast of friends in Louisville, KY.

Plastic Bubble evolved into a proper band for a few years before morphing back into a loose recording project/ fun little indie pop hobby club that could still become your favorite band.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modern Pomp - Torn Apart (Album).

Dark disco debut album out now. A dark disco in a fallout zone.

Swimming in a haunted pond at night. A relentless drum machine partnered with sad funk and a spring reverb loaded guitar.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------