Oddnesse - Novah - Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes - Madeline Tasquin

Oddnesse - I Used To.

Background - “It started with the keyboard part. Doug (Grey Goon) played it in the studio one day. It found it very peaceful and aligned with a kind of freedom I had been enjoying lately. That year I had driven alone from LA to Utah and back twice. I absolutely loved it, in the way I’ve always loved the independence of no one needing me, no one expecting me, no one to confer with about where I might stop, when I might leave, if I might come back. I was grateful on those trips (as one usually is) for the dissolution of a relationship I had been overly attached to.  I was grateful that my mind was clear and that I had the experience to myself. I was happy. I didn’t need to know what was next.” - Rebeca Arango

Oddnesse is the soulchild of songwriter-producer Rebeca Arango, a first generation American from Hoboken, New Jersey. Arango met her partner-in-crime, fellow songwriter-producer Grey Goon (aka Doug Walters), in Los Angeles. The two east-coast expats bonded easily over pop hooks and apocalyptic prep while sporting the mandatory black uniform of studio nerds who find solace spending hours inside making music even when it's very very nice out.

The Oddnesse directive is to construct heavy, harmonious dreamscapes of soaring melodies and simple grooves, pulled freely from a wide range of nostalgic sounds. The project features numerous contributors and collaborators, including musicians Casey Feldman, Eddie Rivera and Lauren Kinney (who all perform in the live band), and designer/art director Dexsy Repuyan. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

'I Used To' is the fourth song we have featured by Oddnesse this year. Last time we stated that "the ability to sound both powerful and yet uncomplicated is increasingly becoming a hallmark of their dreamy and passionate music." I stand by that assessment, with yet another fine track to enjoy.

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Novah - Ghost (featuring Amanda Mair).

Background - Stockholm-based Dream Pop band Novah have teamed up with acclaimed singer/songwriter Amanda Mair for new single ‘Ghost’. This follows their debut EP ‘Alaska’, which won them fans across Scandinavia, North America and the UK.

Taking their cues from the likes of Broken Social Scene, Beach House and The Radio Department, the track features industrial drum grooves, which are juxtaposed with haunting piano chords and Mair’s delicate voice. On working with Amanda Mair Novah told us: “Amanda is a really cool artist, we’ve been talking for a long time about doing a collaboration with her and when this song came up it just felt right.”

 Having recorded their debut EP on a remote island, a studios’ individuality has a significant effect on Novah’s recording process: “We were recording in Stockholm in a studio with an old upright piano, and started messing around with complex beats on a drum machine and then adding piano chords together with it. It took a while before it turned into something you can actually listen to… but it ended up as a beautiful song and we are very proud of this one!”

Novah consist of David Tranberg on Vocals/Guitar, Simon Hagström Rennerstedt on Vocals/Guitar/Keys, and Filip Hagström Rennerstedt on Bass. Raised on the same street on an island outside Stockholm, they played in different formations during their early teenage years until they decided to form their first band together at the age of 15 with British Indie as a common musical thread. The project quickly became serious, and their melancholic sounds can be heard on TV shows on networks such as MTV – their intense crescendos are the perfect backdrop for emotional drama. FACEBOOK.

We featured a couple of songs from Amanda Mair back in early October, this time she is featured in the new Novah piece 'Ghost'. This is a gentle dream pop track where the dual vocals contrast beautifully with a detailed & refined soundtrack adding additional dynamics.

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Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes - Swim Deep.

Background - Swedish indie/dream pop quartet Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes are back with an excellent first taste of their upcoming debut EP ‘Four Waters’. New single ‘Swim Deep’ explores the idea of wanting to hide away from your own mistakes in life, deconstructing the feeling behind wanting to simply “disappear”. Effervescent, intriguing pop music, with a pure Swedish heart, on this new single the band meld indie pop, electronic rock, and dream pop - into one fluid hybrid.

Prior to forming via Twitter, all 4 members of Steve Buscemi’s Dream Eyes had been operating in different small Stockholm bands. It was in the summer of 2015 that Tilde Hansen (bass, vocals) tweeted out a request for fellow musicians to start a new band. A couple of months later, Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes were formed.

Behind the odd name — you’ll find one of the most promising new bands on the blooming Swedish indie scene. With all the band members still at the tender age of 22, they’ve already picked up an impressive amount of attention; from both Sweden’s biggest music sites and influential international sources such as DIY, Billboard and Amazing Radio, Spotify also included the band’s 2016 dance-friendly indie pop single ‘Closer' in their Fresh Finds playlist which helped get the track into the top 10 on the Top 50 Viral in USA Spotify chart.

On 'Swim Deep', Siri Sjöberg leads the vocals, and bassist / songwriter Tilde Hansen said this on the lyrical meaning behind the new single: "Swim Deep is about wanting to hide from your mistakes and all the embarrassing things you’ve done. It’s about wanting to disappear and not having to deal with life. But then realising that you eventually have to face it all and stand for what you've said and done. There will always be people who do it better than you, but that doesn't matter because you will find your way and your people.” FACEBOOK.

'Swim Deep' is a mash of genres that come together in a coherent and gorgeous manner. Atmospheric and flowing, everything from the impassioned vocals to the intriguing musical arrangement works.

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Madeline Tasquin - Future Telephone.

Background - "The title track of Future Telephone is a lament on modern day (mis)communication. It was written, recorded, mixed and mastered in Montreal, but Madeline's been based in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2006. These past few years of living a bi-coastal lifestyle have made holding down an intimate relationship challenging. "The lyrics of this tune are paraphrased from actual lines and emotions spoken and felt by myself and my (now ex-) sweetheart in a long period in different timezones, when our words and intentions got lost in pixelation thanks to these future telephones we were trying to communicate complex emotions through.

This felt like the right title for the whole EP because these songs are largely a response to the heaviness of 2016 and they carry so much hope and love for humanity and this beautiful planet, but then I think to myself ... who knows if all that intention will land on peoples' hearts like I hope it will, or if it'll be "lost in pixelation" somehow. Or just drowned out by radio noise of modern life. I feel like our communication as a species is rife with misunderstanding, riddled with assumption and an epidemic single-mindedness. These songs carry with them a hope that we can regain some of our natural empathy and the humility that comes with some sense of the vast complexity of life and all things."

Accompanying herself on piano, guitar and ukulele, Canadian-Californian songcrafter Madeline Tasquin weaves from jazzy folk to soulful ballads in odd meters to playful new romantic pop to delicately dark musical fairytales, delivering it all with a stage presence that radiates joy. With influences including Primus to Billie Holiday to Joni Mitchell to Chopin, it's no surprise that her songs takes harmonic and rhythmic twists and turns, though whether performing solo or fronting one of her bands, she manages to pull this off without leaving anyone in the room behind. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Madeline Tasquin vocals are gentle & melodic to begin with, however they are clearly not without passion & power. 'Future Telephone' is a fabulous song, the music builds, with hints of jazz, folk and more.


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Pageants - Whitney Rose - Oddnesse

Pageants - Chai (חַי‎).

Background - Pageants' (members of Avi Buffalo, Cherry Glazzer & Best Coast) first single "Chai ( חַי)" has just been released. This teases their upcoming album 'Forever' which will be dropping November 3rd.

Pageants was formed by Rebecca Coleman in the aftermath of leaving Avi Buffalo (Sub Pop) in 2010, a band in which she was a founding member at the age of sixteen. Frustrated with clashing personalities and differences in musical sensibility, she, along with two other Avi Buffalo defectors, set out to revive the simplicity and spirit of earlier days. Diaristic yet dreamy and abstract in nature, her songs merge pop levity with melancholic lyrical undercurrents. 

Collaborating with boyfriend Devin O’Brien to flush out demos, their debut LP, ‘Forever’ was close to completion in 2015. When label interest around the album hit a wall, the band decided to hold off on finishing the record while pursuing other opportunities. 

Coleman continued to write, O’Brien focused on engineering and producing, while also being picked up by Cherry Glazerr (Secretly Canadian) to tour as their bassist and drummer Dylan Wood went on to play with Best Coast (Harvest). Inspired by fresh material and perspectives, Pageants decided to finish ‘Forever’ earlier this year and will be releasing their debut album via Eye•Dull Records. Website here.

'Chai (חַי‎)' is a gorgeous dream pop song with hints of indie rock. An attractive & emotional vibe runs throughout the song, giving it that play again feel, very impressive.

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Whitney Rose - Can't Stop Shakin'.

Background - Six months ago, Rose was primed to release South Texas Suite, a countrypolitan valentine to Austin, Texas. Days before the EP hit the streets and Rose kicked off a 4-month worldwide tour, the burgeoning songwriting force (and ‘country hair’ disciple) packed her boots for Nashville, where she entered BlackBird Studio A to reconvene with The Mavericks’ Raul Malo. In one short week, Rose, Malo and co-producer Niko Bolas channelled the tumult, turbulence and tension outside of the studio into Rose’s sophomore worldwide release, which includes nine self-penned songs. Playful yet uncompromising, Whitney Rose reminds us of popular music’s rich history of strong female voices and perspectives, and on Rule 62, Whitney Rose channels her inner Nancy Sinatra, Bobbie Gentry and Françoise Hardy.

Rule 62 finds Rose “breaking up with patriarchy”; a break-up evidenced by new songs that show verve, swagger and self-assurance in Rose’s instinctive sense of tone, broadened scope and attention to detail.  Rule 62’s ‘break up’ theme can be felt in songs like “Arizona” and “Time To Cry,” two fiery, merciless tunes that show Rose at the end of her rope with the manipulation and discrimination of women in the music business and beyond.

First single, “Can’t Stop Shakin’” was originally written as an anti-anxiety treatment in Memphis soul dance party form; however, recorded against an ominous political backdrop, the song now reverberates with an undercurrent of uncertainty and anger that reframes the self-calming shimmy as an act of protest.

Rule 62 is Rose’s second release of 2017, and sees the songwriter’s increased output matched by increased distinction. With so much touring now under the tires throughout North America, Europe and the UK, it’s no surprise that Rose’s best work yet often explores her journey woman’s experience. A move from her native Canada for a two month residency in Austin’s famed Americana bastion, the Continental Club, Rose describes as ‘lighting a fire in her’ and she felt compelled to stay. Smitten with Texas and the two-step dance culture, Rose found herself writing non-stop leading to the creation of both the self-produced EP South Texas Suite and Rule 62. Website here.

'Can't Stop Shakin' typifies the 'Rule 62' album, a collection of eleven modern country songs, that sometimes expand into other genres, broadening the appeal for this fine album. Centre to all of this are Whitney Rose's vocals, both melodic and interpretive, they have an impressive interchange with the musical arrangements, in fact the overall production of this album really does help all the key ingredients stand out.


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Oddnesse - Are You Down.

Background - The project began as a studio collaboration between musician Rebeca Arango and producer Grey Goon. The two east-coast expats had arrived independently in Los Angeles plagued by ghosts of old bands, with many gigs at the Cake Shop under their belts and expensive degrees in music on their linked-ins. 

They both shared a vision for infectious beautiful music with a dark, heavy groove and as friends occasionally dropped by the studio with contributions, Oddnesse was born. 

“I call this my “Pina Colada” song (in reference to the Rupert Holmes ditty). It’s a very confident and laid-back anticipation of my next lover, where I’m getting specific about calling in someone who can match my energy and approach to life. The question of going “slow” isn’t about romantic pacing per se (though that is important), it’s more about generally moving slow, never rushing to pack in too much all at once or getting anxious about “missing out,”  and preferring to sink in and explore the depths of all things.” - Rebeca Arango Website here, Facebook here.

Our third feature for Oddnesse this year, this time we have the new track 'Are You Down'. Consistently imaginative, Oddnesse up the stakes with each song they release, the ability to sound both powerful and yet uncomplicated is increasingly becoming a hallmark of their dreamy and passionate music.

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Six On Sunday: Carly Thomas - R. Missing - oddnesse - MOOON - Kristeen Young - Purmamarca

Carly Thomas - The Montreal Train Song.

Background - Born in Thailand and raised in Argentina, France, and various parts of North America, singer songwriter Carly Thomas can trace her insatiable wanderlust to a childhood in which she never lived anywhere longer than three years. Having attended four different high schools in three different countries, Carly is more skilled in the art of goodbye than most, channelling her experiences of change, loss and longing into heartfelt lyrics and beautiful acoustic guitar lines to create songs that have won over audiences from Paris to Manhattan.

With a strong, clear voice, thick with emotion, Carly's skillfully crafted Indie Folk songs are underpinned with a sincerity and truth that enthralls, she grabs listeners’ attention with gutsy stories of love and witty onstage banter, yet Carly isn’t afraid to expose her heart in order to help her listeners mend theirs. 

Latest EP 'Explode' was written in friends’ living rooms, on an 18-wheeler delivering bubble-gum, on transcontinental flights and beaches. These songs were written where Carly is most at home, on the road. Website here, Facebook here.

'The Montreal Train Song' is an up tempo indie folk song. It provides listeners with a good idea of the melodic and genuine music and feelings, that shine through in Carly's music.

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R. Missing - Kelly Was a Philistine.

Background - New York-based artist R. Missing have released their brand new EP Unsummering. The video for the first single “Kelly Was a Philistine” has been described as having a David Lynch-like feel. It highlights a complex relationship with the surrounding world, encapsulated by the chorus lyric, “Kelly was a philistine the last time we met, so why are we getting along?” You won’t find love songs here. You’ll find unloved songs. You won’t find summer, you’ll find Unsummering.

Unsummering, the first release under their new moniker R. Missing, expands on The Ropes’ previous palette of Morrissey tinged lyrics and darkwave. Unsummering manages to be even more isolated lyrically than their famously nihilistic previous work, fully embracing complete detachment. Musically, fraught guitar and synth textures paint an image of an unstable world, held together only by tightly quantized electronic drum beats. Website here, Facebook here.

The second of six songs on the new EP 'Kelly Was a Philistine' typifies the sound and darker atmospheric feel to be found across the collection. The synth textures and driving rhythm work well with the sometimes remote vocals in what is a quite addictive collection of songs.

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oddnesse - Scream.

Background - oddnesse is heavy hazy groovy classic. Over the weekend LA-based Oddnesse dropped her new single "Scream".

"Scream" marks the final track in a series of four that makes up Oddnesse's debut. 

Her first few songs have had strong support from Spotify - "Somewhere Somehow" making both the 'Fresh Finds' and 'New Indie' (1mil subscribers) Playlists and is averaging 7k streams/day since last week. 

Website here, Facebook here.

We featured the previous song 'Incoming Call' describing that as "a swirling, layered and creative feast of sounds". New track 'Scream' is a slower, more dreamy piece where the vocals add melody, whilst the soundtrack is at times powerful and yet never overwhelming. Putting all four songs together results in a very good and contrasting collection of material, no wonder we see the numbers cited above.

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MOOON - Mary You Wanna.

Background - Word around the corridors is that 2017 will be the year for the blues to burgeon once more. Be that as it may, that’s not what motivates MOOON, a young trio hailing from the placid town of Aarle-Rixtel. This band’s fire is lit by the works of preeminent deities like Blood, Sweat and Tears, Led Zeppelin, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Santana and Rory Gallagher.

Like these aforementioned artists, blues forms a vital cornerstone for MOOON, a fertile root from which to draw the ilk of psychedelics and garage rock. Tom de Jong, Gijs de Jong and Timo van Lierop may not have been part of the sixties and seventies – the decades when rock ‘n’ roll enjoyed its conception and tight-fisted reign – but their music is proof that its spirit remains an undying wellspring for expression.

MOOON will embark on a set of dates opening up for The Black Marble Selection and trot the festival circuit with slots at Here Comes The Summer and Tweetakt. Their debut LP Brew will be released at Excelsior Recordings this fall, with Mary You Wanna offering the first exciting glimpse of what’s to come. Website here, Facebook here.

If you had told me 'Mary You Wanna' was from the late sixties, I would be puzzling as to who the band was, and why I had never heard the song. MOOON capture a bygone era and bring it up to date with their energy and excitement. The video is both fab and groovy man, in fact it's way out.

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Kristeen Young - Nice.

Background - Kristeen Young Releases "Nice" Video plus SXSW Shows and a NYC Residency. Look out for a new LP this year. Originally from St. Louis, MO., Kristeen Young are a New York City based keys, bass, and drums (zeppelin-heavy, avant garde, piano-bash rock) trio.

Kristeen Young is also the front person, keyboard player and songwriter for the band, Sylvia Black plays bass, and Jefferson (Baby Jef) Wayne White is the drummer. Their sound has been described as prunk (prog/punk) but mixing in other genres at times, too, with Young singing operatically at times. They have toured extensively as support band for Morrissey, played (for their last album release) on the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson, and recorded a (Kristeen Young written) duet with David Bowie.

Kristeen Young have a (Tony Visconti co-produced) new album coming out in 2017 called Live at the Witch’s Tit on which Nick Zinner, of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, plays guitar on a few songs. Other guest guitarists include Vernon Reid (Living Colour) Sarah Register (Talk Normal), and John LaMacchia (Candiria). Website here, Facebook here, live dates on our tour page.

'Nice' is a refreshing blast of frenzied keyboard fronted rock'n'roll. From new wave to punk the song dips and swerves between genres whilst the vocals delight and to a degree hold everything together. Fabulous!!

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Purmamarca - Everything Under the Sun.

Background - Purmamarca is big on the numerical symbolism and appreciation for the fans who have been chompin' at the bit for this new record. So, this past Tuesday, Ryan Henry unleashed Bring Up the Soft Dreams to the world - exactly three years and three days of work later, as an act of love to the band's collaborators and contributors.

Streaming exclusively on Bandcamp, the band's first studio album, Bring Up the Soft Dreams, is now streaming in full. Bandcamp was a specific choice, as Purmamarca was part of the February 3rd ACLU fundraising frenzy on Bandcamp, offering previously unreleased song "Reservoir" to fans. For 24 hours, the band doubled down on Bandcamp's efforts and sent a portion of proceeds to the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the Sierra Club to help support the greater good.

Sometimes when we take risks and act bravely enough to say “goodbye,” we get a better chance to say “hello” to what we want. That’s exactly what happened when Ryan Henry from Purmamarca moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. For the first time since the band’s incarnation in 2012, the core members don’t exist within the same state borders. It’s an interesting time to release their debut, studio album, which is completely produced by Patrick Hyland, who works with Mitski. On March 7th 2017, the entire album, Bring Up the Soft Dreams, became available on all digital platforms. Facebook here.

We feature 'Everything Under the Sun' the first song on 'Bring Up the Soft Dreams'. Mixing layers of sound, melody and atmospheric vocals, all nine songs test out differing directions, whilst a constant vibe of dreamy ambient feeling is never far off.

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Six On Sunday: Oddnesse - Los Colognes - Dot Dash - No Joy - Winstons - The Forgotten Ghost

Oddnesse - Incoming Call.

Background - Fresh off the success of her first single “Somewhere Somehow”, which was recently featured on Spotify’s “Fresh Finds” and Apple Music’s “Isolation” playlists, Oddnesse dropped her second single entitled “Incoming Call”.

The project began as a studio collaboration between musician Rebeca Arango and producer Grey Goon. The two east-coast expats had arrived independently in Los Angeles plagued by ghosts of old bands, with many gigs at the Cake Shop under their belts and expensive degrees in music on their linked-ins. They both shared a vision for infectious beautiful music with a dark, heavy groove and as friends occasionally dropped by the studio with contributions, the band was born.

Both singles are taken from Oddnesse’s debut self-titled EP that will be released later this Spring via Myster Music. Facebook here. Buy here.

The music on 'Incoming Call' is a swirling, layered and creative feast of sounds. Add in the rhythmic vocals, and we have one very addictive and intriguing song.

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Los Colognes - Flying Apart.

Background - Nashville based Los Colognes have just announced their third album The Wave, out May 12th via Big Deal Media / Thirty Tigers. One of the highest and rarest aspirations in popular music is to reach for the transcendental, to access the spirit. On The Wave, Los Colognes succeeds at this – in breaking through the confines of everyday pop song lyricism to tell a holistic story. It’s not a concept piece, but it’s a brooding and joyful song cycle filled with philosophical rumination, effortless hooks, inspiring musicianship, and expansive arrangements. It’s an album perfectly suited of the current zeitgeist of unease and hope.

Guitarist/singer Jay Rutherford opines in “Flying Apart” - ‘Nobody believed / We’re all just hoping / Floating down streams.” It’s a song that invokes “the wave” metaphor of the album’s title, while churning through its own sonic sea of shimmering keyboards and guitars anchored by drummer Aaron Mortenson. The music evokes any of the best moments of late seventies or mid eighties FM radio while never being weighed down by the specter of influence. Los Colognes are a young band who have managed to forge their own sound while channeling the best sonic worlds of the decades past. Website here, Facebook here. Tour dates on the next page.

The first track from forthcoming album 'The Wave' is the song 'Flying Apart'. After a brief wall of sound intro, we are into a melodic, upbeat soundtrack with vocals adding in some additional feeling. As a taste of what's to come, then it's job done, I'm hooked.

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Dot Dash - 5/5/5 (EP).

Background - Over the last five years Washington D.C.-based Dot Dash has had five albums released, all via Canadian indie label The Beautiful Music. The band have a newly released free-for-download 5-song Dot Dash digital e.p. This comprises of five songs, one from each album.

Dot Dash has played shows with The B-52s, Tommy Keene, The Fleshtones, Ash, The Psychedelic Furs, The Chameleons, The Dickies, Hugh Cornwell, The Monochrome Set, Ian Hunter, Stiff Little Fingers, Glen Matlock, The Bats, Sylvain Sylvain, The Godfathers, Wussy, Urge Overkill, The Drums, The Trashcan Sinatras, Frankie Rose, The Clientele, Drivin'n'Cryin', The Empty Hearts, Matt Pond PA, Jack Grisham, Moon Duo, Chris Stamey, Wax Idols, The Explorers Club, Allo Darlin', The Supersuckers, Stevie Jackson, and lots of other rocking combos.

Washington Post: “Everything we've ever read about Dot Dash plays up the group's collective resume: Singer/guitarist Terry Banks was in St. Christopher and the Saturday People before teaming up with bassist Hunter Bennett in acclaimed indie-rock band Julie Ocean; guitarist Steve Hansgen played bass for hardcore legends Minor Threat and Government Issue, and then the mod group Modest Proposal; drummer Danny Ingram co-founded harDCore band Youth Brigade. Very impressive. But we're more interested in the music, a retro cocktail that recalls the yearning indie-pop of Sarah Records; the '80s neo-Byrds jangle of R.E.M., Orange Juice and other seminal college radio artists, and the tight, throbbing basslines and slashing guitars that evoke the Jam and the Clash."  Facebook here.

The new EP '5/5/5' with one track each from the bands five albums released so far, is a good way to get to know their music. These are no copycats, they consistently create indie rock & pop (and more), of a high calibre, and the comparisons above are at best references of their quality. Checking out who they have performed with along the way, says a lot more.

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No Joy - Califone.

Background - For most listeners, No Joy are a standout from the shoegaze revival, that wall of noise lead by its two female band members Jasamine White-Gluz and Laura Lloyd and their long headbanging blonde locks. In a 2011 Blackbook piece on the band’s detached yet visceral live show, the writer coyly commented “they are playing with their backs to the audience…shy girls.”

For years, principal songwriter and lead vocalist Jasamine White-Gluz was that shy girl. It translated onto their albums (her voice was never too high in the mixes, constantly obscured by layers of guitar) as well as their live shows (instead of standing center stage in the shows, she opted to stay hidden in the corner of the stage). With the latest effort Creep EP, (Street Date, February 24th, 2017) White-Gluz is starting to shed those insecurities and bring a revived spirit to who we know as No Joy.

As the principal writer of their past catalog, White-Gluz steers the material on Creep in new directions, drawing on varied influences ranging from Industrial to New Age. With co-writer and producer Jorge Elbrecht (Violens, Ariel Pink, Tamaryn, Lansing-Dreiden), the pair create a soundscape that is both familiar and fresh. Tracked in Montreal at Hotel 2 Tango and in White-Gluz’s Little Italy apartment, the sound is huge. Dynamic juxtapositions of dark and light, feminine and virile are cemented together with their signature earworm hooks. No Joy are challenging themselves by distancing from the traditional rock band formula, creating a new live show to accompany the release.

By taking control of their new direction, it’s the beginning of a new era for No Joy. Facebook here. See out Tour page for live dates. Amazon here.

From the forthcoming EP we have 'Califone', a jangly and melodic track. With the shoegaze vibe a little more understated, the vocals and musicianship really standout, an indicator of the quality and growing confidence to be found on the new release.

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Winstons - Without You.

Background - Winstons have released a new single "Without You". It will be part of a release slated to come out later this year. The band released two EP's in 2015 entitled 'Turpentine' & 'Black Dust'. The new single came out on Friday via Grand Jury.

Winstons is a garage-soul duo out of Virginia, residing in Brooklyn. They do love songs, blue songs, and dance songs with drums, guitar, harmonies, and a harmonica. Their live show is raw and earnest, with a dynamic juxtaposing devotion and depravity. Their sound has drawn comparisons to Screaming' Jay Hawkins and The Cramps. They self-released two EPs in 2015. Website here, Facebook here. Buy track here.

As genre crossovers go, garage soul was bound to be a must listen for myself. 'Without You' is all of that and more. The vocals are just so naturally soulful and genuine, whilst the guitar rock vibes make a surprisingly suitable musical soundtrack. Winston's have got something special going on here.

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The Forgotten Ghost - Too Close To The Sun.

Background - Clown is Melbourne based, Scottish born, James Henderson’s 5th solo studio album and his debut under the pseudonym, The Forgotten Ghost. He composed all the instrumentation and enlisted some very talented friends to assist with the final recording.

‘Too Close To The Sun’ is the first preview of the forthcoming album. Ambitious and beautiful instrumentation characterises the new single, akin to the most lush tracks on Elliott Smith’s XO. James’ delicate falsetto carries a haunting melody through the song, ranging in atmosphere from intimacy to epic strokes.

Clown was recorded over the course of one year and was engineered and co-produced by Peter Camilleri (brother of Jo Camilleri) who has worked with artists such as the Black Sorrows, Jo Jo Zep, Renay Geyer and Paul Kelly. Clown was recorded in various locations across Melbourne including the famous Buckland room in Melbourne’s Arts Centre (home to the MSO) and was mastered by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios. Peter was chosen to master the record due to his work with David Bowie and the Beatles. “I feel very privileged to have been able to work with Peter, his knowledge and experience have added a beautiful sparkle to the finished recording”, says James.

At the beginning of 2016 James set out with intention of moving The Forgotten Ghost from a solo project into a band and slowly amassed a collective of very talented musicians. With the addition of Kirsty Morphet’s stunning voice and beautiful piano, Cam Pretipino’s solidifying bass and Conrad Tracey’s thoughtful drums, the live performances so far have been extremely well received. ‘Too Close To The Sun’ by The Forgotten Ghost will be released 3rd of February 2017. Website here, Facebook here.

'Too Close To The Sun' almost tiptoes into being. James Henderson’s falsetto vocals emerge against a piano soundtrack and we build towards a fuller and delightfully arranged piece. Melodic and refined this is a superb song.

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