sir Was and Casper Clausen just released 'Flyder' and it's a creative beauty, with gliding vocals and a wonderful soundscape. === Just a week after featuring 'Clean' from Sam Valdez she returns with another gorgeous song entitled 'Toothache' and again her blend of genres (anything from Shoegaze to Americana) really impresses.
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sir Was and Casper Clausen - Flyder.
sir Was and Casper Clausen, singer of experimental Danish post-rockers Efterklang, yesterday released their collaboration ‘Flyder’ ( Floating). sir Was’ album ‘Holding on to a Dream’ and recent follow up EP ‘Letter’ have received praise and support worldwide from BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, Radio Nova, KCRW, Double J, Complex, Les Inrocks and Notion. He headlined Scala in November and would have had a mainstage appearance at All Points East alongside Tame Impala and Caribou before the current lockdown.
Efterklang released their 6th studio album 'Altid Sammen' in Sep 2019 which was a welcome return for their multitudes of dedicated fans. They took the album on a sold out European and US tour peaking in a triumphant celebration at the stunning concert venue Elphilharmonie in Hamburg. Joel and Casper first met whilst in Berlin when they were both invited to be part of PEOPLE, a 7-day creative experience put together by and involving musicians including Beirut’s Zach Condon, Justin Vernon, Feist and the National’s Dessner brothers.
Casper recalls “It was a kinda love at first sight, Joel and I clicked and during that week of creation, we developed a friendship which led to many more hangs and recordings over the past couple of years. Joel joined the Efterklang recordings of our most recent album “Altid Sammen” last year and we also wrote the Efterklang song “Lyset” together in Joel’ studio in Gothenburg. I love writing music with Joel, his ability to frame a moment and his ear for melody, texture and groove is a rare treat to be around. We supplement each other well and we have a lot of fun making music together.”
‘Flyder’ started as a small sketch around the time when Joel went to join the Efterklang recordings in Copenhagen last year. After bouncing the song back and forth, between Gothenberg and Casper’s studio in Almada (looking across the bay to Lisbon), the song was finally finished off by Joel back in Gothenburg where he added his signature live drums and production magic. The result is a sumptuous track that bears the unmistakable warm sir Was sound and Casper’s tender vocal sung in his native Danish.
“Flyder is a song to the stream that carries our boat, a celebration and a fear for the metaphysical place where we decide to stay and grow our roots, our home on a floating dock, a moving hub and a made-up flower of all the things we give importance. When you manage to let go on your own power of control, when you are floating and staying at the same time.”
Sam Valdez’s immersive indie-rock sensibility reflects her childhood growing up at the edge of the Nevada desert, and her formative musical experiences as a child violinist. The mystery, beauty, and haunting quality of desert life has shaped the LA-based artist’s sense of dreamy textures, and her flair for abstract but emotive lyrics. Classical music’s majesty has informed her imaginative arrangements, and cinematic sense of dynamics.
Sam has melded in an intriguing blend of shoe-gaze, Americana, indie-rock, and pop into a signature aesthetic. Select career highlights thus far include garnering rave reviews in Clash Music, Consequence of Sound, and Earmilk; earning heavy rotation from KCRW for multiple singles; and opening tours for Stella Donnelly, Cayucas, and Giant Rooks.
“I’ve always tried to write from the most genuine place that I can, but, lately, and with this record, I’ve been working on sharing more sides of my views and emotions,” Sam details.
A feeling of 1960s nostalgic balladry courses through many of thesongs on Sam’s debut. She says:” Melancholic, comforting and thought provoking is what I look forin music and what I feel and hope comes across in mine.” The album’s first single, “Toothache,” is a reverb-dipped slow burner glowering with sensual vocals and a twist on a breakup narrative. Here, the feeling is a longing to reconnect with one’s sense of self post romantic rupture.
Westberg have released 'Simple' today and the duo are powerful and hard to ignore from the opening moments with the clarity of their sound, along with a good few hooks throughout the track. === Sam Valdez has been featured here a couple of times in the past and her new song 'Clean' reminded me immediately of just why, her music exudes natural passion and addictive vibes. === Maps & His Mothball Fleet have also released a new single today with the charming 'Coastal Living' and it's a song that has elements of yacht rock alongside some deeper more emotional and absorbing features.
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Westberg - Simple.
Westberg, the Gen X duo of Ariel Westberg and Scott Bruzenak (aka Noisecastle III), wanted to get back to simple. That didn’t mean their usual experimentation was off the table: they collected melodic fragments and blended some of their hallmark eclectic harmonic detours that still ended up in several songs on the resultant album, Boomer Studies, due out Sept 18.
The first single off the album, coincidentally titled “Simple” is a generous reflection on aging gracefully, by a musical collaboration still a long way from being done creating surprises for their listeners. “Simple” is released today June 29.
Focused on pure, classic American songwriting, Westberg and RIAA-certified multi-platinum pop/electronic producer Bruzenak decidedly went “negative but nice this time around.” The former latchkey kids know how to raid their mental closets for musical shoebox memories. The conspicuous result on this album is the song, “Simple,” which features the multi ranging Westberg’s intentionally “bone dry” vocals strolling through a canopy of big guitar exclamation points that will be familiar to Tom Petty fans.
Though Westberg often surprises by taking on characters and tones in her songs as the music shifts gears, here she summons the easy strains emanating through the suburbs from a car radio in the 90’s to channel innocence and plain love of our time. Recognizing the duo’s inclination to complicate and layer, Westberg chose a quieter, lyrical intimacy to relate: In my younger days / I had a lot of things to say / And I’d do it all the hard way / Didn’t care if it was complicated/ Didn’t care if I was compensated.
Sam Valdez shares, "Clean is a love song in a way but it’s more about being drawn to self destruction. It’s about finding comfort in uncertainty and appreciating the darker qualities in someone as well as the good."
Sam Valdez’s immersive indie-rock sensibility reflects her childhood growing up at the edge of the Nevada desert, and her formative musical experiences as a child violinist. The mystery, beauty, and haunting quality of desert life has shaped the LA-based artist’s sense of dreamy textures, and her flair for abstract but emotive lyrics. Classical music’s majesty has informed her imaginative arrangements, and cinematic sense of dynamics.
Sam has melded in an intriguing blend of shoe-gaze, Americana, indie-rock, and pop into a signature aesthetic. Select career highlights thus far include garnering rave reviews in Clash Music, Consequence of Sound, and Earmilk; earning heavy rotation from KCRW for multiple singles; and opening tours for Stella Donnelly, Cayucas, and Giant Rooks.
“I’ve always tried to write from the most genuine place that I can, but, lately, and with this record, I’ve been working on sharing more sides of my views and emotions,” Sam details.
A feeling of 1960s nostalgic balladry courses through many of thesongs on Sam’s debut. She says:” Melancholic, comforting and thought provoking is what I look forin music and what I feel and hope comes across in mine.” The album’s first single, “Toothache,” is a reverb-dipped slow burner glowering with sensual vocals and a twist on a breakup narrative. Here, the feeling is a longing to reconnect with one’s sense of self post romantic rupture.
Maps & His Mothball Fleet announces the release of the yacht rock single “Coastal Living” on June 29. The sun-drenched boy-girl harmonies flirt at summer romance within a melodic haze. “Coastal Living” is the first single off the upcoming album, GULF, due out on August 21 on Azteca Records.
Matt Wanamaker, the heart behind Maps & His Mothball Fleet wrote and recorded the vocals, percussion, and some acoustic guitar for a number of songs on a combination of his phone and handheld tape dictation while working overseas in Afghanistan in 2013. When he went back to sea again in 2018 he wrote over 50 more songs. “Coastal Living” is a warm sea salt kissed single born from those demos. Hayley Richardson joins Wanamaker in a bright call-and-response harmony telling the story of a beach hermit surprised with a love note from a lost love, urging him to take a risk and pursue her. Wanamaker paints a picture from a musical pallet shaded in sunset hues.
As the world tiptoes into a post-pandemic way of life, feelings of anxiety and hesitation are amplified by distance from family and friends. Wanamaker experienced all of these emotions in international isolation. While feelings of isolation might not be unfamiliar for those in the military, the feeling of trying to reconnect afterward is. He explains, “The album describes the feeling of physical separation I had while away and the distance that I was trying to deal with upon coming home.” The album is called GULF not only because it was written along the Gulf of Mexico and the Persian Gulf, but to describe that tangible separation and the ravine of emotional distance that come along with it.
The songs on GULF remain centered on a particular lo-fi aesthetic, prompted by the time and place for which it was recorded as much as by when it was embellished. These homespun nuances become an honest first-person account hidden by the melodies and stories that Wanamaker managed to produce all alone at night…once again adrift at sea.
ROCH has released Blackbird a compelling and atmospheric song with her remarkable vocals adding so much more. 'You've Misjudged Your Jacket Again' is one grand song title and Mark Corrin's wry comedic observations remain intriguing to say the least. James Parm has a new album called 'Oh My Darling' (which you can stream in full below), it's a creative and genre spanning affair and a fine listen at that. 'Through the Woods, Pt.1' from Swiss alt rockers Cold Reading mixes melodic hooks with notable rock vocals as the band deliver an uptempo rocker. Ruthie has already gained the attention of BBC radio stations among others and 'Spirit Now Moves' pretty much explains why, this is one excellent song. Emily Jean Flack shares a live in the studio version of 'Throwing Shapes' where some Irish musical influences are present, however her creative and genre crossing delivery makes the song rather special. Finally today we have 'Turn' from Sam Valdez, where the combination of Americana influences and shoegaze are an absolute delight.
ROCH - Blackbird.
ROCH is 24 year old Kate Miller. Based in London, her spiralling pop-leaning creations to date have piqued the interest of many. During a 2 year absence from the limelight, ROCH spent time completing her degree as a sculptor artist - as well as writing the songs that will eventually form her debut album.
Now she releases 'Blackbird' - a taste of what's to come. Lyrically - the track invites the listener to challenge the norm; to not be satisfied with the status quo.
"You are more than the tale you've become / you are more than the robe you wear" ROCH sings in the throbbing, chant-like verse section. "It's something of a one-way conversation with a blackbird, encouraging it to go out and fulfil its potential." she explains.
Built around a repetitive, enchanting guitar loop and procession-like drum patterns - ROCH's vocal delivery verges on the theatrical, perhaps even operatic - to a backdrop of otherworldly electronics and glitching production motifs. Produced with Ben Christophers, known for his work with Bat For Lashes, and more recently Nakhane - 'Blackbird' is just a glimpse of what's to come from ROCH.
Mark Corrin’s early releases as “Shirokuma” were frequently broadcast on the John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1, and his more recent solo work has featured on BBC Late Junction with Nick Luscombe.
He also presents a weekly music radio show himself on Salford City Radio and has collaborated and performed with several notable artists from all over the world both live and on record.
He has previously also been a member of groups including Una Baines’ (The Fall) band Poppycock, Rose & The Diamond Hand and is currently working with a new group called Elastikbande.
“Pub Bin” a digital only release is described as a dark comedy concept album set mostly in the venues, shops, offices, pubs and bins of modern Manchester. Blending electro pop and punk with Mark's wry observational humour this is the album to lighten the mood of a distressed nation, and world! 19th April sees the release of a new album from Mark Corrin.
James Parm hails from the suburbs of Montreal, CA, and has been active in the local music scene ever since his first band began playing shows across the city when he was a teen, melding his childhood influences of 90’s garage rock with his love of jazz and hip hop.
Years of performing, writing, and challenging himself creatively led him to believe things were on track for a breakthrough in the local scene, but after a devastating breakup with his long-term girlfriend, James decided to sideline his musical ambitions and spent his savings on a 3-month trip across South East Asia. He returned to Montreal renewed, only to realize his job had been swept out from under him and his band had broken up. A lost boy, with no money and frayed connections, Parm felt the weight of reality pressing down on him hard.
Weathering the fall out, James succumbed to the life of a loner, finding work at a bar downtown while living on the outskirts of the city. The music he called to write expressed his distaste for the vapid, materialistic lifestyle he was privy to. “It seemed like everyone around me was hyper focused on satiating their ego desires. They would do drugs, party, drink, fuck, but never feel satisfied,” Parm asserts. “I feel like my music is just a process that allows me to slowly unravel what isn’t truthful about life, so I applied it to processing this feeling of being a cultural outsider.”
The resulting recordings which make up the forthcoming LP, Oh My Darling (due out this Spring), are a clear indication of Parm’s penchant for mixing downer pop rock with jazzy hip hop dynamics. Sure, he is clearly exercising his demons, but the tightly wound tracks also operate as a larger criticism of his generations vapid take on love and the cheapening of sex by a moralless and manufactured culture. And just as his early influences, like Nirvana and the Pixies, served as a pick-me-up for a generation of misfit teens, Parm’s album is a perfect companion for anyone experiencing a sense of disillusionment with their life.
After a one-year break from playing shows, Swiss Alternative Rock band Cold Reading are back with an extended line-up and a new single 'Through the Woods, Pt.1'! The band, which now operates as a quintet after the addition of guitarist Alain Schurter, has spent the past year intensively working on new material. In October 2018 the band finally hit the studio to record the new songs with producer Jan Kerscher (Mutiny On The Bounty, The Intersphere, EF among others) at Ghost City Recordings in Germany.
The result is a three-part concept album, the parts of which will first be released as digital EPs and then as a full-length album on vinyl. The first EP is called "Part 1: Past Perfect" and will be released on May 24th digitally via Berlin based label Krod Records.
The first single opens with a powerful and intense riff, next to which the following first verse seems almost fragile. With atmospheric synthesizers and subtle guitar lines, Cold Reading draw back to leave room to vocalist Michael Portmann’s lyrics. The almost apprehensive mood evoked here dissolves masterfully into a hopeful, driving chorus. 'Through the Woods, Pt. 1' manages the feat of simultaneously marking the first chapter of something bigger, as well as standing on its own as a song. Singer Michael Portmann describes the lyrical content as follows:
'Through the Woods, Pt.1' addresses the handling of unexpected life changes. After the involuntary exclusion from a familiar environment, the lyrical "I" initially remains disoriented and hopeless. After a gradual recognition of and adaptation to the new reality, a journey of self-discovery through time and space follows. Standstill becomes movement. The listener therefore observes a maturing process of the fictitious protagonist.”
After releasing just two tracks - ‘What Kind of Woman’ and ‘Spirit Now Moves’ - the Leeds-based songwriter and musician Ruthie is picking up the attention that her talents deserve. She’s already earned airplay at Radio 1, Beats 1, 6 Music, Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing and Australia’s triple j, together with numerous key playlists at Spotify and Amazon.
Now Ruthie, real name Naomi Baguley, drops her debut video for ‘Spirit Now Moves’. Filmed in East London and directed by Kamil Dymek (co-creator of FACT TV), the video opens in introspective style before the song’s uplifting conclusion is complemented by Ruthie’s infectious love of performing.
“So far Ruthie has been a project based in my flat and studios, writing and recording, so it’s been quite an insular process,” says Naomi. “The ‘Spirit Now Moves’ video is an opportunity for me to explore what Ruthie can be visually and aesthetically, in the real world...and to have a one-woman party wearing suits.”
Both of Ruthie’s singles to date reflect upon the challenges of moving on from heartache as she left Berlin for a new beginning back home in Leeds. Reconnecting with her creative collaborator Ben Lewis, her recent rise shows that the closure of one chapter in her life proved to be the impetus for an exciting new start. Channeling the Laurel Canyon tradition with psyche-rock exploration paired with a pop sentiment, Ruthie’s signature style puts a personal twist on influences such as Joni Mitchell, Angel Olsen and Jenny Lewis.
The daughter of Denise Flack, member of the ground-breaking Celtic pop band 'Leahy', Canadian, Emily Jean Flack moved to Ireland to study a masters in Traditional Irish Music at the University of Limerick. Her passion for traditional Irish music has led to her most accomplished work yet, showcasing her gorgeously pure vocals and the Celtic music she has grown up with, whilst injecting inventive electronic textures - a genre-spanning mix which defies expectation and delivers on every level.
Her latest live video for the title track of her recent EP 'Throwing Shapes' showcases Emily at her absolute best, with her stunning band in tow. Flawless vocals over genre defying music, full of emotion with perfectly arranged instrumentation, reminiscent of Bon Iver's epic 2012 live session for iTunes.
The new EP 'Throwing Shapes' produced in Belfast by Pete Wallace and mixed by three-time Grammy Award winning producer/mixer David Bottrill (Tool; Peter Gabriel), Throwing Shapes also featured guest performances by true stars in the firmament of Irish folk music - whistle and flute player Brian Finnegan from the band Flook and guitarist Marty Barry.
Sam Valdez is a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter, whose music is built upon the fusion of shoegaze and vintage Americana indie folk. Embodying the best of both genres, Valdez has created dreamy, yet haunting atmospheric soundscapes that resonate with her listeners.
Valdez grew up at the edge of the Nevada desert, in Las Vegas and credits the desert as a major influence in her writing and composing. The vastness and solitude of desert life is apparent throughout her writing, with cinematic resonance and euphoric arrangements.
After performing in numerous bands, she found the essence of her solo sound and decided to run with it, indulging in her own creative process and ultimately developing a sound that is true to her own. As a classically trained violinist, Valdez has a sense of musical maturity within her songs, adding technicalities that bring her to the forefront of her genre.
Leading single ‘Turn’ narrates the feeling of not being respected by others and learning how to start representing yourself and your values. Sometimes it’s best to just leave things behind, rather than trying to band-aid every situation. Featuring resonating guitar, ethereal vocals and glistening shoegaze inflections, ‘Turn’ exudes charm with a hint of grittiness.
Background - The new single from Canadian roots-rocker Terra Lightfoot - Norma Gale is taken from the new album New Mistakes. Terra explains - "I was inspired to write this song after meeting a Canadian woman named Norma Gale who was a near-famous country star in the 1970s. She played all over the world but specifically had a great following in Nashville, played with Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty. This song is one of my first songwriter songs, I'd say. It chronicles the life of Norma as a musician in the ’70s, and trying to bring up her young son while she's gunning for sustainable success. I kept in touch with Norma and her son and let them know when I finally made it to Nashville to do some writing, but unfortunately she had passed away two weeks earlier."
Following the release of Every Time My Mind Runs Wild in the UK last year, Hamilton’s Terra Lightfoot back with a brand new album New Mistakes available now on Sonic Unyon Records, with UK tour dates to be announced soon.
With New Mistakes, Canada’s Lightfoot offers up something rare: the kind of genuine document that can only come from a road-tested breed of songwriter and performer. Shot through with the guitarist-vocalist’s powerful, bluesy soul, vivid lyrics and ferocious six-string virtuosity, it’s an unforgettable album that will have you hooked in seconds.
From the ground-shaking stomp of first single “Paradise” about and the wild-eyed energy of “Pinball King” that open the album, to the psychedelic, gospel-tinged album closer “Lonesome Eyes,” the steel town native’s third record distills her masterful talent to its electrifying essence. FACEBOOK.
Fourth time around on Beehive Candy for Terra Lightfoot with the new single 'Norma Gale' taken from the equally new album 'New Mistakes'. I am well aware that Terra Lightfoot can deliver some full on & foot stomping rockers, this shows another side of her music, with a more measured rock ballad, which mixes emotion & melodic power with considerable style.
Background - Sam Valdez is a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter, whose music is built upon the fusion of shoegaze and vintage Americana indie folk. Embodying the best of both genres, Valdez has created dreamy, yet haunting atmospheric soundscapes that resonate with her listeners.
Valdez grew up at the edge of the Nevada desert, in Las Vegas and credits the desert as a major influence in her writing and composing. The vastness and solitude of desert life is apparent throughout her writing, with cinematic resonance and euphoric arrangements.
After performing in numerous bands, she found the essence of her solo sound and decided to run with it, indulging in her own creative process and ultimately developing a sound that is true to her own. As a classically trained violinist, Valdez has a sense of musical maturity within her songs, adding technicalities that bring her to the forefront of her genre.
Lead single, ‘Its Alright’ oozes beauty and grace through it’s forthright lyrics. Featuring fuzzy 90’s shoegaze melodies, wistfully innocent vocals and driving drum rhythms, it’s a melancholic tale of both love and loss. ‘Its Alright’ thematically focuses on coping with the disillusion that comes with relationships. Valdez reveals, “I wrote this song in a dream-like state of mind”.
Valdez has seen success with her previous release ‘Hours’ receiving acclaim from prestigious media outlets including Black Book. She has also performed at high profile venues throughout Los Angeles. FACEBOOK.
I was fascinated by the above promos description "(her) music is built upon the fusion of shoegaze and vintage Americana indie folk". That's quite a stretch however 'It's Alright' suggests it's a pretty apt description, where the delights of these differing genres combine to create a fabulous sound. It's worth mentioning that the song is also a very good composition, where melodic hooks and atmospheric vibes add even more!
Background - Scottish artist ONR. (aka Robert Shields) started making waves after leaking some demos via indie label Leftwing, then was swiftly signed to Capitol Records in the US. Debut single “Jericho” was released this summer, and has received early support from LA stations KCRW and KCSN.
Early reviews have lauded the ‘supreme confidence’ of ONR.’s sound, drawing comparisons to Echo & The Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, Arcade Fire and David Bowie.
"I'm delighted to release the official video to debut track Jericho," says ONR. "We’ve really tried to capture those first few months of our beginnings -- so like the track itself, it’s a bit of where we’re from, a bit of who we are, a bit of what we do. The response to Jericho has been just incredible, I cannot thank everyone enough for their support. And this is is only the start."
ONR. recently performed on the main stage at Electric Fields Festival in his hometown of Dumfries & Galloway, and was one of the first artists announced to perform at the 2018 SXSW Music Festival. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.
'Jericho' has a natural & almost live feel to it particularly towards the beginning. Beautifully layered, the song builds with power and passion, ONR are definitely on our 'watch out for' list.
