Beauty in Chaos - Papercuts - The Peppermint Club - Peluché - Many Voices Speak

Beauty in Chaos - Storm.

Background - LA-based Beauty in Chaos has announced the debut album ‘Finding Beauty in Chaos’. Born of frustration and creativity, this is an audio assemblage curated by LA-based guitarist Michael Ciravolo and produced by Michael Rozon. This colossal work is previewed by the lead single ‘Storm’ featuring Ashton Nyte (The Awakening, MGT).

The debut album ‘Finding Beauty in Chaos’ features numerous luminaries in the music world, both as co-writers and performers. Apart from Ashton Nyte, these include Wayne Hussey (The Mission), Simon Gallup (The Cure), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Al Jourgensen (Ministry), Pete Parada (The Offspring), dUg Pinnick (Kings X), ICE-T (Body Count), Michael Aston (Gene Loves Jezebel), Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Dirk Doucette (Gene Loves Jezebel), Pando (A Flock of Seagulls), Evi Vine (Evi Vine), Betsy Martin (Caterwaul / Purr Machine), Marc Danzeisen (The Riverdogs), Kevin Kipnis (Purr Machine / Kommunity FK), Rudy Matchinga (Red Scare), Johnny Indovina (Human Drama), and Tish Ciravolo (Stun Gun).

“I look at this as an evolving entity that I am the ‘curator’. For this album, ‘Finding Beauty in Chaos’, I am the only guitarist and no keyboards are used, but you will hear loads of textures created from guitars and effect pedals. This is a convergence of textures and styles that I envisioned blossoming,” says Michael Ciravolo.

"Assembling, or in some cases, disassembling beautiful soundscapes, melodies and chords, while injecting harsh bursts of sonics … or visa versa.  Light in the dark, dark in the light is the contrast that helps in realizing the goal of creating something musical that is also very visual and cinematic."

Originally from New Orleans and now based in Los Angeles, Michael Ciravolo has played guitar in Human Drama for the past 30 years, most recently on ‘Broken Songs for Broken People’ (2017). Perhaps best known as President of Schecter Guitar Research, he has also played live and recorded with Michael Ashton’s Gene Loves Jezebel since 1998, along with Tish Ciravolo (wife and founder of Daisy Rock Guitars).

The lead track 'Storm' was co-written with and features vocals by Ashton Nyte, who also collaborates on another two tracks on this album. This, like many of the tracks on this album, features layers of alternative rock bliss, crowned by powerful and penetrating vocals. WEBSITE.

'Storm' is a vibrant alt rocker where Ashton Nyte's vocals and the lyrics add a timeless goth dimension. Musically tight and polished the guitar adds some melody, and as a first taste for the debut album, this really is impressive. Considering the cast of characters mentioned above that are also involved, anticipation is set very high.

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Papercuts - Laughing Man.

Background - Papercuts announces its sixth LP overall and first for Slumberland, Parallel Universe Blues, due Oct. The video for the album's first single, "Laughing Man" is up now and the band launches an east coast tour opening for longtime pals and collaborators Beach House.

Since emerging in San Francisco's fertile early-00s indie/folk scene, Papercuts' Jason Quever has released 5 stellar albums that have become touchstones of quality modern pop. Equally at home with lush, baroque textures and more stripped-down arrangements, Quever's song-writing is always top notch, the production tailored to the songs with great sensitivity. His skill in the studio has helped him build-up an enviable resumé recording, producing and playing with artists including Luna, Beach House, Cass McCombs, Dean Wareham/Dean & Britta and Slumberland's own The Mantles. His sonic influence is clearly in evidence on those recordings, but it's on the Papercuts albums that we hear Quever up close and his most personal.

Papercuts' new album Parallel Universe Blues reflects Quever's recent move from long-time musical home San Francisco to Los Angeles and all of the searching and self-exploration that accompanies leaving your home, your friends and your scene. The sound is intimate and close, nicely balancing the sonic concerns of the last few Papercuts records. Album opener "Mattress On The Floor" is an Eno-tinged amuse bouche, droning and a bit mysterious. Next song and first single "Laughing Man" is a lovely slice of classic pop -- widescreen but not at all melodramatic, an impressionistic "love song, but maybe more about fragmented memory and fleeting attachments." Taken together, that opening pair sets the table for the rest of the album: perfect Spectorian pop songs echoed down through Lou Adler, Harry Nilsson, The Velvet Underground, LA's Paisley Underground, Spiritualized and The Jesus and Mary Chain. TWITTER.

Atmospheric dream pop song 'Laughing Man' is glowing with emotions, textures and imagination. It drifts forward with musical hooks everywhere, adding charm and warmth along the way.


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The Peppermint Club - Passing Through Your World.

Background - The Peppermint Club set to launch debut self-titled album; share new single 'Passing Through Your World'. The Peppermint Club's debut album is a masterwork of pastel-hued pop. Heartfelt and dreamy, each song is an intricately constructed soundscape – threading lush, airy vocals through a textured fabric of ethereal, neo-psychedelic rock. From its uplifting opener All Together On The Sun, through to its stunning Harrison-esque finale and current single Passing Through Your World, the album is as much a journey as it is a collection of songs.

Formed in Perth by Chris Chen (ex-Rainy Day Women) The Peppermint Club has evolved from an aspiring studio project into a formidable band. Their first single Everything Is Changing was awash in breezy vocal harmonies and a genuine, almost-nostalgic emotion. In an instant, The Peppermint Club established themselves as something far beyond a typical new band, picking up national airplay while creating one of the most ambitious debut albums of recent years.

Produced by Chris Chen and accomplished multi-instrumentalist Daniel Henry, the album is meticulously put together. Each song is not just a passing moment but a foundational brick in the greatness of the album; powerful on its own, yet inherently linked to the record as a whole. There are gentle ups and downs, but an overall steadiness and confidence that bears the unmistakable mark of sincerity. These songs have clearly come from someone's soul. WEBSITE.

Whilst it is easy just to reference the psychedelic characteristics of  'Passing Through Your World' which are gorgeous within themselves, the song has more to it than that. Gentle and refined, it merges pop and rock together along with a fine helping of nostalgic vibes from the music of yesteryear.

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Peluché - Figure Me Out.

Background - Pioneers of a genre called ‘Trip Jam’, which fuses elements of Latin, funk, psychedelia, soul and hip hop music, Peluché are a troupe of intrepid troubadours whose freewheeling artistry already has them pegged them as a standout force in London’s rapidly diversifying sound. The trio have shared brand new single ‘Figure Me Out’ and announced their debut album ‘Unforgettable’, to be released on One Little Indian on September 28th. The album is already shaping to be one of the most distinct and vital British sounds of 2018.

Speaking about the track, Peluché said: “Figure Me Out was recorded straight to tape in the second take, and it was one of the first recordings we did for the album. Putting it straight to tape also brought out a kind of 70s warmth of the instruments, with the Rhodes, bass guitar and drums driving the song forward with a momentum. We felt like we had discovered a new groove in this song, something that day brought it out of us as we played.”

All self-taught musicians, they formed in 2014 through a beautiful stranger in a customer service encounter and quickly formed a strong musical bond through their love of jamming. Peluché jam in their self-built studio space in a garden shed, and always record the foundations of tracks live. Their live shows are partially improvised, drawing the audience into their unusual world. Their live video series, The Shed Sessions, shows an insight into this musical realm and have allowed the band to share new music and visuals directly to their fans.  

Slippery Latin bass grooves, subtle instrumental flourishes, funk breakdowns, and a touch of magical lyricism a la Kate Bush or Cocteau Twins makes for an unforgettable sonic journey into the tinderbox chemistry of a group with a collective and deeply personal musical vision. Their obsessive and borderless consumption of wildly divergent styles has helped them to arrive at exactly where they need to be. Peluché have created a demand for music that only they can create, and that’s a surer sign of longevity than most bands with triple their experience could claim. TWITTER.

We featured 'To Be A Bird' back in June and 'Figure Me Out' makes for a welcome follow up. The driving musical pace and slightly slower and somewhat ethereal vocals, come together in harmony as once again the trios trip jam style works wonders. 

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Many Voices Speak - Chances.

Background - Swedish artist Many Voices Speak has announced the release of her debut album 'Tank Town' on 31 August via Strangers Candy. Following the release of first singles 'Necessaries' and 'I Saw You', Many Voices Speak has now shared new track 'Chances'. Of the track, Matilda says: "Chances is a reminder to myself that being a misfit’s just a sign that you’re too far from the place where you feel at home. It’s been important for me to remember that place always exists somewhere, so the will to change won’t win”.

Featuring the dreamy singing and songwriting of Matilda Mård, Many Voices Speak was born out of Mård's move from Stockholm to the smaller Swedish industrial town of Borlänge. Less distraction gave way to creative rejuvenation and a revitalized approach to music.

Mård found liberation in one of the Borlänge more unlikely places — the karaoke bar. It became a “free zone” for her, she says, “far away from my own self doubts and prestige about music.” After piling songs for years without ever releasing anything, she was relieved of the pressure she felt towards her own creations and began again as Many Voices Speak.

Her debut EP Away for All Time was released in 2016 and received early attention online with its nostalgic lead single "Video Child" and an airy cover of Rodgers and Hartz's classic "Blue Moon," garnering support from Spotify, Stereogum, Noisey, WNYC, Idolator and more, while landing Many Voices Speak highly on the Hype Machine charts and a poignant placement in Riverdale, and more recently on newly launched Netflix film "All The Boys I've Loved Before". TWITTER.

More modern musical techniques are merged with classic pop sensibilities as 'Chances' charms it's way under my skin with splendid layers of emotive hooks.

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The Peppermint Club - Ismay - Katey Brooks - Foreign Architects - Belle Adair

The Peppermint Club - Everything Is Changing.

Background - The Peppermint Club have launched their new single Everything Is Changing.

The Peppermint Club is the pastel-hued pop brainchild of Chris Chen (ex-Rainy Day Women), in collaboration with friends old and new from within Perth's thriving music scene. Like their namesake, the band’s songs are refreshing, a little sweet and fit comfortably in your pocket - refracting nostalgic, golden-age songcraft through layers of summer haze and bittersweet melancholia.

The Peppermint Club's debut single ‘Everything Is Changing’ deploys a pitch-perfect blend of crunchy guitar, mellotron strings, handclaps and sea-breeze vocals to leave the impression of a pensive Perth sunset in under three minutes. Scratching your neo-Beatles, psychedelic soul itch with a just hint of digital-age shimmer, ‘Everything is Changing’ will no doubt appeal to fans of Mild High Club, Connan Mockasin and the Tame Impala diaspora. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

'Everything Is Changing' is a concoction of lush vocals, harmonies and a musical backdrop that drifts from psychedelic rock through to dream pop.

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Ismay - River of Light (Through the Inland Empire).

Background - Ismay's single "River Of Light" will be featured on her debut EP  'Songs From A River' out 2/9/2018.

Coming from the coastal hills of Northern California, Ismay is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter drawing inspiration from the natural landscape of the American West. With an ear for an old-time aesthetic and artistry of indie folk, Ismay blends inventive songwriting, ethereal vocals, and dynamic fingerpicking on the guitar. When she is not traveling the western states on horseback, Ismay can be found working on her ranch, collecting the sounds and stories of rural California. From this cultural history comes Ismay’s deep-rooted sound of the New American West.

The creation of Ismay’s debut EP began with a river. After dropping out of college, Ismay (Avery Hellman) wandered from California to New Mexico and up through the Pacific Northwest. During this time she sought out a place of natural significance through which to explore her passion for the arts and the environment. Eventually she found herself on the banks of the Klamath River in far Northern California. It was in this country that Ismay became entranced by the intricate cultural landscape of the Klamath. In the following two years, she embarked on a horseback trip to document the river through film, photography and audio recordings.

In addition, she wrote and recorded five original songs, both along the Klamath with an old cassette tape machine and in a studio above the Pacific Ocean. Ismay worked with producer Tim Bluhm (Sarah Lee Guthrie, Johnny Irion, Nicki Bluhm) and engineer Robert Cheek (Band of Horses, Chelsea Wolfe) at Panoramic Studios in Stinson Beach, CA. The field recordings were produced by Eric Drew Feldman (Polyphonic Spree, PJ Harvey), and string arrangements in Nashville with Brad Jones at Alex the Great Recording (Justin Townes Earle, Nancy Griffith, Yo La Tengo). Weaving natural symbolism into this coming-of-age story, Ismay’s EP, Songs from a River, explores the way in which a connection to place shapes and parallels songwriting and recording. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

From the very first notes, the musical arrangement on 'River of Light (Through the Inland Empire)' suggests we are in for a treat. When Ismay begins to sing it ups the deal even more. This is a fabulous indie folk song, with beautiful vocals and a delicately refined backdrop.

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Katey Brooks - Will She.

Background - Singer-songwriter Katey Brooks has a unique sound that epitomises the culturally diverse environment in which she grew up. Born and raised between Bristol, London and Arizona to musical parents, the Indy Music Award finalist has been compared to legendary artists such as Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny  and John Martyn. Among her contemporaries, she can perhaps be described as a female Hozier, with all the haunting intensity and every bit of the soul.

With a ‘voice to melt glaciers’ (Venue magazine), Brooks is at home anywhere she can take her guitar. From Glastonbury to the National Folk Festival in Australia, her devastating vocal talent has gained her admirers across the music industry as well as an adoring public. Her voice has been used on songs that also feature the likes of Paloma Faith and Imelda May, she has appeared on a compilation with Anais Mitchell, Ane Brun and Marissa Nadler, and has shared bills with a wide variety of acts including Newton Faulkner, Ghostpoet, Martin Simpson, Deaf Havana, Lou Rhodes and Mystery Jets.

The haunting, ethereal sound of her 2016 ‘I Fought Lovers’ EP received a warm reception from radio stations around the UK and internationally, including BBC Radio 2 / 6 Music and CBC Canada, and acted as a fitting prelude to the sonic largesse of her forthcoming new album, ‘We The People’.

Brooks is often on the road and has led a fascinating life populated with a vivid cast of characters from whom she has drawn inspiration for her songs. The writing for the album began in the chaos of London life, continued while on tour in the dusty expanse of Australia, before being completed on the side of a beautiful mountain in the Welsh wilderness. WEBSITE.

Powerful and blissfully inspiring vocals need only a simple musical canvas and with 'Will She' that is what we have, all wrapped into one majestic song.


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Foreign Architects - Talk to a Scientist.

Background - Finding the perfect balance between intricate melodies and pop hooks, Foreign Architects have put forward their latest slice of indie rock with single Talk To A Scientist. From their home in the sun-soaked Western Australian capital of Perth, what started out as a project between singer/songwriter Matt Burke and drummer Andrew Barnett has evolved into one of the city's most exciting new bands.

Recorded by The Money War's Dylan Olivierre (a gifted songwriter in his own right) and mixed by uber talented producer Andy Lawson (Eskimo Joe, Tired Lion), Talk To A Scientist is a mesmerising ride of blissful guitar tones and supersized vocal hooks. Both radio-friendly and ready to ignite the stage, Talk To A Scientist is impeccably crafted – balancing the power of the band with the effortless charm of Matt Burke's soulful voice.

Their first single, Poisonous Pill, was met with a warm response and triple j airplay, but as the original duo's songwriting grew in complexity, Foreign Architects felt the need to expand their lineup. Enlisting friends Callum Morrison on bass and Dylan Geileson guitar, Burke and Barnett sculpted a band capable of delivering rich, spirited music with depth and clarity.

 Wasting no time, the newly formed four-piece emerged with Glass, the first single to truly show off their group dynamic – earning them solid reviews, national airplay and coveted support slots in their hometown. And while Glass made it apparent how much Foreign Architects could achieve, Talk To A Scientist is the fulfilment of this promise. Melding gorgeous riffs that ebb and flow into a monster chorus, Talk To A Scientist is the kind of song that radio was made for.

Spurred on by their ability to create songs collectively from the ground up, Foreign Architects have hit a stride of pure inspiration. Having already tasted international touring and festival performance, the band are ambitious and driven for more... and as they work their way towards a debut full-length release, songs like Talk To A Scientist prove beyond doubt that Foreign Architects have a blindingly bright future ahead of them. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Foreign Architects deliver high quality indie rock with the new single 'Talk to a Scientist'. Catchy and powerful the song lifts the spirit, and is the perfect accompaniment on a long road trip.

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Belle Adair - Neptune City.

Background - Muscle Shoals four-piece Belle Adair has unveiled 'Neptune City', the latest from its forthcoming record 'Tuscumbia' (19 January  / Single Lock). The track is a nostalgic reflection on a breezy summer from the distance of a biting winter that, as singer and lyricist Matthew Green puts it, "will be the death of me."

While 'Neptune City' and all of 'Tuscumbia' were recorded at the hallowed FAME Studios in the band's hometown, this music doesn't sound like anything to come out of Muscle Shoals before it. The four-piece collaborated with producer Tom Schick (Wilco, Real Estate, Parquet Courts) to create a blissed-out feel, atmospheric guitars and masterful melodies - putting Belle Adair at the forefront of a new chapter in the Muscle Shoals Sound. Not only is Belle Adair shifting the region's sonic palate, but they're at the nexus of a community of Alabama musicians redefining Muscle Shoals for a new generation.

Groups in Belle Adair's orbit include some of the most exciting acts to come out of Southern independent music in the past decade: Alabama Shakes, John Paul White, St. Paul and The Broken Bones and Dylan LeBlanc, as well as Shoals legends like Donnie Fritts and David Hood. When not working on their own music, Belle Adair serve as something of a house band for this community, just wrapping an international tour with White and backing Fritts on his recent comeback dates. The group shares keyboardist Ben Tanner with Alabama Shakes, and their Single Lock Records is home to a majority of the artists listed above. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

For me there is a sixties surf vibe running through the early part of 'Neptune City'. It then expands way beyond that, adding in more creative and modern twists, whilst retaining a gorgeous atmosphere, full of play again hooks.

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