Beatrix Players - All That Thinking / Hurt.
Background - London-based all-female trio Beatrix Players have been announced as winners of the Prog Magazine Limelight Award for 2017 at the ceremony last week. The band are celebrating the win with the release of their new, double A side single All That Thinking / Hurt, plus a single launch being held at London's St Pancras Old Church on Thursday 5th October where they will be joined for the evening by the SOUND choir.
The Limelight Award highlights the "emerging talent that's risen to the top of the prog ocean over the past 12 months".
All That Thinking is taken from their 2017 debut album Magnified, and is a song about the difficulty of having a child and the blame that goes on between partners, and the band are delighted to have joined forces with leading national charity Fertility Network UK to help raise awareness of National Fertility Awareness Week which takes place on 30th October - 5th November. This years they are celebrating 40 years since the first successful IVF treatment.
This is a campaign that especially resonates with Beatrix Players' vocalist Amy Birks: “I was told today that 1 in 6 couples experience difficulties with fertility. A fact that took me right back to the NHS waiting room, a very beige room filled with pensive faces; couples and individuals of all ages from all walks of life and all with one thing in common, fertility difficulties”
All That Thinking begins with these lines 'Sometimes I’m scared, at the end of another wait. All that thinking for nothing because nothing ever came, and I don’t mind if it’s you but I’ll weep if it’s me…'
and those sentiments clearly resonated with the charity - ‘Fertility Network UK are very much looking forward to working with Beatrix Players during this year's National Fertility Awareness Week. Their single, All That Thinking is incredibly emotive and is something we believe will connect with anyone who is struggling, or has, struggled to have a family.' Susan Seenan, CEO, Fertility Network UK. Beatrix Players website here, Facebook here.
Our fourth feature in under a year for Beatrix Players & that is not a coincidence, they simply & consistently write & perform fabulous songs. Celebrating their winning of the Prog Magazine Limelight Award for 2017 they have now released 'All That Thinking / Hurt'. As long as they keep on producing music of this calibre and we can share them, we will!
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Franks & Deans (Feat Frank Voodoo) - Splish Splash.
Background - SquidHat Records is proud to announce the highly anticipated sophomore release from the legendary Franks & Deans! Available digitally, on CD and on limited edition pink vinyl nationally and internationally through MVD Entertainment.
On their second release “The Best You’re Gonna Feel All Day” Franks & Deans keep doing what they do best; f*@king up your grandmother’s music! The Sinatra and Sammy standards are there, from “Fly Me To The Moon” to “Candy Man” but they also extend their unique sound with fresh new takes on The Drifters, Louis Prima, Bobby Darin and Ricky Nelson. A fast paced audio party that is sure to please.
SquidHat Records is an artist friendly, independent record label and multi-media company created to help talented, interesting, creative and passionate artists record and promote their music or performances, develop their brand and image, and increase their exposure to a larger audience. Our focus includes, but is not limited to, the Punk Rock, Aggressive Indie and Subculture scenes. Franks & Deans website here, Facebook here.
Franks & Deans take a classic track, in the case of our featured song 'Splish Splash' the rework is almost respectful to the original. It's the tip of the iceberg as far as this new collection of material is concerned, their manic, tight & occasionally border line insane punk version are an absolute delight. Don't get me wrong, I am old enough to remember my parents playing some of the originals (honest it was my parents) & those tunes have grown on me over time. However I can't but help feel a warm glow inside with these new versions.
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Palace - Live Well.
Background - Palace have released a new single; 'Live Well', taken from their acclaimed debut album 'So Long Forever', which dropped earlier this year on Fiction Records. A fan favourite, the track has been streamed over two million times on Spotify and showcases the band at their delicate, intricate best. The track is written about a relationship ending but ultimately finding positivity in its wake. In the words of front man Leo Wyndham, "It's a hopeful song - about feeling blessed by someone else's love even though it's over and ended."
Palace are very excited to be touring as main support to Public Service Broadcasting this month, taking them to twelve venues across the UK, including London Eventim Apollo for the finale on 26th October. Venues of this size are no stranger to the band, who made their debut at Shepherd's Bush Empire this year in support of the album release, having previously sold out London shows at Brixton Electric, Scala and ICA.
It wasn't just UK tours that Palace sold out last year; they sold out their European tour and a number of shows in New York. They also played rapturously received sets at festivals across Europe, including Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds. Closer to home they started their own night called 'Palace Presents' at The George Tavern, London where they played their first ever show and now curate their own monthly line-up. The night is always rammed, which helps support the 600-year-old venue which, like many other independent venues, is constantly threatened with closure.
On the forthcoming shows with Public Service Broadcasting, Leo says "They're a truly amazing and eccentric band and we're pumped to be playing to huge crowds and getting to watch their incredible live show every night." Facebook here.
Our second feature for Palace also taken from the 'So Long Forever' album is the new single 'Live Well'. Subtle melodies and a beautiful arrangement where both vocals and music share centre stage, this is a gentle nudge to check out a really fine album.
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The Rural Alberta Advantage - Toughen Up.
Background - The Rural Alberta Advantage, Nils Edenloff, Paul Banwatt and Robin Hatch, will release their new studio album The Wild on October 13th on Paper Bag Records in Canada, United Kingdom and Europe. This week the band is sharing their brilliant new single "Toughen Up". Listen here. Pre-order The Wild on limited-edition yellow vinyl here.
The Rural Alberta Advantage have also announced North American tour dates which will see the band joined by Vancouver's Yukon Blonde for two months beginning October 20th. Canadian dates include stops in Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver with additional shows now added after quick sell outs in Edmonton and Toronto. Tickets are on sale now. Watch a trailer for the tour here.
Change is constant. Certainly that’s always been the case with the Rural Alberta Advantage. Through three albums, Juno and Polaris nominations, the steady hum of critical praise and the relentless miles of constant touring, the trio have not just been confronted with change, they have been wailing, pounding and sighing their way through it. Change hung over them in the melancholy nostalgia of Hometowns, shook them during the finding-your-feet urgency of Departing and found its way through their cracks in the turmoil of Mended with Gold.
Though it’s always left a mark on the band, as they journey into The Wild, their fourth album, this perpetual change seemed to be casting a darker shadow. Maybe it’s the fact that singer and songwriter Edenloff almost watched his childhood home of Fort McMurray burn to the ground. Maybe it’s just that everyone in the band is getting older. Maybe it’s just that we’ve all had a rough year. But never before has the band felt quite so surrounded by the heaviness of being — nor quite so determined to pull through. Facebook here.
We featured the track 'Brother' from the forthcoming 'The Wild' album last month and the new share 'Toughen Up' confirms for me, that our initial excitement for the album was well founded. This is a band that for reasons I cannot explain, should have received far more exposure & recognition by now.
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The Jar Family - Debt.
Background - Hartlepool (UK) based 5-piece The Jar Family have just released their new single ‘Debt’ (via Jar Records). One to check out if you get the chance. It’s a song born from the growing financial concerns seen in their hometown. In the bands words “it's a song about life in modern Britain and the pressures of the soaring cost of things. It's a big step forward for us stylistically to something more raw and reflective of the times."
Taking their name from the donations jar they passed around at early gigs, the band are a tight knit group who realised that they were stronger collectively than they were individually. Although on paper the idea of five very different and charismatic personalities with a wide range of musical styles working together harmoniously seems unlikely, the fruits of their labor speaks for itself.
The bands distinctive, rootsy sound was created in the remote Cambridgeshire countryside. It’s there that the band built themselves a basic rehearsal studio, and there where they spent over a year living in a ramshackle collection of old caravans, developing and refining what was to become the Jar Family sound.
A relentless touring schedule, alongside supporting the likes of Jake Bugg, Babyshambles, and Alabama 3, has brought their raucous and engaging live show to all corners of the country. Picking up an ever-growing army of admirers as a result of this live activity the band has now established a major fan base of fanatical supporters throughout the UK. Facebook here.
'Debt' is a gritty, earnest rocker from a band that have a very poignant message to share. It is also a dynamic, hot blooded, passion fuelled song that suggests guitar rock has yet another band to keep the genre fresh and relevant.
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Amanda Mair - Rush / Wednesday.
Background - Amanda Mair is a Stockholm native who gained attention as a teenager with her debut single, “House”. The Washington Post praised her grown up Kate Bush sounds, while Swedish national newspaper Aftonbladet described her album as one of the best Swedish debut albums of all time. Amanda has evolved since her debut – both as an artist and as a songwriter, but also as a person. She spent time focusing on herself and growing up. Her maturity shines through her best work yet on Despotz Records.
“Rush” is a dark and contemplative song about longing to feel the rush of a physical and emotional connection. An eternity has passed since the relationship crumbled. One familiar touch can bring those feelings rushing back. Introduced as a piano ballad, the song turns cold with chilling Trentemøller synths.
“Wednesday” is a beautiful and atmospheric swan song. The cinematic quality of the song reveals aching emotions as one might imagine a vast landscape devastated by war, or the inevitability of love. This song hits you right in the feels.
In Amanda’s words, “’Rush’ is about when passionate attraction and destructive addiction allows you to repeat the same hurtful mistake over and over again. While ’Rush’ paints a picture of the continual restless searcher, ’Wednesday’ allows you to take a step back and realize the tedious truth of one reality you’ve fallen in love with." Facebook here.
Two tracks from Amanda Mair came our way the other day. They contrast very well & show different ideas & styles from the artist, so lets share them both. 'Rush' and 'Wednesday' are both creative modern pop songs with that hard to express "extra something" that suggest a musical maturity many aspire to, and only a few actually deliver on.
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Showing posts with label The Rural Alberta Advantage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Rural Alberta Advantage. Show all posts
Twin Seas - The Rural Alberta Advantage - Triggerfinger - Bermuda Angels - Nathan Xander - Úlfur
Twin Seas - Alpha Pup.
Background - On Friday, September 29th, LA Dream-pop newcomers -- Twin Seas -- will release their highly anticipated debut self-titled LP. Following in the footsteps of fellow East-LA creatives, Chicano Batman, Twin Seas has built a strong following in the SoCal area, playing to energetic, dancing crowds!
Out of the East LA creative hotbed, Twin Seas was born. Inspired by 80s new wave, 60s psychedelia -- and of course, their own Latin roots -- Twin Seas creates a fresh soundscape that leads the listener on a voyage of warm tones and sun-kissed melodies.
After forming in 2016, Twin Seas have made a name for themselves in the LA indie rock scene, playing to excited and loyal audiences all over the SoCal area. The crowd can't help but dance when the band breaks into favorites such as "Surf Wave", "Machine Gun", and "Alpha Pup." In a short time, the band has perfected the art of live performance.
Twin Seas completed their self-titled record earlier this year at their home studio at La Mina, in the neighborhood of City Terrace. For this debut, they recruited the help of vocalist Chrisol and the rhythm section from Chicano Batman who are both featured on the record. The band's distinct sound, dubbed "New Wave-Dream Pop", is sure to provide the quintessential soundtrack for a summer day. Website here, Facebook here.
There is a feisty start to 'Alpha Pup' where the music quickly builds into a vibrant sound. It's just right for the vocals & some brief atmospheric background harmonies. The band really do have something of a unique sound with this song, lets hope they carry on with the style on the album.
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The Rural Alberta Advantage - Brother.
Background - The Rural Alberta Advantage, Nils Edenloff, Paul Banwatt and Robin Hatch, will release their new studio album The Wild on October 13th on Paper Bag Records in Canada, United Kingdom and Europe. Watch the Anne Douris-directed video for new single "Brother" here. Stream "Brother" here. Pre-order The Wild on limited-edition frosted vinyl here.
"Some people might hear the song as something bleak or overly dark, but I don't really see it that way," says Edenloff about "Brother". "In my mind, it's always been more about finding comfort in change, trying to embrace the idea of an unknown outcome and how those can often bring about the most positive result that you never knew was there."
The Rural Alberta Advantage have also announced North American tour dates which will see the band joined by Vancouver's Yukon Blonde for two months beginning October 20th. Canadian dates include stops in Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto.
The RAA have already released two songs from The Wild -- "White Lights" and "Beacon Hill," which was inspired by the wildfires that ravaged Edenloff's hometown of Fort McMurray, AB last year. Tour details are available over on Beehive Candy's tour news page, Facebook here.
The Rural Alberta Advantage have always impressed me with their fabulous music. 'Brother' is a reminder of just how powerful & emotionally charged they can be, this is one stomping and addictive song, the album can't come quick enough!
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Triggerfinger - Colossus.
Background - New Triggerfinger album and video 'Colossus' - Colossus which includes the strutting single 'Flesh Tight' and the relentless fast-forward bassline driven 'Colossus'- offers killer guitar riffs, breezy melodies & festive glam rock, all in a mind-bending production by Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, turning this album in a wild ride on a merry-go-round in Disneyland after dark. Matt Newman from Mount Emult made a crazy video to go with this track.
The Antwerp, Belgium based trio (Ruben Block, vocals & guitar; Paul Van Bruystegem, bass; Mario Goossens, drums) have built a solid reputation across Europe, the US and Canada as one of the hardest-driving and sharpest dressing bands around. With their self- titled debut album (2004), What Grabs Ya (2008), All This Dancing Around (2010) and By Absence of the Sun (2014) they’ve become a mainstay on the rock scene (the last two going platinum and gold, respectively). Their impromptu cover of the Lykke Li song I Follow Rivers became a major hit across Europe in 2012, and they were invited to open for The Rolling Stones in 2013 and 2014.
After four studio albums and the massive touring that came with it, it was time for a change. While writing Colossus Triggerfinger wanted to add a few new flavors to the mix. The band set off on a 40 date tour across 15 European countries with a first gig on Oct. 4 at Brighton's 'Hope & Ruin', and stops in Paris, London, Berlin, Warzaw, Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Prague, Copenhagen,Oslo, Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg. Website here, Facebook here.
'Colossus' blasts into action, the band are thumping out some potent riffs, whilst the vocals are almost manic in nature. Whilst I would urge you to spare a thought for your neighbours, in Spinal Tap terms, this really should be turned up to eleven when played.
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Bermuda Angels - On the Run.
Background - Bermuda Angels have shared their new video "On The Run." The track is from their forthcoming debut self-titled album, which is out September 29th. "The video and song is about being in love with Bermuda Jones," the band's Sophie Kadow explains, "in love for the first time when you didn’t think real love existed. It’s about being intimidated for the first time and losing yourself in the vulnerability."
Bermuda Angels are Bermuda Jones and Sophie Kadow. They fell in love and wrote an album together while living in the secret room of a music venue. Sophie spends most of her time in CA making songs and videos with Bermuda. The rest of her time is spent painting in NY, where she’s from. Bermuda Jones owns The East Room, a music venue in East Nashville. He primarily lives on his desert ranch in 29 Palms, CA where he works on music with Sophie and his other writing projects.
The recording process of the new album involved an imbalance of work, art, and love. Creating and fighting through constant chaos, moving from place to place, recording in multiple makeshift studios in 1 music venue, 1 taxidermy/oddities shop, 2 basements, 1 garage, 1 cabin, 1 adobe, and 2 houses- spanning 5 different states (CA, NY, TN, WV, ME.)
“The album was partly inspired by our surroundings and landscapes.," explains Bermuda "We explored the extremes of the weather spectrum in the US and spent a winter in Maine on Mount Desert Island surrounded by snow and windstorms and freezing cold, working on our sound. A few months later, we spent our summer in an adobe in the desert in Joshua Tree, CA in incredible heat, working on our sound some more. You could literally fry an egg on a rock outside.
We were also inspired by the excitement and turmoil of forming our relationship and planning our future together. This seeped into the songs and overflowed throughout the album. Developing our trust was important throughout the process and it comes in many forms. Do I trust the other to follow through, to be honest to themselves and to me, to be faithful, to try his or her hardest, to create good music, to be understanding, to improve, to give support, and most importantly, to keep coming back. “ All songs on the album were written and recorded by Bermuda Jones and Sophie Kadow. The album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Bermuda Jones. Website here.
Rhythmic synths and sensual vocals give 'On The Run' an individual sound and an air of mystery. The video only adds to the feeling, on what is a very addictive track.
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Nathan Xander - Over You, Over Me.
Background - Trailer Fire Records is pleased to let you know that the album Blue House, by Nathan Xander, is out now. New York City-based songwriter, Nathan Xander is a troubadour in the Texas sense, when he’s in Texas. Or in the California sense when he’s there. Or the Chicago sense, oh, OK. You get it. The man writes like he travels: well and often.
He’s as familiar with Brooklyn as his hometown of Union City, PA, Gillian Welch as with X. Nathan’s new collection of songs, recorded in a big blue barn in Upstate New York, is his best work to date, and we at Trailer Fire Records are thrilled to share it with you.
Blue House represents the work of a writer in the prime of his craft. Nathan’s years of touring, with their joyful wildness and melancholy, come through in these songs. “Over You, Over Me” evokes that duality, while songs like “Shadows” growl and pulse with the frivolous energy of an artist who likes to break things.
“Pennsylvania” is as anthemic a song as ought to be written, a wholehearted Mellencamp-esque thumper about home, while “I Remember You Now” is a psychedelic memory in homage to friends Xander has met along his traveler’s way. Each song here is evidence of experience, which Nathan has in spades. Website here, Facebook here.
'Over You, Over Me' is the third of twelve tracks on the new 'Blue House' album. It's quite representative of what to expect from this well crafted and professionally arranged collection of songs. Nathan's vocals lend themselves to this natural style of Americana folk, where hints of country rock are often there.
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Úlfur - Fovea.
Background - NYC-based Icelander Úlfur announces his stunning new album Arborescence through figureight records – a new label founded by musician mastermind Shahzad Ismaily – in October 2017.
A unique talent, Úlfur (Luxembourg-born, Iceland-raised, NYC-residing Úlfur Hansson) is known as much for his genre-defying experiments with homemade instruments and electronics as he is for his work with prominent Icelandic trailblazers Jónsi (of Sigur Rós) and Ólöf Arnalds, and Sweden’s Anna Von Hauswolff. As a composer – a graduate of Mills College, California – Úlfur in 2013 received the prestigious Young Composer of the Year award from the International Rostrum of Composers, and has had works commissioned by The Icelandic Symphonic Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet and l’Orchestre de Radio France.
Arborescence, his brave and immersive newest LP, navigates a trail between these many worlds. Its pieces are long form and dreamily (un-)structured, made up of soundscapes, electro-acoustic processing, vocals, synthesizers, electronic production, all framed by intricate, cinematic string arrangements (performed by label-mate and múm co-founder Gyda Valtysdottir) and cataclysmic explosions of noise (provided in part by the transcendent and superlative drumming of black metal hero Greg Fox). The record alternately traverses moments of stillness and vulnerability and moments of violence, covering all the ground between as it travels.
“The title is derived from that type of movement,” Úlfur writes. “Arborescence – the phenomenon of branching out, following the path of least resistance, growing from a seed, or a bolt of lightning as it rips through the sky, connecting different outcomes, possibilities to a single point of origin.”
Arborescence was produced by Randall Dunn (SUNN O))), Earth, Marissa Nadler, etc.), and also features the wonderful musicianship of Skúli Sverrisson (Blonde Redhead, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Laurie Anderson, Ólöf Arnalds) and Zeena Parkins (Björk, Jim O’Rourke, Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, John Zorn). Website here.
'Fovea' comes with a #experimental over on Soundcloud, something that leaves me hopeful, but all to often disappointed. Not so with this song, the musical arrangement is delightfully unique, whilst being quite assessable, the vocals are dreamy and immerse themselves in the soundtrack. Original & enjoyable, the new album is firmly on my radar.
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Background - On Friday, September 29th, LA Dream-pop newcomers -- Twin Seas -- will release their highly anticipated debut self-titled LP. Following in the footsteps of fellow East-LA creatives, Chicano Batman, Twin Seas has built a strong following in the SoCal area, playing to energetic, dancing crowds!
Out of the East LA creative hotbed, Twin Seas was born. Inspired by 80s new wave, 60s psychedelia -- and of course, their own Latin roots -- Twin Seas creates a fresh soundscape that leads the listener on a voyage of warm tones and sun-kissed melodies.
After forming in 2016, Twin Seas have made a name for themselves in the LA indie rock scene, playing to excited and loyal audiences all over the SoCal area. The crowd can't help but dance when the band breaks into favorites such as "Surf Wave", "Machine Gun", and "Alpha Pup." In a short time, the band has perfected the art of live performance.
Twin Seas completed their self-titled record earlier this year at their home studio at La Mina, in the neighborhood of City Terrace. For this debut, they recruited the help of vocalist Chrisol and the rhythm section from Chicano Batman who are both featured on the record. The band's distinct sound, dubbed "New Wave-Dream Pop", is sure to provide the quintessential soundtrack for a summer day. Website here, Facebook here.
There is a feisty start to 'Alpha Pup' where the music quickly builds into a vibrant sound. It's just right for the vocals & some brief atmospheric background harmonies. The band really do have something of a unique sound with this song, lets hope they carry on with the style on the album.
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The Rural Alberta Advantage - Brother.
Background - The Rural Alberta Advantage, Nils Edenloff, Paul Banwatt and Robin Hatch, will release their new studio album The Wild on October 13th on Paper Bag Records in Canada, United Kingdom and Europe. Watch the Anne Douris-directed video for new single "Brother" here. Stream "Brother" here. Pre-order The Wild on limited-edition frosted vinyl here.
"Some people might hear the song as something bleak or overly dark, but I don't really see it that way," says Edenloff about "Brother". "In my mind, it's always been more about finding comfort in change, trying to embrace the idea of an unknown outcome and how those can often bring about the most positive result that you never knew was there."
The Rural Alberta Advantage have also announced North American tour dates which will see the band joined by Vancouver's Yukon Blonde for two months beginning October 20th. Canadian dates include stops in Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto.
The RAA have already released two songs from The Wild -- "White Lights" and "Beacon Hill," which was inspired by the wildfires that ravaged Edenloff's hometown of Fort McMurray, AB last year. Tour details are available over on Beehive Candy's tour news page, Facebook here.
The Rural Alberta Advantage have always impressed me with their fabulous music. 'Brother' is a reminder of just how powerful & emotionally charged they can be, this is one stomping and addictive song, the album can't come quick enough!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Triggerfinger - Colossus.
Background - New Triggerfinger album and video 'Colossus' - Colossus which includes the strutting single 'Flesh Tight' and the relentless fast-forward bassline driven 'Colossus'- offers killer guitar riffs, breezy melodies & festive glam rock, all in a mind-bending production by Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, turning this album in a wild ride on a merry-go-round in Disneyland after dark. Matt Newman from Mount Emult made a crazy video to go with this track.
The Antwerp, Belgium based trio (Ruben Block, vocals & guitar; Paul Van Bruystegem, bass; Mario Goossens, drums) have built a solid reputation across Europe, the US and Canada as one of the hardest-driving and sharpest dressing bands around. With their self- titled debut album (2004), What Grabs Ya (2008), All This Dancing Around (2010) and By Absence of the Sun (2014) they’ve become a mainstay on the rock scene (the last two going platinum and gold, respectively). Their impromptu cover of the Lykke Li song I Follow Rivers became a major hit across Europe in 2012, and they were invited to open for The Rolling Stones in 2013 and 2014.
After four studio albums and the massive touring that came with it, it was time for a change. While writing Colossus Triggerfinger wanted to add a few new flavors to the mix. The band set off on a 40 date tour across 15 European countries with a first gig on Oct. 4 at Brighton's 'Hope & Ruin', and stops in Paris, London, Berlin, Warzaw, Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Prague, Copenhagen,Oslo, Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg. Website here, Facebook here.
'Colossus' blasts into action, the band are thumping out some potent riffs, whilst the vocals are almost manic in nature. Whilst I would urge you to spare a thought for your neighbours, in Spinal Tap terms, this really should be turned up to eleven when played.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bermuda Angels - On the Run.
Background - Bermuda Angels have shared their new video "On The Run." The track is from their forthcoming debut self-titled album, which is out September 29th. "The video and song is about being in love with Bermuda Jones," the band's Sophie Kadow explains, "in love for the first time when you didn’t think real love existed. It’s about being intimidated for the first time and losing yourself in the vulnerability."
Bermuda Angels are Bermuda Jones and Sophie Kadow. They fell in love and wrote an album together while living in the secret room of a music venue. Sophie spends most of her time in CA making songs and videos with Bermuda. The rest of her time is spent painting in NY, where she’s from. Bermuda Jones owns The East Room, a music venue in East Nashville. He primarily lives on his desert ranch in 29 Palms, CA where he works on music with Sophie and his other writing projects.
The recording process of the new album involved an imbalance of work, art, and love. Creating and fighting through constant chaos, moving from place to place, recording in multiple makeshift studios in 1 music venue, 1 taxidermy/oddities shop, 2 basements, 1 garage, 1 cabin, 1 adobe, and 2 houses- spanning 5 different states (CA, NY, TN, WV, ME.)
“The album was partly inspired by our surroundings and landscapes.," explains Bermuda "We explored the extremes of the weather spectrum in the US and spent a winter in Maine on Mount Desert Island surrounded by snow and windstorms and freezing cold, working on our sound. A few months later, we spent our summer in an adobe in the desert in Joshua Tree, CA in incredible heat, working on our sound some more. You could literally fry an egg on a rock outside.
We were also inspired by the excitement and turmoil of forming our relationship and planning our future together. This seeped into the songs and overflowed throughout the album. Developing our trust was important throughout the process and it comes in many forms. Do I trust the other to follow through, to be honest to themselves and to me, to be faithful, to try his or her hardest, to create good music, to be understanding, to improve, to give support, and most importantly, to keep coming back. “ All songs on the album were written and recorded by Bermuda Jones and Sophie Kadow. The album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Bermuda Jones. Website here.
Rhythmic synths and sensual vocals give 'On The Run' an individual sound and an air of mystery. The video only adds to the feeling, on what is a very addictive track.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nathan Xander - Over You, Over Me.
Background - Trailer Fire Records is pleased to let you know that the album Blue House, by Nathan Xander, is out now. New York City-based songwriter, Nathan Xander is a troubadour in the Texas sense, when he’s in Texas. Or in the California sense when he’s there. Or the Chicago sense, oh, OK. You get it. The man writes like he travels: well and often.
He’s as familiar with Brooklyn as his hometown of Union City, PA, Gillian Welch as with X. Nathan’s new collection of songs, recorded in a big blue barn in Upstate New York, is his best work to date, and we at Trailer Fire Records are thrilled to share it with you.
Blue House represents the work of a writer in the prime of his craft. Nathan’s years of touring, with their joyful wildness and melancholy, come through in these songs. “Over You, Over Me” evokes that duality, while songs like “Shadows” growl and pulse with the frivolous energy of an artist who likes to break things.
“Pennsylvania” is as anthemic a song as ought to be written, a wholehearted Mellencamp-esque thumper about home, while “I Remember You Now” is a psychedelic memory in homage to friends Xander has met along his traveler’s way. Each song here is evidence of experience, which Nathan has in spades. Website here, Facebook here.
'Over You, Over Me' is the third of twelve tracks on the new 'Blue House' album. It's quite representative of what to expect from this well crafted and professionally arranged collection of songs. Nathan's vocals lend themselves to this natural style of Americana folk, where hints of country rock are often there.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Úlfur - Fovea.
Background - NYC-based Icelander Úlfur announces his stunning new album Arborescence through figureight records – a new label founded by musician mastermind Shahzad Ismaily – in October 2017.
A unique talent, Úlfur (Luxembourg-born, Iceland-raised, NYC-residing Úlfur Hansson) is known as much for his genre-defying experiments with homemade instruments and electronics as he is for his work with prominent Icelandic trailblazers Jónsi (of Sigur Rós) and Ólöf Arnalds, and Sweden’s Anna Von Hauswolff. As a composer – a graduate of Mills College, California – Úlfur in 2013 received the prestigious Young Composer of the Year award from the International Rostrum of Composers, and has had works commissioned by The Icelandic Symphonic Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet and l’Orchestre de Radio France.
Arborescence, his brave and immersive newest LP, navigates a trail between these many worlds. Its pieces are long form and dreamily (un-)structured, made up of soundscapes, electro-acoustic processing, vocals, synthesizers, electronic production, all framed by intricate, cinematic string arrangements (performed by label-mate and múm co-founder Gyda Valtysdottir) and cataclysmic explosions of noise (provided in part by the transcendent and superlative drumming of black metal hero Greg Fox). The record alternately traverses moments of stillness and vulnerability and moments of violence, covering all the ground between as it travels.
“The title is derived from that type of movement,” Úlfur writes. “Arborescence – the phenomenon of branching out, following the path of least resistance, growing from a seed, or a bolt of lightning as it rips through the sky, connecting different outcomes, possibilities to a single point of origin.”
Arborescence was produced by Randall Dunn (SUNN O))), Earth, Marissa Nadler, etc.), and also features the wonderful musicianship of Skúli Sverrisson (Blonde Redhead, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Laurie Anderson, Ólöf Arnalds) and Zeena Parkins (Björk, Jim O’Rourke, Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, John Zorn). Website here.
'Fovea' comes with a #experimental over on Soundcloud, something that leaves me hopeful, but all to often disappointed. Not so with this song, the musical arrangement is delightfully unique, whilst being quite assessable, the vocals are dreamy and immerse themselves in the soundtrack. Original & enjoyable, the new album is firmly on my radar.
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Bumper Catch Up featuring: Rubblebucket - Mollie Elizabeth - Lilly Hiatt - The Kearns Family - WILDES and St Francis Hotel - Lucette - Caroline Strickland - Mon Rayon - Lala Salama
Keeping the comments a little shorter so we can cram a few more songs in than usual, this is our first bumper catch up of some really fine r...