An endless need for self expression has helped songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Walton focus on his creative vision as an independent artist to write and produce his debut EP titled Island: a beautiful, heartfelt collection of songs about love, loss and change.
The 28-year-old from Hamilton, ON has been involved in a handful of collaborative original bands spanning many genres (Wooly Mantis, Downstream) but “Island” is the first of many projects that are from the mind of Walton as a solo act. Being able to have full creative freedom has allowed Walton to find his voice in the songwriter space.
Reminiscent of the Laurel Canyon era of folk and singer-songwriter with a genre-blending modernism, Walton’s latest single “Through The Glass” is a drift inspiring transportive listen.
About his songwriting intent: “My goal with songwriting is to take the listener on some kind of journey, whether it may be from lyrics, music or both. To take the listener out of the present moment and into a place that feels familiar, yet new and exciting. A place that is comfortable, where the listener does not feel alone and can drift away in peace.”
Brighton duo Thrillhouse, release the intimate yet expansive new album Something About This Place, with the lead track ‘Big Tree’.
Showcasing their electrifying Alternative-Indie-come-Alternative-Country tendencies, the album further delivers on the unique sonic approach which has seen the band garner widespread acclaim from musical luminaries such as KEXP, Radio X (John Kennedy), and BBC Introducing. The brainchild of duo Sam Strawberry and Jack Nielsen, Thrillhouse gained their name as a humorous and nostalgic nod to an old Simpsons episode, but digging a little deeper, the name also evokes the yearning of being stuck in an increasingly bleak present whilst being rooted in a fragmented and pretend past.
Now releasing their hotly anticipated debut album 'Something About This Place', the band describe the 11 track release as: “A hark back to childhood - to simpler times, before ambition, failure and regret wrapped us up with our dreams and tossed us crashing back down to Earth.”
Capturing a melancholic sincerity tinged with wry humour within the captivating lyricism, the band's stylistic sound shines across the album. Heartfelt and honest vocal delivery comparable to Matt Berninger glides above intricate musical backdrops of driving drums, warming, intertwining guitar tones, sparkling synths and melodic hooks to create spellbinding, genre-bending soundscapes. Comparable to The National, Nick Cave and The War On Drugs, Thrillhouse boldly challenges the boundaries of contemporary Indie music with a post-punk flare and alternative undertones.
The new lead track ‘Big Tree’ is a perfect representation of the band's approach, blending melancholic beauty with intricate musical ideas and an underlying sense of driving energy.
"Yankee Reaper'' borrows its name from a Van Dyke Parks album, conveys a sense of nostalgia and loss through the guise of the surreal, and is treated with a vintage sounding gospel stomp arrangement, where barrelhouse piano, soaring pedal steel, fuzzed out guitar, and hand claps all create a ruckus, supported by the pulse of a finger picked acoustic guitar. Evocative of a psychedelic tent revival, "Yankee Reaper" suggests some sort of cosmic mashup between T.Rex and the White Album sessions. Ghost Party is joined by pedal steel master Will Van Horn, notable for his contributions to Khruangbin and Leon Bridges' latest collaborative EPs.
Ghost Party is the nostalgic, retro psych revival project of McCullough Ferguson. Mixing the ingredients of classic acts from the golden era of 60s psych and Americana music with modern interpreters as well a adding a bit of the subliminal sublime, spooky nature of the great beyond, we arrive at the Ghost Party.
Part garage rock, part cosmic country, part psych, Ghost Party came into existence in Houston Texas in 2020. As half of psychedelic rock tricksters Flower Graves, Ferguson has shared the stage with Roky Erickson, Night Beats, Holy Wave, and many more.
Ferguson is joined by Austin Sepulvado, Victor Sanchez, and Kendrick Ballard on bass, drums, and organ/keys/mellotron, respectively. They have released two singles in 2023, tracked and produced by Steve Christensen, notable for his production work with Khruangbin. Ghost Party will be releasing their first full length album this fall and will be appearing at River Revival alongside The Black Angels.
Sunny, melancholy and in a major key. That is the sound of the 4-piece indie band "Elephant". Mellow pop music with an eccentric edge, for fans of Wilco, Andy Shauf and Big Thief. In March 2021, Elephant released their self-titled EP, produced by Pablo van de Poel (DeWolff) and recorded in the Electrosaurus Southern Sound Studio.
‘It may be midnight in Manhattan but here it’s time to rise. There is always someplace better, don’t let it fool your eyes.’ The subtle groove and the sobering lyrics make Elephant’s first single ‘Midnight in Manhattan’ a must-hear for music lovers. It was added to the playlist of Amazing Radio (UK/US), peaked at the 12th position of the ‘verrukkelijke 15’ chart of Dutch national radio, and quickly reached over 25.000 streams on Spotify.
Their second single ‘Bird’s Eye View’ is a both a sweet and haunting song about coming to terms with faded dreams and getting older. On this track, Elephant is accompanied by pedal steel guitarist Stefan Wolfs (Judy Blank, Dylan LeBlanc, Next of Kin).
Elephant was born in the year of a near-fatal knock-out of the music business, but debuts with a fitting and resilient response. Elephant is tipped as the new roots/indie band that just might make a difference in the coming years. ‘Something special is happening in Rotterdam’ - Leo Blokhuis (NPO radio 2)’
I Ya Toyah has released her latest single, Concrete. The track is written, produced, and performed by I Ya Toyah and produced, mixed and mastered by Nick Palazzo.
Concrete is the second of 5 singles off I Ya Toyah's sophomore EP, Out of Order. The track explores anxiety through cyberpunk synths sounds and groovy beats, sharing I Ya Toyah's intense personal expression of the current reality we are all living in.
Futuristic vocal harmonies hypnotize audiences, and the rhythmic music puts them in an immediate trance. This song is about pandemic anxiety. It brings light to the extreme mental wear, something most of us are now familiar with thanks to 2020 and its dystopian vibe, says I Ya Toyah.
I Ya Toyah's sophomore EP is set to release on March 26th exclusively on bandcamp, June 18th on all streaming services, and is available for pre-order on bandcamp. Everyone who preorders instantly gets the streaming and download access to the first two singles off the EP. The music video for Concrete, filmed by Joel Lopez of Lumbra Productions also drops March 17th on I Ya Toyah's Youtube channel.
I Ya Toyah is currently awaiting new tour dates confirmations with Stabbing Westward and her Northwest US and Canadian tour, as they got postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
Thrillhouse return with their latest single Where The Roads Don’t Go. A song about that brief but beautiful moment after you’ve finally come out of being in a bad place and things start to seem alright again. ‘It was written just as I was coming out of having a real stinker of year and things started to look up. Hopefully it captures that joy. Then lockdown hit. Great’
One of Indies largely undiscovered gems, Thrillhouse are steadily carving a unique space in the indie scene. Thrillhouse are a Brighton based alt-indie band living in the past. Born into the wrong generation, struggling with the delicate routine of a wholesome, balanced life they tend to stick to their bedrooms where they sometimes write music but sometimes don’t.
Thrillhouse are purveyors of sincerity cushioned in good humour. The lyrics convey a sense of personal struggle that is joyfully balanced with melodic and layered production, pushed forward by driving beats and ecstatic hooks. Recorded at the Silk Mill. Mixed by Tom Bishop Where The Roads Don’t Go is out March 19th
Big Little Lions have been described as ‘a blissful marriage of new folk and sophisticated pop’. Prolific songwriting, infectious folk-pop style, and an offbeat, memorable live show. This award winning duo consists of Helen Austin and Paul Otten who, despite living thousands of miles apart, have found a way to connect and create music together. Despite being in two different countries, they have found common ground to share their message.
Call it destiny, or call it fate, call it a necessary progression for these modern times. Helen lives in British Columbia, Canada and Paul lives in Cincinnati, OH. But the distance provides the necessity to create in a new way. Using technology as their ally and their differences as their strength.
Their monthly single releases are their way of getting through this pandemic while all the usual album cycle release plans don’t make sense anymore. Their music is jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies, the sound of two people working side-by-side.
What a breakup can do for musical inspiration. Remington super 60 is a band consisting of Christoffer Schou, Elisabeth Thorsen & Magnus Abelsen. The members have previously played in bands such as Musique Le Pop, Navigators, Frode Fivel amongst others.
Since the early start back in the end of the 90s, Remington super 60 have released albums, EP`s on various indie labels around the world, now they are ready with the follow up from last years EP “New EP” that received plenty of attention on various blogs and radio stations around the world.
The new EP “Nouvelle Noveau” consists of 6 new songs and one forgotten song from 2002. The bands songwriter/producer Christoffer & Singer Elisabeth Thorsen were a couple of almost 16 years but decided to end their relationship last year. Some of the songs on this EP deals with exactly this. Christoffer & Elisabeth have remained very good friends and decided to continue their musical work together, something this EP is a living proof of.
The music is mainly recorded in Christoffer`s living room surrounded by guitars, basses and a rather large collection of Casio/Yamaha keyboards from the 80s, although most people consider these keyboards to be toys Christoffer loves to include them as much as possible.
Musically the band has been labeled a “dream pop” band by media, not that strange considering the music has a big atmospheric vibe, featuring many vocal layers & big reverbs. “Nouvelle Noveau” is released on Christoffer`s own label Cafe Superstar recordings and also released on cassette by the Slovakian indie label z-tapes.
Quiet Marauder ft. Kadesha Drija - Let's Run Into The Flames Together.
Following swiftly on from last year’s Tiny Men Parts EP, Quiet Marauder re-enter the sonic fray with their latest Bubblewrap Collective long-player, The Gift, on 9th April 2021. Taking a strong divergence from the bombastic pop-punk of its predecessor, The Gift sees backing vocalist Kadesha Drija step to the foreground for the majority of the album, standing afront a richly crafted, multi-instrumental acoustic-folk backdrop.
Recorded pre-pandemic, January 2020, in The Burning Hell’s (Canada) pop-up Snowbird Studios, aka an art deco villa in Riofreddo, near Rome (Italy), this release marks another chapter in the ongoing international collaboration between the bands. For this album, Quiet Marauder’s (Wales) contributions of acoustic guitar, bass, trumpet and layered lead and backing vocals are granted further textural depth from their Canadian counterparts. These include minimalist harmonic splashes of flute, piano, organ (Jake Nicoll), electric guitar, bouzouki (Darren Browne) and bass clarinet (Ariel Sharratt).
Returning to the conceptual songwriting approach of previous releases MEN and The Crack And What It Meant, The Gift charts the narrative of a troubled teenage girl (Willow) haunted by visions of a mysterious house fire. Willow’s path is traced through well-meaning foster parents, teenage love interests, time-bending superpowers, distrust of domestic appliances and, ultimately, her own memories; covering themes of self-identity and the fallibility of human recall. Though the album marks a more overtly serious tone for the band, the sensitive subject matter is delicately handled through their trademark low-key, observational and, sometimes, darkly humorous lyrics.
The Gift will mark the second Quiet Marauder vinyl release via Bubblewrap Collective and will come on a heavyweight 180gm, purple marble 12-inch adorned within bespoke, Sims-based artwork designed by Carlota Nobrega. Each vinyl also comes with a lyric fold-out and sew-on ‘house fire’ patch. Alongside the vinyl release, The Gift will also be available to stream and download via all standard digital retailers and streaming services.
Emma Miller just released a soothing and gently flowing singer-songwriter track called 'Sail Away'. ==== Back in March we featured 'Lesser' from Thrillhouse and they are back with 'If It's Important' which is a catchy fast moving and rhythmic song. ==== SOUP! share 'All To Myself' featuring Meredith Adelaide and between them they have created an original and vibrant modern pop track. ==== Miesha & The Spanks new song 'Wanna Feel Good' is a potent garage rocker that fires hooks in all directions.
Following the release of her folk-tinged single “Honey”, Scottish artist Emma Miller returns with her introspective new track “Sail Away” - further demonstrating her inquisitive nature as a songwriter.
Experimenting with soft electronics and shimmering harmonies, “Sail Away” is a beautiful offering from the young artist. The delicate soundscape allows Emma’s powerful lyricism to take centre-stage, her warm vocals lapping gently against rumbling synth patterns and soft percussion.
“I wrote ‘Sail Away’ on a quiet evening at the end of 2018 when I was reflecting on what had been a fairly tumultuous year”, Emma explains. “I wanted to write the song from the perspective of what a friend might say to me, rather than the critical inner voice we can slip into when we’re feeling particularly inadequate. I hope when people listen, they’ll be comforted in the knowledge that they’re doing just fine and no matter where you are in life, it’s ok to take the road less travelled.”
Releasing music since 2017, Emma has taken a noticeable step back over the past 2 years. Instead, as she quietly watched and supported her peers to find success in their own musical projects, she chose to diligently focus on her songwriting and began working on a body of music she could be proud of.
Like many artists and songwriters who’ve found themselves jaded by the music industry, it wasn’t until Emma let go of the idea that music had to pay the bills that she fell head over heels in love with it. Today, amongst other things, (such as roaming the Scottish hillsides and looking after her dog, Gracie) Emma is pursuing a Diploma in Counselling Psychology, supporting people in the quest to navigate their mental health.
Brighton's alt-indie band Thrillhouse return with their latest single If It's Important, a love letter to those that help you through the shit times and to anyone that pushes you to achieve your dreams however foolish they may seem.
Out today October 9th, If It's Important follows a string of self-produced releases snagging spots on Spotify's 'Hot New Bands', KEXP, XFM's John Kennedy and Amazing Radio. Steadily carving out a space for themselves in the alt-indie scene the Brighton trio are building momentum in anticipation of their debut album Enter Spacebar, due for release mid-2021.
Thrillhouse are purveyors of sincerity cushioned in good humour. The lyrics convey a sense of personal struggle that is joyfully balanced with melodic and layered production, pushed forward by driving beats and ecstatic hooks. Check out their vid for previous single, Lesser.
London based Italo-British experimental duo SOUP! have teamed up with American singer and multimedia artist Meredith Adelaide for a transcending, metaphysical Pop gem.
SOUP! and Meredith make a game-changing pairing, with SOUP! breaking rules and boundaries within the paradigms of Pop, and Meredith bringing their thoughtful honest lyrics and dreamy vocals.
Meredith and the band met through the Rattle Collective, an international music network based in London and L.A., which allowed many artists to connect and cooperate during lockdown. Meredith recalls: “I’ve been trying to work with Gigi at The Rattle since I joined the Los Angeles crew. He started SOUP! as a way to not overthink creation and asked me if I’d be down to add vocals to a song.
It happened during the pandemic. It was a time of transition when I was asking myself a lot of hard questions about what I actually wanted in and for my world”. The result is the single ‘All To Myself’, born out of a remote collaboration transcending physical borders. The new single maintains the essential ingredients of SOUP!’s debut ‘All The People’ - with their abstractionist approach, dystopian soundscapes and a symbiotic performance between the human and the machine.
Miesha & The Spanks are a high octane garage rock duo from Calgary AB, made up of rock n roll matriarch Miesha Louie and her partner in crime, the hardest hitting Sean Hamilton on drums. Together they draw inspiration from classics like The Runaways, L7, and The Buzzcocks to create some modern noise that’s catchy enough to raise a fist and sing along.
Noise Journal describes them as “a filthy rocket of pure jet-fuel up the nostril, with surf rock sensibilities, a grunge groove and hair metal swagger,” while Canadian Beats called their last album “reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age meets The Animals – a certain coolness about it, making it impossible to forget.”
They’ve made a name for themselves as a band who is here to stay. Since Miesha created The Spanks in 2008, she’s opened every door, and taken advantage of each opportunity that’s come her way. Tour after tour down Canadian highway to play every small town and big city, with as many drummers as are up to the task, until landing someone crazy enough to stick around.
Their 2018 release Girls Girls Girls was produced by Danny Farrant of UK Punk Legends The Buzzcocks. The album reached #1 on Earshot!’s National Loud charts, and had singles hit #7 on CBC 3’s R3-30, and #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown. It was even given attention from Rodney Bingenheimer’s Sirius XM show Rodney On The Rock.
The Caress have released 'The Grave' today and it's one gorgeous song where a refined shoegaze guitar arrangement backs some beautiful vocals. === Dutch singer-songwriter Marle Thomson shares 'Castles' where the uncluttered musical backdrop is just right for her soulful melodic vocals. === Thrillhouse share their brand new track 'Lesser' which is a crisp rhythmic and catchy alt rocker. === It's an absolute pleasure to be able to share today's album release from Ani Glass entitled Mirores. We featured the title track back in January and everything that song promised has been delivered across this blissfully wonderful collection of music. === Last month we featured 'The Mountain' from The Danberrys and today they have shared the title track 'Shine' from their forthcoming album, which again has some natural rock & modern Americana sensibilities. ===Alt rock band Tourists have released 'Smokescreen' a swirling atmospheric and hook filled song, with that play me again feel way before the piece ends.
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The Caress - The Grave.
The Caress are a London-based alternative five piece, taking the wall of sound guitars of shoegaze, harmonies of 60s girl groups, and the kitchen sink lyrical sensibilities of Ray Davies to create their own brand of melodrama.
Formed in 2018, and off the back of support shows with Fontaines D.C., Talk Show and Far Caspian, The Caress’ string of self-released singles to date have received airplay on Steve Lamacq & Gideon Coe’s 6 Music drive time and recommends shows, editorial playlisting on Spotify and press coverage in the likes of Clash, culminating in a slot at 2019’s All Points East Festival.
Written whilst listening to The Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds’, their latest release, ‘The Grave’, sees the band take their sound in an expansive and atmospheric direction. Lyrically, the song reflects on childhood memories of visits to the resting place of a family member.
Following the release of ‘The Grave’, the band will release two EPs in 2020, with the first collection of songs to be unveiled in May.
Dutch singer-songwriter Marle Thomson is one to watch! With her warm and colorful voice and guitar sound, she brings soulful songs about longing, vulnerability and having the courage to open yourself up. Soulful Space Pop, as Thomson calls it herself.
Marle Thomson already made fame in The Netherlands with prominent performances and a well-received 8 track debut EP. She played live on Dutch national radio, prime time Dutch national television, performed at various festivals and stages such as Amsterdam Fashion Week, internationally acclaimed festival Eurosonic-Noorderslag and also as opening act for British singer Heather Peace and Australian singer Mark Wilkinson. In 2018 Marle went on her first ever UK tour.
Previous single ‘Satellites’, an unprecedented, striking song written, recorded and produced by Marle herself, was immediately picked up by UK blogs Music Week, Guestlist and Clash Magazine. Castles is the second single from the long awaited and much anticipated new EP that will be released this spring. The soulful sound of Castles creates a unique universe full of beats, loops, guitars, keys and vocals: a mix of power and vulnerability.
Marle Thomson about her new single: "Castles is a song about dreams. Future dreams that might fade and maybe turn out to be different than dreamed. Do we dare to accept that? Dreams might crumble and are formed into something new, like sand castles. It can be difficult to let go of the image we had, or to say a loving goodbye to someone, without knowing what the future will bring."
When we fall, we fall
Your name in the palm of my hand
We let go, we’re letting go
Crumbling castles made of sand.
Brighton’s alt/indie bedroom whizz kids Thrillhouse return with their second single, Lesser. Lesser follows debut single One of These Days, which grabbed all who heard it, including Radio X’s John Kennedy, half of the DJs at KEXP, and Amazing Radio.
About ‘Lesser’ - Now the attention turns to Lesser. The song is a reflection on the ups and downs of life and how it can often feel like an uphill struggle - “I’ve been swimming under water, against the tide, for a long time”.
There is sincerity in the words, but a sense of playfulness in the music that reaches its joyful peak in the gaudy (but glorious) synth solo at the end of the song (a nod to Talking Heads’ exuberant live performances). The honesty in the lyrics and optimism in the music come together to create a truly uplifting and moving listening experience.
Released on Seymour Butz Records, the track was recorded primarily at home, and then completed at The Silk Mill, Staffordshire.
The new Ani Glass album, MIRORES is finally released today (6th of March). With its tapestry of electronic sounds, elliptical melodies and samples threaded into a song cycle, MIRORES is based around the idea of movement and progress - one which takes us on a journey around her hometown of Cardiff. You can hear Ani’s recorded sounds of the urban landscape throughout; the movement of traffic and people and the magical yet infrequent sounds of nature coming together to create the score of a city’s symphony.
MIRORES also represents Ani’s first foray into production. Having been inspired by her experience of working with Martin Rushent during her time as member of indie-pop group The Pipettes, Glass has spent the past few years teaching herself the art of recording and production.
Glass' sound is inspired by many leading electronic and avant-garde artists and producers of the 1980s including Martin Rushent, Giorgio Moroder, Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre and Arthur Russell whilst the album’s wider themes are inspired in part by the works of abstract painter Agnes Martin and the author and activist Jane Jacobs. Despite some of the album’s heavier themes, Ani maintains a strong pop sensibility throughout, most certainly cemented during her time as member of R&B pop group Genie Queen – managed by OMD’s Andy McCluskey.
Husband and wife Americana duo, The Danberrys, officially released their single “The Mountain” in February. The song quickly drew praise, with American Songwriter noting their musical shift to an “...outlaw country style with pivoting riffs and beats.” Now, The Danberrys slow it down and explore the weight of trauma in their latest single, and album title track, “Shine”, out this Friday on all streaming platforms.
“Shine” lyrically delves into the process of healing from childhood trauma. The Danberrys carefully crafted the track to convey the mining for one’s innate divinity by mending the pain from the darkness. Reflecting on the creation of the single, Dorothy Daniel says, "'Shine' is about finding forgiveness when there has been no justice, no apology, no explanation - forgiveness for the sake of releasing yourself. It's about journeying steadfastly towards the tiny seed of light within and setting it on fire. The lyrics reflect the hard-earned skill of existing in more than one place within yourself once, learning to accept and even embrace the dichotomy of darkness and light."
Not only is “Shine” the title track off The Danberrys’ upcoming album, releasing May 8, 2020, but also the second official track release from the project. With 12 new tracks, "Shine" departs from their signature acoustic sound to capture elements of rock, blues, and folk. This new musical direction lets the pair venture into a darker atmosphere as well as allowing their self-written lyrics to stand tall. Shine will mark The Danberrys’ third full-length album.
Currently, The Danberrys are elated to release "Shine". To continue exploring the meaning behind “Shine”, The Danberrys will be releasing a music video for the track. Directed by Scot Sax, and filmed on Dorothy Daniel’s family’s land in Charlotte, TN, the music video will depict the story of a child escaping and healing from a nightmare. Be sure to check out The Danberrys on social media and check out "Shine", once available on all streaming platforms.
Tourists share their enveloping and driven new single Smokescreen today. It’s the second single following Align (Oct 2019), to be taken from Tourists’ long-awaited debut album Another State, mixed by producer Daniel Schlett (The War on Drugs, DIIV, Here We Go Magic), and set for release late 2020.
Tourists are a five-piece from Torquay whose sound is a distinctive strand of dark melodic dream-pop which combines elements of shoegaze and synth-pop with a deeper-rooted post-punk influence.
New single Smokescreen is indicative of the band’s more driven, darker side, created with a deliberate urgency emphasised by its persistent drum beat and siren-esque guitar riff. The song explores the Western world’s consumerist culture, one that controls and distracts us from what is important. The song took inspiration from Graham Hancock’s banned TED talk ‘The War on Consciousness’ which explores the hypocrisy of drugs laws, and what Tourists describe as “the repression of our rights to a meaningful experience that gives us an alternative perspective on our lives and our true meaning.”
Prior to the release of Align and Smokescreen, Tourists released a string of singles to introduce their sound to the world. Their Cut and Run (2016) single landed in the Spotify Global Viral 50 chart earning over 500,000 plays, receiving support from tastemakers such as DIY and Clash, culminating in Tourists playing to a packed-out tent at Glastonbury Festival on the BBC Introducing stage in 2017. The band spent the following year writing and then recording their debut album Another State, with aforementioned Daniel Schlett in his Brooklyn studio.
