Loaver - Dolls - Zooni

Loaver returns here just four weeks after we featured 'Bloom With Me' with another gorgeous song 'Forget All About' upping the anticipation for her debut album 'Fern' due at the end of October. === We have already shared two songs from Dolls E.P 'Eggshells' and today we have another video, this time for 'Secret Ugly Baby' along with the full E.P. === It's been over a year since Zooni last graced our pages, so welcome back with the new song 'Cascara' which is a stylish and intimate art pop song.
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Loaver - Forget All About.

Malmö, Sweden, based singer-songwriter Linnea Hall started her solo project Loaver with a desire to be able to showcase all sides of her experiences and inspirations. On October 30th, debut album 'Fern' is released via Rama Lama Records. 'Forget All About' is the third single to come from the album and is out now.

In 2019, she put out her self-titled debut EP on Birds Records. The music – experimental, smooth and dark pop at its finest – was written and recorded in Italy during 2017, in close collaboration with artists such as Giovanni Ferrario (PJ Harvey, John Parish etc.), who produced the tracks, and Emanuele Maniscalco. Through the six tracks we were drawn between the uttermost boundaries of emotions – love, hate, dreams, doubt, chaos and naivety. The new record is once again recorded in Italy but this time in collaboration with Emanuele Maniscalco and Carlo Poddighe.

Loaver on Forget All About: "I wrote Forget All About with Emanuele Maniscalco in Italy last spring. It was a time when nothing seemed to be right. I guess it’s a song about the abrupt changes that arose in the gap between what was gone but at home and the present absence, or perhaps it was the other way around. The horses ran astray in the city. "

Early 2020, Loaver returned with new single 'Drömmeri (om döden)' on Rama Lama Records (Melby, Chez Ali, Julia Rakel, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes). The single, a pendant to Debussy's Reverie, is a memoriam to Linnea's grandmother that was released on her death day. This was the first taste of the upcoming album that's packed with highly unique and instantly memorable tracks, like the slow burner 'Bloom With Me', the shapeshifting 'Forget All About' and captivating 'Apart'.

The debut LP 'Fern' sees Loaver develop her creative pop and experiments with trip hop, singer-songwriter, dream pop, jazz and bedroom pop elements that together with Hall's splendid vocals and personal lyrics create a hauntingly beautiful soundscape.

Besides Loaver, Linnea Hall is the singer of Swedish experimental indie rock group Kluster B. The band have put out two records since 2018 that besides positive reviews in some of Sweden's biggest music magazines, have received international attention from Line of Best Fit, BBC Radio 6, NBHAP and more, with The Revue calling them one of the most innovative bands in the world as well as opened for Frankie Cosmos, Omni and more.

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Dolls - Secret Ugly Baby (Video) / Eggshells (E.P).

Two piece power-pop makers Jade and Bel, aka Dolls, release new single/video 'Secret Ugly Baby' and make their 'Eggshells' EP available to stream.

At the end of June Dolls physically released their long-awaited second EP ‘Eggshells’ exclusively as part of the Love Record Stores.  It was once again released with iconic soundtrack labels Mondo/Death Waltz on a beautiful limited edition multi-coloured and etched vinyl LP and digital.

This week they have released that EP digitally, plus reveal a video for latest single ’Secret Ugly Baby’.  Talking about the song, Jade explains "Secret Ugly Baby is your own anxiety, it’s born one day and evolves as you grow up. It’s not pretty and it’s not something that you always want to show to the world”.

She goes on to talk about the video, explaining "The stop-motion video by Michael Foxwell is a fun play on the lyrics. Highlighting the pressures we have from social media and our constant desire to appear like we are ‘living our best lives’... whilst simultaneously falling over!"

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Zooni - Cascara.

A powerful yet fragile mix of poetic lyrics and transcendent textures ... Brighton art-pop makers Zooni today release their latest single ‘Cascara’. Produced
with Mercury and Brit award winning producer Charlie Andrew (Alt J, London Grammar, Marika Hackman), and released via Square Leg Records, it is taken from their forthcoming ‘Familiar Ground' EP is (out October 2nd).

Talking about the song, singer Peter Martin explains that “Cascara is a bit of a downer to be honest. Its about feeling overworked and powerless to change anything. Living alone I realised I would come up with all sorts of wacky theories for happiness that bore no relation to reality and the song kind of makes fun of that.’

The track comes supported by a beautifully monochrome animated video from director Patrick Atkins.  Explaining his inspiration for the video, he explains "There's so much texture and mood layered into this song, it was a pleasure to try to and mirror that on screen and see where it took me. As with the previous video for ‘Dissolve', I knew I wanted to take the viewer on a bit of a journey on this one, and capture what felt to me like real moments of wonder and awe running through a track that's otherwise got a slightly dark mood to it. Something about falling through space seemed to fit, and the rest evolved from there".

The band today announce a special online performance recorded live at Iguana Studio where they recorded both of their EP’s. The set will include the EP and some special surprises. It’ll be broadcast live 8pm October 1st on the bands facebook and instagram pages.

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Frog - Zooni - Catherine MacLennan

Frog have shared 'Black Friday' taken from their fourth album 'Count Bateman' due for release next month. The band carve out a pleasing and unique blend of genre styles with just a little quirkiness to further their originality.

From Zooni we have a new video for 'Cotton Blue' which is a beautifully arranged piece, that gently drifts somewhere between lo-fi and alt rock.

We have two songs from Catherine MacLennan namely 'Roll With The Wind' and 'Emmet's Song'. Both are pretty special to say the least, as this talented singer-song writer creates some pristine and natural roots music.
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Frog - Black Friday.

Count Bateman is the fourth release from Frog, the acclaimed cult Wyrd-Americana Indie band from Queens, NYC. Their music has found over one million streams on Spotify, they’ve received support from the BBC, NPR Music and many more.

On their latest eclectic and emotional outing, there’s hints of the Carole King’s ‘70s pop, Jonathan Richman’s earnest eccentricity, Ned Doheny’s white boy funk, Greg Dulli’s lust, the Meat Puppets’ bastardized Americana and the wild wit and narrow self-control of The Silver Jews.

Count Bateman will be co-released August 16th by Audio Antihero and Frog founder Danny Bateman's fledgling Tape Wormies imprint (which he describes as “a hippie commune label, seeking to make its artists co-owners/profit sharers so that everyone will help each other succeed”).

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Zooni - Cotton Blue.

‘Cotton Blue’ follows the April release of their debut single ‘Pany’, which appeared on the Radio X Evening Playlist, was included on Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’ and ‘Hot New Bands’ playlists, and was followed by a packed performance at The Great Escape Festival.

Discovered by Mercury and Brit award winning producer Charlie Andrew (Alt J, Nick Mulvey, Marika Hackman), the band - Peter Martin, George Godwin, Ben Clark, and Matt Glasbey - mix hypnotic beats with delicate piano, angular guitars, and haunting vocals.

Talking about the single, they explain "Cotton Blue is an introspective song about giving up on a broken relationship. It was written and demoed on a retreat to the Welsh countryside with the producer Jay Pocknell.”

Following their sold out debut London show on July 2nd at The Waiting Room, the band will appear at the below festivals:

Kendal Calling, Cumbria | July 25-28
Moseley Folk & Arts Festival, Birmingham | Aug 30 – Sept 1


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Catherine MacLennan - Roll With The Wind / Emmet's Song.

Hot on the heels of her first two singles released last month, JUNO-award winner Catherine MacLellan, returns with another double release, "Roll With The Wind" and "Emmet’s Song" from her forthcoming album Coyote. This self-produced record is a travelogue through heartbreak, loss and the joy of life, set to be released in October 2019.

Some thoughts from Catherine on the songs: "Roll With The Wind" was written for a few male friends in my life, who would come and visit me at my country home and somehow disturb all the quiet peace. They’d waltz in from the city, break all the girl’s hearts, start fights with the guys, drink all the booze, and then leave me to clean up their mess. And yet, I would always welcome them back.

“Emmet’s Song" was written for my teenage nephew. He was going through such a tough point of his life, so much change and feeling outcast from society and his family. He asked to stay with me for a while, and I took him in. The two of us learned so much during that time. I was so inspired by his bravery, walking through life with his head up and heart open despite the hardships he was going through.

Catherine’s previous album of original material, The Raven’s Sun, won a JUNO for Roots Recording of the Year in 2015. Since then she’s been building a catalogue of songs just waiting to come to light. The songs are a result of big changes in her life and perspective. And while The Raven’s Sun was an intimate look into her musical work with long-time collaborator Chris Gauthier, COYOTE builds on that and adds the sounds of a fuller band. As well, it adds some more traditional East Coast instrumentation of accordions, fiddles and bouzouki.


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Basset - Zooni - The Switch

Basset have just released 'Waterloo' and I have to say I am mightily impressed. Their acoustic musical combination of instruments ensures they have a fresh and distinct sound and the vocals add vibrancy and energy, they are ones to watch out for, I would suggest.

Art pop band Zooni have just released their new single 'Cotton Blue' a gently paced song, where the musical arrangement is well structured with plenty of clarity for each musician and just right for the heartfelt vocals.

Finally The Switch have shared 'What If' taken from their upcoming album. The band have a refined musical approach, melodic and crisp the originality is notable, this album tease suggests their fifth full-length 'Birds of Paradise' will be a splendid affair.
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Basset - Waterloo.

Basset is a young and rising all-acoustic group, consisting of vocalist Yasmine Shelton, songwriter/musician Sam Clark, and twin brothers Aaron and Noah Philipp-Muller. While they draw on folk traditions from both sides of the pond with their heavy use of fiddle, mandolin and cello, their original tunes also take inspiration from old blues music (hear Shelton’s powerful vocals), 50s and 60s rock, and their shared classical background. Their inventive style has earned comparisons to The Punch Brothers, Belle and Sebastian, and Of Monsters and Men. They recently released their debut single, “Dave and the Queen of Toronto”, and are set to release their debut EP in late June.

Basset often uses the old bluegrass method of gathering around a single microphone for their live shows, filling the room with their infectious love for each other and the music they play. There’s never a dull moment between tunes either, as audiences get a glimpse into the charming – and at times ridiculous – antics of this tight-knit group of friends.

The band was formed in Winter of 2016 while all members were studying liberal arts at Victoria College, at the University of Toronto. Sam and Aaron, both songwriters from a young age, were first year roommates and fast friends, frequenting open mics around the university with their acoustic arrangements, sometimes accompanied by Noah on the cello. Still in need of a lead singer, Sam turned to Yasmine. He had been bewitched by her a capella rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” at an open mic at the college, and they had since become good friends.

Now a quartet, the band’s first gigs involved playing background music at college functions; however, the goal was always to develop their own original music. They quickly grew out of the university scene, and now, almost three years on and having left their college years behind them, the band has played some of Toronto’s premier music venues, including the Painted Lady and Lee’s Palace, as well as regular house concerts across the city. They have appeared at the Summerfolk music festival and Heartwood Concert Hall in Owen Sound, and developed a supportive network of industry professionals who view the band as a young act brimming with promise, sharing stages with The Lifers, NEFE, and Citizen Jane.

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Zooni - Cotton Blue.

London-based art-pop newcomers Zooni have just released their new single ‘Cotton Blue’ via Square Leg Records.  Big nods to the likes of Alt J, Sufjan Stevens & Broken Bells in here >>

‘Cotton Blue’ follows the April release of their debut single ‘Pany’, which appeared on the Radio X Evening Playlist, was included on Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’ and ‘Hot New Bands’ playlists, and was followed by a packed performance at The Great Escape Festival.

Discovered by Mercury and Brit award winning producer Charlie Andrew (Alt J, Nick Mulvey, Marika Hackman), the band - Peter Martin, George Godwin, Ben Clark, and Matt Glasbey - mix hypnotic beats with delicate piano, angular guitars, and haunting vocals.

Talking about the single, they explain "Cotton Blue is an introspective song about giving up on a broken relationship. It was written and demoed on a retreat to the Welsh countryside with the producer Jay Pocknell.”

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The Switch - What If.

Following the outfit’s previous bodies of work “We’re Fooling No-One” and the Norwegian Grammy-awarded “The Switch Album”, they return with fifth full-length “Birds of Paradise”. Lead-vocalist Thomas Sagbråten and co-author of the bulk of the album says “We tried to make a musical universe with slightly different laws of nature than real life. A bit less gravitation. The air is thicker. It’s hyper realistic, but also unreal.”

From budding seeds to the overarching themes of this viridescent volume, the septet hones something every-bit stylistically varied, surrealistically inclined and tactile, like a brightly plumaged exotic bird lost in the upper stretches of the northern hemisphere.

Second slice “What If”, from the upcoming LP pays homage to the modern man-child’s fear for getting his sh*t together. Think early-Wild Beasts with the charm of Mac DeMarco’s “Salad Days”. It vaults clichés of dream-pop and works as the perfect announcement of the album, with its enchantingly artificial birds of paradise sounds in the final quadrant of the four-minute-feat from keyboardist Arthur Kay Piene.

“The other side of the divide between me and the world might not be worth the trip”

Peter Vollset, the lyricist of the band says “The lyrics are questioning the oft-repeated notion that “proper” adult life is boring and miserable and that protesting or postponing this is just childish and selfish. At the same time, the not quite proper adult narrator isn’t exactly a beacon of self-love and sunshine themselves, so who knows you know?”

Sound technician and repeat The Switch-collaborator Christian Engfelt (Serena Maneesh, Fieh, Band of Gold etc.) decided to make this his most meticulous work with the band yet, blowing by every self-imposed deadline in a year-long on-and-off series of recording sessions which resulted in an extraordinary sounding album; coherent and tight, but with great attention to detail.

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