Sunday, 20 January 2019

Running Red Lights - And The Kids - Rina Mushonga - Money For Rope - Ivan & The Parazol - Popincourt

Still catching up on some bands and artists whose new tunes came our way a few days ago. Running Red Lights atmospheric and gentle song exudes emotion, And The Kids serve up a hook filled indie rocker with a message, whilst Rina Mushonga continues to consistently impress us with her distinctive and charismatic music. Melbourne's Money For Rope share some timeless psych rock with plenty of determined attitude, and Budapest's Ivan & The Parazol are rocking with style and class. Finally we have the first of four fine songs from Popincourt's new E.P, a refined and charming collection of material.

Running Red Lights - Calls of Prudence.

Nostalgia is an addictive comfort to snuggle up to when the present day seems intolerably bleak.

“Calls of Prudence” is a moodier, more sorrowful track in comparison to our previous, most recent releases. It was penned during a moment where I felt myself longing for the vibrancy of youth, the thrill of experiencing things for the first time. 

One day, I was feeling particularly nostalgic and found myself reflecting on the days when I was young and could get blissfully drunk without having anyone or anything to answer to, without regard for the time that I was wasting. I curled up on my sofa with my notebook, my grief and my imagination, and I did what made sense – I began to write.

I hope you can find some solace in “Calls of Prudence.” - Scarlett of Running Red Lights.


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And The Kids - No Way Sit Back.

And The Kids have shared a new song from their upcoming album When This Life Is Over out February 22 on Signature Sounds (Lake Street Dive, Josh Ritter, Dustbowl Revival). “No Way Sit Back” is a rollicking indie rock attack of the media and the toll it takes on minorities. While it's written from the queer perspective, the message isn't limited to one viewpoint. The joyful melody clashes against a stabbing line, "The world was never made for, Made for us." When This Life Is Over is the beloved Northampton group's third full-length and the most dynamic declaration of their distinctly rambunctious sound to date.

Since their earliest days as a band, And The Kids have embodied the wayward freedom that inspired their name. “When Rebecca and I were teenagers we just lived on the streets and played music, and people in town would always call us kids—not as in children, but as in punks,” says Mohan. On their third full-length When This Life Is Over, the Northampton, Massachusetts-based band embrace that untamable spirit more fully than ever before, dreaming up their most sublimely defiant album yet.


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Rina Mushonga - For A Fool.

Rina Mushonga released a new single For A Fool on January 16th through [PIAS] Recordings. The Dutch-Zimbabwean pop innovator unveils the latest track from her imminent second album In A Galaxy on February 15th. Listen to For A Fool here

Having played a handful of low-key London shows towards the end of 2018, Mushonga makes her first UK live foray of 2019 when she plays London’s Shacklewell Arms on March 19th. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 16th January and are available to purchase here.

The track unraveling into shape at the end of the album sessions having existed in various guises over the years. Explaining the origins of the track, she says; “this is an old love song or rather heart-ache song. Old, in the sense that it was plucked into existence over a period of time- in parts fictional in others less so.” Mushonga adds further; “in a way it chronicles a betrayed lover tormented by the desire to trust again whilst acknowledging that everything has been tainted and can’t go back to how they were.”

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Money For Rope - Actually.

Melbourne psych-rockers Money For Rope will release new album ‘Picture Us’ on March 8, 2019, following international tours which have previously taken in shows across Primavera Sound, Glastonbury & SXSW, alongside support slots for Courtney Barnett (also an early champion of the band). Details of a 2019 UK headline tour from Money For Rope in support of the new album are soon to be announced. The band are trailing the album announcement with lead single, ‘Actually’.

Spawned from the same fertile Melbourne music scene which has fostered not only Barnett but also other friends including King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, The Goon Sax and Rolling Coastal Blackouts Fever, Money For Rope are releasing ‘Picture Us’ off the back of a dogged touring habit which has kept them on the road near constantly for the last four years. Entirely self-produced, mixed & mastered by the five piece - comprised of Jules McKenzie (guitars, vocals), Rick Parnaby (keyboards), Erik Scerba (drums), Chris Loftis (drums), Ted Dempsey (bass) - ‘Picture Us’ was recorded over the course of a single summer in Victoria, Australia on the coastline of the Southern Ocean.

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Ivan & The Parazol - Changin.

Following the release of the laid-back, West-Coast-influenced ‘Nr. 1003’, ‘Changin’’ showcases another dimension of Ivan & The Parazol’s creative prowess. Energetic from the start, the second single in the lead up to the band’s third full-length uses the saturated sing of distorted guitars and grooving basslines as an invigorating platform for frontman Iván Vitáris to deliver vocals bursting with character and colour. Rhythm-led verses let loose into a youthful, melodic chorus which is deserving of a place as the soaring opening of a coming-of-age indie film.

Ivan & The Parazol, a four-piece Budapestian band carrying the spirit of 70s glam-rock and incorporation of modern psych-rock instrumentation, making for an amalgam reminiscent of a Brian May-Kevin Parker compound, with their flamboyant guitar solos and overdriven octave-pedals on guitars. The upcoming album ‘Exotic Post-Traumatic’ was produced and recorded by Grammy Award-winning Wil Anspach (Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean) at the renowned EastWest studios in LA; hallowed grounds where Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Foo Fighters are just a few of the notable names to have recorded their material there.


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Popincourt - Blue Winter.

Following an album "A New Dimension To Modern Love" (2016) and a couple of singles (including one for a Jam Tribute), Popincourt is back with a new 4-track EP - featuring Susanne Shields on backing vocals and Olivier Bostvironnois on electronic arrangements. The EP contains four ballads, one for each season, exploring new sounds in the studio and mixing acoustic guitars, vintage keyboards and loungy electro vibes.

The ideal soundtrack for a picnic alongside of the Thames, the pure pop of Popincourt, an Illegitimate child of Paul Weller and Roddy Frame, makes it seem like you are traveling. His new EP looks like a postcard written during a blue winter. In the spring, we wander in the alleys of Hyde Park, serenaded by the clean guitars of "Green Spring". Then begins the red summer, conducive to romances that are come and go on a Brazilian beach. The final scene is a landscape of William Turner lit up by the fantasy colors of autumn. Crossing the Channel to the sound of this '4 colours 4 seasons', is the guarantee of a "voyage that will last a whole year", to paraphrase another lover of the London sound.» Pierre Mikaïloff.

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Saturday, 19 January 2019

Misty Coast - Jenny Teator - Distant Stars - LAGS - Geppetto & The Whales - Acrylic

We commence with some fabulously sweeping shoegaze from Misty Coast, plus a no nonsense rocker and brand new single from Jenny Teator. Distant Stars are synthy, mysterious and seductive, whilst LAGS offer up some potent and almost furious post rock. Geppetto and The Whales add refinement to the collection with a beautifully crafted song, and to round off today's selection Scottish band Acrylic share a catchy and fresh alt rocker.

Misty Coast - Backseat Warriors.

Misty Coast is the dream-pop, shoegaze amalgam from Linn Frøkedal and Richard Myklebust (previously part of the Norwegian noise rock act The Megaphonic Thrift). September 2017 saw them release their critically acclaimed debut full-length, attaining a Norwegian Grammy nomination. The Bergen-based duo now gears up for their sophomore album Melodaze, which the band themselves has simply described as their “Berlin rebel album”.

The entirety of the second full-length was written under the brutalism of the German capital’s architecture, during their two-month stay in the locality of Schöneberg through winter 2018. Stationed in an icy-cold outpost, observing local smoky beer joints and the groaning of car exhausts through the sub-zero night, Misty Coast have created something reminiscent of the bleak optimism of Cocteau Twins, where heavily distorted guitar hooks and pulsating bass lines meld with Frøkedal’s effervescent vocals.

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Jenny Teator - Surrender.

Surrender is about lust and curiosity. It talks about the primal want you get when someone comes into your life and they leave you wanting MORE. It’s more than just “I’m attracted to you”. It was this powerful gut feeling that took over my body, creating thoughts of what it could be like with this person. I think we are quick to disregard those moments and immediately feel “dirty” or “wrong” for thinking those thoughts. I’m saying, embrace it. We are only human. The possibilities are endless y’all. - Jenny Teator.

Jenny Teator is a St. Louis native who’s made her move to Nashville sharing her soul through her guitar and vocals. Performing for over a decade, Teator’s music shows her strength and confidence both in solo shows, collaborations, or when she performed with her long-term group Jenny Teator and the Fevers – a sexy blues/rock band that rocked Columbia, Missouri for years. Inspired by singers Grace Potter and Susan Tedeschi, Teator has a very straight forward lyrical style and the music follows the feelings of those words verbatim.


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Distant Stars - Robots (Do It Better).

The Melbourne/Caen 2 piece (named after Ultravox lyrics), deliver 5 tracks of warped pop that spill their minimal/dark/cold waves over the edge of the infinity pool.

The title track is the final release on Detonic Recordings "Minimum Viable Product" singles series, it is featured as track 3 on the vinyl compilation LP.

"cerveau facultatif
mémoire en périphérique
disques durs externes
perd pas ta plaque à induction magique
robots do it better
my computer does it better
no need for you anymore
outdated format"


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LAGS - Knives and wounds.

Italian post-hardcore band LAGS have announced their return with their new single 'Knives and Wounds'.

Speaking about the 'Knives and Wounds', frontman Antonio Canestri says, "‘Knives and wounds’ is the opening track of our new album and is the first song we wrote for the new album. It’s a song written in collaboration with our former singer (Luca de Santis aka SUVARI) and addresses two very important themes in the record: a disease and the search for a cure; the difficulty of being sabotaged by our own body, the failure in breaking down the "walls" in our mind, that most of the time we build as a form of self-defense from others and also from ourselves. The video is based on the concepts expressed in the lyrics and it was written by the director Stefano Pedretti: “I am my own fears, that’s what I’ve become.”"


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Geppetto & The Whales - Faust.

Here’s a new video that sets the bar high in terms of being incredibly beautiful. It’s from Geppetto & The Whales’ long awaited new album ‘Passages’ out yesterday on PIAS:

The track is called ‘Faust’ and is set in a lo fi production oozing with honey-like pedal steel, subtle jangly guitar and restrained strings, conjuring up picture-esque campfire and log cabin reflection.

The accompanying video is an exploration of the innocence and freedom of youth with stunning visuals of a young inquisitive man investigating a forest, playing with fire, cigarettes and insects as the track softly soothes the imagination, a perfect ode to the misunderstood. Some great guest musicians feature on the album including Ben Lester (Tallest man on Earth), Rob Moose (The National, Arcade Fire) & Trever Hagen (Bon Iver).


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Acrylic - I've Got Too Many Friends.

Glasgow's Acrylic prepare to kick start 2019 with the release of their infectious new single I've Got Too Many Friends, out now and premiered via Clash with early features on Tenement TV, Netsounds, and BBC Rapal amongst others.

The single is a soaring slice of indie rock from the offset, filled with jangling hooks, sweeping guitars and effortless harmonies throughout.  Frontman Andreas Christodoulidis' rich baritone vocal feel instantly reminiscent of the likes of The National's Matt Berninger, giving the track an undeniably defiant and endearing sound.  Talking about the single, Andreas elaborates "I've Got Too Many Friends is about feeling as though you've found yourself in an ideal situation, with all the pieces falling together, and knowing that you've still going to mess it up.  It's about a rift developing in a relationship and explores the naive idea that sex will resolve your issues, even though it will, in fact, be a colourless and sad affair and will most likely send you straight to the abyss."

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Thursday, 17 January 2019

William the Conqueror - Natalie Shay - Eerie Wanda - Business of Dreams - I Was a King - Hawksley Workman

Our catching up for January 2019 continues with Beehive Candy Lite part two.

William the Conqueror - Looking For The Cure.

Looking for the Cure is a song about redemption. It's raw, laid-bare song-writing but with an acerbic wit and an overall cathartic effect that turns a dark experience into something more hopeful, even joyous. As frontman Ruarri Joseph expands:

“'Looking for the Cure' started out as a mournful ballad about witnessing the process of recovery from addiction: the tragedy of searching for something that doesn’t exist. Then it dawned on me that if you're looking, at least it means you're alive to do so, and that’s a cure in itself.”


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Natalie Shay - Yesterday.

Natalie Shay is a 20 year old multi award-winning, indie pop/rock artist from North London. Deemed as one of London’s hottest emerging talents and having already acquired an impressive array of awards, Shay is ready to launch herself into the forefront of the industry, with her highly anticipated upcoming release.

As a classically trained guitarist from the age of five, Shay's outstanding talents soon found herself accepted into the prestigious BRIT school, known for producing such prodigies as Adele, Jessie J and Katy B. Shay credits her time at the famed BRIT school for encouraging her independence, “It allows student’s to develop creatively and socially so that they are prepared for the world once they graduate”, explains Shay.


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Eerie Wanda - Pet Town.

Eerie Wanda shares the title track from its upcoming sophomore LP, Pet Town. The video was filmed partially at the Nine Lives Cat Cafe in Indianapolis, IN over the holidays. Pet Town is out Jan. 25 on Joyful Noise.

Eerie Wanda is the brainchild of audio and visual artist Marina Tadic. Born to Croatian parents in the former Yugoslavia, Marina became a political refugee when she was just 6 years old. Forced to leave their home due to the Bosnian war, Marina’s parents sought asylum in the Netherlands- which is where Marina grew into an adult, became an accomplished artist, and where she still resides.


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Business of Dreams - Keep The Blues Away.

Corey Cunningham's Business of Dreams is all about emotional catharsis. When his father passed away a few years ago, Cunningham took leave from his long-running Bay Area/LA musical partnerships Magic Bullets and Terry Malts to return to his home state of Tennessee to grieve and confront his past.

Making music to cope with this loss resulted in Business of Dreams' lovely eponymous debut album, an unexpected pop pleasure that wound up on Bandcamp's and Raven Sings The Blues' year-end lists for 2017. Soon the live version of Business Of Dreams took shape as Cunningham opened for Rogue Wave on a national tour and played scores of local shows with Frankie Rose, Real Estate and many others.

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I Was a King - Bubble.

Originating from the windswept, moody southwestern coast of Norway, I Was A King are living proof that the sweetest pop songs can be cultivated and thrive in the oddest places.

I Was A King are announcing the release of new album Slow Century, out March 8th via Coastal Town Recordings. With the album announcement the band also released a new single 'Bubble'.

 Led by singers and guitarists Frode Strømstad and Anne Lise Frøkedal, whose united vocals melt into one extraterrestrial voice, their new album Slow Century is the result of a close collaboration with Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub) - who produced the new album.


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Hawksley Workman – Lazy.

I’ve always had this constant hunger to innovate, reevaluate what I do, and keep remaking it to confuse myself and maybe confuse my audience. This time, I’m just committing to writing focused and honest songs, which feels like the most interesting thing I can do right now.

“Lazy” is the latest single off of Median Age Wasteland, my upcoming new record. It’s an exploration of love and memories. Childlike images of winter and school portables give way to a lover's proclamation of staying awake and staying the course. The profound decision of love meets the feeling of love.







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Wednesday, 16 January 2019

Beehive Candy Lite presents: Someone - The Wave Pictures - Light Wheel - Nick Waterhouse - Late TV - Sister Sparrow

A new year, a delayed return, and a different approach, something along the lines of "Beehive Candy Lite". There are numerous reasons for altering our approach, circumstances change, we are now a very lean setup, and with so much to instantly stream and new music playlists tailored to personal listening habits, just how relevant we can remain, well time will tell. One advantage we have is our ever growing international range of new music sources.

It's a given that Beehive Candy only shares music they genuinely like and sometimes can't help but love.

So the new approach will see us morph into a more playlist orientated style. Less words, if the artist or band are featured then please consider that our full endorsement, our recommendation to check their music out.

Our hope is that we can expand your musical world by curating a wide variety of great new music and artists from around the world.  So by way of a catch up here's whats pleased our ears, so far this year - part one.
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Someone - Pull It Together.

Multi-disciplinary Amsterdam artist Someone, AKA Tessa Rose Jackson, releases her new single Pull It Together via [PIAS] Recordings. A stunning slice of infectious psych-pop, equally indebted to Tame Impala or early 90s French electronica pioneers Air, it is the first single taken from her upcoming new EP Orbit, the follow up to last year’s Chain Reaction EP.
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The Wave Pictures - Shelly.

The Wave Pictures are delighted to share the video for their new single “Shelly”, which is taken from their recent album Look Inside Your Heart (out now via Moshi Moshi). Singer and guitarist Dave Tattersall describes the track as, “A love song in the laid back style of late 70s Grateful Dead only with even better lyrics.”






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Light Wheel - Answers.

Light Wheel is a musical act from Austin, Texas formed by vocalist/songwriter Tyagaraja and producer Evan Dunivan. Their music is marked by colorful soundscapes and eclectic rhythms, anchored by powerful, dynamic vocals. It is aesthetic pop music with touches of R&B grooves and Electronic flair. Their upcoming debut full length record, "See Through" will be released in January of 2019. Light Wheel started playing live in December of 2017, debuting at the Day for Night Festival, featuring Bjork, Aphex Twin, Run the Jewels, and more. Live, Light Wheel is a four piece act, accompanied by drummer Ethan Yeager and bassist Michael Sanders.

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Nick Waterhouse - Song For Winners.

Los Angeles-based musician Nick Waterhouse has announced his new self-titled album set for March 8th release via Innovative Leisure. Following 2016’s 'Never Twice' which was hailed by Vogue as “the second coming of soul” and earned Nick a performance on 'Later' with Jools Holland, the new album was recorded at LA’s legendary Electro-Vox Recorders, and co-produced with Paul Butler (Michael Kiwanuka, St. Paul and the Broken Bones), with backing from a heavy bevy of friends and session players including Bart Davenport, percussionist Andres Renteria (Flying Lotus, Father John Misty), flutist Ricky Washington (Kamasi’s dad), and saxophonists Paula Henderson (Gogol Bordello) and Mando Dorame (JD McPherson).
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Late TV - Great Gulfs.

Amidst the cultural detritus of television’s after hours rises a freaky new street beat played by London’s Late TV. Culling influences from jazz cats and art rockers, B-movies and trash television, via Lynch and Tarantino, Late TV are the moonlighting house band for a surreal all-night dream club where the intangible dance floor shifts and folds to become the set piece of a talk show beamed onto the farthest reaches of your channel selector. Helmed by Luke J Novak, who hails from the slabbed post-industrial backwater of Kidderminster, Late TV originates from a folk noir group formed by Luke and Richard ‘The Showman’ Bowman, a drummer whose restless search for groove quickly outgrew their genre. Joined by Chicago’s jazz fusion obsessed Ryan Szanyi on bass, Parisian keyboard maestro Martin Coxall,  tenor sax player Evesham Nicholas, and Liverpool's Matthew Halsall on trumpet, their new outfit Late TV harks back to a time when music was all fearless fusion and intractable improvisation.


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Sister Sparrow - Gold.

Sister Sparrow (nee Arleigh Kincheloe) has released “Gold,” the video for the title track of her recent album and announced the first leg of her 2019 tour. “Gold” is currently being spun on numerous influential radio stations nationwide, including Sirius XM The Spectrum’s Shortlist and Jam On, WFUV (NYC), WXPN (Philadelphia), and WRLT (Nashville), and was recently named Song of The Day on The Current (Minneapolis).











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Gilanares - Lauren Freebird - The Jaws of Brooklyn

Photo - Eden Mili Gilanares - Cat's out of the bag / If Chaos killed the dinosaurs. New York-based artist Gilanares releases “Cat’s out...