Hannah Georgas makes her fourth appearance here this year with 'Easy' and it's another beautifully crafted song that allows her superb vocals to shine. === Westberg shared 'Simple' with us back in June and return with 'Nostalgia' where the duo are again impressive with this creatively arranged song. === Dusker share 'Quality Papers' ahead of E.P 2' set for release this coming Friday, the song itself is a magnificent mixture of alt rock with more than a little punk feeling.
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Hannah Georgas - Easy.
On September 4th Hannah Georgas who, over the years has been an active touring member of The National and Kathleen Edward's backing band, will release her new LP All That Emotion on Brassland and Arts & Crafts. Produced by Aaron Dessner, founding member of The National and producer of Taylor Swift's latest LP folklore, the album has already attracted an enthusiastic critical response with the mesmeric lead single "Dreams," the calmly enveloping "Just A Phase" and pre-announce singles "That Emotion" and "Same Mistakes," earning praise from many outlets.
Today, Georgas is sharing her final single from the LP, a slow-burning synth pop gem entitled "Easy." Introduced by pulsing arpeggiators and a subtle blend of electronic drums and organic percussion, the track builds towards a glittering crescendo, with Georgas' weaving in and out of harmonized vocal parts as she chronicles a search for closure at the end of a relationship.
“I was going through a break up around the time that I wrote this song and I felt like I kept searching for some sort of closure or definitive ending to the relationship," says Georgas. "I found myself feeling frustrated that I couldn’t communicate well with this person and whenever I tried to reach out I was left feeling more alone in the end. I was going through this hard time and it felt like they found it easy to let it go.”
“Westberg,” the Gen X duo of Ariel Westberg and Scott Bruzenak (aka Noisecastle III) announce the upcoming single, “Nostalgia” due out August 24. The single represents a dusty tale of isolation in the middle of Los Angeles, the backdrop for the midlife crisis that unfolds within the rest of their EP. The EP, Boomer Studies is due for release on September 18.
The duo approaches “Nostalgia” with the stain of cynicism. The lyric, “Nostalgia just ain’t what it use to be” threads a thematic discontent while the appearance of Townes Van Zandt’s well-to-do doppleganger is symbolic of the decay of nostalgia itself. They say, “We wrote this in his shadow, with nods to the bitter tone and dopamine-starved prose.”
Having met as classical music majors “in the weirdest school in the U.S.,” Evergreen State College, the two Angelenos had explored Avant-Garde, jazz, rock, electro-folk, chamber pop and trip-hop. But Boomer Studies was a chance to strip it down and reflect. Their 2006 self-titled album received accolades from Nic Harcourt and continues to receive support on KCRW.
An emotive, loud-quiet-loud cut from their four-track cassette, “Quality Papers” is Dusker’s magnum opus from their new work. Befitting their forerunners Cap’n Jazz and Rites of Spring, the longest piece of the record is by no means meandering into nowhere – it’s concise, powerful… emotional. Did we mention it’s emotive yet?
“EP 2” has already seen coverage at home and abroad – BBC Radio Nottingham featured first single “Leo” on their Introducing show, along with airplay from freeform radio show Aural Delights.
Japanese blog Warszawa and UK based music website Backseat Mafia have also featured the band, with Craig Young from Backseat Mafia going as far as to say the EP “… take(s) you right back to the late 90s (...) Exceptional punk vocals and drenched in delicious feedback."
“EP 2” is available for pre-order on cassette tape and digitally from MUZAI Records ahead of its official release August 28th 2020.
Speaker Face just released 'Work Friends' and it's a glorious concoction of instruments, electronics and musical styles . === Anna Krantz shares 'We Could Be High' where refined music, deep digging hooks and timeless ballad vibes naturally come together. === From Carley Arrowood we have some imaginative Americana, superb vocals and refined musicianship in the form of 'Goin' Home Comin' On'. === Rachel Angel has just released her new E.P titled 'Highway Songs'. It's a collection of five tracks, broadly described as country folk, the depth and beauty of this E.P cannot be over stated. === From London we have the duo 88/89 with 'Hit Me' a song that mixes classic synth pop and psychedelic trappings together, along with a mass of catchy moments.
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Speaker Face - Work Friends.
Speaker Face is an award winning earthy electronic band that melds the sounds of nature and machines. Combining acoustic instruments, voice and wilderness sounds with computers and synths, Speaker Face creates beats and sonic landscapes that immerse the listener in melody, groove and mood.
The palette of sound created by Trent Freeman’s layers of rhodes and violin, and Eric Wright’s atmospheric production and beats, are topped with the hauntingly honest voice of Ruby Randall.
Whether it’s a star-lit forest dance stage, an acoustically perfect soft seat theatre or the immersion of your headphones, the musical experience of Speaker Face is transportative and fully consuming.
Their latest album, Crescent, is reshaping the notion of genre, and captures the future of indie music within the building blocks of ancient sounds.
“Listen to your heart this time, come tomorrow we could be high” Anna Krantz. ‘We Could Be High’ was written on a Zoom call during the recent global lockdown. Anna Krantz, like many writers, had her reservations about collaborating over the internet for the first time, yet when all other options become suddenly stripped away, creatives get creative.
She explains, “I couldn’t write about the experience of being separated from my family and friends, in a city I had only recently moved to and had barely begun to call home when the world shut down. I wasn’t ready to tap into those layered and conflicting emotions. I wanted… no, I needed to write a song which gave me hope. A song which lifted my spirits when I sang it.”
Simon Johnson, who also co-produced the song, was the perfect choice to collaborate with on this rootsy foot tapper. He recorded his guitar parts at his home studio in The New Forest, England. Heavily influenced by her years spent in Nashville, Krantz was keen to capture elements of Americana. Though London born and bred she has a penchant for timeless American melodies and has been compared by old friends like Ed Sheeran as sounding as resplendent on record and live, as artists such as Sheryl Crow, Rickie Lee Jones, Carole King and Sara Bareilles.
Now based in Dublin, the gift of modern technology once again presented itself. Krantz contacted Nashville based drummer, Adam Box (Brothers Osborne) and Nashville based keys player, Dave Cohen (Carrie Underwood, Steven Tyler, Reba McEntire) knowing they both had their own private setups to record in. Keeping everything at an acceptable social distance!
She confides, “It felt fun to set ourselves the challenge of making this recording a global effort during a time when no one could be in the same room.”
Krantz recorded her vocals at her new home studio in Southern Ireland. She painted the artwork on a canvas delivered by Amazon and an easel hand crafted by her boyfriend out of scrap wood from the shed because, there was, of course, no way of going out for art supplies.
Mixed by one of Krantz’s go to sound wizards, Richie Biggs (The Civil Wars, The Lone Bellow) at his studio in LA, ‘We Could Be High’ is a song about taking a leap of faith in the hopes of finding the ultimate high. Be it love for another, love for oneself or simply inner calm and connection. Life favours the brave and this song is a reminder to be the bravest version of ourselves, no matter how high the risk.
Carley Arrowood is on a journey. Already, it’s taken her onto the stage of the Grand Ole Opry with an acclaimed touring act and into a new role as a singer, songwriter and fiddler recording for the Mountain Home label. Now, following the release of her self-penned ballad, “Dear Juliana” and a celtic-flavored gospel original, “Ballad of Calvary,” she’s taking a quick side trip for a little reunion and renewal in her third single, “Goin’ Home Comin’ On.”
Penned by a trio of writers that includes Jenee Fleenor — the reigning Country Music Association Musician of the Year (and the first woman to win the award) — alongside veteran songwriter Charley Stefl (“The Fool,” “All Aboard”) and producer-bassist (and award-winning songwriter) Jon Weisberger, the song is a lively portrait of a young woman homeward bound for a weekend visit. As Carley explains, she connected immediately with its theme when she heard it.
“The feeling of a ‘Goin’ Home Comin’ On’ is one in a million,” she notes. “You start that long drive, with your suitcase in the back seat (and maybe your fiddle too) and you start thinking about everybody you’re gonna see and all the things you’re gonna do. That’s the story this song tells with its rootsy, cheerful, nostalgic vibe. The first time I heard it there were vivid memories that came to mind.”
Arrowood is joined by a stellar band that includes bluegrass power couple Kristin Scott Benson (banjo) and Wayne Benson (mandolin), guitarist and harmony singer Daniel Thrailkill — and, fittingly, her sister Autumn. “When we were little girls,” Carley recalls, “my sister Autumn and I would run to our dad when he got home from work — racing to see who would get the first hug. So when I heard the line about running to daddy, I immediately knew Autumn had to sing harmony with me on it!”
Yet while she’s surrounded by a strong group of players, Arrowood’s confident performance keeps her expressive, empathetic voice and commanding fiddle work at center stage from the song’s explosive start through its energetic closing refrain. And though it’s filled with the virtuosity and down-home sentiments of bluegrass, “Goin’ Home Comin’ On” has a distinct country flavor in its varied rhythms and unfolding arrangement.
In fact, when you get down to it, to say Arrowood is on a journey may actually be a bit of a misdirection — for judging by the mature, fully-realized quality of her music, Carley Arrowood has already arrived at a place that makes her one of the fastest rising and meaningful female roots music artists today.
When Rachel Angel sings “I wanna be a renegade,” she is speaking to the experience of personal transformation and resilience, like putting on a protective coat of armor to meet the world with grace and courage. While the songs on the EP were inspired by the spirit of outlaw country, her sense of the outlaw is metaphorical rather than literal. These songs are about taking the unconventional artists' path and staring in the face of danger, fear, and pain.
On her latest EP Highway Songs, the country-folk troubadour takes the listener on a wild journey—physical, emotional, spiritual, and everywhere in between. These songs were written in the midst of a harrowing time for Angel— she was physically sick with an auto-immune disease, self-quarantined in her Brooklyn apartment, writing at a feverish pace. At the time, She was experiencing a lot of catastrophic anxiety and chronic health problems, feeling both mentally and physically all out of sorts. As she began writing the songs that would become Highway Songs, she embarked on a family trip to Mexico, with the disquieting notion that something bad was going to happen, but couldn’t determine if it was anxiety or a premonition. Within the first week of being there, they experienced a 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City—buildings around them fell, power lines went down, and everything closed. But despite feeling frightened and immediately wanting to leave, Angel decided that pushing through the discomfort would ultimately build strength.
After her harrowing experience in Mexico, Angel spent the remainder of the year touring different cities on the east coast, in the UK, and traveling around for various events and building a new sense of resilience. She was listening to a lot of outlaw country, the spirit of which filled her with a feeling of vibrancy and bravery. She finished writing and recording the content of “Highway Songs” during a breaking point and crisis period in her life, right before making her way to the other side. Angel ultimately left New York City for her hometown of Miami in need of great healing and has since been on a spiritual journey, grounding herself and writing more music to heal and nourish herself and her listeners.
Hailing from London, Jack (born in 88) and Michael (born in 89) began carving out a space between synth-pop and psychedelic rock creating a sonic landscape with no boundaries.
The duo deliver a nostalgic and psychedelic single capturing the high points of being in love. Vocally the track is evocative of bands like The Temper Trap, while the soundscape of synths and guitars are resonant with 80s neo-psychedelia and modern synth-pop bands like MGMT.
88/89 is a hybrid of synths, guitar riffs and sentimentalism. Formed in London, Jack and Michael are carving out a space between synth-pop and psychedelic rock creating a sonic landscape with no boundaries.
Jack and Michael met when both of them were trying to start again creatively - Jack after leaving Sissy and the Blisters and Michael after putting his acting career behind. Jack played some of his music to Michael in a car and then they only grew from there. They quickly realised that they are like Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire, yin and yang.
Xanthe Alexis has released her new album 'The Offering' and we have two more songs from it namely 'Moon' and 'The Heart Needs Time' both of which typify this fabulous album. === Garrett Owen shares 'No One To Save You' following on from 'These Modern Times' which we featured in July and again the Texas singer songwriter delivers another refined slice of Americana.
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Xanthe Alexis -Moon / The Heart Needs Time.
Xanthe Alexis' new album The Offering, out this weekend, is simply stunning, from her goosebump-inducing voice to her personal and vulnerable writing; and from the indie-folk production that encompasses acoustic guitar as much as drum machines to the radical empathy she practices in her life and art.
Like so many of her songwriting sisters and brothers in a year of lockdown, Xanthe Alexis has been awaiting the summer day she can give her second album, The Offering, to a revolutionizing world. The accomplished Colorado musician was just breaking into the national scene as the world shifted under our feet in early 2020. Her experience as both a trauma therapist and a single mother of two allowed her to weather the subsequent storm with unusual grace. Even from lockdown, Alexis has offered friends and fans daily affirmations of power and hope on social media – commodities that are rare in these times of vindictive language.
The passionate and strident tracks on The Offering reflect her wise responses to this new world shorn of pretense and masquerade. Her writing on the album also springs from the aftermath of heartbreak so the music functions both to heal others after hard-won lessons in moving forward herself. She sings, “It’s going to leave you hungry, kisses just like medicine, there and then gone again, here inside The Offering, tell me what you need.”
Alexis has noticed a distinct change in what her fans want from songwriters. In the almost four years since the 2016 election, she witnessed a need for a more authentic voice within the confounding politics and more passion in equal doses. Songs like “Siren” are meant to acknowledge anxiety while bringing a soothing hope for those living in fear. Alexis has found herself reflecting on her own newfound sobriety and writing about her journey towards healing. The songs are personally vulnerable and bring a broader context to living bravely, during fearful times. The recording sessions for The Offering began in 2019 under the tutelage of Conor Bourgal, founder of Colorado Springs group Changing Colors, and a proficient sound engineer. He worked closely with Alexis to accentuate what really mattered in these songs and to develop an indie-folk sound that draws as much from indie rock drum styles as from acoustic guitars, but always hangs back to let her stunning voice take the fore.
Alexis is unmistakable for her powerful voice and enchanting lyrics. The singular aura of magic surrounding her is a reflection, in equal measure, of her birth in the Superstition Mountains in Mesa, Arizona. Her childhood was steeped in the mysticism of blended cultures and gave her a passion and sensitivity for the unseen world of Spirit. She also experienced the effects of being treated as an “other” in America. Finding her own voice in activism, at the peaceful protests for Water Protection at Standing Rock, in her work as a Natural Healer in her community and now, in the ongoing movement for racial justice. Her Mother introduced her to the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell and Ella Fitzgerald at an early age, and she began writing songs just before her beloved sister died of heart disease. This gave Xanthe an additional window into the depth of pain and the need for a language in which we can speak the expanse of human emotion.
We have a fabulous new song from Texas troubadour Garrett Owen that's called "No One To Save You".
The song is about the hardships that result from a life lived on the road, inspired by a breakup he endured while on tour with Parker Millsap. The single is the newest from his forthcoming LP Quiet Lives out September 18th.
Garrett's songwriting comes from a unique viewpoint, and understandably so -- he grew up the son of missionaries in Africa, with the kind of wildlife in his backyard we'd have to pay admission to see here. His adolescence was spent playing music and being grounded in nature.
In his late teens, the family relocated back to Texas, and Garrett struggled to fit into the culture - the pain and despair from which caused him to attempt suicide. From those experiences, Garrett has learned lessons and grown both personally and musically, all on beautiful display in the grooves of Quiet Lives.
The Hengles make their fourth appearance here with the new single 'Fire In The Rain' and once again the Amsterdam trio serve up some refined and catchy indie rock. === Astrid Cordes shares her brand new song 'Portrait', the Danish artist moving from sweet indie pop to a more contemporary and imaginative style. === Mines Falls have released 'Red Moon Car Wreck' a track that sees the duo deliver some intricate, personal and beautiful music. === Charlie Nieland is no stranger to Beehive Candy having appeared here as one half of Lusterlit, his track record in the music business is also rather impressive. His new song 'Pawns' is imaginative, the lyrics splendid and as a whole it's pretty hypnotic.
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The Hengles - Fire In The Rain.
The distinguished gentlemen of The Hengles have more than earned their musical spurs in the past. The guys from Amsterdam played in illustrious 80s and 90s bands like Fatal Flowers, Treble Spankers, Supersub and Jack Of Hearts. Since 2015 they represent The Hengles, originally specialized in the better cover stuff and in addition active as backing band both live and in the studio of various artists.
Last year The Hengles have taken the next step: writing their own repertoire making pure melodic jingle-jangle Hengle rock with a twist, taking you on a trip down memory lane of more than 50 years of popular music history and blending this into their own style.
Fire In The Rain is the title of the 8th single of The Hengles. It was originally set to be released this June. However, the COVID-19 restrictions turned all that upside-down.
During the lockdown earlier this year, The Hengles released a ‘home version’ of a future new single on their YouTube-channel (let’s save that story for later!), but they also took the opportunity to strip down, edit, re-record, basically reinvent the song Fire In The Rain, to come up with an even better recording than they already had! We all need that beacon of light to guide us through difficult and sometimes perilous times. Especially now! So, if you ever asked yourself how to start a Fire In The Rain, well here it is!
As said before, 2019 has been very kind to The Hengles: entries on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, Apple Music’s New Music Daily playlist, Dutch National Radio NPO 5 playlist and a real Number 1 spot at Dutch IndieXL Indie chart, airplay in Germany, US and The Phillippines, to name but a few!
Since 2014 Astrid Cordes has been known as one of the two vocals in the Danish duo Shy shy shy. Now she has put the sweet indie pop aside to make room for a new solo release which points in a more gritty and unpolished direction.
”I was lucky enough to write and put out music with one of my dearest friends through Shy shy shy for a long time, but after shaping everything to fit into that frame I really felt like making something where I could put myself more on the line and be a bit more risky. I've tried to keep a curious approach to my own voice and musicality and have allowed myself to dive into more personal subjects than in the past.”
The songs are still steered by Cordes' charismatic voice and talent for telling stories, but is set in a darker, more guitar driven, mature and uncompromising environment. There is a another depth and a pressing intensity in these new tracks. The lyrics appear honest and direct, revolving around the challenges of an existence overflowing with expectations of what and who we are.
The new music has come to live in close cooperation with producer Morten Søgaard Andersen and was later mixed by Brian Batz and mastered by Brian Mørk during the spring of 2020. The same constellation Astrid Cordes used with Shy shy shy for their last release the EP ”Gloss” from 2019, which was made for the widely acclaimed Danish TV-series ”DOGGYSTYLE”. Before “Gloss” they released the EP ”Love Songs” in 2015 and the album ”Make Up” in 2018.
They had a solid foothold on the indie scene playing several tours in Denmark and festivals like SPOT festival (DK), MS Dockville (DE) and Roskilde festival (DK). The headline of their last review written by the music magazine GAFFA wrote ”Shy shy shy writes their talent and musical capability in neon” and testifies that performing live has always been and will continued to be an essential part of Cordes' career.
We are pleased to share the new track from Mines Falls, a duo of brothers Carson & Erik Lund, based in L.A, who make luxurious and moody pop music. Intricate production, a great synthesis of electronics and songwriting.
Here's a quote about the track from songwriter Carson Lund: I had been traveling quite a bit for my job when I wrote this song, touching on all corners of the country, finding myself in quiet towns I’d never heard of before, and not communicating with family and friends for long stretches.
I crave this isolation and independence, but it also distances me from people, and “Red Moon, Car Wreck” attempts to connect who I’ve become with who I was as a child. Life is a series of comings and goings, but this song is about trying to stay in one place.
Charlie Nieland's new single and video for the song Pawns, is part response to The Bushwick Book Club's celebration of Jeff VanderMeer's new A Peculiar Peril. Part response to being a captive audient to dissolution, disintegration, confinement, mysticism and megalomania.
Charlie Nieland has evolved a seamless mix of production, songwriting, musicianship and engineering most notably with Lusterlit with Susan Hwang, Soozee Hwang and The Relastics, Ronan Conroy, Her Vanished Grace, Oh Halo, with the film scoring collective Emboznik and with the production team Super Buddha with Barb Morrison.
Charlie has worked with Rachelle Garniez, John S. Hall, Palmyra Delran, Scissor Sisters, Rufus Wainwright, Debbie Harry (on her 2007 album NECESSARY EVIL, which he co wrote and produced), Blondie (co producing and writing three songs for their 2011 release THE PANIC OF GIRLS) and has scored the films THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS (starring Glen Close) and the documentary NY77: THE COOLEST YEAR IN HELL.
Charlie's breadth of skills continues to grow, with mastery of many musical instruments, songwriting, arranging, video directing and all facets of modern recording technology. Most importantly he has the special ability to connect with and motivate the wide variety of artists that he works with. He specializes in bringing out atmosphere and emotion with his production to make musical cinema.
Charlie was awarded a Gold record (UK) for his production work on Blondie's GREATEST HITS SIGHT & SOUND and achieved a Top 10 Billboard Dance Chart Position with Debbie Harry's single "Two Times Blue", which he co-wrote and produced.
