Jeen O'Brien - Alabama Rose - Logan Archer

Jeen O'Brien - Any Moment (radio mix).

Background from Jeen - “Any Moment” is the only song off my forthcoming record, Gift Shop, that I didn’t self-produce in my attic. Ian Blurton, who also plays guitar on the track and mixed the entire LP, co-produced/recorded ‘Any Moment’ at his studio, Pro Gold in Toronto (with musical great Tom Szczesniak on organ + radio mix courtesy of Jeff Dalziel).

The other eight songs from Gift Shop are pretty diy... I played most of the guitars and as mentioned, produced it myself in my attic. My husband played drums, and my brother, who was living with us at the time, was conveniently recruited as our bass player. One of our oldest friends, Griffin, laid down some additional guitars throughout the album.

I was a lot harder on myself with this record than I had been with previous albums. In retrospect, it was quite therapeutic. I never intended to produce my own stuff –that was born of necessity – and I’m still learning as I go along. I really tried to keep the production straightforward so I didn’t get in over my head. The album’s called Gift Shop because I’m not very good at putting myself on display – I’d be good to lock myself away and just release records under the radar. But I’m trying to get over it... Gift Shop is out on September 14th via Red Brick Songs. WEBSITE.

The vocals maybe melodic and smooth at the beginning, however 'Any Moment' is a feisty indie rocker and Jeen can and does add some gritty edge as the momentum builds. It's pure and honest rock and roll.

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Alabama Rose - Wildcat.

Background - "Alabama Rose is an emerging rock n roll artist from Birmingham, AL that is quickly gaining a reputation for her wild live performances and live recording style. Her music has been described as Wanda Jackson meets Ramones, and her high energy stage performances landed her six showcases during this year's SXSW Music Festival."

Quickly garnering a reputation for their fiercely outstanding live performances, Alabama Rose are a band that leaves nothing on the table, both in the studio and on stage.

Boasting powerful female vocals, electric guitar, fuzzed-out bass and an array of rhythmic beats, their sound mixes elements of surf, soul, blues and old-west twang to create a blend of modern rock and roll with a vintage twist. WEBSITE.

Classic rock and roll vibes permeate through 'Wildcat' with the vocals adding some additional punk angst. It's one of those songs which packs urgency and passion together in a no nonsense manner.


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Logan Archer - Shaylee & Tarantula.

Background - “Shaylee & Tarantula” is a millennial anthem set to gnarled, twangy double-tracked guitars. It describes a generation trying to do what they think they should, but finding themselves hopelessly addicted to escaping their problems. The chorus encourages the listener, “Don’t you know you’re a good kid, no matter what you did?” but reminds them “the world can’t save you, but you sure can go and save yourself”. Despite the bleak outlook of a world out of your control, you can still control your own path and make your own way, a hard truth that’s both scary and liberating. “Shaylee” faces these truths head-on, as Archer often does with the rest of his work.

Logan Archer is a multi-instrumental artist and songwriter hailing from the dusty west of Bakersfield, CA.  He has been doing music since the age of 15, spending hours in his bedroom perfecting tracks with his unique sonic signature.  Listeners have compared him to indie greats such as Ariel Pink, Daniel Johnston, Ben Kweller, Elliott Smith, and Weezer. 

By the age of 18 Logan had already released three full length albums on Bandcamp. Logan mixes a wide range of influences from 60's pop, 70's glam, and 90's indie rock with personal lyricism set to big melodies to craft his own distinct brand of catchy DIY rock music.  He is the founder of the cassette tape label Cellar Door Tapes, which represented artists like Johnny Goth, LSD & the Search for God, and Wished Bone, among others. He is also the drummer for the up-and-coming indie rock trio Swell Spells who recently debuted the first single on the influential Earmilk. Logan Archer embodies the indie DIY spirit and is a name to remember. FACEBOOK.

'Shaylee & Tarantula' is an imaginative rocker, where the vocals really do give the song some individual character. The rhythmic and punchy soundtrack works well and the lyrics are intriguing to say the least.

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Fine Points - Frøkedal - Rue Snider

Fine Points - Ready & Able

Background - San Francisco's Fine Points release ​their​ sophomore full-length​, '​Take Shape.​' Since releasing their debut album, Hover, in 2015, Fine Points have continued to lay the brickwork of their narco-pop stylings. 

After landing tours with hazy contemporaries such as White Fence, The Warlocks, and The Fresh & Onlys, the band returned to California to work on demos for their sophomore offering.

Somewhere along the way producer Jason Carmer reached out to the band and they recorded the tracks heard on Take Shape at Carmer's Berkeley studio. FACEBOOK.

Performance Dates:
July 17 - Olympia, WA  @ Le Voyeur Cafe
July 18 - Seattle, WA  @ Sunset Tavern
July 19 - Portland, OR  @ White Owl Social Club
July 20 - Berkeley, CA  @ The Starry Plough
July 21 - Visalia, CA  @ Cellar Door
July 22 - Los Angeles, CA  @ HiHat

'Ready & Able' opens in a mild, unassuming manner, where melodic vocals and music gradually develops in layers. The song grows into a refined pop with a dash of rock track, the understated feeling giving way to a more expansive sound and the hooks do indeed dig in deep.


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Frøkedal - David.

Background - As the release of Oslo-based Frøkedal’s much anticipated second album ‘How We Made It’ draws closer (set for release August 31st via Propeller Recordings), she’s sharing new single ‘David’ - a spirited, folk-tinged indie rock song, that lyrically appears to focus around the general notion of, “hope”.

"Love and hope keeps knocking on your door / Where do you think it is? / Upstairs, in the street, by the window / Maybe you will open up the door” Anne Lise Frøkedal delicately sings in David’s chorus refrain - to a backdrop of bustling drums and cleverly finger-picked guitar lines.

"This song was close to not happening - several times.” Frøkedal explains. "After the final recording session I realised that I missed it’s hopeful optimism in between the other songs. I needed David to shine a little light on the album.”

Speaking a little more on how the song came together, she said: "There was no more studio time booked, and no time to wait around, so I took the train out to drummer Olaf’s place, a small old house on the top of a hill. His drums are sat on a riser in the middle of his living room with a great view of the valley below. We were chatting, playing and having a great time – until the recording system broke down completely. We tried again the next day, I went back out there heavily loaded with my own more or less portable equipment. We played the song many times, it was fun and easy. Later that week I visited an old friend’s studio (Bjarne, drummer in Harrys Gym) and did the piano there. And my sister did the bass. I ended up spending a lot of time with people I really appreciate doing this track - and that fits the song very well." TWITTER.

As this is our fourth feature this year alone for Frøkedal, clearly there is is something about her music that resonates in a powerful way. 'David' goes someway to explaining why. Her individual style is so often catchy and natural, as is the thoughtful, creative and sensitive musical production. Put simply she can write a fine song and then make it something gorgeous and special.

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Rue Snider - Run Away With You.

Background -  Brooklyn indie rocker and songwriter Rue Snider releases “Run Away With You,” the fifth single from his highly anticipated new album City Living. “Run Away With You” showcases Rue's 80s inspired sound and signature wide-ranging melody.

Of the track, Rue explains, “Humans collect emotional baggage like a hoarder in a rent controlled apartment. What if we could leave it all behind and run away with someone? What if we could find a beach and start over, hard reset, go emotionally back to one? The fantasy of emotional amnesia is real. The idea of sharing it with someone can be intoxicating. "Run Away With You” lives inside that fantasy. It longs for an emotional clean slate even if it’s only for a short time. This song is also the doorway to City Living as a record. It’s the guest at the party who says, “one more drink! don’t worry about tomorrow!” It’s the voice that makes driving to the ocean at 4:30 in morning with two bottles of whiskey and a car full of intoxicated strangers make sense. It’s the Siren beckoning to move closer to the shore.”

“Run Away With You” follows four warmly received singles: “Vamonos,” "Experiment In Love,” "Hot Summer Nights,” and “Don’t Lose Heart.” Of "Hot Summer Nights," Spill Magazine raved, “Rue Snider creates something magnificent."

Heavily influenced by 80s rock from Cyndi Lauper to The Smiths to R.E.M., Rue's new album City Living presents New York City as a catalyst for finding peace in the present even when circumstances are destructive and demand change. It’s a loose chronicle of his move to Manhattan in the mid aughts and an examination of the thoughts and choices that occur while living in transition: geographically, emotionally, spiritually, politically, and socially. City Living is upbeat musically with lyrics that reflect real human experiences, from falling in love at Coney Island, to wandering Brooklyn heartbroken, to standing up to injustice. WEBSITE.

Another artist who has gained our attention this year with some highly creative music is Rue Snider, an artist who is totally upfront about his musical influences and their impact on his own creativity. With the resulting output becoming songs such as 'Run Away With You' what is there to complain about, a driving and engaging indie rocker, with intelligent lyrics, it adds even more variety to the forthcoming album.  

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Linda Em - School Damage - Quiet Hollers

Linda Em - Wild Fire.

Background - London-based Irish-born songstress Linda Em has announced her new ‘London Irish’ EP, to be released this fall via Talking Elephant Records. Ahead of that, ‘Wild Fire’ is the first single from this release – a sultry song that is as much of an earworm as it is seductive.

This EP is the first step in a different direction for Linda, towards a more atmospheric and spacious sound and vocal performance. It is both poetic and storytelling while still being brutally honest and personal. Her pure and raw vocals beautifully convey a nostalgic lyrical narrative, her warm endearing vocals drawing the listener into her musical story telling.

The ‘London Irish’ EP was recorded, produced and mastered at Orphan Recording, Dublin by Gavin Glass (Paul Brady, John Grant, Lisa Hannigan, Mundy), who is also music director for John Carney's film ‘Sing Street’). It was mixed by Scott Halliday (John Grant, Lisa Hannigan and previously guitar tech for Prince and James Vincent Mcmorrow). 

‘Wild Fire’ is about the power struggle in a relationship built on control and passion, where there can be no victor. Written by Linda Em and Eamon P. Gilmore, on this track, Em shares vocal duties with Gavin Glass.

“This is definitely more of love story or indeed a power battle. If you watch Game of Thrones, for instance, you'll see that Wild Fire was one of their deadly weapons of choice. The fear of wild fire is indeed a fantastic metaphor for human passion and love and energy that could not be controlled or tamed," says Linda Em. "The song is also an expression of a woman's desire for freedom and the sadness that comes when two lovers simply aren't right for each other. Even if they have this intense love, we realise as we get older, that love alone just isn’t enough." WEBSITE.

We have to go back to February 2016 for our previous Linda Em feature where among other things we commented at the time that her music "strides across genres, it's a melting pot of ideas, held in harmony by the clear commitment to deliver a top class piece". So now we have 'Wild Fire' which opens with a softer folk lilt and Linda Em's beguiling vocals. As the musical backdrop adds a couple of layers, Gavin Glass's duel vocals take the piece even further, the first of four on the new EP, this really is something special.

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School Damage - Assimilate.

Background - A To X is the second album by Melbourne anxiety-pop quartet School Damage. The new album (due out on 31 August via Chapter Music) focuses their simultaneously sharp and wobbly DIY pop aesthetic, taking in the wooziness of Young Marble Giants, the bite of Devo and the busy melodies of the Television Personalities.

Carolyn Hawkins from the band explains further about the song: "'Assimilate' came out of a sense of frustration at being a girl that does music stuff, and not knowing where I stood on the whole issue – like join the crowd or oppose it? The feeling of being part of a scene, but kind of not feeling a part of it as well. And then whether to argue against it, or just try to do your best within it, and then this feeling that I am part of the problem too. I didn’t know how to approach it, I still don’t. But also it’s okay to be confused too and to not know all the time."

A To X comes hot on the heels of School Damage’s instantly loveable self-titled debut from 2017, which earned the band raves from Brooklyn Vegan, Noisey and BBC 6Music among others. About the new album, Carolyn says: “A To X is about trying (and failing) to find patterns in the overwhelming jumble of activities involved in being alive. We were going to call it In Alphabetical Order but I guess we never quite made it to Z!” FACEBOOK.

As genres go anxiety pop is a perfect fit for 'Assimilate'. Hopefully School Damage are in a better place themselves, nonetheless the mixture of potent pop hooks and edginess gives this song some vitality and surprisingly a level of charm as well. 


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Quiet Hollers - Addicted.

Background - “Addicted”, is the first new single that Louisville’s Quiet Hollers since the release of their acclaimed sophomore album Amen Breaks that came out last summer, and which tackled important socio-political issues and helped shine a light on the effects of mental illness. In a similar vein, “Addicted” is a powerful single about opiate addiction, broadly. Which, given the current epidemic facing society, is timely and relevant.

Quiet Hollers' frontman Shadwick Wilde didn’t intend for it to be a “drug song” necessarily, though its inception came at a time when his family was struggling with the loss of his mother’s brother, who died of a fentanyl overdose. Wilde himself has struggled with addiction since adolescence. Fortunately, he’s always stayed away from heroin, but we’re in the middle of an epidemic and just about everyone has lost someone to it, so he felt it was important to acknowledge how deeply vulnerable we all are to these things, and how serious that problem really is. Not just of the problem of addiction, but of this world we’ve created and why it can be so hard to live in.

The band is still touring in support of Amen Breaks, that spawned several stand-out singles including “Pressure” (which yielded one of the better music videos of 2017, especially if you’re a wrestling fan!) and “Medicine” (Spotify), an undeniable song about about panic disorder, depression and medication. Each of the songs on the album examine core themes that drew parallels with the cultural crossovers of the 1970's, a decade marred by division, political corruption, and terrorism… issues we can all relate to these days. Expanding their shape-shifting palate to include vintage drum machines and samples, on Amen Breaks, Quiet Hollers raise questions of spirituality, sexuality, and mental illness to its new audience in tones that range from the cinematic to the psychedelic. WEBSITE.

We had the pleasure to feature Quiet Hollers three times last year and the new song 'Addicted' is equally pleasing to share. The bands mature alt rock sensibilities are ever present, as is the genuine commitment to what is, a very critical and sadly widespread problem. Sometimes passion and emotional concern are part of the solution, even when delivered through music, as that can often reach our hearts.  

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The Soft Underground - Earth Girl Helen Brown - Silent Forum

The Soft Underground - Ghosts.

Background - NYC-based The Soft Underground may hail from the outskirts of Manhattan, but have been hailed as modern decedents of the touchtone bands from Seattle’s 90’s alternative scene.

Formed in 2010 by drummer, Andrew McCarty and guitarist, Charlie Hickey, the band quickly began to write, perform and record original music. Their mode of working involved perfecting their musical beds and then casting the correct guest vocalist for each song, working in the rock genre in a similar way that French electro innovators Air recruit collaborators for their tracks. Guests have included Nick Redmond (Star & Micey), Brannon Barnett (The StoneCoats) and Rick Steff (Lucero, The Afghan Whigs, Hank Williams Jr.)

What emerged from these collaborations was unique yet accessible to the mainstream, and their debut album, 2015’s Lost in Translation, garnered positives nods from The Big Takeover, Music Street Journal and Alt Nation. The latter was quick to nail down their dynamic combo of solid hooks and rock riffs, noting the potential for radio ready singles.

Their forthcoming sophomore follow-up, Morning World, is a much more personal work which continues their penchant for eclectic variation. They labored over the recording process for over two years, insuring their melodic, dreamy and diverse esthetic evolved beyond their debut. The resulting recordings could be described as alt art rock in the vein of Deftones, Father John Misty and Stone Temple Pilots - a solid rock foundation that integrates big band swing, jungle electronica, shoegaze and punk. WEBSITE.

'Ghosts' is a refined alt rocker that mixes pleasingly distinct vocals and a slick soundtrack together, and adds in some delicate harmonies and subtle melodic hooks. If the sophomore album is this good throughout, it's gonna be something very special.

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Earth Girl Helen Brown - Set the Woods on Fire.

Background - A new video for, "Set The Woods On Fire", off Four Satellites, Vol. 1 by Earth Girl Helen Brown has just been shared. The Earth Girl Helen Brown Center for Planetary Intelligence Band (E.G.H.B.CF.P.I.B.) is pleased to join forces with In the Red Records & Empty Cellar Records, presenting the first vinyl release of their proto planetary series: Four Satellites Vol. 1. Double gate-folded LP (3 sides + etching), the release is a collection of songs and information from the band’s 2017 consumer recycled cassette series. Spring: MERCURY: fire; Summer: MARS: war; Fall: SATURN: communication; Winter: VENUS: love. Classic black or green and gold all proceeds benefit 12 earth-minded organizations.

The band, related media artists and technicians includes: Heidi Alexander, Jamie Barron, Jamin Barton, Eric Bauer, Aylin Beyce, Emilee Booher, Ryan Browne, Tim Cohen, Grace Cooper, Dave Cousin, Brad Caulkins, Mikal Cronin, Bart Davenport, Brigid Dawson, John Dwyer, Chris Fallon, Lars Finberg, James Finch Jr., Davin Givhan, Dylan Hadley, Dustin Hamman, Kiran Harlow, Wilder Harlow, Graeme Gibson, Tahlia Harbour, Anna Hillburg, Douglas Hilsinger, Warren Huegel, Emmett Kelly, Nora Keys, Shannon Lay, Raven Mahon, Rusty Miller, Charlie Moonheart, Jack Name, Ethan Novikoff, Tim Presley, Ty Segall, Dave Sitek, Sean Smith, Sonny Smith, Kelley Stoltz, Enrique Tena, Alica Vanden Heuvel, Lida Vanden Heuvel and Mikey Young. WEBSITE.

Appearance number five on Beehive Candy for Earth Girl Helen Brown, this time we have a new music video for 'Set the Woods on Fire'. Musically it's another imaginative and massively catchy song, on that front they are so consistent, and the video adds just a little more message and some intriguing dancing as well.


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Silent Forum - How I Faked The Moon Landing.

Background - Cardiff's Silent Forum are a combination of shadowy post punk and the more accessible side of indie rock.

The band are releasing their new single How I Faked The Moon Landing on 10th August on Libertino Records’ ‘Singles Club’. A music video for the single has just been made available. 

How I Faked The Moon Landing is the first track to be released from our debut LP produced by Charlie Francis of R.E.M., Future of the Left and Ultravox fame.

How I Faked The Moon Landing’s video was filmed in Barry Island by filmmaker Jaydon Martin - it features the band on jubilant form, surprising the locals in Barry’s famous arcades.

Silent Forum comprise of Vocals - Richard Wiggins, Bass - Oli Richards, Guitar - Dario Ordi, Drums - Elliot Samphier. FACEBOOK. 

'How I Faked The Moon Landing' opens with some addictive, rhythmic vibes, that suggest this song is going to be rather hard to ignore. Once the vocals commence and the band subtly take things up a notch, it's all apparent that Silent Forum have developed one engaging and resplendent sound. Whether it's indie rock, post punk, alt rock or whatever, it is without doubt an impressive track that guarantees further investigation of anything else they already have to offer.


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