Edie Carey - Annabel Gutherz - Jesper Lindell feat. Amy Helm - The Blue Chevys - The Filthy Causals

Photo - Steve Willis

Edie Carey - The Chain.

Folk/pop singer-songwriter Edie Carey is readying her latest collection of songs for her eleventh album The Veil due 6/3/22. Produced by Scott Wiley, the album features Grammy-nominated friend and frequent collaborator Rose Cousins and Mai Bloomfield (Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles). Throughout the twelve songs set, Carey weaves her “gentle story-telling, rich with humanity and insight.”

The first single, “The Chain,” was written with her friend and fellow Colorado songwriter Megan Burtt in her kitchen. “The Chain” is about feeling like we are never enough in the eyes of another, that no matter what we do or try to prove, their view of us remains unchanged. It’s a song of realization, of recognition and, ultimately, of letting go.  

“You can’t quite believe how lucky you are to write a healing song with a friend in your kitchen and then get to witness the magic of it becoming something real and tangible and beyond what you could have imagined in the studio,” says Carey.

 

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Annabel Gutherz - Retrograde.

“Retrograde” arrives on the heels of Annabel’s debut album, Loose Ends, which was released in late 2021. In contrast to the softer ballads that featured prominently on the album, Annabel's newest single taps into a more maximalist pop-rock sound. Filled with driving drums, anthemic production and deliciously infectious pop hooks, "Retrograde" represents the beginning of a fresh chapter for this rising artist.

Expanding on what inspired the track, she says: “I noticed a shared sentiment amongst my friends, family, and me in the wake of the pandemic — a feeling of stagnation in our respective ambitions and pursuits, or worse, a sense of retrogression. Upon having an insightful conversation with my mom, who seems to have a blueprint of life's greatest lessons, I came to the understanding that no one is ever stagnant. We are always learning, growing, and moving forward as a result... In other words, we are ‘never in retrograde.'"

Annabel Gutherz is a singer-songwriter hailing from Montreal, Canada. Combining her compelling and diaristic storytelling with honeyed melodies, distinct vocals and her keen musical ear, Annabel’s songs take listeners on a heartfelt journey packed with raw honesty and emotional conviction. Fiercely committed to her craft, Annabel graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Music Studies and is now completing her Master’s of Arts degree in Songwriting at Berklee as well.

Annabel ended last year with the release of her debut album, Loose Ends, a stylistically eclectic yet entirely authentic record that cathartically encapsulates life’s unfinished moments. The album was co-produced by Dominique Messier, a long time band member for Céline Dion and owner of Studio Piccolo in Montreal, Canada.

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Photo Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez

Jesper Lindell feat. Amy Helm - Twighlight.

Swedish Americana singer Jesper Lindell’s second album, Twilights (coming March 18, 2022), is a creative tour de force, a compelling mix of blue-eyed soul and down-to-earth classic rock, a timeless sound coming anew from Scandinavia. During two years of setbacks – weathering label issues, a pandemic, cancelled tours, and a kidney disease to boot – Jesper and his band had little else to do but write and record music. 

The result is a remarkable new album recorded in their own studio in Brunnsvik, outside of Ludvika, Sweden. The record is produced by Lindell and Björn Pettersson, but is at its core a collaborative effort from the heart and soul of the whole band. This was fundamental to the recording sessions from the get-go – to encourage ideas and influences from all six members of the band. 

As the cherry on top, the album has three luminous guest singers: Swedish singer Klara Söderberg, one half of sister-duo First Aid Kit; French rockstar Theo Lawrence; and American singer Amy Helm, daughter of The Band’s Levon Helm. Though Twilights is inspired by legends like The Band and Van Morrison, the point has never been to copy or even imitate, but to listen and learn. To emulate an attitude, more than anything, and to follow their example in the creative process.

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The Blue Chevys - Got that Feeling.

 “A band that has crossed many rivers to bring you roots music that stirs your soul.” The magic recipe behind The Blue Chevys remains a secret, but it deserves credit that they have been able to keep the band together for more then 30 years. Besides friendship, it’s without doubt based on the willingness and desire to keep evolving by combining Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll and Americana. The new album “ The Night Calls” is the perfect example. A beautiful eclectic mix which reflects perfectly how the band successfully intertwines different roots styles with only one purpose and that is to stir your soul.

 In 2019, The Blue Chevys is celebrating its 30 years anniversary and the band is touring to support the release of a compilation album ‘Twice Fifteen”, that clearly proves the band’s evolution throughout the years. Thanks to some live concert broadcasts on Belgium national radio Classic21 and Nancy WebTV in France, the fan-base grows throughout Belgium and France.

However, this is not where the story ends. The journey continues as The Blue Chevys is to release its next album “The Night Calls” on the respected Belgium roots-label NAKED in March 2022. The first singles of the album, “Willow Tree” and “Got that Feeling”, are been well received and guarantee many more years of fun and livemusic! Current Members: Kris Bries ( Vocals & Harp), Frederic Martello (Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals), Philippe Martello (Percussion), JeanLuc Cremens (Bass Guitar), Sven Smekens (Rhythm Guitar), Kim Vandeweyer (Trumpet) en Koen Desloovere (Saxophone).

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The Filthy Causals - Runaway.

Established in late 2018 The Filthy Causals are an exciting four piece Indie, Alternative Rock band from the South West of England. 

The band are hard at work creating new music and gigging at every opportunity.  Check out our Social Media for upcoming gigs this year.  Sam (Vocals/Guitar), Scott (Lead Guitar), Max (Drums), Dan (Bass)

Runaway - The Filthy Casuals, takes you back in time to re-live good times and Run away to a better place.

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Silver Lining - Yawners - The Slocan Ramblers

Photo - Julia Marie Naglestad

Silver Lining - Your Everything.

Bringing together members of two prominent Norwegian acts, The Northern Belle and Louien, folky Americana quartet Silver Lining has sometimes been dubbed a supergroup in their native country. Moving on from the sound of their mostly acoustic debut, the band introduces a broader Americana sound on their sophomore album, Go Out Nowhere. With a widescreen, heartland sound, and a groovy backbone, reminiscent of Aaron Lee Tasjan, Erin Rae, or The Band.

Consisting of four instrumentalists, three of them also singer-songwriters, Silver Lining debuted with the low-key and mellow Heart and Mind Alike in 2018. The album was well received in the band’s home country, and reached a much wider audience, thanks to several “streaming hits” reaching millions of plays.

A telling illustration of the thriving Norwegian Americana scene is the musicians’ willingness to collaborate – on stage, on each other’s records, and in new constellations. One early example is the birth of Silver Lining. Bringing together members of then-emerging The Northern Belle, and the now-defunct Rattlers, the musicians came together for a Gillian Welch tribute show in 2015. They quickly discovered that this project had potential outside of playing cover songs, and quickly started rehearsing and writing.

The angelic voices of Stine Andreassen and Live Miranda Solberg fit perfectly with the rougher, Dylanesque voice of Halvor Falck Johansen. The three singers’ acoustic guitar interplay is interwoven with and elevated by Bjørnar Ekse Brandseth’s electric guitars, pedal steel, and dobro.

 

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Yawners - Rivers Cuomo.

After releasing Yawners’ debut album in 2019, Elena Nieto found herself at the end of a whirlwind year. Her debut LP Just Calm Down showcased the Madrid musician’s love for huge, hooky alternative rock moments chased with the hummable accessibility of power pop. It was a combination destined to set the international stage ablaze. After gracing stages at SXSW in the U.S. and Eurosonic in the Netherlands, the pandemic caused Nieto to reflect on the present moment through the lessons of the past. The exciting songwriter returns in 2022, newly signed to Big Scary Monsters (UK), she releases a brand-new album on May 6th, Duplo, and shares a blistering new track and video, ‘Rivers Cuomo’, taken from the album. The Weezer man himself said “this is a really pretty song” upon hearing it.

“I usually write very literal songs, I don't usually use metaphors or anything like that, and this is the perfect example” says Elena, talking about the track. She expands; “The song is about writer's block; it's about trying to write a song and not coming up with anything good.” Although Yawners remains a solo project, the track bursts with the muscle of an entire backing band, the perfect vehicle for the songwriter’s fully formed ideas and soaring punk influenced melodies.

Elena tried a trick to overcome her writer’s block, that she learnt from Cuomo when writing the album. “I really like Weezer and Rivers Cuomo has always made me curious. When I was in the process of composing the album, I read an interview in a Chilean newspaper in which he revealed a trick he has developed to write songs. He has an Excel file in which he writes phrases, chord progressions, and more, and creates songs with a formula that puts together the bits and pieces that match. I thought this was really cool and I wrote the chorus of my song about this. On a melodic level I am very proud of the guitar solo in this song. Guitar solos are something that seem not to be trendy anymore, but the reality is that when a well-done solo appears in a song it’s very hard not to enjoy it haha.”

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The Slocan Ramblers - A Mind With A Heart of Its Own.

A new single dropped today from Toronto bluegrass band The Slocan Ramblers. It's a fire-breathing cover of Tom Petty's "A Mind With a Heart of Its Own."

Bluegrass music is nothing short of catharsis for The Slocan Ramblers. On their new album Up the Hill and Through the Fog (coming June 10, 2022), the all-star Canadian roots ensemble channels the past two years of loss into a surprisingly joyous collection of twelve songs intended to uplift and help make sense of the world. Though the past few years have brought the group accolades–their 2019 album was nominated for a Juno Award and the band earned the Momentum Band of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2020–that same momentum was abruptly halted by the pandemic’s brutal impact on live music.

Over the next year, bandmates Adrian Gross and Darryl Poulsen both lost close family members and their bassist decided to step back to spend more time at home. They channeled these tumultuous changes into some of their most honest and direct compositions yet. Up the Hill and Through the Fog showcases the breadth of their varied influences while staying true to their roots in the rough and tumble bluegrass scene of Toronto’s no-nonsense bars and dancehalls. From Frank Evans’ classic, dusty vocals, to John Hartford-inspired lyrical musings, it’s all buttressed by impeccable musicianship, and emotionally raw songwriting from the three core members. This is roots music without pretension, art powerful enough to cut through the fog of the past two years and chart a more hopeful course forward.

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Scrunchies - Ben Talmi - Monophonics

Scrunchies - Parallel.

Dirtnap Records recently announced the addition of Scrunchies to their roster, and now the band is back with a new single called "Parallel."

"We wanted “Parallel” to be like "Squirrel Song" by Shellac, and have these jarring, uneven measures to the verses." says Scrunchies vocalist and guitarist, Laura Larson, adding "I was also very interested in having Danielle do this Kim Gordon-esque deadpan call-and-response vocal delivery in the bridge, almost as a juxtaposition to the song's loose theme of both self-imposed and external hope + idealism vs turbulence + obstruction of being a woman making art during late stage capitalism."

Scrunchies is a Minneapolis, MN-based rock band formed by Laura Larson (she/her; guitar, vocals) and Danielle Cusack (she/her; drums, vocals). Larson earned notoriety early on, leading brash punk band Baby Guts. She is also currently a member of seminal dance-punk drums and bass trio, Kitten Forever. Cusack, raised by veterans of the 70s NYC art and music scene, also came to prominence in the Twin Cities music scene as a teenager with her indie grunge rock band, Bruise Violet.

Larson and Cusack began Scrunchies after mutual admiration of each others' bands as well as a short stint together in a Buzzcocks cover band called Buzzcuts (with Clara Sayler of Babes in Toyland). Both are passionate about encouraging young women and queers to find empowerment in playing music and embracing a DIY ethos.

Dirtnap Records · Parallel

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Photo - Josh Goleman

Ben Talmi - Ralph & Mary.

Berkshires, the new album from Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/producer Ben Talmi. According to the artist, Berkshires is "a love letter to my hometown of Pittsfield, MA nestled between the mountain ranges and valleys of Berkshire County."

Ben is best known as an orchestral arranger for artists like Wild Nothing and Manchester Orchestra, but it's his nostalgic, down-to-earth songwriting that takes center stage here. Lead single "Ralph + Mary" bounces along with charming fingerpicked guitar and Talmi's signature string arrangements anchoring the track.

Ben notes, "Ralph & Mary'' is a true story about my grandparents who served in WWII and used my grandfather's GI bill to fund their diner, “The Sugar Bowl” which they ran for 40 years." Much of the album is dedicated to friends and characters from Talmi's childhood, and his appreciation for Pittsfield and the surrounding area shines throughout the album's eight tracks.

At its best, this record reminds me a lot of Belle and Sebastian with a hefty dose of Paris 1919-era John Cale thrown in as well. Many tracks (especially the lovely "Canoe Meadows") make brilliant use of a string quartet, and I really love Talmi's excellent ear for a catchy melody. In an age where screens and information anxiety seem to be inescapable, I hope that listening to this album makes you think back to a simpler time and place in your lives.

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Photo - Emily Sevin

Monophonics - Warpaint.

Today, Bay Area-based Monophonics announced their upcoming full-length Sage Motel, out May 13th via Colemine Records. The world's premier psychedelic soul band, Monophonics, cordially invites you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel. A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive without ever knowing how they got there. It's where individuals find themselves at a crossroads in life. The album announcement comes with a video for the first single “Warpaint.”

What started as a quaint motor lodge and a common pitstop for travelers and truckers in the 1940s morphed into a bohemian’s hang by the 1960s and 1970s. Artists, musicians, and vagabonds of all types would stop there as seedy ownership pumped obnoxious amounts of money into high end renovations, eventually attracting some of the most prominent acts of the era. But when the money ran out, The Sage Motel devolved into a place where you rent by the hour.

Sage Motel, Monophonics' fifth studio album since 2012, tells its story. Once again produced by brilliant bandleader Kelly Finnigan, the album captures a timeless sound that blends heavy soul with psych-rock. With their previous album, It’s Only Us, selling over 10,000 physical units and garnering over 20 million streams, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the most impactful bands in the country. It’s Only Us was praised by Billboard, FLOOD, Cool Hunting, and American Songwriter, who said “Take some Norman Whitfield-era Temptations, add Sly and the Family Stone circa There’s a Riot Goin’ On’s greasy funk, inject early 70s Curtis Mayfield Superfly, Marvin Gaye vocal dynamics and Isaac Hayes’ Hot Buttered Soul dust, sprinkle in a pinch of Isley Brothers’ silky ballads and you’ve got a reasonable aural idea of the ballpark Monophonics are playing in.”

“Warpaint,” the leading single from Sage Motel, reveals the vices of each resident and confronts the struggles of substance abuse and addiction. Their warpaint becomes compulsory to face the day, tolerate the struggle, get through the hardest parts of the world, humanity, life and to fight the good fight. Cloaked in heavy riffs and robust vocals, “Warpaint” gives you the first look through the doors of the Sage Motel.

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Good Wilson - Jesse D'Kora

Good Wilson - Bats From The Buffet.

Good Wilson remain true to their signature vibe on their new track "Bats from the Buffet": feelgood soundtrack meets serious self-irony. The single is about an honest reflection of the "Butterfly Effect," the infectious madness that defines the third decade of the 21st century. 

The song is thus a contemporary document of the previous years, but at the same time a statement, a heartfelt "Foff" to all idiotisms.

In "Bats From The Buffet" Good Wilson have processed pent-up frustrations, caused by inequalities, injustice, fake news, egocentrism and unsolidarity. So, all those qualities and things that the pandemic has brought to light. Packaged in a soft, tongue-in-cheek indie-pop track, "Bats From The Buffet" is meant to remind you that it's okay to be angry sometimes.


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Jesse D'Kora - You might not be.

Jesse D’Kora makes indie / dream pop music with a style that is inherently lofi as he writes, records, mixes and masters all of the music in his spare bedroom in Salford (UK). Jesse tells us "I have embarked on a musical journey this year whereby I am going to release a single every month, ‘you might not be’ is the 3rd instalment and chosen song for March 2022.

Inspired by a documentary on The Talking Heads, this release is a little different to the others. I wanted to make something a bit weird and incorporate ideas and sounds from other genres and styles.

Lyrically it's inspired, like many of my other songs, about getting older, particularly the context is in view of having a conversation with a younger version of yourself. Often it’s easy to focus on the regrets and the mistakes and think how you would do things differently if it all could be redone, but ultimately without the mistakes the knowledge to do what's right so we are ultimately bound to follow the same path."



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49 Winchester - Megan Knight - Kindsight - Men Without Hats

49 Winchester - Russell County Line.

49 Winchester will release Fortune Favors The Bold on May 13th, 2022 via New West Records. The 10-track set was co-produced by the band and Stewart Myers (O.A.R., The Infamous Stringdusters) with additional recording & production by Kenny Miles (Wayne Graham). Rolling Stone Country has praised 49 Winchester’s live performance while Whiskey Riff called the band “....one of the greatest up and coming country music acts out there right now.” 49 Winchester’s New West Records debut follows their acclaimed 2020 self-released III, which American Songwriter named “...a confident collection that gives voice to the band’s pure, unfettered intents” while Americana Highways called frontman Isaac Gibson’s songwriting “Unforgettable,” saying, “...together they are distinctly and proudly Appalachian — carrying on and reinventing the musical traditions of their region with a sound that is wholly and distinctively their own.”

Filmed in the band’s hometown of Castlewood, Virginia, the video features a visit to the Clinch River where their neighborhood and childhood homes were situated. It also features the once bustling downtown, with the old train station, post office, hotels still standing from the Appalachian coal boom, having become weathered by the time the band members were growing up in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. The video depicts, quite literally, 49 Winchester revisiting their roots. Frontman Isaac Gibson says, “The drone shots really show how gorgeous Southwest Virginia is. It was great to be able to capture the essence of home on video. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I'm excited for the fans to see it and those who are from far and wide to get a little taste of central Appalachia.” SPIN also previously premiered "Annabel," the leadoff track from Fortune Favors The Bold as well.

Formed on Winchester Street in the small mountain town of Castlewood, Virginia (population: 2,045), 49 Winchester started as a group of neighborhood teenage friends set on a calculated DIY path. In 2014 they independently released their eponymous debut, followed by 2018’s The Wind, and 2020’s celebrated III. Reflecting on his early days as a jack-of-all-trades stone mason, where it was about trying to make ends meet in an effort to keep the band rolling along, frontman Gibson can’t help but be grateful for a well-earned notion at the core of the band’s ethos — anything worthwhile in life is built brick-by-brick. “Everything has to be built. And very few people are going to achieve success overnight,” says Gibson. “We didn’t start out as a bunch of hot shot pickers out of Nashville. We started out on the ground floor — very basic songwriting and instrumentation. But we kept working at it, always progressing in what we wanted to do and how we wanted to sound — each song better than the previous one, the show this evening better than last night.”

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Megan Knight - Take It To The Grave.

Nashville recording artist and pop-country superstar, Megan Knight releases her new haunting single and lyric video "Take It To The Grave".

"In this track, the woman was left feeling unloved and had acted out because of it, now as she sits in regret she wonders if she should confess her wrongs or simply keep them buried in the past forever." - Megan Knight

Megan's wide vocal range makes this song unique and personalized. The theme of this song is that some things "Are better left unsaid." These words that are left unsaid are taken to the grave with Megan. The powerful lyrics can relate to anyone with a deep dark secret.

Megan is an artist that is not afraid to be vulnerable. Music has always been a therapeutic outlet for Megan, so her songs are authentic, honest, and raw. "Take It To The Grave" relays real-time emotion, and her vocals are powerful and robust. This song is dynamic and is portrayed through a slower tempo with an acoustic guitar.

 

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Photo by Line Hvid

Kindsight - Queen Of Cowboys.

Danish four-piece Kindsight make music that draws from 80’s and 90’s alternative rock and combines it with the shimmering Scandinavian pop that the region has become so renowned for, resulting in a sound that is both fuzzy and melodic in equal measure. Releasing their first material in 2020, the up and coming Danish four-piece have been quick on the rise, picking up steam with a series of new singles over the last 18 months. On March 25th, their debut album Swedish Punk will be released, Queen of Cowboys, out now, the last single ahead of the release

Kindsight formed when front-woman Nina Hyldgaard Rasmussen and guitarist Søren Svensson bonded over a shared love of The Sugarcubes. They went on to recruit bass player Anders Prip and drummer Johannes Jacobsen and over the past few years have earned a reputation within Copenhagen’s thriving indie scene for their exciting live shows.

On the album’s title, Rasmussen says “Swedish Punk’ was an off the cuff term our producer, Adam, came up with when we needed a working title for a new song we wrote during the recording sessions. Our bass player, Anders, then wrote some lyrics based on the working title and we ended up liking the whole ‘Swedish Punk’-thing so much it became the name of the album”.

There’s a real coming of age charm to Swedish Punk. ‘Don’t You Grow Up’ was the first song the band ever wrote together. Written in “a time when we thought to be a sunny teenage rock band, you had to write songs about teenagers in the sun,” they say. Atop jangling guitars, Rasmussen’s distinctive voice dances somewhere between that of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and Alvvays’ Molly Rankin, leaving the listener drenched in the nostalgic optimism of summers gone by. Lead single ‘Sun Is Always In My Eyes’, an unrelenting indie-pop earworm, continues in that same vein. Recalling a time when life was carefree, the band say the track is about ‘stealing money from your mother and feigning to run away from home. Being blessed and unable to see because you've got too much sun in your eyes’.

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Men Without Hats - If the World Should End Today.

Hot on the heels of “love in the age of war,” new wave electro-pop pioneers, Men Without Hats, return with a collection of 14 new original compositions – Again (Part 2). Led by original founding members Ivan and Colin Doroschuk, Men Without Hats have been rounded out since 2016 by industry veteran Sho Murray, and augmented on this record by Colin’s daughter, soprano Sahara Sloan.

The album was recorded on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on top of the Malahat Mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean, from July 2020 to January 2021. The themes explored on Again (Part 2) reflect the band’s unique take on current affairs (“If the World Should End Today,” “The Human Race”), love (“All Into Stars,” “The Love Inside your Heart,” “When Does The Love Begin”), the meaning of life (“Just Another Day,” “Nancy’s Room,” “Where The Wild Go”), and the state of the art (“My Love,” “Heaven,” “My Own Advice”).

With a mixture of the latest digital technology and the best of the analog world (including an actual prophet 5 synthesizer that was used during “The Safety Dance” recording session), Men Without Hats continue their voyage into the world of synth-pop, with a sound forged in the past and hardened by their life experience and commitment to the future.

For the past 10 years, Men Without Hats have toured the world with the cream of 80’s royalty, playing for crowds in North and South America, Europe, Scandinavia, Jamaica, Australia, Mexico, and South Africa, in fact reaching even more people and places than the first time around. Their crossover sound and message is resonating with a new generation of fans eager to understand and appreciate the 80’s influences in their own current brand of pop.

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P.E. - Jenny Berkel - Pillow Queens - Greenness

Photo - Vince McClelland

P.E. - Contradiction of Wants.

P.E.'s sophomore album, The Leather Lemon (Wharf Cat Records, out March 25, 2022), ushers in a new era for the New York band. A wild ride through chewy bubblegum pop, sweeping synthetic orchestrations, and mutant club beats, the album slides ever closer to the fully-realized pop sensibility only winked at with their debut album Person (2020) and subsequent releases.

Digging into mystery, romance, and sex appeal with The Leather Lemon, the group — composed of members of Pill (Mexican Summer/Dull Tools) and Eaters (Dull Tools/Driftless) — centers its sound within a Bermuda Triangle of dance music, electronic composition, and experimental rock. Members Jonathan Schenke, Bob Jones, and Jonny Campolo play within pop parameters, building upon free-form collaboration to create a fluorescent groove machine that harnesses the energy of their frenetic live shows. 

Singer Veronica Torres explores her softer side, expanding her vocal repertoire from spoken word and jagged growls to cherubic and sensuous psalms. Sax virtuoso Benjamin Jaffe’s chiseled experimental tone is heard in an extended solo of true romance in “Tears in the Rain,” a somber surrealist duet penned by Torres and Andrew Savage, singer/guitarist of Parquet Courts.

Recorded primarily at Schenke’s Studio Windows in Brooklyn, NY, The Leather Lemon was cultivated from a fertile creative period between spring 2020 and summer 2021, which also yielded 2021’s acclaimed The Reason For My Love E.P.

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Jenny Berkel - Kaleidoscope.

The internet with its rabbit holes, slipperiness, and propensity for mis- and disinformation inspired me to write "Kaleidoscope." 

I wanted parts of this song to evoke the same tense, frantic feeling that the internet can sometimes give, paired with a chorus that lifts its way out of that mood. The accompanying "Kaleidoscope" music video was filmed at Halifax's indoor theatre for Shakespeare 

By The Sea. Director Meg Hubley (they/she) of Phyllis Rising Productions came up with the idea of setting it in a steadily shrinking room. The strange and surreal figure in the video is played by Mads Higgins (they/them), a circus performer, who moves around the room in a series of graceful and eerie poses.

The lyrics of "Kaleidoscope" evolved extensively as time went on. Given that this song considers the importance of care and precision in language, I felt even more attentive to the lyrics than usual.

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Pillow Queens - No Good Woman.

Dublin's Pillow Queens are getting set to release their sophomore album Leave The Light On, their first release on Royal Mountain Records (Wild Pink, Alvvays, US Girls), which is due out on April 1st, and today the band are sharing the album's final pre-release single, a track called "No Good Woman."

Preceded by the singles "Hearts & Minds" and "Be By Your Side", which have seen praise from outlets like The Guardian, NPR, Stereogum, Consequence, BrooklynVegan, Uproxx, DIY and Clash who described "Hearts & Minds" as "Pillow Queens at their most out-going," the single arrives at an exciting moment for the band who are about to make their debut on American shores. Their first shows will take place at SXSW (full details can be found below), before they trace their way across the continent, with their New York debut at Mercury Lounge recently selling out over a month in advance.

This song is one which is very narrative based, though not in a linear way. It’s written more from the perspective of someone looking upon the scenarios of those around them," explains singer Pam Connolly. "It tries to convey a perpetual hopelessness of debt and striving for an ideal that can never be achieved. It’s pretty much a song about Sisyphus."

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Photo: Justyna Neryng & Tobias Slater-Hunt

Greenness - Destroy/Enjoy.

Brighton-based Anglo-French duo Greenness, (Cécile Frangi and Graham Pratt), announce the release of their debut album Sunrooms on 20th May 2022 via Frangi’s label One Fern Records, and share first single ‘Destroy/Enjoy’.

‘Destroy/Enjoy’ is a playful indie-pop song celebrating Earth’s re-birth, inspired by a dream Frangi had about the apocalypse. As Frangi expands:  “Earth was rebooting itself on a giant computer screen. It was a strange, but joyous occasion, as if humanity was being given a second chance. There was something very ominous about it, this electricity in the air, but it was also exhilarating.”

‘Destroy/Enjoy’ accompanying video explores themes of escaping the 9-5 and enjoying life and nature whilst you can which is a theme that peppers their debut album. It’s an apt first taster for the album Sunrooms, a record in part a product of the environment in which it was created (in lockdown) and one inspired heavily by the duo’s lifelong love of nature. Greenness describes the title, Sunrooms, as:

 “A place that provides shelter from the elements while offering a clear view of surrounding landscapes, a space to reflect, breathe and feel, so that we can go back out with more strength to embrace the weather.”

Inspired by looking out at the world from their home studio in lockdown and the paradox of humanity in chaos whilst nature bloomed, the album also explores wanderlust versus the need to anchor oneself to a home, as French-born Cess Frangi explains: “Sunrooms (in part) follows our personal story travelling across France and the UK on a quest for a place to call home, trying to find the spark of everyday magic and hoping for human progress.”

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Mears - Al' Tarba feat Bianca Casady - Mild Orange - Souza - Thallo - The Legendary Ten Seconds

Photo - Jen Squires

Mears - Second Sight.

Some memories help propel us forward while others cling to us so tightly that they bind us in place.

"Second Sight" is about someone who is grappling with a memory that holds them back – it's about a confrontation and making it out on the other side.

It seems that nothing good will keep you from me, and so I live with ghosts and second sight

This latest single is from our upcoming full-length album, which will be released on April 22nd.

Both the song and the video explore ideas around memory. We also knew this song would pair well with a dancer. Having worked with multiple choreographers and performers in the past, we had our sights on Katherine Semchuk. We gave Katherine a loose structure to work with and let her choreograph her own movement.

Another artist we are big fans of is animator/dancer Kristen-Innes Stambolic. Her work primarily involves the integration of animation with contemporary dance, so it was a perfect fit for us.

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Al' Tarba - Hush Little Bay Feat. Bianca Casady.

A little girl wakes up at the bottom of a tree. Confused, with no idea of where she is. Despite of all of this, she feels soothed by the soft light, the bright colors and the buzzing of the creatures that swirl around her. A strange, radiant, watery sphere forms and unfolds delicately before her eyes. Intrigued, she stands up and touches it with her finger...

"Hush Little Bay" is a hybrid adventure, both abyssal and stratospheric. Dark and melancholic trip-hop story, this track is also almost a lo-fi lullaby with reggae solar accents.

This story, told by the singular voice of Bianca Casady, mythical singer of the group CocoRosie, is inspired by the dreamlike universe of Lewis Carroll. A sort of "Alice in Wonderland" who would dive inside a 70's psychedelic rock vinyl cover.

Al'Tarba · Hush Little Bay feat. Bianca Casady (from CocoRosie)

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Mild Orange - F.E.A.R.

Looking For Space is the band’s most ambitious project yet, recorded in six beautiful locations across Aotearoa New Zealand over a year, and it’s also Mild Orange’s first time entering a proper studio which was a necessary part in making this record sound as intended. It’s a sonic journey about navigating life, always finding room to grow, considering outlooks and maintaining belief in oneself as we choose our paths. True to MO, it doesn’t sit on one sound and will take you up and down, while feeling like a natural progression – shown on their latest two singles.

Looking For Space will feature video collaborations from NZ to Japan, Indonesia to LA, France and beyond. Despite many hurdles, Mild Orange persisted to connect with the world on this project during this period of global lockdowns and border closures. That’s what Mild Orange have always tried to do – from NZ, for the world.

The just released album cover (see below) by frontman Josh Mehrtens was taken in Switzerland after a Mild Orange headline show at Baden in 2019, and has been tinkered with in tandem with the album so that both feel as each other look and sound. There’s a calmness yet passionate energy felt coming from the electric glow that flows.

After spending two albums carefully organising the framed photos and applying an even layer of paint, Mild Orange felt the urge to tear apart the four walls that defined their bedroom pop sound, capturing the wilderness that lay beyond. And rather than be deterred from that goal by a pandemic and lockdown that left the New Zealanders stuck on their island, Mild Orange used that time to envision a new world. “Colourise”, the first track off the quartet’s fittingly titled third album, Looking For Space (due February 11th 2022 via AWAL), feels like the gate to the land of Oz, a portal behind which hypercolour and fantasy unfolds. “Trust the waves and where you’ll go/ ‘Cause you never know what it may hold,” Josh Mehrtens sings, a snare march, lithe electric guitar, and washes of echo trailing behind. Together, frontman/producer Mehrtens, lead guitarist Josh Reid, bassist Tom Kelk, and drummer Jack Ferguson aren’t just looking for space, they’re carving out grand landscapes all their own.

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Souza - Under My Feet.

Souza are a Stoke based alternative rock band, marching to the sound of well matured electric riffs and a fresh lyrical take on the genre.

Established in 2018, the four piece bring a definitive presence to the stage. Lead vocalist Adam Rogers provides a powerful performance, whilst maintaining an interactive experience for the audience. Supported by his brother Ben and Jack Brassington on guitar, the two combine each other’s unique styles of guitar sound to generate a contemporary Britpop tone. The group are completed by drummer Harry Ball, who provides a strong foundation complimenting and driving each melody. The four together exude the chemistry they share and quickly envelop the audience in their sound.

Under My Feet combines shoegaze verses with full throttle choruses and demonstrates both the subtlety and power that Souza can so easily intertwine between. The lyrics provide a fresh view on the excitement and emotions of what relationships can bring from the beginning to the end. Written over lockdown in a unique way to us, pieced together bit by bit through sharing segments from our own homes the track came together in a way we've not written before.

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Thallo - The Water.

Welsh artist Thallo shares the visual for her emotionally charged, haunting single The Water. The visual, created by Max Toblin (Director) and Dillon Steele (Director of Photography), mirrors Thallo’s music which is at once startingly beautiful but with a melancholic undercurrent running through its gently layered jazz infused tones. It depicts two children dressed in boiler suits, playing in the long grass of empty fields to a backdrop of towering power stations which loom ominously. As Thallo expands “Their childlike, care-free pleasure is contrasted with the power station in the background, a sinister warning that their freedom is temporary. They frantically run and play whilst the daylight is running out, cherishing the time that they have until they finally come to a halt in the dark.”

The video plays on The Water’s bittersweet meaning of cherishing a moment before it is lost, inspired by a relationship destined to fail, and the heartbreak of knowing of a partner’s eventual migration.  Both the song’s title and Thallo’s vulnerable yet alluring vocal evoke the feeling of drowning, of laying down on a riverbed and giving into the sensation of the immersion. As Thallo expands “The river is not only the love that drowns me, but it is also the relationship I can’t keep hold of.”

Thallo is the work of Elin Edwards, based between her homelands of Gwynedd, North Wales and London.  In 2021 she released three singles Mêl, Pressed and Preserved and The Water to much early acclaim, to date the singles have accumulated support from Sian Eleri (Radio 1 The Chillest Show) and Huw Stephens (BBC 6 Music, Radio Cymru), with Thallo recording a session for BBC Maida Vale. At press, the singles were covered by the likes of Wonderland, Noctis, God Is In The TV Zine, When The Horn Blows and many other blogs both UK and Stateside. Thallo has performed at The Great Escape and is set to play SXSW in 2023.

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The Legendary Ten Seconds - The Musical Almanac (Album).

The Legendary Ten Seconds started off as the solo music project of Ian Churchward during the time when he was the lead guitar player of The Morrisons who were featured on John Peel's radio one show back in 1987. In 2013 Lord Zarquon joined Ian's music project and since then various guest musicians and vocalists have helped out in the recording studio. The most recent musicians to join the project are Phil Swann and Martyn Hillstead.

The Legendary Ten Seconds have recorded many critically acclaimed English folk rock albums which chronicle the Wars of the Roses and the life and times of Richard III in England during the late 15th century. The albums are available on Amazon and itunes and the band have donated money to a scoliosis charity from some of the income generated from the sale of their music. The CD versions of the albums are available via the Richard III Society in the UK.

In 2018 the band recorded the Mer de Mort album which was commissioned by the Mortimer History Society to commemorate the Society's tenth anniversary. It is a historically accurate album of songs which tells the story of the significantly important Mortimer medieval family from their roots in Normandy prior to the battle of Hastings and into the 15th century. The album includes historical narratives read by the actor John Challis ( Boycie in Only Fools and Horses ) who was the patron of the Mortimer History Society.

2019 saw the release of four albums, Devon Roses, History Book Part One. Instrumental Legends and Thrilling Blunder Stories. In February 2020 the History Book Part Two album was completed and this was followed by The Acoustic Almanac, Amazing Songs and the Pageant of Torbay Part One albums. Additionally a new version of the first Richard III album was released in digital format via Circle of Spears Productions. The new version of the album features fictional narratives written by Sandra Heath Wilson. Three albums were released in 2021, the Pageant of Torbay Part Two, the Semi Acoustic Almanac and Songs About Devon albums. The atest album is called The Musical Almanac with a release date of 2022.

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