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Liverpool & London Calling: Jimmy & The Revolvers - Cat Bear Tree

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Jimmy & The Revolvers - The Morning Paper. And we quote - Jimmy & the Revolvers are one of the UK's most exciting emerging bands. When they're not gigging up and down the country making new friends and fans wherever they go, they're running a monthly club night in their home city of Liverpool as well as finding the time to champion up and coming talent on the scene. Formed in early 2013, Jimmy & The Revolvers are Jay Rehm on Vocals & Acoustic Guitar, Jordan Wright on Vocals & Bass, Jimmy Moon on Electric Guitar and Ash Michael on Drums. Their debut AA side ‘Aimee’s Song/Frosty’ released in June 2013 became a favourite talking point for the city’s music bloggers and DJs who were drawn to the band's infectious melodies and harmonies. More glowing reviews followed the release of their four track EP ‘Sunday Morning’ on New Year’s Eve 2013, which gained airplay across the UK and was chosen as one of BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson’s Fresh Faves on his F...

Friday Variety: Cigars Of The Pharaoh - Bespin - Silent Feature Era

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Cigars Of The Pharaoh - Mystery Highway. Background - Sometimes a band just comes out of nowhere. You might hear it in the background at a bar, or it might hit you on the radio while you’re stuck in traffic. Chances are, if you’ve heard Sydney’s Cigars Of The Pharaoh, you’ll know about it. With a power-packed sound that tips its hat to the blues rock genre, Cigars Of The Pharaoh have risen up to bring the groove back to the Australian music scene with a punch that feels good. The band formed in the early part of 2015 as a four-piece - a mixed bag of guys with a multitude of musical influences and pasts that gelled from the get-go. From indie pop to hard rock, soul to RnB, this special union of musical minds has created something that’s fresh, based on everything they’ve learned and heard from a combined experience of many decades inside the scene. Cigars completed the recording of their debut EP within months of forming, such was the pace at which their unique blend of talents mov...

Thursday Three: Jumpcuts - Matt Stillert - The Sticklers

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Jumpcuts - Headlights. Background - Baltimore electronic new wave rock band Jumpcuts will release a limited edition 7” vinyl single and embark on a tour of the East Coast this October and November in support of their sophomore album Fiber Optic Bondage, due for release this spring. Following several national and regional tours, singer and multi-instrumentalist Andy Shankman tracked the songs “Headlights” and “Curses and Verses” at Baltimore’s Mobtown Studios with producer Mat Leffler-Schulman (Future Islands, Dustin Wong). Fiber Optic Bondage blends atmospheric synths, danceable beats, and Shankman’s introspective lyrics. Jumpcuts' resume includes tour dates spanning the eastern half of the U.S., opening slots for Phantogram and School of Seven Bells, collaborations with producers of Beach House and Celebration, and a featured performance slot on WFUM's Live From Cleveland. This fall’s string of shows will feature Steve Bryant, the NYC-based producer and drummer most recen...

Midweek Muse: Thrushes - Day One - Tiger Choir - East Of Here

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Thrushes - Joan Of Arc. Background (with bird facts) - Thrushes; part of the Passerine bird family. The songs of some species are considered to be among the most beautiful in the avian world. Baltimore's Thrushes bring a similar beauty to the human world with Exposing Seas, their first full length in 5 years.  Formed in 2005, the band's previous efforts (2007's Sun Come Undone and 2010's Night Falls) garnered the kind of glowing praise most indie acts could only hope for. Now, with Seas and its swirling, reverb-drenched guitars and dreamy, yet plaintively delivered vocals, the album brings to mind a mix of the classic shoegaze era-gone-by, Hounds of Love 'Bush-isms' and a splash of 90's emo-progenitors Rainer Maria resulting in Thrushes most focused work to date.  On the band's approach to this new album, singer Anna says "Exposing Seas is an album that shows our growth as a band. We worked so hard over the past few years to create songs that ...

Dan Croll - One Of Us

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Dan Croll - One Of Us. What we are told - Liverpool's experimental, genre-defying Dan Croll is excited to announce the release of a new single - 'One Of Us' - the follow up to 2014's critically acclaimed debut LP 'Sweet Disarray' ("full of infectious harmonies", so said NPR). The track is available digitally now and is the first taster of what you can expect from Dan's second full-length, details of which will be announced soon.  While 'One Of Us' lies at the heavier, more energetic end of Dan's spectrum it is still undeniably pop-infused. Much like the majority of his other material, 'One Of Us' was written and performed solely by Dan, with a pace and energy of this track showing his multi-instrumental prowess. Lyrically, the song touches on the various forms of peer pressure that he has witnessed around him - “Heard you can’t beat the rush, give in and be one of us. Told you 10,000 times that you'd rather be on of us...

Two Distinctly Different: Calling All Astronauts - The Hummingbirds

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Calling All Astronauts - Empire. Them background words - It’s been two years since Calling All Astronauts (featuring members of pop punk pioneers Caffeine, goth stalwarts The Marionettes and seminal UK rap-metalers US:UK) unleashed their debut album “Post Modern Conspiracy”. Those two years have seen these London based alternative electro rockers release seven singles, gain massive radio and blog support worldwide (including BBC 6Music and XFM), build a 400,000 strong Twitter following and open for the likes of Roger Daltrey, Echo & The Bunnymen, PWEI and A Place To Bury Strangers. Following a 20-month stint hard at work in their own recording studio, CAA are back, with a brand new single, “Empire” hitting all stores on November 27th. “Empire”, is the first single to be taken from their hotly anticipated second album “Anti-Social Network” (out in February 2016), and has been described as what you’d get if Johnny Cash had ever duetted with Jimmy Eat World! Intriguing right? It...

Ummagma - Frequency (EP).

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Ummagma - Lama (From the EP 'Frequency'). Background - Canadian-Ukrainian duo Ummagma have confirmed details for the UK release of their EP ‘Frequency’. This mini-album will be available through Raphalite Records and is slated for release on November 13th. Alongside five original tracks, the EP features remixes from Cocteau Twins legend Robin Guthrie, Wales' celebrated Lights That Change, and Malcolm Holmes of Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark (OMD). Ummagma consists of Shauna McLarnon, who hails from Canada's Yukon, and Alexander Kretov, who is from Ukraine. Since bursting onto the music scene in 2012, they have made a significant impact on the underground music scene. Their potent combination of uplifting and melancholic textured dreampop, shoegaze, postpunk, ambient and electronica rapidly gained them a sizeable international following despite the numerous issues they faced living between Canada and Ukraine. ‘Frequency’ follows the band's two debut LPs ...

Something Special: Niamh Crowther - Shred Kelly - Little Red Lung

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Niamh Crowther - Little By Little. Background - Following 130,000 streams on Spotify and play-listing on national radio in Ireland, Niamh Crowther releases her single 'Little by Little' on October 23rd. Niamh came to prominence in Ireland aged sixteen when she beat over 15,000 other young people to claim the prestigious Irish Youth Music Awards. The judging panel included Willie Kavanagh (then head of EMI), Jackie Hayden (founder of Hotpress magazine and the exec who signed U2 to their first record deal) and Will Ryan (Hozier). The accompanying rave reviews and talk about town earned her “one to watch” accolades from Hotpress, and on her eighteenth birthday Niamh found herself on stage with Richie Sambora. Following the completion of her Leaving Certificate (A Levels), Niamh set about recording in Windmill Lane with some help from Tim Martin (The Corrs, The Commitments, Declan O’Rourke), resulting in the well-received 'Origins' and forthcoming single 'Little ...

Jesca Hoop - Live in Manchester, UK - 2010 (IA)

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From the Internet Archive (IA) this is Jesca Hoop live at Band On The Wall, a venue in Manchester, England, back on Monday 24th May 2010. This is what the Manchester venues website had to say about Jesca prior to the gig - Jesca Hoop was born in Southern California to strict Mormon parents. She grew up singing traditional folk tunes in four-part harmony, but soon broke away from this background, becoming a homesteader and working with children. As a nanny for Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan’s three children, Hoop gained both musical experience and notoriety; Waits said of Jesca, 'Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night'. Following exposure through radio station KCRW, Jesca toured with Polyphonic Spree, Mark Knopfler, Andrew Bird and Elbow – with Guy Garvey also dueting with Hoop on her (then) latest acclaimed album Hunting My Dress. In addition to this we can add (from Wiki) As a result of meeting Tom Piper, the touring manager of the band Elbow, Hoop moved to...

A Couple Of Good Ones: Murder Shoes - Rissy

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Murder Shoes - Nineteeneightyone. Bio -  Sometimes, it really does boil down to who you know. Shortly after Derek Van Gieson first moved to Minneapolis, he met fellow guitarist Chris White through an ex-post-hardcore-punk pal. For a year or so, Derek and Chris stockpiled hundreds of songs. The songs ran the gamut of 60s pop/garage nuggets, gothic folk, chaotic post-punk, 80s funk and R&B, country/western, shoegaze, rockabilly, and surf.  It could have been a real hot mess, but Derek brought Tess Weinberg in to the picture and she tied the whole thing together with her sultry cross-genre vocals. They further refined their sound as a trio and just when they thought they had it figured out, bassist Tim Heinlein and drummer Elliot Manthey brought the volume, power, and muscle. Inside of a year as a quintet, Murder Shoes recorded and released three EPs, a full length album, and went on tour. After many adventures in the studio and live, the band has refined the eclectic nat...

Sunday Alternative: Sin Cos Tan - ALXA - Jade The Moon - Sweet Mix Kids ft. Pikachunes

Sin Cos Tan - Ten Years (single from Smile Tomorrow Will Be Worse -EP). Background - Finnish synthpop duo Sin Cos Tan shares new single ‘Ten Years’, a new EP is also set for a release in October. Synth-pop duo Sin Cos Tan have already three albums, a host of packed-out festival appearances and a big dose of musical experience. Finnish duo consists of 2 already established musicians: producer-DJ Jori Hulkkonen (who has previously put his magical producer hands on works also with Tiga, Pet Shop Boys´ Chris Lowe, Jose Gonzalez...) and Juho Paalosmaa, songwriter and vocalist also from Villa Nah who released one of the best albums of 2010 ‘Origin’. 
The Sin Cos Tan duo received huge international critical acclaim for their self-titled debut album and hit single “Trust” back in 2012, including a nomination for ‘Critics Choice of Album of The Year’ at the Finnish Emma-Awards. The boys chose not to rest on their laurels and released only 10 months later their successful follow-up album ‘Aft...

Saturday Songs: August Wells - The Sea Birds - Angus C Crowley

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August Wells - Come On In Out Of That Night. Background Info - 'Come On In Out Of That Night' is the new single by August Wells and was released on September 4th on FIFA ('Forever In Financial Arrears') records. A musical project formed in New York by Dublin native Ken Griffin (Rollerskate Skinny, Kid Silver and Favourite Sons) and New York pianist John Rauchenberger, August Wells teamed up with the Cork based independent label earlier this year for the release of the sumptuous 'Here In the Wild' single and that partnership continues for what is the perfect follow up.  'Come On In Out Of That Night' once again has the deep lilt of Griffin's voice combined with the sound of Rauchenbergers piano arrangements, add to that Louis Schwadron (Radio Head & Grizzly Bear) and Griffins uplifting brass arrangements which are accented by fat choruses contrasting with the deep twisted vocal. The result is a an elegant three minutes of lustrous music tin...

Friday Five: Liphemra - Peru - Little Death - The Noted - Apothek.

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Liphemra - 'did u cry'. Background - Los Angeles based Liphemra (comprised of Liv Marsico, Trey Findley, Miles Gray, Chris Parise) have just dropped their first official release 'did u cry'. Both dark and hypnotising in it's repetition, the track manifest an aesthetic unrivalled by any other project coming out of LA right now. "You break up... Never talk again. You just want to know if they cried." - Liv 'did u cry' teases an up-coming EP by the same name which is set for an early March release via LA-based label Future Gods . A wonderfully powerful background sound, gives way to Liv Marsiso's emotionally charged vocals, that dance above the ever changing soundtrack. A real alternative that works so well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peru   (the band) - I Need You. Background - Great music can take you places.  So, perhaps it’s appropr...

Double Delights: $omeone feat Kite - Lydia Schubert

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$omeone feat Kite - Hollow. Those background words - When the music producer, $omeone, recently signed on Gotta Records, meets the sensitivity of the genius vocalist named Kite. Kite is an award-winning Liverpool-based, Cumbrian-born songstress. Her debut EP ‘The Bed of The Brook’ was released in 2011 and led her on to play festivals such as Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Kendal Calling, Solfest and Ireby as well as gaining her a spot to play across the pond at Dewey Beach Music Conference in Delaware. Her first single ‘The Water’ was self-released in 2013 and has had extensive radio play including BBC Cumbria, BBC Merseyside and BBC Radio 2 as well as having been playlisted by BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson. Since her trip to the US in 2012 Kite has been working closely with Brooklyn-based collective Mason Jar Music (Feist, Wood Brothers, Josh Garrels, Alicia Keys) . Lot's of recognition and words of praise, already written for Kite here in the UK, and on the strength of this song, it...