BEEHIVE CANDY

Deep Sea Diver - Secrets. Background and the story so far - "Wide awake, and I'm chasing after you" - exclaims a breathless Jessica Dobson, singer and multi-instrumentalist of Seattle's Deep Sea Diver. The lyric is one that best encapsulates the front woman's bravado and fearlessness which dominates Deep Sea Diver's forthcoming sophomore LP, Secrets out February 19th on their own High Beam records. In their desire to explore dualities, Deep Sea Diver urgently and deliberately move you from rock experimentation to dreamy soundscapes, Kraut-esque drum and bass grooves to angular danci-ness, and full fledged orchestration to bare bones simplicity. Dobson has the voice and authority  to tie it all together, and turn it into a cohesive unit that soars yet remains beautifully delicate and intimate. Live, the band has received acclaim for their festival-ready power and presence, Jessica's larger than life guitar hooks, and their cascading layers that build up...

The Goldhearts - Here's The Thing. Background - The Goldhearts have had a big year. Not only did they master playing in a band with an interstate guitarist. They released their first single “On The Run" which received weekly spins by iconic Los Angeles DJ KROQ Rodney on his show Rodney on the Roq. The single was also embraced by community radio and received regular spins on SYN, ZZZ, Radio Adelaide and others. So here' the thing... The Goldhearts are about to release their second single called "Here's the Thing”. "It's short and sharp" says Margy, the singer/guitarist and "a change in mood from the country swagger of our first single ‘On the Run’. The track highlights the punchier grittier side of The Goldhearts but with the same hooks and melodies that they are becoming known for as well as saluting the bands of the nineties where they draw their inspiration. The single is the second of their forthcoming debut album which will be release...

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Hell. And Kip and the band tells us - A couple months ago I posted a demo for the song "Hell" and some people said, "why don't you record that for real?" So we went over to my friend Danny's studio (House Under Magic) and recorded the track along with two cover songs - "Ballad of the Band" by Felt and "Laid" by James as a way to mark our forthcoming tour of Japan.  The latter has lead vocals by Jen Goma, who sang on our last album and also performs with the excellent pop contortionists, A Sunny Day in Glasgow. The Felt song is really the UR-Felt song, the wry articulation of what Felt is most famous for - not being an eighth as famous as they ought to be. The song "Hell" is about how insufferable performances of sensitivity are when there's a good song playing and someone you want to dance with. Remaining Tour Dates: November 28 - Hong Kong - Cockenflap Festival November 29 - Sin...

Frøkedal - Kid. Those promo words - If songs are like children, it’s important to fend off favouritism… but perhaps there is something a little special about Frøkedal’s latest, ‘Kid’. The single is paired with news of Frøkedal’s forthcoming debut album ‘Hold On Dreamer’ – a ten-track offering, slated for release on February 26, 2016 via Propeller Recordings. “Kid opens with a depiction of a young child who falls asleep under the table during a family party,” explains singer/songwriter Anne Lise Frøkedal. It all seems conventional enough, before the track takes a somewhat poignant turn: “It turns out that this is only a made-up memory because all the photos of the child have disappeared along with the family's recollection of him”.   “I remember you, kid” forms a fitting refrain, and a comforting assurance that resonates throughout new album ‘Hold On Dreamer’. Lyrically, a theme runs across its ten tracks: “They deal with people whose lives are about to take a turn – for bette...

The Wretched Desert - Dead Reckoning. Background - Zach Lind of Jimmy Eat World and wife, Holly Lind, dreamt up The Wretched Desert one day when they decided to turn their living room into a music room. When they realised how good the acoustics were in that room, Zach began recording himself playing drums then added more and more instruments while Holly laid down vocals and, alas, their debut EP Street Lights came to fruition. Following Street Lights, the duo continued to cook up some living room tunes during the off season of Jimmy Eat World’s tour schedule that turned into sophomore EP set to release November 13th. Recently, The Wretched Desert happily offered the EP title track, “Dead Reckoning”, as a taste of what is to come.  Zach explains, “As we were writing Dead Reckoning, we couldn’t help being reminded of the hockey scene in Strange Brew. This song is our ode to the McKenzie brothers from whom we’ve learned so much about the mysteries and secrets of being human” . ...

Funktionslust - Unstable (Dro Carey remix). Background - Funktionslust announce their 'Window' EP will be released 20th November. You can pick up hints of all sorts of diverse sounds in Funktionslust’s music, from technoid rhythms to glacial coldwave-esque atmospheres, but they bring these styles into a hyper-modern sound world that is distinctly their own. 'Window' is the duos tightest, tensest most compulsively listenable offering to date.  Funktionslust formed in London, when Sage Redman and Joe Gillick met in their first year of university, bonding immediately over their love of idiosyncratic pop (St. Vincent, Owen Pallet, Tune-Yards, Cocteau Twins etc.) Originally, Sage grew up in Seattle – her parents were “super unmusical”, but her uncle had connections to the grunge scene. Joe, on the other hand, grew up in London, where he was exposed to the music of grime crews like Ruff Sqwad and Roll Deep.  'Window' is about a disconnection from oneself inside,...

Lady Low - Burning Like A Fever. Background - Released in mid October “Burning Like a Fever,” is the current single from Hollywood’s favourite romance rockers, Lady Low. Described as “where strings and heartstrings collide,” Lady Low is a rock sextet comprised of Jimmy Sweet (vocals, guitar), Eden Lee (vocals, drums), Shanel Chavers (vocals, synth), Kaitlin Wolfberg (violin), Corinne Olsen (violin), and Mia Siler (viola). Sweet had always wanted to start a band that combined love’s passion and old school rock and roll. After returning to L.A. by way of London, he formed Lady Low. Sweet started out with legendary San Francisco rock band, The Richmond Sluts. He still performs with the Goodtime Boys, a ‘70s cover band, along with members of Hot Hot Heat, Fleet Foxes, The Heavy, and Beachwood Sparks. While studying vocal performance at Ohio University, Eden recorded and performed with The First Street Heat, a nine-piece funk group. She has also been featured in SassafraZ and Tempo Tan...

The fin. - Night Time. Background - About The fin.  Hailing from the vibrant Japanese port city of Kobe on Osaka Bay, The fin. have become something of a reputed and singular attraction in their homeland due to their stylish Europhile blend of synth-pop, chillwave and dream-pop, complete with English lyrics addressing universal themes of everyday uncertainties. Often referenced alongside the likes of Beach House, Toro Y Moi, Mew and Washed Out, the quartet have, since forming in 2012, created a sufficient stir to have performed before thousands at major Japanese festivals including Fuji Rock, Rising Sun and Viva La Rock. Not content with such acclaim in one country alone, Yuto Uchino (vocals and synths), Ryosuke Odagaki (guitar), Takayasu Taguchi (bass) and Kaoru Nakazawa (drums), each aged 24, set their sights worldwide and in March this year embarked on a major nine-date tour of the US, which included a blinding performance at SXSW. The UK is next up and what better way to ann...

The Deadline Shakes - Sweeten the Deal. Background - Glasgow's The Deadline Shakes are Greg Dingwall (lead vocals, guitars and keys), Iain McKinstry (guitars and vocals), Martin McLeod (bass), Thomas Booth (drums) and Sam Clark (piano), with Michael Muir (violin) and Kiera Pollock (vocals).  Their debut album 'Zealots', produced by Greg in a tiny room in the east end of Glasgow, is the product of three years of hard work following the band's inception. Greg’s songs are often widescreen in scope, but lucidly lovelorn lyrics give the album a relatably human quality. This is an album recorded on a limited budget that sounds like a large scale, big studio production.  Each band member is a multi-instrumentalist who has a passion bordering on compulsion to create, a drive which underpins everything they do. Even the band's unique artwork is designed in-house by bass player Martin. Guitarist Iain has edited their music videos. Radio support for The Deadline Shake...

Shirley Said - Crash. About Shirley Said (and we quote) -  Shirley Said’s sophisticated, experimental take on alt.digitalism was born in the town of Latina, near Rome, inspired by artists ranging from Bjork to Portishead, Talk Talk to Sonic Youth, as well as auteur's such as David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman. Originally a four-piece, the band performed at a series of prestigious national festivals and live video-based events, which emphasised their dedication to the visual as well as the aural. Subsequently relocating to London, Shirley Said resized to a two-piece, comprising Giulia Scarantino (lead vocal, synth, piano, fx) and Simone Bozzato (backing vocal, guitars, programming, efx). Their sensual, minimalist techno has sound tracked French docu-dramas, Italian TV series and an exclusive fashion film for Vogue. Earlier in 2015, the band’s double-A sided single, ‘Merry-Go-Round’/’Salvation’ firmly established them as one of the English capital’s most coveted electronica acts – the...

Paradise Animals - Monday Morning. And the band tell us - Appropriately, we're releasing our new single/video "Monday Morning" today. The single is from our LP "Day Bed" it's our very first full length. The album was recorded and produced by the whole band in both Northern Ontario and Toronto.   Day Bed is the place we go to rest in the daylight. A place where memories wash over us; a place where we pause and think about life. It's a collection of songs that highlights the warmth and happiness of family and childhood, the heartbreak of relationships, and the randomness of social life in the 21st century (album out November 13th) . I listened to the single and thought to myself, that this was 'an absolute must to feature'. I started putting this together, then upon opening both eyes noticed they had also sent a link for the album. So one album listen later, I reckon I have another contender for my top ten favourites of 2015. Seriously if you...

Venkman - Andrew, You're Horizontal Again. What's the story - Venkman are Kate, James, Tom, Danny & Dave who create off-kilter funk from their hometown of Lichfield, UK, citing influences as diverse as Influenced by Michael Jackson, Kate Bush, Prince and Thomas Dolby. Having already been featured on 6 Music and BBC Radio in England and Scotland, Venkman were responsible for the most watched BBC Introducing session ever with their cover of Michael Jackson's 'Leave Me Alone'. They were also selected to feature in the Best New Music of 2015 on their local Introducing show. The band, who have already played with the likes of Carina Round, Outfit, Turbowolf and Coasts, next play live on 11th November with Dutch Uncles at The Hare and Hounds in Birmingham. The release of their EP 'Kakkorhaphiophobia' follows the success of their debut single 'Martial Law' and epitomises Venkman’s quirky brand of melancholic funk with haunting male/female harmon...

Beliefs - Leaper. What we are told - Toronto shoegaze band Beliefs are set to release their sophomore album 'Leaper' on November 13 via Hand Drawn Dracula.  Beliefs started abruptly when Josh Korody and Jesse Crowe met at good friend and former Bassist, Patrick McCormack's birthday party and couldn't stop talking about the music of the 90's. Through the love of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, the memory of reverb and fuzz was revisited and Beliefs was formed. Since their formation in 2010, Beliefs have released a two song single and b-side (Untitled, 2012 HDD) as well as a full length record (self titled, 2013 HDD, Manimal, No Pain In Pop) and are currently set to release their follow up, Leaper via HDD on November 13. Beliefs have been lucky enough to share the stage with fantastic artists such as; A Place to Bury Strangers, Disappears, The Breeders, Toy, Algiers, Moon Duo, Beach Fossils, and Suuns. Beliefs are prolific artists and musicians in the Tor...

Kissing Party - Trash. (from the album - 'Looking back it was romantic but at the time i was suffocating). Background - Getting it's release on Hot Congress Records on the 2nd November 2015, just some of the comments made about Kissing Party include - Tired of Ty Segal? Bored with Beck? Wanna slit your wrists at the thought of another Jack White album...  From the Mile High City comes Kissing Party, your new favourite band whether you like it or not. -  This Is Indie Slop... How much emotional weight can one impart in a two minute pop rock structure?  Such is the game Kissing Party plays, as sampled on their new album "Looking back it was romantic but at the time i was suffocating'. At the forefront of the 'Slop Pop' movement, Kissing Party is the sound of debt, regret, heartbreak, hair dye & Pennsylvania. This is the band's second release on Denver's Hot Congress Records (Denver, USA) available on CD, Vinyl, Cassette and download. Kissing Pa...

From the Internet Archive (IA) this is Yonder Mountain String Band Live at The Fillmore Auditorium on the 21st April 2007. The Yonder Mountain String Band (abbreviated YMSB and referred to by some as just "Yonder") is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, Allie Kral, and Jacob Joliff the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings to date. Founding member and mandolinist Jeff Austin left the band in 2014 due to creative differences and conflicting career goals. Just some of the bands history - In December 1998, the four musicians formed Yonder Mountain String Band which was to open for a band at the Fox Theatre in Boulder. They have since developed both a bluegrass and jam band fanbase, and can often be found on tour. Their debut album Elevation was released on Frog Pad Records, an independent record label run by the band, in fall 1999. From 1999 to 2001 they performed ...