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Two Totally Different: Darla And The Blonde - Left With Pictures

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Darla And The Blonde - End of the Party. Background promo - About ‘End Of The Party’ In the finest tradition of deathless rock’n’roll, ‘End Of The Party’ is an electrifying mix of the grit and the glitter, built on an infectious glam-rock groove interspersed with sparks of searing guitar. Atop this grungy, Ziggy-like bedrock, Jen Demaris and Nina Lovelace’s crystalline voices ring out a catchy and powerful melody, which, rather than being concerned with the closing stages of a heady night out, is in fact about Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution of 2014: “This Is The Time And These Are The Places/Where You Must Bend To Changing Faces”. With touches of The Runaways here, Patti Smith there, ‘End Of The Party’’s absorbing progression takes in a pristine solo by guitarist Rob McCabe before climaxing in a rush of vocal harmonies, a fitting final refrain of what is a gleeful testament to the scope of Darla And The Blonde’s ambition. About Darla And The Blonde Encompassing the seductive glam...

Two Good Ones: Halfloves - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

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Halfloves - It's Easy To Love. Background - Halfloves recently released their first single off their upcoming self-titled full length album out March 4th. This song and forthcoming album are produced by Imagine Dragons’ producer Brandon Darner. Previously know as The Olympics, Halfloves have been gaining plaudits from many music and press outlets with praise for the bands energy and enthusiasm especially performing live. Recently they announced on their Facebook page "Thanks to Nate Logsdon at Iowa Informer for including us in this list of Daytrotter sessions and calling us "the best currently active rock band in Iowa"! Indeed it would appear that these guys have been making a big, big impact on their home music scene. Just one of many quotes about the band - "This is an Iowa band you need to know... they’ve matured into an excellent indie rock band capable of weaving tones together into a bright, rocking and melodic dose of pure pop." - Ames Tribune ...

Oakes & Smith - Closer To Home (featuring Jon Anderson).

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Oakes & Smith - Closer To Home (featuring Jon Anderson). Background words - Oakes and Smith perform gentle, acoustic folk with voices blending in close harmonies. They sing soothing and soulful tunes inspired by nature, love, spirit, art and poetry. The harmonious blend of their voices creates an ethereal sound and unique quality not often heard in today's popular music, and their songs evoke a sense of wonder, expressing themes such as love, beauty, innocence and mystery. Their debut album, First Flight, mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Oz Fritz and released in November 2013, was received warmly by listeners and critics alike. The duo has appeared at The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, MA; the NJ Folk Project in Morristown, NJ; Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk, CT; FloydFest in Floyd, VA; the Hudson Music Fest in Hudson, NY; at Andrea Clearfield's Salon in Philadelphia, PA; at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, MA; and have had a weekly residenc...

Singers & Songs: Rolla Olak - Vandaveer

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Rolla Olak - 2AM Background promo - Heavy Feather is Rolla Olak’s highly anticipated third album, released January 19, 2016 on Older Records. Heavy Feather was recorded on Vancouver Island, Canada and produced by Aaron Older (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) and engineered, mixed and mastered by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain). In Addition to Olak’s hauntingly appeasing voice, original song writing and refined guitar playing, the accompanying musicians on this record are impossibly well suited to this project: Kathryn Calder (The New Pornographers) sings and plays piano with great talent, Nick Petrowitch (Bend Sinister) is on percussion and plays with distinctive precision, Louise Burns (Lillix) harmonises with Olak brilliantly. Aaron Older is on synths and drum machines and Francesco Lyon (Sun Wizard) adds world-music-styled vocal arrangements. Olak’s sound is original, warm and evocative; it’s an invitation to experience a mosaic of gratifying emotions. Heavy Feather is a na...

Tuesday At The Double: La Sera - Foxtails Brigade

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La Sera - High Notes. Background promo - The title of La Sera's fourth album says a lot by saying so precious little: Music For Listening to Music To. So, in other words, "music." After the punky heft and wildness of 2014's Hour of the Dawn, an LP that thrashed against expectation, Katy Goodman returns with a set of songs that double down on solid simplicity — the power of wry lyrics, glorious guitar, driving back beat, and the occasional pump organ groove. And as the record cover gives away, Goodman isn't alone. La Sera is a duo now — that's guitarist/co writer/new husband (!) Todd Wisenbaker standing up there. And Ryan Adams joins to produce the fruit of their union, La Sera's first live-recorded analog album, featuring 10 tunes about good love, bad love, dead men, and confused kids. Music For Listening to Music Toopens on "High Notes," where rollicking guitar and punk drums chugga-chugga beneath Goodman's assured coo. Her lines deftly ...

Affairs - Play

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Affairs - Play. Background promo - Having launched into 2015 with two well received singles Brothers and Blood Science, picking up support on XFM, BBC 6Music, Radio 2 and Amazing Radio, Manchester band Affairs return with their new single Play – a melancholic synth-pop anthem featuring Jim Robinson’s signature vocal style. Play is produced by Suede, White Lies and Pulp producer Ed Buller and recorded at The Kinks’ legendary Konk Studios. The track draws you in from the first bar with its strident intro synth-riff played by Dan Parker while drummer Michael Bradnam’s infectious tom-tom pattern boldly drives the track along. Lyrically, Play is about the complexities of relationships and how we sometimes hide behind a facade or ‘play games’ with one another. The artwork was created by graphic artist Matthew Cooper (Caribou, Wild Beasts & Arctic Monkeys) & continues a cohesive theme with previous imagery for the singles Brothers and Blood Science. 'Play' exudes warmth...

Sunday With: SpaceCream - Beverly

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SpaceCream - Killer. Promo words - Pterodactyl Sky is a stunningly unique new album by Hollywood Glam / Prog/ Glitter Rock band SpaceCream. Pterodactyl Sky is more than a collection of songs; it's an intellectually charged revival of stellar Rock N Roll, told from the point of view of a sex-positive feminist revolutionary. Powered by the formidable vocals of Savannah Pope (hailed as "Ann Wilson in David Bowie's edition of Rocky Horror Picture Show," - Natalie, Ninja Betty) the album presents an entirely unique, contemporary spin on 1970s Glam, Glitter, and Prog Rock. Engineered at Kitten Robot Studios by LA music pioneer Paul Roessler (Nina Hagen, 45 Grave, Elliot Smith), Pterodactyl Sky is peppered with intricate chord progressions and enticing time signatures. Its artful lyrics run the gamut from Jurassic extinction and heartbreak to tantric space exploration and literature. Since winning 2014's LA Battle for Vans Warped Tour at House of Blues Sunset, Spa...

Saturday Double: Treetop Flyers - The Minerals

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Treetop Flyers - 31 Years. Background promo - For Treetop Flyers, the last few years have been a case of needing to fall apart, in order to rebuild, and come back stronger. Two and a half years on from their acclaimed debut album ‘The Mountain Moves’, fate showed its macabre sense of humour in dramatically shifting the ground beneath the London five-piece. The grief for lost parents, broken marriages, the near-death of a close friend, the departure of long-time bassist Matthew Starritt, the loss of numerous behind-the-scenes personnel (as well as an accountancy bill that they say “would make the government weep”) led to a prolonged period of upheaval and an unsettled and anxious camp. It was perhaps natural that Palomino was to become an honest, raw, and reflective record. As vocalist / guitarist Reid Morrison puts it; “We'd been through a lot individually and collectively. Coming together to make this record was very therapeutic for us, in a sense. It brought us closer and allow...

Start The Weekend: The Flavr Blue - Tinted Sun

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The Flavr Blue - Supply. Promo info - In celebration of the release of their EP L​ove Notes and the announcement of their upcoming tour, the Flavr Blue is proud to share "Supply". Coming after the releases of upbeat satin thrill ride "Oxygen" (feat. Jarell Perry) and sensual synth wave "Majesty", "Supply" is another eargasm that showcases the trio's ability to create multi-textured masterpieces rife with beautiful vocal layering and harmony. After a 2015 of major milestones, including a main stage performance at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party and a sold out performance with Kiesza for Red Bull's 30 Days in LA Festival, Seattle-based trio the Flavr Blue sets out in support of their newest release, the Love Notes EP, a collection that marries the group's crackling energy with a soulful musical wisdom inherited from influences ranging from Cut Copy and Miike Snow to Feist and Sade. The band's success is driven by the way i...

Four More: CLAVVS - Crystal Cities - SheLoom - Andy Ferro

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CLAVVS - Leviathan. Promo words - Atlanta based duo CLAVVS have just released their stunning new single titled "Leviathan." Filled with stunning vocals from frontwoman Amber Renee, she is accompanied by the intricate instrumentation of Graham Marsh. Together the two bring to the table, an honest, heartfelt, and emotional brand of electro-laced-pop that brings their sound to life. "Leviathan" kicks off 2016, one to be a high-profile year for the group, as their charming, yet haunting sound lingers in your ears; drawing you back in every timeIf not for a chance meeting at a house party in Atlanta one summer night in 2013, Amber Renee might never have met Graham Marsh, and the pair might never have realized their shared love for hip hop and Radiohead. That same love would ultimately evolve into CLAVVS, a musical partnership fronted by Amber and produced by Graham, the four-time Grammy winner behind artists like Gnarls Barkley, Kid Cudi, and T.I. Over two years late...

Tuesday Two: Quiet Lights - Merival

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Quiet Lights - In The Future. Background - A long time ago, Beehive Candy featured Quiet Lights. Their new record, In the Future, was out last  Friday, Jan 15th, and it reminded me of just how much I enjoyed their somewhat distant last release. Recorded over two to three years, In The Future features nine songs and shows Quiet Lights heads down in sound-scapes and uplifting restraint. The band describe the making of this album as "two years of entropy, agony, and ecstasy (but never apathy) of weaving layers to get it completed". You can hear and buy more on Bandcamp ( here ). The featured 'title' song from the album, is indicative of the superb atmospheric dream pop Quiet Lights produce with such mastery. It is to all intents artful music, however never pretentious, and just so good for your ears and mind and soul. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Merival - Kicking Y...

Sunday Duo: Slingshot Dakota - Golden Daze

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Slingshot Dakota - Paycheck. Background promo words - Slingshot Dakota is an indie rock band from Bethlehem, PA. Comprised of two people, this band has no shortage of volume, energy and catchy tunes. Carly Comando shreds an 88-key digital piano through multiple effects pedals and provides vocals for the band. Drummer Tom Patterson keeps the beat while energetically crushing his drums, a sight that is both entertaining and inspiring. While Comando and Patterson are influenced by their respective punk and hardcore basement scenes, their music can be described as poppy indie rock. Their live sound is loud, full and raw, but at the root of it all is an addictive rock song. Over the course of the last three years since Slingshot Dakota's last album, 2012's Dark Hearts (Topshelf), the pair allowed themselves the freedom to write new material at their leisure as well as succumb to the temptation of outside opportunties - Comando, a commercial licensor, earned herself an Emmy ...

Synth Saturday: Meter Bridge - Pikachunes

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Meter Bridge - It Was Nothing. Background promo - Canadian synthwave duo Meter Bridge are releasing their latest single ‘It Was Nothing’ through WEATNU Records. Comprised of two tracks, this is being offered as a free download via Bandcamp. In this thoughtfully arranged and sparkly composition, moogs whistle and rhythms click into the night, as these two voices blend into a sound that is part Human League, part Blade Runner, and 100% Meter Bridge.  Meter Bridge, who are Richard Kleef and Jill Beaulieu, have a distinctive and unmistakable sonic identity, unique from anybody else on the current electronica scene. This is led by their trademark multi-layered boy / girl melodic vocals, melded with minimalistic groove-infused alternative dance melodies teetering between retro and futuristic. "It Was Nothing is about a public figure spreading lies that play on peoples' heartstrings... for the purpose of getting millions of people supporting a false agenda," explained fr...

Genre Wandering: Woods - Fritz Helder - The Bulls - Ify Jerry Krusade

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Woods - Sun City Creeps. Promo bio - On April 8, Woods will release its 9th LP, City Sun Eater in the River of Light on its own Woodsist label. This week the band shares the album's first single "Sun City Creeps", plus full album details (see below) and its first batch of tour dates in support of the album, most of which will include openers Ultimate Painting (see full list of dates below). "Woods have always been experts at distilling life epiphanies into compact chunks of psychedelic folk that exists just outside of any sort of tangible time or place. Maybe those epiphanies were buried under cassette manipulation or drum-and-drone freak outs, or maybe they were cloaked in Jeremy Earl's lilting falsetto, but over the course of an impressive eight albums, Woods refined and drilled down their sound into City Sun Eater in the River of Light, their ninth LP and second recorded in a proper studio. It's a dense record of rippling guitar, lush horns, and seduct...

The Chemistry Set - The Splendour Of The Universe.

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The Chemistry Set - The Splendour Of The Universe. Extensive promo words - Cult London Psychedelic band The Chemistry Set have quite a history. Founded by Dave Mclean and Paul Lake in 1987, the band are veterans of the alternative Manchester label “Imaginary” and cassette only label “Acid Tapes”; they helped pioneer the late 1980’s neo-psychedelic boom.   The Chemistry Set counted Factory Records boss Tony Wilson amongst their fans (they appeared on his TV show). They also received regular airplay on the legendary John Peel’s show (Peel even went so far as to sending the band a hand-written fan letter!).  The Chemistry Set have been championed by mainstream media such as The Times Sunday, Record Collector, XFM, 6 Music and Classic Rock as well as underground fanzines like Bucketful of Brains and Freakbeat in the UK, The Bob in the USA, Ruta 66 in Spain and Sound Effects in Sweden).  Their numerous releases (The Chemistry Set’s discography currently stands at 42 rele...

Jim Wellman - Dawn To Dusk (New Album)

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Jim Wellman - Probably Good (Radio Edit). Promo Bio - In Autumn 2014, ex Brand New Heavies Jim had no intention to work in music again. However with world events and in particular the western support of fascism in Ukraine, together with ensuing propaganda from the mainstream media, he felt he had to do something to express his dissent. Over a year in production, the result is a new Jazz/Funk/Disco concept album from Jim entitled Dawn To Dusk. He considers it to be his best ever work. The album is social commentary, but viewed through perspectives of human psychological evolution, and analysis of mass communication and propaganda. The core of the work is the understanding that Man lives in a world of amazing technological development, but is still encumbered with medieval forms of government by representatives who serve mainly the interests of the elite. With the net, and a completely new concept of two way mass communication for all, the ability of the oligarchy to manufacture cons...