Night Beats 'Myth of a Man'

Newly released from Heavenly Recordings, the third album from Texan native Danny Lee Backwell under the moniker Night Beats shows the musician take a different direction in his musicality. From the bloodshot acid tip of Sonic Bloom (2013) and Who Sold My Generation (2016), there is an alteration in Backwell's output.

Produced by The Black Keys Dan Auerbach, this is music of a man who is both vulnerable yet tender; romantic yet pure - combining elements of the best of Americana - rhythm and blues, 60s rock and pop with a smidgen of the lyricism of The Last Shadow Puppets - this is an album which is proof of an artist who is at times not possible to categorise.

From album opener 'Her Cold Cold Heart' to 'Stand With Me' there is an earnestness that is not fawning but more bright in its composition. There are introvert moments of reflection such 'There She Goes' and '(Am I Just) Wasting My Time' but this is a shot of Texan blues that is great to see and share; whilst you still have the groove on lead single 'One Thing'

Night Beats is touring in the UK in early February starting at The Dome in London on 6th February culminating on 12th February at The Bodega, Nottingham with stops in Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Myth of a Man is out now from Heavenly Recordings and it is certainly worth a half hour of your time on this punchy and memorable record.

Amber Arcades 'Simple Song'

Today, Amber Arcades (Annelotte De Graaf) released details of her second studio album, European Heartbreak, set for release on 28th September 2018 via Heavenly Recordings.

In conjunction, with today's thrilling news, Amber Arcades also shares new single, 'Simple Song' with accompanying video. This video is part two of a trilogy of videos where all three intertwine, the first being Goodnight Europe

The new album was recorded and produced with Chris Cohen in LA and Richmond, Virginia with Trey Pollard.  A step forward from the critically acclaimed Fading Lines, the album is European thematically and in the sophistication of the music constructed.

This is ushered in by the video which show the love affair we have with balmy European holidays, the romanticism of love overseas and the sunny disposition of being away.  The memory of such events are felt in the music about new love, love lost and the way memory plays tricks on you.  In that way it promises to be both truthful and disarmingly powerful.

Amber Arcades is playing some intimate shows in UK and Europe before summer festivals, landing in London at Omeara on June 7th.

Follow Amber Arcades on Twitter @AmberArcades

Gwenno 'Le Kov'

Written and performed entirely in Cornish, the new album from Gwenno, is an exploration of the mythic nature and folklore of the Cornwall language dabbling in the collective subconsciousness and becomes a living document; a vital embodiment of a language being lost in this digital age.

Le Kov translates as the place of memory - and it is this call back to tradition and remembering evoking ideas of language, territory and conceptualising into an album of hypnotic psychedelia with haunting vocals containing moods everchanging from light to dark.

The works contain nods to isolationism, fears and anxiety over the impending Brexit and the changing cultural landscape that makes Britain a nation built upon its languages and smaller nations that make it a Great nation.

Yet for all the darkness and mysticism of a whole album sung in a minority language, there are elements of beauty and awe such as first single 'Tir Ha Mor' (Land and Sea); a tune that is catchy and playful incorporating the power of Kate Bush with the earworm nature of Enya.

Gwenno is touring the UK in March

Thursday 8th March – BIRMINGHAM – Hare & Hounds
Friday 9th March – MANCHESTER – Gullivers
Saturday 10th March – LEEDS – Brudenell Social Club
Friday 16th March – BRIGHTON – Rialto Theatre
Saturday 17th March – RAMSGATE – Music Hall
Thursday 22nd March – BRISTOL – Louisiana
Friday 23rd March – OXFORD – Bullingdon Arms
Sunday 25th March – ABERYSTWYTH – Ceredigion Museum
Thursday 12th April – LONDON – Hoxton Hall
30th August - 2nd September - SALISBURY - End of the Road Festival

Sometimes music is about taking risks not just for the performer but for the listener as well, do not be put off by not knowing what she is singing about but instead listen with your headphones on and imagine hang-gliding over coastal sealines with waves crashing below you dreaming of a green and pleasant land.

Le Kov is out from Heavenly Recordings on 2nd March

Anna Burch

Released from Heavenly Recordings on Friday 2nd March in the UK, Detroit based singer/songwriter Anna Burch's debut album Quit The Curse.

Anna Burch, who once co-fronted Failed Flowers, has assembled a collection of solo material which has come to fruition on this album which has been engineered by Collin Dupuis (Lana Del Ray, Angel Olsen) to push home the energy of the songs to a more crystallised clarity.

The songs on the surface may seem summery and light, yet they harbour darker themes underneath from the absent love in album lover '2 Cool 2 Care' and the paranoid 'Asking 4 A Friend'; the album has been served by video promos that support this dreamy vibe as seen in 'Tea-Soaked Letter':

Yet this should not take away from the great vocal work Burch utilises here, on a par with the range exhibited say by St. Vincent and even the emotional outpouring of one of her idols, Fiona Apple.

Lately, a lot of female musicians have taken this insular route of self-introspection to garner lyrics (Jessica Lea Mayfield) yet paint them with bright colours for earworm hooks and head-nodding melodies. 

Whilst someone like Ezra Furman (whom Burch is supporting on tour in the US) sings about rage and angst from a personal identification perspective under a Trump administration; Burch sings about women rightly trying to find a place in the world and how the balance of acceptance, finding love and finding a voice goes hand in hand - Burch does it with attitude and an electric guitar.

Burch is touring the UK in May:

Sunday 6th May - Manchester - Sounds from the Other City

Monday 7th May - Birmingham - Hare & Hounds

Tuesday 8th May - Glasgow - The Hug & Pint

Wednesday 9th May - London - Old Blue Last

Before appearing at the End of the Road Festival (30th August - 2nd September)

Quit The Curse is out from Heavenly Recordings on Friday 2nd March.
My thanks to One Beat PR for the listening opportunity.

M Craft, 'Blood Moon Deconstructed'

After you have a well-received album, you think you may well rest on your laurels, yet Martin Craft wanted to self-analyse and re-assess his album into something a bit different and more imaginative.  Whilst the first album had sumptuous harmonies in unison with heavenly melodies; the deconstructed version is a plethora of atmospheric soundscapes from a cinematic vision of psychedelic science fiction.

Dreamscapes and soundscapes are in abundance because he the album has been stripped back to the new compositions of piano improvisations and electronic combinations.



M. Craft says himself, 'I hope this is filmic, somewhat ambient, daydream' and that it surely is when you witness the video for 'Adorn Me'. For people who are fans of those classic soundtracks such as Lost in Translation or the collected works of Philip Glass; this will be an album that will fill you with great pleasure and joy.

Blood Moon Deconstructed is released from Heavenly Recordings on Friday 15th December