Rebecca Schiffman - Before The Future

New York born singer-songwriter, Rebecca Schiffman, releases her fourth album on 25th July entitled Before The Future.

Born and raised on the East Coast, Schiffman has seemingly found her musical home on the west coast and the city of Los Angeles. This album features a multitude of guest artists and collaborators ranging from Deerhoof's Chris Cohen and Tim Carr (Perfume Genius) to name a couple. These new collaborative forces also changed her style of recording from the ten day relocation to the studio as she did with her first three albums; instead this album was recorded in more piecemeal due to the input of others. 

Starting with the title track and another with Cohen, creating this euphoric and anthemic sound for said title track that runs to nine plus minutes (an usual feat to front end an album with a long track). That track is about the grief from the untimely death of a childhood friend. It is the difficulty of grief and understanding of that emotion that is the underlying theme of the album throughout, as heard on 'Rudy's Song' which is about her bereavement for her beloved dog.

Schiffman has a gorgeous lilting voice, a soft delivery that works well with the pleasant melodies being played. Reminiscent of Margaret Glaspy in terms of singing style and Lori Anderson from yesteryear; Schiffman has crafted an album of a sunny disposition but with a more serious undercurrent to proceedings.

And yet there is joy such as 'Little Mr. Civility' about her two year old son, the new life in the world can change your outlook on many things. For Schiffman she did not want to become demonstrative in terms of making the rules and being strict, and this juggling of nature and nurture is the touchstone of the song.

All in all, this is an album of being aware of your feelings, expressing them the best way and how moments can channel or alter creative output. Schiffman is seeking balance between her long in the tooth East coast attitude and new found West coast sensibility; and in some ways she may have found it.

Before The Future is out on all platforms from 25th July

My thanks to OneBeatPR for the review opportunity.

FACS - Wish Defense

 

Chicago trio FACS return with sixth studio album from Trouble In Mind on February 7th

FACS are unlike any band you would have heard of before. They remain an enigmatic threesome who have garnered a cult following since the release of Void Moments in March 2020, when the world took a turn.

That album was an insular one, and one whose lyrical content coupled with that throbbing basslines and persistent drums along with a vocal of insolence. Yet it is still able to connect due to the musicianship on display by Brian Case (vocals), Jonathan Van Herik (original returning member on bass) and Noah Leger on drums.

Case, the main writer, states that this album revolves around the idea of doppelgangers or doubles, in a sense FACS are holding a mirror up to themselves to make tackle yourself and what motivations lie ahead.

Second track 'Ordinary Voices' is one that is familiar in the FACS form; pulsating and unrelenting in its message, which is quickly followed by title track 'Wish Defense' which has this ear worm of a bass line at the outset, culminating in the shout 'I'm not here' on repeat as a chorus. It is not so much disillusionment they are trying to sell, they can see the listener and can relate.

 

Track four, 'A Room' is an archetypal wall of sound number, with Case's vocals merely being held up by the roaring sound being created.

While it may not reach the heights or lightning in the bottle of Void or the follow up Present Tense (2021), this nevertheless remains a supreme statement of art by a band who are firing on all cylinders. This sort of album gives you hope that when given a chance a band can still be heard.

At seven songs in length and thirty minutes in runtime, this is still a curated piece of production helmed by the late Steve Albini, in his last professional work.

Wish Defense is released from Trouble in Mind on February 7th

My thanks to them and OneBeat PR for the review opportunity.

Nightshift 'Homosapien'

 

Third album from Glasgow quartet out now via Trouble in Mind

Following on from the stellar workings of the sophomore offering, Zoe (2021), the Glasgow based four-piece return with more of the same and something a bit more.

A combination of DIY basement, jam music but with a lyrical melody running throughout; the band have had some changes in personnel and position as Chris White moves from drums to lead guitar and this personality shift has led to a more driving lead sound from his strings.

The best song on the album 'Sure Look' is indicative of this driving statement of intent, pulsating energy coursing through and yet reflective in the same breath.

The lyrical content ranges from self-preservation in these existential times and yet the DNA of post-punk resonates throughout from the slow hum of say 'Cut' to opener 'Crystal Ball' which is at times psychedelic. It is always better when a band shows a different string to their bow without losing sight of their own identity.

A hypnotic album that grows upon you with each listen, this is a band still growing and hopefully garner a greater following in the coming years.

Homosapien is out now from Trouble in Mind Records

Cowtown 'Fear Of...' - Album Review

 

New album from Leeds based trio, out via Gringo Records 31st May

Made up of a born and raised three piece, Hilary Knott (keys/vocals), Jonathan Nash (guitars/vocals) and David Shields (drums); the band return with their first new record in eight years. They have always fallen back into each other, able to tour without much fanfare and yet be a great support band for those touring the northern settlements of England.

Nash is noted for being drummer of Hookworms which became Holodrum and Knott experimented with Basic Switches. And these bands DNA help ferment the DIY feel of Cowtown; the experimental fervour of Devo mixed with the punk-tastic tunes of White Denim.

Take for instant previous single, 'Can't Talk Now' which has the big chorus feel; or 'As Close To Town As I Like It' which takes Knott's measured vocals in unison with the melody. There are indie tunes here peppered with punchy works such as 'Total Engagement' or 'Thru Being Zuul' which provide that indie pop power that recalls Tokyo Police Club's apex.

 

There is a mixture of power and precision running throughout ending with the rousing 'Currently Unavailable' as the album's last track - yet this is a credit to a band that has worked the circuit for twenty years honing their craft, this is not a band but friends making music together winningly.

Lasting for that period of time in the underground scene, is reason enough to celebrate, yet to return with perhaps their best work and an album of positivity and jams to fill up any indie dancefloor is reason to be shouted from the rooftops.

Fear Of... is out from Gringo Records on 31st May 

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Dream Talk - Still Corners

New album Dream Talk from Still Corners out April 5th via Wrecking Light Records

The new album from duo of Tessa Murphy and Greg Hughes is an album they have been building towards as a two-piece since forming in 2009.

Dreampop would be a category you would attempt to pigeon hole Still Corners into, yet they are a band who are not restricted by such terms, they are a pop band with rock sensibilities or a rock band with electro stylings in abundance that tick so many boxes of influences.

Returning with new album material since 2021's The Last Exit which was well received, the duo return with new songs that are both ethereal and melodic. From the opener 'Today's the Day' which is sounds like a long lost cousin of Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game' it has this earnest hook that yearns for attention. It is a great modus operandi opener for an album that does not deviate from the hypnotic course it is sailing. This idea of sailing comes full circle in a song like 'The Ship' which appears near the end of the album; a deeply affecting vocal featuring layered vocals and swooning production

Take for instance a song like 'Crystal Blue' a dreamy song that could be the access point for any such dreampop playlist yet it is Murphy's hushed delivery (reminiscent of Alice Boman) that makes it earworm worthy, the deliberate restrained nature of the production happening underneath her is mesmeric.

Fans who know their work will not be surprised by the content available, and for this listener who is familiar with the oeuvre of dream-gaze pop and such contemporaries as Mint Julep will be raptured by this album

The best moments of the album is when it lets the chains of dream-gaze fall away and veers closer to pop such as 'Lose More Slowly' or 'Faded Love' and these fleeting moments enhance an album that will be greatly appreciated on multiple listens. 

At times romantic, swooning and mysterious this is a yearning piece of stylish dream pop ripe for a wider audience and will be perfect for the summer (if it ever comes) as we sway to it as the sun goes down on a festival evening.

Dream Talk is out now via Wrecking Light records

Footballhead - Overthinking Everything

New album from Chicago five piece via Tiny Engines

Hailing from Chicago and helmed by singer/songwriter Ryan Nolen, they are a band that sound like the child of those emo renowned bands Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World. Those bands while loud and brash, as they grew into maturity became accomplished composers of songs that spoke to the masses as well as the marginalised from which their popularity flourished.

Overthinking Everything is that same sort of beginnings of something, a band with a strong unified sound that would not be out of place on the MTV cycle in the late 1990s before the Y2K scare crippled us. 

Short bursts of adrenaline and energy abound from opener 'Rug' and follow up 'Snowball'. The message is clear these are guys who dream of days by the beach but driving along them rather than sunbathing they may well be cruising. 

As with all young male adults these are people searching for meaning, but most importantly using the conduit of guitar rock music to be heard. Nolen grew up in Western Chicago suburbs before relocating to Palm Springs, California in his teen years. He is assisted by Adam Siska, Liam Burns, snow ellet and Robbie Kuntz to make the sound bigger.

The thing to remember about Blink's music is that they were a pop band with earworm hooks and riffs coupled with an unquenchable desire to succeed, Nolen shares some of that freedom and enthusiasm on this short running half hour album that contains a lucky thirteen nuggets.

Full of bombast and ambition, small tales of struggles and hopes, this feels like the start of the journey and a band to watch out for on the festival circuit this summer where the word of mouth will follow.

Overthinking Everything is out from Tiny Engines on Friday 1st March

BEWILDER - From the Eyrie

 

New album by Southampton duo Bewilder from Tiny Engines label

The duo comprise of vocalist/guitarist George Brooks and multi-instrumentalist Thom Wilkinson, whom have been performing as Bewilder for over a decade now. The LP From the Eyrie showcases a sophisticated more mature focus of the pair due to the nature of its genesis.

Demos for the songs started to appear in 2019, where the pair would send demos to each other. This had to continue during the global lockdown of 2020. For example, 'Twin Lakes' was finished in May 2020 and with the sweeping violins enwrapped in the final track, the intention was to create a full long playing album. Brooks, a long time fan of emo bands such as Jimmy Eat World and American Football, the goal was to make an album of feeling but remaining fresh and original.

Songs that are full of originality, it is somewhat befitting the film that has this warmth and good-feeling running through the sequencing is released during the late period Indian summer we are experiencing in the UK currently. While the political landscape may seem murky and unchartered, the release of music such as this from the South Coast offers hope and sunshine, as Brooks and Wilkinson channel these notions of nostalgia (as the album cover attests to) and nature. 

From album opener 'Heavy Sweater' there is a warmth from the opening arpeggios, strings soar on 'Breaking' and in 'Home' you have acoustic traditional folk. This all marks the album out as one that is a gateway to your new favourite band, and yet a duo that seemingly has so much left in the locker to explore and discover.

FROM THE EYRIE is out via Tiny Engines on all platforms from October 6th 

Melenas - Ahora

 

Spanish quartet Melenas return with third album AHORA from Trouble in Mind Records on 29th September 

The spanish foursome brandish their influences brazenly upon their guitar necks and 88 keys, this long player shows the band are exploring notions of identity and personality in their work.

For fans of Hinds (Spanish counterparts), nevertheless this is a band who are immersed in the inspiration of early 1980s synth and new wave records from Depeche Mode to New Order with a hint of Kraftwerk. The use of synthesizers are paramount and welcome in this album. An indie album that is electronica, an alternative album with mainstream appeal.

Ahora is translated as Now. The album according to the band shows, 'the importance of time, to reflect on how we live our everyday lives, with whom we share our moments and how we want (or don't want) to do it.

The dreamy pop of '1986' is married with somber songs such as 'Flor de la Frontera', and yet this is indicative of that life in which they mention. Since the pandemic, when we had that prolonged period of inner reflection with ourselves, we experience high highs and then have to suffer low lows, those lows may last longer and we seek those highs more and more.

There is a real harmonious and melodic rhythmicality to the works, it reminded this listener of a sole artist such as Sweet Baboo - who uses keyboards to make beautiful melodies with heartbreaking vocals. Take a song such as K2 which has this lovely sound as the band use those harmonies to create a lushness to proceedings following the album opener/introduction of the title track. 

While all the songs are written and sung in Spanish, the universality of the musical sonic landscape is key to the growing appeal of the band who have been released in the United States without the necessity of an English language dubbed version for instance.

Since their beginnings, Melenas have always been an intriguing act and with this third album they again forge an identity as a band who are bold and unique in their production creating a catalogue of music that is embracing with its warmth and intelligent in its construction. Melenas return with that difficult third album, and they are having fun here.

Ahora is released by Trouble in Mind on all platforms from 29th September.

Summer of No Light - The Natvral

 

Sophomore release by Kip Berman pseudonym out now from Dirty Bingo Records

Kip Berman's alter ego, The Natvral, won rave reviews in 2021 with his debut album Tethers, a troubadour solo release full of unrequited and forgotten loves with a hipster twist hailing from Brooklyn, New York as he does.

He returns with a new album and it is more of the same with some killer tracks mixed in with melodic album tracks making it a full package as one. However, with the previous album, there is a tinge of melancholy underpinning the whole album from 'A Glass of Laughter' to 'Summer of Hell' which juxtaposes the exultant melody with downbeat subject matter.

Berman remains a spirited and prolific songwriter, one who is a harbinger and conduit for exploring his past to make sense of the living present. You get the sense his writing is a form of therapy and allows him to channel emotions into the art form of music making.

What is so beautiful about this album is it's imperfect nature of it all, there is a rough and readiness to proceedings and yet it is welcoming to all due to the universality in regards to themes of love and loss.

The title of the album 'Summer of No Light' is taken from the climate crisis of 1816, a massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia darkened much of the world's sky - the ash brought dramatic global cooling and famine. During that summer however, was a period of creative explosion for one famous writer. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein that summer, she was in Lake Geneva riding out the awful summer. Berman expresses admiration that someone such as Shelley could sustain themselves through art, and yet getting fucked up. Famously Shelley was in Switzerland with her lover Percy Shelley, Lordy Byron and Claire Clairmont (Byron's paramour).

Tethers was completed under the restrictions of the global Covid-19 pandemic and was one of the finest releases during that period; and his defiance shines again in the punchy opener 'Lucifer's Glory' but the mark of any artist is one who can mix the riotous songs with ones of softness such as the closer 'Wintergreen'. 

Berman sounds happy and artistically free, drawing upon personal experience and gaining perspective on his life is a joy for all who listen.

Summer Of No Light is out now from Dirty Bingo Records

Pynch 'Howling at a Concrete Moon'

Much awaited debut album from Kent four piece PYNCH released 14th April 

The four-piece band from Kent, Pynch came to prominence and attention in the latter part of 2019 when their debut single 'Disco Lights' appeared on the esteemed Speedy Wunderground label and then they released the track 'Somebody Else' in May 2020 which became an underground anthem for dealing with pandemic which was a rage against the situation that many people found themselves in, and rightly so the single was a breakthrough with recognition ranging from The Guardian to NME.

Pynch are by their own admission, a DIY band who hailed from Margate, Kent - a building in the town is basis for the album cover art - and with little more than the records made in Spencer Enock's home. Enock is lead guitar and vocals in the band ably assisted by Julianna Hopkins' keys, Scott Enock's bassline and James Rees on synths.

The musical influences of this band range from dreampop, britpop to electronica in the rich late 20th century tradition of bands ranging from Pet Shop Boys to Depeche Mode and up to the Mystery Jets. Yet it is all about the situation the band find themselves in, this is a post-austerity album an album full of disillusionment and crisis in dealing with the existentialism and longing for halcyon days that parents used to talk about it. There is a cynicism that runs throughout the album and yet that social commentary gives way heartfelt reflection and general optimism for better days by album's end.

From the opening track 'Haven't Lived A Day' the concept of trying to find answers amidst the madness and the difficulty of living is at the forefront of Enock's lyrics 'Trying to figure out what I'm feeling/Trying to understand just what I'm seeing' - the twin threads are seemingly enmeshed and attempted to untangle across the ten-track running time.

The sequencing of this album should be applauded, second track is 'Disco Lights' a key track in their history followed by most recent single 'Tin Foil' another track with humorous takes on the collision between emotion and worth, cynicism and sincerity. It is a fine balance that Enock navigates very well - the tracks do not speak of a band laying everything on the line, merely a precursor for more to say in the future which bodes well.

Nostalgia appears in the track '2009', followed by the two-part 'The City' which delves into the malaise of life then with 'Karaoke' which is about lost love. Penultimate track 'London' is about the living crisis and the general disappointment his generation feels towards governance and how austerity has left that generation to flounder while those before them flourish.

'I just want to feel something real'

When this listener first heard 'Somebody Else' it was ear-opening to a sound that was very much of the moment and artists aware of the moment they are living in during this tumultuous period of world history - the world keeps turning even when you stand still. That track you felt would have been the album opener, and yet it makes sense that it closes the album having been around for nearly three years it serves as self-referential to the band themselves supplying answers to that which they seek. That sense of melancholic ennui that underlies so much of the album is that which you end with, but that is not a detriment more a triumph for Pynch.

It is a testament to them that they can create an album of this maturity and intent, not being overawed by the level of expectation that was awaiting them. 

This is one of the best debut albums of recent times, a joy to listen to and for this listener who has followed the band from the early singles a pleasure to see the long playing album rise to the occasion and fully deliver on that promise.

Howling at a Concrete Moon is out on Chillburn Recordings from April 14th.

FACS - Still Life in Decay

 

New album from Chicago trio FACS out 7th April via Trouble in Mind

When the world was on lockdown, there was the opportunity to catch up on cultural aspects you missed but also a chance for discovery. In this role as a mild-mannered music reviewer, you get sent links to all sorts of musical genres and it is very hard on occasion to weave out of your lane and yet the chance came to review a three-piece from Chicago that were definitely not on my radar. This band was FACS encompassing guitarist Brian Case, bassist Alianna Kalaba and drummer Noah Leger. 

The album from 2020 was Void Moments and for this writer, it was a touchstone and portal for those times in lockdown - an album of ferocity and anger that spoke to me as this writer dealt with the boredom of lockdown and not seeing friends. FACS' brand of intense and post-punk noise was a calling card to me and yet a band that cleverly spoke more to me than an acoustic guitar.

After Void Moments came 2021's Present Tense, a quick follow-up to that pandemic album that sustained their growth as a band with buzzy feedback aplenty and Cage's lyrics again struggling to make sense of the world.

The new album Still Life in Decay is possibly the final swansong for the threesome as Kalaba seeks pastures new, yet the rhythm and unity of the band is still paramount, their tightness again only growing to this resounding maelstrom of disquiet. FACS are a loud band but are capable of such quiet moments of reflection amidst the undoubted sensory overload.

Opening track 'Constellation' is indicative - Cage's vocals burst out of the gate and then quickly recede to the pulsating bass and drum dance that Kalaba and Leger create. 'When You Say' is a call to arms of making sense of the world. 'Slogan' is about watching someone change which is a theme running through the album. 

As Brain Case explains: 'change...how that's seen from different people's perspectives. 'Still Life In Decay' is about that kind of change, realizing that relationships exist in different ways for individuals in shared situations, and how you navigate that as a unit. We knew when we were making this record that Alianna was going to be stepping away from the band, which of course heavily informed the sessions. Filled with deep understanding and love, but still those insecurities and feelings of loss, or an end of something. Despite that, 'Still Life In Decay' feels more like a beginning, it's tense and vulnerable in a way we haven't presented ourselves before. I'm so proud of what the three of us did with this album.'

The album is akin to a ghostly presence with this aura of transformation abounding, drifting past you but maintaining a lingering presence throughout, there is something earthly and yet other-worldy about the album as a whole. A journey of anxiety and white noise and with a gripping energy throughout.

Still Life in Decay is out from Trouble in Mind on 7th April

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity

En Attendant Ana - Principia

 

The third album from Parisian five piece, En Attendant Ana, out now from Trouble in Mind Records

Pre-covid, remember those halycon days. En Attendant Ana released one of 2020's best albums in the January of that year, Juillet. While a ray of sunshine in the winter months before the world went indoors, the album was highly recommended and appeared on many a critic's list come the end of the year.

The quintet re-emerge from a period of hibernation with their third album released on Trouble in Mind records, Principia is a fine album and extension of their work as they grow themselves as a band and as people.

Starting off with the title track, Principia is a work of observation at a world changing as we stand still. The dynamics of relationships are explored and the individual's place within this society. Fronted by a female vocalist - Margaux Bouchaudon - whose voice is at times both haunting but harmonious; the album swoons with this permanent mood of French cote warmth washing over the album.

Best track is Wonder, a near six minute single that probably wears the motifs of the band most proudly - rhythmical and repetitive with a probing bassline that worms into your ears and stays with you. This is indicative of the album opener also -  yet the song speaks to the artist fearing themselves as an imposter and that person's place in the world.

The album feels cinematic, and while many references have been made to Stereolab, the band they remind me of most is Belle and Sebastian - a band that is culturally aware, self-reflexive and intelligent.

The album speaks to the personal but expressed through the universality of finding a reason for existing following the uncertainty of this post-Covid world, where the world got a bit smaller and yet we all seem a bit more distant from each other. There is a yearning in some of the songs for simpler times, perhaps that of 2019 when they wrote the music for Juillet, and yet they know the band must know that they must move forward unknowingly in this new world yet sounding defiant and true to themselves.

For fans of indie pop with a European too-cool-for-school shoegaze, this album is a must and already one of the best of this year. Expect it to be around at the end of year round ups come December, but for now bask in the glorious sunny delights from En Attendant Ana.

Principia is out now on all platforms via Trouble In Mind Records

My thanks to them and One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Clean Cut Kid - HISS

 

Fourth album from Liverpool quartet CLEAN CUT KID out 11th November via Alcopop! Records

Lo-fi and electronic collide in the self-produced new album by the quietly making noise foursome from Liverpoool. Produced in their custom-built analogue home studio, HISS has been crafted lovingly by this group of musos and songwriters. 

Production started in late 2020 when the world ground to a halt, frontman Mike Halls notes how 'the pain of being separated from pretty much everything I love had begun to turn into music in my head'.

Halls took the opportunity to recontextualise the situation as a gift to prepare yourself for permanent separation from parents and this led to creating demos which was essentially unedited of how he was feeling. 

This vitality has melted into the long-playing album and there are twists and turns as different genres weave into the album from folk and first-person storytelling to stories about grief and a love story masquerading as a tale of depression in the same vein as Springsteen's 'Dancing in the Dark'.

'Little Black Space' one of the singles off the album is that love song, a piece of sonic meditation that is both euphoric but embracing of the person within this relationship. 

There is a steady stream of confidence rolling throughout this album, from the calm beginning of opener 'Our Wasted Hours' walk-on music for a band arriving to follow up 'She Take A Pill' a jammy bouncy single to the aforementioned 'Little Black Space' - that is a great opening trifecta. 

   

After that is my only gripe on the album, which is the sequencing. 'Cathy' feels like a slowdown and then the perky 'Louis, Be Brave' does not arrive until track 8. Then the album does end on a high with 'Into The Tall Grass' a metaphor for spirituality and vulnerability and then the finale which is 'Golden Ribbon' an eulogy of sorts for the passing of staying in.

The influences within the album range from Alt-J to Gomez and The Coral to The Zutons. I have mentioned a few Liverpudlian acts there, and that is deliberate due to the rich heritage that city has had in the music culture of the late twentieth century, not least from a certain other foursome who conquered the world.

The album is a journey from calm beginnings to the funereal finality of the album closer. This is an album of majesty, swagger and universality - where there is something for everyone. A gateway of openness and sentiment, HISS is a triumph for song writing and production, sticking to your beliefs and knowing that success will come your way

HISS is out from Alcopop! Records on 11th November.

Clean Cut Kid are Mike Halls (vocals/guitar), Evelyn Halls (vocals/keys), Ross Higginson (drums) and Gareth Bullock (bass).

Honey Harper & The Infinite Sky - Honey Harper

 

New album from alt-country act Honey Harper out now via ATO Records

Honey Harper return with a follow-up to their 2020 breakthrough Starmaker, with a deliberate change in direction with keyboardist Alana Pagnutti taking on a greater songwriting role alongside frontman William Fussell, adding a new dimension to their lyrical output.

The 12-track album feels like a cross-country travelogue through the history of country music, influences of blues, folks and pop with references ranging from Frank Ocean to the Bee Gees and with Pagnutti's input the legendary Loretta Lynn is not faraway.

This is country music but with a kaleidoscopic and spectral in its splendour, from album opener steel guitar dripping 'Reflections' to 'One Thing' with its harmonic melodies resounding out across the John Ford vistas. Top track is 'Boots Mine Gold' a disco tinged line-dancing stomper which comes with a Terminator style video.

Strong hints of Drive-By Truckers ring out in my ears, the vocal delivery of Fussell is a winner throughout. He is ably supported by a stellar band that comprises The Infinite Sky - bassist Mick Mayer, pianist John Carroll Kirby, Alex Fischel (keyboards), Jackson MacIntosh (guitar) and steel player Connor Gallaher.

From highs such as 'Hard to Make A Living' to the mysterious 'Crystal Heart' there is something for everyone on this album from those who cannot tell their opera from their opry.

Honey Harper is out now on ATO Records.

Alice Boman - The Space Between

 

New album release by Swedish songstress Alice Boman The Space Between, out via Play It Again Sam on October 21st

Boman burst onto the scene in late 2019 with her debut album Dream On, which was greeted with ecstatic reviews and positive feedback the album was a sumptuous mix of hypnotic dream pop songs.

A lot has happened since that album was released, a global pandemic has led to introspection for many people especially creative artists.

This new work is indicative of those months many people who spent that time in solitude and the fear of loneliness that gripped many leading to a real appreciation of mental wellbeing for all people.

This introversion is not a change of style for Boman more an embracing of that which she is good at; her smooth lyrics envelope around the warm melodies she has created here with producer Patrik Berger (Robyn, Lana del Ray). There is a deliberate tone set within The Space Between with ruminations on intimacy and angst, as Boman states, 'Writing is still a way for me to understand myself. As an overthinker, there's this constant motion in my head, so it helps to sit down and write about it to actually understand what I feel or think. Or just to find stillness'

From the outset with opener, 'Honey' there is an earnestness and wistfulness throughout with haunting melody but there is a richness running throughout none more so than on single 'Feels Like A Dream' which features Perfume Genius a song where the marriage of two vocals is reminiscent of Kate Bush at the height of her powers. Unsurprisingly, this was a collaboration brought about by an instagram DM and recorded over the distance, to put how the world has changed into context.

There is a steeliness to Boman's vocals, displaying a softness but a determined nature to be heard by her lyrics, the words which are deeply personal as she comes to grips with settling into a relationship.

This mixture of fear but tenderness is a constant theme that runs throughout an album that is both comforting and spiritual, a treat for those returning to Boman and those who are finding her for the first time. 

The Space Between is out now from Play it Again Sam on all platforms

Jonathan Jeremiah - Horsepower For The Streets

 

Fifth album from London singer-songwriter out now from PIAS Recordings

Recorded in a renovated monumental church near Amsterdam, with a 20-piece string orchestra, Jeremiah has imparted a heavy European influence into his new work.

The new album was written during a break of a European tour in France, the sort of time devoted to long walks in the fire. Upon first listen of the album, this listener realised how good of a vinyl listening experience the LP would provide.

The opening title track features imagery of road racing and reminiscing with a vibe of positivity bursting from the seams. The orchestral element of the arrangement helps elevate the composition, and this will become a recurring theme throughout the album - soulful vocal delivery married with sweeping strings.

Sounding like Michael Kiwunaka or Gregory Porter supplanted from the 1970s, the album has many highs and comes across as a warm blanket of comfort like a flavoured latte from your favourite coffee shop in the run up to Christmas.

Jeremiah is a very visual storyteller, he admits being introduced to German painter Neo Rauch - and this approach of 'art influencing art' for him. Using imagery to his advantage in the tales he tells putting you in the position of the protagonist, JJ must enjoy people watching as he sips on that coffee after a midday stroll through his local village.

A self-confessed detached character, JJ is not immune to love and tells those stories in his songs. This detachment is paramount on a song like 'Cut A Black Diamond' a song where he wrestles with his emotions, the backing vocals being the devil on his shoulder.

'Restless Heart' is a tale of triumph, a train that will reach the end despite the hill he must climb. This album begs for re-listens and appreciation on many a scale. 

Quiet, unassuming and humble, Jonathan Jeremiah is an artist I was unfamiliar with but one eager to explore more of in the future.

Horsepower for the Streets is out now from PIAS Recordings and on all platforms

Wilder Maker 'Male Models'

 

Latest album from New York band, Wilder Maker, out 29th July from Western Vinyl

The new album from trio Wilder Maker features an eclectic list of guest vocalists, combining with the sun-kissed soulful dripping indie rock that is on offer. Guests range from Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), Katie Von Schleicher and Felicia Douglass who each lend their vocals to another heartfelt folk laden composition married with Gabriel Birnbaum's insular narrative laden lyrics.

Male Models' inspiration is as eclectic as the sound it carries with influences ranging from novels to basketball and Thin Lizzy to positivity. The band comprises of frontman Birnbaum with long time collaborators Nick Jost and Sean Mullins, with the album being recorded live over several days. The overriding impression you get from the first listen is that this is an album for a vinyl listening party, something you put on in the background but every now and then you have to stop in your tracks because you are hearing something fresh, invigorating and hypnotic.

Birnbaum admits, 'I've been keeping an ever-expanding playlist of songs that I never want to skip. I wanted to make a record that sounded like a playlist in this way; it became a kind of songwriting challenge for me.'

The album succeeds in bringing that effervescence to your speakers with a balance of jam inspired soul and funk with pulsating indie rock that is reminiscent say of We Are Scientists but this really reminded me of a band called Video Age and their album 'Pleasure Line' while that had hints of yacht rock in it, that album and Male Models shares a strange sounding DNA and both had a summer release.

Latest release 'Static' is one of those such tracks featuring vocals by VV Lightbody; a jaunty jam of funk that marries summery vocals with a neat bassline.

'Silver Car' is a personal favourite of the band themselves and that features Katie Von Schleicher guesting and the album has these moments of calm amidst the fevered excitement elsewhere such as ballad 'Surfers Trace' which is sun-kissed and elegiac.

Following the global pandemic, there is a real sense that this big world did become a lot smaller as we all had to experience the change to our daily lives and routines. It forced us to reach out to those we may not ordinarily make contact with and provide support to those in less fortunate positions but also the chance for collaboration. 

Male Models is indicative of this sea change as music is made across zoom calls and ideas are shared frequently across continents and nations - the finished product fills you with a great sense of joy and pride that perhaps the good in humanity will win out as wars and corruption still appear in our society. This album speaks to the good in people and the light that shines in us all.

Male Models is out from Western Vinyl on 29th July.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Tino 'Interpreting Clouds'

 

New album from Tino 'interpreting clouds' out today from Sound As Language 

Santino Gonzalez is a multidisciplinary artist from Los Lunas, New Mexico and covers a wide spectrum of artistic faculties which he incorporates into his work from painting to photography to this new album of material released from sound as language on 15th July

Bringing together a wealth of influence from the everyday social situations Tino finds himself passing from day to day; ranging from the history of the UFO sightings in the state to the stillness of time. Gonzalez has created an album indebted to the work of the king of ambient music, Brian Eno yet has crafted an album identifiable as something wholly unique.

The album is punctuated by pockets of radio static and home recordings created a collage of sound clash that is mysterious and improvisational, take for instance the track 'From the Sky' which takes microphones picking up static mixed with an electronic ambience to create something whole and spellbinding.

interpreting clouds (SAL out 15th July from sound as language.

Thank you to them for the review opportunity.

Adwaith - Bato Mato

 

Welsh trio return with 2nd album 'BATO MATO' via Libertino Records

The Welsh language scene has had a boom in recent times, with many like Gwenno at the forefront and in 2018, a three piece from Carmarthen released their debut 'Melyn' which won the Welsh Mercury music prize and put them in the mainstream consciousness due to their mixture of pop and punk sensibilites in their core.

While that debut was very much a piece about growing up in small town Wales, the sophomore piece - work on which had already begun in 2019 before the world became gripped by coronavirus - took a turn when the band found themselves on the Trans-Siberian Express in the cold city of Ulan-Ude. The sense of batten down the hatches survivalist mentality on the foreboding deserted streets, leant a sense of wow this is real life for the three young women.

The three piece are Hollie Singer (vocals, guitar), Gwenllian Anthony (bass, keys) and Heledd Owen (drums); and this album is very much about confronting the messy future and where you find yourself in the early 20s of your life.

Incorporating the influence of fellow trailblazer Gwenno, the band embrace the sound of Siouxsie and the Banshees and fellow girl band The Breeders. You do not have to be a Welsh language speaker to embrace the broad palette of styles and substance on display here. 

This album is very much a band coming to terms with success and being aware of their own growth as people and a group. While the album was made in a close knit feel of community in Wales, rejoining with debut album producer Steffan Pringle, this is an album that reaches for a global audience that this big world is attainable and the reach of music and language together is unlimited.

From the fuzzy feeback of 'Yn y Swn' to the opus quality of 'ETO' this album is not merely one for connoisseurs but for those willing to try something new; you need only listen to a composition like 'Cwympo' to applaud a band who are making big strides in their capabilities and reach or 'Lan y Mor' which evokes feelings of summer bliss.

Bato Mato is out on July 1st on all platforms via Libertino Records.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Annie Hamilton - the future is here but it feels kinda like the past

 

New album by Australian Annie Hamilton out today (May 20th) via PIAS

Annie Hamilton debut studio album is a reach for the mainstream, it feels like the title of the album suggests, a work that is something you may have heard before but is fresh and new.

A dreamy journey that is full of juxtapostions, raw but soft in her vocal delivery, electronic but stripped back, real but fantastical. Hamilton has taken the chance that the pandemic gave to look inwards and has created a work that is universal, escapist and nostalgic.

Opening single 'Providence Portal' is a harbinger for the album, soft melancholic keyboards with her wonderful vocals soon married by a slowly thudding drumbeat underneath. This promises to be an album you want to go back to and listen to again immediately.

Hamilton states, 'It's about the passing of time, how sometimes it flies by and sometimes it drags on forever and we're always looking ahead wanting something more or wallowing in nostalgia', this writer has heard similar platitudes from the artist SOAK, about the impact the pandemic has had on her personally.

'Exist' is the lead single, anthemic but has an internal monologue by the character Hamilton is portraying running through it, as if she is having a conversation with herself.

Working in collaboration with Pete Covington and Jake Webb (Methyl Ethel), Hamilton has created moments of emotion that every listener can relate to. Harking back to the debut album of Ladyhawke, this has little prisms of pop piercing throughout the work. 

Highs of the album include the trippy 'Night Off' and the panoramic 'Labyrinth', in this album that maintains its thread and course throughout the eleven tracks. It is a beautiful joy to listen to this shimmering work from a brand new artist.

Part dream pop and shoegaze, part indie-pop, part electronica, this album has a little bit of something for everyone. If you are fans of Mint Julep or Julia Jacklin you may know what I am talking about.

the future is here but it feels kinda like the past is out now from PIAS Recordings.

Annie Hamilton will headline a show in London on July 31st at The Social, London

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.