The Natvral Returns

Kip Berman returns from a brief hiatus following the release of his highly acclaimed 2021 release, Tethers, with a new single 'A Portrait of Sylvie Vartan', a limited 7" single released on 26th April on Prefect Records.

For fans familiar with the sumptuous release the single is a reminder of his amazing Laurel Canyon summery sound with his heartfelt delivery married with sun kissed folk guitar, stemming from his days as frontman The Pains of Being Pure at Heart).

Of the track, Berman says, 'A Portrait of Sylvie Vartan’ is about the allure and the limits of self-invention, and the ways we relate - or don’t - across oceans, language, and time'

Berman is slowly becoming the troubadour of the post-pandemic world, his album Tethers reached critical acclaim and reminded this listener of the early works of Ryan Adams from his Gold period of 2001 - touching lyrics, heartfelt delivery with a breezy upbeat feeling.

The single is a special 7" limited edition vinyl restricted to 240 copies on green vinyl. It can be ordered here.

In further news, The Natvral will be touring in the UK in late April after Easter starting in Cardiff with stops in Scotland and with a headline show at The Grace in London on April 26th before dates in Spain and Portugal. Tickets are available here. 

New music from any new artist is a joy, and for old and new listeners, Kip Berman/The Natvral is one to watch this year.

Oscar and the Wolf - The Shimmer

New album from Belgian artist Oscar and the Wolf out on 22nd October

The alter ego of Max Colombie returns in a new work with his contemporary influences of electronica and soulful RnB delivery colliding with the heritage of European electro-pop and beats.

Hailing from Belgium, his debut album Entity (2014) went platinum in his homeland selling out arenas in the lowlands. 2017 saw the release of Infinity that went gold and has helped garner him a huge fanbase in Turkey and beyond into the Middle East - Israel, Egypt and Iran.

The new album 'The Shimmer' is a culmination of his sound and vision crystallizing into a record of transformation and lo-fi perfection with bold and rich production entwined as he becomes a more mature artist.

Lead single and album opener, 'James' sounds like a dream in its structure and to Colombie it came in a dream, 'the complete structure, with the chords and a beat, a vocal melody, even lyrics - is multi-faceted all on its own', and this dream-like quality to his work can be appreciated as not only coffee-shop chic but desirable magic music.

Going from lamenting love songs such as 'Ghost of You' to the instrumental 'PIC' you are never far from a track that can be relatable and holds universal appeal to any listener, even the summery 'Live Stream' about falling for a movie star has this sense of unrequited love and is a well told short story in the lyrics

This album is not merely a work of music, but an experience that can help the listener and performer become one as they gravitate towards each other to seek understanding in this confusing day and age.

Reminiscent of Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens, for Colombie this is revered company to be mentioned in the same breathe as but a work of this maturity and dynamism deserves such platitudes.

The Shimmer is out from [PIAS] Recordings on October 22nd

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Papur Wal - Amser Mynd Adra

 

Debut album from highly touted Welsh trio, Papur Wal, out via Libertino Records on October 8th

Papur Wal have been on the cusp of stardom for some time, going the devout route of releasing the odd single and live shows with the eventual culmination in an album release, this has become protracted due to the global pandemic and inability to record. 

Now the trio comprising of Ianto (vocals/guitar), Gwion (vocals/bass) and Guto (vocals/drums) who formed in Cardiff in 2017 after stowing away from North Wales; this slacker mentality feeds into the infectious pop we have in the new album Amser Mynd Adra; a devil may care mosaic of melody and power.

The band where there heart on their sleeve, and they are not afraid to show emotion either through the natural storytelling or the rich harmonies combined with the unflinching fuzz. Working with long-time producer who worked with Super Furry Animals, the album is a coming of age album in the mould of early Neil Young perhaps - that mixture of mature beyond their years and golden pop sound.

'Rhwng Dau Feddwl' opens the album with a glorious guitar sound follwed hot on the heels of 'Arthur'; but from strong guitar play you also have the contrast of 'Llyn Llawenydd' sounds like a lost Crosby, Stills and Nash harmony with the Hollies beat - but it is a song about reminiscing and getting away from it all.

 

Amser Mynd Adra offers the listener a mixture of melancholy as the three men come to terms of moving into their mid-20s and adulthood but married with catchy upbeat sounds that will leave you humming. There is something for everyone on this album and for novices to Welsh-language music do not be put off and enjoy, there is much value to listening to something from a different point of view.

Hot on the heels of The Lathums debut album going to Number 1 on the album charts; guitar music may be coming back to rule the roost from all four corners of the United Kingdom no less with other works from Mt. Misery also gaining traction.

Amser Mynd Adra is out now from Libertino Records.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Mt Misery 'Once Home, No Longer'

Debut album from highly touted North East trio, Once Home, No Longer via Prefect Records

Mt. Misery became a band in 2019, initially a solo project of Andrew Smith they quickly established themselves on the live scene in the popular North East fraternity by touring constantly until the Covid-19 pandemic took hold of the world.

This album is a marker of intent for a young trio of male musicians, incorporating the best of west coast Americana but with a Northern England sensibility with daydreams and soundscapes of halcyon days in the sunshine. As I write this review, the South of England is being bombarded by a deluge of rainfall in stark contrast to the blistering mini-heatwave of a few days prior. So putting on this album helped overcome the sadness of the never-ending rain and helped dream about days by the foreign shore which remain a long way away personally.

Full of the time capsule capabilities reminiscent in contemporaries from across the pond such as Whitney with that magnificent eye to the tradition of Laurel Canyon song-writing but also recalling that mainstream busting album by Irish band The Thrills which was the archetypal love letter to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.

Opening with 'The Dreaming Days Are Over' which exudes romantic realism with trembling guitars and gentle percussion; yet for all the sunshine on the exterior of the songs there is an underlying internality such as 'In The Blink of an Eye' which is about Andrew's unemployment and feelings of directionless.

This personality of the record speaks volumes as it helps the album become both universal and welcoming to a listener to take the song on as their own: 

“We tend to labour over songs for a long time before committing to them, but with ‘The Thought of Losing You’, being a bit more spontaneous led to one of our favourites on the album. In this instance, I’d been tinkering with the piano part since before we formed the band. With an hour to spare at the end of a long day tracking drums, we came up with a loose structure and built the song around that.”

The record incorporates the geography of the band themselves hailing from Hartlepool; but the restrictions of working as a band during lockdown does lead to happy accidents such as the album being unexpectedly mixed by Kenny Gilmore in Los Angeles, a far cry from the North Sea coast. This helps a track such as 'Taken by the Tide' become something more akin to Denis Wilson and Neil Young.

The album is a perfect antidote to the gnawing antagonism and angst of the pandemic coming to an end; while the sun may be shining here is an album that is the perfect partner to it with warm weather goodness running through its veins and through the airwaves.

Once Home No Longer is out now from Prefect Records

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Buffet Lunch - The Power of Rocks

 

Eclectic debut album from Scottish four piece out 7th May via Upset the Rhythm

Buffet Lunch are a four man band from Scotland, who are on a mission to serve up imperfect pop songs with humour and energy, this has been formed into the kaleidoscopic debut album that is The Power of Rocks out on 7th May from Upset the Rhythm.

The parts of the band consist of Perry O'Bray (vocals/keys/guitars), Neil Robinson (bass), John Muir (lead guitar) and Luke Moran (drums), who came together through a love of all things pop and indie and everything in between the two cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Together the foursome of constructed a wonky DIY feel to their cacophony of sound which runs the gamut of emotions from loneliness and downbeat to the upper echelons of breezy melody.

Recorded on the banks of Upper Loch Fyne in Argyll over four nights and five days at the beginning of March 2020 before the world pandemic took hold, there is a sense of living in the moment when listening back to the album's eleven track sequence.

A blend of production and musicianship take hold as the run times of songs differ throughout from the sub two minute shouts of 'Pebbledash' and 'Bladderwrack' combine against the longer more traditional 'Looking at Liz Talent's Chair' and 'Ashley's New Haircut'.

This encompasses everything with a seemingly brief 38 minutes total run time yet the melodies and compositions stay with you throughout and after the fact - from the bop and riffiness of 'He Wore Two Hats' to the anthemic title track which embraces the feeling of climate and location of recording that took place.

An album of time and place at once, this is a work that may be difficult to access for many but you are certain people said this of Black Country, New Road at the beginning - when the ear worm worthiness of songs take hold it cannot be denied.

For fans of such obscure artists as Sweet Baboo (do check out Wild Imagination from 2017) and those other eclectic bands of the last few years such as BCNR and Pet Shimmers; this is an album that is both mesmerising and engaging.

The Power of Rocks is released on 7th May via Upset the Rhythm

Follow the band on Twitter and Instagram

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity

I Saw First Light - Anna McClellan

 

Third album from Omaha singer/songwriter via Father/Daughter Records

This new album by the Midwesterner was recorded over two weeks with a multitude of local cohorts in her hometown of Omaha; it is a love letter to collaboration and how you become a sponge through engaging with influences.

Original in its context, unique in its execution this is an album full of perception and piano driven indie pop songs which has led to people compare McClellan to one Fiona Apple.

McClellan reminded this listener of another Anna, that being Anna Burch, another solo star who engages us with tales of relationships and social issues but with a strong individualistic slant to her songwriting.

The rollicking 'Feel You' is a call to arms of wanting someone to hold but remaining a personal identity; these go hand in hand with the ruminations found on tracks ranging from 'Raisin' and 'To Prove'.

These little sub-three minute nuggets also recall a band she toured with in 2016/17, one Frankie Cosmos, not to mention the work of Tony Molina a similar artist who did not waste time with song construction eager to share playful bitesize portions of energy .

There is a real tenderness as well to the album harking back to a bygone era somewhat with stalwarts of country music being channelled such as Lynn and Wynette seeping into this Nebraskan's work such as the beautiful violins on 'Gone'.

This album is about connecting with the outside world; her wistful vocal delivery coupled with the lush instrumentation of the compositions marks McClellan as one to watch.

While this may be her third album you to get the feeling this is merely the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more in terms of potential and ability at her disposal.

I Saw First Light is out from Father/Daughter Records on 20th November.

You can follow Anna McClellan on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.

Robbie & Mona - Wallpaper

FOLLOWING the announcement of another lockdown, the dreampop duo Robbie and Mona are happy to announce the delayed release of their debut album, EW, out on January 23rd via Spinny Nights. And they’re teasing for it today with the video for the single drop, “Wallpaper”.

The partnership of William Carkeet and Eleanor Gray, Robbie & Mona have found a vessel for their eclectic and atmospheric pop, combining hazy shimmering synths matched with Mona’s understated vocals.

The project began when William offered to produce Eleanor’s second album; that collaboration quickly transcended into the genesis of what is now Robbie & Mona. The majority of EW was recorded in the cellar of Bristol’s legendary The Louisiana, with additional bedroom recordings.

Influence by film soundtracks, “Wallpaper” would not be out of place in a David Lynch movie: that mix of tenderness and climactic synths, with guitars used sparingly around programmed drums.

Yet there was a far odder inspiration for this track, as Mona explains: “It’s about feeling quite passive and ghost-like, like you’re in the wrong realm, just an observer. The intro vocals were delivered without any thought in a bit of a daze.

“I think the tightness of the music was weirdly inspired by Napoleon Dynamite. We were watching it and really enjoyed how all the songs towards the end were just so deadpan.”

As members of that Bristolian collective Pet Shimmers, there is a fearlessness of combining sonic textures with familiar song structures, yet the songs carry that vibe of lo-fi indie. The album explores emotional complication and the feeling of alienation – it rewards multiple listens.

This minimalist approach to composition helps create an atmospheric aura of work for this duo who embrace harmony and theatricality to wonderful effect.

Follow Robbie and Mona on Facebook and Instagram.

The album is out on January 23rd from Spinny Nights

Death Bells - New Signs of Life

 

THE NEW album from Australian duo Will Canning and Remy Veselis, aka Death Bells, is a fusion of post-punk and emo-infused rock.

The band has become a more concrete two-person pairing since its formation in 2015, culminating in the twosome making the bold move to up sticks from Sydney, Australia, and transfer 7000 miles to Los Angeles, California, in 2018.

The duo have blossomed since then with a debut EP appearing in 2019 along with a single, "Metropolitan Indian". They've signed to Dais Records for their sophomore offering, New Signs Of Life.

Mixed and engineered by Colin Knight at Paradise Studios, there is a real sense of the band growing as people as well as a partnership. A tightness to the composition and sheen to the production has led to a sound not too dissimilar to Bastille while maintaining that alternative edge and not fully branching out into the mainstream.

Influences of Interpol, the National and Editors abound in the dispassionate vocal delivery, coupled with a definite new chapter in their existence which the title track heralds. Watch the video below:

Full of optimism and embracing guitars, brass and percussion, it offers a change of pace.

"We started writing New Signs Of Life'in Calgary whilst on tour around this time last year.

"More than anything, the song is about resilience in the face of change. It's a very deliberate statement and sets the tone for what's to come musically from us," the band explain.

The emo phasing and influence abounds with the inflection on the opening track, "Heavenly Bodies", which is very much redolent of Interpol's "Narc".

"Two Thousand And Twenty", a song about being burnt by the powers recalls those 80s' guitar bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen or Psychedelic Furs - a real panache and flair is apparent in most of the album.

This flair will be familiar to listeners of Death Bells' label mates Private World, whose 80s' electronic album and the two albums together share that same DNA of new romantic influence and positivity amidst the darkness.

It's an album of great potential and ambition from a pair to definitely keep an eye on; an album that in this most unusual of years, one of looking inward, fits neatly into the global mindset.

New Signs Of Life will be released by Dais Records on Friday, September 25th, and is available to order here.

Galaxians - Chemical Reaction

The second album from Leeds disco funk trio, Galaxians, out via Stargaze, on 26th June.

During the lockdown period and Covid-19 crisis, the music I have reviewed has been mostly works of internal reflection and contemplation, there has not been that music which has been reactionary in a sense of letting your hair down. We forget that the weather has been glorious throughout this period of personal isolation with temperatures soaring to nearly 30 degrees.

This new album release from Leeds' Galaxians is the album this period of prolonged sunshine has been asking for, a burst of potent sunshine that we need for these periods of barbecues and gardening.

Starting off with the title track not merely as a statement of intent, it is a statement of direct persuasiveness, Chemical Reaction is a jolt of five plus minutes of funk that does not give you the vocals of Emma Mason until two plus minutes into the track. The track is a burst of vibrant energy full of retrospective sounds but full of influence and the DIY scene.

Mason along with Matt Woodward (drums) and Jed Skinner (synths) are a band that they themselves refer to as fuelled by 'too much coffee and too many donuts'.  It is this carefree nature that feeds into the tracks ranging from 'Heartbreaker' about female empowerment to 'Not the Money' about working for the pride of working.

This harkens back to old-school summer vibes of Montell Jordan, Coolio yet with the influence of Roisin Murphy in the vocal delivery of Mason; there is the 80s post-disco funk of Evelyn King for example along with boogie, garage and basslines aplenty.

Tracks remind this listener of that other great disco album of the 21st Century, that of the Scissor Sisters debut album which had that infusion of pop and disco cred, this is more akin to that band's apex along with Moloko - a titanic female lead vocalist with cool production chops to match.

Chemical Reaction is out from June 26th and is available here.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Gum Country 'Somewhere'

The debut album from the duo of Courtney Gavin (The Courtneys) and multi-instrumentalist Connor Mayer, is released via Bandcamp on June 19th.

The album is a buzz of fuzz, feedback ricocheting off of walls and eardrums a plenty, Garvin’s open-tuned guitar has a warmness reminiscent of The Breeders and Mayer’s accompaniment is the perfect compliment of piercing percussion with gritty guitars.

There is a richness to the melodies being explored by the group, with a mixture of highs and lows in terms of expressions amidst the mundanity of normal life but touching upon love, loss, tennis and gardening.

All topics though are treated with sincerity and her dry delivery helps touch a nerve with the listener be it an instrumental portion of a song that concludes ‘There’s A Crumb’ or the vibrancy of ‘Talking To My Plants’.

In conclusion, this is an album that is ripe for listening and offers plenty of joys amidst the twelve track album. Gum Country are a band to keep an eye on and leaves you salivating at the thought of what they could become in years to come.

From the ferocity of ‘It Lives It Breeds It Feeds’ to the rightly so pomp and circumstance of ‘The Queen Rules’, this album serves as an entry point for punk and indie rock in this most uncertain of years.

The album is available on the band’s bandcamp page here.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

This review first appeared on Backseat Mafia on 18th June 2020.

Pynch 'Somebody Else'

'Life is strange but at least I get paid' 

The new single from Pynch band is out July 6th from Speedy Wunderground.

A subtle political piece where the message is 'somebody else' the times have caused you to act and feel like someone else, when you are without the routine of everyday life, when it is taken away from you what do you become.

While this has a driving hum to it, there is a melancholy

'I just want to feel something real' - is the rallying cry after the lyrics go back and forth from defiance to being unassured, being uncertain about what you want is the only certain thing in this life currently.

This song is a distant relative of 'Born To Run' and that thread of uncertainty that runs through Springsteen's work or about the individual putting themselves front and centre in his own narrative in reaction to the oppressive society around him.

The video is a kaleidoscope of imagery from walks and activity during the lockdown period mainly in May 2020, so this is a time capsule piece featuring walks across fields, cycling without chains on your bike, harking back to a period of innocence ending on a journey at the lido this mythical place you used to attend when younger and more carefree.

Somebody Else is out on 6th July as a single.

Katie Malco 'Failures'

The debut album by UK based singer-songwriter Katie Malco.

The much anticipated debut by Katie Malco, is released by 6131 records, and is both a personal soul-bearing record and an album about the power of connecting with relationships; marking this out as a record of this time and by this time.

The ten song album touches on subjects ranging from body image to anxiety to figuring out life, and during the prolonged period of self-isolation due to the ongoing global pandemic, Malco's work is more expressive of the individual in this changing world. For good or better, the world has changed but what about the lonely soul within it.

Take the track 'Fractures' a song where Malco comes to terms with becoming who she is supposed to be, in contrast to the world's expected view of her. She admits that she struggles with how people perceive her and embracing her true self as this introvert but gifted individual.

Starting with the fiery opening track 'Animal' Malco provides a bolt of bracing rock and roll showing her knack for a good riff and winning vocals while telling a story about being looked at and being unnerved.  Malco is writing as much about personal experience as well as universal themes for all women.

This is another remarkable album by a female singer-songwriter following in the footsteps this year of Margaret Glaspy and Jane Herships, seemingly the most appealing works of this year about identity and belonging are coming from women with a guitar. There is a power to this individual standing proud and saying look at me, this is me, take it or leave it.

The next track is the sumptuous 'Brooklyn', a gorgeous track about friendship and this place that will come between people with ambitions and those who are happy to settle where they are. Sometimes people have to spread their wings and leave the bosom of home, for others it is scary to leave that comfort of home.

On her bandcamp page it mentions she has toured with luminaries such as Bob Mould and I was struck at how her playing and sound is reminiscent of Mould in that the songs start of contemplative before becoming this roar of emotion and determination. If you have never heard of Bob Mould, check out his album 'District Line' which is a great forgotten album - raw emotion embues through that record.

One of the more unsung tracks of the album could well be 'September' a song that has a stand alone sound of defiance 'I don't care about you, you sure don't care about me' ringing out as the song reaches the crescendo.

In conclusion, this is an album of great intent, passion and fearlessness by a songwriter willing to bear their soul on a record.

Fractures is out from 6131 records on 5th June.

My thanks to OneBeatPR for the opportunity.

Doomshakalaka

The debut album from former Hot Club De Paris frontman Paul Rafferty via Moshi Moshi records

Rafferty has constructed a collection of ten songs that work as both a great piece of work but also a piece of archive material as he looks back on his life in and around music starting with the album opener 'One Last Saturday Night' a song he originally wrote in 2011 about the feeling of possibility and invincibility that would come with a weekend night out as he refers to.

 

‘James Asleep’ is one of those driving melodies reminiscent of other Liverpudlian bands with a jingle jangle guitar with a bassline to match. The bass may be a bit sombre but the prevailing mood is one of hope and happiness by the end.

Befittingly, the album is of this era, with tracks such as 'This Is War (And I'm So Bored)' about negative thought and having to cope with them in this difficult time for everyone and this is backed up by the final track of the album 'Black Balloons'.

As Rafferty states in an exclusive interview, the process of the album was to describe a tough time, an album that is as much for himself than for others, but the universal appeal of this work speaks large.

All in all this album is one of genuine passion, of recalling past glories not for yearning but for embracing those memories as a moment of expression and how it expresses you.

Doomshakalaka is out from Moshi Moshi Records on 5th June

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Doomshakalaka/Paul Rafferty interview

The debut album by Doomshakalaka is out next Friday 5th June.

Here is an exclusive interview with Paul Rafferty

• Following the break-up of Hot Club de Paris, what have you been up to?
  

I've been touring with other people, did a punk band for a while (called Bad Meds), have been composing music for film and TV, tinkering with the Doomshakalaka record in between bouts of existential dread brought on by the onslaught of late capitalism.

 

• What is genesis of Doomshakalaka as a band/moniker and a concept?
  

When Hot Club de Paris ceased to be I just wanted to make a record where I was in control of all the aspects of being in a band. I didn't want to write to please a label, I didn't want to have to compromise on ideas, I wanted full control over the production aesthetic and so on. It wasn't necessarily a response to being in HCdP as being in that band was a total blast for a long time, I just wanted to make music for the sake of doing something fun and good. I soon realised however that the best thing about being in a band is the fact that you get to share all of those aspects and that compromise is a very valuable asset in the writing process, especially in terms of getting stuff done quickly. I also realised that it's quite hard to have fun on your own, so was kind of instantly burdened with this responsibility towards a record that only I cared about. The name Doomshakalaka probably describes this process quite well; a fun word changed to describe a tough time.

 

 

• Was there a reluctance to branch out on your own?
  

Not really. It becomes quite difficult to do bands with your friends when you hit your 30s because everyone's responsibilities change quite suddenly. Being in a band (at least in my experience) is to enthusiastically pour all of your money down the drain and convince yourself that doing so is worthwhile. That outlook isn't particularly compatible with real life. You could say I'm branching out on my own because my friends are less stupid than I am.

 

• You have gone back to a lot of old material, and this album focuses on memory – is there a tinge of regret in not releasing this music sooner or is the time right now?
  

No regrets. The album was ready when it was ready so there's no point wishing it was any different. I learned a lot making it and feel like I've developed a good stamina for all the processes involved in making a record. I've nearly written a new record already, so perhaps I'm catching up on all that time I spent on procrastination. 

 

• You are from Liverpool? Was it either football or music for you? 
  

I've lived in Liverpool for 20 years but I grew up in a small town in Cheshire. I stopped liking football in about 1992 when I discovered Guns n' Roses so I guess it was a kind of binary choice for me. A lot of my music friends love football too, though.

 

• What have you learnt about yourself in producing this record?
  

That I hate the sound of my own voice and that Instagram is the enemy of all progress.

 

• What expectations do you have for the album?
  

I'm not sure I have any! I'd be happy if some people liked it but it's not a requirement. The important thing for me was to make it as good as I could at the time so everything here on in is just sort of admin. 

 

• How have you coped with the Covid-19 crisis? And where do you see the music industry going?
  

I still have access to my studio so I've just continued to make music alone, which is what I do in my life day to day anyway. I'm not too sure where the industry is going other than continuing to shave off more percentage points for the actual people who make the product, but that was happening anyway. I'm probably not helping by self-financing my own record and happily proceeding in the knowledge that I'll make no money, but that's the reality of the indie labels and bands. 

 

• What is next for you?
  

Breakfast.

Doomshakalaka is out from Moshi Moshi Records on 5th June on all formats.

Spice 'All My Best Shit'

The new single release from Californian band, Spice, this is a rip-roaring piece of grungy, fast adrenaline rock.

This is a song as much about anger and how to express it compared to sitting upon your emotions. In this day and age of mental awareness and being expressive about feelings, this is a guitar-driven indie rock song seeking to be heard amidst this pandemic of epic proportions.

The single 'All My Best Shit' is released ahead of the self-titled album out on July 21st from DAIS records.

The album is a nine track 30-minute cut of sonic infusion sparking discussion about co-existing with spikes of loud and soft, short and long but yet full of sparky punch and authority in this world of unrest.

The group comprise of Ross Farrar (vocals) and Jake Casarotti (drums) from the band Ceremony, along with Cody Sullivan (bass), Ian Simpson (guitar) and Victoria Skudlarek (violin) the band have honed a sound from the Bay Area pedigree full of modernity and anthemic yearning.

Spice is out from DAIS records on July 21st

Melenas - Dias Raros

The long awaited mainstream release by Spanish four-piece Melenas is released by Trouble in Mind on Friday 8th May.

A bracing shot of adrenaline for the senses following a long period of docileness, this is a winning formula for fans of indie rock music.

For the band this is a step in the direction of more mainstream awareness across Europe following a long period of admiration in their native Spain.

From album opener 'Primer Tiempo' the intent is clear and what resonates most for the first time listener is to hear the tightness and unity of the group, the level of musicianship on display is a wonder to behold. 

There is a hum an energy that thrusts through the album from the indie-pop jangle of the album opener to 'Los Alemanes', but there is also opportunity for melody and slower moments on this swelling work.

The waltz of album closer 'Vals' is testament to this as is the gorgeous 'Ciencia Ficcion' that offers a chance for the band to engage with melancholic content with great cascading voices coupling with guitar waves.

This is a punk album for indie fans, and an indie sounding album for the stubborn punk fan.  The band hail from Pamplona, a region of Spain most famous for people being chased by bulls through the streets.  In this case, Melenas take the bull by the horns announcing themselves to the world and created a foundation full of influences both musically and culturally in a space full of promise and bursting verve.

Dias Roras is released by Trouble in Mind records, and the first label outside of Spain to release Melenas to the world.

New Music 2nd May 2018

Following on from last week where I got to bear witness to the excellent album launch by Night Flowers, this week has led me to some other brand new releases of videos. And rather than post them all individually, here is a round-up of the best of them.

CAGEWORK 'Simmer'

The alter ego of Samuel Bedford, Cagework, shares a live session of debut single Simmer, in a video shot by Matt Martin.

Cagework plays solo on a near-raucous track which shows off his raw talent and relatable content.

Live shows coming across London and 23rd May at Rough Trade East

KADEEM TYRELL 'Focus'

Staying in South London but with a different musical bent, a new video for Tyrell by Kirx. Taken from new EP 'Feels', the new single is a throwback to early 1990s British RnB or nu-soul, an intelligent soulful record.  The video is a mature one also taking the record's content seriously.

KEVIN KRAUTER 'Keep Falling In Love'

Crossing the Atlantic, the new single from Krauter shows of his evocative ambient soundscape which comes from a huge range of influences.  His debut album Toss Up is out from Bayonet Records on 13th July.

Thank you for reading, please share with other music lovers out there.