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.

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.

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.

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

Annie Hart 'A Softer Offering'

Annie Hart's new solo album A Softer Offering is out on Friday 13th December.

Annie Hart is back with her latest solo record, and for the end of the year it is a lovely album perfect for reflecting upon the last hectic 12 months, when we are off work and give ourselves the chance to contemplate on the year past.

The nine-track album is a construction of beauty and effortless composition and yet full of sophistication and poetry; this is certainly for fans of Daughter, who encapsulate that pursuit for low-fi with a stylistic combination evoking wonder and awe.

Working with keyboards, synthesizers and electronica; Hart sets her stall out from the opening track 'Wilderness Hill' at times haunting, melodic yet charming in its balance, with an almost acapella vocal from Hart.

Hart herself states:

“I wanted to give listeners that chance to breathe, to relax.  A soundtrack for painting or lying in the grass. I thought a lot about what music I play for myself when I want to make a moment feel complete. There’s just something different when you play soft music during these ordinary spaces in life, and I wanted to make a soundtrack for that. Sounds that undulate in minimal movement, that you can pay very close attention to, or leave space around if you need to have your own thoughts.  I hope this record helps stretch those unfortunately rare times in our lives when we have moments to be peaceful.” 

Based in New York; Hart has written the most un-New York album you could imagine, one of softness compared to the epicness of the Big Apple. Her work as part of David Lynch favourites Au Revoir Simone has helped her branch into a glistening solo career. Her minimalistic style with pieces of new wave and shoe gazing culminates in her soundtrack work featuring on two 2020 film release 'Olympic Dreams' and 'Banana Split'.

Her ear for a good soundtrack can be heard on 'Longing to Care Less' a song that breathes as it slowly builds to crescendo, and the perfect marriage of vocal and sound is seen on 'Don't Breathe For Me' a song that sounds very much from the early 1980s - the stripped back nature of the composition is a winning combination.

'Clean Floors' is a wonderous track as Hart's vocals again take centre stage; a personal take on relationships which will be able to appeal to a wide audience as the song instructs you to pay attention to what this artist is saying without coming across pompous or clingy.

Hart is certainly an artist to watch out for, an album such as this deserves attention and patience; and if you are patient you will certainly return to this offering regularly; the potential offered in this album is startling, it is easy to see that Hart has a big future ahead of her, here is hoping this album can connect with a larger mainstream audience.

A Softer Offering is out on Friday 13th December on all streaming services.
My thanks to OneBeatPR for the review opportunity.

Club Night 'What Life'

Oakland, California four-piece create an indie rock soundscape for today from Tiny Engines record label

Comprising of drummer Josiah Majetich, bassist Devin Trainer, guitarist Ian Tatum and guitarist/vocalist Josh Bertram; this band formed in 2016 and following the EP release in 2017 of Hell Ya, they return with their full-length album debut from Tiny Engines.

The band are all veterans of the punk rock scene in California; and there four distinct influences collide to create this unusual sonic soundscape that is both bold and uncompromising.

A collection of synths and beats rain down from the beginning in 'Path' and this continues with track 3, 'Mute' and track 5, 'Trance' which were both the lead singles. Featuring Bertram's soaring vocals these are songs that are ambitious, contangious and infectious.

Fuzzy guitars and synth melodies are married to create the songs that will make a change to the everyday; a cry to be heard by new fans. An elemental cacophony of beautiful collisions.

There is a sophistication to this music that is more polished than other bands of recent years. Another stellar addition to the Tiny Engines canon.

Club Night is out now from Tiny Engines
My thanks to Tiny Engines for the review link opportunity.

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.