Robbie and Mona 'EW'

The dreampop duo Robbie and Mona release their debut album, EW, out on January 29th via Spinny Nights. 

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.

The album as a whole is a mystical and hypnotic collection of tracks for the alternative soundtrack to a film you have never seen before, or perhaps the greatest film David Lynch has never made.

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.

While Pet Shimmers are prolific, this wave of collectivism and collaboration is rife currently in British music - from that band to Black Country, New Road to the Glaswegian Nightshift - seemingly there is nothing wrong with having strength in numbers and in this currently mad world, the case for community and togetherness is more apparent and necessary.

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

From 'Queen Celine' a short nugget of fragmentation, a short story over a short running time with this beautiful clash of angry guitars by Robbie yet soulful vocals by Mona.

EW is out on January 29th from Spinny Nights records

The Green Child - Simmering Basset

 

New album from an Austro-American pairing - Raven Mahon and Mikey Young.

This insightful album of electronic and stipped back vocals is reminiscent to this listener of Ladytron and other electro pop bands of the mid-noughties; there is an earnestness to the music seemingly you have to listen to this music without being overbearing.

Lead single Fashion Light harnesses this energy of retro-futuristic with soundscapes of synthesizers and drum machines.

This lovely sound the pair create helped by Mahon's wistful delivery of the dreamy vocals make this a winning combination; harking back to the works of OMD, Tears for Fears and even the smooth vocals of Errol Brown and Hot Chocolate.

The band used to be a long distance collaboration with Mahon residing in California, before upping sticks and joining Young in his native Melbourne district. Moving on from their self-titled debut in 2018, this album shows a growth in the partnership living near each other and Mahon growing into a near place of familiarity and stability - the tightness of the band is evident in the work being created.

Raven explains further, “it feels more cohesive because over the year or so in which we wrote these songs I started to feel a desire to take the lyric writing part more seriously… my head is rooted in this new place now and that’s settled into the songwriting.”

From the flurry of 'Witness' to the album closer 'Double Lines' this is an album of melodic grandeur and musical expansion, a band ready to make a break for the big time; this is an album full of measured elegance from the exquisite production values to the dreamlike sound perfect for these dreary autumn weekends ahead.

Shimmering Basset is out from Upset The Rhythm on October 23rd.

My thanks to Mutante PR for the review opportunity

Lithics 'Tower of Age'

Hailing from Portland, Oregon; the third album from Lithics is out now from Trouble in Mind records

Reminiscent of other noted North East American bands from the Seattle and Portland areas, the band seem to have harnessed their driving guitar sound to create this sonic soundscape of invention and minimalism; hooks that revolve around circular motion you get the sense that this album is communicating a sense of disenchantment but also a wonder at this weirdness. 

Songs range from the incessant 'Beat Fall' to 'A Highly Textured Ceiling' which is at times short but stubby.  This album will either make you angry or you will find the rhythm to tap along to; they sound like a band who can jam but find the sound when they are cut loose from the strangulation of melody and would instead prefer to find their own way through the uncertainty.

An album which will have something for everyone ranging from lead single 'Hands' to the ear worm churning of 'Twisting Vine', this band has crafted an album to breakthrough.

Tower of Age is out now from Trouble in Mind records

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

Alice Boman - 'Dream On'

Debut album from, Alice Boman, out from Play It Again Sam on 17th January

The long awaited debut album from Alice Boman is finally here, after a prolonged period of gestation and introspection, the songwriter emerges with a sumptuous piece of work that is at times hypnotic, sonic and intimate.

Boman came to prominence with home tinkering works that became the two EPs Skisser (2013) and EP II (2014) with her music captivating audiences as well as appearing in major American television series.

This album has the help that it has a brilliant lead off single in 'Don't Forget About Me' that is a wonderful gateway to the album as a whole; Boman's light lilt of singing and delivery married to Patrick Berger's melodic production, a collaboration that brings out the intimacy of Boman to the forefront and elevating the personal to the mainstream.

Other stand out tracks 'I Wish We Had More Time' and 'The More I Cry' again preach the tenderness of the songwriter in ballads, while 'Everybody Hurts' is a song that while morbid is much like her fellow countrywoman Robyn's 'Every Heartbeat' is ripe for a dance mix.  The real sense of pop freedom washes through the recordings.

Boman with her debut album establishes herself as an artist to watch, this is an album of emotional maturity despite the subject matter of heartbreak and disappointment, there is a real sense of defiance and mild-mannered confidence to the production as a whole.

Alice Boman is on tour in the UK in February:
23rd February - Brighton - The Latest Music Bar
24th February - Manchester - Gullivers
25th February - London - Union Chapel

Dream On is released by Play It Again Sam Recordings on 17th January

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Somos - Prison on a Hill

The third feature length album from Boston's Somos hails their return to the Tiny Engines label 

For fans of rock music with pop sensibilities there are many a flavour for you to sample in recent years; from present day stars Chvrches, The 1975 and Cigarettes After Sex to the more renowned Jimmy Eat World and Blink 182; the collison of rock and pop is there for all.

Yet rock music has been taking on a political slant of late, away from the personal subject matter there is now a roar of defiance to the current and frustrating political climate, where ambivalence is above ambition, you need only look at the recent work of Ezra Furman and Jim James as evidence of this.

Somos hail from Boston and with Prison on a Hill they have crafted a work that is of cross-over potential; full of driving guitars riffs, gliding electro synth and anthemic sounds.

They have taken a view of the world and are commenting on it strongly, from 'Mediterranean' which comments on the rise of far-right movement in Europe, 'Iron Heel' they examine an authoritarian rule in a post-fascism world.  The best political songs are those that are not overtly political from the outset, when you only know after the fact do those songs gain greater credence in their seriousness.

Stand out single 'Untraceable Past' shows the pop song as rock anthem, both infectious and blissful - you need only look at British contemporary Mystery Jets whose most recent work is also a political statement of Britain in this Brexit age.

Throughout the album the passion comes across in the songs, the lead vocalist Michael Fiorentino gives authority to the songs helped by bandmates, Phil Haggerty (sadly deceased in August at the age of 28) and Justin Hahn on guitar. This trio embodies the spirit of this slow building movement and are standing at the junction of pop and rock making noise and being heard.

The track 'Young Believers' serves as the embodiment of Somos' ethos and following Haggerty's premature passing carries extra weight and resonance; the band will return stronger no doubt but hopefully this album will find a home in people's hearts as such works come along rarely. This combination of three minute art form with classic indie sound.

Prison on a Hill is out now from Tiny Engines
My thanks to Will Miller (Tiny Engines) for the review opportunity.

Motionless by Cold Showers

Out today from Dais records, the new album Motionless from LA synth trio Cold Showers

This LA trio may be synth and that genre of keyboards and musicality may bring images of coldness and industrial edge, yet the Californian team are a bunch of die-hard romantics from a by gone era.

The sound of this album first sampled by lead anthemic single 'Shine' is one of the late 1980s/early 1990s a la The Mock Turtles and 'Can You Dig It?' one of those tracks destined for airplay with a sing-along catchiness

On the album after a deliberate methodical beginning, the album has a great middle run of sequencing. The single 'Shine' is followed by 'Measured Man', the title track and 'Sinking World'. These songs are indebted to the 1980s wave of alternative music with a pop sensibility - imagine Morrissey and Marr being married with the edge of New Order and pop of Tears for Fears.

The next single 'Dismiss' is one of those tracks that the band have returned to after some time and is perhaps the song most reminiscent of Depeche Mode but with a killer Marr guitar riff.

All in all Motionless is an album that will be very satisfying for a new listener and a huge step for the band in terms of breaking for mainstream traction and Dais Records have possibly picked up a winner; keep an eye out for forthcoming release from Drab Majesty.

Cold Showers are supporting Tamaryn at the Shacklewell Arms in Kings Cross on Saturday 25th May - they may well steal the show.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Amber Arcades 'Simple Song'

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

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

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

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

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

Follow Amber Arcades on Twitter @AmberArcades

Night Flowers 'Wild Notion'

Debut Album Wild Notion out now from Dirty Bingo Records

Following a string of sold out singles, London indie popsters Night Flowers release their debut album Wild Notion on Dirty Bingo Records - written in various basements and bedsits, the album is one of those gems you must seek out and may well fall in love to.

When I was given a link to this album it was during the month of March in London, which saw an obscene amount of snow and rainfall throughout the city and country.  Then the link to Wild Notion, came along and it instantly got me excited for the summer; the album is full of dreamscapes, futuristic hooks and has a sense of sunshine flowing throughout.

Fronted by vocalist Sophie Pettit, the band are originally from Hull and that being placed near the sea helps explain the romanticism of the music throughout, sitting on beaches looking at horizons can create energy and wonder.  Guitarist Greg Ullyart says,

'The album deals with time, place and memory. The memory often plays tricks and blurs the lines between present, past and future tense, and sometimes when you're writing, it's only with hindsight you can see what you were writing about. The songs put a few demons to bed.'

From the shimmering opener 'Sandcastles' to the lead single 'Losing the Light' there is an over-riding sense of play and love pouring through the speakers.  It is good to hear an opener such as 'Sandcastles' a statement of intent by a band to be heard and yet keep that smile on your face for the album's entirety; too often a band will start with something mysterious which may well alientate listeners whereas this is indeed what they want you to feel.

Other good songs include 'Fireworks' and 'Hey Love' with the album culminating with the epic 'Cruel Wind' a seven-minute crescendo for a band which is hopefully the play-off music at their gigs.

This reviewer cannot speak highly enough of this album, one of joy, one of pop and one of optimism which in this world of myriad paranoia and angst cannot be ignored and should be embraced by music lovers everywhere.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review link

Night Flowers will be performing at The Lexington, London for an album release show on Friday 27th April