DATE ARCHIVES : December 2015

Queen of Jeans – ‘Rollerdyke’

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Philadelphia trio Queen of Jeans and their brand of retro, garagey, indie left an indelible mark upon their introduction with debut single ‘Dance (Get Off Your Ass)’ last month.

The trio are back courtesy of ‘Rollerdyke’, the second single from their upcoming self-titled EP. Displaying all the layered harmonies, ’60s girl group influences and charm of its predecessor, ‘Rollerdyke’ comes with a distinctly grittier lo-fi edge, as their rich, textured melodic and harmonious pop is run through a gauntlet of reverb, feedback and crashing cymbals. Warm, wonderful, upbeat and punchy, ‘Rollerdyke’ is a simply marvellous psych-indebted coming together of twangy, lo-fi and surf rock sounds. A slightly different take and a very fine elaboration of their style.

Queen of Jeans’ self-titled EP is out on January 22nd via Third Uncle Records and Super Fan 99 (UK), on both vinyl & cassette. For now, you can listen to ‘Rollerdyke’ below, and you can also get Queen of Jeans’ debut single ‘Dance (Get Off Your Ass)’ from Bandcamp gratis.

 

Laurie Shaw – ‘Where The Lights Don’t Reach’

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Laurie Shaw is originally from The Wirral, across the River Mersey from Liverpool, but moved to Kerry as a kid and is now based in Cork.

To say he’s prolific, well that would be an understatement really. Shaw claims around 50 albums have been recorded and released to date, quite a run of form for a young man; importantly this quantity is equally matched by quality. Given his prolificacy, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find he’s just released a brand new album, the wonderful (and wonderfully titled) Songs To Shed Your Skin To. And demonstrating all Shaw’s prowess and artistry is lead single, ‘Where The Lights Don’t Reach’; one of 10 compelling reasons to get acquainted with his new album. ‘Where The Lights Don’t Reach’ introduces itself as a gentle, woozy wander, that strolls along meandering melodies and whimsical wondering, with his lilting scouse vocal atop before breaking off into raucous, lo-fi rumble and crunchy riff. This is magnificent, as is the entire album, no doubt about it.

You can check ‘Where The Lights Don’t Reach’ below & do your ears a favour by tuning in to the new record here. Also, Laurie Shaw is supporting the brilliant Bill Ryder-Jones in The Workman’s, Dublin on January 20th. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.

PANKHABILLI – ‘Edge Of The Coin’

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Very fine news greets us today, Wales based duo PANKHABILLI – Parisian singer-songwriter Claire Jacquemard & Hippies vs Ghosts‘ Owain Ginsberg – have put the finishing touches to a debut EP.

The pair have already endeared themselves with a series of sublime singles, a la ‘Come Around’, ‘Water on Mars’ and ‘The Ladder’, and PANKHABILLI have marked this auspicious occasion in the best way possible, sharing new single ‘Edge of The Coin’. It retains a flair for the epic and dramatic, as has been the case with Jacquemard’s efforts thus far. The dramatic, chilling opening thaws gradually to reveal a playfully energised blitz of beats, synth and percussion, cut through the atmospheric textures with an uncontrollable sonic groove. With Jacquemard’s crisp vocals soaring high above, it all builds and bubbles toward a rousing climax bristling with vitality, and one that’ll have you reaching straight for the repeat button. PANKHABILLI has been one of the most interesting new talents to pass the metaphorical BarryGruff desk, and it’s a fine way to sign off on an excellent year.

No word on when we can expect the release of the EP but for now you can check out ‘Edge of The Coin’ below, along with the previous tracks here.

 

She-Devils – ‘COME’

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Montreal duo She-Devils brings together the retro-inspired poppy pair of Audrey Ann and Kyle Jukka.

Just this week the pair announced their self-titled debut EP, will be released on January 15th, 2016. The first track taken from the forthcoming EP is ‘COME’; and if it is an indication of what we can expect, then we’re going to be in for quite a treat indeed. Deceptively simple, it is a brilliant coming together of warped ’50s/’60s rock n’ roll samples with Audrey Ann’s crisp, swaying melodies to create a timeless sound. Drawing from a well of ’60s French pop, surf rock and dream-pop, ‘COME’ elicits a hypnotic and haunting vibe. Through a majestic fusion of breathtaking avant pop, spectral swirls and kooky psych rhythms, She-Devils’ debut is a thrilling, chilling and alluring multitude of sounds that conjures up just as many evocative feelings.

She-Devils’ self-titled debut EP will be released on January 15. You can listen to ‘COME’ below and it is available from Bandcamp, you just gotta ‘name your price’.

The Montreal duo will be headed out on tour with Majical Cloudz in the new year, including Vancouver, @ The Cobalt on January 22nd, 2016 – full list of dates is after the jump.

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BarryGruff Playlist November 2015

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Your regular monthly round up all the blog action, in a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured throughout the month.

November was another busy one, with introductions to A.S. Fanning, exmagician & New Cardinals. There were excellent new singles/EPs from Avid Walker, Anderson, Public Service Broadcasting, Ulrika Spacek, Daniel Avery, CaStLeS, David Harks & Manor. And we had tunes from Globelamp, MMOTHS, Coves, Hinds & Tuff Love ahead of their respective, new and forthcoming albums.

Oh, and there were two new episodes of ‘Millions Like Us’, Justin Beats & I’s new music podcast extravaganza for 604now (if you missed them, check ’em here). You can also subscribe to ‘Millions Like Us’ on iTunes & Podcast Republic or find us on Facebook & Twitter.

Well then, that’s that for another month – listen to BarryGruff’s November 2015 playlist below. Enjoy!