DATE ARCHIVES : January 2017

Gulp Share Video & Django Django Remix for ‘Search For Your Love’

12803067_825949680866363_4476784340450459694_n

Back in December Cardiff-based band Gulp Gulp – revolving around Lindsey Leven & Guto Pryce of Super Furry Animals fame – shared single ‘Search For Your Love’ and their intention to release a second LP in 2017.

Following on from that, Gulp have shared the single’s video and a Django Django‘s ‘Nautical Twilight Edit’ of ‘Search For Your Love’. The Django’s edit adds another dimension to Gulp’s already refined warm, fuzzy, lush spacey psych-pop. Upping the tempo and the groove a tad, and enhancing the textures, luscious melody, proggy-guitars and synthy celestial vibes, to compliment the marvellous original perfectly. Rather than a full face-lift, this is re-imagining the song; creating something completely hypnotic, and topped off by Leven’s sultry vocals, this is the very essence of dreams. Just time to sit back now and let ‘Search For Your Love’ (x 2) flow over you and seep into your senses, and leave you better for it.

‘Search For Your Love’ is available now via via Tim Burgess’ independent label O Genesis and Gulp are currently working with Luke Abbott on their second album, which is set to be released in 2017.

Listen to Happyness ‘Falling Down’; Album to follow in April

Happyness-18

London trio Happyness, comprised of multi-instrumentalists Ash Cooper, Benji Compston and Jon EE Allan, will release their second album Write In in April.

Alongside news of a follow up to 2014’s Weird Little Birthday comes lead single, ‘Falling Down’. Unfolds pensively, ‘Falling Down’ slowly-building before eventually elegantly swells to a warm but somewhat moody, melancholic burst of rough-edged guitar pop and bubbly drums. Like a slowly settling pint of stout, the reward is as gratifying to wait for as it is to behold. Being the first track unveiled from the forthcoming record, to be honest, you couldn’t ask for a better, more enticing introduction to Happyness.

Write In is penned in for an April 2nd release via Moshi Moshi and Bar None, in the UK and U.S respectively. Also, Happyness shall be in Dublin on April 21st, when the trio play Whelan’s – all the info is here.

For now, listen to ‘Falling Down’ below, it is wonderful.

Introducing: Wardrobe

wradrobe

Wardrobe is the moniker of Belgian musician Johan Verckist who has a welcome penchant for timeless, exquisite alt-pop, filled with heart and soul.

Verckist will release his debut album Crawling, on February 24th and he has set the standard and cause for excitement with debut single, ‘Man of Straw’. It a sweet, sentimental song that gently waltzes along with an endearing warm glow and punctured with some heart-strung bouts of melancholy. Verckist’s vocals are warm and soothing to the ear, and deeply affecting. Similar praise can be laid at the feet of the latest single, ‘Nowhere Now, which too, is an exquisite piece of pop-craft. It softly trickles by with a gentle strum and warbley synth forging a soothing and warm partnership, pronounced further Verckist’s impeccable and genial vocals – much like ‘Man of Straw’. A magnificent and delightful listen, this is pop-craft at its stellar best.

Debut album Crawling shall be out on February 24th. For now you can sample the wonderful delights that ‘Man of Straw’ & ‘Nowhere Now’ have to offer. You can also check out the ace video for the former.

Introducing: Three Thieves

14238128_1777722189168744_3726793130251745924_n

Three Thieves is the moniker of Cardiff based producer, Tom Clugston and his approach is fearless and superlative.

Three Thieves serves a spellbinding synthesis of sound embracing all things hip hop, electronica, drum & bass and a wealth of other electronic beat driven genres. In short, Clugston digs beats, and my, can he deliver them with pin-point accuracy; something acutely evident on his sublime and most recent EP, Zero Hour. Three Thieves is in his element with the melodic, fluid and perky drum & bass indebted ‘Blue Green’ and ‘Luminar’, in particular. Combining flourishes of synths, light skittering beats and dazzling keys, providing a really uplifting positive vibe and warm, inviting sounds. These are but two stellar moments from what is a sublime EP, and one that has one that has been on constant rotation in recent weeks.

Check out ‘Blue Green’ and ‘Luminar’ below and you can stream the entire Zero Hour EP here. Without a shadow of a doubt, you will be better for letting it, and Three Thieves into your life.

IRMA VEP – ‘A Woman’s Work Is Never Done’

IRMA VEP

Manchester via North Wales musician IRMA VEP – aka Edwin Stevens – released a his new album, No Handshake Blues last week.

Accompanying album number four under the IRMA VEP moniker, is the LP’s lead single, and album opener, ‘A Woman’s Work Is Never Done’. It is a world-weary and shadowy 11-minutes plus of epic, sprawling distortion, feedback and psychedelic drone. The vocals are almost entirely swathed in distortion and reverb rendering the lyrics indecipherable, amid the already swirling fuzz and feedback. A thrilling and epic introduction to Irma Vep’s new and experimental sound, and album too.

You can listen to the epic ‘A Woman’s Work Is Never Done’ below. If that is to your liking, you can hear the new album, No Handshake Blues, over here.

JW Ridley – ‘Everything (Deathless)’

jw_ridley_index

London newcomer JW Ridley has teamed up with producer Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground project, for the release of his debut single ‘Everything (Deathless)’.

Ridley’s debut it may be but ‘Everything (Deathless)’ is the 20th single release from Speedy Wunderground – a singles label where each release has been written and recorded in 24 hours, and coordinated by Carey – and it is a good as anything from it so far. ‘Everything (Deathless)’ is sort of subdued and moody, but an urgent sliver of alternative-indie-disco. It relentlessly pounds forward with a beautiful combination of layered guitar, synth lines and a nifty solo, and washed out vocals, to boot. Urgent, hypnotic and breathless guitar pop; this is as fine a debut single as you could want from JW Ridley, and a extremely worthy addition to the Speedy Wunderground family.

‘Everything (Deathless)’ is due for a limited 7″ release on 10th February but you can listen to it now, below.

H. Hawkline Shares new track ‘Last Thing On Your Mind’

16107204_1891352207763784_3487879452510800779_o

Welsh artist H. Hawkline is currently working on the followup to 2015’s wondrous In The Pink Of Condition.

No concrete details on the album have been announced but we’re afforded an early taste of what we can expect with new single, ‘The Last Thing On Your Mind’. Featuring frequent collaborators Cate Le Bon and Josiah Steinbrick and powered by synths and a minimal drum machine, the single explores new territory. It does so while retaining the classic Hawkline approach for earworm hooks intertwined with gently groovy sounds, charming oddity and fused with experimental whims into mildly psychedelic, wonky pop song. A marvellously tantalising six-minutes.

As was said previously, there’s no solid info on when we can expect the new record but after all, any new H. Hawkline is good news. Be sure to be on the look out for the full length later this year.

Listen to ‘The Last Thing On Your Mind’ below.

moon:and:6 – ‘Welcome to Space’

welcome-to-space-single-cover

Canadian producer moon:and:6 is preparing to release a new mini album, A Brief History of American Space Travel, A conceptual record, it outlines the American Space program from 1958 to 2011.

Ahead of the record’s release in March, comes ‘Welcome to Space’; the first single to be lifted from the forthcoming new album. Playing with the anticipation and eagerness towards blasting into space, ‘Welcome to Space’ is a rocket-fuelled triumph, spectacularly relaying the wonder, awe, glamour of the early days of the space race. Flitting between elements of French-style electronica, downtempo and post rock, aided by ambient textures and an irresistible groove, it tells the tale of the attempts to put the first humans into space, and uses a voice sample that was taken from NASA’s audio archives. A stunning and fascinating introduction to an album that sounds like a very promising prospect indeed.

The album is released on March 3 through Maisonneuve Music, ahead of which you can stream ‘Welcome to Space’ – and watch the fantastic video comprised of archival footage – below.

British Sea Power Announce New Album; Share Single ‘Bad Bohemian’

British Sea Power 2017

Returning with their first new material in four years, British Sea Power have announced a new album, Let The Dancers Inherit The Party. Set for release on March 31, British Sea Power have shared the first single taken from it – ‘Bad Bohemian’.

A jubilant and infectious three-minutes, ‘Bad Bohemian’ is marked by a signature invigorating rush of bittersweet indie-rock; the kind they have been masters of since introducing themselves back in 2002. This is British Sea Power at their best; bright, stirring vocals against a backdrop of cascading guitars and meaty percussion. It certainly bodes well for the new record, who’s twelve songs are set to cover subject matters ranging from the stars in the night sky to the methodology of media manipulation. Promised to be both consistently contemporary and consistent in mood, the album alludes to a world full of chaos and disorder whilst seeking to answer that world with optimism and hope. While the new record’s release is still a while off, it’s time to enjoy the delights of ‘Bad Bohemian’.

Let The Dancers Inherit The Party is out on 31st March. Listen to ‘Bad Bohemian’ below.

Psychic Love – ‘Red Sun’

artworks-000193582250-2y3d7g-original

This is not the first time that we’ve been wooed by Psychic Love’s woozy, dreamy indie stylings.

The LA-based trio – spearheaded by Laura Peters along with Max Harrison (guitar) and Liam McCormack (bass) – released their wonderful debut album, The Hive Mind at the back end of last year; and they have shared the latest offering from it, ‘Red Sun’. All twangy, atmospheric guitars and steady clicking beat, while the smokey-sweet vocals from Peters add further to the woozy and dreamy, yet melancholic and brooding dimension of ‘Red Sun’. A highlight from their debut LP and an excellent choice of single, which is a reminder, or introduction, to Psychic Love’s laid-back indie stylings.

You can check out ‘Red Sun’ below and Psychic Love’s debut album The Hive Mind is out now, stream it here.