DATE ARCHIVES : September 2018

Jai Piccone – ‘Care’

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Jai Piccone is a producer hailing from Byron Bay in Australia. He is one fourth of the band ‘Tora’ who have already ventured as far afield as London and Berlin but it is his solo, producer project we are primarily concerned with.

The project and debut EP Movers came about through a desire to create more dancefloor orientated tracks. Following an emotionally turbulent period in 2017, Piccone followed his impulse to translate the feelings and ideas that arose and the result was lead-single ‘Care’. It is a deep and gently melancholic nocturnal house track merging deft percussion, sweeping synth, smooth bassline while threaded with a breezy, laid-back vibe. It’s light but still driven, a track comfortable for late night listening or enveloping the dancefloor.

A deft tune – you can listen to ‘Care’ below now:

Little White Things – ‘All Of My Friends’

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Irish/Swedish duo Little White Things – consisting of David Behan from Dublin and Max Bergstrom from Kalmar in Sweden – return following a two-year absence with the double a-side of ‘All of My Friends’ and ‘Behind the Man’ in tow.

Arriving with a sunny disposition and bags of sunshine, ‘All of My Friends’ is a colourful confection of toe-tapping, infectious and neon-bright pop goodness. Shifting along a gleefully giddy, bouncy beat, this colourful collage fizzes with an irresistible harmonies, sweet sugarspun melodies and stellar chorus, making for a smile inducing, psych-tinged explosion of joyousness. This really is popcraft perfection, the only odd thing is why wasn’t it released at the height of summer? But whatever the weather, we’ll take it.

If that is to your liking, beyond the double single, in their intervening absence the pair have amassed 40 new songs over the past couple of years, with plans to share plenty new material over the next 12 months. For now though, arriving like a last glimmer of summer sun, is the marvelous ‘All Of My Friends’.

Tune in below:

Introducing: The Hannah Barberas

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Self-described “DIY pop partisans” The Hannah Barberas are an indie-pop foursome – Damien, Lucy, Doug & Matthew – from New Cross, London.

This London outfit have an unquestionable flair for sparkling, charming and irresistible pieces of effervescent indie-pop gems. The foursome have wasted little of 2018, releasing their debut EP The Hannah Barberas Are Here At Last back in late July with new one, Go Go Hannah Barberas! to follow on September 21 (and there’s a choice cut from both below).

‘Our Girl Is Gone’ is an upbeat, bright and bouncy bite of lively guitar-pop.Setting off at a frenetic pace, it whizzes and fizzes along with more bounce than zebide, with a stomping rhythm, racey guitar and rumbling bass line shooting off a breakneck speed. ‘Slow Cooked’ meanwhile, is a shimmering, bright and charming cut of smiley indie-pop. A dreamy meander through an enchanting world of woozy, laid-back vibes and breezy jangle, wrapped up with a shiny happiness, as smiley melodies, shimmering guitars, steady beat and handclaps and honeyed vocals combine in magical and addicting perfect pop-craft harmony. An irresistibly infectious introduction to The Hannah Barberas, these pair of earworms will no doubt be fizzing around your head for days and days; an allure that is charming, enchanting and altogether impossible to resist.

Listen to ‘Our Girl Is Gone’ & ‘Slow Cooked’ below:

Charmless i – ‘Rabbit Hole’

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Charmless i are energetic indie-rock foursome, formed by Dutch singer-songwriter Alex Pasveer, and ably assisted by Rutger van Mourik, Bart Klomp and Auke Haaksma to complete the line-up.

The band have been drip feeding singles over the past few months with a view to releasing a debut EP before the close of 2018, and ‘Rabbit Hole’ is the third in that series. It is a scintillating indie-rock tune, navigating a perfect path between riotous noise, rampaging riffs and catchy-as-they-come sing-a-long moments. It’s got the lot; attitude, aggression, a whirl of scorching riffs, pounding percussion, bubbling bassline and a sliver of synth. Not to mention the concentrated, succulent verses and a chorus that would yield a singalong from the shyest of festival crowd. While there is more than a mild debt to mid ’90s British guitar bands, it doesn’t sound drab, rehashed or outdated. This is just a tune, and one bursting with vitality.

Check ‘Rabbit Hole’ out below now:

Koresma – ‘Canyon Walls’

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Koresma (aka Ryan Lindberg) is an electronic producer based in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

Koresma creates a blend of chilled electro-acoustic music grounded by strong grooves and inspired by the natural world around him, and latest single ‘Canyon Walls’ is testament to this. Centered around a strong slinky drum groove, precise, crunchy beats maneuver us through sea of tranquil vibes as flourishes of elegant strings and acoustic strums coalesce with a light rain of electronic crackles for a chilled, pleasant and easy on the ear escape. An utterly beautiful composition.

Koresma is currently working on a four part album based on the theme of a compass. The first EP of four, East, is out now and available here, with West is on the way.

Check out ‘Canyon Walls’ below now.

Jo Marches – ‘Monsters’

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Jo Marches – an Utrecht outfit fronted by the inimitable Johanneke Kranendonk – specialise in heady brew of psych-infused swirling synth-pop, sophisticated pop sensibilities and infectious melodies.

New single ‘Monsters’ is absolutely no exception. Lifted from their forthcoming new EP, Day In Day Out, released on October 26 2018, ‘Monsters’ is exquisite. Ushered onward by a pulsating rhythm section, as giddy stabs of synth punctuate the woozy sea of flickering, shimmering atmosphere, it makes for a magical wavy, entrancing psych-infused synth-pop. The aura of instrumental enchantment is the perfect pairing for Kranendonk’s voice cooing harmoniously over the captivating, layers of sound collage. All in all, an elegant, exquisite and entrancing piece of psych-infused synth-pop; magnificent!

‘Monster’ will take its place on a new EP which is due out in October, and its political tones will sit proudly alongside the other tracks’ topics of feminism and mental illness.

For the time being, get yourself acquainted with ‘Monster’ – if it is anything to go by, the EP promises a lot.

The Gooch Palms – ‘Marfa Lights’

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Australian Los Angeles-based garage-pop duo The Gooch Palms – aka Kat Friend and Leroy Macqueen – do a wonderful line in ebullient, fuzzed-up and irresistibly catchy cuts of guitar-pop.

All these attributes are displayed in their finest form on their latest single ‘Marfa Lights’. Inspired by the pairs’ time spent driving through the Texan town of Marfa – a hotspot for UFO enthusiasts and renowned for its mysterious ‘Marfa Lights’ – it is a catchy, radiant and fuzz-filled delight. Ably assisted by a trusty drum machine beat, a fuzz-heavy riff rips through the track making space for a beautiful swooning melody, ear-pleasing vocals and irresistible chorus to melt your heart. An absolutely astonishing three minutes of fuzzed-up-feel-good pop goodness.

Listen to the incredibly catchy ‘Marfa Lights’ below:

Eoin Dolan – ‘Superior Fiction’

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Anytime Galway musician and singer-songwriter Eoin Dolan, one of Ireland’s finest talents as it goes, releases new material, it is a good time.

Dolan recently released a new 4-track EP, Superior Fiction via Citog Records and the EP follows Dolan’s excellent 2016 self-titled debut and second album Ubique, and unsurprisingly, it is all kinds of wonderful.

The EP finds Dolan at the peak of his powers once again. It is a distillation of Dolan’s knack for crafting sci-fi-tinged surf pop, marrying heartbreaking melodies and gentle instrumentation, sadness with beauty and interstellar psych-pop exploration with the imagery and atmosphere of a vintage seaside town. The EP’s lead single and title track – a self-proclaimed “ode to truth” – is equal parts breezy, melodic and catchy. ‘Superior Fiction’ is blends a jolly, jaunty surf-pop sway with woozy keyboard lines, twinkling effects with a harmonic and soft, lilting lyrical sensibility. This marriage of surf and mild psych sounds with the allure and awe of space and sci-fi, not only binds the record together but makes his craft a joy to behold. From the organ led celestial drift of the yearing opener ‘Roman Voice’, to the ‘Brose’ more unsettling and slightly sinister stylised sci-fi pop tones of ‘Brose’ to the delightful closer ‘Lunar Drift’, and its dreamy pastoral, tranquil undulating balladry; it is just magnificent.

Along with Eoin, Superior Fiction features Conor Deasy on guitar/backing vocals, James Casserly on drums and Adam Sheeran on bass, and is out now via Citog Records.

Have a first listen to the title track and EP closer below. The full EP is here.

Strange Cages – ‘False Prophet Death Waltz’

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Madcap Brighton trio Strange Cages introduced themselves and their frantic psych/garage rock sound with a series of stellar singles and EP last year.

The trio are at it again, returning with another six-track EP, entitled Silver Queen, and is expected on September 28th, 2018 on Vallance Records. The EP’s concept centres around the story of a fictional cult leader of the same name, and is previewed by the completely off-the-wall, ‘False Prophet Death Waltz’. It is a scintillating psych-rock odyssey that opens with a frenzied barrage of garage noise and continues on its merry madcap way at breakneck speed, unleashing an outlandish energy and wiry, psychedelic wig out. A multi-faceted three and a half minutes of melodic mayhem and psychedelic rock explosion, it will truly take your breathe away.

Listen to ‘False Prophet Death Waltz’ below now and check out the equally memorable and wild video, and of course, keep your eyes peeled for the new EP later this month.

Johnny Kills – ‘Who’s Counting?’

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We’ve been keeping tabs on garage-surf outfit Johnny Kills for quite a while now.

In that time the Brighton/London-based trio never failed to deliver, unleashing a series of infectious and fuzzed up anthems including ‘Let’s Talk About Me’, ‘My Shirt Guy Is High’ and ‘End Game’. Johnny Kills’ early output has been very impressive – and that’s not just my opinion – with it being the catalyst for their recent signing to cult record label Killing Moon. It is the first fruits from this new partnership that draws our attention today, namely new single ‘Who’s Counting?’. Packing plenty of power-pop punch, ‘Who’s Counting’ sees Johnny Kills channelling their inner most FIDLAR and Wavves. Jaunty riffs mingle with an anthemic chorus full of festival-ready bounce, while the surf-rock guitars and propulsive bassline complete this fuzz and fun-filled scuzzy-pop tour-de-force. Another swaggering garage-surf rock inspired sensation; top marks!

Listen to ‘Who’s Counting?’ below and while you’re at it, if you have not done so already, why not get acquainted with Johnny Kills’ excellent back catalogue.