DATE ARCHIVES : February 2019

Orla – ‘Dream’

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Orla is an 18 year old Irish musician and producer from Co Meath who has a preference for dreamy, elegant and atmospheric sounds; as demonstrated with exquisite finesse on her debut single ‘dream’.

The aptly titled ‘dream’ is an elegant and calming instrumental track that weaves its way through a dreamy world of truly captivating atmospheric soundscapes. It moves slowly, drifting elegantly with a weightlessness, lulling us into a state of blissful tranquillity as gentle guitar chords chime and reverberate, and keys twinkle amid a rich haze and dripping melody. As the atmospheric mist clears, like clouds parting to reveal the sun following a downpour, ‘dream’ shifts to a brighter, shimmering tone revealing an added layer of wistful heart-strung emotion. A simply gorgeous track.

You can listen to ‘dream’ below now.

YTK – ‘Slackface’

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Following a slew of slick singles, Baltimore-based hip hop artist YTK, released his debut EP Berea last week.

This six track EP is led by single ‘Slackface’ and establishes YTK as a master of crafting classy, breezy and majestic hip hop tunes. ‘Slackface’s’ hazy glow sprouts from an irresistible soft wave of hypnotising synths, intertwining clever rhymes over festively jazzy beats. This beguiling, washed-out textured haze of dreaminess shifts seductively beneath, as subtle as shifting sands, providing a perfect backdrop from YTK laying down his nonchalant flow. Laid-back and chilled, YTK’s sound is irresistible and distinctive, and you can’t help nodding along to. Fill your boots!

Listen to ‘Slackface’ below and the entire EP, Berea is here too.

Idlewild – ‘Dream Variations’

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Scottish alternative rockers, Idlewild, are gearing up for the release of their new, eighth LP, Interview Music and, along with it, they have returned with brand new single ‘Dream Variations’.

Idlewild went on ‘indefinite hiatus’ in 2010, sparking a number solo projects before reconvening with 2015’s LP Everything Ever Written and a fresh focus, reinvigorated appetite, and with new single ‘Dream Variations’ the band are sound similarly revitalised. ‘Dream Variations’ is bright, upbeat & beguiling indie-rock embracing a harmonious, rich melodic pop rainbow of twinkly keys, bubbling bass, scorching riffs that leads us to a shimmering closing sequence, a place that drifts by with ease and breeze, with its dreamy and air of tranquillity. ‘Dream Variations’ is just a thoroughly nice, enjoyable and harmonious tune, aided in no small portion by Woomble’s welcoming and instantly recognisable brogue. Over the course of their 20-odd year career, Idlewild have made of a habit of such things and their debut album Hope Is Important, recorded in just four weeks and released in October 1998 remains a firm favourite of mine.

Listen to ‘Dream Variations’ below now:

Michelle Blades – ‘Politic!’

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Michelle Blades is a Miami-raised, Paris-based, Mexican-Panamanian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a flair for colourful, catchy and effervescent psych-pop.

Blades is readying the release of her new album Visitor, due out on March 29 via Midnight Special Records, and has shared the vibrant off-kilter confection that is ‘Politic!’ as a taster. Blades’ multi-cultural experiences are reflected in the magpie like sounds of her colourful, imaginative and irresistible psych-tinged indie-pop as ‘Politic!’ flits in and out of psych dreaminess with jerky guitars, bouncy beat and jittery bassline puncturing the bright, luminescent spectrum of colourful sound. Addictive and infectious with decidedly danceable disco grooves, ‘Politic!’ manages sweetness, effervesces and jerky art-rock hi jinx simultaneously as vocals slide from deep and honeyed to powerful intent, and glass-shattering screech with such an ease. A colourful, fizzy and fuzzed-up psych-pop adventure of the finest calibre.

Listen to ‘Politic!’ below & watch out for new album Visitor, due out on March 29 via Midnight Special Records.

NOGYMX – ‘Nakatomi Plaza’

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It’s fair to say that Galway-based producer NOGYMX (pronounced no-gimmicks) has a slight infatuation with the synthesizer sounds of the ’80s and synth-based cinematic film scores.

Of course, this is not a bad thing at all, and it is from this base that NOGYMX’s sleek, slick and cinematic vision of synth-pop takes shape, as evidenced by ‘Nakatomi Plaza’. Retro yet futuristic, ‘Nakatomi Plaza’ is a fascinatingly imaginative and richly developed electronic excursion to a place where dreams and reality can coexist in the same space as ’80s video games, and sci-fi and adventure movie scores. Propelled forward on a wave of driving beats, kicks, slow-motion chord changes and neon-bright synths, it is smooth, oozes cool and feels a little dangerous. Masterfully pieced together from start to finish, colourfully creating an incredible sense of wonderment and adventure it excels unequivocally in producing a severe case of nostalgia while feeling forward thinking and futuristic too.

Listen to ‘Nakatomi Plaza’ below now & if you like what you hear, there is more where that came from on NOGYMX’s latest album NO EMPERORS – tune in here.

TPM – ‘Fuck RTÉ’

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TPM are brothers Charles & Andrew Hendy from Co Louth, who you may remember from previous singles ‘Eat That Curry’ and especially, ‘All The Boys on the Dole’.

The sibling duo are back with another masterclass of no-fucks-given hip-hop in the shape of ‘Fuck RTÉ’. On this occasion, it is the law, courts, national broadcaster RTÉ and the TV licence who are in receipt of their ire and firmly in their satirical cross-hairs. Backed by eerie, Beastie Boys-esque production, the pair’s signature humorous lyrics and slick wordplay combine perfectly with infectious beats and a punk attitude; they are, as they say themselves “the only MCs are saying Fuck The Law and Fuck RTÉ”. This is just superb, humorous no quarter given stuff of the Captain Moonlight and Jinx Lennon ilk, it should have you (like me) playing it on constant rotation for weeks.

Listen to ‘Fuck RTÉ’ below:

PS – As seen in Newbridge, these two brothers are serious merch sales people, you have been warned!

O Future – ‘Voyeur’

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Formerly known as OOFJ, O Future is the pairing of Katherine Mills Rymer from South Africa and Jens Bjornkjaer originally from Denmark, who both now reside in Los Angeles.

Together, the pair have cultivated something of a niche, fusing electronic, orchestral and art pop music to create a colourful, imaginative and dance-y tunes that will get firmly lodged in your head, as evidenced by previous single ‘Smell You’ and latest effort ‘Voyeur’. It is a tantalizing meeting of eerie, somewhat menacing, yet sweeping symphonic sound. ‘Voyeur’ is jittery and claustrophobic as quickfire drumbeat hits first, accompanied by somewhat manic synths and buzzing bass it swells, growing more intense in tandem with Mills Rymer’s breathy but increasingly feverish vocals. A stunning and seductive single that is beautiful yet eerie, with the sweeping orchestra strings adding a final alluring touch of cinematic class and sweeping grandeur.

Listen to ‘Voyeur’ below – and there is more here.

The Legion – ‘Joy’

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It is almost 25 years since Bronx-based rap trio The Legion – Molecules, Cee-Low The Diceman, and Chucky Smash – released their debut record Theme + Echo = Krill.

Since them, the trio have mostly preoccupied themselves with solo projects, various collaborations and put out a compilation of unreleased material, The Lost Tapes, in 2014. But a quarter of a century on from their debut, it is new album, Three The Bronx Way, that marks their return as a group proper, showcasing the timeless quality of their street-minded Boom bap. The new album is led by the aptly titled feel good banger ‘Joy’. It is a bright, breezy and bouncy tune that fuses a funky bass line with stabs of brass and ‘Cules joyful sample chop, a perfect and irresistible combination for the silky wordplay and rhymes to thrive and leave an indelible mark on your soul. This is an absolute gem of bright feelgood vibes – pure magic.

You can listen to ‘Joy’ below and if if that is too you liking, you listen to new record Three The Bronx Way – homage to the 1974 Blaxploitation classic, Three The Hard Way – here.

 

The Great Escape – ‘Possibilities’

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LA-based trio The Great Escape have kicked off 2019 in earnest with plans for a series of stand-alone singles that will ultimately shape their forthcoming new album Pulsing Synchronicity.

With that in mind, The Great Escape have shared their new single ‘Possibilities’ – a retro-leaning slice of sultry soul. Touching on parts indie, psych, ’60s pop and soulful trip-hop, the trio explore a sensual sonic wonderland of beguiling beauty. Backed by lush, opulent production, ‘Possibilities’ moves along a seductive soulful groove as frontwoman Hanna Leess’ rich, smoky vocal drifts and swirls over the evocative soundscape. ‘Possibilities’ is a four-minute sojourn to a colourful wonderland of beautiful but contrasting sound palate; it is a collage that is seductive yet haunting, playful and a bit coy but lush, warm and intoxicating.

Listen to ‘Possibilities’ below & keep an eye out for further releases in the coming months.

Los Blancos – ‘Ti Di Newid / Cadw Fi Lan’

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Last year was a rather good one for Welsh foursome Los Blancos, establishing themselves as one of Wales’ most exciting prospects.

A band bonded in friendship – Gwyn, Dewi, Emyr and Osian have known each other since school days – Los Blancos have proven a reliable source of irresistible slacker/garage-rock, a fact that isn’t about to change anytime soon as they waste no time in opening their account for 2019 with a new double A side single ‘Ti Di Newid / Cadw Fi Lan’ via Libertino Records.

Sung in their native Welsh, Los Blancos’ scuzzy, fuzz-filled sound mutates somewhat between each release – something that can be seen with the contrasting nature of both new singles. ‘Ti Di Newid’ is a gritty and dynamic feast of melodic fuzz and distortion, smouldering with emotion and packed with blazing riffs, crunchy guitars and soaring choruses. While it is rough, ragged and raw musically and emotionally, there is a beauty and brittleness to the genuine heartfelt emotion as it chugs along with a surging vitality and screeching riffs. ‘Cadw Fi Lan’ is the calmer of the two tracks, providing a hazy meander sojourn to warm and swooning sliding guitar-led alt-country meets lo-fi indie filled with a melancholic end of summer youthful sweetness. Aside from their native tongue and dash of garage fuzz, the other constant is Gwyn Rosser’s voice, his drawl consistently delivering that added emotional punch with aplomb.

Listen to ‘Ti Di Newid’ and ‘Cadw Fi Lan’ below; the double a-side is out now via Libertino Records.