DATE ARCHIVES : August 2020

The Budos Band – ‘Long In The Tooth’

Staten Island outfit The Budos Band celebrate 20 years together this year and will mark it with forthcoming new album, Long In The Tooth, out on October 9th via Daptone.

In that time the 8-strong outfit have carved a special place on the musical landscape with their timeless psych-infused soul and funk, and an enviable love of groove. Ahead of the new record comes lead single ‘Long In The Tooth’ which says more about them than I can, more succinctly too, in just over three-and-a-half-minutes. It is a super smooth jam that saunters along a seductive groove while rugged riffs and breakbeats cut through the sea of fuzz and warm organ hum as menacing horns swoop in from above. ‘Long In The Tooth’ is a thrilling and pulsating powerhouse of rhythmic fervour that is totally irresistible and will leave an indelible mark on your soul.

Listen to ‘Long In The Tooth’ below – and keep an eye put for the new album come October.

Introducing: Varsity Star

Varsity Star is a Brooklyn-based electronic musician / producer. He grew up in the suburbs of Boston, played jazz through college until becoming comfortable making music alone.

In 2017 he headed to Berlin, partially spurred by a biblical flea infestation in his apartment but also for music and while there, recorded his first album, Model Home.  Now, back on American soil, with a second album under his belt and mostly pest-free, Varsity Star has been occupying his time with shorter form output – singles, EPS, remixes & the like.

Most recently, that has seen the release of That’s Something; a just under 20 minute excursion into a world of electronic goodness built around an ear for melody, playfulness and richness of sound – demonstrated in exquisite fashion by both ‘Ball’ & ‘Treehouse’. ‘Ball’ is playful, pinging here and there, as a bouncing beat dances gleefully with pulsing synth and bendy, playful melodies – it is buoyant, bright and utterly contagious. While ‘Treehouse’ offers a more mellow take on the sound as it slinks and gentle bubbles along richly melodic keys, soft plush beats and twinkly synths as it meanders with a wide-eyed wandering air and peace of mind.

Varsity Star’s most recent release, a rework of ’19TET’ by UK producer Inwards, is a perfect coming together of all these aforementioned attributes. Warm woozy synths drift by like fluffy clouds on a balmy summer day while a flurry of beats – soft and crunchy – rush by like a babbling brook as we are whisked away, transfixed by the serenity, beauty and melodic allure. A wonderfully inventive and masterful producer.

You can sample some choice cuts below and if that’s not enough to sate your appetite, there’s loads more where that came from here.

By The Sea – ‘The Let Downs’

Wirral outfit By The Sea have long been favourites around these parts. Both their self-titled debut and follow-up Endless Days, Crystal Sky are utterly brilliant and bewitching records filled with melodic psych-pop songs, illuminated by drifting, dreamlike atmospherics, jangling guitars and beautiful dreamy vibes.

Close to six years on from the release of the latter, By The Sea have returned with ‘The Let Downs’ lifted from the forthcoming album Heaven Knows Magnolia – double good news. The new single continues and expands upon their penchant for wistful and heartfelt dreamy indie-pop. ‘The Let Downs’ waltzes slowly through a haze of elegant fuzz and ethereal air as a steady drum beat and twinkling groove join world-weary vocals in bewitching us entirely with an overwhelming and heart swelling sense of melancholy and longing. It is an exquisite, transfixing and deeply moving return, and just the sort of wistful, introspective and smouldering emotive powers we come to love from By The Sea.

You can listen to ‘The Let Downs’ below – hopefully we’ll have more news on the new album soon.


ONBC – ‘A New England’

Billy Bragg’s ‘A New England’ is not only a stone cold classic but it also happens to be an all time favourite track.

It’s fair to assume that many hold it in similarly high esteem and ‘A New England’ has been well covered by artists over the years but you will be hard pushed to find better than this one by Danish outfit, ONBC (maybe that of Kirsty MacColl). It is one of covers that will make up a new EP, Forty Thousand Tears, out on September 18. Their take on ‘A New England’ is in keeping with their penchant for indie-pop, shoegaze, sadcore and lo-fi country; it is a slowly undulating sliver of dreamy tones and woozy vibes as lush, breathy vocals float elegantly above the ethereal hazy backdrop.It is a simply stunning re-imagining of the rough, raw and stripped back original rendition.

Listen to ‘A New England’ below and keep an eye out for the EP in September. 


Samoun – ‘Chakchouka’

‘Chakchouka’ is the debut single from Parisian pairing Samoun. Composed of two ‘famous’ producers, they are described as “the investigators of the Techno Raï genre” – whatever the back story, their debut single is a mouthwatering slice of minimalist heaven. 

Delivered with a deft touch that brings to mind the golden age of French electro (think Mr Oizo, Justice & a slew of other Ed Banger luminaries & early Daft Punk), metallic percussion, peculiar vocal and woozy, ghostly synth creates an otherworldly environment before the bassline drops and things lift off as it swaggers, grooves and moves. It is an absolutely stunning track, one that is not only addicting but destined to get people moving.

Tune in to the stunning powers of ‘Chakchouka’ below – the video is pretty great too:

https://open.spotify.com/track/71N3YYdTgwlCRSKLMmHBRJ


Holly Tomás – ‘Unfolded’

Holly Tomás is a musician / singer songwriter based in the Lowlands of Scotland. Originally from Cheshire by way of the Isle of Skye and Edinburgh, Tomás has been plying her craft from the past three decades in which she has traversed a more traditional singer/songwriter approach to recent incarnations which retain the emotional, intimate vocal textures and are woven into downtempo atmospheric soundscapes.

New single ‘Unfolded’ is a perfect example of the latter; a bewitching and ethereal affair, it unfolds slowly, gently introducing itself as bass murmurs, beats slowly groove and hazy dreamlike textures and atmospheric tones swirl all around Tomás’ beautiful and evocative vocals. ‘Unfolded’ is hauntingly evocative and thrillingly propulsive, evoking moods from melancholy to optimism – impeccably crafted and utterly captivating.

Listen to ‘Unfolded’ below:

Video Premiere: Tomorrows – ‘Night Boat to Franklin’

Trading in psych, prog and pop, Dublin outfit Tomorrows have been treating our ears to wonky psychedelic pop songs for half a decade now, and back in February (that feels like a long time ago now) they released their stellar third album, The Night Chorus Part 2.

The core of the band, Conor Deasy, Ben Shorten, Michael Murphy, and Jethro Pickett, were joined by Will Whyte on drums, Ruth Kennington on synth and Julian Banks & Aran O’Grady on saxophone with a wonderful, wonky and beguiling record the outcome.

The latest single to be lifted from The Night Chorus Part 2 is album opener ‘Night Boat to Franklin’ – a woozy, meandering and lush slice of seductive cosmic pop – and it is my absolute pleasure to bring you the premiere of the video. 

Film maker Ursula Woods and Jethro from the band live on the edge of the world in Glaziers Bay Tasmania. Their house, an old apple shed turned livable cabin, sits on poles in the Huon River. ‘Night Boat to Franklin’ is a song that was written and partly recorded there when Conor visited them in 2019.

A beguiling, lush, neo-psychedelic beauty, the track bubbles along an undulating groove, dripping with melody and plenty of off-kilter sax appeal – ‘Night Boat to Franklin’ captures some of the river energy that can only be experienced at the dusk of day.

The video was made when Ursula and Jethro were isolating after returning from Ireland in March 2020. With a real sense of cabin fever, they literally took the boat out and headed for Franklin.

On the journey there was an eerie scene in the sky that particular day as Forestry Tasmania were burning large areas of woodland. The flames and smoke were hanging heavy in the sky with the freezing winter waters below. Upstream, the boat choked and came to a complete still. Ursula kept the camera rolling during the rescue, the video is what it is. Anything can happen on a Night Boat to Franklin.

Check out the video below and if you haven’t done so already, give The Night Chorus Part 2 a spin here.

Just Geo – ‘Not in the Dance’

Last we heard from London Producer & DJ Just Geo was with the superb ‘Stick To My Guns’ with fellow Londoner, rapper and songwriter, Warrs McFreeman, and his latest single ‘Not in the Dance’ is just as electrifying.

Drawing influences from a wide variety of sounds, from old school Garage, grime and retro video game soundtracks, Just Geo has once again delivered something that is both fresh yet familiar. Beats rush and crunch like soft steps on gravel, while synths chime and peep while the melodic groove swerves with an all consuming dancey allure while soft, melodic and unassuming vocals flow above. Yet another super slick, smooth and perfectly packaged jam from Just Geo – it is a beaut.

Listen to ‘Not in the Dance’ below:

El Levtchenko – ‘Hopeton Overton’

We were introduced to Brazilian / American pairing El Levtchenko and their lush, sun-kissed and world encompassing sonic distillations earlier in the summer.

El Levtchenko’s sound is magpie like in the best way possible, their compositions borrow from a world of influences; there’s Cuban guitar music, a touch of hip hop, some Middle Eastern and African influences, funk and soul, and a whole lot of beautiful psychedelia. Their latest single is ‘Hopeton Overton’ and like its predecessor ‘Sunday Social’, has a suitably seasonal sound. A sort of a funk and dub fusion, ‘Hopeton Overton’ brings all the good vibes as it slinks and swaggers along a super seductive groove as a guitar chirps, ripples and twangs amid the hazy, dub-esque echoes. It is a catchy, feel good and vibrant jam that will work its way into your psyche and leave you all the better for it.

Check out the sunny delights of ‘Hopeton Overton’ below:

123 Mixtape – ‘Cloud Into River’

123 Mixtape is both the pseudonym of Producer/Mixer/Engineer, Brett Shaw and conveniently, the name of the project.

Shaw is better known for his work with Foals and Florence and the Machine among others but being at a loose end with no one else to record during lockdown, Shaw set out on a simple mission; make some music he’d like to listen to and share with friends. The fruits of his labour is 123 Mixtape which is released on August 24 and preceded by sublime single ‘Cloud Into River’. All recorded on old funky tape machines at 123 studios, ‘Cloud Into River’ oozes with coolness as it swaggers along a super seductive and irresistible groove. The funky bassline plumbs the depths of soul as soft beats ripple beneath the rich swells of brass and grandiose strings sweep by with an orchestral air and touch of pure class.

Listen to ‘Cloud Into River’ below, it is quite simply stunning!