POST CATEGORY : Introducing

Introducing: Bad Sea

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Bad Sea are Dublin duo Ciara Thompson and Alan Farrell (occasionally joined live by violinist Éna, from Tandem Felix).

Their sound flows from a rich well of influences and styles to produce a smooth, smokey, alt-country sound. The pair’s most recent release, single ‘I’d Want U’, is a simply stunning example of their prowess. It is intimate and sincere, with a slightly rough around the edges feel amplifying the wounded, raw emotion. Amid these gloomy, doleful surroundings and stark strum, Thompson’s rich, distinctive and emotive voice is buoyed by a swelling guitar, paired so well against a sparse, smokey backdrop. A smooth, tender and stunning, emotive little gem and if you’re anyway human, ‘I’d Want U’ should stir something in you and leave the hairs on the back of your neck on end.

Nothing concrete but Bad Sea are rumored to be recording more material but. if you’re back home, keep an eye out for them as they seem to busy on the gig front around Ireland. For now, sit back and enjoy ‘I’d Want U’.

Introducing: Supermoon

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Vancouver indie-pop foursome Supermoon have announced they will release their debut full length Playland, on May 20th via Mint Records.

Continuing the thread started in the 2015 EP Comet Lovejoy – as evidenced by the new album’s first singles ‘Bottleships’ and ‘Witching Hour’ – Supermoon continue to spread the feel-good vibes with their tasty confection of bright, breezy and rhythmic indie-pop. ‘Bottleships’ is a gentle little jangle which for all intents and purpose, sounds as pleasant as a cool, refreshing sea breeze on a scorching summer’s day. The chiming guitar line and bright keyboard alone, should be enough to seduce you but if not, the sugar coated vocals will seal the deal.Meanwhile, bouncy, catchy little shuffler ‘Witching Hour’, combines sunny riffs, poppy guitars and soft percussion, with light, melodic vocals. Yet for all of its obvious sunny disposition, their is a hint of something darker at play. Assuming they make good on the feel-good promise here – and there is no reason to suggest they won’t – we shall be in for quite a treat come May.

Playland, is out on May 20th via Mint Records but until then, check out ‘Bottleships’ & ‘Witching Hour’ below.

Introducing: Omaloma

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Omaloma is the new musical project of Welsh artist George Amor. Formerly of now defunct Welsh psyche supremos Sen Segur, and current bass player for Palenco, Amor has heralded this fine news with a debut single of shimmering, psychedelic escapism, in the shape of ‘Ha Ha Haf’.

Released on Cae Gwyn Records, ‘Ha Ha Haf’ (translates as ‘Ha Ha Summer’) is ever so pleasing on the ear. Imbued with a suitably sunny disposition, it is a bright, cheery and beautiful, psych flavoured pop song. Awash with undulating effects, cosmic rhythms and meandering melodious, it perfectly combines piano, jangly guitars and soft, soothing vocals (sung in Amor’s native Welsh). Breezy pop brilliance from Omaloma, which much like April in Vancouver thus far, is an early taste of summer.

Needless to say, it is going to interesting tracking Omaloma’s progression through 2016, and beyond. For now, you can enjoy the wonderful Ha Ha Haf’ and ‘Lutra’, Omaloma’s inclusion on Swooshed; Cae Gwyn Records’ most recent and most excellent compilation (it is available here).

 

Introducing: Games Violet

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Games Violet is the Philadelphia-based Irish duo of Alexander Games and Emma Violet. Together the pair write, perform, record and produce ‘surrealist pop’ music in their home studio.

Originally from Dublin, they have just released their debut EP Nixie, into the world. Nixie is an elegant excursion into Games Violet’s surrealist and experimental world, littered with imaginative ideas and unique sounds. Otherworldly and eerily atmospheric recent single ‘Courtship’ demonstrates their raison d’etre, as it slips between beautiful and unsettlingly haunting. ‘Nixie’ is a similarly haunting piece of gothic pop that traverses an ominous mix of downtempo textures and atmospherics to remain peaceful yet simultaneously chilling. Closer ‘Gone’, is a downright unsettling and spooky, groove-driven wonky-pop. One other constant throughout is Violet’s ethereal vocals, which mesmerise and enchant in equal measure. Games Violet deliver more than their fair share of murky, chilling and foreboding qualities, but equally, there are utterly beautiful and spectacular moments too.

You can check out some choice cuts from Games Violet below and if they are to your liking, you can get at their debut EP Nixie, here.

Introducing: Eoin Dolan

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Eoin Dolan is a singer-songwriter from Galway City, on the west coast of Ireland. Having released his debut EP, Placid Ocean in 2014, Dolan has recently joined forces with independent record label Citóg Records, to release his new EP Something Good.

Dolan has an inherent knack for twinkly, enchanting and whimsical, good old fashioned pop gems. These are easy-going and timeless songs blending a wonderful mix of surf/folk/pop, with elements of Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett and Lennon/McCartney threaded through the fabric of Dolan’s sound. Yet amid all the sinuous melodies, giddy-pop-playfulness and reverb-drenched vocals, there is a sombreness, nay a sadness at hand. Due in no small part to Dolan’s song-writing, which is steeped in the imagery and atmosphere of a vintage seaside town and we see the world through the eyes of an intuitive storyteller on the very top of his game. The beauty for the likes of ‘Something Good’ and ‘Heavenly Possessed’ flows from the juxtaposition enchanting and whimsical pop and the hint of melancholic sombreness.

Eoin Dolan’s Something Good EP is one of the finest wee releases to come my way so far this year; it’s a utter joy to behold. There are a few choice cuts below and Something Good is available, in full, from Bandcamp.

 

 

Introducing: Estrons

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Based in Cardiff, ESTRONS, are powerful and self-evidently brilliant guitar band, fronted by bilingual Canadian-Swede, Taliesyn Kallström.

Their name is Welsh for ‘aliens’ or ‘strangers’, a reflection of their mixed national heritage. Recording in English and Welsh, sometimes flitting between the two, their debut EP ‘Whoever She Was…’ was released in December of last year. The EP is a ferocious 4-track introduction to Estrons and their furious and undeniably excellent sound, can be summed up in a little over three-minutes of the EP’s lead single, ‘Make a Man’. It is everything a great ‘indie-rock’ belter should be, and more. ‘Make A Man’ blazes a trail with a ferocious explosion of energy, anthemic guitar riffs, pounding drums and Källström’s incredibly powerful, searing vocal delivery, shaking whatever’s left of the house down. ‘Make A Man’ is an emphatic exhibition of their considerable talent, and a clear indication to why there’s been quite a bit of fuss surrounding Estrons over the past 12 months or so.

They are promising more new music soon, which is great but for now get your ears around the frenetic, electrified and scintillating master-class that is ‘Make A Man’ below.

Introducing: The Orange Kyte

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The Orange Kyte is an experimental music project with an admirable manifesto to release a single a month, throughout 2016.

The brainchild of Vancouver-based, Dublin-raised Stevie Moonboots (House of Dolls & The Subterranean Satellite Band), along with a revolving cast of collaborators and cohorts, promise sonic explorations in sound. Drawing heavily from a love of ethereal tones, fuzz, reverberation and all things psychedelic, they deliver just that. Debut single ‘Morning Pages’, featuring Chris van der Laan of Vancouver punks Wars, is a woozy, dreamy & hypnotic, shoegaze tinged brand of psych-rock, all shimmering guitars and hazy vibes. As far as opening gambits go, this ranks pretty damn high. It’s going to be very intriguing (and rewarding, hopefully) to track the continuous evolution of The Orange Kyte project.

You can check out The Orange Kyte’s debut single, ‘Morning Pages’, below now. And track the progress of the project here, too.

 

 

Introducing: Amber Arcades

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Amber Arcades is the moniker of Dutch-born musician Annelotte de Graaf.

De Graaf first started writing songs while temporarily living in Philadelphia back in 2010, and on her return to her native Netherlands, she released a first EP in 2012. Four years on and now signed to the ever reliable Heavenly Records, she is gearing up to release her debut LP. Produced by Ben Greenberg (Beach Fossils, The Men, Destruction Unit) and backed by a band comprised of members of Real Estate, Quilt and Kevin Morby, the album is a culmination of songs written over the years, and what we’ve got to go on so far, is ever so good.

The most recent of which, ‘Right Now’ is a dazzling piece of ‘60s inspired, meandering psychedelic pop. It simply drifts along, unhurriedly, over floating pop melodies, hypnotic, lush jangly guitars, frazzled electronics and punchy beats are coated with light layer of fuzz and an incandescent glimmer, as de Graaf’s dreamy, breathy vocals hover above majestically. This is flawless jangly fuzz-pop with an upbeat groove and distinct ’60s retro feel, but importantly while sounding familiar, it stays on the right side of familiar. ‘Turning Light’ meanwhile, is consumed by a similar luminescence. Harnessing a beautiful blend propulsive beats, krautrock drums and shimmering guitars, like ‘Primary Colours’ era Horrors, with a touch less distortion and the inclusion of de Graaf’s soft, soothing vocal.

De Graaf’s musical vision works like a dream and there you have it, two very good reasons to be excited about the forthcoming record. No definitive date for the release of the debut record but you can check out ‘Right Now’ & ‘Turning Light’, below.

 

Introducing: BeardFight

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BeardFight hails from North Vancouver, and they pride themselves on producing genre bending electronic music.

Aside from this, info surrounding the producer is pretty scant and in a world of information saturation, it is kind of refreshing. So, let us concern ourselves with the most important thing; the music. BeardFight caught the eye (or the ear to be precise) through their appearance on two recent compilations from Vancouver based music collective, Groundwerk. The compilations themselves are excellent and worthy of further investigation (here) but on both occasions it was BeardFight’s stellar inclusion which stood out. The producer has a thing for a deep, bassy sound, with a dark, subterranean vibes; something both ‘Western Eyes’ and ‘505 (Groundwerk Edit)’ are testament to. The latter is a rework of Arctic Monkeys’ 2007 tune, the dark and sunken sounds are joined by flourishes of drums, bass and glitchy mastery, with chinks of light and floaty dub tones. ‘Western Eyes’ is equally immense. Courting a similar aesthetic, it would work perfect as part the film score for a modern film noir style flick. Again there is light amid the darkness, this time through the sultry vocals. A rather impressive dawn from BeardFight, hopefully the wait for new material isn’t a prolonged one.

You can check out ‘Western Eyes’ and ‘505 (Groundwerk Edit)’ below. If they are to your liking, there’s a whole lot more where that came from over on BeardFight’s SoundCloud.

 

Introducing: Milk

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                                                                                                                                                                                                     Photo by Lauren Ray.

Comprised of former/current members of Watermelon, Village, and Soft Serve, Milk have just released their debut EP, Late Bloomer.

The Vancouver quartet’s debut release is one of sleepy, mellow beauty, specialising as they do, in sweetly crisp guitar licks, dreamy melodies and jangling tones, while singer-guitarist Thom James’ drawl looms large above these laid-back indie-alt-country. Across the 6-track release, it is one treat after another. ‘Don’t Laugh’ is bright, catchy ditty with the clean, jangling tones and crisp electric twang accompanying James’ deep drawl. ‘Standards’ is just as instantly lovable, like Village Green era The Kinks meets melodic alt-country tones. ‘Marmalade’ and ‘Funeral’ showcase Milk’s darker side, not too gloomy, just a shade darker and imbued with sentimentality which eventually merges into dreamy, laid-back indie pop. Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the nicest new sounds of 2016 thus far; sleepy, laid-back and promising stuff from the veritable Vancouver super-group.

Milk’s debut EP Late Bloomer is out now and available here. Meanwhile, there are a number of choice cuts below.