POST CATEGORY : Video

(Video) Coves – ‘Beatings’

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Having released their debut EP Cast A Shadow last year and single, ‘Last Desire’ earlier this year, you could be forgiven for thinking Coves are teasing us with this drip feeding of new material. 

Although something more substantial, like an album, would be most welcome, the sheer quality of their output to date means any new tunes are heralded as an occasion for some celebration. Coves’ new single ‘Beatings’ doesn’t drop the ball, in fact, it is the most epic proposition yet from the dual talents of Rebekah Wood and John Ridgard. Swirling psychedelia is met with sweeping grandeur as Wood’s mellifluous cooing floats on flickers of electronics, beats and guitar, in a gentle whirlpool of shimmering psychedelic dream-pop. ‘Beatings’ is ushered through this spaced-out and hazy atmosphere by driving drums and undulating bass line, propelling toward an explosive climax of heavy bursts of beats, crackling synths and noise. A wholly inspired, impressive and unmissable track, which comes with an equally striking, tripped out video.

If this is your first encounter with the wondrous world of Coves, please check out & their EP, Cast of Shadow and single ‘Last Desire‘. 

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(Video) Helen Love – ‘Atomic’

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Although they’ve been on the go for over two decades, Helen Love have, until now, remained an unknown quantity till quite recently. 

Formed in 1992, the Welsh group carved a name for themselves with their bubblegum punk songs about punk boys, crushes, tough girls and Joey Ramone. Having only discovered Helen Love through their latest LP, Day-Glo Dreams, the content seems to be in a similar vein as mentioned previously, while the punky sound has been swapped for synth pop. This is synth pop with lighthearted lyrics designed to make you dance, non more so than latest single and album standout, ‘Atomic’. It’s a cheesy, cheerful and bouncy affair of all synths and smiles. Combine this with her perfectly sweet vocals and ability to write sugar-sweet pop melodies and you have the recipe for one highly contagious sound. One too, that will be stuck in your head for ages.

You can give ‘Atomic’ the once over below & Day-Glo Dreams is out now on Elefant Records. [Stream it on Spotify]

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(Video) Steve Mason – ‘Fire!’

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As far as records of the year go, Steve Mason‘s Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time is right up there at the top.

Mason’s second solo effort is a stunning record, shaped by the current global political climate and the lack of dissenting voices in music and popular culture in general. This brings us nicely to Mason’s latest single, ‘Fire!’, which encapsulates all that’s great about the aforementioned LP in one song. It is filled with genuine heart, soul and honesty – and of course plenty of righteous politicalised anger – as he foments unrest over a deep, powerful bassline and shots of stunning brass. This combined with a blend of psych-folk/trip/hip-hop beats and dub overtones acts as a prefect backdrop for his wonderful ghostly vocal. Simply magnificent. Someone please book Mason for some Irish shows. Thanks. 

‘Fire!’ will be released as a download only on November 4 via Domino. Monkey Minds in the Devil’s Time is out now too.

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(Video) Paul Davies – ‘Why Did I Give You My Heart?’

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Paul Davies proved his credentials as songwriter and wry storytelling ability last year with his EP, If You Only Knew, and almost exactly one year on, Davies is back once again. 

Ahead of a forthcoming new and so far nameless EP, Davies has produced a quirky DIY style video for ‘Why Did I Give You My Heart?’. Taken from last year’s If You Only Knew EP, it captures the heartwarming nature of that quintessential Paul Davies sound. It’s subtle, graceful and charming, as a gentle woozy strum accompanies his soft and gentle vocals along a passage of melancholic musings. In the past unequivocal comparisons were drawn between Davies and the slower, vulnerable moments of both Pete Doherty or Graham Coxon’s solo work. It is a similarity that still stands.

Check ‘Why Did I Give You My Heart?’ and it’s accompanying video below. No concrete details yet on the forthcoming release but hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.

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(Video) China Rats – ‘N.O.M.O.N.E.Y.’

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We’ve been keeping tabs on Leeds noisemakers China Rats for sometime now, and they have yet to disappoint us with their musical antics.

China Rats continue this rich vein of form with their latest slice of spikey indie-punk, ‘N.O.M.O.N.E.Y. (No Money)’. Clocking in at just two minutes we’re blasted with a modern take on The Undertones / The Buzzcocks school of punk. Where real life is laced with a sense of humour, as frustrations of being young, jobless and skint in Britain today are met with a punchy-chorus and an abundant of hooks, giving you the best of both worlds. And oh me oh my, that video is just sublime. It’s definitely worth at least two minutes of your time.

‘N.O.M.O.N.E.Y.’ is taken from their forthcoming EP Don’t Play With Fire, will be released on October 14th.

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(Video) Tandem Felix – ‘Third Degree Burns’

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Dubliners Tandem Felix have just released a brand new video for ‘Third Degree Burns’, the opening track from their excellent Popcorn EP.

Tandem Felix and indeed their EP, came in for some well earned praise on it’s release a few months ago. It’s a breathtaking display of moody and atmospheric, murky veiled indie, and ‘Third Degree Burns’ sums up their sound so precisely. Not only is it the standout track from the EP, it’s sounds so graceful as it elegantly twists and turns through some rather lush instrumentation. Enough chatter, check out the brand new video for the track below, which is pretty sweet as it goes.

The EP is available as a free download from Bandcamp (or €5 on CD) & you can see Tandem Felix live at this years HWCH (October 3 – 5). 

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(Video) Ghost Estates – ‘Winter’s Day’

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Things have been relatively quiet in the Ghost Estates‘ camp this year, by their standards certainly. The last we heard from Ghost Estates was with ‘In Waves’, as part of a their split single with Twin Rakes for Record Store Day. The reason for this relative quite? They’ve locked themselves away and are studiously working away on their second album.

In the meantime, Ghost Estates have broken radio silence to unveil new single, ‘Winter’s Day’. One of the standout tracks from their excellent self-titled debut album, ‘Winter’s Day’ is a racy, euphoric and athemic mix of reach for the sky guitars with a twinkly electronica edge. It’s pretty characteristic of what you’ll find throughout their debut record, which as it goes, has generously been made available for free for a limited time. Being one of last years finest domestic records, you can’t say fairer than that, can you? 

You can check out the excellent Ruairi Galavan directed video for ”Winter’s Day below & you can download Ghost Estates’ debut record for free from bandcamp. 

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(Video) Moodoïd – ‘Je suis la Montagne’

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Moodoïd is the solo project of Parisian multi-instrumentalist Pablo Padovani from Melody’s Echo Chamber and  ‘Je suis la Montagne’ is the first single to emerge from the project. 

‘Je suis la Montagne’ or ‘I am The Mountain’ in English, bares a certain similarity to his day job with Melody’s Echo Chamber. It’s hardly surprising given his role in the band, and it’s mixed by Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, who producer MEC’s debut record last year. Padovani’s psychedelic terrain is one of exhilarating experimentation, as ‘Je suis la Montagne’ wanders through a blissed-out and warped plain of swirling guitar-pop, limber harmonies and an insatiable laid-back bass groove. It’s a rather stunning debut track, hopefully there’s much more to follow this early promise.

‘Je suis la Montagne’ is taken from Moodoïd’s forthcoming debut EP, released September 2nd via French label Les Disques Enterprise. Have a wee peek at it up above.

Eugene McGuinness – ‘Fairlight’

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Everyone likes a surprise, well the good kind anyway. Eugene McGuinness has today released a new one-off single, ‘Fairlight’, which kind of came out of the blue this morning. 

‘Fairlight’ is the first new material from McGuinness since the release of album The Invitation To The Voyage last summer. It sees him continue to eek out a space (and perfect balance) between catchy pop and exhilarating indie. That said, ‘Fairlight’ is marked by a proliferation of further influences creeping in too, namely those of a psychedelic and krautrock disposition. The result is a spacey and hypnotic atmospheric number with a shimmering full-blooded sound, a swell of guitars, Arabian-inspired keys and the recognizable vocal prowess from McGuinness. On the surface it seems this is a stand alone, one off single but perhaps not. We’ll just have to wait and see won’t we?

‘Fairlight’ is out today as a download from all the usual haunts. If you happen to be across the water, Eugene McGuinness will be playing a free show at ‘Birthdays’ in London on September 16th.

Johnny Flynn – ‘The Lady is Risen’ + New Album

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Easily one of the most talented members of the so-called folk resurgence in the UK, Johnny Flynn, graced us with news of a forthcoming third record, Country Mile, which will be released in September. 

The new album follows the two rather excellent records, 2008’s A Larum and 2010’s Been Listening – it is hardly overzealous to expect more of the same from Flynn? Not really if we use ‘The Lady is Risen’ to quantify the situation. This first taste of things to come only compounds expectation, it’s typical of what we expect from Flynn. ‘The Lady is Risen’ is a roving folk song with carousing brass and rattling guitar, the perfect backdrop for Flynn’s voice and skills for an evocative lyrical turn. All good news.

You can listen to ‘The Lady is Risen’ below, before Country Mile is released on 30th September through Transgressive Records. He’s announced two Irish dates too; October 16th in Whelan’s, Dublin & October 17th in Belfast’s Limelight.  

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