POSTS TAGGED : Rock

Tempesst – ‘Doomsday’

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London-based Aussie quintet Tempesst are gearing up to release their new, and second, EP Doomsday, next month through Pony Records.

With this news comes lead and title-track ‘Doomsday’, which in just shy of four-minutes, juggles the meaning of life, death and one’s mortality with a backing combination of old fashioned psych, ’70s folk-pop and rock. ‘Doomsday’ is a bold statement of intent, with orchestral strings, raw percussion, jarring guitar twangs converging as lead singer Toma Banjanin’s vocals shift from croon to soaring, with an effortless ease. It’s a real groover that oscillates on a whirlwind of hypnotic percussion.

Listen too ‘Doomsday’ below – it is lifted from their forthcoming EP Doomsday, which will be out on August 3rd via Pony Recordings.

Introducing: CHROMA

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CHROMA are a ferrous alt-rock trio – Katie Hall, Liam Bevan & Zac Mather – from Pontypridd in South Wales.

Welsh trio are a formidable force of nature and self-evidently brilliant guitar band, and led by the charismatic Katie Hall, they have a MASSIVE sound.

As far as an introduction to CHROMA, in a little over three-minutes, single ‘Vampires’ offers that in the best possible way. All scintillating riffs, high-energy, hammering percussion and bass line that pounds incessantly as Hall’s stunning vocals enter the fray, rendering everything else secondary. ‘Datod’ meanwhile, offers another side to CHROMA. Sung in Welsh, it opens quietly, introducing itself with gently a strummed guitar as Hall’s earth-shattering vocals front and centre. It slowly builds, shifting though the gears towards a muscular, cathartic climax that brings the house down around us. The juxtaposition between darkness and light, softness and harsh, is where ‘Datod’ power is sourced, that and the incredibly powerful, searing vocals – as per usual.

Two dizzying displays of what makes CHROMA a very, very exciting proposition indeed. Check ’em below.

 

CHROMA are also one of twelve acts selected from across Wales for Horizons 2018, so you will be hearing plenty more from them over the next 12 months.

Terra Pines – ‘Dream Big’

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Self-professed purveyors “sludgepop” and “grungegaze”, Terra Pines is an Australian trio comprised of Kelly Hanlon (guitar/vocals), Owen Dengate (guitar/vocals) and Cameron Smith (drums/vocals).

Playful genre descriptions aside, the Aussie outfit make powerful, fuzz-filled guitar tunes and just this month, have released their self-titled album. The album is fronted by rambunctious new single ‘Dream Big’; a perfect intro and one that will have you scooting straight over to the new album. An absolutely brilliant three minutes of fuzzed-up-noise, ‘Dream Big’ is tempered by her lilting vocals, while gritty guitars, heavy reverberating drums and rocking a crunchy, fuzz-heavy riff that rips through the track. For all the powerhouse pieces of post punk, shoegaze and grunge, there is a subtle seam of dreampop running through its core, eking out a near perfect space between sludge, fuzz and hazy pop.

Tune into ‘Dream Big’ below and if it is too your liking, why not check out Terra Pines’ debut record here.

THYLA – ‘Blame’

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Brighton foursome THYLA have steadily been building a rep for rousing indie-rock barnstormers and super new single ‘Blame’, thankfully does little to dispel this assertion.

Pairing biting pop hooks to soaring stellar indie rock riff, THYLA flit between grunge and dream-pop and charging forward with a thunderous bassline, ‘Blame’ packs quite a punch straight from the off. This thundering three-minutes is propelled onward on the back of crashing cymbals, energetic riffs and crisp guitar lines but Millie Duthie’s vocals – powerful, hard-hitting and self-aware – are equal to it all as they soar above; the icing on the cake. An all too alluring mix of power and precision, and the right amount of catchy hook.

Tune in now.

The Pink Dust – ‘Mary Weather’

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The Pink Dust is an alternative rock band formed by Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas and Cliff Littlefield in 2014, the same year their self-titled debut album was released.

Together, the Pink Dust create a big, full-blooded indie-rock sound, propelled by winding, mind bending and meaty riffs that tread where others dare not. Their latest single ‘Mary Weather’ is a raucous, fuzz-filled two minutes forty five of screeching riffs, pummelling drums and crashing symbol, and this freewheeling frenzy tempered perfectly by the melodic and hushed vocals above. There are touches of The Vines, Royal Blood and The Rascals in parts – the former’s ability to make super catchy but rockin’ tunes is especially prevalent.

‘Mary Weather’ is lifted from the duo’s third album, Ming, which was released on April 5, 2018.

If you haven’t done so already, you can check out the mighty ‘Mary Weather’ now, just hit play below.

 

 

Lord Salamander – ‘Sun Circle’

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I feel compelled to point you directly in the direction of this track for fear of losing you in the preamble, and thus you losing out on hearing this tune. Bear with me, it will be worth it.

Itching out from slabs of solid rock, burnt inside-out by the Southern-California-chemical-sun, comes the manic music of Lord Salamander – a foursome with devilish knack for cooking up powerfully potent and unconventional, yet irresistible psych-rock. Their latest ‘Sun Circle’ – lifted from their debut split with Garm will be out via Data Room Records on June 22 – sprawling barrage of relentless, spiralling freakout with the devil. Extraordinary searing riffs, unnatural rhythms cut through swaying bass lines, while a caustic barrage of drums keeps the unrelenting electrifying juggernaut on track, screeching through serrated layers of sonic energy. ‘Sun Circle’ is breathtaking, potent and feverish – and best consumed at high volumes.

Lord Salamander’s debut split with Garm will be out via Data Room Records on June 22. Tune into ‘Sun Circle’ below:

Melody’s Echo Chamber Announces New Album; Shares ‘Breathe In, Breathe Out’

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Melody’s Echo Chamber aka Melody Prochet has announced that her long-awaited second album, follow up to her sublime, self-titled 2012 debut, will be released in June.

The first sampling of the new material is ‘Breathe In, Breathe Out’, and it all that we would have hoped for and some. Losing none of it’s predecessors preference for dreamy and psychedelic sounds, ‘Breathe In, Breathe Out’ is an imaginative and colourful psychedelic pop song with layers of shimmering synth, frazzled electronics, fuzzed-up guitar and gritty bass tones. Echoing much of Prochet’s previous work, it is a song as joyous as a summery breeze as her recognisable soft but euphoric vocals flutter above the glittering floods of surging psychedelia which veer off into a cascading mesh of experimental, spaced-out sounds. A tremendous return which lives up to all that came before while promising much, much more.

‘Breathe In, Breathe Out’ comes with an animated video from Daniel Foothead. Watch and listen below.

New album Bon Voyage will be released on June 15 via Domino / Fat Possum Records.

Hover Bored – ‘Safe Side’

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Formed in Wakefield, but now based in Manchester, Hover Bored are a quartet with a flair for fuzzy concoctions of grunge and scuzzy power-pop.

They play fast, energetic and loud, something abundantly clear upon hearing their scorching new single ‘Safe Side’. Musically, it’s a whirlwind of crunchy guitars, searing riffs, rolling bass, crashing drums and bratty vocals. These coalesce amid a sea of fuzz into a fiercely infectious two-minutes plus some. Calling to mind the likes of Dinosaur Pile-Up, Fidlar, Honey Lung and King Nun, they deliver a meaty, undeniably infectious cut of grungey wizardry. This is a foursome who do a rather redoubtable trade in the seriously potent scuzzy grungey/power-pop stakes.

‘Safe Side’ is out now, tune in below:

Eva et Ménades – ‘Le brouillard de l’alcool’

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Parisian duo Eva et Ménades do a fine line is creating great, compelling pop-rock – it is pop-rock with plenty of catchy hooks but with a raw menace to it.

The pair’s latest single ‘Le brouillard de l’alcool’ is a case in point, sounding both dangerous and irresistible catchy. The punky-rock-pop is a doozy with the primal assault led by a menacing buzzsaw riff, meaty bass, shuddering synths, screeching, glass shattering vocals – by the time the latter kicks in, resistance is futile. The formula of quiet building to epic proportions is eked out to the max and passing by at a whirlwind pace, leaving the listener struggling to catch a breathe. A compelling, full-blooded no nonsense sub three minutes of primal energy.

Watch the video for ‘Le brouillard de l’alcool’ below – and hopefully there’s more similarly brilliant belters to come in the near future.

Lauren Ruth Ward – ‘Blue Collar Sex Kitten’

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Lauren Ruth Ward kicked off 2018 on the front foot, releasing her debut album Well, Hell, and that has been followed by a string of super singles.

First off was ‘Sheet Stain’, which we found Lauren Ruth Ward in fine but a little rowdy and loud, form. The Baltimore bred, Los Angeles based singer/songwriter has followed that with ‘Blue Collar Sex Kitten’ – a powerful blow of snarling rock ‘n’ roll fury, and my, hear her roar! It is a primal scream of pent up frustration, exploding into life grabbing you by the ears, shaking you furiously and demanding you pay attention. Crunching riffs, scorching vocals, driving electric guitar in sways of distortion and fuzz, rolling drums and biting back beat all conspire to create a rock ‘n’ roll roar of release of pure energy. A blistering blow of rock ‘n’ roll power.

‘Blue Collar Sex Kitten’ is below. If you dig what you hear, Lauren Ruth Ward’s debut album Well, Hell is available here.

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