On her first full-length release with One Little Indian, “Resolve” explores life’s constant challenges, and many of the songs are extremely personal.
In Ackroyd’s own words: “Resolve is about the determination to embrace the good things in life whilst dealing with unexpected and challenging difficulties. Finding the light in the dark, facing sadness and loss head on, and developing a growing inner strength.”
‘Trains’, the lead single from the album, simulates the sounds, movement, speed and changing scenery of a train journey. The track’s accompanying time-lapse video has won numerous awards, including the Gold Movie Awards and South London Shorts.
In contrast to Ackroyd’s previous albums, for which the artist manipulated field recordings, Ackroyd has this time employed guest players on the record, in conjunction with her trademark and unique use of unconventional studio methods. Ackroyd creates percussive textures from traditional classical instruments, and the result is almost the emulation of an entire orchestra, using very few instruments combined with the artist’s incredible production skills.
On opening track ‘Paper’, the musician creatively recorded and manipulated experimental beats, born from using paper over piano strings. The principal melody on ‘Stems’ was created using a combination of pianino (a very small toy piano) and wine glasses. The piece sound-tracked a BAFTA winning short animation by Ainslie Henderson. Ackroyd plays a combination of both upright and grand piano, and even plays the inside of the instrument using fingers, drumsticks and plectrums – and then arranges and multi-tracks the resulting sounds. The artist employed the same technique to record herself playing violin, pianino, harmonium and spinet, as well as record other musicians who played cello, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and hang. Describing this process, Poppy said: “With the other musicians, I asked them to explore the instrument and to create as many weird and wonderful sounds as they could. I then spent hours sifting through the recordings and choosing sounds and short percussive ideas that I could rearrange and build the track from. The opening of ‘The Calm Before’ is built out of the clicking of clarinet keys and ‘Quail’ starts with eerie sounding harmonics.”
Although a keen collaborator outside of her solo work – having created soundtracks for film, dance, physical theatre and radio – this is the first record for which Poppy has written for and employed other players,including Manu Delago (Bjork, Cinematic Orchestra, Anoushka Shankar) playing hang, Mike Lesirge (Bonobo, Andreya Triana) playing clarinets and flute, and Jo Quail on cello.
Through studying contemporary classical piano works and listening to electronic music, Ackroyd quickly developed her signature compositional style on previous albums, using contemporary pianistic ideas whilst also inhabiting the world of sound beyond the keyboard, using extended techniques to ‘play’ other parts of the instruments as well. The intelligent artist works by recording improvised contemporary classical piano motifs and then rearranging and manipulating these sounds digitally. The result is a fantastic fusion of acoustic and electronic in a post-classical setting.
The official video for Poppy Ackroyd’s new single ‘Paper’. Paper is taken from the new album ‘Resolve’.
Shamir has released a surprise 8-track album called Resolution. A heavy, guitar-leaning effort, the album follows Shamir’s recent “double A-side” single “Room,” which is now also available on his Bandcamp. Last year, Shamir released his album Revelations on Father Daughter Records after a dispute with XL Records.
He also shared his new previously-announced 7″ EP called Room. The latter features the title track on the A-side and “Caballero” on the B-side. Listen to both projects below. Resolution marks the singer’s third album in two years, following last November’s Revelations and last April’s Hope (which was also surprise released). Shamir and Mac DeMarco are set to release a joint 7″ vinyl for Record Store Day 2018(April 21st), featuring their respective covers of Beat Happening songs. Its pointedly political and personal. The opener, “I Can’t Breathe,” paints a chilling picture of police brutality and the lack of consequences perpetrators often face with heavy allusion to Eric Garner and Tamir Rice. “Panic” and “Dead Inside” deals frankly with anxiety and depression, and Shamir made sure mental health has been at the forefront of conversations about his new music.
Since self-releasing Hopeon SoundCloud in April 2017, Shamir has improved as a songwriter across each project, tackling heavy topics both personal and social with deftness and grace. The guitar tone and production on Resolutionare gritty and textural, a perfect juxtaposition for his feathery falsetto, making it a fascinating record both thematically and sonically.
Shamir has returned from whence he came, with two new songs that celebrate this one of a kind artist’s love of country music. Out now on Father/Daughter Records both as a limited 7” vinyl and digital release, Room features the first two new tracks from Shamir since the DIY darling’s critically acclaimed November 2017 album Revelations. The two songs onRoom are produced by Big Taste, the Los Angeles based songwriter, producer, and vocalist who has worked with Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, and Adam Lambert.
The A-side is the twang tinged title track, which has the accidental popstar self-harmonizing in an upbeat ode to the stillness & confusion depression can bring. It’ll move both your heart and your hips wildly in unison. The B-side is the galloping “Caballero” with a guitar riff that runs like a wild stallion off into the sunset. Shamir kicks-up desert dust with relatable lyrics like “Cuz I don’t wanna be in like with you because it turns to love and all lovers do is fall out of love, cuz everything ends and you’re stuck having to begin again.”
Released March 9th, 2018 Shamir , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Decemberists have shared the second single from their forthcoming eighth studio album, I’ll Be Your Girl, out on March 16th via Capitol Records.
Their first single, “Severed,” saw the band taking on a radical new electronic, synth-pop sound as they name dropped unexpected influences like Roxy Music, New Order and Depeche Mode, and they even said it started as a punk song. Synths follow the band into their new single “Once In My Life” though the acoustic guitar-led intro and outro give off the familiar comfort of a traditional Decemberists track. However, sandwiched in between the song’s edges is a spacey, synth-driven track that somehow manages to coexist with the indie-folk balladry of front man Colin Meloy’s lead vocals.
Meloy said the track was elevated by the band in the studio and he commented, “We were playing that on the road as a folk-rock anthem thing, but bringing in that obliterating synth really took it somewhere different. The whole band really stepped up and transformed these arrangements.”
New album ‘I’ll Be Your Girl’ available March 16th:
This thing, this molten piece of spectacular extravagance, is available for pre-order now and will ship no later than June 15th, 2018. No fear: each pre-order will come with a digital download of the album that can be redeemed on March 16 (the four extra tracks will be available for digital download on the shipping date).
FEATURES:
• Sixteen songs — all eleven of the album tracks + four exclusive tracks from the IBYG sessions
• Eight 7” vinyl records, each a different color
• Nine sleeve pinwheeling, heavy duty cardstock book with slide-out record jacket pockets, full color art from Carson Ellis and paper engineered pop-up elements
• Full color booklet SIGNED BY THE BAND
• Lives tidily inside a hefty chipboard slipcase.
(Plus a few special secrets)
“Once In My Life” is the first song on I’ll Be Your Girl. I imagine you’ve felt this way, or are maybe feeling this way right now. It’s a pretty universal sentiment, I think. Embrace it. Hope you enjoy the song. – Colin Meloy
The Decemberists are back! Their band members include drummer Joen Moen, guitarists Chris Funk and Colin Meloy who takes lead vocals, multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk and Nate Query playing bass.
This year sees the release of their latest album; I’ll Be Your Girl. And so, you can catch them showing off their new material Fans are all very excited to get their hands on The Decemberists tickets,
Paul McCartney‘s 1971 album Ram was released as a FIVE disc deluxe edition released May 2012 in the US and UK . The deluxe edition continued the tradition of the 128-page linen-bound book and all audio content is newly remastered.
The second bonus CD will contain 8 numbers, including period outtakes, non-album tracks and b-sides, amongst them fan favourite A Love For You (only officially available – probably in a different mix – on The In-Laws soundtrack from 2003).
The third CD will see the first commercial issue of the mono mix of Ram – previously only a promo-only item at the time of release. Like The Beatles mono albums, this is a unique mix with subtle differences to what can be heard on the standard stereo mix.
The fourth CD will be the Thrillington album. An instrumental/orchestral version of the Ram album recorded in 1971 and produced by McCartney, but not released until 1977 (under the pseudonym of Percy “Thrills” Thrillington). It was reissued on CD in the mid-nineties but again under the same pseudonym. This Ram reissue will mark the first occasion that Thrillington has been officially released under the McCartney name.
A fifth disc is a DVD. The content looks rather slight (as per the McCartney deluxe edition video content) but will include home movie footage set to various Ram tracks. The biggest Deluxe Edition yet since the McCartney Archive Collection kicked off in October 2010. McCartney II was the previous best with 4 discs.
RAM, originally released in May of 1971, is the only album to be credited to both Paul and Linda McCartney and was Paul’s second post-Beatles LP. It was overshadowed at the time by the drama of the dissolution of The Beatles, as played out in the world’s media. The album topped the charts hitting #1 in the UK and #2 in the US. While RAM polarized critics upon its release, music fans and critics alike since have overwhelmingly embraced it, with Rolling Stone, for example, revising their original review up to 4 stars. Recently RAM has enjoyed even further re-appraisal and acknowledgement including a number of tribute albums.
RAM was written by Paul and Linda, mostly at their Scottish farm on the Mull of Kintyre. In the autumn of 1970 they flew to New York to start the recording process. Without a band in place they auditioned and drafted musicians, who included future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken.
The band completed the album in early 1971 along with non-album tracks ‘Another Day’ and ‘Oh Woman, Oh Why’ which were released together as Paul’s first post-Beatles single ahead of the release of RAM and became a Top 5 global hit. The multi-disc editions of the RAM reissue include both songs as bonus tracks. The album also gave Paul his first post-Beatles US number 1 single with ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ and a Grammy win for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists.
RAM was also issued in mono with alternate mixes, which were only made available to radio stations at the time. This version has gone on to become one of the most sought after McCartney collectables. It will now be commercially available for the first time ever on CD as part of the Deluxe Edition as well as a limited run on vinyl.
1977 saw the release of Thrillington, an instrumental interpretation of RAM, which was originally recorded in 1971 at London’s Abbey Road Studios and was arranged by Richard Hewson. It was released under the pseudonym Percy ‘Thrills’ Thrillington, an unknown eccentric socialite who often cropped up in mysterious newspaper classifieds. In reality Percy was a character devised by Paul and Linda. The idea behind it was simply to have some fun and the concept of doing a full orchestral album was an ambition long held by Paul.
The additional film content features previously unreleased and exclusive content including the brand-new documentary, “Ramming” narrated by Paul, as well as the original music videos for “Heart Of The Country” and “3 Legs”.
The remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the same team who recently remastered the complete Beatles‘ catalogue.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is an album from a long, long time ago, when the world was different. This is an album that is part of history, it goes back to the wee hills of Scotland where it was formed. It’s an album called RAM. It reminds me of my hippie days and the free attitude with which it was created. I hope you’re going to like it, because I do!”Paul McCartney, 2012 The latest album from Paul’s iconic back catalogue to get the deluxe Paul McCartney Archive Collection treatment.
As with the previous releases in the series, Paul has personally overseen every aspect of the project and the result is spectacular.
RAMforms one part of the Paul McCartney archive collection, personally supervised by Paul and newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios. RAM, originally released in May of 1971, is the only album to be credited to both Paul and Linda McCartney. The album topped the charts hitting number one in the UK and number two in the US, and also gave Paul his first post-Beatles US number one single with “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” and a Grammy win for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists.
This special edition includes:
• The original 12-track album, remastered at Abbey Road Studios
• 8 bonus audio tracks
• Remastered mono album (previously unreleased commercially)
• Remastered Thrillington album, the instrumental cover version of RAM originally released under the pseudonym of Percy “Thrills” Thrillington
• Bonus DVD featuring:
– Ramming (11-minute documentary on the making of RAM)
– Heart Of The Country (music video)
– 3 Legs (music video)
– Hey Diddle (Paul & Linda performing the track in Scotland, not used before in its entirety)
– Eat At Home On Tour (4 minute piece using behind the scenes footage from the 1972 European Tour with a live recording of the track Eat At Home from Groningen in Holland)
• All set within a numbered hardbound box containing a 112-page book, 32-page scrapbook, 5 prints in vintage style photographic wallet, 8 full size facsimiles of Paul’s original handwritten lyric sheets and mini photographic book of outtakes from the original album cover photo shoot.
• 24bit 96kHz high resolution audio versions of all 20 songs on the remastered album & bonus audio disc, accessed via a download code inserted on a card within the deluxe edition package.
We’ll admit that other than the near-perfect track “Maybe I’m Amazed,” Paul McCartney’s 1970 debut solo album was pretty weak. However, his second attempt, 1971’s “Ram,” was unfairly grouped together with its predecessor. Jon Landau of Rolling Stone called it “so incredibly inconsequential and so monumentally irrelevant” and “unbearably inept” while trashing nearly every track. Elsewhere, Q described it as “frustratingly uneven,” Robert Christgau simply said it’s “a bad record” and NME settled on the term “mediocre.” Even Playboy wouldn’t recommend playing it. Fans had a different opinion. They helped the tune “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” become McCartney’s first No. 1 single as a solo artist, heavily supported the singles “The Back Seat of My Car” and “Eat at Home” and caused critics to re-evaluate their stances on the album. More recently, publications have not only cited “Ram” as a predecessor of indie pop but also as one of the former Beatle’s best solo works.
Last year Swedish indie rock outfit Hater released not only their great debut album “You Tried” (which was among my best albums of the year list) but also the EP with Red Blinders.
The band recently stopped into the Danish studio Tapetown to record a “Live At Tapetown” session, giving us a heavenly version of Red Blinders track “Blushing.” Fans of Alvvays should look no further, these guys will be among your new favorite bands. Hater performed the set in Aarhus a few weeks back for a headlining set in TAPE. They were positively grinning from ear to ear when Hater was up for doing a Live At Tapetown session . If you were one of the lucky few who happened to be there, you got a great lil’ show. It might have been the first time they’d performed in Aarhus . The rest of the indie-savvy scene is catching on to them. This might help if you’re new to the ball.
Dan Lyons was previously better known as drummer for South London post-punkers Phobophobes. He has now stepped out on his own as a solo artist, releasing his debut single “Big Moon.” It has a bit of a a classic 80’s songwriter sound but amps things up with a distinct sound and atmosphere heightened by sharp guitar work, haunting backing vocals and some wonderfully placed violin. There’s a bit of The Cure heard throughout this track and that certainly isn’t a bad thing.
The song is out now via Shaker Records and can be bought over at his Bandcamp, along with b-side “22nd Century Boy”.” Lyons will also be making the trip to SXSW next week .
Dan Lyons – Lead Guitar/ Vocals/ Drums Freya Warsi – Vocals/ Tambourine Jack Fussey – Electric/ Acoustic Guitar Robin McCready – Bass Gameliel Rendle Traynor – Cello
Both Sides Of The Sky is the final volume in a trilogy of albums (with 2010’s Valleys of Neptune and 2013’s People, Hell and Angels) intended to present the best and most significant unissued studio recordings remaining in the Jimi Hendrix’s archive. The album features appearances by Stephen Stills, Johnny Winter, and LonnieYoungblood and includes 10 studio tracks that have never seen release. available on CD, digital, and as a numbered 180-gram audiophile vinyl 2LP.
Experience Jimi Hendrix like you never have before: A new John Vondracek-directed music video was unveiled on Friday, featuring a previously unreleased song from the late artist, titled “Lover Man” The music video features archival footage of the legendary guitarist performing the song on his iconic “Flying V” guitar, cut between montages of home movies and photographs from Hendrix’s studio sessions. All of this is seen through a trippy, kaleidoscope-like filter.
The psychedelic music video came along with the release of the new Hendrix album titled Both Sides of the Sky, announced last year. This Eddie Kramer-produced album .
Hendrix apparently inserted the theme of the ‘60s-era TV series Batman into this particular recording. This segment can be heard starting at 1:43. The musician would reportedly add these guitar licks to his music to keep things interesting during long recording sessions. “He’d do something really silly and stupid and everybody would be cracking up,” Hendrix’s producer Eddie Kramer “He wanted to keep it light. He’d also do it to change it up a bit and inevitably those lines would work themselves into songs, and that’s Jimi’s sly humor.”
Me Not You, the project started by Nikki Taylor and Eric Zeiler, have developed into one of the best indie success stories in recent memory. Their debut single, “Bulletproof”, became a viral hit with nearly 5 million streams on YouTube and counting. Since that momentous day, they’ve played to sold-out venues across the US and opened for Gary Numan on a handful of dates. To keep the momentum going, they released their second EP, Reckoning 2,
The record showcases are band that is not only maturing, but also getting bolder. A band willing to take a few chances in the name of their art. Whereas “Bulletproof” was a trip-hop / electro-pop track, Reckoning is more electro-rock. They exchanged the delirium of their beginnings for a heavier, darker, and edgier approach. It is the sound of a band not prepared to stay in neutral.
Opener “Surfers” immediately opens the doors to Me Not You’s new approach. The synths take a back seat to the coarse rhythms and searing electric guitar, which drive the melody. A haunting chill, as such, develops and envelopes around Taylor’s vocals, who recalls a chance encounter not too long ago that would change her life. Like the band’s reinvention, the song represents Taylor’s awakening. Both transformations continue on the mystifying and cosmic “Talking To Myself”. The tantalizing and trippy “Chemical Cure”, meanwhile, sees the band slightly channel their early day with a Phantogram-meets-Crystal Castles synth number, but Taylor’s message of continuing down this new path remains.
The delicate ballad, “Eventually”, is most straightforward track on the EP, but for original fans it is a welcome treat. With “Everafter”, however, Me Not You take us to the far reaches of the galaxy on this stunning interstellar love song. It commences with a breathtaking introduction before intensifying slightly to make us feel like we’re drifting aimlessly through asteroid belts and pass distant planets. The stark bass line and beats and the shallow strikes of the electric guitar take the song to its dazzling heights.
The record closes with “Straw Man”, which is the band going outside its comfort zones. Suspenseful, brooding, and dark, the duo craft a political song set in the future. As the deep echoes of the bass and beats throb in the background, Taylor tells the tale of the rise of a tyrant whose sole intention is to reign unopposed. Who wants to cut us down to feed his insatiable thirst for power. With more songs like this and more steps into bolder territory, the stars are the limit for Me Not You, and they will be the ones who reign over our hearts and minds.
Dreams, so we’ve been told, only occur while we sleep . For No Vacation, the bedroom is where everything started, and now they’re living their dreams. The guitar-pop quintet have in a short period achieved a cult status within the indie community, leading them to move from their hometown of San Francisco to the music mecca of Brooklyn. During their transition from one coast to the other, they wrote and recorded their latest EP, the aptly titled “Intermission”, which, well, sounds like it came from the bedroom.
At a succinct sixteen minutes, Intermission is a stunning and immediate affair. From the soothing melodies and jangly guitar riffs to the thoughtful songwriting, the record is like a letter written to you from your best friend. Or in this day and age, it’s akin to your BFF sending you a steady stream of text messages sent over the course of a day. The warm and embracing “Yam Yam” kicks off the EP, and it reintroduces the world to the comforts of No Vacation’s bedroom pop. The interplay between the clean guitar lines and the deep echo of the bass yields a groovy yet spellbinding ambiance while the percussion work is smartly executed. They set the canvas for front woman Sabrina Mai’s whispery vocals and endearing lyrics, which are words a best friend would say to someone in need or in trouble.
The air gets steamy with “You’re Not With Me”, an extremely intimate ballad of the unbreakable bond between two lovers, friends, or family. It’s No Vacation’s goodbye to the people they are leaving behind, but who will never be forgotten. After the short piano interlude “Intermission”, the band make an escape from death sound like a day at the beach with “Reaper”. The shimmering guitar-pop melody and Mai’s feathery vocals mask the seriousness of the lyrics. “I’ve got to get away, get away from this place”, Mai sings with her own delicate urgency.
The EP’s closer, “Mind Fields”, possesses a similar groovy, carefree spirit. This song, however, is about a break-up that occurred early in the band’s evolution. Although Mai’s lyrics are biting, a feeling of relief from being unshackled is felt in her voice.
Although “Mind Fields” is recalls a moment of heartbreak, it’s final words leave to interpretation that the song could mean much more. Maybe it’s the band’s way of saying they will one day return to the Bay area. Maybe they’re telling us that for all the struggles of the past they cannot wait for what the future holds. Or maybe it’s a subtle way to say they are living their dreams, and they won’t let these moments pass.
Intermission is out now via Topshelf Records, and it is available for purchase on Bandcamp as well as on the other usual streaming and online music stores.
No Vacation are Sabrina Mai (vocals/guitar), Marisa Saunders (bass), Nat Lee (synths), Harrison Spencer (guitar), and James Shi (drums).
