Following on from our 10th Birthday at the end of 2016, and before the release of our upcoming fourth album ‘What We Might Know’ in March 2018, we’ve been looking back and taking stock, and it turns out we’ve come a helluva long way in the last 11+ years!
We’ve found there are quite a few interesting bits and pieces sitting in the archives that either haven’t previously had a proper release (eg, Beer Drunk Soul), are an alternative earlier version of an established favourite, a chaotic live track (embryonic live version of A Darkness Rises Up), or just a curio that gives a bit of insight as to how a particular track came about (‘Mandolin Song, Basel’). So as it’s the end of the year, and before we get on with the serious business of the new record in the Spring, we thought you might like to join us for a bit of nostalgia from our last decade. And there’s always a tale to be told…
Merging a wall of noise with a keen ear for melody, La Bête Blooms have grown from their shoegaze, reverb-drenched beginnings to become a force of guitar-driven pop. With Steve Lamacq, Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson and Tom Ravenscroft championing the birth of a more aggressive sound, Laverne summed up the bands transition perfectly: “Think Slowdive meeting Pixies, thrown in with a bit of Kurt Cobain’s Incesticide guitar and you pretty much have it”.
I Know It’s Nothing is an exercise in catharsis with a firmly set jaw and an ‘us against the world’ mentality. The band’s desire to prove their worth with a unique take on life up north echoes their home city of Hull’s sentiments. La Bête Blooms are entwined with the region’s hard work to prove preconceptions wrong, and their name, created in a similar way to Bowie’s renowned song-writing ‘cut up’ method, translates as ‘The Beast Blooms’.
Frontman Daniel Mawer tells us what the EP is about: “I Know It’s Nothing is a collection of songs covering anxiety, depression, northern defiance and Hull as City of Culture! Making this EP was really cathartic and our favourite work to date,
Following on from her critically lauded 2013 album, “Crystal World,” Ladytron’s Marnie continues to develop her very own take on a modern pop sound through the release of “Strange Words And Weird Wars.” Comprised of ten pulsating tracks, “Strange Words And Weird Wars “showcases the most impressive elements of Marnie’s incarnation as a solo artist along with those that made her band, Ladytron, one of the most respected pioneers in electronic music; soul crushing synths are wonderfully accented by hook-laden choruses as Marnie boldly explores up-tempo electro dream-pop.
Marnie’s ability to effortlessly play with genres becomes more and more apparent as you work your way through what is such a sonically impressive record. Tracks such as ‘Girls’ expertly creates the immediacy of Ladyhawke’s best work, with ‘Electric Youth’ channeling 80’s mall pop; a glorious guilty pleasure and one of the stand-out tracks on the album. Introspection comes in the form of the shoegaze-inspired ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’, giving the air of an unreleased b-side from a cult vampire movie, while forthcoming single “Lost Maps” is a pop classic in the making; a single that should be heard on dance floors all over the world.
After moving back to Glasgow in September 2012, after many years living in London, Marnie continued to write music following the success of her solo project and subsequent album release in 2013. Influenced by life, love, loss, politics and all things 80’s pop, Marnie has created an album that has an intelligence and a depth behind what, on the surface, is a melodic contemporary pop record. With support having already come from tastemakers like Pitchfork, Pop Matters and Under The Radar, Marnie will be looking to build upon this through the release of her second solo record; an album that will rightly be deemed one of the most anticipated of 2017
The fourth album from the Denver soft-rockers Tennis is their finest yet, a distillation of sunny ‘70s pop, Fleetwood Mac, and Laura Nyro into a breezy album that sounds like the trip to Mexico they took to make this album. That calm exterior masks words that cut deep though; Alaina Moore’s lyrics are centered around the tension that comes from giving yourself over to someone else in a relationship and the calculations you’re constantly making about your own thoughts and feelings.
It’s immediately clear from the reverb-heavy trip of opener ‘Easy Does It’ that Dialectic of Ignorance is altogether a different beast. Euphorically defying spatial constraint, brothers Jennings, Van and Lain Carney instead opt to guide each song along its own cosmic trajectory: confident in the outcome, but even more excited to enjoy the ride.
Bloody-knuckled basslines bring a snarling Desert Session groove to ‘Ignorance Makes Me High’ and ‘Herb IsMy Next Door Neighbor’, whilst woozy Gilmour-esque vocal harmonies imbue ‘Hidden Prettiness’ and ‘Youth and Age’ with a psychoacoustic dose of cerebral inertia. Those who have seen the brothers perform live know of their ability to harmonize, but Dialectic of Ignorance is the first album in which this talent is showcased in every song. ‘We Fucked Up’ is a pedal to the metal stoner-psych opus, while ‘Tomorrow Is Forgotten’ burns hot and slow; potent from the first note whilst relentlessly cranking up the intensity.
Pontiak grew up and live on farms in rural Virginia. Dialectic of Ignorance’s expansive structures echo the rugged, hazy climbs of this Blue Ridge Mountain.
This came out at the very end of last year, this is an assured, maybe twee but formidable, colloquial but eloquent, sad but self-aware, Emma Lee Toyoda’s debut LP is a study in the kinds of contrast that cast light on the emotions the songs evoke. The melodies, harmonies, and instrumental arrangements are ambitious and surprising, and the words rest in unfussy service to the sounds that surround them. Above all, this record sounds young and serious in the best way—which is to say not self-serious. These songs still know how to swoon. Seattle-based semi-nocturnal sadgirlrock backed by Adelyn Westerholm (violin), Veronica Johanson (harmonies), Khyre Matthews (bass) and Zeke Bender (drums)
all songs written, composed, co-mixed & anxiously nitpicked by Emma
all drum parts composed by Zeke “No Nonsense” Bender *
violin part on Seasick composed mostly (against her will) by Adelyn Westerholm
With their latest effort, “ism”, Steelism offers a more holistic listening experience, inspired by mid- century modern design, early Brian Eno productions and 70s film scores. They also introduce featured vocalists into their instrumental canon for the first time.
“We pieced together ism like a visual mid-century modern design – an array of vibrant colors and tones aligned together while constantly striving for minimalism, even as the production grew.”
ism, was co-produced by guitarist Jeremy Fetzer, pedal steel player Spencer Cullum (together known as Steelism) and Jeremy Ferguson (Lambchop, Tristen, Andrew Combs). recording began in November 2016, with the divisive results of the U.S. Presidential election just in. Respite was found through the creative process while holed up at Ferguson’s Battle Tapes Recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The usual Steelism rhythm section, Jon Radford (drums) & Jon Estes (bass), and Robbie Crowell (formerly of Deer Tick) on keys are heard throughout the record. Legendary “Nashville Cat” studio musician Charlie McCoy (Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde) on vibraphone & harmonica and a lush string quartet provide the finishing instrumental touches.
Fetzer and Cullum say the vision for ism was to curate a listening experience similar to that of a film soundtrack. To bring this vision to realization, they wrote 3 songs with vocal melodies to compliment the instrumental compositions. Fellow Nashvillians Tristen, Ruby Amanfu, Andrew Combs & Jessie Baylin, who appear as featured vocalists on the album, were then brought in as collaborators. Tristen finished the lyrics that Cullum had started for “Shake Your Heel”, a song about overcoming modern anxieties. Amanfu provided the words for “Roulette”, a tune inspired by John Barry’s legendary James Bond scores and Fela Kuti recordings. Combs, a longtime friend and writing partner of Steelism, penned the lyrics for “Lonely Game”, which ultimately evolved into a duet with Baylin in the style of Lee Hazelwood’s LHI recordings.
Steelism – “Lonely Game” (feat. Andrew Combs & Jessie Baylin),
This is a understated mostly instrumental project. I’m all about establishing the right tones and “moods” in songs, and from the moment you hit play on this project, “Ism”is a vibrant, exciting, inviting collection of music that’s essentially cinematic in its approach. Fine work gentlemen. Keep on experimenting – the music industry needs more creativity such as this right now. From Steelism’s new album, ism, available now via Intoxicating Sounds, distributed by Thirty Tigers.
Turntable Kitchen, a Seattle-based company that has a variety of delightful deals like a subscription that brings a bag of coffee beans and an exclusive 7” single to your door every month. Their most ingenious offer though is the Sounds Delicious series, a club that releases limited edition records featuring a current artist covering a full album from the past. To date, that has included Ben Gibbard performing all of Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque and Yumi Zouma covering the second Oasis album.
More recently, Turntable Kitchen unveiled a version of The Cure’s sophomore studio work Seventeen Seconds, as interpreted by Frankie Rose and pressed onto a gorgeous piece of blood red vinyl. She and producer/co-conspirator Jorge Elbrecht don’t mess with the formula of these songs much, sticking close to the original arrangements even as they throw a little sunlight and modern synth sounds at them. Somehow it doesn’t deter from the creeping dread and downcast glances that Robert Smith and co. exhibited in 1980. The mood is deepened considerably by the surprisingly great pressing of this record. Rose and Elbrecht’s work comes out full and enrapturing, with her tart vocals cleanly cutting through the mix.
Cult Scottish miserabilists The Just Joans released their first new album in more than a decade, following the band’s signing to Fika Recordings. Formed in Glasgow in 2005, The Just Joans have evolved from a shambling two-piece to an accomplished sextet that embraces rivalry and relationship in the vocals of siblings, David and KatiePope. Once described as ‘the missing link between The Magnetic Fields and The Proclaimers’, the band have used self-awareness and self-deprecation to continuously explore themes of angst, heartbreak and detachment in their songs. From their 2006 debut albumLast Tango in Motherwellthrough a series of successful EPs, to 2012’s compilation Buckfast Bottles In The Rain, the acerbic wit in David Pope’s observational lyrics have helped make the band a firm favourite of the indie-pop scene. Their rise has seen them play a plethora of international festivals, such as Wales Goes Pop, Indiefjords, NYC Popfest, and of course the Indietracks festival, of which they have been long-standing cult favourites since their first appearance in 2008.
The band are excited to release You Might Be Smiling Now…, a self-recorded and produced collection of new songs. The release offers more of the same cynicism, but from an older if not necessarily wiser perspective as evidenced on lead single No Longer Young Enough and You Make Me Physically Sick (Let’s Start Having Children) is a jaundiced slice of toybox pop that crosses The Human League and Harold Steptoe. Complementing this shift in tone comes a more polished electronic sound on tracks A Matter of Time and Someone Else That You Like More Than Me while O’ Caledonia sails along at a blistering pace like no Just Joans lament before it. Despite the band’s obvious maturity, You Might Be Smiling Now... still manages to maintain all the emotional charm and whimsical melodies that led The List to view The Just Joans as ‘a lovable blend of sleepy acoustic guitars, Brian Wilson-esque harmonies and West Coast sarcasm.’
Fresh from touring with Scottish Fiction stalwarts Mt. Doubt, vocalist and guitarist Annie Booth will released her solo debut LP ‘An Unforgiving Light’ in October 2017.
A joint venture from Scottish Fiction and Last Night From Glasgow, the record is an ambitious solo effort of puncturing melody and raw lyricism in the vein of alt-rock titan Jeff Buckley, marked by the contrasts of folk roots paired with alt-rock backing, and urgent instrumentation contrasted with introspective vocals.
The album starts as it means to go on, opening with the honest and tender ‘Demons’. Annie introduces herself in the most personal fashion in a track weathered with vulnerability and reflection. From here, the record opens up to more sonic possibilities on ‘Over My’ and ‘Little Lies’, stretching Annie’s excellent vocal capabilities as the backing grows in stature and strength.
The record’s middle section tackles poignant universal issues such as apathy, anxiety, and a loss of faith, making it’s way through a wide variety of musical textures: from delicate arpeggios, to dynamic rhythms, to glacial hymn-like vocal climbs.
Perhaps ‘An Unforgiving Light’s greatest achievement comes when it reaches the crescendo of ‘Reverie’, a track which manages…more
