The Fat Angel Sings

On “Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind”, the kaleidoscopic full-length debut from Kate Bollinger, entire worlds lie in the small details. “When I’m recording a song,” the Charlottesville-born, now Los Angeles-based songwriter observes, “my indication of whether it’s worth pursuing is if I’m seeing a movie in my head to go along with it.” Blending classic pop songcraft with scrappy punk instincts, Bollinger casts a collage-like vision that’s instantly memorable and uniquely mystifying. Ranging from homespun folk songs to warmly rendered psychedelic rock—like early Rolling Stones as fronted by Hope Sandoval—the resulting album can feel like flipping through your coolest friend’s record collection.

In order to summon this majestic blend of styles, Bollinger spent years cultivating material, challenging herself to work with new collaborators while moving across the country from her native Virginia to California. Evolving the hermetic approach of her early EPs and solo performances, she arrived at a fuller sound based on intuitive responses and in-the-moment energy. “I came to this realization that most of my favourite music is the result of friends, or players who have known each other a long time, coming together and playing live in the room,” she observes. Armed with endless hooks and wildly shifting textures, Bollinger can seem as much like a songwriter as an art-house auteur, crafting the soundtrack and scenery for a non-existent movie. (Fittingly, Bollinger studied film in college, and she also directed the striking music video for Jessica Pratt’s recent single “World on a String.”)

Several highlights from the record were co-written with Spacebomb Records mastermind Matthew E. White, such as the jangle-pop gem “Any Day Now” and the theatrical “I See It Now.” After months of writing in Richmond and Los Angeles, Bollinger travelled to upstate New York to record with producer Sam Evian (Big Thief, Blonde Redhead, Cass McCombs), with whom she developed a similar kinship. Alongside her longtime friend and drummer Jacob Grissom, she formed a group of tight-knit collaborators able to match her wide-ranging inspiration, spanning from ’60s icons like Françoise Hardy and the Velvet Underground to ’90s touchpoints like No Doubt and Pavement. “In some way, this album feels like my musical debut. I feel that I’ve finally been able to express all sides of myself in one record.”

For Bollinger, the connective tissue between this disparate material is often unspoken but always deeply felt. “Songwriting is kind of like dreaming,” she explains. “They both tend to reveal to me what I don’t yet consciously know. I thought of the album title before most of the songs were written, but it became a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way that tends to happen in a lot of my music.” As a lyricist, Bollinger expresses herself through subtle imagery and surrealist stream-of-conscious narratives, allowing listeners to arrive at their own interpretation.

In the lilting, empathetic “To Your Own Devices,” she follows a sunswept melody to deliver a series of hushed, second-person observations: “Now you’re in a pinch/The mirror makes you flinch,” she sings. “And all this time, were you not making sense?”

In the baroque swirl of opener “What’s This About (La La La La),” Bollinger and her band conjure a sense of cartoonish whimsy that places her in league with the mystical pop greats of the Elephant 6 Collective, a scene whose idiosyncratic spin on the classic rock era helped inform the patchwork sprawl of her record. The haunting “Sweet Devil” smoulders like a jazz standard as interpreted by Feist at her smokiest and most intimate; the dramatic outro of “I See It Now” has a romping energy that feels suited for a climactic showdown at a saloon; the breezily psychedelic “Postcard From A Cloud” plays like a dreamworld collaboration between Teenage Fanclub and Broadcast,

Written during a period of transience and change, “Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind” was made to resemble a mixtape—something carefully crafted and delivered from just one person to another. In sharing this music with listeners, Bollinger took inspiration from her own formative encounters with art: quietly worshiping the early musical projects of her older brothers, attending local shows in Charlottesville and feeling empowered to write songs of her own, inheriting burned CDs from older classmates and finding a portal to another world.

“Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind” captures a rare sense of purpose and ambition for a debut record, managing to feel cozily familiar while still packed full of surprises. And in her gently playful and emotionally resonant performances, Bollinger sounds as enraptured by the mystery as anyone.

“To Your Own Devices” by Kate Bollinger from her album ‘Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind’, out September 27th on Ghostly International.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has unveiled a previously unreleased rendition of The English Beat’s 1982 hit “Save It for Later,” it is featured in the second episode of FX’s The Bear, season 3. This version, teased in the show’s trailer, marks Vedder’s contribution to the series, which has previously used Pearl Jam tracks like “Animal” and a live rendition of “Come Back” in earlier seasons.

Details about this new recording of “Save It for Later,” including the saxophone soloist, has not been fully disclosed yet. Eddie Vedder shared an image on Instagram of what appears to be a 7-inch vinyl single of “Save It for Later,” credited to his Seattle Surf Co. label. 

Pearl Jam has incorporated elements of the song into their performances of “Better Man” since 1996, and the new rendition concludes with Vedder briefly singing “can’t find a better man.”

“I think this might be my favourite song I have ever written, and it took a while to reveal itself,” Montreal singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk of “Southern Star” from his upcoming album “Revelation”. “I spent about two years waiting for the last verse to come. It was recorded in one live take with me on piano, Oliver on drums, Shahzad on bass and Angie, who happened to be in town, singing harmony. We added Rob Moose on strings and Cindy Cashdollar on steel guitar. I asked her to stretch out at the end, and, when she did, I just sat there in the control room, completely blown away.”

After I played this song solo on the final night of our last tour, my friend and sound engineer Harris Shper came up to me and said,”New song?” I said, “Yeah.” “Strings?” he asked. I said, “Yep.” He said, “Cindy on steel?” said, “Exactly.” He was hearing exactly what I was hearing in my head. I decided at that moment that he would record “Southern Star”.

The night before that show, I ran into Shazhad Ismaily (@ectoderm88) in NYC who added so much to my album “Twin Solitude”. I asked him to come back and play bass. He, myself and Olivier Fairfield, along with Anfie McMahon (who was serendipitously in NY) recorded the whole thing in one take at Dreamland Recording Studios The brilliant Rob Moose added strings. I saved the last few bars of the song for Cindy Cashdollar to play what I think is the most beautiful steel guitar solo l’ve eve heard.

Cindy Cashdollar will be joining us at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal this Friday.

directed/filmed by wondrous Kaveh Nabatian, with Michael Felber, Michael Feuerstack and Olivier Fairfield graciously helping breathe life into this music video. Ok I think that’s it.

I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did writing it and recording it. It might be my favourite song far. Happy summer X

Paul Weller rarely does the same thing twice. Twice in a row, at least. For his 17th album, which arrives one day shy of his 66th birthday, he’s created a lush and soulful world draped in swooning orchestration and featuring a wide range of cool friends and collaborators, not to mention a bunch of great new songs. That he manages to always find new places to go that fit within his amazing body of work — that includes The Jam and The Style Council — is arguably Weller’s biggest talent. Like 2021’s terrific “Fat Pop (Vol 1)”, “66” isn’t entirely beholden to a single style. There are rock songs “Jumble Queen,” written with Noel Gallagher), disco numbers “Flying Fish”, and Jaques Brel-style baroque “My Best Friend’s Coat,” a co-write with Le Superhomard) but the strings and horns and woodwinds — and Weller’s impeccable taste — tie it all together.

That said it’s the wistful, soulful numbers that really soar. “Nothing,” one of a few songs written with Madness frontman Suggs McPherson, is an instant classic, sounding a bit like a modern update on what Weller did in The Style Council, with jazzy chords, brass and psychedelic synth solos, set against ruminations of a long-lasting relationship

“Nothing forged our love / Out of nothing / Because it was only by / Having nothing / We were able to realise / We needed nothing else / But each other.” Mellow maybe, but Paul continues to throw heater after heater. May all of your heroes age this gracefully.

21st October 2024 – Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

Beak, the trio of drummer Geoff Barrow (Portishead), bassist Billy Fuller (Robert Plant’s Sensational Space Shifters) and keyboardist/guitarist Will Young (Moon Gangs), surprise-released what is easily the group’s best record yet which A) plays great as a seamless album experience, yet B) has plenty of standout cuts, and C) sports what will surely be my Album Cover of the Year when December comes. (That’s Barrow’s dog and band mascot Alfie, who passed on during the making of the album. RIP, Alf.) This trio have had a very distinctive style since day one — a murky, rhythmic mix from a wide variety of ’70s head music — but they have never sounded more in the zone than here.

While the group wouldn’t be Beak> without Barrow’s drumming and vocals, and Young’s woozy synths and arpeggiated guitar-work, it’s Fuller’s amazing bass lines that lift this one to the top of the heap. There’s a fungal, peat moss vibe to what they do (Fuller says Beak> sound like “we were coming out of the ground”) that carries across the variety of sounds found on >>>>, be it folk (“Hungry Are We”), Can-style grooves (“The Seal,” “Ah Yeh”), doomy prog (“Windmill Hill”) or claustrophobic synthwave (“Secrets”). Then there’s awesome closer “Cellophane” that starts off as a bad trip and ends in near-metal acid rock freakout. What they do is not for everyone, but if your brain is wired this way, put on some good headphones and get ready for Beak> to crack your egg.

Taken from the album 〉〉〉〉out now on Invada Records / Temporary Residence:

New York-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Jordan Lee, aka Mutual Benefit has today released of an album of demos of his acclaimed record “Growing at the Edges” (2023). The release of these intimate bedroom-recorded original versions of the big studio arrangements coincides with the start of his UK and European tour dates for March 2024, where he will be supported by label mate, Odetta Hartman.

Of the “Demos” release, Lee explains “The Growing at the Edges” demos were a return to my bedroom recording roots as a way to process my feelings during the lockdown in NYC. These are scrappy, intimate versions of the big chamber-folk arrangements on the studio versions”

Speaking about the upcoming tour dates, Lee says:

“I’m thrilled to announce our UK and European tour dates for next year. It’s been almost five years since the last tour abroad. I am looking forward to sharing the adapted live arrangements of “Growing at the Edges”.

Mutual Benefit have UK & European tour dates 2024 

Marika Hackman has a digitally release an acoustic versions EP of her fourth studio album, “Big Sigh”. Previously only available physically, the four-track EP featuring new versions of “No Caffeine”, “Hanging, Slime” and “Big Sigh”, which is now available on streaming platforms worldwide.

The CD version of “Little Sigh” is still available via Marika’s store as a ‘bonus CD’ item.

Marika will be touring North America this Autumn 

The WAEVE – composed of Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall – today announced details of their second studio album “City Lights“, set for release on 20^th September 2024.

Everybody knows Blur’s Graham Coxon is an amazing guitarist, but did you know he’s no slouch on saxophone either? He lets it bleat on both instruments on “City Lights,” the swoony new single from The WAEVE, his duo with partner Rose Elinor Dougall. This one starts pretty Blur-y, at times, in the indie-est of ways — Coxon’s guitar hook gnaws at the back of your head — but here comes the chorus and Dougall’s voice, which is as cinematic as it gets, and then the sax solo blows in straight out of 1985.

A year on from their acclaimed eponymous debut album, The WAEVE is back with “City Lights“, a collection of 10 songs that illustrate the evolution of their collaborative musicianship and sees the band’s sound solidified into something bolder, more expansive and self-assured.  The agitated, art-rock squall of first single, and title track, ‘City Lights’ is followed by the anthemic and expansive second single ‘You Saw.’

Graham and Rose said of the track – “‘You Saw’ is a song about acknowledging how seemingly tiny decisions can have a seismic impact on the course of one’s life, how sometimes it feels like the way things turn out are predestined. It’s about reconciling a past version with the new version of one’s self and being grateful for how things work out. It’s built around a rhythmic string line to reflect the sense of propulsive forward motion.”

Written by Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall, and produced once again by James Ford, City Lights features Graham and Rose on vocals, as well as keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drums and saxophone.

By the end he’s trading licks with himself on both instruments. It’s awesome but I do wonder how they will pull it off live?, To celebrate the release of ‘City Lights’, see The WAEVE perform tracks from the new album live in Rough Trade stores this September. All shows also include a signing session with the band.

20th September Liverpool. 21st September Nottingham, 23rd September Bristol

‘City Lights’ by The WAEVE is out now on Transgressive Records.

Whitelands is Etienne, Jagun, Vanessa and Michael.
Started by Etienne and Jagun in 2017. Vanessa joining in 2019 and completed by Micheal in 2021!. They recently released their debut single for Sonic Cathedral with “Born in Understanding”.

The London based quartet are busily crafting vulnerable, deeply moving shoegaze gold
 “With an array of unexpected textures, there’s barely a misstep to be found on this romantic, sumptuous record… a dizzying mesh of sound.”

Along with Deary they’re in the vanguard of contemporary dreampop that has enough edge to avoid evaporating into pretty sounds.  It’s got that dreamy soundscape and the gossamer vocals just under the surface.

Whitelands under exclusive licence to Sonic Cathedral debut Released on: 2024-02-23