The Fat Angel Sings

Pylon Reenactment Society is fronted by former Pylon front woman Vanessa Briscoe Hay, whose inimitable vocal textures and phrasing defined Pylon’s sound for most listeners. Pylon is considered to be one of the most influential bands at the beginnings of what would become known as the “Athens, GA music scene.” Over 30 years ago, Pylon, along with The B-52’s and R.E.M., were heavily featured in the original feature documentary, “Athens, GA: Inside/Out” propelling them into the international spotlight.

PRS formed in 2014 in what Hay thought would be one-off project for the group to perform for the event Art Rocks Athens. Since then, Pylon Reenactment Society has turned into a tight touring unit having performed at festivals and venues on both coasts and in the Southeast.

In addition to Hay, PRS is rounded out by Jason NeSmith (Casper & The Cookies) on guitar, Kay Stanton (Casper & The Cookies) on bass guitar and backing vocals, Damon Denton (Big Atomic) on keyboards, and Joe Rowe (The Glands) on drums. Pylon Reenactment Society released a 6-song EP, “Part Time Punks Session” on Henry Owings’ Chunklet Industries to rave reviews.

The two new original songs, “Messenger” and “Cliff Notes,” were recorded and mixed by NeSmith at his home studio; he mastered them at Chase Park Transduction. Adam Smith cut the acetate in Austin, Texas. The single is being pressed by Musicol in Ohio. “Messenger” is a mid tempo meditation on love, war and modern communication. “Cliff Notes” jumps in right in at breakneck speed. The lyrics mix silly dance moves with anti-racist admonitions for the precipice we find ourselves on today.

Hailing from the Central Coast of NSW, The Moving Stills bring an unpretentious charm to indie pop. Their sophomore album, ‘Wabi Sabi,’ reflects on personal and touring experiences, co-produced with Izaac Wilson. The album swings from upbeat celebrations of love, like “Drive Home” and “Best Friend,” to groove-based tracks such as “In Your City” and the title track.

Chronicling life on the road, “In Your City” reminisces about late-night drives and gigs.

Their down-to-earth energy extends to triple j’s Like A Version, where they covered Ladyhawke’s ‘My Delirium.’ Beyond the music, The Moving Stills unexpectedly went viral on TikTok in Feb 2022 with their cover of Tears For Fears’ ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World.’

“We wanted to keep the honesty there on this album, and write about our experiences and so we’ve been very open in expressing our feelings in these songs.”

Speaking about their debut album, the band shared, “We wanted to introduce new feelings and vibes, to those on our first record “Sunshine Corner“. Whilst maintaining a lot of the key elements of our previous tunes, we delved into making a spread of new flavours. With songs like “Drive Home”, “In Your City” and the title-track “Wabi Sabi”, we leaned into a more groove based feel.

Songs that you can immediately vibe out to. On the other hand, we had songs like “Volcano” and “Best Friend”, which showcases a more upbeat side to our sound. Definitely works well at gigs and on the dancefloor.”

Basking in the sun-soaked vibes of Western Sydney, The Sooks roll out their latest tune, ‘Never Gonna Go.’ This four-piece crew has teamed up with the wizard behind the boards, Jack Nigro, known for his work with Aussie heavyweights like Rum Jungle, DMAs, and Pacific Avenue.

The result? A feel-good, surf-rock gem that’s as easygoing as a lazy day at the beach. From the first strum, Nigro’s unmistakable touch is all over this track, weaving in that fuzzy, sun-soaked surf-rock goodness that he’s become known for. If The Sooks goal was to make a chorus that sticks to your brain like sand on sun-kissed skin, then they nailed it.

“This song is about a girl I saw at the beach a few months back. I was with some mates at the beach and I saw this really pretty girl. I didn’t have a guitar or anything but the song just seemed to write itself in my head. Naturally it has a really surf-rock, summer-pop kinda vibe, a contagious chorus that anyone can sing along to and a groovy riff. The first time we played the song at a show, the crowd was already singing along to the chorus by the end which is something we tried to go for. We really like the sing-alongy vibe of the chorus.” Keenan Fitzsimons

The theme is simple, sure. But that’s the beauty of it. The track’s all about massive singalong melodies and a production so bright it’s practically sunscreen for your ears.

Radio Free Alice, one of Australia’s most exciting young bands, As they gear up for the release of their self-titled debut EP on November 22nd, the 4-track compilation showcases the culmination of their year’s work, featuring hook-laden, up-tempo post-punk singles like ‘I Gotta (Fall In Love)’, ‘Look What You’ve Done’, ‘Paris Is Gone’, and the newest offering, ‘Waste Of Space’.

The EP solidifies Radio Free Alice’s status as one of Australia’s most exciting young bands. Radio Free Alice is a post-punk quartet from Melbourne/Naarm consisting of four 21-year-olds. Their music has a fresh and immediate angular sound with clean guitars, clever notes, melodic bass lines, urgent drumbeats, occasional sax, and operatic swagger, which sounds like it came from a New York art school rather than suburban Australia. The band’s influences include The Smiths, The Sunny Boys, Parquet Courts, Ought, and The Strokes.

Melbourne’s Radio Free Alice, a dynamic 5-piece at the forefront of a new wave of high-energy guitar rock.

One night in Sydney last week, The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s frontman, Anton Newcombe, left a lasting impression on Radio Free Alice’s band members with his parting words: “I can’t eat you, I can’t fuck you, so why the fuck would I come?” Hobbled over with tequila in hand after finishing their set at Newtown’s The Duke, Newcombe praised the band during their Sydney residency.

The chance encounter occurred as BJM played at a nearby venue. Despite the rejection of an invitation to their late set, Newcombe’s dry wit only added to the mystique surrounding him.

Long Island brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario have always been influenced almost exclusively by pre-1983 rock, and as they’ve grown up, they’ve put their own distinct stamp on those vinyl-era inspirations. A melancholy thread runs through their fourth album, and “New to Me” and “Born To Be Lonely” contemplate the pitfalls of old age with empathy and sensitivity. “Any Time of Day” has the soft rock sparkle of a lost AM gold classic, and “Still It’s Not Enough” could’ve been written on a Laurel Canyon porch in 1971. “Everything Harmony” is the Lemon Twigs’ prettiest album to date, but there’s also a Tom Verlaine edge in the nervy guitar solo at the conclusion of its most spirited rocker, “What You Were Doing.” 

While they had no grand concept for “Everything Harmony”, both the D’Addarios felt a “palpable mood of defeat” prevailed while writing and recording it. “New To Me” was inspired by their shared experience with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s, “What You Were Doing” is dressed in the tortured jangle of vintage Big Star, while “Born To Be Lonely,” written after watching John Cassavetes’ Opening Night, deals with what Brian calls “the fragility that often comes with age.”

“Everything Harmony” is a unified song cycle born of shared blood and common purpose. With two musical heads being better than one, there’s no shortage of ideas to draw on. Their only impediments are time and the challenge of keeping up with their own prolific musical inspiration. “We share an intuition and tend to be influenced by one another,” says Brian, “so the lyrical ideas on this record tend to complement each other. Writing has never been the issue for us. It’s completing, editing and compiling that takes the time. We’re trapped in a web of songs!”

After dropping their killer full-length album earlier this year, The Lemon Twigs swung by Happy during their Aussie tour to lay down two tracks, “In My Head” and “Corner of My Eye.”

Their fourth studio album, “Everything Harmony,” featured catchy singles like ‘Corner Of My Eye,’ ‘Any Time Of Day,’ ‘In My Head,’ and ‘Every Day Is The Worst Day Of My Life.’ The album, cooked up entirely by the talented D’Addario brothers in New York and San Francisco’s Hyde Street Studios, is a total mood, filled with perfect pop and sophisticated acoustic-folk. Channeling the vibes of musical icons such as Simon & Garfunkel, Arthur Russell, and Moondog, The Lemon Twigs’ latest album seamlessly glides between soul-searching introspection and unadulterated, feel-good euphoria. While these legendary influences cast their shadows, this gem stands as a testament to the duo’s unique artistry—an entirely original work that might just be their magnum opus. Emerging as a standout in their discography, “Everything Harmony,” gives a unique glimpse into The Lemon Twigs’ creative genius. It’s not just another piece; it’s got that special something, showcasing the duo at the height of their artistic game.

In an exclusive Live From Happy session, the prodigiously-talented duo shared a live take of some tunes from their fourth studio album, “Everything Harmony “.

Indie rock band Real Estate have announced details of their sixth studio album. “Daniel” will be released on February 23rd via Domino Recording Co. The album was recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville with producer Daniel Tashian and features the single “Water Underground,” . The single comes with a video inspired by ’90s Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete starring former cast members Danny Tamberelli and Michael C. Maronna.

“This song is about writing songs,” the band’s Martin Courtney says of “Water Underground” in a statement. “I think ‘Water Underground’ is like the unconscious, the mysterious part of your brain where creativity comes from. The constant flow of music in the back of your head. You get an idea while driving or walking the dog or something and you want to hold on to it.” We recorded the album earlier this year in Nashville with Daniel Tashian producing. The idea was to distill the tunes to their essence, an exploration of the pop song form. 11 songs, 38 minutes. We are so so proud of it and can’t wait to share the rest.

“Daniel” is the follow-up to Real Estate’s 2020 album “The Main Thing”. In 2021 the band shared an EP titled “Half A Human”.

AMYL & THE SNIFFERS — ASKMELATER — BADBADNOTGOOD — BAXTER DURY — BEELDJUTTERS — BERKAN V8 — CHASTITY BELT — CHEW CHEW — DE JEUGD VAN TEGENWOORDIG — DISCLOSURE — DJ TRACKSUIT — DOKTER MOON B2B DOCHTER MOON — DORIAN ELECTRA — ELSEMARIJN BRUYS — ENGLISH TEACHER — ETRAN DE L’AÏR — FATOUMATA DIAWARA — FLOATING POINTS — FRENCH II — GERT WESSELS — HAUPTGAST — JOIAH — JOP VISSERS VORSTENBOSCH — JULIE BYRNE — JUSTICE — KALAALLIT NUNAAT — KARTJE KILO — KATY KIRBY — LA FEMME — LIBIANCA — LIBRARY CARD — LOLA EDO — MANNEQUIN PUSSY — MILDLIFE — MILITARIE GUN — MINYO CRUSADERS — MULA B — NADIEM SHAH — OSEES — PARCELS — PASSION DEEZ — PHILLIPI (DEEWEE) — PJ HARVEY — RAPAPAWN — SECRET ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE — SHUG LA SHEEDAH (HISTORY OF HIP HOP) — SLOW PULP — SLOWDIVE — SNÕÕPER — ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES — ST.PAUL — TAMINO — THE ARMED — THE GLIMMERS — THE HAUNTED YOUTH — THE INDIEN — THE MYSTERINES — TRAMHAUS — UNRULY PHOENIX (3 STEP SET) — VIAGRA BOYS — WARHAUS — WATER FROM YOUR EYES — YHWH NAILGUN —

and many more to come…

An original concert poster advertising a T.Rex concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall on the ‘Lion and Unicorn..’ tour. Saturday 22nd February 1969. Promoted by NEMS, poster design by Hipgnosis, printed at ‘Hastings Printing Co’. Obtained in person by the vendor who attended the concert and also obtained a programme signed by Micky Finn, Bolan and John Peel (compere on the tour).

Nottingham singer/songwriter Colouring is the latest Bella Union signee and project of Jack Kenworthyhas a new LP on the way. “Love To You, Mate” is due out in February, and second single “For You” is a delightful electronic track. It’s a track like this that makes it obvious why Kenworthy was pegged as an opening act for The 1975. “For You” is soulful and tender, radiating a glow just bright enough to get you on the dancefloor. And yet, the song beckons your full attention. It—and the entire album—gravitate around Kenworthy’s brother-in-law’s cancer diagnosis and the 11 months of uncertainty and kinship that followed. You can feel the love and loss throughout “For You,” as not even the glitzy electronica can mask the story of a family fractured by a profound, immeasurable grief.

Taken from the album “Love To You, Mate” by Colouring, released via Bella Union on 23rd February 2024.