The Fat Angel Sings

Crake, are a self-described, “contemplative alt-folk quartet”, from Leeds, The band garnered attention both after heading out on an EU tour with Big Thief, as well as sharing a 7″ single via the ever-excellent Saddle Creek label. This week the band have announced a new partnership with Fika Recordings, as well as sharing the first fruits of that relationship, in the shape of their new single, “Lamb’s Tail”.

A set supporting Buck Meek in their native Brudenell Social Club led to the four-piece supporting Big Thief across the UK and the EU in 2019 at Meek’s behest. Last August, this culminated in a one off 7” with Big Thief’s former label, Saddle Creek. Now heralding a new relationship with Fika Recordings, ‘Lamb’s Tail’ is the first material since from the band made up of Rowan Sandle, Russel Searle, Rob Slater and Sarah Statham.

“Lamb’s Tail” is a song that seems to exist in a place of questioning, as vocalist Rowan Sandle explains, “when I was a kid and I was worried or anxious, I would leave it to the fates to tell me the outcome of whatever issue I was currently stuck on. I would ask my question to the ether and make up some rule to reveal to me my answer“. It’s a thought that came back to Rowan recently as she dealt with altogether more grown-up problems, both the insecurity of growing older while wanting children yet not knowing when, and the difficult process of learning to deal with grief. Here those adult themes are contrasted with the joys of forgetting about those things, embracing the simplicity of childhood rituals or the joy of meeting a cat, that her bandmate swore he previously taught to play the drums. If thematically this is a song of doubt, there’s also something questioning about the music, from the fabulous percussion that seems to gently lurch, pushing with one hand and pulling back with the other, to the meandering guitars, that seem almost absent-minded, as if guided by the heart more than the head.

At the centre of it all, as ever with Crake, is Rowan’s voice, an idiosyncratic calling card, her gently cracking voice delivering enigmatic imagery of nature and distraction, “it all dies, that ain’t nothing new, can we talk about pussy willow coming through? The cat who looks just like that kid you once knew, can we talk about anything to lighten up the mood?” As you get older it’s often tempting to wonder if you’ve already heard everything you’re going to love, to question whether there’s anything new or exciting out there left to discover. Then along comes a band like Crake and you realise just how naïve that thought truly is, you have to believe the best is always yet to come, you’ll only ever be proven wrong if you don’t.

“Lamb’s Tail” is out now via Fika Recordings.

LA singer, songwriter and bedroom producer Gracie Gray joined the Hand In Hive family in autumn 2021 with wholly infectious, dreamy indie number “alienlover”. The track is taken from her album anna, a record “about holding onto love for yourself through all of life’s changes. It looks at many huge shifts in a short period of time, and each track tries to make sense of how all relationships seem to fade, while promising to try in spite of it all.”

Hailing from Los Angeles, Gracie Gray first emerged back in 2019 with her self-released debut, Oregon In A Day. Two years on Gracie recently returned with the well-received single “Alienlover”, which received acclaim from the likes of GoldFlakePaint and The Line Of Best Fit, among others. The track was the first to be released from Gracie’s upcoming album, “anna”, which is out in February on her new label home, Hand In Hive. Ahead of that release today Gracie is premiering her new single, “dig”.

Discussing the track, Gracie has suggested dig is a song, “about loving someone because you believe in them, and tuning-out people that talk shit“. She recalls that it came from a time of feeling let down and needing to speak up for herself, “This song is it for me. It is the feeling that even one moment of holiness with someone else can cover a multitude of unanswered questions”. Musically, dig is a record of muted majesty, as what sounds like a Marimba emerges from the omnipresent buzz of synth, alongside layers of spectral vocals and rich tumbles of bassy-guitar. There’s a certain poignancy to Gracie’s words, as she stitches memories into place with the reality of the present, and ultimately reaches only the inconclusive, with the repeated closing line, “we’re spinning just a little bit”. A sparkling further example of just how exciting anna is shaping up to be, we’re two months away from 2022, yet Gracie Gray is already shaping up to be one of the year’s break-out stars.

“Dig” the new song by Gracie Gray from the album ‘anna’, out February 4th on Hand In Hive.

The building blocks of Civic’s sound are straightforward and no-nonsense, a winning formula blending garage rock, punk, and a bit of noisy alt-rock. But simplicity can feel revelatory again when it’s wielded with Civic’s ferocity. After releasing EPs for a couple years, the group roared out the gates with their debut Future Forecast earlier this year.

Over 12 songs, the band rarely lets up, with highlights like “Radiant Eye” and “Tell The Papers” tapping into a bracing, exhilarating, gratifying churn of guitars and snarled vocals.

So geeked to see new material from Civic. One of if not the best Australian bands ever. Catchy Rock and roll with definite Proto Punk edge and attitude(I mean the real Punk rock..

Tell The Papers was the second single off the debut album “Future Forecast” out on Flightless Records 26th of March, 2021

“Cookin’ is a visceral and violent snapshot of three agents of chaos who gleefully inflict destruction and terror wherever they go. They are personifications of the brutality of nature, the wrath of humanity, and the cruel unpredictability of reality. Havoc incarnate, they weave a path of wanton destruction and utter wastefulness throughout a sweaty, summer day in Los Angeles. The significance of moral values, of good and evil, are entirely human constructs; in nature it’s only kill or be killed – and leave the remains for someone else to clean up. The themes behind this song and video are a rumination on the ways in which we are carelessly laying waste to the resources we were gifted.

Nature is relentless, humans are destructive, and everything decays eventually. The planet doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the planet, and she’ll be here long after we’re gone.” – Frankie and the Witch Fingers

released on Greenway Records / The Reverberation Appreciation Society

On the tribute album Songs for Tres, Psychic Ills band members come together to commemorate the late Tres Warren who passed away just as the world turned upside down in March of 2020. Isolated, feeling helpless and lost by the death of her musical soul mate and collaborator of 18 years, bassist Elizabeth Hart found making music to be her only outlet in a time where people were unable to be physically together to mourn. So, she reached out to Adam Amram, Jon Catfish DeLorme and Brent Cordero, the main players in the Ills line up since the release of their last full length album Inner Journey Out (2016), to ask if they would embark on this cathartic journey with her. This was a different kind of production endeavor for Hart driven solely by “the aching need and urgency” to do something to honour her friend.

The album consists of five original tracks and four cover songs. Initially, learning the covers was just a method for the musicians to “break the ice” and play together again for the first time without their band leader. However, those tracks became just as important to include as the originals because of their essential role in the process of coming together to make the album. The cover songs were chosen because of their unique connections to the band’s memories of Warren. Dennis Wilson’s “Rainbows” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Station Man” come from two of Warren’s favorite albums, Pacific Ocean Blue and Kiln House. The band also recorded Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons” and Powell St. John’s “Right Track Now.” The idea for the latter was suggested by Amram. Warren once sent him a clip of Roky Erikson singing a moving rendition of that song in the film Demon Angel and it had stuck with him ever since.

Hart wrote “I’ll Walk With You” on the day of Warrens’ passing, at the time not knowing what it meant. When she got the call with the heartbreaking news, it became clear to her what the song was about. Relying on a gently lilting string arrangement to set the tone, this duet features Mazzy Star vocalist Hope Sandoval alongside Hart. Sandoval previously collaborated with Psychic Ills accompanying Warren on “I Don’t Mind” (2016). The ideas for “Home” and “Walk Around,” two other songs on the album by Hart, started simply with an acoustic guitar and lyrics, a hopeful exercise to connect with her lost friend. Brent Cordero’s instrumental “Whole Lotta Piece of Mind” is nothing short of a transcendental experience. By running his pedal steel through a Leslie speaker, Jon Catfish DeLorme crafts the unique tone showcased on Wonderful Feeling, a moving example of studio experimentation combined with old school techniques. DeLorme describes it as “an attempt to highlight the musical experience I shared with Tres both sonically and thematically. What resulted is the unguarded exaltation I feel lucky to have shared with my fellow bandmates.” Adam Amram’s “Into the Sea” was composed spontaneously the week Warren passed. The melodic tune has a hopeful lightness and Amram describes it simply as “a song to my brother”. Their connection shines through.

A majority of the proceeds from the album will be donated to RAICES, a charity who aids children who have been displaced at the Texas/Mexico

Releases 11/5/21 (digital) early 2022 (vinyl) on Sacred Bones Records

With only 2,000 residents, Enterprise, Oregon is the largest town in Wallowa County. It’s surrounded by vast cattle ranches and boxed in by the stunning Wallowa Mountains and a foreboding 8000-foot-deep gorge called Hells Canyon that straddles the Idaho border to the east.

Despite that remoteness, it’s also home to a music community that nurtures the work of artists like Margo Cilker, whose debut record “Pohorylle” was released this week. Cilker’s arresting voice is the latest in a line of songwriters inspired by this wild corner of northeast Oregon.

Cilker, who’s worked day jobs as a server at local restaurants and most recently on a poultry farm, is fascinated by the people she comes across in everyday life. “And that’s why I love music and song writing, it’s because it’s fun to profile people. I love meeting colorful characters. I could strike up a conversation with the wall.” “If you’ve got to ramble, ram.”

The third single from Margo Cilker’s upcoming debut album ‘Pohorylle’. Out 5th November,

Cilker’s enthusiasm for documenting the human condition has earned her supporters from well beyond the shadow of the Wallowa Mountains, including respected Seattle-based musician Sera Cahoone. “I love her lyrics,” said Cahoone. “She’s witty. She’s just a great songwriter. It was pretty immediate for me. I was like ‘Whoa, that is such a tricky lyric that you did there!’ So I knew that she had something special going on.” Cahoone produced Cilker’s debut record, “Pohorylle.” The new album features 11 songs punctuated by barroom piano, pedal steel guitars and bouncing horn arrangements. But surprisingly, Cahoone’s favorite song is also one of its simplest— a goosebump-inducing confessional called “Flood Plain.”

Cilker wrote the piece about her relationship with husband Forrest Van Tuyl, a musician who works seasonally on horseback as a professional cowboy. It’s a stunning performance that showcases her versatility as an observational writer who can also look inward.

“Yeah, that’s just a song about marriage,” said Cilker. “It’s a song about giving each other space. It’s a powerful message of ‘things are really hard right now, but I’m not letting go. I’m going to hang on.’ I had this image of an elastic—sometimes someone does have to ramble. If you’ve got to ramble, ram. Go and come back. It’s that kind of leniency I would want someone to offer me, too.”

2022 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Cilker, who recently signed a record deal with Portland-based label Fluff and Gravy. She and Van Tuyl plan to overwinter on a ranch near the Columbia River Gorge before heading out on tour together. It’s a much-needed break from two years of COVID-19 imposed isolation in Enterprise, which is already one of the most secluded places in the country.

But after that extended ramble, Cilker plans to return to the wide-open spaces of the American West.

“I mean, why shouldn’t someone live in the middle of nowhere—center of the universe—and make art?”

The Uprising Tour ran in Europe from May to July 1980 with five further dates in the USA in September. It was Bob Marley’s last tour before his tragically early death in May 1981 at the age of just 36 years of age. A few days after the release of the “Uprising” album Marley played this now legendary live show from Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle on June 13th. Bob Marley is on superb form and delivers a set of hit singles and classic album tracks.

The “Uprising” Tour ran for a few months around Europe, The tour was in support of the “Uprising” album released on June 10th 1980. A few days later on June 13th the live show from Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle was filmed for the famous German music TV series Rockpalast and is presented here for the first time with footage restored to the best possible quality. Bob Marley and the Wailers are on superb form and deliver a set of hit singles and classic album tracks. Marley’s energetic, charismatic performance gives no indication that he was already ill with the cancer that would take his life less than a year later.

With very few Bob Marley live concerts available this will be a welcome addition for any fan.

TRACKLISTING I Threes Set: 1) Precious World 2) Slave Queen 3) Steppin’ Out Of Babylon 4) That’s The Way Jah Planned It Bob Marley Main Show: 5) Marley Chant 6) Natural Mystic 7) Positive Vibration 8) Revolution 9) I Shot The Sheriff 10) War / No More Trouble 11) Zimbabwe 12) Jamming 13) No Woman, No Cry 14) Zion Train 15) Exodus 16) Redemption Song 17) Could You Be Loved 18) We Can Make It Work 19) Natty Dread 20) Is This Love 21) Get Up, Stand Up 22) Coming In From The Cold 23) Lively Up Yourself

His energetic, charismatic performance gives no indication that he was already ill with the cancer that would take his life less than a year later and this release is testament to his spirit and his musicianship.This special 3LP edition is released to celebrate what would have been his 75th year.