The Axis tilts again. Feedback loops, patterns begetting patterns…fracturing, splintering, diverging, convalescing…these are fractals on which we build. With trademark molten guitar licks and some of the most sweetly delicate Axis vocals yet, “Fractal” is pure dialled-in, zoned-outery, from altered beast to blasted jam via dub-fried space lullabying in Denudes puree. Evolution is inevitable, reinvention the key!.
This sister sits with other misters recorded at various moments before/during/after the recent time blip – “Fractal USA” following the Shampoo You tour year; “Caramel” and “(Don’t Wanna Have That) Dream” secreted secretly, under masked-and-distanced lock-down; and “Dying To Meet You,” a long-form full band jam from the vault edited, spliced, and dubbed to meet this EP’s needs. The through-line of the batch is hypnosis:
With BrettSova smelting trademark molten guitar licks and fusing several of his most irresistibly delicate vocals to date to the finely-rendered compounds, the “Fractal” EP makes gains from losses, from the repetition, the patterns, the fractals. Evolution is inevitable, reinvention the key – unlock it in you with Axis: Sova’s “Fractal”.
A short shot here from Axis: Sova pushes a more motorik pulse, with the machine march of drums underscoring that scorch that we’ve come to love from Brett Sova over the years. The EP’s opener is feedback huffin’ howler, but over the course of this EP Sova takes a few new tacks as well, ingesting some dub-slung haze on “(Don’t Wanna Have That) Dream,” a more laconic outing than he’s usually known for. Throw in an unexpected Cluster cover and a seven-minute percolated capper and its a fun grab-bag of an EP that keeps the band fresh between albums. The record is out now from God? Records.
Brett Sova: gtr, vox, organ, drums Jeremy Freeze: bass, gtr, organ, drums, vox Tim Kaiser: gtr, vox
Almost exactly five years to the day after tons of indie musicians came together for a five-hour-long Grateful Dead tribute album, UK indie pop lifers Bombay Bicycle Club have released a cover of the Dead’s 16-minute prog-pop opus “Terrapin Station” with help from their friends in the band Flyte. The original is one of the most unique songs in the Dead’s huge catalogue and among some of their finest studio work, and Bombay Bicycle Club tap into the charm of the original while modernizing it and making it their own.
Happy World Turtle Day to everyone. As our most hardcore fans know, we go way back with the turtles starting with our Tour for Lulu. This year we decided that quietly celebrating this day just the 4 of us wasn’t enough.
It comes with a music video that takes place under the sea, which is a great fit for the aquatic reverb used on this one. It’s a great cover version. Our cover of Grateful Dead’s epic song with our friends Flyte.
On that 2016 indie Dead tribute album, this same song was expertly done by members of Grizzly Bear, The national and Bonny light Horsemen.
Lord Huron recently released their first new song since 2018’s “Vide Noir”, which was their best album yet. Like that album, the new song is a slightly psychedelic peice of indie heartland rock, and there’s maybe just a little Bowie/T. Rex glam in the mix too. It’s the kind of song that reminds you what you loved about the previous album.
Stepping out of the woods and into a vaster landscape of space and time, Lord Huron’s newest release “Long Lost” is a celebratory cabaret of genres, stories and characters. Beloved for their harmony-heavy hits, including the haunting ‘The Night We Met’, their fourth album levels up all their previous work, placing the act of making music right at the centre of focus.
Lord Huron have found tales in familiarity. Turning their studio into a main character and exploring the subject through months of livestream shows unveiling the world of Whispering Pines, “Long Lost” is a kind of imagined variety show. Conjuring up all the ghosts of sessions past, the band imagine who might have been there before them, and in turn have created a kind of homage to music.
Changing genres and tones as they move through characters, Long Lost is a clever take on a concept album, showing the depth and breadth of the band’s skill as they move seamlessly from traditional country on tracks like ‘Love Me Like You Used To’, to through-and-through indie on ‘Not Dead Yet’, even into Beach Boys-Esque surfer corners on ‘At Sea’. Hitting really key musical references and touching base at the heart of several genres, Long Lost has the feeling of a perfectly-curated playlist, walking you through the range of inspiration that’s always been behind Lord Huron’s music, but now letting it speak for itself. From it’s rockabilly hip-swayers to heartbreaking ballads, this record has the same perfect composition that’s a given for Lord Huron release, full of recurring imagery.
Throughout, you get the sense that the band are emulating the work of icons that have inspired them forever, getting to briefly step outside of their own lives and into the shoes of a character. This feeling of play is seen clearly in the creativity of the Live From Whispering Pines videos; a real must-watch for the album. Seemingly letting their imagination run wild, Long Lost comes along with a whole narrative back story, a ghost narrator in the form of Tubbs Tarbell and a cast of characters each with their own literature. Having been given the time free from the distraction of tours, Long Lost is a complete story and vision, a fully realised world that allows you to decide how deeply you interact with it.
At its essence, this album deals with reflection and the way memories morph with distance. Interested in approaching situations and emotions from a side view, frontman and songwriter Ben Schneider has a real skill for writing songs that are both packed with emotion and minimal in style. A real stand-out moment comes on ‘I Lied’, a track shared with the beautiful, classically country voice of Alison Ponthier. Flipping the ballad on its head and writing a bittersweet track guiltily celebrating the end of love, the song is a perfect summary of the wonder of this album; combining traditional instrumentals with genre-defying twists. Using what Ben calls “musical shorthand”, the record tricks you into bringing forth all the emotions and memories you have tied up in a particular genre or era, sometimes shredding up what you know and sometimes just letting you sit in the nostalgia, reflecting on your own experience with music and memory.
Perfectly suited to the vintage tones of the album, flowing between gentle acoustic tracks into full lung crooning, his voice and the vocal symphony built from his harmonies has an indescribable quality to it, able to make you get into your feels at a moment’s notice. So full yet so gentle, the timelessness of his country-tinged vocal ties Long Lost together, staying firmly in control of the world he’s created.
Studying the characters and diving into the narrative isn’t a requirement here, even without all that, Long Lost remains a beautiful record.
Following on from his experimental EP Everyday Sun; Scottish songwriter Roddy Woomble expands on the strange synth soundscapes on new album Lo! Soul to create a new sound called “Dystopian Pop”. Stripped down and alien in nature; it’s distinctly different to the angled riffs or anthemic feel of Idlewild and a huge shift from the folky feel of his previous solo work. Yet the weirdly wonderful abstract corner he has cast himself into somehow works, thanks in large part to his close partnership with bandmate Andrew Mitchell (aka Andrew Wasylyk) who helps expand on the prose and pieces of ideas passed on to him
“I’m a collaborative songwriter, used to working in a room with one or more people, or a band, and I think my songs benefit from that human connection and response.”
“Gradually though, I started developing songs on my acoustic guitar which I would record on my phone and send on to Andrew in Dundee. Around then, my friend and musician Danny Grant, based in Glasgow, began sharing his wonderful electronic grooves and rhythms with me. I started improvising over these with my poems. It didn’t feel like an album we were creating at this stage though, more a scrapbook of this particular moment. As restrictions eased in the summer I spent three days in Andrew’s studio recording vocals and developing these ideas.
Other than this, the album was all recorded remotely – Dundee Glasgow, and the Hebrides”.
Post punk quintet Low Hummer have proven to be the most exciting breakthrough band of the past 12 months. Combining synth pop with roaring guitars, they tear apart petty frustrations, small minds and social decay with the casual disdain only a true northerner can carry off. Now, the Hull based band drop new single “The People, This Place” whilst announcing that their first album will be titled Modern Tricks for Living and is set for release on 17th of September via Leeds label Dance To The Radio.
“We can’t wait to release our debut album! Our album of isolation during such overwhelming times. The record captures how us bunch of misfits have felt isolated from popular culture, isolated from love, and how we all have been getting through physical isolation! ‘Modern Tricks for Living’ does not provide any kind of wisdom for navigating through modern society, but maybe just shows how a bunch of strangers from Hull get by. “The People This Place” was the final piece we needed to make ‘Modern Tricks For Living’ complete so it feels like the person song to launch the album with.”
Written and recorded over what has been possibly the strangest year of our lives, we’ve realised more and more how grateful we are for the opportunity to record a bloody album with our best mates. We just hope it’s better than our Banana Bread.
Low Hummer join the mighty line up for KARMA WEEKENDER – the unmissable festival hitting hot Nottingham venue The Chameleon on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of October.
Self Esteem is the new-yet-not-new project from Rebecca Lucy Taylor. New, because Wrestling is only Self Esteem’s second single, following last year’s critically acclaimed debut Your Wife, yet not-new because Self Esteem is something Rebecca has been working on for much of her adult life.
With demand so high, we expect Self Esteem tickets to sell very quickly – so make sure you book yours before they are all gone.
For a long time she was dividing her attention, working on painting and prints, and video, as Self Esteem, whilst the day job was writing and performing as one half of Slow Club, but now the music and the day job is Self Esteem too, and Rebecca is revelling in it.
Witty, intelligent, extrovert and piercingly insightful, Rebecca no longer has to worry about anybody else’s opinion or treading on any toes, and can be wholly, wonderfully herself.
Fans will all want to get their hands on Self Esteem concert tickets but with only limited supplies on offer you will need to act fast and book yours before they are all snapped up. With a huge range of essential gig tickets on offer plus excellent customer service, award winners.
Music video by Self Esteem performing “I Do This All The Time“. A Fiction Records release; Universal Music Operations Limited
Self Esteem at the Metronome, Nottingham Thursday 25th November 2021
We are pleased to announce the Arboretum Sunsets series at our pop-up venue this summer, where we will host a variety of live music, food & drink, comedy and interactive events, all centred around the park’s iconic bandstand!
Richard Thompson The Arboretum, Nottingham, Friday 13th August 2021 Doors at 17:00
This Is The Kit New Kind Of Neighbourhood The Arboretum, Nottingham, Sunday 5th September 2021 Doors at 13:00
In CELEBRATION of the 2nd year anniversary of Madonnton’s Seminal album “Musica Alla Puttanesca” Maggie The Cat aka Charlotte has begun a series of hand drawn custom sleeves to house original test pressings of the album. Autographed by Char, Stef & Joanie.
I love this bands sound, so fresh and creative (not to mention a little bit weird in a great way). It shows them maturing from the Mermaids 7″ vinyl release, so I can’t wait to see where they take us next. The track “Elizabeth Taylor” is my favourite this time round, but will likely be a different track next time I give it a spin!
*vinyl collectors please note – these aren’t factory fresh. They are hand made, so a certain amount of wear will be evident on the sleeve, as part of the handling during the making*
Indigo Sparke brings her deeply personal lived experiences to her music, highlighting the spaces between the polarity of softness and grit.
Pulling from her experiences of addiction, of healing, of queerness, of heartbreak, of joy, of connection, of the softness and of the grit alchemising it all into tenderness through her music, she conjures up a myriad of feelings that is undeniably potent. “Echo” was co-produced by Sparke, Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker and Andrew Sarlo. “I had the privilege and pleasure of getting to help Indigo put these recordings together back in April and throughout 2019.
These songs became near and dear to me, and it was beautiful to help build the billowy landscapes within them. Indigo’s writing and voice are ethereal and angelic and guide me through internal canyons and plains. I’m deeply grateful to have been part of this and to have gotten to play and sing along side Indigo, and to have been able to eternalize a very special space and time with her, which i will always cherish.” -Adrianne Lenker
With these songs and her filament voice, Indigo brings us in to a private place and lights a fire there.” -Feist
Indigo Sparke balance[s] heavy, reverb-drenched verses with moments of airy and acoustic whispers. this Australian artist tackles themes of vulnerability and femininity with an eye on life through a different lens.”
Watch Indigo Sparke play “Colourblind”, “The day I Drove The Car Around The Block” and “Burn” at the Tiny Desk Concert.
The voice of Indigo Sparke feels fearless, but at moments it comes at a whisper. I was first taken by this Australian singer on a random journey, listening to around 1300 songs for last year’s SXSW music fest. Her song “The day I Drove The Car Around The Block” has a mundane title that made me smile, but lyrics that both cut hard and comfort. “Take off all my clothes, kiss me where the bruises are,” and later the refrain, “Love is the drug, and you are in my blood now.” Indigo told the NPR crowd about the song’s origins of trying to learn how to drive on the other side of the road while in Los Angeles, with a huge vehicle and a stick shift. She just gave up and wrote this tale of defeat and solace. On her third song, a tune that was so new at the time of this performance it had no title (now it’s called “Burn”), she’s joined on guitar by her partner, Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief. It all made for a most intimate and sincere expression of honest emotion and a beautiful day with friends in the office.
SET LIST “Colourblind” ““The day I Drove The Car Around The Block” “Burn”
Npr, all songs considered say “achingly beautiful and heart-wrenching… feels impossibly intimate and vast at once, like a cherished secret that, once shared, becomes universal truth.” -gorilla vs bear “gorgeous and gentle… Sparke sings in an ethereal voice of the kind of love that makes you feel safe.” -consequence of sound “if you like the hushed, delicate folk of adrianne [lenker]’s own material, you’re probably going to like this song too. Indigo is a natural, and this song hooks you in with little more than her voice and guitar.” -brooklyn vegan
“sadly beautiful, haunting… deceptively complex on an emotional level.” -beats per minute “a glowing guitar lullaby.” -stereogum
The 1966 surf soundtrack classic that has only been reissued once on vinyl in Japan in 1981. You never know when the magic is going to happen. Witness the saga of The Sandals’ 1966 album “The Endless Summer”. The San Clemente,CA-based surf group The Sandells had released their album Scrambler! on the World Pacific label in 1964 to little notice when they met up with surf documentary maker Bruce Brown.
Brown had already made five surf-oriented movies, also largely ignored, but had hit upon an intriguing idea for his next one: tracking two surfers across the world as they followed the Summer sun from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere and back in search of the perfect wave. Brown was just beginning to edit his footage when The Sandells played him tunes from Scrambler!, hoping to sell him a song for the film. Brown was so smitten by the music that he used a number of tunes from Scrambler!, including the classic ‘Theme from Endless Summer,’ which, even though it was recorded two years earlier, became the film’s musical calling card.
The blend of the easy going surf instrumentals with Brown’s spectacular footage proved to be pure gold: the movie The Endless Summer ran in New York for a full year and was instrumental (no pun intended) in spreading surf culture worldwide. As for The Sandells, they changed their name to The Sandals, and re-released Scrambler! as The Endless Summer in 1966, ensuring that the album took its rightful place as one of the greatest surf instrumental records of all time.
The Fat Angel Sings 