Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey have been in so many great bands over the last 40 years, most notably Talulah Gosh and Heavenly, but also Tender Trap, Marine Research and, since 2014, The Catenary Wires. The names and other band members change over the years but the general vibe does not — indie pop that veers towards, but not too far into, twee territory with heartfelt, bookish but unpretentious lyrics. Amelia and Rob are set to release “Birling Gap”, the third Catenary Wires album, on June 18th via Shelflife and Skep Wax Records.
Previous Catenary Wires albums have been very gently, just Amelia and Rob and some lightly strummed acoustic guitars, but they’re now a five-piece, and Birling Gap looks to be a much more fleshed-out record. We’ve already heard a taste of what’s to come with “Mirrorball,” an unabashedly romantic and danceable tribute to never giving up on love and ’80s discos. They’ve now released a second single, “The Overview Effect,” a tender, dreamy number about getting older and accepting it. “Can’t things stay the same?” Rob and Amelia sing to each other, stars in their eyes, already knowing the answer.
New Orleans’ Joystick have spent the last decade honing their craft and emerging as one of the best modern ska-punk bands around, and their fourth record “I Can’t Take It Anymore” is their most mature, refined record yet. “Everybody started getting married and having kids and kind of like settling down — we definitely became less of a party band,” lead vocalist Duck told us in a recent interview. Duck also got sober four years ago and he’s now working as a volunteer to help other alcoholics and addicts, and those experiences informed the personal, honest tone of his lyrics on this record.
The music sounds more “mature” too, but in Joystick’s case, growing up doesn’t mean slowing down. It’s still an urgent, fun, fast-paced record that toes the line between ska-punk and ska-core and sounds as hungry as Joystick did on their debut. It also has a subtle approach to musical diversity; it’s a straight-up, ’90s-style ska-punk record, but it also weaves in aspects of traditional ’60s ska, shouty ’80s hardcore, and plenty of the in-between.
Spencer Krug has released an insane amount of music over the past two decades — with Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake, his solo project Moonface, and more — but in all that time he’s never put out an album under his own name. Until now. “I’m just tired of the name [Moonface], and crave the excitement of a clean slate,” Spencer said in 2018 when he revealed that he’d be retiring his former moniker. “I’m in my 40s now, and ready to make music and tour under my own name – Spencer Krug; ready to get personally behind what I do in a more literal and meaningful way.”
In 2019, Spencer began releasing a song a month on his Patreon, and now he has completed his first album as Spencer Krug, featuring full-band versions of songs that were originally released as piano ballads via Patreon. It’s some of Spencer’s most earthy music — full of breezy acoustic guitars, piano, and a great deal of pedal steel — and it’s nice to hear him make such a relaxed, stripped-back album. And though the arrangements are a little more straightforward for his standards, the song writing is about as classic Spencer Krug as it gets.
Long time fans will find this comfortingly familiar, and if this album is the first you’re hearing from Spencer, this album would give you a good idea of what makes his song writing so special and timeless.
Fences (aka Seattle musician Christopher Mansfield) is releasing a new EP, “Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble”, on April 30th via ENCI. He recently released lead single “Boot Height,” and we’re now premiering second single “Fake Snow.” Fences has made a few different types of music over the years, and these songs are both breezy, rustic, big-hearted indie folk songs that should appeal to fans of Lord Huron, Manchester Orchestra, and other stuff of that ilk.
Speaking about “Fake Snow,” Christopher said to us, “‘Father’ to me is such a large word. In the name of the father, the father the son and the Holy Ghost. It’s an almost non gender based energy that looms above and guides us.
When I say ‘you’ve killed me’ it’s me almost saying father took the guardian angels off pay roll. In this way perhaps the song is me cursing out this vague heavy energy I felt rejected by at times. All the same, I’m also apologizing because we can never truly hate our father because then we would hate ourselves. The cold river cannot hate the mountain it melted from. The video was difficult to consider because the concept to me remains vague. I just stood and lived and we made angelic art around me. Putting halos where they don’t belong. In a larger sense I think my job is putting halos where they don’t belong.
Speaking previously about “Boot Height” and the EP overall, he said, “Clearly animals are a great analogy for love and death and the middle part of human experience. The EP feels like this. It was made quickly and with no intention other than to fill the room with something beautiful. It was myself and Dru and Adam. I remember laughter after tracking certain parts. It was a joy, truly.
The EP is the middle part and the steam. The elk. ‘Boot Height’ however is the beginning before the beginning. The past life. A love so bold that it transfers. Like when your grandmother comes back as a hummingbird.”
Black Sabbath created “Sabotage” with their backs to the wall, yet it was a masterpiece, fearlessly experimental and adding added yet another dimension to their music. The 1975 Black Sabbath album, “Sabotage”, will be re-issued as vinyl and CD super deluxe edition box sets, in June. The band’s sixth studio album was recorded amidst legal wranglings with their former manager – which is how the title came about.
The both box sets feature a newly remastered version of the album paired with a complete live show recorded during the 1975 tour. 13 of the 16 live tracks included are previously unreleased. The four-CD box set features the studio album and live concert across three CDs with a fourth disc effectively a CD single. It features the single edit for ‘Am I Going Insane (Radio)’ and ‘Hole In The Sky’.
The vinyl box set features the same content across four vinyl records and those two extra tracks feature on a bonus seven-inch single, with artwork replicating the rare Japanese version of the single. All this music is accompanied by sleeve notes in a 60-page book (CD version – the vinyl is a 40-pager) that tell the story of the album through quotes from band members and the music media along with rare photos and press clippings from the era.
Also included in both packages is a 1975 Madison Square Garden replica concert book and Sabotage 1975 tour poster. . The first five records are all classics; “Sabotage“, from 1975, just misses that designation, but this four-disc expansion gives the LP its long-neglected due. In addition to a remastered version of the album, the Super Deluxe Edition includes live tracks pulled from the 1975 North American tour and a radio edit of one of the album’s singles. It took five years and a new singer before Black Sabbath sounded this relevant again.
Croque Macadam is proud to present an exciting collaboration between two contemporary bands united by Cosmic American Music across the oceans: The Young Sinclairs and The Hanging Stars.
After a long trans Atlantic digital friendship and mutual admiration The Hanging Stars and The Young Sinclairs main man Sam Lunsford came up with idea of covering each others songs for a split 7”. The Young Sinclairs decided to cut The Hanging Stars desert dream song “She Never Sleeps” and The Hanging Stars cut the neo gospel folk piece “All Fallen Down” by The Young Sinclairs.
The Young Sinclairs, led by the distinguished Samuel Jones Lunsford (Stimulator Jones) are no strangers to the music scene. The band from Roanoke (Viriginia) has a special place in the history of our labels: in 2013, Requiem Pour Un Twister. Since then we have had the honour of releasing their latest album, Out of the Box (2019 – RPUT31). For a dozen years, the North American band has thus built an elegant discography, heir to the folk-rock of the Byrds and affiliates (Gene Clark, Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons etc.). In many ways, The Hangings Stars could be their British cousins. For the last five years, the London band led by Richard Olson (ex-The See See, Thelightshines, The Eighteenth Day of May etc.) have been releasing delicate country-rock albums on various British labels (Great Pop Supplement, Crimson Crow). If they were born in the fog that envelops London, their heads are probably flying over the mountains of Laurel Canyon.
The affinity between these two bands is now materialized through a 7” single where the Americans are covering the English and reciprocally. The Young Sinclairs pay a strong tribute to British rock. “She Never Sleeps” now sounds like an unreleased Rolling Stones song from the Let it Bleed period. On their side, the Hanging Stars give to the song “All Fallen Dawn” of the Americans the look of a classic of the alternative country music of the 90s (Beachwood Sparks, Jayhawks etc.). The project finds its obvious place in the Croque Macadam’s catalogue where already appeared collaborations between bands with similar interests (Forever Pavot and Calypso, Beat Mark and Proper Ornaments).
Releases June 4th, 2021
Pressed on a limited edition of 300 black vinyl.” Out on our sister label Croque Macadam on June 4th 2021.
Flyte are Winchester’s own indie-rock success story. Formed in 2013, the now-trio (Will Taylor, Jon Supran and Nick Hill) have gone from strength to strength with each remarkable release and their sophomore effort corroborates this. At face value, ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’ is a quintessential breakup album. Ever-present in life and literature, heartbreak is an inevitable theme eventually approached by artists of all areas. While Flyte have previously gained traction through works taking a more vicarious approach, this album is a deeply personal exploration of heartbreak. Vocalist Will Taylor journeyed through the end of an eight-year relationship with all the turmoil you’d expect, but here has managed to carefully document the feelings involved in a delicate and dignified way. His mindful nature and a drive to share his cathartic writing allow this record to exude a matchless sensitivity in its lyricism.
‘Easy Tiger’ is both the opener of the album and a perfect example of such sensitivity. Bearing the album’s title dominantly in its lyrics, this track is the preparatory build to the rest of the album. The soft guitar melodies bring an air of comfort to the foreboding descent into a thoroughly varied and emotional collection of music. ‘Losing You’ swoops in next with a potent, raw form of storytelling. Encapsulating the nostalgia of new romance versus its demise; it’s simple but flawlessly compelling.
‘I’ve Got a Girl’ is a punchy gem which alongside being a fun listen, serves to gently accelerate the pace of the record (written following the departure of former-member Sam Berridge). Launching straight into its dramatic lyricism, no time is wasted in portraying the hurt and subtle distress that runs throughout. This track has an undeniable appeal with its moody composition; dramatic keys and thundery bass giving it an edge akin to early 2000s alt-rock, while slick production cements its modern feel. Flyte crafted the album with the skilled hands of producers Justin Raisen and Andrew Sarlo, and mixing engineer Ali Chant. A mellow, steady, building instrumental meets an initially minimal vocal decorated with Flyte’s classic creative harmony in ‘Under The Skin’. Taylor’s voice builds to hold subtle anguish as we reach the busy, almost chaotic climax of the track. This is met cohesively with thumping guitar, crashing percussion and whirring synths.
We’ve been fortunate enough to feast our ears on half of the tracks from ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’ as singles already, but the as-yet-unheard tracks bring yet more depth to the album. The first of which is the simply exquisite ‘Everyone’s a Winner’ . Despite its subject matter, the record is never accusatory; just attentively observational and introspective to a refreshing degree. Littered with choral-like harmonies, ‘Trying To Break Your Heart’ feels as though it’s been freshly plucked from a coming-of-age movie where a sense of melancholy is drenched in summery, jolly instrumentation.
As the band told us in an interview back in the summer of 2020, “every song has a very distinct personality” which stands true as the smooth, shoegaze dream, ‘Love Is An Accident’ begins. We’re then launched into the rockier ‘There’s a Woman’. Here we find classic, janky guitar and darker tonality, intermitted with calmer moments that tease at a lingering sense of romance. The end of the song is heavy with brass and synth, and the continued harmonies we’ve come to expect and love from Flyte over the years.
‘Mistress America’ features echoey vocals set among sentimental acoustic guitar in a lively track. It has a definite sense of being hopeful and joyfully romantic, with a relevant mid-American feel. This begins to round ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’ off quite nicely, though the real treat waiting at the album’s close is ‘Never Get To Heaven’. Sleepy, hazy and comforting, it conclusively signals the end of an arduous period of time experienced by Taylor.
With their second album, a new vulnerability in the band’s work is clear. While a breakup record, delving deeper unveils a tapestry of raw emotion, polished instrumentation and lyrical complexity. It almost feels invasive to listen to Taylor’s plight in this way, especially as we’re used to Flyte’s relatively impersonal previous works. Here, the lyricism is beautifully and brutally self-aware. To tackle personal experiences and adjust to working as a trio were Flyte’s latest challenges, and each member played their part to meet them with grace; creating some gorgeous music on the way.
“No Joy has revisited and reinvented some of her favourite tracks from her 2020 album Motherhood for the new EP Can My Daughter See Me From Heaven? It sees principal songwriter Jasamine White-Gluz mining and exploring fresh avenues, bringing you an orchestral interpretation of choice tracks. Once again pulling sonically from every corner she’s mastered before — including nu metal, trip hop, and shoegaze — the five-song EP shows White-Gluz settling into a strange and confident harmony.
Highlighting the urgency of Motherhood while continuing to find formidable shapes of reinvention, the EP defies expectation and genre, cementing No Joy as something rare: A band without a category.”
“Can My Daughter See Me From Heaven?” the new album feat. orchestral reimaginings of your fave songs from Motherhood (and one Deftones cover!) First single “Kidder (from Heaven)” is out now, video directed by 7 year old Sloan. Recorded entirely in remote, these songs feature harp by Nailah Hunter, Cello by Ouri, French Horn/Opera and Backing Vocals by Brandi Sidoryk, drums by Sarah Thawer and tons of guitars by none other than Tara McLeod.
Produced by moi & Tara, Mixed by Jorge Elbrecht and mastered by Heba Kadry.Available on Digital, Blue Glitter Cassette, and Limited ‘Mood Ring Coffin’ Cassette – these are limited to just 100 hand-numbered copies that I’m hand painting my gddamn self!!!This was a challenging, experimental journey that sounds like nothing I’ve ever done before and I’m so proud of it.
Jasamine White-Gluz (vocals, producer) Tara Mcleod (co-producer/guitar) Ouri (cello) Nailah Hunter (harp) Sarah Thawson (drums) Brandi Sidoryk (french horn, opera and backup vocals)
“Kidder – From Heaven” by No Joy off the EP ‘Can My Daughter See Me From Heaven’ out 5/19/2021 on Joyful Noise Recordings worldwide, out on Hand Drawn Dracula in Canada.
Nearly one year ago to this day, Lucy Rose graced the stage of Manhattan’s (Le) Poisson Rouge and with her signature, self-deprecating humility and wry humor, she addressed the audience assembled there. “I don’t know how you have found out about my music. I don’t know what’s wrong with you to want to spend an evening listening to my sad songs,” she joked. “But I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart that you guys have all come out this evening to support us in this way.” She then launched into an acoustic, goosebump-inducing rendering of “Shiver,” the final single released from her 2012 debut album “Like I Used To”.
Listening to her sad songs, and it was a thrill to bear witness to a musician so intimately connected to—and in control of—her craft. Her words dislodged something in the deeper recesses of my heart and mind that made me reflect more lucidly on things in my own life—the highs, the lows and everything in between. I sipped my beer faster, in the hopes of relieving the lump in my throat and calming the flutters in my gut, to no avail.
As I and my fellow spectators experienced first hand the power to make you feel something when you hear them is inherent within Lucy Rose’s songs. And it should come as no surprise, as she has suffused her songs with uncompromisingly raw and vulnerable emotion since the earliest days of her career.
Her superb third album Something’s Changing (2017) exemplifies her penchant for the confessional strains of song writing, albeit with a balance of the sombre and sanguine underpinning its compositions. Less than two years on from its precursor’s release, Rose’s Tim Bidwell-produced fourth album “No Words Left” finds her baring the conflicts of her soul with an even more pronounced clarity and self-awareness. Her crystalline voice is noticeably prominent atop the stark yet sublimely melodic arrangements of acoustic guitar and piano, punctuated by strings that heighten the emotional tension of her musings.
“In every way I’ve approached writing, recording and now releasing music, it’s been different,” Rose said of the album when she officially announced it back in January. “I’ve lost all consciousness in caring and it’s been liberating. It is what it is. It’s a feeling, it’s a song, it’s a sound, it’s a part of me which I can’t decipher whether it’s good or bad, but it’s sincere.”
Indeed, the eleven songs that comprise No Words Left are refreshingly devoid of pretense and calculation. Instead, they illuminate Rose’s troubled inner monologue and feelings of detachment, as she wrestles with her self-worth as an artist, a woman, and a lover. This is arguably most clearly manifest on the album-concluding “Song After Song,” in which she grapples with self-doubt, reflecting, “Help me, I’m living out my dream / Or so it seems / When I see that look in your eyes / I know that I’m telling myself a lie / Oh, a lie / Maybe I’m not as good as the girl I hear next door / I hear her now / Ooh, she’s playing her guitar / Through a bedroom wall.”
Her confidence is—at least temporarily—revived, however, on the piano-driven, saxophone-enhanced “Solo(w),” inspired by her decision to exit last year’s tour supporting fellow UK singer-songwriter Passenger. “I realised that I’d rather play to 20 people who cared, rather than 1000 people who didn’t,” she confided to The Line of Best Fit in a recent interview. “I’m not saying that all of them didn’t, but you can’t hear the ones that care.”
“Treat Me Like a Woman” is a cathartic meditation on gender dynamics, inspired by Rose’s perceptions of how others view and engage with her as a woman. “You treat me like a fool / Or do you treat me like a girl? / Treat me like a fool / Or do you treat me like his wife?” she inquires in the opening verse, before admitting, “I’m afraid and I’m scared and I’m terrified / That this is how it will be for all of my life.” Informed by her personal experiences, her words surely resonate with most—if not all—of her female listeners who harbour the same feelings of marginalization.
The album’s lead single “Conversation” is a stirring rumination on the challenges of sustaining love, beyond the initial flush of newfound romance (“If you look at what we once had / Well it feels many moons away”). An intimate confession directed toward her partner, “The Confines Of This World” finds her striving to hold it together for him, confiding, “’Cause all I ever wanted was for you to feel proud / And everybody’s telling me I’m losing my mind / And all I ever wanted was for you to feel calm / Now everybody’s worried that I’m losing my faith.” Her hope is later restored on the plaintive piano ballad “Nobody Comes Round Here,” as she wistfully declares, “When I’m dreaming you’re still with me / And then I open up my eyes / They open up wide.”
Contrary to the album’s title, and as if her growing legion of devotees ever doubted it for a second, it’s more evident than ever before that Ms. Rose has plenty of words left to share with the world and a whole lifetime of songs to sing ahead of her.
“Foxing have released the new song and videoGo Down Together, and as only they can, they tackle a massive subject in an extraordinary way. The St. Louis group takes a bold turn towards Passion Pit / Phoenix / MGMT / ’00s indie on the track, as vocalist Conor Murphy muses on being a young adult in debt (“ever since I got going, I’ve been going for broke”). A nod to The Trail’s End by Bonnie Parker, Go Down Together is a song about devotion and desperation. It is about financial ruin, hopeless grief, and the resilience of love. The video for Go Down Together was co-directed and partially animated by Conor himself in a process called rotoscoping. First, everything is shot live-action and then each frame is drawn over individually to bring the footage to life in a totally different way.”
we are happy to bring you “Go Down Together” – a song about about financial ruin, hopelessness and love. To compliment the song, we sunk roughly 400 hours into a hand-drawn, animated video.
We are also happy to announce that we have entered a partnership with the good people ofHopeless Records and our new label, Grand Paradise, to release what is coming next. More on that when the Ritual III is revealed…
The Fat Angel Sings 