Fresh off the back of a Europe wide tour in support of Soak, Dublin indie-punks Pillow Queens are on a lap of the Irish festival circuit. Blending punk leaning instrumentation and raw vocals with melodic pop chops, Pillow Queens’ catchy anthems are the perfect mosh-along festival fare and their always charismatic and engaging stage presence is a live treat.
With Irish bands having a serious moment, with acts like Soak and Fontaines DC making their mark on the global stage. Pillow Queens are a four piece band – made up of vocalist, guitarist and bassist Sarah Corcoran, from Dublin, fellow vocalist , guitarist and bassist Pamela Connolly, guitarist Cathy McGuinness and drummer Rachel Lyons have been together for two years, but in that short time, have rocketed to become one of the most exciting bands not only on the Irish scene, but the indie scene at large. Taking inspo from US DIY indie and punk, Pillow Queens have a lot of ways of describing themselves. Sarah told us ‘We’re a four-piece from Ireland, half of us from Dublin, half from the outside of Dublin. We make music that’s been described, rather delicately by Blindboy, as a mix between Sonic Youth and Dolores O’Riordan’, with Pamela adding in: ‘We’re serious musicians.’ ‘I was trying to fill out a grant proposal earlier on and I was trying to describe our music, and I wrote, people describe us as lo-fi.’
Gay Girls. Their breakthrough hit, an infectious indie track with a killer chorus, was accompanied by a video showing Irish schoolgirls running riot in their Communion dresses which brought the song to a whole new audience and gained critical acclaim.
Toronto’sAunty Social (AKA Daniela Gitto) is one of those voices. The first track off her forthcoming debut EP, “Trying”– is a gritty alt-pop tale of leaving religion behind and looking forward to a brand new day.
Deeply ingrained within this track is Gitto’s arduous story of finding her own path, after forsaking the only one she’s known all her life. “Before all of this, religion was my identity,” she shares. “It’s what I relied on, it’s what I followed. Once that was gone, I really didn’t know who I was. I felt like all this progress that I had made from six to sixteen was completely void, and then I had to muster up all the things that make me who I am.”
Dressed up in a magnetizing production of palpitating drum kicks and lo-fi synths, “Trying” is more than just a coming-of-age story. It’s a mesmerizing vocal performance, with Gitto’s soft voice slowly building up to a swelling chorus, uninhibited and free to speak its mind. Because that is what this song truly is all about – shedding the past, with all the insecurities and fears that it harbours, and moving forward to a lighter and brighter future.
Belfast’s Kitt Philippa has spent a career refining their craft before releasing this year’s “You” EP, a beautifully atmospheric and emotional collection of sleek but hauntingly intimate numbers. One of the more introspective acts on the line-up, Kitt Philippa’s live sets are hypnotising and feel like seeing someone on the cusp of something fantastic. The production is majestic and totally spellbinding. And then she starts to sing…wowzers.
‘𝐘𝐎𝐔’ EP is out now; I hope this music brings you joy, I gave my best to every beat, this is my first release with Paragon Records; it houses singles ‘Human’ and ‘Grace’ and also includes ‘Lion’ and the title track of the EP, ‘You’. ‘Human’ is like a dear friend to me now — the refrain of the plea remains. ‘Grace’ is close. ‘You’ imagines. ‘Lion’ questions. I have worked so hard on these tracks and feel privileged to let them now be known by you. I am so fortunate to have worked with additional musicians to give the music its sound: ‘You’ is scored for horns and ‘Lion’ is coloured in by a string quartet.
thank you to Matt Duke who drummed, co-produced and recorded these tracks with me; to Jon Moorehead for mastering; and to my manager Charlene Hegarty. thank you for supporting, it means so much to me. KP.
Northern Ireland multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Kitt Philippa knows how to bare a soul and strip down to the raw fears and emotions inside. Channeling this brutal but gripping strength in their latest EP, You, they create a sonic oasis for burdened feelings and spirits in need of polishing. The title track, “You” is an electrifying piano ballad, coupling themes of loss and space in a fiery declaration of love. The just released visuals for the track are hauntingly beautiful, capturing the most human emotion of them all- pain
The camera wistfully hones in on the protagonist through intimate scenes of emotional distress and suffering. Philippa’s moving lyrics provide all the context needed for these scenes, with a brief moment of introspective clarity during the hushed confession “And I can’t stop loving you”. A turning point in the song’s composition, the video mirrors its slow build-up into a cathartic emotional release through the protagonist’s desertion of their car, into the accepting arms of loved ones. “You” feels like it’s been holding its breath until then, exhaling with a rush of thundering drums and longing harmonies. When speaking about the themes reflected in the video, Philippa shares that “absence, through the process of grieving, can seem like it is living: it gives way to love and care from other humans and adds to a complex infrastructure.”
Philippa poignantly sings from the heart of every lost, confused, or simply searching person. Making the emotional connections we sometimes can’t bring ourselves to make, they provide the context to every heart-wrenching moment.
“sparse, graceful, elegantly pitched wonder. There’s a beautiful mimimal soulfulness to her.”
– Jim Carroll, THE IRISH TIMES –
“one of the most interesting new Irish voices we’ve heard in aeons.”
– Celina Murphy. HOTPRESS MAGAZINE. –
“acoustic musings treading a genuinely charming balance between melancholy and optimism…”
– Brian Coney. AU MAGAZINE journalist. –
“I’m not sure there’s a music analogue to this. Out of time, not conventional, entrancing.”
The overcast skies on the cover of “Heaven Up Here” is the second album by the English post-punk band it accurately reflect’s the gloomy post-punk of Echo & The Bunnymen’s . Co-produced by Hugh Jones, Recorded at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth in Wales the 1981 Sire Records set has a disconsolate vibe akin to Joy Division but leavened with what frontman Ian McCulloch termed a “spikey edge.” While such songs as “Over the Wall,”“A Promise” and the title track may be less familiar than later hits, they nonetheless helped make the collection a Top 10 success in the group’s native U.K.; the album also reached the Billboard chart in the U.S., a first for the band.
Following their more psychedelia-based debut, “Crocodiles”, the band released the “Shine So Hard” EP and subsequent “Puppet” single which maintained their profile. Work then soon began on their second album, Heaven Up Here. Following musical differences between the band and Crocodiles producers Bill Drummond and David Balfe.
Echo & the Bunnymen returned in 1981 with the darkest and perhaps most experimental album of their career. “Heaven Up Here” lacks the signature hooks and melodies that would make the Bunnymen famous, In 1981, music magazine the NME described the album as darker and more passionate than 1980’s Crocodiles. The Record Mirror also said that the band sang the blues and devoted themselves to existential sadness. They went on to note that the album offered “an anatomy of melancholy, resplendent with the glamour of doom”. The Bunnymen are continuing to play majestic, uplifting music that will shine through the dark days ahead of us”, showcasing instead a dirge-like song writing approach built around the circular rhythms of bassist Les Pattinson and drummer Pete DeFreitas.
In the notes to the 2003 remastered version of the album, lead singer Ian McCulloch said that he constantly had the American rock band The Velvet Underground’s song “What Goes On” in the back of his mind.
In this setting, the band remarkably flourishes, although they would go on to greater heights by scaling back the album’s extremism. “Heaven Up Here’s” strength is the way in which the Bunnymen seamlessly work together to shape each song’s dynamics (the tension underlying the crescendo of “Turquoise Days” being a prime example).
Ian McCulloch, having found his trademark confidence, sings with soaring abandon and passion throughout the album. Similarly, Will Sergeant’s guitar playing, notably freed from verse-chorus structure and pop riffs, is at its angular finest; his playing on “No Dark Things” is pure Andy Gill-esque skronk. The album’s opening troika of “Show of Strength,” “With a Hip,” and “Over the Wall” are particularly effective, establishing the theme of distrust and restlessness which continues throughout the album. Indeed, even the album’s lone single, “A Promise,” is hardly light, pop material.
But the message underneath that darkness, especially in McCulloch’s lyrics, is a call to overcome rather than wallow, as the album ends with the relatively euphoric “All I Want.” Sitting comfortably next to the pioneering work of contemporaries like Joy Division/New Order, and early Public Image Ltd. and Cure, this is a rather fine — and in the end, influential — example of atmospheric post-punk. Having reached the British Top Ten, Heaven Up Here is highly regarded among Echo & the Bunnymen’s fans precisely for the reasons which, on the surface, make it one of the least accessible albums in the band’s catalogue.
Echo & the Bunnymen
Will Sergeant – lead guitar
Ian McCulloch – vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
Les Pattinson – bass
Pete de Freitas – drums
The Deluxe Edition of “Heaven Up Here” adds a long version of “Broke My Neck” marketed as 25th anniversary editions recorded at Tistedal Studios in Norway on 7th June 1981, is the B-side of the 12-inch single “A Promise” and four live recordings were added to the original, which was named by both Rolling Stone and NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album was originally released by Korova Records in the United Kingdom on 30th May 1981. It was then released in the United States by Sire Records.
Hachiku, a.k.a Anika Ostendorf, 24, writes and produces dream pop with an an avant garde twist from whichever bedroom she is currently inhabiting.
Inspired by other do-it-yourself artists like Grimes, Hachiku AKA singer/songwriter Anika Ostendorf writes and produces her shoegaze/dream pop with an avant garde twist on operatic vocals from whichever bedroom she’s currently inhabiting. Born in Detroit but raised in Germany, Anika is what can be best described as a “global artist“ whose bedroom’s are continuously changing. She began to form her sound aged sixteen on a road trip round 42 of 50 US states (accompanied only by her dog, called Lexus), before moving to London and then to Melbourne, further developing her music with influences from across the globe. Her unique brand of layered “glitterpop“ paints dreamy landscapes of monumental sound, with each song carrying the listener on a melodic journey.
Her celestial bedroom beats are already creating a buzz – she opened for Courtney Barnett on her European tour in 2015 and continues to collaborate with Milk! Records. Hachiku is now permanently based in Melbourne and plans to release her debut EP in June
Irish post-punk rockers God Is An Astronaut, Fronted by twins Niels and Torsten Kinsella, God Is An Astronaut’s sound is epic instrumental rock that puts in mind Tangerine Dream and maybe The Cure . There is stunning depth of emotion in their creations – some have been written in periods of immense grief after family losses – the result is a wall of sound that insists on breaking your heart.
God Is An Astronaut are a 3 piece band who hail from Glen of the Downs, Ireland.
Tracklist: 01. Fragile 00:00 02. All is Violent, All is Bright 04:33 03. Forever Lost 08:44 04. Fireflies and Empty Skies 15:05 05. A Deafening Distance 19:07 06. Infinite Horizons 22:55 07. Suicide by Star 25:20 08. Remembrance Day 29:53 09. Dust and Echoes 34:07 10. When Everything Dies 38:20
Australian psych-pop band Pond have just shared the new video for “The Boys are Killing Me” from this year’s march released album Tasmania. It was shot on the band’s recent UK/EU tour and you can watch that.
‘The Boys Are Killing Me’. Shot on Super 8 by Jay Watson, the footage sees the lads frolicking about during their tour through Sweden, the UK and France.
‘The Boys Are Killing Me’ Taken from the album ‘Tasmania’ out now on Spinning Top, Marathon Artists, Caroline & Interscope
Joseph Arthur will release a new album this autumn titled “Come Back World”, It is his first new solo album in three years, due for release on October 11th. The album features guest appearances by Ben Harper, The Black Keys’ PatrickCarney, Jesse Malin and Greg Dulli, and Joseph calls it “an album about rebirth and survival.” That’s the cover art above, and you can check out the title track right now, he’s crafted his most personal and powerful album to date.
“The interesting parts of our stories aren’t the famous people we meet,” Arthur remarked. Or the times when everything is basically working. Or when we get to lay in comfort with a partner watching Netflix and the world go by. The interesting parts are when all those things break down and you’re left in isolation to finally deal with the roots of whatever had been thwarting your existence all along. The interesting parts are when the world has turned its back on you and you have turned your back on it or them. When darkness could seemingly swallow you whole if it hasn’t already. When there is no such thing as hope and so you manufacture it from a dream which only angle is to survive. Come Back World is an album about rebirth and survival.”
The title track of Joseph Arthur’s new Album Come Back World, available everywhere October 2019.
Five fellas with roots firmly placed in their own blown-out, distorted demented dance party brand of soulful RnB. Formed in the end of November 2010 and originally from the coastal town of Ocean Grove the group has since gone on to play such music festivals as Meredith, Queenscliffe, Boogie and Falls. As well as supporting such acts as Gary Clarke Junior, Mac Demarco, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, The Pixies, Earthless, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Wavves and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
The Murlocs performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded April 15th, 2019.
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