Glasgow based indie-pop duo release their vibrant new album Run Around The Sun. The follow-up to Strike A Match their SAY Award winning debut, is released via Rock Action. The album is joyous, charming and effortless with bounce and pop elements that hark back to the glory days of late 70’s DIY singles from the likes of the Chefs, Dolly Mixture and Girls at Our Best mixed with an African edge.
“Sacred Paws have a natural inclination not to take things too seriously. You can hear it all the way through a conversation with its two members, guitarist Rachel Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers, punctuated by rolls of giggles and thoughtful pauses, and you can hear it in the light touch they bring to their music, a jangly blend of indie-pop full of fizzing world rhythms and bright horns.”
Run Around The Sun Out 31st May on Rock Action Records (Merge in North America)
If you were a conscious consumer of music in the early ’90s, then you likely remember Juliana Hatfield, whose alt-pop gems persistently made the radio better than it would’ve otherwise been. Earlier this year, Hatfield followed up an album of Olivia Newton-John covers with “Weird”, a new album of originals. (Hatfield’s old Blake Babies bandmate Freda Love Smith also contributes.) And after she already made a video for the Weird song “Lost Ship,”Hatfield now has a new clip for “Broken Doll.” It’s a good one.
The “Broken Doll” video isn’t some big-budget affair, but it stretches its single joke further than anyone could’ve anticipated. Hatfield plays a Playboy bunny who goes to live on a farm. She hangs out with a dog and a donkey, attempts to steal carrots from a vegetable garden, and deals with the persistent problem of her fuzzy bunny tail falling off. Rachel Lichtman directed the video, and Wilco’s Pat Sansone introduces it.
Of the video, Hatfield says:
I love physical comedy and I finally got to do some myself in this video. We are taking the piss out of glamour while also paying homage to the history of the bunnies. (My mom was one of the original Playboy club cocktail waitresses in NYC in the early 1960’s — she wore the outfit and did the bunny dip to serve the drinks).
Lichtman says:
This particular feminine archetype is so iconic, and the concept of being “put out to pasture” makes such a strong and hilarious statement — and Juliana plays it beautifully. I mean that literally: Despite the funny pratfalls and muck, she is more gorgeous than ever. Our sensibilities are so on the same wavelength and I think that continues to shine through in this video — plus it was (clearly) a lot of fun to make.
At the conclusion of the majestic Maraqopa trilogy, and four consecutive records with Richard Swift behind the boards, Damien Jurado decided to take the reins himself on the subtly orchestral and gorgeously melancholy The Horizon Just Laughed. That Swift would pass on mere months after the album’s release made the whole situation feel even more significant. Jurado and Swift immersed themselves in a psychedelic, hallucinatory world on the Maraqopa trilogy, but the horizon indeed just laughs, and fate stretches its legs out to trip you up, as though the borderline of their fantasy world had been watching with a detached amusement all along, waiting for our protagonist to return to a more sobering reality. When Jurado does step through the door, he finds himself back in a misty morning of a weary world where Charles Schultz and Charlie Brown exchange letters detailing their mutual late life struggles. Characters populate the album from front to back, showcasing Jurado’s beautifully empathetic and inspired vision of a world and its inhabitants more reflective of ourselves, and, as revealed on the hauntingly prophetic album highlight “The Last Great Washington State,” one with love and appreciation for what and who we have, while we have them, and afterward still.
New Zealand indie-pop band Yumi Zouma released a new EP, EP III, last September via Cascine Records. This week they shared a brand new song, “Bruise,” that’s a standalone single and is a little bit more electronic and club-ready than their usual fare. And yet it still works gloriously.
The band has this to say about the song in a press release: “On EP III, we were literally finishing tracks the day before they had to be turned in and uploaded. This helped us to realize that we could release our next songs in a more direct way, and put ‘Bruise’ out independently. The origins of ‘Bruise’ were steeped in loss, but the track has become a beacon of optimism for us. We started writing the instrumental after our great friend Sam told us he was leaving the band and moving to Serbia. We were all distraught until Josh said, ‘Cheer me up guys – let’s write a song for Nelly Furtado.’ Nelly never replied but we came up with a smash.”
EP III was the follow-up to Yumi Zouma’s sophomore album, Willowbank,
This is the vinyl release of Matthew Sweet’s 1991 classic has always deserved and the best edition of “Girlfriend” you’ll ever have … Matthew Sweet’s essential 1991 power-pop tour-de-force gets its analog due on Intervention’s Expanded Edition 180-Gram Double-LP release!
Girlfriend’s original 1991 LP release was a single LP that simply excised the last three songs that were included on the original 15-track CD release. Those three tracks were a tremendous loss as the song’s final, elegiac track “Nothing Lasts” was considered as the title track.
Intervention’s amazing Double LP Expanded Edition restores the original 15-song repertoire to three vinyl sides for maximum bass and dynamics. Side D includes three demo tracks- “Good Friend,” “Superdeformed” and “Teenage Female.” Girlfriend’s album art was lovingly restored by Intervention’s Art Director Tom Vadakan, and printed as a gorgeous “Old Style” gatefold
Hello Sweet fans and audiophiles!, Matthew Sweet here to tell you a little bit about a very special reissue series I’ve been working on together with Intervention Records.
This year we’ll be releasing fully-remastered, deluxe 180-gram vinyl as well as SACD editions of Girlfriend, Altered Beast, and 100% Fun—plus, for the very first time on vinyl, Son of Altered Beast.
Label head Shane Buettner and the rest of the Intervention Records team have done a beautiful job with these albums. Each record was fully remastered from the original analog master tapes by Ryan K. Smith in the fully analog lab at Sterling Sound in New York City. They are rich, detailed, and LOUD!
I’m particularly excited about the extra tracks; this is the first vinyl edition of Girlfriend to ever include the three-song coda (“Does She Talk?” “Holy War,” and “Nothing Lasts”). On Altered Beast and 100% Fun you’ll find B-sides and rarities like “Superdeformed” and “Ultrasuede” plus a few you may never have heard before.
Our friends at Pledge Music are helping us bring these records from the mastering lab straight to your turntable along with a ton of very cool pre-order package options. In addition to premium vinyl or SACD, we’ve gone back in the archives to reproduce original tour merch from each album cycle, plus some newly designed items based on the classic artwork. Maybe you’d like a set of Test Pressings signed by me? A handwritten lyrics sheet to “I’ve Been Waiting” or “Ugly Truth”? These, and many more options are available for you to choose from on my Pledgemusic page.
I’ll be posting updates as the campaign unfolds so be sure to purchase an Access Pass so you can stay in the loop from the moment you make a Pledge until your purchase arrives in the mail.
Your enthusiasm and ongoing support of my music all these years means so much. I can’t wait for you to hear these remasters.
Moses are a London-based four piece band that wreak of attitude, brit-pop cool and reverb-laden guitar licks.” This thrilling London four-piece are recalling the fizzing energy of very early Blur, Following last year’s ‘River Thames’, The four-piece Moses are flowing upstream with new single ‘I Think You Worry Too Much’, which is out now via These Bloody Thieves Records.
Produced by Gavin Monaghan (Magic Garden Studios), and premiered on BBC 6 Music by Chris Hawkins, it’s a hooky, uplifting affair that harnesses the band’s pop-rock propensity for Britpop-inspired anthems.
In Autumn 2018, their third release, ‘Cause You Got Me’ Armed with an arsenal of arena-worthy ambitious songs, industry interest, the seeds of a following and new releases through 2019, This must-see-live band are ready for their first headline tour.
Previous singe ‘River Thames’ We believe so much in this song and its power to bring people together. ‘River Thames’ is not just about London it’s about everyone’s beautiful place, about a dream, a wish, a goal. About all of us trying to make it together.
Things are about to get bigger and better for the London based bands Moses. Their recent single ‘Cause You Got Me’ took their monthly Spotify plays from 1.8k to 193k. They supported one of the UK’s hottest band The Blinders and now, they’ve returned with their another superb track ‘River Thames’.
Produced by the legendary Gil Norton (Pixies & Foo Fighters), ‘River Thames’ kicks politicians’ banalities about “communities being left behind” into, well, the river! At its core, is a belief in people, a romanticism in their lives, a song writing trait that has drifted away in recent times.
Moses are a London based quartet; Matthew McCrilly (drums), Rory White (guitar), James Creighton (bass) and Victor M. Moses (vocalist)
False Head’s mean business, with their no-nonsense brand of politically charged punk-rock is perfectly paired with a love of huge riffs which has already attached the attention of legends such as Iggy Pop”. The scuzzed up, alt-rock 3-piece travelled extensively to promote their highly-anticipated ‘Less Is Better’ EP and now they’re back with an onslaught of activity. After sharing a stage with the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age and David Byrne, as well as picking up support and plays from BBC Radio 1 and Huw Stephens, they’ve been setting themselves up for even more domination, as they crash into 2019 with one of their most explosive tracks to date.
Their messages and views go hand-in-hand with the gnarly chaotic sound of Luke Griffiths’ pick-axe-to-the-ear riffs and raw growling vocals, Jake Elliot’s psychedelic-infused rumbling basslines and Barney Nash’s explosive powerhouse drumming.
Bringing their ferocity and energy in true False Heads style, ‘Slease’ ticks every single box in the world of post-punk rock. Raspy screams, a grinding bass hook, battering beats and a whole array of feedbacking, whiney, grunge guitar riffs that will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end from the get-go. The eerie foundations of the record are harnessed by the ever-anthemic chorus that features delicate underlying ‘ooo’s’ from Barney Nash, as well as a call and response that you just can’t help but sing along to. Fusing a frenzy of noise with gentle, intricate melodies is just one of the many aspects of False Heads’ signature sound, not to mention their ability to build up an entire song into a devastating, explosive racket of a drop.
Released via These Bloody Thieves Records / Ditto Records
Welcome to the world of Sophie & The Giants, practitioners of forward-looking, left-leaning emotional pop: a fresh, raw fusion of the band’s collective influences — which range from Siouxsie and Debbie Harry to Radiohead and Jamie T. The band formed at music college in the spring of 2017 Sophie (vocals and guitar), Chris Hill (drums), Bailey Stapledon (bass) and Toby Holmes (guitar), moving to their adopted hometown of Sheffield shortly afterwards; more recently they’ve been taking their intense, life-affirming and rapidly expanding set of songs on tour with the likes of Tom Grennan, Yonaka and Reverend and The Makers.
The Adolescence EP is a brilliantly focused first release by one of Britain’s most exciting new groups. While Sophie continues to toy with justifying her band’s name by putting Bailey, Chris and Toby in heels, the empowering nature of her lyrics means that the ‘giants’ concept has taken on a new meaning: this is music that’s all about standing tall. It’s about owning who you are, Sophie suggests.
“We want people to come together because of our music,” Chris adds. “The important thing is that you need to be yourself.” Adds Bailey: “Life’s full of cliques but our theory is: fuck all that, here’s some music.”
Band Members
Sophie Scott, Toby Holmes, Bailey Stapledon, Chris hill
Australian trio Middle Kids release “New Songs For Old Problems”, a six-track mini-album. The mini-album, recorded at the band’s own studio in Sydney and produced by bass player Tim Fitz, follows hot on the heels of what was a massive 2018 for Middle Kids and the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Lost Friends, which won Australian radio station Triple J’s prestigious Album of the Year award.
Of Real Thing, the new single, lead singer Hannah Joy explains that Real Thing is the lifelong quest for meaning. The quiet, persistent voice in the stillness that constantly checks to see if you truly think you’ve found the thing you’re looking for.” The six-song EP will see the trio continue their brand of emphatic, guitar-forward indie pop. This EP comes after the band’s popular debut album, Lost Friends.
Hannah Joy talks us through the release, track by track.
‘Beliefs & Prayers’ is a fanfare about people pretending to be nice when actually they are not. It’s rambunctious and intense and if it were a cheese it would be Roquefort.
I wrote ‘Salt Eyes’ because I used to think I needed alcohol to be okay when it was, in fact, one of the things that was making me not okay. The opening chords make me feel like I’m 20 years old arriving at a party and realising that I am not drunk enough to endure it.
‘Needle’ is a real rambly song singing about the phenomenon of everybody telling everybody else what to do on the internet because we’re all experts and we all know best. But then we are so SAD and ANXIOUS so what’s that all about?
‘Real Thing’ is the lifelong quest for meaning. The quiet, persistent voice in the stillness that constantly checks to see if you truly think you’ve found the thing you’re looking for. It has a cool pairing of crunchy guitars against a saucy groove. “Real Thing” begins with solemn-sounding guitar tremolo and Joy’s powerful vocal sighs. Once the chorus hits, though, all three members join forces to create a bittersweet melody backed up with fuzzed-out guitar. It’s layered and effortless
‘Call Me Snowflake’ is slightly unhinged but manages to keep itself together. It’s the most rough, punky moment on ‘New Songs for Old Problems’. But it’s also quite sensitive which is really brought out the in the long coda jam.
It is sometimes hard to go on and that is what ‘Big Softy’ is all about. The accordion in this song helps wheeze out the emotion in the chorus. Sometimes we just need an acknowledgement that life is hard, it has been since the beginning of time, and sometimes you need to just sing that out and then continue on.
By the time you’re reading this, you may have noticed that two Slaughter Beach, Dog songs have surfaced on the internet. We’re here to tell you, loyal Lame-O Records that the new SBD album, ‘Safe and Also No Fear’ will be released on 2nd August.
Across the previous Slaughter Beach, Dog albums, Jake Ewald has crafted a specific sound. It’s one that incorporates pop music, indie-rock, folk, and just the faintest dash of punk in order to create something that’s accessible but still artistically rich. With Safe And Also No Fear, the band’s third album,
In the wake of 2017’s Birdie, an album awash in warm tones and bubbly pop hooks, Safe And Also No Fear can’t help but feel like a turn toward darkness. It’s not one that’s instigated by the outside world—as inescapable as it may be—but instead the dramatic shifts of a person’s interior life. Where Ewald once offered tightly woven vignettes about characters that mirrored the people in his life, Safe And Also No Fear finds him naked at the album’s center, questioning everything he knows about himself. Around him, bassist Ian Farmer, guitarist Nick Harris, and drummer Zack Robbins spin out songs that are dense, swirling amalgams of difficult questions and hard-earned realizations—the kind that can’t be expressed through the accepted structures of pop music.
This isn’t to say there aren’t hooks, as songs like “Good Ones” and “One Day” have effervescent melodies anchoring them, but Safe And Also No Fear generally avoids taking the clear-cut path. As Ewald tells it, that’s a horrifying thing to put out into the world. After putting the finishing touches on the album, he sat down and listened back to the demos he’d first made, then the album itself, and realized it sounded unlike anything he’d ever done before. His creative impulses had changed over the years, and the result was a record that maybe his followers wouldn’t actually like.
Ewald seemingly addresses this anxiety during the album’s most ambitious track, the seven-minute long “Black Oak.” It’s fitting that midway through the longest song Ewald has ever written he offhandedly remarks, “Realizing this may put my career on the line.” It’s part of a larger narrative, but one that’s more textural and ambiguous than what the band has been known for. Is that lyric about Ewald and Slaughter Beach, Dog? We’ll maybe never know—and that’s the beauty of Safe And Also No Fear. It’s an album so profoundly singular, one that sees the band willing to wade out into deep waters without a life vest, that it encourages you to go out there with it. You hear the band fully embrace the unknown at the end of “Black Oak,” when the song explodes open and Ewald’s vocals are looped into a refrain that’s haunting and impossible to sing along with accurately. You can pick out phrases and hum a melody, but there’s no didactic meaning behind it. It’s there for you to find if you need it.
Safe And Also No Fear is a bold gesture, not just because of the music contained therein, but because it required Ewald to interrogate his artistic tendencies, breaking himself of his habits in service of making something he never thought he could. That involved trusting his band, with whom Ewald collaborated for a full year of writing and recording. Unlike Birdie, where Ewald played every instrument, with Safe And Also No Fear everyone’s fingerprints are on it. Though the album is a product of Ewald committing to his vision, it’s also proof of the way that Farmer, Harris, and Robbins are able to expand Slaughter Beach, Dog’s sonic boundaries in subtle, evocative ways.
The result of that collaboration is Safe And Also No Fear, an album that doesn’t leave easy clues as to its influences or intentions, instead offering up vague sketches of what it feels like to be a person who is constantly confused and anxious, yet completely committed to finding a way through it. It’s not simple, and Ewald’s never didactic, but the message begins to come through the more you revisit it. Every part of Safe And Also No Fear is a risk, and that’s exactly what makes it so beautiful. It’s a record that sees a band fully committed to their art, in spite of what everyone else would advise. And if you’re listening close enough, it really does make a lot of sense.
