When Exeter punk rockers Muncie Girls released their debut album arrived back in 2016, to rave reviews, and received invitations to play at some of Europe’s biggest festivals. Asides from a “B-sides” EP in 2020, the band hasn’t been seen on record since 2018’s follow-up “Fixed Ideals“, but frontwoman LandeHekt has kept herself busy in the meantime with a series of solo releases, most notably her forthcoming second album, “House Without A View” is her second solo LP.
Heading to Canada soon on tour is extremely exciting as it’s my first time, and I’m a big fan of Laura JaneGrace, who I’ll be supporting. The UK shows will be exciting because it’ll be my first headline tour as a solo artist and I’m bringing a full band with me. I didn’t get to tour very much after “Going to Hell” was released, so this time I’m planning on making the most of it.”
That first record was supposed to go straight onto Bandcamp before Get Better Records offered to put it out. I was so shocked when I saw how many people bought or listened to it. This time I spent a bit longer writing and I demoed all the songs from “House Without A View” in a studio before recording it.
The Wedding Present are a big influence in terms of guitars. I covered their song “Octopussy” on a 7” B-side recently. I love the sound of that album Seamonsters, produced by Steve Albini. Bands like The Sundays and The Popguns have been an inspiration melodically, I guess their guitar sounds are somewhat influenced by Johnny Marr so, although I’m not much of a Smiths fan, that guitar sound has come to me indirectly. In terms of chords, I am a big Replacements fan. I wish I could nail chord progressions like Paul Westerberg does.
The album ‘House Without a View’ is out on 23rd September via Get Better Records and Prize Sunflower Records.
From “Taxman” to “Tomorrow Never Knows,” The Beatles’ “Revolver” has been newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and Sam Okell, and sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes with audio brought forth in stunning clarity with the help of cutting-edge technology developed by the award-winning sound team at Peter Jackson’s Wing Nut Films Productions Ltd.
The Beatles’ classic album ‘Revolver’ will be the next of the band’s albums to be remixed & released as a boxed set. According to Variety, “Apple Corps & Universal Music have confirmed that a deluxe celebration of the 1966 release — which, like TheBeatle boxes that have preceded it, will include a Giles Martin remix — is in the pipeline for this fall.” An official announcement about the project, including release date & details on what material will be included, will likely come in September.
‘Revolver’ will follow on the heels of other Beatles classic albums to be remixed & released as a boxed set. ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, ‘The Beatles’ (aka The White Album) & ‘Abbey Road’ have all received such treatment. Last year, 1970’s ‘Let It Be’ became the latest Fab Four album added to the list.
In 2021, Martin admitted he was looking “to do something really innovative” with “Revolver“, “as opposed to just a remastering job. There’s no point in just doing this to make money or as a sales thing or because we’d done the others. It’s more important that we do it for the right reason…”
The Beatles turned themselves inside out on ‘Revolver,’ exercising a creative freedom following their retirement from the road. They used the studio as their playground, turning the record’s 14 songs into the sort of mind-expanding musical template that would influence artists for generations to come. ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ may be the more complete work, but ‘Revolver’ is way more fun.
“Taxman,” “Revolver’s” opening song and Harrison’s extra-sharp stab at the insanely high taxes theBeatles were paying in the U.K. at the time. An early protest number by the group.
“Eleanor Rigby,” The Beatles were all about breaking down pop conventions on Revolver, and this McCartney-penned song about “all the lonely people” was a key track in this transformation. It’s all strings and voices – not a traditional pop instrument in sight.
“I’m Only Sleeping,” Another standout track from the culture-shifting Revolver album, Lennon’s ode to the joys of sleeping features Harrison’s guitar solo unspooled backward – a first for pop music.
“Love You To,” Harrison’s first head-dive into Indian music is essentially a solo song with little input from the other Beatles. A bunch of outside musicians provide sitar, tabla and tambura.
“Here, There and Everywhere,” Inspired by the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds LP, McCartney wanted his own “God Only Knows.” He nearly achieves it, on one of his most gorgeous ballads.
“Yellow Submarine,” Written by Lennon and McCartney, sung by Ringo Starr and later used in the Beatles’ animated film of the same name, “Yellow Submarine” is, by turns, goofy, charming and fun.
“She Said She Said,” Inspired by an acid trip, and with no input whatsoever from McCartney (he walked out of the sessions for the song), “She Said She Said” was the last track recorded for the mind-bending “Revolver”.
“Good Day Sunshine,” One of McCartney’s sunbeam-soaked throwbacks from an era when the Beatles were looking forward.
“And Your Bird Can Sing,” One of Revolver’s most tuneful and straight-up pop songs, short on the studio experimentation that powered much of the rest of the album. Killer guitar intro too.
“For No One,” One of McCartney’s most accomplished ballads, an end-of-relationship song that Lennon called one of his favorites. McCartney and Starr are the only two Beatles here, playing alongside that sublime French horn.
“Doctor Robert,” Supposedly true song about a doctor who supplied the Beatles with drugs during their druggiest period.
Harrison wrote and sang three songs on “Revolver“. “I Want to Tell You,” This one’s the easiest to forget.
“Got to Get You Into My Life,” McCartney’s brass-powered tribute to Motown was just one of the new tricks the band unveiled on “Revolver“. Another was the abundance of drug songs, like this one.
“Tomorrow Never Knows,” Recorded at the start of the “Revolver” sessions, “Tomorrow Never Knows” is the sound of the Beatles reinventing themselves and modern music in the process. Tape loops, backward guitars and an abstract wall of noise serve as the bedrocks of a truly revolutionary work. Nothing was the same after this.
“Revolver,” the album before “Sgt. Pepper,” and possibly work backward in time from there — although the keepers of the Beatles’ catalogue always refrain from confirming plans for future years in advance.
But, beyond any reverse-chronological planning that might be in order, it goes almost without saying that most fans were hoping “Revolver” would be next. Many consider it the Beatles’ finest work. Moreover, outtakes have not been widely bootlegged to the extent that they have with later projects like “Let It Be,” leaving enormous curiosity as to what may lie among the bonuses.
Some Beatlemaniacs had been skeptical, however, that Apple would be able to produce remixes of the pre-“Sgt. Pepper” albums that match what Martin had already done with the latter part of the band’s catalogue. This was due to the fact that the albums through 1966 were recorded to more basic four-track masters, where multiple instruments or vocals were often squeezed into a single track. At a time when mono was still considered the standard, the stereo mixes prior to “Pepper” often sound bizarre to the modern ear, with key elements relegated entirely to the left or right side results, which is why many Beatles fans relish finally getting a more holistic mix of “Revolver” and the albums that preceded it.
When spoken with Martin in the fall of 2021 about the prospects of doing remixes for the pre-’67 albums, he made it sound like he thought the moment was nigh to tackle them, although he said he wasn’t yet underway on work on any of them.
“I think we have to do it,” Martin said at the time. “If you take something like ‘Taxman’ from ‘Revolver’ [a track often cited for its bizarre stereo separation], ‘Taxman’ is guitar, bass and drums on one track, and vocals and a sort of shaking and guitar solo (on the right). And it sounds good; they’re amazing recordings, and amazing mixes. You know, we have to look into what technology we can do to make things de-mixed and all this kind of stuff, which I’m looking into. So I’m looking for the technology to do it with, to do something really innovative with ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Revolver,’ as opposed to just a remastering job, because it’s been remastered already. So I think we will. I think we also will look at outtakes as well.”
He added then, “I think we’re getting there with technology. I think we are. I’m not doing it at the moment, though, I can tell you that much.
Super Deluxe 4LP + 7” Vinyl EP: This Special Edition of The Beatles’ “Revolver” features a new mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, the original mono mix, a 4-track EP, 31 session takes and home demos, a 100-page book with a foreword by Paul McCartney, an essay by Questlove, detailed track notes, photos and ephemera including handwritten lyrics, tape boxes and extracts from Klaus Voormann’s graphic novel on the making of the cover art. Half-speed-mastered 180g LPs + 7-inch vinyl EP in a 12.56” x 12.36” slipcase.
Originally released August 5th, 1966 “Revolver” saw the Beatles once again changing the world of popular music, offering deeper experimentation than anything they’d previously done. Created with producer George Martin (Giles’ father) at London’s EMI Studios, the LP utilized ground breaking recording techniques and is regarded as a landmark rock release. “Taxman,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “She Said She Said,” “Good Day Sunshine” and “Got to Get You into My Life” were among the album’s many classic tracks.
Why Bonnie takes you on a nostalgic road trip through the Lone Star State on their debut album, “90 inNovember”. The New York-by-way-of-Texas band, fronted by Blair Howerton, melds the intimacy of Townes Van Zandt’s lyricism with a full-band sound that blossoms into raw retrospectives. The majority of the album was written in Brooklyn, where bandleader Howerton moved in August 2019 from Austin. However, when it came time to record, the band decided to return to their roots and head to the small town of Silsbee, Texas (population: 6,634), to work with Tommy Read (Lomelda, alexalone). They spent days wandering around with cows and nights stargazing while they perfected their self-described “shoegazeicana.”
An album that explores their past sans rose-tinted glasses, “90 in November” soft strings and subtle twang embody the bittersweet blur of memory. Despite the occasional glance in the rear view mirror, Why Bonnie makes it clear that their eyes are on the future, even if that means leaving a little bit of their heart in the past.
“There are shades of the lilac-gilded grace of Waxahatchee’s Saint Cloud in the sweetly understated roots of quieter tracks like “Silsbee” and “Superhero,” while the guitar fits of “Sharp Turn” and “Lot’s Wife” conjure the more turbulent stretches of Wednesday’s Twin Plagues, an album that similarly picks at childhood memories through the weary lens of adulthood.” – Pitchfork
“The record mixes Texas’ outlaw country heritage with classic ’90s alt rock for a hazy, ragged and often beautiful sound featuring Blair Howerton’s melodic songwriting and smoky vocals.” – Brooklyn Vegan
New single out now from Why Bonnie’s debut album “90 in November” – out 19th August on Keeled Scales!
Gently Tender’s incredible debut album, ‘Take Hold Of Your Promise!’ arrives this Friday and we couldn’t be more excited to hear it in its entirety.
Gently Tender release their debut album ‘Take Hold Of Your Promise!’via So Young Records. The album was produced by Matthew E. White, who flew over from Richmond, Virginia to work with the band during lockdown in Wales’ Rockfield Studios.
Rising from the ashes of Palma Violets, Gently Tender first begun as a reminder for Sam Fryer – once, the vocalist in one of South London’s most-hyped bands – to treat himself more softly. Joined by his former Palmas bandmates Will Doyle and Pete Mayhew, along with The Big Moon’s Celia Archer and guitarist Adam Brown, the band’s long-awaited debut album ‘Take Hold Of Your Promise!’ has been five years in the making, and marks a return to something slow and careful, rooted, and soulful.
Produced by Matthew E. White, it glimmers with gospel choirs and warm bursts of horn, unearthing a spiritual kind of acceptance in the process. The world may be a burning trash-pit, and the work of striving to be a better person will never end. But in Gently Tender’s universe, at least, there’s a precious sliver of hope to be found; even in the dark shadows, you’re never watching the flames rage alone.
First single is ‘Love All The Population’ which shows off the band’s Spiritualized-inspired widescreen ambition, the track holds happiness and sadness with one hand. Featuring the arresting, irresistible tones of vocalist Sam Fryers, squalling brass and whirling percussion, ‘Love All The Population’ is an emotionally bruising, life-affirming unifier.
If you missed the band headlining So Young Records’ night at The Grace the other week then you can catch them at an instore near you, starting from Friday
Wunderhorse release their debut single, “Teal” via Yala! Records. Wunderhorse is the alias of British musician Jacob Slater. Jacob fronted The Dead Pretties, a London band who arrived in a haze of hedonism and hype, bowing out before the dust had time to settle.
This new project arrives no less frenetically.“Teal” is a feral, romantic, visceral, chaotic and enchanting cacophony of sound that contradicts itself with each sleight of hand and change of chord. A rare, raw and assured talent, “Teal” is an urgent fever-dream of a number, tumbling downhill with the brakes off. Belligerent and unblinking. Arthouse indie-rock, but without the connotations. It’s one of those.
If this all sounds exciting that’s because it is. “Teal” is one of those tunes that has a rare ability to define the very moment in which its heard and forever associate itself with the memories long after. Time-stamped yet timeless. If there’s any justice, it’ll soon be played out live in sticky basement rooms up and down the country, limbs everywhere, sweat dripping from the walls. An absolute mess, but what a beautiful one.
There will be more from Wunderhorse, but for now this is “Teal”. Play it again, but play it louder.
Hugely melodic, grungy Americana from a man destined for big things
You’re going to love them: the former Dead Pretties frontman Jacob Slater will soon be a star of the small-screen: he plays Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook in Danny Boyle’s forthcoming biography series, “Pistol”. If his acting’s anywhere near as good as recent singles ‘Poppy’ and ‘Teal’ – which drift from fuzzy ’90s psych-rock to the Americana stylings of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Elliott Smith – then he’ll be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in no time.
After an incredible run of support slots with Sam Fender, Foals and Fontaines D.C, the Fontaines lads have decided to take Wunderhorse with them across the pond as the support act for their US tour.
“You’re Going To Need Somebody,” the third single from “Evolution Here We Come” is out, streaming everywhere. This is one of my favourite Richard Thompson-penned songs, as much for the lyrics as the musical content. Nick Millevoi plays some great lap steel on this and Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate) and Linda Pitmon (Baseball Project) contribute backing vocals on this take.
“Evolution Here We Come” is out in it’s entirety via No Quarter. Vinyl has been in for weeks (kudos to NQ for managing the vinyl slowdowns so gracefully!) and there are dwindling numbers of the “black tie-dye” coloured vinyl, which are limited to 500 copies in the US only. Order now to lock down if that’s up your particular breezeway. The vinyl edition of the album also includes a vinyl-only side-long bonus track that will not be available in any other format or streaming.
In late October/early November, I’ll be embarking on an eight-date co-headline tour with Meg Baird in the Northeast and Midwest. We’ll be sharing a band of killers including Douglas McCombs (Tortoise, etc) on bass, Ryan Jewell (Ryley Walker, etc) on drums, and Charlie Saufley (Heron Oblivion) on guitar. Each night Meg will do a set with them, then I will play a set with them, then some kinda collaboration. I’m a huge fan of Meg as an artist and she happens to be one of my oldest friends, so I’m really looking forward to this run.
While Chris often nets comparisons to Television, his works seem more indebted to the protean guitar work of Robert Quine. Like Quine he’s able to slip easily between barbed, brutal moments and the quicksilver ripples of pop. Both impulses shine through on the new record. Where the opener spars with Bill Nace’s tatters of tashigoto and Marshall Allen’s Electronic Valve, by the time he’s slid into the first few notes of “Heaven For A Few,” the amber glow of afternoon sun has washed away the brittle battle that preciously ensued. The angst of “Bad Moon Risen” boils down with the smoke curl resolve of “Hey Evolution,” but both erode in the relief of Stuart Bogie’s flutes on “Long Beach Idyll.”
Certainly it’s easy to argue that any of the last three of Forsyth’s records are high water marks. His live staple, “Dreaming in the Non-Dream,” set the tone for the half-decade to come, balancing his punk hackles with live improv desires. Just as on the last two he ends the album with another side-long stretch that will surely find further legs in the live setting. “Robot Energy Machine” embraces Chris’ motorik pulse, while craning for something a bit more cosmic. The song reflects the tone of the title’s “evolution,” but clouds the benefits of whether that progression is welcome or not. Like much of the album, the closer is conflicted about the future — shining bright with a roiling tension, but looking tentatively at the darkness on the horizon.
releases August 29, 2022
Chris Forsyth – guitar, vocal Tom Malach – guitar Douglas McCombs – bass guitar Ryan Jewell – drums, percussion, vibes
with
Dave Harrington – congas, pedal steel guitar, Wurlitzer electric piano, Farfisa organ, PrimeTime guitar, bamboo flute, tambourine, Marshall Allen – Electronic Valve Instrument on (1), Bill Nace – Metal Machine tashigoto on (1), Linda Pitmon – backing vocal on (4), Steve Wynn – backing vocal on (4), Nick Millevoi – lap steel on (4), Stuart Bogie – flutes on (6)
Pink Floyd’s Animals is being released in a variety of new formats for its 45th anniversary. The 1977 title is being made available on Deluxe Gatefold, CD, LP, Blu-ray and SACD, all with a 2018 remix. The individual versions will be available on September 16th, 2022 with the Deluxe version available on October 7th via Sony Music [Warner Music in Europe]. This is the first time the album will have been available on 5.1 Surround Sound.
Animals is the tenth studio album by Pink Floyd, originally released in January 1977. It was recorded at the band’s Britannia Row Studios in London throughout 1976 and early 1977, and was produced by the band themselves. The album peaked at number 2 in the U.K. and number 3 in the U.S., and is considered as one of the band’s best works. The album was recorded by band members David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright.
The Deluxe Gatefold version includes LP, CD, audio Blu-ray, audio DVD and a 32-page book. The Blu-ray and DVD audio include the 2018 remix in Stereo, 5.1 Surround (both by James Guthrie) and the original 1977 Stereo mix. The 32-page booklet features rarely seen behind the scenes photographs of the album sleeve shoot along with live images and memorabilia. The album artwork has been reimagined for this release. From the June 30th announcement: “Animals” is a concept album, focusing on the social-political conditions of mid-1970s Britain, and was a change from the style of the band’s earlier work. The album was developed from a collection of unrelated songs into a concept which describes the apparent social and moral decay of society, likening the human condition to that of animals. Taking inspiration from George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the album depicts the different classes of people as animals with pigs being at the top of the social chain, dropping down to the sheep as the mindless herd following what they are told, with dogs as the business bosses getting fat on the money and power they hold over the other. Although it’s been a long time since 1977, the narrative of the album still resonates today as our social and economic situation mirrors that of the time.
The album’s iconic cover shows an inflatable pig (now known as Algie) floating between two chimneys of the Battersea Power Station, conceived by Waters, and designed by long-time collaborator Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis Studios.
For this new release, the artwork has been re-designed for the modern era by Storm’s Hipgnosis partner Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell. Taking new shots of the building as it appeared during the recent conversion work, Po experimented with new angles and produce some striking new takes on the classic original. Po elaborates: “With the original 1977 album cover being such an iconic piece of stand-alone art, I had the chance to update it, which was a rather daunting task, but Hipgnosis took the opportunity to re photograph the image to reflect a changing world, and by using modern digital colouring techniques I kept Pink Floyd’s rather bleak message of moral decay using the Orwellian themes of animals, the pig ‘Algie’, faithful to the message of the album.”
Indigo Sparke returns with her magnetic second full-length album “Hysteria”, recorded with producer Aaron Dessner (The National, Taylor Swift). It’s a huge and beautiful sweeping work, one that possesses a rare, reflective power. From the first few notes, in the first song, “Blue”, something chilling and captivating pierces straight into the listener’s chest. With harmonies reminiscent of the voices in our heads, she examines love, loss, grief, a newly realized rage, her history, dreams, and the emotional weather patterns surrounding those sensations: her words tell the stories, and the sounds act them out.
It’s a diary built for big stages. “Hysteria” arrives just a year after her striking, minimalist debut, “Echo“. Here though, Sparke offers an more expansive body of work—it’s a simultaneously nostalgic yet clear and complex collection that expands her sound and outlook.
While the world that Sparke inhabits is a rich tapestry of sound that pulls the listener into circular spaces of seemingly never ending minimalistic textures and harmonic suspensions, what’s most clearly on display is her voice and her song forms. Deceptively simple structures wind like labyrinths in a whirlwind of lyrical expression and vocal pageantry calling to mind the early works of PJ Harvey, Meredith Monk, and the like. These compositions are a warm invitation into her world.
the album “Hysteria“, out October 7th 2022, via Sacred Bones Records
Taking its title from the astrological term for when a planet is in such close, specific proximity to the sun that it’s considered to be in the heart of it, “Cazimi“ finds the listener at the moment with its examination of trauma, chronicling “the slow motion unravelling of somebody’s life” in the aftermath.
“I was living that ‘combust to the sun’ narrative and the burnout was inevitable” a standout staple of Nashville’s rock scene, rose is “witty, brilliant company” (pitchfork) and a “promisingly wry lyricist” (the guardian) with a “wily and impressive blend of melancholy and cheek.” (new york times) her 2011 full-length “Own Side” now earned her praise for her “sweet, knowing voice and a penchant for lyrics that are far darker” (new york times), nestled in “simply adorned song-craft which…never seem constrained by Nashville tropes, old or new.” (bbc music) after a seven year absence following the release of her sophomore album, “The Stand-In“.
In February of 2020, singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose settled in at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios for a week of tracking with William Tyler, Brian Kotzur, Jack Lawrence, and Luke Schneider. After a seven year absence following the release of her sophomore LP, “The Stand-In” a self-described Sisyphean nightmare of false starts and career blocks, Rose was ready, with the encouragement of close friend and producer Jordan Lehning, to give the rock a final push. “It happened so fast that there was no time to worry about what could go wrong; all I walked in with was the excitement,” she says. When she and Lehning planned to return for overdubs in early March, neither expected that the world would turn on its head in little more than a week, that a tornado would soon wipe half of east Nashville off the map, or a global pandemic would, as it has for so many others’ projects, further delay completion.
Paradoxically, though, sitting with her songs a little longer turned out to be exactly what Rose needed. “I had all the pieces,” she says. “It just took a while to make them fit. The initial charge of going into the studio with people I trusted and seeing it through was so inspiring, and then the world just stopped. It was a terrifying shift, but Jordan set the path for us and figured out how to utilize this new uncomfortable freedom of time. It led to a process more joyful than any I’ve experienced making music.”
The resulting record, “Cazimi“, on Names, finds itself released into the world at the exact right time. We’re not quite post-pandemic but we’re certainly post-vibe shift. Things are falling apart, systems are failing in front of us; chaos and danger await us the moment we step out our front doors. The perpetual mood is that of a constant hum of anxiety as we try to cope, with varying degrees of success, with the collective trauma that has consumed us unrelentingly for the past few years.
Taking its title from the astrological term for when a planet is in such close, specific proximity to the sun that it’s considered to be in the heart of it, “Cazimi” finds the listener at the moment with its examination of trauma, chronicling “the slow motion unravelling of somebody’s life” in the aftermath. The thing about “Cazimi“ is that it’s fleeting, accidental, even—a moment of exaltation that goes just as fast as it comes. It’s a phenomenon that Rose could relate to: “I was never prepared to take on everything that happened to me in my early twenties. Being all of a sudden thrust into spotlights that I had little business being under was rarely empowering, often more so debilitating, and being in the rush of it all, I never could quite catch up,” she explains. “I was living that ‘combust to the sun’ narrative and the burnout was inevitable”
“Cazimi“, comes out November 18th, 2022 on Names, finds itself released into the world at the exact right time.
