Spectres are a noise rock band from Bristol. Slowly gathering acclaim with their uncompromising sound, they won Artrocker Magazines ‘Unsigned Act Of The Year’ in 2012, the magazine describing their live show as ‘a tornado tearing through a nail factory; a bracing experience indeed, and teetering on the brink of beauty’. Following their crowning of the ‘Artrocker Unsigned Band of the Year’ award, the band take their visceral live sound into a squat bedroom for a couple of days, set up a few mics among the mattresses, plug in, play and see what happened. Recorded by members of the blossoming Howling Owl Records family (Oliver Wilde and Dominic Mitchison (Velcro Hooks)); Taken from the Hunger EP somehow manages to knead the squalls of feedback, distortion and noise, whilst leaving room for the vocals to float around at will.
The Bristol-based artist took to Donegal, West Ireland, to record the track with Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers, SOAK).
“My Grandad passed away around 10 years ago and I have grown closer to my Grandma in his absence,” says Luke. “I’m often moved thinking about her living without him. She misses him and talks about him everyday. Her broken heart breaks mine and this song was written about that.”
“Killing Me” is out now via RayGun/Red Essential,
Killing Me taken from the new album ‘Time Is A Riddle’ out May 12th
Bristol based singer/songwriter Fenne Lily is sharing her new single “What’s Good”, her first solo material of 2017.
“What’s Good” focuses on Lily’s innate knack for lyrics that make you halt like a deer in headlights. Teaming up once again with friend and producer Dave Dixon (Tamu Massif), Lily’s latest track is a quivering mesh of jaw-dropping vocals and to-the-bone instrumentation that drags you through the gamut of human emotion.
The standalone offering follows last year’s impressive “Bud” and “Top To Toe” singles, and a spate of collaborations with fellow Bristol acts Oliver Wilde, ThisisDA, Slonk, and Tamu Massif – plus recent 4AD signee Aldous Harding, who invited Lily to sing with her during sessions for her upcoming LP.
Its an infestation of the senses, a roar on all our responsibilities, and a contagious noise fuelled trespass on everything in between. The debut album from British quintet Idles rips into personal and social issues with the insatiable attitude and defiance unleashed in the late seventies, its sound as much punk rock rage as it is a post punk/noise rock enslaving of the imagination and psyche.
Each song from the Bristol five-piece of Joe Talbot, Mark Bowen, Lee Kiernan, Adam Devonshire, and Jon Beavis is such a creative growl, a visceral infectious edge and mischief just as bruising and incisive. Dedicated in part to the loss of Talbot’s mother, who adorns the record’s cover, Brutalism is stretched with such invasive treats, from start to finish a mordant adventure, challenge, and accusation as witty as it is vicious, as devilish as it is ferocious. With Idles in the early days of an UK tour, their first album is sure to see it’s already eagerly devoured.
Straight away band and album show uniqueness within a proposition which also swiftly inspires thoughts of bands such as The Fall, Swell Maps, and early The Horrors. There is so much more to it though as that originality shows, opener Heel_Heal cantankerously striding from an initial dispute with an nagging riff and rhythmic tenacity which alone lures keen attention as Talbot’s equally confrontational vocals snarl. Punk rock infested with crabbily textured noise, the track rumbles and grumbles; with band vocals as anthemically rousing and spiteful as the general character of the outstanding starter.
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Straight away band and album show uniqueness within a proposition which also swiftly inspires thoughts of bands such as The Fall, Swell Maps, and early The Horrors. There is so much more to it though as that originality shows, opener Heel_Heal cantankerously striding from an initial dispute with an nagging riff and rhythmic tenacity which alone lures keen attention as Talbot’s equally confrontational vocals snarl. Punk rock infested with crabbily textured noise, the track rumbles and grumbles; with band vocals as anthemically rousing and spiteful as the general character of the outstanding starter.
Being truly excited by something new or unique is a treat rarely found these days, Idles though have cracked that desire in fine style with Brutalism.
Brutalism is out now on Balley Records through iTunes and other stores.
Bristol-based psychedelic power-rockers The Shimmer Band burst onto the city’s live scene in early 2014, selling out their first gig off the back of a few DIY demos they had managed to float around their friends. By their second gig, they had already gained managerial interest.
“We kicked up a joyous racket and everyone was starting to hear it,” says Tom Newman, the band’s swaggering frontman. From Britpop, psychedelia and EDM, to Frank Sinatra and Dr Dre, The band’s influences are almost as eclectic as the music scene that surrounds them. “It’s a melting pot of experimentation,” says Newman of Bristol.
“[There’s] tremendous spirit and talent and everyone’s got time for each other.”
Newman cites Bristol as a creative hub for the southwest, and believes the rest of the UK is starting to catch on as the city becomes more popular. “If you’re an artist in the southwest of England you gravitate to Bristol,” he says. “That’s a no-brainer. It’s a very creative city. “[There’s] genuinely loads of good music rising up as we speak: Yak,Black Honey, The Amazons, Broken Hands, April, The Wholls and Yves to name a few. And [there’s] a terrific club, This Feeling, that tirelessly gets them in front of people nationwide.
“Our songs definitely translate better on a bigger stage and to do them justice I really think that’s what they deserve.” Having already opened for The Strypes, Jesus And The Mary Chain, Stereophonics and The Vaccines as well as gaining slots at The Great Escape and The Isle Of Wight festival, The Shimmer Band have been firmly cutting their teeth as a live act and have garnered a reputation for it.
“We’re signed to an independent label based in Bristol called Komplex. They’re badass focused with a killer studio and belief for miles,” explains Newman. The band are currently recording their debut LP with Komplex, produced by David Francolini, and have ambitious expectations for the final product.
“We want the album to be 100ft tall in every respect. It’s rock, it’s pop, it’s psychedelic, it grooves and it throws itself off the cliff into free fall,” insists Newman. “It’s a massive cacophony of sound that is emotive, euphoric and inspiring. When you get round to listening to all the tracks as a whole and in sequence it’s definitely not like anything else. It’s unique and exciting and most importantly, a lot of fun.”
This Feeling are one of the country’s top promoters, a small team supporting new talent from the off, This Feeling were one of the first to put their trust in Catfish & The Bottlemen, one of the first to support Blossoms.
Returning with their Band Of The Month recommendation, This Feeling introduce the charms of The Shimmer Band. Who met at school and found a deep expanding amoeba of musical fire that we all wanted to share with the world. Loving rock ‘n’ roll and they wanna keep that fire burning bright for as long as possible. We wanna inject a bit of euphoria and revelry into this mundane, politically soaked world. With influences of Creation Records and basically every band involved with that label. The fuzz-drenched wall of noise of Jesus And Mary Chain…The multicoloured hazy pop of Super Furry Animals…The ever-evolving boundary-less rock n roll of Primal Scream…The unshakable belief and melody of Oasis.
So the New Year brings with it plenty of expectations, but also plenty of opportunities.
Tom Newman – Voices & Melodies
Babsy – Guitars
Smitty -keys and Synthesizers
Willz – Drums
Kuras – Bass Guitars
The video for SUNKICK the new single by The Shimmer Band. SUNKICK is out now on Komplex Recordings.
With their previous releases Trust Fund, aka Ellis Jones and various pals, have firmly established a great reputation for crafting the catchiest of sad bedroom-pop songs. The kind of tracks that you want to dance frantically around the room to whilst simultaneously crying because Jones’ songwriting resonates deeply as he earnestly narrates the constant fluctuation of ups and downs that is everyday life. ‘We have always lived in The Harolds’ maintains this characteristically visceral candor just with less of the clattering, full-band sounds and more wavy synth effects. There’s a poignantly raw, imperfect beauty at the core of this self-released album that epitomises exactly what it is that makes Trust Fund so emotively compelling to watch live.
This is Trust Fund at their weird and wonderful best with Jones’ distinctive vocals coming to the fore, track titles that read like cryptic clues, and majestic little melodies weaving their way throughout. There aren’t many artists who can juxtapose rather bleak lyrics like “all we want is to not exist” with the chirpiest, upbeat harmonies and actually make it work as well as Jones does. In the all too ephemeral burst of sadness and splendor that is ‘We have alwayslived in The Harolds’ Trust Fund offer a refreshingly authentic and chaotic collection of songs that you will want to listen to over and over again . A true Indie band in every sense.
Bristol singer/songwriter Fenne Lily captures the fine lines of experience in a truly unique and enigmatic way. On ‘Bud’, the singer triggers vocal intensity and delicacy with aching ease.
Lily is certain to find universal appeal. In the meantime, before the majority wake up to the stirring intimacy of Lily’s folk-pop, we will savour every second of her ascent to wider familiarity. The new single proceeds a small tour circuit around the UK, commencing on 16th November in London.
Cousin Kula are on the up in Bristol, with their psych-pop offerings piquing interests across the city (and beyond). Recent single “Hesitation”, produced by Jim Barr, is a supercharged pop cut with rampant percussion, brittle falsetto, rubbery grooves, and wiry riffs that instantly infect your brain. They’ve already nabbed support slots with the likes of Dutch Uncles and The Kooks – it’s only a matter of time before they become national, not just local, favs.
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The Fat Angel Sings 