The Bloodstreams have released their new single ‘Clockwork Man’.The Bloodstream are a four-piece alt-rock group from South East London formed in 2019. The band started their writing and recording process before their first show as a band, creating songs such as ‘Bed of Nails’ and ‘Columbine’, both of which were released last year. With three songwriters in the group, the result is a fusion of classic rock, pop and heavy grunge styles.
Featuring slick guitar manoeuvres, and oodles of energy, ‘Clockwork Man’ boasts the swaggered sound of The Bloodstreams. The track travels on hook-filled riffs and driving basslines while punchy rhythms create a buoyant foundation as the band venture between 60’s tones and alternative rock flirtations. The Bloodstreams showcase their catchy musicianship through this radiant ditty as the sing-along chorus and powerful vocals ensure the song stays in your head all day while saxophone and trumpet embellishments keep the song fresh and diverse. ‘Clockwork Man’ is a bright and upbeat song with witty lyrics that display the charming and fun sound of The Bloodstreams.
Rock singer SymLa-3000 has released her debut album, ‘The Spectrums’. Written and arranged by the singer herself, she delivers light and airy vocals alongside metal sounds performed by Akira Tejima in nine of the songs (Guitar), Makoto Kitamura (Bass), Takayoshi Ochoco Saita (Drums). Other musicians that were involved in this album include Yuki Hayashi, Miho Okazaki and Makoto Togashi. SymLa-3000 fell into music when she first discovered the world of Japanese anime as a child. Insistent about learning the lyrics of the songs, she would get her mother to write them down whilst she watched her favourite shows. After picking up the classical piano and starting vocal lessons, she realised that she wanted to deliver her own messages, so she began composing her own music in Cubase. In 2020 she released her first single under the name SymLa- 3000, a combination of Japanese words meaning ‘universe’.
‘The Spectrums’, presents the dynamic metal-infused rock of SymLa-3000. Filled with soaring guitars that ricochet off pummeling drums and rampant bass rumbles the album is a passionate display of musicianship from the artist. SymLa-3000’s sweet vocals add an ethereal quality to songs such as ‘Cracks’ and ‘White Memory’ – her voice contrasts the track’s kinetic atmosphere while at the same time anchoring the listener within the song’s expressive soundscapes. Between the frantic alternative rock tracks, SymLa-3000 provides moments of release in the form of softer tunes like ‘Aqua’. This song is tender and delicate with soft vocals caressing a dreamy melody while the backdrop of pining guitar and steady beats ooze heartfelt emotion into the song.
The concept behind the album focuses on the seasonal changes in Japan. The first song ‘The Darkness’ begins with the rainy season around June and cycles through summer, fall and winter. The journey ends with the spring season in Japan, the more laid back title track leaves you with images of the famous Japanese cherry blossoms shedding their petals. SymLa-3000 displays these themes through an intriguing blend of energetic instrumentation, heavy mosh moments and sweet gentle melodic arrangements. ‘The Spectrums’ is a well crafted, energetic debut album from SymLa-3000.
Ruchie Sharma has released her debut album, ‘Xtraordinary’.This energetic collection of tracks is an exciting display of Sharma’s driving guitar-heavy rock and provides a satisfying and engaging experience for listeners to enjoy. The album exudes gritty riffs, pummeling drums and catchy melodies as Sharma refines her vibrant wall of sound with elements of pop-punk ( ‘Fallen In Love’) and grunge hues ( ‘Strong Girls’). Filled with shredding guitar, soaring bass grooves and oodles of heartfelt melodies ‘Xtraordinary’ is a tight and impressive debut. There are powerful anthems throughout the album, however, the emotive and bittersweet ‘Should’Ve Left You Behind’ with its catchy “nah nah nah” lyric is perhaps the pinnacle moment on the album and displays Sharma’s raw and emotive songwriting “should have known you were coming with a knife under those roses”. ‘Xtraordinary’ is a dynamic debut album that highlights the growing talent of Ruchie Sharma.
Dublin band Forty Foot have released their new single ‘IDNA’. Forty Foot is a three-piece band from Dublin, composed of Mark Dillon (Guitar) and cousins Sam Coffey (Guitar/Vocals) and Ezra Mullen (Drums). The band was formed in 2019 following the sudden death of a friend and previous collaborator, with much of their initial work written and inspired by the bands’ loss. Their debut release ‘Drugs’ was recorded during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic at Yellow Door studios. This was followed by their sophomore release “Zeros” which received radio play across Ireland, the UK, and also America.
Forty Foot returns with ‘IDNA’ – a thrilling and blustery grunge rock assault. The track pulsates on a resounding bassline while sharp frenzied guitars pierce throughout. The tune is richly layered in expressive swirling soundscapes that briskly turn into a dizzying trip of distortion as the song reaches its dynamic crescendo. With rasp-filled vocals haunting over an infectious melody, Forty Foot quenches our thirst for raw grunge rock with this exciting, ravaging new tune. Press play and enjoy.
Speaking about the single ‘IDNA’ Guitarist and Vocalist Sam Coffey said: “The lyrics only came together really when we hit the studio. I don’t think I had the chorus written at all actually. For me, it’s a call to arms. Ireland’s been through a tough time with COVID and with an unaccountable government that is just ticking boxes. It’s been rough for many. Despite this there is an inherent pride and togetherness we all share, it is in our DNA. All the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends, lovers, had to keep each other going. I think I was just tapping into that feeling, it was certainly how I felt and how I still feel.”
Betty’s Nuklear have released their debut single ‘Bleeding the Summer’. Established in 2021, Betty’s Nuklear are a South African based band comprised of Chad Abnett (Lead Vocals), Dean Clarke (Lead Guitar), Shane Carew (Drums), Anthonie Botha (Bass Guitar).
Filled with hefty guitar riffs, pummeling drums and lusty bass lines, ‘Bleeding the Summer’ presents Betty’s Nuklear’s mighty sound in all its glory. It is quite the thrilling experience as the band blend moments of alternative rock with blues undertones alongside rasp-filled vocals and a catchy melody. The track beckons repeat plays and is one to blast loud through the speakers. Enjoy.
Kicking off 2022 with a bang, the York-based four-piece rock band Vaquelin have just released their debut album, ‘Where Dreams Hurt’. The band have been gigging locally for a few months now but already have a global audience spanning multiple continents. The group are looking forward to getting back on stage and performing songs from their new record – along with some other unrecorded sneak peeks into the future. Over lockdown, the band hasn’t slowed down, with second and third records already in the works. They have been writing and recording demos while waiting for their mixes and masters.
‘Where Dreams Hurt’ is a diverse collection of tracks that boasts Vaquelin’s genre-blending sound and eloquent songwriting. Oozing dark undertones, shredding guitar solos and driving rhythms ‘Soliloquy,’ ‘The Garden’ and ‘Though the Heavens Fall’ all exude the refined and mature musicianship of the band as they lace heavy rock elements with ominous tones and eerie instrumental outbursts. Throughout the album, the band drench their songs in classic rock bravado however, there are lighter moments within the album as well. A fine example is ‘Iridescent Streetlights’ which is filled with bright guitar elements, buoyant rhythms and dreamy tones.
The album packs one heck of a punch as Vaquelin take their shadowy lyricism and couple it with a shredding alternative rock backdrop. ‘Hyperdepressant’ displays this superbly: with smooth eerie vocals crooning “angle living in a snow globe all smashed up on the kitchen counter oh no, how sad. Glass in your mouth does it hurt, now I feel bad” beneath volcanic guitar riffage and monstrous bass grooves, the band create a sleek tune that showcases the bands swagger and impressive musicianship.
‘Where Dreams Hurt’ is a polished and melodically lush album from Vaquelin that beckons repeat plays.
London duo Niall The Urchin have released their debut single ‘Temping Bowling’. Consisting of Niall and his mysterious bandmate MTB, the duo formed after Niall spotted a bass guitar in the window of his local Cash Converters and starting making loops to accompany his spiky and street-smart poetry. The fantastically titled ‘Temping Bowling’ is their debut single proper, after they announced their existence to the world last month with the brutal ‘Bleak Street’. Recorded by the band and mixed by Señor Al Funklinos (King Krule, Baba Ali, Ghostpoet), the single is an angry sideswipe at the pettiness, mundanity and ultimate futility of work under the twin shadows of Covid and Brexit.
‘Temping Bowling’ sees Niall The Urchin travel down a hypnotic rabbit hole of eclectic rock. The song pivots around a deep bass groove that relentlessly drives the track forward while snappy drums fill out the buoyant backdrop. Sharp guitars add a retro 60’s vibe to the track’s vibrant soundscape enhanced by nonchalant vocals that ooze an angsty punk-esque undertone. The track is a joy to listen to and is an exciting debut from the duo.
Boasting a catchy melody and witty songwriting, ‘Temping Bowling’ is a thrilling new single from Niall The Urchin that is ready for repeat listens. Enjoy.
About the track, Niall said: “‘Temping Bowling’ was written about the monotony of a previous job. I think a lot of the time people think hard work and rewards go hand in hand, but quite often that’s not the case. I was playing in bands, working from nine to six and had a pretty dismal boss. I started as a temp and, before I knew it, I’d been there for over a year. Ultimately most employers look at their staff as expendable and that was evident to me when Covid hit. I wrote this song to poke fun at the hierarchical systems people try to exist within. In a job full of daft training sessions, false promises and countless egos it’s hard not to go full Bukowski, ‘Post Office’-style.”
Thumper – Photography by Ruth Medjber @ruthlessimagery
Irish noise-pop / alt-rock sextet THUMPER’s hotly-anticipated debut LP ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ is set for release on the 18th March. Over the last two years, the Dublin six-piece have been developing their sound and building an increasingly passionate fanbase. With a lineup of two drummers and three guitarists, THUMPER’s maximalist wall of sound has long since set them apart in the booming Dublin music scene.
I caught up with Oisín Leahy Furlong to talk about the band’s debut album, expectations placed on the band as well as touring and getting comfortable with his voice.
“Well, I suppose that’s how we listen to music by LPs, and THUMPER sort of started and stopped and started and stopped. We had lineup changes, changes in direction and the normal teething problems that bands have. Once we solidified the lineup and the intent it was the next logical step to record that album for now and make our stamp”
THUMPER are perfecting their craft, dropping alternative rock gems with each release. Each member of the band is very talented and the album is a confident display of their musical prowess. I wondered if there were any moments of anxiety and doubt while creating the album.
“It’s hard to say really, because originally we recorded the album we had been on tour in 2019. We were going to the studio just to record a single and a B side and because we’ve been so busy touring, we went in and we recorded like eight or nine songs back to back just because we knew them all back to front because 2020 was gonna be so busy for us. It was just kind of warts and all, band in a room, like an artefact of what we sounded like at that time and that was more born out of our schedule. We didn’t have time to labour over something, but then obviously 2020 came along and all of our plans were null and void at that point. So, we’re on tour when Covid really hit and we flew back to Ireland, and Alan [Dooley] went straight into the studio and started working on re- looking at what we had recorded and what state it was all in. I didn’t see him for like two or three months but I knew he was working on the record. I didn’t know what he was doing. When I finally got to see him, a couple of months had passed and he’d grown a huge beard like he was in Castaway or whatever. He had sort of retcon the whole album from being this live in a room, to something way more. So, when we decided that was the direction we want to take it we were pretty confident with it because those are the album’s that we like you know. But we spent so long on it, 2020 felt like it was about three years long because of everything that was going on and we were in the studio non-stop working on the record. You have to just trust your instinct that what you’re doing is the right thing for the music. So I’m not sure that I would say we were confident it was just sort of willful ignorance that we were doing the right thing.”
The instrumentation within the album is masterful. Each song is a glorious display of great musicianship that boasts sleek guitar moments, sweet melodies and abrasive outbursts. The album takes wild unpredictable twists throughout its blustery journey as it shifts from frenetic soundscapes to stripped back instrumental breaks before leaping into dynamic crescendos. Tracks such as ‘Overbite’ and ‘Topher Grace’ are fine examples of this. ‘Strychnine’ is also a riveting display of musicianship from the sextet. Arguably the tour de force within the album the track is mostly Oisín and an acoustic guitar with soft percussion accompaniment and electronic guitar embellishments.
“That song is, in some ways outside of our comfort zone in the way it’s structured and the way we attacked it. I actually had that in my voice memos. I was going through like I have about 500 voice memos on my phone. It breaks every two seconds. But I had that saved on my phone from like 2018 as THUMPER mid-LP song. Then I was like, yeah, that’s what that will be and then that’s just what we did. Really, again, it’s like you make the decision, you’re confident about it. Then when you have to actualize it that’s when you have to be confident or employ a sort of a weird, over the top sense of self-belief. But we’re really happy with it. It’s one of my favourite tunes on the record now.”
The instrumental track ‘The Ghost’ is an exquisite piece of music. Featuring hypnotic guitar strikes, a sweet guitar refrain and abrasive undertones the track is a mosh pit friendly frenzy that is filled with mind-melting distortion and psychedelic elements.
“Well, when I settled on the idea of calling the album Delusions of Grandeur, that was referencing lyrical themes throughout it, but also in reference to the fact that when THUMPER started, it was a solo project. It was just me bringing out tapes and making like 100 of them and giving them around Dublin, really low stakes. low fi badly recorded, just sort of not throw away but the scope of it was much smaller. When we fixed on this Delusions of Grandeur idea, I thought it’d be funny to have a three-part 20 minute long song, finish the album so obviously, ‘The Ghost’ is like the second in that whole three-part suite at the end. The tune ‘Overbite’ which comes before it was the first time that Alan had basically written all the music or the guts of it to that song and I wrote the lyrics and then I was like, Okay, what this needs is, and I sort of sang out this section that didn’t exist yet. It needs to start off with one guitar and slowly build up into this thing. Then he just randomly flicked through his other demos that he had and just clicked on one and it was exactly what I just said. He had already preempted me wanting that to happen. So that became a blueprint then for that piece of music. Again, it wasn’t some huge decision to this instrumental piece that was gonna make the whole album but it was just going with your gut. Yeah, serving the songs as best you can.”
‘Down in Heaven’ brings the album to an end. It’s a heartbreaking finale. Oisín’s earnest vocals croon very raw lyrics “I did it to myself cos I deserved it” while drums trudge through a sweet melody and piercing sting on guitars. The track is both vibrant and mournful all at once as the band’s expressive use of instrumentation and melody creates gripping heart-wrenching turmoil for listeners to experience. This moving tune is a striking end to a magnificent album and provides a moment of reflection on the album as a whole, making the listener want to experience the rollercoaster ride that is ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ again.
“Yeah, It’s funny, it’s our first album, but there’s a couple of moments on it where I really wasn’t sure. It was a creative risk, because it is quite different to what we’ve done before and the worry would be that tune would be perceived as being melodramatic, even though I was kind of aiming for something a little bit more insular. I’m glad you like it. I don’t know what to say about it. That’s probably the one song that I’m most intrigued to hear people’s reaction to because it is quite raw and it’s us trying our hardest to push past what people expect of us.”
‘Down in Heaven’ alludes to a different THUMPER. It’s a cinematic, cliffhanger moment that suggests something exciting could happen with the next release.
“I think so, I think you’re right. This album is a good few years in the making. We started making some of these songs when I was in my early to mid-20s and now I’m early 30s. So, you change as a person, your tastes change and what you find interesting and what you find uninteresting changes. So yeah, I think the last thing we’ll ever want to do is retread old ground just for the sake of it. So hopefully it is a sign that we can expand our palette beyond what people want and, really treat it like more than just something that’s set in stone.”
Throughout the album, Oisín’s vocals anchor the listener within the soundscape of the tracks while at the same time evoking images of live crowds chanting back the lyrics. Oisín has the ability to spark these live sing-alongs when the band perform. He conveys immense emotion and angst through his vocals.
“The vocals, that’s probably the thing that I’ve struggled the most with. I made no bones in the early days about the fact that I wasn’t, totally comfortable on stage that’s why the band is so big. Within that you’d say, well, why are you doing it to begin with? I don’t really know the answer to that question. But, the vocal yeah, it’s the element that I have the least control over but it’s the part that I worked the hardest on. I think part of the reason our songs are so melodic is so that I can kind of learn them like a nursery rhyme. I don’t know something happens in the process of translating that nursery rhyme where it ends with me rolling around and yelping. But yeah, I love singing because it’s a tender transition between writing something in your room and seeing how it ends up on stage and especially hearing people singing back is very strange”
“ I think the tension though of where you’re trying to work with your body to make this thing and you’re not quite sure whether it’s going to happen, I don’t know it’s kind of alluring. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment or something, but I like not being sure that I’m gonna be able to pull it off”
THUMPER are a one of a kind must-see live act. The band have London and Dublin launch shows this week to coincide with the album release and we discussed the shows and the possibility of a tour.
“Oh, yeah, I’m supposed to be in Europe right now. It got postponed because of Covid, hopefully for the last time.We’ll be doing these shows. We wanted to purposefully keep it really small, so it was like returning to how we started off upstairs in Whelan’s, we probably played there 20 times. So, cramming 100 people in there seemed like a really, fitting way to kick start this next chapter. Then yeah, we’ll be announcing a full Big Boy tour later in the year. We’ll be doing all the festivals and all that stuff as well. “
THUMPER have created a phenomenal album with ‘Delusions of Grandeur’. Musically the band treat our ears to a plethora of shoegaze, psychedelia and alternative rock with speckles of pop embellished throughout while earnest lyrics venture into dark territory and explore the struggle of self-image, internal and external. It’s a wonderful album that provides an exciting glimpse into the many facets of THUMPER.
‘Delusionsof Grandeur’ is set for release on Friday the 18th of March.
Until then you can watch the video for THUMPER’s latest single ‘Fear of Art’ below
Australian indie-rock band James Hooker & The Hallows have released their debut single ‘Don’t Slow Me Down’, from their second studio album. Recorded at ‘Head Gap’ recording studio in Melbourne, the punchy track demonstrates ‘not allowing yourself to be held back by anyone or anything, being true to yourself’.
Filled with light guitar and hazy indie rock soundscapes ‘Don’t Slow Me Down’, is an infectious new single from James Hooker & The Hallows. Warm tones on guitar chime through an energetic wall of sound to create a bright and easy-listening experience for listeners to enjoy as the band display their expressive songwriting and evocative music through this charming song. ‘Don’t Slow Me Down’ is a catchy and invigorating tune to indulge in again and again.
‘Life Without Colour’ is the debut EP release from 20-year-old artist Maikoh Webbe. Written as an expression of his journey with mental health issues, bullying, loneliness and addiction, ‘Life Without Colour’ is a powerful portrayal of real-life experiences. This four-track EP was written, recorded, mixed and mastered from Maikoh Webbe’s bedroom.
‘Life Without Colour’ is a poignant collection of tracks that blends grunge vibes with earnest songwriting to create a wholly consuming listening experience. Heavy guitar and pounding drums provide a powerful foundation for strikingly mournful vocals in ‘Suffer In Silence’ while ‘How Does It Feel?’ flows with bittersweet emotion and heartbreaking lyrical content as Webbe’s sombre vocals croon “tell me how it feels to be loved, to be wanted, to be anything but haunted” over a building backdrop of biting guitars. Webbe balances heavy lyrical content with lighter tones and glimmers of hope throughout the EP. This is especially noteworthy within ‘Everyone Dies In The End’ and showcases the artist’s honest vulnerability and deft musical prowess. ‘Life Without Colour’ is a heartfelt body of work from Maikoh Webbe.
Stream ‘Life Without Colour’ below
Author: Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
