Liverpool based alternative-rock artist, Ambro River (aka Richard Batty), has released his debut single, ‘Electrolyte’. With elements of ’90s gunge providing an edge between sweet melodies, this driving rock track is a fantastic and ambitious debut. Batty creates an exhilarating and raw backdrop of gritty guitar riffs, rumbling bass lines and punchy drums to create one blistering gem for listeners to enjoy. The guitars exude an epic quality reminiscent of 80’s rock anthems and smoulder through the chorus while the verses tease and intensify throughout. The song boasts Batty’s musical prowess and tight songwriting as he uses expressive instrumentation to enhance his clever lyrical content. Melding playful lyricism with majestic and refined musicianship, ‘Electrolyte’ is an impressive and well-crafted tune from Ambro River.
Born out of the existential crisis that has been Covid, and a general feeling of global turmoil, ‘Not Today’ is the massive debut album to come from UK rock band Giant Sky. Finding themselves ready to record in March 2020, the pandemic restrictions meant that they were stopped in their tracks. Still desperate to focus on their music, the band put together crude demos, which soon turned into an EP. Gradually finding their style changing and seeing that there was no end to restrictions in sight, Giant Sky headed to a studio to record this full-length album, wearing masks and testing daily to get the album completed. Formed of Olivia Bond, Toby Mcfee, Jay Amesbury and Jon Hatch, Giant Sky was born after meeting Olivia in 2019. Having been in bands together since their teens, the boys have played music together for years, with Olivia’s vocals and lyricism completing the picture.
‘Not Today’ is a powerful alternative rock album surging with Giant Sky’s sonic onslaught of heavy riffs, crashing drums and dark melodies. The band create tense tunes that brood with moody grunge verses and anthemic choruses. From the cinematic and robust ‘Rust’ to the triumphant raw smack of ‘Elephant, the band take a resounding foundation of roaring bass and pummeling drums and scatter coarse guitar embellishments into the mix to create a lean, mean and musically tantalizing wall of sound. The songs travel at a brisk neck-snapping pace as Giant Sky layer acute instrumentation atop a jagged rhythmic pulse within tracks such as ‘Change’ to create a manic mosh ready soundscape for listeners to immerse themselves in. The blazing instrumental backdrops within the album creates an exhilarating contrast to the melodies’ hazy effect, which, teamed with Olivia Bond’s delicate coos, adds a softer element to the songs. We see this particularly within ‘Heroin’. The coarse sawing bass and sharp guitar refrains lacerate with aggressive force, which Bond cushions with her soothing vocal delivery.
‘Not Today’ is a fine display of the band’s musical prowess, ‘Wolf’ and ‘Elephant’ in particular are prime examples of Giant Sky’s endless talent where we see the band sprinkle moments of guitar delight throughout. However, it’s the bittersweet ‘Home’ that sits as the pinnacle moment within the album. Boasting ethereal guitar, a bright atmosphere and Bond’s pristine vocals the song builds to a hair raising cinematic crescendo filled with expressive drums, lush backing vocals and soft keys. The track is a captivating gem and a wonderful assault on the senses.
Giant Sky have poured themselves into this fantastic album to create a mature, refined and thrilling collection of tracks ready for repeat plays.
Gang Of Youths have released their new single ‘the angel of 8th ave.’ The track represents their first new music since 2017’s ‘Go Farther In Lightness’ album. Entirely self-produced, the track was recorded in their own studio in Hackney, a place which provides them with unlimited creative freedom. It was subsequently mixed by the Grammy-winning Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, The National). Since forming in Sydney, Australia in 2011, Gang Of Youths have made a big impression with their two albums to date, ‘The Positions’ (2015) and ‘Go Farther In Lightness’ (2017), the latter of which won four prestigious ARIA Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Group. London shows have included four sold-out nights at the Islington Assembly Hall, and a show as part of BRITs Week 2020 in support of War Child. Meanwhile, international festival dates have spanned everywhere from Splendour In The Grass to Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza, Rock Werchter and Mad Cool.
‘the angel of 8th ave’ is an expressive rush of indie rock that showcases the dynamic musicianship of Gang Of Youths. The song ignites with a catchy rhythmic intro before Dave Le’aupepe’s deep vocals express the lyrics as a rapid progression of thought,“So we got straight to the heart, And I was a coward and worse to my shame, I fell hard upon the weightless weeks, But wasted every day”. The earnest lyrics move through a jogging backdrop of bass rumbles and resounding sprints on guitars as the band create an intense and hyper wall of sound for listeners to indulge in.
The band layer and craft the song superbly to create an invigorating listening experience. The song builds becoming more vibrant with each flourishing musical element as the dynamic chorus elevates the track with soaring sharp guitar embellishments and a driving bounce on drums. Everything pivots around the snappy rhythm within this song as warm injections on acoustic guitar, haunting reverb pines on synths and lofty guitar refrains ricochet off the snapping percussion and drum beat.
Gang Of Youths present a marvellous new tune that effortlessly displays their passion and musical prowess. With a tune this impressive, powerful and ambitious, I’m excited to hear what the band has to offer next.
Dublin alternative indie rock four-piece Fruitz are back with a new single, ‘Be Like This’. The song follows their popular previous release ‘Daydream’ in 2020, a sold-out headline show at Whelan’s, and support for Louis Berry. ‘Be Like This’ was recorded in Dublin’s famous Windmill Lane Recording Studios. Fruitz teamed up with producer Cian Synott and mastering engineer Fergal Davis on this song as well as Gareth Halliday ( Noel Gallagher) for the artwork.
Doused in sharp riffs and driving rhythms, ‘Be Like This’ is an impressive track from Fruitz that balances 90’s alternative rock with indie undertones. The tune is an emotive and confident display of passion-filled musicianship that showcases the band’s mature and dynamic sound in all its glory. Brooding verses simmer with rumbling basslines, jangly guitars and tense drums to provide the perfect pressure cooker to perk the ears and tantalise the senses before erupting into the mighty chorus. Boasting expressive vocals, an exhilarating melody and majestic guitar display, ‘Be Like This’ is a hair-raising anthem that marks Fruitz as ones to watch.
Manchester-based band Pacific have released their new single ‘Spiral’. Few can lay claim to achieving so many accolades in such a small space of time but in 2021 alone, Pacific have gained Apple Music’s backing, playlisted in their Breaking Rock and New In Rock editorials, as well as from their hometown club Manchester United, who are using the band’s songs in online video content and stadium pre-match playlists. They have also garnered tremendous radio support from Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing Manchester, Merseyside and many more. Plus, Huw Stephens has given them a spin, and XS Manchester had them as their ‘Record of the Week’.
‘Spiral’ is a piano-led tune doused in the anthemic alternative rock of Pacific. This dramatic song swarms in on a dynamic backdrop of gritty guitars, raw bass grooves and powerful drum progressions to create a dense and adrenaline rushing soundscape that is euphoric to the ears. Containing a wonderful icy piano feature amidst the heavy rock onslaught, the band showcase their deft musical prowess superbly. The massive production, synth embellishment and hook-filled pop melodies make ‘Spiral’ an exhilarating listening experience and a wonderful example of Pacific’s powerful musicianship. Boasting passionate vocals and a mighty chorus, ‘Spiral’ is a fantastic new single from Pacific.
Following the release of their #3 acclaimed third album Moral Panic last year, Southend five-piece Nothing But Thieves have released their dark and explorative new single and video ‘Futureproof’ via RCA Records, which was premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World. The track was produced by Rich Costey (Biffy Clyro, Haim, Foo Fighters) and recorded between London’s RAK Studios and guitarist/keyboardist Dom’s home studio.The video, directed by Jake Jelicich, sees the band bathed in an auburn glow giving an intense performance that is filmed chaotically, matching the energy and uneasiness of the song.
Raw, unbridled and saturated in a thrilling concoction of guitar rock and hip hop, ‘Futureproof’ is a spectacular single from Nothing But Thieves. The band creates a muggy wall of sound filled with heavy beats, biting bass lines and intense keys for listeners to indulge in and boy it doesn’t disappoint. The five-piece have turned their impressive sound up notch to create an immersive, blazing new tune that boasts refined production and exemplary instrumentation. The track spirals through dark tones and explosive outbursts while Conor Mason’s vocals expel the striking lyrics “Why do you wanna do good when you can feel good?”. ‘Futureproof’ is a gripping, and utterly fantastic display of musicianship from Nothing But Thieves that is ready for repeat plays and sure to have a live audience going wild.
About the song the band says; “‘Futureproof’ is about self-preservation; what that means to different people and the lengths that those people would go to achieve it. It’s designed to be a guitar rock and hip hop hybrid. That can be a bit of an eye roller and it’s easy to get wrong, but there’s a parallel between some of our heavier songs and the more aggressive side of hip hop, which we wanted to try and get at. It’s dark and chromatic and then it’s mixed like a hip hop track with loud drums and vocals. The idea was to try and explore that territory in the most authentic and fresh way.”
Scottish band, The Rah’s, have released a new double single ‘Our Design’ / ‘If You Never Try (You’ll Never Know). This comes hot off the heels of the band’s fantastic debut album ‘When Does It Become Real?’. The Rah’s create intoxicating tunes bursting from the seams with alternative rock bravado. Blood, sweat, and tears go into every song to make the powerful sound we have come to love from the band and watching them blossom over the years up to the release of their fantastic debut album has been a joy.
I caught up with singer Jack McLeod to talk about the new release, touring and how Jordan McIntrye’s incredible guitar playing elevates the band’s songs.
“It was always our intention to release ‘Our Design’ as one of the final singles from that album but PR thought we’d be a bit cheeky and release a double A-side. The benefit of a double A-side is basically, if a radio station doesn’t fancy side A then they can go to side A two. So, it’s a cheeky way we can get either or played. If they don’t like the heavier one then they could go for the more majestic and melodic one, that’s the thought behind that, so hopefully, it pays off.”
The Rah’s have become known for their arena-sized rock and these new singles pack a serious punch. Not only can the five-piece provide sleek melodious tunes that pivot around a gritty alternative rock sound the tracks also boast lyrical depth and have an emotional aspect to them aswell.
“I think it is probably just who we were influenced by. We’ve got quite a wide variety of influences and genres that we listen to collectively as a band. We’ve all got personal tastes, I can be listening to disco one day and then pop the next day it’s just sporadic really, and it’s the same for everybody in the band. But the majority of the songs that we listen to are all from rock, alternative rock, indie that kind of bands. It’s just been created over a number of years. Started off way back playing covers of Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes. So we’ve always had that channel to go down and that’s the music we like playing. That’s the main reason, it’s because we enjoy playing it.”
The instrumentation within The Rah’s tracks is breathtaking. ‘Our Design’ in particular is a fine example of this. The soundscape boasts shredding guitars and a punchy rhythmic backbone, it is an impressive display of musicianship. The band teamed with the sublime talent of James Darkin to help craft the impactful sound the band had envisioned for the song.
“The swagger is listening to too much Oasis. The song was one of the last created for the record. It was in the last batch of songs, and when our guitarist Jordan [McIntrye], was playing the riff in the band room, just a kind of acoustic intro riff, instantly we thought there is something there. So we worked away on it. As I say it was one of the last songs written, so I thought it’d be a good idea to write the song, based on our journey throughout the time being in the band – the ups and downs of being a band, basically, it’s a song for the band lyrically. As soon as we heard Jordan playing it, we knew there was something there. Then we took it into the studio with James Darkin and he just took it to a whole different level. He’s got an outside point of view which really helps. Once you take it into the studio and actually get it into audio form and listen back to it, you realise what kind of track it is. That’s pretty much the process of the creation of that track. I think it finished off at the tail end of 2019. So yeah, it’s been a long time coming.”
One reliable aspect of The Rah’s sound is the awe-inspiring guitar solos. They are proper air guitar worthy moments created through the genius that is Jordan McIntrye.
“Jordan was brought up with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and stuff playing, and he’s played guitar since he was about seven years old. When we first started the band we used to dare him to play like a full Red Hot Chili Peppers song behind his neck. So he’d have the guitar behind his head and that like, no word of a lie that’s how good he is on guitar. So with the inspiration of Jimi Hendrix, John Frusciante and people like that, that’s exactly what brings it out in him. It’s phenomenal. The solo in ‘Our Design’, he [Jordan] was tinkering about a bit and we all knew in the studio that there was more that he could offer and then there’s this pedal, it’s like a fat fuzz pedal. You can hear it in the track, it’s absolutely incredible and as soon as he hit that, it’s like he unleashes a new beast in him.It was music to our ears when he was playing it. Instantly again we’re just like that is definitely the take, he didn’t actually like the last part yet, but we were all just standing in awe listening to him bend these strings on the neck of the guitar so yeah it worked really well.”
‘If You Never Try (You’ll Never Know)’ is my favourite track on the album. The buzzing intensity and euphoric melodies within the track are just spectacular. I was excited to see it as part of this double single and McLeod told me how the band crafted the song.
‘That’s one of the older songs on the album, we actually released an early version of that in like 2015 so that song has been about for a while. Once again, it was picking it to bits after all those years of playing it and when the album came around to recording sessions we had that track already prepared, but taking it into the studio with James Darkin again just took it to another level. Originally, I was listening to a lot of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the time and they covered a song by The Call, ‘Let The Day Begin’ which is an incredible song and it was inspired by that song because I was listening to a lot of that at the time. The original version [of ‘If You Never Try (You’ll Never Know)’] was actually played a couple of notes slower. So, again, us bringing it back matured and taking it up two notes just gave it a whole new lease of life, it was quite hard on my vocals but we worked it out.”
Seen as ‘When Does It Become Real?’ is The Rah’s debut album. I wondered if the band had been refining the songs for a long time and if there were multiple versions of each track.
“Yeah there are versions that I’ll probably never want to listen to again. There’s really early versions, ‘The Time Is Now’ is the oldest song that was written, probably in 2012/ 2013. That’s incredible to say that it has been that long. We’ve been playing that song first or last in the set ever since. But again that track has just got a whole new lease of life, every single time we have revisited it, and honestly, we’d never thought that it gained enough traction, the first time of the release. Then the second time and then the third time was, within the first, like 48, hours, of it being released into the PR world which just shows you don’t give up hope. If you believe in the track, which we did, you need the right people behind you to get the track where it needs to be. We were lucky that we’re in that position last year when we released it and it got instant Radio 1 [BBC] plays and Radio X plays”
The Rah’s highly anticipated debut album has been a long-time coming. It’s already racked up tens of thousands of plays and the band have received heavy support from Huw Stephens, Gemma Bradley, Gordon Smart and Jack Saunders.
“Yeah because of the hard work that you’ve put in, like the names that you have just said there, even to hear them say The Rah’s from Prestonpans is just surreal. We’re just boys from a wee town in Scotland, we never ever thought of being played on Radio 1. But yeah, amazing, absolutely incredible and Jack Saunders, rather than just play the song, mention the band, say good song, next track – he actually got his producer to extend the outro of the track, and kept on talking over it. Honestly it was so surreal. It was an amazing experience”.
Their debut album ‘When Does It Become Real?’ was released this year. I’m sure the conditions they expected for the debut album never included a pandemic and McLeod told me how the pandemic helped them plan for a successful release.
“I guess it took our foot off the gas a little bit. We did benefit but at the same time, we had these tracks prepared for, some of them have been prepared for years.The final, ‘The Time Is Now’ recording was actually recorded in 2017, so that’s how long that audio has been ready. Obviously, we mastered it and did chops and changes but that’s how long that track has been there…. to be fair the pandemic in a weird way probably helped us get the album released in the way that we wanted to, because we’ve done our Kickstarter campaign, that was in October and it ran to December and we managed to get the 5000-pound rewards within two weeks of the final day. So yeah that was really good and the reason we wanted to do that was to release it on vinyl. That was our main aim when we first ever talked about an album. So, yeah, thank God for the fans for that one.
“We made ours extra special as well for all the people that pledged to our campaign, basically in a pre-order form. We put their name on the back of the LP as well. So everybody that bought the album or CD or bought a t-shirt album deal, and it was like over 20 pound, I think , then you got your name on the back of the record which was amazing so everybody was like jumping on that.”
Although the band’s sound is high energy rock they manage to pack in some potent lyrical content within their songs. Lines such as “We proceed to kill ourselves.. To become divine” in Our design is a striking opening line and very impactful.
“That’s in relation to all the hard slogs that we’ve done up in the country, just to literally get some money together, well not even that just to get some fans. Literally years and years of doing that “
The Rah’s have a tour lined up in October, including a sold-out show at Sneaky Petes. It’s an exciting time but the nerves are high for what to expect from a show and what the limits are.
“Yes, actually we are doing a session tomorrow. It’s our first session out of our homes or our rehearsal room, so that’s exciting. It’s like being let free again. It’ll be a bit surreal to be around people with an instrument, I’ll probably get all shy and forget all my words. So, I’m looking forward to that but yeah live events need to happen, ASAP we are desperate to play this album live for the fans”
“I hope everybody feels relaxed and stuff. I hope there is no tension in the crowd and obviously, the virus is a thing but I hope that we can actually engage with people without having to think about all blah blah blah, he’s touched or whatever. I hope there comes a time in the next hopefully couple of months where there is some sense of freedom, and I hate to say a cliche but some sense of normality – that’s the thing I’m actually most nervous about. Obviously forgetting my lyrics is part of it but I just hope that everybody enjoys it and to be fair, everybody’s been starved so long, of live events and basic socialising, so I think everybody will be like greyhounds at the tracks”.
The Rah’s have been building their sound and reputation as a dynamic and powerful live band not to be missed. I wondered if McLeod had any advice for anyone thinking of starting a band
“If you’re looking for money, go elsewhere. No I’m kidding, it’s the best experience of your life, the enemies you make will last a lifetime, some that you’ll never really speak to again but that’s fine. They’ll stay in your memory forever. Honestly, one thing I will say is, if you believe in it, just crack at it. One day it will shine,100%, yeah, that’s pretty much it “
With the release of ‘Our Design’ / ‘If You Never Try (You’ll Never Know)’ and the upcoming tour The Rah’s have an exciting few months ahead.
“There are a few things lined up for the summer that will hopefully go ahead, We’ve got the October tour as we said. We’ve got an alternate version of ‘Our Design’, sitting there that we kind of forgot about in planning the single release, but I think we’re gonna go chuck that on an EP so there’s more content. We’ll probably see a lot more live sessions and get the behind the scenes footage in rehearsal rooms and that, now that we’ve got a bit of time on our hands, now the album is out. It’s been a bit chaotic. I think we’ve done about 100 deliveries within three or four days so you can imagine the chaos that was on the run up to the album. But yeah, we’ve managed to get hold of some new equipment and stuff, treated ourselves to some new equipment in the band room, so yeah, there’ll be a lot more live footage from the practice studios. Maybe talk about album two soon or maybe we’ll just chill out and enjoy album one. But looking forward to what lies ahead. I think there’s a decent wave of guitar bands coming through, a lot of great upcoming artists out there so everybody should be listening to upcoming music rather than mainstream radio in my honest opinion.”
The Rah’s alternative rock tunes blister with earnest emotion and the shredding instrumentation the band have been crafting throughout the years. They pour every fibre of their beings into their riveting grooves, majestic guitar solos and fiery melodies to create songs that ooze passion and rock-infused swagger. The new double single ‘Our Design’ / ‘If You Never Try (You’ll Never Know) displays this perfectly. This band has immense talent and are locked and loaded ready to rock our socks off in the live setting.
Stream ‘Our Design’ / ‘If You Never Try (You’ll Never Know)’ below
Dublin-based alternative rock band Late Night Pharmacy are set to release their new single, ‘Slacktivist (Normalise This)’ on June 11th. It is the band’s second single of 2021, following April’s ‘Too Late for the Rickshaws’. Recording the single was only possible due to the generous financial support of the Department of Culture, who last year announced the creation of a Music Industry Stimulus Package (MISP), intended to help keep the Irish commercial music sector afloat during Covid-19. In November 2020, Late Night Pharmacy were awarded funding under the MISP, and hired Aidan Cunningham (Wheatus, The Scratch, Nealo, Overhead the Albatross) to produce and mix three singles.
Riding on a jagged riff and machine-gun rhythmic jabs ‘Slacktivist (Normalise This)’ is a heavy alternative rock tune that packs one heck of a punch. The song is a fantastic, intense, and thrilling sonic assault on the senses filled with crashing guitars and pounding drums that create a dense and mind bombarding soundscape that is simply a joy to listen to. An eerie undertone rumbles underneath the track’s kinetic soundscape and is greatly enhanced by the use of synths, jolting time signature changes and tempo shifts. This choppy effect within the track’s sound is an intriguing display of musical prowess and complements the lyrical theme wonderfully.‘Slacktivist (Normalise This)’ is an excellent display of deft songwriting and impressive musicianship from Late Night Pharmacy.
About the track the band said: “In Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”, he described how journalists use clichéd, shopworn phrases to write sentences almost unconsciously (“They will construct your sentences for you – even think your thoughts for you”), hence psychologically protecting them from considering the full implications of their opinions. 1984 features a character who speaks so orthodoxically as to resemble an automaton: “It was not the man’s brain that was speaking, it was his larynx.” Today, most communication originates not in the brain, but in the thumbs: social media discourse is an endless deluge of the same handful of clichéd expressions repeated ad nauseum, and conveying no real sentiment other than smug condescension. In this environment, even the crudest artificial intelligence could pass the Turing test with ease. As a commentary on this trend, the lyrics of “Slacktivist (Normalise This)” are entirely made up of overused social media expressions, assembled in no particular order as a series of empty, vapid non sequiturs. “
Cold Comforts have released the first single,’ Turn Back Time’, from their debut album. In their first two years together, they have already released three singles, gone on a nine-date tour of the UK and been longlisted for Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition.
’Turn Back Time’ is a driving 90’s alternative rock anthem that boasts the blistering sound of Cold Comforts. The song rides on dynamic guitar riffs while punchy drums and blazing bass grooves saturate the backdrop in energy and angst. Cold Comforts thrilling wall of sound is instantly vibrant and energetic, evoking images of live crowds jumping and singing along as the band blast out the catchy chorus. Lyrically,’ Turn Back Time’ is an anthem of defiance and never again living in fear of the past or the future. Cold Comforts present this theme through relentless, mighty musicianship and hook-laden soundscapes. Well crafted and drenched in exhilarating instrumentation, Cold Comforts knock it out of the park with this new tune.
Irish avant-punk trio Nerves have returned with their new single ‘Leigue’. Having lit up their homeland with four well-received singles to date, the band began to earn a reputation as a must-see live act prior to lockdown with a series of sweaty DIY basement shows, sold-out headline dates and support slots with the likes of HMLTD, Turnstiles and more. Recorded over lockdown at Sonic Studios with Girl Band’s Daniel Fox, “Leigue” is a perfect snapshot of the band’s intense and borderless sound.
‘Leigue’ frizzles with the passionate and thrilling sound of Nerves. It’s a hard-hitting tune that displays Nerves at their most intense and emotional to date. The song has an asphyxiating and harrowing atmosphere that is greatly enhanced by a muggy panic-stricken soundscape filled with pounding drums, rampant bass wriggles and contorting wails on guitar. ‘Leigue’ is an immersive listening experience – the track broods and simmers with angst throughout as Nerves venture from light shoegaze moments to post-punk anarchy within a few brisk instrumental lacerations. The shoegaze, post-punk, krautrock blend of sounds is an exhilarating assault on the senses as Kyle Thornton’s reverb vocals speak about the dangers of trying to ignore grief and allowing unhealthy coping mechanisms to begin to rule one’s life. As the song reaches its crescendo, the guitars spiral and crash into the aggressive drums, creating an explosive and exhilarating moment for listeners to enjoy.
Nerves are meticulously crafting their powerful sound, and ‘Leigue’ is an exciting example of this band’s impressive musicianship.
Speaking about the single, Kyle Thornton says, “We feel as though Leigue was a bit of aturning point for us as a band, towards something more mature and cathartic. It’s paved theway for how our sound and attitude has changed over the course of the last year. It’s stillintense and still fun to play, but it means more to us now than I think it ever has.”
Stream ‘Leigue’ below
Author : Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
