Brighton based alt-pop quartet BELLES have released their debut single ‘Electric’.The track, which is solely produced by bassist Sam Missing, is the first in a series of nostalgic tinged singles to be released this year. A combination of childhood friends and coincidental meetings, the Brighton newcomers comprised of George Clark (Vocals), James Westerman (Guitar), Sam Missing (Bass) and Alex Mold (Drums) formed at university and have already made a name for themselves along the south coast for their high energy and engaging live performances.
‘Electric’ is a kinetic youthful shot of adrenaline that uncoils it’s tasty indie sound delicately with each rich segment. The verses bounce and springboard with jangly guitars rebounding off punchy drums and an elastic bass feature while the chorus blisters and scorches with crashing guitars against an exhilarating backdrop. It’s upbeat with a melty catchy melody and an ethereal atmosphere laced with hyper energy. With a combination of dreamy love and angst-fueled lyrics that speak of a better time and smooth vibrant vocals this animated vivacious track is an impressive debut from BELLES.
About the track BELLES said: “‘Electric’ is about taking control of your life and allowing yourself to feel like you’re living again. It was the first song that we wrote together professionally and we love how natural it feels to us.”
Rock duo Bite the Buffalo have released their 3rd studio album ‘Bad Habits’. A band of brothers hailing originally from Scotland Bite the Buffalo are a garage rock band with an edge that derives from their rich cultural background. In their career thus far, they have held the support slot for many major bands Fat White Family, Happy Mondays, The Growlers and Skindred to name a few. They have also graced the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2013 which in turn drew the attention from Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant who invited the band to join him at a sold out Manchester Apollo gig.The BBC support has continued into 2019 with their latest release ‘Get Back Up’ receiving radio play. The band have also secured a number of media partnerships already, including the likes of Channel 4 Motorsports, Go Pro Highlight Reel, Formula 1 Highlights and Tattoo Fixers.
‘Bad Habits’ is a swagger dripping, brawny yet slick collection of garage rock that frazzles through steam scorched riffs and pummeling rhythms. These guys slap on some bluesy soaked suaveness through the short intro ‘The Man’ as a dragged beat thuds through a vaporous guitar refrain. The tracks that follow this introduction are brimming with anthemic beefy rawness in a The Black Keys- esque style with a Bite the Buffalo’s stomp. ‘Get Back Up’, ‘Dee Zeez’ and ‘Game On’ keep the energy of the album at a maximum while they flesh out their abrasive garage rock sound. While ‘Deja Voodoo’ dissolves in a haze of dreamy psychedelic bliss, cooling the tone of the album as acoustic guitars strum through a steady beat while the warm vocals coo through the sweet melody. Here this duo prove not only can they whack out cracking heavy tunes they can chill and mellow things out, refining and cooling their sound into a dazed sway-able groove. The fuzz-filled gritty ‘Shoot Shoot’ has an air of Royal Blood wafting through the edgy guitar riff. The track sizzles with a funk hue, shuffling rhythm and catchy as hell chorus. Bite the Buffalo simmer things down with the slick ‘Reverend Revolver’ and its sensual groove, vaporous guitar lines and infectious backing vocals (which remind me of The Good The Bad and The Ugly theme tune). Their vigorous sharp edged musicianship continues with ‘I Wanna CU Again’ and ‘Recent Times’. However ‘All Them Guns’ brings a freeing 60/70’s hippie vibe to the album with twanging guitars, soft vocals and lush harmonies. It feels like this duo transport you back in time with their psychedelic tinged soundscapes and smooth instrumentation behind quite striking lyrics. Bonus tracks ‘Lucky Roller’ and ‘Fire Dance’ are contrasting pieces of finesse. The former, features shredding guitars crashing and weaving nimbly between punchy drums and Mark Bolan- esque vocals while the latter jingles along with a mysterious eerie tone, elegant piano feature and a graceful tempo that gives us a glimpse of the grander side to Bite the Buffalo.
Bite the Buffalo showcase some varied tunes throughout their ‘Bad Habits’ album. Garage, stoner rock, punk and some psychedelic flavours are drizzled throughout but all this hangs together beautifully with the sleek musculature and acrobatic riffs weaving a firm thread through the album – its impressively crafted.
London-based singer/songwriter Izzy Eze has released her long awaited first single, titled ‘Woman’. It’s an upbeat catchy track filled with attitude and sass. Izzy’s powerful vocals saturate the song with confidence and soul while the snappy beat and infectious melody glide into your ears with sweetness and pop goodness. With R&B flavours adding a dash of spice through the dynamic soundscapes this anthmic powerful track stomps its way into your head until you are singing along. It’s a richly crafted vibrant declaration of confidence, self-love and authenticity and a sublime debut from Izzy Eze.
About the single Izzy says: “ I wrote Woman mainly because I wanted people, especially women, to know that they are strong, powerful and that they can do anything. As women, we tend to apologise for being who we are but this song does the exact opposite. It says, ‘hey, look at me! I am a woman, I am unapologetic about it and I am ready to conquer the world! Writing this song actually flowed quite naturally. I think I was tired of frequently being asked to get my eyebrows threaded… and then Woman happened.”
Our Worth A Listen Track This Week Comes From Sea Girls
Sea Girls have released their new single ‘Open Up Your Head’, another glimpse from their highly anticipated debut album, due later this year. The track which was premiered as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record is their first to be released since their BBC Sound of 2019 shortlist nomination at the end of last year.
‘Open Up Your Head’ continues Sea Girls exhilarating sound and passionate youth- filled melody. Shimmering soundscapes create a breathtaking backdrop for the ethereal guitars to soar over while punchy drums create a rhythmic dynamic foundation. Filled with anthemic power and warm emotional vocals teamed with lush backing vocals and a shredding guitar solo – this thumping rush of adrenaline is ready for stadiums and mass sing-alongs. Another compelling track from Sea Girls.
Vocalist Henry Camamile describes the song: “‘Open Up Your Head’ is about being your own worst enemy but having someone believing in you unconditionally. Some people struggle with self-esteem, some people party too hard, and some people feel stuck from making wrong choices. It can be crucial having someone who offers a hand out of those places we don’t want to remain in”
Dublin based noisy introverts, Stupid Son have released the video for their new single ‘Bread’. Fresh out of college the band self-produced their video with a budget of €15.
‘Bread’ is a raw anguish stricken blast or organic home grown garage rock as a legion of distorted guitars pierce, shrill and crash through pummeling drums and distressed mournful vocals. This explosive track whines and blasts through a moody melody and mopey atmosphere while the rooted bass and shredding guitars add a dash of spice and razor sharp vigor. The guitars thrash and batter through the track rebounding and ricocheting off the brawny drums and infectious buoyant rhythm showing a refined quality to the mayhem of Stupid Son’s musicianship. It’s a thrilling, barbed debut.
We had a chat with Oliver Dobrian drummer and backing vocalist for power trio Filmspeed to talk about their music, touring and how they form their tasty tunes.
Tell us about Filmspeed and how the band came about?
Nick and Craig have actually been playing music together for over a decade under various names and projects. Through the magic of the Internet, I joined the band about 2 and a half years ago and we haven’t looked back since! We are a rock n’ roll band based in Southern California, trying to keep the dying art alive.
Your tunes are so slick and very rock n’ roll with a nice dash of indie, pop-punk and hard rock thrown in. How do you keep coming up with these hook filled tunes?
Wow, that’s nice to hear, thanks! We are always
striving to write catchy earworms that get stuck in your head. I think it just
comes from our collective love of music and our various influences manifesting
in whatever we play. By listening to as much different stuff as possible, it
gives us a large pool to draw from when we’re making our own stuff.
You recently released ‘Bless My Soul’ and ‘Shakey Love’ two kick-ass swagger drenched catchy tracks. Tell us about the writing process for these tunes?
The two processes couldn’t be more different! For
“Bless My Soul,” we wrote the tune and showed the demo to Jason Hollis from
Punk Aristocrats, who gave us a few rounds of notes and we hammered it into
what you hear on the record. We recorded it with him up in LA. For “Shakey
Love,” we knew we needed a B-side for the single, but didn’t really have any
ideas, so the song more or less got written on the drive up to the studio! We
recorded it in Santa Monica at Manifest Music, and I believe the take we used
on the record is maybe the fourth or fifth time we had ever played the entire
song through, since it had been “finished” just minutes before.
Do you follow a certain format when writing your tracks or does it just flow organically?
We don’t technically follow a format, but it does
generally follow the trend of Craig bringing in a riff or an idea, and Nick and
me working around it from there. We’re all good enough friends to critique and
suggest ideas to each other without our egos getting in the way, so we just
strive to serve the song rather than ourselves, and make it as best as
possible.
There are many shredding, gritty riffs throughout your tracks tell us how you come up with these?
You’d have to ask Craig, haha! He’s just an endless
fountain of cool riffs and melodies. I think he just is constantly making memos
to himself and humming into his phone whenever he gets an idea. He’s got quite
the database by now.
Your songs are full of swagger and confidence does this reflect on your personality?
We like to think so, but probably not as much in
actuality as we give ourselves credit for. We try to stay humble and silly for
the most part.
Which of your songs are you most proud of?
I try not to play favorites in order to give each song
its due when performing it. If I play a song, I love it! I think the same goes
for Nick and Craig too, we don’t tend to do anything we don’t like to do,
musically speaking.
You guys embarked on your first West Coast tour, kicking off in Los Angeles and made notable stops in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco before wrapping up in Anaheim. How did the tour go?
It was amazing! We had such a great time, met such
great people, played some really fun shows. It was everything we hoped it would
be and more.
Do you have a favourite memory or pinnacle high moment from the tour?
It’s impossible to pick just one! From me getting sick
and my face swelling up at our last show, to Craig’s backpack getting stolen by
junkies in Vancouver, to the transmission leaking on our van. Oh wait, did you
say HIGH point? Just kidding, while all those things did indeed happen, we were
laughing the whole way through and had the time of our lives. We didn’t call it
the “Consistently Off” tour for no reason! We’re pretty good at taking
everything in stride and staying content in the moment. Honestly the high
points are always gonna be the shows. That’s the reason we even do the thing.
From listening to your tunes there is an energetic vibe and high intensity, I get a sense that these songs would be epic performed live, what is a live show with you guys like?
Thanks! We actually like to consider ourselves more of
a live band anyway. Our constant goal is to get people to support live music
and just get out of the house to come see a show. All three of us feel most at
home onstage when we’re sharing music with people. So if you come to a
Filmspeed show, you’ll see three guys leaving it all out on the stage and
having the time of our lives every time. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing to
1 person or 100,000, we aim to entertain.
What is your Favourite song to perform live and why?
Personally, I like to treat each time I play a song
like the first time I’m playing it. It helps me keep things fresh and allows me
to elaborate on songs I’ve played hundreds of times. I’m just so happy and
grateful to be onstage whenever I am, it doesn’t matter what I’m playing. So I
guess they’re all my favorite!
Will you guys ever venture over here to Ireland for a show?
Of course! When’s the show? We’re there! We’re aiming to conquer the world, and Ireland’s in the world, right?
Dublin experimental, alternative rock band Runway Lights have released their new single ‘Broad Strokes’. In their short time together they have already graced the stages of a number of prestigious Dublin venues including The Workman’s Club, Whelan’s and The Button Factory, earning a reputation for their ferocious live sound. The band’s debut single ‘Crash’ was released in July and was marked by an appearance at the Whelan’s ‘Summer Watch’ festival.Their new single ‘Broad Strokes’ tells a dark tale of an unwanted encounter. It’s release was followed by an appearance at Whelan’s Ones To Watch festival and is the first track to be taken from their debut EP, due for release in early 2019.
With it’s soothing purr of delicacy and ominous mystery ‘Broad Strokes’ is a sweet daydream that has a chilling undertone. Twinkling guitars gently pepper the lulling verses while swirling soundscapes wisp about, luring behind the cooing vocals. The track builds becoming more sinister and compelling as sharp guitars whine and distort over the hypnotic rhythm and icy soundscape. The melody flutters and innocently dances between the biting entrapment of the instruments. With beautiful and compelling guitar lines meandering through the biting soundscapes Runway Lights create a unique and compelling track that immerses you in their mesmerising sound.
Barefoot Magicians have released two new juicy singles ‘I’m Hooked and ‘It’s All Take’ which were recorded in Hellfire studios. Forming in early 2017 after a recording session In Dublin’s prestigious Windmill Lane Studios Barefoot Magicians comprise of Dave Greene (Vox/ Harmonica), Graham Stewart (Guitar), Fergal Mulligan (Bass), Brian Steemers (Drums/Percussion) and Hugh Caren (Piano/keys. The band dedicates itself to writing and performing original material based around a high energy blues funk groove, or as producer Alwyn Walker formerly of Westland Studios called it, “A Post Blues Groove”.
‘I’m Hooked’ and ‘It’s All Take’ are a dynamic funk/blues slapped duo made for wiggling and dancing to. These guys are instrumental pros as they blend out their delicious sounds to create a rich wholly satisfying listening experience
‘I’m Hooked’ brings a 70’s disco flavour to the bands groovy sound as the elastic bass wiggles and weaves its way through a feet shuffling foundation while jazz sprinkled piano and suave guitars slide and playfully dance between the strutting beat and swanky soundscape.It’s an animated rich track that showcase’s the meticulous instrumental refinement that goes into this bands tunes. This infectious track cools for a sultry guitar solo that builds the tempo for the hyper crescendo. With glorious harmonica injections and raspy vocals it’s one panache soaked, sing along ready tune.
‘It’s All Take’ is another groove infested number that bounces along sweet guitar melodies, rooted bass lines and an energetic rhythm. Catchy with a vibrant instrumental backdrop – this track travels with an energetic tempo. With elegant piano, delightful blasts of harmonica and expressive vocals it’s another swagger soaked track that is sure to have you strutting around like a dizzy peacock.
There are sublime guitar moments that weave an enticing golden thread of sweet delight through these tracks and that is the bait that gets you hooked on Barefoot Magicians tasty home brewed sound.
The band are set to release their new singles in Sin É on March 8th make sure to check them out
Navan four piece fuzz punk band Chinese Newspaper have released the new video for their single ‘Are You Bored?’. This blustery, battering track is brimming with aggro and the turbulent punk rock these guys do so well. Chinese Newspaper provide a deluge of fuzz-filled punk laced in soaring distorted guitars as they meander from mind crashing to psychedelic whines. The pulverising drums batter and pound throughout with relentless stamina and fire fueled intensity as the howling, gritty and moody vocals exclaim the lyrics of boredom and isolation. There are some really refined moments within this track. Its outer shell appears boisterous, bitter and outraged and for the most part it is however, the band provide glimpses and flickers of finesse through the sublime nimble guitar work- adding a multi texture to this blistering number. ‘Are You Bored?’ is another fierce,infectious and raw track from Chinese Newspaper.
BENJAMYN has released his new track ‘Every Night’ from his recently released debut EP ‘TwentyThree’. BENJAMYN is the moniker chosen by Dublin musician Ben Hogan, as a singer/songwriter, guitarist and electronic producer – his style draws from Disco, Funk, Surf-Rock, Jazz, and House music. He calls his sound ‘Surf-House’.
‘Every Night’ is a floating breezy number with sun scorched undertones that drift through the track providing a glorious summer glow. With funky guitar flecks glimmering through a sticky beat, this track is laid back bliss in one mellow disco-speckled tune. Easy going vocals delicately flow over the melting ice cream melody and groove infested foundation.Tasty zest-filled guitar injections add a refreshing dash of vibrancy as BENJAMYN brings the lustrous summer into your ears for those sweet holiday daydreams.
Stream Every Night’ below
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
