5 Dollar Shakes are an alternative rock band from Gorey, Co. Wexford. The band consists of Jack McEvoy (Vocals), Colin Doran (Lead guitar), Caleb Dowdall (Rhythm guitar), Richard Deering (Bass guitar) and Ciaran O’Doherty (Drums). They have released their new single ‘Auxiliary Love’ from their recently released second EP ‘Come and See Enough To Stay’ ‘Auxiliary Love’ is a melodic track which starts off with a smooth slick guitar intro which is then joined by a light drum beat leaving the main focus on the lyrics and vocals. This is followed by a catchy anthem like chorus with pounding drums and a lustrous infectious guitar riff. McEvoy shows off his vocal skills in this track with the added falsetto at the end of the chorus accompanied by lush harmonies on backing vocals. The song builds to a powerful crescendo both instrumentally and vocally, with a break for a “hands in the air and clap” moment. This adds the anthem quality before the intense bridge that brings us a heavier sound and mosh effect, with pounding rhythm and dynamic guitars. The song slows down again and leaves us with a beautiful melancholy guitar feature to play the song out accompanied by a soft beat.
‘Auxiliary Love’ is a powerful compelling track that is well written and shows their song writing and musical skills. I can imagine this song is brilliant live as 5 Dollar Shakes have had a lot of experience doing live shows. They have supported The Riptide Movement, Hudson Taylor and Seasick Steve. In the Summer of 2015 they made their Festival Main Stage début at the Sea Sessions Music Festival. We will be on the look out for their next live show!
Look forward to more from these guys!
Stream ‘Auxiliary Love’ below
Manchester’s PALE WAVES are Heather, Ciara, Hugo and Charlie. They are making a name for themselves for their infectious indie pop sound. ‘The Tide’ Is a bright pop track with a daydream beach feel. The longing vocals give this track a sentimental tone while the guitar bursts give a hazy fantasy feel that you can lose yourself in. The smooth drum beats and slick lustrous guitar riff make this song easy to listen and enjoy every minute of it. It has a youthful “run away with me” freedom vibe. ‘Heavenly’ is a fantastic catchy melodic track. It radiates sunshine with gleaming, light airy vocals that is appealing to the ear. The glistening sun kissed guitar riffs are stunning yet subtle and give a free and easy vibe. This is a bright bouncy tune that you can get up and dance along to or sit back in the sun with a drink in you hand and let Pale Waves take your imagination on a shimmering sun lit journey
PALE WAVES have a bright future ahead of them!
Stream ‘The Tide’ and ‘Heavenly’ below
Our Worth A Listen Track this week comes from Broken Hands
Formed in Canterbury, Broken Hands are brothers Dale & Callum Norton, Jamie Darby, Thomas Ford and David Hardstone. They have made a name for themselves with their fusion of space rock, psychedelic garage and blues influences, and their track ‘Four’ is a concoction of heavy dark rock that has festered and ready to explode. Its blistering energy, riffs and rhythms and loud monstrous sound make this an awesome track. The grungy bass riff adds the hard rock vibe that shakes your core and would wake the dead. The verses are full of intensity with pounding drums and sick bass as the chorus becomes more vocally melodic while instrumentally still hitting it hard. A brilliant track to mosh to! definitely worth a listen!
Stream ‘Four’ below
Bel Esprit are an Indie/Alternative Rock band based in Southampton. With sets at Common People, Wickham, Independence and Icebreaker Festival under their belts and playing sold out shows at Southampton’s Joiners, Sheffield’s Plug and Camden’s prestigious Barfly supporting acts such as Ezra Furman, Sundara Karma and Nothing But Thieves, band members,Billy Herklots, Fahad Siddiqui, George Wardley and Sachin Croker are really making a name for themselves. Their début single ‘Lose My Mind’ has scored over 150,000 plays across all platforms and their most recent release ‘Leave Me Here’ is sure to follow in its footsteps. ‘Leave Me Here’ is a smooth and groovy track with gritty guitar and sizzling sultry vocal. The seductive guitars featuring distortion and addictive hooks give this song a confident and alluring vibe. Herklots’ effortlessly cool vocals is full of suave and swagger and conveys the lyrical yearning. The foot tapping rhythm and sensual bass gives this song its groove feel.
Looking forward to more from these guys.
Stream ‘Leave Me Here’ below
VITAMIN are a four piece indie band from Leeds, band members Jared, Theo, Harrison and Cameron, who are signed to National Anthem records have just released their new single ‘Waterfall’. This is an upbeat, uplifting track with tropical melodies and shimmering synths radiating sunny vibes from every note. With beaming guitars and a pop bouncy beat you just wont be able to stop yourself from dancing! Its definitely a track that sticks in your head. The infectious chorus and strong vocals keeps you wanting more, like a soft sponge cake you can’t refuse. ‘Waterfall’ is definitely a track to add to your summer playlist
VITAMIN have toured with other incredible indie bands such as Sundara Karma and The Magic Gang so they have great experience performing live. Definitely a must see if you can, they are playing at:
Sat 21 May, The Great Escape, Brighton
Sun 29 May, Lost Village Festival, Lincoln
Fri 03 Jun, Studio 24, Leeds
Fri 10 Jun , X&Y Festival, Liverpool
Fri 24 Jun, Studio 24,Leeds
Listen to ‘Waterfall’ below
Black Honey have just dropped their EP ‘Headspin’ and it is everything we expected and more. Izzy Baxter, (vocals, guitar) Chris Ostler (guitar), Tommy Taylor (bass) and Tom Dewhurst (drums)have created a solid polished collection of songs while still maintaining that raw appeal. ‘All My Pride’ kicks the EP off with slick, blazing guitar as Izzy performs her vocals with such intensity and vulnerability that sucks you in and makes you listen to every word of her story. It is full of vigorous energy and a great lead single for the EP. We loved this song so much we made it our Worth A Listen track earlier this month. ‘Headspin’ follows next with a slower tone. It begins with light accompaniment as the vocals are the main focus. The hazy west coast vibe paired with Izzy’s almost seductive soft vocals which gives a melancholy atmosphere to the track. The backing vocals add a haunting quality to the track with a subtle drum beat like the secret ingredient to a sweet dish . The song builds towards the end instrumentally with psychedelic ‘wah wah’ guitar and a stronger beat. This song takes you on a journey with every note, It has a very Lana Del Rey feel with an almost cinematic trip to lose yourself in. ‘On Your Side’ brings us back to a sunny bright side of Black Honey. This track begins with a light drum beat to start. It then kicks into a swinging feel with a rock element. Its a catchy up beat vibrant song. Although its a bouncy track it still holds that melancholy, nostalgic tone which is conveyed through the vocals that gives the track a mysterious quality. The sweet matching harmonies gives the track an uplifting feel to the main vocals and adds a subtle contrast.This song makes you want to sit back in the sun and reminisce as you hear the lustrous, bright guitar solo. ‘Mocking Song’ Is the final track on the EP it slows down the tone again and brings back that west coast style.It has a sombre and almost angry tone on vocals with light guitar and waltz accompaniment for the verses. Again its a picturesque track as you can almost imagine Izzy standing swaying with a drink in her hand and tears down her face. Its a raw emotion filled track that shows a vulnerability which we haven’t seen before from Black Honey. The psychedelic guitar for the instrumental break is really effective and makes you fall into despair with Izzy.
This is a strong EP that shows us the variety in Black Honeys style and it shows us where they want to take their music. Its a multi dimensional EP from an extremely talented band. These guys will be sticking around and if this is only their EP imagine what an album would be like!
Stream ‘Headspin’ below
The Hearts are indie trio Alex Nash, Hamish Kay and Jamie Roberts from Newport, South Wales. They have already had some impressive gigs under their belt supporting acts such as Arcade Fire, Paul Weller and Pretty Vicious. They are known for their massive energetic chorus and synth-infused rock and their new track ‘Lovers Drug’ doesn’t disappoint. ‘Lovers Drug’ begins with a soft vocal and smooth instrumental backing to introduce us to the tune. It then kicks in to a high energy hands in the air anthem. With its mighty fist pumping chorus this song is bursting with energy. The strong vocals are full of vibrancy and intense emotion which is reinforced by the luminous guitars pounding drums and shimmering synths. These guys really know how to catch your attention and make you feel like you can do anything.
Stream ‘Lovers Drug’ below
RINSE are Josh Hollingworth, Rich Hewitt, Josh Hassall and Ollie McNicholas. This indie quartet from Stoke-on-Trent released their new track on Friday 22nd April.‘Taser Party’ is an explosive dream rock track that has already taken the BBC Introducing from Stoke Record Of The Week title. RINSE describe themselves as Summer Grunge and this song definitely gives that impression. ‘Taser Party’ begins with a delicate soft riff which is repeated throughout and is infectiously psychedelic as it sticks in your mind comfortably and replays over and over again with ease. The bouncy playful drum beat gives us that summer vibe while Hollingworth’s haunting vocals give us that grunge feel. The verses keep the eerie mysterious atmosphere that will give you goosebumps while the chorus explodes with a heavier sound and fantastic guitar work.These guys have a real talent for creating an atmosphere in their songs
Another great song from RINSE
Stream ‘Taser Party’ below
The Fontaines are brother-sister duo, Charlotte and Hank Fontaine, from Los Angeles, their infectious ‘New Wop’ sound with swinging bopping 50s references has become a favourite of ours here at Indie Buddie. So we were delighted to hear they have released a new track for us to obsess over. ‘Cold’ was released today on soundcloud and remains true to their sugar coated doo wop style only this time they have added a refreshing bit of rock in the mix. They have proven that they are not afraid to take risks and it does seem to pay off for this duo. ‘Cold’ begins with a heavy electric instrumental which softens to a light drum beat as Charlotte’s vocals begin in a soft smooth tone until the chorus kicks in and both the instruments and vocals heighten keeping with a bopping 50s style. However, there is a heavier more modern guitar and drums feature which adds some grit and substance to the song. The verse again comes in gentle and soft before a huge instrumental bridge that is full of energy and almost mosh like which is a pleasant surprise and shows us you can do old school and make it fresh and new.
A really impressive and accomplished track from The Fontaines look forward to hearing more!
Stream ‘Cold’ below
Bonsai are a four piece band from Stoke-on-Trent that consist of Chris Hough (Guitar & Vocals), Joe Hough (Guitar), Benjamin Hough (Bass) and Freddie Godley (Drums). These guys have created an alternative rock sound based on raspy vocals, psychedelic riffs and steady beats, that gives a dusty drive in a desert vibe.
‘Houdini’ was released last year and gives a classic rock feel, with slick, prominent guitar throughout and smooth raspy vocals. The guitar gives a trance feel to the song that draws you in right up to the polished sensual guitar solo.
‘Ned’ starts as a mellow track with a nostalgic guitar teasing the tune until the vocals and drums kick in. This track gives a youthful freedom vibe. With the slick skill of the guitar as a prominent feature throughout and well rounded drum beats this song takes you on an epic journey. Just the guitar riffs and solos alone are like a path to ‘Neverland’ that you can’t help but follow.
Two really strong tracks from very talented and skilled lads , will look forward to hearing more from Bonsai.
Stream ‘Houdini’ and ‘Ned’ below
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
Picture by James Polley
