Another round of up of singles, EPs, tracks and demos that have grabbed my attention recently. Kicking off with a few LNFG releases…
Annie Booth – Tropic
Annie releases the second offering from her upcoming album, Lazybody, which is due out on the 19th of November. The follow up to Cocoon, Tropic, is yet another slice of touchingly atmospheric and expressive alt-pop laden with stirring strings and a suitably autumnal video. Annie’s sensitive and eloquent vocal has the usual comforting, protective effect as the song reaches its glorious zenith. Annie is playing a Lazybody album launch gig on the 28th November in the perfectly intimate setting of The Glad Cafe.
Broken Chanter – Dancing Skeletons
Also releasing the second single from their new album was Broken Chanter with Dancing Skeletons, their follow up to Extinction Event Souvenir T-Shirt. The second Broken Chanter album, Catastrophe Hits, is out now and is more than worthy of your discerning ears. This single is an uplifting anthem, with an inspirational opening couplet, advocating change… “I need to change the air in my lungs, smash my TV, cut off my phone and let go”. The exhilarating rhythm almost giving you the impetus to get your arse out of your seat and do just that. Looking forward to their upcoming gig with wojtek the bear on the 19th of this month.
St Dukes – Animal Glue
Fresh from a triumphant support slot at the Lola in Slacks album launch gig, St. Dukes new single Animal Glue was recently premiered on Louder Than War. The mesmeric laidback vibe of the song is accompanied by this fantastic retro video. Judging by the single, the superb live performance and the reaction of the audience, a great future beckons for St. Dukes.
David Luximon – Nothing Ever Good Happened Down By the River
Following up the magnificent Datsun Cherry, David Luximon releases another cracking single in Nothing Ever Good Happened Down By the River. Like the St. Dukes single, this a charismatic and alluring song with a totally laidback vibe, and a wonderful burst of sonorous singing guitar as the song reaches its climax. A wee double whammy for you too as David is on the same bill as Annie Booth in The Glad Cafe at the end of the month.
Tigers & Flies – Bat and Ball
Released on the 12th November on the same label (Violette Records) as the unassuming and understated genius of Jim McCulloch is the album Among Everything Else by Tiger and Flies. Bat and Ball is the second single from the album and kicks off proceedings in a melee of cacophonous noise mixing guitars and brass. What follows is a mix of bass led indie pop, melodious harmonies and jazz tinged trumpet all coming together to create three and a half minutes of eclectic enjoyment.
Beechwood – Front Page News
Moving across the Atlantic to my musical “spirit” home of New York City and the new single Front Page News from Beechwood. Following an intro that positively sings, the band bursts in with an impassioned energy, backed with an almost Motown/Spector-esque sound providing a foil to Gordon Lawrence;s gruff vocal. A great intro to their fourth album coming in January 2022
The Carvels NYC – In Real Life/Feelin’ Stabby
Staying in NYC (I wish) and it is Lynne Von Pang and crew’s new double A side single In Real Life/Feelin’ Stabby. Two absolute belters once more from the quartet who manage to both have an addictively retro sound and fell to their music, but be entirely modern and relevant in equal measures. Feelin’ Stabby is probably my favourite of the two, a “break-up” song of sorts, or should that be a revenge fantasy… managing to mix punk, rock ‘n’ roll with a heavy sprinkling of glamour and sinister lyrics to great effect. I continue to plan (you know what they say about best laid plans and all that) to get to NYC before I die and see this band “In Real Life”.
The Blue Carpet Band
Did someone say punk, rock ‘n’ roll? Ramp up the rockabilly, add a stylish front man with a greased back quiff and rock ‘n’ roll infused vocal chords, add some 1950’s b-movie madness and you’ve got the high energy rock ‘n’ roll that can only come from The Blue Carpet Band and their latest stonking single, B-Move Boogie.
The Ocean Greys – Way Down the Long Road
Next Station is a five track EP from South California’s The Ocean Greys. If you like your music chilled and with a late night vibe in the vein of the slower end of The Sundays spectrum or the likes of Mazzy Star, The Ocean Grey’s will be right up your street. Five tracks of blissed out beauty, subdued brilliance and sophisticated elegance. Listen late at night with headphones on and drift away…
Vardy – Let it Go
An honest and open portrayal of how it feels to be impacted by depression from the talented Vardy who brought us the Pandemonium 555 EP earlier this year. This song will resonate with so many people, congratulations to Daniel for tackling a subject which impacts so many people, but is still not understood by so many more, often resulting in a lack of empathy and people suffering alone as they try to cover up how they really feel. Never suffer in silence. Samaritans are there 24/7 – Call 116 123.
Kylo Voss – Mind, Body and Soul
Another single tackling mental health issues is Mind, Body and Soul from ex-Trampolene drummer Kylo Voss. Leaving after a decade in the band, Voss is now focussing his music from a more personal perspective, as can be heard from this single. He is putting his focus on his mental health and physical wellbeing, exploring how he can find the right path to a balanced wellbeing. Sounding broken and despondent at the start, Voss vocal builds in its confidence, adding atmospheric sax as the tune comes to an end, like he has found a voice and can now explore his psyche and find a way to happiness.
Scrape – Armed with a Mindset
Staying in Wales but changing atmosphere entirely now. Scrape are a hard rocking quartet from Cardiff, with some influences taken straight from the 80s metal scene, think Iron Maiden on the likes of Eggshells. while elsewhere reflecting more of a 90s nu-metal/rap influence (and a riff not unlike Fight for Your Right…) on Booze and Good Company.
The Lee Harveys – 77
A new 7″ vinyl single from The Lee Harveys is avaiable now from the band. All songs recorded in one take with no overdubs and produced by the one and only Rat Scabies. The four blasts of classic Lee Harveys energy on offer on this EP are Motor City Bluez, Gun City, New York and Dead Pop Star. The resultant offering is a perfect reflection of the Lee Harveys experience, just have a listen to the full throttle, pedal to the metal punk rock banger that is Motor City Bluez then head to their bandcamp page and treat yourself.
Primitive Ignorant – High Rise Vampires
Continuing to go from strength to strength is ex 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster bassist Sym Gharial and his electro punk outfit, Primitive Ignorant. High Rise Vampires is a dark brooding slow burner, initially a distorted electro hum backing Sym’s whispered vocal, before the intensity increases and the layers build to a throbbing vibrant intensity. Epic stuff.
The Scaramanga Six – It is the Face Wish How
Another intense and brooding single comes from The Scaramanga Six and their enigmatic latest offering, It is the Face Wish How, the song starting with an a seemingly underlying menace, the song builds and soars, but the threat of menace hinted by the ever present guitar line never quite leaves you. Perfect for the time of year…
Power of Dreams – You Haven’t Really Lived
Another song from their excellent return, Auslander, You Haven’t Really Lived starts off with a fair degree of melancholy, but with a hint of positivity in the lyrics suggesting feeling the sun through the rain. As the song develops, the band demonstrate their usual knack of creating a thunderous and intensely uplifting ball of energy.
Sacred Noise – Taste in Men
Perhaps Sacred Noise and Lynne Von Pang should talk… judging by the visuals for their debut release, Taste in Men. Red flags abound in their tale, but no red flags from a music perspective, this is a glorious and furiously frenzied sinisterly dark rocker, its false ending just allowing a breath before the raging intensity raises a few notches. Their website promises their debut Glasgow gig soon. Watch this space….
Revolution Above Disorder – Illuminate
Revolution Above Disorder (Stephen Nicholas White) mixes up elements of electronica, shoegaze and grungy rock a la Black Motorcycle Club to great effect, with a dreamy/ethereal backing vocal provided by Shannon Hemmett and Kendall Wooding adding to the overall hypnotic effect of the song. The single also includes an acoustic version and a dance-orientated remix.
Tulsaqueen – I Can’t Sleep
Tulsaqueen is one of Wiggy from Curdle’s other projects. Her Gram Parsons influenced country rock side if you like, or as I once called her “Gram Parsons influenced goddess of gore” (just listen to some of her lyrics….) As we moved into 2021 there was the hope of a Tulsaqueen album. That is still on the horizon, but she has kindly treated us to I Can’t Sleep to sate our appetites as we wait. I Can’t Sleep is an immense heartbreak of a song with an eerie Lynchian feel to it. Love it, now bring on that album… Not only that, but she will be playing her first ever solo gig on 26th November in Mono supporting Bobby Lee.
The Gulps – Stuck in the City
Another band signed to Alan McGee’s It’s Creation Baby label, The Gulps, and their rousing debut for the label Stuck in the City. The band have been receiving high praise for their high energy live performances. Expect to hear much more about, and from, this lot in the coming months…
crush – so strange
Another dreamy shoegaze tune from Manchester’s crush, who take influence from Graham Coxon’s signature guitar sound, and fuzz it up creating a fiercely ardent noise in doing so.
Cuffed Up
The last song to be released from their Asymmetry EP is Terminal. Another mental health related song in this latest singles round up: Vocalist Ralph Torrefranca “Terminal” is the most personal song I’ve ever written. I suffer from serious health OCD that is borderline crippling at times. I wanted to write a song that projects the anxiety & irrational thoughts that my body & mind go through during my worst “episodes”.
The Stiff Lips – Lucid Screaming
Just released this past Friday is the debut 5 track EP from Glasgow’s The Stiff Lips. Lucid Screaming (love the title) is five raw grungy punk rock n roll songs. A couple of stand outs for me are the glam tinged Rock ‘n’ Roll and particularly the attitude packed Female-Fronted, with lyrics that highlight the fact that “gender doesn’t define you”, a topic that I’m totally bought into, since when was female fronted a “genre”. Changes in attitude need to happen… And in Energy Vampire – I think we can all recognise that person that just sucks the will to live from you… Great stuff.
Marianne Dissard & Lunatraktors – Gotta Get Up
French/American chanteuse, the bewitching and beguiling Marianne Dissard continues her series of cover versions with this delightful romp through Harry Nilsson’s Gotta Get Up recorded with Lunatraktors. Check out all of her cover versions to date via her bandcamp page, and the rest of her enigmatic and varied back catalogue.
The Courettes – R.I.N.G.O.
As I post this, The Courettes will just have finished a 17 date tour of the UK and will now be taking a well deserved rest after wowing crowds up and down the length of the country with high octane live performances of their, quite frankly, BRILLIANT third album, Back in Mono. Their tribute to the Beatles drummer was released on 7″ vinyl on the same day as the album.
As usual, if the songs are on the evil Spotify platform, I’ve included them in a playlist (and added them to the 2021 Ginger Quiff playlist. If you like what you hear, go and buy product direct from the band and support the artists.