Wednesday 30 August 2017

WATCH: John Joseph Brill releases video for 'A Place To Drown'

John Joseph Brill released his I'm Not Alright EP back in July, and he's recently shared the video for the utterly soothing tune A Place To Drown. Talking to Clash about the track, John said that “it’s a song, as with the others from the EP, about needing help. Knowing your head is not right and seeking clarity in the kindness of others. In this case it’s the offer of help, a suggestion that no matter what has passed between two people one can always be there in some way to help the other escape their demons.” Check out the video below and the whole EP here!


If you like what you're hearing, John plays an EU and UK tour in November, taking in his biggest London headline show yet with a full band at The Lexington on 20th November - tickets for all the shows here!


Tuesday 29 August 2017

LISTEN: Tinsmith - 'To Love You'

I might be wrong but Tinsmith may be the first Australian act I've shared on the blog... they're impressing with new tune To Love You, a catchy indie-rock tune with personal lyrics and a punchy beat. The band say that the track is about "trying to make a relationship work only to have it slowly deteriorate in front of you", inspired by the experiences of lead singer Chris, trying to maintain normality while spending life on the road as a full time musician. 



The oxymoronic nature of the upbeat track and melancholic lyrics is pretty endearing and a departure from previous single Breathing - I'm intrigued to see which direction they head in next!

Friday 25 August 2017

WATCH: Flyte release documentary for release of 'The Loved Ones'

Although I've only been aware of them for a year or so, a little search online tells me that the Flyte guys have been around for a few years, a pretty permanent fixture busking around London back in 2013. The live experience shows as their harmonies are incredibly tight and make for some really beautiful tunes, including the stripped back and heartbreaking Faithless which they released last week. 

Their debut album The Loved Ones is out today... I got an early listen a few days ago and can confirm it's just as beautiful as expected. The album release is supported by the first of a four part documentary about the making of the record. A filmmaker followed the guys to Australia to capture the recording process, and it includes voiceover in the form of an incredibly personal conversation with producer Burke Reid. Check out the documentary below and watch out for the rest of it to premiere online soon... 



You can catch Flyte live as they tour to celebrate the release of the album, first with a tour of record store performances and signings including Banquet Records and Rough Trade East & Nottingham, which starts this Friday at Hundred Records near Southampton (full dates here), and then across September and October up and down the country, including their London headline at Scala. Check out all the dates and grab your tickets here!

Thursday 24 August 2017

LISTEN: Jack Savoretti releases 'Whiskey Tango'

As if the last few weeks hadn't already been brilliant enough for new tunes, Jack Savoretti dropped entirely new tune Whiskey Tango last week and it's a total earworm - BBC Radio 2 must agree as it's just been added to the A List! Following the success of latest record Sleep No More, it's getting a re-release on the 8th September with a 'Live and Acoustic' CD headed up by this tune, alongside live versions of old tracks like Soldier's Eyes and Breaking The Rules and acoustic versions of tracks from the record including the singles I'm Yours and When We Were Lovers. Knowing just how beautiful Jack is both live and acoustic, I've got pretty high hopes for the release and I can't wait to get along to another show of his to catch this new track being played live!


Jack heads out on tour with John Legend in arenas around Europe over the next couple of months - tickets and dates here! Pre-order the Sleep No More special edition here before release on 8th September!

Wednesday 23 August 2017

LISTEN: Fizzy Blood - 'Summer of Luv'

When I saw the track title Summer of Luv I assumed the worst (though would Summer of Love really be any better?!) but contrary to my initial fears I'm actually digging this tune from Fizzy Blood! To me it sounds almost like a combination of Royal Blood and The Klaxons... and now I'm feeling severely nostalgic for Myths of the Near Future, what a record! Back to these guys, they're a five-piece band from Leeds, who released their debut EP back in 2015, resulting in a bunch of support tours and widespread praise. 2017 has seen a bunch of festival performances, including SXSW and with Reading and Leeds still to come, and the guys are back with Summer of Luv, the title track of their forthcoming EP, due on 1st September via Killing Moon/Alya Records.

Monday 21 August 2017

WATCH: The King's Parade - 'Mother Tongue'

London based band The King's Parade released their latest EP Haze a few months back in May... it was sat in the blog's inbox for a while but upon listening to it I was instantly impressed by the band's sound. They cite The Black Keys and Half Moon Run as influences on their Facebook page and in Of Stone I think you can certainly hear the similarities - not a bad thing! The EP helped the band to gain support form the likes of BBC 6Music and BBC Introducing, and they've recently played slots at Secret Garden Party, Cornbury and Smoked & Uncut. It's all happening, it seems, and they've recently dropped a video for the EP's third track Mother Tongue, take a look below!


Sunday 20 August 2017

WATCH: Flyte perform 'Faithless' for Sofar Sounds

As the release date of their highly anticipated (by me, at least) debut album draws ever close, Flyte casually dropped an absolute stunner of a track on Friday. Sharing the track online, they wrote that it's one of the first songs that they wrote together, so it means a lot to the band. After a few listens and putting the track onto my Spotify playlist I stumbled across this video of them performing the track for Sofar Sounds London last March which is equally as beautiful.


Flyte release their debut album The Loved Ones this Friday (25th August) and head out on a mammoth UK tour through September and October, starting in Southampton on 15th September, heading to the likes of London, Cambridge, Cardiff, Oxford, Leeds, Nottingham and more before finishing up in Bristol on 12th October - full dates and ticket links here!

Thursday 17 August 2017

LISTEN: Low Island - 'In This Room' EP

If you're partial to a bit of BBC Radio 1 then you'll probably have heard the magnificent Low Island chaps as their tune That Kind Of Love was last week's track of the week thanks to the folks of BBC Introducing in Oxford. It's the middle track of their beautiful five track EP In This Room which was released a couple of months back which I've already given it some love on the Tigmus blog, but I realised it was about time I shared it on here!

The band are a quartet from Oxford who have had a blinder of a year, with sets at Reading and Leeds Festival coming up next weekend, some exciting headline shows under their belts and sets at so many other brilliant festivals over the past couple of months. One of those was The Great Escape, where their set was a highlight of the three-day festival for me... it was my first proper introduction to their music as my bosses are friends and fans of the band and were desperate to catch the set, and most importantly to be down at the front of the stage for it. We caught up with the guys for a drink the night before and as well as making some cracking tunes they're lovely chaps which is always an endearing factor for a band! Listen to the EP below for an introduction to the band... the closing track (Pause) is probably my favourite and I can't wait to hear more from the guys!


If you like what you're hearing you're in luck as Low Island are heading out for a couple of headline shows in London at Corsica Studios on the 8th and 9th of November courtesy of Parallel Lines - if you're in Oxford they're playing as part of the inaugural Ritual Union fest along Cowley Road on 21st October, more info here.

Friday 11 August 2017

WATCH: Adam Barnes - 'Bad Luck'

My favourite bearded muso Adam Barnes returned with a new single entitled Bad Luck recently and I'm excited to share this beautiful performance of the track for 7 Layers. Following up his One Day We'll Be Fine EP from the end of 2015, the track is the first single from Adam's upcoming record - I'll be sure to share details of that when they're released! For now, why not go back and check out Adam's back catalogue including his 2013 album The Land, The Sea & Everything Lost Beneath on his Soundcloud page!



Tuesday 8 August 2017

WATCH: Baio releases video for 'Man of the World'

Baio has released the completely tongue-in-cheek and kind of brilliant video for the title track of his second solo album, Man of the World. If Spotify playlists are your thing, you'll find this on mine here - be sure to follow it for my favourite tunes throughout the year! The track has picked up play on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, with the album following the 2015 record The Names which features such tunes as Sister of Pearl. Baio tours the US later in the year with UK shows to be announced - keep an eye on his website... if you've seen Vampire Weekend live (he's the bassist) you'll know that he's quite the showman and his live shows aren't to be missed!

Monday 7 August 2017

WATCH: Wildwood Kin release video for 'Taking A Hold'

Family trio Wildwood Kin have released the video for Taking A Hold, taken from their upcoming and highly-anticipated debut album Turning Tides, due out on 18th August. Following in the steps of The Staves and Haim, the girls have had a great year so far, gaining praise from the likes of Jo Whiley, Steve Wright and Bob Harris and performing at Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival and The Great Escape.


The track, with its haunting vocals, tight harmonies and infectious guitar lines, has become a live favourite - if you're enjoying it then you can catch the trio live this Autumn as they are touring around the UK in October and November. The tour includes a London headline show at The Borderline on 6th November - grab your tickets for all of the shows on their site here, where you'll also find the album pre-order links!

Thursday 3 August 2017

WATCH: Everything Everything - 'Desire'

Unless you've been living under a rock you'll probably have noticed that the impeccable Everything Everything are back in our lives with new tunes taken from upcoming album A Fever Dream which is due out in just a couple of weeks (nobody panic!) Following up the first single Can't Do the guys premiered a corker of a tune entitled Desire on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday night and it's been circling in my head since. They've just released the music video, which is equally brilliant and directed by Dave Tree, and the live performance element is making me fairly impatient for a tour announcement... They're one of the best and most fun bands I've had the pleasure of seeing and I can't wait to hear the new tracks performed live! Their last record Get To Heaven was my joint favourite record of 2015 so you could say I've got some pretty high expectations of this album but it's incredibly reassuring to hear Alex say on BBCR1 that "I think this is the best thing we've done", with Jonathan describing the track as being about "wanting something so much you don't care about the consequences of getting it" - check out the show here from around 31 min!


Everything Everything release their fourth studio album A Fever Dream on 18th August - get pre-ordering here (they've even got signed goodies on their official store!)

Tuesday 1 August 2017

LISTEN: Spilt Milk Society - 'She Tastes Like Summer'

To stand out in my inbox it sometimes helps to have a cool band name... and Spilt Milk Society certainly tick that box. They're a five piece indie-rock band from the Midlands and they recently released new tune She Tastes Like Summer. Opening with limited instrumentation the track begins quietly, building to a raucous, anthemic end, yet the almost delicate and exposed vocals remain at the forefront throughout. With comparisons to the likes of The Maccabees it's certainly easy to hear the similarities, but these guys are creating a name for themselves with a string of sold out hometown shows, a performance at The Great Escape on the BBC Introducing stage and over 500k streams (including 400k on For The Last Time) under their belts. If you fancy catching them live, they're playing a free entry show at The Finsbury on August 17th - Facebook event here! Get listening to the new tune below...