WATCH: Divorce - 'Birds'

It's a Monday night in June and (in the words of Stornoway) I should be sleeping... but I feel compelled to write a little something as I haven't posted to the blog in a week or two. I had the last week off work so had a little holiday from the blog too - we headed to Norfolk, wandered around some of my favourite nature reserves, saw some cool wildlife (I've got a lil nature Instagram account here, btw) and ate lots. The dream.

Back to work, and blogging. This one came out a couple of weeks ago and is a stunner. It's the first release from Divorce this year and... they're just SO good, right?! Obsessed with basically everything they've put out so far. Naturally, I'm drawn in by a track called Birds, even if it has very little to do with our feathered pals. Still brilliant.  

Talking about the track, co-vocalist/guitarist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow explains "I was carrying a lot of insecurity that felt like it was piling in on me from all angles but this song was an attempt to reshape those feelings into something positive. I wanted to remind myself and all of us in the band how much belief we have in each other and in the truth of what we're doing together."  

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LISTEN: Low Island - 'It Holds And It Holds'

Entirely predictably, I'm here to ramble about how brilliant Low Island are. Obvs. They're announcing an extended edition of their second album Life In Miniature, arriving via their label Emotional Interference on March 10th. Best news. From the new version, they've shared It Holds And It Holds, a track which dates back a year and a half or so from the early sessions for the record. 

Writing about the track, Carlos shares: "it's a song about the affirmational power of love amongst friends and family - during the pandemic we were separated from friends and family, sometimes within a single city, but often that separation was across countries and continents. The idea that love could be felt so strongly at such a distance, that it could traverse oceans, that you could be 'there' for someone without being physically present, was something that felt very powerful to me at the time and inspired this song [...] 'my love covers oceans and rides across the waves' was one of the lines that I was especially proud of from my notebooks but couldn't find a home for on other songs that made it onto the album. Happy that this one is now out in the world." 

If you fancy a Low Island show (I mean - of course you do) you're in luck as they're currently touring the UK, sneaking in a few shows over at SXSW in the middle of it in March. They're playing Lafayette on 8th March. Dates and tickets here. 

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LISTEN: Brooke Bentham - 'Let Go'

February seems to be another month of exciting returns, hey? Teasing her return in November with the gorgeous single Over and over, the equally gorgeous human Brooke Bentham is back back. New track Let Go arrives with news of the Caring EP, due for release on March 17th. Ahh! The EP was recorded and produced with Patrick J Pearson (of too many brill projects to mention, but for me... Liu Bei, Dry The River and LYR) at Middle Farm Studios, and will be celebrated with a launch show at St Pancras Old Church on 12th April. 

On the new track, Brooke shares: "When I wrote 'Let Go' I'd just started a songwriting course with Robin Pecknold and I was training to be a singing teacher. I was really thinking about the way our bodies hold emotion and how it affects us. I'd been trying to get the song right for a while and our homework for the course was to try to rework an old song. After playing around with old material for a while, I came up with 'Let Go'. I think it sounds like a release; letting go of what's been held in you without realising. My producer Patrick J Pearson really helped this song come to life, I love the guitar lines in the chorus so much. It's the song that feels the most like me so far." 

Brooke Bentham · let go

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WATCH: Brooke Bentham - 'Over and Over'

A slice of much deserved joy - Brooke Bentham is back, yesssss!!! We deserve this news. Brooke's record Everyday Nothing (and its stripped back counter-part Sunday Self) was one of my favourite releases of 2020, so I'm thrilled that she's back with a corker of a single, taken from an upcoming EP. The track was recorded with Patrick J Pearson at Middle Farm Studios.

On the track she shares: "'Over and Over' was written fast. It was my way of asking myself if I could just write a song that I didn't have to think too much about, but reflected where I was at. The last few years have been full of road trips, camping, staying indoors. It's my ode to road trips, getting away from life, feeling like yourself and enjoying being alive. I wanted it to physically sound like that." 

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LISTEN: Banji - 'Freshcakes'

I'm not posting much at the moment as I'm really struggling to find the time, but dropping in now and then to share things that I love - and at the moment, that's the debut album from Banji. It's ridiculously good. I've been a fan since the first single found its way into my inbox almost exactly two years ago, and I am all kinds of excited that the album is finally out. It's been a great soundtrack for my commutes over the past few days. You can (and must..!) listen to Freshcakes here, but to whet your appetite, there's a lovely acoustic session from a few days ago below.

Talking about the process of making the record, frontman Morris Brandt explains: "Banji's songwriting has always reflected my surroundings and environment. Big themes of this album are struggling with adulthood, self-worth and self-esteem, mental health and frustrations, addiction, and finding your own self-discipline and maturity over time. The lyrics that flowed out of me throughout the making of Freshcakes tend to be built around introverted thoughts, personal social situations, and subjects that I find difficult to dissect. Stressful feelings about mistakes made, expectations unfulfilled, and the guilt that surrounds that. At a young age I've learned to use music as an output for frustration and stress. The main thing that I wanted to do with this record was find a place for those feelings and letting them go, kind of like therapy in a way." 

Follow Banji - Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.

WATCH: Divorce - 'Checking Out'

You all love Divorce, right? Of course you do. You definitely should do. Not *that* divorce... the superb indie four-piece from Nottingham. They've just shared Checking Out (my current obsession) with news of their debut EP Get Mean, which is due via Hand In Hive on December 2nd. I cannot wait! If you enjoy this one - check out the equally brilliant Pretty and Services.

Talking about the track, Tiger Cohen-Towell explains: "the track was written when a group of musician friends and I did a songwriting exercise, the challenge being to write five songs in five days. I think it was maybe the 4th day of the process and I wanted to write something that was as far away from myself as possible, I was tired of my own personal narratives. 

I've always loved dramatic country and western ballads and a major inspiration for the track was country-singer Marty Robbins, who writes the most intense 'gunfighter ballads', which are bordering on slap-stick in their incessant violence and all-American heroism. I wanted to flip that on its head by having a female narrator who feels justified in her heinous act because those gunfighter ballads make you root for the underdog anti-hero, even if they are behaving completely irrationally - that's a running theme in country music I think. 'Checking Out' is satirical and humorous, whilst getting into the head of a person who has been pushed too far and had enough of mistreatment in a relationship (although I don't condone murder!)"

Divorce are Tiger Cohen-Towell (vocals, bass), Felix Mackenzie-Barrow (vocals, electric guitar), Adam Peter Smith (electric guitar) and Kasper Sandstrøm (drums).

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WATCH: Low Island - 'Kid Gloves'

So GOOD. Every single time. They never miss. New Low Island dropped at the end of last week and is, as ever, a four-minute bop and my current favourite. They'll always manage to get me out of a big of a blog slump, too - I've simply got to share this with you all...! Along with recent single Can't Forget, new track Kid Gloves is taken from their upcoming second album Life In Miniature, due 4th November via their own label Emotional Interference. 

They've also just announced - and put on sale - their next London headliner at Oval Space on March 2nd. After missing the last few I simply have to be at this one!! Tickets here. 

Follow Low Island - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

ALBUM NEWS: Low Island - 'Life In Miniature'

Tumultuous political carnage aside, I've been feeling pretty under the weather this week and keeping on top of the blog has felt a bit of a chore (boo). Then - into my inbox - a quick reminder of just why I spend so much time doing this... some *very* exciting news about an artist I love, and an early listen of something new. The artist in question is Low Island (Oxford superstars/general heroes) and they've just released new track Can't Forget. I'm not sure exactly what we did to deserve this, but the track is taken from their SECOND ALBUM (!!) Life In Miniature which is releasing on 4th November, via their own label Emotional Interference. Now breathe. 

Can't Forget arrives with artwork born out of a collaboration between the band, creative director and sculptor Freya Douglas Ferguson, photographer Brian Rankin and floral artist MOS. The track has a brilliant live video, directed by the band themselves... my desperation to see them live again as soon as possible is growing by the second as I watch it. 

On the track, Carlos shares: "it's a reflection on the headyness of youth and a fear of growing up. Verse 2 is a nod to the day I left home; as I drove down the street, I caught my Dad crying and waving me away in the wing-mirror of my car. It's one of those memories that gets printed right onto the front of your mind and that you never forget."  

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WATCH: PRISMA - 'Drive'

... two posts in two days?! *gasp* 

I loved discovering PRISMA a couple of months back with their single I Never Wanted To Meet You. In fact, I loved it so much that I wrote "I'm a sucker for some sisterly harmonies, and these, set atop an energetic slice of scandi-pop, are a beauty." I'm therefore delighted to share that the Danish sister duo are back, following up their Inside Out EP with new track Drive. Yay! The track is accompanied by another superb video, which sees the sisters actually driving off into the sunset at the end of it - and a rather lovely Danish sunset it is. 

On the track, sisters Frida and Sirid Møl Kristensen share "we have tried to create a sound universe where you as a listener get the feeling of driving fast. The song provides a very concrete description of an exciting car ride, but we also want to make room for the listener's interpretation of the word 'Drive'. It can be your personal drive, a work drive, etc. This song is a tribute to all the people who go out in their everyday lives and chase their dreams; a tribute to the side roads; a tribute to the journey."

Follow PRISMA - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Abbie Ozard - 'Rose Tinted'

Question. Do they call it dream-pop because it's pop music and it is a pure dream to listen to? This new Abbie Ozard track backs up my theory. It is genuinely a dream, and aaaall too relatable. Give me all of the tracks that explore being in your mid twenties and being confused as to what on earth you're doing because they are calling to me right now. Rose Tinted is the final track to be taken from Abbie's upcoming Water Based Lullabies EP, which is due via House Anxiety on 1st July. 

Talking about the track, Abbie shared: "Rose tinted was a poem I wrote a few years back when I realised all my friends were growing up and I felt kinda left behind. I found myself covering up these feelings with clothes and messing with the way I looked. I even tried meditating, which I hated because it made me think way too much. It's an observation on how 20 somethings cope with transitioning into adulthood, how they share morning routines online, meditate to stay calm, buy new outfits - that whole 'don't get depression vibe'. I want to be able to soundtrack my generation."

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ALBUM NEWS: Banji - 'Freshcakes'

The exciting album news just keeps on coming... this time it's Utrecht's Banji, with news of their record Freshcakes, due October 14th via [PIAS] Recordings. On first hearing their debut single, I wrote here "if it's a juicy ear-worm you're after, then look no further" and it's been a joy to get to know the band sonically with the run of singles that has followed over the past year or so. Can't wait for the record - and very much enjoying new single Cornflakes. 

On the track, vocalist Morris Brandt shares: "I'm prone to developing little addictions pretty easily. Just the tiny things that get me through my day. The overall subject turned out to dig a little deeper into my own habits - temptations, quick releases, and with that, carelessness. Always being on the lookout for a little bit more than what you already have. Enticement can lead you to concentrate on the wrong things, and make you forget that you always have a choice. Because, if these dependencies develop on a bigger scale, they can have a significant impact on the people around you, and cause you to put up a front. Hiding behind it for the sake of someone else. I was noodling around with these ideas, using metaphors and different voices to inhabit the lines in the song."

Talking on Freshcakes, Morris continues: "Banji's songwriting has always reflected my surroundings and environment. Big themes of this album are struggling with adulthood, self-worth and self-esteem, mental health and frustrations, addiction, and finding your own self-discipline and maturity over time. The lyrics that flowed out of me throughout the making of Freshcakes tend to be built around introverted thoughts, personal social situations, and subjects that I find difficult to dissect. Stressful feelings about mistakes made, expectations unfulfilled, and the guilt that surrounds that. At a young age I've learned to use music as an output for frustration and stress. The main thing that I wanted to do with this record was find a place for those feelings and letting them go, kind of like therapy in a way." 

Follow Banji - Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.

WATCH: Abbie Ozard - 'Pisces'

"I know you're really trying, our stars just aren't aligning... " 

You're all here for a zodiac themed 'wobbly indie-pop put-down'... right? Pisces from Abbie Ozard is all kinds of brill. The Manchester-based artist is stepping away from her bedroom-pop origins with the track, the first to be taken from her upcoming EP Water Based Lullabies, due 1st July via House Anxiety. Witty lyrics sit on top of a beautifully woozy number... I'm really enjoying this one! 

On the origins of the track, Abbie shares: "after releasing songs about yearning, loss and change I was set on creating a bad bitch anthem that girls, gay, theys and everyone inbetween could feel empowered by. Pisces is about recognising your own strengths, taking control of what you really want and setting your standards high. This song was so fun to write, me and James were in stitches when we were writing it but behind the humour there's a deeper meaning to it all. Don't settle for mediocrity, know your worth and surrounding yourself with people that make you feel amazing."  

Follow Abbie Ozard - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: PRISMA - 'I Never Wanted To Meet You'

Time for a new discovery that I'm really digging at the moment from Danish sister duo PRISMA (Frida and Sirid Møl Kristensen) - I Never Wanted To Meet You. I'm a sucker for some sisterly harmonies, and these, set atop an energetic slice of scandi-pop, are a beauty. Properly love this! 

The new track, inspired by their own experiences, is all about liberating yourself from negative people in your life. Ohhhh yes. On the track, Sirid shares: "I realised that having this person in my life wasn't doing me any good. I needed to make a choice, focusing on what was best for me. I can't have people around me that no longer contribute to my life." 

The track hints more generally at the music they've been creating lately, in its themes and sounds. They share: "there's this new drive in us. We have this energy inside, and we need to get it out. It doesn't have to be pretty, and we don't have to make perfect takes. The important thing is to emphasise the nerve of the music - this specific energy." 

If you like this, join me in exploring their 2020 EP Her. So far so brilliant. 

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WATCH: APRE - 'Waste My Time'

New APRE - rejoice! Waste My Time is the third track to be taken from their upcoming A001 mixtape, due 1st Feb. I've been a full-time subscriber of the APRE fanclub (is there one? can I join?) since seeing them open for Friendly Fires a couple of years back and can't wait for the mixtape.. recent singles All Mine and YOU are brilliant. They never miss! If you fancy seeing them live, they're in the midst of a residency at London venue The Social, delivering an immersive experience of the mixtape with art installations and live performance within a retro-themed narrative. 

On the new track, the duo explain: "'Waste My Time' is about egos and how they take over and control you and you don't realise it until it's too late, leaving you taken advantage of, making it even harder to remove yourself from the relationship because you are trapped by their ego, almost forcing their morals and beliefs to become your own." 

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WATCH: Lauran Hibberd - 'Charlie's Car'

This one has been stuck in my head for a few days now... no complaints here. Fresh from releasing anthem after bop after god damn tune (honestly, obsessed) Lauran Hibberd has signed to Virgin Music and shared her first single with the label, Charlie's Car. If you like what you're hearing (obviously) then check out her Goober EP here while we all eagerly await the debut album. Soon please! 

On the new track, Lauran shares... "I think everyone has a 'Charlie' in their life. It's ironic that this totally unreasonable behaviour is something I find myself thirsty for. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? This track is definitely just a down spiralling array of unhealthy events that I find myself (as always) coating in infamous comedy." 

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LISTEN: Banji - 'Chills'

Much like my previous post with Francis of Delirium, today's post features another band who hail from beyond the UK (in Utrecht), who I discovered in the past year, and who are currently touring here. They're just a few singles down, each completely charming in its own way and all adding up to mark them as one of the most exciting new bands releasing music at the moment (in my ~humble~ opinion...) Dogbreath, TalkieWalkie and Listen are each complete tunes. They're back with new single Chills, on which they've taken the reins on self-production (each member of the four-piece is a budding producer). 

On the track, lead vocalist Morris Brandt shares: “Chills is about being in a rut. That feeling of how everything around you goes too fast to keep up with. It's something everybody struggles with now and then, looking for grip. But when you can't find that, you tend to give up and it feels like you're stuck. Sometimes I get really tied up with myself, and it feels like my brain can't really process what I'm trying to deal with. Being okay with that, acknowledging it, and taking a step back has helped me a lot." 

Having taken in a London headline, Wild Paths Festival in Norwich and a Manchester livestream last week, the group are playing at Gullivers in Manchester tomorrow (20th).

Follow Banji - Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.

WATCH: Voka Gentle - 'TV Bra'

Londoners Voka Gentle are back with one of my favourite releases of last week, the brilliant (and slightly bonkers, but in the best way) track TV Bra. It's the final preview of new album Writhing, due via Leafy Outlook on October 22nd and for me, it is the trio at their best. Eccentric and a bit chaotic, but completely alluring - just like the TV Bra itself. 

William's character asks in the track "are you lacking high quality content?" With this video, we're certainly not. If you're going to watch one music video this week, make it this one. In the clip, William takes on the role of a somewhat demonic (and all too believable) salesman in a 'QVC fever dream' alongside bandmates Ellie and Imogen. 

On the track, the band share: "TV Bra began as a joke improvisation inspired by the Korean artist Nam June Paik, who collaborated with the cellist Charlotte Moorman on a piece called TV Bra, where ostensibly she played the cello naked except for two small TV screens over her breasts."

"The idea was to imagine something like that being commodified and advertised, incorporating the familiar small print and customer surveys and things that you'd expect with something like that nowadays. It's pretty nonsensical, but we liked the way it almost went down the JG Ballard Crash route of exploring how technology threatens to pollute sex and intimacy in a really violating way. Maybe it's kind of a cheesy 'observation on the state of the world,' but with a bit of humour in there. You can hear the junky prepared piano we created in the studio - we shoved nails, cutlery, Game Boy cartridges, string, crisp packets and all sorts of things into an upright piano." 

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WATCH: APRE - 'All Mine'

Happy Monday! Before the musical rambles, a quick thanks for the patience and kindness I've been shown of late. I'm attempting a return to posting on the blog (forgive me if posts aren't quite as frequent as normal, just yet...) with a song that has been on repeat on my Spotify account (no, not ABBA - but you should listen to them) and in my earphones for days now. The track is All Mine by APRE - I love these guys and I'm delighted that they're back, bringing with them one of my favourite songs of theirs so far. There's more what that came from too, as they're releasing a few more singles this year, with a mixtape due to arrive early next year.  

On the origins of the new track, the duo share: "when something becomes so good we can't help but look for the flaws, drowning our minds with false anxiety, as we lie in disbelief that we've found the one person that understands us. In other words it seems too good to be true. This song speaks of the never ending sense of joy another human being can give you."  

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EP NEWS: JWestern - 'Midnight Thoughts'

Happy Wednesday, folks! Last week brought with it some EP news from the magnificent new talent JWestern, whose Midnight Thoughts EP is due on Heist or Hit on 13th August. If you're new to his music (or, indeed, if you're already a fan) you can get a taster of what's to follow with new single Active Guy below.

Speaking about the track, JWestern (AKA John Gooding) shares this all too relatable story: "Active Guy is a kind of ode to myself. At the time of writing it I was burnt out from working a 9-5 job leaving me drained all the time. When it came to the weekend I just wanted to kick back and listen to music, but I always felt this expectation that I had to be productive all the time, bettering myself in some way. Waking up at the crack of dawn and going for a run then doing a massive list of jobs, it just isn't for me - on a Sunday at least. When it came to the writing the track it all began with the line "you think that I'm crazy-cause I just want to be lazy" and I thought, what do I want to do on a Sunday? It all kind of snowballed from there and the lyrics just fell into place."

"I wanted the beat itself to seem quite lazy and laid back, so the kick and bass are lax and sloppy. The instruments have a dreamy kind of quality as well, almost as if someone's half awake, going between dozing off and just starting to wake up. I kind of imagine the chorus as a bit of an 'anti-lazy' section, cause honestly, I want it to pick people up who are similar to me, struggling to motivate themselves to open the curtains and instead make them want to bounce around their room a bit at 7am." 

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LISTEN: Charli Adams - 'Seventeen Again' (ft. Novo Amor)

Hello! I've been a little quiet here while I had a week off from work and did things other than the blog... it's very rare that I take any time away from the site and was quite refreshing, but catching up on a week's worth of emails was anything but. Some gems were nestled in there, making it worthwhile, as ever. Now, I absolutely love it when favourites collide. Brand new from Charli Adams, Seventeen Again features none other than one of my absolute fave musical beings, Novo Amor. The track is the latest to be taken from Charli's album Bullseye, due to be released via Color Study on July 16th. As is to be expected, it's a stunner - excited for the record! 

On the collaboration, which is one of a few across the album, Charli explains: "I'd been listening to Novo Amor for a while and was a huge fan when he reached out over Instagram back in 2019. I was spending some time in London shooting a video and he invited me out to his home studio in Wales to work on some music. Ali is ridiculously talented and we had a lot of fun creating this song."

"We spent the week making Seventeen Again and exploring Cardiff. I remember feeling the way that I did when I left home for the first time at seventeen and moved to Nashville, and that was the inspiration behind the song. It's definitely not in my nature to stay in one place for too long and I find myself fantasizing about moving away far too often. The song follows my familiar thought process of walking around a foreign city imagining what it would be like to never go home." 

Charli Adams · Seventeen Again (feat. Novo Amor)

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