LISTEN: Novo Amor - 'Cannot Be, Whatsoever'

Whilst I fear that my words won't be able to do it justice - especially as I'm trying to write this the day after the announcement of a second lockdown in England, and amidst the uncertainty of, well, everything - it's a huge honour to have been entrusted with an early stream of the new record by Novo Amor. In a way it couldn't be arriving at a better time, for me or the world. Both Ali (the Welsh singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind the moniker) and you, the 'reader', will know how much I adore his music. I think I say that a lot (and it's always true) but sometimes an artist comes along and their music pulls the rug out from under you, transporting you, bringing out those verging-on-obsessive tendencies. For me, Novo Amor is absolutely that artist.

When his debut solo record Birthplace arrived in late 2018, I don't think that I had fallen for a record so hard in a while. I loved others just as much, but for an artist who I had only discovered perhaps weeks previously, the love I had for the record immediately was overwhelming. It became an instant favourite, a bit of a life-raft, an album that I would constantly turn to if I needed some musical comfort, and I still do. I was therefore delighted to be offered the chance by Ali to listen to the new record early. To put it simply, I sit here in my living room writing nice things about the music I enjoy, essentially for a bit of fun, and for that to lead to opportunities like this frankly blows my mind. Even more so when I glance at Ali's Spotify account, where he has over three million (!) monthly listeners currently. Mind-boggling.

In a year where I've only been able to get to a couple of gigs (back in February - Bear's Den and The Hoosiers) I've spent a lot of time feeling super nostalgic towards memories of previous shows. Last June, I volunteered at Bushstock Festival, in the gorgeous church that Ali and his band headlined. To get to watch one of my favourite artists headline at my favourite festival would've been enough, but to meet and look after the band was the icing on the cake. Unsurprisingly, they're the sweetest bunch and made me feel really welcome, before playing an absolutely cracking set. 

Fast forward a year, and Novo Amor returned in June with two brand new tracks, Decimal and Halloween. The stage was set... something was happening. A record? Fans online certainly hoped so. A little bit of teasing ensued and Cannot Be, Whatsoever was announced a few weeks later with the release of Opaline. All three of the singles are sublime. Each unique. They hinted at something sonically a little different to the previous record, as Ali elaborated on in videos shared online... 

You kind of ask, what am I trying to achieve, what is this album about, why am I bothering? And those are questions which you don't ask yourself in the start. It definitely felt like a new era of Novo Amor for me, because it was so different. This new album is just another chapter in the progression of my life, of these moments. As I started making the new album, I kind of remembered why I make music, remembered why I like doing it. It was really exciting. 

This record features the same set of players and influences and that trademark falsetto remains, but the sound and the narrative have progressed naturally, growing alongside Ali. I think that a really formative and important moment in the life of a music fan is when you realise that you don't need to feel really precious about the music that somebody you admire makes. When a band return with a new track and it's a little different, it's often treated as a bad thing, even when the track is great. The latest Mumford & Sons record, for instance, is far from the banjo frenzy that is their debut, but that doesn't take anything away from either. I frankly adore both Novo Amor records, and I bet that this was far more fun to make than heading to the drawing board with Birthplace #2 would've been.

I enjoy the whole thing, I enjoy the challenge, because I keep on going because I want the end result of the album, this body of work that I'm happy with, but as you get more and more audience of course you kind of get a bit more freaked out about what people are gonna think about it, which you can't help [...] people say they make music for themselves but it's hard to kind of have that mindset when you know people are gonna hear it.

It's not always easy to make sense of these thoughts or know how far your reach will extend. Sounds and ideas become scatterings of shapes and patterns that need to be grasped, pulled closer and nurtured, the process can feel like a mess. But I think it's good to allow these things to clutter, to become the mess that you then have to work to refine. The thought that you can create things that affect people so fiercely out of thin air can really overwhelm.  

While Ali's lyrics are usually left to our interpretation and I don't have a press release, or indeed any technical musical knowledge with which to throw fancy words at you, I can do what I always do - try to spread love for the music that I love. This records falls into that category entirely. After receiving it a couple of months ago, it sat in my inbox for a couple of weeks before I had the chance to sit and take my first proper listen. I knew that I would need the time to take it in properly. Since then I've smugly listened, over and over, finding new parts to marvel at on every listen. A new lyric which stops me in my tracks, a stunning violin part. There is so much intricate detail to unpick, and a whole lot to love. 

I love (and I'm not sure I've used that word enough yet... are you starting to get the gist?) the track Halloween. The lyric "I miss my friends that I pretend I don't need, but I could've done with them this week" gets me every time. With another lockdown looming this is such a relatable sentiment. From the title at least, No Plans also feels particularly topical at the moment. It's my favourite track from the record, I think. But don't tell the others. The 'drop' a couple of minutes in was such a surprise on my first listen, but a really really superb one. The vocal and the sudden cacophony of instrumentation in this track feel like a sudden unleashing of energy, of raw emotion. It fills me with fire for those few minutes, before immediately contrasting with the much more delicate Birdcage and Keep Me, two really tender tracks. The record has a lot of contrast at its heart, which I think reflects some of the process of making it, detailed in Ali's recent social post, with some admirably honest thinking: 

months down the line the record grew this backbone of indecision, jumping from feelings of self-affirmation to self-pity, from joy and celebration to feelings of boredom and anxiety. It's not something I really wanted, but those feelings naturally manifested themselves within what I was creating. I think that spectrum of emotion appropriately mirrors how it feels to make an album, at least for me anyway. It's a mess and can cause a lot of grief. It gives you life, then drags it back out of you. It gives you happiness, the best days, the worst days, and makes you question your purpose and abilities. These words feel unnecessarily dramatic when describing nine months of just making music, but hey, that's how it feels.  

I could likely ramble more, but you should probably just go and listen to the record. It means an awful lot to me and I'm so excited for everybody to hear it. I know that it will come to mean a lot to those millions of listeners around the world, and to those who are yet to discover Ali's music. You've got a lot to look forward to if that's you. A teeny bit envious. 

If the world has fixed a little by then, Ali is touring all over the place from next April, with some UK shows including London's Barbican. Huge! Tickets and dates for it all, and for something exciting to put into your calendar beyond the weekly grocery trip, are here.

Check out the new record on streaming services/Ali's store here.

Follow Novo Amor - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: I See Rivers - 'Deep & Rolling Green'

Really excited to share that the brilliant debut album from I See Rivers is finally out in the world! A while in the making, it's a triumphant record charting the several years of the band's existence so far, since meeting at university in Liverpool (though they're all originally from Norway). Loving it. The record was made in the renovated chapel StudiOwz with Owain Jenkins, Toby Couling, Alec Brits and Emilie Krogh Johannessen. 

On the record, the band explain that "preparing for and recording this album has been a really long process. Since this is our first full length album some of these songs were written while we were still in uni 7 years ago, while some of the songs were written especially for the album. All three of us write songs for the band and for the album we decided to write most of the songs individually. We wanted to explore how it would sound if we let our individual style come through in the writing and then making it sound 'like I See Rivers' in the way we produced the songs in the end. When we started recording the album we decided that we would have no boundaries and let the music flow in the direction it needed to." 

I SEE RIVERS · Grow And Go

Following recent singles How, Collide and Helios, the album arrives alongside the single release of Grow & Go, a track written during the university years, but finished up in the idyllic welsh countryside that the band have settled themselves into. On the track, the trio explain "the song is about waking up in a relationship that's gone stagnant without realising how you got there, standing on the edge of letting it go. It's about understanding that everything in life has an expiry date, and that there's beauty in that as it offers opportunities to grow and evolve amidst the sadness, grief and loneliness."

Listen to Deep & Rolling Green here.

Follow I See Rivers - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

ALBUM NEWS: Gia Margaret - 'Mia Gargaret'

Album news today (well, it's over a week old but who is counting!) from Chicago singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Gia Margaret. She released her stunning debut record There's Always Glimmer back in 2018, earning herself a loyal following in the process. Touring around the world, a couple of tracks with Novo Amor and a couple of years later, she's back with the follow-up. It's not quite what you might expect. Mia Gargaret (isn't that a brill name?!) is due on June 12th, and is the result of Gia finding herself suddenly without the use of her primary instrument, her voice.

She explains that "after having to cancel tours because of illness, I was unable to sing for nearly half of the year. This left me feeling like a shell of myself, so I turned to my synthesiser for comfort. These compositions helped me hold onto my identity as a music maker. At times this music helped soothe my anxiety more than therapy or anything else could." The resulting tracks are a really timely reminder to find a bit of light in the darkness, of the healing power of music - and first listens apathy and body are superb. As you might notice when listening, apathy includes an excerpt from Gia's actual vocal therapy exercises, while body samples a lecture from Alan Watts, the British philosopher. 

Orindal · Gia Margaret- apathy / body

Follow Gia Margaret - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Bombay Bicycle Club - 'Everything Else Has Gone Wrong'

"This is an album for anyone who's ever turned to music in a time of crisis, whether personal or political. It's about the solace one can get from listening to music or playing music when everything else in your life or the world has gone wrong. It's about finding kernels of hope and renewal in dire situations." 

Well, this is up there with the coolest perks of running this blog to date. I've had an early stream of the brand new Bombay Bicycle Club album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong in my inbox for a couple of weeks. I have so much love for the band and their music and it has been utter joy to have an early listen, or two, or twenty... It's finally out in the world now, so go and listen. And then come back here. Or read on, and then listen. But do listen - it's an incredibly triumphant return for the band and I simply adore it.

Let's rewind first. Back in 2014, just after I'd first moved to Oxford to study, I finally got to see Bombay live. The last ever show at London's Earls Court, with Peace and Sivu supporting and appearances from Dave Gilmour, Rae Morris and Lucy Rose. The band were touring So Long, See You Tomorrow which had just earned them their first number one, and the show was their biggest to date - it was euphoric. A few months later, they decided to break up. Frontman Jack Steadman reflects that it felt like the right moment to step back and pursue other projects, saying that "it's so much easier to stop when you can call it quits and know you were at the top [...] I think if we had gone any longer, we may have broken up in such a way that we might not have ever been able to return to it." In the few years that followed, Jack released a collaborative album as mr jukes, bassist Ed Nash released a record as Toothless, drummer Suren de Saram hit the road as a session drummer, and guitarist Jamie MacColl went to university, getting himself a BA and a masters. Then, as the ten year anniversary of debut album I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose started to loom, the band spoke about playing some shows to celebrate. Jack recalls thinking "we can't come back and play an old album and disappear again." And so, plans began to form.

Almost exactly a year ago, seemingly out of nowhere, and to much joy from me and fans all over the world, Bombay shared a time-lapse video in the studio to social media. The video came alongside this message: "since late last year, we've been getting back into the swing of playing music together. We were initially a little rusty but also nostalgic playing songs that have been around since we were teenagers. More than anything it just felt great to be in the same room playing again. It made us realise what a good thing we have and has given us renewed energy and enthusiasm for the future. The joy we were getting out of playing the old songs seemed to naturally lead us onto working on new material, so we're becoming immersed in that as we speak. Hopefully it won't be too long before we have something new for you guys to hear. [...] We've missed you." 

Hold the phone.

Suddenly, everything felt a little better with the world. Even the idea of just one new track or some one-off shows was ridiculously exciting. Bombay were back and all was good with the world, even if it wasn't. So an entire album? They're spoiling us.

Last Summer, before the album had been announced, I was lucky to score tickets to see the band play one of their first shows back in Islington's 900 (ish) capacity Assembly Hall. It was the sweatiest, most joyous evening of live music that I've experienced in a while. Almost transcendent. The band tore through a setlist with tracks from their entire back catalogue, and you'd hardly know that they'd been away. The best part was seeing the utter joy on the band member's faces - they'd had some time out, and it was certainly the right thing to do, but they were back playing live with their best pals and it felt brilliant.

To kick off the album process, Jack and Ed took themselves to a friend's house in Cornwall, spending a week there each month for the first half of 2019, working on demos separately and coming together to go through them. This time around there was an exciting first for the band - two tracks on the record were written or co-written by Ed. Jack explains that "I think that's a nice example of things being different [...] of how us all going and doing own own thing has benefitted the band [...] because I think Ed probably had songs up his sleeve all this time, but doing a solo album has given him the confidence to share them." It is worth mentioning that both tracks, Good Day and People People, are brilliant. The latter was co-written with the band's long-time collaborator and touring member Liz Lawrence, who sings on the track. Elsewhere, singer/songwriter Billie Marten lends her gorgeous vocals to closing track Racing Stripes.

From the beginning, the band were certain that they didn't want to produce the new record themselves. "Having someone else come in was a way of pushing us slightly out of our comfort zone", Jack explains. On Nash's suggestion they brought in John Congleton (Wild Beasts, St Vincent) and spent just three weeks in LA recording the album with him, often recording tracks in just one or two takes, new territory for the band. Jack describes it as "the least sanitised record we've ever made [...] the album sounds a lot looser, in a good way, than our other albums, which can be very machine-like. I feel like I've relaxed, and chilled out a bit. There was less time spent on the computer. We recorded Good Day, which Ed wrote, all playing together in the room. I was looking around being like, ah, it's us four again. It was a sweet moment." 

The result is a record which is a true return to form. It's Bombay as we love them, yet fresh and new, with the experiences of the last few years, both musically and personally, feeding directly into the record in the lyrics and sound. They're back and they're still just as brilliant and this record is worth the six year wait. The album's theme is perhaps best found in the title track, the last to be written for the album. A track about hope and renewal and finding safety in what brings you comfort while everything is falling apart, the chorus repeats "keep the stereo on, everything else has gone wrong." Jack explains that "for my whole life, I haven't been very good at expressing myself with words. The irony is that the song is about not wanting to write lyrics, but it has lyrics I'm really proud of. And after that, we realised a lot of the other songs had that theme, of music as a cathartic refuge." I for one will be clinging to this record this year to deliver me hope in the moments when it is needed.

While they were often writing about relationships and about being teenagers the first time time around, Jamie explains that the new record is lyrically quite a departure. "The songs are quite direct and personal [...] about companionship, about trying to find your place in the world, all these things we never really touched upon before. All of our friends are struggling with that next stage in life" (some sweet synchronicity with Liz Lawrence's track None Of My Friends there.)

As the first track to be shared after the hiatus, single Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) has to remain one of the highlights of the record for me. It's the track you arrive at if you squish everything you love about Bombay into 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Classic Bombay, but new. Suren recalls a moment where he was "playing the demo to a mate of mine, in my car, and as soon as it came on, he had a big smile on his face. It felt like we were back. [...] There was an element of not knowing what you've got til it's gone, and taking things for granted, which we definitely were. Having spent some time apart, we realised how special and meaningful it was to all of us, in our own way. We're much more appreciative now." The message is echoed in the humorous video for the track, directed by ex touring member Louis Bhose.

Elsewhere on the record, from the first listen to the (alright... I've lost count already), favourite parts for me are the passionate conclusion of Let You Go, the catchy interludes in I Worry Bout You (I've been humming that one at work for the past couple of weeks) and how glorious and majestic Do You Feel Loved? is. The latter's writing is a rarity for Jack, a track on contemporary culture: "it is about technology, and how we're all desperate for affirmation, refreshing our phones to look for people to love us and to get likes." 

Lyrically, Good Day stuck out to me from the first listen. The chorus repeats "I just wanna have a good day, and it's only me that's standing in my way" and is followed by the heartbreaking "first my looks and now my friends, day by day I'm losing them." It is one of the darker parts of the record, with the harmonies and guitar riff creating a bit of contrast. Written by Ed, he describes that "it perfectly summed up how I'd been feeling for the year or two prior to that. I was having a hard time on a day to day basis, and I'd be like, fuck this, why am I doing music, I should get a real job. I realised there were bigger problems than the ones that were surmountable. You're in charge. If you want to have a good day, you're the master of your destiny." 

After the punchy conclusion of Let You Go the album comes to a peaceful close with Racing Stripes. It represents a writing breakthrough, arriving after a brief period in Cornwall when Jack was finding it difficult to write. Jamie describes it as the first song we've done where I feel you could have a lighter in the air and sing along to it." On the record more generally, he adds "I find this album to be so much more positive than anything we've done before. It is inherently optimistic about what's next." 

What's next? A huge string of tour dates around the UK, Europe, the US and Canada, that's what. Remaining tickets available here.

That's it. I'll stop rambling now - well done if you made it this far. Now, go and listen to the magnificent new record, buy it, tell Bombay just how brilliant they are. Enjoy.

Follow Bombay Bicycle Club - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram. 

LISTEN: Bombay Bicycle Club - 'I Can Hardly Speak'

So it looks as if 2020 arrived. I've given myself a couple of weeks off to help recover from a busy festive period working in retail but I'm back and really excited to get back into the swing of regular posts, with lots of brilliant new music just around the corner. Considering our current political and environmental situation, this track, from a very soon to be released album, seems a fitting return. The track is about struggling to express yourself with words, and it is taken from an album which the band describe as being "for anyone who's ever turned to music in a time of crisis, whether personal or political. It's about the solace one can get from listening to music or playing music when everything else in your life or the world has gone wrong. It's about finding kernels of hope and renewal in dire situations." As someone who is a real believer of the power of music to get through difficult situations, whether they be personal or on a larger scale, I'm loving this message.

The band is Bombay Bicycle Club and the track is I Can Hardly Speak - they dropped it at midnight on New Years, a festive treat for us all, a reward for staying up until midnight (by myself, at home) I felt. When sharing it online they added that it was one of the first songs to be written for the album, with it actually being written on the tour for the previous record in 2014. It's been given a lovely lyric video from Jonny Sanders / Prehuman, inspired by the art of Maria Medem, who is creating all of the artwork for the album - check the single covers out, they're gorgeous. Listen below!

Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is released on 17th January - pre-order it here.

Follow Bombay Bicycle Club - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram. 

ALBUM NEWS: Lucy Leave - 'Everyone Is Doing So Well'

As 2019 draws to a close I'm feeling quite reflective about the albums I've loved this year - an albums of the year post is incoming, once I find the time to write it, but for now... here's an upcoming release to get excited about. The start of 2020 was already looking to be pretty special musically with new Bombay Bicycle Club and Gengahr albums on the way, and Oxford locals Lucy Leave join the party with their brand new album Everyone Is Doing So Well due for release on the Divine Schism label on 24th January.

This is really exciting news for various reasons - one huge one being that it's the first physical release from Divine Schism. They're an Oxford based DIY promoter, who have been putting on shows across Oxford and London for nearly a decade, giving a platform to artists they love. Having enjoyed the debut Lucy Leave album so much, they've extended this work to starting up a label to release their new album. Pre-order is live here now on the Divine Schism Bandcamp - go go go! Check out the gorgeous album artwork too, I love it.

(c) Chris Monger

The band have already released the triple-A single Thumbs / Snow / Hey, Male Saviour! and will be releasing a video for each over a few weeks in the run up to the album's release - the first video for Hey, Male Saviour! is below. Can't say that I've seen a webcam music video in a while! It's almost nostalgic...

On this track in particular Lucy Leave cite Soccer Mommy, Petsematary and Joni Mitchell (and particularly their use of open tunings) as influential, with the title being loosely inspired by The Fall's Hey Student. Lyrically they say that the track could be about any number of high-profile men within the music industry, whilst also operating as a call for self-awareness. It's clear that the band are incredibly socially aware themselves, fighting against injustice on a number of levels - notably calling out inequality in gig line-ups. It's refreshing to see a band who, as well as being all sorts of exciting in the musical side of things, really care about positive change within the industry (and the wider world.) They're good eggs, that's for sure.

If you'd like to see Lucy Leave live on album release weekend (frankly - why wouldn't you?) then you're in enormous luck because they happen to be playing shows in Oxford, Bristol and London.

24th Jan: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre, Oxford (w/ Duck, The Cooling Pearls and Basic Dicks) (event)
25th: White Rabbit, Bristol (w/ Megazine, Pega, Salvation Bill (solo)) (event)
26th: New River Studios, London (w/ Pega, Salvation Bill (solo)) (event)

Be sure to pre-order the new album Everyone Is Doing So Well on Bandcamp here.

Follow Lucy Leave - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

INTERVIEW: Geowulf (October 2019)

Always excited to get to do an interview on here - time for another one, this time around with one of my favourite duos, the absolutely dreamy Geowulf, AKA Star Kendrick and Toma Banjanin. After releasing their debut album Great Big Blue at the start of last year, they recently shared the follow-up, My Resignation. Just before they head off on some US and UK tour dates (go!) I caught up with them for a few questions about the album, which you can (and most definitely should) listen to here.

(c) Tom Oxley

Hello! Happy release week! Firstly - who are Geowulf and how did the band come to be? 

Thank you! We’re old friends. Starting writing together for fun four years ago and voila ! 

We’re chatting (via email, it is 2019 after all) because your new album My Resignation was released on Friday. Congrats! How does it feel to have finally made it to release week?

Yeah pretty surreal. Super nice to have it out there. You spend such a long time writing, recording, mixing, marketing etc so just feel really ready to share it. 

As I’m listening to the record I’m hearing some relatable and heavy themes - loneliness, relationships, break-ups and generally trying to figure out the space that you occupy in the world. That’s my interpretation - how would you describe the themes/story behind the record?

Yeah I think you’re pretty bang on. Felt quite reflective I suppose. A lot of coming to terms with things and moving on and accepting things you can’t change. Important themes for life definitely. 

With that in mind, how did you approach the writing process for the album? Is writing a collaborative process? 

Yeah a few songs with different people this album. Justin Parker, Ben Christopher and my good friend Jordan Purvis. Just felt nice to shake things up a bit and let other cooks in the kitchen. Nothing was written with any pressure. We were just real and honest in the moments and got some cool songs out of it. 

Where did the new album come to life, and how did recording differ to your debut record?

Australia! Which was really nice. Being able to record over the summer and with all our old friends around. It differed because we were able to record all at once. Hence probably giving it more continuity. First album was recorded over a period of time because I had a lot of trouble with visas etc.

I absolutely LOVE the Pêtr Aleksänder rework of your breakthrough track ‘Saltwater’ with added strings. Hearing you both sing it live with the duo at their recent London show was a gorgeous surprise. If you could get them to rework a song from the new album, which would you choose? Anybody else you’d like to work with on a remix?

Um maybe Celebrate I reckon. It’s one of my favourite songs on the album. Remix ... hmmm dunno open haha. Hit me up. 

Now that everybody has hopefully fallen in love with the album, where can we see you perform it live in the coming months? 

Ah! US 7-15th November and UK 18-27th! (Tickets here.)

Finally - your chance to recommend us some music. Who is in your headphones at the moment?

The Walters, Flyte, John Myrtle, Aldous Harding, Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Follow Geowulf - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

ALBUM NEWS: Gengahr - 'Sanctuary'

Utter joy to have Gengahr back with a new track, album announcement and tour news. The triple whammy. Everything & More is their first track since Atlas Please last year - a track produced by none other than Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman. The track is taken from their upcoming third album Sanctuary, due for release on 31st Jan. The track sounds fresh yet familiar, focusing around the charming falsetto of frontman Felix Bushe. I adored their last album Where Wildness Grows and can't wait to see what they've got in store for us! 

You can catch Gengahr across the UK and further afield next year across February and March - UK dates below and tickets/album pre-order here.

13th Feb: Band on the Wall, Manchester
14th: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
16th: King Tuts, Glasgow
17th: The Sound House, Dublin
19th: Fleece, Bristol
20th: Patterns, Brighton
21st: EartH, London

Follow Gengahr online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: The Teskey Brothers - 'Run Home Slow'

Happy Thursday! I’m really excited to share a write-up of a lovely new album that is released tomorrow, from Aussie group The Teskey Brothers. It’s actually only a few weeks since I first listened to the band with the release of single So Caught Up. The track fell into my inbox, I posted about it (saying that I was “really really digging this one”) and was soon watching the band play a set on the Communion Music stage at Citadel Festival. I really enjoyed their set and was as blown away by frontman Josh’s vocals live as I expected. Maybe more. Despite their mid-afternoon slot, the band managed to fill out the tent, playing to a large audience of adoring fans who were lapping up new music alongside older tracks.

Hailing from the outback near Melbourne, The Teskey Brothers are a four-piece made up of brothers Josh (vocals) and Sam Teskey (guitar) alongside Brendon Love (bass) and Liam Gough (drums). They started playing music together as teenagers, realising that they shared a love for 1960s American soul music - an influence which remains clear in the music they’re releasing now. They released debut album Half Moon Harvest around two and a half years ago, for which they were awarded ‘Best Soul, Funk, R’N’B or Gospel Album' at The Age Music Victoria Awards (as well as Best Emerging Act). As well as a positive critical reception, the release of the album saw them starting to amass a larger following and play bigger shows, with recent sell-out shows in Union Chapel and Omeara in London.

Run Home Slow is the album’s follow-up and - I think/hope that fans will agree - it is worth the wait! Recorded straight to 2-inch tape, the band are keen to honour the methods and sounds of old school Motown. Presented as a rebellion to the digital age, the album delivers a quite endearing level of authenticity and rawness that is quite rare in our current age where most music is heavily-produced. From the very first notes of opening track Let Me Let You Down a false-start makes it clear that we're hearing a live take. For me, elements like that give the album some character - who wants a perfect take anyway?

The band enlisted the help of producer Paul Butler (Michael Kiwanuka, Andrew Bird) who flew to the band’s home studio in Victoria to work on the album. Together they've created a record which sees a sonic progression from the first record, whilst still maintaining the elements of that record which fans had loved so much. Of this process, drummer Liam Gough explains that “we were really aware that we didn’t want to alienate fans […] We feel really proud of the first album, but the second album needed to be a step up.”

I think it's testament to the recording process that I'm struggling to pick out favourite tracks on the record - I feel that it works best as a whole. I'm loving Hold Me at the moment, particularly in a gorgeous performance for US show CBS This Morning (watch below) - those harmonies are sublime. As my first introduction to the band and one of the livelier tracks on the record, So Caught Up also remains a highlight for me. Falling around the half-way mark of the album, it enlists a bit more ‘pop’ than fans of the band might be used to. Bassist Brendon Love details that it “was a bit different to what we’d normally play […] but we were also quite excited about that.” Judging by the reaction the track got at Citadel: so are the fans.

Closing track That Bird came to Josh in a dream while he was camping in the Colorado wilderness (you couldn't make it up.) Bringing the album and its themes to a close beautifully, its gentle groove provides the setting for a conversation about, Josh explains, whether it is “better to live in the present and forget about the past or is it better to learn from the past and use those mistakes to grow from?” 

To summarise: at various points this album will make you want to dance, sing, cry and play your best air-guitar, all while remaining transfixed by Josh’s stunning lead vocals and the glorious musical talents of the entire band. Be sure to take a listen when it is released tomorrow! 

Having sold out Union Chapel earlier this year, they’ve got a sold out Jazz Cafe gig coming up on 3rd September. Be on the look-out for show announcements for later in the year too! 

Follow The Teskey Brothers - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Hailaker - 'Hailaker'

As the latest additions to the blog playlist prove, Friday was a fantastic day for new music. There were new records from Vampire Weekend, Benedict Benjamin and Ten Tonnes alongside singles from the likes of Christof van der Ven, Cosmo Sheldrake and Of Monsters & Men. In short - a very good day for new music. I challenge you, however, to find something nestled in your new music playlists that is quite as beautifully crafted as the self-titled debut album from Hailaker. From first listen this record completely stole my heart - take a listen on Spotify or via Bandcamp below.

With founder members Jemima Coulter and Ed Tullett playing as part of his band on the night, my first introduction to Hailaker was when watching Novo Amor headline Union Chapel last year. Tracks from the project were played between sets, and a free download card handed out at the merchandise table. With contributions from Novo Amor, AKA Ali Lacey, on production and instrumentation on the new record, there's a lot of synchronicity between the projects - if you're a fan of one you'll likely adore the other.

Generally though, the Hailaker sound is new. Different. Dare I say... fresh? This is reflected in the name, a made up word, about which Jemima explains that "having a word with no defined meaning means the only association it could have is with the project. That's so freeing because it's completely open, and I think it's led to us feeling infinitely free about what Hailaker is." I absolutely love this.

The result is something truly special. With a lack of self-imposed restrictions on genre, and free from pre-conceptions, each track has a unique appeal. An array of instruments - synths, guitars, flute, saxophone, keys, violin and harp to name a few - create something which is experimental at its heart, and fun to listen to in its unpredictability. It's also worth mentioning that the vast collection of sounds are brought together really well - the production on the record is superb, it never once feels as if there might be too much going on sonically.

Lyrically, the record tackles important issues such as depression, with one of the slower and least heavily layered tracks of the record, Watercolour, opening with the line "Face it, I would sit at home finding places I wouldn't go". Closing track and recent single Not Much sees a narrator struggling with depression second hand, exclaiming in the chorus "it's hard to be around her, I bet it's hard to be down lots." On first listen, a highlight of the record for me was the track Phonetically. It provides a brilliant example of the unpredictability of the record - once you've got used to Jemima's beautifully striking voice taking the lead throughout the record, this is flipped on its head, with Ed taking lead vocals on this one. Other personal highlights are recent singles I Could Be Back and Coma / Smoke which are two of the busiest and loudest tracks on the album.

Working on the record while Jemima was studying for a Maths degree in Bristol and Ed was working with Novo Amor in Cardiff, the album was co-produced by the duo, mostly at Ed's own Oxfordshire studio. Jemima describes the record as "the narrative of mine and Ed's friendship first and foremost, since it meant we went from being strangers to spending weeks writing together [...] there's only a few friends in your life that you'll spend such concentrated time with from the onset, and it's been so amazing for that to be the foundation of our friendship."

Collaboration is a huge part of the fluidity of the project, and another collaborator is Mike Roth, an artist from Portland, Oregon. During the album's creation, Ed introduced Jemima to his artwork; collages filled with scraps of images, letters, cuttings and ephemera. The artwork is reflective of the lack of boundaries within the project. The duo see his artwork as equally important to the music within the project - Ed explains that "what Mike does is so fascinating and beautiful, this incredibly intriguing mix of things that otherwise shouldn't be", while Jemima adds that his "use of recycled materials means his artwork is so consistent and also relevant, kind of intrinsically profound."

If you missed it, check out the recent Hailaker video for Not Much in a blog post here.

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LISTEN: Lucy Rose - 'No Words Left'

"song after song after song, all about me, and my misery"

Just over a month ago, the inimitable singer-songwriter Lucy Rose released her fourth studio album into the world. From first listen I had a lot of love for this record, about which Lucy wrote "these songs have allowed me to get to know myself in a way I haven't before and I'm sure after you listen to it you'll end up knowing me better as well." I'm a little late in sharing it, but in case the release passed you by I want to tell you that No Words Left is truly a gem of a record.

It's a gorgeously raw album, centring around Lucy's vocals, guitar, piano and strings. No drums! Intimate and staggeringly personal, the record explores issues of anxiety, isolation and uncertainty without any sugarcoating. It feels like Lucy is pulling us into her world and letting us know that the struggles we might be feeling aren't just our own. At just 36 minutes in length the album should definitely be listened to as a whole - this is helped along by a supporting video showing Lucy performing each of the tracks, directed by Chris McGill which you can watch below.

Having just finished a UK tour, Lucy's only remaining UK headline show of the year is on 4th December (it'll be here soon enough...) at no less than the Barbican Centre. Tickets for that and a full list of her upcoming shows worldwide here.

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ALBUM NEWS: Charlie Cunningham - 'Permanent Way'

I'm really excited to share this news... following the recent release of the two brilliant tracks Sink In and Permanent Way, Charlie Cunningham has announced the follow up to his 2017 record Lines. New album Permanent Way is set for release via Infectious and BMG on June 7th (pre-order here) and the announcement has been marked with the release of new single Don't Go Far. It's a signature track from Charlie with heartbreaking lyrics like "we should try and let go even though it's hard" - combined, the three tracks released so far paint a really promising picture of the album.

The record is said to document life's uncertainties, "the need for intimacy and love, but also space and independence". Charlie explains that "I'm quite a private person outside of performing. There is some autobiographical stuff in the lyrics, but it flits in an out quite a lot; it's much more about people generally and their interactions." 

With a one-off London show coming up in June, Charlie has announced an extensive list of tour dates across the UK, Europe, America and Canada. UK dates are below - for full listings and ticket info head to his website here.

12th June - Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
2nd Nov - Redgrave Theatre, Bristol
3rd Nov - City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds
4th Nov - Sage Gateshead (Hall 2), Gateshead
6th Nov - RNCM Concert Hall (Hall 2), Manchester
7th Nov - Holywell Music Room, Oxford
8th Nov - The Old Market, Brighton
10th Nov - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 2, Liverpool
11th Nov - Oran Mor, Glasgow
12th Nov - Button Factory, Dublin

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LISTEN: All Tvvins - 'Build A Bridge'

One of my favourite support act discoveries of the last few years has to be at a Twin Atlantic show back in July 2016, where I fell for openers All Tvvins, an Irish duo made up of Lar Kaye and Conor Adams. Their brilliant debut album llVV was released exactly a month later and reached #2 in the Irish charts, was nominated for Irish Album of the Year and received over 15 million streams. Fast forward three years and the duo's second album Just To Exist is due for release this Friday, 12th April. They've teased the release with a string of single releases, my favourite of which has been Build A Bridge which I want to share with news of the record. The band describe the idea behind the track as wanting "to convey the feeling of a summer evening sunset when you're driving out in the mountains and anything feels possible."

After working with previous collaborator James Vincent McMorrow to create Hell of a Party, which became the first single from the new record, McMorrow gave them a proposition - "I'm free in January and February. Do you want to come into the studio to make a record?" Kaye recalls "it seemed ridiculous but we knew he could make it happen." The duo took all the ideas they'd been working on for the past two years to a large open studio space in Dublin, and the trio created Just To Exist, which Adams describes as "a snapshot of where we were, what we were going through and where we hope to go next." Kaye adds that the title of the record represents "an acceptance of what we had to go through" to make the band not only exist, but to thrive once again.

All Tvvins play a string of shows (dates below) to celebrate the release of the album, check out the full dates and buy tickets here.

13th April - The National Stadium, Dublin
16th May - Oslo, London
17th May - Deaf Institute, Manchester
18th May - King tuts, Glasgow
19th May - Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds

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LISTEN: Fil Bo Riva - 'Beautiful Sadness'

One of the best perks of running this blog for the past few years is all of the brilliant music that I get sent to review on a daily basis. There's usually a lot to listen to, and it isn't always to my taste, but I love having the chance of finding absolute gems in my inbox that I might otherwise not have discovered. This was the case back in 2016 when I was sent Like Eye Did in an email - the debut single from Fil Bo Riva, aka Rome-born Filippo Bonamici. 

At the time I gave the track a glowing review and wrote that it was "no surprise I'm being sent PR for a singer-songwriter who is half-Italian, the amount I ramble on about Jack Savoretti" - which is probably still entirely accurate. His surprisingly husky vocals gripped me instantly, and he remains one of my favourite discoveries of the last few years. I've since caught two live performances from Fil and the band and had the honour of interviewing him for the blog a year ago. I am therefore very excited to share the news that his debut album Beautiful Sadness is released into the world today!

The record follows the release of a string of singles, the incredible If You're Right, It's Alright EP, three sold out tours and a nomination for the Europe Talent Award. Fil's vision for the record was simple - to deliver songs that are "not too modern, and not too old" and that could "stand the test of time." I'd say that this vision has been realised!

In Beautiful Sadness we're presented with a mixture of tracks delivering a series of opposing sounds and emotions which fit together intricately to paint a beautiful picture. The record is the culmination of two years of work for Fil, guitarist Felix A Remm and producer Robert Stephenson, a length of time which is almost tangible through the tracks, which are intensely contemporary while also hinting towards older styles of music. This is noted most clearly in latest single L'impossible, where autotune verses are twinned with more classical sounding choruses sang in Italian, creating one of the stand-out tracks of the record.

Discussing the writing process, Fil explains that "I wrote about things I was going through; issues, problems, and beautiful things with my girlfriend." This personal writing style delivers authenticity in the tracks, and provides us with an overarching theme of love through the record with lines such as the hopelessly romantic "it feels so right I could die, loving you" in Blindmaker, "you mean too much to me" in Radio Fire and "I'm tryna get control of this love" on Head Sonata (Love Control), which was the first taste of the album and remains a particular favourite of mine.

Also worth mention is the epic nine (!) minute track Different But One, another highlight of the record for me. That track alone takes us on quite the musical journey. Enough rambling from me... check out the record for yourself on Spotify here and buy/stream your copy here!

Fil Bo Riva heads out on the Beautiful Sadness tour in April and May, including a show at London's Oslo Hackney on May 1st. A FBR show is a raucous, beautiful and inspiring event and I would wholeheartedly recommend you check out the full dates and grab your tickets here.

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ALBUM NEWS: Lucy Rose - 'No Words Left'

It feels as if album announcements are coming in thick and thin at the moment - with new records from James Blake, SOAK and Luke Sital-Singh just announced you won't find me complaining! The latest news comes from Lucy Rose, who releases No Words Left, the follow up to the beautiful 2017 record Something's Changing, on 22nd March. The album's opening track Conversation is (as is to be expected) utterly sublime - get listening! 

You can pre-order the record through Lucy's site here, and while you're there check out the dates for her UK tour which sees her play London's Union Chapel, not a show to be missed!

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ALBUM NEWS: Indoor Pets - 'Be Content'

It's been a long time coming... Indoor Pets have finally announced their debut album Be Content, which is due for release on 8th March via Wichita Recordings. It has been co-produced by the band's guitarist James Simpson and Kristofer Harris (of Story Books), and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer. The record features recent single Hi alongside brand new tune Being Strange, which is quickly becoming one of my favourite tunes from the band. With frontman Jamie Glass' trademark vocals and some juicy guitar hooks it's a pretty relatable pop tune with the refrain "I love being strange, it's an easy fit for me." Same.

The band are currently on tour with Bad Sounds, and they're heading out on a headline tour to promote the record in April, including a show at Scala in London on the 17th. Head to the band's website here for tickets and to pre-order the album!

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WATCH: Parcels - 'Lightenup'

About time! Parcels have announced their debut self-titled record, which is set for release on the 12th of October. The release comes alongside a brand new single and music video, Lightenup - it's pretty typical of their work (typically brilliant, that is) and sounds just as if Nile Rodgers himself had a hand in the guitar work. They're a five-piece disco-pop group, originally hailing from Australia but now living in Berlin. In 2017 they were the first emerging band ever to collaborate with Daft Punk, a collaboration which resulted in the absolute tune Overnight, which has had over 23 million listens on Spotify alone. Tieduprightnow, a single from earlier this year, is probably my favourite track from the band - I'm very much looking forward to the album release! Also worth a mention - they recently shared a completely spellbinding a capella version of Bemyself online which you can check out here.

Parcels are touring to promote the record later in the year, with a small run of UK shows in November. They play: Academy 2, Manchester (5th); SXW, Bristol (6th); Stylus, Leeds (7th) and Roundhouse, London (8th). Tickets for all the shows here!

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WATCH: Boy Azooga - 'Face Behind Her Cigarette'

I featured the debut record from Boy Azooga in my recent "albums of the year (so far)" feature, and felt like sharing another track from it on the blog because I'm enjoying the record so much. It's a really refreshing debut from the Cardiff musician, and one that, despite playing it in full several times already, I'm not tiring of in the slightest! The instrumental sections in the tune below, Face Behind Her Cigarette, are a really cracking introduction to his music and the record more specifically. If you like what you're hearing I strongly urge you to check out 1, 2, Kung Fu! here.

As well as plenty of festival appearances over the next couple of months, Boy Azooga headlines Scala in London on 17th October - info here.

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ALBUM NEWS: Evergreen - 'Overseas'

Exciting news! French trio Evergreen have followed up new tune Comme Si with the news that their second record Overseas is due for release in just a week, on June 15th. The album is the follow up to 2014 record Towards (released under their previous name, We Were Evergreen) - easily one of my favourite releases of the last few years, full of some brilliant singles including Best Thing, False Start and Daughters. I first started to listen to the band when I caught them supporting King Charles back in 2012, and I'm really looking forward to hearing this new record and seeing how their sound has progressed, and particularly to any future live dates!

If you want some more recent tunes from the trio to whet your appetite, check out their Aux Echos EP from 2017 here, and take a listen to the new track below!

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WATCH: Peace - 'You Don't Walk Away From Love'

With their third studio album Kindness Is The New Rock and Roll due for release in a couple of days, Peace have shared the video for their recent single You Don't Walk Away From Love - shot in a single take, it's a bit of a film nerd's dream, and it helps that the song is pretty great too!

Premiering the video on the NME website, frontman Harrison Koisser describes it as a "classy and expensive video for a deep and meaningful song [...] it reminds me that outside of the grit, spit & uglier bits, there is still some good left in this world" with the video's director Jonnie Craig adding that "we wanted to work with the effects of colour on people and their emotions, to kind of visualise what it feels like to be in love. Shooting on film is the only way. We grew up with imagery shot on film, so all of our photographic based memories live in that rich grain colour spectrum. I think it strikes a chord with people that digital never could." 

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