ALBUM NEWS: Sam Fender - 'Seventeen Going Under'

You might have seen me posting about it on social media, but if not... I'm delighted to share that I've just started an internship with the lovely folk at Chalk Press. They're a PR agency who work with a whole bunch of my favourite artists, and whose work I've long admired via the blog. All the years of rambling here might just about be paying off? I'd warn of some upcoming favouritism of Chalk artists, but that's always been the case. The quality is off the scale. I started last week, just in time for the return of one of the biggest artists on the roster, the one and only Sam Fender. 

It's almost two years since Sam released his debut record Hypersonic Missiles, which went straight to number 1 in the charts. After a couple of re-listens this week, I can confirm that much like a fine wine (or so I'm told) it has aged beautifully... and I am very much looking forward to the release of his sophomore record Seventeen Going Under in October. The title track debuted as Annie Mac's Hottest Record on BBCR1 last week with a really insightful interview with Sam (listen here.) I've been finding myself constantly returning to the new track - take a look at the video below!

The new record will be released via Polydor Records and was recorded in North Shields and produced with Bramwell Bronte. Sam describes it as "a coming of age story. It's about growing up. It's a celebration of life after hardship, and it's a celebration of surviving." It's an introspective record, deeply personal, and yet resonant. Can't wait to hear more - and for everybody else to get to! 

Pre-order Seventeen Going Under here - due 8th October.

Follow Sam Fender - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: dexter - 'I Like Me'

Occasionally, you get that feeling that it's genuinely exciting to be there as a fan quite early on in a project. A palpable sense that they're probably about to do incredible things. I'm getting that feeling with dexter, AKA 18 year-old South West London based artist/human Charmaine. She's been self-releasing singles over the past year, using a moniker and keeping the project somewhat of a secret, but the cat is out of the bag, and she's got an EP (the delightfully named I Do Love A Good Sandwich) due on August 4th. I Like Me is the painfully relatable second track from the EP, for which you can watch the video, directed by Amity Bloc, below. 

On the track, she shares "I Like Me is about me feeling like I have to be a certain way to make boys like me or to feel more 'like a girl'. I was inspired by a period of time in lockdown where I found myself trying to buy a bunch of clothes that would make me feel more feminine and girly but I didn't even like half the stuff I was buying. I would like it to let listeners know that girls shouldn't have to act a certain way to feel like they are still feminine or worth people liking them and that it's cool to be both girly and not girly." 

Follow dexter - Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Half Moon Run - 'Inwards & Onwards' EP

I've been a little nostalgic over the blog of late, and found that Half Moon Run were a band that I championed quite early on, sharing various new tracks, videos and tour dates to Tumblr. I'd actually 'found' them through a 4 for £10 offer in my local HMV store, where I picked up a copy of their debut album on CD - I'm not sure if I'd even heard of them, let alone listened to them, but the artwork (and the £2.50 price tag) pulled me in and I've never looked back. The blog has evolved a lot since then, and the band along with it. Their latest (and brilliant) EP Inwards & Onwards has been out for a few weeks now, but I felt a sudden urgency to share it here...

I've been self-isolating at home for the past few days, and have just watched both series of Feel Good on Netflix, which is written by, and stars, Canadian comedian Mae Martin. The show has one of the best TV soundtracks that I've ever heard, mostly thanks to the swathes of Half Moon Run, new and old, interspersed throughout it (Mae is a big fan) but also the likes of Fleet Foxes, Ajimal, Leif Vollebekk and Phoebe Bridgers. I genuinely don't feel as if I've seen a TV show make such brilliant use of music before, where it wasn't written specifically for the show. 

In a conversation with Mae, HMR's Conner Molander discusses how the pandemic affected the band, putting a stop to touring, encouraging creativity, and losing them a bandmate (amiably). He also mentioned that they've got a lot of music that they're currently working on... between this EP, last year's Seasons of Change EP and The Covideo Sessions it's a pretty good time to be a HMR fan. Better still if you're in the UK (London..) as they're playing Lafayette on 16th June next year (it's sold out, but you can join a waiting list here.)

Check out the Inwards & Onwards EP here.

Follow Half Moon Run - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Billie Flynn - 'Hey Stranger'

Contender the most gorgeous debut you'll hear this week coming right up... I'm loving Hey Stranger from Billie Flynn, the latest signing to Gabrielle Aplin's Never Fade Records. Sharing the track online, Billie explained that it was written a few years ago, and that she'd always wanted it to be the first track she officially release. For me, it was the beautiful instrumentation that immediately grabbed my attention... as piano and acoustic guitar build into a richer soundscape filled with strings. Come from the strings, but stick around for Billie's exquisitely intimate vocals. At once, the track feels as if Billie is singing directly to you, and as if the track should be occupying a film soundtrack, playing over footage of the Cornish coast that Billie calls home. In short: it's lovely, get listening. 

"This song came to me in a dream, I dreamt the melody and woke up frantically trying to find my phone to record a voice note, I still have it. It's about seeing someone again that isn't in your life anymore and hoping that they're proud of who you are now."  

Follow Billie Flynn - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Matilda Mann - 'Bloom'

"I met you too soon, for anything to bloom." 

As I've said time and time again, I am in love with Matilda Mann and her gorgeous music. It's been a treat to watch her going from strength to strength over the past year - and hearing recent single Doomsday on BBC Radio 1 a few days back was a delight. Onto the next, though... she's just shared Bloom, taken from forthcoming EP Sonder. The track arrives with a video from documentary photographer and director Aria Shahrokhshahi. 

On the track, Matilda shares: "Bloom is about meeting someone too soon. Sometimes you need a little more time, to figure out what you want and how to be alone, so that you don't give too much of yourself away to someone else. Sometimes it can just be a phase, or you feel like you made a mistake. But I think, as time goes on, things like that become more clear it was the right decision." 

Follow Matilda Mann - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

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." 

Follow JWestern - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

ALBUM NEWS: CHILDCARE - 'Busy Busy People'

New music from CHILDCARE is always a reason to rejoice - particularly when it arrives alongside news of a brand new album. Little Secret is the third single to be taken from upcoming second album Busy Busy People, due 24th September... already a great day for releases with records from Public Service Broadcasting and Bess Atwell out then too! 

On the new single, the band explain "Little Secret is one of those songs which has taken years to come together; we've had the chorus for a long time but could never quite get the verses or feel of the song right. It wasn't until I started interviewing friends and asked them to each share a secret with me that the song clicked into place and we recorded it for this album. Little Secret is therefore like a smoothie mix of lots of different people's secrets, blended for your pleasure."

CHILDCARE · Little Secret

Pre-order the record/grab October tour tickets here.

Follow CHILDCARE - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Jolé & Christof van der Ven - 'Bygone'

Well, this is a bit lovely, isn't it?! A joy to find a collaboration from Jolé and Christof van der Ven in my inbox a couple of weeks ago. I'll take any new Christof music where I can get it, and a collaborative project with Jolé, entitled Great Parade, is an exciting new chapter, born via a meeting through mutual friends and an instant desire to write music together. First single Bygone is taken from an EP due to be announced later this year. Beautifully blending the complimentary sounds and voices of both artists, it's an indie folk/electronica mix, pulsating and soothing in equal measure. 

On the track, the pair explain: "Bygone was written as a memory of the younger us and the way we grow up forgetting the small moments of youth and childhood. We can often take for granted those memories as we age but also stop and reflect on what we had, to remind ourselves that life can be simple in the best ways." 

Follow Jolé - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

 

Follow Christof van der Ven - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Liz Lawrence - 'Down For Fun'

I bloody love Liz Lawrence. After releasing new track Saturated a couple of weeks back, she's just shared a video for previous single Down For Fun. Both tracks are taken from her upcoming studio album The Avalanche, due on September 17th. While on the surface the video is a little bit tongue in cheek, look a little closer and it extends on the themes of the song itself, a rallying call for strength and power to teenage girls who might feel sidelined. Liz explains: "all the subcultures and countercultures I was around were very male-dominated, and this is about feeling like there are other options. It's the words I needed to hear."

In true 'we love to see it' style, Liz wrote, arranged, performed and produced the entire album herself, trying to capture the essence of her joyous live shows on the record. "I feel like there's power and aggression in the way I perform live, and I wanted to capture that. It was a complete pleasure to write. I'd had all that anxiety around releasing 'Pity Party' after such a long period of not writing under my own name. But I was buzzing off the fact that people were receptive to it live, and it gave me so much confidence to make this. I like to dance, and I like to move, and I wanted to make a record that people would move to quite naturally, I wanted it to have motion. I think it's quite silly, and it's joyful, and I'm not always sure people expect that from me."  

Follow Liz Lawrence - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Maple Glider - 'Friend'

You could say that I chose a great week last week to get completely out of the loop with new releases and abandon my inbox for a few days... I came back to find one of the busiest release days in living memory (ask any music PR/journo you know... if they've recovered yet.) Australia's Maple Glider is an artist I hadn't heard of until Friday, when I saw a few tweets about her debut album, To Enjoy Is The Only Thing. You can usually tell if you're going to love an artist by the person recommending it, and I was right to have high hopes... it's a beautiful album. 

As your way in (like mine) here is new single Friend, with a video directed by Athina Wilson. On the track, Maple Glider, AKA Tori Zietsch, explains: "this song is for an old, good friend. In some ways it feels like one of the most personal songs on the album. I knew I wanted to write it for a long time, before I finally did. It's a reflection of some of my experience in the music industry from the age of sixteen or so, before Maple Glider existed, and the story of a friendship intertwined inside of each of our shiny music dreams. It was turbulent and unbalanced, and we both became a little undone within it. A lot of hurt and healing came to the surface after years of close collaboration, and 'Friend' is the result of that."

If, like me, Friend has you hooked, or at the very least a little intrigued, let Tori entice you further with these words describing the collection of tracks which make up the record: "...walking past tinsel covered trees in mid-September, swimming along the calanques in the south of France, car-bonnet frost, darkness at 4pm, lightness until 10pm, a muted feeling, the perpetual grey fog that swallows the Silver Coast, the colour red, this ugly green dress, red wine, red blood, red lips, red is the colour of the cardinal’s robe, Switzerland, my mother’s diaries, a coroner’s report, the sun on my face, the end of love, "To enjoy is the only thing. BTCH$.'"

Follow Maple Glider - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.