Track: Tobi Tobi – Cast Away
It’s often the spaces in between the instruments in a song that create an inedible atmosphere, and the new single by Melbournian duo Tobi Tobi proves this fact. Simple instrumentation (double bass, piano, guitar), so sparse as to be almost undetectable, ripple beneath singer Renee Anderson’s extraordinary vocals and a haunting, heartbreakingly melancholic melody. There …
Track: Sunburn – Jump the Gun
Sunburn are part of an astonishing cluster of indie bands that are bursting out of Dublin at the moment. Indeed, Sunburn have a melodic and passionate creativity that makes them as endearing and enduring as fellow Dublinites Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital and Just Mustard, with more of a pop flavour. The shard-like guitars of …
See: Empathy Test – Monsters
Empathy Test‘s single Monsters, reviewed here last month, is a statuesque, cinematic synth blast: anthemic and haunting – and it is fitting that the band has released an incredible video to accompany the single. Directed by Calum Macdiarmid and funded by fans, it is a stunning visual piece that perfectly matches the mystery and awe …
Track: Eskobar – Roller Coaster
The cooler-than-thou retro-modern indie Kings from Sweden, Eskobar, are back to follow up their earlier single ‘When Your Heroes Fall’ which we reviewed last month. ‘Roller Coaster’ provides indelible proof that we are dealing with a serious bunch of musicians with an inherent talent for performance and melody. ‘Roller Coaster’ has all the insouciant swagger …
Track – Moscow Apartment – Halfway
‘Halfway’ from indie duo Moscow Apartment is a whimsical joy – floating on delicate guitars and subtle harmonies to create a track that is beautiful in its low-fi fragility. Moscow Apartment consists of Canadian singer-songwriters Brighid Fry and Pascale Padilla who will release an EP entitled ‘Better Daughters’ in June with a full band. ‘Halfway’ …
Track: Jacknife Lee – I’m Getting Tired ft Earl St Clair + Beth Ditto plus album news
An epic thundering excoriating track and video for the times, ‘I’m Getting Tired’ has just been released by legendary producer Jacknife Lee in anticipation of an album ‘The Jacknife Lee’ due out on 26 June 2020. ‘I’m Getting Tired’ features the vocals of Def Jam singer Earl St Clair and the iconic Beth Ditto The …
Track: The Murder Capital – Live From BBC Maida Vale (EP)
Recorded live at BBC’s Maida Vale Studio just before the pandemic closedown, The Murder Capital have just released an EP that features a sparse, haunting cover of FKA Twigs’s song Cellophane as well as a couple of early singles “Don’t Cling To Life” and “Green & Blue”. Of the choice for lead single off the EP, …
Track: Runaway Belles – The Weekend
Right before the isolation iron curtain came thundering down on live gigs, I caught an impressive performance from PARKER (Tash Parker with her band) supporting the brilliant Costume – read my review here. PARKER is the solo work of one highly talented Tash Parker who has emerged from the confines of isolation to work with …
Track: Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death plus album news
Last year, Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. released what what I considered to be one of the best albums of the year, if not decade, with ‘Dogrel’. All the more incredible considering it was their debut album. 2019 began with them playing small venues around the UK (see my review of their April 2019 Manchester gig) and …
See: Moon Panda – Rick F***in Dalton
With a title inspired from Tarantino’s recent classic, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, the new single ‘Rick F***in Dalton’ from US/Danish duo Moon Panda is not what you’d expect. It is a dreamy and mesmerising single filled with lush instrumentation and a divine melodic spine. This a song for the times, as singer/bassist Maddie …