The Slates – Watch Life Burn

Image credit: Oliver Roberts

The Slates have released their latest single ‘Watch Life Burn’ via This Feeling and Lab Records. The single was produced by Peter Redshaw and mixed by James Kenosha.

As Spring breeds life into the UK, The Slates follow suit with this ode to living your life to the fullest. Originally written when frontman Louis moved to University, the song has a broader appeal, and one that the world needs reminding of in these dark times.

The rhetoric may be well-worn, but frontman Louis Barnes’ vocal breeds new life into it. Angelic and thoughtful, he allows hope to look humble and achievable for all. It’s an arm around the shoulder from an elder saying, “You can do anything”. His voice is subtly heartfelt, not overreaching, no ego, just a soul yearning to see the world and fall in love.

In a world that often feels heavy, The Slates offer a gentle yet stirring reminder to look outwards. This isn’t their ‘Live Forever’ step into the greats, but they’re striding toward that sentiment; it’s sure to follow soon.

The Cases – The Curse

Image courtesy of Fear PR

The Cases have released their second single, ‘The Curse’, from their debut EP ‘Mr. Penny’ (This Feeling Records / Lab Records). Recorded at Kempston Street in Liverpool, it was produced by Chris Taylor (Courteeners).

The Preston outfit is currently celebrating the song's release with a sold-out tour. This sense of triumph perfectly captures this ode to overcoming hard times. The ease of The Kooks’ debut album and the melodic bombast of The Zutons drive this song from emotional turmoil to freedom.

Will Bullen’s riffs are best with angst, wrestling to free themselves of the toxicity they’re mired in. He buries the pain deep so that when the solo comes, it’s less an ecstatic release, more a cathartic howl.

The Cases are currently on a sold-out tour with This Feeling, and on this showing, it’s easy to see why.

LOCK-IN – Red Stripe Remedy

Hertfordshire school friends Lock-In return with the second single from their upcoming debut EP ‘On To The Next’. ‘Red Stripe Remedy’ follows the fan favourite ‘Easy’ and was recorded at Premises Studio in Hackney with Curtis Elvidge producing again.

Images and artwork courtesy of Fear PR and Joe Lowe.

Joe Leek’s harsher and more jagged licks allow the “what if” Graham Coxon joined Two Door Cinema Club to develop joyfully. Where ‘Easy’ tapped into a more melancholic sonic, ‘RSR’ sees Lock-In take another step toward marrying their natural optimism with more serious songwriting.

Every generation has its band(s) tackling the human release from the 9-5. What’s different about Lock-In’s submission to the genre is its emotive poignancy. As frontman Benjy Leak sings “Lost in the 9-5, we only work to stay alive”, it’s tinged with a forlornness not seen with songs of this ilk before. It serves as the perfect reflection of the dire times we’re struggling through. When The Enemy sang ‘We’ll Live And Die’ in these towns, Tom Clarke conjured images of people still brimming with hope despite the decay.  ‘Red Stripe Remedy’, sixteen years later, demonstrates what it’s like to exist in those towns; six for a fiver being one of the only hopes left for so many.

Lock-In, though, are never down for the count. Their introduction of strings and as Leak howls “It’s life, Its Life, It’s life”, a chink of light emerges. Faint, but bright enough to reassure us that we’re not alone.

There are just too many dreams in this wasteland for you to leave us all behind.

Click the image below for tickets to their biggest ever show at Lafayette next April:

Rosellas - Somewhere Inbetween

Manchester’s Rosellas have released their new EP ‘Somewhere Inbetween’ via This Feeling Records. The EP was written by the whole band and produced by Oliver Shillito. Image and artwork courtesy of Fear PR>

Former singles ‘Switch Off’ and ‘Hideaway’ catapulted Rosellas to the front of the pack of The UK’s band scene in recent months. Their smooth rock ‘n’ roll pre-pandemic began to spark with a directness that didn’t demand attention, it took it. On ‘Switch Off’, they bridge that older sound to their new fire with an effortless that leaves no one behind. Frontman Drew Selby slots into a vocal groove honed on the likes of ‘Slowdance’ and ‘Common Ground’ but, now a brash, desperate sense of purpose looms lyrically and sonically.

This compulsion is doubled down on ‘Hideaway’. Selby’s vocal more urgent, willing to fray at the edges is partnered with the more celestial moments of The Verve’s classic ‘A Northern Soul’. With Shillito at the helm, they’ve found a space to sprinkle the psychedelic nuggets of the Byrds and Shack alongside their newfound sprawling power.

‘Bare Your Soul’ and the new single ‘Come Alive’ tread similar paths structurally, culminating in Selby’s sublime guitar parts. The former unites the more immediate moments of ‘The Second Coming’ with the melodic supremacy of ‘Urban Hymns.’ As Selby decrees “so come on, speak it easy” images of Haigh Hall, Knebworth, and Heaton Park glint in the eye. Ollie Appleby’s basslines create a tumultuous fog that allows Euan Mail and Selby’s guitars to emerge in a visceral blaze of glory.

The EP closes out with a glimpse of what is yet to come from this fine band. ‘Thunderstorming’ goes beyond the immediacy of teenage kicks and explores the world of Oasis b-side ‘Shout It Out Loud’ with hints of Neil Young’s ‘Cortez The Killer’. It witnesses the band moving into MOJO's front cover territory.

The Rosellas have begun a new chapter on this EP. Their inclination to reflect thoughtfully is now dancing with the kind of rock ‘n’ roll that the UK yearns for on big stages. It’s only a matter of time.