Echolines – The Poison Artist

Newcastle’s Echolines are back with their new single ‘The Poison Artist’, out on 6NOT4 Records.

Their previous single, ‘Imagination Stranger’, was a pop celebration of 80s indie influences. Things have taken a more expansive and darker tone this time. From the warped synths, to the Robert Smith meets an angry Jimi Goodwin and Guy Garvey vocals, they’ve struck a dank chord of greatness.

They adopt Public Service Broadcasting’s style with the inclusion n of exerts from a documentary on the CIA. From this sinister early inclusion, ‘The Poison Artist’ explodes with colour, vigour and dreaded nihilism. Brass, so often the accompaniment to glory, rages here like a rabid wolf!

The guitars, whilst they have jangle reminiscent of The Cure’s triumphant Glasto set, the intensity of them is soul crushing. The imagery they create is of love being torn down, through self-destruction and at worst, for sport.

Echolines are rapidly becoming a vital band for your record collections!

*Image courtesy of Van Goth

Friday 2nd August marks our 8th birthday. Come down to the New Cross Inn for a night of great live music. Tickets available here:

Elbow - All Disco

Oh Guy Garvey, that voice, from the first word it instantly feels like your best friend has come home from a long spell away.

‘All Disco’, inspired by an interview Garvey did with Pixies legend Frank Black, details how he learned to let go of his ‘be all end all’ attitude towards his songs. This seems odd, as Elbow have always sounded at their best when their mind body and soul have been left out there for all to hear.

That said, fans should rejoice at Garvey’s new reflective stance. The world lost too many heroes last year and to have another one slide into murky waters trying to be perfect would be a tragedy.

Elbow’s archetypal sound is out in full force here, lending itself to all things beautiful in the world. So, to combine it with a wise message of letting obsessions will hopefully have a positive effect on the simplistic dialectical discourse the world has adopted of late.