London’s JW Paris returned at the start of June with their new single ‘Leave Me Alone’. Released via the impeccable Blagger Records it was produced by JB Pilon and mastered by Cicely Balston at Air Studios.
JW Paris – Leave It Alone
Mull Historical Society – Room of Masks
Scotland’s Mull Historical Society aka Colin McIntyre returned with his new single ‘Room Of Masks’. Featuring lyrics from crime writer Val McDermid, ‘Room Of Masks’ was released last Friday via Xtra Mile Recordings. Banner image courtesy of Sonic PR.
Artwork by John MacLean (Beta Band)
McIntyre, forever seeking new creative avenues for his blessed songwriting tasked McDermid to pen lyrics about a room with significant meaning. In return, McDermid reflected upon the bedroom which gave those formative years of musical discovery.
McIntyre’s sonic accompaniment is an effortless piece of magic. Dawn-lit guitars akin to Noah and Whale’s masterpiece ‘First Days of Spring’ glisten and build to hymnal euphoria. The gentle build documents McDermid’s teenage escapism from her working-class Fife backdrop.
A fine return to form a criminally underrated songwriter! McIntyre’s new album ‘In My Mind There’s A Room’ will be released 21st of July and will feature other authors such as Ian Rankin, Nick Hornby, Jacqueline Wilson, Jennifer Clement, Sebastian Barry, Alan Warner, Jason Mott, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Stephen Kelman.
Gazelle – Lady Blue Sky
Leicester’s Gazelle are back with their new single ‘Lady Blue Sky’. Produced by Matt Cotterill, it marks the run towards their hometown gig at the OMC.
Image & artwork courtesy of the band
Post-lockdown, Gazelle have been in a transformative mood sonically. The early bombast of ‘Finger On The Trigger’ and ‘Have You Found Forever Now?’ has matured, still loitering with intent but now shrouded in nodes of Motown, northern soul, Johnny Marr licks, and flashes of Noel Gallagher’s HFB melancholic songwriting. On ‘Lady Blue Sky’ they’ve added psyche to their ever-growing repertoire.
The playful trips of Weller’s ‘Sonic Kicks’ hook up with the atmospheric grooves of Kasabian’s first three albums and the muscular immediacy of The Rifles. Stealing the show of this instant classic though is the array of backing vocals.
Drummer Danny Wright’s “ba ba ba’s” set the groove running before frontman Ryan Dunn calls upon Serge Pizzorno’s understated soaring melodies to take the band to another level. It is though, Dunn’s higher pitch backing vocal in the closing stages which take this single from good to great. Blessed with the mesmeric soul power of Noel’s ‘Black Star Dancing’. The only thing that could take it higher would be the dearly departed Denise Johnson.
If 2022’s run of singles wasn’t firm enough proof, ‘Lady Blue Sky’ is the confirmation that Gazelle are the real Deal!
Click the image below for tickets to their headline outdoor gig in Leicester:
Colour TV – Vanilla
Cornwall’s Colour TV are back once more with their new single ‘Vanilla’. It follows the roaring success of ‘Christopher Halo’ back in February.
Shackites - Jekyll and Hyde
Shackites follow up the acclaimed ‘Said And Done’ with the new single ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. It was recorded at The Lounge Recording Studio and produced by Gareth Nuttall.
The Shed Project - Our Fear Is There Power
Bolton outfit The Shed Project have returned with their new single ‘Our Fear Is There Power’. Relesaed on Friday 26th May, it was produced by Danny Heyes and recorded Ivy Studio.
The Kairos - Price On Peace’ (P.O.P.)
Liverpool outfit The Kairos follow the critical acclaim of ‘Thick Of It’ with their new single ‘Price On Peace’ (P.O.P). It is the second single to be taken from their upcoming EP ‘Better Late Than Never’ due out on 19th May.
Sircacuse - Saviour
Cheltenham-based Siracuse have returned after three years to release their new single ‘Saviour’ via Vibrant Sky Records.
Bloxx – Television Promises
Usual Affairs – Elementary to Penitentiary
Edinburgh four-piece Usual Affairs fresh from supporting the mighty Marseille have released the new single ‘Elementary to Penitentiary’.
The Cavs – Again
Manchester outfit The Cavs, fresh from their Big In 2023 show with This Feeling are back with their new single ‘Again’.
Body Type – Holding On
The Lunar Towers – About Time
Rolla – Hey You
Don't wait to be found
Come along with our sound
Image and artwork courtesy of Fear PR
Manchester’s Rolla follow up on their tour with Kasabian with their new single ‘Hey You’. The single is taken from their upcoming debut EP ‘Nothing Less Than Everything’ which will be released on April 5th.
It’s bizarre how a band so seminal as The Verve have remained so uninfluential these past 15 years. Exit Calm was a fine exponent of their work in the early part of the last decade but no one else has really stood up. Like buses, two have come at once in recent times from Manchester. There’s been Pastel, who have been beautifully in tune with delicate jams of ‘Storm In Heaven’. Whereas Rolla have pulled in the power of ‘A Northern Soul’ and the sprawling melody of ‘Urban Hymns’.
If Noel Gallagher had possessed Nick McCabe’s guitar ability then ‘Hey You’ could have been the sound of the Oasis’s third album. Luke McConnell and Tom Paddon’s guitars have that hissing power of Oasis’ live presence circa 95-97 but, with the deft touches of McCabe. The latter’s influence looms much larger creatively as the band takes you on a journey without a destination to free your soul. The yelps of ‘Rolling People’, the howling furore of ‘A New Decade’, and the perilous defiance of ‘Come On’ unite on what is, as close to pure art as rock ‘n’ roll can sound.
Frontman James Gilmore harness the more melodic moments of Tm Meighan’s time in Kasabian alongside a venom not yet seen. The demonic nature of Richard Ashcroft on ‘This IS Music’ and ‘No Knock On My Door’ ooze from his soul whilst his brother Luke’s bass throbs with the grooves of criminally underrated ‘Gravity grave’.
Rolla’s ascent to the top not only looks inevitable, it looks gloriously volatile. They throb with danger and excitement at every turn. They are reigniting the mysticism of the rock star and it’s intoxicating.
Click here for the last remaining tickets for their UK tour:
The Utopiates – Ups and Downs
Balado – Paper Airplanes
Glasgow five-piece Balado recently released their new single ‘Paper Airplanes’. Recorded at Mark Morrow’s Studio B with Ewan Simpson behind the mixing desk it follows their smoky-blues rock ‘n’ roll anthem ‘Black Shadow’ from last October.
Image & artwork courtesy of The Songbird PR.
‘Paper Airplanes’ tells the tale of the band’s journey through their teenage years as rogue students and how they got their rocks off. Danny Bonner’s opening riffs burrow straight to the heart with pangs of nostalgia which frontman Jamie Finnigan’s heightens exquisitely as he decrees:
“Those are the days that you will see never again for you and me”
Many would stay in this lane of nostalgia, especially with guitar parts this strong. Not Balado! They inject ‘Paper Airplanes’ with drum fills, hi-hats, and a solo of joyous defiance. The no-mark teacher who labelled “neds” well and truly exorcised from their past.
With two fingers up the 00s-esque solo resounds out proud, Balado will not have their past demeaned. Their playful sense of pride should breed confidence in future generations. Don’t let the bastards ground you down, the future is always unwritten.
The Kairos - Thick Of It
Liverpool outfit The Kairos recently released their new single ‘Thick Of It’. Recorded at The Motor Museum, it is the lead single from their upcoming EP ‘Better Late Than Never’.
Image & artwork courtesy of The Songbird PR
Through Tom Dempsey’s guitars, vocals, and Owen Forrester’s guitars, a huge sense of anticipation is conjured akin to the celestial dance meets rock music of Rob Harvey and Adam Nutter’s The Music.
Like their Leeds elders, the ability to slide from the mystical into a stomping guitar hook is prominent. Dempseys’ vocal is blessed with a grandness that builds such excitement it creates alternate realities to escape to. It’s the perfect platform for the band to switch up the tempo into something far more direct. The hook is reminiscent of Hot Chip’s classic solo on ‘Over and Over’ is the dictionary definition of indie floorfiller. Muscular but welcoming, it goes through the gears rapidly and begs you to stomp with arms aloft like you own the world!
‘Thick Of It’ follows a fine run of singles in ‘Time Keeper’, ‘Lazy Lethargic’, and ‘Round The Bend’. All of these show a band who have seriously kicked on from their initial pre-lockdown form. They are toying with the 00s hook-heavy scene and more expansive rock music with the skill of seasoned masters, not young upstarts. 2023 could well be their breakout year.
Click the image below for their hometown show in May:
Hazy Sundays – Hear The Truth
Back in January, Glasgow’s Hazy Sundays blew everyone’s hangovers away with the boozy anthem ‘Lose Control’. The four-piece are back again with their new single ‘Hear The Truth’
Oasis’ ‘Columbia’, an afterthought to many due to their pantheon of monster hits. For die-hard fans though, its swirling psyche was peak Oasis. A theme that Kasabian pursued with interest on their classic debut album. Hazy Sundays are now throwing their hat into the mix on ‘Hear The Truth’.
Lead guitarist Mark Devlin has the powerful simplicity of Peter Buck’s ‘What’s The Frequency’, the early hiss of Noel’s Gibson, and Serge’s ability to loop psychedelic riffs merging effortlessly. Devlin’s playing is beset with excess and hedonism which lay the platform for frontman Shaun Kenny’s vocal to snarl through the hysteria.
Like ‘Columbia’, ‘Hear The Truth’ remains in a groove too slow to dance to. Nevertheless, like it’s predecessor, it possesses a danger that takes you to the edge of chaos in a mystical fashion.
*image courtesy of the band
Click the image below for tickets to their support slot with Holy Coves:
Rosellas – Hideaway
Manchester’s Rosellas kicked off their UK tour last Thursday in fine style at London’s Grace. Marking the occasion was the release of their new single ‘Hideaway’.
To date, Rosellas have been a band with great promise. Single after single they showcased something fresh and, on ‘Hideaway’ they have pulled it all together. It’s a thunderous piece of rock-psyche that brings the five-piece out of indie’s shadows into the main stage spotlight.
The great harmonies developed on the ‘Slowdance’ and ‘Damaged’ are enhanced by a more direct approach to the guitar parts. Gone are the chilled stoner lo-fi guitars and in their place are bullish licks destined for stadiums. Squire’s flair collides with McCabe’s introverted genius on this brooding epic.
Many bands have a penny-drop moment. For The Libertines, it was seeing The Strokes live. Out went the 60s flower power melodies and in came the debauched punk we know and love. For the Rosellas, it’s the injection of aggression to their love of Shack and The Smiths. It’s taken the band to another level that few today can compete with.
*banner image courtesy of Fear Pr and Barnaby Fairley
Click the image for tickets to the Rosellas’ current tour:
Noah and The Loners – Protest Anger
London’s Noah and The Loners follow up their debut single ‘Teenage Tragedy’ with the throwback punk anthem ‘Protest Anger’ via Marshall Records.
The jagged edges of Wilko Johnson’s playing on ‘Roxette’ are given a visceral IDLES makeover on this tale of political angst. Their polemic spits venom like the Crass and Minor Threat but, unlike their punk elders, there’s a sense of building from the ground up rather than smashing the system.
Noah Lonergan’s vocal is a snarling mesh of Polystyrene’s innocence and Joe Talbot’s righteousness as he unleashes the spirit of ’76 to a new generation of rebels! Accompanying it is Joseph Boyle’s scintillating punk-cum blues solo that brings early Dr. Feelgood and Chris Spedding to the edge of Mick Jones’ explosive genius.
*image courtesy of End of the Trail Creative
Noah and The Loners play Brighton’s Great Escape Festival this May. Click the image for tickets:
