Cindy – Saw It All Demos

And so this year begins as the last one ended, with this writer totally swept away by the stark splendour of San Francisco based artist Karina Gill’s unparalleled songcraft.

Initially released via Paisley Shirt Records to coincide with Cindy’s recent UK/EU tour, these predominantly solo home recordings find Gill completely at ease in her environment, laying the groundwork for last years Swan Lake EP, a release widely agreed to be the group’s strongest statement yet.

Special mention must be made to the full band demo of new song The Violins which closes the set. You can simply feel the joy as Gill and friends plot out their next leap forward. Essential.

Saw It All Demos is out now via Paisley Shirt Records. You can pick up a cassette or download here.

heavymetalkids.uk ep.20

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Playlist: Monday 2nd December

  1. Cindy – St. Marks
  2. Lone Striker – Dunno https://lonestriker.bandcamp.com/track/dunno
  3. Black Thumb – The Other Side (feat. Inna Showalter) https://blackthumbdeath.bandcamp.com/track/the-other-side
  4. Autocamper – Summertime https://autocamper.bandcamp.com/album/summertime
  5. EggS – Keep On Stumbling https://prefectrecords.bandcamp.com/album/crafted-achievement
  6. Chime School – Negative Monday https://chimeschool.bandcamp.com/album/the-boy-who-ran-the-paisley-hotel
  7. Mt. Misery – Driving Through A Dream https://prefectrecords.bandcamp.com/album/love-in-mind-2
  8. The Laughing Chimes – High Beams https://thelaughingchimes.bandcamp.com/album/whispers-in-the-speech-machine
  9. Humdrum – There And Back Again https://heyhumdrum.bandcamp.com/album/every-heaven
  10. Middling – Clem’s Crime https://middingband.bandcamp.com/album/nowhere-near-today
  11. Dancer – Paging Planet Earth https://dancermusicgroup.bandcamp.com/album/split
  12. Dragged Up – Young Person’s Guide To Going Backwards In The World https://draggedup.bandcamp.com/album/high-on-ripple
  13. Ryli – I Think I Need You Around https://dandyboyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-think-i-need-you-around-b-w-when-i-fall
  14. The Belair Lip Bombs – Easy On The Heart https://thebelairlipbombs.bandcamp.com/album/lush-life
  15. Sea Fever – Satellite https://seafever.bigcartel.com
  16. LOWMOON – Cathedrals https://youtu.be/DQr5zvle2Jw?si=q8tzPB1pTvv0HE62
  17. Naked Roommate – No Kicker https://nakedroommate.bandcamp.com/album/pass-the-loofah
  18. Miracle Fortress – Everything Works https://miraclefortress.bandcamp.com/album/was-i-the-wave
  19. April Magazine – Jungle City Beat https://digitalregress.bandcamp.com/album/wesleys-convertible-tape-for-the-south
  20. Now – Wind Was https://nowww.bandcamp.com/album/and-blue-space-is-burning-noon
  21. The Smashing Times – Wednesday, On A Hummingbird’s Wing https://thesmashingtimes.bandcamp.com/album/mrs-ladyships-and-the-cleanerhouse-boys
  22. Assistant – Derek Jarman https://assistant.bandcamp.com/album/certain-memories
  23. Red Pants – To The Deep End https://redred.bandcamp.com/album/pale-shadows
  24. Torrey – Bounce https://torreymusic.bandcamp.com/album/torrey
  25. Lightheaded – Love Is Overrated https://areyoufeelinglightheaded.bandcamp.com/album/good-good-great
  26. The Moment Of Nightfall and Tony Jay – Time Goes By https://kilikilivilla.bandcamp.com/album/winter-dream

Ryli – I Think I Need You Around/When I Fall

Initially brought together for a Cleaners From Venus tribute album, Bay Area based Yea-Ming Chen (Yea-Ming and The Rumours) and Rob Good’s (The Goods) collaboration quickly flourished into a winning creative partnership, the first fruits of which being this tremendous single for Dandy Boy Records.

Combining Chen’s pop sensibilities with Good’s keen ear for an earworm hook, both the chiming, charming I Think I Need You Around and its softer, sadder counterpart When I Fall are warmly melodic treasures that draw you in deeply from the very first listen. 

Rounded out by the propulsive rhythm section of Luke Robbins (Latitude/R.E. Seraphin) and lan McBrayer (Sonny and The Sunsets/Healing Potpourri), Ryli place their emphasis on beautifully crafted composition and full-hearted melody. It’s an irresistible combination that demands your immediate attention.

I Think I Need You Around/When I Fall is out now via Dandy Boy Records. You can order the 7” or digital download here.

Black Thumb – The Other Side

From seemingly out of nowhere comes this beautiful new track from Bay Area artist Colin Wilde’s DIY-psych project Black Thumb. Utilising a pandemic-era recording that had long been gathering dust, it was shared with Inna Showalter (Whitney’s Playland/Magic Fig) who contributed lyrics and a customarily breathtaking vocal.

Beginning with Wilde’s plaintive acoustic guitar strum, The Other Side builds unhurriedly towards fuzzed out greyscale psychedelia, soaring and soothing with a gentle but all consuming power. Showalter’s contributions bring forth both melody and mystery, the pair’s restless endeavour vividly highlighting the combined strength of two ceaselessly creative souls. 

The Other Side is available for digital download here, with artwork by Peter Hurley (April Magazine).

Autocamper – Summertime/Ken Hom

Manchester indie pop fourpiece Autocamper return with the shimmering double attack of Summertime and Ken Hom, a new cassingle released collaboratively by vital UK DIY label Safe Suburban Home and the iconic Bay Area based Slumberland Records.

There is a giddy directness to Autocamper’s craft that is uniquely their own. Not a single note is wasted and every moment counts. From the whiplash urgency of the drums to the abundant hope of the endless organ melodies, Summertime bursts out of the speakers with an anthemic intimacy that is completely irresistible. Ken Hom meanwhile dials up the intensity, its gnarly guitar opening collapsing into an unrelenting jangle pop rush.

The UK Cassingle is now sold out but you can pick up a download here as a perfect teaser for the band’s highly anticipated debut album, due in 2025. US readers can pick up a cassette here.

Autocamper are: Harry Williams (bass), Arthur “Junior” Robinson (drums/vocals), Niamh Purtill (keyboards/vocals), Jack Harkins (guitar/vocals).

Sea Fever – Live at Gorilla, Manchester, 2nd November 2024

Sometimes a gig is more than just a gig. Occasionally, when the band, venue, sound, people all come together perfectly in the moment, it becomes something bigger, something unfathomable. So it was for Manchester electronic quintet Sea Fever’s hometown show at Gorilla, truly a triumph in every sense of the word.

From the very first note played, dual vocalists Iwan Gronow (Haven/Johnny Marr) and Beth Cassidy (Section 25/Hardway Bros) are a captivating combination, their inimitable stage presence balanced with just enough vulnerability to keep things beautifully human. The pair compliment each other wonderfully, Gronow’s guitar work driving the songs ever forward, Cassidy’s keys creating whole worlds within them. The pair are flanked by New Order’s Tom Chapman and Phil Cunningham, the former sending seismic basslines skyward, the latter effortlessly fizzing guitar lines in and around Elliot Barlow’s gloriously groove heavy rhythms. It’s an dizzying array of talent, bolstered even further by Patcched International’s incredible visuals.

With as yet unreleased new material being treated as fan favourites and established cuts such as non-album single Dilemma and epic closer De Facto awarded anthemic devotion, it’s clear Sea Fever already have a committed and passionate following. It’s a following that’s certain to explode with the forthcoming release of the band’s sophomore album.

You can check out Sea Fever’s debut album Folding Lines, watch live videos and buy merch here.

Lone Striker – Dunno

‘I can’t think about tomorrow if the past is gonna be so cruel…’ Every so often a tune captures my heart at the very first listen, and so it was with Dunno, the weary lead single from indie underground hero Tom Brown’s latest project Lone Striker.

Eschewing the indie/power pop stylings of Brown’s work with Rural France and Teenage Tom Petties, Lone Striker takes a more sample based approach, combining found sounds and drum loops with his customarily full hearted and melodic vocals. 

Dunno is a sweetly soulful shuffle, helped on its way by a gently propulsive bassline from BEAK>’s Billy Fuller. Beautifully crafted and stirringly emotive, it reveals yet another side to a consistently compelling artist. 

Dunno is out now via Safe Suburban Home (UK), Repeating Cloud (US) and Hidden Bay Records (EU). You can download it here. Five years in the making, Lone Striker’s self-titled album will follow early next year. Pre-order here.

heavymetalkids.uk ep.19

My latest radio show is now available for streaming/download via Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Mixcloud, Deezer and other leading podcast apps.

Alternatively, you can visit http://www.sfob.co.uk and scroll down to the widget at the bottom of the page.

Playlist: Monday 4th November

  1. Mt. Misery – Hey https://prefectrecords.bandcamp.com/album/love-in-mind-2
  2. The Tubs – Freak Mode https://thetubs.bandcamp.com/album/cotton-crown
  3. EggS – At The End Of The Road https://prefectrecords.bandcamp.com/album/crafted-achievement
  4. Red Pants – Proto Punk https://redred.bandcamp.com/album/pale-shadows
  5. Mo Dotti – Pale Blue Afternoon https://mo-dotti.bandcamp.com/album/opaque
  6. Sumos – Small Talk https://sumos.bandcamp.com/album/surfacing
  7. Autocamper – Budge https://safesuburbanhomerecords.bandcamp.com/album/blanche-budge
  8. Dreamcoaster – Don’t Lie To Me https://dreamcoaster.bandcamp.com/track/dont-lie-to-me
  9. Assistant – The Ballad Of Assistant https://assistant.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-april-sun-and-this-world-could-be-so-much-fun
  10. Dream Bleeding – Swarm https://dreambleeding.bandcamp.com/album/swarm-single
  11. Stove – Blank
  12. Dub Sex – Swerve
  13. Naked Roommate – Reasons Why https://nakedroommate.bandcamp.com/album/pass-the-loofah
  14. forceghost – Oh No You Didn’t https://forceghost.bandcamp.com/album/recycled-hearts
  15. Sea Fever – Dilemma https://seafever.bigcartel.com
  16. Emma Anderson – I Was Miles Away (Masal Spectral Mix) https://emmaanderson.bandcamp.com/album/spiral-e-pearlies-rearranged
  17. Hattie Cooke – Shut Your Mouth https://hattiecooke.bandcamp.com/album/hattie-cooke-2
  18. Section 25 – Mirror https://factorybenelux1980.bandcamp.com/album/nature-degree
  19. Molly Nilsson – Jackboots Return https://mollynilsson.bandcamp.com/album/un-american-activities
  20. Index For Working Musik – Purple Born https://indexforworkingmusik.bandcamp.com/album/purple-born
  21. Chime School – Points Of Light https://chimeschool.bandcamp.com/album/the-boy-who-ran-the-paisley-hotel
  22. Spacemen 3 – I Love You https://spacemen3.bandcamp.com/album/recurring
  23. Cindy – Consolation’s Test https://cindytheband.bandcamp.com/album/swan-lake
  24. Bobby Would – Imaginary https://bobbywould.bandcamp.com/album/baby
  25. Sad Eyed Beatniks – The Broken Playwright Waits https://sadeyedbeatniks.bandcamp.com/album/ten-brocades
  26. Famous Mammals – Unspoken Chair https://famousmammals.bandcamp.com/album/famous-mammals
  27. Northside – My Rising Star

Red Pants – Pale Shadows

Madison, Wisconsin noise-rock duo Red Pants return with Pale Shadows, a fresh EP comprising five songs originally feared lost on a dead 2009 MacBook. Originally started during sessions for last years album Not Quite There Yet, these vivid and varied tracks highlight Jason Lambeth and Elsa Nekola’s boundless creativity and wonderful musical connection.

Opening instrumental To The Deep End finds the pair as locked in as I’ve heard them, holding tight with a beautiful fizzing fluidity. Proto Punk meanwhile goes hard, a breathless ninety seconds of pure fun that does exactly what it says on the tin, providing a solid shout for chorus of the year in the process.

Underneath The Sun is a woozy treasure, emotive and soothing in all of its electronic wonder whilst One More Ghost’s brooding atmosphere and snarling guitar lines entwine perfectly with Lambeth’s world weary vocal. Closer Sunset Hill sees the duo at their most serene, the subtlety of their playing evoking an all encompassing sense of calm.

As full hearted and free spirited as ever, Pale Shadows serves as both a soaring point of entry for the uninitiated and a fascinating and far reaching next step for long standing followers of this most special of bands.

Red Pants – Proto Punk

Pale Shadows is out now and available to stream/download here.

Dream Bleeding – Swarm

Following on from the epic introductory track Suddenly I Remembered Your Hands, Scottish trio Dream Bleeding re-emerge with grace, beauty and raw power on debut single Swarm.

Featuring a duet with Glasgow based musician/producer Bobby Kakouris, Swarm ebbs and flows between molten musicianship and pure melodic magic, ruining hearts in all the best ways with its slow-burn intensity and deeply enveloping sense of mystery.

You can download Swarm here, be sure to check out the band’s debut video below.

Dream Bleeding are: David Roy (drums), Steph Devine (guitar, vocals), Ben Fletcher (bass).