Torrey – s/t

There is a deep authenticity that runs through the various projects of Bay Area artist Ryann Gonsalves, and it’s that same authenticity that provides the beating heart of the new self-titled album by Torrey, recently released via Slumberland Records.

Across the album’s twelve tracks, Gonsalves’ infectious melodies embed themselves artfully amongst layer upon layer of beatific, sweeping guitars. These spellbinding arrangements, crafted with brother and band co-founder Kelly, capture a duo brimming with confidence and creativity.

Each contributing musician subtly elevates the whole as the album progresses. Be it Matthew Ferrari’s synths offering bountiful light and shade, the dualing textures of Adam Honingford and Kelly Gonsalves’ guitars, right through to Keith Ival’s vital, expressive rhythms.

Singles No Matter How and Bounce offer the most obvious pop moments and are glorious in their directness and heavy rolling momentum. There is so much more going on beneath the surface however, with each play uncovering new treasures within the ever shifting soundscapes.

I urge you all to give this album the attention and love that it truly deserves. In these maddest, saddest of times it offers a little bit of hope, a whole lot of comfort, and some of the finest guitar pop you will hear this year. Essential.

Torrey – No Matter How

Oort Clod – Cult Value

Originally conceived by Manchester based songwriter Patrick Glen as a fluid project with shifting members, Oort Clod’s five-strong line up was solidified across pandemic-era practice sessions, culminating in a 2021 EP split with fellow MCR based group Priceless Bodies.

Released via Safe Suburban Home (UK) and Repeating Cloud (US), the band’s debut album Cult Value blends fractured pop sensibilities with pure punk spirit, twisting their 80s/90s alternative and 60s garage rock influences into bold new shapes. It’s a contrast of styles that makes the band hard to pin down but very easy to love.

Hanging by a gloriously vital thread, songs like Car Talk and AC Reed showcase Oort Clod’s unique and powerful take on indie rock, breathing new life with each giddy strum and bittersweet melody. A thrilling debut that is absolutely not to be missed.

Vinyl/digital available here.

Oort Clod – Car Talk

Zeinab Shaath – The Urgent Call of Palestine

Mo’min Swaitat’s Majazz Project have been doing incredible work in recent times unearthing and restoring rare recordings in order to create a lasting archive of Palestinian artistry, resistance and resilience.

This latest endeavour sees them team up with Discostan to reissue a stunning 7” by Zeinab Shaath. Shaath began crafting her folk songs aged just sixteen on a guitar brought back from her sister’s studies in the US, inspired by Western youth’s growing unrest towards the Vietnam war and their subsequent demonstrations.

Combining her stirring, passionate voice with lyrics taken from key poetic luminaries such as Lalita Panjabi and Mahmoud Darmish, Shaath’s musical poetry captured the hearts and minds of Palestinian artists, intellectuals and youth. The resulting 7″ album would help spread her message worldwide.

The Urgent Call of Palestine would lead Zeinab Shaath across three continents, bringing light and hope to young people across the world. Over fifty years on her work is as relevant as ever, standing tall to inspire us all to raise our voices for peace, freedom and justice.

Vinyl pre-order here. Learn more about Majazz Project here.

Dragged Up – High On Ripple

This blog’s giddy love affair with Glasgow collective Dragged Up continues unabated with the release of their second album High On Ripple, released in collaboration with Cruel Nature Records and Rare Vitamin.

Following a path that began with the lo-fi art-punk of 2020’s debut D/U, High On Ripple sees the band build on the momentum of last years cult smash follow up Hex Domestic EP in epic, sprawling style.

From the heady tension and release of opener Bible Study through to Third Level’s breathtaking psychedelic explosion, there is a kaleidoscopic, all-consuming energy at play that renders any talk of genre or reference points fantastically obsolete.

Whilst tracks like Missing Person and Young Person’s Guide To Going Backwards In The World prove the group’s propensity for an ear-worm hook, they are always but a heartbeat away from unexpected, uncharted territory. It’s an anything goes ethos that is relentlessly captivating.

As ever, Dragged Up have boldly followed their creative instincts, free of expectation or outside influence. Songs within songs, moments within moments, forever on the brink of their next minor sonic miracle. High On Ripple is released 5th April, you can order the vinyl/digital here.

Cruel Nature Records’ tape edition can be pre-ordered here, Rare Vitamin’s limited edition CD is available here.

Be sure to catch Dragged Up live on their forthcoming tour. Further information can be found here.

Ship Full Of Bombs ep.11

My latest radio show is now available for streaming/download via Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Mixcloud, Google Podcasts, 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 25th March 

1) R.E. Seraphin – Expendable Man

https://safesuburbanhomerecords.bandcamp.com/album/fools-mate

2) The Umbrellas – When You Find Out

https://theumbrellasca.bandcamp.com/album/fairweather-friend

3) The Reds, Pinks & Purples – Learning To Love A Band

https://theredspinksandpurples.bandcamp.com/album/unwishing-well-3

4) Lightheaded – Dawn Hush Lullaby 

https://areyoufeelinglightheaded.bandcamp.com/album/combustible-gems-2

5) Oort Clod – Car Talk

https://oortclod.bandcamp.com/album/cult-value

6) Torrey – Pop Song

https://torreymusic.bandcamp.com/album/torrey

7) Sumos – Winter Bird

https://sumos.bandcamp.com/track/winter-bird

8) Vanishing Muffins – Honey, I Promise

https://shorediverecords.bandcamp.com/album/central

9) Cosmic Sans – Yuri

https://cosmicsansband.bandcamp.com/track/yuri

10) Dragged Up – Young Persons Guide To Going Backwards In The World

https://draggedup.bandcamp.com/album/high-on-ripple

11) Orchard – Carry

https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/til-you-fall-down

12) Poppy H – Oh Glory!

https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/confidence-of-crisis

13) Seablite – Faded (GLOK Remix)

https://seablite.bandcamp.com/track/faded-glok-remix

14) Aluminum – Behind My Mouth

https://aluminum.bandcamp.com/album/fully-beat

15) Astrel K – Darkness At Noon

https://astrelk.bandcamp.com/album/the-foreign-department

16) My Bloody Valentine – Drive It All Over Me

17) Outer World – Flower Gunpowder

https://outerworldmusic.bandcamp.com/album/who-does-the-music-love

18) Is/Ought Gap – Artsy Peace and Love

https://hhbtm.bandcamp.com/album/sua

19) Dancer – International Birdman

https://meritoriorec.bandcamp.com/album/10-songs-i-hate-about-you

20) Red Pants – Crimson Words

https://redred.bandcamp.com/album/not-quite-there-yet

21) Mythical Motors – Take A Trip

https://mythicalmotors.bandcamp.com/album/upside-down-world-2

22) Casual Technicians – Lucy In The Dark

https://casualtechnicians.bandcamp.com/album/casual-technicians-2

23) Autocamper – Bonfire Night

24) Whitney’s Playland – Scheme

https://prefectrecords.bandcamp.com/album/two-two-seven

25) The Special Pillow – A Certain Level Of Uncertainty 

https://thespecialpillow.bandcamp.com/album/the-special-pillow-meets-the-space-monster

26) Mountain Movers – The Sun Shines On The Moon

https://themountainmovers.bandcamp.com/album/walking-after-dark

27) Ryann Gonsalves – Feeling It All

https://dandyboyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ouch

28) Flowertown – OO

https://paisleyshirtrecords.bandcamp.com/album/tourist-language

29) John Lennon & Yoko Ono – The Luck Of The Irish

Aluminum – Behind My Mouth

Riding a heady wave of early 90’s UK indie-dancefloor inspired cool, San Francisco fourpiece Aluminum dazzle and delight with new single Behind My Mouth.

This first seductive statement from the band’s forthcoming debut album Fully Beat is a groove-laden wonder, its relentless big beat shuffle providing a fitting home for Ryann Gonsalves’ probing vocal and rolling bassline.

With the guitars and electronic wizardry of Marc Leyda and Austin Montanari swirling in and around Chris Natividad’s looping rhythms, Behind My Mouth is a pulsating introduction for the uninitiated.

Following on from the underground success of 2022’s Windowpane EP, Fully Beat arrives 24th May via the Los Angeles based Felte Records. You can pre-order the vinyl/digital here.

UK readers can pre-order the vinyl from Rough Trade, Resident Records, Sister Ray or Crash Records.

The Umbrellas – Fairweather Friend

San Francisco fourpiece The Umbrellas placed themselves firmly at the indie-pop top table with the soaring success of their 2021 self-titled debut album and its 2022 follow up 7” Write It In The Sky.

Split between Slumberland (US) and Tough Love Records (UK), new album Fairweather Friend finds the band bolstered by added melodic muscle and a further refined songwriting sweep. A bold and beautiful step forward, its creative use of texture and harmony sees the group’s crystalline pop punch strike its fiercest blow yet.

From the full-hearted power-jangle of Goodbye to the show-stopping emotional release of Say What You Mean, the album is nothing short of a pop juggernaut breathless in its giddy execution. When the band rock out on cuts such as Toe The Line and Gone, the excitement is palpable, the energy electric.

The sound of a band in fullest flight, Fairweather Friend is an essential listen for anybody moved by the unique magic of the forever flourishing Bay Area underground. Out now on vinyl/CD/digital, you can order the album here.

The Umbrellas – Three Cheers

Dancer – 10 Songs I Hate About You

Artfully merging the urgency of post-punk with the playfulness of pop, Glasgow fourpiece Dancer’s full length debut 10 Songs I Hate About You is an assured, assertive triumph.

Building on the success of last year’s self-titled EP and its follow up As Well, Dancer’s first long player stays true to their no frills, live to tape formula whilst expanding their songwriting into new, exciting realms.

Moving seamlessly from opener Bluetooth Hell’s indie dancefloor sweep to the heavy emotional pull of the likes of A Diagnosis and Turns Out, moods and styles can shift in an instant. It’s an ever changing dynamic that truly sets Dancer’s music apart.

Deftly crafted and fearlessly performed, 10 Songs I Hate About You is bursting with passion, ideas and a truly unique power all of its own. Released via Meritorio Records, you can purchase the vinyl/digital here.

Various Artists – Two Two Seven

The brilliant, no-frills all bangers Hartlepool, UK based label Prefect Records have just released their second compilation of deep cuts, rarities and vinyl exclusives.

Following on from last year’s epic 14, Two Two Seven is another top drawer collection of new underground independent sounds. Each listener will find their own entry point, mine being the incredible Bay Area cuts from the likes of Tony Jay, April Magazine and Whitney’s Playland.

The real beauty lies in the bands you may be discovering for the very first time. Sweet Nobody and Mt. Misery are two of the groups subtly blowing my mind on initial listens, but in truth there are absolutely no misses across the compilation’s fifteen tracks.

From The Smashing Times’ skittering jangle to the heady shoegaze stomp of The Laughing Chimes, this compilation has all of your indie-pop needs well and truly covered. Two Two Seven is available to order here including some brilliant bundle options should you wish to take a deeper dive into the Prefect Records back catalogue.

Ryann Gonsalves – Ouch!

Homespun harmonies and huge-hearted melodies take centre stage on this full length debut from Torrey frontperson Ryann Gonsalves, released via Oakland based label Dandy Boy Records.

Steeped in truth and self-reflection, Ouch! is a warmly infectious and highly rewarding listen. Using the sparsest of arrangements to conjure deeply affecting moments of real beauty, Gonsalves’ empowering and uplifting DIY-indie offers boundless hope and possibility.

Ouch! is available via tape/digital here. You can check out the videos for Burrowing and Feeder Fish below.

Ryann Gonsalves – Burrowing
Ryann Gonsalves – Feeder Fish