Category: Review

New releases – Cage Park | Ostrich 

Cage Park – Holding On To Hand Me Downs EP

It’s official: Cage Park’s newest 6 song EP Holding On To Hand Me Downs scores their hat-trick of EPs, with a project that races through genre, creating a pulsing energy that makes each track fresh, but part of a full ‘Cage Park-y’ atmosphere that is better felt than described.

The EP begins with mind-melter Sofa Bed’, a track that pulls like an eager dog between a soft indie verse and a sonically brimming chorus, that almost revives the vitality of 2000s brit indie albums like Silent Alarm and especially I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose – tones that are ready to blaze eternally. Guitarist Leo Marks shines in the latter half, bringing that tense sound that always plays perfectly alongside each singers’ resonance. If looking to get a taste of the band’s potential, Sofa Bed will give you that, but I can’t promise you won’t want the full meal after hearing this three minutes. 

We then jump right into MUD – part one of the two singles of this EP that fall into the distinction of three letter, one word, all caps anthems that bring a slice of British life in song form (think English Weather by FEET, but even more niche and weaving). Both MUD and BUS bring the gig audience into the headphones, with shout-along choruses that beg for a crowd to sing along. While the number 50 bus in Birmingham might not be a universally known phenomenon, BUS certainly pulls for anyone to sing as if they too were in the seats of our narrators.

One personal highlight of the EP is the distinct personalities of each singer. Not only are each given the chance to express their clear talent, but their styles give each voice purpose throughout. For vocalist Edie Mist, this comes in the brilliant Split Ends, which emphasises the rock of the band, building from Mist’s intimate storytelling (like the peculiar ‘you take off my make-up, you cut my split ends’) into an abrasive, increasingly dynamic fight of words (‘sorry, you’re not good enough for my friends’ being another entrancing piece of the puzzle of this song). This is backed superbly by the band’s quick-paced builds, especially with drummer Reuben Saunder’s control over the rhythm of the track. If words weren’t enough to express the feelings towards this track, the amount it’s taken to express those feelings probably gets you to understand the quality of Split Ends.

In Ninety-Nine, Arthur Belben gets his highlight, giving a stellar vocal performance that laments over the fears of the future, including £7.80/hour jobs and the dread of becoming a daily mail reader in his eighties – existentialism doesn’t even begin to cover it. Holding thematic similarities to Hand Me Downs, Ninety-Nine holds focus in the future, with lyrics that will be taking me weeks to emotionally decipher. 

Ending strong in sorrow with previously covered track Hand Me Downs, Cage Park fulfil the promise of their singles, by creating an EP that rolls as a rollercoaster of emotion, never holding the brakes through joy, fear and gloom. 

Cage Park

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Ostrich – Perfect Family

It’s hard to believe there’s anything cooler than Ostrich’s newest single, Perfect Family. The band weave round the idealisation of the title, creating a tune that creates a spookily funky atmosphere.

The tune is backed heavily by a heavy hitting bass line, one that kicks a strong rhythm right into the ears, aided by funky little musical additions from time to time. Singer Will Mctaggart weaves a Dick and Jane-esque tale of happy families – at least, until the chorus’ “They have chestnuts in their yard”; a strange display of perfection that opens the gate to the most ethereal elements of the band’s capabilities. Saxophones and synths keep the aforementioned funk flowing throughout, as the band maintain a pumping song whilst never feeling stale. 

It’ll be a wonder to explore the worlds that Ostrich create in the future, as this Perfect Family seems to only further demonstrate their creative potential.

Ostrich

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Words by Jacob Rose

8th April 2022

Keston Cobblers Club – Lullaby for the Wide Awake

Any of us who’ve suffered with insomnia will understand the toll it can take. However, instead of hopelessly watching the minutes turn to hours or checking out bargain jewellery on late night shopping channels, Julia Lowe turned the moment towards creativity, writing the band’s new single Lullaby for the Wide Awake in the early hours of just one such morning.

Folk-filled vocals backed with an almost orchestral undertone, the track is haunting, compelling and uncomplicated in its delivery but far from simply constructed. Less is more as the saying goes, and the understated quality in the production is what takes things to a new level for the band here.

Things bode well for pending album Alchemy, due for release on 22nd April, and you catch them on UK tour dates throughout April and May. In the meantime sit back and enjoy the music – sweet dreams…

Keston Cobblers Club

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Words by Siobhan

6th April 2022

Black Doldrums – Dreamcatcher

Black Doldrums return with their dreamy and driven moody aesthetic with their new music video for the track Dreamcatcher. After releasing their debut LP, Dead Awake, in early March, we are brought up to date with a new music video from the album. The newly formed trio (formally a duo consisting of drummer Sophie Landers and guitarist/vocalist Kevin Gibbard) are now joined by Matt Holt on bass.

The imagery that accompanies the track is haunting yet well paced. The dreamy visual compliments the pounding drums and the use of black and white only exposes the contrasts of sea and sky, all fabricated by returning Director Lauras Conlon. As the wall-of-sound guitar line rings out, Landers and Gibbard prowl a desolate beach, all the while an eerie and angelic figure observes them. This gothic aesthetic is certainly not a novelty however, it’s impressive to see a distinctive lack of charisma define such a strong personality for the band.

The band say, “The moody psychedelic post-punk of Dreamcatcher is a song about defiance against a sense of being held down, an idea which occurs constantly throughout the album”.

The single’s new video is the third in a trilogy by film-maker Laura Conlon that also includes lead single Sad Paradise and Into Blue.

I thoroughly enjoy it when I find a new shoegaze band and it’s great to hear the trio are becoming a staple for the underground dreamy rockers of the UK. Long Live Shoegaze! This band have tones of The New Division, Ride and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

If you’re wanting to catch Black Doldrums live you can find their pending UK tour dates below.

DEAD AWAKE TOUR-DATES

22/04 Manchester – Night and Day Cafe
23/04 Huddersfield – Venn Street Social
24/04 Leeds – Oporto
26/04 Leicester – Firebug
28/04 Hull – The New Adelphi Club
29/04 Todmorden – Golden Lion
30/04 Liverpool – Smithdown Road Festival, Black Cat Stage
01/05 Glasgow – Stag and Dagger venue TBC
08/06 Nottingham – The Bodega
09/06 Winchester – The Railway Inn
10/06 Exeter – Exeter Cavern
11/06 Penzance – The Acorn
15/06 London – The Grace
16/06 St Albans – The Horn
17/06 Northampton – The Black Prince
18/06 Bedford – Bedford Esquires
30/06 London – 229 (supporting The Primitives)

Black Doldrums

Words by Matisse Moretti

5th April 2022

New releases – Ellie James | English Teacher

Ellie James – Uncomfortable

In shifting from previous persona Little Rêd, Ellie James returns with single Uncomfortable, a reflective track that bursts with poignancy and individual hope.

Beginning with tones that draw out her lyrics further into thought, it isn’t long before James’ track picks up the pace: added drums and a new guitar rhythm both give a heartbeat to the track, before dissolving into their own journeys, unfolding the aural landscape. It’s not unlike the music video (one that, like Divorce’s, comes from Clump Collective) which sees James near-motionless in a lift, as various and increasingly disruptive people take up her space.

While certainly provoking the title of Uncomfortable in the video, the song’s instrumentation is anything but, adding extra flavours of emotion to her simmering thoughts.

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English Teacher – Mental Maths

English Teacher’s last drop before debut EP Polyawkward,  Mental Maths once again shows the band’s hefty unpredictability, broadening the scope of their music into old school rock/metal and a cheeky bit of math rock for good measure.

Lily Fontaine’s lyrics, as usual, help deliver their own tales that provoke the need to pause and just take in: like, who am I, when I’m outside (outside)? Simply aided at first by the band’s post-punk waltz, the chorus shows the separation into one of their signature charms of instrumentation that washes ears with waves on waves of shifting rhythms, that somehow keep the band synced but separately unique.

One for the crowds (especially with a chaotic pumping 5/4 bridge), English Teacher are somehow amping up even further hype for both their EP and first headline tour.

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Words by Jacob Rose

4th April 2022

Lizzie Reid – Bible

Just over a year since the release of her debut EP Cubicle, Lizzie Reid returns with Bible: a beautifully poignant journey that shows Reid’s strength to develop, whilst keeping the entrancing sound of her previous work.

In her words, Bible ‘forces me to look at myself through someone else’s eyes’ in the anxiety that arises in the return to love. As the title suggests, religion blends in with intimacy, with the heart-achingly personal devotion of lines like ‘I’ll show you my childhood’ / ‘I promise to feel yours like you do’ blossoming later into the forlorn desperation of ‘I feel the gods have got it wrong’, weaving one faith against another.

In reflecting this personal struggle, Reid’s performance angelically captures personal anguish, both capturing the warmth of verses alongside the comforting guitar and soft percussive accompaniment, before reaching the peaks of previous tracks like Cubicle with harmonious, emotionally piercing choruses.

Delivering even more excitement for her performances at The Glad Café and Sonic Wave, it’ll be hard to not keep ears open for this more-than-promising artist.

Words by Jacob Rose
Photo by Matilda Hill-Jenkins

23rd March 2022

Honeyglaze – Female Lead

Released on International Women’s Day, Honeyglaze’s Female Lead finds time to tell a light tale of hair dye, that underlyingly holds both lyrical reflection and a display of the band’s talent.

The key feature of Female Lead seemingly lies in vocalist Anouska Sokolow, delivering some stellar lines including the rhyme of ‘Madonna’ with ‘80’s Horror’ – a work of absolute genius. Her performance was influenced by the Shangri-Las and ‘narrative heavy pop songs that were coming out of the Brill building during the 60s’: a feature that adds a transcendental quality to the track, as it blends a deliberate vocal and temporal energy of that era with the sombre indie of both guitarists’ nicely attributing melodies (itself influenced by the same time, but usually without the appreciation that Honeyglaze openly show).

With only roughly a month to go before the release of their debut album, and with stellar tracks like Female Lead and Shadows behind them, Honeyglaze are clearly gearing for greatness.

Honeyglaze – self-titled debut album due for release on 29th April 2022
via Speedy Wunderground

Words by Jacob Rose
Photo by Holly Whitaker

21st March 2022

New releases – Francis of Delirium, Car Boot Sale

Francis of Delirium – The Funhouse

Building up a hefty amount of anticipation as their debut US venture kicks in, Francis of Delirium’s The Funhouse kicks the chair, dropping us into a soundscape of chaos that keeps its listeners (willingly) captive.

The energy of the track can be felt from the first five seconds – a searing guitar splitting in two between the stereo, keeping pace but creating immediate seeds of sonic disorder. Despite these tonal singes appearing throughout, they never feel like the ‘most’ that the track can do. Instead, throughout Jana surrounds you, the track knits enticement and gloom, flowing despairing lyrics in ever-changing rhythms that keep the track engaging until its end. Bahrich’s elusive delivery of lyrics centred on “attempting to remain unphased by the mayhem” drastically transforms between rhythms.

Supported by a video that iconises the chaos of the track, it’ll be hard to stop the carousel that is The Funhouse from being repeated over and over.

Francis of Delirium

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Car Boot Sale – Headhouse

Headhouse is the latest single from Car Boot Sale, that brings dreamy indie pop right back into its prime.

The tune is primed for its soft yet bouncy atmosphere with its initial collaboration of tones, with the band keeping a sync, allowing each member their time as the tune unfolds – each six-string guitar laterally owning their space while the bass expands rhythmically into some fun styles throughout. Key standouts are drummer Ciaran Forth and vocalist Jacques: the former keeps the track solid, but in a jelly-like state, where variation never dulls the track down; the latter’s twisting vocal energy lifting listeners between tranquility and shout-out-loud lines, done with “ain’t that a lot of love?”.

It’s hard to see what’s not to like about Headhouse, stirring up even more love for the band and the future ahead of them.

Car Boot Sale

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Words by Jacob Rose

15th March 2022

Fräulein – Drag Behind

Fräulein’s new single Drag Behind continues the duo’s streak of creating small fires with which to burn emotions on. 

The tune starts with an infectiously drab riff, one which as the track progresses, begins searing with the energy to go further, energy stopped perfectly by the bleak atmosphere of the tones created. This seems to go hand in hand with Joni Samuels’ lyrics, conveying the search to reach potential, until “your constant comparisons drag you down”.

Samuels’ voice brings an intricacy to the classic styles of post-punk singing, seen in the likes of influence PJ Harvey and equally Bristol-stemming contemporaries wych elm, with each lyric seemingly hiding a hidden emotion to decode, from playfulness to despair. Van der Tol’s drumming, too, can’t go unmentioned: capturing the perfect rhythm with which the track casts equal measures of fever and underlying gloom. 

With their style freshly evolving through the band’s London/lockdown era, it’ll be a despondent delight to see where they next take our ears. 

Fräulein

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Words by Jacob Rose
Photo by Hannah Mason

4th March 2022

cheerbleederz – cute as hell

cute as hell is the latest from London punks cheerbleederz, a blast of nostalgic rock sprinkled with just the right amount to add a modern twist.

This dissonant spin is felt in the first few seconds of the track, as a guitar gently sears over a bass line that jumps right near the edges of easy listening. In the verse, the band come together in an image of desire dangled just above danger – the hell is definitely not to be left unseen, or even in jest, when it is followed with “I’m going to bash your brains out your skull”.

The track, as hinted with the music, always feels on the edge of chaos, on the edge of destruction, which keeps its pop-punk vibe immaculate, and it’s dips into the styx of aural and lyrical aesthetic.

Released on Valentine’s day, cheerbleederz have given the first of their lovely gifts, one of many to come in the build up to their album’s release in the summer.

cheerbleederz

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Words by Jacob Rose

25th February 2022

Pushpin – Deep Dive Brain Drive

It’s hard to tell where Pushpin will go with every new single. Their animal-drawing singles gave ranges of math-rock styled indie, to Radiohead-esque anthems to all out indie rock. With Deep Dive Brain Drive, they venture into something different.

Deep Dive Brain Drive begins with a rhythm: a strong beat that feels like its own voice in the track. From this, the musicality can expand, beginning with a creation of a sonic atmosphere, one that feels perfect for a road trip on the sunrise, if that helps visually create the song. Lead vocals and piano intervals manage to supplement this atmosphere without replacing it all, only adding more. However, this is the least of the track’s capabilities.

As we pass the halfway mark, Pushpin break from film to video game soundtrack – synth keys and distorted bass line push the notch to 11, bending into that indie rock style with an even higher intensity than any previous tune.

With their debut EP set to release in April, it’ll be hard to anticipate (but a joy to wonder) where the band head next.

Pushpin

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Words by Jacob Rose

21st February 2022

Blue Bendy – Motorbike

Motorbike is the new debut EP of South London sextet Blue Bendy – a glorious exploration of experimentation, that weaves through so many great aspects of music it’s hard to really pin it down – then again, was music ever meant to be pinned down?

The EP begins strong, with Spring 100: the closest the band will get to a consistent sound. A waning bass along with some near minimalist percussion brings a steady atmosphere, that only elevates through the brilliant range of tones on display – from lifting flute melodies to wheezing guitars. Even the vocalist, Arthur Nolan, brings an engaging range of potential influences, from pre-Morrissey Morrissey to (and in saying this I fear a sigh of repetition from the number of times they must hear this) Alex Rice.

So many styles manage to interweave within one another, and yet the band never feel stale – never rehashing new ground. Clean is Core provides new energy in a backbeat, train-chugging rhythm, which itself blends so well with shifts into effervescence, with backing vocals and a lo-fi guitar shift, matched with artificial, yet oddly beautiful, strings.

Even with the use of similarly coating synths and backing vocals in next track A Celebration, Blue Bendy find new ground, letting the phrase “I’m no longer on my baby’s mind” and its mild despondence deliver another descent within a funkily energetic song.

A strong personal highlight comes in Settling: Cool, where the band’s style is perfectly emanated within just 3 minutes. From its calm-yet-tense opening, with extraterrestrial sounds, we explode into an eclectic mix of jumping chords, leaping vocals and drums that skip along, never being contained in the rhythm. Occasional grand atmospheres give Nolan’s lyrics (i.e. “My dad is a spaceship”) a glow, bringing an even larger impact that fades in and out on a whim.

As we are brought in and out of a melancholic mid-8, the stakes have somehow never been higher. The song and the EP end with the heaviest of the band’s style, bringing all aspects together in a clashing finale that helps to show the band’s strong potential for the future.

Listen to Motorbike below and purchase on Bandcamp

Blue Bendy

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Words by Jacob Rose
Photo © Jason Sheehan

18th February 2022

New releases – Kathleen Frances, Pearz 

Kathleen Frances – Boy

Bristol songwriter and producer Kathleen Frances has a voice that demands your attention in the subtlest, most captivating way. Her deep baritone vocal has a timeless feel that would sit equally at home in a prohibition jazz bar as it does today. It reminds me a little of the heart-rending sound of Anohni and, if pending EP Through the Blue maintains this standard, it doesn’t seem unrealistic to think that Kathleen could claw those levels of success too. Very firmly on the ones to watch list, take a listen to Boy here and discover the talent that’s lurking therein.

Kathleen Frances

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Pearz – Saudade

The new track from multi-instrumentalist Francesco Perini, aka Pearz, quashes the idea that you can’t tell a story without words. The accompanying video plays out scenes to match the music, but you could just as easily visualise your own journey through the crescendos and dramatic changes in pace on offer. Hailing from Florence, Pearz uses his established production skills to present the music as a composition with definite filmic values, encapsulating waves of nostalgia and yearning. The video, shot by Jules Apollinaire, is equally enchanting – watch below.

Pearz

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Words by Siobhan
Photos: Kathleen Frances © Michaela Frances, Pearz © Tess Parks 

17th February 2022