Nashville neo-soul quintet Saycouth have written a song about a dude in a suit meeting his match which he mistook for an innocent Summer fling. It is a sunny side up jazzy tune that packs a punch, with a reference to Julius Caesar's demise thrown in for good measure. The video was directed by Jason Stoltzfus.
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English experimental rock band The Fierce & The Dead have released the third and final single from their forthcoming new studio album Regional Theatre. Shake Hands And Exit. Somehow is a surprisingly melodic song, a foray into progressive pop that will strike a chord with Marillion fans. Long time followers of the band are treated to Matt Stevens' instantly recognisable guitar tone, making it a best of both world release: accessible and smart music rolled into one.
LA psychedelic rockers Strawberry Alarm Clock are a bit like Schrödinger's cat, a creature that is either dead or alive. Right now they are definitely among the living. Founded in the 60s they went through numerous line-up changes, but the current have four members that can hand over a membership card that was issued way back in 1967. After the comeback album Wake Up Where You Are rekindled the interest for the band in 2012 they have been playing live quite a lot. Not satisfied to keep resting on their laurels - although they always treat the crowd to their 1967 hit Incense and Peppermints they entered the studio again to cut the tracks for Where's One, a second helping of 21st Century psychedelic rock.
Dreamy melodies alternating with rougher acid rock leaning have always been their forte. The former is covered by songs like Feel The Love, I'm Not The One and >Tahitian Gardens, while the latter reaches a peak with an instrumental cover of the Beatles' Day Tripper, and the weirdness of Primordial Soup and Galactic Symphony - Persian Skies. Strawberry Alarm Clock are in the luxury position of not having to prove anything any more, so it's alright that their other cover of the Fab Four, Within You Without You, never gets off the ground. As long as their knack for vocal harmonies allows them to carry on, they can keep playing and creating for - hopefully - many years to come.
German garage post-punk Lemongrab latched upon a disco-tinged backbeat for their new single Yoko, a well-deserved reappraisal for an artist who has been the punch bag for decades, rising deservedly so to the same level as Paul and John. The sound of bands like X-ray Spex and the Au Pairs is all over this one. Odds are they own a copy the latter's Live in Berlin album, a blueprint for serious music that people can dance to. It is the first taste from their new Another Kind Of Freedom EP. Take note of the nod to John and Yoko's first meeting at the end of the video.
English musician Pete Barnes takes his post-rock project Thistle Sifter on the road again, promoting the Forever The Optimist album: "He has a knack for creating soundscapes that are wrapped in neo-classical textures, some of them quite abstract (Weightless), but also going into Depeche Mode meets Mogwai (One Fleeting Glance). The softly tinkling Endling is covered in hiss, from which the choice synth notes can escape to a supposedly better place. Barnes has plenty of reason to be seriously worried, but all is not lost as he wraps up his statement with the soft-spoken title track. It would help if people stopped being so greedy and stupid though. Only then the Anthropocene can become an era that does not end in destruction".
