Imagine being an Austin trio eyeing the sound the cream of the crop of English bands - they name the Damned and the Arctic Monkeys as prime examples - and trying to come close to that. Yup, can't be done, so The Schisms added a bit of goth to their psychedelic blues single I Learn To Love instead. Plenty of swagger in the main melody, plus a leftfield coda that will confuse the dancers. It is the lead single for their Tejas EP, due for release on October 2.
Watch the Jon Madof Trio video for Invisible Alchemy (for John Zorn), a track from their Netzach album: "Madof steers his trio along all the sights, paying tribute to his heroes John Zorn, Nick Cave and Derek Trucks, who also carved their own niche. The mood is both joyous and introspective, going through hills and valleys. The musicians reach for the sky, fully aware that the destination will remain out of reach. The neverending journey ensures that more of these adventurous and intricate compositions will see the light of day in the future." The clip was directed Elijah Rappaport.
Live date:HCTF review of Netzach
Craig Benedict Valentine Badynee sticks to what he does best on his new single I've Been In Trouble Before, another melanchiolic, slow paced art rocker that comes close to a crooner ballad. He blames himsef for making the same mistakes all over again - mostly lying - causing another relationship to fall apart. His daughter Viv lend a hand, providing an extra layer of jazzy "La-La-Las" backing vocals.
Atlanta mutant disco quartet Go Public wrote a track about the grippling anxiety of a gambler. Craps Tempo is pushed forward by simple but highly effective drum beat, before the guitar, bass and sax join in for a punk-flavoured floor filler. Sean Rawls, Adrian Finch, Sam Gunn and Jay Domingo have been part of the underground scene for decades, before getting together to play a spicy mix of leftfield indie.
Melbourne-based Things We Built make a plea for leaving the grind and boredom of a day time job and hit the dance floor instead on their Daddy's Gone Disco single. O, and he is not going back ever.
It starts out plain and simple enough, but once they have reached the middle-eight they chose wisely and kept it going for quite some time for a prolonged adventurous break, before circling back to the safety of the basics to bring the track to a close. What the fuck just happened? Better play it again.
How many songs can you write about alcohol? It is no problem for Irish punk folk duo The Guzzlers, who wrote a love song about Guinnes. Brothers Tom and Cian O'Dowd name a bunch a stumble blocks they have encountered in life, consulted their friends and came to the conclusion that A Pint Of Plain Is Your Only Man is the one thing you can count on, no matter what. It is not the kind of poetry that comes close to the level of Shane McGowan, but it will surely get the thumbs up from their audience, who will have surely nourished quite a few of drinks themselves.
Singer-songwriter Drew Danburry seriously regrets that he did not vote, so to make amends he wrote a soft-spoken warning song about not making that same mistake again for his folk rock band Icarus Phoenix: "While everyone was watching a liar get elected I was making love to the person I care for most // And rather than engaging in powerless worry // I wrote the next three words you'll hate. I didn't vote."
As per usual the track is also available as a solo acoustic version, but this time there is an extra treat: an early demo recorded with the full band.
Canadian psychedelic raga band Elephant Stone have unveiled a video for Parallel and Contrary Motion, the centrepiece of their ASHA album, a song about the suicide of band leader Rishi Dhir's friend Christian Dorey: "Being torn apart by emotions it downed on him that it was about his friend's decision to take his own life. Horrible as that might be, it made him rethink and respect that choice." The clip was directed by John-Mark Lapham.
German musician Chris Burda, half of post-rock duo Collapse Under The Empire, has shared Epoch One, the first piece of his ambitious cinematic post-rock double album Emergence / Transformation by his Age of Life project, which will be released as two separate albums. Each track will be dedicated to evolutionary era, covering the 500+ million years that life has been roaming the planet.
His knack for writing cinematic, pulsating instrumentals enabled him to come up with a synth-driven piece that evolves slowly, feeling its way and becoming more complex as the track progresses, just like primitive life goes through the stages to the next level.
Can you hold a grudge for a couple of decades? Amelia Fletcher can, getting even with an unnamed critic who wrote an unfavourable review about Heavenly, the band she was in back then. Now a member of jangling pop quintet Swansea Sound she came up with Mean To Be Mean, an upbeat put down song with appropriate swearing when you enjoy the album version that will be included on their new album Pre-post-truth. The radio-friendly version has to make do without them, which is a bit lame, but hey, it might improve their changes to get some well-deserved airplay.
The subject of her wrath is most likely long gone, but Heavenly made a comeback with an ace album, Highway To Heavenly, this year. Patience pays off in the long run.
French pop trio Feutre have released the title track from their forthcoming new album Les grands ensembles album, a happy sad song pushed forward by a smooth Fender Rhodes and chopped guitar notes, giving way to George Harrison's signature tone. Singer Elsa Leroyer is a pensive mood, on the fence between jazz and pop.
Dez Dare filmed himself in his home studio for the video for I Need Your Fire, an utterly danceable track from his These Days Are Wild & Blind album: "Darren Smallman keeps it a bit closer to home and more personal on (...) the latest album by his one-man trash punk band Dez Dare. That doesn't mean that he is no longer shouting at the heavens (and for good reason), but a bit of introspection has found its way into his music - some of it is even played on acoustic instruments."
HCTF review of These Days Are Wild & Blind
Tuscon, AZ based alt-rock trio Female Gaze latched upon Kim Deal's bass sound for their Bury You single. Lead singer Nelene DeGuzman had some serious doubts about bringing a child into this world - it became the main theme for their forthcoming new album linea nigra, but on the single she tries to forget about her worries and lead her bandmates through an infectious, sexy mid-tempo dance track. Just enough of echo on the vocals gives the song enough space to set up a three-way conversation between the instruments.
English slacker rockers Neighbour Club got a lot of alcohol in them to come to terms with a relationship that was doomed from the start. Pretty hung over and a bit confused is the mood they wanted to project on their single Only Fractions, now that they realise that the involved party was only looking for a good time during the night and nothing more. It is a track from their debut EP Snail Mail, due for release on September 25th.
The powers that be at YouTube might have taken umbrage, so Colin Robinson changed the title of Everybody Bloody Day to And The Sun Shall Set for the video. It is a track from I'm Waiting for My Mam, the latest album by his one-man avant-garde project Jumble Hole Clough: "The title track, an obvious pun on the Velvet Underground song about scoring heroin, finds him waiting for his mother to bring him bread and jam, although there might be a shady character about who might want to sell him some substances that are not exactly legal. Robinson however heeds no stimulants to create an alternate universe. Tapping into his own imagination - 52 albums and counting - has never let him down."
The footage was shot by Robinson in 2016 by at the Sandtoft Trolley Bus Museum in Lincolnshire.
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HCTF review of I'm Waiting for My Mam
Johnny Marr has shared It's Time, the third single from his forthcoming new album The Age Of Everything. He urges himself (and the listener) to take a stand. Without that winning is an illusion: "Time is now to claim my victory Me and myself caught in a new world // I seen what I seen and I don't believe // Feel like going it alone so recklessly // I'll ascend on to somewhere // Trying to claim victory"
Dez Dare filmed himself in his home studio for the video for Insolvent Soldiers, a track from his These Days Are Wild & Blind album: "Darren Smallman keeps it a bit closer to home and more personal on (...) the latest album by his one-man trash punk band Dez Dare. That doesn't mean that he is no longer shouting at the heavens (and for good reason), but a bit of introspection has found its way into his music - some of it is even played on acoustic instruments."
HCTF review of These Days Are Wild & Blind
Welsh synth duo Martyrs have made a video for Hyacinth, a track from their Last Summer EP: "Michael Hall and Jon Howells don't give a fuck about what is fashionable right now and recording their music in splendid isolation, away from the suits and A&R types gives them the freedom to release anything they feel that deserves to be heard. This DIY ecleticism resulted in a string of EPS that all sound different, safe for the vocals who were left as is. People who think that utterly danceable music and meaningful lyrics can't share the bed willl stand corrected."
Nice touch filming only multi-instrumentalist Jon for this one, as most videos focus on the singer.
HCTF review of the Last Summer EP
Dutch folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Ismena used a dirge-sounding backbeat for her new single I See Words, but it is not a sad song however. She celebrates the beauty and joy that can be found in creativity and love, acting as kickstarters for making music. Acting as her own backing vocalist, it is a showcase for her crystal clear delivery.
Dreamy shoegaze band Gingham have found a way to update Alan Sillitoe's classic short story The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner for indie kids of all ages with their new single Cross Country. Let's face it, most people dread outdoor sports if they are organised by an overzealous PE teacher. It is much more fun to indulge in a bit of daydreaming in stead having to deal with a body screaming for mercy, because it is fucking old outside.
