Ryder Waite is a female-fronted, genre-defying rock quintet born from the dust of the Mojave Desert. While little is currently known about them, the band describes their approach and sound as raw and unapologetic, and pairing naked lyricism with soul-moving solos.
Their latest single, the atmospheric “Praying” is built around a gorgeous and expressive vocal, paired with shimmering reverb-drenched guitars, dramatic drumming and an expressive guitar solo. Sonically speaking, “Praying” sees the mysterious quintet drawing from nu-metal, post rock, shoegaze and metal to create something familiar yet a little bit difficult to pigeonhole.
Splitting their time between Northern Wales and Utah, the celebrated alt rock outfit The Joy Formidable — Ritzy Bryan (vocals, guitar), Rhydian Daybed (bass, vocals) and Matt Thomas (drums) — have managed to remain close to their loyal fanbase: Back in 2019, they launched TJF Music Club with members able to request backstage access, watch online shows and get exclusive songs and merchandise. During the pandemic, with a lack of live shows and touring, the club grew and evolved.
Their last album was 2021’s critically applauded Into The Blue. Since then, the Welsh band have followed up with a recent a collection of singles that include “Cut Your Face,” “The Hat” and the third and final single of the series “Share My Heat,” which were released through Enci Records across North America, Full Time Hobby/Hassle in Europe and Soundly Distro across the rest of the world.
Clocking in at an epic 15:10, “Share My Heat” is an arena rock friendly, prog rock ripper featuring thunderous drumming, angular and propulsive bass lines, dexterous, scorching riffage and shimmering synth arpeggios within a mind-bending song structure that bends, twists and turns before closing out with a face-melting, headbang worthy coda.
throughout the song’s run-time. “‘Share My Heat’ is about true connection & love. Deep, selfless love between humans is a beautiful part of our existence, but I’m also singing about our inherent love for nature, the living world & our kinship to everything : plants, animals, mountains & lake,” The Joy Formidable’s Ritzy Bryan explains. “Can we repair our relationship & bring more reciprocity, compassion and companionship to a world that already gives us so much?”
The accompanying, animated video by Vids Invader touches upon the themes of the song while being a hallucinogenic journey through both love and our current dystopian hellscape.
The Joy Formidable are currently on tour in the UK tour with all remaining shows listed below. The band plans to return to North America in 2024.
Vienna-based sibling electro pop duo FANTAST — Mario and Daniel Gschwendtner — specialize in a sound influenced by hip-hop, Fever Ray, Sleaford Mods and others. They’re currently working on an EP that’s slated for release later this year, but in the meantime, the Austrian electro pop duo share their latest single “CUTW,” a cover of Radiohead‘s “Climbing Up The Walls,” one of my favorite tracks off OK Computer.
“CUTW” sees the members of FANTAST replacing the guitar-driven melody of the original with glistening synth arpeggios and tweeter and woofer rattling beats paired with a trip hop-like delivery. FANTAST’s cover sees the Viennese sibling duo transforming the song into a brooding trip-hop banger that subtly changes the overall mood — but while retaining the sense of creeping unease.
Slated for a June 2, 2023 release through Roswell Records/RCA Records, Foo Fighters‘ 11th album, the Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters co-produced But Here We Are is informed and inspired by a year of staggering losses, personal introspection and bittersweet remembrances. While reportedly being a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything the band members have endured over the past year, But Here We Are is also a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family.
Fittingly, the 10-song album run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow, to serenity and acceptance and all the myriad points in between. But the album is also marks the first chapter of the band’s new life.
The album’s first single, the anthemic album opener “Rescued” manages to channel The Colour and the Shape-era and There Is Nothing Left to Lose-era Foos but with a grizzled, hard-earned and harder-fought-for wisdom and maturity. Perhaps more than ever, there’s a weary, heartbroken exhaustion.. And yet, there’s also an irrepressible joy. Life will kick your ass and spit in your face. But if you’ve got your favorite tunes, your best pals and your family by your side, you can somehow get through almost anything.
But Here We Are is available for pre-order and presale now. All pre-orders and pre-saves include “Rescued” as an instant free download.
Rising London-based outfit Island of Love — Karim Newble (guitar/vocals), Linus Munch (guitars/vocals) and Daniel Giraldo (bass) — can trace their origins to meeting through London’s hardcore punk scene, while playing in other hands, including Newbie’s Powerplant. They’ve all shared bills with bands like Chubby and the Gang and High Vis. And with their various previous projects, the London-based trio proudly adhered to a DIY ethos: they booked their own shows, printed their own merch, designed their own very distinct artwork, and self-released material recorded at Fuzzbrain, an East London studio dedicated to fostering the underground music community by making high-quality studio and rehearsal space accessible to artists under 25 years-old at all price points.
The trio released their debut collection of demos, 2020’s Promo Tape. By the time they had written and recorded last year’s Songs of Love EP, the London-based outfit had gotten much tighter. “Promo Tape was us trying to learn to write songs individually but Songs of Love was us trying to learn to write songs as a band,” Island of Love’s Karim Newbie says.
Back in September 2021, Island of Love were invited to perform at the opening of Third Man Records’ The Blue Basement. It’s a good thing that the band showed up to the gig at all, given that they didn’t even think the email invitation they received to play was real. The very real and definitely not spam offer led to their on-the-spot signing to the label, opening slots for Jack White — and their self-titled full-length debut.
Slated for a May 12, 2023 release, the London trio’s Ben Spence-produced, self-titled full-length debut reportedly sees the band crafting material that pinballs back and forth between tones and styles while rooted in crunchy guitars and the intrinsically melodic sensibility that brings Hüsker Dü and Dinosaur Jr. to mind while featuring the shared vocal and songwriting duties of Newbie and Munch. At the core of the material is a great deal of restraint and consideration, the sort that belies their relative youth as musicians — and as a band. While the material is loud and noisy, but it built around push-pull dynamics that results in moments of tenderness and quiet that then elevates the crunch and power of the rousingly anthemic, noisier parts. The album shows the balance of it being written in bedrooms but being honed in live shows,” says Munch. “It captures a contrast.”
Sonically and even thematically. the album explores duality, balance and contrast. Sure there’s crunchy power chords exploding out of the gate and into your eardrums one moment, but there’s also melodic, sugary pop hooks paired with introspective, considered songwriting. “This album exceeded our expectations,” says Newble. “I’m really proud of it.” What we’ve done on this album is much more of an accurate representation of us and where we’re at,” Island of Love’s Daniel Giraldo adds. “The EP sounds good but the difference on the album is huge.”
When the band set about making the album, they wanted to carry over as much of that DIY spirit as possible. They continued their relationship with Ben Spence and Fuzzbrain, who helped the band record their early demos. For the band, Spence, Fuzzbrain and the community both have fostered have proven invaluable to the band. “Growing up I couldn’t afford equipment,” Newble says. “But Fuzzbrain was this space where you could go to practice and use insane equipment. We never had to bring guitars, pedals or leads. You could just show up and plug in. We would have struggled to be a band without that place.” According to Giraldo , ““It’s very much [Spence’s] record as much as it is ours.”
The London trio recently shared the first taste of the album with the double A-side single “Grow”/”Blues 2000.” “Grow” is a 120 Minutes-era MTV-like bit of alt rock centered around crunchy power chords, thunderous drumming and the sort of enormous, melodic-driven hooks that immediately brings Dinosaur Jr. and others to mind. “Grow”is the first song the trio ever wrote together, and has been pulled and reimagined from their demo release, Promo Tape. “Blues 2000” continues the 90s alt rock vibes but is rooted in dueling guitar riffage and thunderous drumming.
Both songs are fan favorite staples of their live show and are always played back-to-back.
The acclaimed alt rock/indie rock outfit Ivy — Andy Chase, Dominique Durand and the late Fountains of Wayne co-founder and frontman Adam Schlesinger — can trace their origins back to several events that feel more like a movie script than real life. Dominique Durand had no intentions of being a musician, let alone fronting a band, when she left Paris for New York in 1989, but some serendipitous events transpired that would change her life: In New York, she met Andy Chase, and the pair bounded over a shared love of 80s British bands like The Smiths and Orange Juice. With Durand’s encouragement, Chase began writing his first songs on guitar, eventually placing an ad in The Village Voice for collaborators.
That Voice ad caught the attention of Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, who both arrived at Chase’s apartment with their own plans: They were hoping to enlist Chase for their own project, the Fountains of Wayne predecessor Pinwheel. Although the meeting didn’t yield either group the players they were seeking, Chase and Durand were impressed by Schlesinger’s energy, and they kept up a correspondence.
Just as Chase and Durand were settling into a new life as a couple in New York, Durand was stopped at Boston Logan Airport, interrogated and then deported back to Paris. That turn of events is part of the obscured but deeply romantic origin story of the band, which was kept hidden out of the fear it would color the perception of their music. For Chase, there was no real option but to leave for France to be with the woman he loved, and figure out things from there. The pair decided that it was inevitable that they would get married, so why not just go ahead with it.
Upon the pair returning to the States with a fiancé visa in hand, Chase suggested they finish the songs he’d been working on and perform them at their wedding — with Durand singing for the first time. Soon after, with the encouragement of a bottle of wine, the pair tracked material in their apartment, Schlesinger was enlisted to play bass, and he quickly fell in love with the material and Durand’s voice. At Schlesinger’s suggestion, they began to share the demo with record labels, and they were quickly signed to Seed Records, an Atlantic Records imprint — with ever having played a live set. Waking one morning to find he’d scribbled a list of potential names on a notepad the night before, Schlesinger suggested they adopt Ivy, and the band was born.
Tragically, Adam Schlesinger died in early 2020. But the surviving members of the band broke their long silence, to honor their old friend and bandmate, compiling home videos from studio sessions and early tours. Durand’s and Chase’s tribute captures the innocence and wonder of a shared, once-in-a-lifetime moment.
The band’s surviving members recently announced a vinyl re-issue of their seminal 1997 album Apartment Life, which is salted for a March 3, 2023 release through Bar/None Records. The album captures their singular brand of disaffected yet nuanced pop — and it will feature two previously unreleased singles here in the States “Sleeping Late” and “Sweet Mary,” which will be available digitally for the first time ever.
Of course, this will be the first time Apartment Life has been made available on vinyl: Bar/None Records will release a white vinyl edition and a limited edition blue vinyl edition will be made available through Newbury Comics. “This is probably the most important record Ivy ever made,” Ivy’s Andy Chase says of the album and of its reissue. “Me, Dominique and Adam were in NYC going from our apt to the studio every day. It was a glorious time for us – we would just wake up inspired and excited about everything we were doing. We knew we were becoming better at our craft and were excited to show the world. I think with this album we finally succeeded in demonstrating our ability to write and produce great pop songs. It was also the first and last time the three of us smoked pot for the entire duration of an album, supplied by our good friend and co producer Pete Nashel. We also had a healthy budget from Atlantic Records so we had a blast hiring horn players, string quartets, stretching our wings as producers and creating sounds in the studio we had never done before. Songs from this album appeared in countless tv shows, commercials and movies, putting us on the map in Hollywood among the music supervisors and directors, ultimately exposing us to a much larger universe. It was without a doubt the most fun we three ever had making music together. It was a special record for us and still is probably the favorite among our fanbase. For the past 20 years they have been asking for it on vinyl, and with Adam now gone, and IVY signing to Bar/None Records to re- release our entire catalogue of work, it was finally time to memorialize Apartment Life on vinyl.”
Ivy will also be partnering with Record Store Day to release Apartment Life Demos, which will feature, intimate. rough versions of the material from their cult classic sophomore album. The album will be available in participating stores on April 22, 2023 and digitally on July 21, 2023. Ivy’s Chase explains: “Me & Dominique thought it would be a fun idea to go back and find all the demo versions of each song from Apartment Life, sequence them in the same order, and release it. While at times a bit embarrassing or cringeworthy (for Dominique and I), and oftentimes funny, it’s a unique window into the world of IVY as we moved closer to getting ready to record what would be Apartment Life.
Apartment Life Demos‘ first single is the demo version of “I’ve Got A Feeling.” While being a bit rough around the edges, as a demo often is, the demo captures the sweet guilelessness that’s the heart of both the song and the album. But it also reveals a remarkable attention to craft from such a young band.
The acclaimed alt rock/indie rock outfit Ivy — Andy Chase, Dominique Durand and the late Fountains of Wayne co-founder and frontman Adam Schlesinger — can trace their origins back to several events that feel more like a movie script than real life: Dominique Durand had no intentions of being a musician, let alone fronting a band, when she left Paris for New York in 1989, but some serendipitous events transpired that would change her life. In New York, she met Andy Chase, and the pair bounded over a shared love of 80s British bands like The Smiths and Orange Juice. With Durand’s encouragement, Chase began writing his first songs on guitar, eventually placing an ad in The Village Voice for collaborators.
That Voice ad caught the attention of Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, who both arrived at Chase’s apartment with their own plans: They were hoping to enlist Chase for their own project, the Fountains of Wayne predecessor Pinwheel. Although the meeting didn’t yield either group the players they ere seeking, Chase and Durand were impressed by Schlesinger’s energy, and they kept up a correspondence.
Just as Chase and Durand were settling into a new life as a couple in New York, Durand was stopped at Boston Logan Airport, interrogated and then deported back to Paris. That turn of events is part of the obscured but deeply romantic origin story of the band, which was kept hidden out of fear it would color the perception of their music. But as the story goes, for Chase, there was no real option but to leave for France with the women he loved and then figure things out from here. The pair decided that it was only inevitable that they would get married anyway, so why not just go ahead with it.
Upon the pair returning to the States with a fiancé visa in hand, Chase suggested they finish the songs he’d been working on and perform them at the wedding — with Durand singing for the first time. Soon after, with the encouragement of a bottle of wine, the pair tracked material in their apartment, Schlesinger was enlisted to play bass, and he quickly fell i love with the material and Durand’s voice. At Schlesinger’s suggestion, they began to share the demo with record labels, and they were quickly signed to Seed Records, an Atlantic Records imprint — with ever having played a live set. Waking one morning to find he’d scribbled a list of potential names on a notepad the night before, Schlesinger suggested they adopt Ivy, and the band was born.
Sadly, Adam Schlesinger died in early 2020. But the surviving members of the band broke their long silence that year, to honor their old friend and bandmate, compiling home videos from studio sessions and early tours. Their tribute captures the innocence and wonder of a shared once-in-a-lifetime moment.
The band’s surviving members recently announced a vinyl re-issue of their seminal 1997 album Apartment Life, which is salted for a March 3, 2023 release through Bar/None Records. The album captures their singular brand of disaffected yet nuanced pop — and it will feature two previously unreleased singles here in the States “Sleeping Late” and “Sweet Mary,” which will be available digitally for the first time ever.
Of course, this will be the first time Apartment Life has been made available on vinyl: Bar/None Records will release a white vinyl edition and a limited edition blue vinyl edition will be made available through Newbury Comics. “This is probably the most important record Ivy ever made,” Ivy’s Andy Chase says of the album and of its reissue. “Me, Dominique and Adam were in NYC going from our apt to the studio every day. It was a glorious time for us – we would just wake up inspired and excited about everything we were doing. We knew we were becoming better at our craft and were excited to show the world. I think with this album we finally succeeded in demonstrating our ability to write and produce great pop songs. It was also the first and last time the three of us smoked pot for the entire duration of an album, supplied by our good friend and co producer Pete Nashel. We also had a healthy budget from Atlantic Records so we had a blast hiring horn players, string quartets, stretching our wings as producers and creating sounds in the studio we had never done before. Songs from this album appeared in countless tv shows, commercials and movies, putting us on the map in Hollywood among the music supervisors and directors, ultimately exposing us to a much larger universe. It was without a doubt the most fun we three ever had making music together. It was a special record for us and still is probably the favorite among our fanbase. For the past 20 years they have been asking for it on vinyl, and with Adam now gone, and IVY signing to Bar/None Records to re- release our entire catalogue of work, it was finally time to memorialize Apartment Life on vinyl.”
The surviving members of Ivy shared the re-issue’s first single, “Sleeping Late,” which was originally released as a bonus track for the Japanese edition of the album. Centered around a jaunty, Beatles-esque arrangement paired with Durand’s innocent, seemingly naive delivery. The song sees the trio managing a difficult balance of being cute without being twee, and tongue-in-cheek irony without sneering or mean-spiritedness.
“Despite being quite ambitious and driven, Dominique, Adam and I were not early risers, at all. Although ‘Sleeping Late’ started as a joke between us, underneath its cutesy, ironic exterior lives a more serious quintessential urban tale about being stuck at home and not wanting to leave,” Chase says. “Dominique always loved the Velvet Underground song ‘After Hours,’ loved the way Mo Tucker sang it, and tried to embody Mo’s innocent naivety and spirit in her vocal performance. We kept it simple and dry, inspired by early Beatles productions. We didn’t put it on the Apartment Life album since it was meant to be silly and sort of tongue and cheek, but we ultimately used it as a bonus track for the Japanese release, figuring over there most people wouldn’t understand the lyrics and never know what lazy idiots we were.”
