Tag: Brighton UK

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising London Outfit World News Shares Jangling and Anthemic “Don’t Want To Know”

Rising London-based post punk outfit World News — brothers Alex Evans (vocals, guitar) and Rory Evans (bass), along with Malte Henning (drums) and Jack Tolman (rhythm guitar) — can trace their origins back to 2018. The Evans Brothers, performing under the name Tinman cut their teeth in Brighton’s grassroots scene, relentlessly chasing opening slots in that city’s busy music scene.

Following a case of badly mistaken identity in which concert-goers arrived expecting an Austrian DJ of the same name — and a chance meeting with Malte Henning at a local Pizza Express, the band, rebranded as the extremely difficult to Google, World News.

The band, now known as World News were quickly gaining momentum, having sold out their first London area headlining show at The Shacklewell Arms when the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt. The band quickly established a sound inspired by 70s and 80s post-punk, indie rock and shoegaze, blending atmospheric guitar riffs with seductive melodies and a penchant for rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses, drawing comparisons to The Smiths, The Clash and Dire Straits among others.

Their debut, 2020’s Job and Money EP was released at their lowest point — COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and was deeply informed by personal experiences: heartbreak, night shifts, desperately hustling to survive and the claustrophobia of living in a windowless London room.

Fueled by restlessness, disillusionment, impatience and yearning for more, the London-based quartet have been busy the last few years, releasing over a dozen singles and three EPs while remaining committed to a firmly held DIY ethos. That busy period included last year, which saw them releasing two EP’s Escape and Mindsnap, along with the addition of Jack Tollman (rhythm guitar). Escape EP saw the band expanding on their now, signature jangling sound. Mindsnap dove into darker, much more gothic territory and marked the first bit of material cowritten by The Evans Brothers.

The rising London-based outfit closed out last year receiving coverage from Stereogum, SPIN, The Fader and KEXP, as well as sold-out shows at London’s The Lexington and Piano’s. Building upon a growing national and international profile, the members of World News are looking forward to releasing their highly-anticipated full-length debut.

Recorded at London-based RAK Studios, the rising quartet’s latest single “Don’t Want To Know” sees the band firmly cementing a sound that immediately recalls Boy, October and The Unforgettable Fire-era U2: jangling, reverb-soaked guitars, driving rhythms, rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses paired with earnest, yearning vocals.

Directed by Teddy Hansen, the accompanying video for “Don’t Want To Know” focuses on the band’s Alex Evans as he rapidly goes through a series of costume changes that shows the band’s frontman going through different scenarios — some worse than others.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Natty Reeves Shares Dreamily introspective “Roll In, Roll Out”

Last year was a very busy year for the wildly prolific and acclaimed Brighton-based producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Natty Reeves: With his instrumental hip-hop project Astairé, Reeves released the Greener Days EP, a tastefully seamless blend of hip-hop sensibilities with Bossa nova tinged passages that was anchored around dexterous improvisation. Reeves is also a highly sought-after collaborator in his own right, and he has collaborated with the likes of Matt Wilde, Simon Jefferis and Ahbi The Nomad along with a growing a list of others. 

2024 also saw the release of his acclaimed Mist Over Water EP. The EP is a marked sonic shift from Reeves’ beatmaking and production roots. Informed by the songwriting of Ben Watt and James Taylor, as well as the rhythmic language of Brazilian jazz pioneers João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá, the EP featured a stripped back raw sound with Spanish-style guitar and Reeves’ dreamy vocal at the center.

Thematically, the material saw the British artist reflecting on the fleeting nature of life, and the importance of looking inward to grow — without putting too much pressure on each moment. “I wanted to make a project that felt honest to who I am, something that represented my thoughts at this stage of my life,” Reeves explained. “Recently I’ve been thinking about second chances, new growth and how fleeting life is – coming back to the sounds and rhythms I love, not trying too hard to make something that people would find impressive, this is a bit more introspective and forgiving of myself. I just hope that listeners enjoy the sounds and find some peace of their own in these songs!”

Reeves’ first single of this year, “Roll In, Roll Out” is a breezy yet soulful tune, featuring delicately strummed acoustic guitar and gently shuffling percussion that serves as a dreamy, Bossa nova-tinged bed for the Brighton-based artist’s introspective, lived-in lyrics and dreamy delivery. While further establishing his critically applauded, acoustic-driven singer/songwriter sound, “Roll In, Roll Out,” is a reminder — both to the listener and the artist — that life shouldn’t always be taken so seriously.

“Life’s changing a lot for me lately, big changes on the way! So, I wanted to write a reminder to myself to not take life too seriously – good and bad days will come and go but everything will be alright in the end,” Reeves explains. “Musically, I’ve enjoyed really pushing into this sound, not sure what to call this style yet, but it feels like I’m going in the right direction. As always though, I hope people can enjoy the music for what it is!”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Brighton’s Honeybadger Shares Rousingly Anthemic “Gone Cold”

Brighton-based trio Honeybadger — brothers Joe and Eddy, along with their schoolmate Luca — formed back in 2014. And since then, they’ve quickly established a sound that meshes elements of rock, punk and grunge that’s inspired by Drenge, Them Crooked Vultures, The White Stripes and others.

The Brighton-based trio have taken the UK by storm through live performances on BBC Introducing, BBC Live Lounge and Wyatt Wendel’s The New Rock Show on Planet Rock. Adding to a growing profile, the band has been featured in Clash Magazine, Music Week, Record Of The Day, New Noise and Earmilk. They’ve received airplay on BBC Radio 1’s Future Alternative — and they played a set at last year’s The Alternative Escape portion of The Great Escape.

Building upon a growing profile in the UK — and hopefully elsewhere — the Brighton-based trio’s latest single “Gone Cold” is an ebullient and breakneck Foo Fighters-like ripper built around enormous power chords, thunderous drumming, rousingly anthemic, shout-along-with-beer-raised-in-the-air-worthy hooks and choruses. It’s the sort of song you need to hear live and very loud with several hundred of your sweaty friends and a cold beer or eight.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Natty Reeves Teams Up with Jackson Mathod on Breezily Upbeat “Bloom”

2024 has been a busy year for the wildly prolific Brighton-based producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Natty Reeves: With his instrumental hip-hop project Astairé, Reeves released the Greener Days EP, a tastefully seamless blend of hip-hop sensibilities with Bossa nova tinged passages that was anchored around dexterous improvisation. Reeves is also a highly sought-after collaborator in his own right, and he has collaborated with the likes of Matt Wilde, Simon Jefferis and Ahbi The Nomad along with a growing a list of others.

The Brighton-based producer and artist has also been working on his forthcoming EP Mist Over Water. The EP which is slated for a September 25, 2024 release through DeepMatter Records is the first bit of material Reeves has released under his own name in a few years. Informed by the songwriting discipline of Ben Watt and James Taylor, as well as the rhythmic language of Brazilian jazz pioneers João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá, Mist Over Water reportedly sees the Reeves crafting a sound that’s stripped back and raw, with Spanish guitar and Reeves’ vocals at the center. Thematically, the material sees the British artist reflecting on the fleeting nature of life, and the importance of looking inward to grow — without putting too much pressure on each moment.

“I wanted to make a project that felt honest to who I am, something that represented my thoughts at this stage of my life,” Reeves explains. “Recently I’ve been thinking about second chances, new growth and how fleeting life is – coming back to the sounds and rhythms I love, not trying too hard to make something that people would find impressive, this is a bit more introspective and forgiving of myself. I just hope that listeners enjoy the sounds and find some peace of their own in these songs!”

Mist Over Water‘s first single “Bloom” is a gently swaying, slightly jazzier take on Bossa nova anchored around Bossa nova/Brazilian percussion, serene and glistening acoustic guitar, Reeves’ dreamily meditative yet upbeat delivery and warm, soulful trumpet from longtime collaborator and friend Jackson Mathod. The song encourages listeners to be open to new opportunities and to boldly take leaps of faith because things will work out how they’re meant to work out — but also because you never want to live a life in which you’ll left wondering “what if?”

“This was the first song I made for this project, and I think it sets the tone for the rest of the EP,” Reeves says of the single. “I want to give a massive thanks to my good friend Jackson Mathod for playing horns on this – I’ve always admired his playing and he really gave this track a lift!”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Brighton’s Tigercub Shares “120 Minutes” MTV-like Visual for Arena Rock Anthem “Show Me My Maker”

With the release of 2016’s full-length debut Abstract Figures in the Dark, the Brighton-based rock trio Tigercub — Jamie Hall (vocals, guitar), Jamies Allix (drums) and Jimi Wheelwright (bass) — exploded into the scene, with the band quickly earning praise for dynamic songwriting and a bruising sound influenced by a diverse range of influences including Led Zeppelin, Slipknot, Sonic Youth and Frédéric Chopin. 

The Brighton-based trio’s acclaimed sophomore album, As Blue As Indigo saw the band broadening the massive sonic palette that won them attention while incorporating a deeply personal introspection with lyrics that thematically explored anxiety, depression, toxic masculinity, the death of Hall’s grandmother and the suicide of a close friend. As Blue As Indigo turned out to be the British outfit’s breakthrough: The album rose to #11 on the UK Albums Charts while receiving praise from the international media, including Guitar.com and Kerrang!

The trio supported the album with an extensive touring schedule that included a sold-out UK headline tour, dates with longtime friends Royal Blood and a North American run with Clutch and Eyehategod. Last summer saw the band celebrating its signing to Stone Gossard‘s Loosegroove Records with sets at Reading and Leeds — and an opening slot for Pearl Jam during their two-night run at London’s BST Hyde Park. 

The band’s third album, the recently released The Perfume of Decay sees the band confidently embracing all the contradictions, counterpoints and catharsis of modern-day rock. “It’s all about opposites,” Tigercub’s Jamie Hall says. “Sweet-and-salty popcorn tends to taste better than regular popcorn, even though those are two opposing forces. I wanted to nail that concept with our heavy guitars, softer-sung vocals, Can-style grooves, and a bit of shoegaze. Counterpoints can come together and make a powerful connection. I’ve crossed the threshold from my 20s to my 30s, so I’m getting older, but I’m also entering my prime. This record is a reflection of that.”

The album sees Tigercub’s frontman drawing the curtains shut to embrace a moody, nocturnal sound. “The Perfume of Decay is set at night,” says Jamie Hall. “It was written at night, I recorded all the vocals at night, and it is at night when my thoughts race and uneasiness pours through me like running water. Under the glimmer of moonlight, my apprehension ebbs and flows like the tide and it doesn’t stop until the morning. Perfume is a diary of my emotional journey from dusk to dawn, an anxiety-fueled voyage through the storm. Lyrically, at points, it is almost a stream of consciousness. I sat up late and wrote the words down as they flashed before my eyes.

“I use my songwriting as a form of catharsis,” he adds, “a tool to examine my anxiety and insecurity about growing older and how those emotions seem to lead me towards turmoil. I pour those feelings into my lyrics and only then can I move on from them.”

The album’s latest single “Show Me My Maker” is a swaggering, arena rock banger built around enormous, overdrive-fueled, Soundgarden-like power chords, thunderous drumming paired with enormous hooks and a nihilistic refrain. Play it loud, it’s Friday, y’all — and it’s time to headbang. 

“‘Show Me My Maker’ speaks for itself,” Pearl Jam’s and Loosegroove Records head Stone Gossard says. “This song has classic guts. The opening cobra strikes of a guitar riff… it’s seriously in the running for ‘mother of all riffs’ to the nihilistic exultation of the chorus refrain. I love it. Thank you Tigercub.”

Fittingly, for such a 90s grunge-inspired song, the accompanying video for “Show Me My Maker” is shot in what appears to be grainy and processed Super 8 and features the members of the band performing the song in a bare studio.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of 2016’s full-length debut Abstract Figures in the Dark, the Brighton-based rock trio Tigercub — Jamie Hall (vocals, guitar), Jamies Allix (drums) and Jimi Wheelwright (bass) — exploded into the scene, with the band quickly earning praise for dynamic songwriting and a bruising sound influenced by a diverse range of influences including Led Zeppelin, Slipknot, Sonic Youth and Frédéric Chopin.

The Brighton-based trio’s acclaimed sophomore album, As Blue As Indigo saw the band broadening the massive sonic palette that won them attention while incorporating a deeply personal introspection with lyrics that thematically explored anxiety, depression, toxic masculinity, the death of Hall’s grandmother and the suicide of a close friend. As Blue As Indigo turned out to be the British outfit’s breakthrough: The album rose to #11 on the UK Albums Charts while receiving praise from the international media, including Guitar.com and Kerrang!

The trio supported the album with an extensive touring schedule that included a sold-out UK headline tour, dates with longtime friends Royal Blood and a North American run with Clutch and Eyehategod. Last summer saw the band celebrating its signing to Stone Gossard‘s Loosegroove Records with sets at Reading and Leeds — and an opening slot for Pearl Jam during their two-night run at London’s BST Hyde Park.

The band’s third album, the recently released The Perfume of Decay sees the band confidently embracing all the contradictions, counterpoints and catharsis of modern-day rock. “It’s all about opposites,” Tigercub’s Jamie Hall says. “Sweet-and-salty popcorn tends to taste better than regular popcorn, even though those are two opposing forces. I wanted to nail that concept with our heavy guitars, softer-sung vocals, Can-style grooves, and a bit of shoegaze. Counterpoints can come together and make a powerful connection. I’ve crossed the threshold from my 20s to my 30s, so I’m getting older, but I’m also entering my prime. This record is a reflection of that.”

The album sees Tigercub’s frontman drawing the curtains shut to embrace a moody, nocturnal sound. “The Perfume of Decay is set at night,” says Jamie Hall. “It was written at night, I recorded all the vocals at night, and it is at night when my thoughts race and uneasiness pours through me like running water. Under the glimmer of moonlight, my apprehension ebbs and flows like the tide and it doesn’t stop until the morning. Perfume is a diary of my emotional journey from dusk to dawn, an anxiety-fueled voyage through the storm. Lyrically, at points, it is almost a stream of consciousness. I sat up late and wrote the words down as they flashed before my eyes.

“I use my songwriting as a form of catharsis,” he adds, “a tool to examine my anxiety and insecurity about growing older and how those emotions seem to lead me towards turmoil. I pour those feelings into my lyrics and only then can I move on from them.”

The album’s latest single “Show Me My Maker” is a swaggering, arena rock banger built around enormous, overdrive-fueled, Soundgarden-like power chords, thunderous drumming paired with enormous hooks and a nihilistic refrain. Play it loud, it’s Friday, y’all — and it’s time to headbang.

“‘Show Me My Maker’ speaks for itself,” Pearl Jam’s and Loosegroove Records head Stone Gossard says. “This song has classic guts. The opening cobra strikes of a guitar riff… it’s seriously in the running for ‘mother of all riffs’ to the nihilistic exultation of the chorus refrain. I love it. Thank you Tigercub.”

Tigercub is about to embark on an international tour that includes a June 8, 2023 stop at Bowery Ballroom.

TIGERCUB – LIVE 2023

JUNE

6 – Cambridge, MA – The Middle East – Upstairs

8 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

9 – Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy

10 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery

SEPTEMBER

16 – Camden, NJ – MMR*B*Q 2023 †

21 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life † 

23 – Clarkston, MI – 101.1 WRIF Presents Riff Fest 2023 †

OCTOBER

8 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock †

20 – Brighton, UK – CHALK

21 – Stoke-on-Trent, UK – The Sugarmill

22 – Birmingham, UK – Asylum

23 – Gloucester, UK – Gloucester Guildhall

24 – Oxford, UK – The Bullingdon

26 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City

27 – London, UK – O2 Academy Islington

28 – Milton Keynes, UK – The Craufurd Arms

30 – Bristol, UK – The Fleece

31 – Sheffield, UK – The Leadmill

NOVEMBER

1 – Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK – The Cluny

2 – Glasgow, UK – King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

4 – Leeds, UK – The Key Club

5 – Manchester, UK – Gorilla

6 – Cambridge, UK – The Junction

7 – Portsmouth, UK – The Wedgewood Rooms

† FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Brighton’s The Fuchsias Share Dynamic “Elephante”

Brighton UK-based ambient music/post rock duo The Fuchsias — Bobby Fage and Stephen Ingham — can trace their origins back almost 20 years: Fage and Ingham played together in a now-defunct ambient collective that played in venues across Brighton, as well as The Big Chill Festival and Beautiful Days Festival. Ingham went on to tour with Dark Horses for over a decade. Fage worked on several songs on Towards Nova Zembla’s 2005 full-length debut, and did compositional work for installation artist Sean Kubsia’s Mysteres des Memoires and Recall, which displayed his fascination with utilizing experimental methods.

The duo wound up reconnecting over a mutual desire to create new minimalistic material — with live electronic elements. The British duo’s recently released four-track debut EP Isle sees them delving into modular guitar experimentation while simultaneously reflecting their unique tastes and passion for expansive, immersive music.

Isle EP‘s latest single, the expansive and cinematic “Elephante” alternates between glistening and looping guitar lines paired with tweeter and woofer rattling boom bap and ambient sections with twinkling electronics. While being decidedly beat driven, “Elephante” is rooted in the sort of patient, patiently textures of Mogwai, Public Service Broadcasting, and others.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Hanya Shares Surreal and Feverish Visual for “Amateur Professional”

Brighton-based dream pop act and JOVM mainstays Hanya — currently Heather Sheret (vocals, guitar), Benjamin Varnes (guitar) and Jack Watkins (drums) — exploded into the national and international scenes with the release of their debut EP, I Used to Love You, Now I Don’t, an effort that saw the British outfit quickly and firmly establish a sound that featured elements of dream pop and shoegaze. 

Much like countless acts across the globe, back in 2020, the Brighton-based JOVM mainstays had plans to build upon a rapidly growing profile both nationally and internationally: they released their acclaimed, sophomore EP Sea Shoes, which they supported with touring across the UK and their Stateside debut at that year’s New Colossus Festival. But since then they’ve been busy.

Last year, the Brighton-based released their acclaimed third EP 100 Metre Sprint which featured: 

  • “Texas,” a shimmering bit of dream pop that nods at 70s AM rock, and focuses on the longing and excitement of a new crush/new love/new situationship
  • “Monochrome,”a hazy and slow-burning ballad that celebrates the pleasures of life’s small things
  • “Lydia,” a slow-burning and gorgeous track that continues upon their winning mix of 70s AM rock and Beach House-like dream pop. 
  • “Fortunes,” a slow burning track, which featured  A Storm In Heaven like painterly textures, ethereal harmonies and deeply personal, lived-in lyricism. 
  • “Logan’s Run,” which struck me as a lush and brooding synthesis of AM Rock and lush, A Storm in Heaven-like textures. Fittingly, the track was inspired by the 1970’s sci-fi classic, which the band watched a lot during the pandemic. 

Hanya’s newest single, the Theo Verney-produced “Amateur Professional” sees the rising Brighton-based outfit marrying their live show energy with their recorded sound — while further refining and pushing that sound in subtle yet decided new direction. Centered around a post-punk influenced take on shoegaze and dream pop that features shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars paired with angular and propulsive bass lines serving as a lush bed for Sheret’s gorgeous and vulnerable delivery singing ongue-in-cheek lyrics, “Amateur Professional” features the band’s penchant for rousingly anthemic hooks. But at its core, the song strikes at something deeply familiar for me — and those I’ve spent my adult life covering: The moral and mental gymnastics that creatives must grapple with when attempting to make a side-hustle viable in a consumer world that doesn’t value authenticity and constantly vies for every moment of our attention. 

“‘Amateur Professional’ was written at a time when we felt our most cynical,” Hanya explains. “Trying to remain inspired in this chaos and constantly grappling with self-doubt is something every person experiences, and we wanted to explore that in this world of a ‘fake-it-till-you-make-it’ mentality. The track is about attempting to be a full-time professional in whatever it is you want, even if you feel like a lousy amateur a lot of the time. It’s a fighting song, for when you’re feeling like giving up.”

Directed by Sara Azmy, the accompanying video for “Amateur Professional” is a gorgeously shot and surreal fever dream split between the office drone working at the office to support themselves and their dream until they burned out and lost their minds — and their dreams of music stardom. That balance between doing what you have to do to support yourself and living your dreams can be extremely complicated.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Brighton-based dream pop act and JOVM mainstays Hanya — currently Heather Sheret (vocals, guitar), Benjamin Varnes (guitar) and Jack Watkins (drums) — exploded into the national and international scenes with the release of their debut EP, I Used to Love You, Now I Don’t, an effort that saw the British outfit quickly and firmly establish a sound that featured elements of dream pop and shoegaze. 

Much like countless acts across the globe, the Brighton-based JOVM mainstays had plans to build upon a rapidly growing profile both nationally and internationally: they released their acclaimed, sophomore EP Sea Shoes, which they supported with touring across the UK and their Stateside debut at that year’s New Colossus Festival.

Last year, the Brighton-based released their acclaimed third EP 100 Metre Sprint which featured:

  • “Texas,” a shimmering bit of dream pop that nods at 70s AM rock, and focuses on the longing and excitement of a new crush/new love/new situationship
  • “Monochrome,”a hazy and slow-burning ballad that celebrates the pleasures of life’s small things
  • “Lydia,” a slow-burning and gorgeous track that continues upon their winning mix of 70s AM rock and Beach House-like dream pop. 
  • “Fortunes,” a slow burning track, which featured  A Storm In Heaven like painterly textures, ethereal harmonies and deeply personal, lived-in lyricism. 
  • “Logan’s Run,” which struck me as a lush and brooding synthesis of AM Rock and lush, A Storm in Heaven-like textures. Fittingly, the track was inspired by the 1970’s sci-fi classic, which the band watched a lot during the pandemic.

Hanya’s newest single, the Theo Verney-produced “Amateur Professional” sees the rising Brighton-based outfit marrying their live show energy with their recorded sound — while further refining and pushing that sound in subtle yet decided new direction. Centered around a post-punk influenced take on shoegaze and dream pop that features shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars paired with angular and propulsive bass lines, Sheret’s gorgeous and vulnerable delivery singing tongue-in-cheek lyrics and the Brighton-based JOVM’s penchant for rousingly anthemic hooks, “Amateur Professional” strikes at something deeply familiar for me — and those I’ve spent my adult life writing about: The moral and mental gymnastics that creatives must grapple with when attempting to make a side-hustle viable in a consumer world that doesn’t value authenticity and constantly vies for every moment of our attention.

“‘Amateur Professional’ was written at a time when we felt our most cynical,” Hanya explains. “Trying to remain inspired in this chaos and constantly grappling with self-doubt is something every person experiences, and we wanted to explore that in this world of a ‘fake-it-till-you-make-it’ mentality. The track is about attempting to be a full-time professional in whatever it is you want, even if you feel like a lousy amateur a lot of the time. It’s a fighting song, for when you’re feeling like giving up.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Penelope Isles Release a Gorgeous and Mind-Bending Visual for “Have You Heard?”

Brighton-based indie rock outfit Penelope Isles — founded and led by sibling duo and co-songwriters and co-vocalists Lily and Jack Wolter — had a breakthrough year back in 2019: Their self-produced, full-length debut Until The Tide Creeps In was released to critical acclaimed globally. The band supported the album with some relentless touring that included sharing stages with The Flaming Lips and The Magic Numbers, as well as three Stateside tours, including a stop at the inaugural New Colossus Festival.

The duo’s Jack Wolters-produced sophomore album Which Way To Happy was released last month through Bella Union. The album’s material was forged during a period of emotional and professional upheaval for The Wolters and for Penelope Isles. The band spent much of 2019 touring across Europe and America with their bandmates. When the pandemic struck early last year, the band — understandably — felt as though everything was falling apart: much like countless other folks across the world, the members of Penelope Isles found their plans and hopes in an indefinite stall. Along with that, Jack and Lily were dealing with their own respective heartaches and the departure of two bandmates. The departing bandmates were replaced with Henry Nicholson, Joe Taylor and Hannah Feenstra for the recording of the album. “A godsend after a low time,” Lily Wolters says. 

The Wolters along with Nicholson, Taylor and Feenstra holed up into a small cottage in Cornwall to start work on the new album when lockdowns were instituted everywhere. Claustrophobia kicked in, existential anxiety over the pandemic permeated everything and emotions — naturally — ran very high. “We were there for about two or three months, ultimately,” Penelope Isles’ Jack Wolter recalls. “It was a tiny cottage and we all went a bit bonkers, and we drank far too much, and it spiralled a bit out of control. There were a lot of emotional evenings and realisations, which I think reflects in the songs. Writing and recording new music was a huge part of the recovery process for all of us.”

Finished away from the confines of the Cornwall-based cottage and further flushed out with arrangements by acclaimed composer Fiona Brice, the band’s sophomore album finds the band further emphasizing the core traits that have won them acclaim globally: the bond between Jack and Lily, a desire to celebrate life in all of its facets and a sensitivity towards complex feelings. But interestingly, Which Way To Happy may arguably be their most ambitious effort to date: Sometimes, the album’s material swoons, sometimes it soars. Other times it bravely says “it’s OK to not be OK.” And this is while seeing the band balance on a sonic and stylistic tight rope between expansive cosmic pop, and intimate, earnest songwriting. 

In the lead up to the album’s release, I’ve written about four of Which Way To Happy‘s singles: 

  • The cinematic “Sailing Still.” Centered around a shimmering and brooding string arrangement, gently strummed guitar, thunderous drumming, a soaring hook and Lily Wolter’s achingly tender vocals, the heartbreakingly gorgeous track evokes a deep yet familiar yearning for peace in a mad, mad, mad world — while sonically bearing a resemblance to Lily Wolter’s collaboration with Lost Horizons. 
  • “Iced Gems” is a gently undulating track featuring twinkling keys, fluttering and atmospheric electronics, thumping beats and Lily Wolters’ achingly plaintive vocals. And while being a decided sonic departure, the song is centered around somme deeply intimate lyricism and the duo’s unerring knack for crafting infectious, razor sharp hooks. 
  • “Sudoku” is a slow-burning and lushly textured bit of dream pop/shoegaze centered around shimmering guitars, plaintive and expressive vocals, a soaring hook and a fuzzy power chord driven solo.
  • “Terrified,” a sun-dappled, hook-driven bit of jangle pop but underneath the breezy and upbeat vibes, the song is a reflection on maneuvering a mad, mad, mad world with anxiety — and somehow pretending that you’re not crumbling on the inside.

The album’s fifth and latest single, the breakneck “Have You Heard?” was written by Lily Wolters and sonically is one-part Brit Pop, one-part jangle pop, one-part psych pop centered around rousingly anthemic hooks and Lily Wolters’ achingly tender and ethereal vocals. According to the band, the song was inspired by labelmates The Flaming Lips and much like that equally acclaimed act’s work, “Have You Heard?” manages to be upbeat — but that manages to be a bit deceptive, as the song has a bittersweet and uneasy undertone.

The recently released video was directed by renowned director Jamie Thraves, who has worked on gorgeous and mind-bending visuals for the likes of Radiohead and Coldplay. Shot in a cinematic black and white, the video is split between a surrealist narrative in which the band’s Lily Wolters has the power to hurt people just through words told forward and backwards paired with some great live-performance footage, which captures their live energy.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Brighton-based dream pop act and JOVM mainstays Hanya — currently Heather Sheret (vocals, guitar), Benjamin Varnes (guitar), Jorge Bela (bass) and Jack Watkins (drums) — exploded into the national and international scenes with the release of their debut EP, I Used to Love You, Now I Don’t, an effort that saw the British outfit quickly and firmly establish a sound that featured elements of dream pop and shoegaze.

Much like countless acts across the globe, the Brighton-based JOVM mainstays had plans to build upon a rapidly growing profile both nationally and internationally: they released their acclaimed, sophomore EP Sea Shoes, which they supported with touring across the UK and their Stateside debut at that year’s New Colossus Festival. Since their New Colossus  set at The Bowery Electric last March, Hanya has been busy writing and releasing new material, including:  

  • “Texas,” a shimmering bit of dream pop that nods at 70s AM rock, and focuses on the longing and excitement of a new crush/new love/new situationship
  • “Monochrome,”a hazy and slow-burning ballad that celebrates the pleasures of life’s small things
  • “Lydia,” a slow-burning and gorgeous track that continues upon their winning mix of 70s AM rock and Beach House-like dream pop. 

The British dream pop outfit will be releasing their highly anticipated third EP lates this year. Now, as you may recall, last month, I wrote about the forthcoming EP’s lead single, the slow-burning “Fortunes,” which featured  A Storm In Heaven like painterly textures, ethereal harmonies and deeply personal, lived-in lyricism.

Hanya’s latest single “Logan’s Run” continues a recent run of lush and painterly textured material featuring glistening guitars for the song’s dreamy verses, towering feedback and pedal effect driven soloing, a propulsive backbeat paired with Heather Sheret’s gorgeous and expressive vocals. Sonically, “Logan Run” strikes me as being a sort of slick synthesis of brooding atmospherics, 79s AM rock and A Storm in Heaven-like textures.

“We wrote this track as a homage to its namesake – the 1970’s sci-fi classic Logan’s Run, set in a seemingly perfect future full of staggeringly blissful ignorance,” Hanya’s Heather Sheret explains. “We can’t get enough of this film, and whilst we were endlessly ageing during this pandemic, this track felt like our own soundtrack to the dystopian present. The film addresses concerns of consumption, truth and escape, all whilst remaining timelessly beautiful, confusing, and trashy. Just like us.”
 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Penelope Isles Release a Gorgeous and Heartbreaking Visual for “Sudoku”

Led by sibling duo and co-songwriters and co-vocalists Lily and Jack Wolter, the Brighton-based indie rock act Penelope Isles had a breakthrough 2019: their self-produced, full-length debut Until The Tide Creeps In was released to critical acclaimed globally. And to support the album, the band shared stages with The Flaming Lips and The Magic Numbers, playing over 100 shows — and they made three Stateside tours, including a stop at the inaugural New Colossus Festival.

The duo’s highly-anticipated Jack Wolters-produced sophomore album Which Way To Happy is slated for a November 5, 2021 release through Bella Union. The album’s material was forged during a period of emotional and professional upheaval for The Wolters and for Penelope Isles. The band spent much of 2019 touring across Europe and America with their bandmates. When the pandemic struck early last year, the band — understandably — felt as though everything was falling apart: much like countless other folks across the world, the members of Penelope Isles found their plans in an indefinite halt. Jack and Lily were dealing with their own respective romantic heartaches and the departure of two bands members, who were replaced with Henry Nicholson, Joe Taylor and Hannah Feenstra for the recording of the album. “A godsend after a low time,” Lily Wolters says. 

The Wolters along with Nicholson, Taylor and Feenstra holed into a small cottage in Cornwall to start work on the new album when lockdowns were instituted everywhere. Claustrophobia kicked in, existential anxiety over the pandemic permeated everything and emotions — naturally — ran very high. “We were there for about two or three months, untilately,” says Jack. “It was a tiny cottage and we all went a bit bonkers, and we drank far too much, and it spiralled a bit out of control. There were a lot of emotional evenings and realisations, which I think reflects in the songs. Writing and recording new music was a huge part of the recovery process for all of us.”

Finished away from the confines of the Cornwall-based cottage and further flushed out with acclaimed composer Fiona Brice, the band’s sophomore album finds the band further emphasizing the core traits that have won them acclaim globally: the bond between Jack and Lily, a desire to celebrate life in all of its facets and a sensitivity towards complex feelings. But interestingly, Which Way To Happy may arguably be their most ambitious effort to date: Sometimes, the album’s material swoons, sometimes it soars. Other times it bravely says “it’s OK to not be OK.” And this is while balancing a tight rope between expansive, cosmic pop and up-close, heart-felt intimate songwriting. 

So far, I’ve written about two of Which Way To Happy‘s singles:

  • The cinematic “Sailing Still.” Centered around a shimmering and brooding string arrangement, gently strummed guitar, thunderous drumming, a soaring hook and Lily Wolter’s achingly tender vocals, the heartbreakingly gorgeous track evokes a deep yet familiar yearning for peace in a mad, mad, mad world — while sonically bearing a resemblance to Lily Wolter’s collaboration with Lost Horizons. 
  • “Iced Gems” is a gently undulating track featuring twinkling keys, fluttering and atmospheric electronics, thumping beats and Lily Wolters’ achingly plaintive vocals. And while being a decided sonic departure, the song is centered around somme deeply intimate lyricism and the duo’s unerring knack for crafting infectious, razor sharp hooks.

Which Way To Happy‘s third and latest single “Sudoku” is a slow-burning and lushly textured bit of dream pop/shoegaze centered around shimmering guitars, plaintive and expressive vocals, a soaring hook and a fuzzy power chord driven solo. Sonically, the track — to my ears, at least — brings back memories of classic Brit Pop.

“‘Sudoku’ is probably the oldest song on the album. We used to play it in our old band, Your Gold Teeth, back on the Isle of Man when Lily and I first started making music,” Penelope Isles’ Jack Wolters explains. “Dad loves a sudoku puzzle whilst he’s sat on the loo. So this one is for him! It’s a special song for us and we wanted to bring it back and play it with Penelope Isles.”

The recently released video for “Sudoku” is an intimate portrait of a middle aged gentleman. We follow the man as he gets up, brushes he teeth, makes himself a healthy breakfast and some tea before heading to his workspace to work on a model airplane. He stops to each lunch with his pet bird, water his plants and get a package delivered — and then back to work. When he finishes, he takes the plane out on a test flight; but it quickly proves to be a frustrating disaster with the plane flying a few feet before crashing.

The video ends with the band throwing the plane in the garbage and heading home to work on a model car.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM mainstays Thyla Releases an Anthemic New Bop

Brighton, UK-based indie rock band and JOVM mainstays Thyla can trace its origins to when its founding members — Millie Duthie (vocals), Danny Southwell (drums) and Dan Hole (bass) — met while attending college.

While becoming JOVM mainstays, the Brighton-based indie act have helped cement their hometown’s reputation for a music scene with some of England’s hottest emerging acts.The band has played profile rising shows with Dream Wife, Luxury Death, Matt Maltese, Yonaka, Husky Loops, Lazy Day, Sunflower Bean, INHEAVEN and Fickle Friends. And they ere spotlighted alongside Pale Waves, Nilüfer Yanya, and Sorry in NME‘s 100 Essential Acts for 2018.

Thyla’s debut EP, 2019’s What’s On Your Mind was released to critical applause from Pitchfork, Stereogum, NME, The Line of Best Fit and Dork — and the material from the EP received airplay from BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, Radio X and KCRW. Adding to a breakthrough year, the Brighton JOVM mainstays opened for Rolling Blackouts Costal Fever, played attention-grabbing sets at The Great Escape, Live At Leeds and Hit The North. They capped the year off with their first national tour, which also included a headlining stop at London’s Electrowerk.

Last year, Thyla released their sophomore EP Everything at Once. The EP featured he anthemic and ambitious “Two Sense,” and the coming-of-age story “Lenox Hill,” which was arguably the most personal song the band’s Millie Duthie had written to date. After the release of Everything at Once, the rising British act spent the bulk of last year working on their highly-anticipated full-length debut.

Slated for a January 28, 2022 release through Easy Life Records, Thyla’s self-titled full-length debut will feature “Breathe,” an atmospheric yet dance floor friendly banger featuring glistening synth arpeggios, sinuous bass lines, squiggling guitar blasts, stuttering four-on-the-floor, Duthie’s plaintive vocals and an enormous, crowd-pleasing hook. The end result was a song that — to my ears, at least — reminded me of When The Night-era St. Lucia, while being completely of our weird and uncertain moment.

“Gum” the self-titled album’s second and latest single continues a run of rousingly anthemic material but while being a subtle return to form: while glistening synth arpeggios and driving bass lines are still prominent, the song features fuzzy power chords and thunderous drumming and Duthie’s plaintive vocals. The song manages to capture a self-assured young band — young compared to yours truly — with an unerring knack for an enormous, shout-along-with-your-friends worthy hook paired earnest, lived-in songwriting that seems to say to the listener “Don’t worry, we’ve been there, too.”

tach identity and value to ourselves and the sneaking and uneasy feeling that the more we learn, the less we know. And while you may learn more about yourself, everything else gets increasingly complicated and difficult. “Gum is about shrugging the weight of the world off your shoulders – being stuck, knowing it, and choosing not to care,” Thyla’s Millie Duthie explains. “The world is weird; life is confusing. You’re not always going to get what you want, but let’s stop talking about it.

Directed by John Daly, the recently released video for “Gum” features some surreal imagery — notably of the trio seemingly playing an unending game of Tug of War and not getting anywhere, despite being in the English woods.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Penelope Isles Release a Hallucinogenic Visual for Fluttering and Intimate “Iced Gems”

Led by sibling duo and co-songwriters and co-vocalists Lily and Jack Wolter, the Brighton-based indie rock act Penelope Isles had a breakthrough 2019: their self-produced, full-length debut Until The Tide Creeps In was released to critical acclaimed globally. And to support the album, the band shared stages with The Flaming Lips and The Magic Numbers, playing over 100 shows — and they made three Stateside tours, including a stop at the inaugural New Colossus Festival.

The duo’s highly-anticipated Jack Wolfers-produced sophomore album Which Way To Happy is slated for a November 5, 2021 release through Bella Union. The album’s material was forged during a period of emotional and professional upheaval for The Wolters and for Penelope Isles. The band spent much of 2019 touring across Europe and America with their bandmates. When the pandemic struck early last year, the band — understandably — felt as though everything was falling apart: much like countless other folks across the world, the members of Penelope Isles found their plans in an indefinite halt. Jack and Lily were dealing with their own respective romantic heartaches and the departure of two bands members, who were replaced with Henry Nicholson, Joe Taylor and Hannah Feenstra for the recording of the album. “A godsend after a low time,” Lily Wolters says.

The Wolters along with Nicholson, Taylor and Feenstra holed into a small cottage in Cornwall to start work on the new album when lockdowns were instituted everywhere. Claustrophobia kicked in, existential anxiety over the pandemic permeated everything and emotions — naturally — ran very high. “We were there for about two or three months, untilately,” says Jack. “It was a tiny cottage and we all went a bit bonkers, and we drank far too much, and it spiralled a bit out of control. There were a lot of emotional evenings and realisations, which I think reflects in the songs. Writing and recording new music was a huge part of the recovery process for all of us.”

ex feelings. But interestingly, Which Way To Happy may arguably be the most ambitious effort to date: Sometimes, the album’s material swoons, sometimes it soars. Other times it bravely says “it’s OK to not be OK.” And this is while balancing a tight rope between expansive, cosmic pop and up-close, heart-felt intimate songwriting.

Last month, I wrote about Which Way To Happy’s cinematic first single “Sailing Still.” Centered around a shimmering and brooding string arrangement, gently strummed guitar, thunderous drumming, a soaring hook and Lily Wolter’s achingly tender vocals, the heartbreakingly gorgeous track evokes a deep yet familiar yearning for peace in a mad, mad, mad world — while sonically bearing a resemblance to Lily Wolter’s collaboration with Lost Horizons.

Which Way To Happy’s second and latest single “Iced Gems” is a gently undulating track featuring twinkling keys, fluttering and atmospheric electronics, thumping beats and Lily Wolters’ achingly plaintive vocals. Although the song is a decided sonic departure from its immediate predecessor and their previously released work, the song is centered around some deeply intimate lyricism and the duo’s unerring knack for crafting infectious, razor sharp hooks.

me graphics that follows the Wolters as they travel by raft, complete with a living room set up and by tricked out van with bouquets of flowers before ending up in a meadow where they jam out.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Mount Kimbie Releases a Brooding Visual for Previously Unreleased Single “Black Stone”

Currently split between Los Angeles and London, the acclaimed electronic music duo Mount Kimbie — Brighton-born, Los Angeles-based Dom Maker and Cornwall-born, London-based Kai Campos — burst into the international scene with their first three critically applauded full-length albums: 2010’s Crooks & Lovers, 2013’s Cold Spring Fault Less Youth and 2017’s Love What Survives.

Since the release of Love What Survives, the members of Mount Kimbie have been rather busy: they’ve produced tracks by an eclectic array of acclaimed artists including James Blake, Travis Scott, Slowthai, Jay-Z, King Krule and a growing list of others. In the past year, Mount Kimbie have produced and featured on tracks on Slowthai’s #1 album Tryon, and have designed and cerated music for Undercurrent, an immersive, interactive multimedia installation that address the climate crisis, that also features contributions from Grimes, Bon Iver and The 1975. They also provided production work on Dave’s critically acclaimed We’re All Alone In This Together and James Blake’s “Say What You Will.” Additionally, Mount Kimbie’s Dom Maker has contributed to the soundtrack of Oscar-winning short film Two Distant Stangers, co-producing with James Blake, the closing track, which features Travis Scott and Westside Gunn.

The acclaimed duo mark the fourth anniversary of the release of Love What Survives with the release of two previously unreleased and unheard tracks from the Love What Survives sessions — “Black Stone” and “Blue Liquid” as a free download by signing up through email and for pre-order on white label 12 inch vinyl. “Black Stone,” is an instrumental track centered around layers of reverb-drenched, twinkling synth arpeggios and a chugging post punk influenced groove.

Frank Lebon, a longtime Mount Kimbie friend, collaborator and art director recruited up-and-coming artist Peter Eason Daniels to direct, the recently released video for “Black Stone.” Shot in a grainy, security footage-like black and white in London, the video captures people waiting for trains or buses, getting on trains or buses and waiting on a train or bus. “The video is about waiting, moving and stopping. Collective moments of solitude experienced between one place and another,” Daniels says.