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Einar Stray Orchestra album ‘Politricks’ out now!
“…just downright beautiful.” - The 405
Einar Stray Orchestra's have released their latest album, Politricks, via Sinnbus/Rough Trade. Since the release of Einar Stray’s debut album Chiaroscuro, the Norwegian five-piece have become a critically acclaimed collective and their latest album is released under their new name, Einar Stray Orchestra.
The album's title track was premiered on The Line Of Best Fit and you can now download and stream it via the Sinnbus SoundCloud page or via the embed below.
The video for album title track and single Politricks was premiered on The 405 and you can now watch it on YouTube along with the video for album track 'Pockets Full Of Holes'. You can also watch a behind the scenes documentary filmed by Norwegian director Jørgen Nordby which includes four new tracks taken from the forthcoming album.
If you'd like to catch the band's captivating sound live, then they'll be playing their only UK show at The Islington tonight, Monday 6th October. Tickets are available via See Tickets.
Growing up is one of the album’s main themes, which can be heard from the offset. Politricks begins with eerie eight minute track ‘Honey’ taking you on a journey of darkness and desperation. Second track and single, ’Politricks’, puts childhood beliefs and hero worship under the microscope, telling the story of a transition from innocent youth to the not-so-innocent adult world, dealing with disillusion and perception at the same time. The album then continues its journey, with stripped down tracks such as ‘For The Country’ and ‘Qualia’ introducing a more folk-like sound, not dissimilar to the likes of Iron and Wine and dominated by a heartfelt string section. In contrast, tracks like ‘Pockets Full of Holes’ and ‘Montreal’ reflect the happiness of adolescence with a stunning layering of instruments and unique time signatures.
The album is a tapestry of different emotions and the result of the journey Einar Stray has taken from humble indie beginnings to where they are now, Einar Stray Orchestra - a band with heart and substance, taking their underground status and rising beyond the sum of their parts.
Politricks is out now via Sinnbus/Rough Trade. It's available to buy digitally via iTunes and physically via the band's official site.
Introducing… Remembering August!
Remembering August release their latest single Stay, from their forthcoming second EP Brother, on 20th October 2014. Formed from a collision of musical taste and a tangle of blonde locks, Remembering August are a duo steadily captivating intimate audiences across Wales
The video for Stay premiered on Gigwise, and you can now watch it via the band's YouTube channel or via the embed below.
Stay fuses smouldering romance with yearning anguish to beautiful effect - their soaring soul-filled harmonies are absolutely flawless. Straight from the start, you can hear the passion in their voices that is not far from the emotional chemistry of The Civil Wars and Lady Antebellum. The layering of instruments from the strings and keys enhances this further with the result sounding intimate, intriguing and, like your first kiss, makes you fall in love all over again.
Having met whilst studying Music Technology in Bridgend South Wales, Jessie Hallett and Luke Searle discovered they shared the same love of classic 70s artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger. Although both only 18, there’s a Stevie Nicks/Lyndsay Buckingham chemistry, which generates a combination of mystery, charm and passion.
Soon after, they met Ed Sheeran collaborator, Amy Wadge, who instantly connected with the duo and offered to produce their debut EP. This led to airplay on BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cardiff, Radio Newport and GTFM. In May 2014, they were also chosen to open for Katy Perry on her Birmingham LG Arena show.
Stay is released on 20th October 2014.
Introducing… Hyena!
Hyena’s debut single Mental Home is teeming with visceral energy. It’s the ultimate high of 2014, a year that has seen the return of rock.
Stream Mental Home from the ABoF SoundCloud page or via the embed below.
Royal Blood producer Tom Dalgety produced the single, which combines brutal, heavy Queens of the Stone Age-esque riffs and the quirky rock melodies of Pulled Apart By Horses. Hyena are bringing a fresh new edge to the genre, much like their contemporaries Darlia and Drenge.
The single itself is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that nowhere is normal and everywhere is strange. The band are asking us to question what 'normal' means. Frontman Jacob says, "the song is basically saying 'what are you going to tell me is good for me next and where else are you going to tell me to go?' - it’s all the same, everywhere."
Rising from the ashes of Weatherbird, all four members (Jacob Ball, Joshua Taylor, Dom Farley and Reuben Gwilliam) decided to reinvent themselves as Hyena. The band had been playing as Weatherbird since they were 13-years-old and it was time for a new direction. With Tom Dalgety on board as producer and the single being mastered by John Davis (Led Zeppelin, Wolf Alice), Hyena are definitely off to a good start.
Being from Telford, the boys have fought to create their own scene. With not much going on in their hometown, they’ve carved their own space, built their own ladder and they’re attempting to climb it all the way to the top.
Mental Home will be released via Red Venom Records on 17th November 2014.
Bear Arms release download track ‘Innate’!
"The new knights of the Biffy realm."
- BBC Introducing
- BBC Introducing
Bear Arms have a released 'Innate', a free track taken from their debut album, Strength and Conviction.
'Innate' premiered on Big Cheese Magazine's official website, and you can now stream and download it from the ABoF SoundCloud page.
Combining elements of emo, math rock and post-hardcore, Bear Arms offer an eclectic take on the alt-rock sound that has swamped the airwaves in recent years, and 'Innate' is a perfect example. The track melds intricate guitar work and no-holds-barred string thrashing beefed up with transcendent vocals and a drums that will put your speakers to the test. Pulling on early noughties influences such as Glassjaw, Texas Is The Reason and Thursday, they have produced an album that accentuates the loud/quiet, singing/screaming dynamic beautifully, while maintaining an emotionality that should endear them to a wider audience.
You can also stream and download album track 'Courage' from the ABoF SoundCloud page and watch the live footage video that accompanies it via YouTube.
Bear Arms, who consist of Richard Wardrop (guitar/vox), Keiran Hird (guitars/vox), Lewis Mcgourty (bass) and Dean Louden (drums/vox), formed in early 2011 after the members grew up playing in bands together when they were at school. Keiran joined after the rest of the band moved to Glasgow and Dean was the final piece of the Bear Arms puzzle when he was added to the line-up in 2013 after the regional drummer left the band.
The band have already picked up support from the likes of BBC Introducing's Ally McCrae, Big Cheese Magazine and the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show, and with their debut album's release just over the horizon, they're set to end the year with an almighty bang.
Strength and Conviction by Bear Arms is released 20th October 2014 via Struggletown Records.
Introducing… The Marivaux!
The Marivaux release their forthcoming EP All In Good Time via AWAL on 10th November 2014.
Download and stream EP track 'Come With Me' for free from the ABoF SoundCloud page or via the embed below.
The EP is about ‘no hopers’; the endless falling, standing and repeating that each generation has to deal with, the overall message being simply to chill out and enjoy the ride. Each track is filled with a classic underground rock sound with lots of good old fashioned noise and lead singer Phil McAdam’s northern slurs completing the package.
The EP kicks off with single, and EP title track, All in Good Time, immediately giving a real sense of what’s to come – loud guitars, loud drums and dirty vocals, with nods to The View, The Libertines and The Enemy. The final two tracks, Dubstep and Drum & Bass remixes of ‘Insides’, are jam packed with enticing climaxes and fat beats that you can’t help but get up and move to.
Named after the French Novelist and Dramatist Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux after reading Marivaux’s L’Île des Esclaves (Island of Slaves). The band found themselves resonating with the play’s themes of power and servitude and how they affect (or indeed, corrupt) the individual.
Phil McAdam (vocals/guitar), Rik Packer (bass,vocals), Matt Shields (lead guitar) and Ben Peacock (drums) wanted to make more out of a life of dead end jobs and the strangling recession. They took to music to escape, creating memorable and lovable tunes inspired by the likes of The Stone Roses and The Buzzcocks.
The band have played sold out shows in Manchester as well as abandoned mansions (like the Belgian Embassy) in Rusholme. They have also supported the likes of The Futureheads and George Borowski and have held shows at Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green stores nationwide. The boys are also set to tour the UK in September and October and Europe in November.
All In Good Time is released via AWAL on 10th November 2014.