Latest News
India Mill single ‘Caribesque’ out now!
"India Mill can stand tall amongst their peers as being a band who have something to say."
- Artrocker
India Mill have released their latest single Caribesque via Bold Venture Music/AWAL Distribution. It's a taster taken from their forthcoming debut album, Under Every Sky, due for release 24th November 2014.
You can stream the single on the ABoF SoundCloud page or via the embed below.
The single is a dramatic call to arms, combining the introspective anxiety of Radiohead with the seismic swagger of Oasis, as India Mill tackle living in the material world. The song was born of a passing remark from a friend of the band regarding a certain member’s Elk-like appearance after a haircut. It sparked a healthy slice of existential angst that looks beyond insecurity about appearances and into the moral predicament of the modern world. The single has already picked up support from the likes of Fresh On The Net who describe it as ‘‘A psychedelic slice of existential angst” and BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson who remarked that the track “sounded effin’ terrific coming through the radio speakers” when he gave it its second spin at the station.
Artrocker premiered album track 'The Hanging Tree' to give people a taste of India Mill's sound, and you can now stream and download the track on SoundCloud.
India Mill take music seriously, taking their name from the biggest landmark and biggest mill in their town of Darwen, one of the most deprived areas of Blackburn. They are four friends who have known each other longer than they haven’t, and their goal is simple: to grasp the riot shield and baton in both hands and continue musical empowerment as witnessed by Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash, REM, Manic Street Preachers and Bruce Springsteen. India Mill is a band that doesn’t believe, but knows that politics and music belong together.
Debut album Under Every Sky fuses both the everyday politics of modern day family life with the turmoil of witnessing Britain’s Big Society coming apart at the seams. Darwen’s neighbouring Blackburn population has a life expectancy seven years below the UK average, many of the town’s children are in care, and radical extremist politics is used to divide previously tight knit working class communities. This is India Mill’s homeland, our homeland, this is Britain in crisis, this is The Big Society broken in two…
Caribesque is released on Bold Venture Music via AWAL Distribution. You can buy it digitally via iTunes.
Einar Stray Orchestra ‘Politricks’ documentary!
Einar Stray Orchestra have released a documentary filmed by Norwegian director Jørgen Nordby.
You can watch it on the Einar Stray Orchestra YouTube channel or via the embed below.
The short movie includes four new tracks from their forthcoming album Politricks, recorded live in their childhood church, Jar Kirke - a fitting venue for the band's orchestral sound, and they are often booked to play in such spaces.
"On the new album there are lyrics that highlight and problematize religion or certain issues about religion," confesses Einar Stray "So at first it felt a bit strange playing churches with these songs"
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'.
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 released 6th October 2014 via Sinnbus/Rough Trade.
Video: Mano’s Daughter - ‘You’
"Mano's Daughter do 10-tonne synth pop impeccably..."
- The 405
Mano’s Daughter have released the sci-fi inspired animated video for 'You', a track taken from their EP Shiver. The video premiered on The Line Of Best Fit, and you can watch it now via the band's official YouTube Channel.
You can also download EP track 'What's A Girl Supposed To Do' for free from Mano's Daughter's official Soundcloud page.
The video for the track premiered on Gigwise, and you can watch it now via the band's official YouTube Channel.
With their latest EP, Shiver Mano’s Daughter present five perfectly formed, intelligent synth pop tracks that move in a darker direction from their debut effort. ‘What’s A Girl Supposed To Do’ unravels slowly crescendoing into a massive, flourishing chorus that demonstrates front woman Sarah Carter’s powerful, soulful vocals. The song is about a girl trying to be the right person but stuck in the wrong relationship, based on a tragic love story. ‘Wheels’ is a cross between Foxes and Lorde, however, ‘Little Heart’ and ‘This House’ are completely stripped-down, lounge like and seductive - exhibiting the band’s different facets. Musically, the band are taking us on their own personal journey as they stretch their own boundaries, especially with closing track ‘You’. It’s an 8-minute epic that mirrors the shimmering melancholy of MS MR. Each song on the EP is Mano’s Daughter’s take on love and relationships but the tragic side of love that teaches us lessons and shows us who we need to be.
Consisting of Sarah Carter (Vocals), Matthias Garrick (Synths, programming) and Dan See (Drums), the London based band are one of the most hardworking on the scene and with influences ranging from Bon Iver to Moloko, Mano’s Daughter put their songs at the heart of their identity, spinning epic lyrical stories that paint a picture of what it’s like to be at the heart and soul of the band as they sonically wear their hearts on their sleeves.
Shiver is released on 22nd September 2014 via Smart & Shiver Records..
The Retrospectives release ‘Insane’ video!
The Retrospectives have released the video for their single, Insane. Editing together footage from the studio and a dark drive around the city, the video really catches the haunting atmosphere of the track.
You can watch the video on the band's YouTube or via the embed below.
The single is available to download for free via BandCamp.
Exposed at a young age to the British invasion bands of the 60s, with a healthy dose of 70s punk and new wave for good measure, band take their inspiration from the likes of Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones. What brought them together was their unshakeable belief that guitars still have a vital place in popular music and their ear for a great, foot stomping classic rock hook.
Previous releases Bittersweet and Gold & Green are also two great examples of a band who are completely in at ease with their sound, with loving nods to the likes of Bad Company and Fleetwood Mac, each single punctuated by impressive, no nonsense guitar work that’s just begging to be played loud on your next road trip.
You can watch the video for Bittersweet, on the band's YouTube channel and stream Gold & Green on the band's official SoundCloud page
Originally formed by guitarist Tom Galton and bassist Will Stocks in their youth, the pair were joined by drummer Paul Jackson at the start of 2013. After recording single 52 Records and embarking on a UK tour, the band quickly returned to the studio. The tracks that were recorded formed the EP, Turn Me Up, and the tour that followed saw them take to the stage supporting The Boomtown Rats, Night Engine and Paper Aeroplanes, as well as opening for Bruce Foxton's 'From The Jam' at a sold out show at the famous Cavern Club In Liverpool.
Described by Stereoboard as 'Songwriters with an ability to combine lyrics and melody with rare precision' and having landed themselves a place in BBC Introducing Sheffield's top ten tracks of the year, it's clear their hook-laden, off-kilter, power-pop is starting to turn heads in the right places. Their latest two singles Bittersweet and Gold & Green are available now on 7" Vinyl and digital download, and with another single in the pipeline, 2014 looks set to be a big year for The Retrospectives.
Turning Plates unleash ‘Havoc’ video!
"...an intense if intoxicating introduction."
- Clash Magazine
Turning Plates have released the video for 'Havoc', a track taken from their forthcoming album The Shouting Cave. In keeping with the tone of the album, this haunting track and the video that accompanies it tell a cautionary tale concerning anonymity on the internet and the consequences it can have on real life.
The video for 'Havoc' premiered on Clash Magazine and you can watch it now on the band's YouTube channel or via the embed below.
You can stream the track on the ABoF SoundCloud page or via the embed below.
The Shouting Cave is a concept album that explores the effect of the Internet on society. The band argue that the Internet is the purest reflection of humanity, a world built entirely of our own thoughts, emotions and desires - “a sea to float our dreams”, as described in the album track 'The Human Isle'. What do we see in that reflection? Have we stopped to think? The album explores these questions by portraying the Internet as a new wilderness into which we are born, telling individual stories within the overarching theme. Tracks such as ‘Falling Lives’ and ‘Wild Roots’ showcase the band’s cinematic style through delicate but powerful soundscapes, reminiscent of Sigur Ros and Four Tet, while ‘Havoc’ and ‘Animals’ lift the tempo, focusing on intertwining melodies and heartfelt vocal lines in the style of Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens. The message of The Shouting Cave is laid bare in the final two tracks of the album; the gloriously dark track ‘The Human Isle’ describes a desolate world which then blossoms into the culminating track ‘Things Grow’, with its unyielding chant “Things grow, Things grow legs and run wild”. Each track on The Shouting Cave is strong enough to stand on its own merit, but listened to in its entirety the album irresistibly comes to life.
The Vinyl District previously premiered 'Wild Roots' and the atmospheric video that accompanied it. You can also stream and download the band's first free album track 'Falling Lives' via the ABoF SoundCloud page and watch the beautifully choreographed video for the track on the Turning Plates YouTube channel.
The Shouting Cave is released on 22nd September 2014, part funded by Creative Scotland.