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HAWK release ‘Glass’ to support Ireland’s Marriage Equality Referendum!
"HAWK combine post-punk and folk in a spine-tingling brew that'll take potshots at your emotional wellbeing" - The Line of Best Fit
"...a searing post-rock epic..." - Gigwise
HAWK return with Glass, a brand new track inspired by the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum taking place in Ireland on 22nd May 2015. A YES vote will legalise marriage in Ireland between same sex couples, and bring marriage equality for all the country's citizens - it will also be the first time a country has legalised marriage equality by popular vote. The band want to encourage people to vote for this incredibly important issue and are releasing this track and the accompanying kaleidoscopic video to raise awareness as well as to show their solidarity.
'Glass' has already picked up support from the likes of The Line Of Best Fit, Gigwise and Artrocker and you can download and stream the song for free via the band's SoundCloud page.
You can also watch the gorgeous and kaleidoscopic video that accompanies the track on the band's YouTube channel.
The track has an ethereal quality that’s further intensified by drums and a stripped back guitar sound lending weight to the haunting vocals, while the video is a minimalist take on the iconic rainbow imagery adopted by the LGBT community.
“During our Irish tour in April we met loads of people canvassing and raising awareness for the Marriage Referendum on May 22nd.” explains lead singer Julie Hawk. “Our date at Dolan’s in Limerick ran on the same night as a major LGBTQ party run by OUT in UL in the downstairs venue. After the gig, we met and spoke to a variety of passionate campaigners and their enthusiasm really stuck with us. We continued to see the same passion in Galway, Cork and Dublin. When we started playing ‘Glass’ we had the idea of a video that complemented the hypnotic nature of the track.”
“James Byrne (director) had suggested the idea of filming colours dispersing in water and we felt this was the perfect opportunity to do something that would raise awareness of the vote, and keep it front of mind, not just with people who follow us in Ireland, but with people in London and the UK as well. With the amount of effort we saw going into the cause we’re so happy to be making a contribution, and I can’t wait to fly home to vote on May 22nd”.
Glass is released via Veta Records and available to download for free via HAWK’s SoundCloud page.
Planes’ second EP ‘Hotfoot’ out now!
Planes have released their second EP, Hotfoot, via Merrington Music. It's available to buy digitally on BandCamp.
The band have already received support from the likes of Gigwise who premiered EP track 'Olé' on their site. You can now stream it via the Planes SoundCloud page.
Hotfoot swings from the cinematic rock of ‘Summer Breeze’, to the tender and emotional air-raid of ‘Wait It Out’, without skipping a beat while 'Olé' manages to be bold, personal and assertive but with a certain amorousness and swagger reminiscent of Tame Impala. The EP symbolises the band’s fight to stay together, as they’ve spent the last few years beset by external forces keeping the band from their primary passion - playing together. The songs are testament to that tumultuous time, and the band’s rebirth has made them realise they have a lot more to say.
Steve Forrest (guitar & lead vocals) recently announced his departure from Placebo in order to focus all his energies on Planes. The rest of the band consist of Char O’Lette (keys, strings & vocals), Ted Brunning (guitar & vocals), Ed Harris (drums) and Dan Sayer (bass & vocals). The band formed when Ted and Steve decided they wanted to create an EP with strong individuals that would stand out so they turned to their talented friends and Planes was born. The band are currently based in Brighton but hail from somewhere between Lancashire, Bristol and California!
When the NME first wrote about Planes in 2012, the magazine described their debut EP as "soft, bluesy country-esque ballads”, however, it is on their new EP, 3 years later, that the band have now found their epic sound, and seem to be hurtling forwards at breakneck speed.
Plane’s fervent and dedicated fans, who refer to themselves as ‘Pilots', have taken the band into their hearts. Following a recent preview of 'Wait It Out' on Tom Ravenscroft's BBC 6 Music show, Amy Lamé explained that the BBC twitter account was "in absolute meltdown!" from fans showing their appreciation.
Frequently trending on twitter with their #AskPlanes sessions, and extraordinary live shows where fans regularly travel thousands of miles to attend, the band are excited to reward their fans’ devotion with their forthcoming EP, Hotfoot.
Hotfoot is released via Merrington Music and available to buy digitally on BandCamp.
The Cadbury Sisters announce new EP ‘Sarah’!
"...a dazzling, piece of piano-led pop with rattling snares and Daughter-like frailty."
- The Line Of Best Fit
- The Line Of Best Fit
"…beautiful harmonies and gorgeous vocals."- Tom Robinson, BBC 6Music
The Cadbury Sisters have returned with their second EP Sarah released 15th June 2015 via Fear of Fiction Records.
The video for EP track 'Drifting' premiered on The Line Of Best Fit and you can watch it now via the trio's YouTube channel.
Coming exactly one year after their debut EP Close, which gained support from the likes of Dave Rowntree (XFM, Blur), NME and Q Magazine, Sarah is an exciting departure from the trio’s folk soaked vocal harmonies that defined their previous output, which is more than evident in the EP’s gorgeous title track, as well as singles Get This Feeling and Drifting. There are a host of sonic influences, ranging from Fleetwood Mac and Kate Bush to Bat For Lashes and First Aid Kit, boldly displayed alongside lyrics that disclose the siblings’ closely shared personal experiences and melodies that echo their pop-songwriting sensibilities.
The EP is named after the trio's mother, an incredibly strong and important person in their lives. Both the title track and the EP are an exploration of the inner strength and confidence needed to overcome certain situations, such as leaving a toxic relationship or dealing with newfound feelings that you didn’t expect to have for someone.
In the year since their debut EP was released, The Cadbury Sisters have embarked on a UK tour, recorded a single for RAK Records ‘Singles Club’ and played onstage at Hyde Park for Radio 2 Live.
At the end of May the three sisters head out on a 17 date UK headline tour including special shows at London St Pancras Old Church on June 10th and an EP launch at The Lantern, in their hometown of Bristol, on June 17th. Following that the band has a busy summer of festivals ahead, including their debut performances at Glastonbury.
You can catch The Cadbury Sisters live at the following dates as they tour the UK:
29th May - The Junction - Plymouth
30th May - Frog & Fiddle - Cheltenham
1st June - The Basement - York
2nd June - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds
4th June - The Glad Cafe - Glasgow
5th June - The Drouthy Cobbler - Elgin
6th June - Woodlands Centre - Stornoway
7th June - The Arch Inn - Ullapool
8th June - Sneaky Petes - Edinburgh
10th June - St Pancras Old Church - London
11th June - Fat Lil's - Witney
12th June - Glee Club Studio - Birmingham
14th June - Henry Tudor House - Shrewsbury
17th June - The Lantern - Bristol
18th June - The Doghouse - Halifax
19th June - Sacred Trinity Church - Manchester
Sarah is released 15th June 2015 via Fear Of Fiction Records.
Introducing… Outblinker!
Electronic music doesn't have to be cynical, corporate, sync-obsessed junk-food and post-rock doesn't have to be meandering, delay-ridden, formulaic box-ticking. Outblinker is a band not a brand. Something had to be done about the waves of soulless, corporate electro-shit masquerading as art, clogging up our creative veins. They will not be appearing in-store at Topshop or on Hollyoaks in the near future. They have no plans to release their own perfume. They do not endorse Red Bull. They would, however, like the opportunity to blow your face off with huge, cinematic driving krautrock: abrasive electro music with a throbbing punk-rock heart.
To experience their intense sound, you can stream and download the Antoni Maiovvi remix of EP track 'Blue' for free via the ABoF SoundCloud page.
The brothers Costello (Jason & Graham) also form the formidable avante-noise duo Young Philadelphia. Luigi Pasquini is one half of astonishing art-rock outfit Kabobo. David Warner and Chris Cusack are ongoing contributors to Foreign Tongue, the latter-day incarnation of Scottish DIY post-punk outfit Hey Enemy. It was partly a sense of moral duty that brought these five individuals together as well as a compulsion to explore new musical terrain and provide live audiences with tunes worth dancing to whilst avoiding a stage dominated by Apple logos and 5-figure, synchronised, cascading LED light-shows.
Alongside choice contemporaries, this quintet are looking to bring electro, krautrock and new-wave back to the underground. Up close and personal. No laptops. No safety net. So it follows all aspects of Outblinker (including recording, production, videos, art) handled in-house or via close friends, such as Good Grief Records who will be releasing the forthcoming EP, PR collaborators A Badge of Friendship or Ben Powers (Fuck Buttons/Blanck Mass) who will be producing the group’s debut album this autumn. The emphasis is on side-stepping the inherent bullshit-machine of the modern industry as often as humanly possible.
If you enjoy the sounds of Holy Fuck, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Marvin, Fuck Buttons/Blanck Mass, Trans Am, Neu! and Turing Machine, then chances are you might get a kick out of this.
Pink/Blue by Outblinker is out on June 15th 2015 via Good Grief Records / GabuAsso.
Charlie Barnes ‘More Stately Mansions’ out now!
“Truly promising…”
- Drowned in Sound
"...music that moves you in ways you didn't even know was possible..."
- Gigwise
"Graceful, soothing songwriting..." - Clash
"...soulful lonesome melancholic singing with grandiose alternative rock bombast" - The Independent
Charlie Barnes has released his debut album More Stately Mansions via Superball Music.
If you'd like to listen to the album in full, then head over to The Independent who are hosting an exclusive track by track stream.
The video for album track 'Easy Kid premiered on The Line Of Best Fit who described it as "...a rock-solid, emotional track that zaps you in the chest". You can watch it now via the Superball Music YouTube channel.
You can also stream album title track and single, More Stately Mansions, which premiered on Clash Magazine's website via the Superball Music SoundCloud page. The video for album track 'Sing To God' premiered on Gigwise and is available to watch on YouTube and stream on SoundCloud.
Although this is Charlie Barnes, it’s not a solo project, Charlie Barnes is very much a band in every sense of the word. Musical inspirations range from Edith Piaf to St Vincent to Mew and it’s this rich tapestry of influences that have given More Stately Mansions diverse sound ranging from sweeping melodies and crescendoing vocals (“Sing To God”) to quieter, more introspective moments (“Balloons”, “Ghosts”) and joyous moments of pure alt rock (“Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth”). It’s this explorative sound that sets Charlie apart from the array of bland singer songwriters currently on the scene.
The album was produced by Steve Durose of Oceansize. The band are all massive fans of Oceansize which is prevalent from their precise musicianship and the more cerebral elements of the album.
Drowned in Sound and Prog Magazine have already noted Charlie’s talent and he’s already supported bands like Secret Chiefs 3 and opened for Vessels and The Twilight Sad as a solo artist.
To help promote the album, Charlie was also asked by Leeds based coffee roastery North Star to create his own signature blend. He spent a lot of his early twenties playing solo in coffee houses around the UK and Europe, whilst working part-time making coffee back home in Leeds and it seems to have paid off.
You can catch Charlie Barnes live at the following dates as he tours the UK and Germany:
13th May – Eagle Inn (supporting Vennart) - Manchester
23rd May – Way Back When Festival - Dortmund, Germany
24th May - Maifeld Derby - Mannheim, Germany
More Stately Mansions is bold and elegant, proving that Charlie Barnes is a strong contender for one of the most exciting new acts of 2015 - a true, rare talent.