Latest News
We Came From Wolves free download single ‘Am I Useful?’
We Came From Wolves have released their single Am I Useful? as a free downloadable track.
The single premiered on Team Rock, and you can now download and stream it free now via A Badge of Friendship's SoundCloud page.
The video that accompanies the track premiered on Rock Sound and you can watch it now via the band's YouTube channel.
'Am I Useful?' is about the doubts that creep into my head in direct conflict with my aspirations," explains frontman Kyle James Burgess. "Anyone trying to pursue a life doing what they love faces these fears, that the goal might never be achieved, and a more "ordinary" life may await... facing up to those fears and earnestly asking myself the question of "what use would I have if not creating?"
The band's catchy melodies and huge hooks are written with a sensitivity and passion that is We Came From Wolves' signature sound - it’s not hard to imagine these boys playing in front of massive crowds in years to come - fans chanting along, hooked on every word.
We Came From Wolves' self titled debut album is due for release 1st June 2015 via Saraseto Records.
Best Girl Athlete single ‘Hills’ Out Now!
"... assured artistry..." - Clash Magazine
"...pretty amazing..." - Folk Radio Uk
Best Girl Athlete's gorgeous single Hills is out now. The single is taken from her debut album Carve Every Word, via Fitlike Records.
Hills is a perfect example of Best Girl Athlete's ability to create beautiful lo-fi indie pop which is infused with the song's moody and atmospheric vocals, counterbalanced by the sweet tones of cello enveloping your ears. You can listen to the single via the ABoF SoundCloud page.
The retro styled video for Hills was premiered on Clash and is available to watch now via Best Girl Athlete's YouTube channel.
Carve Every Word is an emotionally charged and accomplished debut that finds Best Girl Athlete (aka Katie Buchan) imposing herself as a serious talent. Released in the United States under the Minty Fresh label, the album has already picked up support from the likes of Artrocker and Folk Radio UK.
You can stream and download album tracks 'He's Calling Me Over' and 'Talk' for free from the ABoF SoundCloud page.
Not content to simply sing her musician father Charley Buchan’s songs, Katie (aka Best Girl Athlete) has begun to establish herself as a mature singer-songwriter in her own right. Katie possesses a voice which sounds wise beyond its years as her earthy, ethereal tone flows beautifully from the speakers warmly enveloping the listener. Her vocals are accomplished to the point that they could easily sit alongside seasoned singer songwriters such as Aimee Mann, Laura Marling and Feist, as she constructs emotional vignettes with a laid back and elegant Americana edge. Where most artists use their debut album to fine tune their sound, Katie has produced something special on her first attempt - an art that can take many of her contemporaries years to hone.
The tender vocals and whimsical music is no more apparent on album tracks such as ‘Leave It All Behind’ and ‘All That’ where Best Girl Athlete produces some of her most exquisite tracks as the chorus is left floating around your head for days. While ‘Talk’ is so well written it could easily be mistaken for an Ellie Goulding single - Katie’s vocals radiate and her lyrics impress, as soothing strings and piano elevate the music to new levels.
You can catch Best Girl Athlete live at the following dates:
16th April - St Machar's Cathedral - Aberdeen
17th April - The Scottish Lighthous Museum - Fraserburgh
18th April - The Pipe Factory - Glasgow
Hills is released via Fitlike Records and available to buy on iTunes.
Album Carve Every Word is also released via Fitlike Records and available to buy on CD via BandCamp and digitally via iTunes.
Piney Gir announces new album ‘mR hYDE’S wILD rIDE’!
"A retro delight…" - The Guardian
"…open-hearted pop that has you clutching your knees with glee" - Drowned In Sound
Piney Gir presents her sixth album, mR hYDE’S wILD rIDE, released 8th June 2015 via Damaged Goods.
Keep It Together is the first single taken from the album, and you can listen to it now via the ABoF SoundCloud page.
The album collates twelve pop stories about a young woman coming to terms with the hope and regret that accompanies love and loss. Piney's easy way with melody belies an album of new and different shades. Album opener ‘Gold Rules’ is a finely-honed, heavenly tune even as the song celebrates unreachable riches and glibly states the fact, “you can’t take it with you anyway.” First single, Keep It Together, deftly channels 60s beat pop and Stereolab all at the same time - a lover's lament laced with urgency and optimism, piped-in directly from her space-age, bachelorette pad.
Other stand-out tracks include ‘Tilt A Whirl’, a piece of fairground philosophy that dates back to Piney’s childhood years when she would accompany her grandmother on something akin to the Waltzer. As the song spins, with Farfisas swirling around life's ups and downs "like a shooting star or a hope combustible..." become metaphors among the lights and sounds. ‘Mouse Of A Ghost’ fuzzes up like Pineys-in-Toyland channelling her inner riot grrl, with boxy guitar blasts that remind us all that you can rock just as hard, if not harder, in a gingham dress.
Piney has pulled together a stellar band for this release, with members of Gaz Coombes and Emiliana Torrini's touring band jumping in on guitar, bass and drums alongside The Smith Brothers & regular collaborator Garo Nahoulakian taking a seat in the producer’s chair. Andy Ramsay of Stereolab makes an appearance on drums, and the bulk of the album was recorded in his South London studio. The rest was whipped-up in Piney’s little Hackney Studio, small and perfectly formed like a musical toy box, chock-full of space echo, marimba, omnichord and pocket piano, which combine to create a euphoric indie-starshine. Think Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips alongside sparkling tableaux of Mercury Rev., the tunefulness of Grandaddy and riff-led counter-melodies like Pixies.
After a decade spent in the UK it feels like Piney's finally made England hers by rediscovering America, re-imagined from London's rainy streets, channelling her inner Jekyll and Mister Hyde. These tunes beautifully stitch together English folk, American pop, mariachi moments, trail songs and baroque beats. Sometimes it's like an alternative musical history of a storybook amusement park ride. And need we mention, it's a wild ride you're going to love.
To support the album's release, Piney Gir will be touring the UK. Catch her live at the following dates listed below:
16th May - Alternative Escape - Brighton
4th June - The Cellar - Oxford
8th June - Bicycle Shop - Norwich
12th June - The Cellars - Portsmouth
17th June - Green Door Store - Brighton
18th June - The Bassment - Chelmsford
20th June - Four Bars - Cardiff
mR hYDE’S wILD rIDE is released 8th June 2015 via Damaged Goods.
Hello Future release single ‘Ideas’!
"...great hooks, killer harmonies and a spirited chorus…" - Artrocker
Hello Future have released their latest single, Ideas, a track taken from their debut EP, Circular Motion, released 13th April 2015 via Hold The Line Records.
Ideas not only showcases the band's keen ability to create razor sharp music, but also allows their talent for introspective lyrics to shine through. You can stream the track for free via the band's SoundCloud page.
You can also watch the video that accompanies the single via the band's YouTube channel.
Circular Motion is very much an amalgamation of a swathe of alternative underground rock bands such as The Appleseed Cast and Texas Is The Reason spliced with the noise-pop sensibilities of Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh. As such, it’s apparent how much the band have grown in just six months. Opening track ‘On Judgement’ pulls on the Californian lo-fi, yet uplifting sound similar to the likes of Pavement, as memorable solo guitar pieces are flanked by strong harmonies and a rousing chorus. Third track ‘Drift’, which you can download for free from the band's SoundCloud page, kicks off with a guitar solo that conjures memories of Minus The Bear at their best as the pace quickens and then slows, illustrating the bands ability to vary their sound, before epically breaks down into a considered, high calibre rock number.
Since their formation last year Hello Future have picked up support from XFM Drivetime, who made their single ‘track of the week’, XFM X-Posure, Artrocker, Bring The Noise and a ‘new band’ feature in The Scottish Sun. They have also shared a stage with Dry The River, We Came From Wolves, Bear Arms, Tijuana Bibles, Vigo Thieves and will be playing King Tut's this evening with Hidden In Plain View.
Ideas is out now via Hold The Line Records and available to buy on iTunes.
EP Circular Motion is released 13th April 2015 via Hold The Line Records.
Fable releases download track ‘Persuasion’!
“...a dark, glistening synth pop gem...”
- Clash Magazine
“Brooding cinematic Electronica…” - Guardian
'Persuasion' is the latest track from fierce 19 year old Fable. Co-written and produced by James Wiltshire of renowned production duo, Freemasons, ‘Persuasion’ once again showcases Fable’s incredible versatility and vocal talent.
The track premiered on PopJustice and you can stream and download it for for free via Fable's SoundCloud page.
The video for her previous single, Silence Myself premiered on Clash, and you can watch it now on Fable's YouTube channel.
You can also stream the single via Fable's SoundCloud page.
Following on from the gentle and introspective Silence Myself, Fable returns with a real statement of intent with this track, with her typical lyrical twists, “chained to the bones I animate”, that, in her own words, is about “rewriting the thinking habits you never questioned and neutralising perceptions”.
Originally from Devon and now based in Brighton, 19 year old Fable is forthright, opinionated, intelligent and far removed from the generic shiny pop songstresses that dominate the current music scene. She’s written alongside artists such as Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll and Bloc Party’s Russell Lissack.
Fable will be announcing a host of festival dates this summer, including a headline slot at The Festival Of Sound in Newhaven and Blissfields on 3rd July. In the meantime, you can catch her live supporting Archive at The Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 10th April 2015 as well as a more intimate show at The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch on 4th April. For the rest of 2015, Fable looks forward to releasing her latest EP in the Summer and putting the finishing touches on her debut album, Sacrilege, which is set to be unveiled next year.
'Persuasion' is available to download for free from Fable's SoundCloud page.
Single Silence Myself is released via 74 Music and available to buy digitally on iTunes.