January 2022 – Page 3 – 1st 3 MAGAZINE

Saguaro Shredders – INCITE

23rd January 2022

Arizona groove metal hotheads INCITE are back with new songs up their sleeve and have recently signed a contract with Atomic Fire Records.

After five relentless albums coming down like a ten ton hammer and with an insane touring schedule under their belts, Richie Cavalera and his gang of misfits gear up for “Wake Up Dead”, to be released on March 25th, 2022. This infectious collection of raucous new songs and remastered gems from their 15+ year career is once again proving that INCITE indeed are the missing link between Machine Head and Lamb of God.

On their five albums “The Slaughter” (2009), “All Out War” (2012), “Up in Hell” (2014), “Oppression” (2016) and “Built to Destroy” (2019) they cemented their reputation as one of America’s leading groove armadas, heavily hitting home with their blend of old school thrash majesty, timeless groove, frantic aggression, melody, skill, and bravado! What began as a band of greenhorns driving around the States in a shitty van thrashing small clubs has over time evolved into a band with the potential, the passion and the power to become one of groove metal’s biggest acts.

Written in several bouts of feverish inspiration across last years’ pandemic chaos, ’Wake Up Dead’ delivers the goods in the most relentless way. With recording duties again handled by legendary producer Steve Evetts (Richie: “The only guy who can simultaneously record The Cure and Suicide Silence and pull it off”) in Omen Room Studios just outside Los Angeles, here’s a band that couldn’t be more comfortable with the place they’re in right now. Kicking off with the open fire that is ‘Fuck With Me (Wake Up Dead)’, it’s especially the menacing second song ‘War Soup’ that will make a lasting impression on the international heavy metal troops – as the first INCITE song ever to feature the vocals of both Richie and his step-father Max Cavalera, a historical gathering of heavy metal generations.

INCITE are:
Richie Cavalera | vocals
Eli Santana | guitars
Christopher “EL” Elsten | bass
Lennon Lopez | drums

’Wake Up Dead’

Track Listing:

01. Fuck With Me

(Wake Up Dead)
02. War Soup [feat. Max Cavalera]
03. Sucker Punched
04. Deadbeat
05. Mental Destruction
06. Built To Destroy
07. Stagnant
08. Fallen
09. The Aftermath
10. The Slaughter

Album pre-orders as well as a first sonic preview will be launched soon!

https://www.facebook.com/INCITEband/videos

A Groovy Blend – Heart Attack

23rd January 2022

Mainly Metal

Heart Attack is an unpredictable groovy blend of modern thrash metal and their first new song, “Septic Melody”, marks the debut on their new label Atomic Fire Records. The song tilts from unleashed thrash fury, into soaring melodies and back again in no time.

“We wrote the music for Septic Melody during the first lockdown, and we had a lot of rage and frustration to release,” states the band. The song is about the inner struggle and despair humankind can face when confronted with life’s trials or other happenings that crush the world around you. The masked characters in the music video are here to personify such misfortune and drive the principal character to madness. The video was filmed in the Roman Arena of Frejus (Southern France), built in the first century. “This arena has such a magical atmosphere with its native sound of the drums. Shooting the video there felt as strong as playing live in front of a festival stage, it was incredible,” muses the band about the making of the video.

Stream it here: https://music.atomicfire-records.com/septic

Heart Attack is a four-piece army consisting of Kevin Geyer (rhythm guitars, vocals), Chris Cesari (lead guitars, keyboards), Will Ribeiro (bass guitar, vocals), and Christophe Icard (drums). The band played at the prestigious Hellfest, shared the stage with Trivium and Opeth, and even opened for Megadeth in Lyon. Their upcoming new album “Negative Sun” is the perfect amalgamation of roaring thrash metal and epic melodies to be released worldwide via Atomic Fire Records on June 10th, 2022.

HEART ATTACK is:
Kevin Geyer – Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
Christophe Icard – Drums
Chris Cesari – Lead Guitar, Keyboards
William Ribeiro – Bass Guitar, Lead Vocals

Heart Attack is for fans of Gojira, Machine Head, and early Metallica material, who searching for the definite riff that will help them drive for a long ride under the sun.

https://www.facebook.com/heartattackmetal

Let It Flow – No Nations

22nd January 2022

Music News

There is an urgency to the music of No Nations that is as hard to define as the band itself. The Boston sextet, a group of dudes who have spent most of their lives on stage, in the van, and out in the crowd, were, like most of us, caught standing still during the pandemic.

The tension of that inactivity has manifested itself into a pair of debut tracks – this past December’s “Seltzer,” and the forthcoming “Queso,” set for release on Friday, January 21. Both songs make up No Nations’ debut cassette, self-released and recorded and mastered with Chris Johnson (Deafheaven, Doomriders) at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts.

Where “Seltzer” was a post-hardcore/grunge punch to the face that declared their arrival, “Queso” is a warmer embrace to help us back up, a more melodic turn of shoegaze, dream-rock, and alt-indie, that already shows a varied layer to the band’s sonic spectrum.

“When you’re starting a new project, it’s best to showcase some diversity in what a listener can expect in the future,” says vocalist Kyle Neeson. “We show a wide range, from the layered screams at the end of ‘Seltzer’, to the sing-along emo ending in ‘Queso’. More specifically, ‘Queso’ is about the kind of relationship that comes, burns, and goes, and the reactions we have to that kind of ‘there and gone’ thing.”

Says guitarist Erik Wormwood: “We were definitely feeling a little more melodic on this one, vocally as well. I think people who are familiar with Kyle’s bands in the past haven’t really heard him get into melody and harmonies and stuff. I remember the first time he sang the chorus of the song he’d written in the practice space and I was like ‘Shit I’ve never heard Kyle write lines like that’. We were all pretty stoked.”

No Nations take their moniker from a political idea that can apply to music as well: Taking down power structures that assert dominance of some more than others, and removing borders and boundary lines from everything we do as people and a society. For No Nations, that ideology is furthered in its sound, its vision, and its own ideology within the group.

Conceived by Wormwood, many of the players in No Nations have played together in past bands, with a musical DNA that runs deep in the Boston and New England music scene, extending to the likes of I am become Death, Suffer on Acid, Kimachi, Cocked N Loaded, Polarbaron, The Vershok, Mean Creek, Marconi, and countless others you saw that one time at that venue somewhere. The lineup reads like the mugshots displayed in their press photo: Wormwood and Neeson are joined by Garrett Gordon (bass), Jason Perry (guitar and synth), Jason Seaver (drums), and Steve Trombley (guitar).

No Nations are:

Erik Wormwood: Guitar

Garrett Gordon: Bass

Jason Seaver: Drums

Kyle Neeson: Vocals

Steve Trombley: Guitar

Jason Perry: Guitar and Synth

“The musical vision for No Nations I think tries to fuck with a lot of the stuff I loved about getting into music in the first place,” says Wormwood. “There are some heavier, driving rhythms that I got from playing punk and hardcore. There is some guitar interplay that takes from early ‘90s alternative music. There are melodies and melodic interplay I dig from mid- to late-’90s emo. I also love fucking around with some of the repetition of Krautrock where a simple pattern repeats and there is stuff that builds around it. Overall, I think a lot of this reflects our experiences playing in bands before. Most of us played mostly in hardcore bands and listened to alternative music in our down time so I think there is an element of that.”

“Queso” was born out of drum compositions Seaver sent Wormwood during the height of pandemic quarantine in 2020, and Wormwood fleshed them out into demos, a process repeated often for No Nations songs.

“I listened to a podcast with Janet Weiss recently and she was talking about her time in Sleater-Kinney, and how so many of their songs started with a drum beat,” Wormwood says. “I love tinkering around with notes and rhythms on the guitar, but I love writing over a beat. Like ‘Seltzer’, this song started with an arrangement of drum beats. Musically I am still super into layering modulating guitars, but I was kinda chasing this idea to layer stuff that is a little more jangly and less lush sounding. Kinda more mid-western emo in tone. I think that’s where some of the more melodic stuff came out too, I think.”

Wormwood worked with the band on the ending melody, and crafted the closing lyric “after talking to an old friend who was feeling kinda fucked up about the state of the world, and how hard stuff could feel sometimes. Everyone felt and seemed more anxious, myself included, around that time.”

That anxiousness hasn’t really gone away, it’s just been replaced by a different flavor of anxiety. Two years into the pandemic, No Nations are starting to show their own colors, and their musical reactions to life standing still. As “Queso” flows out of the speakers, the frustrated emotions of a band only able to do half the things they want to – write and record songs, but unable to play them in a live setting – are embedded in the sound.

“I’m looking forward to playing our first show; I haven’t been in front of a crowd for over two years now,” admits Neeson. “I’d love to get back out there and see what it looks and feels like.” His goals for 2022: “Write more, and constantly. Finish more songs. Play a show. Shoot a video. Solve the climate crisis. Provide a living wage to everyone. Universal healthcare. Tour the world. That’s the vision for 22, and I’m feeling it. But I’ll settle for safe practices and a nice meal with the mates after.”

In the meantime, plans to head back into the studio to record more music with Johnson are coming up. From there, it’s anyone’s guess.

“We are stoked to share ‘Queso’ with you, and we are stoked for this next batch of songs we are recording in the spring,” says Wormwood. “We are gonna try and book a show in March depending on the state of the world. We have been talking to some awesome bands both local and outta town that are so rad, so we couldn’t be happier for the chance to play a show again soon if things are on the safe side. But who knows.”

https://www.facebook.com/nonationsboston/

Holy Fucking Rock And Roll Guacamole – Mexican Dogs

22nd January 2022

Music News

Blasting away the cobwebs, the trio deliver an instant hit of retro-shaded, riff-rollicking Glam Rock for the good-times. Landing like the Black Sabbath / T.Rex collaboration that never happened, Mexican Dogs resurrect the rock’n’roll spirits of yesteryear and breathe new life into the sounds that defined their legacies.

Recorded at 3rd Planet Studios in the band’s native Liverpool, “Run, Run, Run” was produced by the esteemable Andy Fernihough who assisted in coaxing out its Classic Rock charms.

While holding a torch to their greatest influences, “Run, Run, Run” would also prove a pivotal moment in lighting the way forward for the Mexican Dogs as a band. As frontman Gaz Wilcox says of the track: "This song has the ghosts of sounds from past times with the idea of bringing it to a new era. This piece was the very first finished song that we made as Mexican Dogs! It kinda set the tone of how we wanted to sound as a band and from this we created a solid foundation and found inspiration to materialize more."

he single follows the rip-roaring success of debut single “You & I”, which has now surpassed 40k streams on digital services and continues to rise rapidly. With a full 4-track EP planned and coming soon in 2022, fans can get their hands on early physical copies on CD and vinyl via Bandcamp here: https://mexicandogs.bandcamp.com A global digital release will also follow.

Following packed-out, wall-to-wall shows in both Liverpool and London over the Winter, Mexican Dogs will be cutting their live teeth in 2022 with an upcoming gig at Liverpool Arts Club next month. Tickets are on sale now, with full dates and details included below.

ith an earth-splitting sound and uncompromising attitude, Mexican Dogs are the Liverpool trio of Gaz Wilcox (ex-Bribes), Carl Rooney and Sonny Winder-Rodgers over the summer of 2021. Tapping into the seminal sounds of T-Rex or Led Zep and re-routing them via the high octane thrills of modern day titans like The Black Keys or Royal Blood, Mexican Dogs balance rock classic and contemporary on an exhilarating knife-edge.

Fronted by ex-Bribes man Gaz Wilcox, the Dogs’ vocalist and axeman has been playing guitar of a fine pedigree since the age of 9. Cutting his teeth at live shows only a year later (including a Beatles charity show at the Empire Theatre), the singer has honed his talent at all of the finest live haunts in his native Liverpool and beyond, performing in a string of bands including Eutopia, The Verdict (who won the UK Battle of the Bands, played a gig in The Houses of Parliament and also played in New York with The Enemy and Reverend and the Makers), and later Bribes. Earning a formidable live rep with major gigs at the Liverpool O2 in support of Electric Six and at Sound City, the band earned multiple plays on BBC Introducing before going their separate ways due to creative differences.

MEXICAN DOGS – RELEASED NEW SINGLE: “RUN, RUN, RUN”

VIA FRETSORE RECORDS ON 21 JANUARY 2022

Rekindling his passion for music following a year away, Wilcox formed Mexican Dogs upon meeting drummer Carl Rooney (who has toured with greats like Echo & The Bunnymen, Iggy Pop, The Hives, and also performed at Glastonbury) and young bassist Sonny Winder-Rodgers. Feeling enlivened by their “happy-go-lucky vibe”, skill and enthusiasm, the trio discovered an instant connection. Creating music quickly and with ease, they began hatching plans for the bold, noisy future together.

Signed to the rising indie imprint Fretsore records only six months after their formation, Mexican Dogs created a streaming storm with their acclaimed debut release “You & I”, setting them up for a string of SOLD OUT live shows in its wake. Now breaking into 2022 with a killer follow-up track, “Run, Run, Run” is the thunderous sound of a band who are going places fast…

MEXICAN DOGS ARE:

Gaz Wilcox – Guitars and vocals

Carl Rooney – Drums

Sonny Winder Rodgers – Bass

Instagram Twitter Facebook

Many Strings To Her Bow – Martha Tilston

22nd January 2022

Music News

Following the autumn 2021 launch of ‘The Tape’, her debut feature film which she wrote, directed and starred in, singer-songwriter Martha Tilston has announced her first UK tour in almost five years with dates in February and March.

The stunning soundtrack album for ‘The Tape’ was recorded live on set, which is believed to be a UK first for a non-concert film, and indeed the only time this has been done since Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’ in 1975. Tilston will be performing several of its piano-based songs in her live show, including the singles ‘Sadness Of The Sea’ and ‘In This Song’. The former is a pertinent commentary about climate change and other environmental issues and has received airplay across a number of BBC radio stations.

THE TAPE
DEBUT FILM
ARRIVES ON VIDEO PLATFORMS
24.01.22

film trailer
vimeo.com/667753201/9337c0f709

Born into a musical family (her father is singer-songwriter Steve Tilston, her stepmother the late Irish folk performer Maggie Boyle), Tilston grew up in the far west of Cornwall before basing herself in London when she became a professional musician. With a pure silken voice and lyrics that inspire and captivate, she has gone on to release nine critically acclaimed albums and played some of the world’s most prestigious festivals, helping her to build a loyal global following. Having moved back to Cornwall and made the award winning music documentary ‘The Cliff Top Sessions’, she has continued to experiment with her music and film making, with ‘The Tape’ being her latest venture to guide its audience through a magical and thought-provoking journey.

MARTHA TILSTON
UK TOUR
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2022

03.02.22 LONDON Half Moon buy tickets
05.02.22 ULPHA (Cumbria) Browfoot Room buy tickets
06.02.22 BIRMINGHAM Kitchen Garden Cafe buy tickets
09.02.22 LIVERPOOL Music Room buy tickets
11.02.22 BRISTOL Folk House sold out
12.02.22 LEWES Con Club buy tickets
13.02.22 EXETER Phoenix buy tickets
20.03.22 WHITSTABLE Sessions sold out
23.03.22 CANTERBURY Gulbenkian (The Tape screening+Q&A+songs)
ticket details to follow
27.03.22 FOLKESTONE Quarterhouse (festival)
ticket details to follow

marthatilston.co.uk

Grab A Slice – Pizza Crunch

22nd January 2022

Music News

Glasgow alternative-rock quartet Pizza Crunch are pleased to announce their return with a new single ‘Flatfoot’, which is set to be released on the 28th of January. The band are excited to release this track, having played it live at a sold out King Tuts as well as at the Left of the Dial festival in Rotterdam.

The band have been working on a plethora of new material lately and ‘Flatfoot’ signifies the conclusion of their past sound. ‘Flatfoot’ came together during the first lockdown but has undergone many changes since then. Lyricist Ewan Hearns commented on the track: “Lockdown impacted people in a variety of different ways. I was lucky, I’d just moved into a new flat and welcomed the freedom and time to kill. I think the more jovial tone in the Flatfoot lyrics reflects this time of my life, some of our recent releases have a little bit of a dark undertone to them whereas this one deals with more superficial issues.”

The track was produced, mixed and mastered by Chris Marshall (Baby Strange, Gerry Cinnamon and Declan Welsh and the Decadent West) at Castle of Doom Studios. “We actually went in to record a different song”, Hearns explains, “But Marshall had heard us do that one live and insisted we recorded that one. After a bit of back and forth we agreed to do it”.

Guitarist Nathan Stokoe talked about the music he was listening to that inspired the guitar for the
song: “I think I was messing around with similar patterns to the SOS riff by Abba. I was also listening to a lot of The Smiths which inspired the kind of bright sounding melodic riff.”

Hailing from different ends of Scotland, Pizza Crunch couple an ’80s post-punk strut with glimpses of noughties nonchalance. Infectious guitar riffs and a relentless rhythm section accentuate lyricism, which moves between the obnoxiously wry and the potently gloomy. The blend of influences result in compelling verses culminating in melodic and expressive hooks.The band have just played a sold out show at The Hug and Pint, this will be their last single for a period of time as they are hiding away to work on a more expansive project.

https://pizzacrunchmusic.bandcamp.com/?fbclid=IwAR0PbIdEw0YJCZPYPh7rkh1Xwa1FUhgY6dCewR3yf4rapDXDwAbrKJcOMa8

After only a brief time together, the band headlined the renowned Club Sabbath in Glasgow before releasing singles – ‘Fraud’, ‘Twelve Month Seasonal Depression’, ‘Celexa’, ‘Fried Intellectuals’ and ‘Coma-Inducing Gibberish’ and ‘Motivational Substances’. Each track has received increasingly laudative attention from blogs, radio stations and promoters, with the groups’ music finding itself on BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 6 Music and Amazing Radio.
Prompt lyrical commentary that veers from the elucidation of sombre hedonism to trivialising the emotionally painful, along with distinct, novel guitar lines and a driving rhythm section, make Pizza Crunch one of Glasgow’s most exciting exports.

Ewan Hearns – Guitar and vocals
Nathan Stokoe – Guitar

Craig McDermott – Bass
Ewan Nicholson – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/pizzacrunchmusic

A Statement Of Intent – Comeback Kid

22nd January 2022

Mainly Metal

Canadian hardcore heavyweights Comeback Kid release their anticipated seventh studio album, Heavy Steps via Nuclear Blast Records. Get your copy HERE.

“We are over the moon to finally put out ‘Heavy Steps’,” shares lead vocalist Andrew Neufeld. “This album’s journey started 2 years ago when the pandemic hit and has brought us here today as one of the most collaborative efforts we have had the privilege to be involved in. From writing the album from across country to meeting Winnipeg to jam and eventually record. Having a mixer like Will Putney get involved and bringing the sonic elements to life. It has truly been an honour.”

Alongside the album release, Comeback Kid have unveiled a high energy live performance video directed by Dylan Gould for focus track ‘Face the Fire‘.

Neufeld had this to say about their latest video, “We were finally able to operate as a band again and tour over the last 5 months and this new video 'Face The Fire' is a collection of footage and photos that I collected over that time. It is an accurate reflection of what our live shows encompass and that specific energy that we have missed so much."

Featuring the riff-heavy first single ‘No Easy Way Out‘, the tone-setting dynamic title track with punishing bass lines, masterful drumming and an infectious singalong chorus (‘Heavy Steps‘), and the no frills metallic hardcore banger ‘Crossed‘, Heavy Steps embodies all the things that make Comeback Kid so revered in their genre. The record is fast, fun, beautifully crafted melodic hardcore. Heavy Steps, which follows the hardcore veteran’s 2017’s critically acclaimed full-length Outsider, sees the band returning to their roots both geographically and musically.

Although the members of the band are currently residing across Canada in Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver, the band decided to write and record their latest effort in the band’s originating city of Winnipeg, Manitoba at Private Ear Recording Studio and once again enlisted the services of producer John Paul Peters (Cancer Bats, Propagandhi) who recorded the band’s debut album Turn It Around. In addition to co-production by Peters, on Heavy Steps, Comeback Kid collaborated with prominent Grammy award-winning mixer and long-time fan of the band Will Putney (Knocked Loose, Every Time I Die). Featuring guest appearances by Gojira’s Joe Duplantier, Heavy Steps is no longer a prerequisite to realizing Comeback Kid’s influence on modern punk, but a delivery of pure anthemic chaos, sheer speed and force. It is a statement of intent.

It’s about hitting the ground running, not knowing when or where the ground could break from underneath you.” summarizes Neufeld. “It's heavy steps on thin ice. Heavy steps on hollow ground.”

Heavy Steps Track Listing;
01. Heavy Steps
02. No Easy Way Out
03. Face The Fire
04. Crossed ft. Joe Duplantier
05. Everything Relates ft. JJ
06. Dead On The Fence
07. Shadow of Doubt
08. True To Form
09. Inbetween
10. Standstill
11. Menacing Weight

Over the last twenty years Comeback Kid have been hailed as one of the major counterparts when it has come to shaping and pioneering both the Canadian and international modern punk and hardcore sound and scene alike.

Having formed in Winnipeg, and breaking into the mainstream with 2005’s career defining, Wake The Dead, Comeback Kid broke boundaries and both literally and musically stormed across new terrains, projecting the once underground genre on a globally touring scale alongside the likes of then Victory Records label mates, Earth Crisis, Terror and Refused.

“We’re a hardcore band, but we don’t feel like we belong to any particular sect of that,” states Neufeld alongside band members, Jeremy Hiebert (guitar, Figure Four), Stu Ross (guitar, Misery Signals), Chase Brenneman (bass, Living With Lions), and Loren Legare (drums, Living With Lions). “We don’t want to be limited in any sense and prefer to work on our own terms.”

Now with their seventh record out, the band are defining what it means to be both an integral, yet impressive units within both the foundation and edges of punk..

A Note To Self – BAIT

21st January 2022

Music News

At its essence BAIT is a band that has become a long-distance relationship. For 18 months, the group have lived in the cloud, with a rope around their neck. We’ve all had enough of the restrictions, but such limitations are exactly what BAIT needed to breathe out, sink to the bottom and propel itself back into the light of day clutching a new record.

The BAIT sound is a mix of electronic dance, industrial and heavy metal punk rock, all held together by the raging lungs and spoken word of Michael Webster, who is previously known for indie-rock band Baddies, as bass player in Asylums, and co-founder of Cool Thing Records. Imagine Keith Flint duetting with Sleaford Mods and you’re somewhere close to BAIT vocals.

‘Sea Change’ is the debut full-length album from BAIT. It’s a digital post-punk lockdown docu-record which watches the clock, gets the jitters, and lashes out just like the rest of us. It’s an internal monologue that accounts the anxiety, the struggles, the pressures experienced living by the sea during an international pandemic. Visualized and written by Michael Webster, creatively cultivated together with band members Jim Webster, Luke Branch & M R E who also produced the record.

Lead single ‘DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA’ is high intensity, fast paced – like you’re running from something in a video game, if you could express a panic attack using sound & vocals – this might be it! Sarcasm & humour lyrically, poking fun at the intensity. The single is accompanied by an exclusive lyric video which transports you into an anxiety induced smartphone nightmare created by Simon Moore at Burke & Hare.

“This is the most intense & frenetic track from the record. Many of us have an expectation to receive instant gratification, which was amplified through lockdown. This is a ‘note to self’ to snap out of the inpatient frenzy and that there are people that have bigger problems… I really did see a man walking into town carrying a plastic bag with no trousers on” - Michael Webster

INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

Turn On The Fucking News – Ex-Hyena

20th January 2022

Music News

Chances are, you woke up on January 1 and realized none of this was a dream. That’s the bad news. The good news is that we’re all trapped here together, and our dystopian society of paranoia and angst, cradled by a pandemic that is uneager to subside, is properly soundtracked by the shadow sounds of Ex-Hyena.

The dark electronic duo of Reuben Bettsak and Bo Barringer return with a low-end hum on January 21 with new single “Capture the Stills,” the follow up to October’s “Nightmare Pills” and the latest to be featured off their forthcoming sophomore album, this year’s Moon Reflections. It arrives complete with a b-side remix courtesy of Kentucky producer Control I’m Here that delves deeper into the track’s soulful, yet sinister, vibes.

“‘Capture the Stills’ is dark and menacing,” says Bettsak. “Bo wrote the lyrics to this one… It certainly fits the vibe, and themes that Ex-Hyena often covers. To me, it's like falling into a David Lynch movie void, and witnessing two characters in a volatile relationship, or something like that. This was the last song written for the second LP, and I'm glad it made it on the album.”

This latest single, following in the footsteps of Ex-Hyena’s 2021 debut album Artificial Pulse and mixed by Dave Westner, is another brazen move forward for the creative songwriting pair, taking Ex-Hyena’s trademark sound of dual vocals, trembling percussion, and dark synths, and adding a more richer, lush sound that incorporates hip-hop-inspired beats and a wider creative canvas that snapshots our daily decay. It’s a grander sense of claustrophobic minimization, a panoramic view of the world around us, and a stark spin around the shadows that lurk just out of view of the mind’s eye.

“I wrote the words to this one at a time when I was going through a bit of a dark period,” adds Barringer. “I wasn’t really trying to reflect that necessarily but it’s kind of hard to deny a line like ‘A soul created to be crushed’. But the song is also about how difficult it is to slow down time and take in the smaller moments because life threatens to speed by you at a million miles an hour. You can’t stop the video as it’s rolling, but maybe you can screenshot it as it passes you by.”

Screenshots of all kaleidoscopic colors and moods are at play on “Capture the Stills,” which evokes the forthcoming LP’s twists and turns with a sound stretched out into prog-rock territory, boasting songs that delve into memories and the intricacies of our minds, playing out thematically like noir movie scenes. Ex-Hyena is a band constantly evolving, and here they display a collaborative songwriting acumen shared by two musical minds that have been communicating ideas for decades. And the world at play in Artificial Pulse is no longer relegated to some far off timeline horizon; the world of Ex-Hyena is entrenched in the here and now.

“I kind of lost interest in dystopian TV and movies around the time we realized that 50 percent of this country wanted a fascist dictator,” admits Barringer. “No Black Mirror, No Handmaid’s Tale, No Squid Game. The world was already becoming too close to that. Turn on the fucking news. Somehow a similar vibe comes through in the music though. You can try to outrun the devil but sooner or later he’s gonna catch you.”

And when he does, he’ll have “Capture the Stills” on his demonic playlist.

“Ex-Hyena does reflect a dystopian fantasy of sorts, and tapping into those themes can seem dark in an increasingly chaotic world where our reality feels dystopian,” says Bettsak. “I do tackle those themes because they are important, and relevant to me. But the funny thing is that I also tap into that dystopian fantasy world as a form of escapism. We've written these songs in a world where we are more isolated than ever in a lot of ways. I love being in my house, but I'm in it a lot. [laughs.] So, I'm using my imagination to take me to different places, create different characters, future cities with twisted technology, etc. In these times music really is extremely therapeutic. Writing and creating art is so important right now for our sanity. And I hope things in this world become less chaotic.”

Maybe by then, we’ll wake up to better news.

SPOTIFY . FACEBOOK . INSTAGRAM . BANDCAMP . YOUTUBE

A Throbbing Beat – Brooke

20th January 2022

Music News

Brooke is an Irish Alt Pop artist who has been making waves for her ferocious vocal delivery and dance worthy anthems. Rising to fame as a finalist of The Voice UK 2020, she wowed the judges and viewers with her show-stopping performances.

Having duetted with Ella Eyre and been mentored by Grammy award-winning coach/singer Meghan Trainor, Brooke is closely following in the footsteps of these strong female artists.

Now competing for Ireland’s 2022 Eurovision Song Contest spot, Brooke is back with her latest single “That’s Rich.” Inspired by Blondie meets The Gossip, the fiery and empowering track narrates how you should never settle for anyone who doesn’t fulfill your needs. Brooke shares, “I was reading Debbie Harry’s autobiography and wanted to encapsulate the attitude she portrayed in her life.” Oozing with energy and sass, the songwriter demonstrates her impressive and powerful vocal range, which soars atop a throbbing beat and playful instrumentation.

With her music receiving acclaim from the likes of BBC Introducing, as well as numerous Spotify editorial playlists including New Music Friday and New Pop UK Playlists, Brooke is set for a roaring 2022. “That’s Rich” will premiere on RTE One’s Ryan Turbidity radio and will be performed for the first time on national TV on RTE’s Late Late Show Eurosong Special.

Brooke Scullion (@BrookeScullion) / Twitter

« Next

Monthly Archives: January 2022

Saguaro Shredders – INCITE

Arizona groove metal hotheads INCITE are back with new songs up their sleeve and have recently signed a contract with Atomic Fire Records.

https://www.facebook.com/INCITEband/videos

A Groovy Blend – Heart Attack

Heart Attack is an unpredictable groovy blend of modern thrash metal and their first new song, “Septic Melody”, marks the debut on their new label Atomic Fire Records. The song tilts from unleashed thrash fury, into soaring melodies and back again in no time.

https://www.facebook.com/heartattackmetal

Let It Flow – No Nations

There is an urgency to the music of No Nations that is as hard to define as the band itself. The Boston sextet, a group of dudes who have spent most of their lives on stage, in the van, and out in the crowd, were, like most of us, caught standing still during the pandemic.

No Nations are:

https://www.facebook.com/nonationsboston/

Holy Fucking Rock And Roll Guacamole – Mexican Dogs

Instagram Twitter Facebook

Many Strings To Her Bow – Martha Tilston

Following the autumn 2021 launch of ‘The Tape’, her debut feature film which she wrote, directed and starred in, singer-songwriter Martha Tilston has announced her first UK tour in almost five years with dates in February and March.

THE TAPE
DEBUT FILM
ARRIVES ON VIDEO PLATFORMS
24.01.22

film trailer
vimeo.com/667753201/9337c0f709

marthatilston.co.uk

Grab A Slice – Pizza Crunch

https://www.facebook.com/pizzacrunchmusic

A Statement Of Intent – Comeback Kid

Canadian hardcore heavyweights Comeback Kid release their anticipated seventh studio album, Heavy Steps via Nuclear Blast Records. Get your copy HERE.

A Note To Self – BAIT

INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

Turn On The Fucking News – Ex-Hyena

SPOTIFY . FACEBOOK . INSTAGRAM . BANDCAMP . YOUTUBE

A Throbbing Beat – Brooke

Brooke is an Irish Alt Pop artist who has been making waves for her ferocious vocal delivery and dance worthy anthems. Rising to fame as a finalist of The Voice UK 2020, she wowed the judges and viewers with her show-stopping performances.

Brooke Scullion (@BrookeScullion) / Twitter

Newsletter

Monthly Archives: January 2022

Saguaro Shredders – INCITE

Arizona groove metal hotheads INCITE are back with new songs up their sleeve and have recently signed a contract with Atomic Fire Records.

A Groovy Blend – Heart Attack

Heart Attack is an unpredictable groovy blend of modern thrash metal and their first new song, “Septic Melody”, marks the debut on their new label Atomic Fire Records. The song tilts from unleashed thrash fury, into soaring melodies and back again in no time.

Let It Flow – No Nations

There is an urgency to the music of No Nations that is as hard to define as the band itself. The Boston sextet, a group of dudes who have spent most of their lives on stage, in the van, and out in the crowd, were, like most of us, caught standing still during the pandemic.

No Nations are:

Holy Fucking Rock And Roll Guacamole – Mexican Dogs

Many Strings To Her Bow – Martha Tilston

Following the autumn 2021 launch of ‘The Tape’, her debut feature film which she wrote, directed and starred in, singer-songwriter Martha Tilston has announced her first UK tour in almost five years with dates in February and March.

THE TAPE DEBUT FILMARRIVES ON VIDEO PLATFORMS24.01.22film trailervimeo.com/667753201/9337c0f709

Grab A Slice – Pizza Crunch

A Statement Of Intent – Comeback Kid

Canadian hardcore heavyweights Comeback Kid release their anticipated seventh studio album, Heavy Steps via Nuclear Blast Records. Get your copy HERE.

A Note To Self – BAIT

Turn On The Fucking News – Ex-Hyena

SPOTIFY . FACEBOOK . INSTAGRAM . BANDCAMP . YOUTUBE

A Throbbing Beat – Brooke

Brooke is an Irish Alt Pop artist who has been making waves for her ferocious vocal delivery and dance worthy anthems. Rising to fame as a finalist of The Voice UK 2020, she wowed the judges and viewers with her show-stopping performances.

Newsletter

THE TAPE
DEBUT FILM
ARRIVES ON VIDEO PLATFORMS
24.01.22

film trailer
vimeo.com/667753201/9337c0f709