SHIIVA – Letting The Past Die

11th July 2022

Hardcore Punk Rock band SHIIVA has announced the release of their new single “Cyclone”, out today on all platforms.

The song is off the band’s upcoming EP “Cyclone” out on August 12th via Wiretap Records on Digital / and Cyclone 12” Compilation LP later this year via Wiretap / Another City Records.

Vocalist Brillo Ward says of the track: "Resonating from the full construct of gender neutrality, The new single Cyclone provides the not so common idea of what it means to be a human being, trapped in between masculinity and femininity as well as what it means to be labeled too macho or too soft. With its flammable fast rhythmic hardcore punk instrumentals, Cyclone demonstrates the significance of burning down old traditional Gender Perspectives and barriers, and replacing them with the true age of freedom of expression that everyone should be guaranteed. It’s time to let the past die.”

SHIIVA is a hardcore punk band from Lancaster, California formed in 2020 out of current & former members of local bands ( Life for a Life, The Downsides, Captain Smooth Talk & All Eyez ) the band isinspired by their surroundings as well as 90s punk &80s hardcore. Formed in January 2020 SHIIVA recorded and self released their debut EP GROOV(E). Upon release the band began periodically releasingmusic videos for songs like H(A)PPY, GROOV(E) & STOMP which cultivated them a local buzzwhile livemusic went away. In 2021 the band recruited drummer Jimmy of Los Mangos as live music had slowly returned the band started playing all over California gaining a rep for their brief, chaotic, fun filled performances.

SHIIVA is:

Brillo Ward-vocals

Cole Scott-guitar/vocals

Alejandro Aguilar-bass/vocals

Jimmy Wheeler -drums

SHIIVA ended 2021 by releasing “Night After Night” which featured two new versions oftheir song NIGHTS from GROOV(E). Going into 2022 the band received some positive press as Punk Black featured them on their “Bands to watch in 2022” as well as Discovered Magazine featuring them on their “Class of 2021”. In February 2022 the group announced their signing with Los Angeles based Wiretap Records as they prepare to release a new EP “Cyclone” to follow up their debut EP GROOV(E). The new EP “Cyclone” is out August 12th via Wiretap Records on Digital / and 12” LP later this year via Wiretap / Another City Records.

Upcoming shows:

7/16 Hesperia, Ca @ C47 w/Heartthrob, Stay Wild & Vacancy

7/18 San Fernando @ Midnight Hour w/ Soul Glo

8/12 Palmdale @ House show w/Los Mangos, Triste, Heartthrob, Face Facts, Lazy Beam & The Opps

8/13 Los Angeles @ Crac Brewery w/Bent Blue, Barrio Slam & Jackknife

9/2 Riverside @ House Show

9/3 Fresno @ Friends Know w/ The Downsides

10/28-10/30 Gainesville, FL @ FEST 20’

11/18-11/20 Tulsa, Ok @ Act Like You Know Fest

https://linktr.ee/SHIIVA

FALSE HEADS – Lack Of Class

11th July 2022

Music News

FALSE HEADS return with another cut of their patently agitated punk-tinged rock on latest single: “Thick Skin”.

Produced by Frank Turner and taken from the trio’s long-awaited new album ‘Sick Moon’ — due 30 September 2022 via Scruff of the Neck Records — the snarling slice of garage-grunge takes aim at the current political climate and the incessant hopelessness and rage that bubbles over on social media.

With biting electric guitar lines, a final fractured drum breakdown and a gritty, yet relentlessly catchy chorus, “Thick Skin” swings from agitated to infectious in a beat.

Speaking of the new track frontman Luke Griffiths explains: “”Thick Skin” is about how much I f****** hate the current political discourse. To me, politics seems to be completely and utterly middle-class from left to right — class has been seemingly removed from a lot of left-wing politics. It’s also about social media politics. That kind of rage and vitriol is some form of lashing out for mental health problems and it’s like a form of addictive behaviour. I understand this, dealing with depression and having a history of drug abuse, and I understand how difficult it is to not let that rage inside you come out in vicious ways. But I just feel like social media has allowed a million different forms of religion, nationalism and tribalism to be completely normalised. Our brains are rotting and there is no hope, and every time I feel like there is I’m stung again.”

Arriving as a scorching third glimpse into False Heads’ forthcoming second album, “Thick Skin” comes in the wake of earlier singles “Day Glow” and “Mime The End”. Gaining airplay across the UK and beyond from a range of tastemaker names including BBC Radio 6, BBC Introducing, talkSport Radio, Amazing Radio, KINK in the Netherlands and Inter FM in Japan, “Mime The End” was also featured on BBC Radio 1’s Future Artists with Jack Saunders and gained placements on Apple Music’s ‘New in Rock’, Spotify’s ‘All New Rock’ and Amazon Music’s ‘Best New Bands’ playlists.

Produced by Frank Turner at his home studio — and with its first single unveiled just weeks after Turner’s own record ‘FTHC’ landed the UK Number One spot — the ten-track LP ‘Sick Moon’ arrives this September.

Of the story behind upcoming album, Luke adds: “The album is just a pure expression of everything I've felt and feel. It's pure rage, isolation, and alienation, yet also sarcastic and hopefully sprinkled with a bit of humour. It's a stream of consciousness I used to deal with my struggles with depression, insomnia, anxiety, and issues with substance abuse. It's also about how often the external world seems to parallel and affect your internal struggle. I get trapped into a cycle of apathy and suffocation with the idea of eternalism and eternal recurrence: maybe we have no free will and maybe we do all of this again and again, forever. Humans aren't meant to have access to every piece of information on the planet at once. I've felt frustration over the last five years in the music industry; rock and pop music have become an endeavour for kids from super-rich families or kids from parents already in the industry.”

FALSE HEADS – NEW SINGLE “THICK SKIN” – OUT NOW
STREAM ON ALL SERVICES HERE
NEW ALBUM ‘SICK MOON’ OUT 30 SEPTEMBER
VIA SCRUFF OF THE NECK RECORDS

FALSE HEADS 2022 LIVE DATES
JULY
31 – Y Not? Festival, Derbyshire

OCTOBER
01 – Muther’s Studio, Birmingham
02 – World Headquarters, Newcastle
04 – Hug and Pint, Glasgow
05 – The Grand Social, Dublin
06 – Voodoo, Belfast
07 – Monroe’s Live, Galway
11 – Bodega, Nottingham
12 – Venn St Social, Huddersfield
13 – Night & Day Cafe, Manchester
14 – Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield
17 – The Exchange, Bristol
18 – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
19 – 60 Million Postcards, Bournemouth
20 – Oslo, London
21 – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
26 – Neues Schauspiel
27 – Backstage Cub, Stuttgart
28 – Yard Club, Cologne
31 – Headcrach, Hamburg

NOVEMBER
1 – Cassiopeia, Berlin
2 – Melkweg, Amsterdam

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Jelly Roll – Rocking The Opry

9th July 2022

Country News

After making his Grand Ole Opry debut to a standing ovation last Autumn, Nashville native Jelly Roll recently returned to the Grand Ole Opry stage to perform his current hits including ‘Save Me,’ and ‘Son Of A Sinner’.

Jelly Roll performed to a packed house before planning to stay and watch one of his musical idols – Country music star and Army veteran Craig Morgan – perform later in the evening. In a surprise emotional moment, Craig invited Jelly Roll to come out and perform ‘Almost Home’ with him, citing his inspiring story.

“I sat in the audience years ago when Craig was performing on the Opry Stage, and remember thinking to myself, I want to make music that makes people feel how his songs make me feel,” said Jelly.

Before inviting him back on stage, Craig noted: “If you haven’t seen it, you need to go back and pull up his first appearance…I happened to be out on the road somewhere and someone called me and said ‘Man you have got to see this Jelly Roll guy. He was just on the Grand Ole Opry and he don’t look like somebody who would be on the Grand Ole Opry, but he was talking about you.’ And so I went back and watched it and he was standing there talking about how when he was in jail and struggling how a particular song helped him get through it. And he mentioned the fact that he came to the Grand Ole Opry when he got out…and how I was there singing on the stage…..and it moved me. It moved me. It just proves exactly what he said, that music can change lives. So before I do the song that he says changed his life, I would love it if we can give him a big round of applause and get him to come out and sing this out here with us.”

Entering back into the Circle from side stage, Jelly added, “Shortly after I got out of jail I did, I sat right over there in row 7…and I remember thinking I want to make people feel the way he makes me feel right now. This is a true testimony that God is real and all things are possible. Because that same kid that was in jail and struggling, his wife is sitting right there, and that kid is standing right next to Craig Morgan.”

Craig also presented Jelly with a framed copy of signed ‘Almost Home’ lyrics for the star to take home and frame “next to his Platinum and Multi-Platinum plaques.”

The moment marked the latest in a series of recent career milestones for Jelly. Last week, Jelly Roll recently made his national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he performed his Top 20 single, ‘Son Of A Sinner’ and three additional songs for the show’s livestream, including his viral hit ‘Save Me’ and multi-week #1 hit, ‘Dead Man Walking.’ Watch his performance on Kimmel here.

With the release of 2021’s Ballads of the Broken, genre-bending artist/songwriter Jelly Roll saw his career soar to new heights with the RIAA Gold-certification of his hit single, ‘Save Me’ and more than 1 Billion collective streams of his catalogue. With his first No. 1 single – the multi-week chart-topping ‘Dead Man Walking’ and current Top 20 single ‘Son of a Sinner’ nearing the Top 20 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, the Nashville native is the first artist to top the Active Rock charts while having a Top 30 single at Country Radio with his first song chart debut on each (Billboard). Currently on the road with Brantley Gilbert on the Son of The Dirty South Tour, Jelly will also headline Red Rocks this October as well as his hometown’s Bridgestone Arena on December 9^th.

For a full list of tour dates and more information, visit https://jellyroll615.com.

Little Fuss – Cutting Out The Small Talk

8th July 2022

Music News

Little Fuss pose ‘20 Questions’ on the ability to fall in love with a stranger.

Boston art-pop duo of Olivia Martinez and Cody Von Lehmden unveil the official music video to their latest single.

Can two people fall in love after asking each other “20 Questions”? Can one person fall in love with a band after hearing a single song? The first query is asked by Little Fuss in the Boston duo’s artful new single, now streaming on all major platforms with the official music video release on Friday, July 8. The second question, well, that’s up to the listener.

But Little Fuss make it easy to find a new favorite band.

The songwriting and production duo of Olivia Martinez and Cody Von Lehmden have created a summer splash with their effervescent new single, as “20 Questions” provides a bridge between last fall’s debut EP Hazy and the pair’s forthcoming debut album Girls at Parties. The two Ohio natives formed Little Fuss in Boston after meeting via a chance encounter studying abroad in Spain, and together Martinez and Von Lehmden create a world of pitch-perfect DIY pop that swirls across genres and easy categorization. It’s engaging music that confronts and consoles, and in the case of “20 Questions,” Little Fuss utilized hip-hop inspired drums with spacey guitars and EDM-style low end to create their unique take on danceable pop music.

Video directed by Little Fuss and Remington Strecker

Cameras operated by Erina McSweeney and Remington Strecker

Lighting by Tyler Hudson

Edited by Remington Strecker

And across the glossy sheen of the music is an undertow-like lyrical current that draws its inspiration not just from love, but “Modern Love.”

“The lyrics to ‘20 Questions’ were inspired by a New York Times column – ‘Modern Love’ – which discussed a psychological experiment done in the 1990s by Arthur Aron, Ph.D., Elaine Aron, Ph.D., and other researchers,” say Little Fuss. “The experiment used 36 increasingly personal questions to determine whether complete strangers could fall in love. As someone who prefers getting to know people intimately (Breakfast Club-style) as opposed to partaking in the formality of dates, Olivia found this very interesting and combined it with the game 20 Questions, applying the experimental idea to a pop song setting.”

The result is a self-produced and propulsive tune that expands upon Little Fuss’ unique take on art-pop, while offering a more polished and focused edge. The duo wrote the song shortly after moving to Boston in the middle of winter, recording ideas in between panicked attempts to contain the aggressive leaks in their decrepit apartment. They spent months finessing the specific instrumental parts and sounds after locking in the track’s core early on in the songwriting process. It’s another display of the musical chemistry of Martinez and Von Lehmden, first showcased on Hazy, and now elevated once more with the total earworm that is “20 Questions.”

“Since the songwriting backbone of Little Fuss consists of just two people, we are in a unique position in which the arrangement of our songs doesn’t necessarily have to conform to a typical ‘rock band’ format,” admit Little Fuss. “This, along with the fact that we record 100 percent of our songs in our bedroom, allows us to lean into combining various genres.”

As Little Fuss both evolve both as a band and creatives, the idea behind the “20 Questions” music video was to give a portal into what it’s like to experience their live show, where they perform as a quintet. Directed by Little Fuss and Remington Strecker, the visual was filmed during a DIY house show back in February at The Greenhouse, utilizing both digital and analog formats – and “later combining them in a way that felt like a cohesive and real documentation of the show,” they add. For the shoot, Little Fuss threw a party and set up a DIY music venue space entirely themselves, including installing sound equipment, proper lighting, and decorating the space. It was also their first headlining show, and the “most energetic show that we’ve played so far.”

True to the fickle nature of DIY spaces, the venue has since shut down, making “20 Questions” a sort of time-capsule for a time not at all far ago.

“This song and video represent our DIY approach to being a band more than any other release,” Little Fuss note. “We spent almost a year working on the song itself and threw our first house show to shoot the video. Overall, we have decided to keep everything as DIY and independent as possible while still treating our music with the seriousness and conceptual creativity of a signed band with more resources than we currently have. With the right team of supportive friends, it’s amazing what you can create yourselves.”

All one needs to do is ask………

SPOTIFY . BANDCAMP . APPLE MUSIC . INSTAGRAM . FACEBOOK . TWITTER . YOUTUBE . LINKTREE

KURT MARCUS – Check Him Out

7th July 2022

Photography News

KURT MARKUS passed away earlier this year.

Kurt was an internationally acclaimed fine art photographer known for his black-and-white portraits, magazine and fashion work, landscapes, and nudes.

His portraits of cowboys in the American West, were perhaps what he was best known for.

Markus has published three books of cowboy photography: After Barbed Wire, Buckaroo, and Cowpuncher, which in 2002 was named the most outstanding art book of year by the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

I consider it a gift to have found photography and made my life in it. I never thought of it as a job. I’ve always associated the click of the shutter with the word ‘Yes.’”

Kurt Marcus

Kurt Markus

(1947 – 2022)

Check out his fantastic body of work

KURT MARKUS

Stewart Taylor – Energetic Bop

7th July 2022

Music News

Stewart Taylor Drops Empowering Breakup Anthem “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk”

Stewart Taylor drops his latest catchy single, “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk” and it’s bound to be the song of the summer!

Being a song about breaking ties with an ex-boyfriend, it’s perfect for Pride Month, inspiring listeners to prioritize themselves first over messy relationships. With crisp, commercial production, along with intricate pop and R&B riffs, the sound alludes to artists like Maroon 5 and Charlie Puth, which is fitting as Stewart Taylor has collaborated with Puth in the past. The two met at Berklee College Of Music after hitmaker Kara DioGuardi paired them up to write and record together.

On the story behind the song, Stewart says, “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk was written the moment I realized that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to keep talking to my ex-boyfriend. It can be difficult to maintain boundaries with someone you used to date when you’re still in love with them. But I’ve found sometimes it’s better not to talk when the relationship was as toxic as mine. We still talk to this day (though we’re nicer to each other now) and he even likes the song I wrote about him.” Stewart hopes people can relate to his catchy new single— whether or not you have an ex you can’t get rid of, you’re bound to dance along to this energetic bop!

Stewart Taylor is an LA-based singer, songwriter, dancer, and MMG model. Drawing influences from Prince and George Michael, Stewart’s breakup and bed head anthems put the funk and the joy back in pop music. Stewart grew up in a small town outside of New York City, where he began writing songs and performing in local talent shows and clubs. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, he’s collaborated with Grammy-nominated songwriters and producers like Charlie Puth, (Wiz Khalifa) Kara DioGuardi, (P!nk, Katy Perry) MADS & Jayson DeZuzio, (Imagine Dragons) and David Pramik (Selena Gomez).

Stewart Taylor’s funk and R&B inspired single Mess Your Hair Up dropped in Summer 2019. Following its release, the song was featured on Logo’s NewNowNext and Queerty.com’s Top 10 songs of the Summer with them claiming, “Fans of Bruno Mars and Betty Who would be remiss not to check out this funky, flirty single from indie LA-based singer-songwriter.” He debuted his latest single Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk at California’s first-ever Venice Pride ahead of its June 24th worldwide release.

In addition to writing for himself, Stewart Taylor has penned songs for Romanian pop star Antonia and American Idol’s David Hernandez. He is an active voice in the LGBTQ+ community and his coming out story was featured in the New York Times bestselling book, It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating A Life Worth Living.

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CAESAR SPENCER – Giving France More Cred

6th July 2022

Music News

CAESAR SPENCER announces the Autumn release of his new album: ‘Get Out Into Yourself’.

Primed for release on the 4th November 2022 (via New Radio Records), it will present 11 tracks of cinematic baroque-pop and classical songwriting imbued with a warm feeling of familiarity while also defying easy categorisation.

In anticipation of the release, Caesar is pleased to present its lead single: “Waiting for Sorrow” with an official video.

With its lush production and a loquacious lyrical style laid-down by Caesar’s rich, earthy baritone, “Waiting for Sorrow” is a swelling and heartfelt tribute to the acclaimed Irish playwright Samuel Beckett (“Waiting for Godot”) who, like Caesar Spencer, was also a Paris resident for much of his adult life. As in the play, “Waiting for Sorrow” explores the symbiotic (or even solipsistic) nature of relationships. This is a key concept which is further developed throughout the rest of the album.

From the radio static that welcomes the listener in, to its ricocheting rhythm sections and its soaring guitar break; “Waiting for Sorrow” is at once billowingly epic in its delivery, smoulderingly suave in its stylistics and brightly effervescent in its ambitions. Providing the single with a certain vintage panache, Jacqueline Taïeb, an artist who very much embodies the French yé-yé spirit of the 60s, also offers her inimitable vocals to the recording.

Continuing a long line of classic songwriters, from Scott Walker to Lee Hazlewood, Morrissey to Peter Doherty, who have long looked beyond their patch for inspiration and a deeper sense of connection, Caesar Spencer is an artist whose music could not have been born from residing in one country alone. An Englishman born in Peru, Caesar Spencer also happens to be Swedish, but now finds himself in France.

Feeling musically uninspired by his humdrum life in Blighty and sensing an air of Brexit around him, Caesar made the conscious decision to move to Paris in search of new opportunities and a fresh fountain of creativity.

Dreaming of drawing upon his musical loves that had lit up his life on the other side of the channel (The Kinks, Bowie, The Smiths), while infusing them with a certain French kind of sensibility and sophistication, he began mapping-out a blueprint for a wildly ambitious new record.

Broadly echoing his own journey to date, ‘Get Out Into Yourself’, is a concept-album-of-sorts; inspired by those with nomadic origins and their search for identity. With a loose narrative that follows a protagonist journeying through different cultural landscapes, the record unspools a tale laced with existential questions and the quest to find yourself in an ever-shifting world.

Given that kind of context, it’s perhaps fitting that ‘Get Out Into Yourself’ is very audibly a record that transcends genres and borders at every turn too. Flickering from winsomely British pastoral-pop (“Isn’t That What Jimi Said”), to gnarly West Coast surf-rock (“Hail Caesar”), to provocative French cinema-styled scorings (“When I Whisper In Your Ear”) to cosmic crooner ballads beamed direct from the Bowie-verse (“Requiem”), every corner of ‘Get Out Into Yourself’ is illuminated with an incandescent imagination and international spirit.

Perhaps most of all, ‘Get Out Into Yourself’ is a loving tribute to France, a nation that single-handedly rekindled Caeser’s creative spark. The recording of the album gave Caesar an opportunity to pay homage to a remarkable musical heritage that too often goes unrecognised. As Caesar explains:

“It’s simply a love letter to France. I wanted to give something back to a country that has given me so much. And I really wanted to shine a light on this incredibly sophisticated French musical artistry. They have a way of doing things here which is unparalleled elsewhere. It’s phenomenal and strangely enough not so well known outside of

France. They should get more cred!”

Once established in his new base of Paris, Caesar began recording at the Studio La Fugitive (where acclaimed French band Les Rita Mitsouko recorded) with esteemed producer Gaétan Boudy (Zaz, Alex Renart, Emel Mathlouthi). Actively seeking to celebrate France’s breadth of musical talent past and present, he began to enlist a stellar cast of musicians to give the record a palpable flavour of the continent. Alongside the aforementioned performance by 60’s chanteuse Jacqueline Taïeb (on “Waiting for Sorrow”), there are also appearances from celebrated French artist Jean Felzine (Mustang) and his frequent collaborator Jo Wedin. The French punk icon Gilles Tandy (Les Olivensteins) also lends his talents to the album. Most striking of all is the brooding baroque pop centre-piece “When I Whisper In Your Ear”; a smouldering track that sees Caesar joined in an impassioned duet with the multi-talented Mareva Galanter (who has several albums under her own belt, one of which was recorded with half of Primal Scream), alongside a transcendent accompaniment from opera star Aurélie Ligerot and backed by the cinematic orchestration of FAME’S PROJECT (Jarvis Cocker, Chilly Gonzales, Jurassic World…).

STREAM ON ALL SERVICES HERE

“I wanted to capture the essence of a Serge Gainsbourg song in English” muses Caesar of the track. “Many have tried but I don’t think anyone has really been able to pull it off.”

Bringing his vision into vivid focus, ‘Get Out Into Yourself’ was finessed with assistance of his formidable backing band which includes Fred Lafage (Tony Allen, Paris Dernière) on Guitars / bass / keyboards and Frantxoa Erreçarret (Askehoug, Barcella) on Drums.

Finalised in 2022, its 11 songs interweave into a record that knows no boundaries and dares to dream beyond constraints. Deftly bridging the channel between British and French pop, Caesar Spencer delivers a richly rewarding trove of songs of a classic calibre and a bespoke elegance. A tender homage to that eternal feeling of finding home, when ‘Get Out Into Yourself’ arrives this November, it will finally be time to “hail Caesar”.

‘GET OUT INTO YOURSELF’ – TRACKLISTING

hail caesar (feat. gilles tandy & jean felzine)

get out into the pigs

iii. isn’t that what jimi said (feat. jean felzine & jo wedin)

when i whisper in your ear (feat. mareva galanter)

jane loves the highway (feat. gilles tandy)

requiem

vii. cult of personality

viii. broken by the song

waiting for sorrow (feat. jacqueline taïeb)

get out into yourself

knew that one day (feat. jean felzine & jo wedin)

In accompaniment to the album, French artist Thierry Beaudenon has elegantly illustrated the narrative of ‘Get Out Into Yourself’’ with a Lichtenstein-style storyboard. A vivid comic book-style booklet, the artwork will be available with all physical editions of the album.

www.caesarspencer.com
www.instagram.com/caesar_spencer

www.facebook.com/caesarspencerofficial

https://twitter.com/caesarspencer21

THE VELVET HANDS – It’s A Grower

6th July 2022

Music News

Blistering with an unshakeable sense of claustrophobia, “Holiday In My Head” is the scorching new single from THE VELVET HANDS.

Arriving with a playful new video made by Callum Scott Dyson of CSD Videography, it sees animated imagery and blasts of fuzzy static nod to the band’s DIY sensibilities. Reminiscent of a cut-and-paste punk zine plucked straight from the 1970s, the video sees two floating heads and hand-drawn, cataclysmic visuals put to music as The Velvet Hands deliver a broiling barrage of live-ready rock riffs.

A furious yet festival-ready anthem that swings from pent-up frustration to feel-good in a beat, of “Holiday In My Head” guitarist Dan explains:

“It’s based on our own experience of the doldrums of being skint, working your arse off to be able to afford a postage stamp sized flat, only to have to shave in the kitchen sink because the landlord won’t fix the one in the bathroom. Take that and then put it in lockdown, it felt like the walls were closing in — very claustrophobic. You can’t escape to anywhere apart from your own daydreams. The song is an anthem of escapism in the modern era”.

With the track itself nodding to ‘70s new wave just as much as it does thunderous ‘00s indie, it’s a sizzling sampler of The Velvet Hands’ much anticipated second album, set to land later this year…

The Velvet Hands are Toby Mitchell, Dan Able, Louis Mitchell and Sam Hilder. Blending slacker story-telling with belting guitar riffs reminiscent of The Strokes or Parquet Courts with rousing punk choruses that recall The Clash, the band formed amidst Cornwall’s blistering garage-rock scene before relocating to London and making a name for themselves on the capital’s underground guitar circuit.

Praised as being “full of bolshy spirit” by NME, the band’s self-recorded debut album was Huw Stephens’ Album Of The Week on Radio 1 and gained the band airplay from Radio X, BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing amongst others. Their early run of singles also caused a stir with a range of tastemaker blogs including Gigslutz and Fred Perry Subculture, with God Is In The TV praising them as “brash garage punk rabble-rousers somewhere between the attitude of early Cribs or Libertines with the death and glory of The Clash” and For The Love Of Bands dubbing the band as “the second coming of rock and roll.”

Having supported the likes of Fontaines D.C., VANT, Wallows and Paul Weller, the band have also played an Independent Venue Week show with Frank Turner, opened for Liam Gallagher at The Eden Project in 2019 and headlined stages at Isle of Wight and Y Not? festivals.

The pandemic saw The Velvet Hands hard at work writing new material before releasing “When This Is Over” to raise money for the Music Venue Trust. With their second album set to land later this year, “Holiday In My Head” arrives as a fiery first glimpse of what’s to come as the band blend their unashamed love for guitar music with searing rock-riffs and all-out chrouses.

Earlier this year The Velvet Hands played sold out shows in London and Falmouth, and the band have numerous festival shows lined up this summer including Boardmasters and the Pilton Party Auditions Final, where Michael Eavis will be choosing the support artists for this year’s Pilton Party. With a national tour in the Autumn and live dates for 2023 also in pipeline, for now you can catch the band as these upcoming fixtures as follows:

THE VELVET HANDS – 2022 LIVE DATES

JULY

29 – Pilton Party Auditions Final, Pilton Working Mens Club

AUGUST

12 – Boardmasters Festival, Cornwall

SEPTEMBER

3 – Sheb Fest, Devon

Forsaken Eternity – A Magical Metal Symphony

6th July 2022

Mainly Metal

Endlessly desolate, the jagged, frozen contours of the dead world stretch out into the darkness; empty and silent beneath the weak and pallid moon, its lustre fading as the fires of the sun burn down to flickering embers and so much blackened dust….

The distant, long extinguished stars look down upon the cold grandeur with their long forgotten, lifeless eyes and chart a world’s last steps into the night. A thousand civilisations, a million loves and a billion tragedies…countless moments of joy and pain, centuries of heartache, hope and faith, all slip like ragged ghosts into eternity, ashes on the wind.

Finally breaking free of the silencing shackles imposed by the trials and tribulations of life, Portland’s Forsaken Eternity have returned with their monumental full length debut album. A Kingdom Of Ice is a glorious, grandiose, overwhelming tumult of sound; of charging rhythms, swirling keyboards and spiralling guitars. Raw and rabid vocals lead the frantic charge across an otherworldly landscape while breathtaking melodies entwine with cold iron riffs and devastating drumming from Jason ‘The Machine’ Borton (Exmortus, Jungle Rot etc). Symphonic metal, black metal, melodic death metal and power metal elements combine to create a sound that is dramatic, dream-inspiring and the sole province of this remarkable band. The epic ‘Endless Light’ typifies what A Kingdom Of Ice has to offer with its shifting moods and tempos, emotion, atmosphere, tumbling keys and searing solos – Forsaken Eternity have created an album of thrilling magnificence! A Kingdom Of Ice closes with a stunning cover of guitar maestro Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Rising Force’ which provides the perfect ending to this magical metal symphony.

Line-up:
Nathan Mote – Vocals
Vladimore – Guitar/Bass
Jason ‘The Machine’ Borton – Drums
Brian Rush – Keyboards

Now allied with metallic powerhouse Rottweiler Records, Forsaken Eternity are finally in a position to bring their message to the world. On July 8th the summer sun will fade and a freezing storm of metal will descend from the mountains and forests of Oregon. Prepare to enter A Kingdom Of Ice and experience the staggering virtuoso vision of Forsaken Eternity!

www.facebook.com/forsakeneternityban

FRONT 242 – By Popular Demand

5th July 2022

Music News

FRONT 242 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS ADD EXTRA SHOW.

Front 242 began in 1981 when Daniel B. laid down his musical ideas on a single entitled ‘Body To Body’. He was joined a year later by Patrick Codenys (keyboards) and Jean-Luc De Meyer (vocals) for debut album ‘Geography’, followed by Richard 23 (vocalist/stage performer) in 1983.

Developing their own independent recording and graphics facilities, as well as a unique on-stage presentation, the group soon began reaching progressively larger audiences via the release of a series of records in a brand new genre that they termed Electronic Body Music (EBM), seeing it as a collage and synthesis of music and sounds recycled from the media or TV that was often reflected or enriched by other artistic disciplines. In 1984, the group signed a US deal with the Chicago-based label Wax Trax! and released the EP ‘Take One’. They would go on to enjoy massive success Stateside.

Gaining experience in the mid-80s by performing at large European festivals and from US touring, Front 242 established itself as a powerful live unit and their EBM spread across Europe and beyond. The albums ‘No Comment’ (1985), ‘Official Version’ (1987) and ‘Front By Front’ (1988, including the indie/club hits ‘HeadHunter’ and ‘Welcome to Paradise’) sealed their international breakthrough and status as an innovative and pioneering outfit.

The group’s vision evolved toward full maturity following the acclaimed ‘Tyranny For You’ (1991), while their next albums – ’06:21:03:11 Up Evil’ and ’05:22:09:12 Off’ (both 1993) broke the classic Front formula by bringing in new vocalists, live guitars and drums, plus outside producer Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Sonic Youth). This began a period of redistributing roles and rules within the group, albeit retaining the scope of invention and the radical attitude that were key ingredients in their music.

A hiatus between 1993-1997 saw the release of ‘Live Code’ (recorded during their most recent world tour) and ‘Mut@ge – Mix@ge’, a compilation album for which star names such as The Prodigy, The Orb and Underworld provided innovative remixes of Front 242 songs.

The original quartet reunited in 1997 and (with German drummer Tim Kroker) once again began performing concerts, with several ensuing live releases that captured the group’s energy and also reflected the numerous changes brought in by the versions of Front songs being performed on stage.

After a lengthy absence from the studio, the EP ‘Still & Raw’ and album ‘Pulse’ were both released in 2003. Based on the aesthetics of the 1970s and 80s, these records saw Front 242 recreate the original sound at the centre of their art, but enriched by two decades of experience; analogue technologies and vintage machines pulsing into deconstructed tracks where emotion and research were still conveyed by a purely electronic attitude.

Having reissued their back catalogue in newer, enriched editions, and breaking from the perceived tradition that every live campaign be preceded by a new album, Front 242 continue to perform worldwide with the same levels of intensity and success as ever, encouraged by crowds of loyal fans celebrating the band’s uniqueness and renowned integrity.

front242.com

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Monthly Archives: July 2022

SHIIVA – Letting The Past Die

Hardcore Punk Rock band SHIIVA has announced the release of their new single “Cyclone”, out today on all platforms.

https://linktr.ee/SHIIVA

FALSE HEADS – Lack Of Class

FALSE HEADS return with another cut of their patently agitated punk-tinged rock on latest single: “Thick Skin”.

Jelly Roll – Rocking The Opry

After making his Grand Ole Opry debut to a standing ovation last Autumn, Nashville native Jelly Roll recently returned to the Grand Ole Opry stage to perform his current hits including ‘Save Me,’ and ‘Son Of A Sinner’.

Little Fuss – Cutting Out The Small Talk

Little Fuss pose ‘20 Questions’ on the ability to fall in love with a stranger.

KURT MARCUS – Check Him Out

KURT MARKUS passed away earlier this year.

Kurt Markus

(1947 – 2022)

Stewart Taylor – Energetic Bop

Stewart Taylor Drops Empowering Breakup Anthem “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk”

CAESAR SPENCER – Giving France More Cred

CAESAR SPENCER announces the Autumn release of his new album: ‘Get Out Into Yourself’.

THE VELVET HANDS – It’s A Grower

Blistering with an unshakeable sense of claustrophobia, “Holiday In My Head” is the scorching new single from THE VELVET HANDS.

Forsaken Eternity – A Magical Metal Symphony

Endlessly desolate, the jagged, frozen contours of the dead world stretch out into the darkness; empty and silent beneath the weak and pallid moon, its lustre fading as the fires of the sun burn down to flickering embers and so much blackened dust….

FRONT 242 – By Popular Demand

FRONT 242 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS ADD EXTRA SHOW.

front242.com

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