It’s probably because of the long bank holiday last week but Monday has appeared very quickly again and here is another bumper crop of aural elixia for your lugholes. Enjoy.
Rachel Sermanni – Aquarium Kisses
Why we love it: The Scottish songwriter Rachel Sermanni is back with her first new music of 2022. ‘Aquarium Kisses’ is the opening track from her forthcoming EP ‘Every Swimming Pool Runs to the Sea’ which is due for release on June 16th.
On the evidence of ‘Aquarium Kisses’ alone, the new EP promises to be a much lighter, optimistic record than the darker, more reflective mood of last year’s EP Swallow Me which was greatly informed by Rachel Sermanni’s then recent split with her yet-to-be-born child’s father-to-be and her fears of balancing motherhood with her career as a musician.
This hope and positivity is reflected in Rachel Sermanni’s words about the new EP’s lead single: “I woke from a dream where an old school friend had led me into a huge aquarium. More like a building with glass, water, and tropical fish for walls. In the glow, we kissed. It was a lovely, playful, sensual dream. This is where the song begins. As is obvious. Each verse that follows is an ode to a past lover. The reasons I loved them, little moments and memories. It has a nostalgic feeling for me which then comes to the present moment with the chorus words (written by Richard Walters) where I hold the hand of my now love. I believe that the chorus and the presence of another’s hand in mine is more symbolic.” (Simon Godley)
High Vis – Talk For Hours
Why We Love It: High Vis were formed in 2016 from the ashes of some of the UK’s best hardcore bands (Dirty Money, Tremors, DiE, The Smear). They have released their new single ‘Talk For Hours’ and this track has an instant appeal. The roots may be in the hardcore scene for this London 5-piece but this track has an added Madchester twist which gives it a winning combination. The sing-along chorus is earworm material – in a good way. I suspect this track demonstrates the versatility of High Vis and proves that genres do successfully merge into one another.
Vocalist Graham Sayle calls the song:
“a sobering reflection on endless conversations without resolution. Temporary chemical optimism and subsequent hopeless introspection. A song born out of late nights waiting your turn to shout your struggle that no one will listen to.” We have all been there.
Fun fact: ‘Talk For Hours’ features guest vocals from Charlie Manning-Walker – aka Chubby Charles – of Chubby and the Gang and Jonah Falco of Fucked Up.
High Vis have joined Dais Records and there is also news of a second album set for release later this year following on from 2019’s debut No Sense No Feeling. (Julia Mason)
Nell Davies – A Sad Kind of Freedom
Why we love it: ‘A Sad Kind of Freedom’ is the new single from Nell Davies, a singer, songwriter and guitarist who records and produces all her own music in a converted pigsty on her smallholding in rural west Cornwall.
Speaking about her latest recording, Nell Davies says: “I wrote A Sad Kind of Freedom in the back of a minibus, having just run up Ben Nevis. I was surrounded by such incredible beauty, but I felt completely disconnected from it because I was too busy being travelsick and homesick, and ruminating on some stupid comment I’d seen on Facebook. I’d travelled practically the whole length of Britain, and climbed the highest mountain I could find, but I couldn’t escape my own stupid thoughts.”
Despite the conflicting emotions that lie at the heart of its inception, overwhelming feelings of warmth and enthusiasm positively ooze out from the pores of ‘A Sad Kind of Freedom.’ It may only be April, but this song has such an infectious spring in its step it can surely turn an existential crisis into a feel-good-hit for the summer. (Simon Godley)
Greta Isaac – PAYRI$E
Why We Love It: Singer songwriter Greta Isaac‘s new single is a pop anthem ‘PAYRI$E’. The fifth new song to be released from Greta’s forthcoming EP ‘I Think You’d Hate It Here’, due out in May. Isaac set to play her first shows at The Great Escape in May.
Her biggest brashest and boldest single yet it stomps through crunchy beats, in your face synth parts, fierce refrains, demanding more of everything, the huge chorus is juxtaposed by crafty refrains. It shows another face to Isaac’s fascinating songwriting. Powerful.
Speaking about the song, Greta explains: “I wrote ‘PAYRI$E’ with Martin Luke Brown and Nova Blue in London last year. I wanted to write something that felt unapologetically brash and loud and demanding.” she says “I think for a lot of my life I’ve made myself smaller in order to accommodate other people. Even when I’ve intentionally made myself bigger, funnier, prettier, it’s been to entertain or perform or to try and facilitate the perfect conditions for how I’m experienced by other people”
“I tend to take on a bit of a character when I write, but I wanted to use the process of writing ‘PAYRI$E’ as a way to take up some space for myself and demand more from my life and from my relationships. The outcome is a bit of a mess to be honest, but the character of ‘PAYRI$E’ just doesn’t have the resources to explicitly ask for what she needs in her relationship.. so I guess she’ll just take cash credit or cheque for now while she figures it out!” (Bill Cummings)
Moreish Idols – Speedboat
Why We Love It: Speedy Wunderground have signed Cornish-born now London-based Moreish Idols. They have released their first single for the label ‘Speedboat’ which is produced by Speedy Wunderground’s very own Dan Carey.
They write solely as a group to blend the various personalities and musical influences to create something uniquely ‘Moreish’! And this is a very different track from the current crowded post-punk scene. Refreshingly quirky it begins with the fastest of guitar riffs and crashing cymbals. The vocals are light and varied, mixing sung and spoken, and that off-kilter sax towards the end simply adds another layer of spice as the track heads to its frenetic end.
The lyrics of the chorus are deliciously different for the current climate. Frontman Jude Lilley delights us with the inspiration behind ‘Speedboat’:
“When I was about 18 I stopped off in Venice with some friends after a festival. One hot afternoon in our grubby clothes, we managed to find a place doing pizza slices and beer for a couple of euros. Hidden away from the intimidatingly glamorous tourists we sat on a jetty and tucked into our newly purchased treats. As we were chatting away over our lunch, we were interrupted by a thumping kick drum echoing through the canal. The kick grew louder and louder until a white speedboat drifted at full speed into our view and pulled up to the jetty. EDM blasted from the boat, as a slick, well-built man in wrap around shades and a red polo shirt inspected his vast pile of parcels. He bent down, grabbed a stack and hopped off the boat. After making the drop at the house behind us, he hopped back into the motor and shot off into the canals. That’s when I knew: I wanted to be a postman in Venice”. (Julia Mason)
Film Noir – Erotica
Why We Love It: French alt-rock band Film Noir‘s haunting new single “Erotica”, the second track taken from the band’s debut album PALPITANT out 10th June.
Recorded in a session with Ben Romans-Hopcraft (Insecure Men, Fat White Family, Childhood) and Jamie Neville (Pumarosa) at South London’s Teeth Studios, ‘Erotica’ is superb, bouncing percussion, serrated guitars, howling sax and vocalist Josephine’s raw French vocals strut and writhe mysteriously with tension and visceral urgency of where the night could take you. The accompanying video is an eerie showcase for the song as a darkly comic chronicle, performed and directed by the protagonist herself, Josepine.
Film Noir add: “Erotica, a woman who ventures through Paris by night aimlessly only to try and mute the voices in her head. A wanderer in the dark, in a whirlwind of sweat, bars, smoke, men & women”. (Bill Cummings)
Naked Lungs – Why Do People Change
Why We Love It: Following on from their first official debut single ‘Database’, Irish DIY noise outfit Naked Lungs have released follow-up ‘Why Do People Change?’. The 4-piece initially generated word of mouth excitement on the basis of their initial offering, a self-produced live recording of a track called ‘Second Song’.
New track ‘Why Do People Change?’ was produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox. It’s a wild ride, a combination of driving bass, stop starts and industrial beats. The vocals of frontman Tom Brady begin calmly enough, but become more impassioned as the track progresses. The frustrations of modern society grow as the track progresses and that repetition of “Why Do People Change?” seeing the growing realisation perhaps of there being no answer to the question.
Expanding on the single, the band says:
“Pulling from the driving beats of underground Berlin Techno or Dublin’s (now demolished) Hangar Nightclub, ‘Why Do People Change?’ asks a simple question that every person will face as they grow up. Is there an answer? Probably not.”
Naked Lungs earned support slots with the likes of Enola Gay, Bullet Girl, and The Love Buzz at the turn of the year, as well as selling out a debut headline show in Dublin at The Workman’s Club. More music and live dates are planned for 2022, but if you are lucky enough to be attending The Great Escape in Brighton in May do have a listen. (Julia Mason)
Future West – All My Sins
Why We Love It: Future West have released the second single from their upcoming album Who Will Forgive All My Sins? This their second album is finished and due for release in the summer of 2022 via Blowtorch records. The new single ‘All My Sins’ is an atmospheric track opening with shuddering guitar which then goes into full reverb. The increasing static and beats ebb and flow throughout the track. It reaches a crescendo of sound, which then softens back again before those vocals kick back in again, full of emotion and passion. Future West is the project of Dundalk musician Francis Watters and the band has evolved to its current formation as a 4 piece. Like many the pandemic put the brakes on the original plans and rather than be thwarted, Francis decided to build a home recording studio and recorded the second Future West album.
Francis expands on the track:
“’All My Sins’ was written from a place of dealing with self-inflicted grief. It’s a piece about breaking things down, re-evaluation and learning to love one’s self despite our flaws and the mistakes we make. The sections of the track represent different stages of the emotions that these actions cause us through anger, sorrow and a glimmer of hope.” (Julia Mason)
