We decided to have a Bank Holiday off last week, not because we were hungover as it was our birthday week, nooooooo!! No, it was because we just fancied a week off, but as the saying goes, we’ve come back replenished and rejuvenated as everyone does after a holiday, naturally, and are raring to go. Here are some belters to give you a jolt this sunny and warm June day.
Body Meat – North Side
Why we love it: Body Meat aka Chris Taylor is one of a number of current artists who are combining various creative outlets with intriguing effect. He shares new single ‘North Side’, the third from his debut album Starchris, out 23 August via Partisan Records. The new single slowly unfolds, contemplative and yet mesmerising as it bobs and weaves through beats and in and out of distorted vocals. The video features gameplay from a video game that he coded himself. He depicts feelings of uncertainty through glitchy, syncopated synths and abrupt, sonic whiplash as the protagonist delves deeper into the virtual landscape – still struggling to beat the level. The parallels with the reality of negotiating our complex world could not be more obvious. Body Meat’s soundscapes can be chaotic and manic but on ‘North Side’ the tone is more considered, as if verbalising his own thoughts.
The album promises to blend chaos, complexity and pop instinct, drawing inspiration from the intricate world-building and storytelling found in role-playing video games. Body Meat creates a narrative akin to a hero’s journey, with unexpected turns, dynamic levels of intricacy, ultimately arriving at a place of self-realisation, peace – and transformation – which is reflected in the music itself. Body Meat’s video game will be available to be downloaded on Mac and PC soon. In his own words, Chris outlines the game’s central plot:
“A shopkeeper returns to his forest after a long and tiring journey. He is used to selling great weapons that help keep the realm at peace. Hesitant, he runs across the bridge that connects the world to his home. A strange patron awaits him. Upon entering his humble shop, he is thrust into a void: a great orb is unleashed. The orb engulfs the forest and chases the shopkeeper deeper into the void. A mysterious being appears and helps him escape the orb. Thrust into a realm between worlds, here the shopkeeper makes a stand and must defeat the orb to bring the forest back and return to a place he once called home.” (Julia Mason)
Alien Chicks – Qwerty
Why we love it: London power-punk outfit Alien Chicks share new single ‘Qwerty’ via Hideous Mink Records & SO Recordings. It’s the second release from their upcoming debut EP Indulging The Mobs set for release on 18 July. The track begins calmly enough; however it doesn’t last long, perhaps reflecting the growing disappointment we find in people. The frustration quickly builds until it finally boils over. The lead vocal of Josef practically spitting out the lyrics towards the end, expressing disdain in human behaviour. The instrumentation similarly reflects this, and by the time the final note is reached all hell has broken lose.
Alien Chicks share the following on the new track: “People in every walk of life are generally insufferable and ‘Qwerty’ is a playful jibe bringing this idea to light. The nature of the human race is quite disappointing. The definition of the term “humanity” is ironic. The need for our species to progress and develop empathy is apparent. Although deceivingly small progression has been made, and a few recognise it, no real change can ever be successful without this change being worldwide.” (Julia Mason)
Eliza & the Delusionals – Falling for you
Why we love it: Eliza & the Delusionals‘ new single, ‘Falling For You‘ lifted from their forthcoming new album Make It feel like the Garden, is gorgeous, effortlessly tuneful melodies suplied by Eliza soar liltingly coated with gleaming guitars and perky rhythm section it’s a sound that harks back to an era of FM pop rock. Soaring with lilting melodies that puncture the heart yet rustle with an emotional heft below the surface, as deliciously bittersweet vocal explores the disorienting nature of emotional entanglements. Amid the chaos of feelings, the track delves into the struggle of maintaining one’s identity amidst the turmoil of love and longing. It’s even got a saxophone in the background, if you want references there are flecks of everyone from Fleetwood Mac and Haim to Phoebe Bridgers.
Eliza Klatt comments, “’Falling For You’ was a personal favorite from the get-go for me. There’s just something about the driving beat and the soaring melodies that I love. We knew we wanted to experiment with saxophone for this record, and this song felt like the perfect track for that. I think there is so much emotion to it, and it’s such a beautiful part of the song. To me, lyrically it’s about not wanting to fall down the rabbit hole of falling in love but you just can’t help it.”
The band is also releasing a stunning video created by Brisbane videographer and 3D designer Tom Carroll who brought to life the concept of the garden.
On the video, Eliza adds, “It was amazing seeing the whole visual side of things come together – seeing the entire Garden come to life the way he had imagined it. Visuals are always such an important part of a record to us, we always want to try something different and push the boundaries of the ideas we have. Kurt Skuse always has an out-of-the-box idea, and it’s just amazing to see the ideas when they come to fruition.” (Bill Cummings)
Ain’t – Oar
Why we love it: because it feels like we’re being kidnapped and taken across a stormy sea on a rowing boat, manned by a Vikings, off a wet sandy beach, salt stinging, on the way to their ship and taken away. There’s a definite rocking of a vessel on the waves in the way the guitar is incessant, the rhythm section creating the tidal pull and push. Hanna Barber-Darch’s vocals seem to come from the depth of the ocean, like a sunken lost community crying out.
“‘Oar’ was originally imagined by George in the pandemic and was driven by the lack faith of those in charge. After joining the band, Hanna reinterpreted the lyrics to be loosely inspired by the legend of Llys Helig, she incorporates imagery from medieval Wales to the themes of irreparable disaster.” (Jim Auton)
BRRDS – Let’s say yes
Why we love it: BRRDS return with a beguiling electro pop song packed full of samples, loops and layers and a vocoder vocal it sounds like a can of fizzy pop that’s been shaken too much, with a ‘yes’ sample looping throughout, the vocoder vocal sounds like AI leading us somewhere deeply sinister. It has something in common with the likes of Stereolab and early Saint Etienne with a twist of mid period New Order, in how it offers a glowing melodic counter point to inventive and refreshing electronic textures. A tantalising and intriguing offering.
BRRDS are a husband-wife duo from rural South Wales , UK. Their name comes from an 80’s computer programme designed to simulate and predict birds’ flocking behaviour.
Home music-making has always been their passion. They record in their mountain-side studio, Shaker Heights, a barn full of wheezing synths, creaking computers, and masking-taped drum machines. (Bill Cummings)
Rona Mac – Show Me How You Mourn
Why we love it: Rona Mac returns with her quite frankly great new single ‘Show Me How You Mourn’ and it might be her best yet! Which is saying something as this West Walian artist has been carving a niche for awesome song writing that wears its heart on its sleeve in recent years. Haunting and resonant, her multi tracked vocals glows with heart, reminiscent of elements of early Bon Iver by way of the emotive power of Marika Hackman.
Mac brings it to life vividly with a voice of radiant sensitivity and burning heart, that spirals with such a precious a hymnal revelry, through a spoken word part that just adds to the connection, that you can feel it, you can touch it, you can taste it. Cinematic, and emotionally charged it’s a journey through trauma and into the light and it sounds fantastic. Rona says “At the edge of a quarry near home, there’s a mighty grey wall of rock, standing tall like a row of bottom teeth. They’re blasted by salt water, spattered with lichen in blacks, yellows and a fuggy kinda green. They protect the quarry from storms, carrying waves the size of terraced houses and throwing them into the cliff. It’s a great place to watch sea foam, the bath bubbles flying by, gulls and gorse in tow. This song is inspired by some incredible people in my life, and the relationships which got dark and heavy when dark and heavy things happened. They love in a naked, brave, messy and defiant way, despite the risk of loss and vulnerability. With the power of those big quarry boulders under my feet, reminding me of the love I’ve felt from friends and lovers alike, I wrote this song.” (Bill Cummings)
