Setting the mood with their live four-track EP, British alt-pop trio Flawes share ‘Lowlights’, out now via Red Bull Records.
With echoes of classical pianist Ludovico Einaudi and even the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, the stripped-back ‘Don’t Count Me Out’ gives the listener an opportunity to get to know the band on a much deeper level, as the band remove their invisible rockstar barrier.
Undeterred by lockdown, the band has also been recording and releasing a series of isolation sessions, with each member performing remotely from their own home.
Rising Manchester four-piece Larkins recently dropped their highly-anticipated EP, ‘Hit and Run’ on Good Soldier Records.
It’s a finely-crafted mix of melodic futurism and vulnerability. We decided to have a chat with the guys ahead of their US tour to find out what’s going to be on their travelling playlist.
This is the outcome…
Khalid – Intro
Production-wise this is a pretty perfect track. Always feeling like it could kick in at any moment and it never does but still manages to bang. Incredible opening track to have on an album.
Gengahr – Icarus
Gengahr have completely taken up a level on this album. Produced by Jack Steadman from Bombay Bicycle Club, this track just makes your head move.
King Princess – Talia
Proper digging King Princess at the minute, love how this track goes from the laid back folky verse then hits you with the massive chorus. She’s proper pushing boundaries with her visuals as well, need to catch her live.
Whitney – Valleys (My Love)
Literally first heard Whitney for the first time a couple of weeks ago and fucking love them. Love how this track is kinda like a mellow Beach Boys without the harmonies on top of 70s acoustic folk with Bon Iver horns.
Friendly Fires – Pull Me Back To Earth
Whenever we’re trying to get a clean electric guitar sound in the studio we seem to reference this track. I remember when PALA came out and it blew my mind.
Jai Paul – Do You Love Her Now
Just absolute vibes. Again, that clean guitar sound is mad.
Foals – Spanish Sahara
Such an anthem. Seeing this track live and how the crowd reacts to it made me want to be in a band. The drop never fails to hype me up.
Bon Iver – Naeem
The vocal on this song is madness. The piano and the whole feel is just badass. Bon Iver can do no wrong. This album has been a massive reference point when we’re in the studio, especially when it comes to synth and drum sounds.
Bon Iver – 33 “GOD”
Another Bon Iver, 22 a million is top 5 best albums ever. The production on this track just blows the roof off. Cant even quite comprehend how good this track is. No idea what the lyrics mean but this track is just insanity.
Biffy Clyro – Different People
This song really marks two defining moments in Larkins career.
1. They opened with it when they headlined T in the park in Scotland and it seemed to be such an emotional moment for everyone there, it really made us realise that we wanted to do this.
2. Dom decided he wanted to be Simon and grew his hair really long.
Radiohead – Weird Fishes
In rainbows is such a monumental album and it was hard to choose one track but Weird Fishes really sums up Radiohead’s visionary blend of pop, rock and dance music.
Haim – Summer Girl
Such a great nod to the 60s with the Lou Reed sample but with such a modern LA vibe. We’d just got back from our first trip to LA when this came out and it proper seemed to sum up the city for us. The scene out there is so vibrant at the minute.
Khalid, Disclosure – Talk
Love this track. Another one we try to reference a little bit with the style of the synths and the drum sounds. The riff is so good.
US/UK Tour Dates
12 Mar – Toronto, The Monarch
13 Mar – New York, Pianos
14 Mar – Brooklyn, Elsewhere (Zone One)
18 Mar – Austin, Maggie Mae’s
19 Mar – Austin, Rainey Street
21 Mar – Austin, Broad Studios
21 Mar – Austin, Cedar Street Courtyard
24 Mar – Los Angeles, Moroccan Lounge
Scottish band, Dancing on Tables, explores a more melancholic side in ‘Not To Need You’.
Written in Nashville alongside legendary songwriter Liz Rose (TaylorSwift, LittleBigTown, CarrieUnderwood), the hopeful song encapsulates the uphill battles everyone goes through in life but reminds us that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Sounds like: Sea Girls, Biffy Clyro, Circa Waves, The 1975, Rat Boy, Circa Waves, The Amazons, Blossoms, Wild Nothing, Cassia, Catfish and the Bottlemen
Like an early Billie Eilish, Australian artist Stellie is transforming our take on pop.
Inspired by strong female voices, her tender and personal tales are indie-pop slow-burners that cut straight to the heart. Listen to her hazy new single, ‘How Do We Look So Good?’ below.
It’s great to see GusGus back with another stellar release.
The electronic innovators have released ‘Out Of Place’, highlighting the duo’s affinity for rolling synth-lines and sharp, pop-driven vocals. Listen below.
Sounds like: Simian Mobile Disco, Tears For Fears, Simple Minds, Röyksopp, Goldfrapp, Orbital, Roisin Murphy
Another Newcastle band for us this week – Llovers.
Releasing the infectious new cut, ‘Feeling Sound’, it’s clear that anyone listening to the track will be enamoured by their immense potential, thanks to their irresistible anthemic tendencies with sparkling riffs, sing-along choruses and playful songwriting.
London baroque pop band Weird Milk shares ‘Is That Love?’.
Having already supported indie risers Alfie Templeman and Pip Blom, and about to support APRE on their UK tour, their latest offering doesn’t disappoint.
Songwriter and drummer Charlie Glover-Wright explains, “The song itself is about a relationship turning sour as a lemon and the main character realising that they don’t need it anymore and they’ll be better off on their own.”
Sounds like: FEET, Sports Team, The Magic Gang, Genghar, The Last Shadow Puppets
You may recognise Kelli-Leigh’s vocals from such hits as ‘More Than Friends’ by Jame Hype, ‘I Got U’ by Duke Dumont and Second City‘s ‘I Wanna Feel’, but it’s time for the British singer/songwriter to step out into the light and reveal her first solo music of the decade.
The uptempo pop song, ‘Cotton Clouds’ describes a blissed out relationship. Lovely.
Dutch DIY duo The Day are Laura Loeters from from Antwerp/Belgium and Hamburg based Gregor Sonnenberg.
Sharing the fancy-free video for their cover of ‘Tenderfoot’ by The Lemonheads / Smudge, the latest release is inspired by their youth, as the dream-pop band continue their tasteful take on original classics.
Orlando-based 25 year old Talii has a wicked streak, as can be witnessed in her sultry and dark pop song, ‘Good To Be Bad’.
Born into a musically gifted and diversely talented family of musicians and performers, she began singing at age 3 and was playing the piano and writing songs by age 7. There is no denying her talent.
Fast-rising British alt-pop band Flawes is comprised of JC, Huss and Freddie. They’ve just released their debut 12 track album, ‘Highlights’.
The lead single – co-written with Nick Atkinson and Ed Holloway (LewisCapaldi, GabrielleAplin) – explores the band’s relationship with social media and its negative impact on the world.
Live
5 Feb – Jumbo Records (instore), Leeds
31 Mar – London, Omeara
1 Apr – Manchester, The Castle
2 Apr – Poetry Club, Glasgow
Glasgow band Victoria’s Flight shares new single ‘Love Will Come Back’, the third in a trilogy of singles that together tell the story of a summer of love and loss.
An accidental song that took very little time to create, it’s got a bittersweet attitude and once again showcases the band’s ability to write rich and memorable melodies.
Scottish band Dancing On Tables shares their effervescent new single, ‘Stay’.
The topic of the song talks about the over-reliance on the other half of a relationship. Usually a subject of heartbreak, the track builds towards the desperate and angry situation the left behind half finds themselves in.
Listen below.
It’s out now via LV Music.
Sounds like: Sea Girls, Biffy Clyro, Circa Waves, The 1975, Rat Boy, Circa Waves, The Amazons, Blossoms, Wild Nothing, Cassia
Northern Irish four-piece Hunkpapa have been kicking up a storm in their native country, as well as across Europe.
Their new single ‘Cappuccino’ is as addictive and energetic as a caffeine high and encapsulates the band’s personal journey from paths of conventional careers to where they find themselves now.
Expect them to play a town near you in the Autumn.
Her latest single, ‘Stripes + Squares’ has received the remix treatment from producer veteran Penguin Prison (Chris Glover).
Further highlighting Julietta’s independent and spontaneous spirit, the percussive rework from the fellow NYC native injects body-shaking bass and warm tones from marimbas to turn the original rock-influenced bop into a truly anthemic tune.
Sounds like: Sofi Tukker, Ralph, Mating Ritual, Morgan Saint, NVDES
Reintroducing the music world to producer Darragh Nolan (aka Sacred Animals).
As the visuals for his new single, ‘Maya Liminal’ build into an electronic-fused, dream-like state, he draws the listener into an intense world, where one is asked to consider what it means to be a spirit living a human existence.
Expect the forthcoming LP, ‘Odin’s Wain’, out later in the year.
Sounds like: Thom Yorke, James Blake, Son Lux, Ry X & Chromatics
Hot off supporting Cassia on a UK tour, old school friends and bandmates, Dancing On Tables share their new ballad, ‘Black’.
Using their youthful energy and determination to fuel the fire within their music, Dancing on Tables highlight the importance of their roots, as well as raising awareness about the musical talent in the North of the UK.
Sounds like: Sea Girls, Biffy Clyro, Circa Waves, The 1975, Rat Boy, Circa Waves, The Amazons, Blossoms, Wild Nothing, Cassia
It’s Sunday, so time for a bit of indie rock from the North courtesy of Scottish five-piece, Dancing on Tables.
The band named themselves after arriving at a gig with no band name and noticing that people were dancing on tables, and we’re sure that there will be plenty more opportunities for this to happen again with their rousing anthemic tunes.
Listen to their new single, ‘Stereo’ below:
Live
King Tuts Wah Wah Hut , Glasgow – 18th January
Live at Leeds, Leeds – 4th May
Sounds like: Sea Girls, Biffy Clyro, Circa Waves, The 1975, Rat Boy, Circa Waves, The Amazons
Comprised of Robin French (Cuckoo) and Antonia Thomas (Misfits, Lovesick), these two creatives write seductive bossa nova music paired with calypso pop sensibilities that would fit well on the soundtrack of ‘The End of the F***ing World’.
On the motivation behind Bethnal Green Blues, Robin states,
“Sometimes you write a sad song from a happy moment. This came to me while I was flying to South America to see a girl I’d fallen for. It’s about the emotional ice age after a romance fails, but it was written as that ice melted under the Argentine sun..”
We love an indie anthem, so thank you to five-piece pop-rock, Dancing On Tables.
The band, school friends from school in Dunfermline, a small town just outside Edinburgh, have released ‘Colour Me Good’ – a groove-laced, vintage indie-pop track that encapsulates sun-drenched, dance-able songwriting with a distinct Scottish charm.
Sounds like: Sea Girls, Biffy Clyro, Circa Waves, The 1975
Slenderbodies is a California-bred duo who write forward-thinking, dreamy synth-pop.
Their new single ‘The One’ is intricately subtle musical medication, shared in preparation of their upcoming EP, ‘SORAYA’, to be released through Los Angeles indie label Avant Garden, which is also home to Emotional Oranges.
From summer season to ‘Sad Season’ with former professional cyclist Gavin Haley‘s latest single.
While competing with the national cycling team, Haley suffered an injury that resulted in a collapsed lung, setting back his travel by several months. During his recovery, he explored and found inspiration in Europe’s underground music scene, becoming enamored with energetic live performances filled with a grit and energy.
Starting with a simple West Coast-inspired guitar riff, ‘Sad Season’ soon picks up and exposes determined pop and R&B.
Canadian songstress ROYAL debuts with ‘Vessel’, the first of six new tracks that appear on her upcoming album, ‘Heart of Shadows’.
Covering the topic of heartbreak, loss of identity and raw self-reflection, this is electro-pop at its finest in 2018.
Speaking about ‘Vessel,’ ROYAL says,
“This song is about heartbreak – having to let go of someone you love, and then realizing the emptiness and loss of identity that ensues. I wrote this song it while trying to find myself after getting lost within a relationship for many years and then feeling shattered by the loss of a love I thought would last a lifetime.”
Sounds like: VÉRITÉ, Lana Del Rey, Evvy, Noosa, Dominique, The xx
Last but not least, our favourite breakthrough act – self-taught producer, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Von Sell.
After a bout of vocal pain and subsequent treatment, we are pleased to say that Von Sell is on the mend and returning to our stereos with ‘Scene OF A Crime’.
Taken from his forthcoming sophomore EP, ‘Digital Sleep’, the song reflects on unrequited love, but, due to its uptempo nature, it will ultimately leave a taste of confusion in your mouth because you can’t help but dance despite the disconcerting subject matter.
Sounds like: Summer Heart, Hazel English, Teen Daze, Peter Gabriel, Alt-J, Thomas Azier
