Tag Archives: single

I am Ampersand / Holding the Negative up to the Light 7″

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Back in January, I only gave I am Ampersand’s debut single “20 Seas, 4 Oceans” a passing mention in a blog post with a few other videos that were around, which is a travesty because it’s fantastic – four minutes of sunshine psychedelic folk pop. Matt Hainsby’s second 7″ is just as good. Holding the Negative up to the Light crams in even more ideas that it’s predecessor without losing any of the charm. And being the sucker for nice packaging that I am, I can only say good things about the translucent orange vinyl that it’s pressed on, and the screen print that comes tucked into the sleeve.

 

Negative is a tune of two halves – in the first half of the song, the vocals are accompanied by acoustic guitars and strings and then at around a minute and a half the song crumples then revives itself with effervescent analogue synths which bubble along and bring a completely different dynamic to the second half.

I Am Ampersand’s album is due later in the year on the Great Pop Supplement label. On the strength of his first two singles, it should be a corker!

 

Sparrow / Your Explosion My Mind split 7″

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For the second single from their album However Did The Wolf Get in, Sparrow have teamed up with Your Explosion My Mind for a split 7″. Sparrow’s Move shares vinyl with Your Explosion My Mind’s Eyeball Kick.

Both singles have separate iTunes releases, with Move being backed by with new track Shut, and Eyeball Kick forming part of the five track Under a Heavy Sun EP. Click on the titles for the iTunes links and watch the videos below, or buy the 7″ from Resident (or online here):

Sparrow / Move

Your Explosion My Mind / Eyeball Kick

Curxes / Spectre single

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Curxes new single Spectre is out this week, and it’s brilliant. A fantastic slice of dark, soaring electro pop. If you don’t believe me, then click on the soundcloud link below. And then once that’s convinced you, go and buy it on iTunes. It comes with a remix by Strangers which makes it even more industrial and angular.

If you want the record on vinyl, you can buy it through their website or you can pop over to Southsea, where it’s being sold in a Pie shop. Obviously.

http://www.curxes.com/

Bat for Lashes – Laura

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Bat for Lashes is back with a new single, called Laura:

Laura is the first track to be released from the new album The Haunted Man, which hits the shops on 15th October, and if you pre-order the album on iTunes now you can get it as a free download (or you can buy the track individually for a mere 79p).

According to the link from youtube, the album comes in a multitude of pre-order options. Pre-ordering from iTunes gets you Laura for free, the first 500 pre-ordere from Play get signed, and HMV and Recordstore pre-orders also come with additional material.

The artwork for the album is a photo by American nude photographer Ryan McGinley. I’ll let you click through rather than post up NSFW pics onto the blog.

 

Kovak – Killer Boots

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I casually slipped the video for the new Kovak single into a post about them heading off to NXNE a week or so ago, but now that it’s out, it deserves a post of it’s own, because it’s doing so well – It’s been playlisted on Radio 2. Not bad for a band who are unsigned – a situation which I’m sure won’t last long.

As well as the band themselves being from Brighton, the video is shot partially in the Green Door Store, the suits are from Gresham Blake and the shoes are from Irregular Choice. Good to see them keeping things local!

The single is out digitally now – buy from iTunes here.

Jennifer Left single launch at the Blind Tiger

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Jennifer Left’s debut single Black Dog came out a few weeks ago, and last night she held the launch party for it at the Blind Tiger Club. Support came from Cate Ferris and the Peppermint Beat Band.

Cate Ferris had a tricky job as opener of the night – Set times were already pushed back because of the football and when she took to the stage things were still quite quiet, but by the end of the set the venue was full and she had everyone eating out of the palm of her hand. Playing predominantly new material, some of which has been recorded by Tim Bidwell (who also produced Jennifer Left’s single) to be released as an EP sometime in the next couple of months, Cate played guitar, drums, flute, and keyboards, and used samplers to loop her sounds and harmonise with herself. Expect to read a lot more about Cate on the blog in the next few weeks as we get more details of her single and her flashmob on 1st July…

Next up were The Peppermint Beat Band, a tight five piece retro rock’n’roll group, originally from Northampton but who’ve been based in Brighton for the past few years. Their trousers were as tight as their harmonies, and their facial hair was quite something too.

The Peppermint Beat Band

Finally this month’s Source cover star hit the stage. The band’s songs bring together a wide range of influences, from folk to jazz to pop and back again, all underpinned by Jennifer Left’s distinctive smoky voice. Band members swapped instruments, picking up a variety of guitars and basses, a mandolin, some keyboard based instruments, including an accordian and a xylophone (which almost fell apart on it’s way to the stage), as well as trumpet. Despite not yet being released yet, the songs sounded accomplished and familiar – old yet new at the same time. Time flew by and before we knew it the set was being closed with the song that the whole evening was celebrating, new single Black Dog.

Jennifer Left

new single : Shrag / Show Us Your Canines

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Slightly late to the party on this, the new Shrag single Show Us Your Canines came out last week. The single is the lead track from their forthcoming album Canines and shows the band in fine form, typical lo fi indie with boy/girl vocals. We can’t wait for the LP to come out, but  in the meantime, the 7″ is in the shops now, and the video is on youtube:

Fragile Creatures debut single

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After spending the last few months honing their sound, today Fragile Creatures unleash their debut single onto thje world today, released digitally through DNVMusic.

The single is a double A-side – Dear Michael is laid back, shuffling indie pop with organs, brushes on the drums and lush harmonies. She Makes Me Nervous is a more up-beat affair, and off kilter stomper which switches tempo between verse and chorus. The video for the single isn’t out there just yet, but I’ll update the blog when it is.

Fragile Creatures have just been to Normandy to record their album, which they’re hoping will be out by the end of the year. Between now and then, they’re playing at Latest on 29th June, Brighton People’s Day on 14th July, and if recent activity has been anything to go by, dozens of other dates too.

new single : Moulettes / Sing Unto Me

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Back in April The Moulettes had their single launch at The Marlborough. Two months on, it’s about time they actually released it. Held back by a combination of trying to tie things in with their multitude of festival appearances, and pressing plant delays caused by bank holidays, Sing Unto Me finally hits the shops next monday.

Sing Unto Me is the lead single from the Moulettes new album The Bear’s Revenge. In a bit of a departure from most of their tracks, lead singer Hannah Miller takes on guitar rather than ‘cello duties, but the overall sound is very familiar – tight female harmonies sung in the round, and a folk rhythm section made up of guitar, fiddle, bodhran, and any other bits of percussion that come to hand as well as double bass from Ted Dwane from Mumford and Sons.

Being the generous sorts they are, the single comes with a bumper six tracks – as well as a single edit, there’s a remix, a cover by fellow Brightonians The Muel, and a handful of b-sides including live favourite Are You Going Away To Sea, which is probably the track that made me fall in love with them in the first place.

The band are going to have a very busy summer. If you happen to be at any of the following festivals, I heartily recommend you go and see them:

  • 07/06 Irish Cultural Centre, Derry, Northern Ireland
  • 08/06 Marlboro House, Bundoran, Donegal
  • 09/06 ‘Gentlemen Of The Road’ Salthill Pk Galway – w/Mumford & Sons
  • 10/06 The Slate, Cork – on at 5.30pm, *before* the football!
  • 06/07 Nova Festival
  • 21/7 Secret Garden Party – Three gigs in one day! 5pm @ Onetaste, 8-ish @ Small World, 11.30pm-ish @ Cut-A-Shine
  • 29/07 Cambridge Folk Festival (Den Stage)
  • 03/08 Playgroup Fest – 5pm Main Stage
  • 04/08 Nottingham Riverside Festival
  • 12/08 Greenwich Summer Festival
  • 25/08 Purbeck Folk Festival
  • 26/08 Rhythm Festival
  • 02/09 End Of The Road Festival
  • 07/09 Bestival Isle Of Wight
  • 29/09 Life Centre, Bournemouth
  • 06/10 Musicport Festival, Whitby
  • 21/10 Lewes ‘Apple Festival’