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Labyrinthe Oceans Make Waves with Dreamy New Single, pinch – SINGLE REVIEW

16th Jan 2025 — Leave a comment

Labyrinthe Oceans’ latest single, pinch, perfectly teases their upcoming EP, home showcasing the band’s strong melodies and savvy production.

These three track single shows the band off at their very best, highlighting their dreamy sound while emphasising their even dreamier songwriting.

The first track, pinch, opens the single off in hazy fashion, with beautiful swirling melodies created by reverb-laden guitars. This swells into a gorgeous supernova in the massive, emotionally charged chorus.

The track illustrates the songwriting talent at the band’s core, conjuring thoughts of traditional dream pop bands such as Slowdive, as well as indie pop titans like Wolf Alice.

Labyrinthe Oceans
Labyrinthe Oceans – image by @gracroc (instagram)

Bass makes up a huge part of the EP and this is illustrated in the beginning of home, where the bass work shines. The massive bass notes perfectly build tension within the song, while the guitar lines are elaborate, dancing elegantly throughout. The entire track has a touch of The Cure to it.

Another huge chorus allows lead singer Julia O’Neill to show off her impressive vocal range, nailing the landing with ease.

untitled feels like a heavier version of The xx, with the bass and vocals intermingling perfectly before the song takes a change of direction as it builds. O’Neill delivers another strong vocal performance, selling the track perfectly with both emotion and control in equal measure.

Overall, this is a really strong collection of songs and serves as a great introduction to the band if you haven’t heard them before. By blending elements of rock, shoegaze, and indie, they create a gorgeous kaleidoscope of sound. Make sure to check it out!

Honouring a Folk Legacy: Martin Matthews’ Final Album Supports Cancer Charities

21st Nov 2024 — Leave a comment

A slightly different one today, as I wanted to draw attention to the new posthumous release from folk musician Martin Matthews.

The album, No Time Like The Present, features 17 tracks recorded during the final months of Martin’s life before his passing in August 2023 at the age of 71, following a courageous battle with bowel cancer.

Martin’s friends and family have released the album to raise funds for three charities close to his heart: The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Marie Curie.

Over the course of 20 years, Martin played in 12 bands, becoming a beloved figure in the North East folk scene, and collaborated on four albums with producer Sean Taylor.

It is Taylor, who worked with Martin over the past 20 years, who finished the project based on Martin’s detailed notes.

With the proceeds from the album, Martin’s friends and family are now hoping to support the organisations that provided vital care during his illness, which included a clinical trial for innovative cancer drug at Newcastle’s Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre.

Martin’s wife Maria had this to say about the work that these charities:

“The support we received from these organisations during Martin’s illness is something I, along with our wonderful daughter Cate, will always cherish. Their kindness and practical assistance during such a challenging time made a world of difference to our experience.

Martin was truly grateful for all they did for him, and it was his firm wish that proceeds from this album, one he was incredibly passionate about, went to them in order to support other families facing a cancer diagnosis.”

The album can be ordered via Martin Matthews’ official website, or you can donate to these charities in Martin’s name here.

Black Surf’s Army of Sheep: A Fuzzy Alt-Rock Triumph – Single Review

15th Nov 2024 — Leave a comment

The new single from Black Surf sees the band continuing to hit it out of the park with yet another alt-rock home run.

Mixing elements of slacker rock and post-punk, the group have once again stumbled upon a winning formula on Army of Sheep, which sounds like a lost Weezer track from the nineties.

You can almost imagine Rivers Cuomo belting out the massive chorus, which features a very Weezer-esque rush of guitars and feedback reminiscent of tracks like Holiday from their 1994 Blue Album.

In addition, I could hear the influence of groups like Pixies within the songwriting, with the dynamics following a quiet verse/loud chorus mould that was the cornerstone of the legendary American group’s success.

I also adored the beautiful fuzzy solo, which hit gorgeously after the chorus, as well as the feedback bridges between the verses and choruses that perfectly build anticipation.

If you like big choruses with a fuzzier edge, then why not give this one a try!

Specky Cult Unleash a Bold New Sound with Their Explosive Single “Swish” – Single Review

22nd Sep 2024 — Leave a comment

Specky Cult are back, with a whole new sound and bold punk inspired direction on their latest single Swish.

Gone is the acoustic feel of previous releases, replaced by a punchy, full-bodied sound that immediately grabs you.

The Sex Pistols feeling bass riff which greets you at the beginning of the song sets the theme for the more full-bodied sound that the band has gone for, setting the tone for the rest of the track.

This is immediately joined in the mix by heavy and thumping guitars, which the song’s catchy melody is constructed from.

Lying over the top of this is a set of lyrics which take aim at the current beauty standards and the impact they have upon individuals.

These are delivered with the emotion and personality that you’d expect from a Specky Cult, with the group continuing to build their reputation for strong lyricism.

Add to this a catchy and memorable melody, which reaches its glorious climax during the chorus and you have another great single from Specky Cult, which highlights a different side to the group.

If you’re a fan of indie and post-punk, Swish is sure to offer plenty of thrills and fun. Make sure to also check out their previous album, which I reviewed earlier this year.

Hannah Robertson’s ‘Blissfully Miles Away’: A Gorgeous Dream Pop Single with a Bite – SINGLE REVIEW

19th Jul 2024 — Leave a comment

Hannah Robertson returns with yet another gorgeously dark single, taking her dream pop sound in a more twisted direction.

Beginning in a realm of dreamy and hypnotic guitars, the track quickly awakens you with a rush of distortion and drums, bringing a gnarly edge to Robertson’s dream pop production.

The influence of groups such as NewDad and Slowdive is evident within the dreamy shoegaze-inspired production. However, an underlying darkness brings a nasty edge to the ethereal track, making it more dream rock than dream pop.

The anticipation built up through the verse explodes in the chorus, which musically acts as a dark counter balance to the airy intro.

Throughout the track, the performances and production are exceptional, helping build a dark, dreamy atmosphere with their crispness.

If you love groups like Wolf Alice and enjoy hypnotic, dreamy production, then this track is perfect for you!

Newcastle based band Stasis announce a single is in the works

13th Nov 2019 — 1 Comment

Local band Stasis have announced that they are currently recording their debut single, ‘Lies’.

Introducing the band

The band revealed that the track is close to completion with just the bass missing from the song.

Stasis supported The Sheds last Monday at Think Tank? in Newcastle, in what proved to be an amazing moment for the band.

‘It was mint’ said drummer Dylan with the rest of the band quick to back him up.

The communal atmosphere of the band is apparent when you meet them and this vibe has translated into the songwriting process for the band as revealed by the band’s singer Tamzin.

‘The melodies are written by Fae and Ben and I write the lyrics,’

‘When Fae writes a song it’s very different to when Ben writes one, they come from different ends of the spectrum,’

‘Fae will write more heavier, grungier songs whereas Ben will write more alternative or indie songs.’

However, the band had originally been recording within Newcastle College, but the group were underwhelmed with the sessions.

Instead they have been camped around guitarist Ben’s ‘little’ mic writing and recording songs using Garage Band which the group seemingly prefer.

The band draw from numerous different influences with each member of the group coming from a different musical backgrounds.

These different approaches have shaped the sound of the band with influences listed from grunge to indie.

Guitarist Fae has cited influences from grunge icons Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins as well as taking inspiration from the shoegaze music of My Bloody Valentine.

This contrasts with bassist Patrick who instead takes inspiration more from Mac Demarco and indie music in general, this creates an interesting mix of songs which keeps the band fresh.

The band wants to be a unique entity which is very much them and no one else.

‘We don’t have a persona or anything like that, we want to be ourselves’ said the band’s singer Tamzin. ‘We all dress differently and we’re a mix of people.’

The Band playing their first ever gig – @thebandstasis

The band met in college with drummer Dylan having the idea to form the band. Ever since then they have been working and creating music.

What the future holds for Stasis they don’t know, but what they do know is that they want to enjoy it as much as they can.

The aim for the future is to simply get as many gigs as possible regardless of the venue with the band just happy to be playing music.

This means recording more songs, which the band have been doing with an EP coming in the future as well as the upcoming single.

This will hopefully lead to more amazing moments for the band live

Make sure to follow Stasis on Instagram here to make sure you don’t miss any future announcements.