Tina Sandwich ‘sun honey’
Following on from the brilliant ‘dandelion (wishing)’, Tina Sandwich has shared a new single called ‘sunhoney’. Produced by Gianluca Bernacchi, it has that same rose-tinted nostalgia and raw, loose energy to it – a song built for the final stretch of summer, the changing of the seasons. Her ethereal vocals curl around the powerful, 90s-inspired instrumental, all surging guitar parts, distortion, ad melodies that seize the heart. With a larger project on the way later this year, you can catch the singer and her band at venues across the UK at the start of November.
She said: “We made a deal with the fairies. Early spring, swimming in the pool of a waterfall. Bathing in the trickling snow thaw… Sunhoney. The song came to me in real time in a way I’d never experienced before. It was breathtaking, but somewhat treacherous up on the lip of the mountain. We promised to immortalise that moment, if we all came out of it safely.
“Later in the Summer, an official writing trip up in the Highlands at my uncle’s house, we were sat trying to take the treacle out of the song. We loved what we had but it needed more grit/dirt/reality. Going about his usual day as we worked, my uncle took a chunk of meat out the freezer for his dog to eat in the evening. It sat outside on the ground on what was an uncharacteristically hot day (pushing 30°!!!). We went out to prod it in the afternoon. It had moved past the thaw, starting to turn. In that we found the final act of our tune. A reminder to live, to not to wait for the perfect time, as things go from state to state.”
Sin Clair ‘Affirmations #2 / Exhale’
As a touring member of The Horrors and a focal part of The Ninth Wave who returned just last week, Millie Kidd is having a busy year. But that’s not all – she’s now debuting her solo project ‘Sin Clair’. Something that has been in the works for some time, we’ve only heard snippets on social media – but now the singer, songwriter and producer has unveiled two new singles. Both show very different sides of her work (and interestingly sound nothing like The Ninth Wave or The Horrors) – ‘Affirmations #2 is a dark, glitchy, starkly minimalist slice of electronica while ‘Exhale’ is a strikingly intimate, pared back piano track. Showcasing the breadth of her influences (Burial to Leonard Cohen), the tracks, although so different in style, have a strong emotional thread running through them – held together in their intimacy. Having played her first headline show last night, it’s a compelling introduction to the new project – with more gigs and material lined up for the future.
corto.alto ‘SOME SMALL FORTUNE’
Liam Shortall’s rise through the UK jazz scene has been nothing short of enthralling, taking his local jazz jam nights to a worldwide tour and a Mercury Prize nomination. His new album ‘SOME SMALL FORTUNE’ is out today and it’s testament to his brilliant creativity and innovation. Taking his experimental sound to new heights, the new album fuses his impressive jazz instrumental with hip-hop beats, electronic melodies and digitally layered arrangements. At the heart of it all is collaboration, with appearances from Mick Jenkins, Jacob Alon, Terra Kin, Eriff and many more – and while it’s a patchwork of sounds and influences, it’s made cohesive by Shortall’s lively production.
Curiosity Shop ‘About A House’
Edinburgh based alt-folk five-piece Curiosity Shop have shared another preview of their debut EP Bound For The Sky, out on Friday 25th September via Fontana Records. Imbued with the same warmth and intimacy of previous singles ‘Crows’ and ‘Wandering Arrow,’ ‘About A House’ is a reflection on the places that make us who we are. Central to it are those gorgeous, honeyed vocal harmonies and gentle acoustic strums – as they tap into something that feels nostalgic yet beautifully timeless.
Songwriter Ruairidh Wallace sharing: “I’ve lived in and spent a lot of time in different homes, and I have collected lyrics and writings about each place. ‘About a House’ is a distilling of these thoughts and experiences, all workshopped into a tune. The guitar part and leading melody came a long while before the lyrics, as the tune itself was on the back burner for quite a while. I eventually went back to it having gathered a good few ideas. It became a bittersweet collage of places I’ll never visit again, where my head was and what the walls saw at different points in my life.”
CUZINO ‘All The Time’
Known for his expressive blend of pop, electronica and house, Glasgow producer CUZINO has teamed up with ROKI for his vibrant new track ‘All The Time’. With the deep grooves and crisp production of his previous work, he moves into a more club-ready, dance space, with hyperpop synths and driving drum beats. It’s a subtly infectious one that gradually burrows itself into your subconscious with the mantra-like lyrics reinforcing themes of anguish lust. It’s a brilliant return, which you can check out below.
San Jose ’Oxycontin, The American Dream’
Glasgow avant-garde experimentalists San Jose have released a ferocious new single ‘Oxycontin, The American Dream’. Having built a reputation for their explosive live performances, genre-defying songwriting and a fearless rejection of convention, ‘Oxycontin, The American Dream’ sees San Jose embrace the chaos once again in a blistering, unpredictable few minutes that flit between abrasion and theatricality. Taking aim at the so-called American dream and the Purdue pharmaceutical scandal, it’s dripping in satire – a story told against an expansive, shape-shifting instrumental that builds and builds, before igniting into pure rock and roll chaos.
Speaking about the single San Jose share: “We wanted to write a single that landed like a strike of lightning, a shock to the system and the slow burn that follows, slowly growing into a full fledged fire. Having read and learned about the story surrounding the OxyContin scandal and the arrest of author Jim Hogshire, we were galvanised to write a song on the topic. We are often inspired by history, and have a track record of writing music that adopts themes of social injustice, distorting the narrative and telling the story through a satirical or absurdist perspective. Oxycontin, The American Dream continues this tradition using the concept of the American Dream in juxtaposition with the injustice felt by the families of the 450,000 people killed by Oxycontin.”
Neon Waltz ‘Winner’
After returning with the defiant ‘Send Me Down’ a few weeks ago, Neon Waltz are back with another track called ‘Winner’. Driven by deep bass grooves, it’s a track that takes many different turns – deftly switching up pace and mood, while leaning into their multi-tracked vocal harmonies. With understated verses moving into loud, surging guitar parts then again into Beatles-esque pianos and intimate vocals, it’s full of soul and confidence – never in a rush to reach the finish. Shifting the parameters of their sound once more, it’s a compelling return that seizes your attention from the outset. And despite the chaos, it has real heart at the centre. “The song was written with a good friend in mind, who went through something pretty difficult in life that really shouldn’t need to be,” adds drummer, Darren Coghill. “Having not been in the same situation myself, I was trying to imagine their overwhelming sense of relief once it was done. The longer the struggle, the greater the reward, sort of thing.”
Little Grandad ‘Tiny Feet’
The hotly tipped Little Grandad have announced details of the debut album ‘Speak Softly, Son’ – out on 22nd January. With a flurry of impressive single releases, the band have showcased their Americana and slacker rock influences, with touches of indie – all scuzzy and soulful. And now, along with the album news, they’ve shared the considered and affecting ’Tiny Feet’.
My First Time ‘Every Version of You’
Set to make their TENEMENT TRAIL debut next month, Bristol group My First Time have shared a new single called ‘Every Version of You’. Their crushing mix of punk, thrashy pop and twisted riffs is known to translate into an exhilarating live show – and this new track captures all of that energy more. It’s bold, brash and confrontational.
Spanish Horses ‘Hey Man (Hey Man!)’
Having recently moved from Paris to London and signed to So Young Records, Spanish Horses have shared their debut single ‘Hey Man (Hey Man!)’. It’s an assured first release that has a woozy, optimistic feel to it – with shades of Americana and psychedelia. It’s the sound of summer ending, with rose-tinted spectacles.
“‘Hey Man (Hey Man!)’ is a musical statement and I really think it’s flipped a switch for us, this song found our sound,” the band explain. “The writing process was quick and easy, we laughed throughout. It came as an apparition, a divine intervention, a eureka moment!”
