BONNIE TRASH is the drone-rock project of Canadian-Italian twin sisters Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor. Today they share new single “Teeth” – a first glimpse at their debut album, which is due to be released later this year by Hand Drawn Dracula.
“Teeth” sees Bonnie Trash at their poppiest, recontextualizing a “Be My Baby” beat (a nod to Ronnie Spector up above) before a wash of swoony, microtonal drones, the words telling of a love story that might be toxic.
The band share the track with a self-directed video, commenting: “We created a short film to help narrate stories our Nonna Maria told us about being haunted and followed by a curse in her hometown of San Zenone degli Ezzelini in Treviso, Italy. That short eventually became the concept of our album, which is woven into our first music video, “Teeth.” Shot at the Apollo Cinema in Kitchener, Ontario, “Teeth” bridges generations of being haunted – we see ourselves watching our work without understanding that we too have conjured the curse. A malocchio follows.”
The music of Bonnie Trash connects the threads between metal, post-punk, shoegaze and gothic rock, with Emmalia’s astounding guitar work recalling the likes of Black Sabbath, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine. Singer/drummer/lyricist Sarafina’s voice leaps out of the mix with a commanding presence, summoning references to PJ Harvey or Siouxsie & the Banshees.
That mix of musical influences alone would set Bonnie Trash apart, but the duo’s unique approach to their lyrical content really puts them in a school of their own. Inspired by communication theory, social commentary, horror, and ancestral folklore, the sisters approach their songwriting as a conceptual research project into their own family heritage. As second-generation Italian-Canadians, the Bortolon-Vettors became fascinated by the stories told by their Nonna and the connections between Treviso in Northern Italy and their hometown of Guelph, Ontario.
The twins began playing music together at age 11, forming an all-female punk band in high school and a more eclectic indie group during their college years. But what became Bonnie Trash began to coalesce around 2013, when they moved back home to Guelph after spending time in the larger cities of Toronto and Montreal. A progressive college town with a vibrant DIY music scene, Guelph is also home to a tight-knit Italian-Canadian community and the name “Guelph” also has an Italian origin.
Spending more time with their Nonna Maria, they began digging into the ghost stories they heard as children, becoming more fascinated with the folklore, the superstitions, and the unique Veneto dialect she spoke — a dialect the sisters recognized was also dying out. Suddenly, the act of songwriting had also become an act of cultural preservation. And some of these stories were hair-raisingly scary. Discovering this heavier subject matter coincided with a shared desire to play heavier music.
06/12/22 Toronto ON : Baby G w/ Gloin
06/23/22 Calgary AB : Sled Island Festival
07/15/22 Guelph ON : Kazoo Festival
https://www.handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Bonnie-Trash-1-by-Dana-Bellamy-1600.jpg12001600HDDhttps://handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-logo.pngHDD2022-06-06 13:35:272022-06-27 13:47:34BONNIE TRASH // TEETH (VIDEO) GOD IS IN THE TV, GET IN HER EARS, WHEN THE HORN BLOWS, TINNITIST, PAN M 360, SIDEWALK HUSTLE, THE LINE OF BEST FIT
FAKE PALMS, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Michael le Riche, is today returning with his new single “Satellite” (video directed by Justis Krar) and word of a new record. Lemons is set for release via Hand Drawn Dracula on September 16, 2022.
Michael le Riche called upon a veritable who’s who of Toronto indie-dom for Lemons, drawing from the ranks of Dilly Dally (Ben Reinhartz), Ducks Ltd (Evan Lewis), Sauna (Braeden Craig), and Twist (Laura Hermiston). Taking to Candle Recording studio with long-time contributor, co-producer, and engineer Josh Korody (Breeze, Beliefs), the songwriting dove headlong even further into dream-math-punk sensibilities.
Just the third proper release from a one-man band that le Riche routinely manifests in the flesh onstage in Toronto as a sort of amorphous, all-star underground-Toronto noise-pop “supergroup,” this is an album that fully derives its antisocial scorch through the increased clarity and precision of the Fake Palms vision. Lemons is slippery, spiky, not a little psych-y and more than a little lyrically sour, not to mention frequently, subtly tricked-out from a minimalist, nerdo-instrumental perspective that doesn’t demand that you dork out over the arrangements but will always leave the option open if and when you decide to do so.
“Satellite” is sonically Magazine meets A Flock of Seagulls. Captained by a jagged, muscular guitar part that’s surrounded by an atypical rhythm section it thematically tackles modern technologies, mob mentality and safe havens from doom scrolling. Speaking about the new album, Michael explains: “This record is the most direct thing I’ve ever done,” says Le Riche. “All the distorted guitars playing 16th-note riffs in different time signatures, washes of noise and buried vocals are basically gone. In their place, we made a record that’s lean and a punch to the gut. There are still some moments where the guitars get a little tricky but, in general, we tried to be as immediate as possible. The songs are all fairly short and there are almost no extra production tricks. I was inspired by records like the Dead Boys’ Young, Loud and Snotty and the Buzzcocks’ Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Maybe because of what was going on in the world at the time, or maybe just as a reaction to the last Fake Palms record – which was flush with production flourishes – it just felt necessary to kick the door down instead of knocking.”
Today YOUNG GUV has shared the third single, “Cry 2 Sleep,” from GUV IV. The new album is due out June 24th from Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. The track follows “Change Your Mind” and “Nowhere At All” (which drew praise from the likes of Stereogum, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, BrookylnVegan, New Commute, and more) and sees Ben Cook combining hazy pedal steel with bubbling keyboards and his gentle harmonies to make something that spans the many different moods of Guv.
Young Guv has also announced a run of UK shows in June. Guv will be touring around his performance at Outbreak Festival, including shows with One Step Closer, Chastity, and more.
July 22 Toronto, ON @ The Monarch w/ Kali Horse, Tange
June 24 Glasgow, UK @ The Rum Shack w/ Chastity
June 25 Manchester, UK @ Outbreak Festival
June 26 London, UK @ Windmill Brixton
June 27 Leeds, UK @ The Lending Room w/ Chastity
June 29 Birmingham, UK @ The Victoria
June 30 Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin w/ One Step Closer
PRAISES, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Jesse Crowe, is today sharing their new single and video for “Life is Just a Picture”, which comes as another glimpse of their second albumIn This Year: Hierophant – out June 17.
When discussing “Life is Just a Picture“, which layers eerie vocals with decayed electronics and haunting synth, Crowe says: “Eventually we all live on in smudged still images on phones or in frames. This song breathes both the sorrow and joy of a lifetime of memories. Written in dedication to the intermingling stories of Grandma Upton and Granny Crowe.” It’s a foggy, gothic addition to the forthcoming album which at times touches on the sounds of Low, Zola Jesus and Chelsea Wolfe.
https://www.handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Praises-Pic-clip-5.jpg10541400HDDhttps://handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-logo.pngHDD2022-05-26 13:20:292022-06-07 14:18:02PRAISES // LIFE IS JUST A PICTURE (VIDEO) BIZZARRE, INDIE 88, EXCLAIM!
TALLIES share “Special“, the latest single from their forthcoming album Patina. Out July 29th, 2022 via Kanine, Bella Union and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. “Special” arrives following a string of recent singles which have found support at Clash, Under the Radar, Exclaim, CBC Radio, Stereogum, BBC 6 Music and more.
Stream / Pre-order / Pre-save: HERE
EXCLUSIVE VINYL: HERE / Canadian Signature Edition, Copper Green Vinyl, Obi Strip, signed Art Card (100)
“Special’ is about longing to be seen and heard by those who matter to you most. Sometimes feeling invisible is particularly painful when the indifference comes from someone whose opinion means a lot to you.” – Saraha Cogan (Tallies)
The juxtaposition of light and dark is a strong theme in the music of Tallies and certainly apparent once more with this new single, “Special” – another fine example of their gliding, shoegaze-adjacent jangle-pop reminiscent of The Sundays, Galaxie 500, Ride, etc. While many of their songs are upbeat, with Frankland’s breezy guitar lines drenched in reverb, soaring over Cian O’Neill’s propulsive drumbeats, Sarah’s lyrics can add a hint of shadow to even their most jangly tunes.
*** RELEASE SHOW : July 29 – The Garrison, Toronto ON – TIX
https://www.handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Tallies-2022-2-by-Kate-Dockeray-1600.jpg10671600HDDhttps://handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-logo.pngHDD2022-05-24 13:27:212022-06-23 20:03:30TALLIES // SPECIAL (VIDEO) OUR CULTURE, INDIE88, PASTE MAGAZINE, UNDER THE RADAR, BANDCAMP NEW & NOTABLE
Toronto-born, London-based artist TESS PARKS today returns with her long-awaited new album ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing‘ on Fuzz Club and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. Alongside the new album, Parks has also announced UK/EU tour and festival dates in support. Following years of international touring and a lengthy list of critically-acclaimed collaborations with Brian Jonestown Massacre‘s Anton Newcombe in recent years (most recently the duo’s self-titled 2018 LP), the new album will be Parks’ first full-length solo offering since her much-loved debut album, ‘Blood Hot‘, was released back in 2013. Trailing the highly-praised singles ‘Happy Birthday Forever‘, ‘Brexit at Tiffany’s‘ and ‘Do You Pray?‘, ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing’ is out now.
“In my mind, this album is like hopscotch”, Parks says of the album: “These songs were pieced together over time in London, Toronto and Los Angeles with friends and family between August 2019 and March 2021. So many other versions of these songs exist. The recording and final completion of this album took over two years and wow – the lesson I have learned the most is that words are spells. If I didn’t know it before, I know it now for sure. I only want to put good out into the universe.”
A creeping disillusionment with the state of the world paired with an injury that stopped Parks from being able to play guitar and piano for months meant the album was nearly shelved. “I really felt discouraged to complete this album. I stopped listening to music for honestly about a year altogether and turned to painting instead. I really had to convince myself again that it’s important to just share whatever good we can – having faith in ourselves to know that our lights can shine on and on through other people and for other people. The thought of anyone not sharing their art or being shy of anything they create seems like a real tragedy to me. Even if it’s not perfect, you’re capturing a moment.”
Recorded over two years between 2019 and 2021 but with songs, lyrics and ideas dating back over a decade in some form, the incoming ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing’ is an album full of such moments, people and places. The album is out now on digital and the vinyl is released June 24th.
06/08 London, UK • South Facing Festival
14/08 Copenhagen, DK • Common Ground Festival
03/09 Manchester, UK • Manchester Psych Festival
09/09 Normandy, FR • Rock In The Barn Festival
14/09 Nantes, FR • Le Ferrailleur
15/09 Paris, FR • La Maroquinerie
16/09 Lille, FR • Strawberry Fields Festival
25/09 Amsterdam, NL • Paradiso
02/10 Norwich, UK • Norwich Psych Festival
25/10 Brighton, UK • Green Door Store
26/10 Newcastle, UK • Cluny 2
28/10 Glasgow, UK • Stereo
28/10 Leeds, UK • Hyde Park Book Club
29/10 Liverpool, UK • Phantasmagoria
18/11 Hamburg, DE • Molotow
19/11 Berlin, DE • SynÄsthesie Festival
22/11 Cologne, DE • Bumann & Sohn
23/11 Stuttgart, DE • Merlin
24/11 Munich, DE • Import Export
25/11 Graz, AT • Dom Im Berg
26/11 Vienna, AT • Flex
28/11 Konstanz, DE • Kulturladen
29/11 Zurich, CH • Bogen F
30/11 La Chaux-de-Fonds, CH • Bikini Test
01/12 Numberg, DE • Z-bau
02/12 Damstadt, DE • 806qm
https://www.handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Tess-Parks-01-01b-by-Ki-Price-scaled.jpg17072560HDDhttps://handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-logo.pngHDD2022-05-20 17:16:202022-07-17 20:50:39TESS PARKS // AND THOSE WHO WERE SEEN DANCING (ALBUM) NARC, LOUDER THEN WAR, FAR OUT MAGAZINE, MAGIC RPM, FILTER, BANDCAMP DAILY, PASTE, EXCLAIM, UNCUT, UNDER THE RADAR, THE STAR, NPR
YOUNG GUV shares another early taste of GUV IV, with “Nowhere At All.” The track follows lead single “Change Your Mind” (which drew praise from the likes of Stereogum, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, BrookylnVegan, New Commute, and more) and finds Cook right at home with a shimmering, drum-machine-led pop tune that glides right into your head and never leaves. GUV IV, due out June 24th from via Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records.
“This was the very last song written for these records in Los Angeles. Another nice co-write with James Matthew VII and Tommy Major on the lead guitar. I feel I’ve always hinted at new wave and sophistapop with the Guv project, and it’s definitely something I will be exploring much more on my next albums. Lyrics were taken from a little notebook I kept on me while in Taos – I actually had written this originally as this Tom Petty folk joint and they then were tried on a side project song for a jokey psych rock band we were calling Taosman 5 – but eventually found their home on this track. I think it’s my favorite single.”
https://www.handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/YG-guv-iv-photo1.jpg13051500HDDhttps://handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-logo.pngHDD2022-05-09 14:01:412022-05-16 18:43:46YOUNG GUV /// NOWHERE AT ALL (VIDEO) NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, BIZZARRE, RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES, FLOOD MAGAZINE, BROOKLYN VEGAN, STEREOGUM
NO JOY and Marsfade cover All Saints’ 2000 classic “Pure Shores.” The original dream-pop sleeper hit, produced by William Orbit, is best known as the soundtrack to the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach. Over twenty years later, while trapped in another lockdown, Jasamine White-Gluz (aka No Joy) dreamed of sunnier days and produced this warm electro-pop cover. Between Tara McLeod’s (Kittie) surfy guitars and guest vocalist Marsfade wall of harmonies, the song evokes nostalgia, hopefulness, and finding solace on the beach.
PRAISES, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist, Jesse Crowe is today returning with their new single/video, “March” which comes alongside news of their second studio album,In This Year: Hierophant – out June 17. Through instinct, talent, and of course, blind luck, Praises – who now operate as a full band – harnessed their sound through the course of the pandemic, leaning into the creative spirit and a recording process reminiscent of a Bad Seeds project where key players wrote their parts from only a demo track and a feeling. The result pushes beyond their industrial synth-based offerings, incorporating the intensity of their highly regarded live performances with an intimate, collaborative, and distanced songwriting process.
As with their acclaimed debut album, In This Year: Ten Of Swords, Jesse Crowe works with career-long collaborator Josh Korody (Beliefs, Breeze, Candle Studio) on the mix and with Heather Kirby mastering (Dreamlands). Every new year Crowe draws a tarot card to represent what is to come, shaping the character of the coming album and its title. On In This Year: Hierophant, Praises delves deeper into a world of hypnotic vocals, textured synths, and arrangements to transcendent effect. This album expands Praises’ sonic palette stylistically and lyrically, exploring themes of human reckoning and hope.
The songs on this new record grew both slowly and reflective and this first single, “March” acts as a call to action and a sister song to “A World on Fire” from 2021’s EP4. The song explores the gaslighting of colonial extraction industries and the culpability of those who stay silent, beginning with a motorik beat and crafting the tension with a full band in tow. When discussing the new album, Crowe says: “This record dances like a storybook, flirting with vignettes of hidden gender, through the birth of a child, a poisonous new world, matriarchal death, and transcendent love. A graduation beyond a solo project.”
Praises first emerged at a time when Beliefs co-front, Jesse Crowe, struggled to find an outlet to release their inner conversations into a public forum. Into a place where their creative outlet has evolved and spanned over a course of four EPs and two albums. Dark and theatrical, Crowe’s influences move through the hum of Rachel Goswell’s shoegazing, the drive of Patti Smith’s poetic delivery, blending the art-gloom of Beth Gibbons’ sultry jazz with Annie Lennox’s avant-gardism found on a “Night Full of Tension” and “Sweet Surprise.”
https://www.handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Praises-by-Julia-Wittmann-22-c-1600.jpg9001600HDDhttps://handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-logo.pngHDD2022-04-27 13:09:432022-05-03 13:37:56PRAISES /// MARCH (VIDEO) THE MOST RADICALIST, INDIE88
Just last monthYOUNG GUV (aka songwriter Ben Cook) released his latest masterpiece, GUV III, and today the ever-prolific musician is already back to announce its sequel, GUV IV, due out June 24th from via Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records.
Where GUV III encapsulates Cook’s most instantly accessible guitar pop songwriting (earning praise from the likes of Stereogum, SPIN Magazine, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, and many more), GUV IV represents the most sonically adventurous side of Young Guv. Cook has an unparalleled ability to write perfect power pop but GUV IV highlights his expertise with the many other sounds and styles that have dotted Young Guv‘s expansive catalog over the years. The record effortlessly moves between hazy, Madchester-inspired rave ups, twangy California jangle, and even homemade sophisti-pop–while always retaining Cook’s undeniable melodies. GUV IV‘s lead single “Change Your Mind” blends pedal steel guitar with a nearly psychedelic mood that transports the listen to the New Mexican desert where it was written.
https://www.handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Young-Guv-GUV-IV-Danielle-Parsons-1600.jpg16001600HDDhttps://handdrawndracula.com/records/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-logo.pngHDD2022-04-18 14:05:392022-04-23 21:01:56YOUNG GUV /// ANNOUNCES GUV IV (ALBUM) & CHANGE YOUR MIND (VIDEO) OUR CULTURE, NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, EXCLAIM, PASTE, STEREOGUM, NPR
BONNIE TRASH // TEETH (VIDEO) GOD IS IN THE TV, GET IN HER EARS, WHEN THE HORN BLOWS, TINNITIST, PAN M 360, SIDEWALK HUSTLE, THE LINE OF BEST FIT
NEWSBONNIE TRASH is the drone-rock project of Canadian-Italian twin sisters Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor. Today they share new single “Teeth” – a first glimpse at their debut album, which is due to be released later this year by Hand Drawn Dracula.
“Teeth” sees Bonnie Trash at their poppiest, recontextualizing a “Be My Baby” beat (a nod to Ronnie Spector up above) before a wash of swoony, microtonal drones, the words telling of a love story that might be toxic.
The band share the track with a self-directed video, commenting: “We created a short film to help narrate stories our Nonna Maria told us about being haunted and followed by a curse in her hometown of San Zenone degli Ezzelini in Treviso, Italy. That short eventually became the concept of our album, which is woven into our first music video, “Teeth.” Shot at the Apollo Cinema in Kitchener, Ontario, “Teeth” bridges generations of being haunted – we see ourselves watching our work without understanding that we too have conjured the curse. A malocchio follows.”
The music of Bonnie Trash connects the threads between metal, post-punk, shoegaze and gothic rock, with Emmalia’s astounding guitar work recalling the likes of Black Sabbath, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine. Singer/drummer/lyricist Sarafina’s voice leaps out of the mix with a commanding presence, summoning references to PJ Harvey or Siouxsie & the Banshees.
That mix of musical influences alone would set Bonnie Trash apart, but the duo’s unique approach to their lyrical content really puts them in a school of their own. Inspired by communication theory, social commentary, horror, and ancestral folklore, the sisters approach their songwriting as a conceptual research project into their own family heritage. As second-generation Italian-Canadians, the Bortolon-Vettors became fascinated by the stories told by their Nonna and the connections between Treviso in Northern Italy and their hometown of Guelph, Ontario.
The twins began playing music together at age 11, forming an all-female punk band in high school and a more eclectic indie group during their college years. But what became Bonnie Trash began to coalesce around 2013, when they moved back home to Guelph after spending time in the larger cities of Toronto and Montreal. A progressive college town with a vibrant DIY music scene, Guelph is also home to a tight-knit Italian-Canadian community and the name “Guelph” also has an Italian origin.
Spending more time with their Nonna Maria, they began digging into the ghost stories they heard as children, becoming more fascinated with the folklore, the superstitions, and the unique Veneto dialect she spoke — a dialect the sisters recognized was also dying out. Suddenly, the act of songwriting had also become an act of cultural preservation. And some of these stories were hair-raisingly scary. Discovering this heavier subject matter coincided with a shared desire to play heavier music.
06/12/22 Toronto ON : Baby G w/ Gloin
06/23/22 Calgary AB : Sled Island Festival
07/15/22 Guelph ON : Kazoo Festival
ORDER: DIGITAL / BANDCAMP
PRESS: GOD IS IN THE TV, GET IN HER EARS, WHEN THE HORN BLOWS, SHE MAKES MUSIC, SOME PARTY, THE AUTUMN ROSES, BACKSEAT MAFIA, NICHE MUSIC, CIRCUIT SWEET, THE VPME, WRSZW, IRREGULAR DREAMS, TINNITIST, PAN M 360, SIDEWALK HUSTLE, THE LINE OF BEST FIT
FAKE PALMS // SATELLITE (VIDEO) ALAN CROSS, SIDEWALK HUSTLE, AUSTIN TOWN HALL, BROOKLYN VEGAN, EXCLAIM! MAGAZINE
NEWSFAKE PALMS, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Michael le Riche, is today returning with his new single “Satellite” (video directed by Justis Krar) and word of a new record. Lemons is set for release via Hand Drawn Dracula on September 16, 2022.
Michael le Riche called upon a veritable who’s who of Toronto indie-dom for Lemons, drawing from the ranks of Dilly Dally (Ben Reinhartz), Ducks Ltd (Evan Lewis), Sauna (Braeden Craig), and Twist (Laura Hermiston). Taking to Candle Recording studio with long-time contributor, co-producer, and engineer Josh Korody (Breeze, Beliefs), the songwriting dove headlong even further into dream-math-punk sensibilities.
Just the third proper release from a one-man band that le Riche routinely manifests in the flesh onstage in Toronto as a sort of amorphous, all-star underground-Toronto noise-pop “supergroup,” this is an album that fully derives its antisocial scorch through the increased clarity and precision of the Fake Palms vision. Lemons is slippery, spiky, not a little psych-y and more than a little lyrically sour, not to mention frequently, subtly tricked-out from a minimalist, nerdo-instrumental perspective that doesn’t demand that you dork out over the arrangements but will always leave the option open if and when you decide to do so.
“Satellite” is sonically Magazine meets A Flock of Seagulls. Captained by a jagged, muscular guitar part that’s surrounded by an atypical rhythm section it thematically tackles modern technologies, mob mentality and safe havens from doom scrolling. Speaking about the new album, Michael explains: “This record is the most direct thing I’ve ever done,” says Le Riche. “All the distorted guitars playing 16th-note riffs in different time signatures, washes of noise and buried vocals are basically gone. In their place, we made a record that’s lean and a punch to the gut. There are still some moments where the guitars get a little tricky but, in general, we tried to be as immediate as possible. The songs are all fairly short and there are almost no extra production tricks. I was inspired by records like the Dead Boys’ Young, Loud and Snotty and the Buzzcocks’ Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Maybe because of what was going on in the world at the time, or maybe just as a reaction to the last Fake Palms record – which was flush with production flourishes – it just felt necessary to kick the door down instead of knocking.”
PRE-ORDER: APPLE / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE / BANDCAMP EXCLUSIVE VINYL (ed.100)
PRESS: ALAN CROSS, SOME PARTY, LIFE ELSEWHERE, CIRCUIT SWEET, NICHE MUSIC, SIDEWALK HUSTLE, INDIE MACHINE, WRSZW, PHOTOGMUSIC, TINNITIST, THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION, AUSTIN TOWN HALL, BROOKLYN VEGAN 1, BROOKLAN VEGAN 2, EXCLAIM 1, EXCLAIM 2
YOUNG GUV // CRY 2 SLEEP (SINGLE) NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, BROOKLYN VEGAN, STEREOGUM
NEWSToday YOUNG GUV has shared the third single, “Cry 2 Sleep,” from GUV IV. The new album is due out June 24th from Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. The track follows “Change Your Mind” and “Nowhere At All” (which drew praise from the likes of Stereogum, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, BrookylnVegan, New Commute, and more) and sees Ben Cook combining hazy pedal steel with bubbling keyboards and his gentle harmonies to make something that spans the many different moods of Guv.
Young Guv has also announced a run of UK shows in June. Guv will be touring around his performance at Outbreak Festival, including shows with One Step Closer, Chastity, and more.
GUV IV : PRE-SAVE / Deezer / Spotify / Apple / Bandcamp (limited one time pressing)
PRESS : BROOKLYN VEGAN, PRELUDE PRESS, NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, STEREOGUM
July 22 Toronto, ON @ The Monarch w/ Kali Horse, Tange
June 24 Glasgow, UK @ The Rum Shack w/ Chastity
June 25 Manchester, UK @ Outbreak Festival
June 26 London, UK @ Windmill Brixton
June 27 Leeds, UK @ The Lending Room w/ Chastity
June 29 Birmingham, UK @ The Victoria
June 30 Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin w/ One Step Closer
PRAISES // LIFE IS JUST A PICTURE (VIDEO) BIZZARRE, INDIE 88, EXCLAIM!
NEWSPRAISES, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist Jesse Crowe, is today sharing their new single and video for “Life is Just a Picture”, which comes as another glimpse of their second album In This Year: Hierophant – out June 17.
When discussing “Life is Just a Picture“, which layers eerie vocals with decayed electronics and haunting synth, Crowe says: “Eventually we all live on in smudged still images on phones or in frames. This song breathes both the sorrow and joy of a lifetime of memories. Written in dedication to the intermingling stories of Grandma Upton and Granny Crowe.” It’s a foggy, gothic addition to the forthcoming album which at times touches on the sounds of Low, Zola Jesus and Chelsea Wolfe.
PRE-ORDER In This Year: Hierophant: APPLE / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE / TIDAL / BANDCAMP
PRESS: WRSZW, SONOFMARKETING, BIZZARRE, L’INDIEPENENTE, INDIEMACHINE, THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION, INDIE 88, EXCLAIM
TALLIES // SPECIAL (VIDEO) OUR CULTURE, INDIE88, PASTE MAGAZINE, UNDER THE RADAR, BANDCAMP NEW & NOTABLE
NEWSTALLIES share “Special“, the latest single from their forthcoming album Patina. Out July 29th, 2022 via Kanine, Bella Union and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. “Special” arrives following a string of recent singles which have found support at Clash, Under the Radar, Exclaim, CBC Radio, Stereogum, BBC 6 Music and more.
Stream / Pre-order / Pre-save: HERE
EXCLUSIVE VINYL: HERE / Canadian Signature Edition, Copper Green Vinyl, Obi Strip, signed Art Card (100)
PRESS: SHE MAKES MUSIC, INDIE MACHINE, THE MOST RADICALIST, NICHE MUSIC, INDIENATIVE, POSTCARDS FROM UNDERGROUND, PHOTOGMUSIC, OUR CULTURE, INDIE 88, PASTE MAGAZINE, UNDER THE RADAR, BANDCAMP (N+N)
“Special’ is about longing to be seen and heard by those who matter to you most. Sometimes feeling invisible is particularly painful when the indifference comes from someone whose opinion means a lot to you.” – Saraha Cogan (Tallies)
The juxtaposition of light and dark is a strong theme in the music of Tallies and certainly apparent once more with this new single, “Special” – another fine example of their gliding, shoegaze-adjacent jangle-pop reminiscent of The Sundays, Galaxie 500, Ride, etc. While many of their songs are upbeat, with Frankland’s breezy guitar lines drenched in reverb, soaring over Cian O’Neill’s propulsive drumbeats, Sarah’s lyrics can add a hint of shadow to even their most jangly tunes.
*** RELEASE SHOW : July 29 – The Garrison, Toronto ON – TIX
TESS PARKS // AND THOSE WHO WERE SEEN DANCING (ALBUM) NARC, LOUDER THEN WAR, FAR OUT MAGAZINE, MAGIC RPM, FILTER, BANDCAMP DAILY, PASTE, EXCLAIM, UNCUT, UNDER THE RADAR, THE STAR, NPR
NEWSToronto-born, London-based artist TESS PARKS today returns with her long-awaited new album ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing‘ on Fuzz Club and Hand Drawn Dracula Records. Alongside the new album, Parks has also announced UK/EU tour and festival dates in support. Following years of international touring and a lengthy list of critically-acclaimed collaborations with Brian Jonestown Massacre‘s Anton Newcombe in recent years (most recently the duo’s self-titled 2018 LP), the new album will be Parks’ first full-length solo offering since her much-loved debut album, ‘Blood Hot‘, was released back in 2013. Trailing the highly-praised singles ‘Happy Birthday Forever‘, ‘Brexit at Tiffany’s‘ and ‘Do You Pray?‘, ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing’ is out now.
“In my mind, this album is like hopscotch”, Parks says of the album: “These songs were pieced together over time in London, Toronto and Los Angeles with friends and family between August 2019 and March 2021. So many other versions of these songs exist. The recording and final completion of this album took over two years and wow – the lesson I have learned the most is that words are spells. If I didn’t know it before, I know it now for sure. I only want to put good out into the universe.”
A creeping disillusionment with the state of the world paired with an injury that stopped Parks from being able to play guitar and piano for months meant the album was nearly shelved. “I really felt discouraged to complete this album. I stopped listening to music for honestly about a year altogether and turned to painting instead. I really had to convince myself again that it’s important to just share whatever good we can – having faith in ourselves to know that our lights can shine on and on through other people and for other people. The thought of anyone not sharing their art or being shy of anything they create seems like a real tragedy to me. Even if it’s not perfect, you’re capturing a moment.”
Recorded over two years between 2019 and 2021 but with songs, lyrics and ideas dating back over a decade in some form, the incoming ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing’ is an album full of such moments, people and places. The album is out now on digital and the vinyl is released June 24th.
ORDER : Deezer / Spotify / Apple / Bandcamp
PRESS : NORMAN RECORDS (AotW), GOD IS IN THE TV, SPILL, SECTION 26, LIFE ELSEWHERE, LOUDER THEN WAR, FAR OUT MAGAZINE, NARC, PORT, MAGIC RPM, FILTER, BANDCAMP DAILY, EXCLAIM!, PASTE, UNCUT, THE STAR, UNDER THE RADAR, NPR
06/08 London, UK • South Facing Festival
14/08 Copenhagen, DK • Common Ground Festival
03/09 Manchester, UK • Manchester Psych Festival
09/09 Normandy, FR • Rock In The Barn Festival
14/09 Nantes, FR • Le Ferrailleur
15/09 Paris, FR • La Maroquinerie
16/09 Lille, FR • Strawberry Fields Festival
25/09 Amsterdam, NL • Paradiso
02/10 Norwich, UK • Norwich Psych Festival
25/10 Brighton, UK • Green Door Store
26/10 Newcastle, UK • Cluny 2
28/10 Glasgow, UK • Stereo
28/10 Leeds, UK • Hyde Park Book Club
29/10 Liverpool, UK • Phantasmagoria
18/11 Hamburg, DE • Molotow
19/11 Berlin, DE • SynÄsthesie Festival
22/11 Cologne, DE • Bumann & Sohn
23/11 Stuttgart, DE • Merlin
24/11 Munich, DE • Import Export
25/11 Graz, AT • Dom Im Berg
26/11 Vienna, AT • Flex
28/11 Konstanz, DE • Kulturladen
29/11 Zurich, CH • Bogen F
30/11 La Chaux-de-Fonds, CH • Bikini Test
01/12 Numberg, DE • Z-bau
02/12 Damstadt, DE • 806qm
YOUNG GUV /// NOWHERE AT ALL (VIDEO) NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, BIZZARRE, RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES, FLOOD MAGAZINE, BROOKLYN VEGAN, STEREOGUM
NEWSYOUNG GUV shares another early taste of GUV IV, with “Nowhere At All.” The track follows lead single “Change Your Mind” (which drew praise from the likes of Stereogum, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, BrookylnVegan, New Commute, and more) and finds Cook right at home with a shimmering, drum-machine-led pop tune that glides right into your head and never leaves. GUV IV, due out June 24th from via Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records.
GUV IV : PRE-SAVE / Deezer / Spotify / Apple / Bandcamp
PRESS : NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, BIZZARRE, FLOOD MAGAZINE, RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES, NICHE, PUNKNEWS.ORG, PRELUDE PRESS, BROOKLYN VEGAN, STEREOGUM
“This was the very last song written for these records in Los Angeles. Another nice co-write with James Matthew VII and Tommy Major on the lead guitar. I feel I’ve always hinted at new wave and sophistapop with the Guv project, and it’s definitely something I will be exploring much more on my next albums. Lyrics were taken from a little notebook I kept on me while in Taos – I actually had written this originally as this Tom Petty folk joint and they then were tried on a side project song for a jokey psych rock band we were calling Taosman 5 – but eventually found their home on this track. I think it’s my favorite single.”
NO JOY /// PURE SHORES (ALL SAINTS COVER) BIZZARRE, BROOKLYN VEGAN, STEREOGUM, GORILLA VS BEAR
NEWSNO JOY and Marsfade cover All Saints’ 2000 classic “Pure Shores.” The original dream-pop sleeper hit, produced by William Orbit, is best known as the soundtrack to the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach. Over twenty years later, while trapped in another lockdown, Jasamine White-Gluz (aka No Joy) dreamed of sunnier days and produced this warm electro-pop cover. Between Tara McLeod’s (Kittie) surfy guitars and guest vocalist Marsfade wall of harmonies, the song evokes nostalgia, hopefulness, and finding solace on the beach.
Pure Shores (ft. Marsfade) : Bandcamp / Deezer / Spotify / Apple
PRESS : SIDEWALK HUSTLE, BIZZARRE, THE AUTUMN ROSES, BROOKLYN VEGAN, STEREOGUM, GORILLA VS BEAR
PRAISES /// MARCH (VIDEO) THE MOST RADICALIST, INDIE88
NEWSPRAISES, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist, Jesse Crowe is today returning with their new single/video, “March” which comes alongside news of their second studio album, In This Year: Hierophant – out June 17. Through instinct, talent, and of course, blind luck, Praises – who now operate as a full band – harnessed their sound through the course of the pandemic, leaning into the creative spirit and a recording process reminiscent of a Bad Seeds project where key players wrote their parts from only a demo track and a feeling. The result pushes beyond their industrial synth-based offerings, incorporating the intensity of their highly regarded live performances with an intimate, collaborative, and distanced songwriting process.
As with their acclaimed debut album, In This Year: Ten Of Swords, Jesse Crowe works with career-long collaborator Josh Korody (Beliefs, Breeze, Candle Studio) on the mix and with Heather Kirby mastering (Dreamlands). Every new year Crowe draws a tarot card to represent what is to come, shaping the character of the coming album and its title. On In This Year: Hierophant, Praises delves deeper into a world of hypnotic vocals, textured synths, and arrangements to transcendent effect. This album expands Praises’ sonic palette stylistically and lyrically, exploring themes of human reckoning and hope.
The songs on this new record grew both slowly and reflective and this first single, “March” acts as a call to action and a sister song to “A World on Fire” from 2021’s EP4. The song explores the gaslighting of colonial extraction industries and the culpability of those who stay silent, beginning with a motorik beat and crafting the tension with a full band in tow. When discussing the new album, Crowe says: “This record dances like a storybook, flirting with vignettes of hidden gender, through the birth of a child, a poisonous new world, matriarchal death, and transcendent love. A graduation beyond a solo project.”
Praises first emerged at a time when Beliefs co-front, Jesse Crowe, struggled to find an outlet to release their inner conversations into a public forum. Into a place where their creative outlet has evolved and spanned over a course of four EPs and two albums. Dark and theatrical, Crowe’s influences move through the hum of Rachel Goswell’s shoegazing, the drive of Patti Smith’s poetic delivery, blending the art-gloom of Beth Gibbons’ sultry jazz with Annie Lennox’s avant-gardism found on a “Night Full of Tension” and “Sweet Surprise.”
PRE-ORDER In This Year: Hierophant: APPLE / Bandcamp
PRESS: MOST RADICALIST, NICHE MUSIC, WRSZW / OUT OUT, AUTUMN ROSES, INDIE88
YOUNG GUV /// ANNOUNCES GUV IV (ALBUM) & CHANGE YOUR MIND (VIDEO) OUR CULTURE, NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, EXCLAIM, PASTE, STEREOGUM, NPR
NEWSJust last month YOUNG GUV (aka songwriter Ben Cook) released his latest masterpiece, GUV III, and today the ever-prolific musician is already back to announce its sequel, GUV IV, due out June 24th from via Run For Cover and Hand Drawn Dracula Records.
PRE-ORDER GUV IV : Pre-save / Bandcamp
PRESS : BROOKLYN VEGAN, NEW COMMUTE, RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES, NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS, TREBLEZINE, OUR CULTURE, EXCLAIM, PASTE, STEREOGUM, NPR
Where GUV III encapsulates Cook’s most instantly accessible guitar pop songwriting (earning praise from the likes of Stereogum, SPIN Magazine, Paste Magazine, Uproxx, and many more), GUV IV represents the most sonically adventurous side of Young Guv. Cook has an unparalleled ability to write perfect power pop but GUV IV highlights his expertise with the many other sounds and styles that have dotted Young Guv‘s expansive catalog over the years. The record effortlessly moves between hazy, Madchester-inspired rave ups, twangy California jangle, and even homemade sophisti-pop–while always retaining Cook’s undeniable melodies. GUV IV‘s lead single “Change Your Mind” blends pedal steel guitar with a nearly psychedelic mood that transports the listen to the New Mexican desert where it was written.