Betty’s Nuklear have released their debut single ‘Bleeding the Summer’. Established in 2021, Betty’s Nuklear are a South African based band comprised of Chad Abnett (Lead Vocals), Dean Clarke (Lead Guitar), Shane Carew (Drums), Anthonie Botha (Bass Guitar).
Filled with hefty guitar riffs, pummeling drums and lusty bass lines, ‘Bleeding the Summer’ presents Betty’s Nuklear’s mighty sound in all its glory. It is quite the thrilling experience as the band blend moments of alternative rock with blues undertones alongside rasp-filled vocals and a catchy melody. The track beckons repeat plays and is one to blast loud through the speakers. Enjoy.
Dublin artist Skinner has released his new single ‘The Slump’.It’s Skinner’s first release on Ireland’s Faction Records (James Vincent McMorrow, All Tvvins, Sorcha Richardson), released ahead of an upcoming headline show in Dublin on March 24th, Silverbacks tour supports and festivals like Beyond The Pale, and All Together Now. Skinner is a 24-year-old DIY slouch rock musician based in Dublin, Ireland, who writes, records and produces songs about growing up and overcoming a dirt-flecked 21st-century existence.
‘The Slump’ is a fine example of Skinner’s intricate musicianship. Lushly arranged and richly textured the tune reveals new, riveting undertones with each subsequent listen. Filled with jittery percussion, irresistible bass hooks and sleek guitar atop a catchy melody ( while a jubilant sax solo shakes up the song’s aesthetic), Skinner displays his edgy refined sound in all its glory. ‘The Slump’ is an exciting new track from Skinner and gives a glimpse of great things to come from this talented artist. Turn up the volume, press play and enjoy.
Aaron Corcoran, Skinner says of the song:“The song channels a feeling of nothingness and attempts to see the humour in it. Everyone goes through periods where every day feels like a slap in the face so I wrote this weird disco song to distract myself from the monotony of it all. I was trying to escape everything and make something fun, something you could dance to.”
British band, The Len Price 3, have released their 7th studio album ‘Ip Dip Do’. The Len Price 3 are a high energy trio from Kent, UK. Formed 20 years ago, The Len Price 3 includes Glenn Page (guitar and vocals), Steve Huggins (bass) and Neil Fromow (Drums and BV’s). The trio started out playing in bars, from having to find an audience who enjoyed their ‘revved-up, no-nonsense sound’, to sharing stages with well-known artists such as The Lovely Eggs, all whilst writing and recording six albums. With the continued album releases, The Len Price 3 had the opportunity to support Sir Paul McCartney at Hyde Park, alongside touring Europe, the UK and playing in America at the “South by Southwest Music Conference”.
‘Ip Dip Do’ is a fast-paced album that surges with the energetic pop-punk sound of The Len Price 3. The band take lush pop melodies and coat them in a punchy backdrop of jaunty guitars, driving rhythms and swagger to create a dynamic listening experience. From the sharp strutting guitar of ‘Mr Spong’s Miraculous Leap’ and ‘Billy the Quid’ to the alternative angst of ‘Bag of Bones’ and intense rush of ‘She’s Making a Film’; the band create a light and kinetic atmosphere that is difficult to resist. The stings on guitar lacerate through the pounding drums and rampant bass grooves to create an edgy wall of sound that contrasts the smooth vocals and sunkissed melodies. With surprise harmonica adding blues tones to ‘Bad Vibe Machine’ and lush 60’s-esque melodies shimmying through ‘Strange TImes’, the album has something for everyone. ‘Ip Dip Do’ is a fun, spirited album that boasts the refined and cohesive sound of The Len Price 3.
Kicking off 2022 with a bang, the York-based four-piece rock band Vaquelin have just released their debut album, ‘Where Dreams Hurt’. The band have been gigging locally for a few months now but already have a global audience spanning multiple continents. The group are looking forward to getting back on stage and performing songs from their new record – along with some other unrecorded sneak peeks into the future. Over lockdown, the band hasn’t slowed down, with second and third records already in the works. They have been writing and recording demos while waiting for their mixes and masters.
‘Where Dreams Hurt’ is a diverse collection of tracks that boasts Vaquelin’s genre-blending sound and eloquent songwriting. Oozing dark undertones, shredding guitar solos and driving rhythms ‘Soliloquy,’ ‘The Garden’ and ‘Though the Heavens Fall’ all exude the refined and mature musicianship of the band as they lace heavy rock elements with ominous tones and eerie instrumental outbursts. Throughout the album, the band drench their songs in classic rock bravado however, there are lighter moments within the album as well. A fine example is ‘Iridescent Streetlights’ which is filled with bright guitar elements, buoyant rhythms and dreamy tones.
The album packs one heck of a punch as Vaquelin take their shadowy lyricism and couple it with a shredding alternative rock backdrop. ‘Hyperdepressant’ displays this superbly: with smooth eerie vocals crooning “angle living in a snow globe all smashed up on the kitchen counter oh no, how sad. Glass in your mouth does it hurt, now I feel bad” beneath volcanic guitar riffage and monstrous bass grooves, the band create a sleek tune that showcases the bands swagger and impressive musicianship.
‘Where Dreams Hurt’ is a polished and melodically lush album from Vaquelin that beckons repeat plays.
London duo Niall The Urchin have released their debut single ‘Temping Bowling’. Consisting of Niall and his mysterious bandmate MTB, the duo formed after Niall spotted a bass guitar in the window of his local Cash Converters and starting making loops to accompany his spiky and street-smart poetry. The fantastically titled ‘Temping Bowling’ is their debut single proper, after they announced their existence to the world last month with the brutal ‘Bleak Street’. Recorded by the band and mixed by Señor Al Funklinos (King Krule, Baba Ali, Ghostpoet), the single is an angry sideswipe at the pettiness, mundanity and ultimate futility of work under the twin shadows of Covid and Brexit.
‘Temping Bowling’ sees Niall The Urchin travel down a hypnotic rabbit hole of eclectic rock. The song pivots around a deep bass groove that relentlessly drives the track forward while snappy drums fill out the buoyant backdrop. Sharp guitars add a retro 60’s vibe to the track’s vibrant soundscape enhanced by nonchalant vocals that ooze an angsty punk-esque undertone. The track is a joy to listen to and is an exciting debut from the duo.
Boasting a catchy melody and witty songwriting, ‘Temping Bowling’ is a thrilling new single from Niall The Urchin that is ready for repeat listens. Enjoy.
About the track, Niall said: “‘Temping Bowling’ was written about the monotony of a previous job. I think a lot of the time people think hard work and rewards go hand in hand, but quite often that’s not the case. I was playing in bands, working from nine to six and had a pretty dismal boss. I started as a temp and, before I knew it, I’d been there for over a year. Ultimately most employers look at their staff as expendable and that was evident to me when Covid hit. I wrote this song to poke fun at the hierarchical systems people try to exist within. In a job full of daft training sessions, false promises and countless egos it’s hard not to go full Bukowski, ‘Post Office’-style.”
Columbia Mills have released their new single ‘Heart of a Nation’. ‘Heart of a Nation’ is the title track and first single from the band’s third album scheduled for release in September this year. Described by John Kennedy (Radio X) as Ireland’s answer to The National, Columbia Mills are regulars at festivals such as Indiependence, Longitude, and Electric Picnic and have supported world-class acts like Ride, Public Service Broadcasting, and Palace. On top of this, they have also toured Ireland & the UK with a string of headline shows at venues such as Whelans, King Tuts, and Sebright Arms.
‘Heart of a Nation’ is a thrilling new song from Columbia Mills. Dealing with dark themes, in particular Ireland’s housing crisis the band highlight failures in our society. Fiachra Treacy’s vocals croon moving lyrics and drive home the songs stark lyrical content “A mother in a hotel raising her kids she’s not on holiday how did it end up this way …….sleeping in a Garda station, living in the heart of a first world nation”.
‘Heart of a Nation’ is a wonderfully expressive piece of music. The band create a soundscape filled with lush instrumentation, dark undertones and dazzling moments of evocative musicianship through the use of chiming guitars, bass rumbles and beautiful key arrangements that deftly convey coiling emotion, innocence, and anger.
The enthralling sound of Columbia Mills is one to be admired. Each of the band’s releases are a joy to listen to again and again. ‘Heart of a Nation’ is an excellent display of Columbia Mills’ masterful use of instrumentation, sonic finesse and eloquent songwriting.
Speaking about ‘Heart of a Nation’ lead singer Fiachra Treacy said: “Heart of a Nation” documents the housing crisis in Ireland, with each verse tackling a different aspect of the problem. From a mother sleeping with her children in a Garda station to the crooked businessmen and politicians that have caused the housing crisis in Ireland. Heart of a Nation peels back the political rhetoric and looks at the real people affected when the ruling class looks out for themselves.”
Thumper – Photography by Ruth Medjber @ruthlessimagery
Irish noise-pop / alt-rock sextet THUMPER’s hotly-anticipated debut LP ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ is set for release on the 18th March. Over the last two years, the Dublin six-piece have been developing their sound and building an increasingly passionate fanbase. With a lineup of two drummers and three guitarists, THUMPER’s maximalist wall of sound has long since set them apart in the booming Dublin music scene.
I caught up with Oisín Leahy Furlong to talk about the band’s debut album, expectations placed on the band as well as touring and getting comfortable with his voice.
“Well, I suppose that’s how we listen to music by LPs, and THUMPER sort of started and stopped and started and stopped. We had lineup changes, changes in direction and the normal teething problems that bands have. Once we solidified the lineup and the intent it was the next logical step to record that album for now and make our stamp”
THUMPER are perfecting their craft, dropping alternative rock gems with each release. Each member of the band is very talented and the album is a confident display of their musical prowess. I wondered if there were any moments of anxiety and doubt while creating the album.
“It’s hard to say really, because originally we recorded the album we had been on tour in 2019. We were going to the studio just to record a single and a B side and because we’ve been so busy touring, we went in and we recorded like eight or nine songs back to back just because we knew them all back to front because 2020 was gonna be so busy for us. It was just kind of warts and all, band in a room, like an artefact of what we sounded like at that time and that was more born out of our schedule. We didn’t have time to labour over something, but then obviously 2020 came along and all of our plans were null and void at that point. So, we’re on tour when Covid really hit and we flew back to Ireland, and Alan [Dooley] went straight into the studio and started working on re- looking at what we had recorded and what state it was all in. I didn’t see him for like two or three months but I knew he was working on the record. I didn’t know what he was doing. When I finally got to see him, a couple of months had passed and he’d grown a huge beard like he was in Castaway or whatever. He had sort of retcon the whole album from being this live in a room, to something way more. So, when we decided that was the direction we want to take it we were pretty confident with it because those are the album’s that we like you know. But we spent so long on it, 2020 felt like it was about three years long because of everything that was going on and we were in the studio non-stop working on the record. You have to just trust your instinct that what you’re doing is the right thing for the music. So I’m not sure that I would say we were confident it was just sort of willful ignorance that we were doing the right thing.”
The instrumentation within the album is masterful. Each song is a glorious display of great musicianship that boasts sleek guitar moments, sweet melodies and abrasive outbursts. The album takes wild unpredictable twists throughout its blustery journey as it shifts from frenetic soundscapes to stripped back instrumental breaks before leaping into dynamic crescendos. Tracks such as ‘Overbite’ and ‘Topher Grace’ are fine examples of this. ‘Strychnine’ is also a riveting display of musicianship from the sextet. Arguably the tour de force within the album the track is mostly Oisín and an acoustic guitar with soft percussion accompaniment and electronic guitar embellishments.
“That song is, in some ways outside of our comfort zone in the way it’s structured and the way we attacked it. I actually had that in my voice memos. I was going through like I have about 500 voice memos on my phone. It breaks every two seconds. But I had that saved on my phone from like 2018 as THUMPER mid-LP song. Then I was like, yeah, that’s what that will be and then that’s just what we did. Really, again, it’s like you make the decision, you’re confident about it. Then when you have to actualize it that’s when you have to be confident or employ a sort of a weird, over the top sense of self-belief. But we’re really happy with it. It’s one of my favourite tunes on the record now.”
The instrumental track ‘The Ghost’ is an exquisite piece of music. Featuring hypnotic guitar strikes, a sweet guitar refrain and abrasive undertones the track is a mosh pit friendly frenzy that is filled with mind-melting distortion and psychedelic elements.
“Well, when I settled on the idea of calling the album Delusions of Grandeur, that was referencing lyrical themes throughout it, but also in reference to the fact that when THUMPER started, it was a solo project. It was just me bringing out tapes and making like 100 of them and giving them around Dublin, really low stakes. low fi badly recorded, just sort of not throw away but the scope of it was much smaller. When we fixed on this Delusions of Grandeur idea, I thought it’d be funny to have a three-part 20 minute long song, finish the album so obviously, ‘The Ghost’ is like the second in that whole three-part suite at the end. The tune ‘Overbite’ which comes before it was the first time that Alan had basically written all the music or the guts of it to that song and I wrote the lyrics and then I was like, Okay, what this needs is, and I sort of sang out this section that didn’t exist yet. It needs to start off with one guitar and slowly build up into this thing. Then he just randomly flicked through his other demos that he had and just clicked on one and it was exactly what I just said. He had already preempted me wanting that to happen. So that became a blueprint then for that piece of music. Again, it wasn’t some huge decision to this instrumental piece that was gonna make the whole album but it was just going with your gut. Yeah, serving the songs as best you can.”
‘Down in Heaven’ brings the album to an end. It’s a heartbreaking finale. Oisín’s earnest vocals croon very raw lyrics “I did it to myself cos I deserved it” while drums trudge through a sweet melody and piercing sting on guitars. The track is both vibrant and mournful all at once as the band’s expressive use of instrumentation and melody creates gripping heart-wrenching turmoil for listeners to experience. This moving tune is a striking end to a magnificent album and provides a moment of reflection on the album as a whole, making the listener want to experience the rollercoaster ride that is ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ again.
“Yeah, It’s funny, it’s our first album, but there’s a couple of moments on it where I really wasn’t sure. It was a creative risk, because it is quite different to what we’ve done before and the worry would be that tune would be perceived as being melodramatic, even though I was kind of aiming for something a little bit more insular. I’m glad you like it. I don’t know what to say about it. That’s probably the one song that I’m most intrigued to hear people’s reaction to because it is quite raw and it’s us trying our hardest to push past what people expect of us.”
‘Down in Heaven’ alludes to a different THUMPER. It’s a cinematic, cliffhanger moment that suggests something exciting could happen with the next release.
“I think so, I think you’re right. This album is a good few years in the making. We started making some of these songs when I was in my early to mid-20s and now I’m early 30s. So, you change as a person, your tastes change and what you find interesting and what you find uninteresting changes. So yeah, I think the last thing we’ll ever want to do is retread old ground just for the sake of it. So hopefully it is a sign that we can expand our palette beyond what people want and, really treat it like more than just something that’s set in stone.”
Throughout the album, Oisín’s vocals anchor the listener within the soundscape of the tracks while at the same time evoking images of live crowds chanting back the lyrics. Oisín has the ability to spark these live sing-alongs when the band perform. He conveys immense emotion and angst through his vocals.
“The vocals, that’s probably the thing that I’ve struggled the most with. I made no bones in the early days about the fact that I wasn’t, totally comfortable on stage that’s why the band is so big. Within that you’d say, well, why are you doing it to begin with? I don’t really know the answer to that question. But, the vocal yeah, it’s the element that I have the least control over but it’s the part that I worked the hardest on. I think part of the reason our songs are so melodic is so that I can kind of learn them like a nursery rhyme. I don’t know something happens in the process of translating that nursery rhyme where it ends with me rolling around and yelping. But yeah, I love singing because it’s a tender transition between writing something in your room and seeing how it ends up on stage and especially hearing people singing back is very strange”
“ I think the tension though of where you’re trying to work with your body to make this thing and you’re not quite sure whether it’s going to happen, I don’t know it’s kind of alluring. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment or something, but I like not being sure that I’m gonna be able to pull it off”
THUMPER are a one of a kind must-see live act. The band have London and Dublin launch shows this week to coincide with the album release and we discussed the shows and the possibility of a tour.
“Oh, yeah, I’m supposed to be in Europe right now. It got postponed because of Covid, hopefully for the last time.We’ll be doing these shows. We wanted to purposefully keep it really small, so it was like returning to how we started off upstairs in Whelan’s, we probably played there 20 times. So, cramming 100 people in there seemed like a really, fitting way to kick start this next chapter. Then yeah, we’ll be announcing a full Big Boy tour later in the year. We’ll be doing all the festivals and all that stuff as well. “
THUMPER have created a phenomenal album with ‘Delusions of Grandeur’. Musically the band treat our ears to a plethora of shoegaze, psychedelia and alternative rock with speckles of pop embellished throughout while earnest lyrics venture into dark territory and explore the struggle of self-image, internal and external. It’s a wonderful album that provides an exciting glimpse into the many facets of THUMPER.
‘Delusionsof Grandeur’ is set for release on Friday the 18th of March.
Until then you can watch the video for THUMPER’s latest single ‘Fear of Art’ below
‘Who Loves It’ is the triumphant seventh single from Scunthorpe Indie rockers The Waah-Kin Tribe. The Waah-Kin Tribe are an energetic Alt/Indie Rock three-piece. After releasing and debuting their first single ‘Holding Up The Mirror’ in Paris, the lads have continued to gig far and wide bringing their punk-influenced experience to centre stage. With support from BBC Introducing, the trio have been electrifying audiences with their songs and are looking forward to bringing back their notorious live performances.
Filled with infectious riffs and driving melodies ‘Who Loves It’ is a mighty new tune from The Waah-Kin Tribe. This song is a witty example of The Waah-Kin Tribe’s refined musicianship. Light guitar twinkles atop brawny riffs while a buoyant beat and rampant bassline fill out the energetic wall of sound. Boasting a sing-along chorus and quirky organ-esque interlude ‘Who Loves It’ is a dynamic tune sure to be epic live.
Ben Lazarus has released his new single, ‘Outrun The Truth’, telling the story of a person unable to take accountability for their actions. Ben Lazarus witnessed this first hand whilst working on a reality TV show, which is what eventually inspired him to write the song.
Surging with grunge tones ‘Outrun The Truth’ is a catchy new single from Ben Lazarus. The song blends soft twinkling melodies with heavy riffage and pounding drums to create elements of mosh-ready mania between tender shoegaze moments. Striking lyrical content is enhanced by dynamic musicianship as Lazarus croons “There’s no victims here, only volunteers” over a brooding instrumental backdrop. Showcasing a powerful crescendo and infectious chorus, ‘Outrun The Truth’ is an energetic new single from Ben Lazarus.
Australian indie-rock band James Hooker & The Hallows have released their debut single ‘Don’t Slow Me Down’, from their second studio album. Recorded at ‘Head Gap’ recording studio in Melbourne, the punchy track demonstrates ‘not allowing yourself to be held back by anyone or anything, being true to yourself’.
Filled with light guitar and hazy indie rock soundscapes ‘Don’t Slow Me Down’, is an infectious new single from James Hooker & The Hallows. Warm tones on guitar chime through an energetic wall of sound to create a bright and easy-listening experience for listeners to enjoy as the band display their expressive songwriting and evocative music through this charming song. ‘Don’t Slow Me Down’ is a catchy and invigorating tune to indulge in again and again.
Stream ‘Don’t Slow Me Down’ below
Author: Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
