Rain have released two new singles ‘Punk Nakka’ and ‘Gemma Rose’. Rain are a four piece band from Newcastle. The band consists of Patrick Ashurst on Vocals and rhythm guitar, Luke Anderson on lead guitar, Lexxie Liddle on Bass and Ben Mitchell on Drums.
With a vibrant indie soundscape, infectious bass and smooth melody ‘Punk Nakka’ is saturated in Rain’s jaunty musicianship. The track drives freely upon an elastic bassline while the punchy drums pack oodles of might into the songs brawny backbone.There is a melancholic hue staining the melody while raspy vocals coo over the dynamic instrumental backdrop. It’s an anthemic indie dazzler as Rain flesh out their brand of indie rock with earnest songwriting.
The band roll out a swaying sweet number with ‘Gemma Rose’. Jangly guitars lament behind a spongy beat while the sweet melody creates a delicate almost doo wop bounce as the band inject a sing along friendly chorus into this sombre toned ditty. The foot tapping rhythm, gentle guitar strums and soft chiming soundscapes create a light and dreamy atmosphere. ‘Gemma Rose’ is a mature, well crafted and emotive track that is sweet on the ears and charming to its very core.
Rain display musical growth with new tracks ‘Punk Nakka’ and ‘Gemma Rose’. The bands emotive musicianship is blossoming and getting more vibrant with each new release.
Bio : Dukkha are a grunge & alt-rock band featuring Eoin O’Neill (vocals & guitar), Brian Casey (lead guitar, keys), Peter O’Sullivan (drums) and a shape-shifting bassist.
Track: Pulling Teeth
Why We Like It: It’s a well crafted track encased in a crashing soundscape of blistering guitars, potent bass blasts and pulverising drums. The track broods and lures through the tense verses before becoming an all out beast for the thrilling chorus. The band carefully enrich the track, meticulously building each component part. The grungy moody elements sulk into the raw and sharp alternative rock with ease making for an invigorating listening experience. From light flurries on guitar to majestic and soaring strides Dukkha inject oodles of refinement and maturity into this song. The smooth passionate vocals caress the velvety melody with ease, charm and bucket loads of power. ‘Pulling Teeth’ is a gripping powerhouse and superbly crafted track from Dukkha.
Bio : After moving to Glasgow from Finland, Takala started a college course and met Ryan Jones (bass) and Matt Boyle (guitar). Jude McWilliams fills their live sound on drums.After forming in 2018, they released an EP Unstable Air in 2019 with Scottish tour dates and a sold-out show at The Old Hairdressers. They have supported Glasgow-favourites Gallus and SNASH as well as touring acts such as Saint Agnes and Estrons.
Track: Stain
Why We Like It: Its a sultry dark track smudged with eerie synths and a sticky muggy beat. The track pulses and bloops as the reverb laced guitar swirls between the resounding bass. This tantalizing number creeps and coils with a stuffy humid atmosphere while the sultry lulling vocals coo with a velvety rich tone. The track is sublimely layered as the dark pop melodies fold elegantly over the ominous fluctuant synths and raw indie elements.
Bio : De Staat is a Dutch alternative rock band from Nijmegen, The Netherlands, formed in 2006. The band, fronted by songwriter, singer, guitarist and producer, Torre Florim, released their fifth album ‘Bubble Gum’ last year. The band have now released a video for the track ‘Phoenix’
Track: Phoenix
Why We Like It: It’s a smooth sleek number. In true De Staat manner the track builds to an intense fuzzing crescendo. The pulsing beat protruding through the wispy soundscapes creates an ominous, epic tension while Torre Florim’s vocals coo throughout. The synths crash with a majestic, ethereal yet suspenseful jab while sustained pines on guitar encase the mystery and danger. It’s equally dramatic and atmospheric as the soft twinkles to start contrast the heavy cinematic finale. With glimmers of emotional, sinister soundscapes and refined precise production Phoenix is one diverse unique number from De Staat.
Bio : Originally from Mexico but born and raised in the United Arab Emirates, he uncommonly blends a wide array of genres to sonically create a unique and invigorating style of pop.
Track: My Time
Why We Like It: Lamadrid uses his rich and diverse soundscapes to create a buoyant catchy gem that is both charming and infectious. With a funky bass line wriggling through the tracks underbelly teamed with bouncy beats and zesty writhing guitar injections, the track has an animated radiance. Each fragment is woven tightly into the song for a seamless listening experience while the R&B elements create a chilled relaxed atmosphere beneath the sun kissed bop. With a melty melody, honest lyrics and smooth vocals ‘My Time’ is a well crafted number from Lamadrid.
Influenced by rock and roll from a young age, New York alternative rock n’ roll artist Jack West taps into Nirvana, Neil Young and The Doors whilst he pays his own homage to rock and roll. He might be only 15 but he has amassed over 10,000 streams on his debut single, and joined Eddie Vedder on stage to perform to 30,000 in Nashville. Jack West is set to go far he recently released his new EP ‘Jack West – Live at Easy Street Records’.Recorded live and mixed by renowned producer Barrett Jones, the EP includes polished covers of ‘Sick Love’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and ‘Like a Stone’ by Audioslave as a tribute to the late Chris Cornell. The EP also includes his latest single ‘Bring the Records Back’ and perfectly captures the raw energy of Jack’s live performance. Judging from the EP this live takeover is going to be great.
We caught up with Fiachra Treacy from from Irish indie-rock band ColumbiaMills to talk about the release of their new album ‘CCTV’, how they craft their tracks and melodies.
You guys have released your sophomore album ‘CCTV’ how does it feel getting to share these tunes with the world?
As we produced the album ourselves, we have been very involved throughout the whole process. This can be great as we make sure the album is exactly how we want it to be. The downside to it is that you become immersed in a bubble. The process from writing, rehearsing, structuring, production, artwork, packaging and posting the album out can become a bit overwhelming and its hard to see the wood from the trees. By sharing the music to the world you begin to see it (or hear it) through other peoples eyes (or ears) and it gives us a renewed vigour and love for the music. The songs take a new life and its very exciting to see where they go.
You guys are always developing and layering your sound and this has resulted in ambitious, passionate and impactful pieces of music. Do you guys strive to add new dynamic layers to your sound and keep moving and progressing in new exciting ways with your music?
For us the most important thing is that we have songs. Once we have the song then we can work on the development of the sounds around it. That is where we have so much fun. We throw tonnes of ideas from guitars, drums ,drum machines, bass and synths and then we pare it back to whatever compliments the song. If it doesn’t compliment the song then we get rid of it.When making an album we thrive to make sure there is a uniformity to the sound of the songs without them all sounding the same. We spend a lot of time going through different sounds to find a balance between our post punk routes and the more contemporary electronic sounds that we love. We will allow a song go to places in a rehearsal and see where it ends up. If we can keep it interesting without being too self indulgent we will record it and try get it on the album.
You guys provide some first rate musicianship and songwriting, talk us through your song writing process ?
As I said the song is always the most important thing for us now. The lyrics, the story behind the song, the feeling it gives us, the place it brings us in our minds. It must mean something. I sometimes write a song and it just doesn’t make sense to me, I can’t relate it to any experience I’ve had, or anyone I know has had, so it doesn’t get used. The initial seed of the song can be planted in so many ways and that’s what makes us a band. There is a lot of songs I may bring fully formed or I can take an idea from a rehearsal, a beat , a synth line, a guitar line, a bass line and start singing over it. It will then get stuck inside my brain and its given a bit of a rinse through whatever is going on in my head. I tend not to write anything down until its nearly finished. Unfortunately for me that usually occurs at the worst time. I’ll run to the toilet and sing it into my phone or write it down on a scrap of paper. Some of the best stuff tends to come at that point between being asleep and awake. It works wonders for my insomnia. It’s also great to have music we recorded from rehearsals or parts that we send to our what’s app group that I can work on when these feelings come. I now feel like this is something we do, we write songs, its no longer a step into the unknown.
You have injected some synths and electronic elements into this album especially in ‘Isolate’ and the latter half of ‘Car Crash TV’
We have to attribute the electronics in both of those songs to our newest member Ken. Ken joined us at the beginning of writing this album and he adds so much to our sound. I remember he sent me back ‘Isolate’ having put his electronic parts on it and I just said ‘fuck yea’ that works. It’s got a disco ‘Donna Summer’ vibe that none of us would have thought of. It took the song to another place and gave the album a special moment. The latter part of CCTV came from one of our first rehearsals with Ken. As I said it was always important to let a song go somewhere and see where it ends up. We had the start written but it didn’t tell enough of the story so we let it grow and go into an electronic crescendo with Ken. This really helped finish the story and made so much more sense to us.
I love the heartfelt melodies you guys provide. They are filled with nostalgia and powerful rushes of emotion for example in ‘Car Crash TV’ ( such a wonderful song) – How do you come up with these?
I honestly don’t know the answer to that. It’s why I completely adore music. To pull something from your mind that works or to find something melodic that can create a feeling of nostalgia or emotion is truly magic. I can’t read or write music and I’ve never learned an instrument correctly so I rely on my mind to conjure up melodies. I sometimes find myself humming something and realise that it doesn’t exist or I wake up with a melody that was left there while I slept 🙂 I have always loved emotionally charged music and have listened since I was a very young child. Even now I will listen to any genre of music if it makes me feel something. That to me has always been so important. The words will come from whatever is going on in my life.
Likewise you guys flood your songs with beautiful lamenting or western-eque guitar lines that sort of tie the songs together with a sublime delicate thread. But perhaps what makes these so great is where and when you place these guitar lines in the song. How do you guys decide this?
Again it’s a group decision to compliment the song. The placement of each part, and in particular the guitar parts, is so important for us. Ste will gladly stand still for 4 minutes and not play any guitar and then play where it’s needed. It’s not a trait that many lead guitarists have. There is nothing worse than someone self pleasing (or wanking as we call it 😉 over a song and destroying the beauty. Again our ethos is to compliment the song and then get the fuck out of the way. Ste’s love of that twin peaks sound with lots of reverb gives the guitar lines space to breath.
The songs have a strong country – esque backbone which I think is what gives them the heartwarming and wholesome tone. Is this a trait you guys actively try to maintain through your songs?
It is funny you say that as it was the first thing Rob Kirwan (produced our first album) said. We are a country band with an indietronic sound. Country songs will always tell a story and contain a lot of heart, be they happy or sad. We honestly never tried to do this but I guess its the nature of writing from the heart. I listened to a lot of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Dr Hook as a very young child so I can thank my Da for that. I was always trying to figure out what songs were about, and loved when someone would tell me the story behind it and everything would click. For me music has always been story telling and I think that’s the main trait of country music.
You guys write songs that really hit home with people and evoke an emotional reaction,does it surprise you when you hear what other people are taking from the songs or how they interpret your music and lyrics?
It has always been important to leave a lot to the imagination when it comes to lyrics. Not to give too much away and allow people to fill in the blanks. I’ll certainly guide the song towards a particular situation and they all mean something very particular to me but letting people create their own world within a song is very important to us. It is very rare that people get the total wrong idea but that’s fine. Most people will find the mood and connect it with an event in their own lives and I love that. That’s what the music is for. To escape and to relate. To feel someone else has gone through the same experience and you are not alone.
There is a twilight hue over each of the tracks with a sort of desert vibe. Was this a conscious decision to create that atmosphere within each track?
Again you’ve hit the nail on the head. We talk about the desert vibes a lot. We use the guitars and synth pads to create a space that allows the song just enough space to breathe which stimulates evocative thoughts to emanate (well that’s the idea)I think it was definitely a conscious decision when we were creating our sound but I think now it is just ingrained in what we do.
”Stimulates evocative thoughts to emanate” What a wonderful and poetic way to express the process.For you guys what is the stand out track on the album?
This has changed so many time for us which I suppose is a good sign. Speaking for myself ‘You’re not the answer’ really hits me as it was written from a very personal place. At the moment though I’m really buzzing from ‘The Greatest Love’. When we recorded the album I think Car Crash TV was the one. This will all change once it’s out and you start hearing other peoples experiences with the tracks.
Was it difficult choosing what tracks you were going to put on the album and in what order?
This was much easier than we thought it would be. We managed to play them all live at some stage (in some form) before we finished the album and we could see what worked and what didn’t. There were a few songs that we played too much and the magic you get from recording something new had gone so we set them aside. When making ‘an album’ of songs , we really think about ‘an album’ and will write songs that tell a certain story overall and individually. This certainly helps to whittle them down.
You guys have garnered huge radio support here and in the UK including John Kennedy Radio X, RTE Radio 1, Ed Smith (Today FM) choosing you as his Play Irish Artist of the week and ‘Recent and Decent’ on Today FM, Dan Hegartys (2FM) Track of The Week, and heavy rotation on Paul Mc Loones Today FM show, as well as heavy airplay across all national and regional radio stations. That must feel pretty good. Can you remember the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio?
First of all, we are so thankful when we get support from radio. We really don’t expect it. We haven’t written any nicely packaged 3 min songs yet so when we get radio play we know it is because these people genuinely like our music and it blows us away. The first person to play us was Paul McLoone and he has gotten behind us ever since.Our manager sent our first single ‘Never gonna Look At You The same’ in to him and he played it that night. I tuned in the rest of the week and heard it while driving alone. I got quite emotional and felt a lot of self doubt lifting. It was quite an experience. We put everything into music and make a lot of sacrifices, so to hear it being played on the radio is an amazing boost and gives you the feeling that you are doing something right.
Due to this strange covid 19 times your show on the 24th April has been postponed and rescheduled for September 18th what can fans expect ?
It will be a very emotional night so expect an outpouring of emotion from us. Knowing now how fragile things can be, there will be no holding back.We will be celebrating the release of the album but it will now be much more than that. Celebrating being able to be together again, celebrating live music, celebrating life. Having been unable to play live has helped us realise how much we need to do it, so we plan to leave everything on the stage that night. Hopefully people will have taken the songs to their hearts by then and we can make this the best gig we’ve ever done.
Do you guys have any advice for someone who wants to start a band?
Pick like minded people to play the music you love with. Don’t change to get on a certain scene. Scenes end and the only constant that remains is the music you love yourself. Play the music you love and you will never let the stumbling blocks trip you up for too long. Don’t be afraid to write a song. Get used to €2 chicken fillet roles.
What’s next for Columbia Mills?
We are writing album number three so we are diving in again while all this is going on. We are really buzzing from some of the ideas so can’t wait to finish some of them off. Once we can rehearse we will be putting a new live show together for the Autumn gigs. We will also flesh out the new songs and hopefully get them recorded very soon.Apart from that it’s impossible to tell. We would love to tour this album and will do everything we can to do so. We are hopeful things can get back to normal and we can push on from here.
Frontman Gary Kingham from Reading quartet Mellor has kindly recorded an acoustic version of the bands tracks ‘Arms Length’ and ‘Delicate’ for us here at Indie Buddie to help relieve the boredom of the lockdown. The recordings add a new dimension to these catchy tracks. If you were planning to go to one of the bands shows before the Covid – 19 madness had them rudely reschedule this will satisfy those cravings for a live Mellor show, for a little while at least.
Mellor have received radio support from Abbie McCarthy, Radio 1; Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music; John Kennedy, Radio X; Charlie Ashcroft, Elise Cobain, Frankie Francis, Jim Gellatly and Scott McGerty from Amazing Radio to name a few. The band have also featured on Spotify’s Hot New Bands, Indie List and Transistor playlists as well as Amazons Best New Bands playlist, and Apple Music’s Breaking Rock & The A-List.
You can watch the acoustic videos for ‘Arms Length’ and ‘Delicate’ below
Southend-on-Sea alternative indie trio InEarnest have released their debut single‘Put Me Under’.Forming in early 2019, Sarah, Thomas and Toby were previously part of the band ‘Carousel’, a project which went on to perform at Cambridge Folk Festival, toured with The Oh Hello’s and embarked on an 8-date headline tour whilst gaining 100k+ Spotify streams on official playlists.
‘Put Me Under’ is an emotional delicate number richly layered to create an ethereal and tender listening experience as In Earnest use honest songwriting to tell their story of depression and loneliness. With warm finger picked acoustic guitar rushing through airy mystical twinkles on electric guitar, the track has a light sparkling soundscape. The trio build the song slowly as the guitar becomes more dreamy with wobbles of scintillation glistening through the dreamy atmosphere. The listener experiences a range of emotions as the band express themselves through soft emotive vocals, raw lyrics and a heart rushing crescendo. With delicate and wholesome musicianship, In Earnest’s songwriting is organic and compelling.
Their debut single ‘Put Me Under’ is written from Sarah’s perspective. “I suffer from chronic anxiety and depression, to the point where I can’t hold down jobs or be left alone for too long. In my loneliness I am awash with negative thoughts. The song is about feeling overcome by an invisible illness, but knowing it’s a lot easier to cope in the company of a dog.”
Dublin’s disco-punks Munky have released their new single ‘Closed Door Policy’. For this new single the quartet teamed up once again with producer Dan Doherty (Fontaines D.C., Damien Dempsey, Somebody’s Child).2019 saw the band release their debut EP, tour Europe with the legendary Meat Puppets and release post-apocalyptic single Megaton.
Saturating their sound in a cool hazy shoegaze coating ‘Closed Door Policy’ shows strong growth in Munky. The quartet create a new dreamy and mellow texture within their sound as they brood and cultivate the track meticulously with funk flavoured bass lines and distilled shuffling drums which provides a slinky elastic texture that wobbles and warps the track’s underbelly.
Beautiful melodious guitars weave and twinkle while coiling around the infectious rhythmic bounce creating a wonderful sense of subtle tension within the ethereal airy soundscape. The band allow the guitars to elevate off the fluctuant bass and drum foundation before returning for the dynamic crescendo while Zac Stephenson’s soulful vocals caress the lamenting melody with a velvety croon, adding to the marshmallow bounce of the track. As the song progresses the sublime Toisín and Sinead McConville take to backing vocals to drive the track home. The massive crescendo packs oodles of punch as here we finally see the heavy vigor we know Munky for. The band have layered this track sublimely teasing and foreshadowing their powerful crescendo through light sprinklings and darker undertones to create a full bodied and utterly thrilling listening experience.
About the track the band said:: ”The song was written about isolating oneself from others, for fear of overexposing yourself, for fear of growing stale”
Barefoot Magicians have released their new EP ‘Hangin’ On’.The band comprised of Dave Greene on harmonica and vocals, Graham Stewart on Guitars, Brian Steemers on drums & percussion, Paraic Carroll on Bass and Petra žižak on Keys & Mandolin formed in early 2017 after a recording session in Dublin’s prestigious Windmill Lane Studios.
Barefoot Magicians throws the listener a curve ball with ‘Hangin’ On’ as the EP takes everything we know from the band so far and turns it up a notch, augmenting the bands bluesy sound with new stylistic twitches. Doused in the groove rooted bluesy tonality this band does so well title track ‘Hangin’ On’ introduces the EP. The band present moany lyrical content with suave instrumentation and slinky arrangement to create a get up and dance catchy number. Punchy drums and groovy bass adorn the backdrop while the sleek guitars, warm harmonica blast and rich percussion adds a swanky flamboyance and irresistible upbeat vibe to the track. ‘We Can’t Give It Up’ is where the band showcase their versatility and genre bending sound. The heavier alternative rock backdrop and synth elements creates a dark, wispy and haunting atmosphere as Dave Greene lets loose over a lamentful melody. Here, he takes his usually powerful tone and smoothes it to intensify the spine chilling eerie soundscape. The heavy rawness of the guitars crash and jaggedly slice through the track with rough relentless stamina while the pining melody on harmonica sweetly contrasts the beefy backdrop with a light and almost innocent melodious refrain. ‘Get What You Want’ brings the EP to a close with a nimble and bombastic bass announcing the bands triumphant finale. Barefoot Magician’s ability to create a tight robust rhythmic backbone is impressive and is the perfect recipe to get a crowd up and dancing. Those thundering drum whacks, resounding bass and itchy percussion is the ignition to this band’s sound. They team this with shredding guitar flourishments, sultry licks, scorching solos, sweet harmonica and warm mandolin melodies to provide a rich tasty collection of tracks.
Barefoot Magicians pack a lot of power into this well balanced three track EP. This band’s modern blues rock has charm, character and oodles of wonderful melodies and embellishments. They are building their sound superbly bringing what they achieved with their ‘The Awakening’ EP and fleshing it out, carving their own sound and brand meticulously to create something quite invigorating.
Off the back of ‘One Day’ being named BBC Introducing in the south ‘Track of the Day’ and their latest release ‘No Surprise’ gaining them over 1000 monthly listeners on Spotify, Brighton’s indie rock quartet Koala Club have released their newest Single ‘City Lights’. Koala Club have been establishing themselves in their hometown and have started to gain a following across the country with their feel good tracks, ear-catching riffs and singalong choruses.
‘City Lights’ is an adrenaline packed juicy burst of indie rock as Koala Club use biting bright guitar lines and an infectious buoyant backdrop to create a glowing track ready for repeat plays. This vibrant tune drifts joyously on a bubbling rhythmic bed as the band drizzle tasty guitar riffs and dynamic elastic bass over the teasing verses while the chorus eruption rushes with the bands signature vibrancy and indie bite. Well crafted the track builds superbly capturing an atmosphere of exhilarating youthful indie while the smooth vocals coo over the effervescent backdrop. ‘City Lights’ is another irresistible tasty delight from Koala Club.
About the track frontman James Grimsdale said : ‘‘City Lights is a song about moving away from home to follow a passion but falling short and losing yourself. It focuses on how this can lead to addictions in your life to mask your emotions, leaving you feeling trapped in an endless cycle.’‘
Our Worth A Listen Track This Week Comes From Bullet Girl
Photo Credit: Nicholas O’Donnell.
North Dublin post-punk band Bullet Girl have released their new single ‘Hatred’. A song about online trolls, it is particularly fitting right now. Bullet Girl are on an upwards trajectory. A seriously energetic live band, they blew the crowd away at TiLT in The Button Factory, run by 98fm’s John Barker (Totally Irish). On the back of this, Aiken Promotions asked them to support The Mystrines at Eastbound Dublin. This show has been postponed due to pandemic restrictions but is rescheduled to go ahead on Thursday, 24th September at The Workman’s Club, all things going well.
‘Hatred‘ is a potent punch of the hard hitting musicianship Bullet Girl do so well. These guys present a sound that oozes powerful, post punk battering with majestic flair. The wonderful intricacies within the track shows how refined Bullet Girl’s sound is. A relentless bass writhes its way through the songs dark underbelly while the pulverising drum throttles with vigor and adrenaline creating the perfect, beefy, floor shaking foundation. On top of this the slick flourishes on guitar soar and crash with a fierce uncompromising display of power and finesse. It’s a pure and raw number that explodes with the bands energetic soundscape. The frenetic vocals howl and rasp over the erupting instrumentation as the track builds to its dynamic and thrilling crescendo. This band’s ability to communicate their message through ruthless and mesmerising musicianship is impressive. ‘Hatred’ is a well crafted, invigorating call to arms against the online hatred inflicted by trolls. Once again Bullet Girl knock it out of the park.
Songwriter and lead guitarist Dylan Keenan says: “The song is a rally cry against the hatred that the internet age has conjured up; the ability of people to participate in hate speech under the cover of anonymity. Angry little soldiers with ideologies built on insecurity. When you see far-right political leaders gain support across the western world and hateful attacks against minorities and racial groups at both a local and global level becoming the norm, sometimes it does make you worry if the schoolyard bullies have won? This is not happening a million miles away, it’s happening right outside our door.”
Stream ‘Hatred’ below
Author : Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
