GAZELLE - LADY BLUE SKY

...COME OUT TO PLAY...

Some say there's terror on the fairground, the euphoric suspense before stepping onto the ride, a clatter of swirling gears, and underneath the bigtop....Gazelle takes you on their new musical cyclone, Lady Blue Sky!  

The opening steam organ harks us back to heady psychedelic days as Gazelle's new single embarks on a modern magical mystery tour.  And only in the last dizzying second does the terror show itself, calling us..."to come out to play"!

Gazelle's first single of twenty twenty-three once again takes us in new musical directions.  After the explosive suspense laden drama of Arcadia, Lady Blue Sky  swirls up elements of jangly, dreamy, peace and love, into Southern bluesy riffs and a breathy soulie chorus to boot. Make no mistake this is the pure essence of Gazelle rock n roll, an alchemists mix of style, swagger, and true faith in their musical convictions, how can you not get your head swept up in it all! 

Lady Blue Sky's got this hip shaker groove, from the tambourine beat, to Ryan's gritty vocal and the hard drivin riffs, rising n'crashing throughout.  The track concludes with an erupting chorus, which is I suspect just how Ryan and the boys like it, lettin yourself go and getting carried away by the spirit of the music, like the Beatles sitting on the floor of the studio, surrounded by friends recording All You Need is Love! 

Gazelle's signature themes stand out in the lyrics once again, and central to that is always escape and freedom.  From the whimsical and trippy, "Hoping for the day I slip into Mary's dream" to the more escapist "keep grooving on...keep on trucking into the sun" Lady Blue Sky is a track about gettin out of your head, and gettin out of your space, and that's what we're all lookin for, it's bein free! 

Their best yet...man every release seems to be, and they still keep coming back to the well giving us more.  Lady Blue Sky, with it's deep South, road trip psychedelica, and jangle beats, is a heartstoppin trip! Get on the road and under the blue sky! 

 

Jay Tennant - Rebel Run

 ...See You In The Midday Sun...

Detonating with effect of a hydrogen bomb through the speaker wires, Rebel Run, the new single from Jay Tennant, shatters the calm and pierces the atmosphere from the opening electro riff.   This is the ride Mr. Tennant is taking you on, backed by a pounding drum line that never lets up and never lets you go.  It's a ride laced with love, passion and rage, straight into the heart our dystopian post-modern world.    

Recognized I believe as an archetype of indie noir, Jay Tennant exists musically inside the ethereal emotions of darkness and romance, set upon an ever grittier, furious urban landscape.  And against those frantic, heart racing drums, the anthem explodes. Jay's lyrics evoke the silver screen and finds "the passion in your eyes", while the heart quickens with images of rebellion and "bullets in the night."

From the verse to the bridge to the chorus, Rebel Run continues it's explosive pace, underpinning Jay's howling, moody vocal.  And in the mix of the vocal, radiating guitar riffs, the furious drum line and electro synth vibes, the track sets your head spinning, and returns you to the same thumping starting point. 

Jay is truly a master at crafting the musical with the inner visual.  The frenzied pace of Rebel Run is equally balanced by the lyrical hero, "feelin like Jim Morrison and lookin like God's only son".  We are all dreaming of becoming that hero and breaking down the walls of our own existence, even if it's only Saturday night.  But be careful, amidst all that flailing abandon the power is out there in the night and "they'll tear you apart".         

  

Marseille - Thinker

 

...I've Been Thinkin About You...

Sixty days since the release of Only Just Begun, in the middle of a headlining tour that sees the band ripping it up in Guildford tonight, and hey why not release a new single, so yea here we go, New Music Friday rolls again with Marseille 2.0 holding nothing back....Thinker!

Straight off, lyrically and musically, the track wastes no time wrapping you up in intimate feelings of suffering and regret, while the complexly layered melody hooks you in, the riffs carry you away on the feeling. From those gentle acoustic lines, there's an incredible sense of peace and familiarity invoked in the opening that carries itself through to it's inevitable dramatic conclusion.  

The track is a shining performance, a vocal tour de force, blending a luscious harmony while the vocal lays bare Will's emotion and charisma.  It's poignant in it's message, and rapturous in it's delivery! 

Thinker is going to resonate with new fans and those already firmly in the Marseille camp.  Yea it's a proper chill vibe, but it's full of complex swagger and attitude that comes from band's belief that this is their year, ...and I believe that too. Comparisons have and will be made, but who really cares, our roots run deep and the music connects us! Nothing stays the same, everything changes, that's life....Marseille figured that part out! 

  

THE SHED PROJECT - IF YOU'RE GETTING BUSY

 

...YOU'RE GETTING BETTER...

Bolton's finest are storming back from the shed this week in support of WHYSUP and their mission to support mental health, addiction, and well being in Bolton, and let's cut straight to the chase, the song is an absolute triumph, period!

It would be no small understatement to say that the first six weeks of 2023 has unleased an incredible tsunami of music on the UK indie scene.  New music Friday has exploded week after week, likened to a barrage of musical artillery with top shelf drops, track after track after track!  And not to be outdone, The Shed Project light it up this week with their newest If You're Getting Busy (You're Getting Better). 

The song opens gently, stretching it's wings and floating over the initial simplicity of strumming acoustic cords, laying the groove and creating a certain melancholy.  Against this opaque moodiness, Roy's vocal slides over, delivering a tower of strength, but soulful, and projecting vulnerability at the same time.  The track takes you on a journey underpinned by lightly patterned drums, and electric hooks on guitar.  The arrangement culminate with power cords into an incredible electric blues inspired bridge, as the road concludes with the faint subtle echo of the title, as the song slips away. 

Above all If You're Getting Busy (You're Getting Better) is a song rooted in themes of unity, and bonding over an earnest harmony.  Starting out originally as a poem written by footballer David Flitcroft about mental health and dealing with the loss of his father, it has subsequently been reborn by The Shed Project in the song we hear today, finding new roots in salvation and a belief in yourself.  Having it's national radio debut on XS Manchester, the group has pledged all proceeds from the song will be donated to WHYSUP.  

As The Shed Project embark on the first leg of their mini tour at the Water Rats London next weekend, with special guest MC Tunes, the band coming out of the shed are tight, energized, and sounding on the top of their game.  With their sophomore album slated for a Fall '23 release, demos are goin down, and  there's no lookin back, The Shed Project are gettin' busy! 

 

 

MARSEILLE - ONLY JUST BEGUN

 

...THE ROAD IS LONG...

2023 is here and there're off, the lads from Derby are charging from single to single and strength to strength!  Two months since the release of Freedom, a single which capped off an incredible jaw dropping year for the band, and yes there are a few out there still lost in The Jungle, trying to find their way back!

After proclaiming the new era of Marseille, the band returns to kick it up in January with their new janglelicious single Only Just Begun!  Coming full circle back with their signature Mersey beat sound, the new five piece Marseille are no way looking backward.  The single feels as fresh and exciting as all of their recent releases have.  

The track opens up with Lennon, now on rhythm guitar, swirling round and wrapping you up just before the beat hits.  And when it does hit it's simply idyllic, this is a sun shiny groove that makes you want to move!   Will's signature vocal is unmistakable, emotionally charged as it floats over the rhythm's hooks, recounting feelings of a relationship's end, and honestly who hasn't been there.  The song and the vocal fade like a soft harmonic echo in your head, with Will's final chorus..."don't wanna be that guy, cause it's only just begun!" 

And there you have it New Music Friday, twenty days into the new year and Marseille are bolting.  Three days in the studio, done, a March tour quickly selling and a new single to boot.  The lads from Darby aren't taking a break and why should they....It's Only Just Begun!

Joe Peacock - On Fire Again

 LIGHTENING STRIKES!

Out of the coldest and darkest month of the year; almost forgotten between last year's best of music lists, and the anticipation of Spring, January is often shuffled aside in forgotten to do lists, quickly broken resolutions, and plans for Summer holidays.  But despair not, the scene is industriously at work; planning, writing, recording and mastering, and out of the storm......lightening strikes! 

Birmingham's Joe Peacock lights it up and explodes out of the darkness with his powerful new single On Fire Again.  The second release since July's album Mirror Neuron Generator, a collection of eclectic electronica and haunting vocals, On Fire Again strips out any hint of over production, and brings Joe back to the gritty, the bombastic, the indie!  

Laden with proto punk energy, On Fire Again hooks you straight off with this rainy night in the city, plunky, Velvet Underground style lead riff. The chorus amps the noise and Joe leads an uptown guitar assault, filled with garage noise, reminiscent of early, moody, Sonic Youth.  

Always the  consummate storyteller, with On Fire Again Joe recounts the real life story of a man who holds the record for being struck by lightning the most times...incredibly seven! "Seven times a one in half a million chance, He didn’t want to be a lightning rod" One would be honestly enough in my opinion!  The lyrics continue to weave in imagery of life, death, and rebirth related to lightening, "A livid path is gone too fast, A sign this day could be your last, Or will you be reborn again?"

Like the Phoenix from the ashes, On Fire Again ignites musically and builds it up to burn it down, to the point where we're finally left with Joe's cryptic instructions "Watch the skies, always watch the skies...".  The January night just got a little brighter! 

LEWCA - FORGET MY NAME

 REMEMBER THE SONG, FORGOT THE NAME....

When the party's rollin' it's a blur, it's a haze, the movement, the lights, the sound.  People steppin' to you,....I wish they'd step off, yea one more round, I'm not leavin'.  

Morning always comes, tired and muddled, it always comes...Forget My Name...forget it all!  Our man Lewca bought four rounds.  Four rounds to figure out if your a rockstar or not, four rounds to walk the walk!  

So this is it, the morning after the morning after the night before, yea we bin out!  The track opens gently, acoustically, like a sliver of sunshine before the world crashes in, the world always does that. Lewca's vocal, raspy, stung and burnt.."I can't take it, I can't fuckin fake it"...a desperate showdown at the end of the road.  

The horns, charged with the electricity of a Mexican standoff, rise up to meet the vocal from Victory Flow on the chorus, like a dusty funeral procession.  Burnin' with soul, the spoken word epitaph of Victory Flow implores you, don't go insane,  yea don't forget my name! Testify!  

Once again Lewca brings in a star studded posse to the studio; Big John Mitchie, Paul Duncan, Ian Williamson, Shark Star, and the everpresent electro magic of S.O.A.P., and Ben Samama.  Underpinned by sharp piercing riffs and minimalist drum beats, Lewca finds the redemption we're all searchin' for, he ain't fading away, he's ridin' out in a blaze of glory!

This time Lewca publishes a visual to the audio.  The final single release, from the album Friday Night Rockstar, comes customized with an Orwell meets Seven Monkey's style video.  From the static monochrome of Lewca, to the redemptive technicolor of Victory Flow,  the video takes you on a long days journey into night, and out into the light of the other side.  

For anyone out of the loop the album release is weeks away, which means the heavy liftin is done.  Four singles in the span of ninety days....you've had more than enough time to figure out where you stand.  But whatever side you come down on, Lewca is a musical force to be reckoned with...

...and for those who dismiss him, he never lacks the firepower when the shit goes down!  

VAMOS!