After their critically acclaimed debut album, Swedish garage rockers Pale Honey are back with an electrifying new single. The Gothenburg girls have a sound far more expansive and diverse than you’d expect from a rock duo and this slick snaking single is a real testament to their talents. Kicking off with a fierce, no-nonsense riff the various layers soon build up an exhilarating tension, a barely restrained chaos ready to erupt. It’s subtle labyrinthine twists and turns wouldn’t sound amiss coming from St Vincent and it is simply brimming with attitude and Baltic badassery. The band deftly maintain the balance between experimenting with new sounds and the age old garage rock ideal of keeping things simple and to the point. With a new album on the way in the spring it seems their star is set to rise.
top tracks
Top Tracks: City Of Ashes – Sometimes
As part of world mental health day, Brighton based alternative rock outfit City Of Ashes have put together something special. With sponsorship and support from The National Lottery, Barclays, The London Eye and The Samaritans the band have put together this moving video (premiered via Louder Than War) to raise awareness and honour those suffering with depression. It comes as part of ‘The Sometimes Project’ which the band set up a few months ago to create a safe place online for people to talk about their struggles. The band have also set up ‘Stand As One’; a simultaneous benefit gig in different cities all across the UK on the 19th November in which the artists will also share their own experiences. ‘Sometimes’ is from the band’s upcoming album Rise.
Top Tracks: Celeb Car Crash – Let Me In
With their latest album People Are The Best Show due for release in the UK on the 25th November, these Italian alternative rockers have pulled out all the stops with this new single. With some top notch riffs, a truly menacing bass line and with an anthemic feel worthy of Alter Bridge or Coheed and Cambria, it’s a track that’s hard not to love. Perfectly paired with the dark and sinister music video featuring a mad scientist and his unwilling test subject it produces a thrilling combination that really gets the adrenaline pumping. The Italian rock scene is certainly thriving and if their forthcoming album lives up to the standard of this single then Celeb Car Crash are one of the bands leading the charge.
Top Tracks: Amére – Young Love
Hailing from south Wales this quartet have combined two very different elements to create something truly unique. Equal parts mellow ambient sounds and in-your-face emo have resulted in an intriguing display of light and shade. The curious combination will surely be loved by people on both sides of the equation. Lyrically their debut single ‘Young Love’ deals with the fickle and fragile nature of relationships in our youth. It speaks of the guilt of hurting someone who once meant the world to you and of a love that was once so strong slowly fading away. Exploring both peaceful soundscapes and raw frantic emotion, and doing so with plenty of heart and adept storytelling, Amére’s fanbase is surely set to skyrocket.
Top Tracks: Gabriel Wolfchild & The Northern Light – Runaways
Though he boasts a name that wouldn’t sound amiss in a fantasy epic, Gabriel is better known for turning heads (and chairs) thanks to his arresting vocals and poetic storytelling. Finding himself in the limelight after his successful audition on The Voice US, he soon found like-minded people eager to create who would become his backing band The Northern Light. The ethereal folk that Gabriel creates has a feeling of celebration of all the beauty and inspiration that life brings. His latest track ‘Runaways’ talks of how we are all connected and how even small gifts of love and kindness can change the world. His debut EP Mornings Like These is set for release early next year and is sure to be filled with more masterful moments of hauntingly beautiful reflection.
Top Tracks: Liz Loughrey – Rise Up!
This Toronto based singer has worked hard to create something that the world needs more of. The first single from her upcoming EP, ‘Rise Up!’ is a pop hit with plenty of tricks up it’s sleeve. With plenty of soul, an uplifting infusion of reggae, an emotive video and a great deal of heart and passion in her lyrics it’s easy to see why Liz has such a following. What truly sets this song apart however is the movement behind it. It is a call to arms for people to work together to bring some positivity into their lives and make an impact in their community. To that end Liz has been hosting school workshops to encourage young people to make a change for the better and has been inviting people to join in on social media with the #RiseUpMovement hashtag.
Top Tracks: The Only Ocean – So Shy So High
Just recently we have been blessed by the return of dream pop to delight our ears with it’s hazy goodness. It’s the kind of music that’s the perfect soundtrack for quiet reflection, for letting your consciousness disappear into the ether, for feeling like you’re part of a whole different wondrous world. It’s also the kind of music that this California four piece have perfected with their latest single. Having released their atmospheric eponymous debut just last year, The Only Ocean are eager to share more of their music with the world with their forthcoming EP TOO. If this first single, which combines airy dream pop with anthemic indie, and the intriguing artwork are anything to go by then it’s definitely something worth checking out.
Top Tracks: Cosmos & Creature – Young
Sometimes the hands of fate are kind enough to bring people together who are a perfect match. That seems exactly the case with Cosmos & Creature, the electropop duo consisting of Brandyn Burnette and Molly Moore. They each first made a name for themselves by writing hits for other artists and have since been gathering their own fanbases for their solo careers. Burnette with his latest EP State I’m In and Moore with her debut release Shadow of the Sun have shown the vast songwriting talent they possess, which has now pooled together for this latest adventure. If the pop perfection of their first single ‘Young’ is anything to go by then Cosmos & Creature are greater than the sum of their parts and are truly a creative force to be reckoned with. It looks set to be the first of a long line of hits for the newly formed partnership of these two talented songwriters.
Top Tracks: Dalia Dargazli – Shades of Green
Following on from her Sugarlows EP in March, Toronto based singer/songwriter Dalia Dargazli has released her latest stunning single ‘Shades of Green’. In many ways it is an unusual meeting between two very different worlds. Lyrically it could be an essential summer hit, full of carefree fun and chilled out vibes. Musically however this is something far grander, a mellow kaleidoscope of splendid soundscapes. A single listen feels like a peaceful flight over a boundless and breathtaking landscape. The production is immaculate and the percussion in the latter half of the track builds towards a superb close. Dalia certainly has talent beyond her years and is clearly no stranger to big ideas and memorable melodies. If there’s more music of this high standard on the way then she could well be one to watch!
Top Tracks: Dyslexic Postcards – The Shakes That You Make
Let’s be honest with ourselves here, Dyslexic Postcards was never going to be the name of a sensible band. This Miami based alternative rock band inject a sweet hint of madness into everyday life. ‘The Shakes That You Make’, from their debut EP Spare The Altar, starts off fairly unassuming before launching into quirky psychedelica. The atmospheric opening wouldn’t sound amiss coming from The War On Drugs but soon descends into what sounds an unlikely collaboration between The White Stripes and The Flaming Lips. Vibrant and addictive, the band know how to make a great melody but are committed to doing so with tongue firmly in cheek. Dyslexic Postcards clearly love what they do and I’m certain that you will too.
Belwood Music 