SWANSEA SOUND announce their first US shows! Plus a new single and video – MARKIN’ IT DOWN.
Skep Wax Records Release date: 20 April 2024 (Record Store Day)
Available on digital and limited edition lathe-cut 7”single
Markin’ It Down is set in a second-hand record shop, where all vinyl turns up in the end. A duet between optimistic customer (Hue Williams) and unimpressed record shop worker (Amelia Fletcher), Markin’ It Down is a song that celebrates the fact that, in the end, music is music and the format doesn’t really matter. Although vinyl is probably best, especially if you can get it for half price. The lathe-cut single will be released on Record Store Day.
Swansea Sound have been described as an indie supergroup, comprising members of Heavenly, Talulah Gosh, The Pooh Sticks, The Dentists and Death in Vegas. Following on from UK dates and a live session for Riley & Coe on BBC6Music, Swansea Sound will be touring the East Coast of the US in June, and travelling to the West Coast in October.
Markin’ It Down is a version of the track that appears on Swansea Sound’s critically acclaimed second album Twentieth Century (Skep Wax Records).
What critics have said about Swansea Sound:
‘Close to an indie pop miracle.’ Tim Sendra, All Music.
‘And you thought no one wrote songs like that anymore. If there was any justice in this world, they would be blasting from every speaker this summer.’ Johnnie Johnstone, Record Collector.
‘The glorious sounds of C86 brought into the now.’ Thomas Patterson, Shindig
‘Twentieth Century’ is an absolute delight, every track sounding like it could have emerged on some exceptionally cool 7” only label in the mid-Nineties.’ Gareth James, Clash Magazine
‘Primary-coloured Buzzcocks-pop suffused with existential dread.’ Jim Wirth, Mojo
‘An essential broadcast from the forefront of the indiepop resistance.’ Andy Brown, Louder than War.
PAPA JUPE’S T.C. attack toxic alpha-male influencers on new single ‘High Value Male’
Released 22nd March 2024
“I loved everything about this band when I saw this.” – Amy Lamé, BBC Radio 6 Music
“If you wanted to know what it would sound like if The B-52s were to mate with Fat White Family and have children that they just left to play in primeval sludge of illegal substances then that might well be the outcome.” – Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales
“A brilliant song, with an important message, from a very exciting band – really innovative track.” – Charlie Ashcroft, Amazing Radio
“That track… just WOW! That is one of the best; it’s just too good! I think you’re gonna be hearing an awful lot of this band from everyone. Coming out of Wales – Welsh music scene, once again, amazing.” – Mark McNally, Cumbernauld FM
“A band with social conscience.” – Mike James, Rock Rage Radio
“Lots of exciting stuff on the horizon for Papa Jupe’s T.C.” – Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio Wales
FFO: Fat White Family, Viagra Boys, Warmduscher, Yard Act, Gilla Band, Fat Dog
PAPA JUPE’S T.C. announce the release of their new single “High Value Male” which will be available on all digital streaming platforms on 22nd March 2024. The song is a sleazy disco track that delves into the mind of a man who has fallen down the rabbit hole of of idolising misogynistic online influencers.
Speaking about the track, frontman Harry Willicombe comments: “There’s an epidemic of young impressionable boys being influenced by narcissistic figures on social media. We decided to approach this issue with satire so wrote the song in the first-person, from the perspective of a “High Value Male”. We recite the type of nonsense they often come out with, and then let Gem come in with a rejection before the final chorus.” “We based the takedown on actual quotes by the worst one of the bunch. We don’t want to say his name, but I think we all know who he is”, Nashville-born co-vocalist Gemini Anderson adds. “It felt right using his own words against his cause.”
Bassist Alex Miller wrote, produced and mixed the song in Jupe HQ, the band’s DIY studio. The Cardiff band will be performing the new single at their hometown headline show in Clwb Ifor Bach on 4th April 2024, along with songs from their “Wetmarket EP”, which has amassed over 60,000 streams since it was released with sold-out headline release-party gig at Porter’s, Cardiff in June 2023.
PAPA JUPE’S T.C. were founded in Cardiff in 2017 by frontman and lyricist Harry Willicombe and multi- instrumentalist Sam Butcher. Together, the pair undertake the majority of songwriting duties in a partnership dating back to 2013 with indie-rockers “Mirror Gorillas”. Bassist, Alex Miller, joined the fold shortly after and has since played an important role in the production and mixing of the band’s music, allowing the band to keep all of their production in-house.
Ash Smith’s drumming, Tom Emlyn’s synth work, Lucian Ellicott’s trumpet playing, and Nashville-import Gemini Anderson’s joyous vocals have helped cement PAPA JUPE’S T.C. as a unique voice in the burgeoning Cardiff music scene.
PAPA JUPE’S T.C.’s music combines sleazy surf rock and post-punk influences with disco beats and crescendoing gospel organs. Their dark-humoured and introspective lyricism lampoons masculinity, politics, and power.
This February, the band were recipients of BBC Horizon/Gorwelion’s Launchpad funding and were also supported by the PRS and Arts Council Wales-backed Forté Project. The band have earned a reputation for their wild live performances and theatrical stage presence. They have played sold out headline shows at Cardiff indie staples, Tiny Rebel and Porter’s, and have supported the likes of English Teacher on their UK Tour. In 2023, the band were shortlisted in the Green Man Rising Competition.
‘High Value Male’ was written by Alex Miller, Sam Butcher and Harry Willicombe, produced by Alex Miller & Sam Butcher at Jupe HQ, mixed by Alex Miller, and mastered by Steve Kitch. Harry Willcombe, vocals; Sam Butcher, guitar; Alex Miller, bass; Ash Smith, drums; Tom Emlyn, synth; Lucian Ellicott, trumpet; and Gemini Anderson, vocals.
AIRPLAY: Amy Lamé, BBC Radio 6 Music; Huw Stephens, BBC Radio Wales; Adam Walton, BBC Introducing Wales; Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio Wales; Playlisting: Amazing Radio; Mark McNally, Cumbernauld FM, Prospect Radio.
Dates 30/03/24 – Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge 04/04/24 – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach 04/05/24 – Glastonbury, All Roads Festival 10/05/24 – Swansea, Elysium 11/05/24 – The Waiting Room, London 25/05/24 – Chepstow, Devauden Festival 26/07/24 – Cardiff, Chapter Arts
For The Lovely Eggs being in a band is a way of life. It’s about art. It’s about creativity and expression. It’s about following your own path and doing things your own way.
Holly and David operate on their terms, spewing out music, records, art and television shows before piling in the van and tearing round the country to perform a load of live sold-out shows.
Earlier this month the band returned with new single ‘My Mood Wave’, their first new music in nearly four years (watch the video HERE). Four long years since the release of their Number 1 Independent Chart topper, ‘I Am Moron’. But it’s not like they’ve been lazy, oh no. They made their own TV series EGGS TV and hosted it on YouTube, they dueted with Iggy Pop, piled into their van and played a load of sold-out gigs and festivals, spent two years fighting to save Lancaster Music Co-Op (a community rehearsal rooms and recording studio where they live), and then they got their heads down and wrote a new album.
‘My Mood Wave’, with its contemporary, yet haunted West Coast retro vibe, was an instant smash across the airwaves of 6 Music, Radio X etc and gave us the first whiff of what to expect from ‘Eggsistentialism’, the brand-new album from The Lovely Eggs, due May 17th via Egg Records.
“The new album is really a reflection on what has been happening to us these last couple of years, stewing up in Eggland in our own juices,” explains Holly. “It’s about loss and strength. On this album you’ll hear us at our lowest and most vulnerable. Daily life is hard. Realising everything you grew up with and loved is never coming back, alongside the responsibilities of caring for others is sometimes hard to take. The album is about life and death. Eggsistentialism. It’s about dragging yourself through all the shit to get to the other side.”
Once again, the album was recorded by the band at home in Lancaster with production work from Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann. They flew to America in December 2023 to mix the album in Fridmann’s studio in upstate New York and the results are without doubt the most expansive, mind-melting ten songs the band have delivered yet. From the twisted, sneering punk rock of opening track ‘Death Grip Kids’, to the wistful, stark seven-minute psychedelic beauty of ‘Nothing/Everything’, ‘Eggsistentialism’ sees The Lovely Eggs running the full gauntlet of emotions and sounds.
“It’s a bit of a ‘wilderness years’ album,” continues Holly. “We haven’t released a new record since 2020 and in the meantime, we’ve been here fighting shit and trying to defend a right to a lifestyle that we’ve enjoyed here in this town for the last 30+ years- as working musicians who refuse to get a “normal” job and tow the line. It’s about believing in something and not letting go. But that unwillingness to give in ultimately takes its toll. It does start to destroy you and the album is kind of a documentation of that destruction and collapse as well as the strength we’ve got to get through it all. Ultimately, this is a hopeful record about survival.”
‘Eggsistentialism’ will be released on ltd edition ‘mind green’ green 12” vinyl and CD with more breath taking/ mind boggling artwork by illustrator Casey Raymond. All orders made direct through the band’s website will come with a limited edition signed print of the album artwork, with the first 500 LP copies hand numbered and signed by the band.
There will also be an additional 1,000 LPs pressed on transparent blue vinyl with ‘coffee’ splatter exclusively available in independent record shops.
Operating in a world when true authenticity is hard to find, The Lovely Eggs are one of the most exciting, innovative and genuine bands around. Welcome to their world. Welcome to Eggland.
‘Eggsistentialism’ track-listing:
Death Grip Kids Nothing/Everything Meeting Friends at Night People TV My Mood Wave I Don’t Fucking Know What I’m Gunna Do Memory Man Things Echo You I am Gaia
Written and Recorded by The Lovely Eggs Produced by The Lovely Eggs and Dave Fridmann Mixed by Dave Fridmann at Tarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, N.Y. Assistant Mix Engineer: Mike Fridmann. Artwork by Casey Raymond
Catch The Lovely Eggs live at the following dates in May Tickets available HERE:
Thurs 23 St Lukes, Glasgow Fri 24 La Belle Angele, Edinburgh Sat 25 The Grove, Newcastle Sun 26 The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds SOLD OUT Mon 27 XOYO, Birmingham Tues 28 Thekla, Bristol Weds 29 Chalk, Brighton Thurs 30 Earth, London Fri 31 Rescue Rooms, Nottingham Sat 1 June New Century, Manchester
“They’re still able to channel an almost Dickensian parallel universe of lowlife, crime and violence into something poetic and romantic.”
THE GUARDIAN
The last gang in town The Libertines, who release their hotly anticipated new album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade on March 15th, have announced a UK & Irish tour commencing in Dublin on 23rd September and taking in two shows at The Roundhouse in London and culminating at Manchester’s Albert Hall on 7th November. Head to the official Libertinesstore
https://thelibertines.lnk.to/PreOrder4Presale and pre-order the new album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade to get exclusive ticket pre-sale access at 9am on Wednesday 21st February 2024. Tickets go on general sale Friday 23rd February at 9:00am.
The Libertines’ once-seen-never-forgotten live shows are here to save humanity from holograms, virtual reality and AI auto-tuned bullshit, so switch off your pocket-held marketing machine and come and experience raw analogue euphoria at the hands of these delirious musical chaos-mongers.
The full dates for the All Quiet On The Esplanade Tour are:
SEPTEMBER
23rd MON Dublin 3Olympia Theatre
24th TUE Belfast The Telegraph Building
OCTOBER
3rd THU Birmingham O2 Academy
4th FRI Norwich UEA
5th SAT Cambridge The Corn Exchange
7th MON Cardiff Great Hall
8th TUE Bristol O2 Academy
18th FRI Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom
19th Sat Liverpool Mountford Hall
21st Mon Nottingham Rock City
22nd TUE Leeds O2 Academy
30th WED London Roundhouse
31st THU London Roundhouse
NOVEMBER
4th MON Sheffield The Octagon
5th TUE Newcastle NX
7th THU Manchester Albert Hall
As previously announced The Libertines will headline ‘On The Beach Festival’ in Brighton on Sunday, July 28th.
The Libertines have so far lifted three genius singles from their fabulous new album All Quiet On TheEastern Esplanade:Run, Run, Run VIDEO, Night Of The Hunter VIDEO and ShiverVIDEO Preorder your copy here: TheLibertines.lnk.to/AQOTEEPR
The Libertines are Peter Doherty – vocals/guitar, Carl Barât – vocals/guitar, John Hassall – bass guitar and Gary Powell– drums. The band have released three albums: Up The Bracket (2002); The Libertines (2004); and Anthems For Doomed Youth (2015).
Today, Perth misfit Peter Bibby announces his new albumDrama King, to be released May 31 via Spinning Top Records.Drama Kingwas produced by first-time collaborator Dan Luscombe, whose work with fellow Aussie breakouts The Drones and Amyl and the Sniffers convinced Bibby he’d be in safe hands. Bibby later travelled to Los Angeles to mix the album with White Denim’s Josh Block, a frequent collaborator with Leon Bridges.
Today, Peter Bibby also shares lead single “The Arsehole” and announces theDrama KingAustralian tour. Peter Bibby’s Big Horse band will saddle up for a 4-night residency at the Buffalo Club in Fremantle, Australia and then onto shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Full tour details below.
While the material on Drama King may have come together without major incident, its lyrics reflect Bibby’s evolution from hard-partying prankster to a more enlightened, responsible human who now knows when enough is really enough. Those sentiments are at the forefront of the aforementioned opener “The Arsehole”.
Bibby shares “The arsehole is the grand finale on the digestive rollercoaster of most living creatures, it is also the name of my brand-new song, The Arsehole. Featuring drums, guitars, human vocals and keyboards, the song works its way around two chords, quickly touching on a third towards the end to keep you, the listener, intrigued. The words are at times self-reflective, at other times accusatory, but all the time really good and hinting at the fact that maybe we’re all just a pack of arseholes. I trust you will enjoy my new music, The Arsehole.
No one seems to want to talk to me / ‘cuz I’m the arsehole, probably.”
Indeed, that lovable ambivalence is at the heart of Drama King, Bibby’s fourth studio album. “It was the first time I’d worked with a producer, and I prepared for it knowing that my songs were going to get chopped up and shortened,” Bibby recalls. “I’m glad I did, because for the most part, Dan was like, oh, you’ve already solved every problem I had with these. He was completely underselling himself, because he shaped and sculpted every song on the record into a far more beautiful and articulate thing than I could have on my own.”
Drama King is out 10th May via Spinning Top– pre-order HERE
DRAMA KING TRACKLISTING:
1. The Arsehole 2. Fun Guy 3. Bin Boy 4. The One 5. Bruno 6. Baby Squid 7. Terracotta Brick 8. Turtle in the Sand 9. Feels 10. The Pricks 11. Old DC 12. Companion Pony
FREO RESIDENCY DATES Thu 09 May – Buffalo Club – Fremantle, WA Thu 16 May – Buffalo Club – Fremantle, WA Thu 23 May – Buffalo Club – Fremantle, WA Thu 30 May – Buffalo Club – Fremantle, WA
SPINNING TOP AND SELECT MUSIC PRESENTS PETER BIBBY – DRAMA KING AUSTRALIAN TOUR Thu 20 Jun – The Valley Loft – Brisbane, QLD Fri 21 Jun – Mary’s Underground – Sydney, NSW Sat 22 Jun – Howler, Melbourne – VIC Sat 29 Jun – Jive – Adelaide, SA.
POST/PUNK PIONEERS ANNOUNCE THEIR ONLY HEADLINE SHOWS FOR 2024 WITH A MOMENTOUS WINTER TOUR INCLUDING AN O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE DATE
+ ALSO CONFIRMING THE RETURN OF ‘HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS 2024…’ HOMECOMING GIG @ MANCHESTER’S ALBERT HALL
WITH GUESTS ON ALL DATES: VISION VIDEO
Pioneering post/punk band – CHAMELEONS – will be embarking on one of their biggest UK tours in decades this Winter.
Formed in Greater Manchester in 1981 by singer and bassist Mark Burgess, Chameleons have remained one of the city’s most revered bands among musos ever since their inception. With notable fans including the likes of Noel Gallgher to Interpol, The Charlatans to Moby, their music has been passed down through the generations like an elixir of eternal inspiration. And here in 2024, a growing fandom of their immense canon sees Chameleons finding immortality as something of a cult phenomenon.
With their dedicated advocates finding awe in the “sonic cathedrals” in which they have constructed over the past four decades, Chameleons have released four iconic studio albums (‘Script of the Bridge’ (1983), ‘What Does Anything Mean? Basically’(1985), ‘Strange Times’(1986) and latterly ‘Why Call It Anything’ (2001)), plus many Peel sessions, live records, compilations and an EP (‘Tony Fletcher Walked on Water…. La La La La La-La La-La-La’ (1990)). Shimmering, shadowy, and shrouded in deepest mysteries, their distinctive and towering post-punk songs sound as vital today as the moment they were built.
Acknowledging their supporters with an annual homecoming every December for the last nine years, a typically breathtaking pre-Christmas celebration of their music entitled ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, demand for the Chameleons on the live stage has surged to all time high. And with word spreading across the UK, in 2024, the band are set to embark on their biggest UK tour in decades.
Venturing beyond their native Manchester this December,Chameleons will be sizing up venues in Bristol, Glasgow, Newcastle, not to mention a momentous appearance at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, as they look to extend their annual celebrations nationwide.
With something special up their sleeves as ever for their loyal hometown following, Chameleons will this year be hosting ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ 2024 from Manchester’s Albert Hall. While it will be the 10th consecutive edition of the HIWTHI series, the upcoming show will be the band’s first ever time playing this majestic venue – a guaranteed sell-out.
Stepping-up to this tour with an incendiary setlist in mind, expect a broad, career-spanning collection of classics and opalescent deep cuts at these unmissable Chameleons December shows.
Support across the tour will come from Athens-based, Gothic post-punk heirs Vision Video. Very special guests for Mancester and London will also be announced in due course.
With tickets on sale later this week, all dates are listed here as follows:
CHAMELEONS – DECEMBER 2024 TOUR Friday 6th December 2024 – Marble Factory, Bristol Saturday 7th December 2024 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London + Very Special Guests TBA Thursday 12th December 2024 – Garage, Glasgow Friday 13th December 2024 – Riverside, Newcastle Saturday 14th December 2024 – Albert Hall, Manchester ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is 2024’ + Very Special Guests TBA
“A single star is shining // Across the evening sky // Sending us a message // Then they’re waving us goodbye // They are waving us a long, long goodbye // Thousands of light-years // Goodbye…” Oysterband – “Granite Years” (from ‘Deserters’, 1992)
One of the UK’s foremost folk rock bands – OYSTERBAND – are announcing that they are calling time on their live career and will be performing live with June Tabor for the last time.
After 45 years on the road, the legendary Canterbury-formed collective will be hanging up their touring boots and bringing their unique partnership with the English folk songstress to a worthy conclusion.
But it’s not over yet… With a tour aptly named “A Long Long Goodbye”, Oysterband will be bowing-out in style with a year of unmissable shows planned at some of their favourite haunts, where they will be performing a career-spanning set, including highlights of their collaborations with June Tabor.
Recently announced for the 2024 Cambridge Folk Festival where the band have become the stuff of festival legend over the years, the band will then head-out on a string of seven shows alongside longstanding creative compadre June Tabor this October.
In a statement about the upcoming tour, Oysterband said:
“We’re hanging up our travelling shoes, but we’re taking a year or so to say goodbye to our lovely live audience. And we mean to enjoy every minute! It’s been a long, tough, joyful journey, but the time has come. In the words of our own song “Granite Years”, we’re waving you a long, long goodbye… Come help us celebrate!”
Featuring John Jones (vox, melodeon), Ian Telfer (violin, keyboard), Alan Prosser (guitars), Sean Randle (drums, percussion), Al Scott (bass, mandolin) and Adrian Oxaal (cello, guitars), with June Tabor (vox); the full list of dates for Oysterband & June Tabor’s Last Tour Together can be found below.
OYSTERBAND & JUNE TABOR: ‘A LONG LONG GOODBYE’ Thu 3 Oct 2024 – Birmingham – Town Hall Fri 4 Oct 2024 – Bristol – Beacon Sat 5 Oct 2024 – Bexhill – De La Warr Pavilion Sat 12 Oct 2024 – Manchester – RNCM Concert Hall Sun 13 Oct 2024 – Sunderland – The Fire Station Tue 15 Oct 2024 – Leicester – De Montfort Hall Sat 19 Oct 2024 – London – The Barbican
***** Emerging in the early 80s from their folk club and ceilidh band days, Oysterband infused both the traditional and their own songs with a passion and energy that was electrifying. Polkas, politics and a heaving dance floor seemed just right for Thatcher’s Britain. Signing to new roots label Cooking Vinyl, headlining English Roots Against Apartheid, playing Glastonbury and the Fleadh several times each, touring with The Pogues in Europe and Billy Bragg in North America, hosting their Big Session Festival in The Midlands. All gained them a large and loyal following both at home and internationally.
Endlessly touring and writing over the course of their 45 year career, the band have played all over the world and released dozens of studio releases throughout their career, including seminal albums like ‘Holy Bandits’ (1993), ‘The Shouting End of Life’ (1995) and ‘Diamonds On The Water’ (2014), not to mention timeless compilations, and unbeatable live albums.
Initially collaborating with June Tabor in 1990, the meeting of minds produced the cult favourite ‘Freedom & Rain’. Reconnecting some 21 years later, the resultant album ‘Ragged Kingdom’ would become one of the best-selling folk-rock albums of the new millennium.
And Oysterband’s efforts have not gone unnoticed either. Awarded winners of several BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including Best Band twice, Oysterband’s song-writing has never stood still, and hits such as “The Oxford Girl”, “When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down)”, “Everywhere I Go” and “Put Out The Lights” are now staples of the folk canon.
Most recently, Oysterband released their final studio album ‘Read The Sky’ to much acclaim in 2021 and recently undertook an extensive tour of Europe, plus a special “Decades” tour across the UK where they explore their back catalogue. Embarking on a new tour later on in 2024, Oysterband will be going out on a high as they bid “A Long Long Goodbye” to fans and friends with a series of unforgettable live shows.
This House Party, set to rock the heart of the city, is more than just a celebration; the announcement marks the launch of a ground-breaking partnership with Music Venue Trust aimed at preserving and elevating grassroots music venues regionally.
Headlined by the incredible South Walian rockers Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, with support from the what reads like a top of the range R*E*P*E*A*T Night including Kikker, The Fiends, Pseudo Cool, Mojo Jnr., Monet, Grey FLX, and Rainyday Rainbow, the line up exemplifies the rich and diverse musical tapestry of Swansea and South Wales, making the House Party a celebration of the region’s creative essence. A captivating line up of local emerging artists, thoughtfully selected by Swansea Arena’s Creative Learning Producer, James Morgan, promises to provide these musicians with a unique platform to perform for a sizable audience. This event aims to “raise aspirations” and rant these emerging stars the recognition they truly deserve.
The annual Swansea Arena House Partyaims to raise £20,000 this year alone to support Music Venue Trust’s mission of preserving grassroots music venues.
Throughout the day there will be creative workshops taking in developing a live show, creating pop art album covers, noise makers taster DJ sessions, graffiti lettering, and drumming, as well as an array of stalls from local grassroots music venues, funders and support organisations, creatives including photographers and videographers and R*E*P*E*AS*T / Love Music Hate Racism, plus much, much more.
Main Stage
17:00 – 17:30 – Pseudo Cool
17:45 – 18:15 – Rainyday Rainbow
18:30 – 18:45 – Mojo Jnr
19:15 – 19:45 – Kikker
20:00 – 20:30 – Grey FLX
20:45 – 21:15 – Monet
21:30 – 22:00 – The Fiends
22:15 – 23:00 – Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard
Partner venues in Swansea including Elysium, Hippos and Bunkhouse will be hosting after parties for those looking to continue the night. Bunkhouse will be taking the house party to the kitchen with the ‘Kikker Kitchen Party’ (free entry) and Hippos will be changing it up with some DnB, Jungle and 140 (tickets £4) – keep an eye on social media for further information.
All proceeds from ticket sales, as well as additional voluntary donations, will contribute to reaching this fundraising target.
This event is in collaboration with University of Wales Trinity St. David and their Tourism, Events & Hospitality students.
It’s been four years since the world heard any new music from our heroes in psych-punk-power duo The Lovely Eggs. Four long years since the release of their Number 1 Independent Chart topper, ‘I Am Moron’. But it’s not like they’ve been lazy, oh no. They made their own TV series EGGS TV and hosted it on YouTube, they dueted with Iggy Pop, piled into their van and played a load of sold-out gigs and festivals, spent two years fighting to save Lancaster Music Co-Op (a community rehearsal rooms and recording studio where they live), and then they got their heads down and wrote a new album…
Due in May, the new Lovely Eggs album was recorded by the band at home in Lancaster with production work from Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann. They flew to America in December 2023 to mix the album in Fridmann’s studio in upstate New York and we’ll all get the chance to hear the first results of these sessions today, as the band unveil the album’s first single, ‘My Mood Wave’.
“My Mood Wave is kind of an internal thought monologue,” says Eggs singer and guitarist Holly. “It’s a brain on a surfboard, trying to navigate the barrage of daily shit that gets washed up each day. It’s a coping mechanism handbook for people who sometimes find the world too much.”
‘My Mood Wave’ has an uplifting contemporary feel, haunted by a West Coast retro vibe that pulses and shimmers with a gorgeously addictive melody that will float around your head for days. The single is already smashing it hard at radio, with multiple plays on 6 Music, Radio X etc.
Although the single is released digitally today, there will also be a physical 7” with the customary mind-bulging artwork from Casey Raymond, and an exclusive track tantalisingly titled ‘Crab Shell’ on the flipside. The 7” will be released on Aquamarine transparent vinyl and in true Lovely Eggs style, the first 250 copies ordered direct from the band’s website will come with a free Lovely Eggs air freshener, as reflected on the single artwork. Quite what the air freshener will smell of, we don’t know yet, but it might not be that fresh. You can buy the single HERE:
More details on The Lovely Eggs new album to follow, and of course the band will be back out on the road in May, full dates listed below.
“It is going to be frigging joyous to reunite with all our Eggheads across the UK and just have a big party each show,” exclaims Holly. “We’ve missed it! People know by now what to expect from us and we plan to bring it back with full force next May. Expect egg-shaped mayhem.”
Catch The Lovely Eggs live at the following dates in May Tickets available HERE:
Thurs 23 St Lukes, Glasgow Fri 24 La Belle Angele, Edinburgh Sat 25 The Grove, Newcastle Sun 26 The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds SOLD OUT Mon 27 XOYO, Birmingham Tues 28 Thekla, Bristol Weds 29 Chalk, Brighton Thurs 30 Earth, London Fri 31 Rescue Rooms, Nottingham Sat 1 June New Century, Manchester
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard announce new album “Skinwalker” + Share new single @National Rust’
EU headline tour dates announced for April 2024 UK headline tour to begin March
New album out 12th April via Communion Records
Photo Credit: Charlie Harris
Today, Cardiff-based four-piece Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard return with the announcement of their highly anticipated second album “Skinwalker”. Following closely on the heels of their critically acclaimed single “Therapy”, which came out just before the turn of the year, the new album is due for release on 12th April via Communion Records. It will come shortly after the band’s forthcoming UK tour which is set to take place across March 2024.
Following on from their Welsh Music Prize nominated debut album ‘Backhand Deals’ in 2022, the band wrote and recorded the album at frontman and producer Tom Rees’s Rat Trap studio, the room where Rees has previously recorded and produced tracks for emerging talent – Panic Shack, Do Nothing and The Bug Club. The material – as previewed on “Therapy” and their earlier single “Chew” – showcases a heavier and more disquieting sound than anything the band have released to date.
This darker sound and aesthetic take inspiration from found-footage horror and the Navajo concept of the Skinwalker – a legendary malevolent shapeshifter – from which the album takes its name. Thematically, each track on the record is designed to take you through descending floors of Rees’s mind each becoming more horrific than the last with the Skinwalker at the final floor, representing his inner fears, self-sabotage, hatred, and self-doubt. It’s a deeply intimate record of self-analysis and personal growth told through heavy fuzz-drenched guitars, a crushing rhythm section, and fevered vocals.
The band still carry that same the fast-paced energy and subtle trademark ‘70s references from their earlier releases though, and this is particularly evident on the danceable, indie-funk inflected new single “National Rust”, which was premiered last night by Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Speaking on the single Rees says, “‘National Rust’ was my attempt at consolidating my 2020 obsession with Sly and the Family Stone with my 2021 obsession with David Bowie’s album ‘Low’. It was the first song that really paved the way for the new album, it broke a lot of the sonic boundaries that I was writing within when starting the second album, “I AM NOT AFRAID OF PLAYING FUNKY GUITAR!”, I exclaimed, mu-tron in hand.
Lyrically, it made a statement that informed my songwriting moving forward as well, being a flagrant rejection of my previous political song writing, and an admission of alienation amongst a plethora of information. ‘National Rust’ acts as a bridge between my younger, more political perspective, and my more recent, more apathetic one.”
Elsewhere on the record, the harmony-filled “In My Egg” sees Rees sing about the struggles to force yourself out of your comfort zone, whilst “Human Compression” see the band delve into an almost desert-rock sound with hazy, unrelenting guitar work supporting Rees’s lyrics about the pressure he puts on himself. The psychedelic glam-tinged “Night Of The Skinwalker” – a song which centres around his struggles with self-doubt- marks the albums opus, melding a number of styles and genres across almost six minutes.
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – Rees, guitarist Zac White, drummer Ethan Hurst and Rees’ brother and bassist Eddie – have been going from strength-to-strength since releasing their debut EP “The Non-Stop” in 2020. They’ve since made of end-of-year lists with NME, DIY, and Dork; earned plaudits from the likes of the Guardian, The Telegraph, MOJO, Uncut, Record Collector, The Needle Drop, The Independent, CLASH, The Line Of Best Fit, and So Young; and have amassed significant radio support with plays across worldwide radio, and live session appearances across BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, NPR, Radio X, and more.
The band’s frenetic live sets have seen the band make fans in tourmates from The Magic Gang to Miles Kane and were set to support Noel Gallagher – another in a growing list of fans – at the Royal Albert Hall before the coronavirus struck. They’ve also performed widely across the festival circuit appearing at Glastonbury, Eurosonic, Latitude, All Points East, SXSW, and Green Man, and have toured extensively including a packed-out headline date at Scala. The band will go out on tour again next March hitting 16-dates across the UK where the band will continue to debut new material.
MARCH 2024 01 – Oxford, Jericho Tavern 03 – Exeter, The Cavern 04 – Falmouth, Cornish Bank 06 – Norwich, Voodoo Daddy’s 07 – Chelmsford, Hot Box 08 – Ipswich, The Smokehouse 10 – Tunbridge Wells, Forum 12 – Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms 13 – St Albans, The Horn 14 – Ramsgate, Music Hall 16 – Peterborough, Met Lounge 17 – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds 18 – Hull, Adelphi Club 20 – Stockton, Ku Bar 21 – Sunderland, Independent 22 – Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms 24 – Grimsby, Docks Academy 25 – York, The Fulford Arms 26 – Clitheroe, The Swan & Royal 27 – Frome, The Tree House APRIL 02 – Rotterdam, Netherlands, V11 03 – Paris, France, L’International 04 – Hasselt, Belgium, Café Café
Tickets are on sale now – buy HERE “Skinwalker” is out 12th April via Communion Records – Pre-order HERE
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