Tag Archives: indie

This week’s featured artists: psychedelic indie alt-rock band, Innocents Abroad

Album reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Psychedelic indie alt-rock band, Innocents Abroad, were formed in Liverpool by four students in the 1980s: Martin Malone (guitar), Peter Mills (vocals), Stuart Hilton (drums) and Steve Goodrich (keyboards). After recording two albums (Quaker City in 1986 and Eleven in 1988) the band went their separate ways and, like many other bands of that era that was seemingly the end of the story.

But improbably, they released their third album back in March of this year. Three of the four original members (Hilton, Malone and Mills) are back in the fold, each bringing their different musical perspectives and life experiences. These days, Hilton occupies the drum-stool  for the band, Cult Figures, alongside running a degree course in animation; while Malone has pursued a solo career as well as recording with both Eskimo Chains and The Scaremongers and is also an award-winning poet. After spending time in Eastern Europe, meanwhile, Mills returned to the UK to teach music at English universities. Around ten years ago, they started occasionally playing together once again, with Malone and Mills eventually writing songs with one another and the bones of an album beginning to take shape.

With the addition of Jane Breed (bass/vocals) Late Spring weaves together the band’s love of jangly Rickenbacker rock with strands of European pop and folk music, Bossa Nova and cult movie soundtracks. Once memorably hailed by the Guardian as a “home-grown answer to REM”, the new album has picked up plenty of plaudits, with comparisons being made to the US Paisley Underground scene and bands like Hüsker Dü and 10,000 Maniacs. Listening to Late Spring there’s no shortage of home-grown comparisons to make either – and devotees of Merseyside legends like The Las and The Coral will find lots to love here.

With jangling Rickenbacker, soaring melodies and joy-infused, trippy vibes, Innocents Abroad have created a polished and confident album bursting with exquisitely-crafted indie-pop anthems.

Late Spring released: 31 March 2025

https://innocentsabroad3.bandcamp.com/album/late-spring

New single: ‘Look At Me’ from Eliza Delf & The Wilderness – out 31 October

Folk music, Music news, , , , , ,

Following a hugely-impressive debut album released in 2022, Norwich based indie-folk outfit Eliza Delf and The Wilderness will be unveiling their latest single at the end of this month.

‘Look At Me’ will be released across all digital platforms on 31 October 2024, and is
the first taste of a brand-new album scheduled for release in Spring 2025

Reviewing the debut album at the time I wrote: “The term folk barely covers what Into The Wilderness is about. This boundary-defying debut album spans indie, folk, prog, singer-songwriter and much more besides.” That impressive debut album brought forth comparisons with everyone from Kate Bush to Sandy Denny to PJ Harvey.


Now with this new single Delf and the band establish an even more vivid direction for their music revealing, as they explain: “…the darkly poetic lyricism of Eliza’s extraordinary vocal performance. All set against the lush percussive rhythms of drummer Tim Skinner, and the rich textures of cellist Eva Wright and guitarist Jacob Browne.”

For a sneak preview of the song, prior to its formal release on October 31st, the band uploaded a live version to YouTube. This is from a performance at The Bear Club in Luton on 15 June 2024.

Delf sums it up deftly, by adding: “This is the sort of song you don’t just sing…you howl!”

Released digitally: October 31st 2024

Visit Eliza Delf website here


This week’s featured artist: south-coast psychedelic rock from The Clocks

Album reviews, Hastings music scene, Rock music, , , , , ,

Straddling the territory between indie, alt-rock and psychedelia The Clocks are a three-piece outfit from down here on the Sussex coast in Hastings. Formed in 2018, they are: George Bond (guitar/lead vocals), Adam McSweeney (bass/backing vocals) and Garry Alexander (drums).

As well as picking up a growing number of followers on the local live circuit, there has also been a flurry of recording activity over the past eighteen months. Initially releasing several singles independently, the band then signed with local label, Frontier Music. More releases soon followed, such as recent single ‘The Conversation’ which came out back in the summer.

The Clocks: “This track is more than music – it’s a conversation between the instruments and your soul. Let the waves of sound wash over you and take you on a musical adventure like no other.”

‘The Conversation’ is one of eight tracks that appears on the band’s long-awaited and newly-released debut album Road To Ascension which came out on 27th October.

From Cream to the Jimi Hendrix Experience to Grand Funk Railroad, the classic power trio line-up of bass-drums-guitar remained a key fixture of the psychedelic era. The Clocks remain true to that tradition. And while there’s more than a nod to rock’s illustrious heritage in The Clock’s sonic template – from the early ’60s beat boom to the late 60s psychedelic ‘era and beyond – the band also have their feet planted firmly in the present. More contemporary indie-rock influences are also very apparent, too. It’s an appealing mix and makes for an impressive debut and one that is likely to enhance the band’s reputation and and win them over plenty of new fans.

Available on all the main digital platforms you can check out Road To Ascension here:

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/theclocks/road-to-ascension

https://www.facebook.com/TheClocksUK

Indie-folk: album review – The Sunny Smiles Three ‘Fireman Spaceman Mermaid’

Album reviews, Folk music, Rock music, , , , , ,

Describing themselves as “vaguely acoustic music for the vaguely thinking person” The Sunny Smiles Three are a new alt-folk trio composed of John Parkes, Alaric Lewis and Simon Smith. All three have spent a good few decades as stalwarts of the UK’s indie music scene. Frontman, John Parkes, has been in the likes of the Greenhouse, Fuzzbird and the Sinister Cleaners. Alaric Lewis has played bass with Breaking the Illusion, Cyanide Pills and Suzi Blu as well as being an in-demand guitar tech for some of rock/pop’s royalty. Drummer, Simon Smith, meanwhile was in the Wedding Present, the Ukranians and Cha Cha Cohen.

Fireman Spaceman Mermaid is the trio’s debut album but also includes bonus songs from a recent EP, giving you a whopping sixteen tracks of delightful indie alt-folk-rock.

Named after the retro ‘Sunny Smiles’ charity booklets back in the 1950s and 60s, the three do a nice line in slightly quirky-but-beautifully-crafted acoustic songs with bitter-sweet lyrics and catchy melodies. Parkes is a gifted singer-songwriter, able to conjure up lyrics that so perfectly capture slices of everyday life – like a Ray Davies for the modern era. And with their impeccable indie pedigrees the three have enough musical clout between them to ensure Fireman Spaceman Mermaid is nothing less than a cracking debut.

Released: The Orchard / FR Records 16th November 2020

http://thesunnysmilesthree.blogspot.com/

News: ‘Fox and Hare’ the debut single from US indie-folk outfit the John Daniels Band

Album reviews, Folk music, Music news, , , , , ,

The John Daniels Band are a three-piece from Buffalo, New York and ‘Fox and Hare’ is their debut single. Playing together a few years now they’ve been honing their sound on the live circuit. They ask us to imagine if Neil Young, Lenny Kravitz and Pink Floyd got together to form a band – a blend of soul, psychedelia and amazing lyrics.

An album is due later this year, their signature style a union of indie, country and folk music. Comprised of John Verbocy, Drew Azzinaro, and Kevin Urso, who is also the band’s producer, they fuse acoustic and electric guitars with well timed percussion, creating dreamy soundscapes.

The band is the brainchild of frontman and lead songwriter Verbocy, whose raspy, warm vocals and emotional narratives are at the heart of the band. Being a two time cancer survivor, John has plenty of stories to tell and lots of emotion to share.

Asked to describe “Fox and Hare” John Verbocy tells Darren’s Music Blog: “We can recover from anything. It all starts with a thought and manifests into a reality.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGflTFO_Rps&t=78s

John Verbocy grew up listening to a broad range of musical influences. One day it would be Van Morrison and David Bowie, the next Paul Simon and Curtis Mayfield. “I am a total B-Side guy,” says John, “deep cuts of classic artists through and through.”

Drew Azzinaro met John in high school and they shared an affinity for music and weed, but they didn’t start making tunes together until they reunited again a few years ago. While looking for a band mate, they happened across Kevin Urso and the connection was immediate.

Kevin Urso is multi-talented artist that can claim singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer on his resume. He was the guitarist of BeArthur surrounding their album release Welcome To The Ongoing in 2006, and has since collaborated with it’s members on other projects, including Prime Mover by Rocco Of The Snow. In 2015, Kevin performed during Buffalo’s ‘Music Is Art’ festival in a piece called Life On Fire where his piano was set ablaze until it was rendered unplayable by the flames. He released his debut solo album, Goodbye, in 2018.

‘Fox and Hare’ by the John Daniels Band released 30th April 2020

https://johndanielsband.com/

John Daniels band pic

Live review: Joe Gideon / Simonne & The Dark Stars / Suzie Stapleton at The Piper, St Leonards 15/2/20

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

This review was originally published by the Hastings Online Times here

In a town not exactly short of live music venues, the newly-refurbished, re-opened and renamed Piper on the down-at-heel segment of Norman Road (as opposed to the lovingly manicured gentrified end), has really begun to make its mark in the months since it opened, attracting some noteworthy artists and pulling in decent crowds.

Joe Gideon first came to public attention in the early noughties with his band Bikini Atoll, which was then followed up with a duo, Joe Gideon & The Shark, with his sister Viva, before he embarked on a solo career.

With a brand new album Armagideon, released on 31 January, Gideon has been working with drummer/percussionist Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds/Grinderman/Sonic Youth/The Cramps) and keyboardist/saxophonist/vocalist Gris-De-Lin (Duke Spirit/Gemma Ray/Leila Moss) who also join him for this current UK tour.

This evening he’s supported by Aussie-born, Brighton-based singer-songwriter Suzie Stapleton and Hastings-based three-piece Simonne & The Dark Stars, the moody but poetic guitar/vocals performance of the former contrasting nicely with the electrifying stage presence and addictively pop-infused melodies of the latter.

The crowd are nicely warmed up and the room suitably full by the time Gideon and his two bandmates take the stage. With a musical persona that emphasises mood more than melody and erudite lyricism over catchy hooks, it’s never going to be something that works for everyone – but, boy, has he got a gift for connecting with an audience.

This alt-rock take on the classic blues power trio (albeit with keyboards taking the place of bass) keeps the crowd mesmerised throughout. Gideon’s songs explore themes as diverse as time travel, primordial bliss and reptile people, accompanied by hypnotic rhythms and powerful, clanking chords. As the gig finishes there are suitable looks of satisfaction on the faces of everyone who ignored the storms and ventured out.

All three acts will have enhanced their reputations as a result of tonight’s gig as, indeed, will the Piper – a venue that appears to be confidently finding its niche and USP in a crowded field.

e8AGpmMA

https://joegideon.com/#intro