If last month was a flood of musical unearthing thanks to our friend Shauna from sound weaving duo UMMAGMA and SHAMELESS PROMOTION PR, September looks like offering a tsunami of exploration. The clue was in the fact she needed a trailer to bring her huge haul of discoveries to the door. So, we battened down the hatches, turned phones off and pressed play and the first quartet to rise to the top were…
Whether accompanied by fear or just temptation, stepping into the unknown can be an arousing adventure and it is that feeling that comes with Inside The Circle, the new single from Portland duo, SKY LIONS. The title track from their new album, which was released a couple of weeks back, the song is a realm of drama and mystery, an arcane place emotively dark and musically enlivening which had the senses and passions quickly involved.
SKY LIONS is the creative union of multi-instrumentalist Radio Sloan, who is also one half of THE NEED and previously the guitarist in Courtney Love’s touring band THE CHELSEA and in Scarling and Peaches’ live band THE HERMS among numerous other projects and collaborations, and vocalist/lyricist Outer Stace who is also the vocalist in PHOTONA and synth-drum duo TIME BITCH. The pair first met as children at a summer day camp in Oregon, their friendship continuing and seeing them first make music together in their mid-teens. Their sound is described as post punk/alternative rock/darkwave synth metal among many tags and certainly it embraces all but has a breath and presence which defies any exact labelling and as their album and indeed this single proves it carries a fresh and individual adventure which evolves by the moment as the pair explore the shadows and at times the horrors in a trans / queer / feminist sphere but equally within life itself and the “absurdity, unquestionable magic and tragedy” it bears.
Entering the single is like walking through shimmering veils as it wraps melodic tendrils around the senses with Stace’s instantly compelling tones and harmonies for company. There is intrigue and shadowy mystery to the track and maybe the edge of danger as it grows and blossoms in intimation and enterprise, words and vocals just as impacting, adventurous and captivating.
Mingling with the realms of SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES, EXCES NOCTURNE and SWITCHBLADE SYMPHONY yet casting uniqueness which as we said defuses any true comparisons, the SKY LIONS’ sound is an involvement all should look for with the reward of, as their new single proves, inspiriting pleasure.
The mesmeric prowess of that song is matched by that of the new track from New Jersey’s CR AND THE NONES if with a more haunting tempting and enveloping warmth. The Ghosts Are Coming Home is also the title track from a new full-length from the band and unveiled via Montclair-based MAGIC DOOR RECORD LABEL a mere handful of days ago.
CR AND THE NONES is the creation of Chris Gennone who many will already know through his previous band, CR AND THE DEGENERATES, with fellow members of that outfit in lead/slide guitarist Jim Abbott and bassist John Dewitt alongside. The band’s new and second album welcomes numerous contributors including Ryley Crowe from the band DUSK and JOY CLEANER’s Kyle Wilkerson and sees the further blossoming of Gennone’s fusion of folk, country, punk, and heartland rock with Ray Ketchem mixing its exploits.
Actually, given those ingredients in his sound, the new single also reveals further adventurous intent and variety. The Ghosts Are Coming Home rises on ethereal mists before the intimacy of guitar and the heat of a country twang step forward around Gennone’s plaintive tones. Quickly, the song erupts in a pop rock stroll, offering infectious company to thoughts and involvement.
Akin to THE BLUEBELLS going on an Americana excursion, the song swiftly beguiled and manipulated, all the while inviting a real smile to the day and its enjoyment; a slice of country scented pop rock to get under the skin.
Another band with a whisper of nostalgia to its sound is indie pop outfit ROCKET KINGS. The UK-based collective has just unveiled new single Paving The Way, a song which enjoys a joyful eighties breath akin to that of bands like THE DARLING BUDS and THE CRANBERRIES with a hint of sixties pop with folkish inclinations for extra flavour.
In saying that, the song firmly gives notice of real individuality in the ROCKET KINGS songwriting and music, the quintet of Dave Stewart (ukulele, vocals), Bex Crossland (vocals, ukulele), David Heath (drums), Jess Tuthill (ukulele, vocals), and Yoshiko Nakayama (bass) weaving a trap of virulence and enterprise which builds with WOODENTOPS like prowess to one delicious nag of persuasion. It is taken from the band’s second album which was released just hours before these fingers tapped in praise and a title track which manipulated a need to go explore in quick time.
Vocal harmonies open the eager contagion, the song strolling with a smile in its heart echoed in the equally magnetic tones of the band individually and unitedly. Everything about it is a persuasion to involvement with feet, hips and hands drawn out to play as eagerly as vocal cords especially as the track builds to a crescendo of virulence led by esuriently rousing rhythms.
Even with shadows and anxieties aligning with its contemplation, Paving The Wave is a feel-good romp of a song, an “ukepop” hand on the shoulder and spark to a spring in the step and thickly enjoyable.
Less than a handful of weeks back we were ringing the praises for the single Night Terrors from NYC-based outfit BLACK ROSE BURNING. It was a lead temptation to the band’s new album, AD Astra which was also released via PV Recording Company mere hours ago as we write. To draw greater and keener attention the way of the release, the band has unveiled a new single in Fight!, a track which confronts and seduces the senses in equal measure.
BLACK ROSE BURNING is the creation of instrumentalist, producer and engineer George Grant, the project formed in 2018 and also featuring guitarist Frank Morin (WORLD INFERNO FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY) and drummer Luis Infantas (MONSTER ZERO). Mastered by Jason Corbett of ACTORS at Jacknife Sound, AD Astra is the band’s third full-length and, on the evidence, and persuasion of its trio of lead tracks, Sing to Me (E.L.E.) the other to seriously orchestrate the keenest curiosity for a great many, an experience no one should let pass by especially those with a post punk appetite.
A fusion of alternative rock with that post punk breeding, Fight! instantly crafts a realm of shadows and drama through its electronic opening across which guitars surge with sonic flames. Immediately, angst and emotive darkness wrap word and breath yet the magnetic pull of Grant’s vocals and the song itself again has a presence of understanding and support and with eighties synth pop catchiness within that dark mercurial air, the track soon proves a glorious trespass of intimate angst and creative dexterity, a song which led to only one destination.
Already it is going to be a busy week of exploration, all thanks to this quartet of fiercely enjoyable and highly manipulative singles.
Upcoming BLACK ROSE BURNING Live Dates:
Oct 6 – Tampa, FL @ Crobar (Absolution Fest)
Oct 13 – Richmond, VA @Fallout w/ Empathy Test
https://www.instagram.com/skylions_music https://skylionsmusic.bandcamp.com/
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https://www.instagram.com/cr_nones https://twitter.com/crnones
https://www.facebook.com/rocketkings https://twitter.com/rocketkingsband https://www.instagram.com/rocketkingsband
https://www.blackroseburning.com/ https://www.facebook.com/blackroseburning
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Pete RingMaster 16/09/2023
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