Louis Antoniou – Lonesomeville / I Let The Rain Fall Hard

Mar15

Having already given the year a well-received single in You Ain’t The Girl this past February, British rocker Louis Antoniou brings a two track offering this March to enhance his emerging presence on the national rock scene. It is the union of two individual songs bound in Antoniou’s increasingly distinctive touch, a pair which just lures continued attention of the Londoner.

Planning five singles this year, Antoniou has already earned a potent reputation through his live presence, one sure to be escalated by his songs going by the three unveiled so far this year. Whereas You Ain’t The Girl has a rousing rock pop heart, new offering Lonesomeville embraces the sixties rock ‘n’ roll instincts of the artist which were lurking in the background of its predecessor. The song bounds in with a boisterous stroll, bouncing into view on an eagerly infectious groove and rhythmic shuffle. Antoniou’s tones are just as catchy, their slight twang extra spicing on the bold swagger of rhythms and the tenacious enterprise of the guitar; it all luring eager attention.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/1nu3r9zwt617K1O43pdmEb

I Let The Rain Fall Hard embraces a blues rich hue which with the singer’s natural rock ‘n’ roll bent quickly entices ears and appetite. A tale of lost love within a climate of intimacy and melodic melancholy, the song still cannot help strolling along with a vibrant catchy gait which eagerly gets into the natural swing of hips and the shuffle of feet.

Both songs make an ear pleasing next step in the blossoming career of Louis Antoniou with anticipation for the next single alongside.
https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/3fGJNr4l7mFb5DnPEno9Kz

Lonesomeville / I Let The Rain Fall Hard is released March 16^th.

https://www.louisantoniou.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Louisantonioumusic/

Pete RingMaster 14/03/2018

Astral Cloud Ashes – Dallas Knows the Reason

Dec19

With the recent announcement of the release of second album Dear Absentee Creator early 2018, British alternative rock outfit Astral Cloud Ashes have provided a highly flavoursome teaser with new single Dallas Knows the Reason. The liveliest slice of rapacious rock ‘n’ roll from the band yet without losing the melodic enterprise and bold touches which has marked the band out as a very appetising prospect to date, the song grabs attention with ease, luring the body into similarly eager involvement.

Astral Cloud Ashes is the solo project of Jersey, Channel Islands hailing vocalist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Antony Walker, though he is someone unafraid to embrace other’s talents if needed, his forthcoming album proof in featuring James Elliott Field (Tubelord, Tall Ships) and Max Saidion on certain songs. Through singles and impressive debut album Too Close to the Noise Floor, the band stirred close attention and acclaim across 2016; a success, if Dallas Knows the Reason, backed by its just as magnetic predecessor Moonphase Bloom also taken from Dear Absentee Creator, is a sign of things to be soon discovered which could very well escalate.

Infused with lyrical content dealing with a gun-wielding girl from Texas, Dallas Knows the Reason instantly lures ears with vocal harmonies and lyrical suggestion, rhythms lurking with a firm hand as melodies meander just waiting to explode into life. That they do as the song quickly hits its tenacious stroll, rhythms now bounding through ears as the bass grumbles alongside the fiery exploits of the guitar. It is a highly infectious affair, its slight lulls intensifying the song’s swing once it erupts again.

Walker’s vocals are as distinct and warmly infectious as ever, leaping across the robust endeavours of the song with matching magnetism as feet and hips respond to the natural flirtation of the track’s rock ‘n’ roll. Increasingly more compelling with every listen, Dallas Knows the Reason sees Astral Cloud Ashes launching upon a new plateau of sound and imagination. Bands such as The Pixies, The Cure, Tubelord, and XTC are often referenced with Astral Cloud Ashes but song by song as shown here its sound is becoming more unique which makes the anticipation for Dear Absentee Creator all the keener.

Dallas Knows the Reason is available now @ https://astralcloudashes.bandcamp.com/track/dallas-knows-the-reason

https://www.facebook.com/astralcloudashes https://twitter.com/AstralCloudAsh https://www.instagram.com/astral_cloud_ashes/

Pete RingMaster 19/12/2017

Living Dead Girl – Still Life (Deluxe Edition)

Dec14

Backing up the potent presence of their new single Still Life, British duo Living Dead Girl has just released a Deluxe Edition of the magnetically haunting encounter. Now a six track seduction, the single continues to captivate as richly as on its first introduction, showing itself one of those encounters which seems to reveal new shades and nuances in its emotion and character listen by listen.

Hailing from Guildford, Living Dead Girl consists of Jessica English (lead vocals, synth, piano, and programming) and Jonno Lloyd (guitar, bass, synth, programming, and backing vocals), the latter also guitarist for Ventenner who themselves have provided 2017 with some striking moments. The pair cast a dark electronic pop sound embracing inspirations of artists such as Massive Attack and Portishead but as the single alone shows, influences which are mere hues in the band’s own individual siren-esque explorations.

Instantly Still Life calls to the imagination, the collusion of wistful keys, skittish rhythms, and an upright bass like stroll gripping ears and attention before the elegant crystalline voice of English warmly wraps sound and senses. Note by note the song evolves and rises up, its atmospheric climate and haunting beauty fuelled by an infectiousness which swiftly gets under the skin. There is a synthpop breeze reminding of German outfit Propaganda to the song too as it glistens and melodically swarms over the senses with gentle but masterful intent. Noir lit drama lines every subsequent note and vocal kiss of a proposition which leaves the imagination basking and appetite hungry for more.

Killing Time provides that sustenance. The song is a beguiling gothic lit shroud of sound, its wrap as bright as it is shadowed. A darksome throb groans as agitated rhythms again court the serenade of English. It is a sombre pulse though which is as welcoming as it is portentous, Lloyd weaving an atmospheric theatre of suggestion with guitar and bass, the colour of the drama provided by the equally compelling portrayal of emotional espionage from keys and voice. With every venture into its obscure scenery the song escalates in intimation and flavours, bewitchment growing to fascination and ultimately lust.

The single is completed by a quartet of alternative versions. Still Life undergoes a Weebl Remix and subsequently PreCog Remix before closing up the release with its Quiet Version while among them there is the Little Death Machine Remix of Killing Time. Each song offers a fresh shade in their respective songs with the final track of the single managing to be even more haunting than its original with its minimalistic yet almost invasive supernatural breath.

An ethereal reflection grounded by a dark questioning within jazzy suggestiveness Still life is pure manna to ears and imagination, their awakening further stirred by the emotional examination brewed by Killing Time. Both tracks alone suggest that Living Dead Girl is a bright light within the British electronic scene which is only going to glow brighter and brighter.

Still Life (Deluxe Edition) is available now @ https://livingdeadgirl.bandcamp.com/album/still-life-deluxe-edition

https://www.facebook.com/pg/livingdeadgirlmusic https://twitter.com/ldglive https://www.instagram.com/livingdeadgirlband/

Pete RingMaster 14/12/2017

The Written Years – Lost In You Now

Dec13

It has been a month or two short of four years since we checked out the self-titled debut album from Canadian band The Written Years. It was a masterful persuasion of open and smouldering temptation cast from an original blend of post and alternative rock with folk and melodic inspirations, what the band called “Winter Music”. At the time we were very confidence that the world would be hearing a great deal of the band over coming years. Since then they have been conspicuous by their silence, literally in the case of one of their members. Now they are back with new single Lost In You Now, a song which shows the years have been well spent on further honing the band’s sound and its compelling melodic temptation.

After the acclaim luring release of their album, the Vancouver based quartet were soon working on new songs for its successor. It was a creative fire and eagerness though soon halted when vocalist/ guitarist and primary songwriter Wade Ouellet experienced a sudden and unexplained speech loss. It caused him “to refrain from speaking in near-isolation for months “ and the band to go on hold; a hiatus compounded by guitarist Alex Richardson and drummer Kane Enders both independently experiencing sudden and dramatic losses of immediate family members. As people and band recovered, a re-assessment of those already written tracks saw songs originally centred on “coming-of-age stories” became darker more intimate explorations of “suburbia, infatuation, and forbidden love.” The Written Years now have their second album poised for a Spring release in 2018 and you can anticipate that it will be richly hued with the trauma of the past years; indeed its opening two lines echo that time…”I wish I could find life inside the fire / I wish I could sing, though my voice has died.”

New single Lost In You Now is a potent teaser for the album, the song as the full-length produced by Ryan Worsley (Dear Rouge, Said The Whale) with the band. It opens with the tender caress of a synth, its melancholic grace soon nurturing a melodic stroll with darker rhythms. Ouellet’s voice similarly has a low-spirited breath, his tones as impressive and potent as ever with harmonies just as elegant around his open heart. The song continues to saunter with an infectious energy and character, its air carrying a great eighties new wave/pop breeze which colludes sublimely with the track’s fresh indie enterprise cast by the imagination of the foursome.

It may have been a time which you can imagined seriously threatened the future of the band but The Written Years has come back, going by Lost In You Now, even stronger and with a new aspect to their creativity which makes it very easy to eagerly anticipate their forthcoming album.

Also keep your eyes peeled for a great video accompanying Lost In You Now featuring Kevin, a guy the band met at East Vancouver’s Waldorf Hotel after being captivated by the individual passion and energy in his dancing.

Lost In You Now is out now through all online retailers and streaming services and @ http://spoti.fi/2AZA7e9

https://www.facebook.com/writtenyears https://twitter.com/writtenyears https://writtenyears.bandcamp.com/

Pete RingMaster 13/12/2017

Chasing Ghosts – These Hollow Gods

Dec12

Since forming late 2014, UK outfit Chasing Ghosts has increasingly impressed year by year, release by release. Their first year brought well-received single Everything Changes, attention upon the band swiftly nudged and further stoked last year through the Fearless EP. Now we have new single These Hollow Gods, another slice of the band’s fusion of rock and metal, and another step forward in their potent songwriting and compelling sound.

Formed by bassist/keyboardist Lee Brueton, the Chasing Ghosts line-up is completed by vocalist Nelson Cancini, lead guitarist Harry Mitten, and rhythm guitarist Ashley Clark. The Milton Keynes based band draw on the influences of bands such as Paradise Lost, Anathema, and Moonspell for their sound and the past year has been a big one for it and the band, culminating in their signing with Danish label Mighty Music for the release of their first album next year but before then this new single.

These Hollow Gods is about “our role models, idols and those that we ultimately view as gods in family, religion, music and celebrity. Those that we worship and devote our lives to, but then reveal themselves to be nothing more than false hope, disappointment and betrayal”. Straight away it entangles ears in a spidery groove; it’s tempting web soon joined by Cancini’s potent emotive tones and the restrained yet powerful touch of the rhythms. It is a slow saunter of a stroll which continues to entice and captivate ears but one with a volatility which, though it never quire ignites, is a constant threat and alluring shadow to the gothic melodies which almost seep through ears into the psyche.

The track simply grows note by note, going put on a blaze of intensity leaving a lingering appetite for more. If a sign of things to come, Chasing Ghosts’ upcoming album should feed that want and will be very much anticipated after These Hollow Gods.

These Hollow Gods is out now.

http://www.chasingghosts.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/Cghostsmusic https://twitter.com/chasingghosts_

Pete RingMaster

Christmas Parade

Dec12

Mistletoe, mince pies, and Xmas songs are all major ingredients in festivities whether you have an appetite for them or not. Without our site having a cookery page, we take a gander at a few of the latter to help get you in the mood.

First up is Merry Christmas To You from British punks Peter118. Stoke-based, the band is the brainchild of Peter Field, former member of Senseless and Ambassadors of Shalom. Originally a solo project, the band has grown into a quartet with Field’s wife Janine on bass/backing vocals, Sam Critchley on drums, and Alisha Palmer on guitar/backing vocals. This year the band has already hit the spot with In Stereo, a split EP alongside US punks No Lost Cause and in particular with the single taken from it, Wasting.

Featured on the compilation Rodney On The Rock Presents: Santa’s Got a GTO Vol. 2 alongside tracks from the likes of CJRamone, Color TV, The Ramonas, Frankie and the Studs, and The Dollyrots, Merry Christmas To You is a slice of old school UK meets raw US punk as infectious as it is enticingly raw. Spicy grooves and hooks collude with hungry riffs and rampant rhythms across less than two minutes of richly appetising rock ‘n’ roll. Admittedly we do not have a natural appetite for Christmas offerings but for songs like Merry Christmas To You we eagerly raise a glass.

Another track hitting the spot is Goodbye Psychotic Christmas. From Brian Kroll & My Son The Bum, who equally have laid down one of the year’s bright spots in the single Mad Man (Playing in a Mad World’s Game) this past February. My Son The Bum has shown itself a band unafraid to explore distinctly individual styles and flavours in their releases and prime songwriter Brian Kroll shows he is a dab hand at seasonal offerings too with the new single.

Draped around a vintage rock ‘n’ roll stroll, inspired by Gene Vincent according to Knoll, melodies wind their temptation as vocals equally lure ears. As much as there is that fifties hue, there is seventies festive seasoning too, the song echoing the seasonal gifts of bands like Mud and Showaddywaddy to capture the imagination and raise the spirit for parties to come.

Introducing us all their Christmas Girl is Italian band Carnaby. Inspired by their experience of being away from loved ones during Xmas due to band commitments, the song is a catchy slice of pop rock with a great sixties pop/seventies mod flavouring.

Hailing from Canicattì, Carnaby was formed in 2010 taking their name as direct reference to the famous London street and its sixties musical heritage. Consisting of brothers Joseph and Vincent Sandonato, Pietro Pelonero, and Giuseppe Racalbuto, the quartet moved to Bristol in 2016 and is currently working on their debut album for release next year.

Christmas Girl is an infectious embrace of familiar essences borne of those earlier mentioned flavours. It sways and teases with its open love of sixties pop, its melodies a warm enticement as rhythms share their firmer touch with the same kind of inescapable catchiness. The track is not particularly unique but a whole lot of fun, just as Christmas should be.

Completing our look is some Holiday Season pop rock from Jeff Michaels. From Boston, MA, singer songwriter Michaels continues his tradition of the past five years in releasing a holiday single and accompanying video. This year it is It’s Been a Long Time, Christmas and its ” simple call for the return of Christmas, and the brighter days we all need.”

The song is a gentle croon with an instinctive catchiness, emotive keys, and a country hued lacing sure to please appetites for mellow yet boisterous pop. Michaels’ voice is equally as enticing, his melodic strains a warm caress matching the tender hug of the sounds around him.

In a time where this type of song can be as unwelcome as some relatives these are four tracks which buck the trend and will easily add something enjoyable to your seasonal soundtrack.

http://peter118.weebly.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Peter118UK/ https://twitter.com/peter118uk

https://www.facebook.com/mysonthebum/ https://twitter.com/mysonthebum https://www.facebook.com/briankrollmusic1

https://www.facebook.com/carnabyband/ https://twitter.com/carnabyband

https://www.jeffmichaelsband.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pg/jmichaelsrocks/

Pete RingMaster

Micky Diana – No Bells This Christmas

Dec4

Such our instinctive aversion to Christmas songs it is almost a result to get our ears to just listen to such propositions. Occasionally something does slip through which catches the imagination, clicks with personal thoughts, and grabs increasingly eager ears. The new single from British singer songwriter Micky Diana is one of those rare persuasions; a song we can easily recommend you check out.

No Bells This Christmas comes off the successful back of Diana’s previous single Run With Me and it was through its highly enjoyable presence that he caught us in a moment of ‘weakness’ with the new track and thankfully he did. No Bells This Christmas is a melancholic reflection of the lack of sheen the holiday season has for a great many for whatever reasons. For the lonely, the love lost, and the desperate; all those going through the motions at a time of supposed love and joy just wishing it swiftly away, the song is an anthem which resonates but equally with Diana’s natural wit and skill with words brings a wry smile to the lips and imagination.

As shown by his previous track, the Londoner’s voice and delivery is organic captivation, a distinct invitation into his lyrical craft and both in full magnetism within No Bells For Christmas. The gait of his delivery is sharp and mischievous, a trait which also lines the song and blossoms in the accompanying video to the single.

Catchy from its first breath and increasingly so thereon in No Bells This Christmas is a song easy to remember and even simpler to enjoy. Maybe Christmas songs are not that bad after all…well until the next one tries to convince anyway.

No Bells This Christmas is out now.