LIVE (Photos): Wye Oak @ Deaf Institute, Manchester, 04.05.18

After sitting in traffic chaos for hours and seriously contemplating having to scratch the gig, Wye Oak arrive at Manchester’s Deaf Institute in time to throw the gear on stage, do the world’s fastest sound check and then play an utterly storming set. Though drawing heavily on brand new album The Louder I Call The Faster It Runs might have been a risk, the crowd are 101% on side, all the way to the back of the room.

Mike Hughes was there to catch it all on camera…

Photo Credit: Mike Hughes / @catshoe

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Track Of The Day: Dott – ‘Like A Girl’

Activism and garage-pop collide in anthemic style on Dott‘s latest track ‘Like A Girl’. The Galway-based band have released the song ahead of Ireland’s vote to Repeal the 8th Amendment on May 25th – a vote which would give Irish women access to full reproductive health services, including abortion.

“It has always bothered me when people say that doing something ‘Like a Girl’ means they did it weakly or substandard,” guitarist & vocalist Anna explains about the track. “To put this out-dated notion to bed, I wrote this song to remind people that doing something ‘Like a Girl’ means it will be powerful and no shit will be taken.”

“It’s especially relevant in Ireland at the moment with the fast approaching Referendum on Reproductive Rights. Irish women and girls have spent years fighting for their reproductive rights, demanding a referendum to change archaic and unsafe Irish Law. And now we are a matter of weeks away from the referendum finally happening, all because of the fierce and tireless work of the women’s groups of Ireland. So, what I’m trying to say is, if you’re going to do something important, you’d better hope that everyone says you did it ‘Like a Girl.'”

The band’s new song features a guest appearance from Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz on guitar and the accompanying video features members from Galway Pro Choice, Galway Parents for Choice, and Galway Roller Derby, as well as footage of recent marches for Women’s Rights in Galway. We’re totally behind everything that ‘Like a Girl’ stands for.

Listen to the track below.

Sign the petition to Repeal the 8th Amendment here.

Follow Dott on Facebook for more updates.

Dott’s sophomore album Heart Swell is set to be released on Graceface Records on 8th June.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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EP: Kate Stapley – ‘Centella’

Informed by personal and wider histories, Kate Stapley‘s debut solo EP Centella is a poignant blend of music and relatable metaphors. The Bristol-based songwriter explores mental health and forces beyond her control through gentle percussion, soft guitars and poetic lyricism, allowing her grief to blossom in to a positive force for change.

Released in January via Breakfast Records, listening to Centella is an aural breath of fresh air. ‘Iceland’ opens the EP, a gentle ode to snowy peaks and a comforting reminder that there’s new life on the horizon, even if you can’t crawl out of “creased bed sheets” whilst listening to it. Kate’s feelings of “numb translucency” are laid bare and resolved with the aid of a friend here – “Oh there’s more for me, takes a friend like you to remind me” – as tender percussion and soft guitar sounds score her moments of reflection.

‘Potted History Of Mum’ laments the fragmented memories of a loved one who’s life is slowly being lost to the cruelty of dementia. “It’s all so cyclical” sings Kate, in a soothing, accepting tone, before revealing a tender truth: “It only means a thing to me, ‘cos it means the world to you”. ‘Irises’ flows in a similar vein, with strings underscoring more of Kate’s beautifully honest lyrics: “it destroys me, the truth, that’s why I distance myself from you”. Despite the melancholy nature, this tune (and the whole record) brims with hope.

On ‘Interlude’, Kate studies a precious family photograph in a musical monologue – “It’s funny how it runs through the family, there’s so much of you that I see in me” – before striking penultimate track ‘These Planets’ explores the “darkness” in her bones. “I learned from the witches who began this” she sings, before profound and personal statements like “gender is not genital, that’s a fact we can’t escape” and “I may have inherited your pain, but it’s what drives me” flood her consciousness alongside more subtle percussion and soothing guitar sounds.

‘Stabilisers’ closes the EP with a sense of perseverance. The poignant line “Now we ride side by side, I even overtake you sometimes” resonates long after the track stops spinning. Kate Stapley’s blend of nostalgia and new hope on Centella is admirable and emotional, which makes listening to her debut a real gem of an experience.

Order your copy of Centella here . Follow Kate Stapley on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Simon Holliday 

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Premiere: MALMØ – ‘We Come From The Stars (Tronhjem Remix)’

Having just released their debut album, Danish collective MALMØ have previous received acclaim from the likes of BBC 6 Music, Amazing Radio and Crack In The Road, and have now shared a brand new video.

This Christian Tronhjem remix of the album’s title track, ‘We Come From The Stars’, totally reworked by the Berlin-based sound designer and producer. Maintaining the song’s original shimmering ethereal hooks and sweeping honey-sweet vocals, the remix adds catchy pulsating beats and a driving energy, making for the perfect summer dance-floor anthem.

Including footage of MALMØ performing the track live at this year’s Nordklang Festival in Switzerland, you can watch the dreamy video for ‘We Come From The Stars (Tronhjem Remix)’ here:

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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