PREMIERE: Kate Stapley – ‘Hermit’

“I’ve been pissing like a racehorse,” confesses Bristol-based songwriter Kate Stapley on the opening lyric of her new single ‘Hermit’. It’s a blunt beginning, but her soft voice quickly draws listeners in to her poignant, slightly hungover reflections on allowing yourself to be tender again in a new relationship.

Set for release via Breakfast Records on 6th December, ‘Hermit’ forms part of a Double A-side, with both songs produced by Oliver Baldwin (Aldous Harding, PJ Harvey). These tracks are the first that Stapley has shared since her 2018 EP, Centella, and they flow in her trademark vulnerable, yet optimistic vein.

“‘Hermit’ is a love song, celebrating those moments in a relationship when you finally have the bravery to embrace everything about yourself,” explains Stapley. “When you stop trying to hide the painful, embarrassing bits – realising you never needed to hide them in the first place.” Observations like this make Stapley’s music intimately disarming and effortlessly relatable.

“You suit me so well / You be my hermit / And I’ll be your shell,” she muses during the chorus, over gently plucked acoustic guitars, and soft percussion. The song’s patient rhythm feels reflective of the self-acceptance Stapley has discovered and it’s wonderful to hear her lay bare her insecurities, transforming them in to new found confidence.

Listen to ‘Hermit’ below, and be sure to check out her second track ‘Hours’ tomorrow when they’re both released via Breakfast Records.

Follow Kate Stapley on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Simon Holliday

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: MAITA – ‘Can’t Blame A Kid’

Stepping out from the shadows of a shy childhood, frontwoman Maria Maita-Keppeler works through her growing pains on ‘Can’t Blame A Kid’, the latest single from Oregon-based band MAITA. The track is lifted from the band’s debut album Best Wishes – a record so transformative that it brought Kill Rock Stars (‪Elliott Smith, ‪Sleater-Kinney, ‪Bikini Kill) label founder Slim Moon out of early retirement when he first heard it in 2018.

“She stole all the light from the room” sings Maria on the track, an apt lyric for Slim’s reaction after his wife Portia Sabin (who was running Kill Rock Stars at the time) first played it to him. Maria’s knack for tapping into feelings of introversion and uncertainty are what make ‘Blame A Kid’ such a compelling listen, so it’s easy to see why MAITA caught the attention of the intuitive label.

Maria explains the inspiration behind the song and the accompanying video: “‘Can’t Blame a Kid’ takes a stab at unpacking the insecurities that I’d built up from childhood, zeroing in on a particular relationship that bore a lot of weight on me throughout my adolescence…It really is fascinating, though unfortunate, that we are often at our most callous at the age when we are also the most fragile. The video was a lot of fun for me to make. I’d always wanted to make a finger-painting video…something that echoed the wild, colorful, cathartic nature of the song.”

Through strong vocals, indie guitar licks, and punk-tinged percussion, MAITA have created a reassuring, buoyant listen with their latest single. Watch the video for ‘Can’t Blame A Kid’ below, and follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Keep your eyes peeled for more info about the release of their debut LP, Best Wishes, in April 2020.

Photo Credit: Ingrid-Renan

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Get In Her Ears @ Notting Hill Arts Club w/ ESYA 30.11.19

Get In Her Ears returned to Notting Hill Arts Club to host another evening of alt-pop and alternative sounds, headlined by the multi-talented ESYA aka Ayse Hassan of Savages/Kite Base/180 db. South London duo Scrounge also shared the bill, along with spoken word artist & drummer Eilis Frawley.

The task of opening the night fell to Berlin-based Eilis, who delivered her unique cacophony of live drums, electronic elements and spoken-word lyrics with captivating precision. Performing singles ‘Strangers’ and ‘Illusions’ (both championed by Radio X’s John Kennedy, who was in attendance), her one woman show felt all the more powerful as many of her songs are informed by feminist beliefs that align perfectly with GIHE.

Scrounge took to the stage next to perform their raucous post-punk anthems. Lucy & Luke’s live sets are always a raw, urgent affair and we felt every bass drum beat of tracks ‘Badoom’ and ‘Purpose’ rattle through our bones. The duo released their EP Ideal, earlier this year and it’s barely left our ears since. They’re firm favourites of GIHE and their heavy guitar riffs and knockout drumming sat perfectly between Eilis & ESYA’s sets.

Headlining the night and performing her last London show of 2019, ESYA hypnotized us with her dark, brooding electronics. Filled with buzzing synth textures, direct vocals and pummelling beats, her songs flesh out the absurdities of our relationships and interactions with each other. Set highlights included ‘Nothing’, ‘Everything’ and brand new single ‘Blue Orchid’, all lifted from her recent EP, Absurdity of ATCG (II) – Emergent Form. She multi-tasked triggering synths, singing and plucking bass strings like a pro throughout her set.

Huge thanks to the sound engineer and staff at Notting Hill Arts Club.

Follow the bands on Facebook for more updates: ESYA, Scrounge, Eilis Frawley.

Photo Credit: Jon Mo

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LIVE: FKA TWIGS – O2 Academy Brixton, 25.11.19

“How many of you came here alone tonight?” asks FKA Twigs, mid-way through her set at a sold out Brixton Academy. She’s met with cheers, prompting her to ask another question. “How many of you are single?” After a rapturous applause, she emits a shy giggle and replies “Wow, that’s a lot. How many of you have been heartbroken?” Again, the crowd fill the venue with noise. “I have been too” Twigs reveals.

It’s this heartache that underscores her latest album, Magdalene, and which has inspired her performance on the Magdalene Tour. Though her lyrics lament feelings of loneliness, isolation, and disappointment; Twigs’ live performance is the epitome of strength. Her voice is crystal clear, perfect in pitch and floats beautifully above the music. Physically, she is in peak condition. Her tap-dancing at the beginning of the show is sharply executed. The same can be said for her breathtaking sword-wielding routine, and how do we even describe the majesty of her pole dancing? Twigs is an athlete as well as an artist, and her movements are met with ecstatic eruptions of applause from her fans.

No longer the ‘Video Girl’ to the Jessie J’s of this world, FKA Twigs – aka Tahliah Debrett Barnett – sheds new light on the realities of desire and loneliness with unrivaled artistic confidence. Her set opens with the lyrics: “A woman’s work / A woman’s prerogative / A woman’s time to embrace / She must put herself first”. This is the manifesto for the Magdalene Tour, and Twigs is loyal to her vision. After performing her tap dance, she changes in to an ornate feathered headdress to perform a trio of hits – ‘Hide’, ‘Water Me’, ‘Pendulum’ – against a heavenly backdrop of blue skies, clouds, and smoke.

‘Figure 8′ brings fans back down to earth, as Twigs venomously confesses “You’re so fucking fake that it’s hurting me”, uttering the words at a speed which replicates the resentment they must’ve been written with. She articulates what others are too self-conscious to reveal; using her limbs and lyrics to dazzling effect. By now, Twigs has been joined on stage by a small entourage of dancers, who are exquisitely skilled in movement, adding further spectacle to her show.

New tracks lifted from Magdalene form the core of the set. A brief rendition of ‘Thousand Eyes’ flows into a trio of achingly beautiful tracks; ‘Mary Magdelene’, ‘Home With You’, and ‘Sad Day’. Brief interludes of ‘Fallen Alien’, and a cover of A$AP Rocky’s ‘Fukk Sleep’ preface the full glory of ‘Holy Terrain’, before Twigs breaks our hearts again with breathtaking renditions of ‘Daybed’ and ‘Mirrored Heart’. She barely pauses for breath before launching into the sensual ‘Papi Pacify’, after which she disappears from the stage as her dancers distract the crowd with more of their knockout routines.

A backdrop formed of scaffolding that holds four live musicians has been on stage for some time now, and a metal pole is in view. ‘Lights On’ begins to play, as Twigs re-emerges in her ‘Cellophane’ ornate two-piece costume, and delivers her breath-taking pole dance routine, full of seamless spins and splits. Fresh from her dazzling display, she dives in to the empowering ‘Two Weeks’, before closing the show with the divine ‘Cellophane’. Both the master and the muse: FKA Twigs is re-inventing what it means to be a performer, an artist, and a woman in the music industry. Her Magdalene Tour is a beautiful creation, and we can’t imagine a time when we won’t be enthralled by her.

Photo Credit: Matthew Stone

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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