Track Of The Day: Bleach Lab – ‘Talk It Out’

A bittersweet reflection on romantic burnout, South-London based four piece Bleach Lab have shared their latest single ‘Talk It Out’. Taken from the second EP Nothing Feels Real, which is set for release on 15th October, the track is a shimmering ode to the hard won emotional resilience that’s gained after a particularly draining relationship.

“’Talk It Out’ started as a song about mental health and times when people should open up about their inner thoughts and anxieties,” the band explain. “As the song developed, we approached it from a perspective of being run down so much by a relationship that you thought you loved so much but over time realising that it’s changing who you are, all just to make the other person happy at the cost of your own happiness”.

Jenna Kyle’s distinctive vocals float over atmospheric riffs and shimmering cymbal crashes, as she works through the grief and anger of breaking away from a toxic relationship. These intense, introspective but relatable threads of emotions are what hold together Bleach Lab’s new EP, Nothing Feels Real. Produced by Stephen Street (The Cranberries, The Smiths, Blur), the record looks set to be another shining collection of dream-pop tunes with Bleach Lab’s trademark melancholic edge.

Listen to ‘Talk It Out’ below.

 

Follow Bleach Lab on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Festival Guide: WIDE AWAKE

Event: Wide Awake Festival

Where: Brockwell Park, London

When: Friday 3rd September 2021

Price: £54.45. Tickets can be purchased here.

Who’s Playing: Self Esteem, Fenne Lily, Goat Girl, Porridge Radio, Black Country, New Road, Crack Cloud, ELLES, KOKOROKO, Lena Willikens, Mandy, Indiana, Los Bitchos, DEBONAIR (DJ), Dr Rubinstein (DJ), Mandrake Handshake, Maripool, Minimal Violence, POZI, PVA, Regressive Left, Souvenir, Tina Cousins, White Flowers, C.A.R., Dry Cleaning, Snapped Ankles, The Murder Capital, SLIFT, black midi, Crows, shame, Squid, IDLES & more. Full line-up here.

General Info: Described as “a festival for music fans looking for something different” Wide Awake aims to showcase an eclectic mix of underground music talent. From left-field indie, post punk, electronica to jazz and techno, the line-up is packed with some of the most exciting bands and DJs on the scene. There will be six stages at the festival, curated by The Windmill, Moth Club, Bad Vibrations, So Young, Snap Crackle & Pop and The Gun.

Covid Policy: Admission to the festival will be granted through any of the following methods: An NHS COVID Pass or EU COVID Certificate, a Vaccination Status Letter, or a Negative Lateral Flow Test/PCR Test taken within the past 48 hours. Read more info here.

Positive Policy: Wide Awake aims to be as eco-friendly as possible by adhering to The Positive Policy. This includes a ban of single use plastic across the site, ECO toilets & a fair cup deposit scheme. Read full info on the policy here.

Who GIHE are hoping to catch: We’re already big fans of Goat Girl and Fenne Lily, so we’ll be in the crowd for each of their sets. We’re also excited to catch Maripool, Lena Willikens, KOKOROKO, Minimal Violence, POZI, PVA, White Flowers and Mandy, Indiana for the first time too!

For more information on the festival visit the official website.

Check out our Wide Awake Playlist below!

 

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ALBUM: Lingua Ignota – ‘SINNER GET READY’

“And all that I’ve learned / is everything burns” laments Lingua Ignota aka Kristin Hayter on ‘Pennsylvania Furnace’, the fourth track on her latest album SINNER GET READY – an apt sentiment for a record that blazes with a unique orchestral agony.

Released via Sargent House, Hayter’s fourth full length offering is an emotional exorcism inspired by the severe brand of Christianity in rural Pennsylvania where she currently lives. Its strictness permeates her vision to the core; her lyrics, majestic hymn-like instrumentation and gothic aesthetic smoulder with a righteous thirst that can only be sated by the blood of Jesus – a recurring lyrical and visual motif on the album.

Whilst it’s clear that Hayter has made a distinct departure from the furious, visceral sounds of CALIGULA, her sensational vocals are still the lifeblood of SINNER GET READY. She uses her voice to devastating effect, harrowing up the soul with her effortless ability to switch from a soft, divine cry to a cord-ripping, desperate plea. She is like a one woman version of the chorus of ancient furies that saturate Greek mythology; Medea-like in her repulsion, relentless in the revenge she reeks upon the souls who cross her path.

From the unsettling, majestic keys of epic opener ‘The Order Of Spiritual Virgins’ on which she warns “Hide your children / hide your husband / I am relentless / I am incessant / I am the ocean” to the theatrical, cathedral-worthy organ on ‘I Who Bend The Tall Grasses’, Hayter’s furious summons often give the impression of a preacher who has lost their way. Her guttural, spitefully shouted lyrics “I don’t give a fuck / just kill him / you have to / I’m not asking” on the latter are matched by the violent imagery on ‘Repent Now Confess Now’ – “He will knock the breath from you / he will ram your eyes with glass” – all culminating to create a palpable sense of dread.

A vessel for exposing rage, hypocrisy and suffering; Hayter leaves no stone unturned. She blends self and social flagellation together effortlessly on three tracks that centre around the questionable sincerity of disgraced American Evangelist TV Preacher Jimmy Swaggart. The audio of his televised confession is layered over the instrumentation at the end of ‘The Sacred Linament Of Judgment’, featuring his “blood of Jesus'” remark which Hayter then uses as a lyrical backbone for the sombre ‘Perpetual Flame Of Centralia’. It’s bookended with ‘Man Is Like A Spring Flower’, which opens with the audio of an interview with the prostitute who brought Swaggart’s indiscretions to the surface, embellished by Hayter’s potent, destructive lyric “The heart of man is a furnace.”

With her archaic song titles, immersion into Christian iconography and distinctive vocal delivery, Hayter invites her listeners to dwell in the chaotic, divine abyss on SINNER GET READY. “Do you want to be / in hell with me?” she asks – if hell sounds like this, we’ll gladly walk into the flames. Even without a full understanding of the album’s religious context, SINNER GET READY provides a profound emotional release.

Follow Lingua Ignota on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Jaz Beeson – ‘Coffee Machine Sounds’

A charming ode to breaking free from obscurity in order to become the person you want to be, Lincolnshire-based songwriter Jaz Beeson has shared her new single ‘Coffee Machine Sounds’. Defining her music as “sunflower pop”, Beeson’s gentle vocals and hazy guitars urge listeners to trust their instincts, take their own initiative and explore the world beyond their doorsteps on her latest track.

“I wrote ‘Coffee Machine Sounds’ at a time where I felt trapped in the monotony of small town life,” Beeson explains. “It really helped me to process that feeling and it’s one of my favourite songs I’ve released so far.” Through her observational lyrics and yearning vocals, Beeson softly communicates her desire to escape the status quo and experience the richness of a life somewhere else beyond the four walls of the office in her hometown.

Self-described as making music for “curtain-twitch ditchers, the designated drivers, coming-of-agers and cottagecore daydreamers,” Beeson’s single will resonate with those who know they need to move forward, holding their own hand as they embark on a new journey of self discovery.

Listen to ‘Coffee Machine Sounds’ below.

Follow Jaz Beeson on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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