ALBUM: ¡Ay Carmela! – ‘Tokens’

Tokens, the long-awaited second album by Bristol-based indie rock trio ¡Ay Carmela!, brims with sass and sincerity. At heart, this is a melancholic record, exploring themes of grief and disappointment, but it never feels like ¡Ay Carmela! want your pity. Front-person Carmela’s understated, downbeat vocal is supercharged by a banging rhythm section, giving the whole album a powerful swagger. 

The band wears their ’90s alt influences on their sleeves, and fans of Belly and Warpaint will find a lot to love on too. Opener ‘Host’ gets the album off to a memorable start with heavy guitars and punchy, powerful vocals that lure the listener in, before it builds to a proper pop chorus with swooning harmonies.

Recent single ‘Magnolia Walls’ is real standout. Carmela’s evocative, relatable lyrics reflect on ageing, the threat of unfulfilled potential and craving stability. “It used to be fun, living in a dump…”, she sings, “I thought I’d have moved on, instead I’ve just moved around.” ‘Rear View’ is another high point; it’s quieter and more intimate than some of the other songs on the album, bringing in keys rather than guitars, so we can really focus on Carmela’s vocal and lyrics. A torch song, tinged with nostalgia, it’s a beautiful portrait of loss and longing. 

It’s been seven years since the band’s debut album and it’s been worth the wait. With a new line-up and a different home city, the band seem re-charged and reinvigorated. And that’s a great thing, because songs as beautifully written and crafted as these need to be heard.

The band has been playing shows throughout 2023, and we’re super excited to have them playing for us at our next gig at Shacklewell Arms on 2nd February next year, supporting German dream-poppers Roller Derby with faves Panic Pocket. Nab tickets on Dice now!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DNhsLvLqXS0%3Fsi%3D5uziouz94hpRmSLJ

Tokens is out now. Download / buy the album on Bandcamp now.

Photo Credit: Elise Wootten

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WATCH: Yay Maria – ‘L’Appel Du Vide’

Derby’s Yay Maria is back with ‘L’Appel Du Vide’ – a sunny bubblegum bop that fizzes with energy. While the song packs a proper electro pop punch, the lyrics are at odds with this lightness. Exploring themes of addiction and trauma, they are unafraid to discuss darker and more challenging issues. And, at a time when the trans and non-binary communities are subject to such hostility in the UK, it’s more important than ever to draw attention to these realities.  

While it doesn’t shy away from darkness, you’d be mistaken if you thought ‘L’Appel Du Vide’ was a sad song. Joyous and defiant, this is an anthem to empower and excite people. It’s accompanied by a fully animated music video, which brings together beautiful psychedelic colours, unexpected mythical guests, and a healthy dollop of northern deadpan humour! The effect is irresistible.

Along with the rest of her upcoming EP, Maria says that ‘L’Appel Du Vide’ is something of a love letter to the Queer community. She says: “I made this EP for Queer people in the sense that I feel there is a lot of negative coverage of the trans & queer community currently. So I wanted something that was just for us. Something that is audibly enjoyable whilst talking about real stuff.” 

The result is a real gift to anyone who might need it. It’s a song that’s going to mean the world to people. And this is a musician that’s going to mean the world to people too. In Yay Maria, we have a figurehead; a cheerleader who encourages the community and its allies to keep fighting and have fun. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Biqxj3OOnPk%3Fsi%3D7NBgYTPkTp5mtTRV

‘L’Appel Du Vide’ is taken from Yay Maria’s upcoming EP, Superbia, which will be released on 20th October via I’m Not From London records. Pre-order here.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

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WATCH: English Teacher – ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’

After a summer of smashing it at festivals, Leeds’ English Teacher continue to remind us why they’re everyone’s favourite new band with ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’. The new single – the band’s first since signing to legendary label, Island Records – brims with confidence, wit and originality, but who would expect anything less?  

Despite the song’s novelty title, front-person Lily Fontaine’s lyrics are pure poetry. Written while living in Pendle, Lancashire, they’re an ode to northern grit, strength and notoriety. Fontaine likens herself to the area’s raw, wild landscape, the legendary Pendle witches, and Charlotte Bronte; like these, she is both everywhere and nowhere in the town. 

And you can hear this contradiction in the song’s instrumentation. The band’s angular, post-punk guitars collide beautifully with soaring shoegaze-infused harmonies, before crashing back down to earth once with snippets of arresting spoken word. Of her inspiration behind the track, Fontaine expands:

“...growing up in and around Pendle, how witnessing the social, economic and political issues that exist around there in juxtaposition with the beauty of the landscape and the characters that live within in it, has shaped me into the artist and person that I am. These semi-rural stories leak into most of my writing; in particular, this song tackles delusions of grandeur and inferiority from the perspective of a small town’s local celebrities. It’s split into two halves.”

The song is so special, so original, and, like the world’s biggest paving slab, it really sticks out! Nobody is making records like English Teacher right now. Bring on the album!

Produced by Marta Salgoni (Bjork, Animal Collective), English Teacher’s ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ is out now via Island Records. Watch the new video (directed by Claryn Chong) here:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YNkbgumvYyA%3Fsi%3DbJs5HZQFueIrnU-k

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

Photo Credit: Tatiana Pozuelo

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WATCH: HMS Morris – ‘Family Souls

‘Family Souls’ – the latest single by the Welsh art-rock band HMS Morris – is as fun and surreal as the band’s name suggests. A joyful collage of a song, it brings together elements of soul, funk and indie to create a bouncy pop banger that’s both experimental and perfectly polished.  

Reminiscent of Tuneyards, ‘Family Souls’ quickly wedges its way into your brain, as front person Heledd Watkins unleashes the song’s infectious, angular hook. When she dreamily utters “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” it blends jerky instrumentation with sweet pop harmonies like a wonky ’60s girl group. 

At the heart of the song is a creative conundrum. The lyrics explore why Watkins finds it hard to perform in front of her family or, as the band put it: “the dissonance between Heledd’s roles as a dutiful west-Walian daughter on one hand, and as a badass creative force to be reckoned with on the other.” As the front person of a band with such vibrant eccentricity, it’s hardly surprising that Watkins wrestles with this. But I hope she resolves it soon; if this song and the incredible video are anything to go by, her family are missing out on an incredible performer! 

Created by Trigger Happy Creative, watch the new video below:

‘Family Souls’ is out now via Bubblewrap Records.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

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