Track Of The Day: BLAB – ‘Eton Mess’

A righteous assault on the many failings of the UK government, Southend based multi-instrumentalist BLAB has shared her latest single ‘Eton Mess’. Released via Cool Thing Records, the track is a rumbling “anti-fascist anthem” that proudly sticks two fingers up to the establishment and snarls in the face of the apathetic, privileged men who were born into running it.

“’Eton Mess’ is about the consistent negative impact the Tories have had on the lives of average people,” explains BLAB aka Frances Murray. “It’s about a government so out of touch with people’s everyday lives and a culture of ignorance and apathy amongst the wealthy elite. I am furious at how we can turn a blind eye to a prime minister who is openly racist, homophobic and sexist. How inequality is perpetuated by upholding archaic values in society and continuing to enable a broken system where politicians from the same few private schools in the country are elected. I wanted to find a way to vent my anger and disillusionment with the government and the lives they have jeopardised through austerity and a lack of NHS funding.”

Fuelled by her disdain for current political policies and backed by her anarchic lyrics and riotous guitar riffs, BLAB’s message on ‘Eton Mess’ is clear: speak up and speak loud. She’s currently working on her debut album with Sam Duckworth (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) and Rees Broomfield at SS2 Recording in Southend, channelling her riot grrrl attitude into a collection of witty, infectious anthems.

Listen to ‘Eton Mess’ below.

 

Follow BLAB on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter &  Facebook and for more updates.

Photo Credit Shot: James Mannion

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Riotmiloo – ‘4 Women’ (Nina Simone Cover)

A jagged, heavy re-working of an iconic Nina Simone song, London-based industrial riot grrrl Riotmiloo has shared her latest single ‘4 Women’. The opening track to Furnace Record’s new charity album Black is the New Black: The Power & Privilege Industrial Culture Compilation, Riotmiloo has kept Simone’s powerful observational lyrics at the centre, but she’s twisted the jazzy score to further reflect the insidious nature of the racial stereotypes Simone originally sang about.

“Simply put, Nina Simone was a very talented, feminist and political artist. She sang stories filled with pain and racism with eloquence and exquisitely well,” Riotmiloo explains. “Someone highlighted the similarities between the theme of her song ‘Four Women’ and the stories in my album, La Pierre Soudée. From there I fell in love with this particular song. I cry each time I listen to her renditions.”

“When Darryl Montgomery-Hell from Furnace Records called on artists to give one track for his fundraiser for the Radical Monarchs, it had to be this song. I am so glad it found a home in this varied compilation for such a noble cause. I am so honoured to open the album. Proceeds will be donated to the Radical Monarchs, an organisation that empowers young girls of colour.”

Listen to ‘4 Women’ below.

 

Follow Riotmiloo on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Listen to, download & donate to Black is the New Black: The Power & Privilege Industrial Culture Compilation on bandcamp

Photo Credit: Blauerosen

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: CIEL – ‘Never Alone Again’

A snapshot of uncertainty filtered through hazy guitars and soft melancholic vocals, Brighton trio CIEL have shared their latest single ‘Never Alone Again’. Inspired by front-woman Michelle Hindriks’ own experiences of feeling isolated, the track is a gentle reflection on the darker moments of life and an honest attempt to make peace with the past.

“Sometimes I spend quite a long time crafting the lyrics for a certain song. This wasn’t the case for ‘Never Alone Again’,” Hindriks explains. “The lyrics were just there, like they appeared out of nowhere, but they were accurately reflecting my feelings at the time. It’s quite scary to me to release this song into the world as the lyrics are very personal and intimate. I never really speak much about these feelings from the past to people around me – even close friends. But it’s the reason why this song feels really close and honest to me. It’s a part of my life’s story. I think it’s important to actually be able to speak about these subjects more openly in our society.”

In these heightened times of isolation and separation, CIEL’s new track provides a tender moment of comfort and relief, acting as a gentle reminder that loneliness is only a temporary state.

Listen to ‘Never Alone Again’ below.

 

Follow CIEL on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Ryan Deag

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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FIVE FAVOURITES: girlhouse

A creator of intuitive, catchy indie-pop anthems, Portland-born Nashville-based musician girlhouse aka Lauren Luiz’s debut self-titled EP rings with an earnest charm. Inspired by her relationships, personal learning curves and navigating a new life in L.A, the record balances the joys and frustrations she experienced whilst living in the City Of Angels.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with girlhouse to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five songs that have inspired her song-writing techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to watch her video for her recent single ‘Pretty Girl in LA’ at the end of this post.

1. Sharon Van Etten – ‘Seventeen’
I made the girlhouse EP when I was in the last year of my 20’s and this song became a big part of the soundtrack for that time in my life. The production is so simple but also so huge. I think it lends itself to the story so well. Everything sonically about this song is incredible. Sharon’s vocals also shred in this song. I wish I could go back in time and talk to myself when I was a teenager. I think I would tell her to talk slower and stop trying to be everything for everyone. The music video is so simple and tells the story so perfectly.

2. Big Thief – ‘Shark Smile’
Adrianne Lenker’s style of writing has been a big inspiration for my lyrics for a while now. I think her storytelling and melodies are so poetic and creative, I listen to her songs and it really makes me want to push myself to be better. This song is about a car accident where someone dies but it doesn’t feel sad, it’s really dark and complex! I wanna write songs like that. It was so hard picking just one Big Thief song. The first time I heard them I was on tour while I was driving late at night. I didn’t want to stop driving so I could get through their whole catalogue. I can’t remember where we were or where we were driving to, but it fit perfectly.

3. Phoebe Bridgers – ‘Smoke Signals’
I, like many people with a pulse, am obsessed with Phoebe Bridgers and the honesty in her lyrics. This album put me in a dark place for a long time but art is supposed to do that sometimes, it made me feel things! Phoebe is another one that really makes me wanna be better. She and I used to live in the same neighborhood in LA, I saw her at a yoga class one time in eagle rock and wanted to say Hi so badly, but I got nervous. I think I read that this song was about someone trying to get her attention or breaking up with someone? It’s hard to push someone away, doesn’t feel good ever. I really appreciate her writing about things that aren’t necessarily pretty or perfect.

4. Decemberists – ‘Make You Better’
Picking one Decemberists song is like picking my favourite dog, nearly impossible and a viscerally painful process. This was the first band I ever stanned HARD. They’re from the Pacific Northwest as well so I’ve seen them play Edgefield (an amazing outdoor venue in Oregon) COUNTLESS times, it’s possibly the best vibe in the world. Writing with Colin Meloy has been a goal since I was 12. I picked this song because I feel like it represents how I feel about most of the relationships I’ve had in my life/ I used to be all about seeing the “potential” in people instead of accepting who they are in the moment and that was shitty of me. You gotta let people be people.

5. Lucy Dacus – ‘Night Shift’
For me, there is no better breakup song than this one. I love how the lyrics feel like a letter or a journal entry. It reminds me of being in the valley in LA for some reason, I feel like most of the people I dated and had break-ups with lived in the valley. Lucy’s style of singing feels so effortless and easy to listen to, I don’t feel like she’s trying to do anything cool, she just is the coolest!

Watch the video for girlhouse’s new single ‘Pretty Girl in LA’ below.

Follow girlhouse on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Alex Justice

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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