Track Of The Day: L.A. Witch – ‘True Believers’

Rumbling bass lines, gritty guitar riffs and raw vocals permeate ‘True Believers’, the latest single from Californian trio L.A. Witch. Lifted from their new album Play With Fire, set for release on 21st August via Suicide Squeeze, the track is a sonic take down of nay-sayers who insist you can’t change the status quo.

Formed of Sade Sanchez (guitars/vocals), Irita Pai (bass) and Ellie English (drums), L.A. Witch are cool kids with a conscience, ready to take you to the bar but also stand up for you if someone’s trying to intimidate you or shout you down. New single ‘True Believers’ is essentially an exploration of that, urging listeners to focus on what they can change, rather than on what they think they can’t.

Sanchez explains the context of the song further: “‘True Believers’ is about being overwhelmed with the constant stream of news and information we see everyday. It’s about feeling anger and frustration with the state of the world. In a way, the track mocks the All Lives Matter culture that has come to fruition in the U.S.

At times when you’re travelling around and meeting new people, you get into conversations about social matters and different political standpoints. A lot of people don’t believe they have any power over the matters concerning them, and that can be frustrating. It can be difficult for people to see themselves having an actual impact with what we’re all facing in the world today, all you can really do is take it day by day, lead by example, and know that any and all change starts with you. It’s important to always believe in who you are, even through all the chaos.”

Listen to ‘True Believers’ below.

Pre-order your copy of Play With Fire here.
Follow L.A. Witch on bandcamp and Facebook for more updates.

Photo credit: Marco Hernandez

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Talking Violet – ‘Indigo’

Ontario four-piece Talking Violet have only released a couple of tracks so far in their career, with both taken from 2018 EP Round Dreams, but that has been enough for them to lodge firmly in our minds here at GIHE as purveyors of the dreamiest of dream pop sounds. For new single, ‘Indigo’, their first release for two years, the band have shown they’re not afraid to lean into the ethereal.

What’s most immediate on first listen is quite how much lead singer Jill Goyeau’s vocals are reminiscent of Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser: those stretched-out vowel sounds, weaving in and around the strummed guitar melodies of the song’s verses, before forming part of the swooping chorus are indicative of someone perfectly attuned to their craft. And what of that chorus; shoe-gaze guitars that creep in on the bridge suddenly and sonically drench the listener, as the rhythm section starts to flurry. Simultaneously controlled, impressionistic and emotional, it speaks to artists who perfectly grasp their chosen genre.  

The dreamy nature of the song is emphasised by Lourdes Lasala’s accompanying video, showing the band almost as a kind of Simpsons-esque family unit, all trying to squeeze on to the same couch, intercut with Jill, alone, singing the lyrics, or close-ups on the fish tank. It’s evocative of the escapism of youth, the closed in nature of the domestic milieu and, appropriately for the song’s title, it’s very purple. Given the band’s name, maybe there’s a theme there. With two more singles and an album promised for the rest of the year, it’ll be fascinating to see where on the rainbow Talking Violet turn up next.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

Photo Credit: Lourdes R. Lasala

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WATCH: J. Zunz – ‘Four Women and Darkness’

Dense beats and jagged electronics combine on ‘Four Women and Darkness’, the latest single from Mexico based musician J. Zunz (aka Lorena Quintanilla). Lifted from her second album Hibiscus, the track is a haunting, minimalist interpretation of an unnerving story Quintanilla was told by her grandmother and is accompanied by a visual piece that aims to reflect the jarring nature of the tale.

“[My grandmother] told me that once during wartime in México in the late 1920’s, she and her sisters were hidden by her grandmother in a little, cold secret room,” Quintanilla explains. “She hid them there because the militia wanted to search the house. Soldiers used to look for women or girls to rape them or to kidnap them. My grandmother and her sisters stayed there in the dark room for hours until the soldiers left.”

‘Four Women and Darkness’ is Quintanilla’s addition to her grandmother’s frightening narrative, and the video for the track explores the ambiguous theme of darkness further. “I asked four close friends of mine to express their own darkness,” Quintanilla comments. “They all come from different cities and backgrounds. I instructed them with some movements remarking and reassuring the limits of our bodies, which for years have belonged to everyone but us.”

Watch the video for ‘Four Women and Darkness’ below and follow J. Zunz on bandcamp for more updates.

Photo Credit: Sofía Ruesga

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: CIEL – ‘The Shore’ (Live Session)

To celebrate the physical release of their debut EP Movement on 7″ vinyl, Brighton-based CIEL have shared a live video of their single ‘The Shore’. Released via Manchester label Box Bedroom Rebels, the alt-pop band have included a bonus track on the EP titled ‘Wasn’t Enough For Me’, written and recorded by the band while in isolation.

Formed of Dutch musician Michelle Hindriks and the friends she made when she relocated to Brighton, CIEL enlisted the help of Producer Jack Wolter (Penelope Isles) to help them create the atmospheric sounds on their debut EP. Lead single ‘The Shore’ is a dreamy rumination about seizing the moment and not letting life pass you by, with Hindriks’ pensive vocals floating above beguiling guitars, snappy beats and blissed out synths, reflecting the waves of thought she sings about.

The Movement EP comes in a double sided sleeve, one of six different designs, with a gate-fold insert, one of ten numbered Polaroid photos, a CIEL postcard, sticker set, personalised confetti and a small signed A5 poster. You can order your copy here.

Watch the live video for ‘The Shore’ below and follow CIEL on Facebook and Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Jantina Talsma

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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