Track Of The Day: Pet Crow – ‘What We Doin’

This Pet Crow is wearing its dancing shoes, and maybe even a tiny leather jacket! The latest single from the Derby band is a proper anthem in the making. An ode to hopelessness and feeling a little lost without feeling sorry for itself, ‘What We Doin” is poppy, rock ‘n’ roll perfection.

Big, bouncy guitars lift the melancholic vocal, which ask, “who knows what they’re doing?” while the spiky, post-punk riffs make you want to move rather than mope. It’s fun and energetic.

From the opening bars, you can hear nods to a huge range of influences; think Sonic Youth, Gang of Four and Vivian Girls. But ‘What We Doin'” feels as fresh as it is familiar.

Taken from Pet Crow’s forthcoming album, Take The Edge Off, ‘What We Doin” is an exciting taster of what’s to come. I’m looking forward to hearing what more the band can do.

‘What We Doin” is out now. Pet Crow’s new album, Take The Edge Off, is out in February 2020 on vinyl and digital download. 

Vic Conway

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ALBUM: Bishop Briggs – ‘Champion’

“I hope you like it. And if you don’t, please don’t tell me. I’m far too sensitive to hear that” jests Bishop Briggs about her single ‘Jekyl & Hide’, lifted from her sophomore album Champion. Whilst she’s speaking about a specific track, her sentiment is one that can easily be applied to her new record, which explores her strength and vulnerability as an artist, and as a woman, across ten vibrant tracks.

Her 2018 debut album, Church of Scars, was featured in the Top 10 on the Billboard Album Chart in the same year. Following up that success can be tricky, but Briggs has kept things simple on Champion, focusing on emotive lyrics and catchy beats to get her message of self-empowerment across.

The brief, confessional ‘I Still Love You’ acknowledges the fight between the heart and the head. Briggs’ struggle to let it go is explored through gentle piano sounds and slow atmospheric percussion. ‘Can You Hear Me Now?’ follows, with its buoyant beats and Briggs’ defiant vocals breaking through in the chorus. Briggs sets a solitary scene in the opening verse to eponymous track ‘Champion’ – “alone in my car / I’m in a parking lot” – but she offsets this with an empowering chorus of extended vocals and foot-stomping beats.

Disappointment and heartache permeate ‘Tattooed On My Heart’, as Briggs laments about a relationship full of fake promises and lacking in closure. It’s a relatable listen filled with more of her clear vocals, supported by a backing choir which makes the song an unexpectedly uplifting listen. The melancholy ‘Someone Else’ follows, with Briggs expressing a desire for space and solitude over tentative piano.

Co-written with K. Flay and produced by Joel Little, ‘Jekyll & Hide’ (incorrectly spelled for a reason) coins a new dating phrase – “Are you Jekyll & Hide-ing me?” – as a way to describe the chaotic feeling of dating someone who appears to be two-faced. It’s followed by the revealing ‘Lonely’, which flows in the same vulnerable vein as previous track ‘Someone Else’.

On ‘Wild’ Briggs finds solace in running full pelt in to the unknown, her voice races across layers of sharp beats and powerful backing vocals. The funky ‘My Shine’ spotlight’s Briggs’ breakthrough in the aftermath of a relationship that dimmed her light and dulled her confidence. ‘I Tried’ closes the record, a demo that documents the exhaustion and the relief of leaving behind someone who drained you of your energy and efforts.

Acknowledging the many ways in which a woman can be strong, even when tangled up in a bad romantic relationship seems to be Briggs forte. At times times repetitive, but always relatable; Champion is an uplifting record fueled by the desire to overcome the forces that hold us down.

Listen to Champion on Spotify below. Follow Bishop Briggs on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Mamiffer – ‘The Brilliant Tabernacle’

An ode to life and light; Mamiffer‘s latest album The Brilliant Tabernacle is a quiet affair, but it speaks volumes about the patience and tenacity of the human heart. Based in Seattle, Mamiffer (formed of Faith Coloccia, her partner and collaborator Aaron Turner, and a string of auxiliary musicians) have crafted seven tracks that exude genuine warmth and gentility over a series of diverse, electronic-acoustic soundscapes.

Opening track ‘All That is Beautiful’ brims with tentative piano, steady drums and Coloccia’s soft vocals. It sounds equal parts vast and sparse, particularly when Turner’s distorted guitar sounds break through towards the end. The hymn-like ‘River of Light’ flows like its namesake, with more of Coloccia’s gentle vocals lilting above a captivating soundscape of flute, drones, pulses, and melodic fragments.

An exquisite instrumental floods the first three minutes of ‘So That The Heart May Be Known’. It’s a wonderful blend of strings and folk-tinged sounds, and is easily one of the highlights of the record. Coloccia’s voice comes back in to focus again on ‘Two Hands Together’, a lament to the light that shines through on the darkest of nights. Following track ‘To Receive’ gives similar treatment to themes of vulnerability and acceptance.

‘Hymn of Eros’ – Eros being the Greek God of love & sex – is an epic nine minute track. It’s a mythically themed, searching soundscape; a resurrection of hope and love spread across multiple layers of classical and folk-tinged instrumentation. The record closes with ‘To Be Seen’, with Coloccia’s welcoming lyric “you are one of us” becoming more reassuring each time she repeats it. This maternal element to her songwriting was inspired by the birth of her first child after her last album, The World Unseen, and it permeates the new release.

“So many problems in the world stem from people who do not love themselves, and have lost a fundamental gift that should be everyone’s birth right: to be loved unconditionally and completely” explains Coloccia. On The Brilliant Tabernacle, she has attempted to remedy this, and as a result, has created an uplifting and emotive record that will ease listeners out of the solitary shadows, and in to the unified light.

Listen to Mamiffer’s new album on Spotify below. Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Photo Credit: Ethan DeLorenzo

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WATCH: ESYA – ‘Blue Orchid’

“I only came here for the meat” broods ESYA on her latest track ‘Blue Orchid’, lifted from her new EP Absurdity of ATCG (II) – Emergent Form, released in digital form today (15th Nov). Filled with buzzing synth textures, direct vocals and pummeling beats; the song fleshes out the absurdities of our relationships and interactions with each other.

ESYA (aka Ayşe Hassan of Savages/Kite Base/180dB) has been busy cutting her teeth on the solo electronic music circuit since the release of her debut EP, Absurdity Of Being, in 2018. The first of a trio of records, Absurdity of ATCG (I), followed shortly after, and her latest release Absurdity of ATCG (II) – Emergent Form, now completes her “wonky exploration” of alternate personas.

Laced with themes of acceptance and growth, ESYA’s music is a captivating blend of experimental electronics and urgent lyricism. ‘Blue Orchid’ extrapolates on these elements, as do the other six tracks on the new EP. They’re also underscored by a scientific idea, as ESYA explains further:

“This EP is about becoming the next version of yourself, about engaging in the process of coming into being, or becoming prominent…ATCG refers to the building blocks in human DNA, that set the foundations of what we will be before we take our first breath along with the absurdity we encounter in the life/society we are born into. The intention is to be honest, abrasive and direct, confronting the things we fear the most.”

We can’t wait for ESYA to headline our next gig at Notting Hill Arts Club on Sat 30th November. Tickets are available on DICE, and you can find all the event info here. Watch the video for ‘Blue Orchid’ below (directed by Alex Keegan), and grab a copy of ESYA’s new EP on vinyl here.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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