Track Of The Day: Harlea – ’99’

Harlea’s ’99’ recalls the visceral thrill of first hearing Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die album. The song conveys a similar all encompassing, cinematic feel even as it avoids straying into full “Gangsta Nancy Sinatra” territory.

Given the Americana on display here, the name Harlea feels like no accident for this Birmingham born, LA based pop star. Even if her performing name isn’t a nod to the Harley Davidson or to Marlon Brando and classic Hollywood films like The Wild One, it still feels an apt choice of moniker for the all encompassing muscular pop melodrama soundscapes she is creating.

Halsey seemed to pick up the Born To Die baton for a bit but, judging from ’99′, she’s passed it on to Harlea. From the sound of it, the new star is more than ready to take on the next stretch of this pop race.

 

’99’ is out now.

Cazz Blase
@CazzBlase

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EP: Timid Deer – ‘Melodies For The Nocturnal, Pt. 1’

Salisbury band Timid Deer consist of Naomi Henstridge, Tim Milne, Tom Laws, Matt Jackson and Jason Allen, and their new EP, Melodies for the Nocturnal Pt.1, sees an expansion in sound from acoustic folk to a more melancholy indie. 

Opening track ‘No Country’ sets the tone for what is a gently melodic, minimally atmospheric, and ethereal EP. The piano intro, bass notes, and Naomi’s gentle sweeping voice lead into a haunting love song – “Take me to the river..we can drown together with wild flowers all around”. The synths and guitar solo add to the atmosphere, without being invasive.

‘Sinner’s Heart’ continues the same elemental themes, with a slightly jazzy feel and dreamy atmospherics coming to the fore, whilst conjuring the image of a spurned lover fighting back. Things take a darker turn with the creeping aura of ‘The Tide’ with its ominous piano intro, with flowing waves getting deeper, washing the lover away; “You my lover, will pay the price.”

Lead track ‘The Shallows’ continues the story – “I’ll be waiting in the shallows… we can wash away our fire… our sorrow” – set to a slow rock mix with layered vocals, whilst final track ‘Sleepless’ is a dreamlike love song oozing soaring angelic vocals and a spine-tingling beauty. 

The band intends to write and record a follow-up EP later this year, and we can’t wait to hear what they create next. If, like me, you are a bit of a Goth at heart, Timid Deer come highly recommended.

 

Melodies for the Nocturnal Pt. 1 is out now. 

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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Track Of The Day: Show Boy – ‘Like That’

Trying to reinvent a genre that is already so diverse can be difficult, and yet with new single ‘Like That’, London-based alt-pop artist Show Boy seems to do just that.

Taken from his upcoming debut EP Surreal, ‘Like That’ starts off simple; a gentle kick and snare behind a light-hearted guitar riff, before a short and poppy synth joins the mix. From the get-go, the beat is catchy, oozing perfect summer vibes. Of the track, Show Boy explains:

“It’s about the confusion and panic felt when you realise you have more affinity with a past snapshot of yourself than the person you currently are.”

This juxtaposition of ‘Like That’s uptempo music, with the deeper, more meaningful, lyrics is something extraordinary and wonderful; marking the track out as a poignant, impassioned pop anthem. 

Show Boy, aka Jovis Lane, adds something to his music that we haven’t seen before – a unique and exciting prospect in the industry as a whole. 

 

Surreal, the upcoming EP from Show Boy, is set for release next month. Catch Show Boy live at the EP launch on 11th July at Dalston Superstore.

Bekky Smart
@bekkymays

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Track Of The Day: Automatic – ‘Calling It’

Automatic are Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) and Halle Saxon (bass, vocals). They’re from LA, but their sound is straight out of early 1980s Yorkshire.

‘Calling It’, their first single, is an ear capturing listen, marked as it is by distinctive post punk stylings which include lots of echo, tinny drums and a loud, dominant synth sound, all of which are set off by deadpan vocals. It’s as though the Delta 5 have mated with the earliest incarnation of the Human League and spawned a many legged Leeds/Sheffield-based hybrid creature that is now throwing super cool shapes on the student disco dance floor. More prosaically, Izzy Glaudini speaks of the track thus:

“Its lyrics capture the sensation of being adrift in a wide-open space, and the desire to rip it all up and start over.” Destruction in art.

‘Calling It’ is out now via Stones Throw Records.

Cazz Blase
@CazzBlase

Photo Credit: Logan White

 

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