Track Of The Day: LibraLibra – ‘Loverboy’

Eccentric Brighton-based quartet LibraLibra return to the scene with 90s-based single ‘Loverboy’.

Ever wondered what a 90s “secret admirer board game” would look like in 2019? Look no further, because LibraLibra have got you covered. Glitter, pigtails and bucket-hats take precedent alongside lead-singer Beth Cannon’s original vocals, laden with deep and meaningful lyrics. Of the track, the band explain:

“This song harks back to young me getting drunk at parties, falling madly in love, fucking it up, being labelled a slut, failing hard again and not really knowing what to do with all the feelings…”

On the surface, ‘Loverboy’ is a fun, enthusiastic throwback to the popular ’90s game ‘Dream Phone’ when really, the lyrics hold a more emotional take on struggles with mental health and PTSD. It’s an easy listening pop banger that also relates to a lot of young adults who deal with the same emotions. Who doesn’t love a 90s throwback anyway?

‘Loverboy’ is out now. Catch LibraLibra live at the following dates:

12th April – Brighton Electric, Brighton (FREE ENTRY ‘Prom Night’)
3rd May – Liverpool Sound City Festival

Bekky Smart
@bekkymays

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

LIVE: Deep Throat Choir @ Purcell Rooms, Southbank Centre, 02.04.19

Following a breathtaking and truly immersive performance from opening act Mich Cota, Deep Throat Choir take to the stage in the intimate setting of The Purcell Room at The Southbank Centre, and my Tuesday immediately improves by 100%.

Since I first saw Deep Throat Choir here at The Southbank Centre for Women Of The World festival about five years ago, the Luisa Gerstein-lead group have grown in both size and power. What started as a small, acapella singing group accompanied by drums has now developed into a large collective of female-identifying musicians and vocalists, creating an uplifting force of nature in the sound they deliver.

Treating us to a mix of covers and originals – old and new – they start off with a dazzling new number before luscious offerings from their debut album Be OK, including the soaring harmonies of ‘The Wave’ and the exquisite soulful splendour of ‘Hey Mami’. Brightening a wet and windy evening with the matching oranges and pinks of their outfits accompanying the empowering sweeping vocal melodies they create together, they continue to take my breath away with a unique arrangement of one of last year’s innovative collaborations with Simian Mobile Disco.

Filling the intimate venue with their immense vocal majesty, I’m once again reminded that seeing Deep Throat Choir live never fails to inspire and lift the spirits. And, as they close the set with their shimmering rendition of Amy Winehouse’s ‘In My Bed’, I’m left with a euphoric sense of joy; epitomising the exceptional power of women coming together to create, they unite their voices to summon a force that is truly awe-inspiring.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

ALBUM: Ioanna Gika – ‘Thalassa’

Ioanna Gika is a Greek American artist whose debut solo album Thalassa is out today. The album is named in honour of the Greek spirit of the sea, which I mention if only to highlight the sense of aural vastness and awe that Gika is establishing here. The epic opening track ‘Roseate’, in all its sophistication and variety, complexity and beauty, acts as a sonic manifesto. It points the way towards what Gika intends to do with the rest of the album. The sound is both expansive and complex, atmospheric and soundscape-y. It is all absorbing and overwhelming.

Within this piece of work there are industrial percussion elements set against soaring ethereal vocals and electro atmospherics, while at the same time light and dark sonic elements wrap themselves around each other in tendrils. From the eerie piano of the title track, to the exhilarating giddiness and elemental wildness of ‘Messenger’, with its fast electronic percussion and soaring vocals, it feels primal in nature. There are jagged string sections, layers of reverb, and passages of dark, sonic foreboding alongside ethereal beauty.

The single ‘Swan’ is an atmospheric and minimalistic piece, complex and poignantly raw in its emotional palette. Whereas ‘Weathervane’ has a ghostly, wistful element to it which is underpinned by industrial style percussion. Gika sounds like a mournful siren, standing on the rocks and looking out to sea during ‘No Matter What’, but ‘Ammonite’ is a dark pop song with solid foundations. Closing track ‘Drifting’ is simply elegant in its concept, the aural equivalent of a dragonfly flitting across a lake lit by sunshine; its motif is what sounds like a high speed harp, twinkling magically in the sunshine.

This is a tremendous album, one that is awe inspiring in scale and haunting in quality. Not to be missed.

Thalassa, the debut album from Ioanna Gika, is out now via Sargent House.

Cazz Blase
@CazzBlase

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

Track Of The Day: Velvet Volume – ‘Honey’

If you need proof that sisters are doin’ it for themselves, look no further than Velvet Volume. The Danish trio, formed of siblings Noa, Naomi, and Nataja have shared their new single ‘Honey’ and it drips with youthful, fiery angst. It’s an explicit ode to the insecurities faced by vulnerable teenage girls.

In the last couple of years Velvet Volume have played international festivals including Reeperbahn, Eurosonic, London Calling, Paaspop Festival and more. Their debut album Look Look Look! was released in 2017 to critical praise in their native Denmark, and caught the attention of Nettwerk who recently signed them up for an international deal.

Talking about their new track, the band explain: “Expressed in an unrefined and very loud way, [‘Honey’] is a song we wrote back in 2013… so you can really sense the unapologetic and explicit young vibe in it.” The trio are planning to tour throughout 2019, so keep your eyes peeled for more info.

Listen to ‘Honey’ below and follow Velvet Volume on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment