PREMIERE: Charlotte Carpenter – ‘Spinning Plates’

Having charmed our ears as a guest on our radio show, and with 2017’s Shelter EP, East Midlands artist Charlotte Carpenter has previously shared stages with artists such as Marika Hackman and George Ezra. Now, having received acclaim from the likes of NME and BBC Radio 6Music, she has announced the release of her debut album later this year.

Taken from the album, new single ‘Spinning Plates’ offers a poignant reflection on the power structures and misogyny within the music industry. Propelled by a fierce energy, Carpenter’s gritty, raw vocals flow alongside catchy Americana-infused hooks. With a stirring sentiment that is all too relatable – lyrics such as “I’m just trying to be a better sister / daughter / lover…” highlighting how women’s worth is so often only seen as important within their relationship to men -, the track oozes an impassioned blues-soaked allure as it builds with a glistening, anthemic drive. A striking call to arms to fellow women and marginalised groups within the industry, ‘Spinning Plates’ offers a defiant return to form from this innovative artist, showcasing her ability to fuse together her trademark soulful musicality with a cathartic, empowering spirit.

Of the track, Carpenter explains:

“There’s a lot to unpack in this song… from societal pressures on the roles you are meant to fulfil as a woman, alongside the struggle of keeping up a relentless positivity to being a musician – and how impossible it is to ever get the balance between the two.”

Watch the new video for ‘Spinning Plates’ here:

‘Spinning Plates’ is set for release tomorrow, 17th May. Catch her live (supporting SOFT LAD and Kelli Blanchett):

14th July – The Finsbury, London 
27th July – The Victoria, Birmingham
28th July – Black Prince, Northampton
30th July – The Castle, Manchester 

Photo Credit: Fraser West

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EP: Midwife & Vyva Melinkolya – ‘Orbweaving’

A disarming collection of hypnotic vocals and mesmeric guitar sounds, Midwife and Vyva Melinkolya have shared their collaborative EP, Orbweaving. Written and recorded at Madeline Johnston aka Midwife’s studio in New Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert, the five songs that form the record are a beautiful byproduct of the idiosyncratic environment they were created in.

From nights spent “herping” on empty roadsides looking for rattlesnakes, roadkill and orb-weaver spiders, to meaningful moments shared between Johnston and Angel Diaz (Vyva Melinkolya) in the studio, Orbweaving smoulders with the residual heat of sun-scorched sands, but it’s laced with the shiver-inducing melancholy of desolate desert nights too.

From the lullaby-esque tones of opener ‘Miss America’, through to the epic twelve minutes of the all-encompassing final eponymous track, Johnston and Diaz’s deceptively simple lyrical motifs and ambient riffs perfectly pacify the pain of their past. Forging a strong friendship during 2020, the pair guided each other through a turbulent emotional time, and in the process began spinning the intricately woven, affecting web of sounds that now form Orbweaving.

From the aching sincerity of ‘NMP’ (No More Pain), to the heavy ambience of ‘Hounds Of Heaven’, the duo navigate the duality that comes with losing and reclaiming connection with internal and external spaces. Their poetic, hazy laments provide a heavy form of hope, the type that reveals itself unexpectedly; like emerging from the morning fog into the sunlight after a restless night pacing in the dark.

This feeling is aptly captured on the apocalyptic-titled ‘Plague X’. Inspired by the life-cycle of the cicadas insect – whose 17 year periodical took place in 2021 at the time of recording – the track gently personifies the horror and the sublime processes that occur in the natural world, and mirrors the inner emotional metamorphoses that Johnston and Diaz experienced themselves during the time they spent together. Its ominous context doesn’t detract from the immersive, mesmeric vocals and waves of rich, hazy guitar.

Whilst it may feel bleak and fragile in places, there is a truly bright human thread that underscores Orbweaving. Together, Johnston and Diaz have spun a delicate web that simultaneously connects and soothes the senses, but also manages to retain the grit of the grains of New Mexico sand they were inspired by too. Bathe yourself in Johnston’s trademark “heaven metal” and Diaz’s evocative shoegazey noise, both of which are seamlessly tethered here.

Listen to Orbweaving on bandcamp and Spotify

Follow Midwife on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Follow Vyva Melinkolya on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Jon Mcwilliams

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

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EP: Tokky Horror – ‘KAPPACORE’

Thank fuck for attitude! Emerging from the pit to release KAPPACORE, hardcore punk/techno collective Tokky Horror have recorded a visceral collection of mosh-inducing dance melodies; an infectious melding of distorted breakbeat chaos and abrasive guitar filth – from Zee Divine, Ava Akira and Mollie Rush – to piss off the punk purists!

Following their 2021 extended play from Alcopop! Records, I Found the Answers and Now I Want More – later incorporated into their compilation of off-kilter DIY noise, Home Recordings 2020-2021 – KAPPACORE is their latest mutation; a hyper-intense techno-punk record for misfits. Opening with ‘MAXINE’, featuring Blazer Boccle, Zee’s (formerly of Liverpudlian queer punks Queen Zee) (witch)craft results in hypnotic drum & bass; Blazer, Ava and Mollie’s pseudo-rapping buried in the mix, scrambling from a shallow grave for your attention, making your heart skip, skip a beat! “We are the weirdos, mister.”

Now primed to explode, ‘HAMMER 2 THE FACE’ follows, creating punkish energy through Aphex Twin-esque idiosyncratic techno; Tokky Horror’s do-it-yourself ethos resulting in grinding industrial guitar riffs layered with Zee’s experimental hardcore production. Let the bass hit you like a hammer to the face! Preserving this chaotic energy, ‘JAZZ MUSIC’ is a textural electrical assault to the senses, with only woodwind instrumentation providing brief respite from Tokky Horror’s groove. “I love jazz music / You love jazz music / I love jazz music / Tokky Horror crew!”

‘TOILET’, another rave-inducing headbanger, is the crew’s “heartbreak song about falling out of love with a scene.” Punk is supposed to represent anarchy! It should be the perfect petri dish for activism; punk rock’s lyrical vitriol expressing an intense desire for sociopolitical change. Unfortunately, most “punks” were too wasted to protest… So, back in the lab, the mad scientists at Tokky Horror are working towards creating their own sub-culture; one of inclusivity, and ‘TOILET’ is their melancholic dance punk anthem! “We are all searching for change…”

Closing out KAPPACORE with pulsating basslines and distorted vocals comes ‘TRANMERE RAVER’, featuring MC NULTi. The Tokky Horror crew crescendoing into a cataclysm of crusty electronic crud. From the breakbeats of Orbital to the electropunk of The Prodigy, Tokky Horror proudly wear their influences on their Kappa branded sleeves. This is the Tokky Horror Show: hypnotic anarchic catharsis!

Tokky Horror UK Live Dates 2023
18th May – KAPPACORE EP Release Party Blondies, London
26th May – Sneister Festival, The Hague NL
9th June – Fiestas De La Artes, Manchester
5th August – Rebellion Festival, Blackpool
18th August – Convoy Cabaret Festival, Dorchester
19th August – Arctangent Festival, Somerset
9th September – Burn It Down Festival, Devon

Follow Tokky Horror on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

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PREMIERE: CATBEAR – ‘I’ll Meet You At The End’

Having been charming our ears for some time now, and having recently toured with indie legends The Subways, London duo CATBEAR now follow the success of their stirring last single ‘I Choose Love’ with a brand new release.

A love song for the apocalypse, ‘I’ll Meet You At The End’ is propelled by deep propulsive beats as swirling synths ripple alongside honey-sweet vocals with a blissful allure. Reflecting on the power of connection, even in the darkest of times, it builds with an anthemic whirring splendour to an utterly immersive soundscape, oozing an all-encompassing shimmering grace. Taking the listener on a soaring sonic journey, it’ll instantly captivate; showcasing the impassioned power that this innovative duo are able to create.

Listen to ‘I’ll Meet You At The End’ for the first time here:

‘I’ll Meet You At The End’ is set for release tomorrow, 12th May. And catch CATBEAR at The Great Escape today, where they’ll be debuting the track live!

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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