ALBUM: Piney Gir – ‘You Are Here’

Charged by a ’60s reminiscent dreamscape energy grounded in the roots of art rock’s demeanour, Piney Gir demands your undivided attention. Known for her eclectic style ranging from alt-folk to retro pop, she takes us to a new exploratory world in her new album You Are Here.

Opening the record with striking spikes contrasted by distances, ‘Admiral Fleets’ serves as the ideal intro track, feeding us whispers of sounds that are to come as the record continues. The pounding drums and intriguing vocal melodies are immediate hooks that keep listeners pulled along for the album’s duration. With moments of pure boldness and others of soft vulnerability, what stays constant is the resilient rhythmic drive of these songs. Even in the quietest moments of You Are Here, a dynamic bass line, groovy keys and retro-sounding guitar tones carry its stories to a dance floor for your feet. 

In songs like ‘Little Cop’ and ‘Peanut Butter Malt Shop Heartthrob’, both lyrically and instrumentally, the wit of the arrangements is floating in the sky where “…sherbet umbrellas will sing for us.” It’s almost impossible to visualize this record without images of candy skies and a breeze of a sunny day. Even ‘Variety Show’, a song asking for someone’s belief in love, has an optimistic feeling reminiscent of the folky tones of Angus & Julia Stone. Regardless of subject matter, You Are Here continues to lift. 

Psychedelic guitar riffs as in the outro of ‘We’ll Always Have Paris’ grounds the emotional experience of the record and ties it to the human infatuation with nostalgia. With both memories of pure bliss and others of bittersweetness, Piney Gir serves a wide palette of reflection and celebration. Brass and string arrangements coupled with vocal duets, provide the sense of a collective experience to the stories told, and make for a brilliantly paced record that is sure to captivate. You Are Here keeps your head in the clouds.

You Are Here is out 1st November via STRS Records. And we can’t wait for Piney Gir to headline for us at The Finsbury in the new year, on 14th February 2020!

Jillian Goyeau

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ALBUM: Dearly Beloved – ‘Times Square Discount’

Hailing from Toronto, CA – the Great White North – Dearly Beloved have made their welcome return with their sixth studio album, Times Square Discount; ten tracks of thunderous, anthemic rock and roll.

Dearly Beloved have been crafting weird, compelling melodies for over a decade  – from their 2006 debut You Are the Jaguar to 2016’s Admission. Times Square Discount is no different. Opening with lead single, ‘Race To The Bottom’, the hive mind of vocalist/bassist Rob Higgins and vocalist/percussionist Niva Chow collectively pay tribute to their grandmothers; immigrants to Canada that ran small businesses when Higgins and Chow were just teenagers.

Holding their middle fingers up, Higgins and Chow’s his and her vocals stress the importance of the “passionate and dedicated labour force whose front lines are already being run off a cliff”, whilst melting your face off with their hook-laden alt-rock; the erosion of the immigrant dream told through distortion.

Both ‘Vacation’ and ‘LSD’ display Dearly Beloved’s pop sensibilities and experimental nature. Melding scuzzy, pounding bass guitar with sing-song quality vocals from “The Chairman Chow” herself. And before you know it, ‘Close Encounters’ and ‘The Conqueror’ have joined the creepshow with otherworldly riffs ripped straight out of a 1950s B movie.

‘Fuck The Banks’ is a pretty self explanatory track that leads to ‘New Versus’; an abrasive fusion of bass guitar and theremin soundscapes, complemented by soft, harmonised vocals, whereas ‘Dog Food Thumbs’ is propelled by raw energy and a pop aesthetic. And if you thought Times Square Discount couldn’t get any weirder, think again! Meet ‘Al P’, a professional panchinko player from Tokyo. His only form of communication? Catchphrases culled from Al Pacino movies.

Closing track, ‘Super Hero’ is experimental electro hip-hop featuring MC Maia; just one of the multiple collaborators featured on Times Square Discount; including  Dimitri Coats (OFF) who provides much of the guitar riffs, James Di Salvio (Bran Van 3000), Jordan Lawlor (M83), Wylie Hodgden (Chevy Metal) and Dave Catching (Eagles of Death Metal). 

By the conclusion of Times Square Discount, the loose conceptual framework has become obvious. This LP, as Higgins explains, is “a rabbit-hole record”, one that has collated experiences and knowledge Dearly Beloved have gained from the various cities they have visited through near-constant touring. “Like the way Kubrick made films… Gather shit, learn shit.”

Recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606, Dave Catching’s Rancho De La Luna, and Dearly Beloved’s own home studio in Toronto, Times Square Discount is a wonderfully chaotically crafted record, tempered with love to create an impressive, cohesive whole. Just like Stanley Kubrick’s filmmaking process.

Times Square Discount is out 25th October via Future Shocks Records. Catch Dearly Beloved live on the rest of their UK tour with Sebadoh:

1st October – Bristol, @ Fleece
2nd October – Birmingham, @ O2 Academy 2
3rd October – Leeds, @ Brudenell
4th October – Glasgow, @ Broadcast
5th October – Manchester, @ O2 Academy 2

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

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ALBUM: Gaptooth – ‘Sharp Minds, Raised Fists’

Gaptooth – singer, songwriter and producer Hannah Lucy – wears her influences on her sleeve (quite literally, if you check out the video for ‘Post-Patriarchy Disco’). And, like the feminist punk bands she loves, Sharp Minds, Raised Fists has purpose and a pure punk attitude. Yet the poppy synths, crunchy guitars and electro beats make it feel accessible, too.

And accessibility is everything when your message is so important. Gaptooth’s impassioned lyrics are a call to arms; a rallying cry against the patriarchy and capitalism. It’s hard not to get fired up by them. In ‘Red flags’, you feel and share her anger: “We wanna stay sexy and not get murdered,” she sings, “We’re still walking home with our keys in our fists.”

‘They Cut, We Bleed’ is peppered with samples from marches arranged by the feminist direct action group, Sisters Uncut. It feels ground-breaking and powerful. Meanwhile, ‘I Am Not My Productivity’ is an anti-capitalist anthem for anyone who feels like work is sucking the life out of them. And God, there’s a lot of us!

Sharp Minds, Raised Fists includes some more personal songs, too. ‘Mixtape Song’ and ‘Why I Left You Standing Outside Pizza Express’ offer an insight into both Hannah Lucy’s life and what it means to be a woman or non-binary person today.

This is an accomplished, important record. It sounds great; a real triumph of song-writing, performance and production. But more than that, it feels like Sharp Minds, Raised Fists could really inspire and empower people. It could soundtrack a movement.

You know the old adage about how everyone who attended the Sex Pistols gig at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester started a band? Similarly, perhaps this record will make people start a revolution.

Sharp Minds, Raised Fists is out 11th October. Pre-order on Bandcamp now.

Vic Conway

Photo Credit: Keira Anee Photography

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ALBUM: Freja Frances – ‘The Funeral’

The debut album from singer-songwriter Freja Frances features an emo-pop inspired collection of piano-led songs dealing with experiences of depression and an unhealthy relationship. 

Opener, ‘Catching Fire’ begins with soft piano, minimal atmospherics, and the line “You can’t help me pinpoint exactly when I lost my mind”. The song is beautifully melodic, and builds around the striking imagery of fire, capturing the emotion and passion of a doomed relationship and the consumption of depression.

The story continues with title track ‘The Funeral’, exploring the loss of a lover through suicide. Again, the dark theme is expressed using ethereal atmospherics and gentle melodies. ‘Machine’ follows, dealing with memories and grief, adding the textures of piano, synths and electric guitar. Then there are wonderful fairytale metaphors used in ‘Juliet’ and ‘The Wolf’; the latter about two people who are struggling with mental illness and social stigma – “The wolf is after you and he wants your heart.”

Later, ‘Stay Awake’ tackles insomnia and spiralling thoughts, as it is gently delivered with twinkling piano chords and Freya’s captivating voice cooing “counting the days since I lost my mind.” The atmospherics and vocal harmonies build around the chorus, bringing a different atmosphere each time, until redemption is found in letting go of past experiences; a theme also explored in ‘Implosion’ and ‘Start Again’, closing the album on a gentle note, with the promise of more hopeful times.

For me, this album is resonant, lyrical and melodic. Though it deals with melancholy themes, it is sorrowful but not miserable. It draws on the interior experiences of depression, dreams, madness and lost love, crafting beauty from sadness. One that will stay with you.

The Funeral is out now via ShimmerSun Music.

 

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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