FIVE FAVOURITES: My Ugly Clementine

Inspired by a strong commitment to each other as both friends and bandmates, Vienna-based trio My Ugly Clementine are preparing to release their new album, The Good Life, on 11th of August via BMG. Formed of Sophie Lindinger (Leyya), Mira Lu Kovacs and Nastasja Ronck (Sharktank), the band combine playful melodies and feel-good lyrics to create their brand of buoyant, uplifting grunge pop. Following the 2020 release of their debut album, Vitamin C, My Ugly Clementine spent time recording their new album in a remote house somewhere in the Beskid Mountains, far away from civilization. The result is a joyful celebration of friendship and community, with latest single ‘Would Do It Again’ encapsulating these sentiments perfectly.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Mira from My Ugly Clementine to ask about their “Five Favourites” – five songs that have inspired their song-writing techniques. Check out their choices below and scroll down to watch the band’s video for their latest single ‘Would Do It Again’.

 

1. Radiohead – Hail To The Thief
I’d listened to Radiohead already for years until that album came out and I loved them already, but Hail To The Thief just changed my perspective on so many levels concerning what an album can be, how you’re allowed to change as a band, what you can develop and grow into. I know most people got hooked to Radiohead with OK Computer or Kid A, but Hail To The Thief just showed me that I care about sound just as much as I care about songwriting.

2. Ani Difranco – Educated Guess
Ani Difranco is an artist i’ve been listening to since I was 11 years old, so I just grew up with her. All her 17k albums have influenced me deeply, maybe Evolve was even more influential at the time, but I have grown out of that playful guitar picking style a bit. That’s why I chose Educated Guess. It’s more simple and more serious and dark. The acoustic guitar is everything you don’t know about acoustic guitars, everything you wouldn’t expect from them, which I love. Lyrics wise, Ani Difranco will forever hold the reign as queen of complex poetry. I will forever be grateful for what she has opened my eyes to!

3. Arctic Monkeys – AM
I know it’s the hit album, but it must be on this list – also because I am currently revisiting it a lot these days. One of the things that have impressed and shaped me the most is AM’s ability to put more lyrics into one line than the bars have space for. They just completely ignore the laws of time. The rhythmic aspects of their writing seem otherworldly and so confident, they just change the rules to their preference. I am working on that kind of mindset every day.

4. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
One of my forever musical crushes is Jack White. I don’t think that I have to explain that. Everything he does makes sense. This album though is a masterpiece, ear worms only. The roughness in the title track ‘Broken Boy Soldiers’ completely breaks me apart. Much like AM, this album showed me to make my own rules about pop music and songwriting. There is never just one way. Jack White is just all about sound, vibes and guitars.

5. Björk – Medúlla
In my opinion, this is the most interesting album Björk made. The collab with rahzel especially (I think he appears on most of the songs) is something I think the world hadn’t heard until then. While beatboxing is something that has definitely no place in my current creating process, I think the way she included it into her musical world was spectacular. There are some forever kinda melodies on this record!

Pre-order My Ugly Clementine’s debut album The Good Life here

Watch the video for My Ugly Clementine’s latest single below.

Follow My Ugly Clementine of Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

Five Favourites: Sir Jude

Having had previous singles featured in popular TV shows such as ‘Catfish’ and ‘The A List’, Australian artist Sir Jude has now announced the release of her upcoming debut album, Revelations, and shared a sweeping new single with the world. Propelled by a stirring, glitchy energy ‘Madonna‘ reflects on the dichotomy of the Madonna concept – the virgin and the whore. As her rich vocals soar over a gritty electro-infused soundscape, an instantly catchy cinematic alt-pop anthem is created.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of ‘Madonna’ and the upcoming debut album, we caught up with Sir Jude to ask about the music that has inspired her the most. See below for her choices of her five favourite songs.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers – ‘Wet Sand’ 
Growing up, I was such a big Chili Peppers fan. Still am of course. It was the soundtrack to many defining moments, particularly my first love. My journey to discovering them as a band was led by pure intrigue – none of my friends listened to them and I was mesmerised by the sound of psychedelic rock. The lyric in this track – “you don’t form in the wet sand” – I thought was so delicate and beautiful. Despite it feeling like a song about lightness, there is this sense of tragedy and vulnerability. I think Anthony Kiedis mastered that; most of their songs have this wonderful element of dichotomy. Later I watched an interview of Flea talking about how the song for him is a special love song, about the darkness of love, and I deeply resonate with that.  

Imogen Heap – ‘Hide and Seek’
This song was a staple for my teen years! I had first heard this on my favourite show at the time – which I’m admitting was The OC. I think for most people, it was unlike anything else they’d heard before. For me, I wanted to know more. I think Imogen Heap is one of the most talented composers and is an absolute force for women in music. I’m so grateful to her for being so authentic and bold in everything she does. This song inspired a whole era of songs I set to write at 13 or 14 (most of which were terrible). But one song it inspired, titled ‘Sailor Ships’, was the very song that brought me to Abbey Road Studios in London, with my friend and collaborator Bryce Jacobs, and that moment was so special.  

Arctic Monkeys – ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ 
This song gets most of its lyrics from the John Cooper Clark poem of the same name. I first heard this and gasped. I’m not the most romantic person, but for the first time I felt like these words were ones I could understand. It’s honestly a little creepy when you read it aloud, but I think at the heart of the song it’s about loving someone so deep that you want to know and be with every single part of them, and that’s pretty beautiful. I feel like such a sap admitting that, but it’s just lovely.  

Kavinsky ft. Lovefoxxx – ‘Nightcall’
I had heard this song before seeing it in Drive. The movie and the scorpion jacket only added to the iconic etch it made in my mind. The way the album, Out Run, opens is so epic; it paints this glorious mental movie soundtrack that is otherworldly and genius and just so cool. It’s the best nighttime driving song there is. Again, there is this sense of love and tragedy that I resonated with because the concept of the album itself felt so tangible.  

The Naked and Famous – ‘The Sun’
I lean very heavily towards songs that make me feel as though I can cut a quick movie montage of my life in my head. Every time this song plays, I feel so empowered and capable – like something is about to happen. It’s dramatic and aggressive and the lyrics bring about a feeling of frustration, like this person is about to explode; like they’re finally at a turning point. The line “and what the hell have I done” inspired my own song – ‘What the Hell Have You Done’. I just remember feeling so heard in that line. It does something to me every time I hear it. And the whole album is a classic; I think there are a lot of people that can listen to a song from that album and have it take them back somewhere years ago.  

Massive thanks to Sir Jude for sharing her Five Favourites with us!

‘Madonna’ is out now, and Revelations, the upcoming debut album from Sir Jude, is set for release soon!

mariangelicalaneLeave a comment

PREMIERE: Tiger Mimic – ‘Silence Of The Night’

Following last year’s powerful singles ‘It Was Still Dark’ and ‘Where The Fire Used To Be’, and with acclaim from the likes of BBC Introducing and John Kennedy, GIHE faves Tiger Mimic return to blast into our ears with a glorious new offering.

Propelled by an immense, eerie energy, ‘Silence Of The Night’ reflects on the grim reality that women have to navigate on a daily basis. As the rich, sleek vocals of front woman Jess soar with a soulful power, swirling riffs fizz with a scuzzy splendour, building with a stirring tension and anthemic musicality to an impassioned statement of intent. Hitting the ears with a sweeping magnificence, it oozes shades of the quirkily haunting sound of early Arctic Monkeys, or the fierce, politically-driven passion of Liverpool favourite She Drew The Gun. Driven by an empowering sense of urgency, here Tiger Mimic offer a poignant call for justice and accountability at a time when we so desperately need it.

Listen to ‘Silence Of The Night’, for the first time, here:

Produced by Rees Broomfield, ‘Silence Of The Night’ is out on Friday, 8th October, and is the first of three new singles to come from the band. Pre-save it here. Catch Tiger Mimic live at The Victoria on 9th December, tickets here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Robert Alleyne

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Track Of The Day: Tiger Mimic – ‘Where The Fire Used To Be’

In a dazzling new energetic single, London rockers Tiger Mimic give us something stellar to remember them by. With invigorating garage rock tones and poetic vocals, ‘Where The Fire Used To Be’ places the fierceness of bands like Metric and Arctic Monkeys alongside the softness of Jess R’s vocal parts that embody a sweet sonic release. With whispers of psychedelic guitar and the tendency to simulate the loud, quiet, loud effect of ’90s rock, ‘Where The Fire Used To Be’ has a mature sophistication and sense of nostalgia to it, with shades of The Pixies or The Cranberries. 

Tiger Mimic keep the pace moving with a change in tempo halfway through the single, creating a cathartic moment that explodes into a lustral instrumental jam that characterises the discussion behind the track’s lyrics. “The golden glow of the fall” is surely reflected in the band’s musicality and skill to drive their instruments at a climax, and then elegantly pull back to create space and juxtaposition. 

In a society where we have experienced so many trials and tribulations over the last few months, Tiger Mimic’s energy serves as both a purgative and therapeutic narrative for their listeners. Someday soon, “the whole world will start over in the spring” and we will reflect on ‘Where The Fire Used To Be’.

 

Jillian Goyeau
@jillybxxn

Photo Credit: Robert Alleyne

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