Track Of The Day: Graywave – ‘With Me’

An atmospheric slice of dream-pop designed to help listeners escape their bedroom walls; Graywave has shared her latest single, ‘With Me’. The track combines Graywave’s smooth vocals with lush, shoe-gaze inspired guitar sounds which help to distract and deter negative thoughts.

Graywave, aka multi-disciplinary artist Jess Webberley, is influenced by the likes of artists such as Men I Trust, Slowdive, Crumb, and Japanese Breakfast. She blends ambient elements of dream-pop with slightly gritter elements of shoegaze to produce her charming sounds, and ‘With Me’ is a gentle example of this.

“‘With Me’ was written and brought to life with the ambition to create something meaningful and creative during lockdown” Graywave explains. “The song was written and recorded by myself in my bedroom and sent off to Sam Bloor for mixing and mastering. The artwork is reflective of the writing experience and creating it was a way for me to visualise the sound of the track. It depicts my bedroom with the addition of a portal leading elsewhere, tying in with the mood of the song. The only coherent lyrics in the song – ‘always searching, always yearning’ – allude to the feeling of always wanting to surpass any successes I may achieve, coupled with a constant longing to be elsewhere.”

Graywave’s sentiments will resonate with many listeners as they approach the end of this lockdown period. Listen to ‘With Me’ below and follow Graywave on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Kayla May

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Dott – ‘Extra Introvert’

A tender, buoyant guitar tune that helps to playfully shake off feelings of social anxiety; Dott have shared their latest single, ‘Extra Introvert’. Self-described as a “sombre summer bop”, the track confronts the “Lockdown Anxiety” many of us have been dealing with during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Galway-based dream-poppers Dott were in the middle of recording their third album, the follow up to 2018’s Heart Swell, when the pandemic put an abrupt stop to proceedings. ‘Extra Introvert’ was recorded in a cottage in Leitrim with Frankie Pollard (Oh Boland) and mastered by Steve Fallone (The Breeders, Alvvays), and provides a breath of fresh air for anyone who’s been feeling apprehensive about re-joining their social circles.

The accompanying video features the band’s vocalist Anna using her smart phone to interact with friends again, and by “friends” we mean some very, very cute dogs. Most people have been extra reliant on their devices to help them socialise during the lockdown period, so the video is shot vertically and best appreciated on a phone screen. The visuals compliment the upbeat nature of the track perfectly, proving there’s still space for joy and distraction even when you’re not feeling your best.

Watch the video for ‘Extra Introvert’ below and follow Dott on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Kim McCafferty

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

Track Of The Day: The Ghost of Helags – ‘Chemistry’

Smooth vocals, echoing beats and sultry synth textures disarm listeners on ‘Chemistry’, the latest track from The Ghost of Helags. The Berlin-based duo penned the track after a late night drive from Vienna to Prague, reflecting on their feelings of loneliness and longing.

Formed of Swedish born Teresa Woischiski and John Alexander Ericson, The Ghost of Helags combine sharp production with their love of dream pop and David Lynch’s shadowy film scores to create their brooding electronic sounds. “There’s nothing left out there that makes me scared, nothing” sings Woischiski on ‘Chemistry’, which centres around both the intimate power and fear of being completely by ones self.

“The song was written in January this year on a foggy late night drive from Vienna to Prague” reflects Woischiski. “We didn’t meet many cars and it was a very dense fog so it felt a bit like driving through outer space.” This feeling of other-worldliness permeates the track, allowing momentary escape from all earthly doubts and fears.

Listen to ‘Chemistry’ below and follow The Ghost of Helags on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

 

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Temples Of Youth – ‘Suburbia’

From The Kinks to David Lynch, Arcade Fire and Hanif Kureishi – the space between the city and the country has been occupying creative minds almost since its creation, with its blend of comfort and conformity, its security and secrets, kept behind double-glazing. Now it’s the turn of Winchester-based duo Temples Of Youth to turn their gaze on ‘Suburbia’, with pretty good timing, given that we’re almost all stuck in our residences right now.  

Where previous TOY releases have hewed more towards dream pop – such as last year’s ‘Rose Tinted’, or the chillwave/synthpop of 2017’s self-titled EP -, ‘Suburbia’ has the feel of stylised, passionate rock-pop with its Cult style guitar openings, straight out of the Billy Duffy playbook, and underlying synth chords. That drive doesn’t let up, either, in the minor key vocal harmonies by members Jo and Paul, or the song’s structure, with its two lyrical verses followed by a choppy riff middle eight, that falls away and lets the track finish with synths that rise like the start of a new day. 

Lyrically, the song is deceptively simple, with most lines containing monosyllables but evoking a story rich with mystery and emotion: “Meet me in suburbia / A place to live / A place to hide… Now there’s no turning back.”

Perhaps what’s most impressive here, as with all TOY releases, is that despite the band’s DIY ethos, ‘Suburbia’ sounds the equal in its production to anything you’re likely to hear threatening the charts. With a new EP due to be recorded at some point later this year, pandemic-permitting, it seems inevitable that Temples of Youth will be heard in homes up and down the land, before too long.

 

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

 

 

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