LISTEN: Sunflower Thieves – ‘I Don’t Know Why’

A gentle reflection on the disarming realisation that your connection with someone you love is off kilter, despite your best efforts, Leeds-based dream-folk duo Sunflower Thieves have shared their latest single ‘I Don’t Know Why’.

Combining charming vocal harmonies and soft guitars to create their delicate pop-folk sounds, Sunflower Thieves write tunes inspired by personal narratives and nostalgia. Their musical creations have blossomed out of a sixteen year long friendship between band members Amy and Lily, and their single ‘I Don’t Know Why’ is another tender offering rooted in a desire to understand the gaps in communication that can happen in any relationship.

“The track is about how complicated close relationships can be. How the differences in the way we live our lives and follow what we think can affect our understanding of each other, and equally of ourselves,” the duo explain about ‘I Don’t Know Why’. Through their earnest lyrics, tentative guitar picks and soft beats, the pair navigate this emotional grey area with tact and compassion.

The single is also accompanied by a visualiser, full of natural, tranquil scenes of the world going by on and around a canal, fitting with the sonic peacefulness, introspective lyrics and steady pace of the track. The pair are set to to release their new EP this year, featuring previous single ‘Sirens’ and this new offering too.

Listen to ‘I Don’t Know Why’ below.

Follow Sunflower Thieves on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook
for more updates.

Photo Credit: Sophie Jouvenaar

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Beach House – ‘Once Twice Melody: Chapter 1’

A cinematic introduction to their new record, dream pop outfit Beach House have shared the first four tracks from their upcoming album, Once Twice Melody. Set for release via Bella Union on 18th February, the record features 18 tracks which the band have chosen to share in four ‘Chapters’ in the lead up to the release, with ‘Chapter 1’ being available to listen to now.

Featuring eponymous track ‘Once Twice Melody’, ‘Chapter 1’ is a lilting, majestic showcase of the band’s new material. Produced entirely by Beach House and using a live string ensemble for the first time, ‘Superstar’, ‘Pink Funeral’ and ‘Through Me’ shimmer with the duo’s trademark lullaby-esque vocals, dramatic riffs and atmospheric beats. Bittersweet lyrics and heady synths combine to make this first instalment a captivating, tranquil listen.

Beach House will be releasing a new ‘Chapter’ of music each month until the full album is released in February 2022. The band will be touring the UK and Europe in Spring, which will include a night at London’s Brixton Academy on 26th May. Tickets for each date are on sale from Friday 19th November (more info here)

Listen to ‘Chapter 1’ of Once Twice Melody below.

Follow Beach House on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: David Belisle

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Big Daisy – ‘Without Dreams’

Described by the band as a “sleepy lullaby-turned-powerhouse journey of a song,” Belfast four-piece Big Daisy have shared their latest single ‘Without Dreams’. Full of soft, yearning vocals and atmospheric guitar sounds, the track is a melodic slice of fuzz-pop that rings with genuine warmth and charm.

Formed of childhood best friends Aidan Reynolds, Ciara King, Dan O’Rawe and James Orr, Big Daisy released their debut single ‘Go Outside’ in November 2019, unaware that their agoraphobic anthem would become an appropriate soundtrack for a global pandemic. The band’s love for “whiny lyrics and big dreamy riffs” is something they take pride in, and latest offering ‘Without Dreams’ is another lush example of their penchant for blending the sad with the sweet.

“I dream of everything being better / I can’t wait for sweater weather” muses Ciara, as the track fluctuates between being content with being doe-eyed and daydreaming, before unwillingly following a tendency to self-sabotage feelings of joy. Penned as “a journey through the mind of someone who struggles with organisation & completing tasks,” ‘Without Dreams’ is a bittersweet, relatable tune that softens and soothes any inner chaos.

Listen to ‘Without Dreams’ below.

 

Follow Big Daisy on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: 26 North Productions

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: ME REX – ‘Megabear’

Megabear by ME REX is easily one of the coolest and most ambitious albums to come out this generation.

It is comprised of fifty two short tracks, most of which last a little over thirty seconds, with a total album length of around half an hour. Each track has a corresponding tarot card designed by artist Jono Ganz. This is so you can shuffle your tarot deck, play the tracks in whichever order the cards decide for you and experience the album in an entirely new way.

You’ll have a perfectly enjoyable time listening to the songs in the order they appear automatically on bandcamp, but you’ll miss out on the layers that make this experiment so special. These tracks are designed to be played in near infinite possible combinations. They are designed to be able to flow from one to the next, regardless of which songs might get paired. To me, this sounds like it should be impossible. But ME REX have made it work. Particularly if you listen to it on their purpose-built website – free of the risk of Spotify ads to break your immersion. It’s easy to let the site automatically shuffle the tracks for you and listen to the looping, flowing music for hours on end. If you want to look for the seams between songs, obviously you can find them. But it takes no effort at all to sit back and let them wash over you in their shifting uncanny beauty.

The music itself suits being attached to a tarot deck so well. It is clearly influenced by the movement of nature, with lyrics referencing rivers and refrains that evoke that feeling of being carried along gentle eddies through a glittering natural wonderland. There is a gorgeous dance between the keys, strings and drums. ME REX have crafted something genuinely special, forging a unique sound for themselves that is distinct, original and stunning.

The thought and effort that has gone into creating a piece that makes you think about not just the music you’re listening to, but how you consume music in the digital age is astounding. It is a thoroughly well executed experiment that deserves to be remembered for sheer ambition alone.

Megabear is out now. Buy the album, plus your very own special deck of tarot cards, on bandcamp.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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