Track Of The Day: Miss Kill – ‘All You Gotta Do’

A gritty guitar tune inspired by feelings of risk and vulnerability, Bristol-based sister duo Miss Kill have shared their latest single ‘All You Gotta Do’. Taken from their upcoming debut EP, Don’t Tell Me Twice, which is set for release on 16th September via AWAL, the track seethes with a heavy sense of angst.

Formed of sisters Alannah and Felicity Jackson, Miss Kill are inspired by the sounds of Hole, Placebo, Nirvana and The Vines. The pair have supported GIHE favourites ARXX, Mannequin Death Squad and Grandmas House on tour, as well as playing shows with the likes of Krooked Tongue, Millie Manders and the Shutup, The Courettes, Giant Sky and Hands Off Gretel. Together, the duo blend the best elements of grunge and garage rock to create their urgent, melodic sounds, with latest single ‘All You Gotta Do’ being a bold combination of both.

Described as a song about “feeling completely intoxicated, vulnerable and needing someone to to care, but they are refusing to,” ‘All You Gotta Do’ is full of bittersweet vocals and heavy reverb, reflecting the clouded head space that inspired it. From the track’s snaking opening riff to the swirling, crashing chorus, it feels like an exasperated plea for help when you’re struggling to see through the murky waters of inebriety.

A collection of tracks that the band say are an “ode to raw feelings and insecurities,” Miss Kill’s upcoming EP, Don’t Tell Me Twice, looks set to be a candid exploration of the fragmented thoughts that formed it.

Listen to ‘All You Gotta Do’ below.

Follow Miss Kill on bandcamp, Spotify, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@kcbobcut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

EP: Beckie Margaret – ‘CIAGA Vol.1’

An unassuming, poetic collection of songs that ruminate on the shifting nature of love, Essex-based songwriter Beckie Margaret’s latest EP CIAGA Vol.1 is a carefully crafted and deeply affecting listen. Released via Cool Thing Records, the EP (the first of three which are set to be released over the next 9 months) beautifully showcases a young woman learning how to fully express her feelings, and not shying away from the pain or frustration that often accompanies this process.

Through her emotive lyrics, distinctive vocals and tender, melodic guitar sounds, Beckie gently exposes her most intimate and passionate thoughts across the record, learning to trust her instincts when it comes to romantic infatuation. “This EP is cut down to the bone of my writing roots,” she explains about CIAGA Vol.1. “I wanted to reintroduce myself to the world with songs that feel like diary entries to me.”

This reintroduction begins with ‘Untitled’, which explores the feeling of not knowing where you stand with someone. The track’s opening lines bring the rawness of this emotional imbalance to life: “I just wanna know where your head’s been running to all week / I wanna hear what you said to the boys about me.” She offsets these unsettling thoughts with her confessional chorus: “I don’t need someone to complete me / and I don’t need a hand to guide me / but your fingers tracing down my body / are all I’ve ever really wanted.” Despite a natural yearning for true intimacy, she gently nudges listeners towards accepting that it’s better to be happy in your own company, than spend time with someone who doesn’t reciprocate your affection.

Beckie’s effortless, intuitive vocal is the lifeblood of CIAGA Vol.1, and something which truly shines on ‘Woman’. This coming-of-age tale is laced with lilting, atmospheric guitar strokes that resonate long after repeated listens. ‘August Nights’ flows in a similar vein, with the added sound of rainfall gently evoking the lonely atmosphere that inspired the track’s conception. Both songs shimmer with a palpable sense of urgency.

Whilst Beckie cites Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief and Lana Del Rey as musical inspirations, there’s something Jeff Buckley-like in the guitar tones of closing track ‘Come Down’. “My skin doesn’t fit me” she admits, musing about the lows that follow the overwhelming highs of infatuation. As with all of the songs on CIAGA Vol.1, there’s a hard won emotional resilience underpinning the sentiments in Beckie’s lyrics; ambiguous enough to appeal to everyone, but heartfelt enough to cut through to the right listener.

A gifted songwriter with an achingly pure sound, Beckie Margaret’s CIAGA Vol.1 is a return to form for the Essex-based musician. Nothing feels forced, and there’s an impressive emotional maturity permeating all of the songs on the record. We can’t wait to hear what Vol.2 sounds like.

Listen to CIAGA.Vol.1 here

Follow Beckie Margaret on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter

Photo Credit: Beckie Margaret

Kate Crudgington
@kcbobcut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

ALBUM: THICK – ‘Happy Now’

Raging against the patriarchy by writing about their experiences of being women in what used to feel like a doomed music scene, Brooklyn-based pop punks THICK have forged their own path on their latest album, Happy Now. Filled with thrashy instrumentals and anthemic crowd-pleasers, the band – formed in 2014 and comprised of Nikki Sisti (guitar/vocals), Kate Black (bass/vocals) and Shari Page (drums/vocals) – embrace and further their potential throughout their most recent effort.

Upbeat guitars and energetic vocals characterise this concise yet assertive album, which tackles lighter topics compared to their previous record, 5 Years Behind (2020). The first single from the release, ‘Loser’, is a standout. The trio’s vocals are the defining feature of the song, particularly the fade between the solo yelling verses and the group harmonies in the chorus. Their trademark agro-punk overlaid with emotional honesty is blatant here. The single reclaims the term loser: “In music, it’s so easy to feel like a loser and a f*ck up”, comments drummer and vocalist Page. “We want people to know that it’s okay to mess up and that everyone’s a loser sometimes. It’s really the best way to live”. Page’s sentiment is embodied by the track’s lyrical wit: “I love when people tell me I should quit.”

Hints of the band’s early influences have always lent themselves to their releases. The vibrant introduction to ‘Her Chapstick’ wouldn’t feel out of place on a blink-182 record, while several other tracks feel riot grrrl-infused, especially the Le Tigre-esque ‘I Wish 2016 Never Happened’ and the Sleater-Kinney inspired ‘Your Garden’. The latter is a fast-paced song and the crux of the album, compounding the best of the swirling vocal rounds and roaring guitars that the remaining body of the tracks are dominated by.

‘Happiness’ is the perfect opener. The track is rapid in pace, complete with punk rant choruses and melodic collective verses. ‘Tell Myself’ expresses the group’s musical muscle in a slightly more stripped back way. End track, ‘Something Went Wrong’ is another highlight. Its well-paced bass riff is a moment of shine, which shows THICK are as strong instrumentally as they are lyrically. This finale is buoyant, leaving listeners on an upbeat note.

Ultimately, THICK’s sophomore effort is packed with moments of promise. It expresses viable growth from their debut, feeling less like a laundry list of things they’re exasperated at and more like a cohesive story, all without abandoning the perfect blend of guitar solos and layered vocals the group are celebrated for.

Follow THICK on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Jessica Gurewitz

Sarah Bennett
@sarah_benn3tt (Twitter)
@zasbennett (Instagram)

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

ALBUM: Real Big Sky – ‘Real Big Sky’

Blending together reverb drenched riffs, enigmatic vocals and shiver-inducing cymbal smashes to create their blissful melodic noise, Real Big Sky’s self-titled debut album is an immersive, swirling collection of heavy guitar tunes that brood with quiet intensity.

Beginning as a form of distraction during the Covid-19 lockdowns for multi-instrumentalist Sara Kleppe (You Break, You Buy, Gold Baby), Real Big Sky was initially a solo project which she worked on in her bedroom in Hackney. Kleppe relocated back to her native Sweden in 2021, but with the help of friend and long-term collaborator Luca Romano – who also played drums and was on recording, mixing and production duties for the record – she has developed Real Big Sky’s sound to its fullest and most fluid yet.

“Changing dynamics throughout a song is something I try to give a lot of attention to, as well as trying to break free from the standard song structure,” Kleppe explains about the process of writing the songs for the album. It’s clear from the searching, yearning nature of opener ‘The Same Thing’ that she has a natural instinct for shifts in volume and mood, and this skill permeates Real Big Sky’s album.

Preferring not to be too prescriptive about her lyrics, Kleppe’s elusive vocals float gently over her expansive riffs, her ambiguous words adding to the record’s overall enigmatic quality. She transcends feelings of isolation that underscore tracks like ‘Long Lost’ and ‘Another Day’ in different ways; the first soothes like a heavy lullaby whilst the latter swells with anticipation.

She perceives introspection in a similar vein too. Whilst ‘Jess’ feels like a darker, moodier offering, gentler tracks like ‘Where Is Your Mind?’ ache with sincerity, the rich guitar sounds complimenting Kleppe’s understated pining for answers. A magnetic undercurrent flows through the shimmering tones of ‘Lightness’, the fullness of ‘The Deepest Currents’ and the urgent, epic concluding track ‘The End’, which clocks in at just under 7 minutes. It encapsulates all that Real Big Sky have to offer, equally as impressive in its quiet moments as it is in its intense, murky outro.

Kleppe was hesitant to release her predominantly solo work as Real Big Sky into the world, but this hesitancy is definitely misplaced. Together with Luca Romano, she has crafted a captivating record that raptures the senses, and much like the time period it was created in, is a blissful distraction from life’s more overwhelming moments.

Listen to Real Big Sky’s debut album here.

Follow Real Big Sky on bandcamp, Spotify, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Johanna Kleppe

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment