Track Of The Day: Flamango Bay – ‘LA’

Deciding to play music together whilst at high school in San Francisco, Ikaika Gunderson, Dash Goss Post, and Georgia Manou – aka Flamango Bay – have now announced their debut EP, set for release this May.

Taken from the EP, new single ‘LA’ is propelled by sunny, jangling melodies as it oozes a shimmering allure that ripples alongside smooth, crystalline vocals. Offering a twinkling sense of optimism tinged with the realisation that romantic ideals don’t always live up to one’s expectations, it’s a dreamy slice of indie-pop that glistens with an irresistible, effervescent charm. An instant ear-worm that leaves me longing to hear more of Flamango Bay’s radiant energy and lilting musicality.

Of the track, the band explain:

“Because of life circumstances and the pandemic, we really romanticized moving to LA… We put a lot of expectations on the city to fix our internal problems. However, when we actually moved there, we were still the same people with the same problems.”

Directed by Desmond O’shea and made over 2 days and over 14 hours of driving, ‘LA’ is accompanied by a new video. Watch now:

The Fool, the upcoming debut EP from Flamango Bay, is set for release on 13th May via 0800-Moshi-Moshi.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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ALBUM: Helen Love – ‘This Is My World’

After spending thirty years hidden behind a pair of shades, Welsh indie-pop legends Helen Love have released their most personal album to date. The band’s tenth LP, This Is My World is a reflective, intimate record that explores ageing, loss and front-person Helen Love’s childhood – a departure from their typically joyous odes to punkers and disco dollies.

Full disclosure: I’ve been obsessed with Helen Love for over half my life, so it feels pretty revelatory to hear such personal lyrics. ‘Seaside Town’ is a wistful take on life in a small town, while ‘Clearing Out Mum’s House’ deals with grief and the memories wrapped up in a place. 

This isn’t just Helen Love’s most open album, but it’s their most accessible too. The dizzying, “happy hardcore” beats they’re known for are turned down in favour of a punkier, more melodic and guitar-led sound. Songs like ‘Go-Kart’ are simple and stripped right down, so you can really focus on the vocal and lyrics. That said, the band prove they can still get the party started with the closing title track ‘This Is My World’ – a Pet Shop Boys-esque banger that really shines, combining an infectious ’80s-inspired groove with a poignant, introspective lyricism.

As Helen explains, “Getting older, life changes. Children grow up and leave home, loved ones pass away, friends move on. It’s easier to look back and harder to push forward…it’s not all bubblegum punk rock disco around my house anymore, but in truth, of course, it never was…”

By inviting the listener into their world with this punk-driven, powerful record, Helen Love are at their most relevant and relatable here. A fitting album for the post-lockdown era, it’s reassuring to know that even Ms Love’s life isn’t all Casio keyboards and confetti canons.


This Is My World, the upcoming album from Helen Love, is set for release on 28th January via Alcopop! Records.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

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Track Of The Day: Peaness – ‘What’s The Use?’

Originally planned for release in summer 2020, ‘What’s The Use?‘ is the latest single from Chester trio Peaness, taken from their debut album due out in 2022.

It drops in bright and makes its statement immediately: What’s the use? Throughout, the track is upbeat and fun, with bouncy strings, a fast beat and cheery-sounding vocals. It’s an addictive and absorbing sound that is impossible not to bop along with.

The lyrics, on the other hand, do not share the same sense of limitless joy. Instead, they go into quite a bit of detail about how it feels to be thoroughly depressed. The song acutely describes the feeling of a sigh that carries the weight of the world in it. The refrain “Can I just stay in bed?” repeats and repeats until you can’t escape the utter lack of motivation to get up and engage with the world. Finally, the eponymous “what’s the use?” carries the overwhelming feeling of all the inescapable pressure that won’t leave you be, even when you do manage to drag yourself out of bed.

I absolutely adore the juxtaposition of the two massively contrasting styles between the music and the lyrics, it’s so delightfully nihilistic. It encapsulates a relatable sense of freedom that comes with accepting that, actually yeah, things are pointless sometimes.

The song has been released alongside a video compiled of phone footage of various shenanigans shot on the band’s previous tours. It matches the music in terms of its fast pacing and general sense of joy, and adds another layer of complexity to the content. You see the band on their adventures, in nice restaurants, at landmarks, at funfairs, playing gigs, practicing, stroking their pets. It feels like an immensely powerful comment about what depression can look like, about how you can seem like you’re living your best life while all your lowest feelings are still very much present.

You can feel how the past eighteen months have shaped the song. Even without the context of the pandemic, the full piece feels incredibly meaningful. When you add in the global trauma we all share right now, it becomes all the more powerful, as the clips and music become happy memories experienced from that all-consuming bed in the lyrics.

‘What’s The Use?’ is a brilliantly constructed song and so, so catchy. The 2022 album can’t come soon enough.

‘What’s The Use?’ is out now via the band’s own label, Totally Snick Records. Catch them live at their biggest ever London headline show at Oslo on 18th November. Tickets here.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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Track Of The Day: Lily Konigsberg – ‘Sweat Forever’

‘Sweat Forever’, the latest single from Brooklyn born and based Lily Konigsberg, is beautiful, shimmering electronic pop. Konigsberg’s intimate vocals are buoyed by a gentle, jangly ’90s guitar, somewhat reminiscent of a Dawson’s Creek soundtrack (in the very best way!), and the sweetest melodies, which make this something really special.

Konigsberg said she wrote ‘Sweat Forever’ as she navigated the break-up of a long-term relationship and some big transitions in her life. But, while it’s bittersweet, there is so much lightness too. She said: “It’s mostly about the bad part of going through a huge change in your life and the confusion surrounding that. But now I’m in the good part, so there’s something to celebrate. Sweat on brother!“

It’s proper pop music – nostalgic and polished, which isn’t necessarily something you’d expect given Konigberg’s earlier, more guitar-based singles or their work with self-proclaimed “New York’s weirdest” post-punk trio, Palberta. However, it’s testament to the sheer range of her talents. I’m looking forward to hearing more of them on her forthcoming debut album, Lily We Need To Talk Now, which is due at the end of the month.

Lily Konigsberg’s debut album, Lily We Need To Talk Now, will be released on Wharf Cat Records on 29th October. It is available to pre-order here.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

Photo Credit: Felix Walworth

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