Jay Mitra – Get In Her Ears

LISTEN: Bleach Lab – ‘Real Thing’

Fusing hope and hesitation with heart-wrenching ease, Bleach Lab’s latest single ‘Real Thing’ is a dream-pop delight. Following on from their debut EP A Calm Sense of Surrounding, the South-London based indie group’s latest track shows Bleach Lab at what they do best: endearing, emotional indie with a hint of electronica.

Like candy that can kill, there’s a sweet sadness to ‘Real Thing.’ “It’s about wanting to find a more meaningful and lasting connection with someone,” explains vocalist Jenna Kyle. “I had been processing a lot of issues over the last couple of years to do with previous relationships and personal development, and I had finally reached a place where I felt I was in the right state of mind to be open to looking for something new.”

Saturated with the shoegazy sounds like Slowdive and Mazzy Star, it’s no surprise that the single was produced by alt-rock genius Stephen Street, who has produced tracks from The Smiths, Blur and The Cranberries in the past. The song’s acoustic guitars, soft electronic drumbeats and reverb depict the rectifying promise of budding romances. Kyle envelops her lyrics with longing as delicately as silk sits on skin: “I really wanna see you again / I wanna be more than friends,” which seems more like a prayer than a refrain.

Tender, touching and tactful, the new track emulates the melancholy melodies of Heaven or Las Vegas. If you find the slightly soul-crushing sounds of the Cocteau Twins comforting, Bleach Lab is the band for you.

Listen to ‘Real Thing’ below.

Follow Bleach Lab on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Jay Mitra
@punkofcolour

August 3, 2021

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LISTEN: Novaa – ‘Audre’

Unsettling yet somehow sensual, Novaa‘s single ‘Audre’ is a poignant tale of oppression, fatigue and the silencing of black voices. Lifted from her recent album She’s A Rose, the Berlin-based indie singer-songwriter pays homage to American feminist poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde on her latest track.

Layering placid vocals with lush electronic beats, the rigid strumming of a muted guitar and the serenity of softly played wind instruments, ‘Audre’ is pure poetry. There is something Black Swan-esque about the music video. With a stripped back, grayscale aesthetic and simple, yet jittery dancing movements, Novaa expresses the heavy emotions of the song visually as well as sonically. Like stars, the rhymes stud the underlying darkness of the track with light.

When she sings “It is heavy / to carry these shackles,” Novaa shines a spotlight on the mental and physical exhaustion that comes with fighting an oppressor. The past few years have been somewhat traumatising for many minorities – the Black community in particular – and with the constant bombardment of horrific hate crimes and police brutality on our timelines, it is understandable if people feel beat.

Vaulting off from Audre Lorde’s political message that caring for oneself in troubling times is a radical act of self-preservation, Novaa’s new track powerfully illuminates the painful foundations of activism and reminds us that our fight for equality is far from over.

Follow Novaa on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Rebecca Kraemer

Jay Mitra
@punkofcolour

July 14, 2021July 14, 2021

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EP: Tokky Horror – ‘I Found The Answers and Now I Want More’

If you love The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’, Tokky Horror’s latest EP I Found the Answers and Now I Want More is the exhilarating debut you need to hear. Hailing from Liverpool, London and Manchester, the virtual hardcore collective made up of Zee Davine, Ava Akira and Mollie Rush layer growling guitars with EDM. The result? A cyber goth masterpiece that hits you as hard as MDMA.

Kicking wormholes through genres, the queercore group mix rave and rock to produce a record that emulates the same intense and futuristic energy of The Matrix. This is the kind of special EP you need to listen to through both earphones to fully appreciate.

Dragging us into a new dimension is the brazen, pulse-racing opening track ‘Girlracer’, which launches listeners into punk-infused drum and bass. Lyrically tearing apart the pop culture bond between masculinity and fast cars, the song revs its engine angrily at the expulsion of women from hyper-masculine spaces, which Davine notes often includes “dance culture itself.”

The beats on ‘Simulate Me’ pulse at levels that could match a Love Honey vibrator. Laced with laser synth sounds and erotic imperatives like “touch me / love me”, the song frankly takes on the topic of virtual love and dating, particularly fitting for the pandemic restriction era we are living in. Next up is ‘Godliness’, which stands out against the others and offers a slightly mellower take on electronic rock. As Davine says, “I think we show our more expansive side on ‘Godliness’…it’s us letting our guard down a bit for something more genuine.”

With croaking, shrieking vocals and distorted heavy guitar sounds, ‘Eden on Acid’ is probably the most punk-sounding song of the EP (and my favourite track too.) It’s only one and half minutes long, yet has an edge and intensity to it that reminds me of the intro of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Only Shallow’. Finishing with ‘Sleeper’, Tokky Horror strips the opening riff from The Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’ and creates an exhilarating build-up to a hypnotic refrain. A strong end to an EP that shows off the trio’s instrumental momentum and individuality.

Listen to Tokky Horror’s new EP, released via Alcopop! Records, here.

Follow Tokky Horror on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Jay Mitra
@punkofcolour

June 8, 2021

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LISTEN: CHANG – ‘Tinderella’

Like blisters from a glass slipper, CHANG’s latest release epitomises the frustration we might feel when walking home from an abysmal date. A modern, grisly take to fairy tale romances, ‘Tinderella’ radiates a headbanging heat that would set a mosh-pit alight. Though catchy, its muddled, almost confused narration and sections of random noise are heavy haphazardness at its finest. Fuelled by drummer Jeff “The Jingle” Ingle’s feverish energy, this song angrily launches us into a regimented beat that is simultaneously crashing and catchy.

Though singer Alexandra “Geez” Amargianitakis’s pacing of the vocals in ‘Tinderella’ is reminiscent of Poly Styrene’s in ‘I am a Poseur’, her grungy tone pushes the band into the 90s Riot Grrrl arena, with her Courtney Love-esque crooning veiled in the vigour. Laced with allusions to Snow White with lyrics like “mirror mirror” and “who is the fairest of them all?”, the song reflects a world in which dating is doomed with debauchery. It’s when the song slows that we really get to see the lustre of some of the lyrics though. Alexandra’s sultry singing is juxtaposed with vividly grotesque imagery like “I’m a deep-fried slug / slithering deep back down to the earth.”

With various pace changes, it’s clear that ‘Tinderella isn’t mindless chaos but has pockets of deliberate, carefully constructed aptitude. Despite having garnered the attention of BBC Radio 6 Music and Radio X, it’s early days for CHANG. But one thing is for sure, there will be several monstrous melodies to come.