Get In Her Ears Live @ Shacklewell Arms w/ Me Rex, 10.02.2023

For our first gig of 2023, we were lucky enough to host a beautiful sold out night at The Shacklewell Arms, filled with the best music, best people and best vibes. Huge massive thanks to headliners Me Rex, as well as Dream Phone and Jen Denitto for being amazing! Thanks too to Sofia on sound, and to everyone who came down to support the bands, dance the night away, and help us raise £200 for vital organisation, Gendered Intelligence.

See below for some fantastic photos of the night, courtesy of our photographer Jon Mo…

Kicking off the night, London DIY legend Jen Denitto and her band deliver a career-spanning range of scuzzy indie-pop offerings. Covering themes from narcissists to the power of friendship, it’s a wonderfully uplifting set, oozing a unifying sense of joy throughout the crowd.

Next up, Oxford duo Dream Phone (aka my new favourite band) take to the stage. An utterly unique experience, their set offers voice augmentation and synth-driven glitch-pop soundscapes, all fuelled by Jen and Hannah’s sparkling charisma and vibrant energy. With the set lasting just under 20 minutes, every single second is a truly entertaining spectacle (a highlight being a swirling rendition of Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’), and I cannot wait to see and hear more from this exciting duo.

Headliners Me Rex take to the stage amidst a sea of adoring fans, treating them to 45 blissful minutes of indie-pop goodness. Oozing a swirling emotion alongside jangling melodies and luscious harmonies, each and every song flows with the band’s stirring lyricism, glistening musicality and impassioned energy; and I can’t help but lose myself in the rich, soothing catharsis that ripples throughout. Having been a mega fan of Me Rex for a few years now, it really is an honour to have them play for us – an experience that exceeded all expectations.

Huge thanks again to the three INCREDIBLE bands who played for us on Friday – what a dream of a night! Next up, we’re at Sebright Arms on 31st March for Gold Baby’s single launch, with support from The Other Ones and Argonaut – nab tickets here!

Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles
Photos: Jon Mo / @jonmophoto

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WATCH: Emily Magpie – ‘Hotline Bling’

Having been supported by the likes of Tom Robinson on BBC 6Music and supported bands such as This Is The Kit and Let’s Eat Grandma, Bristol based Emily Magpie has been charming us with her whimsical dream-pop soundscapes for some time now, with her latest single ‘Last Train‘ receiving over 90,000 plays on Spotify. Now, with funding from Help Musicians, she is set to release a new EP this Spring.

Ahead of the EP’s release, Magpie has shared a brand new live video – her own rendition of ‘Hotline Bling‘, a unique fusion between Drake and Tame Impala. Oozing her crystalline, celestial tones and majestic ethereal splendour, she adds her own shimmering grace to the original. Flowing with a soaring, twinkling allure and soulful energy, it offers a beautifully uplifting interlude; a blissful, sunny respite to these cold February days.

Of her decision to record the track, Magpie explains:

“I’d come across an Erykah Badu cover of ‘Hotline Bling’ and it felt like such a different vibe to the original which got me thinking, I love covers that are unexpected or flip the original song. I feel like there’s a darkness and sadness to the track and lyrics – this jealous ex who’s being a bit desperate and unreasonable, but the song itself sounds like this catchy pop-bop. So we joked we should make a doom-pop cover of it and started jamming it and totally loved it, then found it could slide into Tame Impala and that was that. People always love it when we play it as a surprise at live shows.“

Watch the charming new video here:

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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New Track: Alien Chicks – ‘Cowboy’

A riotous fever dream of a song, ‘Cowboy‘ by GIHE faves (and ‘Ones To Watch‘ for 2023) Alien Chicks has themes of regret, confusion and self blame holding up its foundations. The track has a surreal feel to it that echoes the way these feelings surface in the subconscious; amorphous and jarring.

The song begins with a mellow vibe. Soft, low vocals float over music that complements them, but it’s already moving at a fast pace. The beat is quick, with a sense of tension coiled within it that hints at what awaits as the song ramps up to the chorus. The repeated “I am nervous” gets neither louder nor faster, but you can feel that tension growing within it – subtly but still noticeable, until it crashes into the discordant clash of the chorus.

The structure echoes the feelings that the song captures – regret and blame and self-doubt often creep up on you. The way they fester under the surface until it feels like they’ve been triggered by the most insignificant of misfortunes – a cut lip becoming the final broken straw that allows a broiling and chaotic eruption of emotions to burst through. The lyrics are chaotic; they take you on a bizarre journey that sucks you into the weirdness of it until, seemingly spontaneously, it makes its own unique sense. It captures that dreamlike feeling of reality being visible but not quite within reach. 

The juxtaposition of the gentler verses, versus the hectic instrumental clashes in the chorus, throws you around. The theme of intense confusion is as much baked into the tortuous lyrics as they are the cacophonous sounds.

‘Cowboy’ ends abruptly, jolting you sharply out of the journey it’s on and back to reality. It feels like you’ve lurched out of its dream, left alone to recalibrate with just threads and whispers left behind. Throughout the track, you can feel the way that a wide variety of different genres have influenced Alien Chicks’ music style; they’ve been combined in ways that jar, but with obvious intention. It’s a carefully constructed and instantly immersive song that knows exactly how it wants you to feel and nails it. A perfect example of the relentless funk-fuelled punk-rock that this unique South London trio are able to create.

‘Cowboy’ is out now via Slow Dance Records. Make sure you catch Alien Chicks live sometime soon – it’s an incredible experience! Details on their UK April tour below, and tickets for their Lexington headline show on 19th April here.

Kirstie Summers / @ActuallyKurt
Photo Credit: Lauren Cremer

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Introducing Interview: Frankie Morrow

Having released their debut EP, Blue Parrot Backpackers Hotel, in October, Scottish alt-rock band Frankie Morrow finally formed their current fully-fledged outfit last year after initially playing together and separately in various musical projects across Scotland since their teens. Since January, musicians Frankie Morrow, James Smith, Duncan Carswell, Samuel Nicholson and Neev have been playing and recording together, and have received airplay from the likes of BBC Radio 1 and Amazing Radio.

We’re big fans of Frankie Morrow’s glistening, folk-strewn sounds and heartfelt lyricism, and can’t wait to hear more from them in 2023. We had a lovely chat to find out more about the EP, what inspires them, being a woman in music and more… Have a read, and make sure you listen to the beautiful EP now!

Hi Frankie. Welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello GIHE! It’s so cool to be speaking to you, we are huge fans – we loved your night down at the Victoria in October where Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something headlined. Frankie Morrow are a Scottish, female-led 5-piece who play alt-rock for the soul. 

Are you able to tell us a bit about how and why you initially started creating music?
Well, myself and James were actually in a band together back in our hometown of Paisley when we were 14 years old! To be honest I think most of our friends came to the shows as a place to drink cider underage hahaha, but we had a rare time.  

We love your luscious, soaring folk-strewn sounds , but who would you say are your main musical influences?
We as a band have a hugely diverse range of musical influences, though I’d say some of my personal influences would be classic Americana/rock like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bob Dylan, Scottish writers such as Rab Noakes, and more contemporary bands like Big Thief and Katy J Pearson.

You recently released your debut EP, Blue Parrot Backpackers Hotel,  which is very exciting! Are you able to tell us a bit about what inspired it and the themes running throughout it?
Well, it all started where most records start – with a break up! These songs are a collection of my musings over the years; before the band got together I used to perform as a solo artist, and so I guess the impetus was really just me coming to terms with lots of the changes and upheaval that had happened in my life at the time. Blue Parrot Backpackers Hostel is my ‘Sliding Doors’ moment. Have you seen that film? The whole premise is based around Helen – who’s played by Gwyneth Paltrow – and how her life could dramatically change based on whether she catches a train or not. It got me thinking about how these tiny decisions we make in our everyday lives can have such huge impacts on us later down the line, and I found that a really interesting concept for the record.

You recently played live at the Sebright Arms – how was that? And, for those who missed it, what can fans expect from your live show?
We had an absolute blast! We were still buzzing from it the next day. Our live show and our current musical direction is actually a lot more raucous than what we have on record so far. We absolutely love playing for people – it’s our favourite thing to do, we want people to feel moved and for them to forget their worries at our shows.

The EP was produced and arranged by you, with an all-female engineer team, which is very awesome! What was the recording process like, and how did you all work together? 
It was amazing! I deliberately wanted to recruit an all-female engineering team from the get go for this debut. We recorded most of the EP between my flat and kind friends’ houses. then I sent the stems to Taylor Pollock (Platoon) to mix. Taylor was an absolute dream to work with; it was such a collaborative process from start to finish, and I’ve never met someone so dedicated to a project. Izzy McPhee was absolutely brilliant as well, and I even got to go and meet her at her studio in Bristol. It was really powerful to be part of that team.

And is there a particular live show you’ve played that stands out as a highlight?
To be honest our headline at the Sebright is probably the standout so far as it’s such an iconic venue and we’ve seen so many bands we love play there over the years. It was a real honour to headline.

How do you feel the industry is for new artists at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the last few years in its treatment of female and queer/LGBTQ+  artists? 
In some ways the industry is far more accessible than before in terms of opportunities for editorial playlisting which breaks down global barriers, and of course through social media. Though, on the flipside, labels are taking less chances on bands and there’s not much money in streaming at an emerging level. However, I do feel quite positive about it overall; I think if you focus on the making of good music supported by other marketing tools, and just try not to get to bogged down in the numbers… In terms of treatment of female and queer artists, I think things definitely have moved on, though I have unfortunately had quite a few people presume men have produced the EP or that it wasn’t me playing guitar etc – this is still something that happens regularly. A personal highlight from a recent gig: “Wow, you can actually play the guitar?!” …  If you don’t laugh, you will cry!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming artists you’re loving right now that you’d recommend we check out?
Oh absolutely! Lizzie Reid had a gorgeous EP out this year. We saw her with full band down at Paperdress Vintage towards the end of last year. Oh, and I was just introduced to NewDad who are brilliant.

Finally, what does 2023 have in store for Frankie Morrow? 
We are so excited to get back into the studio this month. The new tracks are big alt-rock bangers and we are chomping at the bit to get started.

Massive thanks to Frankie for answering our questions! Listen to Blue Parrot Backpacker’s Hostel now, and watch the charming video for single ‘Sunflowers’ below:

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