Track Of The Day: Hatchie – ‘Quicksand’

Upon announcing the release of her new album coming up in April, Australian dream-pop artist, Harriette Pilbeam – aka Hatchie – has now shared lead single, ‘Quicksand’.

As Giving The World Away serves as Hatchie’s second full-length album, ‘Quicksand’ highlights an enrichment in Hatchie’s already catchy and infectious writing. Diving in head first, it deals with the realisation that, as people, we may never be satisfied. Lyrically, Hatchie catches herself in a cycle of ungratefulness and guilt surrounding elements of her life that are on paper, seemingly going quite well. As her realisations begin to pile up, it is natural to relate to the quickness of dissatisfaction as it discolours other areas of our minds with a broad paint brush. Of the track, Pilbeam explains:

“I was feeling guilty and ungrateful for not being happy about a few different things in my life that were technically going well. I had to work through some tough learned thought processes and emotions that had been working away for years to try to understand how to be happy with my present, and stop fixating on my past and future. The video digs deeper into showing this juxtaposition of such sadness and anger despite being surrounded by glamour and grandeur.”

Creating a soundscape that is bold yet tasteful, luscious synth pads and electronic drums pack a punch with a silkily smooth allure, while ‘Quicksand’ flows at just the right speed. Fusing together the inward emotions of classic shoegaze with the sparkling sophistication of modern dream-pop, ‘Quicksand’ feels crystal clear both lyrically and sonically, whilst bathing the ears in a sea of Hatchie’s smooth vocals and reverberated instruments.

All that Hatchie touches becomes utterly euphoric and ‘Quicksand’ is no exception.

Written with GRAMMY-nominated Olivia Rodrigo collaborator Dan Nigro, ‘Quicksand’ is out now. Watch the visuals shimmer to the blissful sounds in the glamorous Nathan Castiel-directed new video here:

Giving The World Away, the upcoming new album from Hatchie, is set for release on 22nd April via Secretly Canadian. Pre-order here.

Jill Goyeau
@jillybxxn

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LISTEN: Fe Salomon – ‘Super Human’ and ‘Wired On Caffeine’

A rousing alt-pop tune that shimmers with self-belief, songwriter Fe Salomon has shared her latest single ‘Super Human’. Co-written with composer and long-term collaborator Johnny Parry, the track embraces the binary opposites of the human condition via playful beats, jazzy arrangements and Salomon’s smooth vocals.

Taken form her debut album Living Rooms, which is set for release later this year, Salomon has channelled her love of performing and her eclectic range of influences into her new records, which aims to tell the stories of “multiple lives lived and lost in the city, of friendships that meant everything and the characters you’ll never meet again, of transience and loneliness, and of getting by and moving on.”

‘Super Human’ is the first offering from her new material, and it’s an exploration of the power of the alter ego. “‘Super Human’ originated with dancing around with some upper body shimmy moves,” Salomon explains, “then a chunky brass section, dirty synth and disjunctive rhythms, all inspired by a number 70’s and 80’s movie soundtracks.” Accompanied by a cinematic video directed by Fraser Taylor, the visuals show Salomon performing the shimmy shakes that inspired the track’s conception.

The single is also accompanied by a bonus track ‘Wired On Caffeine‘ which showcases Salomon’s shadowy alt-pop side. Stepping into the shoes of an artist sacked from a job before it even began, Salomon remarks: “The chaos became very still and the seed of a new journey popped out its first green shoots of hope. Finding yourself is sometimes just a question of optics. ‘Wired on Caffeine’ is what happened when I looked through that lens.”

Watch the video for ‘Super Human’ below and listen to ‘Wired On Caffeine’ here.

 

Follow Fe Salomon on bandcamp, Spotify, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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PREMIERE: Cosmic Ninja – ‘Lies’

Formed in 2016, and with acclaim from the likes of Kerrang! Radio and Tom Robinson at BBC 6Music, Cosmic Ninja have now announced the release of a new EP. Formed of Tamsin Cullum, Jonny Angelini, Robin De Wandelear and Danny Watts, the Bristol band pride themselves on their riotous, queer punk energy, and have previously wowed crowds at events such as Glastonbury Calling, Unite Against Hate and BBC 6Music Fringe Festival.

Taken from the upcoming EP, new single ‘Lies’ fizzes with a gritty, relentless energy. A politically-charged, raging statement of intent against the corrupt Capitalist society in which we live, it builds with a seething power to a sizzling, angst-driven climax. Fusing together the vocals of Tamsin Cullum and Jonny Angelini, alongside immense whirring hooks and frenzied beats, with a racing sense of urgency, it offers an explosive call to arms that’ll leave you – fists-clenched – ready to take on the world with more of Cosmic Ninja’s fierce, electro-punk anthems.

Of the track, the band explain:

“‘Lies’ is about the dishonesty and corruption rife in UK politics. The endless lies and lack of integrity has reached an extreme level… Politics has lost sight of trying to make a better place for everyone and, instead, those with influence climb to the top and pull up the ladder by any means necessary… In most lines of work, you would be held accountable for lies, but, for politicians, it seems acceptable practice… This song is about calling out those lies, seeing through the misconception and positively challenging those walking blindly through corruption.”

Listen to ‘Lies’, for the first time, here:

Dissident Transmission, the upcoming new EP from Cosmic Ninja, is set for release on 8th April.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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INTRODUCING INTERVIEW: Onyda

Inspired by the vast concrete surroundings of their hometown of Stoke, Onyda aka Shae Rhiannon creates enticing, jaded alt-pop tunes about their life experiences. Described as a “dystopian cowboy clad in jewel-hued velvet,” Onyda filters their thoughts on the human condition through the lens of film, music, fashion and art. We caught up with Onyda to talk about their recent release ‘Like A Dog’ and their upcoming single ‘Mediocre’, which is set for release on 26th January…

Hello Onyda, can you remember who or what first inspired to first start making your own music?

I was about 14, I lived pretty much in the middle of nowhere when I started writing music, on the edge of Stoke, I had a lot of time, no-one to spend it with, a lot to say and no-one to listen. There was no real influence as to why I started apart from being a musical theatre kid, I knew from an early age I liked to perform but it was just kind of a natural development of my own to write songs, my mental health was pretty bad too so it was in part a coping strategy I think. All I could play when I started writing was the ukulele, it just kind of grew from there.

Talk to me about your 2021 single ‘Like a Dog’. What inspired you to write it and what inspired the accompanying video?

‘Like a Dog’ comes from a place of depression and a feeling of entrapment for your situation, but all the while still acknowledging your power. Fake it till you make it and know one day you’ll get out of whatever that means for you. I was really inspired by Al Stewarts ‘Year Of The Cat’ whilst writing ‘Like a Dog’, hence the lyric “It’s the year of the dog baby” in the opening line to the chorus. I really wanted to tip my hat to him. “She comes out of the sun in a silk dress / running like a watercolour in the rain” is one of my favourite lyrics of all time, he’s a great storyteller. The video was inspired by my love of this cult-like idea of utopia, unsubscribing from society and running off to the woods.

You have a new single coming out on 26th January. Tell me about it…

The next single is titled ‘Mediocre’, it’s about being the messy imperfect creatures we are, celebrating that and actually welcoming that into my life. Whether its about having the perfect body, car, the pressure of being “successful,” I just get tired of it all. Social media has created a monster in the way we perceive ourselves and the way things should be for us, we’re all flawed and that’s great, I find that really liberating.

You’re also releasing an EP this year, what can you tell us about that?

The EP contains 5 tracks in total, each one a time capsule of my life as a young person, reflecting on something in my life from the very recent past. I had the absolute pleasure of working with Ben Hillier (producer and co writer) to create beautiful soundscapes and help me to weave the story together. I’m so proud of what we achieved and can’t wait to share it.

That’s exciting. It’s been a rough few years for musicians due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. How have you coped and stayed focused?

I kind of feel bad saying this for all the damage Covid has done but the past two years, but for me as an artist have actually been the best in my life (minus the live aspect obviously). I love the quiet and the world just stopped. I had no distractions, I was so focused and felt more creative than ever. The whole of the EP was written during the start of the first lockdown. Don’t get me wrong, I had some tough times too but creatively it was great for me.

What else does 2022 hold for you?

I am so excited for 2022. So much music to come and me and my band can finally start to get some live dates in the diary. I can’t wait to share it all, we’ve been working so hard.

Any new bands or artists that you’ve been listening to that you’d like to recommend we check out?

I’ve been absolutely slamming Fleet Foxes recent album A Very Lonely Solstice, along with my usual old time classics: Scott Walker, Lee Hazlewood, Jackie Wilson etc. I have a playlist titled ‘Onyda’s Feel Good Melancholy’ on my Spotify where you can find everything I’m listening to at the moment.

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

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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