WATCH: Why Bonnie – ‘Galveston’

As the days get shorter and colder, the latest single from Texas quintet Why Bonnie is a much-needed blast of sunshine. ‘Galveston’ is uplifting, grown-up guitar pop that’s busting with love and longing.

Blair Howerton’s rich, wistful vocals recall childhood visits to island city of Galveston, Texas. Backed by melancholic guitar and whirring keyboards, the song epitomises faded seaside glamour. However, while Howerton’s voice is soft and soothing, the driving energy of the drums and bass create a buoyant piece of irresistible pop.

‘Galveston’ is described by Howerton as “…a snapshot of an old childhood haunt; the capital of ghosts and good memories.” But it’s not just the lyrics and subject matter that take the listener on a nostalgia trip. The band’s sound is reminiscent of the very best fuzzy, female-fronted ’90s indie-pop. Belly and Throwing Muses fans, this is right up your street.

Directed by Grace Pendleton and capturing the track’s twinkling emotion perfectly, watch the beautiful new video for ‘Galveston’ here:


‘Galveston’ is out now on Fat Possum records.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

Photo Credit: Grace Pendleton

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LISTEN: Circe – ‘Mess With Your Head’

A glistening dark-pop tune that ruminates on the rush of emotions that come when you surrender yourself to love, London-based artist Circe has shared her latest single ‘Mess With Your Head’. Co-produced by Emre Turkmen (formerly Years & Years), the track is a dazzling blend of sultry vocals, Kate Bush inspired beats and jagged electronics, flowing in the same cinematic vein as Circe’s previous creations.

“It’s about the extremes that love pushes us to, the exquisite pain of knowing someone else controls how your heart will fair that day,” Circe explains about the context of her new song. “We are all so often the worst to the people we love the best. There’s a lyric inspired by Shakespeare -‘You gave me your heart / and I gave you a pound of flesh’ – for me the line expresses not only the possessive feelings love can cultivate, but the idea of handing over ‘flesh’ gives physical weight to the emotion of love. The visceral stages from the lightness of a body you know so well, to the heaviness of a battered heart.”

Reflecting on the false promises we make to ourselves when we’re caught in a romantic web – “I’m out of my depth and I swear / it’s the last time” – ‘Mess With Your Head’ is permeated with a deeply relatable, intensely human sense of lust and longing. The down-tempo accompanying B-side tack ‘I’m Still Not Sorry For What I Said’ extrapolates on these confessional, powerful feelings. It embraces the raw truth of a moment of desire, shrugging off the shackles of shame and urging listeners to fully explore their own romantic impulses.

Listen to ‘Mess With Your Head’ and ‘I’m Still Not Sorry For What I Said’ below.

 

Follow Circe on Spotify, bandcamp, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

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Track Of The Day: Salvation Jayne – ‘A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite’

A masterclass in marrying fuzzy rock heaviness and breathtaking vocals in perfect harmony, this latest tune from alt-rock five-piece Salvation Jayne confidently demands your attention from the very first note. 

The title track from the band’s forthcoming debut album, ‘A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite’ is wholly enthralling, pairing crisp electric riffs with heavy hits of distortion and crushing bass that swirl and stomp around your eardrums. The gritty guitars are then punctured by the band’s ferocious vocals, soaring sky-high with an impassioned call to “cut loose” from toxic individuals that only seek to control, manipulate, and drag other people down.

The band explain: “Sometimes there is constructive criticism, which is fine. Then there are also overpowering controlling opinions that are shoved down your throat when you haven’t even asked for them. People like that exhibit this behaviour tend to thrive off of manipulating people into believing only what THEY think.”

Salvation Jayne’s magical push-and-pull of instruments and vocals, added to their magnetising self-confidence, continues to ascend until the track erupts into a guaranteed mosh-pit starter of an ending, leaving us amped up and eagerly anticipating their debut album, set for release next year.

Watch the artfully choreographed new video for ‘A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite’ here:

Salvation Jayne’s debut album, also entitled A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite, is set for release on 18th February 2022.

Leonie Bellini
@teenpeachmovie

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Track Of The Day: The Klittens – ‘Canned Air’

The first single to be taken from Amsterdam’s The Klittens’ debut EP, ‘Canned Air‘ captures the band’s self-described air of “happy songs and sad sentiments” perfectly.It eases you in with light strings playing simple lines, before they layer gradually over each other and, as the song goes on, build into a rich platform for the heart and emotion in this song. The strings intertwine around each other and the vocals come in soft.

The comparatively low-energy vocal lines keep you grounded as the music beneath swells, until eventually you get to the cathartic, explosive solo. The raw energy of it screams out of every instrument, before finally winding down into a calmer, more relaxed conclusion. The lyrics are simple, but convincing – there’s power in them, coaxing you into that state of giving in, and the gentle delivery makes the invitation incredibly tempting.

That softness of the vocals, juxtaposed against the surging music underneath, captures the sensation of overwhelming emotions so beautifully. The music takes on the role of the feelings themselves, creeping in gradually until they are so loud and overwhelming that they drown out the rest of the world, taking over almost without you noticing. The lyrics, meanwhile, remain muted, as if they remain just out of reach. This combination makes for a song that encapsulates the all-consuming feeling of emotions that roar and churn beneath a quiet, introverted surface.

‘Canned Air’ is accompanied by a weird and fantastic music video. The Klittens wander around beaches and forests wearing colourful knitted balaclavas before they find a chest in the woods which contains a beating heart. It doesn’t offer an explanation as to why this is happening, but you can’t help but be drawn into their mysterious world.

With this release, The Klittens have made a statement about the kind of music they’re going to put out going forward and it promises to be unusual and enticing in a very exciting way.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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