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Track Of The Day: The Shacks – ‘Wings’

Brooding bass lines and hushed vocals urge listeners to have a “good time” on ‘Wings’, the latest single from The Shacks. Released via Big Crown Records, the track is a cool, smooth sounding call for everyone to cut loose and enjoy themselves.

Fronted by Shannon Wise (vocals, bass) and Max Shrager (guitar, production), The Shacks have been busy working on their second full length record, which is set for release in winter 2021. The New York band have built up a reputation for crafting hazy, melodic, crowd-pleasing tunes on their 2018 album Haze, and new track ‘Wings’ is no exception.

Wise’s quiet, yet intense vocals float over buzzing guitar and bass, willing even the most reluctant listeners to move their feet and shuffle their troubles away. The band have crafted an understated, grooving track that makes letting go feel genuinely effortless. Listen to ‘Wings’ below, and follow The Shacks on Spotify and Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

April 21, 2020April 21, 2020

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ALBUM: Harkin – ‘Harkin’

Armed with experiences from a life of touring and collaborations, Harkin has taken her first steps towards a solo journey with her eponymous LP. The album is set for release on 24th April via Hand Mirror, a new label set up by Harkin and her partner, poet & live arts organiser, Kate Leah Hewett.

Well known for being a touring member of Sleater-Kinney, Wild Beasts, and Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett; Harkin has teamed up with Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint) and Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak & Bon Iver) to help record her debut album – but this doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s all Harkin, through and through.

Opening with the booming guitar of ‘Mist on Glass’, Harkin is off to a powerful start as bold, sharp vocals carry through from one track to the next. The swagger of ‘Nothing the Night Can’t Change’ gives way to the softer sonics of ‘Decade’, before the first highlight of the 10-track production comes in the form of thumping beats and husky vocals of ‘Up To Speed’. Next track ‘Bristling’ follows the same path, with a soundscape of drums and guitar.

At the halfway point, ‘Dial It In’ passes by, followed by interlude ‘Red Virginia Creeper’ before the undeniable stand out track of the album breaks through. The foreboding, looming and brilliant ‘Sun Stay With Me’ is the beginning of an eerie mood that travels through the remaining tracks of the album. Penultimate offering ‘New France’ is soaked in reverb-ridden sonics, and spoken word-esque delivery, vibrating with a presence that’s felt even after the last notes fade.

Harkin closes with the ringing acoustic stylings of ‘Charm and Tedium’, with a razor sharp focus on Harkin’s raw vocals. Completed over 16 days dotted between Harkin’s gruelling tour schedule, Harkin is a collection of gritty but smooth songs that showcase a unique trajectory; combining the warmth of nostalgia, with the glitchy pace of the modern world.

Pre-order your copy of Harkin’s debut album here.
Follow Harkin on Spotify and Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Tomm Roeschlein

Malvika Padin
@malvika_padin26

April 21, 2020August 3, 2020

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Track Of The Day: GodNo! – ‘Hulk’

You don’t hear the words ‘Derby supergroup’ very often – but then, most bands don’t incorporate exclamation marks in their name, either. And, if the fourpiece known as GodNo! are trying to make themselves notable with their punctuation, they’re keeping the side up, sonically, as well. Formed as a side project by members of various bands from the local scene – Cable (guitarist Peter Darrington), Grawl!x/Mighty Kids/Sex Jokes (Shelley Jane Newman, bass and vocals), Merrick’s Tusk (guitarist James Stewart), and Pet Crow (drummer Dan Barradell) – GodNo!’s origins also lie in the Reckless Yes label, co-founded by Peter, and his desire to emulate some of the bands that it supports.

Following on from ‘Unholy Water’, ‘Hulk’ is GodNo!’s second single from forthcoming EP, Too Much Future. And whereas their debut was heavy on bass and a creepy kind of post-rock, ‘Hulk’ flares out with spikey riffs and a rattle of drums. With Shelley’s vocals on lead here, there’s a delightful contrast between her voice and the backing – reminiscent of both Sonic Youth (who the band cite as an inspiration), but also more recent alt-indie such as Joanna Gruesome. Chrous-wise, it storms away, with over-driven guitar exploding over a rhythm section that flicks the power-switch as Shelley warns: “Being nice won’t save you… My strength is growing all the time”. In its middle-eight, meanwhile, she confirms: “I could be nice / This is a choice”, her voice growing ever more erratic, before a chorus reprise rounds out the song with a pleasingly off-kilter pop flourish.

Described by the band’s label as “a scream and a sigh at the patriarchy”, ‘Hulk’ shows a band with plenty of ideas and the wherewithal to put them together. They say that their songwriting and performing approach is collaborative – creating the perfect crucible for their distillation of fury in sound and meaning. The incredible GodNo!: you’ll like them when they’re angry.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

April 20, 2020April 20, 2020

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ALBUM: Gordian Stimm – ‘Your Body In On Itself’

A raw, experimental new offering, electronic artist Gordian Stimm‘s debut album Your Body In On Itself, is a vivid exploration of bodily autonomy. Released via independent Leicester-based label Amateur Pop, Stimm (aka Maeve Westall of itoldyouiwouldeatyou) has crafted six unpredictable, intriguing soundscapes that range from uplifting and melodic, to sparse and unusual.

At times reminiscent of early Passion Pit or Crystal Castles, Stimm’s record is a visceral collection of distorted, yet dance-able beats. Opener ‘Bleeding Out In a Septic Tank’ hosts six dense minutes of erratic synth textures and a blend of both mangled and clear vocals, that will either alienate or invite listeners in to their obscure vision. The edgy, disjointed beats and scratchy, soaring electronics of ‘Pia Mater (Sorry Mate)’ see Stimm extrapolating on the “retail price of emotional labour” and the fear of failure with an unexpected buoyancy.

The ominous, yet oddly uplifting ‘Miscellaneous Body Parts’ shows Stimm at their best, mixing the foreboding and the freeing together in one track. The dark, humourous images of tapeworms burrowing into spines on ‘The Very Best Of Friends’ provides a strange distraction, before the crashing beats and overlapping vocals of penultimate track ‘Song For Self Help’ disorientates listeners further. The atmospheric, kaleidoscopic sounds of ‘Synthetic Retinas’ close the record, stimulating the senses right until the last beat.

There’s an enjoyable violence underscoring Stimm’s vision, a gleeful, sometimes painful dissecting of the self and the social cues that help to construct or dismantle it. Your Body In On Itself is a bold, surreal listen from a bold, surreal artist and one we highly recommend.