Track Of The Day: ECKOES – ‘The Light’

Having performed at the likes of Glastonbury and All Points East, and now signed to Goldie MBE’s new record label, London based artist ECKOES has now shared her latest single ‘The Light’

‘The Light’ is a delight in contradiction – crunchy and aggressive 8-bit style drum beats break against ECKOES’s smooth, fragile voice. Strobing synths and twinkling guitars lull you into a state of hypnosis only to be interrupted by a crashing cacophony, bringing to mind spaceships dropping from the sky in the classic video game Space Invaders. This is what it feels like to have your life fall apart. “I wrote this at a time when my life as I knew it had imploded…” says ECKOES of ‘The Light’; her constant refrain, “I wait”, evokes that feeling of not knowing where to go, waiting for a sign from the heavens, in this truly captivating soundscape. 

The single’s accompanying video is set on the edge of the world whilst dancer and choreographer Liza Van Der Smissen moves through ‘The Light’ in a beautifully choreographed contemporary dance piece as ECKOES, dressed in black veils, stands stoically as a haunting figure in the background. 

‘The Light’ is available to stream now on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music. 

Aisha Kasmir
@aisha_vocal

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EP: Why Bonnie – ‘Voice Box’

Releasing music during a pandemic creates something of a paradox – sure, people are starved for entertainment, and perfectly primed to listen to music on a stream, but launch gigs are cancelled and record shops are closed. Sympathy has to go out to Get in Her Ears faves Why Bonnie then, who’ve just signed to Fat Possum and who have just released their new EP, with a now cancelled show in New York previously part of their plans. That being said, if you absolutely have to stay indoors – or, in a garden, at best – across a sunny Easter weekend, you could do worse than have Voice Box on repeat.

Opener ‘Bury Me’ leads with an acoustic strum into mid-tempo, ’90s tinged, dream pop that’s got a Mazzy Star vocal scattered over a Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Pavement backing. That acoustic flavour is continued in later track ‘Jetplane’, but there it’s also drenched with synths. Closer ‘No Caves’, meanwhile, is four-to-the-floor indie-rock until its guitar spirals and noodles flare into garage.

Previous single, ‘Athlete’ is a standout here, not least as it sits right in the middle of the track listing and opens with a highly inappropriate cough, right in the listener’s direction. Suitably, it’s a lot gruffer than the rest of the EP, with its itchy violins, emerging into an alt-rock stomper.

But it’s the title track that shines most here. An epic five minutes, with a chorus that’s really a middle eight, acting like a breaking off from the early uncertainty of a synth-infused hazy landscape into something with more urgency, replete with a closing guitar outro shimmer. As an introduction to the band, the tune is perfect – and that’s without mentioning the perfume infomercial style video, which the band describe as a “Carpenters-inspired dream world”.  All in all, title-track ‘Voice Box’ is the closest the EP comes to the sound of dream-pop royalty, a la Cocteau Twins – and there’s no higher praise.

Of the EP, and its title, lead singer Blair explains: “It encapsulates a disconnect between my inner and outer world, and not being able to express myself authentically because of that. But, ultimately knowing I will crash and burn if I don’t.”

Given the recent days of self-isolation, and those still ahead of us, perhaps that gap between our inner and outer worlds has become more physical than psychic – but the frustration, the need for communication and contact, and the desire for expression are just the same.  With its waves of light mirroring those of the blossoming spring weather, perhaps Why Bonnie have inadvertently made the perfect music for spending time indoors.

Voice Box is out now via Fat Possum Records.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

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Track Of The Day: Gulls – ‘SHAME SHAME SHAME’

Following the punk rock energy of last single ‘Shop’, Brighton trio Gulls have now shared another infectious, raging banger.

Propelled by thrashing beats and a driving, riotous force, ‘SHAME SHAME SHAME’ could not have come to our ears at a better time. A spot on social commentary, rallying against Fascists and the insidious alt-right, it oozes a frenzied impassioned energy that we need now more than ever, asserting that we will not tolerate intolerance.

With the seething power of Rhi Kavok’s gritty lyricism backed by frenzied riffs and the soaring backing vocals of Boe Higgs, it’s a perfect slice of angst-driven punk; a truly necessary listen right now. A time when we all need to find comfort in rage – a time when we need to come together through music and unite against the increasingly scary people who seem to be in positions of power.

Watch the new video for ‘SHAME SHAME SHAME’ now:

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Rookes Launches New YouTube Series #PopNotPop

Pop music is one of life’s greatest wonders — so why does it stress us out so much? That’s one of the questions singer-songwriter and GIHE fave Rookes is trying to answer in #popnotpop, a new YouTube series that explores her volatile and complex relationship with pop music.

And there’s good news if one of your hang-ups on pop is its reliance on smoke and mirrors, because Pop Not Pop also chronicles the creation of Rookes’ debut album, a no-holds-barred and winningly transparent move that’ll allow fans a glimpse of the creative process. Rookes explains: “As well as seeing me reveal my secrets as a pop artist who doesn’t in fact always love pop music, you’ll be able to watch me make a pop record in real time.”

The honesty of #popnotpop will come as no surprise to anyone who’s heard Rookes’ EPs Liminal and The Game And The River, which won fans with their lyrical directness and fearless exploration of queer-female identity. In Episode One, Rookes ponders her past relationship with pop, from initial engagement as a kid, through an off-and-on relationship through her teens, then into adult life and the realisation that for all her resistance over the years, she’s become a ‘pop’ artist herself. And a rather good one, as it turns out.

And, what better time to have a new bit of insightful and fun-filled music-related YouTube content… ?!

Check out all the #PopNotPop episodes so far below:

And if, like us, you’re a big fan of Rookes’ own shimmering alt-pop sounds, check out her recent poignant video for single ‘Liminal’ below and listen to the EP of the same name on all online platforms now.

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