Track Of The Day: Shari Vari – ‘Out Of Order’

Multi-talented artists and producers Shari Vari have shared their latest single ‘Out Of Order’ and it’s an alt-electronic gem. The Hamburg-based duo blend elements of techno, jazz, pop and their clear cut vocals to create a catchy three and a half minutes of electro-punk joy.

Shari Vari consists of Helena Ratka and Sophia Kennedy. Both are visual artists, producers and musicians who began working together after a joint art exhibition, releasing their debut EP Life Should Be A Holiday in 2017. The duo are currently preparing to share their debut album NOW via cult label Malka Tuti on 13th September.

Speaking about the new tracks on their upcoming record, the duo explain: “Time is ticking and the questions we have regarding time and action [are] the connecting element of the songs and tracks on the album. There is mostly a dark connotation in music and lyrics, but not without a joyful outlook, fun twists and a breeze of irony. The lyrics oscillate between film-like atmospheres, comic and dark story-telling, involving fictional characters. NOW connects the individual with the social persona, while the tracks take you on a trip from the boiler room next to our studio, to a chilly Sunday in the park. It’s more a stream of consciousness than a conceptual decision we made”.

We’re happy to join the duo on their musical journey regardless of the destinations they take us to. Watch the video for ‘Out Of Order’ below and follow Shari Vari on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

LISTEN: The Big Moon – ‘It’s Easy Then’

“‘It’s Easy Then’ is really about finding strength in strange times” explains Juliette Jackson, vocalist & lyricist for formidable indie-rock group The Big Moon. “I wanted to write a song that made me feel better. Something that captured the frustrations, but also the hope and joy all at the same time” – and that’s exactly what the band have achieved with their first piece of new music in over two years.

‘It’s Easy Then’ is a lush three minutes of escapism via grand keys and breezy vocals. It’s softer than the band’s previous singles – all lifted from their 2017 Mercury Prize nominated debut Love In The 4th Dimension – but it still retains the trademark Big Moon charm with its relatable lyrics and leftfield pop melodies. The track was recorded in Atlanta with Grammy Award winning US producer Ben H. Allen III (M.I.A, Deerhunter, Bombay Bicycle Club).

Juliette extrapolates on the single’s themes of breaking away from negativity: “We work too much, we think too much, we know too much so we all worry too much. Our anxieties are stoked every day. Music has this incredible way of helping us see with a new perspective, and ties up our feelings in a way that language by itself never could”. We couldn’t agree more. Listen to ‘It’s Easy Then’ below and follow The Big Moon on Facebook for more updates.

The Big Moon will be supporting The Pixies on their 2019 UK tour on the following dates:

13th September – Cardiff Arena
16th September – Birmingham Academy
17th September – Leeds Academy
18th September – Manchester Apollo
20th September – London Alexandra Palace
21st September – Newcastle Academy
22nd September – Glasgow Academy
23rd September – Edinburgh Usher Hall
25th September – Belfast Ulster Hall
26th September – Dublin Olympia

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

Track Of The Day: Hurtling – ‘Summer’

Set to release their debut album in October, London band Hurtling have now shared a brand new single.

Starting off with gentle, finger-picked lilting melodies and the luscious, delicate vocals of Jen Macro, ‘Summer’ soon builds with sun-drenched whirring hooks and immense beats to a fuzz-filled noisepop anthem, as Macro’s vocals reveal their true raw grit. A scuzzy dream of a track, it’s impossible not to get caught up in its sparkling, psychedelic haze, which will leave you longing for more of Hurtling’s epic sonic delights.

‘Summer’ was self-produced and recorded at One Cat Studio in Brixton. Watch the kaleidoscopic new video (directed by Jen Macro) here:

‘Summer’ is out 16th August, whilst Hurtling’s debut album – Future From Here – is out 18th October, both via Onomatopoeia Records.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Ashley Jones

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

ALBUM: Salad – ‘The Salad Way’

After an absence of almost two decades, UK alt-rockers Salad have returned to take on the world “The Salad Way” with their long-awaited new LP. From their formation in 1992, until the day they decided to disband in 1998, Salad had released two records: their 1995 debut, Drink Me, and its successor, 1997’s Ice Cream. Now, with an amended new line-up, Salad is back on the menu.

Performing acoustically as a duo from 2016 onwards under the name Salad Undressed, vocalist (and former MTV Europe veejay) Marijne van der Vlugt and guitarist/backing vocalist Paul Kennedy had an itch they needed to scratch. Enlisting the help of long-time collaborator Donald Ross Skinner to provide new beats, original bassist Pete Brown for his infectious groove, and 96-98 touring guitarist Charley Stone for her searing guitar riffs, Salad’s comeback album is a combination of quality ingredients that has resulted in a fresh, varied sound that extends beyond the usual lexicon of established Brit-pop genre conventions.

This isn’t a record to appease existing herbivores; nor is it an attempt in Brit-pop revival. I doubt Marijne or the rest of the band really give a shit. Instead, The Salad Way is thirteen tracks of relentless post-punk infused with renewed collaborative creativity. Opening with their latest single, ‘You Got The Job’, Salad re-establish themselves as purveyors of buoyant pop melodies, underpinned here by a sense of romantic insecurity. “The golden kisses of summer keep me going through winter / I store them up in my treehouse… You got the job!”

‘In The Dark’ sees Salad meets Sabbath with scuzzy guitar hooks, doom-like drum strikes, and a more relaxed tempo, before Marijne lays into Paul for rambling on during a radio interview preceding the abrasive third art-punk track, ‘Details’. “I’m sick of all your details!” Don’t worry though, guitar ballad ‘Your Face’ offers us much needed breathing space… That is until Salad begin pummelling us in said face with ‘Vadim’s Slipper’, a track that sees both Marijne and Paul writing outside of their comfort zone.

Next, Marijne goes full throttle on keyboards for ‘Merryland’, tackling the fantastical with inescapable energy. “There was a place called Merryland / I used to live there / Picked up the keys from a Killer Whale / Two eyes, no legs, big grin…” Scratchy guitar solos punctuate this disastrous tale of marine life before the band transition to the more personal ‘Welcome To My World’ – a song which touches upon Marijne’s arrival to the United Kingdom as an adolescent: “In 1978 / New language on my plate / Difficult to relate / Welcome to my world.”

Flipping over to Side B, Salad continue to surprise with ‘Don’t Expect Things Not To Be Scary’, fusing syncopated funk basslines with rhythmic guitars to create mad musical science: one-third disco anthem, and two-thirds freak dance party. A pulsating bassline dominates first single, ‘Under The Wrapping Paper’ – a post-punk opus inspired tongue-firmly-in-cheek by the music fanatics’ clothing of choice. “I worry about child labour / But I needed a t-shirt / Put it in a paper bag / You can recycle that later.”

‘The Inside Of My Head’ is an honest acceptance of weakness; a melancholic insight to the headspace of the band, whilst the remaining three tracks – ‘Wayward Thinking’, ‘Lovesick Energy’, and album closer ‘Time To Escape’  – perfectly exemplify what ‘The Salad Way’ is: a continuous stream of weird and wonderful consciousness, propelled by a rocket-powered expulsion of creative energy. But most importantly? The Salad Way is that thing called rock and roll, and the band came to fumigate your soul.

The Salad Way is out 30th August via Three Bean Records.

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

Photo Credit: Tim Topple

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment