LISTEN: Kara Delik – ‘Strange Attractor’

An altruistic blend of post punk, spoken word and experimental sound, Berlin-based trio Kara Delik have shared their latest single ‘Strange Attractor’. Taken from their upcoming mini EP, Singularities 1, which the band will be self-releasing on 17th February, the track is a brooding, hypnotic exploration of the strange ways that we interact with each other as we meander through life at conflicting paces.

Formed of Baris Öner (Istanbul Ghetto Club), Andi Sommer (Henry Fonda, Afterlife Kids, Yacht Communism), and GIHE fave Eilis Frawley (Anika, Laura Lee & The Jettes, I Drew Blank), Kara Delik are three friends brought together by “coincidental kitchen encounters” and a shared enthusiasm for the Berlin DIY music scene. Inspired by everything from 70s Anatolian rock music, traditional Turkish folk, to German Krautrock and 80s punk, the band deliver their “odd timings for odd times” with gritty flair. The trio shared their debut EP, Tamam, in 2022, and now they’re preparing for another year of new music releases and live shows.

“‘Strange Attractor’ is a continuous stream of thoughts – some conscious and some unconscious – about the way in which people communicate and stumble through life,” Kara Delik comment about their latest single. “Musically you can expect to be lost in a 5 minute long dub trance.” Through a combination of Frawley’s distinctive spoken-word lyrics and percussion, and Öner and Sommer’s jagged riffs and distortion, the band grapple with clashes in communication and the strange and stunted paths we often find ourselves following (“too old to be relevant / old enough to be resented / everyone’s talking / but the conversation’s dead”).

Listen to ‘Strange Attractor’ below.

Singularities 1 will be available both online and on 7 inch vinyl.
Pre-order here

Follow Kara Delik on bandcamp, Spotify, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Toni Petraschk

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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New Track: The Early Mornings – ‘Ultra-Modern Rain’

With the first single from their sophomore EP, London-based Mancunians The Early Mornings show that they are a force to be reckoned with! An instant post-punk anthem, ‘Ultra-Modern Rain’ fizzes with big, frenetic energy and dazzles with promise. 

I love post-punk, but so many bands who play it fail to bring something new to the party. And who needs a nostalgia fest? However, ‘Ultra-Modern Rain’ feels as fresh as its name suggests. The song’s driving, angular guitar is reminiscent of the likes of Gang of Four or The Fall, but the urgency of the drums (and cowbell!) provide a deliciously modern twist.  

The song’s spiky instrumentation is complemented perfectly by front person Annie Leader’s sweet, understated vocals, which bring in a real pop sensibility too. So it’s hardly surprising that, after just a couple of listens to this banger, it becomes a total earworm. I can’t wait to hear more from this exciting, energy-oozing trio!  

Ultra-Modern Rain, the new EP from The Early Mornings, is out now via Practise Music.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

Photo Credit: Luke Keatinge

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ALBUM: M(h)aol – ‘Attachment Styles’

Since the release of their debut single ‘Laundries’ back in 2020 – a brooding reflection on the grim realities that “fallen women” faced in Ireland’s cruel Magdalene institutions – intersectional feminists M(h)aol have been building a backdrop of vital and visceral post punk sound. Taking their name from the defiant Irish historical figure Gráinne Mhaol (pronounced “male”), the band have worked hard to create space – both sonically and physically – for issues and communities that have been traditionally overlooked in male dominated music spheres.

M(h)aol carried these urgent intentions into their 2021 EP Gender Studies, a vehement rejection of outdated attitudes concerning gender, identity and equality. Now, with their debut full length record Attachment Styles – set for release via TULLE Collective on 3rd Feb – the band have crafted a searing collection of cathartic cacophonies that provide a potent antidote to toxic patriarchy.

Through scathing lyrics, thudding beats and distorted riffs, the five piece – made up of Róisín Nic Ghearailt, Constance Keane, Jamie Hyland, Zoe Greenway and Sean Nolan – have transformed their ruminations on oppressive social structures into a cutting musical manifesto. Whilst they make space for rage on Attachment Styles, there’s also room for humour and healing too. The record’s title in particular hints towards identifying and accepting our own patterns of behaviour in order to deal with an overwhelming world more effectively.

Written and recorded in a single room across seven days, the ten songs that form Attachment Styles cover everything from violent misogyny and everyday sexism (‘No-One Ever Talks To Us’) to celebrating bisexual visibility (‘Bisexual Anxiety’, ‘Nice Guys’), having sex while menstruating (‘Period Sex’) and a cherished family pet (‘Kim Is A Punk Type Dog’). Whether the band are aggressively dismantling the narratives that perpetuate victim-blaming on opener ‘Asking For It’, defying social monotony on the wry ‘Bored Of Men’, or simply being candid on the breathy, sultry ‘Period Sex’ – they do so with a tenacious spirit.

Vocalist Nic Ghearailt’s considered lyrics are one of the record’s strongest elements. Her clear intonation and impressive blend of faux-calm spoken word and scathing yells command attention for the duration of the album. From eerie piano sounds and haunting strings, to heart-thumping beats and gritty distortion, her bandmates help her instigate the pursuit of peace amidst the cruelty and chaos of the subjects they take aim at. The intense writing and recording process for Attachment Styles – and the fact that the band are all close friends too – clearly aided this impressive feat.

As with their previous EP, the songs on M(h)aol’s debut album will hit hardest when experienced live. In order to feel the unifying and defiant force that inspired the record’s conception, make sure you grab a ticket to one of M(h)aol’s upcoming tour dates below.

Follow M(h)aol on Spotify, bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram

Pre-order your copy of Attachment Styles here

M(h)aol UK Tour Dates 2023
May 19th – Newcastle – Bobiks
May 20th – Glasgow – The Hug and Pint
May 22nd – Leeds – Hyde Park Book Club
May 23rd – Manchester – YES (Pink Room)
May 25th – London – Boston Music Room
May 26th – Brighton – The Hope & Ruin

Photo Credit: Naomi Williams

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Five Favourites: Death Valley Girls

Having been big fans of LA’s Death Valley Girls for a few years now, I’m super excited to hear that they will be announcing their new album, Islands In The Sky, at the end of the month. Our second taster from the upcoming release (following 2021’s ‘It’s All Really Kind Of Amazing’) comes in the form of truly dreamy new single, ‘Sunday‘. Oozing a glistening, ethereal splendour, ‘Sunday’ offers a sweeping slice of anthemic, soul-strewn psych-rock. Building with a fizzing energy, it harks back to the psychedelic sounds of the ’70s California scene, whilst showcasing the bands’ ability to create something that is utterly unique. A beautifully immersive trip into the cosmic world of Death Valley Girls.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of the upcoming album, we caught up with Death Valley Girls’ front woman Bonnie Bloomgarden to ask about the music that has inspired her the most. So, read about her five favourite ever albums, and check out the wonderfully trippy new video for ‘Sunday’ below!

Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda
Did you know music is allowed to sound like this? And has the ability to affect your entire existence? To reframe your view of consciousness and reality. To massage your light, and your soul with in. To feed you, the you inside your body!! To take your earth body, gently lie it down, turn it off for the time being, and lead your spirit to a journey in the astral realm?? It is, it can, and with Alice Coltrane it often does! 

Otis Redding – Pain in My Heart
Wow, I could not imagine my world with out this record. I cry every time I listen to ‘These Arms of Mine’ – chills go down my spine and I remember I am alive, and it’s good ‘cause I getta feel things like this. His voice is epic, on the top ten most important voices of all time to me. It’s hard to imagine what a break up would feel like with out this record – I wouldn’t know, cause I’ve never tried!

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Without pause, even for a fraction of an instant, my all time favourite album is Black Sabbath’s first record. Up until the point I miraculously chose Black Sabbath from a stack of nearly 50 rock and roll records my cousin gave to me, I had only heard soft music. I am forever grateful to all the music I’ve heard, but I had primarily listened to what I know now to be goofy in the scope of my current taste. Like for my first ten years, I exclusively heard show tunes, Billy Joel, vocal jazz, and the Indigo Girls. Before that was all piano, orchestral, and acoustic guitar driven music. To hear electric guitar, in all its evil glory, by the God that is Tony Iommi, for the first time!! Can you imagine at ten how deviant that felt! Also, for the first time to truly understand instrumentation. Getting to know each and every single note by those master musicians! I can not imagine where I would be, or what I would think a great bass line, or guitar riff, or vocal melody, or drum part is, if not for that divine record.
Black Sabbath!! Black Sabbath!! Black Sabbath!!

Ronnie Spector – Unfinished Business
First of all, the concept of being the original bad girl of rock and roll could not have been any more exciting to me as a kid! I love Ronnie, and what she stood for, and how she stood for it – way back when, when it was practically impossible to do so. Her voice, her wickedness, her unapologetic nuances and phrasing, mixed with her immaculate harmonies… Oh my goodness. She also was considered one of the boys, and got to tour with the Stones and Beatles, what career highlights! RIP Ronnie!!

Iggy Pop – The Idiot
What an amazing story and collaboration! Only this type of decadence and decay could have been created by Bowie and Iggy trying to get clean from drugs in Berlin. We are so lucky for this type of art. Something that seems as though it could have just as easily never made it to the light of day. And yet, it did. And it is pure, raw, unadulterated fun, mixed with the suffering they must have been feeling between their realities. Very grateful for these two, and their collaborations!! 


Must add as all time greatest influences:

  1. Tina Turner 
  2. Aretha Franklin 
  3. Sister Rosetta Tharpe
  4. Lightning Hopkins

Massive thanks to Bonnie for sharing her Five Favourites (and more!) with us! Watch the new video, directed by Arturo Baston, here:

Islands In The Sky, the upcoming new album from Death Valley Girls, is set for release on 24th February via Suicide Squeeze Records – pre-order here. And catch Death Valley Girls live when they’re over in the UK later month – more info here.

Photo Credit: Neto Velasco

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