Premiere: Tiger Mimic – ‘Everything You’ve Ever Wanted’

After a little bit of a hiatus to recoup and re-energise, John Kennedy acclaimed Tiger Mimic have returned to blast into our ears with a brand new single.

Reflecting on the worldwide challenges that women, minorities and the LGBTQ+ community have faced this year, ‘Everything You’ve Ever Wanted’ is an empowering ode to persevering through dark times. Propelled by the band’s trademark whirring scuzz and fierce, gritty energy, it showcases the rich, soaring vocals of front woman Jess as it builds with a sweeping majestic allure. Oozing a swirling impassioned splendour and haunting grace, it’s a fizzing slice of soaring alt-rock proving Tiger Mimic’s worth as creators of powerfully poignant anthems. Of the track, the band explain:

“The lyrics ask ‘Everything you’ve ever wanted, now you’ve got it, what’s the point?’, wondering aloud what drives the heartless people who work so hard to oppress, vilify, control, and harm innocent communities that just want to be allowed to live their lives. While the lyrics are grim, it’s ultimately a song about hope, how despite everything happening below, the stars go on shimmering above, lighting our way through the darkness.“

Listen, for the first time, here:

‘Everything You’ve Ever Wanted’ is set for release this Friday, 9th December.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Robert Alleyne

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Get In Her Ears Live @ Shacklewell Arms w/ Currls, 01.12.22

Following our lovely November gig at Sebright Arms with Breakup Haircut, our first December instalment of GIHE live saw us return to the Shacklewell Arms for a night filled with the best music, best people and best vibes to host Currls‘ EP launch. Massive thanks to Currls, Collars and Hypsoline, and to everyone who came down to support the bands and help us raise money for completely vital organisation, The Outside Project.

First up, Brighton’s Hypsoline kick off the night with all the fuzzy, sparkling allure you could ever desire. Having only previously heard one song of theirs (the immensely catchy ‘Space Babe’), it was a joy to witness more of their twinkling, swirling energy and scuzzy charm. Definite ones to watch!


Second band of the night, Cambridgeshire’s Collars put on an utterly unique live experience. As Kane simultaneously pummels the drums whilst blasting out whirring hooks on guitar, Dan exudes a captivating charisma as the soaring power of their vocals fills the venue, immersing everyone in the duo’s fierce, dazzling energy. New favourites for sure!


Closing the night, it’s an honour to host the London leg of Currls‘ debut EP launch – having them return to play for us after hosting their first London headline show back in November last year feels pretty special. And it seems their sweeping, empowering brand of garage rock has reached new heights since we last saw them; propelled by Han’s immense beats, and the buoyant energy of a jaunty new bassist, front woman Holly delivers her soulful vocals with an effortless grace and gritty power. As the crowd sing and bounce along to each enlivening offering (including a couple of unique takes on classics by Girls Aloud and The Bangles), Currls prove their worth as a compelling band on the rise.

Massive thanks to the three bands who played for us on Thursday and to everyone who came out to support them and us! We’re not staying away for long this time… We’ll be back next Friday 9th December at Shacklewell Arms for an epic night with Bad Sidekick, Alien Chicks and Cosmic Ninja – tickets on Dice now!

Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles
Photos: Don Blandford / @snapperchap.don

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Track Of The Day: Jen Cloher – ‘Mana Takatāpui’

How am I so late to the Jen Cloher party?! An integral part of the Melbourne indie scene that also gave us Courtney Barnett, Cloher is a long-established and hugely respected songwriter and performer. And, when you listen to ‘Mana Takatāpui’, taken from their first album in five years, it’s not hard to see why. It’s dazzling. A masterclass in songwriting, ‘Mana Takatāpui‘ celebrates the indigenous Polynesian people of Aotearoa, New Zealand and the Māori, LGBTQ+ community. It’s also an important reflection on finding yourself and the concept of ‘home’. 

Cloher’s warm honeyed vocal, reminiscent of early Cat Power, is so soothing and spiritual that it makes your heart swell. And, while their lyrics are both personal and political, they are delivered with such love and pride that the song never feels heavy. From the opening harmonies to the upbeat affirmations that come later, it’s joyous. This is music to bathe yourself in.

Of the meaning behind the track, Cloher explains:

“I’m no expert but I’m guessing Māori pre-colonisation didn’t hold the same beliefs around gender and sexuality as Queen Victoria’s England. I’ve read that our men were hands on dedicated fathers and some of our best midwives; that our women fought side by side on the battlefield and that our wāhine atua (female gods) held as much mana (power and respect) as our tāne atua. Christianity came hand in hand with colonisation; their missionaries introducing the concepts of body shame, sexual repression, a woman’s menstrual cycle as impure, homosexuality as a perversion and gender as binary.“

Watch the poignant new video for Mana Takatāpui here:


Cloher’s upcoming new album, I Am The River, The River Is Me, is set for release on 3rd March 2023 via Milk! Records/Marathon Artists.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

Photo Credit: Marcelle Bradbeer

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ALBUM: VUKOVI – ‘Nula’

“What does the future hold for the female of the species?”

Welcome ‘user17359’. You will shortly be departing Trinity Lunar Port for Mars Sanctity Terminal, immersing yourself in VUKOVI‘s latest record for the duration. Since their formation twelve years ago, the genre-defying Scottish duo – comprised of vocalist Janine Shilstone and guitarist Hamish Reilly – have been in flux; roaming rabid wolves sinking their teeth into a constantly evolving sound all their own. From 2011’s It Looked So Good On Me… and 2012’s …But I Won’t Wear You Again EPs, to 2017’s self titled debut and 2020’s Fall Better LP, Janine and Hamish’s chemistry is infectious; a combination of “dark themes and dirty fucking riffs.” Now, VUKOVI are exiting the stratosphere and heading into deep space with sci-fi/horror NULA; a conceptual album set in a distant (yet unnervingly familiar) future. Inspired by sci-fi escapism like Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, NULA is a cyberpunk abomination; a sonically ambitious mutation of anthemic pop melodies.

Opening with the cinematic ‘DEPARTURE’ and moshpit inducing ‘TAINTED’, VUKOVI set the tone for NULA. “You’re a fucking monster…” Considered the property of nefarious capitalist corporation Sanctity, and exploited through inhumane experimentation for over twenty five years, the eponymous extra-terrestrial is an otherworldly reflection of Janine’s own survival; her subconscious trauma bleeding into her lyrics. Compulsive, creative and unapologetic: We’d like to wish you a safe and pleasant journey.

“You think I’m a god… Fuck that, fuck you too!” ‘LASSO’ condemns pop idol worship – and highlights the music industry’s hypocrisy, through filthy, fuzz-drenched riffs and insatiable pop-tinged vocals. ‘QUENCH’ delivers sexual liberation with moxie and nu metal groove. “I’m not in love, just wanna feel your touch!” Infused with synthetic noise, ‘SLO’ follows; an ethereal exploration of OCD: “You have a toxic reliance on it and in your eyes that condones reckless behaviour.” Yet, despite feeling broken and vulnerable, NULA (and indeed Janine) re-claims control on mid-album pop-punk-rager ‘I EXIST’, through blood, death and raucous riffs – courtesy of Hamish’s live wire intensity! “I’ve found you, motherfucker!” “I think about what’s happening in the world too much… The greed. The cruelty. There’s a lot of that on the record,” Janine explains. Depression… It’s a temporary feeling. Emotionally driven, VUKOVI stage-dive into anthemic chaos, stronger and feeling empowered: “Stand up / You’ve got to fight… / I know it’s tough / But it’s not enough to give up…”

“I AM NULA. AND I AM FREE.”

After brief respite during interlude ‘ATTENTION’, the disquiet duo’s distorted disorder continues on ‘SHADOW’, ‘HADES’ and ‘KILL IT’; three tracks propelled by an infectious combination of electronic instrumentation, heavy-as-fuck hooks, and raw emotion. “One taste of blood is not enough…” For NULA, revenge is poetic. Confronting abuse with justified angst – “Oh, I’ve waited, for retribution / I’ll watch you burn…” – ‘HURT’ is heavy metal catharsis, whilst ‘SAD’ is a somber realisation that you can never forget trauma. Just like Ripley in Ridley Scott’s Alien, NULA is a survivor realising her own strength and resilience. “I’ll never be whole but I’m a fighter / Kick me in the dirt but still like dust I’ll rise / I’m gonna be heard.” There is no closure, but that is okay. NULA represents female empowerment, and there is life after trauma.

So… “What does the future hold for the female of the species?” Janine pauses for a zeptosecond during closer ‘XX’ before declaring in her distinct Scottish drawl: “She is the answer to extinguishing this toxic masculine cesspool of a society. She deserves to live in a world without fearing for her life… She is the future of humanity… and it’s time to fuck the system!”

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

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