WATCH: Bas Jan – ‘No More Swamp’

Following last year’s innovative Baby You Know, London collective – and personal favourites – Bas Jan have now announced a new album that’s set for release in November. Founded by Serafina Steer and featuring members of Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business and Jarv Is, the band have previously received acclaim from the likes of Marc Riley at BBC 6Music and Mojo Magazine, and will be playing a special live session for Riley and Coe tomorrow 20th September, ahead of their upcoming tour, which includes a few dates with Half Japanese.

Ahead of the album’s release, Bas Jan have shared an uplifting new single – title track ‘No More Swamp’. Reflecting on how the band’s lives have changed over the years, with shifting priorities and responsibilities, the track offers a jangly uplifting soundscape, showcasing the band’s trademark quirky energy and perceptive songwriting ability. Taking influence from the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Kate Bush, it ripples with a fizzing musicality, interweaving shimmering instrumentation to create a wonderfully danceable cacophony; a gently relatable and subtly empowering ode to getting older, oozing an immersive glistening allure.

‘No More Swamp’ is accompanied by a new fun-filled, B-movie-inspired, video, featuring costumes designed by Nat Sharp (aka Lone Taxidermist). Watch it here:

No More Swamp, the upcoming new album from Bas Jan, is set for release on 10th November.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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WATCH: Maria Uzor – ‘Sometimes They Look At You’

Following recent spellbinding singles such as ‘Ventolin’ and ‘Over This‘, Norwich artist Maria Uzor has now announced the release of her upcoming debut solo album, Soft Cuts, due out next month. Having wowed us with the sparkling energy of her live show numerous times, and with acclaim from radio pioneers such as Amy Lame on BBC 6Music and John Kennedy on Radio X, as well as collaborations with the likes of Rozi Plain, Chk Chk Chk and Acid Klaus, we could not be more excited about this… !

A taste of what’s to come, latest single ‘Sometimes They Look At You‘ reflects on crossed wires and clashing perspectives with a sizzling driving energy. Propelled by glitchy hooks and a swirling funk-fuelled groove, it builds with searing electronic beats as Uzor’s fierce majestic allure soars throughout. Interspersing somewhat eerie sounding samples with twinkling interludes, it showcases this innovative artist’s ability to create truly unique soundscapes; ‘Sometimes They Look At You’ offers a fusion of vast layers of sound to create an immersive, invigorating cacophony.

Of the track, Uzor explains:

“I came away from a conversation with someone and wondered why we always seemed to have crossed wires. It was like nothing each of us said ever landed with the other… I realised it was because I was talking from a place of possibilities and they were talking from a place of absolutes. Two very different languages…’Sometimes They Look At You’ is about that… about recognising that language and communication is so much more than the words that come out of your mouth.”

‘Sometimes They Look At You’ is accompanied by a captivating new video, filmed by Andi Sapey and edited by Uzor herself. Watch here:

Soft Cuts, the upcoming debut album from Maria Uzor, is set for release on 13th October via Castles In Space. And catch Maria live at a number of live dates to accompany the release, including The Windmill in Brixton on 18th October – see you there!

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Five Favourites: The Vanity Project

London-based self described “queer-freak-pop” Flora Jackson and Rob Paterson, aka The Vanity Project, pride themselves on creating swirling chaotic soundscapes, interweaving multiple genres and techniques. Having received acclaim from the likes of Marc Riley on BBC 6Music and Everything Everything’s Jonathan Higgins, they have now announced the release of their debut album, We Should Never Have Come Here, set for release on 29th September. Latest single ‘Eureka!‘ offers a perfect taste of what’s to come; reflecting on the daily grind of the 9 to 5, and the dangers of capitalism, it’s wonderfully wacky cacophony of empowering riotous energy and sparkling musicality.

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 We Should Never Have Come Here, we caught up with The Vanity Project to ask about the music that has inspired them the most recently. So, read about their five favourite albums and watch the eccentric new video for ‘Eureka!‘ below!

Guerilla Toss – Famously Alive
If you want to know what the record sounds like, but can’t be bothered to listen to any of the songs, you could just look at the album cover: we’re talking gloopy synths, colourful hooks, squelchy bass. Everyone seems to prefer their earlier janglier stuff, but this record appeals to our desire to make music that’s wonky, bizarrely pretty and always incredibly catchy.


Left at London – t.i.a.p.f.y.h 
Let’s shoot the elephant in the room: yes, it’s the girl who said “haha, I do that” on Vine. But we’re delighted she forwent a career in professional memery because it turns out she had one of the best records in the decade in her. It covers all bases really – full of emotional gut punches juxtaposed with joyous moments, often within seconds of each other.


Black Dresses – Peaceful as Hell 
Rob has much more affinity to noise and chaos and this record scratches that itch better than any other. In places it’s borderline pop-punk but you’re never more than thirty seconds away from grinding industrial breakdowns. Unfortunately, Black Dresses broke up after this album, now only reuniting to drop yearly releases under the same name in the same genre.

Birds of Hell – Birds of Hell
This a record of weird stories, character pieces, rambles – the stuff we love. There’s a clear straight line between ‘Los Yarmouth’, a song about exploring the underwater ruins of a fading resort, to our song ‘Craters’, about aliens holidaying in a post apocalyptic Manchester. We periodically say the phrase “fizzy hummus, woof woof” in day to day life; fair warning, if you listen to the album, you will too.

Daphne and Celeste – Daphne and Celeste Save the World 
Famously, these two got pelted with piss at Reading Festival. Years later it was reported that upon hearing this perfect slice of spiky, glistening Max Tundra-helmed art-pop, every single one of those piss pelters went back to Reading, took all the piss bottles back, and donated them to a piss bank. And you can see why.

Massive thanks to Flora and Rob for talking to us about their Five Favourites! Watch the new video for ‘Eureka!’ here:

We Should Never Have Come Here, the debut album from The Vanity Project, is set for release on 29th September. And you can catch them live that night at The Cavendish Arms in Stockwell to celebrate – tickets here.

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WATCH: Rats-Tails – ‘Coke In The 70s’

Born out of Covid solitude, Rats-Tails was formed by singer-songwriter Courtney McMahon and guitarist Chris Bull. Following last year’s debut single ‘Spine’, the ‘dream-rock’ band has already gained momentum and drawn in crowds at renowned London venues like The Windmill and the George Tavern, as well as supporting the likes of Tapir! and Honeyglaze. 

Playfully entitled ‘Coke in the 70s‘, their latest single is accompanied by a video described by the band as “Top of the Pops meets David Lynch” – an accurate description as the stage scene brought to mind Mulholland Drive. 

The track opens with ethereal swirls of guitar awash with shimmering cymbals, creating an eclectic blend of ’90s indie, shoegaze, and ’70s psychedelic rock. Drawing creative influence from bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and My Bloody Valentine, as well as the compositions of Ennio Morricone, the song oozes a majestic cinematic quality.

McMahon’s velvety vocals take the spotlight in the more stripped-back verses as the melody draws you in, accompanied by relaxed guitar chops. The chorus, in contrast, is far more maximalist, featuring a lush soundscape of fuzzy, atmospheric guitars and more crashing cymbals. I’m one for a great outro, and Rats-Tails certainly deliver on this; blending delicate hispanic-sounding classical guitar, accompanied by harmonies and a gentle drum beat.

The lyrics deliver random bursts of imagery, with phrases like “TV license, Kanye West” but are personal to McMahon who has said that the track “recounts a tale of music after parties, covid delirium and grieving a family member”, whilst also noting “Coke in the 70s is a vignette of a very unlucky period in my life, yet it’s one of my favourite songs to play live”. This interplay between the upbeat and playful nature of the song and the darker subject matter offers a beautiful poignancy, and is a real strength of this sparkling track. 


Catch this single and more of what this exciting new band has to offer at their launch party at The George Tavern on the 14th October.

Ella Patenall
@ella_patenall

Photo Credit: Diego Hernandez

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