Track Of The Day: Graywave – ‘With Me’

An atmospheric slice of dream-pop designed to help listeners escape their bedroom walls; Graywave has shared her latest single, ‘With Me’. The track combines Graywave’s smooth vocals with lush, shoe-gaze inspired guitar sounds which help to distract and deter negative thoughts.

Graywave, aka multi-disciplinary artist Jess Webberley, is influenced by the likes of artists such as Men I Trust, Slowdive, Crumb, and Japanese Breakfast. She blends ambient elements of dream-pop with slightly gritter elements of shoegaze to produce her charming sounds, and ‘With Me’ is a gentle example of this.

“‘With Me’ was written and brought to life with the ambition to create something meaningful and creative during lockdown” Graywave explains. “The song was written and recorded by myself in my bedroom and sent off to Sam Bloor for mixing and mastering. The artwork is reflective of the writing experience and creating it was a way for me to visualise the sound of the track. It depicts my bedroom with the addition of a portal leading elsewhere, tying in with the mood of the song. The only coherent lyrics in the song – ‘always searching, always yearning’ – allude to the feeling of always wanting to surpass any successes I may achieve, coupled with a constant longing to be elsewhere.”

Graywave’s sentiments will resonate with many listeners as they approach the end of this lockdown period. Listen to ‘With Me’ below and follow Graywave on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Kayla May

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Re-Covered: Sally-Anne’s Illustrated Favourite Albums

If you’re anything like us, throughout Lockdown you may have been seeking refuge in some of your favourite records, perhaps rediscovering some old classics along the way. So, for this new feature, illustrator Sally-Anne Hickman re-imagines her favourite ten albums of all time by painting their covers in her own unique style, using watercolours.

Check out the fifth of Sally-Anne’s choices below, and keep your eyes peeled for the rest over the next few weeks…

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
The pioneers of shoegaze, MBV created such an original and unique sound that nothing has come close to replicating it since. Kevin Shields is an innovator of ethereal atmospherics, he introduced a palette of guitar textures that range from noise rock to undersea creatures. This album, a musical masterpiece, blends a blizzard of guitar noise with soft androgynous vocals from Bilinda Butcher and a trance-inducing tremolo to create a sonic carousel of sound.

 

Sally-Anne Hickman
@sallyshinystars

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Track Of The Day: Painted Zeros – ‘Commuter Rage’

“I don’t owe you anything” Painted Zeros‘ Katie Lau firmly states on her latest single ‘Commuter Rage’, a song that tackles the natural resentment towards those who invade your personal space. The Brooklyn-based musician & sound engineer blends elements of shoegaze and indie music with her cool vocals to set the record straight.

Lifted from her second album When You Found Forever, set for release on 29th May via Don Giovanni Records, ‘Commuter Rage’ is the sound of an artist who has had enough of making space for everyone else, and is ready to take it back for herself. “Go read a fucking book / don’t you fucking look at me / to teach you things that you are responsible for learning on your own” Lau sings, with quiet and relatable anger, over a deceptively sweet melody.

Lau is the focus of the visuals that accompany the single, directed by Jess Coles. She explains why she enjoyed working with Coles so much, and how the context of the video is linked to her growth as a musician: “I was excited to work with director Jess Coles for multiple reasons: we are both queer women, and her style of film-making mirrors the way I make music. I write, perform, record, and mix everything myself, and Jess directs, shoots, produces, and edits all of her own work.”

“While discussing video ideas over coffee, I mentioned that I felt like I had been hiding myself in the past;  hiding from taking ownership of Painted Zeros as my solo project, hiding my voice in my last album by burying it in my mixes, and that I didn’t want to hide or allow my art to be dictated by fear anymore. Jess suggested a music video that focused mostly on my face, with me and the sky as characters…I have to confess that a music video where my face is the unflinching focus was not the most comfortable idea for me to wrap my head around, but after working with Jess and seeing the outcome, I’m glad I did.”

“The chorus of ‘Commuter Rage (“I don’t owe you anything”) has become something of a personal mantra, a note-to-self when dealing with people who feel entitled to my time and energy. I wanted to write something that combined the feeling of being pissed off about injustice with a tongue-in-cheek (“be your benevolent overlord”) and ultimately joyous reclamation of my space/emotional boundaries.”

We’ve got all the time in the world for Painted Zeros’ music, and fully support her messages of self-autonomy and overcoming personal fears. Watch the video for ‘Commuter Rage’ below, and follow Painted Zeros on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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EP: New Pagans – ‘Glacial Erratic’

Filled with urgent, considered, intensely catchy songs that challenge the norms surrounding relationships, history, and gender; New Pagans‘ debut EP Glacial Erratic is a powerful blend of alternative sounds. The Belfast band take the best elements of post-punk, grunge, and indie rock and transform them in to abrasive, yet melodic noise.

Formed of Claire Miskimmin, Cahir O’Doherty, Conor McAuley, and Lyndsey McDougall, the band have cut their teeth playing in different outfits over the years (Girls Names, Rupture Dogs, Fighting With Wire, Jetplane Landing). Together under the New Pagans moniker, they sound louder and more confident, creating a sonic space to explore issues of frustration, defiance, and resolution.

“The demand for perfection is disturbing” sings vocalist Lyndsey on opening track ‘It’s Darker’, with it’s relentless riffs and commanding percussion. The track is based on a real life confrontation Lyndsey had at a party with an aggressive male musician. The song will strike a chord with any woman who has had to defend her right to have her own opinion, and the subsequent anger that comes with feeling humiliated and devalued for it. “Everyone’s looking and I’m upset” she reveals in a moment of raw honesty, working through the unsettling feeling of being challenged in an environment that’s supposed to be fun.

‘Charlie Has The Face Of a Saint’ is informed by conversations overheard on a Belfast bus. Throwaway phrases like “I’m doing my part”, or “You’re easy to have when you’re down on your knees” float above the loud/quiet verse/chorus structure, acting like a stream-of-consciousness narrative. These conflicting voices don’t provide answers, they simply exist in the ether. The spiralling ‘I Could Die’ follows, with its manic riffs and urgent vocals, before the powerful ‘Bloody Soil’ breaks through. It feels like the soundtrack to an uprising, with its intense riffs and chant-able chorus.

‘Admire’ is a humble, shimmering ode to the perseverance that’s needed to keep a long-term relationship going. Proof that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side (even if you’ve daydreamed about it), New Pagans’ treatment of love and its many faults is far more romantic than any Valentine’s card or bouquet. “Let’s preserve our old ways / lets’s preserve them always” Lyndsey sings, as the song builds to a cathartic cacophony of shoegaze noise, removing all sense of doubt about why you chose to stay faithful. It’s a beautifully relatable listen.

Closing track ‘Lily Yeats’ is a tribute to the sister of artists William Butler and Jack Butler Yeats. It smolders with quiet fury, acting as an aural confidence boost to the woman it’s named after, and to all the future Lily Yeats who need help stepping out from their brother’s shadows. “My daughter needs to know that she can do the same” sings Lyndsey, over erratic riffs and pummelling beats, before dual male/female vocals arrive later in the track, driving home the message that it’s everyone’s responsibility to amplify the sound of women’s stories.

New Pagans’ ability to tap into uneasy topics and turn them into empowering, memorable tracks is what makes Glacial Erratic such a an enjoyable and poignant listen. Their confident delivery, genre-blending sounds, and relatable lyrics are well worth your listening time.

New Pagans EP Glacial Erratic is released on 6th March.
Follow the band on Facebook and Spotify for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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