Track Of The Day: Bitch Hunt – ‘Eau Claire’

Following last year’s split cassette release with adults, London based non-binary band Bitch Hunt are set to release their debut EP, out next month via Reckless Yes. Having formed at First Timers Fest in 2017, and since charmed us with an immense live set at a GIHE night back when gigs were a thing, the band have now shared the first single from their upcoming EP.

With stripped back jangling hooks and raw, heartfelt vocals, ‘Eau Claire’ is an ode to a Wisconsin town where singer Sian used to live. Building in momentum and shimmering harmonies to a gently scuzzy, emotion-strewn anthem, it oozes shades of the sparse, twinkling energy of Seattle faves Tacocat, creating an effervescent, stirring slice of punk-pop. With its swirling riffs and reflective lyricism, it conjures a warms sense of nostalgia for long summer nights spent with friends; something we can hopefully start to look forward to now… Of the track, the band explain:

“‘Eau Claire’ is the name of the town in Wisconsin where Sian lived some years ago, and the song is very much for the good people they met and the good time they spent. It’s also about the rose-tinted glasses we wear when we look at past summers. There was pain and heartbreak among the fun so don’t miss yesterday too much, maybe next year can be even better.”

‘Eau Claire’ is out now, available to listen on Spotify. Shapeshifter, the debut EP from Bitch Hunt, is set for release on 28th May via Reckless Yes. Pre-order now via bandcamp.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Glen Michael-Harper

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FIVE FAVOURITES: TWEN

Nashville-via-Boston duo Twen are gearing up to support Seattle rockers TacoCat tomorrow night at Hackney’s Moth Club (29th Aug), and we’re convinced their celestial, angular sounds will impress their London crowd. Comprised of Jane Fitzsimmons and Ian Jones, Twen came to life over the space of two years as the duo toured the Boston DIY punk scene. Now, they’re getting ready to share their debut album Awestruck, which is set for release on 20th September via Frenchkiss.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Jane to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that have influenced her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below, and make sure you listen to Twen’s track ‘Baptism’ at the end of this post.

1. Central Heating – Heatwave
This is a classic that has stayed with me since I was 14. Before streaming, I would check out CDs at the library and rip them into my iTunes library. I found Heatwave while trying to listen to every funk/disco band I could find (thinking I could somehow listen to the whole genre). This whole album has a playfulness that packs some serious joy. The title track is the star of the show; the vocals are so strangely melodic but carry major rhythmic weight. I just love the concept of making people groove out with a vocal melody rather than the beat. Also the most silly and beautiful intro and outro I have yet encountered. James Guthrie (of Pink Floyd The Wall fame) produced this album, which I don’t really care about but something to note.

2. Bibio – À tout à l’heure 
I put this song on a mixed CD I made for Ian when we were sophomores in college. We would make so many mixes for each other, a different type of language than our early awkward convos. I would meticulously decorate them with sharpies and would spend hours deciding how to make the perfect “flow”. This was a song I found out he loved too, and he even knew how to play them to my amazement. The beyond beautiful and intricate finger-picking is so delicate but this song is a BANGER. The beat and funky bass line pair perfect with the acoustic layers and nonsensical lyrics (“À tout à l’heure”, French for “see you later”). There is such emotional and hypnotic value to this song, without making logical sense of it. Bibio still and always will have the best production sounds on the block, mixing analog and digital to make more of a sound tapestry than just a mere song.

3. Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Los Vegas
I found out about Cocteau Twins through my friend Matt, who DJ’d a college radio show called “Folk U” with me for two years. We had inherited the show and both slowly started to move out of the genre till Death Grips was playing. He played ‘Cherry-colored Funk’ and I nearly lost my damn mind, I had never heard anything so perfect. I read once that Elizabeth Fraser’s voice was ‘the voice of God’ and I don’t dispute it. Her ingenious melodies put me in a trance and make me feel like I’m understanding something outside words. Also, I have sweet memories with this album since it was one of the few albums I brought with me on an iPod on a trip to Iceland. I had gone by myself after college to camp 10 days in June when it’s daylight 22 hours a day (the only way I felt safe to camp by myself). I brought an old ass iPod that only had room for a few albums and this one of them. So, I listened the shit out of it while looking at the insane Icelandic landscape and I still love it.

4. Lijadu Sisters – Horizon Unlimited 
I had first heard the Lijadu sisters while working in a vegetarian restaurant in St. Louis, where I’m from. I had just moved back home for a quick quarter-life crisis. The owner and chef, Bay would sometimes make the playlists for the restaurant and loved blasting Lijadu Sisters. Being surrounded by an inspiring woman with a fountain of culinary creativity and listening to this album most days made a hard time a little less unbearable. The power of music. The beats and melodic riffs will make any day great and the two sisters feel exponentially BIG singing in unison. I really enjoy listening to music in different languages, it makes me notice the melodies better and the variety of vocal sounds possible that aren’t even used in English.

5. Mercyful Fate – Melissa 
I’m not super metal literate, but Mercyful Fate is THE metal band in my little world. On a tour probably a year ago (I only remember it was cold outside, they all start to blend together) a sound guy played this in the venue after the lights went on, probably to make everyone leave. A classic move. It made me want to STAY and to find out everything. Better known as King Diamond, this was his first band and Melissa is their first album. The vocal range is inhuman and the diversity of sounds that merely one person can make is an inspiration. Also I was raised Catholic, so hearing about covens and satanic rituals brings me a twisted joy.

Thanks to Jane for sharing their five favourites with us! Follow TWEN on Facebook for more updates.

Photo credit: Alexa Viscius

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Track Of The Day: The Paranoyds – ‘Hungry Sam’/’Trade Our Sins’

As they prepare to head out on a US tour with the awesome Tacocat, LA-based The Paranoyds are set to release their debut EP.

With this two-track, the band serves up a couple of slices of sleazy garage rock with a psychedelic pop edge thanks to the swirling, whirling keyboards, which sound like they’re straight out of a 1950s monster movie.

‘Hungry Sam’ is pure punk; effortlessly cool with a stomping opener that wedges itself in your brain after just a couple of listens. Meanwhile, ‘Trade Our Sins’ is slower, darker and sadder, but still sounds incredibly kick-ass.

Keen to make a name for themselves with their live shows and records rather than through social media (they don’t have a Facebook page), The Paranoyds’ debut release really speaks for itself. And with such an exciting support slot lined up, they’ll undoubtedly get more and more people listening.

 

Hungry Sam/Trade Our Sins is out now digitally, and will be released on 7-inch vinyl on July 12th via Suicide Squeeze. This will be a one-time pressing of 750, 650 on Orange Crush colour vinyl, and 100 on Neon Yellow colour vinyl – pre-order here. 

Vic Conway

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PLAYLIST: April 2019

It’s a brand new month and that means we’ve got a brand new playlist of new music to share with you! April has been another month of musical discovery for us, and we’re excited to share our top picks with you all. Take some time to scroll through our words and hit play on the Spotify link at the bottom of the page…

Lupa J – ‘The Crash’ 
‘The Crash’ is the latest single from Lupa J which she’s also recently dropped a pretty slick video to. With sounds evocative of early Grimes and touches of Alice Glass, we’re loving this track at Get In Her Ears. Of the track Lupa J says: “”I wrote this just over a year ago now, and I was in a really unhappy place. I had barely any friends in the city I lived in; instead focusing my energy on a long term relationship that was starting to eat away at me and my sanity more than it grew me, and I was starting to realise more and more I had a lot of previously repressed & unexplored queer desire.” (Tash Walker)

Tacocat – ‘The Joke Of Life’
Our fave Seattle pop-punks Tacocat are releasing their new album This Mess Is A Place on 5th May via Sub-pop records, and this is the latest single to be lifted form the record. This band never fail to put a smile on my face, always providing a buoyant guitar tune that makes for a reassuring listen during these misguided and politically turbulent times. Long live Tacocat! (Kate Crudgington)

Panic Pocket – ‘Pizza In My Pants’
Taken from Panic Pocket’s new EP Never Gonna Happen, ‘Pizza In My Pants’ is a fun-filled look at the common expectations society holds women to, and is filled with a playful energy and self-deprecating humour. Oozing honey-sweet harmonies alongside shimmering melodies and a gritty synth-driven energy, it’s another luscious (and super relatable!) slice of indie-pop from the duo, showcasing all there is to love about them. Never Gonna Happen, the new EP from Panic Pocket, is out now via Reckless Yes. And we cannot wait for them to play for us at our next night at The Finsbury on 10th May, along with Crumbs, Charismatic Megafauna and Rookes. (Mari Lane)

Grizzly Coast – ‘Half-Light Boy’ 
“Will you shine for them, like I shined for you?” asks Grizzly Coast on her bitter sweet new single ‘Half-Light Boy’. The track is a “sobering realization that not every person you encounter will have the same heart as you”. It’s not all doom and gloom though! Grizzly Coasts’ buoyant guitar and gentle yet sturdy vocals are a reminder that “someone else’s lack of care for you is often due to something lacking in them – it is never an expression of what you deserve”. The story behind ‘Half-Light Boy’ will resonate with anyone who’s felt like like they’re shining the spotlight on someone else, whilst simultaneously living in their shadow. (KC)

ABBIE OZARD – ‘Growing Pains’
I am loving the latest single from Manchester based Abbie Ozard, ‘Growing Pains’ keep your eyes peeled for a full debut EP still to come later this year – mine are wide wide open. (TW)

Sølv – ‘Bittersweet’ 
Bittersweet’ is the first taste of Sølv that we’ve had following the release of her acclaimed Codeine EP in 2017 and it’s a banger. Tripped out hazy waves, warped vocals all mixed together in electronic beats. Yes please.(TW)

Bamboo – ‘Weeping Idols’ (ML)
Taken from Bamboo‘s upcoming third album, ‘Weeping Idols’ is an uplifting and subtly captivating offering. Propelled by a thunderous sense of urgency, a twinkling soundscape is created as swirling interwoven melodies and chiming hooks provide the backdrop for Rachel Horwood (Trash Kit)’s soaring majestic vocals. Daughters Of The Sky, the upcoming new album from Bamboo, is out on 14th June via Upset The Rhythm. Pre-order here. (ML)

Witching Waves – ‘Best Of Me’ 
The latest single from trio Witching Waves, ‘Best Of Me’ races with a jangly twang and punk-fuelled energy. Alongside fast-paced hooks and raw, impassioned vocals, I just can’t get enough of visceral power. Formed of Emma, Mark and Estella (Big Joanie and Charmpit), I just love Witching Waves’ unrelenting DIY post-punk sound and frenetic sense of urgency. Persistence, the new album from Witching Waves, is out now. (ML)

Mammoth Penguins – ‘Closure’
The latest single from Cambridge trio Mammoth Penguins, ‘Closure’ is a reflective offering, oozing the rich, impassioned power of Emma Kupa’s vocals alongside the band’s trademark jangly hooks and shimmering emotion, showcasing the their ability to make me feel all the feels on every listen. Of the track, Emma explains: “Closure is a song about an interaction, or day, or moment, or occurrence when something shifts and feelings that you may have been carrying around for a while just dissipate. I think real closure can be quite rare and incredibly profound.” Having left us with butterflies in our stomachs with their dreamy indie-pop offerings playing for us at our last night at The Finsbury, Mammoth Penguins’ new album There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, is out today, 26th April, via Fika Recordings. (ML)

Seraphina – ‘Backbone’ 
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I am loving what Seraphina is bringing out at the moment! Such rich sound and soul. ‘Backbone’ is her last single which is out now and all about wanting someone you shouldn’t…and all the messy head-fuckery that it brings. Just fantastic. (TW)

Jessica Winter – ‘Sleep Forever’ 
I am so late to the Jessica Winter party, but thanks to a suggestion from one of our writers (thanks Cazz!) I have arrived and I am ready to immerse myself in her captivating sound. She’s a DIY Producer who fuses elements of trap and gothic electronica and her vocals are spellbinding. Jessica also has a strong presence in the LGBTQ scene, putting on Hate The Haus club nights across London to celebrate a range of talent while supporting ethical causes. ‘Sleep Forever’ is an introduction to her upcoming EP Let’s Keep It Shallow, due out in September. (KC)

FKA TWIGS – ‘Cellophane’
FKA Twigs seems to re-emerge whenever my heart’s taken a bit of a beating, and I’m always so relieved when she does. ‘Cellophane’ is her first release since 2016 and she’s co-created a breath-taking set of visuals and written a truly poignant and ballad. “Why don’t I do it for you?” she asks so gently – Oh Twigs! – you do it for me every time and I’m so glad to have your new music back in my life *cries* (KC)

Zamilska – ‘Hollow’ 
I am obsessed with Polish producer ZAMILSKA and I cannot wait to hear her new album Uncovered, which this track is taken from, when it’s released digitally on 10th May via her own label Untuned Records. Set around the theme of levitation, Zamilska’s industrial, techno-infused electronics have been haunting me (in a good way) from first listen. She’s been featured on Nine Inch Nails’ Spotify playlist, and remixed ‘Belly Of The Beast’ one of my fave tracks from my fave artist Gazelle Twin. Super talented and super exciting to see what she does next. (KC)

Peaches – ‘Boys Wanna Be Her’
Long time favourite, and total legend, Peaches is playing at The Southbank Centre in London on 28th August – I’m SO excited to finally be able to finally see her incredible, unique performance live! And ‘Boys Wanna Be Her’ is just the perfect celebratory anthem; as Peaches explains – “It’s just a celebration. Seriously. I want it to be like a post-gender and post-age celebration of becoming who you are.”
(ML)

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