Five Fresh Tracks for the Week #39
Ponies, pencils, Beatles, ghosts and baths.
Salutations. In the UK, we’ve just honoured Independent Venue Week, which raised awareness of the importance, and unfortunately the struggles, of small music venues across the land. If you haven't already, I implore you to listen again to Huw Stephens' in-depth discussion on 6Music with Kate Nash, OneDa, Loose Articles and Los Campesinos - who provide some fascinating, and bleak, insights on the state of the music landscape. A must listen for any artist.
Whilst the foundations of the music industry clearly need resetting, there's no shortage of incredible sounds being made. Enter 'Five Fresh Tracks...'
Let’s Go!
Flat Venus - Rogue Pony
We begin the week with 'Rogue Pony', one of the cuts from Flat Venus' debut record 'I'm Selfish and I'm Not'. The Norwich-based quintet recorded the album last summer at their drummer's house, embracing the "imperfections of home recording" to create a heartfelt and raw body of work. 'Rogue Pony' combines the band's folk and rock influences with a rustic campfire sing-a-long soon morphing into a raucous crescendo of sweet harmonies and big guitar lines.
Listen on your streaming service of choice here or purchase on Bandcamp here.
Pencil - Body (demo)
Pencil featured on an early edition of New Sounds Union and we welcome them back with open arms with new release 'Body' - even if it's just in demo form. Enticingly described by the band as "a small morsel of graveyard bossa nova", 'Body' is an achingly sweet sound with an eerie lyrical theme that transports you to late summer evenings. Some feat given this is written in grey mid-winter and explores cemetery explorations. After a couple of singles, we can only hope more music is on the horizon from Pencil this year.
Listen on your streaming service of choice here.
Mosaics and James McCartney - Different People
Quite the collaboration next as Mosaics team up with James McCartney (yes, son of Paul) on the anthemic 'Different People'. The track wastes no time in displaying its imposing intentions, with a bold, swaggering intro and verse, before unleashing an arena-sized chorus. The addition of James McCartney's vocals adds another layer of emotion to the track which peaks with a soaring saxophone finale. Stirring stuff.
Listen on your streaming service of choice here.
Ocean LeClair - Spirit
Looking for some melancholic retro-dyed pop to lay about on your chaise longue too? Well you'll love the new 'Fruit on a Grave' EP by Ocean LeClair. Featuring previously released singles 'The Last Man I Loved' and 'Burgundy Body', we're shining a light on 'Spirit', which is a softly shimmering track, with Ocean's hushed vocals on a bed of midnight keys. The final third ups the tempo with shredding guitars and galloping drums, showcasing the drama at the heart of her work. The EP closes with a touching cover of Leonard Cohen's 'A Singer Must Die' to wrap things up.
Listen on your streaming service of choice here.
KEG - Skybather
We close the week with the inventive sound of 'Skybather' from London-based seven piece KEG. Discussing the track, the band say: “One simply must bathe as much as possible. Cleanse the day’s woes in lavender and enter your mind palace" - which sounds like a pretty relaxing band ethos to hold. The song itself morphs from a yearning and laconic opener with bending synths, to a funky horn-led middle eight before finishing with a rousing hands-in-the-air singalong refrain of "there's only one place I'd rather be now".
Listen on your streaming service of choice here.