Surrender Hill have released a double album, ‘Just Another Honky Tonk in a Quiet Western Town’. ‘Quiet Town is from that album.

For years, Robin Dean Salmon and Afton Seekins made their living on the road. As the songwriters behind Surrender Hill, they played more than 200 shows annually, sharpening their blend of soul, country, plus rock & roll one gig at a time. They weren’t just an Americana duo; they were full-time world travellers, too, funnelling their experiences into the story-driven songs as well as autobiographical anthems that filled albums like ‘A Whole Lot of Freedom’.

Things changed in 2020, when a global pandemic brought Surrender Hill’s touring schedule to a sudden halt. From their home in northern Georgia, Robin and Afton watched as the country around them struggled to regain its footing. They began writing songs that responded to the modern moment; songs about division, struggle, survival, and redemption, all anchored by melodic hooks and diverse arrangements. Some songs nodded to the band’s long-time appreciation for mellow, melancholic Americana music, while others skewed closer to honky-tonk and western swing.

The result is ‘Just Another Honky Tonk in a Quiet Western Town’, an ambitious double-album project that shows the full reach of Surrender Hill’s abilities. The first record, ‘Just Another Honky Tonk’, unfolds like the jukebox playlist of some neon-lit cowboy bar in the Wild West, full of Telecaster twang, classic melodies, and the occasional dobro. Its counterpart, ‘Quiet Western Town’, is an Americana record that digs deep into the lonesomeness of today’s world.

We’ve both been making music for a long time,” says Robin. “There have been times where each of us has struggled with self-doubt, but together, Afton and I have found our own oneness. There was her and there was me, but now, there’s Surrender Hill. We’ve found our stride as people and as a band, and that really shines through on this record. We’re exploring two genres over two different albums, but together, it’s one project.

Surrender Hill have a website, at surrenderhill.com, and are on YouTube, FacebookInsta and Spotify.

 

Dreaming of Islands released their self-titled, début album on 20th September. ‘Shadow’ is the first track on that album.

Swedish duo Dreaming of Islands create slow building, trip hop vibes along with moody post rock guitars and hauntingly beautiful lead vocals. It makes their self-titled début album a must hear.

About their music, Dreaming of Islands say, “The music has been a light through dark days and also an endless source of frustration and the songs are truly a labour of love. The music is about longing, frustration, relationships and such things. It’s all recorded in our bedroom / living room much to the chagrin of our neighbours. We started making music together 4 years ago. Magnus bought his first Casio-sampler when he was 12 years old and has been making beats and music in various constellations. Ida has been singing since childhood and gigging around the south of Sweden music scene with a choir, as a backing singer with a punk band and in piano bars singing The Velvet Underground.

We are also about to have a baby and are currently working on new songs. We hope you will like our songs!

Dreaming of Islands are on Facebook.

 

D’Artagnan has recently released ‘Sunshine’.

D’Artagnan is a Cheltenham based singer/songwriter. He has gigged around the world in all sorts of guises. Iinitially with an acapella group and over the past few years he’s been getting around more on his own, with his trusty Takamine guitar.

D’Artagna says, “I love playing live and am constantly gigging. Highlights from this season have been The Cornbury Festival, Frampton Village Fair & The Jubilee Weekend, where I played 12 gigs in 4 days around the county.

His latest single, ‘Sunshine’, is available for download/streaming on all platforms

D’Artagnan has a website, at dartagnanmusic.com, and is on SoundCloud and YouTube.

 

Frankie Carvallo released ‘A Thousand Lies’ on 22nd September.

Inspired by a new passion for song writing, Frankie Cavalho, from London, follows on from her critically acclaimed EP ‘Sandstorm’ with her new single ‘A Thousand Lies’. The track is a collaboration between Frankie, Jon Kendall on vocals and Samantha Jones on backing vocals. They met on a Zoom song writing course held by Jud Friedman who has written songs for the likes of Whitney Houston, Oleta Adams and Kenny Loggins to name but a few.

Further information on Frankie Carvalho can be found on her social media pages. She is on Twitter, Insta and YouTube.

 

Rhys Lewis’ ‘Midnight’ is out now.

About the track, Rhys says, “The day before I wrote this song, someone asked me when I might be able to start gigging again. The thought of playing live to a room full of people genuinely gave me goose-bumps. I was keen to have a track with that kind of energy, something that would feel incredible to sing with a crowd. This is the song that I wanted to play live for the first time in a sweaty venue, with a sweaty band to a sweaty crowd, just like old times.

After living with these rules and restrictions for so long, we all inherited a social cautiousness. We became stuck in this strange limbo, waiting for things to get back to normal. During the depths of another lockdown, I realised how much I’d taken the freedom to be spontaneous for granted.

Rhys is on Insta, Twitter and Facebook.

 

Divine Decadence released their self-titled EP on 23rd September. ‘Purple Dress’ is the first track on that EP.

Divine Decadence is a darkwave electro rock duet from Nice (France) created by Sabrina and Tatiana. They met in Astrolab, a post-rock/shoegaze indie rock band. Sabrina had been a member of Astrolab for almost fifteen years when Tatiana joined them in 2018. They discovered they shared the same attraction for dark and melancholic atmospheres through their musical, cinematographic and artistic references. Divine Decadence was formed in 2020 as a symbiosis of their universes and their personalities. During the pandemic confinements, the duet composed their first, five track EP was due to be released in September 2022.

Divine Decadence are on Facebook, Insta, Spotify and YouTube.

 

Bison Hip have released ‘This Time’.

‘This Time’ is the first single from Scottish band Bison Hip, a group some 40 years in the making that it took a global pandemic to bring together.

It started on one of those lockdown Zoom calls in 2020 between friends who were unable to get together. No one remembers who suggested it, but right away it seemed like a great idea. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis at play? The guys were all over 50, with the exception of keyboard player and spring chicken Steven, who clocked in at a youthful 40. By the time they finally got together in early 2021, the blueprint was clear:

Paul Sloway says, “We wanted to take our love of blues and rock and mix it up with our experiences of life. Between us, we’ve been through so many things – ups and downs, some successes and plenty of failures – we wanted all of that in the music. Lastly, we need to wrap it up in the DNA of our hometown, Glasgow, and hopefully that’s what we’ve achieved.

The band is Paul Sloway (vocals), Malcolm Button (drums), Steven Radziwonik (keyboards), John Gilmour Smith (guitar) and Graeme Carswell (bass). Built on the backbone of true Scottish grit, the ethos is clear – real musicians, real instruments, no click tracks, culminating in a unique blues rock sound with real life stories.

John Gilmour-Smith adds, “It’s long been my opinion that playing music is one of the great mental health fixes and helping some folks of our age group pick up a guitar, or whatever instrument they want, and maybe even get out there playing, that might be a little help in what seems to be a continually growing wave of mental health issues we see around us.

Bison Hip have a website, at bisonhip.com, and are on YouTube, Facebook and Insta.

 

Louis McTeggart has released ‘Beat of the Drum’.

Louis McTeggart is a singer / songwriter based in Northern Ireland. He’s had some of his original songs used on TV, movies and radio. Most recently ‘It’s a Draw’ played on an episode of Channel 4’s ‘Hollyoaks’.

Louis is on Facebook, SoundCloud and Spotify.

 

Samia released ‘Kill Her Freak Out’ on 27th September.

Samia announces his second album ‘Honey’ will be out on January 27th 2023. In advance of that, she has shared the lead single ‘Kill Her Freak Out’. The announcement comes ahead of Samia’s début run of UK shows, taking place across October and November.

There’s a line on ‘Honey’, the upcoming album from Nashville-via-NYC songwriter Samia, about Aspen Grove, a collection of 40,000 trees in the plains of North America, all connected by a single expansive root system. There’s no stronger metaphor for the audience the 25-year-old empathy engine has been generating since she began releasing music seven years ago. Her songs, her fans, her friends are all one enormous, interconnected ecosystem.

The opener from ‘Honey’, ‘Kill Her Freak Out’, is available now with a video directed by Samia and Muriel Margaret. ‘Kill Her Freak Out’ features Samia’s trademark combination of vulnerability, mordant humour, and evocative use of quotidian details.

Samia shares: “I wrote ‘Kill Her Freak Out’ at my loneliest and most delusional. I’d been quieting my true feelings for fear that someone would leave. The chorus is a reaction to constantly downplaying the emotions that felt wrong; it was cathartic to say the opposite of what I’d been saying for so long to this person I was trying to impress. I didn’t want to kill anyone, obviously, I just wanted to yell. It sort of marks the end of The Baby’s story.

Samia – UK / EU 2022 Tour Dates

10/31 – Leeds, UK – O2 Academy*
11/01 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy*
11/02 – Dublin, IE – 3Olympia Theatre*
11/04 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Academy*
11/05 – Manchester, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse*
11/07 – Bristol, UK – O2 Academy*
11/08 – Brighton, UK – Brighton Dome*
11/10 – London, UK – Alexandra Palace*
11/11 – London, UK – XOYO (SOLD OUT)
11/13 – Pitchfork Music Festival London (@ The Roundhouse)
11/15 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg*
11/16 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg*
11/17 – Paris, FR – Salle Pleyel*
11/19 – Zurich, CH – Complex 457*
11/21 – Berlin, DE – Huxley’s Neue Welt*
11/22 – Cologne, DE – Live Music Hall*
11/23 – Hamburg, DE – Fabrik*
11/25 – Copenhagen, DK – TAP1*
11/27 – Oslo, NO – Rockefeller Music Hall*
11/28 – Stockholm, SE – Cirkus Arena*
*Supporting Maggie Rogers

Samia has a website, at samiaband.com, and is on SoundCloud, Twitter, Insta, Facebook and YouTube.

 

On 27th September, These Wicked Rivers released ‘Lonely Road’.

Derby Southern-rockers These Wicked Rivers have released their new track and video ‘Lonely Road’. The track is available via all streaming platforms as well as on physical CD at shows.

Showcasing a different side to the band, the track combines a single stripped back, acoustic guitar with haunting vocals and delicate strings. It is accompanied by a video shot at the historic Bishton Hall in Staffordshire.

Speaking about the process of writing the song, singer John Hartwell says, “Lonely Road was inspired by an intense feeling of isolation during the first lockdown, coupled with missing a recently broken down relationship. Weirdly, I usually take a long time constructing songs, thinking of the perfect way to phrase each line. With this song, I just picked up my guitar and played.

Autumn Tour with Hayseed Dixie

12/10 Dover, England – Booking Hall October
13/10 Leamington Spa, England – Assembly Rooms
14/10 Derby, England – The Hairy Dog (Album Fundraiser Show) **
15/10 Cambridge, England – The Junction
18/10 Portsmouth, England – Wedgewood Rooms
19/10 Bath, England – Komedia
20/10 Swansea, Wales – Patti Pavilion
21/10 Narberth, Wales – Queen’s Hall
22/10 Crickhowell, Wales – Clarence Hall
23/10 Newport, Wales – The Neon
26/10 Gloucester, England – Guildhall
27/10 Tunbridge Wells, England – The Forum
28/10 Horsham, England – Rec Rooms
29/10 Hertford, England – Hertford Corn Exchange
5/11 Great Yarmouth, England – Hard Rock Hell Festival **
12/11 Stafford, England – Top of The World **
**Hayseed Dixie not appearing at these dates

You can download ‘Lonely Road’ and buy tour tickets from thesewickedrivers.com, and you can follow These Wicked Rivers on Facebook, Insta, Twitter and TikTok.

 

A recording of the show is available at MixCloud.


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