‘Carry Me’ is from Populuxe’s new album ‘Uneasy Listening’.
Variously described as the Gershwin Brothers writing for the New York Dolls, or the Replacements playing Steely Dan, Populuxe are restless. Always shifting and moving sonically. But the thematic threads and compositional tics running through are consistent: confusion at life, things at cross purposes, trying to surface and reporting on the scenes witnessed while drowning, and small details illuminating big things, all wrapped inside a wide stylistic palette, bent time signatures, dense chords, harmonies, and sharp guitars. Their last LP, a rock opera/song cycle about the 2018 Tree of Life Massacre (‘Beauty in the Broken Place’, 2019), was universally praised and won them a larger international audience, but the pandemic interrupted touring plans. Instead, they got to work, and return at the top of their game with a new LP, whose title is the perfect overall descriptor of their entire output: ‘Uneasy Listening’.
Populuxe have a website, at populuxehq.com
On 13th January, Tillerman released ‘Hear Angels Cry’.
Tillerman are a four piece indie/rock band from West Yorkshire. Composed of a classic two-brother combo like many great acts (Jon & Tom Kulczycki) along with two close friends they’ve grown up with (Iain Moyser & Shaun Mallia). Their sound has developed over several years to what you hear today, well-crafted songs and musicianship, infused by the record collections surrounding them growing up. What is very clear throughout their work are the vocal harmonies, accompanied by big swathing guitars, along with a sensitivity within many of their songs.
At the dawn of 2020, after much personal maturity and musical development, with new songs written and studio booked, Tillerman set to work with producer Grant Henerdson, to record their début EP ‘Gathering’.
Now, in 2023, ‘Hear Angels Cry’ is Tillerman’s latest single. The début album is nearly finished and work has already started on the next album with a working title of ‘Tillerman 2’. All the band members have successful day jobs they have fashioned for themselves over the last few years, but music still is their passion and they will continue to work together to create and release music they love, hoping that the world will love it too.
Tillerman are on Facebook, Spotify and YouTube.
WREX released ‘Recovery’ on 13th January.
Formed from a mutual lust for life and high energy music, Wrex started writing songs as a release and an escape from the world; just two wrecks trying to find their place.
After announcing themselves in May ’21, the alt-rock duo Mae Seaton and George Donoghue are already making an impact, having released a run of 4 singles, followed by their début EP; ‘Paradise’. Along with continued releases, 2023 will see WREX continue to establish themselves in the live music scene as one to watch with their high energy and captivating performance
Speaking about the single, George says “’Recovery’ is a celebration of rebirth. Sometimes like many of us I find myself feeling lost in the world, lost in desire and lost in empty habits, knowing there is more to be had from life, but also feeling like a prisoner in your own mind and scared to take a leap of faith. For us ‘Recovery’ was that leap of faith. Sonically we have pushed ourselves to explore new areas, experimenting with heavier guitars and vocals whilst simultaneously exploring our poppier side in melodies and electronic elements.”
WREX produce everything themselves, giving them a sound truly unique to them, making their musical development limitless. Despite being a duo in the studio, WREX become a 5 piece on stage in order to fulfil their high energy and captivating live performances.
WREX are on Facebook, Insta, Twitter, Spotify, YouTube and AppleMusic.
LJ Coon’s latest track is ‘Life’s A Journey Of A Thousand Miles – It Starts With Your First Step’.
We’ve regularly heard tracks from LJ Coon. This track has been inspired (if that’s the right word) by a double homicide.
LJ explains, “We joined a local youth group together known as The Falcons. Our members were made up of classmates. Raymond and I were blood brothers and somehow ended up with matching coats for school, purchased at Hills department store in Homewood. After school I would meet Raymond at his home and after the usual “You better be home before dark!”, we would be on our way. Around the corner and down the street was our first stop to pick up our classmate Craig. As we headed towards Downtown Broadway we would stop by classmate Jeff. Jeff’s parents would always dress him really well, and he would take quite the ribbing for it.
One of the things that we use to do as kids would be to walk through the St. Joseph Hospital Gift Shop. Then take a short cut down the hospital hallways and exit onto 20th street just before Broadway. However, this particular hospital exit point would always take us out the double doors where County Coroner, William Kishman would back up his station wagon, on his way to the hospital morgue. At this area Raymond would always get really spooked, and would comment on how he really disliked going out that way. It would be 10 years later that County Coroner would be bringing my childhood friend through those double doors, on his way to the morgue. But, like a scene out of ‘Stand-by-Me’, onward we would go, not knowing the dangers that lay ahead.”
LJ Coon is on AppleMusic, Spotify, Deezer and Boomplay
Just a Jester have recently released ‘Welcome a Nightmare’.
Just A Jester is based in London. Having supported the likes of Van Morrison, performed at Glastonbury 7 times, played with Stuart Copeland from The Police, Tim Whitaker AKA Just A Jester has had an illustrious career in the music industry. Now he has released his twenty-seventh solo track, ‘Welcome A Nightmare’
Just A Jester is on Facebook and Soundcloud.
Joanne Farrell has released ‘Crown’.
Whilst perhaps best known in the UK for her stage and TV work, Joanne Farrell returns to her first love of writing and performing music. She has released the stunning single ‘Crown’, a track written for her daughter (who also stars in the video) and for all young women. It is an uplifting message of hope, strength, determination, and pride.
Joanne Farrell has a website, at joannefarrell.com, and is on YouTube, Facebook, Insta, Spotlight and IMDB.
JAWNY has recently released his new single, ‘true’.
Always the hopeless romantic, JAWNY continues to dissect the never-ending rollercoaster of love. On ‘true’ he captures the disheartening descent, expressing his loneliness in a deadpan soliloquy, adorned with a hefty beat and slick guitar lick. As the chorus kicks in, he transforms into a crestfallen crooner, “Maybe it’s through, still I’m in love with you,” he intones. “There’s nothing I can do and I wish it wasn’t true.”
In typical JAWNY fashion, there’s a playfulness always lurking underneath—no matter the topic—with jaunty hand claps pushing the song along to its swaying sing-along conclusion. That levity is reflected in the video, which riffs on the early days of MTV with the breakout artist rocking an outrageous haircut while sitting on the shoulders of a burly bodybuilder. Watch the unforgettable visual on YouTube.
After a busy 2022, which included supporting tour slots, JAWNY will be back on the road in March, when he kicks off a headlining tour with rising indie-pop artist Wallice supporting. Kicking off March 3rd in San Diego, the run of dates will include stops in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and more. Look out for news on JAWNY heading to the UK and Europe soon.
JAWNY has a page with all his download links. He’s also on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
‘When I’m Gone’ is from Windborne’s new album ‘Of Hard Times & Harmony’.
Windborne’s captivating show draws on the singers’ deep roots in traditions of vocal harmony. The absolute uniqueness of their artistic approach brings old songs into the present. Known for the innovation of their arrangements, their harmonies are bold and anything but predictable.
With a 20-year background studying polyphonic music around the world, Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan share a vibrant energy onstage with a blending of voices that can only come from decades of friendship alongside dedicated practice. The ensemble shifts effortlessly between drastically different styles of music, drawing their audience along on a journey that spans continents and centuries, illuminating and expanding on the profound power and variation of the human voice. The singers educate as they entertain, sharing stories about their songs and explaining the context and characteristics of the styles in which they sing.
But there’s another, crucial dimension to Windborne that guides and roots their artistry. They are adherents to folk music’s longtime alliance with social activism, labor and civil rights, and other movements that champion the oppressed, the poor, and the disenfranchised.
The group is also committed to bringing vocal traditions to a younger audience and over the past year has found surprisingly viral success on TikTok for such unlikely genres as Corsican polyphony or early 20th century labor anthems.
Windborne are currently on tour:
Friday 20th January- Concert- Village Hall- Morden, Wareham, BH20 7DT. 7.30 pm £10, under 18- £5.
Saturday 21st January- Workshop and concert- Redland park URC Church, Whiteladies road, Bristol, BS6 6SA. Workshop- 1.30 – 5.30 pm- £35/£28, Concert- 7-8 pm- £10/£8. Combined ticket- £40 / £30
Sunday 22nd January- Workshop and concert- Town Hall, Wirkswirth, DE4 4EU. Workshop- 10 am- 4pm £15, Concert- 7.30 pm £10
Tuesday 24th January- Concert- St Mary’s Church, Burnley road, Todmorden OL14 7BD. 7pm Tickets- £8 – £20.
Sunday 29th January- Workshop + concert- Humshaugh Village Hall, Hexham, NE46 4AD. Workshop- 10 am- £15, Concert- 1.30 pm £15. Combined ticket- £20. Contact- [email protected]
Monday 30th January- Workshop and concert- St Margarets church, Rufford Road, Manchester, M16 8AE. Workshop- 7-8.30 pm- £12, Concert- 8.45 pm £12. Combined ticket- £20.
Tuesday 31st January- Workshop and concert- Ty Pawb, Market street, Wrexham, LL13 8BB, Wales. Workshop 7-8 pm £12, Concert- 8.15 pm £12. Combined ticket- £20. Tickets- [email protected]
Wednesday February 1st- Workshop + concert- Capel Penrallt, Holyhead road, Bangor, LL57 2EU, Wales. 7-9 pm. Tickets- Before January 18th- £18, After January 18th- £25. [email protected]
Friday February 3rd- Workshop and concert- Village Hall, East runton, NR27 9PG, Norfolk. Workshop- 10 am to noon- £10, Concert- 7.30 pm- £12. Combined ticket- £20. Tickets- [email protected] or 01263-519739
Saturday 4th February- Workshop and concert- St Edmunds hall, Hoxne, Eye, IP21 5AN, Suffolk. Workshop- 2-6 pm- £20, Concert 7pm- £15, Combined ticket- £30.
Windborne have a website, at windbornesingers.com, and are on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Insta.
Jadu Heart’s track, ‘Freedom’, was released at the end of last year.
London-based duo Jadu Heart (Diva-Sachy Jeffrey and Alex Headford) preview another single, ‘Freedom’, from their highly anticipated third album ‘Derealised’.
‘Freedom’ provides Jadu Heart’s most singalong chorus to date, a call to arms for those not willing to submit to a rigid life. An escapist anthem, it’s no coincidence that it was written during lockdown when the band felt suffocated both physically & musically. The Jaxon Whittington directed music video follows a cowboy with a third eye going on a surreal adventure, towing the line between horror-fantasy and Acid Western.
The band said “‘Freedom’ is a song about wanting to escape, it seems almost impossible to get away from the constant claustrophobic tightening of technology, information overload, bills and commitments; unfortunately that just seems an integral part of life in the 2020’s. This song is a dream for space to breathe.”
The single follows previous album tracks ‘Cocoon’ and ‘I Shimmer’. The album was worked out of their home in Stoke Newington. Having moved back from Bristol, they burrowed down during lockdown to make their most interconnected body of work yet. The album ‘Derealised’ will come out on January 20 via VLF Records
The band recently announced their biggest headline tour to date. It includes shows in the UK, Europe and North America for January 2023.
Tour Dates
Sat Jan 21st – Rough Trade, London (Instore)
Sun Jan 22 – Rough Trade, Bristol (Instore)
Tue Jan 24th – Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA
Weds Jan 25th – Starline Social Club, Oakland, CA
Fri Jan 27th – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
Sat Jan 28th – Barboza, Seattle, OR
Sun Jan 29th – Fortune Club, Vancouver, BC
Wed Feb 1st – 7th St Entry, Minneapolis, MN
Fri Feb 3rd – Sleeping Village, Chicago, IL
Sat Feb 4th – The Velvet Underground, Toronto, ON
Sun Feb 5th – Petit Campus, Montreal, QB
Tue Feb 7th – Brighton Music Hall, Allston/Boston, MA
Wed Feb 8th – Elsewhere, Brooklyn, NY
Fri Feb 10th – The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA
Sat Feb 11th – Songbyrd Record Cafe, Washington, DC
Fri Mar 24th – Mash Rooms, Edinburgh, UK
Sat Mar 25th – Audio, Glasgow, UK
Mon Mar 27th – YES, Manchester, UK
Tue Mar 28th – Exchange, Bristol, UK
Thu Mar 30th – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
Fri Mar 31st – Patterns, Brighton, UK
Sun Apr 2nd – La Boule Noire, Paris, France
Mon Apr 3rd – Paradiso (Small Hall) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tue Apr 4th – Yuca, Cologne, Germany
Thu Apr 6th – Lido, Berlin, Germany
Sat Apr 8th – Vega (Small Hall), Copenhagen, Denmark
Jadu Heart are on YouTube, and have a website at jaduheart.com. The album can be pre-ordered on-line
Wookalily are releasing ‘Old New Mill’ on January 20th.
‘Old New Mill’ reflects on the volatile nature of the music industry. It’s written from the perspective of a music lover who longs to hear their favourite star sing once again. It’s a dark yet poetic and timeless Jimmy Webb inspired classic with a sonic nod to Nouvelle Vague. Releasing 20th January with a launch at the Out to Lunch Festival, Belfast.
Wookalily have a website with all their links.
A recording of the show is available at MixCloud.
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