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[musicblogwales]

Pip Blom announce new EP Grip - And Share New single 'Ring' 

Amsterdam-based indie band Pip Blom announce their new EP Grip for June 6th and reveal the details of a club-tour monikered as Club Grip (ft. specially selected support, including Mount Palomar for the UK dates). New single ‘Ring’ is out today as the first taste of the EP.

Following their previous explorations in synthpop on the acclaimed album Bobbie, the band dives even deeper into a vibrant, technicolour sound.  This marks their first independent release after a successful run with Heavenly Recordings, fully written and recorded in Pip’s home studio by Pip Blom, Tender Blom and Darek Mercks.

‘Ring’ is an apt introduction to the new project - glitching synths and washes set the tone, before the trio’s trademark indie-hooks, guitar lines, and Pip’s affecting lyrics take centre-stage.

Lyrically, the Grip EP reflects Pip’s personal struggles over a turbulent year. “I’ve had a pretty rough year with lots of difficult events in my private life happening. And throughout this period I started to notice how much I craved to find some sort of grip. It's difficult to have this overpowering sense of searching for something to hold on to, as unfortunately, as we all know, you can’t really get that. Life is very unpredictable.”

The spirit of collaboration pervades the EP as well. The band had a set of remixes commissioned for around their Welcome Break album, which inspired them to explore different avenues. Notably,  Ludwig A.F. made a remix of the song ‘Keep It Together’ -  “I was sold straight away. I realized that there was a massive part of music that I had never really listened to that I might actually really like. I started thinking about the music that we made and if there would be a way to combine both worlds. We slowly started to incorporate more dance elements into our songs. It started subtle with Bobbie and now with this EP it has been a priority. I have really tried to keep it very Pip Blom; the main instruments are a little different, but the sounds, melodies and hooks are still very much us”.

This fresh creative process for the band has also allowed Pip to step forward in a more hands on approach regarding the production - in this vein she worked alongside 4 times Grammy winning producer and mixer Claudius Mittendorfer.

Overall, across Grip Pip Blom manage to marry hyper-personal experiences with widescreen themes, hovering perfectly between pop charm and rock edge. Through all its explorations, there's one topic that keeps returning: “I don’t like to specify individual themes, but a very important subject in my life is always love. Love for yourself, love between yourself and a partner, love for your family, loving yourself and what it means if that love fades away in some kind of way or changes all of the sudden.“

To celebrate the EP's release, Pip Blom will perform six exclusive club shows as part of a Club Grip tour, including three in the Netherlands and three in the UK.

"This summer, Pip Blom is stepping into smaller rooms with bigger intentions. Six special nights in the UK and the Netherlands, where indie meets the heartbeat of the club. Not a rehearsal, not a regular gig – but a new kind of show. Built to move, made to celebrate. They are marking the release of their new EP 'Grip' with something more intimate, more electric. Club grip. Is where we meet in the middle – guitars, synths, sweat, and all."

Pip Blom are - Pip Blom, vocals, guitar, synths, Tender Blom; backing vocals, guitar, synths; Darek Mercks, bass guitar, synths

[musicblogwales]

FIONA-LEE second single 'Nothing Compares To Nineteen' 

'Nothing Compares To Nineteen' is a stunning-slice of dream-pop gold that will easily galvanise 'Fiona-Lee' as a major festival headliner......Everywhere! For fans of Florence & The Machine and Stevie Nicks x

With a unfiltered take on her personal teenage experiences, Fiona-Lee shares empowering second single ‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’, out now following its Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music premiere) via Gravity Records (Divorce, Ella McRobb).

The follow-up to anthemic debut offering ‘Mother’ released earlier this summer, ‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’ showcases the Yorkshire native’s evocative songwriting in full flow, tackling themes of vulnerability, shame and grief through her early-life experiences and packaging them into a musical patchwork oozing with irresistible sensibilities.

Having ticked off several festival slots across the summer months, including capacity shows at The Great Escape and debut appearances at TRNSMT, Kendal Calling and Boardmasters, the musician is certainly making her presence felt throughout the tastemaker landscape. Press champions have arrived in the form of DIY Magazine, Dork Magazine, The Line Of Best Fit and Under The Radar amongst others, whilst several spotlight BBC 6 Music features have landed with the likes of Steve Lamacq (The Great Escape special), Amy Lamé (‘Sunday Girl’) and Huw Stephens (‘Huw Are You’), as well as debut BBC Radio 1 (Nels Hylton) airplay.

Speaking ahead of its release, Fiona-Lee explained: “‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’ is my own story of growing up and struggling with anxiety and depression when I was at school. I wrote it a couple years after a life long friend had taken his life and I was experiencing grief for the first time. It made me think about a conversation I’d had with my dad when I was about 15, where he told me that he’d also struggled with depression when he was young but never got help.

It was the first time I became properly aware of the difference between men and women when it comes to talking about our feelings - and that became even clearer when I was 19 and witnessed it first hand with my friend dying.

So I guess the song is really something I hope young people can find some comfort in, knowing that they’re not the only socially anxious kid out there that’s intimidated by the boys at school - and I also hope it can keep the conversation going about the importance of men being able to express themselves truthfully and feeling they can ask for help when they need it.”

Fiona-Lee’s ‘Nothing Compare To Nineteen’ is out now via Gravity Records and available on all digital platforms.  Live Dates 4th Sept - Omeara, London (w/ Odie Leigh) 14th Sept - Radar Festival, Zurich 5th Oct - Neighbourhood Festival, Manchester 12th Oct - Twisterella Festival, Middlesbrough

[musicblogwales]

SILVERBACKS return with new single 'Selling Shovels'

Dublin 6-piece Silverbacks return with new single ‘Selling Shovels’, recorded with Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox. It’s their first release since 2022 sophomore effort Archive Material (Full Time Hobby). Scrappy guitar harmonics usher in a rolling slice of wonky guitar pop, atop which vocalist Daniel O’Kelly delivers a staccato admission to a natural impatience / morbid curiosity.  As he explains: "The idea for these lyrics came from a habit I have - maybe everyone does it?  When reading a historical figure’s wikipedia page I often lose interest and so I jump straight to the ‘personal life’ and ‘death’ part of the page to see how they died and the circumstances they were in at the time. The lyrics flicker between mundane distractions and fairly horrific images of war. Selling Shovels is a reference to ‘selling shovels during the gold rush’." This desire to head straight to the meaty bits echoes Silverbacks’ lean approach to slacker indebted art-rock; a startling dexterity allows the sextet to traverse styles without wasting a note. Updating the 90s/00s sound of Pavement, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo and Yeah Yeah Yeahs and instilling it with a very particular brand of 2020’s angst, Silverbacks punctuate tongue-in-cheek moments and surreal lyrics with sudden lucid points. Across two acclaimed releases - 2020 debut Fad and 2022 follow-up Archive Material the band have picked up a slew of champions across press and radio. A transatlantic appeal has seen this bear out across the Irish, UK, and North American landscapes (Stereogum, PASTE, Brooklyn Vegan; The Sunday Times, The Quietus, NME, 6 Music). With ‘Selling Shovels’ Silverbacks continue on the course set out by their two albums to date. However, with some distance now from the pandemic which these records sandwiched - and had an unintentional and unfortunate formative effect - the band have clearer air, and a lighter touch, born of a combination of musical and personal settling down.  ‘Selling Shovels’ - the new single from Silverbacks - is out now via Central Tones / Cargo.  Silverbacks are Daniel O'Kelly (Vocals/Guitar), Kilian O'Kelly (Guitar/Vocals), Emma Hanlon (Vocals/Bass), Paul Leamy (Bass), Peadar Kearney (Guitar) and Gary Wickham (Drums) Silverbacks Online Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify Live Dates August 23-25th - Féile Na Gréine, Limerick October 19th - Workman's Club, Dublin October 20th - Coughlan's, Cork October 24th - YES Basement, Manchester October 25th - Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield October 26th - Shacklewell Arms, London

[musicblogwales]

Bored At My Grandmas House Announces New Album

Not being funny, but Bored At My Grandma House produces hazy pop gold at its very peak, Amber's new anticipated debut album 'Show And Tell' drops on the 7th of June via CLUE Records / EMI North and we personally cant wait.

After making waves with her critically acclaimed debut EP Sometimes I Forget You're Human Too, Bored at My Grandmas House, AKA Leeds-based Amber Strawbridge, announces her debut album Show & Tell for June 7th via CLUE Records (The Wedding Present, Van Houten, YOWL) / EMI North (Nadine Shah) as well as a a London headline date at MOTH Club on October 16th.  The title track is out now with the reveal of the record - following late 2023 release ‘Inhibitions’. Reminiscent of artists like Soccer Mommy, Snail Mail, and Alvvays, ‘Show & Tell’ is a breezy track which meets at the intersection between dream-pop, bedroom-pop and shoegaze, the sprightly guitar work echoing the droll lyrics and themes. It’s a hooky song which lays bare difficulties with trust, and building walls for self-protection. As Amber explains:  “Show & Tell is quite a tongue-in-cheek song about me being the opposite of an open book and all the little specific things about me that I sometimes wish were different. Overall it’s about me being a guarded person and fearing the possibility of having to be vulnerable and realising that vulnerability is actually a beautiful thing and something i shouldn’t be so scared of.”  On her debut album, Amber explores a broad range of heavy topics including anxiety, friendship, introspection, love, human greed, mental health, loss and empathy (or a lack of it) in the world. Despite the breadth of themes covered, each track deals with the weight of the subject with real conviction, while not losing any of Amber’s trademark pop sensibilities. She elaborates a little more on the thematic process:  “The main overall theme of this album is connection. Connection with myself, connection with the world and connection to the people around me who I love. This album is for me first and foremost and was a way for me to internally process.  The origin of these tracks all stem from me wanting to understand these connections and process my emotions surrounding them. The album covers topics such as the power of queer love, humanity and its ‘delusions of grandeur’,  reflection and purpose.  It would be unwise to say that I haven’t developed and changed a lot since my EP. I’ve experienced more, questioned more, felt more and allowed myself to be vulnerable more - which I hope translates throughout the Album.”  Amber has received support and coverage from DIY, Dork, Clash, BBC Radio 1, BBC 6Music, Rough Trade and more in the past, and has played Glastonbury, BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, Swn Festival, Standon Calling, Deer Shed (main stage) and more.  Originally from Cumbria but now based in Leeds, Amber began recording music in 2017 using garageband on her phone; she updated her bedroom set-up after saving up to buy a laptop and Logic Pro. After a couple of years of self taught production and recording Amber began working with Clue Records, releasing her debut EP Sometimes I Forget You're Human Too which gained critical acclaim and sold out two pressings all before Amber had ever played a single gig.  Amber wrote and recorded all the demos for her debut album in her bedroom, before taking them to The Nave studio where she worked with Alex Greaves to give them a studio twist, allowing them to fulfil their rightful potential. 

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