Montreal based garage rockers Taxi Girls have made a video for their Secret Handshake single about a Summer fling: "All that's left is a bit of muscle memory and bittersweet thoughts of what could have been, knowing full that it was not supposed to last."
HCTF review of Secret Handshake
Manchester based alternative rock band Scatterchild is led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Plent who wears his heart on his sleeve. The new single Ocean finds him in the midst of emotional turmoil after a breakup and having no clue how to go on. There is a bit of the baroque pop side of Marillion in there, but also the grit of a slightly distorted guitar.
His mate Quentin Wylie, singer of Getner, stepped up to the mike as well, because that's friends do: help out when the shit has hit the fan. As a come down after the vocal pyrotechnics, the instrumental version puts a spotlight on the music as such, with the strings leading the way.
British poet Brian Bilston and indie band The Catenary Wires have unveiled a video for Under A Cat, a song from the forthcoming Pets Sounds album, a collection of tunes by various artists singing the praises about their animal mates.
Bilston complains with tongue firmly in his cheek that he could have fixed a lot things - tropical diseases, world peace, or even complete the mundane ask of hoovering the house - had it not been for not wanting to disturb the feline creature sitting on his lap.
French laidback band Feutre are down to a trio, with multi-instrumentalist Michaël Korchia as the sole remaining member of their days as a quartet. The sound hasn't changed that much. The new single L'indocile, is quite a bit more poppy than the jazz-indused sound that was all over their Nos rencontres album.
Singer Elsa Leroyer must have listened to quite a few yé-yé singles from the 60s in order to nail the phrasing for this tale about a woman who had decided not to play by the rules any longer. It is the first taste from the Les grands ensembles album, due for release on September 25th. The video was made by Zian Palau.
Groningen-based noise/sludge/experimental rock band VRLCHT ("verlicht" without the vowels in Dutch) rose from the embers of Slumbercloud, with three of its members honouring the power trio format. They have been working out on new material and their first release will be 5-part piece Ode, a wake up call for those who are still not aware that fascism is on the rise again.
They recorded it live, in one take. The second part is now available for streaming. The whole thing hits the shops on September 4 (vinyl, digital). The LP on marbled red and black vinyl has the exclusive track O.D.E. on the B-side.
