Tag Archives: single

R.J. Archer & The Painful Memories : Lay It Low, single released 9 June 2023

A new single from Cambridge blues-rockers R.J. Archer & The Painful Memories, a follow up to their March release ‘I Can’t Lose You’ with both tracks featuring on the LP ‘Horseplay!‘ due in September this year. The earlier release was a taut, spiky blues shuffle, with the angst in the vocal working towards the strong hook of the title line.

This new companion piece ‘Lay It Low’ is mellower in pace and tone, with some neat harmonies in the vocals and the winning sound of a double lead guitar break. It is infused with the spirit of classic 70s country rock, at times melancholic and wistful but always musically interesting; effortlessly switching sections between verses, chorus and an unpredictable middle eight and showing how this band continues to progress and grow in confidence.

https://www.facebook.com/RJArcherMusic

emzae : I Guess, Anyway, single released 12 April 2023

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A new track from emzae; composed, performed and produced by the Derby based musician. It will be the central track on her forthcoming album ‘All Those Things I Thought I Knew’, due on 1st September this year. ‘I Guess, Anyway’ is the follow-up to the concise funky blast of ‘Extraordinary’, also to feature on the album.

In contrast to the casual tone of the title it is a sweeping, epic track encompassing many of the themes of her strong run of previous singles, both lyrically and musically. With a soothing introduction establishing the gentle waltz pace the phrases drift in and out ‘….if the sky still is the limit it seems like its falling for me….’ leading into ‘…..if only I’d taken a moment to capture the confidence I had before…’. There are four musical sections to investigate the themes of introspection and reflection, culminating in a big thoughtful chorus ‘…here I am at least twice my age at the same time I swear I’m too young, for the next stage….’.

Just when you think the song is ending in atmospheric contemplation big bold washes of sound create a guitar sounding solo to herald the strong finale; a cascade of dense electronic immersion for a passionate declaration of powerful words; ‘…..the knowing nothing years….desperate for loving years…..wishing for golden years…..hate getting older years……it’s all been played out before….’

I have followed emzae’s music for a while (see other reviews on this site) and with this track her gift for melody has combined with one of her best ever vocal performance to produce a brilliant result.

https://emzaemusic.com/

Photo credit : Madison Fiorenza

Tape Runs Out : Ode to Barry, single released 8 September 2021

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A new single from Cambridge ensemble Tape Runs Out is a dreamy tribute to the bearded dragon belonging to lead singer Liam.

Starting with a hypnotic figure generated by the haunting sonics of the hammered dulcimer the track adds layers of acoustic texture to produce a stately paean to the precious pet ‘….Barry you know we’re here for you….Barry won’t you stay with us…’.

The song gently eases along but continues to build the boldness of the sound with strings, a guitar solo and overall a feeling of melancholy and lost prog-folk drifting off into the ether. Watching the video it doesn’t seem like the languid lizard is going to wander too far away anyway, but this track acts as a splendid showcase for the instrumental possibilities and otherworldly viewpoint of future recordings from this unique group of musicians.

https://www.taperunsout.co.uk/

https://www.trappedanimal.com/home

review of 2020 EP ‘Sleepwalking Into A Fire’ here

Katy Hurt : Face to Face, single released 27 August 2021

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A gorgeous new single from Katy Hurt; a country waltz full of wistful regret that is another example of her strong songwriting talent.

Starting with a gentle free-form guitar introduction the band ease into the mix with a shuffling, easy rhythm that creates instant atmosphere. Instrumentally this is judged perfectly but the glorious vocal performance from Katy is the show-stopper. As the feelings and tension are only just restrained the listener is pulled into her world of possible heartbreak, ‘…..I’m searching for the rhyme or reason for what’s going on…we’re supposed to be closer than ever before….but somehow we’re further away…’.

It is a track that is at the opposite end of the spectrum to many of Katy’s previous rockier releases such as the pop energy of ‘See Ya Later’ and the road trip narration of ‘Revved Up’. The new track ‘Face to Face’ has parallels with the pensive poetry of her excellent 2019 ballad ‘Unfinished Business’, ‘….there’s a book on a nightstand I’m ten pages in and the spine has already been broken….’, a song full of raw emotional imagery resolving into the melodic grace of the chorus.

https://www.katyhurt.com/

Public Service Broadcasting : Blue Heaven, single released August 2021

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Another teaser for the September release of the fourth Public Service Broadcasting LP ‘Bright Magic’, this time featuring the simultaneously rich and icy vocals of Berlin-based performer and lyric co-writer Andreya Casablanca. She steers the song from a low-key start, bristling with musical tension before the band gradually add layers to the sound. Then the explosive guitar flourishes enrich the dense production of repeating bass notes and the full-on drum sound that we know and love. The chorus line ‘….I, in my blue heaven….’ takes on a haunting, disconnected feeling as it reappears through the track and Andreya’s vocal delivery is rewardingly unpredictable and intriguing.

This is a road movie of a song, carrying all before it as it travels to a resolution somewhere in the high ether. Growing in power with every listen, hopefully this will be part of the live set when the band tours later this year…

Public Service Broadcasting

Andreya Casablanca | Facebook

Public Service Broadcasting : People, Let’s Dance [ft. EERA], single released June 2021 | cambridgemusicreviews

Jen Dixon : Save Me, single released June 2021

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A new single from singer/songwriter Jen Dixon, following on from the evocative ‘Which Way Is Down?’ from earlier this year. That was a wistful ballad; full of restrained intensity in the vocal, complemented by the haunting echoes of the production. The catchy chorus and spoken word break all added to the winning effect.

Now ‘Save Me’ further explores some darker thoughts and stretches more emotional heartstrings, along with showing her gift for composing a strong melody line and delivering it with conviction. As the chords descend the bleak picture is painted, ‘…standing on a knife edge….waiting to fall….’, but there are also threads of optimism in the repeated lines ‘….I want to know will you catch me if I fall…I want to know will you notice if I’ve gone…will you save me?….’. Jen’s recordings are self-produced; here the subtly crafted musical arrangement gently frames this fine song.

Jen Dixon | Facebook

Star Pixel : The Circle, single released 18 June 2021

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A new collaboration between Cambridge musician Gavin Chappell-Bates and electro dance music producer Charlie Howell, Star Pixel release their first single. The duo’s name may be an amalgam of macro and micro scales but this sound is unreservedly big, brash and full of the passion that Gavin Chappell-Bates always brings to his singing performances, no doubt influenced by his favourite band the Manic Street Preachers whose album has a cameo in the accompanying video.

Brilliantly edited by collaborator Karen Cann, the multiple visual images featured are rapid jump cuts of real life circles from the natural world, sound technology and art. It is as exhaustingly frenetic as the music and works like a hypnotic spell to complement and pull you into the track. As the unrelenting drive of the guitars duel with the giant electro beats, the lyrics culminate in an extensive list including ‘…. criminals, dreamers, lovers and leaders…peacemakers, instigators and the non-believers…step right up, step right in…’ who would all be welcome to join ‘The Circle’…

There will be many more 2021 releases from this highly creative duo, who classify their music as ‘Electro-GrungeStep’…

Star Pixel – Duo creating Electro-GrungeStep. (starpixelmusic.com)

Karen Cann Video

Flaming June : The Ballad of Daniel Dawson, single released 18 June 2021

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Flaming June releases a new single, ahead of an album called ‘Hope in a Jar’ due in the autumn of 2021. From her lockdown attic songwriter Louise Eatock has carefully crafted a follow-up to her 2018 release ‘The Women’s Battalion’, a timely reminder of the historic struggle to improve the inequalities of the voting system one hundred years ago. Musically it was restless and urgent, with the powerful rhythm guitar duelling with the incisive violin from collaborator Alex Herring. That intensity and music combination carries into this new song; a fast paced likeable folk soundtrack to a very dark tale.

Daniel Dawson was hanged in 1812 in Cambridge (in front of a crowd of 12,000 people as it was market day in the city!?) for poisoning race horses at Newmarket. Louise’s lyrics tell the courtroom story and see Daniel as the scapegoat for unseen powerful figures ‘…just swallow down that bitter pill…I’m just one cheat among many…a little minnow plucked from the shallows…’ and concludes that ‘….he’s a lesson that we can learn from…’, with an undertone of resignation.

Transferring a wider issue into an individual case ‘protest song’ to give extra impact and make an issue more relatable is a little used but very effective song writing tool – Bob Dylan has a few including ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’ and ‘Hurricane’ – now ‘The Ballad of Daniel Dawson’ joins the list and reminds us that many of these societal injustices and themes just keep repeating…

Flaming June (flamingjunemusic.com)

Flaming June : The Firework Maker’s Daughter, EP released December 2018 | cambridgemusicreviews

R.J. Archer & The Painful Memories : ‘Who Am I Supposed To Love Now?’, single released 14 June 2021

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From the angst of the band name to the opening tension of the lyric, ‘…tell me I been walking a thin line…and I’ll be towing it as soon as you say…’, R.J. Archer & The Painful Memories are back with a blistering burst of troubled blues rock. Last heard from on their self-titled EP from 2019 (reviewed below) featuring the edgy majesty of lead track ‘It’s Snowing In Hell’, this new release is a forerunner to their delayed debut long-player ‘Hot Mess’.

A punchy, up tempo cut from this Cambridge trio, ‘Who Am I Supposed To Love Now?’ is firmly rooted in the groove of the sort of cool and credible blues-infused record that would appear regularly and successfully in the pop charts of the late 1960s and 70s. It is a summary of lovelorn discontent set to sparse instrumentation, emotionally raw vocals and featuring twisty guitar links, a roving bassline and drums always on the verge of being fully unleashed. And, of course, all in less than three minutes…

R.J. Archer & the Painful Memories | Facebook

R.J. Archer & The Painful Memories, EP released July 2019 | cambridgemusicreviews

The Bagatelles : Teenagers, single released June 2021

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A new single from Derby quartet The Bagatelles is a likeable slice of summery power pop, from the jumpy electric guitar line that is a welcome intervention throughout the song, to the wistful lyric evoking past times but always with a thoughtful optimism. This is set out in simple and affectionate terms in the middle eight, ‘….I want you and you want me with all the vulnerability….well take it slow though time goes fast…’. Musically the band deliver a crisp indie rock sound; full of light and shade and there is constantly something interesting to catch your attention.

I previously reviewed their 2019 single ‘Point Of View’ which was built around a simple echoing guitar figure and used the cosmic references to emphasise the emotion in the lyric, ‘…. you’re in my orbit girl and you’re voice I can’t help but listen…. I want to be your sun….I’ll be your galaxy…..’. It may have been heavily ironic or tinged with later regret but taken at face value it was straight to the heart, just like this new track.

The band are building up a catalogue of attractive songs and hopefully they will soon be able to cement their live reputation for immediacy and energy.

The Bagatelles | Facebook