This is fine.
The last few months, I’ve personally been hyping the new LP from Finland’s Black Twig, Was Not Looking for Magic. Below…I give you an early stream, as well as my track by track breakdown. If you’re interested in picking up the album, it’s out this Friday via our friends over at Soliti, and I promise you, its got my stamp of approval! Leaving the stream at the top as that’s what’s most important, but my track by track breakdown lives below!
After a five year absence, Finnish outfit Black Twig return this year with a brand new LP, and we’ve got a sneak peek at what’s in store. While their early work had this heavy hand to it, I love how the group seem to have polished off the edges in favor of this darkened pop vibe; it almost reminds me of my faves The Black Watch. At times it feels gothic, but almost pastoral, perhaps tying into the band’s ‘secular gospel” theme on this particular song. Alas, you still get a heavy-hand as guitars dart towards the end, echoing and feeding back in this tailspin of squall. Both bright and dark, this song finds the band taking comfort in achieving a perfect balance. We expect great things when the group drop Was Not Looking for Magic on February 26th via Soliti.
You know by now that I’m super into the Finnish scene, right? Well, I owe that entirely to my friend Nick, who at one point worked with Gim Kordon on his own Soliti label. But, the band’s own Aleksi has started a new label titled All That Plazz, who will be releasing future music from GK…for now they’re teasing that with a new single. This has a great 90s college rock feel to it, kind of hints at scuzzy, but plays a bigger role with a huge pop sensibility; its the sort of sound that wouldn’t be far out of line with a Merge or Sub Pop, particularly in the late 90s…so you know everyone here is on board. We’ll keep you posted on more, but just wanted to have you dip your toes in some jams from overseas.
We don’t get too many six minute songs these days, and with the abundance of music out there, I guess (?) that’s a good thing. But, every now and then, you want a journey, like this Sonic Visions track. The propulsive rhythm section opens the tune, setting the pace early, but when the vocals come in, it looks upon the heroes of 90s Britpop…even Oasis. They employ other elements like cascading atmospheric guitars for layering purposes, then close the song out emphatically. If you’re looking for something that can hold your ears for longer than a minute, journey with us my friends. Look for the band’s Lost in Between EP in early 2017 from Soliti.
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Love Sport have graced our pages a few times before, and they’re back again today with a brand new video for you from their forthcoming record, Dull Tracks. The video is a shot in a home-video format, telling the story of a cursed guitar that just won’t quit until it’s burned into ashes. For the song, you’ll find the band bending chords, throwing down semi-psychedelic guitar licks and working with some distinctive vocal tones. I can see people making comparisons to Mac D or that horrifically named genre, slacker-pop. Regardless, I’m digging it. Look for the LP from Soliti later on this year!
While we haven’t heard anything new from Big Wave Riders in a few years, rest assured that the band hasn’t left our mind since they released Life Less Ordinary. Lucky for us all the band are back with a brand new album and a brand new single to affirm their place in our listening hearts. While I love the song, musically, I think the band’s message behind the track is as important; the lyrical content focuses on a need to escape a world inundated by media horror stories in order to find something to believe in…being sunshine in this case. There’s light at the end of the tunnel folks, especially when Soliti releases Endless Summer later in 2016.
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It’s a fresh year, so why not start it off with some fresh tunes from Finland and Black Twig. We’ve enjoyed what this band has had to offer before now, but this might be the best work they’ve completed. There’s a casual approach, just filling the song with these sliding alternative guitar chords that cut through your speakers; it sounds like a modern spin on some of the tunes we got from Teenage Fanclub. Vocals sit perfectly in the mix, providing the perfect emotional draw for listeners…never getting in the way of the instruments. Their third album, Blaze on a Plain, will be released by Soliti in April of this year; sounds like it’s going to be a helluva record.
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