Little Indie blog
A little blog about indie stuff
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Bristol rockers Glass Violet Sing & Tell on 'Chemicals', recording, Rasta hats + more
Bristol-based rock five-piece Glass Violet specialise in big choruses and soaring guitar riffs, taking inspiration from the likes of Kasabian, The Killers and Foals. They release their debut single 'Chemicals' today (August 16).
Who are you?
I'm Alex John, guitarist and occasional lead vocalist with Glass Violet. Then there's Tom Hurdiss on lead vocals and guitar, Josh Walsh, bass, Matt West hitting the drums, and Declan Pollard on keys/synths.
Tell us something about yourself and how you came to be where you are today.
Myself and Tom met in Bristol at the start of last summer. We were both looking for people to start a new project with and we came across each other through the world of the internet as wWme both had ads up looking for band members and had listed pretty much exactly the same musical influences. We began working on music and recording demos at Alex's house for around 6 months until we had enough material for a set and then we got Matt, Josh and Declan involved just after Christmas and began rehearsing the full band. We played our first gig at The Louisiana in Bristol, supporting our friends Krooked Tongue in March this year, and released a demo of our track 'North Sentinel Island'. Since then we've been playing shows around Bristol and received backing from BBC Radio Bristol and This Feeling. In June we started the recording process for our debut single 'Chemicals'; it was self-produced and we wrapped up the work on that around the end of July.
Give us an idea of your musical style and influences.
We all have quite similar musical influences, we all love bands such as The Killers, Foals, DMA's, Oasis etc and anything with a huge chorus. Declan also likes to get down and dirty with the reggae side of things, so don't be alarmed if you see him wearing a Rasta style hat on stage whilst shredding his way through the keyboard.
Explain the production and writing process behind your songs.
I will normally come up with the core of the songs and demo them at home before showing them to Tom and then he'll say something like 'what about moving this here, or trying something else there' and then that'll take them up another gear. We then take the songs down the rehearsal room and everyone goes at it like a pack of wolves and that normally takes them up another gear again.
Tell us a little about your new single.
'Chemicals' was the very first track me and Tom worked on together over the summer of last year. Ihad the chords and melody laid out and then we polished off the lyrics in a few hours and then Tom slammed in the big fat guitar solo like an absolute string wizard at the end and we started recording the demo the same day and I think we decided there and then it was to be the first single. Not too bad for our first writing session together really.
Can we catch up with you at any forthcoming live shows?
Next up for us is Friday, August 23rd in Newport at Le Pub where we'll be playing alongside Welsh boys Bandicoot, and we're also planning our first headline show in Bristol for October, which we've got a class line up for and we're really looking forward to.
How's the rest of the year looking, plans-wise?
We'll be knocking about with some more live shows and getting back in the studio to record the second single, which will be even bigger and better than this one.
Where can we hear more of your music?
This is only our first single, so if you are hungry to hear more you'll have to come and see us play live for the time being!
What social media platforms can we find you on
Instagram // Facebook // Twitter -
LA's Kitten purr into 'Memphis'
Words: Ellie Ward
Los Angeles-via-New York's Kitten follow last year's 'Pink Champagne' EP, with a taste of its successor, 'Goodbye Honeymoon Phase' - out in October - in 'Memphis'.
Around touring with Girlpool, New Order, and Smashing Pumpkins, and the band's frontwoman Chloe Chaidez working with Nasty Cherry, the rising Charli XCX-curated girl group, Kitten have been producing more of their own power-pop.
The 90s influenced track is introduced via the directorial debut video of photographer Tsarina Merrin, and was filmed at Kitten's LA base.
Watch the clip for 'Memphis' below.
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Pet Fangs stream new album 'Ultra Deluxe'
Garage-pop foursome Pet Fangs have released their full-length album 'Ultra Deluxe' today (August 16). The record album includes single releases ,-'Afterglow', 'Bitch, Baby', and their latest track 'Problemz'.
'Ultra Deluxe' sees the Louisiana rock 'n' rollers juxtapose life and comedy, exploring everything from relationships and parenthood, to drinking habits and hard hitting topics like immigration, melding rock and pop, with elements of 80s-inspired exuberance.
Listen to the 13-track record in full below.
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Listen :: Calva Louise - Belicoso
Credit: Conner Dixon
Words: Sam Geary
Produced and mixed by Tarek Musa (Spring King, Dead Nature), ‘Belicoso' is the new single from Calva Louise, and the lead cut off their next EP 'Interlude For The Borderline Unsettled'.
The track follows the release of their debut album 'Rhinoceros' last February.
"We can take 'Belicoso' with a touch of humour, because in Spanish it roughly translates to 'Lairy’," explains
frontwoman Jess Allanic. "In the society we live in nowadays, we realise that our journey will always be challenging, and a mundane life can feel like a perpetual battle! Sometimes trying to find peace can become overwhelming, and as everything that we bottle up inside needs a cathartic outlet, instead of taking it with indignation and frustration, we try to use that accumulated energy to stop fuelling a vicious cycle that never seems to end.”
Listen below.
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Liam Gallagher is 'One of Us' (definitely...maybe)
Words: Leah Raymond
In case you hadn't heard, our kid Liam G is releasing his second solo album 'Why Me? Why Not' next month. We know this as he keeps dropping tracks from it like swatted flies. So far we have had 'Shockwave', 'The River' and 'Once', and now comes yet another.
'One of Us' was co-written with Andrew Wyatt, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner plays guitar on the track. “You said we’d live forever, who do you think you’re kidding? / You were only one of us in time,” sings Liam.
“‘One of Us’ is about family, friendship and a sense of belonging,” he states. “I love the groove and the gospel outro. It reminds me of The Sweet Inspirations."
Listen to it below.
