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Label, 4000 Records, on September the 1st, saw the debut release of post-punk, Brisbane band, Start Together, which also, is sadly, their farewell album, called Founder In Oddity. The line up for the recording of the album is Gerard Lawrence (guitar, vocals), Emma Walton (bass, backing vocals), Demetry Malahoff (guitar, synths) and James Boothroyd (drums).

Photo by Madeline Randall

“Impostering The Nascent” or pretending to come into existence, is the jangle shoegaze filled starting instrumental that introduces you Start Together, wandering from brusque to enchantingly dreamy. One cannot help if the heart cares, and so there is the sweet “Squire Jefferson Care Instructions“, as the music cries out, while we are introduced to the dulcet vocals of Lawrence. You might think the track “Lookfar” is a quiet affair, but you are plunged into peeling walls of guitars for the chorus and vocals that are filled with longing, and the poetic lines ‘Assemble me Tireless moil And mark An incendiary soul‘ are simply golden.

There is a joy in the music of “Separate Beds,” yet the lyrics bely this with a certain amount of cynicism, while I hear echoes of The Strokes mixed with The Church. Another instrumental in the form of “Skeptics,” in truly entrancing as the music dances around your ears, propelled by the rhythms conjured by the drums and delightful light guitar that graces your senses, and drops into a murky morass of sound, changing up the feel. Last track is also the title track, and befitting this role, “Founder In Oddity” encompasses the essence of Start Together’s poppy hooks with the robust guitars.

Not the first time 4000 Records has brought us a release that marks first and last album of a project, and yet we should be eternally grateful, because they have captured the crux of Start Together, as well as fellow defunct Meanjin band, Balloons Kill Babies, giving us heavenly slices of glorious brilliance. Start Together has given you post-punk, drenched in shoegaze goodness and Founder In Oddity deserves your utmost attention.

Founder in Oddity | Start Together | 4000 Records (bandcamp.com)

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They say the road to ruin is paved with good intentions and maybe US band, Bellhead might know this better than many. As of May the 8th, their latest EP, aptly named Good Intentions, was released on Oppressive Sky Records. What makes this project a little different is the fact that there are two styles of bass being played and no lead or rhythm guitar, so you know from that fact alone that their sound is going to be something a little special. The Chicago based duo is made up of Karen Righeimer (low bass, vocals) and
Ivan Russia (high bass, vocals, drum programming), while they have entrusted Bellhead’s sound to regulars, audio engineer Neil Strauch (Iron and Wine / Counting Crows / Owls / Joan of Arc / Walking Bicycles / Slow Mass) and mastering engineer Carl Saff (Acid Mothers Temple / Smoking Popes / Red Fang / Guided by Voices).

When you say “Bad Taste“, I admit I think of the New Zealand comedy horror movie, but in the case of this song, it feels more like Steven King’s ‘Misery‘, claustrophobic and just a tad a bit deranged in a stalkerish kind of way. The music for “Into The Deep” feels like really dark surf rock, that has the even darker tale of a relationship that is dragging the couple to their proverbial doom. The vocals are beautifully carried off between Righeimer and Russia. “Valentine” is both sweet and bitter at the same time. There is something poignantly timeless about this track as it wends it way through the unabashed sorrow and loss.

Oh my, Righeimer is vocally channelling Kim Gordon for “Apathy“. In fact, the whole song has the signature groove of Sonic Youth all over it, making lassitude ever so cool. There is a cover in the track “No Big Deal“, which was originally written and performed by Love And Rockets, appearing on their 1989, self titled album. Honestly, I can hear why they picked this song, and I think Love And Rockets might be a big influence on Bellhead’s overall sound. The two basses absolutely inject the funk into this cover. Last track is the delicious “Drugstore Keri“, a raw and sleazy ditty about some bird named Keri, who can supply the drug of your choice, on the sly.

Bellhead literally rumble, causing your speakers to buzz at times, in a very good way. Having the two bass married to a drum machine makes for an ever so tight rhythm section, also giving you the melodies as well. This definitely gives the music a dirty post-punk groove to each track, and this new EP leans more into pop rock. The Good Intentions of Bellhead is fun, nostalgic and rocking… in that fabulously gloomy way.

Good Intentions | BELLHEAD (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/bellheadband

https://bellheadband.com/

https://bellheadband.com/

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Baltimore band, Talking To Shadows, is sceduled to drop a new EP, in June called Lost and May the 12th, saw the release of the single “Soma“, off said EP.

There are periods between that are in hushed reverence for the whispered female vocals, before the drums come crashing through, thunderous when the languid guitar changes mode to join the guitar. All the while, the vocals wave their way between causing goosebumps

Soma is Latin, and its literal meaning is body, and this is an ode to how love eff3ects every fibre. The shoegaze style is reminicent of Lush or Curve, and as you can rightly imagine, is it simply gorgeous. If you are looking for a track that lifts your heart and makes it burst forth with joy, then “Soma” by Talking To Shadows is worth adding to your collection.

Lost | Talking to Shadows (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/TalkingtoShadowsMusic

https://www.instagram.com/talkingtoshadows/

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May 5th saw the latest single for Irish lads, Arctic Lights, made available to the public on Bandcamp and May the 12th for other streaming platforms. Edward Butt and Liam O’Callaghan are Arctic Lights, and “Somebody” is the name of the track.

Do you chance to dance with the Devil when the music stops? Those rich indie tones of the jaunty guitar, combined with a decent paced rhythm, are the backdrop to the succulent vocals. Their logic is, if you release the inner beast, there is a time that the music on the dancefloor will stop and then you are going to have to dance with the Devil. There is always a price to pay. Everything that Arctic Lights has so far released, have been indie pop/rock jewels, and “Somebody” is no different.

Somebody | Arctic Lights (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/ArcticLightsCork

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Arctic Lights from County Cork in Ireland, have released the new video to the single, “Holy Joe“. If you want to know about the track, then you might have to read the review or watch the video….. or even better, do both! All I will say that this track reminds me of the off the wall style of the beloved Love & Rockets………

Holy Joe | Arctic Lights (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/ArcticLightsCork?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://spoti.fi/3IyHkUK

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Ireland is a land of poets and musicians, and in this vein there is the duo of  Liam O Callaghan (vocals, guitars) and Edward Butt (guitars) in Arctic Lights. The 3rd of February sees the release of their new single “Holy Joe” and they are joined by Max Mac on drums and playing tambourine Nora O’Neill.

You are greeted with brash guitars, that lead into the thundering drums and synths that chime in. O’Callaghan’s purposeful whispers are perfect with the rock attitude and a pinch of psychedelia giving it a funky edge.

The guys have stated that they need to change things up or they get bored and they have certainly have done that. The very name “Holy Joe” had me thinking of The Cult’s “Resurrection Joe” but the track far more reminds me of the equally wonderful Love And Rockets. The track powers along, a perfect blend of alt rock creating an urge to live life to the fullest. So, like Marc Bolan said, get it on with Arctic Lights and “Holy Joe“.

https://arcticlights.bandcamp.com/track/holy-joe

https://www.facebook.com/ArcticLightsCork?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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When I received an email from someone called Emperor Of Ice Cream…. well my eyebrows did go up a fair way. I was to find out that this is not a person, but rather a collective, from Cork in Ireland and they were releasing their newest single, “Winter Pages“, on November the 18th. John ‘Haggis’ Hegarty (vocals), Graham Finn (guitar), Edward Butt (bass) and Colum Young (drums) are the Emperor Of Ice Cream, and they are on the label, FIFA Records. These guys have been a thing since the early 90s but are only put out their debut album in 2020, which came out under the title, No Sound Ever Dies.

A chiming wall of guitar embraces your senses, dragging away your thoughts and the singing is as sweet as the nicest of memories of love, entangles you in the sonic web of glorious noise. They reach into a place where longing and loss are powerful body blows, leaving you in the cold.

Wow. Just ohmygod….wow. You would never think anyone calling themselves Emperor Of Ice Cream would sound like that. They truly did blow me away with that one song. Utterly beautiful in both lyrics and musically. Shoegaze, when done correctly, is magical and in many ways, these guys remind me of early Ride, whom I consider to have been the pinnacle of creating amazing walls of tone and sighing harmonics that take you away to some other place. Play it, play it, play it and then play it again. The Emperor Of Ice Cream has gifted you “Winter Pages“.

Winter Pages | Emperor of Ice Cream (bandcamp.com)

Emperor of Ice Cream | Cork | Facebook

FIFA Records – Forever In Financial Arrears | Cork | Facebook

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It can’t rain all the time but sometimes it “Feels Like Rain” which also happens to be the Signia Alpha single, released on the 11th of November. The band is made up of singer/lyricist Harris (yes just one name like Prince), multi instrumentalist composer Matt Webster (drums, guitar), flaunting his flute style is Chris Walsh, along with jazz master Keith Jafrate on sax and some bloke called Paul Gray who normally plays bass in some kitch band called The Damned.

Every time I have listened to this, I think Paisley Park, as in the 60s. Could be the use of the flute or the happy go lucky vibe of the music, though not all is as it seems. Lyrically it is about poverty and how it sucks away all until you only live under a constant weight and greyness, which is not living.

The Bradford area is in the North of England and since the industrial revolution, suffered high levels of poverty and unemployment. A breeding ground for musicians who are great storeytellers. “Feels Like Rain” rolls along just like the days do but with a social concious.

https://signiaalpha.bandcamp.com/track/feels-like-rain

Signia Alpha | Facebook

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Ireland’s pMad has released a single, on the 31st of August, called “Sisters“. Paul Dillion is pMad, a member of the bands The Suicidal Dufflecoats and The Greeting, now turning his hand to this solo post-punk, gothic inspired project.

There is a pervading, shrouded veil of seriousness and mourning. The shoegaze dirge of loss and bereavement penetrates all, with the guitar work driving in the nails of sorrow and Dillion’s vocals low in reverence.

“Sisters” was created in reference to loved ones, who have past away far too early, leaving others to grieve them, but also to be thankful for being in their presence. It’s nice to have a track that both highlights the sadness of death and also wants to say that every moment counts. It shows a deft hand to be able to express yourself in a track like this. So, pMad encourages you to hold your “Sisters” close, even if it is just in your heart.

http://www.pmadtheband.com/

https://pmad.bandcamp.com/

https://m.facebook.com/pMadtheband/

https://www.instagram.com/pmadtheband/

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Bradford, in the north of England, known for their working class pride and also for their musical storytellers. This brings us to the pairing of Nick Toczek & Signia Alpha for the album, The Columbus Memoirs, released on the 4th of June. Nick Toczek is a ranting poet (as in they emotionally air their grievances in angry monologue and normally in the form of free verse), while Signia Alpha is Matt Webster, supported by a revolving retinue of musicians, creating post-punk style music incoporating funk, jazz and indie rock.

The first track “The Hour Glass” is literally about time and how there is never enough of it. The guitars wail in a cacophony of noise and it is wonderful plus I am sure I heard a flute. There is a near aching colonial sadness in “Another Shoreline” as the music ebbs and flows as a ship on the ocean. A track about the movement of slaves for the advancement of Imperialism and capital gain which comes with a loss of culture and identity. There might be a slight nod to the sound track War Of The Worlds, especially in mentioning H.G.Wells with the track “Time Tripper” in the wandering guitars and it is not aliens but rather can the Earth survive the human race’s selfish ways.

The psych-funk is strong in “Threads” with amazing bass thumping through the track as Toczek contemplates how technology has changed the world and everyone is being watched. The tempo changes and swings before we are given the next piece, “Dead Lines” because while the print press was huge at the end of a second world war, there is an air of live for now and excess…maybe they were dead inside and the music reflects the era of glamorous jazz filled soirees, at high end bars. “Just For A Moment” is a simple lament for a lost one and the sax reaches into your soul to touch that memory, so real.

With “Moonwatchers“, for me is like, looking at the night sky and the moon as a child, with a wild imagination that conjures up all sorts of stories, which some of us never grow out of. A lightness and joy in reveling in the darkness, the edge of where reality and lore meet in the inky hours. The 60s funk is dripping through with “Four And A Half“, a tale of youth and a telling of past experiences with near fatal consequences, sucking you in with the true events. For the title track, “The Columbus Memoirs“, North America is similar to a pop-up book, watching a strange amalgamation of that nation’s history, the oddities that make it what it is. I don’t think Columbus would recognise the America he first stood on to claim for Spain. I listen to this and cannot help to hear a line from a song of the band, The Church, Oh Columbus, I never should have let you go. The final track, “Dignity“, is straight out sleazy rock. A song for the survivors, the refugees, the tortured and maimed, to whom the world turns a blind eye and yet deserve so much more than being told they are a burden and should be grateful for a handful of dust.

The level of musicianship is stellar. Webster has really got some top notch talent to help out, which includes Paul Gray (The Damned) playing on four of the tracks. It is political at times and that is the raw punk edge showing but also wistful and even tender tinged sadness, all by using voice of a wordsmith while the music gives those words greater weight and emotional depth. I think the poetry is masterfully woven throughout and the instruments given their own voice in a story, that as of yet, has not an end.

The Columbus Memoirs | Nick Toczek & Signia Alpha (bandcamp.com)

Nick Toczek & Signia Alpha | Facebook

Signia Alpha | Facebook