THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD

Posted on July 15, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Take one part, Tom Morello and mix in one part Rockpile, then add a touch of U2 and The Clash. Mix thoroughly and heat with a bIG*fLAME. Viola, we have The Great Leap Forward, the tasty solo project of Alan Brown.

Revolt Against An Age of Plenty is packed to the brim with social commentary and the rage against a post-punk/new wave sensibility. This 13-track album opens with the song titled Music To Die To, a track that cries out to be listened to and really hear the lyrics, not just background music, while you do something else. Now, I want to make a playlist of songs that are Music To Die To.

Then we have track two, Things That Make Me Happy, a track that jumps out in contrast to track three, Revolt Against An Age of Plenty. I will have to compile another playlist of Things That Make Me Happy. Listening to music is one of many things that make me Things That Make Me Happy, and Revolt Against An Age of Plenty is currently on that shelf. Well played, Alan Brown, well crafted and aged perfectly.

I want to go through the album track by track, but that would be a lengthy tome and take away some of the pleasure of listening to it yourself and seeing where the album takes you.

It took me back to the peak of the new wave movement in the timeline of music. Heady times with so much good music, music that I still listen to, and Revolt Against An Age of Plenty sounds like it could be right up there. I have listened to this album another time, writing this blog post. Revolt Against An Age of Plenty is becoming a song that I can sing along to over and over and again. It hasn’t bored me or started to sound flat. That didn’t take long; now, the track Words on Fire is a new earworm.

That’s about all I will say about Revolt Against An Age of Plenty; other than telling you that this is a fantastic album, I think I would like a coloured slab of vinyl to hear it on the big stereo. As of July 16, Revolt Against An Age of Plenty will be available through A Turntable Friend Records and across streaming platforms like Spotify and online stores such as Apple Music. The entire album will be released in all formats on July 20 and can already be pre-ordered via Bandcamp.

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… from Prince’s Park to Farsley – Volume I

Posted on July 12, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Summer is here, and I enjoy sitting in my zero gravity chair on the deck with my earbuds which is delivering The Gorstey Lea Street Choir to the musical part of my brain. It then fires off a ton of signals and brain triggers to let the rest of my brain register this as a good thing.

The Gorstey Lea Street Choir are Michael Clapham and Russ Phillips, and they have delivered a smash hit with their new album, … from Prince’s Park to Farsley – Volume I. That Volume I part sent my heart a fluttering. Judging by how good Volume I is, I can’t wait to hear Volume II. Way back in May, I was gushing over how good their teaser songs were, and I commented that I would be marking July 9 on my calendar, the day their album was to be released. Well, it was in my mail on July 9, just like promised, so where was I when I should have been writing this blog. I was listening to … from Prince’s Park to Farsley – Volume I over and over again. I was in hook, line and sinker.

I don’t know how I add anything more to that. I highly recommend this recording, but be warned, you can’t stop at one listen. The music is powerful, the vocals are spot on, and the lyrics speak to everyone. They swing from dark and brooding to bright and excited. Their songs have maturity and reflect the friendship they have enjoyed for over 35 years. The music in this recording is smooth as silk which highlights the many, many hours spent practising.

THE GORSTEY LEA STREET CHOIR has knocked my socks off. This album was guided by a production dream team involving GAVIN MONAGHAN (Robert Plant, Editors, Squeeze), GEORGE SHILLING (Blur, Primal Scream, Teenage Fanclub) and Ride’s MARK GARDENER, with CHOQUE HOSEIN (Black Star Liner) electronically re-envisioning four of these tracks.

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#the Gorstey lea street choir

Bandcamp https://500broadcast.bandcamp.com/album/from-princes-park-to-farsley-volume-i
Album order https://bit.ly/337xS55
‘That Chitty Bang Majik’ https://youtu.be/1zJNX7YE8B0
‘Bluebird. Hollywood… Domino’ https://youtu.be/2LDscdfKDPU
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/thegorsteyleastreetchoir/bluebird-hollywood-domino/s-j3jhmWOLhRV

GAVIN MURPHY SONGS

Posted on July 10, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

GAVIN MURPHY SONGS is the title of an artist blurb that showed up in my email mail folder. That got me thinking, and what I thunk is that this Gavin Murphy fella must be a singer, ’cause that is what people mostly do with songs. So, what does Gavin Murphy sound like when he sings Gavin Murphy songs? I had to find out.

So, what I done did is listen to Gavin Murphy Songs. Or did I listen to Gavin Murphy’s songs? Maybe I listen to Gavin Murphy singing Gavin Murphy songs on Gavin Murphy Songs. Now, I done confused meself. Don’t matter much ’cause I’s just a goin to tell y’all what I heard.

That Gavin Murphy fella is a fine singer. And Gavin Murphy’s Songs ain’t half bad either. So I listened agin to see if I could use a gin pole to raise that above half bad. It worked; I git it closer than a 10-foot pole, so I heard it agin and agin. It got more and more pleasin’ to my ears. Soundin’ good ’nuff so ah jus’ have to tell y’all about it.

I will pause here to let my linguistic interpretation move from early Arkansas to present-day Edmonton.

Gavin Murphy sings chill pop music that would feel right on a Sunday morning with a cup of joe and the morning news. He is a jongleur who interprets life from his point of view and within his time on this spinning globe that we call home. And Gavin Murphy is a solid ten for this two-song single and the accompanying video.

We have easy listening radio stations, and I can see Gavin Murphy Songs fitting easily into that MO. Easy listening calms our restless souls, and that is what Gavin Murphy Songs does. I’ll let Gavin Murphy tell you about his music in his own words.

“My new single ‘Alive’ is about embracing the positives in life. To witness the sunrise at dawn is a beautiful, heartwarming experience. Appreciating the simple pleasures in life and reflecting upon good memories can help us through difficult times,” says Gavin Murphy.

“On the other hand, ‘The Sound of Heartbreak’ is a rite of passage that nobody escapes. You suffer from it; you inflict it – don’t kid yourself otherwise, it will keep happening until you learn from it and finally make peace with the scars”.

‘Alive’ and ‘The Sound of Heartbreak’ are out now, available across streaming platforms and online stores, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. There is a video for The Sound of Heartbreak as well; check it out at

Bandcamp https://gavinmurphysongs.bandcamp.com/track/alive

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/4CrIwWod2Eqc7V6zalcL8L

‘The Sound of Heartbreak’ https://youtu.be/CNH7ZGWJ5Vs

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/46ovrZMmIADzNP2ipNVuEq

Keep up with Gavin Murphy Songs

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I had to add the guitar that Gavin Murphy played, shown above, and the guitar that I play shown below. They are cousins.

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@normanweatheredmusic

@gavinmurphy

Rose+Crown Video

Posted on July 6, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Shortly after releasing her debut 2-track single ‘Rose + Crown’ via California-based Mourning Sun Records, AMMO presents the video for the title track premiered via Post-Punk.com. Directed by AMMO herself, co-filmed by Christopher Slater, this hypnotic clip is enveloped in soft red-hued psychedelic gauze, with masked apparitions, along with AMMO’s captivating visage.

https://youtu.be/lMEA4fwNIG0

‘Rose + Crown’ is out now, available across online stores and streaming platforms, including Spotify, Bandcamp and otherwise available at https://orcd.co/rose-crown.

Video https://youtu.be/lMEA4fwNIG0
Bandcamp https://musicbyammo.bandcamp.com/album/rose-crown
Pre-save / Pre-order https://orcd.co/rose-crown
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/musicbyammo/rose-and-crown/s-zFO3WYY22TV
‘Total Recall’ https://youtu.be/86Vf2ksBweQ
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ACr4NjPUStbHIPsj68wha

Keep up with AMMO

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Into Paradise and Blue in Heaven

Posted on July 4, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Sometimes music has to take a long and winding road before it reaches us. I am listening down that road today, starting at an album called Under The Water by the Irish indie band Into Paradise. Unfortunately, Into Paradise didn’t float them above the water. The next release for the band was Churchtown, and it managed to make some ripples in the press, and it was more commercially successful for the band. I have to admit that Churchtown was more appealing to me than Under The Water, but they were both excellent listens. Churchtown has the ethos of that era, which is good because they have cited that Joy Division was an influence for them. Also mentioned were Echo & the Bunnymen as another of their influencers. That makes some pretty good pedigree to start a band.

Now that we know more about the band Into Paradise, we can move on to the next round on my listening list today. Blue in Heaven was an Irish musical adventure active in the 80s. They burst out of Ireland with other outfits of that era such as Simple Minds, U2 and the Waterboys. They released two full-length albums on Island Records: All the Gods Men (1985) and Explicit Material (1986). They also released several singles and EPs. Last FM has their catalogue for your listening pleasure. I enjoyed listening to their music, and although it has been 35 or so years since these bands were active, the music still sounds fresh to me. I am a magnet for anything post-punk/new wave, so both Into Paradise and Blue in Heaven resonate with me, good music from both bands.

We now transition to why I spent a fair chunk of time talking to you about these two particular bands. David Long was the face of the 1980s band Into Paradise, and Shane O’Neill was front and center in the band Blue In Heaven, and these two gentlemen have gotten together and collaborated on some new material. That is news worth talking about.

Hailing from the same part of Dublin, Long and O’Neill had known each other since they were 6 or 7. They started their musical lives with a trio called amuse that featured David Long on bass and vocals, Shane on guitar, and Dave Clarke (Warren Zevon, now Hothouse Flowers) on drums. After splitting and doing their separate thing, around 1996, they recorded an album as an outfit called Supernaut.

With my penchant for post-punk/new wave, their new songs hit me like a flying mallet. At the start of the first song on this EP, the jangling guitar sent electricity bursting through my whole body. My oh my, this is the start of a good thing—three good things to be accurate. Far From Home, Shake Me, I’m Magic and Hand Of Love.The bass line in Shake Me, I’m Magic is incredible. I won’t type out all the lyrics, but there is one line from the song Far From Home that spoke loud and clear to me,

Sometimes hard to remember all I’ve seen,

Sometimes feels like a dream

I’m not a young man any longer, and sometimes it is hard to remember all I’ve seen and sometimes it can feel like walking through a dream where the line that separates reality from the dream fuzzy and shifting back and forth.

“We wanted to make an album that could and should be listened to all the way through. It was an equal collaboration. Shane and myself have known each other so long that there was never a problem editing each other if something didn’t fit with the song. We had no time restrictions, or release dates to go by, so we took our time with this album and thought about every aspect of it, song titles, running order, album cover, album name, and what songs to leave on and leave off. The instrumentals are very important to the album’s story.,” says Dave Long.

“We were always the kind of musicians who couldn’t play other people’s songs properly, barely able to play some of our own songs. We’ve always loved music but didn’t always get some of the community surrounding it. I was trying to use my memories of working with Hannett to help create atmospherics and space behind the guitars and drums (he used to stop the tape and joke it was mixed if the echo was interesting). Dave wanted an early style of guitar I used to play, less bar chords, more angular ringing notes,” says Shane O’Neill.

As of July 16, the ‘Far From Home‘ maxi-single will be available across online platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The ‘Moll & Zeis’ album will be released everywhere digitally in September.

Keep up with David Long and Shane O’Neill

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Caulbearers

Posted on July 1, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

The Academy of Sun

Posted on July 1, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

I love it when some new music comes along, and it gobsmacks me right square in my face. Well, that happened to me this week. The artist in question goes by the moniker The Academy of Sun; quiet a mouthful ain’t it! They are a psychedelic post-punk quartet anchored around Nick Hudson on piano, synths, Hammond organ, harmonium, vocals, percussion, synths. Along with the rock-solid accompaniment of Kianna Blue on bass and synths. Guy Brice treats us to his guitar playing, and Ash Babb keeps it rock steady on percussion. This 7″ release from Heaven’s Lathe follows the sonic holiday of their 2020 album The Quiet Earth, which I highly recommend you to give a listen.

The A-side of this recording, ‘It Is Finished When It’s Destroyed,’ comes at us as a two for the price of one recording. It makes a grand entrance with smooth as silk synths and builds on that into soaring vocals that segues into staccato percussion and harmonious vocals. The second section sees Hudson’s keening vocal riding over the percussion of floor toms and more synths. Mixed by acclaimed US producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Danny Elfman, Earth, Mandy OST), the attention to detail and the tasteful placement of sounds make it all work together for one heck of a good song. The flipside ‘Ghost Foxes‘ opens with the rat-a-tat of drums and rapid-fire singing from Nick Hudson that left me tired just listening to. These two tracks present The Academy of Sun as a band going places.

“The first The Academy Of Sun track I’ve written since finishing writing ‘The Quiet Earth’ in 2018, this is an aquaplaning freight train of psychedelia and snarl – with the second part endlessly modulating over a skittery, syncopated drum pattern and Mariana Trench-plumbing synths. Whether it is lyrically directed at the heinous cabal of xenophobic disaster capitalists currently holed up in UK parliament remains to be seen (it is),” says Nick Hudson.

“‘Ghost Foxes’ was written for ‘The Quiet Earth,’ but never felt “right” until we were asked to create this release. A satire on esotericism, boasting yet another Herzog quote and some mesmerizing guitar tones from our plank-wielder, Guy Brice, ‘Ghost Foxes’ was always riotous to play live, and will be again.”

On Friday, July 2 at 6 PM BST, Heaven’s Lathe will be releasing this on a 7″ lathe-cut vinyl through Heaven’s Lathe on Bandcamp.

This black hand-numbered 7″ high-quality stereo lathe-cut vinyl features an engraved Heavens Lathe logo, a 230gsm sleeve, black inner sleeve and PVC protective sleeve. Ships within a white poly-lined inner paper sleeve and a ‘lathe cut’ care card include digital download. Otherwise, these tracks will be available digitally in mid-August.

CREDITS

Written by Nick Hudson, arranged by The Academy Of Sun:

Nick Hudson, Guy Brice, Kianna Blue, Ash Babb

Vocals & synths recorded by Nick Hudson at The Lament Configuration.

Bass recorded by Kianna Blue at Alfie Towers.

A side guitars/drums recorded by Joseph Thorpe at Brighton Electric.

B side drums recorded by Paul Pascoe at Church Road Studios, Hove.

A side mixed by Randall Dunn at Circular Ruin Studios NYC.

B side mixed by Paul Pascoe at Church Road Studios Hove.

Mastered by Randall Dunn at Circular Ruin Studios NYC.

Artwork & layout by Ash Babb, Cover painting by Nick Hudson.

All lathe cutting and engineering are by Michael Lawrence.

Design by Lauren Winton (Bladud Flies!)

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The Hardest Battle

Posted on June 30, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

I got taken to school today, and I fully deserved it. I had been offered the opportunity to write a blog posting about a new release from a chap named Colin Moulding, yes, the Colin Moulding from XTC. A quick look at the PR and a brief perusal of his latest release prompted my premature conclusion that I didn’t want to do a blog about three songs.

My decision had nothing to do with the quality of Colin Mouldings’ music. It’s just that I don’t particularly enjoy doing blogs for singles, and then after covering three singles from the artist, they release an EP with four songs. Whoopie, I could have just done the EP and saved paper.

I informed Shauna, the talent agent who feeds me new music, that I would like to wait till Colin Moulding released an album. And this is when the reeducation of Norman began to correct his miseducation in regards to XTC. A tip of the proverbial hat to Lauryn Hill, and a huge wave of gratitude to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR for tuning me in to the fact that this release is in deed a big deal that I really should take another look at. Which I did.

The first baby step that I took was to listen to the back catalogue of XTC. I owned one slab of vinyl by them, Drums and Wires. The only reason I had that album is because I liked one song on the record, Making Plans For Nigel.

I started my education by listening with Apple Essentials, but I quickly moved on from that to a brief visit at White Music, XTC‘s debut album. It was closer to punk than the XTC that I knew from Drums and Wires but a good recording in that vein of music. Next up was English Settlement, a lovely transition album moving the band away from their post-punk/new wave era into a more refined but more complex musical direction. I found English Settlement very interesting, with intelligent lyrics and well-placed music to accompany those songs. I also found that as I sampled a few of their other albums, I continued to gravitate back towards the English Settlement. Perhaps a Freudian slip since I live in an English settlement.

Meanwhile, the exercise of trying to understand where Colin Moulding was coming from jarred a few musical memories loose in my thick skull. Senses Working Overtime, a great song that hasn’t lost any of its power and sensibility. The tune Dear God was almost a mantra in a previous life that I lived. It then became blasphemy and then became a song with a high place in my song hierarchy. Curious about how life is and the music that we attach to moments that we live through. I won’t bore you with more on this train of thought; there are great books about it if you want to learn more about earworms and the science of music memory.

Guitar Zero The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus was a fun and inspiring read.

The World in Six Songs by Daniel Levitin

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, also by Daniel Levitin, is an excellent book.

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks is more academic but very informative.

Fast forward from Skylarking in 1986 to July 2, 2021, when XTC legend Colin Moulding releases ‘The Hardest Battle’ on CD via Burning Shed.

CD Order https://burningshed.com/store/colin-moulding_store/colin-moulding_the-hardest-battle_cd

This release gives us a glimpse into the creative process of one of the UK’s finest songwriters. The Hardest Battle provides us with a bridge from the popular music of XTC to the music that Colin Moulding crafts for us on this EP. ‘The Hardest Battle‘ is the first new material from Colin Moulding in many years.

Colin Moulding tells us: “To be nobody but yourself – in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you like everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight”… I saw these lines in a book I picked up in a secondhand bookshop and thought…maybe there’s a song there …I think it’s by the poet EE Cummins,”

“And there it was. All I had to do was come up with some music to marry to this notion. I do think most people aren’t themselves really or become themselves eventually. And that struggle isn’t easy. I recorded this pretty much in isolation, as most people have been this past year or so. One crazy year for all of us. Perhaps ‘The Hardest Battle‘ we humans have faced externally, as well as the one we fight internally every day.”

“About ‘Say It,’ I just felt this track deserved a better fate than it got, really. I wrote it for the XTC album that never was. But it ended up on a promo disk amongst XTC’s ‘Last Days of Rome’ This version feels much more akin to my original song mindset compared to the expedient I agreed to at the time,” says Colin Moulding.

Regarding ‘The Hardest Battle (First Exploratory Demo),’ Colin Moulding adds, “I think demos are much more of a demonstration to one’s self than for other people. You have to find out what works and what doesn’t. Therefore, you shoot from the hip and just fire it out and see what sticks. Larkin always said that he didn’t know what his poems were about initially until he got some way into them;- that’s what this is;- I’m just ‘Larkin’ around until it presents itself. Then the crossword puzzle can begin.”

After learning my lesson on just how good XTC was as a band and how each member contributed, I also found out that I liked XTC for more than Making Plans For Nigel. Bottom line, a huge thank you to Shauna at Shameless Promotions PR for taking the time to give me a lesson on a band that I had overlooked. I probably passed hundreds of copies of XTC‘s albums through my hands when I worked at Record Collectors Paradise, and I never took the time to stop and listen. I have found that taking the time to listen can be a hard battle as well. I recommend taking the time to stop and listen to Colin Moulding and The Hardest Battle. I know that hitting repeat will not be the hardest battle, and buying the CD is not a hard battle either, so do your ears a favour and take the time to stop and listen to this great music.

Officially out on July 2, ‘The Hardest Battle’ can be ordered on CD single exclusively via Burning Shed at:

https://burningshed.com/store/colin-moulding_store/colin-moulding_the-hardest-battle_cd.

Keep up with Colin Moulding

Store | Wikipedia | YouTube | Facebook group | Press contact

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Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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In conclusion here is some eye candy.

A New Era

Posted on June 25, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

Ender Bender, aka Eddie Olguin, has Bewildered me on his new EP. Don’t get me wrong; I Have A Good Time listening to it. It has helped me Reconnect with summer, it was a bit late arriving, but I feel we are entering a New Era. I put this new EP on the virtual turntable and let the music Talk to Me.

Summer is upon us, which means driving around the local countryside and visiting some folks we have not seen since pre-Covid. We have had our second shot, and we still practice personal protection guidelines.

While we are out cruising, we like listening to some tunes, and this EP from Ender Bender, New Era, is just the prescription for some summer fun. With the temperatures hovering just below 30c, I think I’ll leave the top up and the A/C on, but we can still listen to this summer fun EP.

As Ender Bender, Eddie Olguin has served us a fun flashback to the synth-laden days of New Wave summers and jumping for retro joy. I heard a bit of this band over here—a bit of that band over there. And plenty of original fresh sounding music all over the place.

Eddie Olguin, in his own words: “Most of the music I have been listening to has a fun-retro 80s vibe, which served as the perfect distraction from the reality we were dealing with. This inspired me to create an EP that would also serve as an escape for others while positively touching upon the things we were forced to face, like the importance of friends and family and of truly leaving behind the petty bullshit that takes over our daily existence – we simply need to enjoy the beauty of life,”

Enjoy the beauty of life indeed, and while doing that, enjoy the beauty of this EP.

Bewildered 3:48

Have a Good Time 4:10

Reconnect 2:32

New Era 3:59

Talk to Me 4:15

That adds up to 18 minutes and 44 seconds of fun in the sun. Put it in a playlist and listen to it again. Make a mixtape for the road and listen to a New Era, a New Era for Ender Bender and five new tunes for you to kick up your summer fun.

‘Bewildered’ https://open.spotify.com/track/1slNPBCKdeXebSTzIhviBO
‘Have a Good Time’ https://youtu.be/s7MSBsJLdZ8
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/1bkEpkcIqWIKyg21VFQUgT
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/iamenderbender/have-a-good-time/s-4KKRsj1Cb1r
Bandcamp / Pre-order https://enderbender.bandcamp.com/album/new-era

If you have any questions, contact Shauna from Shameless Promotion PR at contact@shamelesspromotionpr.com

Singles

Posted on June 22, 2021 by normanweatheredmusic

I don’t usually promote singles, lonely songs, not lonely people.

However, I will make an exception to that self-proclaimed rule today. I present That Chitty Bang Majik and Escalator for your listening pleasure, two singles that kick-started my morning.

That Chitty Bang Majik is a new single by a band that left an indelible impression on me back in May of this year when I posted my thoughts about their single and video Bluebird, Hollywood… Domino. That band is The Gorstey Lea Street Choir.

I still enjoy listening to them, and this new release only adds to my desire to own slabs of vinyl by them.

I am at a loss for words that describe what my ears are hearing when I listen to this song, so I will let The Gorstey Lea Street Choir, which is Michael Clapham and Russ Phillips, speak for themselves.

“The song came about last January after a Christmas repeat that we had both watched of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ Michael Clapham tells us.

‘We love the film and the soundtrack, and we started discussing ‘the flying car” and before you know it ‘…That Chitty Bang Magic‘ was born,” says Russ Phillips.

“This song represents the poppier side of our indie credentials whilst still retaining our core vibe, 12 string guitars chime alongside brass punctuations and Moog synths, with the two vocal Gorstey chant upfront, telling the story of the track. We are really looking forward to folks hearing the rest of the LP in early July when it arrives, the four new tracks and the four re-imaginations of ‘Extended Play One’ tracks by Choque from Black Star Liner,” says Michael Clapham.

I concur with really looking forward to hearing the rest of the LP in July when it is released.

As of June 22, ‘That Chitty Bang Majik‘ will be available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music and Spotify. Additionally, the ‘…from Prince’s Park to Farsley – Volume I’ LP will see its release on July 9.

This music should garner The Gorstey Lea Street Choir extended air time no matter the format or delivery platform. Just listen to it is all I am saying. It is that good. I will put it on repeat, sip my beverage of choice and sit back to enjoy every nuance of The Gorstey Lea Street Choir.

Did I mention the video? No? Well, there is one on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zJNX7YE8B0.

We have lots of links for you to click through and enjoy the music of The Gorstey Lea Street Choir.

‘That Chitty Bang Majik’ https://youtu.be/1zJNX7YE8B0

‘Bluebird. Hollywood… Domino’ https://youtu.be/2LDscdfKDPU

Bandcamp https://500broadcast.bandcamp.com/track/that-chitty-bang-majik

Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/thegorsteyleastreetchoir/bluebird-hollywood-domino/s-j3jhmWOLhRV

Single pre-save https://bit.ly/2Rgqguv

Album pre-order https://500broadcast.bandcamp.com/album/from-princes-park-to-farsley-volume-i

Album pre-save https://bit.ly/337xS55

Wow, I got carried away with that review. I need to get some words in this blog for the second single of the day. Phoenix-based dream-electronic artist FLDPLN presents his new single Escalator previewing his full-length album by the same name. Scheduled for release on July 30, it will be digitally available and on colour vinyl via the label Sillas Famosas.

FLDPLN (“field-plan”) is the new solo project of Andrew Saks, former frontman of Southern California shoegaze band Sway. As FLDPLN, he creates a primarily electronic project with songs that feature synthesizers, vocals and layered saxophones reminiscent of 80s pop.

“Escalator is really the result of my years of dabbling in electronic music production combined with my desire to reconnect with my roots, having been a saxophone player for most of my life,” says Andrew Saks.

“For this album, I wanted to write songs that are true to the way I hear things in my head, dreamy, blurry, beautiful without compromise and incorporate the horn as a textural instrument as well as another melodic voice.”

At times, Andrew Saks horn playing features soaring leads that lift the dreamlike and serene to near-anthemic heights while, in other instances, they convey an emotional, whisper-like voice. While certainly nowhere near new to experimental music, the tone and texture of the saxophone in this context effectively lends itself to ethereal lullabies and reflective daydreams.

While textures and sound are an integral component of the music, Andrew Saks does not shy away from hook-laden songwriting. This music is highly influenced by Andrew Saks childhood memories of going to bed with Walkman headphones on and later waking up in the darkness, in a partial dream-state with the pop songs of the 1980’s – Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Bruce Springsteen, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Debbie Gibson, Human League still whispering in his ears.

The ‘Escalator’ single is now available everywhere across online stores like Apple Music and streaming platforms like Spotify. The entire ‘Escalator’ LP will release on July 30 and can already be pre-ordered digitally and on colour vinyl via Bandcamp.

‘Escalator’ https://youtu.be/Lh6iS92kYss

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/3V7pKnC07ZqpGJQsyThsUu

Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/fldpln/escalator/s-2d12zarJxU8

Album teaser https://youtu.be/H47SwiolC8A

Bandcamp https://fldpln.bandcamp.com/album/escalator

Pre-order https://fldpln.bandcamp.com

Weathered Music

The musical explorations of Norman and Joel Weatherly.

THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD

… from Prince’s Park to Farsley – Volume I

GAVIN MURPHY SONGS

Rose+Crown Video

Into Paradise and Blue in Heaven

Caulbearers

The Academy of Sun

The Hardest Battle

A New Era

Singles