They might be one of York’s youngest bands, but the Corsairs’ music has a mystical maturity that enables them to draw on the great spirits of British rock. Their new release is the punchy, power-packed, persistent, poppy platter “that is called “Primetime Television.” It has shades of the Arctic Monkeys, a hint of the Kooks, and the ghost of Traffic. At the start, the bass and organ style keys combination is reminiscent of the late period of the jam. The hooks and chorus are the best yet, and the mid-song instrumental breakdown is a real psych-out that evokes Television (no pun intended!). This is exactly what a great pop-rock song should sound like. This band will go on to even better things, get into them now so that you can say you were there at the start of something special!
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Occasionally I love a bit of honky tonk, bluegrass country music, and Austin, Texas-based and Louisiana-born Ellis Bullard has delivered a great album of just that! Full of authentic country songs that tell stories of life. The obvious influences are probably Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty, but Bullard is most definitely his own man! His voice is warm and you feel like he is singing those songs directly to you. The album came out a few days ago and is called ‘Honky Tonk Ain’t Noise Pollution’ and his take on honky tonk is most definitely not pollution. Speaking about the album Ellis said “This album is everything to me. It’s over 10 years of winning and losing along the way. This record is blood sweat and tears. No bullshit. All the players on this record are like brothers to me and the energy we create on stage and in the studio is incredible. We’re thrilled that we were able to capture it all and put it on a record for you,” and “It’s country as cornbread but totally has some rock n roll in there. We’re calling it a “Honk n Roll” record. We’re in the clubs, dance halls, and theatres alike and folks are really digging our sound and what we bring to a stage. This record was so much fun to make, we know y’all are gonna enjoy it.” Damned right we will, this is a stunningly good album. There is not a bad track in the whole collection of ten great songs. Initially, my favourite is probably “What’s A Man To Do” which is where I felt the biggest Conway Twitty influence. I can imagine listening to “It Ain’t Easy Needing Green” and “Young, Wild And Free” while sipping a cold beer in the back garden this summer as the Barbecue heats up. Meanwhile, the title track has a fabulous Joe Walsh feel in the guitar work. As a kid, I could not listen to country music, because my Mum and Dad loved it, so to my ill-informed teenage self that meant it was not cool. But now, well I love me a good slice of country and this is a proper tasty slice. A lot of classic country tropes are here; money, booze, drugs, lost (or not yet gained) love, and prison to name just a few and that is what makes Bullard’s stories so captivating.
Bullard and his ensemble of seasoned Austin A-listers have graced prestigious stages, opening for Texas County and Americana luminaries including Paul Cauthen, Whiskey Myers, Mark Chessnut, Moe Bandy, and Gary P Nunn. Bullard has performed at ACL23 and is slated to play at both Jackalope Jamboree and SXSW this 2024. Bullard’s music has earned accolades and even captured the attention of the renowned Joe Rogan, who applauded Bullard’s electrifying performances at the legendary White Horse.
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Brazilian-Italian London-based singer Julia Elle has just released her debut single, “Automatic.” It is haunting, emotionally arresting, captivating, and dark in equal measure. Her voice is truly exquisite and the music, especially the slinky, sultry blues-tinged guitar is exceptional. The production is finely attuned and crystal clear thanks to George Gianluca Cunningham. Julia has said this about the song “Automatic is a song about desire and rejection. It emerged from a space where I sensed the pursuit of things not meant for me. It’s about the magnetic pull of wanting someone, even more, when you can feel them slipping away, chasing that unattainable connection where someone’s indifference only fuels the feelings and attraction.” It also appears that Julia directs her talents more widely than just music. She recently attended a performing arts school in the UK and went on to the London College of Fashion, where she graduated in the summer of 2023. She has a passion for photography, fashion, and vintage clothing picking, she often finds herself styling and overseeing creative direction for many of her friends’ projects as well as her own.
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British artist Nick Hudson, now based in Georgia, Eastern Europe has released a new single “Khevsureti” as a taster for his new album, ‘Kanda Teenage Honey’, which is scheduled for release on 15th March. It is cinematic in scope and ambition and features some gorgeous, emotional, and at times spine-tingling music and orchestration. Vocally Hudson evokes the most soulful performances of David Sylvian, David Bowie, Robert Wyatt, and maybe Boy George. If you are interested, Khevsureti is a region in Georgia. The single and the album was recorded largely in Georgia under the shadow of the Ukraine war, featuring some incredible Georgian musicians in a huge former Soviet movie studio, this album was recorded and engineered in Tbilisi and mixed by Toby Driver, and mastered to analogue tape by Paul Pascoe at Church Road Studios in Hove. The video to accompany “Khevsureti” was directed, filmed, and edited by Nick Hudson. This bloke is good at everything! It was filmed in various locations in Georgia: Korsha, the Abudelauri Lakes, Roshka, the Datvisjvari Pass, Shatili, and Tbilisi. It is a stunning piece of work, I love it. The music is magnificent even without the visuals, but alongside the film, the whole piece moves to a higher level completely. Hudson has been featured on these pages before, back in 2022, when I reviewed his song “Lights Svoboda“.
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Ell (a.k.a. Loretta Taika) is a singer/songwriter from the small nation of the Solomon Islands. She has a deep passion for music and finds her creative spirit by being at one with nature and takes pride in her rich cultural background. All of that is evident in her new single “Energy”, a delicious electronic reggae cut that oozes energy, fun, and dance vibes. Put this on and try to sit still while it is playing, I guarantee you won’t succeed, you will have to move! It is lively and well-produced, and Ell’s voice is stunning on this awesome earworm of a tune. The lyrics are a fusion of English and her native Renbel Dialect. She displays the angelic delicacy of Johnny Nash’s voice, particularly how he used it when he interpreted a Bob Marley tune. Check it out!
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ELL!S a.k.a. Ellis Watson, is a singer-songwriter from the Cotswolds in England. There are some beautiful places there, and now there is some beautiful music emanating from those parts thanks to ELL!S. There have been musical connections with the region in the past. Elgar and Holst spent time there, and the Who’s bass player John Entwistle is buried there. Unsurprisingly The Who’s Keith Moon once owned a pub in the area. But there hasn’t been much music of note this century so far. ELL!S says that he began writing songs when he was 9 or 10 and has several musical influences which include Roddy Frame, the Trashcan Sinatras, The Sundays, Elliot Smith, and Suzanne Vega. I can hear some of those providing a small influence in his new track “Best Year Of My Life” released at the tail end of last year. It floats along in a soft, ethereal folk rock march and soaks into your brain like some of the finest acoustic tunes do. He seems to have great pop sensibility, and listening to this song it really feels like he is singing about the best year of his life. But if he keeps producing songs like this I suspect there may be even better years ahead! Incidentally, I discovered ELL!S while searching for something else on Spotify, what a lucky find that was!
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The multi-talented Cjhloe Munt who has appeared on these pages before as her solo alter ego Pick The Flowers and as frontwoman of My Wonderful Daze and Please Remain Calm is back as vocalist for Patience. The single, “Whatever It Takes” is out now. Her soaring vocal reaches new heights atop a fabulous driving piece of music, the drums are immense and the harmonies are heavenly. This is fully charged emotional pop rock with some proggy overtones and awesome metal flurries and I love it! Possibly Chloe’s best recorded vocal performance so far, and there have been some brilliant ones! Patience was formerly a band called Japanese Racoon Dog. The name change coincides with Chloe joining them. I saw them as Japanese Racoon Dog at the Fulford Arms Battle Of The Bands some while ago. They didn’t have a vocalist with them that night and they were very good, but with the recruitment of a powerful new vocalist, they sound amazing. The band also has a new bassist, Austin Bowers. If they can sound this good live, and I can see no reason why they can’t, their live show will be stunning!
Short notice, but you can catch them in Leeds tonight 🙂
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Oli Barton has just released his debut solo single, “It’s Over Now” and it is a raucous, rockin’ romper stomper of a tune. This will be the song to take the Indie Disco night to another level. Everything is absolutely bang on; music, Oli’s vocals, the song, the overall performance. It is an earworm that is more addictive than hard drugs. It is everything a great pop single should be, 3 minutes of absolute music heaven! The track was produced by Alex O’Donovan (Sea Girls) and mixed by Cenzo Townshend (Inhaler). If it gets the airplay it deserves this should make a great showing in the charts, hopefully not just in the UK. Oli says of the track, “It’s in the whole world of teenage heartbreak and social media. The way that jealousy gets inside us and really makes us into a whole different person and perhaps distorts the decisions we make.” Whilst I am glad I am not a teenager in this age, I am really pleased that teenagers can still enjoy some fabulous new music, like this one from Oli! I hear that Oli’s live show is bloody good and I am looking forward to seeing him sometime soon. He has supported Kid Kapichi, Baxter Dury, and Starsailor. Bring on that headline tour and some festival appearances too!
Photo by Alice Denny
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We reviewed “Back In Time“, an earlier song from Georgia Reed last month and now her new tune, “Honey” is with us. This a gorgeous slab of haunting electro-pop that talks of the scepticism Georgia faced when relocating to the UK from her native Australia. It has an underlying dark and gothic vibe, but like with “Back In Time” the music holds some hopeful and positive tones. Ultimately it is about having faith and confidence in what you do and not letting those who doubt you get in your way. At times I can detect the softer side of Steve Strange’s Visage and the darker side of Erasure. Georgia has a distinct vocal style that is hard to compare with anyone else and that is why her songs have such emotion and atmosphere. This is the third single released that is building towards an EP due out on 13th March. I am looking forward to the EP and with every song I have become a bigger fan of Georgia Reed!
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Bullets and Octane are possibly one of the finest heavy rock bands to evolve out of South California…ever! (OK fact fans, they actually originated from St. Louis, Missouri, but they are based in SoCal!) They have toured with an ‘A’ List of great bands including Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Eagles of Death Metal, Flogging Molly, Unwritten Law, Korn, Flyleaf, and the Deftones. Their new single is called “Space Lord Symphony” and it is bluesy, sweaty, grungey garage rock that is full of anthemic vocal hooks made in pop-rock heaven and guitar riffs forged in the fires of hell. I can sense some Hawkwind and Black Crowes in the sound of the song too. The energy emanating from “Space Lord Symphony” is almost palpable. Lead singer and main songwriter Gene Louis has been the ever-present driving force of the band since its early coming together more than 20 years ago. He says of his work “I believe that if you have a passion you die for it no matter what, if your stomach hurts because you’re hungry that means that you’re putting all your time, energy, and money into your passion”. His and the band’s 100% passion is very evident in the new single, “Space Lord Symphony” which deserves to be a huge hit! The video for the track, directed by Christine Fullwood, is pretty special. It takes the viewer into the weird, wonderful, warped, and wacky world of Bullets and Octane. Check it out below.
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