Sapien Trace | With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

“Phase IV” – The last Of The Fallen Angels July 18, 2020

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:49 am
Tags: AXLS, CMQ, Mark D, Mike Bennett, Sapien Trace, Simon Ellis, The Last Of The Fallen Angels, Victoria O

The Last Of The Fallen Angels are born out of lockdown. The band formed a few weeks into the UK COVID-19 shutdown in May 2020. It is a collaboration project of CMQ. He has worked remotely with singers and artists from across the globe. The plan is to release a series of three singles and the first one is with us now, it is called “Phase IV”. The track obviously features CMQ, but with great input from Mark D of Sapien Trace and Victoria O of north east electro champs AXLS. The song was written by CMQ and Mark D. Sapien Trace and AXLS have featured on With Just A Hint Of Mayhem previously.

Apparently Mike Bennett, a producer who has been around the block a few times with some great artists from Toyah and Hazel O’Connor to Ian Brown and the Specials to name just a few of the stellar acts he has worked with. Bennett will be releasing the track on his Paraffin Alien record label on 28th August.

“Phase IV” was produced by Simon Ellis, maybe not the man you would associate with this darker electro vibe given his pure pop credentials working with, among others, the Spice Girls, Britney Spears and S Club 7. But he really nails it with this tune. The whole recording and writing process was conducted via email and messenger, given the restrictions of lockdown. None of the musicians, singers or producers met during the recording process. It was the same for the making of the rather spiffing video which was filmed using mobile phones.

The song is a chilled ambient piece of music with almost an electro dub vibe in the instrumentation. At some points it reminded me of The Beloved’s 1989 hit, “The Sun Rising”. The vocals are a perfect match for the music and are at times ethereal. Victoria O’s singing is heavenly in the guise of a beautiful ghost. This has definitely whetted my appetite for the next two releases in the series. Check it out and let us know what you think. There is a teaser video below, that will have to keep you satisfied until the wonderful full track is unleashed to the world next month!

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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem – Singles Round-Up 2020 Part 2 April 4, 2020

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:35 pm
Tags: Mercvrial, Sapien Trace, Something Leather, Stonestreet, Swine Tax

We are still catching up with reviews during this COVID-19 downtime. So here is our second 2020 singles round-up. These five tracks feature another eclectic mix of bands from as far afield as Newcastle, Brighton, Mexico, and Los Angeles. All of these acts are new to With Just A Hint Of Mayhem too. Enjoy!

Swine Tax – Browsing

“Browsing” – Swine Tax

21st Century punk at its best, a song full of open wound anger and vitriol. If the Sex Pistols came into being a couple of years ago they might have sounded like this. Their lyrics are sharp and their passion is strong, these boys from Newcastle could go the distance!

“Hsieh Su-Wei” – Mercvrial

A hypnotic dream gaze track from Mexico. It is about the Taiwanese tennis player Hsieh Su-Wei who apparently has a wonderfully unorthodox but successful style of play. It is quite a chilled song that would sit neatly among the early R.E.M. canon of tunes. This is going on my summer playlist!

“More Than I Can Give” – Sapien Trace

Another exciting band from Newcastle. With this single Sapien Trace pay homage to some of the best electro-synth, there has ever been. Imagine the Prodigy, 80s Human League and maybe Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley on vocal duties. All underpinned by an almost Italian House piano motif. This is an intriguingly great track that leaves me wanting more of Sapien Trace.

“Farewell Fareworse” – Something Leather

An eerie heavy psych workout from Brighton band Something Leather. The keyboards, in fact, the whole instrumentation, could soundtrack a modern take on a Hammer Horror film. The vocals are exceptionally good and sound at times like Cerys Matthews on psychedelic steroids. After this one song, I am a fan!

“Hate To Love” – Stonestreet

If you like modern R & B you will love this soulful, chilled tune from Stonestreet. Is it a love song? Maybe, but probably in the context of the occasional sparkle in a toxic relationship. The song is dedicated to Stonestreeet’s childhood friend Ann Emory who is no longer with as she struggled so hard with growing up queer in an unaccepting environment. It saddens me that the world still has more than its fair share of bigots. But I bloody love this tune and I am sure that Ann Emory would have been proud of Stonestreet’s stand for her!