Tracks Of The Week, 10.02.18 - GigslutzGigslutz

Their first offering of the year, indie upstarts Llovers recently released ‘Just Lust,’ a tender, minimalist look at societal issues and how the band feel disconnected with certain stereotypes. Speaking of the track, vocalist Jack Brooks said: “‘Just Lust’ is the sum of a deeply personal exploration in 2017 concerning how I felt within myself. I considered the effect that perception of ‘men’ as a generalised group moulded my own mental health and enforced a feeling of disconnection from a percentage of the population. Musically the track is built to replicate the thought process providing time and thought before erupting in a wave of raw emotion in a cathartic way.’

Ending in a euphoric crescendo, ‘Just Lust’ is, as Jack suggests, cathartic. It’s hugely emotional, and a perfect start to 2018 for Llovers.

‘Just Lust’ is out now

We’re convinced Kidsmoke can do no wrong. And with their latest release ‘Sister Sadness’ they’ve got it completely right.

Melancholic at points, but equally wistful and dreamy, ‘Sister Sadness’ journeys through some sort of dystopian scene, one that’s perhaps a little too close to home, but one that we’re more than happy to live through if Kidsmoke are soundtracking it. And in ‘Sister Sadness’ there’s a definite glimmer of hope. Through jangly guitars, and hazy, hushed vocals, it’s the perfect accompaniment to this seemingly never ending winter.

‘Sister Sadness’ is out now
See Kidsmoke live:
March
16 – William Aston Hall, Wrexham (supporting Sweet)
30 – Telford’s Warehouse, Chester
April
6 – The Finsbury, London (w/ Seazoo)
7 – Night & Day, Manchester
25 – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff (w/ Bryde)
May
11 – Focus Wales, Wrexham

Ahead of the release of their sophomore album, Psychic Markers are giving us a taste in ‘Hardly Strangers’ – the title track and a soothing dose of swirling euphoria.

Taken from an album that boasts “50’s-tinged doo-wop nestles up alongside lush cinema-influenced soundscapes; whilst flashes of neo-psychedelia take pop hooks and stretch them out into hypnotic and elongated jams befitting of 1970’s Germany before pushing them into further cosmic realms,” ‘Hardly Strangers’ is, at over six minutes, one of the elongated jams, but a welcome one. It’s completely transfixing, expansive, and – though by the sounds of it the album’s impossible to pin down – at least a bit of a taste of what we can expect.

Hardly Strangers is out on 23 February

Having just completed a UK tour, with sell out dates across the country, the hype’s seriously building around Red Rum Club. And with their latest single ‘Calexico’ it’s not hard to see why.

The Liverpool sextet channel ‘Tarantino-esque’ Western vibes, with a solitary trumpet, and ‘Calexico’ is the perfect example of exactly what that can conjure up. Slightly unnerving, but incredibly cool, ‘Calexico’ chews up their Western influences and spits them out, twisted so they fit as perfectly in 2018 as they would in the Wild West.

‘Calexico’ is out now