Urban Heat and the electronic art punk bonfire of "A Simple Love Song" (Official Video)

 

"I wish I could write you a simple love song..."

Austin based Urban Heat create an electronic oasis of post proto punk (circa 1978) meets mid 80's new wave meets current retro art punk. This body of dystopian water (or mirage) is surrounded by palm trees on fire. From the thump robot disco beat, to the arpeggio synths (befitting of John Carpenter's They Live), Jonathan Horstmann's post punk / art punk revivalist vocal aesthetic that feels draped in red velvet curtains and reminds me of Justin Warfield (She Wants Revenge), and seriously cool and catchy searing synth melodies during the musical breaks (that in some way has a Euro-trash tone) and you have a track that feels seriously melodramatic or maybe more to the point meta-dramatic. Digging this. 

-Robb Donker Curtius 

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Passionate about analog sound design, Urban Heat’s Jonathan Horstmann is developing a sound that is as fresh as it is full of nostalgia. The band’s synthwave-meets-proto-punk industrial gothic sound exists at the crossroads of man and machine, an unrelenting pulse slamming into the inherent imperfections of human performance. Horstmann sings of romanticism against the stark backdrop of the already-here machine future.

Along with multi-instrumentalists Kevin Naquin and Paxel Foley, Horstmann started releasing music as Urban Heat in late 2019. The band has found a following through social media, where Horstmann regularly shares song ideas and synth sketches with a community of like-minded synth music fans from around the world.

In early 2020 the band caught the attention of Brett Orrison, who, after spending years working with the likes of Jack White, Widespread Panic, and the Black Angels, decided to start his own independent label in the band’s hometown of Austin, TX. Urban Heat signed to Orrison's Spaceflight Records in February 2020 and began releasing singles under Spaceflight in April 2020.

Urban Heat, Austin based, retro punk, proto punk, art punk, "A Simple Love Song", art punk revivalism

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Baby Combat fractures dreams and then puts them back together on "Ten Times Fold" (featuring Rachel Tan)

 "Armor, broken armor / Defense takes a toll / Hiding, not revealing / feelings of your own"

Baby Combat has just released another single entitled “Ten Times Fold,” which strays a bit from their usual style but still lives within the all-encompassing indie rock realm. This dreamy and shoe-gaze laden track features chilling guest vocals from Rachel Tan, formerly of the Singapore based band Lost Weekend and a longtime collaborator with Baby Combat’s Noel Yeo. The effortlessly crafted lyricism explores mental health, and common feelings many of us (probably all of us) have throughout life with uncertainty, anxiety, depression and loss of motivation. Music of this subject matter takes integrity and empathy, something for others to relate to and find solace in. The vocal incantations of these lyrics mesh beautifully with the ethereal instrumentation making for a truly stellar track. When I first heard Baby Combat, I was surprised how relatively unknown this project is until I remembered that all the best stuff really is, and nonetheless we hope that more and more people listen to and support Baby Combat because good art should live on and be well appreciated. Check out “Ten Times Fold,” and the rest of Baby Combat’s discography to make your weekend feel a little better.

-Alyssa Holland

Baby Combat · Ten Times Fold

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Baby Combat is an indie pop rock project by Noel Yeo (Supersloth, Shelves and Silverspy), who is currently based in New York City. All twelve singles from Baby Combat's first year are collected on the album '12'.

Love A.M. and the artful post punk / dream pop potency of "Violent Place" (Official Video)

 

"see your smile and face in this violent place" -  photo by Harald Leitner

"Violent Place" by Austrian dream pop outfit, Love A.M. feels like a collision of bedroom pop and art punk affections. I like the lovely guitar work and synthetic layers that feel very Beach House in tone but the big potent drums and more art post punk pushed potency of bands like Porches. It makes for a sort of dreamscape dynamism that feels surreal but organic in it's emotional gravitas. This is the very first time I have heard Love A.M. and what an absolutely engaging introduction. When the deep grooved musical breaks happen in sweeping ascensions of sound I am lost in a heady mix of imagery, of buttons pushed in my brain.

About the song:  "we tell the story of a girl stuck under the spell of a pseudo-guru, from whom she cannot escape whatever she tries"

The accompanying video directed by Oskar Ott and produced by Floorislava feels like a trailer for a movie I want very much to see. "Violent Place" is from the band's upcoming first EP "Losing Sleep".

Love A.M. is David Plank (drums), Paul Pirker (vox), Matthäus Jandl (keys), Julian Melichar (guitar) and Lukas Schneeberger (bass).

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Love A.M Linktree

We are a music collective from Graz, Austria trying to bring music from our hearts directly to yours.

Founded in 2016, we finally are ready to release our first EP in the coming months.

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Tunic and the punk maelstrom of "Fade Out"

 

photo by Adam Kelly

Winnipeg’s Tunic have recently released “Fade Out,” an explosive piece that’s loud, fast and to the point. The concept for this track comes from the personal experience of vocalist David Schellenberg, whose friend and business partner at a Winnipeg venue they co-own began to lose sight after being diagnosed with MS. After this harrowing and heartbreaking ordeal, they put feeling into creative production. “Fade Out” is cathartic for the group, and also for the listeners who can feel the angst and intensity radiating from this recording. Tunic is the sheer power trifecta of David Schellenberg on guitar and vocals, Rory Ellis on bass and Dan Unger on drums. Their next release Exhaling is due April 9th from Artoffact Records comprising three tracks that delve into the darkness of the human experience, molded into music and pressed on vinyl for your tangible pleasure. Listen to “Fade Out,” and stay tuned for Exhaling.

-Alyssa Holland

tunic · Fade Out

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Winnipeg is cold. Ice cold. And judging by the the emotional brawn and hardcore might of the three-piece Tunic, it can get very very dark.

Winnipeg’s Tunic explore that darkness on the band’s new album Exhaling, a three track effort due on April 9, 2021 via Artoffact Records. Across songs like the title track, “Invalid” and “Fade Out,” the trio of David Schellenberg (Guitar / Vocals), Rory Ellis (Bass) and Dan Unger (Drums) use their visceral art punk approach to explore themes related to coping with the illness of a loved one, the dark side of creativity and dealing with toxic friendships. “I’m not one to write about situations/emotions that I haven’t lived through,” remarks frontman/guitarist David Schellenberg. “I need that catharsis of screaming about these things over and over again. These are all things that have unfolded in my life and I use Tunic as a coping mechanism.”

Tunic was born of spite in 2012– formed after founder David Schellenberg was told he “wasn’t good enough” for another band leading to a subsequent decision to follow his own path. From there, Tunic sought out a sound inspired by the melodic approaches of Quicksand and Superchunk, venom and heartache in Converge and controlled chaos behind Botch. Since their 2016 debut 7”, Tunic have criss-crossed the globe relentlessly, zigging and zagging as part of more than a dozen jaunts in North America and Europe while logging shows with a varied lot like Ken Mode, Single Mothers and even Hank Wood and the Hammerheads. Tunic’s touring bloodlust eventually caught the attention of Toronto-based Artoffact Records, who signed the band immediately upon hearing the band’s intense demos.

The “Exhaling” single serves as a taste of demolition before the full length hits in 2021. This new song, and the legion of firepower on the band’s previous works, serve as fair warning of the brutality that awaits.

Lo Talker and the wanderlustful indie rocker that is "Don't Hide That Light Pt.II" (Official Video)

 

"...it was over, but it's not..."

Lo Talker is based out of Athens, Georgia which I have a soft spot in my heart for. I would ping pong between Athens and Atlanta when I lived in GA (for 5 years) because they were two great cities where you could see bands and get a great bite to eat but I digress (eh). 

Andrew Shepard started Lo Talker as kind of a cleansing rinse like that blue stuff the dentist gives you (my cynical words not Andrew's). As songwriter and guitarist, he had fronted Roadkill Ghost Choir for eight years (who were incredible by the way) but wanted to explore new sounds that were less moody and brooding. On "Don't Hide That Light Pt.II" there are certainly moody and brooding sensibilities but overall, the track runs from whatever heavy shit informed the track in the first place and the dynamic movement is a big part of the appeal. The tones are psychedelic with a crushing indie rock meets sort of desert rock vibe with even a patina of tropical punk affections. There are surreal synth sounds and a droning wash of dreaminess. Shepard's knack of twisting melodies that sound exuberant but feel a bit sad at the same time give the track the emotional gravitas that, I, at least, want in the art I engage in but there is also an all inclusive indie pop thing happening too. For whatever reason I flashed on a kind of musical stew of Fleetwood Mac and Kevin Morby and, especially, White Fence (with and without Ty Segall) although be assured, Lo Talker is it's own thing entirely and dives deeper in a trippy, surreal-ity (production wise).  

About "Lo Talker", Shepard shares: “I wrote ‘Don’t Hide That Light’ to try and remind myself that just because the world around me has plunged into a new level of insanity, it doesn’t mean I have to follow suit. Nihilism is so easy to flirt with especially when it feels like we’re not in on the cosmic joke being told, but the thought that a better world is possible in the face of such darkness is one worth waking up for.”

Cosmic joke, I use that phrase often when I think about life in general. I don't know if, in the end, that is a good thing or not but I have a feeling that Lo Talker will be a fairly prolific part of it's soundtrack. 

“Don’t Hide That Light Pt. 2,” the third song released from Lo Talker's debut album "A Comedy Of Errors", is set to be released March 19, 2021 through Arts & Crafts.

-Robb Donker Curtius 

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Andrew Shepard was looking for a fresh start. The Athens, Georgia-based guitarist and songwriter had been acting as the frontman for his previous band, Roadkill Ghost Choir, for eight years, playing every major festival, Late Night With David Letterman, and touring alongside Band of Horses. But Shepard was feeling constrained by the expectations placed on him in that band. He felt that their songs had to sound a certain way—dark, foreboding, and moody—and he wanted to break out of that mold and start with a clean slate. “We did a lot of cool stuff and had a great time doing it” Shepard says. “But I wanted to sonically explore stuff I hadn’t been able to really do before.” Though he didn’t know it at the time, that was when his new project, Lo Talker, was born.

Shepard is joined by his brother Zach (bass), who also played in Roadkill Ghost Choir, as well as Alec Stanley (guitar/keyboard), Rhett Fuller (guitar), and Jeremiah Johnson (drums) for A Comedy of Errors: a lush, intricate and quirky album of expansive noisy folk rock augmented by the psychedelic whirr of fractured tape loops. The album was produced, mixed, and engineered by longtime friend of the band, Kevin Ratterman, known for his work with similar southern rock inspired indie acts like Jim James, My Morning Jacket, and Strands Of Oak, at his studio in Los Angeles.

Frances Baker and the nostalgic bedroom psychedelic indie R&B of "Hair Turns Grey"

"will stay together 'till our hair turns grey"

The sounds that singer-songwriter, producer Frances Baker infuses into the R&B indie psych trip charmer, "Hair Turns Grey", are so evocative, spinning out images in your brain that she will inspire other songwriters and producers. It is no wonder that she is influenced by the likes of Tyler - the Creator, Erykah Badu and Aretha Franklin. From the cinematic ambience at the beginning to the deep neo-soul groove bed, funky sweet guitar lines and shifting tones, stabs of wonky sounds as a framework for Baker's aloof bedroom dreamy vocal style is brilliant. The ambient sounds, upfront vox that pop in surprisingly give it all both a current experimental feeling and 70's dream theater tone. It is a delicious thing serving up romantic visions.

Her self titled EP "Frances Baker" is out now- (click here)

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Artist/ Producer Frances Baker creates pulling elements from a wide range of influences . Growing up playing writers rounds, Fran got her unique grip on songwriting. Now she combines dreamy chords and dynamic rhythms to host her conversational lyrics. This music grabs from influences ranging from Tyler, the Creator, to Erykah Badu and Aretha Franklin. Music for driving at night, getting ready, or sinking into bed, Fran does not confine her music to one genre or subject matter.

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broken skylight and the indie rock distillation of "In Time" is wonderful

"it's gonna take a little time"

I don't know much about Broken Skylight except that this project is based out of Providence, Rhode Island and that the creative participants might be a one, Nick Fanuele and a one, Mister Frizzle. The most important thing I know about BS is that their track, "In Time", is a wonderful piece of music that feels like a journey. One that has garden rock tones imbued with the kinds of sounds you might of heard on College rock stations in the 90's. There are bending notes with a fine hint of country rock, there is a jammy nature and a vocal aesthetic that is as pretty as it is wistful. This all encompassing rock indie atmosphere that contains dreams, love, love lost and longing made me think of a bit of R.E.M, Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Petty and The Shins or a distillation of all those, in a way, but moreover all of Broken Skylight who, again, I know very little about. It doesn't matter, I just hope they put out a lot more music.


-Robb Donker

broken skylight · In Time

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After years of existing in an embryonic state on Nick Fanuele’s google drive in the form of sparse melancholic chord progressions, broken skylight’s chord progressions’ have recently been birthed into songs that have a more human touch. Joined by the lineup of Mister Frizzle, BS’s songs keep a melancholic feel with a new melodic sound

Beige Banquet and the DIY electro punk power of "Cold Yoghurt"

"...on unwashed sheets..."

Beige Banquet’s “Cold Yoghurt” is out today, along with the debut album “Beta,” diy post punk in its truest fashion. The track exhibits the raw musicality and creative determination of Beige Banquet’s Tom Brierley, embarking on a solo endeavor unique to the pandemic and the times. He still manages to bring something organic, fervent and energetic to the table with “Cold Yoghurt,” and the rest of the album. The album, set with fine cover art by Robin Roche, is now available to hear on all online platforms and on cassette via Just Step Sideways. The first run of the cassettes sold out, so get this second run while they’re hot. I’ve gotta get my hands on one too, so I can play it loud on my portable in a mostly empty park. Listen to “Beta” if good music is what you’re into.

-Alyssa Holland

Beige Banquet · Cold Yoghurt

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Formed in 2020, Beige Banquet is the solo recording project of guitarist and vocalist Tom Brierley. Although subsequently expanded into a full live band, the DIY debut album Beta was entirely written, recorded and produced in Brierley’s bedroom studio during the first half of 2020, and is his first full-length since releasing a string of EPs with post-punk bands PKNN (London) and NOUGHTS (Melbourne).

After a critically acclaimed response to their 2020 debut single ‘Wired/Weird’, including airplay on BBC Introducing London, Boogaloo Radio, Amazing Radio and PBS (Melbourne), the follow-up album is an exciting feast of 12 drum-machine-driven, bedroom-recorded and self-produced outsider/weirdo/art/post-punk tracks, delivered within 33 minutes.

Atoll Blues and the melancholy walking dream of "Serotonin"

 

"I find myself falling..."

I found myself gravitating towards the expansive surreal melancholia of "Serotonin" by Atoll Blues, the solo project of Glasgow indie musician Sam L. Brown (Lucid Hound), almost right away. The opening fluid bending notes and chill progs fall away to Brown's sad vocal lilt. The vocal aesthetic, pushed falsettos spiraling into an acute hallucination made more askew by ghosted vocal layers effected as if the voice was playing through and old warbled radio. These off-kilter directions on one had sound beautiful and on the other, add a disturbing though engagin quality. At times, the chord progressions move in surprising ways as in not knowing there is a step down while walking and I revel in those kinds of moments. 

Brown penned the song last autumn as the pandemic lockdown closed in on him. Of the song he shares:  “I was trying to encapsulate the process that has been constantly ravaging my mind in this strange time. I was especially low when I started writing the songs for this EP as the nights were growing slow and long and the days dimly grey. I began to fixate more on my fears than usual and ruminate more often in negative thoughts and I think the songs on the EP reflect this. But there is a positive side to it too. This winter has been quite a trip but at least it is now getting lighter again. Things will get easier. For now we must hibernate and do what we can to keep our bodies and our minds healthy and when we eventually emerge from this social slumber we will have a renewed appreciation for so many things we used to take for granted.”

"as night draws in, serotonin draws thin- as the leaves turn brown, I find myself falling- I try not to hit the ground, try--"

"Serotonin" is from Atoll Blues' debut EP "A Mind Tending Towards Disorder".

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Atoll Blues is the solo project of independent musician Sam L Brown who has played on the Glasgow scene for a couple of years with the three-piece psych powerhouse Lucid Hound. Sam has been writing music for almost a decade and many of the songs he has written did not fit the high energy vibe of Lucid Hound, so Atoll Blues was born to showcase these more personal recordings.

art rock, Atoll Blues, "Serotonin", alternative rock, psychedelic rock, Shoegaze / Dream Pop, Glasgow scene, EP "A Mind Tending Towards Disorder",

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Palm Ghosts and the passionate post punk pummel of "Blind"

 

"If that’s what you need to see then you're already blind"

In an ever changing world not always shifting in the best way, it is comforting to hear a band like Nashville's post punk goth pop-esque Palm Ghost who don't jump trend trains, who don't dabble in the latest musical tropes and I am so fucking sick of. They infuse their sound of choice with passion and still believe in having something to say. Their latest offering, "Blind", a vast alternative jagged affair with tribal drums and a truly romantic sense, within the vocal croon, passionately pummels us with words about societal suspicion and paranoia. There is a time to fight and a time to recoil and think. 2020 was such a crucial and difficult year that I need time to escape into great artists like Palm Ghosts.

"Blind" is from the bands upcoming album "Lifeboat Candidate" set to drop March 19th.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Palm Ghosts is a dream pop / post punk band based in Nashville TN.

Taking cues from such bands as Cocteau Twins, Peter Gabriel, Echo and The Bunnymen, New Order, early U2 and The Cure, Palm Ghosts takes the sounds of early 80s alternative music and brings it into the new millennium.

In May of 2017 Palm Ghosts found their sound with the release of Architecture, a critically lauded collection of cinematic dream pop songs.

Music News UK put it best when they wrote “The commodified and codified 80’s are here to stay, from the fake consciousness pop culture nostalgia that dominates the virtual shopping aisles to recreated and reimagined movie memories that manipulate and skew the present. Saddled with the past, culture’s inertia offers up facsimile pap and xerox rock. However, hope exists, listen as true light continues to glisten, appearing through the cracks and haunting the NOW are Nashville’s Palm Ghosts.”

Anorak Patch and the art rock post punkery of "Irate"

 

"simon says what is in your head..."

I am old enough (unfortunately) to refer to Anorak Patch as a bunch of kids but, fortunately, not that old to scream at them to get off my lawn. Their sound on "Irate" is brilliantly mind blowing in it's heavy art rock meets post punkery and I seriously thought of Them Crooked Vultures, Dead Weather, Shirley Manson, Sonic Youth and, of course, the staggered half step proggery of Queens Of The Stone Age all smashed together. Maybe the Josh Homme effect feels a bit heavy but I will NOT knock them for this as the track veers off into off-kilter Gothc pop places as well and Christ, the Colchester-based four piece (whose drummer is 14 years old) is killing it.

 

I look forward to hearing their evolution along the way.

-Robb Donker Curtius

Nice Swan Records · Anorak Patch - Irate

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Colchester-based four piece, Anorak Patch, whose drummer is just 14 years old burst onto the scene last year with their debut singles, ‘Beans’ & ‘6 Week Party’, the latter of which making the BBC 6Music Playlist. Keyboardist Effie Lawrence formed the group in late 2019 with high school friends Luca Ryland (drums) & brother Oscar (guitar), along with bass player Eleanor Helliwell and have been quick to announce themselves into the UK music scene with national airplay and press.

Bear Call and the image inducing grand psyche pop eruption of "Disappearance"

"nothing is changing... nothing is changing"

I could mention the scintillatingly cool bass line that snakes through "Disappearance" by Bear Call or the beautiful sort of 70's pop affectionate big down beats, the sense of Beatle-esque meets MGMT-esque shiny divergent pop dreamscapyness (that's, that's a word) or the 90's indie film vocal aesthetic or the smart and kinda mind bending robots meet vocoder enhancements that briefly pop up but I won't because you all have ears. 

Instead I will share how this song makes me feel. 

1) Like the first time I heard Tears for Fears.

2) Like skating pools on a sun blinding day in 1986

3) The feeling of seeing a fetching couple, handsome cool guy and beautiful woman sharing a dripping ice cream cone as they sit on the edge of a fountain at Mile High Park and I am that ice cream cone.

Off to see my Therapist

Oh damn, I don't have one.

The amazingly trippy "Disappearance" is from Bear Call's new album "Systemizer" released on 01/21/22.

-Robb Donker Curtius

P.S. Are multi-instrumentalist/producer Aaron Mortemore and singer/guitarist Skyler Warren also investment strategists??

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Bear Call is a collaborative effort between multi-instrumentalist/producer Aaron Mortemore and singer/guitarist Skyler Warren. After meeting in 2015, the two quickly bonded over their obsession of audio production and meaningful songwriting. Following a year of playing local shows, the band released and toured their debut album “Anything’s Better Than Falling”. Upon returning home, they turned their sights onto evolving their sound from a surf-pop obsessed party band, to a texture based psychedelic experience. The result was the band’s sophomore effort “Fancy Acid”. This was not only the duos first fully shared songwriting effort, but also their first venture into recording and producing on their own, turning their garage into a home studio.

The album proved to be equally challenging and rewarding, and after another tour they were eager to record again - this time working with engineer Robby Joseph (who has also worked with Cool Ghouls, Sonny Smith, Mystery Flavors and other Bay Area artists) - the result is not so much an expansion as much as it is an extension of Bear Call’s second release. The upcoming album "Systemizer" (out on 1/22/21) seeks to continue to blend a wide-ranging sonic space with subtle pop elements while traversing a familiar path of isolation and uncertainty.

BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON and the dreamy groove driven diorama of "Try" (Official Video)

 

"I want to know about a feeling"

The oscillating dream theater of "Try" by the Japanese trio BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON running on an intoxicating and infectious musical diorama of measured simple synth and guitar downbeats, walking groovy bass lines, a combination of double time staccato and amazing fluid guitar impressions and falsetto vox that make me think of early MGMT (a bit). The musicality here is so very smile inducing, the production so damn engaging in it's lovely dreamy way.

BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON are Shohei Megumi (guitar /vox), Yusuke Okada (drums) and Ayu Megumi (Bass /vox) from Osaka (Japan).

-Robb Donker Curtius 

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Shohei Megumi (Gt&Vo), Yusuke Okada (Dr) and Ayu Megumi (Ba&Vo) founded the indie pop band BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON in August 2017, in Osaka (Japan).

Two voices of very different colors, singing in English, blend into a very open sound, adding their own peculiar and crooked angle to the universality of pop. Clearly inspired by Western indie, their music is much more than that, easily tickling the ears of listeners from various backgrounds.

The lyrics, co-written by the brother and sister Megumi, depict with a rich expressiveness the complexity of the heart, and how it underlies the inherent loneliness of people, the beauty of looking for someone to heal this solitude, the feeling of love.

The three members of BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON jump across music categories with their evolving art form, an anonymous projection of people’s inner self into music.

Before they even debuted, they caught the attention of music curators and were invited to various major festivals in Japan.

Their debut EP “Some Same Soul” was released on July 29, 2020. Three of the tracks, that benefited from an earlier release, have been selected on several Spotify editorial playlists of various countries.

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Twin Dive and the artful primal scream of "Blue Husky (Черный ворон)" (Official LIVE Video)

 

"listen to our primal scream telling you something"

Denmark based Twin Dive's live version of "Blue Husky (Черный ворон)" speaks to the three piece's alt rock / post punk muscular and massive sound. The stalking tom tom beat, dominant bass and thick dirty guitar lines provide a formidable, potent and darkly drawn framework for a gritty vocal aesthetic that is raw but artfully cool as well. 

At the same time that I feel alt-rock tones, there elements of grunge churning in the stew as well as post punk and a sort of slick leather meets satin rock hearkening to bands in NYC in the late 70's / 80's like Richard Hell and the Voidoids (if not in sound but in artistic attitude and emotional temperament). In some way, I can't help but think of a car crash of sounds and styles from Queens of the Stone Age to Nirvana to Mondo Generator. Whatever informs the sound here, Twin Dive does have a very cool brooding rock sound, one for the ages, one that will never fully go away and that is a glorious thing.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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TWIN DIVE's blend of classic 90s-infused alternative guitar rock, fueled with their pan-Scandinavian heritage and served with small doses of bravado and a confident stage presence - echo the high times of classic “Alt-Punk” and stabs of lo-fi noise rock, while also treading into the here and now when paired with well-placed lyrics and distinct melodies.

They've swagger without the cheese, they've intensity without the histrionics and a sound that slithers and lurks with intent.

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