Hello everyone,
Hope you’re doing ok and are not too affected by everything that’s happening at the moment.
As COVID-19 is leading to cancellations and rescheduled shows we understand that there are going to be some gaps left in your music editorial. While many shows may be off, we’re pleased to say there is many new album releases still confirmed for release throughout March & April – see below…
If you’d like to receive a review copy (stream/download/CD) of any of the following releases please just let us know. We can also arrange interview time with the artists (email/phone) should you have any features you’d like to run.
Wishing you all the best,
Sonic PR
– MARCH RELEASES –
13 MAR: Ultraista (Nigel Godrich/Laura Bettison/Joey Waronker) – ’Sister’
20 MAR: Slow Readers Club – ‘Joy Of The Return’ + Salt House – ‘Huam’ + Littlemen – ‘It’s A Beautiful Thing’ + Twisted Wheel – ‘Satisfying The Ritual’
27 MAR: Basia Bulat – ‘Are you In Love?’ + Roddy Woomble – ‘Everyday Sun’ + The Imbeciles – ‘The Imbeciles’
[ Artwork + Summaries for each below…]
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ULTRAISTA
ALBUM: ’SISTER’
OUT: 13 MARCH, VIA PARTISAN
ABOUT: Ultraísta – consisting of multi-instrumentalist/producer Nigel Godrich (Radiohead), vocalist/producer Laura Bettinson (FEMME/lau.ra) and drummer/producer Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M., Atoms for Peace) – are back with their first album since 2012.
Much of the music on Sister grew out of sporadic improv sessions, with Godrich ultimately paring everything down to its bare essentials at his London studio space. The resulting nine songs create a cinematic sci-fi soundscape that’s both exhilarating and laser-focused. Behind Bettinson’s warm, inviting vocal delivery and anchored by Waronker’s sophisticated percussion work, Sister stands tall among the impressive and extensive careers of each band member.
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THE SLOW READERS CLUB
ALBUM: ’THE JOY OF THE RETURN’
OUT: 20 MARCH, VIA MODERN SKY UK
ABOUT: Manchester electronic/post-punk four piece follow their Top 20 ‘Build A Tower’ with their aptly titled fourth album: The Joy Of The Return. The Joy Of The Return marked a significant change in the band’s recording process, with their extensive touring allowing them time to write and develop tracks and arrangements through soundchecks and back-of-van jams.
The results see the band spread their wings and explore a vast swathe of new sonic territory. The album recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool and produced by long-standing collaborator Phil Bulleyment.
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SALT HOUSE
ALBUM: ‘HUAM’
OUT: 20 MARCH, VIA HUDSON RECORDS
ABOUT: The Scottish Folk trio – comprising Ewan MacPherson (of legendary Scottish outfit Shooglenifty), Jenny Sturgeon (a Singer/guitarist/harmonium player with a PHD in seabirds) and Lauren MacColl (BBC Young Folk Award winning fiddler/ viola player) – come together to deliver an album of rare beauty and accomplished subtlety.
Created on the wild western coast of Scotland and inspired by the natural world (its title the Scottish word for the hooting of an owl), ‘Huam’ delivers 10 stripped-back songs of arrangement, lyrically lost deep in daydreams of places, politics, landscapes and birds. Teaming-up with conservation charity Trees For Life, purchases of the album will be commemorated with the planting of a new tree.
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LITTLEMEN
ALBUM: ‘IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING’
OUT: 20 MARCH, VIA LITTLEMEN RECORDINGS
ABOUT: ‘It’s A Beautiful Thing’ is the latest album from UK roots-rockers to be released via their own Littlemen Recordings label. With a new-look line-up, the band unfurl 10 tracks of accomplished musicianship and classic songwriting.
Exuding the same Californian warmth that radiates through Tom Petty’s immortal recordings, the golden Laurel Canyon harmonies of CSNY and the anthemic Americana-touchstones of Springsteen at his windswept most epic; the Littlemen’s latest effort humbly tips its hat to the eternal giants of the US rock, folk and country scenes. All tracks were recorded at the famous NAM Studios (KT Tunstall, The Mission, Killing Joke, Royal Blood and many more) and Omen Audio, with production by Mark Griffin.
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TWISTED WHEEL
ALBUM: ’SATISFYING THE RITUAL’
OUT: 20 MARCH, VIA TWISTED WHEEL RECORDINGS
ABOUT: Tenacious rock’n’roll four-piece – Twisted Wheel – return with their much anticipated new album: ‘Satisfying the Ritual’, their first for some 8 years. The third album from Twisted Wheel represents the evolution of a band that have well and truly taken the shackles off and headed into an uncompromising wave of style matched with eclectic substance.
It’s a record that separates itself from the safe and obvious tirade of modern guitar pop, instead drawing upon a wide influence from 60’s Psychedelia, Punk, Trip Hop and New Wave. Satisfying The Ritual follows the UK Physical Charts number one EP Jonny Guitar, three sold out UK tours, major festival appearances and support slots with long-time supporter Liam Gallagher.
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BASIA BULAT
ALBUM: ‘ARE YOU IN LOVE?’
OUT: 27 MARCH, VIA SECRET CITY RECORDS
ABOUT: Three-time Polaris Music Prize finalist and critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Basia Bulat is back with the expansive, dreamy folk of ‘Are You in Love?’. The album was produced by Jim James (My Morning Jacket) who also produced Bulat’s 2016 release Good Advice. Speaking about the upcoming record, Basia says:
“When making this album I tried to challenge myself in ways I hadn’t before. I felt like the only way my art could grow was to open my heart to all the things I was afraid of. I wanted to write a song about one of the concepts I’ve struggled with the most since childhood, the idea of forgiveness,” Bulat says.
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RODDY WOOMBLE
EP: ‘EVERYDAY SUN’
OUT: 27 MARCH, VIA A MODERN WAY
ABOUT: “Everyday Sun” the forthcoming solo EP from Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble. Written alongside frequent collaborator and Idlewild bandmate Andrew Mitchell and recorded in the latter’s Dundee studio, it marks a departure from Woomble’s traditional working methods with either piano or guitar. The EP Sees Roddy adopt a new style of delivery, neither spoken word nor straight-forward singing, giving the tracks a new mystique and texture.
Lyrics were also rearranged to strip them of conventional meaning and narrative. “I greatly enjoyed both of Andrew’s instrumental solo albums (under his Andrew Wasylyk moniker), and really liked the idea of trying to read some of my words over his compositions,” says Roddy.
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THE IMBECILES
ALBUM: ‘THE IMBECILES’
OUT: 27 MARCH, VIA SELF RELEASE
ABOUT: The Imbeciles are preparing for the release of their self-titled debut album, of 13 imploded songs which rarely last more than two minutes. Recorded on tape in eight deranged days on the Texan-Mexican border, it’s packed with stripped-down musical information and resonant with atmosphere.
“We’re trying not to adhere to the conventional wisdom of what a band should be, and who should be in it,” guitarist/lyricist Butch Dante believes. “Jads is a jazz-trained drummer who can roll off the beat in a Mitch Mitchell sort of way, the keyboardist comes from classical and jazz, and as the punk anchor with my lack of musical ability, I default to heavy power chords, based around fierce rock riffs. Those riffs, a strong drum-beat and aggressive bass are all very commercially viable. We might shift off into a hinterland of jazz-infused prog, but we bring it back. Because we want people to listen.”
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– APRIL RELEASES –
03 APR: The Lovely Eggs – ‘I Am Moron’
10 APR: Pottery – ’Welcome to Bobby’s Motel’
17 APR: Bethlehem Casuals – ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’ || Soul Asylum – ‘Hurry Up & Wait’
24 APR: Braids – ‘Shadow Offering’
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THE LOVELY EGGS
ALBUM: ‘I AM MORON’
OUT: 03 APRIL, VIA EGG RECORDS
ABOUT: It’s a very busy time in Eggland right now. Since the release of their last album ‘This Is Eggland’ in 2018, The Lovely Eggs have sat back and watched the world mutate and slowly eat itself. However, rather than remaining frozen in despair, they have used their relentless analysis of a modern culture that is bringing the world to its knees and poured every bit of inspired anger, contempt and hysterical laughter into new album ‘I am Moron’.
‘I am Moron’ is their second album to be co-produced and mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Tame Impala) and continues their journey through Eggland into the unknown, with artwork by genius artist and video director Casey Raymond, who has the unbridled talent to perfectly visualize The Lovely Eggs sound, spewing Eggland out in a swirling whirlpool of dayglo colours, melting faces and symbols.
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POTTERY
ALBUM: ‘WELCOME TO BOBBY’S MOTEL’
OUT: 10 APRIL, VIA PARTISAN RECORDS
ABOUT: Pottery have detailed their debut LP – Welcome To Bobby’s Motel – out April 10th via Partisan Records. A celebration of rhythm and groove, Welcome To Bobby’s Motel invites you to set yourself free, veering from highbrow motorik instrumentation to moments of playful discord.
Welcome To Bobby’s Motel was produced by Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Snail Mail) and recorded at Montreal’s Break Glass studio. Although he occupies a central role within the album’s 11 tracks, it should be noted that Bobby is not technically a real person, and Bobby’s Motel is not a real place. Read the band’s own description here. Recommended for fans of: Talking Heads, Devo, The The…
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SOUL ASYLUM
ALBUM: ’HURRY UP & WAIT’
OUT: 17 APRIL, VIA BLUE ELAN RECORDS
ABOUT: Soul Asylum have announced their new body of work, ‘Hurry Up and Wait’, which drops on April 17. Working with Grammy-winning engineer Emily Lazar and co-producer John Fields, the album will touch on the band’s sounds throughout the years and who have influenced them up until this point.
“I did sort of put my guard down,” bandleader Dave Pirner explains. “And I was like, ‘Well, this time, I’m going to just go with whatever seems to be working, and I don’t really care what kind of music people want to call it.’ It’s a little raw and forthcoming in the way that I didn’t second guess it. There’s a lot of just letting it come out as opposed to trying to force something.”
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BETHLEHEM CASUALS
ALBUM: ’THE TRAGEDY OF STREET DOG’
OUT: 17 APRIL, VIA BETHLEHEM CASUALS
ABOUT: Rising septet Bethlehem Casuals will let ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’, off the leash in 2020. A barking mad concept album like no other, the Casuals’ upcoming record tells the story of a dog who wonders why all the music in Manchester has disappeared.
Channeling an eclectic mix of influences including kraut, punk, psych, jazz, folk and more, via esoteric storytelling and prodigious playing skills, the ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’ is a psychedelic swirl of vivid sounds, ideas and idiosyncrasies. Recommended for fans of: Dexys / Madness / Steely Dan…
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BRAIDS
ALBUM: ’SHADOW OFFERING’
OUT: 24 APRIL, VIA SECRET CITY RECORDS
ABOUT: A luscious and expansive release, Shadow Offering leads us through a sonic tapestry of narrative. With heartbreaking honesty and precision, listeners traverse a nuanced and complicated world: one full of beautiful contradiction. Although the album directs itself at the failures of people to love and be loved, it also seeks to restore justice and attain blissful union. Its arc crests through the dark towards the light and learns how to dance with the dizzying rhythms of the heart. The songs bubble, sustain, dissolve, expand, and retract.
The album recounts pain, heartbreak, anger, but also lifts the heart towards hope. “There’s more hopefulness in this record than anything else I’ve written,” said Standell-Preston. “I think the songs are more human, more tangible, more honest.”
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