******** are re-releasing their first and final record ‘The Drink’.

‘The Drink’ is a twelve-track album addressing a duo’s contemporary and indifferent existence in The West. ******** are comprised of Ailie Ormston, who works in a kitchen and Ω, one half of the partnership Edinburgh Leisure.

********’s vision of the world is portrayed through “rudimentary bass and de(con)structive guitar” (Neil Cooper). With hacked drum machines and preprogramed keyboards, they create compositions that complement their lyrical content, itself demonstrating a harsh and contemptuous reality. The album presents a series of theatrically characterised scenarios; universal summaries of the day-to-day; habitual and excessive; promising and disparaging.

Recorded during a six-month period and originally released solely on YouTube, the album itself addresses new modes of working and an interest in musical versatility.

Being unrehearsed, unknowing and capable of compromise are key to the ******** ethos, with an emphasis on changing the form of each song to suit different performative environments. Authorship and individualism are discouraged; preciousness of ownership is challenged. 85% honest, 15% misquoted; 100% sincere.

You will find them in the pub. Drink the dark, depressive drink.

“I’m a huge fan of ********!” - Saul Adamcweski, Insecure Men / ex-Fat Whites

“******** are the future” - Rosy Bones, Goat Girl

“Like having a pint with Brass Eye. One of my favourite albums, ever.” - Liam Ramsden, Mellah

TRACK LISTING

The Drink
I’m A Zookeeper (Not A Goalkeeper)
Trish
Kinderpunsch
Bowling Green
Practical Song (aka The Logical Song)
Signs Of Life In The Computer
Comedian
Readymade
Schweppes Bitter Lemon
Scottish Water
Doberman

First there was Paul McCartney, Phil Lynott and Lemmy, and now in 2017 Bill Botting swells the esteemed ranks of bass-players-with-moustaches-come-charismatic-front-men. Following Allo Darlin’s triumphant farewell back in Dec 2016, their ever-buoyant bass player Bill Botting is releasing his debut solo album on Fika Recordings & WIAIWYA. He gathered a supergroup of siblings and indie legends including Allo Darlin’ bandmate Paul Rains, Jonny Helm from The Wave Pictures, Tom Wade from Owl & Mouse, Laura K from Tigercats, Darren Hayman and Hannah Botting from home and christened them the Two Drink Minimums.

Better Friends is simply described as indie mixed with country, or country mixed with indie. Or like if Lou Reed went to a Linda Ronstadt Concert in 1988 and decided to have a change of direction. Imagine the soundtrack to a 1970's road movie directed by John Hughes, with a little power pop, some cosmic American music and some post-punk, pre-indiepop jangle, all played through an Australian indie filter, with a Paul Simon cover thrown in for good measure. You can hear the Go-Between's in there, some solo McCartney, perhaps an Antipodean Kinks and even some classic Hall and Oates. Better Friends was predominantly written on the move: on 3 hour night buses, tour vans and cross country trains. There are tales of hotel rooms without spare keys [Paulie’s Girl], absurd ‘sexy’ Halloween costumes (Sexy Mental Patient, Sexy Zombie etc) [Feeling Sad Again] and the difficulty of explaining depression to your eldest child [Difficult Stuff].

The cover of Graceland came from hearing Willie Nelson’s version while waiting for the rest of the band to arrive for the first rehearsal. Having thought it was uncoverable, Bill proceeded to cover it with the gang. And he still modestly maintains that The Two Drink Minimums’ version is the second best of the three. It's honest and personal, melancholy and joyous... like a warm hug from a new friend at the end of a boozy night. 

TRACK LISTING

01 Better Friend
02 Burning Bridges
03 Knew You When
04 Treating You Right
05 Graceland
06 Feeling Sad Again
07 The Rug
08 Paulie's Girl
09 Difficult Stuff 

Newly signed to Melodic, The Drink are now set to intoxicate further with the arrival of Company; their gloriously inventive debut album.

Collecting together those now-unavailable EPs, Company has an inimitable, wayward sound drawn from the chaos of real life. “People and places shape the sound - I get ideas from watching people do their thing and also looking at billboards thinking that everything is fucked," says singer and guitarist Dearbhla Minogue. Without clear narratives, the lyrics have a stream-of-consciousness quality, loaded with uncanny imagery. "I try to invoke feelings of familiarity and imagery in songs because that is what I love about hearing good lyrics. For them to invoke something that you recognise and makes you feel a certain way but you're not quite sure why."

The title Company explores the album’s themes of what it means to be human, and being alone. "The idea of company is really interesting, why is it so important?" asks Dearbhla. "The way people operate in company - and in companies - is so interesting. Groups are formed by individuals but after that they take on a life of their own."

The Drink came together when Dearbhla moved to London from her hometown of Dublin and overheard drummer Daniel Fordham and bassist David Stewart practising with their former band in the warehouse she shares with other musicians. “I used to listen to Dan and Dave in Fighting Kites and when they disbanded I took them for my own,” says Dearbhla. “They have a way of making an odd song flow really well. It was great to realise that together we had a band sound without having to contrive it.”

In the way bands such as Deerhoof are revered for their unusual sonic approach, The Drink celebrate beauty in oddness through their use of bold syncopated rhythms, strange time signatures and complex structures, via a love of artists from Joanna Newsom to The Breeders and Captain Beefheart. While many lose their sense of melodic direction labouring to create an intriguing experimental sound, on Company it never wanes through the band’s boundless energy, reverberating basslines and unforgettably spontaneous fusion of American and English indie rock with Irish folk leanings. “We don't set out to write odd songs at all. We just write them as we think they sound interesting and they always turn out to be in bizarre time patterns when it comes to putting them together,”says Dearbhla.

"Our first rehearsals were fuelled largely by Nigerian Foreign Export Guinness, but we're not specifically referring to alcohol when we say The Drink, it's also a way of describing the sea, or something that's essential to survival."

“It sounds pretty unique - save for a little like Warpaint with a folkier wash - and is certainly some of the most refreshing music we've heard from a new act these last few months.” The Line Of Best Fit.

“Dearbhla Minogue is a woman on a mission. The lead singer and primary songwriter for London-based trio The Drink is reassuringly focused on how she wants her band to sound. Since their inception just over a year ago – and rather refreshingly in an era where many artists spend a huge amount of energy exploring the outer edges of genre-splicing experimentation - The Drink have defined themselves as purveyors of ballsy and intelligent indie rock.” - Quietus.

TRACK LISTING

Microsleep
Bantamweight
Playground
Dead Ringers
Fever
Wicklow
At The Weekend
Beasts Are Sleeping
Demo Love
Desert
Junkyard
Haunted Place

Death to the Strange are a Salford (Manchester) based five piece, fusing lyric-driven, folk-inspired songs with ambient electronic sounds and an amplified rhythm section. With instrumentation tailored to each tune, the band are looking to take in and build on all interesting music out there. In recent months things have been moving more and more quickly for Death to the Strange, with headlining slots at acclaimed Salford and Manchester venues, more high profile supports (Gomez) and a growing repertoire of radio and press coverage. In the words of one Salford City Radio DJ: 'check them out or look proper daft in a year or so!'