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The Clockworks

The Entertainment

Formed in Galway City, Ireland James McGregor (vocals/ guitar), Sean Connelly (guitar) and Damian Greaney (drums) went to school together there and met Tom Freeman (bass) on the music scene. Relocating to London in 2019, the quartet signed to Alan McGee's new record label 'Creation23' almost overnight. They have since impressed audiences across Europe with live performances at festivals including Rock Werchter, Eurosonic and Electric Picnic, performing to a huge crowd at Sefton Park in Liverpool in support of Kings of Leon, as well as a head- turning televised appearance on Sky 1's Soccer AM. Media have been quick to show their support too plus previous singles, taken from their 2023 debut "Exit Strategy" received praise on BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac on her "New Names" showcase, BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq on his 'Recommends' show, received day-time radio play on RTE 2FM, and impressed the legendary Rodney Bingenheimer on Sirius XM. The four-piece are drawn together by not only a mutual appreciation of music past and present but also a love of films and books, notably the ones on the more 'noir' side of the spectrum. You could say Arctic Monkeys got them into a band, The Strokes showed them how tightly you could distil it and Radiohead showed them how wide you could take it. But these days there not afraid to also put Billie Eilish and Charlie XCX into that mixture and films from director Fellini to "Drive". What matters is that from starting out playing acoustic folk, that turned into 3 minute (post-)punkish songs, they now have expanded a lot from there, taking in all the experience they have now recording and touring. Pushing the emotion by being authentic and creating what you really want despite the noise and haste around you.

TRACK LISTING

How To Exist
Best Days
Getaway Car
La Dolce Vita
Work In Progress
The Actor
Magnificent Seven
The Double
Well Well Wellness
Through The Looking Glass
True Romance
The Entertainment

Ciel

Call Me Silent

Fronted by Dutch-born singer and songwriter Michelle Hindriks, the band evolved into a duo in the studio with the addition of drummer Tim Spencer. CIEL's sound is both atmospheric and urgent-- heavy guitars, pulsing basslines, and driving rhythms providing the backdrop for Hindriks' haunting yet intimate vocals. Think of a sound that sits somewhere between the hazy allure of Slowdive, the urgency of Wolf Alice, and the brooding cool of The Cure-- ethereal yet punchy, nostalgic yet fresh, and leaving room for wonky sound experiments through the use of vintage synths and samples.

Visual art has as much a place in the world of CIEL too, where paintings and images can show you a different place and make you wonder about the environment, the characters, what is their story? Such as the work of Tilo Baumgartel; sometimes beautiful and strangely dreamlike, sometimes dark and nightmarish, but always mysterious.

Having toured extensively and gained strong support from platforms such as BBC Radio 6 Music (A- list rotation), BBC Radio 1, Clash, and DIY, the band continues to push their sound forward. After two EPs and having toured the EU with Blood Red Shoes, in December 2024, CIEL joined The Jesus and Mary Chain on their full UK tour, further cementing their place as one of Brighton's most exciting rising acts.

FFO: The Cure, Blonde Redhead, The Pixies, Slowdive

TRACK LISTING

Call Me Silent
Won't Obey
Thinking Of You
Hear Me Out
Will I Ever Feel Again
Stay Along
Sail On
Hold Onto You
Swallowing Your Pride
In Your Heart Again
Talking On The Phone
Cruel

"Sunrise", is being released exclusively as a 7" single ahead of their new album "Broken". It's a west coast-drenched, lone-plains-drifter lament sung by Will Oldham, with Lanegan supplying lyrics and music. Returning the favour, Lanegan takes on Oldham's "You Will Miss Me When I Burn" over on the flip.

Semifinalists

2

Over the past 2 years Adriana Alba, Ferry Gouw and Chris Steele-Nicholson have taken the time to construct an album that focuses on moving forward and breaking new grounds. Using their record company advance to purchase their own studio equipment has meant the Semifinalists recording set up is completely mobile. Hence, the recording locations have varied from a remote cabin by a frozen lake in Wisconsin, to the streets of San Francisco and the suburbs of Chicago. Over the 12 tracks the ambition of the album is clear. By mixing sounds of 80's new wave pop, funk, and disco, as well as dreamy electronic shoegaze, Semifinalists have truly evolved their sound. The songs hit harder, the structures, even though still as genre-bending as ever, are more linear. Thematically the lyrics are more introspective, more personal, and darker. Hidden under the sheen of pop are tales of heartbreak and disappointment, as well as a cautious optimism.

Deus

Vantage Point

Having secured their status as art-rock legends during the 90s… lionised by the likes of Radiohead and REM… Deus stake out bold new frontiers for themselves. On "Vantage Point" there are the same art rock tendencies we know and love them for, but this time infiltrated with some solid grooves, at times even bordering of punk funk. They've also recruited guest vocalists on a couple of tracks: Guy Garvey from Elbow provides vocals on "The Vanishing Of Maria Schneider" and Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife sings on the superb brooding "Slow".

Ray Davies

Working Man's Cafe

Eighteen months after releasing his first ever solo album, Ray Davies is back with what promises to be one of the best albums of his incredible career. While last year's "Other People's Lives" was a lifetime in the making, this new album happened relatively quickly. Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, "Working Mans Café" features 12 stellar songs written by Ray Davies and co-produced with Ray Kennedy. They assembled a crackerjack band of top musicians who breathe life into a wonderful collection of songs. The 12 new songs are vintage Ray Davies and bear all the hallmark classic musical and lyrical insights we have come to expect from him. The album is infused with a transatlantic sound befitting Ray's close ties to the American south coupled with his well respected Englishness. From the first upbeat notes of the lead track "Vietnam Cowboys", it is clear Ray has never sung better. "Working Mans Café" is a wistful, humorous and poignant look at today, just what we have come to expect from one of Britain's greatest songwriters. Highlights are many and include the Preservation Jazz Hall sway of "Morphine Song", the painful longing of "Imaginary Man" and the haunting emotion of "One More Time".

Little Man Tate

About What You Know

In just eighteen hugely eventful months since forming, and less than a year after signing a record deal, this four piece have chalked up three exhilarating top 40 singles, completed a string of riotous sold out tours, including show-stealing performances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals and their biggest headline show to date at Sheffield's 1600 capacity Octagon. As the title suggests, this hotly anticipated debut album is lead singer Jon Windle's masterclass in autobiographical storytelling. Oozing heart and soul, the album is full of true stories and a cast of colourful characters, combining a touch of Steel City realism with a healthy does of suburban hedonism.

Various Artists

Le Nouveau Rock'n'Roll Francais

A new compilation put together by Sean Mclusky & Ludovic Merle compliling the best new bands coming out of France. 22 pieces of proof that the new New Cross is more likely to be Pigalle than Peckham. It actually came about by accident, with co-compilers Sean and Ludovic taking such UK bands as 80s Matchbox, The Beatings etc over to Paris to play, and finding that they were constantly being given great music by struggling wastrels of this invisible movement. They spent a year scanning the French rock'n'roll scene and their findings are on this disc. So, if France doesn't know what it's got then - as with the White Stripes or the Strokes in America – we Brits are going to have to lay it on the line for them.


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