Deep Cuts – August 2019
As new music continues as a rare constant in 2019, Getintothis contributors pick the best of the bunch for August.
At our latest Getintothis team meet up, while nursing some heavy hangovers due to indulging ourselves a little too much at Jimmys’ opening party, we discussed how vital it is to share our articles on social media and how big a role it plays in general.
As a music and culture website, social media is crucial in helping us reach our audience, engage in debates and attract new followers.
Love it or loathe it (the Getintothis team does both in equal measure) social media is now ingrained into our daily lives. It’s why we try and use it as best as we can tweeting stories, posting on community pages and tagging bands and venues in our posts as we try our best to spread the latest music news and our new music recommendations.
It can get disheartening when our own contributors fail to share their own content. One of the main reasons we decided to write for Getintothis is to become involved in the creative community and share our opinions on the state of things.
Writing and not sharing your content these days is the equivalent of going out and sitting in the corner of the bar all night wondering why no one’s talking to you, if you don’t make an effort to be seen no ones going to be out there looking for you.
The same goes for bands as well. So often our live reviews, Singles Club and Deep Cuts articles pass by the bands that we’re talking about. These articles often feature emerging upcoming talent who are at that crucial stage where they’re looking to attract an audience and gain as much exposure as possible.
Sadly just having cracking songs and a tightly knit live unit is becoming no longer enough for bands, they now need a well maintained social media presence to compete against all the other things that are fighting for our attention.
One of the team pointed out that the lesser talented bands tend to be the ones with the better social media presences, maybe their more serious counterparts spend more time in the rehearsal room than online, but it’s not that hard to share an event or article is it?
Phase One, Stockroom, Jimmy’s and Sound – where are we with music venues in Liverpool?
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule and last month we came across one in our own backyard. Chinatown Slalom seemed to appear from nowhere and out of the blue dropped an album, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
The LIPA students’ rise is nothing if impressive; Pitchfork and Guardian articles have been written and a record deal has been signed with September Recordings.
But how did they bypass everyone to release an album before anyone had even heard of them? At Getintothis we like to think that we’ve got our ear to the ground and know about the newest upcoming artists but even we’d never written about Chinatown Slalom until the album had come out.
Obviously, people will point out their LIPA connections and we’re sure that has no doubt played a part in their meteoric rise, but people in the know have told us it was their raucous house parties in their student digs on Little St Bride Street that saw them build up their following.
Not everyone can be as fortunate as Chinatown Slalom though, so come on bands up your social media game; share your events, send a page invite to your auntie’s best mate and retweet those articles written about you it’s the best free exposure you’ll get.
Anyway enough rambling about social media, although you probably only read the first 140 characters such is the way we now digest information, here’s the latest round of Deep Cuts singles. I’m sure all this lot will give the article a share, maybe even a retweet!
Michael Maloney – Contributor
The Rotary Fifth
The Rotary Fifth
The Rotary Fifth is the new project of Michelle Bee (vocals), producer Mark Kyriacou (also of Getintothis Deep Cuts alumni Loka), Eamon Ellams (percussion), bassist Tom Sumnall and guitarist Jonathan Copley.
This three track EP is their debut release, and opens with seven minute dreamTake Your Aim. In truth, this track alone could have its own piece – a lucid yet powerful piece of music that both never rests, but never forces.
It’s followed by Whether The Weather, whilst keeping the opener’s caress entact, Bee takes a further role as the release is kissed by keyboard.
Third track Sun Salutations may not prompt downward dog flash mobs, but gentle chimes offer a rhythmic foundation on which to breathe. It completes the triad, spyrographic indeed, as The Rotary Fifth conclude their practice. Namaste. – Lewis Ridley
Listen to the tracks here.
Burning House
Burning House: Anthropocene
Whether you believe that aural relics can offer contemporary resonance or not, soundscapes born out of this era’s fears frequently offer the most intrinsic visceral connections.
Sure, Elliot Smith still strikes an empathetic chord. But Burning House’s enrapturing album Anthropocene is an invitation to curl up under the cathartic layers of relatable apathy, drink in the intellectualism, and slip into a bed of disconcerted guitars.
The planet is burning, but there’s (hopefully) still plenty of time to soak up the solacing tonality of contorted swells of distortion, fuzz, and frenzied drum beats which kick with the aggression we should all be feeling right now.
Feeling your rhythmic pulses align with music is one thing, but music which allows you to feel like a puppet attached to an emotive string which you never know which way it’s going to be yanked is quite another.
Each of the 15 tracks on Anthropocene delves into a unique entanglement of vintage Alt-Rock; which deviously shift from short and sweet hazily hypnotic offerings of consciousness (Elvis Moniker) to blistering offerings of stylised yet ruthless shoegaze (Mimosa).
The common feat between them all, is the lyrics which will make you think twice about listening to prosaic music again. – Amelia Vandergast
FLIZZ
FLIZZ: EP
Sallow Pillow
Sallow Pillow: Polar Bear
This Liverpool trio and a no holds barred punk outfit who deliver a classy slice of jagged radio-friendly pogo-pop. It’s all swagger and psych leaning grooves that draw so much from plenty of guitar-wielding bands.
There’s a fun element here musically but with lyrics that highlight a deeper edge: “I remember that night when you passed out on the bathroom floor.”
It’s youthful abandonment played out.
Coming in at under two and a half mins, to get the full enjoyment it’s necessary to instantly have a repeat listen. Second time round the ethos is kicking in. They’ll be great live, no doubt.
Luckily, you don’t really need to imagine how chaotic and messy their live sets are, they’re playing Deep Cuts this Thursday at Phase One. – Howard Doupe
Yeule
Yeule: Pretty Bones
Albums Club #39: Sacred Paws, Bill Ryder-Jones, Slowthai, No Hot Ashes, Black Pumas, Thom Yorke
School Disco
School Disco: Caught In Space/Shooting In The Dark
The sensational Brighton-based garage punk trio School Disco’s latest single, Caught in Space, begins with a sublimely energetic blend of guitars, drums, bass, and spacey elements surprisingly akin to the soundtrack of a dodgy 1960s sci-fi b-movie.
The effortless vocals calmly sneer atop the chaos that is the instrumental backing of the track, released this month along with the b-side Shooting in the Dark, which is also well worth a listen.
The blisteringly energetic group have crafted a true work of genius, fusing elements of so many styles it’s hard to keep up.
Garage punk, psych, indie rock, and surf rock fuse to create a paradoxically smooth track full of distorted guitars and bashed drums.
The mix is crystal clear, allowing every element of the track to be heard just as it should be, with everything surprisingly clear when we consider the garage sound of the trio.
The unpolished quality of the music lends it a real charm, with the rough-around-the-edges instrumentals loaning a lot to the quality of pure chemistry between the three audible in the music.
School Disco have crafted a solid tune here, one which is well worth your time as we venture further into the summer. Definitely an act to keep an eye on. – Max Richardson
Mamatung
Mamatung: Border Barrier
The debut single from Liverpool trio Mamatung quells some of the anticipation built over several years of live performance.
The self-proclaimed soul sisters met six years ago and have since crafted a sound that is truly unique, with somewhat unorthadox methods of creating spiritual sounds.
It is no surprise, therefore, that the band have said that new track Border Barrier is: ” a track about freedom, it is a recalling, a reclaiming of sovereignty. A song that sings us all home.”
Jodie, Becky and Jade have here got the ball rolling on the release of their debut EP, which is set to develop into a ceremonial experience in itself. – Lewis Ridley
Miss June
Miss June: Best Girl
Katy Alex
Katy Alex: Holiday Love
Dead Nature
Dead Nature: Taking My Shadow
Via his own Dead Nature label, Spring King’s Tarek Musa has finally gifted us with his debut EP, Taking My Shadow.
Single In My Heart set this four track EP up to be something noteworthy. With a rock guitar and heavy drum beat opener lulling into Musa’s intoxicatingly indie vocals, from the off I was drawn in.
With the loud and frustrated sound that opens the track going on to punctuate the rest, Musa is truly able to explore what is in someone’s heart.
It’s not an easy-going, simple organ in terms of how it is (unscientifically) connected to emotions, so why would this track be?
This powerful sound flows through Fire in Your Soul, a song that will make your feet twitch as you suppress the urge to dance like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday.
Pride (Wake Them Up) and Rookwood take a step back with Musa proving that he’s not a one-trick-pony.
The latter is by far my favourite in this unusual hot/cold climate change weather as it flows perfectly through all seasons and emotions. – Megan Walder
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