Swedish-Australian indie pop outfit Tiny Fighter have announced their new ‘Tell Me’ EP, to be released via Stockholm-based label Bay Terrace Records. Ahead of that, they are previewing the title track, which features stunning deadpan vocals from frontwoman Therese Karlsson.
The new EP was recorded and produced by legendary multi-Grammy, Gold & Platinum Award producer Thomas ‘Plec’ Johansson at The Panic Room in Skövde, a quiet country town in southern Sweden. This collaboration allowed them to further refine and push their sound.
On previous releases, they recorded in Los Angeles and Stockholm with Daniel Rejmer (Foals, Ben Frost, Girls Names), extending on the more melodic moments from their previous work with bands such as Fire to the Stars and Mid-State Orange.
Tiny Fighter offers an enticing mix of indie-rock and berserker chamber pop. Despite the staggering odds against them ever meeting, Therese Karlsson (a truck driver from Kalmar in southern Sweden) and Tim Spelman (a doctor from Melbourne, Australia) met in Stockholm and began collaborating in 2017. Tiny Fighter quickly expanded into a 5-piece with the addition of Tommy Wilen, Marcus Wallberg, and Robin Zimmermann, bringing all the dynamics and volume of their recorded material on to the stage.
“Tell Me is an appeal for clarity – both personally and politically – in a setting where distrust and ambiguity appear increasingly to dominate people’s relationships, both with each other and the broader world in general. It’s about exasperation, about a need for a simple, straight answer – tell me, yes or no,” says Therese Karlsson.
Tiny Fighter has quickly built a strong reputation for their stirring live performances and for their ability to tastefully mix catchy indie-pop with darker themes and arrangements. Sharon Van Etten, Catpower and Agnes Obel number among their influences, as d Gyllene Tider, Mitski, Veruca Salt and Kim Shatturk/The Muffs.
“After starting life as a duo, this is the first recording with a full band, and I think that’s reflected in the stronger, fuller sound compared to our earlier singles,” says Tim Spelman.
Based on the success with their first three singles ‘New Century’, ‘Want Friends’ and ‘Hollow Talk’, Tiny Fighter have grown from an artsy studio project to a full-fledged live band capable of selling out tours and filling larger music venues. Tiny Fighter completed a run of sold-out shows throughout Scandinavia and Europe in the summer of 2018, followed by a North American tour in November 2018.
Tiny Fighter will be returning to North America in May 2019 for a run of the east coast and Midwest dates. They kick things off on May 6 in Toronto for performances during Canadian Music Week.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/tinyfighterz
https://tinyfighterz.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/TinyFighterz
https://www.instagram.com/tinyfighterz
https://www.youtube.com/c/tinyfighter
https://soundcloud.com/tinyfighter
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TqpxHIKbhZJzcXreXDEvv
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tiny-fighter/1338567635
-
Whispering Sons – Alone (Live)
In support of their debut album ‘Image’, Belgian post-punk outfit Whispering Sons present their new live video for ‘Alone’, filmed for Belgian national TV following a roundtable on post-punk past and present. Comprised of ten tracks, their album is out now via Cleopatra Records in North America and Smile Records in Europe. Ahead of this release, the band offered a preview of their tracks ‘Stalemate’, ‘Waste’ and the album version of ‘Alone’.
Whispering Sons are Sander Hermans (synth), Fenne Kuppens (vocals), Kobe Lijnen (guitar), Sander Pelsmaekers (drums) and Tuur Vandeborne (bass). The band just wrapped up a tour with The Soft Moon, followed by a series of shows with Gang of Four and headlining a series of European live dates in support of this album.
This is the first major release for this Brussels-based outfit since their ‘Endless Party’ EP in 2015. This new release represents what the band describes as a “giant leap forward”. Together with producer Micha Volders and engineer/co-producer Bert Vliegen, the band used their time in the studio as a means to broaden their sound, enriching it with acoustic drums and a whole range of synthesizers.
This album, recorded over a period of ten days at GAM Studios in Belgium, evokes an atmosphere that is ominous and urging, while capturing the and’s live intensity. Mixed by Bert Libeert (Goose, B, Raving George – Charlotte de Witte) at Jetson Studio and mastered by Frederik Dejongh (Hooverphonic) at Jerboa Mastering, this work is tinged with angst and isolation. Lyrically these songs stem from alienation, distance and inertia.
The songs on ‘Image’ were written after the band collectively moved to Brussels in 2016. Between intense touring, they channeled their new ideas into the music found on this album. Feeding on the dynamics of the city, the tracks unveil feelings of alienation and distance. ‘Image’ is a motionless state, in which observations overshadow actions. It reflects the artificiality of things, yet still desperately clings on to ideals and obsessions, something which is also strengthened by the cover artwork, created of Flor Maesen.
Whispering Sons won Belgium’s prestigious Rock Rally in 2016, the same national contest that launched the career of dEUS. Since then they released several 7 inches – ‘Performance/Strange Identities’ (2016) and ‘White Noise’ (2017), and the ‘Endless Party’ EP. Touring extensively in Europe, they’ve developed a reputation for their animated performances.
The ‘Image’ LP is now available everywhere, and can be ordered via Cleopatra Records on CD and also digitally via Bandcamp.
LINKS:
http://www.whisperingsons.com
https://www.facebook.com/WhisperingSons
https://whisperingsons.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/WhisperingSons
https://www.instagram.com/whisperingsons
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7AFnJzNQsK_bRA5Dwi3z9w/videos
https://soundcloud.com/whisperingsons -
Storms – Undress
‘Undress’ is the 2nd of 3 new tracks the band is releasing over the summer. The song, according to guitarist Felix Howes, is about “ the stagnation of a couple’s relationship and the things you will try in hopes of reviving its past glory.” Once again the band has created a video to accompany the song.
The previously released song ‘Swell’ has so far reached almost 5000 views on YouTube and is fast becoming a live favorite. The 3rd song in the summer trilogy is expected to drop in late September, which we are still calling summer! Having forged their reputation with a string of exciting gigs in and around the capital, the band have quickly built up a strong word of mouth following.
Late in 2013 Storms hit the road with Broken Hands and played a bunch of UK dates, which marked their debut British tour.
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/stormsofficial
http://www.twitter.com/stormsband
http://www.soundcloud.com/stormsband -
Fintan McKahey – Platinum
Fintan McKahey’s latest offering Platinum is a missive to magic. In light of the Covid-19 crisis, Fintan’s themes of resilience are uncannily prescient. As the world around us slows down and many people delve deeper into the old ways. This new single from the young Irish songwriter/producer is an eclectic, downtempo, bedroom-pop production, influenced by the likes of Chet Faker & Bonobo. The song is envisioned from the perspective of one of “The skies own relatives”, the mysterious traveler, who can open the portal to other realms.
For decades artists and healers have been attracted to the beaches and byways of West Cork. Rural Ireland echoes with tales of magic and myth, so it is no surprise that these themes emerge in Fintan’s songs. He writes, records and produces all of his music from the haven of his home studio, where he is continuing the family legacy, as the son of Stump drummer, Rob McKahey, and the nephew of CousteauX singer, Liam McKahey; who spent their own childhoods in the rebel county. The video for Platinum was recorded at his home studio and filmed by Fintan’s partner Kate Bean. Fintan later edited it, whilst self-isolating and awaiting the results of his own test.
“This past winter, I poured my energies into creating a space that I could work in with my band in 2020. The results are beyond inspiring and it almost feels as if the songs write themselves here in my new studio. I was fortunate to complete this self-build just as the Coronavirus began impacting us all but I guess I shall be going it alone here for a while yet.”
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/McKahey
https://twitter.com/FintanMcKahey
https://www.instagram.com/fintanmckahey
http://fintanmckahey.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3qgXyv2eyJHzhSqzIXQYjE?si=AcNFal-oQce8HPsdu8vCmQ