There Goes the Fear, a UK/US Music Web site | Live UK gigs, news, and events

Video of the Moment #2908: IDER

There was a whole lot of buzz around good friends and rhythmic pop duo IDER at SXSW 2018. They had recently signed to Glassnote Records and loads of folks were interested in seeing them perform Saturday night at the BBC Radio 1 and the UK’s Department of International Trade-sponsored showcase at the British Music Embassy. IDER’s debut album is slated for release in 2019, and they’ve released another preview of the upcoming LP. ‘Mirror’ in its promo video form is presented in a split screen, with Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville spending time apart in the two halves of the screen before being reunited at its conclusion. Watch the video for ‘Mirror’ below. For more on this intriguing duo here on TGTF, use this link.

Video of the Moment #2907: Lokki

Earlier this year, Glass Animals guitarist and keyboardist Drew MacFarlane released music under the name Lokki. The ‘Cirrhi’ EP is out now on Wolf Tone, Paul Epworth’s own label that has also released Glass Animals’ music. The EP includes the song ‘Breathe a Breath for Me’, which I wrote about here.

MacFarlane now has a new double A-sided single, ‘High’ / ‘On Our Own’, both having started out life as arrangements for a string quartet by the classically trained artist. ‘High’ has been put to life, so to speak, with a unique stop-motion video by Tayo Kopfer, composed of photo stills of MacFarlane, layered on with hand-drawn illustrations. The press release describes the song as reflecting an “acceptance of imperfection and temporality”. If only that thinking was easy to roll with! Watch the video for ‘High’ below. Is a debut album on its way? Let’s hope so.

Single Review: Paul Noonan – Moth to Your Flame

Irish singer/songwriter Paul Noonan best known to TGTF readers as frontman to alt-rock band Bell X1, has recently been immersing himself in an array of side projects, including a collaboration with fellow Irish artist Daithí called ‘Take the Wheel’ and work with the Side 4 Collective on a track called ‘The Flood’. Following on those forays, Noonan released a new solo song at the beginning of October, titled ‘Moth to Your Flame’.

‘Moth to Your Flame’ has a distinctly and deliberately synthetic feel to its production from the very beginning, with electronic instrumentation and layered vocal overdubs throughout the mix. This is not entirely unfamiliar territory for Noonan, as anyone who’s listened to Bell X1’s back catalogue will realise. Most recently, the band’s 2016 LP ‘Arms’ featured moments of this kind of experimental production, which came as a bit of a jolt after the more organic nature of previous release ‘Chop Chop’.

The choice to take a more electronically-orientated tack seems more of an aesthetic choice for Noonan than one made by necessity due to the complex arrangement and the solo nature of the project. He has once again enlisted the production talents of Thomas Bartlett (The Gloaming), though this time, Noonan says, the pair worked remotely to put the track together. “’Moth to Your Flame’ was made by myself and Thomas Bartlett of New York City, like Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins in 84 Charing Cross Road, trading musical parts over the Atlantic on t’internet. It was the first tune finished of an ongoing collaboration, and I’m delighted to finally show it off.”

The quirky musical arrangement of ‘Moth to Your Flame’ consists of equal parts angular keyboard riff and jagged vocal melody, and Noonan’s lilting vocal tone blends as well with this synthetic backdrop as it has in more acoustic-based settings. His lyrics are, as ever, idiosyncratic and a bit self-conscious, vaguely recalling a number of songs he’s written in the past. But the context is different enough here to be compelling, and to make me wonder exactly which direction Noonan is headed. The About section of his Facebook page references a forthcoming solo EP titled ‘Push Puppets’, so perhaps we’ll find out sooner rather than later.

8/10

‘Moth to Your Flame’, the new single from Irish singer/songwriter Paul Noonan, is out now on Bone China Records.

Video of the Moment #2906: Little May

It’s been 3 long years since the release of Little May‘s debut album ‘For the Company’. The Aussie trio recently unveiled their first new material since that LP. It’s a catchy little number called ‘Lover’. This is not a sweet song of puppy love. It’s the sultrier, seedier, addictive side of the four letter word that has caused so many of us pleasure and pain. Its accompanying promo was directed by famed filmmaker and photographer McLean Stephenson, who has made fellow Aussies Sarah Blasko, City Calm Down and Alex Cameron look amazing in still and moving celluloid. Watch the video for ‘Lover’ below. To read all of our past coverage on Little May right here on TGTF, follow this link.

Video of the Moment #2904: Blood Red Shoes

Blood Red Shoes‘ latest musical missive is fantastic. ‘Mexican Dress’ is a high-octane number that’s a great introductory salvo to their upcoming album ‘Get Tragic’, which will make its appearance on the 25th of January 2019. This is one of those cases where it’s more appropriate to step back and let the music do the talking for itself. Let it punch you in the face below. We haven’t written about Blood Red Shoes lately, but our past articles on the Brighton duo are through here.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/29wddPA][img]h[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/29wddPA]Blood Red Shoes top[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/theprintedword/]Mary Chang[/url], on Flickr

Video of the Moment #2903: The Ninth Wave

I’ve said this a few times this year, and I’ll say it again. The music coming out of Scotland at the moment is incredible. I previewed The Ninth Wave ahead of their appearances at Live at Leeds and The Great Escape 2018 back in May. Unfortunately due to schedule clashes, I missed them in Brighton, but I hope to rectify that sometime soon.

In the meantime, I can console myself with the promo video for their latest single ‘A Wave Goodbye to the People Who Said I’d Win’. It’s a preview of things to come with their forthcoming physical-only EP ‘FLESCH’, out the 9th of November on Distiller Records. A little pop, a little dark, and wholly intriguing, it’s a good taster to the Glaswegian post-punk band’s musical machinations. Watch the Nine Inch Nails-y promo for it below. Stay tuned for much more on this Scottish band coming up on TGTF soon.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/QNKuLi][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QNKuLi]The Ninth Wave 2018 top[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/38725547@N00/]fieldsofeden[/url], on Flickr