Blesson Roy marks return of Terry Borden (ex-slowcore pioneers Idaho, Pete Yorn’s Dirty Bird). Debut EP “Time Is A Crime” available now.

“Beach Boys-esque poppy vocals” blended with “his love for new wave,” says Glide Magazine. See lyric videos for “Lost & Found,” “Let It Go”.

+++

Terry Borden of Blesson Roy as photographed by Ankhurr Chawaak

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

“Beautifully realized... He creates spry jangling wonders of power pop theatricality, mixing the beach-y vibes of the Beach Boys with Big Star’s vibrant melodies,” says Beats Per Minute in its premiere coverage of the lyric video for “Lost & Found” by Blesson Roy. See it here or at the link below!

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anrUSxv3Deg

+++

“Like most of ‘Time Is A Crime,’ Blesson Roy encapsulates a natural course of emotion that allows the listener to feel a deep connection to Borden’s wistful vocals,” says Ghettoblaster Magazine in its premiere coverage of the lyric video for “Let It Go” by Blesson Roy. See it here or at the link below!

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m6u7ILsio0

+++

Blesson Roy | In The Press

“Dreamy and earthy... always with heartfelt emotion.” — The Big Takeover

“A child of the 1970s, whose love of AM pop radio has served him well... may be setting the pace for a new sound in a new decade.” — PopMatters

“Borden’s California connection is apparent in the sunny, Beach Boys-esque poppy vocals. An entirely new musical sound.” — Glide Magazine

+++

Blesson Roy

“Time Is A Crime” EP

Out Now

(Slow Start Records)

Track Listing:

01. In Tune With The Moon (LYRIC VIDEO)

02. Let It Go (LYRIC VIDEO)

03. Lost & Found (LYRIC VIDEO)

04. Inside

05. Walk This Mile

+++

Blesson Roy | About

Life-long “music lover and music doer,” Terry Borden is a child of 1970’s California whose early love of AM radio and his brother’s record collection has led him to numerous career highlights that are still accumulating.

These include: Kind words from Lou Reed, two appearances on David Letterman, guitar hangs with Radiohead, and 250-plus tour dates a year throughout early 2000s as a member of slowcore pioneers Idaho and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn’s backing band Dirty Bird.

Coming of age in Los Angeles during the early 1990’s rise of punk and new wave, Borden’s long and varied career as a studio and touring musician culminates with the release of his own dreamy pop project in 2020. Blesson Roy’s five-song “Time Is A Crime” EP is out now.

Owing to Borden’s stint living and working in the UK where he was influenced by the burgeoning sounds of sub-cultural labels such as 4AD, Creation, Factory and Rough Trade, the music of Blesson Roy will undoubtedly please fans of all these sounds.

Borden brings real roots song craft to his work, as well, showing that his recent years away from the music industry, but not away from songwriting, have only served to develop his abilities and technique, as Borden masterfully performs all of the instruments on the new tracks himself.

After Borden’s run with Idaho came to an end, he signed with Dave Allen of Gang of Four’s World Domination label as Flotilla, releasing one critically praised album, and while the label eventually folded, the record found some important ears, including those of Yorn.

When Yorn was looking for a touring guitarist, Borden got the gig, eventually switched to his beloved bass and spent another four years out on the road. Then, during a break in touring, Borden decided to make the down time indefinite.

“After a decade-long ride, I took a long time off and away from music and the music business,” he says. “I needed to take a hard look at my life, to clean up some existential messes, and change some unhealthy habits.” Now, revitalized and energized, Borden is continuing to create, write and record music for himself again.

Blesson Roy’s five-song “Time Is A Crime” EP is out now via Slow Start Records. Terry Borden is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

+++

Blesson Roy | Links

ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Decade-delayed debut by Figg (ex-Carissa’s Wierd, Modest Mouse) to finally see national release. Hear “Pink is the New Blues” single now.

“A very lovely dose of chamber pop-informed indie rock” (Brooklyn Vegan), duo finds “the beauty in the melancholy of pining” (KEXP).

+++

Gilden Tunador and Robin Peringer of Figg. Photo credit: Robin Peringer.

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

“The buoyant strumming belies the sorrowful chorus-eschewing lyrics that Tunador coos ever so softly,” says internationally renowned Seattle radio station KEXP in its premiere coverage of “Pink is the New Blues” by Figg. “We should take a cue from Figg and find the beauty in the melancholy of pining.”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/Figg-PinkIsTheNewBlues

+++

Figg

Figg

June 12^th, 2020

(Dissociated Press)

Track Listing:

01. A Case Study in Plagiarism (STREAM)

02. Pink is the New Blues (STREAM)

03. Black Tar of Camden Yards (STREAM)

04. Jack is the Pulpit

05. Bungleweed Motherwort

06. You and Me, Oh Please

07. Baby in a Cage

08. Don't Want to Have to Hate

09. Destroyer

10. Song for Dwyre

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Brooklyn Vegan says “Black Tar of Camden Yards” by Figg is “a very lovely dose of chamber pop-informed indie rock” in its premiere coverage of the song. Figg’s debut self-titled album, delayed for a decade, will finally see national release on June 12^th.

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/Figg-BlackTarOfCamdenYards  

+++

Figg | About

Figg, the Seattle and Los Angeles-based duo of Robin Peringer and Gilden Tunador, was originally scheduled to release its debut album a decade ago.

Peringer’s musical past is like a giant quilt of the Northwest music scene, having played guitar in Modest Mouse, 764-HERO, Love as Laughter and many more luminaries of the region. When he teamed up with Tunador, the duo found local admiration and ultimately national attention as part of the (intentionally misspelled) band Carissa’s Wierd.

Figg’s sound was perfect for the moment, but, shoved, then shelved, the album’s champions went away. Jump to a decade later, and now, a new moment has emerged for Peringer and Tunador as Figg’s self-titled debut, sounding fresh as ever, will finally see an appropriate record release on June 12^th, 2020.

“Releasing our record has been an ego-smashing lesson in the appreciation of patience, the unfolding of the creative process, and the magic of universal timing,” Tunador says. After the band’s deal fell apart, they shopped the album around, but were still a bit too shell-shocked from the whole experience.

Five years later, in 2015, just as Bandcamp was becoming the leader in artist-focused and controlled streaming, Figg decided to finally make the record available. They posted it without promotion or any fanfare at all. They just wanted their friends to be able to hear it.

Friends tuned in, and the band felt satisfied that at least the album was available to the public. Some of that public included legendary and internationally influential public radio station KEXP. The album’s lead track “A Case Study in Plagiarism” was added to rotation and anointed as a station “Song of The Day.”

KEXP said at the time, “Tunador’s voice has a striking clarity in the track mix of lead-off cut ‘A Case Study in Plagiarism,’ paired with a slightly fuzzed out guitar part, which builds to a beautiful, layered refrain. Think of Nancy Sinatra’s spaced-out work with Lee Hazlewood, if she was raised on Slowdive.”

Figg was revived, at least in this small, but important way, and this development moved Peringer and Tunador to start stockpiling new songs, and to give their generally unheard debut album its due.

“It’s as if the music has a life of its own and is determined to keep on breathing,” Tunador explains. “We are at the point in our lives where we understand the importance of doing what we love and we’re excited that the timing is aligned for this album to join the world with full promotion and availability across all platforms.”

The debut album by Figg, originally scheduled for release in 2010, is now scheduled for release on June 12^th, 2020. Members of Figg are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

+++

Figg | Links

ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Inara George welcomes a new bundle! The Bird and The Bee vocalist to issue three-song “The Youth of Angst” on June 5th.

 Collaboration with Wendy Wang is first in planned series of similar releases, “with a little theme;” Hear George’s “Brother” now.

+++

Pictured: Inara George Photo credit: Self Portrait.

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

“Brother” by Inara George from the upcoming three-song bundle “The Youth of Angst,” out June 5^th.

“‘Brother’ offers a short but sweet introduction to the bundle, which as a whole trades in an open-hearted but not cloying nostalgia for a family and friends,” says Buzzbands LA in its premiere coverage of “Brother” from Inara George’s upcoming “The Youth of Angst.”

 “‘No one will ever know you better than your brother can,’ says George, who cites a couple of moments in the song that reflect that bond. ‘And when I lost the game / You wrapped your, your arms around me / You said, ‘Don’t let it get you down / Cause I’m your brother,’ she sings in a voice that would make a recitation of HTML code sound like the sweetest of memories.”

 [STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKH9yKDrAD0

+++

About | Inara George

Inara George has been getting together with producer Wendy Wang for a couple of hours, here and there, off and on over the past few years, working on a handful of songs that will now be released as the three-song bundle “The Youth of Angst” via Release Me Records on June 5^th.

“Wendy started playing with The Bird and The Bee when we released our second album,” George says. “I remember being impressed with her right away. That was about 12 years ago, and since then she’s become an in-demand producer and songwriter, as well as a dear friend and collaborator. I’m equally proud of her and in awe of her.”

George continues, “There was no rush on my side, and Wendy’s been super busy with her own career, so it took a few years to finish by getting together for a few hours every so often. Maybe I had it in mind to make a full album? Or maybe a traditional EP?”

As it turns out, George got the word “bundle” stuck in her head after a conversation with a friend.

“Maybe I just thought she said ‘bundle?’”

No matter, it stuck, and in fact “The Youth of Angst” feels like a bundle. Fresh, even considering its long development, and innocent, even with a song called “Sex In Cars”.

“I wrote ‘Sex In Cars’ after the artist Terry Allen asked if I’d be a part of an art installation he was creating for The Contemporary Austin. When he asked me to write the song, I immediately thought of a photograph by RJ Shaughnessy that I had bought as a gift for my husband.” The cover of “The Youth of Angst” features that Shaughnessy shot and the song itself is as bare as the subject matter.

“Wendy and I recorded several different versions of this song,” George explains. “But there was something about more production that seemed to make it slip away from its initial intention.” The version that made it to the final recording is actually the original voice memo that George sent to Allen. “I still haven’t had a chance to see that installation, I hope I can someday... soon,” George says.

Innocence isn’t just for “Sex In Cars” here. Youth… memories of... loss of… is at the core of this group of songs that, although just a bundle, plays with a moving, dramatic arc.

“‘1973’ is a song I wrote for a friend,” George explains. “She lost a child almost ten years ago and to mark his birthday every year, I write a song. The songs end up being about him, but also but her and ‘1973’ is really a love song about our friendship. As for “Brother,” it’s pretty simple: “I wrote this song for my brother, haha. No one will ever know you better than your brother can.”

“The Youth of Angst” is the first in a planned series of collaborative releases “with a little theme and not the huge pressure of a full album,” George says about how she plans to make this long experiment into something more frequent. For this release “I wanted to write from the perspective of my younger self, but also with the idea that I could never actually have that perspective again. I suppose this bundle is nostalgic for a time and feeling that isn’t really possible to recreate, or only possible to recreate in my imagination.”

Understanding what once was and what will be is especially important now, in the new reality of 2020.

“I think we are all kind of grappling with this reality right now. We can only move forward from here. Life won’t be the same for a while, or maybe ever. But it’s nice to dream about the past while reimagining the future, and I like the idea of doing these little collaborations, especially in these times of isolation.”

Inara George’s three-song bundle “The Youth of Angst” arrives on June 5^th via Release Me Records. Inara George is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

+++

Inara George | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : RELEASE ME RECORDS

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

California pop pioneers The Orange Peels come back with first new music in two years; “Thank You,” is first single from planned double-album.

Band’s upcoming two-record set to be preceded by comprehensive vinyl reissue of 1997 “Square” debut, including two discs of unreleased material.

+++

The Orange Peels (L-R): Gabriel Coan, Jill Pries, Allen Clapp. Photo Credit: Allen Clapp / Anthony Musiala / Khoi Huynh.

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

“It definitely pulls out all the stops as spiraling orch-pop,” says Brooklyn Vegan in its premiere coverage of “Thank You,” the first new music by The Orange Peels in two years. The song is taken from the band’s upcoming double-album (working title Celebrate the Moments of Your Life) which is scheduled for release this fall. Leader Allen Clapp says the song “could be the most openhearted thing the band has ever recorded.” Listen w/ lyrics at the link above or choose your destination at the link below.

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/TheOrangePeels-ThankYou

Prior to the release of its two-record return, The Orange Peels will share the re-issue of its 1997 debut album Square. The deluxe package, variously known as Square³, Square Cubed, or Square x 3, will arrive via the Minty Fresh label on June 26^th, and includes a freshly re-mastered version of the original album on 180g vinyl plus two CDs including bonus tracks, alternate mixes, and four-track demos. 40 tracks tell the story of how the band evolved from Allen Clapp and His Orchestra into The Orange Peels.

See below for more info and read about the project’s crowd funding journey at Kickstarter here.

+++

About | The Orange Peels | “Thank You”

“It’s the kind of song you might write if you thought you were dying.”

That’s how singer Allen Clapp described the track to his friends in the late days of 2019. After 15 days of fever, the mantra was on repeat in his head: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Sick for a month with pneumonia, and not sure about his chances of recovery, things were looking pretty dodgy.

Then he was hit by the news that his father was not long for this world, and that his mom had a new cancer diagnosis. When it rains...

The early days of 2020 rolled in, and the world was changing. Clapp’s dad lost his battle with cancer. Clapp and his wife Jill (bass) had invited their bandmate Gabriel Coan (drums) out for a recording session to try to bring some joy to the situation. As the three were in the studio, the murmurings of a pandemic started becoming real. It was unavoidable. Schools were closing, new orders were being issued by the hour.

The band brought everything they had to the session. And “Thank You” is first fruits. It could be their “Hey Jude.” It could be their most open-hearted song to date. A song of gratitude for life and love that started in a fever finally took on its full meaning, as well as full musical realization.

The session was supposed to be a “clean-up” session for an album project that was 90% finished. Instead, the band ended up composing an entire new album’s worth of material. Nobody wanted to say it, but finally it became obvious: They were working on a Double Album expected in fall of 2020.

+++

About | The Orange Peels | Square³ aka Square Cubed aka Square x 3

Becoming The Orange Peels:

Allen Clapp explains: It’s 1995. The musical landscape is littered with bands drowning in self-loathing, feigned rage, and a decidedly non-literal definition of irony. The timing couldn’t be worse to embark on recording sessions for a collection of earnest, melodic pop songs.

But it’s exactly what happened. Little did I know that the project would have me and my bandmates jumping between three different record labels and two producers, or that it would wind up being released under a band name I couldn’t have imagined.

Everything that happened in the next two years would redefine my concept of making music and what it meant to be in a band. It’s how and why we became The Orange Peels.

So why are we here in the early light of 2019, revisiting this album that came out in 1997? Three reasons.

Square Cubed?

First, the album never came out on vinyl, and we’ve always talked about the idea of eventually releasing it as a 12” LP. We sequenced the original release in two halves, and have always thought of it as having a Side A and a Side B (with “Spaghetti-O Western” as the end of the first side, and “She is Like a Rose” kicking off the second).

Second, there are two unreleased versions of the album that tell the story of how we got where we were going and how we became a band in the process (there’s a whole version of the record recorded on a 4-track, and there’s a whole version of the album we recorded and mixed in California and finished in 1996).

Third, we want to re-master the original tapes and collect all this stuff to make the ultimate edition of our debut album. Ultimately, it would be great to put all of this on vinyl and release it as a triple album—and if there’s enough interest, that could still happen—but realistically, we’re hoping to release a re-mastered version of the original album on heavy, 180-gram vinyl with a double CD holding all the bonus materials.

Ok, we know it’s not really Square³—it’s really more like Square x 3. Poetic license invoked.

+++

“Thank You” by The Orange Peels is out now. Members of The Orange Peels are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

+++

The Orange Peels | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Kathleen Grace evokes “echoes of Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris,” while soothing listeners, as well as herself, on latest release “Tie Me To You.”

“Making this album brought me a sense of calm and safety when I most needed it,” Grace says of collaboration with Grammy®-nom pianist, Larry Goldings.

+++

Kathleen Grace as photographed by Emilia Pare

+++

Kathleen Grace | In The Press

“Genre-blurring dexterity...” — JazzTimes

“Echoes of Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.” — Downbeat

“Imaginative talent on the rise.” — Los Angeles Times

“Smart, alluring and evocative.” — The Washington Post

“Simple beauty and subtle wisdom.” — LA Weekly

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Kathleen Grace gives a track-by-track commentary to Jazziz about Tie Me To You, her new collaborative album with Larry Goldings. Check it out here and hear the full album at the link below!

Listeners agree, Kathleen Grace’s Tie Me To You is a welcomed release and urgently needed balm to soothe us through these uncertain times. An illuminating and stunning pause in a world gone awry, the album serves as a reminder that there is peace in letting go. As Grace explains, “Making this album brought me a sense of calm and safety when I most needed it; it’s moving to hear that the music is allowing others to feel that same peace right now.”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/KathleenGraceLarryGoldings-TieMeToYou

+++

Kathleen Grace with Larry Goldings

Tie Me To You

(Monsoon Records)

Out Now

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP

Track Listing:

01. Tie Me To You (Kathleen Grace & Larry Goldings)

02. Where Or When (Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart) (STREAM | VIDEO)

03. Everywhere (Kathleen Grace) (STREAM)

04. John The Revelator (Traditional)

05. Berceuse (George Moustaki)

06. The Thrill Is Gone (Ray Henderson & Lew Brown)

07. Embarcadero (Kathleen Grace & Darek Oleszkiewicz)

08. Love For Sale (Cole Porter)

09. What’ll I Do (Irving Berlin) (VIDEO)

10. I’ll Follow The Sun (John Lennon & Paul McCartney)

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Hear the plaintive, beautiful ballad “Everywhere” by Kathleen Grace (with Larry Goldings) at American Songwriter or at the link below.

Grace tells American Songwriter: “Making an album with Larry was easy, so beautifully easy, we had the same goals and values. We just wanted to trust what happened live in the studio.”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/KathleenGrace-Everywhere

+++

Kathleen Grace | About

Much like her music, Kathleen Grace’s career has expanded in recent years beyond its jazz and folk roots that saw her appearing at The Montreux Jazz Festival and The Kennedy Center for the Arts, with performances alongside rock band Portugal The Man at Coachella and throughout My Morning Jacket leader Jim James’ solo release, Uniform Distortion.

Kathleen Grace’s latest album, Tie Me To You, was born from a place of awakening, the kind that can only trigger massive change, great loss and also, hope. It is the product of finally seeing yourself fully for the first time and the price you pay to do so.

In her case, it cost her a marriage that had consumed her entire adult life. It also marked the birth of a new woman, one who would call a new man to her side — a man who, ultimately, could not stay.

Amidst this love and loss, Grace barely slept. Instead, she was flooded with music day and night — poems, songs, and melodies.  She imagined recording this new music freely, in the moment, with no big production or fixes; she envisioned simple songs broken down to their most basic parts.

Soon, she picked up the phone and called Larry Goldings, a legendary keyboardist who has worked with James Taylor, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Beck, Sia, Tracy Chapman, and others. She said simply, “Listen, I need to make a record. And you’re the only one in the world I can make it with. Can you call me back?”

He did.

And so it was that Grace found herself in the only place left that made any sense: a recording studio in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake, California. The pair recorded live in the low light of the wood-framed building, often producing songs in single takes. What emerged is a portrait of a woman exposed as she mourns what she must let go of in order to keep reaching for herself. The result is a new sound for Grace, one that is more vulnerable and bold, one that embraces her eclecticism without apology.

Grace explains, “I remember this time so clearly, the tastes, the colors, and the sounds. The feeling of sitting next to Larry on a piano bench without headphones and just singing. Singing songs only for me, most of which I’d never sung before. Singing to myself and also to the men I loved. It’s all there in the music. Forever. Trapped in a snow globe of emotion.”

Grace and Goldings invited masterful partners into their creation of Tie Me To You. Bass player David Piltch (KD Lang) appears throughout the album, and violinist Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers) is a special guest appearing as both a soloist and string section.

The project was championed by Grammy®-winning engineer Sheldon Gomberg, who offered up his studio for the better part of a year. A song record at its core, Tie Me To You features original music by both Grace and Goldings as well as covers of pieces by French icon Francois Hardy, blues great Son House, and The Beatles, and standards by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers & Hart.

+++

Kathleen Grace | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : BANDCAMP

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL