July 2018 Roundup

Jon Doyle — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 11:29:43 +0000

With grass either dead yellow or on fire, this July might have served as a harbinger of a dire downward turn in global living conditions. Luckily, there has been no such dip in quality in terms of music. We’ve made a playlist that collects all of the artists we covered during July 2018 for your listening pleasure on both Playmoss and Spotify.*

Featuring:

Petal – I’m Sorry
Wild Pink – The Seance On St. Augustine St
Big Thing – Spin
Bombshell Nightlight – Death Day
Mount Goldie – Summer
Elsa Lester – Pretty Bad, Man
Why Bonnie – Gold Rush
Devon Welsh – Vampires
Max García Conover – Another Travelling Man
Floating Room – Dog
Izaak Opatz – Bathing in the Ganges
Free Cake For Every Creature – Around You
Indigo De Souza – Home Team
Museum Food Court – bad song
Crisco Dreams – I Like Your Bed
You’re Sister – I Think About You
Russel the Leaf – Let ‘Em Run
Fresh – Daytime
Stevhen Peters – Phone Talk
Tender Age – Don’t Mind
Lord Youth – Do You Have Anything To Add?
Quiet Hollers – Addicted
Blue J – Hard to Know
Post Moves – The Arc of Life
Angus & Julia Stone – Nothing Else
Gia Margaret – Birthday
Sun June – Discotheque
Campdogzz – Souvenir
Field Report – Every Time

*(Due to various issues of availability and licensing, neither playlist has the complete quota of acts, but welcome to the modern age).

You can find all of the previous instalments of Bright Sparks here, and be sure to check back in a few weeks to see what makes the next edition.

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Song Premiere: Big Thing – Spin

Jon Doyle — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 09:43:44 +0000

Based in Cardiff, Big Thing allegedly met in Bargain Booze and bonded over low-price wine, dips and shared musical sensibilities. It is unclear how much of an influence the first two factors play in the formation and maintenance of the band, though the latter is strong enough so as to guide them toward a big, bold brand of shoegaze that is shot through with poppy streaks. The result is something soaring and atmospheric yet accessible too, joining other contemporary bands like Basement Revolver in a new vein of shoegaze that is happy to lean toward other genres and influences.

Big Thing, AKA Jen (guitar/vocals), Dan (guitar/vocals), Jonny (drums) and Matt (bass), released their first single ‘Longbeach’ a few months back, a bright and breezy track that certainly leaned toward the pop end of the spectrum, the summery title going some way to suggesting the cool, carefree rhythm that made the song. However, the evocative vocals and atmospheric dips in tempo hinted at another side to the band too, with the emotive chops to back up the sense of luminous motion.

Today we’re really happy to share a new single, ‘Spin’. The song is altogether heavier and squally, the relaxed momentum from the previous single swapped out for a feedback-laden grind, a dense wall-of-noise upon which the vocals surf. The drums don’t so much float on the noise as rise through it, like bubbles rising staccato through a cloudy carbonated drink, though every so often they kick into tight sequences that drive the intensity and feeling of the track. Take a listen for yourself:

‘Spin’ is out on the 27th July via Phwoar and Peace. You can grab their previous single, ‘Longbeach,’ here.

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Big Thing Archives - Various Small Flames

July 2018 Roundup

Song Premiere: Big Thing – Spin