Blvck Hippie – Technicolor

Jon Doyle — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 15:14:04 +0000

Blvck Hippie is an indie rock band from Memphis, Tennessee lead by songwriter Joshua Shaw. Having been classically trained in piano, Shaw didn’t turn to the guitar until college, where he wrote songs in his dorm and eventually went on to release solo work under the moniker St. John. Shaw then slowly moved toward a fuller indie rock sound, welcoming band mates into the fold and taking up a childhood nickname as a title—Blvck Hippie.

The Blvck Hippie line-up has undergone several changes since its inception in 2018, but the current iteration features Casey Rittinger, Celest Farmer and Lynne Weldon alongside Shaw. Together, they craft what is described as Sad Boy Indie Rock—an amalgamation of a Strokes-esque energy and emo melodrama. The title of forthcoming album If You Feel Alone At Parties captures the aesthetic perfectly. The confessions and confusions of those who feel they don’t quite fit for whatever reason. All with the aim, Shaw explains, of showing “Black kids they can be weird too.”

Single ‘Technicolor’ is the perfect introduction to the style. Achieving a balance between moodiness and sincerity, the track is every bit the confessional reveal that Blvck Hippy specialises in. Loneliness meets self-deprecation, and guilt looms over every crutch, the sound mimicking the escalating intensity of inner torment. But in sharing this frame of mind, in putting it into words, Shaw also works toward freeing himself too. Finding catharsis in the act of opening up.

Technicolor by Blvck Hippie‘Technicolor’ is out now and available from the Blvck Hippie Bandcamp page, where you should keep an eye for more news on If You Feel Alone At Parties.

Photo by Mangomaat

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Lucero – Women & Work

Jon Doyle — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:38:39 +0000

Lucero are back with Women & Work, the ninth studio album from the Memphis band. The sounds and themes are reassuringly familiar; that all American good-time-even-when-it’s-bad sound about drunken highs and morning after blues. The album deals with alluring women and failed relationships, hometowns and families, strange towns and lonesome nights. Women & Work is classic rock and roll.

Women & Work was released on the 12th November on Loose Music and the band will be touring Europe in support of the album.

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Blvck Hippie – Technicolor

Lucero – Women & Work