Introducing: Sive | Charming & Sweet Folk / Alt Rock Fusion

Sive is the brainchild of Kildare songwriter and musician Sadhbh O’Sullivan. The band was formed (in full) in 2010 following the addition of Eoin Hartweig, Patrick Hopkins and Mark Dudley to the fold. 

Drawing from a wide variety of alternative rock, jazz and folk influences, Sive’s gorgeous sound is a fusion of these influences, with perfect arrangement, excellent musicianship and charm. No question it is Sadhbh’s voice which is the greatest asset, it is simultaneously powerful, delicate and intricate, sweeping along sweetly, adding depth and feeling to songs, both bright and touching.

Sive left quite an impression on everyone with a stupendous performance at ‘BarryGruff Presents’ back in December and with their debut album, We Are Moving, out this Thursday, April 19th, it was high time we shed some light on this talent. The launch takes place in The Grand Social on the same day. More info here.

 Sive – We Are Moving

Download: Sive – Sunkissed

(Video) Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny – Atlas

Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny‘s debut album, Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose, is a little underwhelming, in a hit and miss sort of way. It does contain a number of absolute gems though, ‘Atlas’ like ‘Sweet Tooth Bird‘ before it, is a case in point. A spiky indie pop song, with the breezy vocals soaring above galloping instrumentation, ‘Atlas’ will find a place in your heart.

Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose is out now.

Arp Attack – Follow The Rhythm

‘Follow The Rhythm’ is the debut single from Chichester based electro indie outfit Arp Attack.

‘Follow The Rhythm’ is a dance friendly summery tune with rays of synth, bubbly notes, giddy percussion and sweet vocals shining bright. This one has been on constant rotation and Arp Attack will undoubtedly brighten up your day.

Give ‘Follow The Rhythm’ a listen below and download ‘Lucky Man’, released as part of the package on April 30th.

Arp Attack – Follow The Rhythm 

Download: Arp Attack – Lucky Man

Introducing: The Shh | Sweet effervescent pop songs

The summer months can always be enhanced by a suitable musical companion for basking in the glorious sunshine. 

Boy/girl duo The Shh, stake their claim for this year’s summer soundtrack with their debut EP, The Burning Love. Alison Galea & Ian Schranz have dreamt up some sweetly effervescent indie-pop songs, with the subtitles of gorgeous boy-girl vocal interplay at its sugary core. ’So Over’ is as fuzzy as it gets, revolving around a grungy riff, it hints at The Kills meets Pulp’s ‘Something Changed’. We are then led into beautiful, melodic and inoffensive pop songs, ’All Things With Love’, ‘Burning Love’ and ‘Summer’. 

Honestly it will be difficult to find effortlessly nice, relaxing and extremely listenable this summer. So, so good.

The Shh’s Burning Love EP is released on April 11th but you can stream it in full here.

Download: The Shh – So Over

The Shh – Summer

ADULTROCK – Poplife (Feat. Jen Connell)

ADULTROCK has received much adoration on this blog before. It is of course the electronic project of Gavin Elsted, singer and guitarist with We Are Losers. Pray, let the music worthy of such applause continue.

His latest track ‘Poplife’, as the name suggests, is a more poppy affair than before. It’s a dreamy, relaxing track. It coasts along a crest of what can only be described as LCD style beats, while the soothing tranquility is crowned by Jen Connell’s calming vocals (formerly of Hooray For Humans).

Download ‘Poplife’ for free below and there’s plenty more tracks over Adultrock’s Soundcloud too.

Download: ADULTROCK – Poplife (Feat. Jen Connell)

Lianne La Havas & Willy Mason – ‘No Room For Doubt’

Lianne La Havas caught the eye last week when this wonderful duet with Willy Mason was posted by Nialler9.

22 year-old Londoner has so far released two EPs, this song features on Lost & Found, featured in the BBC Sound of 2012 poll and by all accounts made quite an impression on Jools Holland last year, yet, this was my first encounter with her. The real pulling power of this one revolves around the juxtaposition of La Havas’ sweet and light vocals with Mason’s more gruff approach. Oh, how it works!

Sit back, relax and listen to something wonderful.

Video: Love Inks – ‘Blackeye’

Austin, Texas three-piece Love Inks are gearing up for the release of their debut album E.S.P which promises to be a feast of highly infectious shimmering lo-fi pop.

So, while we sit tight and await it’s release we can indulge ourselves the dreamy new single ‘Blackeye’. A combination of minimalism and vocal restraint paradoxically hammers home this very day dream quality. Perhaps the most entrancing 1.54 minutes of musical you are likely to hear in 2011.

‘Blackeye’ is out now on Hell, Yes! and will be followed by E.S.P on May

.

Mp3: Love Inks – Blackeye

via City Slang Records

Kitsuné – ‘Parisien’

Uber cool French label Kitsuné has returned with the latest edition of their much praised compilation series, a shining example of how it is done.

Selected by label head-honcho Gildas Loaëc and artist André Saraiva, Kitsune Parisien showcases some of the finest electronic producers from the new Parisian music scene. So it is unsurprising it has got lots and lots of synth pop and electro, some touches of indie and of course a sprinkle of Parisien panache.

There’s nare a dull moment, the standard and quality is superfluous throughout and plenty of these artists deserve further investigation. Although hard to call, high points include the electro kickbacks of Logo and BeatueCue and soft synthy electro-indie vibes of Sauvage and Birkii.

An excellent introduction to the next wave of talented French artists which shows no signs of abating, the future of French music is in good hands.

Birkii – Shade of Doubt via Posh Magazine

Logo – Hello.jpg

 BeatauCue – Behold

Sauvage – Glory

Majorette – Overflow

Swedish London based trio Little Majorette are set to release their debut album Rifle Heart this coming April.

The first single to be taken from the record ‘Overflow’ and oh my what a tune. It’s a splendidly inoffensive ditsy piano pop song with plenty of oohs and ahs thrown in for good measure. This wouldn’t normally be my kind of thing but in ‘Overflow’ we’ve unearth a real pop treasure.

You can stream it below and download it from here.

Little Majorette – Overflow

Trophy Wife – ‘Microlite’

Oxford trio Trophy Wife have been making waves this past month landing a support slot with Foals on their UK Tour and unequivocal praise from musical pundits the world over.

As is often the case it’s taken me more time than most to appreciate their debut offering but I gotta say I’m quite taken by it. This is simply wonderful & fresh indie pop here, like a whispering breathe of fresh air.

‘Microlite’ has announced their arrival with a lingering feeling of great promise of what may be on the horizon. Check it out/grab the acoustic version below.

Trophy Wife – Microlite via chickendonut

Trophy Wife – Microlite (Acoustic) via fadedglamour

Uffie – ‘Difficult’ (Remixes)

Young Parisian MC/songstress Uffie featured on the blog last week with her superb new single ‘Difficult‘. Unsurprisingly it’s been receiving a facelift with two quality remixes from Ed Banger label mate and collaborator SebastiAn and Azari & III.

I’m still not convinced by her debut album Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans but ‘Difficult’ is as catchy and it is simplistic. It’s easy to foresee this becoming a staple for remixers across the globe but we are unlikely to get two of such quality within such close proximity.

Any thoughts?

Uffie – Difficult (2006 Parties Remix by SebastiAn)

Uffie – Difficult (Azari & III Remix)

Uffie – ‘Difficult’

Uffie is a young songstress/MC living in Paris via Miami and Hong Kong. She’s signed to Ed Banger Records, worked with Mr. Oizo, Sebastian, Feadz and Justice- all good so far?

While unconvinced by her debut album Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, ‘Difficult’ is a simple yet bold, catchy as hell pop song, there’s a touch of M.I.A (of old) to this one.

‘Difficult’ is out 18 October 2010.

The delightful folks over at Track In The Box are giving the track away for FREE