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‘Elephantasia’ is a glorious folk opus from 1972, long lost and attaining a legendary reputation for its candour and creativity, from the late Bangor-born singer/songwriter Dave Evans. Finally, the LP sees the light of day again via Earth Recordings, it is a true gem from the vaults of British folk history. For fans of Nick Drake, Bill Fay and Davy Graham – with a touch of Michael Chapman, Bert Jansch and Fahey for good measure.

Dave Evans’ story is like a Pinter play; he sailed the seas in the merchant navy, was taught guitar in a brief interlude by the “mythical” Morocco John, wound up sharing a room with Steve Tilston in 1963 when they attended Loughborough Art College and ran the local folk club, while learning to make stringed instruments, the art of wine making and ceramics. Over the next year, Dave got a domestic 2-track reel-to-reel tape recorder and experimented with its two speeds to produce the tracks ‘Elephantasia’ and ‘Lady Portia’. He pulled in members of local prog band Squidd, including latter day Hawkwind member Steve Swindells on keyboards, John Merritt on bass and Rodney Matthews on drums, who also designed the ‘Elephantasia’ album cover, and went on to become a renowned fantasy artist.

‘Elephantasia’ the album was originally released in 1972, fully exposing Dave’s finger picking style, lilting vocal and his dalliance with the tape manipulation. It sold around 2000 copies and over the years became a talked about rarity, deemed too progressive for folk, too folk for the new prog heads. In best plot-thickening style, Dave tried two more releases and then disappeared. The scant sleeve notes recounted the songs’ creation, featuring tales of experimentation in sound inspired by elephants, old memories recounted with all of the unpleasant bits edited out, storylines for escapists, the residents of St Agnes Park, broken beauty queens and a fat feline. It’s an eclectic but beautifully fluent narrative from a finger picking maestro with a warm and engaging vocal style that wowed Peel and Whispering Bob back in the day.

Dave Evans sadly died in April 2021. Earth Recordings is proud to reissue ‘Elephantasia’ for the first time in over 50 years, in collaboration with his estate and original Village Thing producer Ian A. Anderson.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Only Blue
2. Elephantasia
3. Lady Portia
4. That's My Way
5. On The Run

Side B
6. St. Agnes Park
7. Beauty Queen
8. Ten Ton Tasha
9. Earth, Wind, Sun & Rain
10. Take Me Easy

Release Date: 16/02/2024

Sal, Bea and Raquel aka Shooting Daggers, are fast becoming a fiery beacon at the beating heart of the burgeoning UK hardcore scene.
Their first EP 'Athames' hinted that there was something special here, and left folks gagging for more.

Their debut album will not disappoint. Titled ‘Love and Rage’ it’s a huge leap forward from their EP, in fact we believe Daggers have recorded something of a corker in terms of modern hardcore in fact ... a potential minor classic debut maybe.

Whatever way you spin it, there is no doubt that ’Love and Rage' is an album of jaw dropping depth and melody as well as blinding energy, feminist fury and angst.
There are kick ass buzzsaw punk bangers of course, blistering shards of pent up fury, like ‘Dare’ and ‘Not My Rival’ ‘Wipeout’ and ‘Bad Seeds’.

Daggers ‘as you might expect, but here, more catchy, more direct, more focussed than before. However, things start to get even more interesting with songs like ‘Smug’ and ‘Tunnel Vision’ a big hint that this is no ordinary punk rock record.
A grungy intro bangs into stuttering riffs and chorus with harmonies that will lock itself into your head.

Then the band drops ‘A Guilty Conscience Needs An Accuser’ and you go well what is this? A sort of 90’s shoegaze grunge infused soaring ballad, that is as breathtakingly bold as it is unexpected and a real standout.

As is the album’s title track ‘Love And Rage’ with its Dinosaur Jr meets Lush vibe. It all fits perfectly. The final track ‘Caves/Outro’ is just vocals and piano … it can only be described as ‘lovely’. Wow. The influences never overwhelm, it’s always unmistakably ‘Shooting Daggers’ pushing that hardcore envelope big time.

With ‘Love and Rage’ Shooting Daggers could quite possibly become your favourite band.

Tracklisting:
1. Dare
2. Not My Rival
3. Smug
4. Wipe Out
5. A Guilty Conscience Needs An Accuser
6. Tunnel Vision
7. Bad Seeds
8. Love & Rage
9. Caves/Outro

Whistler is a Copenhagen pop rock wall band formed in 2019. Whistler had their live debut supporting Iceage at a sold out Copenhagen show.

Shortly after, Whistler were booked to play Roskilde Festival 2020.

The members of Whistler have previously been in bands such as Marching Church, Lower, Arakk and Holm.

Tracklisting:
1. Rev Spring
2. Wild Excuse
3. Newton Vaccine
4. Hater's Paradise 2
5. Weaponize
6. It's On Us
7. Flip the Nightmare
8. Close-Up
9. Animal Crackers

Visitor Kane, a band always in search of new ground, has gone through some changes over the last 5 years. Releasing their first album “Easy Concern” as a two piece, an album that dove into new wave sounds, with synths, drum machines and a crooning voice, soon became a fully electrified band, transforming into a classic rock and roll outfit.

Their second full length “Change of Heart” showcased a sonic turn. Drum machines and synths were replaced by acoustic guitars, old Casio organs and drums, making the album sound substantially different from its predecessor.

Now after 4 years, they are ready for new adventures, and it comes in the form of a new album titled “At Issue” out on November 11th, 2022. The album is a humble look into different aspects of interaction within the boundaries of society.

Patrick from Visitor Kane elaborates; “At issue is me trying to describe the world and its affairs through abstraction. It’s tough to understand so it seemed fitting to do so.
It being hard to fathom means that it can come across as a bit pessimistic, although it’s something I try hard not to be, because there’s a bright side to almost anything. The title for me represents it very well with its dualistic nature. On one side it’s analogue as hell, but on the the other, it’s all about ones and zeroes...”

Tracklisting:
1. All Becomes Dark
2. My Poor Opinion
3. Twist of Mouth
4. Dead Loss
5. Past the Blinds Lay the Burning Leaves
6. Been Made
7. The Peculiar Body
8. Unfortunate One
9. Contemporary Devotion

Hailing from Aarhus, Denmark, this explosive, close-knit four-piece have created what is best described as a sonic freight train. Equally noisy and catchy, the songs are driven by distortion, relentless drumming and an enchanting sense of directness.

 

Throughout their existence Trader have thrilled audiences and critics alike, gaining a reputation as a riveting live band as well as trusted deliverers of potent rock anthems. 

This October, Trader will release their sophomore album “Their Best Work So Far”. The album sees Trader taking on a more diverse and dynamic sound while still homaging their beloved grand era of American 90’s alternative rock music. As the album title wittily indicates, the band took the ambition of good, sincere songwriting and craftsmanship as their cornerstones. To fulfill this ambition, the band relocated from the confines of their home studio to the legendary Silence Studio in Sweden - an old, refurbished two-storey school house hidden in the woods of small-town Koppom.

This was the perfect remotion for Trader to escape the everyday humdrum and focus their piled-up energy into 9 songs. Being a hard-working band with no big commercial payoffs in sight can make you question if you chose the right path in life.

Drummer Kristian Vissing elaborates:
“We just had an anniversary at our old high school and met with our class mates from back then, who talked about how great it was to finish university and finally have a career going. These expectations from peers and society on how to lead a good and proper life can get you down sometimes and leave you with doubt. It’s sort of a theme on this album. We want to urge everyone to take a halt and enjoy where you’re at right now and not always have your eyes set on the future.” 

Tracklisting:
1. Might Be Fine
2. Radar
3. Medieval
4. JSB,
5. Why You
6. Quicker
7. Please
8. Yellow Jackets
9. Help

Modest became the talk of the town in native Denmark in 2017 when they released their debut single “Pretty Sure It’s Honest”. This saw them play the likes of Roskilde Festival and SPOT Festival in Denmark as well as Sebright Arms (London) and N.C.I. (Cambridge) in the UK. since then, Modest have released a line of EP’s and singles to great exposure on Danish National Radio (DR).

All the while, the band have been preparing their debut album ‘Friend’.

On ‘Friend’, Modest continue down the melodic, jangly path of their early material while widening their range and venturing into slightly darker territory.

Lyrically, ‘Friend’ addresses the loss of lead singer Julius Lykke’s mother: 
Expressing my state of mind during the last couple of years has been an imperative part of the making of this album. Despite the very personal content of the lyrics, I feel the album is inclusive towards the listener, and I hope it will resonate with people in a universal way.

‘Friend’ was recorded by Jens Benz in Silence Studio in rural Sweden and is set to release on May 6 2022 via Copenhagen based Part Time Records. Modest is Jacob Tjerrild (guitars), Jakob Ahlers (guitars), Stinus Kruse (drums) and Julius Kruse Lykke (Bass, vocals).

Tracklisting:
1. Energy, Tragedy, Apathy
2. Losing All the Time
3. Won’t Be the Last
4. Bested Me Again
5. Thinking About You I
6. Going for The Kill
7. Ambition
8. Thinking About You II
9. Pull Through
10. Dearest

“Dark, cute and cool” has always been a mantra for Pleaser, starting as an inside joke on how the members come across in everyday life but perhaps also being a fitting description for their iconoclastic tendencies and aesthetics.

On their debut album, Pleaser manifests themselves as a punk band in both a strict and a loose sense of the term. Their musicality, ethics and community are undeniably punk, but their expression is vast and more personal than sub-genre-bound.

The band projects the heart-on-the-sleeve of early emo, the catchy viciousness associated with original punk rock, a dark convolutedness of certain kinds of metal - and yet an earthiness and willingness to explore that harkens back to earlier forms of rock music and all the way up to a current experimental music scene.

Songs are both catchy and impenetrable at the same time, appreciating a pop hook just as much as a labyrinthine song structure. Pleaser’s self-titled debut album is the result of a combination of hard rehearsal space labour, playfulness and increasingly sharp band-instincts.

Lyrically, the songs contemplate themes of life/death, subconscious patterns, internal search for hope and love, demons, fear and desperation but also growth, playfulness and the shaping of new pathways. Songs dating back to the formation of the band 3-4 years ago have built in vigor from the band’s growing stage experience and willingness to treat songs like football tackles.

Harmony, dissonance, riffs and rhythmic shifts are jumbled together and allowed to remain tumultuous and imperfect, just as a debut album should be.

The album is recorded, mixed and mastered at No Master’s Voice Studio in Copenhagen.

Tracklisting:
1. Full Collapse
2. Plunge
3. Join The Strings
4. Crawl
5. The World Says Its Name
6. Drive of Distress
7. Light and Fire
8 The Dream
9. This Is How I Die

Release Date: 26/01/2024

It was four years into the swim ~ label’s history before Bastard arrived. Like my previous albums, it was another collaboration – although this time only with my partner in life and crime, Malka Spigel.

There was a point in the ’90s when British music journalists basically didn’t get dance music and would refer to it as “faceless techno bollocks”. It was that very attribute that Malka and I felt most attracted to. In instrumental music, you could be anyone from anywhere. The only thing that mattered was how good your tunes were. In fact, for the first Immersion album, we pretended to be from Germany and were photographed in wigs and masks. This had the unexpected result of the album selling more copies in Germany than anywhere else!

With Bastard, it took a while to get to the concept, which was essentially this: What if we subverted the whole ‘bloke from Wire’thing and had a Colin Newman album without any actual songs on it? These days, this is not such a big thing, but it was hugelytransgressive at the time. The language of Bastard is house, techno, breakbeat, drum and bass, and doubtless post-rock. The only singing is a one-line Malka sample on ‘Turn’.

Not only did the album not play by the rules of what would these days be called musicby a ‘heritage’ artist, but it didn’t play by the rules of dance music either. Back then, dance music artists didn’t mix up styles as theydo today. This is one of the reasons the album’s called Bastard.

Upon release, Bastard was modestly successful in comparison to the label’s other releases, although widely misunderstood. Thetitle is intentionally multifaceted, referring to several ways in which the album is a misfit – a cuckoo in the nest. But it never meant ‘Colin Newman is a bastard’ – even if Malka’s toy finger gesture on the cover tempted fate on that!

Malka and I have done more work together on swim ~ – and, of course, there has been plenty of Wire activity after its second hiatus during the 1990s – but I never felt the need to do another solo album. I don’t crave attention and certainly don’t feel I lack ways to express myself. In many ways, it’s more creative to collaborate with others.

There is joy and beauty in collaboration. And collaborating with Malka has become so effortless that we almost don’t know whodoes what in the work we create. This has led us to throwing open our partnership via Nanocluster events and albums where webuild musical bridges and make partnerships that transcend the art. Maybe that’s the point? Surely, art should be about human connection and diversity of expression?

Colin Newman, Brighton, 2023 (edited from album sleeve notes)

Tracklisting:
Vinyl LP & CD 1
1. Sticky
2. May
3. Slowfast (falling down the stairs with a drumkit)
4. Without
5. g-deep
6. Spaced In
7. Spiked
8. The Orange House & the Blue House
9. Turn

CD 2
1. Automation
2. Faq
3. Voice
4. Output
5. The Narrativ (with Corrado Izzo)
6. Blank Canvas
7. Time Will Allow
8. Tsunami
9. Cut The Slack (2001)
10. Found & Bound (2001)
11. Unbroken (2001)
12. Flight Mode (2008)


CD2 info:
Tracks 1–4 taken from 1995 EP Voice.
Tracks 5–8 originally appeared on swim team #1 and swim team #2.
Tracks 9–12 previously unreleased and exclusive to this edition.

Available on black vinyl 10”.

To coincide with the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s North American & Australasian tour 2023 is the release of two new exclusive tracks by the band.

Recorded in Berlin & remotely in 2023, the opening track “Abandon Ship (Martian Meltdown Mix)” runs at over 11 minutes and plays at 33 rpm, “Maybe Make It Right.” the B side is nearly 4 minutes & plays at 45 rpm.

With Anton Newcombe (Vocals/ Guitars) Hakon Adalsteinsson (guitar), & Uri Rennert (drums) playing on this offering. Emil Nikolaisen (Serena-Maneesh / BJM) & Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt (Asteroid #4 / BJM) on engineering duties.

The release comes in a heavyweight PVC bag with the artwork being a J card so you can see the vinyl

Tracklisting:
Side A
Abandon Ship (Martian Meltdown Mix)

Side B
Maybe Make It Right.

Release Date: 26/01/2024

Hailing from New York, GUHTS (pronounced ‘guts’) are a bold new voice within a maelstrom of genres and sub-genres.

They declare themselves to be an ‘avant-garde post-metal project, delivering larger than life sounds through, deeply emotional music’.

And they deliver that statement in full effect in the form of their debut album ‘Regeneration’.

Pointers can be made of course. By their own admission, GUHTS' musical style is influenced not only by iconic metal bands like Gojira, Cult of Luna, YOB and Deftones, but more unconventional acts like Bjork, Subrosa, Isis, Julie Christmas, and even PJ Harvey. It’s undoubtedly heavy, with a strong feminist streak, it’s cathartic and weighty, a formidable debut for such a new band.
‘Regeneration’ is set to cement their status as one of the coolest and most interesting bands on the scene.

A powerful and intense series of songs, topped off by some seriously mighty, expressive vocal performances. 

It’s slow-shifting chords, moving like sheets through sludge. High guitar lines above, ranging from piercing and shimmering to nasty. Drums pound but not without groove. There are strings, pianos and synths widening the palette. Atmospheric sludge, metalgaze, maybe, but there’s also that link to the New York Noise lineage from The Velvets and Sonic Youth, becoming a type of post-hardcore in the process, while gaining a connection to metal partly due to the sheer heaviness. 

A raft of creative experimentation that pushes beyond the realm of post-metal. And then of course, the very first thing that hits you is Amber Gardner's unbelievable, hypnotising vocals - as scary as a banshee while also intimate and persuasive. Amber means it for sure and almost dominates the proceedings.
In short ‘Regeneration’ is a bold and startling debut, that will reward and enthral listeners the deeper they delve into its many layers.

Tracklisting Vinyl:
Side A
1. White Noise
2. Til Death
3. The Mirror
4. Handless Maiden

Side B
5. Eyes Open
6. Generate
7. The Wounded Healer

Tracklisting CD:
1. White Noise
2. Til Death
3. The Mirror
4. Handless Maiden
5. Eyes Open
6. Generate
7. The Wounded Healer
8. Burn My Body (CD Bonus Track)

Release Date: 22/12/2023

New Heavy Sounds is super stoked to announce a very very special team up between our favourite punk sisters, Shooting Daggers and Death Pill.

Both bands have recorded a brand new song, and what better way is there to present them (or any kind of punk) than a good old split single. 

So kicking off the Shooting Daggers/Death Pill split, is this never before recorded Death Pill track 'MONSTERS'.

Ukrainian punk trio Death Pill certainly made a stir when they hit the UK as part of their first ever European tour. Articles in the likes of the Guardian and Sunday, featured in all the music mags, plus the band showed that they were a pretty ferocious musical outfit, as those who were witness to the full on live experience can testify.

Whilst in London, the band also had time to cut 'MONSTERS'. Recorded live in the studio with Wayne Adams (Pet Brick, Big Lad and producer of Green Lung) at the helm, MONSTERS is a short, sharp shock. An angry, sardonic and skewed amalgam of riffs and full on blast beats … it growls and it rips.

The band says ..

“This track is about how our parents knowingly or unknowingly lose their children. As an example - here are the most painful things you could hear from your folks: "When will you finish your music games?”

"You will never achieve anything!”

"When are you finally going to do something useful?"

Therefore, when there was an opportunity to record a one live song in London, the choice of a song became obvious.

Just imagine the "surprise" on the faces of our mums...

Many thanks for Ged and Paul from the NHS label for supporting this idea, and to Wayne from Bear Bites Horse for the sick and fat sound”

What makes this release all the more exciting, is that Shooting Daggers are dropping their first new music since last year's EP 'Athames'. 

Sal, Bea and Raquel are most definitely on the way up, their exciting blend of hard as nails hardcore, punk attitude and a neat melodic sense have made them a much sought after outfit, for gigs and festivals here and across Europe. They are slowly but surely proving themselves to be one of THE bands to watch in 2024.

If the EP left their growing legion of fans gagging for more, new track 'NOT MY RIVAL' will not disappoint. It's a catchy, pogo-tastic, queercore punk banger, full of feminist grit and a killer earworm chorus.  

The band says ...

"Not My Rival, is a song about dismantling the male gaze, fighting against the internalised patriarchal messages that we all unconsciously absorb. It's about breaking the cycle of female rivalry. We want to encourage lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down"

The Shooting Daggers debut album is due in the new year .... you have been warned, this is the shape of things to come.

Special 7” single strictly limited to 250 copies.

The 7” comes in classic black vinyl, with a reversible foldover sleeve with artwork from each band on each side so you can choose your own cover,  full colour printed labels housed in a poly overbag. It's available only by mail order.

Limited edition random colour vinyl with silver metallic foil cover jacket & full colour double-sided sleeve with lyrics. Professionally manufactured, packaged & shrinkwrapped with download card.

Self-described by drummer Edley ODowd (Psychic TV, Toilet Boys) as “a band of monsters playing broken instruments,” Scorpion Tea formed through the bonds of friendship, having survived the New York City punk and hardcore scenes together.

Meshing cultural influences from Ecuador, Colombia, Eastern Europe, and Puerto Rico with their collective thirst for punk, goth, death rock, and city pop, Scorpion Tea has created a sound described by vocalist Anthony Diaz as “the phonic expression of a den of ravenous creatures.”

Fern Puma’s bass lines, dripping with dapper strength, smartly pair with songwriter and guitarist Christian Cruz’s delectable, unnerving riffs and the bold flavor of Edley’s thunderous, yet sensitive drumming while Anthony’s involute lyrical profile elicits an impending storm over a haunted forest.

The resulting noise is a harmonious blend with a rich and complex profile that anyone with an ear for the heavy will enjoy. The group’s debut album was recorded at Studio 22 in Los Angeles by Tomas Dolas (Osees) and Joo Joo (Air Bol Bol).

Tracklisting:
1. Take Solace in Suffering
2. Exacting Father
3. In a Vile Suit
4. They’re Thriving Without Us
5. Six Souls Afloat
6. Scarlet Misquote
7. Summer in the Shade
8. Obsidian Promises
9. Panic Attack