Industry news & advice blog

Nuclear Club - ‘It Rests’

Taking a sideways step over the past few years, from guitar-driven indie rock into the realms of electronic rock, Perth four-piece Nuclear Club’s shift in direction has seen the band pick up many complimentary reviews, with their last album ‘Polynomad’ championed by The Scotsman’s Fiona Shepherd, as well as new music aficionados Jim Gellatly and Vic Galloway.

With a fresh album in spitting distance, it’s thrilling to see how Nuclear Club’s sound is evolving. ‘Black Cats Are Bad Luck’ was self-produced and recorded at the band’s home studios across Perth and Glasgow, and our chosen Spotlight track ‘It Rests’ offers an immaculate slice of what the album serves up; flawlessly connecting elements of new wave, crisp electronica, blissful indie pop, ambient vibes and understated guitars.

The band elaborate on how ‘It Rests’ came about; “This was one of the later tracks we wrote for the album. It was our attempt at writing a pure deep house track that could blend in at a basement DJ set, but building the whole thing around two guitars, a bass, and an acoustic drum kit. We didn't have the confidence to try it until recently. We're now only two years into self-producing our music, so we weren't sure we could convincingly lean so far into the club sound. Lyrically, the song is about the monotonous terror of the '4pm scaries', when you're wired on 4 cups of coffee, feeling like you're being hunted by a sabertooth tiger, but all you're doing is scheduling a Microsoft Teams meeting. The less fun side of that, however, is the cumulative depressive effect that kind of routine can have, especially if you're a remote worker left to de-escalate those feelings by yourself.”

Nuclear Club’s focus has largely been centred on writing and recording in recent times, but they aim to switch their attention towards regular live shows over the coming months. Pre-pandemic the band headlined both the late-great O2 ABC in Glasgow, and the unsigned stage at Doune the Rabbit Hole festival. They’ll be kicking off their live era with an album launch show at The Old Hairdressers in Glasgow on 15th December, alongside GF (aka Georgia Ferry) and Clay Rings who will hopefully be joining the band on the regular circuit in Glasgow during 2025.

So, from the band who formed in 2014, playing music together through high school and college years, and who’ve now unleashed their fourth album, we wait with baited breath to see what will unfurl in the latest chapter of Nuclear Club’s story.
 
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palmtreeprince - ‘Joyful Love’

Describing his sound as “Afro Fantasy, a fusion rooted in my heritage and brought to life by my imagination”, palmtreeprince’s single ‘Joyful Love’ is an effervescent and infectious track. Working alongside his co-producer LVAE, the pair have crafted their own colourful take on pop called “(im)pop”, immersive pop music rooted in love, with a purpose to inspire and empower joyful living.

palmtreeprince explains more about how ‘Joyful Love’ was forged; "’It was born from the desire to create something timeless for my community. I wanted to craft an anthem; a song they could sing to each other in moments of joy or need, something perfect for karaoke or for a festival crowd that would leave an unforgettable memory. This track marks the beginning of the evolution of my sound. I set out to make something festival-ready, drawing inspiration from Jersey Club and UKG; two genres I find incredibly infectious. LVAE and I worked together to bring this vision to life, and I’m so proud of how it turned out.”

To date, palmtreeprince has been getting a lot of love for his releases with ‘Every Morning’ being debuted on BBC Radio Radio 1 and 1XTRA, and his most successful track ‘Let Me Know’ garnering an incredible response amassing over 300,000 plays and being featured on Spotify's ‘New Pop UK’ playlist for 3 months.

Always on a mission to spread joy, over the next few months palmtreeprince will be extending the good vibes even further by kicking off his own bi-monthly club night, a space where he plans to debut and celebrate new music from himself and his community; "It's a fresh way to bring everyone together, creating moments of support, connection, and collaboration. I can’t wait to share this experience with my fans and fellow artists, building stronger bonds within our community while showcasing our creative energy.”

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The Velvet Hands - ‘Caller’

The second release from their upcoming and hotly anticipated EP, the mighty and unruly track ‘Caller’, heralds another triumph for garage rock ‘n’ rollers The Velvet Hands who just keep on climbing the ladder of success.

Already having garnered airplay across Radio X, BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing, including having their self-recorded debut album crowned as Huw Stephens’ Album Of The Week on Radio 1, the band have also scored an enviable smorgasbord of support slots for Fontaines D.C., VANT, Wallows, Elbow, Frank Turner, Paul Weller, Liam Gallagher, and just last week they opened for Hard-Fi at London’s Roundhouse.

But back to ‘Caller’, which was recorded in their motherland of Cornwall at Cube Studios, and vocalist Toby tells us how the song came to life;

“'Caller' was written in mine and Dan’s flat one spring afternoon. The song felt really beautiful but lacked a bit of The Velvet Hands charm so Dan went away and wrote some quite wonky guitar parts and it started to feel really good! It’s about acceptance. Accepting that sometimes you need help, that sometimes relationships end, that sometimes friends die…but also that sometimes life will be kind to you. It fills me with sadness and happiness every time we play it.”

The band relish playing live and have a bounty of gigs ahead of them in 2025. Back over to Toby to fill us in on their future plans;

“We’ve got a huge start to next year! We kick off in late January with an Independent Venue Week tour. Followed by a new EP coming out in March and then we play our biggest ever show at Dingwalls in Camden! Very scared, very excited!! My favourite moment of this band so far was our sold out show at OMEARA earlier this year. To see how beautiful and big this family has grown is a wonderful thing - and I can feel it growing more and more every day.”

So if you want to join The Velvet Hands family for their raucous ride next year, check out the gig dates below and grab yourself some tickets.

IVW 28th January - The Saltbox, Nottingham
IVW 29th January - Northern Quarter, Huddersfield
IVW 30th January - The Cavern, Exeter
IVW 1st February - Old Bakery Studios, Truro
22nd March, headline show at Dingwalls, London

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amilost - ‘Haunted’

Forging together their Norwegian and Scottish backgrounds, duo amilost create atmospheric alt pop music, and as they readily admit; “We love making things from ethereal and beautiful to gritty and raw.” Their single ‘Haunted’ straddles both ends of the spectrum, fluctuating between delicate verses to a fiery chorus, and the pair tell us the inspiration for the song;

“It’s about feeling the tables turn on your 'situationship' and thinking you were cool about them, but realising it’s the other way around. We think it’s a feeling a lot of people can relate to.”

amilost have been picking up plenty of support along the way; Wonderland, Earmilk and METAL magazine have all sung their praises, not to mention BBC Introducing who crowned previous single ‘Bloom’ as their Track of the Week, and more recently featured amilost as their Artist Spotlight with an accompanying live in-session performance.

On the live front, the duo have had support slots at Omeara and Islington Assembly Hall this year, as well as performing at their biggest showcase to date at Oslo’s by:Larm festival.

2025 seems to be heading off on the right track with a slot at Eurosonic Festival confirmed for January which will coincide with the release of amilost’s next single. They also plan to play their debut headline show, so keep your ears to the ground for updates.

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Baylee Dowling - ‘Not Turning Back’

Influenced by the likes of early Beck, The 1975, Harry Styles, Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, singer songwriter Baylee Dowling has channeled his assortment of inspirations and life experiences into his spirited and captivating music.

Although written a while back, he tells us how ‘Not Turning Back’ turned into his debut single years later; “It was the first song I ever wrote on the guitar around the age of 15. It was written in about 20 minutes from what I can remember. I suppose this song is what it is really like to finally let go of someone you thought you would be with forever. how it takes a while before you can truly say you're ‘Not Turning Back’ for them anymore.”

Although he’s relatively fresh on the scene, Baylee has started making significant ripples in his hometown of Liverpool with some superb gigs including a BBC Introducing show at The Cavern Club, plus Kazimier Stockroom, and a headline show at Rough Trade; one of his highlights to date. But connecting with fans through his songs is also up there;

“Just seeing people resonate with my music and singing my songs back to me will always be my biggest achievement. As long as I can confidently say that strangers enjoy my music and can relate to the lyrics in one way or another, I think that is the type of stuff that very few people in the world can really say.”

Building up to the release of an EP in Spring time, and planning to make his mark on the festival circuit next year, it looks like 2025 could be set to put Baylee on the map.

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