Industry news & advice blog

Eville - ‘Plaything’

Bringing Brat Metal to the masses, Brighton trio Eville are fusing the intense nucleus and heavy riffs of nu metal, sugarcoated with angelic vocals and melodic choruses.

Their raucous single ‘Plaything’ has been causing quite a stir, and the band tell us more about how the track came about; “‘Plaything’ was the first song we wrote and produced with Jon Cass, it came very quickly and easily to us. It’s packed with our signature bratty attitude, drum n bass beats, and of course, huge heavy riffs. We feel this song showcases how fearless and brave we are becoming as songwriters and it’s very special to us.”

Already earmarked by BBC Radio 1’s Alyx Holcombe, who has crowned Eville with Track of the Week on the Radio 1 Rock Show twice, the band have also picked up airplay from Radio X, BBC 6Music, Amazing Radio, Radio 365, and have been championed by the likes of TotalRock, Richer Unsigned, Punktuation, All About the Rock and Aural Aggravation.

On the live front, Eville have smashed some incredible support slots including WARGASM (UK) at Concorde 2, plus Delilah Bon, The Hara, Kid Bookie and BEX.

Hold tight for more new music over the coming months, and you can also catch Eville embarking on a run of UK support dates for Redhook, competing in the New Blood competition for a slot at the Isle of Wight Festival, and playing at Burn it Down Festival this August.

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Grace Elizabeth Harvey - ‘Birdsong’

The breathtaking and striking new single from singer songwriter Grace Elizabeth Harvey, ‘Birdsong’, showcases her delicate yet direct sound, and serves as a delicious taste of what she plans to unveil on her debut EP ‘Other Faith’.

To give us some more insight into how ‘Birdsong’ came to life, Grace tells us; “The song is a reflection on the strange experience of singing to a bird. I was on a walk in County Durham, where I went to uni, and heard a bird singing. I decided to sing its tune back and we had a brief call and response dialogue, until the bird stopped. What followed were the strange epiphanies documented in the song, about human and animal natures. The main discovery of the song is that I am not as brave or in tune with my true, vulnerable self as I thought I was, all told through the metaphor of birdsong.”

Since the release of her debut single ‘Familiar’ in 2023, Grace has much to celebrate. She was selected from 130 applicants to be awarded a bursary for the Humankind Songwriting retreat in October 2024. She’s picked up praise from the likes of Folking, Joyzine and York Calling, as well as radio play from BBC Introducing Merseyside and Amazing Radio.

Under her own steam she’s also put together a headline UK tour which will visit Liverpool, Manchester, Durham, Leeds and London, plus she’s organised a run of 10 inch vinyl, ahead of her EP release in May.

But before the launch of ‘Other Faith’ and Grace’s tour, we can also look forward to another single to whet the tastebuds. ‘Lullaby For Wasted Time’ will come out on 4th April and, as a personal favourite of Grace herself, we’re bound to be in for a treat.

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Two Headed Horse - ‘Shimmer’

London based fourpiece Two Headed Horse don’t like to be limited to one genre; embracing different sounds and blends of styles from song to song; “Our aim is to land on something musically singular to reflect the subject matter of the songs as a way to connect with the audience.”

Their diversity couldn’t be better demonstrated than on single ‘Shimmer’ which shifts in gear part-way through, transforming from drifting, soothing indie folk to a more spirited and frisky tempo.

“It was one of those songs that was enjoyable to write - actually two pieces of music James was working on sort of bolted together that worked perfectly. In terms of lyrics it’s a reflection of an attempted mugging that happened on a bridge in Reading where James’s guitar was nearly stolen. The song is quite dreamlike with a sudden awakening a minute and a half in with the words ‘look back’, which were shouted across the bridge at him. So the song is as if remembering the events as you’re drifting off to sleep but memory becomes confused with myth and the words conjure Orpheus and Eurydice as comparisons with the story haunt the narrator. As the song is two pieces of music, the lyrics are two threads also, one happening above on a bridge and one, you could say, reflected in the river below.”

‘Shimmer’ was engineered by Mark Gardener of Ride, who played the track to Tim Burgess whilst they were on tour together, and before long the track was aired by Chris Hawkins on BBC 6Music, and the band were offered a slot at Kendal Calling.

Two Headed Horse are currently tinkering away in the studio working on a handful of new songs, with new material due in 2025, engineered and produced by the band themselves, so watch this space.

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Mason - ‘We Know Where The Bodies Are Buried’

Emerging from pop duo Outline, which she was half of since they formed in 2016, Mason has returned to embark upon her solo chapter, so get ready for her unique twist on alt pop. Strongly influenced by the likes of Billie Eilish, L Devine, Laura Marling, RAYE, CHINCHILLA and Labrinth, her sound is a veritable melting pot of highly addictive dark and experimental pop.

Her latest, and second solo single, ‘We Know Where The Bodies Are Buried’ cannot help but grab your attention, and it’s the follow-on, sister track to her debut ‘Dearly Beloved’. Mason tells us more about how the songs were crafted; “It’s the same story I told in my first single, ‘Dearly Beloved’, but with a completely different energy lyrically and sonically. We sampled the emotive harmonies at the end of 'Dearly Beloved' to make the beat, and the two tracks run into one another. It was surprisingly hard to record, because it's not in an obvious key. The bridge/outro was my favourite to put together, it's meant to sound like an anxiety attack.”

As part of Outline, Mason has been lucky enough to rack up half a million streams, a placement on Spotify’s Indie Pop playlist, plus she’s graced the stage at Isle of Wight festival and various headline shows.

Now showcasing her fresh genre-bending sounds, it’s inevitable that Mason has similar triumphs on the horizon as she embarks on her solo adventures.

You can catch Mason gigging at The Lucky Pig with HOT VOX on 25th March and 8th April, where she’ll be joined by former Outline bandmate and best buddy Stan. Keep it locked on her socials for news of more releases and upcoming gigs.

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Little Juke - ‘Time on my Mind’

Describing their sound as “a cinematic indie explosion” West Midlands band Little Juke’s single ‘Time on my Mind’ is a galvanizing track, laden with plenty of delicious fuzz, heavy riffs and pensive lyrics.

Vocalist and guitarist Alex lets us in on how the song blossomed over time; “‘Time on my Mind’ took its time coming to fruition. I had the chords and melody but not the words. The words and delivery came in lockdown and listening to Baxter Drury. A time when we seemed to have all the time in the world. A lot of time to ponder life. It's a song about not settling for the mundane, day to day prescription. It's about wanting to do something more with the time we have.”

Their debut album ‘Departures from the States of Mind’ was unveiled in February, accumulating a collection of songs that have netted praise from the likes of Radio X’s John Kennedy, Headbangernews.com, The Big Takeover, Reyt Good Magazine and Traveller’s Tunes.

“Our biggest achievement is releasing our debut album and the reception we've had. We're really proud of how it's been received and see it grow through word of mouth: the best kind of press. It's amazing to see the hard work paying off.”

Look out for Little Juke gigs around the UK as they continue their adventures on the road to spread the word of ‘Departures from the States of Mind’. The festival slots are also starting to roll in, and so far you’ll be able to see the band playing at Feel The Noise in Wolverhampton this April, Loopfest in May, and 110 Above in August.

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