The editorial, the introduction bit and the Five music things thing for whatever it is all about. Five? There’s something rather compelling about five. Cross-pollination? Five more? Do we need to do the editorial bit again? Is there another way? A cure for pulling cats out of hats? Is there a rhyme? Is there a reason? Was there ever? What do reasons make? Five more, everything must go and same as last time (and the time before) five, and no, we never do and the proof of the pudding is in that proof reading. When we started this thing, oh never mind, it doesn’t matter and like we asked last time, does anyone bother reading the editorial? Does anyone ever actually look down the rabbit hole or is it all just method acting? We do listen to everything that comes in, we do it so you don’t have to, we are very (very) very very picky about what we actually post on these fractured pages or what gets played on the radio or what we hang in a gallery. Cut to the chase, never mind the editorial there’s loads of music further down the page, well five or so pieces of music that have come our way in the last few days and cut cut slash and cut to the damn chase, who needs an editorial or words in general? Just facts and links then, here you go, grab your five, eat your greens, go eat some art, go ride a ghost car, no that’s not right, go glory in the new wave punk rock goodness of Ghost Car…

1: Ghost Car – The punkified new wave flavoured pop band may be strangers but they’re pleased to meet you (are they pleased to meet yer?) “Heya! How are you? I thought you’d be interested in this one; we’re pleased to announce that OLI have signed international punk quartet Ghost Car. The debut album is due out in October”. said yer man from OLI, he was right of course, they interest us ,spent some time exploring their back catalogue alongside this one song, Sex, that’s from the new album. That’s a killer opening riff and a stabbbbbing new wave synth line and this is pure pure pure pop in the best of ways, bring us more, they don’t sit, they don’t fit, they are awkwardly good!

“The album provides Ghost Car with a platform to rage against political injustices, as their unified battle cries attack patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism and toxic relationships. ‘Truly Trash’ is a call to reclaim autonomy and to revolt against the powers that uphold an archaic nationalist system. Originally the album was due to be released by Burger Records, however as accounts of sexual assault and exploitation of women by associates of the label came to light the band pulled out of the planned release. As activists for feminism and members of the LGBTQ+ community, Ghost Car practice what they preach, and aim to spread their mantra of inclusivity and equal rights as loud as possible. 

Here’s a first taste of the album, they play the Victoria here in East London on Sunday August 7th which is probably no good if your reading this on Anglesey or over in Derby or up in Dundee but hey, the Organ bunker is a short walk from the Vic, we liked it more before it got gentrified and hipstered up, it was once a beautifully fractured DIY venue where we put gigs on, but hey, I can hold my nose for a good band…

“Ghost Car, the London-based international punk quartet, have announced their debut album ‘Truly Trash’ following their signing to One Little Independent Records. The riotous, quick-witted collection of 11 garage-rock bangers will be released on October 28^th“.

One song is never enough, this one from 2017 is a strong one…

2: Modern Woman have a new single and video, a track called Ford – “‘Ford’ has been one of the oldest songs in our repertoire.”, says singer and guitarist Sophie Harris, “I wrote the bassline loop for it a long time ago, one day when I only had a bass to hand. I structured the song and added guitar and simple vocal. I wanted to give it a raw and slightly sinister feel to it. We can spend an incredibly long time working a song in our practise space before we ever play it live, so we wanted to make sure that energy resonated through the recording”

The track comes accompanied by a video directed by the band’s previous collaborator Sandra Ebert filmed in the Cambridgeshire countryside, and it was produced & mixed by Oli Barton-Wood (Porridge Radio, Nilufer Yanya, Obongjayer) and mastered by Jason Mitchell (PJ Harvey, Dry Cleaning, Aldous Harding).

Sophie adds, “Lyrically, it is about a girl who borrows her brother’s Ford and drives it around. For Juan’s vocals towards the end of the song, I went with a William Burroughs-esque cut up technique and collected different car-related writings, chopped them up and reformed them.”

It follows on from the London based band’s acclaimed debut EP Dogs Fighting In My Dream which saw them win early praise and their sonic eclecticism and ferocious live show has earned a diverse array of comparisons from Sonic Youth via Black Country, New Road to Kate Bush. 

Based around the songwriting of front person and guitarist Sophie Harris, Modern Woman are rounded off by Juan Brint-Gutierrez on bass, David Denyer of percussion, violin and samples and Adam Blackhurst on Drums”.

3: Waterbaby – the new single came our way, it sounds rather good to us and staring at the sun until the colours run, it isn’t quite sugary sweet, there’s something maybe a little dark underneath the surface, something that hints that there’s more here with their rather fluid rather otherly feel. Find the single here on Bandcamp

“Avant-pop sister duo Waterbaby release their new single “Thin Air”, marking the Londoners first release on Untitled Recs (home to TAAHLIAH, Famous, Jerskin Fendrix, and more). The track is the sisters’ long-anticipated follow-up to their explorative and experimental debut single “I don’t want to sing I don’t want to look”

Martha and Jessica Kilpatrick (aka Waterbaby) have been quiet, mystical forces in the underground London scene for the past few years, emerging in and out of the sanctuary of their studio to perform their hypnotic live show with artists as varied as Kedr Livansky, audiobooks, and Dorian Electra. Much like the entirety of their output, their public performances are non-conforming, audiovisual experiences composed of punchy electronic soundscapes, siren-esque vocals, and hallucinogenic video projections.

Waterbaby’s insular and feminine sonic world showcases inventive song structures backed by dizzying layers of production – all crafted on their stash of lost & found analogue gear. In a world where the analogue and the digital seem to be in constant headlock, Waterbaby effortlessly solve the equation. The music operates in a space where a Cocteau Twins-esque anachronism meets the sharper edge of Oneohtrix Point Never or Laurel Halo’s contemporary experimental electronica.

The new single “Thin Air” sees Waterbaby further develop their idiosyncratic sound. Entirely self-produced and recorded in the sister’s studio in Peckham, the track is at once heavy and ethereal, underpinning dreamy vocals with a striking alien quality. “Thin Air” is a sonic journey that swoops from high pitched, airy, and angelic – to urgent, distorted, and dusky”.

4: Sky Creature – We have mentioned Sky Creature before – ORGAN: Five Music Things – Dianas, Kee Avil, multidisciplinary Breton artist Quinquis, New York’s Sky Creature, New Zealand’s SMEs-21, the psyche of Rubber Oh, Icelandic singer-songwriter Arny Margret and… and here’s some more and here’s the link: Sky Creature.

5: Humour – Now why did we park this one here, yah, right, mud, tiger feet, a rather neat bit of fiesty indie pop or whatever the hell you want to call it. They do have a Facebook page

And while we’re here and not stuck in a treehouse with a can of blue paint, been listening to The Sound rather a lot in the last few days, probably something to do with Mr Smith and who the hell makes those damn misslies anyway? The Sound were a fine fine band back there, a very under appreciated band, “It would be a far better world if The Sound were as popular as U2, and U2 was as popular as the sound!”