Taken from their debut album "Weird Sister."
Out now on Slumberland Records (US) & Fortuna Pop! (UK)

LP/CD: http://smarturl.it/jgws-album
Digital: http://smarturl.it/jgws-itunes

Thrilling Cardiff-based noisepop five-piece Joanna Gruesome will be releasing their terrific debut album via Fortuna POP! (Europe) and Slumberland (USA) in September. Brimming with irresistible pop melodies and spiked with dissonant fuzzy jangle, their songs are shot through with loud discordant feedback and super-fast, hardcore punk drumbeats. This album sees their first foray away from recording in a living room to a proper studio under the guidance of producer MJ of the much lauded Hookworms.

Kicking it against sexism and homophobia, nothing is off-limits, drawing inspiration from DIY scenes such as Riot Grrrl/noisepop/C86 /K Records as well as post hardcore like Drive Like Jehu/Converge and the art rock of The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine, Joanna Gruesome offer a staggeringly diverse album, unexpectedly quiet and surprisingly loud.

Joanna Gruesome comprise Alanna on vocals, Owen on guitar, Max on bass, George on guitar and Dave on drums. They all met in an anger management counseling group. During the course they were told that writing, making music, dancing or painting could relieve tension and help reduce feelings of anger. One initiative involved a project where they were assigned a group to compose and perform a song in front of other members. Initially they found each other infuriating but gradually acknowledged their musical chemistry and decided to continue with the band outside the therapy group.

Most of the album was written during a month long stay in a seedy west Brighton hotel (now closed down) called The Hell House. The residents were pretty strange, kept attempting occult rituals/using Ouija boards etc and many of the songs were written to distract from the weirdness. Heart-wrenching and exhilarating in equal measure, these are not cheerful songs.

Awash with nods to mental illness and the dark recesses of the mind, the record is littered with references to the devil or zombies and allusions to comic books. “Secret Surprise”, in which mental illness takes a physical form and is fought using razor blades. Or "Anti-Parent Cowboy Killers," which is about stealing a scooter and driving it into the ocean when you should be in school LEARNING. Or "Sugarcrush," about spending a summer burning knitwear.

They have built-up a phenomenal live reputation, blending obnoxiously loud guitars and the occasional band uniform, with a high energy performance dispersed with quieter reflection, boy/girl vocals and teenage angst.

“Abrasion, anger, attitude. One guitarist is in the audience, but this isn’t too much of a stretch. There are slower parts where the musicians take a second to breath. There are noisier bits where the musicians take a second to reflect. There are thumpy bits where the musicians take a second to dance and enjoy themselves. Everyone’s smiling. Everyone’s hugging themselves. What a glorious mess of a noise to be a part of. What a glorious sense of community.” Everett True, Collapse Board
 
"A brilliant band from Cardiff who love their fuzzy melodies and songs dripped in scuzzy reverb." Huw Stephens, Radio One.

Joanna Gruesome - Sugarcrush

Canción incluida en el Ep "Desencuentros" de Elsa de Alfonso y Los Prestigio, editado por CANADA Editorial (2014)
www.laeditorialdecanada.com

Elsa de Alfonso y Los Prestigio - Gardenias

Taken from the forthcoming album 'Distractions', released on Upset The Rhythm, June 8th!

Available to pre-order here: http://upsettherhythm.bigcartel.com/



Sauna Youth - 'Transmitters'

Taken from the band's forthcoming album 'Alfarroba', out July 6th through Upset The Rhythm.

Available to pre-order here: 
http://upsettherhythm.bigcartel.com/
http://www.upsettherhythm.co.uk/

Pega Monstro are sisters Júlia Reis (drums) and Maria Reis (guitar, keyboard), both sing! The duo’s name translates as ‘catch the monster’, perfectly countering the band’s striving dream-punk sound. The name ‘Pega Monstro’ also references a novelty toy in the shape of a jelly hand on a string, which children have been throwing at each other in delight for many generations in their native country. Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, Maria and Júlia have been playing music together since they were 15 and 17 respectively, in other groups first before resolving on becoming a duo. Back in 2010, both sisters started a record label, along with some of their musician friends, called Cafetra Records to document Portugal’s garage punk scene. Cafetra represents a community of like-minded musicians who all help each other, making music that they’d want to hear, powered by enthusiasm. Pega Monstro were among the first bands on the label, releasing their ‘O Juno-60 Nunca Teve Fita’ EP the same year to a burgeoning audience of devotees, who’d turn up in growing numbers to each show and sing back the lyrics. Maria puts the band’s instant attention down to being different, “we were girls, we were young and we could rock, people weren’t used to that at all”. 2012 saw Pega Monstro release their self-titled debut album, which was produced by B Fachada, an extremely well known Portuguese singer songwriter. The band and producer hit it off like wildfire and recorded an impressive, raucous debut record that met with critical national acclaim.

Now Pega Monstro have a new album ready for Upset The Rhythm, whom they hope will bring their music to audiences outside of their homeland too. ‘Alfarroba’ is the name of this second album, it’s title meaning ‘carob’, after the sweet tasting bean that grows in the wild trees that spontaneously spring up along the Mediterranean coast. Maria explains further, “In Portugal there are a lot of carob trees in the Algarve and our mother's side of the family is from there, we spent every summer there as children. The scent is unlike any other. So apart from the phonetic appeal of the word, ‘Alfarroba’ is also a homage to that heritage”. The songs on ‘Alfarroba’ deal with many themes, some universal topics like love and growing up, others focusing on the nature of writing songs themselves, whilst some try to make sense of the world from a female perspective.



Pega Monstro - 'Braço De Ferro'

How I Solved the Problem of My Pride

The band began in secret in 2011 when Matthew would sing some of his songs over the phone lines to his friends. Over time they convinced him to start a real group so everyone could hear them. Close friends Emma (Pocketbooks), Isabel (Things In Herds), and Carys (The Give It Ups) were finally drafted in and The Fireworks began in a burst of noise, snap, crackle and P!O!P!

They immediately started playing gigs -- Indietracks, Indiepop Days Berlin and the Nottingham Indiepop Alldayer, and recorded a session for Dandelion Radio. Their recent EP was released on Shelf Life. 

Sadly, Carys left since the single was recorded, but the band have also just recorded a second Dandelion Radio session, transmitted on Rocker's show this month (March), with new drummer Shaun (ex-Wedding Present / Popguns).

THE FIREWORKS - Higher and Higher

This Track is from our debut album See You Next Tuesday that we are self-releasing as part of our own REAL record store day POP UP SHOP. The title says it all for us. We hope you like it :-) x

ps. We've produced a digi mag for the day too

Vinyl As A Manifesto - The Tuesday Club

The Fireworks are Matthew Rimell, Beth Arzy, Isabel Albiol, and Shaun Charman, based in London, Croydon, and Brighton, UK.

The Fireworks released two 7" vinyl singles (The Fireworks EP and Runaround) and a flexi-postcard of the Girls At Our Best! classic Getting Nowhere Fast - leading up to the brilliantly received LP and CD "Switch Me On" in 2015, and 10" EP Black and Blue in July 2016. 

Original co-singer Emma Hall moved on after Black and Blue, but the band are delighted to announce her replacement as Beth Arzy (The Luxembourg Signal / Trembling Blue Stars), along with the recording of new songs.   

The band have played around the UK, Germany and Spain, including London, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Southampton, Brighton, Rochester, the Indietracks Festival in Derbyshire, Berlin, Hamburg and the Lemon Pop Festival in Murcia, and received extensive airplay on BBC 6 Music (including Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq and Gideon Coe), KEXP (Kevin Cole) and around the world.   

For more info, visit www.shelflife.com, http://fireworksgopop.wordpress.com, or Facebook. 



THE FIREWORKS - Higher and Higher

thefireworksgopop

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