Tune! Spun on tonight's show https://soundcloud.com/thepressuredrop/the-pressure-drop-show-february-19th-2024 #radiogold

"A dreamy, hazy off-kilter take on indie rock, It ushers you into their reverb laden
woozy world" - BBC's Vic Galloway on 'Calypso Kool'

Ironically named due to Scotland's often gloomy weather and their desire for warmer climates and surfier times,  The Tropicanas represent  West Lothian with their off kilter brand of chilled grooves!

The instrument swappin' Tropicanas are:  Andrew Burns(Guitar/Vocals) Ruaridh MacPherson (Drums/Guitar/Vocals) Joe Murty (Bass/Vocals) Joe White (Guitar/Drums) and Ryan MacPherson (Synth), and they have a big year planned with a string
of newly recorded tracks ready to be drip-fed out over the course of the year and a host of gigs booked across Scotland!

Extremely hands-on; writing, recording and releasing music independently, as well as creating their own artworks and videos, The Tropicanas combine inspirations from modern bedroom recorders, such as Mac DeMarco, Stevie R. Moore and Tame Impala, With Bossa Nova legends such as Jorge Ben Jor and João Gilberto: creating a
unique Lo- Fi sound.

'The Trops' have been blessed to share the stage with acts such as Neon Waltz and Peach Pit, as well as playing the Pyramid Stage at the amazing Kelburn festival.

Your Arrow - The Tropicanas

This is another track based on my grandfather's WW2 letters, but this one to his sister-in-law Mildred. I found the change in tone in the early letters to her really intriguing. There’s more bravado and levity from my grandfather, almost like he’s showing off a bit. Then as the years go on, the tone changes and he becomes much more sceptical and pessimistic about the direction the war was going in. He questions the leadership and the morality and whether it’s all really worth it. Throughout the letters is my grandfather's trademark mix of wartime horror tempered with matter of fact detail, which I've tried to recreate through the lyrics. 

I tried to recreate this contrast through the music. With lighter, swaying verses and slightly syncopated vocal phrasing to suggest a bit of swagger, juxtaposed with darker, denser choruses. The beat is direct from my old Casio VL-Tone. This meant I couldn’t midi-sync any arpeggiators or sequencers, so it forced me to come up with a different approach to arranging. It also includes the only library sample on the entire record. A little clip of a marching band that really fitted the mood and lyrical content of the verses.

Lyrics:

A show
Issued gin to make us glow 
Morning comes and we still sing 
Dropped flares, didn’t see a thing

Crawled into bed
Regrets and ‘never again’
Heavy shells and night bombs stop 
Keep entertained until they drop

And in the photograph
There’s one face that will never come back 
So they find things to make us laugh 
Some light entertainment

On his knees
So why would they send us east? 
I need some news that I can trust 
One more front and I’ll be crushed

And in the photograph
There’s one face that will never come back 
So I shaved off my moustache
For rejuvenation

08 - Debris Discs - Letter to Mildred

Daylight

E.L.E (feat. Ailbhe Reddy)

'Banana Arms' by Yassassin
Released 16.02.24

Written and Performed by Yassassin:
Stephanie J Anderson - Drums, percussion and bvox
Joanna Curwood - Guitar and vocals
Moa Norrsell Fahlander - Guitar and vocals
Anna Haara Kristoferson - Bass guitar and vocals

Recorded by Sam Ayres & Rachel Kenedy
Mixed by Shuta Shinoda
Mastered by John Webber at Air Studios

Banana Arms

The first single from Good Habits' "Quarter-Life" Album.
Featuring the amazing Kate Griffin from Mishra on Banjo and vocals.

As the cool bass cello riff took center stage in this track, its dynamic vibe seamlessly paired with Kate's vocals. This combination captures the essence and meaning of the song. 'Sunday' is all about embracing moments of respite without guilt—an anthem against burnout. The synergy between the lively bass and Kate's stylings on both regular banjo and cello banjo adds a new color to Bonnie’s performance that itself musically represents taking time and standing up for yourself.

Sunday - Good Habits Ft. Kate Griffin

A metaphor for self-reliance, but also totally about the climbing knot

Bit by bit, hand over hand
Up by your bootstraps, stick to your plan

All the rapid ascenders, and death-mod descenders
And people so brave they abandon the rope
But I've got my prusik and that's what I'll use
To climb out of the darkness and into the hope

It's fair to say I'm difficult
But show me someone who is not
People are complicated you know
We'd have a tedious world if they weren't
The prusik will hold!

Inch by inch, hold after hold
Up by your bootstraps, out of the cold

Not enough turns and you'll slide down the mountain
Grip on too tight and you're stuck where you are
Don't lose your cool though, 'cos we've got the prusik
It won't let us down, well, it hasn't so far

It's fair to say I'm cynical
It's the way I've become over time
But even I still rely on the prusik
And I'm sure in the end we'll be fine
Grab your prusik and climb!

Is it prusik or prusik? Just dance to the music!
A Kleimheist just isn't the same
Use what you've got, you can't use what you've not
Oh the prusik, The prusik remains
The prusik remains!

Prusik

￼ The single is a melodic, 3 minute pop rock composition with an upbeat melody ￼and soft harmonious vocals, this song is the perfect one to dance to ￼and has uber radio friendliness.￼

Dancing On A Landline

This track is about childhood friends, or friends from a past life who you may have lost touch with but still remember from time. Its also about how you may remember them through the films you watched together.

Getaway

Got no time for your nickels and dimes and austerities 
Im feeling so alive in the prime and honestly 

Bending the law like a straw on a beautiful field 
Cause I will never get enough 
Never ever get enough of it 

Got no patience for your lies and your spells of astrology 
Feeling hunger for the night and a life in the menagerie 

Sharpen the knife cut the ties of a stupid judging face
Cause I will never get enough 
Never ever get enough of it 


I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot

No regrets for my crimes or my lines of dirty deeds
I'm armed to the teeth with a gang of false beliefs 
Lawyering up to put a stop on the stupid judging claims 
Cause I will never get enough 
Never ever get enough of it

I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot

I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot
I get the juice from the loot



Short Skirts

I Don't Care

I Dont Care

Chimpanzee’ is the earliest written track on the album, inspired by country influences and Bonneville’s experience of moving away for the first time. Looking out of a high-rise flat in Oxford Street Manchester, Bonneville felt like the chimpanzee shot into space in the 1960s. Many will relate, floating away on this melancholic melody and meeting the Chimpanzee and Bonneville in these feelings of being lost and confused.

Your Arrow - The Tropicanas

The Tropicanas

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