Pre-order Eighteen Hours of Static on iTunes - http://smarturl.it/eighteenhoursitunes

Pre-order limited edition LP - http://toughloverecords.bigcartel.com/product/tlv069-big-ups-eighteen-hours-of-static-green-vinyl-lp-pre-order

Fresh from dropping ‘Goes Black’ last month, NYC quartet Big Ups return with ‘Wool’, the next cut to whet appetites ahead of debut album, Eighteen Hours of Static, due for European release on 13th January 2014 through Tough Love Records. Dead Labour handle the US release.

'Wool' seethes with a slow burning intensity, building towards a bilious climax. The track is peppered with a youthful exuberance and reckless abandon while still holding true to a melodic song writing core, coming across how Fugazi would sound if MacKaye loosened up and kicked back with a beer from time to time.

The band, made up of Brendan Finn, Joe Galarraga, Amar Lal, and Carlos Salguero Jr., met whilst learning about specifications of Cat 5 cables in New York City. Shortly after, they formed a band. Since that glamorous meeting in 2010, Big Ups have refined their blend of punk, post-punk, metal, and indie rock into a salty mash that gets stuck to the roof of your mouth. At their brightest, they have been likened to The Descendents, but at their sludgiest, they call to mind bands like Pissed Jeans and The Jesus Lizard.

Big Ups - Wool

Order on limited white vinyl 12" from Tough Love - http://toughloverecords.bigcartel.com/product/tlv067-girls-names-the-next-life-12-limited-edition-white-vinyl

Order on limited transparent vinyl 12" from Rough Trade - www.roughtrade.com/albums/76774

Belfast four-piece Girls Names released their critically acclaimed second album, The New Life, in February and it marked a new direction for the band altogether. That directional shift is emphasized even further by a new EP , entitled The Next Life. Released on 4th November through Tough Love/Slumberland, it will be available in two different formats: a 3 track 12", and as a 7 track download (28th October).

The 12" features a Brain Eno cover version, as above, and two remixes by David Holmes and Factory Floor, is now available to pre-order on exclusive white vinyl through the Tough Love store. A transparent version will be available to buy exclusively via Rough Trade, and a black version at all other stores. The digital EP contains original track 'Visions', and three other remixes: Optimo, Mark Van Hoen, and The Soft Walls.

12" tracklising
A1. Third Uncle (w/ locked groove)
B1. The New Life (David Holmes Remix)
B2. Projektion (Gabe Gurnsey Factory Floor Remix)

Digital EP tracklisting
1. Visions
2. Third Uncle
3. The New Life (David Holmes Remix)
4. The New Life (JD Twitch Optimo Remix)
5. Projektion (Gabe Gurnsey Factory Floor Remix)
6. Drawing Lines (Mark Van Hoen Remix)
7. Occultation (The Soft Walls Remix)

Buy The New Life - itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-new-life/id582840781

29th - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds - www.ssdconcerts.co.uk
30th - Start The Bus, Bristol - www.bristolticketshop.co.uk
31st - Roundhouse, London w/ The Cult - www.kililive.com
November
1st - Roundhouse, London w/ The Cult - www.kililive.com
2nd - The Green Door Store, Brighton - www.wegottickets.com
9th - Whelans, Dublin

Girls Names - The New Life (David Holmes Remix)

'Erosion' is taken from CYMBALS' new album, The Age of Fracture, out on 27th Jan (EU)/4th Feb (N.A.)

Pre-order The Age of Fracture on iTunes - http://smarturl.it/ageoffractureitunes
Pre-order the limited edition double vinyl gatefold LP - http://toughloverecords.bigcartel.com/product/tlv070-cymbals-the-age-of-fracture-limited-edition-double-colour-vinyl-lp-pre-order

Buy 'Erosion' on iTunes - http://smarturl.it/erosionitunes

CYMBALS will launch their album with a headline show in London in February.
2nd Feb 2014 - Electrowerkz, London - www.wegottickets.com/event/246573

<b>Press release</b>
The long-awaited new album from CYMBALS is named after a book by Princeton academic, Daniel T. Rodgers, which addresses the fragmentation of ideas towards the end of the last century and how collective meanings have become uncertain.  Singer and guitarist Jack Cleverly writes: "It hit me that I often feel paralysed by the feeling that everything is 'too complicated', and that many people I know feel that paralysis. I realised that this way of thinking can be traced through these songs." 

Produced by Dreamtrak (Swim Deep, Chad Valley, Hot Chip) in his Hackney studio and written collectively over the last 12-months, the group have taken their time to carefully piece the album together, song-by-song, in sequence. The album was completed following a final mix from Daniel Rejmer (Foals, Everything Everything) and the result is testament to the band’s attention to detail: a cleaner, brighter sound than their brattier early recordings, edging towards the European sophistication of the end-of-the-century French house Jack grew up around. Singles 'Like An Animal', 'The End' and 'The Natural World' are characterized by an upbeat disco cool and all push the 7-minute mark, whereas ‘Winter 98’, ‘This City’, and ‘Call Me’ are brooding, stark synth-led numbers reminiscent of early-New Order, with some lyrics sung in Jack’s native French.

The literary inspiration runs further through the album. The track ‘The 5%’, more obviously making reference to the themes of the album's namesake, declares “Time can be erased, you’re stupid if you try and stay in place,” over a pulsing bassline and swirling electronics.  ‘Like an Animal’ is inspired by the intellectual and moral confusion of the main character in Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. The album has even garnered literary responses of its own by British poet and novelist Joe Dunthorne, author of Submarine.

“I told Joe about the book and the way the album was kind of a reaction to it, and he threw my rationalisation of it back at me through a short story inspired by the album.” says Cleverly. “It helped reveal the emotional territory of the songs. He showed me how I had been dividing things up artificially - desires and priorities, getting older and not being able to stop writing music…”
 
Through the writing of this album, CYMBALS have inevitably matured. “We've never been in it just for a laugh," says Cleverly; “but things got confused when we said we wanted to keep it fun – we just didn't want to end up bitter, having chased a hollow dream.  But this album is less about us; it's more outward looking, more aware of the world at large."  

Despite the weighty literary influences, the band are keen to separate themselves from the over-earnestness that can sometimes accompany such associations.  “I hate the whole 'serious earnest-singer-songwriter-thing,’” says Jack. “With this album I really wanted to get away from that and make music that makes people want to dance and feel joy. Neil's kick drum is the most important thing we have to say as a band. Is this all "fun"?  Yes, of course, but at the same time, not just that."

UK press: leah@inhousepress.com
UK online: matthew@enganche.co.uk
US press/online: gloria@forcefieldpr.com


iTunes

CYMBALS - Erosion

BUY
iTunes - http://smarturl.it/Communions.iTunes
 
Following their debut EP, Cobblestones, released on Posh Isolation at the start of the year, So Long Sun is available on limited 7” and download, and is backed by another new track, Love Stands Still.
 
Communions are a new young quartet from Copenhagen who came together at Mayhem, the same four-wall rehearsal space as contemporaries Iceage and Lower, and it's from this same studio/venue complex that most of Copenhagen’s new punk, industrial and synth scene originates.
 
Though Communions share a flame with the current Copenhagen wave, the torch is certainly their own. The band, made up of brothers Martin and Mads Rehof, Jacob van Deurs Formann and Frederik Lind Köppen, recorded the debut Cobblestones EP in Frederik’s bedroom, where the guitars scream like torn throats and the songs beat in rhythm of young hearts pouring over with passion. On this new single, the band went into a real home studio for the first time, using many of the same techniques from the home recordings but resulting in songs sounding like they were intended when forming the band. 
 
The band are set to play their debut London show at Sebright Arms on Monday 10th November. Tickets on sale here - http://bit.ly/1sLAAr3

Contact
Band website - http://www.communions.dk/
Press UK - natalie@carryonpress.co.uk
Press US - baileys@grandstandhq.com
Management - kasper@smashbangpow.dk / ms@smashbangpow.dk

7" pre-order

Communions - So Long Sun

PRE-ORDER 12" (red transparent vinyl - 100 only) - http://smarturl.it/Yung.Alter.redvinyl

Danish four-piece, Yung, announce their international debut EP, Alter, with single ‘Nobody Cares’ - a brash and persuasive slice of Nordic punk, with a rare sense of rhythm and melody bands that recalls the Replacements, Jay Retard and Ty Segall. Alter is released on March 2nd through Tough Love Records on limited edition 12" vinyl and digital formats. NOTE TO COLLECTORS - 100 copies will be available on red vinyl ONLY from the Tough Love Store - 

Formed in the summer of 2013 by 20 year old frontman Mikkel Holm Silkjær (guitar, vocals) in  the north of Aarhus - Denmark’s second largest city and what locals would say, the current punk rock capital - along with friends Frederik Nybo Veile (drums), Tobias Guldborg Tarp (bass) and Emil Zethsen (guitar), Yung have spent the past year building up a formidable live reputation in their native Denmark. As their name would suggest, Yung play with a youthful exuberance and feverish energy that leaves little room to catch your breath. 

Growing out of Mikkel’s teenage dreams and the harsh reality of what is the everyday life of young adulthood, Alter serves both as a vehicle for and an escape from the bewildered frustration of having to deal with life’s treadmill - trying to find a tolerable and  meaningful place in the world, whilst wasting time at useless jobs in order to enjoy whatever little freedom that’s left; to hang out with friends and, first and foremost, devote his time to music. It's no coincidence that Alter was written and recorded just two months after the band formed - there's an urgency here, and that primacy is self-evident in their music. 

Kicking in with a shrill guitar duel, lead single ‘Nobody Cares’ soon flourishes into a bouyant rhythm section. It’s all a trick of the light, however - the true abrasive face of the track revealing itself in a snarl of punk-rock euphoria and burnt-out vocals. It’s a track that veers between images of wide-eyed beachside holidays and a tortured desert wilderness, and it’s all the more gripping for its polarity. As such, it's the perfect introduction to Alter - and Yung - as a whole. 


iTunes (w/ IG)

Yung - Nobody Cares

Girls Names return...

Limited edition 12" out 11th May 2015 on Tough Love Records. 150 transparent vinyl/350 black vinyl. Transparent vinyl is sold out, but black vinyl is here - http://www.roughtrade.com/albums/92965

Buy on iTunes -  http://smarturl.it/Zero.iTunes 

"A zone of silence and of pure possibilities for a new beginning."
- Otto Piene, Group Zero

Burn the past. Reset the clocks.

A symphony in three parts.

More soon...


12" pre-order

Girls Names - Zero Triptych

Danish four-piece Communions have announced details of a new EP. Communions will be released on Tough Love Records on Monday 1st June. There will be two vinyl pressings - one on black vinyl, the other on blue available only from the Tough Love store. 

iTunes pre-order - http://smarturl.it/CommunionsEP.iTunes
12" -  http://smarturl.it/Communions.RT 

The self-titled EP features lead track Out of My World and is accompanied by 4 other tracks, all recorded in their hometown of Copenhagen. The listing of the EP is as follows:

1. Forget it's a Dream
2. Wherever
3. Restless Hours
4. Summer's Oath
5. Out of My World

The EP is the second release on Tough Love Records, following the release of AA-side single So Long Sun/Love Stands Still at the end of 2014. The limited 7” sold-out and Pitchfork were quick to praise the A-side and hone in on their musical influences: “The song oozes effervescent warbles—from vocalist Martin Rehof, and the interplay of shimmering guitars, and lovely crescendos of reverb, reminiscent of early Stone Roses.” (Pitchfork)

Communions, made up of brothers Martin and Mads Rehof, Jacob van Deurs Formann and Frederik Lind Köppen, are fast-gaining attention for their transcendent melodies, delicate guitar lines and emotive pop songs about naivety and youth. 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Communions
Website - http://www.communions.dk

Communions - Out Of My World

Taken from Communions new self-titled EP, out June 1st. Pre-order here - http://smarturl.it/CommunionsEP.iTunes

Press release:
Danish four-piece Communions have announced details of a new EP. Communions will be released on Tough Love Records on Monday 1st June. There will be two vinyl pressings - one on black vinyl, the other on blue available only from the Tough Love store (now sold out). 

The listing of the EP is as follows:

1. Forget it's a Dream
2. Wherever
3. Restless Hours
4. Summer's Oath
5. Out of My World

The EP is the second release on Tough Love Records, following the release of AA-side single So Long Sun/Love Stands Still at the end of 2014. The limited 7” sold-out and Pitchfork were quick to praise the A-side and hone in on their musical influences: “The song oozes effervescent warbles—from vocalist Martin Rehof, and the interplay of shimmering guitars, and lovely crescendos of reverb, reminiscent of early Stone Roses.” (Pitchfork)

Communions, made up of brothers Martin and Mads Rehof, Jacob van Deurs Formann and Frederik Lind Köppen, are fast-gaining attention for their transcendent melodies, delicate guitar lines and emotive pop songs about naivety and youth.

Facebook - www.facebook.com/Communions
Website - www.communions.dk


Communions - Summer's Oath

Pre-order 
LP, CD or limited edition cream vinyl - http://smarturl.it/GirlsNames.ToughLove 
iTunes - http://radi.al/AAAViTunes

Northern Ireland’s Girls Names return this autumn with their third full-length album, Arms Around a Vision, due for an October 2nd release via long-term home, Tough Love Records.

PRESS RELEASE:
“We look to Europe for inspiration. For romance. For the idea of a better life,” says the band’s frontman, Cathal Cully, when discussing the album. “For me, living in Belfast just makes you focus on your own art.”

True, Girls Names formed in Belfast, but they’ve long considered themselves a European band. The distinction is important – their vision of Europe is one of weird, labyrinthian histories, blackest-ever-black coffee, and long drives to dismal places. Romantic notions for those of a certain disposition, but behind the thousand-yard stares they’ve always been a soft-hearted lot. As the title of Arms Around a Vision would suggest, they’re all set to let love in.  

The band initially came together as a relatively lean two-piece back in the summer of 2010, but over the course of a handful of EPs and three very different albums, they’ve grown in number and ambition. Their last album, The New Life, was an unexpected underground hit in early 2013, taking the band around the world and garnering much critical praise, culminating in nominations for both the Northern Irish and Irish Music Prizes. Emboldened by the reception to that record, in March they returned with an 11-minute single that was played in full on Radio 1 and, typically, does not feature on their new album. Girls Names like to do things a little differently. 

On Arms Around a Vision, they’re more widescreen than ever but also more direct and aggressive. The bass, drums and guitars are still there, but so are saxophones, organs, detuned broken guitars and pianos, and even sheets of metal assaulted with hammers. Conceptually, Arms Around a Vision acts as a love letter to European elegance – Italian futurism, Russian constructivism, Germany’s Zero Group and both Neubaten and Bowie’s Berlin. 

Love and pain, romance and fucking. It’s all in there somewhere. Grand claims, perhaps, but in an ever bleak world, why not skygaze? The album opens with ‘Reticence’, a song in two parts that’s half metallic knockout, half midnight swagger. It sounds unlike anything they’ve ever done before, and is a perfect primer for an album that treads a course between Eno-era Roxy sleaze, Birthday Party dissonance and M.E.S’ three R’s: repetition, repetition, repetition.  

As confident as it sounds, hardship has equally played a role in shaping Arms Around a Vision. “I'm not starving or anything, but I've practically been living hand to mouth since I was 22,” confirms Cully. “Most guitar music now is just a playground for the rich middle classes and it's really boring and elitist. We're elitist in our own way, in that we're on our own and you can't fuck with us when we’ve nothing to lose”. The near-6 minute ‘A Hunger Artist’ tackles that subject full on, addressing that age old adage of suffering for one’s art.

While the songs aren’t narrative-driven as such – the band still generally favour abstraction and ambiguity – there is a consistent underlying message: “We've got nothing. We’ve never had anything. And we don't expect to. The only person I ever wanted to impress was myself. I've never got anywhere close to succeeding in doing that until this album. I'm proud of it. I think I can start saying I'm a musician now.”

Tracklisting:

1. Reticence
2. An Artificial Spring
3. Desire Oscillations
4. (Obsession)
5. Chrome Rose
6. A Hunger Artist
7. Málaga
8. Dysmorphia
9. (Convalescence)
10. Exploit Me
11. Take Out the Hand
12. I Was You 


iTunes pre-order

Girls Names - Reticence

'A Hunger Artist' is the second song to be taken from Girls Names third album, Arms Around a Vision, out 2nd October. 

Pre-order Arms Around a Vision
LP, CD or limited edition cream vinyl - http://smarturl.it/GirlsNames.ToughLove
iTunes - http://radi.al/AAAViTunes

Tickets to 100 Club, London - https://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/29623/chk/31da

PRESS RELEASE
Where 'Reticence' was all primordial clang and clatter, recalling the best moments of early '80s no wave and its forerunners - think Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham's respective guitar ensembles - bookending one of the most immediate, accessible songs the band have ever written at its core, 'A Hunger Artist' is an altogether more colossal and meandering beast.

While its chiming guitar introduction might again bear passing resemblance to Branca's deft melodic interplay, its much quicker to cut to the chase. And what a chase it is: leading you over moonlit autobahns and down dark European back alleys. Drawing to mind Neu! and Roxy-era Eno, the Northern Irish quartet lay down a motorik groove that rarely lets up across its almost six-minute runtime, allowing gossamer synths and insistent bass to dance atop with aplomb.

Alongside this, the band are set to return to London for a one-off show this October (the 19th) at the historic 100 Club: a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see Arms Around a Vision brought to stunning life in the live setting. 
 
UK/EU Live Dates
July 16th | Bagnacciuga, Fano, Italy
July 17th | Bolognetti Rocks, Bologna, Italy
July 18th | A Night Like This Festival, nr. Turin, Italy
Oct 19th | 100 Club, London TICKETS

Girls Names - A Hunger Artist

'She's A Cult' is taken from Ulrika Spacek's debut album, The Album Paranoia, released 5th February 2016. 

Pre-order 
white vinyl/CD - http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.CD.LP 
Rough Trade -  http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.RT 
iTunes -  http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.iTunes 

Press Release:
Formed in Berlin in one night, longstanding friends Rhys Edwards and Rhys Williams conceptualised ‘Ulrika Spacek’ and came up with The Album Paranoia as their debut album title. Moving back to their shared house ‘KEN’ last summer, an ex art gallery in Homerton, they began work on the project which was to become 10 track experimental alt-rock masterpiece The Album Paranoia. Today Ulrika Spacek premiere their first gripping single, ‘She’s a Cult’, on the Quietus.  

Ulrika Spacek’s soundscape is a cross pollination of hypnotic fuzz, with Tom Verlaine (Television) and Stephen Malkmus (Pavement) guitar idiosyncrasies and intertwining feelings of both angst and melancholia. Drawing influences from Krautrock to Sonic Youth and the above, the two Rhys’ brought in three expert musicians to complete the live formula, which unified The Album Paranoia and ‘Oysterland’, a series of club nights curated by the band, showcasing their first live performances with art installations.

Live shows
05.12.15 - Unit 6, Hackney Wick, London.
17.12.15 - Oysterland at The Victoria, London.

Ulrika Spacek - She's A Cult

'Beta Male' is taken from Ulrika Spacek's debut album, The Album Paranoia, released 5th February 2016.

Pre-order
white vinyl/CD - http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.CD.LP
Rough Trade - http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.RT
iTunes - http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.iTunes

Ulrika Spacek - Beta Male

Heaven's Hounds is taken from Weird Dreams' new album, Luxury Alone, out 10th June.  Weird Dreams play The Waiting Room, London on 7th March. Tickets here - https://tickets.songkick.com/events/26011288

Pre-order Luxury Alone 
iTunes (w/ IG) - http://smarturl.it/LuxuryAlone.iTunes
CD/black vinyl/ltd ed sky blue vinyl -  http://smarturl.it/LuxuryAlone.LtdVinyl 

Weird Dreams - Heaven's Hounds

Taken from the album, Peace or Love, out 5th August. 

Pre-order limited edition blue suede shoes coloured vinyl -  http://smarturl.it/DavidWestLP 
iTunes -  http://smarturl.it/DavidWest.iTunes 

Biog
“angels of light have your souls in a vice / we want to be free / we want to be loved / we want to be kissed from heaven above” - David West, Dream on Dreamer
                
When Tough Love first began putting out records, one of the guiding motivations was to release music that sounds like the music David West makes. We didn’t know it at the time, because we hadn’t yet heard of him. It’s funny how the very thing you’re looking for falls into your lap. If you don’t already know of David, and the various guises he performs under, then I’m a little envious, for you have a lot to discover for the first time. On 5th August, Tough Love will release Peace or Love, the second album to be issued under his own name. That can be either your starting point, or your continuation down a road.

The facts: Peace or Love is the follow-up to USA/Australia-based musical artist David West's 2015 cassette release, Drop Out Of Collage. Peace or Love is a collection of songs stemming from wild and free bedroom four-track cassette recordings and personal hard drive sample raiding, with contributions from various musical friends in Perth, Western Australia and SF/LA, California. West draws inspiration from free-thinking artists of the past and present on this polyphonic platter, from soft indie strumming and free soundscapes, to disco and soul-pop. West currently plays in the guitar pop band Rat Columns, synth-pop project Liberation and post-punk trio Rank/Xerox, and has been in varied acts such as Lace Curtain, Burning Sensation, Total Control and Whalehammer.

If you were feeling particularly grand, you could say that David West has created his own ecology, or you could just say he’s a very busy man. I told David over email that Peace or Love feels like an album that was made specifically for me. His reply? “It is for YOU. And YOU. And YOU. And YOU…Peace or love is the same thing - you want to be free and you want to be loved....but you gotta choose one” This is music from the margins that deserves a place in the middle of anyone's heart. 

“it's peace or love baby / you said it before / that you want it all / it's peace or love, baby” - David West, Peace or Love 

David West - Dream On Dreamer

'Everything, All The Time' is taken from the new Ulrika Spacek 7", out on 23rd September. Limited to 500 copies - 400 black, 100 red. 

Pre-order 
7" (red vinyl pressing) -  SOLD OUT
7" (black vinyl pressing) -  http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek7 
iTunes - http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacekiTunes
Stream
Spotify - http://smarturl.it/USSpotify

Sep 2nd - Belgium, Antwerp, Het Bos
Sep 3rd - Netherlands, Asten-Heusden, Misty Fields Festival
Sep 10th - Belgium, Liege, Live Club @ CU Festival 
Sep 24th - UK, Liverpool, Liverpool Psych Fest
Sep 25th - UK, Oxford, The Cellar
Sep 26th - UK, Bristol, Start the bus 
Sep 27th - UK, London, Electrowerkz 
Sep 28th - France, Paris, Point Ephemere 
Sep 29th - France, Lyon, Le Sonic
Sep 30th - Switzerland, Luzern, Sudpol 
Oct 1st - Italy, Ancona, Loop Club
Oct 2nd - Italy, Rome, Psych Fest @ Monk Club
Oct 4th - Switzerland, Zurich, Zukunft
Oct 6th - Germany, Berlin, ACUD
Oct 7th - Germany, Hamburg, Grüner Jäger
Oct 8th - Denmark, Copenhagen, Stengade
Oct 10th - Netherlands, Amsterdam, Paradiso Noord 
Oct 11th - Germany, Cologne, King George
Oct 12th - UK, Brighton, Green Door Store 
Oct 13th - UK, Manchester, Soup Kitchen 
Oct 14th - UK, York, The Fulford Arms
Oct 15th - UK, Leicester, What Became of Us @ the Cookie 
Oct 16th - UK, Glasgow, The Hug & Pint 
Oct 17th - UK, Newcastle, Cluny 2
Oct 22nd - UK, Birmingham, All Year's leaving @ Hare & Hounds
Nov 3rd - France, Nantes, Lieu Unique
Nov 4th - France, Lorient, Les Indisciplinés @ Le Manège

Everything, all the time 7" - mp3

Buy 7"

Ulrika Spacek - Everything: All The Time

"Blood Spitting" is taken from the debut 7" by Brooch, a new project featuring Ben Stidworthy from Ought and Mikkel Holm Silkjær from Yung, out 31st March. Limited to 300 copies, 100 of which are on green vinyl and only available through the Tough Love online shop

"I rode back to Aarhus with Yung after we toured together last winter. Every day, Mikkel and I would write and record one song at their scando-office rehearsal space, and then go out in the evenings. These songs emerged from us without discussion or direction, and I feel they captured an energy that was resonating in black and white. Blood Spitting is a collection of fragments that I collected over the course of a very long year. It’s a historically-situated conversation between a healer and a lover who search for remedies that aren’t real. They are the first lyrics I’ve ever been proud of. " - Ben Stidworthy

Pre-order 
7" (green vinyl - 100 copies) - http://toughloverecords.bigcartel.com/product/tlv094-brooch-blood-spitting-broken-glass-limited-edition-7-green-vinyl 

Brooch Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/broochmusic/ 
Brooch Bandcamp - http://brooch.bandcamp.com/

Biography:
Brooch is the glimmering spinoff of a tour that Ben Stidworthy and Mikkel Holm Silkjær did together with their bands, Montreal’s Ought and Aarhus’ Yung.  Their first offering of two songs are like the people behind them: youthful and yet already wise, cold-hearty and yet with ripe with a primrose melodicism.  “Blood Spitting” and “Broken Glass” are an expertly crafted pair of rock songs, but ones that maintain that burgeoning kind of playfulness that comes from a new collaboration.

The tracks were recorded over two days in Aarhus, DK in November 2015.  Ben continues, as he does in Ought, to play bass like a craftsman makes a fine chair and expands his palate to not only lush organ playing but also whispery and emotive vocals.  Mikkel, Yung’s principal songwriter, continues to show off his multi-instrumentalism as he offers guitar, drums and, as he does in Yung, vocals.

In “Blood Spitting”, Ben shows his poetic heart atop a crisp and revolving drum and guitar melody that recalls the quietest moments of And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out-era Yo La Tengo.  And yet a tender edginess appears lyrically: “For the blood spitting and vertigo,” he sings “these days are muddled by dust.”  It is a striking juxtaposition, the lush organ tones with words such as this.  It alone almost conjures the cold room they recorded in: a few beer bottles clattering on the cement while a soft cough, visible breath and a smile break the quiet between takes. 

Mikkel answers on his side of the pair with a distinctly piercing and yet lush vocal presence.  “Broken Glass” features violin from the duo’s friend Lena Geue which balances the more rugged bass tone and chugging, almost off-kilter rhythm of the thing.  “A see-through window is not a rare sight, but a shattered one will leave blood behind,” replies Mikkel beyond his warbly and fierce guitar line.

These are both songwriters who know when to leave space, when to sustain a moment, and yet are unafraid to play ornamentally.  It is a rich collaboration, bursting at the edges when you take stock of who these songwriters are, and yet contained here in a small capsule that introduces us to their voices together.  It is a bit like a brooch, in that way, something they would both wear in real life.  I’d wear this 7” on my jacket.  And with songs like this for the kindling of a project, it’s pretty exciting to think about what happens next.

Tim Darcy, Montreal, October 2016

Brooch - Blood Spitting

Taken from the new album, Modern English Decoration, out 2nd June 2017. Available on CD, LP (black vinyl), LP (mellow yellow & secret 7" - indies only), LP (mellow yellow vinyl & secret 7" & print - Tough Love site only) and digital formats. 

Pre-order Modern English Decoration
http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.MED

Ulrika Spacek live
March 8th - Sebright Arms, London 
March 27th - The Art School, Glasgow (supporting Slowdive)
March 28th - Arts Club, Liverpool  (supporting Slowdive)
April 29th - Portsmouth Psych Fest
April 30th - Festevol, Liverpool

Ulrika Spacek - Mimi Pretend

Second track to be taken from Ulrika Spacek's new album, Modern English Decoration, out June 2nd. Available on CD, LP (black vinyl), LP (mellow yellow & secret 7" - indies only), LP (mellow yellow vinyl & secret 7" & print - Tough Love site only) and digital formats.

Pre-order Modern English Decoration
http://smarturl.it/UlrikaSpacek.MED

See Ulrika Spacek live
April
28th - Newcastle Upon Tyne - Hit The North Festival 
29th - Portsmouth - Portsmouth Psych Fest 
30th - Liverpool - Festevol 
May
16th - Brussels, Belgium - Les Nuits Botanique at the Rotonde  
June
2nd - Oxford - O2 Academy w/ Slowdive  
6th - Nottingham - Rough Trade shop instore
8th - Bristol - Rise Music instore 
14th - London - The Lexington - http://thelexington.co.uk/events/ulrika-spacek/
August
4th - Katowice, Poland - OFF Festival
20th - Stirlingshire, Scotland - Doune The Rabbit Hole Festival

Modern English Decoration - final masters MP3

Ulrika Spacek - Full of Men

'Decay' is the lead song from CYMBALS second album, Light In Your Mind, released on 25th August. Available on CD, black vinyl, cream vinyl for indie stores only and a very limited yellow vinyl pressing with a fanzine which is only available through the Tough Love shop.

Pre-order Light In Your Mind
http://radi.al/LightInYourMind

CYMBALS on tour
May
2nd - Glasgow, UK @ The Hug and Pint*
3rd - Leeds, UK @ Headrow House*
4th - Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen*
7th - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds*
8th - Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana*
9th - Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store*
10th - London, UK @ The Lexington*
* w/ Hoops

Light In Your Mind - MP3

Pre-order

CYMBALS - Decay

Taken from the album, Spell #6, released on 2nd November via Tough Love (Europe) and Burger (R.O.W.). The European pressing is available on limited edition green vinyl (500 copies). Pre-order here - http://smarturl.it/PartTimeSpell6 

Follow Part Time
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/parttime623/

Nearing a decade old and with a discography reaching deep into double figures across several different labels (Mexican Summer, Burger, Plastic Response Records) David Loca’s work under the Part Time moniker really shouldn’t require any introduction. Nonetheless, the release of what is officially his sixth album, fittingly titled Spell #6, does signal something of a re-birth and provides a compelling entry point for anyone new to Loca’s prolific output.

Whereas previous albums were notable for a charming lo-fi production, Spell #6 takes Part Time uptown. "I describe this album as 'my studio album', because it was entirely re-recorded at my drummer Walter Byer's studio, unlike most of my past releases being bedroom experimental pop recordings." Loca produced the record himself, impressively appropriating a classic 80s pop sound that recalls some of the more grand productions of that era - think Stephen Street’s expressive production on ‘Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me’, Crowded House and The Church’s widescreen interpolation of Paisley Underground jangle, and there's even traces Gerard McMann’s grandiose ‘Cry Little Sister’. In that sense, the record stands as an outlier in Loca’s catalogue, and in doing so sheds the sometimes limiting trappings of bedroom recording

Though it is Loca’s project, Spell #6 sees him joined by a consistent supporting cast of fellow writers and performers who add a poise and deftness to his vision, most notably Ariel Pink, who makes a guest appearance on lead single, ‘I Can Treat You Better’. 

A lead single for its obvious earworm qualities, it also functions as an ideal snapshot of  the lyrical themes that run through the entire record: romantic gestures and unrequited love, bad decisions on hot nights/hot decisions on bad nights, and unpinning it all, LA. For this is evidently a West Coast record, like a 2018 take on To Live and Die in LA: expansive, grand, and not a little crazy (in love) from the heat.

Part Time - I Can Treat You Better (feat. Ariel Pink)

Taken from the album, Spell #6, released on 2nd November via Tough Love (Europe) and Burger (R.O.W.). The European pressing is available on limited edition green vinyl (500 copies). Pre-order here - smarturl.it/PartTimeSpell6

Follow Part Time
Facebook - www.facebook.com/parttime623/

Nearing a decade old and with a discography reaching deep into double figures across several different labels (Mexican Summer, Burger, Plastic Response Records) David Loca’s work under the Part Time moniker really shouldn’t require any introduction. Nonetheless, the release of what is officially his sixth album, fittingly titled Spell #6, does signal something of a re-birth and provides a compelling entry point for anyone new to Loca’s prolific output.

Whereas previous albums were notable for a charming lo-fi production, Spell #6 takes Part Time uptown. "I describe this album as 'my studio album', because it was entirely re-recorded at my drummer Walter Byer's studio, unlike most of my past releases being bedroom experimental pop recordings." Loca produced the record himself, impressively appropriating a classic 80s pop sound that recalls some of the more grand productions of that era - think Stephen Street’s expressive production on ‘Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me’, Crowded House and The Church’s widescreen interpolation of Paisley Underground jangle, and there's even traces Gerard McMann’s grandiose ‘Cry Little Sister’. In that sense, the record stands as an outlier in Loca’s catalogue, and in doing so sheds the sometimes limiting trappings of bedroom recording

Though it is Loca’s project, Spell #6 sees him joined by a consistent supporting cast of fellow writers and performers who add a poise and deftness to his vision, most notably Ariel Pink, who makes a guest appearance on lead single, ‘I Can Treat You Better’.

A lead single for its obvious earworm qualities, it also functions as an ideal snapshot of the lyrical themes that run through the entire record: romantic gestures and unrequited love, bad decisions on hot nights/hot decisions on bad nights, and unpinning it all, LA. For this is evidently a West Coast record, like a 2018 take on To Live and Die in LA: expansive, grand, and not a little crazy (in love) from the heat.

Part Time - So Far Away

Spell 6 - master MP3

Part Time - It's Alright With Me

Taken from the album, Happy In The Hollow, out January 25th 2019. 

The vinyl pressing of the album is available in several different variants - the first, only available via the Tough Love webstore, is on 180gm vinyl, includes a bonus 12" featuring remixes by Sonic Boom and Cosey Fanni Tutti, and is limited to 300 copies. The second, in conjunction with the Dinked indie store collective, is limited to 700 copies on 'ultra clear' vinyl, features alternative artwork and a 'secret 7"'. Finally, a third version will be available exclusively from Rough Trade Records, and features an alternative 'secret 7"' on 'snow white' vinyl, limited to 200 copies. Pre-order here - http://smarturl.it/ToyHappyInTheHollow

TOY - Sequence One

Formed in January 2009, Girls Names quickly garnered recognition outside of the confines of their hometown of Belfast with the release of their eponymous debut EP in 2010 through New York's Captured Tracks. A mini-album through London imprint Tough Love soon followed, setting the foundations for their critically acclaimed debut LP Dead To Me, released in April last year again by Tough Love in Europe and cult West Coast label Slumberland Records in the US. Earlier this year the band released a split 7” with Weird Dreams and contributed with a new single called ‘A Troubled See' that saw them spread far and wide.
 
Girls Names are now hinting at making their boldest and most exciting record to date. New single 'The New Life' clocks in at over 7 minutes and takes you on a journey that mirrors the feelings of a band living and working in economy stricken Northern Ireland - the perfect soundtrack of the bleakness to where they exist. The B-side on the 12” is a J D Twitch Optimo remix of the single.
 
This year the band expanded to a four-piece and has spent the last six months in virtual seclusion honing and developing a more progressive and expansive sound, feeding on the darker sides of Echo and The Bunnymen, Spacemen 3, The Birthday Party and David Bowie's Low before heading off on a triumphant Spring/Summer European tour culminating on their biggest and most successful shows to date at the prestigious Primavera sound festival in Barcelona.
 
A new full length is currently being finished off but for now it seems Girls Names are intent on making a lasting impression with single 'The New Life'. It certainly feels as though the band is ready to enter a new phase in their existence and they’re not afraid to take risks.
 
The band has also announced they will be playing a show in London on 26th October with Weird Dreams @ Birthdays. 

Pre-order the 12" here - http://toughloverecords.bigcartel.com/product/tlv060-girls-names-the-new-life-12-pre-order

Press enquiries: ivano@trailofpress.co.uk

Girls Names - The New Life

Taken from the EP of the same name, out 29th November. Pre-order on limited edition vinyl here - https://smarturl.it/PeelDreamMagazine

More info
Founded by New York City-based musician Joe Stevens in 2017, Peel Dream Magazine released their debut album, Modern Meta Physic, on the much loved and venerable American independent label Slumberland Records the following year, 2018.

Driven by a DIY aesthetic and initially very much a ‘home recording project’, their debut recalled the likes of Yo La Tengo and Unrest and harkened back to the early 1990s, when The Velvet Underground resurged as an inspiration to a new set of bands wielding synthesizers and off-set guitars.

Having only played their debut show in January 2018 the Up and Up EP, and forthcoming second album, reflects Peel Dream Magazine’s gestation beyond the bedroom delivering something more dynamic than Modern Meta Physic reflecting their new status as a 4-piece band. Recorded in part at a studio on the northern tip of Greenpoint near Queens, the tracks feature vocals from sometimes-band-member, collaborator, and friend Jo-Anne Hyun.

While channelling some of the droney, kraut-y repetitiveness of their debut album, the tracks however hide less behind a hazy veneer possessing a hitherto to unheard sense of immediacy which draw easy comparison with the likes of Stereolab or Broadcast.

Talking about the inspiration for the EP, Stevens said:

"Thematically, these songs are plucked from a big batch of material that deals with the ethics of popular music. I wanted to talk about the current popular music scene through the eyes of Bertolt Brecht, who warned that audiences become susceptible to mind-control when they take popular art at face value. The entire EP is like a little Brechtian play. Up and Up is literally about feeling manipulated by the theatre of crap art. It's about second-guessing the highs and lows you're told to feel. Our heartstrings can be pulled by anyone who really knows what they're doing, and its not a very nice feeling when you suspect that you're being taken advantage of. Oppressive political regimes ban free-thinking art because they don't want citizens to flex their brain muscles and question the status quo. In the song, I'm inserting myself between Brecht and his nemesis, Aristotle. I want to stand up for audiences everywhere, myself included."

Details of Peel Dream Magazines second album will be announced shortly.

Up and Up EP - final digital master MP3

Peel Dream Magazine - Up and Up

Taken from the AA side 12", out 14th Feb 2020. Pre-order here - https://smarturl.it/WhiteFlowers 

-----
On the third floor of an abandoned textile mill to the north of Preston, a wave of strange musical beauty is blossoming. Brought up on the sounds of 80s Manchester though too young to have experienced it first hand, White Flowers, made up of Katie Drew and Joey Cobb, make gloriously gothic dreampop that’s as ambiguous as it is beautiful and exciting.

On 15th January 2020, the duo release Night Drive the first track from their debut double A-sided single Tough Love Records which also features the track Portra.

Co-produced by Doves’ guitarist, Jez Williams, Night Drive’s guitars carry a Kevin Shields-esque drone, as they swirl above its fragmented arrangement. Apocalyptic in nature, it twists and turns - thematically covering anxiety, fragility and frustration, while reminding that, even in the lowest of moments, one should not lose hope. 

‘Creating and crafting the songs has always been a therapeutic outlet for us,’ Cobb stated. ‘It’s been a long process, but it’s been one which has helped us deal with the frustration, worries and difficulties that come with every day life. It’s definitely a very cathartic record. It serves as a kind of journal of growing up and maturing in the 21st Century.’

Having begun life as scraps of ideas on a laptop, the songs were carefully crafted by the pair, before Williams got on board. 

‘At times, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when you’re so involved in the song,’ Drew noted. ‘Jez was great at drawing out the most important aspects. A lot of the songs are first takes - recorded at home in a very lo-fi way, but Jez gave us confidence. He made us realise that the rawness and the accidents are where the magic is. As fans of Doves, we’ve always admired the soundscapes and sampling techniques that they use, so it was a privilege to work with him.
Prior to the release, White Flowers will be heading out on tour with Toy to celebrate Independent Venue Week. The dates are as follows:

25.01.20 – Independent – SUNDERLAND
26.01.20 – The Live Rooms – CHESTER
27.01.20 – The Boileroom – GUILDFORD
28.01.20 – The Cookie – LEICESTER
29.01.20 – The Smokehouse – IPSWICH
20.01.20 – Esquires – BEDFORD
31.01.20 – The Joiners – SOUTHAMPTON
01.02.20 – Ramsgate Music Hall – RAMSGATE

The double A-side single, Night Drive / Portra will be released on 12” vinyl on February 14th and is limited to 100 copies. It comes in a hand stamped sleeve and includes a ‘zine produced by the band. The band’s debut album will be released later in 2020.

White Flowers - Night Drive

'The Natural World' is taken from the forthcoming new album, The Age of Fracture. Pre-order the album on iTunes now - smarturl.it/ageoffractureitunes

Buy 'The Natural World' on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/the-natural-world-single/id593291502

http://www.facebook.com/CYMBALSmusic
http://www.sidewayssometimes.com

For more information leah@inhousepress.com 01612282070



CYMBALS - The Natural World

Taken from the album, Agitprop Alterna, out on April 3rd via Tough Love and Slumberland. Pre-order here - https://smarturl.it/agitpropalterna

Agitprop Alterna - master MP3s

Peel Dream Magazine - Emotional Devotion Creator

Taken from the record, Look Alive, out 1st May 2020 via Tough Love. Pre-order here - https://smarturl.it/StroppiesLookAlive

New EP - master (MP3)

The Stroppies - Holes in Everything

Taken from the Day By Day 12", out 8th May. Pre-order here - https://smarturl.it/DayByDay12 

-----
"Day by Day was actually written a few years ago but has taken on an eerie relevance in light of current events. As the title suggests, the song explores living in the present moment as a way of overcoming difficulties and growing stronger. Written during a dark time in our lives the song is about the struggle of carrying on, taking each day at a time in hope that things will eventually get better"

Co-produced by Doves’ guitarist, Jez Williams, Day By Day picks up where debut Night Drive left off, fragile, and amorphous, driven by a Kevin Shields-esque drone and underpinned by Katie Drew’s beautiful and delicate vocal.

The double A-side single, Day By Day / Katy Song will be released on 12” vinyl on May 8th and is limited to 150 copies.

White Flowers - Day By Day (Extended Edit)

Taken from You Might Be Happy Someday, released 2nd October. Pre-order the LP here - https://smarturl.it/redpinksandpurples
--
Deep amidst San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood misty air and washed-out pastel blocks, Glenn Donaldson has been diligently creating minor masterpieces with rudimentary home technology for some time now. With The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Donaldson has finally created a vivid reflection of this dreary scene. You Might be Happy Someday is an oblique strand of SF outer-avenue cloud cover that stretches across the Atlantic to the grey docks of Bristol as captured in Sarah Records’ fetishized insert photos.

Despite the deceptively congenial presentation, Happy is often a heavy record. After a litany of Donaldson’s past iterations (from experimental abstraction to post-punk and pop), The Reds, Pinks & Purples is Glenn D’s most personal project. Balanced awkwardly atop almost ironically upbeat jangles and rhythms Mitch Easter might have captured on his reel-to-reel are prime cuts of bummer pop. Almost every track is written in second person, creating a feeling of overheard private inner conversations-on-repeat: soft-lob criticisms, supportive friend advice and embarrassing confessions, You Might be Happy Someday is a smeared window into the (kindly) cynical thoughts of a romantic misanthrope.

Like the work of other U.S. depresso-pop purveyors East River Pipe, The Reds, Pinks & Purples’ mini-album is the kind of record that is both unsettling and comforting. When you’re four drinks deep and you’ve worn your Smiths records out, You Might Be Happy Someday is on deck to have wine spilled on it while you dance alone in the kitchen.

You Might Be Happy Someday is released on Tough Love on 2nd October. Fittingly, the record will be pressed on to 'pastel pink' colour vinyl, with a limited run of 300 copies.

The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Last Summer In A Rented Room

Taken from the Within A Dream EP, released 15th January 2020. Pre-order the limited edition 12" here - https://smarturl.it/WithinADream

Further info
Following the release of two 12"s in the past year, White Flowers return with the Within A Dream EP,  a recently recorded four song collection to be released on 15th January 2021. Alongside digital formats, it will be pressed to 12" transparent vinyl in an edition of 300.  

The four tracks on the EP came together earlier this year during various periods of enforced isolation, and somewhat inevitably reflect the conditions of their provenance, exploring themes of dissociation, multiple selves, and the role of the individual in an increasingly strange and fragmented world. Co-produced with Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Portishead), Within A Dream combines home and studio recordings in ways that display the duo’s growing ability to switch between grand sonic gestures and subtle sonic abstractions.

Alongside the three originals which explore the outer edges of post-punk, dreampop and shoegaze in increasingly alien ways, is a beguiling cover of Mama Cass’ ‘Didn’t Want to Have to Do It’. As with their version of Red House Painters' 'Katy Song' from their previous 12”, it's provides another example of how defined White Flowers' aesthetic has become, as they’re effortlessly able to shape the music of others to their own vision. Indeed, as with all their videos and records to date, the artwork for the single is again created entirely by the band, another example of their intentions to create a defined White Flowers universe distinctly their own.

Within A Dream EP (master - MP3)

White Flowers - Within a Dream

Taken from the Boiling Point/Promise Land 12", out 5th Feb 2021. Pre-order here - https://smarturl.it/BadwanCoxon

A collaboration between Faris Badwan (The Horrors / Cat’s Eyes) & renowned guitarist John Coxon (Spring Heel Jack / Spiritualized / Treader), Boiling Point/Promise Land is the first release of an ongoing collaborative series between Faris and other artists, details of which will be subsequently announced.

Badwan & Coxon met some years ago when Faris was looking for producers to work with on his solo material and their working relationship evolved beyond the existing songs into something more improvisational and instinctive. As Faris explains:

The new songs we ended up working on were largely spontaneous and cut together from early takes with minimal overdubbing. The lyrics were improvised and the focus was placed more on creating atmosphere and keeping things fairly raw and expressive. I guess I found it rewarding particularly with the guitar playing because it was so intuitive and completely free from any expectations of how a song should be constructed. There are hooks and repetitive sections but fewer traditional structures.

We tried to avoid doing any planning beforehand and focussed more on responding to what was happening in the moment. I guess the sessions were kind of a constant dialogue where we would each respond to the other's improvisation.

With Promise Land I began by improvising lyrics over a drone track John and I created. Some time later I came across “To Our Land” by Mahmoud Darwish, a Palestinian poet, and was struck by the similarities - there are a few lines that match really closely. Despite being half-palestinian myself this was a total accident and I know for sure I hadn’t seen Darwish’s piece before.

With Boiling Point the lyrics are almost the ghost of a narrative rather than an explicit story. I’m interested in the subconscious and how the hidden parts of your brain express themselves when given the opportunity. Looking back it was almost more about creating the right conditions for the subconscious to come out.

Boiling Point / Promise Land is out on Tough Love Records on Friday 5th February 2021 on DL and as a limited edition (500) 12” which includes a very limited run of 100 copies with hand painted sleeves by Faris which are available via Bandcamp. In keeping with the approach of the music, each design was improvised and instinctive. Faris added about the artwork:

What was interesting about it was the way the style of the designs naturally evolved as a result of having so many blank squares to fill - there's a really clear development from start to finish - beginning with angular lines filling the sleeve and ending with smoother, more minimal abstract shapes responding to the existing sleeve design. It ended up almost like a process-based art project where you work repetitively within really strict confines and let the results emerge organically.

Promise Land/Boiling Point (MP3)

Badwan/Coxon - Boiling Point

Tough Love

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