HELEN SHANAHAN ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE, ACROSS THE SEA, NEW EP, FINDING GOLD & NATIONAL TOUR DATES
Having hit the ground running after winning Songwriter of The Year at Telstra Road to Discovery, Perth acoustic folk artist, Helen Shanahan has announced the release of her new single, Across The Sea (June 12) lifted from her third EP, Finding Gold, set for release on July 3. The story telling performer will celebrate her new releases with shows at Mojo’s in Fremantle on July 9, The Newsagency in Sydney on July 14 and The Spotted Mallard in Melbourne on July 17.
First single, Across The Sea is inspired by Helen’s personal struggle with anxiety and her day to day challenges of feeling overwhelmed and trying to overcome these hurdles. “The song is calling out for someone to help guide me through the times of hardship,” Helen explains. Helen’s warm, lush vocal is perfectly complemented by nostalgic slide guitar that is dappled throughout the song, showcasing the delicacy of this poetic, uplifting folk country work of art.
Reflective of the song’s metaphor, the clip for Across The Sea takes the viewer through different landscapes of Helen’s journey, making her way through a forest and finally ending up at the sea. ‘Can’t cross the water on my own, so who will build a ship for me, who will help me, across the sea,’ Helen sings. The stunning clip was shot and directed by local Perth filmmaker Brendan Joel (Sam Perry, Jacob Diamond, Rainy Day Women) on location at the picturesque Cape Peron in WA.
Recorded across Melbourne, Nashville and Perth, Helen’s new EP, Finding Gold was produced by AIR and APRA winner Pip Norman (Dan Sultan, Ash Grunwald, Daniel Merriweather), with the exception of Love Lost, which was produced by Neilson Hubbard in Nashville. Offering hope to listeners, Helen says, “The main message throughout the EP is that you can still find moments of calm or ‘gold’ in everyday life.”
Excited to perform her new music live around the country, Helen says, “Although I still feel a lot of nerves and anxiety about performing and sharing my music, the love of it keeps me going, and I love the feeling of connecting with the audience and sharing my stories.”
HELEN SHANAHAN SHOWS
THURS 9 JULY| MOJO’S BAR, FREMANTLE WA | 18+
Tickets available at the door, 237 Queen Victoria Street North Fremantle
TUES 14 JULY | THE NEWSAGENCY, MARRICKVILLE NSW | 18+
Tickets available at the door, or www.thenewsagencyvenue.com
FRIDAY 17 JULY| THE SPOTTED MALLARD, BRUNSWICK VIC | 18+
Tickets available at the door, or www.spottedmallard.com
HOLY HOLY ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE ‘YOU CANNOT CALL FOR LOVE LIKE A DOG’ ALONGSIDE UK/EU TOUR DATES, PRIMAVERA FESTIVAL & SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS
Nostalgic Aussie indie rockers, HOLY HOLY have treated us to a second taste of their anticipated debut record with the release of the exquisite new single, You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog, alongside Splendour In The Grass and Primavera Festival announcements and UK/EU tour dates set for May, hitting London, Brighton, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin, Ghent and Barcelona.
Recorded in Brisbane with Matt Redlich (Emma Louise, Ball Park Music, The Trouble With Templeton) at the helm, You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog unveils the band pushing in to a darker sound with atmospheric swells ebbing under sharp glassy guitar breaks, soaring vocal harmonies and driving bass. An extended instrumental outro has given space for guitarist Oscar Dawson to play in a way that has only been heard in a live setting, showcasing a developed sound that the band has embraced while on the road.
“I always imagined that I wouldn’t be allowed to play guitar in the way that I used to practice, in the privacy of my own room, as a spotted teenager. But somehow Tim, Matt Redlich and the other guys not only allowed me, but encouraged it as well. So, I figured, better give it to them. And that’s why there is a two minute guitar solo at the end of the song,” explains Dawson. “And yet still there is a part of me that thinks – ‘is this allowed…? Surely, guitar solos aren’t the done thing these days…’. But, I actually don’t believe that. I hope that we can hear more of this sort of thing; people really playing their instruments.”
The fundamental premise of the song is that love is fickle. “We try in our lives to do all kinds of things to control it and manage it and bend it to our wills, but sometimes you just wake up one day and it’s gone…and that’s that. Like ice melted,” says lead vocalist Tim Carroll. “And the point of that is, if you do find yourself in the enviable position of being ‘in love’ and feeling love – fucking enjoy it. Treat it like a good scotch. Breathe it in deep and wash it round your mouth and take in the bath and get drunk.”
A true visual masterpiece from beginning to end, the video clip was directed by Charlie Ford and Ford Sarhan from Wildchild Pictures (Courtney Barnett, Vance Joy) and shot over four days near Carroll’s home in picturesque North East Tasmania. “The landscape in Tasmania is really striking and powerful. Even living there, you never get used to it and we were keen to allow as much of that as possible to come through in the clip,” explains Carroll. “We shot footage in an abandoned miners shack that lies in a valley at the foot of Mount Arthur. We ran a generator for power, cranked the amps, set up the kit, and played for a couple of hours as the sun disappeared below the horizon… Being in the middle of nowhere, playing with a full band to a crowd of four people was strangely enjoyable.”
The band is fronted by the songwriting team, vocalist/composer Timothy Carroll and guitarist/composer Oscar Dawson. They are joined on the road by permanent drummer Ryan Strathie (Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Andy Bull), touring bassist Graham Ritchie (Airling, Emma Louise), and Brisbane-based producer Matt Redlich as their touring keys player.
Offering some insight in to the band’s long awaited debut LP and most comprehensive national tour yet, due to be announced mid-2015, Carroll radiates, “It’s pretty diverse… there’s laid back piano, heavy slow jams and long 70’s guitar breaks. There are some psychy bits and some sing-alongs. It’s also meant to be coming out on vinyl and that is going to be a real moment for us.”
UK / EU TOUR DATES
May 14 Daytime | The Great Escape (Komedia) | Brighton UK
May 14 Evening | The Great Escape (Spiegel Tent) | Brighton UK
May 17 | London Calling Festival | Amsterdam NL
May 18 | MTC Club | Cologne GER
May 19 | Cafe Video | Ghent BEL
May 20 | Comet Club | Berlin GER
May 22 | Dot to Dot Festival | Manchester UK
May 23 Daytime | Liverpool Sound City | Liverpool UK
May 23 Evening | Dot to Dot Festival | Bristol UK
May 24 | Dot to Dot Festival | Nottingham UK
May 26 | Old Blue Last | London UK
May 29 | Primavera Pro (The Aussie BBQ) | Barcelona SPN
May 30 | Primavera Sound (H&M Stage) | Barcelona SPN
What the media are saying about You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog::
“A banger of a tune.” NME
“Urgent and epic is the only way I can describe the killer new single from Holy Holy.” Dom Alessio, Triple J
“…Confusion, aggression, frustration; that’s the vibe pulsing through the unrelenting rhythm of the song. Lead singer Timothy Carroll’s vocal, usually so warm, sounds perfectly cutting and snide. So searing and scorching, this track makes dog lovers want to take puppies by the collar and kick them to the curb.” Semplesize
“You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog, is their latest mastery dropped that is a full paced track that has you begging for more. Opening with a groovy bass drive and catchy riff on the electric guitar, this one is a beautiful crescendo that shows off just how well the band work together. Layering piece and piece of each other onto each other, they mesh together drums, guitar, vocals and some produced elements to create a seamless creation. But watch yourself at the end, as the piercing electric guitar solo comes flying through.” AAA Backstage
“…one of the best songs to emerge from the Australian music industry so far in 2015.” Aphra Magazine
“With driving drums and distinct vocals the track sits on the long side, at five and a half minutes, but it could easily run twice as long and I doubt many would complain. I’ve got to be perfectly honest, this one has been on rotation since its release and all we want to do is hear it again.” Casual Band Blogger
“Whatever bar they had set for themselves last year has not just been raised by this track, but completely obliterated and rebuilt miles above.” Howl & Echoes
“The real highlight of this single — the moment that made me stop in my tracks — kicks off at 3:50. Oscar Dawson’s guitar solo just roars. It climbs and climbs, with a totally Pink Floyd vibe.” Indie Shuffle
MELBOURNE FOLKSTERS, FOREST FALLS ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE, EP & NATIONAL TOUR
Evocative Melbourne folksters, Forest Falls have announced the release of their new single, Hounds (out April 6), as well as their sophomore EP of the same name, set for release on May 1. The six-piece will be celebrating with a Hounds EP tour involving a Wednesday night Workers Club residency in Melbourne through May kicking off May 6, moving through Geelong and Sydney, finishing off in Melbourne on May 27.
Recorded and produced alongside five-time ARIA award winning producer, Wayne Connolly (Paul Dempsey, Josh Pyke and Cloud Control) at Alberts Studio in Sydney, lead single Hounds is driven by exquisite five-part harmonies and transformative, liberating saxophone solos. “The lyrics to Hounds were written in a huff,” explains lead vocalist Jon O’Neill. “A hound can be unpredictable; it can be your best friend or bear its teeth, and I suppose I was bearing mine at the time.”
Filmed in Melbourne by An Architect Photographed My Undies (Vance Joy, Pierce Brothers, Oscar Key Sung), the clip for Hounds is open to interpretation, following the story of a pair of passionate lovers, complemented by the song’s lyrics, their two voices ricochet off each other in the heat of the moment. By weaving the release of sky lanterns in to the narrative, the clip touches on themes of igniting, letting go, reigniting and perhaps just burning out. “We loved the aesthetic and the metaphor of releasing the sky lanterns and the fact that there isn’t a right answer to the true meaning behind the clip,” says O’Neill.
Also recorded and produced by the legendary Wayne Connolly, the Hounds EP touches on the themes of love, relationships, compromise, confusion and lust. “All these things are worth capturing and singing about and all different kinds of emotion can be harnessed and used as motivation or inspiration in songwriting,” says O’Neill. Overflowing with the rich, lush sounds they’re best known for, this cohesive release is like a welcome visit from a long lost friend, nostalgic, heartfelt and authentic. Unafraid to bite the bullet and explore new genres, O’Neill explains, “We’ve been writing new stuff and falling in love with other instruments and sounds and have realised there’s nothing standing in our way.”
With a well-rounded show that will surprise and entertain, fans can expect thrilling five-part harmonies, captivating chants, memorable hooks and a performance bursting with integrity and heart that will leave you wanting more.
View the clip for Hounds
FOREST FALLS TOUR DATES
Wed 6 May | Workers Club | Melbourne
Sun 10 May | Workers Club | Geelong | w/ Revolution
Wed 13 May | Workers Club | Melbourne
Thurs 14 May | Bondi Bowling Club | Bondi | w/ Jenny Broke the Window
Sat 16 May | Gaelic Club | Sydney | w/ Bears with Guns
Wed 20 May | Workers Club | Melbourne
Wed 27 May | Workers Club | Melbourne