The Pierces - Glorious

We've all heard about Alabama and its sweet homeliness, but one thing Reese Witherspoon didn't tell us about is sister duoThe Pierces. Originating from Birmingham, Alabama but now residing in London, Catherine and Allison Pierce have been creating rustic folk music since 2000, and are about to release their fourth album, You & I, on 30 May.

Their latest single, Glorious, comprises hypnotic harmonies that are mixed with fast paced guitar rhythms and a twinkling of tambourines. Lyrically mournful, with lines such as "I will never die, never die like you", it makes you wonder just what the influences for this song were and what the rest of the album has to offer.

With well-known friends such as The Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr. and Coldplay's Guy Berryman championing them, we can only expect big things from the sisters. They're most definitely set for the next few weeks, with a UK headline tour throughout June and a spot at Glastonbury Festival. Here's to hoping the album will provide us with plenty more delightful sounds to accompany the summer months.

This article can also be found on the Q Magazine website

EMA - Milkman

The video for EMA's new release, Milkman, is probably not one for sensitive eyes. It's full of eccentric, trippy monochrome graphics, flashing images and bizarre 3D simulation, which sees vocalist Erika M. Anderson - aka EMA - smashing digitized objects with an axe and regurgitating virtual eggs.

But if you look past the madness of the video, you'll be enticed by and drawn into the electronic, heavily distorted bass line and MGMT-esque drum snares. The vocals are gritty yet sensual, which makes for an enchanting listen.

Taken from her newly released debut album, Past Life Martyred Saints, Milkman is an excellent representation of the unusual song writing and creativity inhabited in the ex-GOWNS vocalist/guitarist. Having recently played two shows at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, EMA could well become a new icon for lo-fi electronic music.

This article can also be found on the Q magazine website.

Airship - Kids

Biffy Clyro, Editors and The Joy Formidable all quite impressive names to add to a bands ‘have toured with’ list, a list that is being strongly developed by Manchester four-piece Airship.  Their debut self-released EP was released last year which received rave reviews and their debut album Stuck In The Ocean is due out this Autumn through Play It Again Sam.

Kids is the first single to be released from the fourth coming album, it provides an exciting glimpse in to what sounds will be unleashed from the rest of the record. It begins with fast paced drums that you would possibly expect from a pop-punk record, however the low-pitched guitar riff and the soft vocals of front man Elliott Williams quickly diminish this illusion. The chorus promptly lifts the mood of the song with punchy, distorted guitars and echoing vocal harmonies, which leaves for involuntary head nodding and foot tapping.

For a band that produced their debut album in a total of just fifteen days, Airship could perhaps be amongst those leading Indie music into an intriguing new dimension.