Last time out (see link here) when Into Creative brought you some new music, we said we’d be back with more. So, as promised, here we are. Read on pop pickers for a bumper load of new tracks and albums to help you through the chilly January weather…. 

Artist: Nile Marr
Single: Only Time Can Break Your Heart

Making your way in the music business is no easy task though having released his debut solo album in 2020 (Are You Happy Now?) Nile Marr is now beginning to make a name for himself and the release of new single Only Time Can Break Your Heart will surely see his star rise further. 

Named after the musical virtuoso and genius that is Nile Rodgers and having Johnny Marr as your dad comes with its own pressures (and opportunities) but ultimately it comes down to how good your own material is and on this offering Nile Marr is ticking all the right boxes. 

Clocking in just under three minutes, the track benefits from Marr’s gentle vocal style which complements the jangling guitars and subtle drums in the background. Influences include The La’s and mid song the guitar break weaves and swirls before Nile comes back in with uplifting tempo. 

Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Nile Marr is out now – keep up to date via his Bandcamp page here. 

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Artist: Baxter Dury
Single: D.O.A.

If you look around at the music scene and consider who is making innovative and interesting music over the past few years, the name Baxter Dury will surely feature in many lists. 

Having recently released the book Chaise Longue which charts his teenage years and relationship with his father, Ian (of Blockheads fame), Baxter has also been busy with new music including the release of single D.O.A. 

The track precedes a best of compilation on Heavenly Records which is set for release on 22 February 2022 and if you are not familiar with Dury’s work, this will be the ideal introduction. 

Turning back to the track, Baxter co-wrote it with his son Kosmo and is in part a nod to some of the music Kosmo was listening to during lockdown including the likes of Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar. Musically, it starts with a solitary piano before the song builds, Dury’s trademark voice coming in, strings and angelic backing vocals in the background. The strength here is the stripped back simplicity of the song yet it remains powerful and I defy anyone not to play it on repeat after that initial listen. 

Keep up to speed with all things Baxter Dury via his website here. 

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Artist: Fontaines D.C.
Single: Jackie Down The Line

Having recently finished a blistering sold out tour (including Glasgow Barrowland gig which you can read about here) it would be easy for Fontaines D.C. to down tools and take a well deserved break, but that’s not how the Celtic post-punk outfit operate. Indeed, one of the hardest gigging bands on the circuit, they’ll be treading the boards from March through to September hitting various European countries and North America. 

New album Skinty Fia is in the can and scheduled for release on 22 April 2022 via Partisan Records but before that, new single Jackie Down The Line has been released and as far as first impressions go, it is a belter which bodes well for the long player release. 

As usual, the band are tight, the rhythm section rumbles, the guitars shine and singer Grian Chatten’s vocals especially stand out. Check out the tour schedule here and if you can, go see them live, you won’t be disappointed. 

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Artist: The Fisherman and His Soul
Single: Ennio Ennui

Following 2021’s album release Nothing Ever Stays The Same (see review here), The Fisherman and His Soul are back with new a new single, Ennio Ennui which comprises two tracks, the lead A White Actor and an instrumental, Arnd Walks Home After The Show. 

A White Actor is loaded with the harmonies we come to expect from the artist and embellished with lavish horns which provides the platform for a cool mariachi sound ala Ennio Morricone. 

Ennio Ennui is available via The Fisherman and His Soul’s Bandcamp page here. 

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Artist: Grand Drifter
Album: Only Child

Hailing from Turin, Andrea Calvo has just released his second album which is entitled Only Child under the alias Grand Drifter. 

The tracks here are inspired in part by feelings, landscapes and daydreams and the music simply flows from start to finish, a constant stream of harmonies and melodies which, if you let the music, will take you to a place filled with sunshine, blue sky and absent reverie. 

Opener A Deal With The Rain is almost horizontal in its approach, a song to listen to lying on your back in a cool summer meadow, the track wanders on seemingly aimlessly but with purpose, the piano really making the sound stand out. Tracks such as Bookends and Diary Of Sorts are more up-tempo, Calvo bringing a degree of urgency to them which reminds me a bit of (British) Sea Power at their finest. 

Elsewhere we hear strings on The Big Without, a mournful lament which is stripped down to the bare essentials allowing Calvo’s vocal to shine through while Debris gets a fuller treatment, a bolder and perhaps more commercial offering than elsewhere on the album.   

The album is released on the Subjangle label in conjunction with Sciopero Records and the Dotto label. Head over to the Grand Drifter Bandcamp page here to find out more about the artist and to buy the record. 

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John Welsh
@welshjb

Links:
@NileMarr
@baxterdury 
@fontainesdublin

Thefishermanandhissoul

@grand_drifter

@heavenlyrecs

@partisanrecords

@subjangle

@SonicPRMusic