Into Music Reviews: New Music April 2022

On we go into April and there’s no fooling about here as Into Creative continue to bring you the best of the new music releases.

Artist: Starboard Hazes
Single: Kicking Our Heels

Go to a gig in Glasgow and there’s a fair chance Murray Easton will be there, whether as a fan or putting on the show. Murray is also behind the excellent blog site, Everything Flows, named after the Teenage Fanclub debut single and regularly reviews gigs, records and much more besides.

Murray can now add band member to his CV, as vocalist and rhythm guitarist in new venture Starboard Hazes. Their debut single is out now on Bandcamp, entitled Kicking Our Heels and is three minutes of reverb influenced, guitar led psychedelia/garage pop. It’s the feature track on their upcoming EP which is out soon. James Barker on lead guitar sparks the song and the added touch of backing vocals from Annmarie Lochrie and Norman Blake really elevate the track. Yes, that’s right, Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub is in there and that’s a real coup for Starboard Hazes.

The backstory of the song is quite interesting in that Easton wrote it years ago though it was lost/discarded in his mum’s loft only to be rediscovered in the last year or so. Cue some rough demos and the seed of an idea has blossomed into a fully fledged song with a band to boot and more songs to come and talk of live dates too.

Head over to the Starboard Hazes Bandcamp page here to download the track.

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Artist: The Zen Arcade
Single: Alone in Monochrome

The new release from Irish rockers The Zen Arcade is quite something, a preppy style track that rocks and rolls from the off and is reminiscent of Ash, Manics and Green Day in their pomp.

The Zen Arcade include three ex-members of The Strypes and it’s clear their sound is well honed and tight, the track an excellent follow up to earlier singles Don’t Say A Word and High Fidelity.

The band are about to hit the road with a U.K. tour and going on their early trio of singles, if you can get a ticket, you’ll be in for a great show. For more information, visit the band website here

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Artist: Just Mustard
Single: Still

The new single from the Dundalk five-piece, Still is a threatening piece of dark, brooding post-punk which captures the attention as soon as the track begins.

It’s heavy, angular, mechanical, mesmerizing and is as brutal as it is beautiful. The music has a real edge, an atmosphere that is on the absolute edge and in stark contrast to Katie Ball’s vocal which competes and complements and offers up angelic visions in a dreamlike state.

Having supported Fontaines D.C. and with recent dates at the prestigious SXSW festival and recording a session for KEXP, it’s no surprise Just Mustard are beginning to make a real impact on the music scene.

Still precedes the new album entitled Heart Under which is released on Friday 27 May 2022. Just Mustard are also touring later this year including a date at Glasgow Broadcast on Friday 23 September.

Keep up to date with Just Mustard including the tour via their website here.

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Artist: Sunflower Bean
Single: Roll The Dice

Well, it’s great to see Sunflower Bean are back and in some ways it’s difficult to reconcile its four years since they released their eponymous album Twentytwo in Blue (where does the time go)?

Fortunately, new track Roll The Dice doesn’t pull any punches. It combines heavy bass lines with elements of harmony and repetitive psych which all leads to three minutes of assured rock. With new album Lucky Number out on Friday 6 May 2022 it’s no surprise this single has already been quoted as “the hottest record in the world” by BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amafo and who am I to argue with that!

The track sees band members Julia Cumming and Nick Kivlen share vocal duties and is an observational take on how young Americans have to look to side hustles and the like in order to get by or get on in life. The band said about the track:

Almost everyone we know struggles with money. The traditional routes towards success and stability in America have severely narrowed. The only way to get ahead is to take big risks and roll the dice.

An absolutely banging track from the New Yorkers. You can keep up to date with Sunflower Bean via their website here.

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Artist: Dead Can Dance
Venue: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Date: 7 April 2022

One to mention on the gig front is the Australian/British band Dead Can Dance who kick off their European tour in Glasgow this Thursday (7 April). A truly groundbreaking band who have been making unique music since the early 1980s, this is not one to miss if you can make it.

Impossible to pigeonhole, difficult to label, their sound is at times cinematic, orchestral and takes in influences from world music including folk, rock, Gaelic, Gregorian, African and a huge number of other influences.

With a significant back catalogue, fans will be able to indulge in a set covering various tracks across their career in a venue really suited to their sound as Brendan Perry, Lisa Gerrard and a full backing band take to the stage.