As Show Of Hands once mentioned, ‘branch, stem, shoot; they need roots’ and The Longest Johns are certainly drawing on deep roots once again in Smoke & Oakum. The album flows effortlessly from a capella vocal compositions to accompanied songs, much like their previous long-player, Cures What Ails Ya. From the wise choice of opener, […]
Phonotonal - Latest Articles
It is well known already that we think Salem are the best glittering-dark band since forever; so it is no surprise to find that we’ve been checking notifications across all platforms in anticipation of this special release of ‘Fall Out Of Love’, as featured in the end credits of the new Scream movie. And here […]
After four decades of touring, The Wall played their last live show in 2017. Founders Andy Griffiths and Ian Lowery have both been lost to the music scene since this performance. As a tribute to Ian and Andy, Spectacle Music teamed up with Al Gregg (Three Minute Warning / Four Minds Crack) who joined The […]
With Dreaming in the Morning arriving on 5th March, ‘Gone Bushwalking’ is our first taste of the eclectic Bity Booker (though this is her sixth release). Complete with a video featuring a purple marionette named Miss Violetta Sorrow, the music and the video are a perfect match. Sonically, we have a wonderfully plucked acoustic guitar […]
Graffiti. It’s everywhere, right. A sign of rebellious youth, appreciated by some and hated by others. If you drew a Venn diagram of disaffected music culture and graffiti appreciation, there would be a huge overlap. Except, what is this strange new category of graffiti applauders? It’s the selective recognition of re-classification of only certain artists […]
Having been tipped off about The Dead Love due to their sharing Stand Atlantic’s UK tour dates with Lauran Hibberd, we grabbed their latest single and hit the bit play arrow to find out more about them. Of course, it’s a bit more complicated than that. We do our research, so we first played through […]
From all the way in the Terror Twilight days of 1999, ‘Be the Hook’ is a previously unreleased track from Pavement that will make it’s public appearance in the re-issue of the aforementioned album. The original plan was for a 30th anniversary reunion and live shows, but you know… so much for the thirty year […]
With an album on it’s way in March, Placebo treated us to ‘Try Better Next Time’ and now we can’t really wait until March to hear the rest of their long player. Cruel, cruel-world. It’s head-first into the track with the whole band and vocal right there from the first second. It’s muted guitar crunchyness […]
From Boston, Massachusetts, bedbug are suppliers of altpop gold. This is demonstrated no better than in their latest single, ‘songs about ghosts’. Taken from their forthcoming long player (due on 18th March 2022), this single conjures The Hold Steady and The Frank and Walters with it’s quirky sparkle. After the guitar intro, the drums are […]
We Demand Parachutes are a New England band who ‘…blend nostalgic 2000’s rock roots with the big pop hooks of today.’ A self-proclaimed and accurate description based on this single. With a very deliberate start with the bass and drums prominent, ‘Lost Her Mind’ immediately ensnares your attention as it it builds to a chorus […]
Smashing out some fine transatlantic rock music, Brighton’s As It Is are dropping I Went to Hell and Back on 4th February… and it’s a fine collection of anthems. Just imagine squeezing All American Rejects, Ok Go, and Nine-era Blink 182 into a blender and pouring the resulting juice directly into your ear holes, and […]
Featuring Seth Lakeman, ‘The Workers Song’ is our final preview before The Longest Johns’ new album, Smoke and Oakum, hits our speakers on 28th January. So, what can you expect when you hit play on this single? This is one of those astute folk songs, which seems to remain relevant no matter what century and […]
Tipped off to Phonotonal in our pre NYE call for new music, Wet Leg are Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers who met at Isle of Wight College. Their eponymous debut album arrives in April 2022 but we have a selection of four songs with which to form an impression of their thumping guitar music. The […]
Popping and fuzzing into life, ‘I AM NOT YOU’ is an electro-rocker from Blood Red Shoes that precedes their album launch for Ghosts On Tape on 14th January. It’s smartly arranged and knows how to work the dynamics. The verse is rhythmic and thick with boxed-up rage, which gets unleashed in the hooky chorus, which […]
Old Neon’s ‘Pacific Time’ was a great single, but in their latest release things really soar. ‘Warmer Weather’ is an absolute gem with an amazing vocal performance in the chorus and with everything just about as crispy as it could possibly be. The verse combines a flickering guitar riff with a solid rhythm section and […]