in case you missed it, our latest edition of The Wrap was absolutely wonderful 
June was full of so many brilliant releases, including music from Rivver Devansh traits_liverpool The Perps Peak Low Velvet The Deep Blue and Hayden J Barlow! 
amazing to see, what a great one.
you can find all of our reviews on the feature over on our website at https://breadrecords.co.uk/2022/07/08/the-wrap-june-2022/ 
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the brand new single from Walter Kocays “Observe, Don’t Try.” 
we’ve caught this fella perform a whole bunch of times on the Manchester scene now, frequenting bars and playing a few of our gigs too – he’s been making waves with his unique style of alternative-folk, blending in his Stoke accent and background to create truly lovely and unique songs that not only sound great, but lyrically are brilliant in that they really make you think about the topic he’s singing about.
the song starts off beautifully with his guitar accompanied by a eerie, soft violin lead – before his unique vocal pierces through and garners the listener’s attention. his voice is on point here, you can tell he’s put on his best form for this and sounds brilliant. the build of the track is fantastic too, literally all within his guitar and his vocal – so similar to his live performances! 
there’s even a little touch of what sounds like distortion when he’s belting it out, a real nice touch to enforce the ferocity of his vocal at that point.
the violins are a perfect addition to the track here, the descending melodies really throw so much weight behind it and flesh out the song so well, and as they build at the end, you’re entranced in them, perfectly balancing to Walter’s main vocal harmonising with them – a brilliant debut single from the chap here. 
we really can’t wait to hear more after this, if you can, make sure you catch him live – a real force to be reckoned with. you can find the single over on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Z6Xg4jjX5h0JjVpLqFSDm – give it a listen and see what you think! 
find all of our features, reviews and more on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk
we love writing up these interviews, it’s a super special way to connect with an artist and find out a bit more about them, their influences, and what they’ve got coming up. Emily’s a singer-songwriter here in Manchester whose been on the scene for a good while now – we’ve caught her performing a bunch of times now and every single time she only gets better and better!
She’s recently released her single “Maybe Then” – another single in a great discography of music for her, sounding fantastic with intricate melodies, huge production and her band only give the song even more strength to its sound. We’ve been big fans of Emily’s music for a while now and this only solidifies her songwriting ability – find our interview below! ⬇️
Emily, it’s brilliant to get you here for our Knead to Know interview – let’s start by talking a little about your music, and what you’ve been doing lately!
I’m a singer-songwriter and pianist on the Manchester scene. My music fuses indie, jazz, soul and folk so I usually just say ‘alternative/indie’ to save on characters. Lately I have been recording new music and working on building a new full band sound with my amazing band members!
When did you start doing music and what was the main reason for it?
I started playing music when I was around 12 or 13, playing guitar in an emo band believe it or not! As a painfully shy kid I enjoyed the outlet that allowed me to be as dramatic as I felt. I was absolutely obsessed with bands like Green Day and My Chemical Romance and I just wanted to be like them. My reasons are slightly different now haha!
What inspires your sound? Who are some of your favourite artists?
After the emo era my absolute favourite band was The Dresden Dolls, and they are what made me switch to piano and were hugely influential on my writing. I also love Jazz and would listen to singers like Billie Holiday as a teenager. I became obsessed with Fiona Apple’s music while I was at uni and she remains a huge influence along with other fairly experimental songwriters like Weyes Blood and Cate Le Bon. More recently I’m into a lot of R&B and Soul. There’s an artist called Baby Rose who I can’t get enough of and she has really inspired some of my recent writing.
You’ve recently released your single “Maybe Then” – tell us a little bit about it, inspirations and how it came to be about 🙂
Maybe Then started as a really simple, 3 chord demo. I usually go really full on with my chord structures so it was kind of a stripping back, it’s a really simple song. I was then approached by producer Andy Raphael who was up for producing the track and it became the cinematic track it is now! The song is about letting go of perfectionism as an artist, the main hook is ‘I’ve been waiting on a work of art but there’s no such thing’, and I actually ended up finding this to be a really helpful mantra. It’s about how we wait around for things to be perfect but nothing ever will be, the timing will never be ideal so just get out and do what you want to do! My friend Philippa Oliver filmed an amazing music video for the track too. It’s very dramatic!
What would you say are your main inspirations for creating and writing?
Lots of my songs are about the quirks of human behaviour. Whether this is something I’ve observed in someone else or myself. A lot of it is quite self-exploratory at the moment, questioning why I do certain things and think in certain ways.
What’s your process for creating or writing music?
All of my songs start as a little phrase or melody at the piano. It usually takes a long time between an idea appearing and finishing the song, it can be months. I don’t have a set approach other than building on a tiny snippet of an idea over time. I’ll record my ideas in logic and build harmonies over them. Then I send them to my band members and they add their ideas. Since I’ve been working with a band I’ve left a lot more space in my songs. They used to be very dense with piano melodies but now I leave some breathing room for the others. I am loving working with a band, they elevate the music so much and add things I never would have thought of! It’s much more collaborative now.
How did the lockdowns impact you as a musician, or even in general? It’s been nearly two years but they still have a lasting impression on everyone, we find!
The lockdowns are kind of a blur. It did give a lot of writing time and I think I wrote some of my favourite songs to date! What it has done is to make me appreciate everything much more. I hadn’t done loads of collaboration before and now it’s my favourite thing. I feel more a part of the Manchester scene now than I did before actually, and some of the remote collaborations I did have turned into lovely friendships!
We’ve seen you’ve been doing regular nights over at the Art of Tea, and working much more frequently with Manchester Women Songwriters’ Collective – how have you found all of these?
I love running these nights. Above all it’s been a great way to connect with loads of new musicians, and hosting a night where people come especially to listen to great music has been really rewarding. With Manchester Women Songwriters Heidi and I are trying to do a showcase every quarter or so and we’ve been loving it. The reception has been amazing, we sold out our last show and we have another in the pipeline at the end of July so watch this space!
You’ve been performing a whole load with other musicians as well – we’ve seen a lot on the socials! How has this come about?
A lot of this started out as remote lockdown collaborations. That was the case with Canter Semper, Tom Welsh, Tom Poggi (all amazing artists) who have since become regular collaborators and friends. It’s always the case that one thing leads to another so it all started with those and has snowballed into playing with lots of lovely people.
How have your releases been going lately – what response have you got from audiences and fans?
I released Maybe Then back in March and the reception was lovely. It’s always really hard trying to self-market everything, it’s a full-time job in itself really! But everyone has been lovely about it. I learn so much from every release so on to the next!
Do you record in a studio or do you have a personal home studio?
A bit of both. I have recorded in professional studios and friends’ home studios in the past but I was lucky enough to get a grant from the Arts Council last year to build my own home studio. I am loving having the space and equipment to experiment and I am working on improving my production skills.
Have you got anything coming up in 2022 we should know about?
I’m currently working on a couple of singles and a new EP with the band, which is coming along really nicely. I hope to start releasing tracks from it in the Autumn! There will be a full band EP launch show too, date TBC! Aside from that we have filmed some exciting live sessions that will be released soon and I just want to play more shows with the band and keep putting on local nights. It can be easy to get disheartened being an independent musician so I am just trying to appreciate what is in front of me and enjoy the ride!
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the brand new single from Superfriends “Blimpy Boy” out this coming Friday 15th July!
we’ve covered the first single from Superfriends “How To Live Life” which was a fantastic debut single from the indie-punk outfit, really setting the scene for their upbeat yet introspective tunes – with lovely and inspiring lyricism upon the backbone of feel-good rhythms and jangly guitar riffs.
this new single “Blimpy Boy” only continues on their sound, a tune about the emotions entailed within a break-up, but flipped around to be a much more feel-good and energetic tune! the lyricism is fantastic here, it’s done so well to turn a serious and emotion situation into a positive and reflective atmosphere. 
you can really hear how much the band gels with each other as well, sounding so tight throughout the whole song, giving each instrument room to breathe yet working perfectly in tandem with one another. a fantastic second release from these guys!
you can find the track on Spotify once it’s released on the 15th July, or if you’re a Bandcamp user you can listen to it in full now over at https://superfriendstheband.bandcamp.com/ – even purchase it for your listening pleasure for only £2, including a remix as well. well worth checking out and buying!
find all of our features, reviews and more on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk !
we’ve got our June edition of The Wrap for you all! ✨ it’s been yet another incredible month of releases in the North, there have been so many artists putting out absolute tunes, performing across the region, and it’s just been absolutely boss to see. we’ve put together a lil taster of it all here (hardly even breaking the surface!) – you can check out all of our lil reviews below, have a gander ☀️
Right from the get-go, Rivver‘s new track “Fever” sounds massive. The drums explode into the track with a serious commanding spirit, and as the verse comes in, the lads really control the attention of the listener. With a huge chorus, catchy as anything (as we’re used to with them by now!) – it sounds incredible. A real testament to their sound, showing that they’re here to stay.. a real force to be reckoned with on the North West scene. We love the guitar solo too, so simple but yet so effective and then the vocal comes in and is just belting it out, insane stuff. 🤘 the pre-final chorus section is a work of great production too, breaking it down so well only to erupt right into that final chorus. Fantastic stuff from the boys! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE)
London’s own Devansh has just put out his brand new single “In Your Nature“! Combining elements of soul, indie and psychedelia – it’s a beautiful concoction of different influences and elements coming together to create something truly wonderful. ☀️ the sounds used here are just simply gorgeous, so many fantastic synth lines throughout that only compliment Devansh’s vocal melody which is so soothing throughout the entire track. It’s a real summery and mellow tune that we’re sure to have on repeat during these heatwaves! We can’t wait to hear more. (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE / BANDCAMP)
Liverpool-based indie-pop outfit TRAITS have just released their debut single “Holding On“! Really amazing sound here on this track, almost surf-pop in areas, the guitar tones are just sublime – and the use of synthesised melodies behind it all creates a real beautiful soundscape to the track. ⚡️ the vocal floats perfectly above the dreamy ambience of the tune, and really flows so well with all the instrumentation throughout… it’s a real banger and really shows everyone what they’re capable of here! We absolutely can’t wait to hear more from these guys. A real tune to blast out on the waterfront during the summer months! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE)
A proper contrast to the former tracks so far on the feature, The Perps return with their brand new single “Megalomaniac” 🤘 that drum fill at the start really sets the scene for the rest of the tune – punchy, shouty punk music – all the goodness we need as of late in this political climate. The guitar riff is bloody lovely too, really commands the attention of the listener, along with the direct lyricism throughout it’s a proper lovely connection between the two to form this top tune. Personally, we love the lyrics, especially on the rhyming schemes – getting words to rhyme that shouldn’t really fit (it’s definitely a Northern thing.) It’s a proper huge track, listening to this live in a basement gig would simply go OFF. (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE)
Hailing from the Peak District, PEAK LOW has returned here with his brand new EP “The Golden Hour I“! Right from the start, we’re entranced by his gorgeous vocal – not only does he sound lovely, but he knows exactly what to do to make it unique and personal to himself. 🙌 the instrumentation behind only solidifies his musical talent, a perfect backdrop to his songs – sad, honest and so personal… it’s a beautiful insight into his life. You can really tell these songs have been crafted with care, putting thought into every melody line, and every rhythmic element. It’s a gorgeous EP and well worth checking out – we can’t wait to see if there’s gonna be a part II! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE)
Glasgow’s own Velvet have just put out their latest release, “Spine“! We’ve covered these chaps in the past and we’re well-acquainted with their talent. Mixing post-punk with grunge, heavy rock riffs and huge changeups, this is proper our cuppa tea. 💥 the verse of the track is so lush, flowing so well, calm, mellow and restrained; and abruptly explodes into a huge riff that paves the way for the huge chorus. You can really tell these lads perform so well together, they sound so tight as a band – mixing synthesised sounds in there too.. it’s a real tune. Well worth checking out, gotta catch these live soon! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / BANDCAMP)
Manchester’s very own The Deep Blue have just released their brand new single “Yellow and Gold“! Entrenched in vocal harmonies, gorgeous melodies throughout and fantastic songwriting, it’s a real belter. We absolutely love the chorus, it’s a great contrast to the verses and really keeps you listening intently for what’s happening next. 😊 the harmonies and arrangement in the second chorus are beautifully crafted, you can really see the time taken to create this but also feel the fun they’ve had in the process! It’s well worth a listen, and they’ve just played a show over at The Deaf Insititute so we’re sure they’re not going anywhere! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / BANDCAMP)
One of our favourites on the Manchester scene, Hayden J Barlow has returned with another single (that’s like 5 this year!? what a machine!) “persona non grata“! ☀️ taking a different direction to his previous EP “rudimentary”, he’s gone for the full on acoustic atmosphere, however with some expertly done production to maintain his usual sound. It’s a proper belter, a real direct song written straight from the heart. You can really hear the passion he’s put in this song, lyricism is on point as always with this fella. The production is so poignant, really keeps you interested as always with Hayden’s music – well worth listening to! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / BANDCAMP)
it’s been another absolutely fantastic month for music up North! there’s always so many different and diverse artists all equally fantastic in their own right – it’s class to see so many brilliant musicians doing their thing, this is what makes the scene so incredible. big shout to everyone here! we hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as we have – big love to everyone who’s checked this out. ❤️
Make sure you head on down to open mics, gigs, support local music and arts and keep your scenes going! 😊 all music, videos and images remain copyright of their respective owners. 🍞
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the fantastic new single from The Seminals “All On You“! 🥖
following on from the release of their debut single “Peasants With Money“, they’ve come out with a no-nonsense track here that really puts them on the map as ones to watch for the future. 🤘 we love their indie-rock sound that takes from so many influences and genres, both of the singles so far have been boss!
exploding into the track with a huge guitar riff, it sounds huge from the get-go; and we love the massive energy of the track, so upbeat. the main vocal sounds amazing too, with that scouse touch in there to really show their roots! ⚡️ the chorus almost gives a massive contrast with the verse, having such a different feel to it and then suddenly pulling out a rude guitar solo before dropping back into the next verse. 😎
the energy of the tune only continues throughout, and the outro guitar solo has so much to it, really giving it a fresh breath of air – we can’t even imagine how mental this tune would sound live. might have to get them on for a gig at some point! 👊 keep your eyes out for these guys, two formidable tracks already and we can only imagine even more on the way!
find all of our features, reviews and more on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk 🍞
our feature for Just The Crust today is the brand new single from Wednesday’s Child “I Want You To Want Me”!
we’ve covering the London-based outfit’s releases in the past, having put out a fantastic self-titled EP last year and we love their sound, encompassing a variety of genres to really put a stamp on their own sound. we especially loved the tune “Begin Again”, so well produced and put together with so many sounds in there, gorgeous harmonies and the such.
this new single only furthers upon their sound, showing such progress in their creativity – starting out with such a smooth and calming melody line on the guitar, and flowing seamlessly through to the verse. we love the lyricism here, conjuring up such vivid imagery and being so honest. suddenly it blows up into a chaotic canvas of the chorus; a complete contrast to the calm nature of the verse. so well done, it’s a brilliant change-up and really commands the attention of the listener! the build of the bridge too also, it’s so energetic and culminates in such a huge outro.
it’s a brilliant tune and another one in their amazing discography – you can find the full thing over on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/2fkvo28Rkha3Q98wVxneDq and it’s well worth checking out their full discography! 
find all of our features, reviews and more on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk
just a lil post today to remind you all about all of the features and reviews over on our website – it’s not all just gigs 
(even though looking through our calendar it looks like it!)
we’ve got so many lovely regular features, we’re planning to update a few of them over the new few weeks and make them even cooler. there’s over TWO YEARS of posts on our website now, today marks our 784th day of posting in a row.. madness but so much so have a gander at.
you can find it all over on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk – there’s a whole bunch of stuff to sink your teeth into. so many incredible releases from up North, we love writing about them all!
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the brand new single from Nat Dempsey & The Near Strangers “Run and Hide”!
we’ve known Nat for a long time now, and he’s got such a fantastic discography to his name – so many great singles that sound absolutely fantastic. a proper talent here in Manchester and one to definitely watch out for, especially for his live sets!
opening with a real groove to the track, the drums and bass in perfect sync with one another – it starts with Nat on an almost deadpan vocal, suddenly opening up to a more melodic vocal line and building and building with each instrument until the chorus which is just explosive. 
his lyricism has only got better and better with each track, this song takes a real inspection upon the state of the world and the influence that different figures have and how they all seem to contradict each other, yet don’t… we love seeing the stories behind songs and their meanings and there’s so much to unpack in this one, we’ll let you figure it all out for yourself though
you can find the track in full over on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/track/3tDE0L2aKbZmCJ2IfhcEiP… and on all streaming sites! give it a listen and check out his previous releases as well.
find all of our features, reviews and more on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk
our incredible pal Tay Temple has just put out her brand new single “Time That Mattered“! ☀️ Tay’s one of the most hardworking people we know and her music is a beautiful expression of her creativity and individuality, really putting everything she can into her music to convey her thoughts and feelings. her previous releases are insane, her debut EP “Painfully Aware” is a sublime collection of songs that not only sound amazing, but really put you into the world of Tay and her thought processes and experiences. it’s a lovely journey from start to finish! 🛤
this new single “Time That Mattered” is the first single since her EP came out last year, she’s been working super hard in the studio with her band on this and you can really hear the connection that each of these guys have with each other. each of the instruments blend perfectly together, giving each other room and space whilst simultaneously coming together to really create something that sounds so incredible. 🤘
right from the get-go, it immediately starts on an upbeat vibe with a strong and steady drumbeat, grooving bassline and Tay’s vocal right there in your face – all whilst Jordi’s guitar melodies are flowing across the sonic space giving the track a real pace to it. as it nears the chorus, the track builds so well with cymbals splashing, and drum fills that almost hesitate the flow of the track until it explodes into the chorus where Tay starts belting it out and really giving it her all. the vocal melody of the chorus is superb, and it’s definitely one that we can see being a singalong one at live gigs. ☀️
after the second chorus comes to a close, Jordi pulls out a HUGE guitar solo, really showing off his capabilities as a competent guitarist – not only does it sound absolutely massive, it’s perfectly balanced to the flow of the track and it really sits so well for the song and only compliments how fantastic this song sounds. Tay’s vocal comes back in for the bridge, and at this point she’s proper going for it, putting every emotion she felt writing the song into her voice and just showing off how far she’s come since the release of her first single. not only this, but the guitar solo is shredding it out underneath and really just creating such a brilliant space – this is one of our favourite bridges that we’ve heard for a long time, it’s the whole band performing together so well, in perfect sync, and really just putting everything they can into it to show off their talents. 🙌
you can really hear the emotion put into the lyricism, it’s a tale of pain and love – so relatable to us all, a really pure and honest outburst of feelings. this is what we love about Tay’s lyrics, there’s no holds barred, it’s always just the complete truth of how she’s felt and she turns it into a fantastic tune not only lyrically, but musically, with vocal melodies that are just on point, every time. 💥
we are ABSOLUTELY blown away by this tune. we’ve known Tay for a real long time now and this is a real testament to how much work she puts in every single day to her music – how much talent she has, and all of her band (Jordi, Jasmine and Red) syncing up perfectly well and showing off their musical capabilities. we can not wait to hear what else she has up her sleeve – it’s definitely proven that Tay’s one to watch for this year, and is on her way to big things.
you can find the full tune on all streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music and more – give her a follow on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on her live gigs and info! 🍞
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