our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the brand new album “Love Songs and Laments” from Blacksheeplad!
we’ve covered Phil’s music a load now and his relaxed, introspective songs are lovely to listen to – many of his songs are about his personal experiences and it’s lovely to hear them! we’ve had him perform for us a few times and it’s always great to have him on.
this new album, released through Wobbly Music, only expands on his great collection of songs – you can really hear the progression and evolution of his songwriting, with songs like the opener “Homeland” which is a calm and mellow tune about his childhood town, and then the eerie and haunting sound of “Pantomime” with violins and more of a full band sound behind Phil and his ukulele. it’s a real great listen and well worth checking out!
you can find his music on all streaming sites – Spotify is at https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Pqy48o3FVvpwo4j3N0QvX… – and he’s also uploaded a load of acoustic videos to his YouTube in preparation for the release as well!
find all of our features, reviews, music and more on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk
we’re back with our July edition of The Wrap! 👊 there’s been so many incredible releases over the past month, with bands and artists making waves with new music. it’s so brilliant to see! we’ve wrote up a few lil reviews of some of our faves, you can find them all below! ⬇️
Another huge release from Scotland’s Pizza Crunch, “Wilting Youth” expands on their already huge sound encapsulated within their previous releases – maintaining that cool, collected vibe, huge riffs and steady rhythm to provide lovely sonic scenery for the buttery main vocal to slide through. 🍃 a real summery indie/alt anthem here, the guitar riffs are gorgeous and sound so lush, and as it opens up into that dreamy bridge, we love the atmosphere around it, really sets the scene for the remainder of the tune and the explosivity of the outro/final chorus makes this a tune to be put on repeat all through the summer. (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / BANDCAMP / YOUTUBE)
One of our favourites on the North West scene, The Empire Police returned with an absolutely huge track “Tell England We Don’t Know“! Opening with a huge gang vocal, a real cinematic intro it really shows the ferocity of this tune. The verses are a gorgeous contrast, mellow and calmed; yet lyrically poetic and beautiful – suddenly becoming direct and aggressive and oh so political, distortion crackling at the sidelines and the rhythm becoming more and more chaotic and brutal… exploding into that huge chorus! 👊 the bridge is a relentless rant at the state of the country, the socio-political climate and oh so spot on. Lyrically, it’s a beautiful middle finger towards the political part of the country – so eloquently put, but with no holds barred. Probably our favourite release from them yet! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE)
Lancashire-based indie outfit The Forensics have just put out their newest single “Change My Mind“! Opening up with some synthy/dream-pop-esque ambience, it sounds fantastic from the get go. As it flows into that first verse, the rhythm kicks in and really gives it a deserved groove, and as it opens up into the chorus we can imagine this is gonna be a huge sing-a-long hit for them at gigs and that. 👊 the guitar solo sits perfectly after the first chorus, staying reserved but pushing melodies all over the track and sounding fantastic. We can’t wait to hear more from these! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)
South Wales based RATOON released their second single “What Do They Know“! A brill tune with an honest and relatable story behind it (the video portrays this so well and it’s perfect for the track!) it sounds great, fast-paced punky indie feel here which you can never go wrong with. ☀️ it’d go off live, we can imagine it sounding huge! With a catchy chorus, anthemic fast paced vibes, we’re sure RATOON are gonna be making waves! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE)
Pop/soul extraordinaire James Reid has returned with his brand new single “LYING“! Opening up with a massive EDM influence, the track soars into the first verse with a real smooth groove to it, the drums give it such a good feeling and James’ vocal sits so well within it. As it comes into the chorus the bassline drives it so well, a fantastically written hook and such a smooth and gorgeous vocal on this too. Unreal stuff here, such a good energy to the track and definitely one to put on repeat. We love the production, it’s honest and heartfelt storytelling and just a proper banger! Well worth a listen! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)
The fantastic We Three Kings have their new tune “The Criminal” out! First off, that riff is absolutely gorgeous. From the start it’s huge, you can hear how tight the band is here and they’re able to craft such a huge sounding track. Vocals here are on point too, absolutely belting it out – a real catchy tune that is just gonna go mental at any live setting. 🤘 we love the energy of the bridge, changing up a bit, opening up and culminating in a massive sound! Well worth a listen, plus their back catalogue is well tasty. Plenty to sink your teeth into! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / BANDCAMP / YOUTUBE)
Manchester-based Roukaya B put out this absolute banger of a tune this month, “The Sauce“! With unreal production, a proper feel-good vibe with such a groove behind it – one to reyt blast out during these sunny days. She’s able to effortlessly flow between her rapping and singing, utilising both to glide over the track so seamlessly, and her lyricism is class, telling her story with such imagery and confidence! Perfectly balancing her energy with the atmosphere of the track, well worth having a gander at! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC / YOUTUBE)
Manchester-based singer-songwriter jamie henry has just dropped his second release, “don’t leave“! A familiar face on the Manchester circuit – this tune sounds fantastic, so effortlessly delicate and raw, yet you can hear the pure passion and effort that’s gone into the writing of this. 🌛 the soft ambience in the background is gorgeous, the guitar licks accompanied by the backing vocals sound so massive and really bring the song to life. the build up throughout is great, climaxing in that final section with such a dreamy atmosphere – we feel like there may be some Phoebe Bridgers influence in there… plus, a b-side that is hauntingly beautiful. Can’t wait to hear more! (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)
bloomin’ heck, yet another great month of music for us all up North. we’ve covered such a fantastic range here, so many different genres and varieties but so so much incredible talent on offer. this is why we love it! 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 brand new single from RIVIA “Snake Hips“!
we’ve covered them plenty of times now, the Liverpool-based outfit are fantastic with a whole bunch of amazing tunes under their belt now – brilliant stuff from them each and every time!
this new tune came out on Friday, another from their upcoming EP “Scratching The Surface” and it’s true to their signature sound, huge riffs, such a drive throughout the track and great energy to it! opening up with a great groove to it, and erupting into a huge chorus that we can imagine would be absolutely massive live.
we love the breakdown in it, coming to such a soft and calm atmosphere before it explodes into that final chorus and outro that are so chaotic, really showing their talent and prowess throughout this song. sounds absolutely fantastic!
just a quick reminder that you can find all of our features, reviews, music and more over on our website!
there’s a whole bunch of features, including our weekly Just The Crust reviews and our end-of-month The Wrap – plus plenty more! lots to sink your teeth into.
find it all on our website here at www.breadrecords.co.uk to find it all, we’ve got over 2 years’ worth of music covered now which is insane to think!
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the brand new single from Granfalloon “Please Write Responsibly“!
we’re huge fans of Granfalloon, having covered plenty of his music in the past (his previous singles “Who You Are” and “Working On Your Own” are brilliant!) and we’ve caught him live loads now, a real talent with such fantastic performances – well worth seeing.
this new single we heard a little taster of at Sunday Best over at the Eagle Inn the other month, and the studio version captures the intimacy of it perfectly with a beautiful, ambient backdrop the tune to compliment the intricate guitar melody, it starts off blissfully, as his vocal comes in it sits so well above the soundscape – a deadpan delivery from Granfalloon entices the listener in and the lyrical quality here is unreal, you can really fall into his story here. written as an apology song, to someone who was hurt by the writing of one of his songs, it’s a beautiful piece which takes such talent to write.
you can find the full video over on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0k39FFV9xw – or alternatively you can listen to it over on all streaming sites, just search for “Granfalloon”! we highly recommend listening to it in full. fantastic stuff as always from this chap!
in case you missed it, we put out our latest Knead To Know interview last week, this time with the amazing Emily Mercer Music!
we chatted about a whole bunch, including her latest single “Maybe Then”, her inspirations for creativity, the work she does with Manchester Women Songwriters and even old school emo and rock genres of music
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!
after a short break we’re back with our next Knead To Know feature with the fantastic Emily Mercer! ⚡️
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!
it’s great to be able to chat with Emily here, talking about her unique experiences and influences that help her to create music – we love finding out about the backstory of songs, their journey and how they came to be. I think we’ve all had the emo phase at some point too, it seems that a lot of musicians came to be through a love of that genre of music – personally I think that the acceptance that the genre gave people actually helped a lot of people figure out where they wanted to be and who they were! We can’t wait to hear more from her and her band, and we’ll definitely have to get down to one of their gigs soon. 😊
a big thank you to Emily for answering these questions for us – you can find all of her music on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/6hFZOemdEu434rD35fYjPG, it’s well worth checking out her tunes! 🌛 we hope that you enjoyed this feature as much as we did – let us know what you think! 🥪
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!
opening up with a great groove to it, and erupting into a huge chorus that we can imagine would be absolutely massive live.
fantastic stuff as always from this chap!
Bread Records 