Sprints may be the latest to emerge from Dublin’s fertile stable of guitar-wielding new heroes, but their two-fingers-up, no-nonsense rattle’n’roll arrives as the natural heir to Amyl and the Sniffers’ grot punk rather than Fontaines mk II. A wry, unimpressed eyeball-roll at the prowlers and predators that roam any given All Bar One on a Wednesday night, ‘The Cheek’ takes four minutes of big, scuzzy riffs, pummelling basslines and singer Karla Chubb’s throaty, sarcastic vocal and turns it into a mic-drop anthem to paying the bad guys no mind and carrying on your own sweet way. (Lisa Wright) DIY

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NSWNi002: Courting – David Byrne’s Badside

Liverpool-based four piece, Courting are the latest new act to emerge from the city steeped in such fantastic and diverse musical heritage. The band, who write and rehearse in the basement of a city restaurant, find much support and inspiration from the creative melting pot of Merseyside, and with fellow locals The Mysterines making waves, this could be the dawn for another exciting wave of scouse bands.

Courting draw influences from the likes of Parquet Courts, Pavement and LCD Soundsystem, yet maintain a very British identity. Alongside the likes of Sports Team, they’re fuelling the long-awaited Britpop revival we’re seeing, as evident in ‘David Byrnes Badside’ – showcasing all the characteristics of the genre, and announcing the emergence of Liverpool’s most exciting new band. Recorded live with Robert Whitley at Whitewood Studios in their hometown, the song is classic British storytelling at its best; cheeky, fun and witty lyrics laced with social commentary are complemented by the essence of the Britpop sound – energetic, catchy and raucous rock ‘n’ roll. Britpop is back and Courting are leading the charge.

Lead singer and guitarist Sean says on the single; “David Byrne’s Badside has nothing to do with the Talking Heads frontman. It’s about class tourism and the casual racism that exists in Britain today. It’s a portrait of the type of person who votes UKIP and wants to close our borders yet promises they’re not a racist. The type of person who says to buy British yet owns a Porsche. At the same time, we’re referencing and poking fun at more lighthearted aspects of British culture, like the collective rage when somebody takes the low of er on The Chase, and Twitter spats about Blur and Oasis. We also really just wanted an excuse to have a saxophone solo.”

Having supported the likes of Sports Team, FEET and Heavy Lungs, Courting have also started to build an army of local fans, with their last few shows around Liverpool selling out rapidly. Courting are now set to unleash their ferocious and witty take on britpop to be the latest in succession of this great city’s artists.

Courting are:
Sean Murphy-O’Neill (Guitar/Vocals/Cowbell)
Sean Thomas (Drums/Vocals)
Michael Downes (Guitar)
Sam Brennan (Bass)

NSWNi001: Jelly Cleaver – Feeling Fine

Nice Swan Records are excited to announce they are joining forces with the team from RIP Records in launching the new monthly Nice Swan Introduces… series. The two labels have discovered and released debut tracks from some of the finest talent over the past few years including Sports Team, Pip Blom, FUR, Phobophobes, Peluché, Dark Bells (Haai) & Black Manila (Mellah), Hotel Lux and many more. The series will introduce a new and exciting talent on a monthly basis – spanning genres – and present a stepping stone for acts yet to have any team around them. The first in the new series comes from South London’s Jelly Cleaver, the latest musical sensation to emerge from the exciting Jazz scene of the capital. Her new track ‘Feeling Fine’ features rapper Shunaji, a graduate of Gilles Peterson’s Future Bubblers, and Maddy Coombs, a rising saxophonist on the London Jazz Scene. It’s due for release April 28th via Nice Swan Introduces Series:

The self-taught multi-instrumentalist has been playing guitar ever since she was old enough to pick one up and with a wide range of musical influences including classical, soul, “world”, folk and experimental. Jelly’s sound has naturally headed into the musical freedom of jazz with hip-hop elements born from previous projects that included a punk band and an African drumming choir.

This is the second single from Jelly’s innovative new project Reimagined, following on from They Don’t Know released in November 2019. For this mixtape she has produced tracks based off sampling her last critically acclaimed album The Dream Jazz Manifesto (played on BBC 1xtra, Rinse FM, Worldwide FM and others). Feeling Fine samples her tune Angela, reimagining it as a chilled-out, old-school hip-hop track. Jelly, who recently won the Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award, has previously been called “the next artist to make an impact on the London Jazz Scene” by Supreme Standards and been compared to Moses Boyd, Esperanza Spalding and Hiatus Kayote, but this mixtape sees a radical departure from her jazz/DIY roots and her first strong statement as a producer and beatmaker. The project has been funded by Help Musicians Do It Differently Fund, and the full mixtape is due for release in May 2020.

‘Feeling Fine’ is a woozy track about the good times, dreaming about summer days and being your best self. Her two collaborators definitely share in this vibe. Having met as part of the house band for a jam session at Brainchild Festival several years back, Jelly and Vanessa Saul (artist name Shunaji) became good mates and frequent collaborators, with Jelly supporting Shunaji for her Blue Melon EP release and featuring on a track from her upcoming EP. Jelly knew Maddy Coombs though Tomorrow’s Warriors, the jazz education organisation credited by many for creating the current London jazz scene, with alumni including Ezra Collective, Moses Boyd, Shabaka Hutchings, Nerija and Nubya Garcia.

Hotel Lux release debut EP ‘Barstool Preaching’ via Nice Swan Records

Hotel Lux share their debut EP ‘Barstool Preaching’ via Nice Swan Records. Following an aptly timed UK and France tour in February which saw the band pack out the likes of The Waiting Room & The Windmill, London and L’Olympic Cafe, Paris, the five piece release their debut EP along with the news of a November run of live shows.

Formed on the south coast in Portsmouth, frontman Lewis Duffin moved to London alongside pals Sam Coburn, Jake Sewell, Craig MacVicar & Cam Sims to form Hotel Lux. Since then the band have gone on to release a string of singles which have developed and defined an unmistakable sound, personality and feeling. Released via London’s Nice Swan Records (Sports Team, Pip Blom, Fur), ‘Barstool Preaching’ features the self reflective single ‘Tabloid Newspaper’ which gained critical acclaim from the likes of Radio 1’s Annie Mac as she named the band as one of her ‘New Names’. Further attention followed on the radio with the likes of  Steve Lamacq (6Music), Huw Stephens (Radio 1), John Kennedy (Radio X) and Matt Wilkinson (Beats1) all giving the track regular spins.

 “Sizzling “pub rock” gems” – DIY