For a few years Americana duo The Lowest Pair were regular features on MM, but to our shame this is the first music we’ve shared of theirs since 2015. Our bad undoubtedly, but their new album (released last week) The Perfect Plan is a great reminder of what we’ve been missing. Clawhammer banjo and acoustic guitar are still at the heart of a subtly more fleshed out … Continue reading The Lowest Pair – The Perfect Plan
Smoke is the latest single shared from Jess Williamson’s forthcoming record Sorceress. It is a brilliant song. A deep country rock ‘n roll burner, Smoke describes a relationship that’s falling apart. From a delicate finger-picked opening, the song rises with flourishes of muted percussion, lilting pedal steel, and piercing electric guitar. And as always the song is held together by her incredible vocals. Watch the … Continue reading New Video: Jess Williamson – Smoke
Visceral Liverpool art-rock foursome SPQR have shared the title track from their third EP No Brain, No Pain which is out now (order here). Having already shared EP openers Nuthin Gud and the excellent Just Sumfin, the latest track is a bouncy, layered slice of quirky pop with an undeniably catchy bassline. Check them all out below. Continue reading SPQR – No Brain, No Pain EP
A long time ago West Virginian Jason Ward was a favourite on MM, particularly of Mrs M as one of his songs, the acerbic Bless You was a perfectly timed tune for a somewhat tricky period. Anyway, he has returned under the moniker of Spiteful Bum with a new album of lo-fi garage pop which he describes as “singing about our lives, your lives, depression, love, lust, anger and … Continue reading Spiteful Bum – Jot Down The Dope
Brooklyn five piece Pale Lights have been around since 2011, and latest single for Slumberland Records, You And I, is as classic a slice of indie jangle as you’re ever likely to hear. As the Bandcamp blurb puts it, “Sporting an indelible melody and some very fine guitar strum ‘n’ jangle, it is the sort of tune that 7″ singles were invented. By the time … Continue reading Pale Lights – You And I
Bad Taste is the eye-popping debut from London-based anonymous dystopian-punk duo NRVS. Backed with the equally nihilistic The Teeth I Always Wanted, their music carries a blistering, in-your-face, anti-establishment quality that syphons perfectly through their distinct DIY punk sensibilities. Stream both below – like being put through a sonic meat grinder. In a good way. Continue reading Introducing >>> NRVS
Mean Motor Scooter, the B-movie, scuzzy-pysch-punk Texas quartet are back with a new EP, Mr Sophistication, out on the 1st May. Check out the supercharged sonic joyride of The Void, and the spiky punk rhythms and choppy guitars of Aristobrat below. Also, in place of a public album release party due to quarantine, the group will be live streaming their show this Friday from 6–7 PM … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends… Mean Motor Scooter
We were big fans of country garage quintet Sleep Eaters’ Holy Days EP last year, making our end of year Best of List, and now they are back with In This Town, which is in fact the very first track the band recorded together two years ago. It is meant as a stopgap release to help tide us over during the quarantine and ahead of … Continue reading New From Sleep Eaters
A Different Thread, is the collaboration between Robert Jackson from Lichfield, England, and Alicia Best from Durham, North Carolina, USA. Both travelling songwriters in their own right, they first met while busking in Galway, Ireland, back in 2016 and have been on the road together ever since. They have an upcoming EP, Some Distant Shore (due out May 22nd) and have shared a video for … Continue reading New Video: A Different Thread – Pretty Polly
Here is a lovely way to head in to the weekend with William Fitzsimmon’s cover of Angel from Montgomery, a tribute to the passing of the great John Prine. He says, “John Prine, like one of my other heroes, Townes Van Zandt, was a once in a generation writer. He distilled emotions down to simple phrases and timeless melodies. He wrote songs that seemed like they existed decades … Continue reading Video: William Fitzsimmons – Angel from Montgomery
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