THE LESS DEAD - It’s Alright

Review by Mike Templar

Gareth Perkins aka THE LESS DEAD was born in Northampton, England, but has spent most of his life in Japan. He has played bass and guitar since childhood and originally wrote a lot of folk. In the mid 00s he became interested in synthwave after hearing the great album Heritage by Collages. He started writing and recording music as a form of self-help: he found that he could process a lot of things that he couldn't say out loud through music (Editor’s note: I think this sounds familiar to many). That continues to be a strong motivator for him, but also knowing that it resonates with his listeners and they empathise has meaning for him. Gareth adds that this fosters a deep sense of connection, and that is something he always wants to be a part of.

I've been following his work for a while now and The Less Dead always surprises me with music that goes deep; big emotions and dreamy compositions as well as great vocals and lyrics.

His latest album It's Alright starts with a fresh breeze, like a new summer morning and dew is on the grasses, then everything becomes clearer - I imagine I'm on a morning walk on a hill and the sun is rising over an old town. This is how The Less Dead begins his musical journey with the track Just So You Now. He plays with subtle arps that start muted and then get brighter. The song is accompanied by a dreamy, distant guitar. Towards the end, a beautiful bell and string synths kick in before the song slowly fades out.

Just when I thought, oh wow, how can you top such an uplifting melody, the next song and title track It's Alright gave me the answer. It's the strong rays of the sun shining on you now, filling you with pure energy and light. When I first heard this song I got goosebumps, and I'm not exaggerating at all. Not only that, but I thought how the hell did Gareth managed to get Chris Martin from Coldplay to sing on his album :) Honestly, in my opinion this song has Coldplay quality, and I mean that in the best possible way. Of course it's not a copy, and The Less Dead has its own style, no question. The song plays with different pitched vocals that fit perfectly with the high energy of the song, while it is also accompanied by a nice percussion pattern, using wooden percussion instruments that work constantly and nicely in wide stereo. Without analyzing the whole song lyrics, I think that with the words "It's alright" he wants to motivate us not to take everything in life too seriously and to see things too doggedly, because we are only here for a short time anyway and all we can really do is understand each other and take care of each other.

The Ant Song plays a beautiful, distant piano melody while you can possibly hear trains and people running in the background. I imagine myself standing at the station waiting for the train, while I realize that I have noisy people around me who have forgotten that they are sentient beings. Modern slaves, so to speak.

Rumination continues with a single piano and a lot of white noise that makes the melodies very warm and cosy. The piano plays a nice melody and is accompanied by a soft synth pad. I can hear the piano keys being pressed, I assume this is a recording of a real piano. And if it's not, it's very well done and sounds very analogue. Later, the piano is replaced by a bell synthesizer before the beautiful melody fades out.

Translations is one of my favourite tracks, along with It's Alright. It plays with a dialogue between a woman and a man and then starts with a soft arp and a great synth melody before adding another dialogue. It's a dreamy and relaxing tune that I really enjoy listening to. Later the man asks "Where are you going?" and a new dialogue begins; I feel like the lines are from a film I can't identify, maybe you can.

The song All You starts with the lyrics "You Shine a light in my eyes", which brings me back to the impression and feeling I had from the beginning: the album is about the power of „light“. The song has a strong, almost medieval-like beat and plays with different high and distorted vocals that sound like a high and distorted guitar, but after each such part you can hear a breath. I think this song with all its elements is a very brilliant song that tells about insecurities or even a love story that ends with tears and unspoken truths.

No More Romance is the name of the next song and feels like a continuation of All You, conveying new hopes. It is an upbeat tune with comforting qualities.

Johnny Five is the penultimate song with a jangly guitar layered on top of a warm synth, complemented by beautiful synths and a pulsating bass. It is another dreamy track that I would love to listen to in the car while driving towards the sunset. At the end of the song, the analogue-sounding piano comes into play again, but this time it sounds almost like a honky-tonky piano and the song ends with a bit more white noise. I wondered about the song name, maybe Gareth is referring here to the film "Short Circuit" (1986), in which number five is later called "Johnny 5".

The album ends with the beautiful song The Forrest Of Time. This song again combines a piano with synthesizers and with a subtle choir in the background while a story is told. It's a beautiful story, but you should listen to it for yourself now. The Less Dead's new album is a dreamy album that tells beautiful and heartbreaking stories. If I were to guess, the overall story of this album is a new exciting romance that unfortunately fails because of illusions and unspoken truths about two people's past. But then when I look at the cover, it's not clear to me whether these are adult or children's stories, but where exactly is the difference anyway? Gareth uses clever instrumentation in all his songs and his compositions are all rock solid - he is certainly one of the best songwriters on the scene and continues to attract attention with great work.

For more The Less Dead, visit lessdead3.bandcamp.com 

LET’S EAT GRANDMA - Hall Of Mirrors

Review by Jake Griffiths of Electrodrome FM

The name is the first thing that hits you. ‘Let’s Eat Grandma’ is a sentence used in grammar classes that highlights the importance of a well-placed comma, or a sentence which doesn’t include one at all. I’ll let you experiment, but it’s safe to say in Grandma’s case good grammar can save lives.

But there are some other things that really strike you about Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, the two members of Let’s Eat Grandma. At the age of just 19 they were releasing their second album, 2018’s critically acclaimed, summery synth driven ‘I’m All Ears’. Lead single Hot Pink was co-produced by SOPHIE with Faris Badwan of The Horrors, sending them flying high into synth artpop territory. It went on to win Album Of The Year at the Q Awards. Despite its airy, pop-driven feeling I’m All Ears is surprisingly complex, bringing in unusual song structures, meaningful lyrics and darker subject matter. Another single - Ava - is a heart-wrenching Lily Allen-esque piano ballad, and I’m All Ears finishes on a 11 minute banger called Donnie Darko which has also become a live favourite - what’s not to love about that.

Let’s Eat Grandma are at their best when their uplifting, fluent melodies meet introspective lyrics. New release Hall Of Mirrors is a prime example and an impressive return. Confident enough to mark their entry into 2021’s attention-low music releases with a track that is 5 minutes 11 seconds long, Hall of Mirrors has the same fluent feel to some of the band’s biggest tracks. The vocal is perfectly pitched, taking on big themes of global disorientation and detachment from your own sense of self alongside personal feelings of missing someone you love. And the instrumentation is all pulsing arpeggiators, floating background vocals that you can never quite catch up to and instinctive-feeling piano breaks. It’s beautifully written.

Pop music is forever fetishing youth, extracting its looks, energy and innocence for its own ends. Although Let’s Eat Grandma are definitely pop stars at the formative stage of their careers, they met at the age of four and have been described as inseparable teenagers. What you’re getting in their sound feels like two fresh pairs of eyes but two wise heads that have become fully accustomed to sharing deep themes and writing complex music together. Part of their uniqueness is the beautiful combination of intense honesty in their words and themes that feels like it could only be expressed between two genuine friends.

Hall of Mirrors is out on Transgressive Records and on general release now.

AGNIS - Slavic Witch

Written by C Z A R I N A

Upon entering Autumn Solstice, Polish mystical electropop artist AGNIS unveils her most breathtaking and haunting visuals yet, entitled Slavic Witch. Slavic Witch was inspired by the events that occurred around Halloween 2020, when thousands of women stood up for their rights. The visuals showcase 4 beautiful sorceress performing an incantation with a backdrop of stunning picturesque forest scenery. The music starts with gamelons and dark ambient drones, progressing into a very feral-like raw breathing and chants against a backdrop of meditative percussions. The song, all sung and chanted in Polish, is about the raw power of a woman. embodying the strength and magic of Wicca. The visuals and track feel like stepping into an occult dream in which one finds protection, reinforcement and hope.

The track is part of the upcoming AGNIS album ONENESS which will be released in 2022 thru darkTunes Music Group EU.

For more AGNIS, visit - agnisagalesna.bandcamp.com

NINA - Gold Heart

Review by Thorisson

As mentioned in our review of Carnival Night, Berlin-based NINA is not afraid of exploring new dimensions of her songwriting. As part of a trilogy of new releases, the synthwave queen has just dropped Gold Heart; an enchanting love ballad swimming in airy synths and shimmering guitars. From the very beginning, a harp sequence sets the tone for what is to come. NINA’s heartfelt vocal performance is beautifully accompanied by ethereal harmonies and an atmospheric soundscape. An unexpected, yet captivating key change appears in the middle of the song, paving way for the song´s pace to slowly pick up towards a crescendo bursting with emotion.

Joined by synth sensation Radio Wolf and legendary songwriter Ricky Wilde, it perhaps comes as no shock that the song’s arrangement is spectacular, to say the least. Gold Heart is the kind of song that compels you to stop everything you’re doing to focus solely on it. A 4 minute journey of euphoria and emotional warmth. Speaking of journeys, we are beyond excited to see where the final piece of NINA’s trilogy takes us!