The Sorry Kisses vs The Joy Formidable

The Sorry Kisses vs The Joy Formidable

Sam & Hayley Hutchinson from The Sorry Kisses


In keeping with our fem fatale singers theme this week. Here’s a a couple crushers that could easily mystically cut you up with their guitars or voice or both! Leaving behind a puddle of manhood from their gaze if they so deemed but they’d surely prefer to keep you standing for their performance because they want to be adored as they should be! These bands are full of sonic awesome sauce – if the teary parts of gram parsons or whispyness of Cocteau Twins heal you. Fit it with a guitar hammers with these two bands.


ALBUM REVIEW: First up here’s the UK’s The Sorry Kisses new one Keep Smiling (the music always tastes better from England sometimes) featuring the very angelic Hayley Hutchinson as the singer songwriter with the support of her gentleman caller Sam Forrest. This being valentines month and all I asked Sam how he met Haley. He says They both were playing music in York England for too many years and eventually one summer we hooked up over whiskey, cats and a few gram parsons records… OK she might have a different notion of this but allas they make some amazing cosmic music that is as thick with distortion as it is gritty at times with a confluent delivery. Peppered with a healthy does of melodic flavors fit for any music collectors disparate moody taste. Needless to say they are a very prolific couple because of this meshing. If your’re a cat lover or a hater or fan of Hum there’s a few tracks on this one that will make you seek out your perfect match or at least a few biscuits to eat while you gaze in amazement at a poster of Gram Parsons as it were a dream that’s become real. Ok, but lets not stop the dream sequence there; as there’s three dimensions to the Kisses’s music. One of which has this whole 80’s nod to Smiths/cure/echo all in one acoustic pop-ditty vibe with a song called “Blue Skys” that you should check out. Further evidence is backed up by of their passion for country evidenced by a bunch of covers they did during a winter hibernation. We’ve included one here for your love affair to begin. I see another video with the stalker ode (we love those) with the track called “Fanboy” that talks about the good nature that can turn sour where the star actually gives the fan a chance. Sounds like a country theme to you maybe? Give these tracks a listen and mix them up with anything in your Poptopia fantasy band. You’ll do alright. Because the kids are alright!

Download:
Sunstorms MP3 by The Sorry Kisses from their 3rd official release Keep Smiling [Listen on Bandcamp]
Fake & Emilie MP3’s from Um And Ah their 2009 laptop release.
Ring Of Fire MP3 Cover by the man in black
Get the [Hibernation Covers EP]

The Extras:
I’d Like Your Hair Long by Hum from You’d Prefer An Astronaut [Buy some]
Return of the Grievous Angel MP3 by Gram Parson w/Emmylou Harris off of Grievous Angel

Meet this Welsh Band - The Joy Formidable


The Joy Formidable – In anticipation of the Big Roar being released as a follow-up to A Balloon Called Moaning. Here’s a live video to get you excited. This Ritzy Bryan can sure deliver swiftly some serious songstering wrapped in this subtle and delicious alternative Scottish like sounds of Cocteau Twins reverb blanket. If you don’t believe me just grab a song and check it out for yourself. You’ll be an instant fan and all we ask is for you take a hit, breath and exhale. The music is that energized as if you were swimming in a room filled with static electricity.


Here they are performing the lead-off track “The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade “on Rabid in the Kennel with Jack Rabid’s (The Big Takeover) radio podcast broadcast show that they sometimes film/document in Brooklyn USA. The recording is real pro so the band sounds like super awesome sauce.

Download:
Cradle MP3 by The Joy Formidable from A Balloon Called Moaning.
[Buy it from Insound]

More extras:
Lorelei MP3 by Cocteau Twins from 1984’s Treasure
Carolyn’s Fingers MP3 also by CT on 4AD Blue Bell Knoll (1988) | This is some beautiful music [Buy some Vinyl] Sounds best this way.

Relevant linkage:
Album Review: Please meet Sam Forrest’s Imagination
The Sorry Kisses homestead
Shoegaze mania with NYC’s Flower – Big Takever over show review
Tons of shoegeezer mp3s by bands like For Against, Sleepover Disaster + More

Please Meet Sam Forrest’s Imagination

Please Meet Sam Forrest’s Imagination

No Imagination by Sam Forrest

No Imagination by Sam Forrest

ALBUM REVIEW: Please meet Sam Forrest’s 3rd solo effort No Imagination which finds him moving away from the straight up acoustic/folksy guy in the back shed to the do-it all himself rockband (including drums). This North Yorkshire creator/guitarist has added some noise on rediscovery of the sonic youth adding some nice layers of feedback to the palette of man vs songs and is at the top of his craft. No Imagination will give purveyors of sounds a couple subtle winterly chills that creeps in various textures along the way but even that would not do this release any justice. The music throughout seem to be telling us something; like on the song “The things you need” on the piano before it blares out into this lost episodic wall of feedback or some Jason Lytle(grandaddy) like dream in “Homesick Lullaby”. The problem is these are Sam’s dream-scapes and he’s owning them all like “silent actors with broken tongues” there is a great escape in the mindscape. Connecting the dots organically like the steps one makes along a venerated decision tree wrapped in the plain old frustrations of making music you like,etc. Slightly maddening for sure and then what would it be like if you had no thoughts to build on?

Somehow musicians like Sam get to the sweet spot. Some of the vocals remind me of the recorded style of Elliot Smith and the gospel harmonization of David Crosby from If I Could Only Remember My Name…. all this mixed together like a kids water color painting –a little bury at times but the choices of color seem just right in these portraits. These obfuscations and strong song sensibilities are not unlike The Posies with a Revolveresque influence beening called into the outbuilding where this music was recorded somehow but I’m not sure which song voodoo is more prevalent other than to say it’s spread out keenly with no drudgery on any given instrument. NI fires on all song cylinders not afraid to take risks in it’s travels.


I don’t think the journey to this point has been an easy one having his band Nine Black Alps being dropped by Island/Interscope Records for lack of sales (Happens a lot) and it obviously seems to have encouraged him to keep at it having had a taste of a band on the road to just keep making music with future releases planned out already. This is artist survival and I’ll say the instinct has enabled something really great. If that were not enough he also has project with his girlfriend Hayley Hutchinson called Sorry Kisses. OK, I’ll admit I never heard of either or Sam for that matter until literally 48 hrs ago but just goes to prove a point around the RSHQ. I still don’t know anything. The world has been flattened by the internet and anything can happen or maybe not but one thing is for certain it’s great listening to music that is the fruit of somebody else’s labor of love. Enjoy.

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD: Echo Godless MP3 by Sam Forrest from No Imagination [BUY]

Mix what we hear with these songs:
Orleans by David Crosby from If I Could Only Remember My Name…. (1971)
Birds Encouraged Him MP3 by Jason Lytle from Yours Truly, The Commuter
Gold Star For Robot Boy (GBV cover) MP3 by Jon Auer
Three Imaginary Boys MP3 by The Cure from Boys Don’t Cry (1979)