The Black Milk Project released their debut EP ‘Holes‘ in March 2016. By the time the recording had been made available for streaming and purchase via Bandcamp, it had already been a case of all change for the Sheffield based jazz poppers with vocalist Delia Taffler having moved on. Guitarist Kris McAdam had other projects and interests on the go, however, and his funk pop outfit Bongo & The Soul Jar had already set about recording their debut full length. That debut, ‘What Have You Got To Lose’, is a brilliantly professional work with it’s core sounds culled from a late eighties and early nineties vintage. While the musicianship is strong, it’s never overly showy: each play of the album uncovers the work of a very natural sounding musical unity; the funk grooves that lie at the core of the best tracks possess an almost timeless quality.
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THE LIPPIES – The Lippies EP
This 2014 EP from The Lippies brings punk rock aplenty, sharp feminist attitudes and even sharper arrangements across six tracks for a brief, but thrilling listen. Although very much a DIY affair, it’s got a fantastic sound quality and production value, meaning right from the get-go the talent within this music unit can be heard so clearly. …And this is a good thing: although so much punk benefits from a fuzzy, lo-fi attitude, it would have been a shame if these songs – and the bass sound which drives them, in particular – had been lost due to a muddy end sound.
GOLOHOR – In Saeculis Obscuris EP
From Belarus comes Golohor, a death metal band that’s so underground that at the time of release for their 2016 EP, the only mention of them on the internet comes from the web page of the Russian record label distributing their CD/download. It’s almost as if the band members never previously existed; there’s no bio, no photos, no social media presence. That’s odd; even guys with black and white facepaint and pseudonyms usually have some kind of online presence, but for Golohor, there’s this EP…and that’s it.
MANON MEURT – Manon Meurt EP
Originally self-released, this debut EP from Manon Meurt finally gained a bigger distribution after being picked up for vinyl release via Label Obscura, a Canadian based label in 2016. It’s great that these Czech dream poppers are given the opportunity to branch out and reach new ears, since in terms of style, things don’t often come much finer. Their six track wax takes in so many great dream pop and shoegazy moods over the course of approximately half and hour; their pensive and droning sounds appear wholly nostalgic and (mostly) quite brilliant.
MAMMOTH SPIRIT – Mammoth Spirit EP
Throughout 2014, Brooklyn based garage rockers Greasy Hearts were phenomenally busy. Between May and December that year, they issued three cassettes and played a number of live shows. There was talk of another release in 2015, but nothing materialised and then at the very end of the year, three Greasy Hearts members resurfaced as part of Mammoth Spirit, a more complex band trading in the much of their straight up garage stance for an unpolished hybrid of blues, funk and retro psych sounds with an old soul.