Submission Hold Vol 1: featuring Sleeplore, Vice Killer, ya, Uncool Paul

Submission Hold Vol 1

The building of this blog has been a slow and deliberate process. I'm not the most patient of people, perhaps why I've never been able to train myself to play a musical instrument - I always wanted to be Johnny Marr straight away when I picked up a guitar. So when I decided to take the blog onto Social Media I started with the big boys; Twitter and Facebook seemed the most logical places to start.

It was only when I went on Instagram with the blog however that submissions started to go through the roof. They've been coming in from all over the world in the last week or so, which of course, is incredibly gratifying and humbling. The quality of some of the submissions has been incredibly high too, so it felt only right that I should tell you about some of the artists that have been contacting me.

Submission Hold is my nod to the tracks that were sent through the contacts section at the home page and I've selected 4 of the best that I've received since I began. As a one man operation with a full time job to traverse - I have limited time to do NoNewWaveNoFun; so I felt it was important to acknowledge the music as regularly as I can. This will be a regular feature going forward and all that I require is your music to do so - so if you're thinking about submitting to the blog, go right ahead!

Sleeplore - Let Go

Very rarely do you get a track come through in the submissions that stops you dead in your tracks - one that makes it difficult to believe that more people haven't heard it. 'Let Go' is the debut from Sleeplore, the work of the wonderfully named multi-instrumentalist Clyde Rosencrance. 

Clyde is a vastly experienced musician and singer who has spent most of the last few years at the other side of the mixing desk - honing his skills as a go-to Producer in the Scranton area of Pennsylvania in his own studio. 2020 has given him time to reflect and take stock of his musical ambitions, leading to this new project.

As a result, 'Let Go' is a richly atmospheric and multi-layered track that uses every trick in the production textbook. In his bio, Rosencrance talks of the influences that inspired the sound of Sleeplore as bands such as Radiohead, Sparklehorse and The National - but it's the Post Rock sounds of Mogwai and Slint that it resembles most. It seems the overriding lyrical theme is a pep talk to help someone move on from a traumatic event that may be holding them back and this is accentuated by a mournful, yet encouraging guitar. 

It may take you a lifetime is the simple phrase that the backing hangs on, with vocals tinged with the kind of sadness that emanates from Elliot Smith and Sufjan Stevens. 'Let Go' ends with a sudden jolt, almost demanding that you go back and listen again and I have done that several times already. 

   Vice Killer - Commonplace

Starting an indie band in 2020 is an uphill battle for those brave enough to put their time and energy into it. Not only can bands not gig in the traditional sense and gain much needed momentum, but blokes with guitars have never been more ignored by the upper echelons of the industry. 

County Durhams's Vice Killer however are up for the challenge. Based around the songs of Thomas Gilling, who took the UKs National lockdown as a chance to hone his craft -  Vice Killer are completed by brothers James and Jack Langan (Guitar and Bass respectively) and drummer Lewis Muir

.

'Commonplace' is SO NEW it was only recorded in October and the band only solidified as a unit in the summer. They've yet to even play a gig, but not that you'd notice from the recording of their debut single. The track is crisp and classic sounding indie with duelling, jangling guitars that wouldn't sound out of place on a single by Blossoms or the more contemplative moments of early Arctic Monkeys. 

The sharp and inciteful lyrics from Gilling warn of trusting too easily and being aware of the agenda of others - a salient point in the era of misinformation and fake news. The promise shown by Vice Killer on 'Commonplace'  indicates a band that have used their free time wisely and with further time on their side to develop, Vice Killer could become the blokes with guitars that can't be ignored for much longer.

ya - Movie

Anna Akopyan is a Russian performer who moved to Spain at an early age. Using the moniker ya, Anna didn't lead me to a specific track when she submitted, so I had a trawl through her Spotify profile and was amazed at the breadth of different genres that Anna has toyed around with in a short period of time. 

Equally adept at strumming PJ Harvey covers as she is venturing into the Dream Pop territory of Grimes and the Goth Pop of Lorde - ya is not the type of artist that will allow herself to be compromised - It's on her terms alone. The fact that it's only been since the start of the year that she started sharing music online is telling, when you consider the amount of tracks already building up.

ya · Movie

 Summer single 'Movie' was the song that pricked my ears up the most on first listen: It's a darker take on Camila Cabello's 'Havana' with a lyrically ambitious manifesto for stardom. I don't want to be a groupie, I want to be the star is the stand out line that embraces those aspirations fittingly. The beat is classic old-skool Hip Hop - simplistic, but dance-floor friendly and Anna's breathy vocals leave you in no uncertain terms where ya is heading. 

ya releases her debut album 'CHANGE UR BODY' in early January via Estabrook Road Records

   

Uncool Paul - Hard Reset

 There is always something interesting to be found amongst the eccentric fringes of Bedroom singer-songwriters across the world - and Uncool Paul is very much one of those. The self dubbed "introverted ginger curio" is not one to take himself or his music over seriously. Uncool Paul is a self depricating character that takes his que from an enthusiastic love of the playfulness of 80s Pop. 

Hailing from the mean streets of Ashford in Kent, Paul likes to challenge himself by getting what he can out of the limited resources available to him - and largely he achieves that. 'Hard Reset' is the lead single from his album 'Limon & Leme', which is a genre-hopping showcase of Paul's dry wit and ear for a decent tune.

 

The song is based around the abstract notion that someone has a button on a remote to reset the world's problems - not your average pop subject matter. Revolving round a simple cyclic bass riff, the chorus enters with Paul stuttering a plea to reset the button so we can start again; sounding like a sample from a Paul Hardcastle track. The synth has a real presence at this point and takes centre stage musically. The vocals have cockney geezer elements like a slightly less sure of himself Jamie T. It may not be cool, but the cool very rarely have as many idiosyncracies and ideas in an entire album as Uncool Paul manages in one track.