‘STRAW BEAR: ALL YOU NEED IS AN ELECTRIC GUITAR’

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Straw Bear: (L to R) Ian Ray (Vocals/Guitar), Catie Wicks (Bass), Tom Shipp (Guitar), Chris Gray (Guitar /Keys), Pas Stratos (Drums).

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SINGLE – All You Need is an Electric Guitar

IMPACT DATE – 8 JANUARY 2016 (ISRC  GB8S51500001)

Everyone has a record that’s rescued them: a song that’s swept you away and set you back down in a slightly better place.

BBC favourites Straw Bear are back with “All You Need Is An Electric Guitar” – a record that celebrates the irresistible power of a pop song to sink its hooks in and not let go.

They’ve cut their own slice of infectious psychedelic power-pop in the process too:

The London-based five piece’s 2013 album ‘Black Bank’ won gushing praise and regular national airplay from legendary DJ Bob Harris – as well as spins from Dermot O’Leary, Huw Stephens, Cerys Matthews and Tom Robinson, for whom they played a Radio 6 Music session. In 2013, BBC Introducing picked them from thousands of bands to be showcased at The Great Escape Europe’s leading emerging music festival, and highlights from their set were broadcast on Radio 1.

Praise for the band has always centred around their knack for writing pristine pop songs, and “All You Need Is An Electric Guitar” sounds as chiming as ever — but now enveloped in washes of blissed-out psyche guitar.

This is a song showing Straw Bear’s mastery of the pop song — with a truly addictive chorus: one that soars and returns exactly when you hope it will.

“All You Need Is An Electric Guitar”’s video is a story of grind, despair and redemption, and is directed by Jake Robertson. Watch this space!

“For anyone who cares about music, there will be a time when a song or a favourite album has got them out of a hole,” says Ian Ray. “So the song’s really all about how music can come to your rescue; it has an incredible capacity to soothe and elevate you out of the everyday grind.”

The song emerges after a turbulent couple of years, and their new forthcoming album, “Fiction,” is the result of a series of births, deaths and marriages. The band return emboldened by their experiences and are stronger than ever: tighter pop choruses, laser- focused verses and bolder lyrics.

They’ve also built their own studio in Essex, and new LP “Fiction”, set for release later in the year, was recorded there.

For more information about Straw Bear:

www.strawbear.com www.facebook.com/strawbearmusic www.twitter.com/strawbearmusic

Blind Atlas – These Days

Label: Fallen Swine

Impact Date: 19th November

Fresh from their recent session for  Whispering Bob Harris’ Radio 2 show, Blind Atlas release ‘These Days’, taken from their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Kodiak Bear‘. As we’ve come to expect from the band, there’s a brilliant video to accompany the single too:

“Mancunian country blues grooving to a Burritos beat…Kodiak Bear brooding and reflective…hints of Exile on Maine Street, Calexico and Frontier Ruckus…” Classic Rock Magazine: 7/10

Blind Atlas – Kodiak Bear

www.blindatlas.co.uk

Blind Atlas have teamed up again with the incredible animator Volkerfirma films who created the video for ‘My Proud Mountains’ which was ‘Video of the week’ on the BBC6 Music Nemone Show. The latest animation for Kodiak Bear  is for the title track to their debut album, which is due out in April 2012. The results are simply stunning.

Hailing from Denver, Colorado and disparate points around the UK, Blind Atlas came together in the bohemian suburbs of South Manchester, united by a shared preoccupation with drinking, failed relationships and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Led by singer/guitarist Ross Thompson, Blind Atlas concoct a new take on American alternative country and classic British rock ‘n’ roll, taking inspiration from The Rolling Stones and Townes Van Zandt right through to artists such as Calexico and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy.

Blind Atlas have notched up headline slots at some of the most iconic venues in Manchester, with dates planned around their forthcoming debut album. They recently released their ‘Iron wall’ EP which, along with their double A-side single ‘4th Street/For Carol“, was produced by The Earlies. Both releases garnered numerous radio plays including BBC Radio 2 (Bob Harris) and BBC6 Music (Cerys Matthews, Jo Good, Tom Robinson, Gideon Coe).

“… dramatic, spellbinding with a touch of darkness in parts make Blind Atlas a thoroughly hypnotic act … powerful and mesmerising… well worth your attention”.  [BBC]

“… grizzled vocals and a heart-wrenching lyric sheet … think Ryan Adams fronting The Black Keys, or perhaps Fleet Foxes with a Led Zeppelin fixation; and clearly all designed to soundtrack long, whisky-addled nights of anguished soul-searching.”  [CityLife/Manchester Evening News]