New music review with singles from snake eyes and The Queen's Head

Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her new music review with singles from snake eyes hdtv and The Queen's Head Piston Ghosts

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Artist: snake eyes

Track: hdtv

Credit Lee London

Brighton-based gritpop duo snake eyes have released grunge-groove new single hdtv, released via Alcopop! Records (UK) and Grand Hotel van Cleef (Germany). In a climate where all but the luckiest of acts are working one or more jobs to support their art, hdtv is a knowing look back at some of the financial struggles and bad jobs the band have been through, and the societal stigma surrounding minimum wage “unskilled” work.

Commenting on the single, front man Jim Heffy says: “I’m finding that, while I have a lot to be thankful for, times are tough and I’ve been feeling the pinch lately. Minimum wage seems the norm these days, whilst the cost of living continues to rise. This song was born out of feeling trapped in crap jobs and serves as a reminder to find comfort in the little things. If you’re reading this, you are so much more than your day job. don’t let the bastards get you down."

In the words of Tom Hill, who mixed the track, "musically we really ‘threw the kitchen sink’ at this one. We got trumpets in there, vinyl scratching (which Brooker taught himself to do after he decided the end of the song was gagging for it) and a healthy amount of cowbell for good measure. We hope this summer bop makes you feel better.”

It's a contemplative track which considers the tough economic challenges of being in a band. It almost imperceptibly grows in its weird and wonky soundscapes perhaps reflecting the frustrations. Being a creative should not be as difficult as it is to earn a living. hdtv is the third release from the band this year, the first being hug me - featuring guest vocals from Erik Heise of German punk chart toppers and touring buddies pabst - and follow up jar full of wasps, picking up support from BBC R1, BBC 6music, Radio X and hitting global Spotify New Music Friday playlists.

This year has also seen a raft of high profiles support slots for the band alongside The Meffs, Dune Rats, You Me At Six, and Kid Kapichi. Now they head out on their own headline ‘make you feel better’ UK tour beginning in Edinburgh on 4 June. Tickets on sale now. And more good news, snake eyes will be revealing further new music and live dates over the coming months.

snake eyes 'make you feel better' tour dates

June

4 - Edinburgh - Sneaky Petes

5 - Blackpool - Bootleg Social

6 - Manchester - Lions Den

7 - Nottingham - Bodega

8 - Milton keynes - Craufurd Arms

10 - London - Sebright Arms

11 - Norwich - Waterfront Studio

13 - Bristol - Lanes

14 - Exeter - Cavern

15 - Southampton - Suburbia

19 - Hastings - The Piper

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Artist: The Queen's Head

Track: Piston Ghosts

Credit Kyleen Hengelhaupt @dontlikepickles

South London band The Queen’s Head release new single Piston Ghosts from their forthcoming EP Titanic set for release on 8 July (self-released). Piston Ghosts is inspired by a Ken Hollings essay on the sexual history of machines, it starts as something romantic but is soon twisted into the horrific, creating a song that is rhythmically playful but thematically foreboding. The voices of frontmen Joel Douglas and Tom Butler are separated, one projecting onto the other from afar.

Tom further expands on the new single: “I’ve always viewed Piston Ghosts as a political song. One where power dynamics are defined by the material circumstances agents find themselves in. Where the opportunity to dream of something better - to see the value in supposedly valuable things like hobbies, conversations, currency, poetry - is dashed by the repetitive, mechanical nature of a technofeudal world.”

Piston Ghosts is full of drama and depth, completely captivating the listener with its intensity. The instrumentation which at times warps in and out, is a vehicle for the vocal telling the narrative. The auto-tune sections add another layer of tension, and challenging as this track may be, it will get under the skin, and linger long after the track has finished.

The band share that on second Titanic EP they take their spoken word ‘indie-disco’ to a much darker, experimental place, citing Death Grips, Talking Heads, 100gecs and Wagna as influences and with production from Andy Savours (Black Country, New Road, My Bloody Valentine, Do Nothing).

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