APPLEWOOD ROAD – TRIO OF AMY SPEACE, EMILY BARKER, & AMBER RUBARTH – EARNING ACCLAIM FOR AMERICAN RELEASE OF SELF-TITLED DEBUT

Applewood Road – the trio of songwriters Amy Speace, Emily Barker, and Amber Rubarth – are earning raves for their self-titled debut album, out this month on Gearbox Records. The trio’s “My Love Grows” was featured on Spotify’s Folksy Love playlist. Here’s what we’re reading:

“Impressed me with their close harmonies.”
- Paste Magazine

“Lovely… near perfect folk album… I was mesmerized.”
- No Depression

“The harmonies of the three women… shine.”
- Glide Magazine

“Serendipity.”
- Mother Church Pew

“Musical magic.”
- The Alternate Root

Radio add date: August 21

“Losing My Religion” live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL8-4ayvZQ0

UK praise:

“****… a stunning country showcase of three gorgeous but markedly different voices.”
– Q

“Flawless set that has to be the most haunting release of the past year... Unfailingly seductive and wistful.”
– Sunday Times

“*****… There’s a moreish magic to the harmonies of this country-folk trio that recalls the vintage appeal of the Everlys and the Andrews”
– Telegraph

“Truly gorgeous…”
– Maverick Magazine

“*****… full of style, allure and artistry… likely to be in my top five albums this year.”
– R2

“****… Sometimes things just seem meant to be… honey-harmonied wonder… magic.”
– Record Collector

Piney Gir - Mr Hyde’s Wild Ride

"Sweet 60's pop from Kansas Chameleon"
- UNCUT ****

"Undeniably charming"
- THE SUN ***

"Varying emotions and mutations are part of her unexpected strength"
- MOJO ***

"Exuberant, bursts with joy, divine and sometimes mournful"
Q Magazine Top Pick

Piney Gir - Mr Hyde’s Wild Ride

We present “Mr Hyde’s Wild Ride” – twelve top pop stories about a young woman coming to terms
with the hope and regret that accompanies love and loss. Piney's easy way with melody belies an
album of new and different shades to albums past. Change is in the air, and the characters that
populate these songs seem ready to tell it like it is, like Dorothy Parker’s snappy comebacks, as
surprising to them as to us.

Being Piney Gir, she can't resist the perkiness of a finely-honed, heavenly tune on opener Gold
Rules, even as the song celebrates unreachable riches and glibly states the fact, “you can’t take it
with you anyway.” First single, Keep It Together deftly channels 60s beat pop and Stereolab all at
the same time, a lover's lament laced with urgency and optimism, piped-in directly from her spaceage,
bachelorette pad.

Other stand-out earworms include Tilt A Whirl, a piece of fairground philosophy that dates back to
childhood years when Piney would accompany her grandmother on something akin to the Waltzer.
As the song spins, with Farfisas swirling round life's ups and downs "like a shooting star or a hope
combustible..." become metaphors among the lights and sounds. Mouse Of A Ghost fuzzes up like
Pineys-in-Toyland channelling her inner riot grrl, with boxy guitar blasts that remind us all that you
can rock just as hard, if not harder, in a gingham dress.

As ever Piney's pulled together a stellar band, with members of Gaz Coombes and Emiliana Torrini's
touring band jumping in on guitar, bass and drums alongside The Smith Brothers & regular
collaborator Garo Nahoulakian takes a seat in the producer’s chair. Andy Ramsay of Stereolab
makes an appearance on drums; the bulk of the album was recorded in his South London studio.
The rest was whipped-up in Piney’s little Hackney Studio, small and perfectly formed like a musical
toy box, chock-full of space echo, marimba, omnichord and pocket piano, which combine to create
a euphoric indie-starshine. Think Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips alongside sparkling tableaux of Mercury
Rev., the tunefulness of Grandaddy and riff-led counter-melodies like The Pixies.

After a decade spent in the UK it feels like Piney's finally made England hers by rediscovering
America, re-imagined from London's rainy streets, channelling her inner Jekyll and Mister Hyde,
“because there’s two sides to everything, right?” These tunes beautifully stitch together English
folk, American pop, mariachi moments, trail songs and baroque beats. Sometimes it's like an alternative
musical history of a storybook amusement park ride. And need we mention, it's a wild ride
you're gonna love...

MARY EPWORTH “HAS EMERGED AS A FASCINATING PRESENCE” (MOJO), SLAYS UK CRITICS AHEAD OF AMERICAN DEBUT

EPWORTH ADDS NYC/LA SHOWS TO EXTENSIVE TOUR WITH WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE

British indie/psych voice Mary Epworth has earned a wealth of critical raves in the UK for her otherworldly voice and arresting debut, 'Dream Life,' which is slated for release in the US on May 19 on Highline Records. The album has already playlisted three BBC 6 Music singles and earned the coveted title of Hottest Record in the World from BBC Radio 1.

She has just added several NYC and LA dates following her 36-date US tour with the chart-topping Welcome To Night Vale podcast's live show, including May 24 at Cake Shop at 11pm and May 25 at the Living Room at 7pm in NYC; and May 29 at Hotel Café at 7pm in LA.

Here’s the embeddable track "Black Doe":




"Gutsy….powerful." – The Guardian

"Psych pop splendour." - Q

"A warm, yearning musical love letter… [Epworth] has emerged as a fascinating presence." – Mojo

"Woodsy, psychedelic-demonic folk rock." – The Sunday Times

“Psych pop ‘Dream Life is a powerfully evocative album... Epworth’s mesmerising songs embody the timelessness of a fabled shanty, albeit one played through a folk-gaze fuzzbox.” – The Independent

"A distinctive new voice." – Rock and Reel

"Slow-burning harmonies, epic instrumentation, and soaring vocals." – Diva Mag

“9/10… Spell-binding and beautiful... Simply wonderful.” -Clash

MARY EPWORTH TOUR DATES

APRIL 15. TUCSON, AZ - RIALTO THEATRE
APRIL 16. MESA, AZ - MESA ARTS CENTER
APRIL 17. LAS VEGAS, NV - HORN THEATER AT COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
APRIL 18. LOS ANGELES, CA - THE ORPHEUM
APRIL 20. SAN PEDRO, CA - WARNER GRAND
APRIL 21. OAKLAND, CA - FOX THEATER
APRIL 23. PORTLAND, OR - REVOLUTION HALL
APRIL 24. PORTLAND, OR - REVOLUTION HALL
APRIL 25. SEATTLE, WA - THE NEPTUNE
APRIL 25. SEATTLE, WA - THE NEPTUNE
APRIL 27. SPOKANE, WA - BING CROSBY THEATRE
APRIL 28. MISSOULA, MT - WILMA THEATRE
APRIL 30. FARGO, ND - FARGO THEATRE
MAY 1. MINNEAPOLIS, MN - PANTAGES THEATRE
MAY 2. MINNEAPOLIS, MN - PANTAGES THEATRE
MAY 3. IOWA CITY, IA - ENGLERT THEATRE
MAY 4. LAWRENCE, KS - LIBERTY HALL
MAY 5. ST LOUIS, MO - SHELDON CONCERT HALL
MAY 8. CHICAGO, IL -COPERNICUS CENTER
MAY 9. BLOOMINGTON, IN - BUSKIRK CHUMLEY THEATRE
MAY 10. DETROIT, MI - THE FILLMORE
MAY 12. LOUISVILLE, KY - BOMHARD THEATRE
MAY 13. CINCINNATI, OH - TAFT THEATRE
MAY 14. CLEVELAND, OH, HANNA THEATRE
MAY 15. PITTSBURGH, PA - CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD
MAY 17. BUFFALO, NY - ASBURY HALL
MAY 18. ALBANY, NY - THE EGG, HART THEATRE
MAY 19. NORTHAMPTON, MA - ACADEMY OF MUSIC
MAY 20. BOSTON, MA - BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER
MAY 21. BOSTON, MA - BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER
MAY 24. NEW YORK, NY – CAKE SHOP (WITHOUT NIGHT VALE)
MAY 25. BROOKLYN, NY – LIVING ROOM (WITHOUT NIGHT VALE)
MAY 29. LOS ANGELES, CA – HOTEL CAFÉ (WITHOUT NIGHT VALE)

Mary Epworth’s “Psych pop splendour” (Q) hits US with May 19th 'Dream Life' album release

36-date tour with chart-topping Welcome To Night Vale kicks off April 7

Highline Records | HL030 |VINYL , CD, DOWNLOAD | May 21st | www.maryepworth.com

British musician Mary Epworth's debut album, Dream Life, is inspired by nature and landscape and inhabits two worlds:  a dark, ghostly English winter, and the light of an imagined idyllic California.

Mary has been making significant waves in her home country since releasing Dream Life there on her own label, Hand Of Glory. Overwhelming radio support has included 3 singles playlisted on BBC 6 Music and ‘Black Doe’ picked as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record In The World. Much praise has come from national press, including Q magazine calling the album “Psych pop splendour... Experimentalism, melody and narrative co-existing in appealing balance” and Record Collector awarding the album five stars and hailing it as “A work of bracing originality... Immaculately sung and graced throughout with intelligent, song-serving arrangements and inspired production touches.” This attention has lead to Mary and her band performing sold-out shows in the UK including the Royal Albert Hall Elgar Room in London. Recently Mary joined Boy George, Bernard Butler, Mark King and Tim Burgess to form a one-off supergroup at the Liverpool International Music Festival.

From the bold album openers ‘Long Gone’, with its brass, synth-droned chords and stately chorus, the all-out fuzz and drum assault of stand-out track ‘Black Doe’, through to the magical and psychedelically epic closer ‘Ray Of Sunlight’,  Dream Life is swirling, lush and mysterious. Using analogue synths, space echo, and kosmische drums to set rich atmospheres and create unique soundscapes, Dream Life makes nods to psych, soul, krautrock, shoegaze, and even gospel, without ever falling squarely into any genre.

Production and mixing of the record was also polar, with the majority of recording done with producer Will Twynham in a snowbound barn in Norfolk, England - coincidentally the exact area that was home to Mary's maternal ancestors, and also to Celtic queen, Boudicca's Iceni tribe - and the lion's share of the mixing performed by Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Devendra Banhart) in Laurel Canyon. It's appropriate that these places figure strongly in a record that maps feelings to landscape and uses nature as metaphor.

Mary's influences for Dream Life include Iggy Pop's New Values - the drum sound in particular was referenced so much in production that the album's working title was “Old Values" - Todd Rundgren, The Beach Boys (Beach Boys Love You's brutal snare and synth, through to Holland's lush soul), to the progressive sound approaches of The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow and cult studio project Millennium's Present Tense.  Mary recently interviewed another influence, fellow psychedelic nature lover Linda Perhacs, for Shindig magazine.

Now it’s time to bring Mary Epworth and Dream Life to North America. Highline Records is releasing Dream Life on all formats, and Mary is embarking on a 36-date US tour opening for the stage show of cult US podcast phenomenon Welcome To Night Vale*, performing with Will Twynham as a psychedelic two-piece.

Mary Epworth on 36-tour with Welcome To Night Vale, 2015:

APRIL 7.  BIRMINGHAM, AL – WORKPLAY THEATRE, 8PM
APRIL 8. MEMPHIS, TN - MINGLEWOOD HALL, 8PM
APRIL 9. NEW ORLEANS, La - CIVIC THEATRE, 8PM
APRIL 10. HOUSTON, TX - CULLEN PERFORMANCE HALL, 8PM
APRIL 11. SAN ANTONIO, TX - AZTEC THEATRE, 8PM
APRIL 12. DALLAS, TX - MAJESTIC THEATRE, 7PM
APRIL 15. TUCSON, AZ - RIALTO THEATRE, 8PM
APRIL 16. MESA, AZ - MESA ARTS CENTER, 8PM
APRIL 17. LAS VEGAS, NV - HORN THEATER AT COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA, 8PM
APRIL 18. LOS ANGELES, CA - THE ORPHEUM, 8PM
APRIL 20. SAN PEDRO, CA - WARNER GRAND, 8PM
APRIL 21. OAKLAND, CA - FOX THEATER, 8PM
APRIL 23. PORTLAND, OR - REVOLUTION HALL, 8pm **SOLD OUT**
APRIL 24. PORTLAND, OR - REVOLUTION HALL, 8pm
APRIL 25. SEATTLE, WA - THE NEPTUNE, 7pm **SOLD OUT**
APRIL 25. SEATTLE, WA - THE NEPTUNE, 9.30pm **SOLD OUT**
APRIL 27. SPOKANE, WA - BING CROSBY THEATRE, 8pm
APRIL 28. MISSOULA, MT - WILMA THEATRE, 8pm
APRIL 30. FARGO, ND - FARGO THEATRE, 8pm
MAY 1. MINNEAPOLIS, MN - PANTAGES THEATRE, 8pm
MAY 2. MINNEAPOLIS, MN - PANTAGES THEATRE, 8pm
MAY 3. IOWA CITY, IA - ENGLERT THEATRE, 7pm
MAY 4. LAWRENCE, KS - LIBERTY HALL, 8pm
MAY 5. ST LOUIS, MO - SHELDON CONCERT HALL, 8pm
MAY 8. CHICAGO, IL -COPERNICUS CENTER, 8pm
MAY 9. BLOOMINGTON, IN - BUSKIRK CHUMLEY THEATRE, 8pm **SOLD OUT**
MAY 10. DETROIT, MI - THE FILLMORE, 7pm
MAY 12. LOUISVILLE, KY - BOMHARD THEATRE, 8pm
MAY 13. CINCINNATI, OH - TAFT THEATRE, 8pm
MAY 14. CLEVELAND, OH, HANNA THEATRE, 8pm **SOLD OUT**
MAY 15. PITTSBURGH, PA - CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD, 8pm
MAY 17. BUFFALO, NY - ASBURY HALL, 8pm
MAY 18. ALBANY, NY - THE EGg, HART THEATRE, 8pm
MAY 19. NORTHAMPTON, MA - ACADEMY OF MUSIC, 8pm
MAY 20. BOSTON, Ma - BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER, 8pm
MAY 21. BOSTON, MA - BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER, 8pm

*WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE is one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world and a wildly popular stage show. The twice-monthly podcasts have topped the iTunes charts in 9 different countries, remain a fixture in the Top 10 US podcasts and a cult hit the world over. Night Vale has also become an equally popular touring live show, performing dozens of sold-out shows across the US and Canada. Mary Epworth also supported Night Vale on their recent sold-out tour of the UK and Europe. Mary’s song ‘Long Gone’ was chosen as ‘The Weather’ in episode 26 of Welcome to Night Vale.

The Gloaming reviews

JOHN MURRY'S 'THE GRACELESS AGE' ONE OF 2012'S BEST-REVIEWED ALBUMS IN THE UK, OUT APRIL 2 IN THE U.S. ON EVANGLINE RECORDING CO.

ONE OF EIGHT FINALISTS FOR UNCUT MUSIC AWARD ALONGSIDE FATHER JOHN MISTY, BOB DYLAN, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

British press has unequivocally raved about John Murry's 'The Graceless Age,' which made UNCUT's final eight list for 2012 UNCUT Music Award album of the year alongside names like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Father John Misty. In fact, UNCUT's Allan Jones ranked it second only to Dylan in his personal list of the top twenty albums of the year. A full interview with Uncut can be read here: http://www.uncut.co.uk/blog/uncut-editors-diary/interview-john-murry

Murry's debut album, coproduced by Tim Mooney of Sun Kil Moon, will see US release April 2 on Evangeline Recording Co. Here's what's being said across the pond:

"A dark, festering masterpiece....guitars crackle throughout like static, dissonant transmissions from the rim of things, sonic squall and ruptures.  The effect is often always symphonic..."
9/10 'Album Of Month' UNCUT

"Like Father John Misty, Mark Lanegan and Josh T Pearson rolled into one really broken dream..."
4**** Q Magazine

"Occasionally an album comes out of nowhere that completely blows your mind. Like this one...
5***** THE SUN

"This dark, brooding second album delivers some gently mesmerising meditations...."
THE MIRROR

"As brown as the Mississippi and as fraught with undercurrents..."
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

"A genuine American masterpiece...."
R2 MAGAZINE

"This is an album that fearlessly exposes his dark past through songs that are powerful and healing. A remarkable album..."
ELECTRIC GHOST

""A dark cousin to Brian Wilsons' California dreaming perhaps, with the dense and elaborate Southern Sky a contender for song of the year as it pounds and insinuates its way into the listener's brain."
BLABBER & SMOKE

""Astonishingly complex sounds woven together here that will take a long time to reveal all the secrets of their making."
FLYING SHOES

"A true classic in every way and one that is destined to be heard through the ages. Album of the year, without a doubt."
ECHOES & DUST

AFTER FIRESTORM OF U.K. RAVES AND UNCUT MUSIC AWARD NOMINATION, U.S. RELEASE CONFIRMED MARCH 5 FOR JOHN MURRY'S 'THE GRACELESS AGE' ON EVANGELINE RECORDING CO.

LAST ALBUM PRODUCED BY TIM MOONEY (SUN KIL MOON, AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB)

"LIKE FATHER JOHN MISTY, MARK LANEGAN, AND JOSH T PEARSON ROLLED INTO ONE REALLY BROKEN DREAM." – Q MAGAZINE

After a firestorm of U.K. raves, John Murry's 'The Graceless Age' has been confirmed for April 2 on Evangeline Recording Co. It's the last album co-produced by Tim Mooney of American Music Club and Sun Kil Moon before his death June 13, in collaboration with Murry.

Check out the embeddable "California" music video, dedicated to Mooney.

'The Graceless age' is one of eight albums nominated for an UNCUT Music Award and praise has been effusive on the other side of the pond, where Murry is launching a winter tour shortly. MOJO is planning a feature. The Sun gave it 5 stars out of 5, saying, "Occasionally, an album comes out of nowhere that completely blows your mind. Like this one… A genuine tour de force." In another 5 star (out of 5) review, R2 called it "a genuine American masterpiece." In a 9 star (out of 10) review, UNCUT  described the "deeply textured… ruined grandeur," continuing, "This is what 'The Graceless Age' as a whole does so unforgettably, beating honest witness to a burning world."

The album brings together organic and synthetic elements to create its own despairing, lush soundscape from female vocals cradling the ashes of John's cigarette-stained drawl to loops of electric guitar feedback over his howl; from an answering machine message to insistent, creeping synthesizer; from CB radio samples to a violin; and from an alarm's swells to a warm acoustic guitar. Moments on 'The Graceless Age' can be compared to eels, Sparklehorse, and Beck's 'Sea Change' but these stories burn true in Murry's own writing and singing.

Now based in Oakland, CA, John Murry has lived many lives. He grew up in Elvis' hometown of Tupelo, MS and there's a photo of Elvis in concert that shows his mother reaching out to touch his hand. He was a junkie after he left Memphis to go to that den of iniquity, California. He wrote for the Village Voice for a time. He is William Faulkner's second cousin and friends have described him as lost in the worlds of southern literature. He has seen death in an alley and managed to stumble back from it. These identities come together in 'The Graceless Age.'

RAISED IN PENTACOSTAL HOUSEHOLD WITHOUT POP MUSIC, KANSAS-BORN, LONDON-BASED PINEY GIR BECOMES UK INDIE POP STARLET

US ALBUM RELEASE OF 'GERONIMO!' IS SET FOR OCT. 16 ON HIGHLINE RECORDS

**** - UNCUT

Raised in Kansas and not allowed to listen to secular music during her childhood, Piney Gir kicked off her church shoes to sing rock 'n' roll music, and has since drawn comparisons to Jenny Lewis and Nellie McKay. The release of Geronimo! in the UK has firmly established her as an "indie pop scenester" (All Music Guide), and the album is slated for a US release October 16 on Highline Records. UNCUT gave the album four stars while The Sun called it "undeniably charming." Q Magazine called it "exuberant, bursts with joy, divine."

Check out the video for "Outta Sight" here, made using 8mm film and featuring puppets:

With an upbringing rooted in the Pentecostal Church, Piney grew up singing in choirs and playing the piano and drums. At the age of 14, when her father moved to start a prison ministry in Seattle, she was transferred to public school and suddenly exposed to popular culture; she soaked it up like a sponge.

Produced by Brian Jonestown Massacre's Rob Campanella, Geronimo! was recorded in Los Angeles, CA. Nelson Bragg (who plays percussion with Brian Wilson) and one of the Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' brass section contribute parts. The result is big-eared pop that references the Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Phil Spector while sounding entirely current.

Piney has opened for the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, Wanda Jackson, Erasure, and Martha Wainwright. Her music has been featured in the TV shows Misfits (E4), Made In Chelsea (E4), Hit & Miss (Sky TV) and Private Practice (ABC) and has been featured in the New Singles & EPs section of the iTunes Store in the UK. She has performed at numerous festivals, including Glastonbury, Bestival, Big Chill, Larmer Tree, Wychwood, Cornbury, Camden Crawl and SXSW. Piney Gir is also a former member of the all-girl, art-rock, cult-classic group The Schla La Las and the synth-pop duo Vic Twenty.