Fresh Harvest #2.

VACAY – Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Photo credit – Mark Klassen.

Starting off todays Fresh Harvest we have Toronto singer-songwriter VACAY and his latest single ‘Shoes’. Now I know what you’re thinking and no, it isn’t another catchy Pop-song about feeling your best in your new pair of kicks, rather a reflective look at a time where the pair of shoes you want on are the feet of someone who has what you inwardly desire.

And no, just be clear I am not talking about the physical shoes. The track entitled ‘Shoes’ on the other hand takes the Folk laced Indie-Pop sound Of VACAY’s previous work and applies more of the latter tag in a track of love that hasn’t quite reached loss.

The track tackles the feelings of a man whose feelings have taken a focal point they did not want to, feelings that he wishes he did not have. He wishes the best for those involved with genuine conviction but can never truly erase how his inward desire controls him.

Musically, simplistic but layered verses and a soaring melodic chorus allow the dulcet admittance of the lyrics to land safely without any accusations of it being little OTT. This is no anthem of bitter jealously but rather painful maturity.

VACAY: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram
VACAYS music can be found via: iTunes // SoundCloud // Spotify

BaDow – Isle Of Wight/Bath, England, United Kingdom.

From Canada to the birthplace of Musically Fresh, the Isle Of Wight. Founder Stefan Armitage and I both hail from the little rock of England’s south coast and have both also coincidentally lived in Bath where the band’s bassist currently resides.

Now as I still live in the city of Bath, prospects of catching this band live have got me excited but for now, who are they? Well, BaDow are a Blues-Rock band, a Blues-Rock band that bar the new single we will dissect in a moment, have two stellar EPs of low-riding dirty Blues that is as stripped down as it is very well versatile.

Vocalist Jodie Amos takes charge of the vocal position as well the percussion leaving both bass-man and axe-man Sam Morris and Bradley McGinty to lay down strong and deceptively heavy convulsion inducing notes.

The sound of BaDow reminds you of Bath stalwarts of everything groove laden, The Heavy but not without standing on its own. Through this new single within the sound of this three-piece in general, you are constantly left little trails of teasing licks and drum beats that elude a band progressing their Blues further. ‘Storm’ sees slightly less in the way of the the classic American Country/Blues reverb and in more in the way of a slight Indie flirtation and it’s exciting.

But then again, so are this band in general.

BaDow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // bandcamp // Youtube Channel

Smools – Zurich, Switzerland.

One of the reasons Punk-Rock was so successful back at it’s initial inception was its simplicity. Its knack for inducing a simple bob-around or some other form of unscripted dancing is still as prevalent and relevant today.

Why is any of this important? Well, on the 31st march 2017 a four-piece arguably obsessed and committed to achieving this end will be releasing a new five track EP. That band would be Smools with their latest We Said Never.

With the band’s earlier material boasting fast a raspy Indie-laced Garage Punk in the vein of the earlier material from The Hives, the band also remind us of fellow Swiss Garage Punks, Capital Youth, who you can find – Here. On that note and with the new five-track release takes a darker-toned variation, with lower and far more melodic guitar tones and a more subdued approach on the vocals this second release is surely a progression.

We Said Never builds on the band’s previous quirks and doesn’t abandoned them completely but refines all the pieces in a tighter and more mature, anthemic sound overall. ‘One Two’ and ‘PFD’ stand out in particular, with lead single ‘Dalton’ giving credit to their self-dubbed titled of Indie-Punk.

Smools are simple band, but a band that are happy being such. They are a band that I have no overly gratuitous compliments for and that itself is probably the best compliment I can give because with Smools, it just works.

Smools: Facebook // Official Website // SoundCloud

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