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Lucy, Racquel & me
So
here we are:
One third is from Australia, Lucy, lyrics
One third is form California, Racquel, vocals
One third is from France, Me, composer
all artwork are from Lejla, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Internet is our world. Together we create catchy
pop/folk songs under the name Lucy, Racquel and me,
our first album is out and it needs you to be heard.
Social links: Facebook, soundcloud, The album in
streaming: soundcloud.com, to download: goo.gl, the
artwork and of course, on Itunes, Deezer, Spotify
... n this evening’s edition of the Independent
Spotlight, we shine our gaze on a rather peculiar,
but immensely fascinating act. They’re called Lucy,
Racquel and Me.
As the name alludes to, they are a three piece
creative effort. They haven’t ever met, however, and
their collaboration is conducted entirely through
the internet.
This has become somewhat more common in recent years
in the independent music scene, but it’s not often
you see an outfit as coherently constructed in this
fashion as Lucy, Racquel and Me. Let’s explore their
new self-titled debut album and discern whether or
not they’re worth adding to your music collection.
To provide some context, Lucy is a lyricist from
Canberra, Australia. She wrote or co-write most of
the songs on the album. Racquel is a vocalist from
California who performs said duty throughout the
whole album. Finally, ‘Me’ is the composer, who
resides in France. To be entirely honest, I’m still
not entirely sure who ‘Me’ is - the final third of
the puzzle isn’t as directly credited as the
previous two. To be fair, though, the name of the
band also does this - the third and final person
isn’t named, but Lucy and Racquel are. Again, all of
this concretes the impressiveness of these three
being able to craft any sort ‘complete’ sound across
vast distances.
The new album, which was released a week ago, is
eleven songs long. Thus, it’s quite a lengthy
endeavor, all of which can be streamed on Sound
Cloud now.
The music takes a cue from the Beatles and Paul
McCartney in style, something that works for it
nicely. (Technically, all music takes a cue from the
Beatles, but Lucy, Racquel and Me are clearly very
directly inspired.) Hence, the album is mostly soft
rock tinged with pop sensibilities. This makes the
album very accessible; I’m sure most music fans will
find something to appreciate or at least hum along
to this album.
The opening of the record is ‘Hello Sunday,’ a track
where Racquel harmonizes with some overdubs of
herself to wonderful effect. It’s easy riding,
smooth to listen to, and very well produced, setting
an excellent tone for the album. The song’s lyrics
lack some depth, but if we’re being honest, so did a
lot of the early Beatles catalog. It’s a song
designed to make the listener feel good. It does
that very well.
‘Children In Bare Feet’ follows ‘Hello Sunday’ with
an intriguing contrast. The lyrics of this song are
actually quite beautiful and offer a bit of depth,
making it a perfect follow-up to the lovely ‘Hello
Sunday.’ The electric guitar solo is particularly
good, offering some increased instrumental variation
on top of the acousticbased composition. The
induction of that guitar also foreshadows ‘One Day,’
a song that ties itself to the instrument for a
bluesy romp through passionate love themes that feel
surprisingly original. (When you receive dozens of
ballads a day like I do, love songs quickly become
burdened by the same tropes. I think the exceptional
performances on ‘One Day’ keep it from falling
victim to that.)
The atmospheric ‘Shattered’ continues the trio’s
journey through eclectic sonic experimentations on
this album. It’s worth noting how complete and
organic these songs feel. Every piece of ‘Shattered’
and its counterparts feels completely authentic, as
if everything was recorded in the same studio at
once. This is the biggest hurdle a project like this
has to overcome, and I think Lucy, Racquel and Me
have mastered it surprisingly well - perhaps better
than any other group I’ve seen attempt this.
‘Untraceably Gone’ is definitely a bit odd to listen
to this time of year - this is definitely a winter
song both in content and in spirit. It sounds like
it’s off a Christmas record, which does make it feel
a bit out of place after four tracks that don’t even
step in that kind of direction. On the flip side,
though, it’s a really stunningly performed song that
does do an apt job at showing the trio’s prowess can
go in a very different direction. I think Lucy,
Racquel, and Me could tackle a variety of genres to
great success.
‘Love Now’ is another love ballad, one that takes a
page out of the ‘All You Need Is Love’ songbook.
It’s probably the most bubblegum song of the
collection, but it isn’t without its merit,
especially when followed by the fiercely independent
‘Gone Baby Gone.’ The two accentuate each other
nicely. In some ways, these songs seem to catalog
the downfall of a relationship. ‘Love Now’ is the
beginning, and songs like ‘What Did We Do Wrong?’
definitely denote the end. ‘All True,’ however, may
be the best of those more melancholy break-up songs.
Racquel’s performance is absolutely fantastic.
‘Coffee Queen’ is a very loveable track, as is
‘Silence For Beginners.’ The former is very folksy
and coffee-shop, and the latter is doused in
contemporary jazz influence. Now, these are great
songs. Their placement, however, is awkward. ‘All
True’ has a haunting sense of finality to it - a
bittersweet resolution of the album’s emotions.
Having ‘Coffee Queen’ follow it doesn’t feel right.
‘Coffee Queen’ and ‘Silence For Beginners’ should be
moved earlier into the sequencing, with the album
ending with ‘All True.’
I must laud Lucy, Racquel, and Me. I get a lot of
music from artists that collaborate over the
internet and it very often shows. It doesn’t one bit
here, though, and their new album is very much worth
listening to. It doesn't at all sound like it was
recorded so differently. It’s a splendid journey
that makes one eagerly anticipate the next.
Album: Where the moon never sets (2018)
6 Songs with catchy melodies and bewitching voices
Notes for the artist: This page will always be here under your name
in "Featured Artists" You can always send us an updated Bio using
'CONTACT' on Menu at the top of page.
# |
(PST) |
Name |
length |
Rating |
Notes |
1 |
9:00 |
3 Monkeys |
04:08 |
4 |
|
2 |
9:04 |
In Times Like These |
04:39 |
4 |
|
3 |
9:08 |
Do It Now |
03:26 |
4 |
|
4 |
9:12 |
Life is Good |
03:46 |
4 |
|
5 |
9:16 |
Gina's Dance |
04:16 |
4 |
|
6 |
9:20 |
Piece of the Pie |
03:38 |
4 |
|
7 |
9:24 |
This Old Town |
03:35 |
4 |
|
8 |
9:28 |
Take Me Away |
04:20 |
4 |
|
9 |
9:32 |
Damned if I Do |
03:28 |
4 |
|
10 |
9:36 |
Wind |
03:56 |
4 |
|
11 |
9:40 |
I Won't Go Quietly |
04:03 |
4 |
|
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Siracuse
SIRACUSE from Cheltenham UK. Big beat indie psychedelia, drenched in
reverb, driving bass lines and distorted guitars. Reminicent of
early Oasis, Verve and The Jesus and Mary chain. Echoed vocals
twinned with big choruses, and a strong nod to pioneer shoegaze
bands.
The band consist of singer and guitarist Ben Zakotti, bassist Matt
Jefferies and drummer Will Hall.
The lads sound is big and upfront, it comes to a whole new level
when seen live.
Whilst capturing in essence the vital sums of the bands three parts
on record, its live on stage and raw, where SIRACUSE really compel
and allow you to hear what makes them throttle and climb to their
zone. The grooves of Jefferies bass lines, the psych layers of
Zakotti’s guitars and casual reversed delays, with Will Halls’
all-out drums and attacking rolls persisting throughout.
The band have gained a surge in support since debut single ‘Become
Lights’ was released independently in 2016. Gaining the backing from
‘GigSlutz’ who listed the band as ‘Ones To Watch 2016’ and ‘Scruff
Of The Neck Records’ who described the band as ‘atmosphere indie
from the South, drawing comparisons as diverse as Kasabian, Editors
and Joy Division’ With various radio stations (EGH Radio unsigned,
mod radio UK, Kool Rock Radio USA) regularly playing ‘Become Lights’
on their shows, the bands fan base began has begun to flourish.
By the time SIRACUSE had performed their debut gig in their hometown
of Cheltenham (Jan 2016 to a near capacity venue), their Soundcloud
page had
over 600 plays of Become Lights in just a few days and demos also
linked on the page were streaming daily to big numbers. From here
the gigs have grown,
opening up for more major supports including shows for The Vryll
Society, Reverend and The Makers, Neon Waltz and John Power.
SIRACUSE performed on The BBC Introducing stage at last years
Lakefest Official (2017). With a stage time of midnight, and plenty
of intrigue circulating, the band still pulled a big crowd nearly
filling the tent. This provided the groundwork for SIRACUSE, who are
returning to play this years festival again, among others they will
also be performing at Dot To Dot Festival 2018 in Bristol, May 25th.
The band are due to release their second single ‘Control’ on
30.4.2018 with accompanying video, independently. This will soon be
available to download on iTunes, Spotify, Youtube and Soundcloud.
SIRACUSE have just completed a 4 Track EP which will feature
‘Control’ as lead single due for release mid Summer 2018.
Notes for the artistt: This page will always be here under your name
in "Featured Artists". You can always send us an updated Bio using
'CONTACT' on Menu at the top of page..
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