I first heard The Big Believe on a song called “Let's Pretend We’re Spies,” with guest vocals by Let’s Active’s Faye Hunter. That song was great, as is everything I’ve heard since from The Big Believe. After some time off, they’ve returned with three singles, "Doing My Utmost," "Hundreds," and "Girl On Wire." We discuss them below, as Amanda Louise Thompson, band leader, was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Andrea Weiss: How did Daniel Wylie of Cosmic Rough Riders come to co-write “Doing My Utmost?” 

Amanda Louise Thompson: We had been communicating online for years, like - over a decade.  I've been a fan of CRR since about 2001.  At some point I shared my own albums with him and he loved the songs.  I remember we did a swap once:  His solo record Fake Your Own Death for my band's (Ozone Baby at the time) debut Love Like A Foghorn.  In fact, those two titles might just sum us both up, respectively!  So it was during Covid lockdowns that I asked if he fancied writing together and he kinda said he'd been waiting for me to ask.  We couldn't be further apart geographically in the UK.  He's right at the top of the country and I'm right down the bottom.  So given it was all done remotely, it couldn't have been easier.  I'd send a chorus, he'd send a verse, I'd send a verse, he'd send a chorus.  All in voice recorders on our phones, and they always blended together perfectly without trouble.  He's a really nice guy, too.

AW: How did “Girl On Wire “ get released through Aldora Britain?

ALT: Ooh how weird - I can't remember how I first came to Aldora Britain Records, or even whether they came to me or the other way around... but it happened, and that was another easy thing.  Tom Hilton, who does all the work there, releases tons of independent music and really supports it.  It's all digital.  AB released my track "Frequencies" back in March 2021, which had good response so I offered up "Girl on Wire" before I'd even finished recording it, so that something new was out with them before Xmas and to give myself a deadline, stop me fussing about with it too much.

AW: “Girl On Wire” sounds feminist, which is great. Is that the case?

ALT: If it is, it's taken me 51 years to have my first feminist thought.  But in a way, yes.  It's a collection of different tricky situations for women, all wrapped up in one fictional protagonist.  People, friends were telling me things, for example a friend was hiding her sexuality for personal reasons,  someone else had a kid who was getting into all sorts of scrapes due to social media pressures.  Stuff to do with appearance and judgments.  I also added my own situation of societal attitudes to women who've chosen not to have children, then threw in a few lines about prostitution too.

AW: I hear the New Pornographers and Let's Active in the sound of these songs. Were they influences here?

ALT: I suppose those two bands must be in there to some extent, as it's no secret I love them the most!  However, I personally don't notice being influenced by them, maybe I am.  There would be no point in trying to sound like your favourite bands.  A lesser version of them?  That's daft.  Like "Owl City" and "Postal Service" (I love "Postal Service").  Yet after the event, listening back to a finished song, sometimes there are little sections where I notice and think "actually that is not unlike something The New Porns might do."  Mainly, though, I reckon we all make the music we want to hear, and please ourselves first, so it's always gonna be in the same genre as the music I like best.

AW: Will these songs be on an upcoming album?

ALT: Yes, they will both be on our third album, which should be out in the summer of 2022.

 The Big Believe

Doing My Utmost/Hundreds/Girl On Wire

Self-Released/Aldora Britain Records

These three new singles from The Big Believe, which will be on a upcoming album, are three good ones to add to the already fine BB discography. More good indie pop about relationships, including, on “Doing My Utmost,” to oneself. That song was co-written with Daniel Wylie of Cosmic Rough Riders, a fine band in their own right.

The Big Believe, for those who don’t know, is a UK band headed up by Amanda Louise Thompson. They’ve been around for a while, and their earlier albums, Illuminate and Juggernaut, are worth checking out, especially if you like the three singles, which are well worth the money.

Andrea Weiss

 I’ve been a Bye Bye Blackbirds fan for a number of years, particularly their last album, 2019’s Boxer At Rest. Now they're back with a very fine new single and video, "We Got Lost."

Bradley Skaught, the leader of the band, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: How did you come to write a song with Matt Piucci?

Bradley Skaught: I had been noodling around with the verse melody for a bit and was feeling like I didn't have any ideas for how to develop it. It occurred to me that I should get someone else involved and that Matt was the one! Something about that verse melody and drone-y, winding guitar stuff in D just felt like something he could work with. It felt Rain Parade-y to me in some way, whether anyone else would've thought so...

AW: How did Doug Gillard come to be involved?

BS: Doug produced our last record, and he's one of those guys who just always knows what a song needs to elevate it, even in a support role. If you've heard any of the recent Guided By Voices records, you've likely noticed a ton of great little orchestral parts and arrangement details aside from just his guitar playing. "We Got Lost" is such a simple song (structurally speaking) that I felt like it needed something to give it more dynamic shape -- he came back pretty quick with that cool keyboard string stuff.

AW: Where did you get the footage for the video?

BS: The video is entirely the creation of the director, so to get to your next question...

AW: Who directed the video?

BS: Marry Waterson made the video for us! She's a fantastic artist in a whole bunch of ways -- visual artist, video artist, fantastic singer and songwriter, etc. I'd been following her for a while because I love the music of her whole extended family, but when I started seeing all these cool video projects from her, too, I wanted to have her do some stuff for us. She did a couple things for our last record, but this one is a little more involved and fleshed out than those. I don't know exactly where all the footage comes from, but she mixes treated film/existing footage with animation and other processes in such a cool and unique way.

AW: Is there a new album in the works?

BS: There is! It's done! Hopefully early next year we'll get it out.

 The Bye Bye Blackbirds

We Got Lost single and video

Self Released

The Blackbirds return with a fine new single and video. This love relationship song is mellow power pop/college rock, but with heavy guitars for a nice contrast. The video is found footage, some of it showing places in England, some of it psychedelic, all very good and a lot of fun to watch. If you’ve been wanting to hear something new from this band, their first release since 2019’s Boxer At Rest will cheer you up big time.

Andrea Weiss

 Eliza Gilkyson

Wanderin’ video

Howling Dog Records

This is another wonderful single from Gilkyson. The lyric video is one long shot from a car traveling down a wooded road in the fall, trees turning color, a mountain pass, few cars passing by. The lyrics are about rambling from place to place, never finding a home, by choice, being a free person. It’s an adaptation of an old Irish ballad that her dad’s band, Terry Gilkyson and The Easy Riders, recorded in 1958.

Eliza had this to say about the song: "I always loved this song, especially my dad’s version, but I wanted to rewrite it from a woman’s perspective. We women like to wander too, but you rarely hear about that in those early folk songs. I set it in the Old West, because that's where I had my happiest roaming days, and I think it makes a great Western rambling song."

She and Don Richardson sing and play all the instruments on the track, but the sound is rich and full, which adds to the enjoyment of the song. Go get the full album when its released January 14, 2022.

Andrea Weiss

 B. Hamilton

Keep A Little Light On video

Sofaburn Records

This song is from their album Nothing and Nowhere, which is very good. The video shows a guy looking out at the Oakland Inner Harbor from Jack London Square. It’s a lovely scene, too -- nice, sunny, warm, birds flying, and so on.

It’s also a lyric video, with a good message: Keep your chin up and cheer up, good things are on their way. That’s basically what the song is about, tricking yourself out of major depression.

So if you want a pick me up, and some mellow, but hard, rock, try B. Hamilton, starting with this video. You’ll feel great after seeing it.

Andrea Weiss

 Protomartyr/R. Ring

A Half Of Seven split single

Hardly Art

This single, first released in 2015, is getting new life, as R. Ring’s Kelley Deal toured with Protomartyr this past November. I saw the Philly show. It was great, rocking, and a lot of fun. And Protomartyr's “Blues Festival,” as great as it is on this single, sounded even better live.

The song is basically advice to bands starting out, and good advice too. “Don’t hold the mic like a crying child,” “don’t let the band open up their mouths,” and “don’t fall prey to your own ego” are some examples. Kelley also sings on it, and her advice is “don’t get ahead of yourself.” All of this is set to bristling, bracing rock, angry for all the right reasons and having a good time being so.

R. Ring’s “Loud Underneath,” sung by Kelley, is about the moment of truth, in any situation, and having  it go okay. The music is just as rocking as “Blues Festival,” but it isn’t angry, more like “there you go, good.”

If so if you’re looking for some great, smart rock, get this single. and then pick up Protomartyr’s albums and R. Ring’s debut, Ignite The Rest. You’ll be glad you did.

Andrea Weiss