There are times when it’s difficult to review a release; either because musically or lyrically it’s so wonderful or beautiful, or because I relate to a song so personally that listening to it is painful or difficult let alone writing about it, or because it’s fantastic or ‘it rocks’ but I just can’t think of how to say that beyond just saying that. But I feel compelled, I have, to review it because I want you, the reader, to know about it. Although really I want you to do something more that just know about, I want you to actually listen to it, I’d like you to like it or even love it.

In the case of Luka’s second release (and I’m not counting the covers EP she’s released recently here, and there’s a reason for that which will become obvious) it’s because musically and lyrically it’s so beautiful, and because I relate to it so personally I actually find it difficult to listen to. This is not just about this song but also her first release – Play Thing’ (read our review) – as well. The reason for this is that in these two songs she’s encapsulated a large part of my life, the reason for how I am now. In a way I consider these two songs as part one and two of something (which is why I’m not counting the covers EP, hope you understand that).

In ‘Play Thing’, as Luka explains, ‘the song is about allowing somebody to have too much control over you and your emotions, and deciding it needs to change. This is a theme that I can relate to. Too often we are unkind to ourselves, allowing people to treat us badly in what we like to call love’.

Luka says about ‘Past The Point Of No Return’ that it is a ‘song about general mental health struggles. It explores experiences with anxiety and depression and trying to get past them in order to live life to the fullest. Also like existential fear of wanting your life to be important and to mean something. Fighting against your brain basically’.

I’m reading that, and the lyrics, as being about a number of things including lack of self-esteem and self-confidence (and I may be wrong, I admit that). And I have those, amongst other mental health issues, as a result of the things that ‘Play Thing’ is about. So for me these two songs are powerful, they are painful to hear, but in all that personal pain, up-lifting.

I realise this is a long introduction to a review but it was important to say why this song is so important to me.

The lyrics of ‘Past The Point Of No Return’ will mean something to anyone who has experienced anxiety and depression but also are universally understandable. If you’ve never experienced that you’ll still understand it; and more, you’ll have a better understanding. Luka has a way with the words of her songs that is very special.

She sings these beautiful words quietly, intimately, calmly, as though talking to a friend, directly to the listener. And the music reflects that calmness – washes of sound, simple keyboards layered into something that compliments the words perfectly. And there is hope in the song, the song says there is hope, it will get better if you just let it. And musically there is a kind of a swell of hope in the music. Something that tells you it can get better. And there is something extra in her vocals. At the start of the song she sounds small, there is uncertainty, but it gains confidence as the song goes on, as hope comes in.

This is a song that tackles a difficult subject, a subject that is painful to many people. But it does that in a way that I can only describe as ‘just right’; a way that gives hope for those experiencing it, and a way that will help you to understand it if you’ve not experienced it. It does that by being intensely personal, by not holding back. It does this with words and music that work together perfectly.

As with ‘Play Thing’ my reaction to this song is intensely emotional – to the point of tears, something that hasn’t changed however much I listen to it. I get that I might have that reaction because I’m living it, but even if you’re not, if you listen to this song properly, it’s going to affect you on an emotional level.

This is a beautiful, an intensely beautiful, song. Words, music, her voice all combine into something magical, something where it’s so much more than the sum of its parts. A song that is beautiful and is about something important, something difficult and painful. And that makes it extraordinarily special.

My first introduction to mollie coddled was her single ‘Rotten Teeth’ (read our review). And I loved it; a great pop song that was about something important. That single is included on this EP.; it’s the closing track so we’ll get to that later, but first there are four songs I haven’t heard before.

There is a theme that runs through the songs, a story if you will. The title – ‘The Halo Effect’ comes from ‘being so blinded by the thought of love that you can’t see how unhappy you truly are’. Mollie takes listeners through the story of her first and failed relationship; which she wrote at the age of 17. The songs blend between themes of infatuation, manipulation, depression and feelings of unworthiness, followed by a full circle moment of realisation.

‘One More Day’ – the opening track – is exactly what I expected from her. That lovely dreamy sounding soul sound. All so-so laid back. That deceptively simple sound – layers of vocals, something that sounds like guitar doing that soul thing, a wash of synth. And there is her voice which is intimate and compelling. You just drift away, it’s dreamy people.

‘Love Deprived’ continues in that oh so laid back dreamy way. But it’s richer, the guitar takes a more upfront position. But wait, this track changes – it goes from that laid back vibe to something more insistent, and that transition is so subtle and clever. And you can dance to it – yep in that really sway-y way that’s great at the end of a night out.

And for ‘Velvet Tears’ there’s a switch. It’s more dream pop with a kind of soul edge. It’s more obvious pop. But it’s beautiful. There’s a fantastic arrangement – every sound used is there for a reason. ‘Ur Eyes’ is downbeat pop with a dreamy edge. It’s almost casual in it’s delivery but in the most beguiling way.

And finally to ‘Rotten Teeth’. I see no reason to change what I said in my review – ‘.you can take this song on two levels – one, the level of an absolutely fabulous pop song, and two, if you take the time to listen properly, a song about something important – manipulation and control in relationships and realising that life can get better.. And that is a beautiful thing. This song is beautiful’.

This is a great collection of songs. The thing about mollie coddled’s music is that it’s deceptively simple; but simple is really hard to do, it’s all about picking and choosing the right sounds and putting them together right. And she does. And what she does isn’t, even though it’s poppy, straight ahead pop music – there’s that unexpected mix of sounds, the times she puts a sound in there which just wouldn’t work anywhere else. It’s clever, it’s classy. And then there’s her voice – which is intimate, compelling, dreamy with a soul edge. And there’s great tunes, tunes that just take residence in your head.

But in all that wonderful music she’s telling a story and talking about real things and important emotions. And that’s what makes it so good.

I didn’t expect to like the single as much as I did but this EP has completely charmed me. The songs on this make me feel all gooey and cosy, honest they do.

The info

Mollie Coddled is self-produced Indie Pop artist based in Leeds, UK. Merging Dreamy Indie and R&B, Mollie pairs soft, soulful vocals with a soundscape of hazy, echo-laden guitars and synthesizers. Being independent and influenced by the bedroom pop scene, Mollie writes, records and produces all parts to her music in her bedroom; bringing an intimate, lo-fi feel.

Since releasing 3 singles this year, Mollie has amassed over 100k streams, had placement on 5 Spotify Editorial playlists and been selected for global in-store playlisting with H&M.

She will return on December 4th with her Debut EP- all themes which are widely experienced within Gen Z but rarely addressed in the public eye.

Her style is often compared to the likes of Clairo and Rex Orange County for her dreamy melodies and summery synthesisers, while also taking production influence from artists like Still Woozy and MICHELLE; all artists Mollie has featured alongside in Official Playlists.

Back in May I reviewed Lewis’ EP ‘Reflections’ (read the review) and was mightily impressed with his songs. So a whole album of his music was something that was greeted with anticipation here at LSF Towers.

One thing I was immediately struck by, and very happy to hear, was that the music on this album is as varied as the EP. He really just does choose the style that is best for the song, not shoehorn the song into something for the sake of sonic consistency. I mean sure there’s something that makes these songs hang together as his, as an album, but within that broad framework there’s a lot of variety.

And again like ‘Reflections’ there is a story, a theme that runs through these songs, at least to me it feels like there does. So that said, let’s dive in, it’s a hell of a great place to be.

Opening track ‘Us’ has something of an indie feel. I say something of a feel because there’s something off-kilter and wonderfully jarring going on here. There’s an uncomfortable edge to the music.Something halting and just slightly off. The words seem to reflect that. The sound here is raw, unadorned guitar, drums, bass and vocal, dipping into something sparser – just a keyboard and drums. And Lewis isn’t just singing this song, or even performing it, he’s living it.

‘Temporary Things’ again does that indie thing. But far more important is that raw unadorned feel, the vocal and yes, the lyrics. So while musically simple what’s compelling is the lyrics. And that’s what I thought until the guitar break, which is understated to point of blending into everything else, which is just fantastically clever and unexpected.

So the first musical surprise comes with ‘The Lines’ which throws in a rather lovely late 60s’ psychedelic pop sound. That jangly guitar, those harmonies. Oh and not to forget that you can dance to this. It’s a joy. But while you’re throwing some shapes, listen to the words. And being something of an epic 6½ minutes long Lewis takes the opportunity to mix it up with some lovely Spanish influenced guitar, a belter of a guitar break. And then it hits me, what it has me in mind of, and that my friends is Love. Freak out people.

‘Did You Ever?’. Look I’m not going to try to tell you what it sounds like. OK so maybe just a hint – slightly late 60s, somewhat indie, some out-here sounds A tune that takes up residence in your head.

A change of mood. ‘Another Winter’ is kinda singer/songwriter, hints of folk, hints of Americana. Simple backing and voice. And it’s beautiful in it’s simplicity. ‘Grip’ is a raw song. It’s all emotion, searing emotion. It’s so honest it hurts. It’s about a couple losing their grip on their relationship. And it builds to a guitar break that sonically hurts, and this is right, so right.

‘A Song For Seasons’ mixes punky lo-fi sounds, post-punk and something of that Spanish influence – that Love sound. It is a story song, a painful story as far as I can work out. It is odd, it is strange, and yet it is completely brilliant in it’s strangeness. The words are stream of consciousness, you are compelled to listen again and again just to hear that story.

A rockier fuzzier thing ‘December’ is the jolt you need after ‘A Song For Seasons’. It goes from fuzzy rock to psychedelic pop to psychedelic rock. But all in that lo-fi way.

‘Chapters’ is a lusher song. Hints of Joni Mitchell (honest), and perhaps Nick Drake. A beautiful melody, washes of sound, simply sang words. Unexpected stringed instrument sounds – I’m going to take a stab at mandolin, may be wrong, it has that sound. And this is a song to sink into, to wallow in for its 6 minutes. Wonderful.

The album closes with a bang, ‘Evolve’ is a full-onish rock song, I mean rock in a kind of alternative, Lewis style. I get hints of Talking Heads, hints of later King Crimson There are layers of sounds here, there is a repetitive drone sound going on here. It slightly varies over time. It’s hypnotic.

And that’s it. And if you are anything like me you head straight back to track one and play it all again, and then again in a compulsive way. It’s the words, the way that Lewis sings, the deceptively simple music. The unexpected mixing of sounds and styles that can throw you, that can jar but is beautiful.

Lewis writes beautiful, wonderful, sometimes quirky but always raw emotionally songs both lyrically and musically. You just can’t help but be drawn into his music. To say that he wears his heart on his sleeve would be something of an understatement; and that is to be admired, to be amazed at. I can’t recommend this highly enough.

Another week, another cover of Simple Minds’ ‘Don’t You {Forget About Me}’. This one, by Stoke, Leek, Sandbach and Sale’s Rock n Roll outfit SHADER, is being released to support The Music Venue Trust and the #WeMakeEvents campaigns with the aim of raising awareness of the campaigns and encouraging donations. All proceeds from the release will be donated to the campaigns.

In comparison to last week’s cover by crush (read our review) this is way straighter, It’s closer to the original, that big big sound, fantastic huge soaring vocals. But it’s not quite a straightforward cover – while there’s much that persons of my vintage might recognise, there are things that make it SHADER’s own. It’s rockier for a start, the guitar is way more upfront, it gets more raucous. And this is all good.

In fact, it has that strange thing, it sounds like you – perhaps I mean ‘I’ here – remember the song sounding rather than how it actually sounded. Or perhaps – having just taken a short break to actually listen to the original – how you might have wanted it to sound.

I’m not going to compare the two covers, they are completely different tracks, nor are you going to draw me into which I think is better. I really really like this one by SHADER; it has enough to remind me of back in the day AND it’s not a Stars In Your Eye’s cover it has SHADER’s stamp on it.

A track this good, and proceeds going to a great cause, who needs anything more to prompt you to get hitting the streaming sites, the download sites. Do it now.

Download/stream, more information about the campaigns and donation links: https://biglink.to/DONT

The info

SHADER released their ‘isolation cover’ of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ to raise awareness of the #WEMAKE EVENTS and #SAVEOURVENUES (Music Venue Trust) campaigns and to encourage donations to the campaigns to support locked down grassroots music venues (particularly the #SaveThe30 venues that are most at risk after receiving no government grants), and to support live music & events crew who have been out of work since March. All proceeds will also be donated to the campaigns.

Stu Whiston: “After recording the track in isolation during the 1st COVID lockdown, we posted it on our social media and got a great response. We felt we should release it, but both the band and the label aren’t keen on releasing cover versions. Then 42’s Records suggested that, as a band that depends on grassroots music venues and events crew, the title would fit perfectly with supporting and raising awareness of the campaigns. Venues have been closed for 9 months; many have had no financial support. There’s an army of highly skilled crew; roadies, sound and light technicians, bar staff etc who have had no work and no real support for that period. They need support, anyone into music, bands and gigs should know this is critical and we can’t afford to lose these venues, which provide a starting point for new bands, or the skilled professionals that make gigs happen.”

The Battery Farm make music like they don’t care what we think of them, they just do their stuff. If we like it, then I’m sure that’s OK for them but they probably don’t care if we don’t. Their music is unapologetically doomy and sometimes difficult to listen to. And I love it.

So the new EP ‘Endless Unstoppable Pain :-)’ – and yes that is a simile, a hint there perhaps that they aren’t quite as doom laden as I might have thought. Is the endless unstoppable pain the pain that living in the now puts us under, or the listening experience, who knows? I suspect it’s the former. I may be wrong.

For a band that do doom laden punky post-punk, the opening track – ‘Maggot Line’ – isn’t; it’s out and out rough, raw and raucous punk, old school punk. However this is no walk in the park, this is song where the words ‘we’re all goin’ die’ (and ‘it won’t be long’) are repeated and repeated. It’s a nihilistic celebration of our upcoming certain doom. A song to lose your shit to dancing and singing as the end approaches. Strangely it’s cheerier than you might think; you gotta laugh people, or you’ll cry.

‘Excellent Public Speaker’ is a slice of punky post-punk. Over a frantic bass laden backing words are spoken, intoned, shouted, chanted. And while you throw yourself around the room, you can listen to the words and try to work out what the song is about; or at least I did. It hasn’t quite percolated through yet, for which I apologise. But even without getting what the song is about, it’s compelling. Guitars roar, drums pound, bass throbs.

‘A Little Nothing Man’ is a build and explore song. It starts, gentle voice, bass, sparse drums. It shifts up, that voice and bass get more insistent. And then it happens, mutated surf guitar, guitars so dense it hurts, the voice shouts, it screams. And then it drops out to voice, the contrast is beautiful and exquisite. It leaves you feeling sad, desolate. Desperate to experience that build and that explosion again.

The EP closes with ‘While The Black Smoke Rise’. Dense guitar, a voice rants. A song that is unavoidably political, ant-big companies interested only in profits. Guitars wig out (now is that something people of my age only get, it means they just lose it big time). Is this a song or a spoken word piece over music? I care not one fuck. This is one beautiful fucking noise.

This EP is impressive, fantastically impressive. The music isn’t easy – this isn’t about tunes you can hum while you’re doing your shopping OK – but it’s fucking beautiful.It’s beautiful because this is a band doing their music because they love doing it. Their commitment to it is there in every distorted guitar, every demented drum beat, every shouted, spoken and sung word. And it’s beautiful because they mean every damn word of the songs. And I can’t help but fall deeply deeply in musical love with the band and this EP.

If you like out-there garage-y punky post-punk, if you like guitar heavy noise rock, if you like music that isn’t easy to listen to, if you like music you can lose your shit to; then this is for you.

Snarf it up on vinyl, download or streaming at this link – https://linktr.ee/thebatteryfarm