Indie Rock

Danish indie rockers Mansfield are back with their second single this autumn. ‘The Sky’s in Love with You’ has an uplifting chorus carried by orchestral strings and a groovy drumbeat. This anthemic song pays homage to the mysterious wonder of love.

In September, Mansfield released their single ‘Chasing after You’ which was immediately put into rotation on Danish National Radio and has subsequently been played on several radio stations internationally. Especially UK radio has taken an interest in the band, as Mansfield’s musical style sounds “surprisingly more British than Scandinavian”, as Oxford-based radio DJ Paul Higgs puts it in an interview with lead singer Christian Stage. In ‘The Sky’s in Love with You’, the band demonstrates a novel experimental approach to sound and musical arrangements. Distorted guitars blend in with mellotrons and classical strings, while the lead vocal soars above the arrangement giving the song a psychedelic vibe.

‘The Sky’s in Love with You’ focuses on the enigmatic wonder of love and how it is essential to our longing for fulfilment in life. As implied by the title, the song lyrics contain imagery to express different aspects of the nature of love. To portray the song visually, Mansfield’s record label DME has given photographer Stinna Skrivergaard free rein to film and produce an imaginative music video. Colourful images, fantastical characters and masked dancers appear in a universe reminiscent of ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

Since the release of Mansfield’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Star-Crossed Lovers’ in 2020, the band has performed in Denmark, England and Germany. Receiving both praise and good advice from English producer Paul Schroeder (Stone Roses, The Verve) in a recent collaboration, the band members have worked fervently on developing their sound as a contemporary rock band. DJ Laura Beth of Manchester’s Reclaimed Radio says of Mansfield’s latest single, “You can clearly hear the influence of British indie rock in their music, but their songwriting has its own unique sound.” ‘The Sky’s in Love with You’ is the second and final single before Mansfield’s forthcoming EP ‘Come Rain or Shine’ is released on February 3^rd, 2023. ‘The Sky’s in Love with You’ was recorded at Black Tornado Studios, Copenhagen and produced by Morten Bue (Mew, Iceage, Tindersticks, Kashmir). The single is available now on all streaming platforms via record label DME.

Emily Marsden – Editor
#MusicSceneWales
@MusicSceneWales
musicscenewalescymru@gmail.com

NICE GUY are the five piece alt/Indie rockers from Teeside consisting of Michael McCluskey on Vocals and Guitar, Josh Atkinson on Guitar, Chris Pittam on Bass, Matthew Bowen on Drums and Patrick Michael Oliver on Keys.

The band first formed in 2018 and released their first single ‘Fake Leather’ with local Middlesbrough label, Goosed Records. They followed this up with their second hit single ‘Last Orders At The Linthorpe’ in mid 2019 and then, well, the world shut down for reasons we are all too aware of by now!

Fast forward to the summer of 2020, however, and Nice Guy were in the studio recording their next two singles. With new material in their arsenal and public interest in them gathering momentum, the band secured slots on high profile gigs such as the ‘Songs For Northern Britain’ showcase and alongside Avalanche Party at the famous Westgarth Social Club.

2022 saw Nice Guy launching themselves out of the starting blocks and showing the world that they mean business by releasing three consecutive singles ‘Shame’, ‘Tonight’ and ‘Fast Food’ all to much critical acclaim from the likes of Louder Than War who said “Nice Guy have positioned themselves as powerful bastilions of rightfulness, as well as rolicking riffery”.and NARC magazine who described their music as “expertly crafted vocals sit atop pulsating drums and raw frenetic guitars to create an indie rock anthem that is as refreshing as it is banging”. and NE VOLUME stating “…an example of how great a single can be. Tightly written, a story that unwinds naturally through a catchy beat… it’s everything you could want from a band.”

Following on from such success, and a summer spent gigging up and down the country performing at the likes of Gathering Sounds Festival and supporting names such as The Paddintongs, The Heavy North and Apollo Junction, Nice Guy are now back with their much anticipated fourth single release of the year, the strikingly entitled ‘Corona’.

‘Corona’ is undoubtedly a thought provoking track with its clever and measured lyrics set to the beat of ticking drums and gentle guitar strumming. The track is carried along with an air of wistful melancholy until the mid-section where guitar riffs burst into life, giving this track another twist in the tale with a new somewhat fiery determination. ‘Corona’ ebbs and flows along at a pleasurable pace as emotions are played out, building ultimately into a crescendo of high octane musicianship and chanting lyrics of “I can’t get you out of my head Corona”.

‘Corona’ is a track that showcases a high level of skilled musicianship and maturity for this exciting band and will no doubt continue to cement their upward trajectory of them being one of the best new bands of our time.

Lead vocalist and songwriter Michael has said of the track:

“The track was written around 10 years ago and is a story about how times change but some people don’t change with them. From the perspective of a man who hasn’t grown up and pines for the days where he drank in the park with his friends and the girl he liked, whilst the world has moved on. He’s now questioning why he is still drinking, when it’s lost the glamour it once held for him.”‘Corona’ was written by Michael McCluskey and was recorded and produced at Sugar House Studios and was mixed by Swift Mastering.

Emily Marsden – Editor
#MusicSceneWales
@MusicSceneWales
musicscenewalescymru@gmail.com

Indie Revolution

Mansfield Release Their Single ‘The Sky’s In Love With You’

Nice Guy Release Latest Single ‘Corona’