In devotion, they found order.  In the darkness of the shadows, they found their voice. ShadowParty have announced their debut album, out on Mute on July 27, and festival dates in May: The Great Escape, Dot To Dot and The Charlatans’ North By Northwich Series. ShadowParty are a band united by a fairly unusual circumstance, each member is a latter-day addition to a huge band, and here they’ve combined as synthpop’s answer to The Avengers.

The nucleus of the group formed when Josh Hager and Tom Chapman met in Boston, Massachusetts. Josh is a former member of The Rentals and currently plays guitar and keyboards in Devo. Tom Chapman is the former bass player of Bad Lieutenant who followed frontman Bernard Sumner to New Order in 2011 when the band reunited for a series of charity gigs. Completing the group are Phil Cunningham, Marion founder member and New Order’s guitarist since 2002, and drummer Jeff Friedl, who also plays for Devo.

Newly signed to Mute, ShadowParty’s debut - recorded in Boston, LA, Manchester and, of course, Macclesfield - is an album that nods to those groups but exists in its own right entirely, a synth-pop album with guitars and strings, and guests including the incomparable vocalist Denise Johnson (Primal Scream, A Certain Ratio) and The Verve’s revered guitarist Nick McCabe.

It's the sound of a blast. ShadowParty burst through your speakers; pulsing electronics get swept away with lush orchestrations, bold ‘80s-fused beats get carved up by haunting guitars and vocals tower through each moment, whispering sweet harmonies and unspoken despair. Also crashing the party is LA-based DJ Whitney Fierce, who appears on backing vocals, and Joe Duddell, the Manchester-based arranger who has lent his orchestral finesse to the likes of Elbow, Blossoms, and New Order; for whom he created and scored a 12-piece synth orchestra for a run of Manchester International Festival shows.

LIVE DATES

18 May – North By Northwich Festival, Northwich

19 May - The Great Escape Festival, Brighton

25 May – Dot To Dot Festival, Manchester

26 May – Dot To Dot Festival, Bristol

27 May – Dot To Dot Festival, Nottingham

Introducing solo artist, Tim Brooks, with his new single release 'Quicksilver'. Brooks is not your conventional singer songwriter, the artist blends the worlds of Frank Turner, Bruce Springsteen and Gerard Way together, walking the line between acoustic intimacy, and straight up rock and roll. Brooks’ songs are heavily focused on lyrics and wordplay, with numerous references built around each song. For example, the new single's title is taken from a lyric line in the chorus, 'My pulse a quicksilver cacophony', the silent pumping of excited oxygen around your veins.

“I guess my main aim is to write lyrics that people put on to fridge magnets, y'know, to get that one line subconsciously tattooed onto someone's brain that just narrates their life in that moment. That's success for me!” - states Brooks.

Brooks has played at some of London's most prestigious venues, such as 93 Ft East, The Bedford and The Half Moon and having previous material aired on local FM radio, Brooks is now ready to widen his audience, hoping to be recognised on a more national scale. In 2018, Brooks will start to play full band shows, as well as some larger scale festivals in and around London. If you like rock music with hook laden guitar riffs and smart storytelling lyrics then let Tim Brooks bring these worlds together for you and be your new favourite singer songwriter.  

Live dates:

May

15th - The Lucky Pig-Fitzrovia

17th - Balabam, London

22nd - The Bedford Tavern, London

June

12th - Luna Lounge, London

29th - Jelli Records Showcase, Bristol