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The Unsigned Guide Spotlight: June

Blog by Louise Dodgson under Artist Managers, Creative & Branding, Finance, Law & Music Business, Live, Media, Music Publishing, Music Training & Careers, Record Labels, Recording & Production, Selling & Distributing Your Music


PARCS - ‘In The Night’

After a 3 year hiatus, Newport trio PARCS return with bonafide pop gem ‘In The Night’, brimming with bittersweet melody, new wave synths and a driving tempo guaranteed to get that head nodding.

Evidently embracing synth pop and disco in their sound, the band are also heavily influenced by the likes of Sylvan Esso, Chromatics, Porches, plus a host of ‘80 luminaries including Tears for Fears, Talking Heads and Pixies.

Their recently released EP ‘Dawnsio Trist’ (aptly translating as ‘Sad Dancing’) was crafted during lockdown whilst living in Pembrokeshire. Vocalist Elly expands on the origins of the EP name, “We wanted to create something people could dance to. At the same time, it was difficult to write lyrics after not writing for so long and a difficult couple of years – a lot of emotions came out all at once.”

And as for the single ‘In The Night’, although not initially considered by the band to be the strongest of the selection due to feature on the EP, it seems that a little time and tampering transformed the track into an undisputed jewel in the crown, “We let our guitarist/producer, George, play around with it, and it came back sounding way bigger than we thought it would! It's about feeling so in love that you're almost in a dream-like state.”

PARCS headlined a stage at BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Cardiff back in April which became a stand-out moment for the band, “it was one of the best shows we've played!” After previously self-releasing their past material, they’re also chuffed to be working with Rose Parade Recording Co to put out their current material. And the support is rolling in from all quarters, from rave blog reviews to airplay from BBC Radio Wales, BBC Introducing, as well as BBC 6 Music.

So what lies ahead? Ready to launch back into the world after their brief intermission, PARCS are already underway with writing new material with the hope for an album in the future. Not to mention many more gigs. We have to say, we eagerly anticipate the same for them too!

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James & The Cold Gun - ‘Seven’

If you like your rock music raw and real, then look no further than South Wales noise merchants James & The Cold Gun who are proud to play honest, spirited rock with no frills and no gimmicks.

Rapidly building support from tastemakers including Kerrang!, Rock Sound, Punktastic, Dead Press, Running Punks, BBC Introducing Wales, John Kennedy at Radio X, Daniel P Carter on the BBC Radio One Rock Show, plus many more, it would appear the band’s bold, unreserved sound is making quite an impact.

Equally as fulfilling as the resounding media coverage for their music, is the realisation of more individual needs, as frontman James Joseph explains, “Personally my biggest achievement is leaving the security of my old band to do something that I really, really wanted to do. I've dealt with a lot of imposter syndrome starting a new project where I'm the frontman, but now that Cold Gun is in full swing I'm really glad that I've proved the little voice in my head wrong.”

With debut EP ‘False Start’ currently out via Venn Records in the UK, and Loosegroove Records in the US, this release has marked another major accomplishment for the band. As fans of the ‘90s US grunge scene, getting signed to Seattle-based Loosegroove which is owned by Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) and Regan Hagar (Malfunkshun, Brad, Satchel), must be like a dream come true.

“I think I can speak for James Biss (guitar/vocals) and myself when I say that getting signed to Loosegroove Records was huge for us! Knowing that Stone Gossard is into our band is nuts! Everyone at Loosegroove is super cool and they're actual music fans.”



‘Seven’ is a rock ‘n’ roll juggernaut with raucous driving energy and colossal riffs, and with its mounting intro, it makes for the perfect opener to their live shows. Having clocked up over 80 gigs since lockdown lifted, the four-piece are still eager for more.

There’s a few festivals, plus a couple of cool shows that are yet to be announced, on the agenda, so keep your ear to the ground for more from James & The Cold Gun.

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MAMA OH NO - ‘Don’t Be Shy’

Stirring up nostalgic 50s and 60s pop vibes with delicious retro harmonies, mixed with twangy surfer rock guitars, Norwich band MAMA OH NO have created an irresistible sound that could be the lovechild of Phil Spector and The Black Keys. A winning combination, that’s for sure!

Hitting the ground running with self-produced first single 'I Don't Mind' which was played on BBC Radio 1 by Huw Stephens just a week after its release, followed by ‘'Where'd She Go?' which was picked up by DJ Jose Galvin and featured on KCRW in California as the first track of his show, it seems like big things are afoot for the four-piece. It’s no surprise that their infectious, feel-good songs have harvested lots of radio support with Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing in Norfolk and many more local stations jumping on board.

Having recently played the BBC introducing stage at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival (listen back to part of their set here), plus with many live gigs under the belt, it’s a sure bet that the festival circuit is calling for MAMA OH NO’s distinctive soundtrack of summer abandon.

With plans to tour, new merch designs to unveil, and also an album in the works to follow the release of ‘Live at The Crunch’, we’re excited to see what’s in store from the MAMA OH NO camp.

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Peri Rae - ‘Fair Enough’

Indie, Folk-Pop singer songwriter Peri Rae loves re-moulding her life experiences into song, and it’s something she has an incredible gift for. And it’s not only us that thinks so! Further proof being that Peri has been named 'One To Watch' by BBC Introducing Beds, Bucks & Herts, and our chosen track ‘Fair Enough’ has accumulated over 60k streams on Spotify, featuring on their New Music Friday and Our Generation playlists.

The motivation for ‘Fair Enough’ came from a charming, yet disappointing interaction which Peri experienced, which she manages to transform into an affirming message of self assurance;

"There was a customer at the coffee shop I worked at, who would come in every weekend and read a book. One day, I asked him how the book was, and in return, he asked me what I was reading so I told him. He came back into the cafe 10 minutes later and told me he’d bought my book! It was the most romantic thing that anyone had ever done for me. I made a bunch of TikTok’s about the story, which were loved by over 3million people. I eventually plucked up the courage (with the help of my followers) to ask him out, but on the date he was nothing like I’d imagined. It was so boring and all he said to me was “fair enough”. The song is about falling in love with the idea of people, taking care of yourself and never settling for less than you deserve.”



Taking her compositions into the studio has been a valuable learning curve for Peri, allowing her to add layers of storytelling through production (brilliantly done on ‘Fair Enough’ by Jessica Sharman). Her current EP ‘Handing You My Heart’ is out now, and she aims to keep on a roll with the writing so expect new material further down the line.

Typically playing her music in a stripped back fashion with just her guitar or piano, Peri will be playing a live session for BBC Introducing Beds, Bucks & Herts in the near future, as well as gracing some festival stages over the summer. She’s also a regular on the London circuit, so keep an eye out on her social media below for upcoming dates.

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Express Office Portico - ‘Cosmic Joke’

Formed whilst trying (and failing) to work out the chords to the 70s classic ‘I’d Rather Be With You’ by Bootsy Collins, Nottingham 5 piece Express Office Portico have since honed their own signature sound; a bewitching mix of alt synth and indie pop. ‘Cosmic Joke’ with its under-riding groove, liquid synths and nectar-like vocals is the laid-back sound of the summer we’ve all been waiting for.

Taking inspiration musically from the likes of Cocteau Twins, Hot Chip, Erykah Badu, Men I Trust, Beach House, MGMT, Orange County and Mac Demarco, amongst others, lyrically the band like to blur the lines between mental and physical health, covering topics like mental health conditions, addiction struggles, and existentialism. So what’s the idea behind ‘Cosmic Joke’?

“The title comes from an idea in philosophy that the entire universe, and life in general, is just one big joke. A trick played on humanity by existence itself, or God, or whatever you wanna call it. “It’s all a cosmic joke, nothing less and nothing more”. The lyrics are essentially about having an existential crisis and the utter confusion of being a conscious human in the physical world. Everyone is searching for meaning, but life is fundamentally meaningless. So, we might as well just laugh about it all, and try to enjoy it as much as we can!”




Express Office Portico spent as much of 2021 as possible gigging, including performances at Nottingham’s renowned Bodega with Swim School and The Lexington in London with Oliver Marson. More recently they’ve played Nottingham’s Dot to Dot Festival and Beat the Streets festival, and have been enjoying continued support from BBC Introducing for each of their releases to date. The reviews have been dropping in from Music Crowns, Music-News, Mystic Sons and FLEX, plus a video premiere for ‘Cosmic Joke’ on CLOUT.

We’re assured that plenty more new material will be on the way, as the band continue to work with producer Joshua Rumble (Black Country New Road, The Clockworks, Anteros, Bastille). Look out for Express Office Portico playing The Victoria Dalston in London on 20th July, as well as taking on the Future Sound of Nottingham 2022 final on 3rd July at Nottingham’s Rock City. The winner of this competition will open the main stage at Nottingham’s Splendour festival so we have everything crossed it’s Express Office Portico that we see striding onto the stage.

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How do I get featured on the Spotlight blog?

Our Spotlight blog is compiled every month from fresh new music submitted to us by our members. We want to hear from you!

We select 5 of the best tracks from our members to champion on Spotlight. As well as being featured on our new music blog, your track will also be played on our monthly Reform Radio show, get a free release package from CD Baby, plus the 5 tracks are also forwarded onto a select bunch of music industry professionals...including folks from Big Life Management, Club Fandango, Decca Records, Memphis Industries, Rocksound, DIY Magazine, Transgressive Records and The Great Escape. Find out more about Spotlight here.

To be in the running you’ll need to sign up as a member to The Unsigned Guide, then follow the instructions in your Welcome email to submit a track for Spotlight consideration to us.

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