Mercury Girls share new tune, add more east coast shows with Flowers and Fear of Men

Philadelphia, PA’s Mercury Girls features Sarah Schimineck, Kevin Attics, Andrew Hagiwara, Chris Schackerman, and Kevin O'Halloran. Schimineck, formerly of NYC Popfest alums Pet Milk is flanked by the shimmery and adventurous guitar interplay of Attics (Literature, former Pitchfork Media) and O'Halloran (of indie heroes Little Big League, Run For Cover Records). Hagiwara and Schackerman provide a sturdy rhythmic base, creating a sound that's equally lush and driving, using Sarah Records-inspired pop as a basis for savvy de-/reconstruction and sonic experimentation. Despite having only started in March of 2015, the group has achieved a lot. They've collected many endorsements, including those from Chickfactor Magazine, Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Kip Berman and NPR, they've shared the stage with bands such as Expert Alterations, Joanna Gruesome, Beverly, TEEN, Eternal Summers, and their 2016 SxSW visit was a head-turning, mind-melting blast.

Now they cap off their first year with the release of their debut single, Ariana. While their sound uses classic indiepop as a jumping-off point, there are bits of shoegaze, post-punk and DIY punk in the mix that recall like-minded bands like Veronica Falls, Makthaverskan, Fear of Men and Frankie Rose. "Ariana" is gorgeous tangle of chorused, jangling guitars and Sarah's dreamlike vocals. A marvelous two and a half minutes of perfect, forward-thinking pop.

Here we find the band sharing the AA-side and it forms a marvelous counterpoint to "Ariana." "All That Heaven Allows" leans more on the band's post-punk inspirations, marked by a careening rhythm and a huge chorus that will stick in your head for days.

Ariana is out May 20th, just in time for the band's engagement at NYC Popfest alongside legends The Primitives and The Chesterfields. The spring is looking to be fully scheduled with shows up and down the east coast, keeping the band busy while they write and record their highly-anticipated debut album, slated for release on Slumberland this fall.

Order the single HERE.



Upcoming shows:

May 20 - Philadelphia, PA at Space 1026 (Steve Keene Art Exhibit with My Favorite, The Snow Faeries) May 21 - New York, New York at Knitting Factory (NYC Popfest w/The Primitives, The Chesterfields & more) June 11 - New York, New York at Cake Shop (with Flowers, Expert Alterations, DJs Kip Berman, Drew Citron, Bill Pearis) June 14 - Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda’s (with Flowers, Beverly) July 01 - Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda’s (with Fear of Men) August 12 - Athens, GA (Athens Popfest)

Join The Safe Side As They ‘Blossom’: Essex Pop Punks Unveil Sophomore EP Details & Stream Lead Single

“When we listen to our own songs we try to look at them like this: would we listen to them if we weren’t in the band?” muses Danny Gaisford, bassist of Essex pop punks, Safe Side. “We genuinely would,” he (fortunately) confirms. “There would be no point writing the songs if we didn't believe in them. There's loads of underground bands in the scene at the moment, and I hope that we have set ourselves apart; we’re certainly very proud of our new songs and feel that there’s something different about them.”

Said new songs form Safe Side’s sophomore E.P ‘Blossom’, a collection of highly infectious tuneage which successfully blends the band’s pop punk roots with elements of Alternative rock, and vocalist Frank Yates’ distinctly homegrown delivery. “Frank's voice sets us apart,” opines Danny; “Pop punk is known for American pronunciation, no matter where you are from. So having a particularly British voice in our sound is a good thing; the genre is bursting at the seams at the moment, which is great of course, but I think it's always good to look outside of the box sometimes and push yourself to try something different. And for us that is layering a distinct kind of vocal over our instrumentation.”

To match their creative step up, Safe Side – completed by guitarists Jordan Tuffen and Chris Smart, and drummer Callum Tuffen – moved from the home studio environment of their debut E.P to tracking the songs of ‘Blossom’ at Southampton’s The Ranch (Milk Teeth, Creeper, Boston Manor). “The ‘real studio’ environment was very much an eye opener for us, we learned a lot from going there,” Danny recalls; “Only a couple of us had ever been to a studio before, and we really wanted to collectively experience that learning curve. And as a result we think ‘Blossom’ feels more like a real record. We took time on it and put a lot of thought and effort into every part, and we think it shows. We wanted to make sure it's something we would want to listen to as fans.”

Safe Side ‘Blossom’ Tracklisting:

1. Wilt 2. In My Place 3. Framework 4. Resolve

Catch Safe Side Live:

August 13th, Landslide Festival, Brentwood August 14th Live It Up Festival, Northampton