Hard-grunge rockers Stone Angels, who released their new album Up In Smoke on CD and vinyl only in March, today premiere the new video for Supercharged ahead of its official release on Thursday 23 May. Filmed and directed by LBphoto and Nick Burdett, the film shows the band speeding around in vintage F1 cars and is one not to miss.
“The name [Supercharged] was originally inspired by my late Grandfather, who used to professionally race supercharged MGs at events such as Goodwood & Brighton Speed Trials,” guitarist James Innes told us. “In fact, that’s him on the cover art.”
Supercharged is a tremendously powerful song and one that has proved itself in the live setting already. While we believe that no one was hurt in filming, you suspect that Grandfather Innes would not approve of James’ lack of steering wheel control in his awesome solo.
“The song evolved into a Friday night anthem of escaping the mundane working week and celebrating life on the weekend,” Innes said. “With the main guitar riff sounding like a V8 roaring into top gear, it has quickly become a fan favourite at shows.”
Up In Smoke has its roots in pre-pandemic times. “We actually began recording demos in the summer of 2018,” the band said, “and started shaping and bringing to life our songs. Then the pandemic struck.
“Initially, like everyone else, we were frustrated about having to put our lives on hold, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise to have more time to make the best album we possibly could.”
There is a personal story behind the choice of Up In Smoke as an album title. “7 November 2019, at approximately midday, a fire broke out in my house while I was inside,” James Innes said. “The trauma of watching my home, my safe space, be destroyed by the blaze sent me into a depressive spiral, especially as the pandemic quickly followed.
“It’s the closest that I have ever been to becoming an alcoholic as, at times, it felt like the only release I had. I took inspiration to write about the ordeal rather than bottle it up. Up In Smoke was the most challenging song that I have written, but with the support of my wife, bandmates, family and friends, I was able to heal. It was my way of making a silver lining to that smoke cloud.”
The first Stone Angels single, Hold On, was released last November. “Hold On was probably the song that we as a band have written the quickest,” James Innes said. “The pieces really felt like they fell together on their own. I came up with the riff in a rehearsal, the guys started playing along, and 20 minutes later, we had pretty much the majority of the track sorted. When working out what to call it, Niall said, ‘Hold On, I’ve got an idea.’ It’s got a great, fun Friday night feel pulsating through it.”
The decision by Stone Angels to make the album available in physical form only followed after. “The way music is released has changed drastically,” the band said. “Ultimately, we wanted to do something different than the traditional model of two or three singles and then release the album. While this model still works for physical releases, it doesn’t work for streaming platforms such as Spotify.
“In order for an artist to really have a chance to grow on these platforms, they need to have a steady flow of new music to drip feed over several months to help maintain and grow audience engagement. On any given day, around 120,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify, so within a month, over three million songs have been released, which means your music can become old in an instant.”
The singles Where The Crows Fly and Over The Edge followed, the latter showcasing the kinetic live performance Stone Angels possesses.
Having previously shared stages with Hot Milk, InMe, and Skindred and wowed at the inaugural Pride Rock Festival Brighton, the band draws inspiration from classic LA rock, Seattle’s iconic grunge, and historic UK rock scenes. Theirs is a fresh take on the genres, creating their own cocktail of adrenaline-fueled rock.
“As an unsigned independent band, we have the luxury of not being tied to a record label’s potentially outdated approach,” Stone Angels said. “But we will be releasing each track two to three months apart digitally as stand-alone singles.
“Sure, some may say it’s a gutsy move, but we want to challenge the norm and believe this new way of thinking will benefit us in both physical sales and streaming platforms.”
Stone Angels – Up In Smoke – is available from the bands website.
