Shaven Primates Shares "Chasing The Dragon" EP: A Raw Exploration of Desire's Dark Corners Something wonderfully ironic about the fact that Shaven Primates, a band from Oxford, makes some of the most evolved dark wave art rock in the UK. Their most recent EP, "Chasing the Dragon," is not just an improvement; it is a conscious step back into darker soundscapes, and it works perfectly. Following their...

The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...