"Buzzing fuzz guitar lines emerge from a delicate acoustic introduction to intersect with the crashing chords and the ‘bulbous pulsing’ rhythm section" ~ Record Collector Magazine

"Raw and edgy sound with guiding and invigorating sense of melody" ~ The Spill Magazine

“Unmistakeable sound a winning formula” ~ The Big Takeover

“A triumph of industry, imagination and talent, coolly novel and damned addictive” ~ Louder Than War

‘Unique and other worldly” ~ Vive Le Rock

“A form of Art-Pop that is wry, incisive, yet a deeply listenable examination of post industrial culture” ~ Rock At Night

"A riotous maelstrom of musical mayhem” ~ The Manc Review

'A Cornucopia: Minerva' CD & vinyl order https://bigstirrecords. bandcamp.com/album/a- cornucopia-minerva
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/5fgADipIGJylWUvTbAMdbg

Manchester indie rock psychonauts The Speed Of Sound has released their new album 'A Cornucopia: Minerva', marking their 35th anniversary as power-pop psychnauts. Issued via Big Stir Records, this is the first record of the three-album set 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty'

Full of ambition, energy, and eccentric melodic brilliance, they also present the video for 'The Great Acceleration', following up the album's lead track 'West Wind'.

While these albums will see digital editions over the next year, the Vinyl and CD versions are 3-disc sets carrying the umbrella title 'A Cornucopia'. Released as deluxe editions, each set includes two full-length bonus albums 'Victory' and 'Bounty'. But it all begins with 'Minerva'.

With this triple offering of sonic goodness, The Speed Of Sound returns triumphant, defiant and redemptive, following up 2021's critically acclaimed album 'Museum Of Tomorrow'. Named for the goddess associated with wisdom, the arts and strategic warfare, this album explores themes of resistance to mainstream cultural dominance, championing individual identity and artistic creativity whilst being a vigorous musical celebration of subcultural existence in the face of predominantly bland pop culture.

The Speed of Sound is made up of father and son John Armstrong (guitars and vocals) and Henry Armstrong (keyboards), Ann-Marie Crowley (vocals and guitar), Kevin Roache (bass guitar) and John Broadhurst (drums).

'Minerva' presents 14 fresh and variegated tracks, each one a burst of differently-hued radio friendly sonic technicolor. These new pieces range from the recklessly fast Bo Diddley rhythm successfully merged with a Wagnerian horn section of lead single 'West Wind' to the haunting and spacious ballad critiquing Economic Theory that is 'Trickledown' to the stripped back mediaeval folk-tinged starkness of 'The Harvest' to the stratospheric vastness of 'The Great Acceleration'.

The album passes seamlessly through the acoustic guitar-driven groove of 'SS-100-X',the spacious iridescence of 'Eight Fourteen Monday', the lively ascendence of 'The Party Sniper', the glowing radioactivity metaphor of 'Half Life' to the bright uplifting dementia and identity-loss focused 'Mind Palace'. While the bouncing vibe of 'Bodysnatchers' reminds us to stay awake and not slip into the drabness of normalcy, the crunching melodic punch of 'Clickbait' zings into the typewriter introduction of 'Yet Another Tuesday', onwards to the punkifed rhythm and blues of 'So Faux' and the closing acoustic riot of 'Question Time'.

With their inbuilt eclectic and genre-defying style, The Speed Of Sound expand from their base-camp foundation of multiple 1960s, punk and new wave influences, encompassing wide dynamic and stylistic variation, crossing borders and pushing boundaries at every opportunity while retaining continuity. The music bursts with experimentation whilst retaining hooks and melodic sensibility, plus the sharp barbed wit, lyrical depth and all-pervading sense of joy that form the irrepressible, uplifting hallmarks of this band.

Throughout their 35-year history, The Speed Of Sound have continuously produced music laced with optimism and lyrical bite, tapping the DIY ethos of punk and the restless lust for experimentation of psychedelia. Formed in 1989 with a pre-history dating back to the day Andy Warhol died in 1987, their music has always been idiosyncratic, counter-intuitive and perpetually looking for something new.

'Minerva' is out now, available in both formats from Big Stir Records via Bandcamp. Even better - dive into the jam-packed triple LP and CD editions of 'A Cornucopia'.

Emily Lazar is the first female rock/ metal front person to create and launch a music and animation NFT (Non-fungible token), on Friday, March 5, 2021.

Emily created and leads September Mourning, a transmedia project spanning music, animation, graphic novels, video, costume design and more. Naturally, she wanted to expand the universe of September Mourning into NFTs, a new realm of creative possibility on the forefront of the digital landscape.

NFTs are unique, limited edition digital pieces of art that the creator signs & authenticates. You can own each one forever like you would a vinyl record or sell it as the NFT appreciates in value on an NFT exchange like Open Sea. The artist gets a residual portion of the sale so you are always supporting them both monetarily and promotionally. Think of the space as a collectible marketplace for the digital world.

Emily is dropping a limited edition of 2 different NFT’s on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace.

Emily’s NFT's combine extreme animation and music from the single "Wake the Dead," with one version giving a slight nod to the Bitcoin and Ethereummeme culture.

Emily has a very limited number of authentic pieces of her art for this launch, which you can view and purchase at https://opensea.io/collection/emily-lazar-september-mourning-the-soul-collection,

She’s excited that, together, her supporters and her can help make her art their own, as they share their newly acquired collectible and help spread her vision.

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda recently dropped a similar NFT and said:

"The [NFT] I posted will be (must be, by design) 1 of 1," the musician said. "What you own: the file (art?) ... I can't upload that file again. You don't own the 'song' or 'master' or 'copyright,' but you own the file. For example, if I write an original lyric on a piece of paper, I own that lyric. If you buy that piece of paper, you own that paper. And it is one-of-a-kind. In this case, you get a certificate of authenticity via blockchain that you are the sole owner."

Click to See More & Purchase Unique Content from Emily Lazar

FAQs:

1. What are you launching?
I’m launching two NFTs:

A music/art one that speaks to my fans around the world, and a music/art/meme one which contains something special for the Bitcoin & crypto community.

NFTs are unique, limited edition digital pieces of art that the creator signs & authenticates. You can own each one forever like you would a vinyl record or as the NFT appreciates in value, if you would like, you can sell it to anyone, anywhere such as an NFT exchange like OpenSea…. Therefore profiting from the increase in value. The artist gets a residual portion of the sale so you are always supporting them both monetarily and promotionally. Think of the space as a collectible marketplace for the digital world.

2. What’s unique & visionary about yours?
Music and art feed my soul but as a touring musician stuck in a pandemic where there’s no touring, I need to find new ways to express myself and share my art with the world and possibly have it appreciate in value. NFT’s provide all of this.

3. What unmet need does your NFT meet?
This is a scarce asset and my first foray into a burgeoning new segment of the art world. I believe my art speaks uniquely to super fans, collectors, crypto traders and investors.

I’m deeply touched by the phenomenal prelaunch interest I’ve received from significant investors, whom I’ve been fortunate to connect with despite being in a pandemic.

Manchester's THE SPEED OF SOUND releases landmark ‘A Cornucopia: Minerva’ album, plus animated video for ‘The Great Acceleration’

EMILY LAZAR (SEPTEMBER MOURNING) Leads the Way Launching Music and Animation NFT

FAQs: