It seems like an age since we recorded any new material. The new album has been started under the (working) title of "the privacy of darkness". Darkness doesn't simply refer to the night but disconnection from the multiple electronic devices that have become such an integral part of our existence. We've been gigging some of the songs for a couple of years now so they're deeply embedded in our muscle memories :-)

As our friends know auralcandy is run as a squad system, everyone has other bands and projects so recording can be frustrated by availability! But having said that we're aiming to get everything done for the beginning of 2019.

The album 'The ballad of Cheap Haircut' is still available! Some good reviews have come in and "Naked man in the playground" and "Cold" have appeared on the covermount CD of the R2 magazine! One of Rob's personal heroes Denis Bovell even played "Six foot under" on his Soho Radio show....(having our attempt at a reggae song played on a bona-fide reggae/dub radio show was immense - although impostor syndrome was not far away) !!

Our previous effort �the ballad of cheap haircut� is still available (as are all of our other recordings).
If concept albums are the next big thing we'd be bang on trend. It wasn't a conscious choice to make a concept album but during a flurry of writing all of the songs seemed to have similar subject matter/vibe.
There are 12 songs...

Monsters, madness and death - are you brave enough to scratch the surface of humanity and see what's really going on?
The ballad of Cheap Haircut - the ingenue manboy 'Cheap Haircut' our eponymous hero, a stranger in a strange land observes what is around him with a dispassionate eye
Arabella Whiteley - friend of Cheap Haircut (Kevin) finds a meaning in life as a drag queen (Arabella Whiteley), it'll set you free when you find out who you're meant to be, a twist on the famous Mark Twain quote
Pariah - the 'freedom of the press' to marginalise and disenfranchise whole sections of society
Six feet under (polite society) - a follow on from Pariah, there is a nation that lives and breathes six feet under polite society, out of sight out of mind
I'm invisible - the narcissism of modern society, a view from outside
Naked man in the playground -the people that live on the very edge of our consciousness, are they really there?
Jenyfer - depression visits our hero and he names her 'Jenyfer', in a perverse way he misses the depth of emotion she brings when she visits, without her the world to him is bland and beige
Snow blind - people see what they want to see and believe what they are told
Two balloons - lovers torn by normality, she has lost her sense of surprise, he is stricken by the 'loss' of the woman he loves
Cold - the hopelessness that Jenyfer brings when her kiss empties the soul
Too sad to live, too scared to die - the violence of the storm followed by the redemption of the rain
The ballad of Cheap Haircut (reprise) - no one sees where the wind blows, it is the effect of the wind that we see

From having no songs with brackets we have two on this album...have we finally grown up...um...probably not.
The band will have copies, also see the 'shop' page for postal sales using Paypal.
If you'd like a listen all of the songs are now on SoundCloud and Spotify and most other place where people stream music.
Or, download from our Bandcamp page,

We've still got some copies of 'occasional moments of clarity' from April 2014.

Toxic butterfly effect - the obligatory end of the world song
Gloriana - a sort of song about love
I'm a piece of paper - possibly physical probably metaphysical
Beast of the art - a groove to die for
Always standing in someone elses glory - want to get on? play the game
The day the swallows went away - life's rich path
Trapped - the obligatory murder song, plus added rain
The burden - um...more rain
Build your own destiny - man plays god, the universe laughs
Nightfalls - just be glad you woke up this morning....

We're down to the last few copies of 'By Charing Cross station I lay down and slept' CD but it's still available as a download from Bandcamp.

five songs on this EP....
Highway song - tick tock how soon it is gone
Hasn't rained for a week - re-recording of a song that was set for EP1 but ws replaced at the 11th hour by Rollercoaster.
Not as easy as that - an affectionate nod to an old R&B classic 'Fortuneteller'.
Rise and fall - my attempt at 'Crowded House' type ballad - which now (courtesy of Mike's guitar solo) has morphed into a piece of 80s F.M. AOR - how cool is that!
Drinking Song - another quasi Kurt Weill effort.

We get about a tenth of a US cent per play so get clicking, we need around 21,500 plays a year (on each album) to cover what we have to pay to put them onto iTunes etc.

Our inclusion on the FdM 'Re-Evolution' was not only a great privilege for us but got us some quite amazing reviews.



'... epic beginning with orchestral strings. Baroque synth sounds reminiscent of Vanilla Fudge ...'
'auralcandy offers an enticing blend of pomp and austin powers style lounge music on 'heading for a fall' ...'
'I don't have a clue who is or are auralcandy, but it does a great job on the organ-driven Heading for the Fall.'
'auralcandy add a sweet and delicate ambience on their divine version of Heading For A Fall ...'
'piano and organ as the main identity elements adding a slight The Doors vibe to the otherwise subtly Beatlesesque territories explored,'
'... auralcandy push them close with their shimmer toned bespoke baroque pop recalibration of heading for a fall along the way imagining a grand pop meeting of minds between the walker brothers and left banke ...'

Reviews like that will seriously undermine our quest to be the most un-hip band in the world...and Nether Westcott...
You can listen to it here Soundcloud!. Unfortunately all of the pressings of the
album have sold so unless you pick up a second hand copy our streaming link is the only place you're going to hear it.

The EP 'extended playtime one' is still available to grace your turntable at the knock down price of three quid!
Redhouse Records (part of Holmes music in Swindon) have some copies of the EP for sale. Rise record stores are stocking the record online .

Or go our shop and buy one direct from us, or us at a gig!! We're not selling CDs of this EP but you can purchase the MP3s at iTunes, Bandcamp etc - or just listen on Soundcloud. (not only the records but demos of new songs and alternative mixes of existing ones!)

if you're on Facebook we have a page...just type 'auralcandy' in to search and up will pop our page. and become a friend on this website and get free downloads of our new material.

follow us on Twitter too @auralcandyband!

join our little friends group...pretty please....we don't bite...(this is 'little friends group' meaning small in number, not small in stature)

New songs...we got 'em!!

Rob wrote a number of songs after the sad passing of David Bowie. The songs are more of a thank you than tribute or eulogy.
"Cast adrift" questions the nature of time and space and whether any of us are actually in this place we call "here".
"Drive by romancer" is "Drive by Saturday" if it had appeared on the Young Americans album.

There are more Weill/Brechtian inclusions "Wait" and "Scarred Peter" along with the minimalist "White noise day".
Rob has to be more careful when introducing this song as "white nose day" has all sorts of other implications.

Then there's the obligatory funbky shizz.....

We always have a ball trying to remember the songs in between giggling inanely...Yup, auralcandy the band that refuse to grow up and get a proper job....

so watch this space!
still watching?
OK - you can look away now!

Gigs are just ticking over at present, a couple a month.

Personnel is fluid so come to two gigs and you'll probably not see the same line up - it keeps everything fresh (for you and us)
and means everyone can have their own projects as well. I'd like to think that an age span of over 40 years is a great thing in a band.
Music spans gender, age, ethnicity and beliefs - we'd like to think we are a microcosm of this.

Here's some video footage of the train wreck that IS auralcandy....

A song from the new EP -
"someone elses glory - filmed at the Vic in Swindon"

and an old chestnut

"addict - filmed at the Vic in Swindon"

and a video out of the ark!

"virus - at the Arts Centre swindon"


Hopefully see you at a gig sometime...

I'll supply earplugs to the faint hearted.