Vessel makes change, Sharon Van Etten comes back, Jon Fratelli grows flowers, Cass McCombs erupts, Shabazz Palaces are NSFW, Bodega are back in business and more on today’s Roundup. You know you want it:
1 | Change yourself, change the world. That’s the message contained in the cinematic and surreal video for London producer Vessel‘s song Paplu (Love That Moves The Sun), from their third album Queen of Golden Dogs. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Directed by Pedro Maia and using Remedios Varo‘s painting Les Feuilles Mortes (1956) as a point of departure, the new video follows a female figure, The Queen, exploring a constant concept of transformation – transformation of the self and the transformation of reality that occurs as a result. In her world, there are no rules. Whatever she imagines, exists.” Dream it, be it, watch it above.
2 | It’s never too early to think about tomorrow — as in Remind Me Tomorrow, singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten’s first new album in almost five years. It comes out Jan. 18. But today, she’s getting her Siouxsie Sioux on in the video for lead single Comeback Kid. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “As the lyrics for Comeback Kid unfolded, I realized I was talking about many selves: the kid, the adult, the sibling, the friend, the neighbor. I imagined a projector streaming over me of memories, unclear if they are mine or someone else’s, confronted by the disorientation of time and perspective,” explains Van Etten. She kids you not:
3 | Solo album alert: Fratellis‘ frontman Jon Fratelli will release his extracurricular disc Bright Night Flowers on Feb. 15. But based on the video for the title cut, it’s more of a candlelit affair. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Straight off the back of the last Fratellis album, Jon’s solo material displays a more down-tempo melodic side to his song writing and with echoes of Glen Campbell, Roy Orbison and even Tom Waits, this perfectly-assembled, finely-wrought, nine-track album showcases something very special from his art.” Hush, now:
4 | A new Cass McCombs album is always something to look forward to. So mark Feb. 8 on your calendar — that’s when the singer-songwriter’s ninth disc Tip of the Sphere is due for release. And then click below to check out the smouldering, quietly intense first single Sleeping Volcanoes. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Sleeping Volcanoes is about people passing each other on the sidewalk unaware of the emotional volatility they are brushing past, like a sleeping volcano that could erupt at any moment.” Watch your step:
5 | Good art takes time. It’s been more than a year since Shabazz Palaces released their album Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star — but the darkly weird video for the suitably creepy track Déesse Du Sang is well worth the wait. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “The ominous, slightly NSFW visual, is directed by returning director Stephan Gray.” Don’t tell the boss:
6 | Been wondering what’s in store from angular New York idiosyncraticists Bodega? Wait no longer: Here’s the new video for their song Name Escape, from their debut disc Endless Scroll. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Name Escape details at-this-moment observations from a night out at the now-defunct (and missed) Bushwick venue Palisades. The Smiths blare out of the P.A. as I chat with people I’ve seen hundreds of times but will never really know.” Get in line:
7 | British troubadour Bill Ryder-Jones has two things he wants to say to you: Don’t be scared. And he loves you. So naturally, the slow-burning third single from his upcoming album Yawn (due Friday) is titled Don’t Be Scared, I Love You. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “The sonics on Don’t be Scared, I Love You grow thunderous and lend to the song the tension of being told those very words by someone experiencing the same storm, under the same sky, in need of the same comfort.” Come in from the cold:
8 | Canadian indie dudes Lost Cousins may be a band on the go — but their yearning dream-rock single just happens to be titled Stay. What’s up with that? SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Our latest song Stay is about both physical and emotional movement. Uncertainties that lie ahead and remnants of the past are unearthed through the reflection of changing landscapes on a long road trip. The song describes adjustment to departure through fragments of memories from a backseat window.” Objects in mirror may be larger they appear:
