Waco go to the devil, Faye Webster skates away, Living Hour float away, Rustin Man takes heart, Golden Daze take wing and more in today’s Roundup. Put the hammer down, good buddy — it looks like we got ourselves a convoy:
1 | This rock ’n’ roll stuff doesn’t have to be complicated; in fact, most times it shouldn’t be. All you need are a couple of good riffs, a badass beat, a singalong chorus, an air guitar-worthy solo and plenty of personality. And so-called “cosmic punks” Waco — who happen to be from Jolly Olde England — have all of the above and more in full effect on the raucous video for their party-hearty single The Jersey Devil, the leadoff track from their upcoming album Human Magic. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Magic is real. I’ve seen it with my naked eyes, heard it with my humble ears and felt it in my soul. It surrounds us. Nature, art, love and community are all made of magic. This album is about Human Magic — trying to understand the complex and mysterious human condition, and about how life can be mystical, difficult and wonderful all at once.” Abraca-pocus above, mofos.
2 | What colour is a flamingo? Where do you find an outfit to match? Are red satin pajamas as comfortable as they look? And how difficult is it to lip-sync while ice-skating in a spangly silver mini-dress? These and other questions will definitely not be answered in the intriguing self-directed video for Atlanta singer-songwriter Fave Webster‘s soulful new single Kingston. But that’s cool — though clearly not quite as cool as the indie-pop artist herself. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Awash in the haze of a humid Georgia summer, all lovestruck and dewy, Kingston glimmers with a hushed glitz: a mellowed punctuation of brass, the twang of pedal-steel, feather-light vocals unfurling like a sigh, and slinking hues of R&B.” Ice, ice, baby:
3 | “There’s a party at the end of my street,” singer Sam Sarty explains right at the beginning of Bottom Step, the dreamy new single from Winnipeg indie-pop shoegazers Living Hour. But where is she? Floating by herself in a lake, dancing on the shore and jogging down a rural road. Make that a party of one — and not in the Carly Rae Jepsen sense. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Living Hour recently announced its sophomore LP, Softer Faces, due out March 1 via Kanine Records. A follow-up to their highly praised 2016 S/T debut, it features the haunting, ethereal vocals of lead singer Sam Sarty accompanied by lush, expansive instrumentation.” Step this way:
4 | If the name Paul Webb rings a bell, you are undoubtedly a fan of defunct British rockers Talk Talk. And if you’re a fan of defunct British rockers Talk Talk, you’ll probably be interested to hear what former bassist is up to these days. Well, now he records under the name Rustin Man — and his latest release is the warm, richly textured and gracefully paced single and video Vanishing Heart, from his forthcoming album Drift Code. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Webb, who for the first time has written songs specifically for his own voice, turns out to be a gifted character actor, adopting various vocal roles across the songs. In Vanishing Heart, he is someone liberated from a loveless relationship: “At last I’ve found more warmth to feeling / It feels so good to be alive.” Listen Listen:
5 | We look back fondly on the good old days. We look ahead hopefully to our golden years. But you can enjoy your golden days right now — as long as you spell it Golden Daze. The L.A. indie-folk duo have returned with a sublimely superb ’70s-style video for the song Blue Bell, a preview of their next album Simpatico. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “We hear dual singer-songwriters Jacob Loeb and Ben Schwab chanting the album’s opening line (“maybe I should stick around”) in a unison so finely tuned it becomes impossible to differentiate their voices. Blue Bell, this initial, inviting track, merges their separate identities so as to initiate the listener into their shared landscape — the troubled, hopeful world of Simpatico.” Flock together:
6 | There are times when you should have something to say. And times when the best thing you can do is listen. Well, this is one of those times when it’s best to listen to someone who has something to say. That would be B.C. singer-songwriter Ben Rogers, whose haunting new single A Changed Man — from his forthcoming album of the same name — tells a harrowing tale of domestic violence and its aftermath. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “Rogers comments he “loosely based it on a true story. But, the more I wrote, the more I realized that it is based on many true stories. Far too many. Domestic violence is endemic and I dedicate it to the victims and survivors of abuse.”
7 | As Ste. Joni famously taught us, you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone. But Ender, the new single from etherial St. John’s indie-pop band Galaa, wonders whether you know what you have — and what to do with it — when you’ve got it. Thankfully, their pillowy electro groove, glistening melodies and angelic vocals help relax you while you cogitate. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “We want Ender to lead people to think about desire and how they relate to it. The ender figure in the song represents how things dissolve, deteriorate, die. The mender is a nod towards the hopeful, the potential flourishing that can occur when things are broken down.” Got it?
8 | You know what they say about two heads being better than one? Well, what about when each of those heads goes by two names? Does that make them four heads? And does that make them twice as good or four times as good? I have no idea. But I do know that Later Fortune — which consists of Chet Delcampo (a.k.a. Chris Madl) and Heyward Howkins (a.k.a. John Howkins) — make some gorgeously restrained indie-pop sounds on their new two-sided single A 12-Year-Audition / Birds of Papua. SEZ THE PRESS RELEASE: “12 Yr. Audition … is a lovely slice of hushed pop reverie about getting old waiting to begin the begin. The instrumental Birds Of Papua either sounds like peak Lambchop or the sad song that runs through Charlie Brown’s head every time he tries to laugh off Lucy pulling the football away at the very last minute.” Good grief!
