Niggght bringgg it, Wild Mercury find it, The Sh-Booms hear it, Blaenavon relive it, Charlotte Cornfield replays it and more in today’s Roundup. Life could be a dream, sweetheart.
1 At this point, there are almost as many musical sub-genres as there are bands. And every day seems to add a new one to the list. The latest entry: Electronic doom-blues, the self-described style of Montreal duo Niggght, who may or may not need to clean out their computer keyboard. At any rate, unlike plenty of artists who make up a genre to make themselves sound more unique, Niggght have actually come up with a pretty accurate summation of their sluggish, subterranean and superbly sleazy sound. Hear and see for yourself with the video for their new song Leaving Here, a preview of their Violent Delicacy EP due in March. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Formed two Christmas ago in Montréal, NIGGGHT is a slow-moving, two-headed beast driven by the dark rumbling of Double D’s machines and topped by the crossroads-worthy riffs and sleazy vocals of Vincent Houde (also of Dopethrone). Their debut EP Violent Delicacy is not a record you can or want to pigeonhole. It’s not organic not electronic, but one thing we know for sure: it is perfectly orchestrated evil.” Damn straight:
2 Love is where you find it. Some find it online. Others find it at the nightclub. Still others find it at work, on holiday or through friends and family. The women of Montreal trio Wild Mercury — or at least the heroine of their new two-fisted blues-rocker Dealer — found it in a more interesting and unusual place. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dealer is a sarcastic story that we play in a soulful manner. The hypothetical romance between a woman and her drug dealer made for an interesting canvas to explore dependency – not just by pointing out its self-destructive tendency, but also with its creative and dramatic aspects. Dealer portrays a woman with a fire within herself to find the greatest path. Like her, we may be over thirty with serious life schedules and serious jobs, but sometimes we let loose in the sounds.” Might as well face it, you’re addicted to love:
3 Florida doesn’t seem like it would be a hotbed for soul music. But Orlando outfit The Sh-Booms are here to defy your expectations. Or perhaps live up to them — if you were hoping to hear a slice of old-school soul laced with big vocals, brassy horns, and some garage-style power. You’ll get all of that and more from the new single and video for Audible, a preview of their debut disc The Blurred Odyssey, due in March. And if singer Brenda Radney seems familiar, it might be because you heard her on Justin Timberlake’s album The 20/20 Experience, Pt. 2. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Although a soul band through and through, the grease and bite they’ve been picking up in the years leading up to this big step out have been forged in the bad company of punk and garage bands. From that underground now rises a new hurricane of big orchestration, maximum stomp and fresh intent. It’s a little ache and a lot of party all wrapped up in a wrecking ball.” Get ready:
4 Blaenavon frontman Ben Gregory has not had the greatest year. As he recently disclosed in a frank open letter to fans, the singer-guitarist had a stress-induced breakdown in 2017, which left him hospitalized for a month and unable to perform for much of the following year. But now he and his bandmates are back in action with a new single and video — the caustic and cathartic Catatonic Skinbag, at least partially inspired by his personal struggle — and the album Everything That Makes You Happy, due later this year. And if the gritty intensity of the song is anything to go by, the album should be a corker. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “The song is about isolation. Cutting oneself off from the world to engage in fruitless sensual pleasures and pretending everything is OK. Watching fucking Netflix and drinking a bottle of wine when you should probably instead be in therapy. But there’s a way out. Art, friendship, love. You don’t have to be a catatonic skinbag. Lol.” Hi-ho, silver lining:
5 You wouldn’t expect there to be a lot of songs about people named Andrew. Actually, there are — including The White Stripes’ St. Andrew (The Battle Is In The Air), The Rolling Stones’ Andrew’s Blues, Magnetic Fields’ Andrew in Drag, Mountain Goats’ Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back to Leeds and a few more. The latest: Singer-songwriter Charlotte Cornfield’s new live video for the single Andrew, a charming pep talk from her upcoming third album The Shape Of Your Name. Tell your favourite Andrew about it. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Andrew could be a song to a friend or a romantic partner but at its core it’s note to self, a reminder to step back and look at the bigger picture instead of dwelling on the minutia. We all have friends who we want to shake sometimes because their priorities feel out of whack, but on the flip side of that sometimes we’re that friend who needs shaking. When things get messy and absurd it helps be able to laugh at yourself, to laugh with someone, to shake it off and move forward.” Or move into the practice room:
6+7 The third time might indeed be the charm. But for Robert Ellis, the fourth and fifth times aren’t so bad either. The generous singer-songwriter has already presented us with three enticing previews of his upcoming album Texas Piano Man. He’s not only back with more — he’s doubling down (or doubling up, depending on your preference) by giving us two new gems: A bubbly ode to the beloved Texas soft drink Topo Chico, and the lovely, longing and lightly bouncing love song When You’re Away. At this rate, he’ll have put out most of his album before his album comes out. And for that, we should all thank him. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Ellis’ Texas contains multitudes, a space so broad and wide open that it can contain the caricatures and archetypes seen from the rather narrow view so often taken from the outside, as well as the artists, oddballs and freaks who populate its many crannies. He knows the roadside attractions and the favored drinks and foods. That’s how one ends up with the song Topo Chico.” Cheers:
8 Flowers are a curious gift. Think about it: We kill plants and give them to people as a present. And we do it for almost any reason: When there’s something to celebrate. When we’re trying to woo someone. When there’s someone to mourn. Or when someone is going through tough times. I don’t know precisely what kind of hardship Rachael Cardiello, the frontwoman of Toronto dream-popsters Zinnia, has dealt with recently. Or if anybody sent her flowers. Either way, she was apparently inspired to put together a bouquet of her own — the elegant Lupins, the seemingly floral-centric band’s new single. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “My hopeful offering of comfort to those like me who find themselves at a loss for clear solutions. The 18 month incubation of Lupins was accompanied by many personal moments of grief; a time when it seemed no matter what direction I looked, I found others at their breaking points. Writing it served as a salve for a period of pain. Lupins is a tribute to the search for softness and compassion in the face of struggle. Pulled from the wreckage of realizing not all pain can be healed. With vulnerability comes a deep fragility.” And you don’t even need to put them in water:
9 Personally, I’m not big on organized religion. But hey, to each his own. Or her own, in the case of Toronto singer-songwriter Ivy Mairi. Her deeply personal and deeply soulful new single is called Prayer — and while that may sound like the title of a gospel number, it will only take a few seconds to understand that she worships at the altar of old-school synth-pop and funk. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Prayer is a song about the early stages of grief and mourning – when you’re not yet ready to accept the reality of a great loss, so, instead, you make a prayer for things to go back to the way they were before. And you send that prayer out into the ether.” It’s heaven-sent:
