According to a grim statistic I just saw, publicists now outnumber journalists by something like six to one. I’m definitely feeling that today — my mailbox is stuffed like a Christmas turkey with press releases for new tracks, videos and albums. All I can do is turn around and serve ’em up in another fast, fat-free Roundup. Hope you’re hungry. Don’t leave room for dessert.
1 Julia Shapiro and her best friend — I don’t know if his name is Bingo, but it really should be — hang out in the video for the slowburner A Couple Highs, the latest preview of the Chastity Belt singer/guitarist’s June 14 solo album Perfect Version. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “A subtle homage to Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, the video sees Shapiro and her canine doppelganger explore the quiet beauty within Suburban Seattle malaise.” Let’s play:
2 Detroit indie-rock singer-songwriter Stef Chura cranks up for the vibrantly scrappy new single and video They’ll Never, the next look at her June 7 album Midnight. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “I wrote this song while living in a building in Ypsilanti, MI that was not up to code. No one cared about it. The kitchen was moldy, the carpets were dirty and the house was generally unfinished. This place existed in an odd realm. “Sideways from grace the angles lost” This means that at a certain angle and in the right light you can see what is amiss. No one really cared for it, and yet people would go on living in it and subsequently it would be a home. No one cared enough to take care of it and no one cared enough to notice it and destroy it or hold the people who lived there accountable for keeping it up to code.” It’s a fixer-upper:
3 Bleached are on the run in the criminally cool new video for the funk-pop gem Hard to Kill, a sneak peek at sisters Jessie and Jennifer Clavin’s just-announced album Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? I don’t. And you won’t. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “As described by Jennifer, Hard to Kill is about “staring down the road towards death and realizing I needed to wake up and get out of my selfish patterns of self destruction.” It’s arresting:
4 Imani Coppola makes some noise with the groovy, energized and politically motivated single Rattle and its subversive deconstructionist video — featuring a cameo from none other than writer-turned-literary-character-turned-recording artist Ratso Sloman. Why? Why not? SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Overtly political and pointed, Rattle addresses the current state of the country and figuratively shakes the collective cage. “Without a doubt, I had been in the shadows for too long doing my best to pretend it all wasn’t happening,” Coppola explains. “My soul was so rattled by everything I had done my best to ignore.” You can’t ignore this:
5 Toronto’s Absolutely Free put their heads together with U.S. Girls for the Talking Heads-inspired post-punk disco-funk of Currency and its video, both of which serve as advance notice of the June 20 release of their Geneva Freeport 12″. Get out your wallet. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Currency features U.S. Girls’ Meg Remy taking lead vocals over a nervy post-punk shuffle that gradually blossoms into a dense cosmic disco track.” Pay it forward:
6 Scottish multi-instrumentalist C Duncan makes his latest irreverent artistic statement with the video for Talk Talk Talk, the latest offering from his recently released and enthusiastically received album Health. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Talk Talk Talk documents the trials of rebuilding fractured relationships. Out today, Duncan had this to say on it: “The video is off the wall and fun, which matches the nature of the song perfectly. The use of colour and lively imagery juxtaposed with the reality of the setting work well in creating a surreal world that is both tongue and cheek yet emotive.” Watch watch watch:
7 Swiss progressive doom-folk outfit Cellar Darling kill it with a hauntingly heavy live performance of their complex latest single — the fittingly titled Death, from their morbidly romantic concept album The Spell. I’m willing to bet it’s the only video you’ll watch today that features both an electric hurdy-gurdy and a flute solo! SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Spell immediately catapulted the Swiss trio into ‘album of the year’ candidate territory.” If you say so:
8 Saskatoon indie popsters’ Close Talker share the animated video for the moody single The Change it Brings, from their Aug. 30 LP How Do We Stay Here? How indeed. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Change It Brings is a song about the universal currency of time. “No matter what the situation, everyone is shaped by time,” says the band. “It can change us for the worse, or for the better, but at one point or another, all of us will have to face the force of time. This song, along with our new album, is us trying to wrestle with time. It conveys trying to learn from our experiences, trying to keep perspective, trying to progress in this weird world, and sometimes trying not to progress at all; to sit in a moment and soak it in for all it has to offer before it becomes nothing more than a memory. How Do We Stay Here? is us navigating through the past two years, to both the good times and the bad that shaped who we are, and learning how to learn from them.” How now:
9 Big Thief send along Century, the dreamy last single prior to the release of their new album U.F.O.F., which lands everywhere this Friday — and is likely to enjoy a hearty welcome. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Century finds the band at the height of their power as musicians, with bassist Max Oleartchik seamlessly intertwining with James Krivchenia’s effortless and inventive drumming. On top of it all, Adrianne Lenker’s evocative storytelling draws you in, weaving a tale left to your own devices to interpret. Closing the song out is a divine guitar solo from Buck Meek, one that leaves you wanting more, if only another few measures.” Now’s the time:
10 Eddie Chacon of the pop/soul duo Charles & Eddie steps out with his first solo single Rumors or Lies? Neither; every word is true. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Rumors or Lies? strikes the perfect balance between Eddie’s rich musical past and the future of his sound. The new single surrounds the songwriter’s unmistakable voice with a contemporary landscape, complimenting his soulful roots while delightfully planting Eddie in a sonic territory best described as Daft Punk’s work with Pharrell meets The Weeknd.” That’s the fact, Jack. Though I’m pretty sure they mean complementing:
11 French producer Keeld delivers a propulsive rhythm and some deep house sounds on his single Freek. Cleerly, hee’s keen on titles that feeture reepeeted EEs. Neet-o. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Since launching his career in 2017, the Lyon-based artist has risen amongst the underground with passionate dancefloor-friendly works. His unique ear and production sensibilities caught the attention of Tchami, who released several original Keeld compositions on his Confession label, as well as official remixes for himself and Malaa.” C’est cheeky:
12 Toronto dust-funk outfit Badge Époque Ensemble present the epoch-legth … sorry, epic-length Undressed In Solitude to introduce their June 7 self-titled debut. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Over 11 simmering minutes, the track defies the contemporary fixations of automated music to convincingly combine sensual and cerebral textures. While it may call to mind an improbable collision between psych-era Stevie Wonder and the whimsically dark, Fantastic Planet score, it is clear that we are operating in a post Wu-Tang paradigm.” Guard your grill:
13 Britpop vets Travis previewed their June 21 release of the archival concert album Live at Glastonbury ’99 with the song Why Does It Always Rain on Me? Maybe because you’re a bunch of sad sacks? Just a thought. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Reflecting on their now-legendary Glastonbury performance, frontman Fran Healy muses, “We all thought it was a really below-par performance and a literal washout. When I got home that night, I switched the tv on and the presenters on the Glastonbury highlights were hailing us as the performance of the festival. I watched it years later on YouTube. It was a great performance. A band teetering on the pivot and then tipping all in one gig.” Here comes the rain again:
