Leaf Rapids roll on the river, Knifey get shallow, Tacocat find the new world, The Record Company say goodbye, Van Dyke Parks is tabu and more in today’s Roundup. Onetwothreefouronetwothreefour:
1 Winnipeg duo Leaf Rapids take to the Red River ice in the video for the suitably and sweetly gliding gem There They Go, a final preview of their new album Citizen Alien, out Friday. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “This is one of those songs that started writing itself and I wasn’t sure what it was about until halfway through,” says Keri Latimer. “That’s when I realized I was Princess Flotus in my opulent high tower overlooking a park and watching the humans down below with a feeling of emptiness and longing. It’s probably about my addiction to social media.” I would have guessed something else, but if you say so:
2 “Do I have to buy a dog in the city just to get a girl to notice me?” Toronto indie-rockers Knifey wonder in their crunchy, rambunctious and infectious new single Shallow. Hey, it can’t hurt. Especially when you consider that the band clearly get upstaged by said pooch in their own video. Just saying. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Shallow is a story about living in a city that constantly feels the need to follow a trend rather than walk its own path. It examines a decision that we all face at some point – to bet on ourselves or to take the easy road and fit in.” That’s why they call it puppy love:
3 Tacocat step out of their black-and-white existence into a colourful cartoon wonderland in the vibrant video for the pop-rock nugget New World, a last-minute reminder that the Seattle outfit’s fourth album This Mess is a Place also arrives Friday. As if we could forget. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Tacocat feels it all and cares, a lot, whether they’re singing odes to the magical connections we feel with our pets (Little Friend), imagining what a better earth might look like (New World), or trying to find humor in a wholly unfunny world (The Joke of Life). Go ahead and jump:
4 Fictional TV host Chip Bird experiences a Howard Beale-inspired moment of existential crisis in the intriguing video for L.A. blues-rock trio The Record Company’s incongruously smooth and soulful single Goodbye to the Hard Life. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “According to the band: The term Hard Life refers to the difficult life patterns and ruts humans fall into, such as negative relationships, substance abuse, or dead-end career paths. The moment you realize you’ve been living the “hard life” for far too long, is the moment you are ready to turn your life around. Goodbye to the Hard Life is that exact moment you turn your life around for the better and start over. It’s about new beginnings, and in this case Chip Bird’s new lease on life.” Tune in, drop out, hug your bassist:
5 I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Owen-Glass is not a person. Nor is it something you put in your windows. Owen-Glass is an East Texas indie folk-rock duo — neither of whom seems to be named Owen or Glass. And for their latest single and video, they cover a song by another band with a confusing handle: Portugal. The Man’s So American. Thankfully, their winsome rendition makes far more sense than their name. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “We chose So American because it really fits with who we are as a band, and we feel like it translates well in our sort of folky Americana style,” Kelly Wayne Conley notes. “The message in So American cuts right to the core of the culture we grew up in—seeing everything—politics, religion, whatever—through this American lens, and all of John’s songs pushed us to view the world differently and find a new level of empathy and even affected our spiritual awareness in those formative adolescent years. That’s not something you get from just any song by just any band. It’s really a special thing. I guess, in a way, our performing this song is our way of saying thank you to John, Zach and the rest of the guys for enriching our lives with their art.” Clear as, um, Owen-Glass:
6 In the mood for some swampy CCR-style blues-rock? And maybe some raspy female vocals and a sax solo to boot? You’re in luck: That’s exactly what Los Angeles all-stars Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers have to offer on Mess I’m In, the first preview of their June 28 album No Good Deed. No punishment here. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Featuring an enthralling array of original material along with some cleverly reworked covers of songs from the Rascals, Etta James and others, No Good Deed is the band’s most multidimensional album to date.” Bless this mess:
7 Have you ever heard the expression, “talking out of the side of your neck”? That is definitely not what Faye Webster is talking about in the romantic R&B pop treat Right Side of My Neck, the latest enticing preview of the 21-year-old singer-songwriter’s May 24 release Atlanta Millionaires Club. Count me in. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Right Side of My Neck is gorgeously built by brass and strings, and zeros in on the lingering scent and uncertainty of new love. “For me I find that sometimes the best songs come out from the exact moment,” says Webster. “This song I didn’t think about writing or what I was doing, I was fresh from a feeling and that’s when I get some of my most honest and relatable songs.” Smells like a winner:
8 Third time’s the charm for Cate Le Bon. Not that the first two weren’t. Following the recent singles Daylight Matters and Home To You, the Welsh singer-songwriter moves into The Light with the lazily gorgeous new single from her May 24 release Reward. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Light sees the songwriter and producer in brilliantly, beautifully languid form. Though the warmth in her enchanting vocals relays a deceptively pessimistic tale, there is a multifaceted nature to all of Le Bon’s art. The Light is anchored by an underlying sense of humor which makes it all the more irresistible.” Flick the switch:
9 Another day, Another Universe? Why not? It’s where London electronic quartet Hælos take us in their moody latest single and final sneak peek at their May 10 release Any Random Kindness. Buckle up. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Another Universe is at once the most cerebral and emotional stunner that Hælos have conjured, touching on quantum physics and multiverse theory while striking a parallel with real-life tragedy. “The first lyric —’Come down from heaven now’— came out almost subconsciously,” Benardout recalls. “A few months later my dad sadly passed away in an accident. It’s eerie for me to listen to now because the song is almost like a prediction, written to help navigate the difficult questions that came with his loss – If you took a different decision, where would you be now? Would things be different?” Apparently:
10 Wovoka Gentle might sound like something out of Clockwork Orange. They are in fact an experimental London trio. And their actual sound is an inspired fusion of folk, pop, psychedelia and much more. Such as? Well, on their single Xerxes ’19, a glimpse at their June 7 debut Start Clanging Cymbals, that sound includes a children’s choir from Kampala. You don’t hear that everyday. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Xerxes features glitchy electronics, soaring beats and the exuberant voices of Kids Club Kampala Choir. They add: “You could say there’s an atmosphere of celebration in Xerxes ‘19, even though it’s more or less about death. There’s an imagined ecstatic moment of submission before departing a world running election campaigns for tried and tested tyrants, where legends are equal parts seductive and dangerous. The Kids Club Kampala Choir was recorded in Uganda by a friend of ours, originally for the Kids Club Kampala charity. We wanted to create a call and response dynamic between our vocals and their vocals; the conversation flung across continents.” Lend an ear:
11 I shouldn’t have to tell you who Van Dyke Parks is. So I’m not going to. But I will tell you he has just released a gorgeous new original number titled Tabu that mixes his typically uplifting California pop with Latin rhythms — and the multi-layered number is swellegantly rendered by The Silver Lake Chorus. Really, what more do you need to know? SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “The single is about love and longing but in way that feels more hopeful and flirtatious, exploring more percussive sounds with world music influences. The Silver Lake Chorus performs choral arrangements of indie music and exudes both the edgy, independent spirit of Silver Lake and the heart of community choral singing. The collective has previously performed original tracks written exclusively for the chorus by artist such as Sia, Tegan and Sara and Bon Iver.” Hi-ho, Silver:
