Geneva Freeport loop you in, Alex Cameron bares his chest, Frankie Cosmos is down to clown, Leif Vollebekk tears up and more in today’s Roundup. Is it just me, or could the MTV Movie & TV Awards have possibly been any lamer?
1 I’ve posted blurbs about narrative videos. I’ve posted blurbs about live videos. I’ve posted blurbs about animated videos. I’ve posted blurbs about lyric videos. I’ve posted blurbs about visualizer videos. But this is the first time I’ve posted anything about a video loop. What is that, you ask? Check out the clip for Geneva Freeport, the title track from Toronto band Absolutely Free’s impending EP, and find out for yourself. I can’t do everything for you. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “The video by Julie Reich (aka Bile Sister) is a cyclical exploration of a 3D art gallery space housing abstract artifacts and an obscured basement of paintings, commentary on the EP’s themes of the commodification of artwork.” Hey, spoiler alert!
2 Australian singer-songwriter Alex Cameron announced that he’ll release his third album Miami Memory on Sept. 13. Which seems like a good time to remind you that you can find all of today’s announcements on the Upcoming Releases page. Anyway, here’s a glimpse at what you’re in for from Alex: The suitably moody video for his song Divorce. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Divorce draws on the empty threats of disappearance lovers explosively make to one another. Cameron consistently resists the obvious by juxtaposing his explorations of intimate tensions against cheery instrumentation. The chorus of “divorce, divorce” almost sounds like an exclamation despite the misery it portends.” You missed a spot:
3 Also announcing a new album today: New York singer-songwriter Frankie Cosmos — real name: Greta Kline — whose fourth full-length Close it Quietly comes out Sept. 6. Get up to speed by donning clown makeup and heading into the street with her on the clip for her indie-rock nugget Windows. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “This song takes place during the waiting period of healing, not knowing how to proceed or how to find the path to forgiveness. The inner versus the outer- learning to see yourself as part of the whole. For me the lyrics cover some of the slow movements of relationships, the shifts that occur in ways of thinking over time.” To the beach:
4 And another album announcement: Montreal’s Leif Vollebekk will drop his latest release New Ways — the follow-up to the Polaris Music Prize-nominated Twin Solitude — on Nov. 1. But first, here’s the first singe: The trip-hoppy piano ballad Hot Tears. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Hot Tears, he explains, “is a song that was written when my senses were much more focused and I saw colours much more vividly. The sky often looked like it could have easily been pulled from scenes of [Terrence Malick’s] The Tree of Life. It was the last song I wrote for the record. It was all recorded live: vocals, drums and piano. I wanted this song to sound as hot and rough as possible and make the lyrics fight their way through.” Break out the moves:
5 Anybody out there ever heard of a musical sub-genre called Frontal Rock? Me neither. But that’s what Swiss outfit We Are Interview call their sound. To be honest, it just sounds like decent, propulsively noisy indie-rock to me. Give the selfie-stick, streetwalkin’ video for their latest track Chicago a spin and see what you think. As always, your mileage may vary. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “In other news, the band just finished to wrap-up thee new songs coming out soon.” Don’t front:
6+7 For most bands, one single at a time is enough. But Brooklyn indie outfit Wilder Maker are not like most bands – so naturally, they’ve dropped two new tracks simultaneously: The angularly syncopated chugger Rose Room and the romantic soother Love So Well. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Crackling with anxiety and defiance, Rose Room sounds something like Spoon if they were more desperate and less cool, with flashes in a few choice moments of the brashness and humor of AC/DC … Keyboardist/lead vocalist Katie Von Schleicher’s swan song with Wilder Maker, Love So Well is a country rock song with traces of Neil Young and Big Star. It’s about giving up on the greatest love you’ve had in your life, and the strange calm that follows.” Double down:
8 Several years ago, my sister-in-law took bellydance lessons. I have no idea if she kept up with it — but if she (or anyone else out there) is looking for a good tune to swivel to, Turkish groove merchants hypnotizing Islandman’s latest single Dimitro seems to fit the bill. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dimitro is the second single off Kaybola (which means to get lost to find a new way), their forthcoming sophomore LP. The record is chock full of ethno-cultural material from Japan to Bulgaria, including field recordings of Tuva, Central Asia throat singers. Shamanic rhythms were introduced to nomadic guitars, combining with compact electronic structures, finally transforming into dance movements of a tribe that no one knew.” Get out your seven veils:
9 Tragedy has inspired countless pieces of moving art. Here’s the latest one: Edmonton indie-rock outfit Kane Incognito’s cathartic boogie-rock anthem The Breakaway. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “I wrote this song when I was going through quite the change in life after my brother passed away. I went traveling in South America and clarity hit me with what I wanted to do, and what I needed to change in myself to get there. I needed to break away from the vicious cycles and negative people to really find my way. So I figured why not write an upbeat bluesy rock song to get the point across, and The Breakaway was born.” It’s your move:
10 The word of the day: Ludic. It means “showing spontaneous and undirected playfulness.” Fittingly, enough, it’s also the name of this young Vancouver jazz-pop trio — and an apt adjective for their latest single 2 Myself. I think we’ve all learned something here. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “2 Myself is our conscious effort to emulate some of the sounds of present-day pop music while still maintaining what makes us Ludic. A little bit pop, maybe even a little bit disco and soul – we wanted to write a song that was as infectious and danceable as it is thoughtful and introspective.” Word:
11 Welcome to the jungle. And who enforces the law of the jungle? Why, a jungle cop, of course. That seems to explain the title of Jungle Cop, the latest single from Ontario indie-pop artist Kyle Woolven — who makes music under the feline moniker Pekoe Cat. As for the woozy, reggae-smeared sound of the track, well, I’ll let him handle that. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Jungle Cop is pure nostalgia. I have a very vague memory of toddler me playing some game on NES where a guy with a motorcycle helmet goes around shooting up the city. That’s what inspired the song. I have no idea how accurate those memories are or if that game even exists. And I think I should be a little concerned if that’s the kind of thing I consider to me a fond memory. Either way, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to achieving the sound I was going for.” Can’t argue with that:
