Boniface wakes up, Futureheads listen up, Yoke Lore stand up, Tom Keifer turns up and more in today’s Roundup. It’s all downhill from here.
1 What were you doing when you were 21? Going to school? Working a crappy job? Still living with your folks? Whatever it was, Winnipeg pop-rock singer-songwriter Micah Visser — who now records under the handle Boniface — has you beat. He’s been in London recording his upcoming debut album. And if the surging synthpop single and video Wake Me Back Up is anything to go by, it’s going to make his next year even more eventful — and yours lamer by comparison. Sorry. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Wake Me Back Up is about feeling you’re on the brink of something significant. In my case it was a relationship, but it could be anything that feels important to you right now. The video was directed by my brother Joey, made with the help of some kind and talented friends. We filmed it in a very hot garage a few weeks back. Actually, the same garage the song was written in a few summers ago.” Consider it your wake-up call:
2 I love XTC. You probably do too. But I suspect neither of us loves XTC as much as the guys in Futureheads. Just check out their latest video and single Listen, Little Man! Spiky and yelpy in all the right ways, it’s basically one of the best songs Andy Partridge and co. never wrote. And it certainly bodes well for their Aug. 30 comeback album Powers. Start making plans for it now. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Listen, Little Man! is a wonky stomp named after a book by controversial therapist Wilhelm Reich. The accompanying video was directed by Marc Corrigan. “It has a perfect balance between lightheartedness and menace which marries very well with the concept of the song,” says vocalist/guitarist Barry Hyde. “Playing with the micro and the macro and highlighting the insanity that the human race is sometimes gripped by!” This is pop:
3 Music videos don’t have to be crass commercials or vapid vanity projects. They can have a higher purpose. Like this clip for Yoke Lore’s moody piano ballad Safe and Sound, which is a cinematic mini-documentary about identical twin sisters preparing to compete in a wrestling championship. Get ahold of it below. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “The song itself is a stirring observation on the changing roles relationships play in this era. Speaking about the video New Yorker Adrian Galvin (aka Yoke Lore) says “This video is about learning how to create safety for ourselves. For Emilie and Brianna Gonzalez, wrestling is a place of prowess and freedom. Though it’s not necessarily a ‘safe’ activity, wrestling is a refuge for them. It’s a place where they can find joy through skill and inclusion through commitment. Whether that thing for us is an act or a game or a person or a piece of music, this video is about finding, creating, and using it to balance and orient us.“ Fight the good fight:
4 Old metalheads never die — and they don’t fade away either. Look no further than Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer, who sticks to his guns with The Death of Me, the first single from his Sept. 13 sophomore solo album Rise. If you’re an old-school headbanger, it should get a rise out of you. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “We created The Death of Me to inspire people not to give in to or be defeated by the seemingly insurmountable lows that we all sometimes face, but rather to Rise and overcome them,” he says. If the shoe fits:
5 Rituals of Mine came to play. And on their video for Burst — a sneak peek at their Oct. 4 EP Sleeper Hold — L.A. songwriter Terra Lopez and percussionist Adam Pierce give 110% with a clip that puts a new spin on the tried-and-true basketball metaphor. Let the games begin. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Over nightmarish, staccato instrumentation, Burst reconciles with childhood and past traumas. The concept of the video stems directly from Lopez’s tendency to use basketball as a coping mechanism when she was younger, and represents herself overcoming the obstacles of being a queer woman of color in the industry.“With this new material, I’m confronting a lot of personal issues I haven’t addressed before.” says Lopez. “I made a promise to myself that I’m no longer going to play small or hide behind metaphors, that I’m going to really lean into self-confidence, self-reliance and take up space. ‘BURST’ is the beginning of that.” Nothing but net:
6 Belgium is not necessarily a country you would associate with gritty rock ’n’ roll. Until now, that is. Meet Von Detta, a Ghent quintet that delivers a grungy wallop on the black-and-white video for the single Devil’s Child, a preview of their Sept. 13 EP Burn It Clean. Talk about playing with fire. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “To make things clean, one must burn away the filth… with Burn It Clean, Von Detta are set to release an EP to captivate your musical senses and stir up the groove. Being both raw and elegant, rough and sublime, Burn It Clean comes with a soulful lasting echo. The six songs are one rip-roaring episode after another straight from each the band members’ lives. A soundtrack reminiscent of the battles of between your inner angels and demons.” Light it up:
7 Happiness is where you find it. Or where you Found It, in the case of Vancouver singer-songwriter Terence Jack’s synth-poppy new single and video. Find it below. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Perhaps we don’t have to look so far away to be happy. I’ve written a lot of sad songs, but Found It draws from a happier side of me that I’m proud to show. For Found It, the concept is about feeling like a stranger to yourself sometimes in life. It reflects on the inner journey we all experience while trying to find ourselves.” Get happy:
8 French rawk duo The Chainsaw Motel claim they are “two guys with the energy of five, playing loud music.” I can’t argue with that. Unless you’re talking about their latest video for the new song Loverush. In that case, they are “two guys with the energy of five, playing loud music while a pole dancer does her thing.” Which should tell you everything you need to know about them. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Influenced by artists, such as the Melvins, QOTSA or Deftones, TCM is a mix between pure energy, melodies, and introspective lyrics.” Well, not THAT introspective:
9 I don’t know about you, but when I wake up in the morning, I can barely function. I’m in no shape to do anything useful, let along anything creative. Clearly, singer-songwrier Eilen Jewell is much more of a morning person, based on the story behind These Blues, a honky-tonk gem from her Aug. 16 album Gypsy. I’ll let her finish the story. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “I have this really vivid memory of waking up in this quaint little English inn with my little girl [now five years old] sleeping next to me,” the Idaho-based Jewell says.” My husband had just gotten up to start his day. I was on that edge of sleeping and waking and this whole melody, with words and everything, appeared in my head. I had to whisper it really quietly into my phone so I wouldn’t forget it.” Skip the snooze button:
10 When you call your band Close Talker, it seems obvious that distance, space and personal connection are important topics to you. But they seem to be weighing even more heavily than usual on the minds of the Saskatoon indie-pop trio these days. Look no further than the title of their Aug. 30 LP How Do We Stay Here? — or the theme behind their intimately bittersweet stylishly textured new single Arm’s Length. Connect with the audio track below. SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “Arm’s Length was the first song we recorded for How Do We Stay Here? and in many ways is the spine of the album sonically,” the band says. “We decided early on that we wanted the album to be spacious and convey a quiet confidence, though Arm’s Length is more about spilling your guts. I think most people have had significant relationships in their lives that haven’t panned out and we’re certainly not exempt to getting the wind knocked out of us. Arm’s Length is about overcoming the tendency you can develop to keep your guard up around new people because it’s safer. Over time, you eventually rediscover your ability to let a special someone disarm you once again.” Get close:
11 The situation at the U.S.-Mexico border seems to be going from bad to worse on a daily basis. So it’s no wonder that instead of tackling ugly Americans, Virginia post-punks Demons take it up a notch with their fierce new single Uglier Americans. Nor is it a surprise that they’re donating the proceeds to a charity that provides immigration legal services in Texas. Who would have expected a band called Demons to be angels of mercy? SAYS THE PRESS RELEASE: “This song is was motivated by an attempt to critique the gap between immediacy and reflection – the immediacy and urgency for those threatened by these policies versus the reflective and abstract media commentary and discourse that privileged people (like us) engage in and respond to earnestly. There is no shortage of obstacles and cynicism that can undermine good intentions, but anything we can do – even the smallest act – is a positive step forward.” Pay to play:
