Knife Knights take a drag, Ada Lea counts the days, Lia seeks and finds, Lethvm scream and scream again and more in today’s Roundup. Welcome to the Ides of October. If that isn’t already the name of a goth band, I’d be freaking amazed.
1 | Knife Knights | Drag Race Legend
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Knife Knights (The Palaceer aka Ishmael Butler, Erik Blood, OCnotes and Marquetta Miller) are sharing a dizzying new visual for Drag Race Legend, a psychedelic tale of wasted youth, directed by Joshua M. Johnson. The young man has a penchant for street racing, skipping school and getting high. He proclaims himself a legend, drinks spodie and parties with dorks like Billy Parker.”
2 | Ada Lea | 180 Days
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Ada Lea’s acclaimed debut album what we say in private arrived in stores this summer. The project of Montreal-based artist and musician Alexandra Levy, Ada Lea today shares the understated, soft-focus video for 180 Days which is directed by Emilie Kahn. She has the following to say of the inspiration behind the song: “During that period of 180 days, I often wondered what it would be like if I ever reached the other side; a seemingly unattainable goal. This song is an homage to that dream-like period.”
3 | Lia | Come & Seek
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Directed by Adrian Villagomez and Jonathan Brisebois, the Come & Seek video is meant to resemble a surreal nightmare. Lia’s thoughts on the new track: “This is a song for empowerment and self discovery. It’s the culmination of my strength after years of self-disrespect through energy-sucking relationships. The imagery of “coming to seek” communicates the confidence and bravery I found in myself throughout the time period that I worked on this EP. Not being afraid to talk about my feelings, not being shy to go after what I want and knowing the kind of relationships I deserve are some of the struggles I had to overcome. This song is a celebration of me finding my way to womanhood and because of that, opening my arms to love.”
4 | Lethvm | Ananke
THE PRESS RELEASE: “About two years after the release of their debut full-length record This Fall Shall Cease, doom/post-hardcore/sludge mammoths Lethvm just released their new album called Acedia. In addition, the band also shared an official music video illustrating the song Ananké. Lethvm evolves in a heavy and torn atmosphere, between devastation and candor. The four members draw their influences in the darkness of life by inserting beauty, rage and melancholy in their melodies.”
5 | Little Scream | One Lost Time
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Little Scream’s forthcoming record Speed Queen began as bits of prose written while touring Cult Following across North America — observing the slow entropy of the US, ruminating on her own low-income upbringing in a flyover state, and, as Laurel Sprenglemeyer (Little Scream) says, “taking it all in from the privileged position of being a new Canadian.” Ahead of that record’s Oct. 25 arrival, Little Scream now shares One Lost Time.“
6 | Fastball | The Help Machine
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Fastball’s new album The Help Machine follows on the heels of their acclaimed 2017 release Step Into Light. The 11-song set, due out Oct. 18, once again demonstrates the distinctive songwriting, expressive vocals and inventive melodic sensibilities of Miles Zuniga and his bandmate Tony Scalzo. With drummer Joey Shuffield completing the longstanding lineup, the band’s time-tested creative rapport is as potent as ever on the album’s enigmatic title track.”
7 | Samuel Jack | In My Head
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Samuel Jack is a unique and emotive storyteller whose rugged soulful vocals command the room. Raised on blues, Motown, soul and roots music, the London born singer spent his formative years in Johannesburg with his father, a film director. The rich fabric of his childhood informs and oozes into the music he creates today which has been resonating with audiences across the globe. His newest track In My Head is a song inspired by Jack’s own experiences with mental health, a topic very close to his heart. “I struggled with depression and anxiety – and in my eyes, despite having a history of mental health issues in my family – I’m certain my issues were born through situation and subsequently has come to affect every aspect of my life. Romantic relationships, professional ones; it really took hold of me”.
8 | Badge Époque Ensemble | Badge Theme
THE PRESS RELEASE: “It’s been a few short months since Badge Époque Ensemble released their self-titled debut, an ambiguous collection of woozy, narcotized funk. And yet already we have Nature, Man & Woman – a simmering new platter containing 3 songs, producing 26 minutes of dank flute-oriented atmosphere. The disco-sleeved 12” EP provides a revealing glimpse of a musically omnivorous approach. On Badge Theme we find the group upping the ante of the sound of their debut, unspooling 14 minutes of sensual Ike Hayes indebted oomph, sure to thrill future generations of loop diggers (cut live off the floor no less!).”
9 | Mark Lind & The Unloved | Out of the Blackout
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Long-time Boston punk institution and Ducky Boys frontman Mark Lind returns with his first album of new music since 2013 and the first with The Unloved in a decade. Existing fans can expect another solid album of catchy punk rock n’ roll songs. New listeners might be interested in the Appetite for Destruction-style feel the band was able to capture.”
10 | Full Body | Alias
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Full Body own their name. The Rochester, NY quartet play a robust breed of gangly rock music that lurches in the intersection between impatient slowcore, gnarled shoegaze, and noisy post-hardcore. The band introduced their dynamically sensitive appeal on their ambitious 2017 debut, What’s Good?, a record that threaded needly guitar licks through a thick fabric of bashing drums and distinctly scratchy vocals. Their highly anticipated follow-up, Always There, is a level up in every conceivable category. Jack Chaffer’s tornado-like drumming is even gustier; the guitar parts bounce excitedly between jerky math-rock and stormy bursts of shoegaze; the bass tones are absolutely crushing; and Dylan Vaisey’s pacific, drawn-out croons wrap around the erratic compositions, preventing Full Body from ever losing their own limbs amidst the chaos. “Alias started with an idea Jack (our drummer) had. We changed the form around and collaborated on the lyrics, which for me was a first. It’s one of the more pop leaning tracks on this record, and like a few of the other songs it touches on people not being who you thought they were. Classic shit am i right?”
