Wolf Parade get apocalyptic, Luke Lalonde looks on the bright side, Denm party like it’s Saturday night, Lou Roy delivers a bite and more in today’s Roundup. You ever have one of those weeks? I’m having two right now. Maybe three.
1 | Wolf Parade | Against the Day
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Wolf Parade have delivered an official video for the synth-driven Against the Day, the group’s first new recorded material in three years. The song features rare alternating lead vocals from Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug. Directed by Scorpion Dagger and featuring a 16-bit contribution from Doctor Octoroc, the visual is a post-apocalyptic Wolf Parade listening party.”
2 | Luke Lalonde | The Perpetual Optimist
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Born Ruffians’ Luke Lalonde will be releasing his sophomore solo album The Perpetual Optimist, on Nov. 22. The Perpetual Optimist finds Lalonde leaving behind the pure-pop sensibility he established on his acclaimed debut solo record, Rhythymnals, in favour of a sound rooted in the Americana of John Prine, Roger Miller, and Kris Kristofferson, with nods to 60’s pop of Jacques Dutronc, and The Kinks. The Perpetual Optimist is a record shaped as much by LaLonde’s own musical upbringing as it is by the frenetic world around him. He writes with a more pointed perspective than ever, addressing 2019’s most pressing issues: the escalating threat of climate change, connection in the face of manic uncertainty, and mortality.”
3 | Denm | Everyday’s The Weekend
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In 2015, Denm was no more than a bedroom producer playing in a band, touring North America, and producing some songs on the side in his spare time. “My solo project basically started out as something to do when I was bored on tour” shares Denm. “We would all have our computers out, making our own music for fun on the road. I remember making this random dance song in the back row of a sprinter and thought it sounded pretty cool. I played it for a few friends and label people, and when they demanded to hear more, I took it to heart.”
https://youtu.be/y9RpanZsBmc
4 | Lou Roy | Bite
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The single Bite announces Lou Roy’s debut EP Your Friend, out Nov. 15. Co-produced by Sam Wilkes, Your Friend grapples with shortcomings as a friend or lover, and revels in the beauty of good times. Blending contemporary folk with traces of jazz and pop music, soaring guitar and pedal steel with honey-sweet vocals could fool listeners into a comfortable lull, if not for biting lyrics and cutting arrangements. The EP exists in a netherworld between beauty and horror, often mistaking one for the other.”
5 | Legal Vertigo | Feelin’ Finite
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In his young career Legal Vertigo has marked himself out with a playful sense of humour and often absurdist approach to self promotion that has included selling fake live recordings which he pre-recorded the set in his Montreal studio complete with scripted banter and crowd noise he then faithfully re-performed during shows. For Feelin’ Finite, Legal Vertigo has delivered a soft-focus karaoke video featuring the artist performing on an East Coast beach, an amusing counter-point to the song’s Leonard Cohen-like exploration of the seedier sides of Montreal nightlife.”
6 | Floating Points | Anasickmodular
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points’ new album Crush will be released on Friday. Ahead of the album’s release Shepherd has shared the video for recent single Anasickmodular. With the single capturing the instantaneous spirit of Shepherd’s live performances, the video takes it one further and offers a preview of his new live show. The awe-inspiring visuals respond and mutate as Shepherd crafts the music on stage with his dazzling array of synths and machines to create a light show perfectly in tune with music.”
7 | Captain Cheesebeard | Deadwood
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Happily emerging many moons ago as a Frank Zappa tribute project, the Brussels-based decet (that’s TEN musicians, and yes, we checked) have since developed into a unique fusion ensemble. After years of respectfully interpreting Zappa and his music, bandleader, Johan De Coninck decided that the time had come for the band to explore their own virtuosity and begin writing original compositions. Informed by the stylistic direction inherent in their previous project, the cosmik fruits of Captain Cheesebeard’s collective labour arrived in 2015 with the self-release of their debut album, Symphony for Auto-Horns. Taking it upon themselves to contribute to the global music family their impressive cache of songs portrayed the kind offree-form jazz improvisation, progressive rock, sound experimentation and lampooning of Western culture that one hopes would have made Frank smile.”
8 | Electric Jaguar Baby | Witch I Love
THE PRESS RELEASE: “French acid-fuzz/psych/rock/stoner duet Electric Jaguar Baby is about to release its debut full-length album on Oct. 25. In the meantime, the band just shared a brand new music video illustrating the single Witch I Love. Since their birth in 2015 in Paris, Electric Jaguar Baby have no-stop praised the cult of fuzz, offering it tracks born from a gang-bang with Ty Segall, Josh Homme, Jack White and Ozzy Osbourne, sprinkled with retro and occult 70’s vibes.”
9 | Lynne Hanson | True Blue Moon
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Award-winning Canadian singer/songwriter Lynne Hanson announces the release of her seventh studio album, Just Words, due out on Feb. 7. The new album features lead single True Blue Moon, and marks something of an artistic departure for Hanson, who purposely tapped producer Jim Bryson to push and pull her outside of her comfort zone. Contoured and textured, the result is a more muscular sound than on efforts past, more Steve Earle than Gillian Welch. True Blue Moon is given a video treatment to compliment the song that Hanson says is an “Infectious, uptempo, tongue-in-cheek response to the Jacques Brel classique Ne Me Quitte Pas. This song is about the perils of falling for a poet, and just how rare it is to find true love.”
10 | Erin Costelo | Hands on Fire
THE PRESS RELEASE: “There is no stopping singer-songwriter & award-winning producer Erin Costelo these days. The East Coast artist released her new album, Sweet Marie, this past year, and recently garnered six nominations from the Music Nova Scotia Awards. In celebration, Erin has released a video for Hands on Fire. Erin shares; “Directed by Amelia Curran and shot during the recording of my latest album, Sweet Marie, the video for Hands on Fire is a celebration of collaboration and the song itself embodies the struggles and joys of creating something.”
11 | Cellar Darling | Hang
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Swiss prog metallers Cellar Darling unveil the new video for Hang from their latest album The Spell. The band comment: “We welcome the beautiful colors of autumn with Hang, yet another animated video from our concept album The Spell, once again created by Costin Chioreanu. This is the 8th video in our ongoing series, in which every one of the 13 album tracks will receive a visual interpretation by Costin. We hope you enjoy it!”
12 | Jacques Greene | Let Go
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Jacques Greene presents Let Go, the final pre-release single from Dawn Chorus, his forthcoming album out this Friday. Let Go features vocals and lyrics by Rochelle Jordan, with music composed by Greene and Travis Stewart. Greene approached the making of Dawn Chorus as if he were a band. While samples played a big part in his early output, his creative process for Dawn Chorus revolved around recording a stellar cast of musicians, arranging new parts. As a result, it’s his most collaborative project to date, featuring additional production and instrumentation from film composer Brian Reitzell (Lost In Translation), cello by London’s Oliver Coates, additional production from Clams Casino and original vocal contributions from ambient artist Julianna Barwick, rapper Cadence Weapon and singer Ebhoni, all sampled, processed and stitched back into the album.”
13 | Eden Iris | Birthday Baby
THE PRESS RELEASE: “New Zealand-native, now L.A.-based artist Eden Iris released her new single Birthday Baby. The song was created “…in a jam-style songwriting session at my home studio. We came up with the guitar riff and wanted the melody and lyrics to be simple, and slightly somber,” says Eden. “To me, the lyrics of Birthday Baby tell the story of two people existing in an estranged relationship, who are unable to come to terms with it. Both people are waiting for something to happen, but no one is willing to do anything to break out of their own isolation. It’s sort of an ode to loneliness.”
14 | Cousin Kula | Invitation
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Bristol-based band Cousin Kula announce the release of their second EP Stroodles, along with the release of a sparkling new synth-led psych-pop single. Invitation is a slight departure for Cousin Kula, bringing together its funky bass line & euphoric dance-floor build, adding another dimension to the forthcoming EP, already known for screwball odysseys.”
