Pup put the fun in funeral, 69 Eyes visit a haunted house, Dispel get medieval on you, Andrew Combs is haunted, Grave Danger work themselves to death and more in today’s Halloween Roundup (with plenty of non-spooky stuff for the wimpy kids out there). Enjoy the one night of the year when you’re actually encouraged to take candy from strangers. Just don’t get in the white van.
1 | Pup | See You At Your Funeral
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Pup invite you to join them as they catch up on the latest episode of Growing Up Ghouls in the new video for See You At Your Funeral from director Joe Stakun. Formed in Toronto five years ago, Pup – comprised of Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula, and Steve Sladowski – quickly became favorites of the punk scene with their first two, critically-beloved albums. Now, with their latest LP Morbid Stuff, Pup have grown up and doubled down on everything that made you love their first two records. It’s gang’s-all-here vocals, guitarmonies, and lyrics about death. Lots of them. If their self-titled record was the fuse and The Dream Is Over was the bomb going off, Morbid Stuff is your family sifting through the rubble, only to find you giggling while you bleed to death.”
2 | The 69 Eyes | The Last House On The Left
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Helsinki vampires The 69 Eyes recently released their 30-year-anniversary album West End. Now the band is getting ready for Halloween and so should you! To celebrate Halloween and beginning of their tour, The 69 Eyes have released a new video for the song The Last House On The Left (feat. Wednesday 13, Calico Cooper & Dani Filth), directed by Vicente Cordero. “Here’s our treat for you: the ultimate new horror-punk anthem The Last House On The Left with the ultimate monster mash team-up! Wes Craven forever & Halloween 24-7-365, punks!” commented Jyrki 69.”
3 | Dispel | Modal Consequence
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dark electronic collective Dispel are previewing their debut single Modal Consequence, well timed for Halloween. The first taste of their forthcoming album Lore, this features hearty front-and-center mezzo-soprano vocals by Ravensea against the background of glacial industrial rhythms. “Modal Consequence is about the Threshold stage of the Hero’s Journey. This is the moment where the Hero/Heroine takes that first step into that dangerous realm of the unknown. Leaving the comfort or stagnation of their known limits. It’s an important step to growth, but the journey will be full of unknown and often descisive challenges,” explains Scott Dispel.”
4 | Andrew Combs | Dry Eyes
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Andrew Combs has premiered the new video for his song Dry Eyes. The song is a highlight from his recently released album Ideal Man, which was met with widespread critical acclaim. Combs said “Dry Eyes is the only classic ‘you did me wrong’ relationship song on this new record. I wrote it with my pal Burton Collins, who is a great lyricist here in Nashville. It’s about a former bride who did not know how to show any emotions, even in the face of a dissolving relationship. The narrator is trying to make sense of someone so callous, while at the same time trying to erase them from their own memory. The video was shot by Austin Leih, a ridiculously talented filmmaker in Austin, Texas. We did not have a whole lot of time or money, so the idea was simple – man flees the spell of a woman. Her memory haunts him in many mystical forms.”
5 | American Television | Standing Still
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Washington, DC’s American Television will release their new album Watch It Burn on Jan 24. Today the melodic punk rock 4-piece is debuting a new song/video titled Standing Still. “Similar to Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen, or even Glory Days by Pkew Pkew Pkew, Standing Still is a song about being stuck in the past and reliving accomplishments from your youth rather than focusing on your present and future. The world is moving a mile a minute these days, probably headed for complete disaster, so being focused on that big game from high school or trivial accomplishments from your college days seems so short-sighted. Forget the glory days; we need you today.”
6 | Kyle Ekstrom | Sad Girls
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Illinois-based rising alt-rocker Kyle Ekstrom premieres his new single Sad Girls. With a strong introspective nature to his music, Ekstrom focuses on music’s ever-powerful ability to bring memories and long-forgotten feelings to the surface. In Sad Girls, he explores the inner struggle most of us face and how taking a step back can sometimes be the clearest solution. “I wrote this song after observing a friend’s situation from afar, via social media,” Ekstrom says. “Seeing their struggle, and how they let it overtake them inspired me to write this song. The song itself is a reminder to people that ‘hey, this isn’t as bad as you think. You can figure this out. You can do this.’ It’s a reminder that our problems oftentimes seem more scary or difficult than they are, and that in reality, everything is going to be ok.”
7 | Tacocat | Retrograde
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Tacocat know there’s more to October 31st, 2019 than costumes and glitter (so, so much glitter). In recognition of today’s kickoff to the next season of Mercury Retrograde, the band is sharing the astrology-themed new song Retrograde.”
8 | Almeida | A Song For Europe
THE PRESS RELEASE: “On the day the United Kingdom had been scheduled to leave the European Union, progressive thrash punks Almeida publicly address ‘the elephant in the room’ with a new music video premiere, produced by Lockjaw Records’ Rob Piper. A Song For Europe (lovingly named after the classic Father Ted episode) is a one-minute burst of technical melodic hardcore – produced and mixed by Andy Dazzler of Manchester’s Through the Roof Recording Studios. “The song sums up the liberating but incredibly self-conscious feeling of touring Europe shortly after the 2016 EU referendum” says Tom West, Almeida’s lead vocalist. “The ‘elephant in the room’ referred to in the song and its corresponding artwork relates to the inescapable embarrassment that came from introducing ourselves as being from the UK, especially around the time of the referendum. Everybody wanted to ask about Brexit, and of course it was the thing we were least excited to talk about.”
9 | Imani Coppola | Sage
THE PRESS RELEASE: “I wanted it to be like the famous Sinead O’Conner video Nothing Compares 2 U, but didn’t feel like crying, fucking up my makeup and having to redo it constantly,” explains eclectic and musically expansive artist Imani Coppola about her brand new Sage music video. “I was in a remarkably shitty mood the day we shot but Keith Major [director] was supportive of my shit mood. It worked for the video.” Taken from her newly released spectacle of a record The Protagonist, the powerful track was written after one of the many recent mass shootings here in America. “I wrote Sage as a reminder to myself that I am ultimately the only one responsible for my behavior and actions,” Imani says.”Another mass shooting had just occurred in America and I felt myself brimming with an anger so fierce that if left unchecked I might have actually become everything I was loathing. If you stare into the void for too long, you become the void, or something to that effect.”
10 | Vonavi | Regrow
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Ramping up to the release of his debut record Reflection (out Nov. 8), Vonavi (aka Andrei Ivanov) has just released the magnificent new video for his latest single Regrow, featuring actor Dylan Cheek (Pitch Perfect 2, Good Behavior). Just like his previous videos, Regrow was directed by Andrew Litten, Andrei’s close friend and collaborator, who developed an intimate and beautiful story shot on 35mm film. “When Andrei approached me to make a short film for Regrow it just seemed like a natural next step toward creating a larger body of work that was more personal for both of us,” explains Litten. “The piece deals with the perception of memory, and how traumatic life events can shape us forever. Sometimes what we’re searching for is right in front of us, we just can’t see it yet. I encourage everyone reading this to watch the film and attach your own memories and meanings to it.”
11 | Dan Deacon | Sat By A Tree
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dan Deacon announces Mystic Familiar, his new album out Jan. 31, lead single/video Sat By A Tree, and a North American tour. Mystic Familiar takes a propulsive leap with the robot-performed drums and soaring melodies of Sat By a Tree. Lyrically, the song conjures campfire reflections on key memories with the hard-won clarity of time, a dialogue with an anthropomorphic tree on chilling out, and befores and afters of life and death. The video, directed by Daren Rabinovitch of film and animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura and starring comedian Aparna Nancherla, uses natural world elements, vivid colors, and a cartoon-like aesthetic to reflect on time and the precious shortness of life (not for those with an aversion to bugs).”
12 | Hugar | Grandi
THE PRESS RELEASE: “On the heels of their August album release, multitalented Icelandic duo Hugar today reveal their latest visual for Varða track Grandi. The video is the fourth and final installment in a series of visuals directed by Máni M. Sigfússon. Released as a separate chapters of an overarching narrative, Saga, Ró, Órói and Grandi ”together culminate in a visual and sonic exploration of the relationship between humans and their environment, as characters attempt to navigate a dystopian world on the verge of destruction.”
13 | Railroad Earth | The Great Divide
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Roots-rock favorites Railroad Earth released The Great Divide, the first single from their new album, All For The Song, due out in 2020. Famously known for their genre-bending implementation of bluegrass instruments in non-traditional styles and arrangements, Railroad Earth —Todd Sheaffer (guitar), Tim Carbone (violin), John Skehan (mandolin), Carey Harmon (drums), and Andrew Altman (bass) — have always subscribed to the get-in-where-you-fit-in mentality. “We walk on either side of a line,” Skehan says. “The bluegrass influence is primarily in instrumentation — having a banjo, fiddle, mandolin, upright bass, and guitar — but it’s still a rock band.” In The Great Divide, the band plays it close to home, never straying too far from their string band influences, and never needing to. The song reads somewhere between an old-timey gospel number and a modern meditation on death and what comes next.”
14 | All We Are | L Is For Lose
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Liverpool trio All We Are — Guro Gikling from Norway (vocals, bass), Luis Santos from Brazil (guitars) and Richard O’Flynn from Ireland (drums/vocals) — are pleased to share new single L Is For Lose. Their first new music since 2017’s Sunny Hills album, L Is For Lose is a bass-flecked, undulating and expansive pop song that marks the return and new sonic direction of the beloved three-piece. Talking about the song, All We Are explain: “L Is For Lose is a psychosexual, off kilter tune that is an ode to that weird dance, the push and pull, that a sexual relationship moves to. So close your eyes, get into that rhythm and feel that heat.”
15 | Upright Man | Hifidelic
THE PRESS RELEASE: “NYC-based alt-rock trio Upright Man is unveiling the video for the single Hifidelic, a new single off their forthcoming EP, due out in 2020. The bandsays, “Hifidelic is an anthem for the modern world. We can’t control all the craziness around us, but we can say fuck it and have a good time. Sometimes chaos is beautiful.” Upright Man has turned their honed musicianship and love of psychedelia into a pristine rock experience. Their self-titled genre, “Hifi-rock”, draws from a deep appreciation of classic rock, prog rock, and the grunge of the 90’s. Their sophomore release, Hifidelic invites listeners into a soundscape populated with vivid grooves, mountainous riffs, and poignant lyrics all deftly arranged.”
16 | All Them Witches | 1X1
THE PRESS RELEASE: “All Them Witches have released a new standalone single. 1X1 follows their acclaimed 2018 album ATW and is their first new music as a pared down trio, their smallest iteration as a band. The psych-rock group produced the single at their own complex, The Church, located just outside of their hometown of Nashville.”
17 | Grave Danger | Undead End Job
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Ska-goth (“skath”) collective Grave Danger are back in time for Halloween with the news of their just-released new album Tomb It May Concern and he song Undead End Job. Songwriter David Schwantes says: “Undead End Job is Grave Danger doing what it does best. The song has bouncy horn parts, a driving groove, and the line “Had half a doughnut though I’m hungry for blood”. We played more with syth leads in this song and it really added something cool, particularly where the organ and syth play off each other in the bridge. With the scope of instrumentation in the band (a four piece horn section, synths, organs, harmonies galore) we tried to focus on giving each song on this record exactly what it needed to create a big sound without muddying things up and Undead is a great example of that spooky mix coming together.”
18 | Borza | Cocoon
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Borza is a British-born Persian Québéquois, living & travelling between Canada & Europe. Borza has just released his new album Cocoon and the single Live & Love. According to Borza: “This album is a collection of some of the more intense moments in my life during the past couple of years. Most of them are about enlightenments I’ve had that have helped me immensely in my life. And the rest of the songs are about family, which includes my friends & my ex-girlfriend. I’m sharing these songs in the same way I would share different conversations with the closest people in my life.”
19 | Julian Daniel | Sad Boy
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Harbouring his unique talents varying from graphic design to music and fashion, Julian Daniel has been able to create his own image and sound that is unlike any other current pop musician. Everything that you see is 100% authentic and creatively controlled by Julian himself. Sad Boy is the newest single from Julian’s debut E-Boy EP (set for release on Nov. 20). It’s a song that shows personal growth and the effects of social media on our youth in today’s day and age.”
20 | Pleiadees | How To Step Out of Solidity And Vaporize Yourself
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Italian dark jazz ritualists Pleiadees announce their divine eponymous EP, due out Nov. 22. They share gloomy and meditative first track How To Step Out Of Solidity And Vaporize Yourself. Says the band: “Pleiadees looks at the stars with its feet in the mud of life. From mud the lotus is born. From the lotus a jewel. Pleiadees music digs deep in search of forgotten jewels. It uses the methods of free rock, jazz, improvisation and transcends them all. It’s world music for these disjointed times we’re all in.”
