Andy Shauf tries, tries again, Woorms raise an unholy racket, Enslaved paraphrase Peggy Lee, R Grunwald blends style with substance and more in today’s Roundup. Insert your own clever quip here. I got nothing today.
1 | Andy Shauf | Try Again
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Andy Shauf releases a new single/video Try Again, from The Neon Skyline, his new album due Jan. 24. The Neon Skyline’s interconnected songs are all written, performed, arranged and produced by Shauf, and follow a simple plot: the narrator goes to his neighborhood dive, finds out his ex is back in town, and she eventually shows up. Following Things I Do, Try Again continues to present Shauf’s distinct style of storytelling as he describes an awkwardly funny and charming reunion between the song’s narrator and his ex: “Somewhere between drunkenness and chivalry, I hold the door open and let her pass through. She says thanks to me in a British accent and I try to answer her in the same voice. She laughs at me, says ‘What was that supposed to be?’ I say ‘I’m sorry, I’m from a different part of the country.’ She says, ‘Come on baby, try again.’ “
2 | Woorms | Silence & The Saints
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Following on from the critically acclaimed release of their debut, Baton Rouge-based colossus, Woorms return with new single Silence And The Saints, the first sanctioned cut from their forthcoming LP, due for release in March 2020. Formed in 2017 in Louisiana and featuring guitarist/vocalist Joey Carbo, bassist John Robinson, and drummer Aaron Polk, Woorms has been delivering a brutal mélange of riffs and noise-rock righteousness on the precipice of significance for some time.”
3 | Enslaved | What Else is There
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Enslaved present a stunning new music video filled with atmospheric imagery for their interpretation of What Else Is There by Norwegian electro-pop band Röyksopp. The song is featured as a bonus track on the digital version of their latest album, E. Formed in Bergen, Norway in 1991, Enslaved had evolutionary zeal in their eyes from the start. Even as they emerged from the nascent Norwegian black metal scene of the early ‘90s, guitarist Ivar Bjørnson and vocalist/bassist Grutle Kjellson demonstrated a fervently idiosyncratic approach to making extreme music.”
4 | R Grunwald | Wood Meets Water
THE PRESS RELEASE: “R Grunwald has played on sessions for hundreds of musicians. Now the Toronto keyboardist ready to step onto the public stage with his own music. His 96-year-old grandmother, who has lived in Chile after fleeing her native Poland in 1946, is the primary inspiration for Grunwald’s first solo album. It’s called Oma — which is the German word for ‘grandmother’. Today, Grunwald shares the new video for album opener, Wood Meets Water. “Stark and stately, this melody opens the album and serves as an introduction to this cycle of compositions,” says Grunwald. “Wood – the starting material for many objects in our lives. Water – a substance that gives life and serves as a conduit. The place where Wood meets Water is the meeting between raw materials and the medium which transports and transforms that material into its final form.”
5 | Never Elected | Wake Up
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Washington, DC’s rockers Never Elected have a new single Wake Up. Energetic and engaging, it’s hard-hitting rock with a catchy flair. Wake Up is the musical interlude that comes after Down Too Long, which was released in 2017 and precedes the new album Never Elected are working on which takes a heavier, grungier turn. The band explains the release of the single: “This single is just an indication of what lies ahead on our next album. We dropped our tuning to D, figuring that it gives us exactly what we are looking for soundwise. Our fans love to sing along to our songs and Wake Up was chosen to be the single based on what the fans loved most at our live shows.”
6 | Keith Mosfet | What Can I Do?
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Keith Mosfet grew up in the Hamilton, Ont., area playing in punk bands and 60s-esque music, but now currently residing in Toronto. Mosfet isn’t really his last name — it stands for metal oxide silicon field effect transistors. He picked up the nickname while studying electronic engineering. Keith’s new single What Can I Do? is an acoustic indie-pop track with arresting vocals, inspired by stoicism and how it helped him come out of a dark place after losing his brother.”
