Robert Vincent sees a ghost, Shopping show some initiative, Brandon Wolfe Scott believes, American Grim make with the terror and more in today’s Roundup. If you are not looking forward to the new season of Joe Pera Talks With You, you definitely need to have a talk with somebody.
1 | Robert Vincent | My Neighbour’s Ghost
THE PRESS RELEASE: “People say you should just stick to music and keep your opinions to yourself but I find that entirely the opposite of what songwriting should be,” explains award-winning singer-songwriter Robert Vincent of his upcoming third album, In This Town You’re Owned. He continues,“We should be the ones that are bothered by what goes on in society.” On In This Town You’re Owned, Vincent returns with his most relevant album to date, produced by BRIT award-winning Ethan Johns — acclaimed for his production work with Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon and Laura Marling, among others. With the new album, Vincent deals in hard truths and easy melodies, furthering the tradition of classically crafted songwriting that asks the difficult questions about everyday emotions. “I’m just really interested in the human condition and how people react to things.”
2 | Shopping | Initiative
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Shopping announce All Or Nothing, their new album out Feb. 7, and present the video for lead single Initiative. Following 2018’s The Official Body, the songs that make up All or Nothing are the band’s boldest yet; confident, elastic, streamlined grooves that crackle with energy and intention. The trio’s vision – deeply queer; political by default – place them in a radical lineage of dance, a continuum connecting disco and post-punk to Chicago house and EDM. Initiative was written in a Seattle basement. Like the album as a whole, the track thrums with purpose, marking a confident new phase for the band. Referencing governments who shirk responsibilities but place the blame on individuals, the song has a frustrated groove that’s propelling, motivated by necessity to keep going against the grain. The accompanying video, directed by Jack Barraclough, is brightly stylized, and stars the band themselves.”
3 | Brandon Wolfe Scott | Do You Believe In Santa?
THE PRESS RELEASE: “This holiday season, Brandon Wolfe Scott, best known as the guitarist and co-songwriter in the Juno-nominated Yukon Blonde, wants to know you if you believe in Santa. His new single, Do You Believe In Santa? follows a skeptical kid who just can’t seem to stay up late enough on Christmas Eve to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus, and as a result, always has to wait an entire year for the next big chance. “I grew up in the early 90’s where John Hughes films and Mariah Carey dominated the holidays,” says Scott. “When I started writing Do You Believe In Santa? I wanted a Christmas song that would capture that same nostalgic feeling.” The ‘home-music-video’ for the track was largely inspired by a scene from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when Clark Griswold finds an old reel to reel of heartwarming family footage in his attic. “I had my parents mail me the best of our family holiday VHS tapes from 1993-1995 and it was actually very emotional editing through 6 hours of Christmas past. Every year I talk about putting out a Christmas single and now I can’t believe it’s actually happening!”
4 | American Grim | Living Terror
THE PRESS RELEASE: “American Grim has released a second music video for their song Living Terror. Directed by vocalist Ryan Grim, this is the second music video the band has released from their latest LP, Ultra Black. “Daily, we battle our insecurities and anxieties on this earth. We balance making good and bad decisions in our life here,” says guitarist and producer Mike Morello. “This song covers our natural interest in life outside of the world we know and how far we should invest in those questions.”
5 | Porridge Radio | Lilac
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Lilac is the final in a trio of singles the band have released this year, propelling them from a word-of-mouth gem of Brighton, UK’s DIY scene to a wider audience. The Lilac video was directed by El Hardwick and features Dana Margolin. “I wanted to find some power in powerlessness,” says Margolin. “I was thinking about love and control and the things out of my control, and how fragile and incapable depression can make you feel. I was thinking about the way you can feel so close to someone that it’s like their body is your body, like there’s no separation between you, but you can’t stop things disintegrating. It’s a song about finding some hope and some future within that.”
6 | Dirty Sound Magnet | Social Media Girl
THE PRESS RELEASE: “A few weeks after the official release of their new album Transgenic, Swiss psych-rock alchemists Dirty Sound Magnet just unveiled a brand new official music video for the song Social Media Girl. Dirty Sound Magnet is a psychedelic rock power trio from Fribourg, Switzerland. To members Stavros Dzodzosz (guitar, lead vocals), Marco Mottolini (bass, backing vocals) and Maxime Cosandey (drums, backing vocals), their collective means so much more. Dirty Sound Magnet is a lifelong pursuit built on a feverish, border-line-religious passion for music and a common set of guiding values and beliefs.”
7 | Joey Maxwell | Don’t Stress
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Following his critically acclaimed debut release Going Thru Changes, South-East Londoner Joey Maxwell releases incredible follow-up Don’t Stress. It emerges as another frank, personable depiction of teenage life embedded around a dreamy, joyous chorus. With trumpets over a hazy staccato production providing a melodic, lively backdrop, joey continues to stamp his unique signature and ability.”
8 | Fruition | Dawn
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Hot on the heels of their recent release Wild As The Night, Portland-based roots-rock darlings Fruition have just announced another brand new collection of songs, Broken at the Break of Day. The new seven-song album, available Jan. 17, was recorded in between tour dates in Fruition drummer Tyler Thompson’s newly constructed home studio, and like past releases, this collection of songs won’t fit into one box. Although it’s a challenge to categorize, Broken at the Break of Day feels whole because of the band’s dedication to honesty as well as harmony. Dawn is Broken at the Break of Day’s first single and video.”
9 | Jon Hopkins & Kelly Lee Owens | Luminous Spaces
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Jon Hopkins and Kelly Lee Owens present their new single and first collaborative recording, Luminous Spaces. The track was originally destined to be a remix of Hopkins’ Luminous Beings by Owens, but after the pair worked closely together in the studio, it morphed into a standalone single. The two have built a working relationship over the past few years through sharing the same bill in live capacities and on DJ line-ups across the globe. Their work perfectly complements each other; Hopkins transcendent, dancefloor-focused electronics paired with Owen’s entrancing vocals and ethereal techno production creates a euphoric collaboration.
10 | Pyramids on Mars | Nacht Waffen
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Guitarist Kevin Estrella’s project Pyramids On Mars has a new album being released on Dec. 21 entitled Edge of the Black. The full length offers up an aural palette of intense instrumental progressive shredding rock that’s emotional, provocative and 4-dimensional. Pyramids On Mars is premiering the next single Nacht Waffen, a track influenced by Estrella’s love for the band Rammstein and fascination for Germany’s Secret Space Program as he explains further. “There are a lot of interesting things going on with Nacht Waffen. First being, the song is heavily influenced by Rammstein. I am a huge Rammstein fan. The title Nacht Waffen is about the Secret Space Program (SSP). Nacht Waffen (Dark Fleet in German) is the breakaway society that evolved after WWII when Germany lost the war. The Nazis had already reverse engineered UFOs from extraterrestrial technology and built their own fleet of flying saucers called Haunebu II. Because of my deep connection in the UFO community, I have been pulled into the SSP world.”
11 | Lindsay Foote | Ready
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Ready is the brilliant new single from Boston indie-folk artist Lindsay Foote. It’s the second track off her Jan. 31 EP Rollercoaster, and features Foote’s serene vocals set to soaring harmonies, bright acoustic instrumentation, and gentle percussion. Lindsay Foote has made a career of crafting sincere music built around honest lyricism and lush arrangements steeped in folk traditions.”
12 | Optic Oppression | Revolution
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Hailing from the New York Rock scene, Optic Oppression release their hard hitting debut album Halfway To Hell. Vocalist Kendall Cage explains the inspiration behind the album: “This album, Halfway To Hell, is written from some of the most turbulent and bizarre times of my life, with some new songs that we’ve never even played live before. Everything from breakups to lockups, with influences from some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever worked with.”
13 | Darling West | Hey There
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Mari Sandvær Kreken and Tor Egil Kreken, better known as Norwegian folk duo Darling West, have just announced a brand new full-length album, We’ll Never Know Unless We Try, to be released on Feb. 7. Leaning into sunny California dreamscapes, We’ll Never Know Unless We Try is a little west of center for the band’s sound — a sound that Lucinda Williams dubbed “Cosmic Folk” after her first time sharing a stage with Mari and Tor Egil — but never loses the charm and feel Darling West fans have quickly grown to love since the band’s first record was released in 2014. Hey There is the new single from We’ll Never Know Unless We Try. Darling West explain the origins of the track: “It’s not always easy to be inspired to write songs when everything feels good and you’re content. Usually, it all just comes out cheesy and it feels awkward. ‘Hey There’ came together in that kind of moment. We decided to put all fear of cliches aside and just celebrate the beauty of the connection between two people and true love as we know it.”
