Bad Pelicans count to zero, GR Record Head said Fred, Dead Soft share their problems, Geoff Berner checks in and more in today’s Roundup. I’ve started ignoring my email until late afternoon. Best decision I ever made.
1 | Bad Pelicans | Zero Talent
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Bad Pelicans are back with a new single Zero Talent. This one is introducing a new EP Underground coming Feb. 7. Take grunge, punk, surf, and put them in a blender. Then throw the blender out the fucking window and start a band. Still in their early twenties, The Bad Pelicans are already well known on the Paris concert scene, having played the rounds of the usual indie and underground venues and easily selling out the independent runs of their first three cassettes, as well as the first pressing of their debut LP Best Of this past year. Known for the immense cathartic power of their live shows, their reputation has recently spead across Europe with tours of the UK, Italy, Switzerland and Portugal. In total they have played over a hundred shows, no two the same, none of them forgettable and they’re just getting started.”
2 | The GR Record Head | Fred Hampton
THE PRESS RELEASE: “GR‘s new upcoming full length album The GR Record Head is under the radar and is expected by February 2020. A 9-track platter for mind rotation! But until then… a video clip for the album’s opening track Fred Hampton was edited by Opaque Dynamo from archive footage.”
3 | Dead Soft | Problems
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dead Soft are releasing a new video for the ultra catchy, fuzz-laden track Problems, taken from last year’s highly-praised album Big Blue. Regarding the Problems video, the band said “This video was a total mystery to us until the moment we saw it. We shot it over the course of an evening in front of a green screen in our friends’ garage. Brock took the footage away to his animation station and a few months later sent us this demonic care bear video. He’s a genius!”
4 | Geoff Berner | Grand Hotel Cosmopolis
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Geoff Berner is sharing the new video for the title track from his latest LP, Grand Hotel Cosmopolis. Directed by Magdalena Hutter and shot on location in Augsburg, Germany at the real Grandhotel Cosmopolis itself, the video also features performance footage from two packed, glorious nights at the Hotel. “Magdalena and I intend this video to be a giant ad for the real Grandhotel Cosmopolis, the artist-designed combination home for migrants and traveller’s hostel,” says Berner. “So we shot it all on location at and around the Grandhotel to give people a sense of what a fun, beautiful, inspiring place it really is. Who knows? Maybe someone will see this video and really go ‘start a Grand Hotel Cosmopolis of your own’ like I put in the lyrics of the song.”
5 | Venomous Pinks | I Want You
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Tempe, AZ all-female punk rock trio The Venomous Pinks has released a new single and music video, a cover of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ I Want You, which will appear on the band’s upcoming album of the same name. Guitarist and vocalist Drea Doll says, “I Want You is an in-your-face, unapologetic, punk rendition of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ timeless classic. We set out to infuse our unique style and uncontrived attitude to change up the cover while lovingly nodding to its original roots.”
6 | Art d’Ecco | I’ll Never Give You Up
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Glam-rocker Art d’Ecco has released a long time fan fave with a brand new video! I’ll Never Give You Up is accompanied by an awesome music video directed by Tiana Dueck. Dueck took inspiration from Wong Kar-wai films, such as Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, and crafted a video that beautifully matches the energy and spontaneity of this track.”
7 | Ken Yates | Quiet Talkers
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Award-winning singer-songwriter Ken Yates is excited to announce the release of his forthcoming album, Quiet Talkers, due out May 22. Today he shares the title track, and accompanying video featuring a retro ski ballet dance routine. (And no, that is not Ken. The ski ballet performance is by Raymond Cyr of Laval, QC.) “Quiet Talkers was inspired by feeling disconnected in the age of constant connectivity;” shares Yates. “I was on the road and spending a lot of time alone, and although I was still interacting with people at shows I was feeling like I was closing myself off from having real conversations, almost like my inside voice was becoming louder than my real voice. This song is about re-engaging, trying to listen, and shutting off that inside voice even for a brief amount of time.”
8 | The Second After | Thinking Clear
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Second After has rocketed off into 2020 with colorful flames behind them and this decade for Raleigh’s most cherished pop-punk band is already in full swing. Now, the guys are dishing out another punk-driven music video for new single Thinking Clear off their upcoming new EP, due in Spring. “Thinking Clear is a song about getting over something that haunts you and understanding it was probably never meant to be in the first place. A little reminder that if you really look at things, you will notice all the red flags that foreshadowed the inevitable. Also, if it seems too good to be true, chances are, it is.” – Alfred Williamson (vocals)”
9 | Gab De La Vega | YYZ
THE PRESS RELEASE: “YYZ is the new video by Brescia, Italy singer-songwriter Gab De La Vega and the second single from Beyond Space And Time, his third full-length album, which is coming out on Jan. 24. The song comes with a music video directed by Jaden D and edited by Bradley James Allen. The song lyrics are deep, personal and reveal the ability of De La Vega to read his own as well as other people’s life, the world and the time we live in, evoking images that could appear familiar to many. “YYZ is about feeling lost and disoriented in life. It’s about the need to find your place in the world. The moments in which you have to make decisions that might change everything, without having a clue of what the outcome might be. It’s about the daily struggle to steer your own life and at the same time accept that you don’t have full control of everything that happens to you. The song lyrics refer to a summer afternoon two years ago. I was walking in downtown Toronto, chasing my thoughts in the alleys of my mind. At one point I looked around and I realized my feet took me astray. I had to figure out where I was. I was kind of lost, literally… and metaphorically.”
10 | Misty Bliss | Under The Sun
THE PRESS RELEASE: “About 18 months after the release of the release of its debut S/T EP and then some line-up changings, Swiss alternative/rock/grunge power-trio Misty Bliss just unveiled a brand new music video illustrating the title-track from its upcoming single Under The Sun, coming out on Feb. 7. It’s a wave of melodies made to thrill the quiet souls and all those who are searching to stimulate their senses through music. It’s a time machine that travels from blues to stoner and from garage rock to alternative/grunge. Distorted riffs, powerful vocals and bold energy on stage, Misty Bliss doesn’t waste time with futilities and goes directly to the point… It’s a love story, it’s a story of “mutual thrills” between the members and the audience. Our “colors” are sad and somber but in the same time bright and joyful, because we don’t forget that “after the darkness comes the light.”
11 | Imonolith | Instinct
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian metal powerhouse Imonolith, featuring drummer Ryan ‘RVP’ Van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project), guitarist Brian ‘Beav’ Wadell (Devin Townsend Project), Jon Howard (Threat Signal), guitarist Kai Huppunen (Methods of Mayhem, Noise Therapy) and Scott Whalen (Econoline Crush), have announced the release of their highly anticipated debut album State of Being on March 27, and have unleashed their next single/video, Instinct in support of it. The high production video to Instinct is not only a great example of the band’s quality aesthetic, but it also serves as a look at Imonolith’s collective personality. RVP continues, “I think we raised the bar with the Instinct video. It’s a different kind of video that’ll catch you off guard in a few ways. It can also be interpreted differently depending on the viewer. We put a lot of thought into it and hired great visionary people to make it a fun watch.’’
12 | Wilma Archer | Last Sniff
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Wilma Archer announces a new album, A Western Circular, due for release on April 3. A Western Circular is Will Archer’s debut under his new nom-de-plume, following early EPs and an album under the now-retired Slime moniker. Alongside the announcement, he shares a new track, Last Sniff, featuring MF Doom and a video directed by Jesse Collett. An album that’s been in the works for the past half-decade, A Western Circular is a bold, reflective piece that directly relates to Archer’s personal experiences of life and death, centered on one particular week where they breathed with equal intensity. The record’s themes of greed, love and loyalty all relate back to that specific time. Inspired by author John Fante, A Western Circular is a spiritual voyage through life’s pushing and pulling, and a poignant reflection on the duality of the human condition: finding beauty in the rough, sadness in the bright.”
13 | Harrow Fair | Sins We Made
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Americana duo Harrow Fair (Miranda Mulholland & Andrew Penner) share the lead single and title track from their sophomore album, Sins We Made, due out April 17. “Sins We Made tackles some of the news events that shook up our world in the last few years using the framework of a traditional counting song;” shares the duo. “In the Middle Ages, the troubadours spread news using songs veiled enough to protect themselves from accusations of treason. With this song, we played with that idea and each number, and the phrase that follows, is a metaphor for a person or occurrence in the news.”
14+15 | Jaakko Eino Kalevi | Out Of Touch & Conceptual Mediterranean (Part 2)
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Taken from his recent mini-album Dissolution, Jaakko Eino Kalevi today shares videos for the instrumental tracks Out of Touch and Conceptual Mediterranean Part 2. Together, the two videos form a longer story and are made by the acclaimed German animator Christine Gensheimer, a long-time Jaakko collaborator. Of the video, Gensheimer says: “I’ve loved Jaakko’s music since I discovered it more than ten years ago. Its playfulness, humor and sometimes epic or weird character inspire my animations and aesthetics and create ever-new images in my mind.” She describes these two new animations as “an apocalyptic adventure in our so-called world, about green slime, friendship and female powers”.
16 | Homes | Liberation
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Homes is a 21-year-old songwriter and producer from a small town in Slovakia. He became known in his country and the Czech Republic for collaborating with some of the biggest contemporary pop and rap artists, combining their sound with his atmospheric indie-folk sound. After releasing three dreamy, melancholic singles last year, he is back with his newest single Liberation and the announcement of his debut album called Lufu, which is set to release on Jan. 31. The new single, much like his previous ones, is built around gentle acoustic guitars, falsetto singing intertwined with emotional lyrics, which are about overcoming hardships and finding hope in suffering, and gradual adding and taking out of instruments which add dynamics that promise to keep the listener’s attention until the poignant end of the song.”
17 | Obsidian | Consent
THE PRESS RELEASE: “On the verge of a new decade in metal music, French Progressive Metalcore Unit Obsidian embraces many influences, from post-hardcore to ambient, djent or progressive scenes and merges them into one defined style. Their music is organic, moving constantly between spacious contemplation to forefront rhythmics. A few days only after unveiling a first glance of their upcoming debut effort with the single Static Waves, the band just shared another excerpt from the album with the song Consent.”
18 | Bandaid Brigade | Holding Steady
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Bandaid Brigade, the musical project of Zach Quinn (PEARS), Brian Wahlstrom (Scorpios, Gods of Mount Olympus) and friends Paul Rucker (Armchair Martian, Street Dogs, Drag The River) and Chris Fogal (The Gamits), has dropped a new single off the upcoming debut album I’m Separate, set for release on Jan. 21. Wahlstrom says, “There was a point in the recording session when we ran out of songs we had actually prepared. So each of us had to come up with something while we had a few hours left for tracking drums. Those 3 songs ended up being the album closers and arguably our favorites. This one was mine.”
19 | Insect Ark | Philae
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Insect Ark is the instrumental psychedelic doom duo featuring founder Dana Schechter (Swans) and Andy Patterson (ex-SubRosa). The track Philae comes off the band’s stunning forthcoming new full-length The Vanishing, set for release Feb. 28. The six-track opus serves as Insect Ark’s third, and most harrowing and punishing record to date. Notes Schechter of the latest track unveiling, “The song Philae traces the epic narrative of a robotic voyager on its journey to a comet near Jupiter. The travel, alongside its host the Rosetta Spacecraft, took over ten years. Philae crashed, was pulled by the comet’s gravity, and for over a year was sitting lost in the shadow of a cliff. When I wrote Philae, it was all about space. Not outer space, but physical space – or more specifically, negative space. I wanted the song to feel unmoored, as if it existed in place utterly empty and airless, collapsing, with the dual senses of sinking and floating. I heard about the (true) story of Philae after I’d finished writing the song, and it just felt like the music and the story coexisted perfectly.”
20 | Michel Petrucciani | Montelimar
THE PRESS RELEASE: “French pianist Michel Petrucciani is regarded by many as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. To mark the 20th anniversary of his death in 1999, the collection Colors is being released Feb. 14. It features a selection of his emblematic compositions, including the track Montelimar. The album’s title Colors, named for one of Petrucciani’s compositions, is a nod to the pianist’s affinity for synaesthesia. “I put color into every note,” he once said. “So, for me the A is green, the C is red, the G is blue, the E is brown, the F is yellow, and so on.” Over time, the colors that resolutely illuminated his music became increasingly clearer. His purpose was fewer notes, more music. “Nowadays, my music revolves less around the notes themselves and more around their colors. The important thing is to play the right color at the right moment.”
21 | Horseneck | Pen15
THE PRESS RELEASE: “California’s Central Valley post-hardcore/sludge collective Horseneck — featuring within its ranks current and past members of Will Haven and Chelsea Wolfe — will release their anticipated second full-length, Fever Dream on Feb. 21. Much like a fever dream, the eleven track offering shifts from spatial distortion, to specific detail, trying to navigate a nightmare of an existence with the grace of a butcher knife. Fever Dream is driven by the darkness and uncertainty of the world. You can hear it in its melodies, lyrics, and unorthodox use of horns and keys all throbbing under the weight of its own sonic psychosis. The record includes guest vocals from Grammy-nominated rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Gary U.S. Bonds and indie rock/folk hero Jules Bee (Baenziger) from Sea Of Bees.”
22 | Hallucinator | Pervader
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Oakland esoteric death thrash unit Hallucinator will release their debut full-length, Another Cruel Dimension, Feb. 14. Hallucinator was forged in 2014 when guitarist Erik Schirado and vocalist Kyle May approached guitarist Eric Stucke to start a fast death metal band. Stucke channeled his love of ’80s extreme thrash and proto-death/black metal into the primitive, nightmarish death that began to take shape in their practice space. Together with drummer Will Kovach and bassist T. Voidbringer, the band played their first local shows where Stucke began incorporating analog synth interludes into their set (now a staple between live songs and featured heavily on every recording since). Hallucinator aims to pervade its dissolution of dark consciousness throughout the dimensions of metal.”
23 | Chey Rose | Seventeen
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The new year is often known for ringing in hope and inspiration, but for many it can be a somber time of reflection, nostalgia and even heartbreak. Chey Rose embraces these vulnerable emotions head on in her brand new single, Seventeen. A raw, intimate break-up ballad, the song is a desperate cry to escape the jaded numbness that comes with years of failed love & longs for the ability to feel deeply & freely again, like a first, fresh heartbreak at age 17. Chey elaborates, “It’s crazy because the night we wrote Seventeen, I didn’t even feel like writing. So much was going on in my personal life and I was honestly scared to face those emotions. But I did anyway, and what started out as a 10pm therapeutic wine night with my two best friends turned into the 2am birth of a song so confessional and real and honest that it scared me – in a good way. Days after the session I couldn’t stop playing the song – it was literally healing my soul as I listened to the demo over and over, and that’s how I knew it had to be shared. If it can heal my heart, it has the power to connect with and heal so many other souls who may be dealing with the same exact thing.”
