LA Priest reaches for the sky, Closet Disco Queen are delicious live, Love Machine bring the drama, Ren Harview has all the feels and more in today’s Roundup. There’s a fair amount of metal in this one, so of that’s a concern, well, consider yourself warned. If not, crank it up.
1 | LA Priest | Rubber Sky
THE PRESS RELEASE: “With the new album Gene out Friday, LA Priest has just shared the video for new track Rubber Sky — a slice of cosmic-laden funk which reflects on his solitary approach to creating music, acting somewhat aptly as a “loner anthem.” Rubber Sky also sees Gene (the custom-built drum machine) coming to life, being used to its full potential. Self-filmed at home in The Shed during the UK lockdown, the video for Rubber Sky is an eye-opening look into the psychedelic world of LA Priest. Seeing him perform alongside a giant replica of the Gene drum machine, LA Priest takes us behind the curtain of The Shed where he builds his machines, writes music and performs.”
2 | Closet Disco Queen | Délicieux
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Indie/Krautrock/Stoner/Rock side-project of Luc & Jona from Swiss Hardcore/Noise/Punk/Metal quartet Coilguns, Closet Disco Queen duo is about to release a live compilation album called Drink The Minibar – Live Recordings, coming out onJuly 10. In the meantime, the band just shared a first glance from this upcoming effort with the live video of the song Délicieux, shot in 2017 in Lille (France). While their parent band is far more methodical and partly even calculated in terms of sound and writing, Closet Disco Queen is a fresh take on genres treading on becoming stale, making up a precarious experience highly gripping in tone, and chameleonic by form.”
3 | Love Machine | Liebesdrama
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The new single from Love Machine titled Liebesdrama (in english: love drama) is about missed opportunities. Nowhere else do we fail so grandiosely in ourselves as in the great love. Because it’s so beautiful, Love Machine give the failure another chance, sounding like Garage Rock, Indie and Dream Pop and singing in German for the first time. In the accompanying video the six guys from Düsseldorf, Germany and their friends present themselves in a gaudy bubblegum world. All performers were asked to bring objects with which they identify and which give them daily moments of happiness. The message is very clear: Love yourself!”
4 | Ren Harvieu | This Is How You Make Me Feel
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Following the release of her new album Revel In The Drama in April, Ren Harvieu has shared a stylish b/w video for new single This Is How You Make Me Feel, directed by her musical partner Romeo Stodart. Of the track and video Harvieu says: “This is How You Make Me Feel was recorded during a steamy, hot summer, a feeling we wanted to capture in the song and the recording. It’s all about the beginnings of new love where it all feels so new and exciting. I wanted it to sound like really late night / early morning with the sun coming up after a beautiful night of sexual awakenings. The video was filmed from my bedroom during lockdown.”
5 | Solaris | Podio
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Italian noisy post-rockers Solaris present a dark animated video taken from their upcoming debut album Un Paese di musichette mentre fuori c’è la morte, out on June 19. “Podio is the opening song of our new album. It’s a fast and claustrophobic song, in which fuzzes and distortions take the lead. Compared to the other songs on the album, Podio is the most instinctive and direct one. It was entirely mixed at the legendary BC STUDIO in Brooklyn, NY by Martin Bisi. He did an excellent job, being able to translate the impact we wanted for the song into the mixing process” explain Solaris. Podio depicts violent and gloomy scenes with blinking footages and weird cruel manga-like characters. Noise-laden post-rock, powerful riffage, magnetic vocals, industrial soundscapes… The sound and images have merged to create a disturbing new story, directed by The Doll Maker, Chiara Chemi.”
6 | Saints of Death | Ascend To The Throne
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Vancouver’s Saints of Death have a new album Ascend To The Throne coming out on July 10. The album is a seven-track ripping and cohesive album and the second in the Saints of Death repertoire following the 2015 self-titled EP. With a different lineup than the debut effort, Saints of Death now boasts a more robust group that is tighter, more aggressive, and more melodic than ever before along with still featuring their signature sound of having two bassists. They quote about the new lineup: “This album has been a long time coming, and we cannot wait to get it into the ears of our fans. Our current line up has been together since 2018 and we have really gelled as friends and as band members. Naturally, with this kind of chemistry going on, it was finally time to record a new album.” Comprising tracks that the band has wanted to release for a long time, it has been a waiting game until the right guys were in line to bring them to fruition. Now, the wait is now over and Saints of Death is primed to kick some ass! Check out Repentance:”
7 | Paradas | Lost Cause
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Leeds based indie-rock band Paradas have shared the music video for their newly released single, Lost Cause. The single is lifted from their upcoming EP After This, which will be available on June 17. Shot with responsibly sourced footage, the video depicts an intimate look into the band’s home studio as well as their interpersonal dynamics. The iconic funky bassline radiates with warmth throughout the track, contrasting against the stark colour scheme and highlighting the companionability displayed by the band members. “We had a whole video planned out for this track in an abandoned warehouse, but the lockdown meant we had to take a more DIY approach! Luckily we had tonnes of videos from the studio and performing live which our bassist Cam put together for us and it came out quite nicely.”
8 | The Mercy Kills | Alone
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Mix two parts dirty rock with two parts sleaze punk and you get a four shot cocktail called The Mercy Kills featuring Mark E (Vox/Guitar), Jen X Costello (Bass/Vox), Nathalie Gellé (Guitar/Vox) and Josh Black (Drums). Their tastes in music, the desire to write great songs and blast out a killer live show were the key factors shared by this four-piece outfit. The Mercy Kills took their name from a line in The Rocky Horror Picture Show: “It was a mercy killing.” Here’s a re-worked version of a band and live crowd favourite. Alone is taken from their debut album Happy To Kill You (2013) and has been remastered and re-released as a single for those reaching out digitally in COVID-19 isolation. The message is simple: You can’t make it alone!”
9 | Ensiferum | Rum, Women, Victory
THE PRESS RELEASE: “On July 10, Ensiferum will release their new album, Thalassic. For a preview, here’s a video for the first single Rum, Women, Victory — which features fan-submitted, sing-a-long content that the band collected after reaching out to their followers about recreating an at-home festival-like experience. Ensiferum’s Sami Hinkka (bass) comments: “We want to thank each and every one who sent their video clip with such a short notice — You guys f***ing rock! Even though we are not the most hip/state of the art/IT-know-how-expert-band when it comes to creating content, other than music, it was such a great experience to do this video. But absolutely the best thing of this video project was to see how much fun you guys had with the new song and how you all gave 110% for it! We can’t wait to see this energy in the front rows of the future gigs! Enough talking. We hope you like the video because we love it!”
10 | Thurisaz | Monologue
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Belgian doom-metal collective Thurisaz have just revealed a music video for a brand new song off the band’s forthcoming fifth album Re-Incentive, due out on Sept. 1. Titled Monologue, this new video was produced by Panda Productions and is now playing at this location. The follow up to 2015’s The Pulse of Mourning album shows a band in full command of their craft, perfectly balancing a dark, heavy atmosphere with some poignant and beautiful melodies. Overcoming the trials and tribulations of a seasoned band, this album really showcases Thurisaz in the best shape of their career.”
11 | Binny | Retrograde
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Binny is the moniker of Maryland born and bred musician Brian Lim. His single Retrograde details yearning to be with someone you shouldn’t and trying to fight the lure and temptations. Binny confides, “I’ve definitely experienced being infatuated with someone that may not be the best influence on me, but I’d risk it all to put them first. It’s inspired by the unexplainable reasons one may continue a relationship that’s toxic.” The songwriter is also keen on astrology, taking notes of behaviors people have when Mercury is in retrograde, which plays a big part in the narrative. Sonically Retrograde highlights impressive falsetto vocals, smooth, seductive lo-fi beats and silky R&B melodies, illustrating heart and emotion.”
12 | Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever | Cameo
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Melbourne-based band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever will release their highly-anticipated second album, Sideways to New Italy, this Friday. Today, they release the album’s fourth single Cameo, which begins with open guitar strums and Fran Keaney’s lone voice, before building to a swirling roar, showcasing a band at the peak of their powers both instrumentally and lyrically. “This is a love song. It’s about reaching through time portals,” says Keaney. “The lyrics were pieced together over about a year like a little puzzle. I found the first pieces in Rushworth, and the last pieces in Darwin.”
13 | Serpent Omega | Orog Nuur
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Swedish doom/sludge metal unit Serpent Omega will release their II full-length on Sept. 4. In advance of the release of II, Serpent Omega have unveiled first single Orog Nuur for public feasting. A deceptively simple statement, the tracks opens with guitarist Jonsson’s plodding riff that lays the groundwork for a magnificent tremolo-picked tribal bridge. It’s during this latter section, more than anywhere on this record, and ironically bookended with the phrase “there is no escape,” that triumphant and huge, filled with power and awe and resolution… but it doesn’t last. Jonsson elaborates, “This song got its name from a lake in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Like nomads in a cosmic desert, we were happy to find this portal to another dimension. But we got unexpected company and not even the flames can save us. There is no escape. They breed in fire.”
