Bill Kirchen puts the hammer down, Luka Kuplowsky pushes back, Tejon Street Corner Thieves are bedeviled, New Fries gild the lily, Muzz enjoy some summer love and more in a busy Midweek Roundup. There’s a lot of good stuff down below, so let’s get right to it.
PICKS OF THE DAY
1 | Bill Kirchen | Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods is the first solo video by Bill Kirchen, king of Diselbilly guitar, former member of Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen and Master of the Telecaster whose Texas honky-tonk rockabilly/country repertoire has just been compiled in the two-disc set Bill Kirchen: The Proper Years. Says Kirchen: “A love song to the Telecaster guitar, written it in Austin TX on my way to see Tele demon Redd Volkaert. We cut in London, with Nick Lowe and our very same band from his Impossible Birds record and tour. Made the video in 2 weekends, with the Covid-19 virus raging outside through Austin’s 102 degree heat. We were masked and distanced at all times, except for brief vocal section takes. With the exception of the Commander Cody early MTV favorite Two Triple Cheese, this is my first purpose-made music video.” Read my review of the album HERE.
2 | Luka Kuplowsky | Positive Push
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Luka Kuplowsky announced the album Stardust last month and is returning today with the video for Positive Push. The new single is dominated by a driving bass line with synth flourishes that, together, are reminiscent of Stereolab’s early work. Positive Push is “grasping at something elusive,” says Luka. “The voice of the song is overwhelmed with questions — seeking answers in teachers, family, love. Exhausted and uncertain, the song arrives at the recognition that the voice itself is the vehicle for change and actualization. In recording the vocals live with the band, I often sat hunched on a stool strumming my classical guitar. For this song I put down the guitar and was dancing round the vocal booth. I wanted to get wacky and pop in a deadly serious way. I was listening a lot to The Roches’ 1989 masterpiece Speak.”
3 | Tejon Street Corner Thieves | Demons
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Colorado Springs outlaw blues and trash-grass pioneers Tejon Street Corner Thieves have released a new animated video for Demons. The video was directed by Eli Bruner (aka sTaRaTs) in a stop-motion and animated technique depicting the band on a wild ride as they succumb to their demons and cast themselves into eternal fire and brimstone. “The video is a visual representation of the battles we’ve fought against addiction,” said Connor O’Neal. “In blues music, the term blue devils refers to the demons that cause depression, usually as a result of drinking. The demons chasing us in the video only appear after we start drinking and partying. This video and song is for everyone who’s ever battled with depression or addiction. You’re not alone!”
4 | New Fries | Lily
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto’s New Fries are sharing the final single from their forthcoming album Is The Idea Of Us, out on Aug. 7. The band’s first new material since 2016’s More, Lily is a perfect example of New Fries’ glitching and fidgeting No Wave-inspired meditations. On the new track, the band offered, “Lilydale, New York is a caged community inhabited almost exclusively by mediums — those who communicate with the spirit world. It is a community of liars and people with special spiritual gifts. People across North America travel here to connect with the deceased. Anni spent many summers in Lilydale as a kid — her grandfather was a medium.”
5 | Muzz | Summer Love
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Last month, Muzz released their self-titled debut. Today, longtime friends and collaborators Matt Barrick, Josh Kaufman and Paul Banks present a video for the laid-back and nostalgic Summer Love. The video combines “footage Matt shot a few years ago of a deserted drive-through theater, with clips we individually generated during lockdown and the majestically psychedelic collage work of the great Andrew McGranahan. It’s what we feel is a nice visual poem to accompany the song,” says Banks. “Rather than a summer lockdown document, we aimed more to emulate the work of Truffaut, Fellini, or Cassavetes and to capture three stories of romance and solitude. Lofty aspirations, humble result; but we hope you enjoy it even a fraction as much as we did creating it.”
6 | Mise en Scene | Love and War
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Winnipeg’s Mise en Scene share the video for their new single Love and War. “This song is a play on the old saying “all is fair in love and war, but it’s also about the insecurities that accompany falling in love. It can feel like a battle … One thing we know is that the world has been falling in love and fighting wars since time began and with this song, we investigate the similarities that inherently exist between love and war.” On the making of the video, they say, “It’s a makeshift world now with all these restrictions during a pandemic. We took to the quiet streets of our small town where we pranced in front of a laundromat that also has an ice cream parlour … This place is a huge part of our childhood and we wanted to honour its vintage vibes under florescent lights while we lip-synced for our lives, slaying the song while whipping out our fiercest dance moves.”
7 | Tami Neilson | You Were Mine
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Tami Neilson shares the new video for You Were Mine from her latest LP Chickaboom! “This video was directed by my brother Todd, who went full Tarantino, and the song was written with my brother Jay, born out of a conversation we had about life after losing our Dad,” says Tami. “We spoke about how we tend to use traumatic or life-altering events as markers in our lives and it’s suddenly split into two categories: ‘before and ‘after’. That loss became the way we measure time. This song definitely hits differently this year. I think we have all had that line drawn in the sand and our lives will never be the same.”
ALSO ON THE PLAYLIST
8 | Kasbo | Play Pretend ft. Ourchives
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Swedish producer and electronic artist Kasbo revealed his anticipated return with the announcement of his forthcoming sophomore album, The Making of a Paracosm, due out Oct. 23. To kick things off, Kasbo released the debut single Play Pretend, featuring fellow Swede and budding songwriter and vocalist Ourchives. Kasbo said: “Play Pretend was one of the first songs I made for the album. It started from a session where me and Ourchives were at the time really inspired by classic UK house beats and wanted to try our hand at something similar. We almost did what we set out to do too well because it sounded very much like a classic U.K. house song but nothing like ourselves. We ended up slowly picking apart the song, keeping melodies and elements from my original production along with Ourchives’ lyrics and we rebuilt the track from the ground up.”
9+10 | Mav Karlo | Walkaway + Elevator
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Mav Karlo (aka Menno Versteeg) is used to ups and downs. After fronting an indie-rock band for 13 years, he has seen his fair share of fame and fortune, as well as taking some long, hard looks in the gutter. With backing vocals from Katy Goodman of Vivian Girls, his new single Elevator sees Versteeg yearning for some middle ground. It’s a frank and honest exploration of Versteeg’s own experiences dealing with mental health over the years, and is backed by a cover of Walkaway by Weaves, a track about finally finding comfort in yourself and your resilience. He explains, “Whether it’s a hypomanic episode or a depression, the feeling at the time is so all encompassing and real that it seems like that is the only reality that I have ever known. I relish the times in between, the periods of stillness when I’m able to be fully present in the moment and able to interact with my environment and the people in my life with the confidence that comes with being in equilibrium.”
11 | R.A. The Rugged Man | All Systems Go
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The triumphant return of R.A. The Rugged Man has been one of the most exciting hip-hop developments of 2020. The impact of the legendary emcee’s widely acclaimed new album All My Heroes Are Dead continues to reverberate, as R.A. is now back with another music video off the project. All Systems Go is a futuristic thrill ride anchored by whirlwind flows and awe-inspiring lyricism from the Rugged Man. “I had a lot of fun with this one. Michal Menert blessed me with some surreal, futuristic music blended with throwback hip hop sampling,” says R.A. about the song. “The lyricism is purposely abstract, future to past to present…so visually we went from spaceships and sci-fi technological experiments to dinosaurs and prehistoric cave dwellers.”
12 | Troy Junker | The Juice
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Following the release of his fresh new EP The Path, which dropped July 20th, Canadian Métis rapper Troy Junker releases the official video for his latest single The Juice. “I wanted to start The Path off with a track that is a confidence boost about turning negatives into positives,” Troy says of the song. “The Juice is for the days where you feel like giving up, but you know you can’t quit. It’s about knowing yourself and not letting other people’s opinions taint your vision. There are a lot of personal things I put in there that I feel my fans go through too, and I hope it can help somebody can relate.”
13 | Okey Dokey | The Right Fit
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Nashville “kitchen sink” indie pop band-turned-cult Okey Dokey released a trippy video for 1st single off just-announced album Once Upon One Time — out Oct 23. The project features behind-the-boards work from Darkside’s Dave Harrington, members of My Morning Jacket, The Shins, Poolside and in the case of this track, Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor. The record combines new and old sounds to explore anxiety, sobriety, breakups and self-love.”
14 | Birdmask | Set Me On Fire
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Birdmask, aka Zeal and Ardor’s Manuel Gagneux, has premiered a video for his latest single Set Me on Fire. A fire-and-brimstone testament to emotional and romantic torment, Set Me On Fire sets Birdmask’s impassioned soul vocals to church organ, choral harmonies and portentous drums. “I’ve had this song ready for a couple of years now but being preoccupied with other projects kind of forced me to leave it on the back burner. I feel like it’s about time to let it out,” says Gagneux. “In the time between then and now I was lucky enough to tour the world with a different project, score plays and start a secretive anonymous project as well, but Birdmask will always be the name that I identify most with. It sort of feels like coming back home in a sense. I’ve tasted a great many fruits and licked my wounds all around the globe and it just might be time to head back home. Greet old faces and maybe even sculpt new ones that might find comfort in this place.”
15 | Walt Disco | Hey Boy (You’re One Of Us)
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Walt Disco are a band who defy all convention to create a world of their own, truly like no other. Their fearless, unique pop songs are created without constraint, with a message of self expression at the very core of everything they do. Today the band have announced the release of their debut EP, Young Hard and Handsome out Sept. 30. The sextet today also release the EP’s second single and thematic centrepiece, Hey Boy (You’re One Of Us). On the new single, singer James Power said: “We wrote this song around a hypothetical situation about teaching a man to come to terms with his feminine side and that it wouldn’t devalue the parts of him that are male, but would make him feel more free and help his relationships with others. We obviously had a lot of fun writing it and sometimes the lyrics get a bit kinky, but such is life.”
16 | Phantom Isle | Mar V
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Barrelling through the doom and gloom of 2020 at a blistering 130bpm, London-based New Wave outfit Phantom Isle share the brand new video for their immensely danceable single Mar V. Directed by Matthew Nelson, the video for Mar V is as surreal and chaotic as the world that we’re living in at the moment, reflecting the pulsating energy of the song itself — wall-to-wall with everything from flashes of a latex-clad gas-masked dancer to tour and lockdown antics. Discussing the video, Nelson explains: “The concept behind the video was a glorified tour vlog turned nightmare. I took influences from directors like Darren Aronofsky and the ’90s dance track Killer by Adamski.”
17 | Jefferson Starship | It’s About Time
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Legendary rock band Jefferson Starship (featuring David Freiberg, Donny Baldwin, Cathy Richardson, Chris Smith, and Jude Gold) has recently released their new single It’s About Time and now they are proud to bring you the official music video. The band also announced the release of their new EP, Mother of the Sun, their first collection of new songs in 12 years. Mother of the Sun will be released on Aug. 21.”
18 | Tei Shi | Die 4 Ur Love
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Colombian-Canadian artist Tei Shi adapted to the world’s socially distanced new normal while also going through her own creative evolution. She embraced virtual reality and the rapidly evolving digital landscape as she embarked on the rollout of her new independently released EP Die 4 Ur Love. Tei Shi set the tone for the EP with her first single and title track from the project. While practicing social distancing from her house in Los Angeles, Tei Shi channeled her quarantine ennui into a video for the single. “The video was kind of perfect for this song because it became a really do-it-yourself vibe that actually not only reflects what reality feels like right now but also what the process of this EP has been for me.”
19 | The Barrel Boys | Going Fishing
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto bluegrass powerhouse The Barrel Boys are excited to announce the release of their third full-length album Mainline on Sept. 18. The first official single from the album, Going Fishing is out now, and to celebrate the release of the track, the band released a live performance video filmed and recorded live off the floor at The Mule Spinner in Hamilton, ON. “Ever wondered what to get a new father with two kids under three?” asks guitarist Ben Wright. “A time-consuming, expensive hobby that requires hours of driving! This song is a romantic look back on my first day fly-fishing on the Madawaska River. I caught two fish, three branches, and a few trophy logs.”
20 | Amaara | Heartspeak
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Heartspeak is the new album from musician, actor and award-winning filmmaker Kaelen Ohm’s intimate multimedia project Amaara. The ethereal-pop collection was written as a culmination of a life-changing heartbreak and the end of a marriage. Today, Ohm shares the self directed, shot & edited new video for album title track Heartspeak, a love song willing to examine the pain of goodbyes through the lens of beautiful new beginnings.”
21 | Cayucas | Lonely Without You
THE PRESS RELEASE: “East L.A. duo Cayucas (aka twin brothers Ben Yudin and Zach Yudin) have announced a new album Blue Summer alongside new single Lonely Without You. A return to musical roots is a time-honored tradition for many established artists who have endured for the better part of a decade. The track’s comforting harmonies embrace the listener and transport them to a carefree paradise where the duo reflects on the simplicity of being young.”
22 | Raz & Afla | Secrets & Lies
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dance duo Raz & Afla are back from a short break after having ignited the airwaves in early 2020 with their addictive debut No Touch. This fresh collaboration is the work of Hackney-based producer Raz Olsher and Ghanaian master musician Afla Sackey. Using organic percussion and electronic melodies, they build a hypnotic groove that is bursting with a full spectrum of colour and sound. Raz explains, “Secrets & Lies was shaped during a pandemic, but its release comes at a time when protests erupt across the world over the continuing onslaught of oppression and abandonment of basic human rights. Brutally racist police in America once again reminded us how far we still have to go until racism and injustice becomes an ugly footnote in human history.”
23 | Tape Tension | Moving Pictures
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Tape Tension is the project of Minneapolis-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Jack Ross. Moving Pictures is an alluring new track touting a lushly melodic synth-pop charm, reminiscent of artists like Caribou and Toro y Moi. Tape Tension’s music infuses lulling vocals, psychedelia, and ’80s synthesizers to cast an analog fog over tracks, creating a sound that’s a pull of youthful dream pop with sensibility to the past. Ross says the following of the track: “It’s undeniably a breakup song, but one that’s about the process of making peace with the reality of breaking up with someone (not being broken up with) and moving on with your life, hoping that they do the same and eventually find their own peace.”
24 | Necrot | Your Hell
THE PRESS RELEASE: “As the release of Necrot’s eagerly anticipated new full-length Mortal nears release next month, the band offers up third single Your Hell for public feasting. Comments Necrot bassist/vocalist Luca Indrio, “Your Hell talks about the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator of violence; how the trauma of the victim often creates new future offenders. It focuses on a vicious circle where the victim carries the trauma of the violence received, building from pain the resentment necessary to become the next perpetrator. The song also talks about the moment in which the eyes of both meet seeing each other’s future and past. The song never really literally says ‘your hell’ in the lyrics, but it does say, ‘my hell will be yours’.”
25 | Black Sun | Terror Zone ft. Henning Basse
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Ecuadoran heavy metal trio Black Sun will release their new EP Silent Enemy on Sept. 4. Since the band’s creation in 2002, Silent Enemy is their first release without a lead vocalist. Today, the band is sharing their third single Terror Zone featuring guest vocals from Henning Basse (ex-Firewind, ex-Mayan, ex-Sons Of Seasons). The band comments: “An aggressive Judas Priest-like beat with energetic and thundering vocals from Henning Basse. This song illustrates what one might feel during a war-zone, even if that war-zone is inside your mind.”
26 | Warlung | Phantasmagoria
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Texas-based heavy rock purveyors Warlung debut a strong new single off their upcoming third full-length Optical Delusions. Warlung comment about the new album’s genesis: “On Optical Delusions, we found a middle ground between the classic horror theme of the first album and the rock n roll aspect of the second. We continued to experiment with song structures and changing tempos to keep the music dynamic and interesting. This album explores everything we have done before while guiding us into something new.”
27 | Theyrgy | Walk Away
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Chicago-based post-punk quartet Theyrgy prepare to release their debut EP Exit Strategies in August. With the record’s release closing in, the lead single Walk Away has been issued. The band describes Walk Away as “the tale of a fictional, sociopathic cannibalistic killer. Symbolically, the song touches upon mankind’s innate interest and fascination with the horrific while being able to ‘walk away’ from it and go about their daily lives as if unshaken by those horrific scenes.”
28 | Touche Amore | Limelight ft. Andy Hull
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Los Angeles post-hardcore band Touché Amoré will release their fifth studio album Lament on Oct. 9. Today, the band share the first single Limelight, which features Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra, Bad Books). “When you’re connected to someone long enough, and you’ve both suffered losses and been there for one another, there’s an understanding and a beauty to the quiet moments. There’s a great line in Pulp Fiction when Uma Thurman boasts knowing when you’ve found someone really special, when you can just ‘shut the fuck up for a minute, and comfortably share silence’. I imagined that you’d be shamed for casually omitting that a day or two may go by without realizing you haven’t kissed your partner, but at no point did things feel bad. You’re just in it and it feels like home.”
29 | Josiah Johnson | Woman In A Man’s Life
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Growing up curious and bright in an insular, conservative community, Josiah Johnson learned early on to discern which parts of himself were welcome and which were not. Though he felt love in that community, it was a smaller love than what he needed. Now, though, after years of self-study and self-healing, Johnson is ready to pen the next chapter of his life. That next chapter includes his new single Woman In A Man’s Life, out today. “For a long time,” he says, “I held onto a lot of shame around the softness and sensitivity – around the nurturing parts of myself.” The track is featured on Johnson’s upcoming debut album Every Feeling On A Loop, to be released on Sept. 4.”
30 | Dirty Projectors | Lose Your Love (Jimmy “The Senator” Douglass Remix)
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dirty Projectors release Jimmy “The Senator” Douglass’s remix of Lose Your Love, the lead single from their latest EP Flight Tower. In addition to being the father of Flight Tower lead vocalist and Dirty Projectors keyboardist-percussionist Felicia Douglass, The Senator has worked as a Grammy-winning record producer and mix engineer with Aaliyah, Aretha Franklin, Grimes, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Led Zeppelin, Missy Elliot, Pharrell, Roxy Music, The Rolling Stones and more. His raw edge and heavy funk bass have become a couple of his many signatures, and on Lose Your Love he transforms the track by tapping into the Minneapolis Sound.”
31 | Bonnie Whitmore | Right/Wrong
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Bonnie Whitmore is not new to the music business. For the last two decades, she’s played bass and sung with some of the biggest artists in the Americana genre: Hayes Carll, John Moreland, Eliza Gilkyson, Sunny Sweeney, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, to name a few. With Last Will and Testament (out Oct. 2), Whitmore has turned a corner in her own artistry that may just catapult her to the top of the Americana heap. “Who do you want to be?” she asks in the song Right/Wrong. “What do you want to say?” “What’s the point of liberty in the land of the free, without you and me?”It feels like a Tom Petty anthem, and, not unlike Petty’s writing, carries a message of justice and true patriotism beneath an all-American jangle of guitars.”
32 | Elrichman | Seeking Grey Skies
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto’s Elrichman — the project of Paul Erlichman — has shared his new single Seeking Grey Skies, the latest in a string of singles to be lifted from his new album Heaven’s Mayor, out Sept. 4. Heaven’s Mayor touches on the sounds of ’80s indie, wonky-folk and “country music for the urban environment” — there are hints of Huey Lewis & The News, Orange Juice and Roxy Music scattered throughout, as well as a nod to the recently disbanded Nova Scotia-based project, Mauno. Thematically, Erlichman looks to delve into honesty and how we present this to ourselves in a world hell-bent on consuming, with Seeking Grey Skies in particular turning to the idea of finding comfort in dissatisfaction.”
33 | XNilo | Bodyline
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Emerging as one of the most interesting talents right now, Spanish singer XNilo unveils his latest single Bodyline with rising acts Modulo and Ambizius. XNilo brings a sensual, bouncy, R&B-inspired heater, laced with guitars and calling on an infectious use of melodies. With featured artists Modulo bringing the Afro vibes and Ambizius lighting up the chorus, this new single reflects XNilo’s eclectic musical palette.”
34 | I Like Trains | A Steady Hand
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Leeds-based trailblazers I Like Trains present their new single Steady Hand, a resonant and timely rally against the powers-that-be. This ominous offering is the latest leg of the expository musical quest entailed in their hard-hitting Kompromoat album, which will be released Aug. 21. “A Steady Hand looks at the messaging behind nationalist politics. It seems there’s often a certain dark irony at play, with politicians wheeling out an anti-immigration stance which stands completely at odds with their own family history and circumstances. Is there a complete lack of self-awareness, or are they simply willing to sell-out their own partners, parents and grandparents for power and influence?” comments vocalist David Martin.”
35 | Leya | Wave (Actress Remix)
THE PRESS RELEASE: “British electronic musician Darren Cunningham, better known as Actress, has lent his expansive vision to Wave, the second track from NYC-based duo Leya’s acclaimed March release Flood Dream. “When I heard and saw the video for Wave by Leya I experienced one of those rare moments when time stood still outside of my own practice,” Actress said. The previously cyclic and lilting tune is stretched into an eight-minute landscape in Cunningham’s hands, a trickling, groaning, subterranean ebb that eventually opens skyward while never straying from the thread-like meditation that is a defining theme in Leya’s work. The result is one of subtle grandiosity that remains grounded in liminal, slowly-unfolding movement.”
36 | The Honest Heart Collective | Linework
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Honest Heart Collective is emblazoned with captivating shapes and sounds: the space between a promise and pain. Rooted in Thunder Bay, Canada, they build earnest and urgent songs with the tools they’ve gathered over time. Their music roars like the electricity of a rock show in the ’60s colliding head on with melody-driven, dirt-stained indie and revivalist emo. They exist at the intersection of old and new, exploring the spirited cracks between. The Honest Heart Collective’s new single Linework is about shared history. It’s a familiar scenario where you find that you’ve drifted away from someone that was close to you, without realizing it when it was happening. You come to terms with it because you’ll always have those memories from the times you shared. Not everything is as permanent as tattoo ink.”
37 | Jaye Bartell | Too Late
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Jaye Bartell’s new stripped-down single Too Late showcases a seasoned songwriter and features some very tasteful accompaniment and lovely backing vocals. Jaye stated: “Too Late is a ballad about waiting for the miracle, specifically related to making music or art as a purpose for a life, and to use that purpose to “be a light in the unlit rooms” and “be alive among the unlived lives,” to be useful as much as to have a use.”
38 | The King’s Pistol | Flame of Love
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Underground trio The King’s Pistol have turned out four albums, as many EPs and deftly traversed their way through myriad genres since their inception five years ago. Folk, country, punk, sleaze, blues; the number of ways in which they “bring it” is legion. It’s perhaps only fitting that their latest EP is titled Rip It Up. No pretence, no nonsense and no reason to be anything less than the best. As evidenced on latest single Flame of Love, the ’Pistol deliver straight-up, balls-to-the-wall, pure as the driven riff-rock ‘n’ roll, with a little extra thrown in for good measure. With their final EP in the trilogy earmarked for release in 2021, Rip It Up is a sheer masterclass en route to hard rock glory.”
39 | Sola Rosa | Shine On
THE PRESS RELEASE: “New Zealand artist Andrew Spraggon, crafting under the moniker Sola Rosa, releases laid-back funk cut Shine On from his upcoming album Chasing The Sun, due for release on Sept. 25. Featuring Thandi Phoenix on vocals, Shine On adds to the recent stream of Sola Rosa collaborative singles. Sola Rosa explains: “Thandi and I initially connected through my music publisher. We ended up collaborating on the upcoming single Something Good, which also appears on the album. That process, and the final result totally blew my expectations of what we could achieve. I was so impressed with the first session that I flew back to Sydney and we recorded Shine On.”
