Eyes have it bad, Nude Party ’toon in, Hot Chip head underground, The Arthur Brothers get some sun, The Burden Remains remain weird, Thurston Moore sets off a siren and more in a mighty Midweek Roundup. I’ve already posted more than 110 songs this week and it’s only Wednesday. If this keeps up I’m going to need an intern. Or maybe even a doctor! Ba-da-boom!
TRACKS OF THE DAY
1 | Eyes | Underperformer
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Danish hardcore fusionists Eyes are preparing to issue their first full-length album Underperformer on Sept. 25. With the album nearing release, the band issues a new video for the LP’s title track. Vocalist Victor Kaas states, “When we finished writing Underperformer we knew right away that it was going to be the title track of the album. The song is the ultimate culmination of the dogmas we had set for ourselves in the songwriting process; heavy grooves, chaotic parts, and a catchy hook. The song is about a period in my life where I kept disappointing myself. Procrastination was the norm rather than the exception. I felt stuck and like I never grew, but still I told myself that everything was fine. That I was always busy with a packed calendar and didn’t have time to do the things I wanted. What I was really busy with was wasting my life and nurturing an addiction.”
2 | The Nude Party | Lonely Heather
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Nude Party are set to return with their sophomore album Midnight Manor on Oct. 2. The 12-song set was recorded live-to-tape over six days at the Outlier Inn in upstate New York and mixed by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile). Today, The Nude Party have shared the video for the song Lonely Heather. Frontman Patton Magee said, “The video is inspired by Ralph Bakshi’s New York street animation style, in movies like American Pop, Streetfight and Heavy Traffic. During the peak of the pandemic, our photographer friends Bryan Derballa and George Etheredge took a series of incredible photographs around New York City. We used those deserted street corners and venue shots as the backdrop for the rotoscope animation. Then filmed all the action on a green screen in our barn during quarantine in April. Brooklyn-based director and animator Parker Worthington painstakingly put together all the footage and photographs into this weird dream version of New York.”
3 | Hot Chip | Candy Says
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Late Night Tales is pleased to announce its latest installment to its long-running artist-curated mix series, this time curated by U.K. electronic artpop outfit Hot Chip. A unique, personal collection that is both euphoric and melancholic, Hot Chip provide the perfect antidote to these strange and uncertain times. Along with featuring new music from the band, they have selected music from some of the most engaging artists of the 21st century, taking in pulsating electronic rhythms, hypnotic grooves and leftfield ambience. Today, in conjunction with the announcement, Hot Chip present their ethereal cover of The Velvet Underground’s Candy Says, through which they add an element of displacement and detachment.”
4 | The Arthur Brothers | Sun Gun
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Arthur Brothers are a London-based artistic alliance centered around brothers Matt and Danny Arthur and the producer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist J. C. Wright. Sun Gun, The Arthur Brothers’ latest single from their upcoming debut album Nine, is the final phase of a journey that began nine orbits ago when they collectively embarked upon a mission, an expedition, an exploration, a compulsion even…. an undertaking that can only be described as…’art for art’s sake’. Sun Gun is a song about the future. But also a song about the past… from the future’s perspective. A dys/utopian narrative. A rescue mission. An uplifting space romp. A portent of potentiality and a premonition of probability for the ever expanding, avaricious human race. Sun Gun is a song of hope, a song of love… a light to lift the darkness.”
5 | The Burden Remains | I De Fluet Verhaut
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Swiss post-metal/rock four-piece The Burden Remains are about to give birth to a new creation called Fluid, a studio album and film created in collaboration with the Exit Filmkollektiv. Fluid (the album) will be released on Sept. 24, while a first video excerpt I De Fluet Verhaut is available now. Fluid is – different… It is difficult to grasp; it trickles through one’s mind whilst grinding its grooves into the consciousness. Is this Post Metal? Maybe! But this term is broad enough for sure; it defies the narrow frame of expectations one tries to force it into; it is unstable, but complete on its own terms; at times calm, sometimes menacing and relentless — and at times it tends to erupt into a brute force. It is different: its words sink to the ground of our understanding in another language, its sounds have another flow around our ears — Fluid is other.”
ALSO ON THE PLAYLIST
6 | Tyson Kelly | Am I Ever Gonna See You Again
THE PRESS RELEASE: “As the son of renowned songwriter Tom Kelly, known for penning numerous number one hits such as Madonna’s Like A Virgin, Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors, Whitney Houston’s So Emotional and The Pretenders’ I’ll Stand By You, Kelly is no stranger to the world of hit making. His latest EP, Plastic Rock Star features four tracks all written under the ethos of creating something uplifting, radiating with good vibes only. Known for his genre-blending music, the EP takes a direction towards modern pop, bursting with ’80s soundscapes and bold percussion. The energetic Am I Ever Gonna See You Again is a fictional story about the situations many travelling musicians find themselves in. Kelly confides, “This track is about going out in the world and meeting someone you really connect with, spending time together and then having to leave for the next city and wondering if you’ll ever reconnect. In this case the song is written from the fan’s point of view.”
7 | Speelburg | Everything I Know
THE PRESS RELEASE: “As he prepares for the release of his debut studio album Porsche next month, rising artist Speelburg has released his new single Everything I Know featuring Cautious Clay (Josh Karpeh) on sax. The carefree and upbeat pop song, which came together serendipitously with his friend in New York City, sets the tone for Porsche as the opening track. “A couple years ago, I went to New York for the first time,” shares Speelburg (Noah Sacré). “Cautious Clay and I had been messaging through SoundCloud for a little while, so we decided to meet in real life and work on some music. I went over to his place and since I already had this idea on a hard drive, it made sense to expand on it. I remember we worked on some percussion stuff and he laid down that beautiful sax part, which has a real South African township music vibe to it. That’s what I love about this album. So many parts were recorded in different locations, but I can remember each one, and all those unique experiences come together to form a really colorful record.”
8 | Colliding With Mars | Tiger
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Born and raised in Long Island, New York, half-Filipino Christian James (aka Colliding With Mars) is a one-man band unlike any other. Spending his formative years playing Nintendo games and focusing on school, music was always a mantra in the house that Christian would later learn to fall in love with. After playing in a variety of rock bands from the early to mid-2010s, Christian began to seek other genres of music online whilst simultaneously freshening up his composition skills at a performing arts high school. A classically trained musician, Christian began to record and release music online as Colliding With Mars in the latter half of his high school years. While amassing a humble online following, Colliding With Mars had garnered the attention of Love-Sadkid, who he would later tour with. This led to opportunities to open for Oliver Tree and Hobo Johnson.”
9 | Johari Noelle | Time
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Chicago-based songwriter and musician Johari Noelle presents a gorgeous and motivating new standalone single, Time, alongside an accompanying video. Originally, Time was centered around creative challenges in light of COVID, but in reaction to George Floyd’s murder and the global conversation regarding police brutality and systematic racism, the track immediately evolved. In a touching and evocative tribute, names of those lost to police brutality are listed throughout the video as it plays. “Time is very special to my heart,” says Noelle. “When I initially wrote it, it held a different meaning. It was so simple, so open and different from what I’ve done before. Over the series of events through the pandemic, the song began to build a new meaning, and stronger intention. My intention with this song is to inspire, to touch & heal hurting people, to remind them that there is hope and promise through these tough times. I believe we are strong and we will make it through.”
10 | Plants and Animals | Le Queens
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Plants and Animals have released a new single and video for Le Queens. A French song featuring Adèle Trottier-Rivard on vocals, the theme was inspired by an evening spent in Queens, NY. The Jungle, their fifth studio album, is set to be released Oct. 23. The band shares the inspiration behind the song : “Woody got this machine that makes a drum kit play samples and he didn’t know how to use it. But he chopped up some of Warren’s guitar chords and played them with his bass drum anyway. So it all ended up as this wobbly, dreamy jam that we all got attached to. Nic wrote most of the lyrics in the lineup at Home Depot. They’re about an evening in Queens, dancing among strangers, time moving backwards in slow motion and falling in love.”
11 | J’Moris | Blac AmeriKKKa ft. D. Hewitt & 254 Assassin
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Straight outta Hillsboro, TX, hip-hop artists J’Moris, D. Hewitt and 254 Assassin unite on the urgent new single Blac AmeriKKKa, which features a black-and-white visual by @ShotbyLloyd. United in message, each rapper addresses the current extreme racial tensions and protests erupting throughout the U.S.A. and across the globe. About the song’s subject matter, J’Moris speaks: “It seems like we always know what to say until it’s time to say it. Every day is a constant battle, a constant struggle. We see police. They see us as trouble. Shit, when’s enough gonna be enough? They treat us like we’re the problem, and then we become the victim they say we cry about it. But when we stand up for what we believe in they make sure we die about it, and they leave us there. I mean, when you’re gonna continue to kneel on our necks we can’t breathe. That shit don’t fly with me. I’m tired of it.”
12 | The Zolas | Wreck Beach / Totem Park
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Zolas share Wreck Beach / Totem Park along with their final Wong Kar-Wai-inspired lyric vignette. Wreck Beach / Totem Park is The Zolas’ fourth release as part of their Z Day of Summer series that has featured new music from the band each month. “Wreck Beach is the sunset spot beside my university, the University of British Columbia, and Totem Park is the name of the student residence my friends and I partied at in undergrad. Wreck Beach / Totem Park is about living my whole life beside the Musqueam reserve, never being taught nor thinking to ask why they live quietly in a small corner of a land that used to be all theirs. In the last five to 10 years, like most people, I started hearing a lot of voices about our country’s history from an Indigenous point of view.”
13 | Samana | Passing Me By
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Passing Me By is Samana’s first release since single Harvest. The Wales-based duo self-produced, recorded and mixed Passing Me By whilst holed-up in a remote part of France while the world was locked down earlier in the year. Accompanied by a stunning video, also captured from the time spent in France, they explained that “Passing Me By was the product of a one off, improvised vocal and acoustic guitar take, laid to 1/4 inch tape. It is a response to the immediate present, guided by the subconscious; to the velocity of time passing in fragments of visions and feeling.”
14 | Luka Kuplowsky | Crazy Love
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Luka Kuplowsky’s Stardust is out in one month, on Oct. 2, and today he is sharing the subtly lush single Crazy Love. With its sparse instrumentation, Crazy Love allows the cinematic poetry of Kuplowsky’s songwriting to shine. The rhythm section of Josh Cole on bass and Evan Cartwright on drums undulates with the vocal trio of Kuplowsky, Bernice’s Robin Dann and Bahamas’ Felicity Williams. All of these elements swirl together with Thom Gill’s flawlessly orchestrated guitar and synth lines, growing like the crest of a perfect wave as Kuplowsky sings out the final chorus. Fittingly, Kuplowsky explains: “Written in an instant. Love can be crazy when it lacks control and direction. The voice of the song is impelled and urged towards someone, but keeps qualifying this push with a pulling back. The song is the dance of the psyche towards its eventual embrace. We recorded three takes of this song and kept eliminating notes ‘til we had all this hanging space. The arrangement moves like water; swirling, shimmering, circling, crashing.”
15 | Folk Devils | Forever
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Folk Devils, the London group that took their name from a well-known academic text on media scapegoating, have returned with their first new music in 33 years. The three-track Forever EP lands on Sept. 18 and features two new compositions, the title track and My Slum Soul, plus an incendiary new version of an old live favourite Ink Runs Dry. Founding guitarist Kris Jozajtis and bassist Mark Whiteley reformed the group by recruiting members of a short-lived 1987 version of Folk Devils: Guitarist Nick Clift and drummer John Hamilton. Together with singer Dave Hodgson they soon discovered they had created a well-oiled twin-guitar juggernaut that brimmed with the same restless, twisted blues that characterized the first and second iterations of the band from 1983-87 when they were fronted by the highly underrated and sadly departed singer-songwriter Ian Lowery.”
16 | Night Laser | Prime Minister Of Rock And Roll
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Night Laser just released a new video taken off their brand-new album Power To Power. Watch Prime Minister Of Rock And Roll below. Robert, the bass player of Night Laser, comments: “Heavy Metal is the law? Or Rock ‘n’ Roll government? We address both with this neck breaker! The powerful force takes action and obliges you to join and sing along heavily. Refusing to testify is not an option! The video was recorded at the Fuck Cancer festival — so blast it loud!”
17 | Brendon Randall-Myers & Dither | Auras
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In Auras, three guitarists unfurl reverb-laden cascades of harmonics while the fourth captures snippets of the reverb in a looper, assembling a ghostly echo of the live music that remains after the other players stop performing. I was thinking about how spaces retain echoes of the people that occupy them, and about technology’s ability to preserve digital remnants of our experiences after they’re over. The footage for Auras was the result of a series of light experiments conducted by director Derrick Belcham and filmmaker Tracy Maurice in her Montreal studio. They spent several days combining various lighting sources, effectors and filming techniques, putting each initial analog capture through many iterations to achieve deeper development and meaningful connection to the music. The addition of a simple mirror in portions of the final filming provided a layer of incidental metaphor and a further distance from the grounded materiality of the footage.”
18 | PRXZM | Slow Motion
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Rising electro-pop duo PRXZM release their latest single Slow Motion. Awash with sparkling synths, Slow Motion radiates a gentle retro energy. Layering airy soundscapes with cool, silky vocals, PRXZM takes a simple yet effective approach with this release. PRXZM on the concept behind the single: “There is no question that this summer is one for the outdoors. Slow Motion is an ode to the Northern California beaches where it was written. The production is heavily influenced by the warm tones of cassette tapes and the iconic, synthesized drums from the ’80s.”
19 | Foxes | Friends In The Corner
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Foxes shares Friends In The Corner, her third single since returning from a game-changing three-year hiatus. Sonically, Friends In The Corner is the euphoric peak of the night out. Footloose, free and far from reality. Discussing the new single, Foxes (Louisa Rose Allen) says: “It was a weekend away with a close group of friends and I considered them to be strong and together, but for some reason at that time they all showed a vulnerable side I’d never seen before. It might have been the age we were at, but everyone’s hidden struggles came to the forefront and it made me realise the older we get sometimes the more fragile we become. It really hit home that we shouldn’t take each other for granted and we’ve really got to look out for our friends. It’s becoming more and more apparent that we all suffer from mental health issues on some level and at different times in our lives. There really shouldn’t be any stigma around this anymore. We’re all in it together.”
20 | Badge Époque Ensemble | Sing A Silent Gospel ft. Meg Remy & Dorothea Paas
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto’s Badge Époque Ensemble announce their sophomore album Self Help, out Nov. 20. Recorded live in the months before lockdown, Self Help is an exploratory record that dances across time and genre, guided by fidgety miniatures and jazz inflected collage. While constructed from the inspiration of soul, funk and film music, BÉE mediate those influences having first digested them through the productions of Madlib and the RZA. Throughout, the band pool together their instrumental chops, moving from fluid and serpentine R&B to meditative, minimalistic piano, evoking a contrast of virtuosity and self-surrender. Today, the ensemble shares the album’s opener, Sing A Silent Gospel, which sees guest vocalists Meg Remy (U.S. Girls) and Dorothea Paas bringing serenity to the track, and wearing its antic melodies lightly.”
21 | Zöé | Voices
THE PRESS RELEASE: “About six years after the release of Raise The Veil, French stoner/heavy-rockers Zöé are back to business with a brand new music video for the song Voices. This track will feature on the fourth studio album Back Into The Light, out Sept. 29. Zöé was born in the late ’90s, in the North of France. Soon after their inception, the rock musicians grind their set almost everywhere in the area, in front of public, a more and more enthusiastic one. They decide to attempt the first album; Make It Burning was born. A pure concentrated of stoner rock ’n’ roll with ’70s influences, an improbable meeting between Motörhead and Queens Of The Stone Age.”
22 | Qoniak | Coac
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Qoniak can now let rip. And for Vincent Membrez (synth) and Lionel Friedli (drums), letting rip means acting like slightly nutty Siamese scientists in a secret lab, randomly turning knobs on a Pro-One ’80s keyboard to see what happens; taking contemporary jazz and cutting it to pieces with a techno-indus blade, math rock scalpel, overlapping tempos and rhythmical breaks gleaned from Meshuggah. With one foot in Area 51, the other in the underground passageways of Stranger Things, “we experiment flat out,” proclaim Qoniak! With the video for Coac you can get a first taste of the what those guys are actually doing! Coac could be the soundtrack of an old arcade video game. It feels like playing a wild game of Space Invaders and dancing at the same time. Its driving rocky/disco beat and infectious melody makes you nod your head with a smile on your face.”
23 | Laced In Lust | Save Me
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Australia’s naughty sons of Adelaide, Laced In Lust will release their debut full-length First Bite in 2021. Today, the band is teasing fans with their first single Save Me (L.I.L. Woman) off the forthcoming album. The band explains the story behind the track: “Save Me is a story from touring. It’s really talking about the game of cat and mouse at the bar between sexes. It gets lonely on the road sometimes and everybody needs somebody at some stage. That’s why the L.I.L Woman (Laced In Lust Woman) part is sung, as really without these women and these adventures and even those relationships we wouldn’t have experiences to sing about or develop as people. So overall the song is really a dedication to all our women friends and the ongoing battle of ‘sex is war’.”
24 | LA Priest | Beginning (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Following on from his recent album Gene — released this past June — LA Priest has enlisted Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (aka T.E.E.D.) on remix duties and is happy to share their take on Beginning. The Italo-disco inspired remix expands the original version, taking it on a decadent, cosmic journey, making it the perfect late summer soundtrack. Gene was released to acclaim at the top of summer, arriving four years after the iconoclast variously known as Sam Eastgate, Sam Dust and LA Priest thrilled the world with the cosmic pop of his debut album Inji. Gene — the namesake of a brand-new analogue drum machine created especially to make the record — is the product of Eastgate’s nomadic travels across California, Wales and England’s south coast.”
25 | Blitzen Trapper | Requiem
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Portland-based Blitzen Trapper share Requiem, the fourth track unveiled from Holy Smokes Future Jokes, out Sept. 25. Of the track, frontman/lyricst Eric Earley notes, “A song about enduring love and, though not entirely apparent, a song about the earth as it rolls, or maybe more generally life itself, its capacity to weather large scale extinctions and climate shifts. A weird kind of love song with culty vibes to the endurance of sentience above and beyond mankind.”
26 | Lido | Layaway
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Acclaimed Norway-born musician, songwriter and producer Lido released his new single Layaway. Boasting an array of R&B and electronic inspired beats, the mellow-tempoed track marks the fourth single to release off of Lido’s forthcoming, highly anticipated sophomore effort Peder, set to release on Sept. 18. The last, and most pivotal single to release ahead of the album, Layaway ties into a larger audio-visual storyline layered throughout the album. Following the story of Peder, a young boy who was born on a spaceship without music, the album takes listeners on a creative listening journey. Peder stumbles upon a pirate radio station and discovers music for the first time while landing on a deserted planet. Finding musical instruments along his journey, Peder sets forth to recreate music with the tools available to him, and evolves along the way.”
27 | Girlhood | Queendom
THE PRESS RELEASE: “London duo Girlhood are sharing their new single Queendom. It’s the latest to be lifted from the band’s forthcoming self-titled debut album, which is due for release on Oct. 23. Briefly recapping on the band and what they have achieved so far: This new track follows the singles The Love I Need and Sister, both of which drew comparisons to the likes of The Avalanches, Neneh Cherry, Fugees and Moby for the fusing of R&B, electronica, and neo-soul, giving an uplifting and spirited musical break from the world around us. The new single zeroes in on similar sound but this time generating something a little more slow-burning with singer and lyricist of the group, Tessa Cavanna, bedding her vocals within intricate piano textures whilst looking to spread a message of love and self-empowerment.”
28 | Grid | I Ruinerna Av Vår Ensamhet
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Umea, Sweden-based grindcore trio Grid are preparing for their debut full-length Livsleda to see release in less than two weeks. The album’s blasting I Ruinerna Av Vår Ensamhet single has been set loose. Grid declare with the new single, “I Ruinerna Av Vår Ensamhet translates to ‘In the ruins of our loneliness.’ The title of the song speaks for the whole record. This song is fast, raw, and angry, and makes you realize that we are living in our own doom! Humanity will end.”
29+30 | Peter Katz | KMOTM + Everything Is Different
THE PRESS RELEASE: “After taking a hiatus from a decade of non-stop touring, Peter Katz returns with his highly anticipated new album, City of Our Lives. Produced by Juno-nominated Derek Hoffman (The Trews, Caveboy) City of Our Lives, out Oct. 23, is the most daring and devastatingly honest collection of songs yet to an impressive discography. Today, Peter shares two incredible new songs — the dark and moody KMOTM and the reflective Everything Is Different. KMOTM came out of a place of missing human connection,” shares Peter. “I think I’ve always tried to be good and do the right thing in my life. To deal with every problem perfectly, not resort to vices or distractions, handle every situation well. But in this instance, I just wanted to channel that desire to be a bit more primal, give myself permission to be messy, and a bit dark. It’s not something that I’ve really put in my lyrics before so it feels like I’ve got to take a giant deep breath as I release this song, but I know it’s 100% authentic.”
31 | Adrianne Lenker | Anything
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker announces two new albums, Songs and Instrumentals, out Oct. 23, and today presents a new single Anything. Anything is a look into Lenker’s introspective and quietly magical catalogue. Backed by soft fingerpicking, Lenker’s magnetic voice references a flurry of memories and beautiful imagery — a hot sun, juicy mango, family fighting on Christmas eve, a circle of trees. It’s a deep and unflinching love song. As the track continues, its pulse held steady by Lenker playing her guitar with a paintbrush, her words get more abstract: “weren’t we the stars in heaven // weren’t we the salt in the sea // dragon in the new warm mountain // didn’t you believe in me?”
32 | Hint | Hod
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Hint started in 1993. Being much influenced by noise as well as experimental and ambient/ drone music, they stood out of the crowd thanks to their unique sound: a lush and highly energetic combination of layered industrial rhythms with massive and dissonant walls of guitar, howling voices and saxophones, frightening pads, travelling in ethereal and melodic ambiances. Three albums (100% White Puzzle, Dys-, Wu-Wei), a remix LP, some split EPs and collaborations (Unsane, Portobello Bones, Bästard, Daunik Lazro) created a well-off discographic run and sound experiments, within a large artistic bracket of movies-inspired ambiances and noisy violence. On stage, the two multi-instrumentists — guitar, sax, trumpet, flute for Arnaud Fournier (Dead Hippies, La Phaze) / guitar, bass, sampler and voice for Hervé Thomas (Fragile, Urawa and Dead Hollywood Stars) — are playing in front of video projections which emphasize the band’s musical emotion. Soon, they will release Rarities Of Two Centuries, which included the track Hod.”
https://youtu.be/T2eFSsLWIDE
33 | Matveï | Rio
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Montreal DJ / producer Matveï announces the arrival of Rio, a sexy, slow building deep-house gem peppered with bass and trap influences taken from his forthcoming EP Summer Collection, due this September. Matveï details the track: “Rio is a hot summer day feel good house tune, something bouncy to play by the pool with a fresh Caipirinha.”
34 | The Love-In | Pure Gold Baby
THE PRESS RELEASE: “East Nashville rock band The Love-In teamed up with acclaimed producer Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers) to create As It Lays, set for release on Sept. 11. Lyrically, the album was heavily influenced by female authors and the way women have been portrayed over time in art & literature as well as lead singer Laurel Sorenson’s experiences with racism as a person of color living in Nashville. The track was inspired by two separate pieces of literature from feminist icons — Sylvia Plath’s poem Lady Lazarus, published posthumously in 1965, and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, which is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the U.S.”
35 | Speaker Face | Work Friends
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Speaker Face is an award-winning earthy electronic band that melds the sounds of nature and machines. Combining acoustic instruments, voice and wilderness sounds with computers and synths, Speaker Face creates beats and sonic landscapes that immerse the listener in melody, groove and mood. The band recently released a rhythmic new single, Work Friends, that is warm yet melancholic about the way we live our lives today. This is a song for the people who work jobs they don’t like with people they have to pretend to like — letting that person know that their real friends love them.”
36 | Leila | By You Now
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Leila couldn’t be further from your typical indie artist. Hailing from Neverheardofit, Pennsylvania, her sound and lyrics carry their humble roots. A little jazz, a little soul, a hint of strange and three shots of romance will keep this spellbinding cocktail of uncanny ballads in your head forever. Having grown up playing piano, singing, and dancing in recitals and competitions she was exposed to the industry at an early age, setting the stage for this artistic endeavor. Her love for Chopin and Debussy heavily influences her songwriting, infusing her sound with a musical maturity and sophistication. Primarily inspired by late romantic classical composers and vintage Italian film scores, Leila describes her sound as “Subtle Freak Hawaiian Prom.” A syrupy vocal and hypnotic wave of guitars wash you away from wherever you’re sitting and into a velvet armchair at a sparkling B-list dinner party.”
37 | Olivia Lunny | Something New
THE PRESS RELEASE: “With a voice as eclectic and elegant as her personality, Olivia Lunny is well on her way to becoming the next breakthrough Canadian artist/songwriter. Although she began her musical journey playing folk songs, this new era leads Olivia to continuously explore indie-pop and writing post breakout ballads we can all bop our heads to. To the Ones I Love, Olivia’s brand new EP, reads like an intimate diary entry as she navigates love and heartbreak. Through her vulnerability, each song resonates as its own poem.”
38+39 | Danced Til Midnight | Low Slung + Demerara Dash
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Essex-based DJ, producer and musician Danced Til Midnight continues to bring the uncut funk in his latest double-sider 45: Low Slung featuring hip-hop maverick Nosaj (aka Jason Furlow), backed by instrumental Demerara Dash. A Side Low Slung fuses a stankin’ bassline, slick wah guitars and dope drums with MC Nosaj’s free associative raps. Side B, Demerara Dash, is a kinetic funk workout. This instrumental is a whirlwind tour de force of instrumentation — drums, percussion, sax and guitars alternately take to the fore in this frenetic rush to the dance floor. Both sides of the 45 feature Hammond organ from Stingray Davies, a key figure of the UK-grown funk roster. Stingray has played on and produced numerous UK funk records, notably those of Speedometer.”
40 | Thurston Moore | Siren
THE PRESS RELEASE: “As you may know, Sonic Youth founder Thurston Moore is releasing a new album, By The Fire, out Sept. 25. Third single Siren is out today, accompanied by a mermaid fantasy under the sea video. The album features musicians Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine), Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley and more, recorded in London up until isolation during the pandemic. As Moore said in a statement: “2020 is our time for radical change and collective awareness…these are love songs in a time where creativity is our dignity, our demonstration against the forces of oppression.”
41 | Gerald Burkhart | I’ll Do Anything
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Gerald Burkhart is an Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter who blends the resolute tradition of folk songwriting with the advanced production techniques of the information age. Mining the hope and struggle of the human condition — experienced and imagined, I’ll Do Anything is at once a love song and a snapshot of living in a society that is inhospitable to basic personal needs and desires. “I’m gonna do what circumstances require of me” the narrator exclaims desperately. Love weaves a possibility for something more to be be achieved if the will to live is not extinguished.”
42 | Masma Dream World | Becoming The Magician
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Masma Dream World — the solo recording project of multi-disciplinary artist/healer Devi Mambouka — shares Becoming The Magician, the second single from her forthcoming full-length Play At Night. Born to a Gabonese ambassador and a Singaporean mother, Devi (pronounced: day-vee), is a child of the world, and one who learned to tap into her inner magic to overcome trauma, abuse, and addiction. Nowhere on the album is that darkness more evident than on Becoming The Magician, a doom-laden, yet spellbinding and cavernous track propelled by Mambouka’s otherworldly, chanting vocals. Evolving slowly, as if an immense power source is awakening within, the song mirrors her own journey towards becoming a multidisciplinary artist — Mambouka’s mastery of such ancient Japanese practices as Reiki and Butoh inform and guide her performance.”
43 | Sola Rosa | Something Good
THE PRESS RELEASE: “New Zealand artist Andrew Spraggon, crafting under the moniker Sola Rosa, releases party-starting cut Something Good feat. soulful rising artist Thandi Phoenix, taken from his upcoming album, Chasing The Sun, due for release on Sept. 25. “This track was a real last minute wild card. I had a bunch of tunes that I was planning to send to Thandi and I wasnt intending on adding the Something Good beat. Id never really written a four-to-the-floor disco-type beat before and I was second guessing myself. Eventually I decided to just get the demo as presentable as possible and add it to the playlist of tunes for Thandi to consider… and thats the one she ended up picking to work on.”
