Brett Newski shows off his bubbly personality, Jónsi and Robyn share some salty licorice, Novatines slather on the honey, Dana Gavanski looks for trouble and more in your Thursday Roundup. Wait, is it really October tomorrow? Damnit. I’m still listening to albums from August. Guess I’m just going to have to buckle down and finish that time machine once and for all.
ON REPEAT
1 | Brett Newski | What Are You Smoking?
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Milwaukee’s Brett Newski is a ’90s kid and failed hipster. He describes his music as smash pop, diet grunge, slack hop and dork rock. Today he revealed the official video for his latest single What Are You Smoking? which follows up his album Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down. The video features Newski disrupting the public while performing inside a human hamster ball. He says, “Live concerts have mostly been abolished in the U.S. We decided to run around in a giant hamster ball and play some safe, yet illegal shows. This brought joy to many, but enraged others.”
2 | Jónsi | Salt Licorice (ft. Robyn)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Just ahead of his first solo LP in a decade, Shiver, out Friday, Jónsi shares the single Salt Licorice featuring Swedish pop icon Robyn. Salt Licorice sees the two vocalists traverse a rugged sonic terrain laid out by PC Music founder and Charli XCX musical director A. G. Cook. “Salt Licorice is such a cute and perfect pop song,” says Robyn. “It makes me want to dance violently and make out at the same time. It was a no-brainer to say yes to singing it with Jónsi. The pretty emails I get with a thousand emojis in them from him is a bonus that came with our collaboration as well!”
3 | Novatines | Honey
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bath-based alt-rock four-piece Novatines release their latest explosive track Honey. Formed in the winter of 2017, the band immediately made a name for themselves on the U.K. circuit with their anthemic, high-octane rock songs, which saw them tour extensively throughout, playing alongside the likes of Alabama 3, Arcane Roots, Von Hertzen Brothers and Sweet. Novatines’ sound is a rebirth of classic British rock with influences from ’90s American alt-rock and grunge. Honey, explains lyricist Jamie Beale, is about “seeing through fads, trends and short lived ‘next big things’ with no real substance. We live in such a throw away culture where we are told what we should like or dislike 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Honey is about taking yourself off of the conveyor belt and seeing things as they are.”
4 | Dana Gavanski | Trouble
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dana Gavanski shares a video for her song Trouble, directed by Laura-Lynn Petrick (Weyes Blood, TOPS, Jessica Pratt). The electrifying cut from her 2020 debut Yesterday Is Gone was shot on a Super 8 camera on Kodak colour negative film. The video bathes us with a warm reminiscent summer vibe, we’ve all aimlessly explored with no direction or an end goal this year and that’s OK. When you watch Trouble you are following the fruitless exploits of a vagrant as he rides a motorbike, jumps in lakes, starts a fire and eats a candy necklace. How we miss the summer sun already. Says Petrick: “Trouble is a playful peek inside the life of a kind of outlaw, it’s a lone adventure — unbounded by society’s mundane grip.”
ALSO ON THE PLAYLIST
5 | Papi Shiitake | Smile
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Papi Shiitake debuted their second single Smile alongside the details for their upcoming EP Quarantine Dream, out Oct. 16. Smile is a super-hazy shoegaze anthem about feeling like you’re not good enough and still having to get up and face the day. Says Young Tuxx: “When I wrote Smile, I had just seen my therapist and I was just kind of done with everything. I got home and started singing the opening line, “I feel like garbage left in the sun.” Smile is about feeling like you’re not good enough and having to face the day anyway. The song is fun and bouncy, but the lyrics are actually quite sad. It’s a visceral feeling that really resonates with people, especially in 2020.”
6 | Front Country | Broken Record
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Front Country is a band on the precipice of a metamorphosis. As multi-instrumentalists, songwriters and composers, the instrumentation and setting have always been secondary to the musical vision that comes through no matter what stage they take. For a band with a genre in their name, genre has always been elusive for Front Country, as they refuse to pick sides or be constrained by any expectations outside their own singular aesthetic. From their beginnings in the SF Bay Area to their new hometown of Nashville, Melody Walker, Adam Roszkiewicz and Jacob Groopman have been on a journey to discover a sound.”
7 | Floorbird | Navy Blue
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From the ‘burbs of Philadelphia comes indie/emo four-piece Floorbird. The band’s new EP Fall Apart Anywhere is out now, as is the music video for the single Navy Blue. Vocalist Eric Reavey says, “This was our first attempt at a real music video, all done in-house. We didn’t want to do something grandiose for our first video, and Drew [Grahn, bassist] came up with a scrapbook-themed performance video. To execute this with just us, a few friends and the tools we’ve got — we’re really proud of it.”
8 | Emmy The Great | Chang-E
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With her new album April / 月音 due for release on Oct. 9, Emmy The Great shares a beguiling part-animated video for her new single Chang-E. Emmy says: “It begins with this. Chang-E, the wife of the tyrant Hou Yi, drinks the elixir of immortality to save China from his eternal reign. She ascends to the moon, and lives there with the Jade Rabbit, its original inhabitant. In mid-autumn, we celebrate Chang-E’s sacrifice with a festival of lanterns and lights. Many centuries later, NASA tells the moon-bound Apollo 11 astronauts to look out for the Chinese queen and her rabbit. Michael Collins replies, ‘We’ll keep a close eye out for the bunny girl.’ ”
9 | Gillian Heidi | Desperate
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “It’s been a monumental year for singer-songwriter Gillian Heidi and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. Today, the pop newcomer is sharing the official music video for Desperate, one of the singles from her upcoming debut album, 3AM. The full-bodied R&B-pop track is brought to life in the new visual directed by Austin Barbera of SixTwentySix. Created in the midst of quarantine, they opted to film remotely using a green screen to transport Gillian into a kaleidoscopic, Y2K-inspired world.”
10 | Summer Salt | Palm Tree on Avenue G
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The video for Austin duo Summer Salt’s Palm Tree on Avenue G is made from compiling the artwork of over 100 fans. Each fan was assigned to a scene, provided frame templates and given full creative control from there. The fans who participated are located all around the world (US, Thailand, Argentina, France, Vietnam, Canada, Brazil, Philippines, Israel, Mexico, Peru, to name a few!). The video aims to focus on bringing people together through art and music during these uncertain times.”
11 | Marco Pavé | Gold Grind
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Marco Pavé has released Gold Grind, the second video from his upcoming Crossroads EP, out Oct. 30. “The Gold Grind video is a trip of my mind in 2017 or the mind of anyone who is brainwashed to think that resting is wasting time,” says Pavé. “While it may seem sweet at first glance, trust and believe that you never know what someone is really going through when they are on their grind.”
12 | Meg Myers | Any Way You Wanna Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Acclaimed singer-songwriter Meg Myers has announced today’s premiere of her powerful new single Any Way You Wanna Love. “My song Any Way You Wanna Love is about waking up to the divinity within each and every one of us and stepping into our power as sovereign beings,” Myers says. “No more making ourselves small by repeating patterns that have been passed down to us. It’s time to heal our ancestral lineage. I believe we are all connected through love and that we all have unique gifts and abilities and it’s important for us to learn how to get present and tune into what our bodies are trying to tell us and express this truth in our hearts in order to liberate ourselves and consciously evolve.” Any Way You Wanna Love heralds the upcoming arrival of two new EPs from the Los Angeles-based artist. Thank U 4 Taking Me To 2 The Disco and I’d Like 2 Go Home Now arrive on Nov. 13.”
13 | Amy Macdonald | Crazy Shade Of Blue
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Amy Macdonald is about to release her new album The Human Demands. She’s previewed the album by sharing the new track Crazy Shade of Blue. Amy commented, “This is a bit strange for me as my songs are usually all up tempo, so I’m slowing it down a little with this one. The production on this song is just beautiful. It’s so atmospheric and it captures the mood of the song perfectly. It’s a song about coming together or maybe even coming apart. I know how I feel about it but I’ll let you decide.”
14 | Juliana | Call It Quits
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Southern California pop singer and songwriter Juliana has released her debut single Call It Quits, along with its accompanying music video. Over glassy keys and a shimmering beat, Juliana details the breaking point of a breakup through straightforward lyrics without filter as she urges, “get your shit off my couch” and “let’s call it quits now.” “I couldn’t feel more humbled and honored to be able to share my first single and first music video with the world,” says Juliana. “I’ve put my absolute heart and soul into writing, recording, and filming the song and video in hopes that it resonates with people who need a boost of confidence, energy and empowerment in their lives.”
15 | Touché Amoré | Reminders
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Los Angeles post-hardcore band Touché Amoré share their new song and video for Reminders off their forthcoming Lament, due out Oct. 9. The track was born out of the overwhelming anxiety that came from the controversial end result of Trump’s impeachment trial. The verses scream of political distress while the chorus is a peak at vocalist Jeremy Bolm’s attempt to calm himself down. “I think when we are all panicking, we need to have those reminders that there’s love out there for us whether we believe it or not and that’s all that we can really trust to save us,” explains Bolm.”
16 | Louis Jucker | Shy Of Fire
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The new album Something Went Wrong by Louis Jucker will be released on Oct. 30. Something Went Wrong is his most extensive work so far. Simple and direct folk and rock songs, played with an unchanged love for lo-fi sounds, by an artist who over the years has become one of the unique and productive figures of the Swiss alternative music scene. Today a new pre-single, Shy of Fire, is released. Louis about the song: “One day I got a mail from my friend Iona Kewney, a Scottish performer, and one of the coolest weirdos I know. There was a small poem in it. I sent her back a song within a couple ofhours. I love her writing, it turns humans into machines and birds into medicine. I’m very happy she let me use those words for a song.”
17 | Tycho & Rum.Gold | Run Away
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Grammy–nominated electronic artist Tycho and acclaimed R&B singer-songwriter Rum.Gold have announced the release of a new collaboration, Run Away. It’s a step into bold new territory for both artists, seamlessly blending the hallmarks of Tycho’s music — detailed arrangements, crisp production and skittering electronics — with Rum.Gold’s soulful vocals and emotionally resonant lyrics. Tycho’s first collaboration with a male vocalist, the track showcases the two musicians’ obvious chemistry, despite having never worked together in person thus far (the former is based in San Francisco, the latter in Brooklyn). “With Run Away, I wanted to take new musical ideas and wrap them in the familiar sonics and textures of my sound,” says Tycho mastermind Scott Hansen. “Working with Rum.Gold’s voice was really freeing in that it provided the contrast needed to push things into a different emotional space.”
18 | Boy Destroy | Warpaint
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Warpaint is the debut single from Swedish artist Boy Destroy, a song about scars and the digital apathy of young lives. Fusing elements of emo and trap with alt-pop sensibilities, Warpaint offers a first glimpse into Boy Destroy’s beautifully raw and vulnerable universe, inspired by artists including My Chemical Romance, Jeff Buckley and Joji. “Warpaint is the one that started this beautiful and terrifying journey. I’m using my wounds, my mistakes, my anger, my sorrow and my passion as armour. I don’t feel like I need to hide anymore. Like a boxer, bleeding in the ring, the pain doesn’t bother me much. It’s the fuel for this machine.”
19 | Teen Creeps | Seeing Shapes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seeing Shapes is the first single taken from Forever, the new album by Belgian indie rockers Teen Creeps, set for release on Jan. 22. One thing’s for sure; Teen Creeps love the 1990s! The Belgian trio’s sound is a high five to the fuzzy guitars, melancholic vocals and fast-paced drums of era defining bands like Dinosaur Jr., Superchunk or Sonic Youth. In the accompanying video we see the trio getting ready for a show: rehearsing, checking the sound and finally playing said live show. It was filmed before the covid-pandemic hit. That makes it an unintentional testament of the importance of live music. Something we can hopefully return to sooner rather than later.”
20 | The Blackmordia | XX
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Parisian alt-synth-rock band The Blackmordia unveil dark ’80s synth-pop-influenced single XX, the first cut taken from their upcoming debut album. Heavily influenced by lead singer Peter Moisan’s own life experiences, the song tackles mental health issues and their effect on love and relationships. “It’s an open letter to Love. Love can make you the happiest person on earth but also the saddest. The song explores the different stages of love and the behaviours lovers display. Sensuality, temptation, culpability, remorse,” he explains. Reflecting on the musical inspirations behind the song founder and drummer $ofiane Seddiki says, ”XX is one of the songs we wrote first, it’s a perfect reflection of The Blackmordias sound and our influences, from ’70s black music, ’80s rock-pop, New Wave and Glam.”
21 | Margot | Slow Down
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “London-based singer-songwriter Margot has created the music video for Slow Down. Margot tells us: “I’m so lucky to be blessed with an amazing video team. There’s only a few of us as I plan all of the scenes, sets and outfits myself, and I’ve been working with videographer Tom Adam Green since my first music video. We shot it out in the countryside north of London and we had to carry half the props across different fields to find the best spots. Even my mum flew in from France to help out! It was definitely worth it though.”
22 | Caitlin Canty | Where Is The Heart Of My Country
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Even with the pandemic confining touring musicians to their homes, Caitlin Canty has had an eventful year. She narrowly missed a tornado that tore down her Nashville street and releases Where is the Heart of My Country — recorded while she was eight months pregnant, wondering what kind of world she would raise her child in. “Where is the Heart of My Country first sparked for me as I flew home from California and spent most of the flight gazing out the window. At 30,000 feet, the rivers and roads looked like the flowing veins and arteries of our country. The patchwork of quilted farmland and tight-knit cities drove home how connected we truly are as Americans despite the fractured state of our nation.”
23 | Hail The Sun | Words Of Gratitude
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Progressive post-hardcore outfit Hail The Sun shared Words Of Gratitude, the second single in the band’s Reimagined series. Originally appearing on their 2016 album Culture Scars, the band has taken the highly personal song and shifted it into a synth and bass-driven number while still keeping in touch with the original’s lush melodies. Guitarist Shane Gann stated: “Since the musical portion of this song is very calm, we wanted to drop this one down to a new dynamic, drawing on some of our less-represented influences and interests. Allen Casillas (our friend, co-writer, and producer for the reimagined songs) knew exactly the vibe we were going for, and made excellent choices for percussion, and for the overall production.”
24 | Bleeding Out | Perpetually Finite
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Lifelong Death Fantasy is the forthcoming debut full-length from Canadian deathgrind quartet Bleeding Out, founded by members of Endless Blockade, Fuck The Facts, Column Of Heaven, Abyss and more. The track Perpetually Finite is out now. Lifelong Death Fantasy, out Oct. 30, represents the next logical step in Bleeding Out’s symbiotic storm of deadly riffing and innermost world decay.”
25 | Goings | Phone Numbers
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Philly-based Goings will release their upcoming full-length It’s For You on Nov. 13. The band are giving a preview of the new album with the release of the first single Phone Numbers. When Chris Kearney opened up his grandmother’s dance studio after Christmas 2017 to a band of longtime friends, the rest of Goings linked up seamlessly. The Philly band’s debut, a self-titled EP that mapped out influences from Motion City Soundtrack to Dismemberment Plan, dripped with vibrant synth and textbook-grade time signatures. With an added commitment to expanded dynamics, their debut LP It’s For You shows off the group’s complete calling card: one that desperately seeks true togetherness in times of technological oversaturation. Don’t leave them hanging. Answer it.”
26+27 | Emel | Something In The Way + Merrouh
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Tunisian-born/New York-based experimental singer Emel has shared two tracks from her forthcoming project The Tunis Diaries — a two-part album featuring a collection of newly recorded reworks from Emel’s catalog (Day), and an eclectic selection of covers (Night). Listen to Emel’s raw and striking cover of Nirvana classic Something In The Way, as well as a new stripped-down version of Merrouh, which originally appeared on her latest album Everywhere We Looked Was Burning (2019). Emel recorded The Tunis Diaries after she was unexpectedly quarantined in her childhood home this spring. Equipped with only a laptop, tape recorder, and a classical guitar she crowdsourced from a local fan via Facebook, the project is a back-to-basics exploration of her roots, as well as a spontaneous and complex reflection on her relationship to her homeland.”
28 | 3 Pairs Of Boots | Everywhere I Go
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “California husband-and-wife duo Andrew Stern and Laura Arias of 3 Pairs of Boots share a vast musical history as well as a talent for pairing catchy melodies with heartfelt messages. Their new album Long Rider, set for release in January, presents a carefully crafted collection of twangy, bluesy Americana anthems written, recorded, and tracked by Stern in the couple’s home studio. In Everywhere I Go, lush vocal harmonies give way to foot-stomping rhythms as the song evolves into a complex pop country anthem.”
29 | Coffin Apartment | A Quagmire of Filth and Shame
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Coffin Apartment have announced their Full Torso Apparition LP and unveiled the first single from the album, A Quagmire of Filth and Shame. Coffin Apartment formed in Portland, Oregon in early 2018. Elements of death metal, grind, hardcore punk, sludgy noise rock, and even prog and psychedelia all come together to make a sound unique to themselves. Unintentional yet natural, the songwriting process culminated in a self-titled release on cassette in the spring of 2019, and a year later the band found themselves recording their debut full-length, Full Torso Apparition, right before a global pandemic changed the world. Although the band name is in reference to inadequately sized residential units in China, the effects of the coronavirus on the world have made the band’s name a very unfortunately fitting moniker. Full Torso Apparition will be released Nov. 20.”
30 | Riley Moore | Mansion (ft. Molly Parden)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Riley Moore is a songwriter’s songwriter. Today, he returns from a two-year recording hiatus with Mansion, which features fellow Nashville artist Molly Parden and was inspired by a woman Moore met on tour. “I have a good memory. I remember lots of faces and conversations and details, but there are certain moments that I remember so well I feel I have dipped my face into magical pools of mental teleportation and am living and breathing the moment all over again. The night I met the girl I wrote Mansion about is like that,” Moore recalls. “From the moment that I met her I became more and more enthralled, drifting further and further down the avenue of enchantment — a street with no turns and no outlet.” Mansion is the first single from the upcoming EP Sweet Boy, set for release on March 12, his 30th birthday.”
31 | PVA | Talks
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “London’s PVA release the new track Talks, the insistent, propulsive first release from their EP Toner, which will land Nov. 20. Producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Josh Baxter says: “Talks is about how we invent games in order to avoid expressing our true feelings or take the risk of being hurt. The song also takes inspiration from real relationships and the fictional relationship between John & Abigail Marston (the two main characters in video game Red Dead Redemption).”
32 | James Gelber | Right Here Waiting
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Multi-instrumentalist and producer James Gelber has just released a grunge-soaked cover of Richard Marx’s classic ballad Right Here Waiting. Originally released by Marx in 1989, Gelber cranks up the distortion and parties like it’s 1999. Gelber says, “I always thought it would be an incredible song to add a heavier rock ’n’ roll flavor, so I began composing and tracking all of the elements for the song including drums, guitars, and vocals. I hope my rendition of this classic love song will reach the hearts and souls of those with an appreciation of the heavier side.”
33 | Frequent Traveller | The Devil’s Trying To Break Us Down
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Frequent Traveller is sharing The Devil’s Trying To Break Us Down, the latest single from the Real Life album due out Nov. 6. The Devil’s Trying To Break Us Down was recorded in L.A. and charts a stroll on the Venice Beach boardwalk up to Santa Monica. Rather than the sun-soaked carefree environment which you might expect, Steve Spiro came across a group of hate-preaching religious fundamentalists (pictured in the track artwork). Recalling his encounters — which are reproduced on the track in 360-° binaural sound — Steve says: “Working our way down the boardwalk, we meet a crazy collective of militant hate clerics, preaching their Sunday sermon claiming that ‘The lord created the gay to be destroyed.’ There’s a constant presence of police surveillance helicopters from above as they circle the perimeter of the beach.”
34 | Born Ruffians | Waylaid (ft. Hannah Georgas)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Born Ruffians share the latest single, Waylaid, from their new album Squeeze, out Friday. It features the inimitable Hannah Georgas joining Luke Lalonde on vocals. Luke says, “We’ve had other people come and sing on tracks before but I haven’t ever sung a proper duet with anybody. Once we finished a demo version of Waylaid, we knew it should be a duet because of the lyrics. Hannah was at the top of our list because she’s so great and I’ve got to sing with her a few times — it’s always so effortless and easy and I think our voices blend really well. It’s about distance in a relationship and the fear of becoming entangled with somebody else — or of that happening to you. It’s a tired of being alone song.”
35 | Charlie Kaplan | Pete Williams
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New York musician and singer-songwriter Charlie Kaplan (Office Culture) has shared Pete Williams — the gripping, impassioned second single from his forthcoming debut album Sunday, out Nov. 13. Kaplan wrote the songs on Sunday in the wake of his father’s death. “Each song was an exercise in conjuring light, warmth, insight, guidance, release — my life’s absent emotional palette,” he explains. “I used music as a way to induce feelings that no longer occurred naturally.”
36 | Matthew Halsall | Joyful Spirits Of The Universe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Trumpeter, composer, producer and DJ Matthew Halsall presents his new single Joyful Spirits Of The Universe, from his forthcoming LP Salute To The Sun. In his own words: “I feel Salute to the Sun is a positive earthy album. I wanted to create something playful but also quite primitive, earthy and organic that connected to the sounds in nature. I was listening to lush ambient field recordings of tropical environments such as jungles and rainforests and found myself drawn to percussive atmospheric sounds which replicated what I was hearing (bells / shakers / chimes / rain sticks) and I started to experiment with more wooden percussive instruments such as kalimba and marimba.”
37 | New River Beach | Mystery Tape
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In the vein of dance-punk and art-funk bands like Liquid Liquid and ESG, Mystery Tape was written to give listeners three minutes to put their heads down and dance. Recorded at our home studio in Toronto, we use live instrumentation to create moody, introspective dance music. From the looped cello and synth parts to the simple, yet driving bass-line, our creative approach is always about maximizing emotion and feel.”
38 | Red Giant Project | Wait It Out (ft. Karl Denson)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Wait It Out was a song we made early in the RGP existence and was the first of our collabs with the great Karl D. He starts the song with a poignant flute solo. It has a heartfelt, hopeful feeling, reminding me of when I was young, driving the coast, a feeling of goodbye to whom I was, and embracing the unknown road ahead of me. I feel it’s pretty relevant to what I’m experiencing during this pandemic, a big-love infused-RESET. The solo paints an almost scenic landscape, bouncing and weaving around a lo-fi hip hop beat and soulful piano riff.”
