Kimono Drag Queens introduce you to Delilah, Lumière recalls a beautiful day, Apocalypse Blues Revival open the door, Colossus Of Destiny rewind an ex’s mixtape and more in your Thursday Roundup. This is one of those days when less is definitely more. More or less.
1 | Kimono Drag Queens | Delilah
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sydney-based psych-rock band Kimono Drag Queens have just revealed a music video for a new track from their debut album Songs Of Worship, out tomorrow. Titled Delilah, the video was directed by Clover Ryan and Claire Salter. Two years in the making, Songs of Worship was produced by Phan Sjarif at Parliament Studios and shows the seven-piece group blending elements of psych-rock, ’60s rock, tuareg music and ambient folk throughout six tracks that bring to mind artists like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Goat and Moon Duo.
2 | Lumière | La.Belle.Journée 1971
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Lumière, the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Étienne Côté, has released La.Belle.Journée 1971, a catchy, feel-good track with rock ’n’ roll guitar riffs and voluptuous harmonies, as the first single off his upcoming album, due out in 2021. Inspired by ’70s rock, La.Belle.Journée 1971 introduces us to Lumière and gives us a glimpse into his ambitious upcoming musical epic, set in (yes) 1971. “This song is the gateway to my solo project. It’s the first song I wrote, the first song we recorded in the studio and the first song we mixed as well,” explains the artist. “More rock than before, I started strumming the guitar rather than finger-picking. I wanted simple lyrics. I wanted to sing louder, to play more steady. It was the first time I felt so free to go into that area with music.”
3 | The Apocalypse Blues Revival | The Doorway
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Florida psychedelic rock quartet The Apocalypse Blues Revival released the second single, The Doorway, from their self-titled album due Dec. 11. Shannon Larkin says, “We have been doing this at such a high level for so long, we really got to go out there and rough it!” He laughs and concludes, “we really felt like Blues guys! … When you listen to the album, I’d love it if you actually took a trip with us through this dark abyss and came out of it 45 minutes later with a new perspective.”
4 | Colossus Of Destiny | A Song From My Ex-Girlfriend’s Mixtape
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “French sludgecore/rock/metal practitioners Colossus Of Destiny shared another audio/video excerpt from their forthcoming album with A Song From My Ex-Girlfriend’s Mixtape. A four-piece from Paris, Colossus Of Destiny are Igor (Bass), Etienne (Drums), Noé (Guitars /vocals) & Julien (Guitars). After releasing two EPs between 2010 and 2011, the band released its debut album In Lesser Brightness in 2013 and a digital single in 2016 (Nothing Seems To Wonder) before going silent for a couple of years.”
5 | Black Suit Youth | The World Is Almost Over
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Formed in 2005, N.Y.C.’s Black Suit Youth is a relentless foursome that blends elements of punk rock, classic rock, and indie rock. 2010 saw the release of the LP Meet Me in Death Valley, from which Black Suit Youth scored opening gigs for Story of the Year, Alien Ant Farm, The Undead and more. After a few DIY tours, the album was re-released on vinyl. In 2016, the band released 2017’s False South LP, which took a new direction while maintaining their DIY punk rock ethos.”
6 | T-Rex Marathon | Faux News
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ottawa’s punk/post-hardcore act T-Rex Marathon released their debut album Days Without Incident — including the track Faux News — on Oct. 16. The band wouldn’t call themselves very political, but this song to them is an exception. Bassist Jeremy Toppings wrote the lyrics when he was on vacation in the U.S. a few years ago and it didn’t take long for the band to build a melody around them. The band adds: “Let’s get political. The title is a pun on Fox News and fake news (as if it wasn’t obvious). Faux News is an expression of anger towards our compliance to the corruption and determination to try and stand against it moving on. Punchy, energetic, focused, and provocative, the song is meant to be shouted out loud and is the kind of tune that would galvanize young budding activists to dive deeper into the ideas we convey.”
7 | Reserving Dirtnaps | Under Siege
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Memphis metallic hardcore outfit Reserving Dirtnaps have issued a video for Under Siege, from their Another Disaster EP, following its release in August. Recorded live for maximum effect by Alan Burcham at A.B. Recordings, Another Disaster was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Obituary, Nails, Integrity) and completed with artwork by Linas Garsys (American Nightmare, Ceremony, World Be Free).”
8 | Black Wing | Is This Real Life, Jesus Christ
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Listen to a new track from Dan Barrett (of Have a Nice Life) and his Black Wing project. Is This Real Life, Jesus Christ is the fourth track from Black Wing’s new album No Moon, due out Dec. 11. The nine new tracks on No Moon are gloomy yet glorious, heavy while ambient, overwhelming yet alluring, and offer an earnest and honest look into one’s self during such a troubling and confusing year — something we all can relate to right now.”
9 | Foes | Turnaround King
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Oregon metallic hardcore outfit Foes issue their official video for Turnaround King. Writes drummer Garrett Judkins, “This was the most fun we’ve had filming for a non-live performance music video. It was back in February (pre-COVID days) and still cold as fuck, but we managed to drag an entire living room set up and all our equipment out. It looked decent before we started smashing everything too. As for the track, Turnaround King definitely has its forward-facing themes like media control, politics, and extremism. But for me it also is the story of many Americans being pulled this way or that way by different mediums using fear and disinformation to prevent them from making proper decisions.”
10 | LAL | Free & Broken
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With their new LP Meteors Could Come Down, officially out tomorrow, LAL (comprised of Rosina Kazi and Nicholas Murray) are sharing one last preview. Free And Broken is dedicated to the rebels, the weirdos, the misfits, the queers, the ones who find each other, who don’t fit into a box and who don’t want to. It is a song about personal and generational convalescence and resilience and the cycles of living and dying. “Rosina’s father passed away in early June, so on top of the intensity of the world, and the grief that we were already feeling, we found ourselves in a deeper sorrow,” says Murray. “Free And Broken explores our journey as living beings constantly in search and fight for freedom, not just for ourselves but for past and future generations.”
11 | Headcrusher | Blood Red Sands
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Headcrusher unveil a single and music video for Blood Red Sands from their new EP Portal to Existence. Blood Red Sands’ music video boasts epic scenery from California’s mysterious Mojave Desert landscape. It was shot on location by Matt Eskew. Susan Slaughter (Ghost Hunters International, The Dawn, Slay Belles) stars, with character FX done by Brittany Fontaine (The Mandalorian, Deadpool, Hansel & Gretel).”
12 | Hot Hell Room | Stasis
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “French heavy rockers Hot Hell Room have published a new lyric video for Stasis, the title track of the band’s latest and third full-length, released earlier this year. Stasis offers a clever blend of heavy rock and metal with dark and progressive elements, drawing influences from several different bands such as Metallica, Queensrÿche, Type O Negative or Alice In Chains. The album was produced by Andrew G at Hybreed Studio (As They Burn, Monolithe, Temple Of Baal).”
13 | AJ Wander | Time Out
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “London pop singer-songwriter AJ Wander shared his single Time Out with an accompanying lyric video. Wander stated: “Time Out was written in a flurry a week after breaking up with my first love. It is me turning a corner in my emotional recovery from the split and is the moment I first realised the breakup was for our own good. Time Out represents the first time I accepted that she had dreams of her own outside of the world we’d created together and we needed to let each other go.”
14+15 | Coco Reilly | Oh Oh My My + After All
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Coco Reilly released two additional songs from her self-titled debut album arriving Dec. 9. Oh Oh My My focuses on self-truth and identifying negative patterns and After All is about finding truth through relinquishing control of emotional states and accepting where you are. Reilly stated, “Oh Oh My My is about making myself the subject of my own study and figuring out my own patterns. I started observing the early years of my life and it occured to me that maybe I never knew how to give or receive love in a real or healthy way because I wasn’t taught. After All is an admission that I can’t always get a handle on my mind and emotions. I had to learn to do the work and go through them instead of around them. Distractions can feel convenient, but they will never make real wounds go away.”
16 | Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams | Isn’t It
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams are set to release their debut collaboration Plastic Bouquet on Dec. 11. The 11-song set was produced by Kacy Lee Anderson & Marlon Williams and was recorded in Saskatoon and Nashville. Today the trio shared their new video for the song Isn’t It. Anderson said the song “is a tale of fear, lust and a lack of self-possession. Marlon sings amazingly high pleading and pining notes on this one. It’s almost like ‘is this humanly possible?’ Marlon Williams added, “It’s one of my favorites. It’s a country song, but there’s aggression and symbolism to the lyrics. It’s really resonated with me in an abstract and forceful way, almost like punk.”
17 | To End It All Vs. ZVI | Strength Is Nothing
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Avant-garde/death industrial duo To End It All have collaborated with ZVI (Ron Varod of Kayo Dot, Sabbath Assembly) to create a partial soundtrack for Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 masterpiece Stalker for the Frozen In Time series. Today they release an excerpt from this session as a digital single, entitled Strength Is Nothing. To End It All say: “We are constantly reminded that adaptations, shifting modes of thought, and changes of the body are the signs of life. Rigidity of the mind and body is a signal of death.”
