Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets double (or even triple) your pleasure, No Joy hit the disco, Godthrymm are dead and dreaming, Terminal Bliss have money on their mind and more in the final part of your super-sized Weekend Roundup. Had enough? I have.
76+77 | Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets | Winter Wonderland + Let It Snow
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nick Lowe teams up with Los Straitjackets for two rocking renditions of holiday classics: Winter Wonderland and Let It Snow. Both tunes are fan favorites from Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets’ Quality Holiday Revue live shows, and these new versions were captured in a series of recent trans-Atlantic sessions in which no reindeer were harmed. Enjoy the holiday tones of St. Nick and his merry Straitjackets!”
78 | Los Straitjackets | Rainy Night in Georgia
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Enigmatic mask-wearing surf rock legends Los Straitjackets exhibit their unrivaled musicianship by showing they can cover literally any song and turn it into a surf rock classic. Here they put a spin on Rainy Night in Georgia by Tony Joe White (and popularized by Brook Benton).”
79 | No Joy | Disco 6
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “No Joy shares Disco 6, a demo from the Motherhood recording sessions that didn’t end up on the final record. Jasamine White-Gluz says, “This demo was born in March 2016. I continued to work on it throughout our summer European 2016 tour with Jorge Elbrecht, who was playing guitar at the time. I kept revisiting it and trying to find its place but it never seemed to click. One potential collaborator I brought this song to referred to it as “sounding like when you walk into a Guitar Center and every instrument is playing at once” I still love this track in all its confusing glory.”
80+81 | Godthrymm | The Vastness Silent + We Are The Dead (And Dreaming)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “U.K. doom metal trio Godthrymm — vocalist/guitarist Hamish Glencross, drummer Shaun “Winter” Taylor-Steels and bassist Bob Crolla — have unleashed their single The Vastness Silent. The track was initially intended to appear on the band’s Reflections LP, released earlier this year, but was not completed in time to make the cut. The band eventually re-entered the studio with Mark Mynett (My Dying Bride) to finish the song in addition to completing an alternate version of We Are The Dead (And Dreaming) with cello.”
82+83 | Terminal Bliss | Clean Bill Of Wealth + Small One Time Fee
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The premise is just fast, unrelenting punk rock.” That’s vocalist Chris Taylor talking about Terminal Bliss, the new band featuring his brother and guitarist Mike Taylor, drummer Ryan Parrish, and bassist Adam Juresko. With a pedigree that includes Pg. 99 and Pygmy Lush, Darkest Hour and Iron Reagan and City Of Caterpillar, the members of Terminal Bliss are a veritable who’s who of Virginia punk. Today they share two new tracks — Clean Bill of Wealth and Small One Time Fee.”
84 | Gentlemen Rogues | Do The Resurrection!
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Austin’s Gentlemen Rogues celebrate aggressive guitar pop, with punk-inflected energy, polished, precise songwriting, and hooks as sharp and sleek as the Rickenbackers they bang them out on. The band has just released the single Do the Resurrection! They say, “Do the Resurrection! is a fuzzed-out blast of power-pop that playfully tackles love and loss, life and death, dying and undying devotion, rinsing and repeating. It also has a dueling guitar solo, that gives White Reaper a run for their money.”
85 | Ward White | Kringle’s Lament
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Los Angeles based art-rock crooner Ward White caps off 2020 with his third release of the year, and a first for the prolific tunesmith: A darkly skewed Christmas song. Opening with the obligatory sleigh bells, Kringle’s Lament finds an ailing Santa Claus embittered and weary after a career of sharing the spotlight with a certain Nazarene’s birthday. It is arguably the first (and last) Christmas song you will ever hear to feature the word “interferon.”
86 | David Picco | If You Wanna Change My Mind
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Newfoundland singer/songwriter David Picco returns with If You Wanna Change My Mind, a hypnotizing single that sets the stage for his sixth full-length album Live It Down, due in February.“I guess you could say that this song is about coming to terms with the fact that life never turns out as planned,” Picco says. “I would describe it as contemplative, but musically I was going after something more dream-like and ethereal.”
87 | Pallmer | Quiet Clapping
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “I find a lot of New Brunswickers have a grass-is-greener outlook on their home province,” said Pallmer’s Emily Kennedy. “I know I did. I left for a large chunk of my twenties, and every once in a while, that feeling returns — the feeling that elsewhere will be better, that living in a larger city is the only way to ‘make it’ — whatever that means. I wrote the lyrics to Quiet Clapping after realizing one night that this grass-is-greener fantasy was stopping me from appreciating what was right in front of me.”
88 | Fucked & Bound | Kool Thing
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seattle hardcore punk collective Fucked & Bound unveil their angst-ridden cover of Sonic Youth’s Kool Thing. The track appears on the limited-edition reissue of the band’s Suffrage LP, set for release Dec. 18. Notes vocalist Lisa Mungo, “”I’ve always been inspired by Kim Gordon’s lifelong commitment to making art on her own terms.”
89 | Maggie Lindemann | Loner
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a little more than a month to go before the Jan. 22 release of her debut EP Paranoia, Maggie Lindemann is back with her fourth and final track of 2020 in Loner. Says Maggie: “Loner is about feeling alone even when there’s people around. It’s about coming to terms with it and being comfortable in your alone-ness and giving yourself permission to feel sad if that is how you feel. Everyone has those moments, especially this year and especially around holidays – it’s OK, you’re not alone.”
90 | Clint Is Good | Samouraï 2000
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Clint has just released Samurai 2000, ahead of some nice surprises due in 2021. Samurai 2000 is one of the largest martial arts complexes in France, located in the city of Le Mans. As a former member of the club, the artist wanted to pay tribute to this place which has marked him as well by the aesthetic aspect and the warm atmosphere that emerges from it, as by the sporting rigour that emanates from the Dojo.”
91 | Drkbaux | Merry Xmas (ft. Geminii Dragon)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Drkbaux has been creating his own style of Trap/EDM/New Orleans bounce in the seedy streets and neighborhoods off the Big Easy for a decade. His tracks are always a treat to the ear. And this song for the holiday season is no different. For this song Drkbaux enlisted the help of South Lousiana Neo Soul/Blues queen Geminii Dragon to give her raspy yet sultry vocals to a delightful dance driven track. Says Drkbaux: “I really needed to make this song especially during this time has the world is in a very odd place and the Christmas holiday season is our place of solace as humans.”
92 | Satellite Mode | Sepia (LAAYERS Remix)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Satellite Mode is an electro-rock duo from New York City, led by Jessica Carvo and Alex Marko. Known for their powerhouse vocals and vibrant soundscapes, Satellite Mode have won over critics and fans alike over the years and has risen to one of the must-watch acts in the New York music scene and next big festival mainstays.”
93 | CMDWN | Solange Hair (ft. Lil Yachty)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto collective CMDWN release their single Solange Hair, featuring Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty. This upbeat, feel-good track is a playful ode to Solange’s hair and marks their second collaboration. “We’ve been homies with Yachty for a few years now and everything we do together is always organic,” says Fiji. “He will randomly send us tracks to hop on from time to time and Solange Hair was one of those he sent at the beginning of the year.”
94 | Traumship | Right Time
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Right Time is Traumship’s new song. Featuring the voice of Morphea, the singer of the Parisian trio, the band confirms its eclectic influences: electronic music, post-punk, synth-pop … This new single is another illustration of “traum pop”, a term that the band likes to use to define its sound. Right Time is about a girl lost in night life and the trouble in choosing the right time to get her life back on track.”
95 | Sabriel | Love Again
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sabriel is a Las Vegas singer, songwriter and producer whose goal is to explore vulnerability through her music. Her seductive neo-soul soaked sounds and unique, whimsical image are like nothing you’ve seen or heard before. As a self-proclaimed introvert, the experience of recording alone in a makeshift closet studio in her bedroom, allowed the artist to flourish, playing around with new ideas and following her true path.”
96+97 | Wantigga | Feels + Comigo
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Netherlands artist and producer Wantigga builds on the mass of international hype as he transitions from mainstream to a more niche sound with the release of duo singles Feels and Comigo. Feels is essentially a love song and Comigo is the reply of the lover. The ambitious mix of electro innovative and house sounds complement the voice on Comigo, which says in Brazilian Portuguese that she’s happy that her lover finally had the courage to express to her his true feelings.”
98 | Binny | Prime
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Binny is a bedroom-pop artist born and bred in Maryland. Having sung before he could even talk, Binny’s musicality runs deep. Taking inspiration from underground and gritty pop stars such as Charli XCX, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, Binny divulges “I felt like I was able to combine all of my favorite styles of music into one song.” Prime is a total completion of grime 808 bass sounds, to trap influenced drum beats and experimental pop, awe inspiringly written and produced by Binny himself.”
