Matt Cameron and Taylor Hawkins boogie on the double, Hot Breath do it with feeling, CB3 jam through the haze, Ghita gets some satisfaction, Angstskríg have a hotline to Hell, Johnny Labelle gets in over his head — and that’s just the booster rocket on your three-stage Friday Roundup. I don’t know about you, but between Taylor Swift, Chris Cornell, Sturgill Simpson and Ryan Adams, I’m all surprise-released out this week.
1+2 | Nighttime Boogie Association | The Path We’re On + Long In The Tooth
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With the pandemic and quarantine lockdowns bringing most live music and touring to a screeching halt, Soundgarden / Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins used the downtime to explore new music and create a new project. The two multi-talented songwriter/drummers have unveiled their collaboration, Nighttime Boogie Association, by releasing two songs that they wrote, recorded, and produced: Long In The Tooth and The Path We’re On.”
3 | Hot Breath | Bad Feeling
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a pounding heart for that raw ’60s Detroit energy and the dirty streets of the late ’70s London, Hot Breath is rushing with adrenaline and pure lust. The band entered the scene in 2018 with members from Honeymoon Disease, Hypnos and Grand, mixing their various pasts into one vibrating sound. The band’s latest single and video Bad Feeling is the first taste of an upcoming debut album set for release in spring.”
4 | Angstskríg | Lucifer Kalder (ft. Frédéric Leclercq)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Mysterious Danish black ’n’ roll duo Angstskríg will release their debut album Skyggespil in 2021. Today the band unveils first single Lucifer Kalder — featuring a guest appearance by Frédéric Leclercq (DragonForce, Kreator). Lucifer Kalder (Lucifer Is Calling) matches a dark beating heart with a rock ‘n’ roll edge that at once echoes the ghosts of those that have come before whilst equally demonstrating a clear vision of what is to come. Say Angstskríg: “Musically, Lucifer Kalder is the most upbeat and festive song on Skyggespil, with a magnifique solo by Fred Leclercq, and since it’s about the Dark Lord, the lyrical theme is pretty festive too.”
5 | CB3 | Acid Haze
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The instrumental cosmic jam-trio CB3 released their second studio album Aeons in February, right before the pandemic hit. The essence of the band is the live concert experience — every song becomes different and new, solos are improvised and the intensity is ever-shifting. With limited opportunities for gigs, the band decided to capture the experience live on record and video, so that fans can experience the music the way it’s meant to. Today, the band shares the live-in-studio recording Acid Haze.”
6 | Ghita | Satisfied
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ghita just released her debut EP Lost Angels. Its six tracks explore immensely relatable stories that many young people of her generation experience: trying to fulfil ambitions in an increasingly challenging world, asserting female equality in a patriarchal society, and discovering that both love and friendship don’t always work out how you had expected. Ghita launches the EP by sharing a video for the new track Satisfied. Ghita explains, “The idea behind Satisfied was inspired by lots of stories I’ve heard of men who will help your career if they get something from you. It happens in so many walks of life. I just want to make music, I don’t want to have to date the right people to get bigger opportunities. Satisfied is an empowering reminder to myself and others that we can reach our goals without any extra help.”
https://youtu.be/i-alFiuT704
7 | Johnny Labelle | Poseidonia
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Athenian dark-pop crooner Johnny Labelle has released a video for his song Poseidonia. Directed by Daphné Hérétakis, Sasha Streshna and Johnny Labelle himself, the visuals feature the singer performing the track amidst psychedelic effects, giving the video a retro feel. In addition to the Poseidonia clip, Johnny Labelle has released the new album XVIII. The LP consists of nine tracks that vary from dark, ambient, electronic sounds to dirge-like crooner ballads meant to be performed in eerie half-lit empty lobbies of big tech companies during the final collapse of the world.”
8 | The Beauty Of Gemina | Friends Of Mine
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Iconic Swiss band The Beauty Of Gemina are behind Friends of Mine, a single from their forthcoming album Skeleton Dreams, due Feb 5. Friends of Mine as told by the writer Michael Sele, also the frontman and mastermind behind The Beauty of Gemina, is “a kind of a swan song. At the end I ask a fictional audience. Who will be at my side at the end? What will be remembered? What will be left?”
9 | Michael Wimberly | Alive
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Percussionist Michael Wimberly releases the video for Alive, a track from his upcoming album Afrofuturism, a collection of songs running the gamut of genres, representing a culmination of Wimberly’s prolific career as a composer, educator and collaborator. Alive celebrates the power of love, and expresses two lovers’ interactions, seductive moments and glances. As the song progresses, we see Sharief Hobley — the featured vocalist and guitarist — reflecting in the early morning about their love as he travels into the city. Once at the recording session, he lets it all out as he sings about his love for her and their shared devotion and gratitude.”
10 | Total Brutal | Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas (ft. Misty Boyce, Hayley Batt and Kristen Gleeson-Prata)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Total Brutal is the new indie-pop solo project from L.A. singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emily Moore. Moore is known as a professional touring musician, having shared the stage with the likes of Grammy-winning band FUN, Børns, Ella Vos, X Ambassadors and many more. With the goal of spreading positivity and self-empowerment, Total Brutal has an ethos of standing up for yourself in order to be heard and seen, facing fears head on and being comfortable in your own skin. Inspired by strong female artists, Total Brutal is determined to help other young women make their worth known and their voices heard. She shares, “It took me a really long time to understand that I am allowed to speak up, have opinions and speak directly. I’m starting to realize that I can be myself and be liked and professional all the same.”
11 | Chilly Gonzales | Snow Is Falling In Manhattan (ft. Jarvis Cocker & Feist)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Chilly Gonzales shares a new stop-motion animation video for Snow Is Falling In Manhattan, from his new holiday album, A Very Chilly Christmas. The gently ambling song, written by David Berman, is performed with guests Feist and Jarvis Cocker. Chilly Gonzales revisits the old carols and the new pop standards on his album. But it wouldn’t be Christmas without friends and family, so Gonzo has assembled his gang to celebrate the holidays in his playful and intimate style.”
12 | Dirty Freud | Love In The Backwater
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dirty Freud is an award-winning electronic live & recording artist from London, now living in the North of England. His EP Love In The Backwater walks a tightrope of lockdown claustrophobia and the exhilaration of club escapism, inspired by some of life’s most impactful moments, from bitter breakups to surviving a pandemic (Love In The Backwater) to taking a carpe diem attitude to life and examining the enduring effect of split second choices.”
13 | Passenger | Remember To Forget
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With his latest single Remember to Forget, Passenger (Mike Rosenberg) tells the story of another character in the world of his Jan. 8 album Songs For The Drunk And Broken Hearted — the guy who refuses to call it a night. Rosenberg says, “This song is for all of those people that never want to go to bed after a night out and just want to stay out drinking for as long as they can. I’ve definitely been that guy before, and I know a few others that have. The idea of having to be on your own in a dark room with ringing in your ears is not a pleasant one.”
14 | Less Than Jake | Keep On Chasing
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seminal ska-punk luminaries Less Than Jake commemorate the release of their ninth studio album Silver Linings with their video Keep On Chasing. Their ninth studio album and first with new drummer Matt Yonker (Teen Idols, The Queers) is a dozen tracks of a rejuvenated and refreshed Less Than Jake. They picked up right where they left off and aren’t trying to fit in with any current trends because their ska-punk formula has stood the test of time and simply works.”
15 | Dive | Inside Your Head
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Belgian electronic pioneer Dirk Ivens unleashes the new album Where Do We Go From Here? from his cult project Dive. “For this album, I teamed up with Jan Dewulf, known from his bands Your Life On Hold and Diskonnekted,” says the main man. “New collaboration means new sounds.“ The beats are even more brutal, the soundscapes even darker, the vocals even more touching. “The world we live in today will never be the same,” Ivens comments. “But even when things don’t look hopeful, we try to keep a positive mind.”
16 | Jon Scott | Freedom
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Celebrated singer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Scott has released his brand-new EP Freedom – A New Jerusalem, his chronicling of the extraordinary times we live in, when the world looks to unite in the face of racial prejudice and social injustice. Led by the title track, it is timed perfectly to capture the current zeitgeist, musically and lyrically inviting people around the world to stand up to divisive politics and to celebrate the good in people, whoever and wherever they are. “I hope that the video will be a picture chronicle for the world of this amazing uplifting of spirit particularly for the future generations, as a benchmark of what we should be about as all god’s children or if one prefers, children of one creation and of the universe.”
17 | Moglii | Push Me (ft. Panama)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Cologne producer / singer / composer Moglii (Simon Ebener-Holscher) shines on new eclectic electro-pop number Push Me featuring talented Australian electronic artist Panama (Jarrah McCleary), following on from his recent acclaimed tracks Skoda and Face 2 Face with Joel from Lion Sphere. Moglii says: “Push Me is quite an emotional song for me. It tells the story of a sensation of rejection and is an acute expression of faintness with all it’s deep emotional components. It talks about intimate feelings in a relationship that is characterised as complicated, cold-hearted but intense at the same time. Crying out for acceptance seems to be the only way of recovering the love you once felt.”
18 | Where Did Nora Go | Undivided
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Where Did Nora Go return full of optimism — and with a wonderful video for Undivided. The song is a vision for the future, a caravan of hope, a gentle, rocking, pulsating gem of a pick-me-up song carried by an indomitable faith in the future and in the sanctity deep within each of us — in life itself; a place that can never be destroyed or broken — a place that will forever be whole and perfect. Hence the title. “We are living in a time of serious turmoil with so many new shifts, many worries and — for many — great fear. We don’t know when or if we will ever get back to ‘normal’, and many people are slowly losing hope. I felt the need to write a song that points forward; beyond the anxiety and the nervousness, past the misfortune and the sorrow, into a bright future where we can all unfold again — perhaps even more freely and with even greater appreciation than before.”
19 | Craig Stickland | Enemy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “L.A. troubadour Craig Stickland releases his new single Enemy. It will be featured on his forthcoming three-song EP, While We Wait For the Sun to Rise, due out in early 2021. The piano-driven Enemy is a moder0-day torch song about the melancholy of moving on after a relationship is over. Stickland says, “Enemy was written a few months ago at a time when it seemed like the world had never been more divided. It’s about falling apart from someone you love, hoping that through your differences you can still find compassion and common ground. It ends with the lyric that gave birth to the song, asking ‘please don’t make an enemy of me.’”
20 | Cyrax | (Преступление и наказание) Global Warming
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Cyrax’s new album Experiences is out now. “The album, like the title suggests, is a mixture of musical paradoxes, stylistic oxymorons, a cauldron where we have inserted the most disparate genres: Celtic, death metal, thrash, jazz fusion, rock, prog, bluegrass and … Stravinsky!” Today Cyrax launch their video for (Преступление и наказание) Global Warming.”
21 | Bodysnatcher | Break The Cycle
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Florida-based brutal deathcore practitioners Bodysnatcher unleash brand new single Break The Cycle. Comment the band, “The song is about the realization of letting the wrong people into your life, and taking the steps to get out of that pattern. Keep your eyes open. Lots of things to come in 2021.” Bodysnatcher — a name inspired by notorious serial killer Ed Gein — brings an updated and brutal formula to deathcore, infusing elements of beatdown and downtempo hardcore to their scathing hymns.”
22 | Georgia | Running Up That Hill
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In tribute to her musical hero Kate Bush, Georgia is excited to share her cover of Running Up That Hill. The song runs deep within the fabric of Georgia’s musical life, since she was introduced to the track at a very young age by her parents. The accompanying video deepens that bond and is a special collaboration with contemporary dancer Sid Barnes — Georgia’s brother. Georgia says: “Kate Bush has been part of my life and a major influence on my work since I could sing a note. Her music was always played by both my mum and dad, and when I began to understand the way that sound and production worked, I embarked on my own intimate and personal journey with her music. For me, it was more than just a cover, it was emotional, and an experience I’ll always treasure.”
23 | Lyrique | Hunger
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Calgary rapper Lyrique is unveiling the video for his track Hunger, off his recent debut full-length, P.I.M.P. (Poetry Is My Pleasure). Lyrique is among a new wave of artists rousing a hip hop renaissance in a province not geographically regarded for its output of rap. Wielding flashy future beats and a ravenous flow, the track’s message is simple: stay hungry. “The hunger and pressure that I feel as both an artist and immigrant can be stressful, but it also pushes me forward,” said Lyrique. “I’ve learned to turn my frustrations into strategy and action over the years. I always say in adversity there is opportunity.”
https://youtu.be/PobgGVnRb2Q
