LadBaby are on a (sausage) roll, Elvie Shane doesn’t play favourites with the kids, Unrivaled backslide into some old habits, Infirmium seal your doom — and the hits keep on coming in another super-sized Weekend Roundup. Hope you saved room for dessert.
26 | LadBaby | Don’t Stop Me Eatin’
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “It wouldn’t be Christmas without LadBaby. The foursome’s festive fun has conquered the charts for two years in a row, thanks to We Built This City on Sausage Rolls (2018) and I Love Sausage Rolls (2019). Now they’re back with Don’t Stop Me Eatin’, their comedy take on the timeless Journey power ballad. It benefits The Trussell Trust, whose mission is to end the need for food banks in the U.K. LadBaby says: “Last year we filmed and recorded our song at the world-famous Abbey Road Music Studios; this year we knew we had to go one better. So we booked the world’s fastest shed on wheels! It’s perfect because not only is it light, nimble and surprisingly comfy, but it’s also social distanced and puts a smile on the face of EVERYONE that sees it!”
27+28 | Elvie Shane | My Boy + My Girl
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Elvie Shane premieres the music video for his debut single My Boy, as well as the reimagined sister version of the single for daughters across the world. The song, written as a heartfelt tribute to his stepson, has become celebrated by blended and unconventional families.”
29 | Unrivaled | I’ve Relapsed
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Cincinnati rock/punk band Unrivaled are set to release their debut album Quarter Life Crisis on Jan. 29. The band, who draw influence from bands like Rise Against and My Chemical Romance, made the announcement alongside the release of their single I’ve Relapsed. Says guitarist Jimmy Alexander: “We went in the studio with an open mind and a willingness to adapt on the fly. Eight months and one pandemic later, we came out with eleven songs we’re proud to call our own. Something unique. Something we can’t wait to share with the world. It wasn’t until about halfway in, we settled on the name Quarter Life Crisis. With the subject matter of these songs, it seemed like the perfect name for this album.”
30 | Infirmum | You Are Doomed
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Infirmum are a doom metal project founded by finnish artist Timo Solonen in 2019. Before Infirmum, Timo had already composed few songs and released an EP under the name of Kuolonkoura. Timo states: “Infirmum will guide you through fears and pains and will drag you to darkness just to lift you back alive. Now Infirmum is evolving with Anna Rose as lady vocalist and me being man behind the growls and guitars. To the darkness and back! Stay dark and stay safe.”
https://youtu.be/LQr-3K7s77I
31 | Kollapse | Byrd
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Three years after the release of their debut album Angst, Danish sludgy post-metal trio Kollapse will return with their second album Sult on April 9. The last couple of years have been particularly difficult for the band; they struggled to keep going and ended up losing two members. Regrouped as power trio, Kollapse recorded this new album last summer at The Hideout Studio with producer Lucas Illanes. Sult sees the Danish trio incorporating influences of ’90s noise-rock and post-hardcore into their dissonant and sludgy post-metal style.”
32 | Sonic Boom | I Wish It Was Like Xmas Everyday (ft. Dean & Britta)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sonic Boom return bearing the euphoric, yuletide wave that is I Wish It Was Like Xmas Everyday (A Little Bit Deeper) for an isolation holiday. A reimagination of All Things Being Equal’s single Things Like This (A Little Bit Deeper), the song enlists dear friends Dean & Britta (Galaxie 500, Luna) for vocal harmonies. Says Sonic Boom’s Pete Kember: “I hope this can bring you some midwinter warmth & hearthside vibes for the holiday period.”
33+34 | Picard Brothers | It’s Not Over (Lazy Flow + Ateph Elidja Remixes)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Fast-rising production duo Picard Brothers (Clément and Maxime) release a pair of remixes by French producers Lazy Flow and Ateph Elidjah. They say: “Lazy Flow gave us the carnival version of the song, it’s the perfect blend of all the new French electronic scenes we love. Tropical French house is born. With Ateph, he took the song and added his special black and white ultra elegant style, real raw and sonically impeccable.”
35 | Anna Burch | Your Heart May Be Heavy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Anna Burch has crafted a Christmas song built for gazing out of a frosty window as snow quietly falls. Says Anna: “I knew I wanted to write a Christmas song after the difficult year we’ve all had, because of how emotionally potent they can be. When I hear Judy Garland sing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, I can’t help but well up with tears while still remaining hopeful. I came up with the chord progression on piano, but then I got Covid. Luckily I recovered in time. The song is called Your Heart May Be Heavy which I didn’t consciously realize was an inversion of Judy’s “may your heart be light.”
36 | Al’Tarba x DeZordre | Hell Of A Drug
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For this sixth instalment of Cabinet des Curiosités, Al’Tarba joins forces with beatmaker DeZordre to extol the merits and hidden defects of a drug that always goes well after a long day of shopping. From such a pure instrumental boom bap and tough as the drug it evokes. Ideal for parties.”
37+38 | Hail The Sun | Falling on Deaf Ears + Secret Wars Reimagined
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hail The Sun share the final two tracks in their Reimagined series, Falling on Deaf Ears and Secret Wars. The band shines a new light on each track, taking these heavily technical songs and turning them into beautiful acoustic arrangements. Guitarist Shane Gann says: “Both songs center around debatable topics; Falling on Deaf Ears is about questioning religion, whereas Secret Wars is about questioning those in positions of power, namely those who hold office. Each song is extremely close to our hearts, since as a band, we believe in taking nothing at face value.”
39 | Jerry Castle | With The Band (ft. Bobby Keys)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Jerry Castle shares a new track with a legendary guest: With The Band features saxophonist Bobby Keys, best remembered for his work with The Rolling Stones. The late musician’s time with the band spanned 1969 to 2014. His countless other credits include John Lennon, Marvin Gaye and Eric Clapton. With The Band pays tribute, says Jerry, “to Bobby and all of those that try to navigate a life of love while being on the road.” It’s the strongest statement to date from an artist who was raised in rural Virginia, worked as a songwriter in the heart of Nashville, and who has played thousands of shows.”
40 | Insect Inside | Posthumous Grief (ft. Kevin Muller)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Insect Inside unveil the first single from their The First Shining Of New Genus album: Posthumous Grief. One of the standout tracks, it features a guest vocal from Kevin Muller of The Merciless Concept. The band share a few words: “Our album is a symbiosis of several subgenres of brutal death metal! You will hear insane blastbeats, atmosphere, slamming riffs and technical riffs inherent in technical death metal, and of course ultra brutal guttural with old school growling. On the album we tried to come to a common denominator through the theme of an ancient and undersoil swarm of insects that woke up in order to devour humanity and revive their population!”
41 | Matthew Sweet | Stars Explode
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On Catspaw, his 15th studio album, due out Jan. 15, Matthew Sweet cranks his vintage amplifiers and steps into a role previously played by some of his generation’s most unique and incendiary lead guitarists from Richard Lloyd to Robert Quine and Ivan Julian. Though Catspaw is absent of his famous collaborators, their presence is felt in the mark they left on Sweet’s guitar work. “Recently, I heard a song called Matthew Sweet by a band from Chapel Hill, N.C. named The Stars Explode. I was flattered and liked the song and their band name, so I decided to use it in my song Stars Explode. The music ‘arrived,’ so to speak, together with the title. I’ve always been interested in space and that greater nature of things; I love the concept that we are all stardust.”
42 | Liar Thief Bandit | Good Enough
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Swedish garage-rockers Liar Thief Bandit give us the first taste of their upcoming album Deadlights — the uptempo, straight-shooting single Good Enough. Liar Thief Bandit give ‘70s classic rock a boost and ’90s garage-rock a proper facelift. No one goes unaffected when this band delivers full-throttle action and raging melodies. The band released their debut album Gun Shovel Alibi in 2016 and have since spent most of their time on the road, playing almost 200 gigs across mainland Europe.”
43 | Psyrena | Christmas For One
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Alt-pop musician Psyrena (Madeleine Wise) opts for introspective minimalism on Christmas For One, a seasonal ode to all the craziness at the moment. She says: “Christmas for One is my natural reaction to this ongoing situation. I describe the impact of the lockdown but I also raise hope and give actual advice how to cope … Dr. Psyrena will help. And who knows, maybe I can still perform this song for my fans in an intimate piano plus candlelight setting, just before diving into large portions of sauerkraut, a roast, glühwein and several desserts.”
44+45 | Field Guide | If I Keep Seeing You + A Memory (Acoustic)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Field Guide’s newest EP is an alternate take on his most recent offering, A Memory. Acoustic renditions offer a warm and vulnerable take on these stories, bolstered by beautiful and integral harmonies from singer-songwriter Georgia Harmer. The title track was penned following a somewhat abrupt move from Winnipeg to Toronto in 2019. “I was living in a basement suite in the West End and was pretty much exclusively going out to shows every night and then waking up at the crack of noon to wander around my new home thinking about how different things were and then putting those feelings into song.”
46 | A Stick and a Stone | Husband of Wind
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Versatile, the upcoming album by A Stick And A Stone, marks a turning point for transgender vocalist/composer Elliott Miskovicz. Diverging from the heavy doom-shaded opus of their previous release, Versatile is a vivid experimental album of haunting love songs intimately home-recorded in remote forested hideouts. Miskovicz explains: “As a song about the element of air, I really wanted to record Husband of Wind on the pump organ, an instrument that really breathes with its whole body. After searching for almost a year, I finally found a church that would let me record on theirs with no one around. I wrote this song during a time when I was dealing with relentless panic attacks, and when becoming more conscious of breathing was a constant process.”
47 | Locked In | Dying City
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Locked In, a hardcore punk / metal band from Perugia, Italy, return after several years of silence and inactivity, showing us they still remember how it’s done after grinding miles and consuming stages throughout Italy and half Europe between 2007 and 2013. Their single Dying City — from their Dec. 25 EP Not Dead Yet — is a furious and energetic song, which reveals the excellent shape in which the band presents itself at the first test with this new chapter.”
48 | Eggshells | Unknown
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Expectations is the second single from Seattle experimental pop band Eggshells’ upcoming album, Hopeless Romancers, out Jan. 15. Skeletal acoustic guitars, wisps of electric piano and trip-hop drums, matched with sultry vocals in a barrenly simple tale of disillusionment and wasted youth. Hopeless Romancers is a thematic exploration of the highs, lows, and endless tribulations of online dating through the lens of co-vocalist Sera Han’s experiences as a queer first-generation Korean American navigating the chaotic world of modern relationships.”
49 | Max Restaino | Here For Christmas
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Producer, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Max Restaino hails from the U.K. Alongside his beautifully smooth voice, he plays saxophone, guitar, piano, harmonica, accordion and ukulele. He has worked with Gregory Porter, Donny Osmond, Olly Murs and Gary Barlow, playing accordion for on his hit song Let Me Go and appearing on Gary’s new album Music Played by Humans.”
50 | Nataliya Nikitenko | Oil & Water
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a sound as striking and bold as her aesthetic, pop singer-songwriter Nataliya Nikitenko releases her debut Oil & Water. It’s a beautiful, cinematic pop ballad that showcases Nataliya’s rich vocals and notable songwriting prowess. Explaining the inspiration behind the track, she writes, “Oil and water will always separate. No matter how hard you try. Deep down I knew that about the relationship I was in long before I was out of it.”
