Delvon Lamarr and friends go wham, Sports give you the look, Riley Michaels goes dark, Nehpila make their bones — and that’s just the beginning of the end of your Weekend Roundup trilogy. Don’t forget to sit through the credits: You never know what’s coming at the end!
41 | Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio | Careless Whisper
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seattlebased instrumental combo Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio announced their sophomore studio album I Told You So (out Jan. 29) and released a cover of Wham!’s Careless Whisper. DLO3 conjures the smoky 1960s jazz stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette, and the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Meters, along with dashes of Motown, Stax Records, blues, and cosmic Jimi Hendrix-style guitar.”
42 | Sports | The Look
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Oklahoma duo Sports return with their new single The Look, the last preview of their new EP Get A Good Look Pt.1, due Feb. 12. Singer and keyboard player Cale Chronister says: “The Look was inspired by a comment a stranger made to me while I was out eating lunch. He interrupted me and asked who my agent was, assuming that I was a model. And then wanted to help represent me. I just kind of laughed because it seemed like such an L.A. cliche. But he was serious and told me ‘You’ve got the look of the moment.’ ”
43 | Riley Michaels | Turn Off The Lights
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Riley Michaels is a blues-trained musician who incorporates numerous musical styles into his sound. The singer-songwriter draws his inspiration from James Bay’s indie-pop, the guitar stylings of John Mayer, and overall brilliance of Prince. Turn Off The Lights is a song about balance — an acknowledgement of becoming so wrapped up in something that a person may neglect other aspects of life, like personal relationships with family and friends. With its soft, sensitive melody and lyrics of longing, Turn Off The Lights showcases the 20 year old’s abundant musical talent and will easily resonate with anyone who has ever focused a little too much of their time in one place.”
44 | Nephila | White Bones
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nephila will release their self-titled debut album in June. Combining psychedelic rock and heavy blues with theatrical expressions, the seven-headed rock orchestra brings out the best of ’70s experimental rock while adding their own touch of mysticism and visual storytelling. Today Nephila launch the first single from the album, White Bones.”
45 | Hot Breath | Who’s The One
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Swedish garage-rock outfit Hot Breath release Who’s the One, the second single from the band’s upcoming debut album Rubbery Lips. Being the ballad of the album, the single shows another side Hot Breath.”
46 | Soukou | Lucky To Be Alive
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ena Wild now calls herself Soukou and has grown up. With her unmistakable voice and still plenty of Berlin glitter, Soukou shows that great pop music grows with you. Carried by her soulful voice, Lucky To Be Alive is a sophisticated synthpop anthem and a true declaration of love for life, with all its ups and downs. And who can’t use this powerful message in their soundtrack after 2020?”
47 | The Rule | Spice Controls the Universe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Three brothers, one band, one goal: Rock ’n’ Roll. At a young age, music was an inherent part in the life of Swiss siblings Noah (drums), Finn (bass/vocals) and Sven (guitar). After several years of listening only the four walls of a rehearsal room in Flawil, Switzerland, covering your heroes, they adopted the name The Rule in 2016. This year, The Rule went to WoogieHouse Studios in St. Gallen. The result is a new masterpiece: Spice Controls the Universe. With their ’70s rock attitude, the three brothers tell a story about a universe where a young man in a new world realizes he’s meant for more.”
48 | Vestindien | Meldrøye
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With the single Meldrøye, taken from Vestindien’s Feb. 12 debut album Null, they reveal another tantalising glimpse into what fans can expect to hear from a band whose initial brief foray into the music scene generated a considerable amount of interest thanks to their frenetic live shows, and enthusiastically received 2011 EP We Are The Lords of Hellfire. Vestindien say: “Exploring and expanding one’s mind is crucial to help us understand that we are not placed above nature. We are nature.”
49 | Georgia van Etten | Deep Black Water
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Georgia van Etten brings impact and authenticity with the release of her new single Deep Black Water, the title track of her upcoming album. The U.K.-based, Australian born singer-songwriter showcases her soulful and dynamic vocals in this track with dark and brooding undertones that complement the reflective lyrics, sharing a thought-provoking message close to van Etten’s heart. “Deep Black Water is a powerful reflection of life as a young person today, inspired by the stories from students I have taught in London’s poorest areas and my own experiences in a money driven, elitist world.”
50 | The Backstays | No Hot Cargo
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New Brunswick band The Backstays share solidarity-voicing single No Hot Cargo. “The song was inspired by the small-but-mighty protests in Saint John against Canada’s arms trade and the sale of Light Armoured Vehicles to Saudi Arabia while it inflicted war upon Yemen,” said Pete Johnston. “The line ‘If we’re ever gonna wake the dead’ is a nod to activists everywhere trying to resurrect worker solidarity and organize broad worker coalitions. No Hot Cargo mourns the decline of labour unions in recent decades, the rollback of democratic bargaining rights and the rise of neoliberal capitalism in Canada. I think a lot more people are realizing we have some very serious fundamental problems, and one of the foremost is how do we take power away from these unaccountable billionaires?”
51 | Demon Hunter | I Will Fail You (Resurrected)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Demon Hunter debuted a reworked version of I Will Fail You from their forthcoming album Songs of Death and Resurrection, a mostly acoustic and stripped-down release due March 5. The album features 11 new “versions of classic Demon Hunter songs from across their 10 studio albums. Ryan Clark (vocals) had this to say about I Will Fail You (Resurrected): “The original album version of I Will Fail You is one of our doomiest ballads. At the time, I found myself immersed in the bleak heaviness of bands like Omnium Gatherum, Swallow The Sun and Katatonia. I’m naturally drawn to that place where heavy and sad collide.”
52 | Bleach Everything | Bound
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bound/Cured are two new songs from Richmond/Asheville/San Diego quartet Bleach Everything. Their first new recordings since 2019’s split LP with Integrity, Bound/Cured goes even further into both the pure violence put forth on 2018’s So We Gnaw LP and the melodic components introduced on the aforementioned split. Bound explores the uncertainty of luck and life and never truly knowing how it can, will, and can still shake out.”
53+54 | Treasvure | Heavy Arms / Secrets
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “San Francisco Bay-area band Treasvre have released their new double single Heavy Arms / Secrets, the final chapter in a four-part series. Heavy Arms / Secrets takes listeners on a journey, exploring the conflict so many of us experience when we struggle to leave something (or someone) behind. Juxtaposing the desperation to hold on against the freedom that comes with letting go, fans will feel triumphant and ready to move forward by the end of the second song. Treasvre blends elements of post-rock and atmospheric rock with rich synth textures, heavy guitar riffs, and electronic rhythms for a wholly fascinating sound that creates a distinctly cinematic quality — one that captures the complex range of human emotion in beautiful and inspiring ways.”
55+56 | Practice | Failure of Imagination + I Don’t Need Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With Valentine’s Day approaching and the mixture of emotions that it often brings in tow, N.Y.C. electro-pop artist Practice (aka Michael Tapper) shares two yin/yang singles: the sentimental ode to his wife Failure of Imagination and the more playful, tongue-in-cheek I Don’t Need Love. They are off his debut solo album Not A Game, out Feb. 19. Tapper explains he started writing Failure of Imagination in 2008, “in a classic experimental stage of trying things… The ‘throwing things against the wall to see what sticks’ phase,” he says. On the flip side, I Don’t Need Love was the final addition. “The initial idea for the song came one night when a friend was talking about how she wasn’t on social media, and I said it would be funny for the chorus of a song to say, ‘I don’t need love,’ and then at the end of it say, ‘I just need likes.’ She said I should write that song. So the next day I did.”
57 | Antonio Neves | Luz Negra (ft. Ana Frango Elétrico)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The new single from Rio jazz don Antonio Nevesis is a contemporary version of the samba standard Luz Negra, featuring the gorgeously eerie vocals of Ana Frango Elétrico, one of Rio’s most hotly tipped artists. This is not the first time Neves and Frango Elétrico have worked together. Neves was the arranger for the acclaimed Little Electric Chicken Heart album, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy.”
58 | Matt Cardle | Purple Crayon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Matt Cardle shares Purple Crayon, the first single from his upcoming studio album. Opening up about the track, the singer-songwriter says: “Purple Crayon is song about my struggles with addiction to Valium and the escape I found through using it. The song’s emotions are intertwined with imagery from my favourite children’s book, Harold and the Purple Crayon.”
BONUS TRACK: Greyshadow | Sway
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Greyshadow is singer-songwriter Gregor Wessely. His music is about contrasts: leaning on guitar-driven artists such as The Smiths, Sam Fender, Noel Gallagher, Ryan Adams and The War on Drugs. Sway is a song about memories and the fear of getting old. The lyrics are littered with nostalgia feels while dealing with themes like alienation. It underlines the meaning of evolving/growing old/growing up.”
