Timo Ellis saddles up, Starbird & The Phoenix are falling for you, Grant Lee Phillips does a double take, Arepo are not living in the material world — and we’ve finally come to the end of a truly landmark Weekend Roundup. Thanks for playing!
97 | Timo Ellis | Vampire Rodeo
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “As New York City multi-instrumentalist Timo Ellis prepares to release his latest solo EP Death Is Everywhere at the end of February, the lead single Vampire Rodeo is now playing. Ellis writes: “Vampire Rodeo is basically about how millions and millions of Americans have become functionally anesthetized/propagandized into uncritically accepting a terrifying amount of state-sponsored US shock doctrine corporate capitalism, environmental devastation, and racist imperial violence, in the world, and now more than ever, even when unequivocally/openly foisted even on its own citizens. As well as giving any QOTSA song a serious run for its money.”
98 | Starbird & The Phoenix | I’m Fallin’
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Starbird & The Phoenix released their debut alt-pop/folk album Starfire today. The project is powered by stratospheric harmonies and ukulele extroversion, and fronted by queer multi-hyphenate artists Courtney Bassett and Andrew Swackhamer. Take a listen to their upcoming Queer Love anthem single I’m Fallin’. They say: “A catchy-as-hell, sometimes symphonic wonderland that takes the listener on a joy ride from lust, queer love and heartbreak to mental health awareness and self empowerment. We wrote this album to spread our joy, our pride, our heartaches, and our need to dance it out! Starfire is a technicolor fireball sent from the stratosphere to light up the dark left by 2020. We hope it moves people to sing along, to have a dance party, and to feel like you have friends in us, who want you to revel in all that you are.”
99+100 | Grant-Lee Phillips | Rag Town / Pink Rebel
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Rag Town is a tender slice of Americana that illustrates how cities across the country transform over time and that its inhabitants are oftentimes oblivious to these changes. Pink Rebel is a politically charged number about a nearby Confederate statue that has overstayed its welcome, highly topical and personal to Grant and his home of Nashville. Featured on the track are Jay Bellerose (Alison Krauss, Robert Plant), Jennifer Condos (Bruce Springsteen) and Eric Heywood (Son Volt, The Jayhawks).”
101 | Arepo | Nonmaterial
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Newly formed Virginia/North Carolina-based duo Arepo confirms the impending release of their eponymous debut album in late March. The band’s first single Nonmaterial is out now. While Ryan Parrish and Graham Scala have long been collaborators on a variety of projects ranging from the blistering hardcore of Bleach Everything to the atmospheric indie rock of Highness to the subdued soundscapes of Harmonic Cross, each has a long-standing interest in the outer fringes of sound.”
102 | Black Nash | Love Underwater
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Black Nash is sharing a special love song off his upcoming self-titled album, out Feb. 26. Love Underwater is a story song like no other. It opens with a startling admission: “Love underwater is not what I thought it’d be,” sings Jody Smith, “they took dolphins and force-fed them ecstasy.” Things only get stranger from there, as Smith walks through an oddly affecting landscape where people drain their bank accounts to buy up lakefront and huff carbon dioxide to train their lungs. “I just thought the title was really pretty,” says Smith when asked about the song’s inspiration. Who knows where the rest came from?”
103 | Ze in the Clouds | Lyn
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ze in the Clouds is a cutting-edge multi-instrumentalist and producer. He created his own compositional style as the result of his jazz origins and his continuous studying and evolution. He shares his thousand faces without any stylistic boundaries with people and musicians who have the same vision. “Lyn is the first track that I composed for my first album, it was therefore natural to imagine this track as the first single.The song Lyn starts with an hypnotical loop which brings the listeners through the cloudy and intimate first part of the song and then breaks into a melancholic truce. In the third part of the song the loop comes back, increasingly accompanied by polyrhythmic levels that explode in a climax that is almost ironic.”
104 | Oh No Noh | Where One Begins And The Other Stops
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Oh No Noh is searching for beauty in unconventional musical settings, obsolete technology and daily surroundings. Today, Oh No Noh announces the release of debut album Where One Begins And The Other Stops for release on March 26, and reveals first single Alba. Markus Rom is protagonist of long-time-experiment and started working with this alter ego in 2019. He released a self-titled EP, played several concerts and festivals and worked in diverse interdisciplinary collaborations.”
105 | Evripidis and His Tragedies | Bitter
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Released today from Barcelona-based queer artist Evripidis and His Tragedies, Bitter is a hooky single meshing ’80s synth-pop nostalgia with a modern shine. The track comes via forthcoming LP Neos Kosmos. Evripidis says: “I wanted to convey a little bit of the feeling that The Smiths’ songs gave me when I was younger — this mixture of romanticism, cynicism, and humor that is kind of camp, but also deeply heartfelt. I am, after all, bitter and hopeful, grumpy and funny, all together at the same time, and I wanted to connect with those who feel these strong contradictions.”
106 | J’Moris | Blac Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hillsboro,TX-based rapper and storyteller J’Moris has announced the release of new single Blac Love. Far from typical lyrical themes, J’Moris digs deep on this poetic, confessional new release that serves as a sincere ode to black women everywhere. Much like Dead Prez’s classic Mind Sex, the rapper is expressing his need for a black woman’s strength, spirit and company over a slow-burning beat.”
107 | Demon Hunter | Loneliness (Resurrected)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Demon Hunter shared the latest single Loneliness (Resurrected) from their upcoming album Songs of Death and Resurrection. This new version of their chugging slow-burner, originally from the album Peace, embraces the band’s most melodic and haunting moments, replacing crushing guitar tones for soft keys and backing strings. The album, a mostly acoustic and stripped-down affair, features 11 new Resurrected versions of classic songs from across their 10 studio albums. It’s due out on March 5. Ryan Clark (vocals) says: “When we played this song live in 2019 — during the acoustic portion of the night — we pushed the limits of how slow we could do it. The slower we got, the more bleak it felt, and this only added to the vibe. After all, we were trying to channel a feeling of despair, allowing the song to truly embody its namesake. On the studio version of this Resurrected track, you’ll hear my mom sing with me. My mom is my inspiration for singing in the first place, so it was very heartwarming to finally capture our voices together on a Demon Hunter record.”
108 | G.R. Gritt | Doubt It
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Juno winner G.R. Gritt released their second single Doubt It off of their debut full-length studio album Ancestors. Doubt It is a song about relationships, from person to person and even nation to nation. It’s about believing that you’re on the same page, and wanting to have trust in your partner, but as time goes on their actions tell a different story: one of manipulation, violence, and deceit.”
109 | Julia Bhatt | 1:30
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Genre-jumping Miami indie artist Julia Bhatt is showcasing her witty personality and disgust for social media hierarchy within the music industry in her single 1:30. At just 19 years old, Bhatt has been struggling a lot with the concept of “making it” in music. “I feel that there was a way of doing it but everything changed with social media. This probably sounds cliché but you can’t make it if you don’t blow up on TikTok or Instagram. Almost all of the radio hits blew up as a trend on TikTok and now they’re doing dream collaborations because of that reach.” She says 1:30 is about that contemplative mindset and feeling “less than perfect and watching from the outside when you feel you could be doing more.”
110 | Amy Speace & The Orphan Brigade | Shotgun Hearts
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Looking back on a 12-month span between her son’s first birthday and the loss of her father, award-winning singer and songwriter Amy Speace culled 11 new songs directly from her depth of personal experiences to create her new full-length album, There Used to Be Horses Here, out April 30. The album’s second single Shotgun Hearts speaks to and celebrates Speace’s time in New York City. “A year ago I was playing a show in N.Y.C. and found myself walking the same path as my younger self from 20 years prior thinking of the days and nights when I was just starting out as an actress and a songwriter — riding the subways late at night — when everything felt sparked with desire.”
111 | EG¥PT | Try Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “R&B songstress EG¥PT, also known as IAMEGYPT, released the irresistibly memorable and stylish Try Me. With trap instrumentation but very much in an R&B style, hi-hat hits and clicks create a half-time beat peppered with piano and bass synths. Working her magic over the beat produced by Ozone, EG¥PT’s lyrics meld with vocal samples and 808s. Her seductive tone tells late night stories and desires. Try Me is a record that encompasses the feelings we’ve all had dealing with quarantine and the pent up desires for love, and affection,” she explains. “It’s vibe and infectious sound is sure to set the mood.”
112 | Prince Paris | Last Chance
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Globe-trotting DJ and producer Prince Paris has paired up with Ben Duffy on the single Last Chance. Duffy is the singer of London’s electro-pop band Fenech Soler and has collaborated with the iconic Claptone. Prince Paris has toured with David Guetta and appeared at major festivals. Prince Paris tells us: “Last Chance is one of my favourite singles so far. The fact that I was able to collaborate with Ben from Fenech Soler to make this record is a dream. I’ve been a fan of the band for a long time, since I did a remix for them back in 2013.”
113 | Bruza x Silencer | Pick It Up
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Teaming up with top grime producer Silencer, Bruza jumps straight back into the ring with Pick It Up. It is catchy, clever and heavy all at the same time. This track is pure madness from start to finish, leaving you punch drunk and ready for more. Born out of Hackney London, Bruza would describe himself as an all-out mic man. And who are we to disagree? Bruza has one of the most unique and coldest flows in the game. As we move into to 2021, Bruza is fully loaded with tracks only he can make.”
114 | Lenci | Got To Get To Know You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “North Carolina native Lenci is not afraid to express her affinity for synthesizing music genres through her songwriting and instrumentation. “My music reflects who I am internally and externally, even the parts I try to hide or the mistakes I tried to bury. It’s fluid, sometimes playful, mostly about romance and all of its ups and down, but always true; that’s why I call it “whimsical soul. I hope that when people listen to this song they understand that it’s ok to ask the “hard questions” when you are getting to know someone romantically. Their reaction and answers reflect where they are at that moment and if they are compatible with you. Let your mind speak before your heart gets involved!”
115 | Franz Kirmann + Roberto Grosso | Saudade
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a rich and diverse background that has seen him produce numerous compositions for a variety of high-profile projects, not to mention his heavily-praised solo material, French producer Franz Kirmann has teamed up with Italian artist Roberto Grosso to deliver their new single Saudade, lifted from their forthcoming collaborative EP In Waves.”
BONUS TRACK: Dan Angelo | All For You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “My upcoming release All For You is a song I’ve been working on for a while and I put my soul into. For every broken, healing, or new relationship, we can all relate in some way. We all have someone or something that we would give it all up for. My girlfriend helping me through my getback inspired the track. A smooth, melodic, and loving chorus combated by heavy and emotional rap verses provides a beautiful masterpiece of love, hurt, and truth.”
