Dishpit play in the snow (and win Best Band Name Of The Day), Odd Circus are hungry like the wolf, Sacred Shrines blaze a psychedelic trail, Heartsick are on the hunt — and I’ve just noticed there’s definitely an outdoorsy (and slightly menacing) theme in the first half of your Tuesday Roundup. I’m not sure if that will make your cabin fever better or worse. And frankly, I don’t care. Onward!
1 | Dishpit | This Time
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Montreal trio Dishpit just released their latest single This Time, accompanied by a brutally fun and frigid video. Led by vocalist/guitarist Nora Kelly and bassist Jed Stein, Dishpit bring an attitude of feminist absurdism to post-punk/grunge in order to take up as much space as possible in a male-dominant genre. Discussing this single, Nora stated, “This Time is the most honest and personal song on the album. ‘How did you know I’d stay silent, stay weak?’ is screamed amidst an ordered mayhem of abrasive guitars and drums. The Me Too movement has given widespread attention and support to survivors of sexual assault, who had previously been silenced by fears of being challenged or disbelieved if they revealed their trauma. For me, the writing of this song marked the first public expression of my own experiences; they were no longer suppressed or muted but yelled in rage for the world to hear.”
2 | Odd Circus | Amarok
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Fittingly named avant-rock trio Odd Circus will release their mind-bending Mantha EP this April. Operating out of Orlando and DC, the band explore the suspension of space and time through sound. Today they unveil a mesmerizing video for first single Amarok, noting: “When you’re deep in improvisation and things lock into place, the music can suddenly feel like some mysterious creature stopping in for a visit. Every track on Mantha represents one of these little visitations, and Amarok — a gigantic wolf from Inuit mythology that preys on lone hunters — is a pretty fitting metaphor for the way this moment unfolded. Emerging from a long and absolutely chaotic noise jam, Amarok bided its time, stalked us, and as soon as it was ready, ate us alive.”
3 | Sacred Shrines | Trail To Find
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Brisbane garage psych-rockers Sacred Shrines revealed their upcoming sophomore full-length Enter The Woods will be out on April 23, and shared the video for Trail To Find. If you’re not familiar with the force to be reckoned with that Sacred Shrines is, Trail To Find will be the best introduction to its confident and uplifting, swagger-laden and definitely intoxicating brand of psych-drenched garage rock. Frontman Phil Usher declares: “This song tells the story of the abandonment that happens at the end of a relationship and how weird it can be that two people can share their lives so closely, but then go their separate ways as strangers, as if they never knew each other.”
4 | Heartsick | Thrill of The Hunt
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Emerging out of the Midwest to take the U.S. by storm, Heartsick are a Michigan metal machine that epitomizes passion, hard work and dedication. Combining an onslaught of hardcore and metalcore-tinged ferocity alongside moments of haunting melodies and stunning atmospherics, Heartsick are set to elevate themselves to the next level in 2019 with their stirring sophomore album Sleep Cycles. Having shared stages with internationally-acclaimed bands such as Hatebreed, Every Time I Die, Fear Factory and All That Remains, Heartsick bring their own powerhouse live show to whomever and wherever will have them, with professionalism and an attention to detail that very few manage to emulate in today’s modern metal scene.”
5 | Paul Jacobs | Underneath the Roses
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After announcing his upcoming album Pink Dogs on the Green Grass back in January, Paul Jacobs returns with the single Underneath the Roses, accompanied by a video mixing animation and live footage. With a soaring melody and dissonant guitars, this song takes the listener on a winding trajectory that culminates in an exhilarating outro. Paul animated it himself. “When drawing the video, I was looking out my window and was seeing the world as a pretty dead, dark place”, says the Montreal musician. “It was a month into winter and the moods were getting heavy. I ran with a theme of people in an underworld who don’t realize they’re more dead than alive. They’ve accepted their reality and don’t understand how much more you can get out of life.”
6 | Dräger | The Villain You Need
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Brooklyn musician Dräger has shared his new single The Villain You Need, alongside a video. The alluring synth-driven single dives into the superiority complex of a hero and how sometimes you need to be the bad guy to do the right thing. The video for the song serves as a short film, inspired by movies like Blow and Pulp Fiction. Dräger stated: “The Villain You Need is a fantasy of being saved and how heroes are plagued with stereotypes of self righteousness and live in barriers of their own restrictions and principles. It’s about how it takes a villain sometimes to be honest and get shit done. It’s a feeling of helplessness and anger and wanting a bad guy to come along and serve it up to the man.”
7 | McKinley Dixon | Make A Poet Black
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her, McKinley Dixon’s debut album due May 7, is the culmination of a journey where heartbreak and introspection challenged him to adapt new ways of communicating physically and mentally, as well as across time and space. “The best way to sum up this album is: I was sad, I was mad, and now I’m alive,” Dixon explains. “These things I talk about on the record have had harmful and brilliant effects on my timeline, and have forced me to be cognizant of the fact that living is complex. Rap has allowed me the language to communicate, and be someone who can communicate with people from all over. Knowing how far I’ve come, I think people will find trust in the message I’m sending.”
8 | Monarch | Shred or Die
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “San Diego thrashers Monarch will unleash their sophomore album Future Shock this year and have already released the first single/music video Shred or Die. The song has been part of the band’s live show for a very long time and stands out as a favorite and a good example of their aim as a band. This track is relevant to current events with lyrical content relating to civil unrest and power-hungry people ruling over others. The video has received some pushback as it features heavy footage of the riots going on in America during the COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter protests. On the lighter side also features skateboarding around local San Diego skate spots.”
9 | Rose Cousins | I Wanna Dance With Somebody
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Grammy-nominated and Juno-winning songwriter Rose Cousins has shared her cover of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), along with a video. “My sister and I made up routines to a fair number of pop songs when we were kids and I Wanna Dance with Somebody was at the top of the list,” says Cousins. “I know my catalogue leans melancholy but I have a true love for pop music and a deep sentimentality for the hits of the late ’80s and Queen Whitney. This past year has been like no other in revealing who we are when we are alone, how we take care of each other when we can’t be together. Let’s dance.”
10+11 | Sweet Crude | La Rêveuse + Under New Moons
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New Orleans sextet Sweet Crude announced Dualité: A double A-side singles series where the group will release pairs of songs where one is sung in Louisiana French and the other in English. In celebration of Mardi Gras, the band released the first instalment today with La Rêveuse and Under New Moons. “La Rêveuse (The Dreamer) is an all-French song and carries the premise that we are all living in someone else’s dream. In the song, our dreamer is likened to a little kid playing on the beach, building sandcastles and romping around. Unbeknownst to our baby-god, we are actually all denizens of her temporary sand creations and are at the mercy of all her arbitrary whims … Meanwhile, Under New Moons is a reality check. On a stream one day, our fans offered us the prompt to write a song about self-care during lockdown. We narrowed that idea down to the moments in life when the best self-care is to disengage from that person (place or thing) that provokes all your worst habits.”
12 | Wild Pink | Pacific City
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Wild Pink’s highly anticipated album A Billion Little Lights is due this Friday. Today the band share Pacific City, a final preview single from the LP. On Pacific City, John Ross delivers a slice of pitch-perfect, anthemic indie featuring shimmering steel guitar and soaring saxophone. A rumination on self-acceptance and patience, of giving yourself time and space, he explains the meaning behind the track: “Pacific City is named after the city in Oregon and I was watching Heat a lot while writing it. I wanted to write a few songs with a conventional song structure on this album and this was one of them — we spent a lot of time on the drum tones and used a Yamaha RX21 drum machine. The song is about time passing and realizing you’re not the same person you used to be.”
13 | Raf Rundell | Always Fly (ft. Terri Walker)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Raf Rundell has shared new track Always Fly (ft. Terri Walker), the latest track from his forthcoming second album, O.M. Days, which will be released on April 9. The album also features the likes of Chas Jankel, Lias Saoudi, John Higgs and Andy Jenkins. For those not familiar with the name, Terri Walker first broke through in the UK as a featured artist in a string of tracks, including the Top 20 hit Sing-A-Long (for Shanks & Bigfoot) before garnering a string of nominations for her debut album Untitled. She has subsequently released three more albums as well as has collaborated with numerous industry luminaries, from veteran soulman Omar to post-dubstep chieftain Donaeo.”
14 | Iota Phi | Wolves Mate For Life
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Iota Phi aka Ilia Darlin is a Greek singer, songwriter, director and record producer. Inspired by ideas of identity, post-humanism and Greek mythology, her sound effortlessly brings together a swirling mix of alternative electronic, pop and R&B in an original and elegant art-pop package. The first release from the upcoming album Homo Pauperis, Wolves Mate For Life brings together analog synthesisers, delicate strings and deep, driving 808 drums, creating an atmospheric and emotional soundscape beneath Ilia’s trademark processed, haunting vocals. She said: “Songs grow inside of me parallel to my life. Some take years. Reading back the lyrics, the words “My tears are watering your flowers” stand out and all I’m trying to say is that it’s never too late to realise things and change your life; find the strength to be who you really are.”
15 | Wilderun | Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Boston five-piece Wilderun released the video for their cover of Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Says vocalist Evan Anderson Berry: “I originally chose this song as a cover because I felt like we could really give it the Wilderun treatment, if there is such a thing. Obviously, we are partial to longer and more epic tracks, so choosing this song just made sense. I always enjoy when bands make cover songs their own, and try to make it less discernible from their core discography than you might expect, so that’s what we attempted here. Much of the guitar work still pays homage to Maiden, but we tried to match some of the atmosphere of Veil of Imagination with the symphonic elements, so it feels like it belongs to that same world.”
16 | Jehnny Beth | French Countryside
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Songwriter, singer, and author Jehnny Beth has released the emotionally stirring video for her vulnerable single French Countryside. The raw and haunting video was directed by Johnny Hostile and filmed at their studio in France. The track, written with Romy Madley Croft and Johnny Hostile, is taken from her debut solo album To Love Is To Live. “This is the song that caused me the most issues. Up until the last week of mixing we didn’t have a version I was happy with, but I am very proud of it now. I almost didn’t put it on the record because it is so close to the bone it almost feels too self indulgent, but it was my intention to write a song that felt more vulnerable than anything I had ever written before,” Jehnny said. “It’s a promise song. I wrote the verses on a plane as I was convinced it was going to crash. I was making promises to myself about what I was going to do differently if I survived. Death has been very present in my mind during the process of writing this record.”
17 | Kyle Edward Connolly | Get Me Tomorrow
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kyle Edward Connolly has announced the release of his debut album On Arrival on Feb. 26 and shared the video for the first single Get Me Tomorrow. With tinges of Chris Cohen, Neil Young and Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers, Kyle has developed his own unique country-rock style. He says: “It’s a song about procrastination, putting things off until tomorrow and the feeling of being unsure. Written in a Munich hotel room and recorded a week later in Berlin.”
