Stoner Control head for the deep end, Bad Visuals shut it in your face, Bryce Thomas defies the laws of physics, Left Field Messiah are feeling decadent — and we’re finally coming to end of your latest stuffed-crust Weekend Roundup. There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?
64 | Stoner Control | Learning To Swim
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Stoner Control recently announced that they will release their new LP Sparkle Endlessly on March 19, and they are back with a new single Learning To Swim. On Sparkle Endlessly, Stoner Control sound like themselves. This is a feat achieved by virtue of the trio honing their skills as individual songwriters and musicians and as a working group. Singer/guitarist Charley Williams, singer/bassist Sam Greenspan and drummer Mike Cathcart are each diligent students of their craft.”
65 | Bad Visuals | Closing Doors
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a layered and driving sound held together by soaring effects and even higher volumes, Oakland’s Bad Visuals blends shoegaze atmospherics with punk and post-hardcore influences to craft a style equal parts gritty and melodic. Their EP Ravel was produced by Sam Pura (Hundredth, The Story So Far) and takes the band’s sound and aesthetic to new heights. The band say: “Closing Doors is the second single from our upcoming Ravel EP and represents our new material at its most energetic and anthemic. We hope listeners find something to love between the catchy chorus and post-rock-influenced bridge.”
66 | Bryce Thomas | Perpetual Motion Machines
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto singer-songwriter Bryce Thomas returns from a five-year recording hiatus with Perpetual Motion Machines, the first single from his forthcoming album Across The Neuro Seas, set for release on March 26. He says, “Perpetual Motion Machines is probably my favourite song on the album because it’s the most autobiographical. Plus, it’s in waltz time, which I always think gives songs a special energy. And I scored the trumpet part for it, which was a lot of fun.”
67 | Left Field Messiah | Young Libertine
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat), Jeremy Ruzumna (Fitz and The Tantrums) and Erik Janson (Wildling), Left Field Messiah is their embrace of their internal calling: a rallying cry to document their impulsive, weird, eclectic and even ugly ideas. Their music teeters between soul and dark funk in one moment, and quickly disintegrates into howling rock on the next. In this age of endless distraction, we need to embrace our moments of internal rebellion and find a lane to express it.”
68 | Clara Jones | Ordinary Person
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Clara Jones is a mainstay of the Montreal music scene, having played everywhere with the indie trio Motel Raphael. After nearly a decade of work, including two studio albums and two North American tours with the band, Clara Jones is breaking out as a solo artist with her single Ordinary Person, a deep and emotional examination of the human experience. Jones provides a space for everybody. Her country-folk background inspires deeper dives into her music’s subject matter, with a focus on lyrical depth. But, most importantly, her songs are fun and energetic.”
69 | Honeypot | Shut Your Mouth
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Charleston, S.C. indie-rock band Honeypot are back with the final single release before their release next month. Shut Your Mouth is an anti-Valentine’s punch with the same prog-rock vibes and scathing lyrics that define Honeypot’s music, this time with a more hard-rock angle as well. Frontman Frank Hartman explains: “The subject matter is satirical, as per usual — a satirical view on couple dynamics. In this story, the woman is the antagonist. It addresses long-term couple dynamics where someone seeks solace in substance abuse. As one person shrinks, the other looms larger to fill the void. But with a funny backdrop.”
70 | Good Lee | Panda Journey
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following his 2020 debut We Are, Good Lee returns with a fresh single to kick off 2021. Panda Journey sees the producer offering up listeners a fusion of downtempo & organic house, and pushing into a higher tempo and dance focus than his prior work. A steady four-to-the-floor groove and organic flute melodies lead the track amidst an array of field recordings, synth and acoustic instruments layered throughout.”
71 | PM Warson | In Conversation
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In Conversation is the first single from PM Warson’s debut True Story, to be released in April. There’s blues, jazz and swing, with lashings of girl-group pop and soul against a backdrop of club-honed rhythm tunes. Entirely self-produced, but perhaps defined by collaboration, True Story features stellar playing throughout with drummers Billy Stookes and Mat Swales, while Stephen Large guests on keyboards throughout; a tight horn section and an all-girl backing chorus complete the sound.”
72 | Marta Palombo | Sketches
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Award-winning singer-songwriter Marta Palombo returns with the release of her stunning new single Sketches. It offers an intimate glimpse into a perplexing period in the artist’s own life, when she found herself re-evaluating her place in the world and learning how to begin again. “I was dealing with the shattering of a lot of expectations — not only was I not nearly as put-together and grown up as I thought I would be at 22, but I was now facing a global pandemic that had taken every important person, event, and aspect of my life and put it on hold,” Palombo explains. “Sketches is a reflection on what my 22 felt like; uncertain, disillusioned, and raw.”
73 | Alyson Murray | Someone Like You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The soulful, smooth and tender tune Someone Like You has arrived from Alyson Murray’s upcoming EP The AM Session, due out March 18. The Australian-born, New York-based vocalist is carving her own vulnerable space between R&B, soul, and jazz — brilliantly painting portraits of love and loss with honest lyricism and delicate, passionate vocals. “Writing about love in a time of isolation felt healing,” says Murray. “Someone Like You embodies the energy and warmth I wanted to express throughout the EP, which is why I decided to release it as the first single from The AM Session. Someone Like You feels like an homage to a classic love song, from the trumpet lines to the harmonies. I write to feel good, and I hope that transpires.”
74 | Joe Kaplow | February Prorated Rent
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Upon listening to Joe Kaplow’s forthcoming second album Sending Money and Stems (April 30), the first thing that strikes you is his voice. Over the course of 10 indie-folk tracks, his shimmering falsetto seems to dance with the strings of his guitar as it pulls you in and doesn’t let go. February Prorated Rent, the second single, is a playful acoustic track with a melody and upbeat feel that belies the bleakness of the narrator’s reality. Kaplow relays that the track deals with the gentrification of the Bay Area. “In the eight years I’ve lived there, I’ve seen so many artists and musicians move away. Hundreds of them. The song also confronts my attachment to the Bay and how I’m the lingerer who’s left living in a garage to make ends meet.”
75 | Johnny Ashby | Getting Started
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Johnny Ashby is a British singer-songwriter in Los Angeles. His latest single Getting Started has an ageless tone alongside its chill aura, providing a reassuring feeling and reminder that everything will be ok. Including an array of indie rock instrumentation from twangy guitars, warm piano and timeless backing vocals accompanied by Ashby’s distinct gritty, woozy vocals. The feel-good track is a constant build reaching a climax of power and might. Ashby shares, “We wanted to write something that had this continuous pulse throughout that grew bigger and bigger. We had this image of someone running and the music kinda built up from there.”
76 | Lalalow | Sensory Deprivation
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Lalalow is a Finnish electro-pop duo formed in 2018 by Nina Jackson (vocals and keyboard) and Tommi Laivamaa (guitar/bass). Their single Sensory Deprivation is a hypnotic experience, narrating the feeling of isolation and not being able to use your senses to know what’s real and what’s not. These emotions instead lead you to develop feelings, thoughts, illusions and images swirling around inside your head, making it hard to decipher what’s reality. Jackson shares, “The story behind the single is that I felt isolated from the rest of the world because of covid, but it was not only that. I often have this lonely and isolated feeling even without covid. I guess it’s just my introspective mind playing games.”
77 | Yarlie | Wreck
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Swedish artist Yarlie creates pop music you can feel. Filling her rich soundscapes with shimmering synth patterns and pounding 808s, her debut Wreck is a candid evaluation of romantic relationships. A lyrical landscape shifting between heartbreak and dizzying euphoria, Yarlie’s music is a delicate balancing act — crafting pop songs you can cry dance to. “You know those promises you give yourself? ‘I’m not gonna call’, ‘This time I mean it’, ‘Never again’ — those promises? Wreck is a song about those promises, and the inability to keep them at two in the morning.”
78 | Skofee | Spiderman (Post Pop Remix)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Skofee engages her listeners through emotional, candid lyrics of self-reflection and a contemporary mix of distinct and dreamy indie pop sounds, wild electronic soundscapes and vibrant layered vocals. Spiderman is off her debut EP Polished. The L.A. artist offers a remix of the song courtesy of Stefan Skarbek aka Post Pop.”
79 | Elvira | Wknd
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Elvira is back with her single Wknd, where she describes a love that makes all days feel like it’s a weekend. The song has a recognizable arpeggio that captures you right away. Wknd is way more intimate than her other songs. The singer lets you into her space where you’ll feel like you’re invited to a scripted love scene. Elvira describes the process: “When we wrote Wknd, it was just a vibe. I was in a different session and had four hours off and Vetle (producer) asked if we could write something quick without giving it too much thought, which was exactly what I needed.”
80 | Mike Clerk | The Air In Here
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Mike Clerk announced his solo album The Space Between My Ears arrives on March 26. The announcement is accompanied by the single The Air In Here. Grappling with his inner demons, The Air In Here finds Clerk delivering an intoxicating alt-rock composition that recalls the slow-burning epics of Arab Strap or Idlewild. Finding the Fife-based artist driven to breaking-point, it’s a song that tackles issues of mental health and addiction, rehabilitation and redemption. Dealing deft blows with its stark lyricism, lines like: “My head is aching, from all the s**t I’ve been taking … I can’t breathe the air in here” will hook and haunt in equal measure.”
81 | Seleminga | Niña
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A word about the song: Originally it is a Bee Gees song — I Can’t See Nobody — that was also performed by Nina Simone. I made my own version of it and built a dark, clubbish instrumental around it. It is coming I guess from my lack of clubs and my absolute need for dancing!”
82 | Boxteles | You Can’t Fall In Love For The Sake Of It
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Boxteles are a through-and-through Yorkshire indie band and that particular flavour of music has been capturing the imaginations of the masses for many years now. This latest single You Can’t Fall In Love For The Sake Of It is a very honest look at love and relationships in this day and age, you can’t force it, you can’t manufacture it, you can just meet people in the nighttime and hope it lasts, as Tom sings, “for a lifetime” and “see where it goes.”
83 | Justyn Thyme | Return Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Justyn Thyme is hitting the ground running — in his sandals. Return Me contemplates what it means to be human and reflects on the winding journey toward authentic self expression. The rhythm of the song carries like waves crashing on the beach, while the lyrics allude to themes of nature, ancestry and a search for identity. Island-born and well-travelled, Thyme is a singer/songwriter who distills his experiences of the world around him into songs that resonate with lessons learned. Possessing a distinct guitar style, smooth vocals and uplifting/thoughtful lyrics, Thyme immerses his listeners in music that feels like an old friend. Thyme has been a familiar face around the Prince Edward Island music scene for several years playing as a supporting and session musician for various artists.”
84 | Kenny Mason | Partments
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Atlanta rapper, artist and creative Kenny Mason returns with Partments. The melodic, guitar-laden cut is his first offering of new music in 2021 coming off of a breakthrough year in 2020 with his debut album Angelic Hoodrat. Led by singles Hit and Angelic Hoodrat, the debut album positioned Kenny as a prominent voice in the ever-changing Atlanta music scene. Paving a way for genre-bending acts, he is redefining the city’s sound with influences including hip-hop and alt-rock.”
85 | Danny Quest & Cheat Codes | That Feeling (ft. Hayley May)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Safe to say, these guys have a name to uphold. Danny Quest has been delivering sure shot club tunes for a couple of years now, first making waves in 2018 when teaming up with Cheat Codes for the popular NSFW. The group share: “We are so excited to have been able to make this song with our best friend Danny Quest! This is our third one together, and we are so glad to be able to keep working with him.”
