Bodysnatcher drag you down, Cyrax express themselves, Obscure Fate leave it up to you, Merk runs laps — and you’ve come too far in your Thursday Roundup to turn back now. Besides, why would you want to?
19 | Bodysnatcher | Take Me To Hell
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Florida deathcore outfit Bodysnatcher unveil their single Take Me To Hell. A testament to brutal slam worship, Take Me To Hell showcases a band that’s heavier and more dialed-in than ever before. Notes guitarist Kyle Carter, “Take Me To Hell comes from a very dark mindset that I feel a lot of people experience at one point or another. Whether those thoughts last, varies person to person. For me, those feelings are brief, but I felt it was necessary to write them down and share them.”
20 | Cyrax | Wozzeck
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Italian experimental progressive wizards Cyrax unleash the video for Wozzeck, from their album Experiences. Band comment: “Filmed at the medieval abbey of Morimondo and in the abandoned park of Consonno, (almost entirely in black and white), this video is inspired by Alban Berg’s opera and German expressionist movies such as Nosferatu and Metropolis, which feature themes of madness, depression and the horror of war.”
21 | Obscure Fate | Black Moon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Obscure Fate were formed in 2008 as a solo project by guitarist/songwriter Kaleva Kovalainen in Finland. The band just released the single Black Moon, taken from their EP Raven’s Call, due out April 1. Says lyricist Tapio Härkönen: “Black Moon handles death and the feelings regarding to it. One can anyway interpret the lyrics in its own way.”
22 | Merk | Laps Around The Sun
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Laps Around The Sun is the second single from Merk’s forthcoming album Infinite Youth, which will be released on April 9. Merk is the solo project of New Zealand songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Perkins. He says: “This song is about finding poetry in the mundane, repetitiveness of life. It was written on my birthday, which is also Valentine’s Day. I was struggling with the existential dread that can come on your birthday, you know, that lovely internal dialogue that goes ‘Everything is meaningless and so am I.’ This is a reflection on the idea that, sure, maybe everything is equally meaningless but doesn’t that also mean everything is just as meaningful as the next thing? Which is kinda cool. A jellybean or Jupiter matter just the same. Whether you are waiting for the weekend or celebrating another lap around the sun, or falling in and out of love or doing the dishes there’s beauty to be found in the never-ending repetitions and rhythms of life.”
23 | Great Lake Swimmers | Your Rocky Spine
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Great Lake Swimmers will release the recording of their performance at Toronto’s Church Of The Redeemer. The concert capped off the band’s Canadian spring tour of 2007, just days before the group embarked on a full European tour to support the album Ongiara. Today, audiences can listen to Your Rocky Spine from the album. “This version of Your Rocky Spine is especially poignant because it was the first time it was played in front of a Toronto audience,” says songwriter Tony Dekker. “It features a guest appearance on backing vocals by Basia Bulat, and would go on to become one of our most well-known songs. As the first song on the album, it was also placed first in the set list, and opened the concert.”
24 | Reuben And The Dark | Yes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Reuben and the Dark share the new track Yes, which came from a desire to put something positive into the world. “I thought I would be writing more songs about despair,” says frontman Reuben Bullock, “but we don’t need anymore hopelessness right now.” The new single represents a departure both in sound and philosophy for Reuben, whose pastoral highway rock balladry has earned comparisons to Mumford and Sons and The War On Drugs. The affirmative vibe of the song floats on a bed of spacious melody, matching the emotional heights of Reuben’s folk-rock epics but balanced by alt-pop sensibilities and triumphant call-and-response vocals.”
25 | Rodney Hazard | Duppy (ft. Gigi Santos)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Drawing from a deep well of artistic inspiration, Brooklyn artist Rodney Hazard is a product of his unconventional creative approach. Today, the creative virtuoso announces his newest EP Mercury Ocean with singer/songwriter Gigi Santos, and shares a new lyric video for their single Duppy. “The track asks an existential question. It plays an important role as the final chapter of a bigger story, but as a standalone record, it gets you thinking,” Gigi says. “Why am I here? What’s my purpose? What’s the point of it all? You almost spiral out of control, but by the end you know everything is going to be OK, and that brings you back.”
26 | The High Plains Drifters | Since You’ve Been Gone
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Directed by Lars Jørgen Sundnes Skaland, High Plains Drifter’s video for Since You’ve Been Gone depicts the story of a spaceman grasping for comfort as the memory of his love recedes into the vastness of outer (and inner) space. The track, which tiptoes between neon synths, airy bass, and a glitchy beat, was inspired by a particularly painful breakup when frontman Larry Studnicky was still young enough to believe in the theory of the ‘one and only.’ His girl dumped him, broke his heart, and forever disabused him of that notion but the pain inspired Since You’ve Been Gone, and captures the utter feeling of disbelief after your significant other leaves.”
27+28 | Tania Joy | Planks and Marietta + The Drought
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian folk-roots musician Tania Joy has been using this time in isolation to hone her songwriting. Today, she shares two new songs that came out of that time, Planks and Marietta and The Drought. “I needed to write a song about the difficult relationship between me and racism,” says Tania. “I’ve always needed to talk about it, but I rarely have. George Floyd brought it all back, and now after a very dark period I am able to start the conversation, even if it’s only with myself, in Planks and Marietta.” Initially, The Drought was inspired by witnessing the breakdown of a friend’s relationship, but then Tania realized that it was really about the deterioration of her own relationship and that total loss of one’s own identity. “It’s in the last lines of the song that connect the dots for me: ‘You leave me for dead’.”
29 | The Hackles | Martian Saints
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Hackles’ cover of Mary Lou Lord’s Martian Saints is the fifth single of Kill Rock Stars Records’ 30-year anniversary cover series titled Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars). “This project gave us a great excuse to dive deep into the warm saline pool that is the Kill Rock Stars catalogue,” The Hackles say. “Mary Lou Lord’s 1996 album Martian Saints ended up on repeat at our house, and after some debate we settled on the title track for our cover. Martian Saints is an extraterrestrial earworm, and the experience of coming slightly unhinged while waiting for deliverance in the confines of one’s home has particular resonance at the moment.” Fun fact: The first track released in the series was Mary Lou Lord and Mikaela Davis covering Elliott Smith’s Some Song. All of the dots are connecting!”
30 | Assertion | Supervised Suffering
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Intermission, out April 9, marks the official return of drummer William Goldsmith, who 10 years ago walked away from a successful music career that included stints as a founding member of Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft and Foo Fighters. Together with his Assertion bandmates, guitarist/vocalist Justin Tamminga and bassist Bryan Gorder, he has crafted Assertion’s debut LP Intermission. It’s real, propulsive, and earnest — a cathartic experience that proudly does not nestle nicely alongside current bands, or even many releases at all from the last couple decades. Goldsmith says, “A decade-long journey that started out walking away from music has led me right back to it and the very reason I started — but with a whole new appreciation and respect for it. I feel extremely fortunate to be part of this project. It’s not just about making music. It’s like a force of nature, but in an egoless collaboration that is nothing short of unconditional.”
31 | Kitt Wakeley | Conflicted (ft. Joe Satriani)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Oklahoma City singer-songwriter, arranger and producer Kitt Wakeley has announced his new album Symphony of Sinners and Saints will be released on May 21. The album’s dynamic first single is Conflicted, featuring guitarist Joe Satriani, who said, “playing guitar on Kitt’s new album has been a fun, exhilarating experience, and a musical challenge too. Kitt’s huge, cinematic sound makes each one of his songs a powerful sonic journey.” Wakeley adds: “To have someone of Joe’s talent is always a plus, but to have his creativity and input is even better. Add in the fact that he’s an incredibly nice person to work with, and you’ve got pure Satriani magic.”
32 | Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu | C’est Parce Que J’M’en Fous (Jlin Remix)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following the release of their album Renegade Breakdown in September, Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu have released the first in a series of remixes. Jlin — the singular electronic producer who has collaborated with the likes of Björk, Holly Herndon, Ben Frost and William Basinski — delivers a muscular, rhythmic take on C’est Parce Que J’M’en Fous. Says Davidson: “We’ve all been appreciators of Jlin’s work in the band, and it’s a huge honour to have her remixing our music. C’est Parce Que J’M’en Fous is a track that talks about the concepts of femininity and feminism as opposed to calculated feminism, and I could not have wished for a better remixer.”
33 | Alma Grace | Girl Fight
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Mexican-American artist, activist and actress Alma Grace is sharing her new single Girl Fight. The single is the first to be released from her upcoming EP Frida, due out on May 5. Girl Fight was inspired by Grace’s favorite Frida Kahlo story: After her husband Diego Rivera cheated on her, she had an affair with the same woman. “At its core, it’s a bisexual and feminist anthem that rebels against the trope of women fighting over men,” Grace writes. “We’re better off standing by each other.”
34 | Bachelor | Anything At All
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bachelor is not a band; it is a friendship. Critically acclaimed indie-rock powerhouses Jay Som (Melina Duterte) and Palehound (Ellen Kempner) have joined forces to form a new project called Bachelor. Today, they release their debut single Anything At All. The duo explain: “We’ve been dear friends and huge fans of each other for years and were lucky enough to get to work together before quarantine in January 2020. One morning Melina was showering and this bass line idea just stuck in her head. She went downstairs to play it, waking Ellen who then came down and joined in on drums and started recording. After we got the basic track down we wrote lyrics about queerness, lust, and longing.”
35 | Curtis Walsh | Bend (ft. Anna Pancaldi)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Irish singer-songwriter Curtis Walsh has now returned to deliver his first offering of 2021, the powerful ballad Bend. Teaming up with fellow vocalist Anna Pancaldi, Bend sees the two artists deliver a warm and heartfelt release that oozes rich and sweeping emotion. Curtis said, “I really enjoyed working on this track with Anna during lockdown. It was a very chilled approach despite writing it over video chat. Anna and I could both relate to the feeling of realising something has to change in a relationship but also being fearful of that change at the same time. So we tried to capture that emotion in this song.”
