Blood Lemon are for the birds, Xiu Xiu raise a ruckus in the rumpus room, Austin Lucas delivers a hue and cry, Faiyaz and the Wasted Chances get taken for a ride — and that’s how it starts on this Thursday Roundup. Where will it end? Stay tuned to find out.
1 | Blood Lemon | Black-Capped Cry
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Boise post-riot grrrl trio Blood Lemon have announced their debut self-titled album, out April 23 — and shared a driving, environmentally charged single & video for Black-Capped Cry. The song draws inspiration from the call of black-capped chickadees living around singer-bassist (and first female member of Built to Spill) Melanie Radford’s house. “One day I kept thinking about one of their calls slowed down, playing over and over in my head, almost trance-like,” she says. “So, with that idea in mind, we wrote this song as an aid to that call, as though it was a call for help.” The result is a song that skewers both the lifestyle of limitless consumption and white colonialism, punctuated with a video juxtaposing a pure, natural reality and an industrialized, post-apocalyptic one.”
2 | Xiu Xiu | Rumpus Room (ft. Angus Andrew)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Xiu Xiu unveil the thumping new romp Rumpus Room ft. Angus Andrew of Liars, the latest single from the duets album OH NO, out March 26. Rumpus Room alternates between rambunctious, crowded bursts of noise and sparse, somewhat eerie moments of suspenseful build up. From Angela Seo: “Does everyone have a deep personal childhood association with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, or just me? One of the first things I shoplifted as a kid was a bag of FHC. I once bet my cousin I could finish an entire Party Size bag in one sitting; I won the bet but lost my sense of taste for a couple days. I was a latchkey kid and would ditch school and often go to the 7-Eleven by our apartment, where some 20-year-old kid who didn’t give a crap would be working and watch me play their single arcade game — Marvel vs. Capcom — in the corner as long as I bought a Slurpee and FHC. Sometimes in my old teenage journals, I find flamin’ red-dusted fingerprint smudges among melodramatic poems and fake runaway notes. All that intersected perfectly with the Rumpus Room song.”
3 | Austin Lucas | Cry Over
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Austin Lucas’ new album Alive In The Hot Zone was written and recorded in the earliest days of the Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter/American uprising. It represents a new direction for Austin, yet retains his distinctive voice and hyperliterate writing style. Contained are 10 songs that serve as direct commentary regarding the ongoing global situation, isolation, fear and the indomitable spirit required to stand up against systemic racism and fascism, in a world spiraling out of control. Cry Over is the latest single and video from the album.”
4 | Faiyaz and the Wasted Chances | Dead Animals
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Faiyaz and the Wasted Chances’ latest video Dead Animals was made many months ago during safer and more hospitable times. It features members of Lush Buffalo/Little Junior and famed videographer Kurtis Watson, with The Effens’ Austin Nops as the director. The video is a fast-paced, high energy, fun loving abduction! It’s light-hearted yet heavy all at the same time. In these incredibly tough, mentally exhausting times, we hope that watching these goofs have fun brings a smile to your face!”
5 | Badlands | Let Go
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ahead of tomorrow’s release of her stunning new album Djinn, Swedish producer, composer and sound designer Catharina Jaunviksna, aka Badlands, has shared a sweeping video for Let Go. Using authentic 16mm film from when her mom was growing up in the north of Sweden, Jaunviksna explains: “Let Go is a tribute to life and a study in the transience of everything. The track and video reflects how temporary everything is — one moment it’s there, the next it’s gone. Memories are cloudy and hard to trust, but they are what makes us. It represents the art of letting go and the different stages in that incredibly challenging process. But in the end, you’re free.”
6 | SOM | Awake // Sedate (Holy Fawn Remix)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Atmospheric rock outfit SOM — comprised of current and former members of Constants, Junius, and Caspian — will release their Awake EP on Friday. In advance, the band reveal a video for the Holy Fawn remix of Awake // Sedate. Notes Holy Fawn’s Ryan Osterman: “When I got the opportunity to remix one of the new songs, I instantly wanted to jump on it. I heard Awake // Sedate and immediately had gears turning with how I might approach the song in a way that (hopefully) honored it while giving it some sort of Holy Fawn gloom or what have you. I felt this kind of emotional paralysis / Cotard’s Syndrome when [vocalist/guitarist] Will [Benoit] was singing and just wanted to create something to capture that isolation.”
7 | The Human Rights | Peace Gun
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “When it comes to reggae in Canada, few bands do it better — or more authentically — than Toronto band The Human Rights. On their new album Reggae Strong, set for release in the summer of 2021, The Human Rights more than live up to its title. That sound is on full display with the album’s first single Peace Gun, a song whose deep groove and powerful lyrics convey a timely message about the current state of the world. Bandmember Friendlyness says, “This song is what happens when a peaceful Rastaman writes a badman song.”
8 | Seething Akira | Lucid Dream (ft. Stu Sarre)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seething Akira have released their video & new single Lucid Dream (feat. Stu Sarre). Lucid Dream is the latest single release from this exceptionally talented & fabulous Pompey crossover band, leading in to the release of their new album Dysfunctional Wonderland later this year. Innovators and outstanding performers, Seething Akira are an award-winning U.K. band known for infusing rock, electronic dance music and drum and base with shredding metal guitars and commanding vocals.”
9+10 | Atreyu | Warrior (ft. Travis Barker) + Underrated
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Atreyu have announced their new album Baptize comes out June 4. The band have shared not one but two songs from the record: Warrior, featuring Travis Barker, and Underrated. “Warrior is song about persistence and never giving up,” the band share. “We hope this song can be the puzzle piece that helps people realize that we ALL have the capacity for greatness. Sometimes, greatness can exist in the shadows and lives buried under negativity, trauma, or anxiety. Warrior is about searching through all of that endless darkness to finally find the sunrise.” About Underrated, the band says, “We’ve always had to prove ourselves. We’ve never been handed anything nor have we taken any shortcuts. It’s never been ‘the easy way.’ Over two decades later, we’re still making our mark.”
11 | Solitary | Catharsis
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Solitary unveil the third video from their incredible new album The Truth Behind The Lies. The cold fury of Catharsis shines an unflinching spotlight on the plight of the homeless in modern-day Britain. A feast of uncompromising riffs and irresistible hooks, Catharsis is yet another highlight from one of the most consistently excellent thrash metal albums of recent years. Solitary front man Rich Sherrington said, “Catharsis deals with the debilitating state of anxiety, but the lyrics lent themselves really well to the homeless crisis that we wanted to highlight in the video. It’s an issue we feel passionately about and people need to see ‘the truth behind the lies’ — who’d have thought the UK government would misquote and distort the figures to mask the actual reality of the situation?”
12 | Too Dead To Die | Season Of Rains
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This video marks the last chapter and the end of an era of Too Dead To Die’s second album Tropical Gothic. “This song is about good things that come to an end. Soon or late. Even hot tropical weather doesn’t last forever — there is always a season of rains in between. But there is also something good about it because rain makes everything cleaner,” say Too Dead To Die.”
13 | Lost Division | The Queen
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Female-fronted Finnish hard rock band Lost Division are set to release their debut album Cuts And Scars on May 28. First single The Queen from the album is out today. The band say: “The first single from Cuts & Scars is The Queen. Musically it represents the more calm and melancholic side of the upcoming album. The heavy sound and at times sad atmosphere immerse the listener to dark vibes.”
