Courting are off to the races, The Kids tell you where to go, Danny Elfman puts the boot in, Molly Burman won’t get fooled again — and we’re officially in the starting blocks of a highly competitive Thursday Roundup. On your mark, get set …
1 | Courting | Grand National
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Courting have released Grand National, which is the title track from their upcoming debut EP, which will be released April 9 to coincide with the Grand National itself. The Liverpool four-piece’s single is an anti-anthem for a generation nobly stirred by the cruelty of horse racing and the gambling industry propping it up. “I don’t care if he dies, it’s entertainment,” sings frontman Sean Murphy-O’Neill in the verse as a rambunctious indie guitar-led sound builds. Murphy-O’Neill says: “Grand National is our best and last look at Middle England. Parents evenings, horse racing, and watching the chemtrails from lawns lined with astroturf. Cowbell-tinged. 100gecs referencing. Feedbacking. Huge.”
2 | The Kids | Go Back To Canberra
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sydney punks The Kids have released a video clip for their recent single Go Back To Canberra. It has all the melody of a shark alarm. It’s a dogged no-nonsense song, an attack ode to the bleak and oppressive landscape of Canberra: A city that undeservedly is the epicentre of Australian democracy, home of weak-willed politicians bankrolling a nation into mediocrity. The Kids have a deep commitment to creating a fast-paced sonic onslaught. Wailing vocals, unsettling and blistering guitar all steered by a manic drum beat that’s a triumph of rhythm and roadkill.”
3 | Danny Elfman | Kick Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Clocking in at barely over two minutes, Danny Elfman has released Kick Me, a swift and pummeling new track with lyrics that simultaneously dismiss and seek approval from their audience. Directed by Petros Papahadjopoulos and featuring animation by Joe Pascale, the song’s video features Elfman — utilizing inverted photography in many amorphous shapes and colors — delivering the track’s frenzied lyrics directly into the camera. Elfman explains: “I was feeling particularly mellow one day last summer. I decided to write this very chill song for everyone who wants to put something on that will really help them zone out and relax.”
4 | Molly Burman | Fool Me With Flattery
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “North London breakout talent Molly Burman has shared her debut single Fool Me With Flattery, an immediate, melodic song that flits between sharp, literate jangle-pop and the homespun, eclectic bedroom pop sound of the here and now. Molly says: “I wrote the song after a long day of feeling overlooked and ignored by some of the guys in my life. I was fed up, angry and used the stereotype of a mansplaining misogynist to let it all out. This song is for anyone who feels belittled and like they’re being made to shrink themselves; be as big as you possibly can, and don’t let anyone fool you with flattery!”
5 | Laura Lefebvre | Flashback
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Not knowing what to do in a small apartment where the living room was also used as a bedroom, Laura Lefebvre decided to explore lo-fi, with synthesizers as old as life itself and a simple acoustic guitar. After a stint at the 22nd edition of the Francouvertes, in the finals of the Festival International de la Chanson de Granby and an enviable media success for her first EP L’amour Mécanique, she moves from minimalist folk-rock to more kitschy pop. Her new EP La Terre Est Plate, produced by Blaise Borboën-Léonard, will be released on April 23.”
6 | Merpire | Dinosaur
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Merpire is quickly gaining status as one of Melbourne’s finest emerging indie-pop artists. Today she celebrates her debut release with the single Dinosaur. Merpire notes “Dinosaur is inspired by a line in the first Jurassic Park movie when Sam Neill’s character says “If you stay still, they can’t see you.” Whether it’s a fact about the T-Rex or not, I always wished this could be the case with humans — if you don’t feel like seeing anyone or you want to smoke bomb from a social interaction you can just freeze and become invisible. Oh no, it’s just the opposite.”
7 | Low Island | I Do It For You (ft. T.E.E.D.)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Oxford quartet Low Island have released the new single I Do It For You ahead of their debut album If You Could Have It All Again, out April 16. Featuring additional production from lauded electronic artist Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, I Do It For You owns its own subtle swagger, pushing and pulling at the limits of sonic space. Taut drums, solid bass and Carlos Posada’s languid vocals are the only constants. The bubbling distortion that fades in and out in the background echoes the resigned frustration in the themes, as Carlos explains: “This song is about someone recognising that they’re dutifully putting everything into a relationship that is fundamentally doomed, all for the sake of the ‘idea’ of love, rather than the person themselves.”
8 | Cleopatrick | The Drake
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian heavy alt-rock duo Cleopatrick have dropped the brash, groove-heavy, distortion-rich single The Drake and its accompanying lyric video. It will appear on the band’s forthcoming debut full-length due out in summer. Written about a gig at the Drake Hotel in Toronto, the song shines a light on the effects of being bullied and recounts the evening that lead vocalist Luke Gruntz was once again forced to encounter his high school bully. A night which should have been a joyous celebratory evening for the guys instead was crushed by the behaviour of a handful of individuals and even resulted with one of their dear friends getting roughed up. “This song is about assholes from our hometown,” says Gruntz point-blank. “It’s about never standing up for yourself and it’s about looking forward to the day you can leave people like them behind.”
9 | Sunny War | Mama’s Milk
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sunny War’s video for her song Mama’s Milk is a punk’s eye view of Venice Beach, and a great riff on that famous Bob Dylan video for Subterranean Homesick Blues. Coming March 26, her album Simple Syrup has a vibrant, loose feel, more focused on the interplay with the musicians than before. Sunny’s new songs touch on everything from romance to politics, jumping easily between larger concepts (like the expectations for famous Black women in American art) and smaller ideas (like her ode to her own drunken self in relationships). The pandemic has been a crucible for Sunny, burning away the parts of the old world that didn’t truly matter and leaving her with a new purpose.”
10 | Yucky Poor | Ball N’ Chain
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A wide range of influences, from Krautrock bands like Can to The Drums to Kanye West, all subconsciously seep into Miami DIY alt-pop artist Yucky Poor’s self-produced tunes. Today, he premiered a video for his single Ball N’ Chain. Touching upon the new single, Yucky adds: “The track is about seeing people you care about leave your life, realizing codependence is unhealthy, accepting these changes and trecking forward regardless.”
11 | Strange Breed | Tethers
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vancouver’s Strange Breed get grungy and angst-ridden in their Tethers video. The clip directed by Lindsay Hitchcock plays off of the emotion and vulnerability of the track. Strange Breed vocalist Nicolle Dupas comments, “I wanted the video to feel a little dirty, lonely and desperate. I feel like we got that across in the song fairly well, but the video had to be next level to really drive that home. Tethers, for me, evokes a very visceral physical reaction when we play it, or even when we listen to it. I wrote the song about detaching from people in your life when you’re on a journey of exploring your authentic self and following your passions. It’s a story we’ve definitely all heard before, but I didn’t want it to necessarily be an uplifting version of that story.”
12 | Fame On Fire | It’s Okay
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Florida rockers Fame On Fire are back with another video from their debut Levels. The video is a visually intoxicating creation by the band. It’s Okay hits fast clocking in at 1:49 and shows the bandmembers — Bryan Kuznitz (vocals), Blake Saul (guitarist), Paul Spirou (bass) and Alex Roman (drums) — set against an all-black background as they are depicted in bright red. “The song is about accepting the fact that your enemy will never see eye to eye with you and taking a stand for what you believe,” explains Saul. “Sometimes pushing back at the negativity gives them what they deserve and puts the haters to sleep.”
13 | Goblyn | Wet Dogs
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Meet Goblyn. At the moment, no band represents the subculture scene in Hamburg as well as the four guys in Goblyn. The post-punk quartet’s debut single Wet Dogs describes struggling with one’s own psyche — only to be literally eaten up by it. A dark, pulsating track that feeds you directly into the downward spiral of a sick ego and then lets you go to waste. A stranger in your own body. Betrayal. “You are simply exposed to your own demons. I think a lot of people know this feeling of being completely lost and powerless then they would like to admit.”, says Johannes, the singer. Their music feels incredibly personal on the one hand and universal on the other. Goblyn’s sound is a modern dream child of an inglorious liaison between the The B-52’s, Hawkwind and Sleaford Mods.”
14 | Purgatory | Loyalty Denied
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Midwest hardcore band Purgatory unleash Loyalty Denied, the second single from their upcoming sophomore album Lawless To Grave, due out April 9. The track about personal betrayal captures the band’s expert ability at creating something that sounds like it’s from a classic era of metal and hardcore all while putting their own spin on it. Vocalist Matt Anderson says: “You have people who you think love you but they just use your personal struggles for their amusement and gain as well as belittling everyone else around them when at the end of the day they’re the weakest people on the planet.”
15 | Blindfolded And Led To The Woods | The Inevitable Fate Of The Universe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Inevitable Fate Of The Universe is the latest video from New Zealand progressive death metal psychos Blindfolded And Led To The Woods. The song is found on the band’s impending third album Nightmare Withdrawals, which sees release at the end of March. Guitarist/songwriter Stuart Henley-Minchington writes: “The universe is us and we are the universe. For all we experience during our small blip of consciousness we delicately balance enjoyment while toying with the realization of our own mortality. We do our best to co-exist and sometimes we do it better than others. Happiness, sadness, pain, joy, time with family and friends, time alone, life, death, love, and loss, eventually it will all end, and one can only hope our legacy will be looked upon with kindness and positivity.”
16 | Headcrusher | Faith Is Not Enough
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hammering metal outfit and Colombia’s pride Headcrusher just released a video for their latest single Faith Is Not Enough, a meaningful title for a song that highlights the painful experience of losing people we love when they are still at a young age. The track will be included in their upcoming EP Portal to Existence.”
17 | Terminalist | Relentless Alteration
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Great Acceleration is the the debut LP by sci-fi hyperthrash quartet Terminalist, coming May 7. Today brings the video for the advance single Relentless Alteration. Lead singer, guitarist, and lyrical mastermind Emil Hansen elaborates on the song’s theme: “Our modern world is one permeated by crises and fueled by constant changes happening at a seemingly increasing rate. This song and its visual montage-style accompaniment is about feeling the firm ground crumble beneath you and utilizing the disturbances to take flight — a move exhilarating, yet terrifying.”
18 | L’Orchidée Cosmique | The Green Thing (live au Brise Glace)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “French Space/fuzz/ambient/post-everything/noise one-man-band L’Orchidée Cosmique just shared a live video for The Green Thing, live from Brise Glace in Annecy. It comes from his recent EP M87. “Composed naturally, without constraint, during confinement and recorded in June 2020 at Warmaudio de Décines (Lyon suburb), this EP was inspired by sc-fFi Z-movies. These four titles were thought of as if a cosmonaut crew landed on a new planet.More synths than in the old recordings, still fuzzy riffs and even more pedalboards underfoot …”
