Forty Feet Tall need you to keep a secret, Hot Breath know what time it is, Thundermother own the road, Danko Jones has had enough — and we’re just warming up the engine before another epic road trip in you latest Weekend Roundup. Buckle up …
1 | Forty Feet Tall | Don’t Tell Your Mom
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Portland angular rockers Forty Feet Tall just released their new album A Good Distraction. Their sound is hard and riff-based, aggressive and expansive, somewhere between The Strokes and Queens of the Stone Age, framing some of the most well-crafted rock songs out there with lyrics balancing between personal and political. “All of these songs were written before the pandemic, but many of them already had a strong political bend and hopefully speak to all the bullshit that we’re going through now,” says the band. “There are definitely love songs in here, but the overall theme for this album, or what it came to be, was some sort of semblance of a welcomed distraction in the midst of chaos. In the end though, no matter how tempting it is to turn a blind eye, we have to confront these ills — the racism, sexism, xenophobia, classism and outright fascism we see in this country and throughout the world. We try and walk a line making our music a blast to listen to, get you to a place where you can let loose, but simultaneously challenging the listener to survey and contemplate the state our world is currently in.”
2 | Hot Breath | Right Time
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hot Breath are releasing Right Time, the fourth and final single from their full-length debut Rubbery Lips (due April 9). The single is accompanied by video, directed, shot & edited by Jim Nedergård. With a foundation built on dirty riffing, memorable hooks, and a no-nonsense attitude, the new album offers a highly energetic and catchy take on garage-rock. Their minds firmly set on releasing nothing but killers, Hot Breath have pushed themselves into perfecting the sound that they presented on their 2019 self-titled EP. The result is a straight-shooting album, guaranteed to twist your hips.”
3 | Thundermother | The Road Is Ours
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Road Is Ours is the latest single from Swedish powerhouse Thundermother. It’s phat, hot-groovin’ hard rock from first to the last note, heralding the May 21 release of the Heat Wave Deluxe Edition. Whether you’re talking lyrics or arrangements, it’s clear Thundermother’s heart and mind are in the details. The Danish hard rock hit guarantor Soren Andersen, an experienced producer and gifted guitarist who has already worked for Glenn Hughes, Mike Tramp, Dave Mustaine, Tommy Aldridge, etc., took care of the fine-tuning. From the beginning there was a great emotional and creative harmony between the producer and Thundermother. This is clearly noticeable in the songs.”
4 | Danko Jones | I Want Out
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The raucous lead single I Want Out introduces Power Trio, the 10th studio album from Toronto rock juggernauts Danko Jones, set to arrive on Aug. 27. The full-throttle album sees Danko Jones delivering each engine-revving riff, soul-shaking stomp, and shout-it-loud hook with a sniper’s precision. It’s such a simple, self-evident title, but one loaded with significance, as it speaks to the special triangular alchemy Danko shares with his trusty bass-slinging accomplice JC and drummer Rich Knox. It also stakes out the band’s place on a storied lineage of three-piece titans Jimi Hendrix Experience, ZZ Top, Rush, Motörhead, Venom, Dinosaur Jr. and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, to name a few.”
5+6 | Spoon | Breakdown + A Face In The Crowd
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Spoon have made their recent performances of the Tom Petty classics Breakdown and A Face in the Crowd available to stream. Both songs were tracked live last year at Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin. Breakdown was initially broadcast as part of Tom Petty’s 70th Birthday Bash, a virtual tribute concert held last fall. A Face in the Crowd debuted in December as part of Jack Antonoff’s Ally Coalition Talent Show.”
7 | Shannon McNally | Black Rose (ft. Buddy Miller)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This is high art right here — cotton-field disco perfection, the first generator in the county. The chorus on this song may be the best chorus of all time,” says Shannon McNally of Waylon Jennings’ Black Rose— a Billy Joe Shaver-penned tune she just cut with Buddy Miller for her new album The Waylon Sessions. “ ‘The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I did it on my own.’ Talk about the fight for good and evil and staring the devil down at the crossroads.” The grooving, lazy two-step feel of the original is magnified in McNally’s new version, accented by blasts of harmonica and Miller’s slinky baritone guitar.”
8 | Elizabeth King | Living In The Last Days
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seventeen days after a terrible car accident in 1969, told by doctors not to expect to walk and finally home from the hospital, Elizabeth King took her first steps and pledged herself to the Lord after that. It’s a journey that led her to make indelible sacred soul music in the 1970s as Elizabeth King & The Gospel Souls, the rare female singer fronting an all-male backup group. King quit recording sacred soul in the mid-’70s to concentrate on raising her 15 children. Some 45 years later, when she stepped in front of a studio microphone again, it was pure magic — almost like her voice had been frozen in time. The musical power of her conviction, strengthened with the interval, serves to make her album Living In The Last Days a landmark. It arrives April 2.”
9 | Regrown | Cuffed
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New Jersey quartet Regrown share their new single Cuffed alongside the announcement that their debut EP, Closed Casket Material, is due out June 18. Cuffed is the perfect showing of the band’s brand of pop-punk with emo sensibilities and infectious dual vocals. Lyrically, the track is centered around coming to terms with who you are, flaws and all. The video for the song is a hysterical spoof of That ’70s Show, taking the band from the inner circle straight into Pandora’s box. The band say: “This is a song about accepting your flaws but not letting them define you, this is a song about losing touch with someone, this is a song about losing touch with yourself too. Our only hope is that the listener can feel or at least understand how we felt when they listen to it and take the lessons and apply them to their own life.”
10 | Forgivers | Some Future
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New Jersey rock band Forgivers (featuring members of Gaslight Anthem, Ratchets and Let Me Run) release their first single Some Future. Mixing British influences such as The Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Clash and Oasis but infusing them with their own unique and distinctive dynamic, Forgivers have created a song that embraces a dark, muscular and shimmering psychedelic swagger, recalling some of the finest alt-rock of the 120 Minutes-era. “I’m trying to get back to what I could have been doing this entire time but was too blind to see it,” says Alex Rosamilia. “Music is fun again. I feel like I’m getting to do this all over again with the knowledge that I have, and I want to make sure that I do it right.”
https://youtu.be/OLz4taXvtw8
11 | Jon Worthy | Don’t You Feel It
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Jon Worthy doesn’t fit into a genre box. He’s equal parts rock, Americana and pop. “I’m comfortable with whatever anyone listening to my music wants to call me,” shares Worthy. “I make the music I want to make so I don’t care about genre that much!” His sound often hits like a fusion of Nirvana and The Lumineers. His latest, the uptempo Don’t You Feel It, taps more into his rock vein than the other above mentioned musical stylings. “It came from a relationship that had ended and the feelings still weighed heavy on one side of the relationship,” says Worthy. “It’s that moment when you ask yourself, ‘how can I feel so strongly about someone and that same feeling isn’t reciprocated?’ ”
12 | Koo Koo Kanga Roo | Sticky Icky
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Koo Koo Kanga Roo are a dance party for the senses. For the last 12 years, lifelong friends and collaborators Bryan and Neil have toured the globe delighting fans with their high-energy music, infectious positivity, and interactive live show. Of course, the global pandemic of 2020 threatened to put an end to the carefree fun that had come to define the band, but instead of putting the group on pause or looking for office jobs, they doubled down and created their most triumphant and expansive album yet, Slow Clap, out May 21. To celebrate the new album, Koo Koo Kanga Roo are premiering the single/video for Sticky Icky.”
13 | Jonny Kosmo | Firefly
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Jonny Kosmo is sharing his new single/video Firefly and also announcing that his sophomore LP Pastry is due out on June 4. Kosmo stated: “Firefly is a manically funked-out song about the archeology of hope. It leads with the assumption we all have an inner glow, an inherent resourcefulness. At times we have to dust off the artifacts to reconnect. The fossilization of our lived experience is an invitation to be unpacked in learning to get out of our own way. I’ve always felt there is so much to learn from nature and bugs. Taking time to slow down and bring mindful curiosity to their presence always yields something new for me.”
14 | Kill Shelter & Antipole | Burn Bright
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following the runaway success of their debut outing Raise the Skies, Kill Shelter and Antipole have just launched Burn Bright, a second single from the forthcoming album A Haunted Place. This collaboration explores the theme of addiction and its impact on the human psyche, mixing adrenaline-fuelled highs and dynamically contrasting lows that work on many levels. The track is as equally at home on the dance floor as it is on a domestic turntable. Says Kill Shelter’s Pete Burns: “Lyrically, Burn Bright is full of layers for something so deceptively simple. It deals with themes of addiction in all its forms but it also has a strong element of salvation. Like all the tracks on A Haunted Place, the lyrics come from a very personal place and hopefully it’s something that some people can identify with along the way.”
15 | Kyle Edward Connolly | Quick Thought
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kyle Edward Connolly reveals the video for Quick Thought, the second single from his debut solo album On Arrival. “Quick Thought is a love song about friendship,” explains Kyle. “It’s about taking chances and getting out of your comfort zone, breaking free of whatever is holding you back. It’s about the beauty of being in a band or a group or a gang. The sum is greater than the parts.” With tinges of Neil Young and Gram Parsons/The Flying Burrito Brothers, Kyle has developed his own unique indie country rock style heard throughout On Arrival.”
16 | Cathal Coughlan | The Knockout Artist
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Irish indie music legend Cathal Coughlan presents The Knockout Artist, the third offering from his forthcoming album Song of Co-Aklan, with a video created by Emmy-winning director George Seminara. “This song reflects on the predicament of the damaged man who owes his great material success to the grotesque displays he makes out of his state of damage, by literally punching himself unconscious in the ring. A prisoner of success, he cannot escape his seamy working environment, or improve upon his condition as a human. And still the queasy seaside masses show up, and keep him and his family in chintzy opulent style.”
17 | Vissia | The Cliffs
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Edmonton singer-songwriter Vissia shares The Cliffs, the third single from her new album With Pleasure, due April 30. A sultry slice of neo-soul, The Cliffs clearly displays Vissia’s shift away from the roots-based work she’s been known for, toward an innovative new sonic approach that draws from a myriad of influences. She says, “The Cliffs is about taking the leap and making life-changing decisions. We’ve all been there, wavering at the edge, between the comfort of familiar ground and the terrifying unknown below … I wanted The Cliffs to fuse tough love with compassion. We are capable of so much more than we think. We just have to be willing to push through our fear of falling so we can find out what it feels like to truly fly.”
18 | Tuvaband | Post Isolation
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Norwegian artist Tuvaband — the moniker for Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser — has released the video for Post Isolation, the second single from her forthcoming album Growing Pains & Pleasures (out May 21). Post Isolation is a song about Tuva’s return to the world of other people where she’s stalked by the shadows of her own fears. “The music video is a playful twist on Tuva’s mind fighting her inner demons,” explains director Marius Mathisrud. “We wanted to create a superhero that could fight this battle. Even if Tuva looks strong on the outside, she also needs a spiritual companion from time to time.”
19 | Sook-Yin Lee & Adam Litovitz | Re-Veil
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Re-Veil is the second single from the upcoming album from Sook-Yin Lee & Adam Litovitz. The track is an examination of loss, inspired by the dramatic storytelling of ’60s pop and propelled by buzzing synthesizers. The single is accompanied by a noir inspired video directed by Dylan Gamble and Sook-Yin Lee. She says: “The song Re-Veil is a romantic and sobering rumination on love and the desire to keep it alive while letting go. Drawing inspiration from the Chanson Triste style of ’60s French pop songs in the tradition of Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy, the past and future meet through electronic music … Symbolic imagery (in the video) gives a wink and nod to neo-noir classics Blue Velvet and L.A. Confidential, the Czech surrealist fantasy horror film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders and German expressionism.”
20 | The Workday Release | Say A Lot With Light
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Southern California singer-songwriter David Ottestad’s music project The Workday Release have unveiled a video for Say A Lot With Light, the lead single off of the forthcoming album Like The Light Of Stars, due April 16. Ottestad says, “Say A Lot With Light is about staying true to yourself and not settling when it comes to love. I thought an interesting way to visually represent this was to have a glowing white orb as the symbol of self. I also wanted to portray the idea of protecting that symbol and had the idea to display the orb in a clear backpack, like keeping yourself safe while on a journey of searching.”
