Buel reaches nirvana, Syns rock it like they talk it, Dan Owen tears up, The Workday Release are thinking about you, Luwten airs out the guns — and that concludes our test of the Emergency Introduction System. We now rejoin your regularly scheduled Weekend Roundup already in progress.
21 | Buel | Smells Like Teen Spirit
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “L.A. indie-pop singer Buel is releasing a unique cover of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, soon to be followed by her debut EP. Buel’s dreamy universe and distinct style offers a modern interpretation of the song, with sobriety, precision and class. Her rendition of the song is a beautiful demonstration of her distinct style and talent. She handled everything with taste and perfection, from producing the song, directing the music video, to stylism and visuals.”
22 | Syns | Speak The Same
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Belgian solo artist Syns premieres his new single and video Speak The Same. After years of rocking out on the bass, Kasper transformed his bedroom in Antwerp into a synthesizer laboratory. His excess concepts were the start of solo project Syns. With rock in mind, he produces songs filled with analog synth violence, supported by danceable drum machine sequences. Syns is an audiovisual project, where music combines with filmmaking in a unique way. Speak The Same’s video translates the song’s theme of inner-conflict to a sci-fi setting.”
23 | Dan Owen | Boys Don’t Cry
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dan Owen’s new single is a genre-fusing piano rendition of Boys Don’t Cry. Accompanied by a sleek, self-directed visual, Dan showcases his innate ability to command any soundscape as the track revolves with a newfound level of poignancy and his ability to express vulnerability as a superpower.”
24 | The Workday Release | You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Southern California singer/songwriter David Ottestad of The Workday Release continues to reveal new music from the upcoming album Like The Light Of Stars. Ottestad says: “You is a really special song for me in that, while it’s very much a love song, it’s more honest than I’ve ever been in a love song about who I am as an individual. I spend so much time in my head kind of deconstructing myself and the world around me and I know it’s been overwhelming at times for the people I’ve been in relationships with to feel me constantly withdrawing into myself. It’s one of the reasons I never thought I’d get married.”
25 | Luwten | Sleeveless
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dutch producer, songwriter and musician Luwten (Tessa Douwstra) has released the single and video Sleeveless, from her forthcoming new album Draft. Sleeveless reaches for the simplicity of an existence without pretence. Tessa notes: “On Sleeveless I sing of a world in which we stop hiding ourselves. Life gives us many things to hide behind: the things we say, the things we buy, what we choose to show, the expectations we and others have of us. I think I have done quite a lot of hiding myself but most of the time I’ve found it to be tiring. It doesn’t feel like an honest way to live and it can actually deprive us of living freely. I was thinking about how being naked might be the best physical equivalent to being honest. Nothing to hide. I never expressed myself like I’m doing in this video. It feels vulnerable, posed, natural, strong, weak, ugly and beautiful at the same time. And that’s just perfect.”
26 | Brí | More Than
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Irish indie-pop artist Brí has released her fourth single More Than, reaffirming her credentials as one of the most exciting artists around. With haunting drones and fragile strings, Brí’s vocal breaks through the cracks and delivers a heart-stopping performance on top of a song that sonically builds to create a delicate but powerful ballad. With her debut album due later in October, it’s another glimpse into what will surely be one of the most exciting releases of the year. Brí says: “More Than is about craving more than the situation you currently find yourself in. It’s a place where passion and emptiness meet, the point where two conflicting paths overlap and where all that is cloudy becomes clear.”
27 | Lost Horizons | Every Beat That Passed (Dan Carey Remix ft. Kavi Kwai)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Having celebrated the release of their second collaborative album In Quiet Moments, Lost Horizons have shared a Dan Carey remix of their track Every Beat That Passed, along with a video made in collaboration with Jack Wolter / Wavyhead. Simon Raymonde comments: “We are big fans of Dan Carey (who isn’t??), and when I was thinking of remixers, Dan, David Holmes and Adrian Sherwood were the first ones I wanted to approach as I felt their aesthetic would work best with some of these songs. When Dan heard Every Beat That Passed, he mailed me back: ‘I’m obsessed with this song ! I really love it and I think I can do something really cool.’ He certainly did.”
28 | Annsofie Salomon | All Things
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “All Things is a ghostly and haunting, yet undeniably hopeful recounting of Annsofie Salomon’s personal journey with mental health. Salomon introduces the story behind the song: “I remember a specific autumn day when I was at the beach with my dog. Since my dog loves to swim, I have forced myself to become friends with the sea — the sounds, the smell and the feeling when overlooking it — but on this day, I couldn’t even hear the waves, I couldn’t catch any smells, I didn’t feel a thing. I was completely numb, and over the following days I said goodbye to Ritalin. I felt like I was coming out of a coma. I welcomed back the noise in my head — the constant inside banging, the impulses—but I also welcomed back my friend, the sea — the smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves. I welcomed back never feeling really still again, but at least feeling something.”
29 | Honeypot | Shut Your Mouth
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Southern prog-rock band Honeypot have released their LP On The B Side, along with the video for Shut Your Mouth, a hard-rock anti-love song. Frontman Frank Hartman has been working on this project for four years now, co-writing and recording tracks with longtime friend and collaborator Chris Chamberlain, and fully self-funding the production. Hartman, a lifelong student of classic and progressive rock icons like Tool and Alice in Chains, brings a uniquely Southern-rock twang to the prog world. Honeypot’s songs are frequently irreverent (think Ween), never apologetic, always electric guitar-driven. Honeypot’s fans, affectionately known as Honeypotheads, are prog nerds, film buffs, and comic book lovers.”
30 | Newspoke | Clean
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New York indie band Newspoke are an anonymous duo that focus on honest, revealing music and eclectic visuals. Going by M and R, Newspoke emphasize their honesty through anonymity. Newspoke are influenced by pop constructs paired with grounding instrumentals. They are less concerned with the structure of how music should be, and more about how it feels. Tying in other influences such as grunge and lo-fi, the music is artful and exploratory.”
31 | Bukola | A Good Thing
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vancouver musician Bukola has been dreaming of releasing her own music since she was 9 years old and today her dreams are coming true with the launch of her debut single and video A Good Thing. The first single from her debut EP The Chronicles of A Teenage Mind — set for release this summer — A Good Thing is all about knowing your own worth and not settling for anything less. “A Good Thing was originally written as a way of me poking fun at the ‘player’ mentality that quite a bit of people my age adopt,” says Bukola. “So when you listen to the song, you’ll notice a bunch of witty lines and references to them needing to grow up and to ultimately recognize A Good Thing when they see it. However, as I’ve gotten to live with the song, it’s also taken on an anthemic role as it serves to remind myself and hopefully others that we are all deserving of someone who will treat us right.”
32 | Wristmeetrazor | Last Tango In Paris (ft. Isaac Hale)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Two years on from their debut album, Wristmeetrazor make a triumphant return by announcing their sophomore album, Replica of a Strange Love. The band also premiered the single Last Tango In Paris with an accompanying music video. Featuring Isaac Hale, Last Tango In Paris showcases a glimpse into the new album’s modern take on metalcore; building on the foundations of Wristmeetrazor’s past to leave a shimmering trail of visceral energy in their wake.”
33 | Depths Of Hatred | Enslaved Through Lineage
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Delivering the goods this week, Depths Of Hatred have released their new album Inheritance. The release is the Canadian death metal unit’s third full-length, and marks their first recorded output with new vocalist William Arseneau. Accompanying the release, the band have released a video for Enslaved Through Lineage.”
34 | Thyrfing | Döp Dem I Eld
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vanagandr is the forthcoming full-length from long-running Swedish Viking/Pagan metal act Thyrfing, set for release on Aug. 27. In advance Thyrfing unveil a video for first single Döp Dem I Eld (Baptize Them With Fire). A powerful, heavy, and aggressive track packed with groove and melody, it will be the first of two new videos produced for the band by Patric Ullaeus. They say: “The opening track was actually the first song written for the album, back in 2015. It’s quite a straightforward song: a lot of aggression and intense drumming with our measures, still carrying both groove, melody, and epic moments. Also, it’s the first single and first-ever video for Thyrfing!”
35 | Gemini Syndrome | Die With Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “L.A. alt-metal band Gemini Syndrome have just released their new track and video Die With Me. “23, Shakespeare, the divine wedding of yin and yang … Die With Me is an invitation for the listener to come along on the journey of self-discovery with us, which ultimately leads to the death of the lower self and the resurrection of the higher self,” says vocalist Aaron Nordstrom. “Lao Tzu said, ‘The one created the two, the two created the three, and then came the 10,000 things.’ Two and three respectively correspond to the male and female energies, two being a single line and three being a triangle or vessel. Therefore 23 signifies the merging of the seemingly opposite energies of male and female.”
36 | Caliban | Intoleranz
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “German metalcore vets Caliban had to record a cover of Rammstein’s Sonne to realize that their native tongue was a seamless fit with their time-tempered collision of punishing riffs and Andreas Dörner’s urgent vocals. With fans hungry for the Essen-borne quintet to record an album exclusively in German, the band simply said, “Why not?”, and Zeitgeister, which will be released on May 14, was born. Today the band release the first song and music video Intoleranz. Dörner states: “The song was originally called Intolerance, it is a very old track from A Small Boy In A Grey Heaven. In a nutshell the motto is: I will stay different. The song is a plea for individualism and individual fulfilment and against intolerance.”
37 | Ainur | Apocalypse
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Inspired by Tolkienian mythology, prog-rock orchestra Ainur have been composing J.R.R. Tolkien masterpieces into galloping musical escapades for nearly two decades. Their new record War of The Jewels is now out. For its release day, the band share their video for the closing track Apocalypse. “This song concludes the album and we wanted to end an epic album like this with an epic song. Apocalypse is the musical representation of the sinking of Beleriand when ‘the valleys were upheaved and the hills trod down, and Sirion was no more’. The rhythm of the beginning of the song leaves space to a moment of darkness and immobility broken by the string section movement and it grows up until the ending explosion. It is also a song of hope: the war against the Dark Lord has finally ended and the Middle-Earth can now focus on a new beginning ‘hoping from now on the sun will shine’.”
38 | Zeit | Strukturelle Probleme
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Light, sweet and majorly pissed off — time is running out but social deviations get worse by the minute. Ecologically at a crossroads, humankind is long lost. Violence, corruption and prejudice. The list of problems with police forces gets longer and fiercer by the day. Zeit’s lyric video for the track Strukturelle Probleme features these problems. It was taken from the upcoming album Betonkrebs, set to be released on March 26. Offer yourself a last respect and tune in to the swan song for the crown of exhaustion and dwell your sorrows in 24 short musical substitutes.”
39 | Nil | Terror In The Shape Of Suns
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “When the world stopped last March, one studio duo refused to slow down. Jeramie Kling and Taylor Nordberg, who own and operate Smoke & Mirrors Productions in Florida, decided to embark on a “one song in one day” challenge, where they would wake up, write a song, record it, mix it, release it, all in one day. They wrote in a different sub-genre of metal each day, and to complete the album, enlisted members of Kreator, Heathen, Soilwork, Venom Inc, Mutoid Man, Entrails, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Arsis, Enforcer, Warbringer, Ross The Boss, Grave, Exhumed and more. In addition, the duo tapped Kling’s multi-talented wife Deidra Kling to write lyrics and perform vocals on Terror In The Shape Of Suns, which was written as their doom-band Nil.”
40 | Hocico | Broken Empires
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Today is an exciting day for all followers of Mexican industrial-electro legends Hocico! The band just dropped their new single Broken Empires. Vocalist Erk explains: “Broken Empires is a song about the current state of the world. It resumes how the pandemic was a way to achieve power and control for some and how it transformed the world into a darker place for some others.” Musician Racso adds: “Musically speaking, Broken Empires is a futuristic and modern vision — a blend of dark electro with the new trends of mid-tempo and dark synth.”
