Ghlow are fit to be tied, Terminalist share their dispatches, Hideous Divinity produce a monstrous noise, Roadkeeper call out some well-deserved enemies — but we’re all about making friends in today’s Midweek Roundup. Of course, with friends like these …
20 | Ghlow | Not Fit For This
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ghlow’s Not Fit For This features on the Russian-Swedish duo’s debut album Slash and Burn, but now they’ve released a video for the single to match the audio. Spliced and distorted footage of the duo and various vignettes make for an abstract feast for the eyes. Say the band: “Not Fit For This is a fast-paced manifesto embracing raw power, materializing the energy that grows out of frustration and boredom. We wanted the video to translate the energy of the music and worked with our amazing friends over at Gonz TV who kept it fast-paced and punky.” Director Maikel Gonzalez says: “Around the same time I listened to the first single from Ghlow’s debut album, I discovered this ‘video synth super machine’ at a friend’s studio. Perfect timing! The next day I talked to Ghlow and they loved the aesthetics and the idea of making a music video with it.”
21 | Terminalist | Terminal Dispatch
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Terminal Dispatch is the new single from Danish hyperthrash outfit Terminalist — along with a high-impact video for the song. The searing track precedes the band’s impending debut album The Great Acceleration, nearing May release. The Great Acceleration offers a distinct slap of progressive thrash metal with a profound sci-fi concept delivering massively on both visceral and intellectual levels. Singer, guitarist and lyrical mastermind Emil Hansen offers: “Telling a story of aerial and technological advancement throughout the 20th century, Terminal Dispatch chronicles a planet ravaged by these innovations in the 21st century. To escape the escalating crises, the advanced technology of modern warfare must now be used to launch mankind into outer space, leaving the dying planet behind to find refuge in the skies.”
22 | Hideous Divinity | Acheron, Stream of Woe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Italian technical death metal band Hideous Divinity release new track Acheron, Stream of Woe. The song is the debut track off their forthcoming EP LV-426 out on April 23. “Acheron, Stream of Woe marks another step in our sound progression. We searched for all the dramatic and dissonant elements our music could achieve. It has been a great time, both the songwriting and the studio time. We felt good, we felt at home. Oh, and this time is about Aliens. Not a coincidence, for sure. A year has passed from the beginning of… all this. A year during which we all had to face our monsters. Very real ones.”
23 | Roadkeeper | Enemy Mine
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Texas quartet Roadkeeper return with the politically-charged Enemy Mine. The track encompasses everything Roadkeeper are about. With an intense synthesizer build-up breaking out into shimmering and euphoric guitar, Enemy Mine effortlessly blends noise-rock with alluring vocals underpinned by lyrics with profound social commentary. Roadkeeper say: “The lyrics to Enemy Mine were written about the far-right radicalization of vulnerable young people in the U.S. by white nationalist professional pundits who are fed viewers and readers by algorithms on social media and YouTube. There is an organized effort to convert impressionable young people into radical white supremacists and encourage them to undertake radical action against marginalized people and progressive political movements. Enemy Mine is about the dissonance between the perceived realities of radical white supremacists and that of everyone else.”
24 | Joey Stylez | It’s The Life (ft. Jason Chakita)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Juno-nominated hip-hop artist Joey Stylez hit the ground running in the early 2000s with hits that challenged society’s views of Indigenous people. His new single It’s The Life features Jason Chakita and is a track to bump while you’re riding. It’s outlaw music, and outlaws are riders. They follow where the hustle takes them. It’s The Life fits the headdress. The song comes from his new album 3 Eye Hip, which is out today.”
25 | Queen Mars | Lonely
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “R&B artist Queen Mars shares the video for Lonely, from her debut EP Trust Issues, out April 9. “Lonely is about those subtle reminders of your ex that immediately take you back to that place of being in love. Deep down, you know that you are better off apart, but you can’t replace that comfortability you once had, so you wish for it in doses. Basically, you just want to go back in time for a night to ease the loneliness,” says Queen Mars. The L.A.-via Chicago songstress dabbles in a genre she has termed kaleidoscope-pop, a prismatic sonic umbrella that gives her the freedom to create at whim. Trust Issues is a deep dive into the psyche of a romantically wrecked, 20-something who can’t hold onto a relationship to save her life.”
26 | Murcof | Dividing Space
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Listen to Murcof’s Dividing Space, the second track taken from The Alias Sessions, which lands May 21. It is accompanied by a video using footage from the performances by Geneva-based dance company Alias, which served as the genesis for the album. “The title hints at the things that separate us from the world and ourselves,” Fernando Corona explains. “The dividing space in-between is certainly ideological. Someone said that until we realise that half our lungs are hanging out there on the trees we will not be capable of fully experiencing the world.”
27 | Prey Drive | Socrates
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Norwich alternative four-piece Prey Drive have released Socrates, from their Neon God EP out May 28. The accompanying video, the second in a trilogy, sees singer Bradley Smith confronting himself as he comes face-to-face with his evil doppleganger. Bradley says: “Socrates is about growing older, while your body is slowly falling apart. Trends coming back into fashion that you remember the first time around. Experiences that you have to go through in adult life, like marriage, divorce and unfaithfulness making your perception of life and love slightly bitter. Relying on medication so your body doesn’t destroy itself prematurely. Wanting to go back to a simpler time. It’s all about having the years of life experience and wisdom on your side but not the optimism you had in your youth.”
28 | Robyn Sherwell | A Kiss
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Singer and songwriter Robyn Sherwell shares A Kiss, the second single taken from her upcoming new album Unfold, due for release on June 18. Robyn says: “A kiss is a simple act, but can also mean crossing the line between friendship and something more than friendship. The song speaks to the risk of doing something that can’t be undone, something that could change everything, and the floating exhilaration, fear, excitement and anticipation of that moment.”
29 | TDA | Sa Voix Est Claire
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “TDA is now back with Sa Voix Est Claire. With its multiple textures, Sa Voix Est Claire is an dreamlike, ambient song. TDA plays with the electronic effects and samplings, gradually adding them to the song to create movement and transformation. It comes from Ascète (April 23), an album that weds tampered synesthesia with palpable elements from the calm and natural environment, and where rough and meticulous are permeable. TDA binds a primitive touch akin to industrial music with the fragile balance of each meticulously chosen sound, whether its origin is organic (by sampling wooden ropes or water drops) or electronic.”
https://youtu.be/Tg3rLOBC-BI
30 | Saint Is | Before We Get Old (ft. Juan Hansen)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Saint Is have revealed the video for the title track of their second release. Before We Get Old is a yearning indie-dance anthem featuring ethereal vocals from Juan Hansen. It plays with concepts of time and youth, passion and loss. Saint Is has a love of storytelling that shines through in this video, with the theme of seizing opportunities and getting the most from life — expressed abstractly by a female dancer who symbolically liberates herself from a mundane daily routine.”
31 | Graham Sharp | Truer Picture Of Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Graham Sharp, the singer-banjoist, chief songwriter and founding member of the Grammy-winning Steep Canyon Rangers, shares the video for Truer Picture of Me, from his solo debut Truer Picture, due May 7. Sharp says, “This is a love song. The more I sing it the more it hits me and makes me want to sing it again. It feels like sitting around a fire and being reminded of the spark that lit it and every log that burned down and still keeps us warm. It’s a rare, wonderful freedom to feel understood.” With a warm, resonant baritone, Truer Picture showcases Sharp’s incredible diversity as a vocalist and writer with a collection of songs all written and sung by him the exact way he intended them to sound.”
32 | FireWing | Far In Time
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “FireWing have released their newest single, the second from their upcoming album Resurrection. Far in Time has an abstract lyrical theme that relates to reality. Guitarist Caio Kehyayan comments: “The song talks about a world in darkness. People went into an internal battle, as the dragon Vishap is trying to suck the flame from their lives, to become even more powerful. The narrative tells that the abandonment of this battle leads to death and that even with fear, there is still hope.”
33 | Sepiroth | Embedded Defects
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sepiroth is a brutal old-school death metal band from Netherlands. They were founded in 2003, and in 2007 released their first three-track EP Dying For Hatred, followed in 2011 by the full-length Breaking The Codes Of Silence. In 2015 the band released their second album Uninvolved, a concept disc about the UN forces witnessing the horrors of the civil war in former Yugoslavia. Their third full-length Condemned To Suffer will see the light in June. With the current lineup, Sepiroth want to take their crushing death metal to the stages of world with more power and strength than ever before.”
34 | Pastel Stereø | Disappear
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Finnish alt-pop newcomers Pastel Stereø share Disappear alongside a glowing visual. Inspired by Eemeli’s relocation from Helsinki at age 16, Disappear is about change and having to leave things behind, say the band: “It’s about the sacrifices made when chasing a dream, moving far away from home and the scary realisation of your old friends becoming a distant part of your memory.”
35 | Stephen Fretwell | Embankment
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Stephen Fretwell announces news of his long-awaited third album Busy Guy, to be released July 16. Described by Fretwell as “a song cycle of sorts,” the album examines the seasons of a life, exploring fatherhood, grief and rebirth, with Fretwell’s trademark eloquence and wit. Busy Guy was produced by Fretwell’s close friend Dan Carey. They recorded the whole thing one hot July afternoon in just two hours. “I was so fired up, I just rattled off the songs,” Fretwell says. “I assumed it was the run-through, but Dan said he thought we’d got it.” The next day, Carey assembled “a palate of sound” involving keyboards and an electric guitar. “Dan said, ‘I’m just going to react to the songs over the next few hours’, and that’s the finished record, besides some cello.”
36 | Dallas Tamaira | Spider
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vocalist, musician, producer, illustrator and actor, Dallas Tamaira of Fat Freddy’s Drop shares the soulful single Spider. Dallas says: “The underlying message in the lyrics is that life can be hard sometimes and that’s OK. For some people it’s more important to see the world for how it is rather than maintaining a constant positive outlook. We are all built differently and that’s a beautiful thing. Whether you chose to be present in the now or escape reality completely, do it on your own terms and don’t let anyone else tell you how to live your life.”
37 | Leon Vynehall | An Exhale
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Leon Vynehall’s new album Rare, Forever will be released April 30. Today Vynehall shared An Exhale. The track lives up to its name, a moment of weight lifting and a letting go of held breath, this is Vynehall at his brightest and most open armed. It couldn’t come at a better moment. In his words, the track is: “A relief. A moment of joyful release. This is an optimistic song.”
38 | Hundred Headless Horsemen | Echoes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hundred Headless Horsemen are a psychedelic death metal band from Finland. Echoes is the second single from their first full length, a concept album titled Apokalepsia that will be released on May 21. The band blend together different subgenres from the past and present to create a unique brand of psychedelic death metal. Their musical approach mirrors the narrative of the album, that moves in multiple time and space dimensions based on fragments of articles about a formerly unknown psychoneurological condition. They say: “Innumerable waves of destruction sweep through our minds, soon to be decomposed. Only few of us count the rhythm of the steps to annihilation. The end comes not in the form of a rapid strike of a blade but through a slow succumbing to the oblivion. Remember your mortality.”
