J Smith slices open his Blood Orange, Alex Watts is uncommonly common, The Stools need some better friends, Mother Cell want you to open wide — and while you’re doing that, enjoy the final bites of your latest Weekend Roundup. Don’t save room for dessert.
89 | J Smith | Blood Orange (ft. Nnic)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “J Smith’s Blood Orange speaks of second chances. “We came to see a blood orange moon, and shiver up in a tent,” sets the mood in the singer-songwriter’s single. The song tells of a couple’s bid to re-ignite their passion in love and is the second single from Smith’s upcoming debut album And You Chose Not To Laugh, set for release on 28 May. Lending an ethereal vocal counterpoint to the chorus is Irish neo-soul singer Nnic (Naoise Fitzgerald).”
90 | Alex Watts | Overnormal
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Overnormal is the new single from Melbourne indie-pop musician Alex Watts. Built atop a bouncy four-on-the-floor beat and propelled by triumphant synth flourishes, Overnormal is a euphoric ode to taking it to the dance floor, made during a time when kitchen floors were the only ones accessible.This is Watts’ first new music in four years.”
91 | The Stools | Wrong Crowd
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Stools’ Live At Outer Limits arrives on May 7, but you can listen to the single Wrong Crowd now. Born out of a manic desire to make cathartic music, The Stools are a blues-punk trio bursting out of Detroit. Their live album recorded at Hamtramck’s sacred Outer Limits Lounge documents one of the most blistering sets you’ll ever hear. All night, attendees slam danced their asses off to the raw noise produced by the trio. The bar’s energy was nothing short of a boozed-up, adrenaline-filled blowout.”
92 | Mother Cell | Root Canal
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Experimental band Mother Cell have shared the first single from their forthcoming debut LP Powerhouse (out April 16). Experience the agony of dental revenge now. Mother Cell were founded in 2019 in N.Y.C. They are a hyperpop/rhythmic noise trio composed of producer Jack Brenner and vocalists Sam Whitlaw and Mason Wilson, both of whom are also responsible for the visual element of the band.”
93 | Mephitic Grave | Chthonicon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hungarian death bringers Mephitic Grave will unleash their Into The Atrium Of Inhuman Morbidity album this May. Made of jagged riffs and grisly vocal incantations, Mephitic Grave’s sonic venom — influenced by Abhorrence, Funebre, and Autopsy among others — runs deep, discharging eight maniacally putrid odes of lo-fi grimness. Tipping their scythes to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the band’s visual and lyrical concepts revolve around the philosophy of cosmicism which denies the presence of a god or any such ideas of divinity and upholds that humans are insignificant in the face of an incomprehensibly large cosmos. In advance, the band unsheathe Chthonicon, commenting: “Diving into the chaotic dimension of one’s deepest nightmares, a vision of living hell … the powerless attempt to escape a withered existence and its dreadful fate.”
94 | Enahn | Forget My Name
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ehahn is back with Forget My Name, recorded in her college apartment in Philadelphia. The track, inspired by a relationship where someone doesn’t want you until you move on from them, features rapper Real Remy. Ehahn says, “Forget My Name is about the type of relationship where someone is really just using you to have someone that wants them. They don’t really care about you until you move on and then all the sudden they want you back but it’s too late. I feel like in that situation you feel really vulnerable which you can feel in the verses with the soft and simple piano, but it can also make you really mad and frustrated which the heavy chorus is supposed to represent.”
95 | Georgi Cologne | Her Eyes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Georgi Cologne’s single Her Eyes is super chill and sure to help you all have a very relaxing, blissed-out weekend. Here’s what Georgi had to say: “I was in the middle of making all these house-inspired tracks and then the pandemic hit and I ended up listening to and rediscovering Cocteau Twins, Peter Gabriel, Sade, Arthur Russell and feeling all ‘sensi’. At the same time I would also drink a little too much whiskey and turn Def Leppard’s Hysteria album up way too loud. Her Eyes is sort of all that stuff to me.”
96 | Ben Cosgrove | This Rush Of Beauty and This Sense Of Order
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ghost of Paul Revere keyboardist and instrumental folk composer Ben Cosgrove has released This Rush Of Beauty and This Sense Of Order, the newest single from his forthcoming LP The Trouble With Wilderness, set for release April 23. It was inspired by a poem by E.B. White about gardening and gardeners: “Not sun, not soil alone can bring to border / This rush of beauty and this sense of order.” The poem speaks to the ways in which people have attempted — with varying degrees of success — to apply some degree of spatiotemporal organization to the natural world. Explains Cosgrove: “Gardens present interesting situations where all these organisms that want to explode, multiply, and take over are all ratcheted into straight and reasonable rows and columns and painstakingly maintained at certain sizes and shapes.”
97 | Suzie Ungerleider | Baby Blues
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Suzie Ungerleider opens a new chapter of her career with the Aug. 13 release of her album My Name is Suzie Ungerleider. It’s her first since the artist formerly known as Oh Susanna announced that she would now record and perform under her birth name. Bursting with trademark evocative melodies and trenchant lyrics, it’s the 10th solo studio album by the American-born, Canadian-raised artist. “So here I am, leaving behind the trappings of a persona that gave me the courage to climb up onstage and reveal what is in my heart,” she reflects. “It once protected me, but I need to take it off so I can be all of who I am.”
98 | Sam Valdez | Palms Casino
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sam Valdez’s Palms Casino is a sun-soaked track that features wistful vocals, warm instrumentation and desert dazed soundscapes. Palms Casino is about “letting yourself act on impulse and just owning the consequences. It’s about wanting to evolve and find excitement without chaos, but knowing it’s okay to mess up and explore your curiosities too,” confides Valdez. It comes from her upcoming album Take Care, set for May 7. “It’s about recklessness and the first real life changing experiences of intimacy, learning to be more self reliant, coping and moving on.”
99 | Luz | Counting Houses
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Recorded between her home studio, Ireland and remotely during lockdown, Counting Houses is the fourth single from Irish artist Luz. She says: “It’s a song about positivity and hope of what’s to come. It’s about reassurance that you can make the choices that are best for you without the influence of others and that there are people out there that will make you feel most like yourself.”
100 | Justine Tyrell | Warning Signs
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In advance of her debut EP later this month, Canadian R&B singer Justine Tyrell releases her fourth single Warning Signs — an uptempo, moody track with a tropical melody that you can’t help but nod along to. Warning Signs is aabout ignoring all of the red flags and instinctual feelings about someone you know you should avoid, but don’t.”
101 | Amanda Gabana | Presa Na Rede
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Amanda Gabana’s Presa Na Rede addresses the uncontrolled use of social networks in the pandemic period, presenting a dance and pop sound, full of energy and relaxation, flirting with indie, brega, samba and rock. The singer, songwriter and musician from Porto Alegre addresses reflections on her personal and sensitive universe in a mocking and dreamlike way, “laughing to not cry” in the midst of this dystopian period that we are living through in Brazil.”
102 | Luca Firth | Wings
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “London artist Luca Firth unveils his debut single Wings, an introduction to his world of alternative-folk inspired by the likes of Justin Vernon, Phil Elverum and Sharon Van Etten. Wings is an indie-folk gem that is unashamedly raw and honest in its sound and songwriting, starting with a low acoustic guitar line, the track quickly crescendos into a cacophony of layered vocals and intense emotion. Luca describes it as “a sort of autobiographical statement of where I was at that point in time. While writing and recording, I realised I was kind of just at a loss. I was confused and struggling to picture what I was going to do with my life — as so many people were at the time.”
103 | Silent Verdict | Gone
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Swedish melodic death metallers Silent Verdict released the single Gone, from the band’s upcoming album Condemned. They say: “Gone is an emotionally loaded song with a heavy atmospheric feel to it and resonates with anyone that has ever lost someone close to them.”
104 | Paranormales | Tigre (Velvet Condom Remix)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Turn up the volume on your speakers and enjoy this electro cold wave gem. Velvet Condom’s Tigre is the first single from a new album that will include all the songs from Paranormales’ Contra, remixed by international bands. Stay tuned because more good news is coming. Paranormales is the unique creative project of J. Carlos Delgado (bass, synthesizers, voice), Ana Ruiz (voice, keyboards), David Toro (guitar) and Diogo Santos (drums).”
105 | Sea Fever | Folding Lines
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Manchester outfit Sea Fever share Folding Lines, the title track from their upcoming debut album set for release on Aug. 13. The band say: “It’s a song about longing and promise, about returning to a place that connects you to your past. It links to the band name, both our singers come from seaside towns, so it’s quite a strong narrative for us.”
106 | James Burt | Heartbreak High
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “James Burt is a singer-songwriter from Chesterfield who has been writing his entire life. He was noticed when he became a student at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies. James was selected from dozens of extremely talented peers to be fully supported by all the means available at the Nottingham institute, who drafted in producer Al Groves (Bring Me The Horizon, Cast) and an array of other experienced music industry expertise to aid the release of his brilliant debut single Dance In The Rain. Heartbreak High is the followup.”
107 | Dada Pop | The Night Away
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Pop-fusion duo Dada Pop invite you to dance the night away with their new single. The Night Away blends glistening synths and funk-filled vocals for a song with a message aimed at a generation that are caught in a consumerist loop. Dada Pop was founded by highly trained musicians Noah Gold and Urban Ghost, who collaborate on songwriting and equally contribute to tracks with their distinctive vocals. Dada Pop explain the new track: “It is a song about aiming for truth and revelation and yet being pulled back to earth by reality, and details how people will drown themselves in distraction to avoid facing the struggle of their everyday lives.”
108 | Viktoria Vera | The Ocean
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Boston-based, Poland-born singer Viktoria Vera just released her new single The Ocean. A crossover blend of chill indie-electronic tones and lush soul-infused vocals, The Ocean sees her juxtaposing the feeling of being constricted in a major city with the freedom and creativity she finds in the beauty of nature.”
109 | Sven Wunder | Impasto
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Enigmatic Swedish artist Sven Wunder has returned with a new Morricone-esque single Impasto. Not much is known about him, but there’s been a massive word-of-mouth craze amongst psych, jazz and hip hop heads. His first album instantly sold out, with playlist placements by tastemakers like Danger Mouse, Mike D, Gilles Peterson, J Rocc and beyond.”
