Triptides bide their time, Ruiz! finds his happy place, Angstskríg keep to the shadows, Waking The Sleeping Bear predict a dirty future, Danny Elman tells the truth — and the truth is, you’ve got nothing to fear from your Monday Roundup. Unless you’re scared to be entertained. In which case you’ve got even bigger problems than I have. And believe me, that’s saying something.
1 | Triptides | Hand Of Time
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a sound oscillating between psychedelic pop and space rock, Triptides’ album Alter Echoes channels both The Byrds at their most hallucinogenic and Pink Floyd at their most cosmically composed while creating something immediate and new. Triptides have established themselves as a preeminent part of the new wave of L.A. psych music. With Alter Echoes they pull away from the pack, thanks to the quality of their songwriting, performance and production. Triptides are led by multi-instrumentalist Glenn Brigman, with drummer Brendan Peleo-Lazar and bassist/guitarist Stephen Burns.”
https://youtu.be/MbAF7i5sVJ8
2 | Ruiz! | Blue Mediterranean
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ruiz! is the mysteriously evoked moniker from Sheffield DIY multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and vocalist Hugh Ruiz Robert. Recorded with just a laptop, extra live instruments and in lockdown, his new collection of songs seamlessly transcends across ’60s rock’n’roll, electronica, punk, psychedelia and dark rock, with each genre being effortlessly fused with Ruiz!’s take on life in modern times. Blue Mediterranean is the latest preview of his album Mind Games. Blue Mediterranean is a song about depression and a sense of slowly going mad. When the world gets too much and you find yourself dragging your feet everywhere you go, what can you do? The Mediterranean is a warm and safe place inside Ruiz!’s head. Where is your place?”
3 | Angstskríg | Skyggespil
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Danish black metal duo Angstskríg unveil their video for Skyggespil, from their full-length debut of the same name set for release on May 28. Skyggespil (Danish for “shadow play”) includes a variety of guest appearances from members of Soilwork, Finntroll, Kreator, Hypocrisy, DragonForce and more. Joining the mysterious pair on the title track is Attila Vörös (Satyricon, Sanctuary, Tyr, Nevermore) who has added suitably aggressive guitar work to proceedings. Say the band, “The black wanderers continue their journey through the Nordic wonderland from bright, snow-covered, frozen lakes into the darkness of the cave, where shadows roam. Do we believe in shadows? Or do we step out of the cave and into the light?”
4 | Waking The Sleeping Bear | Porno Future
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Three years after the official release of their debut EP Jungle Urbaine (2018), French metal/fusion/rapcore gang Waking The Sleeping Bear are about to give birth to a first album called P*rno Future, coming out on May 28. In the meantime, the band just premiered the video of the title track. The music of Waking The Sleeping Bear is an all-angers crossoad. It’s about time passing, past adolescence too quickly disappeared, about the anguish of the future by the ones that are dismayed by the past. Dressed sometimes with tribal sounds, sometimes with suffocating synthetic ambiences, the “nü metal” of WTSB hammers with rage some powerful convictions over a frenetic French-speaking phrasing, sometimes sung, rapped, shouted.”
5 | Danny Elfman | True
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After releasing a series of singles over the past few months, Danny Elfman announced his first solo album in 37 years, titled Big Mess. Multimedia artist Sarah Sitkin created the video for Elfman’s new single True. A slow burning track, True faces down hopelessness and despair head on. Elfman’s vocals are gritty and growling here, and his raw unfiltered delivery only adds to the emotionally charged atmosphere. “The video is an exploration of fractured identity, muffled through the lens of memory,” Sitkin revealed. “Danny is a central figure within the video, yet only in his reproduced likeness via prosthetics, masks and 3d printed body parts. I wanted to make a video that was gritty, unpolished and uncomfortable.”
6 | Soraia | Tight-Lipped
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Philadelphia rock quartet Soraia share the video for their song Tight-Lipped. The clip plays out like a Hollywood thriller that expresses the theme of the song: Breaking free from the shackles that bind. Frontwoman ZouZou Mansour says: “Tight-Lipped is about a woman who politely refuses to challenge the status quo and direction of her life. It’s a final recognition of the part she has played in her own oppressive censoring — a soulful rebuke of her former beliefs on how to live. But by the end of the song, it becomes a triumphant declaration of who she now is: ‘Meet Ophelia — no more promises. I refuse to be so tight-lipped.’ ”
7 | Decouplr | Cold Sweat
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following the release of their new album Digital Bonfire, Philadelphia electronic-indie duo Decouplr (Bailey Walker and Adam Laub) have released a glimmering technicolor video for the song Cold Sweat. The video is directed by the expert visual design team SUPERVOID.tv. “It was an amazing experience to get to work with SUPERVOID.tv,” says Laub. “One of the more unique effects that their team was able to create was done by strapping multicolored crystals to the edges of the camera lenses. The crystals overlapped the shot, and by setting up lights that refracted through the crystals, the camera shots gained a colorful, kaleidoscopic effect.”
8 | Flo Gallop | Can’t Be Friends
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “South-east London’s Flo Gallop was raised around music. Without it she would choke. So, she sat, scribbling words, diarising an everyday life through the musicality and soul of a natural artist that would eventually emerge, fully formed, as a friend in your ears. The fun and flirtatious Can’t Be Friends narrates falling for the wrong person and happily overlooking the consequences. The infectious song sparkles with colourful melodies, a move-inducing beat and Gallop’s distinct vocal delivery. The songwriter shares, “This song came from another deluded boy crush and was based around the nerves of seeing someone when you know you shouldn’t and that they’re not good for you, but also knowing you really want to, attempting to make someone jealous and just generally being up to no good.”
9 | Mr. Williamz | Well Excellent (ft. Junior Demus)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “West London reggae veteran Mr. Williamz announces the release date for new album Soundkilla Mindset, due May 28, and shares the video for Well Excellent ft. Junior Demus. SoundKilla Mindset is a reggae & dancehall opus which takes Mr. Williamz back to his roots as a sound system native and draws on inspiration from the OG Nicodemus. A respected statesman of the Portobello dancehall-soaked streets, Mr. Williamz uses modernity combined with elements of styles from the reggae greats to create a record only someone as proficient and knowledgeable in the scene as he could.”
10 | Medea Project | Kneel To The Cross
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kneel To The Cross is the second video from The Medea Project’s Southern Echoes extended EP. The band’s haunting cover of the Sol Invictus track was recorded live and raw in the studio, for an on-line festival. Brett Minnie and Pauline Silver share their thoughts: “We had covered Kneel to the Cross as part of our live show a few years ago and decided to redo it acoustically. By now we had managed to accumulate all sorts of traditional percussion instruments that we wanted to experiment with. Our original cover version was quite militant with heavy use of the snare and then building towards a very punk feel towards the end. The acoustic version is very different and quite contrary to our amplified approach, it features a sole acoustic guitar, an array of seed shakers, a tambourine jingle and a vibra-slap; amplified by stamping on a wooden plank and underpinned with the boom of a powwow drum. The sound is primal and stark yet heavy and dark and with Brett’s vocals, almost desolate.”
11 | Annsofie Salomon | All Things
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In her sophomore single All Things, Annsofie Salomon shared the story of her journey ghostly and haunting, yet undeniably hopeful journey with mental health. In a new live session filmed in her loft at home, the growing organ, synths and drums are stripped away, leaving Salomon alone, bravely recounting her story over her guitar. The story behind the song: “When I turned 30, I was numb. My mind, which had always been in motion with too many impulses, was suddenly still. I was told that this reaction, feeling like a numb, medicated zombie, would pass. That feeling never came. 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.”
12 | Vanessa Carlton | Break To Save
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vanessa Carlton releases the video for Break To Save, off the deluxe version of her latest studio album Love Is An Art, produced by Dave Fridmann (MGMT, Flaming Lips). Carlton recently released the deluxe album on the one-year anniversary of its original release, which also features two demo tracks in addition to the new song. Carlton has constantly challenged both herself and the expectations that surround her throughout her lengthy, accomplished career. From collaborations with Stevie Nicks, Steve Osborne, Patrick Hallahan, Deer Tick and beyond, she is constantly pushing herself out of her comfort zone to create memorable works of art.”
