Erika de Casier prefers polite company (who doesn’t?), Defset climbs the mountain, nobody loves Bathory like Nobody loves Bathory, Enemy Awake are in a bad mood, Vincent Crowley does it to death — but we’re living it up with another brilliantly diverse Tuesday Roundup. Is it really only a Tuesday in April? I coulda sworn it was already a Thursday in October.
20 | Erika de Casier | Polite
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Copenhagen songwriter and producer Erika de Casier has announced her second studio album. Sensational, which includes recent singles No Butterflies, No Nothing and Drama, will be released May 21. Today, she releases another preview, the anti-bad boy tune Polite. It inspired by a nightmare date where her dining partner was rude to the waiter and only spoke about himself. Thinking she should walk out of the restaurant or confront his impoliteness, she sat there being nice. The song lays out what de Casier wishes she’d said to him if she could replay the scene: “You gotta have some manners if you wanna roll with me.”
21 | Defset | Shira2
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Electronic producer Defset returns with Shira2, the second cut taken from upcoming album Proximity. Named after a camp on Mt. Kilimanjaro, the track features field recordings captured by Defset during his trip to the area. It is another fine example of his analog and modular approach to electronic music — resulting in lush, energetic and enigmatic textural sounds. Defset says; “It’s positive, energetic and enigmatic which relates to the feelings I had when I was there.”
22 | Nobody | Bathory
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Finland’s Nobody has released his single Bathory, taken from the upcoming second album Eternal Infernal, to be released May 21. The album takes the band’s music to a new territory, including elements of world music as well as traditional instruments. While black metal influences are not so overt, the album retains a dark undertow as it travels through time from ancient Rome to the present day. Tuomas Kauppinen comments: “In the depths of a Romanian castle lies its former queen Elizabeth Bathory. She is forever trapped inside four tightly sealed walls. Her quest for eternal youth sealed her destiny. Bathing in the blood of hundreds of young girls under the belief that this would give her what she wanted, she invoked the fury of a great mage. The horror she inflicted gave the mage power to confront her and inspire others to stand up to her. To this day her cries can be heard in the castle but no one knows where exactly she is buried.”
23 | Enemy Awake | Hate
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After the release of their sophomore album Fallen World, Swedish melodic death metallers Enemy Awake have released a new lyric video for the track Hate.”
24 | Vincent Crowley | La Muerte
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After 30 years in the vanguard of underground black and death metal, spearheading the satanic assault of Acheron, Vincent Crowley now begins to walk a different path. His infernal rites complete, Crowley is now free to explore other forms of darkness, the other passions of his black heart. Draped in a pall of blood-freezing atmosphere, he now steps Beyond Acheron with his debut album of the same name. The songs that weave their magic throughout the album are captivating, gloriously unnerving and delightfully horrifying. They bring the graveyard mists, the ragged howl as the last light of the sun dips below the horizon, the whispers in abandoned dwellings and the final, inevitability of death. Carved from mouldering undead riffs and scythe sharp, flesh-parting solos, drawing from every shadowed corner of the metal underground, this is metal and darkness entwined, morbid tales from the crypt if you will.”
25 | Reject the Sickness | Pillars Of Hope
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Two years after their second album The Weight Of Silence, Belgium’s Reject The Sickness return with an album so mercilessly crushing and heavy that you have to experience it to believe it. While Our World Dissolves is a bulldozer recording with which Reject The Sickness definitely throw off the yoke of the metalcore tag. The nine songs firmly embrace the spirit of melodic death/thrash metal. The production is modern yet ageless at the same time. Reject The Sickness managed to combine a stream lined sound with songs that bathe in an enhanced heaviness andimpact never before heard from this band. Even more jaw-dropping is the fact that Reject The Sickness’ trademark sense for memorable melody is preserved all the same.”
26 | Desaster | Learn To Love The Void
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Since 1989, Germany’s Desaster have been churning out their unique and unholy blend of extreme metal, and in 2021 they return with perhaps their most powerful album to date, the towering Churches Without Saints, on June 4. “It’s a typical Desaster old-school black-death-thrash metal album, with a lot of aggression, but also great atmosphere and epic tunes!” enthuses guitarist and founding member Infernal. With a simple remit of making an album full of “neck-breaking songs,” the quartet have once again proven themselves leaders in their chosen genres, giving their faithful and newcomers alike plenty to salivate over.”
27 | Tommy’s RockTrip | Make Me Smile
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Tommy’s RockTrip, the new band from drummer Tommy Clufetos (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath), have released a second single, Make Me Smile. Eric Dover, known for singing and playing guitar with Jellyfish, Slash’s Snakepit and Alice Cooper, handles lead vocals on the album (though Tommy grabs the mic for three tracks). Eliot Lorengo (bass), Hank Schneekluth (guitar) and Nao Nakashima (guitar) round out the supporting cast.”
28 | Fried Monk x Beautiful-Fortune | Planet B
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After years of working together on each other’s personal musical projects, long-time Philly stalwarts Fried Monk (Lucas Kozinski) and Beautiful-Fortune (Jameel Farruk) combine their electronic hip-hop and indie sounds for the groove-laden EP Here As One, out May 7. In anticipation, the two premiere the first single Planet B today. “I’m overly curious about the sun. I’m borderline obsessed with it,” says Farruk. “As a solo artist, I can’t help myself from having referred to the sun over and over throughout my catalogue of songs.” Combining this fascination with the all-too-common experience of a bad breakup, Farruk dove into his personal history and called Planet B, “a declaration of my acceptance of a life without her.”
29 | Communions | Learn To Pray
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The final single before Copenhagen’s Communions release their sophomore album Pure Fabrication on April 23, Learn to Pray points towards a completely new direction, and tells a story of cultural disintegration at the hands of narcissism, wealth and fame. Lead singer Martin Rehof explains: “While Pure Fabrication gives a thematic portrayal of certain forces that allow one to freely fabricate one’s life, whether it be forces of love, independence, or freedom, Learn To Pray deals rather with being tied to the fabric of the social world. Pertaining to this, it portrays a communal lapse into cultural decline.”
30 | Anjimile | In Your Eyes (Reflection) ft. Jay Som
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “My new EP Reunion is out May 7. Reunion is a three-track collection of songs from Giver Taker, featuring string arrangements and guest vocalists. Listen to the first single In Your Eyes (Reflection), featuring Jay Som.”
31 | M. Ross Perkins | Bird Of The World
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “M. Ross Perkins is a psychedelic recording artist from the United States. His new single Bird of the World — a catchy psych-pop cover of Bill Fox’s cult classic — is out today.”
32 | Josh Johnson | I Like You Too (Part 1 Of A Love Story)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Decorated standup comic and Daily Show staff writer Josh Johnson explores uncharted territory to redefine the relationship between comedy and music. Comedians and musicians are storytellers. Both work to develop ideas and establish expectations in their audience’s ear, then subvert or complicate those expectations with the keenest sense of timing. Music is often used as a vehicle for comedy, but seldom are they treated as complementary — especially in the album format. Josh Johnson will release his ambitious 33-track mixtape Elusive on June 11. Listen to I Like You Too (Part 1 Of A Love Story) now.”
33 | Josh Radnor | Apocalyptic Love Song
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This Friday, Josh Radnor will release his solo EP One More Then I’ll Let You Go. Today he shares Apocalyptic Love Song, the final pre-release single. Recorded over 18 months beginning in the fall of 2018, One More Then I’ll Let You Go includes the first five songs to be released by Radnor as a solo artist. The EP was produced by former Radnor & Lee producer Ryan Dilmore. Dilmore, a composer whose connection to Radnor dates back to the Liberal Arts soundtrack, also appears on several tracks, in addition to violinist Kerenza Peacock (Adele, Kanye West, Madonna, London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic).”
34 | Asta Diankha | Don’t Break Me Down
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New pop sensation Asta Diankha is speaking to anyone who feels tired and neglected by his or her life partner with her tantalizing new single Don’t Break Me Down. The instantly infectious track is about remembering that the deeper a relationship gets, the more the love grows. Infused with an African touch, Don’t Break Me Down builds on an intoxicating dancehall beat and soars to high emotional levels. Encompassing a vibrant mix of tasty musical genres to transport the listener to different worlds, Asta is a true chameleon, working with a vast variety of sounds and a plethora of textures with ease.”
35 | The Lagoons | Sedated
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Southern California’s Ryan and Joey Selan are the brothers behind The Lagoons — a musical project of genre-blending indie pop. Following the success of their debut album Midnight Afternoon, The Lagoons will be releasing a string of singles over the next year. Their newest offering is Sedated, which incorporates psychedelic elements into the duo’s trademark smooth indie sound.”
36 | Osees | C
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Osees (aka The Oh Sees) at the peak of their prog obsession, super jammed out and totally dominating, The Chapel, SF 10.2.19 is a 53-minute, beautifully recorded, hi-fidelity live explosion of orc puke and kraut-gone-punk rock dominance by one of the rippingest bands of the 21st century. It come out June 12. Check out the fuzzy, Zappaesque boogie-rocker C right now.”
37 | Special Interest | Disease
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Disease is a reissue of the 2016 demo tape by the New Orleans band Special Interest, who combine elements of no wave, glam and industrial music. Four of the tracks are raw early versions of songs that would appear in slightly more refined form on their debut album, 2018’s Spiraling. The other four are unique to this release, including the raging opener Disease. The band’s second album The Passion Of (2020) appeared in many album-of-the-year lists. It was recently followed by a companion album of remixes, with all profits going to NOLA charity House Of Tulip.”
38 | Amiena | Flare
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “International alt-pop artist Amiena has released her powerful new single Flare. The bold single sets fire to the past in order to begin anew without hesitation. Flare is the second song from Amiena’s forthcoming album Flares & Halos. Flare transports us to bi-polar scenery — a house pretending to be a church on fire while Amiena navigates through the debris. The track delivers dark synths alongside bold and raw lyrics intent on closing a chapter in her life no matter the cost. Flare is about owning the past and letting go of toxic relationships. No regret. No what ifs; just simply shutting the door and lighting a match, so there is space for new.”
