The Banshees are on a self-improvement kick, Alex Watts dances the night away, Tamaraebi talks to the ’80s, Scooby Jones mans up — but you don’t need to put up any front to enjoy your latest Midweek Roundup. It takes all kinds:
16 | The Banshees | Better Place
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Liverpool duo The Banshees have just released their single and video Better Place. They say: “Musically, it leans into the post-punk category, with elements of Elvis Costello and The Damned. Sonically, the track is a mastery of guitar playing, plugging into 1980s Frank Zappa and almost a neo-classic climax orchestrated by guitars. Lyrically is where this whole package is tied up with bows and the vision becomes complete. Dealing with issues like self-egotism, lack of confidence, mental health and sanity in general. The walls are very real and it’s perhaps impossible to escape the restraints that life has dealt you in regards to your own mind. Only a real change can come by getting to know yourself properly and being comfortable with that and if you find something that makes you uncomfortable … just change that! The belief that you can is sometimes more important than the act itself.”
17 | Alex Watts | Overnormal
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Overnormal is the new single from Melbourne indie-pop musician Alex Watts. The song’s accompanying film clip features Watts making a literal return to the dancefloor — a deliberate anthesis to the mind-numbing lockdown during which it was created. “The track was made when we were all stuck at home and has a house beat specifically because I wanted to make something fun and bouncy when the world felt so serious,” says Watts. “So I thought it would be funny to make the film clip a night-out type of a vibe, but when I arrive at the club it’s empty, like no one has told me there’s a pandemic on. Also, it’s an excuse to show off my fancy footwork, delivered in a typically OTT manner. Any excuse is a good one.”
18 | Tamaraebi | Telephone
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Telephone is the new single from Tamaraebi. He shares: “Telephone is a psychedelic song that instantly transports you to a 1980s movie theatre and laments unrequited love and moments lost that you can’t get back. Think Daft Punk meets The Smiths.”
19 | Scooby Jones | How The Hell You Make A Man?
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Scooby Jones’ debut single asks How The Hell You Make A Man? Scooby may be familiar to some, having been around the music ether for the past decade popping up on funk tracks thanks to his vocal abilities. He has been working behind the scenes as a songwriter with artists such as Swedish House Mafia, Artful Dodger and Chaz Jankel (Ian Dury and The Blockheads), while also touring alongside the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Ice-T, Ed Sheeran and Alexander O’Neal.”
20 | Venus Furs | Page Before
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Montreal shoegaze project Venus Furs unveil Page Before, the latest and final cut from their self-titled debut album. In Page Before — which closes the album with a visceral, renewed energy — the narrator shows up to a party only to find that it’s his own wake. Amidst the walls of sound and driving rhythms, the finer instrumental aspects are not lost; each can be picked out from the turbulent blur, but in unison they enhance each other, creating a polychromatic and passionate whole. “There’s a nod to We Are Scientists in the lyrics (‘the scene is cold and the party’s dead’), and an abrupt change around the two-minute mark, to a bass-driven riff that builds and builds to a crescendo, with delayed noise solos matched in performance with panning, for a trippy headphone experience.”
21 | Libra | Flakey Town
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Brazilian indie-pop artist Libra has released the video for his laidback pop single Flakey Town. Directed by Allan Wan, the video showcases a nighttime adventure around Los Angeles, the city the song is written about. “Flakey Town is about relationships in a big city like Los Angeles. It speaks to the feeling of being stranded and alone in a city that can swallow you, especially during a crazy and tough year like 2020,” explains Zeh Monstro. After playing in several bands and establishing a solid musical career in Brazil, he decided to start his solo project in Los Angeles. Libra was born out of six years of observations by an outsider looking in, a South American take on what it means to live, love, and party in L.A.”
22 | Frank Moyo | House In L.A.
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Frank Moyo is a slow player in a fast world. The Canadian-Italian singer, songwriter and guitarist serenades like a busking bard of the 21st century. As things speed up in an industry that’s begging to slow down, Frank Moyo is a voice of reason, and it sounds good. His track House In L.A. is a laid-back and chill escape from reality. It’s the first of many singles to come in 2021, as Moyo is ready to share even more of his private repertoire with listeners.”
23 | Dana Sipos | Skinny Legs
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dana Sipos is sharing another new single and video from her upcoming album The Astral Plane, out June 25. Skinny Legs is an ode to Dana’s beloved grandmother and her extraordinary life. The song is a personal exploration into family histories and legacies that explores the imprints of memory that form and take hold over the many lifetimes of a person, a family, a generation, and how they live in our bodies. “My grandmother, a grand storyteller her whole life, lost the ability to speak due to a severe stroke and has been living between the earthly and astral plane for some time,” says Dana. “In this song I am coming to terms with this impending transition, loss. I am also asking my grandmother all the questions that I can’t ask her in real life — are you afraid? Are you ready? Do you have any sense of what’s to come? I am peeking into the future while keeping one eye on the past of my grandmother’s storied life and reflecting on the profound impact her life has had on mine.”
24 | Half-Waif | Swimmer
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Half Waif, the project of Nandi Rose, has announced her new album Mythopoetics with a Kenna Hynes-directed video for its lead single Swimmer. “I wrote Swimmer after visiting my aunt who has Alzheimer’s. I’ll never forget the summer we were swimming at the lake where our family has a cabin — her mind was already slipping, but her body was still strong enough to swim across to the other side,” says Rose. “It was incredible, how both things could be true. Now the only way I can reach her is through music. I sing for her with my hand on her shoulder, feeling the soft weight of her body through the blanket, pouring all of the love I have from my voice into that warm arm. I try to reconcile what is still here with what has already gone.”
25 | Disturbios | Starr
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The minds behind legendary NY HED Studio have revealed their new art-rock project Disturbios, sharing the retro-tinged single Starr whikle announcing a self-titled debut album out May 21. Fronted by Matt and Rocio Verta-Ray, the song finds a desperate lover singing to his adored, but icy, captor across the reaches of space. Disturbios’ sound is a marriage of blissed out raunchy and angular vintage rock ’n’ roll aesthetics that quenches their thirst for all things analog, electronic, minimalist, dada and beyond. Rocio comes from the worlds of film and philosophy and cut her teeth playing organ in Spanish surf bands, while Matt has played in Madder Rose, Speedball Baby & Heavy Trash. Together they got to play with every imaginable analog music toy and vintage gear to produce some dreamy retro vibes.”
26 | Indii G | Cherry Blossom
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Multi-talented lo-fi hip-hop rapper Indii G shares his new track Cherry Blossom. Shining with bright pianos, upbeat tempo, and catchy lyrics, the track showcases his knack for encompassing a range of genres from chill lo-fi hip hop to bedroom indie-pop. “This song to me encapsulates the feeling of meeting someone and falling in love. In it, I compare the girl to one of my favorite flowers, a cherry blossom, because they’re rare and beautiful,” explains Indii. “Each individual cherry blossom tree can hold its blossoms for about a week depending on weather conditions, making their extraordinary beauty a sight to behold.”
27 | Modesty Blaise | And The Lights Went Out All Over Town
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bristol avant indie-pop outfit Modesty Blaise present And The Lights Went Out All Over Town, the closing track on The Modesty Blaise LP, the band’s first album since emerging from a 20-year hiatus. This track presents a vision of a dystopian present, rather than future, and an indictment of how the military/industrial complex has led us all to the point of ecological destruction. Or else it’s a little tune about a funny episode when Modesty Blaise’s hard rocking caused a club’s fuses to blow in the middle of a gig … or both. Says Johnny Collins: “Melody, arrangement and counter-melodies. The three-minute pop single is, I’d contest, the summit of great art. It is timeless, and we consistently get it wrong confusing art with commerce. If your art (or your pop record) sounds like today, it may sound like yesterday pretty soon. Pop iconoclasm.”
28+29 | Mattiel | Those Words + Freedom Feels
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Mattiel, the Atlanta rock band of singer-songwriter Mattiel Brown and guitarist/producer Jonah Swilley, return with two original tracks: The magnetic single Those Words and its towering B-Side Freedom Feels. “I think everyone can relate to a song like Those Words — it’s really just about choosing who to give your energy to. If someone isn’t treating you with respect or crosses your boundaries, you don’t owe them anything. It’s an especially good reminder if you’re a person who tends to try to please everyone. Women are taught to do this from a very young age. It’s just not possible to make everyone happy, so you might as well sing and dance those cares away.”
30 | The Felice Brothers | Inferno
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Felice Brothers have released Inferno, their first new single in two years. “This song, more than anything, is about the persistence of certain mundane memories, and how they take on hidden meaning and significance, how their symbols become part of our inner lives, and how they are transformed in our minds,” explains Ian Felice. “It’s also about youth and growth and transformation.” Inferno was produced by The Felice Brothers, engineered by James Felice and Nate Wood, and mixed by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Phoebe Bridgers). The song also sees the continuation of the new lineup of the band that debuted with 2019’s Undress, consisting of Ian Felice, who shares songwriting and vocal duties in the band with his brother James Felice, bassist Jesske Hume (Conor Oberst, Jade Bird) and drummer Will Lawrence.”
