Ariel Posen is a real nobody, Lonely Twin has bad timing, Russell Louder knows where the heart is, Mint Simon endorses the pleasure principle — and there’s certainly nothing unpleasant about the rest of today’s entries in your Thursday Roundup. Savour the flavours:
20 | Ariel Posen | Nobody Else
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On March 5, Ariel Posen released his new LP Headway; today the acclaimed songwriter is announcing the May 21 release of the Headway (Acoustic) EP and sharing the lead single Nobody Else. “The EP is a re-imagining of the album from a production point of view,” says Posen. “I felt that these songs have a different meaning to them with a more stripped down and acoustic approach. I wanted to explore all the dynamics and details with different instrumentation. I picked specific songs off the album that I felt could tell more of a story with a different musical approach and I feel like while they are still the same songs and arrangements, each version brings a different mood.”
21 | LonelyTwin | If I Know Myself
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Indie-pop singer, songwriter and producer LonelyTwin (Madelene Eliasson) has emerged from Stockholm with a new single & lyric video for If I Know Myself. Astral vocal harmonies glide over an understated, yet propulsive mix of synths and guitars as Madelene reflects on a relationship forever stuck at ‘what if.’ “I was so in love with this girl, but I couldn’t tell her because nothing about the timing was right,” she says. The single is the first hint of what else is in store for LonelyTwin’s debut album due this summer: a genre-blurring combination of inventive trip-hop, smart indie pop, and evocative electronic folk that subtly slides between blue mood and hard-earned joy. Together it all hints not just at her vast array of influences, but the general vibe she’s going for: sensual, end-of-the-night party jams built from rich guitar loops and yearning, feather-light vocals.”
22 | Russell Louder | Home
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “innovative electro-pop artist Russell Louder has released the video for Home, the powerful lead single off their debut album Humor. Directed by Bobby Leon, the video was filmed outdoors just outside of Montreal, near Bobby’s family cottage. Viewers will find themselves entranced by the way the music and video perfectly match and complement each other. Once again, Russell takes people on journey through a visual and musical performance — this time sharing their idea of Home. Russell says, “When Bobby and I discussed the video in the early plotting stages, it became really apparent that we both wanted to create something in liminal space — sort of between day and night, depicting an ambiguous journey through the countryside. Home is an enigmatic idea to me — it’s something I carry with me, yet something I spend my whole life trying to find.”
23 | Mint Simon | Used For Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Introducing Mint Simon — the debut solo project from Caveboy frontperson Michelle Bensimon. Simon has been writing songs for years, keeping them locked away in a tiny folder on a hard drive not knowing if they’d ever see the light of day. After many collaborations, they asked themselves ‘if I could make whatever music I wanted, what would I do?’ The answer always came back to pop — emotional, danceable, leave-it-all-on-the-floor pop. Today, they share their debut single Used For Love, produced by Isabelle Banos. “This song is a love letter to myself, a reminder that there is nothing wrong with indulging in pleasure,” says Mint. “It’s a love letter to all the lovers on the other end of the phone and a love letter to desire.” The video, directed by Mathieu Samson, also arrived today. “This video is also the first time I am performing in my new body, which is both scary and thrilling — but I have never felt more like myself than I do now.”
24 | Geiste | Twig
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “St. Tropez artistic visionary Geiste takes us on a journey through her immersive, richly layered world of electro-pop fantasies with Twig, her second single of 2021. The final cut to be shared from her forthcoming EP Retrogrades, Twig is Geiste taking control of her own life, feeling stronger from when she felt hurt and pain in the past. The track is a reflection upon how she has felt and hurt herself in the past; a timeline of drug use and eating disorders, and the abuse inflicted upon her during a toxic, controlling relationship. She elaborates: “I wrote Twig when I realised that I had a lot of difficulties keeping romantic relationships because of the amount of time I spend working on music and being creative. Especially when the other person does not understand — it feels like I suffocate and feel guilty for not giving enough to the other person; as if I don’t have the space to grow. It also talks about toxic and unhealthy relationships when the other person tries to control you.”
25 | Dawson Fuss | Hey You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dawson makes his directorial debut with the cinematic companion to the indie-pop single. A blend of vignettes and silhouettes expertly captures the heartbreak conveyed in track. The indie-pop track is a stellar debut from the budding indie-pop musician who is already carving out his own lane in the genre.”
26 | Lex Leosis | Won’t Wait
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto queer alt-hip hop artist Lex Leosis has announced her new EP Terracotta will drop just in time for peak summer vibes, arriving on July 9. Today, the former member of Toronto’s all-female rap group The Sorority shares the debut single from the project: The sunny, tropical-infused Won’t Wait. The track offers a breezy, bouncy beat under Leosis’ vulnerable lyrics yearning for real talk and love, but not at the expense of self-worth. She says: “The song was inspired by waiting on a person that I wasn’t sure loved me in the same way I loved them. I think we’ve all been in a romantic situation where you feel like someone is stringing you along. You feel the connection strong when you’re together but distance brings out the uncertainty and you don’t feel as close to them as you once did. I feel like women especially are made to feel ‘clingy and crazy’ when we just want some communication.”
27 | Milan Ring | BS (ft. Che Lingo)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Milan Ring returns with new single BS, featuring rising London rapper Che Lingo. In a sentiment sure to resonate with fans around the world, Milan Ring says: “Life keeps throwing us BS but how are we going to deal with it?” L.A.’s Grammy-nominated producer J.LBS, fellow West Coast producer MyBoyRoach and Western Sydney all-rounder Blessed all lent writing credits to the track. In her Sydney studio, Milan Ring was inspired to add a syncopated Latin spin to the bouncy bass riff of early sessions, “I decided to make my guitars focal and reinvent the music, writing and recording all of the parts in my studio during lockdown.”
28 | Def3 & Late Night Radio | Drowning (ft. Recess)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Def3’s forthcoming album Weddings and Funerals, produced by Denver electronic producer Late Night Radio, marks the rapper’s third full-length, and is the followup to his 2017 LP Small World. Weddings and Funerals is the second collaborative project between Def3 and LNR, and will be available on June 4. Today they share the single Drowning. Danny Fernandez is Def3, a well-established hip-hop artist whose unique journey has helped curate his eclectic sound. He spent most of his youth travelling the world on a hospital ship with his parents, who themselves were involved in the arts, before settling in Regina and more recently, Vancouver. The album came together over a two-year period, during which time LNR and Def3 consistently pushed each other to develop their niche sound.”
29 | Tania Joy | Blink
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian folk-roots musician Tania Joy shares her new single Blink — a song about life changing beyond one’s control, and having to go through denial and uncertainty to find empowerment on the other side. The single was produced by Hill Kourkoutis and will be featured on her forthcoming album due out this fall, along with previous singles Planks and Marietta and The Drought. “Blink came to me out of nowhere after a period of writer’s block,” says Tania. “I remember giving myself permission to write a bad song in order to clear the cobwebs and the fear that comes with staring at a blank page. In the same sitting, I put pen to paper for what was to become Blink and later took it into a session with songwriting mentor James Linderman, where we discovered the descending bassline that grounds the song.”
30 | Teloch Vovin | A Dirge To The Death ov Life, Love And Hope
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New York City black metal coven Teloch Vovin re-emerged in 2020 following major personnel shifts. The collective have been diligently working on new material. Today they present the video for A Dirge To The Death Ov Life, Love And Hope. The band offer: “This song is a little bit different for Teloch Vovin in both its thematic focus and its musical content. The musical basis of this track is that of a blackened doom epic, with the beginning half being a wretched and hypnotizing musical assault on the senses and the latter half of the song features some amazing weeping and soaring lead guitar work from C.O.S. (main man of Wind’s Lord) over top of a doomy and epic bass refrain from Saturnus. The lyrical content of the song is a direct reflection of witnessing the real-life breakdown of someone close to the band coming apart at the seams while dealing with depression and alcohol abuse.”
31 | Fragment Soul | A Choice Between Two Evils (ft. Heike Langhans)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Fragment Soul are a Greek band that started in 2016. They are the final form of a project that was formed by Spiros Georgiou and Dimitris Louvros. Axiom of Choice is a concept driven album by Fragment Soul. It is a journey through romance, torment, fear and at the end of it all unexpected tranquility that drives the main characters of the concept into despair and deliverance alike.”
32 | Vildhjarta | När De Du Älskar Kommer Tillbaka Från De Döda
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Get a new glimpse into the dark yet uniquely blissful universe of Swedish metal group Vildhjarta, this time with the mesmerizing videographic work for När De Du Älskar Kommer Tillbaka Fran De Döda (When The Ones You Love Return From The Dead). The song delivers another taste of the band’s upcoming new material. And there’s a lot of it.”
33 | Zero Trust | Get It
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The New York group Zero Trust shared the video for Get It. The track is one of the band’s dual singles released last month in the form of a self-titled EP. Get It is an anthemic slow-burn track that boasts a soaring chorus led by Allen’s poignant lyrics. Zero Trust, formed as a creative outlet during the ongoing pandemic, is completed by members of Coheed and Cambria, Bulldoze, Full Scale Riot, Agents of Man, Skarhead and more. The group of hardcore veterans collectively build upon a hard-to-define sound, blurring the lines of metal, hardcore, and alternative rock.”
34 | Lord Of The Lost | Priest
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “German genrefluid visionaries Lord Of The Lost prove that they have matured both musically and lyrically on their seventh studio album Judas, out July 2. With this remarkable offering, the five-piece cement their position as exceptional artists that can’t be pigeonholed. Their new single Priest is already proof of that. The song immediately unveils a leitmotif that runs through the whole record and serves as a uniting symbiosis for the double album — which is divided in two conceptual parts, Damnation and Salvation, with 24 songs in total. Lord Of The Lost say: “With Priest, we dive deep into a visual world that is meant to convey the very core emotion of the upcoming album Judas to the viewer. This comes along with a story that leaves room for many means of interpretation while keeping the purpose of the album concept.”
35 | Vulture | Star-Crossed City
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On May 21, Vulture will release their new album Dealin’ Death. For a preview, they offer a video for the new single Star-Crossed City. When it comes to contemporary thrash, there are few bands that can stand toe-to-toe with Germany’s Vulture. Establishing their status with 2016’s Victim To The Blade EP and 2017’s The Guillotine, then cementing their reputation with 2019’s Ghastly Waves And Battered Graves, they now return with the mighty Dealin’ Death, one of the most ruthless records the genre has seen. “Take all our key elements — fierce riffing, halftone-shifts, aggressive vocals, huge toms, changing dynamics, horror-synths and classical twin guitar harmonies — and cast it in a mould, then you have Dealin’ Death,” says guitarist Stefan Castevet. “The result sounds a little ‘back to the EP-ish’ to my ears, yet it contains new approaches that we’ve never included in our sound so far, like choirs with harmonies.”
36 | Hardline | Fuel To The Fire
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hardline have announced the release of their new studio album Heart, Mind And Soul on July 9. Today, the ban also released Fuel To The Fire, the first single and video from the album. “This album is a true reflection of who we are and what we care about. I’m always amazed, despite what some critics may say, that we have the strength and power to push through the way we believe and want to. That will never change with this band. It’s a very, very special band chemistry we have here,” says vocalist Johnny Gioeli. “Fuel To The Fire was inspired by that one person who just knows how to push your buttons. You know who you are. We have all had that person in our life at some point. This song takes a lyric twist as I add MY fuel to the fire. Enjoy — and use it as therapy the next time someone gets under your skin who doesn’t deserve to be there.”
37 | Callidice | Emperor’s New Clothes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Finnish melodic death metal band Callidice are releasing new EP later this year. Now they present the song Emperor’s New Clothes as a single. Singer Tero Ollilainen comments: “The idea for the lyrics began to form when we started seeing some quite worrying actions by the leaders to the east and to the west. While writing I occasionally felt uneasy about how almost dystopian situations are starting to look. How have we come to this and where might we end up? The responsibility is shared by everyone.”
38 | Cheshire | Hope (ft. Phoebe Jacobs)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Cheshire returns with Hope, his first release of 2021. After eight years in the dance music scene, the New Zealand act has taken time to rest and reflect during the last year of change. For Cheshire, this meant more time with nature, building community, and generally slowing down, creating a massive reset and allowing a new exciting project to emerge. Featuring Phoebe Jacobs along with the support of double bass maestro Alex Tilly, Hope is a powerful, soulful track with deep nu-soul vibe accompanied by lush saxophone solos, melodic piano and percussive double bass. Written as a reaction to the division and social isolation of recent times, Hope intends to reignite the power we each have within us to make positive change and understand how that ripple effect is multiplied exponentially when we work together.”
