Mike Matteson can see the end coming closer, L’Orange and Namir Blade dream on, Asthma Castle build a new facade, Hearts Apart feel lonely — though I don’t see why; they’ve got plenty of musical friends to keep them company in your Weekend Roundup. That’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed the ride.
101+102 | Mike Matteson | Goodbye, America + Bolan Said
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Tired of him yet? We aren’t, nor are we better than this. Mike Matteson’s latest release Goodbye, America / Bolan Said will take you back to the days when the Eno-Bowie duo ruled the charts.”
103 | L’Orange & Namir Blade | Pipe Dream (ft. Marlowe)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Namir Blade controls the clouds and the concrete. With the blink of a synapse, his imagination conjures elaborate visions of valleys of death, bad Tijuana dreams, and shotgun raids. In the next breath, he’s blowing off texts, rolling out of bed around noon, and crooning falsetto pleas about his willingness to change. The Nashville artists’s latest Imaginary Everything is a work of teleportation and twisted fantasy, a wig-flipping blast of surrealism and slang editorials. It is a journey and experience. A collaboration with the otherworldly producer L’Orange.”
104 | Asthma Castle | Chirality
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Maryland stoner metal/sludge powerhouse Asthma Castle — drummer Adam Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Misery Index), guitarists Justin Ethem (Integrity) and Cameron Smith (Passage Between, Crawler), vocalist Zach Westphal (J. Roddy Walston And The Business) and bassist Jeff Davis (Damnation Audio) — unveil their latest slab of ultra-heavy stoner-metal bliss with Chirality. The band say: “Chirality came together quickly … We’ve stepped up our game on several fronts, but it’s still unmistakably Asthma Castle.”
105 | Hearts Apart | Lonely Days
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Italian punks Hearts Apart drop another heartbreaking single with the power-pop anthem Lonely Days. As the band explain, “this time of lockdowns and social distancing is a harsh moment for relationships. The void around amplifies fears and doubts usually vanished through hugs, hours of skin on skin, laughs, thoughts shared face to face. Love is not made to be lived far away from its light. It’s so easy then to fall apart and to smoke the pain away chugging to sleep. But when a spark of unity glimmers again, here we are, we feel better.”
106 | Claudia Buzzetti And The Hootenanny | Harlem
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Harlem is the debut single by Italian Americana band Claudia Buzzetti And The Hootenanny. It will be included on the EP 7 Years Crying, due on June 18. The Hootenanny came together in Bergamo in late 2019, upon Buzzetti’s return to Italy from New York. Buzzetti (voice, guitar), who has a background in Jazz and American music, chose Thomas Pagani (guitar, voice), a guitarist who was already playing with her in a Country/Jazz duo, Luca Ferrari (drums, synth), the drummer from influential alternative rock band Verdena, and Valentino Novelli (bass), who plays in Spread and The Howling Orchestra.”
107 | Lady Beast | Reaper
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Lady Beast are based out of Pittsburgh, and are everything heavy metal, combining a NWOBHM influence with Motörhead, Thin Lizzy and Mercyful Fate. They are in their 11th year of playing/writing, and have a new EP arriving in 2021! Reaper is the new single.”
108 | Meena | It’s Okay To Be Tired
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Manchester duo Meena share It’s Okay To Be Tired. Meena show their moody rock sound within, integrating aspects of post-punk, shoegaze, and garage-rock. It’s Okay To Be Tired comes via the newly released album Can’t See. One-half the duo, Will, writes the following: “My vision for the record was a poppy hooky reverb-drenched layered record with big drums and deep bass, with a rich texture (every single bass note is played on the low E). I think the record is quite lyrically abstract but in general is about life, sadness and just trying to get through life.”
109 | Secondhand Sound | Dominoes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nashville’s Secondhand Sound released their single Dominoes, produced by Alec Stanley and mixed by Matt Martin. On Dominoes, the band of 20- and 21-year-old musicians bring big bright Pixies distortion and a ’90s alt-rock nod to a lyrical retelling of a summertime evening drive with a longtime crush sitting in the passenger seat. Dominoes aims to capture the feeling of the butterflies in your stomach right before you kiss someone for the first time, and does so with each gut-wrenching fuzzed-out guitar line.”
110 | Mxom | Fxmous
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Having grown up in the streets of Croydon, Mxom (aka Ugo Nelson) had to overcome adversity that came with the territory. Choosing to venture to the sunny sidewalks of Silicon Valley was quite the change for him. He started a tech company utilising his long-term interest and skill in coding; although he excelled in the area, he felt unfulfilled. He came back to his hometown to pursue entertainment, a testament to his core creative mindset. Fxmous focuses on the pain of heartbreak. “It is one of the very first songs I ever recorded in a studio and tells a tale of the things we must do the suffering we have to endure to reach our dreams.”
111 | Super db | Wait For Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Super db are a four-piece band from London whose sound is a distinctive mix of pop, disco, funk, rock and jazz. The band’s name plays on the positive, upbeat nature of their music, as well as encompassing the initials of each band member. The lineup is composed of twin brothers J-M Sutcliffe (guitars & vocals) and J-P Sutcliffe (drums, vocals, keys & percussion), joined by Lorenzo Bassignani (bass) and Matt Dibble (keys, vocals, sax & clarinet). All four members are recognized as some of the U.K.’s top musicians, most of them multi-instrumentalists offering more than one musical contribution to their band recordings, including rotating lead vocalists.”
112 | TGC | Sophie
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Electro-pop duo TGC (The Green Children) have released their latest single Sophie, taken from their upcoming LP Parallels, which will be released on July 8. While Marlow Bevan originally hails from Warwick, England, Milla Fay Sunde comes from the mystical hills of Ålesund, Norway and the two currently find themselves based in Oslo. Enigmatic about their influences, their sound calls to mind the likes of Electric Youth, Chromatics and Blue Hawaii. Exploring the duo’s love for science fiction and fantasy in a shimmering audio tale, Sophie embraces romantic escapism with a slight edge. The pop-laden reverie is a unique look into the upcoming album as it hints at endless possibilities and a world of untold adventures found within. Milla says: “As a child I have a memory of being visited by an alien, and I’ve been searching for that being ever since.”
113 | The Esprits | Fucked Up
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With Fucked Up, Braunschweig beat band The Esprits once again show what the band stands for: Attention to detail, dedication and cohesion. The close observer finds a North German gang that is difficult to describe one-dimensionally. What becomes clear, however, is the passion for art. Fucked Up expresses an energy that underlines the anticipation of what is to come. Those who join us now can look forward to an exciting journey.”
114 | Kemi Ade | Promise (Redeyes Remix)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “South London’s Kemi Ade teams up with French DJ & producer Redeyes for a remix of Promise, from her critically acclaimed EP Drive: Dusk Edition released earlier this year. Although France might be considered peripheral in the drum & bass scene, Redeyes has constantly been at the forefront of the genre, embedding elements of hip-hop, R&B, jazz, soul and funk into his distinctive sound and making him the perfect collaborator for Kemi’s first dance remix.”
115 | Raye Robinson | Daisies
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Raye Robinson is an indie alt-pop artist in Los Angeles. Daisies is the first track off of her upcoming EP Crushes & Love Songs. Unsurprisingly, the song is a matter of the heart, narrating her unfortunate and confusing love situation. The songwriter confides, “I ended things with a guy that I was seeing because I was afraid to get into something serious. After we stopped seeing each other, though, I really missed the connection we had, and I couldn’t stop wondering ‘Does he miss me too? Does he hate me now? Did I make the right decision?’ ” Robinson explains this sparked her thinking about the “he loves me, he loves me not,” picking petals from flowers trope.”
116 | Dallas String Quartet | Sabor
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dallas String Quartet has teamed up with the internationally renowned jazz pianist Jesús Molina for the spicy single Sabor. Delivering a Latin twist and keys from Molina (of Colombia), the artists combine their flair for modern, upbeat arrangements while also serving up an exceptional dose of heat, rhythm and flavor. Known globally for their classical-pop covers (like their recent Dua Lipa single Love Again), DSQ are at their creative prime with this tune.”
117 | Sara De Sanctis | Serendipity
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Italian musician Sara De Sanctis has released her single Serendipity. Sara combines her skills as a highly trained pianist with effortlessly beautiful vocals, creating a delicate track that tells the story of suppressing the memories that haunt us. Sara says: “I am particularly attached to Serendipity. I wrote it at 5 a.m. after a sleepless night, and the words came out easily. It’s about remembrance and denial, it’s about rejecting all those thoughts and memories that keep you awake at night. I started singing the melody before rushing to a piano to actually write it down.”
118 | Brittan Smith | Fiend
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Brittan Smith is the latest dark-pop crave everyone has been yearning for. The emerging artist’s latest electro-pop track Fiend is part of a collection of singles encompassing the world of his forthcoming debut EP, Going Rogue. A key goal for Smith is to spark conversation, and with Fiend, Brittan Smith finds personal solace in our polarizing world. “Fiend is about someone not knowing a thing about you, yet judging you on the surface or for the labels they believe you carry. Alternatively, I hope as people walk away from the song they are inspired to think about those they condemn as fiends in their life and realize that they’ve felt judged without someone knowing them. Maybe we should all give each other a chance, do the uncomfortable and dig deeper.”
119 | Swim School | Outside
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Edinburgh indie newcomers Swim School explore the true impact of the negativity of others with the distorted, angst-fuelled anthem Outside. Vocalist & guitarist Alice Johnson enters the same space occupied by the likes of Ellie Rowsell (Wolf Alice) and Juliette Jackson (The Big Moon) — tackling delicate subjects with a vibrant yet evocative presence. “Outside is based on the negative impact the toxic people have on your mental health and the moment you realise how toxic they are.” explains Alice. “It’s about the challenge of finding the strength to cut toxic people out of your life and putting yourself, your happiness and your mental state first. It’s also about realising that toxic people will never change and that is not your responsibility to change them.”
120 | Marlounsly | Senseless
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Marlounsly is an artist to watch in 2021. She is a singer-songwriter from South Florida who has garnered a fanbase with her consistency and delivery. Senseless is a retro-funk song. The song gives listeners nostalgia, but has a modern-day vibe to it. “After a drive home from the studio, it was late night, my friends and I were playing around with beats,” Marlounsly says, “This beat came on and the energy that came out was so pure that I had to record it!”
BONUS TRACK: Aradia | No One Can Stop You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sending you the new single for emerging nu-disco pop singer/songwriter and producer Aradia, whose signature anthems encompass a unique blend of retro-tinged indie pop dance elements comparable to artists such as Robyn, Blondie and Roosevelt. No One Can Stop You features funky ’80s-themed soundscapes, futuristic synthesizers and impassioned vocals, delivering the groove and club vibes right off the bat. The result is an ultimate blend of timeless pop melodies and contemporary dance sounds that radiate intoxicating sensations. After a tough year, it’s a record that gives you the motivation and inspiration to push on into the summer with gusto!”
