BXB Love pleads ignorance, Izzy Day tones it down, Sky Olson looks for a beacon, Bishop Ivy is hyper-focused, Cinélu is a real mother in more ways than one — but there’s plenty more good stuff to come in your Thursday Roundup. Get it while it’s hot:
30 | BXB Love | Ignorance Song
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “BXB Love — the nom de plume of Canadian-born, L.A.-based singer, songwriter and artist Natasha Pheko — is releasing her second single Ignorance Song. Through genre-bending musical production, reflective lyricism and multidisciplinary creative works, BXB Love captures the charm, discomfort, and introspection of being 20-something in the year 20-something. “It’s about letting go of your perceived and projected identities, and realizing that we just ARE,” Love explains. “Life is a performance, and we can choose the labels and identities that we use to express our being, without being attached to them. We get to grow, evolve, change, shed. And there’s really nothing to prove to anyone once you free yourself of the belief that you need to prove your worth, or validate/justify how you choose to express your being. It’s my anthem to a generation that is rewriting what identity means and the ways in which we choose to express that.”
31 | Izzy Day | Silence
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Melbourne singer-songwriter Izzy Day weaves soulful ambient folk songs about deep connection, personal expression and life’s endless complexities. Her latest single Silence is testament to this, exploring vulnerable and challenging moments along the journey of love. The Silence video was filmed in a 100-year-old historic sugar mill in the hinterland of northern NSW. Featuring dancer Kirilly Dawn, the clip was filmed, edited and directed by Vicky Jay, who says: “Creating this piece for Izzy Day felt so natural and exciting. With Kirilly expressing herself so eloquently through dance, mixed with the powerful words in Silence, the video really took on a life of its own.”
32 | Sky Olson | Lighthouse
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Utah indie-pop newcomer Sky Olson is back with his single Lighthouse. Using music as a way to journal his life, Sky’s lyrics often speak about personal experiences and spread a message of melancholic hopefulness. “Lighthouse is a reflection of my experiences struggling with chronic illness. After searching for so long for answers that would explain my failing health, it was hard to avoid giving in to despair. I had to learn to accept uncertainty as a fundamental element of being human, while at the same time holding on to the hope that drives me forward. Lighthouse embodies my insecurity about, but ultimate acceptance of, uncertainty.”
33 | Bishop Ivy | Tunnel Vision
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bishop Ivy introduced himself as an alternative-pop songwriter known for mixing organic instruments with digital sounds, field recordings, electronica influences, and samples. Continuing to sharpen that sound, he now embellishes it with pop hooks, sonically adventurous production and autobiographical lyrics. His latest single Tunnel Vision explores the deep fear of letting go of a relationship as the songwriter reveals in the opening line, “Running beside the train you ride, I’ll bear cuts and scars but still clutch my arm.” He explains, “I was scared to let go of this person, even if it meant harm would come my way.” During the writing process, his relationship was the only thing occupying his mind, hence the title tunnel vision.”
34 | Cinélu | Mutha******
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Cinélu does it all: Singer, composer, actress, producer, and most importantly, mother. The multi-talented artist has written with people from John Legend to Anitta to Natasha Bedingfield and is now making a name of her own. After giving birth just weeks ago, Cinélu is serving up major female empowerment vibes in her video Mutha******. It started out as a freestyle in her first session back in the studio after having her daughter. While still in a milk stained T-shirt, the words ‘I’m a mutha’ poured out.”
35 | Xiu Xiu | Killing Distance
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In continuation of Kill Rock Stars’ 30th anniversary covers series Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars), KRS alum Xiu Xiu cover Long Hind Legs’ Killing Distance. Long Hind Legs were the duo of Vern Rumsey (of Unwound) and Greg Allen. Xiu Xiu’s cover is gravitational. Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu states: “In the late ’90s, my friend Kelley started playing records for me, an entire world of underground music I had not had the chance to dive into. Long Hind Legs was one of those bands she taught me to love. She and I used to sit in her apartment in San Francisco, look out the window and listen to Feb 4th-14th 1998 on CD over and over. I kept thinking to myself, I want to make music like this! The intensity, curious use of synths and the catchy but peculiar singing opened a door for me.”
36 | Mental Cavity | Downtrodden
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Mass Rebel Infest, the new LP from Canberra hardcore/metal juggernaut Mental City, arrives in June. The lead single Downtrodden — which features a guest guitar solo by Taylor Young — was issued today. Vocalist/guitarist Aaron Osborne reveals, “Downtrodden is one of the first songs that I really vibed on for the record, it has a good collection of everything I like about Mental Cavity; heavy slow parts, faster d-beat sections, and a bit of death metal groove. Lyrically, the song is about groups of people that get pushed to the margins of society and stepped over time and again by the structures that are designed to support them, and in turn benefit the higher powers instead. This is obviously shit, and it permeates through all of society, so why not yell about it?”
37 | Pledge | Sudden Urge
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Portuguese post-hardcore band Pledge have just shared a song from their forthcoming full-length devbut Haunted Visions, due out on May 28. Recorded, mixed and mastered by André Gonçalves at Adrift Studio in Viana do Castelo, Haunted Visions was initially planned for release in early 2020 before the entire world was struck by Covid-19, and sees Pledge playing a stunning and potent concoction of noise-rock, post-hardcore, metal and sludge that will appeal to fans of Converse, Refused, Birds in Row and At The Drive In.”
38 | Anna Smyrk | Human Condition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Melbourne artist Anna Smyrk weaves intricate indie-pop songs about far-flung places, long-distance love and trying to figure out what it means to be a human. Raised on a sonic diet of ’60s and ’70s folk music, Anna’s early work saw the young artist leaning into her innate indie folk sensibilities. Now, Anna is excited to debut her latest incarnation with pop-rock belter Human Condition, the first taste of Anna’s third EP, currently in the works. “The song is like a mashup of experiences that me or my friends have been in. Seeing an old friend for the first time in a while and being shocked by how much they’re struggling, someone picking at their skin until it bleeds, someone presenting a beautiful life online while they’re actually being crushed by loneliness — these are all examples taken from real life.”
39 | Sup? | I Quit
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “N.Y.C. electronic duo Sup? provide a glimpse into a bold new future by releasing their music as exclusive NFTs, starting with debut single I Quit, a quirky, danceable jam showcasing the project’s state-of-the-art production and tongue-in-cheek humor. Sup? was formed by long-time buddies Guy Zalaxy and Bucky Skullet, who harness the power of true friendship to create sounds that soothe your soul. They say: “I Quit: Two words we have all wanted to say about so many different things this past year. Society has always tried to reinforce the idea that quitting is weak, and that there is something inherently bad about a quitter. This track is a triumphant ode that flips that notion on its head, and celebrates the empowerment one feels when they take control of their own destiny.”
40 | Sven Wunder | Pussian Blue
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sven Wunder, the enigmatic Swedish artist and composer, unveiled Prussian Blue — the latest preview single from the album Natura Morta, out June 11. Referring to the pigment imported to Japan often used for woodcuts, the song builds on Sven’s Shinrinyoku from last year’s Wabi Sabi, bursting into a percussive Anatolian-psych breakbeat workout. After the previous themes of Eastern Flowers & Wabi Sabi, this album takes its name from “still life” in Italian — exploring art as a bridge between nature and the human mind.”
41 | Kath Myers | Dirty Laundry
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kath Myers shares Dirty Laundry, the latest single from her forthcoming debut album Sensitive Groups, out June 25. The L.A. resident only began playing music at 31, but Myers approaches her craft with a unique balance of world-weary wisdom and the exhilaration of a newfound obsession. “This song is about social anxiety and not knowing how to act at parties,” shares Myers. “It’s also about having friendships/relationships with extroverted people and being very confused about how anyone can possibly be comfortable talking to groups of strangers.”
42 | Ivytide | Miss U BTW
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With their unique blend of lo-fi bedroom pop and smooth R&B, Montreal’s Ivytide return with their wistful new offering Miss U BTW. Ivytide have crafted the quintessential slow jam that’s both brooding and sensual with Miss U BTW. The band note: “Miss U BTW represents one side of a two-tailed story. Parting ways with someone leads to an inevitable feeling of withdrawal, pulling you back into the relationship you once had. The other side of the story reflects all the countless fights and sleepless nights that drew you apart in the first place. While knowing things ended for a reason, a creeping feeling of nostalgia ceases to put your mind at ease.”
43 | New Morning Blues | Fortune Teller Blues
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “New folk partnership New Morning Blues return with their sophomore single Fortune Teller Blues. The duo of Joanna Backovic and Ian de Sylva weave their tales through a fusion of folk, country and indie, offering a lush soundscape that ranges from the celestial to the cinematic. Fortune Teller Blues showcases a swaggering, gritty, and buoyant side to the band that delightedly defies expectation. de Sylva says: “Given the precarious nature of our current times, I wanted to explore the pros and cons of ‘living in the moment’, proposing that we should ‘seize the day!’ ”
