Too much new music for the working week, here’s all the good stuff we’re putting in overtime to get to you. New music from James Levy, Monokino, Badlands, Lydia Hol, Grass Shadows, Parlour Magic, Eriel Indigo, The F-use, Palm Ghosts and Bobobot.
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James Levy -“Soldier”
This song is a great example of how just a few simple ingredients used together correctly can make something absolutely intoxicating. An old school drum loop and big fat held out synth chords are all we need for Levy’s rich baritone to pull us in like a midnight confession.
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Monokino – “Bend or Break”
We were paused in our listening tracks when we put on this inventive little number. A bit like when Siouxie and the Banshees started writing radio hits, or that time CAN decided to make disco, this song is clearly a pop leaning indie rock song but it is also just, out there. We know that’s not a great description of the sound, which is kind of the whole thing we do here what with us being a music blog, but all we can say is listen to it and prepare to dig it.
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Badlands – “Southbound Call”
Speaking of Siouxie, “Southband Call” gives us that 80’s synth driven influenced shoegaze that we crave at a cellular level. A perfectly pulsating yet still chill bass line over a steady yet sporadic drum loop, layers and layers of synths and floating above it all Catharina Jaunviksna’s perfectly suited voice. This is hazy, dreamy, cinematic indie rock at it’s finest.
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Lydia Hol – “Rich Girl”
We’ll admit that when we first saw a somber downtempo version of a Hall & Oates song showed up in our inbox we did not expect to like it, let alone love it. That particular approach is often used on televised singing competitions and usually to very gimmicky effect. Well, what’s that old saying about assumptions? Color us standing corrected. Lydia Hol’s version of “Rich Girl” just flat out works. It’s moody and brooding and melodic and Hol’s voice is layered, rich and lovely. It has us contemplating the hidden darkness of other H&O songs. Was she a literal maneater? Who even knows now?
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Grass Shadows – “October”
Oh man do we love this. Like a lost Tindersticks song, this slowly building waltz filters chamber pop through a somber but wry sensibility not unlike the dark humor of Shane McGowan, Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave. Those last two are easy comparisons to make as Johan Eriksso’s voice dwells in the same lonely lower register, but it has it’s own signature timbre and stands out in that dark chorus. It’s rare that we say this about a song coming in at 5 minutes, but our only complaint about “October” is that it’s over too soon. Like the best short stories, we want to stay in that world a little longer and know what happens next.
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Parlour Magic – “Moonstone”
Equal parts pristine synth sound exploration and good old fashioned pop hooks, “Moonstone” by Parlour Magic should be the template by which other chillwave artists work from. This sounds like an unreleased Pet Shop Boys classic reconstructed by the scientists in Kraftwerk.
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Eriel Indigo – “Renegades”
Pop music has never traditionally been a politically reactive art form, leaving that to hip hop, punk rock, folk and the like. Perhaps that’s why this Top 40 radio style banger “Renegades” stood out for us. With lyrics like “There are monsters creepin’ in da West Wing, pullin’ on da puppet strings, makin’ power plays / Modern mobsters, stealin’ & investing / Bullying, corrupting, one-upping watergate” Indigo is bringing the conversation to a genre sorely lacking it. Anthems are the hooks that get people engaged and it’s not hard to imagine this one will lead a few young pop fans to a more critical understanding of these here United States.
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The F-use – “Find Yourself”
“Find Yourself” is a New Found Glory / Jimmy Eat World style emo rock number, and now that we don’t hear that sort of thing every day we can remember what a powerfully intoxicating sound it is. With big, BIG, choruses, great harmonies and energy The F-use are bringing their A game. The whole thing has us feeling like we’re fist pumping, singing along at the top of our lungs with our sweaty arms around our sweaty friends at the front of the stage.
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Palm Ghosts – “Blind”
Anyone who follows the blog knows we have a soft, black as night, spot in our hearts for darkwave and “Blind” by Palm Ghosts hits that spot just right. The cascading tribal drums, the hint of Ian Curtis in the vocals, the angular guitar, a chorus that opens up melodically and lyrically to let in that sliver of light…yeah, this is the good stuff.
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Bobobot – “The Nu-Pop”
It seems like we’ve been ending these WNAFT posts with the most interesting or “out there” track of the week, and today is no exception. “The Nu-Pop” is part of multi-album rock opera called “The Singularity” and it sounds like Mr. Bungle dropping an electrometal jam. We hope that is enough to pique your interest, but also believe us when you say you should at least listen to it long enough to hear the chorus drop at the 1:04 mark.
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