Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week(ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer songs— give ’em a listen!
Beat Awfuls– Interstate Skeleton. The first single from the upcoming album, PAWS, this one is jangly fuzzy pop that takes a look into singer/songwriter Dave Vicini’s processing his trauma. The lyrics are raw and hit you where it hurts: I never knew what it costed But only knew what it cost us Feeling technicolor fade As I bury it away like skeletons Why do people even promise To be vulnerable and honest When what they really want it is To keep us locked in their closet like skeletons. [KH]
Blondshell– Veronica Mars. The latest in a series of singles released this year by Sabrina Teitelbaum aka Blondshell, this one also comes with the announcement that she has signed to Partisan Records. It’s a slice of grunge that seems to be on the surface an ode celebrating the show Veronica Mars, but dig a little deeper and perhaps not all is what it seems.
Teitelbaum explains “I was obsessed with the show Veronica Mars as a kid and I was revisiting it around the time I wrote this song. I wanted to sing about that childhood era when I was being exposed to a lot more than I was comfortable with. ‘Gimme shelter’ refers to the song but I’m also saying please give me shelter from graphic TV and film, from New York City, overwhelming lyrics, etc. I think the song is just about having my boundaries crossed and the effects of those transgressions (for example, growing up to think men are hot if they’re assholes).”
No word yet when a full length will arrive but she will be opening for Suki Waterhouse’s North American tour which makes a stop at Webster Hall on 1/28. [KH]
Buggin– Attitude. Do you have 51 seconds? Then strap in for the warp speed new rager from the Chicago hardcore band, back with their first new music in two years. It may be quick but it is packed full of action—complete with a chugging breakdown—before blasting away again for the last five seconds.
Lead singer Bryanna Bennett explains “For ‘Attitude’ I really wanted to tap into our biggest inspiration Bad Brains and make something positive. I was really struggling with my mental health and feeling motivated to even create anything so it just made sense to pour all my bad feelings into a song that I hope others can relate to and feel inspired by.” The song is part of the upcoming The Extermination Vol.4 comp due out 1/27 via Flatspot Records. [KH]
Church Crush– Shark Island. It’s jangle pop with teeth. The latest release from the Brooklyn nice guys is drenched in chorus shifting their clean sound a bit to sound like whole the band is wrapped up in a fuzzy organ. The choppy chunk of the verses allows a few quick moments for drummer Adam E. to break out a bit in the gaps, while the arpeggiated chorus pulls back and opens up with James O. (guitar/vocals) and Paulie V. (bass/vocals) at the helm to soar and glide us through this catchy tune. [MB]
Civic– Born In The Heat. Punk n roll pub rock from Down Under, there’s some pretty bitchin’ lead guitar work in this one, the zippy second single from the upcoming album due out 2/23/23. It’s a perfect driving fast down the highway rocker. [KH]
The HIRS Collective– Sweet Like Candy. Absolute wicked heaviness abounds on the second single from We’re Still Here, the upcoming record from the influential Philly queer grind/hardcore collective due out 3/24 (Get Better Records). The song rages from the start, a rapid fire sonic assault, but the breakdown is totally fucking brutal and the lines I CHOOSE DECAY! will resonate in your goddamn soul. The album is packed with collabs and guest spots from a plethora of artists including Soul Glo, Fucked Up, Garbage, MCR, The Locust and many, many more and this song gets some help from the likes of Maha Shami of NØ MAN, Bryan Funck from Thou and Jessica Joy Mills formerly of Less Than Jake. [KH]
Jad Fair and Samuel Locke Ward– Fate Is On Our Side. A new tune from the Half Japanese founder and long time outsider musician who has teamed up with the prolific DIY musician and zine maker Ward for a bouncy and sunny fun indie rock jam. [KH]
Jigsaw Youth– No Mercy. The Staten Island trio seem to be doubling down on the heavy with their latest, “No Mercy.” Seeming to have all but left their early grungier punkier days behind them, the machine gun drum attack and deep sea of guitars, Jigsaw Youth catapults themselves into the realm of bands like Cassyette and Tetrarch. “No Mercy” is a straightforward full on gut punch while drowning, scrambling toward the surface to fill your lungs with just enough air to scream along. Catch them opening for Sasami on 12/12. Read our thoughts on their previous single “Skin.” [MB]
Ladytron– Faces. Ladytron perfected their formula long ago and though they are releasing music with less frequency these days, they have been busy with other projects individually and have yet to put out something disappointing. Now they are back as a unit for their first new album since 2019’s self titled album with “Faces” being the latest single from their upcoming album, Time’s Arrow (1/20 Cooking Vinyl). This one is yet another a slice of the electro pop excellence they have cultivated throughout their career. [KH]
Megadose– Pig. Listen to this song at your own risk, because it WILL get stuck in your head almost immediately. The third single from the groups upcoming album, Heating Up, this power pop gem has a slinky fuzzed bass line and the kind of deceptively simple but insistent guitars that function as brain invading ear worms (in a very good way). Band leader Stephen Steen explains: “When recording ‘Pig,’ our main goal was to make the whole thing feel like it was constantly one too-tight corner away from going off the rails.I wrote the bass part first, and did my best to channel my inner Tina Weymouth. Laura delivers this perfectly, leaning into an athletic, busy playing style, but with room in the mix to breathe, and still ultimately driving the song as the whole thing crashes forward.”
The lyrics are thought provoking and a direct challenge to the concept of masculinity. Steen elaborates saying the song is “about an actual person in my life, but I kept the lyrics intentionally ambiguous to hopefully make the listener think (it is about cops? a cheating husband??). The general message is meant to be pretty clear: men, even the seemingly upstanding ones, have a sickening capacity to be, well, pigs,” Heating Up arrives on 1/23/23. [KH]
The Moss– Insomnia. Indie surf pop rockers, The Moss, have announced a new EP, Insomnia, which is the follow up to their 2021 album, Kentucky Derby. The song is a jangly, catchy ride through the emotions of a missing someone with frontman Tyke James sharing “Insomnia’ is a bittersweet song about passing the point in a relationship where you can’t sleep at night when you are away from them.” Read more here. [KH]
Nag– Repulsion. Post punk with a harder edge. This one definitely puts more emphasis on the punk aspect of the sound with a dash of darkwave meets the buzz of anarcho punk in the mix of crunchy guitars, reverb and sloshy hi-hats. It’s quick, catchy and the first single from their upcoming album Human Coward Coyote due out 1/6/23 via Convulse Records. [KH]
Pile– Poisons. I love Pile when they are at their heaviest and noisiest and that’s exactly the territory they are in on “Poisons,” the second single from their upcoming album All Fiction (2/17 Exploding In Sound). Rick Maguire explains the song is “about trying to abstain from participating in things that aren’t really good for anybody but also feeling very unaware in general, and the frustration of trying to hold both of those sentiments.” See our recent coverage of Pile at Market Hotel. [KH]
Unwed Sailor– Mais Oui. The long running post rock band from Seattle have released a few albums in the past five years and are set to add another to their catalog soon, Mute the Charm (2/10/23 via Spartan Records). Building on their existing body of work, this one is a perfect example of what this band has always done so well—hit you in your heart strings with sweeping instrumentals. [KH]
We Are Scientists– Lucky To Be Here. Long running NYC indie group We Are Scientists first captured my heart years ago with their catchy songs about being damaged and the excesses of youth/young adulthood. They’re still going strong and are set to release their eighth album, Lobes, in early 2023. They’ve released three singles so far, with the most recent being “Lucky To Be Here” which goes from quiet and contemplative to epic and sweeping and back again in just under five minutes, showcasing all the things this band is great at—big emotions and deep grooves all wrapped into one. [KH]
White Reaper– Fog Machine. Big 80s style riffs abound throughout White Reaper’s latest, with an epic hair metal shred down in the middle. This is the second single from their forthcoming album, Asking for a Ride, which is due to arrive in January. [KH]