Behold! Enjoy the return of our weekly singles column! It’s been a minute but we are back with some bite sized goodies and a taste of some new things that we dug this week, quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. Singles coverage is something that has been sorely lacking from our offerings and we want to fix that so keep your eyes on this space as we continue to build it up and recommend more new music. This week Kate and Mike weighed in on some songs and soon we will be joined by more folks from the FTA crew.
As always, if you’re in a band or from a label, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know about you! If we dig ya, you’ll get a nod in the column. Read on to find out what we dug the last week or so:
Alvvays– Easy on Your Own? Alvvays is set to release a new album, Blue Rev, their first in five years, and this is the second single. Equal parts indie and shoegaze, there’s no shortage of fuzz or angst, the lyrics touching on singer Molly Rankin’s dissolution and worries for the future, something we can all relate to. Blue Rev is due out 10/7 via Polyvinyl. [KH]
Heatblush– Radio Stars. 80s crunchy chorus-dipped guitar in all the right places, with a dash of Veruca Salt style pop hooks for good measure. This is the kind of song Billy Idol wishes he wrote and a track that belongs to the end of the cruel summer and binge watching Stranger Things. [MB]
Pohgoh– Weeds. Superchunk meets Hey Mercedes with a sweeter touch and powerpop guitar hooks that would make OkGo blush, Pohgoh’s new single “Weeds” tackles serious sentiment with sugar melody ahead of their newest release “du und ich” (German for “you and I”), due November 4 via Spartan Records. [MB]
Russian Circles– Gnosis. The title track from their new album (due out 8/19 via Sargent House), it clocks in at over eight minutes and shows off all of the things the band is best at—a quiet and gloomy build to a sludge fuzz crescendo before heading into firm chuggy metal territory to bring things home. The song also comes with an official music video, a first for the band. [KH]
Santigold– Shake. Musically this feels like quick “feel good in the summer time” style bop but while that is true, it belies the true meaning of the song which Santigold says is about human resilience. She again worked with SBTRKT on the track and had this to say “I can’t say this song is about one thing, as much as it’s about a feeling. It’s about flow, about riding the ebb and flows of life, it’s about rolling with it, moving through it, letting it all move through you. And it’s about the feeling in that moment when you feel life flowing through you, the rapture of it all. It’s about our resilience as humans, and our ability to keep rising back up in the face of hardship and moving forward.”
The song comes with an accompanying music video directed by Frank Ockenfels and features images inspired by Civil Rights protestors with Santigold adding “The strength and fortitude that it took for them, many just teenagers and young adults, to endure what they did and keep going, is monumental. This video is an homage to them, in which I try to power through singing this song while enduring the pain of a high-pressure water hose.” Santigold’s new album Spirituals is due out on 9/9. [KH]
Sleepy Kitty– Bigger Picture. Paige Brubeck (vocals/guitar) and Evan Sult (former Bound Stems and Harvey Danger on drums/tapes), Sleepy Kitty releases their first new music in almost 6 years. The duo combines modern pop sensibilities with a twinge 90s layered garagey distortion that meets somewhere near the intersection of Elastica and The Breeders. Described by Nylon Magazine as “rainbow-tinged indie pop,” Brooklyn Vegan calls them “a grungier, more layered Best Coast.” Lead single “Bigger Picture” coincides with the band’s long-awaited return to the live stage at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC Friday August 12th. [MB]
Surfbort– Never Gonna Be What You Want Me To Be. The latest from the rowdy trash punk quintet, it’s equal parts raucous and actually a little on the subdued side for the band (in parts) and builds nicely off of the slightly more refined sound they began exploring on last year’s Keep On Truckin’. They will soon embark on a fall tour with Me First and the Gimme Gimmies which hits NYC on 10/14 at Palladium Times Square. [KH]
Trash Moth– Roleplay. Trash Moth, which is the Brooklyn based solo project of Amelia Hazen self describes as “Garbage indie power pop for trashy saturniids and other crepuscular dwellers,” and I’ve got to say that feels pretty spot on here. This single is part of the upcoming self titled album due out on 8/19 and features some nice 90s alt vibes and sultry to soaring vocals from Hazen. [KH]
Venus Twins– God’s Machines. Deftly leaning into their metal and sludgier influences, the noise rock duo—and real life twins— show off their full songwriting range on this ten minute opus, loud to quiet to loud to quiet and back again dynamics with fuzzed out interludes featuring more intricate bass work and a few fakeout endings along the way. Stay tuned for their new full length due out in October. [KH]
Vial– Embryo. A bashing floor tom and driving bass line intro sets the tone right before the acidic guitars kick in on this rager which is a response to the cruel overturning of Roe v. Wade and the loss of reproductive freedom for those who can get pregnant in the US. The lyrics mince absolutely no words and make clear how dangerous this decision is and how hypocritical the people who made it/support it are. On their Instagram the band shares “On June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court made the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, thus removing the constitutional right to CHOOSE to have an abortion. We are dedicated to donating all profits from “Embryo” to Gender Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to “creating a world where everyone can thrive regardless of their gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation by dismantling legal, structural, and cultural barriers that contribute to gender inequity,” and the National Network of Abortion Funds, who “builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice.” The powerful new single is out now via Get Better Records and comes with an accompanying lyric video. [KH]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs– Burning. The YYY’s came blazing back in 2022 with a new single in June and a new album Cool It Down—their first new music in 10 years—due out at the end of September. “Burning” is the second single from the album and interpolates “Beggin” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The YYY’s take sees them building on the classic song and strutting their more soulful side. [KH]