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 Chantal, Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer songs— give ’em a listen!
Bodywash– Massif Central. The first single from the Montreal post punk duo’s just announced second album, I Held the Shape While I Could due out 4/14 via Light Organ. Chris Steward shares the inspiration behind the heavy subject matter addressed in the poignant and ethereal track:
“After eight years living in Canada, in the Spring of 2021, a government clerical error caused me to lose my legal status here,” Steward explains. “As a UK national, I lost my right to work. My savings trickled away during months where I could do little but pace the corners of my apartment. I was prepared to pack my bags and leave as the life I’d hoped to construct for myself seemed to vanish into a bureaucratic abyss.”
“‘Massif’ is the sound of wailing into a cliff and not knowing if you’ll hear an echo,” continued Steward. “The spoken word is inspired by a squirrel that was trapped in the wall behind my bed, clawing its way to salvation. With the help of friends, family, music, and a few immigration lawyers (and the rest of my savings), I’m now a permanent resident here. But this song remains as testament to my experience with an exploitative institution.” [KH]
Cameron Castan– Two Point Oh. Cammy is back with another synth driver, “Two Point Oh.” On the first release following their beautifully executed 2022 LP Show Me, Castan has indeed come back with the upgrade installed. Chunkier keys command attention over airier melodies, so the beat feels heavier this time around. Castan somehow once again manages to perfectly capture the feeling of being young in Bushwick. “Kissed me in the bathroom. Could never keep a secret… All I do is fuck off. Go and take my shirt off. See somebody I don’t like, and I’m about to mouth off. Told me that I’m too raw. Caught me with a new broad…” Whether you’re dancing all night in the club, stumbling through the bars, or awkwardly alone in the corner at the back of the show, it’s the same limitless freedom mixed with a crushing vulnerability that makes this track so damn authentic and relatable. [MB]
Cat Clyde– Papa Took My Totems. Coming in strong with the third single from her upcoming album, Down Rounder, this one is a bouncy and catchy offering with killer drums, hot guitar licks, and sexy organ accentuating the focal instruments. The previous two singles, the piano driven “I Feel It,” and the folky, country indie “Mystic Light,” each have a different feel and these three songs nicely show the range of Clyde’s songwriting skills. But don’t let the peppier nature of this song fool you to think it’s not about a serious subject as it explores the “ravaging effects of colonialism, the state of the environment, and masculine-dominated society at large.”
Clyde says she was inspired in part by her Indigenous Métis heritage and elaborates: “There’s a lot of sacredness that’s being destroyed in the world, and that’s difficult to deal with sometimes. Totems, to me, feel like places and things that are important and real, to witness the destruction of things like that is devastating.” Down Rounder will be out 2/17 via her own label, Second Prize Records. [KH]
Coffee Nap– Pet Sounds! The Song!/Future Project. A departure from previous releases that tended toward acoustic storytelling and instrumentals, the new single from Coffee Nap (Greenpoint-based musician Mike Nowotarski) is a synthy, narrative song that does indeed namecheck the Beach Boys, with a speak-singy intro that gives way to a bop about watching a friend move to California. (“You’re a New York girl at heart I know, but for now I’ll let things be.”) The second track is a slice of experimental pop, just over a minute and a half in length but lovely. Nowotarski notes he was inspired by Terror Pigeon, and that the guitar sounds were mostly created “using household objects like a spoon or matches.” [CW]
Deep Wimp– Too Much. Too much is never enough when it comes to Deep Wimp. Bringing me back to all my late 90s indie feels, it’s just dirty enough to be cool, but clean enough to play for your mom. The Brooklyn quartet has been knocking it outta the park the past couple years consistently dropping fun guitar hook driven singles at a time when we can all use some fun. Check out our thoughts on their previous single, “Plume” another catchy slice of awesome. [MB]
Deary– Fairground. The debut single from this UK band is a quirky slice of dream-pop that looks backward but also remains quite present. The production feels nostalgic, particularly the breakbeat drums, while Dottie’s Cocteau Twins-esque vocals swirl around like a carousel. “As a kid,” Dottie says, “I found fairgrounds incredibly overwhelming, an entanglement of anxiety and perplexity. This is how London feels to me now.” Stateside, they’ll be in Chicago on Jan 28th, and if you happen to be in London, catch them Feb. 2nd at The Waiting Room. [CW]
Fake Names– Expendables. This post-hardcore supergroup is back with another single, this time the title track from their upcoming second album, and they are just as fun and catchy as ever. We covered their last EP here and Fake Names have kept what works from their previous music, presenting here a punchy, drum driven track with a chantable chorus. A band whose members have Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Refused, Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Rites of Spring, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and more on their resumes obviously know what they are doing! Producer Adam “Atom” Greenspan has brought the pop influences forward but there is more than enough punk in this track to satisfy. Expendables is out on Epitaph March 3rd. [CW]
Fat Heaven– Quarter Life Crisis. The Brooklyn trio who’s better at being unapologetically pop-punk than almost anyone in the business is back with a new catchy as hell song and accompanying music video off their new Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls) produced record,Trash Life, coming out Feb 24 via Sell the Heart Records. Stacked with so many friends who’ve come up with band over the years, the video plays out like a Fat Heaven basement show, which if you’ve ever been, you know is one helluva party! Hopefully all the partying doesn’t catch up with them too hard, as we indeed hope they all live to the ripe old age of 120 years old. [MB]
Jess Kallen– The Knife. A country twinged, laid back folk rocker that addresses Kallen’s “competing desires for freedom and stability,” and I don’t know about anyone else, but that feels reeeeally relatable. The chorus packs an emotional gut punch as they declare “the knife in my back is coming out clean.” This is the second single from their upcoming debut album which is due out this spring and we are anxiously awaiting more details on that. [KH]
Junior Bill– Boys From Jungle. The Cardiff based band are known for their slick dub grooves in the vein of UK legends The Clash, and while that is the case here too, they have cleverly combined it with a with a bit of a grittier and punkier sound for an infectious and angular post punk jam. Big beats announce the onslaught of catchy guitar and this one will having you rocking in your chair like I was typing this up or better yet, bouncing around the dance floor.
The long running group led by frontman Rob Nichols have released many singles and EPs over the years which have garnered the band praise—and opening tour slots for Supergrass in 2019—and now they are ready to release their proper debut full length, Youth Club!, later this year. I’m certainly ready to hear more and look forward to catching them at a show either here in the US, or in one of my annual UK journeys because I already know this band is going to be a load of fun live. [KH]
King Bug– Lights. The debut track of the newest live incarnation of Brooklyn shoegaze project (former solo bedroom pop) straight from the mind of multi instrumentalist/composer Eddie Kuspiel, the king bug himself, is quite the infectious earworm. The guitar hook will have you bopping and humming for days while the bassline/kick drum sucks you into the vocal and before you know it, you’ve been hooked. It’s like TVOD, Cult of Chunk, and Color Tongue got together and wrote a party anthem…and that’s actually not too far from what actually happened since members of all those groups (and more) make up the newly assembled live band. A release show will happen tomorrow Sat 1/28 at Brooklyn Made with The Silk War, Sharkswimmer and Real Burn. [MB]
Pearla– Unglow The. The final single from Pearla’s upcoming debut album is a lilting folk country romp with poetic lyrics exploring anxiety over mortality, until it gives way to a massive crescendo, all swirling guitars and riotous drumming. It occupies a space between the more traditional composition of “About Hunger, About Love” and the somewhat unstructured “The Place With No Weather” (which we covered here and here); if these and the other singles encompass what to expect from the album, it should prove to be a gorgeous debut. Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime Is Coming will be out Feb 10 on Spacebomb Records. [CW]
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs– Ultimate Hammer. Are you ready to headbang? I’m ready to headbang. Good thing the stoner/psych/doom noise kings have us covered here with the second single from their upcoming new album, Land of Sleeper. The riffs are heavy, the vibes are highhhhh and I for one can’t wait to feel the full force of them playing this live at their upcoming show at Saint Vitus on 3/11. [KH]
Sally Hatchet– Habitat. Katie Glasgow’s alter-ego has finally taken its form in the physical world by way of Sally Hatchet. Furthermore breaking into digital realm as well with their debut release “Habitat,” an ethereal dark indie track that rocks just as hard as it does float through the air. Falling somewhere near the intersection of Tracy Bonham and The Breeders this is a proper introduction to Glasgow’s cool new project and nods hopefully to more vulnerable and nostalgic feels to follow. [MB]
Semaphore– Smother. Semaphore may take inspiration from the classic shoegaze sound, but there’s a lot more emoting in these songs than you might expect. Singer Siddhu Anandalingam says “there’s a disaffectedness to a lot of shoegaze… We want to actually reach our audience.” This single off the upcoming I Need A Reason To Stay certainly cuts like a knife, buzzing guitars underpinned by a hard-hitting rhythm section, with Anandalingam’s voice ranging from soft to an almost scream, as he pleads “quit claiming it’s temporary.” The album is out March 24th. [CW]