Tracks of the Week #98

Tracks of the Week #98

Who? The Beths

What? Dying to Believe

Where? Aukland

What they say? Jump Rope Gazers is the follow-up to Future Me Hates Me (2018) and tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power-pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the commonality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends.

Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home.

Why we love it? The Beths are back, one of the best live bands I’ve seen in recent years. Their skippy new single shifts effortlessly from perky toe-tapper to rippling garage pop tune underscored by hook-laden guitars and Stokes’s bittersweet vocals that chart the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time. The accompanying visual is an eccentric four-step ‘How to be the Beths’ instructional video.
(Bill Cummings)

Who?  Mogan

What?  Hireth

Where?  Cardiff

What they say? There’s no direct English translation for the word Hireth, but it’s a Cornish word meaning “the longing for something that doesn’t exist”; That feeling really resonated when writing the song because I could never quite settle on its production and it never seemed to fit. I was ready to park it indefinitely but thankfully Minas (Producer) saw its potential and elevated it beyond what I had ever imagined.

Why we love it? The second release from Mogan is a dark and brooding lo-fi stunner that descends into glorious cosmic madness, pulling back and forth through uneasy soundscapes. It manifests a vibe like riding a ghost train through the cosmos. It feels like one intricate part of a puzzle that will be complete when his EP drops later this month. (Lloyd Best)

FFO: Massive Attack, Perfume Genius

Who? RVG

Where? Australia

What? Alexandra

What they say? Their new album Feral out on Fire Records in a few weeks. Produced by Victor Van Vugat (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Beth Orton), RVG perform the tricky alchemy of combining rock’s urgency, punk’s anarchy and pop’s empathy. Fronted by Romy Vager, there’s an aching beauty whilst having a lyrical concern for the world around her too.

Who we love it? Simmering and trembling with desire, regret and pain. This fantastic opener unfolds into a literate, sprawling epic track, Romy Vager howling at the moon amidst a swelling song that rattles with the history of post punk, rock and pop. Where is my mind?!  Who knows. But it sounds utterly fantastic!
(Bill Cummings)

FFO: Nick Cave, The Go-Betweens, The Waterboys

Who? Crush

What? All My Plants Are Dead

Where? Manchester

What they say: The song focuses on the idea of the cold human race and an increasingly insular society. It’s about struggling to look after yourself as much as it is struggling to look after your houseplants. Really just a message of looking after and understanding each other a bit better, and a critique of how modern living at times can make this an unattractive and hard to achieve concept.

Why we love it: Another band with a predisposition to growing flora and fauna indoors, however this lot are more wistful reverb, sly glances at Shoegaze, sweet vocals akin to Alvvays and anthemic chorus that follows a natural progression from chatting up The Cure, through the house party, having a drink with The Smiths and The Stone Roses, and out the back to snog Slowdive.
(James Auton)

FFO: Alvvays, The Cure, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Slowdive.

https://soundcloud.com/user-324745120/plants-master-jan-20-crush/

 

Who? TV People

Where? Dublin

What they say? ‘Time Eats Up’ is, according to the quartet, “about” the feelings of liberation that come with sitting idle and how these conflict with the dread that time is passing you by.  It was actually written during a spell of unemployment, but you can draw your own significance in the current climate.   There’s a whole heap of existential angst going on here, which is suiting us just right at the moment.

Why we love it? Because although this is only the band’s second single, their creative ambition is writ large here.  There’s tumultuous guitars aplenty, loads of twists and turns and unexpected lurches, and a mixture of raw power and vulnerability.  It’s big, brash and cleverer than it lets on.  (Ben Willmott)

FFO  Microdisney, The Smiths, Editors, Huge Big Massive.

 

Who? Attawalpa

Where?
London

What they say? A South-American multi-instrumentalist, his meticulous production, melodies and honest lyrics evoke the future as much as the past. Having collaborated with artists such as Misty Miller, Jennifer Herrema, Mick Jagger, Lauren Spiteri, Shame, Lokkhi Terra and Jamie T, Attawalpa has decided to step out of obscurity and into the light.

His music is truly the sum of his influences. Textured sounds, emotions, and grooves from eras across a multitude of genres; sitting comfortably in between rock, alternative and pop spaces.

Why we love it? loungey, spacey and nagging earworm. This melodic charm, builds off a fresh drum groove, twinkling pianos and luxurious vocals, zooming into that intersection between 70s flecked lounge and psych smeared curio. The sands of time are running out, on love pr live? Possibly both. Very smart.

FFO: Flaming Lips, Kurt Vile

Who? Hazel English

What? Five and Dime

Where?  L.A

What they say? It’s about the desire for space and independence when feeling stifled in a relationship.  I wrote it about a trip I took to Oakland when I just needed to get out of LA for a bit. Five & Dime is actually an old slang term for the area code 510 which covers the East Bay, so I thought it would be a fun way to refer to the place that once used to be my home, while also invoking a sense of nostalgia for a time when a phrase like five and dime was very common.

Why we love it?  A retro-tinged slow burner that harkens back to 60’s diners and summer nights.  English’s voice sweeps softly across the pristine production that feels inspired by Hawaiian summers and vintage aesthetics.  (Lloyd Best)

FFO:  Kacey Musgraves, Lana Del Rey, Duffy

Who? Gracie Abrams

Where? LA

What? ‘I miss you, I’m sorry.’

What they say? The gorgeously textured track was written by Abrams, with Blake Slatkin and Sarah Aarons, and showcases the 20-year-old artist’s understated yet powerful songwriting and quietly commanding voice. As the slow-burning epic builds to a beautiful crescendo — its intensity amplified by a lush string arrangement and gently layered vocals — Abrams’s fine-spun lyrics perfectly capture the cruel confusion of heartbreak.

Why we love it? Crisply produced haunting pop balladry that’s given a heartbreaking life by Abrams and the gradually envloping heartbreak. Added poigniancy is given by the homeshot video that speaks to the isolation and longing we are all feeling during lockdown. Wonderful. (Bill Cummings)

FFO: Lorde, Billie Eilish

God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.