“It’s Tracks of the Week” (think of that in the old 80’s Radio 1 jingle tune). Doesn’t really translate does it?!? Never mind. Nine more glistening tracks of wonder and delight for your delectation. Let’s Rock (devil horns emoji)!!
Gag Salon – Don’t Eat Stuff Off the Pavement
Why We Love It: Gag Salon have released new single ‘Don’t Eat Stuff Off The Pavement’ ahead of their debut EP Get A Load of This Guy which is out June 16th via Blitzcat Records. On first listen this is a funky frenetic track full of wild abandon, clinking keyboards and static fuelled guitars. However as vocalist Joseph Mumford explains, lyrically the content is somewhat more intense:
“What do I, Joseph Mumford, say about the song? I say: “‘Don’t Eat Stuff Off The Pavement’ is generally pretty good advice – it bears no relation to the song itself though. It’s a sad song about nostalgia and living vicariously. I wrote it at the peak of Covid in 2020 when my brain was very much stuck in wistful mode, looking back on my school-years and the days of our previous band, and feeling a lot of regret for bad decisions and friendships lost. Can’t take anything too seriously though, so I had to give it a stupid title.”
Music has been one of the saviours through lockdown, both for those producing and for those listening. It comes as no surprise that such subject matter should be wrapped up in a chaotic, euphoric soundscape and this 4-piece from London have produced a track full of passion and energy. Looking forward to the EP already. (Julia Mason)
Kiwi Jr – Night Vision
Why We Love It: because Kiwi Jr are one of the best at the pop hook in an indie rock setting going. Their last album Cooler Returns was a masterclass in all killer, no filler pop classics and this is shaping up to be a bit of a different take but no less huge in the banger department. If this first cut “Night Visions” proves to be indicative of the whole of their third LP Chopper then there is a more nocturnal bent to this album and darker themes. This single has synths that evoke a late night lament and the minor chords automatically provide a more sinister feel. There’s a kinship with the style of We are Scientists anyway but this does bare a similarity with the Brooklyn boys in their more melancholic moments.
They say, “Before ‘Night Vision’ was 100% written, just the basic idea of it existing as a Kiwi Jr. song inspired us and set the tone for the record,” frontman Jeremy Gaudet says. “A lot of the images in the lyrics are of teenagers driving around, trying to make plans, sharing the aux, putting their parents’ car in the ditch, etc. But the idea at the center of the song is that of working up the nerve to make a big decision. Like a boxer getting pumped up before a fight.” (Jim Auton)
Freak Slug – Alien
Why We Love It: Manchester new comer Freak Slug recently shared her delightful new single ‘Alien’ accompanied by self-directed video. Fluttering with dreamy textures, feather light playful vocals, reverb coated guitars, the riffs sound like she’s shooting ray guns from her fingertips and meowing like a Mogwai. Beguiling and mysterious this character explores new worlds, misunderstood and judged, we all feel a bit alien sometimes. It’s an impossible infectious slice of quirky dream pop and a tantalizing introduction to an exciting emerging artist. The video perfectly accompanies the track as we see Freak Slug frolic around the city playing guitar and take on a new form as an alien.
On the track, Freak Slug explains: “In some ways everybody feels like an alien. Misunderstood, misinterpreted, misjudged. This song brings all those weirdos together so they feel less alone and more accepted” (Bill Cummings)
TV People – You Were Loved
Why We Love It: TV People have released their new single ‘You Were Loved’. It marks a development in the sound for the Dublin band and heralds their second EP which will be released later this year. Opening with a drum sequence and a vocal full of depth and emotion ‘You Were Loved’ has the most beautiful chorus which lingers long after the song has finished. In a track that sits at around 3 and a half minutes the range of soundscape within the track is breath-taking. The 4-piece of Paul Donohoe, Brendan Clarke, Paula Moura and Ben O’Connor are creating a fuller sound. The guitars add to the emotion of the track as if tugging at the heartstrings.
Of the new single, vocalist Paul Donohoe says, “The lyrics of ‘You Were Loved’ were written after the death of a close family friend who took their own life during the past year. Writing them was a way for me to process the feelings of anger, sadness and confusion that overwhelm me when I think of their life and death. The song helped me to get a lot of anger out of my system and express the underlying heartbreak and love that I feel when I think of them.”
‘You Were Loved’ was recorded at Unity Studios London, mixed by Grammy award winning Caesar Edmunds (QOTSA, ST Vincent, Foals) at Battery, London and mastered by Christian Wright at Abbey Road Studios. (Julia Mason)
Simon Bromide – Not That Type
Why we love it: Taken from his acclaimed debut solo album Following The Moon, Simon Bromide – frontman of the South London indie pop/power pop outfit Bromide – has just released his new single ‘Not That Type’. And any record that features an opening line of “You had a tape of Led Zeppelin, the other side was Nick Drake” surely has to be good.
Speaking about ‘Not That Type’, Simon Bromide says “The song is about getting back on track every time you spin off…it’s about keeping on going round. It’s about the ‘Le Mans’ of love!”
‘Not That Type’ certainly shares many of the central characteristics of the famous sports car race. It launches quickly out of the starting blocks, soon hits its stride and possesses the sort of enduring melody that we have now come to always associate with Simon Bromide.
The new single features Simon Bromide on vocals and guitars, a rhythm section of Fells Guilherme and Ed ‘Cosmo’ Wright plus some tremendous Hammond organ and backing vocals courtesy of from Dave Hale. Like the rest of Following The Moon the song was recorded at Bark Studios in Walthamstow by Brian O’Shaughnessy of Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Beth Orton fame and who worked with Berridge on the last two Bromide albums. (Simon Godley)
Old City – DK3
Why We Love It: “I’m Justin from Old City. We’re a band from Philly that makes hip hop out of punk rock samples: ‘DJ Shadow meets The Clash’”
Thus ran the intro to an email I received last week. If that doesn’t make your ears prick up, then I fear you have no soul.
‘DK3‘ is every bit as good as that description suggests. Rap meets punk (runk? Is that a thing?) in a Robin Hood style social stand off, but purveyed as inner city turmoil, it was delivered on the 37th anniversary of the MOVE bombing of 1985. Justin takes up the story:
“(This song was) released on May 13th, pointedly on the 37th anniversary of the MOVE bombing. On that date, the Phildelphia Police Department dropped a bomb on a house killing 11 people, five of them children. 65 homes were destroyed in an ensuing blaze that was intentionally left to burn an entire neighborhood down. Only one adult and one child survived, but to this day no one from the city government has been criminally charged.”
This an extremely intense, hugely powerful record designed to make listeners sit up and take notice, hopefully jolting them into doing some further research into the subject. It’s almost four decades later, and STILL people are escaping punishment for endless heinous crimes, simply because they are in positions of power. Something needs to change. Maybe Old City can help to generate that, with their astute socio-political lyrics, this time using samples of the Dead Kennedys single ‘California Uber Alles‘ and a little from The Clash‘s ‘London Calling‘. It works perfectly. ‘DK3‘ might just be the most important song you’ll hear this year. (Loz Etheridge)
TV Priest – It Was Beautiful
Why We Love It: TV Priest have released new single ‘It Was Beautiful’ ahead of their second album My Other People which is out 17 June via Sub Pop Records. It is the last track to be taken from the album and sees the London 4-piece produce a love song about the past, present and future. However this is TV Priest and so their take on a love song is unexpected, which is part of the joy. Scuzzy clanking guitars accompany the vocals. The pace is surprisingly upbeat, apart from a midtrack break which further emphasizes the themes. As vocalist Charlie Drinkwater further explains:
“‘It Was Beautiful’ is a love song about the past, present, and future. A reminder that love is the most essential thing. The words came fast; it was recorded in a single emotive session, the first song we wrote together after my family had gone through a difficult experience and I think you can hear that in the kind of melancholy euphoria that plays out as the song progresses. In some ways it’s a coda to the whole album; a reminder to guard your hope fiercely.”
And one point of interest, the video was taken as a single-shot performance, directed, produced, and filmed by the band in East London. The ultimate reminder to live in the moment. (Julia Mason)
Wallice – Funeral
Why We love it: Wallice returns with her new track ‘Funeral’, pairing nagging percussion, with darkly humorous couplets, that builds from introspective Phoebe Bridgers-like verses into a bittersweet anthem that juxtaposes a huge, soaring poppy chorus that faces mortality square in the face and laughs. “Because we are dancing at my funeral” she sings, Wallice imagining her own memorial service as a last big rock show. ‘Funeral’ is the closing track on her recently released EP 90s American Superstar – an EP on which Wallice envisions herself as a fictional celebrity idol – charting her rise and fall across five tracks. (Bill Cummings)
Noya Rao – Hardwired
Why We Love it Noya Rao have released new single ‘Hardwired’, is the second track to be taken from the band’s forthcoming EP ‘North’.
Haunting and enveloping ‘Hardwired’ is a gorgeously subtle composition from the Leeds group, weaving singular imperious harmonies of singer Olivia Bhattacharjee, leavened with spindly percussive elements and gentle jazz flecked acoustics, this wonderfully drawn meditative atmosphere that sketch out the disintegration of a toxic relationship it hangs heavy in the air like the most sedate moments of Loma or the slow motion melodrama of Julia Holter. Exquisite.
On the track the band say –
“Our writing process often consists of jamming for hours on end, allowing ideas to develop organically and in the moment. Sometimes those jams get buried on the Google drive and forgotten about for years. ‘Hardwired’ was born from one of these long-lost jams, cut up, added to and reimagined into the lo-fi slow jam it is today.
The song is sad yet hopeful. It tells the tale of a toxic relationship, hindered by communication breakdowns, shadowed by past traumas. It’s our favourite song from our upcoming EP and we’re so proud to share it!” (Bill Cummings)
