I think God might be a bit pissed off. The omnipotent creator of all things (citation required) is sending another flood to wipe the scum off the face of the planet it would seem, although we’ll need even more rain to actually achieve that, there is just too many of them. I managed to survive the deluge as I dodged the road works and potholes on our wonderful motorways in a transit van. I survived. Here’s a TOTW. It’s bitchin’. Peace.
Cardinals – Unreal
Why we love it: Ireland’s Cardinals return with the second release on So Young Records. ‘Unreal’ follows ‘Roseland’ and presents a different side to the band. With a spikey static start it heads into a track which has an unashamedly pop vibe within its soundscape. There are blasts of feedback within the melody, particularly at the end, showing that Cardinals are happy to mix it up with impressive results.
Front man Euan Manning had the following to say about the single:
“’Unreal’ was written in the back of a Ford Transit van that I happened to be living in at the time. It reminds me of warm days spent on the beaches at home back in Cork. I remember learning a Beach Boys song, taking one of the chords from it, and building a whole new song, this one, around it.”
Following a filmed performance for Other Voices in their homeland, and the enviable support of Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten, who called them “one of my favourite new bands” during an interview with BBC Radio 1, the band performed for The Great Escape’s First Fifty at the tail end of last year and will now perform at the main festival in May, with their first US performances confirmed to take place before then at SXSW next month. Exciting times indeed. (Julia Mason)
LAIR – Setan Dolbon
Why we love it: because what other song this year, or any other year for that matter, is going to recount the story of a public-defecating spectre that caused a pandemonium in their local area? Well, the Indonesian collective LAIR alongside producer/songwriter Monica Hapsari do just exactly that with ‘Setan Dolbon.’ The single is taken from their new album Ngélar which came out on Friday via Guruguru Brain and tells such a tale about some very strange happenings that took place in a number of villages in Jatiwang in their home country and have since become the stuff of urban legend.
As the band explain, ‘Setan Dolbon’ “originates from a true story around the year 2013 in a village in Jatiwangi, a troubling phenomenon occurred that instilled fear, suspicion, and mutual accusations among the local residents. At that time, there were repeated discoveries of objects suspected to be human faeces in the areas surrounding the residents’ housing and even in public spaces. Rumours spread, giving rise to speculations regarding the cause of these findings, ranging from animal mischief, actions of mentally ill patients, to suspicions of black magic rituals for wealth. This unrest peaked within the community, forcing the local police to intervene and participate in the residents’ night patrols.”
And the sextet present this bizarre and unusual subject matter for a song in a demonic fusion of psych, prog, and more traditional southeast Asian folk that wouldn’t be entirely be out of place on the soundtrack to a spaghetti western. It is rattling good fun and augurs well for the band’s appearance at next month’s SXSW in Austin, Texas. (Simon Godley)
The Warning – S!CK
Why we love it: “Kill the silence. Till it makes me feel, till it makes me feel, till it makes me feel…SICK!”
The Warning are a sister-trio from Monterrey, Mexico and they have released their new single ‘S!CK’ via Lava Records/Republic Records. This is a shot of adrenalin with the single opening with hooky guitar riffs and pounding drums. This is big bold brash music. Full of attitude, ‘S!ck’ is one for the moshpit. The lead vocal of Daniela is strong and powerful, full of confidence and swagger. That sliding vocal is particularly impressive! However all three band members combine to create a track which is empowering. The band share the following:
“This song is about fearing that you never lived out your life and desperately wanting to live it.”
Thematically ‘S!ck’ is one we can relate to and the ebb and flow of the song reflects our energies when dealing with the challenges of life. It is rock n roll in the true sense of the word, and there is only one way to listen to The Warning….Loud. (Julia Mason)
Bodega – City Is Taken
Why we love it: because Bodega are some of the coolest motherfuckers coming out of Brooklyn, NYC which is home to quite a few cool motherfuckers. ‘City Is Taken’ is the second single to be taken from their new LP Our Brand Could Be Yr Life, which is out on 12th April.
Written by Nikki Belfiglio, joint frontperson for the band, she says
“‘City Is Taken’ is a song about my experience of moving to NYC in 2010. I came to view myself and my artistic role models as a force of gentrification caught in the invisible web on profiteering that follows artists wherever they go. My visual presence became an unwitting symbol of destruction; the antithesis of everything I sought to create.”
It’s a slower, moody number with all the swagger of the city streets it is describing. It has elements of Motorik and Television late 70’s feel. It’s propulsive and loops around, with a bit of a similar sound to ex-guitarist Madison Velding-VanDam’s band The Wants. Both singles suggest the new album is going to be another year highlight. (Jim Auton)
Maruja – The Invisible Man
Why we love it: Manchester 4-piece Maruja have released new single ‘The Invisible Man’, the second to be taken from their forthcoming EP due for release later this year. It’s a majestic track, effortlessly building in intensity. The depth of emotion created by Maruja’s music is breathtaking. On ‘The Invisible Man’ the aspect is more contemplative than on previous songs. The band share it is a story about mental health, with the lyrics shaped by personal experiences of dealing with loved ones struggling in the midst of the mental health epidemic. It is moulded from the perspective of someone dealing with grief. This is so palpable within the instrumentation. How can soundscapes create such an internal response? At times the track evokes a wallowing in this most difficult of human conditions, the anxiety is expressed within the saxophone layer and somehow the drums manage to be dark and foreboding. But then there is the break towards the end, perhaps expressing hope and a calmness than can descend once the grief subsides.
Maruja head out on a UK headline tour in April and have just been announced as part of Bad Dreams gigs in May at New Century Hall in Manchester alongwith Bodega, Panic Shack and Model/Actriz. I’ll see you down the front. (Julia Mason)
C Turtle – Melvin Said This
Why we love it: C Turtle share new single ‘Melvin Said This’, taken from their upcoming album Expensive Thrills, set for release on 8 March on Blitzcat Records. The first words that came into my head when this song started was “Woo Hoo”. Full of pacey, spikey guitar riffs and pounding drums, ‘Melvin Said This’ is a song to put a smile on your face and a wiggle in your walk. It’s grungey indie rock vibes are such fun, and perfect for the dancefloor. The guitars hover near the edge and the pace never lets up. The partnership of Cole Flynn Quirke and Mimi McVeigh produces such joyous music and don’t be fooled by that break towards the end, they are not finished yet. And just listen to the lyrics, full of quirky humour and wry observations.
Quirke says of the new single:
“’Melvin’ is the outcome of us trying to blend our twee indie rock influences like The Clean and the Vaselines with more dissonant rock and roll like Brainiac. It’s probably the rockiest and fastest song on the album and we all love playing it live the most out of any tracks on the record.”
(Julia Mason)
Amelia Coburn – Sleepy Town
Why we love it: because this, the third and final single to be taken from Amelia Coburn’s forthcoming debut album, the imaginatively titled, Between The Moon and The Milkman – produced by Bill Ryder-Jones and set for release March 8th 2024 – is virtually guaranteed to place the Middlesbrough indie-artist on a much wider musical map than her native Teesside.
‘Sleepy Town’ sparkles with drive, determination, and a restless spirit that takes both the artist and the listener far beyond the North East of England, a feeling that is emphasised by the song’s propulsive country essence and widescreen folk-pop vibe.
By way of affirmation, when speaking about her latest single, Amelia Coburn says “I hate staying in the same place for too long, and this track is about getting itchy feet and wanting to see the world. Although it has all the foundation of a country song, Bill pulled sonic inspiration from Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus in Furs’ (a band we both love!), which gives it true grit – see what I did there?” (Simon Godley)
