It’s time for Tracks of the Week. It’s time for Tracks of the Week. It’s time for Tracks of the Week. (You can tell I am drawing a blank with my intro this week). Just sing it the tune currently playing in your head. Some belters this week, as per. Get involved. Have a dive. Discover your next new favourite band. (Hint: it’s Thus Love). But they’re all fantastic, darlings. Tatty boo.
The Body – End of Line
Why we love it: because this is metal machine music at its very best. The machine is The Body. The song is ‘End of Line’. And the machine wins with a metallic knock out.
‘End of Line’ is the lead single from The Body’s forthcoming album, The Crying Out of Things which will arrive on 8th November via Thrill Jockey.
The Body – the American duo of guitarist/vocalist Chip King and electronics/percussionist Lee Buford – have been with us for a quarter of a century now, producing wave after wave of hugely innovative sound that stretch the very limits of heavy music. ‘End of Line’ pushes those parameters even further with an avalanche of progressive noise that marches on and on into sonic oblivion. (Simon Godley)
Adore – Supermum!
Why we love it: Irish garage-punk trio Adore will have come to the attention of anyone who saw them supporting fellow Irish noise-makers Sprints. Now they have released their new single ‘Supermum!‘, a scuzzy grungey ramsackled bundle of raucous energy. It’s obvious the trio have a shared passion for melody and message. Adore state that ‘Supermum!’ is a satirical exploration of the insidious normalisation of sexual assault and abuse, with lead vocalist and lyricist Lara Minchin recalling an upbringing which placed a focus on politeness and acquiescence, highlighting the pervasive power imbalances that can lead to victimisation. This is reflected in the fierce instrumentation, perhaps acknowledging the realisation of the abuse of power. The track is produced by Gilla Band bassist Daniel Fox, and he allows Adore to be raw and honest in both the music and the lyrcisim:
I grew up in a time
Where I can’t decline
Yeah it was rude to refuse
He said honey
You’re looking alright
I’ve got some spare time
I’ve got something to show you
Speaking on the track, guitarist and vocalist Lara Minchin shares:
“Supermum! tells the tale of moments where power is lost due to the conditioning of others stronger than you. The lyrics come from my perspective of being raised as a quiet and polite young woman and how as I grew older, it became increasingly more obvious to me that I never learned how to say no, and even when I did, some of those around me had never learned how to take no for an answer. The tone of the song is satirical, which mimics the manner in which people talk about stories of assault abuse in their lives as a way to cope with the horror of it. This playful manner in which we talk about these problems shows that although we may be progressing by actually speaking up about assault, it is obvious that the issue at hand occurs so frequently that assault and abuse remains to be normalised. I hope that this song can continue the conversation of education surrounding sexual assault and abuse. I hope for people to feel safe enough to speak up about it. The fact is that sexual violence has remained a normal part of the majority of peoples lives and it shouldn’t be.”
Oh and such was the response on those support slots for Sprints, they will be back out on the road with them on Sprints’ UK tour in November. #nevermissthesupportact (Julia Mason)
Alas de Liona – Vine Song
Why we love it: because here Alas de Liona saves the best until last. Following the releases earlier this summer of first ‘Analogy’ and then ‘Violet’, the American singer-songwriter shares ‘Vine Song’, the third and final single to be taken from her upcoming album Gravity of Gold which is out 13th September on her own Deli Owner Records via Absolute Label Services.
With its pulsing, synthetic groove and beguiling charm, ‘Vine Song’ gently raises the bar in the ever-evolving story of indie-pop. And glimpses of the streets of Stockbridge in Edinburgh in the accompanying video point to the fact that Alas de Liona has relocated from where she was raised in the Mojave Desert’s Ridgecrest area to the Scottish capital. (Simon Godley)
Thus Love – On The Floor
Why we love it: Thus Love release their second album All Pleasure on 1 November via Captured Tracks. New single ‘On The Floor’ is the second release from the new album and immediately grabs in the opening bars with a bassline which is difficult to ignore. Indeed ‘On The Floor’ opens the new album, and it weaves a sonic spell. The guitars are at times spikey, and yet at others provide a layer beautifully complementing the vocals of Echo Mars. ‘On The Floor’ has a sense of urgency and vibrancy, the delivery being powerful and commanding. And just listen to those lyrics: “Take time to figure out/ All these things to unlearn about.” Both smart and thought-provoking in a handful of words.
THUS LOVE share the following on the new track: “‘On The Floor’ was actually written while we were touring in support of the first album, and it was a song we played live a lot. It’s probably the song from this album that would have been most at home on Memorial, so when it came time to sequence All Pleasure, it made sense to us that ‘On The Floor’ would be the first song — acting as a literal bridge from the first album to All Pleasure. The song itself might be the most pointed and direct on the entire record—how we often have to look outside of formal schooling for true education and how easy it is to be complicit in systems of oppression.”
The single is accompanied by an breathtaking video directed by frequent collaborators Augie Voss & Benni Shumlin, who share the following:
“The video for ‘On The Floor’ was truly a community effort. It’s a timeless, sweaty, rager of a song, and it opens and sets the tone for Thus Love’s new album – and Southern Vermont delivered. We were able to lean into these sensual juxtapositions – skin on metal, oil and sweat; we were literally and figuratively given the keys to these bizarre industrial spaces and machines, that allowed us to let loose like kids in a sandbox. Leather jackets, motorcycles, and junkyards are wonderfully overplayed images, so much that they have lost their context a little bit, which leaves space for play; a cow barn in bondage or a dance with an excavator… in the beautiful world of Thus Love, why not?”
On the evidence of the first two singles from the new album, 1 November cannot come soon enough. (Julia Mason)
Nadia Reid – Changed Unchained
Why we love it: because as she sings on her new single ‘Changed Unchained’, Nadia Reid is most certainly “changed by her melody.” Since I first saw Reid in concert in a small pub in York more than seven years ago, her music has evolved. Then she was about to release her second album, Preservation, a heavily folk-influenced record. Now, the singer-songwriter and guitarist from Port Chalmers, New Zealand returns with her first music in four years – she has had two daughters in the interim – and it shows just how far she has travelled.
She says, “‘Changed Unchained’ is a great example of me bringing lyrics and a melody into the studio, then Tom (Healy, producer) and the band letting the mojo/muse/spirit do its thing in the room. That was a really freeing feeling for me. The song begun in this delicate introspective way and formed into something quite powerful.”
On ‘Changed Unchained’ Nadia Reid produces, a different kind of sound, more full, more transcendental. Here she reflects upon having drawn a line in the personal and creative sand, before moving forward.
Her tour of the UK and Europe next year already holds much anticipation. (Simon Godley)
YinYang – Not Bad For A Woman
Why we love it:
Irish hiphop/electronica artist Yinyang has released her new single ‘Not Bad For A Woman’. It is a full on assault on the sense, inspired by a tale of female empowerment. Yinyang states that the song draws on her own based on real life situations that YINYANG has found herself in after over a decade of working behind the scenes of live music and festival production. experiences of inequality towards women and the effect that it has had on her. Using it as motivation has led to the creation of this stream of conscienceness:
“When you see me what do you think?
Always tryna ask me who the man is that’s doing this for me
And it’s worse when I tell you it’s me
You say shit not bad for a woman”
‘Not Bad For A Woman’ is a hiphop statement of intent. The offkilter beats add to the derision towards such attitudes, laced with a ferocious fury. Of the track, YINYANG says:
“‘Not Bad For A Woman’ is an ode to self to not take things so personally, to know your worth, don’t let it slip, remain empowered and use insult as motivation. People have actually said this to me and in the moment of the backhanded compliment I never really knew what to say, so here’s my answer.”
It’s been a prolific year for Yinyang with UK and Irish dates supporting the likes of Fat Dog, Enola Gay and Gurriers plus a collaboration with YARD on their track ‘ECDYSIS’ which will feature in the upcoming Nicholas Cage movie ‘The Surfer’ in cinemas 2025. Yinyang also made her festival debut at Boomtown this year, alongside appearances at ArcTanGent and Electric Picnic. The video for the new song is self-shot and self-directed video. All in all ‘Not Bad For A Woman’ indeed. (Julia Mason)
Simeon Walker – Saturnine (Solo Piano)
Why we love it: because Simeon Walker has now reached the ten year mark in his artistic career. And to celebrate the occasion the Leeds-based pianist and composer has just announced the release of ‘Saturnine’. This new single comes with a twenty minute mini-documentary – out at the end of October – which was filmed on location at the recording studio up on the North York Moors.
The press release states that in this new solo piano version of ‘Solitude’, “Simeon Walker invites listeners into a dark, brooding world of musical twists and turns, as plaintive, solemn melodies brush shoulders with the flowing, rhythmical exuberance of the captivating central section of the piece.”
Recorded on a Blüthner grand piano at Ayriel Studios, high up in the wilds of the North York Moors, ‘Saturnine’ is taken from Simeon Walker’s upcoming physical-only release Remnants: 2015-2024, a collection of his most popular pieces from the first decade of his career as an artist. It is collected together on limited-edition vinyl and CD. He will be on tour across the UK this autumn. (Simon Godley)
