Kool Rock Radio News Update February 18, 2022

Kool Rock Radio News ► February 18, 2022

1. Leeds post punk/dark pop band Klammer have aired the video for their newest single “Progress (or the lack of)“. Read more ►

2. Belfast cold wave/minimal synth/electronic artist Crystalline Stricture has aired two new songs “Real” and “Right Out“. Read more ►

3. Berlin bedroom-rock/post punk new solo project Jogger (aka Florian Nikolai) has shared the video for his new single “Du & Ich“. Read more ► 

4. UK-based dream pop/lo-fi/indie artist Jesse D’Kora (aka Dan Parker from Juliper Sky and Affairs) has revealed his new single “cricket“. Read more ►

5. Miss Kittin & The Hacker, the electro duo of Caroline Hervé and Michel Amato from Grenoble, France, have revealed their infectious new single “19“. Read more ►

6. Swedish coldwave/synthpop/darkwave band Cold Connection have unleashed a new video for “Beautiful (remixed)“. Read more ►

7. Washington DC electro/synth artist S Y Z Y G Y X (aka Luna Blanc) has dropped the video for “Can’t Kill Me“. Read more ►

8. Indiana shoegaze/dream pop band Whimsical have announced the release of their album ‘Melt’ and have shared the video for  their new single “Rewind“. Read More ►

9. Dallas, TX indie rock/pop/new wave band Motorcade have returned with their new single/video “Standard Passage”. Read More ►

10. Brighton art-rock band Youth Sector have unveiled the video for their new single “Always Always Always“. Read more ►

11. Russian post punk/new wave band PLOHO have shared the video for their new single “Plattenbauten“. Read more ►

12. Los Angeles based bedroom pop/lo-fi artist Vinyl Williams (aka multimedia artist Lionel Williams) has announced the release of his new LP ‘Cosmopolis‘ and has shared the video for his new single “Probable Cause“. Read more ►

13. Austin, TX dream pop/post punk/shoegaze band Glaze have aired the video for their new single “Buttercup“. Read more ►

14. Austin, TX dream pop/shoegaze/bedroom pop band Blushing have premiered the video for their catchy new single “Ours“. Read more ►

15. Los Angeles new wave/post punk/synth pop duo Sacred Skin (FKA Second Skin), have released their new single/video “Earthbound“. Read more ►

16. Brisbane psych pop band The Belligerents have revealed their new single/video “9 Times Out of 10“. Read more ►

17. Swedish indie-pop band Shout Out Louds have unleashed the video for their new single “My Companion“. Read more ►

18. San Diego indie/alt trio Los Saints have dropped the video for their new single "Fouund You Somewhere".

Film School Premiere "Take What You Need" & "Superperfection" Music Videos

Los Angeles shoegaze/psych/alt band Film School have premiered two new video for the songs "Take What You Need" and "Superperfection".

Both tracks are taken from their sixth studio album "We Weren’t Here", released in September last year via Sonic Ritual. Get it here.

About the video for "Take What You Need", Director Laura Conway explains: 

"Place is crucial for me and I often start with a location as the first character. In this case it was the Media Archeology lab and their workshop of beautiful (and functioning!) machines. Once I listened to the song, which is all about living your truth, a story started emerging about a computer tech encountering a computer virus that red pills her into the realization that she is also a dancer. I have been looking for a project to collaborate on with choreographer and mover Constance Harris because her choreography is so dynamic and when she performs I am completely transfixed. As we developed the look and ideas Constance Harris, my costume designer Andrea Ballas, and I talked about references from Grace Jones and Bruce Conner, to Black Box, and Spike Lee's Girl 6. The video also nods to the buried history of women, especially black women, in the development of early computer programming, which has been erased by the silicon nightmare/regime we currently live under.”

“Continuing on Laura’s ideas here, to me this video not only celebrates women and diversity in early computer programming, but also the underrepresented diversity and POC in our music genre, past and present.” - Singer Greg Bertens

On "Superperfection" video, Director Christin Turner, says:  

"Superperfection follows the psychedelic undergrowth encroaching on mysterious and breathtaking structures. The music video was shot on 16mm Kodak film in the forested ruins in Sintra, Portugal, and the Carmo Convent Ruins in Lisbon, stitched together in oscillating light. Waves of color overtake the real and place us back into the surreality of film. The video interprets the song's lyrics as an overtaking of civilization by all forms of wild-ness in the foreseeable future - as pattern that repeats throughout the centuries. The world without humans is animated using camera effects, colors, and movement. Experimental film techniques push into the frame, as if to introduce an alternate reality that underlies it all. True wildness emerges from vibrant inner experiences."

(facebook.com/filmschoolmusic)

Tags: Film School

Watch: Los Saints Drop New Single/Video "Fouund You Somewhere"

San Diego indie/alt trio Los Saints have droppped the video for their new single "Fouund You Somewhere".

The song is out now through Enci Records (The Joy Formidable, Fences), it was recorded in Los Angeles by Keith Cooper of Dear Boy and is a perfect introduction to Los Saints: a tale of longing and regret set to a rousing, stadium-worthy chorus. Get it here.

Band member Angel Mariscal says: “‘Fouund You Somewhere’ was written at the end of my first serious relationship. It’s about yearning for something that you lost and holding on to what could have been, if things were done differently.”

The video, directed by Mariscal, puts an amusingly literal spin on the song’s meaning, as he leads the band on a wild-eyed odyssey to the heart of the city in search of someone or… something.

Watch/listen below.

(instagram.com/lossaintsofficial)

Tags: Los Saints

New Entry: Brother. Unveil "Honey (Reimagined)"

Salt Lake City, Utah indie/alt band Brother. have unveiled a reimagined version of their song "Honey".

The song original version of the song features on their 2021 album 'Volumen III', out via Handwritten Records. Get it here.

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/brothertheband4)

Watch: CDSM Share New Single/Video "GFH"

Atlanta, GA post punk band CDSM (a.k.a. Celebrity Death Slot Machine) have shared the video for their new single "GFH".

The song is out now and is taken from their forthcoming EP 'Hell Stairs', set to arrive on April 29th through Mothland and Exag' Records. Get it here.

While in the confines of their windowless subterranean concrete studio, CDSM is helmed by Ben Presley (vocals, guitar/bass, synthesizers, drums), Tyler Jundt (vocals, saxophone, synthesizers) and John Restivo Jr. (vocals, drums, percussion).

Hell Stairs is both glamorous and bleak, swanky and derelict, uplifting and crushing. It’s hedonism clinking in your glass, change jingling in the pit of your chest. Sure, it is post-punk meets darkwave meets no wave, but it’s even more so, an invitation to dance away the pain, in the form of croonesque laments, rumbling synths, swirling saxophone riffs and tight four-to-the-floor cadences. You now have the perfect clair-obscure soundtrack for a night at the local neon noir casino. You’re welcome.

Expect to be pleased with the contents of this first EP from Atlanta’s hot new commodity if you enjoy the musical tendencies of artists such as Viagra Boys, The Voidz, Total Control, Bodega or Fat White Family.

On “GFH”, CDSM alleviates our existential pain with a postmodern disco scorcher. Since the World is literally and physically crumbling around us, why not abandon ourselves to soothing rhythm sections, fierce saxophone flurries and manic synth modulations, as we’re told vivid tales of a double agent.

Watch/listen below.

(instagram.com/cdsm_worldwide)

Tags: CDSM

Watch: Snapped Ankles Air New Single/Video "Barbecue In Brazil"

East London art wave/post punk/krautrock band Snapped Ankles have aired the video for their brand new single "Barbecue In Brazil".

The song is out today (February 17) via The Leaf Label. Get it here.

From the band: "Have you ever taken a flight for a Barbecue In Brazil? This is a song sung from the nemophilic corner of our woods, railing against instaconsumerism and the globally connected luxury travel industry that surrounds it. Let’s all meet at the last ever grill!”

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/SNAPPEDANKLES)

Tags: Snapped Ankles

Watch: Fontaines D.C. Release New Single/Video "I Love You"

Dublin rock n' roll band Fontaines D.C. have released the video for their new single "I Love You".

The song is taken from their forthcoming third studio album 'Skinty Fia', set to be released on April 22 through Partisan Records. Pre-order your copy here.

Accompanied by a cinematic video directed by Sam Taylor, Grian Chatten describes the song as “the first overtly political song we’ve written. It’s standing in the centre of our beloved home country as a multitude of things are brought to tragic ends in an apocalyptic state of affairs. That’s how it feels to me, and what I felt when I wrote it.”

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/fontainesband)

Tags: Fontaines DC

Watch: Junk Drawer Reveal New Single/Video "Railroad King"

Irish indie-psych/art rock/lo-fi band Junk Drawer have revealed the video for their new single "Railroad King".

The song is taken from their forthcoming EP 'The Dust Has Come To Stay', which will be available on March 11 through Art For Blind Records. Pre-order your copy here.

Recorded with Chris Ryan (Just Mustard, NewDad, Robocobra Quartet), "Railroad King" signposts another exciting release from Junk Drawer who are made up of four multi-instrumentalists: brothers, Stevie Lennox and Jake Lennox, Brian Coney and Rory Dee. The new single really turns the dial on the 60s-inspired garage-rock tones of the quartet who frequently turn to their crate-digging sensibilities for inspiration: Deerhoof, The Cleaners From Venus, Spacemen 3, Ween, Richard Dawson and Television.

Speaking about it, Jake says: "I’d written the lyrics to this song before I’d realised I was on the autistic spectrum, but the lyrics made total sense once the realisation hit. It’s about not wanting to be away from the public world, adventuring happily with my imagination; walking by myself and making up songs etc. It also references the autistic feeling of feeling like my body is just a vessel that I want to ‘zip off’ to be my true self. 

Lyrically, as I noodled through the main melody, the primary influence was Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Free”. During the writing sessions for the song as I was improvising, one of the repeated verses became “I just walk along and stroll and sing. I see better days and I do better things.” Folk music has always been my favourite genre and I always subconsciously bring in those kinds of songwriting elements rather than more modern rock formats. For example, this song has no chorus as such, but it has a refrain at the end of each verse that performs that function. I much prefer that style, it means I can play with the rhyming a bit more and I can add more words."

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/junkdrawerband)

Watch: Spacey Jane Unleash Music Video For "Sitting Up"

Perth garage pop/indie rock band Spacey Jane have unleashed the video for their latest single "Sitting Up".

The song is part of our current playlistand is taken from their sophomore full-length album 'Here Comes Everybody', set to arrive on June 10 via AWAL. Pre-order your copy here.

Caleb’s vocals are vulnerable and yearning as he sings about events close to his heart: " I wrote this about the way I was feeling and behaving when I was in my final semester of uni before dropping out. I left quite unceremoniously by not showing up to any of my final exams or handing in final assessments. I had no idea who I was, I was seriously depressed and completely spinning out. I felt like I’d created this terrible façade of myself for all of these people that I knew and that really I hadn’t been myself around someone or been truthful about my feelings in years. I didn’t care about my life or what I was doing to my body, I thought I was going to end up dead if I didn’t fix something. I felt like I was the only one going through those feelings and even though that wasn’t true, it made me feel so alone."

Watch the video below.

(facebook.com/JaneySpace)

Tags: Spacey Jane

New Entry: Web Premieres New Single "Heaven"

Aussie new-wave/80s alt-pop/synth artist Web Rumors (aka Em Burrows) has premiered her new single "Heaven".

This is the first cut from her new album which drops mid-year through Group Therapy Records. 

Inspired by the proto-house and post-disco sounds of early 80s New York and Chicago underground clubs, Heaven aims to capture that heady combination of dance floor euphoria and deep nostalgia. 

Get it here and take a listen below.

(facebook.com/webrumors)

Tags: Web Rumors

Watch: Sam Jr Drops New Single/Video "Sweet Face (ft. Tess Parks)"

Canadian psych rock/alt musician Sam Jr (guitarist for anthemic indie rock band Broken Social Scene) has dropped the video for his new single "Sweet Face" featuring vocals from Brian Jonestown Massacre collaborator Tess Parks.

The song is taken from their upcoming self-titled debut album, which will be available on March 10th through Arts & Crafts. Pre-order your copy here.

The shoegaze-inspired track shares similarities with spaces-out forefathers The Jesus & Mary Chain and Sonic Youth with a repetitious and hypnotizing lyrics “come on, baby, come on” lulling the listener into a rock’n roll trance.

Speaking about it, he says: "As my album approached mixing time I realized that I needed to have another voice on one of the songs to add some other colors. It actually had too much of me. “Sweet Face” was a song I felt would be a good candidate for a collaboration. I was stumped as to who to reach out to so I sent a smoke signal to "mr i know everyone" Brendan Canning and he said "Tess Parks would work really well on this song." I emailed her and she wrote back: "Hey! This song rules, I’m so down!" so that made my day. Her voice is so unique. Low and raspy with so much character. She makes the song."

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/Samjvnior)

Watch: Lesser Care Unveil Music Video For "Meadow"

El Paso, TX post-punk/shoegaze trio Lesser Care have unveiled the video for the latest single "Meadow".

The song is our current Single of the Week and is taken from their forthcoming debut album 'Underneath, Beside Me', which will be out on April 1st through à La Carte Records. Pre-order your copy here.

Watch the clip below.

(facebook.com/lessercare)

Tags: Lesser Care

Watch: Johnny Marr Shares "Spirit Power and Soul" Live Video

Johnny Marr, former guitarist of The Smiths and top indie legend, has shared a live video for "Spirit Power and Soul".

The song is part of our current playlist and is taken from his upcoming new album 'Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4', out on 25th February via BMG. Pre-order your copy here.

Watch the video below.

(facebook.com/officialjohnnymarr)

Tags: Johnny Marr

New Entry: Baba Ali Release New Single "Black + Blue"

London-based dance punk/post disco outfit Baba Ali (Baba Doherty and Nik Balchin) have released their new single "Black + Blue".

The song features on the 'Living It Up / Black + Blue' AA-side release, out via Zen FC, the label run by Yard Act members James Smith and Ryan Needham. Get it here.

Acting as a bridge between direction both old and new, the two new tracks came to life prior to Baba’s debut album, Memory Device in 2020. The challenging yet fruitful period resulted in ‘Living It Up’ and ‘Black + Blue’ being cast aside in order to focus on the record with Al Doyle, only to be revisited upon a new found relevance to how the pair’s live performances had evolved. 

“We ended up reacting to the beginning of lockdown by writing a tonne of new songs in my basement in New Jersey,” tells Baba. “some of the tracks ended up forming a mixtape that we put out on Bandcamp. Black & Blue was a song from that collection of songs, and one we were really happy with at the time, so this was an interesting opportunity to open the track up again and see how our experiences since that period had changed our approach to recording.

“It is a song I am always trying to convince Nik (guitarist/synths) to add to our live set, but I don't even think he can even remember the tuning he used for it. Hopefully giving the song an official release will kind of force his hands on that one.”

Yard Act’s James and Ryan say of the release: “We loved Baba Ali's music from the moment we heard it. They're joining us for our debut album tour in February. When Baba sent through some new tunes he and his bandmate Nik were working on we saw an opportunity to reboot Zen F.C., and to preserve on wax and share some great music with the world. It was a no-brainer for us. We are honoured, we are buzzed to have Baba Ali as the first ever non-YA release on Zen F.C. - follow the label, there will be much more to come in the future.”

Stream it below.

(facebook.com/iambabaali)

Watch: Jetstream Pony Air Music Video For "Strood McD F.C."

Anglo-american indie supergroup Jetstream Pony (consisting of former and current members of Luxemburg Signal, The Wedding Present, Turbocat and Trembling Blue Stars) have aired the video for their latest single "Strood McD F.C.".

The song is taken from their six-track mini album 'Misplaced Words', released in  November 2021 via Shelflife Records, and also features on the  compilation 'Under the Bridge', released 18th March by Skep Wax.  Pre-order it here.

Watch the clip below.

(facebook.com/jetstreamponyband)

Tags: Jetstream Pony

New Entry: Leisure Twins Drop New Single "Make It Better"

San Diego, CA contemporary pop duo Leisure Twins have dropped their catchy new single "Make It Better".

They are influenced by the likes of David Bowie, Hall & Oates, Roxy Music, Thompson Twins, Keane and Icehouse. 

Get it here and stream it below.

(facebook.com/thecribs)

New Entry: Johnny Hunter Premiere New Single "Endless Days"

Australian post punk/alt band Johnny Hunter have premiered their new single "Endless Days".

The song is out now through Cooking Vinyl Australia. Get it here.

Behind 'Endless Days': An ode to the happiness one can experience in the naivety of youth. Blissfully unaware of turmoils, a lifetime was lived within a second, Romance was born, friendships eternal and days were endless.

The lyrics were inspired by my move back to Sydney and written in the back of Xanders family Volo on our way to a gig we were playing to about 10 people. Taking influence from Bowie’s Scary Monsters album and nods to The Smiths, The Queen is Dead. 

Gerry had made the long journey from the Deep South of NSW to play drums with a couple of misfit uni students he’d never officially met before. It was in this fateful meeting that the song was written, the first song that birthed the conception of Johnny Hunter.

A surprising challenge in the studio, we spent the whole day on the drums and defeated we decided to call it a day. We woke up, had our ritual coffee and Gerry smashed it out in 20 minutes. 

Watch a visualizer below.

(facebook.com/johnnyhunterband)

Tags: Johnny Hunter

Watch: BODEGA Reveal New Single/Video "Statuette On the Console"

New York art-rock/punk band BODEGA have revealed the video for their new single "Statuette On the Console".

The song is taken from their forthcoming second full-length album 'Broken Equipment', which will be out on March 11 2022 via WYR? Pre-order your copy here.

Speaking about it, Nik E Iki writes: "‘Statuette on the Console’ is a celebration of shedding other people’s ideology. When writing the song I was trying to understand myself by exploring my values, but I could only come up against what I was not. The ability to believe and the comfort of ideology or isms is not one I have within me although as the song says, I myself live by my own inherited platitudes."

'Statuette on the Console' comes accompanied by a video directed by Nik E Iki that pokes fun at our dependence on fragile, fleeting technology. She offers:

"I have a certain reverence for the symbols of religion; creating iconography with antiquated technology is a big part of my process for the art of BODEGA. For the song’s accompanying music video, I cast myself as the titular statuette on the console, miming the song on top of an old television set, wearing a halo made out of a laser disc. I also created a giant iPhone dongle out of cardboard, fabric and pillow stuffing. In our tech-obsessed world, the dongle is a symbol with godlike powers of animating silence. I see something tragic in the fragility of these dongles and our dependence on them. It’s only a matter of days before they become broken equipment."

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/BODEGABK)

Tags: Bodega

New Entry: Future Islands Unleash New Single "King of Sweden"

Baltimore indie rock/pop band Future Islands have unleashed their new single "King of Sweden".

The song is out now via 4AD, and is is their first release since 2020 album As Long As You Are. Get it here.

Take a listen below.

(facebook.com/FutureIslandsMusic)

Tags: Future Islands

Watch: The Laurels Unveil New Single/Video "Borrowed Time"

Sydney indie rock/alt/shoegaze band The Laurels have unveiled the video for their new single "Borrowed Time".

The song is taken from their upcoming third studio album 'Homecoming', out next month (March 25) via Third Eye Stimuli Records. Pre-order your copy here.

Speaking about the creation of the track, Luke O’Farrell says “originally the track was just a real straight-ahead, lo-fi garage rock song that clocked in at around two-and-a-half minutes, but once we got into the studio, Lachlan (producer of the new album) suggested letting different sections breathe, which took it in a more interesting direction. Piers threw in some really cool melodic guitar ideas in the chorus, Kat came up with some beautiful vocal harmonies, and Ben has a real “Phil Collins” moment mid-song, where he belts out a solo vocal from behind the kit.”

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/theelaurels)

Tags: The Laurels

Watch: Low Island Share Live Video For "Everything Before Us"

Oxford indie dance quartet Low Island have shared a live video for their newest single "Everything Before Us".

The song is part of our current playlist and came out last week (February 10). Grab it here.

Watch the video below.

(facebook.com/lowislandmusic)

Tags: Low Island

Watch: Foals Release Music Video For "2AM"

Oxford UK indie rockers Foals have released the video for their newest single "2AM".

The song is part of our current playlist and is taken from their forthcoming new album 'Life Is Yours', which will be released later this Summer. Get it here.

Frontman Yannis Philippakis comments on the track: "Musically ‘2am’ is one of the poppiest songs we’ve ever written. It’s about repetitive cycles of destructive behaviour, which I think lots of people can relate to, and certainly it’s an expression of something that I struggle with. There’s something cathartic about expressing that feeling to this upbeat music that’s got a sense of release and the hope of resolution."

"The lyrics tap into the idea of trying to wake up after the fever dream and terrible nightmare of the last 18 months. We really wanted to revel in the power of rhythm and music and what that brings to your body, heart and soul. It’s an absolute banger of a track and feels joyous and full of light to us."

Take a listen below.

(facebook.com/Foals)

Tags: Foals

New Entry: Blood Handsome & Male Tears "Hardships & Admiration"

Los Angeles, CA darkwave/post punk artist Blood Handsome (Gerren Reach) and American electro pop/new wave/synthwave project Male Tears have released their collaborative single “Hardships & Admiration”

The song is out now, get it here and take a listen below.

(facebook.com/bloodhandsomeXO) // (facebook.com/maletearsmusic)

Tags: Blood Handsome, Male Tears

Watch: Loose Buttons Air Music Video For "What's On Outside"

New York indie rock/alt band Loose Buttons have premiered their new single "What's On Outside".

The song is part of our current playlist and is taken from their sophomore album 'What’s On Outside' , released in October 2021 via Moon Crawl Records. Get it here.

Watch the video below.

(facebook.com/LooseButtonsMusic)

Tags: Loose Buttons

Watch: TV Priest Drop New Single/Video "One Easy Thing"

London post punk/punk band TV Priest have dropped the video for their new single "One Easy Thing".

Band member Charlie says: "Writing ‘One Easy Thing’ was key to unlocking a more direct and personal approach to our songwriting. It’s about dealing with the small things of everyday life; the anxiety, pressures, and battles inside your own headspace - and not being afraid to show this in our songs.”

The song is out today, February 15 via Sub Pop Records and will also be on their forthcoming new album, due out later this year. Get it here.

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/TVPriest)

Tags: TV Priest

Watch: Howless Reveal New Single/Video "Unlucky"

Mexico City-based noise-pop/shoegaze quartet Howless have revealed the video for their new single "Unlucky".

The song is taken from their upcoming debut album 'To Repel Ghosts', out this Firday, February 18th through Static Blooms Records. Pre-order your copy here.

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/Howlessband)

Tags: Howless

Watch: MOTO BANDIT Unleash New Single "Daylight Doom"

Nashville-based surf-rock/dream pop duo MOTO BANDIT (aka Ben Merlotti and Dennis Pickett) have unleashed their new single "Daylight Doom".

The song is out today, get it here and stream it below.

(instagram.com/motobanditboys)

New Entry: Secret Attraction Drops New Single "Peppermint"

Phoenix, Arizona dream pop/lo-fi artist Secret Attraction have dropped his catchy new single "Peppermint".

The song is taken from his upcoming new album 'Replica', which will be available on February 18th via Stratford Court. Get it here.

Take a listen below.

(facebook.com/secretattraction)

Tags: Secret Attraction

New Entry: VALI S.C (ex-Sextile) Unveils New Single "Sub/vert"

Los Angeles shoegaze/alt act VALI S.C aka Kenneth Elkin (formerly of Sextile) has released the video for his new single "Sub/vert".

The song is taken from their forthcoming EP 'To Set The Sea in Wolves Teeth', which will be available on February 28 through Cercle Social Records (Soft Kill, Chameleons, Asylum Party). Pre-order your copy here.

Elkin delivers hazy, futuristic vapors, and weaves together a Golden State-inspired smoke that is nostalgic enough to be appreciated by the overlooked, unsentimental listener who recalls a sunnier, more mystical California. 

 

He brings a guitar saturated, five-song opus that builds a transformative sonic bridge from the dark path of crime and drug use of Elkin's past into a new era of love, light, freedom and ultimately recovery. Taking influence from My Bloody Valentine, early 4AD and coldwave, the new EP is also dedicated to the memory of Eddie, a former Sextile bandmate who passed away from a drug overdose. 

Ultimately, VALI S.C is a rebirth and a proper burial of the past transgressions and an exciting reintroduction to the artist.

About the track Elkin said, "Sub/vert is about Infinite sustain, and a sense of permanence, it's what allows me to continue to find my child like self. Infinite sustain in those guitars. It’s what inspires me to be able to create. The stillness of the universe and being in the direct center of that is chaos."

Take a listen below.

(instagram.com/Valisocialcollide/)

Tags: VALI S.C

Watch: Michael Zodorozny Shares New Single/Video "Constant"

New York post-punk icon and founding member of Crash Course in Science, Michael Zodorozny has shared the video for his new single "Constant".

The song is taken from his solo debut album 'Other Side' (produced by Matia Simovich aka INHALT), out today February 14 through Electronic Emergencies. Grab your copy here.

The side he shows on the album is a rougher and more personal one. The seven tracks, including a feisty remix by The Hacker, are dark and thrusting with an EBM and industrial feel. Home-made and self-invented instruments complete Michael's specific, extraordinary sound. 

Watch/listen below.

(instagram.com/mzodoroz)

New Entry: Crystalline Stricture Airs New Single "European Station"

Belfast cold wave/minimal synth/electronic artist Crystalline Stricture has aired his new single "European Station".

Take a listen below.

(facebook.com/CrystallineStricture)

Tags: Crystalline Stricture

Dehd Announce New LP 'Blue Skies', Stream "Bad Love"

Chicago indie pop/rock/post punk trio Dehd have announced the release of their new studio album 'Blue Skies'.

The follow-up to 2020's Flower of Devotion, will be out May 27th through Possum Records and is the band’s second consecutive breakthrough, loaded with the most compelling, compulsive, and expansive songs of their career. Pre-order your copy here.

Blue Skies offers another jolt of timely hope, only with twice the power. These 13 hits feel like flashlights in the dark, acknowledging how difficult everything from love and sex to living and dying can be while supplying the inspiration of their own experiences.

While continuing to write and record every part of the album themselves, the new relationship with Fat Possum did allow for a few indulgences, namely in the addition of Grammy winning mixing engineer, Craig Silvey (The Rolling Stones, The National, Arcade Fire), and mastering engineer, Heba Kadry (Slowdive, Bjork, Cate Le Bon), ensuring Dehd’s vision for “Blue Skies”. 

Sharper and smarter, with harmonies and rhythms more sophisticated and considered, Blue Skies is still Dehd – just more wild and wonderful than ever before. Another jolt of timely hope, only with twice the power.

Check out the album's tracklist and listen to new single "Bad Love", below.

Blue Skies Tracklist:

01. Control

02. Bad Love

03. Bop

04. Clear

05. Hold

06. Memories

07. Window

08. Palomino

09. Waterfall

10. Dream On

11. Empty In My Mind

12. Stars

13. No Difference

(instagram.com/dehdforever)

Tags: Dehd

New Entry: Young Prisms Release New Single "Self Love"

San Francisco shoegaze band Young Prisms have released their new single "Self Love".

The song is taken from their upcoming third studio album 'Drifter', which will be out on March 25 through Fire Talk. Pre-order your copy here.

From the band: “‘Self Love’ is a story of my tendencies to isolate, cut ties, and completely destroy my relationships. Something that was instilled in me since childhood. When I was 26, I found myself with a baby, no income, San Francisco expenses to pay, and a complete loss of identity. I could no longer be utterly careless and treat my life and the things in it as if it were all disposable.

“Still, I questioned my worthiness of basic essentials and continued my complacency with a low quality of life. I had to try and build something and with time I realized that the foundation of it all was my relationship with myself.”

Watch a lyric video below.

(facebook.com/Youngprisms)

Tags: Young Prisms

Watch: THICK Drop New Single/Video "Love You Forever"

Brooklyn-based pop-punk trio THICK have dropped the video for their new single "Love You Forever".

The song is out now through Epitaph Records. Grab it here.

Referring to the track as their “first honest love song,” the band originally wrote the song as a gift for a friend’s wedding this past year. “It’s about unconditional love and getting through the hard times — knowing that love transcends all of life’s chapters,”

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/Thickinbrooklyn)

Tags: THICK

VERO Announce Debut LP 'Unsoothing Interior', Stream "Cupid"

Swedish alt-pop trio VERO have annnounced the release of their debut full-length album 'Unsoothing Interior'.

The 11-track record will be out on May 6 via PNKSLM. Pre-order your copy here.

On the album, Vero reflect the nature of life itself. Their songs prioritise feeling over perfectionism – what feels, or sounds, best – creating a record that tumbles through its contents with a sense of unpredictability, excitement and curiosity. “We don’t want to be super musicians; we want to write the best fucking songs and just have the best energy and show people that we’re having fun,” explains singer and bassist Julia Boman. “We don’t want to be a perfect band, in that sense.”

“Synthesisers are so controlled,” Boman explains. “You have to really be like, ‘Oh, that’s not the right tune’, but when you’re playing the guitar, it can sound pretty chaotic. When we write now, we don’t have much control. We’re not very picky about it.”

“We want to be able to play everything live as it sounds,” adds Gyökeres. “That just really changed the sound of the band too.”

It’s an approach that’s stuck with them into ‘Unsoothing Interior’, an album full of raw guitar riffs that spin and swirl and fizz, and evoke the spirit of artists like Sonic Youth, Garbage and Pixies (lyrically, it boasts a sardonic wit in the same vein as Elastica). 

On the new single “Cupid”, just in time for Valentine’s Day, they say: “Cupid was the first song we wrote that made the album. We had made a couple of demos before, but we weren’t loving them. They all sounded a bit too pretty and safe, so when the drums for Cupid were done, we took a guitar and started making these wheeling, chaotic noises, and that was it. That was the sound that set the tone for our album. The lyrics are a bit dream-like, it’s about lust and control.”

The record is a document of the three musicians’ own experiences, injected with a natural urgency that comes from both the reality in the songs and writing and recording them in a studio paid for by the hour. For its listeners, it acts less as a roadmap through the turbulence and more as a confidante to share the highs and lows, drama and desire with, encompassing everything from sex, friendship and figuring out exactly who you are.

Check out the album's tracklist and listen to “Cupid”, below.

Unsoothing Interior Tracklist:

01. Cupid

02. Heather

03. Sticky

04. Sex, me & TV-shows

05. 22:12

06. Beluga

07. Spin

08. She's Scared of Everything

09. BEG!

10. Special

11. Exit 2

(facebook.com/verobandstockholm)

Tags: VERO

Watch: Maranta Reveal New Single/Video "My Man"

Edinburgh synth-pop duo Maranta have revealed the video for their new single "My Man".

The song is out today (February 14) through Lost Map Records. Get it here.

‘My Man’ is a shimmering analogue-synth-powered shock-pop bop all about “difficult things,” the band explain. “Suicide, comatose, sexual abuse, misogyny, rape culture, trauma. It’s also about forgiveness and hope.” 

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/marantaband)

Tags: Maranta

Watch: Hobsons Bay Coast Guard Unleash "Love Song" Video

Aussie surf pop/surf rock/psych band Hobsons Bay Coast Guard have unleashed the video for their latest single "Love Song".

The song is part of our current playlist and is taken from their sophomore album 'Tubular Swells', which came out December 2021. Buy your copy here.

Watch the clip below.

(facebook.com/hobsonsbaycoastguard)

Tags: Hobsons Bay Coast Guard

Watch: A Place To Bury Strangers Unveil "Love Reaches Out" New Video

Brooklyn NY, post punk/psych band A Place To Bury Strangers have unveiled the video for their latest single "Love Reaches Out".

The song is taken from their new album 'See Through You', released earlier this month (February 4) via Dedstrange. Grab your copy here.

“’Love Reaches Out’ is the hope at the end of the tunnel that concludes this album,” says Oliver. “I went through such a traumatic experience writing this record and yet people were there to help me, so this song is about appreciating and thanking them.” 

With its triumphant marching snare and a hooky bassline, “Love Reaches Out” concludes See Through You on a warm and fuzzy note—though not the guitar kind. No circuit can contain the electrifying joy of two souls united. “Moments like this highlight how much [Ackermann has] grown as a singer,” writes Heather Phares at AllMusic. In her review of See Through You, she praises “Love Reaches Out” as “Ackermann and company’s most empathetic song to date.”

In the music video directed by horror auteur @GabeCarrer (For The Sake Of Vicious, The Demolisher), the third in a series directed by the band’s favorite horror movie directors, a woman unexpectedly encounters and reaches out to a shapeshifting entity in the most unlikely manner. This entity befriends her after it was left for dead and gives her the support needed to help battle her own anxiety and inner demons. “It reminds us not to turn a blind eye to the small things and that friendships can manifest in the most unlikely ways,” says Carrier.

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/aplacetoburystrangers)

Tags: APTBS

New Entry: The Fiends Share New Single "Small Talk"

Swansea, Wales indie rock/alt band The Fiends have shared their new single "Small Talk".

“The song is about the birds and the bees, the nonsense in romance and everything else in-between, of being a lustful teen “

Get it here, and watch a lyric video below.

(facebook.com/thefiends0fficial)

Tags: The Fiends