Month: January 2024

Sunlit Prep New Album, Share Back Single

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I’m a sucker for big grandiose pop vibes, and Oxford’s Sunlit is definitely hitting that note this morning. You might recognize songwriter Joe Moore from the Yearning, but this new sound really hits hard on broad sweeping melodies and nostalgic sentiment. I can imagine a video with Joe at a piano, fog machines billowing behind him as the films wash is done with a grainy effect; there’s a light shining in the background, just as the chorus hits and the fans swoon. If you want big ballad vibes, sounds like Sunlit‘s got ’em. More info on the LP coming your way soon courtesy of Elefant.

Robber Robber Share Sea or War

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There’s always going to be a ton of people clamoring for something that feels like the next Broadcast, or something adjacent in sound; I think I’ve hit on one band to keep an eye on with Robber Robber. They’ve just dropped this brand new beat, and it’s a stunning adventure into the rolling textures of advanced pop music. There’s a vibrancy in the rhythmic pulse of the tune, singularly moving you sway and shift all on their own. They take that and wrap it around these bedroom vocals, then continue to accentuate the groove with these great guitar lines; the guitars get a little angular and dangerous as the song progresses, making the tune all the more intoxicating, if you ask me. Excited to hear more from this Vermont outfit!

Premiere: Jay Alan Kay Drops Minivan

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For near on 20 years at this point Grand Rapids based songwriter Jay Alan Kay has been making music with his pals in all sort of bands and projects, most notably the folk punk outfit Singing Lungs. Well the time has come for Kay to step out on his own with a planned 13 song debut solo LP of impulsive singer/songwriter tunes. A first taste of his new solo work comes from this DIY tune called “Minivan” which seems to be about what sounds like a pretty sweet Astro van. The style conjures up images of other punks greats who went solo like say Chuck Ragan, but Kay delivers something so much more honest and intimate that gives his sound a much more endearing quality.

Jay Alan Kay’s new solo album, Songs Before Work, will be released by Setterwind Records in March, 2024.

 

Pete Astor Shares Model Village

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Somehow I missed the news of Pete Astor readying another record for Tapete Records, so I’m aiming to fix my error by sharing the new single from the former Loft/Weather Prophets songwriter. It seems like this track hints at today’s theme of coverage, with a definite push towards songs that have a certain timelessness to it. Here, you get to listen to a bounding piano line that runs like and the river through the “model village” of Pete’s song, while his voice and strum accentuate the incredible pop sensibilities he’s been rocking with his solo work. It’s the sort of songwriting that supersedes genres and generations, the track you take home to share with your parents at the next family gathering, as you all revel in just how much you all love well-worn pop music. Astor will release Tall Stories and New Religions on March 15th via Tapete.

Rory Ryan Shares Contently Miserable

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For every person that ever felt like everything they ever dreamed was in their grasp, yet still couldn’t find peace or joy, then this Rory Ryan tune is for you. He drapes his misanthropic lyrics atop this dreamscape that just made me swoon; the melody just washes over you like this powerful spume coating your body with the damp. In that, Ryan captures a moment in songwriting that’s rare, as I can definitely describe this song’s personality as something contently miserable, finding beauty in the natural sadness and vice versa. One of my favorite tunes this week, for sure.

The Reds Pinks & Purples Announce Unwishing Well

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If I were to go full Kafka and build myself a chrysalis, I imagine that the fibers of said cocoon would be made up of the entirety of Glenn Donaldson’s musical catalog, particularly his Reds, Pinks & Purples project. Today, there’s the announcement of a new LP, Unwishing Well; I’m stuck here, drawn to this black hole that I know will crush me, grinning like a madman as it draws me into its depths. Let’s put aside the amazing vocals of Donaldson, because if you haven’t cozied up in that blanket, you’re listening to music wrong. Instead, I really focused on the way the song, whilst gentle, has great movement. It begins with an electronic wash working over a light strum, working with Glenn’s voice to sort of nip at your ears. His vocals get punctuated by the slightest thump in volume of the percussion, and as the tune moves, the gentle wash of atmospherics soaks up a more distorted sound; I love the way there’s a layered vocal on the refrain too as the track near’s its end. Honestly, there’s not a damn finer tune than this one. Unwishing Well is out April 12th via Slumberland/Tough Love Records

Tanlines Release Vanishing Point

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We didn’t really cover last year’s post-Covid release of Tanlines’ The Big Mess. I liked it and it seems the duo has decided to step up productivity and release another new single less than a year later. While the previous record could be accused of being a love letter to the vibes of 2012, “Vanishing Point” feels like something new for them. The guitar’s are muted and almost percussive instead of jangling bright drivers. This is a solid three minutes of pop with heavy undertow that prompts unexpectedly darker imagery, and I’m here for it.

Slow Fiction Share Apollo

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Brooklyn based outfit Slow Fiction made a strong impression on me right around this time last year with the release of their debut EP paired with some stellar SXSW performances last March. While band activity and news was limited since the spring, you had to think it meant they were hard at work on new material during the quiet period. Sure enough, news just came through that Slow Fiction have signed to the London based label So Young Records and will be releasing a follow up EP sometime this year. As we wait for a release date on the EP, the band has dropped this new single called “Apollo,” which is sure to wet your appetite for new material. It has a Strokes style NYC inspiration and can groove with the best of them while still having that haunting Slow Fiction sound.

Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming EP as it comes in.

True Green Shares Fresh Single

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Take a second and turn on this True Green single. If you spend about 1 minute, you’ll quickly realize that this could be an act that explodes into the world of hitmakers, if it could only land on the pages of GQ. There’s this natural hipness to the vocals; they bounce casually, like a sunny day bounce on the trampoline. All around, the guitars squiggle and wiggle, not too far off of what the tweens adore about Mac DeMarco. Ultimately, you’ll walk away with a grin, as if you got to hear demo tapes that Malkmus recorded at home in his bedroom; it’s carefully fun, with the right amount of cool. My Lost Decade is out February 1st via Spacecase Records.

Chandelier Release the Stop Single

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Definitely hitting the rock notes today, and can certainly feel the brooding swagger of Chandelier taking hold as I crank up their new single. Initially, I loved the indifferent vocal delivery, somewhere between early Sonic Youth and Protomartyr, keeping things cool while seeming to care less. As I went back again and again, it was the thump of the bass and the growl of the guitar that kept me jumping back to this tune. You can almost feel the jittery nature in the way the chords seem to straddle the vocals and work against the beat; it adds to the tension, giving off that feeling like we’re losing control entirely. They release their self-titled debut on March 5th!

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