Author: nathan.lankford

Untitled Freak Shares Birthday

Leave a comment

Ali Genevich’s name is one that has definitely appeared on these pages with acts like Retail Drugs, but at the moment, she’s focused on her solo project, Untitled Freak. When I listened to the latest single, the intimate nature of the song really pulled me inside; the overlapping vocal recordings provide this weirdly textural moment that becomes wildly disorienting as the track speeds to its close. The slow core nature reminds me of the ornate indie rock by acts of the late 90s, such as Bedhead, where the snare offers a march while the notes swirl and dance behind. The 7 Circles EP is out on March 13th, so sample another preview below.

Special Friend Announce Clipping

Leave a comment

If you consider yourself a fan of great indiepop then today’s news of a new LP from Parisian popsters, Special Friend, should be a nice little treat! The duo waste no time building in infectious moments, dropping this snappy rhythm and jangling riffs instantly make your body wriggle with joy. Erica’s vocals have a punctuated delivery, while Guillaume weaves his own lines into the mix, each voice complimenting the other. They toss in a nice little fuzzy riff every now and then, as they don’t want to give your ears a cavity from too much sweetness. Clipping is now on my list of hotly anticipated records coming out this year; it drops via Skep Wax, Howlin Banana and Hidden Bay on March 20th.

Another New Track from The Notwist

Leave a comment

After being relatively quiet for a few years, folks around are quite excited for new music from the Notwist, with ATH among their fans. This tune is all about the band’s ability to texturize their craft; it begins innocently, marching along with spoken poetry. As the track moves forward, each verse begins to build more and more, adding percussion, keys and additional vocal layers as it moves forward; this is the band’s ability to create motion whilst locked into a moment of their own making. Each new song we hear has me more and more excited for the final arrival of News from the Planet Zombie, out on March 13th.

Bright Pop from Sherbet Tone

Leave a comment

We’re so close to the weekend (and my birthday) that I can taste it! I needed some spirited pop ditties to get me started, and this new Sherbet Tone track is just perfect. It’s got crisp guitar notes, hanging on the edges between jangling and garage rock; the infectious nature is omnipresent in the songwriting, but if you’re looking for that swoon moment, be sure to turn it up around the 1.5 minute mark. Crashing “oohs” lift the song and churn out some melodies that you won’t want to run away from, and I couldn’t think of a brighter way to start off your Thursday.

Fort Not Announce You On Repeat

Leave a comment

Swedish outfit Fort Not have been quiet for several years, but they make a bold pop statement with their return today, announcing they’ll release You On Repeat this February. Their sound pulls from a rich history of underground pop artists, combining jangly strummed guitars and light vocal notes to deliver these bright ditties. Since they’re pop focused, the melodies get to shine here, but there’s still some heavy waves of guitar underneath their feet, giving some depth to the track. There’s some Teenage Fanclub in this, but I can also hear similarities to ATH faves Pop Filter in the way the vocals kind of crest and ride atop. Really stoked to hear there’s a new LP, so be sure to get your hands on a copy before February 27th when You On Repeat hits courtesy of Meritorio Records.

Hannah Lew Announces Self-Titled LP

Leave a comment

We’ve spent a fair amount of time writing about Grass Widow associated musical projects, so it feels only natural that we get a few words concerning Hannah Lew‘s debut LP. When you click play below, you’re going to be greeted by complete nostalgia, in so many ways; the video full of neon notes and tracers feels very much like an early MTV moment, and while that also works in terms of the music, I tend to push on 20 years into the early 00s. The music, of which I’m sure Hannah was aware, was thick with club beats and heavy grooves, sort of immersing us all in this dark brand of pop disco…Soviet comes to mind for me here. There’s this beautiful pullback around the 2.24 mark, letting angelic drifts filter out while a steady synthetic sound slides sneakily towards the stomping stop. The self-titled debut will be out on April 10th via Night School Records.

The Leaf Library Announce After the Rain, Strange Seeds

Leave a comment

In about 37 seconds (not 6-7 you knobs) the Leaf Library managed to completely captivate me, without even so much as a whisper; it’s just driving rhythm movements and a guitar circling overhead, and I was head-over-heels. Then Kate Gibson enters the picture and the vibrance of the song is cemented within my mind. As they progress, the quartet is patient, careful not to lay all their cards on the table; you get a plot twist around 1:40, with additional textures thickening the pop swell. They lock in, coming in and out, flickering as a candle in a gentle pop wind, like “golden moth outside my window” that’s continuously repped in the tune. Really striking way to open up this morning; they release After the Rain, Strange Seeds via Fika Recordings on March 20th.

Heavy Jam from Trauma Ray

Leave a comment

I definitely spent a lot of time jamming to the debut LP from Trauma Ray; it was heavy in all the right spots, with the faintest hint of melody lurking to keep pop fans like myself enthused. Well, yesterday they dropped an EP announcement with this new single and it’s totally bringing me back to mid 90s shows at Liberty Lunch here in Austin. The heaviness of the riff work recalls a number of acts from that era, though the earlier Deftones LPs certainly come to mind. I think the way they flirt with soaring vocal melodies is reminiscent of Water and Solutions by Far, mastering heavy riffage with a huge set of pipes! Think the group’s new Carnival EP will be pretty solid, out February 20th via Dais Records.

Kim Gordon Shares Not Today

Leave a comment

It’s been really interesting listening to the evolution of Kim Gordon‘s music since her Sonic Youth days, but if this video and song are anything to go by, she seems to be having the time of her life lately. This song opens up with a propulsive groove, tightly wound so that it provides a snap, allowing Gordon to embrace the rhythm and let herself go in the video format. This tune could easily operate on that, letting her deliver heavily smoked vocals atop of that groove, but as Gordon is her own artist, the tune gets filled out with ambient noises, operating like sonic glitches in the pop structure, mixing the worlds in the best fashion possible. The freedom presented in the video really is a joy to watch, so hopefully we can all be as lucky; it’s a really impressive tune to kick off the album cycle; look for her new LP, Play Me, which drops March 13th via Matador Records.

Dreamy Pop From Deary

Leave a comment

Since their earliest singles, London outfit Deary has crafted ethereal pop music, continually evolving their sound, adding texture as they build. Today, the group announce their debut LP, and while the cavernous ambiance is ever-present, I’m immediately drawn to Rebecca Cockram’s vocals. The waves of cymbals crashing again and again seem to coat her voice, almost creating this sensation that allows it to operate as a layer of texture. The video accompanying this song embraces their shadowy pop, using reflections of light to create this prismatic shimmer that contrasts the darker tones of the tune. Birding is out on April 3rd via Bella Union.

1 2 3 … 1,497
Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com