Author: nathan.lankford

The Maureens Announce Everyone Smiles

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Among the many reliable indie labels of the lands, Meritorio always fashions themselves as purveyors of great pop music, or as I see it. Today, they’re sharing a fresh track from Dutch outfit the Maureens, bringing back a sound that certainly harkens to the early days of Beatlemania. Light strums open the tune before a sharper lead cuts into to divvy up the guitar mixture; the vocals are layered atop one another, adding in these harmonies brimming with joyous spirit. Guitars continue to lightly jangle while the rhythm section kicks in an understated groove, leaving you to fill yourself up on the smorgasbord of pop goodness that comes in the chorus. The band will release Everyone Smiles early next year!

Holly Munro Shares Glow-Up Single

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When I first turned up this Holly Munro track it reminded me of early 00s indie rock, with acts like Feist, or maybe even some of the earliest Dirty Projectors tracks. There’s this way of layering the vocals atop each track, building upon the way the folk and electronica intermingle. Little vocal hiccups are purposeful, hitting that vocal performance aspect, which definitely transports the listener into that perfectly pop realm. Balancing beats, vocals and folk influences isn’t easy, but the execution here is spot on, leading to the promise from her Up Against Your Nature EP, out on November 3rd.

Mint Field Share Another from Aprender a Ser

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Spanish-speaking acts beginning with the letter M are absolutely going to crush your record collection this Fall. There’s Spain’s Melenas, and now Mexico’s Mint Field are swimming right behind, taking early psychedelic influences and branching them out into more pop based waters. There’s some twinkling guitars shimmering behind this tight little beat, sort of like a more club-oriented Beach House. And, just like that, a subtle bounce moves beneath your feet, allowing the lightness of the vocals to meander about the confines of the song; there’s this ghostly echo to the voice at times, almost creating its own musical entity within the track. While the front 3/4 of the song feels fragile and hauntingly fleeting, the rock elements from the band’s past begin to emerge around 2:41, if only for a quick little hello, or like a fragile orchid opening up in your hand, and then it fades away. Aprender a Ser releases on October 27th via Felte.

Seablite Release Pot of Boiling Water Video

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Whether on accident or luck, some bands just hit all the right notes with certain songs; for me, the new Seablite track is precisely a band blending various moments in music into one cohesive ball of blissed pop. Lurking in the shadows of the song (and video!) you’ll hear this gothic tendencies, but as easily as we could dive in there, other elements begin to rise through that wall. Feedback and a wall of noise blow in from behind, then hang about in the atmosphere, billowing with the faintest discord in the distance. All of it coats the airy vocals sitting in the middle, waiting to find their way to your ears. Sure, there’s tons of adjacent sounds here, but it’s been a minute since I’ve heard it executed this well! The band will release Lemon Lights on September 29th via Mt. St. Mtn.

Hartle Road Share ICU Video

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It’s hard to look away from K Records/Perennial Death at the moment, with a slew of really incredible releases on their roster for this fall. We’ve written extensively about The Smashing Times and Feeling Figures, but today we turn our attention to Hartle Road. It’s rhythmic and propulsive, but that owes itself almost entirely to the rhythm work, and perhaps the silkiness of the vocals. On the flip side, there’s all sort of catchy bits and pieces for old punks to grab onto, particularly the way the chords seem to almost rain down in a sort of deluge of sharp riffs. At times you’re caught up in this clever back and forth between punk boogie and discordant meditation, but the bobbing bass and chorus lines never fail to bring you back. The band release Maxx II on September 29th.

More from Feeling Small

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It seems like every week we get to open up a delicious treat from Feeling Small, the solo project of Chase Weinacht. This song, perhaps, has Chase returning ever so slightly to where we first encountered him in Marmalakes, building this heavy brood that seems like it could erupt at any moment, splashing into this piece of bombast. But, it’s held back, holding tight to the tension that pulls you inside; Weinacht’s voice is recorded perfectly by local engineer Michael Landon, balancing the intimacy atop that tense ascent. All of it smashes to a close, a cleansing of sorts that lets us sit whilst we await the next piece in Feeling Small puzzle.

Leopardo Announces Solo Recordings 2019-2022

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Every once in awhile, you sort of browse around the Internet, like looking through an estate sale trying to find that one rarity that makes the whole of the world make sense. Today, that feels like Leopardo; the working moniker of Romain Savary. We just got news that there will be a forthcoming collection titled Solo Recordings 2019-2022, out at the end of the month via Feel It Records. Savary’s lyrical content almost seems absurd to a degree, or perhaps its the perfect commentary, which in the present climate, does indeed make it absurd. His spoken delivery is put to a computerized plod, bouncing and bleeping, like an ancient video game behind the vocals. Plus, if that wasn’t pop enough for you, you can hear some great little vocal accompaniments in the chorus, adding some sugary textures to the performance. Solo Recordings 2019-2022 is out on September 22nd.

Hotline TNT Announce Cartwheel

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It’s early in the morning, so I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about folks signing to Third Man Records; I’m not sure I’m wholly in the Jack White camp; it’s a weird world where Steve Albini’s out there making merch negotiations for all the musicians. But, what I can say is that the label has another rad band on the roster, with today’s announcement that they’ll be releasing the newest Hotline TNT LP. To me, this single feels like an Will Anderson is channeling an aged emo/post-hardcore kid who just got a Teenage Fanclub mixtape from a friend; the song’s have this wall of noise built in, kicking off the heavier vibes. Still, the central nature of the tune revolves around Anderson’s melodic delivery, the sort of gravitational pull of everything around it. Plus, pretty sure once you dive into the lyrics every single listener can relate. Cartwheel is out November 3rd with a big old tour coinciding with the release!

TVs Daniel Preps Never Change

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Daniel Fried has been one of our favorite artists in the Austin scene, playing with Bad Sports and leading Video, but as of late, he’s been focusing on TVs Daniel. The group will be dropping a new LP, Never Change, in just a few weeks, so I wanted to put it on people’s radar outside of our fair city. There’s definitely a bit of a pop tilt in the songwriting on the singles below, though Fried’s past breathes a bit of tenacity into hook-laden rock n’ roll. You’re guaranteed to have a bit of fun, and still walk away feeling like you’re tough as nails; look for the record on September 22nd.

Melenas Share K2 Video

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Like Hansel and Gretel, Melenas have been leaving little motorik breadcrumbs in the forest on the way to the release of Ahora, their latest LP for Trouble in Mind, and while it seems to really come to the forefront of their recent work, I’m really captivated by the textural layering. Here, they’re employing these various rhythmic synth pulses, punctuated by that motorik rhythm, but as the tune is unwrapped before you, you get to hear these overlapping vocal pieces. In doing so, they build yet another layer atop the intoxicating heavy wash of their pop constructs. We’ve reached out via the Internet with some questions about the new album, and maybe bringing back a rock n’ recipe with the band, so stay tuned for news on that before the LP drops. Until September 29th, you’ll just have to take our word on how good the Ahora is.

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