She/Beast Shares Born to Fight

This track from Katja Nielsen (Arre Arre) under her new moniker, She/Beast, dropped in the middle of last week, and I couldn’t wait to share it with you. It opens up rather slowly, almost plodding through the first few seconds. But, the rhythmic hook drops in so seamlessly, immediately grabbing you. It was hard not to just get the feels, as this is the type os simple pop rock that I’ve always adored; its straight in its purpose, aiming to please with immediacy. She’ll be releasing In the Depths of Misery EP on December 11th via PNKSLM, so keep your eyes out if you like big pop feels!

Henrik Appel Shares Another Wake Me Up

One time, I threw a show, and Henrik Appel played a nice little set. As he was jamming, I was like damn, he’s got some power for a one man show. In listening to this latest single from the forthcoming Humanity LP, you get that same feeling; he’s able to build what seems like a huge sound, though still woven in simplicity. Appel opens with a solid riff, almost muted in its presentation, ringing just barely behind Henrik’s voice. Soon, he’s joined by Emma Lind, who lends her voice to several tracks on the LP; she builds this nice contrast, texturing the song to craft that larger than life sound. Saxophone shouts come in near the song’s close, furthering the sonic exploration we’ve heard from the record thus far. Stoked to hear Humanity in its entirety; it drops via PNKSLM on January 8th.

Yung Announce Ongoing Dispute LP

When Danish outfit Yung dropped A Youthful Dream, folks were salivating; they were much loved pretty much anywhere you went in the indie-sphere. But, five years on, the band are just announcing their new LP, Ongoing Dispute. Taking this long period allowed the group to really invest in their sound, and it seems they’ve expanded upon where they began. There’s a great urgency in the vocals on this lead single, reminiscent of a sort of hyper Win Butler, but it’s the musical element that seems to indicate things feel refreshed. They’ve stripped some of the immediacy, building a sound that seems to resonate atop itself as it pushes forward. Guitars are ringing about with this heavy gunshot drumming propelling things forward, all the while its as if the song is happily chasing its own tail, circling over our ears with this wall of great noise. PNKSLM will issue the new LP on January 22nd.

Henrik Appel Announces New Album, Humanity

I wrote about Henrik Appel‘s Burning Bodies LP quite a bit back in 2018; I just loved the classic songwriting sound the Swede created on his debut solo LP. He’s back again with a new record slated for next year, and he’s pulling the same tricks; he kind of feels like he’s updating Johnny Thunders solo work, like a roots rock feel the ebbs and flows. Of course, there’s some slight arrangement work going on behind Appel’s voice here, building in the texture with horns and a rolling drum beat. There’s something really special about the simplicity of what Henrik is doing out there; I look forward to picking up Humanity when its released by PNKSLM in January of next year!

Cherry Pickles Announce The Juice That’s Worth the Squeeze

I’ve been a big fan of Cherry Pickles for a bit, particularly since catching their set at SXSW (RIP) a few years back. Today we get news that they’ll be dropping their next album, doing so with this catchy early morning ditty to make you tap your toes. I was hooked by the opening guitar line; it has just the hint of a jangle that I love, then it gets wrapped in a nice dueling line of surfy pop. One of the reasons I’m so into this track is the way they kind of bring it about casually; they’re not rushing things, they’re in no hurry, just letting you get cleansed by the sweet bounce of good old fashioned pop rock. The Juice That’s Worth the Squeeze is out this October via PNKSLM.

New Ballad from Swampmeat Family Band

It’s strange to know that Swampmeat Family Band comes hails from the UK, as this song definitely sounds like it could have been made by any of my friends down here in Texas. Regardless of location, the song’s really strong in its craft; the guitar lines bend in all the right places, hanging out just to the left of the dial. There’s a familiarity in the vocals too, which should draw fans from all across the Americana genre; that entire really picks up as the song goes on too, building in some great vocal harmonizing that’s destined to hit its emotional mark in the listener. If you dig it, the band is making their way to SXSW this year, so come down and catch ’em.

HOLY Shares Another Tune off Ryder LP

I don’t know what it is about HOLY, but I’ve really just been blown away by the stuff coming out for the Ryder album cycle. This latest single had this huge ebb and flow, pulling me in with the pop undertow before crushing me with this huge wash of pulsating pop rhythms. It just feels like this huge production; it feels like this should be the score to some important moment in your life. In fact, it probably is, as you’re going to find very few artists crafting the same sweeping pop nuggets in the world. Ryder is out February 28th vai PNKSLM.

Holy Share Another New Track

Sometimes I feel like I’m a one-man Holy hype machine, but I definitely don’t care. This fresh single from the forthcoming LP is so stunning; I can’t quit playing it. I rush back each time to figure out why it is that I love it, only to find that I can’t pigeonhole or identify much, other than I’m just really taken by the song. It’s so open and intimate at the beginning; it’s almost like an artists baring their soul (as it should be), then it slinks into this electronic-laden dreamy pop number. There’s no words here, just go listen. Ryder is out on February 28th via PNKSLM.

Holy Shares New Single ft Boys

I’ve already thrown my support behind the new material from Holy, but now he’s called label mate Boys to add depth to his songwriting. For me, it’s a pretty brilliant pop tune, building these layers, much as was done on the most recent LP. This time, there’s a nice little textural balance that really encourages this sort of exultation, a sort of emphatic embrace of blossoming pop music. It calls to mind work by the likes of Radio Dept, though this has a fresher pop sensibility, sort of stripped of the dense claustrophobia. Apparently there’s a new LP on the works courtesy of PNKSLM coming at us in early 2020.

HOLY Returns with Hot on the Heels of Love

Back in 2018, HOLY released All These Worlds Are Yours; it was this kaleidoscope of pop that seemed about as near as perfect as one was like to find. Now, the project is back with a brand new single, one that hopefully leads into an album at some point. This go round, it’s less an amalgam of pop influences, and more just straight pop songwriting, almost an homage to lounge singers. It most recently seems like something Jonathan Bree might offer up, being melodic and charming while also demonstrating a slight flare for fantastic. Hannes Ferm’s artistic touch is always stunning in my opinion, so fingers crossed for more real soon.

 

1 2 3 4