This is a fun playlist of some of the soul artists from around Australia that have inspired me lately! Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
We recently had the honor of writing about WILSN’s “If You Wanna Love Me” music video. Keep up with announcements and new music here.
Debuting from Nashville, WILSN’s music video for “If You Wanna Love Me” sets the stage for her upcoming album release. In the song, she stakes claim not only on her heart but on her place in the music scene. While a potential love interest may need to learn how to love her before gaining access to her, we get the privilege of loving her song and its steady and empowering message upon first spin. The fast clip and lyrics connect listeners to WILSN before song’s end.
WILSN’s new song “If You Wanna Love Me” has a fast, steady beat, empowering vocals, and echoes of classic female-led bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Kicking off with a bassline that sets a strong tone for someone standing their ground, “If You Wanna Love Me” builds both lyrics and volume. The drum beats suit a fast-running clip, the snares matching footfalls on pavement, keeping audiences moving forward with WILSN’s attitude for direction.
This anthem lays out the ground rules for love, letting both singer and potential partner know the starting line. WILSN reminds me of my worth as I venture forth on my own search for my own romantic interest, that steady snare hits nailing home the point at a staccato clip. With no distortion, these lyrics come across loud and clear. They also offer solidary, inviting anyone to sing along.
WILSN’s clear message lights up the video in its simplicity. Depicting only the band performing, it keeps the song its focal point. WILSN’s dark hair matches her simple sleeveless black dress and killer knee-high black boots as she moves through the room, exploring sound, demands, and potential connection. Though no one outside the band appears in the room, perhaps echoing no one else having learned how to love WILSN yet, it gives fans plenty of space to join the music. It doesn’t take long to learn the words, let alone love the song, so we only can hope someone learns how to love her.
Pretty Little Liars alum Dalton Cyr is tackling more than just acting these days. As a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, the 21-year-old’s talents seem to be almost neverending. While his debut album was released in 2012, the mastery of his craft is palpable with his latest release.
His new single “Dying to Love You” is highly relatable, and with a voice as smooth as butter, the lyrics are cutting but absolutely beautiful. “I wrote this song to capture the helpless feeling of being trapped in a hot and cold relationship,” explains Cyr of the track. “The toxicity of emotional high highs and low lows takes a toll on the psyche- hence, ‘Dying To Love You.'”
The music video gives us a peek into his live performance capabilities. An intimate view of his handiwork, shadows dance across his face, alluding to the darkness that his sweet vocals are almost camouflaging. Check it out below!
I didn’t read the synopsis first.
And I’m glad I didn’t. While I do not suggest going in blind to every movie or television series, this one is one to make an exception for. So, if you’d prefer to be surprised and haven’t yet seen I Love My Dad, stop reading and twiddle your thumbs until there is a wider release.
First of all, this film got rave reviews and awards from SXSW. It brought home the Narrative Feature Competition jury prize AND audience choice award, so the crowds went wild for it. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be a wide release in the coming months. If you’ve seen it – or like some spoilers like my mom does – come sit a moment!
I Love My Dad is based on a true story about a dad who catfishes his son in order to have a closer relationship with him. Yes, it’s as oddball/creepy/sweet as it sounds. And it feels just as oddball/creepy/sweet throughout the entirety of the movie, because the actors bring a really nuanced and realistic script and story to life.
But, of course they do! With the writer-director, James Morosini, also starring in the film (alongside Patton Oswalt, who plays his father), the “based on a true story” hits extremely close to home — as it is based on HIS true story! While this fact does make the viewer empathic toward Morosini – especially during a handful of crucial points in the movie – you can’t help but be grateful for what transpired in his life, because it makes for incredible material for his art.
Don’t worry. It’s not sexual or scary, this picture they paint of an estranged-ish father rekindling his father-son relationship with the son he fathered. You will laugh. You might cry. You can watch it, comfortably, with your parents OR your kids. And Oswalt’s performance? *chef’s kiss*
But, as relatable and quick as it is, it’s also cringey pretty consistently throughout. Just like real life. Only, you’ll be glad it’s based on James Morosini’s true story instead of your own.
We’ll report back on updated release information when it becomes available!
Every couple of years, my twin sister and I would look at each other in a moment of confusion and wonder out loud, “Where the f*ck is Fefe Dobson?” And I’m not saying this just to say it. It’s been getting even more bothersome over time. Her albums Joy and Sunday Love dropped a decade ago, and it seemed to us that the Canadian wunderkind went even more underground after that. How did such an incredible, edgy songstress who helped lead the femme pop/punk world into what it is today, just kind of vanish? The world deserved her energy. The world needed her art.
Flash forward to a few weeks ago. My sister noticed Fefe’s IG changing a bit first. Once word of a new single dropped, she was all over it. So, you know we had to weigh in on the first single drop in ten years. “FCKN IN LOVE” is out now, and it’s honestly a new staple in the music library. Bringing her quintessential Fefe attitude and vulnerability, she attacks the topic of true love in a way that most can relate to. The song packs a punch, a love anthem if you will, and is inherently joyous to listen to.
Ever felt just blissfully in love? Feeling it now? Give the track a listen. (Especially if the person you’re in love with is yourself, quite honestly.)
Toronto-based R&B artist Dylan Sinclair returns with new music to provide much needed warmth to listeners with sentimentality towards past and current lovers over the incoming winter season. Fresh off the release of his JUNO award-nominated debut album Proverb and subsequent release 3511, the 20-year singer-songwriter has seen his career soar with features on tracks such as “Hindsight” by Motown Records artist Emanuel, appearances on CTV News’ Etalk with Tyron Edwards, and music placements on TV shows like The CW’s The Republic of Sarah. Sinclair continues his artistic growth by capturing experiences of his newfound independence as a young artist facing a rise in his profile. In collaboration with producers Jordan Manswell, Zachary Simmonds, Bryan Allen, and Jason Amos, Dylan drops a silky smooth single with “Regrets”.
With a minimalist and piano-driven mid-tempo groove, the ballad recalls the earnest introspection of peers such as Brent Faiyaz, Giveon, and Snoh Aalegra. Sinclair delivers a painful retrospective on a soured relationship, with lyrics such as “No, I don’t think that I should be/Way back where we started three years/If you get how I feel right now/Don’t feel forced to come back around”. His stacked harmonies and pitched vocal effects adds to the track’s brooding atmosphere, the soundtrack of a moment of pained reflection in isolation from others. The single’s solumn yet soulful vibe embraces heartbreak as much needed healing for R&B fans in turbulent relationships.
Check out “Regrets” on all streaming and music platforms!
This past year has disrupted how I understand the concept of time within our society.
Staying inside for weeks felt like months, and primarily interacting with my peers via Zoom merely emphasized the ever-increasing feelings of physical alienation I was experiencing. However, in retrospect, I wish I had done more during this dark period the world was and continues to endure. Everything has made me realize how no matter what’s going on outside, life doesn’t last forever, and we have to enjoy the time we have while we still have it.
English indie heroes The Wombats illustrate this realization with the fourth single off their upcoming five studio album Fix Yourself, Not The World titled “Everything I Love Is Going To Die.” The harmonious guitars and punchy drums are captivating from the start, backing the lyrics sung by frontman Matthew “Murph” Murphy that focus on how everyone needs to acknowledge and appreciate how beautiful their lives are in the moment before they are simply memories lost to time.
When explaining the song, Murphy described the song as being “about the impermanence of life and the beauty of each passing second.”
“The key line for me is ‘Icarus Was My Best Friend, So I’m Gonna Make Him Proud In The End,’ which I guess is a playful take on living life to its fullest even though the consequences of that might be dire,” he said. “Certainly not a call to Nihilism, however, but perhaps a call to being present and the joy that can be found in appreciating each moment we find ourselves in.”
All in all, the song is another jangly, electro-pop anthem from the band that won’t stop giving. Their new album Fix Yourself, Not The World comes out January 7, 2022, and you can pre-order it here. Less than two weeks later, they plan on starting their worldwide tour in support of the album in North America before heading overseas to Europe and the UK later in April and May. All dates are below.
North American Dates:
January 20 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
January 22 – The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA
January 25 – Terminal 5, New York, NY
January 26 – House of Blues, Boston, MA
January 28 – Corona, Montreal, QB
January 31 – St. Andrew’s, Detroit, MI
February 1 – Newport, Columbus, OH
February 3 – Park West, Chicago, IL
February 4 – The Fillmore, Minneapolis, MN
February 5 – The Truman, Kansas City, MO
February 7 – Cannery, Nashville, TN
February 8 – Buckhead, Atlanta, GA
February 10 – House of Blues, Houston, TX
February 11 – Emo’s, Austin, TX
February 12 – House of Blues, Dallas, TX
February 14 – Ogden, Denver, CO
February 15 – Union, Salt Lake City, UT
February 17 – Showbox Market, Seattle, WA SOLD OUT
February 18 – Venue Nightclub, Vancouver, BC SOLD OUT
February 19 – Revolution Hall, Portland, OR
February 21 – The Regency, San Francisco, CA
February 22 – The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA
February 25 – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
European/UK Tour Dates:
April 14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
April 15 – The O2, London
April 16 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
April 18 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
April 22 – Mountford Hall, Liverpool
April 23 – Mountford Hall, Liverpool
April 29 – La Machine Du Moulin Rouge, Paris (France)
May 1 – Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne (Germany)
May 2 – Übel & Gefährlich, Hamburg (Germany)
May 4 – Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm (Sweden)
May 5 – Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo (Norway)
May 6 – DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen (Denmark)
May 7 – Huxley’s Neue Welt, Berlin (Germany)
May 9 – Gasometer, Vienna (Austria)
May 10 – Backstage Werk, Munich (Germany)
May 12 – Estragon, Bologna (Italy)
May 13 – Fabrique, Milan (Italy)
May 14 – Komplex 457, Zurich (Switzerland)
May 16 – De Roma, Antwerp (Belgium)
May 17 – Paradiso, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
May 18 – De Oosterpoort, Groningen (Netherlands)
May 19 – TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht (Netherlands)
May 26 – Open Air Theatre, Scarborough
Love is weird. Sometimes it’s hard to keep a relationship going and continue finding things to love about them. But on the other hand, there are some instances where it’s just easy to fall right into someone’s eyes and instantly start adoring every detail about them, regardless of what others think. Memphis-based multi-instrumentalist Dylan Dunn illustrates his thoughts on the latter with his latest single, “Such A Freak.”
The first minutes off the lead single from Dunn’s upcoming independent debut Blue Like You EP feels like a charming ballad about a loved one featuring simplistic, acoustic stylings similar to that of Cavetown. However, once that first chorus hits, these sweet symphonies evolve into a stark contrast of everything thus far, that being something much more striking and reminiscent of the dark, angsty pop of Conan Gray.
Overall, the track is a genre-bending bop that makes me look forward to listening to more material from the singer-songwriter later this year. Until then, I bet I’ll be hearing this on alternative radio stations in the weeks and months to come.
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Chianne focuses on conscious pop music to uplift the listener’s soul. This mission is especially palpable in tracks like her new release, “Truly Free.” With a big, anthemic presence, the song itself feels like a big love ballad. And it is, as at the end of the day the song is about loving yourself, and coming into situations as you are, to be accepted fully in that way.
“I hope this song inspires you to always be true to yourself, truly free to be you and to freely express yourself, stay firm and committed, trust yourself and walk the path of your dreams, guided by your heart and intuition, despite what others may say or think of you,” implores Chianne.