We decided to start 2021 off strong with a lyric that holds true now, more than ever before. (Plus it’s a good ol’ reliable, Elton John song. And since we entered quarantine while he was making a second round on his farewell tour, we will play him on repeat until everything gets rescheduled.)
We also decided to start January off with connection, so you’re getting our favorite new tracks of the month a little late, but with extra intention. So dive in today, tomorrow, or any other day of any other month because our favorites from January 2021 will continue to live here. (Until we can’t afford to host the site anymore, ya dig?)
Captivating alt duo Phantom Wave released the new music video for their single “Billows” today, and we’ve got the exclusive premiere for your eyes only. Drenched in vivid colors and drastic, psychedelic movement, this visual is a trippy testament to the impact of the audible art that is flooding our consciousness. There is something magical about the way the lyrics dance along the gorgeous, building instrumental composition that – coupled with the abstract visuals – makes this experience feel very personal, and yet somehow universal.
Rare is it to find a musical duo that totally creates an ambiance all their own with the way their voices blend mellifluously into instrumentals. But let me tell you… duo Colin & Caroline can make a cover song all their own in a way I have never experienced. Luckily enough, these two have a history – they’ve known each other since high school and are now happily married – that informs their melodies, taking you on new, genre-bending adventures with each release.
Today, as part of the gradual release of a slew of incredible cover tracks over the winter months, we have the exclusive premiere of the duo’s new cover. Originally made famous by Jason Mraz, you’ll find yourself enveloped in clouds with this rendition. Try it on for size below!
On the hunt for a smooth track that will have you dancing around in your kitchen like you’re at a trance club at 2 am, surrounded by neon lights and glitter? (We truly don’t care who witnesses us doing this at this point. Nostalgia has us dancing everywhere these days.) Well, you’ve found it in La Poré’s latest track “All We Have Is Us.”
Synth-infused pop tracks glisten off the pages of La Poré’s resume, the solo project garnering quite a bit of commercial attention in the few years since its conception. But can you blame people for falling in love with such all-encompassing transient atmospheres created by sound?
Jewel tones, simple, gorgeous performance visuals that dance along the fine line between simplistic and artful masterpiece. This is how we would describe the new visual for Los Angeles-based alt-indie duo Dark Side of The Light’s (Nik Frost and Grant Conway) momentum-driving single “Moist”. Expands Frost:
First of all, everything for us emanates from beats and rhythm ideas for the most part. The groove is a really important part of what we do. We took two drummers, Grant and a friend and put them into a room together and had them jam to the sick base loop, recording it live with a stereo mic. What we got sounded almost like samba or something which opened up the song to a whole new world. The actual audio at the beginning of the track is us playing live in the rehearsal space. From there I took the drums and started programming them like they would’ve done back in the day when they were using Akai samplers to do this kind of thing.
I kind of chopped the audio up into different parts and as melodies came to me, I filled the lyrics in. It was one of those songs that while it sounds complex, it actually came pretty easily and I think we created one of the best tracks on the record.
The percussion in this particular track is its own brand of cool, incorporating a soulful and somehow almost hardcore feel to it while we melt into painstakingly well-crafted melodies and a trance-like state of free fall.
When working to fully connect with our human reality, music, like always, may be the best way to express our thoughts regarding the matter. That’s why RⱯHM ⚉’s new track “semiautomatical” was made. It highlights the complicated nature of our society by showing us the more mundane moments while also giving us a peek inside the soothing, wind-in-our -hair moments. Not to worry, the track itself is anything but mundane, keeping your ears perked for the entirety of the nearly four-minute track. With this, he pushes himself even further past any boundaries, cementing him as the adventurous face in music. As we listeners step into this portal to a new view of our planet and humanity as a whole, we face reinvention and peace, and glorious music, of course.
He says of the meaning behind the track:
“semiautomatical” is a non-word that I was using to refer to this kind of halfness. Closeness and farness simultaneously. Watching other people have sex on the internet. love in the anthropocene. blah blah you get it. but it’s more ambiguous than “wow this is fucked the bots are taking over my brainstem.”
Today, we have the exclusive honor of premiering Nathaniel Bellow’s latest track “I Once Did” – along with its accompanying lyric video – ahead of the release of his third full-length Three. Bellow’s signature gravelly vocals lead the track, with a light composition to really add a calm feeling to the audio. When Bellows insists “I don’t feel the weight that I once did,” you can feel it in the instrumentals.
Each of the songs from his upcoming release was inspired by his father’s death in the three years since his passing, so hints of grief and remorse can be found throughout. What we have here is art in its purest form.
Three is out Friday, December 11. Keep up with Bellows here.
We’re tired. We just got really real with the title on this one. We surf through hundreds of submissions a day – and look through another bunch of other, unsubmitted, work via the internet. We know what’s out, what’s new, and what’s captivating us.
So today, we’re sharing our favorite new videos of December. And we’re encouraging you to bookmark this page and come back, as we will add to the list throughout the month.
We are literally preparing the content to play on your projector while simulating a fancy New Year’s party in your basement this year.
It’s ok. Same. But in my 3rd floor walkup with the cats.
Today, we’ve got the exclusive premiere of Devil Love’s “Everywhere Leads The Sound” alongside its new lyric video. The first track off their upcoming release Broken Things (February 12), it sets the tone for an album rich in meaning and replete with the unique blend of genres the band is known for. “Everywhere Leads The Sound” clearly bends to the ’90s alt-rock scene, with lighter vocals that bring the overall tone of the song to a softer place.
Typically, when you hear a song with heavy drums and a rougher guitar riff, you don’t necessarily consider it a lullaby. But Devil Love is here to prove that theory incorrect. The band’s willingness to be vulnerable while exhibiting strength in sound is a testament to their work as men outside of the band. Explains Peter Buzzelle of the inspiration behind the track:
This song was originally inspired by my very busy first born daughter, who was later diagnosed with ADHD. The song then morphed into a more broad comment on society and the need to take in life with gratitude.
We’re excited to learn more lessons with Devil Love as they continue to tease the upcoming album.
