Seattle-based artist Damien Jurado drops his 13th album, The Horizon Just Laughed, today. In his 20+ year career, Jurado has never self-produced a record – until now. The Horizon Just Laughed is being released via Secretly Canadian.
Jurado says of his record:
From the beginning I have approached this album differently than those in the past. I snuck away to record it without anyone knowing. I sat in the producers seat for the first time in years, where I followed creativity’s every turn. It was fulfilling to watch the things come to life before me with the help of some talented friends. I am so very proud of this album and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.
The Horizon Just Laughed track listing: 1. “Allocate” starts off the record on a mellow but strong note. Highlighting Jurado’s musky vocals, “Allocate” provides a glimpse into what is to come. 2. “Dear Thomas Wolfe” begins with a rhythmic guitar intro reminiscent of Jack Johnson. Featuring great lyrics like, “Was I faking trusting you?”, this song gets the ball rolling into the record. 3. “Percy Faith” takes a different approach instrumentally, and utilizes a storytelling manner to bring the lyricism a nostalgic feel. 4. “Over Rainbows and Rainier” is the leading single off The Horizon Just Laughed. A soft, moving track, this reflective song brings the listener gently along. Jurado has also put out a music video for this track. Check out the video for “Over Rainbows and Rainier” HERE. 5. “The Last Great Washington State” features some nice drum moments and steady vocals. 6. “Cindy Lee” is a beautiful interm track that has some well-placed harmonies, and moves the listener into the second half of the album. 7. “1973” perks up with a gentle but pointedly moving track. 8. “Marvin Kaplan” gets an almost samba sound going, as Jurado is accompanied by soft female harmonies. 9. “Lou-Jean” is closer to tracks like “Percy Faith”, telling a meaningful story through song. 10. “Florence-Jean”, the penultimate track on this record, takes an upbeat take on the tales that Jurado tells in The Horizon Just Laughed. 11. “Random Fearless” closes out the album on a fun note, unafraid of the future.
As a singer, songwriter, and producer, Ava King is a musical artist in every sense of the word. Born in Paris to an British father, American mother, Ava King has been around the world, from New York to China to Europe, honing her own sound while learning from others. Now, she has released a brand new single, “I Don’t Wanna Have Sex”. Glittery and glowing, the track takes a counter-cultural approach to love. Instead of focusing on its physical aspects, King wants the listener to consider alternative approaches. Although painted on a pop soundscape, “I Don’t Wanna Have Sex” is anything but typical. Highlighting King’s clear and emotion-packed vocals, her track features her production skills as well. Says King of her song, “‘I Don’t Wanna Have Sex’ tries to explore those times when you feel sadness and aren’t in the mood for bedroom moves. How do you show love then? How can you still be nurturing and nurtured?”
If you’re tired of hearing the same old things about love and sex in pop music, give “I Don’t Wanna Have Sex” a listen today.
Cornwall-based four-piece ENNOR has just dropped their brand new single, “Wave After Wave”. ENNOR is made up of drummer Adam Williams, frontman Tom Elliott, guitarist Jack Rennie and bassist James Creed. The quartet is known for their summery sound that has earned them the label “Californwall”. Now, they’re back with new track “Wave After Wave”.
Moving guitar work gently brings the listener into “Wave After Wave”, a truly oceanic track that mimics the energy of water. Gradually picking up speed, intensity, and complexity, the song peaks about three-quarters in with some killer guitar. A closer listen will reveal that the track is about climate change and the idea of “how far is too far”. If you’re looking for an escape to the water’s edge, check out “Wave After Wave” today.
Rockin’ and rollin’, Language is back at it with a brand new single titled “Game Piece”. Language is made up of guitarist/vocalist Omar Afzaal, bassist/vocalist Charles Sloan and drummer Wes Black. The Brooklyn-based trio has self-released two EPs, and will drop their first EP Plymouth on May 18th via Good Eye Records. Their new single “Game Piece” will appear on Plymouth, and offers a first glance into the upcoming EP. Thoroughly fun and unapologetic, “Game Piece” includes a killer guitar solo and great vocals. It is evident through the instrumentation of the track that Language knows how to make every aspect of a song work together. Bassist Charles Sloan says:
I started with of a couple ideas: a middle school project where I had to decide what I would take with me on a spaceship to a new world, and the story of Aeneas, one of the mythical founders of Rome, who took his father, statues of his gods, and his son and lead them out of a burning Troy. It’s all reduced to a few shouted phrases, which is where the desperation and irrationality enter.
“Game Piece” is a must-listen, so check it out today!
With members from all over and all kinds of musical backgrounds, it’s no wonder that MIEN is a veritable treasure trove of sonic fanaticism. MIEN is made up of Alex Maas (vocals, samples, loops), Tom Furse (keyboards, programming), Rishi Dhir (bass, sitar, keyboards) and John-Mark Lapham (keyboards, samples, programming). The four-piece has just dropped the video for their new song “Odyssey”, off their recently released self-titled debut album. Virtually an outlandish collage of adult magazine cut-outs, the video for “Odyssey” takes the viewer on a psychedelic journey that perfectly matches the vocals and instrumentation of the track.
John-Mark Lapham says of the song:
Odyssey started out as an instrumental by Tom. I had heard a song [“Tchi Tchi Vox”] by an 80s band called Vox Populi and I tried sampling the chorus, which is in Dutch. It didn’t work, but Vox Populi ended up re-recording the vocals for us. The tchi-tchi boy can be whatever you wanted it to be, especially since it is in another language. It is like a musical Rorschach test. Could be she-she boy, chi-chi boy…
Ever wanted to watch someone in an animal mask play electric guitar with a saw? Look no further! Indie-rock band Stardust Creatures has just released a new video for their single, “Spaced Out”. Stardust Creatures is made up of lead vocalist/guitarist Colin Coogan, George Sarpola on drums, Colin O’Rourke on bass, Kristen Mita providing backing vocals, synths, bells, and Adam Marks bringing keys and vocals to the mix. The Brooklyn-based five-piece’s new video brings quirky and honest visuals to the viewer. Balancing ethereal and realistic scenes, “Spaced Out” is one-of-a-kind.
Says Colin Coogan of the new song: “I’m a distracted, fidgety person. I zone in and out, I have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time, and I lose things pretty often. As people like me grow older, we quickly discover the need to work out survival strategies- you can’t make excuses forever. You get better as you work at it, but sometimes it feels like you’re just treading water, and you end up learning a lot of lessons the hard way. There’s always a tension between the desire to be unapologetically yourself and the need to make compromises to get by. I still haven’t fully figured it out. Writing music is part of how I process things, so a lot of those frustrations ended up inspiring this song.”
Collaborating with producer Justin Faust, Brooklyn-based Violet Sands has just put out their brand new single, “What Do You Feel”. Violet Sands is comprised of vocals by Deidre Muro, guitar by Derek Muro, and production by David Perlick-Molinari. The trio debuted Hotel, their first album, in 2017, which followed 2016’s Strange Attractor EP. With the release of “What Do You Feel”, the trio shows how much they have not only honed their sound, but also grown as a band. Oozing with aesthetically-pleasing sound, “What Do You Feel” is easy on the ears, yet keeps the listener on their toes. Well-composed and slightly futuristic, the track is sure to delight both new and old fans.
Guitarist Derek Muro says of the making of the new song, “We met Justin while he was in New York visiting from Germany, introduced by Robert Perlick-Molinari (of our label and French Horn Rebellion) who suggested that we collaborate. In an afternoon, we began experimenting with the vintage synth collection at our studio – notably the Wurli, Roland and Oberheim instruments – embracing the early-aughts electronica influence, which came out even more once Deidre wrote the lyrics and added her vocals. After only a few hours, we had the shape of the song nearly complete and decided to meet for another session that week where the song really came together.”
Piramid Scheme has just dropped a new single, “No More, Anymore”, off their upcoming debut EP Get Rich Quick Too. The East-coast band is headed by Lisa Said and Darrien Day and joined by drummer Andrew Toy and bassist Howard Rabach for live shows. Following her solo career of a few years, Said met Day and they soon began collaborating after he played bass and guitar for one of her shows.
Now, they’ve put out “No More, Anymore”, created in response to the Charlottesville hate rally last August. Taking on a garage rock sound, “No More, Anymore” is classic yet completely modern, and speaks to the current social climate. In a world where musicians can be the voice for any number of causes, Piramid Scheme has found their own way to speak up.
Look out for Get Rich Quick Too, out soon via Tall Short Records. Stay connected with Piramid Scheme: Piramidscheme.com | Bandcamp |Instagram
NYC-based artist LP Giobbi has just dropped her debut song, “Amber Rose”. Featuring vocals from Hermixalot and co-produced with Computo and Tucker, LP Giobbi has crafted a well-rounded track on her new lablel, Animal Talk Records, which she formed with Sofi Tukker. Hermixalot wrote a poem about Amber Rose in 2008 that would later become the lyrics of “Amber Rose”. Creating a synthy wonderland, “Amber Rose” is an empowering track with a devil-may-care attitude, just like its namesake. Mixing both retro and modern vibes, “Amber Rose” is both poignant and fun.
Vocalist and poet Hermixalot says of the track:
I wrote a poem about Amber Rose when she first came into the public consciousness as Kanye West’s girlfriend in 2008. It was just when blog culture was emerging, and I was struck by the media’s portrayal of her—she was alternately dehumanized and slut-shamed for her history as an exotic dancer and completely silenced and stripped of her agency as a famous man’s companion and nothing else. Ten years later, my best friend asked me to lay something down for a track, and I kept coming back to that poem. Amber had, in the last decade, completely reclaimed her narrative. She was a feminist icon because of her Slutwalk initiative, she was an outspoken critic of the lack of intersectionality in MSM feminism, and she was a thriving CEO and mother. So, the song for me is about reclaiming the world’s gaze, which is especially important in this moment in time when women of color, sex workers, queers refuse to be silent anymore in the face of oppression. “I Amber Rose on these hoes” is an encouragement to send a “f*** you” to anyone who doubts your agency, or tries to put you into a specific box that makes them comfortable, while ignoring your humanity and your power. I don’t think I would’ve laid down this track for a male producer, because the message would’ve been lost. The fact that I—a Black, queer, woman—was able to team up with LP—a white, cis-, straight woman—and make an anthem about empowering the “others” of society reiterates the importance of representation, which brings the message of the song full circle.
