Well, it seems as though the cold weather is calling. And honestly, it’s been a minute since we curated a soundtrack for your everyday life that pulls in a multitude of brand-new tracks from a variety of genres. We’ve been plotting and scheming for 2024 and, in the meantime, want to ensure we are continuing to bring the best new music finds directly to you. Thank you for your continued friendship and inspiration as a part of this artistic, joyful community.
Well, since we are well overdue, let’s get to it. We scraped around several of our (incredibly full) inboxes. Then we sifted through an abundance of music groups and Google updates. Admittedly, we found some pretty incredible new audible art. The tone of each track brings with it a sense of appreciation. Be it a celebration, an examination of the soul, or a story of love — for anything, really. Some of the most impactful work we have heard lately has included vocal-free tracks. These have allowed us to embrace the magic of man-made instrument, and, often, to indulge in the way said instruments engage with silence.
Today, San Diego rock act Embers releases To: The Moon, a 5-track EP that will get you on your feet, jamming out to anthemic melodies about mistakes, intrusive thoughts, and other relatable material. Sleeping with Sirens’ Kellin Quinn guests his notable vocals on the EP’s second track, “eating me alive,” giving this otherwise dark track another intense and beautiful layer.
Explains Embers of the EP: “’To: The Moon’ is a melting pot of my influences using inspiration from pop punk and emo to reflect on mental health struggles, toxic relationships, and emotional turbulence. A step forward from my last EP ‘EMO SZN’, ‘To: The Moon’ finds itself a more energetic place in my catalog.”
And he’s not wrong. The energy is on another level. Get your first listen to the Embers EP in its entirety below.
Recording the EP has been an amazing journey. On my first EP, I was going through such a hard time, and it reflects in the music. I’m so proud of the lyrical content and how therapeutic performing those songs is for me and my fans, from what I’ve been told. This second EP takes the basis of the sound of the first EP, but bumps up the energy x 100. The guitars are bigger and the lyrics are less desperate and stronger to match. I can’t wait for people to hear the new music live.
Alt-rock outfit We The Kings – yes, THAT We The Kings – recently signed to Graveboy Records. The momentous partnership is marked with the release of their latest work, a single titled “Alien.” The song begins with a melancholic feel, rectified by a quintessential upbeat, fast-paced chorus. “We’re all just a bunch of kids who feel like aliens searching for the answer to the question – ‘does anybody else feel like I do,’” shares lead singer Travis Clark.
One part anthem and one part inquiry, “Alien” seeks the match to our souls, any minor detail to connect us to others. It asks everyone who feels “other” to be proud. The song itself seeks similarities in the irregularities and differences. Combine this journey with relatable lyrics and a catchy tune, and this release is poised for charting success.
“Every few albums or so I get a strong feeling about a song,” says Clark. “It’s hard to explain, but the last 2 times I felt this way were with ‘Check Yes Juliet’ and ‘Sad Song’. I have that same feeling about “Alien” so only time will tell what that means!”
Between global pandemics, burnout culture, and the rise of AI, the future seems more bleak than ever. The alt-rock artist Moon Walker expresses his frustrations with the present-day in the track “Give The People What They Want”, tackling the defects of American society via an arresting punk rock song. The music video from Tiltshift Visual sets the song in a nondescript American office—aka, the source of many societal frustrations—and features a zombification of its workers.
Opening with an arresting dialogue between the guitar and bass lines, the music primes the video for its imminent belligerent energy. Amid the beats of drums and panning synths, zombies type away at keyboards and make trips to the fax machine, ambling their way through dimly-lit, whitewashed corridors. Anyone who’s ever worked a corporate job can easily relate to this shuffling, fatigued movement. All the while, Moon Walker’s electrifying voice echoes the sentiments of discontented people across the globe: “We want children we can’t care for, houses we can’t pay for, jobs we can’t stay awake for”.
The two zombies in the video are ghostly pale and dingy, covered in wounds as raw as Walker’s lyrics. Moon Walker’s guitar shredding accompanies the human coworkers running away from their zombie counterparts, terrified of the decomposed future they will inevitably embody. There is nothing subtle about Walker’s message: we’ve all become slaves and zombies to our jobs and the political climate surrounding us. The end of the video features a ticking clock, reminding us that time does not stop for anyone, and our zombification could be imminent if nothing changes.
In a world where solutions are few and far between, belting rock songs with catchy melodic hooks is a good form of escapism. “Give The People What They Want” previews the alt-rock artist’s third LP, the aptly named Apocalypticism, due out on October 20th. Walker will expose the most troubling aspects of society with this release, challenging the status quo and pushing for change. Additionally, get tickets now for Moon Walker’s debut U.S. tour in October 2023.
The song “Lines in the Sky”, which starts Cole Gallagher’s EP, The Confluence, has a soft sound. It makes you feel like you are at the beach, as he compares the person in his song to the sea. Emotions of excitement flow through the song, expressed through high notes. He is truly enjoying a fun time with this person at the sea.
As I contemplate more, I realize the sea is also a metaphor for his dreams being as vast as the sea when he is with this person, as they make him believe he can do anything he wishes. He is living in a world that is twisted, expressed through his voice. Deep and raspy, it captures emotions of anger, freedom, and pain, in a melody that flows smoothly and makes you feel like you releasing all of your emotions into the world. As he lets go of all his pain and anger, he finds that freedom is hard when you do not have the person you relied on to encourage you to see your dreams as vast as the sea.
As Gallagher sings the song “Stumbling in the Dark”, he goes through emotions of struggling to impress the person he is singing about. He believes he cannot live up to their expectations of how to act, and who to be. Despite feeling he cannot be his true self, he follows this person because he loves them too intensely to emotionally leave them. She is the only girl he will ever truly love. He is desperately searching for her so he can look into her eyes again. He is unsure how to show her that he cares about her forever and he hopes that her life is free of pain and worries, as he expresses by singing that he hopes the skies are blue for her.
During “Delilah”, the listener discovers the name of the person the lyrics to his EP has been flowing about. Delilah’s joy is his joy too, because her emotions are connected to how he feels. They are like a string, so when he or Delilah gets pulled or twisted a certain way, they are impacted by each other’s emotions. As expressed in his lyrics, his heart is open to her eyes, because he is open to looking deep into her soul and understanding life from her perspective. His heart will beat to her emotions and what she goes through in life.
In Cole’s song “Chatting Through Steal”, he struggles that his dreams have been packed up by people refusing to believe in him, and rejecting him. It is melancholic and contemplative, stirring pause in its listener.
In “Sugarland”, the melody intertwines as words enter this song, with emotions of helplessness. He wonders about what it would be like to see beyond the fields he lives in. Loneliness overwhelms him and he feels trapped in the fields. Hope fills his soul as he watches the bluebirds flying in the sky and “the flames rise up,” as articulated through these descriptive lyrics.
“The Ocarins of the Tennessee” starts with a slow, calming melody. As he is floating away, he continues to keep the attachment of this person whom he loves in his heart, vowing to never forget the sound of their voice. The sound of this person’s voice brings him both comfort and grief. He compares this person’s voice to the sounds of the sea because the sea is where he has had many memories with them. His heart is floating away with this person in his mind and away from this person in reality. At the end of this song, his high notes repeat in a steady flow in a pattern, capturing the emotions of being content with this person at the sea and the pain of losing them.
Get ready to crank up the volume and dive into the electrifying world of rock with IRONTOM‘s ‘SUPER//STAR.’ This high-energy track is a rollercoaster ride of emotions, fueled by edgy guitar riffs, pulsating rhythms, and a captivating vocal delivery that demands your attention from the get-go.
From the moment the first chords hit, ‘SUPER//STAR’ sets the stage for an exhilarating musical journey. The lyrics oscillate between bold self-confidence and introspective vulnerability, creating a dynamic contrast that draws listeners in. The repeated chorus, declaring the speaker as a ‘superstar,’ echoes with anthemic power, making it impossible not to get caught up in the hype.
IRONTOM‘s masterful fusion of rock elements and electronic textures adds a modern twist to the song, creating a sound that’s both familiar and fresh. The band’s tight instrumentation, combined with the lead singer’s charismatic delivery, captures the essence of rock ‘n’ roll energy. The way the track builds, combining catchy hooks with an explosive chorus, makes it an instant earworm that’s bound to leave you singing along.
What makes ‘SUPER//STAR’ truly shine is its ability to encapsulate the allure and complexities of fame in a single track. The lyrics dive into themes of love, betrayal, and the pursuit of recognition, painting a vivid picture of the highs and lows that come with the superstar lifestyle. The song’s clever blend of sarcasm and genuine emotion adds layers to the narrative, inviting listeners to consider the various facets of the ‘superstar’ identity.
Overall, ‘SUPER//STAR’ by IRONTOM is a rock anthem that doesn’t just rock your speakers—it rocks your world. Its infectious energy, magnetic lyrics, and skillful musical arrangement come together to create a track that’s as hype-inducing as it is thought-provoking. Whether you’re a rock enthusiast or simply a fan of high-octane music, this song is a must-listen that will have you hitting the replay button again and again.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES 9/22 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe* 10/3 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater* 10/7 – Ventura, CA – Majestic Ventura Theater* 10/19 – Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan Lounge (album release show) 10/31 – San Jose, Costa Rica – Estadio Nacional # 11/4 – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – Estádio Engenhão Nilton # 11/7 – Brasilia, Brazil – Arena BSB Mané Garrincha # 11/10 – São Paulo, Brazil – Estádio Do Morumbi # 11/13 – Curitiba, Brazil – Estádio Couto Pereira # 11/16 – Porto Alegre, Brazil – Arena Do Grêmio # 11/19 – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena # 11/21 – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena # 11/24 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio River Plate # 11/26 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio River Plate #
