Regardless of how much effort you put into a relationship, sometimes it’s just not meant to work out.
San Francisco-based songstress Floyd expresses this painful reality with the video for her latest single, “Shadow Self (The Best That I Can).” The alt-country pop track, produced by Ed Clare and Georgann Ireland for Nova Noir Productions, is the first offering from the singer-songwriter since she released the holiday-themed “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” last year.
As her musical influences range from feminist pop icon Tori Amos to new wave rocker Cyndi Lauper, it should come as no surprise that the visuals radiate a sense of vigor and determination as she performs the song in all-black attire.
Regarding the title of the single, Floyd says that the shadow self has to do with how everyone is doing the best they can in every moment and how sometimes their best is frankly not good enough for someone else. “That is a hard truth, but it’s an honest one,” she said. “And I think being honest should count for something.”
Watch the video for “Shadow Self (The Best That I Can)” below!
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
Minneapolis-based rock band Hurrah a Bolt of Light returns with their new video for AN/ANIMAL 3, the single from their upcoming visual album AN/ANIMAL. With a style described as “pop music for sad people”, Hurrah blends rock, prog, ambient, and other genres to create a dense concept album in line as a return to form after the sugary polish of their last album. In a 16-minute music video spanning four tracks within segments, the album brings a cinematic experience combining atmospheric visuals with cryptic lyrics and a murky vibe. AN/ANIMAL 3 represents the darkest portion of the album’s narrative.
The track combines a visceral clash of garage-rock-inspired guitars with instrumental breaks reminiscent of progressive rock, spawning a beautiful yet eerie sound enhanced by its content centered on despair and death. The music video reflects its macabre vibe, featuring a man kidnapped and attempting to escape his captor, ultimately facing brutal consequences. The cinematography is a perfect complement to the song’s horror-esque tone with a sense of surrealism as the video’s events occur in a loop. Admits the artist of the track:
“An/Animal 3” is the third piece of the four part puzzle that is AN/ANIMAL. For this point in the story, I wanted to create a song that was frantic, frenetic, confrontational and wild. Key changes and mood shifts run amok, land, and then veer off elsewhere. The video mirrors those vibes as well and shows both the protagonist and antagonist in various states of distress and agitation that conclude with their violent meeting. The visuals only scratch the surface of what the story as a whole might mean. It’s a bit unclear on purpose.
I wrote the music and recorded nearly all the instruments for this song and AN/ANIMAL in general. Except for the drums and some keyboards because I am not that good at drums and some keyboards. This part of the movie was particularly difficult to film and execute because I had to a) be in my underwear for the majority of the film and b) be chased outside in late fall wearing said underwear. It was very cold.
Check out the premiere of the new video below and stay tuned for AN/ANIMAL, which is slated to drop in January 2022.
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 YouEP 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.
People have struggled for decades, if not centuries, to understand those who identify as being transgender. However, with the help of activists such as musician and public speaker Ryan Cassata, this expression of gender is slowly but surely becoming more acceptable within our society.
Over the past decade, Cassata has grown up in the public eye after coming out as transgender FTM (female-to-male) and becoming a full-time activist at 15-years-old before receiving top surgery several years later in January 2012. These actions have resulted in a lot of publicity towards the singer-songwriter, both positive and negative, which deeply affected his teenage years. He recounts this time of his life in addition to how he coped with a traumatic breakup on his eighth studio album Magic Miracle Mile, which came out today, Friday, October 22.
The 45-minute project was self-produced and recorded by Cassata, and is a unique combination of numerous genres, including but not limited to alt-pop, folk, R&B, and even slam poetry. In an announcement he posted via Instagram on October 4, the musician elaborated upon the deeper meaning behind his latest effort.
This is the deepest I’ve ever went on a record… this album deals with loads of grief. It’s emo as fuck. But it’s also empowerment. I lived to tell the tale and I hope this album screams that you’re not alone in your struggle. I’m here with you…. If you are spiraling out, I’m here with you…
Although I do not personally identify as transgender, I find Cassata’s story to be incredibly inspiring. It fills me with joy to see his fans leaving an abundance of comments under his posts and videos about how much they relate to his music, with many stating how “this is exactly how I feel.” Everyone deserves proper representation within the music industry, no matter what anyone identifies as or believes in, as it ultimately helps break down the old-fashioned, derogatory barriers set in place and demonstrate how no one is ever truly alone in this world of ours.
With that said, I’m unable to speak on behalf of the transgender community and how they feel about Cassata’s material, but I think user The Shellander stated it best with their comment under the music video for the singer’s single “Hometown HEro” in which they said, “this is a song so many of us need.”
Stream Magic Miracle Mile and watch the video for “Hometown HEro” below!
Talented pop-tinted duo Flora Cash recently announced the upcoming release of their album, our generation, in late October of this year. Along with that announcement comes the premiere of their latest single, a haunting track titled “We Use to Laugh/9 to 9”.
The pair is privy to the overarchingly sad effect the song has on people. After all, this single has a bit of a melancholic subject matter to it, outlining the heartbreak that Shpresa has experienced. “That moment you realize everything you thought you knew about somebody was a lie. Sadly, it’s a feeling a lot of us have experienced. In many ways this song describes a sober, honest reflection on a relationship defined by narcissism and manipulation.”
Reflecting back on memories within an unhealthy relationship can be a difficult thing to do, however much easier when you find people who can relate and survive their own memories alongside you. Check out the new single below.
When two talented producers join forces, you’d best bet there’s some insane music coming your way. For Laurel Canyon-based duo Munnycat (K808 and Khaledzou), this couldn’t be more true. The noise-pop project created some absolute magic during their down time during lockdown, and we’re insanely impressed by the outcome. They recently shared their new music video for earworm “so fresh,” a beautifully shot visual that gives us a glimpse of a bit of Los Angeles while the pair strut around in their 70s best. Honestly? Couldn’t think of anything more fresh. On point, my friends! Explains the duo of the track:
We had a ton of big plans for doing all these ambitious and amazing things during the ‘down time’ we had last year, but we severely underestimated how hard it’d be to accomplish them during the chaos of a global pandemic. We’d have a to-do list a mile long and then we’d be like, ‘Wait a minute. Have either of us even showered in 5 days? When’s the last time we ate a healthy meal?’ We were playin’ ourselves. But addressing that irony and producing a really fun, upbeat song helped us crawl out of that headspace, for sure.
Alternative duo Wild Americans have given us a smooth, delectable taste of their upcoming album release in latest track “Again.” Drummer Mike Neglia and guitarist Andrew Milea met and formed the musical project in New York, making beautiful music together that mimics the pop rock flare of yesteryear. “Again” follows suit, with bittersweet lyrics beautifully woven together with crashing cymbals, whirring guitar, and a Beatles-esque twinge. It’s a meandering, beautiful, and introspective single that will have you feeling calm and cool in the summertime heat.
One-Dimensional Man is due out August 13th. Keep up with Wild Americans here.
As much as we love covering music on an international scale, we see the value in (and need for) local artist spotlights. Since Imperfect Fifth is based in Kansas City, we have teamed up with the Kansas City Women’s Music Network to bring you artist highlights about twice per month. Our Member Spotlight today is Alison Hawkins of True Lions!
About Alison: Alison Hawkins is a writer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and music teacher. They are an organizer for Bandwaggn KC, a music camp for girls/trans/gender-expansive youth in Kansas City. Alison dropped out of music school and dedicated their life to intersectional activism. In 2018, they created the keytar pop band True Lions, releasing two EPs in 2019 and a full-length album in 2021.
A Kansas City-based “flosspunk” alt-pop supergroup led by Alison Hawkins, True Lions meshes the band members’ backgrounds in classical, punk, jazz, folk, and blues, ultimately creating a well-rounded, unique pop sound. The band’s revolving lineup includes Elizabeth Kosko, Teri Quinn, Claire Adams, Adee Rocket Dancy, Aryana Nemati, KuJo, Iona DeWalt, and Miki P. While they’re a gender-diverse collective of women/nonbinary/trans/boi/vegan multi-instrumentalists and genre-flirts, the focus of this project is not their genders or dietary restrictions, but rather, their attitudes, imaginations, and the group’s inspiring ability to empower and celebrate one another through the refuge they create within their music. They emphasize friendships with bandmates over conventional instrumentation, and prioritize character and integrity over musical perfectionism. Combining flossy harmonies, clever metaphors, and solid hooks, True Lions confronts serious subject matter with a light and often silly approach. They maintain an anti-patriarchal agenda while still having a fun party time, calling it “carbonated honesty.” They’re known for collaborations with artists such as Calvin Arsenia, Fritz Hutchison, and The Swallowtails, and cite influences like Cibo Matto, The Go-Go’s, Sleater-Kinney, The Raincoats, and Fanny. Their debut album, The Fempire Strikes Back, releases April 9, 2021 via Manor Records.
