by Meredith Schneider | Oct 26, 2017 | wolf tracks
Last week, Milwaukee-based electro-dream pop collective GGOOLLDD – comprised of Margaret Butler, Nick Ziemann, Mark Stewart, and Nick Schubert – released their latest, an upbeat track titled “The Way That I Feel”. Found on their upcoming EP TEETH (out December 1st), this track is a definite party go-to. Beginning with Margaret’s infectious laughter, the drums set a catchy, dance beat to the single while the vocals sound like they’re being delivered through a megaphone. In a way, with lines like “I don’t care”, this song feels like the perfect personal anthem to lead you into the winter season.
Tour Dates
11/08/17 – Santa Ana, CA – Observatory OC – w/ The Sounds
11/09/17 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom – w/ The Sounds
11/10/17 – San Louis Obispo, CA – Fremont Theater – w/ The Sounds
11/12/17 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater – w/ The Sounds
11/13/17 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater – w/ The Sounds
11/14/17 – San Diego, CA – Observatory – w/ The Sounds
11/16/17 – Pomona, CA – Glass House – w/ The Sounds
11/17/17 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy and Harriet’s – w/ The Sounds
12/08/17 – Eau Claire, WI – University Cabin
12/09/17 – Minneapolis, MN – The 7th Street Entry
12/16/17 – Chicago – Empty Bottle
12/31/17 – Milwaukee – NYE at Turner Hall
01/26/18 – Sheboygan, WI – Stephanie H Weill Center for the Performing Arts
TEETH is out December 1st. Keep up with GGOOLLDD here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 26, 2017 | wolf tracks
Danish indie rock singer/songwriter and producer Hans-Christian Søgaard Andersen – who goes by the particularly interesting name The Captain of Sorrow – is prepping to release his debut album at the beginning of 2018. The release, titled Racetrack Babies, is named after a band he used to play with that broke up while creating the album, so he kept the nickname Racetrack Babies drummer Henrik Svendsen gave him as his stage name and finished the project for the fans, crafting it to mirror the interesting sounds that Hans-Christian hears in his head. “Holly Empty Void” is one of the tracks off the upcoming release, and we have the exclusive American premiere right here, right now.
Beginning with a rough guitar bass line and “whooping” noises that almost resemble a police siren, Hans-Christian’s voice comes in almost immediately, almost soothing amongst the instrumentals. As he talk/sings a melancholic narrative, the drums become a defining factor of the track and you find yourself getting lost in a swirling cacophony of sound and vocal reverb before the song fades out with whirring guitars. Get your first listen below.
Racetrack Babies is set for an American release on January 26th. Keep up with The Captain of Sorrow here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 25, 2017 | soundtrack
Today, Brooklyn-based rock collective OxenFree – comprised of Jeff Doyle, Sam Ghitelman, Sean Padden, Christopher Burns, and Emilie Soffe – released the official music video for their single “Machine”, off of their recently released album Another Land. Directed by Matt Smithson, the video is fully animated in simplistic black and white sketches, and details a slightly creepy “day in the life” situation with a man wearing a smiley mask and who seems to do everything on autopilot. If that isn’t saying something, we’re not sure what is. The drawings are extraordinary, as you take in the message of the track while bobbing your head to the beat.
In honor of the release of their new video, the band has curated a playlist for our readers. Listen to everything you need to hear – including all 23 tracks on the playlist – right here, and then scroll on down to feast your eyes on “Machine”!
Keep up with OxenFree here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 25, 2017 | wolf tracks
Recently the most upbeat alternative rock live act we know, AWOLNATION, released the official lyric video for latest track “Passion”. The track itself serves as a mellow backdrop between the bravado of the repeating chorus – allowing itself to showcase Aaron’s softer vocal abilities than, say, “Sail” – to the contrast of the simple, black and white setup for the video. Shot from the Red Bull E-Sports Studio, the video is comprised of several individuals singing into the camera, a single light shining down on them and contrasted in black and white, their décolletage exposed as though to equalize all of them. The simplicity is striking, and the lyrics will certainly stick with you.
Keep your eyes peeled for AWOLNATION’s next release – set to drop in 2018 – right here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 25, 2017 | wolf tracks
Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Ghita has really hit the ground running as a newcomer to the west coast music scene. Last year, she released her tracks “HateULoveU” and “How Low” as if she were feeding them to the wolves, as both tracks took off immediately. In fact, “How Low” – a track she released with producer Mickey Valen – hit and exceeded one million streams almost immediately. So of course she’s got to follow up that success with another stunner, and she has with her most recent single “Mindfvck”, released earlier this month.
“Mindfvck” details a tumultuous romantic relationship, as Ghita admits that she might be the issue since she can’t decide how she feels about her counterpart in the relationship. Lines like “as soon as you know me I’m likely to change” and “sometimes I love you” adhere to that ideology, as she struggles with her own polarizing thoughts about the relationship. We can relate, so we’re going to be spinning this into the weekend.
“Mindfvck” is available now. Keep up with Ghita here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 25, 2017 | wolf tracks
Detroit-based pop duo JR JR – Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott – have been releasing their first music since 2015’s self-titled full-length. Though they do hone their sound in the pop genre, their last three tracks have been noted as darker lyrically, garnering them a host of attention. We’re most ecstatic about the latest single, a track titled “Control (Secretly Sorry)”, which was released earlier this month. Influenced by the emotions directly following the last Presidential election, a warning message is delivered amidst the upbeat, dance music vibe emitted by the instrumentals. But if you look past the reverb and into the lyrics, you might find that “Control” becomes your next favorite track.
Says Josh about the track:
“Control” was written on November 10th (2 days after the election) at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Mi. I woke up late and was driving in our van–which has no radio anymore. Suddenly the melody and the lyric was in my head, “careful of who you let control the people that you know oh oh oh”.
I raced upstairs to sing it for the guys, and found that they were starting to write a song around a riff that Bryan Pope was playing on guitar.
Somehow, the song they were playing was the exact same tempo and key as the lyrics and melody that I was singing. It’s like we were all writing the song serendipitously in separate locations at the same time. It came fast, and to this day feels like a song that we didn’t write–it wrote itself through us.
Keep up with JR JR here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 24, 2017 | wolf tracks
Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Sam Small is about to release his debut EP, a five track wonder titled Hazel. The entire work was recorded in one night with no overdubs, a simplified approach that ended up benefitting Small’s intricate approach to his vocals. One prime example of this is with his latest single, a song titled “How Unlikely”, which we are premiering right here, right now.
The track begins with the subtle, quick plucking of the guitar, quickly becoming the blended, simplistic backdrop for Small’s Dylanesque vocals. The lyrics detail an innocent puppy love, a no frills narrative that anyone would be happy to experience. Lines like “how funny does it seem that we once called this a fling / it was only supposed to last a summer long” make you stop and think about all the tiny moments that lead you along the course of your own life.
And that’s alright with us.
Keep up with Sam Small here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 24, 2017 | 5 to 7
Norwegian indie folk duo Tuvaband – comprised of Simon Would and Tuva Hellum – have been crazy busy prepping to release their debut EP, which is set to drop in November. The pair – who are incredibly socially conscious and tend to lend that activism to their art – recently released their single “Trees” to critical acclaim. The song, which touches on the importance of our natural habitat, is an ethereal taste of what’s to come.
With that in mind, we were ecstatic to catch a few moments with the band leading up to their big show at Mirrors Festival. Here is what they had to say.
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What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
I can’t remember. I do remember that Aretha Franklin was one of my first favourite artists and that I had a lot of her albums. I wanted to become the new Aretha Franklin. A mix between Aretha Franklin and Gwen Stefani (when she was in No Doubt).
The first album Simon heard was Radiohead – Amnesiac. His uncle had bought it and they were listening to it in the car in Ireland. It’s still one of his favorite albums.
What is the origin story of Tuvaband? Was it impossibly amazing?
I was studying child welfare, and the girls I was living with was tired of hearing me make annoying sounds and doing my man-vocals out loud in our apartment. They told a guy in our class, to bring me to his studio to make me try to sing normal. I did, and it was the most fun I’ve had. I started singing with this guy and another musician. I thought we were a band and told my family and friends. Turned out we were just jamming. I went to my room and started making my own songs, and called myself Tuvaband as a joke. I would never sing in front of people, but gave my parents a Tuvaband CD for Christmas.
Back in Oslo after my studies, I met Simon and his friend in a bar, which were looking for a girl to sing a duet with. After three hours at an afterparty, when people had started falling asleep, I finally sang with Simon and his friend. Many months later I asked if Simon could play guitar in Tuvaband. We found out we would rather be a duo than a band and therefore could keep that name.
“Trees” is incredibly beautiful. We know production happened in two separate apartments, but what was the process like for this one? Lyrics first, melody first? Concept vs. words? Paint us a picture!
Thank you so much!
I’de written the lyrics earlier, but the melody we were just jamming, it’s the first song we had which started from a random jam. We had to structure the song together later to make it sound more like a song. There was a lot of rounds trying to record it and make it sound good. I think it took us almost a year to make it right.
What do you hope people glean from this track, specifically?
It would be nice if some people like the song so much that they will listen to the lyrics. First about the rainforest, then about our self-destructing behaviour, and then maybe produce even more thoughts about what we could do differently when it comes to the environment.
Your new EP is due in November. Can we expect other equally as socially conscious tracks on it? Is there an overarching message in its tranquility?
A lot of the songs I write has a similar message to the one in ‘Trees’, but the EP has a lot of different themes. It’s constructed in a way as a story, which evolves as the EP progresses. It goes from being about dealing with a trauma, then the aftermath of a trauma. And then when you are done dealing with this, it shifts towards the world around you, which is where ‘Trees’ and two other songs come in.
What are you most excited about with the upcoming EP release?
It’s nice to finally get something out that we’ve been working on for a long time, and to show people that we have more songs. We are close to finishing yet another EP, so it is about time to release the debut EP.
I have to say that we are both really excited about releasing a really nice music video, made by Marius Mathisrud and Oscar Juul Sørensen, for one of the tracks on the EP too!
Alright. The tough one. Cats or dogs?
It’s definitely cats for me. I’m the cat lady, but with no cats. When I’m 65, I will probably have 14 cats. If I ever start a side project as a musician, my name would be ‘The Mother of Cats’. Simon is a dog person and had a dog growing up. That says a lot about how different we are from each other.
Anything else you’d like us to know?
We are playing at Mirrors (festival) in Hackney, London, 28th of October. We hope to see you there!
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Catch up with Tuvaband during a Rough Trade In-Store gig on October 27th, and at Mirrors on the 28th. Keep up with Tuvaband here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 24, 2017 | wolf tracks
Nashville-based folk/Americana singer/songwriter Faith Evans Ruch released her latest – a ten track album titled Lessons in Falling – on October 13th. Her first release since 2014’s After It’s Said & Done, Ruch has chosen to incorporate more genres of music in her writing and sound, drawing influence from soul to pop to r&b and beyond. There are clear roots with the songwriting, as every song has a lot to do with love. But it’s the vulnerability in her vocals, the way she can really reach and make you feel with every note, that is of actual note in this new release.
“I’m Yours” starts the album off with a bang, as we experience a real nod to Elvis in the crooning vocals. Though she visits similar notes throughout the album, this one feels the most like it was produced by The King himself. And while “Beg for Mercy” easily could have gone that way with the title, it serves as the quintessential mid-tempo blues track. “Sugar” takes on a different type of nostalgic flare, and quite frankly we could see it placed in a remake of Grease. And “Sunny Side” takes on an even more diverse direction, as we melt into a modern spin on a 70s funk feel.
“This Cold” is the first real slow jam on Lessons in Falling, questioning the length of time she has been “wandering in this cold”, begging the question of love’s existence. Quickly, however, the tone changes with “Stupid Boy” and the subtle vocal quirks she incorporates to hook the audience into this one. The use of a choir-like backup vocals makes this one feel more robust amidst its pop-influenced sound. “Blood From a Stone” takes yet another different approach, the tempo changing a couple of times while Ruch threatens the man that tries to lie to her and “play it cool”, as she explains that she is “nobody’s fool”. We’re not ones to cross her after this track, that’s for sure.
But there are still three more tracks to delve into, and while “Rock Me Slow” is clearly the second slow track, it might place her on a different level of vulnerability as she leads us through a lonely narrative of sleeping alone and all of the tumultuous emotions that love or the lack thereof can burden a human with. We expect a lot from a song with the title “Bang Bang”, and we are pleasantly surprised with the final product. It feels like a song that came right out of the Kill Bill soundtrack, and you’ll understand what we mean from the first line to the very last chords. She rounds out her work with the aptly titled “Thank You”, which slowly careens through robust, soulful instrumentals toward her overall message of closure. Bittersweet, as now we have to wait to see the next step in Ruch’s musical progression.
Lessons in Falling is available now. Keep up with Faith Evans Ruch here.
