by Meredith Schneider | Oct 11, 2017 | wolf tracks
While you were all over there waiting for new music, everyone’s favorite alternative group The Naked and Famous has been re-recording stripped down versions of some of their favorite gems. Having already released the stripped version of “Higher”, their latest single is a simplified acoustic medley of tracks “A Stillness” and “Hearts Like Ours”. Continuing to engage lead vocalist Alisa Xayalith’s gorgeous voice in soft echoes, the song envelopes you in a tranquil, light blanket of fresh thought.
The Naked and Famous does a phenomenal job of playing with dissonance in their sound, even moreso in this reworked track. If you’re looking to relax, this is your new jam.
“A Still Heart” is available now, as is the latest album Simple Forms. Keep up with The Naked and Famous here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 11, 2017 | wolf tracks
Today, Ashland, Oregon based indie collective Slow Corpse – comprised of Mitchell Winters (vocals, guitar), Brenton Clarke (guitar), Cole Zollinger (bass), Sean Siders (drums), and Dash Curtis (keys) – is bringing a tasty treat to your eyes, just in time for Halloween. Their crawling, darker recut of Kendrick Lamar’s intense “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” has its own music video, and we’ve got your first look.
Filmed and edited by Jordan Kourupes at with Novum Visuals, the video for “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” was written and directed by Slow Corpse’s own Brenton Clarke. Bathed in cool jewel tones, the video is the modern version of every turn of the century rapper music video, but created for hipsters. Slow motion dancing, covered in smoke, no personal space, people wearing all types of clothing and participating in cultish activities.
You know, that.
Check out the mesmerizing, smooth version of “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” and don’t let anyone kill your vibe, no matter what you’re into.
Keep up with Slow Corpse here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 10, 2017 | wolf tracks
As if the name were no prior indication, Baltimore/Washington, D.C. indie rock outfit Sunbathers – comprised of Sean Lynott, Tim Boaté, Pete Mindnich, Peter Leonard, and Shohsei Oda – creates music that makes you feel soaked in warmth and sunshine. With light, raspy vocals (And those full heads of luxurious hair!), the men of Sunbathers croon about a romantic interest, someone who everyone kind of wants a bite of. Lyrics like “you’re so appealing floating toward the ceiling everyone here wants your love / I get this feeling it might be the reason that I’m crazy for your touch” are incredibly brazen, admitting that there might be more in the chase for them if others are also after the same end goal. To this end, you might see the track as a bit shallow, but if you dig deeper it is about confidence and emitting an energy that attracts people toward you as well.
The quintet goes even deeper into the honeysuckle metaphor in the video, with sharp, detailed visuals of the band playing the track, floral arrangements, and a human woman growing out of a pot like a plant. The visual is emotionally intense – especially toward the end – and is, in our humble opinion, some of the best artistic work they could have done with the track. But don’t just trust us, check it out for yourself.
Keep up with Sunbathers here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 10, 2017 | 5 to 7
As Texas’ indie/electro-rock/pop collective TOMKAT – comprised of Katrina Cain, Andrew McMillan, Mike Luzecky, and Jonny Harmon – prepares to release their captivating 9 track album Icarus on Friday, October 13th, they’re prepping a couple of live dates surrounding everything. They’re no strangers to the spotlight, as their debut single “Big Love” was placed in James Franco’s 2016 film Actors Anonymous, but we will argue that they haven’t seen their peak yet, as Icarus marks their full-length debut. And we’re excited to see fan reactions, as we’ve gotten the chance to peak all the new tracks and we’re solidly digging the soothing, trance-like feeling we get listening to the layered, smooth tracks. Katrina’s vocals will ensnare you, whether she’s bringing you up or you’re “Drowning” together.
But before you get the chance to hear what they’ve got in store, we got to throw a few questions at the band. Peep the interview below, along with latest single “Teardrops” to give you a little taste of what’s to come.
What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
This is such a great question! When I was a kid, we moved around a lot. I think I moved 6 times before I turned 7, which made for a lot of road trips. We also never flew anywhere, so I have very specific memories of very long car rides across the country. My dad would make mix tapes of music he liked, and that’s what we listened to in the car when we got tired of NPR. My mom claims he played Willie Nelson and James Taylor, but I very vividly remember “America” by Simon and Garfunkel, and “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones. That was the music my dad listened to, and it’s the first music I ever remember hearing.
Your track “Teardrops” off the upcoming album Icarus has been garnering quite a bit of attention with its soulful, laid back vibe, though the lyrics are a bit more involved than that. What inspired that song, specifically?
All of our songs start out with one concept and kind of morph and settle over time into their final, recorded version. “Teardrops” started with just a groovy chord progression, and in rehearsal we would play it over and over again while I sang random syllables that would later turn into actual lyrics. The one lyrical concept I kept coming back to was the line “I’ve been flying so high, I’ve been falling to Hell.” I couldn’t get that feeling out of my head. The harmonic and melodic content of the song really felt like a happy, laid back feeling of soaring, but in my personal life I felt the exact opposite. I wasn’t where I wanted to be in life, and it felt like everything was falling apart. That’s how the song turned into this strange sort of juxtaposition, you’ve got this outside shell where you pretend all is well, but inside you feel like you’re a failure. That’s how the song came to be.
“Persephone” is such a mesmerizing track, though it’s told from the perspective of a woman’s abductor. What made you choose to go that way with the lyrical content? (Also… Persephone was always one of our favorite characters in Greek mythology.)
I have always loved the story of Persephone too! Writing this song from the perspective of Hades was actually unintentional at first. I had wanted to write a song based on Persephone for quite some time because I wanted it to be an allegory for the female experience. I sat down to write the lyrics and pretty much did it about 10 minutes. I had always intended the song to be a feminist statement, I wanted to tell about the horror of being objectified and imprisoned. But when I finished and read what I had written, the story was quite the opposite. In my initial intent, the abductor’s voice (promising to treat her well and repeating “Say you love me!” over and over again) was meant to be dangerous, manipulative, and unstable. However, it also made me consider an alternate version of the story, that perhaps Hades was simply in unequivocal, undying love. And perhaps Persephone loved him too and was happy to make her life in the Underworld as his queen. I decided to leave the lyrics unedited, exactly as I first wrote them, and my hope is that no matter how the listener hears the song, he or she will take away some kind of meaning that is different from how he or she has previously thought of the story of Persephone.
You recorded the upcoming album over a year ago, and had all of the material prepared even further in advance of that. How ready are you for the world to finally hear it in its entirety?
We honestly feel like we have never been more ready for anything! We’re almost sick of our own songs at this point! But isn’t that how it always goes? We are super excited for this baby to be out in the world and hear what our friends and listeners think of the songs in their studio-quality state. Once that day comes, we’ll be able to breathe and take a nap.
Do you have a favorite track off of the album?
“Persephone” is definitely my favorite track. We ultimately decided not to make it a single, but I’m still planning to share that track specifically and make a music video for it after the album release, because I think it deserves that.
Did you choose to release this album on Friday the 13th for any particular reason, or was it just a crazy random happenstance?
The choice to release on Friday the 13th was kind of an accident, but when the date came up I thought, “Hell yeah! Let’s do it!” Maybe it will be good luck. (I don’t have a lot of superstitions…)
If you could have any superhero help you promote Icarus, who would you choose and why?
Wonder Woman! Because powerful women will save the world.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Icarus will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, and pretty much every music sharing app available!
___
TOMKAT will be playing an album release show on October 19th at Harvest House in Denton, Texas. Tickets are available
now.
Icarus is out October 13th. It is available for preorder
now. Keep up with TOMKAT
here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 9, 2017 | 5 to 7
Melbourne-based artist Slow Dancer (Simon Okely) is rounding out his U.S. tour with two more performances before heading to London. Tonight, he plays at Resident in Los Angeles and tomorrow, he will be entertaining on stage at Hollywood’s Hotel Café. He has been touring in support of his 2017 release In A Mood, which is just smooth and sensuous as its title would indicate. What the title doesn’t indicate is his ability to drift in and out of James Taylor-esque and Anthony Kiedis-tinged vocals, wrapped in a deeper level of instrumental soul. The entire 10 track album is a winner, which made us all too happy to ask Slow Dancer a few questions as he wraps up his time in the United States.
If you could tell us a little bit about how you got into music and what led you to choose it as a lifestyle, that would be amazing!
I fell in love with Elvis Presley at age 5 and developed a passion for all things cool since.
Your video for “I Would” is incredibly beautiful. What inspired that video, and do you have any stories from production to share?
The film was directed by Mclean Stephenson – he wrote my character as social outcast. It was a character I easily identified with. By the end of filming It actually took me a few days to rebound from the character. We shot it all on super 8.
You are just coming off an immaculate run on tour with Petal and Margaret Glaspy. Any fun tour memories or crazy fan stories?
A fan in Minneapolis who happened to have his saxophone jumped up onto stage and ripped a blistering sax solo in ‘leave it to me’. We hadn’t rehearsed a thing and it was just marvellous.
What has been your favorite meal on the road thus far on tour?
My favourite thing on the road was probably the icehouse in Minneapolis’ vegetarian gnocchi. It was truly delicious.
Do you have any pre-show rituals you’d like to tell us about?
No, I’m not superstitious or ritualistic. Maybe that’s my pre show ritual! (Practicing mindful pragmatism)
Be honest: What’s your favorite song to perform?
“I’ve Been Thinking” or “I Was Often”.
If you could collaborate with any artist on any medium, who would you work with and what would you create together?
Solange or Kanye. We would make the smoothest record ever made.
Anything else you’d like to add?
How are you? How is your day going? I hope you are having one of those days where life is effortless. It’s busy enough with engaging activities that you don’t know the time is passing but balanced enough to not feel pressure to over perform. If it’s not this day, when you get back home tonight, put on the Smiths, eat a snickers bar and have a cup of tea.
___
We know what we’re doing tonight. (Thanks for the advice, Simon!) Keep up with Slow Dancer here. Tickets are available for upcoming events now.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 9, 2017 | wolf tracks
Durham, North Carolina’s rock collective Hardworker – comprised of Sus Long, Mike Conner, Danny Nowell, and Alex Treyz – recently released a full length album titled Go Alone. Among the 11 high energy, folk-tinged rock, there is a standout track titled “Look More Like A Girl”, a track with a message we are 120% on board with. Starting with direct, quirky vocals and then bringing in a steady, catchy rhythm (and not to mention clapping), Hardworker has created a hip swaying track. With lyrics like “we gotta talk about your hair / and the message that it’s sending” and “why don’t you act more like a lady?” the song jabs at unwelcome comments that – unfortunately – women hear every single day. In its own way, the track is a feminist anthem, but it also comes from a place that makes it relatable, instead of coming off as the artist standing on a soap box. Especially with what’s been coming to the forefront in society – both in entertainment in the last week, and other industries overall -, “Look More Like A Girl” is done in a tasteful way, simply throwing these comments back into the world at everyone.
This track is a well-composed equalizer, and as a woman-led publication that aims to bring positive messages and conversations to the forefront in music, we thought it was important to bring your attention to this solid track – and complete album – by Hardworker.
Go Alone is available now. Keep up with Hardworker here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 9, 2017 | wolf tracks
London based collective Brunch is at it again, having partnered with MadCap Industries to create and release the music video for their track “Swell”, which can be found on recent full-length release Useless. A mellow track, the video mirrors that thought as the guys chill, play music, and drink beer. It gives us a good glimpse into how Brunch runs a live appearance, and for that we are totally grateful since they tend to tour their home country a little more often than The States. But when the recreational ping pong table becomes a magic carpet and carries one of them around New York City, that’s when things get slightly interesting.
It also makes us wonder if it would be legal to drink and “steer” a magic flying anything, but who are we to judge?
UK Dates
20 Oct – Nottingham, JT Soar
21 Oct – Manchester, A Carefully Planned Festival
21 Oct – Sheffield, Delicious Clam
27 Oct – London, Birthdays
28 Oct – Brighton, House Show
2 Nov – London, Kamio w/Slowcoaches
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 9, 2017 | wolf tracks
Beginning with simple beat, slowly layering in percussion with vocals. Stripped down is how you first hear indie-pop solo artist Ryan Egan‘s voice in his new track “Tongue Of Yours”, and – to be completely honest – that’s how the majority of the song feels even with the added instrumentals. It feels close, intense, raw. And perhaps that’s how it’s meant to be heard, especially since Egan created “Tongue Of Yours” while he had two injured hands and no instruments to work with. Left to his own devices, he sang every chord and programmed the drums, making the song itself a step away from what he’s known for, and an almost primal experience.
Egan’s sophomore effort Fever & Bloom is out December 1st. Keep up with Ryan Egan here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 7, 2017 | wolf tracks
New York based rock outfit Late Night Episode gets super outdoorsy in their video for chill track “Golden Age”. Rightfully so, as the lyrics glide along and discuss the way “we’re all living on the internet” and missing out on what’s right in front of our faces. Essentially, what the video and song are trying to do is point out one of society’s greatest flaws: our attachment to technology. It’s something we talk about constantly, but you’re reading this piece on your computer or phone or tablet and watching a (really fun) video by a group of young men on a screen. It just brings up a very real conversation about striking a balance with your tech, and it does it in a fun, pop-tinged way that will get anyone on their feet.
Also, we might be able to take them in basketball. Challenge!
Keep up with Late Night Episode here.
