We caught up with one half of talented duo Donna Blue as the band was getting through customs to head back home to The Netherlands. Heavily impacted by the cancellation of SXSW, they spent a few days in Austin after the announcement hit. They calmed our nerves, and we’re going to spend the rest of lockdown listening to their music.
Swedish duo The Radio Dept. just released their latest track “You Fear the Wrong Thing Baby” on March 20th, perfectly showcasing their quintessential dream-pop style that we have all come to know and love. Edging on ethereal, the reverb in this track makes it feel like a glittering kaleidoscope soundscape before we even reach the words. The lyrics of this track, coincidentally enough, fit perfectly with the current global health crisis. “When we recorded the song we had no idea what was coming,” expresses the duo. “The text is against conservatism and a tribute to youth as a progressive force.”
This month’s music videos are coming in in droves, an especially endearing thought during all of this quarantine talk. We won’t have to mention that again today, however, because if you spend some time escaping into some of these new visual gems, you’ll understand why we love our jobs so much. Here are a few of our favorite new music videos, with more to come all night long!
Click the icon at the top of the window with 3 lines for the list of music videos on the playlist to pop up!
Keep up with this playlist all month long to continue to see our favorite new videos as they’re released!
The world is in a tailspin, and I don’t have to go into detail to tell you why. While America – and the world – locks themselves in their homes (and eats the key, right?), we want to provide some of the best new tunes to party hardy (alone or with other self-quarantined friends and family) throughout the pandemic. Check back all month long for the latest releases, and new ear worms to get moving to!
Italian-British singer-songwriter Julia Bardo releases EP Phase, which is a piece of work that is centered by the idea of writing out your emotions. Bardo says she writes because “for me, music is about healing what is hurt inside of me. I heal by writing and talking about what troubles me”.
Phase examines the intricacies of trauma and of triumph, each track is written like a journal entry filled with observation. These observations examine the every day changing world through Bardo’s eyes. She captures her work as snippets of who she is at that moment, where she plans to go next, and where she has been. It is all a direct reflection of her life, and for that we are very grateful to witness songs with the raw sincerity of tracks like “Please Don’t Tell Me” and “Lonely Morning”.
Being influenced by Italian music of the 60’s and modern day musicians, Bardo creates a space that shines a light on her homeland of Italy, and her musical future. This 4 track EP was created to amaze, and we hope you get a moment to enjoy it in its entirety as well. Check out the first two tracks off the release below!
Phase is out March 6th. Keep up with Julia Bardo here.
Tomorrow, DoublePlusGood – expertly comprised of Erik Carlson (Singer/Writer), Shawn Michael Thornhill (Guitar), Cole Johnston (Drums), and Jacob Marsh (Bass) – releases their latest track, an otherworldly, slightly nostalgic somehow, song befitting of a true romantic. “Northern Lights” is equal parts dramatic and entirely soulful, intense and relaxing. It is very much like a very palpable, true romance, and we’re all in.
Get your first listen below with our exclusive premiere.
Erik Harris leads electronic project Memory Cult into a stratosphere of sound like any other we’ve played around with for a while. Known for being wildly experimental, his latest release — a full-length titled In Conflict — is just as entrancing and out of left field as ever, and we’re certain today’s release is going to get your mind reeling.
Lead single “Pityful” is purely and electronic lover’s dream, and the perfect way to introduce the album as a whole. It doesn’t hurt that it was released as a single at the end of February, and has been dancing around in our heads for some time. But even the peculiar sounds of that track can’t adequately prepare you for what’s to come in this 9-track experimental stunner. Second track “The Center (Crawl Home)” reaches 50 seconds before soft, high pitched vocals are even introduced. By third track “Undecide”, the dance vibes are laid on so thick that we’ve already definitely decided we’re hanging on to see where this album takes us.
Whereas its predecessor is a bit muddled, fourth track “Estranged” is very obviously inspired by sounds of the 80s and 90s, a clear and gorgeous entanglement of R&B vocals and dissonance. We continue in the same version of ambience with “RE: Rejection”, and continue to climb into more trance-like, morbid sounds with “Apathy”, which is actually more of a rock ballad than anything else.
Once we reach the title track, there is a feeling of wonder and an almost otherworldly layer to the music that brings us into a different headspace. “Devotion” is haunting in its existence, not quite the reassuring jolt we were considering needing after this Matrix-adjacent masterpiece’s release. In fact, once you reach final track “Anorexia”, there is a mentality that you might be trapped in some pretty magnetic music, which has now captivated your senses. If you don’t think of the brainwashing scene in Zoolander during this song, then I wonder where your head started and how to pull yourself out. This song leaves you in a trance itself, however intensely inspired if you open yourself up to it.
As if we hadn’t been blessed enough this week, Munich-based pop rock quartet KYTES – expertly comprised of Michael Spieler, Kerim Öke, Timothy Lush, and Thomas Sedlacek – releases their new album Good Luck today. Eleven power-infused pop tracks, replete with punchy lyrics and accented vocals are about to put you in the best mood ever, despite some of the subject matters. Like first track “Runaway”, for example, during which we hear the protagonist either setting boundaries with a conflicted relationship, or acknowledging his runner mentality in life. Either way, we start on a highly relatable note, and that doesn’t fade as we melt into the 80s-inspired work.
“Go Out” keeps the energy going at the same pace, while the coming of “Emily” leads us into what we would prefer to identify as a quintessential ambient love song. A sense of nostalgia is established within the lyrics, leading perfectly into the highly danceable “Take Me Home”. “Want You Back” comes in with a slight disco feel, the guitar parts absolutely standout. While “Alright” doesn’t exactly convince us that he is quite alright, “Shot of Love” has a very Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” feel to it over spans of verses.
“Like a Dream” is as sticky sweet as the title would suggest, “Fast Life” is a bit quirkier in both composition and lyrical content, and will definitely get you on your feet, while “Wheel” is the defining ballad of the album. Bonus track “Livin’ in Havana” serves as our last sounds from this euphoric release, and it puts us in such vacation mode that we are almost looking forward to our next two days off… even if that means we are midwest-bound.
From the freezing forests of Norway emerges your new favorite ambience-inducing producer, a truly talented artist named Ruben Dawnson. His single “FYALMA” may seem a little jarring lyrically, but it is totally an anthem for those fighting anxiety. This is the unifying song we all needed even if we didn’t realize it. Admits the artist”
This is by far the most liberating song I’ve ever written! It’s a big fuck you anthem to anxiety! Like many others I’ve been struggling with it for a long time… hopefully this can lift people’s spirit and I hope people will connect with it and scream out the lyrics!! I really want it to reach as many as possible and help create a big “fuck you” wave towards anxiety!! I know it won’t solve any deep issues people might have, but hopefully it can make someone feel less lonely.
Dawnson just released the accompanying music video, which can be seen below. Watch as he runs around town, looking similar to the feelings those of us struggling with anxiety hold inside. Not only does this video feel a bit chaotic, but it’s also very inviting. Get your fresh air. Get outside and move. Break away from yourself sometimes.
What do you find powerful about this song and video? Let us know on Facebook!
