by Madi Toman | Jan 27, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Psychedelic rock outfit The Lazy Eyes have just released the lead single from their debut EP. While it’s entitled “Cheesy Love Song,” it feels like anything but.
The four-piece Sydney-based group are just 18 and 19 years old but met at a young age at their performing arts high school and have already been playing together for 4 years. The group gained national buzz after coming onto Australia’s scene at the 2019 Bigsound festival. They present themselves as part of the “the second generation of Australia’s burgeoning psych-rock scene” and they left Bigsound as one of the breakout acts of the festival.
>While admittedly cleverly named, “Cheesy Love Song” feels like anything but. Gentle piano melodies dance around Beatles-esque guitar riffs and sighing harmonies before exploding into a warmly-textured pedal and synth-filled trip. It is psychedelic rock in its tenderest and purest form, but it still harnesses unpredictability and skillful execution and leaves the listener wondering what The Lazy Eyes will do next.
The Lazy Eyes are set to perform at Laneway Festival next month and plan to announce 2020 U.S. dates soon.
by Madi Toman | Jan 24, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Saturn alarms are ringing out, but don’t be alarmed; it’s not time for the alien takeover quite yet. It is, however, time to take a deep dive into outer space, courtesy of Tom McConnell, mastermind behind a little project called Novelty Island. The new single entitled (yep, you guessed it) “Saturn Alarms” dropped January 24th and is the follow-up to the group’s debut track, “Magdapio Falls”.
In an intergalactic pop-epic of a track, mind-bending synths and ethereal harmonies accompany coded imagery of the destruction of our apparently ever-so-delicate solar system. “The cuts are causing cracks around the galaxy / they’re jeopardizing our solar security / and I find myself eternally orbiting / the stars are melting down and I can see the strings.” The song was apparently inspired by some random graffiti that McConnell’s saw on the back of his mom’s house, but he chose to accept his mission as much more and took it upon himself to craft a grand and sky-scraping track that is also notably catchy. Bowie would be proud.
Novelty Island will be at The Social in London on March 19th and Shipping Forecast in Liverpool on March 26th. Their debut EP, Welcome to Novelty Island…., will be released March of 2020 via Ditto Music. Keep up with the project here.
by Kendal Chandler | Jan 23, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Post-punk group Wire release second single “Primed & Ready” from upcoming album Mind Hive, set to be released January 24th through the band’s own label pinkflag.
In the band’s 40-year career, they have continued to grow and release a steady stream of music to keep their name on the map. Mind Hive will be the band’s seventh studio album, and continues to prove the influence and dominance of Wire.
The band’s music has always stretched the confines of the rock format while also showcases the genre’s essence. That again is proven with the newest track “Primed & Ready”. Lead vocalist Colin Newman notes the simplicity of the song’s structure. Stating that the song was easy to write and that the chord sequence and structure is relatively basic, with only 3 chords used throughout the whole song.
Mind Hive follows the band’s 2017 release Silver/Lead, which career sales and amazing reviews for the band. From just this first look, its seems Mind Hive easily reaches the high bar set from previous releases.
Keep up with Wire here.
by Madi Toman | Jan 22, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Bending both genres and cultures alike, San Francisco-based artist Renay offers a refreshingly unique perspective on electronic and pop music. For her newest single, “Inspire Me”, Renay is doing just that by releasing a thrilling new music video along with her single that highlights interpretive dance. Of the new track, Renay says “This song is about how the muse inspires, paradoxically propelling you to create (birth), yet through the intense obsession it devours you (death). An intensely positive rendition of the infinite connection between life and death.”
The track explores themes of love and its correlation to destruction and creation and how that intensity can simultaneously “inspire and tear down an artist”. The multi-talented singer/songwriter and producer/engineer’s music pairs deep and thought-provoking themes with dance-fueled production, which proves to be an incredibly satisfying combination.
The music video itself is an absolute treat for both the auditory and visual senses. Intensely emotional and shrouded in mystery, the powerful dance and vivid colors featured makes the whole thing feel like a hallucinogen-fueled lucid dream. The dance is deeply beautiful and seems to effectively convey the passionate message that Renay is sending, and the production of both the video and music alike is fantastical and intriguing.
Keep up with Renay here.
by Kendal Chandler | Jan 22, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
California duo Best Coast are set to drop their newest record Always Tomorrow on February 21, 2020. The album will be released through Concord Records and was produced Carlos de la Garza, with additional production from Justin Meldal Johnsen. This will be the band’s newest release since their 2015 record California Nights.
The first track to be released from the album was “For the First Time” back in the fall. Now they are dropping their next track, “Everything Has Changed”. The new track was shared through a music video, directed by Ryan Baxely. The video features characters from lead singer Bethany Cosentino’s favorite show, Vanderpump Rules.
Always Tomorrow is a look back on the past 10 years of Cosentino’s life. Through the emotions of personal discovery, newfound sobriety, touring, and heartbreak, listeners witness Cosentino close one chapter of her life and the beginnings of her new one. Leaving behind all the bad and focusing on and moving forward with the good. The main theme and biggest take away of Always Tomorrow is acceptance.
This album is influenced by the sounds of those found in The Go-Go’s, The B-52’s, Fleetwood Mac, and Talking Heads. With sonic sounds and the feel of woozy pop, Best Coast continue to make a name for themselves in the independent music scene.
This winter, Best Coast are out on a full North American tour with support from Mannequin Pussy. All dates can be found below:
Tour Dates:
2/27 – Palm Springs, CA – The Alibi (with Lunch Lady)
2/28 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo*
2/29 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom*
3/2 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom*
3/3 – Vancouver, BC – VENUE *
3/4 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox*
3/6 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall*
3/7 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre*
3/9 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue*
3/10 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE*
3/11 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall*
3/13 – Detroit, MI – El Club*
3/14 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre*
3/15 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre*
3/16 – Boston, MA – Royale*
3/18 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel*
3/19 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
3/20 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
3/21 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle*
3/23 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East*
3/24 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West*
3/25 – New Orleans, LA – The Joy Theater*
3/27 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger*
3/28 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk*
3/29 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater*
3/31 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom*
4/1 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park*
4/2 – Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory (w/ FEELS)
*w/ Mannequin Pussy
by Madi Toman | Jan 21, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
At just eighteen years old, Norwegian pop artist Hannah Emilie Grung, better known as
Halie, is making waves in the Nordic pop scene, and now her music is here for your enjoyment as well.
Halie has just dropped an infectious new track entitled “New Fears”, following up her recent release of another catchy tune, “Circles”. Halie’s smooth and sultry voice paired with bold lyricism makes for a song that feels well-crafted in the verses and free-spirited in the chorus. This combined with the dance-evoking beat makes this earworm of a tune feel radio-ready and is sure to keep you moving throughout the week.
“Don’t ever ask me to slow down my pace / fucking leave me, there is no disgrace” Halie sings. While the production on the track is very pop, the lyricism feels almost rebellious in a way that’s fresh and unfamiliar. Halie sings of not letting fear get in the way of, well, anything, and celebrates embracing intimidating factors instead of letting them control you, resulting in a song that feels empowered and daring.The song builds into a powerful bridge, with ethereal background vocals transitioning into a powerful final pre-chorus. The emotion in Halie’s voice really shines through here before dropping us back off into that catchy dance chorus one last time.
by Meredith Schneider | Jan 20, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Martin Luther King Jr.’s impact on civilization as a whole is no small feat, and celebrating just one day every year is simply not enough. But we will do what we can with what we are given, and today I am proud to share the impactful new track from jazz musician Ben Williams titled “We Shall Overcome.” The pace is slow, the soundscape feels sultry, but there is a sense of pain in the delivery that makes it obvious from the first “We Shall Overcome” that this song is an anthem. The pace stays at a crawl, almost mimicking the dramatic effect of each and every step taken during Memphis’ historic 1968 African American sanitation workers’ strike, for which the title of the song was chosen.
Celebrate your strength and abilities. Take a moment with this song and really feel it, and take on the support and love those who inspired this track showed the world. It’s our turn to raise each other’s voices and to treat each other with the dignity, respect, and love we all deserve. This song will ensure that.
I AM A MAN is out February 7th. Keep up with Ben Williams here.
by ImperfectFifth | Jan 15, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
If there is a time of year that leaves us longing for an escape, it’s now, trapped in the midst of another endless winter. Matt Messore has delivered the very portal to another world that we’ve been craving with his new bedroom-pop project Cathedral Bells and their debut LP, Velvet Spirit.
Messore recently traded in touring to set up shop in his hometown in Central Florida to record this ethereal DIY project in his bedroom. They just dropped their new single, “Disconnected”, a hypnotic track heavy with layer after layer of ethereal vocals and bright and shimmery guitar.
This dreamy track slowly and smoothly entangles the listener into an echoey lo-fi fantasy that will be sure to make you forget all of your pesky real world troubles. I personally get the urge to lie on the floor of a cool-toned, neon-filled room and stare at a disco ball for several hours. While that may seem like an oddly specific fantasy with major Euphoria vibes, so is this track. As the title suggests, it will leave you feeling almost disconnected from the real world as you become in danger of falling into a shoegazey alternate dimension that you may or may not ever pull yourself out of. Did Messore slip something in my coffee this morning? Guess we’ll never know.
Velvet Dreams is out everywhere on March 6th. Hide your disco balls, folks, and until then, check out “Disconnected”!
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written by: madi toman
by ImperfectFifth | Jan 14, 2020 | Uncategorized
British Indie-Rock quartet Circa Waves have started out 2020 by hopping on the exciting bandwagon of experimental album release with their new 2-part album Sad Happy. The group is dropping their new record A/B style, with Happy premiering in January of 2020 and the Sad dropping in March.
In anticipation of the first part of the release, Circa Waves premiered the second single from the Happy side of their album on Friday with dreamy pop single “Move to San Francisco”.The single was released with a charming self-shot video of the four piece group quite literally frolicking around the Bay Area, the west coast haven that the song’s subject toys with escaping to with his partner. Romantic California imagery of everything from palm trees to dive bars pairs smoothly with the hopeful track.
The song employs warm and optimistic images of escapism and sunshine as vocalist/guitarist Kieran Shudall sings about freedom and the uncertainty that comes with it. “Oh I wanna live like this / For another dozen years / We could live so free” Shudall repeats throughout the bridge and outro, reminding us what it’s like to feel the temptation of getting lost in an idealistic world where running away to greener pastures can save a fading relationship.
With bright and shiny lead guitar and dreamy mellotron that would make Paul McCartney proud, this gold-toned single is a strong precursor to the upcoming album and a welcome break from this dreary January.
TOUR DATES:
(Two Door Cinema Club support)
Jan 17 – Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany
Jan 18 – Docks, Hamburg, Germany
Jan 20 – Carlswerk, Cologne, Germany
Jan 21 – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Jan 23 – Olympia, Paris, France
Jan 24 – Den Atelier, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Jan 26 – TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands
Jan 27 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
(UK 2020 tour)
March 27 – O2 Academy, Glasgow
March 28 – Keele University SU, Keele
March 30 – The Tramshed, Cardiff
March 31 – O2 Academy, Leicester
April 2 – The Waterfront, Norwich
April 3 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
April 4 – Liverpool Uni, Mountford Hall, Liverpool
Keep up with Circa Waves here.
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written by: madi toman
