English indie rock outfit The Vaccines – made up of Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Yoann Intonti (drums), Justin Young (lead vocals, guitars) and Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, vocals) – dropped a track today that, at first look, could be considered misleading. The title “Love To Walk Away” gives off the impression that the song will be a positive one, perhaps one about finding empowerment in walking away. However, the lyrics come from the perspective of an outsider – an assumed lover – who is experiencing grief as the result of a crumbling relationship. They watch the runner prepare to run. With lyrics like “How come you’re always leaving?” it is implied that this is patterned behavior.
Sonically, there is a sunny disposition that just does not align with the lyrics, almost making the contemplative message more palatable. (Hey, who really loves confrontation or existentialism THAT MUCH?)
Says Young of the release, co-written with Andrew Wells: “This is the song responsible for the album’s direction sonically and thematically. Given the record’s central theme is not knowing what direction you’re headed in, it feels poignant that the music was so sure of itself so quickly.”
Check it out below.
The Vaccines 2024 US Tour Dates with The Kooks Feb 29 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle Mar 1 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel Mar 2 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall Mar 4 – Toronto, ON @ QET History Mar 5 – Montreal, QB @ Mtelus Mar 6 – Albany, NY @ Empire Mar 8 – Boston, MA @ MGM Fenway Mar 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Fillmore Mar 11 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 Mar 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel Mar 13 – Washington DC @ Anthem Mar 15 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Mar 16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Filmore Mar 18 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Mar 19 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Union Mar 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium Mar 22 – San Francisco, CA @ Fox Theatre
If you’re looking for a warm hug in the middle of this frigid (in some places, trust us) day, look no further than the latest masterpiece from queer folk-Americana duo Mouths of Babes. The duo – comprised of Ty Greenstein (of Girlyman) and Ingrid Elizabeth (of Coyote Grace) – recently released their sophomore full-length, World Brand New.
Today, they launch the title track’s music video – a gorgeous day in the life, really – and we are thrilled to be the premiere spot. Explains Greenstein of the album as a whole:
I wrote World Brand New in 2020 during lockdown. After years of touring constantly, we were trapped in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Berkeley. To our surprise, being forced to stay home was a relief. For the first time, the whole world prioritized rest and safety. We found ourselves delighting in simple activities: listening to records, hanging out with dogs, taking walks, playing guitars.
While we aren’t exactly ready to celebrate the new year quite yet, this song lifts the expectations for the slow, quiet respite of the holiday season. The sunshine in the music video – which features the duo and a dog, making the world their happy place – really drives home the idea that life can be simple and fun.
The slower pace of life made total sense to us both and reminded us of parts of ourselves and of life that we missed. With this video, we wanted to capture that feeling of just being humans without a lot of expectations and enjoying the analog joys of the world. Fortunately, we had a complete blast making the video with Skyler (Jenkins), so all the shots of us cracking up and making googly eyes at each other are 100% authentic.
Further expands the duo: “We felt like this video needed a dog to be complete, but sadly our dog Kali passed away last November. So we borrowed our videographer Skyler’s sweet senior pup July and she did a bangup job! Her slow, chill energy was perfect for the vibe of ‘World Brand New’ and we were fine with her stealing the show.”
Beauty can be found in the small moments, and this season we are truly ready to experience it all. (With the help of Mouths of Babes, of course.)
Well, it seems as though the cold weather is calling. And honestly, it’s been a minute since we curated a soundtrack for your everyday life that pulls in a multitude of brand-new tracks from a variety of genres. We’ve been plotting and scheming for 2024 and, in the meantime, want to ensure we are continuing to bring the best new music finds directly to you. Thank you for your continued friendship and inspiration as a part of this artistic, joyful community.
Well, since we are well overdue, let’s get to it. We scraped around several of our (incredibly full) inboxes. Then we sifted through an abundance of music groups and Google updates. Admittedly, we found some pretty incredible new audible art. The tone of each track brings with it a sense of appreciation. Be it a celebration, an examination of the soul, or a story of love — for anything, really. Some of the most impactful work we have heard lately has included vocal-free tracks. These have allowed us to embrace the magic of man-made instrument, and, often, to indulge in the way said instruments engage with silence.
Today, San Diego rock act Embers releases To: The Moon, a 5-track EP that will get you on your feet, jamming out to anthemic melodies about mistakes, intrusive thoughts, and other relatable material. Sleeping with Sirens’ Kellin Quinn guests his notable vocals on the EP’s second track, “eating me alive,” giving this otherwise dark track another intense and beautiful layer.
Explains Embers of the EP: “’To: The Moon’ is a melting pot of my influences using inspiration from pop punk and emo to reflect on mental health struggles, toxic relationships, and emotional turbulence. A step forward from my last EP ‘EMO SZN’, ‘To: The Moon’ finds itself a more energetic place in my catalog.”
And he’s not wrong. The energy is on another level. Get your first listen to the Embers EP in its entirety below.
Recording the EP has been an amazing journey. On my first EP, I was going through such a hard time, and it reflects in the music. I’m so proud of the lyrical content and how therapeutic performing those songs is for me and my fans, from what I’ve been told. This second EP takes the basis of the sound of the first EP, but bumps up the energy x 100. The guitars are bigger and the lyrics are less desperate and stronger to match. I can’t wait for people to hear the new music live.
Alt-rock outfit We The Kings – yes, THAT We The Kings – recently signed to Graveboy Records. The momentous partnership is marked with the release of their latest work, a single titled “Alien.” The song begins with a melancholic feel, rectified by a quintessential upbeat, fast-paced chorus. “We’re all just a bunch of kids who feel like aliens searching for the answer to the question – ‘does anybody else feel like I do,’” shares lead singer Travis Clark.
One part anthem and one part inquiry, “Alien” seeks the match to our souls, any minor detail to connect us to others. It asks everyone who feels “other” to be proud. The song itself seeks similarities in the irregularities and differences. Combine this journey with relatable lyrics and a catchy tune, and this release is poised for charting success.
“Every few albums or so I get a strong feeling about a song,” says Clark. “It’s hard to explain, but the last 2 times I felt this way were with ‘Check Yes Juliet’ and ‘Sad Song’. I have that same feeling about “Alien” so only time will tell what that means!”
Between global pandemics, burnout culture, and the rise of AI, the future seems more bleak than ever. The alt-rock artist Moon Walker expresses his frustrations with the present-day in the track “Give The People What They Want”, tackling the defects of American society via an arresting punk rock song. The music video from Tiltshift Visual sets the song in a nondescript American office—aka, the source of many societal frustrations—and features a zombification of its workers.
Opening with an arresting dialogue between the guitar and bass lines, the music primes the video for its imminent belligerent energy. Amid the beats of drums and panning synths, zombies type away at keyboards and make trips to the fax machine, ambling their way through dimly-lit, whitewashed corridors. Anyone who’s ever worked a corporate job can easily relate to this shuffling, fatigued movement. All the while, Moon Walker’s electrifying voice echoes the sentiments of discontented people across the globe: “We want children we can’t care for, houses we can’t pay for, jobs we can’t stay awake for”.
The two zombies in the video are ghostly pale and dingy, covered in wounds as raw as Walker’s lyrics. Moon Walker’s guitar shredding accompanies the human coworkers running away from their zombie counterparts, terrified of the decomposed future they will inevitably embody. There is nothing subtle about Walker’s message: we’ve all become slaves and zombies to our jobs and the political climate surrounding us. The end of the video features a ticking clock, reminding us that time does not stop for anyone, and our zombification could be imminent if nothing changes.
In a world where solutions are few and far between, belting rock songs with catchy melodic hooks is a good form of escapism. “Give The People What They Want” previews the alt-rock artist’s third LP, the aptly named Apocalypticism, due out on October 20th. Walker will expose the most troubling aspects of society with this release, challenging the status quo and pushing for change. Additionally, get tickets now for Moon Walker’s debut U.S. tour in October 2023.
