by Kendal Chandler | Jan 27, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Brighton, UK act CIEL released the lead single “The Shore” off their upcoming album Movement, set to be released this Spring. “The Shore” gives the first glimpse of their dreamy alt-pop world with interwoven guitars, pulsing bass-lines, and intriguing vocal harmonies.
Lead singer Michelle Hindriks describes the song as “feeling stuck in your life and waiting for it to ‘really’ begin; yet at the same time, your realize it’s just an illusion and your life has already begun and you’re living it right now”. Continuing “losing the connection with that essence can feel extremely frustrating”.
Overall, CIEL’s sound is one that feels nostalgic while also being innovative. Bringing both these things together only adds to their mystique.
Keep up with CIEL here.
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 Justin Kibbel | Jan 24, 2020 | snapshot, visual
Last week, Grammy nominated phenoms Black Pumas dazzled on stage in Madison, with support from Seratones. Photographer Justin Kibbel caught some magnificent
Keep up with Black Pumas here. (And catch them on the Grammys this Sunday!)
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 Ashleigh Lee | Jan 24, 2020 | snapshot, visual
On January 20th, All Get Out dazzled the stage at The Rino in Kansas City, MO. Photographer Ashleigh Lee got some action shots for us on that bitter cold evening, highlights below.
Keep up with All Get Out 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 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 | albums, review
Anybody else ready to see an improvement in climate change law and the way we take advantage of our precious baby Earth? Alt-pop collective Little Dume has taken their environmentally conscious thoughts and placed them in their first 5 track EP, Waking Up. Theatrical and intense, the entirety of the release could be found in the soundtrack to a romance novel-turned modern major motion picture. Perhaps it’s their location in Malibu that brings the message of the environment to us disguised within sticky sweet pop sounds, either way we’re falling in love with their musicianship while “Waking Up” to the beauty to be lost.
A true love song, “As Always” showcases a raspier, slightly grittier soundscape. It utilizes the metaphor of natural disaster alongside descriptions of other gorgeous scenery to play with the meaning of love and the collective, it seems. Don’t be disappointed that Beyonce doesn’t make an appearance on “Halo”, the song itself is more Coldplay than anything else sonically (fight me). It’s gorgeous, and plays with the meaning of “bad” and “good”.
For some reason, we get quick flashbacks to music from The Cab with the opening of “That Could Be Me”, another clear love ballad that is hopeful and emotional, vocals that rip to your very core. “Kings and Saints” wraps up the EP smartly. It can be classified as a leisurely then powerful self-reflective and, once again, hopeful song, reminiscent of the energy of recent Top 40 releases. (Cough cough nudge nudge.)
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Keep up with Little Dume here.
