DATE ARCHIVES : October 2017

Passed Out – ‘Bukowski & Brautigan’

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What can you do in one minute and 18 seconds? You can’t adequately boil an egg. If you smoke, you can probably hoover a sneaky one but a far more worthy while and healthy option is listening to ‘Bukowski & Brautigan’; the latest single from Buffalo, NY-based pop punk outfit Passed Out.

‘Bukowski & Brautigan’ packs a lot into 1:18. A ferocious, defiant, swaggering, riff-laden and catchy-as-hell, cohesive ball of punk rock force with a power-pop touch, ‘Bukouski & Brautigan’ is full to the gills with wailing guitars and screeching vocals on top of a twitchy, fast and furious drums.The new single is lifted from their forthcoming EP, The Aforementioned and How it Pertains to Absolutely Nothing.

Take a listen to the single below, guaranteed to be the best one minute and 18 seconds of your day, and check out more of Passed Out here.

Castaway – ‘Grabbster’

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Castaway is the moniker of Valeriy Sayushev from Saint-Petersburg, Russia whose schtick is big beats and disco grooves.

His latest single, ‘Grabbster’ is as good an introduction to his bouncy, energetic production skills as you could hope for. It is a scuzzy, funky, indie-music-to-dance-to with a whopper disco groove, an early 90s aesthetic and a hefty kick to it. It doesn’t really care for anyone or anything, other than it is designed for one purpose; to get you moving and your hips gyrating. There are splashes of big beat, touches of Motown funk and flourishes of all manner of wonders in-between – in fact, ‘Grabbster’ would not be out of place on a soundtrack for ‘90s classic futuristic racing video game ‘Wipeout’.

Get a load of the infectious big beats of ‘Grabbster’ below:

Tomás Novoa – ‘Vuelta al Sol’

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Originally from Chile but currently resident in Berlin, Tomás Novoa has a penchant for heavy basslines, organic rhythms and emotive sounscapes.

Latest single ‘Vuelta al Sol’ is an unhurried aural pleasure, with a touch of a magical, dreamy quality to it. Propelled (dreamily) forward on a smoothed driving techno beat, an intricately woven blend of soothing, alluring and irresistible beats wash over you as a soft sweep of pitter-patter electronics and harmonies are almost hazily pushed to the periphery, as has the smoothed driving techno beat. It is patient, slow-building and reveals itself gradually, fluttering between subtly euphoric and vaguely ambient it promises something spectacular before retracting and inner calm returns. Subtle, soothing and seductive; ‘Vuelta al Sol’ is a delight!

‘Vuelta al Sol’ is lifted from the Berlin-based producer’s 2017 EP Raíces, which is also available for free download here – result, no?

Prepare to be seduced by ‘Vuelta al Sol’ below.

KLANGPLANET – ‘Memories’

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German producer KLANGPLANET – aka Frieder Mollat – is back with another taste of his dusky, brooding house-inspired beats, in the shape of new single ‘Memories’.

Although his output stretches back to the mid ’90s, 2017 and KLANGPLANET marked a personal milestone as he embarked on his solo adventure and the fleeting steps of which, being his aptly titled and wonderful debut EP, Electronic Journey. Back to the here and now, ‘Memories’ continues this fine form with a meticulously crafted cinematic electronic treat.

Retro yet futuristic, this fascinatingly imaginative and richly developed passage portrays an impressive ambience, of an impressive, yet quite dark, vision of the place where dreams and reality coexist. It’s an immersive aural adventure of epic proportions that is vivid and cinematic in scope as we are whisked away on a quest to a place where video games and movies cohabit, rendering the perfect backdrop for the driving beats, kicks, slow-motion builds, epic riffs and synths to combine and create an incredible sense of wonderment and adventure. ‘Memories’ prompts the mind to envisage colourful flashbacks to numerous ’80s action movies and 8-bit adventure games – smooth, cool and feels a little dangerous. It not only unequivocally excels in inducing a severe case of nostalgia but it feels rather forward thinking and futuristic too. All in all, a masterfully pieced together release from beginning to end.

Listen to ‘Memories’ below now, and if you haven’t been introduced to KLANGPLANET’s EP Electronic Journey, it’s available here right now.

Hey Baby! – ‘1-800 WEED’

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Aussie indie surf-punks Hey Baby! like to play fast, jangly and energetic tunes and put on live shows that never take themselves too seriously.

Born from the bedroom demos of a Blue Mountains teenager, the Brisbane foursome’s debut single ‘1-800 WEED’ delivers all that and more across a two-and-a-half minutes of infectiously catchy and lively garage-rock. Inspired by frontman Kacper Majchrowski’s experience of an Uber-esque delivery service while travelling in San Diego, it’s delivered as a tongue-in-cheek call to legalise marijuana in Australia. Musically, it’s a whirlwind of fast-paced, energetic and punk-tinged garage rock sound, bursting with rhythm, catchy Strokes-esque guitars, frenetic drums & the snottiness of Fidlar.

Listen to ‘1-800 WEED’ below:

Introducing: Loyal Lobos

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Colombia-born singer/songwriter Andrea Silva, otherwise known as Loyal Lobos, is preparing to release a new EP later this year.

Ahead of her debut EP as Loyal Lobos, now based in Los Angeles, Silva is drip feeding some decidedly delicious tasters of what to expect.

‘The Fall’ introduces a sweet, Americana infused indie vibe, opening at a cantering pace. Amid all the compelling sweetness however, the momentum shifts through the gears, picking up pace and intensity of krautrock proportions. Silva too, drives the track onward as her honeyed soft vocals grows in tandem with the charge, until it swells and consumes you, and everything else for miles around. Latest single ‘Dirt’ retains the touch of Americana and preferring exquisite pop finesse to spiraling krautrock. Beautifully infectious, it shuffles along a groovy drum beat stabs of guitar and impressive pop melodies, which are all secondary to Silva’s stunning voice, which remains at the fore. Silva’s vocals are utterly captivating, while soaring, scale-shifting moments elevate the song to new euphoric heights or the richly melodic purr that makes you privy to every iota of emotion. You can never really have too much of these kinds of stellar sounds in your life.

Listen to ‘The Fall’ & ‘Dirt’ below. The EP is expected to follow soon…

Makeout Point – ‘Indie Girlfriend’

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‘Indie Girlfriend’ is the third single from Swedish indie-outfit Makeout Point.

Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Makeout Point – Shiva Kazemi (vocals), Andreas Gustafsson (guitar), Theo Brus (guitar), Alma Broman (vocals/bass) and Simon Hjort (drums) – craft catchy, punchy and colourful indie pop. ‘Indie Girlfriend’ instantly grabs your attention, revolving around an irresistible bassline (a la The Cure or The Smiths) working in tandem with upbeat drums, scuzzy rhythm guitars, hooks and topped off by a seductive combination of female fronted vocals and harmonies. Indie-pop perfection with perfect melodies to boot.

Check out ‘Indie Girlfriend’ below, it does not disappoint:

Introducing: Permahorn

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Permahorn are a Scottish-Serbian duo – Saint Pauly (guitar, vocals, percussion, knobs) and Jexy Pesic (bass, vocals, drums, switches) – who now reside in London.

Together, the pair deliver a beautiful, raw yet reflective and intense experimental indie sound with brooding, heartfelt songs – think somewhere between Beta Band, Pictish Trail or Arab Strab.

Debut album My Blood Carries My Dreams Away is due for release in December and ahead of which, Permahorn have shared the record’s title-track. ‘My Blood Carries My Dreams Away’ is one to get lost in. A dense, intriguing offering, opening with an unusual sort of warped, swaying where churning backward loops swirl and other distorted sounds are accented beautifully by gentle lilting vocals; it is all consuming and imbued with sense of longing and melancholy. A simply stunning introduction to Permahorn’s irresistible sound which all bodes well for the forthcoming debut record.

My Blood Carries My Dreams Away is due for release on 1st December 2017 via Shimmy-500.

Tune into ‘My Blood Carries My Dreams Away’ now.

Something for the Weekend: New Music Playlist #29

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A regular slot on blog, a relatively short weekly Spotify playlist featuring some of the finest new music to prick my ears over the course of past seven days.

Clocking in at just over an hour, it’s an easily digestible slice of new music, just in time for the weekend. There’s a nice mix of genres and styles too, allowing me to share even more crackin’ tunes. Well, without further ado, here’s #29 – Something for the Weekend: New Music Playlist. Get stuck into the tunes & enjoy the weekend! You can follow me on Spotify here.

Kevin McWha Steele – ‘Front Page News’

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Based in New York City, songwriter, poet and musician Kevin McWha Steele brilliantly versatile modern singer/songwriter, whose got a way with brewing extremely well-crafted and catchy songs

Heavy on the retro-rock vibe ‘Front Page News’ is the first single lifted from forthcoming album The Nightly Howl (#2 album in three album series The Ariel Trilogy). Taking its influence from late-’60s/early-’70s stalwarts, ‘Front Page News’ bears comparison with stellar names from those eras – The Kinks, Small Faces, T. Rex and Faces; not bad company at all. Fitted with sweet licks, addicting riffs, ballsy swagger and a stomping beat and groove, this is a sumptuous slice of retro rock ‘n roll cool. The confidence and ambition of both the arrangement and song, makes for an irresistible three-minutes of stellar songwriting and rock and roll.

You can listen to ‘Front Page News’ below now: