Last year, Soccer Mommy the first two songs off her upcoming album Color Theory (28 February), and here is #3. 22-year-old Nashville native Sophie Allison follows up Lucy and Yellow Is The Color Of Her Eyes with Circle The Drain. The tune is as intriguing as it is contradictory. Lyrically, it addresses dizzying sadnesses, but the melody is poppy and deceptively cheerful. I even hear echoes of Whoops Now by Janet Jackson in it.

Confronting the ongoing mental health and familial trials that have plagued Allison since pre-pubescence, her new album explores three central themes. Blue (representing sadness and depression), yellow (symbolizing physical and emotional illness) and gray (representing darkness, emptiness and loss). Hence its title. “I wanted the experience of listening to Color Theory to feel like finding a dusty old cassette tape that has become messed up over time, because that’s what this album is: an expression of all the things that have slowly degraded me personally”, Soccer Mommy said in a press release.

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Ewan Merrett and Callum Merrett, two brothers from Bath (UK), formed Bad Sounds a few years ago. They haven’t yet delivered on the promise of their early output, but with their new single, the ambitious duo give it a new go.

Following last year’s Sympathetic Vibrations and Breathe, Permanent is the third single off their new EP Escaping From A Violent Time, Vol. 1. The EP was written and recorded in an underground former prison cell in Bristol. It was produced by the Merrett brothers themselves.

Talking about this bright and funky song, they explain: “It’s primarily about acceptance. Learning how to accept your own shortcomings, and your own personality. Sometimes I feel like I just mirror the people around me in social situations, and started to worry that I didn’t even really have a personality of my own.”

Recommended as well:
Bad Sounds – Zacharia
Bad Sounds – Wages

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

American duo Tennis consists of husband and wife Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore. They just announced the release of their fifth album Swimmer, due out on 14 February. It was produced by Claudius Mittendorfer, who worked with Panic! At The Disco and Parquet Courts before.

Need Your Love is the indie-pop sensations’ new single. A beautiful song with up-tempo and slower parts, the latter with a distinct ‘70s vibe.

Alaina Moore says about the song: “Need Your Love is rooted in anger. I usually deny myself the emotion, but the music demanded intensity from me and I had a lot to be angry about at the time. I was letting go of unhealthy relationships – trying to find healing without closure. The song turned into an emotional purge. We used sparse instrumentation and tempo changes to reflect the isolation and relentlessness of my mental state. Despite all the heaviness, writing this song was a joyful experience. The music was resilient enough to handle our wildest ideas and we indulged every whim. It’s my favorite song Patrick and I have written.”

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.