January 18th, 2021
Werner’s Weekly (week 3)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- Black Honey – Believer (Wildcard this week)
- Philippine – Bah Non. (Wildcard last week)
- Cold Years (feat. RR Gospel Choir) – Good As Hell
- Crooked Steps – Catherine
- Declan McKenna – Rapture
- Lucy Spraggan – Animal
- The Vices – Looking For Faces
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Biffy Clyro, The Veronicas, Foo Fighters, Tom Jones, Maxïmo Park, and more.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Citizen – I Want To Kill You
In 2009, Mat Kerekes and brothers Nick & Eric Hamm formed Citizen in Toledo, Ohio. Originally born from the hardcore circuit, they also incorporated post-hardcore, emo and ‘90s alternative in their sound. In 2021, they’re a tight and ambitious rock band.
It’s been over three years since Citizen released their latest album As You Please. In the meantime, front man Kerekes hasn’t exactly sat still. He put out his solo album Ruby in 2019 and, as recent as 2020, the EP’s Amber Park and Songs For Breanne. Also, he built a studio in his garage. There, his band recorded its fourth long-player Life In Your Glass World. It’ll come out on 26 March.
I Want To Kill You is the album’s first single. Opening with a ferocious four-to-the-floor beat, it’s big, sharp and full of hooks. For Kerekes, I Want To Kill You greatly sums up the overall themes and sounds heard on Citizen’s new album. “Sometimes you feel like you’re being used”, he says. “A lot of the lyrics are liberating, they’re reclaiming control.”
Recommended as well:
Mat Kerekes – Hawthorne
Mat Kerekes – Diamonds
Follow Citizen on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Monowhales – Out With The Old
Following their debut EP Control Freak in 2018, Canadian rock trio Monowhales have continuously been teasing a full-length album. They released the singles Really Wanna Let You Down, All Or Nothing, BL/FF (Fake Friends) and now, finally, their first album has a title and a release date. Daytona Beach will come out on 5 March. It was produced by JUNO Award nominated producer Ryan Worsley.
In addition to the aforementioned singles, it’ll also include their new one. Out With The Old (and in with the new) is a fitting title at the start of the year. Especially after a year like 2020. It’s another strong and infectious rock song with hard-hitting drums and instantly hummable melodies throughout.
Drummer Jordan Circosta points out that Out With The Old is an anthem for the disenfranchised. “It’s about the loss of innocence and entitlement we’ve all experienced over the past year. In the midst of a paradigm shift, we have no choice but to embrace the new reality of our lives and take a vicious grip on hope in spite of it all.”
Recommended as well:
Monowhales – BL/FF (Fake Friends)
Monowhales – All Or Nothing
Follow Monowhales on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Twan Ray – It Never Feel Right
For some people, the COVID-19 pandemic was a blessing in disguise. Take 21-year-old Amsterdam singer-songwriter Twan Ray for instance. When he found himself in quarantine, he locked himself in his bedroom for weeks. He only connected with himself (via the mirror) and with songwriter/producer Radboud Miedema (via the internet). The latter wrote global hits with the likes of Lost Frequencies and Alle Farben before, amassing over 1 billion streams.
Together, they decided to take the DIY path. In lockdown, without a label, they wrote and recorded an album’s worth of tracks, which they are releasing independently, one by one. This approach was an instant success. First single We Could Start A Thing was immediately picked up by Spotify in their home country the Netherlands, and added to some important Dutch playlists. The international playlist Fresh And Chill quickly followed, resulting in almost 2 million streams to date.
I was given the chance to listen to all of the recorded tracks at an early stage and allowed to give my feedback. I commented I seldomly heard lo-fi recordings that were so well produced. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? Also, I indicated It Never Feel Right was my favourite track of the bunch. And guess what? That’s Twan Ray’s new single. With only an acoustic guitar, a slightly transformed voice and a smart whistle, it’s as uncomplicated as it is irresistible.
Follow Twan Ray on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Baby FuzZ feat. LP – Before Our Time
Has glam rock just made its comeback? Sure sounds like it…
Baby FuzZ is a new project of Brandon Lowry. As part of production team Robopop, he co-wrote and co-produced hits for Gym Class Heroes (Stereo Hearts) and Lana Del Rey (Video Games). Later, under the guise of Sterling Fox, he worked with artists like Avicii, Kylie Minogue, Adam Lambert, Britney Spears, Tiësto and Elle King.
Immediately after the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President, Lowry moved to Montreal, Canada for a year. When he came back, he abandoned the Sterling Fox moniker and re-emerged as Baby FuzZ. His soon to be released second album Welcome To The Future was entirely made in quarantine. That goes for new single Before Our Time as well. A modern glam rock track, including a guitar solo that could’ve been Brian May’s. The song also features LP, although her vocals appear unrecognizably distorted.
Following comments from some of LP’s fans, Baby FuzZ explained: “We wrote the song together. It was originally a consideration for her album, but didn’t make it on. So I decided with her permission to release it as a separate song. You can hear her vocals in the chants on all choruses and layered in throughout. I wish I could have added more of her vocals, but it was too difficult with quarantine to do more.”
Follow Baby FuzZ on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
Follow LP on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Baby Queen – Raw Thoughts
You won’t hear Bella Latham complain about 2020, the year she debuted as Baby Queen. Her first EP Medicine, which compiled her singles so far, resulted in tours with Yungblud and Sea Girls. If her new single is anything to go by, 2021 promises to become another massive year for her.
Written near the beginning of 2018, Raw Thoughts is one of the first songs Latham wrote under her artist name. She had just gone through a terrible break-up, and discovering partying was like discovering freedom. “I had realized that I could do or be whoever I wanted to be, even though the only thing I wanted was to be loved by them again”, Baby Queen says of that period. To her, the song describes every feeling she felt at that point in time. “It’s euphoria bleeding into my deep sadness.”
The lyrics may be honest and naked, but Raw Thoughts is fully produced. It’s an infectious, hook-laden indie-pop banger.
Follow Baby Queen on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Son Mieux – 1992
‘2021 will bring a lot of new music from the band’ it says on Son Mieux’ website. Well, they didn’t wait too long to fulfill that promise. 1992 is the The Hague band’s new single. It comes two years after their debut album Faire De Son Mieux (French for: ‘getting the most out of yourself’).
Front man Camiel Meiresonne calls the single ‘a letter to my younger self and the start of a new chapter’. That new chapter, their second album, is called The Mustard Seed. However, there’s no mentioning a release date yet. 1992 is an exciting track with a prominent piano melody, and horns and strings thrown into the mix. A welcome return from a band that deserves to break out of the Netherlands.
Recommended as well:
Nothing
Everyday
Follow Son Mieux on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Eva No – 100%
In 2019, Swedish songwriter Eva Nordell launched an artist career under the moniker Eva No. Only a few months after her debut EP History Of Now, she puts out the brand new song 100%. It highlights someone going all-in with love. Musically, it’s a camp track with big drums, handclaps and an overall ‘90s pop sound. In fact, it’s got ‘Eurovision’ written all over it in big blinking red neon letters.
To Popmuzik blog she revealed the writing process: “This song has come about just like all my songs. I get a melody in my head and if I’m lucky, it’s followed by a snippet of text that I can then build on. I always try to finish the whole song in my head before I record it. Should I forget the melody, that’s just a proof it’s not strong enough, haha. So then I have to start all over again.”
Follow Eva No on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
The Washing Line Economy – In As Many Minutes
The Washing Line Economy are four friends from Perth. They’ve been performing around Western Australia since July 2018, refining and expanding their live show. Last October, they released their debut album Supply And Demand. The 10 songs on it are about growing up, fitting into society, defying the idea of society, love and heartbreak.
In As Many Minutes, the band’s new single, is an upbeat, sunny indie-pop gem. According to the band it was written ‘to express the feelings felt when lovers are separated by 1000’s of kilometres’.
Follow The Washing Line Economy on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 2):
Black Honey – Believer
Brighton 4-piece Black Honey go from strength to strength. I described their recent single Beaches as ‘their finest moment’, but this new one is even better. It’s the kind of track words like ‘stomper’ and ‘belter’ were invented for. Will it be a hit? Probably not, but who cares?
Yet, Believer is an earwormy, foot-stomping track, with echoes of Primal Scream in it. Not in the least because of the trumpets and bar piano that spice it up. Lyrically, it’s a rather spicey cut as well. Talking about the track, singer Izzy B. Phillips explains: “Believer is a song to accompany your existential crisis. I wanted a religious satire that was eye rolling at all the patriarchal nonsense of spiritual sense of self. I wanna believe in me, the outsider and the underdog. It’s like coming of age, coming out and coming up.”
The single is the fourth taste off Black Honey’s sophomore album Written And Directed, set for release on 19 March. The record, which follows their self-titled debut album, was written in 2019 and recorded in between the band’s tour commitments.
Black Honey’s Believer is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means it’ll feature here prominently for a whole week.
Recommended as well:
Black Honey – Beaches
Follow Black Honey on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
