June 30th, 2021
Wildcard (week 26):
Slothrust – Once More For The Ocean
2021 was off to a good start when American band Slothrust released their first single of the year, Cranium. Following sophomore track Strange Astrology they now serve up Once More For The Ocean. It’s arguably the catchiest of the three and a great set-up track for the band’s sixth album, set for a 10 September release.
Indie rock anthem Once More For The Ocean doesn’t waste time shifting into gear. It’s quickly out the starting blocks with an upbeat intro and doesn’t slow down. Well it does, just after the 2 minute mark, but the intermezzo basically serves as a potential future stadium break.
Front woman Leah Wellbaum says about the track: “This song felt like it was handed to me by the ocean. It came to me when I was sitting on some rocks and staring at one of my favourite oceans in the world, on Star Island off the coast of Rye, New Hampshire. (…) It is about the search for a greater consciousness in times of chaos. For me that feeling of oneness often shows up when I am spending time in nature.”
Once More For The Ocean by Slothrust is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard and will feature here prominently for a whole week.
Follow Slothrust on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 26)
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:
- Lauran Hibberd – Bleugh (Wildcard this week)
- Jonas Brøg (feat. Lilian Vieira) – I’m Your Nr. 1 [Brazilian Version] (Wildcard last week)
- Clara Luciani – Respire Encore
- Client Liaison – House Of Holy
- Cold War Kids – What You Say
- RoseeLu – Got Me Feeling Like This
- The Allergies – Move On Baby
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: Bastille, Miley Cyrus, The Veronicas, and more.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Máni Orrason – Change The World
Taking its small population (circa 360.000 people) in account, Iceland has a very talented music scene. Artists like Sugarcubes, Björk solo, Sigur Rós, Emiliana Torrini, Of Monsters And Men and, more recently, Daði Freyr, are successful far abroad. Can we soon add Máni Orrason to that list? I hope so!
His new single Change The World came about after a chance meeting with fellow musician Yann Lauren led to some jam sessions. One of those produced this anthemic track. Orrason cites artists such as LCD Soundsystem, The Modern Lovers, David Bowie and Talk Talk as influences. But listening to this song, I think he forgets to mention Blur. The fuzzy, strumming guitar you can hear throughout it brings Coffee And TV to mind. Elsewhere, the British band’s bravado is never far away either.
In a press statement, Orrason says: “I’ve gotten a lot more cynical about the state of the world and how nothing really changes and the lack of power that we really have. I can’t change the world, but I can change how I exist within it”.
Follow Máni Orrason on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Our Lady Peace (feat. Pussy Riot) – Stop Making Stupid People Famous
‘Stop Making Stupid People Famous’. I won’t mention any names, but we all know them. And it looks like they won’t go away. Even though they’re overtly encouraged to do so. I mean, you can find this slogan everywhere. On billboards along the highway, sprayed on walls in the city, printed on T-shirts or mugs… But it hasn’t really helped yet, has it? Hopefully Our Lady Peace can help solve the problem…
With over 5 million albums sold worldwide, OLP is one of the most successful Canadian bands today. This new track only confirms how good they are. Stop Making Stupid People Famous is their first single since the release of their 2018 album Somethingness.
In an interview with website American Songwriter, singer Raine Maida says: “I was just so inspired politically and just felt like ‘God, what have we done to ourselves?’. I trace it all the way back to Paris Hilton, not her specifically, but the inception point for reality TV, of building up people, giving them this platform and fame. What is the ROI? What are we getting in return, besides a diversion from reality.”
He also explains he didn’t want this song to be some dumb male rock. That’s why he invited Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova as a counter to the song’s subject at hand.
Just like the remainder of Our Lady Peace’s upcoming 10th album, Stop Making Stupid People Famous was produced by TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek.
Follow Our Lady Peace on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
Follow Pussy Riot on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Roe – Cruel
How many artists can say they played the legendary Glastonbury festival in the first year of their career? Roísín Donald can. And not long after that, the Irish singer and songwriter, who goes by the stage name of Roe, played influential showcase festival ESNS in the Netherlands. Although all this hasn’t led to her break-through yet, it can’t be far away. For starters, she refined her song-writing skills over the past years.
Fast forward to 2021… After over two handfuls of singles, Roe releases her most catchy song to date. Cruel is more guitar-based than her earlier output, and I like what I hear. The synths are still there, especially in the intro and the choruses, but they’re less prominent. Still very poppy, Roe’s music has evolved into guitar pop, in a ‘90s kind of way. Me, I love it!
Recommended as well:
Roe – Wasted.Patient.Thinking
Follow Roe on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Leoniden (feat. Pabst) – Freaks
Five years ago Leoniden’s career reached a turning point. It was the last time the Berlin band released a single with more than two words in its title. Since then, one-word titles have been the norm. And they haven’t stopped doing so in 2021.
Freak is the new single of brothers Lennart and Felix Eicke, Jakob Amr, Djamin Izadi and JP Neumann. It’s a hymn to being an outsider. A typical Leoniden song, it combines a ‘90s guitar pop sound with a modern feel. This results in a sparkling and powerful anthem with a huge chorus. The track features Erik Heise, singer of German neo-grunge band Pabst, as guest vocalist.
Freaks is the sixth single to be released ahead of Leoniden’s upcoming album, which is set for release on 20 August. It’s called Complex Happenings Reduced To A Simple Design. Maybe a reference to the band’s one-word song titles? 😉
Recommended as well:
L.O.V.E.
People
Kids
Follow Leoniden on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
Follow Pabst on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Joy Crookes – Feet Don’t Fail Me Now
Joy Crookes is a London-based singer-songwriter of Bangladesh and Irish heritage. She grew up listening to an eclectic mix of genres, ranging from Nick Cave to King Tubby, and from Kendrick Lamar to Gregory Isaac. Borrowing a bit of each of them, she created a sound of her own. Feet Don’t Fail Me Now is her new single.
Starting off with an addictively thumping bassline, it’s a delightful slice of soul-pop summer breeze. But on top of this old-school backdrop, Crookes sings about a modern phenomenon: cancel culture.
She explains: “The track carries with it a deep sense of irony, it’s written from the perspective of someone who finds it easier to remain complicit out of a fear of being cancelled. (…) Ultimately, I hope the song encourages people to be a bit braver. It’s important to open up a dialogue, speak out, make mistakes – that’s okay and that’s how progress happens.”
Follow Joy Crookes on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Daria Zawiałow – Wojny I Noce
If you’ve been here before, it may not come as a surprise that I love ‘80s synths. Also, I like to recommend songs in less obvious languages than English from time to time. What I like about a song is the big picture, not only the lyrics. On the contrary, I can fully enjoy songs that I don’t understand a word of. Such as this one, that brings both of my above loves together.
Quite honestly, I had never heard of Daria Zawiałow. My bad. Turns out she’s one of the biggest stars in the Polish music scene. Only in 2016 the 29-year-old singer and songwriter released her first single, which was immediately successful. Both her debut album and its follow-up went platinum and were awarded with several music prizes in her homeland.
Zawiałow just released her third album Wojny I Noce (‘war and nights’). In its first week, it shot to the top of the Polish charts. The title track is her new single. An upbeat pop track that uses the same drum computer as a-ha’s Take On Me (and many other past hits). That alone makes it a great song. The vocal melody is equally catchy, even if you don’t understand the lyrics. To me, this mystery only adds to the songs attractiveness.
Follow Daria Zawiałow on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
The Zen Arcade – High Fidelity
From 2010 to 2018, The Strypes were a successful Irish quartet. They put out three critically acclaimed albums, which they promoted with gigs from Glastonbury to Fuji Rocks. They also performed on TV with Jools Holland and The Late Show With David Letterman, as well as being support act of Arctic Monkeys.
After The Strypes split, three of its members formed the band The Zen Arcade in late 2019. They first attracted an audience with their own zine Cro Mag Non and podcast Higher Fidelity. On behalf of the zine, they publish the PDFs online, which the fans print and piece together themselves. The podcast focuses on ‘music analysis’. Episode ‘When Should They Have Stopped’ for instance, discussed great bands that continued past the moment they ruined their legacy.
The Zen Arcade just released their first EP High Fidelity. It contains last year’s debut single Don’t Say A Word and a bonus episode of their podcast. Also included is the band’s new single High Fidelity. This track started life as the intro to their podcast series and has since been expanded into a proper song. ‘From jingle to single’, as the band say themselves. The same way I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts evolved from the ‘Friends’ theme song into a hit track.
Musically there are similarities between both bands’ sounds as well. Furthermore, The Zen Arcade name Hoodoo Gurus, The Jesus & Mary Chain, XTC and Graham Coxon as their influences. Bands that make my heart ‘pound in 5.1 surround sound’, to cite a lyric from High Fidelity.
Follow The Zen Arcade on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 25):
Lauran Hibberd – Bleugh
Imagine you’re a DJ and happy enough to be able to announce Lauran Hibberd’s new single Bleugh. Wouldn’t that just make your day? Alas, not many radio stations nowadays are brave enough to program the kind of music Hibberd makes. Especially since her output is getting louder and louder with every release. It just so happens however her songs are getting stronger and stronger at the same time. So, these unadventurous radio stations are in fact depriving their listeners of some damn fine music, which they’d deserve to hear.
Bleugh is Hibberd’s new single, which sees the 23-year-old musician from the Isle Of White switch between singing and speaking. It’s an explosive, ferocious track that allows her to kick out her frustrations about falling for people that you soon realize are the kind of folk you don’t particularly want in your life. Yet, you still find yourself getting sucked in.
She explains: “You’ll probably find these people in bands called something like ‘broken cyclists’ or better yet in moody solo projects called something pretentious like ‘bora boring’. It’s my favourite track of mine, and I’ve been sitting on and incubating this girl for a while. It feels really good shouting ‘Bleugh’ btw, I recommend you try it out.”
The single is released ahead of Hibberd’s sophomore EP Goober, set to be unleashed in July. It’s her first body of work since her debut EP Everything Is Dogs, which came out in 2019.
This week, Lauran Hibberd’s new single will feature prominently at the top of the Carte Blanche Music blog as our new Wildcard. Bleugh!
Recommended as well:
Boy Bye
Bang Bang Bang
Sweat Patch
Hoochie
Follow Lauran Hibberd on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
