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single track, wildcard
Wildcards (weeks 32, 33 and 34):
Wildcards (weeks 32, 33 and 34):
Vistas, Jacoténe and Wolf Alice
During my holidays I’ve chosen a weekly Wildcard, as always. Here they are, for the record…
Week 34
Wolf Alice – Just Two Girls
Last week, Wolf Alice released their fourth album The Clearing. They call it ‘a classic pop/rock album that nods to the ‘70s while remaining rooted firmly in the present. At its core, The Clearing is a record about arrival – not at a destination, but at a sense of peace with the journey’.
New single Just Two Girls is a great example of the songs’ timelessness. Lead by drums and piano, it’s a peppy and upbeat tune. It was inspired by singer Ellie Rowsell realising how validating the conversations with her girlfriends are to her.
Just Two Girls by Wolf Alice is the current Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. It will be prominently displayed at the top of the blog for an entire week.
More Wolf Alice @ Carte Blanche Music
Follow the band on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
Week 33
Jacoténe – Why’d You Do That?
Ever since her first demos I’ve been a fan of Jacoténe. Her voice and appearance are and so are her songs and stage presence. That’s even more remarkable if you imagine she’s only 19 years old. I’ve been following and supporting her throughout her short career, but most other media still have to join me in doing so. But they will, eventually, and this Aussie talent will become a big star in the years to come.
Following her great debut EP Untitled (Read My Mind), Jacoténe is now back with her new single Why’d You Do That? With its subtle bass and addictive percussion, it’s a brooding, soul-trip hop blend. The song is the talented singer’s third Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. Hopefully she’s third time lucky!
More Jacoténe @ Carte Blanche Music
Follow her on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
Week 32
Vistas – Take It From The Skies
29 August, Edinburgh band Vistas will put out their fourth album Cut The Cord. Listening to the singles off it, one can’t but conclude that the band made a huge leap forward. And their previous albums were so good already!
Take It From The Skies is the fourth and latest track to be released ahead of the album. It’s arguably the Scottish band’s best single so far. The fierce guitar riff immediately grabs the listeners’ attention, while powerful drums provide a great backbone. The only downside to the song is that it’s only 2½ minutes long. We want more! Looks like Cut The Cord will be one of the albums of the year 2025.
More Vistas @ Carte Blanche Music
Follow the band on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2025 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
single track
Wolf Alice – How Can I Make It OK?
Wolf Alice – How Can I Make It OK?
When you’re a fan of a band, what would you like more? A constant stream of releases that the band rushed to write and record, cutting some corners in the process? Or a gap of four years between albums, resulting in a smashing record? Nowadays, many bands choose the first path, ill-advised by fear of being forgotten. Wolf Alice however just released their new album Blue Weekend, the follow-up to 2017’s Visions Of A Life.
Coinciding with the album release, the British band put out a fourth single. Judging the track in its first 30 seconds wouldn’t do it justice. This is an enchanting song that takes four minutes to unfold itself. It starts off with a slow-moving intro, without percussion. As it progresses, it builds into a mid-tempo gem, complete with big drums, airy synths, a gorgeous guitar riff and a romantic chorus. The full-blown part only lasts a minute, but that’s enough to make a lasting impression.
Recommended as well:
Wolf Alice – Beautifully Unconventional
Follow Wolf Alice on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track
Wolf Alice – Beautifully Unconventional
Wolf Alice – Beautifully Unconventional
Wolf Alice follow-up their recent singles Yuk Foo and Don’t Delete The Kisses with their best yet (in my opinion): Beautifully Unconventional. Funnily enough, I think it’s their most ‘conventional’ single yet, in that I can imagine it will spread to the masses and become a rock solid hit. But that’s only me, of course…
All three of the tracks will be on the band’s next album Visions Of A Life, out on 29 September. Wolf Alice’s manager described the forthcoming long player as “a monster.” He added: “It’s a huge commercial rock record.” Like I said: destined for the masses…
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 36)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your guide to the best new music, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- Beach Bunny – Year Of The Optimist
(Wildcard this week) - Wolf Alice – Just Two Girls
(Wildcard last week) - Dressed Like Boys – Pinnacles
- The Hives – They Can’t Hear The Music (album track)
- Audrey Hobert – Thirst Trap
- Keli Holiday – Dancing2
- Moving Into Tucson – All I Ever
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.
Partly selected via input by Musosoup. Submit your music here. #sustainablecreators
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 35)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your guide to the best new music, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- Wolf Alice – Just Two Girls (Wildcard this week)
- Jacoténe – Why’d You Do That? (Wildcard last week)
- Blackbird – Looking For You
- Confidence Man & Jade – Gossip
- Dinosaur Pile-Up – I’ve Felt Better
- Mackenzie – 9-5
- Molly Millington – Lovers Song
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.
Partly selected via input by Musosoup. Submit your music here. #sustainablecreators
playlist
Additions to the Carte Blanche Music playlist (weeks 32, 33 and 34)
Not all, but only the best new music from the past weeks. Added to the playlist during my holidays (alphabetically and sorted by week):
Week 34
- Blackbird – Looking For You indie | pop
- Capital Cities – Late For School indie | pop
- Rye Catchers (feat. Nikki Simmons) – Out Of Time indie | pop
- Confidence Man & Jade – Gossip electronic | pop
- Dinosaur Pile-Up – I’ve Felt Better indie | rock
- Maggie Lindemann – Spine indie | pop | rock
- Mackenzie – 9-5 indie | pop | rock
- Molly Millington – Lovers Song indie | pop
- Rudimental with Rag ‘n’ Bone Man – Nights Like These drum & bass | indie | pop
- Oswald Slain – Have You Got What You Came Here For? indie | rock
- Izzy S.O – Are We Doing This Again? indie | pop | rock
- Telenova – Bitcrush pop | rock
- Wolf Alice – Just Two Girls indie | pop
Week 33
- Grace Angelique – The Girl Next Door indie | pop | rock
- Blanko – Forever Is Now indie | pop
- The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever The Hives indie | rock
- Jacoténe – Why’d You Do That? pop | soul
- Josh Long – 405 indie | pop
- The Wild Things – I Can’t Wait indie | pop | rock
Week 32
- Les Trois Accords & Coeur De Pirate – Toujours Les Vacances
indie | pop - The Trusted – Yellowhammer indie | rock
Check them all in the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music Spotify playlist.
Add it to your library (click ‘+’) to hear the best new music first.
Partly selected via input by Musosoup. Submit your music here. #sustainablecreators
single track, wildcard
Wildcard (week 12):
Wildcard (week 12):
Dande & The Lion – Children Of The Hour
Dande & The Lion is an indie pop rock band from Bristol, UK and Sydney, Australia, where they’re based. It’s fronted by dual vocalists Natassa Zoë (guitar) and Abbey Gardner (synths), backed by Chris Gabriel (drums) and Nicholas Shea (backing vocals and bass). They cite bands such as The Naked & Famous, Metric, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Wolf Alice as their influences.
Children Of The Hour is the quartet’s latest single. A shimmering combination of indie-rock and bouncy electropop, that’ll do well on festivals and dance floors alike. Lyrically, the song is all about being playful in the moment and following the feeling, rather than over-thinking things.
Talking about how she wrote the tune, Zoë explains: “I was sitting in Centennial Park in Sydney waiting to be picked up. I’d just finished reading a play called ‘The Children’s Hour’ and that kicked off the songwriting process. My ride was late which allowed me to finish the entire song all in one go which was kind of cool.”
The track was produced by talent Aussie producer Xavier Dunn, whose name has featured here many times already. He created a mesmeric cut that sees ardent intimacies erupt into explosive, danceable choruses.
Children Of The Hour by Dande & The Lion is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. That means it’ll be featured prominently at the top of the blog for a whole week.
Follow Dande & The Lion on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2023 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
single track
The Last Broadcast (feat. Shannon Farmer) – Daisy
The Last Broadcast (feat. Shannon Farmer) – Daisy
Most music reflects the era it was released in, or the era it was inspired by. But some music has a more timeless feeling to it. The Last Broadcast’s debut single Daisy is such a song.
The Last Broadcast is the band of front man Kyle McGurk and drummer Paolo Lombardo. They call it ‘a coming of age project’ and ‘a vehicle to navigate the rocky transition from youth to adulthood’. On the one hand, their lyrics often contain an element of doubt. On the other hand however, resolve comes in the form of sunny melodies and big choruses. The band is influenced by ‘90s and ‘00s acts like New Radicals, John Mayer and David Gray, and contemporaries such as Wolf Alice.
On the surface, The Last Broadcast’s first single Daisy sounds like an upbeat song with a certain melancholy. This is largely caused by the rollicking drums and uplifting piano melody, while featuring mournful horns at the same time. But underneath this, the track wrestles with grief, trauma, love and validation. The song was written as early as 2018, but it underwent a remarkable transformation under producer Ryan Pinson’s guidance. The final version also features guest vocals from Shannon Farmer, the front woman of alt-pop band Dame. This takes it to the next level.
A wonderful debut!
Follow The Last Broadcast on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
chart, year-end chart
Carte Blanche Music Top 2021
Ahead of your favourites among this year’s Carte Blanche Music recommendations, which I’ll publish next week, these are my personal choices from the songs that came out in 2021. This list holds only 100 tracks, but you can find all of my 998 recommendations in my container playlist Carte Blanche Music 2021.
As always, I love to share some statistics about the Carte Blanche Music Top 2021. If there’s one – sad – common denominator to be found in this list, it’s that most of these songs have been criminally overlooked by radio stations outside the artist’s home countries. Radio playlists are growing more and more uniform, denying the diversity of the music available. Obviously, with over 60.000 new tracks added to Spotify every day the supply is kind of excessive, but more adventurous choices would be very welcome. Knowing this won’t happen, the best you can do is follow the Carte Blanche Music playlist, then I’ll keep you updated 😉. This is what you can expect, based on this year’s Top 2021:
- Mostly (young and) upcoming artists, many of whom release their music independently
- No less than 72% of the Top 2021 features female vocalists, up from 70% in our Top 2020 and 60% in the Top 2019
- We love pure pop songs, but with 40% guitar-based tracks, we’re more rock ‘n’ roll than average. According to Spotify Wrapped, our favourite genres last year were indie pop, modern alternative rock and dance pop, and we agree
- You can expect the best new tunes from all over the world, but even we have our preferences. We have extra warm feelings for music from countries like Australia, France, Canada and Denmark. Just so you know…
The Carte Blanche Music Top 2021 features 100 tracks, which are presented below in alphabetical order. You can listen to them all via the Spotify player. If you prefer another order, the shuffle button is your friend.
Meanwhile, you can read my original recommendations through the links below.
- Ali Barter – You Get In My Way
- Alice Merton – Island
- The Allergies – Move On Baby
- Ally Cribb – Bigger
- Alta Falls – The Fire
- Aly & AJ – Don’t Need Nothing
- Amy Shark – Baby Steps
- Angèle – Libre
- Anish Kumar & Barry Can’t Swim – Blackpool Boulevard
- Archie X – Fight Me
- Baby Queen – You Shaped Hole (WC)
- Bakermat (feat. LaShun Pace) – Ain’t Nobody
- Baxtr – In Pop We Trust (WC)
- beabadoobee – He Gets Me So High (*) (WC)
- Blu DeTiger – Blondes
- Buffalo Paradise – Buffalo Paradise
- bülow – Revolver
- Calogero – Centre Ville
- Camila Cabello – Don’t Go Yet
- Charlie Collins – Just My Luck
- Chloe Lilac – 19
- Clara Luciani – Respire Encore (WC)
- Clypso – On Our Way (WC)
- Coeur De Pirate – Tu Peux Crever Là-Bas (*)
- Cold War Kids – What You Say
- Coral Palms – Something In The Air (WC)
- Daði Freyr & Ásdís – Feel The Love
- Dead Anyway – Pigs In Blankets
- Drew Sycamore – 45 Fahrenheit Girl (WC)
- Dual – Wipe Your Tears Away
- Dua Lipa – Love Again (WC)
- Dubstar – Tectonic Plates
- Dylan Cartlidge – Hang My Head (WC)
- Eyjaa – Don’t Forget About Me
- Fear Of Tigers – Tiger Blood
- Foals – Wake Me Up (WC)
- Foo Fighters – Waiting On A War
- Foxes – Sister Ray (WC)
- Grand Corps Malade – Des Gens Beaux
- Haerts – Days Go By (WC)
- Halsey – Honey
- Harry Styles – Treat People With Kindness (WC)
- Hawke – Pinch Me (Am I Dreaming?) (WC)
- Hope Tala – Tiptoeing (WC)
- Jaguar Jonze – Who Died And Made You King? (WC)
- Japanese Breakfast – Paprika
- Jonas Brøg (feat. Lilian Vieira) – I’m Your Nr. 1 [Brazilian Version] (WC)
- Julie Zenatti – France Et Jojo
- Kacey Musgraves – There Is A Light
- King Stingray – Milkumana
- Kinishao – Always In My Head
- Laura Mac – Garage Full Of Dreams (WC)
- Lauran Hibberd – Bleugh (WC)
- Lights – Prodigal Daughter
- Lissie – Hey Boy (WC)
- Lizzie Esau – Bitter Weather
- Lou Hayter – Time Out Of Mind
- Lucy Spraggan – Heartbreak Suites (*)
- Madison Olds – If You Wanna
- mags – I Can’t Get Over You
- Maisie Peters – Psycho
- Marina – Purge The Poison (WC)
- May-a – Central Station (WC)
- Mazy – Flowers (WC)
- Mike Posner (feat. James Valentine & Jacob Scesney) – Amor Fati
- Miles Kane feat. Corinne Bailey Rae – Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Good Enough (WC)
- Miss Machine – Regarder Les Choses
- Monowhales – He Said/She Said (I Wait) (WC)
- Montaigne – Technicolour
- Niko Rubio – You Could Be The One (WC)
- Olivia Rodrigo – Good 4 U
- Orla Gartland – You’re Not Special, Babe
- Palaye Royale – No Love In LA
- Parcels – Comingback (WC)
- Päter – Obstinate Brain
- Philippine – Bah Non. (WC)
- Placebo – Beautiful James
- The Ramona Flowers feat. Nile Rodgers – Up All Night
- Render Ghosts – Eye Rhyme
- RoseeLu – Playing Alone (WC)
- Saint Djuni – All Of My Friends (WC)
- Self Esteem – How Can I Help You (WC)
- Slothrust – Once More For The Ocean (WC)
- Smith & Thell – Pixie’s Parasol (WC)
- Stefanie Heinzmann – Labyrinth (WC)
- Super db – Wait For Me
- Telenova – Bones (WC)
- Thunder Fox – Not For Sale
- Torres – Thirstier (WC)
- Tove Styrke – Start Walking
- Troi Irons – She Loves Me Not
- Vistas – Start Again
- Who – Hey! Get Out The Way (WC)
- Who Parked The Car – Candle Dance
- Willow feat. Travis Barker – Transparent Soul
- Wilsn – You Know Better (WC)
- Wolf Alice – How Can I Make It OK?
- Yelle – Noir (WC)
- Youth Sector – Self Exile (WC)
- Yuke – Stranger Still (WC)
(WC) ex Carte Blanche Music Wildcard
(*) album track
single track
Lizzie Esau – Bitter Weather
Lizzie Esau – Bitter Weather
Lizzie Esau was born in London, but raised in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne within a very artistic family. Her mother was an artist and her father a musician. No surprise then, that she’d eventually follow in their footsteps.
Now an upcoming star herself, Lizzie was inspired by a wide variety of artists. Think Wolf Alice, Beabadoobee, Clairo and Arlo Parks. This explains why the five songs she released so far are impossible to be pigeonholed. Her eclectic sound includes bedroom pop, dance, funk, lo-fi and rock.
With her new single Bitter Weather, Lizzie delivers a laid back alt-pop track with hip hop influences. “It’s about prioritizing the important stuff and not obsessing about the things that don’t really matter in the end”, she says.
Follow Lizzie Esau on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
