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Wildcard (week 34):
Say Lou Lou – Golden Child
Remember Australian band The Church, of Under The Milky Way fame? Singer Steve Kilbey has two daughters, Miranda and Elektra, who have a musical career of their own under the Say Lou Lou moniker.
After debuting in 2015 with their album Lucid Dreaming, they took the time to produce a follow-up. Earlier this year, they released the new song Ana, which is now followed by Golden Child. Both will be on the twin sisters’ second album Immortelle, due for release on 21 September. It’ll be a moody and sensual collection of songs with subtle nods to film noir, but always with the duo’s dreamy, ethereal vocals at the centre.
Golden Child is a percussive pop anthem, with an intro that brings back memories of the wonderful single Sing by Travis. Then, it opens up with irresistible guitar licks and crisp drum fills, that give it a distinct 70’s West Coast feel. At the same time, it sounds modern, thanks to the addition of delicate sound effects and a productional trick or two.
This week, Golden Child by Say Lou Lou is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard! The songs that preceded it this year, can be found in the Wildcards 2018 playlist.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Thunder Fox – Head In The Clouds
Fans of Thunder Fox will agree it’s about time the Sydney quintet released their third album. Well, the wait is almost over. The long-player, Sanctuary, will be out on 18 November. Meanwhile, the band put out the album’s opening track Head In The Clouds as their new single. An exciting cocktail of musical styles, the song mixes pop, funk and R&B. But it all starts with a heavenly slice of gospel. Elsewhere, we hear intoxicating rhythms, triumphant horns and blissful, soulful vocals.
“If Thunder Fox is known for anything, it’s being able to avoid taking things too seriously,” says vocalist and guitarist Sam Dawes. “Head in The Clouds came to me in a blue dream on one of those hot nights where your brain feels sticky. I think the lyrics are self-explanatory, so I won’t provide an in depth analysis. The point is, we wanted to open the album with some fun and familiarity before shit got real.”
Recommended as well:
Thunder Fox – Not For Sale
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For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Beach Bunny feat. Tegan & Sara – Cloud 9
Beach Bunny is a Chicago-based 4-piece around front woman Lili Trifilio. When they released their debut album Honeymoon, in 2020, the closing track Cloud 9 was one of its highlights. It was rightly released as a single, early that year, but only recently it started to truly make an impact. Thanks to TikTok (where it racked up 1.3 million(!) creations), the track re-emerged and went viral. So far, it spent five consecutive weeks on the Spotify Global Viral 50 chart, earning more than 2 million streams per day and over 78 million total streams. It also crossed from the streaming charts to Billboard’s Hot Alt Songs chart and the Rolling Stone Trending 25 chart. Meanwhile, it’s one of the most added songs at alternative radio.
And now, there’s a brand-new version of Cloud 9, that’s likely to spice things up even further. This new take on an already great tune features Canada’s finest singing twins: Tegan & Sara Quin. The Platinum-selling duo not only lent their voices to the song, but also updated its lyrics to include gender neutral and feminine pronouns.
The sisters say about the collaboration: “We’re massive fans of Beach Bunny, and when we heard Cloud 9 for the first time fell in love with the brilliant lyrics and addictive melody. We love that Lili was up to let us experiment with changing the pronoun in the chorus to ‘she’. The efforts made to make the song relatable to everyone, isn’t just about inclusivity, we think it’s a great indication of the flexibility and creative spirit of the band at its core!”
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Follow Tegan & Sara on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Montaigne – Technicolour
In 2020, Montaigne was supposed to represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest with the empowering track Don’t Break Me. But, well, you know… Luckily, the artist was also chosen for the 2021 edition of the event. In my opinion, her new entry is even better than last year’s song.
To say the least, Technicolour is a bold and theatrical tune. It’s an up-tempo hyperpop track, that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Charli XCX album. A great song for Montaigne to showcase her impressive vocal capacity. Its production is no less than innovative, with a surprising and ear-catching pre-chorus. The chorus itself is infectious and euphoric.
A song made for the Eurovision Song Contest, that deserves to score well beyond the event.
Recommended as well:
Montaigne – Ready
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For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Louis & The Shakes – How Badly Do You Want It?
Louis Antoniou (lead vocals), Jamie Lawson (lead guitar), Manny O’Donnell (drum) and Will Finnerty (bass) are Louis & The Shakes. They may be a London four-piece, but their music sounds as American as can be. In their infectious, hard-hitting songs they combine blues, Americana, and psychedelic indie-rock into a distinctive cocktail.
Up-tempo new single How Badly Do You Want It? is no exception to the description above. In other words: it’s one’s for fans of Queens Of The Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys and The Black Keys. It even adds a Long Train Runnin’ kind of funky guitar to the mix.
Front man Antoniou says of the track: “I’ve always had a bluesy streak and I think you can hear that in this tune particularly – the simplicity of the claps and the ‘tribal’ backing vocals in the verses. (…) Lyrically it’s all about keeping going, keep believing and never giving up. Instead of resting on our laurels [after COVID-19 came] we thought let’s get in the studio and record this album.”
How Badly Do You Want It? is the first single from the band’s upcoming same-titled debut long-player.
Follow Louis & The Shakes on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Wildcard (week 5):
The Reytons – Jealous Type
Are you a Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not-era Arctic Monkeys fan? Then you need to get to know The Reytons. This rising Yorkshire quartet has the same unashamedly anthemic rock ethic that Arctic Monkeys came to the scene with.
At the start of their career, in 2017/8, The Reytons released three EP’s in quick succession. Since then, they put out seven singles, Jealous Type being the latest. It kicks off with strong guitar riffs which are a perfect launch pad for lead singer Johnny Yerrell’s strong lyrics. There’s a raw element to the production that gives the song a certain edge. In that respect, it recalls the colossal live shows that gained The Reytons a large following. It’s impressive to hear how the band reproduce that sound in the studio.
Jealous Type precedes a new EP, titled May Seriously Harm You And Others Around You, due out later in February.
This whole week, The Reytons’ Jealous Type will feature prominently at the top of this blog as the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
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In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
Lou Hayter – Time Out Of Mind
London native Lou Hayter has begun a new chapter of her already impressive musical career. She started as keyboardist for the band New Young Pony Club, with whom she toured the world for eight years. Since then, she was one half of Tomorrow’s World (the other half being Air’s Jean-Benoît Dunckel) and formed The New Sins with Nick Phillips. While they’re working on new material in Paris, Hayter started a solo career.
On 7 May, her solo album Private Sunshine will come out. According to her label, it will encompass her love of acid house, ‘80s hits, yacht rock, electro, future pop and disco. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Many of these ingredients can be heard in her new single Time Out Of Mind. The intro reminds of Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters, but after 15 seconds a Steely Dan-like synth comes in. Bulls-eye, for Time Out Of Mind is indeed a cover of a track from Fagen & Becker’s 1980 Gaucho album.
Hayter says about her version: “Steely Dan are my favourite band. So I approached this cover with my utmost respect and tried to be reverent. I chose a bit more of a deep cut from their album Gaucho. My friend Jeff Wooton who plays with Gorillaz very kindly added this mega guitar solo on the record. He nailed it in one take which was amazing to watch. I hope it has the same happy sunshine sound that Steely Dan brings to me when I listen to them.”
Follow Lou Hayter on Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Jealous Of The Birds – Something Holy
18 September, Belfast-based Naomi Hamilton, a.k.a. Jealous Of The Birds, releases her second album Peninsula. In addition to recent single Young Neanderthal, she now serves up a second track ahead of the long-player.
Something Holy is a timeless tune with the freshness of a sea breeze. It’s got acoustic guitars, a tambourine, soft drums, a walking bassline and a gentle guitar melody.
Hamilton says of the new track: “Something Holy was written on a trip I took to Lisbon, Portugal after a burnout. My perception of things had become pretty stale, so the song articulates grappling with one’s artistic practice and trying to see the innate sanctity of simple images in all their concreteness. The particularity of things and the sheer marvel that they even exist is very grounding to me. Being present and paying attention to all of that brought me back around.”
Peninsula was produced by Marta Salogni (Björk, M.I.A.) and David Wrench (Jaime xx, David Byrne). The songs mark Jealous Of The Birds’ continuing progression from bedroom recordings to more expansive and inventive use of the studio.
Recommended as well:
Ode To Fire
Blue Eyes
Marrow
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Calva Louise – I Heard A Cry
Calva Louise are a London based trio, consisting of Jess Allanic (vocals, guitar), Alizon Taho (bass, backing vocals) and Ben Parker (drums, backing vocals). A band on the rise, that’s for sure. They will certainly be liked by people who loved Shampoo in the mid 90’s, or Girli, more recently.
I Heard A Cry, a wonderful slice of bubble gum punk rock, is Calva Louise’s fourth single. It’s the second track to be lifted from their debut album (which is set for release early next year). The upbeat song features fuzzy guitars, a thumping bass line and Allanic’s trademark biting vocals on the one hand, but obvious pop sensibilities and tons of fun on the other. But listen quickly, for it’s over in just 2 minutes.
The band say about the track: “I Heard A Cry deals with the misinformation we often feel regarding what’s happening elsewhere in the world. But at the same time, it’s about the will of many people who are trying to inform themselves.”
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Salt Ashes – Lucy
5 November, Salt Ashes will release her sophomore album Killing My Mind. Ahead of that, Lucy is the latest single off it. The track combines raw synth textures and reverberated guitars with a relentlessly driving and pulsating rhythm section. Lyrically, it’s equally fierce and hard-hitting. The song speaks out against violence towards women.
Salt Ashes explains: “I wrote the song after an experience I had at a petrol station when I was filling up my car. A man was opposite me getting his own fuel and was staring at me. I awkwardly, but politely, smiled at him which he took as an invitation to come over and harass me. I apparently ‘gave him a look’ and in his words ‘what I was wearing was too sexy to not be interested’. This kind of thing happens all the time and it has to stop. The change does not come from me wearing something different but from men changing their behaviour.”
Salt Ashes is Brighton-born, London-based singer Veiga Sanchez. Inspired by Giorgio Moroder’s blend of disco and epic dark atmospheres, she released her debut album in 2016. Subsequently, she toured with artists such as Alphabeat, Say Lou Lou, Tove Styrke, Little Boots and ‘80s pop sensation Tiffany.
Follow Salt Ashes on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.