Browsing Category album track
album track
indie | rock
beabadoobee – Charlie Brown
In September 2017, beabadoobee released her very first single Coffee. It immediately made heads turn at Dirty Hit Records, home to The 1975, Pale Waves, Wolf Alice and many others. Also, it drew 300.000 viewers on YouTube and grabbed the attention of Canadian rapper Powfu. He incorporated a sample of the track in his single Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head), which became a worldwide hit in early 2020. In an interview, beabadoobee said about that: “I kinda hated it. I hated more people knowing about the first song I’d ever written and not my others.” Nevertheless, it formed a perfect launch pad for her own career.
In the last months, she released no less than five singles ahead of her debut album Fake It Flowers. Care, Sorry, Worth It, How Was Your Day? and Together are all on it. My favourite track however is Charlie Brown. Not exactly because of its light-hearted theme, because it’s a dark song about auto-mutilation. But it’s also a driving song, full of energy. Explosive even, in a Nirvana kind of way. Epic stuff by a very promising artist who is only 20 years of age.
Recommended as well:
beabadoobee – She Plays Bass
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.
album trackindie | pop | rock
Semisonic – Basement Tapes
Thanks to great tunes like Closing Time, Secret Smile and Chemistry, Semisonic are one of my favourite bands from around the turn of the century. In 2002, following their third album All About Chemistry, the band went on an indefinite hiatus. However, they never broke up. In the meantime, frontman Dan Wilson built a successful career of his own. He was a songwriter and producer for the likes of Pink, Dixie Chicks and Adele, as wel as a solo artist. He is quoted as saying he found it difficult to write new material that sounded like Semisonic.
In 2017, Wilson met Liam Gallagher with the intention to write new songs for the latter. Eventually, the two didn’t work together. Wilson felt the sketches of the songs he wrote for Gallagher were more suitable for Semisonic instead.
In the summer of that year, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their 2016 debut album Great Divide, Semisonic reunited for a series of shows. At these occasions, they played Great Divide in its entirety. At the end of that year, commemorating the upcoming 20th anniversary of their sophomore album Feeling Strangely Fine, they performed the whole of that album a few times. Last year, they came together again to do some more gigs. During these 2017-2019 shows, they also played some of Wilson’s new, previously unreleased ‘Gallagher’ songs.
These tracks have now been properly recorded and released on the EP You’re Not Alone. This is Semisonic’s first collection of new material in 19 years. It contains five fine examples of craft song-writing, as we’ve come to expect. Basement Tapes is my favourite. A great pop-rock song, very well sung and executed by Wilson and his band. A welcome return.
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.
album track, remakedance | indie | pop
T99 vs. Youngr – Anasthasia [Youngr Bootleg]
I like to see myself as a musical omnivore, but obviously, I’ve got my preferences. Overall, dance is not one of them. Still, there are terrific dance tracks. In 1991, T99, a rave act from Belgium came to the scene. At that time, I was even less into dance than now. But boy, did I like their singles Anasthasia and Nocturne!
Fast forward to 2020… Bootleg boss Youngr was given access to the complete Armada Music catalogue. He chose ten tracks and poured his trademark musical twists and mix magic over them. This resulted in his new album Bootleg Mixtape, Vol. 1. Among others, it contains reworkings of Afro Medusa’s Pasilda, Phats & Small’s Turn Around, and, as you could have guessed, of T99’s Anasthasia.
To the latter, Youngr added guitars, percussion and accessible synth melodies. At heart, it remains the big and bold rave classic it always was, but ready for today’s dancefloors. Epic in overdrive!
Recommended as well:
Youngr – Ooh Lordy
Youngr x Endor – Give It Up
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.
album trackdisco | electronic | indie | pop
Tom Aspaul – Black Country Disco
Tom Aspaul is an artist from The Black Country, an area of the West Midlands in England. Hence the title of debut album: Black Country Disco.
Seven years ago, Aspaul wrote and recorded the track Indiana, which ended up being reimagined by Kylie Minogue as Feels So Good. This kickstarted his career as a songwriter proper. Since then, he also wrote for the likes of AlunaGeorge (Mediator), Little Boots (Working Girl) and Louise (Villain).
Following the end of a long-term relationship, as well as a growing disillusionment with the music industry, Aspaul moved out of London back home to the West Midlands. By writing his debut album, which takes listeners through all of the emotions of a breakup, he found himself again.
The title track, which closes the album, is my favourite song on it. It’s up-beat and uplifting. A happy song with a positive outlook and a clear message: this man is free and he loves it.
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.
album track, remakeindie | pop | rock
The Radar Station – Zanzara [2020 Version]
If you think 2020 is a strange year, remember The Radar Station had two of those years in a row. In 2019, they were forced to change their then band name Sun Gods, just before releasing their first album. As The Radar Station, they re-recorded some of their earlier singles and continued working on their debut. In the process, they won ‘De Nieuwe Lichting 2020’, a band competition on Studio Brussel.
The support of the Belgian alternative pop radio station would have helped propel The Radar Station into the world. However, shortly after winning the competition, COVID-19 changed everything. Most of the promotional plans had to be cancelled, but the band proved creative in keeping their fans engaged. Now that their album Life Inside A Tornado has finally seen the light, we can conclude it’s been worth the wait.
The album title was taken from the lyrics of Zanzara and After The Tornado (two totally different versions of the same song). The band explain: “The lyrics of this song were based on a quote by the Dalai Lama: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room.” We found this reassuring and befitting of our own outlook on life. So try to be a mosquito, but less annoying if possible.”
The re-recorded version of Zanzara, already a single in early 2019, still is one of my favourite songs on the album. A great slice of ‘big music’, channelling Peter Gabriel and Simple Minds, while adding contemporary elements of new musical heroes like The War On Drugs and Editors. Well worth a re-release as a single!
Recommended as well:
The Radar Station – The Giant
The Radar Station – Subtle Science [2020 Version]
Sun Gods – Zanzara
Sun Gods – Subtle Science
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.
album trackindie | pop
Alfie Templeman – Things I Thought Were Mine
British teen Alfie Templeman is one of the most talented young artists around. And also one of the most prolific, as well. His brand-new EP is called Happiness In Liquid Form, and the title track is an absolute highlight.
My other personal favourite is Things I Thought Were Mine. A minimalistic, laid-back summer tune, based around a wonky synth melody and a funky guitar. Templeman wrote, produced and mixed this one himself, and deliberately made it very dry-sounding.
Lyrically, it’s just as light-hearted. “It doesn’t have this hugely profound meaning. It’s just an honest song from this time in my life. Kind of like a midpoint between leaving school and childhood and coming into my adulthood, or whatever. This song is just about how, in order to go forward, you have to lose a lot of things as well.”
Recommended as well:
Alfie Templeman – Happiness In Liquid Form
Alfie Templeman – Tragic Love
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.
album track, wildcardWildcard (week 25):
disco | indie | pop
Wildcard (week 25):
Hoshi feat. Corine – Larmes De Croco
In the last few years, two female artists rose to the top of the French charts from out of nowhere. Both of them featured multiple times on Carte Blanche Music: Hoshi (Mathide Gerner) and Corine (Aurore Imbert).
So far, these two phenomena each operated in their own genres, but things have changed. Hoshi just released her sophomore album Sommeil Levant, which is more produced than her debut Il Suffit D’y Croire. It contains more synths, which pulls its sound more towards Corine’s disco-pop.
Hoshi and Corine fans will be delighted to hear the album contains a duet between their favourites. Unsurprisingly, this collaboration between two of France’s biggest contemporary talents sounds exactly the way you hoped. A full on electro-pop song, Larmes De Croco (‘crocodile tears’) is the best possible mix of Hoshi’s and Corine’s musical universes. Four minutes of fun!
Although it’s not a single (yet), it’s the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Hoshi – Amour Censure
Hoshi – Je Vous Trouve Un Charme Fou
In the Wildcards 2020 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.
album trackindie | pop | tropical
Lola Le Lann – Portofino
Lola Le Lann is the daughter of French actress Valérie Stroh and trumpet player Eric Le Lann. In 2015, at the age of 19, she entered the French cinema world herself. In the film Un Moment D’égarement (‘a wild moment’) she played one of the leading roles.
A few films later, she decided to return to her first love: music. She’s been playing the piano as of a young age. Le Lann just released her debut EP Glaz. It features 5 different songs (and an acoustic version of its first single Lola À L’eau).
One of those songs is Portofino, which fits perfectly in a great tradition of French songs from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Soft beats, perky percussion, a funky guitar, Caribbean sounds, they’re all there. And then of course, there are Le Lann’s seductive Vanessa Paradis-like vocals.
Portofino was co-written and co-produced by Yohann Malory, whose great single Morceaux De Toi (feat. Yseult) I featured here last January.
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.
album trackelectronic | pop
Dagny – Coulda Woulda Shoulda
Ever since releasing her debut single Backbeat in October 2015, Norwegian songstress Dagny Sandvik has been promising us an album. However, she hasn’t delivered yet and keeps the excitement going. So far, she delivered the Ultraviolet EP in 2016, and four years on, here’s her second EP Strangers/Lovers. Together, the two hold 11 songs, which could be considered an album. Fair enough then 😉
On her website however, the six tracks she just released are described as ‘Side A of my debut album Strangers/Lovers’. I can’t wait for the B-side! Two of these tracks, Come Over and Somebody, have previously been released as singles. But the best track in my opinion is Coulda Woulda Shoulda. They don’t come any catchier than this. Wait for this girl to become one of the future global pop stars.
Recommended as well:
Come Over
Love You Like That
Backbeat
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.
album trackpop | rock
Kailee Morgue – This Is Why I’m Hot
Kailee Morgue just released her second EP Here In Your Bedroom. She says about it: “In female pop, there’s more anger than ever. There are more women screaming and being very forward about how they feel. I love that energy, so I tried to translate the power of older hardcore music into modern production. I realized you can make pop music with a punk spirit and I allowed myself to embrace the attitude.”
This Is Why I’m Hot is my favourite track on the EP. A contagious, rocking, self-confident song that was inspired by Goldfinger. She even named the EP after a favourite Goldfinger song from their self-titled 1996 album. Meanwhile, she also cites Taylor Swift and Halsey as current influences. This results in a bundle of strong pop songs full of attitude and drenched in guitars.
Recommended as well:
Kailee Morgue – Discovery
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.
