Browsing Category wildcard
Wildcard (week 4):
Sigrid – Don’t Feel Like Crying
Since her 2017 debut single Don’t Kill My Vibe earned Sigrid Solbakk Raabe a European Border Breakers Award the year after, she continued to score hits like Strangers, High Five and, most recently, Sucker Punch. All of them are expected to appear on the Norwegian singer’s first album Sucker Punch, that will be out in March.
Ahead of the long player, Sigrid provides us with one more taster. A great sophisticated pop song. Don’t Feel Like Crying deserves to be as big a hit as Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe, for instance.
“There’s a certain grace to heartache,” Sigrid says of the new track. “A sort of… epic grace! I like good, heartfelt pop songs.” So do I, that’s why Don’t Feel Like Crying is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 3):
Jon Tessier – For A Little Eye Candy
Jon Tessier is a Brazilian-French singer-songwriter and music producer, who spent childhood and most of his teenage years in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The last three years however, he’s been working on his music from Ibiza (Spain) and Paris (France).
He draws inspiration from a diverse range of musical heroes, including Mötley Crüe, Depeche Mode, The Doors, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers as well as the Brazilian bossa nova artist João Gilberto. None of them are overtly present in the music Tessier makes himself, which can be described as guitar-driven pop music with an alternative rock edge. A new artist with a fresh sound, that I like very much.
For A Little Eye Candy, Jon Tessier’s new single, is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means it features prominently on this blog for seven full days.
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 2):
Lizzo – Juice
Lizzo’s most recent single Boys ended in the Carte Blanche Music Top 2018. Now, the Minneapolis singer/rapper is back with an equally infectious single.
Juice is a self-confident, funky, danceable jam, with eighties-flavoured synths, a bass line and percussion from the same era, and horns that provide the finishing touch.
Also, be sure to check the song’s video, where Lizzo stars in an ’80s-style workout program, goes on a late-night talk show, sells products on an infomercial, and more.
Juice is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 1):
The Lottery Winners – That’s Not Entertainment
Let me start the new year with a song from late 2018, that was criminally overlooked by… well, everybody really. Including me. And being overlooked isn’t going to win this band the lottery, so I’d better set things straight…
The Lottery Winners are a British four-piece, formed in 2008 by Thom Rylance (vocals/guitar), Robert Lally (guitar/vocals), Katie Lloyd (bass/vocals), and Joe Singleton (drums). They were signed to Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Records, by music mogul Seymour Stein in 2016.
After releasing a few singles throughout the years, and extensive touring late 2016 and early 2017, the band are now working on their debut album. That’s Not Entertainment is the first, rather brilliant single off it, and it deserves to be a hit. For starters, it’s the first Carte Blanche Music Wildcard of 2019!
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 52):
Mokono – Signs
Georgia Lee (vocals), Charlie English (guitar), Annabel Thornton (keys), Ross Millar (bass), and Ben Lester (drums) met at university, where they decided to start a musical project together. The Southampton-based band, which they called Mokono, spent last year playing gigs in the South of England and just released their highly anticipated debut single.
Signs is a great, groovy introduction of a band that calls their music ‘psychedelic soul’, but at the same time incorporates complex jazz structures, and elements of funk and world music into their sound. As far as one can determine such things after hearing only one song, that is…
In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 51):
Babyteeth – Cocoon
As far as Babyteeth are concerned, 2018 goes out with a bang. On the doorstep of the new year, the London-based 5-piece deliver one of the finest rock songs of 2018. Cocoon reminds me of some of my favourite 90’s rock acts (from Fiona Apple to Garbage), with a tight and modern production.
Influenced by grunge and punk rock and inspired by strong female artists and role models, Babyteeth say about their new single: “Cocoon is about how we’re sometimes addicted to making bad choices because they’re the more exciting. It’s also about how powerful it can be to decide to feel gratitude for all the shitty experiences, as they’ve turned you into a stronger version of yourself. It’s about personal rebirth, and remaking.”
These sentiments are reflected in the black and white video that comes with the song. On this blog, however, we highlight Babyteeth in full-colour, for Cocoon is this week’s new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 50):
I Wear* Experiment – Almere
I Wear* Experiment just released their new EP Jupiterz. It features the Estonian electro-pop trio’s sadly overseen single Dogs and recent follow-up Almere. They wrote the latter tune on some free days in between concerts, in the Dutch city of Almere, where their manager lives. Almere used to be the song’s working title, but the band decided to stick with it. That’s why the title isn’t mentioned in the song’s lyrics at all.
Hot on the heels of their new EP, Johanna Eenma, Hando Jaksi, and Mikk Simson put out a video for Almere. A great song, which isn’t strange, knowing the band cite Chvrches’ edgy big banger beats and Florence & The Machine’s graceful vocals among their influences.
This week, Almere by I Wear* Experiment is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it features here prominently for seven whole days!
In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 49):
The Vaccines – All My Friends Are Falling In Love
The Vaccines have never been caught writing a song that was not catchy, but with their new one, they raise the bar of catchiness.
The band released their fourth album Combat Sports only in March of this year, but All My Friends Are Falling In Love is a new tune altogether. It came about after frontman Justin Hayward-Young joined forces with songwriter Cole MGN. They penned a track that combines The Vaccines’s distinct guitar-led sound with infectious bubblegum pop choruses. Long-term followers of the band will be familiar with the song, as they already played it live. The recorded version is an anthemic offering, that manages to capture the live energy.
This week, All My Friends Are Falling In Love by The Vaccines provides a welcome counterpoise to the grey days of Autumn. This joyful single is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 48):
The Lighthouse – Catch Fire
Last week, I introduced you to The Lighthouse’s new single. In the meantime, this great song really ‘caught fire’ with me (pun intended). Therefore, Catch Fire is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard! This means that The Lighthouse, as a true beacon, will feature prominently on the site for a whole week, shining its light upon all of us.
The Lighthouse are 5 Belgian guys who share the love of melodically well-written pop songs. They describe their musical cocktail of polyphonic vocals, guitars, keys and swinging drums as ‘songs that feel like Fridays’.
So far, the band put out two EPs: the self-released Let’s Make A Scene, and Joyride, which was backed by Sony Music. Despite the latter EP’s success, and the doors it opened to stages, festivals and radio stations in Belgium and abroad, The Lighthouse decided to go back to the indie-route for upcoming releases. Their debut album is already planned for the autumn of 2019.
In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can 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.
Wildcard (week 47):
Starcrawler – Hollywood Ending
Ever since their debut single Ants, L.A. garage rockers Starcrawler had a rollercoaster of a year. The band, fronted by maniacal and bloodthirsty teenage singer Arrow de Wilde, released their rousing self-titled debut album, toured with the likes of Foo Fighters and the Distillers, and won praise from big-name fans such as Garbage’s Shirley Manson.
Next up is their brand new single, which was produced by Ryan Adams and has an intro that reminds me of Todd Rundgren’s classic I Saw The Light. “Hollywood Ending is my version of a prayer,” de Wilde says. “In the song I pray for ‘The End.’ The end of being lied to, toyed with, the end of false friendships and relationships. I’m begging for a clean start. Let me walk into the light.”
Let me start by putting the spotlights on the singer, her band and their single this week. Hollywood Ending by Starcrawler is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can 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.
