Browsing Category wildcard
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.
Wildcard (week 46):
Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry
Full disclosure: Danish-born, Holland-based Jonas Brøg is not only a very talented singer-songwriter, drummer and producer, he’s also a friend of mine. A guy that I knew as happy and light-hearted. Then, three years ago, he sunk into a depression. It was (and is) heart-breaking to see his sadness, especially since there appears to be no reason for it; he crafts great songs with an extreme ear for details, he has a wonderful wife, a beautiful child… and this damned depression…
Lucky for him, Jonas also has his music. He picked up drumming again, stopped (temporarily, I hope!) producing songs for others and started writing for himself, as a therapy. However delicate his own songs are, he decided to share them for the first time, taking us along on his journey back into the light. And with his character and attitude, I’m very confident he’ll get there!
Jonas is not the only talented musician in the Brøg family. On a holiday in Denmark, he was stunned when he heard his 15-year-old niece Laura Mathilde sing. He convinced her to sing on one of his songs and the result is breath-taking. As Jonas explains: “Although merely 15 years young at the time of recording this song, I’m convinced her soul is older than a few thousand years and I personally love the depth of her voice.”
This final version of I Think Of You I Cry may very well be its 50th incarnation. Jonas is a perfectionist and he tweaks his songs endlessly. In my ears, he reached perfection this time, with distorted synth notes, a dry drum sound, beautiful string arrangements, captivating vocals, and lyrics about a destructive, half-hearted, jealous and unhealthy kind of love. For you didn’t expect this to be an optimistic song, did you? 😉
If you like Hooverphonic (whom I adore), you should definitely listen to I Think Of You I Cry by Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde. It’s this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it’s only one mouse click away for a whole week.
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 45):
Jade Bird – Love Has All Been Done Before
Ever since her debut single Cathedral, I’ve been a Jade Bird fan. She started her career singing covers of songs by the likes of Pixies, Beyoncé and Drake, but switched to originals upon the release of her debut EP Something American, in the summer of 2017.
Last August, her single Uh Huh was a Carte Blanche Music Wildcard and later that month, I witnessed her live with only her guitar and great voice at the Lowlands festival. She came, saw and conquered. Alas, Dutch radio was probably looking the other way at the moment, but thanks to support from radio stations in northern Europe, Uh Huh is currently a well-deserved Top 3 hit in the European Border Breakers Charts.
Without further ado, Jade Bird just released her new single Love Has All Been Done Before, a tune that goes down well at her concerts as well. The song starts off sweet enough, but already after a few lines, there’s no more holding back and the track builds up to an explosive chorus. Sounding like she ate a handful of gravel, Love Has All Been Done Before is easily her most energetic and rocky single to date.
While we’re eagerly awaiting Bird’s debut album to land early in 2019, we give her new single wings by making it her second Carte Blanche Music Wildcard in a row.
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 44):
The Proclaimers – Then It Comes To Me
Who cares about the music everybody likes? Just listen to the music you like! That’s why playlists are so much more fun than charts these days: you hit play, and all you get are killers, no fillers. My mission with Carte Blanche Music is to provide you with great new music (both by emerging and known bands), and hopefully inspire you to add it to your (radio or Spotify) playlist.
Recently, I recommended album track You Make Me Happy by The Proclaimers. This week, Charlie and Craig Reid make me happy with the official new single off their latest album Angry Cyclist. Then It Comes To Me opens as a ballad, but the lads up the tempo 40 seconds into the song, only to burst into a folk rock tune pur sang another 40 seconds later. It’s one of the best four to the floor tracks of the year so far, and 31 years into their career, the Scottish twins are still in excellent voice.
Although they managed to become successful, The Proclaimers have never really been fashionable. This new single probably won’t become a hit, but as said: who cares about the music everybody likes? Me, for one, I adore the duo, as well a Then It Comes To Me. Therefore, I made it this week’s 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.
