Carte Blanche Music

The Howl & The Hum – Hall Of Fame

May 17th, 2019

Sam Griffiths, Bradley Blackwell, Conor Hirons and Jack Williams are a York (UK)-based 4-piece who go by the name The Howl & The Hum. They combine their rumbling, melodic dark pop with post-punk influences, haunting, evocative lyrics, and a hypnotic yet energetic live show. They’ve just finished piecing together their debut album with producer Jolyon Thomas (Slaves, Kendrick Lamar, Royal Blood).

Ahead of it, the band return with their first track of 2019: Hall Of Fame. A song with a soaring chorus, and a sound that lies between The Killers and Keane. Frontman Griffiths calls it “more furious than anything the band have done before.”

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

single track

Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 – I Love You More

May 17th, 2019

In his native Dominican Republic and the rest of the Latino world, Juan Luis Guerra and his band 4.40 are real superstars with the Midas touch. In other territories not everything they touch turns into gold, but they did score some hits along the way. Burbujas De Amor, for instance, is known to us all, I hope? Believe it or not, that was in 1991…

Fast forward to the spring of 2019. Wouldn’t it be great if the king of bachata-merengue had another worldwide hit? Perhaps I Love You More could do the trick. Its lyrics are not only in Spanish (which is considered difficult to sing-along to by most Europeans), but the chorus is in English. Musically, it sounds fully authentic, but also familiar to anyone who ever visited the Caribbean. All in all, it brings out the sun for three minutes.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

latin | pop | tropical

single track

Zuzu – How It Feels

May 16th, 2019

Talented Mersey singer-songwriter Zuzu Stranack has released her biting new single How It Feels. It was written with her guitarist Kurran Karbal, and recorded with producer Jim Abbiss. Mixing pop textures into her signature guitar tunes, it’s a real earworm.

“The song came together really quickly”, she says of the new tune. “We’d written and demoed it within two hours – and sometimes I find the ones I write the quickest turn out to be the ones that mean the most.” She describes the track as “about not giving up on relationships and aspirations, even when things seem to be falling apart. It’s about looking back at past mistakes, learning from them, and maybe even trying to set things right.”

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

pop | rock

single track

Francesco Gabanni – È Un’altra Cosa

May 16th, 2019

Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Francesco Gabbani rose to fame after winning the newcomers’ section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2016. The next year, he went on to win the main section of the festival with the song Occidentali’s Karma. This was his ticket to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. He finished in a respectable 6th place.

Almost two years later, Gabbani is back with a perfect summer song. Its ‘sha-na-na’ chorus is simple and catchy enough to sing-along to, even if you don’t speak Italian. But for those who’d like to know: ‘È Un’altra Cosa’ means ‘It’s something different’.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

pop

single track

Ethel – Rubikscube

May 15th, 2019

This year, it’s 45 years ago that Rubik’s Cube was invented. It came to the market a year later, producing a world-wide craze. Since then, it went on to become the world’s best-selling toy.

All that many years later, the puzzle continues to inspire people. Ethel Ghrenass for instance, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Paris, who is currently based in London, where she just released her first single. Its title? Rubikscube…

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

chanson | pop

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 20):
The Heavy – Fighting For The Same Thing

May 15th, 2019

On 17 May, British rock band The Heavy will release their fifth album Sons. Fighting For The Same Thing is the horn-tinged, electro soul-based, funk-infused new single off it. The song states that progress is only achievable when we all stand together as a unified force.

“Fighting For The Same Thing is a testament to the work that is needed to make the relationships that we consider important in our daily lives, healthier and more fulfilling, whether family, soulmates, partners, or council governments,” says lead singer Kelvin Swaby. “It’s the feeling of knowing the choices and events that affect our idea of a better day, and being part of those decisions, when we become complacent and comfortable, things fall apart and fighting for what’s right, made the future for generations ever brighter action is always required.”

This week, Fighting For The Same Thing by The Heavy features prominently on this blog as 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.

funk | rock | soul

single track

Go Go Berlin – Love Me

May 14th, 2019

Go Go Berlin are a Danish band that was formed in 2010. Since then, they released two albums. Long-player #3 will be out in a few months’ time. It was recently preceded by the EP Proof, which contained four versions of the single Here Comes The Darkness, as well as the track The Ocean.

Now, Love Me is the band’s new single. It came about in a time when the band struggled with writers’ blocks and a feeling of rootlessness. After finishing an extensive tour through the US, Europe and Asia, the band felt empty and lacked inspiration. Despite their band name, Go Go Berlin decided to head to Los Angeles in order to try and recover what had gone missing.

As far as I’m concerned, they found it in a studio on Sunset Strip, where they recorded Love Me.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

pop | rock

single track

Phantom Isle – Four Walls

May 14th, 2019

What do songs like Somebody Told Me by The Killers, Let It Happen by Tame Impala and Paddling Out by Miike Snow have in common? They’re all stadium filling indie anthems. We can now add Four Walls by Phanton Isle to that list.

Short introduction: Phantom Isle are five siblings and childhood friends, who were raised in Northampton but are now based in London. They produce a modern take on old-school rock, that blends soaring vocals with heavy guitars and synths, and doesn’t lack ambition.

They may currently feel trapped between four walls, but they’re destined to break out…

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

indie | pop | rock

single track

Narda – Love Me Long

May 13th, 2019

Between 2005 and 2013, Dutch brother and sister Radboud en Narda Miedema were writing, recording and performing their own songs in their band Somesay. After releasing the album One Of A Kind and follow-up EP In Bloom, Radboud decided to step out of the limelight to fully focus on song-writing, and successfully so: he (co)wrote Reality by Lost Frequencies & Janieck Devy among many other hits, and started his own music publishing company Roseville. Meanwhile, Narda continued to play live, now as a solo artist, in small bars, restaurants and concert halls, with her loyal companions: a piano and a guitar.

But now, the two are working together again. Narda just released her debut single. A delicate jazzy song, which she wrote herself and was produced by Radboud, who also played upright bass on the track. It’s called Love Me Long, although the plea is less than 2 minutes short.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

jazz | pop

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 20)

May 13th, 2019

This is Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:

Aldo Vanucci feat. Kylie Auldist – Get A Hold On This (Wildcard this week)
The Cheap Thrills – Smile When You Sleep (Wildcard last week)
Gemme – Sweet Harmony
Imani Coppola – Rattle
Swimming Girls – 1 2 Many
Ten Tonnes – Counting Down

Click the links for more info and 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. Also added last week: Juan Luis Guerra 4:40, Nek, Phil Collins, and many more.

123 4 5

Twitter

Facebook

The Howl & The Hum – Hall Of Fame

Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 – I Love You More

Zuzu – How It Feels

Francesco Gabanni – È Un’altra Cosa

Ethel – Rubikscube

Wildcard (week 20):
The Heavy – Fighting For The Same Thing

Go Go Berlin – Love Me

Phantom Isle – Four Walls

Narda – Love Me Long

Werner’s Weekly (week 20)

Wildcard (week 21)

Werner’s Weekly (week 22)

Spotify playlist

Social Media

Subscribe via email

Categories

Twitter

Facebook

Wildcard (week 21)

Werner’s Weekly (week 22)

Spotify playlist

Social Media

Subscribe via email

Categories

Tags

Privacy Overview

Strictly Necessary Cookies