Carte Blanche Music

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:

Laura Mac – Garage Full Of Dreams (Wildcard this week)
Carla Wehbe – Hurts To Love You (Wildcard last week)
Palace Winter – Slasher
Pinegrove – Alaska
Royal & The Serpent – I’m Not Sorry

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: Adele, Bloc Party, eels, Ladyhawke, and more.

single track

Moretti – D’ya Care?

November 27th, 2021

Moretti are a rock band from Bradford, UK. Jack Duffy (vocals/guitar), Cameron Bagnall (guitar/vocals) and Alex Marsh (bass) are childhood friends, while Brad Dransfield (drums) and Matt Armstrong (guitar) joined in later. In true DIY spirit, they write and produce their songs themselves.

They cite Oasis, Stone Roses, Blink-182, James, David Bowie and Suede as their influences. A great bunch! Personally, I think Guns N’ Roses should be in that list as well, for new single D’ya Care? bears more than a little resemblance to Sweet Child O’ Mine. But isn’t that one of the best inspirations a rock band can have?

D’ya Care? is an anthemic, driving song with ‘90s style rock riffs and a powerful rhythm section. Armstrong describes it as ‘the band’s manifesto’. “It incorporates everything we are about: big sound, big chorus. It asks the question D’ya Care? because we want the audience to think about what is important to them and their lives.”

Follow Moretti on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | rock

album track

Deap Vally – Phoenix

November 27th, 2021

Ten years ago, Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards formed Deap Vally in Los Angeles. Mixing hard rock with greasy blues riffs, their sound sat somewhere between The White Stripes and The Black Keys. This landed them support slots for the likes of Muse, Peaches, Wolfmother, The Vaccines, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Following their debut single End Of The World in 2012, they released three full length albums. Last week, record #4, Marriage came out. Included are assorted tracks from the band’s 2021 EP’s Digital Dream and American Cockroach plus eight completely new ones. Also, the album features guest appearances of KT Tunstall, Peaches, Jennie Vee and jennylee.

The best of the 12 songs however, is Phoenix. It pairs Deap Vally’s trademark blues-rock with a danceable groove and a slinky synth motif. With a chorus that goes ‘Nothing’s gonna take me down / Nothing’s gonna break my crown / As long as I can breathe / Nothing’s gonna stop me’, it’s a classic, self-confident American ode to the power of the self.

Follow Deap Vally on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | pop | rock

single track

Blonde Diamond – Red Flags

November 27th, 2021

Even though they don’t have any huge hits to their name (yet), you may still know Vancouver-based band Blonde Diamond. They’ve supported bands like Portugal. The Man, Broken Social Scene, Bishop Briggs and Chromeo on tours across Canada, Europe, Australia, the US and India. The alt-pop group’s eagerly awaited debut album is expected in 2022.

Their full-length’s first single sheds light on abusive relationships. “Red Flags is a retrospective of moments leading up to the realization that a seemingly fairytale romance has slowly evolved into a dark, twisted, and manipulative stronghold”, says lead singer Alexis Young. “It’s the moment of clarity: realizing that walking away is stronger than trying to tough it out. And more importantly, understanding that you cannot try to fix someone else at the expense of your own well-being.”

With its energetic drums, sparkly keys, dreamy guitars, slinky bass and intimate vocals, Red Flags is a trademark Blonde Diamond track.

Follow Blonde Diamond on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | pop

single track

Dead Anyway – Space Dust

November 27th, 2021

Writing a long article isn’t that hard. All you’ve got to do is pour out all of your ideas and combine them in one piece. Making your point in a short article however is much more complicated. It forces you to really choose your words carefully and only include your strongest arguments. As far as I’m concerned, the same goes for songs. Short songs (provided they’re crafted by great musicians, of course) often cut the deepest.

Enter Dead Anyway. Kate Arnold (lyrics/vocals) and Marc Symonds (beats/instruments) are currently two of Britain’s most prolific artists. If you think: ‘I betcha, their songs are 2 minutes on average’, I’m afraid you didn’t catch my drift. Creating a short track can easily take more time than a long one.

In the case of the duo’s new single Space Dust, the lyrics are as witty and humorous as ever. Musically, they chose a driving jazzy drum beat, piano and percussion for a back drop. This way, once again, Symonds found a highly effective way to highlight Arnolds poetry. In 97 seconds, it’s all over. Thank God for the repeat button. Let’s hope Adele doesn’t kill it…

Listening to Space Dust, The Jackal by Ronny Jordan feat. Dana Bryant (1993) came to mind. You might like that one as well. But: listen to Space Dust first!

Recommended as well:
Dead Anyway – Pigs In Blankets

Follow Dead Anyway on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | jazz | rock | spoken word

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 47):
Laura Mac – Garage Full Of Dreams

November 24th, 2021

You’ve got debut singles, and then you’ve got DEBUT SINGLES. Garage Full Of Dreams by Laura Mac easily falls in the latter category.

Laura Mac is a brand-new duo from the Australian Sunshine Coast, consisting of Laura MacLachlan and Zachary Connelly. They call their big red tour bus their official third member. That’s the place where the couple wrote this song, record their demos and spend most of their time. Zac writes all the music and then Laura throws in the occasional bass line and puts vocals down over the top.

The band subsequently took their demo to a real studio, where Luke Williams (Dead Letter Circus) was enlisted to play the drums. Ian Peres (ex-Wolfmother) played the keys. The result is an energetic fun track with sunny verses and a guitar-heavy chorus. Despite the busy, rocky backdrop, Laura’s powerful voice cuts through the music like a knife.

In an interview with Good Call Live, the band’s front-woman says about Garage Full Of Dreams: “You know how some people have to work really hard for things that other people have given to them for free? That’s kind of what this song is about. That and cool cars! I sing about all these cool cars when in reality I drive the world’s most beat up Toyota Camry. When I got the car it was rancid and had 5000 cockroaches in it. It’s clean now but has subsequently been nicknamed ‘The Roach’.”

This whole week, Garage Full Of Dreams by Laura Mac will feature here prominently as our Carte Blanche Music Wildcard.

Follow Laura Mac on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

indie | pop | rock

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 47)

November 22nd, 2021

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:

Carla Wehbe – Hurts To Love You (Wildcard this week)
Foals – Wake Me Up (Wildcard last week)
Archie X – Fight Me
Blu DeTiger – Blondes
G Flip feat. Upsahl – Scream
Lizzie Esau – Bitter Weather
Nilüfer Yanya – Stabilise

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: Alessia Cara, David Bowie, Sea Girls, and more.

single track

Mother Culture – Drawing By Design

November 20th, 2021

Mother Culture are a duo from Melbourne, consisting of brothers Darcy and Spencer Ward. They fully embrace the DIY ethos, writing, recording and producing all of their music independently in their home studio.

After releasing their first three singles in 2018, 2019 and 2020, they speeded up things considerably. 2020 also saw the release of the duo’s first EP To Be Frank, followed by two brand-new songs this year. Now, Mother Culture add a third one to that list.

Drawing By Design opens acoustically, but builds into a groovy indie rocker full of hooks and fuzzy guitars. This way, the instrumental follows the song’s lyrics, which deal with the end of a relationship and the weight of emotional doubts that come with it.

Explaining the title, the brothers say: “To be ‘drawing by design’ is to act without thinking, and this song is about how it feels to be with someone who behaves that way.”

Follow Mother Culture on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify

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

indie | pop | rock

single track

Anish Kumar & Barry Can’t Swim – Blackpool Boulevard

November 20th, 2021

This one’s for the dance floor. Last summer, Anish Kumar and Barry Can’t Swim were sending ideas, early demos and voice notes back and forth, which resulted in this banger. Blackpool Boulevard is a sample-heavy, funky disco tune with a great piano part and a Communards-like beat.

Kumar is not only a veterinary medicine student, but also a promising producer, fond of samples, Motown and Northern Soul. Meanwhile, Barry Can’t Swim is a rising artist with a knack for putting a summertime spin on jazz-inflected house. When you listen to their great collab, you can hear both their influences in it.

Blackpool Boulevard is an instrumental for now, but I can imagine someone putting vocals to it. That would be interesting, but not strictly necessary. It’s great in its current form as well.

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

disco | funk | indie | instrumental | pop

single track

Highasakite – Love Him Anyway

November 20th, 2021

With over 200 million Spotify streams to their name, Highasakite are one of the most popular Norwegian bands on the platform. The duo consists of singer and songwriter Ingrid Helene Håvik and drummer Trond Bersu. They got to know each other during their jazz study at the Trondheim Jazz Conservatory. Their debut album All That Floats Will Rain came out in 2012. Revered by music journalists in Norway and abroad, they broke many sales and airplay records.

Ahead of their new album Mother, due out on 28 January 2022, they started releasing new music. These songs come in pairs. Following last September’s Tell Her Yourself and Keep It Alive, they just put out Love Him Anyway and Autopsy. The former is my favourite.

For Love Him Anyway, Highasakite intended to create a ‘70s-like sound that would also fit in the modern age. This resulted in a percussive song with catchy vocal melodies. Mission accomplished!

Follow Highasakite on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | pop

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