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The Black Keys – Shine A Little Light

July 5th, 2019

When they finished touring their 2014 album Turn Blue, The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach said he had become so alienated from his job, that he could play to a huge crowd without thinking about what he was doing. The five-year break that followed, allowed and Patrick Carney him to focus again. Last week, the band returned with their tenth album “Let’s Rock”.

According to Auerbach, the inspiration for the album’s title was a news story regarding the execution of convicted murderer Edmund Zagorski that he read while the band was recording the album. When asked for any last words before his execution, Zagorski reportedly told the guard, “Let’s rock”, before being executed via the electric chair. This also explains the prominent placing of the death machine on the album’s artwork.

Not wasting any time, the record opens with a track that’s a firm favourite of mine. Shine A Little Light immediately shows the double meaning of the album title. It has the kind of great riff the band are popular for. Hard on the one hand, but irresistibly poppy on the other. This would make a great single!

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

single track

K.Flay – Not In California

July 5th, 2019

The ‘10s are the era where constantly keeping yourself in the picture is almost more important than giving your songs the time to grow into hits. Just weeks after K.Flay’s great single Sister was the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, she already drops a new tune. Not In California is the fourth and final instant grat track to be taken off her forthcoming album Solutions, due out on 12 July.

The song bears all of K.Flay’s trademarks, like her raspy voice, the Weezer-like guitars, and a huge sing-along chorus. Speaking about Not In California, the singer says: “We’re not in Kansas anymore. I think we all know that sensation. Of being in a place that resembles the world you know, but feels different somehow and the difference is unsettling and disorienting and scary. Kinda makes you wanna click your shoes together and go back home to how it used to be.”

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

electronic | pop | rock

single track

The LaFontaines – Switch Out The Light

July 4th, 2019

The LaFontaines are one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Scotland in recent years. Their new single Switch Out The Light, the latest track to be taken from their just-released album Junior, is further proof of that.

The song combines infectious melodies with hard-hitting verses from frontman Kerr Okan. The track’s message of destroying the traits that prevent becoming a better person are underlined in the alarming video.

About the video, Kerr says: “With Switch Out The Light we find ourselves assuming the role of the underdog set against a backdrop of extreme circumstances. Visually it’s the darkest video we’ve ever created but the song in contrast, is a rousing call to arms aimed to ignite the fire within the underdog.”
Talking about the single, he adds: “This is the song I feel represents our band the most. Capturing the energy of what we do live and beating you over the head with it for three minutes and forty-nine seconds.”

Now, if you’ll allow me an unlikely (but accurate) comparison: the opening lines of Switch Out The Light bear a striking resemblance with Coldplay’s 2015 smash Hymn For The Weekend…

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

hip hop | indie | rock

single track

Aṣa – Good Thing

July 4th, 2019

Aṣa Bukola Elemide was born in Paris to Nigerian parents. They returned to live in Nigeria when she was two, but 20 years later, Asa returned to Paris, where her musical career took off. Her artist name Aṣa (pronounced as ‘Asja’) means ‘hawk’ in the Yoruba language.

Last May, she broke a five-year silence with her single The Beginning. With the quick follow-up Good Thing, which is equal parts soul and jazz, she keeps the vibe going. Let’s hope a new album (her fourth) is not far away…

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

jazz | pop | soul

single track

Ali Barter – Backseat

July 3rd, 2019

When Ali Barter released her debut album A Suitable Girl in 2017, following three EP’s, I thought it was a great record. It spawned the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard Girlie Bits, for instance. Despite the long-player’s success however, it filled the Australian singer-songwriter with insecurity, even leading up to her decision never to write again. Thankfully, she changed her mind…

18 October, Barter will put out her second album Hello, I’m Doing My Best, the title of which is self-explanatory. Backseat is her new single. Billed as Ali’s first ever love song, she wrote it about meeting her producer/collaborator/boyfriend Oscar Dawson (a member of the band Holy Holy). He also features in the song’s hilarious video.

Barter explains: “Backseat is about admiring someone from afar and then falling in love. I had this idea of a clip that was kinda like ‘True Romance’ crossed with ‘Misery’. How love can make you a bit crazy and how sometimes we smother love with our love. The clip is about two awkward people that get together one night at a bar. A girl admires a boy from afar but when she meets him they are so clumsy and over eager that they end up injuring each other during a late night jam session. It’s just like love really. A mess.”

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

indie | pop | rock

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 27):
Miki Núñez – Celébrate

July 3rd, 2019

By winning Spanish TV talent show Operación Triunfo, Miguel ‘Miki’ Núñez Pozo was selected to represent his country at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. With the song La Venda he only ended 22nd, but all of that could be forgotten if his new single becomes the international (summer) hit I think it should be.

Celébrate is an ode to good, healthy living, but if you don’t speak Spanish, it’s still a great, uplifting ska-pop anthem. A well-produced song with horns, acoustic guitars and all of the other elements that bring out the sun.

Miki Núñez’ new single is the best way to celebrate the summer. Therefore, it’s 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.

latin | pop | ska

single track

Pat Dam Smyth – Last King

July 2nd, 2019

Remember Pat Dam Smyth? He featured here two years ago with his single Juliette. A long time in the making, he just announced his second album The Last King. It was mixed by Bad Seeds drummer Jim Sclavunos, who also provided additional production, and will be released on 5 July.

Last King is the title track and lead single from the new album. The song was written at the very last moment; the night before the album sessions began. It tells the tale of a character who has ignored all advice from his people and his advisors, destroyed the world and will take none of the blame. The parallel with failing leaders in the modern western world, who cannot or will not hear their people, is strikingly evident.

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

indie | pop

single track

The Franklin Electric – Made It Up In Your Head

July 2nd, 2019

Montreal indie pop band The Franklin Electric may not be a household name just yet, but they’re working on it. You may already have seen them live as support act for the likes of Mumford & Sons and Ben Howard.

On 2 August, they’ll release a new EP, In Your Head, and the first single is available already. Made It Up In Your Head serves as a reminder that loving yourself can be the best way to get out of anxiety’s spiral. In the video, this is represented by the metaphor of a trip to California.

Frontman Jon Matte: “Life sometimes feels surreal and dream-like and there’s no better place to represent that than the desert and the hazy los Angeles. We all know how it feels to be stuck in a spiral of ideas we’ve made up in our heads. For me, being able to explore and discover things is a way to get out of my head. It’s something I try to do as much as possible, even on tour. So we decided to simply capture that idea with a dreamy cinematic feel.”

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

indie | pop

chart

Your favourites (June 2019)

July 1st, 2019

As you probably know by now, Carte Blanche Music is about new music only. But apparently my recommendations sometimes come a little early. Perhaps too early for some of you. Therefore, it’s very gratifying to see that some of my tips from months ago are only being picked up now. Okay, my recommendation of Roi by Videoclub has been massively popular ever since it was published, back in January, and is still by far the piece that was read the most in the month of June. But another song in French, Toukassé by Shanguy (which was a Carte Blanche Music Wildcard in March), is only starting to be appreciated now. I’m sure the hot weather plays a role in this, as it’s an ultimate summer song.

Talking about potential summer hits: (Yo No Soy Tu) Nena by Mamacita (feat. Didy & Roy Paci) was one of Your Favourites in June as well.

The full Top 10 is below. All of these tracks, and about 550 more, are in my continuously updated 2019 container playlist Carte Blanche Music.

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 27)

July 1st, 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:

Videoclub – En Nuit (Wildcard this week)
Flay – Sister (Wildcard last week)
Alex Lahey – Isabella
Alfie Templeman – Tragic Love
Annie Hamilton – Kitchen
Ariana & The Rose – True Love
Maggie Lindemann feat. Travis Barker – Friends Go

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: Álvaro Soler, Heather Nova, Sigrid, Two Door Cinema Club, and many more.

chanson | electronic | indie | pop | rock

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The Black Keys – Shine A Little Light

K.Flay – Not In California

The LaFontaines – Switch Out The Light

Aṣa – Good Thing

Ali Barter – Backseat

Wildcard (week 27):
Miki Núñez – Celébrate

Pat Dam Smyth – Last King

The Franklin Electric – Made It Up In Your Head

Your favourites (June 2019)

Werner’s Weekly (week 27)

Wildcard (week 29)

Werner’s Weekly (week 29)

Spotify playlist

Social Media

Subscribe via email

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Twitter

Facebook

Wildcard (week 29)

Werner’s Weekly (week 29)

Spotify playlist

Social Media

Subscribe via email

Categories

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