Carte Blanche Music

When Archie X released their debut single Loud Boy, 15 months ago, the pandemic was in full swing. Only ten months later, the Belgian duo were able to do their first ever live show. Core members Charline D’Hoore and Tom Lodewyckx didn’t only do so in a full band set-up, they even managed to play pop temple Ancienne Belgique. Quite honestly, the performance didn’t draw a full house. More precisely, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, there was no crowd at all. However, since the concert was livestreamed, many people enjoyed the gig from their homes. If you haven’t seen it already, the full show is here.

I was one of these viewers, and of the new tracks they played, Fight Me struck me in particular. Now, five months later, it’s Archie X’s new single. A track full of suspense, partly thanks to the sultry bass that’s become one of the band’s trademarks. An oriental-sounding synth melody adds to the atmosphere. The lack of a real climax only makes you want to hear it over and over again.

Recommended as well:
Archie X – Karma Sucks
Archie X – Loud Boy

Follow Archie X on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify

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

pop

single track

Harper Bloom – Sydney Road

November 13th, 2021

If you need more cowbell, try Harper Bloom’s new single Sydney Road. Other prominent elements in this sunny song are the ukulele, a catchy chorus and honest lyrics. The track is a homage to the suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne, where the singer-songwriter used to live.

“Sydney Road was written at a time when I was moving out of Brunswick in Melbourne’s 2020 lockdown and reminiscing on all the amusing experiences I’d had on Sydney Road, making amazing memories with strangers”, Bloom explains. “The song is based around myself and a neighbour I had at the time. We are both lonely in different ways, and we are from completely different walks of life, but I reached out to her and we formed a unique and unlikely friendship which has become both incredibly valuable and rewarding.”

The video that comes with the single was shot on the first day out of the Melbourne lockdown in 2021. Filming took place on Sydney Road, obviously.

Recommended as well:
Harper Bloom – Walk My Way

Follow Harper Bloom on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

folk | indie | pop

single track

MeLLLo – Hunt You Down

November 13th, 2021

Following her great single Crown, MeLLLo is back with another huge song. Both lyrically and musically dark and atmospheric, it’s called Hunt You Down. In line with this, the track is sung in a voice that matches the ice cold electronics, in a Robyn kind of way. The real surprise here is the Madam Butterfly-like opera fragment. It gives the tune an extra sophisticated touch.

MeLLLo is the solo project of vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marianthi Melitsi. Together with Sophie Sarigiannidou she forms Marsheaux, a synthpop duo from Athens, Greece.

Recommended as well:
MeLLLo – Crown

Follow MeLLLo on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | pop

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 45):
Foals – Wake Me Up

November 10th, 2021

In 2022, Oxford band Foals will release its seventh album. It’ll be their first album as a trio, following keyboard player Edwin Congreave’s departure of the band to pursue a postgraduate degree in economics. A title, tracklisting and release date are still under wraps, but first single Wake Me Up is out now.

The track reveals a slightly different musical direction for the band. Adding funky guitars to their trademark syncopated rhythms and catchy hooks, Wake Me Up sounds like The Clash meets Chic. Frontman Yannis Phillipakis explains: ”There’s a journey that the band has gone on experimenting with different palettes of sound. This time there was a desire to take it back to more of the initial idea of the band where the rhythm, the grooves and the guitars are interlocking architecturally. We wanted to tap into the physicality of music. And we wanted it to feel good.”

About the single, he adds: “With Wake Me Up, I just wanted to write a song about transporting yourself to a better, idyllic situation. I think we all had that feeling of the last eighteen months being like a weird fever dream that felt surreal but very affecting. I think we all wished we could have woken up somewhere else at various points.”

The track was produced by John Hill (Portugal The Man, Florence & The Machine, Cage The Elephant). He also co-produced the rest of the upcoming album, together with Dan Carey (Tame Impala, Fontaines D.C.).

This week, Wake Me Up by Foals is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. This means it’ll feature here prominently for a full seven days.

Follow Foals on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

pop | rock

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 45)

November 8th, 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:

Smith & Thell – Pixie’s Parasol (Wildcard this week)
Hope Tala – Tiptoeing (Wildcard last week)
ella jane – Calling Card
Mike Posner – Amor Fati
Päter – Obstinate Brain
Pattern Pusher – Another Girl
Salt Ashes – Lucy

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: Foxes, Franz Ferdinand, Paul Weller, and more.

funk | indie | pop | rock

single track

Who Parked The Car – Candle Dance

November 6th, 2021

Who Parked The Car are eight schooled musicians from Paris, who only formed their band late last year. In only six months’ time, they wrote and recorded their debut album Mad Weather, Good Friends. Set for release in Spring 2022, it’s a collection of songs that blends pop, jazz and funk music. A record that sounds like a fiery jam session.

First single Candle Dance is a great example of what to expect. It’s rich, infectious and groovy, and almost impossible not to dance to. Lyrically, it’s about not giving up. Even when the situation is really bad, things can get better if you stay positive. If you like bands like Brand New Heavies or early Jamiroquai (especially when playing live), this is for you. Talking of which: the music has been composed to be performed live and bring good energies to the audience.

The band consists of Thomas Salvatore (vocals, piano and keyboards), Laura Wamba (vocals), Sebastián Muñoz (saxophone, flute), Félix Reneault (saxophone), César Aouillé (guitar), Ludo Prieur (bass), Malo Ropers (percussions) and Alejandro Dixon (drums). The only thing we still don’t know is: who parked the car?

Follow Who Parked The Car on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

funk | indie | jazz | pop

single track

High Hi – Return To Dust

November 6th, 2021

High Hi are an alternative pop/rock trio from Belgium, consisting of Anne-Sophie Ooghe, Dieter Beerten and Koen Weverbergh. The band was formed in 2014 and has been making waves ever since. They reached the final of Humo’s Rock Rally and where selected for Studio Brussel’s discovery programme ‘De Nieuwe Lichting’ in the same year. Following the release of their debut album Hindrance in 2017, their sophomore long-player Firepool meant their big break-through. The single Daggers became a proper hit.

Early in 2022, High Hi will release a new album, Return To Dust. Their first since signing to major label Warner Music. The title track is its first single. A song with a funky feel and an oh-oh-oh-oh-oh choir that’ll prove to be an earworm. As always, it’s a happy sounding song with a melancholic subject.

Follow High Hi on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

pop | rock

single track

Express Therapy – I Knew

November 6th, 2021

Best friends Jules Bédat and Dimitri Schweizer started making music together at the age of 15. After playing in an alternative rock band and as an experimental lo-fi duo, the two formed Express Therapy. They now produce what they call ‘nostalgic pop’. With the help of analogue synthesizers, lots of chorus and vocal harmonies, they mix a vintage ‘80s sound with modern influences. For fans of The Weeknd.

Express Therapy only released its first EP Twenty Something in July 2020. For their upcoming sophomore EP Prom Party Nostalgia Vol. 1, they first recorded demos in their bedrooms in Brussels. Then, the duo isolated themselves in a wooden cabin in Switzerland to finish the songs. Clearing their minds from everything that was happening (mostly pandemic wise) allowed them to fully focus on writing and recording. This escape from reality is exactly what they want their fans to experience when listening to the six tracks on the forthcoming EP.

Starting 5 November, these tracks will be released one by one on the first Friday of every month. If first single I Knew is anything to go by, I’ll mark these Fridays in my agenda.

Follow Express Therapy on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | pop

single track

Thunder Fox – Head In The Clouds

November 6th, 2021

Fans of Thunder Fox will agree it’s about time the Sydney quintet released their third album. Well, the wait is almost over. The long-player, Sanctuary, will be out on 18 November. Meanwhile, the band put out the album’s opening track Head In The Clouds as their new single. An exciting cocktail of musical styles, the song mixes pop, funk and R&B. But it all starts with a heavenly slice of gospel. Elsewhere, we hear intoxicating rhythms, triumphant horns and blissful, soulful vocals.

“If Thunder Fox is known for anything, it’s being able to avoid taking things too seriously,” says vocalist and guitarist Sam Dawes. “Head in The Clouds came to me in a blue dream on one of those hot nights where your brain feels sticky. I think the lyrics are self-explanatory, so I won’t provide an in depth analysis. The point is, we wanted to open the album with some fun and familiarity before shit got real.”

Recommended as well:
Thunder Fox – Not For Sale

Follow Thunder Fox on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

funk | indie | pop | soul

single track

Teenage Dads – Piano Girl

November 6th, 2021

Teenage Dads are an Australian four-piece, influenced by the likes of Phoenix, The Strokes and Brian Wilson. But sure to be loved by fans of Franz Ferdinand and The Killers as well.

Last week, the quartet released their new EP Club Echo. It features eight tracks, including their latest singles Cheerleader and Thank You For The Honey, Honey.

New single Piano Girl is on it too, even twice. This was the first song guitarist Connor McLaughlin wrote for the EP, but his initial demo was a grungier pop-rock cut. The band re-created this version in the studio, and the resulting rendition, the Alternate Version, appears as a bonus track on the EP. The single version however, self-produced as always, is a much more radio-friendly affair.

Recommended as well:
Teenage Dads – Thank You For The Honey, Honey

Follow Teenage Dads on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | pop | rock

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