The fin. are a Japanese duo that are currently located in London. Until very recently, they were a trio, but only on 27 March, guitarist Ryosuke Odagaki played his last show with the band. He decided to stop his music activities and take a different path from now on. Since then, The Fin. consist of Yuto Uchino and Kaoru Nakazawa, who will be complemented live by a support guitarist.

For a band that was formed in Japan, it may strike you as a little bit odd that they combine indie-rock with synth-pop, but they do so very well, in my opinion. In recent years, The fin. supported major artists like The Last Shadow Puppets, Circa Waves and Mew, performed globally at major music festivals in Japan and beyond, as well as embarked on world tours.

Come Further is the band’s new single.

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

Seattle-based band Citizens was formed in 2011, just months prior to their debut EP Already Not Yet. They now have three full-length albums under their belt.

Next up is their fourth album Fear, to be released on 3 May. The creation and production of this album was funded via a Kickstarter campaign, which was met with overwhelming support. The album was fully funded in 8 hours, with an initial goal of $20,000. Since then, total support has exceeded $62,000.

Citizens have already put out four tracks ahead of the album: the title track, Out Of Sight, Everything For Nothing, and – only last week – Looking Up.

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

Have you ever asked yourself the question what it would sound like if Frank Zappa would have been a member of Queen (or of Muse, for that matter)? The answer is: Bear Ghost. This Phoenix, Arizona rock band consists of musical craftsmen who effortlessly combine epic melodies and song structures into a sound wholly their own.

Their first EP Your Parents Are Only Marginally Disappointed In Your Musical Taste (2014) was proof of that, and the band took it to the next level on their debut album ​Blasterpiece (2016).

After signing with 80/20 Records last year, Bear Ghost recorded (and released, thankfully) their new single Haunt, The Cartoon Heart. On their Bandcamp page, the quartet describe the track as ‘a song about emotional instability, illustrated by a tumultuous relationship between a Ghost and his Heart who have both fallen in love with the same woman, but can’t find a way to reconcile their differences’.

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

Dutch 5-piece Roads To Roam released their debut EP A Guide To Your Mind in 2015, and issued the follow-up EP The Shadow Of Myself in 2017. That alone is reason enough to assume their third EP will see the light of day in 2019. And if so, one might expect it to include last year’s single Believe and the track they put out last week: For A Better Day.

The latter, once again produced by Martijn Groeneveld, was inspired by the passing of a good friend’s mother. It’s a song about loss, which describes the feeling of powerlessness, unfairness and even anger that can arise in such a situation.

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