Browsing Tag acoustic
Additions to the Carte Blanche Music playlist (week 7)
The best from a crazy amount of new releases. Added this week (alphabetically):
- Anna Of The North – Swirl
indie | pop
- Bailen – Call It Like It Is
indie | pop | rock
- Nessa Barrett – Bang Bang!
pop | rock
- beabadoobee – Glue Song
indie | pop
- Black Honey – OK
indie | rock
- Cole Bleu – Heartbreakers
indie | rock
- Gia Darcy – I’ll Never Drink Again
indie | pop | rock
- Desirée Dawson – Lonely
indie | pop | r&b
- Death Of The High Street – Not Fair
indie | rock
- FloodHounds – Psychosemantics
indie | rock
- James Gittins feat. Sophie Naglik – What You Want [Dance Remix]
dance | indie | pop
- Tara Hack – Bounce
disco | electronic | funk | indie | pop
- The Hengles – Flashes Of Green
indie | pop | rock
- Tycho Jones – Risk To My Reward
indie | pop
- Daimy Lotus – Friends 😉
indie | pop | rock
- Melle – Can’t Come Home
indie | pop
- Bea Miller – Cynical
indie | rock
- Jason Mraz – I Feel Like Dancing
indie | pop
- noelle – Mars
indie | pop
- Lo Noom – Too Much For Me
acoustic | indie | pop
- Giovany Revelle – Time
indie | pop | rock
- Rews – Misery
indie | rock
- Bebe Rexha – Heart Wants What It Wants
pop
- Bartees Strange – Tisched Off
indie | pop | rock
- Temples – Cicada
indie | pop
Check them all in the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music Spotify playlist.
Follow (click ‘♥’) to hear the best new music first.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 7)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your guide to the best new music, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- Dolores Forever – When I Say So
(Wildcard this week)
- Nell Mescal – Homesick
(Wildcard last week)
- Eddie Benjamin – All For Nothing
- Django Django feat. Self Esteem – Complete Me
- Harm & Ease – Meet Me At The Riot
- Kezra – Insane
- Hannah Scott – Into Your Grief
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.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Additions to the Carte Blanche Music playlist (week 6)
Not all, but only the *best* new music. Added this week (alphabetically):
- Gabrielle Aplin – Be Yourself
indie | pop
- Eddie Benjamin – All For Nothing
pop
- Bitter Kisses – Pr*y
indie | pop | rock
- Crystal Cities – I Should Have Known That This Was War
indie | pop
- Depeche Mode – Ghosts Again
electronic | pop
- Django Django feat. Self Esteem – Complete Me
indie | pop
- Harm & Ease – Meet Me At The Riot
indie | pop | rock
- Kezra – Insane
indie | pop | rock
- Naia Lika – Gas Station Bouquet
funk | indie | pop | soul
- Little Green – Dinner With The Moon
indie | pop
- Mal Fantôme – Higher
indie | pop | rock
- Manning – Hearts On Fire
indie | pop
- Peking Duk feat. Darren Hayes – I Want You
pop
- Roe – My Greatest Fear
indie | pop | rock
- Hannah Scott – Into Your Grief
acoustic | indie | melancholic | pop
- Super Ghost – Don’t Talk About It
indie | pop | rock
- Tired All The Time – One Big File
indie | pop | rock
- Joshua Ziggy – Can’t Go Back
indie | pop | rock
Check them all in the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music Spotify playlist.
Follow (click ‘♥’) to hear the best new music first.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 40)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your guide to the best new music, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- Your Angel – Complicated
(Wildcard this week)
- Courteeners – It’ll Take More Than A Weekend Away To Fix This Mess
(Wildcard last week)
- Dopha – Frenemies
- Loyle Carner – Nobody Knows (Ladas World)
- Red Rum Club – Vanilla
- Weiners – Se Non Ci Sei
- Young Gun Silver Fox – Rolling Back
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: Angèle, The Go! Team, Paramore, The War On Drugs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 39)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your guide to the best new music, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- Courteeners – It’ll Take More Than A Weekend Away To Fix This Mess
(Wildcard this week)
- Jessia – One Of The Guys
(Wildcard last week)
- Ayesha A. Madon – Goldfish
- In Waves – Elephant (Don’t Wake It!)
- Moli – Crying In The Swimming Pool
- Olivia Lobato & Björn Holmgren – Haglar
- Reddi – Bad Pop Song
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: Alma, Editors, Mando Diao, Weezer, and more.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 38):
Courteeners – It’ll Take More Than A Weekend Away To Fix This Mess
After forming in 2006, The Courteeners were lauded by Q Magazine as ‘one of the world’s biggest underground acts’. The band lived up to that title, as all of their six album reached the Top 10 of the UK Album Chart. Morrissey and Bono are among the artists who have expressed their appreciation of the band.
This success story started with the band’s 2008 debut album St. Jude, produced by Stephen Street (of The Smiths and Blur fame). In 2012, they dropped ‘The’ from their name, continuing as Courteeners. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of their debut, the band re-recorded the album and released that version as St. Jude Re:Wired. 13 January 2023 there’s another jubilee to be celebrated, and a 15th Anniversary Edition of the album will come out. This expanded version will include the original album plus b-sides, non-album singles and demos.
One of these bonustracks is It’ll Take More Than A Weekend Away To Fix This Mess, an ‘unearted’ song from the original recording sessions. The reflective, laid-back tune sees front man Liam Fray croon over a largely acoustic guitar-led instrumental before keys, lovely trumpets and chanted backing vocals are introduced in the triumphant final part. The title may appear to be impossible to sing, but ends up having a hypnotising effect on the listener.
Courteeners’ It’ll Take More Than A Weekend Away To Fix This Mess is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. That means it’ll feature prominently at the top of the blog for a whole week.
Follow Courteeners on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2022 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Christon – The Story About A Boy Who Jumped Off A Cliff And Landed Softly
It’s been some time since Christon released music under his own name. He hasn’t exactly sat still though, writing and producing for other artists. International ones like Aloe Blacc, Ziggy Marley, Lost Frequencies and Mathieu Koss, as well as Dutch colleagues such as Guus Meeuwis, Ronnie Flex and Ellen ten Damme. Also, he’s currently presenting the TV programme ‘De Troubadours’, in which he writes a song in a day with fellow artists, based on their personal stories. And then of course, there are his other musical projects with names like Sir Notch and North [Sic].
Christon’s new single is called The Story About A Boy Who Jumped Off A Cliff And Landed Softly. This stripped down track is the title song of ‘De Jongen Die Van De Klif Sprong En Zacht Terechtkwam’, the debut novel of Dutch journalist Stefan Raatgever. This book deals with the coming of age and coming out of a 19-year-old boy. The book cover contains a sticker with the Spotify code of the song.
Raatgever interviewed Christon multiple times during his career as part of the band XYP, as front man of Rigby and as a solo artist. He became a fan and asked the singer to write a theme song for his book. This challenge was accepted.
“To me, Christon is one of the best songwriters in the Netherlands”, Raatgever explains. “He often deploys his talents for others, but I’m happy he sang this song himself. I’m proud of the beautiful way he put the theme of my first book to music. It’s a wonderful, Johnny Cash-like track.”
Christon, who already produced a soundtrack to his own debut thriller, ‘Adam’, adds he tried to stick as much to Raatgever’s story as possible. “I recorded this song in an intimate, acoustic setting. It incorporates both the struggle and the acceptance of the main character.”
Recommended as well:
Closer To A New Day
Younger Than Before
Where Do We Go From Here
Perfect World (feat. Maxime Barlag)
Follow Christon on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Amy Shark – Amy Shark
Naming a song after yourself can only mean two things: utter narcissism or utter vulnerability. You can leave it to Amy Shark to choose for the second option.
This raw self-titled track is the sixth to be released ahead of the artist’s upcoming album Cry Forever (30 April). The highly personal song will close the long-player. Amy clarifies: “It’s track 13 because in a way this album closes so many chapters for me.” She adds: “This song is my story.”
Amy Shark is about a person who wasn’t there when she needed them. As a result, she has painful memories from her childhood, which she lays bare painstakingly in this song. Although she recalls it all vividly, she feels it’s a thing of the past. As Amy explains: “I’m not mad but I remember everything and some people just weren’t there when I needed them and unfortunately it’s just too late to start giving a fuck about me now.”
Recommended as well:
Amy Shark – Baby Steps
Follow Amy Shark on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 4)
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:
- San Mei – In The Machine (Wildcard this week)
- Black Honey – Believer (Wildcard last week)
- Baby FuzZ feat. LP – Before Our Time
- Baby Queen – Raw Thoughts
- Monowhales – Out With The Old
- Son Mieux – 1992
- Twan Ray – It Never Feel Right
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: Weezer, Gin Wigmore, Royal Blood, and more.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Twan Ray – It Never Feel Right
For some people, the COVID-19 pandemic was a blessing in disguise. Take 21-year-old Amsterdam singer-songwriter Twan Ray for instance. When he found himself in quarantine, he locked himself in his bedroom for weeks. He only connected with himself (via the mirror) and with songwriter/producer Radboud Miedema (via the internet). The latter wrote global hits with the likes of Lost Frequencies and Alle Farben before, amassing over 1 billion streams.
Together, they decided to take the DIY path. In lockdown, without a label, they wrote and recorded an album’s worth of tracks, which they are releasing independently, one by one. This approach was an instant success. First single We Could Start A Thing was immediately picked up by Spotify in their home country the Netherlands, and added to some important Dutch playlists. The international playlist Fresh And Chill quickly followed, resulting in almost 2 million streams to date.
I was given the chance to listen to all of the recorded tracks at an early stage and allowed to give my feedback. I commented I seldomly heard lo-fi recordings that were so well produced. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? Also, I indicated It Never Feel Right was my favourite track of the bunch. And guess what? That’s Twan Ray’s new single. With only an acoustic guitar, a slightly transformed voice and a smart whistle, it’s as uncomplicated as it is irresistible.
Follow Twan Ray on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.