Browsing Tag indie
Enter Shikari – Stop The Clocks
Following their most recent album The Spark (2017), Enter Shikari toured a lot. Enough to release not one, but two live albums this year. Toward the end of 2018, the band added the song Stop The Clocks to their live sets. A great track, more poppy than the band ever sounded before.
A brand-new studio version of Stop The Clocks is Enter Shikari’s new single. This catchy, up-beat song begins with glitchy keys and features Queen-like vocal bursts. Lyrically, it’s about ‘the joys of human connection’.
Frontman Rou Reynolds explains: “When someone is open and honest about their vulnerabilities, others can connect with them, and then all of us can feel stronger and more comfortable. It conveys the relief, warmth and freeing nature of the normalization of mental health struggles following decades of stigmatism. A flickering flame of positivity in these difficult and regressive times.”
Recommended as well:
Enter Shikari – The Sights
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Indigo – Guadeloupe
London-based quartet Indigo aimed high with their debut single Distant Lullaby. A fabulous pop song, a Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, but not the ‘future summer hit’ I predicted. Now, it’s time for a second chance…
New single Guadeloupe is an eclectic affair. Just what you’d expect from a band citing Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, Aphex Twin, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Chic (and many more) as their influences. It’s a funny and very diverse track, with all kinds of vocal effects. They range from simply wonderful harmony vocals to echoing backings and pitched voices. All of this adds a spacey feel to the tune. Also check the wicked instrumental break.
Recommended as well:
Indigo – Distant Lullaby
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Tom Sail – Wounded
The haunting opening tones of Tom Sail’s second single Wounded remind me of Jamaica’s I Think I Like U 2. Not because they sound the same, but because both are fun, up-beat, indie-pop songs with a retro feel.
Sail played every instrument on Wounded himself. “I come from a very musical family, and taught myself to play since I was 10 years old,” he says. “Some of the ideas for my music were generated during a six-month trip through South-East Asia, Australia and America and written in the back of a camper van on a tiny guitar I bought in Vietnam.”
He’s currently working on a 12-song album to be released later this year. Expect echoes of The Beatles, The War on Drugs, Oasis and Motown in Sail’s music. Asked by indie-music.co to describe his upcoming album in five words, he answered: “Retro. Melancholic. Hopeful. Dreamy. Pensive.”
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Sarpa Salpa – Before It Goes Dark
Sarpa Salpa are a 4-piece alt-pop band from Northampton. George (guitar), Marcus (vocals/guitar), Ethan (bass) and Charlie (drums) take their influences from Foals, Tame Impala and Friendly Fires. Apparently, they’re not afraid to raise high expectations. Even better: they don’t disappoint.
Their first two, independently released, singles were met with praise, airplay and packed shows. Now, they’re now working on their debut EP, which is due out at the end of the year. Before It Goes Dark is the band’s new single. A mid-tempo, yet danceable track. It tackles the frustration of not being able to stop the inevitable. On top of that, it proves parlandos don’t have to be daft.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Temples – You’re Either On Something
Ahead of their third studio album Hot Motion (due out on 27 September), British band Temples just released its second single. Being a psychedelic pop band, recent single Hot Motion leaned more towards psychedelic, whereas You’re Either On Something is more pop. That may not be good news for hardcore fans, but it certainly is for a band that deserves to make a next step in their career. Good stuff!
Frontman James Bagshaw says about it: “I’m really proud of You’re Either On Something lyrically. On that track, I can hear influences of stuff that I listened to when I was growing up. There’s almost a nostalgia to that track, even though it’s very forward-looking. (…) You’re Either On Something tackles the theme of bliss, and the perception of people’s experiences of it. We delved into the idea that some people are inherently carefree, and others more anxious. Some people may use a chemical cocktail to reach a blissful state.”
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Sulene – Diamonds
So far, South African indie-pop artist Sulene van der Walt is best-known for her blue hair. But that’s about to change. In fact, she’s already working hard to raise her profile. You may have seen her when she toured the world as guitarist for Nate Ruess (of fun.). Also, you probably heard her music scoring TV shows, movies and commercials.
Now, she is back with her first new music since her 2017 debut EP Strange. New single Diamond is another piece of shiny, valuable, polished, multi-faceted bedroom synth pop. A jewel!
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Nouvelle Vague feat. Julie Delpy – Lalala
Nouvelle Vague is a French band, with musicians Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin as its constant factors. They surround themselves with a large rotating cast of mostly female vocalists. Some of them (like Camille, Phoebe Kildeer and Liset Alea) have also had successful solo careers, while Élodie Frégé is currently part of super group Gemme.
The outfit is best known for their bossa nova covers of new wave classics. That’s why the band name is appropriate in more ways than one. Nouvelle Vague is French for ‘new wave’, just like ‘bossa nova’ is Portuguese for ‘new wave’.
Julie Delphy is a French singer-songwriter, actress, director and screenwriter. In 2007, she produced the movie ‘2 Days In Paris’. She not only also starred in the film, she composed the soundtrack as well. She co-wrote one of the tracks, Lalala, with Marc Collin. It’s no cover, but an original song with a retro ‘60s sound and a beat you can’t help but dance to.
Although this bi-lingual tune is 12 years old, it has only just been made available on the streaming platforms. So let’s just pretend it’s brand-new, shall we?
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Wildcard (week 33):
Terouz – Outstanding
Born in Cairo, professional illustrator/singer-songwriter Karim Terouz moved to Montreal in 2008. With his brassy, folk/rock quintet The Rising Few, he released two albums. Then, after losing his father, he decided to re-emerge under the guise of Terouz.
His debut single Outstanding is a great piece of pop noir. Driven by muscular, groovy bass lines, and with Karim’s Bowie-esque vocals throughout. “It’s like Cohen on a treadmill”, the Egyptian/Canadian artist summarizes.
Terouz calls his first single ‘an ode to my journey of renewal’ and ‘an empowering Rocky-esque anthem’. He explains: “Last year felt like a never ending s#%t storm. With the shadow of my father’s passing laying over me, my musical aspirations were hitting a wall with my band and I was pretty close to pulling the plug on it all. I stopped everything to take care of myself. I dove deep into writing, belted out (in despair!) improvised vocal lines to recorded melodies while running up and down the Mont Royal… every day, like an obsessed work-out maniac. I focused on getting clear.”
This song is, indeed, Outstanding. And I’d like to make it stand out even a little bit more, by featuring it here prominently for a whole week. Outstanding by Terouz is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Ankathie Koi – Cats And Diamonds
When she released her latest single Royal Boy, end of June, Ankathie Koi also announced a new album. Her second long-player Prominent Libido is due out on 13 September. Ahead of it, the jazz singer turned pop diva now unleashes Cats And Diamonds.
The new single starts with a weird synth melody, which appears to have classical influences. The rest of the song, however, is drenched in ‘80s sounds. It’s both funky and electronic, very well sung (as always), and a rap is included. Swell! (as we used to say in the ‘80s 😉 ).
Recommended as well:
Ankathie Koi – Royal Boy
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Werner’s Weekly (week 33)
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:
- The Howl & The Hum – Human Contact (Wildcard this week)
- Tape Toy – Sad Girl (Wildcard last week)
- Ava Max – Blood, Sweat And Tears
- Client Liaison – The Real Thing
- Dirty Heads – Lift Me Up
- Ilira – Pay Me Back!
- Rider – Jump
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: Johnny Marr, Keane, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Pixies, and many more.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
