Browsing Tag indie
Courtyards – Stay Up
Matthew Riley, Callum Jack, Louis Taylor and Luke Allcock met at university in Huddersfield (UK). There, they formed the band Courtyards. The 4-piece combines infectious hooks, an immersive atmosphere and energetic live dynamics. Or, as they call it themselves, ‘dirty reverb-soaked indie-rock’. If you still don’t have a clue, just listen to the band’s new single Stay Up.
Lead vocalist Matthew Riley says about the single: “We’re incredibly happy with this track and have experimented more with synth, samples, and electronics during the production than ever before, which is pushing us towards a musical direction that we’re really excited about.” He continues: “Stay Up is inspired by the desire to help those close to you with their mental health battles while at the same time working out how to be that figure of solidarity to confide in. It’s our most personal track to date and is inspired by our experiences with people close to us.”
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 35)
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:
- Nicolah – Holiday (Wildcard this week)
- Terouz – Outstanding (Wildcard last week)
- Caravan Palace – Supersonics
- Enter Shikari – Stop The Clocks
- Nasty Cherry – Live Forever
- Sarpa Salpa – Before It Goes Dark
- Tom Sail – Wounded
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: Ava Max, Incubus, K.Flay, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Smash Mouth, Yungblud, 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.
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.
Wildcard (week 34):
Nicolah – Holiday
Nicolah is a Cumbrian singer-songwriter, based in London. Her music is a sum of fresh life experiences about faith, sexuality, and culture. She explains: “I often see life from 2 sides of the same coin, and I battle with these sides in my head. What I have to come back to is hope.”
Her new single Holiday is the third release in a 3-track series, developing the concepts of reflection, refraction and dispersion. It was preceded by Waiting On You and Out Of The Pie. Inspired by everyone from Bruce Hornsby and Paramore to The Beatles, to me, Holiday sounds like a great mix of Jade Bird and early Melissa Etheridge. A song with ‘summer smash’ written all over it.
For starters, Holiday by Nicolah is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. This means it will feature here prominently for a whole week!
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.
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.
Werner’s Weekly (week 34)
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:
- Terouz – Outstanding (Wildcard this week)
- The Howl & The Hum – Human Contact (Wildcard last week)
- MisterWives – Whywhywhy
- Nouvelle Vague feat. Julie Delpy – Lalala
- Sofía Ellar – La Revolución
- Son Mieux – Nothing
- The Man Who – Give Me Something
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: Death Cab For Cutie, Liam Gallagher, Simply Red, Stereophonics, Two Door Cinema Club, 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.
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.
