Browsing Tag indie
Set It Off – So Predictable
Los Angeles-based rock band Set It Off follow their recent album Midnight with a project named After Midnight. Although the exact tenor of the concept hasn’t been revealed yet, my guess would be that it contains unreleased material from the Midnight sessions.
Just before Christmas, the band released After Midnight (Part 1): the track Catch Me If You Can. And now, Cody Carson, Zach DeWall and Maxx Danziger follow it up with an even stronger tune. So Predictable holds all of the Set It Off trademarks. Catchy guitar riffs and choruses: check. A driving rock instrumentation: taken care of. Bold electronic elements: yes sir. An overall feel-good vibe: hell yeah!
Whatever the After Midnight concept may hold, I like it already!
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.
Moviestar – Iron Forest
The first word that came to my mind when I read Moviestar’s bio, was ‘pretentious’. But undeniably, this band dares to stand out from the crowd, and that can only be a good thing.
Let me explain the pretentious part. The trio claim to originate from the distant future, and to have ‘landed the spaceship Moviestar in Norway’. Also, the characters call themselves Infinity Vik, Anaconda and The Octopus Goddess. Next, they call their music ‘sci-fi rock’, comparing themselves with bands like Television, The B-52’s and LCD Soundsystem. And finally, they call Infinity Vik ‘a female incarnation of David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and James Brown’. Based on this information, I think you’ll agree this all sounds more than a little bit pompous.
Having said that, I think a band should first and foremost be judged by its musical output. And even though the lyrics of their new single Iron Forest play with the space theme all over again, I can only conclude that they get away with it. It’s an intriguing and captivating track, which sits somewhere between Twin Peaks (the TV series) and Björk. It certainly makes curious for their next album, which they named The Curse And The Currency Of The Twenty-First Century.
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 2)
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:
- Harry Styles – Treat People With Kindness (Wildcard this week)
- Barry Moore – The Tide (Wildcard last week)
- Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison
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: Grimes, Joe Jackson, The Mowgli’s, 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.
Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison
Alec Benjamin is a 25-year-old storyteller from Arizona. He broke through last year after re-recording his song Let Me Down Slowly with Alessia Cara. Before he got his own stage, he busked on the street and played in parking lots for fans as they waited in line to see other artists like Troye Sivan and Shawn Mendes.
Like no other, Benjamin knows how to turn everyday heartbreak into compelling pop songs. His autobiographical new single Mind Is A Prison is just another example. It’s about trying to escape his inner thoughts, without any luck. He explains: “This song is just about how I overthink everything. Especially all this new music and all these new decisions that I’ve had to make. (…) The song is about feeling like you’re trapped inside your own mind. You can be your own worst enemy.”
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 1)
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:
- Barry Moore – The Tide (Wildcard this week)
- beabadoobee – She Plays Bass (Wildcard last week)
- The Front Bottoms – Camouflage
- Virgins At Heart – Show Me
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.
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.
The Front Bottoms – Camouflage
Let’s get rid of the jingle bells and bring the guitars back in, shall we? New Jersey’s The Front Bottoms have an open-minded approach to indie rock, adding elements of other genres all the time. Their new single Camouflage however, is a pretty straight-forward rock song. That’s almost a relief in today’s eclectic music world. Great tune!
Camouflage is a stand-alone single. Meanwhile, the duo (singer Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich) are working on a new album, due for release in 2020. It’ll be their third for Fueled By Ramen, the label of Twenty One Pilots, Panic! At The Disco, and Paramore as well.
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 52):
Barry Moore – The Tide
Some tracks that you already liked, still get better and better with each listen. One such example is The Tide by Barry Moore, an Irish singer, songwriter and musician. After spending his youth in San Francisco, he is now back in Europe. However, it’s not Ireland, but France where he starts his musical career. He got signed by Spookland Records; only their second signing after Jain.
Following his great debut single Hey Now (from the EP Lost Boys), The Tide is his new single. Definitely one to check for Twenty One Pilots fans. Expect Barry Moore to fly as high as they do when he puts out his debut album in 2020.
Ahead of that, I’d like to draw some more attention to this great new track. This last week of the year, it’s the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. Let’s turn The Tide into a tidal wave!
Recommended as well:
Barry Moore – Hey Now
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards.
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.
Virgins At Heart – Show Me
Virgins At Heart are a Stockholm-based indie-pop band, consisting of Gustav Rosén (bass, vocals), Anders Nordström (guitars, vocals), Johan Bjurling (keys, vocals), and Jonas Tyrestad (drums, vocals). Bjurling is also the main producer. Although the quartet have been playing together since the early 2000s, they started to record ‘in a more serious fashion’ only recently. Their debut album 2 2 Tango wasn’t released until 2016.
Since then, the band has gone in overdrive. Second album Safety Lagoon came out earlier this year, along with three single to help promote it. Only two weeks ago, brand-new track Miseryproof saw the light. Hot on the heels of that song’s video, they now follow-up with Show Me. An energetic tune with an unmistakable ‘80s vibe and a catchy chorus. Keep an eye (or better: an ear) on them!
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 52)
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:
- beabadoobee – She Plays Bass (Wildcard this week)
- Kakkmaddafakka – Baby (Wildcard last week)
- Barry Moore – The Tide
- Don’t Bring Stacey – Changed My Hair
- Nancie Schipper – Take Out The Trash
- Spo Dee O Dee – Colours [2019 Version]
- ZZ Ward – Sex And Stardust
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: Elton John, Machine Gun Kelly, Ten Fé, 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.
Spo Dee O Dee – Colours [2019 Version]
In 1988, singer/guitarist Ross Curry, bass player Ralph Brink and drummer Jan Holtman formed Spo Dee O Dee. The Dutch rock band took its name from one of the first prototypical rock ‘n’ roll songs: 1946’s Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee by Stick McGhee. That was named after the alcoholic fruit drink ‘spodi’, a cocktail of red wine and bourbon. In the early ‘90s, they got more and more popular in the live circuit and on alternative radio stations. Their debut album Goin’ Walkabout was produced by Richard Jansen of legendary Dutch rock outfit Fatal Flowers.
For their third album, Spo Dee O Dee got the chance to record in Dublin with U2 producer Flood. Because of equipment failure however, the band returned home without any recordings. In 1995, they called it a day.
Fast forward to 2019. Spo Dee O Dee are back together and will start a comeback tour through the Netherlands in January 2020. As a warming-up, they re-recorded one of their first singles, 1991’s Colours. Still a great song with international class. I hope the world is ready for them now!
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.
