Browsing Tag indie
Blaenavon – Catatonic Skinbag
I first heard Blaenavon (pronounced bline-av-un) play by surprise, during the Eurosonic Noorderslag showcase festival in 2014. In my notes, I describes them as a ‘psychedelic teeny wave band’. By the time they released their debut album That’s Your Lot, in 2017, they sounded much more sophisticated.
Since then, things have gone quiet around the band. Two weeks ago, in a brutally honest note, singer Ben Gregory explained why: he had been hospitalised after incurring a stress-related breakdown. During his recovery, he and the band recorded their second album Everything That Makes You Happy, which Gregory says is ‘about suffering, guilt, love, family and overcoming trauma’.
Catatonic Skinbag is the long-player’s first single. A fierce comeback, that reminds me of Ash (a band I like very much).
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.
Jealous Of The Birds – Blue Eyes
Judging by the singles off it, Jealous Of The Birds forthcoming EP will be great. Wisdom Teeth (available on 1 February) was preceded by the lovely single Marrow, and now, Blue Eyes is released as the second teaser.
Blue Eyes is a more full-on pop rock song, with funky bass and chunky guitars. On top of this groovy backdrop, Naomi Hamilton a.k.a. Jealous Of The Birds sings of the incomparable rush of a new sexual attraction with the owner of the titular ‘Blue Eyes’. The chorus, especially, is very strong, with it’s repeated ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah’.
The singer explains: “There’s something powerful to me about femininity being self-reflexive as opposed to being expressed through the male gaze. I tried to translate that grit and sass by going for heavier instrumentation, funky bass lines and pop vocal melodies. Honestly, I just want to make the listener dance and feel good. Out of all the songs on the Wisdom Teeth EP, this was perhaps the most musically direct and enjoyable to record.”
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.
Model Depose – Bombs Are Falling
It looks like Model Depose enjoy the silence. After their EP’s Untitled (2011) and Nightwatch (2013) they spent another three years to finish their debut album Splitting Light. Since then, another three years have passed. But… a new album is expected ‘in 2019’ (which potentially means ‘at the end of the year’). Luckily, the Dutch electronic pop band just put forward the album’s first single.
Bombs Are Falling is further proof of their profound love of Depeche Mode. It was the first song the band ever wrote, but they re-wrote it to suit their contemporary style. The song is inspired by a personal experience with the stress that might remain after having been in a war zone.
Bombs Are Falling is the first in a string of singles. The next one can be expected in March, after which Model Depose will release a new track every month. You do the maths… fat chance we’ll have to wait for that new album until next Autumn.
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.
Ivan & The Parazol – Changin’
For some strange reason, record labels, radio makers, music directors (and as a consequence: consumers) hardly look beyond bands from Great-Britain, the United States and their own country. While there is so much more to enjoy! Take Kelemen Kabátban, Margaret Island, and Punnany Massif for instance. All very different acts, with a few things in common: they make great music, they’re from Hungary, and I featured them here at Carte Blanche Music.
Garage rock band Ivan & The Parazol are another group from Hungary, incorporating the spirit of 70’s glam-rock and modern psych-rock into their music. Their third album Exotic Post-Traumatic will drop in March and was produced by Wil Anspach, who worked with acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean before.
Changin’ is Ivan & The Parazol’s new single. A song with great guitar licks and a groovy bassline. Could have been a Reef track!
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.
Superbird – Cola Bottle Fizz
Prince may have passed away, but his legacy is alive and kicking. Artists like Janelle Monáe and Harts don’t hide their admiration for the purple one, and you can add Superbird to that list.
Superbird are a British trio, consisting of Joe Sin (lead vocals, guitar), Alex Ash (drums, vocals), and Freddy Sidero (bass, vocals). Their debut single Cola Bottle Fizz is an uplifting slice of funky pop, with a groovy retro 80’s vibe that’s sure to make you dance. They’re a welcome arrival in a world that takes itself way too seriously. Superbird will make you happy!
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.
Judah & The Lion – Over My Head
In December last year, Nashville-based band Judah & The Lion released their first new music since their latest album Folk Hop n’ Roll. Not one, but two tracks: Quarter-Life Crisis and Pep Talk. Only a month later, they keep the vibe going with yet another new track.
Over My Head is an energetic, synth- and banjo-driven track (but far from country music), which offers a deeply personal look into vocalist Judah Akers’ mindset during a time that was both professionally exciting and personally turbulent. “I was on the road and homesick,” he recalls. “So that feeling’s rushing in, mom’s not doing well, not talking to dad, my sister’s sad. All these thoughts were happening and I was so overwhelmed with life. I was medicating and distracting myself in different ways so I could get through.”
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 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:
- Jon Tessier – For A Little Eye Candy (Wildcard this week)
- Lizzo – Juice (Wildcard last week)
- American Authors – Stay Around
- Jesse Hite – When It All Comes Down
- Stats – Lose It
- Videoclub – Roi
- whenyoung – Never Let Go
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: The Cranberries, The Dandy Warhols, Hozier, Jade Bird, Joe Jackson, Sigrid, 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.
Wildcard (week 3):
Jon Tessier – For A Little Eye Candy
Jon Tessier is a Brazilian-French singer-songwriter and music producer, who spent childhood and most of his teenage years in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The last three years however, he’s been working on his music from Ibiza (Spain) and Paris (France).
He draws inspiration from a diverse range of musical heroes, including Mötley Crüe, Depeche Mode, The Doors, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers as well as the Brazilian bossa nova artist João Gilberto. None of them are overtly present in the music Tessier makes himself, which can be described as guitar-driven pop music with an alternative rock edge. A new artist with a fresh sound, that I like very much.
For A Little Eye Candy, Jon Tessier’s new single, is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means it features prominently on this blog for seven full days.
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.
Werner’s Weekly (week 3)
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:
- Lizzo – Juice (Wildcard this week)
- The Lottery Winners – That’s Not Entertainment (Wildcard last week)
- As December Falls – On The Edge
- Chateau Chateau – Evidence
- Evil Edna – Isle Of Dogs
- Mamas Gun – Golden Days
- Uncle Frank – Lay It All At His Feet
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: Blood Red Shoes, The Chemical Brothers, Janelle Monáe, Joe Jackson, Radiohead, White Lies 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.
Uncle Frank – Lay It All At His Feet
Even though Fun Lovin’ Criminals released a new single as recent as last November, spin-off project Uncle Frank – based around FLC drummer Frank Benbini and his mate Naim Cortazzi – just came up with a new song as well. It’s part of a project where the duo release a new track on the first Friday of every month, until they drop their brand-new, third album Soul On The Battleground, in March.
Benbini has his own radio show ‘Uncle Frank – Funk and Rare Grooves’, airing every Sunday 7-10PM on BBC Radio Leicester, but with his band, he practices what he preaches. Lay It All At His Feet is a groovy affair, which brings back memories of The Isley Brothers classics like Summer Breeze or That Lady (partly triggered by the sound of Cortazzi’s guitar solo). Wonderful stuff!
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.
