Browsing Tag melancholic
Just – Dark Days
At an early age already, Justin Kniest was fully focused on music. He played the guitar and performed live with his bands all over the Netherlands for several years. In his professional career, he was an innovator and a creative in the entertainment and marketing business. Kniest received award after award for his brain child Fabchannel, a ground-breaking video streaming platform for concerts. Eventually, a lack of music industry support killed the project.
Now, he returns to his first love…
Actually, it was Kniest’s wife who triggered this step. She gave him a writers’ camp as a gift for his 50th birthday. He met with fellow music enthusiasts at the coast of Spain, where he wrote his first track The Saddest Song. The positive feedback he received, encouraged him to finally pursue his dream. Just was born.
Dark Days is his new single; the first off his upcoming debut album. Once again, it’s a highly autobiographical song, which tells the story of the hard lessons that several setbacks in life taught him. Dark Days is a beautiful, melancholic song, delicately produced by Minco Eggersman, using analogue equipment. Musically, it finds itself somewhere midway Talk Talk and David Sylvian. Just the right soundtrack for leaves falling.
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.
Flyte – I’ve Got A Girl
Following their 2017 debut album The Loved Ones, Flyte put out two EP’s and a few singles. Their latest tracks Easy Tiger and Losing You will both appear on their upcoming album, out in Spring 2021. That goes for their new single I’ve Got A Girl as well.
Lead vocalist Will Taylor explains: “Where all the other tracks on this record are about a romantic relationship coming to an end, this covers the loss of a creative one. Breaking up with a friend and band member. There’s definitely a bitterness listening back to it, but at its core is the sound of a band completely letting go and having a genuinely cathartic time. We recorded it very late at night and more than a little intoxicated.”
Despite this cold context, the song has a warm feeling to it. Imagine The Beatles, Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear all playing on the same track. It was recorded in LA with producers Justin Raisen (Charli XCX, Sky Ferreira) and Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Bon Iver).
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.
Chateau Chateau – Hey There
Chateau Chateau is an evolving community of musicians led by power couple Alex (vocals and guitar) and Rachel (vocals and keytar). Tom (drums), Jordan (keyboard and guitar), and Zach (bass and guitar) complete the line-up. In true DIY fashion, they do everything from start to finish. In addition to song-writing, this includes recording songs, printing shirts, building props, and sewing stage costumes.
Just over 2,5 year after they formed, Chateau Chateau already prove a Carte Blanche Music favourite. The Tucson, Arizona band is well-known for combining flamboyant glam-rock with lyrics that are much more sober and dark. Think of subjects like mental illnesses, addiction, and suicide.
But in 2020, things are different. On their new single Hey There, the music is as dark as the lyrics. It’s a melancholic ballad about the struggles of choosing for short-term comfort instead of long-term consequences. Alas a theme that fits the shifting spirits now that the pandemic lasts longer than some had expected.
Recommended as well:
Burn Me Alive
Evidence
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 43)
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:
- Palace Winter (feat. Penny Police) – Richard (Says Yes) (Wildcard this week)
- Little Quirks – Florence’s Town (Wildcard last week)
- A Girl Called Eddy – Been Around
- Charles – Far Gone
- Creature Comfort – Woke Up Drunk
- Genes – Super Single
- Lauran Hibberd – Boy Bye
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: Icona Pop & Sofi Tukker, Nothing But Thieves, Pearl Jam, Smith & Burrows, and 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.
Creature Comfort – Woke Up Drunk
Creature Comfort produce music that sits somewhere between country and americana. Although both are not my favourite genres, their new single is simply beautiful. Woke Up Drunk drips with melancholy, courtesy of a gorgeous string arrangement, wonderful choirs and acoustic fingerpicking. These ingredients make this one of the band’s most intimate tracks.
Woke Up Drunk is the latest cut that Creature Comfort are sharing from their upcoming album. Titled Home Team, it’s set to be released on 30 October.
Lead singer-songwriter and guitarist Jessey Clark tells PopMatters: “This is probably the most personal of all the songs on the record. It’s about when you break up with someone, even if you’re the one who ended the relationship, there’s still like that curiosity of whether or not that was the right decision.”
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.
Soak feat. Gemma Doherty – I’m Alive
To be honest, I don’t often listen to song lyrics. I like a song when I like the whole package: instruments, rhythm, voice, melody… all of the elements that make the song at first listen. But one way or another, for me the lyrics come at a later stage (if at all).
Don’t ask me why, but that’s all different with spoken word songs. These appear to draw my attention directly to the lyrics. You want examples? Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann, for instance. Or Car Radio by Twenty One Pilots. And now, there’s this new one…
I’m Alive is a collaboration between Soak (Northern Irish singer-songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson) and Gemma Doherty (of alt-pop duo Saint Sister). It’s based upon a poem written and performed by Monds-Watson, with gentle and gripping backing instrumentals provided by Doherty.
The collaboration was overseen by Irish photographer Ellius Grace, who also directed the accompanying short film. He explains: “I’m Alive is a short film about being mindful of the small joys and blessings around you. It’s about slowing down and taking stock of the things that often go unnoticed. (…) I hope to remind you of the beautiful experiences that anyone can have no matter their situation.”
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 31)
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:
- Crimer – Eyes Off Me (Wildcard this week)
- Doves – Prisoners (Wildcard last week)
- Ferraro – Fool’s Paradise
- Gracie Abrams – Friend
- Oscar Lang – Apple Juice
- Sam & Sounds – Cloud 9
- The Go! Team – Cookie Scene
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: Anne-Marie feat. Doja Cat; Inge van Calkar; mercy, merci and 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.
Gracie Abrams – Friend
Never heard of LA singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams? Then you’re probably not on Instagram. The 21-year-old has over 310.000 followers on the platform, including Billie Eilish. Also, her five singles so far have been streamed over 90 million times globally. Time to catch up if you hadn’t already.
Minor is Abrams’ first EP. It contains her three latest singles and four new songs. Each of the seven tracks on this collection of breakup songs sounds like a page out of her diary. The lyrics are raw and personal in an introspective way, with heartbreak as their central theme.
Friends is her new single. Musically, it’s stripped back to the point the lyrics stand out even more. ‘And I hate the way you love me / And I hate that I still care’. Haven’t we all been there?
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 27)
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:
- Baxtr – Bloom (Wildcard this week)
- Hoshi feat. Corine – Larmes De Croco (Wildcard last week)
- Friday – Hey Mama
- Harper Bloom – Walk My Way
- Mads Langer – Life In Stereo
- Mélodie Lauret – À Quoi Tu Penses Quand Tu M’adores ?
- The Allergies (feat. The Cuban Brothers) – Let Them Know
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: Moby, Nothing But Thieves, Prince, Smith & Burrows, and 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.
Werner’s Weekly (week 26)
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:
- Hoshi feat. Corine – Larmes De Croco (Wildcard this week)
- Julie Bergan – Commando (Wildcard last week)
- Dopha – The Game
- Francesco Gabbani – Il Sudore Ci Appiccica
- Gordi – Unready [aO2Sk Mix]
- Lola Le Lann – Portofino
- Lova – Black Converse
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: Annie, Halsey, The Killers, Yello, and 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.
