Browsing Tag pop
Wildcard (week 27):
Noga Erez – No News On TV
Noga Erez is one of Israel’s few breakthrough indie stars and one of the country’s most hyped artists. Combining electronic and pop music, she works in collaboration with her partner and co-writer, composer and producer Ori Rousso.
Currently writing and producing her sophomore album, the Tel-Aviv based artist just released its second single. No News On TV is an up-beat bop the pair wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s Erez’s warning against apathy and giving into paralysis and fear, especially now when there is so much to care about.
She says about it: “This song was written during a period where I had more time than I’ve had in a decade. I was able to sit down and work my ass off on new music without any emails disturbing the silence. No notifications, nothing. I wanted to write a song that talked about that. I felt a deep need to imagine what it would be like to live in a world with no politics, money, grit, racism, or violence.” In summary, she calls it ‘an escape song’.
The summery track is held together by a catchy bass line that runs throughout the song, combined with electronic elements. Hearing this single reminded me of the first time I heard Imani Coppola’s single Legend Of A Cowgirl, back in 1997. It’s got the same kind of youthful naivety and joyful freshness to it. Also, Erez has a comparable vocal style, somewhere halfway singing and rapping, which is very endearing.
No News On TV by Noga Erez is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s 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 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.
Joan – Want U Back
If your summer didn’t have a soundtrack yet, this might be it. Arkansas duo Joan have a new single out, and it’s everything you hoped for. The sound of boybands (old and more recent) has always been a huge influence on them, but Want U Back sounds like an accumulation of sorts. It’s got ‘nineties’ written all over it! They don’t simply copy a sound however, they pull it firmly into the 21st century.
Want U Back is a song about letting go. The band say it’s about ‘the person you can’t seem to let go of, even though letting go may be the best thing you could do’. The trtack follows Love You Better and Magnetic as the third tune to be released ahead of their new EP Cloudy (out on 6 August).
Recommended as well:
Joan – Stop And Stare
Joan – Tokyo
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 Radar Station – The Giant
I already loved The Radar Station when they were still Sun Gods. The name change may have been forced upon them by some other supreme beings of the heat-loving kind, but it resulted in the band’s breakthrough. With a new version of their superb track Subtle Science they won ‘De Nieuwe Lichting 2020’, a talent program of Belgian alternative pop station Studio Brussel. The airplay which followed, resulted in a Top 10 hit on the station’s chart ‘De Afrekening’.
Fast forward to the band’s new single. Will they be able to pull it off again? 2020 isn’t likely to become a year of many certainties. However, I wouldn’t shy away from putting some money on the new track. It simply lives up to its title: The Giant. Fans of bands like The War On Drugs and Snow Patrol are sure to like this one again. And fans of Brent Buckler’s characteristic voice can rest assured as well. All of these winning components are back on board. That said, The Radar Station only use these ingredients to brew a sound of their own. A sound that’s equal parts pop and rock, both radio and stadium friendly.
The track comes with a very ingenious video. It tells the story of a very big man, who is forced to work as a strongman in a traveling circus. It looks like the only way he could provide for his family, but the giant is actually a master of the much more subtle art of painting.
Recommended as well:
The Radar Station – Subtle Science [2020 Version]
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.
Jaclyn – Energy
26-year-old American artist and cancer survivor Jaclyn (born Jacqueline Epstein), has life experiences beyond her age. When she faced her diagnosis she fought and promised to bring a message of hope and life to her listeners. Following-up on the triumphally titled track Alive, Energy is only her second single. But a very powerful one.
Energy is built around a catchy sentence with a sincere message. ‘You kill one of us you kill us all / not physically, but in our soul / The remedy is energy / connects us all’. The lesson is: whether it’s cancer, depression or another affliction, you can regain the strength to live in full again.
Both Alive and Energy are taken from Jaclyn’s upcoming self-titled debut EP. You can expect ‘Fiona Apple mixed with Camila Cabello, Heart with Elle King’. But that’s not all. Unhappy with the often pre-programmed digital sound many in her generation fall back to, she sought live instrumentation on her new record. Sounds promising!
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.
Roads To Roam – Firework
Roads To Roam is a Dutch band consisting of 5 friends: Daan Solleveld (lead vocals, guitar), Boyan van der Heijden (keys, backing vocals), Pieter Boutkan (bass, backing vocals), Roy van der Heijden (lead guitar) and Rick de Jongh (drums). Each of them has their own vision, musical influences and ideas. In other bands, this could easily end up in a mess. Roads To Roam however have a coherent sound. That’s because the band members are capable of putting their egos aside.
Just listen how all of their influences come together in the band’s new single Firework. 5 instruments, 5 visions, 1 song.
Firework. The title says it all. Both musically and lyrically. The song is about a once explosive relationship, but the passion has been put on a back burner. However, the desire to flare up the fire is strong. Why? Because, quite honestly, it was the best they ever had. This story line easily translates to the post-lockdown situation.
Recommended as well:
For A Better Day
Believe
Safe
We Are
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.
Plants & Animals – House On Fire
Plants & Animals are a Montreal-based trio, consisting of guitarist/vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, and drummer/vocalist Matthew Woody Woodley. They have announced their first album in four years’ time. Entitled The Jungle, the self-produced record is set for release on 23 October.
House On Fire, a driving track peppered with bits of synth-y chaos, is the album’s new single. It combines indie and post-rock the way bands like my beloved Public Service Broadcasting do. Meanwhile, the vocals and harmonies immediately bring Talking Heads to mind.
The song was inspired by Spicer’s concern for a friend of his. The band explain: “We started working on this a couple of years ago. Warren was afraid for a friend’s health. He thought he was self-medicating too much and not taking care of himself. He couldn’t let go of this image of an overworked dude swallowing too many sleeping pills and falling asleep with the stove on. So it began as the place next door, sometime before Greta Thunberg turned the expression into a rallying cry, where Earth is the house and the people are sleeping. It’s terrifying, and on the whole we’re not unlike this friend, are 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.
Liela Moss – Atoms At Me
Ever since the start of British rock band The Duke Spirit, in 2003, Liela Moss has been their front woman. Releasing her debut album My Name Is Safe In Your Mouth, in 2018, she also started a parallel solo career.
For her upcoming sophomore album Who The Power, she worked again with partner/producer (and TDS bass player) Toby Butler. They wrote and recorded the album in their studio in Somerset. The difference this time, she explains, was a desire ‘to create something more urgent’, which captured a sense of renewal while conveying a strong sense of despair at modern culture. “Perhaps that oscillating energy is best expressed musically via machines. We spent much of our time playing with vintage synths and drum machines, building a more visceral palette. I wanted the album to convey a depth of field, to be multi-layered yet feel simple, and to groove.”
First single Atoms At Me contains all of these elements. Amid its simmering darkwave throb, Moss issues a call to free the senses from the call to consume.
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.
Shuffalo – Stay On Me
Shuffalo was formed in early 2018 amidst Canada’s Rocky Mountains. Brayden Bell, then a singer-songwriter, and long-time collaborator Steve MacDonald met drummer Mac Bennett and they immediately connected. Bringing in friend Bailey Clarke, they became a four piece indie-pop band. Their 2018 debut EP Heart Attack won them the YYC Music Award for Alternative Recording of the Year in 2019.
In the summer of that year, Shuffalo began working on their follow-up recordings under the supervision of producer Ryan Worsley and producer-engineer Matt Di Pomponio. Stay On Me is the band’s new single. It explores many important topics, such as climate change, mortality salience, love, and the fight for a better tomorrow. The song travels with two lovers as they question their past, live in the moment, and explore future challenges. Its mesmerizing chorus pulls you into another world and takes you on a journey.
Stay On Me is the first in a series of releases set for the summer of 2020.
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 26)
Baxtr – Bloom
In the 30 years I’ve made radio shows, each of my programmes consisted for at least 50% of female voices. I didn’t even select them on purpose. Much of my favourite music appeared to be sung by women, simple as that. I’m very happy female artists gain more ground on festivals and radio playlists nowadays. There’s so much talent out there!
Take brand-new, all-female alt-pop trio Baxtr from London for instance. Floss Mackintosh (vocals, guitar), Bash Powers (guitar, keys, backing vocals) and Keiko Jackson (drums, backing vocals) have been close friends of 10 years. They shared the vision of being in a band together for a long time, and finally made it real.
To me, Bloom is one of the best debut singles of the past years. A euphoric banger, inspired by ‘80s pop songs, with added guitars and hooks of the catchiest kind. Shamelessly danceable, flamboyant, and empowering guitar pop in the best Haim tradition.
‘Your summer is coming soon’, they sing, and I’m sure that goes for the Baxtr girls themselves as well. About to ‘bloom’ in no-time, the band gave their career a hell of a kickstart with this first single. To ensure this gem won’t be overlooked, Bloom by Baxtr will appear here prominently for a full week as the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll 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.
