Browsing Tag pop
Merci, Mercy – Fucked Myself Up
Mercedes Thorne moved back to Sydney, Australia, after she had lived in Beijing and Thailand as a teenager. In 2018, her first song Be was heard by the right ears. It resulted in a worldwide record deal and a management team.
Now aged 19, Merci, Mercy is ready to release her first proper single: Fucked Myself Up. It’s as exciting as it is bold. Punchy beats and percussion underpin the track, whilst synths and guitars create an irresistible rhythm. In short: it’s a smart, catchy and disarming introduction with attitude.
On the song, Mercy says: “Fucked Myself Up is about dependence on alcohol. It gave me the confidence to be able to talk to people. I was getting fucked up on purpose in order to allow myself to be around people I didn’t know. My goal is to make music that talks openly about mental health, so it’s as normal as talking about what you’re eating for dinner. Fucked Myself Up is me saying yes, I have a problem, but I’m doing my best, so leave me alone.”
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 Magic Gang – What Have You Got To Lose
Following their 2018 self-titled debut, The Magic Gang are about to release their sophomore effort. The album. Death Of The Party, is set to be released on 15 May. First single Think was a great Northern soul pastiche with ‘Style Council’ written all over it. But not wasting any time, the band quickly release single #2, which shows another side of their musical spectrum.
What Have You Got To Lose is a spiky, punchy indie-pop stomper. It finds bassist Gus Taylor delivering stream-of-consciousness lyrics over spiky, dark guitars and a throbbing bassline.
Recommended as well:
The Magic Gang – Think
The Magic Gang – How Can I Compete
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.
Austra – Anywayz
Austra is the musical vehicle of Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Katie Austra Stelmanis. Since her 2017 album Future Politics, she’s been out of the spotlights. It now appears, she’d got caught up in a toxic relationship that was tearing her apart. The good news is, the experience inspired her next album HiRUDiN, which is set for 1 May. Stelmaris explains: “Being in a toxic relationship can sometimes feel like being lost in a maze. Every attempt to turn a corner lands you back where you started. HiRUDiN is both a bold acknowledgement of such patterns of behaviour and a testament to the power of breaking them.”
Following Risk It, Anywayz is the second single to be released ahead of the long-player. “It explores the fear associated with leaving someone, and the terrifying realization that without them in your life, the rest of the world will continue unscathed as if nothing has changed.”
Anywayz is a wonderful, Sparks-like electronic indie-pop song, where Stelmaris sounds like a one-woman choir. Executed with other instruments, this could just as well have been a gothic rock smash. I’d love to hear that version one day 😉
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 Lemon Twigs – The One
American brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario were only teens when their band The Lemon Twigs soared to stardom, in 2016. The siblings both perform lead vocals, lead guitar, drums and other instruments. Live, their over-the-top stage style made them impossible to ignore.
Now in their twenties, the two just announced their third album. Songs For The General Public will be out on 1 May. It was partly recorded and produced at their Long Island home studio. The first single The One finds the duo doing what they do best: squeezing more juice out of the rich fruit that is the ’60s sound. The song comes with a video that sees the brothers mounting a campaign for the song.
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.
Child Of The Parish – Relic Of The Past
Writer/producer Ben Vella and his brother Tom Vella are Child Of The Parish. Their aim was to create a musical landscape somewhere in between disco and psychedelia. They paired synths with guitars, four-to-the-floor beats and vocal samples, and Child Of The Parish was born.
That’s only one side of the project, however. Ben also had a lifelong dream to write a mini graphic novel. The brothers grew up on the likes of Katsuhiro Otomo’s ‘Akira’ and Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’. After moving from a big city to a tiny village in the countryside, they worked out the idea: a village cursed by a 16th century witch is punished 400 years later by the arrival of Jacob, son of the devil and the child of the parish. Lithuanian artist Pius Bak instantly embraced the story and brought it to life. The comic he created will form the prequel to the forthcoming Child Of The Parish album.
The band’s music has already been incorporated in the FIFA 20 game soundtrack. Relic Of The Past is their new single. That title may sound out-dated, but the music is very modern, despite evident references to music from days gone by.
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.
Casey Lowry – Psycho
Hot on the heels of his EP Nervous, which came out last autumn, Casey Lowry has a new single out. Psycho is a danceable pop rock song. In other words: another ridiculously catchy ditty. For fans of up-tempo indie bands like Satellite Stories.
Talented multi-instrumentalist Lowry says about the track: “Not too long ago my friend had a house party that got completely out of control and (long story short) ended up setting her house on fire. She’s still adamant that I was the cause of it and always calls me a ‘psycho boy’ every time I see her… So I wrote a song about it.”
Recommended as well:
Casey Lowry – Boyfriend
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 Snuts – Coffee And Cigarettes
Despite being criminally ignored by most radio stations in 2019, rising Scottish band The Snuts built themselves a loyal live following. Rightfully so, for their concerts are energetic rock shows.
13 March, Jack Cochrane (vocals/guitar), Joe McGillveray (guitar), Callum ‘29’ Wilson (bass) and Jordan ‘Joko’ Mackay (drums) are set to release their Mixtape EP. It was recorded in LA with Inflo (Karen O, Danger Mouse, Michael Kiwanuka) and Tony Hoffer (Beck, Goldfrapp, M83). The EP will feature two previously unreleased tracks: Don’t Forget It (Punk) and the heart wrenching Boardwalk. The other three tracks are former singles All Your Friends, Fatboy Slim and Coffee And Cigarettes.
The latter is the band’s new single. It’s a rattling old-school rock anthem, which could have been a Jake Bugg song. Initially inspired by a Bob Dylan track, Cochrane calls it ‘a song that celebrates the simpler things in life’. He continues: “It is pretty evident we were keen to push the boundaries of our song-writing with this track.”
Recommended as well:
The Snuts – Fatboy Slim
The Snuts – All Your Friends
The Snuts – Seasons
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.
Jonas Brøg feat. London Community Gospel Choir – My Father’s Hand
Jonas Brøg recently released a new version of That Feeling, featuring the London Community Gospel Choir. Once they were in the studio, he asked him to record a contribution to his next single as well. You can hear the result here now.
My Father’s Hand is a larger than life production, with heavy drums, strings, and of course the choir. Just because of this big sound, the quieter parts resonate deeply. The slowly building intro for instance, or the bridge with only a piano and Jonas’s voice. Or the moving end, where his voice breaks as he sings ‘Hey dad / I’ll make you proud / I’ll try’. Elsewhere, the song sounds like a producer’s candy store, where you discover new sounds and samples at every listen.
The Danish-born musician started recording his own songs on a therapeutic basis, trying to overcome a depression. Despite his perfectionism (quote about this song: “It took me 252 versions to find the right words for my thoughts”), Jonas is getting more and more prolific. The songs are still reflections and stimulations to get the best out of life. But meanwhile, I’ve got a feeling I’m starting to hear more hope and optimism in his lyrics. That’s a great and well-deserved development!
20 March, Dutch-based Brøg will release his debut EP. May is be the end of an era and the start of a new one…
Recommended as well:
Jonas Brøg – That Feeling
Jonas Brøg – All Across The Sky
Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry
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.
Dizzy – Sunflower
Dizzy are a quartet including three young brothers from suburban Ontario, Canada: Charlie, Alex and Mackenzie Spencer. Their neighbour Katie Munshaw is the lead singer of the band. Winning the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in 2019 with their debut album Baby Teeth wasn’t exactly a bad way for them to start their career.
Moving into a new episode, they just released a new single: Sunflower. It’s described by Munshaw as ‘a three and a half minute ‘snap out of it!’ to myself when I’m feeling low, unconfident or not myself’. The band produced the track themselves. It was mixed by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Florence & The Machine). A song with a pleasingly vibrant sound, that sits somewhere midway Maggie Rogers and Soccer Mommy.
Recommended as well:
Dizzy – Heavy
Dizzy – Backstroke
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.
Samuel Jack – Gonna Be Alright
Samuel Jack was born in London, moved to Johannesburg aged 12 and has now settled down in Dorset, UK. He once described himself as ‘a poor man, with a rich mind’ and he used to write and record in a caravan. The first fruit of those sessions was his debut EP Live From My Caravan (I’m not making this up).
A few EP’s and numerous separate tracks later, he’s finally ready to unveil his debut album Empty Pockets, Crowded Heart. Out in March, it combines the blues, Motown, soul and roots music from his childhood with his new love for hip hop and pop.
Lead single Gonna Be Alright is a celebration of recovery. The song stands as a reminder that we have to keep telling ourselves we can overcome anything and that all is going to be alright. It touches on very personal issues about dealing with anxiety and depression. However, Jack juxtaposed this heavy concept with an upbeat, joyous feeling, gradually building the track into a huge, anthemic chorus.
Recommended as well:
Samuel Jack – Let It All Out
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.
