Browsing Tag pop
Phoebe Green – Golden Girl
Since her 2016 debut album 02:00 AM, Mancunian indie-pop singer-songwriter Phoebe Green released a live EP and four singles. Golden Girl is the fourth in this series. It precedes her new EP I Can’t Cry For You, which will be out in December.
Golden Girl is a deeply honest outing. It reflects on themes of self-growth, awareness and acceptance within the context of relationships. Green states: “Golden Girl is about realising that being alone can be absolutely crucial when it comes to self growth. It’s about accepting the fact that total perfection is completely unattainable. So desperately trying to meet that standard in every aspect of my life – especially my relationships – will never not leave me feeling like I’ve failed.”
It’s a stylish song that combines mournful harmonies with driving beats and a grungy bass. Classic indie-pop!
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.
Caravãna Sun – Afterlife
Caravãna Sun are Luke Carra (guitar/vocals), Ant Beard (bass/vocals), Chris Smithson (keys/vocals) and James Smithers (drums). The Australian quartet recently signed with Berlin-based label Embassy Of Music, joining a roster including Björk and Moby. The band are currently recording their new self-produced album, with help from Ian Pritchett (Angus & Julia Stone among others).
Afterlife is the second single to be released ahead of the long-player. It sees the surf-rockers abandon their signature sound for a more tuned down approach. Very fitting for a song that sparks philosophical thoughts on what follows this fleeting life. Musically, it brings Arctic Monkeys to mind.
Frontman Luke Carra says: “I feel there is light and darkness in this song, classic Yin and Yang. I sing the verses which are darker and cryptic, while Ant sings the choruses, which are lighter and more uplifting, asking the question if the afterlife exists.”
The accompanying video contrasts lightness and darkness in a similar vein as the song does. It places shots of lush, green forestry alongside charcoaled remains yet to re-blossom following this year’s catastrophic bushfire season.
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 45):
Bloxx – 5000 Miles
Young British band Bloxx released no less than five singles ahead of their debut album Lie Out Loud. These set a high standard, but the record didn’t disappoint. On the contrary: their best single was yet to be released.
Elsewhere, 5000 Miles was put out to coincide with the album release in late August. Here in the Benelux the track is only out now, but it was well worth the wait. It’s an up-tempo song with catchy guitars, a driving beat and stadium-sized vocals. Each radio station worth its salt should put this on its playlist.
“I wrote the lyrics to 5000 Miles 35,000 ft in the air, on a flight back from New York where I had just met my girlfriend for the first time”, shares vocalist Fee Booth. “I was drinking red wine and crying. It’s an heir to love and lust and how it can be hard in the beginnings of a long distance relationship where you’re thousands of miles away from each other! It’s a fun-take on it.”
5000 Miles by Bloxx is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it will feature here prominently for a whole week!
Recommended as well:
Off My Mind
Thinking About Yourself
Lie Out Loud
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.
Werner’s Weekly (week 45)
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:
- Rooue – What You Want (Wildcard this week)
- Abbie Ozard – True Romance (Wildcard last week)
- beabadoobee – Charlie Brown
- Better Person – Close To You
- Icona Pop & Sofi Tukker – Spa
- Kristiane – Wish I Could Be Your Girl
- The Beths – Mars, The God Of War
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: Amy Mcdonald, Dua Lipa & Angèle, eels, Kaiser Chiefs, 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.
Ivan & The Parazol – Játék
Hungarian five-piece Ivan & The Parazol gained a large audience with their great songs in English. But apparently, this didn’t feel quite good. In a press release, the band state: “During some parts of our ten-year career we tried to be something we’ll never be, mirroring ourselves with our American and English inspirations. We just recently realised that being honest is the key to being authentic – which is the only goal as an artist.”
This discovery resulted in a new album, Budai Pop, which is entirely in their native tongue. It will be released in 2021. Ivan & The Parazol see this fifth album as a celebration of their roots.
Their new single Játék (Hungarian for ‘game’) is a great example of this new direction. If you’re prepared to step aside the fact it’s less of a sing-along affair, you’ll hear a well crafted and very accessible song. Musically, it’s still their interpretation of ‘70s glam-pop, incorporating modern psych-rock instrumentation and a touch of world music. Játék comes with a beautiful arthouse style video.
Recommended as well:
Ivan & The Parazol – Changin’
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.
Pixey – Free To Live In Colour
Liverpudlian DIY artist Lizzie Hillesdon, a.k.a. Pixey, doesn’t hide her inspirations. Her latest single Just Move for instance referenced The Stone Roses, King Bee and Madonna. In her new single Free To Live In Colour, Phil Collins’ Another Day In Paradise subtly shines through.
Where Just Move was meant to get people moving (obviously), this new song has a more seductive nature. It’s a suspenseful track, a little bit spooky even, with some psychedelic touches. Through her imaginative lyrics, Hillesdon describes her daily struggle to be herself and to be liberated. Just like her mother and father during their carefree, youthful days.
Pixey explains: “Free To Live In Colour was written, recorded and produced in my bedroom at a time where I was struggling to understand and express my identity. I wrote the lyrics to sound like a fever dream, but it’s really about staying true to yourself and not being afraid to change, even though life can often feel like a rat race. There’s so many dimensions to what living in colour means, so you can interpret that in whatever way means something to you.”
Recommended as well:
Pixey – Just Move
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.
Fletcher Gull – City Is Busy
It’s been 13 years since Melbourne’s Fletcher Gull started making music at the age of 8. In the meantime, he developed into a promising singer-songwriter. I’m not the only one who noticed that, obviously. The credits of his new single City Is Busy read like a ‘who is who’ of Australian pop music. It was produced by Japanese Wallpaper (Mallrat, Wafia) and Dave Hammer (Lime Cordiale, Genesis Owusu), and mixed by Francois Tetaz (Gotye).
City Is Busy was crafted in isolation but destined for the stage. It’s a sparkling song with ‘80s New Romantic synths, a pulsating bass and big drums. Gull wrote the track about an encounter in the street: “She talked to me for a while, telling me about how her life used to be great in the ‘80s but now the city’s busy, cold and lonely”, he recounts. “She said she used to have fun with her friends and motorbike around Australia, but now she can’t even sit on the street without getting fined or arrested. She was tired of everything, old with nothing to look forward to, just waiting to be crucified.”
Recommended as well:
Fletcher Gull – Deciduo [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.
Mooneye (feat. Meskerem Mees) – Bright Lights
Mooneye is the band of Belgian’s Michiel Libberecht. Often compared to Fleet Foxes and Neil Young, they’re masters in blending folk, rock and indie-pop. Their upcoming debut album however, shows a slight change of direction, letting the singer-songwriter in Libberecht take centre stage even more.
Their new single Bright Lights is a collaboration of two ‘award winning’ artists. Mooneye themselves won Studio Brussel’s talent show De Nieuwe Lichting early 2019. Fellow Belgian singer Meskerem Mees won magazine Humo’s Rock Rally competition. The track came about during a backstage jam session. This resulted in a well-crafted song with a beautiful melody, and voices that blend wonderfully.
Bright Lights is a great start of this new chapter in Mooneye’s career. Alas, we’ll have to wait another year for their album to come 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.
Julie & Joe – Marelle
Joe Moore is a prolific British producer, who is involved in countless projects. The Yearning, The Perfect Kiss, Lia Pamina, Cristina Quesada, and Maddie Mae, to name but a few. Now, he is also half of Julie & Joe. The other half is Julie Big, the singer of French band Le SuperHomard.
Julie & Joe just released their first mini album Marelle, and the title track is its second single. It’s a sugar-coated tribute to the synth-pop music that was made in France at the beginning of the eighties. Think of Elli Medeiros & Jacno, Lio, Mikado, etc. All of them singers with songs that were both playful and danceable. Meanwhile, you can also hear echoes of bands like New Order and Depeche Mode in Marelle. The first tones of the track must have been inspired by the opening of the latter’s People Are People.
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.
