Browsing Tag rock
Werner’s Weekly (week 14)
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:
- The Spitfires – (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down (Wildcard this week)
- Hollie Col – She Knows (Wildcard last week)
- Izo FitzRoy – Red Line
- Lime – Surf N Turf
- Magnus Bechmann – What Do You Know
- Saint Motel – A Good Song Never Dies
- Shingai – Coming Home
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: Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam, Sondre Lerche, 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.
Awolnation feat. Alice Merton – The Best
Earlier this year, Awolnation released the single Mayday!!! Fiësta Fever. It featured Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros singer Alex Ebert. Apparently, the US band is still in duet mode. This time however, they go in full overdrive with an epic new release. Their new single The Best totally lives up to its title.
When first released in late 2019, The Best was an Awolnation-only production. That was enough for it to reach Top 5 positions in Billboards Alternative Songs Chart and Alternative Radio Chart. A brand-new version of the track is sure to take it even higher. The gorgeous and distinct vocals of upcoming German singer Alice Merton make The Best even better. A reworking and collaboration by the book, even though it came together while both parties were in self-isolation in different parts of the world.
The track is taken from Awolnation’s forthcoming album Angel Miners And The Lightning Riders, due for release on 24 April.
Recommended as well:
Awolnation – Miracle Man
Awolnation – Passion
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.
Pacific Estate – She
If you’re as old as I am (ouch), ‘Pacific Estate’ may wrongly remind you of Pacific State by 808 State. An electronic music track from 1989 that stood out because of its birdsong and saxophone melody. However, Pacific Estate has absolutely nothing to do with it, so you might as well forget about this introduction.
This Canadian rock band was formed in 2013 by a few high school kids looking to play Rush covers. They released two tracks in 2016 and are currently recording their debut album. She is the first single to be released ahead of it. Pacific Estate’s trademark high powered vocals and air tight rhythm section make for an energetic track, which slows down for the last 40 seconds.
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.
Hope D – Second
Hope Defteros is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. During high school, she released three albums under her full name. Since then, a lot has changed. Her debut single as Hope D, Swim, landed her the QMusic Emerging Artist Award, last year. It also led to various festival performances, as well as sold-out headline shows in her hometown.
Hope D’s sophomore track is aptly-titled Second. Now with a full band behind her, it’s an edgy, pulsing track with driving guitars, whirling synths, and angsty vocals. Or, to put it short and snappy: it’s an indie pop-rock banger.
“Second is about a period of time in my life where I was going out partying too frequently and not being able to recall much from the night before”, Hope D explains. “It emphasises the thought of wanting to have a good time for at least a second. But I was doing this for so many ‘seconds’, that the time added up to what felt like years of forgotten nights.”
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 13):
The Spitfires – (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down
Nothing is as effective in beating negativity – even in these trying times – as a ska song. This great new single by The Spitfires, for instance. Even the title, (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down, sounds like a message of hope (and a middle finger to COVID-19). It’s a powerful, infectious, brass-infused stomper of a song.
Frontman Billy Sullivan, bassist Sam Long, and drummer Matt Johnson formed The Spitfires five years ago. When playing live, the three-piece is augmented by three more musicians. Listening to their music, it isn’t hard to imagine their concerts being one big party.
The band recently signed to the legendary Acid Jazz Records label and just announced their upcoming album. Life Worth Living is set to be released on 5 June. It was produced by Simon Dine, who was behind the desk for several Paul Weller albums.
(Just Won’t) Keep Me Down, The Spitfires’ new single, is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 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 13)
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:
- Hollie Col – She Knows (Wildcard this week)
- Bée – Nothing Alike (Wildcard last week)
- Miya Miya – Underwater
- Deluxe – Barcelonnette
- Tones & I – Bad Child
- The Dears – The Worst In Us
- Mathea – Wollt Dir Nur Sagen
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: Badly Drawn Boy, Circa Waves, Nothing But Thieves, 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.
Magnus Bechmann – What Do You Know
It’s been three years since Norwegian singer-songwriter Magnus Bechmann delivered the EP Loners Get Lonely Too and single Bruises. Thankfully, he’s back with another great song: What Do You Know. It’s the first single off his forthcoming debut album.
Refreshing and vibrant, What Do You Know is an indie-pop song with hints of Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats and Phoenix. An uplifting and well-produced track with a driving rhythm and a thumping bass. Wouldn’t it be great if this kind of music was all over the radio, like it should?
Speaking about his latest offering, Bechmann said, “Situations in everyday life that are usually not a big deal, can grow totally out of proportion whilst laying awake in bed at night, unable to sleep. What Do You Know is about just one of these situations, where you find yourself in a relationship that is better to get out of than to stay in.”
Recommended as well:
Magnus Bechmann – Bruises
Magnus Bechmann – It Bothers Me
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.
Ball Park Music – Spark Up!
If you like the joyful melodies, anthemic choruses and quick-pacing rhythms of Ball Park Music, you’ll be glad to hear they’re back. Spark Up! is the band’s euphoric new single. Triumphant and impactful, it captures the building anxiousness of a changing world and the forces that are swirling underneath. According to frontman Sam Cromack, it’s ‘a song for those who are dreaming of some other place’.
Spark Up! was recorded on 18 October 2019. It was the first recording session for Ball Park Music’s new album Mostly Sunny, which will be out ‘sometime in 2020’.
Recommended as well:
Ball Park Music – The Perfect Life Does Not Exist
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.
Saint Motel – A Good Song Never Dies
Last year, L.A. band Saint Motel put out the EP The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Pt. 1. Predicting their next EP will be Pt. 2 in this series, seems like a safe bet. In fact, it’s been announced for release in the summer. Pt. 2 will be the middle instalment of what will eventually be a trilogy.
A Good Song Never Dies is a first glimpse of what to expect of the upcoming EP. As always, the single is catchy as hell, with a danceable rhythm and a prominent bassline. Party time! You can also hear it in the new PlayStation game MLB The Show 20.
Recommended as well:
Saint Motel – Destroyer
Saint Motel – 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.
Lime – Surf N Turf
Female-fronted and Brighton-based… please meet Lime! The band consists of singer Chloe Howard, guitarist Leila Deeley, bassist Tippi Morgan and drummer Annabel Whittle. They formed the band in the summer of 2018.
Not the ‘80s disco outfit, they do have a nostalgic sound, which appears to date back to the ‘80s as well. Surf N Turf, Lime’s official debut single, is a catchy and energetic track, that’s genre-defying. It’s equal parts surf-pop, post-punk, and psych-rock. All together, they sound as refreshing as the citrus fruit they’re named after.
An up and coming quartet with a bright future ahead of them!
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.
