Browsing Tag rock
King No-One – Obsolete
Around eight years ago, three musicians from all over the UK met in York. Zach Lount, Joe Martin and James Basile went on to form King No-One. They started out busking for money, building a loyal fanbase. Now, in ‘normal’ times, they sell 8.000 concert tickets a year.
Obsolete is the band’s new single. A great song that combines ‘00s R&B and ‘90s grunge with drum computer sounds straight from the ‘80s. It takes inspiration from artists spanning genres as well as decades, which results in a song full of energy.
Lount says Obsolete is about ‘the pursuit of hedonism to mask the shame that depression can leave you with. And the first acknowledgment that you kinda suck and don’t want to suck anymore’.
Recommended as well:
King No-One – Bad Porno
Follow King No-One on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Julia Bardo – Do This To Me
The first time I heard Julia Bardo’s new single, I though it was former 10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie Merchant. But she isn’t, obviously.
Bardo was born in Northern Italy. There, she sang and wrote lyrics for a local band between shifts at her father’s bar. After relocating to Manchester, she joined post-punk band Working Men’s Club. Nowadays however, she’s working hard to develop her solo career. She already supported Blossoms live, and played her own headline shows.
10 September, she’ll release her debut album Bauhaus, L’Appartamento. It was named after the apartment complex she lived in when demoing the album’s recordings, but with an Italian twist. Ahead of the long-player, she just released her new single. “Do This To Me is a very personal song about feeling abandoned, growing up and family”, according to the singer, songwriter and guitarist.
The introspective lyrics are accompanied by a charming, lush and laid-back melody. After listening, you’ll probably forgive me for mistaking Julia Bardo for Natalie Merchant, both vocally and musically.
Follow Julia Bardo on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Winnetka Bowling League & Sasha Sloan – barcelona
Alexandra Yatchenko is an American singer and songwriter with Russian roots, known professionally as Sasha Sloan. She’s the 402nd most popular artist on Spotify which, on a global scale, is huge! In 2019, Winnetka Bowling League opened for her on tour and they’ve kept in touch ever since. When WBL front man Matthew Koma sent her a demo of his new track, barcelona, she immediately fell in love with it.
The final version has just been released. It’s the first single from the band’s upcoming EP, which follows their single Congratulations. Most importantly: it continues that song’s poppy sound. Barcelona has the bouncing indie-pop melodies we’ve come to expect from WBL. With every new single, they come closer to perfecting that sound.
Koma says of the track: “barcelona is a song about still being able to have love for the person that it didn’t work out with. I always feel the urge to discredit every ounce of a relationship after it’s over because it feels way better than scrolling the highlight feed… but sometimes there was a lot of good worth recognizing and the ending doesn’t have to be this big dramatic ‘delete all’.”
For Sasha Sloan, this collaboration follows earlier alliances with Meghan Trainor & Lennon Stella, Kygo, Charlie Puth and Sam Hunt.
Recommended as well:
Come To The Beach
Diane
Feeling California
Follow Winnetka Bowling League on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
Follow Sasha Sloan on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Valeras – Rita
Valeras are a Reading-based duo, consisting of Rose Yagmur and Max Sealy. The former’s family fled their home in Venezuela to settle in the UK when she was just 10 years old. They didn’t receive the warm welcome they had hoped for, and struggled to become accepted in their new country. For Rose, this resulted in feelings of loneliness, abandonment, and consequently a desire to empower the downtrodden. All of this is reflected in her lyrics.
Since 2018, Valeras went on the road with the likes of Yonaka, Drenge, King Nun and The Wombats. They also played festivals across the world, including Sziget (Hungary) and Mad Cool (Madrid). In the process, they released seven singles, which racked up millions of streams in total.
The duo just dropped single #8. Rita is an explosive indie-rock track; undoubtedly their most ambitious and personal work to date. It was co-written and co-produced by Tarek Musa (of Spring King) and mixed by Claudius Mittendorf (Weezer, Parquet Courts).
Late in the summer, Valeras will finally release their eagerly awaited debut EP.
Follow Valeras on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Linn Koch-Emmery – Dirty Words
Scandinavia is well-known as ‘pop heaven’, but they also have artists who like to throw in a guitar or two. Stockholm-based Linn Koch-Emmery is one of them. A consequence of her German and British roots perhaps? Oh well, let’s not search for answers, but just enjoy her fresh indie-rock songs with killer choruses.
Koch-Emmery may be releasing music since 2016, she’s only just put out her debut album Being The Girl. An 11-track long-player that already includes four great singles. More will probably follow, for it holds other great songs. One of the best in my opinion is called Dirty Words, although it isn’t explicit at all. It’s got hints of early ‘90s New Order, and lyrically it features dark humour and a sense of self-distance.
Dirty Words would make a strong fifth single, as far as I’m concerned.
Recommended as well:
Linn Koch-Emmery – Hologram Love
Follow Linn Koch-Emmery on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Rebecca Lou – Lovesick
Technically, Rebecca Lou are a Danish trio, but there’s no doubt Rebecca Louise Armstrong is its front woman. If you thought their music so far was too punky, too dark and/or too sad, here’s your chance to start and love them. New single Lovesick is the first track to be released ahead of the band’s upcoming sophomore album Heavy Metal Feelings. An upbeat, fun, powerful, playful and bright love anthem, it could give Pink a run for her money. In the piano melody, Clock Opera’s Belongings shines through. Now that’s one hell of a recommendation!
When I just described Lovesick as a love anthem, I didn’t mean your usual love anthem. Talking about the track, Rebecca explains: “The inspiration for Lovesick came after I met my friend’s tarantula Jenny. I thought she was so adorable and creepy cute, that I started daydreaming about her becoming a real human being and how we would fall in love and the whole world would turn into a big thunderstorm of pure romance. That’s why the chorus goes ‘Jenny come alive / all your colours make me high’. It was a very weird and funny way to kick-start the track thematically, and I ended up sticking with it, because I thought it was funny.”
Follow Rebecca Lou on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 19): Niko Rubio – You Could Be The One
Following her first single I Dreamt About You Last Night (2019), things got quiet around Niko Rubio. But now she’s back with what a press statement calls her ‘debut single’. In other words: forget about the other one, the future starts here.
Danielle Rubio, better known as Niko, is an emerging singer, songwriter and guitarist from the South Bay of Los Angeles. The 20-year-old began her love affair with music when she was just a kid. In her early teens, she listened to artists like the XX, Bob Dylan and Shakira. Later on, she added Vampire Weekend, Lana Del Rey, Erykah Badu and Twenty One Pilots to her tastes. Growing up in Mexican culture, Niko liked the mariachi and banda music her grandparents played at home as well.
This diverse set of influences translates into her own eclectic style. Take her new single You Could Be The One, for instance. A kicky pop-rock track with a shimmering chorus, accentuated with pulsating guitars, groovy percussion and Rubio’s soulful vocals. It’s the first song from her forthcoming debut EP, due out this Summer.
This week, You Could Be The One by Niko Rubio is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. As such, you’ll find it at the top of the blog for a full week.
Follow Niko Rubio on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 19)
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:
- Clypso – On Our Way (Wildcard this week)
- Lissie – Hey Boy (Wildcard last week)
- Don Diablo presents Camp Kubrick – Whatchu Do
- mags – I Can’t Get Over You
- Milo – What’s The Matter
- Moby feat. Gregory Porter & Amythyst Kiah – Natural Blues [Reprise Version]
- Willow feat. Travis Barker – Transparent Soul
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: Coldplay, Hooverphonic, Jake Bugg, Modest Mouse, and more.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Babe Rainbow – Ready For Tomorrow
The last time I wrote about Babe Rainbow, the Australian band was yet to release their debut album. Four years later, they have more than two hands full of singles and three albums to their name. And the fourth, Changing Colours, comes out this week. The record was once again produced by Wayne Connelly, who previously helmed classic records by The Vines, Neil Finn, and You Am I.
Babe Rainbow’s music has an undeniable link with the past. Their new single Ready For Tomorrow, for instance, combines funky disco with jazzy guitars and a Tame Impala kind of psychedelia. Groovy, baby!
Singer Angus Dowling says about the track: “It’s about 21st-century life, finding relief from the stress of both the future and the past. It is about Persephone running into her mother Demeter’s comforting arms.”
I’ll just take another beer then…
Recommended as well:
Babe Rainbow – Johny Says Stay Cool
Follow Babe Rainbow on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Ryan Downey – Half Light
Whatever happened to Chris Isaak? Or to Concrete Blonde for that matter? Well, this is a track that sounds as if Chris Isaak were the lead singer of Concrete Blonde. It isn’t, though. Half Light is the latest single of Ryan Downey.
This week, the Melbourne singer-songwriter will put out his second album A Ton Of Colours. And that’s exactly what it is: a wide variety of songs. Following Heart Is An Onion and Contact, Half Light is the third track to be released ahead of it. A dramatic song, that puts Downey’s crooning singing style in the spotlights. Produced by Burke Reid (Julia Jacklin, Courtney Barnett), it blends together elements of indie and art rock.
In a statement, Downey explained the song was about ‘facing fear and feelings of inadequacy head on’. “Sometimes fears have been around so long they feel warm and protective, making them even harder to overcome.”
Follow Ryan Downey on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
