Browsing Tag rock
Airways – Trampoline
I like British band Airways, and apparently, so do you. Their single Reckless Tongue ended in both Your Favourites 2017 and Your Favourites 2018, meaning it was one of the best read Carte Blanche Music recommendations for two years in a row.
This week, they release two singles simultaneously: Trampoline and The End. ‘Two carefully crafted golden crispy supple nuggets of audio’, as the band describe them themselves. Both of the two showcase a new sound for Airways, which I like a lot. Not in the least because Twenty One Pilots appear to have been an inspiration. This is most evident on Trampoline, the track that I like best.
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.
Retro Video Club – Addicted
Rock music is probably not the first thing you think of when it comes to Scotland. Still, some great guitar bands hail from the country. Biffy Clyro and Honeyblood, for instance, and earlier bands like Simple Minds, Teenage Fanclub and Snow Patrol. Here’s another one: Retro Video Club, one of the most exciting emerging rock bands in Scotland right now.
Liam Allison (vocals/rhythm guitar), Sam McGill (lead guitar), Michael Ward (bass) and Kieran Burt (drums/backing vocals) so far released five singles, with the short and snappy titles Noir, Psycho, Famous, Chemistry and 3AM. Their sixth track Addicted fits in nicely. Just like their earlier tracks, it’s a driving indie anthem that won’t fail to get the crowd bouncing.
There are plenty of bouncing crowds ahead. Retro Video Club is currently on a European tour supporting Barns Courtney, which will be followed by a British tour supporting The Hunna. Subsequently, they’ll do their own headlining tour.
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.
Nasty Cherry – Win
Los Angeles based indie rock band Nasty Cherry were given a seal of approval by Charli XCX. In fact, it was the British star who first hinted at them. After months of mysterious Instagram posts, it’s now finally clear who Nasty Cherry are: a female quartet, consisting of model Gabriella Bechtel (vocals), Chloe Chaidez of the band Kitten (guitar), Georgia Somary (bass), and Deborah Knox-Hewson plays the drums, just like she does in Charli XCX’s band.
The past few months, Charli helped her protégés create their debut EP. She co-wrote some songs and helped produce videos and visuals for the group in a sort of executive producer-type capacity. She already indicated that if fans were craving more of her True Romance-era music, that Nasty Cherry would certainly satisfy that itch.
Indeed, the band’s first single Win clearly has an XCX stamp on it. The song is as ear-catching as its artwork is eye-catching. A great introduction!
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.
Werner’s Weekly (week 12)
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:
- Sam Fender – Hypersonic Missiles (Wildcard this week)
- Indigo – Distant Lullaby (Wildcard last week)
- Barrie – Darjeeling
- Barry Moore – Hey Now
- Man & The Echo – A Capable Man
- Royal Republic – Fireman And Dancer
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: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Novastar, Walking On Cars, 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.
Sundara Karma – Greenhands
Based on the singles Illusions, One Last Night On This Earth, The Changeover, Higher States, and, most recently, former Carte Blanche Music Wildcard Little Smart Houses, I already presumed Sundara Karma’s second album Ulfilas’ Alphabet would be a triumphant return. And so it is…
My favourite album track is Greenhands, which sounds like a very good track by The Killers. One can hear the hand of producer Stuart Price there, who also worked with Madonna, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, and… The Killers (and many more). Top 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.
Royal Republic – Fireman And Dancer
Royal Republic was formed in 2007 in Sweden. Since then, they’ve been a fixture on my radio playlists. Underwear, Everybody Wants To Be An Astronaut, When I See You Dance With Another, Baby, Uh Huh, Kung Fu Lovin’… I played them a lot (and loud!).
Fireman And Dancer is the band’s addictive new single. Another king-sized tune with riffy guitars, this time complete with a saxophone and a vocal flanger effect that make you wish the 80’s had never left the building. Looking forward to their forthcoming album Club Majesty!
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.
Man & The Echo – A Capable Man
When they debuted in 2016 with their eponymous debut album (including the great single Distance Runner), Man & The Echo called their music ‘radical pop’. They claim to make the music they like best themselves, which happen to be tunes with a political message. In that respect, nothing changed since then…
The Warrington working-class heroes’ biting new single is called A Capable Man. Sparse and angular in its arrangement, it brings back memories of Roxy Music and early Franz Ferdinand. Lyrically, it’s a smouldering takedown of the wealthy middle-aged white male stereotype. Written by capable songwriters, performed by capable musicians.
Man & The Echo are currently producing their forthcoming album Men Of The Moment with Raf Rundell (The 2 Bears). A Capable Man is the first single off it.
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 11):
Sam Fender – Hypersonic Missiles
Ever since his early single Greasy Spoon, I’ve been a fan of Sam Fender. I’m sure you will be soon as well (if you’re not already), for his singles keep getting better and better. And that’s not all, he is also embrace by ever larger live audience all over Europe. Last summer, I witnessed his show at the Lowlands festival, which was overwhelming, both for the crowd and Sam and his band. This show got his single Dead Boys some well-deserved extra media attention.
Step by step, Fender’s star is rising, so Hypersonic Missiles is a very appropriate title for his new single. The track is as catchy as can be, and even features a Clarence Clemons-like sax. There’s absolutely nothing not to like in this song. Likely to become an interstellar success, Carte Blanche Music launches Hypersonic Missiles as the new Wildcard!
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.
Werner’s Weekly (week 11)
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:
- Indigo – Distant Lullaby (Wildcard this week)
- Sundara Karma – Little Smart Houses (Wildcard last week)
- Alphabeat – Shadows
- Hatchie – Without A Blush
- SWMRS – Lose Lose Lose
- The Lighthouse – Tel Aviv
- The Pale White – Medicine
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: The Black Keys, Cage The Elephant, George Ezra, Sam Fender, The Kooks, 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.
SWMRS – Lose Lose Lose
SWMRS (but you can call them ‘Swimmers’) are a young punk rock band from Oakland, California. When they formed, in 2004, the four guys – Cole Becker (vocals), Max Becker (guitar, vocals), Joey Armstrong (drums) and Seb Mueller (bass) – were 10-year-olds. They released their debut album in 2011, and their fourth long-player Berkeley’s On Fire came out last month.
There’s a bit of the Ramones about SWMRS, and a bit of Green Day as well. Joey is Green Day frontman Billie Joe’s son, you know? But on this new album, their sound has been enriched with contemporary electronic elements, giving their songs a more modern feel. One of the standout tracks on the album for instance, the energetic Lose Lose Lose, comes with an added breakbeat-like foundation. Win win win, as far as I’m concerned.
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.
