Browsing Tag rock
Werner’s Weekly (week 4)
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:
- San Mei – In The Machine (Wildcard this week)
- Black Honey – Believer (Wildcard last week)
- Baby FuzZ feat. LP – Before Our Time
- Baby Queen – Raw Thoughts
- Monowhales – Out With The Old
- Son Mieux – 1992
- Twan Ray – It Never Feel Right
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: Weezer, Gin Wigmore, Royal Blood, 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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Sam & Sounds – Silly
At the age of 17, Samuel Gemmell decided to pursue music with all he had. He started busking in 2019, earning enough money to be able to quit his job. Busking not only trained his voice, it also generate a small following, which is now expanding quickly. His career really took off in 2020 (in the middle of the pandemic), when he released no less than six self-penned singles as Sam & Sounds.
Now a 19-year-old, Silly is his first track of 2021. It’s another feelgood indie-pop gem, energetic and infectious to the max. For fans of bands like Satellite Stories, Two Door Cinema Club and Hippo Campus.
“Releasing it in Lockdown 3, seems quite appropriate”, he says. ”Honestly, this is just my overly dramatic artistic way of telling my girlfriend that I miss her and love her. I’m a bit wet, but I own it!”
Follow Sam & Sounds on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Lou Hayter – Time Out Of Mind
London native Lou Hayter has begun a new chapter of her already impressive musical career. She started as keyboardist for the band New Young Pony Club, with whom she toured the world for eight years. Since then, she was one half of Tomorrow’s World (the other half being Air’s Jean-Benoît Dunckel) and formed The New Sins with Nick Phillips. While they’re working on new material in Paris, Hayter started a solo career.
On 7 May, her solo album Private Sunshine will come out. According to her label, it will encompass her love of acid house, ‘80s hits, yacht rock, electro, future pop and disco. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Many of these ingredients can be heard in her new single Time Out Of Mind. The intro reminds of Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters, but after 15 seconds a Steely Dan-like synth comes in. Bulls-eye, for Time Out Of Mind is indeed a cover of a track from Fagen & Becker’s 1980 Gaucho album.
Hayter says about her version: “Steely Dan are my favourite band. So I approached this cover with my utmost respect and tried to be reverent. I chose a bit more of a deep cut from their album Gaucho. My friend Jeff Wooton who plays with Gorillaz very kindly added this mega guitar solo on the record. He nailed it in one take which was amazing to watch. I hope it has the same happy sunshine sound that Steely Dan brings to me when I listen to them.”
Follow Lou Hayter on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 3):
San Mei – In The Machine
San Mei is almost a Carte Blanche Music veteran. I guess I‘m a fan 😉. Maybe that’s because none of her tracks sound the same, ranging from dream pop to indie-rock. Her new single In The Machine however, has a decidedly electronic touch, with fuzzy guitars and big drum beats. To me, it sounds a bit like an updated version of Gary Numan’s Cars.
On Facebook, she adds: “Sometimes in life, we find ourselves just going through the motions and operating on auto-pilot. Especially when life gets hard and wears us down. But don’t get lost in the process. Get moving, shake it up, fight for what you want, who you want to be.”
This week, In The Machine by San Mei is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Dakota
Midnight
Hard To Face
Follow San Mei on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 3)
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:
- Black Honey – Believer (Wildcard this week)
- Philippine – Bah Non. (Wildcard last week)
- Cold Years (feat. RR Gospel Choir) – Good As Hell
- Crooked Steps – Catherine
- Declan McKenna – Rapture
- Lucy Spraggan – Animal
- The Vices – Looking For Faces
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: Biffy Clyro, The Veronicas, Foo Fighters, Tom Jones, Maxïmo Park, 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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Citizen – I Want To Kill You
In 2009, Mat Kerekes and brothers Nick & Eric Hamm formed Citizen in Toledo, Ohio. Originally born from the hardcore circuit, they also incorporated post-hardcore, emo and ‘90s alternative in their sound. In 2021, they’re a tight and ambitious rock band.
It’s been over three years since Citizen released their latest album As You Please. In the meantime, front man Kerekes hasn’t exactly sat still. He put out his solo album Ruby in 2019 and, as recent as 2020, the EP’s Amber Park and Songs For Breanne. Also, he built a studio in his garage. There, his band recorded its fourth long-player Life In Your Glass World. It’ll come out on 26 March.
I Want To Kill You is the album’s first single. Opening with a ferocious four-to-the-floor beat, it’s big, sharp and full of hooks. For Kerekes, I Want To Kill You greatly sums up the overall themes and sounds heard on Citizen’s new album. “Sometimes you feel like you’re being used”, he says. “A lot of the lyrics are liberating, they’re reclaiming control.”
Recommended as well:
Mat Kerekes – Hawthorne
Mat Kerekes – Diamonds
Follow Citizen on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Monowhales – Out With The Old
Following their debut EP Control Freak in 2018, Canadian rock trio Monowhales have continuously been teasing a full-length album. They released the singles Really Wanna Let You Down, All Or Nothing, BL/FF (Fake Friends) and now, finally, their first album has a title and a release date. Daytona Beach will come out on 5 March. It was produced by JUNO Award nominated producer Ryan Worsley.
In addition to the aforementioned singles, it’ll also include their new one. Out With The Old (and in with the new) is a fitting title at the start of the year. Especially after a year like 2020. It’s another strong and infectious rock song with hard-hitting drums and instantly hummable melodies throughout.
Drummer Jordan Circosta points out that Out With The Old is an anthem for the disenfranchised. “It’s about the loss of innocence and entitlement we’ve all experienced over the past year. In the midst of a paradigm shift, we have no choice but to embrace the new reality of our lives and take a vicious grip on hope in spite of it all.”
Recommended as well:
Monowhales – BL/FF (Fake Friends)
Monowhales – All Or Nothing
Follow Monowhales on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Baby FuzZ feat. LP – Before Our Time
Has glam rock just made its comeback? Sure sounds like it…
Baby FuzZ is a new project of Brandon Lowry. As part of production team Robopop, he co-wrote and co-produced hits for Gym Class Heroes (Stereo Hearts) and Lana Del Rey (Video Games). Later, under the guise of Sterling Fox, he worked with artists like Avicii, Kylie Minogue, Adam Lambert, Britney Spears, Tiësto and Elle King.
Immediately after the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President, Lowry moved to Montreal, Canada for a year. When he came back, he abandoned the Sterling Fox moniker and re-emerged as Baby FuzZ. His soon to be released second album Welcome To The Future was entirely made in quarantine. That goes for new single Before Our Time as well. A modern glam rock track, including a guitar solo that could’ve been Brian May’s. The song also features LP, although her vocals appear unrecognizably distorted.
Following comments from some of LP’s fans, Baby FuzZ explained: “We wrote the song together. It was originally a consideration for her album, but didn’t make it on. So I decided with her permission to release it as a separate song. You can hear her vocals in the chants on all choruses and layered in throughout. I wish I could have added more of her vocals, but it was too difficult with quarantine to do more.”
Follow Baby FuzZ on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
Follow LP on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 2):
Black Honey – Believer
Brighton 4-piece Black Honey go from strength to strength. I described their recent single Beaches as ‘their finest moment’, but this new one is even better. It’s the kind of track words like ‘stomper’ and ‘belter’ were invented for. Will it be a hit? Probably not, but who cares?
Yet, Believer is an earwormy, foot-stomping track, with echoes of Primal Scream in it. Not in the least because of the trumpets and bar piano that spice it up. Lyrically, it’s a rather spicey cut as well. Talking about the track, singer Izzy B. Phillips explains: “Believer is a song to accompany your existential crisis. I wanted a religious satire that was eye rolling at all the patriarchal nonsense of spiritual sense of self. I wanna believe in me, the outsider and the underdog. It’s like coming of age, coming out and coming up.”
The single is the fourth taste off Black Honey’s sophomore album Written And Directed, set for release on 19 March. The record, which follows their self-titled debut album, was written in 2019 and recorded in between the band’s tour commitments.
Black Honey’s Believer is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means it’ll feature here prominently for a whole week.
Recommended as well:
Black Honey – Beaches
Follow Black Honey on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Cold Years (feat. RR Gospel Choir) – Good As Hell
One way to recognize a really good song is by listening to cover versions in other genres. If the cover holds up, the original was a really good song. At least, that’s my experience. Judged by that criterion, Lizzo’s Good As Hell is one for the books. The original version, released in 2016, was great already, as was the Remix featuring Ariana Grande in 2019.
Now, Aberdeen quartet Cold Years put out a rocking version of the track, which still sounds ace. This is in part thanks to them giving the RR Gospel Choir a prominent place in the rocky mix. Deservedly so, for this is not your average gospel choir. They worked with the likes of George Michael, Taylor Swift, Iggy Pop and Stormzy before.
Cold Years realized the track in association with the Scottish Association for Mental Health. The band also released a limited edition t-shirt, with all profits going to SAMH.
Speaking of the new cover, frontman Ross Gordon says: “We really wanted to do something for people who are struggling right now. This pandemic has ruined everyone’s perceptions of themselves and the outside world. (…) We adore Lizzo, she’s one of the most incredibly talented people on this earth and her music brings so much joy to the soul. She has done so much for self-love & empowerment, something the world needs more of rather than bringing each other down.”
Follow Cold Years on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
