Browsing Tag rock
Simple Creatures – Drug
Both their bands being between albums, Mark Hoppus (blink-182) and Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low) found some down-time to start a side-project: Simple Creatures. Their debut EP is due out in March and was produced by Zakk Cervini (blink-182 and All Time Low, but Yungblud and 5 Seconds Of Summer as well).
Drug is the duo’s first single. After a short intro, it starts with a ‘Nanana’ bit that could’ve been ripped off of Pink’s So What. The sound and attitude of that song are echoing throughout the whole of Drug. Lyrically, it’s about being destroyed by the things you love.
Gaskarth: “Drug is a song about someone or something you want the most, being terrible for you… Feels great until it doesn’t, but then you can’t stop. In the studio it felt immediately like it was the song that best defined Simple Creatures; it’s gritty, grimy, rooted in the musicality we both came up on, but with a twist that takes it away from anything we’ve worked on before.”
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 8)
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:
- Stats – The Family Business (Wildcard this week)
- Billie Louise – Like Machines (Wildcard last week)
- Elliphant – To The End
- Mat Kerekes – Diamonds
- Mauger – Grace Plays Alone
- Pet Shop Boys – What Are We Going To Do About The Rich?
- Sir Notch & Tommy The Sound – Miami Vice
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: Avril Lavigne & Nicki Minaj, Catfish & The Bottlemen, Christine & The Queens, Hozier, Stereophonics, 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.
Mat Kerekes – Diamonds
Ohio-based singer-songwriter Mat Kerekes is best known as the lead vocalist of alt-rock band Citizen. On his new solo material, he presents his softer side and showcases his versatility as a singer-songwriter. His second solo album Ruby, incorporating elements of pop and alternative, is expected later this year. It boasts massive choruses, dynamic arrangements, and infectious melodies.
Following the long-player’s title track, Diamonds is the set’s second single. A pop song with a rock edge that will go down well with fans of Billy Joel and Ben Folds.
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.
Sports Team – M5
During their short career so far, British six-piece Sports Team worked with some seasoned producers. Their debut EP Winter Nets, released in January 2018, was produced by Dave McCracken (Ian Brown, Depeche Mode), follow up single Kutcher was recorded with Courtney Barnett producer Burke Reid, and their latest release M5 was helmed by Jolyon Thomas (The Magic Gang, Kendrick Lamar, U2).
The infectious new single has been tried and tested during the band’s live shows last year. Drummer Al Greenwood expands: “No one had heard the song, but by the second chorus we had crowds singing the lyrics back to us.” M5 is taken from a new EP called Keep Walking!, out on 8 March.
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 7)
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:
- Billie Louise – Like Machines (Wildcard this week)
- Dua Lipa – Swan Song (Wildcard last week)
- Cassia – Small Spaces
- dodie – Monster
- -M- – Grand Petit Con
- Nadia Sheikh – Toxic
- Tessa Dixson – Beautiful Pain
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: Beck, Caravan Palace, The Heavy, Mercury Rev, 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.
Nadia Sheikh – Toxic
Nadia Sheikh is a half British, half Spanish artist with an impressive cultural background. Currently London-based, she’s a genre chameleon, combining elements of indie, rock and pop, with the addition of folky and jazzy vocals, that shift from airy to powerful in the split of a second.
Since releasing her debut EP 50 Feet in 2013, she put out a new track almost every year. Toxic (not a cover) is her new single. A great song, that shows Sheikh’s rockier side. It’s once again produced by Nigel Walker, whose credits range from Shakatak to Dire Straits, Aerosmith and Kate Bush. This century so far, he is very popular amongst Spanish artists, producing best-selling albums by the likes of La Oreja De Van Gogh, El Canto Del Loco and Pereza.
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.
Kakkmaddafakka – Runaway Girl
Norwegian sextet Kakkmaddafakka (Axel Vindenes, Pål Vindenes, Stian Sævig, Kristoffer Wie van der Pas, Lars Helmik Raaheim-Olsen, and Sebastian Kittelsen) are on a roll. Releasing back-to-back albums in 2016 and 2017, the band have their fifth – as yet untitled – long-player set for release on 22 March.
Runaway Girl, with its striking resemblance to The War On Drugs, is the energetic second single to be released ahead of the album. Frontman Axel Vindenes says about it: “Runaway Girl is the story of forbidden love, how some people feed off playing with others’ emotions.”
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 6)
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. A great collection of female-fronted tracks this week!
- Dua Lipa – Swan Song (Wildcard this week)
- Sigrid – Don’t Feel Like Crying (Wildcard last week)
- Band Of Skulls – Cool Your Battles
- Girli – Deal With It
- Nilüfer Yanya – In Your Head
- Piroshka – What’s Next?
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: Cage The Elephant, The Chemical Brothers, Circa Waves, 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.
Girli – Deal With It
North London’s Girli (born Milly Toomey) has been releasing singles and EP’s since 2015. 13 of them. Only now, she announced her first full offering: her debut album Odd One Out will arrive on 5 April. No doubt, it’ll be full of teenage-angst filled electropop, including the former singles Hot Mess, Day Month Second and Young, as well as her new one: Deal With It.
With its more rock-inspired pulsing pop sound, Deal With It is a track I expect to come to life at the singer’s infamously energetic live shows. Girli is clearly ready to make this her year.
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.
Dodgy – Staying Out For The Summer ‘19
Dodgy are a British pop-rock band, which had its finest moments during the Britpop era in the mid-1990’s. Who doesn’t remember (and love) hits like Staying Out For The Summer, Good Enough and In A Room?
The former celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Originally a minor hit in 1994, it became one of their signature songs a year later, when it was re-issued in remixed form. Now, Dodgy re-recorded the track. To be honest, it’s a pretty straight-forward remake, but Staying Out For The Summer ’19 is still a great song. And a wonderful introduction if you’re new to the band. A bunch of guys with a good heart, for all of the proceeds of this version will go to a charity for homeless people.
Dodgy will play their breakthrough album Homegrown in full on their upcoming UK tour. They will be supported by Babybird (best known for their hit You’re Gorgeous), and Tony Wright (lead singer of rock band Terrorvision). A truly great line-up!
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.
