Browsing Tag rock
Sub-Radio – Emotional
In 2017, Washington DC band Sub-Radio set out to release a single a month for an entire year, but after putting out 6 of the 12 planned singles, they decided to go for a different approach. Releasing a single every month being too exhausting a process, they opted to release an EP instead. That allowed them more time to create a cohesive piece of work that they felt they didn’t have to rush to release, like with the singles.
In February, the sextet put out the first single off the EP: What We Are. Now, the entire Headfirst EP is out there. A collection of danceable pop rock songs, of which Emotional is my favourite!
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.
Shed Seven – Won’t Get Home Tonight
Late last year, Shed Seven released Instant Pleasures, their first album in 16 years’ time. Apparently, they recorded more than the 12 tracks on it, but instead of waiting another 16 years to put them out, they decided upon a Deluxe Edition of the album, adding ten tunes. Among them three remixes, three demos and four ‘new’ songs.
Won’t Get Home Tonight is the best of the new bunch in my opinion, with its driving rhythm, ’80s power chords, double guitar solo and staccato drum accents, all crammed into 3’34. Very likable!
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 17)
Well, this was a really fun week, musically! Acts like DMA’s, Hooverphonic, Dutch talent Naaz, The Pale White and We Are Scientists all put out great new tracks, all of which and more are compiled in the Carte Blanche Music playlist, featuring this year’s best new music so far. It’s a list worth subscribing to (but don’t take my word for it, just go and listen for yourself).
But if you’re fine with a ‘best of the best’ list, then let me present you with Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters:
- Cute Mess – Untied (Wildcard this week)
- Stars – Ship To Shore (Wildcard last week)
- Arkells – People’s Champ
- Belle & The Beats – Deeper
- James – Better Than That
- Priest – Lost Lions
- Young Gun Silver Fox – Take It Or Leave It
Check all tracks above via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. Triggered by one of the songs? More info behind each of the links!
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.
Efecto Mariposa – Mágico
The ‘butterfly effect’ is the scientific theory which states, that a butterfly flapping its wings under the right conditions, can cause a tornado weeks later and thousands of kilometres away. But more important, as far as this blog is concerned, Efecto Mariposa (the Spanish translation of ‘butterfly effect’) is a band from Málaga. It was formed in 1998 and currently features singer/guitarist Susana Alva and bass player Frasco G. Ridgway as its centre pieces.
In June, Efecto Mariposa will release their eighth album Vuela. Two months ago, the first single Qué Me Está Pasando was put out, but it looks like the campaign has only really started with the release of second single Mágico. An infectious pop/rock song, that should appeal to Coldplay fans, with its big drums and piano touches. Vocally however, Mágico is immediately recognizable as an Efecto Mariposa song.
I hope it can strike a chord far beyond their home country, just like the scientific ‘butterfly effect’.
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.
Belle & The Beats – Deeper
Last February, we made the acquaintance of Belle & The Beast, a project of Dutch singer-songwriter Isabel Zoeteweij and producer and guitarist Gil Lopez. Soldier Of The Night was their first single, a mysterious piece of pop noir.
Ahead of the duo’s debut EP Lose Your Feathers (out in May), they now launch second single Deeper. A sensual masterpiece, while the guitar licks make it edgy as well. The video certainly adds to the atmosphere, but the song is a banger in itself. Pun intended ?
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.
Arkells – People’s Champ
Almost exactly a year ago, Arkells’ single Knocking At The Door was the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. A great (and in Europe greatly overlooked) track that was later added to the Deluxe Edition of the Canadian band’s fourth album Morning Report.
Not ready to succumb to the deafness of many radio stations, Arkells just put out another heart-pumping (and hard pumping) hi-energy pop/rock track that would do so well on the airwaves… People’s Champ is graced with a horn section and lovely call-and-response vocals that make you want to shout to your radio (or your streaming service of choice, for that matter).
Frontman Max Kerman says about the song’s lyrics: “We’re comforted every day by the people in our neighbourhood who go the extra mile for their community – especially when they don’t have to. We love that person. This song is about the opposite of that: it’s about the guy who acts like Robin Hood, but is the farthest thing from it. But that’s OK: look around and you’ll find people’s champs all around ya.”
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.
James – Better Than That
Sure, James (one of the ‘Madchester’ bands) are still best remembered by their first hits, released at the start of the ’90s of the last century. How about Sit Down, Sound, Laid, or – one of my all-time favourites – Born Of Frustration?
But don’t set them aside as one-hit-wonders or an ‘old’ band, for James are still going strong. Their latest album Girl At The End Of The World (2016), earned them their highest debut entry in nearly twenty years, reaching number two in the UK, second only to Adele.
18 May, James will release the Better Than That EP, with four new tracks. All of them produced by Charlie Andrew, who has previously worked with alt-J and Wolf Alice. The title track is the upbeat EP opener and its first single. Great proof the band continues to be one of Britain’s finest.
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 16)
No better way to start the new week than with a selection of last week’s best songs. Werner’s Weekly is your compass to the music that matters:
- Stars – Ship To Shore (Wildcard this week)
- boy pablo – Losing You (Wildcard last week)
- Alice Merton – Lash Out
- Freak Power – Hear My Call
- Kelemen Kabátban – Úton
- The Academic – Fake ID
- The Spectors – Dorothy
23 minutes is all you need to listen to them all via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. For more background on each track, simply click the links above.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Other great additions to the collection include Ash, Chvrches, Elisa, Frank Turner, Isaac Gracie, Janelle Monáe (feat. Grimes), Sigrid, Tracyanne & Danny, and Waylon.
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.
Dead Sea – Know Where
Google ‘Dead Sea’ and you’ll probably stumble upon photos of a large pool of super-salty water. That, obviously, is not the Dead Sea I’m referring to here…
Dead Sea is also a French four-piece that operates at the crossroads of (danceable) pop and rock. Think shoegaze-inspired pop with a pounding rhythm. They released their first two singles 8.50 and Lotion at the end of 2017 and their third is called Know Where. Clocking in at just under 5 minutes it may be a little too long for the radio, but there are tricks to overcome that problem 😉 . On the dance floor, however, Know Where has a hypnotic effect.
On 4 May, Dead Sea release their 4-track debut EP Colorate.
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.
The Spectors – Dorothy
When Marieke Hutsebaut founded The Spectors in 2012, their demos soon caught the ear of former Editors guitarist Chris Urbanowicz. He produced the Belgian band’s self-titled debut EP (2014) and full album Light Stays Close (2015), two releases full of shoegaze and dreampop.
Their second album Ooh Aah Aah took three years to make. Three years that Hutsebaut used to experiment with different line-ups and to find the right musical touch. She says about that search: “Our main goal on this record was to step away from the heavy shoegaze and highlight our poppy side with a collection of catchy songs.”
Mission accomplished, as far as I’m concerned. Ooh Aah Aah contains short, snappy and sparkling songs with honest lyrics, in which Hutsebaut chronicles her life with Asperger’s. For me, Dorothy is one of the album’s highlights!
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.
