The Kat O Army - Frederick The Younger - Juanita Stein
Background - Kat O (ex- Kathematics, Kill TV) formed The Kat O Army in June 2017, releasing the single Victim of Truth (Minorities Unite) independently and launching the song with a successful Victorian tour, followed by NSW shows. Her passionate songs connect to the hearts of everyone who has been let down by friendships, relationships and even the government.
The new single I Don’t Wanna Fight was recorded at Toyland in Melbourne and produced and engineered by Adam Calaitzis. Kat played guitar and bass on the track. The song was written in 10 minutes as an ode to 2017, one of the most unbelievably argumentative years ever for Kat. Basically, she didn’t want to fight anymore. Raw and honest, the catchy pop/punk track is sung in Kat’s unmistakable Aussie accent.
Kat put up a video on Facebook of her performing the song unplugged in her music room which garnered an amazing response, including someone in her network wanting to cover the song. The track was recorded, immediately resulting in airplay on community radio in Melbourne and Adelaide. The song was also put on Melomania radio’s playlist, alongside Pink, giving the track airplay in 40 countries around the world. TWITTER.
'I Don't Wanna Fight' opens as a stripped back rocker before powering up the energy. Kat O's vocals are feisty and ooze rock & roll vibes, in this no nonsense blast.
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Background - “Jessica” is the new song that Louisville’s psych-pop band Frederick The Younger is sharing from their new album which will be coming out later this year. The band is sharing the infectious song due to their spring tour in support of Houndmouth that is now underway.
Comprised of their soulful powerhouse vocalist Jenni Cochran, virtuosic guitarist Aaron Craker (who’s pulling double-duty playing guitar w/ Houndmouth on this tour), and their new rhythm section Jake Hellman (bass) and Dave Given (drums), Frederick The Younger is back with a newfound energy that they’ve channeled into the songwriting on their upcoming album. Channeling vintage melodic rock and roll through the lens of psychedelic garage pop, the band has drawn comparisons to everyone from St. Vincent and Angel Olsen, to The Zombies and Arcade Fire.
“Jessica” is the first taste of new music since the release of their debut album Human Child, which was produced by the veteran sonic wizard Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird, Twin Limb). There is an earnestness to their new songs that rings true, the kind of sincerity born from experience. These songs feel alive and well-lived, tragic, beautiful, and contemplative, all with a solid hook. FACEBOOK.
We featured Frederick The Younger just a month ago with the song 'Human Child II' and now we have 'Jessica' from the bands next album due later this year. Their psych rock infused style has plenty of melodic hooks on the new track, other influences may be their but the band have developed their own sound, and it's a good one.
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Background - Juanita Stein, the Howling Bells front woman turned solo artist, will release a brand new single, Forgiver on 13th April (impacts 1 June). The single was co-written and produced by Brandon Flowers while Juanita was on tour with The Killers in Northern Europe this February.
Forgiver is the first taster of Stein’s upcoming second album, Until The Lights Fade, which will be released by Nude Records on 31st August. Says Stein of the song, “I remember wanting it to feel swaggering and wise, just like she is in the song. She a knowing seductress and he an endearing fool, completely at her mercy. It’s only once we get to the chorus that she shows any kind of vulnerability.”
“I’d written the bones of the song a while ago and began working on it again on the EU leg of the Killers tour. I’d managed to get Brandon to hear the song as was, with the intention of seeing if he could maybe help take it somewhere, and he ended up not only co-writing, but also producing the track, which we were able to record backstage during those last few days on the road. I loved the spontaneity of the recording. As with the album itself, everything unfolded very instinctively.”
Juanita Stein’s second solo album arrives less than a year after her first, ‘America’, saw her exploring the iconography and cultural landscapes of a country that had always fascinated her from afar. Yet, while ’Until The Lights Fade’ is cut from the same musical cloth as its predecessor - the crepuscular twang of bar-room guitars, the keening romanticism of its melodies, the sparseness and simplicity of its arrangements - the album’s ten songs are concerned with thoughts, feelings, stories and characters rooted far closer to home.
“I feel like the two albums are different sides of the same coin,” Stein explains. “If ‘America’ was the starting point of a journey - the musical equivalent of me spreading my wings, but also treading carefully, trying to figure myself out having come from such an intense period of camaraderie in the band - then this record is me starting to gain a bit more traction, feeling more confident in where I’m coming from and what it is I’m doing.” WEBSITE.
This our our fourth feature for Juanita Stein an artist that consistently impresses us with her charismatic music. 'Forgiver' is a gliding rock song that is cleverly arranged adding a few extra layers of sound as it flows. That it is a catchy teaser for her second album goes without saying.
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