We Were Promised Jetpacks - Critter Cabal - Levi Lobo

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Fat Chance.

Acclaimed Scottish rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks have announced their much anticipated brand new album Enjoy the View, to be released on 10th September via Big Scary Monsters. Along with the announcement they share single ‘Fat Chance’, which follows on from previous new single ‘If It Happens’, released via 7” this month. The new tracks signify a change in musical direction for the band, with ‘Fat Chance’ an ode to overcoming, and even thriving, despite the odds.

Lead singer Adam Thompson explains; “We started properly writing this album at the end of March 2020 when we realised that everything was going to be shut down. We had a US tour lined up in May but obviously had to cancel. So from March to June, we sent each other ideas remotely and collaborated that way. I was so glad we had a project to focus on when proper lockdown hit. When we were able to get into our practice space in July, we were finally able to jam and write more like we normally do. This song came out of those sessions pretty early on.”

Longtime fans of We Were Promised Jetpacks alongside music critics, often cite the band’s flair for writing infectious pop songs encased within grandiose guitar driven rock soundscapes, yet new single ‘Fat Chance’ offers a change of pace and a glimpse into what to expect from the forthcoming album. With tightly packed drums and cleverly woven guitar arrangements, the band prioritise the track’s melodic core with effortless dexterity.

“I was just messing about on guitar in our studio and got the verse chords and as soon as the other guys joined in, we had a song! We can sometimes spend weeks and months and years trying to get the right parts together but this one flowed. I finished the pre-chorus and chorus that day and sent the demo to the rest of the band and we were excited about it straight away” Thompson said.

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Critter Cabal - Someday / Denim & Paisley.

Critter Cabal serve up a rootsy and alternative double helping of hearty and wholesome rocking with the yearningly strident ‘Someday’ - with sentiments many will be feeling as we ease out of lock downs and reconvene with loved ones, followed up by the driving Detroit groove of ‘Denim & Paisley’ with distinctly New York lyrics that conjure chaotic and psychedelic nights in the city that never sleeps.

This New York experience is no fantasy or put on - despite the band now being based in Cardiff, Wales. Singer-songwriter Alex Nagle is a journeyman of sound and screen, originally from Rhode Island, USA. Raised in a musical household as step-son of a professional trumpet player for Gold record awardees Blood, Sweat and Tears, Alex grew up in the Chelsea Hotel and the East Village in New York City,surrounded by colourful creatives.

Alex then played around the L.A. music scene in the 90s in the Blackouts and Uncalled Four, both bands recording with Grammy nominated producer, Bruce Witkin. That’s also when Alex started exploring acting and voice over work and has never lost interest to this day. He appeared in Indie Films and infamously featured in 80s hairband, Cinderella’s “Coming Home” video. He isn’t allowed to forget it, not for one single day of his life. Later, in New England, he played in award-winning bands, The Chasers and Plan 9.

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Levi Lobo - I Ain't Bob Dylans Grandson.

Levi Dylan Martinez professionally known as Levi Lobo was born on June, 23, 1994 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to born Liesa Renee McCarty an Artist and Gerald Donald Martinez, a pastor. His Grand Father, Alfonso Martinez was a City planner in Albuquerque before he retired. 

His Great Grand Mother was from Apache decent on his fathers side and Great Grand Father from European decent. They settled from Texas into New Mexico with the migration and resettling of one the Apache tribes led by Geronimo.

I ain’t Bob Dylan’s grandson was written as a archive of Levi’s growing up not in a well known family but in one which saw poverty and sadness and it shows his struggle with his identity and the struggle of the economy as a whole. This song has Bob Dylan vibes and caries the story like fun of the old poets.

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Melissa Lamm - Kaylee Patterson - Hilotrons

Melissa Lamm - Balcony.

Melissa tells us "I spent last summer's lockdown on my balcony in Toronto, and wrote a song about it."

She continues "I had just gotten married before the pandemic, and was dreaming of a honeymoon abroad. When lockdown hit, my husband and I abandoned our plans of a far away vacation, and made our own little paradise in the concrete jungle."

"Balcony" tells a humble story about making the most of wherever you are. You may not be able to spend your summer on a tropical beach or sightseeing abroad, but sitting on a modest little balcony with someone you love can be a perfect time – even if you aren't doing anything at all.

Finally Melissa adds "I love full pop sounds but chose to take a more chill and stripped down approach to this recording, which is about enjoying the simple moments in life. Sometimes I look back at last summer and feel nostalgic about my time spent on my balcony, and this year I'm honestly looking forward to another summer spent doing absolutely nothing staring down at Toronto sidewalks with the person I love."

From Beehive Candy's point of view, it's a beautiful song that exudes both warmth, charm and that little extra something that demands another listen.

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Artwork by Dunya Darwiche

Kaylee Patterson - Not Sorry.

Background by Kaylee Patterson: My emotionally charged and liberating new single, "Not Sorry," produced by Jay Century (Kaskade, Duckwrth, Starley) is available now! 

I had broken up with my abusive ex of six years and while this was a long time coming, it led me down a long, dark road of self-doubt. My first relationship, my first breakup - the crippling guilt of ending things was unbearable. After the initial pain and sadness faded away, I found that I didn’t have any of me left.

One day, about a year later, I woke up and suddenly the guilt was gone. I found myself not thinking about him for long periods, or compulsively re-reading our old messages. Writing "Not Sorry" began my journey towards forgiving myself and active healing.

This is the first rocket ship into a new world, infused with heartbreak, sadness, and sarcastic humor. Stay tuned for her debut EP this summer. 

The song is bitter-sweet, where exquisite vocals are juxtaposed with darker lyrics that express her own recent and personal reality. It's short yet captivating - Beehive Candy.

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Hilotrons - Painted Elvis.

HILOTRONS is the music of Mike Dubue, who has been releasing records and singles since 2001. He currently lives in Quyon, QC in a 168 year old church where he operates his recording studio (Studio Cimetière) and an outdoor 35mm cinema.

Dubue has released Lonely Cinema II, the third installment of a trilogy of records. Heavily inspired by film soundtracks and synthesizer music of the 1960s and 1970s, it’s about having our lives reduced down to a little piece of real estate rented or owned, together with the curated and controlled virtual spaces that the system provides.

On the new track “Painted Elvis,” Caylie Runciman (Boyhood) joins on lead vocals and singer-songwriter Michael Feuerstack on pedal steel.  For many years in Quyon, there was a giant wooden Elvis mounted on the side of an old barn.“Painted Elvis” immortalizes the rotted landmark in a small town story of poverty and addiction.

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Alicia Walter - Nobody's Girl - Vanessa Anne Redd - Valerie Smith

Alicia Walter - Prelude.

Having already gained enormous notoriety as the lead singer behind the Chicago-based art-rock outfit Oshwa, singer and songwriter Alicia Walter has now announced her plans for her first solo studio album ‘I Am Alicia’.

Showcased by the new single ‘Prelude’, ‘I Am Alicia’ looks to see her branch out from behind the confines of her previous outfit to explore a more multifaceted direction. Exploring a diverse array of genres including jazz, hip-hop, as well as her own distinct approach to alt-pop, her new collection sees her in her most adventurous guise yet.

The new track ‘Prelude’ perfectly sums up what we can expect from her forthcoming full-length. Expertly produced by Walter and Devin Greenwood (Sufjan Stevens, Steve Reich, Norah Jones), it sees her reach to the furthest corners of her creative minds and pull back something captivating from start to finish. The video, directed by Lisa Schatz, is a vibrantly colorful odyssey that sees Walter transcending different life forms on her path to self-actualization and enlightenment.

Speaking about the new album, she said, “I wrote my album I Am Alicia sequentially, starting with 'Prelude'! This song kicks off a wild journey exploring my identity, consciousness, and everything that makes me tick. 'Prelude' is about letting go of any inhibitions holding me back from evolving into who I want to be and remembering that sometimes real wisdom lies in not knowing, rather than assuming I do."

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Nobody's Girl - Promised Land.

“We always joke that it started out by accident,” offers singer-songwriter (and former Voice contestant) Rebecca Loebe when asked about the fortuitous aligning of stars that officially brought her and fellow Austin-based troubadours BettySoo and Grace Pettis together as Nobody's Girl. “Well, actually, Grace and I like to joke that we tricked BettySoo into being in a band with us ...”

Whether it was sparked by happy accident or some manner of sly master plan, the magic of that union was undeniable from the get-go. That three of the loveliest voices in Americana and contemporary folk music could complement one another so beautifully might have been a given, but it was the songs they wrote together — songs unlike any of them had ever or probably would ever write on their own — that really made Nobody’s Girl, well, sing.

The band played more than 100 shows from Texas to Ireland in support of a 2018 EP, Waterline, and released some singles during 2020 as the self-titled full-length album street date moved to 2021. The “power of three” they share is captured like bottled lightning on the trio’s strikingly fun and assertive Nobody's Girl, out on digital, CD, and vinyl through Lucky Hound Music on July 30, 2021.

The album was produced (at Lucky Hound’s own state-of-the-art Studios at Fischer in the Texas Hill Country) by Michael Ramos, the Grammy Award-winning producer who helmed Waterline. In addition to Ramos on percussion and keyboards and the formidable rhythm section of bassist Glenn Fukunaga and drummers J.J. Johnson and Conrad Choucroun, Nobody’s Girl features arguably the deepest roster of Texas guitar heroes this side of a classic Joe Ely or Arc Angels record: Charlie Sexton, David Grissom, and David Pulkingham.

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Photo - Paul Dixon

Vanessa Anne Redd - DC Drawers

British/German singer-songwriter and producer Vanessa Anne Redd shares the hazy summer’s day psych-folk single ‘DC Drawers’ and announces details of her forthcoming third solo album Sweet Way Around. ‘DC Drawers’ explores the joy of the parade, body image and expectation in the age of voyeurism, and is described by Redd as “A story of angelic youth’s highs and lows, struggles, innocence, confusion, beauty and glory” which is turned by Redd’s wonderful story-telling into an almost Biblical tale of temptation.

Over the course of her three solo albums, Behind The Wall (2016), Zumbo Waxes (2019), and the forthcoming Sweet Way Around, Vanessa Anne Redd has mastered her own very distinctive and irreplicable sound. Redd‘s music is one of enticing, often contradictory, intricacies. It’s playful yet serious, pastoral yet at times garage rock-tinged, vulnerable but strong, gentle but driven, lush and melodic but with jagged edges, and both languorous and fierce. It’s also wonderfully childlike, in the simpler melodies but mostly in Redd’s sweet unembellished voice, yet also simultaneously swaggering and seductive.

Comparisons have been raised to PJ Harvey, Leonard Cohen, Angel Olsen, Holly Golightly, Regina Spektor, Hunky-Dory-era Bowie and 1970s Scott Walker. Redd’s talent is in recalling many greats whilst musically creating something unique, propelling her into what Loud & Quiet has referred to as  the “singer-songwriter premier league.”

As with most good singer-songwriters, Redd tells stories. Her songs take the listener on a journey but not one that delves into her own private life, but one that opens the whole world up widely to the listener, from the esoteric and existential to life’s nitty gritty realities. Books, art, philosophy, religion, psychology, spirituality, life and death and nature – amongst a myriad of other subjects have all been explored on her albums (past and present).

The philosophical, the spiritual, and our connection to Mother Nature are at the forefront of Sweet Way Around. It is an album about finding the ‘sweet way’ in life, as Redd expands, “It’s staring through windows, at trees and listening to birds. It’s about empowering yourself. It’s about the beauty of seclusion and creativity, the power of touch and of one another. It’s rolling moment to moment on the wheel of time. It’s about death and not being afraid of it. Above all, it’s about happiness and getting there.”

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Valerie Smith - I Found.

Valerie Smith found her newest single in an odd place; a recording by an  indie rock band from across the pond in England.     I Found is the second release from Valerie’s upcoming album,  Renaissance. Her first release, From A Distance, stayed on the Bluegrass Today Grassicana Chart for over 13 months and debuted No. 2 on the Folk DJ Chart.       

Valerie recalls:“While driving along Tennessee Highway 82 to the recording studio I heard a song on the radio called I Found performed by an indie rock group known as Amber Run,” Valerie says “I was captivated by the melody, the passion, and the lyrics.”       

Her band, Liberty Pike, was skeptical when they first heard the original Amber Run version, but they decided to humor Valerie and her new song idea even though they were rolling their collective eyes.     “As we began to make it our own,” Valerie says, “We came to realize that it fit like a glove and we just had to record it.”     

Renaissance encompasses several genres while staying true to Valerie’s signature sound of strong vocals, an acoustic flair and a touch of bluegrass. The songs cover subject areas including love, finding love, acceptance, and regret.

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Maddy Wood - The Shameless - Lena Minder - Mandolynne - Jenny Palacios

Maddy Wood - If I Could Move.

Describing herself as a “Rock ’n’ Roll glitter princess,” Maddy Wood combines her love for the classic rock sounds of Led Zeppelin and Stevie Nicks with modern pop sensibilities, soulful vocals and thought-provoking lyrics. 

However, this self-made artist should not be confused with any old rockstar — Wood’s most appealing aspect is how she grows beyond the boundaries of her idols. Maddy effortlessly dances through a myriad of genres to create a sound that is emotional, energetic, and all her own. Crafted in the pages of a songwriting notebook and perfected on the strings of her custom purple cheetah print Telecaster, every Maddy Wood piece is original as it is beautiful. 

Her process is a raw, sometimes painful, but ultimately deeply relatable. Poetic and dressed in purple, the 21-year-old singer-songwriter is well on her way to joining the ranks of fearless, no-nonsense icons like Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers. Bending to no one, she channels her emotions unapologetically as she forges her own path.

Here's what she had to say about it: "If I Could Move is about being with someone who you share so much history with and has put you through so much, and how as time goes on, you're both growing to resent each other. The toxicity of the relationship and the mental games you play keeps the excitement and spark there, but the thought of leaving almost seems worse than being alone". 

Maddy Wood · If I Could Move

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The Shameless - Wonderful Times.

Wonderful Times, released this week is the new single for The Shameless, anticipating their second album Love Condemnation, due out on September 21st. 

The song is a stylish ballad filled with passion, feeling, torment and redemption. Dark atmospheres enlightened by a hint of hopefulness. Circular and blue piano chords move within the solid rhythmic structure and melt with the liquid guitar arrangements.

A balanced chemistry of commotion and style that lies in the songwriting tradition of Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Piano Magic, The Walker Brothers, Cousteau.

The black and white video was conceived by The Shameless and Silvia Criscione, directed and edited by Silvia Criscione, and sees the debut as "actress" of the lovely daughter of one band's member.

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Lena Minder - Fall Again.

Lena Minder gave up everything in her home country four years ago and moved from Zurich to Berlin. Under the artist name 'Liv Summer', the singer/songwriter has already released two EPs in recent years and toured throughout Germany and Switzerland. 

She has also supported international artists such as Luka Bloom, Sarah Klang and Tyler Ward.

In the meantime, Lena Minder produces most of her own music. Together with Cameron Laing, she records her songs at 'The Famous Goldwatch' studios in Berlin.

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Mandolynne - Hands.

Mandolynne is an emerging indie-alternative artist from Hamilton, Ontario. Her unique, soulful tone floats over instrumentals like a moody wave. For lovers of Metric, Sharon Van Etten, Cat Power and Placebo, her music is sure to resonate.

From a young age, Mandolynne was met with a string of tragedies and used writing as a tactile way to explore her dark thoughts and verbalize her internal reactions to her surroundings. Her lyrics are a direct reflection of her lived experiences and have enabled her to face many demons, including sexual assaults, a tragic car accident, as well as her troubled upbringing. 

Mandolynne uses each piece as a way to process these events and has found healing during the process. Her raw and pointed approach to her upcoming project may help others to explore such thoughts and shared lived experiences within themselves.

Currently, Mandolynne is working on her debut E.P. that is a reflection of her trauma, survival, and uprising.

Mandolynne · HANDS

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Jenny Palacios - Noah.

Jenny Palacios a Canadian musician, singer/songwriter out of Toronto, Ontario, with a sound that blends influences from early 2000’s emo rock and modern alternative pop.

Growing up in a musically driven environment which was encouraged by her mother, a music teacher back home in Vietnam, and having spent a number of years involved in her local alternative music scene, Jenny has developed a sense of artistry through connectivity. 

She’s explored creative routes from working with various Rock and Pop Punk artists in the DIY community such as Lauren Babic (Crazy 88, Red Handed Denial), to fronting her own Pop Rock band, playing on Warped Tour and opening shows for touring bands like PVRIS, Hawthorne Heights, and I The Mighty. Drawing from her earliest memories of her mother’s teachings, and her emo roots, Jenny is driven to deliver a sound that is cathartic, and genuine, in every aspect.

She is currently using the time given in the recent flip of the world, to write and co-produce her first solo EP, while also staying an active member of her community, remotely co-writing and collaborating with other DIY artists.

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Monica Aben - Toler Gibson - Lia D’Sau - Alexander Saint

Photo - Brenna Weeks

Monica Aben - CPH.

Hailing from Venice, California, Monica's song CPH is a tale of female empowerment and staying connected to your inner-self whilst building a life on the other side of the world in Copenhagen. 

Monica says of the release,"CPH is about the trip that tied up my adolescence with a bow and launched me into womanhood. It's an ode to the ending of what felt like the first chapter in my life".

As the 1st track from her Postcard EP (due out later this year when Monica visits Europe) CPH's seductive arrangement is mixed by Grammy winner Ryan GIlligan (Kanye West & Puerto Rican duo Calle 13) plus mastered by Jett Galindo, known for her work on the La La Land OST plus bands like Weezer, lo-fi soul artist Hayley Reinhart and others.

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Toler Gibson - Harlingen.

Toler Gibson is based in Idylwood, CA.  Kenneth Gibson and Gavin Toler have been in many indie bands (Bell Gardens, Furry Things, Winter Flowers, Old Gold), but they bonded over their love of country, folk, & psychedelic music and their upcoming album, The Days Before is the result of their mutual influences.

Their vocal harmonies are the main focal point threading the album. They weave their way through a tapestry of acoustic, electric and steel guitars that recall elements of country, folk and psychedelic rock.The band expanded when drummer Charlie Woodburn and bass player Rob Hume landed in Idyllwild from LA, then adding Drew Manne as their main pedal steel player.

Toler Gibson’s debut paints a picture with many colors and sets itself apart from your typical California Country release. Maybe because it comes from a higher elevation where the snow falls in the valley and the pines grow tall?  A place you might happen upon if you head west from Texas or south from the great northwest. The Days Before possesses an almost cinematic quality that tips it’s Stetson to classic country influences while simultaneously going far beyond them.

“Harlingen” video: Directed by Kenneth James Gibson & Alexander McDonald, Edited by Kenneth James Gibson. “We shot the video on iPhone during the pandemic - so most of the shots were done in isolation with just 1 or 2 guys at a time. The only people in the video are the band.”

"Harlingen" is a Song written about Kenneth growing up in Texas. It's about his time spent with grandparents in Harlingen Texas and grandfather's death. It's about traveling from his home in El Paso to Harlingen every winter to visit canadian snowbird grandparents. It's about missing the Texas landscape and being far from home.

The video was shot in Idyllwild, Ca, El Paso, Texas, and Long Beach at co-director Alexander McDonald's and the fellow Texan's brother Mike McDonald's compound called Patrecio's. Patrecios is a 2 house (with a proper bar, stage, and trailer) compound in Long Beach, Ca with one side set up to look like Texas and the other side to look like Mexico.

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Lia D’Sau - Man Boy.

Tel Aviv, Israel - For Lia D’Sau, songwriting is a declaration. The 18-year-old singer-songwriter explores her thoughts on womanhood, relationships and social issues with maturity and curiosity, using music as her toolkit. “Having other people write songs for me seemed daunting, terrible,” says D’Sau. 

“I’ve been taught to look deeper at the world since I was a child, and I have things I want to say.” Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, D’sau grew up listening to her parents’ favorite R&B records, with her father being a former boy band member himself. D’sau began singing at age eight, eventually attending music camp in New York City at age fifteen. 

Fusing her love of indie and the R&B she was raised on, D’sau’s debut single “Manboy” cuts deep. Her tender voice laments a breakup she initiated, gliding over acoustic guitar and synths that resemble breaking ocean waves. “Manboy'' is the first track off D’Sau’s upcoming debut EP, produced by her collaborator Midi Jones (Demi Lovato, Audrey Mika, Alessia Cara).

Lia is ecstatic to share her debut single, out this Friday. Here's what she had to say about it: "I wrote this song when i was 17 and had broken up with this guy i was seeing. My friend and I were talking about how I needed to start dating men and not boys, so that how I came up with the term "Manboy". I was hurt from what had happened in our relationship and just laid out our entire timeline for the verses of the song. Writing it ended up becoming a therapeutic way to have closure around what happened, and doing that on my own".

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Alexander Saint - Showoff.

Alexander Saint is an artist with bloodlines, deeply tied to the Toronto music scene through his Guyanese-Canadian father, George St. Kitts. As a multi-instrumentalist, he crafts sonic portraits, telling stories through contemplative melodies, heartfelt lyricism and his trusty acoustic guitar. 

Having travelled the world as a professional bassist, touring with such acts as Justin Timberlake (with Francesco Yates for the “Man of the Woods” tour), and playing award shows with such greats as Ed Sheeran, Alexander Saint now steps out on his own to show what he has to offer as a solo artist. 

Described by platinum songwriter JP Saxe as “super sick.. He’s going to be big”. Saint’s music is a mature take of honest storytelling about loss, love, and getting off your damn phone. Taking cues from such artists as John Lennon, Bleachers and Michael Kiwanuka, he sets off to create a new identity as a mixed-black man in the alt-soul space.

Alexander Saint · Showoff

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Noga - Phantom Atlantic - Violet Daze - Freya Wolf

Photo - Sarah Fosco

Noga - The Alchemist.

After years of touring the world on bass with Cass McCombs, Delicate Steve, and many others, Noga (aka Noga Shefi) has regrouped to bring listeners The Alchemist -- a short collection of new songs out July 30. Inspired in part by Paulo Coelho's classic mysticist novel of the same name, The Alchemist follows NOGA's experience of untangling life's great dualities: dreams and reality, light and dark, known and unknown, self and other. Stream the title track, out today.

Written during a quiet period of time off in Israel, Noga recorded the EP back in NYC at the Relic Room, with Scott Colberg on bass and guitar, Jason Nazary on Drums, and Frank LoCrasto on piano and synths. The EP was mixed and mastered by Greg Saunier.

In the novel The Alchemist, the protagonist is made to take on a great quest spanning years and continents. It is not just about chasing dreams, but about the refinement of the alchemist's skill and ability to turn something worthless into gold. On "The Alchemist," the EP's titular, opening track, Noga grounds her anxieties by reminding herself that the heart and mind is responsible for how one experiences reality. Just as the alchemist can turn cheap metal into gold, Noga's songs are inspired by the magic of turning unfortunate situations into wisdom and love.

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Phantom Atlantic - Heart out of Heaven.

Phantom Atlantic create cinematic alt rock for seekers. Since arriving on the scene in 2017, the Toronto outfit have crafted an atmospheric sound of intensity and pressure, welding Radiohead eccentricity to a Foo Fighters arena-rock frame of airtight guitar punch and chest-rattling rhythm. 

Your View of a Former Me, the band’s upcoming EP, applies that schematic to a narrative cycle of looking inward for a way out. Co-written and produced by Steve Molella of Finger Eleven, it’s a sharp, precise, and volatile five-track collection that ends in step with its beginnings: understanding and accepting the futility of stasis, and the inevitability of perpetual change. 

These two truths are earned over the course of Your View of a Former Me, a project and a title that chart a crooked path towards repair and salvation that never quite ends.

Phantom Atlantic · Heart out of Heaven

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Violet Daze - Across the Bay.

The world of airy and delicate indie-pop welcomes Sunshine Coast singer-songwriter, Violet Daze with her debut release 'Across The Bay'.

A driving beat and a tinge of folk-pop, 'Across The Bay' embodies a soaring hook, shining guitar embellishments, and dreamy vocal soundscapes. Working heavily behind the scenes for the past three years, Violet Daze recorded her debut track with Billy Otto and mastering engineer Ian Pritchett (Kim Churchill, Dusty Boots and Caravana Sun).

The melancholic lyrics are juxtaposed by the upbeat style of the instrumentation, written in an ode to a past relationship breakdown but with revelation and reflection. Violet goes on to explain: "I want people to hear this song and not feel alone. I want them to feel seen. It takes courage to delve into the self-reflective process of a break-up and come out the other side."

Releasing alongside a beautifully shot video clip, the clip reflects the narrative of the track, and follows Violet Daze as she revisits places of her past love. "It was filmed in locations that are significant to me personally and I feel that energy carries through the music video. The premise of the video is going on a trip that you had planned to do with your significant other, that you are now having to do by yourself and exploring the wave of emotions that go along with that. It was filmed by Dale from Whaley Films and Rachael Baskerville who is the face behind all of the Violet Daze press images. They brought the concept together seamlessly", continues Violet.

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Freya Wolf - This Man Is Mine.

Freya’s music is a timeless reminder of the sensational sounds of the 60s and 70s drawing on influences such as Aretha Franklin & Nina Simone.

For me personally “This Man Is Mine” reminds me of Sandy Shaw, Dusty Springfield and the pure soulful music of a bygone era brought to life in these modern times.

Such a feel good track dropping just in time for the summer. “This Man Is Mine” is a track I know your listeners are going to love.

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Lakes - Jennifer Nichole Porter - Teeniest - Janita

Lakes - Matches.

Watford (London) based six-piece ensemble Lakes share second single ‘Matches’ from their forthcoming new record ‘Start Again’. The band recently announced their signing to Big Scary Monsters for the new album, out 30th July.

‘Matches’ is an exploration of political division, set to a backdrop of glistening guitars, a driving melody and the band’s signature harmonised dual lead vocals. “Watching the way political discourse has played out over the past few years and the tension that comes with polarising views - it’s exhausting. No one wants to be proven wrong.” says co-lead singer Roberto Cappellina. “There’s a need for space to have real conversations with each other and to listen. This song is about reaching out to have those conversations.”

After a handful of self-releases and a stint of heavy touring with the likes of Nervus and Orchards, the pandemic forced Lakes to slow down, having been catapulted a long way in a short space of time through consistent hard work and sheer tenacity. The six individuals that make up Lakes took the opportunity to formulate new ideas ready for their newest offering, and fired by a strong ‘do it yourself’ ethic, they collaborated remotely on bringing each other’s stories to life. The resulting album, mixed by Neil Strauch (Owen, Owls, Joan Of Arc, Anathallo, Slow Mass etc), captures themes of healing, hope and relief.

“This batch of songs has been a vehicle for healing for all six of us in some way, so there are a lot of different but raw themes throughout the record. Even though we’re currently all isolated from each other, the one person you can’t escape is yourself,” says Cappellina. “We talk about anything from mental health to addiction; from break ups to cutting out toxic friends, to postpartum psychosis. We’ve been to some dark places between us, but ultimately, ‘Start Again’ is about coming out the other side. This record is about facing that darkness, owning it and letting go of the past. It’s about being at peace with it and moving forward and saying that it’s actually OK to start again.”

Inspired by midwestern emo giants American Football’s LP2, ‘80s pop rock icons Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel and stimulated by the sonic legacies of their scene peers (The Appleseed Cast, TTNG, Broken Social Scene and Bon Iver),  the band was born out of drummer/guitarist Matt Shaw’s newfound desire to write music. Within the space of a month, he had the basis for an EP (2018’s The Tahoe EP and 2019’s The Geneva EP) and an album laid out. With former bandmate Roberto Cappellina on vocals, those early works were recorded on a single mic and PC. Soon the pair were joined by Blue Jenkins (vocals, glockenspiel, keys), Rob Vacher (guitar), Gareth Arthur (guitar) and Charlie Smith (bass).

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Jennifer Nichole Porter - Sun Come And Shine.

Award-winning musician Jennifer Porter has just released her eighth album, Sun Come And Shine.  During preparation for her newest project, Porter’s transcendent songs and inimitable velvety voice attracted the attention of legendary drummer and music director Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, whose prodigious, decades-spanning body of work Jennifer had long admired.  Mr. Purdie insisted that Jennifer record live with his band at his favorite studio in New Jersey.  Within days, dates were set at Jankland Recordings, for the summer of 2020.  A Covid-safety protocol was set up at the studio, with strict masking and social-distancing guidelines. What followed was a series of memorable adventures, with trips from Maine (where Jennifer lives) to New Jersey, squeezed in between Covid surges and self-imposed quarantines.

The stellar band assembled by Mr. Purdie included George Naha on guitar (Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave), and Wilbur Bascombe on bass (James Brown, B.B King, Bo Diddley) and Miho Nobuzane (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas) who shared keyboard duties with Jennifer. Esteemed guest artists on the project include Grammy-winners Christian McBride and Cindy Cashdollar and Grammy nominees, Ron Paparozzi and Jennifer’s friend, C.J. Chenier.  On several songs, the band was joined by horn players Steve Jankowski (Blood Sweat And Tears, Chicago) and Tom Timko (Blood Sweat And Tears, Tower Of Power).

Sun Come And Shine includes ten songs, nine of them originals by Jennifer.  The album was mixed by the talented Jonathan Wyman, and mastered by multiple Grammy-winner Adam Ayan.  Sun Come And Shine is released under Porter’s own label, Cougar Moon Music.

Jennifer is the winner of the 2019 Independent Music Network Award for Best Female Crossover Artist, the 2020 We Are The Music Makers Award for Best Roots / Blues / Americana album, and a 2015 Independent Music Awards nominee for best Jazz With Vocals album.  Her song, Road to Redemption, from her 2018 album, THESE YEARS, hit #1 on National Indie Radio, and the Independent Music Network’s, New Music Weekly’s, and National Radio Hits’ Country charts.

JenniferNicholePorter · Sun Come And Shine

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Teeniest - Better Smile.

Background from Teeniest: It's been a couple of years since we've recorded a new song, but now we're happy to write to introduce you to “Better Smile” - the new song by the New York duo, Teeniest.  

It’s a song we wrote about being sunny despite all the darkness. “Better Smile” has a rootsy vibe, with slide guitar and accordion. 

On upright acoustic bass is Pete Toigo, who has played and recorded with artists ranging from Natalie Merchant to Terry Adams of NRBQ.

Teeniest · Better Smile

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Janita - I Forgive You.

Janita’s new album, Here Be Dragons (ECR Music Group), arrives on the heels of multiple, triumphant single releases. Billboard Magazine writes, “Janita is creating a timeless, sensuous, musical mosaic that deserves to be heard. This woman’s got the goods.”

Following two single premieres on Spotify’s coveted New Music Friday playlist and racking up over half a million views for her music videos for singles “Digging In The Dirt” and “Not What You’re Used To,” Janita has won a new-found global audience.

Already an iconic music figure in her native Finland, the long-time New York City resident has enjoyed critical acclaim fused with commercial success—an uncommon achievement which propelled her across 60,000 miles of touring for over 100 performances on both sides of the Atlantic in 2018 and 2019.

Recent singles “Bliss I Once Had This,” “I Do,” and “Our Love Is All We Have,” have garnered her national TV, press, and media in the United States and Europe following their releases.

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Megan Wyler - Tachys - Deanna Drudge - Someone

Megan Wyler - Starlight.

Singer/songwriter Megan Wyler has released “Starlight,” a new single co-written with seven-time Grammy Award-nominee Anoushka Shankar from her upcoming album Upside Now (out July 9). Wyler’s first new album in eight years, Upside Now sees the singer collaborating with Through The Noise producer Adem Ilhan (Fridge, Silver Columns) as well as Grammy Award-winning mixer Mark Rankin (Adele, Florence + The Machine, Harry Styles), and multi-award-winning composer/producer Peter Raeburn (Under the Skin, Sexy Beast) as executive producer (and co-producer on three tracks).

“When we set out writing ‘Starlight’ Anoushka and I knew exactly what we wanted to make, and it just gently flowed,” says Wyler. “I think it is a song about a woman’s ability to overcome, refusing to get sucked down the toxic drain, and finding her power in doing so.”

Written and recorded between London and Los Angeles, Upside Now features co-writes with the likes of Anoushka Shankar and the late guitarist Johnny McNabb, amongst others. Frequent collaborators lending their talents and exceptional musicianship to the songs include Emma Smith on strings (Jarvis Cocker, Hot Chip, Depeche Mode), Alex Thomas on drums (Air, Anna Calvi, John Cale), and Matt Sweeney on guitars (Johnny Cash, Bonnie Prince Billy, Catpower). Along with producer Adem Ilhan, executive producer Peter Raeburn, and mixer Mark Rankin, they’ve created a dramatic new acoustic soundscape to envelop Megan’s latest works.

A California native, Wyler released her 2013 debut Through The Noise while living in London. The album was praised by the likes of Nowness, Songwriting Magazine, Indie Shuffle who described her sound as “incredibly moving and luscious,” and Clash Magazine who called her music “subtle, delicate and very beautiful.” Closely following that album’s release, Wyler had a young son with a number of demanding medical needs. “It was my honour and privilege to make him my priority,” says Wyler. “Being a mother is and always will be my first job ahead of anything else.” During this time, Wyler found herself in a bit of a creative “freeze-over” as she calls it. “It was like I could see songs, ready to be born, but I couldn’t access them somehow.”  As things calmed down at home, however, her creative freeze began to thaw.

Now Wyler is returning in full force. Upside Now’s first single “The Calling” was used as the opening title music of the Amazon Original Series Tell Me Your Secrets and both “The Calling” and “Upside Now” have been featured on a number of top Apple Music playlists including New Music Daily, Acoustic Chill, New In Alternative, Breaking Singer-Songwriter and Wax Eclectic.

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Tachys - When The World Wakes Up.

Tachys is a new Danish duo consisting of Jonas Bjerre (Mew, Apparatjik) and Tobias Wilner (Blue Foundation, New York United, Ghost Society, Bichi) and is equal parts pop and experimentation. Their sound incorporates a unique blend of genres. With their catchy songwriting, Tachys uses their melodies as a guideline through a mix of modular synthesis exploration, quasi-psychedelic pop, synth/chillwave, and nostalgic swirling shoe-gazey guitars. It all progresses into a blossoming dream-pop, filled with layers of textural electronics, catchy melodies and driving beats.

Having known each other since early childhood, Jonas and Tobias have often collaborated, crossing over into each other’s respective projects, but this is their first joint effort as a unit.

Debut single ‘When The World Wakes Up’ from Tachys is an upbeat pop song with underlying dark tones. The lyrics deal with unexpected twists of fate, both on personal and global scales. With the song Tachys blends the genres of nostalgic shoegaze, synth/chillwave into uplifting dream-pop atmospheres. One can imagine the morning summer light streaming through gossamer curtains, the natural awakening of the world around us gleaming with dew droplets and just – life in general – around us, chirping birds and the feeling of being not-quite-awake but not-quite-asleep either.

The song is written, recorded and produced by Tachys.  Mixed by Tobias Wilner. Mastered by Joe Lambert.

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Deanna Drudge - June.

Settling soundly within this month of “June” comes Canadian folk-rock recording artist Deanna Drudge’s new single, video and album, Killing Time. At eleven tracks strong, the release is woven together with a lifetime of earnest experience left bare between the bars of song. The indie singer/songstress hails originally from Ontario farmlands, but has found herself among the wooded scenery of Squamish, British Columbia — a juxtaposition she says she leans on in her lyrics.

Enlisting the production talent of Kevin Ker, Drudge allowed the heaviness in her heart, brought on by anxiety and depression, to spin itself into the fabric of the record. And between her and Ker, Killing Time is an unmistakably honest offering and insight into a woman’s resolve to give herself license to heal, and ultimately create.

“Sometime during 2018, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue with music,” Drudge confides, but says it was the lockdown of 2020 that changed her perspective on writing. “I knew I needed to create something... Create something mostly for myself with no expectations of how it would turn out and what I would do with it after.”

Penning and arranging the tracks with simply a guitar is a testament to the freedom Drudge permitted herself walking into her first professional project. Her tenure as a recording artist has earned its merit by not pressuring the process; instead, allowing the songs to flow from an honest place, utilizing the time it required to be done right. “The songs evolved from a time when a decision was made to face and beat an almost decade long struggle with anxiety, depression and self-doubt,” Drudge reveals. “Most of the songs stem from a place of introspection; acknowledging the place I had found myself in and the moments throughout the next 2 years of battling toward self-acceptance.”

Leading off with her single “June” — a folk prog-rock charming ode to unrequited interest, and mustering the courage to say how she feels — electric chords and haunting harmonies lay claim to nods of the fantastical pique of 90s female alt-rock. While almost a seemingly Mazzy Starr/Chantal Kreviazuk testimony preached to a choir of Lilith Fair mainstays, Drudge manages to carve herself a new path of indie songwriting.

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Someone - Paris At Midnight.

Someone (aka Dutch/British musician, producer and visual artist Tessa Rose Jackson) shares her romantically electric new single ‘Paris At Midnight,’ accompanied by a charming, animated video created by Someone. Someone describes ‘Paris At Midnight’ as having “an innocent and magical quality to it” as it reminisces that twilight zone of a young couple in love and follows them as they explore Paris in a romantic, starry-eyes state. To embody the glow of the lovers, the song is sound tracked by an old-school coquettish double-bass and mood-setting trumpet, used to evoke images of what Someone describes as “a trumpet playing wandering the streets of Paris after a show, noodling on his instrument and letting the sound echo don the empty streets…”

It’s the second single to be taken from Someone’s forthcoming debut album Shapeshifter, following the dreamy pop-psych of first single ‘Strange World’ (May 2021), the cinematic video for which, co-directed by Someone and streaming on YouTube, won Best Music Video at LA Film Awards.

The dreamy first two singles give a wonderful taste of what can be expected from Shapeshifter, an album of intimate, acoustic, suavely cinematic and velvet lined songs. It’s a sound that combines Someone’s psychedelic pop music, with a soul and voice as  light as Air, as fragile as Feist, as deep as Nick Drake and as future-psych as Tame Impala - with her most personal song writing to date (inspired a little by Joni Mitchel with a nod to her on Shapeshifter’s album artwork design).

Written in the throes of lockdown, Shapeshifter encompasses the sometimes surreal and dreamlike feel of  lockdown’s isolation, but more prominently it celebrates the wonder of the human mind and spirit to rise above such challenges. Songs such as aforementioned first single ‘Strange World’ and ‘Paris At Midnight’ offer a dreamy escapism, with a clear message from Someone of “Staying positive and staying playful.”

On other album tracks such as on warm acoustic opener ‘Save Me’, which nods to the Joni Mitchell influence; the piquing 60s psych and Feist-esque ‘Health’; the stirring ‘I’m Not Leaving’; and on the wide-open Sufjan Steven’s soundscapes and warm mellow grooves of John Mayer’s Continuum found on ‘Nothing Really Matters’, Shapeshifter offers a kind of sonic therapy. The listener is asked to have hope for the future, whilst friends are guided gently away from giving in to their negative inner voices, or self-destructive tenancies.

Like ‘Paris At Midnight’, Shapeshifter is a record as intimate and immersive as it is richly layered and evocative, and whilst it may not have been written about the pandemic specifically, after our collective experience of the last year, Shapeshifter  will undoubtedly resonate with, and elevate all, who listen to it.

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Conchúr White - Massage - The Lost Meridian - Stice

Conchúr White - Dreamers (E.P).

Northern Irish artist Conchúr White has released his new EP 'Dreamers', arriving ahead of UK + Ireland tours with Villagers, and Margaret Glaspy. Conchúr White’s 'Dreamers' EP was written over a year and a half long period and recorded across various different studios in the UK and US. Working with producers including Kevin McMahon (Frightened Rabbit, Real Estate) and Simon Dine (Paul Weller), the EP was then mixed by Matt Wiggins (London Grammar, Glass Animals, The Horrors).

Thematically the EP touches upon a number of pressing cultural issues and quandaries, all somewhat inadvertently rooted in a similar area – with Conchúr elaborating further: "I didn’t write the EP with a theme in mind but I’ve found there to be one. It’s about the importance of pushing yourself out the door but also giving yourself a break and understanding that everyone’s circumstances are different.”

EP opener 'Vocation Vacation' bursts into life with a tumultuous  piano run before White raises the curtain with the words "the world's at its knees, but I've got a plan / I'm gonna post Orwell over Instagram". Musing on various modern day dilemmas amid a backdrop of hushed organs, twirling bass lines and rattling percussion, "Vocation Vacation" is part commentary on influencer culture, part acceptance of getting older.

"Go Easy" follows – a delicate folk track examining a strained relationship after a shared family loss. Speaking on the track, Conchúr said "I think that we often look for something or someone to blame for loss. Relationships with friends, family, partners can be difficult because they remind you of the person who is gone." Title track "Dreamers" explores notions of small town culture and moves effortlessly between soothing folk and indie-rock bedlam, with Conchúr professing, "I've been talkin' 'bout it since I don't know when / I had excuses for days and they were 10 out of 10s" / until I finally make it I won't scream or shout / cause we've all been dreamers 'til we get found out".

"It's about feeling silly for having dreams or aspirations beyond what you've known, so you make excuses or self sabotage," Conchúr explains. "I worked with a lot of young people from the local area who at such a young age felt like they wouldn't go beyond where they were, which was quite sad. The main message is we all have a right to dream and aspire for something more whether it seems silly or not." The EP closes with "Killing Us", which was written during the first few weeks of lockdown back in March 2020. Written about trying not to regret or worry about things, Conchúr was struggling to finish the track, before stumbling across a voice-recording of his late Grandfather.

Conchúr White · Dreamers EP

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Massage - At the End of the World.

Los Angeles' Massage has shared the latest, and final single, from their forthcoming album, Still Life. Listen to "At the End of the World" here.

"This Massage LP better not sell out before I get paid, though admittedly, it should definitely be on everyone’s radar. The latest single has this wistful vibe, something akin to a movie scene where the passenger stares longingly out a window hoping/praying for a better day than today…or at least that’s how I’m hearing it," says Nathan Langford of Austin Town Hall. "Plus, the jangles and the synths give the song this wash that sounds incredibly similar to Another Sunny Day’s 'You Should All Be Murdered,' and that is 100% reason alone to steam this song and tap your toes. I mean, how many great songs can this band write? We’re going to find out when Still Life drops."

On their sophomore effort, Massage manage to take a quantum leap forward in songwriting, production, and depth, all without seeming to try. These 12 deft songs are full of late-summer sunlight and deep shadows, pained grins and shared jokes, shy declarations of love and quietly nursed heartbreak. Still Life resurrects a brief, romantic moment in the late-'80s, right after post-punk and immediately before alt-rock, when it seemed like any scrappy indie band might stumble across a hit.

The kind of music Massage makes—sunny, bittersweet, tender—is less a proper genre than a minor zip code nested within guitar pop. Take a little "There She Goes" by the La's, some "If You Need Someone" by the Field Mice; the honey-drizzled guitars from The Cure's "Friday I'm In Love,"  a Jesus & Mary Chain backbeat, and you're almost all the way there. Indie pop, jangle pop, power pop—whatever you call it, pushing too hard scares the spirit right out of this sweet, diffident music, and Massage have a touch so light the songs seem to form spontaneously, like wry smiles

Still Life sees release via Mt.St.Mtn in partnership with Bobo Integral (Spain) and Tear Jerk Records (Australia) on August 7 (barring pressing plant delays). It is offered on coke bottle green vinyl and will be distributed worldwide by Revolver USA and Cargo UK.

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The Lost Meridian - Caterpillar.

About three years after the release of 'Incomplete Puzzle', French indie/trip-hop colective The Lost Merdian just unveiled the first single from their next release with a music video illustrating the song "Caterpillar" (with the contribution of a feminist collective Collages Féministes Bordeaux).

This new track - which talks about sexual harassment and violence in public against women - will be featured on the band's upcoming EP 'Regardless of what the omen said' to be released on September through all platforms.

Founded by four boys and a girl (from various local bands such as Beautiful Lunar Landscape, In Veins or Novlang...) in 2012 around the Bordeaux city area, The Lost Meridian drawns its musical path from the roots of the British 90's/2000's scene playing around Archive, Morcheeba or The XX.

After spending about 2 years to find its own artistical figure, the band recorded a first EP called 'Useless Anger' released in 2015.Some gigs later and a couple of months spent to write new music, The Lost Meridian released 'Incomplete Puzzle' (2018) very well receveid by both professional and public audience.

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Stice - I Need Cash!!!

The digital punk duo Stice celebrate their signing to Philly indie label Ramp Local with the release of a dizzying ADHD-ASMR-breakcore-punk single “I Need Cash!!!” The track channels the frenetic energy of noise-punk contemporaries Machine Girl and Deli Girls, while also incorporating modern house sensibilities a la Against All Logic. Better yet, it's paired with another addition to Stice's vault of unhinged greenscreen'd music videos, all directed, edited and starring Stice's vocalist, Crab.

Stice vocalist Caroline Bennett aka Crab (formerly of Kiddy Pool, which would later become Machine Girl), and producer Jake Lichter aka Jark (of Maine experimental rock trio Lunch Cult) like to imagine they met as teens on the website Chatroulette, and immediately bonded over their mutual interest in the far corners of the Internet. Since their formation, Stice has been making warped industrial dance for the internet age, capturing the chaos of the digital hellscape with a bombastic and frantic absurdism.

Around 2018, the two began to email lyric snippets and sound files back and forth, which Jark, using cracked copies of Cubase and FruityLoops, dutifully assembled into rudimentary beats on Jark's Lenovo ThinkPad. Early tracks like “Vore Night” and “My Life as a Dog in Heat” proved minor SoundCloud sensations on its Industrial chart, and the duo started to gain traction on Blogspots and Tumblrs for their aggressively crack brained vocal stylings and frenetic fever-dream production. 

Compiled on their first outing The Very Best of Stice (2019), selections from this era mined such far-flung territory as the soundtrack to the PS2 tie-in video game Shark Tale (2004) and snippets of bar mitzvah hip-hop, spinning unlikely samples into booming in-your-face hype anthems. Their music videos, always directed by and starring Crab, meanwhile, gained cult followings for their shoestring resourcefulness and hyperactive editing, akin to a bad trip while surfing an iPad. In the world of Stice, bodily functions and urges get all mixed up, turned in on one another, repressed one moment and uncontrollably erupting the next. It’s Bataille’s outrageous eroticism for the post Vine age.

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