headboy - Tapeworms - PACKS - Black Nail Cabaret

headboy - Cement.

Fast-rising London trio headboy reveal details of their debut EP and release its lead single "Cement". The band's upcoming debut EP 'Was It What You Thought' will be released on the 9th June via Blitzcat Records and follows a flurry of exhilarating sold-out headline shows in the capital, support slots with Porridge Radio, Goat Girl, DEADLETTER, Heartworms and THUS LOVE, along with their three 2022 standalone singles "Televised", "Toothrot" and "Alligator".

Consisting of guitarist/bassist and vocalist Mars West (they/them), bassist/guitarist vocalist Jess Collins (she/they) and drummer Oli Birbeck (they/them), headboy have already established themselves as a beguiling force to be reckoned with on the live stage, cultivating a devoted following in London and further afield.

The trio's much-anticipated debut EP 'Was It What You Thought' tracks a period of political turbulence; rediscovering and reflecting on the importance of friendship and loyalty, ending with a heartfelt treatise on loss and vulnerability. Ultimately a study into the often cyclical, yet always unpredictable nature of life itself, newly released single "Cement" specifically zeros in on that significance of friendship, amidst a backdrop of bright, intricate indie-rock.

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration behind new single "Cement", the band said: "In the heat of a turbulent summer, misrule reigned. Cement is about taking stock and refuge in the comfort of your friends and the people around you; and the rediscovery of friendship. It includes advice from Mars’ grandfather ‘don’t count the days it slows them down’ - a warning against wishing away life."

"Cement" lyricist Mars West went on to say: "When things are difficult I often find myself thinking 'how long before this will end?' Then I think about my grandfather's warning - 'don't count the days it slows them down'. Sometimes you have to absorb yourself in whatever chapter of life you are in, instead of spending all your time wishing for the next one. Cement is very much about that."

 
======================================================================

Tapeworms - IRL.

Arriving right in time for Spring, known as the season of rebirth, “IRL” is a melting pot of sparkling sounds that blend digital string sections with warped sample solos.

Following on from their debut album ‘Funtastic’, released in 2020, the new track sees Tapeworms build their own innovative bridge between sugary synth-pop and contorted indie. Pushing their sound in new and exciting directions, “IRL” brings a steady tempo and lush production that connotes images of surrealistic dreamlands.

The acronym for ‘In Real LIfe’, a phrase born on social media to distinguish ‘virtual life’ from ‘real life’, ‘IRL’ was heavily inspired by Japanese light novel ‘Haruhi Suzumiya’. Blending ethereal vocals with wonky pop beats, the track explores the relationship between dreams and real life and phantasm and reality.

Accompanied by an official video and dazzling new imagery inspired by livecam websites and early lifecasting macro-stars such as Jennicam, “IRL”’s accompanying visuals play with a variety of narratives and captures the band living out their day-to-day lives. A promising new addition to the Tapeworms catalogue, “IRL” is set to open a new chapter for the band — one full of never-ending pop exploration.

======================================================================

PACKS - EC.

In a little under two weeks, PACKS will be releasing their sophomore LP Crispy Crunchy Nothing on Fire Talk Records. The follow up to their acclaimed 2021 debut Take The Cake, which earned accolades from outlets like The FADER, Stereogum, NYLON, Paste, BrooklynVegan, NME, Gorilla vs Bear and Bandcamp, who called the LP "the sound of classic indie rock as delivered by a promising new voice," the album has seen the release of two singles "Brown Eyes" and "4th of July", earning best of the week nods from outlets like Uproxx, Consequence and Alt Press who called it "a delight".

PACKS' new LP sharpens the laid back appeal of the band's debut, displaying a newfound flair in its arrangement and production that heightens the subtle strangeness of leader Madeline Link's songwriting. A collection of bright, imaginative vignettes of loneliness, yearning and confusion, under-pinned by Link’s distinct sense of humour, and her writing has found a new emotional register, which is exemplified by the album's final single "EC", which is out now.

The writing of the album was tied up in Link processing the death of her aunt, who was killed in a hit and run incident in Seattle near the start of the pandemic. While "EC" was not written directly about that loss, it addresses the way that grief can strike in unexpected ways and with surprising weight, and has an emotional rawness that's only been hinted at in Link's songwriting to this prior to this album.

"The unexpected death of a coworker I had never met struck me like a brick wall," Link explains. "I had been in charge of packing up all of his electronic hardware and shipping it to him just months before. As I found myself preparing shipping labels for his mother to place on the boxes to send back, a lasting sadness set in."

======================================================================

Black Nail Cabaret - Sister Sister.

Black Nail Cabaret unveil the lyric video 'Sister Sister' as the first single taken from the forthcoming experimental album "Woodlands Memoirs". Under the banner Black Nail Cabaret and Friends, the Hungarian duo and three closely befriended musicians have created a one-off rather analogue and organic project that is different from their usual avant-garde synth pop style by transforming their own songs into thrilling cover versions. Please see below for more information on this album. 

The release date has been scheduled to May 26, 2023. Black Nail Cabaret comment: "For us, 'Sister Sister' has long been a favourite from the 'Dichromat' album", singer Emèse Árvai-Illes remarks.

"The original track has a cold wave vibe that we now somewhat unintentionally turned into a sonic entity that rather resembles a 'Twin Peaks' score. It is a beautiful representation of what we have aimed to accomplish by covering our own songs."

======================================================================

PACKS - Theresa Gorella - Emilee Rose - Ezra Veda - Ryan Brown

PACKS - Brown Eyes.

Last month the Toronto/Ottawa band PACKS announced their sophomore LP Crispy Crunchy Nothing, which is set for release on Fire Talk Records on March 31st. The follow up to their acclaimed 2021 debut Take The Cake, which earned accolades from outlets like The FADER, Stereogum, NYLON, Paste, BrooklynVegan, NME, Gorilla vs Bear and Bandcamp, who called the LP "the sound of classic indie rock as delivered by a promising new voice."

The album was announced with the single "4th of July", which earned best of the week nods from outlets like Uproxx, Consequence and Alt Press who called it "a delight", and now the band are sharing a second single from the album a track called "Brown Eyes".

PACKS' new LP sharpens the laid back appeal of the band's debut, displaying a newfound flair in its arrangement and production that heightens the subtle strangeness of leader Madeline Link's songwriting. Where the album's first single settled on a breezy, folk adjacent sound, "Brown Eyes" is a burst of sludgy slacker rock that holds a low key sense of menace beneath its sunny exterior.

"I had lots of fun writing this song because it’s a simple rock song about falling in love disorientatingly hard and fast," says Link. "Disorientationally? Disorientably? Love disorients me."

======================================================================

Theresa Gorella - House of Broken Mirrors.

A singer/songwriter based in Nashville, Theresa Gorella writes music that is a reflection of her own experiences, and sings with rawness and honesty that is both relatable and powerful. Growing up on a raisin farm in Fowler, California, Gorella was surrounded by the sounds of country music from a young age.

After attending Long Island University-Brooklyn, she moved to Nashville to pursue country music. She got a job waiting tables at the legendary 3rd & Lindsley and was exposed to different types of music five nights a week. While refilling waters and wiping ketchup off her shirt she saw performances by Vince Gill, Dawn Sears, Beth Hart, Jonell Mosser, Chris Stapleton and Andra Day amongst many other music legends. Seeing these artists changed the way she thought about music and inspired her to form an indie rock/funk band called Poster Child with collaborator Andrew Royal.

With Poster Child, she quickly made a name for herself in the Nashville Funk scene, but felt a pull to get back in touch with her country roots. Her solo project is her way of doing just that, with a sound that blends traditional Country with elements of Soul and Americana, that she describes as “accidentally country.”

House of Broken Mirrors, the lead single off of her solo project is a must-listen for anyone who appreciates authentic and heartfelt music.

======================================================================

Emilee Rose - Small Town Dream.

Bold, daring and impossible to ignore. Emily Zaletel, better known as Emilee Rose, is an emerging solo artist currently making her mark on the country music scene. Her music is highly accessible to all — with a dreamy western sound that effortlessly displays emotion and storytelling in a relatable and unique way.

Emilee’s captivating anthems have been touching the hearts of many for some time now. The rapidly rising Nashville based star loves to tell stories and relate to others through her music, using life as her biggest inspiration.

“Small Town Dream” is a dreamy country track with a unique take on traditional country sound. It tells a story about a rebel of her hometown ditching her past to create a new future for herself, through the “neon”.

======================================================================

Ezra Veda - A Brand New Day.

The first time Ezra Veda started creating music was during her high school period. In the school band it became clear that she had a beautiful voice. Soon the first proposals came from the music industry to write songs and specially to sign with them. The then-teenager let it all happen resignedly. "I'd better finish my studies first and then I'll see what else comes my way," was her answer.

A few years later, the time has come. The now 22-year-old releases her first single A Brand New Day. A beautiful pop song in which Ezra's voice is perfectly at home.

The single opens small and subdued and grabs you from the start and then slowly opens and guides you to an apotheosis to return to a sensitive outro. Before you know it, you're at the end of the song and you think, hold on wait a minute and you'll listen to it again.

TCBYML · Ezra Veda - A Brand New Day

======================================================================

Ryan Brown - After Midnight.

Ryan Brown’s newest release, titled “After Midnight” was written by Tony Luke Jr. All proceeds from the single will be donated to The Sound Mind Network, an organization focused on healing addiction and mental illness through music and the arts. 

This is a song that reflects upon some of the struggles many people face. Over the course of the song, the lyrics demonstrate how social media contributes to the growing rates of depression, anxiety, and addiction, to name a few. While the song talks about these issues, it promotes hope for a new day, a new life. With this song, Ryan and Tony’s goal is to help others find hope again.

Ryan’s music showcases the depth and vulnerability in being a teenager, and explores the ups and downs that people of all ages experience. Aside from her love for singing, Brown also enjoys playing guitar, piano, and ukulele.

Brown feels so incredibly lucky that she can share her experiences with the world. She hopes while you listen to her music, you find comfort in knowing that you aren’t alone.

======================================================================

Samways - Phantom Handshakes - PACKS

Samways - The Wind of Death.

Don’t let the title fool you... The folk music forecast just got brighter and livelier with the release of “The Wind of Death” from Canadian acoustic quartet, Samways.

The second single to drop ahead of the group’s forthcoming debut album, the song juxtaposes   a muscular, driving rhythm and sunny vocal harmonies with the moving poem, “The Wind of Death.” Written by Canadian poet and journalist Ethelwyn Wetherald well over a century ago, the poem touches on the tenuous and reflective last moments of someone’s life.

The wind of death, that softly blows
The last warm petal from the rose
The last dry leaf from off the tree
Tonight, has come to breathe on me

Respectively all known and loved Toronto-based artists in their own rights, lead songwriter, guitarist and composer Nathan Hiltz — and the vocal trio of Shannon Butcher, Jessica Lalonde and Melissa Lauren — have combined their formidable talents to form the creative core of Samways.

As they succinctly put it, they create and perform “acoustic music with lyrics drawn from early Canadian poetry.” What kinds of acoustic music and poetry? Original folk inspired jazz and the 19th and early 20th century works of famed Canadian poets such as Bliss Carman, Susannah Moodie, E.J. Pratt, Agnes Maule Machar and of course, Ethelwyn Wetherald.

The music for “The Wind of Death'' also comes from a mash-up of different worlds… The song answers a question: What would it sound like if Sonny Greenwich joined the Gordon Lightfoot band? Greenwich, an arch top jazz guitarist from Montréal with a psychedelic, Coltrane-influenced style, and Canadian folk legend Lightfoot, are both big inspirations for Hiltz.

While in his twenties, Hiltz was a jazz purist working at Toronto’s Ring Music, and Lightfoot used to come around to the shop. “I absolutely knew who [Lightfoot] was but had no idea what he sounded like,” Hiltz explains. “All I remember is this badass who parked his big, old-man Cadillac in the no parking zone out front of the store. “He came in and said ‘I’m Gordon Lightfoot. I’m here to pick up my guitar’.”

Those moments stuck with Hiltz and years later, as his musical tastes opened up, he devoured Lightfoot’s entire discography, citing his beautiful music as a driving force in the creation of Samways. Unlike the group’s first single “Untrodden Ways,” “The Wind of Death” is more akin to Lightfoot’s “Summer Side of Life” than “Long River.” Now, replace Lightfoot with three powerful female singers and you have Samways’ signature and fully-satisfying sound.

===================================================

Phantom Handshakes - Skin.

NYC-based dream-pop duo Phantom Handshakes are sharing their new album, No More Summer Songs, on all DSPs followed by a Bandcamp release on April 30th via Z Tapes.

No More Summer Songs is a collection of songs exploring themes of memory, nostalgia and the visceral feeling of when summer gives way to autumn. If Phantom Handshakes' debut release, Be Estranged was their summer album, this is their end-of-summer album.

The album expands on the lo-fi, DIY approach they took with Be Estranged. The songs on the album are less concerned with following a standard structure and more interested in a mood. For the duo, creating these songs was a cathartic outlet to help us get through these long months in lockdown.

No More Summer Songs was written, recorded and mixed entirely by Phantom Handshakes at their respective homes in New York City and mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering in Chicago.

===================================================

PACKS - Two Hands.

PACKS debut LP Take The Cake, is due out on Fire Talk Records (Dehd, Patio, Mamalarky) and Royal Mountain Records (Wild Pink, Alvvays, Mac DeMarco) on May 21st, and significant excitement has been building around the Toronto band since they announced the album in early March. The album has seen two singles so far in "Silvertongue" and "New TV," which have been the subject of some high praise! This week the band are sharing a third single from the LP, the sneakily infectious "Two Hands".

Memorably invoking a "Simpson's sunset" in its opening lyric, the track delivers a hazy jangle that forms the perfect frame for PACKS leader Madeline Link's laid back melodic acrobatics, and the accompanying video, which Link directed herself, reflects the song's springtime feeling.

PACKS was initially a solo songwriting project of Madeline Link that she pursued between gigs as a set dresser for commercials, the band is now a four piece, composed of Shane Hooper (drums), Noah O’Neil (bass), and Dexter Nash (lead guitar). Together they turn Link’s melodically adventurous and introspective songs into the purest and brightest kind of indie rock. Anchored by Link’s voice, which brings such an easy charm to her songs that it’s easy to miss her keen ear for acrobatic vocal lines, the band’s debut is a collection of songs that marry the loose but incisive jangle of early Pavement with the barbed sweetness of Sebadoh and the wide-eyed wonder of the first Shins LP.

Written in two different settings, between the city limits of Toronto where Link was living in 2019, and the Ottawa suburbs where she was quarantined with her parents in the spring 2020, both remain complementary emblems of self-reflection and wry observation of the mundanity of daily life.

===================================================

Remember Sports - PACKS - Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones

Remember Sports - Out Loud.

'Like a Stone', the new album from Philadelphia's Remember Sports, is all about breaking away from old versions of yourself. Vocalist Carmen Perry (she/her) rummages through feelings of doubt and spins them into an imperative to treat herself more kindly; her experiences growing up with Catholicism and later studying religion, as well as living with an eating disorder, provide a visceral lens for the literal blood-and-guts self-scrutiny she writes through.

With gated drums reminiscent of a naughties pop highlights comp, their third pre-release single, 'Out Loud,' is undoubtedly one of the album's standout moments. Vocalist Carmen Perry got to go "full Ariana Grande," guitarist Jack Washburn says of the diva-leagues vocal chops on display, “and the whispering she does on that last chorus is one of the most special moments on the record for me.”

The songs on 'Like a Stone' are about insecurity, but they’re also about optimism—emerging from an intrusive thought with a new way to perceive and care for yourself, represented in spectacular denouements made possible by the closeness between the band members. “We’ve grown up together and grown to trust each other,” says Carmen. In recording, Jack felt drawn to music that’s “communal and loud and cathartic, but also kinda confidential and private. I hope we achieved something similar, where you can hear the influence of each of us in the album.” Carmen seconds that; “It feels seamless. To me, Jack and Catherine’s writing feels like an extension of my own.”

===================================================

PACKS - New TV.

Last month Toronto's PACKS announced their debut LP Take The Cake, and their signing to Fire Talk Records (Dehd, Patio, Mamalarky) and Royal Mountain Records (Wild Pink, Alvvays, Mac DeMarco) who will release the record on May 21st. The album was announced with the single "Silvertongue," which caused considerable excitement, earning comparisons to Pavement, Sonic Youth and Best Coast from outlets like Stereogum, Exclaim and So Young, and best of the week nods from NPR, BrooklynVegan, Gorilla vs Bear and Paste. Today the band sharing their second single from the LP, "New TV."

"I got the chance to witness a craigslist transaction of two bros selling a hideous pink couch to an eager young man with a U-HAUL," Link explains. "As they lovingly demonstrated the LA-Z-BOY function, everyone seemed pretty impressed. New TV boxes and old couches litter curbs every garbage day. This song goes out to other people’s garbage."

PACKS was initially a solo songwriting project of Madeline Link that she pursued between gigs as a set dresser for commercials, the band is now a four piece, composed of Shane Hooper (drums), Noah O’Neil (bass), and Dexter Nash (lead guitar). Together they turn Link’s melodically adventurous and introspective songs into the purest and brightest kind of indie rock. Anchored by Link’s voice, which brings such an easy charm to her songs that it’s easy to miss her keen ear for acrobatic vocal lines, the band’s debut is a collection of songs that marry the loose but incisive jangle of early Pavement with the barbed sweetness of Sebadoh and the wide-eyed wonder of the first Shins LP.

===================================================

Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones - Let's Go!

Ask anyone who’s caught them live and you’ll hear the same thing: It’s simply impossible to see Lara Hope & the Ark-Tones perform and not have a great time. A smile on the lips, a swivel in the hips, and an earful of snappy tunes are the inevitable takeaways from any Ark-Tones appearance. The band’s singular blend of rock ‘n’ roll, country, blues, surf, Western swing, rockabilly, folk, pop, and jazzy rhythm & blues gets feet a-moving and hands a-clapping no matter the audience. By the end of the night, if they weren’t already, those lucky concertgoers are rabid fans.

From behind her trademark red cat-eye frames, Lara, winner of the 2017 Ameripolitan Music Award for Best Female Rockabilly Artist, fills any hall that she and the Ark-Tones play. Her neon-bright, bigger-than-life persona is matched only by the outsized power of her towering voice, an instrument that moves effortlessly between big-stage belting and sexy, sultry crooning. Alongside Lara, the ace Ark-Tones know innately how to complement the leader and singer-songwriter’s dynamic vocal presence, both before an audience and in the studio: Double bassist Matt “The Knife” Goldpaugh, lead guitarist Eddie Rion, and drummer Jeremy Boniello keep the train rocketing down the rails, making moody detours whenever the songs call for them. Want an illustration of an act that knows its craft? Here to Tell the Tale, the band’s red-hot third album, is diamond-hard proof. In spades.

“Lara Hope & the Ark-Tones’ records and live performances capture, and release, the spirit of the original rockabilly and country bands that I have listened to and enjoyed for most of my life,” says Tony Garnier, Bob Dylan’s long-time bassist and a devout devotee of the group. “And my two boys, who are 10 and 13 and are [otherwise] glued to Top 40 radio, are also huge fans.”

Garnier is by no means alone in his praise for the quartet’s sound. “A beguiling chanteuse, Lara swirls with facility from sonorous swinging to purred intimations to powerhouse, knock-down-drag-out rock ’n’ roll,” says No Depression, while PopDose calls their music “a damned fine gathering of real, American rock ’n’ roll — the way it was meant to be played — with fun and passion.”

Although Lara and the group have been well known on the rockabilly scene for years, those who’ve followed their recordings know that the band’s stylistic approach is increasingly diverse. “Since our earlier albums [2014’s Luck Maker and 2017’s Love You to Life], we’ve grown a lot as musicians, and I feel like my songwriting has really matured along the way,” says Lara. “I believe that Here to Tell the Tale has our best songs so far. It’s more widely varied, in terms of the emotions, musical styles, and subject matter. We always try to have something for everybody.”

===================================================

Renée Reed - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band - PACKS - Jane Inc - Susan Gibson

Renée Reed - Neboj.

Lafayette, Louisiana musician Renée Reed shares "Neboj" from her self-titled debut album out March 26, 2021 via Keeled Scales.

The song follows the hazy psych of the French single "Où est la fée" released in February, and the spell-binding earworm "Fast One" released in January.

"Neboj" is originally a Czech word that Renée came across while diving into Czech animation. For Renée, this is a song about letting go and not being afraid to fall in love, to just trust her heart. The song gently unspools with brilliantly finger-picked guitar and Renée's dreamlike vocals.

Renée grew up on the accordion-bending knee of her grandfather Harry Trahan, in the middle of countless jam sessions at the one-stop Cajun shop owned by her parents Lisa Trahan and Mitch Reed, and soaked in the storytelling of her great uncle, the folklorist Revon Reed and his infamous brothers from Mamou. She was surrounded by a litany of Cajun and Creole music legends, both backstage at the many festivals of Southwest Louisiana, and on the porch of her family home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band - Too Cool To Dance.

The new album from Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Dance Songs for Hard Times, is scheduled for independent release April 9, 2021 via Thirty Tigers. Ahead of that, the band released a video (“Ways and Means”) last month and a second single, “Too Cool to Dance,” this week.

Of the “Ways and Means” song and video, Rev. Peyton explains: “It’s a personal song, like all of my songs, but the song ‘Ways and Means’ is written for all those folks that have the moves, the style, the substance, the talent, but maybe not the seed money or the famous last name.  All those people that had to work extra hard, because they didn’t get to start way ahead. Folks that have been playing catch up since they were born, and had to get really good just to make it to zero. The idea for the video was born from the lyrics, but also as a wink and a nod to those folks that know what it’s like inside of a Laundromat. There could be a lot of magic hidden inside the people that you interact with in places like a Laundromat, and my hope was to convey that.”

“‘Too Cool to Dance,’” he says, “might be interpreted as the album’s centerpiece for its message of not taking things for granted. The seize-the-moment anthem offers the chorus, ‘We may not get another chance. Oh, please don’t tell me you’re too cool to dance.’ I was thinking about all the times where I’ve been somewhere and felt too cool to dance. I didn’t want to be that way. Not being able to do anything last year, I had this feeling of, ‘Man, I’m not going to waste any moment like this in my life — ever.’”

The album as a whole conveys the hopes and fears of pandemic living. Rev. Peyton, the Big Damn Band’s vocalist and world-class fingerstyle guitarist, details bleak financial challenges in “Ways and Means” and “Dirty Hustlin’.” He pines for in-person reunions with loved ones on “No Tellin’ When,” and pleads for celestial relief on the album-closing “Come Down Angels.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PACKS - Silvertongue.

PACKS were an increasingly visible presence in Toronto in the first part of 2020. A string of intriguing lo-fi singles, appearing once every month or so on Bandcamp through 2019 had begun to persuade people to take notice in their hometown, where the band were sharing stages with people like Squirrel Flower and Odetta Hartman, and outside of it. Despite having rarely ventured outside of the city, and having never crossed the border into the US as a band, these early tracks caught the attention of the rising Brooklyn label Fire Talk Records, who have recently introduced celebrated acts like Dehd, Patio, Deeper and Mamalarky. Today, the band are formally announcing their debut LP take the cake, which will be released by Fire Talk in partnership with the Toronto indie Royal Mountain Records (Alvvays, Wild Pink, Mac Demarco) on May 21st.

To mark the announce the band are sharing the album's first single "Silvertongue," a track that captures PACKS at their fuzzed-out best.

"It’s easy to be lured into the comforts of past relationships," says PACKS leader Madeline Link. "What’s harder is dealing with years of exhaustion, mistrust, and always hoping. Ditch the whiplash of manipulation and decide what YOU want out of love! "

PACKS was initially a solo songwriting project of Madeline Link that she pursued between gigs as a set dresser for commercials, the band is now a four piece, composed of Shane Hooper (drums), Noah O’Neil (bass), and Dexter Nash (lead guitar). Together they turn Link’s melodically adventurous and introspective songs into the purest and brightest kind of indie rock. Anchored by Link’s voice, which brings such an easy charm to her songs that it’s easy to miss her keen ear for acrobatic vocal lines, the band’s debut is a collection of songs that marry the loose but incisive jangle of early Pavement with the barbed sweetness of Sebadoh and the wide-eyed wonder of the first Shins LP.

Written in two different settings, between the city limits of Toronto where Link was living in 2019, and the Ottawa suburbs where she was quarantined with her parents in the spring 2020, both remain complementary emblems of self-reflection and wry observation of the mundanity of daily life.

“The album is a meeting of old and new,” says Link. “Old songs from a year ago where I'm having really horrifyingly awful days at work, getting doored while biking in Toronto and flying into the middle of the street, or going on dates with guys who I'm either instantly in love with, or who end up creeping me out a bit. Those songs are more packed with that feeling of hurtling-through-time-and-space-at-breakneck-speed, manic energy. The newer songs are infused with a foggier, slower-paced disillusionment, and deal with the strangeness of a reality morphing before my eyes every day. I still try to be optimistic obviously, but these songs are really glorified coping mechanisms.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jane Inc - Obliterated.

Toronto-based Jane Inc., the solo project of Carlyn Bezic who is also known for her work as part of U.S. Girls, Ice Cream and Darlene Shrugg is today sharing the widescreen, cinematic-pop of "Obliterated" – listen here. The new single, taken from Bezic's forthcoming debut album, Number One – out via Telephone Explosion Records on March 19, 2021 – follows on from previous tracks which have found tips at Brooklyn Vegan, The Line of Best Fit and Earmilk.

Written and produced by Bezic, the new project is unlike anything she has been part of previously. Beginning as a one-woman show, Carlyn wrote and produced the early songs for Number One by layering multiple instruments on top of samples and drum breaks. She later recruited recording engineer, Steve Chahley to co-produce and record drum and drum machine with Toronto drummer, Evan J. Cartwright (Tasseomancy, U.S Girls, Eucalyptus), adding saxophone by Nick Dourado (BUDi Band, Aquakultre, Fiver) and Wurlitzer by Scott Harwood (Scott Hardware).

In a lot of ways, this album is a constant self-assessment. How do our surroundings impact our depression? Does outside imagery warp our ideas of beauty and self-worth? How do we manage our unhealthy connections to social media? What can we do to better our planet? This internal dialogue often leads Number One into vulnerable territory. “I think a lot of the songs on the album deal with how we form ourselves and how that gets fragmented and complicated by the societal structures we interact with”, says Bezic. “It felt right to make a collage of pictures of me (and ads from magazines) for the cover of the album. It’s like a weird fragmented self, building up an idea of who you are based on other people's ideas of you”.

This new cut, "Obliterated" marks the closing track on the forthcoming album and an adventure into this brightly colored, syrupy alt-pop which is fashioned around downtempo percussion and woozy synthesizers. As a single, "Obliterated" continues to explore some of the album's wider themes that look at our digital footprint and how we appear to others in an online world: "Obliterated" imagines the moment that the IRL self is overtaken by the online self," says Carlyn, "leaving a serene melancholy and calm resignation"

Themes around how self-image affects our decisions and everyday lives are central Number One. Within its lyrics and boisterous rhythms is an exploration of the difficulties of self-reflection when our sense of self is constantly shifting in each new context. Jane Inc. is an outlet to escape real-world bummers and forge fantasies, a sonic journey through a complex reality. It is an extension of Bezic, a solo persona used to explore the different facets of herself and her artistry.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Susan Gibson - Compassionate Combat.

Texas songwriter, Susan Gibson released the new single, “Compassionate Combat”, today to celebrate, thank and benefit nurses across the country and the world. Produced by Billy Crockett and recorded at his Blue Rock Studio late last year, the song speaks to the hard work, and dedication that nurses put into helping those in need. Never in our lifetime has this work been more at the forefront of our thoughts than it has been over the last year and Gibson’s song captures the feelings that so many of us share about them. So often we struggle to find a way to thank those people that do so much for us and “Compassionate Combat” serves as the perfect way to show them that we all care. It is officially available on all streaming platforms today. The video directed by Brent Tallent (linked below) is also now posted.

The song itself has had quite a journey. In the spring of 2020 as our country was realizing the impact the pandemic was having and going to continue to have, Susan was one of the songwriters approached by Carolyn Philips of Songs For The Soul, an organization that strives to support caregivers through the power of music. Carolyn asked Susan to write a thank you song to the nurses that were working so diligently to help steer the nation through these unprecedented times. Once “Compassionate Combat” was written and a demo distributed to Songs for the Soul’s network it began to take on a life of its own. 

Shortly after, a friend asked Susan to record a video telegram of the song to send to nurses in the Houston area. With no plans to record a new album and the touring industry at a halt, Gibson spent the rest of the summer and early fall in Montana on her family cabin. A November online show from The Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio would prove to be a pivotal moment in this song’s life. With no other new songs to showcase but having never performed the song live, Gibson decided to throw “Compassionate Combat” into the set list.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------