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‘Toronto Folk/Pop band Running Red Lights announces retirement with the release of 4 singles in Spring/Summer 2020’ The releases will be a part of a ‘Sendoff Series,’ marking the finale of a fifteen year career that includes a multitude of awards, notable performances, international tours, as well as some beautifully crafted music.
Fifteen years is no small commitment and the band wanted to honour those years with a proper good-bye. Though they played a farewell show to a sold out Toronto audience in November of 2019, RRL chief architects, Kevin Howley and Scarlett Flynn, have since been haunted by the ghosts of abandoned songs that currently exist only in the consciousness of an old hard-drive.
‘Unfortunately, after 15 years, RRL lost its vivacity and it was time to let it go’, Scarlett remarks, ‘however, there still remained the question of what to do with all the material that never made it to a release. There is nothing worse than banishing a song to its grave, having never given it a chance to live’. Therefore, in a single driven music economy, RRL is seizing one final opportunity to draw its final breath.
The first single in the sendoff series is a warm and fuzzy mid-tempo springtime empowerment jam called Flower in the Concrete. The song's roots synthesize classic-country verve with dreamy soft rock (i.e Kasey Musgraves). The saxophone accents are bright points on a towering constellation of misty male/female vocals and shimmering synthesizers.
The song has taken on a few identities since it was written 4 years ago. It was originally conceived out of Scarlett and Kevin's aspiration to become better people and also as an attempt to get out from under the dark cloud of negativity that marked that period. Now it’s transformed into an encouraging message of hope and perseverance. It is a fitting message in these troublesome times.
Flower in the Concrete sets a celestial, lighthearted tone that takes you floating through the spirit of Spring and lands you softly at the foot of Summer. The song and the official music video is set to premiere on YouTube and release to all major streaming platforms and digital stores, Friday May 1st.
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Emerging Manchester band crush craft a refreshing heart on its sleeve shoegaze sound that’s peppered with nods to 80s alt-pop and jazz-inspired indie. They release their latest single ‘All My Plants Are Dead’ on the 1st of May 2020. It’s the sister track to their August 2019 release ‘Glue’, a track dubbed “grunge-pop at its best” (BBC Introducing). Drawing comparisons to Diiv, The Cure and Alvvays, crush look set to carve out their own ambient noise void into the UKs underground music scene.
‘All My Plants Are Dead’ is a bittersweet yet discordant offering, where the addictive and wistful vocals of Amber Warren blend with the jangle of Arthur Boyd’s carefree cartwheeling guitars. The enveloping verses are woven with floating vocals infused with a message of empathy and understanding and supple percussion. Punctuated by the tight and punching chorus’: an interlude section inspired by William S.Burroughs ‘Naked Lunch’ is followed by a cathartic noise outro that reimagines the sweet musical introduction to the song, bringing it full circle. Bright, airy and beguiling, it’s a highly promising new chapter for crush, you are sure to fall head over heels for.
The band say; ‘The song focuses on the idea of the cold human race and an increasingly insular society. It’s about struggling to look after yourself as much as it is struggling to look after your houseplants. Really just a message of looking after and understanding each other a bit better, and a critique of how modern living at times can make this an unattractive and hard to achieve concept.’
Formed in 2018 after meeting at university, young Manchester band crush have released three singles so far amassing 145,000 streams on Spotify. Their music has seen regular support from BBC Introducing Manchester, Amazing Radio, and blogs including Dork and NBHAP. Gigging regularly around the North of England has seen them wow audiences at events including The Sesh in Hull and Manchesters Stay Fresh Fest, as well as support slots with Peaness, Far Caspian and Low Hummer. Their captivating live sound has also recently been captured in a session with Delinquent Magazine which is scheduled for release in March.
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Chicago glam-punk band Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood is happy to announce that their debut long-player 'Gigantosaur' will be available on limited-edition vinyl on Friday, May 22. The album, which is currently available on CD and via all streaming and download platforms, follows the 2018 EP DRAM A.
Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood features Tony Rogers (formerly of The Good on vocals, keyboards, percussion, horns), John Scholvin (ex-The Good on guitars, piano, vocals), Jackie Schimmel (of Sunshine Boys on bass, vocals) and Larry Beers (of Mucca Pazza on drums, vocals) and 'Gigantosaur' was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Bryan Clavey at Crystall Recorders in Lombard, IL. Chris Gallevo painted the LP’s cover image, which the Chicago Reader’s Leor Galil described as “the sickest album art of the year,” and the album’s back cover features a photo by Lincoln Rogers.
Of 'Gigantosaur'’s 14 tracks, which incorporate elements of 70’s arena rock, power pop, doom, metallic glam and punk, Tony Rogers wrote or co-wrote (with John Scholvin) 13 and the album is rounded out with a cover of AC/DC’s “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)," written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.
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Glasgow based band Walt Disco are today sharing their new single 'Cut Your Hair'. Championing self expression and free speech, the new single is a glorious invitation into Walt Disco's world. Led by their charismatic singer James Power, the 6 piece is completed by keys player Dave Morgan, bassist Finlay McCarthy, guitarists Lewis Carmichael and Charlie Lock, and drummer Jack Martin.
New single 'Cut Your Hair' exemplifies everything Walt Disco are about. Lifted from the band’s debut EP due later this year, the track unites a cacophony of genres and sounds, blending elements of glam-rock, pop, new-wave and post-punk to create something very much of their own. Working with idiosyncratic producer Thomas McNeice of Gang of Four on the single, Walt Disco have realised their vision of an anthem for a new generation of misfits.
A band whose influences derive not from just music itself, but much more so from love, glamour and androgyny, Walt Disco's music is a gateway to a space of lust, loss and everything in-between, with a strong message of inclusivity at its core. Influenced just as much by 80’s New Wave acts such as Talking Heads and The Associates, as they are by the queer modern art-pop sensibilities of St Vincent, Charli XCX and even Ru Paul – Walt Disco’s firm grasp of both their historical and modern influences allow them to move forward as a band for the future.
Speaking on the release of the new single, singer James Power said: “'Cut Your Hair' was written as a wee fun jibe at people passing judgement to those who are just being themselves. I think older generations can learn a lot from us YOUNG HARD AND HANDSOME folk. I mean our generation are the most tolerant and accepting, ever, and we should all aspire to live in a world where self expression and free speech is championed."
“In terms of references when recording, we were listening to so much female, queer pop and dance music, we wanted the tempo and whole feel of the song to get people moving. Not only do we love this music but we also want to be a band for 2020 and the future, so we wanted to move away from the sounds of the new wave bands that inspired our formation and songwriting.”
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New Fries has never been interested in being a band. Yet, the Toronto-based experimental No-Wave inspired band have become one of the best kept secrets in the city, with New Fries gaining legendary status for their unconventional, ever-changing sound, and their rapturous live show. Is The Idea Of Us, out August 7th on Telephone Explosion is the band's first new material since 2016's More.
Never afraid of collaboration or change, Is The Idea Of Us is a product of working closely with Carl Didur (Zacht Automaat, formerly U.S. Girls), resulting in a new direction, focusing more on space and repetition, finding the in-between and reflecting on it, examining that transition. The album is anxious in its repetitions and is unsure of genre, so much so that over half of the tracks on the record bear that very name. "Ploce" is more sure of itself and more focused, one of cornerstones in the collage that is the forthcoming new album.
Is the Idea of Us is the situation of musicians and non-musicians making music together, perhaps completely illegible in the music on this record and to the random listener. There are enough bands out there; New Fries insist on do it differently.
On the new track, the band explained, "Ploce is the name of Tim's fish who passed away—the figure of speech (not the place in Croatia). It refers to words repeated for emphasis. On the internet some examples provided are: "I am stuck on Band-Aid, and Band-Aid's stuck on me." - "First she ruins my life. And then she ruins my life!"."
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The project Swim the Current headed up by guitarist Greg Antine has released his next single "Temperature Maps" . This time the guest on Swim the Current's release is vocalist Greg Christie who has played locally in the area off and on for several years. Greg's vocal contribution has set a tone that continues to showcase what a project like Swim the Current can produce when musicians come together and meld their talents. "Temperature Maps" certainly is a leader in the realm of modern collaborations between well-respected musicians and long time friends.
' "Temperature Maps", from a lyrical perspective, is about anger. It's about those times when you're in an argument with someone you love, when your relationship is deeply strained, and you're at that breaking point where if you don't just pull back, or "turn your temperature down", you run the risk of doing or saying something you're bound to regret. The song is about pleading with yourself to step back from that edge before you spin out of control and destroy everything you love.
Swim the Current was formed by guitarist Greg Antine as a project to showcase music ideas that needed a place to come to life. Antine combines his notable rock guitar talent and pushes his own personal development with a vision. Soon, he decided he wanted to take what he was creating and bring together a few local vocalists and musicians as guests and set a goal of music that pulls from the solid hard/metal rock. Taking the course of his precision guitar sound, he has pushed it forward to meet today’s rock demands. The sound of Swim the Current is set to capture a unique and distinctive blend of heavy, dark, and emotional rock. Most would say that Deftones are a big inspiration behind the infectious sounding music that this artist portrays.
From San Diego to Portugal, Swim the Current will inspire, and perhaps one day, make the world more universally connected through music, space, and time .
Guest vocalist Greg Christie spent his late teens and early 20's in the music scene playing in various local bands, beginning as a bass player and working his way up to lead singer. He played his final show of that era n 1999, opening up for Staind at the Birch Hill in Old Bridge, NJ . After that, Greg spent the next couple of decades raising his family and working as a software developer and architect, while still writing and recording music in his spare time. Greg has appeared as a solo act in the last few years, and is currently working on various projects with area musicians, writing and recording mostly alternative and acoustic/piano music. Greg is very excited and honored to be featured on Swim the Current's single, "Temperature Maps" . The song is a collaboration, with all music having been written and performed by Greg Antine of Swim the Current, and lyrics and vocals written and performed by Greg Christie. He is excited to be a part of future collaborations with the band, because he truly loves the style and direction of the their music.
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