Zombie is the third single from the upcoming full-length album from Bristol musicians Groan Dogs. From their smooth as silk synths to gritty fuzzed guitar sounds, ‘Zombies’ reminisces on happier memories from the past. It only takes a quick look around and seeing the state of affairs the world is in to see how fitting this song is for the times we are living.
Discussing the track, Goan Dogs tells us: “Now that the whole world is ill, we all do the same things day in, day out. Stuck on a loop. Remember the good old days? When we were free to wake up, eat food, drink, get bored, get anxious, sleep and repeat. Everyday. Without thinking. Like Zombies.” From the booming drum of the opening, we are soon pulled in by the smooth singing of Groan Dogs frontman Luke. They went on to say: “Zombies is the band’s catchiest tune yet. An infectious ear-worm waiting to nibble your brains.” ‘Zombies’ will be available to stream everywhere on June 5, 2020.
I have an affinity for anything Swedish since that is the land of my maternal family. I was pleased then to review new releases from two Swedish groups and their music.
Following on from the release of their breakthrough debut EP ‘Mouth Full Of You’ last year, a collection that cemented them as one of the finest emerging shoegaze outfits of the moment as well as garnering support from Steve Lamacq at BBC 6Music, Swedish trio Spunsugar now return with their latest dose of forlorn industrial electronics on ‘Happier Happyless’ through Adrian Recordings.
With a strong affinity for post-punk, noise-rock and dream-pop, this genre-bending new offering sees the group deliver one of their hardest and most impactful releases to date. With a Robyn-Esque direction, filled with the atmospheric vocals of frontwoman Elin Ramsted, the group look to emulate the warm and driven sound of acts like Cocteau Twins and Slowdive with their pulsing aesthetic.
Speaking about their new single, the band said, “‘Happier Happyless’ is a sour and sweet song, tackling subjects of pining, happiness and revenge. Having a fittingly slower pace than former Spunsugar singles, this song is also a homage to the shunned 2001 slasher movie Valentine, released a little too late in the post-Scream era. Written to have “a memorable hook, a thumping synth bassline and a shoegazer chorus” this is an excellent introduction to the band’s debut album, because of the constant switching of emotional tonality.”
‘Happier Happyless’ is set to become the band’s first taste of their long-awaited debut album ‘Drive-Through Chapel’, set to later this fall via Adrian Recordings.
Bottom line. I really liked the blend of styles and the vocals are mesmerizing.
Swedish synth act Kite is made up of singer Nicklas Stenemo and keyboard player Christian Berg. The pair combine an adventurous nature with pop sensibilities, throbbing beats and an early nineties aesthetic. Their lean approach to songwriting – a methodology of ‘cut the fat’ results in tight, focussed songs that never outstay their welcome. Produced together with Blanck Mass (Benjamin John Power), new single ‘Teenage Bliss’ has shades of New Order, Chairlift and Superorganism. It conjures up mental images of half-remembered nights out, sweat-soaked gigs with friends and the naivety of first experiences.
The pair tell us that “When we started Kite the band F*** Buttons were a big source of inspiration to us. Since then we have been following Benjamin John Powers brilliant music as Blanck Mass. We are now extremely excited to announce that we are working on the production of two new Kite tracks with him.” The band have brought their projection filled, brain-melting visual live show to audiences in Scandinavia, Germany, the US, Canada and China.
If Kite ever comes to Canada again, I will be there. The driving bass and the lush arrangement grab me by the seat of my pants and didn’t let go.
Oliver Marson is dropping a new video, ‘To The Nine’ s’, following on the heels of his previous singles’ Cocaine Romance’ and ‘Time for Love’.
With his unique musical styling of sound and sights, Oliver has created a video that channels the flashback machine to honour his musical inspirations, Bryan Ferry, David Bowie and Serge Gainsbourg. The music itself takes us back to the tunes of his hero’s and the video continues that theme.
With extravagant costumes and featuring himself in various characters, Oliver has crafted video that that looks behind for inspiration and forward with current musical tastes that features retro sounds that evoke modern music.
Oliver tells us:
The new video is “inspired by meme culture, the kind of aesthetic pop stars like Miss World and Charli XCX have perfected. I am dressed as all sorts of characters (a cardinal, in drag, as a french legionnaire) against a green screen in keeping with the song subject of being ‘dressed to the nines. It’s all improvised, as we wanted to make something quite lo-fi and spontaneous”.
The new track explores the argument used by misogynists and their belief that women who have been assaulted are to blame because of their choice of clothing. “I wanted to write from the perspective of a bitter misogynist and ‘To the Nines’ is an exposition of toxic male thinking. ‘To the Nines’ being an old English expression, which means ‘to dress flamboyantly or buoyantly”.
‘The nature of the recording was very spontaneous; I came into a studio with just a couple of chords and a vague idea of what I wanted the song to be. In the end, it was very natural, and the song seemed to flow from one idea to another, which culminated in quite a flamboyant sound, mirroring the song’s title. The way I see it, what better way is there to tackle this subject than a bit of flamboyance.”
This video is far more than a vehicle to present Oliver’s music. It explores a problematic and often jarring reality and brings it to us a teaching tool. I enjoyed this video, and I suggest it as a great track to dance along with. Enjoy your summer and live safely.
French producers and brothers Supernaive are releasing new single ‘Warriors, taken from their debut album Nekomata. Mixing electronica with R&B they present a palate for the vocals of Carmeline, who also stars in the video:
Recorded between Paris and Tokyo, the record features elements of electronica and RnB while drawing on Japanese cultural reference points, most obviously in the masks, they wear which are a symbol of eternal youth in Japanese Noh theatre.
The soundtrack provides the backdrop for the narrative of the song – Carmeline is a warrior running from something or someone through terrain that varies from the stark almost Matian rocky outcrops to fields of plenty. There are two scenes of Carmiline setting a car on fire and walking away.
The first fire could be the start of her conflict. The second opens the door to the end of the battle, where we see the Japanese masks.
Inspired by early Tomb Raider games along with the tension found in 1970s thrillers such as Spielberg’s Duel, the video plays out Carmeline’s lyrical story, depicting her being hunted in a high-speed pursuit across an unforgiving wasteland.
‘Warriors’ will be available everywhere from May 22nd 2020.
Mia Berg has graced my listening with a song about being vulnerable and not having the slightest idea about how to move forward. However she does not allow that emotion dull her need to express herself and she deftly weaves that story with music that supports the story without weighing it down.
Mia’s lyrics touch on more than one life moment.
I don’t know what to do after school.
I don’t know what to do when I retire.
I don’t know what to do on my day off
I don’t know what to do after a complicated relationship ended.
I don’t know what to do about a lot of things in life, and this song captures that particular moment and gives it a voice.
In Mia’s own words she tells us, “The song is really just about being vulnerable, and about letting go and the fear of someone leading you on or letting you down if you decide to let them in.”.
Without a lot of flash, but with a lot of integrity, Mia has crafted a soundscape that captures the feeling of not knowing what to do.
A feeling of anxiety, helplessness and confusion winds it way through the music that supports the song without getting in the way of the words.
Intentionally or not, Mia has voiced what many of us may be feeling through the Covid-19 experience.
While It’s not easy to admit that we have no idea what to do, Mia has brought that courage to the forefront and given voice to what many have felt but did’t know how to say.
This single is from the EP coming out later in the year through Tik Records.
Wrexham’s Kidsmoke have just dropped new video ‘The Bluest You’ to announce their debut album, described by The Line Of Best Fit as ‘hazy and euphoric’. The band has just signed for 2020 to Libertino Records, and have just announced their long-awaited debut album coming 19th June 2020.
“This song is a favourite of ours and takes up that all-important position of the last track on A Vision In The Dark. To us it’s full of intricacies, layers, textures and swirling vocals, so when Edwin (Burdis) shared his initial ideas about the direction of the video we knew immediately that he’d hit the nail on the head. We loved the idea of constant movement and of abstract shapes and colours – you never quite work out what / who you’re looking at before it moves onto something else.
We filmed the video in just under 3 hours (that’s got to be some kind of record…?) at Roc2 Studios in Wrexham. It wasn’t really like any other video shoot we’ve done before, but Edwin seemed to have everything mapped out perfectly in his mind so we knew we were in safe hands.”
Ahh, the memories of summers gone past. I was cruising in my ’58 Pontiac with the windows down and the stereo up. Drive-in movies, bush parties, laughs, love, love lost and remember it like it was. These memories were sparked by a listen to a song, ‘Like It Was’ by Goldzbrough. The London based producer with an impressive CV that includes stints with Ed Sheeran and James Bay, among others. Crisscrossing the Atlantic Ocean between Los Angeles and London has sharpened his craft of creating music. Goldzbrough’s love of rock/pop classics, like Simon and Garfunkel and the Who, is given a twist that sounds new and fresh. His lyrics explore love and good times that are relatable and creates a springboard to happy memories of days that make me say that is ‘Like It Was’.
‘Like it was’ reminisces over happy recollections and stories from the past and having the desire to go back and relive them one last time. Possessing a euphoric quality, the feel-good track is a sleek breezy Pop production, whilst hints of Hip-Hop rhythms glimmer through his hazy vocal. ‘Like It Was’ is out now, via Inspirit Music Productions.
From the suburbs of Paris, Global Network has set their sights on exporting their music around the world through global networks.
Global Network is Loris Sasso and Nils Peschanski. Although they both grew up in the suburbs of Paris, it took a few years for them to connect the dots and make music together.
“We complement each other pretty well”, says Loris. “Nils has the grounding in musical theory, so when it comes to finding chords, it’s like going to the supermarket, there’s plenty of choice. He throws out loads of ideas and easily finds beautiful sounds with his synth. Then I take care of the beats and vocal melodies. But we’re always guiding each other to get the best result for the track.
Their first ever show happened in 2019, in the suburb of Essonne (aka ‘le 91’), where Nils grew up, but since then they’ve toured Slovenia and played in the UK, at festivals, in a high school, even in a prison. We like new and different experiences,” they say, a point reflected in the name Global Network.
Touching on universal themes such as the relentless pursuit of love on the song ‘Want You’ to their paean to lost love on ‘Let Me Go’, Global Network make accessible music.“We were looking for something fun with a touch of naïve ambition, like an import-export business planning to take on the world from its base in the Gare du Nord. It doesn’t bracket us in any particular style. But also, over time, it’s also become about our desire to connect with people through our music, and to live new experiences.”
Global Network looks forward to doing live shows where they can explore their sound and adapt in on the fly. Live they leave themselves the freedom to adapt tracks, extend them, feeding into and feeding off the energy of crowds. Loris can croon sensitively on the slower jams or ride, the faster rhythms as the energy builds. For their shows, they’ve made a conscious decision to steer clear of laptops and focus on the immediacy of drum machines (two Elektrons) and a Korg for the warm washes of synth. “It took quite a while to get the set up right,” they say, “but it really enriches our sound in terms of the precision and its personal, raw feel.”
Global Networks EP, Cool Moments is being released May 22, 2020
Norway is a hotbed of talent with television shows such as Ragnarok and music covering every genre including the thriving heavy metal scene as well as softer pop sounds such as Resa who dropped an EP for our listening pleasure.
Opening with the electronic shoegaze music of Sunday, the first song in the EP, we could easily fall into the trap of thinking this is really chill listening until you check out the lyrics. Sunday is not church music although the melody could easily go there, it’s the lyrics that jump out and jolt the listener into paying attention to what Resa is singing about.
She is singing about being held down by her on again off again lover, which sounds more like being emotionally submissive as opposed to being physically restrained. Resa submits herself to being held down and submissive on Sunday but will not hold the door on Monday because Resa will not be pinned down because she is not ready to ‘subject in full’ even if it does feel conflicting. Resa gives us raw and emotional lyrics over a smooth bed of music on Sunday.
The next song shifts gears to a happy go lucky sounding song that brings a big old smile to my face, “You Need A Puppy”. This song sounds like two fast and true friends sitting at a coffee bar and talking about the boyfriend of Resa’s friend. The advise that Resa gives her is that she doesn’t need a man because he will leave you and hurt you but a puppy will make you happier. You don’t need a man, “you need a puppy’. I love it, the EP is totally worth a listen even if it only had one song, this one.
The next two songs, ‘Love ain’t Free” and “Borrowed Time” deal with the theme of broken relationships and then we get to the title track of this EP which is also the closer. ‘Dumb and Numb’ is a song of resignation, we’re in a rut but it’s a good rut so let’s just keep going. This track features only a solo guitar but it works, it gives the song an almost lounge music or jazz club feel, chill but not chilly.
I confess that it took me more than one listens to really ‘get’ this EP but once it got to me I enjoyed it immensely. I’m glad I didn’t give up on this music, now I want to listen to it again, not because I have a review that I need to post, but because I enjoy the music. Thanks for another great Norwegian export Resa.
Weathered Music 