Tomorrow’s my (TJ) birthday. I’m considering all of this week’s tracks my own personal birthday presents. Really appreciate all the hard work the artists put into these, a few even gift wrapped them. Cheers.
TRACK OF THE WEEK: fanclubwallet – Roadkill
It’s getting dark and rainy, and all we need is some melancholy indie to soundtrack this weather change. The chugging guitar and mellow vocals of this track by fanclubwallet does this perfectly. I’m off to get cosy with a hot chocolate and have this on repeat…
Also new this week…
Samana – Two Wrongs
Inspired by freight train riders and the innate human desire for freedom, Samana manifests escapism on this track. It begins as a psych-folk, meditative melody that unexpectedly builds into an uplifting crescendo ending, leaving you with six minutes of pure bliss.
Spearside – Crack in Your Brain
Turn it up loud enough, and this song may actually put a crack in your brain. It’s fuzzy and lo-fi with an uncanny likeness to early Weezer. Sometimes you just need a simple, four chord rock n’ roll song, and Spearside sure deliver just that.
The Greeting Committee – Hopscotch
‘If I get happy, will you forgive me?‘ is a great lyric; charting and ending an entire friendship in just eight words is an accomplishment and the more you contemplate it the truer it rings. It’s a shame it’s capped inside a just-fine Jack Anto-spin-off but I digress.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Mr. Medicine
Pigs x7 are back with new track ‘Mr. Medicine.’ War cry vocals are chanted through and through, with riffs that shoot to the ceiling of the song. Its urgency is a punch in the chest leaving you winded with no remorse. Two minutes of straight to the point, no-bullshit, blistering noise.
The Menzingers – Bad Actors
If there’s one thing everybody knows about The Menzingers, it’s that they really love Philadelphia. Listen to any of their songs and you’re bound to find a reference to their homebase. So it’s only natural that they teamed up with their local football team – the American football, sorry – the Eagles to release a new single. The Menzingers are one of my favourite bands so of course I love this. And if you’re into catchy-as-hell pop-rock, you will too.
Molly Payton – Ruins
Molly’s authentic tenor glides atop some noisy, garage-rock instrumentals in new tune ‘Ruins’. It’s a singalong anthem that cuts like a knife.
Asylums – Signs of Life
Can’t tell if these guys are trying to sound like the lovechild of Blur and Oasis or if it’s just 100% natural. Either way, it’s pretty incredible how much Asylums conjures up a heyday of alternative rock and also inject a little edge into its veins. We’ll be on the lookout for more from these lot.
Unflirt – Out of Time
Unflirt is feeding us a classic bedroom pop tune here and you know what? We’ll bite. It’s almost the right mix of warm, bright guitar and sweet, soft vocals, but that’s also the catch – we can’t hear the lyrics when they’re being whispered.
Softcult – Drain
If you haven’t heard of Softcult then, quite frankly, where the hell have you been? The Ontario twins are the new face of grunge. Dealing with the heaviness of feeling hopeless in their classic shoegaze stylings, Softcult are worth every bit of the hype they’ve been gathering over the past few years.
Florian’s Creek – Trainwreck
Florian’s Creek makes a bold statement on introductory track ‘Trainwreck’, expertly mashing genres from bedroom pop to hip hop to indie rock to create something entirely unique. Not unlike Bartees Strange or Bon Iver, the artist makes these shifts sound effortless and logical. Good luck getting this out of your head.
Mychelle – Tightrope
Mychelle serves up some cosy domestic goodness in the music video for her new single ‘Tightrope’ that’s 100% guaranteed to put a smile on your face. And that’s before we even get to her beautiful voice. There’s a lot to love here.
Abbie Ozard – ford (drive)
There’s a constant pulse of energy coursing through this song that’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting in making this song engaging. We’re not going to say we don’t like it, but there was nothing that made us jump out of our seats.
