Singles Spin #38
So what’s the latest singles in Singles Spin #38? Check out the latest from:
Charli XCX releases Forever, the debut track taken from her forthcoming album how i’m feeling now.
Forever was written this week by Charli XCX and co-executive produced by Charli XCX, A. G. Cook and BJ Burton. The track was created within the last two days, with Charli teaming up with Cook and Burton via the internet while all three are in self-isolation. This is a working process that will continue throughout the album, with the entirety of the project being written, recorded, produced and released while in quarantine due to the world pandemic.
A romantic, hopeful cut of progressive pop, Forever glows with luminous synths and cascading pixelated textures. Lo-fi in nature before slowly unfurling into something more beautiful, Forever is a perfect touchpoint for how the upcoming project may sound; patient, forward thinking, and completely unique.
The official music video for Cicadastone’s latest single, Box of Anger, is out now through Golden Robot Records. It was filmed and directed by good friend to the band, Michael Stifter, after Mat Robins called on the morning of the shoot asking for help, “And luckily he basically took over the shoot!” laughs Robins.
The idea came about after the band found an old tv and red chair on the side of the road on the way to a gig one evening.
“We found them and were like “what can we use this stuff on?!” They ended up helping create the concept of the video which fit the song perfectly,” says Robins. “The young girl in the clip is also on our album cover so she was the perfect choice. We had a blast making it.”
ATREYU Release Super Hero Video Featuring Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows + Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie — Watch
On the back of their recent and hugely successful Australian tour thanks to Silverback Touring; ATREYU have shared the video for Super Hero from their 2018-released album In Our Wake. The track features appearances from Avenged Sevenfold frontman M.Shadows and Underoath drummer/vocalist Aaron Gillespie.
“Our song Super Hero was written about what it’s like to be a parent and the vast amount of time, effort, energy, and hard work it takes to be a real-life superhero for your children,” the band says. “The song also has a broader meaning, especially given the current situation the entire world is dealing with. There are many superheroes out there who appear in many forms — namely the first responders, medical personnel, and health care workers who are putting others first as they work to fight COVID-19 and to save lives. We dedicate this song to them.”
The Smith Street Band release new single I Still Dream About You, as premiered last night on triple j Good Nights. I Still Dream About You is the second single from the band’s forthcoming, fifth studio album Don’t Waste Your Anger. Originally due for a June release, The Smith Street Band have moved forward the album which will now be available digitally on Friday April 17th via the band’s own label, Pool House Records.
“We have a new single out right now called ‘I Still Dream About You’. We’ve actually been playing this song live for 18 months or so, it was the first thing we wrote for this album. For years after quitting smoking I had a recurring dream where I would just roll and smoke a cigarette and I thought it was interesting that my body, or subconscious, was holding on to something I’d tried to quit. Thinking about that idea is what inspired this song!” – Wil Wagner
In a world where Punk Rock seems to change definition more times than most people change their minds, RADIO REJECTS stick to the true definition of the genre. Influenced by Old Skool 4-Chord and 90s Skate Punk, The Rejects push the true ideology that Punk Rock is all about fun and dare we say rad times.
The Greatest is the latest single for Australian NSW South-Coast based Radio Rejects, out now on Riot Records (part of the Golden Robot Global Entertainment Group). It’s an anthemic, feel good Punk Rock gem that will make you want to clip on your wallet chain, grab your board, crack open a cold one and give you a reason to smile in this currently gloomy world.
The new single, The Greatest is also backed by one hell of a film clip that’s sure to get you all talking, with the boys in full glory showing off their tradie skills that would put contestants of The Block and My House Rules to shame.
Australian born, contemporary Pop / R&B singer Samara returns with her newest single of 2020: Pull Up. Samara has collaborated with U.S multi-platinum award winning songwriter: Mickey Shiloh and Canadian producer: Brian Whittaker PKA Excel Beats (who co-wrote and produced the single: See Me Shine for the Grammy Award Winning Bone Thugs-n-Harmony) on this project.
Taking cues and inspiration from the leading ladies in her genre including: J:Lo and Tinashe, Pull Up features Samara’s unique vocal range, incorporating seductive influences, whilst creating a single that is a little bit soul, a little bit pop and a whole lot of woman.
One of Brisbane’s favourite folk singer-songwriters, Jordan Merrick, has not slowed down since the release of his debut album Night Music (released October 2019) and with his new single Millennial Blues he is returning to his roots.
Now, for Millennial Blues, Merrick has returned to his humble sound made simply with his poetic lyrics and an acoustic guitar. Merrick creates a settling and peaceful mood with his feathery touch on the guitar and his distinct Australiana vocal tone. Despite the lyrics contemporary message, Merrick’s sound opens a doorway to a distant, simpler time.
Jordan Merrick describes the meaning behind Millennial Blues:
“‘Millennial Blues’ chronicles the world my generation was born into – the social media age where we’re constantly surrounded by the pressure of appearance and image. We’re a generation amassing stupendous debt to get qualifications to one day pay off said debt.”
Bristol-based artist Henry Green is back and has just announced his new album Half Light is set for release June 12th via Akira Records. The first single from the album Realign is streaming online now.
Speaking about the track, Green said “‘Realign’ is about self exploration, and the idea that clarity can actually arrive in the moments when you’re distanced from your thoughts, and the preconceptions of how things should be. I wanted the track to feel expansive and euphoric, but intimate and honest in equal measure. That desire to balance the two styles inspired the production of the track.”
Strangely Enough are returning in their genre-bending fashion, comprised of soaring vocals, polyrhythmic synths, rubbery funk bass-lines and solid grooves. Long Time Coming is the third single from Strangely Enough and is the first taste of the band’s debut EP, set to be released in the coming months.
Olley explains the meaning behind the single:
“‘Long Time Coming’ is about how we define ourselves with a series of snapshots of our lives. A graduation, a wedding, a holiday; this is sometimes how we construct an idea of who we are or used to be. Sometimes though these snapshots hide that we are constantly on the move, passing on to something else and yet still the same person.”
Off the back of a sold out tour, a towering new single, and killer sets at Good Things festival, Australia’s favourite rockers The Butterfly Effect have served up the video for their first new musical offering in over a decade, Unbroken – giving viewers a AAA pass to life on stage and backstage. Featuring behind the scenes footage and on-stage rampaging from their performances at Good Things Festival in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, the video will allow everyone to relive their festival-going days, and is an in-your-face reminder of just how staggeringly powerful and relevant this band is, and offers a genuine insight in to the comradery within.
“Releasing Unbroken was a pivotal moment in itself for us. We’re so happy to have been able to write more music as ‘The Butterfly Effect’. To then be added to the Good Things bill really topped off 2019 for us, “ lead vocalist Clint Boge says. “To be honest, stepping out onto those festival stages again was a real uncertainty for us. It’d been 10 years between festival performances so to see that many faces, young and old in the audience really solidified to us that pushing forward with new material was an absolute must.”
Bakers Eddy return with a cracking new single T-Shirt – a melancholic anthem from the Melbourne-via-Wellington pop-punk powerhouse, premiered by triple j’s Good Nights with Bridget Hustwaite.
Bursting into focus via the band’s addictive pop-punk energy, T-Shirt also leans into the deep, unpolished feelings that come with a breakup, as explained by lead singer Ciarann Babbington:
“I wrote the song after a long-distance relationship came to an end. I was in the middle of that messy period where all you do is think of this person and you seem to forget why you fell apart. It’s me dealing with regret and trying to make sense of all these feelings and emotions.”
Hayley Mary shares the unapologetically punchy Brat lifted from her critically acclaimed debut EP The Piss, The Perfume out now through I OH YOU.
Brat is a punky screamer that sits on the opposite end of the aesthetic and thematic spectrum of The Piss, The Perfume EP. Tight guitar licks and riffs spiral around Hayley’s heavenly pure vocals that swiftly switch to toys-out-of-the-pram chant once the chorus hits.
Running Touch returns with the first taste of what’s to come from his forthcoming debut album, expected later this year. Meet Me is the artist’s new single which lays the foundations of his debut record that’s expected to go beyond the anonymity, exploring the brain behind it all often at its most personal and intimate.
“Meet Me was my second time publishing a short story into a song. Building on the concept and colours I had found and loved in My Hands, I wanted to expand and grow in that room – but it goes further. It’s a thank you to everyone up until this moment. It is that support that has made me feel truly myself for the first time in writing these songs. It’s a nod to both the past and future.”
After posting up nearly 200 million total streams on last year’s sophomore blockbuster Trauma and landing on the pages of Variety and beyond, two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated platinum rock juggernaut I Prevail reveal Hurricane (Reimagined).
The Michigan outfit strips down its latest hit single Hurricane acoustically, highlighting the poignant lyrics, vulnerable performance, and impressive songwriting. It illuminates another side of the Michigan group and exerts a different kind of power from the original.
“‘Hurricane’ is one of the most important songs on Trauma,” the band shares. “It was one of the first tracks we wrote for the album and it became a pillar in building the central message and sound we wanted to create. From the day we wrote it, there was a vision for a stripped-down version of the song that would allow us to explore more delicate instrumentation, production, and vocals. This version definitely brings to life a different mood and atmosphere to experience the track.”
Adelaide quartet Pinkish Blu have released their new single Red Hot Moon and announce their debut EP THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS GOOD PEOPLE, out May 22. The track was premiered this week on triple j’s Home and Hosed program and follows previous single COUPON.
Red Hot Moon builds on the band’s reputation for creating constellations of sad 80s-inspired dream-pop, filled with sparkling synths and juicy jangle, which has gained them comparisons to M83 and The 1975.
“Lyrically, ‘Red Hot Moon’ was probably one of the most simple songs I’ve ever written”, says singer Brice Young.
“The whole song can be boiled down to an event that happened in the span of about 1 minute. Obviously there’s metaphor all throughout the song but the actual inspiration comes from a fragment of time. One small moment can really be a profound thing, the heightened state of emotion one can be in while in a short timeframe can repel any sort of logic or rationale. Which can obviously be a dangerous thing but it’s also quite a cool thing in my opinion.
“To really be in the moment and almost oblivious to the immediate or distant past and future; those are the movie moments. Where the background blurs. Whether they’re basically irrelevant afterward or a precursor to something bigger, those moment are also they’re own thing.”
Soul legend Mavis Staples has released the hopeful new song All In It Together. Produced by Jeff Tweedy and featuring Tweedy on backing vocals and guitar. All In It Together is available on all streaming services.
“The song speaks to what we’re going through now – everyone is in this together, whether you like it or not,” Staples explains. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have, what race or sex you are, where you live…it can still touch you. It’s hit so many people in our country and around the world in such a horrible way and I just hope this song can bring a little light to the darkness. We will get through this but we’re going to have to do it together. If this song is able to bring any happiness or relief to anyone out there in even the smallest way, I wanted to make sure that I helped to do that.”
Mushroom are thrilled to reveal the new hazy pop delight from Owl Eyes titled Tokyo. Another radiant slice of music which today the moniker of Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Brooke Addamo announces will be alongside six other phenomenal tracks on her highly anticipated EP Invisible Woman – set for release Friday 29 May 2020.
“While it feels incredibly weird to be releasing music at a time like this, I’m excited to be putting these songs into the world. I hope they bring some joy into people’s lives and cause people to dance around their living rooms and let go. They were made in a different time, but hopefully people find what they need in them right now. Silver and Gold (which was done with Hugo from Flight Facilities) is one of the more dancey tracks from the EP as carefree as the lyrics state. In short – you don’t need possessions to have fun. Hope you enjoy.” – Owl Eyes
Grimes released the video for You’ll Miss Me When I’m Not Around, a track from her latest album, Miss Anthropocene, which was released via 4AD / Remote Control Records last month to rave reviews. Watch the video via the image below.
Grimes grew up on bootleg sampling and DIY creation and consider it a vital part of exploring personal style and creativity. She shares her finished video in front of a green screen, encouraging creators to generate their own videos, as part of a collective art project, using the raw files and audio stems she is making available to all.
Rising Adelaide sensation, Jess Day, is back with her latest single Signals. The buzz around Day began in earnest after the release of her debut single, Why is She So Beautiful?, which gained her the coveted spot of Feature Artist of triple j’s Unearthed. Since then her song Rabbit Hole received full rotation on triple j and was featured on Spotify’s most noteworthy playlists including Front Left, The Local List, Indie Arrivals, Women of AU & NZ, Broad Chords, Chords & Cardigans and Fresh Finds: Index.
Signals see Day broaden her sonic horizons with chimes, hand claps and synth layers adding extra colour to her taut guitar-driven grooves. Jess enlisted indie luminary Peter Katis (the man behind the desk of alt heavyweights Kurt Vile, The National, Death Cab for Cutie and Australia’s own Middle Kids) to help bring her vision into fruition. The collaboration is a thing of beauty, with Katis’ emphasis on clarity and mood highlighting Day’s penchant for melody and let’s face it – hooks.
GRAMMY nominated artist Alesso drops his new single Midnight (feat. Liam Payne). The vivacious track has a slow and steady build with Liam Payne singing about love leading into Alesso’s triumphed melody. The track radiates a confident and uplifting feeling. Liam Payne’s rasp-filled vocals breathe life into the record that complement Alesso’s production knack for crafting energetic and emotive feel-good music.
“During these difficult times Liam and I hope this song can bring some light” says Alesso.
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