It’s video roundup time! Once again, Howl And Echoes are coming in hot with the freshest, most eyeball stimulating music videos to be dropped by the artists you love and some of the artists you don’t know you love yet, of this week. We do all the dirty work and herd them all into one convenient web-based location for you to enjoy every Friday so that you don’t have to. Have yourself a good old gander at the latest offerings from:

Bleached – Keep On Keepin’ On

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmgBdqsOwLo

All girl all kickass punk rock trio Bleached have given a release date for their new LP Welcome The Worms, now due for landing on April the 1st of this year. They’ve also given us the first taste of that upcoming record this week, releasing a brand new single and accompanying video for Keep On Keepin’ On.

It’s a song that, like the rest of that record, for which the writing and recording was fuelled by some incredibly personal troubles lived through by two of the sisters in the band (Jennifer and Jessie Calvin). The end result is some emotional yet relentless punk rock that might as well have been born on the Sunset Strip in the latter half of the 80s. It’s a very welcome throwback though when it’s done this well.

The video, directed by Lana Kim, pays a subtle tribute to the girls’ home of Los Angeles, warm and sunny shots of the suburbs mingled with a lot of super cool slow motion running. The wait for more isn’t as long as it seems, Welcome The Worms is out April 1st via Inertia.

Tiggs Da Author – Run (ft. Lady Leshurr)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ18K4Kg14k

If you’re looking for a summer track bursting at the britches with positive energy then look no further than London-via-Tanzania MC Tiggs Da Author and his latest offering Run. The song is already well-known having been debuted on the institutional Later With Jools last year as well as for its inclusion on the ’16 edition of perennial five star video game franchise FIFA.

Drawing heavily from the East African jazz he grew up listening to, Tiggs Da Author creates a beautifully simple yet indelibly infectious sound on Run, his smoky flow contrasting nicely with the spitfire rhymes of guest MC Lady Leshurr.

The video is a simple lyric one set to a loop of Tiggs dancing in the late afternoon sunshine, but if you can have this in your ears and your face doesn’t crack a big old shit-eating grin then you may have problems.

Tindersticks – Were We Once Lovers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1DDgKWc2HY

When we last heard from Nottingham rockers Tindersticks it was catching the video for their last single for their upcoming album The Waiting Room. It’s an ambitious project as both an album and a collaborative film project with each track being given its own short film accompaniment.

Now only a fortnight away and dropping on January 22, Tindersticks have released the single and film for new track Were We Once Lovers? Borne from the desire of frontman Stuart Staples to craft a song centred around a slap bass. It’s done to near perfection hear, the slap bass giving the song a beautiful rhythm that juxtaposes with the minimalistic piano and backbeat and the cavernous vocals of Staples to create a dusky and haunting song that burns slow and crashes wonderfully into an urgent chorus.

The accompanying video was directed by Pierre Vinour and is a time lapse shot of a car driving through the night before ending up in the ocean, a series of shots that complements the song beautifully.

The Waiting Room is out January 22nd via Inertia.

Tom Thum and EMRSN – Hit The Road Jack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xztWzyDogok

Here’s something a bit different we’re throwing in just because it’s so fantastic. World-renowned beatboxer Tom Thum, in a collaboration with EMSRN (of vocal duties with Future Soul) have joined forces for a truly unique take on a Ray Charles classic.

I’m not usually a huge fan of beatboxing but this is out of this world good. From the beat to the scratches to the brass, Tom Thum creates it all with his mind-bending (probably part-cyborg) vocal cords and lays it all under the soulful vocals from EMRSN, which stack up admirably against the song’s original owner.

They’ve opted for laidback and cool with the delivery, which suits it perfectly. It’s a truly futuristic and joyous interpretation of a soul classic by two amazingly talented young men. The video is a simple one, just the two artists laying it down on the microphones in stark black and white, but it’s probably a good thing the visuals are this basic, your mind should be blown enough by what you’re hearing.

Inspired And The Sleep – Die Slow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2qRaEO7Uok

San Diego dream pop band Inspired And The Sleep have enlisted the help of an Australian director, one Robert Crispe, for their new video that looks like a whole bunch of the most painstakingly hard work imaginable. It accompanies their new single Die Slow, a track from their most recent EP Eyelid Kid.

Featuring pan pipes, a mellowed out rhythm section and some equally laidback vocals from frontman Max Greenhalgh, Die Slow is an altogether pleasant and endorphin-heavy psychedelic pop number.

There’s so much going on in the stop-motion trip of an accompanying video that I won’t even begin to describe it. All you need to know before you sit back and chill to it is that it took over a year to make, is comprised of over 3700 individual frames and is more colourful than the mosh pit at a Phish show. Enjoy.

Bark – Home (ft. Talibah Safiya)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC0HLD3gzfw

Coming to you from the Big Apple are production duo Bark, comprised of Alessio and Alexey. Only in their relative infancy as an act, having kicked off back in 2014, the duo are set to release their very first EP in January of this year. Eponymously titled, each of the seven tracks on the EP will find Bark linking up with a wide variety of singer-songwriters to help bring their sound to life.

Their debut single from that EP is Home and features a vocal alley-oop from Brooklynite Talibah Safiya. The result is effortlessly cool, a minimalistic backbeat working together with some pulsing synths, a jarring yet simultaneously gorgeous combination of sounds layered over it at different points, all of it anchored by some heartache-inducing vocals from Safiya. The production is beyond slick, touching so many of your aural buttons all at once.

The video is conceptually spellbinding, depicting a struggle of sorts between a young girl and the car she’s roped to, going from a tug of war to a head on collision at the clip’s big finish.

Expect big things to come from a debut as rock solid as this. Bark the EP is out this month.

City And Colour – Lover Come Back Here/Wasted Love (Live on Jimmy Kimmel)

Something else a little different and not technically a music video but it’s my roundup and I do it basically Bam Margera (whatever the fuck I want). To that end, blown away as I was by City And Colour (the acoustic superhero whose alter ego is Dallas Green) making his network television debut in the US, I decided to give him some love this week and to give you a look at just how spinetingling his performance was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlG2xeuBOJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5jWSa_f2Fo

Both are cuts from his latest LP If I Should Go Before You, a record that went straight to number one in Green’s native Canada and one that has been making waves around the world as yet another breathtaking album from the singer-songwriter. These songs are perhaps even more soulful and electrifying as they are on record, and for that, City And Colour cops a spot here this week.

Mac Miller – Weekend (ft. Miguel)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N29-54dhVHg

Having spent the last quarter of 2015 watching his third album GO:OD AM crash charts and capture hearts, Pittsburgh wonder kid Mac Miller isn’t about to barrel out of the wave of hype and popularity that resulted from that record. Full of clever collaborations with others sporting stars on the rise (Ab-Soul and Lil B to name a few), Miller’s best collaboration might have been saved for one of the finest RnB voices to really arrive in 2015 with Miguel.

The duo absolutely crush it on Miller’s brand new single, the jazzy, poppy, soulful Weekend. It’s a nifty cut, with Miller’s sharp-witted and thoroughly contagious slacker flow combining with Miguel’s cool as a cucumber soul vocals to create a song just perfect for its titular subject.

The music video that goes with it starts out as just your standard hip-hop joint, a night on the town shared by Mac and Miguel, who drop rhymes out the car window with the best of them, only to head down a slightly nightmarish route and finding themselves walking among a gaggle of really weird shadow people with pixelated faces. It all ends well though, leaving us hoping these two link up a bit more often in the future!

Each week, we have our eyes and ears open for the best of the best when it comes to new music, and each and every week the world delivers. For your listening pleasure, we have narrowed it down to just 10 tracks we think are more than worth your time. From hip hop to dance, pop to neo-R&B, there is something for everyone in this playlist. You are so very welcome.

Kali Uchis, Ridin’ Round (Prod. DJ Dahl)

Rising international superstar Kali Uchis actually released this track back in February on her Por Vida EP, but it seems DJ Dahl just couldn’t get enough of it, and decided to release his own version of the track. Self-described as “forsure one of my favorite records I’ve done this year,” DJ Dahl has well and truly outdone himself with this one. Whilst we love the original, we have had to make a special place in our heart for this bad boy.

Sofi De La Torre, London x Paris

We’ve had our eye on Sofi De La Torre for a while now, and with each release she always has us coming back for more. This latest track is one of her best yet. Smoky, emotional, passionate and a little more raw and exposed than we’re used to from De La Torre, London x Paris is her most intimate track and definitely one of our favourites. Crisp beats piercing a bed of thick, hazy synth and her naturally beautiful vocals, this is a total dream.

Bri Clark, Shiver

This is one of the most powerful tracks I’ve heard in a while. So passionate, so raw; Bri Clark pushes herself as far as she can go with this one and she sounds so good whilst doing it. She isn’t taking any of your bullshit whilst casting herself in the most exposing light she’s been in yet, and as a result I just can’t stop listening to this song.

Ribongia, Journeys

Ribongia is the musical moniker of the Italian-born, Sydney-based producer who has just released new single Journeys. The jungle-inspired track is the first taste of his upcoming ESCAPISMS EP, following on from the last, It Began. This is a really interesting track that focuses squarely, and heavily on the rhythm – and what a rhythm it is. Calling on jungle and break-beat elements, the percussively-loaded track is free, nearly ecstatic, a real celebration. Fun, frantic and completely hypnotic, my feet have already starting to move.

EMRSN, Down (Prod Jarreau Vandal)

Melbourne neo-R&B artist EMRSN returns with a new single, Down. Working with Soulection producer Jarreau Vandal, Down is, quite simply, a wonderful track. The track immediately grabs your attention with that huge rhythm, the expansive percussive beat, the synths that both combine with, and elevate the already-soaring vocals. Soon, the main beat kicks in, immediately shifting the vibe to a funky, fresh and wide-eyed feel. All in all it’s a wonderful atmosphere – sprawling, fun and sonically gorgeous.

Young Tapz, Killa

Young Tapz might ring a bell or two, and that would be thanks to his featuring spots on TWO of Hermitude‘s biggest tracks, The Buzz and Through The Roof. However, now it’s his turn to take centre stage, and we couldn’t be more excited about this track. Absolutely fucking massive, Killa immediately thrusts him onto his own level. Speaking about his track, Young Tapz said, “It’s dangerous out here, I’m just tryna let my people know.” Thanks for the heads up, Tapz, but we could have used some warning that you were sitting on a track as fiery as this one.

Kendrick Lamar, Alright (SVSSY Flip)

Well, I’ll bet you’ve never heard K-Dot quite like this. The jarring, glitchy, weird and wonderful synth-heavy flip is courtesy of mysterious new Sydney producer SVSSY. The flip really feels more like a brand new track with a Kendrick sample. The atmosphere is completely packed and nearly disconcerting in its intensity and, ultimately, it’s strangeness. The rhythm carries it through, however, building and growing here and there, ever-changing tones and colours. Listen closely to the sample a bit before the six-minute mark, it’s from Kendrick’s ‘I’m Preaching Hope, Not Violence’ interview.

Wishes, I Want to be Alone With You

The latest from Sydney outfit Wishes is a sparkly offering of on-trend indie/electro-pop, just in time for the festival season. Practically made for summer, this warm and infectious track is immediately reminiscent of the likes of MGMT, Foster The People or even Passion Pit, but it’s his modern production that keeps it in 2015 and beyond, well away from 2009. Accessible with it’s mainstream appeal, but still slightly leftfield to keep alternative dance fans happy, Wishes will be a name we will be seeing a lot of very soon, whether we like it or not!

The Tongue, Never Going Down ft. Ngaiire

We recently shared The Tongue’s first single from his upcoming album, You Got Me ft. Mataya, and today he returns with Never Going Down ft. Ngaiire. Opening on light synths and a bulging bass, the trap-influenced rhythm caught me off guard at first – but I love it. Once again The Tongue is lyrically dense, with a compelling flow through every verse. Ngaiire’s uniquely rich vocals are the perfect padding, too. This is another really impressive offering from the Sydney artist – I’m looking forward to hearing more.

Surahn, Wanted To Fly

A modern take on groovy, psychedelic rock ‘n roll, this single is the first original new release from this producer/singer/songwriter for a long while – and I think it’s incredible. While you may not know the name, it’s likely you’ll know the talent. Surahn is a prolific performer and collaborator, having worked with Kimbra and Usher, sung live with Flight Facilities, and toured extensively with Empire of the Sun. Now he’s going it alone, and if the rest of his material sounds anything like this, it won’t be long at all until “Surahn” is a name you know REALLY well.

Is it just me or has this week been one hell of a week for new music?! With artists releasing more and more music, tracks can get lost in the masses, thus making the concept of the video clip all the more important in making a track stand out. We’ve narrowed it down to just six new clips we think you’ll enjoy, varying from the tripped out dream of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the AraabMuzik collab with Azealia Banks, powerful clips from JOY. and Nocturnal Sunshine, as well as a Drake cover by EMRSN and the newest single from Hot Chip‘s forthcoming LP. Yahoo!

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love

The title track from Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s forthcoming LP has been given the accompanying visuals that dreams are made of. Literally. The surreal, tripped out clip is a kaleidoscope of visuals surging and pulsing as it goes along. Apparently based on the idea that each sound should be unique, director Lionel Williams said of the clip, “It is meant to represent the vacuum of space by impressing upon inter-dimensional unfolding, immaterial objects, and time-driven reverberation of events. The virtual space allows for most 3D objects to trail in time – based on the directions one moves. You can construct & paint the objects in space to stretch them in any direction, to create infinitely vast compositional spaces.” Sums it up quite nicely.

Azealia Banks – Ice Princess

Fuck the haters, I love Azealia Banks and this is an awesome clip. Depicting Banks as a frozen medusa, she wages war with her army of what looks to be robotic ninjas. It was directed by We Were Monkeys and features scenes of her flying through the sky on a basilisk, blowing up airborn glaciers with her eyes. SLAY!

EMRSN – Hold On, We’re Going Home (Drake cover)

Melbourne future soul artist EMRSN was the sole support act for D’Angelo last year at his Soulfest sideshow. That alone should make you sit up and listen, but when you actually do you won’t look back. His voice is incredibly captivating, and his 2014 release About Love that saw him sing his way into our hearts. Now he’s back covering one of Drizzy’s biggest tunes, taking it from the club to the couch in it’s acoustic and intimate way.

Martin Gore – Europa Hymn

In conjunction with the announcement that Depeche Mode co-founder Martin Gore is to release a new self-titled solo album –MG by MG – Gore has also released the film clip for the album’s first single. Titled Europa Hymn,  the clip is equally as peculiar but strangely captivating as the song it’s paired with. All 16 tracks on MG by MG will be instrumental numbers, with Gore saying, “I wanted to keep the music very electronic, very filmic and give it an almost sci-fi like quality.” Sci-fi indeed, this could easily be the soundtrack for a journey through space.

Nocturnal Sunshine – Take Me There

Maya Jane Cole‘s alter ego takes a turn for the strange with Nocturnal Sunshine. This bass driven track has been teamed up with equally strange and eerie visuals, to make one dark and hypnotic package. Directed by The Fashtons, this is the first taste off Nocturnal Sunshine’s forthcoming debut album and has us all kinds of excited for what is still to come!

JOY. – Weather

Brisbane’s JOY. is quickly becoming one of my favourite artists in the local scene, and her latest track Weather only reiterates that. This gloomy, intense track has been paired with a stunning and highly emotive clip. The slow motion clip sees JOY. frantically trying to protect her family from authorities. Scenes of her struggling with a police officer, ripping bags out of removalists’ hands and the family yard littered with belongings, the clip is gut-wrenching and totally enthralling.

Hot Chip – Need You Now

One of the most exciting albums set to drop this year comes from Hot Chip (read our recent interview with them here). Titled Why Make Sense?, the album is scheduled for release on May 18 via Domino Records, and is already looking like one of their best yet. First single Huarache Lights only sated our thirst for more for a limited time, so thankfully they’ve dropped another single to keep us happy for a little while long. Need You Now is a darker, deeper number that features the meticulous percussion the band is known for. The clip is equally deep and dark, and features front man Alexis Taylor chasing himself through time, running behind the actions he had just done moments before. It’s a strange but seriously cool clip, as is to now be expected from the band. I’m placing a lot of hope in these cats returning to Aus for Splendour.

Wassup people! Here’s your new weekly playlist, curated by your faithful editor. Got a pretty eclectic selection today. We start with the raunchy sounds of Boss Moxi, before fuzzing it up and washing it down with Crepes and Kagu. From there we travel into weird-electro-land, where my picks this week are all about the hidden layers, subtle delights and subdued power. Topping it all off is a couple wicked hip hop tracks to finish it off. Enjoy!

  • Boss Moxi, Nymphomaniac
    I can’t get enough of this Brisbane group right now. Their haunting tones lie somewhere in between Nick Cave and Kirin J Callinan, with an indie beat and eerie guitars leading the way.
  • Kagu, Shadow of the Wind
    A really gorgeous track from former-Snakadaktal man Sean Heathcliff. Sentimental and deliberate, the rhythm slowly builds and drops and changes behind the melody, really captivating you through each moment.
  • Crepes, Ain’t Horrible
    The Melbourne act have released a new single that lies somewhere between lo-fi fuzz and summery bliss. Delayed beats and understated vocals, there’s a lot more than meets the eye to this one.
  • EMRSN, About Love
    I can’t get enough of this sound! An absolutely gorgeous future soul track, EMRSN has found the absolute perfect balance between delicately glitch electronic beats, and velvety rich, sensual vocals.
  • Sizarr, Baggage Man
    The swinging rhythm, the melodic bass and the swift rhythm lead the way on this one, while the vocals are warm, husky and seductive. I don’t like the bridge that much, but the rest of the track more than makes up for it.
  • Spirit Faces, Cloudplay ft. Buoy
    This is an utterly strange, utterly beautiful tune. Angelic melodies and lullaby xylophones, grungey guitar crunches and a whole myriad intermittent synth layers makes for something wholly unique.
  • TOKiMONSTA + Iza, Pinching
    A heavenly lilt with perfect harmonies really lead the fairly simple synth and beat layers. There’s a lot of cute little additions throughout, and all in all it’s another track where you gotta look a little closer to find the magic!
  • Marian Hill, Lips
    This is a funky electro-pop track with cheeky vocals and a rhythm that starts simple, but slowly builds into something really catchy. I really like the thinness of Hill’s voice – it’s not often that you find something so fine, yet so strong.
  • Lil Herb & Earl Sweatshirt, Knucklehead
    I love rap collabs where they just trade gritty verses, and this is exactly that. The basic loops leave loads of room for those raspy raps. Both rappers have seriously wicked tongues and they flow so fluidly together.
  • Danny Brown & Action Bronson, Bad News
    This one’s off the EPIC upcoming GTA V soundtrack. It’s an interesting collaboration, but it works. They really feed off one another, surrounded by eerie loops, evil lyrics and clanky beats. It’s dark and demented, so obviously I like it.

Hey y’all! Welcome to the first edition of our brand new weekly video-roundup, where I post some of my favourite new music clips from the past week. Enjoy!

Highasakite, Leaving No Traces

Anyone who’s read my stuff for a while knows how much I love Norway’s Highasakite. A ‘concept video’ addressing the relationship between nature and culture, there’s some brilliant stop-motion and some utterly eerie empty symbolism in this one, topped off by an endlessly catchy, yodel-friendly track. Catch these guys at Laneway!

Adria, Pull Me Under

I posted up about Adria’s new single Pull Me Under last week, and here’s the video to go along with it! A sexy slow-burner with a deep, driving bass and a swish piano countermelody, the intimate black and white clip really encapsulates the sensuality of it all, without being predictable or boring for a moment.

Public Service Broadcasting, Gagarin

Spacemen, funk music, radio space samples and jammin’ guitars. Were the dancing astronauts an homage to one of America’s best dance music websites? We’ll never know, but everything about this video and the song is infectiously fun.

Run The Jewels, Oh My Darling (Don’t Cry)

It’s a fairly stock standard hip hop clip but, like their music, still manages to stay miles ahead of anything else. The naked woman is as graceful as she is sexy, the weird video-manipulations stretching out the scenes is strange and new. As hip hop clips go, this is great.

EMRSN, About Love

A perfect blend of treble future-beats and seductively smooth R&B, this is probably my favourite video clip this week. The video is simple – it’s just a face, but separated and split up by disconnected squares. It’s that contrast – the utter basic with the totally new – that makes this so interesting. Watch as the squares slowly come together like the Rubik’s Cube you never knew it was.

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders, Her Hands

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders have been making all sorts of a name for themselves recently. Set at Sydney’s Town Hall, the simple yet super interesting video features Jack and a blonde, married cross-dresser sitting together, before parting ways and cautiously following each other around – or is she running from him? We’ll never know.