Here it is, your weekly playlist of some of our favourite new songs this week! We try to cover as much ground as possible, and here’s a few amazing new tracks we might have missed throughout the week.
Enjoy!
- Roots Manuva, On A High
Off the back of last year’s stunning new album Bleeds, On A High can be found on the upcoming deluxe version. Backed by an eerie, synth-based instrumental and a thin, rather unsettling vocal loop, Roots paints a dark, lyrically illustrative picture, ominous but not quite as gritty as some of last year’s tracks. This is another great track, with Roots continuing his reign as one of the UK’s best hip-hop exports ever. Read our review of the incredible Bleeds here. - Aphty Khea, Onyx Glitz
Aphty Khea has just released a two-track EP, and it’s so good that we’re featuring both right here. The slinky, electro-trip hop offerings immediately evoke a lush, immersive atmosphere that I quickly found myself lost among. The rhythm and sparse instrumental layers, predominantly percussive effects and glitchy piano trickles, create an unsettling backdrop which slowly builds behind the multi-layered vocal melody. - Aphty Khea, Peacebloom
The second half of Khea’s EP, Peacebloom begins with a briefly noisy sample, before we’re immediately thrust into a much deeper atmosphere. The huge beat and deep, resounding bass quickly forms a syncopated rhythm, as a seductive vocal loop injects melody up above. I absolutely love how deep and trippy this instrumental is, and the vocal melody is simply sublime. Of the two, this is my favourite, but put together, you’ve got an incredible eight minutes of sonic magic. - Marcus, Toast
Another incredible upcoming name in hip-hop from our own backyard, Melbourne’s Marcus has this week released new track Toast, following on from his new mixtape Pizza For Breakfast. The production is really beautiful, courtesy of Basquiat JR, best known for producing Joey Badass’ Christ Conscious. Marcus has a really smooth, natural flow, an absolute pleasure to listen to for the track’s theme-appropriate 4:20 running time. - Ryan Hemsworth, Wait ft. Keaton Henson & Mitski
Goddamn. The Adult Swim singles series just gets better and better each week. Today, we’ve got a brand new Ryan Hemsworth production, featuring deep vocals from Keaton Henson, along with the delicate darkness of Mitski, who just released new album Puberty 2. This is a deeply emotive track, and the low chords, robotic synth effects and both guests’ vocals altogether create something really quite heavy and introverted. - Tempesst, Broke Down Blues
Lightening the mood a bit, The Aussie born, London based duo Tempesst are back with a rich, twangy, guitar-laden campfire track. Raucous and bluesy (as the name might suggest), this is so, so catchy and a real pleasure to listen to – you can absolutely picture this as a late night festival singalong. - Dom Zilla, Tonight
We’ve covered the UK’s Dom Zilla a couple times before, and each time, I love it. New track Tonight is a blissfully smooth, full, soulful offering. “I don’t need nobody tonight,” he begins, forming a calmly comforting atmosphere that flows so beautifully throughout this wonderful track. - Japanese Wallpaper, Cocoon
Melbourne’s Japanese Wallpaper, aka Gab Strum, has finally returned with new track Cocoon. The first track since his self-titled debut EP, this is a warm, rich tune, showing off a deep melody and a really beautiful, full, warm soundscape. This marks Strum’s first track featuring his own vocals, and it couldn’t work better. I can’t wait to hear more. - James Vincent McMorrow, Rising Water
The bearded man with one of the most delicate voices in folk music has returned, and he’s had one hell of a makeover. This is a really exciting new direction that he’s heading in, following his 2014 album Post Tropical, and I really, really like it. Swift percussion, a funky bass and a wonderful melody come together in the first track off his newly announced third LP, We Move, out September 2. Listen to Rising Water here. - Kacy Hill, Lion
G.O.O.D Music’s Kacy Hill has released released Lion, the first track to be released from her highly anticipated debut album, out later this year. This is a truly incredible track, and I can’t wait for the full record. Dark yet dainty, emotive and commanding throughout, showcasing her incredible, unique vocals and a powerful chorus. Listen to Lion here.
Image: Ryan Hemsworth / Adult Swim
After hearing the recent release of Japanese-American artist Mitski‘s new album Puberty 2, my anticipation to speak with the ambiguous artist was extraordinarily high. Having felt that Puberty 2 was one of the best albums of the year so far, I was excited to delve into its content with the intriguing woman behind it. However, not everything always goes to plan with interviews. No matter how excited and prepared you are, it’s still a two-way conversation and Mitski sounded tired, worn out and disinterested. Admittedly, this was deflating during the call. In retrospect, however, it only feels human – and this only furthered the mysterious, but profoundly human elements to Mitski’s artistry. All of the humanity I could feel coming through on Puberty 2 I could also sense in Mitski’s seeming shyness and desire to hold back. She presents herself as a mystery; a puzzle for her listeners to attempt to solve.
If nothing else, Mitski Miyawaki is as intriguing as her music is and that is something to be cherished. It was a privilege to talk with Mitski about her life, her art and the stories behind her stunning latest album.
Hey Mitski. I’ve listened to Puberty 2 a few times now and also got a chance to review it. I sincerely believe it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. Congratulations.
Thank you very much.
How do you feel about the project now that it’s been officially released?
Well, I recorded it in January, so I’ve been sitting with the record for a while. I actually don’t even know how I feel about it anymore, but people are listening now which is good.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ0O2vDT0VE]
One of the things that really blew me away on this album was the lyrics and how you managed to beautifully craft the narrative and conjure up the images that you did. What inspires you when you’re writing your lyrics?
I just feel the need to write them, that’s essentially what inspires me. When I’m writing I’m not trying to do anything, I’m just doing what I feel I need to do.
I know you’ve spoken before about moving around quite a lot growing up, how do you feel that has impacted you as a person and an artist?
I guess I’ll never know for sure because I’ve never lived any other life, I just am who I am and this is it. I can’t know for sure how it’s affected me and how it’s affected my writing, but I assume that it’s made me a lot more able to look at myself and my emotions at a bird’s eye view, because I spent a lifetime as an outsider and I’ve become very good at looking at things from the outside and observing.
One of the tracks I particularly connected to on a personal level was Dan The Dancer, are you able to tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind that track?
An image came up in my head of someone hanging off a cliff, but also simultaneously living their life like it’s not a dire situation, and they’ve always been hanging off a cliff and they’re trying to pretend that it’s okay. And I imagined, what if that person who lived off a cliff fell in love with someone who’s not hanging off a cliff and how they would feel and what they would want to do. What if they want to hold that person’s hand, you know?
Out of curiosity, why wouldn’t my mother approve of the way your mother raised you (as in Your Best American Girl)?
It’s literal, but also metaphorical. Mothers represent where you come from, how you’ve been raised, what your culture is. I think I was just trying to describe viscerally the difference in upbringing and culture between two people.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hDHm9MD0I]
I’ve seen you get a little bit of negative attention for the track Crack Baby and using the metaphor of drug addiction to sing about love, with some people accusing the track of being insensitive. What are your thoughts on that controversy and the track’s message itself?
In order to actually explain my point of view I would have to cross boundaries in terms of public and private life. I didn’t. All I can really say is that I wrote it when I was a teenager and in a bad place. I guess all I can do is apologise for the insensitivity, because in order for me to actually explain myself I would have to reveal things about my life and about things that I am just not that comfortable with putting out in public. The world is a big place with many opinions. That’s that.
There are so many extraordinary lyrics on the album, but the lyrics on Thursday Girl which go “I’m not happy or sad, just up or down, and always bad” really struck me more than any other. Would you be able to explain the story behind those lyrics and what they mean to you?
I guess it relates to the other song Happy where it occurred to me that happiness is also exhausting. Happiness is an up as opposed to sadness’ down and so both can equally be imbalances.
There’s such a variety of interesting sounds throughout the album, but I feel like I picked up on a punk vibe more than anything else and I’m curious what your thoughts are on that and what you can recall were your major musical influences for the album?
You know what, I’m not really sure. The reality is I think I’m influenced by everything, I wasn’t listening to any one artist while recording, I think it’s just a lifetime of listening to all sorts of music kind of coming out on the album.
The album seemed to end on a more uplifting note where you seem to reach a sense of peace. Do you feel like that was purposeful that you went through that narrative and you did find some peace with what you were dealing with?
Well, I don’t write albums as full albums, I write for the songs instead of albums. I write songs individually and I try to give each of them what they need. A lot of artists write albums thematically or they have an overarching narrative, but I don’t, it was just a collection of songs that I had which amounted to an album. I didn’t really have a message in mind, I think I just listened to the songs and figured out how they flowed best and used that to make the tracklist.
I’ve seen you labelled as ‘indie rock’ on platforms like iTunes, but it seems like there isn’t any one set genre to your music. How do you feel about those genre constructs and constraints, do you feel like that’s an outdated concept?
Yeah, I mean the thing is, I don’t know how I feel about it but if someone asked me what I would rather be called I wouldn’t know the answer to it. I think the whole genre thing is more a way of organising the whole giant world of music. It doesn’t really mean anything to me, but I know that iTunes needs me to put something in the genre section. I don’t really think about genre, but the business world and the marketing world need me to pick a genre.
You spoke recently about M.I.A. being a personal idol of yours, can you tell me a little more about what she means to you?
I randomly found her first album when I think I was 13 or 14. Her music was so different and I connected with it so strongly and immediately. I think she just continues to inspire me because she always seems to be doing exactly what she wants to do regardless of opposition. That’s not to say she’s trying to offend anyone, I don’t think she’s ever trying to do anything to be inflammatory, she’s just doing exactly what she feels is right or she thinks that she should do. It doesn’t really seem to matter to her whether people want her to do that or not, and I just find that so inspiring.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8wmkPLsBa4]
I know I saw you do a live cover of Calvin Harris’ How Deep is Your Love just recently, but I’m curious what music you’re listening to right now?
This makes me sound like an asshole but I’ve just been listening to jazz. I don’t think I can listen to anything remotely similar to myself and my music anymore because I start analysing it or I start listening to it as an artist. With jazz I can just fully appreciate it and absorb it as music, as a whole. And I think jazz is deep and beautiful, so that’s what I’ve been listening to lately.
Do you have plans to come out to Australia for some shows any time soon?
Nothing’s confirmed, but I would very much like to. The intention is there but I don’t have any confirmed dates.
What is next for Mitski?
I’m just going to be on the road and on tour for the next year. That’s my life.
Image: Youtube
In recent years, the term ‘indie,’ be it as a way to describe a type of sound, a release or production approach, distribution and so on, has been stretched to the point of having no discernible or typified characteristics. ‘Indie’ can be dismissive and overarching, but in some cases, it can signify something unique and profound. Enter Japanese-American artist Mitski Miyawaka, better known as simply Mitski.
25 years old and already on her fourth album, the Japan born Mitski is all set to release Puberty 2 this Friday June 17, the follow up to 2014’s Bury Me At Makeout Creek. Given her sheer, raw, talent, it seems a considerable disservice that she has not yet invaded the mainstream consciousness through her art. A defiant, yet accessible feminist voice is rare and refreshing. And yet, sticking to that ‘indie’ classification may well be comforting; it can allow her to process everything she feels into her art, and can proceed to do so unscathed by fame.
“Happiness is up, sadness is down, but one’s almost more destructive than the other,” she says, “When you realise you can’t have one without the other, it’s possible to spend periods of happiness just waiting for that other wave.”
Regardless of whatever comfort Mitski may find in her indie classification and relative obscurity, Puberty 2 will hopefully brighten the spotlight and draw incredibly well-deserved attention towards her.
It is hard to ignore the sounds found on extraordinary album opener Happy, which presents itself as a breathtaking sonic amalgamation, perhaps best likened to ‘industrial folk’, although attempting to pigeonhole this sound is fruitless. From the industrial synths, to the saxophone intermittently chasing the vocals, to the understated lyrical poetry, Happy is an example of music as transcendent poetry, of music as art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ0O2vDT0VE
Reimagining a man as an incarnation of happiness, or perhaps vice versa, Mitski strips the encounter bare; “And when you go, take this heart, I’ll make no more use of it when there’s no more you.”
The opener segues brilliantly into Dan the Dancer, who “had never danced outside of his room.” Borrowing from the sounds and attitudes of punk rock, Mitski employs profound vocals and an ambitious aural landscape to tell a sorrowful story of a man weakened by the hard edges of the world, who grew reliant upon the comfort of his own isolation. “When he’d say goodnight and leave her doorstep, he’d use his last strength to wave back.”
From there, Mitski’s abilities and diversity sees the album transition seamlessly into the woozy, gothic Once More To See You. An ominous see-saw of a song which looks back to the sounds of Bauhaus and The Cure, Mitski utilises these sounds to develop her own; through the beautifully delivered vocals and sincere, exquisite lyrics; “If you would let me give you pinky promise kisses, then I wouldn’t have to scream your name atop of every roof in the city of my heart.”
Fireworks changes the landscape once more, utilising a strong run of bass guitar to emulate post-punk sounds that brilliantly contrast the cinematic, soaring vocals. Speaking to the sorrowful heart seeking catharsis and respite, Fireworks sees Mitski at her most philosophical, her most grandiose. “I’ll hear fireworks outside, and I’ll listen to the memories as they cry, cry, cry.”
The sudden, soft opening of first single Your Best American Girl could almost be thought of as an exhausted shortfall following the previous track. However, Mitski soon dispels any such notion with the orchestral rise of guitars almost drowning out her voice; “Your mother wouldn’t approve of how my mother raised me.”
Your Best American Girl is a curious offering, finding the artist waging war with her mixed upbringing and mixed feelings of belonging; “half Japanese, half American, but not fully either.”
https://youtu.be/u_hDHm9MD0I
It is truly refreshing to find an artist willing to not only address the turmoil around her, but that within herself. Typically, one feels, it is one or the other. Similarly, I Bet On Losing Dogs finds Mitski confronting a shortcoming of her own, as she wrestles with her penchant for pursuing relationships she knows will not end well.
Similar still, My Body’s Made of Crushed Little Stars, a punk rock ode to the sorrows and misery of struggling alone in the world, finds Mitski mapping the journey of not knowing how she is going to pay her rent, painfully wailing, “I better ace that interview, I should tell them that I’m not afraid to die, I better ace that interview.”
The journey continues with Thursday Girl, where Mitski bashes her artistic head against the wall, forcing herself to come to terms with her own issues, sorrowfully recognising the need to take efforts to rectify or solve. It is a painfully recognisable sentiment of numbness and depression; “I’m not happy or sad, just up or down, and always bad.”
The segue to another upscale punk rock composition on A Loving Feeling is well balanced by the continuation of Mitski’s narrative, wrestling with the feelings of love and not being good enough, of uncertainty and loneliness; “Talking to everyone but me, I’m staying up late just in case you come up and ask to leave with me.”
“What do you do with a loving feeling, if the loving feeling makes you all alone.”
On Crack Baby, the comparison between cocaine addiction and the longing and needing for happiness may seem brash and wayward, but Mitski takes such glorious, delicate time to flesh out the idea, that it soon becomes apparent just how perfectly the comparison fits. The same way an addict may chase the feeling of their first high, Mitski chases the feeling of happiness; “wild horses running through your hollow bones.” She chases a happiness that she cannot perfectly recall, but craves nonetheless; “Crack baby you don’t know what you want, but you know that you had it once, and you know that you want it back.”
It seems fitting that Mitski concludes her album in a manner which suggests that she has finally attained a form of peace, moving on from past love and sorrows on Burning Hill. Perhaps she is not yet happy, but she attains a defiant attitude to moving on and pledges herself to finding small pockets of happiness. To close the album she sweetly sings, “I’ll love some littler things.”
Such a profound journey feels almost impossible to comprehend on a single album, but Puberty 2 is her most cohesive and extraordinary work, with its own sense of awareness and maturation. While some may argue that the art of poetry is dying, Mitski joins a throng of artists proving that it is in fact thriving, in a unique new way.
Through the course of Puberty 2, Mitski unfolds just how precisely the term ‘indie’ fits her as an artist. Not in a dismissive manner, but in the way it can be used to be describe the abstract. Difficult to define, but nonetheless profound, it communicates to parts of us that are often untouched by modern art. Puberty 2 is exactly as brief as it needs to be, while exceeding all expectations. A beautiful body of work, and a tremendous achievement, Puberty 2 is also a celebration of Mitski’s arrival as one of music’s best artistic voices.
Puberty 2 will be released June 17. Pre-order now on iTunes and receive Your Best American Girl and Happy as immediate downloads. You can also listen to the whole album here via NPR
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 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:
Mitski – Happy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ0O2vDT0VE&feature=youtu.be
We were loving New York’s Mitski when she last appeared in the roundup for the video for Your Best American Girl, she’s back again with the latest single to precede her highly anticipated fourth studio effort Puberty 2. Happy is the title, opening with a synth backbeat that sounds like a skipping CD and Mitski sounding like she’s crooning through a bad dial-up connection. There’s a discordant atmosphere immediately before the layers of sound are built upon (a low saxophone snaking its way in and out) and Mitski’s vocals shine through before the song picks up the pace, slowly building more and more frantically.
The video accompanying it is a wonderful short horror film, set in the 50s, it watches Mitski slowly unravel as she discovers her partner is cheating on her (the ending accelerates to 100 in about three seconds). This one really satiated my love for both horror movies and music videos with clear narrative arcs.
Puberty 2 is out June 17th on Dead Oceans via Inertia.
NO ZU – Hi Gloss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osM1dQlCRY8&feature=youtu.be
Melbourne eight-piece NO ZU have released their latest single Hi Gloss. It’s five minutes of raucously experimental synth pop sounding straight out of the 90s. It’s an unholy blend of different instrumental parts and vocal harmonies, so many unexpected bursts of noise that will keep your ears beyond stimulated.
The video is fantastically lo-fi and matches the bygone era sound with some vintage 3D graphics. Designed by 3D animator Alex Last, there’s as much going on in this video as there is in the song behind it. It’s almost impossible to explain but it looks like something you’d see on early 90s ABC and it’s an amazing throwback sonically and visually.
Nicholas Allbrook – A Fool There Was
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmxdWeMBdT0
Howl And Echoes loves us some Nick Allbrook too, and the POND frontman has his latest single out as well as his second solo studio album today in Pure Gardiya. A Fool There Was opens with a furious staccato guitar riff before mellowing into a marching rock tune, the choruses punctuated by the same shredding guitars from the beginning, Allbrook’s positively theatrical vocals engaging the listener at every turn.
The video, directed by Matt Sav, is an Australian homage to Osez Josephine by French rocker Alain Bashung and features a mysterious figure circling Allbrook and a few companions in an illuminated carpark, creating a dizzying effect for a rollercoaster of a song.
Pure Gardiya is out today via Spinning Top Records.
Wild Beasts – Get My Bang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nkdZhFzglA
Across the pond to Kendal in the UK for this next one, with rockers Wild Beasts announcing their fifth album Boy King and releasing a brand new single simultaneously. Get My Bang is the first, a slow-burning electro-rocker that coils and uncoils across three and a half minutes before a twisting guitar solo plays it out.
The video artfully mirrors the dark feel of the song, a pair of lovers dancing through the dimly lit streets of Belgrade while the band plays. It’s an exciting introduction for what’s to come on Wild Beasts’ next album.
Boy King is out August 5th on Domino.
Whitney – No Matter Where We Go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN-9ZAr2ePQ
This. Is. Nice. Indie rockers Whitney are just a few days away from the release of their debut album after wowing crowds at this year’s SXSW and have released their latest single this week in the breezy No Matter Where We Go.
The Eagles vibes are palpable in the jangly, southern-flavoured classic rock guitars and stomping percussion, singer Julien Ehrlich’s falsetto putting this summery tune on a nimbus cloud. The video, directed by Alan Del Rio Oritz, visualises the feelgood nature of the song, shots of the band jamming mingled with intimate looks at several different happy relationships.
Light Upon The Lake is out June 3rd on Secretly Canadian via Inertia.
Oh Pep! – Doctor Doctor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGgy0GoemCU
A contemporary folk-pop duo out of Melbourne are Olivia and Pepita, collectively known as Oh Pep! Doctor Doctor is their latest single, coming just shy of the release of their debut album dropping as soon as July does. The track is a slice of clever, quirky pop with a scuttling backbeat that remains blissfully lighthearted despite lyrics dealing with self doubt. The hook ‘I know what I want, it’s not what I need‘ is just built for a singalong.
The video is positively gleeful, a pair of mates enjoying a cracker day out including throwing eggs at a soccer team and transporting each other around via such conventional means as a beat up hatchback and a pram found by the bins before they enjoy a beer and a sunset together. Truly beautiful.
Stadium Cake is out July 1 via Barely Dressed/Remote Control.
Bugs – Instant Coffee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKGXhnvMAyQ
Presently one of my favourite bands in Brisbane are punk shredders Bugs. Having just released their latest record Growing Up yesterday, the most recent single from that album Instant Coffee received video treatment this week as well. Frenetically fun, the Bugs boys take pop punk and give it a distinct Australian flavour. Like good instant coffee (if there is such a thing) it never feels too sweet or saccharine, the main riff is a fish hook and the chorus is unbelievably catchy as well. Bugs shred and Instant Coffee is just one piece of a very fine record.
Its accompanying video is a ripper, with coffee beans flying everywhere while the duo enjoy a sunny day at home, although that bowl of Moccona drummer Brock Weston eats like its cereal is the stuff nightmares are made of. Overall stellar stuff from yet another promising band out of Brisbane, try listening to this or anything else by Bugs and not be wearing a shit-eating grin in seconds.
Growing Up is available now via Bugs’ bandcamp.
A$AP Ferg – Yammy Gang (ft. A$AP Mob, Tatiana Paulino)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQvb_oGWzgk
Wrapping up this week is Harlem hard-hitter A$AP Ferg and his new video for Yammy Gang, a shout out to their fallen comrade in A$AP Yams. From Ferg’s huge new album Always Strive And Prosper, Yammy Gang Featuring the rest of the A$AP Mob including Rocky, Twelvyy and Nast as well as a touching spoken word outro from Yams’ mother Tatiana Paulino about continuing her son’s legacy.
Yammy Gang goes hard like everything else on Always Strive And Prosper and the whole mob rightfully throws down in honour of Yams, Rocky’s verse exactly as nifty as you would expect. The video is a lo-fi desert trip (almost looks like the Joshua Tree), where the A$AP Mob ride in SUVs and chill out in half-built desert houses.
Always Strive And Prosper is out now on RCA.
Image: Supervisor Wire
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 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:
Xiu Xiu – Into The Night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgBcmaRfxlE
Kicking off with the San Jose grown experimental noise pop trio Xiu Xiu and their enormous new single Into The Night. With their twelfth studio album Xiu Xiu Plays The Music Of Twin Peaks arriving today, an album that, you guessed it, sees the trio covering music from the Twin Peaks soundtrack. A challenging project given the show’s manically cult following.
At a gigantic 12-and-a-half minutes, it’s a sprawling opus of distorted noise and crosses the threshold of a litany of genres, making for some gripping listening. The video, directed by Diego Barrera, explores the creation of the alchemical siren, a union between masculinity and femininity. The visuals are like a confronting dream and are very open to interpretation, best to watch for yourself to get the best understanding.
Xiu Xiu Plays The Music Of Twin Peaks is out now via Polyvinyl.
Gonzo Jones – Misty Dreams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu5AnZB8lWc
The latest Good Manners Records signee is Gonzo Jones and Misty Dreams is his debut single. Hailing from Cape Liptrap in Victoria, the singer-songwriter has kicked off his career with a beautifully melodic, cloud-soft rock tune in the vein of Mac DeMarco. Some of the easiest and breeziest listening you will do all this week.
The accompanying video is a sepia-tinged road trip in a Mustang convertible through sand and scrub, the late-60’s aesthetics striking. As auspicious a debut as they come, we’re looking forward to some very big things from Gonzo Jones.
Mitski – Your Best American Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hDHm9MD0I
Popping over to Brooklyn next with the latest single from singer-songwriter Mitski. Part of the lead-up to her fourth studio album Puberty 2, she has released Your Best American Girl with its video this week and the results are pretty much stunning. Soothing vocals over a gently strummed acoustic guitar, before the amps turn on and the drums crash around grungy riffs and Mitski’s vocals lifting off. It will reach down as far into you as it can in pushing your emotional buttons, side effects include goosebumps.
The video is equally as striking, a young couple exchanging a passionate kiss with each other juxtaposed with Mitski having an equally as passionate exchange with her hand. It’s a metaphor for, as a Japanese American girl, not quite fitting in in white America.
Puberty 2 is out June 17th on Dead Oceans via Inertia.
SilentJay x Jace XL – Rockabye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyRHe6KWZjY
Joining forces once again on this next one are producer-singer tag team Silentjay and Jace XL. Part of the Hiatus Kaiyote ensemble, their newest track is Rockabye; a track full of soft RnB melodies, shimmering production and the soulful vocals of Jace XL weaving the narrative. Late night bedroom listening at its finest, this is a song that will warm you up with colder months ahead.
The video is as sensual as the song itself, a tender love story covered in a haze of smoke and lights both warm and inviting and the neon of the nightlife. Rockabye is part of the lead-up to the duo’s forthcoming debut EP but this is a pair that definitely needs to stick together.
Sacrifice is out next Monday April 18th via Rhythm Section.
Noonie Bao – Reminds Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnjSkmMdm34
Lauded as one of pop’s greatest hidden talents (though we’re not sure how hidden you can possibly be when you’ve been nominated for a Grammy Award) is Stockholm’s Noonie Bao. Reminds Me is her latest single, a track that begins off-kilter with dreamy verses delivered like lymerics before building to a chorus that takes flight. Haunting and frantic, it’s easy to see why people rave about Noonie Bao.
The video, directed by Sebastian Mlynarski and shot in Death Valley in California is gorgeously picturesque, a collage of cut and pasted shots with the chorus finding her running across a desert highway in and out of the moonlight particularly striking.
Noonie Bao’s latest EP Noonia is out now via 2ManyFreckles.
Ash Koosha – Mudafossil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kSm7saCoXQ
London producer Ash Koosha has a brand new single this week. Mudafossil premiered on Adult Swim on the weekend just gone. Distorted and ambitious, the track features Eastern instrumentals and production that is as warped and fluid as the accompanying visuals.
Yes this video is a trip. We’ve seen quite a number of CGI-based videos popping up lately, but this one takes the cake as far as sheer trippiness goes. Conveying the overarching themes of his album I AKA I, the video merges the human body with technology using rippling, pulsating effects. Just watch and absorb yourself.
I AKA I is out now on Ninja Tune via Inertia.
Bibio – Light Up The Sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgrgCaSo8e4
Next up is another English producer in Bibio and his latest single Light Up The Sky. A track that begins with big piano chords and 80s-style synths, it quickly melds into almost dripping tap percussion and some ethereal falsetto vocals. The video is a rainbow of colours and lights, a live performance with a twist with microscopic mineral imagery projected onto the instruments to breathtaking effect.
The effort and love put forth into this video cannot be understated, shot in three days and edited meticulously. It’s another stellar track from Bibio’s latest record A Mineral Love; out now on Warp Records via Inertia.
Kate Martin – Kintsukuroi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oSpl4CZ-fg
Back home for this next video, with Melbourne-via-Townsville singer-songwriter Kate Martin and her first single since 2013’s Awaken in the brilliant Kintsukuroi. Textured, beautifully layered with gentle guitars slithering across the track and rich, gentle vocals anchoring it all. The song crashes like a roiling wave in its crescendo.
The video is simple but effective, featuring Kate twirling in the darkness and playing her guitar, the focus solely on her as it should be. With a third studio album, Set My Life To Fire, on its way in Autumn of this year, amazingly prolific for an artist only 24 years of age, this is a very encouraging sign of things to come.
Catch Kate Martin on her Kintsukuroi single launch in May and June.
Elizabeth Rose – Playing With Fire (ft. REMI)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmihmGgHi8E
Interactive music videos are catching fire in 2016, and Elizabeth Rose has teamed up with the good people at Google Play in crafting one of her own for her latest single Playing With Fire from her huge debut LP INTRA. The song mixes modern day trap beats with melodies and production that harken all the way back to the pop music that was commanding the charts in the late 90s and early 00s. REMI stops by to drop a hard-hitting verse to add a lot of extra depth.
We won’t spoil the fun for you, but you can literally play with fire (and apparently Elizabeth Rose’s own emotions) by going to https://www.elizabethrose.com.au/play/
INTRA is out now via Midnight Feature/Inertia
City Calm Down – Your Fix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26AQCCQKkcc
One of 2015’s biggest breakout stories were City Calm Down. Releasing their Bibically-proportioned album In A Restless House and enjoying lauded spots on festivals and headline tours around Australia. They’ve not shown any sign of slowing down in 2016, just announced for Splendour, currently on an all-but-sold-out headline tour of Australia and this week releasing the video for one of In A Restless House’s standouts in Your Fix.
It’s a New Wave belter, driving synths and guitars over frontman Jack Bourke’s Robert Smith-reminiscent vocals. The video is awash in neon pinks and blues, the band playing the song on a rotating Lazy Susan stage and somehow not looking the slightest bit dizzy. Great stuff from one of Australia’s best bands going.
In A Restless House is out now via I Oh You. Catch City Calm Down on their In A Restless House tour now.