As for the music video, she stated that the "visual is heavily inspired by the film 'A Ghost Story' which haunted me for weeks after watching & I couldn’t get the characters and their stories out of my head... The ghost and human couple in this video don’t stand a chance as they’re not even a part of the same world, but I thought after this crazy year we’ve all experienced, this silly little love story deserved a happy ending."
Oct 30, 2020
Analog Dog • Cat's Out of the Bag • 2020
'Cat’s Out of the Bag' is our meditation on the ever-shifting dualities of modern living. A musical journey borrowing from traditions of the past and embracing the sounds of the future, the six songs on this debut EP draw a thread through multiple genres and moods. Amidst the opposing forces of work and play, oppression and love, anxiety and optimism, these are the sounds of what exists in between.
ROSIER • PONTOISE • 2020
Reclaiming and interpreting the romantic traditions of Québécois folk, the bilingual band was born from a place of living heritage which created a unique bond unlike any other; the quintet evolved together musically and individually, immersed in generations of story and song yet influenced by the world around them. Today they share the charming "Pontoise" video...
Oct 28, 2020
Oct 27, 2020
Oct 26, 2020
VILLAGE OF LOVE Planned Parenthood Benefit • 2020
Now is a really crucial time where Planned Parenthood really needs our support more than ever. As we face an election that will determine the future of access to sexual and reproductive health care it is vital that Planned Parenthood has the resources to continue providing care and expanding their advocacy efforts, including crucial outreach to get out the vote.
Oct 25, 2020
Stranded • Post Meridian • 2020
“Post Meridian” thrives on ’80s British post-punk guitars, disco-meets-house beats and unassuming yet melodious vocals. It also dips its toes into dance-punk and techno, making for an exuberant swath of danceable sounds. Its thrumming, neon-colored spirit is contagious. —Lizzie Manno
Julien Baker • "Faith Healer" • 2020
“Put most simply, I think that “Faith Healer” is a song about vices, both the obvious and the more insidious ways that they show up in the human experience,” Baker says. —Paris Rosenthal
Laura Lucas • Big Questions • 2020
Backed by piano and the subtle sadness of distant horns, Laura tells a story about coming out on the other side of a toxic relationship and the relief that comes with letting go of what no longer serves you. Somewhat of a departure from her previous airy, acoustic folk tunes, “Fault Line” takes on a melancholic mood while being raw and honest.
Laura is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter and poet from Winnipeg, Canada. After gaining over 40,000 Spotify streams on her first three singles produced by Garrett Kato in Byron Bay, Australia, Laura has returned home with an eagerness to continue writing and has been focusing on local collaborations as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps us all close to home. As a poet herself, Laura is inspired by thoughtful lyricists and cites Leonard Cohen and Lana Del Rey as major influences.
Bendrix Littleton • Deep Dark South • 2020
Formerly one half of the “NyQuil-Pop” duo Bent Denim (dissolved in the summer of 2018), Littlejohn sought a fresh outlet that was more individual and freed from any preconceived artistic notions. During this time Littlejohn began taking on significantly more studio work, including production credits on Hovvdy’s Heavy Lifter (out now on Double Double Whammy), new material from Katy Kirby (out on Keeled Scales), and forthcoming work from Sinai Vessel. While production on this music was deeply rewarding, it was nonetheless work that was beholden to someone else’s vision. And it was out of this craving for artistic autonomy that Bendrix Littleton was born. Deep Dark South has provided a space for Littlejohn to experiment, collage, write, and record in a completely independent manner—a long-awaited and welcome zone of unfettered creation.
Oct 23, 2020
Bright Eyes • Miracle of Life • 2020
Wrapped herself around him like a tourniquet
Cold October nights she’d wear his leather jacket
Ahhh now she’s scared of taking a piss
Can’t be sure she’s positive
Made her an appointment she was two months late
The car they borrowed broke before they got out of state
Towed back into town what a drag
She’s feeling sick he’s feeling bad
Such is the miracle of life
Penelope Trappes • Eel Drip • 2020
“‘Eel Drip’ Is about honouring the dead, the passing of lives within you and beyond you” Trappes explains. “It’s about physical or emotional change, acknowledging fears, and being true to yourself… reaching your full potential.”
Eel Drip sees fragile arpeggiated electronics and hazy vocals swell to a celestial hallow. It sets a delicate, unhurried sense of peace that flows throughout the EP’s four tracks - both sparse and gentle, yet rushing with light and emotion.
The accompanying video was directed by Agnes Haus and inspired by artist Francesca Woodman’s 1970s series of nude self-portraits with Eels.
Of the video, Penelope comments: “In the process of changing and shedding past notions of myself, there is another world between the past and the future. An eternal state, unknown, warped, slippery, free. Submitting to change, dying… being reborn.”
Oct 22, 2020
The Besnard Lakes • Raindrops • 2020
The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings is a double LP. "Near Death" is the title of the first side. "Death," "After Death," and "Life" follow next. It's a journey into (and back from) the brink: the story of The Besnard Lakes' own odyssey but also a remembrance of others', especially the death of Lasek's father in 2019. Being on your deathbed is perhaps the most psychedelic trip you can go on: in Lasek's father's case, he surfaced from a morphine dream to talk about a 'window' on his blanket, with a 'carpenter inside, making intricate objects.' That experience pervades the album.
In late 2020, as the world burns, there might be nothing less trendy than an hour-long psych-rock epic by a band of Canadian grandmasters. Then again, there might be nothing we need more.
Oct 20, 2020
Haunted Mansions • Rebel News • 2020
Norwegian newcomers Haunted Mansions bring psychedelic warmth and understated confidence to their hiphop-inspired indie weirdness. Haunted Mansions namecheck Portugal The Man, The Shins, Danger Mouse and Gorillaz when asked to describe their music and while those artists have inspired Haunted Mansions it's clear to all that they bring their own flavour to the music as well. The band combines old-school hiphop beats, almost shimmering acoustic guitars, textured synths and weird, smoky and infectious vocals to perfection. The songs are seductive in all their gloom, mildly psychedelic and strongly melodic, but most of all just really great.
Oct 18, 2020
Scott Garett • Dementia/Blue • 2020
As a board-certified music therapist working in mental health for over 15 years, Garred has served in state psychiatric facilities, private hospitals, memory care, and prisons; as the frontman for bands Super XX Man and Silver Scooter, and a musician for nearly 30 years, he’s written about thoughts or feelings on a more personal level.
Oct 17, 2020
Milky Wimpshake • Confessions Of An English Marxist • 2020
“A slow birth! At least one song on this album was written when ‘Dave’ Cameron (remember him?) was prime minister, hence a nod to bestiality on one track. Oh yeah, and then bloody Brexit happened, blimey, that didn’t escape anyone’s attention did it? And now this album finalised at a time of global pandemic, ha! This predicament meant that a working title of ‘The Wimps are Alright’ had to be abandoned (possibly to be revived later). There’s a few confessions on this album, but not enough confessions of guilt perhaps – I’ll get there.” - Pete Dale about ‘Confessions Of An English Marxist’
Helena Deland • Truth Nugget • 2020
We had the pleasure of seeing Montréal’s Helena Deland open for Connan Mockasin at the 2019 Montréal Jazz Festival, where Deland’s deft lyricism and sonic edge left a lasting mark. For her debut album, she’s signed to Chris Cantallini’s (of timeless indie blog Gorilla vs. Bear) Luminelle Records, and her dreamy sound slots nicely next to label mates like Anemone, Hana Vu and Jackie Mendoza. On songs like “Someone New” and the spectacular “Truth Nugget,” Deland expands on themes of interpersonal dynamics and identity in powerful ways. She is undoubtedly one of the best new talents to emerge from the robust Montréal indie scene. —Adrian Spinelli
Oct 15, 2020
Max Gomez • He Was a Friend of Mine • 2020
Today, the Taos New Mexico-based musician Max Gomez has shared his new single "He Was A Friend of Mine." A traditional folk song first recorded in the 1930s by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, the song has been covered by many legendary artists, including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and The Byrds. Gomez's interpretation revises the lyrics as a lament for the life of George Floyd and other icons of the civil rights and Black Lives Matter movement, providing a solemn reflection on historical and contemporary racial and social injustice.
Lauren Aquilina • Swap Places • 2020
‘Swap Places’ is a song about insecurity, but mostly it’s a song about wanting to be nicer to yourself,” Lauren previously explained. “I find that when I get into that dark hole of comparing myself to other people, it’s usually not because I actually would rather be someone else, but more that I just wish I had the confidence to be the best version of myself all the time. It’s a lyric that resonates a lot with me but also the most upbeat pop song I’ve put out for a while, so I’m excited for people to hear it.”
Oct 14, 2020
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah • Hesitating Nation • 2020
New Fragility will be released on CYHSY/Secretly Distribution. The album was produced by Alec Ounsworth, with additional production from Will Johnson, recorded by Britton Beisenherz in Austin, TX and mixed by John Agnello in New Jersey, mastered by Greg Calbi.
“These songs are politically motivated, which is unusual for me,” Ounsworth says of "Hesitating Nation" and "Thousand Oaks." "The only other song I’ve written about the failed democracy that is the United States is ‘Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood’.” That track helped launch their landmark self-titled debut back in 2005. And now, after 15 years, six further records, and numerous other side projects, Ounsworth felt compelled to once again tackle politics, and what’s happening in the US indicates how serious he believes the situation to be.
Matthew Caws • "When History Comes" • 2020
Today, Nada Surf's Matthew Caws shares a new political song, "When History Comes," via Barsuk Records. Recorded and produced by Caws himself at his home studio, the song was created for the Rough Trade Publishing compilation Talk - Action = Zero, Vol. 2, which enlisted artists to write songs relevant to the current state of the world. Profits from the single will be donated to the ACLU.
Ellen Siberian-Tiger • If A Tree Falls in the Forest • 2020
The album is about gender; both an exploration of my Ellen Siberian Tiger's identity and an exploration of the power dynamics created in society by our collective perceptions of gender. Existing in the patriarchy without benefiting from it feels to like I’m under scrutiny, like people are looking at me and measuring me against what they think I should be and in the process rendering me a passive thing to be judged. So I tried to write about who I am without those expectations. I made this album to reject that passivity, and to take an active roll in shaping my own narrative as a queer, non binary person. Making these songs gave me a sense of clarity and strength in my gender and my queerness and I'm hopeful that it could do the same for other people.
North Americans • Roped In
McDermott is releasing Roped In, a gorgeous, intimate, and often spare album that pulls back from the collaborative nature established on Going Steady for a collection of fragile drone pieces anchored by McDermott’s intricate but direct guitar playing and haunting pedal steel work from Portland, Oregon’s Barry Walker. Featuring contributions from William Tyler on guitar and Mary Lattimore on harp.
credits
Oct 12, 2020
St. Ove • County Show • 2020
But the songs kept coming. And in the summer of 2019, childhood friend, multi-instrumentalist, Steve Blackwell decided it was time to put a band together. He enlisted Dan Akerman on bass and Adam Killip on guitar. The music came quickly. They already all had their hooks in the same pond: Creedence, Magnolia Electric Co., Westerberg, Zevon, The Band, REM. A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
Oct 9, 2020
Tyler Burkhart • I was never here • 2020
To be your brightest precious one
is all I could have hoped to have done
I catch the morning, catch the mist
What have I lost? What did I miss?
Still you stay in the deepest part
know I’m close but I feel so far
And he came across the waves at night
his clothes they shone I hid my eyes
He gave his hand but damn my pride
I sank instead my selfish tide
Now I see through the thin veneer
only you I was never here
Oct 2, 2020
Field Medic • Floral Prince • 2020
Although Floral Prince is culled from several years of Field Medic songs, its 11 tracks have a sense of cohesion that can be attributed to Sullivan’s singular vision and willingness to allow the listener into his life. “These songs were written through different seasons of my life but they all share a common theme of quiet, nagging, yet somehow defiant insecurity,” he explains. “To hear them all grouped together reminds me that I’ve always felt more or less the same way, and have had the same obsessive tendencies my whole life that have often led to self-destructive behavior. Maybe this is catharsis.”
Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2 • 2020
Compilation made up of previously-unreleased recordings – featuring new songs, covers, remixes, live versions & unreleased demos. Volume 2 available for only 24 hours, exclusively on Bandcamp on Friday 10/2 starting at 12:01am PT. Limited-edition poster designed & signed by Sofia Coppola also to be sold 10/2 on Bandcamp. All net proceeds from album & poster will go to Voting Rights Lab.
Hallelujah The Hills • The World Is Most Certainly Haunted And I Am One Of Its Best Ghosts • 2020
Congratulations, you've made it to October 2020! We made a mix-tape, I think that's what you call this. It's October/Halloween themed. Some of this is new, some is old, some has never been released, and some were released in small easily ignorable ways. But here they are all together, 10 golden harvest tracks. It's also just about precisely 15 years since our first ever rehearsal as a band, which of course stirs the nostalgia, which is how the Slo-Mo demo reared its head, for instance.
Oct 1, 2020
Damien Jurado • Cloudy Shoes • 2010
I wish that I could float
Float up from the ground
I will never know
What that's like
You have a way about you
I wish that I had
Thought it was impossible
To live and love like you
Funny how we all can change
If we just try to
Thought it was impossible
To live and love like you
One day you will be taller
Taller than the sky
Until that day you will be
Here with us below
Magic will do what magic does
Living in your eyes
Do you think someday soon
You will have the time?
I could use another hand
To help pull me…
Kevin Morby • Passing Through (featuring Nathaniel Rateliff) • 2020
I saw Jesus on the cross on a hill called Calvary
"Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?"
He said, "Talk of love not hate, things to do - it's getting late.
I've so little time and I'm only passing through."
Passing through, passing through.
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue,
Glad that I ran into you.
Tell the people that you saw me passing through.
I saw Adam leave the Garden with an apple in his hand,
I said "Now you're out, what are you going to do?"
"Plant some crops and pray for rain, maybe raise a little cane.
I'm an orphan now, and I'm only passing through."
Passing through, passing through ...
I was with Washington at Valley Ford, shivering in the snow.
I said, "How come the men here suffer like they do?"
"Men will suffer, men will fight, even die for what is right
Even though they know they're only passing through"
Passing through, passing through ...
I was with Franklin Roosevelt's side on the night before he died.
He said, "One world must come out of World War Two" (ah, the fool)
"Yankee, Russian, white or tan, " he said, "A man is still a man.
We're all on one road, and we're only passing through."
Passing through, passing through ...
the GOLDEN DREGS • Hope is for the Hopeless • 2020
“Woods drawls his woes in baritone, mixing Lee Hazlewood with The Magnetic Fields’ Stephen Merritt.”
**** MOJO
“A sophomore album of this stature deserves praise, and 2019 is all the more privileged to have it.”
Atwood Magazine
"Truly an album to savour"
* * * * Metro
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