In a year full of promising debuts, Mighty’s self-titled LP stands out. It captures the gritty energy of the debuts by fellow southern indie rockers All Get Out and Microwave – look no further than lead single “Safe and Sound” – but with a charm all its own. Last week I had the chance to speak to bandleader Angelo Fiaretti about writing this album. The album is out this Friday and if you’re interested you can pre-order it through their label.
My girlfriend’s new album is up for pre-order on Amazon.
Ace Enders has set up a Patreon page. He’ll be releasing a new EP next week.
Christina Aguilera has shared her new song “Fall in Line” featuring Demi Lovato.
The Sidekicks have released a video for “Weed Tent.”
I recently sat down with Will Swan and Jon Mess of Dance Gavin Dance to talk about their eighth studio album, Artificial Selection, and much more.
After listening to Illuminati Hotties’ first single, “(You’re Better) Than Ever,” it would be reasonable to assume the project’s debut album would be full of similarly jaunty vaguely-surfy indie pop songs. That’s maybe half-right. Kiss Yr Frenemies is about a fifty-fifty split of bright fuzzed-out jams and moodier, slow-burning ballads.
If the lead single represents the former category, then second single “Cuff” is probably most indicative of the latter. It’s ambient and atmospheric, and even its blown out chorus feels restrained compared to the loudest moments on the record, Sarah Tudzin’s voice never rising above a plaintive croon. It doesn’t even sound like the same band as “(You’re Better) Than Ever,” let alone like it belongs on the same album. And this is a trend throughout Kiss Yr Frenemies; nearly every single song brings something entirely different to the table. There’s an “ooh-ooh-ooh” backed chorus on the sugary gem “Paying Off the Happiness,” there’s a noisy, brassy climax to the meditative “For Cheez (My Friend, Not the Food),” there’s the raw singalong energy of “boi,” and none of it feels out of place.
Parker Millsap’s last record was Biblical. On 2016’s The Very Last Day, Millsap—just 23 years old at the time—wrote songs about Lucifer, the apocalypse, preachers, fire, and forgiveness. It was an intense, ambitious set of songs, and it only worked because of Millsap’s big hurricane of a voice. Here was someone with the kind of unhinged bellow that could sell a song about the devil trying to entice a pretty girl to climb into the front seat of his car. Here was a singer who could sell the desperation of a story where a preacher’s son had to come clean to his dad that he’d fallen in love with a boy. As a piece of writing and a display of vocal work, The Very Last Day was easily one of the most impressive albums of 2016.
On the follow-up, called Other Arrangements, Millsap drives pointedly in the opposite direction. This record sheds the stakes, ambition, and Biblical themes of its predecessor for a straighter, simpler proposition: pop music, circa 1963. The average song length is less than three minutes, and the best tune on the record—the propulsive, infectious “Gotta Get to You,” clocks in at 2:03. Instead of shooting for larger than life, Millsap is trying to serve up small, perfectly honed nuggets of throwback rock ‘n’ roll glory.
Charlie Puth gained the attention of the world with his vocal contribution on Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again.” With songs like “One Call Away,” “Marvin Gaye,” and “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” he continued to give listeners goosebumps. His debut album, Nine Track Mind, was filled with love ballads and heart-warming hooks. Although, that lead to a monotony of similar sounds and less experimentation. However, one special finesse the 26-year-old continues to unswervingly flaunt is his voice.
Voicenotes is his sophomore album and was delayed because it had to be “perfected.” Whenever artists say things like that, they raise the bar a notch higher because all we’d want to hear is an album that has been perfected. After listening to this album, it is indeed worthy of being called a perfected album. Everything from the production, to instrumentation, to the mix is stirring.
Pale Waves have released their new song “Kiss.” The song comes from the band’s upcoming full-length.
Fueled By Ramen has announced an eBay for charity auction to benefit the students affected by the Parkland shooting.
Fearless Records have announced a partnership with Razor & Tie. The press release can be found below.
Calum Slingerland, writing at Exclaim:
The 592-page Beastie Boys Book will arrive October 30 through Spiegel & Grau. Authored by Ad-Rock and Mike D, the book will also feature contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante and more.
Fucked Up have shared their cover of The Trainspotters cover of “High Rise.”