Week in Pop
PremRock & Fresh Kils have been cooking up a collaborative album with Leave In Tact that features guests like Homeboy Sandman, C Rayz Walz, El Da Sensei & more, featuring a live performance listen & look at “Broken Hallelujah” filmed & edited by 40oz Heroes for Creators At Play. Currently embarking upon a two month European tour; check out the b/w Sunday morning sermons that spill some vibes, thoughts & knowledge from the forthcoming album Leave In Tact available November 11 from UrbNet Records.
Banny Grove went for the win this week with the entertaining video for “Athlete Trax Update” filmed on location at the Nicey Stadium by Peter Nichols featured off the Banny Grove album Who is She? available now via Nicey. Absurdity ensues when Banny brings out a host of cute dogs to engage in the wonkiest soccer session that will leave you smiling & enchanted by the chirpy keys, Louise’s always excited delivery & a video worthy of being picked up by Tim & Eric’s Abso Lutely Productions.
Greece’s Sundayman brought the Halloween-esque “Alive” where the composer entertains his inner-John Carpenter with “Alive” found off the follow-up to Retronome, Scene Missing available November 7 from Inner Ear Records. Working once again with lyricist/vocalist/composer/visual artist George Manoloudis, Sundayman presents the latest cycle of work that was created between February 2013 and December 2015.
Colouring astounded us with their moving new single “Everything Has Grown” where frontman Jack Kenworthy’s emotive vocals are adorned with synth strings and all kinds of ethereal instrumental elements thrown in for good measure. “Everything Has Grown” takes on flight like flower pedals being blown off their stem by the waves of the breeze that seek new soils & foundations.
Kentworthy described the song with the following insights:
“Everything Has Grown’ is a reflection on the breakdown of a relationship. When you have found peace with the past and time has healed any pain you once felt, it’s about simply hoping they find happiness.
Rejjie Snow presented the world with the Rahki production for “Pink Beetle” that delivers swings lo with some narratives about the spaces & places of earth that straddle the purgatory places that exist between notions of heaven & hell. The multi-diciplined artist readies his debut album available soon from 300 Entertainment that promises tales more sensational ballads about angels & demons decked out to the nines in disguise.
With word circulating about the upcoming album Sixth Stitch available November 11 from Break World Records, Via App illustrates items of nu-abstract maximalism with “Con Artist”. The Queens, NY artist Dylan Scheer works in the most beguiling ways where hosts of electronic rhythms are combined with a computer game kind of wizadry where her fantastic fusions of digital evolution histories are heard like the soundtrack from the best FPS genre game never made.
Get wrapped up in the wild seven day cycle & movement with “What A Week” from LA’s Magic Bronson. Items of the enchanted & the intriguing all jump into play with echoes of vocals & percussion that collect in an arrange cyclone of sensationalism that is sure to remind you of a week or two that you have experienced in the past 12 month calendar period.
Don’t miss our hero & everyone’s Dan Deacon remixing the new Rogue Wave single “What Is Left To Solve” featured off the Bay Area band’s new album Delusions of Grand Fur via Easy Sound Recording Co. Zach Rogue & crew’s sound gets all spun around in the DD fun-house where rhythms flutter around the vocals at the tempo & arrangement patterned after the wing motions of a hummingbird.
Solilians present the single “Rev’s Gold” that pays an homage to Suicide’s Martin Rev that features elements taken from Naomi Schemer’s unofficial Israeli national anthem “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav”. Sharon Malkin, Benjamin Malkin, Gabriel Walsh, Neptune Sweet & Pipiawitz spin textures of ethereal everything found off their upcoming album Shin available November 18 from Goodbye Better.
Soft Hair shared the funky & smooth track “Relaxed Lizard” featured off their upcoming debut album available October 28 from Domino. “Relaxed Lizard” featured the group embracing a Steely Dan sort of approach where both the creative & experimental guide the band to take anachronistic instruments & styles & paint r & b sentiments of the sensational & absurd.
Brooklyn’s Midnight Magic destroyed dance-floors everywhere with the drop & boom of “I Gotta Feeling” (Jacques Renault Remix) featured off the forthcoming release Free From Your Spell. The beat moves like fireflies making their way into the club and getting caught in the rhythms & lights that explode in sounds like the northern lights with the feelings of embarking on a brand new dawn from the sparks seen in the sky.
Clap & sing along with Miniature Tigers on their new infectious “Pictures of You” featured on their upcoming album, I Dreamt I Was A Cowboy available October 28. The band provides their own picture show gallery of rogues & gallants that flash casually before your very ears & senses.
Introduce yourself to War Nurse who bring about a thundering sound of perdition that gallops like heck-bound dogs on “Hounds” taken off their debut EP Distress Calling available November 11. Combining elements of electro-enabled items with controlled airs of dissonance, War Nurse operates on the snarling hell hound philosophy heard on the chorus that yells of “There is no hope. There is no home. You are but one of the hounds.”
Take a pause with the Maxo Kream video from Nassacre for “Smoke Break” featured off the The Persona Tape where MK is seen riding smooth on yacht in a Scottie Pippen jersey or kicking it in his chambers with Supreme gear; all the while declaring his attachment to the ‘smoke.
Gláss’s Post-Echo album cover for Accent comes alive in the video for “Pheasant of Furs” that was filmed, edited & directed by leader Aaron Burke. Get ready to embark upon the post-punk section of the in-between dimensions where one feels as if they are trapped between two disparate worlds in the astral plane.
Hear Blonder’s “Talke To Me” get the Wet remix treatment where the Brooklyn group’s sound gets smoothed out to become an entirely shifted & different ambient/electronic pop experiment of airy-intrigue.
Providing something of a sequel to J. Stalin/The Jacka’s 2006 collaboration; J revisits their connection with samples of The Jacka bars where the entire track cruises smoothly with the re-visitation of J. Stalin ft. G-Eazy & The Jacka on “Party Jumpin 2”.
Those looking for something to keep the summer sun feel glowing strong would do best to groove down to The Knocks’ big time radio pop track “HEAT” that also features vocals from Sam Nelson Harris. The emotion runs thick & strong while the heat of a thousand hot August nights burns in the beats & slick sequencing.
Following up their debut single “First & Last”, east by west coast duo GEMOLOGY delivered the new single “Come Around” that creates homecoming feels designed for all sorts of triumphant returns. Made up of NYC artist Joanie Wolkoff & like-minded LA musician/producer Natasha Chitayat; the two create a sound of synergy with the sweetest & most choice synths & a slow percolating production that provides some warmth for the incoming winter season.
Check out the Parcels’ “Gamesofluck” taken from their upcoming Hideout EP available later in January from Kitsuné where dazzle with that Franco meets Miami nights style of smooth evening grooves.
Northern Ireland pop punkers Hello Casanova dropped a listen to their single “I’ll Be Waiting” available November 25 from London imprint Supersonic Media that provides a proper anthem to be enjoyed either at the pub or in the comfort of your own living room while hanging with friends. The band blends their passions with heavy power chord purposes that illustrates a steadfast persistence of sticking it out & standing tall for the long haul.
Behold the pop rush of Ben Alessi’s “U” video for from director Nicholas Wingate that transforms the visuals into a visually transformed pop pinball machine featuring a prominent cameo from Alice McDonald amid the kaleidoscopic carnival Wonder Wheel spin that ensues throughout the track.
Sofi de la Torre presents her self-made video for “Flex Your Way Out” that pushes past the b.s. with a little bit of muscle that shows the opposition & antagonizing forces what’s up with a slow burn style effect. Featuring a verse from Blackbear, the drive & will to move on & say “I’m done” rings with a truth that is louder than ever while delivered in a hushed & emotive whisper song.
Alev Lenz presents a listen to her baroque, electro-reverberating moods that plague & permeate the song “Fall Into Me” with a sinister sort of intimacy; featured as the lead song from the season finale of Charlie Brooker’s “Black Mirror” series. Alev applies her haunting breathy delivery that intertwines around maudlin strings & sustained rumblings that allude toward malevolent & foreboding undercurrents.
Watch the Toronto shot video from Aabid Youssef for Pet Sun’s “Free Season” taken off their debut album from The Hand Recordings. Natural splendor is seen from creeks, waterfalls, trees, & trickling brooks that provide some natural elements mixed with random appearances of televisions in the woods that add a dramatic element to the moody strings of Pet Sun’s song.
Nashville’s Chancellor Warhol, oka W∆RHXL, shares his new single “Mirrors” featuring CAPPA & production from Super Duper where imagine twin reflections provide for insightful pauses expressed through a mix that underscores the feelings & thoughts involved. CAPPA’s vocals echo throughout while W∆RHXL spills his heart & soul on all involved perceptions.
J Stalin dropped the super-starry track “Party Jumpin” that features appearances from the late great Jacka & G-Eazy. The track kicks it old school with a foray into the new future frontiers of tomorrow’s cuts that are made from the fabrics of yesterday’s icons & heroes.
Check out the Jakob Owens’ video for Montana of 300’s “Wifin You” that sports production from Charisma808 that mixes up a cocktail of nuptials & carnal desires & fantasies that are delivered with commitment. With a laid back delivery & charisma’s own production the intimate details are illustrated with little restraint as Mo3 entertains the idea of settling down proper.
Take the dive with Daye Jack with his super fun weekend-ready track “Deep End” that is the perfect accompaniment for that big-balling pool party you have been thinking about throwing for a hot minute now. “Deep End” celebrates living that life to the very fullest like the greatest house party you have never been to (yet).
Jon Waltz dropped the track “Riot” that marinates on coming of age ruminations with a stripped-down yet addictive arrangement that will instigate all kinds of excitement for all who hear.
Watch the video for Show Banga ft. Iamsu! with the track “How We Rock” featuring footage from IAMSUMMER that rocks visuals fro HomeTeam / Mo Betta / EMPIRE sporting some Bay Area/Treasure Island vibes & swagger rolling deep & enthusiastic. A primer on how Bang & Su do it; you are given a privy view to their own celebratory inner circle & more.
Taylor Gang’s own J.R. Donato dropped the video for “Trust No More” featured off the album Why So Serious that tackles issues of fidelity and trust in ways that sends middle fingers up blazing with reiterations of resignation with wavy delivery & directions.
East Oakland’s Philthy Rich joined forces with the D’s own Kash Doll for “Fuck I Look Like” featured off the upcoming Hood Rich 4 that dismisses the semiotics for conversations of higher tier calibers. Philthy busts out beats from East Bay bedroom traps while KD kicks it with some Motor City attitude & movement.
Daniel Avery presents his collaboration with BleeD boss Volte-Face known as Rote with a sneak listen to their new “Look In You Your Eyes”. Featured off his upcoming DJ-Kicks selections, Avery shines a light on the glances & gazes that guide our everyday existences with a hypnotic looping & pitch shifting trip through some of his favorites.
Tele Novella shared some Halloween seasonal fun with the video for “Even Steven” created from the visuals of Amber McCall where all kinds of haunted & stop-action-motion animated characters/creatures get all kinds of eccentric weird. Look for this and others off their debut album House of Souls from Yellow Year Records.
Bashh unleashed the beast from within on the track “Animal” produced & co-written by former Cage The Elephant lead guitarist Lincoln Parrish off the band’s debut EP available in 2017 via Antler Records. Combining a thunder-pop-storm of guitars & some spoken-word bars; Bassh continues to bash their way to the party of their own design.
Saskatoon’s Close Talker provide a first listen since Flux from 2014 with “Afterthought” where the trio ruminates on all the various feelings & streams of thoughts that linger after the fact. Bring the feel of the Saskatchewan’s own expansive nature, Close Talker takes us to a vast wilderness where environments of mental & physical spaces seem like they almost collide together in a kind of subtle bittersweet beauty. Look for the trio’s long-awaited new album available later in 2017.
Vessels provided the world with the ambient electro waves of “Had A Love” feat. Anna of the North that brings about rumbling beats of constellations that found off the Dilate (Special Edition) album available now from Different Recordings.
The Skins just released the track “Bury Me” that features Virginia’s own rising son & star D.R.A.M. featured off the Brooklyn quintet’s forthcoming upcoming EP Still Sleep available later this December. The three siblings of lead vocalist Bay Li, Kaya Nico, Reef Cole with fellow family-friends Daisy Spencer & Russ Chell channel their Bed-Stuy roots into a dynamic sound that points toward future rich pop traditions soon to follow on all the forthcoming platforms, streaming services, etc. Together the Skins also provide a spotlight that allows D.R.A.M.’s own vocal range to shine in ways that also further illustrates & hints at things to come as he continues his own meteoric rise. Also be sure to check out D.R.A.M.’s own Week in Pop takeover featured on the next page.
