Category: Listen

Celine Love – Good Girl

Track of the week. Hamburg born and London based singer-songwriter Celine Love shares her stunning new single ‘Good Girl’. This is a melodic piece of indie-R&B perfection that is nothing short of pure bliss to experience.

Celine recorded the vocals at home in her closet and her dad recorded the bass virtually, giving the track an endearing charm thats perfectly compliments the lyrics.

“The inspiration behind this song was my desire to shed the ‘Good Girl’ image that has been almost imposed on me by my family, and in turn I always felt that’s the way I needed to be in order to be accepted. I’ve always been afraid of being judged, but this year has been a huge journey of self-love and growth and coming to terms with the fact that sometimes I’m not at my best – and that’s ok. I am an overthinking, people-pleasing, stubborn, either emotionally unavailable or far too available Aquarius and needed to own that!”

Taken from the upcoming debut EP ‘Aquarius SZN’ which is out on 16th February 2022.

Celine Love

Reekado Banks – Ozumba Mbadiwe (feat. Fireboy DML)

International afrobeats artist and award-winning Nigerian music star Reekado Banks teams up with emerging Nigerian crooner Fireboy DML for an impressive new remix of ‘Ozumba Mbadiwe’.

The song was titled after the expressway that leads to Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, where peaceful protesters were massacred for protesting against police brutality in October 2020.

“‘Ozumba Mbadiwe’ captures a few different subject matters, but the most important is me paying homage to the victims of the #EndSars protest massacre. I was one of the protesters at Lekki Toll Gate before I had to travel, so the massacre at the Toll Gate cut deep for me, because it happened less than 48 hours after I left, and I just can’t shake that feeling. With the remix, I wanted someone that could add a different perspective to the record. Fireboy has been one of my favourite artists for a while now and he has made his love for this record public, so I thought he’ll be a good fit for a remix, and he smoked it.” – Reekado Banks

Reekado Banks | Fireboy DML

Landon Conrath – Last Week

Photo / Sawyer Brice

A rising talent hailing from Minneapolis, Landon Conrath impressively writes, records and produces his own songs.

After introducing himself to the world in 2020, this artist has managed to go viral on Spotify, sign a record deal and play his first show to a sold-out crowd.

New single ‘Last Week’ serves as an honest account of how negative relationships can affect our mental well-being.

“‘Last Week’ is about a person in my life who made me feel like I was constantly under their feet. We worked super closely together but I always felt like my ideas weren’t good enough and that I should just quit music in general. Whether it was truly a bad situation or if I just put those ideals on myself, this song illustrates with the struggles of self worth.”

Landon Conrath

LOVE SICK – Run Out Of Love

Photo / Madison Phipps

Scottish alt-pop duo LOVE SICK return today with a captivating and deeply moving release in the form of new single ‘Run Out Of Love’.

Beautifully melancholic in tone, the song encapsulates the moment when a love interest realises the extent of their feelings for you, almost immediately after they let the relationship fall apart.

“This song was one of the ones where most of it came out in one take and the creative process happened really quickly. We wanted by to keep it quite understated and lo-fi in the production so went for a minimalist approach. The original demo before we had a title was called lo-fi song. It’s about someone not appreciating you when you’re there and wanting you when you’re gone”.

LOVE SICK

Retro Video Club – Faking

Edinburgh-based rockers Retro Video Club are kicking off 2022 in commanding fashion with the release of their new single ‘Faking’.

The track arrives while the band are on a mini tour for Independent Venue Week, and just days before they support The Kooks on two dates of their UK tour,

“‘​​Faking’ is about being bitter, and trying to leave one last dig at your ex before moving on with your life. It’s the age old tale of a lover scorned, and how in the 21st century, people get their licks in.” 

Retro Video Club

Retro Video Club for Independent Venue Week:

  • Stoke – Underground – 4 February 2022
  • Cardiff – The Moon – 5 February 2022

Retro Video Club supporting The Kooks:

  • Glasgow – O2 Academy – 7 February 2022
  • Glasgow – O2 Academy – 8 February 2022

More In Luv – Living For Two

Hailing from Merseyside are emerging alt-pop outfit More In Luv. If you’re a fan of Years And Years, Larkins and Fickle Friends then chances are you will love this group’s infectious guitar melodies and sparkling synth sounds.

Written about love, struggle, and money, ‘Living For Two’ documents the band’s journey from where and what they’ve come from.

“‘Living For Two’ was written about being from a place where you’ve never felt protected by the people hired to do exactly that, and despite it all, all you want to do is build a good life for yourself and the people you love.”

More In Luv

Catch More In Luv live:

  • 21/01 – Jimmy’s, Liverpool (supporting Deco)
  • 04/02 – Live Rooms, Chester (supporting Bedside Manners)
  • 18/03 – 33 Oldham St, Manchester (supporting St Peter’s Dream)
  • 29/04 – 33 Oldham St Manchester (supporting Green Wire)

HRTLSS – Circles

Amongst his other accomplishments, HRTLSS managed to end 2021 being made Track of the week on BBC Introducing as well as landing several editorial placements across Spotify’s alt, emo and rock playlists.

Today the rising British talent returns in epic fashion with his bold and anthemic new single ‘Circles’.

“I wanted to start 2022 with a bit of a heavy one. Just how I felt when I wrote it, with the world feeling like were trapped going round in circles.”

HRTLSS

Lily Lyon – Pink Light

Heavily inspired by Brazilian-American sounds, Lily Lyon has built a solid fanbase with her music over the twelve years that she has been writing and performing.

Nostalgic new single ‘Pink Light’ is a power ballad that was inspired by the 80’s synth-pop scene, while also adding a country feel into the mix. The song tells listeners the story of not letting go – and the sweet twisted memories of rose-coloured glasses.

Lily Lyon

Meyru – Off White

One of New York’s finest emerging indie outfits Meyru kick off the year by getting blunt with new single ‘Off White’.

Balancing an essence of nostalgia with a fresh perspective in composition and lyrics, the track cuts to the centre of what it means to be caught in a situation with no hope for return.

“’Off White’ is the brief moment in-between confrontation and rejecting the truth. Musically, everything came together for us on this track. Recorded in a single day, ‘Off White’ is fast, to the point and gut wrenchingly honest.”

Meyru

Vi – Dead To You

Rising Canadian alt-pop singer-songwriter Vi is back today with an impressive single that showcases an edgier and darker side to this ever-evolving artist.

‘Dead To You’ is all about moving on from a toxic ex – to the point where they are completely dead to you.

“‘Dead to You’ isn’t like anything else you’ve heard from me before. I love that I get to show my range as an artist; I think that’s an important part of an artist’s evolution.”

To date, Vi’s career as seen her on stage opening for the likes of multi-platinum artist Bülow, and working with legendary producer Ryan Tedder. Growing over three million streams on Spotify alone, Vi has also found her music on flagship playlists like New Music Friday Canada & Fresh Finds: POP, It’s A Bop, SALT and RADAR Canada. 

Vi

Tablefox – Keep Them Guessing

‘Keep Them Guessing’ is the final single to be released from New Zealand alt-rock outfit Tablefox‘s album, ‘Battles’.

Born across the struggles of the last two years, the song is perhaps Tablefox’s finest work – filled with a swagger that twists and builds into an epic symphony of sonic guitars, emotive trumpets and powerful vocals.

“‘Keep Them Guessing’ is a song about the different emotional masks we wear everyday. We use these masks to gain affection, sympathy, notoriety or infamy to name a few. Everyone uses these for good and bad reasons.” – Clinton Bell, Tablefox

‘Battles’ is out now.

Tablefox

AVIV – You Feel Like Depression

After garnering millions of streams independently and receiving acclaim from the likes of Atwood Magazine, Canadian artist AVIV continues to impress the world with her unique take on indie-pop through her work with Photo Finish Records.

The Toronto-based singer, songwriter, and multi- instrumentalist is back today with her new single ‘You Feel Like Depression’, which goes deep into the many feelings of self-guilt, self-blame and an overall feeling of failure.

“If my song takes you somewhere emotional, there’s nothing better to me. Or, if it makes you answer a question you’ve had about your life, that would be amazing. My songs make me answer my own questions. When I release them, I hope they do the same thing for you.”

AVIV

Madeline – Y.T.D. (Year to Date)

Los Angeles-based and Dallas-raised Madeline returns today with a perfected slice of melancholic pop in the form of new single ‘Y.T.D. (Year to Date)’.

“I was thinking about how one of my friends was at my birthday last year, and now, we aren’t talking. There’s nothing bad about it. It was just one of those things that happened. It’s interesting how it’s usually on your birthday that you start to think about how your relationships have changed, and the song dives into that idea.”

The single follows her debut EP ‘Don’t Put a Dog in Danger’ which was released December 2021, and marks her second collaboration with writer and producer Brandon Shoop (ELIO, Allison Ponthier and Chloe George).

Madeline

sophie meiers – collar

Newly signed to Epitaph Records, sophie meiers unveil their single ‘collar’. Reminiscent of the grunge and lo-fi alt-rock sounds of the past, the track features a subtly distorted guitar that backs sophie’s uniquely haunting vocals.

“‘collar’ is a song about intoxication, indulgence, wanting, and euphoria. I wanted to embody the feeling of your heart racing, and the lulling warmth in between. It is about words hanging in the air, unspoken and magnetic, filling space with blood orange light. It’s rare for me to write a song that feels so overwhelmingly happy and glowy.”

sophie meiers

Darius – NOTHING TO ME (feat. Kadhja Bonet)

If there’s one song this week that has the power to take your mind to another world, it’s this new release from Parisian house producer Darius.

Featuring Californian musician and vocalist Kadhja Bonet, ‘NOTHING TO ME’ begins in a dreamy fashion that builds up to a powerful climax, before slowly falling back to the sound of an enchanted harp.

Darius | Kadhja Bonet

Lola Young – So Sorry

One of the UK’s brightest newcomers returns with a sound that perfectly serves nostalgic soulful tones with a modern edge.

“‘So Sorry’ is a song I wrote about my toxic traits in a relationship. I got super vulnerable and honest on this track and I hadn’t yet written a song about how difficult I can be when I’m with someone. I feel like a lot of other people are going to be able to relate to the feeling of saying sorry far too much.”

Last year saw Lola Young pick up a BRIT ‘Rising Star’ nomination (alongside Holly Humberstone and Bree Runway), as well as achieving 4th place in the prestigious ‘BBC Sound Of’ Poll. It seems certain that we’ll see this artist take over the mainstream in a big way over the next few months.

Lola Young

LOWES – Late Night Visions

With three A-Listed singles at BBC Radio 1 already under their belt, Lancashire trio LOWES are back with ‘Late Night Visions’.

The song serves listeners with a powerful and rousing melody, set over a dark and gritty pop production. Featuring an iconic sample from Loleatta Holloway, this track is sure to be your new weekend anthem.

“For us it’s the first set of songs we’ve put out into the universe that will be totally our own after a year of collaborations. Working with so many brilliant dance producers has been a fantastic, yet unplanned, surprise for us, and we have learnt so much, but now it’s time for us to get back to the pure LOWES vibe we set out to create when we first got together, taking on board a lot of the energy and style that we’ve been immersed in these past 12 months.” – Evie, LOWES

LOWES

Asbjørn – STB x Boyfriend

Photo / Johanna Hvidtved

Consistently delivering some of the most interesting sounds to come out of Denmark, Asbjørn never fails to impress with his releases.

New single ‘STB x Boyfriend’ is a masterclass in pop – with a simple yet sleek production, an infectiously memorable melody, engaging lyrics and a fabulous vocal performance; this is one song worthy of being added to your playlists for the weekend.

“By the end of 2018, I was living in Los Angeles for a little while, wrapping up the album in a cute house in Echo Park, where roosters woke me up every morning at 4 AM. I was falling for a guy who lived there, and one night I dreamt of him. In the dream our love affair was soundtracked by ‘STB x Boyfriend’, but in this around-the-bonfire sing-a-long version. When the roosters woke me up, I grabbed a guitar and sat down on the front porch to rewrite the lyrics. The song found a different nerve and rawness with the rusty guitar, that somehow fit the rather naive chorus, about a relationship that was bound to end before it even began.”

Taken from new album ‘Boyology’ which is out now.

Asbjørn