Category: Music

New Music: BB Cooper

One of the most interesting discoveries of the week, BB Cooper is a mysteriously illusive talent who I really know very little about.

With that said, his distinctive approach of creating guitar-driven alt pop-rock music is some of the finest that I’ve heard in a good while.  On the backstory of ‘Blame’ he explains:

“’Blame’ is one of the more exaggerated stories in my songwriting, and I would say that I am a primary source for some of the lyrics. The main title hook focuses around the idea as to whether society is to blame for people not achieving their full potential or if it’s down to the individual – and I pose that question to myself. At the same time, I like to use humour where possible and keep a fun side to life.”

BB Cooper

New Music: The Moving Stills

Hailing from Macmasters Beach, The Moving Stills are an Australian outfit who blend pop with alt-rock, and infuse elements of surf and psychedelica into their music so that it’s utterly spellbinding to the listener. This is a sound that feels both classic yet future-forward, all the while brimming with character.

“It’s about telling people who judge you to suck eggs. Judging people says a lot more about you than it does about the person you’re talking about. The song encourages people to disregard other people’s unnecessary opinions and judgements.” – Mike, The Moving Stills

The Moving Stills

New Music: Cybertrash

https://open.spotify.com/track/2D4hQjdhahnJqcXKLLUqKp?si=68c81c28f5f0486e

A sound like none other, it’s not only the eccentricity of ‘west’ that keeps you intrigued, but the sheer uniqueness of Cybertrash’s vocals.

This 19-year old talent is the perfect example of why spending hours every week searching for new music remains such a thrilling experience.

Cybertrash

New Music: The Fourth Son

The Fourth Son is a Philadelphia-based solo project created by Tim Connor. Crafting an eclectic style of music that blends elements of folk, rock, blues and reggae into something refreshingly original, this artist delivers a unique and captivating sound that is just so easy to fall in love with. On explaining ‘Tanlines’ he says:

“A song crafted from the pent-up frozen soul of a sun beaten, beer drenched, hurricane pounded motel that sits on the barrier sand reef known as Long Beach Island. Summer here is a fast burning flame that young hearts gather around in a manic island-fever lusting for love in every form you can imagine. Yes, including THAT one. Anything goes. No one stays. The island becomes a ghost town, absent of footprints in the sand. The memories we take with us back over the causeway are the best we’ll have. We instinctively head east every summer like migrating birds. Planning our attacks like treasure hunters. This song is the treasure map.”

The Fourth Son

Au/Ra – Bite Marks

Fresh from the release of her single ‘Dead Girl! (Shake My Head)’, and a feature on the Jax Jones hit ‘i miss u’ comes Au/Ra’s latest bop ‘Bite Marks’.

This is a hypnotic alt-pop sound, with psychedelic visuals that focus on the sting of a heartbreak that you knew was coming.

“‘Bite Marks’ is about letting someone into your life knowing they could hurt you – that fear becoming reality, and feeling stupid for letting it happen. It’s about playing the fool, knowingly, and having to grow and live with the bite marks that leaves behind.”

Au/Ra

Elaine – Right Now

One of South Africa’s brightest music starlets, RnB singer songwriter Elaine releases the divinely luxurious ‘Right Now’. Already a household name as the most streamed female artist in her home country, this talent is ready to make her mark across the rest of the world.

“This song is exactly what it means and feels like to welcome growth, celebrate being a confident woman and find comfort in independence. When making this song, I remember walking up to the mic with a lot of things I was carrying in my heart but had trouble communicating and relaying to others. After I recorded it, things changed for me. The concept of Love transformed from being a good lover to someone, to being a good lover to myself too.”

Elaine

New Music: Frankie Beetlestone

Hailing from Outerbridge in Sheffield, Frankie Beetlestone is one of the most exciting British discoveries that I have come across so far this week.

An effortlessly cool indie-pop sound with captivating lyrics, this talent is creating some fantastic bops – all of which are self-written and produced from his bedroom.

“This song genuinely just came out of thin air. That’s a proper cliche ‘songwriter’ thing to say but it actually did, so leave me alone. It’s basically just an anxious rant about being 19 and taking too many drugs. The chorus started out as a bit of a joke really. You know when you wake up the next day and you say that you’re ‘never gonna drink that much ever again’, it was kind of meant to be that dramatic statement.”

Frankie Beetlestone

BabyJake – Funny Thing About Love (feat. Bipolar Sunshine)

Alternative singer, songwriter and producer BabyJake teams up with UK singer-songwriter Bipolar Sunshine on ‘Funny Thing About Love’, and it’s just about the smoothest, sleekest, and most finessed release you’ll experience all week.

“The inspiration behind creating this record was definitely motivated by Anderson .Paak and Mac Miller (RIP). Both of those guys really understand modern mid-tempo dance music and that funky middle ground that lays in between. I always wanted to make a track that had that type of bounce to it, and there was no one better to do it with than Bipolar Sunshine. With both of us going back and forth with each other throughout the entirety of the track, it never gets boring. It feels like a constant party and no better way to kick summer off. As for the meaning of the track, it’s really about falling in and out of love, how quickly those transitions can be and how closely they are related to each other.” – BabyJake

BabyJake | Bipolar Sunshine

New Music: Viia

An almighty epic blend of dark-pop, rock and gospel come together on Viia’s debut single ‘Falling’.

This is one of those tracks that makes an immediate impact and leaves you wanting to hear so much more from the 17-year old Darlington-based starlet.

“‘Falling’ is about a guy who didn’t know what he wanted. He rejected me, but he still wanted me around. We used a text message that he sent me, at the start of the song, and we turned a heartbreaking situation into a dark pop anthem. It was the first song that really gave me my sound.”

Viia

Cautious Clay – Wildfire

Track of the week – and dare I say, one of the finest that I have selected in recent months. You’ll already struggle to find anyone who doesn’t love Cautious Clay, but even by his own standards ‘Wildfire’ is a sublimely flawless piece of RnB.

Taken from the upcoming debut album ‘Deadpan Love’ which is out on 25th June 2021.

Cautious Clay

HYYTS – Hold On Cowboy

Your favourite Scottish duo are back with another spellbindingly fantastic slice of pop.

Best friends Adam and Sam have steadily been building a solid fan base (to include Sir Elton John himself) ever since signing with Warner Records in late 2019.

Now they’re preparing for the release of upcoming EP ‘Helluvatime’, and I for one cannot wait to give it a spin.

“‘Hold On Cowboy’ is our anthem for getting carried away and falling in love instantly. The inspiration from the song came from my real life relationship- I was working the first time I met my girlfriend and I served her in the bar where I worked but I don’t remember it! And then the second time I met her I fell head over heels cos I’m super dramatic and I couldn’t believe I’d met her before and not realised how perfect she is. And we just love cowboys so we used that phrase in the chorus lol. But we’re constantly getting carried away with ourselves so we thought we’d write a song about it. And it’s probably my fave HYYTS song ever!” – Adam, HYYTS

‘Helluvatime’ is out on 4th June 2021 via Warner Records.

HYYTS

Watch: renforshort + glaive – fall apart

‘fall apart’ marks an anthemic production debut for renforshort, who teams up with the equally fantastic glaive on this piece of pop-punk perfection.

“This song has been a favourite song of mine for so long now, I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to put it out, I knew it needed a feature though and that’s why it was taking even longer, legit a year later I knew who I wanted to do it and we got glaive on it, who is probably one of my favourite artists ever, so I’ve been so excited about that for so long now and I think it’s a really cool song.” – renforshort

Taken from renforshort’s forthcoming EP ‘off saint dominique’ which is out on 4th June 2021 via Interscope Records.

renforshort | glaive

King Promise – Slow Down

Firmly putting Ghanaian talent on the global music map, King Promise delivers a smooth blend of Afrobeats, highlife and RnB in a way that is unparalleled.

‘Slow Down’ is a finessed and majestic track with beautiful vocals gliding over an infectiously memorable melody.

King Promise

New Music: Moon Fever

Anthemic indie rock from an LA-based outfit who create songs that are bursting with energy, character and charm.

Moon Fever are out here to have fun and take us all along that journey with them. They’re poised to usher in a new era of rock that pulls no punches and leaves no bottle left upright – fully enjoying every second of fast living along the way!

“‘Payphone Blues’ we came up with in Hollywood after listening to a bunch of Oasis and Weezer. I think that sums up the musicality of the song. Heavy guitars broken up with melodic music. We also used a kid toy piano. To me it’s a song about being totally down and out. Where your lost looking for some sanctuary anyway you can.” – Mitch, Moon Fever 

Moon Fever

Claire Rosinkranz – Frankenstein

Claire Rosinkranz has already garnered over *half-a-billion* streams to date, and still continues to win fans all over the world.

She returns today with an exceptionally quirky bop in the shape of ‘Frankenstein’, which sees Claire add her own spin to the song inspired by The Cardigans’ classic 90’s hit ‘Lovefool’.

“I imagine somebody who’s been in a bunch of past relationships, and they haven’t worked out for whatever reason. The guy is just too egotistical. So, you’re fed up and actually try to Frankenstein your perfect boy together. It’s honestly innocent, carefree, and cute.”

Claire Rosinkranz

SHY Martin – Feelings

The weekend has just gotten a little better after listening to SHY Martin’s new single ‘Feelings’.

A low-key pop banger, this track softly builds up before the chorus hits mild shots of euphoria into your blood stream.

“I was going through some major changes when we wrote ‘Feelings’ and felt extremely lost and exhausted. I wasn’t sure I wanted to release more music, so I stopped writing for myself for a while, but after writing this song I found myself listening to the demo every time I was working out or on my way to the studio. The lyrics were pretty much about what I was going through and had been feeling for a long time. It’s about the moment you realise you’re a few words from breaking something that means a lot to you because you’re caught up in feelings”

SHY Martin

ALITA – It Takes Two

ALITA consistently creates pop songs that not only sound amazing, but have very captivating lyricism at their core. ‘It Takes Two’ is no different, and it’s message is one that I think we can all relate to at some point in our lives.

“‘It Takes Two’ is a coming of age song at its core. It’s about recognising that in every relationship, there are always two people participating and deciding to give it their time and energy. I hope it encourages people to look at their own relationships and what they participate in from a different perspective.”

ALITA

Ambar Lucid – Get Lost In The Music

A perfect fusion of nostalgia and psychedelica come together on Ambar Lucid’s ‘Get Lost In The Music’.

You won’t have heard a song quite like this before – a sound that feels retro, playful and kitsch yet still dark and intensely hypnotic.

Ambar’s a name to watch: her previous EP ‘Garden of Lucid’ was released just last year and has already amassed over 9 million streams!

Ambar Lucid