Hello folks! I write for a few other websites, and I’m going to be linking them here so nobody misses good content. My music monthly roundups have officially moved to Substream Magazine, and you can read my one for September right now!
Between the sudden and unexpected return of My Chemical Romance, the runaway success of Lil Nas X and the rise of goth queen Billie Eilish, 2019 has been a hell of a year for music. In the midst of all of this, it’s easy to miss releases that haven’t made as much of a splash. So from a wide assortment of genres, here’s ten songs that dropped way back in September that you might have missed.
Whew! The longer I do this column, the better I get at finding new music, and the more I realize just how much music comes out every month. This month, we have music from Birds of Bellwoods, Ariel Pink,, Leaves’ Eyes and more – a mix of genres if I’ve ever heard one. And those are the ones that didn’t make it onto the list! I also made a point of sauntering over to the punk and metal charts, since that’s usually more my style, so there’s some more of those genres on here this month as well.
1. Love Too Much – Keane
Keane was one of my childhood favourite bands, especially as I went through a difficult move from England to Canada. However, upon the release of their third album Perfect Symmetry I drifted away from their music, finding it wasn’t the same anymore. ‘Love Too Much’ is the first single from their upcoming album Cause and Effect, and it’s not quite a return to form, but something much more interesting – a fusion of the heavy beats and rhythm from Perfect Symmetry and onwards with the thematic depth and hopeful tones of their first albums.
2. Cross You Out – Charli XCX and Sky Ferreira
Is there anything better than two enormously talented women teaming up for a hit song? That song being a heartfelt, empowering goodbye to a toxic relationship. Charli XCX and Sky Ferreira both embody a dark-pop style that’s been getting more and more popular, and that style is used to fantastic effect on Cross You Out, a moody song that is best described as radio-friendly industrial. Charli XCX is a new artist for me, but with this single, I can’t wait for her new album.
3. Tear Up – Area 11
Area 11 is another new name for me – a British four-piece that apparently genre-hops as much as they like. This song is a pop-punk anthem in the style of McFly, Fall Out Boy or Death Cab for Cutie, albeit with a more electronic bent to it. The main singer’s voice is distinctive – at first listen I wasn’t fond of it, but it’s grown on me, and I don’t think the song would be as good without it. It’s a song about the end of the world, catchy and foreboding, with a unconvincing promise that it’ll ‘all work out’.
4. Separate Houses – Press Club
Despite the overarching feeling that there aren’t enough girls in the punk/hardcore scenes, there’s actually plenty – it’s just that they often get overshadowed or ignored in favour of the more “traditional” male acts. But Press Club’s Natalie Foster is impossible to ignore in ‘Separate Houses’ – she’s a hot mess, falling apart and trying to hide, crying out ‘am I letting you down a little more than you’d like? I keep saying I’m fine, I hate it’ and ending the song with a repeated, desperate, “I keep on pretending that I am getting better”. It’s an immensely relatable song, especially for people on the uphill climb of recovery, and I haven’t been able to stop listening.
5. Miracle Pill – Goo Goo Dolls
That’s right, there’s more Goo Goo Dolls music! Miracle Pill (and the new album as a whole) is a significant break from their signature sound, putting guitars aside for a smoother, synth-and-piano pop sound. It’s not a widely-beloved change, but I for one am quite enjoying it. Miracle Pill is immensely catchy with amazing lyrical writing, about – appropriately enough – the past weighing you down. (The song ‘Indestructible’ is also amazing, but I didn’t want to include two of their songs.)
6. No Muss No Fuss – Ralph
Ralph is a rising star in the Canadian pop world, a quirky fashion icon who writes smooth disco songs about love and jealousy and manages to combine the aesthetics of David Bowie and Regina Spektor. ‘No Muss No Fuss’ is a excellently produced song about the most banal, frustrating of things – the ex that won’t leave you alone, or get the hint. Ralph’s gorgeous vocals and songwriting mean that even those who have (miraculously) never experienced this will be bopping along.
7. KURT KOBAIN – Velvet N*groni
Velvet N*groni’s first album NEON BROWN is experimental R&B with a dark side, smooth synths sliding together with syncopated beats. KURT KOBAIN is my favourite off of it so far (and not just because of the title) – the music video is in ghostly monochrome, with muted, distorted vocals. The lyrics for this song have actually not made an appearance anywhere online yet – which means the content of the song mostly suggests itself through the video and atmosphere.
8. Unsainted – Slipknot
(TW for eye contact, flashing and religious imagery in the video)
Time for a proper metal song on here! First off, if you’re not a fan of metal and guttural vocals, you won’t like this song. If you don’t usually like Slipknot, however… give it a try. ‘Unsainted’ uses more melodic contrast than usual for Slipknot, and the chorus melody is echoed by an operatic chorus in the background, giving the song a lot of power behind the intense guitar riffs and growling that mark the verses. The lyrics are incredible, too – I’m reminded of how many people listen to ‘Snuff’ and are shocked to find out that Slipknot’s lyrics are actually really good. Some of the standouts for ‘Unsainted’ are ‘I’ll never kill myself to save my soul’ and ‘You killed the saint in me, how dare you martyr me’ – strong statements against the Church.
9. Teeth – 5 Seconds of Summer
BIG TW for the video for flashing, claustrophobia, and medical stuff. It’s an extremely good video and I HIGHLY recommend it.
5 Seconds of Summer’s ‘Teeth’ is from the soundtrack of 13 Reasons Why, but don’t hold that against it. It has a killer riff, and a chorus that’ll get stuck in your head for the next week. More than that, though, it’s another installment of ‘industrial pop’ with a hell of a message – it’s about a toxic relationship and an abusive girlfriend who just won’t let go. It’s not often we get songs about bad girlfriends that don’t treat it as her just being naggy or a cheater but instead monstrous and abusive; the video makes this even clearer with some incredible cinematography. I have to admit, I’m fascinated to see where this goth/industrial trend in pop is going.
10. Lorem Ipsum (Arctic Anthem) – Anamanaguchi
TW: Lots and lots of flashing for the video.
As much as I’ve been nerding out about lyrics in this column, Anamanaguchi proves with this song that you don’t need lyrics that make sense to make an amazing song. ‘Lorem Ipsum’s only lyrics are, as you might have guessed, the ‘lorem ipsum’ text – for those who don’t know, the text traditionally used as filler text to test formatting when printing books or other material. “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet” is the opening part, and the section used in the song. I particularly enjoy the amount of research obvious in the music video, down to using actual manuscript illustrations and zooming in on the actual original of the ‘lorem ipsum’ – a Cicero text that actually says ‘dolorem ipsum’. (Lorem is not a word in Latin.)
July was an awesome month for new music, and picking only ten for this list was really, really hard. Both Of Monsters and Men’s Fever Dream and Sum 41’s Order in Decline dropped this month (I touched on some of the early singles in my previous month’s collection of new music) and they’re both amazing listening experiences.
This month, Tegan and Sara, Lacuna Coil, Lil Nas X and Lindsey Stirling all had new singles coming out at the same time as smaller acts like sonderlands, Neuroticfish and Grizfolk. Below are my top ten releases from this month, not listed in any particular order, and from an assortment of genres.
I’ll Be Back Someday – Tegan and Sara
(Epilepsy/flashing light warning for the video.)
The first single from their upcoming album composed of songs they wrote in high school, ‘I’ll Be Back Someday’ is a grunge-pop anthem about a collapsing friendship. It’s catchy and emotionally raw, and uses more guitar and traditional instrumentation than the sisters’ other recent music. The winner, however, are definitely the lyrics. They’re simple, as to be expected from high school compositions, but that simplicity is what makes them so powerful. “To the end, my friend, what a lie, if I could pretend, if I could lie – but I can’t say, but I can’t stay.”
2. Song of Psyche – iamthemorning
iamthemorning is known for their unearthly chamber-pop, and Song of Psyche follows in that tradition while expanding on their Kate Bush and Dead Can Dance influences. Song of Psyche is equal parts relaxing and slightly unsettling, with fairytale lyrics and soft background music that complements Marjana Semkina’s voice. The prog rock influences are less obvious here than elsewhere, but still very much present in the lyrical structure and the slow build of the instruments.
3. Layers of Time – Lacuna Coil
Symphonic metal bands, particularly with ‘beauty and the beast’ vocals, have a noted tendency to get softer and/or more radio friendly over time. Lacuna Coil, while they were never particularly ‘soft’ to begin with, buck this trend by getting harder and edgier with every album. ‘Layers of Time’ has an absolute perfect blend of Cristina Scabbia’s ghostly soprano mixed with Andrea Ferro’s death metal growls. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: nobody pulls off beauty and the beast vocals like Lacuna Coil. (It doesn’t hurt that Cristina Scabbia looks like Hela from Thor: Ragnarok in the video.)
4. Godless – Banks
Banks is part of a very specific subgenre of singer-songwriters; the offbeat, quirky and artfully melancholic women who use their unique voices to create specific effects. Imogen Heap, fka Twigs, Regina Spektor, Mitski and Tori Amos all fall into this category, and Banks adds to her own considerable mystique as well as that of this subgenre with the haunting ‘Godless’. It’s in a lot of ways a fairly normal alt-pop song, but Banks’ voice and use of modulation tools brings it up to a different level. (The chorus, in particular, is gorgeous.)
5. Keep Yourself Warm – Benjamin Gibbard
When I started doing this column, I told myself – no covers, no remixes, no re-releases. Then, of course, Tiny Changes came out and made a liar of me. Alt-rock fans probably remember that a few years ago, Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit died by suicide. This album is a tribute to him, made up of covers from their Midnight Organ Fight album. This is one of the best on there, a rendition of ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ by Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. It’s the kind of thing I always wanted (but not like this! my heart!) and never dared to hope for. It’s slow and gorgeous, a cover in Gibbard’s style without changing or touching the core sadness and loneliness of the lyrics.
6. Forces of Nature – Eldar Ibrahimovic
If you like Two Steps to Hell, E.S. Posthumus or video game soundtracks, check out Ledar Ibrahimovic for sure. This is my first time encountering his work, and ‘Forces of Nature’ is a beautifully constructed instrumental that sounds like it should be playing over an epic battle in Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. I particularly like that it doesn’t sacrifice musical cohesiveness for intensity – every piece of the song works together and every instrument has a place.
7. All There Is – Dirt Poor Robins
This is my first time hearing of the Dirt Poor Robins and I’m honestly startled. I love this song on every level – the melody and instrumentation, the themes of the lyrics – and given how long I’ve been a fan of Imogen Heap and The Dresden Dolls, I wish they’d crossed my radar before now. The best way I can describe their sound is if Dresden Dolls was a little less goth Weimar republic and a little more folk-influenced. It’s theatrical without being overwhelming, and with a sincerity that’s impossible to fake.
8. the question is a truth – sonderlands
This is a simple little piano song, lo-fi to its core, from an artist with 3 singles on their Spotify and less than 1000 followers. It’s soft and weirdly enchanting, and it’s hard to describe exactly why I like it so much, but I do. It kind of reminds me of the background music in puzzle games like Cube Escape, just that little bit eerie.
9. LET’S GO CRAZY – the one and only PPL MVR
Okay, I don’t really know where to start with this one. I guess the first thing to say about PPL MVR is that they’re three yetis in a band. Yes, they’re one of those strange anonymous costumed bands, which means they’re weird. Their music is somewhere between heavy techno and metal and I – I love it, honestly. It’s sort of a wedding between Mindless Self-Indulgence, Hollywood Undead and Black Sabbath.
10. Crowded Table – The Highwomen
The Highwomen are a country supergroup made up of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby – all amazing artists in their own right. I’m not somebody who listens to a lot of country, but my first music love was Irish folk and there’s a lot of that influencing the song ‘Crowded Table’. It’s a song about community support and love, and it has a sweetness to it that I’m familiar with from the other work of these women, but it’s all the stronger here.
I’ve decided to do a better job of keeping up with new music releases, and I’ve been quite enjoying the results of the experiment so far. 2019 is looking to be a good music year, what with a gay black cowboy topping up the charts and being his best self (love you, Lil Nas) and that’s without getting into the alt scene.
In no particular order, here’s ten of the best June releases – at least, my personal favourites.
Never There – Sum 41
TW for domestic violence in the video.
Oh, to be a kid in the early 2000s again. It’s weird to realize that Sum 41 was inactive/off the charts for almost a decade, especially when the album Underclass Hero ended up defining my high school life. Luckily, they’re back, and they’re sounding better than ever. ‘Never There’ is another anthem to a deadbeat dad, treading the same ground as Underclass Hero’s 2007 song ‘Dear Father’, but with more sincerity than sass. It’s slow, sad and sweet – moving on from a life-changing absence instead of just addressing it. The video is on a whole different level; it’s dedicated to his mom rather than his dad, and kicks the song up from ‘sad’ to ‘absolutely devastatingly gorgeous’.
2. Rich, White, Straight Men – Kesha
I was really worried after the success (then deafening silence after) Kesha’s ‘Prayer’ that everybody’s favourite glittery punk would slip into obscurity after her prolonged court battle with Dr. Luke. Luckily, she’s more determined than that, and while Dr. Luke’s influence isn’t missed, her personality shines through more than ever. ‘Rich, White, Straight Men’ is a silly, catchy but incredibly biting piece of polemic, hinging on a statement that really should be as simple as it sounds: “what if rich white straight men didn’t rule the world anymore?” You’d think songs that used the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme as a bridge and samples of weird men’s laughter wouldn’t be so good, but that’s Kesha for you.
3. Nothing Less, Nothing More – Eivør & Tom Hodge
Eivør‘s Faroese ballads (ex. ‘Trollabundin’ and ‘I Tokuni) are what made her famous, but this ballad done in collaboration with composer Tom Hodge is entirely in English and no less haunting. It’s a simple love song about contentment, relaxing and sweet, and Eivør’s voice is the perfect thing to fall asleep to. I’ll also be checking out more of Tom Hodge’s work as a result.
4. Shoog Shoog – The HU
The HU went viral a while ago with the video for their song ‘Yuve Yuve Yu’ – they’re a Mongolian heavy metal band who performs a genre they call Hunnu Rock, and Shoog Shoog is their third single. It’s just as fun and rhythmic as the others, possibly even more fun to shout along to. The part I like the most about The HU is that, especially once you get past the novelty factor of the genre and different language – they are DAMN good players. The guitar (or similar-to-guitar; I’ll admit I am not well versed in the exact instruments they use) work is intense and skilled, not to mention the production work.
5. Teenagers – Courage My Love
Courage My Love is a band I’m only just starting to fall in love with, but if you like Paramore, the Cocteau Twins or Metric, you’ll enjoy these twin sisters. ‘Teenagers’ is their latest single, a catchy pop hook over a powerful synth paired with lyrics about growing older and pretending to be teenagers still. The video and lyrics are also a homage to the Breakfast Club, joyful nostalgia paired with a half-smiling, ironic tone. I found myself humming this one to myself a lot, and the lyrics are a particular, powerful kind of bittersweet that millennials in particular will understand. Turns out, we’re not teenagers anymore.
6. Railroads – Tarja
I’ve loved Tarja Turunen since she was the lead singer of Nightwish, and her solo career has reached new heights in directions Nightwish never would have gone. ‘Railroads’ is a gorgeous soundscape, and the rhythmic lyrics on the bridge – fading into an operatic chorus – is a masterpiece in both writing and performance. Emotionally, it hits wonderfully as well.
7. Another Chorus – Violent Femmes
The Violent Femmes are one of those bands that have broken up and gotten back together a few times, but as somebody who doesn’t listen to them heavily, I can’t attest to the quality of this as a Violent Femme song. As a song on its own, however, it’s hilarious and I’ve had it on repeat more than I’ll probably admit to. I’m one of those people who will loop songs on repeat so I am absolutely who they’re making fun of in this song, but I don’t care – they do it with such humour (and such talent) that I can’t take it personally.
8. Hound – Thenighttimeproject
I love prog metal. This isn’t a secret to anybody who knows me, although my genre tastes are wide and eclectic. So the sudden discovery of a new prog metal band, slow and creeping with just enough weird to go with their sad to keep me interested, has me over the moon. Thenighttimeproject’s sophomore effort ‘The Pale Season’ has some surprisingly uplifting lyrics given the chilling combination of low vocals and meandering guitars, and the opening track ‘Hound’ is one of the best on the album.
9. Venom by Icon for Hire
My god, I love Icon for Hire. Their mix of electronica, pop sensibilities and punk-rock swagger has been hitting my buttons since their first album, and ‘Venom’ is no exception. The chorus for this one will be stuck in your head for a while (misery, misery is the venom in my brain, killing me killing me but I don’t feel the pain, running from something that I can’t really explain), and the songwriting, as usual, is a top-notch, scathing bite at self-destructive impulse and pop-culture cannibalism alike.
10. The Quiet – Imogen Heap
Imogen Heap’s music embodies a special melancholic vulnerability; her soft voice somehow both strains to be heard and echoes over her instruments, and ‘The Quiet’ is another heartbreaker, almost a sequel to ‘Speeding Cars’. It’s actually quite a sweet song, about love at first sight between lonely people, but sometimes the most honest songs are the saddest anyway. This was apparently written to go with a video game, but it stands perfectly well on its own.
BONUS: May Releases
11. Alligator – Of Monsters and Men
I’ve been waiting for any sign of activity from the Icelandic baroque folk-pop group for four years now, and even though this single dropped back at the beginning of May, I’m including it here out of pure excitement. ‘Alligator’ is filled with the same kind of restless energy as ‘Winter Sound’ and ‘We Sink’, promising more rock influences in the upcoming album (set to release sometime during 2019).
12. You- RVNS
RVNS is a new band for me, soft synth-pop with mournful male vocals. ‘You’ is another single that actually dropped back in May, but it’s stuck with me enough that I wanted to share it. Somewhere between The Postal Service and Foster the People, it’s the perfect kind of music for introspection, late afternoons and rainy days.
Elliott Dunstan 