With ranging guitar plucks somewhat capturing a standoff moment in a Western movie, Canada’s Indie rock duo PARAGON CAUSE‘s brand new single, ‘Play Me’ has a strong statement about the way people treat one another and behave on social media.
The duo says of the release: “It’s almost a tease to all the haters in your life who take advantage of you, but you know what they’re doing. There’s a sarcasm in saying, I will let you play me over and over again.”
‘Play Me’ is the second single from their upcoming album, ‘Autopilot’, coming out on 13th August. Why not have a listen to the cinematic single, produced by Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes…
French electronic pop band BLOW today release new single ‘Shake The Disease’, the title track from the Parisian trio’s forthcoming album, due for release late 2021.
Written both prior to and amidst France’s pandemic lockdown of the past 18 months, ‘Shake The Disease’ thrums with the anxiety and unease – articulated by Quentin Guglielmi (vocals), Thomas Clairice (bass, formerly a touring member of Her) and Jean-Etienne Maillard (guitar) – of staring down your 30s in an increasingly unsettled world. Whilst Quentin’s confessional lyrics often hold a mirror up to a generation increasingly forced to question everything, across the new album BLOW’s songwriting is suffused with thick, elastic grooves borne out of an enriching new collaboration with Crayon. For the album’s woozy, languorous title track, BLOW are joined by Anna Majidson of French duo HAUTE.
Speaking about the intention behind ‘Shake The Disease’, BLOW say: “This is not a love song. It’s a call for help written during a complicated time where we were losing our marks. We naturally thought of Anna to perform and embody one of the two characters in the track’s narrative. We love her voice which was perfect to bring warmth and sensuality to the track, which she effortlessly did. We’re very proud and happy to have her on the album.“
As with their debut album & EPs, the lyrics across Shake The Disease are English in their entirety – a by-product of BLOW’s tendency towards English and American influences including Moderat, Jungle, and The xx. Whilst both Thomas & Jean-Etienne are traditionally conservatoire trained – originally meeting as roommates at Nancy’s Music Academy International – the new album is dominated by a collective love of hip-hop, particularly for rap obsessives Thomas & Crayon.
Check out the video for ‘Shake The Disease’ below…
Australian band TORA‘s single ‘When Will I Learn’ – the second cut from their upcoming album, ‘A Force Majeure’ – is laced with melancholic but calm dynamics with dark harmonic undertones, which lyrically examines human self-reflection and self-care amidst trying times.
Speaking on the new release, the band said: “’When Will I Learn’ is about the harsh realities that we all have to face at times in our lives, it’s about going inwards and engaging in self reflection, which becomes the catalyst for rapid growth and expansion, and how sometimes you just need to face problems head on to solve them.”
In early 2020, Byron Bay’s Tora relocated to Amsterdam, set to make the city their base; an anchor around which a full year of European and American touring was to revolve. Soon after their arrival however, the threat of COVID-19 became a very real presence, forcing Tora to cancel their entire tour schedule, but also retreat into a strict new locked-down lifestyle.
Though the opportunity to perform was taken away, the band’s love for creating music remained and so, across the next eight months, Tora’s focus became set on A Force Majeure. The 11-track project follows their richly-textured 2019 album ‘Can’t Buy The Mood’ and their 2017 debut full length ‘Take A Rest’. Over the course of the two albums the band have received support from respected members of the international music community including both Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1) and Sir Elton John (Beats 1), press from The Guardian to Pigeons & Planes, with their catalogue now boasting upward of 150 million streams.
‘When Will I Learn’ is taken from album, ‘A Force Majeure’ slated for release 3rd September. Check out the official video for the single below…
Hip-hop duo, CITY GIRLS‘ track ‘Twerkulator’ is one club-ready banger that showcases their unmatched confidence and a wily sense of humor over a punchy sample of the 80’s classic ‘Planet Rock’ by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force.
For the last several months, a snippet of Twerkulator has seen a massive run on TikTok with over 1.2M+ Creates and 750 Million Views on the platform. Now, with the official release of the track available to stream, City Girls are primed and in serious contention for another song of the summer.
Packed with funky guitar licks, atmospheric hip-hop beats, swooning synths and catchy pop melodies, ‘Foolish’, the latest single from PINK ELEFANT which illustrates their effortless ability to incorporate a wide range of inspiration into one song. Lyrically, the song is an ode to authenticity, specifically as it pertains to dating. Breaking down the meaning behind the conversational-styled lyrics, the duo says, “the song is simply saying, ‘hey, I am not like those other guys, you know, the type who hit you up at 3am.’ This is an anthem to the people who are authentic and who will actually work for the ones they love.”
Pink Elefants is the project of long-time friends Finch (Flores) and Illeven (Joshua Matthew). Previously performing in the rock/metal band Megosh, the duo created Pink Elefants as an outlet to explore other genres and, in the process, quickly became experts at defying genre boundaries, pulling widely from a plethora of influences. The band name was inspired by the “Pink Elephants on Parade” sequence in Disney’s Dumbo (1941) and much like the transformation of the elephants in that scene, the band’s ethos is to be ever-evolving with their sound and the world around them.
The band made their debut as Pink Elefants in 2019 and have continued to pump out a steady stream of singles since. Pink Elefants’ true passion lies in the creation of the music — “writing together brings back a lot of the fun for us,” they say. “The limitations are removed and we can just write without worrying too much about all the other hoopla that comes along with being in a musical entity with business-like endeavors. This project is a dream team of passionate and hungry musical virtuosos.”
New Lease Music 