A handpicked and poured over selection of the best tracks of the past week not already featured on Nialler9.
See the New Music section for full selection of tracks and albums featured this week.
1.
Fred again.., HAAi, Romy
Lights Out
A three-way collab that feels like the centre of a venn diagram the emotional electronica of Fred Again.., the production dance music nous of HAAi and the pop sensibilities of Romy from the xx.
“I started this song on my laptop on a train up to the Scottish Highlands and immediately sent it to Romy and Teneil (Haai) because it felt super special to me. Romy’s lyrics and voice are just like a hug from a rave angel.”
2
Sworn Virgins
Searchin For Hiro
If you were looking for the 2022 version of the Skatt Brothers’ ‘Walk The Night’ congratulations you’ve found it. And of course it’s on Soulwax’s Deewee label.
3.
Silverbacks
Different Kind Of Holiday
Dublin five-piece Silverbacks released a fine second album, Archive Material, last Friday and this Talking Heads / Talk Talk slice of punk-funk is my favourite new discovery on it. Give me those dry drums!
4.
Yenkee
Soft Satellite
London-based Cork artist Graham Cooney is back at the thing he’s really good at – serving up off-kilter dreamy pop music. ‘Soft Satellite’ is from his forthcoming Yen EP on Softboy Records.
The Yen EP is out on February 20th, with the vinyl available for presale now.
“I like to daydream and think about crazy imagery and ideas to write lyrics, and sometimes a song title can inspire a whole set of lyrics. ‘Soft Satellite’, to me, feels like a metaphor for being an outsider; like someone orbiting a group of people, trying to fit in, but never being strong enough or confident enough to be accepted, and just bouncing off the perimeter back to where you belong”.
5.
Boy Harsher
Autonomy (Lucy – Cooper B. Handy)
The electro duo Boy Harsher’s ‘Autonomy’ softens the duo’s trademark darkness in favour of a lighter number which sounds like a Human League track with vocals by
The band’s new album The Runner released last week, doubles as soundtrack album for a short film they made. It’s out now via Nude Club/City Slang.
The film, written, produced, and directed by the duo, is a horror film attached to a meta-style “documentary” about Boy Harsher’s recording process. It premiered on the horror streaming platform Shudder last week.
6.
Hiro Ama
Free Soul
I’m not sure how I heard this but I think it was a Bandcamp crawl. It’s the stanky bassline that got me.
Hiro Ama is the drummer with Teleman, and ‘Free Soul’ this song sounds like someone playing a Floating Points on guitar. It’s from an EP, Animal Emotions, available on, surprise, Bandcamp.
“I wanted to make an up-tempo and danceable song so I can dance in my room during the lockdown. I got lost in Jazz music the last couple of years and it really changed and opened up the way I make music.”
7.
Andhim
Choose Love (Gerd Janson remix)
Now that we can positively dream about upcoming festivals and nights out, this would be on my going out bingo card this week.
8.
Bodega
Thrown
NYC punk-funk rock band Bodega will release their second album Broken Equipment on March 11th through What’s Your Rupture?
‘Thrown’ is like a response to the lineage of DFA Records’ sound.
“‘Thrown’ was an attempt at a self-portrait track. The older I get the less I trust my own thoughts and perceptions of self ——> I realise most of my values and judgments come from the records, films, books, and advertisements I have consumed my whole life. Recognising this ‘thrown-ness,’ while slightly disturbing, has been a source of inspiration for my creative mind. If the mind can only output what has been presented —> provide it with the proper input. You can remake yourself entirely at the drop of a (top)hat. The inputs I selected for this lyric: James Joyce and Bob Dylan. The music, to me, is a synthesis of many of the stylistic motifs our group has developed over the past few years: syncopated bass over a slow-shifting sea of guitar harmonics, violent guitar spams with machine influenced but human-played drums; plus male/female vox alternating between spoken text raps and melody.”
BODEGA’s Ben Hozier
9.
The Derevolutions
I Started Running From The Sun
The Derevolutions are an Bosyon indie band who have popped up here a few times over the site’s lifespan, and that’s because they have a penchant for releasing sweet hazy pop jams like this. It even interpolates Ben E. King’s ‘Stand By Me’.
The duo, consisting of Brett and Ana Karina released a 62-track album last year that I did not get near to a chance to listen to.
The quintessential album from Boston-based duo The Derevolutions, I Want Up. The 62-song release was self-produced and handcrafted by Brett and Ana Karina. I Want Up follows The Derevolutions’ on a 3 hour musical odyssey bursting with tropical riffs, beats, funks, samples, hooks, cheers/chants, psychedelia, and seemingly infinite inspiration & influence. The ultimate art project. An album by, and for, music lovers.
10.
Max Cooper
Everything
Max Cooper’s newest track is a sky-scraping electronic number that is reminscent of Fuck Buttons to me. It’s from the forthcoming album Unspoken Words, out March 25th on MESH.
“I love feeling that anything is possible. It feels like I’m bursting and need to find some expression,. The synths seemed to carry the hope of everything I could imagine, condensed into the simple chord progression, improvised pads and layers of distortion. It was a lot of fun to work with, and spending time in that creative mindset generated lots of ideas which could be shot down later under less manic conditions.”
Max Cooper.
Nialler9 Weekly Playlist:
