Artist: Empress Of

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7 new albums you should listen to: How To Dress Well, Empress Of, MØ, Marcus Woods & more

With so many releases flying at you, here are recommended vetted listens from Nialler9 for you this week, as collated in the Nialler9 New Releases Spotify playlist, updated weekly.

1.

How To Dress Well

The Anteroom

American experimental songwriter Tom Krell provided the follow up to his debut LP Care under the moniker of How To Dress Well last week. The new record, titled The Anteroom, is inspired by the change in the micro and macro. One personal change which found the artist moving to LA and another large-scale one which faced America after the 2016 election. The Anteroom may be an entirely personal record, but the apocalyptic wake of that election result seeps into every facet of the record. Whether it’s the brutalist sound palette, comprised of icy cold synth lines and ambient pads or the hyper-attentive detail in the lyrical content.

2.

Empress Of

Us

Empress Of’s impressive second LP Us is a sleek indie pop record. Lorely Rodriguez has built a reputation for approaching songcraft differently, dating back to her annoynamous minute long colourminute demos in 2012. Brevity is something which Empress Of’s music excells at. There’s not a track longer than three minutes and forty seconds on Us. The album is a celebration of romance. Intimacy is a key theme throughout, established in the woozy album opener ‘Everything To Me’ with it’s minute attention to detail “I hate when you smoke cigarettes/You hate when I mention it”. There’s an understated aspect to the production throughout the LP. Where most pop singles can’t seem to wait to beat you over the head with a weighty chorus section a track like ‘I Don’t Even Smoke Weed’ shows far more cunning and precision.

3.

MØ

Forever Neverland

Danish songwriter and synth-pop artist MØ has returned with her second full-length LP Forever Neverland. The follow up to the much-admired No Mythologies To Follow is a far more hit and miss affair than its predecessor. Interestingly, MØ seems to have made a push closer still toward a recognisably mainstream flavour of pop music. The razor-sharp synth lines of her debut are largely dropped in favour of rounded hooks. At its best, like on the tracks ‘Blur’ and ‘If It’s Over’ featuring Charli XCX Forever Neverland makes for some truly compelling and intelligent pop music. Signed to Sony Music, MØ is a major label artist who seems set on living up to that title.

4.

Marcus Woods

Demo

District Recording’s signee Marcus Woods’ first major solo release Demo finds the producer drifting between two very seperate schools of musical thought. On the one hand, Woods’ drum preference is heavily trap-inspired, just check out ‘O’. On the other is the prevailing influence of ambient music throughout the release. This shows most in the choice of synth tone and texture Woods’ throughout Demo. These two musical philosophies blend together exceptionally well for the most part throughout the LP, with only a few rare moments finding the music sounding a little awkward. The only gripe you could have about Demo is how lacking in overall structure the LP is. Most of the tracks come in between 2 and 3 minutes long, with little in the way of cohesion between them. Demo feels like a sketchbook of ideas, as opposed to a solid body of work. Then again, the hint is very much in the name.

5.

Neneh Cherry

Broken Politics

Trip-hop legend Neneh Cherry’s Broken Politics is the artist’s first LP in 4 years. By this stage in the artist’s discography and in the trip-hop genre as a whole, there seems to be a bit of set formula to the songwriting and vocal performances. That is to say, there’s nothing really shocking on Broken Politics. If you’re a fan of the artist’s previous work or the genre, you’ll certainly find much to enjoy here. Tracks like the lead single ‘Kong’ and ‘Faster Than The Truth’ showcases why Cherry is held in such universally high regard.

6.

Will Oldham

Songs of Love and Horror

Will Oldham’s discography is well into its teens now. Between the various iterations of the Palace name he performed under during the 90s and the material out under his own name listeners have been witness to nearly a full 20 LPs. Songs Of Love And Horror is the artist and actors latest project. A bare-bones, no frill folk record which tips the hat to Appalachian styled vocals and the great lo-fi folk artists who’ve come before simultaneously. Released under Domino recordings, Songs Of Love And Horror takes its thematic cues from it’s title. With tracks like the stunning ‘New Partner’ and ‘Ohio River Boat Song’ delving into the former and ‘Most People’ or ‘I See A Darkness’ dealing with the latter. Songs Of Love And Horror is a worthy folk album that will please newcomers to the artist and longtime fans alike.

7.

Cloud Nothings

Last Building Burning

Noisey, abrasive and cathartic are the three words which best describe Cleveland indie band Cloud Nothing’s new LP Last Building Burning. Just 8 songs and 35 minutes in length, the entire LP is blistering deep dive into the punk and even screamo ethea. Album opener ‘On An Edge’ sets the tempo and intensity high from the starting gun, howling of a chorus of “Don’t waste no time/Don’t, don’t, don’t”. Tracks like ‘In Shame’ and ‘Offer An End’ play like more traditional punk songs. However, Last Building Burning excels when it colours outside of the lines. Check out the 10-minute odyssey track ‘Dissolution’ to get the full picture. It’s so refreshing to hear some rock music with a genuine edge.

Posted on October 23rd, 2018

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12 new tracks you need to hear this week

Here are 12 of the best new songs we’ve heard in the past week, tried, tested and true for you.

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Follow the Nialler9 Weekly playlist for access to the freshest new music.

1.

Friendly Fires

Heaven Let Me In

‘Heaven Let Me In’ is the latest single from Hertfordshire’s finest band Friendly Fires. Co-produced by Disclosure, the track is dancefloor disco at it’s finest and comes complete with syncopated all of the drum patterns and grainy synth stabs that both Friendly Fires and Disclosure are known for. The band released ‘Love Like Waves’ earlier this year, which was their first single since 2011’s Pala. ‘Heaven Let Me In’ is taken from their third album, due for release in 2019.

2.

Planningtorock

Much To Touch feat. Maija Karhunen

Planningtorock is the alias of Berlin based producer Jam Rostron. Rostron’s music is interesting because it challenges gendered pop music conforms by pitch-shifting the lead vocals, rendering it difficult to decipher whether it’s a male or female singing. Their new electro-pop infused single ‘Much To Touch’ is taken from his upcoming album (due out on November 9th) and features Olof Dreijer of The Knife on co-production. The single further challenges pop stereotypes in its music video, which features a dwarf enthroned in lush surroundings of a fur under bright spotlights.

3.

Love Sick

Medusa

LOVE SICK are a new synth-pop duo from Glasgow composed of Julie and Shaun, who first met each other at a Christmas work party (they both used to work for an insurance company). Their new single ‘Medusa‘ is brooding, with delicate lyrics juxtaposed by weighty synth swells, “you cut my head off and ask if I’m ok”. Head bobbing at the chorus is an involuntary reflux. It’s Love Sick’s second feature on this list.

4.

Ross From Friends

Squaz

Ross From Friends’ new single ‘Squaz‘ showcases exactly what the English producer does best with intricate, mechanical drum rhythms combined with spacey synth lines and strange vocoders. The track was released by LA based label Brainfeeder ahead of their 10-year-anniversary compilation album Brainfeeder X.

5.

IDER

Mirror

‘Mirror‘ is the latest of a string of gorgeous and poignant singles from London duo IDER. The track is an honest depiction of all the ugly bits that come with a break up; checking when your ex was last online, not recognising yourself when you look in the mirror. The track builds upon layers and layers of synths and vocals before a compelling chorus, illustrating exactly what the band do best. Their new album is set for release in 2019 and we can’t wait to hear it. IDER were one of our new artists of 2018.

6.

Empress Of

I Don’t Even Smoke Weed

Lorely Rodriguez is the moniker of LA singer-songwriter Empress Of.  ‘I Don’t Even Smoke Weed’ was the final single to be released from her new album Us last week before it’s official release last week. The track sees Rodriguez compare the high that she experiences from her lover’s company to type you’d get from narcotics, complete with appropriately dreamy and airy production and instrumentation. She also just announced a Dublin show for next year. 

7.

Barrie

Michigan

Barrie are a new dream pop band from Brooklyn who made their debut release earlier this year with ‘Canyons‘. The five-piece stem from all over the US – Baltimore, Boston, upstate New York, London, and Brazil – and met by chance in New York last year. Their new single ‘Michigan‘ is a synth driven, feel-good ballad that makes a case for completely losing yourself to someone, “there’s nothing left to do but go crazy on you”.

 

8.

Rival Consoles

Them Is Us

Ryan Lee West, AKA Rival Consoles released his new album Persona earlier this year, and have wasted no time producing a predecessor. ‘Them Is Us’, which was written for the Adult Swim Series, is a euphoric, electro-infused instrumental track with varying percussion lines and unusual string patterns. It’s hard not to become totally invested in the rhythms as the song progresses; intricacy meets pure hypnosis.

9.

Loyle Carner featuring Jordan Rakei

Ottolenghi

‘Ottolenghi’ is everything you want from a Loyle Carner song; it’s smooth, clever and laced in nostalgia. The title is based on the famous chef Yotam Ottolenghi (who features in the video); the chef inspired Loyle’s culinary side-career (Google ‘chilli con carner’). Jordan Rakei provides soulful vocals while Carner delivers the effortless rhymes that he’s known for. Carner announced a Dublin show last week.

10.

Roisín Murphy

The Rumble / World’s Crazy

‘The Rumble / World’s Crazy’ a double single release from Arklow hailing Roisín Murphy. The tracks follow in similar vein to her recent disco focussed singles such as ‘Jacuzzi Rollercoaster’ and ‘Can’t Hang On‘, complete with four to the floor kick drums and sizzling trapped high hats. The track will be released on vinyl this November 2nd.

11.

Beirut

Gallipoli

It’s been four years since Beirut released their last album No No No, and word of their new one was accompanied by the title track last week. ‘Gallipoli‘ is a quirky, brass-focussed track with heavily EQd vocals that summons images of sunny sojourns and long strolls by the beach. Zachary of the band said that “we stumbled into a medieval-fortressed island town of Gallipoli one night and followed a brass band procession fronted by priests carrying a statue of the town’s saint through the winding narrow streets behind what seemed like the entire town, before returning late to Sudestudio. The next day I wrote the song I ended up calling ‘Gallipoli’ entirely in one sitting, pausing only to eat.”

12.

Bitch Falcon

Prime Number

Bitch Falcon are regularly featured here at Nialler9, and their new single ‘Prime Number’ asserts exactly why. The track is high-energy rock with lead singer Lizzie Fitzpatrick’s vocal at the forefront, bold and loud. The humorous music video sees the band give an intimate performance to a zany Bitch Falcon fan, where things get stranger by the second.

Posted on October 23rd, 2018

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Empress Of to play debut Dublin show next March

The LA-based artist Lorely Rodriguez aka Empress Of is one of this site’s favourite artists of the last five years and her second album Us just dropped today on Caroline Records, the followup to the much recommended Me album in 2015.

With that good news comes a second reason for good cheer – Empress Of is to play her debut Irish show in Whelan’s, 28th March 2019.

Tickets will go on sale next Friday 26th October at €18 plus fees.

Us was produced by Rodriguez with help from Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange), LA production duo Sam Griesemer and Jerome Potter of DJDS, Spanish electronic producer Pional.
Listen to the album.

Posted on October 19th, 2018

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The 10 best songs of the week

Lots of great new singles and releases coming out this week. You’d be forgiven if you were struggling to keep up. Don’t worry, we got you. Here are our favourite new tracks from this week.

As always, follow the Nialler9 Weekly playlist for access to the freshest new music.

1.

Blood Orange

Charcoal Baby

Dev Hynes’ fourth album as Blood Orange explores identity through the prism of living as a minority and how depression and a sense of self affect it. It’s a considered and thoughtful album and is arguably a part of a the new movement of black music culture that includes Solange and Frank Ocean, artists that are exploring identity through social and political lenses, while drawing from R&B, jazz, soul and pop.

‘Charcoal Baby’ is indicative of that shift and Negro Swan as a whole in that it is a realistic look at a sense of self. “When you wake up / It’s not the first thing that you wanna know / Can you still count / All of the reasons that you’re not alone?” Hynes sings with his trademark shimmering haze and nuanced production. The guitar riff is the hook that brings you back. Hynes has found his place in the music world that he alone occupies while exploring his place in the world at large.

2.

Empress Of

When I’m With Him

Lorely Rodriguez is one of my favourite artists. Her growth has been rapid and natural, growing from alternative alt jams to a hook-filled pop without sacrificing her identity (today’s subject). Her forthcoming album Us is out on October 17th and ‘When I’m With Him’ is blissful pop on its own terms. Dev Hynes, DJDS and Pional, all recent collaborators help out on the album that is almost entirely self-produced.

3.

White Denim

Fine Slime

The Texas band’s rock music is a vintage kind, an effortless, guitar infectious music that recalls the best of the best while maintaining its own steam. Their new album Performance just dropped and its their eighth album of solid tunes. They play Dublin next year

4.

Lil Silva

Making Sense

A nebulous once-off single from UK singer TJ Carter, Lil Silva that serves as a reminder of his melodic and production abilities.

5.

Lauren Faith

Just a Little

This is a Kaytranada beat so you already know how this goes, rolling booming bass, R&B vibes and sweet percussion. Lauren Faith is a new British singer.

6.

Soulé

Don’t Hold Your Breath

Dublin-based R&B artist Soulé has been a little quiet on the new music front this year. Her last studio release came in 2017 with ‘What Do You Know?’. Just before the weekend began the artist released ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’, her latest single. The track has a considerably stronger EDM and contemporary-pop influence than previous releases. Coming in at just over three minutes long, ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ is a sleek electronic single. Distorted vocal repeats, rounded bass frequencies and slow filter sweeps give the track its distinctive vibe. – Luke Sharkey.

7.

Denton Thrift

Confessional

A new Leeds-based duo, Denton Thrift’s music is characterised by atmospheric synths and direct pop melodies. Conor Jordan and Jess Mollie are from Northern Ireland and Devon and met at University in Leeds. Their debut EP is out now on Majestic Casual.

8.

boygenius

Three rising North American songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus have combined their powers as boygenius and my, is it a potent collaboration. ‘Me & My Dog’ is the highlight, drawing on the strengths of each, with Bridgers taking lead on a son. It’s a track that achingly moves from young love to heartbreak (“I wanna hear one song without thinking of you / I wish I was on a spaceship / Just me and my dog and an impossible view”) and does so with tones of country, melodic folk, indie and singer-songwriter strands.

9.

Disclosure

Midnight

One of four new Disclosure tracks in the past week, all of which are based on samples of a capella choirs, jazz singers or disco. ‘Midnight’ feels like the most self-identifying Disclosure song of the bunch (the rest feel like sanctioned edits). That’s because ‘Midnight’ has that early Disclosure crisp production and dynamic.

10.

Marissa Nadler

Blue Vapor

A singer-songwriter favourite, Nadler is an artist who pops up regularly with a tuneful track that draws you into her atmosphere. ‘Blue Vapor’ is a pre-release single from her new album For My Crimes out on September 28th.

Posted on August 29th, 2018

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New albums to look forward to in 2018

Time to look into the internet crystal ball and see who may (and who may not) release an album for our ears in 2018. Will Robyn finally release another album? Before we answer that, here’s some we know are on the way…

Tune-Yards

Release date: January 19th

Tune-Yards have announced that their fourth album I can feel you creep into my private life will be released on January 19th. They will be touring the US and Europe from February. Surely, an Irish date is imminent.

Nils Frahm

Date: January 26th

Nils Frahm’s new album All Melody is out on January 26th and was recorded in his custom-built studio in Funkhaus in Berlin. He also announced a world tour which starts on January 22nd in Berlin and lands in Dublin for a sold out show on Monday 26 February.

Frank Ocean

Possible Date: 2018

It’s been nearly a year and a half since the release of Frank Ocean’s album Blonde (add another week for Endless too). In November, he posted on Tumblr that he had finished a new album writing – “’Well I️ made the album before 30. I️ JUST AINT PUT THAT BITCH OUT!’ -quotes from an interview I️ haven’t given haha”. He also posted a picture on his Tumblr wearing a hat saying ‘If you likes 2017 you’ll love 2018. Frank was practically prolific in 2017 by previous standards with songs like ‘Provider’, ‘Chanel’ and ‘Biking’ released and first premiered on his Apple Music radio show Blonded.

Grimes

Possible Date: 2018

Grimes’ followup to Art Angels was reportedly halfway there in April 2017. Claire Boucher posted on Instagram in August 2017 that she needed two more months before finishing the new tracks. Last month she replied to a fan on Twitter regarding the new album saying ‘just played label new music they rly dig it so hopefully smthn soon’. Two days later on Instagram she said that she has all the tracks but needs to vox and drums on pretty much all of them. Signs are good.

My Bloody Valentine

2018

When asked by Pitchfork about a new album release for 2018 Kevin Shields from the band said “Oh, we one hundred percent will,” he also gave details on the album stating “Basically, the record started off as an EP, and I realized it has to be, like, a mini-album, because it’s going to be at least 40 minutes long. So it’s going to be an album, but I don’t really know how many tracks it’s going to be. It’ll probably be seven or eight, by the looks of it.” He also stated that they will be touring this summer. This album will mark five years since the release of their third studio album MBV in 2013.

Franz Ferdinand

Date: February 9th

The Scottish indie rock band will release Always Ascending on February 9th a follow up from their fourth album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action which was released in 2013. The title track and some Galway/Dublin dates were previously announced.

Chromeo

Date: Spring/Summer 2018

The fourth album Head Over Heels from Canadian electro-funk duo Chromeo is on its way this year, a follow up from White Women which came out in 2014. They released a tralier for the album back in November as well as new track ‘Juice’.

Jon Hopkins

Possible Date: Spring/Summer 2018

In a post on Facebook in May last year Jon thanked fans for being patient while he worked on his new album and left us with a cover of Laura Palmer’s Theme tune for Twin Peaks. He later stated that the album is nearly finished, or to be more accurate – “nearly fucking finished.”.

Le Galaxie

Possible Date: Spring/Summer 2018


The Dublin electro band’s third album is done and set for release this year and former Fight Like Apes’ singer May Kay, who joined the band full-time, is set to feature on six tracks.. They released the first track off the new album ‘Pleasure’ in May last year but the album was delayed as the band signed a US deal for its release in late 2017.

Arctic Monkeys

Possible Date: Summer/Autunm 2018

The follow up to the Artic Monkey’s 2013 release AM is on the way. According to an interview with motorcycling magazine bassist Nick O’Malley said if the album isn’t out by 2018 ‘We’ve got problems’. Let’s hope that means the new album is on the way soon.

Blood Orange

Possible Date: Spring 2018

Last summer Blood Orange or Dev Hynes announced that he was writing new material via a post on Instagram. Last month he posted a video on his Instagram showing off some of the new material. The album will be a follow up to his 2016 release Freetown Sound.

The Good, The Bad and The Queen

Possible Date:Summer 2018

It’s been 11 years since Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen released an album under The Good, The Bad and The Queen name. According to NME, Damon Albarn reveled details on the new album hes’s been working on with Tony Visconti to radio DJ Zane Lowe: “We’ve got pretty much all the songs and recorded all the backing tracks but I’m just emoting over it at the moment. I can hear what I’m saying kind of, a bit, but it’s still a bit unintelligible.” He also stated that the album is “inspired by Brexit”.

David Byrne

Possible Date: March 2018


The former Talking Heads man has announced some live dates for this summer and that fact along with an apparent leak of the album title as American Utopia by an online retailer and a March date, more than suggest an album is on the way. His last album was his collaborative album with St. Vincent.

FKA Twigs

Possible Date: 2018

Tahliah Barnett’s debut LP1 came out in 2014 and she’s been plenty busy with dancing, documentaries, stage shows, a once of single, and a 2015 EP and the release of new song ‘Good To Love’ in February 2017. Last year she confirmed that an album was on the way but would not be released in 2017 . According to NME she performed three new songs at Lastochka Festival in Moscow last summer. Could this mean that 2018 is the year for a new album release?

Flying Lotus

Possible Date: Spring/Summer 2018

A new album was promised in 2016 from the Brainfeeder boss but Stephen Ellison was working on his feature-length film debut Kuso (starring Hannibal Buress and Tim Heidecker), which premiered at Sundance in 2017. In November 2017 he released a video for new track ‘Post Requisite’ and on January 1st this year he tweeted a mix from Brainfeeder which includes a new track ‘Quarantine’. No date for the new album has been released but there are a few telling signs that its on the way soon.

Empress of

Possible Date: 2018


Loreley Rodriguez’ debut Empress Of album Of Me was followed up with a killer once-off single and one of the best songs of 2016 collaboration with Blood Orange – ‘Best To You’. She released a new track ‘Go To Hell’ in July. In Demcember, she dropped a cover of Lana Del Rey produced by DJ Dodger Stadium. Hopefully, her new album is finally on the way.

Vampire Weekend

Possible Date:Summer 2018

It’s been five years since the New York City band released Modern Vampires of the City and according to a tweet reply from frontman Ezra Koenig in September last year, 2018 could be the year of their long awaited return. Later in the year he explained to fans via Instagram that he spent 2017 working on the new album saying “we gotta take our time’. This album with be the bands first without Rostam Batmanglij.

Robyn

Possible Date: 2018/2019


It’s been almost eight years since Swedish singer Robyn has relesed an album. Last year her track ‘Honey’ featured on girls which she stated as being selected by Lena Dunham from music that she has been working on. In January last year she released a track with Mr Tophat but it may be nine years before she returns. 🙁

Daniel Avery

Possible Date: Autumn 2017

This time last year Daniel Avery was in studio hopefully that means a new release for 2018 is due to follow up from his superb 2013 album Drone Logic. It’s been too long already.

Posted on January 5th, 2018

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Empress Of – ‘Go To Hell’

Since the release of her must-have debut album Empress Of has collaborated with Blood Orange and Pional and released a once-off single that instantly became a personal favourite ‘Woman Is A Word.’

I had written earlier in the year that we were hopeful for a new album this year and new song ‘Go To Hell’ is the strongest indication yet, bright Robyn-esque track that features Lorely Rodriguez doing a tropical percussive pop vibe while having a ‘go-to-hell’ singularly minded disposition.

Posted on July 12th, 2017

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New albums to look forward to in 2017

There are plenty of albums to look forward to in 2017 and here are just a few of them which don’t have release dates yet. I’ve also included a few which we likely won’t see this year – just so you’re prepared. See also – My top New Artists of 2017.

Alt-J

Possible Date: Summer 2017

It’s been three years since the Leeds band released their second album This Is All Yours, so time is ripe for another in 2017. Last August, drummer Thom Sonny Green told NME, the band had loads of ideas, which wasn’t exactly – “songs are written, we’re recording them and they’re sounding awesome,” but after a period where Green released a solo record, bassist Gus Unger-Hamilton opened a café in east London and singer Joe Newman featured on a Clams Casino track with Lil B, there are rumblings.

The band have posted pics from the studio including ones at Abbey Road where they were recording strings only last week.The band have announced festival dates this summer so a good guess would be around the time of June, when they start.

Caribou / Daphni

Possible Date: Late 2017 but more than likely 2018

Three years on from a career apex record Our Love and a song which dominated the summer and the rest of the year. Dan Snaith is DJing as Daphni a lot this year including Coachella so a new album from Caribou doesn’t feel likely at this moment (maybe a Daphni 12″ / single release though?)

Daniel Avery

Possible Date: Autumn 2017


After last year’s DJ Kicks, 2017 looks to be the year that Daniel Avery follows up his superb 2013 album Drone Logic, according to this tweet.

Empress Of

Possible Date: Summer / Autumn 2017

Loreley Rodriguez’ debut Empress Of album Of Me was followed up with a killer once-off single and one of the best songs of 2016 collaboration with Blood Orange – ‘Best Of You’, as well as one with Pional, so I really want a followup in 2017. This is more hopeful than concrete, though signs are good.

FKA Twigs

Possible Date: 2018

Tahliah Barnett’s debut LP1 came out in 2014 and she’s been plenty busy with dancing, documentaries, stage shows, a once of single, and a 2015 EP. Last week, though a Nike ad directed and made by her featured a new track produced Oneohtrix Point Never suggested something isn’t far away, tweet replies to fans suggest it won’t be til 2018. 🙁

Flying Lotus

Possible Date: Late 2017 but looking like 2018

A new album was promised in 2016 from the Brainfeeder boss but Stephen Ellison was working on his feature-length film debut Kuso (starring Hannibal Buress and Tim Heidecker), which will premiere at Sundance this year. He also scored a short too. It looks like we’re getting V, a Captain Murphy record some time this year, as ‘Crowned’ featured in the recent Adult Swim Singles club. As for Fly Lo, a Kuso some songs on the soundtrack may be all we get.

Future Islands

Possible Date: Summer / Autumn 2017

Three years on from their breakthrough album Singles, things are heating up with some dates at festivals like Bonaroo, Panorama and Coachella. Last year, Sam T. Herring collaborated with Badbadnotgood. Their last music was single ‘The Chase’ in 2015. An album is definitely on the way very very soon.

Grimes

Possible Date: Summer / Autumn 2017


Grimes’ followup to Art Angels was halfway there last April ( “more chill vibes, downtempos, synth-y shit. That makes it sound boring. It’s not boring.”) and in a November interview, she said it would be “slow and reflective”.

“I’m really vibing on making something really slow and gorgeous that just breathes, and has room to breathe,” she explained. “I feel like my work has always been fast paced, kinetic, and almost just manic and I feel like for me the hardest thing I can do is make something that’s slow and heavy.”

Grizzly Bear

Possible Date: Spring 2017

Come on already. The Grizzlies’ last album was 2012’s Shields and a few years before, Jay Z and Beyoncé were showing up to their shows and a lot has changed in music since American indie folk was the dominant genre of choice, However in October, a tweet saying “Album 90 percent done. Last update until you hear it,” was posted. Any day now?

Haim

Possible Date: Summer 2017

Another album long overdue now. The LA sisters’ self-titled debut Days Are Gone dropped in 2013 and they even cancelled their appearance at music festivals last summer to finish it. It arrives this Summer.

Holy Ghost!

Possible Date: Autumn 2017

DFA Records’ disco dons Holy Ghost! will surely followup last year’s Crime Cutz EP with a third album, a followup to Dynamics. Alex Frankel released a solo EP last year too. I’ve a soft spot for these two.

Hundred Waters

Possible Date: Spring / Summer 2017

Gainesville Florida band Hundred Waters have made two stunning albums of folk and electronica thus far in their career and it looks like 2017 will see their third released. On Christmas day they posted (with a Neil Young cover) that they were finishing the album. Last year, they made a big remix with their label boss Skrillex and Chance The Rapper among others.

Jon Hopkins

Possible Date: Summer 2017


The followup to 2013’s Immunity is due this year according to Jon’s reply to a fan on Twitter. Yes. In the meantime, Hopkins plays piano on a track on the new Bonobo record.

Kelela

Possible Date: Spring 2017

A followup to 2013’s Cut For Me mixtape after 2015’s Hallucination EP is on the cards (check out this Song Exploder about ‘Rewind’). In an interview with Dazed, Arca, Jam City, and Bok Bok are to be reprising their role as co-producers and Kelsey Lu, one of my picks for new artists of 2017 guests.

LCD Soundsystem

Possible Date: Summer or Autumn 2017

After last year’s triumphant live return, that promised LCD Soundsystem album is indeed on the way as James Murphy told someone on Facebook this weekin response – “Sure. still working on it, but it’ll be done soon. winter tends to mess with my voice, so finishing the thing drags out.”

Le Galaxie

Possible Date: Autumn 2017

The Dublin electro band’s third album is done and it likely to get a worldwide releasearound September time. Former Fight Like Apes’ singer MAy Kay is set to feature on six tracks too.

Little Dragon

Possible Date: Summer / Autumn 2017

The followup to Nabuma Rubberband from 2014 looks to be coming this year from the Swedish band. They are playing Coachella so that’s a good sign.

Mount Kimbie

Possible Date: Spring / Summer 2017

Mount Kimbie played some new songs at Metropolis Festival in November so it’s a safe bet a new one is coming to followup the brilliant 2013 album Cold Spring Fault Less Youth.

St. Vincent

Possible Date: Summer / Autumn 2017

Annie Clark promises “the deepest, boldest work I’ve ever done” on her new record which is inspired by the topsy-turvy world events of the last year. “I feel the playing field is really open for creative people to do whatever you want, and that risk will be rewarded – especially now that we have such high stakes from a political and geopolitical standpoint,” he told Guitar World (while managing to get a dig in on the cover). The last St. Vincent album came out in 2014.

Posted on January 18th, 2017

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Loose Joints Podcast #5: Best of 2016 with MayKay

Just in time for Christmas, the Loose Joints Podcast is back with a look at the best of 2016. The podcast features Nialler9 and Sally Cinnamon talking to a guest about the music they love: old and new.

On this episode, singer and TV presenter May Kay joins us to talk about what floated our boats this year. We also talk about Fight Like Apes, MayKay’s band who just played their last ever show last week along with her experiences at presenting Other Voices.

Subscribe in iTunes.

Also available in Stitcher, PocketCasts and TuneIn.

Download: Loose Joints Podcast #5: Best of 2016 – MayKay (120MB, 2hours 5mins)

Tracklisting

  1. Anderson .Paak – Am I Wrong?
  2. Kaytranada – Lite Spots
  3. Chance The Rapper – Ultralight Beam
  4. Frank Ocean / Andre 3000 – Solo (Reprise)
  5. All Tvvins – Resurrect Me
  6. A Tribe Called Quest – We The People
  7. Glass Animals – Life Itself
  8. Saint Sister – Blood Mountain
  9. Andrew Bird – Roma Fade
  10. Empress Of – Woman is a Word
  11. Beck – Wow
  12. PG Goes Dance – Kontrol
  13. Midland – Final Credits
  14. Rusangano Family – Soul Food

#4: Aisling Rogerson
#3: Emmet Kirwan.
#2: Oisin Davis.
#1: Aidan Kelly.

Special thanks to Sean Corcoran for facilitating recording.

Posted on December 23rd, 2016

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7 new songs you need to hear this week

Follow the Nialler9 New Music playlist on Spotify. This week’s additions include new songs from all the below along with Civil Civic, Zack De La Rocha, Soulé, Kelly Lee Owens & more. This is only a selection of new music – dig into more.

Check out the Songs of the week Soundcloud playlist.

1.

Junior Boys – ‘Yes’

A banger from a new EP Kiss Me All Night.

Junior Boys follow up last year’s Big Black Coat album with a new four track EP. Leading the charge is ‘Yes’ a pulsating electronic synth jam that hits hard. The EP also features a cover of John Martyn’s ‘Some People Are Crazy’ and a Prince-inspired title track.

2.

Sylvan Esso – ‘Radio’

The US electro pop duo return with a 12″ release.

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn have returned as Sylvan Esso with their first bit of new music since their debut album in 2014.

‘Radio’ is the lead track of the new 12″ release on Lomo Vista along with ‘Kick Jump Twist’, a bouncy synth-pop of a track. It’s released in November physically and digitally tomorrow.

[Original Post]

3.

Kelly Lee Owens – ‘CBM’

Daniel Avery’s collaborator continues to impress solo.

Doing little with lots, Kelly Lee Owens’ infuses throbbing electronics with a voice familiar to Daniel Avery fans (she featured on Drone Logic) of “the colors, the beauty, and the motion.” It’s from the Welsh producer’s forthcoming EP Oleic on Smalltown Supersound. Earlier this year she covered Aaliyah.

“C.B.M stands for Colours, Beauty, Motion,” Owens told The FADER. “It’s related to the cosmic perspective of our planet. I was inspired by astronauts interpretations of the ‘Overview’ effect – which “is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface.” The music represents in some way the motion of traveling around the planet at speed, that slightly lucid & disorientating experience as well as it being awe inspiring and maybe leaving you changed for good.”

4.

Peter Gabriel – ‘The Veil’

A new song taken from the movie Snowden.

Peter Gabriel’s new song was written for the upcoming Oliver Stone movie Snowden about you guessed it, Edward Snowden.

Gabriel worked with music supervisor Budd Car and was inspired by the story of Snowden. “As we become so visible in the digital world and leave an endless trail of data behind us, exactly who has our data and what they do with it becomes increasingly important,” said Gabriel.

The 66 year-old musician came with an experimental electronic song that harks back to his work on 1980’s Melt album yet still sounds current, both lyrically and musically.

5.

Windings – ‘You’re Dead’

Limerick rockers return with an atmospheric single.

Windings are set to release the long overdue followup to 2012 Choice-nominated I Am Not The Crow at the end of September on Out On A Limb. Be Honest and Fear Not follows on from the dark and dank double singles ‘Stray Dogs’ and ‘Helicopters’. First single You’re Dead contains more light but not much as Steve Ryan sings ‘finding pain where once was pleasure, and pleasure in the abiding of pain”.

As featured in today’s Irish Times New Irish music column.

6.

Pional feat. Empress Of – ‘The Way That You Like’

A strong collaboration from the Barcelona producer’s new EP When Love Hurts.

Forthcoming on Ninja Tunes imprint Counter Records (September 30th), Pional and Empress Of get together to create a mesh of machines and human. Pional’s electronics surgically build through small synth stabs and rhythmic builds but Lorely Rodriguez brings heart to the tune. Do absolutely listen to ‘Casualty’ too.

7.

Hounded feat. Bamiyah – ‘Feel So Right’

Aussie electronic pop.

Australian producer Hounded put together this tropical-house tinged electronic R&B song with Californian singer/songwriter Bamiyah and it is countering the autumnal weather inbound for me today. It’s reminscent of Nao and Mura Masa’s work together. The song is out on Majestic Casual

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Posted on September 9th, 2016

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6 new songs you need to hear this week

Follow the Nialler9 New Music playlist on Spotify. This week’s additions include new songs from Metronomy, Shura, Agnes Obel, Trentmoller, DJ Shadow and Flores.

Check out the Songs of the week Soundcloud playlist.

1.

Blood Orange – ‘Best To You’

Dev Hynes’ ambitious guest-filled Freetown Sound album dropped last week.

The former Lightspeed Champion and recent songwriter/producer of great records from Sky Ferreira and Solange has released some great music under his Blood Orange name but with new album Freetown Sound, Hynes’ moves from liminal to minimal soulful sleek pop that addresses race, class and feminism.

Nelly Furtado, Carly Rae Jepsen, BEA1991, Debbie Harry, Kindness, Ian Isiah, Kelsey Lu, Jason Arce, Ava Raiin, P, Porches, Starchild and Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift all feature but easy standout right now is the Empress Of-sung ‘Best To You’ an alluring melancholic pop record to dance around to against the push and pull of desire in a fading relationship.

2.

Clams Casino & Kelela – ‘A Breath Away’

Clams has largely ditched the cloud for precision production.

Having already given us a grade-A banger with Vince Staples, Clams Casino has turned to his softer side on this collaboration with LA R&B singer Kelela from new album 32 Levels. Kelela is the owner of one of my favourite voices in music and while there are cloudy elements to Clams’ production on ‘A Breath Away’, Kelela punctures it with an emotive soulful beauty that few can match. It’s almost pop.

32 Levels is out on July 18th and also features Alt-J’s Joe Newman, A$AP Rocky, Lil B and Sam T Herring of Future Islands.

3.

Angel Olsen – ‘Shut Up Kiss Me’

A great single from the Chicago songwriter’s new album.

When Angel Olsen really lets loose, she’s at her biting best, as demostrated by songs like ‘High-Five’ and ‘Forgiven/Forgotten’ from Burn No Fire For No Witness.

For her forthcoming album, My Woman (September 2nd on Jagjaguar), Olsen is playing a part, in song and video, versions of herself and others. ‘Intern’ dramatically suggested a transition but ‘Shut Up Kiss Me’ draws you in to that world with a song that asks yet is in control of the situation. Olsen’s voice is at her most authoritative, expressive and artistic.

4.

James Vincent McMorrow – ‘Rising Water’

New R&B stripes with production from Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ producer.

James Vincent McMorrow’s new album is done and dusted and with some recent teasing, and a European tour announced, James appeared on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio One show last night to debut the recorded version of ‘Rising Water’ as the Hottest Record In The World.

The song is R&B soul-inspired with new textures in the form of throwback synths, a motorik bassline. McMorrow’s falsetto remains but there’s a refreshing vitality to it.

The song was produced by Nineteen85, who produced Drake records like ‘One Dance’ and ‘Hotline Bling’ along with OVO acts dvsn and Majid Jordan.

5.

I Am The Cosmos – ‘Letting It Go’

Dublin synth-lovers come back tougher.
Three years on from the release of Monochrome, the debut album from Ross Turner and Cian Murphy as I Am The Cosmos and the presence of its analogue synthesizer dance music in my regular listening has never diminished.

Where Monochrome was inspired by a single song from the Japanese band Mariah, a band who have inspired and moved crate diggers and music outliers alike, the band’s new material, live in recent shows, had much more muscle.

‘Letting Go’ echoes that difference in their approach. Following the band’s remix of Girls Names last year, ‘Letting It Go’ is all pulsing synthesizer electronics and swallowing Joy Division vocals that itself, start to lose control, echoing the title.

6.

Orlando Volcano Ft. Gemma Dunleavy – “Mixed Messages”

Dublin boy finds his feet in the Big Apple.

After being accepted to the Red Bull Music Academy in New York, the producer Orlando Volcano moved to the city for good three years ago and has spent his musical time exploring global underground dance sounds. His latest EP on London’s Liminal Sounds features the tropical dancehall of Mixed Messages with vocals by the effervescent Gemma Dunleavy (Murlo, White Collar Boy, Clu).

As featured in Irish Times’ New music roundup.

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Posted on July 5th, 2016

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Listen to the latest Nialler9 TXFM radio show

The Nialler9 radio show airs live every Thursday night from 10pm to Midnight on 105.2FM TXFM. Like this website, it’s a new music show featuring myself presenting my favourite tunes.

Listen: Part One | Part Two.

Part One

Kendrick Lamar – untitled 03 l 05.28.2013
Shit Robot – End of the Trail feat. Alexis Taylor
Georgia – Move Systems
Burnt Out – Dear James
Sheer Mag – Nobody’s Baby
EMBRZ – Slow Down
MMOTHS – Deu
TOKiMONSTA – Put It Down (feat. Anderson .Paak & KRNE)
Anderson .Paak – Am I Wrong (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
Kendrick Lamar – untitled 06 l 06.30.2014.
The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows
David Kitt – Alone Like That
Grimes – Realiti

Part Two

Lapsley – Love Is Blind
Darkstar & Empress Of – Reformer
Wyvern Lingo – Beast At The Door
Oh Wonder – Shark
Bantum & Loah – Take it
M83 – Do It, Try It
Solar Bears – Wild Flowers
Daithi & Sinead White – Love On Top
Cinema – Night Train
Anna Wise – BitchSlut
The Internet – Special Affair
JMSN – Cruel Intentions

Pharcyde – Passin’ Me By
Gallant – Bourbon
ANOHNI – Drone Bomb Me
J. Cowhie – Fountain of Youth
The Chemical Brothers – Wide Open (Joe Goddard Remix)

You can listen live on Thursdays to the show on 105.2FM, online, the iOs app, Android app or if you missed it, along with all the other shows, via the listen back section

Posted on March 11th, 2016

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Nialler9’s 30 best albums of 2015

Best of 2015: Albums | Songs | Videos | Readers’ Albums | Readers’ Songs Readers’ Gigs, Clubs & DJs | Your Intl. albums & songs | Top 10 Lists | Nialler’s Irish choices

My top albums of the year with context and links plus it’s all in one place on Spotify. This is part of the Best of 2015 Series.

Best Albums of 2015 Spotify playlist

30. Beach House – Depression Cherry
29. Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
28. Boot & Tax – Boot & Tax
27. The Chemical Brothers – Born In The Echoes
26. Floating Points – Elaenia
25. Young Fathers – White Men Are Black Men Too
24. All We Are – All We Are
23. Wax Stag – II
22. Four Tet – Morning/Evening
21. D’angelo – Black Messiah
20. Villagers – Darling Arithmetic 
19. Jessica Pratt – On Your Own Love Again
18. !!! – As If
17. Braids – Deep In The Iris
16. Anderson – Patterns

15.

Roisin Murphy

Hairless Toys

hairless

A peerless singer makes a fearless record.

Roisin Murphy’s third album is a sophisticated and layered album that furthers the career of an outlier and a creative artist, making accessible but avant-garde music that draws from pop, dance, disco and jazz.

From the elongated elegance of ‘Exploitation’ to the spooked ‘Gone Fishing’ to the warped ballad of ‘Unputdownable’ to the poppy bass-slung groove of ‘Evil Eyes’, Murphy creates duality throughout: intimate and anamorphic, detailed yet sparse, Glamourous yet grubby, Loungey yet dancy. Murphy remains the magnet at the centre of Hairless Toys as she has been throughout her career. Where-ever she goes, I will follow.

Listen on Spotify

14.

Grimes

Art Angels

Grimes

This is what 21st Century pop music is supposed to sound like.

Claire Boucher’s followup to 2012’s breakthrough Grimes album Visions is wildly different. Art Angels is the result of three years of growth, touring, a decision to scrap a previous album and an hardening of artistic resolve. Grimes’ has often talked about her love of pop music and on Art Angels she’s made her own version of it with sugar-rushing rhythms, bubble-pop melodies and bright instrumentation. The album feels like it has its own internal logic and palette and inherent in its DNA, is Grimes’ own split personalities, adept at pairing up for a screaming match with Korean rapper Aristophanes on ‘Scream’, delivering clattering guitar pop on ‘Flesh Without Blood’, roping in Janelle Monae for a EDM-style banger and my personal favourite ‘World Princess Part II’, an electro pop crescendo. Boucher continues to write her own story.

Listen on Spotify

13.

 Le Galaxie

Le Club

Le Galaxie

The Dublin electro band have made an album of joyous bangers.

For their second full-length, Le Galaxie enlisted the help of producer Erik Brouchek to solidify what most Irish music-loving people know from seeing the band live, that Le Galaxie are the best band for delivering gigantic song-led bangers built on dance music dynamism with live instruments.

Le Club feels like a victory lap, the band’s retro neon-electro having found new sinewy rhythms and strident sounds. Songs like ‘Put The Chain On’, ‘Streetheart’, ‘Le Club’, ‘Lucy Is Here’ and “Carmen’ already feel like modern Irish classics, the soundtrack to many a great festival night and gig. The new version of the Le Galaxie essential, the uplifting ‘Love System’ adds a sax-solo for extra celebration. A trip to Le Club is always fun.

Listen on Spotify

12.

Empress Of

Me

Empress Of

Lorely Rodriguez’s personal yet brisk electronic pop debut.

With the graduation to a self-produced debut album, Lorely Rodriguez also makes the leap from pleasing hazy synth pop to a gilded form of dance pop. Rodriguez’s lyrics address what it’s like to be a young woman in 2015.

Rarely does a personal album brim with so much danceable briskness. Me makes use of of pleasing discombobulating rhythmic pop sequences, buzzing synths, bouncing bass, drum machine stabs and an clearly elevated confidence. No longer covered in gauze, Empress Of’s talent is greater than was initially suggested.

Listen on Spotify

11.

Girl Band

Holding Hands With Jamie

Empress Of

The Dublin band have made the highly-strung album of the year.

There weren’t more uncompromising sonic albums made in 2015 than this one and while it took its toll on its creators, their efforts have not gone unappreciated.

Holding Hands With Jamie is a bare psychosis, the breakdown of Dara Kiely soundtracked by dissonant, piercing and pulsing noise. Kiely spends howling into the pressurised turbulent wall of noise, fending off life expectations and minutiae.

The band match his intensity spectacularly with guitars that whirr and buzz like nasty synthesizers, drums that engulf the room in a live fashion and low-end that wipes the floor and shits on it afterward for good measure. The harshness of it all is a suitably foil for the discombobulating frame of mind that Kiely displays throughout. It sounds like post-punk, it sounds like garage-rock, it sounds like no-wave, it sounds like dirty bleedin’ techno.

The coiled wrestle between confrontation and escapism, both in the music and in the lyrics, is what makes Holding Hands With Jamie such an uncomfortable yet singularly brilliant album. That it uses the familiar language of rock music to do so makes it one of the albums of the year.

Listen on Spotify

Albums #10 – 1

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Posted on December 18th, 2015

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Nialler9 TXFM radio show playlist & listen back

My new music show is live every Thursday from 10pm to midnight on TXFM. Here’s what I played last night:

Listen: Hour One | Hour Two

 Part one

  1. Unknown Mortal Orchestra  – Can’t Keep Checking My Phone
  2. LA Priest – Oino
  3. Gwenno – Calon Peiriant
  4. Disclosure – Nocturnal (feat. The Weeknd)
  5. Bicep – Just
  6. Pleasure Beach – Go
  7. #albumoftheweek: Girl Band –  In Plastic
  8. Wyvern Lingo –  Subside
  9. Talos – In Time
  10. Saint Sister –  Madrid
  11. #tbt: RSAG – Stick To Your Line
  12. Empress Of – Make Up
  13. !!! –  Bam City

  Part two

  1. Girls Names –  Reticence
  2. Fierce Mild –  Small Talk
  3. Chvrches – Clearest Blue
  4. Raury  – Devil’s Whisper
  5. Roots Manuva  – Don’t Breathe Out
  6. Rejjie Snow – blakkst-skn feat Rejjie Snow (prod. Kaytranda)
  7. Blue Daisy  – Darker Than Blue
  8. Kodiak Blue –  Zapusk
  9. Martyn  – Falling For You
  10. Julia Holter –  Sea Calls Me Home
  11. Majical Cloudz – Silver Car Crash
  12. Wounded Healer  – Check Your Patterns
  13. Donnacha Costello – Leaving Berlin
  14. Tame Impala – Let It Happen (Soulwax remix)

You can listen live on Thursdays to the show on 105.2FM, online, the iOs app, Android app or if you missed it, along with all the other shows, via the listen back section

Posted on October 2nd, 2015

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Nialler9 TXFM radio show playlist + listen back

My new music show is live every Thursday from 10pm to midnight on TXFM. Here’s what I played last night:

Listen: Hour One | Hour Two

 Part one

  1. Girl Band – Pears For Lunch
  2. Beach House –  Sparks
  3. CHVRCHES – Clearest Blue
  4. Soft Lit – I Cant Help It
  5. Shamir –  I Know It’s a Good Thing
  6. #albumoftheweek: Empress Of –  How Do You Do It
  7. #albumoftheweek: Empress Of –  Need Myself
  8. Emmanuelle –  Free Hifi 2Many Djs Edit
  9. TIGA  – Bugatti (feat. Pusha T)
  10. #gig: Katharine Philippa –  A Case Of You // I Can’t Make You Love Me [cover]
  11. Pleasure Beach Go
  12. Maud In Cahoots  – Cure For The Crazy
  13. #tbt: Fleetwood Mac – Big Love

  Part two

  1. Kelela – Rewind
  2. MED BLU MADLIB feat. MF DOOM – Knock Knock
  3. Shit Robot – Where It’s At (feat. Reggie Watts)
  4. Pional  – Invisible / Amenaza
  5. Bicep & Hammer  – Dahlia
  6. Wounded Healer –  Panic About Love
  7. Låpsley – Hurt Me
  8. YACHT – I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler
  9. Unknown Mortal Orchestra –  Like Acid Rain
  10. Wet – Weak
  11. Darkstar – Stoke The Fire
  12. Martyn –  Falling For You

You can listen live on Thursdays to the show on 105.2FM, online, the iOs app, Android app or if you missed it, along with all the other shows, via the listen back section

Posted on September 25th, 2015

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Album of the week: Empress Of – Me

The music of Lorely Rodriguez has previously come with a pleasing electronic haze to it. Early Empress Of releases were gauzy, booming ’80s-inspired alternative synth pop.

The transition on the Brooklyn-based lady’s debut album Me is startling enough even though it shares some of the same qualities. The dance pop aspect of her music is now to the fore but in every way – as a vocalist, as a producer and a lyricist Rodriguez’s music has lifted to a new level.

Largely written on a writing retreat in Mexico, Me strides forward with purpose. It’s a shift that feels equivalent to Grimes when she debuted Visions in 2012, an artist making a leap into a larger space with ease. Like Grimes, Rodriguez is also the sole person responsible for the music on Me.

And like Grimes, Rodriguez’s lyrics address what it’s like to be a young woman in 2015. 2015’s other great track about the male gaze, Braids’ ‘Miniskirt’ was more brutal yet Rodriguez offers an independent rebuttal – “I’m fending for myself when you still call me pretty.”

On piano-propped falsetto-featuring highlight ‘Make Up’, she praises the closeness with a lover – “Shake me off the branch and take the biggest bite / Kiss off all my lipstick / I don’t have to fix it.” On ‘Need Myself’, it’s the opposite, personal happiness over a relationship floundering – “Being happy with you or be bad about.” Mostly the lyrics address the good and bad of relationship, the positives on ‘Everything Is You’, the cynical on ‘Water Water’ (“You’re just a heart to break, easy to manipulate”) and the wonderment on ‘How Do You Do It’ (“I forgot that I could let someone fulfill me”).

Rarely does a personal album brim with so much danceable briskness. Me makes use of of pleasing discombobulating rhythmic pop sequences, buzzing synths, bouncing bass, drum machine stabs and an clearly elevated confidence. No longer covered in gauze, Empress Of’s talent is greater than was initially suggested.

Favourite tracks: ‘How Do You Do It’, ‘Standard’, ‘Need Myself’.

Listen on Spotify

Posted on September 24th, 2015

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