See the New Music section for all the of tracks and albums featured this week.
1.
Polica
Alive
Polica are a band who have been almost constantly creatively active, despite having a family, lead singer Channy Leaneagh’s actual back-breaking injury in 2018. It’s all good now, and Madness, the Minneapolis band’s sixth album comes out on June 3rd on Memphis Industries, a companion piece of sorts to 2020’s When We Stay Alive.
Now properly, a four-piece along of Leaneagh, Ryan Olson, bassist, Chris Bierden and drummers, Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson, ‘Alive’ is typical of the band’s light and shade synth pop.
2
Lil Silva, Sampha
Backwards
Two frequent collaborators back at it, making sumptuous songs.
“Backwards” is the feeling of alienation and constantly venting in a matrix you find yourself inside, whatever that may be.… Restricted and feeling guilty to move forward, constantly going backwards mentally.… I guess the song is about being in a never ending cycle and the heaviness that can bring on you.… It’s a metaphor for that.
Always nice to hear Sampha’s voice.
3.
John Carroll Kirby
Pan’s Dance
From the American producer’s fifth album Dance Ancestral is out on Stone’s Throw today, ‘Pan’s Dance’ is a aptly-titled song – drawing on nebulous electronic and soul, a repeating flute loop that gets underscored with bass and piano and a languid air.
4.
Loose Fit
Stupid Drama
I’m really enjoying the saxophone as an instrument in a new-wave/post-punk style (I recently shared playlist of those kinds of tracks on Patreon (end plug) and we could add ‘Stupid Drama’ from the Sydney band Loose Fit’s forthcoming album Social Graces out 29th April on FatCat Records.
5.
Empress Of
Save Me
One aspect that appeals to me about Empress Of is hearing how Lorely Rodriguez’s infiltrates her music with big pop melodies and touches. ‘Save Me’ with its string stabs and pitched vocals might be her most undercover pop song yet.
6.
Long Island Sound
Fragments
Dublin electronic duo Long Island Sound have announced their debut LP Lost Connection, which you can get a taste of with this track ‘Fragments’, a break-filled reverbed vista.
The album is out May 13th.
7.
Au Suisse, Morgan Geist, Kelley Polar
Control
This track was on my release radar today and I was taken. It’s new on City Slang from Au Suisse who are Morgan Geist (Metro Area) and Kelley Polar. Let it drift.
8.
HappyAlone.
Car Crash
Cork’s HappyAlone. are switching things up again with this two-minute ’80s guitar song. It’s practically their version of The Cure or New Order, and just works.
9.
Automatic
Venus Hour
LA trio Automatic (Lola, Izzy and Halle) make great post-punk dance music, and as it is very much my vibe right now, I love this.
It’s from their new album Excess out on June 24th on Stones Throw.
I featured last single ‘New Beginning’ here.
10.
Tom Misch aka Supershy
Happy Music
The sound of a summer to come.
Tom Misch debuts a new project Supershy today, which is all escapist disco house music as heard on this soul-sampling sunshine track ‘Happy Music’. A second track ‘Something On My Mind’ also debuted today, which is more break-filled Daft Punk-esque electronica.
Nialler9 Weekly Playlist
Nialler9 New Music Playlist
