Singles of the Week (15//21)

1) MAN ON MAN - It´s So Fun (To Be Gay)

 

Two bodies dancing hot in the New York City winter before being pushed inside for the rest of 2020.
Two hearts that, in the span of 6 months, faced the loss of both of their mothers, the matriarchs that bore them to this planet full of wonder. They held on tight to the beauty of living, together. With this shared language and the confines of quarantine they lost and loved even harder. Battling packed boxes and lost jobs, the two celebrated their tragic journey with broad shoulders forcing power chords and the harmonized chants of utter release. They huddled together for the future while leaking their hearts into pop melodies that collide effortlessly with both a shared melancholy and simultaneous hope. MAN ON MAN (also M.O.M.) is a new gay lover band made up of Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, CRICKETS, Nastie Band). Their upcoming self-titled record, MAN ON MAN, is infused with indie-rock distortion and soaked in gay pop confidence while still maintaining the dry acerbic sense of humor they both share. M.O.M.'s music videos take their magical collaboration to another level with otherworldly cinematographic dimension, and of course, the subversive playfulness of two gay lovers unmistakably flirting with their audience and each other. Upon the release of their debut single, “Daddy”, their video (chock full of the pair dancing seductively in their white briefs) was removed from YouTube for violating their “sex and nudity policy.” At this moment, the band solidified their political visibility as queer artists who are not ok with being silenced or removed from history because of their age or size. Bottum told Rolling Stone, “There’s enough representation in the gay community of young, hairless pretty men." Roddy and Joey’s love for each other and their own bodies, histories, and truths are what make this project so tender and lovable. MAN ON MAN’s music transcends both genre or decade, creating a timeless appeal for so many kinds of listening. The varied influences and textures of the record are a meditation on the myriad of emotions of lockdown, as well as this particular moment in their own lives, collectively and independently. The shoegaze whirlpools of “Stohner” transition into the square wave synths of “1983” with ease, while tracks like “It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)” open us up to a new type of queer anthem for the 2020s. It is hard not to be captivated with MAN ON MAN’s story, as they pass through pandemic lockdowns in a rented pickup truck. Through hotels, rest stops, mountaintops, desert mirages, back roads, beaches, and hospital rooms, the layering of space and time allows us to grasp onto each moment individually and together as a whole. When we fall into their world (which was self-produced with mix support by Grammy-award winning producer Carlos de la Garza [M83, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World] and Mike Vernon Davis [Foxing, Great Grandpa]), we witness MAN ON MAN’s deep intensity of falling in love while mourning, and the epic collaboration of two lovers that traverse the map of a COVID road trip.
MAN ON MAN is more than a band, it is a partnership of two beautiful queers who are committed to creating a language that is both musical and visual, and that transcends what we know of gay music at exactly the cultural moment we need them. As individuals, lovers, sons, community pillars, and human beings, M.O.M. are a womb to be reckoned with. 

Debut album (12" vinyl release 7/5/2021)

 

 
(EP - Big Scary Monsters)

2) Tijuana Cartel - Over And Over

 

 

 New single from indie / electronic Gold Goast, Australia 

 

(digital - Tijuana Cartel)

3) Lunation Fall - Near

 

 

New material from Lyon shoegaze / dreampop
By appropriating the codes of the shoegaze scene, Lunation Fall is in a constant quest for the alliance between melancholic dreampop and unleashed noise rock. The four Lyonnais seek this fragile spot where the melodic sweetness is combined with the power of a wall of sound carried by a feverish and airy rhythmic.
Recorded in late 2020 in Lyon, France credits released April 16, 2021
Célia Broch - vocals, guitars
Julien Angueloff - drums, percussions
Ludovic Jaguin - bass, additional vocals
Thibaud Furst - vocals, guitars
Produced by Lunation Fall Engineered,
mixed, and produced by Raphaël Leger, 22 Recordings Mastered by Sacha Besson, Tubecult Mastering Visual arts by Remy:Badout Many thanks for their support to Cedric and Joan, great people from Stellar Frequencies All songs written by Lunation Fall 

 

(12" vinyl - Stellar Frequencies)

4) A. G. Cook - Oh Yeah (Caroline Polachek Remix)

 

 

News from Los Angeles, California A. G. Cook is best known as the founder and head of PC Music, one of the most discussed record labels of recent times. He has also spent the last few years in creative partnerships with artists, most notably Charli XCX, for whom he was Executive Producer on her projects Number 1 Angel, Pop 2 and Charli. 

 

(digital - PC Music)

5) Marsfade - Do U Know What I Mean

 

  

Built on a foundation of lush synth pop and blooming forth with a new name, multi-instrumentalist and producer, marsfade is evolving her music with her life experience. The Grand Rapids, Michigan based artist invites her listeners to grow with her as she infuses electronic sensibilities of the past into fresh musical structures.
Her music soars with delicate melodies, layered instrumentals, glittering textures, and catchy hooks; all the while her lyrics are a revolving kaleidoscope of intense emotions and personal experience. Formerly a member of the electronic duo, PARTS, marsfade launched a solo career in early 2018 (formerly titled FADE) releasing her first EP, Fall in Love, through the label Luminelle in October of 2018.
Described by The Line of Best Fit as “hushed and immediate bedroom pop with a twist. Hypnotic, melancholic, full of anxiety and urgency”, Fall in Love carved out marsfade’s niche in the world of indie synth pop. As a shy, reclusive person who has struggled with depression and anxiety from a young age, sharing personal art with the world and being ever-present on social media came with a new heightened level of emotional pressure. Having taken the time to focus on her mental health and working out how to best operate as an introverted musician, marsfade returns now with new songs and a new perspective. On her aptly named newest single, “Do U Know What I Mean”, marsfade crafts a song that unfolds like a flower; revealing more layers of musical brilliance and emotional depth witheach listen.

 

  
(digital - Luminelle)
 

vinyl:
Shallow Waves - Voices in Discord (7")
Hideous Sun Demon - Development Hell (7")
Colonial Wound - Degradation (12")
EPs:
Dharmacide - Breezing /EP/
Novembersoundsbetter - No Place Like Here /EP/
Softcult - Year Of The Rat /EP/
Her New Knife - Destroza /EP/
Ghost Town Station - Rocket. /EP/
digi single, video:
Ben Hemsley - We Are Sound
Sidewalks and Skeletons - Breeze
Sunstinger - Shadows
Lesser Care - Palm​ / ​Acquired Taste
Martes Niebla - Cicatriz
girl in red - You Stupid Bitch
Oscar Lang - Stuck
Johnny Dynamite & The Bloodsuckers - Fucked Up Paradise
The Polyphonic Spree - Don't Change
Unwed Sailor - Dark of the Morning
Colourmusic - The Ocean
Haarm - How Long Has This Been Going on?
Resplandor - Twilight (Ian Catt Mix)
Leg Puppy - Your Profile is Dope
Doss - Look
José González - Visions
Ima Teva - Obligátní klam
Unschooling - More Is More
Quicksand - Inversion
Desperate Journalist - Fault
Chubby and the Gang - Lightning Don't Strike Twice