Singles of the Week (49//21)

1) Blushing - Sour Punch

  

News from dreampop / shoegaze...Austin, Texas...Miki Berenyi (ex Lush) vocal!)

From the upcoming album "Possessions" out Feb 18th 2022 on Kanine Records 

 

(digital, video - Kanine)

2) Mandy, Indiana - .​.​. EP

 

 

 the debut EP from Mandy, Indiana from Manchester is out November 19th on Fire Talk, 10/12/2021 12" vinyl 

Valentine Caulfield and Scott Fair (guitar/production) met a couple of years ago when their respective previous bands shared a bill in Manchester. Caulfield was drawn to Fair’s aspirations to write beyond genre, while Fair was instantly taken with the singer’s magnetic stage presence and harsh, visceral vocals delivered in her native French. The pair also enlisted Liam Stewart (percussion), a touring musician who’s powerhouse rhythmic presence compliments the pair’s vision—emphasizing raw energy and emotion over meticulous composition to create a singular cathartic experience. The songs on ‘…’ EP were recorded in a variety of spaces, from rehearsal rooms and home studios to cavernous industrial mills. You can hear it in the recordings: the clattering footsteps, muffled piano and chatter at the end of “Bottle Episode” were taken from the hall outside of one of their recording spaces. Other sounds like a buzzing fluorescent light and the rhythm of a passing train also found their way into the mix. Mandy, Indiana’s influences are fluid and their lyrics are left intentionally open to interpretation, but the group acknowledge cinematic references alongside musical touchstones. The band’s self-made music videos, influenced by the macabre film-making of Gaspar Noe and Leos Carax, see them carefully stitching together found-footage montages. Every image feels intentional, providing a visual chaos that matches the music’s unpredictability. Mandy, Indiana’s debut EP documents where they’ve been, where they are now, and where they’re going.

 

 
(EP, 12" - Fire Talk)


3) GLARE - Heavenly

 

 

 New material from Texas indie-rock / shoegaze band 

Written over the past few years, “Heavenly” is the first proper EP from Rio Grande Valley, TX alternative/shoegaze band, Glare. Over the years, Glare has managed to iterate and build upon their heavy, shoegaze sound heard on previous singles like ‘Into You’ and ‘Void In Blue’. On their newest recordings, the band has toned in on their songwriting structure and rhythm, while being heavily influenced by classic bands like Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and Cocteau Twins. “Heavenly” is full of love, loneliness, and anger. While these emotions vary from each other, Glare is able to communicate them all consistently on “Heavenly”. The EP is full of beautiful noise, swooping guitars, and lush vocal patterns that flow seamlessly on each song. “Bloom” opens with a burst of a guitar note/drums and endearment with the repeating words, “Your smile blooms one on me” while “Ghastly” closes the EP with a haunting guitar, drums, and bleakness on the current state of the world. credits releases December 10, 2021 Mixed and Mastered by Nate Garza Produced by GLARE, Nate Garza and Ryan Taylor Bluhm Recorded by Nate Garza, Ryan Taylor Bluhm, Chris Rez and Toni Ordaz Songs Written and Performed by GLARE. 

GLARE is Austin Barrientos, Chris Rez , Homer Solis, Jes Morales, and Toni Ordaz

 

 
(EP, 12" - Sunday Drive)

 
4) Massage - Lane Lines

 

 

 
News from Los Angeles, California dreampop band 

Just five months after releasing their acclaimed second album Still Life, Los Angeles indie-pop band Massage returns with Lane Lines — a six-track EP out Dec. 10 on Mt.St.Mtn. (Cindy, Flowertown, Blues Lawyer) that finds the quintet expanding on their Sarah-meets-Creation Records sound with new touches of soft psychedelia, Feelies-ish frenzy and Haçienda-era escapism. The band didn’t plan to follow Still Lines so quickly. But after the pandemic further delayed that multi-year project, Alex Naidus (guitar, vocals, former Pains of Being Pure at Heart), Andrew Romano (guitar, vocals), Gabrielle Ferrer (keyboards, percussion, vocals), David Rager (bass) and Natalie de Almeida (drums) leapt at the chance to make music together again in real life and started gathering on random summer evenings in the tiny rehearsal-space studio of producer-composer Andrew Brassell (Susanna Hoffs) with no clear goal in mind. Lane Lines is the surprise product of those informal sessions — a flash of pent-up creative energy that serves as both a companion piece to Still Life and an exploration of textures and influences that didn’t quite fit the full-length but have always been deeply embedded in the band’s DNA, with new echoes of 1980s artists who refracted the 1960s through their own skewed prisms: Flying Nun, the Paisley... more credits releases December 10, 2021 

Alex Naidus: Vocals, guitar Andrew Romano: Vocals, guitar Gabrielle Ferrer: Vocals, keyboards David Rager: Bass Natalie de Almeida: Drums See individual tracks for recording, production and mixing credits Mastered by Mikey Young 

 

(EP, 12" - Massage)

5) Strangelight - The World Needs Laughter

 

 

 News from Oakland, California noise-rock / hardcore band 

releases December 10, 2021 

Recorded by Scott Evans at Sharkbite Studios Mixed by Scott Evans at Antisleep Mastered by Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden East Art by Tony Teixeira Layout by Staples Josh

 

 
(EP, 12" - Cider Town)
 

vinyl:
The Smashing Times - Dreams on Union / A Changing Letter (7")
Home Front - Think Of The Lie (12")
D4RKSTAR - Revol (12")
Jlin - Embryo (12")
VONT - Rovnost (12")
EPs:
Spell the Words - I Guess I Miscalculated Things /EP/
Prohra Praha - Zas robota /EP/
Prepare My Glider - Blinding Lights /EP/
Darklands - Forgive Yourself /EP/
Horse Show - Falsterbo /EP/
Summit Point. - Spiral /EP/
PAZ SS - Valencia /EP/
Boneflower - Dolor /EP/
Nightlands - Moonshine /EP/
digi single, video:
NNHMN - Magic Man (from 12" Tomorrow's Heroine out 27/7/2021)
Bloc Party - Traps
Snow Ellet - Boys Don't Cry
A Place To Bury Strangers - Hold On Tight
Underoath - Numb
Wrong War - Dead Tank
Gel - Mental Static
Bully - Just For Love
Nurse Joy - Yule Shoot Your Eye Out
DEAF CLUB - Planet Bombing
Captain Asshole - Dave Lizewski
The Carolyn - Snake vs Rat
Kim Gordon & J Mascis - Abstract Blues
Los Jardines de Bruselas - Fantasmas
You, Nothing. - Lullaby
Sadfields - Irreversible
Tennis System - Bitter
The Haunted Youth - Gone
Dayflower - Sonic
Fawns of Love - Girls
Ohio Mark - Horses
Nothing - Micha: Those Who Fear Tomorrow
American Football - Fade Into You
Girlpool - Faultline
Blanketman - The Signalman
Merry Youth - Everyday
Tempers - Unfamiliar
Reptaliens - I Feel Fine
Beach House - Runaway
Orbital - Satan (30 Something Years Later Remix)
Alice Glass - Fair Game
Black Doldrums - Sad Paradise
Boris - Last Christmas
Lunar Vacation - Last Christmas
Debustrol - Totální řád
Tři sestry - A já chci bejt jak tvůj pes