News – Page 20 – 7th Level Music

Sparks release new single and new tour dates.

Sparks, brothers Ron and Russell Mael, release “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears,” the new single from their upcoming album, MAD!, out May 23rd via Transgressive Records. Having recently added more dates to their European tour they now announce a North American tour in September, kicking off in Atlanta and wrapping in Los Angeles with stops along the way including Boston, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and more. Tickets go on general sale Friday, April 11th at 10am local time. A full list of dates is below with tickets and further information available here.

On the heels of the “sweeping, theatrical breakup tune” (Stereogum) “JanSport Backpack,” “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears” is a minor key mini-tragedy about the perils of emotional continence, of the stiff upper lip, of keeping it all in. The protagonist keeps her emotional landscape guarded behind high walls, and the narrator is unable to be her saviour. Unusually, for a Sparks song, there is no punchline, no twist in the tale. The accompanying video is a visual theater piece about a woman succumbing to her tears of grief.

Watch the Video for “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears”
Despite the efforts of Edgar Wright’s superb 2021 documentary The Sparks Brothers, which introduced the duo to a wider audience than ever before, the exact creative dynamic between Ron and Russell Mael remains inscrutable, as mysterious and unknowable as their private lives.

The one thing we know for certain is that Ron Mael is one of our most acutely perceptive observers of social mores. In a different discipline – dramaturg, cartoonist, novelist, cineaste, chronicler – he’d be a Moliere, a Hogarth, a Fitzgerald, an Altman, a Swift. He just happens to work within the medium of popular song. His brother Russell Mael has the asset of a talent to put those observations across in a uniquely arresting manner, captivating as a frontman and gifted with a countertenor voice of extraordinary range. The alchemy between Ron on keys and Russell on vocals is simply what they do. And they’ve rarely done it better than on MAD!.

MAD! finds Ron and Russell examining cultural phenomena such as branded backpacks, tattoos, performative devotion (whether to a God, a lover, a celebrity or a sports team), the hegemony of banter, and the rise of influencers. The satire is never on-the-nose, always retaining enough ambiguity for the listener to fill in the blanks. And the exquisitely unusual lexicon (you won’t hear the word “epistemology” on many other albums this year) and cultural references leap out on every listen.

Musically there are nods to New Wave, Synthpop, Art Rock and Electronic Opera – all genres Sparks had hands in pioneering, or straight-up invented. When you hear echoes of other artists, from Air to Shostakovich, you remind yourself that they’re all people who Sparks influenced in the first place. (Well, maybe not Shostakovich.) Ultimately, however, MAD! is a modern record, which belongs in, and speaks to, the modern world. Which is all the more remarkable when you consider the vintage of its creators.

Further information on MAD! and background on Sparks is available here.

Pre-order MAD!

Listen to “JanSport Backpack”

Watch the Video for “Do Things My Own Way”

MAD! Tour Dates:
(New Dates in Bold)
Sun. June 8 – Kyoto, JP @ ROHM Theatre
Tue. June 10 – Osaka, JP @ Zepp Namba
Thu. June 12 – Fri. June 13 – Tokyo, JP @ EX Theater
Wed. June 18 – Thu. June 19 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
Sat. June 21 – Sun. June 22 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
Tue. June 24 – Glasgow, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
Thu. June 26 – Haarlem, NL @ PHIL Haarlem
Sat. June 28 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal
Mon. June 30 – Paris, FR @ La Salle Pleyel
Tue. July 1 – Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall (venue upscale)
Thu. July 3 – Copenhagen, DK @ The Koncerthuset
Fri. July 4 – Stockholm, SE @ Grona Lund Tivoli
Sun. July 6 – Berlin, DE @ Uber Eats
Tue. July 8 – Milan, IT @ Teatro degli Arcimboldi
Sat. July 12 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK
Tue. July 15 – Dublin, IE @ National Stadium
Wed. July 16 – Dublin, IE @ National Stadium
Fri. July 18 – Edinburgh, UK @ Edinburgh Playhouse
Sat. July 19 – Wolverhampton, UK @ The Halls
Fri. Sept. 5 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Mon. Sept. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Keswick Theatre
Tue. Sept. 9 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
Thu. Sept. 11 – Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance Center
Fri. Sept. 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
Sun. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ The Athenaeum Theatre
Mon. Sept. 15 – Cleveland, OH @ TempleLive at Cleveland Masonic
Wed. Sept. 17 – Toronto, On @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Sat. Sept. 20 – St. Paul, MN @ Fitzgerald Theater
Tue. Sept. 23 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
Wed. Sept. 24 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Fri. Sept. 26 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Sat. Sept. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Theatre
Mon. Sept. 29 – El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia
Tue. Sept. 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre

Keep your mind open.

[I might drown in a sea of tears if you don’t subscribe.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

The Brian Jonestown Massacre announce new single and U.S. tour dates.

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE announce a new single, ‘Makes Me Great / Out Of Body’, on red transparent 10” vinyl, released April 25th via Anton Newcombe’s record label A Recordings. Pre-save here. Following a hugely successful UK and Europe tour earlier this year, the band will return to North America this fall for an extensive run of live shows, including two dates with special guests, Cast, making their first US appearance in nearly 30 years. Tickets on sale now.

It is over 30 years since Anton Newcombe – frontman, songwriter, composer, studio owner, multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, father, force of nature – and his band The Brian Jonestown Massacre released their first single She Made Me / Evergreen. Released in 1992, as the British music press descended on the US to anoint the next US guitar band as flavour of the month and major labels were on the hunt for the compliant hopefuls to be their latest quick fix, Anton Newcombe had an idea: say no. As leader of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Newcombe had already established himself as a visionary songwriter, a man to whom making music wasn’t a lifestyle choice or a hipster haircut but the very fabric of existence itself, and he had observed in silent horror as his peers meekly acquiesced to everything – yes to contracts, yes to management, yes to suggestions, yes to this, yes to that, yes, yes, yes. But he was different. Anton Newcombe was going to say no to everything. “I just knew I would be more successful in a certain way by saying no, just being contrary because I figured that if people liked me they were gonna like me anyway,” he says. “Or dislike me. It doesn’t matter.”

Much of this was documented on the controversial documentary ‘Dig!’, which is still hailed as one of the best rock documentaries ever made, and celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year with the remastered, expanded version “Dig! XX.”

Brian Jonestown Massacre’s shoegazing-tinged debut album Methodrone was released in 1995 and since then numerous band members have joined Newcombe on his sonic escapades, but he has remained the sole constant, the creative mastermind at the centre of one of music’s most fascinating bands. There have been a further 20 albums under the Brian Jonestown Massacre moniker since then, each embarking on their own mind-expanding adventure and exploring the outer realms of rock’n’roll; psychedelic rock, country-blues, snarling rock’n’roll, blissed-out noise-pop and more.

Along the way, Newcombe has established himself as a once-in-a-lifetime talent who saw the direction in which mainstream indie-rock was heading and opted to take the long way round. He’s emerged as a revolutionary force in modern music, an underground hero. There was no other way, this was how it had to be. “My only option with everything in life has always been that you just jump into the fire,” he declared. “It doesn’t matter what it is.”

It’s with that spirit that he’s hopped around the globe, from the West Coast to New York, from Manhattan to Iceland, and then to Berlin, where he’s lived for 15 years and has two flats, one to live in and one that’s been converted into his studio.

After a hugely prolific 2010s that saw the release of eight long-players and one mini-album, Newcombe had been going through a period of writer’s block when one day he picked up his 12-string guitar and The Real (the opening track on previous album Fire Doesn’t Grow on Trees) came out of him. Like the kraken, it was as if he’d summoned it. “All of a sudden, I just heard something,” he says. “And then it just didn’t stop. We tracked a whole song every single day for 70 days in a row.” By the end of it they had 2 albums ready to go. Joining Newcombe in the studio for The Future Is Your Past were Hakon Adalsteinsson (guitar) and Uri Rennert (drums).

Brian Jonestown Massacre released their 20^th full-length studio album The Future Is Your Past, in February 2023 on Anton’s record label, A Recordings. In 2022 / 2023, they completed a massive world tour that saw them play 34 dates in North America, 25 dates across Europe and 16 dates in the UK. Towards the end of 2024, they released ‘Don’t Look At Me’ ft. Aimee Nash. It is a delicious slice of hypnotic shoegaze with Nash lyrically casting a spell with the mantra “Do No Harm.”

There is no such thing as a defining statement in Anton Newcombe’s world anymore, just more chapters that contribute to the tale. “Nobody can stop me, I’m not asking somebody, I’m not making the rounds at Warners, saying ‘please put out my record!’. It’s just for me,” he says. He hopes he can be an inspiration to others. “I would love to see more groups, people playing music in the UK and everywhere else because I really enjoy it. That’s the only reason I need. It’s the only reason to do stuff.” That hits to the core of what makes Anton Newcombe and Brian Jonestown Massacre tick. He’ll keep jumping in that fire. That’s how he rolls. Savor it.

LIVE SHOWS:

Sept. 3 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
Sept. 4 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Sept. 5 – Basement East – Nashville, TN
Sept. 6 – Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
Sept. 8 – 9:30 Club – Washington, D.C.
Sept. 9 – Webster Hall – New York, NY – with special guests, Cast
Sept. 10 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA – with special guests, Cast
Sept. 12 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
Sept. 13 – Beanfield Theatre – Montreal, QC
Sept. 14 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON
Sept. 16 – Globe Iron – Cleveland, OH
Sept. 17 – Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
Sept. 18 – Mercury Ballroom – Louisville, KY
Sept. 19 – Hi-Fi Annex – Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 20 – Majestic Theatre – Madison, WI
Sept. 22 – Metro – Chicago, IL
Sept. 23 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE
Sept. 24 – recordBar – Kansas City, MO
Sept. 26 – Studio at The Factory – Dallas, TX
Sept. 28 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
Oct. 31 – Music Box – San Diego, CA
Nov. 1 – Pappy and Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA

Nov. 2 – Observatory OC – Santa Ana, CA
Nov. 4 – SLO Brew – San Luis Obispo, CA
Nov. 6 – Swan Dive – Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 7 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ
Nov. 8 – Tumbleroot – Santa Fe, NM
Nov. 10 – Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO
Nov. 11 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
Nov. 13 – Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UT
Nov. 14 – Shrine Social Club – Boise, ID
Nov. 15 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
Nov. 16 – The Pearl – Vancouver, B.C
Nov. 18 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
Nov. 20 – Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Nov. 21 – Rio Theatre – Santa Cruz, CA
Nov. 22 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
Nov. 23 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA

TICKETS

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[Thanks to Jo Murray!]

Lockstep churn up thick riffs on their new single – “Drag Along.”

Lockstep, the Nashville-based trio of Austin Rolison (drums, vox), Matt Schumacher (guitar, vox) and Tanner Ihrie (bass), “make[s] doomy, heavy shoegaze in the vein of bands like Cloakroom and Jesu” (Brooklyn Vegan). Today, they present “Drag Along,” their first new single in nearly two years and a heavy-hitting “hello.” It screeches into existence with a squall of feedback and Rolison’s swirling vocals: “Collapse into you // Won’t avoid it // Everything you wait for // On display // The helpless weeping // Uninvited // Forever remain // In the grey.” As the song reaches its peak, massive waves of guitar and crashing percussion come together in a shuddering wall of noise. In the band’s words, “Drag Along” “touches on the passage of life and the things left in its wake.”
Watch Lockstep’s Video for “Drag Along”

Lockstep first formed in 2021. Since then, they’ve released two EPs, “Lockstep 1” and “Arrival,” both of which earned significant interest in Reddit forums and on Bandcamp. These EPS expertly weave heavier, more abrasive elements into a melodic/gazey sound to be “as enveloping as possible.” As New Noise praises, “pulling from post-rock, shoegaze, doom, and noise-rock, Lockstep creates a sonic output that is both punishing and atmospheric.”

Although they began primarily as a recording project, they’ve evolved into an active touring pursuit. Lockstep has played shows with notable bands and peers in hardcore, punk, and shoegaze, including The Armed, Wisp, Doused, REZN, Gumm, Prize Horse, and others. “When we were first writing as a group, we weren’t considering how or if these songs were going to be played as a trio and in front of people,” says the band. “Which allowed for a little more freedom when thinking of composition. We’ve tried to keep that spirit present when we write now.”

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

JAWNY is in “Control” on his new single.

JAWNY (aka Jacob Sullenger) returns with the new single “Control,” from a forthcoming release out later this year. “Control” follows JAWNY’s debut album, It’s Never Fair, Always True, on which he “showcased his sonic experimentation, hopeless romantic-tinged songwriting and indie pop ethos” (Alternative Press), and a series of singles across 2023-2024 including “Boy Scout,” “Running” and “MAGIC.”

Each release has added new wrinkles to his already ornate sound—which helped him grow from a maker of pristine pop songs to a thoughtful songwriter with his eyes on intricate stories and life’s big questions. All the while, he’s never lost touch with the technicolor melodies that fans fell in love with in the first place. He’s learned to write with real empathy and depth—the mark of a songwriter who remains more wise and gifted than his years suggest.

Born out of a period in which Sullenger spent time exploring interests beyond music (i.e. writing screenplays, painting, traveling), “Control” reflects his return to music with, as he puts it, “a renewed sense of purpose.” He elaborates: “After spending six years immersed in a world I created—both visually and sonically—it felt like time to move forward. Over the last year and a half, I stepped away from the stage, the public eye, and releasing music to explore what’s next for me. I needed that space to rediscover my creative direction, and I realized that meant stepping away from music for a while to gain a fresh perspective on where JAWNY should go.

‘Control’ is the perfect representation of this new chapter. The song embodies the idea that you can’t keep doing the same thing forever. I hope people connect with it as much as I do.”

Stream “Control”
With over two billion streams globally, JAWNY has built his career by intuition, allowing his music to evolve naturally as he grows personally. Instead of chasing the high of past successes, he’s following his gut and tapping into a childlike wonder that’s wide-eyed and widescreen. Born in the Bay Area, and raised in Philadelphia, JAWNY first picked up a guitar at age 6 after watching his dad jam to the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. At 13, he began making beats with his brother, eventually landing placements with rappers on SoundCloud.

In his early 20s, he began writing his own songs, and started to gain buzz with his 2018 debut EP under the name Johnny Utah, landing placements on critically acclaimed shows like the HBO series, High Maintenance. JAWNY followed that up with a handful of buzzworthy singles, including “Honeypie,” garnering millions of streams. In 2020, JAWNY signed to Interscope Records and soon released a pair of vibrant, critically acclaimed projects, For Abby and The Story of Hugo, which further showcased his sharp storytelling and sonic experimentation. Upon releasing The Story of Hugo, JAWNY headlined a U.S. tour, selling out shows across the country. With career highs under his belt, JAWNY remained steadfastly in the moment, reaching a wider audience with the release of It’s Never Fair, Always True.

JAWNY’s songs continue to grow in scope and scale—elevating him from songwriter to indie-pop auteur with a kaleidoscopic vision and rich sense of narrative that informs everything he does.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

“Stay” for a while with Sea Lemon’s new single.

Natalie Lew’s Sea Lemon project uses dreamy tones to mimic natural wonder. Today, the Seattle Songwriter announces her full-length debut, Diving For A Prize, out June 13, 2025 via Luminelle Recordings. The record is fantastical and shaped by life in the Pacific Northwest, fleshed out by collaborator Andy Park (Death Cab For Cutie, Deftones). Today, Lew Shares the single “Stay,” which expands on the gauzy Sea Lemon formula. “Handle all customers between the leather couches where the concrete starts to drip I think there’s something someone listening,” Lew sings in the final lines, over fuzzy guitars and a loping drum groove. In true Sea Lemon fashion, “Stay” is enveloping and cloudy.

On the single, Lew Shares: “Stay was the first track I actively wrote for my record, and is a little vignette of a man I saw in a local thrift store. This older guy, probably in his 70s or 80s, was acting as a security guard at this thrift store near my house, but he was basically asleep on the couch the entire time I was there. I couldn’t stop thinking about him after I left, and wrote Stay as a reaction to seeing this guy who I felt deserved to take a break. The song became a short story about him, and about how important I feel it can be to have someone in your life willing to telling you to take a step back and just relax.”

Natalie Lew grew up by the ocean, always harboring a fascination with the strange universes bubbling right below the surface. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest (she currently resides in Seattle), the peculiar and miraculous environment around her, filled with tide pools and marine life, has seeped into her worldview and the music she makes as Sea Lemon. Imbued by both a sense of wonder and trepidation, debut full length Diving For A Prize is a haunting vision of Lew’s own creation, a vividly assembled snapshot of a place that is both fantastical and deeply curious.

The result of eight months of writing, Diving For A Prize was mainly produced and fleshed out in the studio with Lew’s collaborator Andy Park (Death Cab For Cutie, Deftones) in Park’s home studio in Seattle. Lew herself grew up playing piano, but became more actively engaged with music when she joined the programming board of her college at the University of Washington where she was studying design. Always consuming new music, it wasn’t until a stint in New York where she picked up a guitar for the first time, briefly joining a band with her roommates before moving back to the West Coast in 2020. This newfound period of isolation allowed her to experiment with Logic and create music on her own. “I never heard myself sing until 2020,” she admits. The resulting EPs Close Up and Stop At Nothing represent these first forays as a solo musician, but although Lew has always highlighted the intentional departure between the sonic semi-brightness of her music and its darker subject matter, Diving For A Prize fully submerges into fuzzier territory and murkier impulses.

“When I make a song I think of it as its own little universe,” Lew explains. Inspired by artists like Enya, Caroline Palochek, Air and My Bloody Valentine, Lew’s “shoegaze but with pop structures” songs have a knack to be earworm-y when you least expect it, embedding themselves in the listener’s psyche. Intentionally amorphous, often what seems like a straightforward chord progression dissolves into something more insidious after multiple listens. Her voice can sound sweetly saccharine until you listen to the lyrics, which often tell vaguely sinister tales and reflect scenes where the mundane takes a turn. Lew writes short stories in her spare time, and her eye for curious vignettes is reflected in Diving For A Prize, which often sees her characters going through minute challenges or uncomfortable scenarios, like in the disarmingly ominous “Rear View,” which features a baseball player who is on the periphery of not making the next season. For this is what life is like – “tragic, sweet, comedic,” Lew says: all of the things at once.

As much as Lew excels as a storyteller, she at the same time warns against hinging too much on one person’s version of events. She’s her own unreliable narrator, blinded by emotion and the fleeting memory of the moment. It’s prevalent in the eerie naiveté of the otherwise dreamily cloying “Sweet Anecdote”: “you were the one / knew from the start / God I was so sure when I saw you.” Just as songs fossilize and preserve a specific feeling, time ushers on the inevitability of change. Lew often imagines what has become of these people. “Stay,” which memorializes an old security guard asleep in a thrift store, lends melodrama and cinema to the idea of the man finally leaving work and never coming back: a happy, albeit imagined ending.

The twelve songs of the album often operate in this sphere between fantasy and real life, where it is easy to dream, almost desperately, that something out of the ordinary might occur, even if it means ignoring your gut instinct. Lew reiterates this in the gleaming “Blue Moon,” which signifies “nature giving you signs that you should stop doing something,” while in the heavier “Give In,” she paints a scene where the light of an abandoned house draws the listener in. The name Diving For A Prize signifies taking this leap, often with the clouded judgment and despite the clues and warning signs that suggest otherwise. Lew has long been enamored by the horror trope of a fork in the road, and the presiding obsession that comes from wanting to make something, anything happen, at any cost.

But part of risk is also reward, and each track is its own portal filled with both yearning and self discovery. The luminescent “Silver,” which is about “being a kid and my mom telling me the world is your oyster,” holds both this disillusionment as well as hope that comes with growing into the person you are. It’s this constant desire for more which pushes us forward, towards whatever destiny awaits us. “With these songs, I wanted to find a place for myself in the world.”

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[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

The Sword announces their first European tour in a decade.

The Sword have announced their first European tour dates since 2015, with the recently reunited band slating a trio of intimate club performances alongside festival appearances, including Copenhell, Freak Valley, and Tons of Rock.

The Sword European Tour:

June 19 Copenhagen, DK Copenhell Festival

June 21 Netphen, DE Freak Valley Festival

June 22 Nijmegen, NL Doornroosje

June 25 Gothenburg, SE Monument

June 26 Stockholm, SE Slaktyrkan

June 28 Oslo, NO Tons of Rock Festival

Tickets for the three exclusive club dates are on-sale now, with ticket links available via TheSwordOfficial.com.

The legendary Austin-based band announced their reunion earlier this year, bringing their signature blend of crushing heaviness and cosmic groove back to audiences who have long awaited their comeback. JD Cronise, in conversation with Revolver, discussed The Sword’s Levitation Festival performance as a turning point for the foursome, describing the experience as “like putting on a comfortable pair of sneakers.” Kyle Shutt added: “I can’t tell you what it means to see everyone’s positive reception. It feels so good to see people out there almost more enthusiastic about the band than ever – it’s something we’ll never take for granted.”

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Roi Turbo release new single, “Bobo Spirit,” in advance of new EP.

Roi Turbo — the project of South African-born, London-based electronic duo of brothers Benjamin & Conor McCarthy — announce their new EP, Bazooka, out April 25th via Maison Arts, and present the new single “Bobo Spirit.” Additionally, the band announces they will be supporting Empire of the Sun on tour throughout North America in April and May.

On their second EP, Bazooka, Roi Turbo roar down many creative roads at once, celebrating the permanence of rhythmic pasts, the contrasts of analog and digital futures, and a familial bond which marries their shared idea of sonic ecstasy to a populist streak of giving listeners what they want.

In some ways, Conor and Benjamin have been moving toward this moment their whole lives. Growing up in Cape Town with music-loving parents, they abandoned drum lessons for self-taught strategies (Conor played along to Bloc Party records, Ben learned via YouTube). The brothers debated the pros and cons of band-driven sounds (Conor) versus electronic production (Ben), unknowingly laying the foundation for their future. Their musical curiosity led them to the psychedelic modulations of William Onyeabor, the ‘80s South African bubblegum and Nigerian disco scenes, and the danceable rock of Paul Epworth. By their early 20s, Conor and Ben began to understand how their separate skills mixed with shared values and perspectives, could blossom into a secret weapon.

In 2023, the brothers relocated to London. They recorded with only a fraction of their home gear in apartments whose neighbors reacted angrily to the loud sounds. This took the sound of Bazooka away from clamor and experimentation towards what could be done more quickly and inside machines. They found technical ways to recreate the big gated drums of ‘80s records they once laughed at, scaling back the cheesiness. They leaned into the vibe of pieces rather than getting stuck on perfecting mixes and takes, embracing a more streamlined process.

Today’s single “Bobo Spirit” brings acid house piano chords into a Balearic context of open air and sunsets— a world of heavyweight groove propulsion. Of the track, Roi Turbo say: “‘Bobo Spirit’ is a mid tempo groove that is driven by catchy guitar licks, bouncing piano chords, rolling digi bass, and sci-fi synth leads. We had the idea of making a song that infused psychedelic melodies with a spacey sci-fi like feel, in a way it’s a melting pot of all the sounds we were listening to at the time.”

Listen to “Bobo Spirit”

At its core, Bazooka reflects the lifelong bond between Benjamin and Conor McCarthy—their shared influences, differing perspectives, and unified vision. Picking up where other great beat-driven siblings like Soulwax’s David and Stephen Dewaele left off, the McCarthys rock the block, and blend the distinctions. In the process, they create a classic disco-funk-house sound that skips between soundsystem eras of multiple continents, winding up with a contemporary edge all its own. With the tank full and the roads open, Roi Turbo is just getting started.

Pre-order Bazooka EP

Listen to “Super Hands”
Listen to “Bazooka”
Listen to “Dystopia”

Roi Turbo Tour Dates
Wed. April 23 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore %
Thu. April 24 – Chicago, IL @ Radius %
Sat. April 26 – St. Louis, MO @ Saint Louis Park %
Mon. April 28 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre %
Wed. April 30 – Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater %
Thu. May 1 – Eugene, OR @ Cuthbert Amphitheater %
Sat. May 3 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre %
Sun. May 4 -Sacramento, CA @ Channel 54 %
Thu. May 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Cercle Festival %
Sat. May 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Just Like Heaven %
Sun. May 11 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl %
Wed. May 14 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheatre %
Thu. May 15 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom %
Fri. May 16 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall %
Sun. May 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca Cola Roxy %
Tue. May 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore %
Wed. May 21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Mirage %
Fri. May 23 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem %
Sat. May 24 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway %
Thu. June 19 -Sun. June 22 – Rothbury, MI @ Electric Forest

% w/ Empire of the Sun

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

It’s “Been So Long” since Durand Jones and The Indications released a new single…but now they have!

Durand Jones & The Indications — the trio of Durand Jones, Aaron Frazer, and Blake Rhein — return today with the announcement of their new album, Flowers (out June 27th on Dead Oceans), and the release of its lead single/video, “Been So Long.” For their fourth album and first since 2021’s “disco and funk infused” (Billboard) Private Space, The Indications leaned into a particular desire to return to their roots in a Bloomington basement, a space where they first found camaraderie in gritty funk and Southern soul that would inspire their self-titled debut. Just as they did on that 2016 release, The Indications prioritized close-knit collaboration while creatin Flowers. Much of the self-produced album was written together at Rhein’s Chicago home studio, and many tracks are based on one-take demos — proof that vibes were particularly high, each member pulling from their refined tool kits with ease.

Reflecting a strong sense of the band’s maturation and conviction, the 11 songs that make up Flowers are grown and sexy, fit for cruising, and delight in the softer side of soul and disco. “All of these songs touch on such mature topics, things that we never got to sing about before,” says Jones. “We are all in our 30s, have all been through ups and downs in our personal lives and professional lives, and flowers are a sign of maturity, growth, spring, productivity.” Frazer adds: “We took the spirit of play that started the project, and added in the wisdom and lessons we’ve acquired through the years.”

For Jones personally, Flowers is the result of significant personal transformation. “I had spent the last year and a half laying everything out that I felt insecure abou — I felt insecure about my sexuality, growing up poor; about a myriad of things. I laid all of that out on the table and it made me such a stronger person, to the point that I got back to the Indications and I was way more sure of myself.”

On lead single “Been So Long”, this renewed sense of camaraderie is front and center, as the Indications sing in unison: “It’s been so long/since we’ve been gone/it’s good to be back together.” It’s a song that contemplates the universal experience of returning to your hometown, alongside their experience of creating Flowers– a personal homecoming. Of the track, The Indications say: “‘Been So Long’ felt like a natural choice for the first single from the new album. Although it hasn’t been that long since we’ve been apart, it is the longest stretch the band hasn’t toured or released music in nearly a decade. The feeling of returning to your hometown is not unlike getting back together with your band mates after a spell. Some things have changed nearly beyond recognition, while others are exactly as you always remembered. In the video we are joined by Chicago musicians Wyatt Waddell and Michael Damani, two very gifted singers who lent their voices on the recording of ‘Been So Long’.”

Watch the Video for “Been So Long”

Since forming in 2012, the road has taken The Indications from those origins at Indiana University, Bloomington to the global stage, selling out shows across Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand to the West Coast— where DJI has a strong following among the lowrider and vintage soul enthusiasts. Next week, they will support Lenny Kravitz in arenas around Europe on his Blue Electric Light tour.

It has also seen the release of their three thoughtful, harmonic albums: Durand Jones & The Indications (2016), American Love Call (2019) and Private Space (2021). Pulling sonically and spiritually from each of the group’s previous releases and solo work, Flowers is the next stage of The Indications’ inspired soulful discography. They’re not only accepting their flowers, but indulging in their sweet and sexy fragrance.

“When I think of Flowers, I think of this sense of naturalness. There’s a lot of courage in showing the human side of making music,” adds Rhein. “We spent the most energy playing to each other’s strengths and learning how to support each other. Being able to make art from an intuitive level takes a lot of confidence, not second guessing yourself, not asking if it’s going to be well received.”

“We’re so blessed to have such a wide range of influence and musical minds that have such a good grip on the things that they love, and the ability to synthesize those influences and bring them to a group setting,” states Frazer. “So we’ll continue to do what we’re doing for many years to come.”

Pre-order / Pre-save Flowers

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Messiness’ new single, “Previous Life,” is a trip through space and time.

Psychedelic-laced indie rockers MESSINESS present the single ‘Previous Life’ – an upbeat sonic reflection on alienation, sensory excess, and the paradox of nostalgia. At its heart, the song articulates an existential crisis in which the self seeks refuge in an imagined past that is not so much remembered as it is constructed. The band’s debut album will be released later this year via Tarla Records and StoneFree Records. ‘Previous Life’ imbues psychedelic 60s-flavoured indie rock with a raw, rebellious exploration of life.

Based in the gritty underbelly of Italy’s fashion capital, Milan, Messiness revolves around Sicilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist MAX RAFFA. Messiness is the welcome result of his remarkable journey, carved through Europe’s cultural landscapes, from sun-bleached Balearic shores to British harbor towns, as Raffa performed in various rock ’n’ roll bands while conducting the ethnographic research that ultimately shaped his musical vision.

Raffa has assembled a proper motley crew: Rosario Lo Monaco wielding guitars, Filippo La Marca manning the keys, Giovanni Calella thumping the bass, and Luca Anello keeping the beat.

“This “Previous Life” is not a site of historical retrieval but a metaphysical counterpoint to the suffocating present—a liminal space where agency dissolves, aspirations are rendered obsolete, and structure itself is negated. The song thus stages a dialectic between presence and absence, reality and myth, in which the very act of longing for another life exposes the impossibility of its attainment,” explains Max Raffa.

“‘Previous Life’ is not merely a reflection on nostalgia; it is an interrogation of nostalgia’s internal contradictions. The song exposes the futility of retreating into an imagined past, revealing that such a past is, by definition, uninhabitable. The impulse to escape is simultaneously an acknowledgment of entrapment—the longing for a life beyond structure, obligation, and meaning ultimately leads not to liberation but to negation.”

Messiness creates accessible, vibrant feel-good indie rock with Britpop leanings. Incorporating elements of art pop, psychedelic and space rock elements, their harmonic styles bring Canterbury scene experimentation together with Southern European flavours, drawing from both traditional and urban soundscapes.

In ‘Previous Life’, the repetition of “I’m making plans for my previous life” serves as both a mantra and a lament. The author clings to the idea of a different, freer existence, but the sheer act of making plans—a forward-looking action—ironically contradicts the notion of a previous life. Raffa notes, “This contradiction reinforces the song’s central theme: the longing for a life beyond structure, obligation, and meaning ultimately leads not to liberation but to negation; the search for meaning often leads to its undoing, and the past we construct as a refuge is, in the end, an illusion.”

As of March 14, ‘Previous Life’ will be available from fine online music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and directly from the artist via Bandcamp.

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[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR.]

mclusky’s “people person” might be your new favorite song about work…or people in general.

“people person” is a new song from mclusky that they are sharing today, along with a video directed by remy lamont, which you can watch now if you like (https://mclusky.lnk.to/people).

This follows their recent announcement of their first album in 20 years: the world is still here and so are we (may 9, ipecac recordings).

Andrew Falkous says: “’people person’ is the song that gave me tinnitus, so asking me about it is really cruel. It’s probably about being overwhelmed by the world because that’s what all of our songs are about.”

As the song itself says: “a lot of people like to be wise after the event.”

It’s important to state that the world is still here and so are we is the fourth mclusky album (no qualification being needed). they had an asterisk next to the name for a bit – out of respect for past band members and the precious memorial glue of teenage musical crushes – but fuck that, in for a penny, in for a pound. lyrically it touches on subjects as rich and as varied as work-it-out-yourself and impenetrable-inside-joke-for-the-band, but one thing is clear, all of the songs have different words. all hilarious joking aside, the best songs are about things without being precisely about them. mclusky endorse this sentiment. they positively insist on it.

Album pre-orders are available now (https://mclusky.lnk.to/world) with the world is still here and so are we available on multiple limited-edition vinyl variants (marble vinyl and 180 gram black vinyl), an indie store exclusive clear vinyl, as well as a standard blue vinyl. the release is also available on CD and digital formats.

mclusky tour dates:

May 8 – wrexham, uk the rockin’ chair

may 16 – tourcoing, fr le grand mix

May 18 – brussels, be les nuits botaniques (w/ The Jesus Lizard)

May 23 – manchester, uk gorilla

May 24 – leeds, uk brudenell

May 29 – london, uk electric ballroom

May 31 – bristol, uk swx

January 6 – melbourne, au corner

January 9 – adelaide, au lion arts factory

January 10 – sydney, au factory theatre

January 11 – brisbane, au crowbar

Tickets for all shows are on-sale now with links available via ipecac.com/tours.

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]