Dream pop – Page 4 – 7th Level Music

Laetitia Sadier sortie d’un nouveau single – “Panser L’inacceptable.”

Fixing us into the much-needed posture of passive resistance for this (r)evolutionary new (s)election year, “Panser L’inacceptable” is Laetitia Sadier‘s second single (and video!) from the forthcoming Rooting For Love. Flowing toward the album’s February 23rd release via Drag City, it follows the previously released single and video “Une Autre Attente.”

On “Panser L’inacceptable,” Laetitia’s wheel-like rhythm guitar paddles the waters atop a raft of Gamelan patterns, synthesized strings trailing in her wake. The video, created by Laetitia and filmmaker Christopher Thomas Allen, flashes through images of the natural world: water, stone formations, long rays of sunlight and stalks of wheat provide an idyllic mise-en-scene eventually wandered through by Laetitia herself. As she passes barefoot through a wood and bundled up through a cemetery, the images of nature’s riches take on a Tarkovskian resonance: an idyll from which we humans find ourselves at an unnatural remove. The chorus swells greater with each pass, and as Laetitia slowly sinks into the sea and through the woods, we consider the title: “Panser L’inacceptable” (“panser” meaning to bandage, or otherwise treat damage) — a headfirst dive into handling and healing past wounds. This theme hangs omnipresent in the endless skies stretching over the ten tracks that make up Rooting For Love.

Watch Laetitia Sadier’s “Panser L’inacceptable” Video

With Rooting For Love, Laetitia continues her journey of the self through time, space and collective consciousness, with an album set alight by the heat of a turbulent world, collapsing institutions and Laetitia’s fully-engaged process of expression, not to mention orchestration. Scored with organs, guitars, bass, synths, trombones, vibraphones, live and programmed drums, Rooting for Love is guided by Laetitia’s empathic presence, leading an ensemble that includes bassist Xavi Muñoz, Hannes Plattmeier and Emma Mario programming drums and synths (as well as mixing tracks), and a vocal assembly of men and women billed as “The Choir,” alongside a talented cast of players and singers from Laetitia’s Source Ensemble and beyond.

After an extended tour with the mighty Stereolab in 2022, Laetitia’s first U.S. tour in seven years commences this spring with a performance at The Chapel in San Francisco on Saturday, March 2. Tickets are now on sale.

Pre-order Laetitia Sadier’s Rooting For Love

Listen to/Watch “Une Autre Attente”

Laetitia Sadier 2024 Tour Dates:
Sat. March 2 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Mon. March 4 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall *
Tue. March 5 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza *
Wed. March 6 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret *
Fri. March 8 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *
Sat. March 9 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake *
Mon. March 11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club *
Tue. March 12 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle #
Wed. March 13 – Detroit, MI @ Third Man
Fri. March 15 – Toronto, ON @ Garrison
Sat. March 16 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Wed. March 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust ^
Thu. March 21 – Boston, MA @ Arts at the Armory ^
Fri. March 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s ^
Sat. March 23 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd ^
Mon. March 25 – Atlanta, GA @ The EARL
Tue. March 26 – Nashville, TN @ Blue Room
Thu. March 28 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Upstairs %
Fri. March 29 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada %
Sat. March 30 – Austin, TX @ Parish %
Tue. April 2 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge %
Wed. April 3 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s %
Thu. April 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon %
Fri. April 5 – Big Sur, CA @ Fernwood Tavern %
Mon. April 8 – San Juan, PR @ Club 77

* w/ Susan James
# w/ Radio Outernational
^ w/ Storefront Church
% w/ Sofia Bolt

Gardez l’espirit ouvert.

[N’oubliez pas de vous abonner.]

[Merci à Jacob à Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: CHAI – self-titled

I don’t know what’s happening on the cover of CHAI‘s self-titled album, but it looks like they’re having a blast. My guess is that it’s them portraying their fans as they cheer on themselves at a rock show. CHAI are all about self-expression and being true to who you are, so why shouldn’t they love themselves? Isn’t that a goal we all want to achieve?

I’ve been a fan of CHAI since their debut album, and they only further cement my love for them by putting out a song called “MATCHA” (one of my favorite drinks) to start their newest record. It has the slip and slide of an R&B slow jam as they sing about drinking tea and taking time to enjoy it. “From 1992” has a delightful beat that probably inspires synchronized handclaps and dancing by their audience.

“PARA PARA” (a song about a popular dance in Japan) is a perfect mellow jam for summer pool parties or rollerblading along a beach. “I’m ready to rejoice,” they sing on “GAME” – a peppy dance track with synth-bass that sounds like it was pulled from a 16-bit video game. “We the Female!” is a bumpy, bouncy reminder to ladies everywhere that they rule the world. “Don’t try to be somebody,” they say. Again, stay true to yourself. “We the female. Just love us and listen.”

Yuna‘s drums on “NEO KAWAII, K?” could be dropped into any post-punk album or hip hop record. The song is the band’s philosophy of being cute and worthy of love in your own way, not according to others’ expectations or images of what “cute” is. The blippy, bloopy synths of “I Can’t Organizeeee” reflect the song’s title and the band’s (really, any band’s) hectic schedule. Likewise, “Driving22” is a fun song about something all bands experience – the frequent drudgery of getting from gig to gig without going mad from the boredom of all…that…driving.

Mana‘s synths on “LIKE, I NEED” start off in synthwave land and then move into synth-pop territory without missing a beat. “KARAOKE” closes the album with the band singing about how much fun it is to get goofy with your friends at a karaoke bar.

CHAI’s love of Japanese culture and being modern Japanese women is a running theme throughout the record, thus the self-titling of the album. It’s an album about them, but to which anyone in any country, or any sex or sexual identity, can relate.

Keep your mind open.

[You can win the music game by subscribing today!]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rubblebucket drops new single – “Teardrops”

oday, Egghunt Records releases “Teardrops” (parts 1 and 2), the new single from Rubblebucket. FLOOD has the premiere here, saying that “‘Teardrops’ is a rare duet from the band, with Tōth singing lead over the main riff while Traver sings harmonies in response.”

Just two months ago, Rubblebucket released “Abbreviation (Earth Worship Remix),” a collaboration with Grammy Award winner Kimbra –– and now “Teardrops,” a mellow breath of fresh air and a sort of breadth-widening for these heroes of indie-dance-pop.

Please stream / download stream it on their Bandcamp now.

“Teardrops,” the new super groovy mid-tempo lounger from Rubblebucket is an anthem about crying out all the emotions. It represents a new direction for the band, who Rolling Stone has called “the indie rock Miami Sound Machine.” In contrast to much of their previous high-energy indie-pop work, “Teardrops” could be the perfect soundtrack for lazing on the sundeck and wistfully letting your feelings move through you (“Take me so deep I become the rain”). “Teardrops” is a rare duet from the band, with Tōth singing lead over the main riff while Kalmia Traver answers in response over a sea of 808s, synths, hazy rhythm guitars and Afrobeat horn arrangements. While mood and tempo may be slightly subdued, the hooks are are strong as ever, as Paste once put it, “catchy enough to ass-kick Katy Perry off the pop charts (in a just world).”

One of the most compelling groups on the scene since the early 2010s, Rubblebucket’s seeds were sown when Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, the group’s front persons, co-writers and co-producers, first began a friendship as jazz students at the University of Vermont. Soon after, they formed Rubblebucket, using the project to delve into pop, funk, dance and psychedelia; performances have spanned Bonnaroo to Glastonbury to their self-curated Dream Picnic Festival, and they’ve collaborated with kindred genre-blenders including Arcade Fire and Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears. Their latest full-length LP Earth Worship showcases intricately sparkling beats, hooky vocals, and irresistible melodic complexity—a celebration of togetherness, environmental curiosity, and the pleasure of doing what you love.

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll shed teardrops if you don’t subscribe.]

[Thanks to Mark at Clandestine Label Services.]

Desire covers Frankie Goes to Hollywood for Johnny Jewel’s “Holly” soundtrack.

After recently announcing new album Holly (OST) is out Oct 13th via Italians Do It Better,Johnny Jewel is sharing the second track from the score with Desire’s new single “The Power Of Love“, a beautiful Frankie Goes To Hollywood cover. Johnny Jewel created the the original motion picture soundtrack for the highly anticipated Fien Troch-directed new film Holly, his tenth solo album of experimental film music, following on from critically acclaimed works Windswept, Digital Rain, Home (OST), & Lost River (OST). Johnny Jewel is also set to embark on a special live tour throughout Europe in October and November, performing 60 minutes of cinematic bliss from his music for films.

Nominated for the Venice Film Festival and opening the Ghent Film Festival, Holly follows the story of a 15-year-old girl who calls her school to say she is staying home for the day. Soon after, a fire breaks out at the school, killing several students. With everyone touched by the tragedy, the community comes together, trying to heal. Anna, a teacher, intrigued by Holly and her strange premonition, invites her to join the volunteering group she runs. Holly’s presence seems to bring peace of mind, warmth, and hope to those she encounters. But soon, people begin to seek out Holly and her cathartic energy, demanding more and more from the young girl.

On the new single, Holly film director Fien Troch offered “I knew ‘The Power Of Love’ had to become part of Holly’s universe. We just needed to unlock the right door to enter the same space as the rest of Johnny’s music. While discussing the film, it became so clear to me that the voice had to be female. A strong & tender one, full of love. Desire is all of that to me. Desire became Holly’s voice.”

Johnny Jewel added “In the first version of the film I watched, Fien presented this idea to close with a Frankie Goes To Hollywood song. There is no other pop music in the entire film, so going out over end credits with a baroque ballad is a daring tonal shift. All the musical tension that precedes this moment makes the release all the more effective. While we were brainstorming on the texture of the score, Fien wondered what it would sound like to have Megan sing it. We worked on it privately in our studio, then I brought a rough version with me to show Fien in Amsterdam where we were mixing the film. The moment she finally saw it on screen for the first time was pure magic. It’s a true testament to her vision as a director to be able to merge those two very different worlds in her imagination.”

“The Power Of Love” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVAkTLOUUfN3DBOX7bTIzA
“The Power Of Love” on other streaming services: https://idib.ffm.to/poweroflove
Pre-save album: https://idib.ffm.to/hollysoundtrack

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll feel the power of love if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Sally Shapiro covers Pet Shop Boys’ “Rent” for their newest single.

Today Swedish synthpop duo Sally Shapiro (made up of Sally Shapiro and Johan Agebjörn) announce a new 12″ ‘Rent‘ co-mixed by Johnny Jewel, which is out Sept 20th digitally & Oct 6th physically via Italians Do It Better and have shared the title-track, covering Pet Shop Boys, online now.

On the single, Johan offered “I am a longtime fan of Pet Shop Boys and have been thinking from time to time about covering some PSB song, without any clear idea of how to do it. Suddenly it became apparent that the melancholic and painfully beautiful harmonies of ‘Rent’ would suit our style perfectly, and I started playing a synth line over the chorus.”

Johnny Jewel added “Sally Shapiro’s cover of this Pet Shop Boys classic keeps the original close to the heart. Emphasizing the baroque leanings of the chord progression, they take it further with a 16th note melody careening over icy pads. The result is a Synthwave skyline scraping the upper atmosphere in the never-ending race to survive the first of the month. It’s a twisted tale of the politics of economy in relationships where the currency is love. Sally’s crystalline coo glides over Johan’s elegant Italo production as the bass line anchors the galloping rhythm section. Home is where the heart is…but shelter comes first in this game of love.”

Sally added “We also think the lyrics to Rent are intriguing, how the singer – in our version, a mistress – tries to convince herself that she’s happy, while the melancholy shines through. Pet Shop Boys is also very much childhood nostalgia for me.”

Johan was a member of the Pet Shop Boys Club as a child, and even got a penpal request published in the official fanclub magazine in 1993. Johan said “I received numerous answers! I had a pretty long correspondence with a fan from the UK.”

Listen to “Rent” on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/sallyshapiro-music/rent-1
Listen via other streaming services here: https://idib.ffm.to/rent
Pre-order 12″ here: https://sallyshapiro.bandcamp.com/album/rent

17 years ago, Sally Shapiro shared their first song online. Blogs & record labels immediately took notice and Italians Do It Better’s introduction to the pair was I’ll Be By Your Side, a shimmering Italo Disco track with ethereal vocals that hypnotised everyone who heard it. Johan’s elegant production was years ahead of what anyone else was doing at the time, & the elusive falsetto of the dreamlike singer was unforgettable.

In 2007, their debut album, Disco Romance, was revered by the press. The album was given a spot in Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2007 & is even ranked as the best italo disco album of all time on rateyourmusic.com. Their sound was a unique take on the romantic club music of the mid 1980’s. At the time you could count the artists exploring this territory on one hand. Johnny Jewel began corresponding with Johan later that year resulting in Johan’s remix of Glass Candy’s “The Chameleon“.

Their debut album saw remixes by other likeminded producers like Lindstrøm, Tensnake, Junior Boys, CFCF, & Juan MacLean. In 2009, My Guilty Pleasure, picks up where Disco Romance left off. They collaborated with Electric Youth (known from the ”Drive” soundtrack) on their third album Somewhere Else in 2013.

Johan is a fixture on European dance floors collaborating with Lindstrøm, Glass Candy, Annie, Wolfram, Hercules & Love Affair, & more. In 2018 he produced the addictive Samantha Fox single “Hot Boy”. Sally is notoriously shy, remaining shrouded in anonymity. To this day she insists on recording her vocals alone in the studio & refuses to perform her songs live. In 2016, the duo went underground & released what was thought to have been their final single. Working in deep seclusion over the last half decade, they released “Sad Cities”, an incredible collection out in 2022 via Italians Do It Better, to critical acclaim. They also appeared on Italians Do It Better’s Madonna cover compilation (with ”Holiday”) and on last year’s After Dark 4.

‘Rent’ will also feature on Sally Shapiro’s new album, which is currently in the works.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Skeleten says “Right Here It’s Only Love” on his new single from his debut album.

On his thrilling and immersive debut album, Skeleten (producer / vocalist Russ Fitzgibbon) dares to imagine new ways of being that are not characterised by doom or despair – a challenge in an era defined more by feelings of futility, isolation and precarity. Across eleven tracks of free-flowing, transcendent, and often euphoric electronic music, he plays spiritual guide to a musical journey which is wonderfully in touch with realms beyond our own. Praising the power of comradery and community, dreaming of a future that is joyously boundless, Skeleten’s singular debut LP is, to borrow from one of his own lines, music for dancing “any way your body turns.”

After years of cutting his teeth in Sydney’s tight-knit electronic community, Fitzgibbon forged his own identity and debuted under his solo moniker, Skeleten in 2020. It’s his most personal project to date, the sound of him unfiltered for the first time as both a vocalist and producer. At once intimate and otherworldly, at the core of the project lies a strong sense of uncomplicated openness and a deeply rhythmic, meditative ambience. Strikingly unplaceable, the result is a curious yet alluring amalgam of far-flung influences and emotive atmospheres that invites you to get repeatedly lost in.

In between his debut and the long-awaited release of Under Utopia, Skeleten’s consistent output has seen him accrue rotation and early praise from Triple J, Double J, XLR8R, Stereogum, NME, The Guardian, BBC Radio 6 Music’s Recommends Spotlight Artist, Brooklyn Vegan and receive the official remix treatment from the likes of Logic1000, Moktar and Jennifer Loveless.

Under Utopia sees its release today via 2MR (North America) and Astral People Recordings (ROW) on vinyl and across all digital platforms.

Listen / Purchase / Playlist Under Utopia Here

Watch Under Utopia Official Videos:
“Right Here It’s Only Love”
“Sharing The Fire”
“Territory Day”

Keep your mind open.

[Right now is the time to subscribe.]

[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side.]

Will Butler + Sister Squares frolic in the “Long Grass” with their debut single.

Will Butler + Sister Squares announce their new self-titled album out September 22nd on Merge and present its lead single/video, “Long Grass.” Sister Squares are Miles Francis, Julie Shore, Jenny Shore, and Sara Dobbs; what made them a musical unit was working with Grammy winner and Oscar nominee Will Butler. The resulting Will Butler + Sister Squares is a record with a warm, humane soul.

“I met Jenny—my wife!—in college, the year before I joined Arcade Fire,” says Will. “When I needed a band to tour Policy [Merge, 2015], I asked [Jenny’s sister] Julie to join because I trusted her musically. And I asked Sara, Jenny and Julie’s childhood friend, because I knew she was super talented,” says Will. “Antibalas (who I was drumming for) opened some Arcade Fire shows,” says Miles, who offered to play drums anytime Will needed. Will, Julie, Sara, and Miles jelled on tour and everyone worked on vocal arrangements. All along, Jenny contributed to recordings and general performance ideas, and she joined onstage in 2019.

“After Generations [Merge, 2020], I considered making a weird solo record. Me alone in the basement, etc., etc. Mostly I realized that what I wanted was the opposite,” says Will. He increasingly turned to the band for feedback on lyrics and song structures. He asked Miles if they’d produce the record.

“Will and I organically discovered our relationship as a production duo through making this album. We didn’t have to talk too much about things as they happened, because the music just flowed,” says Miles. “As a producer, working with Jenny, Julie, and Sara is the dream. They connect so innately. In one motion they can conjure a mood, or get at the root of a feeling.”

The band played a run of shows in August 2022, airing out studio ideas in live rooms. After coming home, the band regrouped at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn. The album, broadly, is equal parts from Figure 8, group experiments from Will’s basement, and sessions in Miles’ Synthia Studio.

“I had quit my band Arcade Fire very recently, after 20 years—maybe the most complex decision of my life. I had spent the preceding two years at home with my three children. I was 39 years old. I was waking up every morning and reading Emily Dickinson, until I had read every Emily Dickinson poem. I was listening to Morrissey, to Shostakovich, to the Spotify top 50. I had unformed questions with inchoate answers,” says Will. “But, honestly, I was feeling great about the record.”

The album projects widescreen emotional landscapes. Lead-off single “Long Grass” is like a Harry Styles song with 20 more years of life behind it. “I had read this novella called Jamila by a Soviet/Kyrgyz author named Chingiz Aitmatov from the ’50s,” says Will. “It’s about an artist looking back on his childhood in a small town in Kyrgyzstan in WWII. It’s about love, and becoming an artist, and melancholy, and vast landscapes with a single train track running through them. And it reminded me of young adulthood, of wandering moodily down the train tracks. Maybe the song is also about leaving behind the things that formed us, but trying to remember the world as it used to be?”

Will Butler + Sister Squares will tour in support of their new album this fall.

Watch the video for “Long Grass”

Pre-order Will Butler + Sister Squares

Will Butler + Sister Squares Tour Dates:

July 29-30 – Guelph, ON @ Hillside Festival

Sept. 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Zone One

Oct. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon

Oct. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

Oct. 6 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

Oct. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza

Oct. 8 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret

Oct. 17 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts

Oct. 18 – Montreal, QC @ Bar le Ritz

Oct. 19 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace

Oct. 20 – Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch

Oct. 21 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village

Oct. 22 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop

Nov. 7 – Riga, LV @ Palladium

Nov. 10 – Berlin, DE @ Privatclub

Nov. 12 – Aarhus, DK @ VoxHall

Nov. 14 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown

Nov. 15 – Paris, FR @ Café de la Danse

Nov. 16 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique

Nov. 17 – London, UK @ ICA

Nov. 18 – Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s

Nov. 30 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA

Dec. 1 – Washington, DC @ DC9

Dec. 2 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t be square. Subscribe.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Kedr Livanskiy send her new single “With Love K…”

Producer / musician Kedr Livanskiy (neé Yana Kedrina) returns with a dance-floor-ready new EP, K-Notes. It’s an expert fusion of drum and bass, trance, and alt-pop anchored by Kedrina’s signature crystalline vocals. K-Notes feels at once nostalgic and remarkably current: Livanskiy filters today’s UK revivalism through her own unique lens, shaped by her upbringing in Russia’s underground music scene and her personal love of early electronic and alternative music.

Kedrina’s longstanding fascination with the natural world is still apparent in her lyrics, sung in her native Russian. Throughout these tracks, lovers disappear into clouds, seek shelter from the rain, and look back fondly on summers past. As always, Kedrina has a remarkable knack for world-building: her rich compositions envelop the listener in a dream-world so visceral that it transcends the barriers of language. Concise but immersive, K-Notes is a fresh dose of ebullience from an artist at the top of her craft.

Its vivacious lead single “With Love K…” is a melodic drum-and-bass love song and is out today alongside its amorous / nostalgic video which Kedrina directed herself.

Watch / Share “With Love K…” (Official Music Video)

Bright and upbeat, K-Notes is more akin sonically to Kedrina’s 2019 album Your Need than her recent work. Where Your Need was a neon-tinged ode to early house, dub, and breakbeat, Liminal Soul saw her infuse her electronic compositions with organic textures and hone in on her vocal technique. More recently, she chased that inspiration further and teamed up with her partner Flaty to form the indie duo Kosaya Gora, experimenting with guitar-based folk and dream pop compositions on their debut record Kosogor. Her artistic focus has once again found the dance floor, and on K-Notes she channels the sounds of her spirited live show into a dynamic new collection.

K-Notes sees its release solely across digital platforms on Thursday, June 22 via 2MR. Pre-save it here.

Keep your mind open.

[Subscribe with love!]

[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side.]

Girl Ray lift us “Up” with their new single.

Last month, London band Girl Ray announced their third LP, Prestige (out August 4th on Moshi Moshi). The three-piece comprising Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell and Sophie Moss, made an immediate impact with the release of their 2017 debut Earl Grey on the influential indie Moshi Moshi (Anna Meredith, Florence & The Machine, Kate Nash), which channeled the baroque 70s soft pop of Todd Rundgren through the scrappy aesthetics of 80s UK indie and earned high praise from outlets like Pitchfork, The Guardian, Stereogum and FADER among many others. Their second LP, 2019’s Girl, saw the band change direction dramatically, taking on a kind of indie-fied R&B that The Guardian described as “the great sound of a band getting pop wrong,” and in 2021 the band returned in yet another new guise, releasing the one off, house-adjacent single “Give Me Your Love” that was produced with Hot Chip‘s Joe Goddard and Al Doyle.

Their latest album, which they made with the revered producer Ben H Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Animal Collective, MIA, Belle & Sebastian), sees the band adjust the formula once more, incorporating a disco influence that in Girl Ray’s hands led FADER to describe their sound as the music “Dua Lipa would make if she was more used to playing pubs than arenas.” The early response to their new direction has been extremely enthusiastic in the press, with the lead single “Hold Tight” and pre-announce track “Everybody’s Saying That” earning praise from outlets like FADER, Billboard, Paste, Consequence, BrooklynVegan, Line of Best Fit, Clash, The Guardian, Under The Radar and Stereogum who described the lead single as “like if Haim were hopping on Vampire Weekend tracks when Rostam was still in the band.”

Today, the band are sharing a new preview of their new album, the groove-oriented “Up” that recalls Young Americans-era Bowie as filtered through the blended synths and strings aesthetic of early Giorgio Moroder.

LISTEN: to Girl Ray’s “Up” HERE

About the track, Poppy Hankin, says:

“This song was written at the beginning of my current relationship, and it deals with all the emotions of a fledgling romance: adoration, self-doubt, and everything in between! Musically we wanted to pay homage to the sparseness of Queen’s ‘Cool Cat’, and the groove of Bowie’s ‘Fame.'”

In support of the new LP Girl Ray have announced a UK tour that will begin in November. Full details can be found below.

Prestige will be released August 4th on Moshi Moshi. It’s available for preorder/presave here.

Tour Dates
04/08 – London, Rough Trade East
09/08 – Nottingham, Rough Trade Nottingham
10/08 – Bristol, Rough Trade Bristol
17/08 – Brecon Beacons, Green Man Festival
12/11 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
13/11 – Hamburg, Aalhaus
14/11 – Copenhagen, Ideal Bar
16/11 – Berlin, Marie-Antoinette
17/11 – Brussels, Witloof Bar
20/11 – Paris, Boule Noire
21/11 – Brighton, Patterns
22/11 – Bristol, Fleece
24/11 – Manchester, The Soup Kitchen
25/11 – Glasgow, Room 2
26/11 – Dublin, The Workmans Club
28/11 – Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall
29/11 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
03/12 – London, Village Underground

Keep your mind open.

[You can lift me up by subscribing.]

[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Madeline Kenney’s new single is a “Superficial Conversation” with us, her ex, and herself.

In the quiet surrounding the pandemic, Madeline Kenney made sonic sketches in the basement studio she shared with her then-partner. She arranged phrases that called her—the sharp knife of a synth cutting a path along a blooming arpeggio, drums stuttering firm and tight. Working this way, she amassed a collection of songs she had no particular aims for. Some formed her 2021 EP Summer Quarter, others languished.

But in 2022, Kenney’s partner left suddenly and without warning, plunging her into the solitary act of untangling what happened. In the wake of her ensuing depression, she revisited these songs and found in them something prescient. She’d already laid the foundation for A New Reality Mind, her fourth LP (due out July 28th via Carpark Records) which she is announcing today with the album’s first single “Superficial Conversation,” alongside the track’s self-directed video.

WATCH
Madeline Kenney’s “Superficial Conversation” video on
YouTube

That her relationship’s end came without warning is only half true, though. The warnings were in the feelings and fears that inspired Kenney’s critically-acclaimed third album, Sucker’s Lunch (2020), which was co-produced by Jenn Wasner (Flock of Dimes) and centered around the idea of flinging oneself freely into the seemingly-assured destruction of new love, come what may.

If sonically Sucker’s Lunch was letting yourself be pulled into the warm bath of a good story, A New Reality Mind reflects the harsh light of truth coming to break the spell. But as sobering as morning light can be, there’s brilliance to it, too. To see in the clarity of day is a gift. A revolution.

This is Kenney’s most expansive work, while also her most solitary. Produced and recorded alone in her basement, these songs are manifestations of what it feels like to be transformed by pain. Textures collide and collude; sonic ornaments emerge and dissipate capriciously; saxophones soar untamed. There’s a propulsive power in the album, and there’s also acceptance, self-forgiveness, and a willingness to move forward into life, with all its ways of making a sucker of you. “That way of living, I’m over it,” Kenney declares of the habits that hold her back on “Superficial Conversation.” “I do not need to be reminded of what I did,” she assures, the song opening wide and beaming, like a smile expanding to taste a new breath of air.

“‘Superficial Conversation’ is my way of looking back at the ways I shrunk myself or ignored my own needs in favor of the needs and desires of others,” Kenney explains. “While I wish I had acted differently, I want to be kind and forgiving to my past self and be able to grow and move forward with more power and love.

I wanted the video to show a forced transformation, from the inside and out. Jess Bozzo’s choreography really captured what I wanted to evoke; a painful change that becomes a pretty joyous opening with room for desire and play.“

A New Reality Mind Will be released on Carpark Records on July 28th. It is available for pre-order/pre-save HERE.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]