oday, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen unveil a true knockout of a song, “Like I Used To,” with a gorgeous accompanying video. The track opens less with a chord than with a crash, an announcement to stop what you’re doing and stand at attention: Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen are singing together. “Like I Used To” takes its place among the great anthems: a powerful and joyful ode to reclaiming one’s own space. Sharon’s troubadour swagger is sure-footed and stadium-sized. Angel’s inquisition is piercing, evocative, impossible to dodge. The combination of their voices is so beautiful and electric, it’s almost destabilizing, and it’s only furthered by John Congleton’s production, who has worked closely with both in the past: Sharon on her most recent album, Remind Me Tomorrow, and Angel throughout her career on Burn Your Fire for No Witness and All Mirrors.
The song’s stunning accompanying video, directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch and shot in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree at various locations, elevates the overall vibe and free spirit of “Like I Used To.” It is a visual representation that truly celebrates the collaborative nature of these two special songwriters and performers. Watch Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen’s Video for “Like I Used To” Both Sharon and Angel have long-admired one another from the close-but-far distance of life on tour, a life that unifies them even as they’ve spent years criss-crossing each other from miles, countries, continents apart. Ask them each about the song’s origin story and they inadvertently stitch a mirror together, a story of mutual admiration and, lucky for us, eventual collaboration. “Even though we weren’t super close, I always felt supported by Angel and considered her a peer in this weird world of touring. We highway high-fived many times along the way…I finally got the courage in June of 2020 to reach out to see if she would want to sing together. I got greedy and quickly sent her a track I had been working on,” says Sharon.
“I’ve met with Sharon here and there throughout the years and have always felt too shy to ask her what she’s been up to or working on,” says Angel. “The song reminded me immediately of getting back to where I started, before music was expected of me, or much was expected of me, a time that remains pure and real in my heart.” To call it magic is to cheapen the connection between these two masters, but when you listen it’s hard to call it anything else.
Las Vegas, Nevada’s Psycho music festival has revealed its updated lineup for 2021, and it still includes plenty of heavy-hitters in the metal world, psychedelic bands, shoegaze groups, and even bossa nova musicians.
Danzig, Emperor, and Down are the main headliners, but there’s plenty to keep you occupied if you want to avoid the headliners’ crowds. The Flaming Lips never disappoint live, and Thievery Corporation will be a delightful show of trip hop and makeout music. Ty Segall and Freedom Band will probably be a raucous set, and there’s no doubt that Osees will have a lot of pent-up energy to unleash after a year of not touring.
The Sword are a nice addition to the revised lineup, Health is powerful live, as is Zola Jesus‘ voice in any venue. TSOL will bring classic punk to the festival, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears will bring funk, Dengue Fever will bring Southeast Asian psych-disco grooves, Frankie and the Witch Fingers will supply psychedelic jams, Guantanmo Baywatch will serve up surf, and Claude Fontaine will sing bossa nova and dub tracks to make you melt.
There’s plenty of metal, to be sure. Warish will flatten any venue in which they play. High on Fire will shred everything, and Cannibal Corpse will burn whatever’s left to ashes. Flavor Crystals and Highlandswill add shoegaze to the mix, and there’s even a Queen cover band – Mother Mercury – to boot.
The “Psycho Swim” pre-party will also be worth your time. Death Valley Girlsare ruling right now, Blackwater Holylightare also equally creepy and enchanting, and Here Lies Manwill have everyone jamming in the pool.
Tickets are rapidly selling, so don’t wait to get some.
Durand Jones & The Indications announce their new album, Private Space, out July 30th on Dead Oceans in association with Colemine Records, and a fall North American tour. Following the “immaculate and eternal soul” (The Guardian) of The Indications’ 2019 album, American Love Call, Private Space unlocks the door to a wider range of sounds, boldly launching the band into a world of synthy modern soul and disco beats dotted with strings. Anchored by the high-low harmonies of AaronFrazer (drums/vocals) and DurandJones (vocals), and rounded out by BlakeRhein (guitar), SteveOkonski (keys), and MikeMontgomery (bass), The Indications are true masters at melding revival sounds with a modern attitude. The ten tracks across Private Space provide for both an escapist fantasy and a much-needed recentering after a tumultuous 2020.
In conjunction with today’s announcement, they share Private Space’s lead single/video “Witchoo.” Reflective of the track’s vibrant, playful energy, the Weird Life-directed video features the five band members and close friends, transitioning from a live performance to an electric backstage soirée.
“At the end of the day, I just want people to close their eyes and forget where they are. Just the way a Stevie Wonder album does for me,” says Jones. Developed after being apart for much of the year, Private Space is creatively explosive and delights in upending expectations. Throughout, The Indications highlight a collective resiliency – as well as the power of a good song to be a light in the darkness. From an Indiana basement (where the band recorded their 2016 self-titled debut LP as college students), The Indications have catapulted into the soul limelight and an international stage. Following their sophomore album American Love Call — a dreamy but pensive record of big string arrangements and sweet soul stylings — The Indications became revered by vintage music fans, the lowrider community and late-night television.
Between production work, solo efforts and major sold-out shows, Durand Jones & The Indications continue on an unstoppable upswing. With live music temporarily out of the equation, The Indications were able to dive deep into recording their third LP. Uptempo tracks like “Witchoo,”“The Way That I Do” and “Sea of Love” practically manifest the flicker of a disco ball, their pop-funk grooves recalling IdrisMuhammad and RaphaelSaadiq as well as PeteRock and DJPremier. You’ll slow it down as the group evokes the likes of TeddyPendergrass, the IsleyBrothers and Sylvia on “Ride or Die” or “More Than Ever” (“I’ve never felt so sexy as when I was singing that track,” says Jones).
While Private Space is an intentional departure from The Indications’ roots in ‘60s funk and soul, its exploratory vibe is true to their origins and evolving tastes. “There’s a lot of the band’s original DNA, but it’s not a time capsule,” says Rhein. The sound of Private Space isn’t a stretch, Frazer adds. “We’re actually revealing more of ourselves, a deeper and broader look into who we are as musicians and fans.”
Settled in a cabin in upstate New York, the five-piece spent significantly more time experimenting with sound than previous releases. “It was like this buildup of all the ideas, the love, and the need to make music with these guys again,” Jones says. They leaned into songwriting and brought in vibraphonist JoelRoss (BlueNote), an eight-piece string section and friends from the group 79.5 to sing backups. From ideation to the final album cut, Private Space is a meditation on what gets us through isolation and loss: community, love and friendship.
Each Indications album opens with a statement of political consciousness; a musical State of the Union that sets a tone. As Nina Simone once declared, “I choose to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. That to me is my duty.” Private Space leans into hope, coalescing around the idea that joy can set us free. “I want listeners to know that through really rough times something beautiful can be birthed,” says Jones, who proclaims on “Love Will Work It Out” that “All the people lost made me fall right onto my knees/all I could do was cry and shout/I knew I had to trust the faith that love would work it out.”
As the world slowly resets from the chaos of the past year, Private Space is arriving at just the right time. “I feel we’ll be arriving into people’s lives as they’re exiting a really tough period,” Frazer theorizes. “We’re not out of the woods, but hopefully this allows people to get together again, to share and experience catharsis.”
Private Space Tracklist 01. Love Will Work It Out 02. Witchoo 03. Private Space 04. More Than Ever 05. Ride or Die 06. The Way That I Do 07. Reach Out 08. Sexy Thang 09. Sea of Love 10. I Can See
Durand Jones & The Indications Tour Dates (on sale this Friday at 10am local time) Tue. Sept. 7 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club Wed. Sep. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Fri. Sept. 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel Sat. Sept. 11 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club Mon. Sept. 13 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre Tue. Sept. 14 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Thu. Sept. 16 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theater Fri. Sept. 17 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Commonwealth Room Mon. Sept. 20 – San Diego, CA @ Soma Wed. Sept. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium Fri. Sept. 24 – Dana Point, CA @ Ohana Fest
TORRES (moniker of Mackenzie Scott) announces her new album, Thirstier, out July 30th on Merge Records, and a North American and European tour. In conjunction, she unveils the album’s first single/video, “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head.” Thirstier, the follow-up to 2020’s Silver Tongue, is Scott’s most exuberant and daring record to date, showcasing her in thrilling freefall. “I’ve been conjuring this deep, deep joy that I honestly didn’t feel for most of my life,” says Scott. “I feel like a rock within myself. And I’ve started to feel that I have what it takes to help other people conjure their joy, too.” The album revolts against the gray drag of time, a searing and life-affirming eruption of an album that wonders what could happen if we found a way to make our fantasies inexhaustible. Thirstier explodes the borders of imaginative possibility.
Recorded in the fall of 2020 at Middle Farm Studios in the UK, Thirstier marks a turn towards a bigger, more bombastic sound for TORRES. The anxious hush that fell over much of Scott’s previous music gets turned inside-out in songs tailored for post-plague celebration. Scott co-produced the album with Rob Ellis and Peter Miles, drawing on her experience self-producing Silver Tongue to push her music onto an even broader scale. Guitar-driven walls of sound, reminiscent of producer Butch Vig’s work with Garbage and Nirvana, surge and dissipate like surf in high winds, carrying Scott’s commanding voice to the fore.
“I wanted to channel my intensity into something that felt positive and constructive, as opposed to being intense in a destructive or eviscerating way,” Scott notes. “I love the idea that intensity can actually be something life-saving or something joyous.”
This massive sound and celebratory mood is evident in lead single “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head,” a sparkling country romp. Bolstered by glistening synth, it’s a defiant yet disarming number that sees Scott singing of a love that knows no bounds, while sharing her vulnerabilities with remarkable candor. Its charming video was shot in Scott’s apartment with her partner. In her own words, it’s “my relentless arena country star moment—my shameless Tim McGraw cheeseball hit.” Watch TORRES’ “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head” Video Thirstier clasps together love songs from all angles. Romantic love, platonic love, familial love, self-love, and freeing spiritual love all commingle, all feeding one another and vaulting toward the horizon. Scott sings of love that never knows scarcity. With Thirstier, TORRES clears the way to that wellspring and invites others to follow her there. Pre-order Thirstier
Thirstier Tracklist 1. Are You Sleepwalking? 2. Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head 3. Constant Tomorrowland 4. Drive Me 5. Big Leap 6. Hug From a Dinosaur 7. Thirstier 8. Kiss the Corners 9. Hand in the Air 10. Keep the Devil Out
TORRES Tour Dates (tickets on sale May 12 @ 10am Eastern) Sun. Aug. 29 – Fairfield, CT @ StageOne Mon. Aug. 30 – Portsmouth, NH @ Press Room Tue. Aug. 31 – Cambridge, MA @ Sonia Fri. Sept. 3 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place Mon. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern Tue. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups Wed. Sept. 15 – Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar Thu. Sept. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Fri. Sept. 17 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Sat. Sept. 18 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar Sun. Sept. 19 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Tue. Sept. 21 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge Wed. Sept. 22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court Sat. Sept. 25 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival Mon. Sept. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern Tue. Sept. 28 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge Thu. Sept. 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall Fri. Oct. 1 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Atrium @ Catalyst Sat. Oct. 2 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar Sun. Oct. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour Mon. Oct. 4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge Wed. Oct. 6 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co. Thu. Oct. 7 – Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock Fri. Oct. 8 – Austin, TX @ 3TEN @ ACL Live Mon. Oct. 11 – Chattanooga, TN @ House Show Tue. Oct. 12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl Wed. Oct. 13 – Asheville, NC @ ISIS Asheville Thu. Oct. 14 – Nashville, TN @ EXIT/IN Fri. Oct. 15 – Knoxville, TN @ Open Chord Sat. Oct. 16 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook Sun. Oct. 17 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage Mon. Oct. 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s Thu. Oct. 21 – New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom Fri. March 11, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @ Mono Sat. March 12, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sun. March 13, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ Night & Day Mon. March 14, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ Exchange Tue. March 15, 2022 – London, UK @ Bush Hall Thu. March 17, 2022 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire Fri. March 18, 2022 – Gent, BE @ Charlatan Sat. March 19, 2022 – Utrecht, NL @ Ekko Mon. March 21, 2022 – Berlin, DE @ Frannz Club Tue. March 22, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich (Turmzimmer) Wed. March 23, 2022 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & SOHN Thu. March 24, 2022 – Heidelberg, DE @ Karlstorbahnhof Fri. March 25, 2022 – Zürich, CH @ Rote Fabrik Sat. March 26, 2022 – Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv
Keep your mind open.
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Today Max Bloom (previously of Yuck) has shared a second single from his forthcoming solo record ‘Pedestrian’, which is set for release on June 18 through Bloom’s own new label, Ultimate Blends. He will also be playing a socially-distanced show at London’s Oslo on July 2nd.
“Palindromes“ is a wistful, understated love song. Bloom explains: “This song is about how I got together with my girlfriend Anna, who also plays bass in my live band (and co-wrote two songs on the album). We were best friends for years, then she broke up with her boyfriend and we got together quite suddenly. It was completely unplanned, but when it happened it felt like a lucid dream. I wanted to write something to commemorate it (Anna has also written a few songs about it too), and after the darkness and grief of Perfume, it felt cathartic for me to write this song.”
The album ‘Pedestrian’ takes its listener into the outside world. And it was here, wandering the city streets and parks against the surreal backdrop of the last twelve months, that Bloom discovered his inspiration for this latest collection of songs. He found himself observing his surroundings and people’s behaviour in a new light.
Over the months, a regular cast of companions (namely Spoon, Beck, and Yellow Magic Orchestra) accompanied Bloom on his increasingly lengthy runs. These references, alongside core influences like Wilco, George Harrison, and Grandaddy, helped bring a fresh pallet of sonic colours and textures to ‘Pedestrian’.
‘Pedestrian’ is the first release on Bloom’s new label, Ultimate Blends, which will be a home to all of his future projects and productions. Bloom has also designed individual artworks for every song on this album, and animations for its forthcoming singles. He also hosts podcast JEW-ISH, a series of one-to-one interviews with Jews from a range of different cultures and backgrounds, aiming to show the nuance that exists within the Jewish world. Listen here.
‘Pedestrian’ will be released on June 18th via Ultimate Blends. Max Bloom will play Oslo in London on July 2nd. Ticket info here.
‘Pedestrian’ track list: 1. Pedestrian – Official video 2. Palindromes – Official video 3. All The Same 4. America 5. The Weatherman 6. Imposter Syndrome 7. Under Green Skies 8. How Can I Love You 9. Twenty-Two 10. Cat On Your Lap
Chicago-based band Bnny, led by Jess Viscius alongside her twin sister Alexa Viscius, plus best friends Tim Makowski and Matt Pelkey, is Fire Talk’s newest signing. In conjunction with their signing announcement, they present their new single, “Time Walk.” The song is featured in the finale of the new season of Shrill, which drops in its entirety tomorrow.
Jess Viscius started Bnny in the moment, after someone’s guitar had been left at her apartment. After teaching herself a few chords, she quickly found songwriting to be therapeutic in ways visual art couldn’t touch. Eventually, her sister Alexa and former Bnny drummer Drew Ryan persuaded Jess to start a band, and it ultimately stuck, along with a newfound community and friendships.
Their new song, “Time Walk,” is a taste of Bnny’s crackling energy, clocking in at just over a minute and a half. It layers in quick succession with plucky bass, uncomplicated drums, and jumpy guitar lines. Throughout, Viscius’ half-whispered vocals are cool to the touch. It was produced by fellow Chicago musician and Fire Talk artist, Dehd’s Jason Balla. The video, which features Jess, was partly shot on the Lake Michigan coastline. It offers a glimpse of Bnny’s strong visual aesthetics.
“‘Time Walk’ is about the clarity you find when in motion—walking, driving, running,” says Jess. “It’s about a friendship ending, but still feeling connected to the person. It’s about looking back while moving forward in slow motion. Time walk is a wake-up call.”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard proudly announce their second album of 2021, Butterfly 3000, which will be released on June 11th via the band’s own KGLW label. The band have decided to play this one close to the vest, and will drop the album in its entirety on June 11th without any advance singles, or sharing the album artwork, which will be a cross-eyed autostereogram created by long-time collaborator Jason Galea. The countdown to Butterfly 3000 begins today.
Their 18th studio album, Butterfly 3000 might be their most fearless leap into the unknown yet; a suite of ten songs that all began life as arpeggiated loops composed on modular synthesisers, before being fashioned into addictive, optimistic and utterly seductive dream-pop by the six-piece. The album sounds simultaneously like nothing they’ve ever done before, and thoroughly, unmistakeably Gizz, down to its climactic neon psych-a-tronic flourish. This is undoubtedly the most accessible and jubilant album of their career.
If you’ve been thinking there isn’t any good doom metal out there right now, allow me to use a phrase I find myself saying now and then, “Meanwhile, in Sweden…”
In Sweden, Alastor have been crafting heavy, spooky doom metal for a few years now, and their new album, Onwards and Downwards, is about (in the words of guitarist Hampus Sandell) “…one person’s gradual slip into insanity. An ongoing nightmare without end. It also sums up the state of the world around us as this year has clearly shown.”
So, don’t expect a happy-go-lucky record. Expect skull / soul-crushing riffs and images of things watching you from the shadows.
Opening track “The Killer in My Skull” unleashes a fusillade of cymbal crashes, rocketing riffs, and vocals about questioning reality. “Dead Things in Jars” creeps around you like something in a secret laboratory you just found in a witch’s basement. Sandell’s solo on it is slick. “I hear them callin’, shadows are fallin’…There’s no denyin’, red eyes are cryin’…” Is it a warning or a lament? It’s probably both. The breakdown around the five-minute mark leads to heavy riffs suitable for something emerging from a cauldron.
I’m fairly certain I can hear a piano being pounded on during the rocking, reeling “Death Cult” – a song made for blasting out of the windows of your muscle car are you’re being chased (or you’re chasing) werewolf bikers. The bass groove alone is pretty damn cool. “Nightmare Trip” could be a subtitle for the year 2020. “Shadows like walls around me slowly closing in,” they sing with a slight edge of reverbed fuzz on the vocals that mixes well with the killer bee buzz guitars. The tolling bell at the end is a great touch.
Believe it or not, there’s acoustic guitar on the instrumental “Kassettband,” showing that Alastor aren’t a one-trick pony and could easily be a psych-band if they wished. The nearly ten-minute-long title track (complete with spooky haunted house organ) has vocals that seem to cry out from behind an ornate mirror that was formerly covered in a dusty crimson cloak. The guitars and drums feel like they’re rising up from the ground to become something you can’t escape (“There is no place you can hide…”). The song somehow gets creepier around the seven-minute-mark, especially with lyrics like, “Your dying heart is beating faster as you are pushing through the night.” The closing track, “Lost and Never Found,” is another heavy-hitter that further explores the descent into madness a lot of us were sensing for the last year.
It’s a heavy record, both in sound and theme, and well worth a listen. Yes, it’s about staring and walking into the abyss, but the riffs are powerful enough to give you the strength to emerge from it like a warrior.
Keep your mind open.
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It’s entirely possible that CHAI has been having more fun than anyone else in rock, Japan, or even the world for the last few years. Each of their albums, Punk, Pink, and now Wink, is pop-punk / electro perfection and all of them are brimming with positivity.
Wink continues the trend and starts a new one for the band – collaborations. Ric Wilson, YMCK, and Mndsgn all appear on the album to join the fun. The first track, “Donuts Mind If I Do” is a song about aging gracefully and eating donuts. What’s not to like (especially with that Earth, Wind & Fire-like groove)? “Maybe Chocolate Chips” (featuring Mr. Wilson, whom they met at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival) posits the theory that a birthmark on your body might be a tasty treat.
“It’s okay. Everything is okay.”, CHAI sings on “ACTION” – a sharp dance track inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement that lets us know that we can change dour circumstances by, if nothing else, getting up and deciding to do something. The electro-bass slides into near-goth industrial territory for a great effect. Speaking of dancing, just keep at it during “END” – a bouncy, dance-punk cut with the band yelling “Shut up!” at their doubters and haters and throwing in rap verses because they damn well can.
“PING PONG” (with YMCK), with its video game sounds and aerobic workout beats, is one of the best dance tracks of 2021 and is a song about playing ping pong after spending a day at a spa. The world needs more songs like this, not to mention a day at the spa. I beg to differ with “Nobody Knows We Are Fun,” a song in which CHAI claims no one realizes they’re cool and worth inviting to the party, because (as I mentioned earlier) CHAI are having more fun than 90% of the planet.
“It’s Vitamin C” has a bit of a slow-jam groove to it as “It’s good for you, it’s good for me, it’s good for the body,” they sing, and I have a feeling that their lyrics about orange juice are a metaphor for…ahem, something else. “IN PINK” (with Mndsgn) blends electro-pop with P-funk. The lazy beat of “KARAAGE” is hypnotic and, let’s face it, sexy.
“Miracle” has some thick bass to go along with its booty-shaking beats and sunshine lyrics. “Wish Upon a Star” is another R&B-like jam with soft organ tones and subdued beats. The closer, “Salty,” is about fond memories – sometimes rediscovered through food (one of CHAI’s favorite subjects).
Wink is a bit stripped-down compared to CHAI’s first two records, but is no less fun than them. As always, CHAI deliver uplifting music when we need it most.
Imagine being in a relationship with someone for almost two decades, as well as being in band together, and then deciding to end the relationship but continuing on as a band. How would that affect the writing and recording processes, let alone touring?
If you’re Remington Super 60, and if you’re songerwriter / producerChristoffer Schou and singer Elisabeth Thorsen, you realize that the end of a relationship doesn’t have to mean the end of a friendship or an artistic collaboration, and, along with Magnus Abelsen, you make a fine EP like Nouvelle Nouveau.
Perky, poppy “Talk with You” instantly makes you feel warm and nostalgic for quiet European cafes and mellow afternoons with your lover. The EP is full of references to Schou and Thorsen’s break-up, of course, and the first track alone has lyrics like “All I want is to get close to you so I can talk with you.”, but the EP isn’t gloomy. It’s too bright to be a downer.
The Cure-like bass and guitar on “I Won’t Change My Mind” backs up Thorsen singing, “I don’t know what I can do to make this easy for you…I tried to tell you, but you never understand, but it’s too late now.” The song is a sad tale, but one of shared grief. Both she and Schou know they have to move on from what they had and both know that being okay with it is far better than being spiteful or bitter. “All I Want” has a neat acoustic guitar sound that seems to blend country and psychedelic folk.
Electo-lounge keyboards (vintage ones, no doubt, as Schou loves using and collecting them) start “Still Near,” with Thorsen claiming, “I don’t want to see you again. It hurts when you’re around.” and “I just want to disappear even though you’re still near.” “See This Through” has a bit of a bossa nova flair to it with Schou and Abelsen’s synths and beats and Thorsen’s vocals that are somehow sad and upbeat at the same time. I don’t know how she does it.
“Misconception” has Thorsen tells us (and, let’s face it, Schou) that she doesn’t need saving. Schou and Abelsen’s synth work on it is great, mixing synthwave with dance-pop grooves. Believe it or not, “All Alone” was written many years ago, long before Schou and Thorsen’s break-up. Schou sings lead vocals on it, and one can’t help but marvel at its predictive nature. The acoustic guitar and hand percussion on the track mix well together, and it’s a dreamy send-off.
I don’t know if Remington Super 60 will continue to make music together, but Nouvelle Nouveau is a good sign that they can still create lovely, dreamy art and embrace change. The world would be a better place if we could all have that presence of mind.
Keep your mind open.
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