A particularly busy week for new releases has seen exciting releases from the likes of Cara Rose, The Orielles, Margaret Glaspy, The Snuts and more. Check them out below.
Cara Rose ‘Learn to Speak’
Known for her soulful vocals and insightful musings on what it means to be a young person in these uncertain times, Cara Rose has been quietly gathering momentum in and around Glasgow’s music scene for some time. Having resisted the temptation to unleash recorded material into the world up until now, the singer-songwriter has instead spent a significant amount of time honing in on her craft and captivating audiences across the city’s many venues with her stunning piano-led creations thanks to a series of high profile support slots and headline shows.
For those who are not yet acquainted, ‘Learn To Speak’ is a stunning introduction. Recorded and mixed by Jamie Holmes, Cara’s incredible vocals sit front and centre of the track over a moving piano melody as she reflects on a past relationship with depth and sincerity. For a track about failing to communicate, it’s her lyrical prowess and nuanced delivery that stand out – conjuring up a powerful atmosphere that could stop any listener in their tracks. It’s a beautifully elegant and stirring debut track from an artist who has a very bright future ahead.
The Snuts ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’
No longer willing to constrain their sound to some preconceived box, The Snuts have their Jake Bugg goes to Shangri-La moment on ‘Coffee And Cigarettes.’ Enlisting the services of the esteemed Inflo during a trip to Los Angeles, this rollicking, rootsy endeavour sees the band cherish the seemingly non-consequential joys that illuminate our lives. There’s sure to be more where that came from when their new EP hits streaming services this March.
Neon Waltz ‘Strung Up’
After releasing ‘All In Good Time’ and ‘Thanks for Everything’ in the last couple of months, Neon Waltz have pushed the parameters of their sound once more on ‘Strung Up’. Driven by a relentless and pulsating rhythm section, the band’s new track is dominated by powerful drums and electrifying guitars. Undoubtedly their most insistent and emphatic release to date, it powers through at speed, arriving like a bolt out of the blue and adding punch to their already impressive back catalogue. Still boasting that familar anthemic quality thanks to Jordan Shearer’s distinctive vocals and the band’s unparalleled knack for soaring melodies, it shows the band are willing to shake things up before it rushes to an abrupt finale
Phoebe Bridgers ‘Garden Song’
3 years since the last entry into her solo discography, Phoebe Bridgers has used her prolonged creative excursion and time collaborating with artists such as Conor Oberst, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker to inject a daring spark to “Garden Song.” Folk music taken to distorted and unease-inducing terrain, the track sees Phoebe pondering what’ll happen when she stops contemplating living and begins to do so in a way that fits her specifications. With the eyes of the world upon her, Bridgers has remained unfettered by the weight of expectation in favour of nurturing her sound in organic fashion that’ll deeply resonate with those that fell in love with the Stranger In The Alps
Car Seat Headrest ‘Can’t Cool Me Down’
The artist that launched a thousand copyists and initiations, Car Seat Headrest have returned with another dizzying rumination on life and love with ‘Can’t Cool Me Down.’ Delving headlong into the world of frenetic synth pop, Will Toledo invokes Phrazes For The Young-era on this delightfully chaotic composition. Harbouring the unique ability to move into the mainstream pantheon without losing any of his unkempt, rough-around-the-edges charm, this is sure to have fans eagerly awaiting his new project Making A Door Less Open.
The Blinders ‘Forty Days and Forty Nights’
The Blinders have unveiled the latest single to be taken from their upcoming album ‘Fantasises Of A Stay At Home Psychopath’. Driven by a relentless rhythm section and warped guitars, there’s something incredibly sinister and foreboding about the way the track unfolds – pulsating between passages of dark eeriness and furious chaos. “It’s about trying to escape what you may call a toxic relationship,” explain the band. “It represents the desperation to get out of the situation that you are in, but also the frustration at not having that craved freedom.”
Other Humans ‘Demons’
Founded through a mutual appreciation for all things 80s, from brooding synth grooves to kind of booming choruses later perfected by the likes of The Killers, Other Humans are back with ‘Demons’. Opening with a deluge of synths and pounding rhythms, there’s a brooding intensity to the duo’s latest offering which they say is “about dragging your past around you and letting it consume you”. Led by Darren Martin’s curled brogue, it features one of their most memorable choruses to date – ‘we’ve all got demons’ he reminds us before a wild synth solo takes over.
“Demons was written last year about dragging your past around with you and letting it consume you. It was a way of looking at it and using it for something good. You can’t forget it or get rid of it, but sometimes you’re allowed to look at the bad things you’ve been through and give yourself a pat on the back for surviving it. I wrote and demoed the song in less than 3 hours after a very emotional conversation and it was the most cathartic experience I’d had in a while.”
Liimo ‘All I Do’
Edinburgh natives Liimo unveiled ‘All I Do’ last week – a yearning alt-pop jam about obsession and desire. Looking to build on the success of recent single ‘Thinking About It’ which gained a great deal of media and Spotify support, this latest offering is backed by luscious melodies, heartfelt lyrics and a very modern, silky production that would appeal to fans of The 1975, Troye Sivan and more.
Echo Machine ‘The Road’
Emerging from the ashes of The Mirror Trap, Dundee pop outfit Echo Machine have unveiled their debut album ‘Instant Transmissions’ today on Assai Records. Released with a fitting visual accompaniment that touches on the song’s lyrical themes of redemption and recovery, the album’s lead single ‘The Road’ bursts with catharsis and rage – establishing the album’s New Romantic-meets-80s pop-alt-rock sound in formidable fashion.
Sorry ‘Snakes’
As the release of Sorry’s debut album draws ever closer, the band have been teasing fans with one compelling single after another. Accompanied by feverish visuals produced and directed by the band’s Asha Lorenz, their latest offering ‘Snakes’ is a low-key, grungy number that opens in rather languid fashion. Constructed with that kind of broken-down intricacy that has become their signature style, Lorenz gradually conjures the song to life with her deliciously moody vocals and it starts to gather momentum. It’s another captivating insight into the band’s dark, intriguing world as they prepare for the release of 925 on 27th March.
Lianne La Havas ‘Bittersweet’
Lianne La Havas made her long-awaited return this week with her first solo single in five years ‘Bittersweet’. A stunning reminder of the singer’s powerful vocal abilities, the stirring, soulful number features rich instrumentation, jazzy piano melodies and beautiful harmonies. With her voice rising in intensity as the song progresses, it is delivered with a real sense of purpose as it surges to an emphatic conclusion. An emboldened return from the singer, it’s creation is linked to her discovering her innate love of music. “I’d forgotten how much I love singing. I’ve tapped into the best and worst parts of me and while I didn’t expect this to be the new direction, it’s my reality and its driven by emotion…”
The Orielles ‘Disco Volador’
Among the most resolutely inventive indie-pop outfits that we’ve encountered in many years, The Orielles have continued to not only push the envelope but transmogrify it into something entirely different on Disco Valador. Released by the bastions of taste that are Heavenly Recordings, the album takes their preexisting sound and inserts the sort of wide-eyed and boundless possibilities that you’d expect from the melting pot of early 80’s New York.
Margaret Glaspy ‘Stay With Me’
Ahead of upcoming album ‘Devotion’, Margaret Glaspy has released a fresh new single called ‘Stay With Me’. After exploring new territory on ‘Killing What Keeps Us Alive’ earlier this year, this latest offering eases Glaspy back into more familiar ground with a more organic, classic singer-songwriter sound. As if longing for resolution, “Stay With Me” mulls over the dynamics of a relationship. “I’m learning that life is painful but you take the bad with the good,” Glaspy said of the song in a press release. “That love is hard but if you love someone, you make yourself available; that life is short and it’s okay to be sincere.”
Orlando Weeks ‘Safe in Sound’
Orlando Weeks unveiled his long-awaited debut solo single this week called ‘Safe in Sound’. Said to have been written in early 2018 when Weeks and his partner awaited the arrival of their son, the track effectively documents the rollercoaster of emotions felt during this time – anticipation, anxiety, excitement and euphoria. Weeks’ distinctive vocals are warm and pure, swirling against a backdrop of jazz-infused rhythms and subtle synths. With several movements, from nervous and fluttery to warm and contemplative to full-hearted flourishes of brass, it’s a gorgeous debut offering from the former Maccabees frontman.
