6 months 1 week ago
For this second instalment of the Netflix TV series ‘Queer Eye’, Australia-born and Los Angeles-based pop star Betty Who revamped the original theme song. Her version clocks in at 1’44. It doesn’t happen often I wished a song lasted double its time. bit.ly/CBMbettywho
6 months 1 week ago
One of the most important success stories in this week's European Border Breakers Charts comes from Albin Lee Meldau (pictured). Not only is his song Try one of the 8 first-timers, he also sees 2 of his tracks re-enter the chart.
For the full Top 100, check http://bit.ly/CBMebbc
This weekend, during a music festival in Verdun (near my holiday destination in north-east France) I saw a gig by French band Feu! Chatterton. When I tell you they named themselves after the 18th century poet Thomas Chatterton, who committed suicide at the age of 17, you won’t be surprised poetry and drama are important parts of the band’s music and overall performance. These ingredients, combined with elements of pop, rock, funk, spoken word and of course French chansons, define their sound. Highly recommended to go and see live when you get the chance.
This week’s concert wasn’t the first time I heard of the band. I already liked the early single La Malinche from their first eponymous EP in 2014, and a year later, I played their single Boeing in my then radio show Carte Blanche. Last spring, the 5-man band released their second full length album L’oiseleur, but new single Zoé is a brand new song altogether. Not totally representative of their sound and live dynamics, but a fine introduction all the same!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
chanson | popAs he comes from Iceland, where he grew up in a small fishing village, no one was surprised that Axel Flóvent’s songs turned out to be a little bit melancholic. This resulted in comparisons to artists like Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and fellow countryman Ásgeir. However, touring over the world to promote his music appears to have introduced Flóvent to more extrovert genres.
In recent years, his songs already developed into indie pop anthems, but his brand new single Close To You even has a proper amount of euphoria in it. It’s a wonderful, uplifting tune that sounds like an important step towards a decent career as a pop star. Well-deserved!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
popAfter touring the world with her mother, who was a singer as well, Jennie Willemstijn (professionally known as Jennie Lena) started singing backing vocals for Dutch star Anouk. It wasn’t long before she started to write and perform her own songs and releasing her own albums.
Despite her status as a well-known and much-loved singer, she appeared in season 6 of ‘The Voice Of Holland’. Making it all the way to the finals, she ended in fourth place.
Her third full album of self-written songs, out in October, was preceded last spring by her EP Trouble. The title track is out now as Jennie’s new single, once again proving her world-class talent.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
pop | rhythm & blues | soulOne of my first recommendations on this blog, in January 2017, was You Don’t Get It, the second single by then 22-year-old Londoner Harlea. That was the follow-up to her incredible debut Miss You.
Since then, things have been rather quiet around her, but she hasn’t sat still. Now living in Los Angeles and London in equal measure, Harlea collaborated with über hot producers/writers the Rock Mafia (who worked with Eminem, Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber, Green Day and others before), resulting in (as a press release formulates) ‘hook laden, driving anthemic tunes that are drenched in groove and attitude’.
Beautiful Mess is only Harlea’s third single, but she obviously has a bright future before her!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
pop | rhythm & bluesMamazzoop! is a Dutch cross-over band, consisting of singer-songwriter Jazzmin, guitarist-songwriter Zur, drummer Rob and bass player Bas (I don’t make this up).
Their new single is a short, snappy and sunny rock song with a sound halfway The Bangles and Blondie. Pay good attention when you give it a listen, because it’s over in less than 2,5 minutes.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
pop | rock
I admit, it would be a horrible thing to do, but what would happen if bands like Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Ace were thrown in a blender? It would give a mess, obviously, but musically, something deliciously juicy would come out. Luckily for us (and for the artists especially) it’s not necessary to do that blender thing, because the band whose sound incorporates all of the above (and more) has already stood up. And the best part is: despite of all these well-known ingredients they don’t sound like clones, but are a phenomenon in their own right.
I’m talking about Young Gun Silver Fox, of course, like I did before, when I recommended Lolita, Midnight In Richmond and Take It Or Leave It. All of these tracks can be found on the band’s latest album AM Waves, but they decided to save the best for last. My favourite album track, Kingston Boogie, is YGSF’s new single. An über sunny, sophisticated dance tune, and one of the tracks on the album to feature a horn section, the Seaweed Horns. In short: what’s not to love about this song?
Kingston Boogie by Young Gun Silver Fox is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, meaning you can find and enjoy it here in only one mouse click. Wondering what other fine tunes were hand-picked as this blog’s ‘powerplay’? You can find them all in the Wildcards 2018 playlist.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
pop | soulBig Data, the brain child of producer Alan Wilkis, broke through in 2014 with Dangerous (feat. Joywave). Essentially, this version was a remix made by Joywave of a track off Big Data’s first EP 1.0, that was later released on the band’s second EP 1.5. On their debut album 2.0, Big Data worked with Jamie Lidell, Dragonette, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and others.
You won’t be surprised to hear Big Data’s upcoming second album will be named 3.0. It’s preceded by the single Evolution Once Again, a song about the moment ’when artificial intelligence exponentially surpasses human intelligence’. Wilkis explains: “The character singing the song is the forlorn computer scientist who feels abandoned by the AI he has created, which has now left him (and all of humanity) far behind.”
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
pop | soul5 October, the Canadian indie rock band confusingly named Tokyo Police Club ( 😉 ) will release their new album TPC. That’s four years after their latest outing. The new material almost wouldn’t have come about, because the band have been on the verge of breaking up. Various side projects, but also the fact that the band members lived at a physical distance, drove the band somewhat apart.
However, instead of breaking up, Tokyo Police Club holed themselves up inside a church in rural Ontario to rediscover themselves. Producer Rob Schnapf, who worked with everyone from Beck and Elliott Smith to The Vines and Tokyo Police Club themselves, helmed the sessions.
Ahead of the album, the band release not one, but two songs: DLTFWYH and Hercules, the latter being my favourite.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
pop | rockRadkey consists of brothers Dee (lead vocals and guitar), Isaiah (bass) and Solomon Radke (drums) from St. Joseph, Missouri. They were still teens when they decided to form a family band. Their early single Romance Dawn was one of my favourite songs of 2013 and follow-ups like Feed My Brain and Dark Black Makeup are equally strong.
After a bit of time outside the spotlights, Radkey are now back with new material. Basement is another slice of melodic rock, that sounds like it’s inspired by Weezer. How’s that for a recommendation?
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
rockSebu Simonian and Ryan Merchant know how to write a catchy melody, for they started their careers as jingle writers. In 2010, they decided to form Capital Cities, who released their debut EP a year later. Lead single Safe And Sound was an instant hit.
Eight years into their second career, they still put out songs that are instantly likeable. Their latest tracks play with the ‘Venus & Mars’ theme. The Californian two man band follow up their recent single My Name Is Mars with new ditty Venus And River.
If you like fellow-Los Angeles band Saint Motel, for instance, you’re sure to like Capital Cities as well.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
electronic | pop
