Nick Zubeck – “Secrets”:
There is beauty within the music while there are revealing truths about secrecy within the lyrics. Nick Zubeck new single “Secrets” from his upcoming album Skydiving, explores the idea of personal secrets from an interesting perspective, the lyrics are not criticising one for having general secrets but Zubeck illustrates the destructive nature of keeping deep secrets is for oneself and for the other in a personal relationship.
The track develops with Zubeck integrating folk, post-jazz and pop creating this smoothing composition albeit with intermittent raucous and menacing sounds. The chorus “Does anybody have a secret? I can see in your eyes, they give it away I won’t steal it, but don’t feel you’ve got to Carry it down to the grave” shows the division secrets can cause between people because when one has already observed and realised the other person is keeping something back from them.
It causes the principle of trust to be damaged and trust is the integral part for relationships while the lyrics also revert back to the song’s fundamental theme of the inessential need of holding on to secrets. Nick Zubeck was hired to play with Sun Kil Moon on a European tour with Barzin in April 2014 where they were opening for Mark Kozelek in Padova, Italy. Mark Kozelek emailed Zubeck 3 days later asking him to join Sun Kil Moon on the road. It should not then come as a surprise that Skydiving is out on March 11 via Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde Records. Listen to “Secrets” below:
Miike Snow – “Genghis Khan (Empress Of Remix)”:
In the run up to the release of their fourth album iii, Miike Snow are dropping singles and remixes alike to tease their indie-electro loving fans. The most recent gem comes in the form a Empress Of remix of their single “Genghis Khan”. Andrew Wyatt‘s statement of the remixers being “a petit box of gunpowder” couldn’t be more accurate as the once smooth track explodes to life with a pulsating revamp.
Pop meets house as this revitalised dance tune ventures into club territory. “She sings, writes, plays, programs; she does it all”, Wyatt tells Consequence of Sound. “When I gave her the a cappella for this ditty, we knew it would come back quite beautifully transformed. Enjoy”.
Savages – “Adore”:
An almost brand new punk band on the scene, Savages is an all-girl band and that’s not the only thing that sets them apart in a music industry that has been a male dominated world for far too long. They released their debut studio album, Silence Yourself, in 2013, and will be releasing their second studio album, Adore Life, on January 22. Silence Yourself was universally acclaimed, and was even nominated for the 2013 Mercury Prize. In anticipation for the new album, Savages released a track off of Adore Life, “Adore”, along with its music video. Watch below:
Villagers – “Wichita Lineman”:
Irish indie folk band, Villagers have been on the scene for a couple of years, and are already up to their third studio album, Darling Arithmetic, that was released almost a year ago in April. It was an album that was received positively and with outstanding applause by most music critics – a feat that has obviously urged the band to keep making music, as they will be releasing their fourth studio album, Where Have You Been All My Life? on Friday. To ramp up the anticipation for the upcoming album, Villagers have decided to release a track called “Wichita Lineman” off of Where Have You Been All My Life? Listen below.
Wild Nothing – “Reichpop”:
Captured Tracks’ Wild Nothing are set to release their third LP next month, and the band have streamed the opening track from the forthcoming album over Soundcloud. “Reichpop“‘s haunting intro is soon beset by a Talking Heads-esque rhythm and bassline, as well as a marimba riff, something that few would have expected to hear from Jack Tatum‘s hazy dream pop outfit.
It works, mind you, and the track perfectly encapsulates the new musical ground and familiar song structure that Tatum outlined as his intention for Life of Pause. It’s a stark contrast to the murky, Joy Division-y riffs of previous single “To Know You”, and it bodes very well for what sounds like the band’s most polished release to date.
Yeasayer – “I Am Chemistry”:
Yeasayer, an American experimental rock band hailing from Brooklyn, New York, released their third studio album, Fragrant World, in 2012, to largely favourable reviews and now Yeasayer are gearing up for their fourth studio album, Amen & Goodbye, due for release on the 1st of April – but this is definitely no April’s Fool, as Yeasayer are finally giving their fans a taste of what is to be expected on Amen & Goodbye. They released a music video for one of the tracks on the new album, “I Am Chemistry”, and demonstrates their personal and musical growth as a band. Watch below.
David Bowie – “Lazarus”:
After wildly promoting the release of his brand new single, “Lazarus“, David Bowie has finally revealed the music video for said song, which also happens to be a track off of his twenty-fifth studio album, Blackstar, that is due for release on Friday (January 8). “Lazarus” is the second single off of Blackstar, after the album’s namesake, “Blackstar”, that was released in November, along with its accompanying music video. Watch the music video for “Lazarus” below and see what all the anticipation and excitement is all about!
Kanye West – “Real Friends” + “No More Parties In LA”:
Last week on New Year’s Eve Kanye West dropped “Facts”, now he has released a new song “Real Friends” which is sampled by Frank Dukes and Boi-lda with programming by Havo. After the song ends there is a snippet of another song titled “No More Parties In LA” featuring Kendrick Lamar intro, track by Madlib and produced by Kanye West.
Kim Kardashian hinted this earlier with a tweet that said “Friiiiiiday!!!! New music!!!! #EveryFriday #Swish #RealFriends”, this also suggest Kanye west will be returning with his “G.O.O.D. Fridays”, for his upcoming album Swish, in the 2010 series he released a new song every Friday before the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Stay tuned for any updates and listen to both songs here.
Words by Jack Walters, Finn Brownbill, Qurat-Ul-Anne Sikander and Joseph Horne
