[SONG OF THE DAY] MISSIO - "Rad Drugz"

GUESS WHO’S BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER?!

I guess given the time I’ve taken off during the holidays in the name of self-care that I could say it’s me, but I’m talking about Austin duo MISSIO who have launched into 2019 full speed ahead with their explosive new single, “Rad Drugz”, which dropped on Friday. With synths and drum machines ablaze, the song details the cyclical habit that is substance abuse. I’d put it in the same wheelhouse of Lily Allen’s “Everyone’s At It” with the main difference here being that they’re pointing out that while everyone’s self-medicating that they see it as nothing to be proud of.

As the band recapped at the end of 2018, it was a year full of highs and lows for the band, so I’m assuming that “Rad Drugz” is the product of a big personal growth spurt.

2018: First headline tour. Wrote our second record. Had some cool photo shoots. Made some cool vids. Battled w/ depression, anxiety, anger & addiction. Life is awesome, but hard. 2019 will have failures and successes. Both are 👌🏻 - 🥂 to #TheYearOfTheMissio pic.twitter.com/i0a2v8Clwc

— MISSIO (@MissioMusic) December 31, 2018

In addition to the new single, earlier today the band announced tour dates for North America and Europe that are slated to kick off in early April. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am. You an head to their site for more info.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Monarchy - "Deep Cut"

Photo courtesy of Monarchy’s Instagram

CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY FAM!

Here I oh so innocently thought that longtime SKOA fam Monarchy were gonna do their usual ultra secretive thing and not release another single until the top of the new year, but my most favorite fellows decided to spread a little holiday magic in the form of their new single, “Deep Cut”. In addition to the single we also have an official release date for their third studio album, Mid:Night. 2019 will not be wasting time being the best fucking year in a long time as Mid:Night will be dropping on January 18th. Following up title track, “MidNight” which was released way way back in March, “Deep Cut” further leans into the ultra-seductive aesthetic update that these new tracks are exuding. Not to mention the newly unveiled tracklist alludes to a more mature set of material.

For those of you across the pond, you’ll have whole days to learn all of Mid: Night before they kick off their 6-day UK tour (see below). The rest of us will have to wait and see just how many extra blessings both 2019 and Monarchy will bring to us.

Tracklist of Mid: Night :

1.Back to the Start 
2. Deep Cut 
3. Get Into the Night 
4. Deadset Lust 
5. MidNight 
6. Hula Hoop 8000 
7. Racie's Cousin 
8. Cumming Eat

[SONG OF THE DAY] Summer Heart - "Touch"

I’ve been overdue to check in on Swedish sweetie Summer Heart. I’ve caught a few of his #12songsofsummer project he’s been rolling out over the course of the year and his latest single, “Touch” is quite delightful. I’ve always been a sucker for his soothing swoon-inducing vocals but this particular jam has a wonky little playful wobble on the bass that takes the melody to an ultra-vibey level.

As 2019 continues to shape up as the best year ever I have more things to look forward to for you. Earlier in the week Summer Heart unveiled that he’ll be hitting the road with Brothertiger starting in late February for an 18 date tour on the best (see also: east) coast. Best believe you’ll see me in a pretty haze at Knitting Factory (see what I did there?).

L I V E  (US Dates)
With Brothertiger 

Feb 21 Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
Feb 22 Washington DC - Songbyrd Vinyl Lounge
Feb 23 Norfolk, VA - TBA Productions
Feb 24 Greenville, SC - Radio Room
Feb 26 Atlanta, GA - 529 bar
Feb 27 New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
Feb 28 Houston, TX - Continental Club
March 1 Austin, TX - Barracuda
March 2 Dallas, TX - RBC
March 3 Tulsa, OK - Chimera Lounge
March 5 Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
March 6, Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen
March 7 Bloomington, IN - The Bishop
March 8 Columbus, OH - Spacebar
March 9 Pittsburgh, PA - Cattivo
March 10 Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA

[SONG OF THE DAY] Touch Sensitive - "G.A.L. (feat. Daniel Wilson)"

This week on Fuck My Actual Life Stop Tryna Get Me To Move To Australia: one of my favorite finds of the year so far, Sydney’s own Touch Sensitive has unveiled a new single to follow up his 2017 debut full-length, Visions. Just as I have come to know and adore from Visions, this new single, “G.A.L.”, featuring Ypsilanti, MI vocalist Daniel Wilson, is a straight up glittery funk-house force to be reckoned with.

While there’s no indication of album #2 or any sort of tour other than some dates at the Falls Music and Arts Festival in Australia, I’m really hoping this means 2019 will continue its trend of just being filthy with bomb ass records. Let us pray 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻.

[SONG OF THE DAY] SAKIMA - "Virtus Domum"

As things have been winding down and I’ve taken time to reflect on the year in music we’ve had, I can honestly say that without a doubt SAKIMA is the most important thing that happened to music this year. With every single he’s released he continues to share carefully crafted narratives that are universally relatable but are still deeply rooted in his perspective as a gay musician.

In his latest, “Virtus Domum”, he addresses personal experience of being taken advantage of and being the subject of unwanted advances. Throughout the song you hear him working through the experience, complete with brief victim blaming and what I assume are things he wishes he’d said during the specific encounter he’s speaking to.

With every song he’s released in the past year I can’t help but think about the New York Times interview with Jay-Z where he says something that I’m sure he’s repeating from a therapy session: “What you reveal, you heal.” In every day life it can be incredibly difficult to expose our emotional wounds and begin the healing process. The fact that SAKIMA is very directly slaying his demons so openly will undoubtedly help a lot of people with theirs and even possibly prevent some trauma from happening altogether.

As he told Paper in an interview about the track, “I really hope that for anyone who relates to the track, that it gives them a sense of control over their own experiences, and reminds them that they are in charge of what happens to them. Even when something happens to you outside of your physical control, you still own your story and what becomes of it.”

[SONG OF THE DAY] Mystery Skulls - "Don't Fuck With My Money"

Yooooo 2019 'bout to be so 🔥🔥🔥 tho good LORDE.

Hi yes I know it’s been a minute but I got one hell of a vibe to make up for it today.

After laying low for some time now LA’s Mystery Skulls has resurfaced with a brand new aptly titled single, “Don’t Fuck With My Money”, to launch crowdfunding efforts for his forthcoming album, Back To Life. The record is scheduled to drop they day before yer girl gets another year older (which is April 12th if y’all aren’t stalking me).

The Pledge Music campaign features a variety of goodies in exchange for being a dedicated fan, so I suggest getting in while the getting’s good.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Monad - "Turning Wheels"

photo credit: Tamir Moosh

Last week, Israeli artist Monad (born Eshchar Nachmany) unveiled the accompanying music video for his single, “Turning Wheels”, which is off of his latest EP of the same name. The visuals for the video were shot in Tel-Aviv’s central bus station, the free-form nature of the video allows Esh to curate an authentic representation of the human experience through improvised performances. Whereas the upper floors of the brutalist structure play host to half a million daily commuters, the basement levels have become an underground haven – with artists transforming the abandoned space into a creative workshop.  

Speaking on the single, Esh shared over email, “'Turning Wheels' is a chronicle of introspection, which you could also say is the narrative thread that runs throughout the EP - a slow movement or transformation from beginning to end. Pacing through different moods, textures and rhythms.”

Pretty sure this is a SKOA first in terms of falling for an Israeli baby band! I’m pretty pumped

[SONG OF THE DAY] Wrabel - "First Winter"

photo courtesy of Yazz Alali via Billboard

Oh my beloved bae-bel it is so good to see you finally releasing some of your own material this year. That’s not to say the beloved Wrabel hasn’t been cranking out any hits, Kesha stans know that the homey co-wrote her inspirational anthem for equality, “Here Comes The Change”. In addition to co-writes, the sweetest soul in the music industry also launched a collection of sketches for purchase through UK collective Landmark Street Art (spoiler alert: I want all of them).

At any rate, his new song, “First Winter” is a subtle but super sweet winter-themed love song that dropped last week. Yesterday, Billboard unveiled the accompanying video featuring a winter holiday-themed scavenger hunt so his partner can find him. Apparently this song is very personal for Wrabel because it will be the first time 11 years of living in LA that he’s going to spend the holidays with someone that he’s in love with and now my heart is so very very very full. 💖🎄