[SONG OF THE DAY] Max Rad - "Old Toy"

London crooner Max Rad has been gaining momentum since his track “Flesh & Blood” inspired me to spend an hour of super sleuthing. After dropping a string of tracks to close out 2019, he’s back with a new number, “Old Toy”, along with confirmation that we’ll be getting an EP from him later this year. Speaking on the track, Max shares, “‘Old Toy’ is about missing someone, the passing of time making it worse. It is about nostalgia. Being stuck in a sadness from missing the person and the issues it causes.”

One thing that always stays with me about Max’s music is he makes gloomy so gorgeous, and “Old Toy” is no exception to this. In just a short amount of time he’s managed to strike the perfect balance with his production and vocals where it evokes empathy but doesn’t drag down the whole mood. It’s one thing to lay lyrics over peppy tunes and dance when you’re sad, but the ability to be able to convey melancholy without totally hijacking your feelings.

No concrete details on aforementioned EP as of yet, but you know I’m good for passing along good news as it becomes available.

[SONG OF THE DAY] The Goods - "Voodoo"

FIRST VIBE O CLOCK ON FRIDAY IN 2020!!!!!!!!!!!

Following the anthemic “Let’s Roll” and the subtly sexy sweet “Peach” (as heard on BET’s show ‘Sistas’), Sydney’s The Goods are back to deliver a track that maintain their rights to their name. Their latest, “Voodoo” is another sultry future funk chune from the Aussie trio, which comes from their forthcoming sophomore full-length, II, which is slated for release on April 27th.

Can we all please just take a moment of appreciation for singer Black Tree’s voice? My dude could sing, “baby I will kill you” (instead of “tell me how do you do”) and I would be like, “😍😍😍 whatever you want”. I guess I should be thankful that he uses his powers for good 😂.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Miro Shot - "Half of Us"

I can’t think of a more perfect excuse to make my triumphant return from my longer-than-anticipated hiatus than to happily update you that my favorite global digital utopian artist collective Miro Shot has unveiled the opening track, “Half Of Us”, from their forthcoming debut full-length album, CONTENT.

As the homey Roman Rappak, de facto frontman of the band told Fame Magazine,”Half of Us” is about a girl gamer the band is friends with who has a huge following on Twitch but had to give up streaming her games because of the rampant amount of sexist and abusive comments she received.

“The song is about the layers of reality technology creates- often leading to people acting in a really unpleasant way- but its also about the way it can bring people together,” he explains, “So much is said about how we are ‘all on our screens’ and how instagram/Twitch influencers are shallow – but there is a really beautiful side to these new ways of communicating that often gets overlooked. The back and forth between the ultra happy female vocal in the song, and the intensity of Tomo’s beats and Jamies distorted bass feels like the audio equivalent of this.”

When last we met our heroes, the Servers EP had just begun to scratch the surface of the immersive world that is Miro Shot. As their widely lauded live show has continued to evolve, so has the band’s sound and subject matter, which mostly means they’ve honed in on their primary mission, which Rappak very succinctly describes CONTENT as an “album is about the end of the world, and the best way to avoid it.”

I hope y’all are ready for what’s next because SHIT IS ABOUT TO GET VERY REAL and in the BEST. POSSIBLE. WAY.

The future we’ve all been dreaming about our entire lives is happening right now as we speak, you guys, and the accompanying soundtrack for living our best possible future drops on May 1st.

[SONG OF THE DAY] White Prism - "Good Man"

Los Angeles based synth pop solo artist White Prism (born Johanna Cranitch) has released a shimmering anthemic single, “Good Man”. The track is the first of many that Johanna ever self-produced since relocating to Los Angeles and found time to work on her own music. After being raised in Australia on classical music, she studied jazz in college and cut her teeth in NYC as an assistant recording engineer in NYC before joining bands such The Cranberries and Nina Persson (The Cardigans) as a background vocalist and keyboard player.

The song is rooted in the theme of fighting for love and what you believe in. “It’s about banding together and two being better than one in times of crisis. I wrote ‘Good Man’ after a difficult period with my then husband,” Johanna explains, “ I was reflecting on our differences and right when I was writing the lyrics. The news came on that trump had started to attack the health care bill in the courts effectively taking away transgender rights to the health care act. It felt like a very ominous sign of things to come.”

[SONG OF THE DAY] San Scout - "Sideways"

SKOA favorites San Scout have returned with another dose of downtempo alt-pop, “Sideways” straight from The Pharmacy, which is the band’s forthcoming project that will be dropping shortly for those of you just tuning in. Further carving out the vibe for this batch of songs, the broody bop is, as the band explains, “some sort of dark pop ode to the futility of modern relationships.” As usual you can expect their blend of vocal harmonies, warm synths, and ripping guitars to give you goosebumps in the best possible of ways.

While we wait on the proper release of The Pharmacy, fans can head to the band’s website and explore the virtual abandoned pharmacy that they created in an aptly dreary dystopian world. If you look closely enough while wandering around you can find links to the bands socials, games, and more.

Other cool things going on with the lovely London lads: apparently back in October the duo caught the attention of Emma Breschi who asked them to write the music for her Vivienne Westwood ‘Creatives’ campaign.

If you happen to be in London next week, be sure to check them out at The Lexington on September 19th.

[SONG OF THE DAY] TWINKIDS - "Eighteen"

photo credit: Iván Darío

LA queer pop duo TWINKIDS have returned with a brand new song, “Eighteen”, taken from their forthcoming EP Lizard House, which is slated for a November 22nd release. The scintillating slice of 80s era synth pop follows last year’s pair of poptastic singles, “I’m Sorry” and “Jigoku Tengoku”. As we’ve come to know and love about the dancy duo, the delivery of the group’s candid lyrics by vocalist Gene Fukui offers such a remarkably unique layer of tenderness to their sound and “Eighteen” is no exception to this. A retrospective song about young romance, the mid-tempo production is full of shimmering synths, offering a perfect setup to balance the slight twinge we often feel while reflecting on the past. As Gene explains, “The song is about looking back at your past self and realizing how much you’ve changed and how much other people have changed. I guess that’s terrifying in a way, like nothing really stays the same. Even something you once felt like you were going to devote your entire life to feels really distant, but it still left a hole in your heart."

Upcoming TWINKIDS tour dates:

OCT 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers

[SONG OF THE DAY] Husky Loops - "I Think You're Wonderful"

The Husky hunnies have returned with a new track from their highly anticipated debut full-length I CAN’T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH, which is now out on September 6th. “I Think You’re Wonderful” is an uplifting track about universal love, which could not come at a more appropriate time in the world’s current state. As singer Danio Forni mused, “I want people to listen to this one and feel encouraged to tell someone they care about that they’re wonderful.[…] Human beings are hard-wired to notice and remember negative news and events, but we need to have hope, we have to fight to stay happy and sane.”

What a lovely bunch of fellas, let me tell you. With an equally lovely song I might add. In the same way that with their previous single, “Everyone Is Having Fun Fun Fun But Me”, the trio has leveraged a catchy ass hook on repeat for the chorus, only this time instead of showcasing anxiety, you just find yourself so overwhelmed with joy. Every time I’ve played this song thus far I have thought of someone new that I want to send this song to so they know how much I care. Not too many songs can evoke that as effortlessly as Husky Loops has on this one.

In addition to the new track, I am happy to report that the band has also announced that they will be hitting the road in support of I CAN’T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH starting with an album release party on August 15th at Rye Wax in London before hitting the road for most of October.

Also spoiler alert: yours truly has been blessed and has had a chance to give I CAN’T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH a few spins and I have nothing but wonderful things to say, which I will share through closer to the release date. In the meantime, trust yer girl that you are gonna wanna pre-order this one.

OCTOBER
09 - Manchester, Jimmy’s
10 - Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge
11 - Glasgow, Blue Arrow
12 - Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club
16 - London, Bermondsey Social Club
17 - London, Bermondsey Social Club
19 - Southampton, Joiners
23 - Hamburg, Moloto
24 - Berlin, Maze Club
26 - Rotterdam, Rotown
27 - Amsterdam, Paradiso
29 - Paris, Supersonic
30 - Zurich, Kater

[SONG OF THE DAY] Make Friends - "Ellie"

It’s time you got to know Bristol 4-piece Make Friends, who recently shared the video for their latest track, “Ellie”. The song is taken from their upcoming Hi EP, which drops tomorrow (7/26). The band have been carving out a space for their blend of glimmering indie pop with previous tracks, “Talk Tomorrow” and “Drop Naked”. If you live across the pond you might have caught wind of them on either BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X, Amazing Radio, and BBC Introducing, where they’ve been getting some love.

Speaking of the latest single, lead singer Tom Andrew says "Ellie is the most personal track on the EP. It's a retrospective account of the frustration and emptiness felt from a lack of connection in your relationship. It's also about coming to terms with the fact that maybe it coming to an end was for the best and accepting that they might be happier with someone else."