Kungalv, Sweden duo Fort Not's upcoming album is titled Depressed For Success but we aren't anticipating a downer of an album. Take a listen to the bright, British invasion vibes of new single "Tell Me Nothing" and you will know why. It is likely to be one of the indie albums of the summer so don't miss out.
Fort Not is Fredrik Soderstrom and Robert Carlsson. Depressed For Success will be out July 7 via Meritorio Records.
Life Strike are Nick Pratt, Patrick McCabe and Scotty Brique. Peak Dystopia will be released on July 14 via Stable Label (Aus) and Bobo Integral.
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We are getting a very good feeling about the upcoming self-titled album by Brooklyn-based Cut Worms. We featured the single "Ballad of the Texas King" last week (link) and today can bring you the brand new single "I'll Never Make It" paired with "Don't Fade Out. The songs are breezy and impeccably crafted slices of pop. We now have heard 1/3 of the songs on the album, and each is a winner.
Cut Worms is Max Clarke. The album will be out July 21 via Jagjaguwar.
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For the last hour here at WYMA HQ only one song has been played, but it has been played many times. That song is "Domino" by Diners. The second single from the upcoming Domino LP, the song has a positive message and an incredibly catchy power pop arrangement. However your day is going, "Domino" will make it better.
Diners is the project of Blue Broderick. Domino will be out August 18 via Bar/None Records.
For all of us struggling to deal with information overload and false and misleading media, the indie superstars comprising Swansea Sound give us the anthem "Keep Your Head On". The members of the band are Huw Williams, Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey, Bob Collins, and Ian Button, whose former projects include The Pooh Sticks, Talulah Gosh, and Heavenly. "Keep Your Head On" is a duet (or duel) between Huw and Amelia. The video action is set in an adult learning classroom.
The single is taken from their upcoming LP Twentieth Century which will be released on September 8 via Skep Wax. If it is as good as their last LP (our feature here) we will be over the moon with joy.
Norway's Colored Lights are cooking up something very good for music fans. "I Used To Cook", the first single from their self-titled debut album was featured here earlier this month (link). The band now has released the second single, the bright and propulsive "Stabbing Clouds" which we like even more.
Colored lights are Frode Stromstad (I Was A King/The No Ones) with Bard Ingebrigtsen, Frank Tonnesen, Ole Reidar Gudmestad, and Tomas Pettersen.
Colored Lights will be available September 22 via Bobo Integral.
Cut Worms will be out in all formats July 21 via Jagjaguwar.
Heavenly is deservedly one of the most beloved indie pop bands from the days of twee pop/Sarah Records. Accordingly, a reissue of their catalog is an event that both the band and their fans deserve. Fortunately for all parties, Skep Wax (the label run by Heavenly members Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey) are reissuing all four albums. The first, Heavenly vs Satan, dropped in the Autumn of 2022 (WYMA feature). Le Jardin de Heavenly became available last month. The third will be released in Autumn of 2023, with the fourth available the following Spring.
Le Jardin de Heavenly is a terrific follow-up to the band's debut album, maintaining the DIY spirit but displaying increased confidence. Their palette also broadened to embrace some shoegazey elements and additional sonic layers to complement the wonderful pop melodies. It is a seminal album by a seminal indie pop band.The original album's eight tracks are augmented for this reissue with four bonus tracks selected from singles which did no appear on an album.
On Le Jardin de Heavenly the four original members of Heavenly -- Amelia Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff, Rob Pursey, and Mathew Fletcher -- were joined by new member Cathy Rogers. On album track "C Is The Heavenly Option" one half of the duet is sung by Calvin Johnson (Beat Happening), head of K Records which released the album in the United States.
New album by Dutch favorites Lewsberg! Well, not really; or at least not yet. But there will be a new album titled Out And About in September, and early mixes of two songs have been released to remind us why we should care. "Without A Doubt" is an airy, bouncy delight with a summery feel. "Communion" is an intriguing talk-sing slice of guitar pop. One listen and you may be all in for Lewsberg.
The band intends to self-release Out And About, but the physical will be released via 12XU.
We know that when we have pressed "play" on a recording with the intent of making notes and discussing the tracks in turn, but instead listen to the entire recording twice without pause or discussion, we have our hands an a very good recording. And that has been our reintroduction to the world of Virgin of the Birds via their new EP Viper Summer. VotB is the sometimes solo, sometimes group, project of Jon Rooney, serving as an entrancing vehicle for Jon's literate and poetically drawn stories and observations. Whether creating a fable, twisting history or reinterpreting a former relationship, the songs take us to another place. For instance, track 4 is an upbeat romp about Pope Clement VI hanging our in Avignon, France to avoid the Black Plague outbreak in Rome. other tracks touch on a giantess, a mermaid, a poet, and the loneliness. This is music that can make you feel, make you think, and make you laugh. For us, that adds up to a winner.
For this EP VotB was Jon Rooney, Colin J. Nelson, Ken Nottingham and Paul Beaudry. Contributions also were made by Faith Elliot and Sophie Dodds and Reuben Taylor of Scottish band Storm the Palace. Viper Summer is out now as a digital download.
Tough Age are Jarrett Evan Sampson (guitar/vocals/keys), Lauren Smith (bass/vocals), and Jesse Locke (drums/percussion). Waiting Here is out now in vinyl and digital formats via We Are Time (Canada) and Bobo Integral (rest of the world).
Unloveable Losers EP is a digital-only release offered at 'name your price'.
Here at WYMA World Headquarters there can't be much more welcome news than Allah-Lahs will be releasing a new album. The sliver of bad news is that Zuma 85 won't be out until October 13. So that means we will have to fill our summer with, well, other stuff. What 'stuff', you ask? We think everyone can decide that question for themselves, but the Los Angeles four-piece has offered a bit of guidance themselves with the first single from the upcoming album: "The Stuff".
Zuma 85 will be released via Innovative Leisure.
"Postpartum" is out now via Libertino Records. The artist's previous single was the defiant, disco-styled feminist anthem "Because I Am A Woman" which we have included below to provide a bit more perspective on Angharad's music.
Suburban Spell is synthwave artist Peter Endall, formerly of '80s Melbourne band Schizo Sherzo. He has returned to recording his own brand of electronica, and will release an EP titled Falling Down on June 23. Take it for a test drive with track "Bright Gold Cross", which brings to our minds Kraftwerk, OMD and New Order, as well as a wave of other '80s memories (yes, we are that old). This definitely is an EP we are looking forward to hearing.
The Toads are Miles Jensen (vocals), Billy Gardner (guitar ), Stella Rennex (bass), and Elsie Retter (drums), all of whom are borrowed (or stolen) from The Living Eyes, The Shifters and Parsnip.
In The Wilderness is out now via Anti Fade Records and Upset The Rhythm.
It is evident that Glasgow four-piece Water Machine believes that music can be fun. And they are sufficiently convinced that their special chemistry, called 'raw liquid power', is the secret sauce that they have titled their upcoming EP Raw Liquid Power. Are they right? We will know in good time. But in our expert and quite nearly infallible opinion (we thought Dortmund would win), new single "Water Machine Pt. II" is infectious and loads of fun. And as summer arrives, a reminder to hydrate is very timely.
Water Machine are Hando Morice, Flore de Hoog, Jimmy Gage, and Goda Ilgauskaite. Raw Liquid Power will be out August 4 via Upset The Rhythm.
Sadness, anger, and tension, building to a rapturous wall of sound -- that's "Easy Out" by Berlin talent Thala. The song is the latest single taken from her upcoming In Theory Depression EP which is out July 7 via Fire Records. Reviewing her singles to date indicate that the self-taught artist is equally comfortable with pop, psychedelic, and dream pop modes of musical expression. We think the EP is going to be well worth our attention.
Bandcamp for In Theory Depression
A month ago we alerted readers to the upcoming release of 1980s Bubblegum, consisting of selected songs by fine '80s Australian band The Particles. The post streamed a couple of singles from the album and also featured the album trailer. We now have a new single titled "Truth About You". We find the song quite appealing, but if your ears tell you it is more post punk that bubblegum, we won't disagree. But then, the band never intended to be bound or defined as bubblegum.
1980s Bubblegum will be out on July 7 via Chapter Music. US fans can purchase at Seasick Records and UK fans can purchase at Monorail Music.
Generationals are Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer. Heatherhead is out now via Polyvinyl.
Guardian Singles are Thom Burton (guitar/vocals), Fiona Campbell (drums), Yolanda Fagan (bass), and Durham Fenwick (lead guitar). Feed Me To The Doves is out now via Trouble In Mind Records.
Are human beings wired to party all the time? We don't know the answer to that question. But we do know that if we want to try to party all the time, we need a suitable soundtrack. And if we are constructing such a soundtrack, we certainly can't leave out an EP titled Party All the Time. The creators are Pasadena, California duo System Exclusive, whose arsenal of synths and top of the charts female vocals provide a big and commanding sound that will keep us primed for action. To be honest, we are embarrassed that we hadn't heard of this duo before.
System Exclusive are Ari Blaisdell and Matt Jones. Party All the Time is out now via Mt.St.Mtn.
We have high expectations for new Norwegian band Colored Lights. And how could it be otherwise? The main man is none other than Frode Stromstad of I Was A King and The No Ones. The other members are Bard Ingebrigtsen, Frank Tonnesen, Ole Reidar Gudmestad, and Tomas Pettersen. Take a test drive with new single "I Used to Cook", and mark down September 22 for the release of the band's debut album via Bobo Integral.
Readers have asked "is the new Fort Not album out yet?" The answer is 'no', although in a little more than a month Depressed For Success will be available to massage your ears. However, you can get a dose of summery Fort Not garage pop on new single "Love Will Find You". Cool sounds and references to listening to the Beatles and someone putting their arms around you -- sounds like a good way to start the weekend.
Fort Not is Fredrik Soderstrom and Robert Carlsson. Depressed For Success will be out July 7 via Meritorio Records.
Bandcamp for "Love Will Find You"
The Radio Field is the solo-project-turned-full-band of Lars Schmidt from German band Subterfuge. Other members are Mark Specht, Christoph Schneider and Philipp Breuer. Last September we featured their Simple EP (link) and wondered whether we would hear from them again. Our answer arrived in the form of a splendid slice of jangle pop titled "The Version". We understand that there will be two more singles this summer and a full album in August via Less Records. So it seems to be a good time to start following The Radio Field.
Wireheads are there own genre, an indie rock/post punk/psychedelic/jangle/alt country/punk collective that gives life to the weird and wonderous songwriting of leader Dom Trimboli. "Killer Bee" is a psychedelia-shaded alt country jam with a thumping rhythm line and addresses several themes, including the downside of living near the police station and a bee sting. As always, it is an interesting ride.
Potentially Venus will be out in digital and vinyl formats via Tenth Court Records. See the Bandcamp link below for pre-orders. For vinyl distribution in the US contact distribution@thebusinessanacortes.com, for everywhere else, contact Matthew Ford at www.tenthcourt.com
Various links for "Killer Bee"
