Ex-Vöid – the band formed by Joanna Gruesome singers Lan McArdle and Owen Williams – have released ‘No Other Way’, the second offering from their upcoming debut LP Bigger Than Before. Check out its music video below.
“It’s about experiencing Stockholm Syndrome in a relationship,” Williams explained in a statement about the song. “But I wrote it before I was ever in a proper long term relationship, so I think I was just trying to affirm my own single-hood. Around the same time I kept telling everyone I was ‘trying to cultivate an asexual mystique’ so who knows what was going on with me.”
Bigger Than Before is due for release on March 25 via Don Giovanni. It was led by the single ‘Churchyard’.
PUP have shared a new single called ‘Matilda’, which will appear on the Toronto punk band’s upcoming album. The track arrives with an accompanying video from director Jefferson Dutton. Check it out below, and scroll down for PUP’s newly announced run of UK tour dates.
“Matilda is the name of my favourite guitar,” PUP’s Stefan Babcock explained in a statement, continuing:
She was a gift from my friend Ryan, after watching me accidentally break the only guitar I owned in the middle of a long tour. I had no money to buy a replacement, and Ryan’s act of kindness is up there on my list of “nicest things anyone’s ever done for me”. I played Matilda nonstop for 7 years at every PUP show, even when my bandmates started complaining that she sounded like shit. As the band got bigger, the pressure to sound better was building and so I bought a “good” guitar and played Matilda less and less. Before I knew it I hadn’t played her in over a year. I wrote this song based on this intense feeling of guilt and sadness and shame and nostalgia and regret, watching her rot away in a corner. I love this guitar and I love Ryan and wanted to do right by them, and I felt like I’d failed them both. I convinced the band that Matilda deserved one last rip on a PUP record, and I played her during the bridge of this song. It sounds so shitty. But good shitty. Great shitty. For me, it was the most joyful and cathartic moment in the entire making of this record.
Oct 12 – Leeds, UK – Leeds Beckett Students Union
Oct 13 – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz
Oct 14 – London, UK – The Roundhouse
Oct 16 – Glasgow, UK – SWG3 Galvanizers
Oct 17 – Dublin, IE – Academy 2
Oct 19 – Brighton, UK – Chalk
Oct 20 – Bristol, UK – SWX
Oct 21 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute
Hater have shared a new song, ‘Hopes High’, the closing track from their forthcoming album Sincere. Check it out below.
Hater’s new record, the follow-up to 2018’s Siesta, is slated for release on May 6 via Fire Records. The Swedish band previously shared the album’s opener, ‘Something’.
Sharon Van Eten has shared a new single called ‘Used to It’. It marks her second song of 2022 following ‘Porta’ (one of our Best New Songs), and was originally written when Van Etten was asked to help create a score for Baby God, an HBO documentary about a fertility specialist who impregnates women with his own sperm. Check it out via the accompanying video below.
“Ultimately, the film team changed their musical direction, but I found myself welcomely challenged to the idea of writing a song about the concept of family, connection through blood, nature vs. nurture, while attempting to incorporate ideas of love and the complexities of science and technology,” Van Etten exlpained in a press release. “I am grateful for this song to be able to have a new life, relating more to the times we have all been living through and redefining the meaning of this song by focusing on the positives of seeking connection and understanding what family means to the individual.”
The song’s music video was directed by Van Etten’s bandmate and musical director, Charley Damski, and features dancer and choreographer Hayden J Frederick. “Together, they helped me convey the feelings of internal struggles, while also finding space for oneself and embracing that pain in order to move on,” Van Etten said.
Bartees Strange has announced his signing to 4AD, marking the news with a new single called ‘Heavy Heart’. The track arrives with an accompanying video directed by Missy Dabice of Mannequin Pussy that shows him wearing his father and grandfather’s clothes. Check it out below, along with Bartees Strange’s upcoming tour dates.
‘Heavy Heart’ follows Bartees Strange’s 2021 single ‘Weights’, which landed on our Best New Songs segment. He also collaborated with Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick and Ohmme for a cover of TV on the Radio’s ‘Province’. His debut LP, Live Forever, arrived in 2020.
Bartees Strange 2022 Tour Dates:
Mar 16 – SAINT PAUL, MN – Palace Theatre *
Mar 17 – MILWAUKEE, WI – Pabst Theater *
Mar 18 – CHICAGO, IL – The Vic Theatre *
Mar 19 – CHICAGO, IL – The Vic Theatre *
Mar 20 – DETROIT, MI – Majestic Theatre *
Mar 22 – TORONTO, ON – The Danforth Music Hall *
Mar 23 – TORONTO, ON – The Danforth Music Hall *
Mar 25 – NORTH ADAMS, MA – Mass MOCA *
Mar 26 – BOSTON, MA – House Of Blues Boston *
Mar 27 – PORTLAND, ME – State Theatre *
Mar 29 – BROOKLYN, NY – Brooklyn Steel *
Mar 30 – BROOKLYN, NY – Brooklyn Steel *
Mar 31 – BROOKLYN, NY – Brooklyn Steel *
Apr 1 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – Franklin Music Hall *
Apr 2 – WASHINGTON, DC – The Anthem *
Apr 4 – CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Jefferson Theater *
Apr 5 – ASHEVILLE, NC – The Orange Peel *
Apr 7 – RALEIGH, NC – The Ritz *
Apr 8 – COLUMBIA, DC – The Senate *
Apr 9 – ATLANTA, GA – Tabernacle *
Apr 10 – NASHVILLE, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville *
Apr 22 – SEATTLE, WA – Paramount Theatre *
Apr 23 – PORTLAND, OR – Roseland Theater *
Apr 24 – EUGENE, CA, Mcdonald Theater *
Apr 26 – SACRAMENTO, CA – Ace of Spades *
Apr 27 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Warfield *
Apr 29 – SAN DIEGO, CA – House of Blues San Diego *
Apr 30 – LOS ANGELES, CA – The Wiltern *
May 1 – PHOENIX, AZ – The Van Buren *
May 4 – AUSTIN, TX – Stubbs BBQ *
May 5 – HOUSTON, TX – White Oak Music Hall *
May 6 – DALLAS, TX – Granada Theater *
May 7 – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Tower Theatre *
May 8 – KANSAS CITY, MO – Grinders KC *
May 10 – DENVER, CO – Ogden Theatre *
May 11 – BOULDER, CO – Fox Theatre *
May 13 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Kilby Block Party
Jul 3 – WERCHTER, BE – Rock Werchter 2022
Jul 4 – COLOGNE, DE – Helios37
Jul 5 – HAMBURG, DE – Molotow
Jul 7 – BERLIN, DE – Badehaus
Jul 9 – MADRID, ES – Mad Cool Festival 2022
Jul 11 – MUNICH, DE – Milla
Jul 12 – FRIBOURG, CH – Festival Les Georges
Jul 13 – REES-HALDERN, NL – Haldern Pop Bar
Jul 14 – AMSTERDAM, NL – Upstairs @ Paradiso
Jul 16 – LEEDS, GB – Community Room @ Brudenell Social Club
Jul 17 – MANCHESTER, GB – Night & Day Café
Jul 19 – CARDIFF, GB – Clwb Ifor Bach
Jul 20 – BRIGHTON, GB – Patterns
Jul 21 – LONDON, GB – Powerhaus
Jul 22 – SUFFOLK, GB – Latitude Festival
My Idea, the duo of Lily Konigsberg and Nate Amos, have previewed their upcoming debut album CRY MFER with a new single called ‘Crutch’. Give it a listen below.
“‘Crutch’ was written at a time when both of our personal lives had begun to collapse around us,” My Idea explained in a press release. “Outside influences began to disappear and as we began to rely on each other more and more – the music was the only thing that functioned amidst the chaos. This song became kind of a beacon leading us through the remainder of making the album.”
CRY MFER is slated to come out on April 22 via Hardly Art. Previously, My Idea shared the album’s title track and opener. Their debut EP came out last year.
Weird Nightmare, the new project from METZ guitarist and singer Alex Edkins, has announced its debut self-titled album. It arrives on May 20 via Sub Pop. The first single is called ‘Searching for You’, and it comes with a music video directed by Ryan Thompson and animated by Jordan “Dr. Cool” Minkoff. Check it out below, along with Weird Nightmare’s upcoming tour dates.
“It’s a fun, no nonsense rock ‘n’ roll song,” Edkins said in a press release. “It’s about searching for meaning and inspiration all around us. In my mind, the ‘you’ in the chorus refers to something bigger than companionship or love, it’s that intangible thing we all look for but never find.”
Talking about the album, which was mostly recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, Edkins added: “Hooks and melody have always been a big part of my writing, but they really became the main focus this time. It was about doing what felt natural.” The record features contributions from Canadian alt-pop artist Chad VanGaalen and Alicia Bognanno of Bully.
METZ released their latest LP, Atlas Vending, back in 2020.
Weird Nightmare Cover Artwork:
Weird Nightmare Tracklist:
1. Searching For You
2. Nibs
3. Lusitania
4. Wrecked [feat. Bully]
5. Sunday Driver
6. Darkroom
7. Dream
8. Zebra Dance
9. Oh No [feat. Chad VanGaalen]
10. Holding Out
Weird Nightmare 2022 Tour Dates:
May 21 – Toronto, ON – Baby G
Jun 17 – Detroit, MI – Third Man Records *
Jun 18 – Chicago, IL – Schubas *
Jul 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s AlL Right *
Jul 29 – Rehoboth Beach, DE – Dogfish Head Brewery *
Jul 30 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd *
Jul 31 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s *
Do you want to create your very own home cinema system? Maybe you just want to make sure that you get the best result out of your upgrade, but you don’t quite know how to go about getting started. Either way, this is the guide for you.
Choose a Projector
Believe it or not, a projector is the best value for money if you want something more than 50 inches. This is going to be the most important part of your cinema system because it helps you to get the quality of aTV but you can easily have it be over 150 inches. You have a lot of full HD models available, and it is very easy for you to make it look great without spending a small fortune. If you want to watch your movies in a blackout room then you might not worry too much about brightness. If you are a sports fan then you may be watching lunchtime kick-offs, and therefore you’ll want a projector that’s around 2,000ANSI Lumens.
Choosing the Right Components
If you want to have separate speakers then you need to try and opt for an AV receiver. A projector screen is not essential but at the end of the day, it will greatly improve the general quality of your images. The main reason for this is because it is made out of a reflective material and this will enhance the detail, the brightness and the colour. Of course, most home cinema owners cannot resist hooking up their games console either, and this is understandable, so it helps to look into the options that are available in advance so that you can make sure that you are not compromising your build by opting for subpar wiring or connections. If you are concerned about wiring, then make sure that you get a goodcable management system.
Choosing the Right Speakers
A soundbar isn’t suitable for a home cinema. Ideally, you need to have a full surround system with either five or seven speakers. Having a subwoofer will help you out a lot here as well, so keep that in mind if possible. If you want to take things to that next level but you do not know how, then an Atmos system would be the way to go. When you do explore an Atmos system, you will soon find that it is possible for you to get it in a soundbar format, which is a huge step up when compared to the average soundbar system. That being said, if you want to get the best result then you need to ensure that you get some rear speakers too. If you can do this, then you will soon find that you can get the best result out of your setup.
Of course, there are many things that you can do to try and make the most out of your home cinema system, and if you follow this guide, you’ll find it easier than ever to have the best movie experience.
Adult Mom has unveiled ’91’, a B-side from their 2021 record Driver. Listen to it below.
“‘91’ was one of the first songs I intentionally wrote for Driver,” Adult Mom’s Stevie Knipe explained in a statement. “It’s a song that details escape in the most literal sense. The feeling of getting into the car, speeding down the highway at 2:00 am, and feeling the weight of what you’re leaving behind lifted. To me, it’s one of our most cathartic songs, and I’m glad to finally have it out in the world.”
fanclubwallet – the project of Ottawa-based musician Hannah Judge – has announced her debut album, You Have Got to Be Kidding Me. It’s due out on May 20 via AWAL, and, to mark the announcement, fanclubwallet has shared a video for lead single ‘Gr8 Timing!’. Check it out below.
“I wrote ‘Gr8 Timing!’ while reflecting upon some things that were said to me during a breakup,” Judge commented in a statement. “It’s about realizing that everyone has a mean streak (even yourself!) and sort of a self reflection on the lies you can tell yourself in a relationship to convince yourself that someone is good for you – even if they’re not!”
‘Gr8 Timing!’ will appear on the new LP alongside previous single ‘That I Won’t Do’. fanclubwallet released her debut EP, Hurt Is Boring, last year.
You Have Got to Be Kidding Me Tracklist:
1. Solid Ground
2. Gr8 Timing!
3. Fell Through
4. Toast
5. Trying to Be Nice
6. 55
7. Go Out
8. That I Won’t Do
9. National TV
10. Coming Over
11. Jar
12. You Have Got To Be Kidding Me
