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Drop Nineteens Announce First New Album in 30 Years, Release New Single

Boston shoegaze legends Drop Nineteens have returned from a 30-year hiatus with a new single, ‘Scapa Flow’, which leads their upcoming album Hard Light. The band’s first LP since 1993’s National Coma features the original lineup of Greg Ackell, Steve Zimmerman, Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue, and Peter Koeplin. It’s due out November 3 via Wharf Cat Records. The band will also be touring this fall with support from Horse Jumper of Love, Greg Mendez, and Winter. Check out ‘Scapa Flow’ along with the album cover, tracklist, and the list of dates below.

“The intent on Delaware was to reflect that time in our lives, which I think it did accurately,” Ackell said in a press release. “Having considered Delaware before embarking on Hard Light, we wanted to make an honest, reflective album representing who we are now, which is, well, older.”

He continued: “I’ve been struggling to find an answer to the question ‘why now?’ What was the catalyst for getting back together after so long? The best answer I can come up with is this was the first moment in my life since stopping making music that I got curious to hear what Drop Nineteens might sound like now. And there was only one way to find out!”

Hard Light Cover Artwork:

Hard Light Tracklist:

1. Hard Light
2. Scapa Flow
3. Gal
4. Tarantula
5. The Price Was High
6. Rose With Smoke
7. A Hitch
8. Lookout
9. Another One Another
10. Policeman Getting Lost
11. T

Drop Nineteens 2023 Tour Dates:

Oct 10 – The Atlantis (Washington DC) with Greg Mendez
Octr 11 – Union Transfer (Philadelphia PA) with Horse Jumper Of Love
Oct 12 – The Paradise (Boston MA) with Greg Mendez
Oct 13 – Warsaw (Brooklyn NY) with Greg Mendez
Oct 19 – The Belasco (Los Angeles CA) with Winter
Oct 22 – The New Parish (Oakland CA) with Winter

SPELLLING Unveils New Single ‘Hard to Please (Reprise)’

SPELLLING, the project of Chrystia Cabral, has unveiled a new single called ‘Hard to Please (Reprise)’. It’s lifted from her forthcoming album SPELLLING & the Mystery School, which features re-imaginations of songs from the artist’s discography, including the previously released ‘Cherry’ and ‘Under the Sun’. ‘Hard to Please’ originally appeared on SPELLING’s 2019 record Mazy Fly. Check out the new version below.

Mary Lattimore Announces New Album ‘Goodbye, Hotel Arkada’, Shares New Song

Mary Lattimore has announced a new album, Goodbye, Hotel Arkada, which is set to arrive October 6 via Ghostly. To accompany the news, the American harpist and composer has shared a video for the lead single ‘And Then He Wrapped His Wings Around Me’, which features Meg Baird and Walt McClements. Check it out and find the LP’s cover artwork and tracklist below.

The new album takes its name from a hotel on the island of Hvar in Croatia. “There’s a big old hotel there called the Hotel Arkada, and you could tell it had been hosting holiday-goers for decades in a great way,” Lattimore explained in a press release. “I walked around the lobby and the empty ballrooms and it looked like a well-worn, well-loved place. My friend Stacey who lives there told me to ‘say goodbye to Hotel Arkada, it might not be here when you get back’ and I heard soon after that it was actually going to be renovated in a very crisp, modern way.”

Goodbye, Hotel Arkada also features contributions from Lol Tolhurst of the Cure, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell, Roy Montgomery, and Samara Lubelski. Lattimore added, “When I think of these songs, I think about fading flowers in vases, melted candles, getting older, being on tour and having things change while you’re away, not realizing how ephemeral experiences are until they don’t happen anymore, fear for a planet we’re losing because of greed, an ode to art and music that’s really shaped your life that can transport you back in time, longing to maintain sensitivity and to not sink into hollow despondency.”

Last year, Lattimore released West Kensington, a collaborative LP with Paul Sukeena.

Goodbye, Hotel Arkada Cover Artwork:

Goodbye, Hotel Arkada Tracklist:

1. And Then He Wrapped His Wings Around Me [feat. Meg Baird and Walt McClements]
2. Arrivederci [feat. Lol Tolhurst]
3. Blender in a Blender [feat. Roy Montgomery]
4. Music for Applying Shimmering Eye Shadow
5. Horses, Glossy on the Hill
6. Yesterday’s Parties [feat. Rachel Goswell and Samara Lubelski]

Armand Hammer Announce New Album, Enlist Pink Siifu for New Song

Armand Hammer – the duo of NYC rappers billy woods and Elucid – have announced their new album, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips. It arrives September 29 via Fat Possum. Today’s announcement comes with the release of lead single ‘Trauma Mic’, which features Pink Siifu and was produced by DJ Haram. Check out a video for it, directed by Tim Blake Nelson and his son Henry Nelson, below, and scroll down for the album tracklist and Armand Hammer’s upcoming tour dates.

“It’s one of those joints where everything really fell into place to create this visceral song that just snowballs, except instead of snow it’s a neodymium magnet cascading down a mountain of discarded pig iron,” Armand Hammer said of ‘Trauma Mic’ in a statement.

We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, which follows 2021’s the Alchemist-produced Haram, features production from JPEGMAFIA, EL-P, Kenny Segal, DJ Haram, Black Noi$e, Preservation, August Fanon, Steel Tipped Dove, Child Actor, and Sebb Bash, as well as guest appearances from Pink Siifu, Moor Mother, Curly Castro, Junglepussy, Soul Glo’s Moneynicca, and Cavalier.

Commenting on the process behind the album, Eludic said: “This sort of reverse engineering of talented players who met for the first time in the studio jamming to pre-recorded beats before splintering off into new directions. Being in the room quietly watching 4 people fumble around each other’s sonic worlds before finally locking into a solid groove was a clear and obvious magical moment for me.”

Earlier this year, billy woods teamed up with Kenny Segal for the collaborative LP Maps.

We Buy Diabetic Test Strips Tracklist:

1. Landlines
2. Woke Up and Asked Siri How I’m Gonna Die
3. The Flexible Unreliability of Time And Memory
4. When It Doesn’t Start With a Kiss
5. I Keep A Mirror in My Pocket [feat. Cavalier]
6. Trauma Mic [feat. Pink Siifu]
7. Niggardly (Blocked Call)
8. The God’s Must Be Crazy
9. Y’all Can’t Stand Right Here [ft. Junglepussy & Moneynicca (Soul Glo’s Pierce Jordan)]
10. Total Recall
11. Empire Blvd [feat. Junglepussy & Curly Castro]
12. Don’t Lose Your Job [feat. Pink Siifu & Moor Mother]
13. Supermooned
14. Switchboard
15. The Key Is Under the Mat

Armand Hammer 2023 Tour Dates:

Aug 5 Brooklyn, NY – Public Records Nursery Pop Up
Oct 1 Kingston, NY – Tubby’s
Oct 6 Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre
Oct 8 Seattle, WA – Neumos
Oct 9 Portland, OR – Polaris Hall
Oct11 Oakland, CA – The New Parish
Oct12 Los Angeles, CA – The Echoplex
Oct13 Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
Oct 29 Austin, TX – Levitation Festival
Nov 2 Manchester, England – Canvas
Nov 4 London, England – Earth Hall
Nov 5 Berlin, Germany – Pitchfork Festival
Nov 7 St. Gallen, Switzerland – Palace
Nov 9 Paris, France – Point Ephemere
Nov 10 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique Rotonde
Nov 11 Utrecht, Netherlands – Le Guess Who? Holland Festival
Nov 14 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paridiso Noord
Nov 16 New York City, NY – Bowery Ballroom
Nov 17 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
Nov 18 Washington, D.C. – Union Stage
Nov 30 Somerville, MA – Crystal Ballroom
Dec 1 Easthampton, MA – Daily Operation
Jan 20 Montreal, Québec – Bar Le Ritz PDB
Jan 22 Toronto, Ontario – Horseshoe Tavern
Jan 24 Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag
Jan 25 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Jan 27 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
Feb 24 Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
Feb 26 Orlando, FL – The Social

CHAI Share Video for New Song ‘Neo Kawaii, K?’

CHAI have shared a new single from their upcoming self-titled album, ‘Neo Kawaii, K?’. The track arrives with an accompanying video directed by Chiharu Shimura. Check it out below.

CHAI’s Mana said in a statement about the song: “Everyone is NEO KAWAII! This is CHAI’s answer, this is a fact in this world! We can finally say what it really means to us♡ Everyone’s a bit weird. Everyone’s different. Everyone’s awkward, almost to a point that it’s hard to relate. But that’s what’s interesting! That’s what makes it beautiful. To everyone who’s pushed around by these notions, we want to tell you this! We, and all of our lives, are NEO KAWAII! NEO KAWAII is not just plain KAWAII (cute)- it’s cool, it’s strong, it’s kind, it’s warm! Don’t get it mixed up♡ Hey! NEO KAWAII people! NEO KAWAII needs no preparation. We just want to say that you’re NEO KAWAII too, K? ♡?”

CHAI, the follow-up to the group’s 2021 LP WINK, is due for release September 22 via Sub Pop. They’ve already previewed it with the tracks ‘Para Para’ and ‘We the Female!’.

‘Intuition Goes Before You’ Exhibition to Open in 13 Soho Square

Intuition Goes Before You, an exhibition by art curator and advisor Vittoria Beltrame, will open in 13 Soho Square from the 11th of August until the 20th of August.

The exhibition aspires to emphasise the visceral experience of these artists focusing on the journey of creating their work, encouraging viewers to focus on the process rather than just the result.

Featured artists in the exhibition include Isabella Lolita Amram, whose work aims to bridge gaps between the body and cosmos, meaning and material, and imagination and observation by using the physical and perceptive properties of paint and colour. Moreover, artist Ashley Cluer creates intimate sculptures using structural materials that aim to symbolise memories and encounters. Further artists in the exhibition include Helen Bermingham, Eva Dixon, and Rebecca Hardaker.

Orla Gartland Shares New Single ‘Kiss Ur Face Forever’

Orla Gartland has released a new single, ‘Kiss Ur Face Forever’, her first new music since her 2021 debut album Woman on the Internet. Check it out below.

“This song is about being in love and split down the middle by it – on one side excited and energized, the other side cynical and withheld,” Gartland explained in a statement. “I really love the erratic guitars and the urgency of the drums in this track – hearing the intro literally gets my heart rate up.”

“I wrote ‘Kiss Ur Face Forever’ with Tom Stafford (my co-producer on my first smash-hit album ‘Woman on the Internet’) and my best friend Lauren Aquilina,” she continued. “Lauren and I live together and have been friends for 10+ years, since we were both tiny baby popstars. We had never written together up until this point – I’m such a fan of Lauren’s songwriting that I’d always been too nervous to ask – but it finally happened and unsurprisingly it was so fun and felt almost effortless to write with someone who knows me so well.”

Gartland recently formed the the band FIZZ alongside dodie, Greta Isaac, and Martin Luke Brown. Their debut album, The Secret to Life, is due out September 15 via Decca Records.

Revisit our Artist Spotlight interview with Orla Gartland.

By Storm (fka Injury Reserve) Release Debut Single ‘Double Trio’

Nathaniel Ritchie and Parker Corey, members of the experimental hip-hop group Injury Reserve, have shared their debut single under the moniker By Storm. The accompanying video for ‘Double Trio’, directed by Corey, pairs the song with ‘Bye Storm’, the final track from Injury Reserve’s 2021 album By the Time I Get to Phoenix. The band has also shared a discussion with Harmony Holiday from the premiere of ‘Double Trio’ in LA. Watch and listen below.

Ritchie and Corey decided to retire the Injury Reserve name following the 2022 death of their bandmate Steppa J. Groggs. “To respect the specificity of all three of us as Injury Reserve, we have decided not to make new music under this name,” Injury Reserve said in a statement. “Nathaniel and Parker have continued working together and plan to release under By Storm as a hand off from our work within Injury Reserve.”

Tissot Launch Ice Blue and Gold Dials for the PRX 35mm

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With a lot of recent talk about the PRX, Tissot is staying on their favoured watch, which has been selling like hotcakes since its initial release. The beloved 35mm which is equiped with the Powermatic 80 automatic movement has now been given two new versions — Ice Blue and Gold. According to Tissot themselves, the Ice Blue glows like a frozen Alpine morning, while the Gold variant, on the other hand (excuse the pun), pays homage to the vibrant disco era of the ’70s, adding an unmistakable element of fearlessness to the wearer.

The Gold version will be priced at £745, while the Ice Blue will be slightly cheaper, coming in at £610.

Is Curly Hair Extension Hard To Maintain?

Are you considering getting curly hair extensions, such as blonde clip-in hair extension, but worried about how to prolong and maintain them? Enhancing the way you look and experimenting with different hairstyles are possible with hair extensions so don’t fret! With the right techniques and care, you can easily keep your extensions looking fabulous.

Whether you’re a curly hair extension newbie or have been rocking them for years, we’ll equip you with all the tips and tricks you need to maintain your curls with ease. So, let’s dive in and discover how to keep your curly hair extensions looking flawless!

Choosing the Right Type of Curly Hair Extension

Choosing the right type of curly texture hair extensions can be a bit challenging, but it’s definitely worth the effort for achieving that perfect, natural look. When it comes to choosing the right type of curly hair extension, here are a few factors to consider: 

Decide on the curl pattern that matches your natural hair. 

You want your extensions to seamlessly blend in with your own curls, so take the time to find a pattern that closely resembles your own. If you choose a pattern that doesn’t match your own hair, the look will not be seamless and it will be obvious that you’re just wearing hair extensions.

Consider the length and volume you desire. 

Curly hair extensions come in varying lengths and thicknesses, so think about how you want your hair to look and choose accordingly. If you want longer hair with more volume, consider longer and thicker extensions. 

Consider the type of hair extension you want. 

There are synthetic options available, but for a more natural look and feel, opt for human hair extensions. They can be styled and maintained just like your own hair, making them a great choice for curly hair. 

Hair extensions made of synthetic materials don’t last very long and can’t be styled according to your liking, so make sure you take that into consideration.

Proper Washing and Styling Techniques

Taking care of your beautiful curls requires the right washing and conditioning techniques and products. Keep these tips in mind when washing and conditioning your hair:

Choose a sulfate-free shampoo specifically designed for curly hair. 

Sulfates can strip the hair of its natural oils, leaving it dry and frizzy. You need a gentle clarifying shampoo that will cleanse your extensions without causing damage. 

Avoid rough scrubbing or tangling the hair.

When washing your curly hair extensions, use your fingertips to gently massage the shampoo into your scalp and down the length of the extensions. Rinse thoroughly and follow up with a moisturizing conditioner.

Apply the conditioner from mid-length to the ends, avoiding the roots, as this can weigh down the hair. Leave the conditioner on for a few minutes to allow it to penetrate the hair shaft and provide hydration.

After rinsing out the conditioner, gently squeeze out any excess water from your curly hair extensions. Avoid rubbing the hair vigorously with a towel, as this can cause frizz and damage. Instead, use a microfiber towel or an old t-shirt to pat dry the hair.

For added moisture and to enhance the curl pattern, you can also apply a leave-in conditioner or curl-defining cream.

When detangling, avoid using a brush or comb on your curls

Brush and comb can cause frizz and breakage. Use your fingers or a wide-toothed comb to gently detangle your hair. This will help maintain the natural shape and texture of your curls.

Consider using a diffuser attachment on your blow dryer. 

To enhance the volume and definition of your curls, use a diffuser attached to your blow dryer. Apply a heat protectant spray before using any heat styling tools, such as curling irons or flat irons, to prevent damage to your extensions.

Avoid touching your curls too much 

Frequently touching your curls can cause them to lose their shape. You can lightly scrunch it with your fingers to revive any lost definition or to fix your hair.

When sleeping, it’s best to tie your hair up in a loose bun or braid to minimize friction and tangling.

Use a satin bonnet or silk pillowcase to keep your hair safe from friction and maintain their softness. These materials are smoother than regular cotton pillowcases, which can roughen up the hair cuticles and cause frizz and tangles. By using a satin bonnet or silk pillowcase, you can minimize the friction between your hair and the fabric, allowing your curls to glide smoothly as you sleep.

Store your curly hair extensions properly to maintain their shape and prevent tangling. 

After washing and drying your hair, store them in a breathable bag or box to keep them safe from dust and other environmental factors.

Our last advice… 

Maintaining curly hair extensions can be challenging, but with the right techniques, it can become easier. By choosing the right type of extension, properly washing and conditioning, and styling carefully, you can keep your curly hair extensions looking beautiful.