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Strand of Oaks Announce New Album ‘Miracle Focus’, Share Video for New Song ‘More You’

Strand of Oaks have announced their eighth studio album, Miracle Focus. The follow-up to 2021’s In Heaven will be out June 7 via Western Vinyl. Lead single ‘More You’ is out today; check it out below, along with the album cover and tracklist.

Miracle Focus finds Tim Showalter reuniting with producer Kevin Ratterman. “Every moment on Miracle Focus is a piece of the architecture that fits together to form a temple of peace in my life,” Showalter remarked. “Acceptance of who you are, gratitude of being part of a connected universe, and ultimately, I hope it creates one hell of a dance party.”

Read our track-by-track interview with Strand of Oaks, breaking down In Heaven.

Miracle Focus Cover Artwork:

Miracle Focus Tracklist:

1. More You
2. Communication
3. Ananda
4. Future Temple
5. Party at Monster Lake
6. Switched On
7. Navigator
8. Ascend You
9. Fantasy Wranglers
10. Miracle Focus

Crumb Announce New Album ‘AMAMA’, Share Video for New Single

Crumb have announced their third LP, AMAMA, the follow-up to 2021’s Ice Melt. It’s set to arrive on May 17 through Crumb Records, and the album’s title track, an ode to singer Lila Ramani’s grandmother, is out today. Check it out and find the album cover and tracklist below.

“‘AMAMA’ is dedicated to my namesake, my grandmother, whose voice is sampled throughout the song,” Ramani shared in a statement. “A video sent to me over WhatsApp of her singing originally inspired the melody and ethos of the song, from which I built its glitchy, warped foundation. It’s a love song! My partner and Crumb’s creative director [Abraham El Makawy] directed the video, which combines his family’s archival footage of the neighbourhood we grew up in, home videos from the band, as well as drawings from 702 fans who helped us animate the last part of the video. The song is the title track and spiritual centre of our new album.”

AMAMA Cover Artwork:

AMAMA Tracklist:

1. From Outside A Window Sill
2. Side By Side
3. The Bug
4. AMAMA
5. Genie
6. Crushxd
7. Nightly News
8. (Alone In) Brussels
9. Sleep Talk
10. Dust Bunny
11. Swarmed
12. XXX

Mdou Moctar Release New Song ‘Imouhar’

Mdou Moctar have released a new song, ‘Imouhar’. It’s the second single from the band’s upcoming album Funeral for Justice, following the title track. Check out the Lauren Greenhall-directed video for it below.

‘Imouhar’ calls on the Tuareg people, to which Moctar belongs, to preserve their Tamasheq language, which is at risk of dying out. “People here are just using French,” the guitarist said in a press release. “They’re starting to forget their own language. We feel like in a hundred years no one will speak good Tamasheq, and that’s so scary for us.”

Funeral for Justice, the follow-up to 2019’s Afrique Victime, drops on May 3 via Matador.

DIIV Drop New Single ‘Everyone Out’

DIIV have previewed their fourth album, Frog in Boiling Water, with a new track called ‘Everyone Out’. It follows previous cuts ‘Brown Paper Bag’ and ‘Soul-Net’. Check it out below.

‘Everyone Out’ “utilizes a softer and more textural sonic pallet: acoustic instruments, layered tape loops and synthesizers,” the band explained in a press release. “The song is emotional and intimate and could be interpreted as either hopeful or cynical. It may or may not be a character study centering around a quick transition from youthful naivety to bitter disillusionment. This loss of hope may be manifest in a desire to leave society completely or to accelerate its collapse. Or maybe both, or neither.”

Frog in Boiling Water is set for release on May 24 via Fantasy Records.

Jessica Pratt Releases New Song ‘World on a String’

Jessica Pratt has unveiled a new song called ‘World on a String’. It’s the second single off her forthcoming album Here in the Pitch, following lead cut ‘Life Is’. Kate Bollinger directed the track’s accompanying video, which you can check out below.

“On this track I was influenced by the swaying, naive brilliance of ‘lost’ teenage garage rock bands, as well as enduring loves like The Nazz and GBV,” Pratt explained in a statement. “Record the song moments after you’ve learned it on an instrument you’ve just picked up. Oftentimes, that’s all you need.”

Here in the Pitch, the follow-up to 2019’s Quiet Signs, arrives on May 3 via City Slang and Mexican Summer in the US.

John Cale Announces New Album ‘POPtical Illusion’, Shares New Single

John Cale has announced a new album titled POPtical Illusion. The follow-up to last year’s MERCY is set to arrive on June 14 via Double Six/Domino. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the new single ‘How We See the Light’, paired with a video from director Pepi Ginsberg. Watch and listen below.

POPtical Illusion was produced by Cale and longtime collaborator Nita Scott in his Los Angeles studio. In contrast to MERCY, which featured collaborations with Animal Collective, Weyes Blood, Sylvan Esso, Laurel Halo, and more, the new album finds him burrowing “mostly alone into mazes of synthesizers and samples, organs and pianos, with words that, as far as Cale goes, constitute a sort of swirling hope, a sage insistence that change is yet possible,” according to a press release.

POPtical Illusion Cover Artwork:

POPtical Illusion Tracklist:

1. God Made Me Do It (don’t ask me again)
2. Davies and Wales
3. Calling You Out
4. Edge of Reason
5. I’m Angry
6. How We See The Light
7. Company Commander
8. Setting Fires
9. Shark-Shark
10. Funkball the Brewster
11. All To The Good
12. Laughing In My Sleep
13. There Will Be No River

Chastity Belt Share New Single ‘Laugh’

Ahead of the release of their new LP Live Laugh Love on Friday, Chastity Belt have shared one more single from it. ‘Laugh’ follows the previously unveiled ‘I-90 Bridge’, ‘Hollow’, and  ‘Chemtrails’. Listen to it below.

“I wrote this song during the summer of 2021 when I was still technically living in LA, but I spent the whole summer in Seattle living at a punk house (Spruce) with my friends,” the band’s Julia Shapira said in a statement. “It was a really special summer, and I could feel that while it was happening. I’d been feeling pretty lonely in LA, and it had been a long year and a half of Covid, so it felt like this much needed time to be around old friends. The song is about that time, and being nostalgic for it while it was still happening, which is something I tend to do.”

Tiny Habits Share New Songs ‘Flicker’ and ‘I Don’t Have the Heart’

Tiny Habits have released two new tracks, ‘Flicker’ and ‘I Don’t Have the Heart’. They follow ‘Small Enough’ and ‘Mudroom’, which marked the alt-pop trio’s signing to Mom+Pop. Take a listen below.

“‘Flicker’ is about the hardships of being in a painful relationship. It’s about allowing yourself to be manipulated knowingly, despite the difficulty of being used, in hopes that the situation will somehow, by some delusion, become one of love,” the band explained in a statement. “‘I Don’t Have the Heart’ is about on one’s inability to express to another that they are not in a place to continue a relationship that is meant to exist only in the past. The song also touches on the difficulty of creating boundaries and more importantly, sticking to them.”

Ani DiFranco Announces New Album, Shares New Songs

Ani DiFranco has announced her 23rd self-released album, Unprecedented Sh!t, which arrives on July 17 via her own Righteous Babe Records. The record was produced by BJ Burton, known for his work with Bon Iver, Low, Charli XCX, and more. Along with the news, DiFranco has shared two tracks, ‘The Thing At Hand’ and ‘New Bible’, which you can hear below.

DiFranco is currently starring as Persephone in the Tony-winning Broadway musical Hadestown. Her second children’s book, Show Up and Vote, is due in August 2024.

Unprecedented Sh!t Cover Artwork:

Unprecedented Sh!t Tracklist:

1. Spinning Room
2. Virus
3. More or Less Free
4. Baby Roe
5. Unprecedented Sh!t
6. New Bible
7. Boots of a Soldier
8. You Forgot to Speak
9. The Thing at Hand
10. Interlude
11. The Knowing

House! (2000) Review

Written by Eric Styles and Jason Sutton, House! is a 2000 British show directed by Julian Kemp. It was produced by Michael Kelk, with Adam Sutcliffe and Christopher Figg working as the film’s executive producers. House! features Kelly Macdonald, Freddie Jones, Jason Hughes, Miriam Margolyes and Danny Roberts.

The Unforgettable La Scala

The film had unforgettable scenes, especially featuring the age-old bingo hall, La Scala, where several fans came to play bingo. Amid the rumours of a remake, this movie would obviously have to reflect contemporary times. With technological advancements shaping how fans access bingo halls, online casinos could be a great ground for inspiration. These platforms have become popular in our modern day because of their evolving product portfolios, like the slingo games selection, where players can immerse themselves in combined bingo and slot environments. A contemporary retelling of House! could go in several directions, considering how fans access bingo environments today.

Macdonald played Linda, while Jones took up the role of Mr. Anzani. Margolyes and Hughes were featured as Beth and Gavin, with Danny Robert playing Andy. The magical interplay of characters as the film moves from one scene to another keeps audiences engaged. Gavin, who, at times, is perceived as nauseating, is an ambitious smoothie, though. At the same time, Mr Anzani exudes a natural Mediterranean/Welsh charm that elates ladies during the interval, while Linda plays innocent until Auntie Beth dares her.

Plot Overview

La Scala, owned by Anzani, was once the largest bingo hall in the United Kingdom. Despite the challenges the company has sustained, one thing remains promising: loyal employees. It has been a family business for three generations, acting as a musical hall, variety theatre, and now a cinema and bingo hall.

However, as the small town in South Wales promises investment returns, more international companies keep coming to the region, which means more competition for La Scala. This is witnessed when the large international conglomerate announces its plan to set up a behemoth entertainment hub near La Scala. Amid these happenings, Linda uses her psychic gift, which was in her mother, to rescue the age-old bingo hall.

The Minds Behind the Show

Kjell Vassdal, the cameraman, contributed to the film’s visual aesthetic. Leila Ransley participated as the costume designer, while Jon Williams and Alan Jones worked as the assistant director and sound director, respectively. The Film Factory was in charge of the digital visual effects. The list cannot end without mentioning Jonathan Rudd, who worked as the editor; Mark Thomas, the mind behind the musical score; and Tom Pearce, the art director.

House! has received several positive reviews.. On IMDb, it averaged a score of 6 out of 10 for a total of 422 votes. Other applauses came from renowned figures like Derek Elley, who praised the film’s directorship and Macdonald’s performance in a Variety review post.

Overall, House! is a gem of British cinema, offering a refreshing take on the traditional coming-of-age story. With its stellar performances and memorable characters, it remains a standout show in television history.