Today we are crushing on the latest single “Heathens” from Norwegian songstress AURORA. Over the past few months, she has teased us with “Giving In To The Love” and smash hit “Cure For Me,” in the leadup to her highly anticipated third album “The Gods We Can Touch” released via Glassnote Records on January 21, 2022, and now she has graced us once again with her soft yet soaring vocals. If you’re yet to be introduced to AURORA, prepare to fall deeply in love with this ethereal being.
Speaking about the single, AURORA has explained, “I have said previously that I sometimes find myself in a tense relationship with religion. With this I never mean the power and divine beauty of religion. Or how people out there choose to practice our religion ourselves, as individual beings. I admire it. And see a lot of beauty in it. But the exchange of power frightens me. Who has power. Who’s voice matters. Who speaks the truth, and who I worthy or forgiveness. Sometimes we are set free by its power. And sometimes the opposite. And I guess I wanted to write a song about something dangerous, something beautiful and something free. Very human indeed.” The Norwegian songstress is truly showcasing her remarkable versatility as an artist with these fresh pop anthems one after another, an incredible follow up to her recent hit single “Giving In To The Love” and another taste of what’s to come with her fourth album release “The Gods We Can Touch” via Glassnote Records! We couldn’t be more excited to hear what's next!
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This week we have a crush on Tasmanian singer/songwriter Nuria and the hard work and dedication that shines throughout her latest album “Silver.” One to watch, Nuria has a contemporary take on indie music, combining her enchanting vocals with her sophisticated production styles, which “Silver” is nothing short of.
We’ve seen Nuria’s refreshing sound in recent releases from the album, “Juliette,” “Closer” and “Red Velvet.” Each track has shown the fast evolution and refined sound that is fast tracking Nuria to be an exciting new name in music. “2020 was a strange year to say the least, but it gave rise to this album. ‘Silver’ is a collection of songs I wrote during the pandemic when somehow life had a little more breathing room and space for creativity. It was also during this time I connected with producer Sam Phay and mix/master engineer Peter Holz who helped bring this project to life,” said Nuria. Nuira continues, “The songs on this album delve into an inner world of heartache, memories and personal reflection. The setting of the associated imagery was shot inside the grand old Hobart Theatre Royal which for me resonated with the grandiose emotions the music draws from. The feature track ‘Silver’ observes a moment of intense romantic love and the eternal feeling of youth it holds.” We absolutely adore this album from Nuria and can’t wait to see what she does next. 
This week we are dying over Brent Faiyaz’s new release “Mercedes”. His airy and smooth vocals paired with a soulful melody has us jamming and crying at the same time.
Serving us with a mellow, yet rhythmic track, Brent Faiyaz has taken R&B and Soul to the next level. With the smooth and soulful flow of the melody and vocals that just make you melt, this track is definitely one to get you vibing. The hype surrounding Brent has grown exponentially since his last EP, Fuck The Work in early 2020, leading to collaborations with Grammy nominated Tyler The Creator “Gravity” - no.71 on Hot 100. Previous Neptunes-produced single “Wasting Time” featuring billboard & Grammy star Drake, peaked in the top 50 of the Hot 100. Most recently collaborating with Tems, Baby Keem, Meek Mill and 2 Chainz! The alluring vocals with the sensual soulful feel will definitely make “Mercedes” worth putting in your playlist. 
When I say we’re completely crushing on Naderi’s new track, you’ve got to believe me. Naderi graced us with his newest masterpiece, “Lover” - with Kevin George, which is a perfect mix of electronic and rap that is sure to get you vibing.
The rhythmic feel of the song mixed with the catchy melody line provides a support to showcase the smooth and sultry vocals that Naderi brings to the track. If you aren’t yet in love, you’re about to be. Speaking on the track Naderi said: “Everyone has a dark place in their mind. I went through a really dark patch. I thought I could fix it by feeding my ego because I truly didn't know any better and nobody had ever taught me another way. The naive fool was wrong and instead I ended up hurting someone really close and dear to me. This song captures that darkness." Having worked with some of the industry’s greatest like Marshmello, Flume, Alison Wonderland and What So Not, Naderi has an impressive repertoire under his belt and is expected to take the genre by storm. If you’re yet to hear about Naderi, we’re sure you will become a “lover” after giving this track a listen. We’re so excited to see what else Naderi has in store and we’re sure it won’t be anything less than amazing. 
Ivy Adara offers clever and catchy confessions magnified by expansive pop soundscapes with her new single “Want What I Can’t Have.”
Ivy’s raw, dreamy vocals chase a vintage acoustic guitar that provides an organic canvas to tell the story of a girl who’s brave enough to face her demons in order to find herself again. Wrapped in a warm, driving rhythm, the lyrics make you want to dance and cry at the same time. Ivy had the concept for the track floating around her head for months and was continuously mapping out in her mind the best possible way to tell the story, eventually giving us a classic rock song with a modern, minimalistic twist, that is “Want What I Can’t Have.” “If you ever want something you can’t have, this song is for you,” Ivy said.“I fell for a guy who was in a relationship. The story of Adam and Eve seemed interesting to me as a thematic backdrop because it’s the origin story of temptation. I wrestled with temptation. I hated it, but I was scared and surprised how much I loved it. I was a victim to the double bind of knowing on the one hand I wanted something, but on the other, it wasn't good for me. Why do I always want what I can’t have?”. The budding talent wrote her first song at seven-years-old and simply never stopped writing since, leaving her discography’s total streams exceeding 200 million on Spotify alone. It is no surprise that Ivy is becoming an in-demand talent behind-the-scenes and is definitely an artist that you’d want to keep an eye out for! 
This week we are crushing on American Indie Alt-electro alchemist Robert DeLong, who has just released his latest album “Walk Like Me” via Glassnote Records.
Walk Like Me is the outcome of a period of extreme personal evolution for DeLong. After ending a nearly 10-year long relationship, he took the time to re-explore who he is musically, spiritually, interpersonally, and lyrically. Half of the songs were written with an array of Robert’s different musical friends, including Ashe, Lights, Sir Sly, K.Flay, Tim Pagnotta, Fast Friends, and countless others and then were produced and mixed in his home studio over the darkest days of the pandemic. The other half were almost entirely written, produced, and mixed by Robert. The result is a stunning album detailing the journey of self-discovery. “Walk Like Me is my new album, and I’m relatively certain (within a reasonable margin of error) this is the most excited I’ve ever been to release a body of work. It is a collection of songs unbounded by genre - referencing punk, dub, techno, industrial, folk, no-wave, alt-rock, and country, tied together by a sort of anti-hyperpop alt-pop undercurrent, with vocal delivery and lyrics (hopefully) as the adhesive. The album is intended to bring the listener on my personal journey, an invitation to ‘Walk Like Me’ (if I may engage in some low-hanging punnery),” said Robert. The new album features DeLong’s collaboration with Canadian electro-pop phenom Lights, “Did it to Myself,” and “Better in College (feat. Ashe).” Both of which were met with global praise including placement on Spotify’s New Music Friday in twelve countries as well as key playlist placements on Apple, Amazon, and YouTube. DeLong’s latest single “Own Worst Enemy” is also featured on the album. 
Pop singer/songwriter Ashley Kutcher opens up about love, loss, and the feelings in between on her emotional debut EP, One Eighty, via Darkroom/Interscope Records. Alongside the eight - song collection, the 23-year-old artist unveils a playful and exciting new video for the first track “Strangers,” which finds her encountering a string of masked admirers.
On One Eighty, Kutcher is heartbroken but confident as she takes us through the painful stages of a breakup. There’s heartache throbbing throughout the honest “The Night You Left,” where she proclaims, “The worst kind of pain’s buried too deep to see it. If that’s how it is, I don’t wanna love again.” On the EP, Ashley says, “One Eighty is a collection of songs I wrote as my life took a complete turn. It’s a project of discovering who I am as an artist. Together these songs tell my story and I could not be more excited to share it”. One Eighty is the culmination of a productive year for Kutcher that’s seen her rack up millions of streams and widespread acclaim. Single “Fake Bitches” has already clocked 2.8 million total streams since September, while “Love You From A Distance” has amassed over 100 million audio and video streams overall. With nearly 200k TikTok followers under her belt, the Baltimore native has started to embrace her place as one of pop music’s most affecting newcomers. One Eighty will surely only continue to introduce her touching, evocative songs to even more listeners who need to hear what she has to say. 
Lucy Sugerman has released her latest single “Paralysed”, her newest tongue-in-cheek break up song from her debut EP hurt that’s man made out November 18th. The track lets people into her world through relatable tales of her struggles and triumphs in romance and growing up, showing that they are not alone and cathartically capturing the spirit in learning from your own experiences.
“Time moves dreadfully slow when you're 17 and devastated over a boy.” Lucy says, speaking on the track. “The poor guy didn't even do anything wrong. I'm just glad something cathartic you can dance and scream too was born out of a period in my teens of being so upset.” "I wrote the track on my first ever writing trip to Melbourne. I’d gotten broken up with for the first time that year and it was my first year out of school, so I went into all the sessions armed with things to write about. I couldn’t stop singing about the breakup - it felt like I was stuck in time, and stuck in my hometown - all things that reminded me of this boy. All my friends were getting stuck into real adult life and I wasn’t doing much and everything felt like it was terrible and wouldn’t let up. ‘paralysed’ is the most literal and diaristic song on my EP, and arguably has the saddest lyrics, despite Joel and I picking a fast tempo, writing with major resolving pop chords and Joel layering up the fun guitar-based production. I guess now I can laugh about how sad I was, and I have a bunch of songs I’m proud of to remember that period of my life." Bold and unafraid to speak her mind, twenty year old Lucy Sugerman’s addictive and youthful energy perpetuates her music, even in her most vulnerable moments and we can’t wait to hear what’s to come on Lucy’s debut EP hurt that’s man made. 
Gang Of Youths have given us the best news possible today - the announcement of their upcoming album ‘angle in realtime.’ (out February 25th, 2022) and a national tour!! PLUS released a new track from the album ‘tend the garden’.
“The album is about the life and legacy of Dave's father, indigenous identity, death, grief and God. And also the Angel, Islington.” Gang Of Youths. Although the album is eclectic - influences range from American minimalism and contemporary classical to drawing upon the legacy of Britain’s alternative/indie scenes, from drum n’ bass to the most transcendent moments of Britpop - it’s equally rooted in Le’aupepe’s Samoan heritage, with the majority of tracks featuring samples from David Fanshawe’s recordings of indigenous music from the Polynesian islands and the wider South Pacific. angel in realtime. also features contributions from a cast of talented Pasifika and Māori vocalists and instrumentalists. Le’aupepe says, “I hope the record stands as a monument to the man my father was and remains long after I’m gone myself. He deserved it.” The angel in realtime. tour presented by Handsome Tours, TEG Live and triple j will be held in Australia’s most spectacular arenas in July and August 2022, kicking off at Perth’s RAC Arena, then to Adelaide Entertainment Centre and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, before heading to Melbourne’s iconic Rod Laver Arena. The band also return to Auckland and Wellington for their first Aotearoa headline shows in five years. This year has brought a lot of success to Gang of Youths and we cannot wait to see the guys live next year !
Gang Of Youths 2022 Tour Dates
Sat 30 Jul - RAC Arena (Perth) Wed 3 Aug - Adelaide Entertainment Centre Sat 6 Aug - Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney) Fri 12 Aug - Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne) General tickets on sale from 9am (local time) 19 November. More information. 'angel in realtime.' will be released 25 February 2022. Pre-order it. 
This week we have a crush on Christchurch artist MOUSEY with her upbeat indie rock infused track ‘The Bench’ from her to be released album “My Friends” - to be released in early 2022, Sarena Close (MOUSEY) shows no signs of stopping with this fresh new track and we couldn't be more excited about it.
Through her work, MOUSEY cherishes the art of communicating the human experience above all else and does so with a strong sense of melody and emotionally raw sincerity. Even with notable indie, rock, pop and folk influences, Sarena’s distinct sound defies the restrictions of genre and her music provides a unique and powerful insight into this wonderful and confusing world. The album is focused on her friends and the relationships she has with them, the intention was to create a piece of work focused on something other than her family which resulted in the album name “My Friends’ being chosen before any songs were written. Initially hoping the album was going to be light, cute and wholesome, that soon changed after the creative process began given complex battles and mental health struggles that were endured. Even though there are many “sweet” songs on the record, Sarena mentions that the year was really hard and some of her long-time friends left her with some nasty scars - which the record reflects. While her last album was about ‘being let down and being a let-down’, this album is about ‘being let down but being loved.’ Speaking on the track’s creative process for the newest single MOUSEY said: “The first incarnation of The Bench was written on my couch. I wanted to make something with crazy high energy by experimenting with key changes to add intensity and it totally worked. The verse chords/melody just fell out and as usual I got addicted to playing it, singing it in the shower, humming it all at the supermarket etc. The song has a sort of charming rage boiling inside it. All of my bad experiences and frustrations with boys needed a constructive outlet, and this song is it.” We’ve explored MOUSEY’s sunny pop-folk sound in her previous releases, and we are very much looking forward to diving deeper into multifaceted artist Sarena Closes’ new work. |
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