What can be better than embracing yourself and staying true to who you actually are? That’s exactly the issue that Sheffield collective Acid Klaus (from the mind of Moonlandingz’ Adrian Flannagan) touches on their ravey new single “You’re a Freak”. If you truly like something — accept it and ignore whatever anyone else has to say about it.
The song is a true dance hit, on which Acid Klaus collaborates with Sheffield-based singer Philly Piper (collaborator of DJ Parrot and I Monster). It is out now on Yard Act’s Zen F.C. label and is said to be the first single to be taken from the forthcoming EP of the same name, scheduled for release sometime in the summer.
Stream below and get the track for your party playlists here.
Do Nothing are back with a brand new single titled “Amoeba”. It is released with the announcement of their long-awaited debut LP Snake Sideways, which is set for release on June 30.
Speaking of the new track lead vocalist Chris Bailey says: “As far as I remember ‘Amoeba’ is about my girlfriend leaving the house to go to work and be useful, and me laying on the sofa feeling dumb and watching annoying news on TV. It muses about how the media decides what we all care about on a two week rotation – sometimes it feels like we all get angry about something for a few weeks until the TV/internet decides it’s time for us to think about something else. It’s also about the fact that making music can often feel pretty unimportant; some folks are firefighters while I spend all my time massaging my own ego”.
A slightly neurotic and very well-executed number is out with the horror film-inspired music video (directed by Clump Collective) and follows the previously released song “Happy Feet” (which would also be included in the record). If all the above entertainment is not enough for you, Do Nothing went further and did their own album-themed version of the Snake game, designed by Yuck Studios. The top 3 spots on the leaderboard will win some cool prizes. Well, that’s how you promote a record.
The group has also announced a huge set of tour dates for September, October and November. There would be three shows in Italy:
Splint’s debut single was “Military Procedures”, which was followed by “145” last October. Despite their short history, there already have been some line-up changes, but what matters is that they survived and sound very confident and strong.
On “Awaiting Hills”, the newest offering from the group led by Jake Bogacki, they continue on their own brand of post-punk, open and widescreen, injected with driving guitar riffs and pounding drums, creating a frenzied and chaotic atmosphere. It feels like the band is using the song as a blank canvas, painting new sketches on it with their instruments along the way. The result is powerful and truly liberating.
Check it out below and get the track here, out now via Nice Swan Records.
With a debut album titled Defamator arriving on May 12 via Taxi Gauche Records, Los Angeles-based musician Chloe Gallardo is giving us a new taster of what to expect — a dreamy and ethereal indie pop track “Bloodline” that showcases Chloe’s distinctive vocal style and introspective lyricism, touching on personal topics.
Elaborating on the track, Chloe shares: “Bloodline is about feeling like a gigantic disappointment to my family (hence the name). I wrote this song when I didn’t have a day job and I had just moved back home so I felt like I had really taken a step back in my life. I guess my goal for this song was to just convince them that I was trying my best in a set of unfortunate circumstances”.
Squid present new single “Undergrowth”, a haunting second taster from the band’s upcoming new album O Monolith, set for release on June 9 through Warp Records. On it, the group’s signature experimental musical endeavours are gaining momentum again.
This time around, the London-based band uses a funky groove, heavy bass and a ringing array of random noises (which aren’t actually random at all) in their arsenal. In six minutes, “Undergrowth” grows into the unwieldy musical epic that Squid became famous for on their debut release, Bright Green Field. Their colourful art rock is even more enriched with sounds now, and the atmosphere helps the listener to better understand what awaits us on the highly-anticipated second record.
The track is out with the game of the same name (made by Frank Force), and it’s definitely a fun interactive way to immerse yourself in the Squid universe. Play it here.
Squid live at Pohoda Festival’22
Speaking about the song’s lyrics, drummer and vocalist Ollie Judge says: “I really got into animism, the idea that spirits can live in inanimate objects. I was watching Twin Peaks, and there was the episode where Josie Packard’s spirit goes into a chest of drawers. So ‘Undergrowth’ was written from the perspective of me being reincarnated as a bedside table in the afterlife, and how the thought of being reincarnated as an inanimate object would be dreadful. ‘This isn’t what I wanted/ So many options to be disappointed.’ Even though I’m in no way religious I don’t think anyone who isn’t religious is confident enough to not have had the fleeting thought of ‘Fuck, what if there is an afterlife? What if I’m going to Hell?”.
Squid would also be touring a lot this year, having already lined up a big set of dates for the next months, including both single gigs and festival appearances. The only show in Italy would be in Milan @ Santeria Toscana 31 on September 19. Get the tickets for that here and find the full list of dates on the band’s website.
Check out “Undergrowth” below and pre-order the record here.
Acute Pop 