[song] Enola Gay – Leeches

acute.pop

Enola Gay are back with a brand new single titled “Leeches”. It is unveiled with the announcement of their new EP Casement, which is set for release on September 1 via Modern Sky (it would also include their other recent cut “PTS.DUP”).

It is a chaotic and abrasive track demonstrating the band’s ability to create a wall of sound with distorted guitars, pounding drums, and Fionn Reilly’s manic vocals. Politically charged, the song touches on the current cost of living crisis.

Detailing their newest release, produced by Johnny Hostile (Savages), the band explained:

“As we lost loved ones who died alone during the pandemic, these inept meat martinets continued and will continue to get away with everything. When their designated spare-dick spearheads are such embarrassments that their actions are brushed off as typical occurrences; you can’t embarrass them more than they embarrass themselves. We watch governmental slapstick playouts daily and still end up the punchline.

This is for the recycled hypocrites elected every round who make it mockingly abundant that we are not their priority. We are their poverty porn. Twisting the knife in us, they spend the millions they haven’t lost yet on monument refurbishment in the midst of an energy crisis. People have suffered this cost of living crisis for years. Only now is it newsworthy with people in the upper echelon also beginning to feel it. Ironically, making the dissociation gap between real people and the likes of Parliament greater than ever”.

Check it out below and get the single here.

[ep] Opus Kink – My Eyes, Brother!

acute.pop

Fun, debauched, deranged etc. — many words can help describe the spirit of Opus Kink’s new EP My Eyes, Brother! which are all correct but they won’t give a full picture of how they sound (on record and also live, which is probably the best way to experience this band).

The generous 7-track release is a true gem of garage rock and punk, jazz and everything else you can imagine. From the opening track “Chains”, Opus Kink throw everything in the mix and grab you with catchy instrumentation and sing-along choruses, showcasing their undeniable talent in translating raw energy and inspiration into brilliantly recorded audio material.

Stream below and buy the EP here, out now via Nice Swan Records.

[song] Sivu – Overtime Lover

acute.pop
Photo by Em Marcovecchio

With his new album Wild Horse Running arriving on June 9 via Square Leg Records, Sivu, aka British songwriter James Page, shares another taster from it — a soothing and deeply personal song “Overtime Lover”, framed with introspective lyrics and skilfully crafted instrumentation.

Elaborating more on the creation of a single and its inspiration, Page said:

“Overtime Lover is the oldest song from the new record and actually took shape just before I went on tour. I then road tested it extensively whilst on a beautiful tour with Fenne Lily, Paul Thomas Saunders and Siv Jakobsen. Paul was incredibly complimentary of the track and we always flirted with the idea of collaborating on something as I have always loved his production. Fast forward 3 years, I left the track with Paul and he created a magical landscape for the song to sit in which I adored from the moment I heard it.

The song is based around this idea of how much of ourselves we have to give to someone else when you are in relationship – and sometimes you crave just to keep a little bit of yourself just for you. It’s lyrically quite blunt but this was an important process for my head and was imperative I got it out. I had no aspirations lyrically to dress it up, and probably from the whole album this song cuts the deepest”.

Listen below and pre-order the record here.

[video] heka – april (away)

acute.pop

Italian-born (and London-based) multidisciplinary artist heka releases a new single “april (away)”, which is the first one for her new label Practise Music.

The song begins with a haunting guitar melody that sets a melancholic tone. Heka’s vocals are soft and ethereal, almost whisper-like, as she sings the opening lines: “Spit the millionth reason / in spite of what you say / April’s foolish every day”. The lyrics evoke a sense of longing and a desire to escape from reality, somewhere in the hiding place.

As the track progresses, more tension arises, forming a beautiful and haunting piece that showcases heka’s talent for creating immersive and emotional soundscapes.

Watch a music video below and get the song here.

[album] Pablo Volt y J.G.G. – Mordida

acute.pop

Mordida is the first LP collaboration between Pablo Volt and J.G.G., who previously played together in Kou Keri Kou. Out now on Barcelona’s Ediciones Populares, the album is an interesting mix of various influences masterfully combined into the organic whole by two talented musicians.

Released right on time in sunny May with its mesmerizing soundscapes and intricate compositions, Mordida has some dub sequences, a huge Latin-American influence, relaxed jazz elements and a ringing ambience. All added up together, we get a highly-enjoyable collection with a sense of weightlessness that transports the listener to another world.

Check it out below and buy the album here.