Category: Single Of The Week

Single of the Week: “All This Love” by Destroy Boys

Destroy Boys are one of the great Oakland punk bands. A group whose pure, unadulterated energy consumes you and forces you into a manic dance. So, when I heard the first few notes of “All This Love,” I was initially put off. Why? Because it was a ballad. A BALLAD!!! You can’t mosh to a ballad! However, within about 15 seconds, Alexia Roditis’ voice creeps into your veins and grabs your heart, and squeezes it with a tender intensity. This ballad may be more ferocious than any of their more aggressive works. That’s why this is the single of the week. It may end up being the single of the year. 

“All This Love” is the third single off Destroy Boys’ upcoming release Open Mouth, Open Heart, which is coming your way on October 8th. You can preorder / presave here. 

Single Of The Week: “Money Honey” by Zelma Stone

There is something lovely about a song that takes a subtly builds up over a tight four minutes. “Money Honey” by Zelma Stone is one of those songs… It starts gentle, sparse, delicate. By the end, you find yourself bathed in the ferocity of layers of electric guitar. It’s a stunner of a track. One that sort of tricks you into a journey that you don’t know you’re taking, and I love it. 

“Money Honey” can be found in all the usual places, depending on how you prefer to take in music. Stone’s latest full record, The Best, can be picked up at Bandcamp. And for those of you that feel good about indoor shows, our good friends at The Chapel (who have been killing it in the COVID safety department) will be presenting her alongside Andrew St James, French Cassettes, and more on Thursday, September 9th, as part of the first “in-person” Fast Times since February 2020. Tickets are available here! 

Single Of The Week: “Quiet On Set” by Remi Wolf

There aren’t a lot of pure expressions of silliness these days. Remi Wolf gifted us with this enjoyable track that takes a throwback “new jack swing” groove over stream of consciousness musings making for the perfect antidote for the shitstorm that is this modern world. I kinda love fun for the sake of fun sometimes.

“Quiet On Set” is out now in all of the usual places. Remi’s debut album, Juno, is coming your way on October 15th and can be presaved/preordered here. Also she’s got a handful of fall tour dates that you still have time to vaxx up for so you can go!

Single of the Week: “Rabbit” by Kills Birds

I’ll be frank with you… I’m not specifically a fan of Dave Grohl. I love Nirvana, don’t get me wrong, but I find the Foo Fighters to be, well, boring. So I found it hard to force myself to listen to Kills Birds, a little band from LA that Grohl has been championing, down to inviting them to record in his personal recording studio. So, I bit my tongue and put on “Rabbit,” expecting to hate it. Instead, I fell in love! This song is so heavy and claustrophobic and intense and it’s just plain fucking great. And, yes, the f-word is necessary. Do you love Savages and X-Ray Spex? Do you not know what I’m talking about there, but love loud? This is a track for you!

“Rabbit” can be enjoyed in all of the usual places. And, if you want more, their sophomore album Married is due out on November 12th and can be preordered/presaved now so you don’t forget in November. Especially since this is likely to be your first Thanksgiving with family this decade, and something loud will be nice to escape into after that tension. Looking for more catharsis? Make sure you get vaccinated so you can enjoy their fall tour with Sleigh Bells! 

Single Of The Week: “Locust Laced” by Sleigh Bells

The funny thing about Sleigh Bells is that they seem to time new material to the exact moment when I feel like I need it. And, my god, it’s felt like I needed it for the last year and a half, but I really REALLY needed “Locust Laced” this week. Badly. The band has actually dialed up the noise for this track, giving you pure sonic catharsis. I’ve played this song ever so loudly too many times this week. God bless Sleigh Bells.

“Locust Laced” is out now in all the usual places. It’s the first track off “Texis,” their latest full-length album which is sliding into your ears on September 10th. Also, make sure you and your community get vaccinated ASAP because I really need a Sleigh Bells show with a mass of sweaty people and I’ll be damned if the anti-vaxxer community forces these shows to get pushed.

BONUS Single Of The Week: “Dream I Had” by Revenge Wife

Becoming visible as a new artist for the last year and a half has been a tricky game. The most practical option is to tour and get your music in front of as many live faces as possible. Or befriend as many DJs as you can and get them to spin your tracks in front of an audience. Neither of these things have been an option for most of 2020 and 2021, and although live events are starting to wake up a little, so is the Delta variant, so we could possibly lose these shows any moment now. (GET VACCINATED NOW!) 

It’s been important to get creative and think outside the box. Or, in the case of Revenge Wife, aka Elizabeth Nistico, focus your energy on the last art form that really drove artist discovery: THE MUSIC VIDEO. Nistico has made an amazing, captivating series of music videos that all tie into each other, creating one cohesive story. “Dream I Had” is the latest chapter, following “Home,” “Earthquake,” and “Manifest.” Please watch in that order. And subscribe to her VEVO channel, because the story isn’t over yet. 

All of these tracks can be found on Revenge Wife’s recently released EP, Background Songs for Your Boring Life, Part 1, which can be streamed/purchased in all of your favorite streaming and purchasing portals. 

 

Single Of The Week: “Fast Car” by Syd

I’ll level with you- these days are rough. The Republican Party is dead set on making sure that no working-class people and people of color are ever able to vote again. COVID is spiking all over the place, making for the conditions of a much worse variant than Delta to take over. Haiti is experiencing a tragedy that could ruin them. People are starving in Cuba due to, um, some ancient trade embargo that prevents them from participating in capitalism despite the only reason it’s in effect is because they don’t participate in capitalism. (That’s one helluva catch-22) And there is SO MUCH MORE HELL RIGHT NOW THAT MY BRAIN CAN’T HOLD IT ALL! I almost didn’t do a single of the week this week. I wanted to stay in bed and away from my computer. 

Then I heard “Fast Car” by Syd. That’s the artist formerly known as Syd Tha Kyd. The frontperson of The Internet. The most talented member of Odd Future (Sorry Tyler and Frank!). And this song is great. And this video is one of the most romantic short films ever made. Did it totally turn my mood around? Well, no, I’m still anxious as hell. But for 4:43, I felt a little removed from the hell we are in. So please go to all the usual places to enjoy this lovely soul jam. 

Single Of The Week: “dumb dumb” by maize

I hate remembering the horrific events of January 6th, 2021. It was the first time that I really felt that forces of evil were really capable of dismantling democracy in America, and it became clear that all someone influential had to do to destroy this country is muse about something possibly happening and thousands of people would decide to, um, take control of The Capitol. To this day the rage leaves me so scrambled that I can’t even clearly convey my thoughts. But, you know who did? mazie. She gifted us with this lovely track called “dumb dumb” that takes the narrative for what it is and manages to take the power back from the terrorists that attacked us that day using the most potent weapon at her disposal: PURE SNARK! Both lyrical snark and even the bouncy instrumental backing are a bit snarky. This track is genius. 

“dumb dumb” is out now in all the usual places! Her debut EP, the rainbow cassette, will be out on August 25th! 

Single Of The Week: “I Confuse Us” by Caitlin Cobb-Vialet

“I Confuse Us” is a song that feels equally warm and uncomfortable. It’s the rare genius composition that incorporates unusual rhythms and the occasional off-key note not because the performer made a mistake but because the performer wants you to feel the song’s awkwardness. Not since the early works of Regina Spektor have, I heard someone reinvent the simple sound of voice and piano in such a glorious way. 

Oakland’s Caitlin Cobb-Vialet will be releasing her debut EP in October. For now, you can enjoy and follow Cobb-Vialet’s work in all of the usual places. 

Single Of The Week: “I Wanna Be a Dog” by Colleen Green

Colleen Green has been putting out amazing lofi power-pop for about a decade now. And I ADORE HER! It pains me that we’ve somehow never written about her on this site. That changes RIGHT NOW! Because her latest single “I Wanna Be a Dog” is a stunning, fuzz-filled song that I’m sure most of the world can relate to. 

“I Wanna Be a Dog” is off Green’s upcoming full-length record, Cool, out September 10th! Preorders are available right now, and if you act quickly you can get it on “cool cloudy smoke” colored vinyl!