Category: Single Of The Week

Single Of The Week: “I Miss The Band” by Alanis Morissette

This song came out last Friday, but it deserves a little more attention. This track literally made me cry. Like, not even gentle tears. A full-on sob. I have yet to hear a song that really hits the profound darkness and loss the world has suffered from COVID and how heavy and long this fight has been going. “I Miss The Band” is just a masterpiece of a song. 

The proceeds from this single go to Backline Care, an organization that connects people who work in the music industry with mental health and wellness care. It’s not just musicians, but it’s road crew, box office staff, security, everyone that works in music. And we need it badly now. 

“I Miss The Band” is available in all of the usual places. Lord willing, Alanis is scheduled to hit the road late Summer with Garbage and Liz Phair. Tour dates are here, and I really hope we get this thing crushed in time for these shows to happen. So, please, for the love of God, MASK UP, VAXX UP, AND STAY ISOLATING! We are almost there!!!!

Single Of The Week: “The War Clock” by Various Artists

One the list of things you don’t know you needed- Kyp Malone of NYC art-rock legends TV On The Radio is in a psych-jazz band with John Dwyer of OSees and Dwyer-verse players Tom Dolas and Brad Caulkin. They are called Various Artists and their debut album is called Moon-Drenched. Or maybe this is just the band Bent Arcana’s second record? Either way, this track of a fierce piece of brain-melting fuckery that’s also 12 1/2 minutes of pure energy. Do you need something to help you focus on spreadsheets or cleaning the bathroom? This is it. Looking to get lost in your own head? This is also it. Just looking for guitar and sax fury? Yup! This is it.  The one thing “The War Clock” doesn’t sound like to me is actual war… The song is “happy” exciting, not “scary” exciting. You may interpret it as you wish. 

“The War Clock” can be played loud off Bandcamp and a full length, Moon-Drenched, is coming to this world on May 28th. 

Single Of The Week:”Sad Girl Party” by CYBERST3PH

Some weeks, I find a song that immediately inspires me to write about it. I find a clear and vivid emotional connection, and can easily articulate it. Other weeks, I go through emails and press releases, and a song just jumps out at me, and I don’t really know how to describe it. “Sad Girl Party” by CYBERST3PH is one of those. After hours of listening to new music from all across the spectrum, this song just *hit.* It filled me with that burst of serotonin that comes from hearing a song that just makes you happy. It has all the heart and sincerity of Diet Cig, but a shine to it that usually doesn’t work for a song like this, but just plain does. 

“Sad Girl Party” is available in all the usual places, and be sure to follow CYBERST3PH on Instagram, Twitter, and Spotify to stay in the loop on new music. 

Single Of The Week: “Manifest” by Revenge Wife

One of my favorite video tropes is the “female murdering their male partner” trope. Kesha gave us a great one in 2019 with “Raising Hell.” The Dixie Chicks’ “Earl” stands as a classic. And now Elizabeth Nistico, under her aptly named alter-ego Revenge Wife, brings us “Manifest.” This is a thrilling tale of love gone awry, and, quite honestly, this music video might be the best movie I’ve seen all year. (I also have a two-year-old that is trapped at home with me due to the pandemic, and when that kid is asleep, I’m either running this blog, working, or trying to make sure the house doesn’t fall to pieces, so there’s not a lot of time for movie watching. 3 minutes and 12 seconds IS my free time) The song itself is some hyperpop brilliance, and I’m really excited about all of this madness ending so I can enjoy this genre live. 

“Manifest” is the second single off Revenge Wife’s forthcoming EP Background Songs For Your Boring Life, Part 1. The release date is still TBA, but you can keep up with Nistico on Instagram and Twitch!

Single of the Week: “Polaroid” by Susan Darvishi

It’s been a long time since we’ve given you a hometown single of the week. A lot of that is due to, well, not going to shows and getting blown away by someone new live. Instead, we need to get blown away in our headphones, which is exactly what Susan Darvishi did. “Polaroid” is a big, classic new wave song, in the vein of Human League. The synths are warm and lovely, not cold like a lot of dance music suffers from. And the best part is the lyrics- we have a real story with a beginning, middle, and end that takes you on a night out. She actually brings you to a space where we can see our friends, meet new people, dance, and live life like we haven’t been able to in over a year at this point. It’s the perfect COVIDversary track, and, in its own way, is helping me remember that there is an end, and we will get to that place again. 

You can find “Polaroid” and the rest of her excellent catalog in all the usual places! Rumor has it a full length will be dropping before the year is out!

Single Of The Week: “Watch Out” by Little Fuss

Little Fuss are Olivia Martinez and Cody Von Lehmden, a pop duo from Boston, MA. “Watch Out” is their first single, and it’s an anxious little bouncy number that matches it’s sonic optimism with realistic lyrics about struggling through life now. In the end, there isn’t a lot to say about it other than it made me happy, and continues to make me happy upon subsequent listens. I hope it makes you happy, too. 

This is the first we are hearing of Little Fuss, but hopefully not the last. You can follow them on Soundcloud, and, if we are lucky, they might get to take this thing out on the road by year’s end. 

Single of the Week: “Egg Salad” by The Paranoyds

I’ve been sleeping on The Paranoyds… There is so much good garage rock coming out of LA these days that sometimes it’s easy to miss something amazing. Well, by the grace of God, they decided to drop a new single and video off their 18-month-old debut full-length Carnage Bargain. And, well, I really like it. “Egg  Salad” is a fun, organ-driven punk rock number that fills my heart with great joy. It’s a dance song, and it’s the kinda song where I can’t wait until it’s safe to get sweaty to this jam in person. 

Carnage Bargain is NOW available in all the usual places! 

Single Of The Week: “Rainforest” by Noname featuring Adam Ness

Factory Baby, Noname’s 2nd full-length album was due to come out in 2019. Then Chicago’s finest MC (Yes, Chance and Kanye, she is Chicago’s finest MC) decided that she was leaving the music business. She dropped off a massive triple headlining tour with Chromeo and Toro u Moi. The album never saw the light of day, and she was pretty silent throughout 2020, aside from a low profile single, “Song 33” and starting a NoNameReads, a book club dedicated to uplifting the voices of POC. 

Well, about a month ago or so, Noname reactivated her artist profiles on social media, teasing that she’s back. Her first track since her “return” is “Rainforest.” Her smooth, calm delivery almost makes you miss the fact that it’s a biting, no-holds-barred attack on colonialism and capitalism. If this is what we are going to expect from Factory Baby, then I’m totally on board. 

“Rainforest” is available in all the usual places. More news on Factory Baby as we get it!

 

Single Of The Week: “23” by Wallice

For those who have been paying attention to this column, it’s not hard to see that the writer has been pretty frustrated and feeling both suffocated and frightened for the last, um, 11 months or so. Everything is equally an existential crisis and a real crisis, and despite the news getting more and more positive every day, it’s still scary, and life is still pretty much trapped in four walls. That’s where “23” comes in. It’s a lovely, poppy, fuzzy number that feels simultaneously free and trapped. Think somewhere between Courtney Barnett and Diet Cig. Lyrically it’s a witty and insightful look inside the mind of someone transitioning into adulthood and what it means. Wallice’s jazz-trained vocals come through without losing her relatability. My 41-year old self, whose career was pretty much severed because of COVID and has been thrown into a stay-at-home dad life, not because of choice but because there’s no other option, has been stuck listening to this song on repeat because the situation is different, but the sentiment is on point. 

“23” can be streamed/purchased in all the usual places. More to come from her, so it may be wise to hit that “follow” button on your chosen platform. 

Single Of The Week: “Hey Lou” by Liz Phair

David Bowie’s Blackstar. Metallica’s Hardwired… To Self Destruct. Cher’s Believe. Green Day’s American Idiot. Bob Dylan’s Oh Mercy. It’s rare for an artist to go over a decade between “classic albums.” These five were the only five I could really think of where the band was able to find that magic, get that “this is why I love this artist” sound after years. Liz Phair’s two most recent records, Somebody’s Miracle and Funstyle weren’t for me. I actually wasn’t even sure Phair was going to release another album after 2010’s Funstyle, let alone a record that I was going to be legit excited about. 

So, when I put on “Hey Lou,” that angular acoustic guitar HIT ME IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS THE LIZ PHAIR THAT I LOVE!!! It’s classic Liz Phair: rough, a little abrasive, vivid lyrics. Yet, the song sounds fairly mature. The arrangement is complex and fascinating in a way that someone with 30 years experience under her belt as a songwriter would be able to do. And, really, she is a better singer now. It’s just a great song. 

“Hey Lou” is out now in all the usual places. It’s the first single off her upcoming record Soberish, due later this year. If you are jonesing for a Liz Phair concert, she’s doing a live stream on March 3rd, aptly titled “I Was Almost There.” And, of course, we are still waiting to see officially when we will be able to enjoy live music again, but Phair is still due to tour with Alanis Morisette and Garbage later this Summer. Dr Fauci said that it’s important to make plans out in the world for after this is over, so it’s really beneficial to start buying concert tickets anyways! Until then, keep double masking, avoiding unnecessary trips into the world, washing your hands, and be sure to get your shots when they become available again, and we might actually enjoy this ridiculous lineup together.