Category: Single Of The Week

Single Of The Week: No Gifts For Nazis by Alice Bag

Not enough people have been talking about Alice Bag’s big comeback. One of the original LA punks, she was featured prominently in the original Decline Of Western Civilization  before leaving music to focus on activism. Jump to 2016 and she put out an amazing new record, and then another, and now she’s got the perfect Christmas single! For those living in England, it’s probably a really good day to blast this one as loud as you can.

Alice Bag will be sharing the stage with fellow Decline.. veterans Circle Jerks, as well as Bikini Kill, Plastic Bertrand, Carbonas, Bleached, Panty Raid, and many, many more at Burger Boogaloo in Oakland on July 10th-11th. You can still get special early bird tickets NOW! These are going fast and make great Christmas gifts. Just please don’t buy them for any Nazis.

Single Of The Week: HANGERZ by Pussy Riot featuring Vic Mensa and Thunderpussy

This week’s Single Of The Week comes from Putin’s least favorite band, Pussy Riot! HANGERZ is one of the best songs to come out of Pussy Riot yet! It’s a heavy, industrial rap song about abortion. Bold, direct, honest, and you can definitely mosh to it. Bonus verses from Vic Mensa and Thunderpussy hit the message even harder.

Pussy Riot are embarking on a rare full North American Tour in 2020, with a portion of the ticket proceeds going to Planned Parenthood. They are encouraging patrons to “come to the performances with posters and banners, and with your face covered – masks, balaclavas, scarfs, anything. Let’s riot!” Tickets can be purchased here!

Single Of The Week: Feast by Bridal Veil

Bridal Veil are a band out of Portland, Oregon, and they recently put out their first EP, Morpho. We’ve selected their track, “Feast,” as our single of the week! The track opens with some swirling recorder, only to take you into some of the best dream pop I’ve heard since 4AD’s heyday! Lead singer Emily Overstreet’s voice weaves in and out of swirling guitars in a way that feels perfectly calculated for maximum serotonin release of the brain. 

Morpho can be purchase on Bandcamp,  or streamed in all of the usual places!

Single Of The Week: Come My Habibi by Habibi

Habibi is an Arabic word meaning “my beloved.” And, from the moment I first heard them listening to Pandora at work six years ago, I was immediately in love with their mix of garage punk, classic Arabic music, and Motown girl group. I also genuinely thought they had called it quits after their first, self-titled record. Then, late last year, an EP came out called Cardamom Garden, where they toned down the punk and turned up the psych. It only left me wanting MORE HABIBI! Well, you’re in luck! Er, I’M IN LUCK! This week’s Single Of The Week is the lead single from Habibi’s upcoming second full length, Anywhere But Here. It’s a track called “Come My Habibi,” and it’s a lofi, bilingual, psychedelic masterwork.

This record is destined to be one of the best reviewed albums of 2020. You can preorder the physical record here, or preorder a virtual copy here!

Also, don’t forget to see them at Bottom Of The Hill on February 29th as part of the Noise Pop Festival! (Tix on sale now!) And, Noise Pop also dropped a killer second wave of acts, including Spinning Platters’ favorites Best Coast, Destroy Boys, Clit Kat, Mannequin Pussy, and many more! Tix for those shows can be found here!

Single Of The Week: IUD by Lisa Prank

One year, I was working at the box office at a music festival in Florida. It was on the beach, and it was a pretty pleasant working experience. One little bit of inside knowledge- the “number” printed on the RFID wristband you get when going to a big festival? That’s called a “UID.” Whenever I’m stressed or tired, I find that I will reverse letters or words. This meant that I spent most of the weekend asking people for their “IUD” and not their “UID.” People kind of rolled with the mistake, although one colleague kept laughing hysterically. By the end of the fest, she told me what I was doing wrong, and what that word meant.

Lisa Prank’s latest record is called Perfect Love Song and features the single “IUD.” Now that I know what that is, I can safely make it our single of the week. You can listen to or buy the record in all the usual places!

Single Of The Week: Glorious by Sudan Archives

Sudan Archives have been floating around for a few years, and, well, I haven’t really given her any attention until now. Her latest single, “Glorious,” is a stunning blend of virtuoso violin work, African rhythms, and trip hop vocals and just enough hip hop. This is a slow burner that sticks with you.

Sudan Archives’ latest record, Athena dropped today, and is available from all of the usual stores and streaming services, or you can purchase the limited edition on Black & Cream vinyl with bonus 7″ and sheet music from Bandcamp!

Noise Pop 2020 also dropped their line up earlier this week, and it’s AMAZING! But, most importantly, Sudan Archives are playing Swedish American Hall on February 24th as part of the fest!

Single Of The Week: Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia

So, Sunday is my birthday. And it seems like Kesha knew that, because she gifted the world the most amazing music video and new single for my birthday, “Raising Hell.” Structurally, we have a great 70’s country song video and lyric, all coming together with the classic, dirty and energized Kesha sound. It’s like the classic Top 40 Ke$ha melded with the more introspective and experimental Rainbow-era Kesha, and brought us a party starter that’s supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Big Freedia’s deep and percussive voice comes through almost unexpectedly, coloring the track in a lovely way.

This track is the lead single to High Road, coming out January 10th, 2020. And, if you are still trying to decide on a Birthday present for me, you can just get me the album bundled with a bottle of Kesha’s Raising Hell Hot Sauce!  You can also preorder it in normal ways, too! 

 

Single Of The Week: Music With Your Dad by Nasty Cherry

Five years ago, I attended SXSW and enjoyed a set where Charli XCX was backed by a three piece rock band. Rumor had it she was going to release a full on rock record, and it never happened. I’ve kept waiting, and instead of that record happening, she pieced together a rock band that includes the great Chloe Chaidez of Kitten on lead guitar. That band is called Nasty Cherry, and they released a new single called “Music With Your Dad” today! It’s a catchy, danceable rock number that will keep your fall nice and warm.

Nasty Cherry’s debut EP, produced by Charli XCX, will be dropping this November.

Single of the Week: Your Capricious Soul by Michael Stipe

Solo Stipe: An R.E.M. Story

We hear a sudden flow of synths providing a thumping backdrop, then Michael Stipe begins softly crooning, “Honey’s got got got a good feeling.” And just like that, R.E.M.’s former frontman is back with his first solo single ever, Your Capricious Soul, and as a listener I couldn’t agree more with this opening line. After R.E.M. disbanded in 2011, coinciding with the release of their fifteenth and final album, Collapse Into Now, fans were eager to learn if and what musical offerings Stipe would eventually and hopefully release unto the world. At long last, after contributing on a few third party projects over the last eight years, Stipe has released a track of his own (all proceeds going to climate advocacy group Extinction Rebellion). Your Capricious Soul is a tune that goes down easy, despite its diametrically opposed themes of hopefulness and hopelessness, as they relate to the state of the earth. The song works as a natural, albeit somewhat basic, continuation of R.E.M.’s work yet its more exploratory and steeped in consciousness than it initially suggests, completed with the poetic imagery and emotional complexity we’ve come to expect from Stipe’s songwriting. Continue reading “Single of the Week: Your Capricious Soul by Michael Stipe”

Single Of The Week: I’ve Got Reason by Mikal Cronin

Mikal Cronin is probably most famous for being Ty Segall’s bassist. Not a ton of people are aware of his solo work, which is a shame because, dare I say it? Cronin is a better songwriter than Segall. Look no further than the epic psych masterwork that Cronin released today, “I’ve Got Reason.” If you are looking for some aural delight to kick off your weekend, this is a lovely place to start. There is an easy going groove that gets cut with the dirtiest, ugliest guitars this side of J Mascis, and it’s making my Friday.

Cronin’s first record in four years, Seeker, is due out October 25th. Just two days before my birthday, so if anyone is looking for the perfect present for me, you can always pre-order the “Peak Vinyl” edition from Bandcamp with a bonus 12″ single, and all of the swirly colors you’d want in a psych record and send it to me. Or you can just buy one for yourself. That’s cool, too.