New Music Releases: From Broken Gold and Brigitte Mena to Chaser and Blowfuse
New Music Releases is a column that keeps abreast of all the news from the music industry that often flies under the radar. Keep up-to-date with the underground and independent scene and find your next favorite band or singer-songwriter right here.
British alt-folk star Ruth Theodore drop new single
British alt-folk artist Ruth Theodore has dropped her new single 'Hold On Me' and announced her upcoming album 'I Am I Am', which will be released on May 3. She has also revealed signing to Righteous Babe Records.
'Hold On Me' is a ‘sibling song’ to Theodore’s 2023 single 'Thompson', which also tackled the theme of intimate disconnect. With this release, both singles are packaged on digital streaming sites with the previously-released reflection on vengeance and clarity that was 'Full Metal Jacket' and the cross section of the current British socio-political landscape that was 'People People'.
Bedsit Poets' latest album released
The new Bedsit Poets album 'All Roads Lead Me Back' has gone live. 'All Roads Lead Me Back' is the joint venture of solo recording artists Edward Rogers and Amanda Thorpe, whose songwriting partnership has thus far yielded two critically acclaimed albums released under their adopted name Bedsit Poets, bestowed upon them aptly by Beat 60s/The Zombies legend, Colin Blunstone sometime in the Noughties.
For this latest release, the twists and turns of life brought Amanda back to the UK, after a New York sojourn and both continued their musical projects, Amanda Thorpe as a solo artist, music therapist and NY Bushwick Book Club: London producer, and Edward Rogers, a solo artist, DJ at WFMU’s Rock ‘n’ Soul Radio and half of the duo, Rogers & Butler.
German speed punk rockers Melonball announce EP
Nuremberg-based Melonball will release an acoustic EP titled 'eup•nea' on April 12. The first single 'Sinking' (featuring Vik from Deadends) will be released on March 4.
With the release of the 'eup•nea' EP, Melonball invites listeners into an intimate exploration of their traditionally speedy and punchy punk rock sound. This release unveils a thoughtful twist with insightful acoustic versions of five tracks sourced from their debut album, 'Breathe'. In this acoustic journey, Melonball presents a fresh perspective that navigates the delicate balance between mellowness and the spirited energy inherent in their punk roots.
Friedberg announce upcoming single 'Hello'
Friedberg has announced the upcoming new single ‘Hello’, via Clouds Hill, due for release on Friday, March 1. The track is the first installment of their debut album, due for release in August 2024. The four-piece Friedberg are gearing up for a busy year ahead, including performances at SXSW, with sets confirmed at the British Music Embassy and End Of The Trail showcases next month in Austin, Texas, as well as a performance at this year’s Great Escape Festival. The band have also been invited to support rising Black Country duo Big Special in May.
Formed in 2019 by the Austrian-born, London/Berlin-based Anna Friedberg (writer, vocals, guitar, cowbells and percussion), the line up is completed by Emily Linden (guitar, vocals), Cheryl Pinero (bass, vocals) and Laura Williams (drums). Friedberg’s early success came from single ‘Go Wild’ – a runaway hit that featured on the FIFA 2020 soundtrack, and in BBC's 'Normal People' – and their debut EP ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah’.
Texas band Broken Gold return with new single 'Bad Days'
Austin, Texas, four-piece Broken Gold return with new single 'Bad Days'. This raucous jam finds the band reflecting on past grinds and features local legend Alejandro Escovedo guesting on vocal duties alongside Broken Gold frontman Ian MacDougall.
MacDougall is perhaps best known as a founding member of cult Denton punks Riverboat Gamblers, and 'Bad Days' finds him bringing some of that band’s trademark gritty energy to this outing.
This collaboration with Escovedo has been sometime in the making, with both his band and Broken Gold sharing the same bassist, Bobby Daniel. Not to mention that Alejandro, and his brothers (Mario of San Diegan rockers The Dragons and Javier of The Zeros) have long been supporters of the Gamblers, having shared many bills together.
'Bad Days' is taken from the upcoming Broken Gold album 'Wild Eyes', and is one of two songs that will feature Escovedo. The other being the ballad 'Looking Up'. Reflecting on the recording session that spawned these two songs, MacDougall called it “a great day filled with old war stories and laughter".
Vicki Lovelee drops new single 'Click'
Chinese-Canadian alt-pop sensation Vicki Lovelee has released her latest single 'Click', ahead of her new album coming in the fall of 2024.
"I wrote 'Click' because I started feeling like an outsider in the music industry. Sometimes I feel like no matter what I do or how hard I try, nothing ever clicks. Even though I'm not in school anymore, there are still social groups or 'cliques' everywhere. And the music industry is no exception. There's always cliques that everyone wants to be a part of. And because I wasn't part of it, I felt like such an outsider," says Lovelee.
Brigitte Mena releases acoustic version of 'Sun On My Back'
Singer-songwriter Brigitte Mena has released a live acoustic version of 'Sun On My Back' off of her recently released album 'After The Storm'.
“This is a stripped-down, live acoustic version of the track you’ll hear on the album,” says Brigitte of the new version of the track. “I actually first wrote this song on piano [which you’ll hear on this version], and once my bandmate Jake added his acoustic guitar and influence, it ended up having the original feel from when I first wrote it.”
Last week, Brigitte Mena released her third studio album 'After The Storm'. The album features previously released singles 'Mastermind', 'Honeybee', and 'Equally Human' alongside seven new tracks.
Skater punk rockers Chaser announces release date for new album 'Small Victories'
SoCal punk heroes Chaser will release their long-awaited new album 'Small Victories' on June 28 via SBAM Records (EU), Thousand Islands Records (North America), and Pee Records (Australia). The 13-track album was produced by Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Pennywise, Alkaline Trio) and is the band's first new release in nearly three years.
The band says, "The album title, “'Small Victories', holds a special meaning for us that we felt compelled to share with our listeners. In life, we are continuously presented with challenges, each to our own degree. Managing our personal struggles, we tend to beat ourselves up when the outcome is not as perfect as we envisioned. Instead, let’s learn to appreciate and revel in the small wins that occur on a daily basis. They each carry weight and over time, have the potential to add up to greatness!"
Iskwē drops single 'A Little Piece' ahead of new album release
Iskwē (short for waseskwan iskwew, meaning 'blue sky woman') is sharing 'A Little Piece', the sixth and final single from her upcoming album -- out April 12 -- produced by 10-time Grammy-nominated collaborator Damian Taylor.
Speaking of the hushed tones of 'A Little Piece', iskwē explains the song's painful and complex inspirations: "Feeling overwhelmed, I was faced with myself alone and the choices I had made over the past several years. With conflicted feelings of longing, remorse, and loneliness, I felt caged by a sentiment I could neither explain nor understand. I was alone.
"My mind had fooled me. My tears felt endless and yet somehow this new solitude wrapped itself around my sadness like a giant cozy blanket I could not imagine emerging from ever again. A little piece of me had died, yet I found a little peace inside. A little piece of me had died, yet I found a little peace inside."
Spanish punk rockers Blowfuse release 'The 4th Wall'
Barcelona-based punk rockers Blowfuse's new album 'The 4th Wall' is out. Although punk rock permeates the entire album, the band has experimented with new rhythms, harmonies and styles. Songs like 'Wish' reveal Blowfuse's funk rock side, while 'Fade Into the Dark' shows their darker side of alternative rock and hardcore.
Recorded at Music Lan Studi (Girona), EM Estudi (Terrassa) and Amplifire Studio (Barcelona) and mixed by Jason Livermore of The Blasting Room and mastered by Brian Gardner, the album will be released by Sbäm Records (AU), HFMN CREW (SP), Infected Records (PT) and Epidemic Records (IT).
Influenced by 80s and 90s punk rock waves and the skateboard lifestyle, Blowfuse crafts a style of its own, mixing the aggressiveness of hardcore punk, the catchy melodies of 90s punk rock, the powerful classic rock riffs, and their acid and paranoiac lyrics.
No Man protest song 'March of Ides' releases ahead of new album
NØ MAN have dropped 'March of Ides' the latest single off the new album 'Glitter and Spit', due out March 29 via Iodine Recordings. 'March of Ides' defines the new album and its potent message, born out of singer Maha Shami’s own personal experience as the daughter of palestinian refugees. This March the band will play a series of benefit shows to raise funds for United Nations Relief and Works Agency and Palestine Youth Movement, both organizations that support the Palestinian people.
"'Glitter and Spit' honors resistance, challenging tyranny and oppression by refusing to let others distort your reality to fit their fantasy. For my lived experience, it’s meant fighting for the right to exist as a Palestinian and as a woman. 'March of Ides' is about corrupt leaders breathing the same infected, power hungry air molecules of dictators from history and an inevitable countdown to their demise," said Maha Shami.
Upcoming Tour Dates
MARCH
26 - Durham, VA @ Pinhook w/ Des Ark (reunion), Dunuums *
27 - Norfolk, VA @ The Tap House w/ Demons, Horsewhip, Dariel Clark #
28 - Philadelphia, PA @ God’s Automatic Body w/ Sunrot, Everything and Nothing, Warbler #
29 - Washington, DC @ St. Stephen’s w NO MAS, Big No, Cimitir #
30 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar w/ Rid of Me, Eyelet, Out Sick! #
MAY
03 - Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall w/ Strike Anywhere
04 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus w/ Strike Anywhere
* Benefit for Palestinian Youth Movement
# Benefit for UNRWA