New Music Releases: From Fever 333 and Sam Gellaitry to The Story So Far and Rüfüs Du Sol
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.
Dublin-born Orla Gartland drops her new single 'Mine'
Dublin-born singer, songwriter, and producer Orla Gartland has dropped her new single 'Mine' available to stream now via her own label New Friends/The Orchard, complete with an accompanying visualizer.
Gartland says: “'Mine' is by far the most vulnerable song I've written to date -- putting it feels a little scary but also hugely important to me. It tells a fragmented story of an experience that really affected my relationship with intimacy and how that stayed with me throughout relationships that followed. I wanted to give the lyrics on this song space to breathe so we kept the production super minimal on this track; live vocal and guitar and a super beautiful, haunting 4-piece string part. This was my first time recording real strings on a song of mine and for me they bring even more emotional depth to the track. I'm really proud of this song and whilst I hope in a way that no one relates to it, I hope it can bring comfort and hope to anyone who does.”
The release of 'Mine' follows Orla Gartland’s return with new single 'Little Chaos' and a string of intimate live shows across her hometown Dublin, London and Bristol.
Fever 333 has released a new song and music video for 'New West Order'
Grammy nominated rock band, Fever 333, led by Jason Aalon Butler have released a new song and music video for 'New West Order' out via 333 Wreckords Crew/Century Media Records. 'New World Order' also displays West Coast hip-hop influences, which have been an integral part of Butler’s identity, growing up in Inglewood, CA and forming the band there in 2017.
“There is an intersectional hot bed where the hood and hardcore meet,” explains Butler on the new song. “For pimps and punks alike to enjoy and celebrate their taboos. This intersection is beautifully represented in Los Angeles and 'New West Order' is an unapologetic exploration of my experience as a social variable growing up in LA that I think the world should also have the privilege of being exposed to. It is also the beginning of west coast gangster rock as a genre and a culture.
"The beauty in disparity and these nuanced diamonds forged from the pressures we experience in alternative commodities [of all types against the background of our status quo] and, particularly, people of color. I spent about six years talking about how I felt about these governmental/societal systems and imbalances; now I'm going to talk about why I feel this way and the experiences that shaped such ideologies.”
Four Years Strong release new single from forthcoming album 'Analysis Paralysis'
New England rock band, Four Year Strong, has released a new single -- 'Aftermath/Afterthought' -- from their forthcoming album 'Analysis Paralysis'.
Four Year Strong recently kicked off their summer North American tour with 'A Day To Remember' and 'The Story So Far'. They’ll also be performing at this year’s Four Chord Music Festival and When We Were Young Festival.
When preparing for their sixth album, Four Year Strong faced creative block. Vocalists/guitarists Dan O’Connor and Alan Day arrived at producer Will Putney’s studio without any completed songs, unlike the 40 ideas they had for 2020’s 'Brain Pain'. They spent early days at Putney's house discussing music, seeking inspiration. Reflecting on 'Brain Pain' and the band's origins, they rediscovered their signature sound: pop-punk energy, intricate riffs, and hardcore spirit. Within a month, they completed 80 per cent of the album, blending metal, industrial, alt-rock, reggae, synths, and breakdowns. The result is an unmistakably Four Year Strong album.
Sam Gellaitry returns with a new single 'More!'
UK producer and artist Sam Gellaitry returns with a new single entitled 'More!' out now via Major Recordings. It notably marks his first new music of 2024 and paves the way for his next era in the process.
“'More!' is a track I made last year, which started off with me messing about with my TB303. The beat itself is quite abrasive and heavy, mixed in with melodic parts coming from the vocals and the chords and vocoder harmonies,” says Gellaitry.
Last year, Sam dropped the 'Under the Illusion' EP highlighted by the fan favorite title track 'Under the Illusion' and focus single 'Alone'. In addition to gathering millions of cumulative streams, it earned critical acclaim, Billboard hailed the former among “simply the best new dance tracks of the week,” going on to profess, “Sophisticated and pristinely produced, the four-track project is dancefloor fare equally well-suited for the dancefloor or the afterhours.”
Two Trains Left drops new single 'Sail Away' (feat Chunk! No Captain Chunk!)
French pop punk band Two Trains Left have released their new single and music video for 'Sail Away' (feat Chunk! No Captain Chunk!). The song was produced by easycore icons Chunk! No Captain Chunk!’s frontman Bertrand Poncet.
"'Sail Away' is a special track for us, made even more incredible by collaborating with Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!. It perfectly captures the energy and spirit of our band, blending groovy rhythms with a heavier edge. We had a blast creating this song, and we hope our fans feel that same excitement when they listen," says the group.
The Story So Far release fifth studio album 'I Want To Disappear'
The Story So Far have released their fifth studio album 'I Want To Disappear' via Pure Noise Records. Produced by Jon Markson (Drug Church, KOYO), the album features previously-released singles 'Big Blind', 'Letterman', and 'All This Time' alongside seven brand new The Story So Far tracks. 'I Want To Disappear' comes nearly six years after the band’s previous album 'Proper Dose', which debuted at #19 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Alongside the announcement, The Story So Far has unveiled a new music video for the track 'Watch You Go'. The accompanying music video is full of moments from previous tours, highlighting their connection to their audience while giving viewers an insight what happens in between shows.
Grammy-winning trio Rüfüs Du Sol release new single 'Music is Better'
Grammy-winning live electronic trio Rüfüs Du Sol have released their new single 'Music is Better' via Rose Avenue/Warner Records. The group first premiered the song during their headline DJ set at Coachella earlier this year, and marks Rüfüs Du Sol’s first new music since their 2021 Grammy-nominated album, 'Surrender'.
In the three years since 'Surrender' was released, Rüfüs Du Sol won a Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Recording in 2022 for lead single 'Alive', were twice-nominated the following year for Best Dance/Electronic Album and earned their fifth Aria award in Australia. The band circled the globe appearing at festivals across Europe and South America, and brought 'Surrender' to the stages of iconic North American venues like New York’s Forest Hills Stadium, Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl. The band also launched their boutique Sundream Festival, which held its second edition in San José del Cabo in 2023.
Already this year, band members Jon George and James Hunt enticed fans with DJ sets at Coachella and an unannounced pop-up at Lightning in a Bottle. “Music is Better” arrives ahead of RÜFÜS DU SOL’s only live show this year, headlining Portola Festival in San Francisco on September 28.
Sunday Morning releases EP 'Forget Me Nots'
Hardcore group Sunday Morning have released their EP 'Forget Me Nots', featuring recent singles 'Weight' and 'Broken Glass', 'Forget Me Nots' serves as the band’s debut release with Open Your Ears Records.
“'Forget Me Nots' is an emotionally-charged, six song powerhouse,” the band says. “Bridging the gap between hardcore and alternative influences, it shows range and technicality from start to finish.”
Sunday Morning will be hitting the road next month for an East coast run of tour dates, including shows with Millington and Goalkeeper.
Kai Tak release their debut album 'Designed In Heaven Made In Hong Kong'
Kai Tak have released their debut album, 'Designed In Heaven Made In Hong Kong', on à La Carte Records. To celebrate the release, the band dropped the new single 'Until We Leave From Here' ft Chelsey Boy. 'Until We Leave From Here' follows Kai Tak's singles, 'Flood The Harbour', 'Blush', 'Jalen Rose', and 'Villains In My Mind', featured on the band's the highly anticipated debut album.
Reflecting on the inspiration behind 'Until We Leave From Here' Chris King of Kai Tak says, "I've always been fascinated by the phenomenon of how much more generous and tight-knit communities that deal with poverty are compared to the selfishness, distance and lack of empathy that you always feel in communities of affluence.
"No place exemplified this better than Kowloon Walled City, and while it may have seemed dangerous, scary, or depressing to outsiders, it had a distinct spirit of hopefulness and togetherness that still inspires me to this day. The Walled City was the most densely populated place on the planet. It was also located right by the old Kai Tak airport, and the planes would fly right over it as they made their landing approach, having watched countless planes fly into Kai Tak as a kid, I wanted to capture that feeling as well."
Rob Baird drops seventh album 'Burning In The Stars'
Rob Baird and Hard Luck Recording Company have announced the release of 'Burning In The Stars', Baird’s seventh album that digs deeper than ever before with raw, vulnerable reflections on hope and loss, faith and resilience, heartbreak and redemption.
Additionally, Baird releases 'High Road', the album’s lovely centerpiece that features his old friend, celebrated singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly. “This was the first song I wrote for this record,” Baird says. “I had just put my father in rehab after a 30-plus-year battle with alcoholism. Darden Smith, my co-writer, pulled this song right out of me in about 30 minutes. At the time, I had no idea how much ‘High Road’ would mean to me and how much its message would mirror all the feelings I experienced through the process of helping my father get clean and sober.”
Baird continues: “Ruston Kelly and I spent a lot of time together in 2015 when I lived in Nashville. He had just gotten out of rehab for pills. He was particularly honest about what he was going through and how difficult it was. I learned a lot from our conversations and I would not have been prepared for what I would go through with my father without him. I’m so glad he agreed to be part of this song.”
Laura Jane Grace & the Mississippi Medicals releases debut single 'All Fucked Out'
Laura Jane Grace & the Mississippi Medicals, the brand new rock quartet fronted by Grace and featuring Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers, Mikey Erg and Paris Campbell Grace have announced the band’s debut single, 'All Fucked Out'.
Born out of an amusing songwriting challenge Grace issued to herself during the pandemic, 'All Fucked Out' ushers in yet another new and exciting chapter for the Emmy-nominated artist, author and activist as she calls upon the various talents of these seasoned musicians.
Grace says of 'All Fucked Out' and its origins: "Back in 2021, I sat down in my office to do some songwriting. Not knowing what specifically to write about that day, I challenged myself to write a song similar to whatever the current #1 hit in the world was at the time. I made the challenge to myself without knowing exactly what that song was so I had to look it up, and as it turned out at that moment, the current #1 song in the world was ‘Butter’ by BTS. Now, for those of you not familiar with the song ‘Butter’, it's about how the singer is ‘smooth like butter’.
NYC punk rockers Wyldlife drop new single 'Fast Dreams'
NYC punk-rock ‘n’ roll four-piece Wyldlife has dropped a new single 'Fast Dreams' (the B-side is a cover of Tom Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels'). The tracks mark the band's first output since 2020's ‘Year Of The Snake.’
The animated video for "Fast Dreams" transports the band into an 8-bit arcade game world. “We have already conquered every other music video format in our tenure as musicians,” says vocalist Dave Feldman. "So it was time to go animated. We’re already animated guys by nature." The band enlisted their college friend Alex Derwick to create the three-minute 'Fast Dreams'.
“Surface level, the song is about partying just before bed time. But more-so, it’s a point of advice to keep dreaming, whether you want to better your life, travel to space, or just be a mid-30s semi-secret rock icon,” adds Feldman.
Hot Mulligan releases single 'End Eric Sparrow and the Life of Him'
Hot Mulligan has released a new song and music video for 'End Eric Sparrow and the Life of Him'.
Lead singer Tades Sanville explains his thoughts on the song: “Eric Sparrow beat everyone’s ass in Tony Hawk, and this is what he has wrought. I am not a frontman but have been shoehorned into that role. Interviews where they ask the same questions over and over, strangers running up and touching me at shows, and tons of people dissecting everything they hear me say. Trading tight-knit local scenes for plastic and profiteers. I think a lot of the time that it would be better if my body stayed and didn’t think about it and enjoyed the limelight. Then the part that thinks and gets sad can just disappear. But then who can write?”
This release arrives just before the band returns to Europe, kicking off their summer festival run with select headlining dates in Germany, France, and the UK. Following their journey overseas, they will return to the US in August to headline festivals including the Loneliest Place on Earth, Ohio Is for Lovers, and Riot Fest.
Alt-rock band Sub*T releases their new EP 'Spring Skin'
Brooklyn-based alt-rock band Sub*T has released their new EP 'Spring Skin' on If This Then Records. To mark the release, the band also dropped their new single 'Shed' and its accompanying video.
Commenting on the track, the band says, "This is anthemic shit for us and was always going to be a standout track. This feels like classic, tried and true Sub*T. Fun, bubbly, fast, loud. You’re disappointed by a situation but you can scream gleefully about it because thankg god that's over. We always knew this song would be highlighted because of the burst of energy it gives, especially for us when we play it live. It came into existence so easily too, it immediately had a life of its own."
Ska-punk legends Less Than Jake release single 'Broken Words'
Ska-punk legends Less Than Jake have released their newest single 'Broken Words' -- out via Pure Noise Records -- marking the band's first original music in years.
“Hey guys! 2024 brings us some new LTJ songs, and this is a fun one!” said Roger Lima. “‘Broken Words’ has the ska, the pop-punk, and the horn lines that feel like a party and I can’t wait to belt this one out on stage!”
He continues: “It happens to me, too. I’ll try to say something, (maybe I didn’t choose the best words, but I tried), they get misinterpreted and I end up unintentionally communicating something I didn’t mean at all. Know that feeling? Yeah, words are totally broken sometimes.”