As you may have noticed, I don’t write New Music Friday posts very frequently. I don’t want to be a sellout and post mediocre stuff every week due to not discovering something incredible but needing to say something.
So lucky for us (me), I had a lot of breakthroughs this week that are definitely worth sharing.
They’re all over the map too, so there’s a decent chance you’ll find something you like. Unless you like Zayn Malik’s new song. It’s not mentioned here, I was underwhelmed (sorry).
SWMRS
Let’s just get started with the band I’m most excited about. I’ve been hearing about SWMRS for a while, and I knew about them when they were Emily’s Army. I just never got around to listening to them, mainly because I’m an idiot. So when Carley tagged me in a pic of Joey Armstrong saying “he looks so much like his dad!!”, the name came back into the forefront. I still didn’t listen to them – let me reiterate, I am an idiot – until I saw them as the “AP Recommends” band in this month’s issue of AltPress.
And now my life has changed. “Miley” is literally a song about how Miley Cyrus is a punk rock queen who challenges every preconceived notion of her former, current, and future selves. “Drive North” is all about hating LA (or as they explained in AltPress, the hyper-construct that you can only achieve greatness in LA). It’s surf punk and I love it. And I’m adding “not listening to SWMRS sooner” to my list of things that keep me awake at night.
Potty Mouth
Potty Mouth….how can I describe Potty Mouth?
Potty Mouth would be the result of Veruca Salt and Nirvana getting into a fistfight and the first responders coming in playing “Linger” by The Cranberries on the ambulance radio. Don’t ask about that last part, I have no idea where my brain made that connection but…I’m hearing it.
However, there’s still something really unique there. It’s not just an amalgamation of other bands; the sound is very distinctly theirs. Also, I’m just really feeling the Strong Females In Music wave. I feel like finally women are able to break out in different genres more easily than ever before. And don’t say “what about Joan Jett and Blondie and -” yes, there were a few, got it. But you can name literally all of them. That means there aren’t enough of them. IT’S OUR TIME.
Speaking of which, have I ever told y’all about my dreams of fronting a Bring Me The Horizon-type band because uh…maybe it’s MY time. I’ll keep y’all updated…
AlunaGeorge
Okay, so AlunaGeorge herself is not a new artist to me. I’ve been loving her since she was featured on Disclosure’s first album (White Noise is my fave off of “Settle”). However, she just recently dropped a new single with Popcaan that I’m really feeling. Every song she’s got has the kind of beat that makes me want to dance on top of a bar…if I ever went to bars. “I’m In Control” is no exception. I can’t put it on my driving playlist because I know I’ll get into an accident from paying more attention to dancing than to the road.
The Summer Set
“I’m a bit too pop for the punk kids, but I’m too punk for the pop kids”
Yeah, I feel that B.Dales. I get you. And I love clever wordplay, and “Figure Me Out” is full of flip-flopping words around in a way that I love singing along to. I’ve listened to TSS before. Okay, I’ve listened to like…all of TSS. This song is the one that would play at the end of a teen movie where they’re like “maybe we’ll be going off to different colleges…and we might not be the same as we are now…but we’ll always have ~*this summer*~“.
AKA I’m going to play it all the time because I want to live in that part of a teen movie.
Catfish & The Bottlemen
I’ve listened to a few of Catfish’s songs in passing, but haven’t really sat down for a real listen. However, I’ve probably lied to all of you at some point and said “yeah, I’ve heard some of their stuff, they’re good” to save face. Sorry about that. “Tyrants” popped up on my Spotify Discover playlist this week and I’m glad to find out that my passive “it’s good”s weren’t lies. I do like them. So now I don’t have to worry about taking back my positive words. And in a move that’s even more convenient, I have their album on my desk! Because I got it from work about 6 months ago but lazily never put it into my iTunes Library! I’m set. Life is good. 2016 is a good year (I hope).
What new music are you listening to this week? Share it below!