Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 104
April 30, 2025
Tennis share video for "At The Apartment" (Live at The Apartment)
TENNIS SHARE VIDEO FOR “AT THE APARTMENT”
(LIVE AT THE APARTMENT) — WATCH
OFF OF FINAL ALBUM
FACE DOWN IN THE GARDEN — STREAM
ANNOUNCE LONDON SHOW OCTOBER 23 AT THE O2 FORUM — ON-SALE THIS FRIDAY, MAY 2 @ 10AM LOCAL
FAREWELL HEADLINE TOUR BEGINS ON MAY 16
— SEE ALL DATES HERE
FINAL EP, NEUTRAL POETRY: FIRST RECORDINGS, UNRELEASED DEMOS 2009-2010, AVAILABLE FRIDAY, MAY 16
After last week releasing their final studio album Face Down In The Garden, acclaimed indie-pop duo Tennis today unveils a video for album opener “At The Apartment” (Live at The Apartment). Dreamily draped in beige and white, the entire room is wrapped up as if the movers are about to show up and take everything away. A simple, yet stunning live performance video, Tennis are ready to move on — Watch.
“We brought ‘At The Apartment’ to life with the help of backing vocalists Molly Burch and Katie Iannitello (Beauty Queen),” shares Alaina Moore. “We have worked on records together in the past and are big fans of their voices. I dreamed up this live video specifically as an excuse to sing with them.”
Released via their own label Mutually Detrimental, Tennis’ seventh and final album marks the final recordings from this incarnation of Tennis. Offsetting intuitive melodies with unusual arrangements, the new album sees the duo returning to their roots; making music that both feels familiar but also resists convention. Tennis has fully blossomed and leaves listeners with an LP that is unquestionably their most fully realized effort and a natural ending point.
Husband and wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore announced Tennis’ indefinite hiatus earlier in April with the release of “12 Blown Tires.” Bittersweet and cathartic, Moore explained the song and their decision in saying:
“I had the sense of distilling the past 15 years into four minutes of music. It felt like the end of something, though I wasn’t sure what. Patrick and I spent most of our 20s and all of our 30s focused on Tennis. It has been the most joyous, bewildering, challenging, and humbling experience. After finishing Face Down In The Garden, it became clear that we had said everything we wanted to say and achieved everything we wanted to achieve with our band. This will be our last studio album, at least in this configuration as Tennis. We are ready to pursue other creative projects and to make space in our lives for new things. In that light, the upcoming tour feels more poignant, like a concluding thought. These two kids from Denver who only ever dreamed of playing a few house shows are very fulfilled. Perhaps we’ll see you on the road. As always, thank you.”
Press photo by Darren Vargas
ORDER FACE DOWN IN THE GARDEN ON VINYL
STREAM FACE DOWN IN THE GARDEN
WATCH “AT THE APARTMENT” (LIVE AT THE APARTMENT) VIDEO
WATCH “WEIGHT OF DESIRE” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
WATCH “AT THE WEDDING” OFFICIAL VISUALIZER
WATCH “12 BLOWN TIRES” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
As noted, Tennis will both celebrate the arrival of Face Down In The Garden and say farewell to fans with a wide-ranging North American headline tour beginning May 16 at Las Vegas, NV’s Swan Dive and then traveling into early September. Along the way, they will be supported by Husbands, Billie Marten, and more to be announced. Tennis today announces their final London show at the O2 Forum Kentish Town on October 23. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit tennis-music.com.
Tennis will bookend this milestone moment by sharing Neutral Poetry: First Recordings, Unreleased Demos 2009-2010, a new EP of previously unheard tracks from the very beginning of their artistic career, available on Friday, May 16. The eight-song collection includes early versions of such fan favorites as “Cape Dory,” “Marathon,” “South Carolina,” “Baltimore,” and “Pigeon,” along with exclusive demo recordings of the never-before-available songs, “Key Largo,” “April and It’s Still Snowing,” and “One Day This Will Be a Good Songgg.”
# # #
TENNIS – FACE DOWN IN THE GARDEN TOUR 2025
MAY
16 – Las Vegas, NV – Swan Dive *
17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall *
18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Block Party #
21 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue †
23 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed †
24 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI Annex †
25 – Cleveland, OH – Globe Iron †
27 – Toronto, ON – The Concert Hall †
30 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner †
31 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall †
JUNE
1 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 †
3 – Washington, DC – The Anthem †
5 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz †
6 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern †
7 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville †
9 – Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum †
10 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Downstairs) †
11 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater †
AUGUST
18 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
20 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
22 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy + Harriet’s
23 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
24 – Santa Fe, NM – The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co.
26 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
28 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall
29 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Grand Lodge
30 – Vancouver, BC – Malkin Bowl
SEPTEMBER
2 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24
4 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery
OCTOBER
23 — London, UK — O2 Forum Kentish Town
* w/ Special Guests Husbands
† w/ Special Guest Billie Marten
# Festival Appearance
# # #
TENNIS
FACE DOWN IN THE GARDEN
(Mutually Detrimental)
Release Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
Tracklist:
At The Apartment
Weight Of Desire
At The Wedding
Always The Same
Sister
Through The Mirror
I Can Only Describe You
12 Blown Tires
In Love (Release The Doves)
TENNIS
NEUTRAL POETRY: FIRST RECORDINGS, UNRELEASED DEMOS 2009-2010
(Mutually Detrimental)
Release Date: Friday, May 16, 2025
Tracklist:
South Carolina (Demo Version 11.5.09)
Marathon (Demo Version 01.14.10)
Baltimore (Demo Version 09.03.09)
Pigeon (Demo Version 08.26.09)
Key Largo (Demo 08.20.09)
April and It’s Still Snowing (Demo 09.01.09)
Cape Dory (Demo Version 11.03.09)
One Day This Will Be a Good Songgg (Demo 01.19.10)
# # #
CONNECT WITH TENNIS
JUSTICE RELEASE AFTERIMAGE REMIX EP, SHARE VIDEO
JUSTICE RELEASE AFTERIMAGE REMIX EP, LISTEN TO IT NOW
OUT NOW VIA ED BANGER RECORDS / BECAUSE MUSIC
WATCH THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “AFTERIMAGE” HERE
[image error]Justice have released an EP for their single “Afterimage” featuring remixes by Jersey, Laurence Guy, Paranoid London, as well their own remix and the original album version. The EP is out now via Ed Banger Records / Because Music. The duo have also released an official video for the single, starring Justice and the song’s featured vocalist RIMON.
Watch the “Afterimage” video
Taken from Justice’s highly-acclaimed album Hyperdrama, “Afterimage” - with RIMON’s vocals - quickly became one of the favorites on the record and a standout moment in their spellbinding live shows. Of the song, Ed Banger Records label boss Pedro Winter states that "I discovered RIMON a couple of years ago on COLORS where she performed her song 'Build Me A House’. Her voice and flow instantly caught my attention. Justice were in the studio looking for a singer to take an instrumental track to another level. They invited RIMON to their Paris studio for a session. Sometimes magic happens at first sight, this is the story of ‘Afterimage’.”
Currently performing across the globe on their Justice: Live tour, the duo’s live show has become one of the most acclaimed music productions in the world right now. Their recent sold out two night stand at Alexandra Palace in London led The Telegraph to proclaim them as “the best live act in the world right now” in their 5-star live review, with Rolling Stone’s 5-star live review agreeing: “the greatest show on tour right now.”
Earlier this year the duo won the GRAMMY Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording with “Neverender (starring Tame Impala)” - marking the band’s third GRAMMY Award and Tame Impala’s first. More recently the song has impacted at Top 40 radio, currently holding the #33 spot and steadily ascending as awareness of the song continues to spread.
Justice are on tour now - find full dates below. Tickets & information available at justice.church
Afterimage Remix EP Track List
1. Afterimage
2. Afterimage (Justice Remix)
3. Afterimage (Jersey Remix)
4. Afterimage (Laurence Guy Remix)
5. Afterimage (Paranoid London Remix)
Justice: Live tour dates
May 18 - Kilby Block Party - Salt Lake City, UT
May 21 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium - San Francisco, CA ^ SOLD OUT
May 22 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium - San Francisco, CA ^
May 23 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA ^ SOLD OUT
May 25 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO % SOLD OUT
June 5 - Budweiser Stage -Toronto, ON
June 6 - Place Bell - Montreal, QC
June 7 - The Stage at Suffolk Downs - Boston, MA
June 10 - Stage AE - Outdoor - Pittsburgh, PA
June 12 - Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD
June 14 - Bonnaroo Festival - Manchester, TN
June 17 - The Armory - Minneapolis, MN
June 19 - Electric Forest Festival - Rothbury, MI
June 28 - Lido Sounds Festival - Linz, Austria
July 2 - Zoa City - Zurich, Switzerland
July 4 - Open'er Festival 2025 - Gdynia, Poland
July 6 - Les Eurockéennes - Belfort, France
July 11 - NOS Alive - Oeiras, Portugal
July 12 - Mad Cool Festival - Madrid, Spain
July 16-19 - Colours of Ostrava 2025 - Ostrava 3, Czechia
July 19 - Electric Castle - Bontida, Romania
July 22 - Paleo 2025 - Nyon, Switzerland
August 2 - O Days Festival - København K, Denmark
August 2 - Rainbow Studios, Oslo Norway
August 7 - Sziget Festival - Budapest, Hungary
August 8 - Grape Festival 2025 - Trečín District, Slovakia
August 10 - Pula Arena - Pula, Croatia
August 17 - Pukkelopop Festival - Hasselt, Belgium
August 21 - V and Bar Fest - Chateau-gontier-sur-mayenne, France
August 22 - Festival Du Roi Arthur - Bréal-sous-montfort, France
August 23 - Rock en Seine - Saint-cloud, France
December 3 - Qudos Arena - Sydney, Australia
December 5 - John Cain Arena - Melbourne, Australia
December 7 - Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Brisbane, Australia
^ w/ The Dare
% w/ Fcukers
For more information on Justice:
Website | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube
SALLY SHAPIRO share new single "Did You Call Tonight". Album 'Ready To Live A Lie' out May 30th via Italians Do It Better.
SALLY SHAPIRO- Share new single "Did You Call Tonight"
- Album 'Ready To Live A Lie' out May 30th via Italians Do It Better
Photo credit: Mika StjärnglinderToday Swedish italo disco / synthpop duo Sally Shapiro share new single "Did You Call Tonight" from their upcoming album 'Ready To Live A Lie', which is due May 30th via Italians Do It Better.
On the track, the band said "Microcheating is the theme of this new single. Musically it's inspired by 80s electro breakbeat, a bit slower and funkier than our usual style."
"Did You Call Tonight" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vYtgddi4xps
"Did You Call Tonight" on other streaming services: https://idib.ffm.to/didyoucalltonight
Made up of producer Johan Agebjörn and an anonymous female vocalist who uses the pseudonym Sally Shapiro; the duo are known for their dreamy, melancholic sound and nostalgic homage to 1980s Italo disco and gained international recognition with their debut album Disco Romance (2007), which was then followed by My Guilty Pleasure (2009), Somewhere Else (2013) and their debut for Italians Do It Better Sad Cities (2022).
The name "Sally Shapiro" has always referred to both the duo, as well as the enigmatic anonymous singer whose real name is something else. But "Sally" is also a third entity: the fictional character singing about her love stories. It's now been 18 years since Sally Shapiro's debut album Disco Romance, that took influences from italo disco and indie pop with a naive and youthful flavor, as if everything "Sally" did was to "walk in the moonshine thinking about my love affairs", as she once put it.
Ready To Live A Lie may, however, be the duo's darkest album yet. The lyrics have shifted from the euphoria of first love to exploring "Sally's" struggles in long-term relationships—love triangles, boredom, resentment, and the lingering sense of loneliness.
Ready To Live A Lie is out on Italians Do It Better on May 30th and includes the duo’s acclaimed Pet Shop Boys cover Rent.
Taking inspiration from synthwave, italo disco, nudisco, indie pop and bossanova, the album becomes their fifth studio album & their second for Italians Do It Better - again mixed together with label founder Johnny Jewel (Chromatics, Glass Candy, Desire).
Sally Shapiro's forthcoming album 'Ready To Live A Lie' is now available for preorder on vinyl 2LP (pink vinyl or transparent electric blue vinyl), CD and digital from their Bandcamp page.
Pre-order album: https://sallyshapiro.bandcamp.com/album/ready-to-live-a-lie
Pre-save album: https://idib.ffm.to/readytolivealie
Ready To Live A Lie artwork:
Ready To Live A Lie tracklist:
1. The Other Days (YouTube)
2. Hard To Love
3. Rent
4. Purple Colored Sky
5. Happier Somewhere Else
6. Guarding Shell
7. Hospital
8. Did You Call Tonight (YouTube)
9. Oh Carrie
10. He's Not You
11. Rain
Links:
Smerz shares new single and music video for “Feisty”
SMERZ SHARE NEW SINGLE AND MUSIC VIDEO FOR
“FEISTY”
Big city life Out May 23 on Escho
Big city life
(Wednesday 30th April) - Smerz return to share the final preview of their long-awaited new album Big city life, out May 23rd on Escho. “Feisty” is about partying after a breakup - letting go, almost post-heartache, free to do as you please. Offbeat disco hi-hat drama met with cool yet sweetly accented vocals, this single’s music video follows Smerz for a night out on the town in Oslo.
“Feisty"
The initiation into Big city life is through singles “A thousand lies,” “You got time and I got money” and “Roll the dice.” Framed by Smerz’ signature voices and the bold minimalism that defines them, Big city life is a collection of moments and feelings gathered by Henriette and Catharina over the past four years. There are stories - both lived and imagined - of apathy, loneliness, talking to yourself, love and full-blown, almost manic freedom. Together, they form a sonic rite of passage, documenting transition in many forms, through both song and production.
“Feisty” follows “A thousand lies,” “You got time and I got money” and “Roll the dice,” all of which together present the album’s multiple dimensions of love, loneliness, apathy, solitude and almost manic freedom. Listening to Big city life is to enter a friendly maze or view a familiar collage. It’s the energy of two teenagers whispering a song in their bedroom, afraid to break the moment. It’s grown, and earned too, with its extroverted and shiny energy, the kind of unhinged freedom where you abandon all caution.
On Big city life, Smerz embodies the vibrating tension, that in-between space where awkwardness and confidence crash into each other and reveal something that has always existed.
Big city life is out May 23rd on Escho. Pre-order the album here and pre-save the album here.
Smerz
Big city life
Escho
23 May 2025
Pre-Order:
Tracklist:
Big city life
But I do
What
Close
Big dreams
Street style
Imagine this
Dreams
Easy
Smerz:
Smerz’ critically acclaimed debut album Believer (2021) had The FACE saying “Smerz have created a lane all their own.” Always evolving, they continue shaping both underground and mainstream soundscapes—from the conceptual pop of ALLINA (2024) to their production work on NewJeans’ Get Up EP (2023). Their longtime NTS residency has served as a playground for their expansive influences, showcasing friends and music they admire while seamlessly blending everything from Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin to footwork pioneer RP Boo. Occasionally stepping into theater, film, and museums, from their choir piece at the MUNCH Museum to fashion runway soundtracks, throughout their work, Smerz have been known for their ability to seamlessly navigate and create boundless sonic worlds. Big city life unfolds in the real world.
TOPS celebrates Ghostly International signing with new single
TOPS SHARES NEW SINGLE AND MUSIC VIDEO “ICU2”
SIGNS TO GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL
TOPS by Aabid Youssef
WATCH/LISTEN: “ICU2” - https://lnk.to/TOPS-ICU2
“Near-perfect songwriting”
Pitchfork
“Sophisticated production, nostalgic synths and gorgeous tunes”
The Guardian
(April 30, 2025) - TOPS announces their signing to Ghostly International with a new single titled “ICU2.” The release comes on the heels of their appearance at Coachella, where they debuted the track live.
TOPS — musicians David Carriere, Jane Penny, Marta Cikojevic, and Riley Fleck — write timeless music that reliably threads immediacy and depth. Emerging from Montréal's DIY scene in the early 2010s as progenitors of an indie pop sound still radiating its influence across the contemporary landscape, their secret to longevity is simple: keep the songwriting honest and open-hearted and the recording unforced yet pristine, allowing for a band dynamic deeply attuned at every level. Their glowing, grooving, self-produced songs outline the silhouettes of life, and as time goes on, TOPS have only gotten better at what they do. Their signing to Ghostly marks the start of a new chapter and their first new music since 2022’s self-released Empty Seats EP.
New single "ICU2" is pure flirtation, a classic uptempo TOPS song sprung from a playful exchange between Jane Penny and Marta Cikojevic. Beneath the grooves, though, the hide-and-seek club scene hints at a hall of mirrors, "almost like a caper, fantastical, like you've been caught searching for something in the dark," says Penny, citing the art house psychedelia of the party scene in Midnight Cowboy (1969). The song arrives alongside a throwback music video; enter the world of the crate and see what magic unfolds.
"ICU2" single artwork by Robert Beatty
Connect with TOPS:
Instagram | TikTok | X | YouTube
PANIK FLOWER's sophomore EP 'rearview' masterfully balances delicacy and coarseness
PANIK FLOWER’S SOPHOMORE EP REARVIEW
MASTERFULLY BALANCES DELICACY AND
COARSENESS — OUT TODAY
WATCH THE HORROR-TINGED OFFICIAL VIDEO
FOR THE TITLE TRACK
EP RELEASE SHOW AT NY’S NIGHT CLUB 101 ON MAY 21 + BAND ANNOUNCES HEADLINE TOUR DATES FOR
THIS JUNE — SEE ALL SHOWS HERE
Today, NYC dreamgazers PANIK FLOWER release their sophomore EP rearview, a project deeply rooted in intentional juxtaposition. Across six tracks, the EP looks inward to explore identity; namely the double-sided nature of uncertainty and self-acceptance. It transcribes this self-exploration into a plush yet jagged soundscape. The new EP was produced, mixed, and recorded by James Duncan (Taraneh, Nara’s Room, Dead Tooth, Raavi) and mastered by Carl Saff (Drops Nineteens, Dr. Dog, Sonic Youth) — Stream.
“This EP felt like a lot of us finding ourselves as a band — our sound and how we perform,” shared bassist Max Baird. “Sage’s spoken word has become such an important part of that and we really wanted to explore it in this project. It contributes a lot to the push-pull dynamic of our music, often adding another rhythmic element on top of an already lush, sonic landscape. Many of the bones of these tracks were brought to us by our drummer Marco, who was our missing piece up until early last year.”
Often drawing comparisons to Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries, Sage Leopold’s vocals are bolstered by the massive sound of her bandmates, but even more so by their sense of collaboration. These lines of communication are most evident in the ever-evolving wall of sound they create playing live, but also in the way each band member intimately contributes to the making of their music. Through the release of rearview, PANIK FLOWER has both cemented their identities internally and in how they connect with their listeners.
Press photo by Ivan Alexander
Today’s EP release comes with an anxiety-ridden official video for the title track in tow. Directed by Harleigh Shaw with cinematography by Aji Bass, the video is dark and steeped in fear as the protagonist can’t seem to outrun herself — Watch.
Shaw said, “For the ‘rearview’ video, we wanted to capture the exhaustion and horror of being your own worst enemy and this idea of running from yourself. During the song’s chaotic and moody outro, we aimed to show Sage increasingly disheveled and tired as the video evolves. The film, ‘The Amusement Park’, was a major reference for this specific section of the video. I was also very inspired by David Lynch's films, especially because we conceptualized and shot the video right after he passed away. From an editing perspective, ‘Natural Born Killers’ was a big reference with the way it utilizes saturated colors and frenetic editing. We leaned into chaotic cuts and playing with speed, all which contributed to heightening the drama of Sage running from herself.”
Ahead of today’s EP release, PANIK FLOWER played at NYC’s New Colossus Festival and then opened for King Hannah to a sold out crowd at Elsewhere. On May 21, they will play a hometown EP release show at Night Club 101 before setting out on a headline tour in June. See all dates here and below.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
May 21 - New York, NY - Night Club 101 (EP Release Show)
June 12 - Philadelphia, PA - Khyber
June 13 - Athens, OH - Smiling Skull
June 14 - Columbus, OH - Cafe Bourbon
June 15 - Detroit, MI - Parts & Labor
June 16 - Indianapolis, IN - TBA
June 17 Chicago, IL - Subterranean
June 19 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club
June 21 - Pittsburg, PA - Haven
All info here
REARVIEW TRACKLIST
“symptom of paradox”
“rearview” — Watch
“slenderman”
“alkaline” — Watch
“ocd” — Watch
“tower”
Press photo by Ivan Alexander
ABOUT PANIK FLOWER:
PANIK FLOWER is a dream pop band that materialized within the New York music scene in 2023. Started by childhood friends Sage Leopold (vocals) and Mila Stieglitz-Courtney (guitar/vocals), PANIK FLOWER has grown through chance introductions and Craigslist posts to include co-collaborators Jordan Buzzell (guitar), Max Baird (bass) and Marco Starger (drums). With a majority of the band’s members being native New Yorkers, PANIK FLOWER’s music is deeply reflective of the push and pull of their city, pairing atmospheric soundscapes with a restrained use of well-time punchiness.
Their soundscape of soft harmonies, hard-hitting instrumentals and cutting lyricism evoke the hazy nostalgia of distant memories — ones of love, loss and identity that have found audiences first in their immediate communities, and now to friends and strangers alike across the globe. With the release of rearview, the band’s sophomore EP sees them marrying their dream pop sensibilities with post-punk undertones.
###
For more information on PANIK FLOWER, please visit:
Website | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music | Bandcamp
ALEX AMOR emerges transformed on luminous new single ‘Seeing Angels’
Watch 'Seeing Angels' HERE
Download hi-res images HERE
Photo credit: Lewis VornWATCH 'Seeing Angels'
https://youtu.be/zkr0XRGeG08
STREAM 'Seeing Angels'
https://singinglight.ffm.to/seeingangels-alexamor
"Joining the beabadoobee’s and the Holly Humberstone’s of this world, she tugs at heartstrings like it’s second nature"
DIY Magazine
"Euphoric... a creative ear that knows no bounds"
The Line of Best Fit
"Beautifully formed...cutting edge alt-pop"
CLASH Magazine
"...she enchants listeners"
Wonderland Magazine
"A delicate balance between indie-pop and dreamlike alt-pop"
1883 Magazine
"Airy, harmonised alt-pop"
Notion
"An indie jam"
Dork Magazine
(30 April) London-via-Glasgow singer-songwriter Alex Amor makes a luminous return today with her new single ‘Seeing Angels’. The release follows a triumphant, sold-out show last night at London’s Folklore Hoxton, capping off recent dates supporting rising pop talents Good Neighbours and Gretta Ray.
New single 'Seeing Angels,' produced by Peter Brien (Kojaque, Kean Kavanagh) is a captivating return for Amor. Her rich Glaswegian lilt drifts through gauzy indie-folk and sunlit country-pop tones, with songwriting that feels both effortless and finely honed. Beneath the track’s soft glow lies a quiet resilience - a story of rediscovery and emotional clarity, where tenderness becomes transformative and love gently realigns what once felt adrift.
“‘Seeing Angels’ is about the healing nature of women—our ability to guide, nurture, and mend broken hearts," Alex explains. "It speaks to the way we become a source of strength in love, offering steady hands and acting as a compass pointing north, leading toward better days. Finding the wrong person can be devastating, but choosing the right partner can change everything. This song is about that kind of love—the kind that turns your world upside down, alchemises your pain, and makes you believe in something greater. Makes you believe in angels."
A tapestry of laid-back grooves, shimmering guitars, and vocals that feel both close and distant, like a memory half-remembered, 'Seeing Angels' is the first new taste of Alex Amor's first full length project, which she is currently adding the finishing touches to.
"This new music came as a result from an intense and transformative period in my life," Alex said. "Coming out the other side of that time, I found a new sense of clarity about the direction I wanted to take creatively — a side of songwriting where I’d only scratched the surface. I’ve always been a romantic, who also contains a melancholic sensibility of sorts. Now I’m not afraid of the dark, to dig a little deeper, ready to bare it all."
Imbued with mystery and wonder, Alex Amor’s self-described ‘Cosmic Americana’ draws from a constellation of singular voices: the raw emotional gravity of Mitski and Adrianne Lenker, the nocturnal haze of Cigarettes After Sex, the dreamlike shimmer of Beach House, the storytelling strength of Julia Jacklin, and the cinematic grandeur of Weyes Blood.
To date Alex Amor has released three EPs: her debut ‘Love Language’ in 2021 and 'The Art Of Letting Go' in 2022 and 'Super Sonic' in 2023. Her music has garnered over 5 million streams and earned widespread support across radio and press: BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders, Sian Eleri), The Line of Best Fit, DIY Magazine, CLASH Magazine, Dork Magazine, Wonderland, The Rodeo, Notion, 1883 Magazine, The Skinny, Ones To Watch, The Sunday Mail and The Scotsman. Previously Alex has performed at festivals including The Great Escape, TRNSMT and Dot To Dot alongside UK tours and shows with Thomas Headon, Good Neighbours, The Snuts, Gretta Ray, Swim Deep and VLURE.
Alex Amor's new single 'Seeing Angels' is out now, released 30th April.
–
Follow, Alex Amor
Instagram: @iamalexamor
X: @iamalexamor
TikTok: @iamalexamor
Facebook: /iamalexamor
Ben Frost Shares New Track “Black Thread, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ” || New Release 'Under Certain Light and Atmospheric Conditions' Out 5/16 On Mute
BEN FROST SHARES NEW TRACK
“BLACK THREAD, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ”
NEW RELEASE
UNDER CERTAIN LIGHT AND ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS
OUT 5/16 ON MUTE
photo credit: Topper Komm
Today Ben Frost has shared a new track “Black Thread, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ”, the latest from his forthcoming 7-track release, Under Certain Light and Atmospheric Conditions, out on May 16, 2025 via Mute.
Under Certain Light and Atmospheric Conditions is built upon two years of live shows, soundcheck improvisations and field recordings. It is a 38-minute dreamspace of jetlag, melatonin supplements, roaring crowds and failing technology.
Listen to “Black Thread, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ,” a mesmerizing piece with roots in a live performance in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in 2024 HERE.
The album approaches live performance as both an ephemeral event and an archival construct mediated through the predatory veil of DSP servers, where “live” is simply another hashtag aesthetic in an ecosystem of fake music and fake news. Documenting stage extracts from locations including Havana, Naarm, and Kyiv, these artifacts exist somewhere between memory and simulation, capturing not just a singular reality but multiple.
The Scope Neglect tour finds Frost joined by Greg Kubacki of Car Bomb (who also features prominently on the album) and sound designer Carlos Boix, whose recordings of the past year of live performances Frost has seamlessly woven into the album. The tour, which recently presented a blistering performance at EartH in London, continues with a show in Uzbekistan in May. Full details below.
Three of the tracks,”Tritium Bath”, “Chimera” and “Turning The Prism” come directly from Scope Neglect, while the remaining cuts “‘Permcat”, “Trancelines”, “Black Thread”, and “Prism Inversion” (with their roots in Ukraine, India, Mongolia and Brazil) are previously unreleased.
Throughout 2024’s acclaimed album, Scope Neglect, there are touches of metal, sitting alongside crackling electronics, field recordings, breathing animals and deeply contemplative explorations, resulting in something impossible to pigeonhole.
The presence of Greg Kubacki’s guitars, which unfold in sequences that smoulder relentlessly over time, echo the tape loop fantasies of Terry Riley. Through this meditative focus, frenetic logic gives way to an almost transcendental calm.
Scope Neglect is a deliberate opposition in terms, a dualistic game of obfuscation and obliteration, a sonic universe stripped to its most elemental core where the mechanics are reconfigured, reengineered, old energies diverted and redirected, scope expanded, contracted and dissolved.
Frost's diverse impact reverberates across film, television and opera, earning acclaim for his score for Julia Leigh's Palme d’Or-nominated Sleeping Beauty and scores for TV series such as 1899, Raised By Wolves, Fortitude and the cult series Dark. His opera creations, including The Wasp Factory for London's Royal Opera House and The Murder of Halit Yozgat at the Hannover Staatsoper, have cemented his position in the world of contemporary music and live arts.
Recent exhibitions for Broken Spectre, his latest collaboration with Richard Mosse, have run at London's 180 Studios, Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria, SFMOMA, Photo Elysée, The Momentary Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas in 2023, and New York’s Jack Shainman Gallery. Two solo installation works A Predatory Chord and Among The Petals have been staged in the past two years.
BEN FROST LIVE DATES:
5/29/2025 - 5/31/2025 - Muynak, Stihia Festival (UZ)
Under Certain Light and Atmospheric Conditions track listing:
1. Tritium Bath, 克拉玛依2. Permcat, Ки́їв
3. Trancelines, वाराणसी
4. Chimera, Naarm
5. Black Thread, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ
6. Turning The Prism, واحة سيوة
7. Prism Inversion, Pantanal/La Habana
Pre-order Under Certain Light and Atmospheric Conditions HERE.
Purchase or stream Scope Neglect HERE.
CONNECT WITH BEN FROST:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | WEB
CONNECT WITH MUTE:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLUESKY | INSTAGRAM | TIK TOK | WEB
Autocamper announces debut LP on Slumberland / Safe Suburban Home, shares "Again" video
VIDEO: "Again" -
YouTube
Manchester's Autocamper are the perfect pop antidote to the city's predictable post-punk machismo. Like a Northern kitchen sink rendering of The Vaselines' call and response motif, vocal duties are shared by Jack Harkins and Niamh Purtill -- their world-weary reflections on bedroom tiffs and hungover misdemeanors capture the jangle pop spirit of the '80s without the C86 revisionism. Their debut LP, What Do You Do All Day?, will be released July 11 by Slumberland in the US and Safe Suburban Home in the UK.
Recorded at Glasgow's Green Door Studio and produced by Chris McCory of Catholic Action, Autocamper shed their bedroom pop roots on their debut LP while retaining the candid, bittersweet sincerity of earlier releases. Vocalist and guitarist Jack Harkins' casual lilt often resembles a less baritone, Northern English iteration of Calvin Johnson, countering keyboardist Niamh Purtill's soft, whisper-like timbre. This classic dynamic runs through the album, yielding a tenderness that strikes a perfect balance — never too cloying, and offering a modern twist on the unpretentious earnestness found in '60s sunshine pop of groups like The Millennium.
A good melody is inherently sincere as it originates from an authentic emotional space. In the case of Autocamper, memorable melodies are abundant, shaped by an impressive collective knowledge of music's past, present, and future. Their sound is both nostalgic and fresh, combining the DIY pop sensibilities of the early Flying Nun and Sarah label bands with the jangling, melodic impulse of James Kirk-era Orange Juice, while also capturing the heartfelt songwriting of Curt Boetcher and Sandy Salisbury.
"Map Like A Leaf" parallels the later output of The Pastels, a connection strengthened by Tom Crossley from the band contributing his flute to the track. On "Dogsitting," Niamh's pleasantly wonky organ echoes Martin Duffy's keyboard ruminations during mid-period Felt. The rhythm section, comprising Harry Williams on bass and Arthur Robinson on drums, resides somewhere between the crispness of The Feelies and the pure, youthful pop essence of Motown, evinced in Robinson's complete control of the snare. Those bouncy basslines act as a shimmering glue that binds the pieces together, not unlike the standout moments of The Field Mice's Michael Hiscock.
Autocamper add colour to the everyday; transforming a sigh-ridden, pedestrian Sunday into moments of fleeting optimism amid the tangled web of love and life in The Age of Anxiety. Not twee, not anorak, not lucky, just pop: it's these truths that distinguish them from their peers, the hollow strains of Instagram Indie and the corporate pop that forces us to be joyful.
Autocamper
What Do You Do All Day?
(Slumberland / Safe Suburban Home)
Street Date: July 11, 2025
Formats: digital / lp / cd
Pre-order HERE
Track List:
1 Again
2 Red Flowers
3 Map Like A Leaf
4 Foxes
5 Proper
6 You
7 Dogsitting
8 Somehow
9 Linnean
10 Street View
AUTOCAMPER LINKS:
Bandcamp
Instagram
Facebook
Slumberland Records
April 29, 2025
Stereolab shares new single "Melodie Is A Wound"
STEREOLAB SHARES NEW SINGLE “MELODIE IS A WOUND”
ACCOMPANIED BY NEW CRYPTIC WORDSEARCH BY ALAN CONNOR
INSTANT HOLOGRAMS ON METAL FILM DUE MAY 23RD VIA DUOPHONIC UHF DISKS / WARP RECORDS
WORLD TOUR LAUNCHING MAY 25TH
NEW UK, US SHOWS ADDED
Photo credit Joe Dilworth
Instant Holograms on Metal Film
PRE-SAVE/ORDER: https://stereolab.co.uk/
“Melodie Is A Wound”
LISTEN: https://stereolab.ffm.to/melodie
WATCH: https://youtu.be/Nndpg90P2O8
TICKETS:
https://warp.net/stereolab-2025
(April 29th, 2025) - Today, Stereolab shares “Melodie Is A Wound,” the follow-up single to the album’s announcement earlier this month, accompanied by an edited version. Following the wordsearch and fill-in-the-blanks puzzles from the last release, “Melodie Is A Wound” arrives alongside a Stereolab-themed cryptic crossword puzzle. The crossword has been compiled by Alan Connor, who serves as the crossword editor for The Guardian and sets the cryptic crossword for The Observer, has been question editor for TV shows House Of Games and Only Connect, and is the author of books including 188 Words For Rain.
Stereolab’s forthcoming album, Instant Holograms On Metal Film, will be available on May 23rd, co-released by the band’s own label Duophonic UHF Disks, and Warp Records. Their first new record in fifteen years, Instant Holograms On Metal Film features thirteen songs written by Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane; performed by Laetitia, Tim, Andy Ramsay, Joe Watson and Xavi Muñoz, who comprise the current touring line-up of the band.
The album also features guest contributions by Cooper Crain and Rob Frye (Bitchin Bajas), Ben LaMar Gay (International Anthem), Ric Elsworth, Holger Zapf (Cavern Of Anti-Matter), Marie Merlet and Molly Hansen Read.
Instant Holograms On Metal Film will be available on double vinyl LP in standard and colour variants, as well as compact disc and digital formats. Pre-order/save it here. Stereolab are touring extensively this year throughout Europe, North America and the UK, with select shows in South America, many of which are already sold out.
“Melodie Is A Wound” single artwork
Alan is also a Stereolab fan, and comments:
“Writing this puzzle I felt an unfamiliar sensation, at first in my knees. A recovered memory of Stereolab in a venue which sent the groop's noise bursts - bass? sub-bass? whatever might be under that? - directly inside each of us in the crowd, reshaping us in wonderful ways. No one else has done that, but then no one else has done the alchemic things Stereolab has done. Happily for me, this is a band fond of titles which read just like fragments of cryptic clues. So long, that is, as your brain has been suitably warped by puzzles. Happily, mine has been warped this way - as well as my body by Stereolab. Thank you for the warping, thank you Warp and thank you Stereolab. By the way, I sincerely believe that anyone in public life would do public life better if they listened to Emperor Tomato Ketchup's “Tomorrow Is Already Here” a few times. What was then the future has borne out that one plenty.”
Previously, some fans of the band received a package stamped “unsolicited Stereolab material”. Inside was a 7” single containing “Aerial Troubles” on one side, an instrumental version on the flip, with a cryptic wordsearch insert. At the same time, posters with the band’s name appeared in a number of major cities with the same word grid printed on. Over the past few days, several attempts have been made to solve the wordsearch, with much online speculation about how the words go together, and whether the single did indeed contain new music, or something uncovered from the band’s archives.
And in lieu of a description of the music, the band are inviting fans, detractors, and journalists alike to provide their own adjectives on a fill-in-the-blanks sheet.
Instant Holograms On Metal Film Wordsearch
Instant Holograms On Metal Film Fill-in-the-Blank Puzzle
The album art was first slowly revealed on the Lab Report sign-up page of the band’s website, with different layers gradually appearing. The 7” started landing with people on 2nd April 2025, sixteen years to the day after the group announced they were going on indefinite hiatus. In 2019, the band released expanded and remastered editions of seven of their studio albums, coinciding with Stereolab playing live for the first time in nine years. They have continued to tour sporadically since then, and have augmented their catalogue further with the release of the compilations Electrically Possessed [Switched On Vol 4] in 2021, and Pulse Of The Early Brain [Switched On Vol 5] in 2022.
“Aerial Troubles” single art
Pre-save Instant Holograms On Metal Film, listen and watch “Melodie Is A Wound” above, check out the tour dates, and find full album details below.
Instant Holograms On Metal Film album art
Stereolab
Instant Holograms On Metal Film
Duophonic UHF Disks / Warp Records
May 23, 2025
1. Mystical Plosives
2. Aerial Troubles
3. Melodie Is A Wound
4. Immortal Hands
5. Vermona F Transistor
6. Le Coeur Et La Force
7. Electrified Teenybop!
8. Transmuted Matter
9. Esemplastic Creeping Eruption
10. If You Remember I Forgot How To Dream Pt.1
11. Flashes From Everywhere
12. Colour Television
13. If You Remember I Forgot How To Dream Pt.2
Stereolab EU tour poster
Stereolab North American tour poster
Stereolab North American and LATAM tour poster
Stereolab UK tour poster
Upcoming Live Dates
Europe Dates
+ = Astrobal
* = TBC
5/24 - Dover, UK @ The Booking Hall * SOLD OUT
5/25 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique Les Nuits Botanique
5/26 - Köln, DE @ Gloria
5/28 - Hamburg, DE @ Grunspan
5/29 - Berlin, DE @ Huxley Neue Welt
5/30 - Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom
5/31 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
6/1 - Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
6/3 - Nantes, FR @ Stereolux +
6/4 - Paris, FR @ Le Trianon + SOLD OUT
6/5 - Bordeaux, FR @ Barbey +
6/6 - Barcelona, ESP @ Primavera Sound + SOLD OUT
6/7 - Madrid, ESP @ Teatro Eslava +
6/9 - Grenoble, FR @ La Belle Electrique +
6/10 - Ferrara, IT @ Ferrara Sotto le Stelle
6/11 - Zurich, CH @ Volkshaus +
6/12 - Munich, DE @ Hansa 36 +
6/14 - Zagreb, CR @ Tvornica Kulture +
6/15 - Budapest, HU @ A38 Ship +
6/16 - Vienna, AU @ WUK +
6/17 - Prague, CZ @ Meet Factory +
6/19 - Schorndorf, DE - Manufaktur +
6/20 - Luxembourg, LU @ Den Atelier +
7/11 - Cagliari, SD, IT @ Siren Festival
North American Dates
+ = Memorials
@ = Dorothea Paas & Bitchin’ Bajas / Natural Information Society
* = Bitchin’ Bajas
^ = TBC
9/13 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl +
9/14 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse +
9/16 - Miami, FL @ Miami Beach Bandshell +
9/18 - New Orleans, LA @ The Civic Theatre +
9/19 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre +
9/20 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel +
9/21 - Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom SOLD OUT +
9/23 - Washington, D.C. @ The Howard Theatre +
9/24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer SOLD OUT +
9/26 - Boston, MA @ Royale +
9/27 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre +
10/1 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel SOLD OUT +
10/2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel @
10/3 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground SOLD OUT @
10/4 - Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield SOLD OUT @
10/6 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall SOLD OUT @
10/7 - Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall @
10/8 - Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron @
10/9 - Chicago, IL @ Metro SOLD OUT @
10/10 - Chicago, IL @ Metro SOLD OUT
10/11 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue @
10/12 - Iowa City, IA @ Hancher Auditorium at the Englert Theatre @
10/14 - Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre @
10/17 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre *
10/18 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre SOLD OUT *
10/19 - Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom*
10/21 - San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom SOLD OUT *
10/22 - San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom ^
10/24 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre SOLD OUT *
10/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether SOLD OUT *
10/26 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether SOLD OUT ^
10/28 - San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park *
10/30 - Marfa, TX @ The Capri SOLD OUT *
10/31 - Austin, TX @ TBC
11/1 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall *
11/2 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre *
Latin American Dates
11/4 - Buenos Aires, ARG @ Complejo Art Media
11/7 - Santiago, CHI @ Fauna Primaversa
11/9 - São Paulo, BRA @ Balaclava Festival
11/12 - Mexico City, MX @ Foro Indie Rocks! SOLD OUT
11/13 - Mexico City, MX @ Foro Indie Rocks!
UK Dates
12/5 - Brighton, UK @ Corn Exchange
12/6 - London, UK @ Royal Festival Hall SOLD OUT
12/8 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3
12/9 - Leeds, UK @ Project House
12/11 - Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz
12/12 - Wolverhampton, UK @ University of Wolverhampton at the Wulfrun Hall
12/13 - Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy
12/14 - London, UK @ Brixton Electric
Connect with Stereolab
