Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 140
March 9, 2025
Frog Eyes Release New LP, Share "Light" Single via Galore, Brooklyn Vegan's Album Of The Week | 'The Open Up' Out Now via Paper Bag Records
Share "Put a Little Light on the Wretch That is Me" Single via Galore
Brooklyn Vegan's Album Of The Week
'The Open Up' Out Now via Paper Bag Records
Photo Credit: Soloman ChiniquayORDER: Frog Eyes - The Open UpStream | Order
LISTEN & SHARE: Frog Eyes - "Put a Little Light on the Wretch That is Me "
Stream
WATCH/LISTEN & SHARE: Frog Eyes - "Television, a Ghost in My Head"
Stream | Watch
WATCH/LISTEN & SHARE: Frog Eyes - "I See the Same Things"
Stream | Watch
WATCH/LISTEN & SHARE: Frog Eyes - "E-E-Y-O-R-E (That's Me!)"
Stream | Watch PRAISE FOR FROG EYES
“E-E-Y-O-R-E (That’s Me!)” is an anthemic, angular and very catchy slab of Frog Eyes-style indie rock"
-Brooklyn Vegan
"Mercer’s singular voice, nightmare-bent and horror-pained, has put him in league with such eccentric vocalists as Tom Waits and Frank Black, and he shares with them the status of the truly inimitable."
- Pitchfork
"Beautiful, noisy and singularly Frog Eyes"
- Brooklyn Vegan
"Violet Psalms finds Frog Eyes going out in a burst of vitality. It's a mesmerizing album, full of world-weary terror and transcendent grace."
- Exclaim!
Today, Vancouver indie-rock greats Frog Eyes share "Put a Little Light on the Wretch That is Me" along with their new LP 'The Open Up'.
Carey on the track, "This is some kind of generalized love song. I've long wanted to write a song that reminded me in anyway of a Before Hollywood era Go-Betweens composition. When this one popped out, I thought, “Yes, there you are!” I saluted that taut, tight structure that ascends so cleanly and compellingly, and takes you to so many places in such a short amount of time. And in my mind’s eye I saw someone gentle and beloved tugging at my sleeve."
Frog Eyes - "Put a Little Light on the Wretch That is Me"
Tour Dates:
March 22 - The Shop - Powell River
April 19 - Green Auto - Vancouver
May 16 - The Dance Cave - Toronto
May 17 - 27 Club - Ottawa
May 18 - Casa Del Popolo - Montreal
May 21 - Wolfe Island Hotel - Kingston
May 22 - Sonic Hall - Guelph
May 23 - Mills Hardware - Hamilton
May 24 - Paddy's Underground - Tillsonburg
March 7, 2025
LUST FOR YOUTH + CROATIAN AMOR album 'All Worlds' out TODAY on Sacred Bones. Listen now.
- Listen here
Ahead of Lust For Youth's tour which starts next week, they release their collaborative album with Croatian Amor, 'All Worlds' , today via Sacred Bones. Listen in full here.
In June 2023, Copenhagen's Lust For Youth and Croatian Amor shared the stage at the iconic Sydney Opera House during the Vivid Live Festival. This encounter reignited their creative partnership, laying the foundation for ‘All Worlds’. Loke Rahbek, who used to be a member of Lust For Youth, left the group to focus on his solo project Croatian Amor and the Posh Isolation record label. His departure coincided with the release of Lust For Youth’s self-titled album in 2019. With ‘All Worlds’, Rahbek’s collaboration with Lust For Youth marks a poignant reunion for the band’s core creative forces, where the differing sonic palettes of the Lust For Youth and Croatian Amor projects meet again in the form of a full-length album.
Drawing inspiration from the Golden Record sent into space as humanity's message to the unknown, 'All Worlds' mirrors this longing for connection and understanding. Each track captures a fragment of emotion, culture, or memory, offering a kaleidoscopic view of the human experience.
The first single was “Dummy” – a pivotal track borne of the creative spark set between the three in Australia. Second pre-release track "Kokiri" takes it's name from the forest in video game series The Legend of Zelda, and was accompanied with an ethereal remix by Fatshaudi.
'All Worlds' is available to hear in full here: https://lnk.to/AllWorlds
Lust For Youth kick off their European live dates next week with a UK run. Dates are:
March 11th @ La Station, Paris France
March 12th @ The Lexington, London UK
March 13th @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle upon Tyne UK
March 14th @ The Flying Duck, Glasgow UK
March 26th @ Rust, Copenhagen Denmark
April 16th @ Hus 7, Stockholm Sweden
April 18th @ Plan B, Malmö Sweden
May 28th @ Rote Fabrik, Zürich Switzerland
May 30th @ Stream Festival, Linz Austria
The new album’s title ‘All Worlds’ reflects the idea of collecting fragments from disparate places, feelings, and stories. Each song unveils a unique “world,” contributing to overarching themes of exploration and introspection. These “worlds” represent the inner landscapes we carry, shaping our identities. The title also gestures toward connection—as if these worlds float through space, waiting to be discovered and understood. Ultimately, ‘All Worlds’ embodies the quest for belonging and meaning.
Through a sonic journey of isolation, resilience, and wonder, introspective lyrics intertwine with lush, evocative soundscapes. Retaining the dreamy atmospheres characteristic of both Lust For Youth and Croatian Amor, the album’s reverb-drenched production lends it an ethereal, nostalgic quality. While themes of melancholy and longing are central, energetic beats and uplifting arrangements introduce a bittersweet harmony that oscillates between vulnerability and euphoria.
The album marks a shift in tone, moving away from Lust For Youth’s synth-driven post-punk roots. Instead, ‘All Worlds’ embraces a dance-oriented aesthetic, weaving pulsating rhythms and techno-inspired motifs with layered vocal samples. The result is a textured soundscape—an exploration of emotional fragility through shimmering production and introspective melodies.
Celebrating twelve years since their 2013 ambient-industrial album ‘Pomegranate’, ‘All Worlds’ reflects the evolution of Lust For Youth and Croatian Amor. This album serves as both a response to their earlier work and a progression informed by a decade of growth and change. It deepens their exploration of sound and meaning, speaking directly to the present moment.
Like the Golden Record adrift in space, ‘All Worlds’ is a collection of moments waiting to connect with those who choose to listen.
“I'll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we'll cling together so tight that nothing and no one'll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you…
...And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won't just be able to take one, they'll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we'll be joined so tight…” - Philip Pullman His Dark Materials / The Amber Spyglass (2000)
‘All Worlds’ track list:
1. Friendzone
2. Passerine Ft. Emma Acs
3. Dummy Ft. Purient - video
4. Akkadian
5. Light In The Center
6. Kokiri - stream | remix
7. Nowhere Ft. YL Hooi & 3ndles5
8. Fleece
9. Velella Velella Wind Sailors
10. Still Here
Lust For Youth + Croatian Amor press shot by Alexander Rotondo
Links:
Follow Lust For Youth -
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannesvalentino/
https://www.instagram.com/amagertheworld/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LustForYouth.Official
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCljZLqRFCK9gEd6Y5aroGyw
Follow Croatian Amor -
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amortheworld/
SEVDALIZA REIMAGINES "MARIA MAGDALENA" IN NEW SINGLE AS SYMBOL OF POWER AND REBELLION
SEVDALIZA REIMAGINES "MARIA MAGDALENA" IN NEW SINGLE AS SYMBOL OF POWER AND REBELLION
NEW SONG OUT NOW FEATURING IRMÃS DE PAU
WATCH MUSIC VIDEO HERE
STREAM SONG HERE
March 7, 2025 – Critically acclaimed Iranian-Dutch artist Sevdaliza enters a new era as she unveils her latest single, "Maria Magdalena," a hypnotic exploration of power, seduction, and survival. Featuring the bold lyricism of Brazilian duo Irmãs de Pau, the track reclaims the biblical figure of Mary Magdalene as an emblem of resilience and divine femininity. The single kicks off a new musical era for the star – watch the video HERE, stream the single HERE.
"Maria Magdalena is the untamed force of every woman who has been desired, discarded, and misunderstood. She is the saint and the sinner, the fantasy and the fear. This song is for those who turn survival into sovereignty, who weaponize their beauty, and who refuse to be owned," says Sevdaliza.
Sonically, "Maria Magdalena" pulses with haunting production and layered beats, mirroring the tension between worship and exploitation—where beauty becomes currency and love an illusion. Irmãs de Pau infuse the track with fearless verses in Portuguese, amplifying its message of self-possession and trans power. Lines like "A dona da encruzilhada que vai te hipnotizar" (translation: “The mistress of the crossroads who will hypnotize you”), recast Maria Magdalena as a mythical force, commanding desire on her own terms.
The music video, directed by Jenna Marsh, features Sevdaliza alongside a star-studded lineup of cam girls with a twist; they are participating in safe camming that is inclusive and playful, for the girls and the gays – not the male gaze. Each participant shows as little or as much as they choose because it’s their decision over their autonomy and on their own terms – camming for the girls, by the girls. “It Girls” featured as cameos alongside Sevdaliza in the music video include Luísa Sonza, Mia Khalifa, Uglyworldwide, Sita Abellán, Pussy Riot, Katerina, Kiss Facility, Irmãs de Pau, and more. Watch the music video HERE.
With "Maria Magdalena," Sevdaliza and Irmãs de Pau deliver a manifesto of resistance, one that marks a new era as Sevdaliza’s first release of the year. The track follows a remarkable year for the global artist, who in December earned her first top 10 on Billboard’s “Latin Pop Airplay” chart. She was also profiled in Vogue and also attended the CFDA Awards as Raul from LUAR’s date. Making her US TV performance debut, she performed her global hit “Alibi” on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
ABOUT SEVDALIZA:
SEVDALIZA, the Iranian-born, Dutch-raised multidisciplinary artist, is celebrated for her genre-defying music and artistic versatility. With over 1.5 billion career streams, she rose to critical acclaim with the groundbreaking albums ISON (2017) and Shabrang (2020). Her 2024 single "Alibi" became a global sensation, topping Shazam's Song of the Summer chart, ranking as TikTok’s #3 global song of the year, and marking Sevdaliza’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. That year also saw her make her U.S. television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and perform at Rock in Rio alongside Karol G. Known for collaborations with Grimes, Anitta, Tiësto, and Tokischa, Sevdaliza’s artistry transcends music, extending into haute couture, where she’s walked in Paris Fashion Week for Y/Project and Iris Van Hepen, and graced campaigns and covers for prestigious publications including international editions of Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. An advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and marginalized communities, Sevdaliza’s multilingual fluency and diverse cultural background make her a unique global voice, blending music, fashion, technology, and social activism.
FOLLOW SEVDALIZA:
iyla Releases "Wild"
IYLA REVEALS SMOLDERING NEW TRACK, “WILD”OUT NOW
LISTEN
“WILD”
R&B/Soul singer iyla is back today with a sultry new musical offering, “Wild.” Paired with a smoldering visualizer, “Wild” was co-written by iyla, alongside Yah Yah and Ben Free and produced by longtime collaborator Kadis, offering listeners yet another tantalizing taste of what the critically acclaimed LA-based soul singer-songwriter has in store for us this year.
Speaking about the new track, iyla reveals, “’Wild’ unleashes the story of a once innocent relationship that quickly turns dark. I used nature as a way to reflect our own animalistic senses, and to show the tug of war between desire and danger wrapped up in a woman’s need to break free from toxicity and control.”
Listen to “Wild” HERE .
“Thought you could break me; thought you could cage me. Baby that’s not how I’m wired,” she sings in the song’s alluring chorus. “Thought you could train me; thought you could tame me. I’d rather go back to the wild.”
“Wild” serves as the follow up to “Overboard,” (LISTEN) iyla’s first official release of 2025, lauded by Uproxx as “hypnotic” and “spicy.” Last year, iyla made her highly-anticipated return with “Strut,” (LISTEN) an in your face, no holds barred banger, hailed by Rated R&B as “a much-needed bounce-back anthem,” with VIBE proclaiming, “in the world of blue-eyed soul, iyla is back,” calling the song “a bold contrast from her ballad, ‘Blue Eyes,’ iyla’s beautiful and emotional ballad, released one year after the passing of her beloved mother and best friend, following a hard-fought eighteen month battle with cancer. The official music video for “Blue Eyes,” directed by iyla incorporates nostalgic snippets from childhood videos and sees iyla paying tribute to her mother, tossing roses into the ocean, in a beautiful, heart-wrenching homage. Watch the official music video for “Blue Eyes” HERE .
Since the release of iyla’s debut EP, ‘ War + Raindrops ,’ (including fan favorites ‘ Juice ’ and ‘ Flowers ’) its subsequent follow-up, 2020’s ‘ OTHER WAYS TO VENT ’ (featuring standouts ‘Strings ,’ ‘ Tattoo Tears ’ and the Method Man-assisted ‘ CASH RULES ’) and most recently, 2023’s Appetite For Disaster ’ (including ‘ Impala (Feat. Symba) , and ‘ Lost Me (Feat. Benny The Butcher) ’) the young Los Angeles-born artist -- whose influences include Destiny’s Child, Brandy, Aaliyah, SZA, Kehlani and H.E.R – has amassed more than 200 million streams across all platforms. She has achieved Top 40 success at rhythmic radio, been appointed by YouTube Music as one of their Foundry Artists (following in the footsteps of ROSALÍA and Dua Lipa), reached No. 11 on iTunes’ R&B charts, No. 16 on Apple Music’s R&B charts, and was named by Complex as one of their top 20 R&B artists to watch in 2023. In addition, iyla has opened for Demi Lovato and headlined her first ever North American tour with sell out shows in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Toronto, to name a few. With 3 EPs under her belt, iyla has received critical acclaim from the likes of FADER, V Magazine, NYLON, MTV, and Vogue.
Stay tuned for more news and music from iyla, coming soon.
“Wild” is available everywhere today .
Apple Music | Spotify
Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Kedr Livanskiy releases her expansive experimental pop album 'Myrtus Myth' today on 2MR
Kedr Livanskiy Releases New Album Myrtus Myth
Today via 2MR - Listen / Share
Photo By Paizuka Komarov
Musician / producer, Kedr Livanskiy (Yana Kedrina) releases her fourth studio album today via 2MR. On Myrtus Myth, she draws on mythologies both public and personal to craft an expansive experimental pop album and Dante-esque journey through the self.
"Working on an album is an exploration of yourself. Making a decision to write an album is like an invitation to wake up; an invitation to get to know yourself, to find out who you are and what truly excites you - through sound. This is a discipline of the spirit, cleansing the channels through which inspiration enters the blood.
The last couple of years have been incredibly difficult for many people on earth, and for me in particular, a lot has changed. This album is a reflection on painful topics through the prism of the mythical, dreamlike and otherworldly. But this work itself, for me as a person, is an escape from reality into the world of the nooks and crannies of the subconscious, dreams, the transcendental and fantastic.
The music in this album is inspired not only by life itself and musical references, but in many ways by literature and literary images, myths, and poetic symbols. All together it forms an Odyssey - the hero's journey. The album is imbued with the idea of a deep kinship of the soul with the universe, the awareness of all-unity, the search for a place for a person in the cosmic and personal. Love as salvation."
-Kedr Livanskiy
There’s always been an element of esotericism to Kedr’s music, from the slow-burning choral synths that anchored her debut EP January Sun to the delicate strings and churchlike harmonies of 2021’s Liminal Soul. Even her clubbier releases, 2019’s Your Need and 2023’s K-Notes, depict mysterious forests, enveloping clouds, and foreboding winters. Of all her discography, though, Myrtus Myth seems to gesture most directly towards Ariadna, her far-reaching but understated first album, wherein she fused William Blake poetry with skittering lo-fi techno and minimalist ambient soundscapes. The same reverberating synths, echoing vocals and innovative song structure that punctuated Ariadna fuel Myrtus Myth, but this time the scope has broadened. This is due in part to the work of producer and visual artist Flaty, known for his experimental, futuristic releases. Though he and Kedr have worked together frequently (both as co-producers on Your Need and in their band, Kosaya Gora), Myrtus Myth represents a deeper collaboration, with Flaty producing and writing the entire record for the first time. Together, the two artists transcend dance structure completely, incorporating live instruments and new vocal techniques to bridge influences from vaporwave to Kate Bush to Phil Collins.
Though stylistically diverse, Myrtus Myth comes together through the narrative structure of Livanskiy’s storytelling. Written in her native Russian, her lyricism is at its most immersive on this album, a hero’s journey recounted over 11 tracks. It can be hard to orient oneself within Myrtus Myth, where sounds flicker from distant rooms and history seems to collapse into itself. But it’s precisely this feeling of disorientation that allows Livanskiy to realize her project.
Despite its narrative conclusion, it would be a mistake to read Myrtus Myth as a tragedy. It’s an album that gestures outward: by weaving together far-reaching and fantastical elements, Kedr seeks to tell a story that’s familiar for its stark humanity. The imagined hero’s city has been lost, but it’s just a myth after all. It’s us who are real, and we have time.
Listen / Buy / Playlist Myrtus Myth
Watch / Share “Spades on Hearts” Official Music Video
Myrtus Myth Artwork
“[Kedr] evokes an otherworldliness in her ethereal vocals and hazy production.” Pitchfork
“Moody dream pop suited for saloons and ambient rooms” Resident Advisor
“Kedr Livanskiy is a force of nature” Crack Magazine
"Fantastical imagination" The Guardian
"Arresting" The FADER
GILANARES RELEASES “F33D TH3 B3AST” VIA NEON GOLD / FUTURES + LIVE IN NY 3.20
GILANARES RELEASES “F33D TH3 B3AST”
VIA NEON GOLD / FUTURES HERE + VIDEO HERE
MARCH 20 - LIVE IN NEW YORK @ MERCURY LOUNGE
(w/ STELA COLE)
GILANARES "IF CHAOS KILLED THE DINOSAURS"
photo credit: Eden Mili
Today, the New York up-and-coming artist Gilanares releases her second single “F33D TH3 B3AST” here and video via Neon Gold / Futures, the celebrated independent label that first put out Charli XCX, Tove Lo, MARINA, Christine and the Queens, and many more, a roster which this new emotionally charged alternative artist surely fits alongside.
Gilanares explains: "I want this song to encourage people to explore their own 'beast.' For me, it's the constant craving for stimulation. In a world filled with distractions—I believe we all wrestle with our own versions of this struggle."
Join Gilanares as she embarks on a profound musical journey; she’s an artist who fearlessly explores the intricate landscape of mental health, media's impact on youth culture, and complex, ever-changing relationships. Earlier, she released “if chaos killed the dinosaurs”, alongside a visualizer directed by her creative collaborator, Eden Mili here.
Through a kaleidoscope of genres, Gilanares delves into the raw and often unspoken experiences of the mind, offering solace and understanding to those who have faced the labyrinth of emotions.
Gilanares’ introspective lyrics, coupled with evocative instrumentals, create an immersive experience that resonates with the shared struggles and triumphs of the human condition.
Follow Gilanares:
https://www.instagram.com/gilanares888
https://www.tiktok.com/@gilanares
https://www.youtube.com/@gilanares
Introducing: ILUKA, Alt-Pop Powerful Protest Anthem "Woman Gone Mad" out NOW
INTRODUCING
ILUKA
THE AUSTRALIAN-BORN | LOS ANGELES-BASED
ALT-POP DARLING SHARES POWERFUL PROTEST ANTHEM
“WOMAN GONE MAD” - LISTEN | WATCH
March 7, 2025— Nettwerk is excited to announce the arrival of ILUKA, the Australian-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter alt-pop darling. In the last year, ILUKA’S career has taken off with a string of viral songs that have quickly landed her a cult following. Her signature style comes with raspy vocals — a hint of cowgirl twang belted over pop anthems shaken together to make her own unique musical cocktail. Today, ILUKA is excited to share her latest single, “Woman Gone Mad,” an anthem that dives into themes of resistance, strength, and solidarity while she navigates the current state of the world as well as dealing with the grief of the Los Angeles fires aftermath that ravaged her own neighborhood of Altadena.
ILUKA shares ‘‘Woman Gone Mad,” is a song for the insane times we’re currently living through. While oligarchy and fascism seem to be the new reality as weak men in power become more unhinged, I think music, art, and community are what’ll save us. My neighborhood of Altadena in Los Angeles was burned to the ground, and there’s also this element of grief in the song… watching the billionaires continue to get richer as our planet and home is literally on fire."
WATCH “WOMAN GONE MAD” HERE
“Woman Gone Mad” is available on all digital streaming platforms here.
ABOUT ILUKA:
Raised on a farm in the Blue Mountains of Australia, ILUKA learned the craft of song and soul from her father, a skilled luthier. His handmade guitars were more than instruments—they were the foundation of her sonic journey. From the start, ILUKA has been driven by a singular vision to create brave music. Her songs are both vulnerable in their storytelling and memorable in their protest. With features in Rolling Stone, FLAUNT Magazine, and NME, ILUKA’s impact is just beginning, but if she has anything to say about it, she’ll be a force that’s here to stay.
CONNECT:
Website | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok
###
Justin Warfield reveals the Deathrock Devotionals
Darkwave godfather Justin Warfield reveals the Deathrock Devotionals
Los Angeles, California: More than twenty years after Justin Warfield stepped out at the helm of She Wants Revenge, and rewired both the temperament and timbre of “goth rock,” the genre is about to undergo another scintillating make-over as his solo WARFIELD project unwraps Deathrock Devotionals Volume I
The first of multiple EPs that will ultimately comprise an entire new album, Deathrock Devotionals has already made a mighty mark via two widely acclaimed singles, ““All The Fun (Kiss, Kiss, Kiss)” and “Jet Plane.” Now, three further songs await discovery, “Distraction,” “Whispers for the Dead” and “Get Away/Far Away” - and all three offer incontrovertible proof that the success of this latest venture is here to stay.
It is also a very different beast to She Wants Revenge, as Warfield explains.
“As the singer and co-songwriter of She Wants Revenge, I’ve developed a voice over the last two decades within that framework. But that said, anything I’ve done outside of the band has always been an intentional departure, both to follow musical and creative urges, as well as trying something which wouldn’t necessarily fit the band, but affords me the opportunity to stretch out.
“Usually this means less minor keys, a different sonic palette, and moving towards something less dark and more indicative of other genres I love and which are part of me, whether it’s hip-hop, shoegaze, or California Rock.
“When I sit down to write, whatever comes out, comes out. But there’s no specific intention. It’s usually the product of what I’m feeling, what I’m taking in media wise, or any number of factors, and often times, when something I write doesn’t fit SWR, I slide to the side and put in the vault as it were.”
WARFIELD, he says, is different, in that “for the first time, the songs I was writing for myself felt connected to my contributions to SWR, both in the way I sang them, but also by virtue of the fact that the music was dark and of the Goth, New Wave world we’ve helped revitalize since founding the band.”
That, he continues, is the direction he followed as the Deathrock Devotionals project came together. “I allowed the creativity to guide me, and just explored different sounds and building blocks to differentiate it, to make things heavier, punchier, a bit more lighthearted, and with different energy running through it” - a process that the first single, "All The Fun (Kiss, Kiss, Kiss),” made apparent.
“What makes WARFIELD standout and sound different, not just to SWR but to a lot of current electronic-leaning Darkwave, is the similarities it shares with that lineage of Deathrock, and when I wrote that first song, I knew that I’d found something which felt like a future version of that distinctly 78-83 LA sound, and right away the entire project felt like it was all laid out for me.”
He acknowledges “anything I do is going to reflect all of my collective influences.” And while one can hear touchstones such as The Damned, Christian Death, early New Order and Bauhaus, Warfield says equally influential on this project are The Cult, Alice Bag, and The B-52’s.
“The rapid-fire delivery is the result of loving Chrissie Hynde as much as it is Rakim, and I’m just as inspired by the images of Edward Colver and Linda Aronow as I am the bands they photographed. One thing I love is that people have told me they can hear the hip-hop and other past projects I’ve done in the new music, which to me is the highest compliment, that it’s perhaps the most, ‘me' of anything I’ve done.
“And though Deathrock is a term which has never gone away, and die-hards keep alive culturally as well as musically, to me it’s a very special moment in time, that period which followed the late 70s scene in LA when punks let their artsy inclinations guide them towards the macabre, horror-themes, and a creepier, darker, but equally fast and aggressive sound. I mean, 45 Grave, Super Heroines, Rozz, Patrick Mata…all those people pioneered it, I’m just taking inspiration from them, and using my sensibilities and the continuation of that spirit to make something new, fun, full of energy, and fresh.”
DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/warfield_deathrockdevotionalsvoli
VIDEO: “ALL THE FUN (KISS KISS KISS) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rpxS...
VIDEO: “JET PLANE” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5oTK...
CLEOPATRA RECORDS, INC.
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify | Cleopatra Records Store
www.CleopatraRecords.com
FUST Release New Album 'Big Ugly' Prod. by Alex Farrar (Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, Squirrel Flower)
FUST
RELEASE NEW ALBUM BIG UGLY
OUT NOW VIA DEAR LIFE RECORDS
EAST COAST TOUR KICKS OFF THIS MONTH
Fust Press Photo by Graham Tolbert
Praise for Fust:
“Thoughtful and casual, detail-driven and refined, spinning little turns of phrases into fully fleshed-out scenes” — Pitchfork
"a real-deal AOTY contender.. Fust are now a crucial part of the contemporary music lexicon”
— Paste
“Good old-fashioned sad-eyed twang with widescreen splendor and literary flair.. Fust filter heavy-hearted roots rock through an indie-rock lens with winsome, sometimes spectacular results”
— Stereogum
“both deeply personal and universally resonant” — The Line of Best Fit
"Sure to catch the ear of fans of some of the household names that Farrar has already produced, Big Ugly is the real deal and is sure to be a constant companion for a myriad of backroad rambles and highway drive" — Under The Radar
“spills over with warm, weary country-rock songs.. Aaron Dowdy has a way of painting pictures of people, places, and sentiments that feel just out of focus but reassuringly familiar” — Bandcamp
“a well-crafted set of country-tinged folk-rock..warm harmonies, wistful melodies and lyrics of love, loss and renewal” — KEXP
“Sawdust-flaked alt-country perfection… Few bands have the skills and intuition to interpret decades of influences and write tracks that still feel vital and compelling… Fust has both in spades” — Premier Guitar
"wrings beauty out of the most unexpected places, honing in the band’s knack for making small feelings appear monumental" — Our Culture
"A hauntingly beautiful journey through memory and place—Fust’s Big Ugly is a modern Southern classic in the making" — The Fire Note
"a big, riffy record full of Southern observations, and it may just end up being this year’s best album" — Americana Highways
“Intense, range-worn, blue-collar country music, with an elegiac warm and everyday beauty.. Dowdy has a melancholy small-town poetry all his own ” — Mojo
What does it mean to be from the South today? To try to reconcile the struggles and possibilities of Southern experience through songs, through words? Is it worth it? Are there secrets still worth revealing?
Fust have made these questions the heart of their work and, more than ever before, it is the drama at play on their new record Big Ugly, out today via Dear Life Records. Fust joins a long tradition of artists that have tried to present life in the dirty South, from the lived-in short stories of Breece and Ann Pancake to the traditional record-keeping of John Jacob Niles to the southern rock historicism of Drive-By Truckers. For these artists and for Fust, making sense of the South is a necessity because history is what hurts and in the words of Hemingway, our call is to “write hard and clear, about what hurts.”
On the album’s release, principal songwriter Aaron Dowdy shares "Big Ugly is a little world you can live inside of for a while—a town crowded with images, just enough beauty, plenty of squalor, and history in every crevice. Most days are dull, but funniness and heart are the secret to its staying power. It may be about little things, but it’s a big record for us that we’re excited to share.”
The album is preceded by singles “Spangled,” a smoldering country rock anthem about the history imbued in a place, the gorgeous ballad “Bleached,” and the big riff and harmony laced “Mountain Language.”
Off the back of their critically acclaimed sophomore album Genevieve, Big Ugly arrives on the band’s longtime label home of Dear Life Records, who gained notoriety with MJ Lendermans’ Boat Songs, and have become a haven for contemporary songwriters. Returning to the studio with producer Alex Farrar (Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, Squirrel Flower), Big Ugly is the explosive result of Fust uncovering a freedom within their sincere form of loose and fried guitar rock, emboldened to deliver both their most intimate songwriting and biggest sound to date. The members –– Aaron Dowdy, drummer Avery Sullivan, pianist Frank Meadows, guitarist John Wallace, multi-instrumentalist Justin Morris, fiddlist Libby Rodenbough, and bassist Oliver Child-Lanning––weave their voices alongside guests like Merce Lemon, Dave Hartley (The War on Drugs), and John James Tourville (The Deslondes) across music that sounds like a conversation between old friends, and is exactly that.
NPR quickly named Big Ugly one of their most anticipated releases for 2025, with Paste proclaiming the record “a real-deal AOTY contender.” Stereogum praised “Spangled” as "a vivid portrait of American alienation, full of booze, religious turmoil, and a sense of doom" and Rolling Stone named both songs a Song You Need To Know. Aaron Dowdy spoke at length about the record to Paste Magazine for their Best of What’s Next profile.
WATCH OFFICIAL VIDEOS FOR SINGLES “SPANGLED,” “BLEACHED” & “MOUNTAIN LANGUAGE”
Big Ugly is an 11-song testament to doing just that, with band leader Aaron Dowdy pushing his obsessions with country-storytelling to more mystifying places, hellbent on proving the elegance of grittiness in Southern life. The seeds for Big Ugly began when Dowdy––a distant relative of Maybelle Carter and the infamous Hatfields who grew up in southwest Virginia at the foothills of coal country––started taking trips with his grandmother to southern West Virginia over the past few years. Walking around the places she grew up, he was moved by how those melodramas of holler life from over half a century ago were afire in her still. Those trips came pouring over him when he was in Europe in 2023, longing for home and beginning to trace the outlines of a new record. There, he saw a millenia-old gutter on the ground, a shoddy yet time-honored remnant memorialized with a placard off the streets of modern Athens. “I’ve spent countless hours hanging out by fallen gutters out back of rundown houses throughout the South” says Dowdy. “I never thought to think of them as monuments of the future.” These two interrelated themes were the first two entries in Dowdy’s miles-long notes app for what would become Big Ugly and illuminate its core themes: the blurrings of past and present, the once magnificent now in disrepair, and how a certain love and honor for the squalor of today can become the promise of a future.
This month, Fust will embark on a run of East Coast tour dates with support from Dead Gowns, Merce Lemon and Styrofoam Winos. Tickets on-sale HERE.
TOUR DATES
Jan 11 – Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House
Mar 28 – Athens, GA @ Flicker Theatre
Mar 29 – Richmond, VA @ The Camel
Apr 01 – Silver Spring, MD @ Quarry House Tavern
Apr 02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
Apr 03 – Medford, MA @ Deep Cuts ^
Apr 04 – Manchester, VT @ Billsville ^
Apr 05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Apr 06 – Hudson, NY @ The Half Moon ^
Apr 08 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Bottlerocket Social Hall
Apr 09 – Chicago, IL @ The Hideout *
Apr 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry *
Apr 11 – Northfield, MN @ Carleton College *
Apr 12 – Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel *
Apr 13 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop *
Apr 15 – St. Louis, MO @ The Sinkhole
Apr 16 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar #
Apr 17 – Nashville, TN @ The Blue Room at Third Man #
Apr 18 – Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light #
Apr 19 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle - Back Room #
Apr 23 – Chattanooga, TN @ Cherry Street Tavern
Apr 24 – Greenwood, MS @ Hush Puppy Music Co-op
Apr 25 – Birmingham, AL @ Woodlawn Theatre
Apr 26 – Charlotte, NC @ Tipsy Burro
^ Dead Gowns
* Merce Lemon
# Styrofoam Winos
CLARA MANN releases debut album 'Rift' today via state51 & shares visualiser for album title-track. EU/ UK tour dates announced.
- Shares visualiser for album title-track
- UK/EU tour dates announced
Today London-based multi-disciplinary artist Clara Mann releases her debut album '
Rift
', out now via state51 and is sharing a visualiser for the album title-track. As well as this Mann is also set to tour later this year with headline shows in London, Bristol, Manchester & Edinburgh alongside wider performances in the UK & EU including The Great Escape Festival and support for Youth Lagoon. "Rift" single on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyyRX0Mwm3I
"Rift" album stream: https://clara-mann.lnk.to/rift
There is a rift in the landscape, a rupture in the fabric of the sky. The distant silhouette of the city disintegrates as the ground begins to shudder and shake beneath your feet, splitting open to reveal a place that’s always been there—it just took your entire world collapsing for you to discover it.
Singer-songwriter Clara Mann’s evocative debut album navigates the fractured environment of the in-between—those liminal spaces exposed between light and dark, growth and remorse, loss and reclamation. It is a record that makes a strong case for hope, those luminescent silver linings in the dark.
Mann's music reflects the people and places that have shaped and held her—physically, emotionally, and creatively. Raised in the Lot Valley in rural France before moving to the UK for her teens, these formative years provided her with a deep sense of belonging, identity, and growth. Yet, it is in motion that Mann feels most at home: “Just the sun above me and my keys and my car." Her new record is a testament to this state of in-betweenness, inviting you to step into a place that has always existed within yourself.
After releasing her second EP Stay Open in 2022, the time and space between then and now has culminated in Rift, which vividly gestures toward the fractures and ruptures that define our lives. Yet, it is more than just an album; it captures the journey and strength it takes to look inward and to move forwards through the pain of it all. Its first track, "It Only Hurts", begins in a place of hopelessness, stemming from the loss of a relationship and, in turn, a future. It is a blank space that stretches out before you, where the landscape is torn apart like icebergs cracking and drifting. But hope remains a beacon of light throughout the album, a lighthouse guiding you across tumultuous waters.
Influenced by artists like Jacques Brel, Edith Piaf, Judee Sill, and Tom Waits, Mann has a deep love and care for songwriting. Her lyrics are vivid and visceral, and her approach to songwriting is not one of purging emotions but rather of composting them—digesting life’s experiences and cultivating them into something meaningful, tangible, hopeful. She is also a talented visual artist, and this often plays an integral role in her songwriting process. Using the intricate and sweeping motion of illustrating with ink, charcoal, and sometimes watercolour, she can evoke thoughts and poetry onto the page, offering a way of making sense of things and to communicate in a way that words alone cannot.
The album was primarily recorded at the 4AD Studios in London, produced and mixed by Fabian (Martha Skye Murphy, Ex:Re, Fabiana Palladino) who carefully facilitated an imaginative space for Mann to express the playful, strange and real parts of herself. Two of the tracks, "It Only Hurts", and the title track "Rift" were both recorded in the living room studio of her friend Tom Kellett’s home in just one afternoon, with this setting mirroring the raw intimacy of these tracks. She has also previously toured with the likes of Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear), Billie Marten, Bill Ryder-Jones and Youth Lagoon.
For Mann, the album is a tangible expression of her entire world—a snow globe raised in her palms for the world to see, in all its layers and complexities, containing all her love, relationships, memories, and experiences. It is this sheer transparency that has allowed her to relinquish and accept all parts of herself—the guilt, pain, and beauty of it all—like “swallows in the morning air, circling the dam.” Its truthfulness is its strength, not shying away from the painful experiences of life but embracing them as essential to the human experience and as part of our tapestry.
With Rift, Clara Mann acknowledges the cracks through which both despair and hope can seep. It is a deeply personal record, yet it is universally resonant, holding the mirror up to herself and to the world around her. It is a record that reflects on embracing our fault lines, navigating the ruptures that can erupt from them and moving forwards, in motion, with a renewed sense of self and aliveness. Mann’s debut album, Rift is all of her—her past, her present, her emotions, her experiences—and now, it is for you.
Order 'Rift': https://state51.greedbag.com/buy/rift-14/
Order 'Rift' Dinked Edition: https://ffm.bio/rift
05.04.25 - Printemps Festival, Toulon, FR
12.04.25 - Wanderfal Festival, Falmouth, UK
22.04.25 - Bristol Beacon, Bristol, UK
23.04.25 - Stoke Newington Church, London, UK
30.04.25 - Castle Hotel, Manchester, UK
01.05.25 - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, UK
15.05.25 - Unitarian Church, The Great Escape Festival, Brighton, UK
16.05.25 - Wood Festival, Oxfordshire
05.06.25 - Marche Gare, Lyon, FR
06.06.25 - Petit Bain, Paris, Fr
07.06.25 - Le Tetris, Le Havre, FR
10.06.25 - B72, Vienna, AU (with Youth Lagoon)
11.06.25 - Meetfactory, Prague, CZ (with Youth Lagoon)
12.06.25 - Frannz, Berlin, GER (with Youth Lagoon)
13.06.25 - Helios 37, Cologne, GER (with Youth Lagoon)
17.06.25 - Trabendo, Paris, FR (with Youth Lagoon)
18.06.25 - TRIX, Antwerp, BEL (with Youth Lagoon)
19.06.25 - Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK (with Youth Lagoon)
Rift tracklist:
1. It Only Hurts
2. 'Til I Come Around (YouTube)
3. Driving Home The Long Way (YouTube)
4. Stadiums (YouTube)
5. Reasons
6. Remember Me (Train Song) (YouTube)
7. Doubled Over
8. Rift
9. Oranges
10. The Dream
Links:
X
TikTok
YouTube
