This was a busy and enjoyable weekend. Hope it was good for everyone else. In its waning hours under the glow of the supermoon, we have a brand new Weekly Roundup for you all to enjoy.
–Kid Flicks is a young musician out of Greece and I've been digging his track "My Own Song" from the Hearts of Gold EP. It's an interesting construction, with a prominent bass line and pulsating kick drum beat in a maelstrom of all kinds of other sounds that come together in a satisfying way. Very curious to see how his career develops.
-Here's a song that will have you beginning to think about summer. It's called "Enemy" and it comes from Bear Driver. It comes out officially on May 28, a week before the debut album on June 4. This song makes me think that will be very much worth checking out. I love its energy and catchiness. The vocal harmonies are particularly cool. I'm not really doing it much justice, but I think you'll understand when you give it a listen.
-The band Et Tu Bruce has a crafted quite the power pop tune with "This City." It's tight and crackling and channels a lot of great tradition while still sounding fresh. One of my favorite artists ever is Ted Leo & the Pharmacists and something about the rhythm and the expertly utilized falsetto melodies here makes me think Et Tu Bruce appreciates similar music to what has in part shaped Ted. Like the Jam, for instance. Always a good thing in my book.
-Let's shift gears to a female Seattle rapper known as Katie Kate. Her track "Uh…No" has grabbed my attention. Over a minimal, bare bones beat, she lays down some solid rhymes, mixing major swagger with fun pop culture references and astute social observations. It comes from the Flatland album, which you can purchase via the bandcamp link. Also, be sure to check out her motherfucking totebag.
-This Roundup has offered some good variety of musical styles, and we're not done yet. How about a lovely folk song from London's Gerard & the Watchmen? The put out a new EP called I Climbed A Tree and the lead track "Stables" should be enough to encourage you to dive right into the rest of the album. It's got an assured pace and really nice vocal performances, in addition to the tapestry of string instruments.
-We close out with our favorite video of the past week, "Forest Eyes" by Aussie band Jinja Safari. It's just a lot of fun, with a group of people in costumes (I like the paper captions, especially "Party Koala" with "Party Koala Hunter") in a beautiful setting looking to have a great time. The band is getting ready to release their music and tour in the US, and with a song this catchy, a mixture of the exotic and the universally appealing aspects of pop, plus its joyful sentiment about the good day, I don't think they'll have much trouble making a mark.