Hi Gigantic gang,
So how was your week? Had a bit of a tough one? Well, at least it’s the weekend and you can get ready to party with our #NewMusicFriday blog and playlist!
Keep scrolling to enjoy the best new tunes, learn a little about the stories behind the music and even grab tickets to hear them played live.
Single
PUMAROSA – ‘I See You’
Taken from their forthcoming second album ‘Devastation’, Pumarosa have just dropped their powerful new single ‘I See You’:
"The song is about having the confidence to look back into the face of the guy who is talking you down, or taking your space, and saying "I see you!" I'm not going to be silent or make myself small so that you can feel ok. It’s not ok! And it can be fun! There is a swagger to enjoying power, and you can feel that in the verses of the track. The lyrics to "I See You" were inspired by the experience of me and my girlfriends. And also by the Me Too movement." – Isabel Muñoz-Newsome
Pumarosa tickets are currently available.
SIMPLY RED – ‘Sweet Child’
Mick Hucknall is back once again with Simply Red. He signals the return with brand new single ‘Sweet Child’. The new track oozes summery vibes and will feature on their upcoming album ‘Blue Eyed Soul’ which Hucknall and the gang promotes with a huge arena tour which kicks off in October 2020.
Simply Red tickets are currently available.
Album
ANGEL OLSEN – ‘All Mirrors’
From the epic John Milton poem ‘Paradise Lost’ to the Joseph Conrad novella ‘Heart Of Darkness’ and the bleak Darren Aronofsky drama ‘Requiem for a Dream’; there is something truly evocative about the descent into the world of shadows that inspires both horror and awe. So, it is with Illinois indie folk songwriter Angel Olsen’s new album ‘All Mirrors’ which describes her own fall into the void.
“In every way —from the making of it, to the words, to how I feel moving forward— this record is about owning up to your darkest side. Finding the capacity for new love and trusting change, even when you feel like a stranger. This is a record about facing yourself and learning to forgive what you see. It is about losing empathy, trust, love for destructive people. It is about walking away from the noise and realizing that you can have solitude and peace in your own thoughts, that your thoughts alone can be just as valid, if not more.”
‘All Mirrors’ is released today on Jagjaguwar, a label known for its excellence, and Olsen will be showing off her stunning new material with a tour in February – grab your ticket right now!
Angel Olsen tickets are currently available.
DIIV – ‘Deceiver’
The problem with DIIV is that their music has always been obscured with the big tabloid stories of drug addiction, celebrity relationships and court appearances. Which is a real shame because the fey indie rockers are actually really good as once again proven on new album ‘Deceiver’.
Rather than avoid the aforementioned subjects, singer Zachary Cole Smith tackles them head on in their latest LP, specifically addressing them on ‘Skin Game’ which seems to imagine a conversation between two addicts in rehab; “I can see you’ve had some struggles lately / Hey man, I’ve had mine too”
‘Deceiver’ is perhaps the most conventional record from NYC band so far, but that is not to say that it is in anyway diminished from their former glories. In fact, its this clear vision and direct approach that puts the LP in line to be a late contender for ‘Album-Of-The-Year’ status.
DIIV tickets are currently available.
SWIM DEEP – ‘Emerald Classics’
Following their critically acclaimed records ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ and ‘Mothers’, Birmingham based dream pop band Swim Deep now release their stellar third studio album ‘Emerald Classics’.
Their latest release is welcomed not only by their fans, but also the band who faced somewhat of an existential crisis leading to the loss of two members. However, having endured the
massive line-up change caused with the departure of their mates, they teamed up with fabled producer Dave McCracken, famed for working with the likes of Beyoncé, Boy George and Depeche Mode who helped steer them back on course.
"He brought us out of a really tricky spot where we’d lost a lot of direction and also a lot of faith in ourselves. It was a difficult time around Spring 2017. We had spent weeks in rehearsal spaces writing songs and playing them and they just didn’t sound good enough."
"We were frustrated, and I think that’s why Higgy and Zack left, ultimately - they couldn’t see the light. But Dave McCracken turned up at the end of that time and showed the rest of us what we had, and gave us the motivation and energy to keep going. He’s an absolute saint. What he did for us, the way he made us believe again. That’s what you need from a producer." – James Balmont