Italian metal legends Lacuna Coil have just released “Gravity.” It is the fifth single from their forthcoming album ‘Sleepless Empire.’ The album will be available via Century Media Records. I believe that the song explores the rise and fall of life, the importance of resilience and fate. I felt that it conveys hope and that things will get better if you stay strong. The band said this of the new song: ““Balance is so difficult to keep as we navigate through desperate times, feeling lost and gasping as we ask for help. How do we deal with tough times? Do we ask for a hand? Or do we isolate ourselves from everything else to recollect in our own misanthropic golden cage? I hope you will love Gravity as much as we do and that it will help you to reflect on the time we have left and how to use it wisely.” The video that accompanies the release is monumentally epic, I love it! Live your life well good people and soundtrack it with Lacuna Coil!
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Elana Carroll from Chatham, New York is a singer-songwriter, artist, musician and producer. She goes by the name of Party Nails. She has just released her third album, ‘Pillow Talk,’ on Eye Knee Records. The album kicks off with “Same Old Song”. It is a mid paced ballad style song. It evokes early Taylor Swift and oozes emotion, from blues to ultra happy. This is one of the three singles taken from the album so far. Next up is another single, “First Responder”. This is a gorgeous slice of percussive synth pop with some great vocals. I really love “D.R.A.M.A.” it is a quasi rap beat driven pop construction. It reminded me equally of Kelis, Gwen Stefani and Charli XCX. The call and response elements and harmonies with Emma Kern elevate this song into something very special. If you like classy pop with 80s synth styling you will love “Movie Scene”. I can imagine Abba covering this, or if not the Swedish megastars then maybe Erasure! The dark synth riffs of “Bull In A China Shop” add some great musical tension to a fabulous brooding tune. This track was included on the 2023 Party Nails EP ‘Someway Somehow’.
Another single, “Trigger Warning” is next and this is probably my favourite track on the album. It features some delightful electronic sounds. These perfect sonic explosions ebb and flow like the best early Giorgio Moroder forays into pop music. Party Nails finds time for a mostly acoustic guitar driven ballad with “Dirty Water”. This showcases the fragility that Elana can project in an almost ethereal vocal performance. If grunge had embraced more synth sounds, it would have sounded like the title track of the 2023 EP ‘Someway Somehow’. This track would have led the way. The hard edged riffage is offset by a voice that has the clarity and honesty of Karen Carpenter’s best moments. “Do You Know How?” gives the album its most rock moment. There is a frantic, frenetic feel that harks back to the early releases of Lene Lovich. The incessant post punk style riff is mesmerising. The album closes with “Puppet.” It feels like a Stevie Nicks outtake. But it’s one that Stevie really ought to have used. The PR blurb that arrived with the album for review described it as “a genre-bending timeless yet forward thinking album featuring an intoxicating mix of retro synthwave, futuristic electro-pop, and lush indie rock.” It is hard to disagree with that description. It is only January 9th as I type this, but I believe this is a potential contender for album of the year!
If you are in the USA you can catch her supporting Bad Bad Hats on the following dates. You should go it will take you away from the prospect of four more years of the orange moron. Can we get Party Nails to come to the UK please?
Jan 09 Los Angeles CA at The Echo Jan 10 San Francisco CA at Bottom of the Hill Jan 11 Sacramento CA venue TBA Jan 12 Bend OR at Volcanic Theatre Pub Jan 14 Baker City OR at Churchill School Jan 15 Tacoma WA at Elks Temple (Spanish Ballroom) Jan 16 Seattle WA at Barboza Jan 17 Portland OR at Mission Theatre Jan 18 Boise ID at Neurolux Jan 19 Salt Lake City UT at Kilby Court Jan 21 Cheyenne WY at The Lincoln Jan 22 Denver CO at Lost Lake Lounge Jan 23 Colorado Spring at Vultures Jan 24 Omaha NE at Reverb Lounge
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Benjamin Muñoz Varas is a self-taught producer, singer and songwriter. He uses the name Varas. With roots in Chile, Varas grew up in a small town called Götene in Sweden. When he was twelve his father introduced him to Led Zeppelin. At this time he took up the guitar. Having listened to his new single I am glad he got into music. The current single might not contain any guitar but it is a spine-tingling piano driven dark-tinged ballad. This song is the sort of thing I could drown happily in, it is a thing of pure beauty. It has a delicate fragility and the emotion is palpable. The track comes from his upcoming ‘Eaten by Worms’ EP which is due out next month.
Varas said this of the song “It’s about that feeling of embarrassment, but also liberation, when someone close to you points out that you look worn out and tired. I don’t even see that weariness when I look in the mirror, but having it highlighted by another person can be both mortifying and strangely cathartic. There’s a sense of the facade being as thin as rice paper, and a desire to be scrutinised, to be seen in our truest, most unguarded form.” This is a song you sit down in a relaxing environment and listen to. Do that now, you will not regret it!
Eugene is Eugenio Valente from Rome. He is described as an eclectic artist and producer with a special focus on electronic sounds. He also works as a remixer and soundtrack composer. His new EP is called ‘Sydereal’. I imagine that many of you are thinking, why is it called that. Well it contains some electro styled covers of some classic Syd Barrett tracks. There are two tracks from ‘The Madcap Laughs’ (1970). One track is from ‘Barrett’ (1970). Another one is from Pink Floyd’s debut album ‘Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ (1967). Eugene captures the wonderful whimsy sound and feel that filled many of Syd’s songs. But he brings them neatly and nicely into the 21st Century.
The EP kicks off with two tracks from ‘The Madcap Laughs’. “Golden Hair” and “Love You”. “Golden Hair” has a really dark tone. It possesses an almost light horror quality. In some ways, it haunts you long after it has finished. Eugene gives “Love You” a wonderful electro pop style makeover which in some ways made me think of Mika. This is the first single to be taken from the EP, and given how catchy the sound is I am not surprised. Could anyone other than Syd Barrett have written a song called “Effervescing Elephant”? I suspect not. Eugene keeps the spirit of Syd well and truly alive with such a fun take on a fun song. The EP closes with an ethereal, fairground like, chilled dance spin on “Astronomy Divine”. I felt like I could drown or drift away in the cinematic waves of sound in this song. This is probably my favourite track of the four, but it is a close competition.
Eugene had this to say about why he likes Syd and why he decided to do this EP. “Barrett has always represented the purest example of creative freedom to me. He transcends time and evokes something cosmic—something ‘sidereal’—that gives life to unimaginable dreams, just like the cover artwork, where an electronic circuit is brought to life by a magnificent diamond through what feels like magic or alchemy.” Please check out ‘Sydereal’ I love it and I hope that you will too!
“Stanley” is the current single from queer Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Camille Schmidt. It kicks off with some perky metronomic percussion before bringing in some super insistent riffs. Then the piece de resistance of the song is Camille’s voice. She captures the dark humour of lives observed in the lyrics. Jarvis Cocker used to do this so well. Camille had this to say about the track: “I started thinking about my plane ride the night before. This woman in front of me had been texting a friend about her boyfriend, Stanley (who I later discovered was a few rows behind us). I was thinking about the loneliness you feel when you’re alone, but also the deeper loneliness when you’re with someone, and that person doesn’t fill the hole inside you the way you’d hoped. It was a time when I was searching for comfort in anything – overheard conversations, interactions with strangers, little jokes I would make to myself.”
The lyrics make it very clear that the titular Stanley is not very nice, certainly a bit of a loser. These lines really describe that Stanley bloke! “Stanley sits and Stanley drinks. When he takes off his shoes he stinks. He’s going nowhere, going nowhere“. Having heard this rather ace song and watched the weird, warped and wonderful video I will be seeking out more of Camille Schmidt’s music. You should do the same!
Irish rockers Celtic Legacy are clearly fans of the Crow, the supernatural superhero. The character was first seen in a 1989 comic book series and has appeared in films in 1994 and 2024. The first saw the sad death of actor Brandon Lee. The band are such huge fans that they have a new song out called “The Crow”. It tells the tale of the titular hero. He gets murdered with his girlfriend. A crow brings him back to life to seek vengeance. The song is dark, heavy and wonderfully constructed melodic metal. The riffs are perfectly persistent. I love the vocal from John Bonham and the guitar solo screams like the best of 80s classic rock. This is a band on top of their game. The chorus eases into you quite easily and locks itself in.
The video is slightly extended by some great Crow related narrated animation based on the original graphic novel. When the first riffs kick in the band appears against the animation background as kind of partially drawn lifelike characters. The video certainly adds to this already great song. The video was filmed, edited and directed by Dave Morrissey, one of the bands guitarists. Weirdly my wife saw the video and is now convinced that I have a doppelganger in bass player Dave Boylan! This is the first new music from the band since 2015. They are already planning two more singles for 2025. I don’t know if they will also be Crow related. But based on this song I will definitely check them out.
Finnish producers RORO and Snapir have joined forces to put out a collaborative album. It is called ‘Colors Left’ and will be released on 17th January. The latest single from the album is “Fractures”. It starts with some ethereal sounds. These sounds would match some of David Bowie’s best work with Brian Eno on the Berlin Trilogy. They would also fit well with the 1995 Bowie Eno collaboration on ‘1# Outside’. It has an undercurrent of a weird combination of Jean Michel Jarre and the Aphex Twin. The sound captures your attention. It drifts into your mind. It prepares to haunt you for a very long while. This is experimental elactronica at its finest. Based on this the album could be quite special!
Sheffield band Marples released a new single at the tail end of last year. It is called “First Kiss” and it is rather good. It opens with almost screaming guitar from Thomas Martin. A hypnotic riff underpins it and powers the tune like a 21st century Chuck Berry. Joseph Neville’s vocal is clear and reminiscent of some fine vocalists from UK music history from Lennon to Alex Turner. The track conveys the nervousness and excitement of a first kiss. At least I think it does, mine was a hell of a long while ago!
This is a gorgeous simple song that hits all the right buttons. It has a soothing piano riff and some great vamp style backing vocals. But the cream on top is the performance of LIREDEL, what a fabulous voice. It has some sultry jazz tones and huge emotion with a hint of Amy Winehouse. The message in the song is about loved ones who are no longer with us. It serves as a reminder to keep their spirit alive by lighting a candle for them. Liredel said this about it “The track is about keeping a metaphorical candle lit for those that are no longer here …..it’s a beautiful song about keeping the memory flame alive for all time. Remembering the good times with loved ones and keeping a piece of them alive with you through your memories.” Incidentally, the featured Geoff Bell is the classy British actor. He has appeared in loads of films including ‘Mike Bassett: England Manager’. I have listened to more of LIREDEL’s songs and it is clear that she is a supremely talented artist!
If you like your rock hard and classic then the new single from Aeon Empire is right up your street. “All Your Dreams” was written by Paul Gerard Reed. It overflows with riffs. These riffs remind me of the likes of Deep Purple and Nazareth. The song races along at 100 miles per hour. It crashes into your skull early on. It refuses to back out. Jota Fortinho’s vocals epitomise how a great rock vocalist should sound. The underlying blues element adds to the appeal of this great tune.
Ronnie König , the band’s founder and bass player said this about the track. “This song showcases what our band is all about. Aeon Empire is about delivering rock anthems full of catchy riffs and melodies. We’ve poured our hearts into this album and we can’t wait for the world to hear it.” The video, directed by lead singer Jota Fortinho, is a great showcase for the band too.
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