Track Of The Day: HOST – ‘Not Alright’

An off-kilter slice of synth-pop that buzzes with unrest, Irish musician HOST has shared her latest single ‘Not Alright’. Inspired by feelings of burnout following a one-sided friendship, HOST combines hazy vocals, catchy synth hooks and energetic beats to reflect the cyclical nature of the expired energy she laments in her lyrics.

Following on from her 2021 EP No Reply, HOST continues to build on her raw, confessional brand of synth-pop with this latest release, channelling her disappointments and frustrations into a sound that fizzes with the desire to break free from a situation that’s getting the best of her. Ultimately, she arrives at a place of acceptance, moving away from the toxic friendship and pushing forwards alone.

“’Not Alright’ is about constantly shouldering your friends’ problems, absorbing their stress and not having anyone to reciprocate yours,” HOST explains about the new single. “While already being in a bad place, this can quickly weigh you down mentally and emotionally. You can read their selfishness like a book, you know their next move because this isn’t your first rodeo and eventually, something’s got to give.”

HOST is set to release more new music in 2022. Listen to ‘Not Alright’ below.

 

Follow HOST on Soundcloud, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: CMAT – ‘Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)’

A relatable, country-tinged tune about pushing yourself to unexpected limits to be the life and soul of the party, Irish pop sensation CMAT has shared her latest single ‘Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)’. Taken from her upcoming album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, which is set for release through AWAL Recordings on 4th March, the track brims with CMAT’s trademark witty lyrics, melancholic vocals and catchy choruses.

“This is a song about being defiantly chaotic, because being that, an agent of chaos, is something quite defiant for a girl to do,” CMAT explains about her new single. “It almost didn’t make the album. But then I managed to shoehorn in a line about the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) and I felt happy it was representative of my drinking habits.” All jesting aside, ‘Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)’ is further proof of CMAT’s talents for taking relatable situations and transforming them into chant-worthy, playful pop anthems.

Speaking about her debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, CMAT describes her sound as all the former versions of herself “Play-Doh-balled into one big lump.” Fuelled by her passion for writing striking and honest pop songs, the record features previous her singles ‘I Don’t Really Care For You’, ‘No More Virgos’, ‘Lonely’ and the iconic ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’ and looks set to be one of our favourite albums of 2022.

Listen to ‘Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)’ below.

Follow CMAT on bandcamp, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify & Facebook 

CMAT UK & Ireland Tour Dates 2022

Mar 03: Rough Trade East, London
Mar 04: Rough Trade West, London
Mar 04: Banquet Records, Kingston
Mar 05: Lucky’s, Dublin
Mar 08: Connolly’s, Leap
Mar 09: Golden Discs, Cork
Mar 09: Cyprus Avenue, Cork
Mar 10: Steamboat, Limerick
Mar 10: Dolan’s, Limerick (sold out)
Mar 11: The Academy, Dublin (sold out)
Mar 12: Limelight 2, Belfast
Mar 31: King Tut’s, Glasgow
Apr 01: Cluny 2, Newcastle
Apr 02: Deaf Institute, Manchester
Apr 04: Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
Apr 05: Hare and Hounds 2, Birmingham
Apr 06: Louisiana, Bristol (sold out)
Apr 08: Omeara, London (sold out)
Apr 09: Colours, London (sold out)
Apr 10: Hope and Ruin, Brighton (sold out)

Photo Credit: Sarah Doyle

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Muna Ileiwat – ‘Stuck’

A delicate rumination on the way our self-perception changes over time, London-based musician Muna Ileiwat has shared her latest single ‘Stuck’. Previously releasing through her own record label Galang, which is dedicated to promoting women and non-binary musicians of colour, Muna’s latest offering is a gentle blend of tender vocals, atmospheric keys and soft beats, exploring shifting emotions and articulating a persistent feeling of uncertainty.

Inspired by her experiences of growing up in disparate cultures and spaces, Muna Ileiwat writes songs about love and displacement, looking for a sense of comfort and understanding through her nostalgic indie pop sounds. On ‘Stuck’ she moves through differing states of emotion in a soft, lullaby style, reflecting on the dual nature of trying to move forward whilst you are still struggling to accept what may have happened in the past.

“‘Stuck’ is a song of longing,” Muna explains. “It’s the intangible feeling of sadness and joy in the space between the certainty of the past, and the uncertainty of what is to come. It’s about forming close relationships that disperse and eventually break. It’s about returning to a place that no longer feels like your own.”

‘Stuck’ is the first taste of new music from Muna in 2022 and she will be releasing new songs throughout the year, as well as a debut EP this summer.

Listen to ‘Stuck’ below.

Follow Muna Ileiwat on Apple Music, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Abi Sinclair

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Joanna And The Dropouts – ‘You’re So Cool’

Dropping in hard with a throbbing riff that promises not to leave you alone any time soon, ‘You’re So Cool’ by Joanna And The Dropouts is inspired by all-consuming love. It is composed of throbbing key and string lines that roll all over each other, with a solid drum track keeping the whole piece in line.

The song is both inspired by love that has been genuinely experienced and a tribute to the movie True Romance. It is funky and upbeat, and will inevitably refuse to leave your head for days on end. In many ways, it evokes the lingering memories of the love it depicts and the iconic film that inspired it. Whether or not you are familiar with the film, the song captures a hugely relatable feeling in just a short burst of fizzing strings.

The lyrics are simple, repeating the titular “you’re so cool” consistently throughout the track. The verses and lines surrounding that core phrase evoke the exhilarating, intoxicating, potentially dangerous feeling of falling for someone who takes up all your headspace at once.

Every component of the song comes together perfectly to form a track that ultimately comes to less than three minutes long. Nonetheless, those rich vocals and bouncy hooks swell with all the exciting, addictive energy of infatuation into an infectious and uplifting punk-rock anthem.


Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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