LISTEN: Novaa – ‘Audre’

Unsettling yet somehow sensual, Novaa‘s single ‘Audre’ is a poignant tale of oppression, fatigue and the silencing of black voices. Lifted from her recent album She’s A Rose, the Berlin-based indie singer-songwriter pays homage to American feminist poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde on her latest track.

Layering placid vocals with lush electronic beats, the rigid strumming of a muted guitar and the serenity of softly played wind instruments, ‘Audre’ is pure poetry. There is something Black Swan-esque about the music video. With a stripped back, grayscale aesthetic and simple, yet jittery dancing movements, Novaa expresses the heavy emotions of the song visually as well as sonically. Like stars, the rhymes stud the underlying darkness of the track with light.

When she sings “It is heavy / to carry these shackles,” Novaa shines a spotlight on the mental and physical exhaustion that comes with fighting an oppressor. The past few years have been somewhat traumatising for many minorities – the Black community in particular – and with the constant bombardment of horrific hate crimes and police brutality on our timelines, it is understandable if people feel beat.

Vaulting off from Audre Lorde’s political message that caring for oneself in troubling times is a radical act of self-preservation, Novaa’s new track powerfully illuminates the painful foundations of activism and reminds us that our fight for equality is far from over.

Follow Novaa on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Rebecca Kraemer

Jay Mitra
@punkofcolour

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Track Of The Day: My Idea – ‘Stay Away Still’ / ‘That’s My Idea’

Ahead of the release of their debut EP at the end of this month, New York-based indie-pop duo Nate Amos and Lily Konigsberg – aka My Idea – have now shared the first taster of the collection in the form of two singles, ‘Stay Away Still‘ and ‘That’s My Idea‘.

Kicking off to a quick start, ‘Stay Away Still‘ launches with an upbeat drum line that lays out the rhythm ahead of a rush of guitar and vocals. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics juxtapose laughter and pain in a way that’s smart and relatable, nailing a light-hearted approach to depression and existence that fuels millennial humour.

The vocals are cleverly layered. The chirpy melody is complemented by deep, almost deadpan responses beneath. At times, the two vocal lines bounce off each other like a conversation contained within one song. At others, they conflict but in a way that feels like they come from the same place – as if one is speech while the other is echoing what you actually wanted to say. Although the words are often repeated, the way the lyrics twist around each other shapes the song with a driving momentum. The strings are lovely and light, and – with this sense of brightness particularly in the solo that continues through the following verses – a real boost is given to the music.

‘Stay Away Still’ builds gradually, with new layers being introduced throughout. Finally, it swells to a big bouncy climax that comes to an abrupt stop leaving you eager for more and grateful that this song has dropped as part of My Idea’s special two-in-one release.

The second single released as a teaser ahead of My Idea’s upcoming EP is ‘That’s My Idea‘. Shorter and softer than the accompanying ‘Stay Away Still’, it offers a clear idea of what to expect from the band in its less-than-ninety second run time.

Combining provocative lyrics – which if they were written down you might imagine were a challenge or even aggressive – with an ominously gentle delivery, the vocals are breathy, but not for lack of lung power. Instead, that softness feels like a very purposeful choice that lends a human element to the track and adds an impressive weight to the words themselves. Delivering phrases like “that’s my idea,/ talking to me like it was yours the whole time/ makes me want to fight you” with such delicacy tells an entirely different story than if they were belted out. Arguably, one that’s more powerful. The words seem to come from someone just finding the strength to stand up for themselves, not quite ready to yell but tired of being spoken over.

The light, high vocals are blended with bubbly guitar that has fun with the notes and creates a pleasantly textured foundation for the track. Fleeting with a memorably sly sweetness, ‘That’s My Idea’ makes for another fantastic appetiser before the EP brings the main course.

That’s My Idea, the debut EP from My Idea, is set for release 30th July via Hardly Art.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

Photo Credit: Michael Wolever

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WATCH: Death Valley Girls – ‘Sanitarium Blues’

Death Valley Girls’ new video for ‘Sanitarium Blues’ is taken from the LA band’s soon-to-be re-issued debut album Street Venom and provides the perfect psychedelic back-drop to the dystopian doom-rockers’ take on honest suffering. The track flew onto paper following vocalist Bonnie Bloomgarden’s stay at a professional institution amidst a serious battle with her mental health. The revival of this track as an uplifting and life-affirming reminder that there will be better days could not be better timed.

The release of a new video for this single serves as the perfect throwback to the LA-based group’s most authentic and direct work. The new video, directed by Wiktor Lekston, captures the band’s intention to depict a mental episode as an out-of-body experience through a mixture of surreal and hallucinogenic inspirations. This is produced through a series of repeated fuzzy holographic images created in analog and intensified by the feedback signals. You can’t quite put your finger on what it is you’re looking at – everything from skeletons and non-lifelike faces, through to what appears to be memories merged with dreams, have been compared by Lektston to the “POST-MTV’s clips from the ’80s.” The band’s aim to visually capture an astral projection, without necessarily directly conveying that to the audience, is a huge success.

Scuzzy guitars from Bloomgarden and guitarist Larry Schemel, married with a transcendent use of reverb and delay as the chords ring out throughout the verse, provokes an apocalyptic and lucid-dream state in the mind of the listener. We’re then thrown into a starkly contrasting chorus filled with propelling riffs and a deliberately sinister beat from Patty Schemel on the kit that confines us; it’s claustrophobic, lonely and the perfect sonic portrayal of how isolating a mental illness can truly be. BUT it’s not all gloom from the doom-punk outfit, as there is hope and reassurance in this track’s honesty and also in Bloomgarden’s message ahead of the re-issue:

“Life is hard, but you are not meant to suffer… There are lots of places to get help. It just seems hard to find sometimes… Realising that you are not meant to suffer (no one is!) and seeking help is so huge. Do it ‘cause you deserve it! A healthy you can change the world! And the world deserves your healthiest you, too.”

Street Venom, the re-issue, is set for release on 30th July and will consist of a deluxe edition of the album available both digitally and on vinyl, courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records. Pre-order here.

Lauren Roberts
@robauren

Photo Credit: Mara Breene

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WATCH: Colleen Green – ‘I Wanna Be A Dog’

Witty metamorphosis collides with anthemic nostalgia to take us for a drive in the sunshine in Colleen Green’s new track ‘I Wanna Be A Dog‘. In anticipation of her upcoming record, Cool, Green gives us a taste of her evolution since her previous releases, in both personal and musical disclosures.

‘I Wanna Be A Dog’ is a humour-filled track pivoted at the tropes and complexities of the human experience. What a paradise a dog’s life seems when life becomes puzzling, the playful track reflects. However, Green is self aware even in her fantasies; she is unafraid to include herself as accountable for her own complexities as she unravels that she’s “still getting pulled back by my own leash, that I put on myself repeatedly.” Green makes the debacle of getting in
your own way a relatable obstacle and one that manifests in its own unique character as she reveals her habits of overthinking and lethargy.

With buoyant vocals, driving guitars and an uplifting groove, ‘I Wanna Be A Dog’ carries an early 2000s pop-rock disposition that characterises an endearing, nostalgic warmth. The vocals remain both confident and nonchalant throughout the whole track, perpetually conveying a lo-fi attitude and a punk demeanour. Colleen Green hosts an escape to another life, or a previous one, in her feel-good, sing-along anthem, ‘I Wanna Be A Dog’.

Directed by Steele O’ Neal, watch the new video for ‘I Wanna Be A Dog’ here:

Cool, the upcoming album from Colleen Green, is set for release on 10th September via Hardly Art. Pre-order here and check out Colleen Green’s Patreon page here.

Jill Goyeau
@jillybxxn

Photo Credit: Jason MacDonald

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