WATCH: Kim Gordon – ‘Air BnB’

Only Kim Gordon could get away with making a music video about not being able to afford to make a music video. It’s a bold statement, and one that pays off for the musician & artist on her new single ‘Air BnB’. The track is taken from her debut solo album No Home Record, which is set for release on 11th October via Matador Records.

Following on from singles ‘Murdered Out’ and ‘Sketch Artist’, Gordon’s latest offering is an abrasive jest about hospitality. Her breathy vocals and scratchy guitars are the perfect soundtrack to trash your “faux mid-century modern” hired dwellings to.

Known for her groundbreaking work with Sonic Youth, as an Author (2015 memoir Girl In A Band), an actress, and as an artist; Gordon’s first set of songs as a solo artist demonstrate her ability to fuse all of her passions and skills in to one fascinating entity. They cast new light on a musician whose fan base thought they already knew everything there was to know about her.

Watch the video for ‘Air BnB’ below and follow Kim Gordon on Twitter for more updates.

Pre-order your copy of No Home Record here.

Photo Credit: Natalia Mantin

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Freja Frances – ‘The Funeral’

The debut album from singer-songwriter Freja Frances features an emo-pop inspired collection of piano-led songs dealing with experiences of depression and an unhealthy relationship. 

Opener, ‘Catching Fire’ begins with soft piano, minimal atmospherics, and the line “You can’t help me pinpoint exactly when I lost my mind”. The song is beautifully melodic, and builds around the striking imagery of fire, capturing the emotion and passion of a doomed relationship and the consumption of depression.

The story continues with title track ‘The Funeral’, exploring the loss of a lover through suicide. Again, the dark theme is expressed using ethereal atmospherics and gentle melodies. ‘Machine’ follows, dealing with memories and grief, adding the textures of piano, synths and electric guitar. Then there are wonderful fairytale metaphors used in ‘Juliet’ and ‘The Wolf’; the latter about two people who are struggling with mental illness and social stigma – “The wolf is after you and he wants your heart.”

Later, ‘Stay Awake’ tackles insomnia and spiralling thoughts, as it is gently delivered with twinkling piano chords and Freya’s captivating voice cooing “counting the days since I lost my mind.” The atmospherics and vocal harmonies build around the chorus, bringing a different atmosphere each time, until redemption is found in letting go of past experiences; a theme also explored in ‘Implosion’ and ‘Start Again’, closing the album on a gentle note, with the promise of more hopeful times.

For me, this album is resonant, lyrical and melodic. Though it deals with melancholy themes, it is sorrowful but not miserable. It draws on the interior experiences of depression, dreams, madness and lost love, crafting beauty from sadness. One that will stay with you.

The Funeral is out now via ShimmerSun Music.

 

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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ALBUM: The Paranoyds – ‘Carnage Bargain’

Fuelled by 1970s punk and cult horror movies, Southern California garage punk quartet The Paranoyds take on the male-dominated music scene with their debut long-play Carnage Bargain; a raucous blend of dead-pan observations on modern culture and wild, left-of-centre musical influences, because “what isn’t there to be paranoid about?”

The band – consisting of Staz Lindes on bass, Lexi Funston on guitar, Laila Hashemi on keyboards, and David Ruiz on drums – released their debut After You in 2016, followed by 2017’s Eat Their Own EP; establishing themselves as purveyors of do-it-yourself, self-dependent punk rock. With their debut album, The Paranoyds have brought back a few re-recorded classics from those aforementioned releases, like ‘Ratboy’, ‘Heather Doubtfire’, and ‘Bear’, but have also brought along a whole bunch of different for their Carnage Bargain.

The opening hits you in the face with The Paranoyds’ battle cry, a piercing two-note guitar intro of alternating half-tones, leading to ‘Face First’. The opening track draws influence from the 1978 horror flick ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’ and John Carpenter’s 1988 sci-fi dystopia ‘They Live’, but instead of humanity being duplicated by extraterrestrial lifeforms, predatory behaviour results from growing obsession enabled by technology: “It’s easy now / I’ve been watching you for some time.”

Attacking consumerism with title track ‘Carnage Bargain’, The Paranoyds layer Lindes’ throbbing basslines, Funston’s scuzzy guitar riffs, the punchy drum assault of Ruiz, and the aberrant keys of Hashemi over scathing lyrical observations, delivered in a rambling vocal style reminiscent of Courtney Barnett. “The grass isn’t green / It’s muddy with gasoline / There’s filth in the swimming pool / They’ve thrown away all the tools.”

Speaking of Barnett, ‘Courtney’ is another snarky stream of consciousness, further showcasing The Paranoyds’ overlapping vocal abilities – particularly from Lindes and  Funston. Whereas thrashing lead single, ‘Girlfriend Degree’ rejects the status quo with catchy surf-rock pop that empowers! “I’m not a shadow of myself / Looking good for somebody else.” 

Carnage Bargain continues to fishtail with genre-mashing tracks like ‘Egg Salad’, ‘Hungry Sam’, and ‘Laundry’; each one getting progressively weirder than the last. This can be attributed to Hashemi’s spooky key tones, which exude the campiness of 60s cult horror soundtracks. Indeed,  Hashemi’s solo on the resurrected ‘After You’ EP track, ‘Rat Boy’, is the perfect way to close this psych-punk fever-dream.

Just like their Los Angeles forerunners, X, The Paranoyds are often off-kilter in their delivery, and all the better for it. So, close your curtains, turn off the lights, and put needle to wax… Carnage Bargain is raw paranoid punk that you won’t be able to escape from. Be afraid. Be very afraid!

Carnage Bargain is out now via Suicide Squeeze Records.

 

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

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Track Of The Day: Feral Five – ‘EGO’

Having previously wowed us with their unique, vibrant live show at The Finsbury, and more recently this year at Cro Cro Land, London/Kent based duo Kat and Drew, aka Feral Five, have now shared an innovative new track.

A take down and take over of monster egos everywhere, ‘EGO’ is propelled by throbbing, pulsating beats and glitchy hooks alongside its buzzing chip tune sounds and part German lyrics. A disconcerting, whirring soundscape that builds to an ’80s inspired electro-punk anthem, oozing an immersive, driving energy and seductive allure. 

Listen to ‘EGO’ here:

 

The EGO launch show is on 29th September on the Tamesis Dock. Presented by ArtHertz at the Totally Thames Festival, it features Feral Five live, a live AV ambient set by Richard Norris (The Grid / Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve), and the Tamesis Trilogy I short film premiere – directed by Dennis Da Silva.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Garry Hensey

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