LISTEN: Kim Gordon – ‘Sketch Artist’

With her inimitable vocals and uncompromising, ever-cool style; it’s no surprise that Kim Gordon‘s brand new single ‘Sketch Artist’ is an intriguing, heavy, eclectic gem. Taken from her first solo album No Home Record, which is set to for release on 11th October via Matador Records, the new track is accompanied by a sharp set of visuals directed by Berlin-based artist Loretta Fahrenholz.

Following on from Gordon’s 2016 single ‘Murdered Out’, ‘Sketch Artist’ is a multi-textured new offering that snarls, bites and sedates in equal measure. Speaking about her upcoming album, Gordon extrapolates: “Why a solo record? And why now? I don’t know, but it wouldn’t have happened without the persistence of Justin Raisen. Living in LA the last few years it feels like home, but the transience of the place makes it feel sometimes like no home.”

Gordon’s feelings about LA are explored in Fahrenholz’s visuals, which feature the artist as an “Unter” driver with a deadly stare, cruising through the city causing pedestrians to break out in to strange spasms of movement. The video also includes a cameo from actress and writer Abbi Jacobson. Whilst most will know Gordon for her work with Sonic Youth – alongside her numerous art exhibitions, and her brilliant 2015 memoir Girl In a Band – these new tracks prove she is capable or re-directing her vision whenever the mood strikes her.

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

Photo Credit: Natalia Mantini

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Five Favourites: The Paranoyds

Set to release their debut album next month, LA band The Paranoyds have been treating our ears to singles such as ‘Carnage Bargain’, ‘Hungry Sam’ and ‘Trade Our Sins’ throughout this year, cementing us as firm fans who cannot wait for the full length release. Delivering striking grunge-fuelled anthems filled with scathing lyrical observations and languid, insouciant vocals, we just can’t get enough of The Paranoyds’ raucous rock grit and sunny, punk-pop energy.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a new band/artist is by asking them what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Lexi, Staz and Laila from The Paranoyds to talk about her ‘Five Favourites’ – five songs or albums that have influenced their songwriting techniques, or simply take them back to a specific feeling or time. Check out their choices below, and make sure you watch the band’s latest video for ‘Carnage Bargain’ at the end of this post.

Built to Spill – There’s Nothing Wrong with Love
We love Built to Spill! Staz and I went through a huge phase of non-stop listening to them in 2014. This album is so good, the songs are so friggin’ catchy. I think it’s impossible to listen to it and not belt out the lyrics. I love that indie, strat tone and how the guitars complement but also play off with each other. The tracks are misleading too, on the surface they seem like simple, straight-forward songs, but there are a lot of layers. Favourite song, ‘Car’
– Lexi 

X – WILD GIFT and UNDER THE BIG BLACK SUN
Every track is a banger on both of these iconic albums. I would throw Los Angeles, X’s first born in a lineup of legends, but I want to give these other records some love. You will always remember the time and place you got into X. These records forever hold that time in your life captive like a spell. I put on ‘The Once Over Twice’ and there I am 13 years old in my friends exhausted bedroom wondering if I’ll ever make anything that’ll sound this good and last this long, coming to life as soon as the right circuits touch. Those perfect imperfect harmonies, Chuck Berry guitar licks making sense with vulgar lyrics. And those keys! Good god! Some things last a long time and my love for X may last forever!
 – Staz

DEVO – Are We Not Men?
DEVO is a benchmark for The Paranoyds. When we’re writing songs, the thought running through our heads is “is this as weird and strange as a DEVO song?” Lexi and I first saw DEVO when we were 16 through a fence in Brooklyn and we were undoubtedly blown away. Staz often describes their live set as seeing lightning strike. I feel the same way listening to this album. It’s a rare piece of art that you can’t recreate, and you find something new in it with each listen.
– Laila 

The Strokes – Is This It?
We love this album like a guilty pleasure. It’s become a sort of tour tradition to blast the whole album in the van and have a group sing-a-long. These songs have the catchiest melodies and you can’t help but belt out the songs like you’re a teenager in your bedroom. What I love most is that all the tracks have the grit of classic rock and roll, but they also have the upbeat feel-good vibes of a disco song. It’s such a solid album that I always come back to. For me, it’s timeless and I’ll never get tired of it!
– Laila

Massive thanks to The Paranoyds for talking about their five favourite albums with us! 

Carnage Bargain, the upcoming debut album from The Paranoyds, is out 13th September via Suicide Squeeze. Watch the video for the title track here:

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Track By Track: Ziv – ‘Near Mint’

22 year old singer, rapper and beatmaker from Jerusalem. Ziv has been making music since the age of 13. Writing, recording and producing all her music herself, she’s had a strong sense of dedication to her own music from early on, quitting high school at the age of 16 to pursue her dream of studying music, which she did at the esteemed RIMON School for Jazz and Modern Music.

Now, having just released her new EP Near Mint, Ziv has showcased her shimmering, dreamy sounds and seductive vocals by creating an exquisitely crafted blend of mega chilled, lo-fi hip hop.

To tell us more about the EP, Ziv has given us the lowdown on each track:

‘Fav Shirt’
This song is a harmonic depiction of my bed as a deserted island, shared with a lover, a joint, and Netflix binge watching, while wearing my fav shirt – his huge T-shirt. A memory of me and my ex-boyfriend.

‘Lips To Kiss You’ 
This is a song about experiencing and sharing an intimate moment, compared to other habits of nature.

‘9/11’
My heart got broken so bad, it felt like a 9/11 attack on my body. The pain in my heart was so physical, and the struggle was real and harsh, but singing about it made it easier to cope through.

‘Bigger me’
‘Bigger me’ is an experimental pop song, the only song from ‘Near Mint’ to use auto-tune, which gives it a strange sound and a strong feeling of tension. The lyrics are about the relationship between a therapist and her client, finding himself in a familiar dark place in life, in a loss of control and the fight to get out to a better place.

‘Feels like’
I wrote this song on Yom Kippur, the holiest day according to Jewish tradition, a day of self-examination, observed mainly with a fast. I personally self-examined by smoking weed in my room and thinking about my ex-boyfriend – the first time I felt love, and everything I learned from it. I was flipping through samples and this one hit my heart – I knew it was meant to be.

Huge thanks to Ziv for this track by track lowdown. Listen to Near Mint in full on Spotify now. 

Photo Credit: Silvi Cohen

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PREMIERE: Ailsa Tully – ‘Highly Strung’

Brooding guitars and intuitive vocals permeate London based indie/folk artist Ailsa Tully‘s new single ‘Highly Strung’. Released via Skivvy Records – which Ailsa runs herself – the track is a dreamy exploration of the anxieties surrounding time and space.

Fusing choral elements with a lo-fi grunge attitude, ‘Highly Strung’ is accompanied by a music video inspired by the lyrics in Ailsa’s song. The washing line featured in the visuals is reflective of the lyric “I am just highly strung, out on the line’, and nods towards an exploration of gender roles, (i.e hanging washing out) as well as Ailsa’s own state of mind.

Listen to the new track below and follow Ailsa Tully on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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