Track Of The Day: Girls Rock School NI – ‘Wild & Free (Play It Loud)’

‘Wild & Free (Play It Loud!)’ makes me want to squeal with pure joy. A collaborative effort, written and recorded by campers and the team of the Girls Rock School Northern Ireland Online Rock Camp, the song is a raucous, rocking slice of riot grrrl that shares the frustrations of life in lockdown.

True to the spirit of Girls Rock School, which aims to empower female-identifying and non-binary youth, ‘Wild & Free’ is a proper stormer. You can’t help but feel uplifted by the big, bouncy guitars and toe-tapping melody, but it’s the lyrics that are most irresistible: “We come together on Zoom,” they sing, “It turns into one big music room!”

Recorded on mobile phones without any fancy equipment, this song is a true labour of love. And, as well as inspiring others through the music, Girls Rock School NI are putting all proceeds from ‘Wild & Free’ towards future GRSNI camps, workshops and classes so they can inspire even more young people. Amazing!

 

Listen to and download ‘Wild & Free (Play It Loud!)’ via Bandcamp now. 

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

Artwork by: Shimous

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Track Of The Day: KIN – ‘Wander & Lost’

In a luscious and ethereal soundscape that creates an entire universe of its own, ambient indie-poppers KIN bring us their third single of 2020, ‘Wander & Lost’. 

Consisting of Grace, Ritu and Adam, London’s KIN share a sound that stretches so far with only three players. Soaring, celestial tones span across acres of space while haunting vocals follow the song’s melancholic instrumental path. Heavy bass explores the depths of ‘Wander & Lost’ and takes listeners deep into its waters, pleasantly complementing the guitar parts that modulate above. 

With dainty riffs that scurry between lyrical phrases rather than through them, KIN still allow themselves the room for lyrics to remain an artistic focus. The emotion brought forth in ‘Wander & Lost’ bridges the gap between dream pop and indie-emo, as KIN draw yearning inspiration from Andre Aciman’s moving novel Call Me By Your Name.

There is an unquestionable desperation within the story of ‘Wander & Lost’, and yet nothing but honour is held for the subject discussed. Maturity is evident in both KIN’s storytelling and songwriting, and it is obvious that this is a creation of meticulous artistic choice. 

‘Wander & Lost’ is a step into familiar shoes, a destination to ache for what we miss and a place to deeply love what must be to come.

Watch the beautifully shot new video for ‘Wander & Lost’ now:

‘Wander & Lost’ is out now. Listen on Spotify.

Jill Goyeau
@jillybxxn 

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Track Of The Day: Dead Naked Hippies – ‘Curiosity (Dawn)’

Pushing themselves to create something new without compromising on quality or creativity, Leeds trio Dead Naked Hippies have shared their latest single ‘Curiosity (Dawn)’. Self-produced during lockdown earlier this year, the band have introduced buzzing synths alongside frontwoman Lucy Jowett’s crystalline vocals to create a heavy, infectious anthem that questions what it means to be human.

“‘Curiosity (Dawn)’’ is a question of existence and purpose, how life shapes us & we shape it, and reflecting on it as if it were coming to an end,” explains Jowett about the track. “Society is so focused on moving at pace, achieving, doing, proving that sometimes it feels so ingrained into us, that this is the way we should be. Lyrically, I wanted to explore myself beyond expectation.” Isolated from their practice room and their band mate Jacob, Jowett and her fellow band/flat mate Joe took to the deserted back streets of Leeds to explore this theme further, creating a superbly shot accompanying monochrome video that was completed in one take.

“We were set on the idea of capturing a moment, much like a live show – imperfect, but full of excitement,” Jowett explains. “The video you see was the first & only full take we captured on the day we set aside to film it, it felt really special to approach in this way and was definitely a reaction to the lack of live performance in our lives this year.” Making the best of a bad situation, Dead Naked Hippies’ venture into self-production and new musical territory during 2020 is something we certainly approve of.

Watch the video for ‘Curiosity (Dawn)’ below.

Follow Dead Naked Hippies on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Gary, Indiana – ‘Nike Of Samothrace’

Following previous singles ‘Berlin’ and ‘Pashto’, Manchester-based Gary, Indiana have now signed to Fire Talk Records and shared a brand new single.

Propelled by thrashing beats and scuzzy, distorted hooks alongside the visceral spoken-word vocals of Valentine Caulfield, ‘Nike Of Samothrace’ builds with eerily disconcerting undertones to a playfully innovative post-punk soundscape. A wondrous, whirring cacophony, it’s the perfect ode to the chaotic emotions swirling around our heads this year: an intense, cathartic sonic experience. Of the track, the band explain:

“We wanted ‘Nike of Samothrace’ to be like a blunt instrument, both lyrically and musically. It’s purely brute force, gouging away with all dials turned up full, including the gutteral bass line, which was inspired by Thomas Bangalter’s score for Irreversible and Hans Zimmer’s score for Blade Runner 2049. We’re very much driven by rhythm and movement and also wanted to experiment with a Liquid Liquid style percussive breakdown, we love when genres and dynamics are smashed together in an untidy way… we love to butcher things.” 

Directed by Will Shields, watch the immersive new video for ‘Nike Of Samothrace’ here:

‘Nike Of Samothrace’ is out now via Fire Talk Records.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Will Shields

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