Track Of The Day: VERO – ‘Beg!’

A seething guitar anthem fueled by the anger that’s left behind by a flawed relationship, Stockholm-based trio VERO have shared their latest single ‘Beg!’. Released via PNKSLM Recordings and one half of an upcoming 7″ single that’s set for release on 14th January, the track is saturated with brooding bass lines, swirling riffs and stinging vocals.

Formed of teenage friends Julia Boman and Amanda Eddestål and Clara Gyökeres who they befriended whilst DJ’ing on the Stockholm nightclub circuit, VERO create music inspired by an eclectic range of influences. Their main purpose, aside from creating anthems with shades of 90s alternative icons Sonic Youth, is to challenge the idea of what a modern guitar band is supposed to be. With new single ‘Beg!’, the trio have crafted a bold, visceral statement of autonomy, antagonising listeners with their crystalline vocals and raging rhythms.

“BEG! is about dysfunctional relationships, but most of all it’s a song about anger,” the band explain. “We wanted to write something that oozes anger, and we think it does. It’s our favourite song to play live and it really sets the vibe for what’s to come.” With a debut album in the pipeline for 2022, we can’t wait to hear more of VERO’s charged sounds.

Listen to ‘Beg’ below.

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

Photo credit: Hanna Rubensson

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Softcult – ‘Perfect Blue’

A swirling, emotive reflection on a time laced with frustration, Canadian duo Softcult have shared their latest single ‘Perfect Blue’. Taken from their forthcoming EP Year of the Snake, which is set for release on 4th February, the track is an introspective take on how compromising your creativity to please others can lead to emotional burnout.

Formed of Ontario-based twins Phoenix and Mercedes Arn Horn, Softcult cut their teeth playing live shows in their local town of Kitchener, before moving on to bigger audiences on the North American tour circuit. Their experiences of playing and working within a male-dominated industry formed the foundation for their current sound, which is born from the desire to reject toxic standards of femininity and embrace a more equal world. Latest single ‘Perfect Blue’ reaffirms this narrative, lulling listeners with its soft dual vocals and intoxicating shoegaze-y riffs.

“We wrote ‘Perfect Blue’ about a time in our lives when we felt like nothing was in our control,” explains Mercedes. “In our previous project, we were signed to a label that butted heads with us creatively and wasn’t allowing us to express ourselves authentically. They weren’t interested in the music we were creating at the time, so we became unhealthily obsessed with trying to please them to release anything at all.”

“It felt as though we were putting on an act to survive,” Phoenix adds. “We didn’t feel like our art was representing us. There was a lot we wanted to say, but it was being stifled. We felt like we’d lost our integrity. The song is a reminder to empower yourself by standing up for what you believe in, or risk losing yourself altogether.”

The track is accompanied by a captivating video, produced and directed by Mercedes. “I wanted the viewer to feel like they are entering the mind of someone who is watching themselves transform, powerless to stop their metamorphosis,” she explains about the visuals. “I clearly remember times in my life when I felt pressure to become a version of myself that others wanted me to be, but that version wasn’t authentic to who I was. I felt like I was losing my integrity and my sense of self. I’d look at myself in the mirror and be disgusted at what I saw, unattached to who I had become. There’s a vibe of health anxiety, dysphoria, dissociation, a little horror element in there that I wanted to capture with the visuals. The skin peeling scenes are meant to elicit those feelings, like a snake shedding its skin.”

Watch the video for ‘Perfect Blue’ below.

Follow Softcult on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter

Softcult UK Tour Dates 2022
Thursday, February 17th – Crofters – Bristol
Friday, February 18th – The Victoria – Birmingham
Saturday, February 19th – Heartbreakers – Southampton
Sunday, February 20th – The Key Club – Leeds
Tuesday, February 22nd – The Garage (Attic Bar) – Glasgow
Wednesday, February 23rd – The Deaf Institute – Manchester
Thursday, February 24th – Camden Assembly – London

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Salvation Jayne – ‘A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite’

A masterclass in marrying fuzzy rock heaviness and breathtaking vocals in perfect harmony, this latest tune from alt-rock five-piece Salvation Jayne confidently demands your attention from the very first note. 

The title track from the band’s forthcoming debut album, ‘A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite’ is wholly enthralling, pairing crisp electric riffs with heavy hits of distortion and crushing bass that swirl and stomp around your eardrums. The gritty guitars are then punctured by the band’s ferocious vocals, soaring sky-high with an impassioned call to “cut loose” from toxic individuals that only seek to control, manipulate, and drag other people down.

The band explain: “Sometimes there is constructive criticism, which is fine. Then there are also overpowering controlling opinions that are shoved down your throat when you haven’t even asked for them. People like that exhibit this behaviour tend to thrive off of manipulating people into believing only what THEY think.”

Salvation Jayne’s magical push-and-pull of instruments and vocals, added to their magnetising self-confidence, continues to ascend until the track erupts into a guaranteed mosh-pit starter of an ending, leaving us amped up and eagerly anticipating their debut album, set for release next year.

Watch the artfully choreographed new video for ‘A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite’ here:

Salvation Jayne’s debut album, also entitled A Mouthful Of Magnificent Spite, is set for release on 18th February 2022.

Leonie Bellini
@teenpeachmovie

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Track Of The Day: Momma – ‘Medicine’

A melodic reflection on the power of romantic infatuation, New York City four-piece Momma have shared their latest single ‘Medicine’. Released via Polyvinyl Record Co. & Lucky Number (Dream Wife, Sunflower Bean and Hinds), the track is an aural headrush centered around the passionate emotions that come with an all-consuming crush, full of hazy vocals and infectious guitar riffs.

Formed of Etta Friedman (guitars/vocals), Allegra Weingarten (guitars/vocals), Aron Kobayashi Ritch (bass) and Zach Capitti Fenton (drums), Momma create sounds inspired by the 90s pop and alternative scenes. Blending soft dual vocals with grunge-tinged guitars, the band seamlessly craft heady, swirling anthems focused on their observations on life and love, with new single ‘Medicine’ being a delightful combination of both.

Produced and mixed by bassist Aron Kobayashi Ritch, the single was written during a time when most of the band members were free from heartbreak. “We wanted to write about that feeling of just being addicted to someone and how someone else’s company can really feel like a drug,” the band explain, capturing this rapturous feeling via yearning lyrics and strung out riffs. The carefree accompanying visuals for the track, shot on VHS-C and directed by Hailey Heaton, reflect this heady optimism too.

Listen to ‘Medicine’ below.

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

Photo Credit: Cooper Winterson

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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