Breaking News
Smerz announce debut album Believer
Today Norwegian duo Smerz have announced the release of Believer their debut album, coming on 26 February 2021 via XL Recordings.
The announcement is accompanied by a music video for the title track.
“The lyrics for this song were written over a period of almost two years,” the duo recall. “So it ended up having a natural development parallel to our lives.”
‘Believer’ is another taste from the forthcoming album that pushes Smerz far beyond their previous EP releases, 2017’s Okey and 2018’s Have Fun.
Since releasing the ‘Believer’ trailer back in October 2020 followed by a video for the tracks ‘I don’t talk about that much/Hva hvis’, the duo of Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt have slowly revealed a new auditory world.
The duo meld sonic touchstones from their youth, like musicals and classical music, with swirling, trance-indebted synth lines and hip-hop plus R&B vocals that is distinctly Smerz.
The video Smerz have released today is for the album’s title track and is the third video for the project to be directed by Benjamin Barron (who also directed the artwork,) with costumes by Bror August and starring Smerz.
The ideas explored in Benjamin’s videos for Smerz perfectly represent the escape from reality suggested in their own music. It’s a world that toes the line between real life and dreams, one that’s steeped in the nostalgia and romanticism of Norway’s cultural and artistic history and explores the nature of the duo’s close friendship.
Last fall the duo performed at Oslo’s Ultima festival; in early 2020 they scored a performance by Carte Blanche, the Norwegian national company of contemporary dance, as well as performed at Mira festival in collaboration with legendary visual maverick Weirdcore.
Future Islands Release ‘For Sure (Dan Deacon Remix)’
Today, Future Islands release For Sure, an expansive 9-minute remix from the fellow Baltimorean artist where he incorporates stirring strings, piano and an electronic crescendo to the original track.
Dan Deacon says, “Like most people, the last year has made me realise how important my friends are to me, and how much I miss being with them. When the guys released ‘For Sure’, it really brought me back to memories of when we lived together and I could hear them practicing in the basement. I kept listening to it over and over and wanted to hear it “more,” if that makes sense. I wanted to hear the individual parts, and I wanted to hang out with them and interact with them. When I got the stems I didn’t really have a plan for the remix other than I wanted to hear Sam’s voice with piano and strings, and it just started growing from there in an organic way. It was a comforting project that brought me close to people I love and missed very much. One of my favourite things about being a musician are the friendships and bonds that are made through it. It’s hard to imagine my life, let alone my music, without having met these bozos.
Last night, Future Islands brought their renowned incendiary live performance to the screen when they performed their latest single ‘Plastic Beach’ on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
Amperland, NY
Pinegrove’s new feature film Amperland, NY premieres Wednesday Jan 13, and its accompanying album is available Friday Jan 15
Sleaford Mods announce new single, tour and SMTV show
Fresh from announcing a 2021 UK tour, Sleaford Mods release new single ‘Nudge It’ (ft Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers).
The single comes ahead of the January 15th release of their highly-anticipated 6th studio album Spare Ribs
Of the new single, the band’s Jason Williamson says “Imagine you’ve got limited options, unsure how you’re getting by that week, looking out the window of the damp flat you don’t want to live in, and seeing a bunch of posers having a photo shoot because ‘cool architecture bro, we feel your pain’.
Reduced circumstance isn’t a pantomime. If you haven’t lived within its confines don’t use it to enamour your ideas. It confuses the platform for those that truly live it and more often than not buries creative breakthroughs because the arena is polluted by the view of their world through someone else’s privileged lens. So beware the eager networkers, don’t settle for the 20p pay-out, nudge it, pop the posers. And don’t apologise for the fucker either.”
‘Nudge It’ partners Williamson’s trademark lyrical wit with the energetic and unmistakable vocals of Amy Taylor from Australian punk-rock band ‘Amyl and the Sniffers’. The polemical Williamson and dexterous producer Andrew Fearn kick against the pricks with unrivalled bite, railing against hypocrisy, inequality and apathy with their inimitable, scabrous sense of humour.
Sleaford Mods have created a one-hour ‘SMtv’ Spare Ribs Special TV show. The programme features interviews with the band and album collaborators Billy Nomates and Amy Taylor, alongside live footage from their unforgettable 100 Club livestream plus cameos from special guests including John Thomson, Robbie Williams, Iggy Pop and more.
‘SMtv’ will be broadcast at 8pm on Saturday 16th January on the band’s YouTube channel.
Kim Gordon performs on Echoes (ARTE-TV)
Back in March, just before a lot of the world went into lockdown, Kim Gordon was in Paris filming Echoes for ARTE-TV show alongside Ed O’Brien & Black Country New Road. Echoes is hosted by Jehnny Beth.
Kim and her band performed for 30 minutes and she is also featured in a round-table discussion with the other artists.
As the pandemic forced all of Kim Gordon’s scheduled headline tour and festival sets to be cancelled, this is a rare glimpse into the incredible live set that we’ll hopefully get to see in-person sometime in the near future.
The show was broadcast on Arte (France) last night, and has now premiered on YouTube.
