[SONG OF THE DAY] Humans - "Breakfast With Liz"

Vibey Vancouver duo HUMANS announced last week that next month they’ll be dropping an album called Going Late. Although they didn’t specify a release date (ugh) they DID release a new song (eee!), “Breakfast With Liz”.

When I try to describe HUMANS to people I normally say something like, “oh they’re sexy electro jams that you strut around to in the dead of night when you go out dancing”. Apparently this is a spot on description for the guys, because as Robbie Slade told Clash, “This song is about bouncing around from party to party in the rain. A thing that often happens to the youth of Vancouver, thanks to our thriving underground scene. As these nights can get somewhat out of hand, the simple refrain is a mantra to help keep one grounded.”

To accompany the song, other half of the duo, Peter Ricq directed the video, which takes place in a laundromat and TOTALLY didn’t go in the direction that I thought it would so be sure to watch this all the way through! “This was the most challenging video to date,” Ricq explained to Clash, “and when your mother says 'I watched it, it's not for me' you know you did it right... we've achieved our goal.”

Yep. It’s one of those.

Watch now!

[SONG OF THE DAY] B00TY - "Good For It"

Photo credit: Brian Charles Lehrer

On the heels of the announcement of their forthcoming EP of the same name, LA’s B00TY shared the first single and music video for “Good For It” on Friday. In the video the dancetastic duo are chasing after lost loves (Farrah Faux and Natasha Bure) and overcome some hilariously over the top obstacles in an attempt to prove their commitment.

As the duo explained, "The message of the song really comes down to the line 'only wanna treat you right.' There are other levels to the idea, but it’s mainly about wanting to approach someone you’re into, treating them with respect and wanting them to know you’re for real."

The Good For It EP will be out on November 9th via Geffen Records.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Moontower - "Long Hair"

Happiest of happy Fridays my loves!

As you bop your way into the weekend make sure you include LA trio Moontower’s latest single, “Long Hair” into you party playlists. “Long Hair” is the finale in a three-single narrative, following “William” and “Leaving You Behind”. The story unfolds with the tale of William Hollywood, a young man from suburban California who’s on a quest to rescue the love of his life (“William”) but ends up learning that unrequited love will haunt you no matter how far you try to run (“Leaving You Behind”). Fortunately *spoiler alert* the story ends (“Long Hair”) with William gaining his groove back and defiantly telling off any haters that cross his path. The band says simply of the track, “'Long Hair' is a song about letting go of people who told you you would never be anything.” 

The band first met as students at USC's music program where they spent a year writing music and building custom staging and lighting before welcoming listeners into the Moontower world. Inspired by the Moonlight Towers from Richard Linklater's "Dazed And Confused," Moontower seeks to build a surrealist, come as you are community around their music and over the last 8 months the trio have been transforming backyards and living rooms all over Southern California with their one of a kind live show doing just that. 

Fingers crossed that they’ll be bringing those vibes to the best coast v v v soon.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Crush Club - "Higher"

credit Brian Andrew Lozano

WE OUT HERE THROWING #POSIPARTY VIBES TODAY FAM

Today I am happy to support local and hope they go global because if we’re being honest this song is giving me life today.

Last week, New York’s Crush Club released a bottle full of glitter and lightning in the form of “Higher”, a song the disco-crazed duo felt compelled to write about empowering yourself to plow through the tough times to get to your higher self. As they told BlackBook during last week’s premiere, “Whenever faced with obstacles, loss or any negative distraction, it can be difficult to make it through to the other side of whatever’s in your way. This song is a reminder that everyone knows how it feels to be down, so impossibly low, but that there’s always a way out, up, higher. We hope it lifts you!”

If this doesn’t fix whatever funk you may be in, I don’t know what will tbh.

Oh PS these dudes are stepping out to do some shows with SOFI TUKKER so if you happen to see them on the bill you make sure to show up in time to catch them! Dates and more info over on their Facebook.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Chris Ayer - "Stranger"

F-R-I-D-A-Y!!!

Fam, it’s time you got well acquainted with Los Angeles artist Chris Ayer. After dropping tracks like “Stay Another Night” and “Heavy” in 2017, I have been eagerly waiting to hear what 2018 would have in store for him. According to my sources (ie: from Ayer’s mouth on stage at Rockwood Music Hall stage 2 last week), “Stranger” is the first of many singles to come this fall and well through next year. While “Stay Another Night” and “Heavy” indicate that he’s ready to be more than *just* a singer-songwriter, from a lyrical standpoint you can tell from “Stranger” that Ayer is ready to deeply examine his personal experiences and be a lot more vulnerable than he’s been in the past.

As he told Atwood Magazine on Tuesday when they premiered the song, “I always try to find an honest way of telling a story, but for me this song ended up striking a nerve in a really specific way. It can be a strange time to try to make real new connections in the world, so I just wanted to reflect that, and just how weird it can be to be a person sometimes. “

how weird it can be to be a person sometimes. Yeah, this dude is clearly my people. haha.

There are so many different things you can take away from “Stranger”. With every listen it stirs up different micro frustrations about how difficult it feels to deeply connect with people now. It’s one of those songs where you learn a lot about yourself that you probably otherwise wouldn’t have without this additional point of view.

After jaunting across the pond for a few dates in the UK and The Netherlands, Ayer will be hitting the road in the US with Matt Simmons in November. You can grab tickets and more info over on his website.

[SONG OF THE DAY] Wake The Wild - "Second Nature"

Last week LA trio Wake The Wild released their latest single, “Second Nature”. Last January I was fortunate that The Algorithm™ blessed me with one of their 2016 singles, “Pulse” and I’ve been keeping a careful eye on them ever since. As their track record precedes them with “Body Language” and “Numb”, it’s no surprise to me that pumping out another smashing synth-pop hit would be….second nature for them. These guys should be your go-to if you’re in search of songs to include on mixes for both lovers or hookups alike.

Looking forward to see what else these guys have up their sleeves. Hopefully we’ll have a few more jams before the year closes out. Perhaps it’s time I take a slide into their DMs and see what they’re all about?

[SONG OF THE DAY] Roosevelt - "Shadows"

Earlier today Cologne based synth-pop artist Roosevelt unveiled the video for his latest single, “Shadows”, a song about past love. “A long-lost companion; someone that you were close to in the past, someone that still haunts you, that you can't get out of your head,” says Marius Lauber of the song’s inspiration. The song comes from his forthcoming sophomore album, Young Romance, which is out on September 28th courtesy of City Slang / Greco-Roman.

I’m not normally into music videos very much, but it’s been a long time since I watched one and thought, “oh no it me”. Basically the premise of the video is a woman is at a pool party and the entire time she’s distracted from her date because she’s staring down Marius Lauber behind a Wurlizter the entire time. While I’m not exclusively into crushing on musicians, being really creative just makes crushes cuter for some reason, right? Back me up here!

Anyway, as can be expected given how fuckin smooove Roosevelt jams are, he’s added a 2nd show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on December 3rd by popular demand. Best know I’ll be there but I don’t like dancing by myself so you better come out! If you’re not in NYC, his headlining tour kicks off on October 21st in Copenhagen before making his way to North America in December.

Roosevelt 2018 Tour Dates:

10/21 - Copenhagen, DE @ Pumpehuset

10/22 - Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich

10/23 - Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall

10/24 - Berlin, DE @ Astra

10/25 - Munich, DE @ Muffathalle

10/27 - Vienna, AU @ Flex

10/28 - Zurich, SWI @ Mascotte

10/30 - Milan, IT @ Ohibo

11/02 - Aimens, FR @ La Lune Des Pirates

11/03 - Bordeaux, FR @ Iboat

11/04 - Brussels, BE @ AB Club

11/06 - Paris, FR @ Gaîté Lyrique

11/08 - London, UK @ Oval Space

11/09 - Manchester, UK @ YES

11/16 - Madrid, ES @ Sala Gotham

11/17 - Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2

11/21 - Nijmengen, NL @ Doornroosje

11/22 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg

12/03 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

12/04 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

12/05 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry

12/06 - Washington, DC @ U Hall

12/07 - Boston, MA @ Middle East

12/09 - Montreal, QC @ Belmont

12/10 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club

12/12 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge

12/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teregram Ballroom

12/15 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room

12/16 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar

12/18 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall

12/20 - Portland, OR @ Holocene

12/21 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos

[SONG OF THE DAY] Thomas Azier - "Hymn (feat. Schérazade)"

Ugh you guys life is so hard when you’re just one human and you love literally hundreds(maybe thousands?) of bands. It’s a daunting task to keep tabs on everyone and I’m embarrassed that I haven’t been a solid stan for musical nomad Thomas Azier as I should be.

Upon The Algorithm™ delivering “Hymn” in my Release Radar I quickly rushed to see if there was anything else I was missing out on and apparently I had missed out on a whole EP in July! 😩😩😩

Okay so let me make sure we’re all caught up here starting from the latest and going backwards, okay?

On Friday Azier dropped a 2-track single called Hymn, featuring today’s song of the day and a gorgeous slow jam called “Smoke”. “Hymn” is a straightforward punchy little synth pop number featuring some vocal stylings from the fabulous frenchie Schérazade.

So this is the part I’m trying to make sure I’ve nailed down correctly about this July release, S t r a y. At first glance it appeared to just be an EP, but upon Azier making note that the songs from Hymn would be added to S t r a y, so he might be turning this EP into a full length? There’s a post offering a very limited run of 250 vinyl pieces back when the EP dropped, so it’s a little confusing and for whatever reason no one else seems to be really celebrating these new songs. That all said, Line Of The Best Fit’s interview tells us that the songs from S t r a y were written while he was living in various European cities and found that embracing working and traveling simultaneously had a huge impact on his songwriting, he even noted, “By being on the move constantly I was able to invite the music to my head naturally and fluently.” It’s a great interview and worth reading in full for sure.

At any rate, while I get better acquainted with S t r a y, I guess the only other thing to pass along is that he’s got some exclusive Dutch shows coming up in November and tickets are on sale this Friday (21st) at 10am local time.

And with that I think we’re all caught up!

Thomas Azier On Tour

28/11 Leeuwarden: https://bit.ly/2xoxL4H
29/11 Amsterdam: https://bit.ly/2QBL0b9
30/11 Nijmegen: https://bit.ly/2NPdnnx
02/12 Groningen: https://bit.ly/2OpY2a1