As the year goes by, we can’t quite figure out how time seems to move in a different way while we still have to keep ourselves at home, work at home, not see our friends, but still keep working. Since the Pandemic appeared it seems that the only thing people are allowed to do is to work. If it wasn’t for the great music that keeps being released (and submitted our way) we probably could not keep going. Every time we listen to tracks like the ones that follow, we feel we are being vindicated and that the World is still a beautiful place. Maybe two days later, maybe in time, here is this week’s TGIF.
Layover– Premonition
At WtMM we are suckers for bands that play from the heart and that’s exactly why we’ve decided to include Layover in our list. After playing at NOS Alive festival in 2015 and releasing their first album While You Wait in 2016, the Portuguese band never stopped working. Along the way, they released 2 noteworthy singles, The Walk and Premonition, and played nonstop in many different clubs and venues around Lisbon. Most recently and making the best out of the pandemic, the band worked hard on a 30-day challenge, creating 30 original songs, swooping through various genres, and experimenting with friends and a wide range of different artists. Moving out of their comfort zone, Layover proved how versatile and creative they can be and why they are a band to follow closely.
Sylvia Vaser– Sleepwalker
Is quite easy for us to be captivated by a good song: whether it is because of a distinct voice or a surprising instrumental or catchy melody. In this case, Sylvia Vaser has it all. The way she flows within the instrumental becomes ethereal, the voice is intense and yet so tender to our ears. We never get tired of a “false” smooth song. Sleepwalker is as powerful as an unexpected shaking and as whispery as a goodnight kiss. but let us tell you something: this Chicago artist is a newbie, this is her second release ever and it already promises a lot!
Freyr – Nicotine Bunker
After presenting us Avalon, the Swedish singer-songwriter releases his most recent song and it’s so refreshing! He sounds more natural than before, it’s uplifting and it’s a call for a happy morning or the first day of spring. Nicotine Bunker sounds just like a nice Kings Of Convenience rendition, guess it’s the Northern sounds and their hope for a brighter day. Freyr sings just like if he was enchanting us and his fingerpicking guitar transports us to our youth and all those childhood songs. Here’s something to wake up happy every day.
Johnnie Lee – Happy
Recently we’ve been invaded by a great jazz-ish new generation, headed by Jacob Collier or MARO. So if you’re a fan, here’s another one for you. Johnnie Lee is a summer breeze and his newest Happy is everything we need. After all, this is just another case where the lockdown helped creativity. The multi-instrumentalist recorded every part of the song inside his closet and tells us that it all came up after having deep thoughts about happiness. If only those thoughts took place in everyone’s minds, the world would be more colorful.
Alfie Templeman -Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody
Templeman starts 2021 with the release of his new single, Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody. The theme is cliché, but the beat is ready for the new decade. We are talking about a bubble-gum-colored pop-rock, where the chorus is master and master of the rhythm that we will listen to for almost four minutes. The guitar in the background is giving everything in the riffs and a fixed beat will stay in our ears for a long time. It reminds us, in a way, of the early days of the fellow British band The 1975. If we need a soundtrack for this year, Alfie will certainly have to be on this playlist.
ICEAGE – Vendetta
We’re not looking for revenge on good music, but the danish band ICEAGE promised us the same – and they’ve returned with all the action they’re due. It’s five minutes of the best the boys from Copenhagen offer us, with a raw, hard-hitting beat reminiscent of some cult film where good revenge is guaranteed in the script. The voice of Elias Bender Rønnenfelt enchants us in this crossroad where we clearly decide for the path traced by the hard rhythms. Will you follow us on this journey?
Conferência Inferno – Ata Saturno LP
The Infernal trio from the region of Porto, Portugal composed by Francisco Lima, Raúl Mendiratta, and José Miguel Silva, recently released their first album of originals, Ata Saturna. After the EP Bazar Esotérico, in 2019, which introduced us to the three synth masters, we find ourselves at this moment with 33 minutes of electro-bad wave music, where the hallucinating rhythms pressed by calibrated fingers are indicative of an incredible maturity for a band that is new in the business. With Sina as the starting point for this journey and the album’s respective single, we travel this road with an end in sight called Sol, always well accompanied with a soundtrack of nostalgia, having the similar vocal power of historical Portuguese bands like Heróis do Mar at sight, and, at the same time, of the future, future with an immediate appointment with Conferência Inferno.
Triángulo de Amor Bizarro – Ruptura Flat Radiactiversion
They are Galician, a different triangle where we have four and not three elements and many, many punk-rock in their veins. After the release of the last album of originals in 2020, with the same name of the band, we enter 2021 with a peculiar challenge: to reinterpret the last album, Triángulo de Amor Bizarro, with the most varied bands/artists of the Spanish and international scene. The challenge is launched through the head of the Spanish artist Erik Urano, who revisited in a different way the first song of the album, Rupture. And from Rupture to Erik Urano we have Ruptura Flat Radiactiversion, a mix of rock, beats, and a very, very musical loop that will certainly stay in our ears.
Young-Borra – U Get What U Pay 4
Young-Borra is a fairly new addition to the indietronic scene but he has his way of standing out. U Get What U Pay 4 is an 80’s disco-infused anthem, jammed with fresh and modern electronic twists. Following some Nu-Disco vibes, and a very upbeat overall nature, U Get What U Pay 4 seem s to share some similarities to Pet Shop Boys and Zimmer, like a strange time-traveling music baby. One thing is for sure, a serious case of retro bop awaits you on the player below:
AJ Smith – Roommate
Roommate is a self-claimed love song. Do you know why? Pretty simple, AJ Smith said, “I wrote this song to ask my girlfriend to move in with me.” And if it would’ve been us, we’d have accepted. As soon as you hit the play button, you get the unmistakable ukulele chords and with them, the unmistakable feeling it’s going to be a happy song. AJ proceeds to sing he can’t wait for the day the pee with the door open and if that’s not everything, we don’t know what is. In all seriousness, Roommate is as good as love songs get. It has a happy flow, lovely intentions and it makes you wanna smile! See it for yourself below: