One of these days, I really must find out what the impetus is behind Penguin Prison’s name. But until then, I’m more than happy to continue joyously waddling around like an awkward penguin to the beats of this NYC synthpop and nu-disco artist’s music. In fact, I just waddled a few rounds around the room to Penguin Prison’s new single, Keep Coming Alive, a funk strutting, glittery whirling dance pop and electro pop banger whose glamour and vivacity are like RAC gone Le Youth. Keep Coming Alive is a coruscant taste from Chris Glover’s new EP Turn It Up, due out February 9th. The sanguine tune sticks to the overarching theme of the EP. It’s about staying hopeful in daunting times.
“On the night of November 8, 2016 I initially wondered how I could even keep being an artist,” Glover reflects on the writing of the track. “It seemed like making art was trivial at that moment. Upon further reflection I realized that of course the world needs people to make music and film and all kinds of art. It can get very hard to keep coming alive while it seems like the world is trying to cut you down. You have to keep reminding yourself every day."
In support of the EP release, Glover will be heading out on the road for a headlining tour kicking off on April 5th in Austin, TX with support from Mating Ritual and Little Monarch. He’ll be hitting the Independent in San Francisco on April 28th. Stream/download Keep Coming Alive, here, and find out more about Penguin Prison’s forthcoming tour, here.
Despite a project named The Undercover Dream Lovers, Brooklyn musician Matt Koenig musical forte sure isn’t very “undercover” anymore. We’re not the only ones to have fallen for his new single Feelin’ Left Out, a whimsical yet fittingly dreamy pastiche of glossy pop and funky rock. It’s a dashing tune that coasts with cool ease, like an avant-garde version of MGMT’s latest offerings, paired with the serene breeze of Porches. Hit The Undercover Dream Lovers’ Soundcloud, here, for more of Matt Koenig’s music.
Though we had our share of later summer/early fall heatwaves in 2017, it’s been all cold and chilly weather since. Los Angeles duo LEAN, who made their huge debut in 2017 with acclaimed first single Come Back, brings us a welcome gust of funk tinged rock warmth on their new indie single Heatwave, a taste off forthcoming debut album Years. I feel like I’m always “running from the cold” being a life long California girl who hates low temperatures and wet weather, so I’m grateful for this west coast inspired, bass propulsive respite, an easy strutting jam with hints of Fitz and the Tantrums and Portugal. the Man coursing through its rubicund veins. Snag Heatwave from iTunes, here.
When I think of swans, I usually picture graceful and peaceful birds, quietly floating across idyllic ponds. But imagine a bevy of swans who believe they’re flamingos, strutting their way through a tropical paradise. I’m sure they’d love to dance days away to Aggressive Swans, an indie duo from Munich, Germany who’ve just released their second single before the new year. Neon 80s funk and glamorous nu-disco abounds on About You, a snazzy, flashy eruption of scintillating modern dance pop. The two piece describe themselves as an alt-pop band consisting of classically educated musicians Janko Raseta and Chris Chlupacek. You can purchase their flamboyant single About You, here.
Come January 12th, Boston indie duo Modesta will be releasing their debut studio effort, a self-produced four track EP entitled VHS. It’ll be just over a year since we first encountered the group’s indie electronica and R&B infused indie rock. The title track is a fitting homage to the 80s, considering its name. It’s also a spacey psychedelic, funky sashaying electronic cut, a bit like MGMT crossed with Tame Impala, with a drizzle of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s diaphanous glide. How else would such a song be delivered but with a music video that feels like we’ve stepped into an old VHS tape? VHS can also be streamed via Spotify, here. We’ll be waiting for the rest of the EP to arrive in a couple of weeks.
POWERS has been one of our long time favorites in the funk pop, alt pop, and dance pop scene for a very long time. Any time a new track surfaces from Mike Del Rio and Crista Ru, we revel and rejoice. And really, is there any better way to do so than with a sexy strutting heater like this new jam, Georgie? Its snazzy guitar, Crista’s sultry cooing, and its frisky, torrid beats leave us dancing up a sweat, as the LA duo always does. No joke, if you haven’t experienced POWERS live yet, it’s an energetic and impassioned affair. Chic stylish Georgie will be featured on POWERS’ long awaited debut full length. Strut that stuff and get on down to this saucy, spicy jam.
Los Angeles by way of San Francisco duo Cones set out to capture “that moment in a breakup when you finally start to find peace, but some of that bitterness is still hanging around” on their new single Later. It’s a synth whirling, guitar flickering, and mellow traipsing gem sporting the brothers’ usual silky diaphanous velour and warm breezy groove. I’d say they captured the poignant balance between bittersweet and sanguine quite completely on the laid back charmer. Later is out on Dangerbird Records’ MICRODOSE series. Catch the pair when they play a release show at Dangerbird’s Southern California offices on November 18th, free RSVP, here.
Men I Trust specializes in a soft fleecy, woozy nostalgic mixture of funk pop and dream pop. The Montreal trio never fail to thoroughly intoxicate me with their inebriating brand of foggy swirling, dreamy wafting music, which they serve up in abundance on languorous glimmering new song ‘I hope to be around’. The song comes with a laid back charmer of a music video, too. Sway in bliss to the single, which combines the weightless aesthetic of Air, the satiny sheen of Rhye, the misty groove of Yumi Zouma, and the vaporous hypnosis of Chromatics. ‘I hope to be around’ and Men I Trust’s prior releases are available from Bandcamp, here.
By pure serendipity, I stumbled upon this suave new jam from an emerging New Orelans band named Pet Fangs. I was immediately taken by their glossy curling, confident swaggering rock and pop on Afterglow. Maybe it’s because I love Arcade Fire and David Bowie, or maybe it’s because this song is just so deliciously spacey and so gooey slick, but there’s no denying the allurement of their music, which they call “garage-pop”. Like Arcade Fire, Pet Fangs’ members are known to swap instruments often. Afterglow comes on the heels of the band’s well received debut single Gold Coast Dreaming, which you can stream below. Keep up with the exciting new band on their website, here.
Despite our long love affair with Brooklyn’s argonaut&wasp, we somehow managed to let Prove It To You slip us by late last month. I don’t think we really need to prove our love for argonaut&wasp after professing our adoration countless times these past few years, but Prove It To You is a must listen and must share now that we’ve come across the funk grooving alt jam. There’s a Metronomy-esque wonkiness to the dance rocking, disco strutting tune. Prove It To You arrived last month alongside another fine funk wavy alt prancer named Body Sensations, which “shake it down” to below. Both tracks are out now via Bang! Jango Records.
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