Young, Irish 20-somethings modernlove. pack an emotional punch that already feels arena bound on “Only Ever Only You.” The habit-forming new single bursts full-throttle from the word go, in a blur of rapid fire melody and heartfelt nostalgia, telling the tale of realization (just a bit too late) that the object of one’s desire isn’t always as infatuated as you are. “Only Ever Only You chronicles the breaking down of communication in a relationship. It’s about being in love when it’s too late and trying to communicate with someone who has moved on and simply isn’t there anymore. It’s probably the most sincere and direct we’ve been as a band in a song and the music speaks to that.” – modernlove. With larger than life indie-pop anthems born of small town boredom, coming of age, big nights out and young love gone wrong, modernlove. are a new generation’s brightest hope – already racking up streams in their millions and selling out shows, simply by singing about what they know and having a good time doing it. From playing dingey rural pubs to working with super-producer Luca (of Arlo Parks and Lana Del Rey fame), this Irish band of young 20-somethings are about to show the world the true heights of their ambition. Formed in Drogheda near Dublin in 2016 of childhood friends and mutual pals, the modernlove. came together as “the only people in town we knew who liked music”. Their shared influences of the game-changing future-pop of The 1975 and The Japanese House, the new wave sounds of The Cure and New Order, the danceable indie of Bloc Party and Bombay Bicycle Club, the experimental ambience of Jon Hopkins and Aphex Twin ,and a whole lot of day-glo pop-punk took them from jamming covers for the hell of it to carving out a monolithic, genre-shifting sound of their own to lift them out of the doldrums of their sleepy hometown. “We’ve found out that whenever we’re writing songs about our worst feelings and the sh*ttest things that have happened to us, people are listening, investing in it and singing it back,” says frontman Barry Lally. “That connection and realization that people are relating and sharing something with you means you never feel silly or wrong for feeling how you do. You’re not alone. We want to keep doing that. I just want all of my feelings to be mirrored by thousands of people! Do Not Miss modernlove. Live here in the U.S. for the first time next month (dates are Already Selling Out Fast-check the Tour page for where you can catch ‘em!). Detroit post-punk band Protomartyr have not only just announced their new album “Formal Growth In The Desert” (their 6th and out 6/2), but revealed the lead single and video “Make Way.” Their extensive U.S. Tour starts This Saturday, and includes a healthy series of SXSW dates in the week to come! Protomartyr have become synonymous with caustic, impressionistic assemblages of politics and poetry, the literal and oblique. Vocalist Joe Casey describes the underlying theme of “Formal Growth In The Desert” as a 12-song testament to “getting on with life,” even when it feels impossibly hard. “Soon the sonic violence is rolling in, a sort of Spaghetti Western post-rock vibe takes hold, and Protomartyr are sounding as vital as ever.” – Stereogum “alternating quiet and intensity, with western-sounding guitar and Casey’s low drawl building to commanding chants to, of course, ‘make way.’” – Consequence Of Sound “The new song is a tense waltz that explodes into a boisterous anthem on the hook, with the force of the full band behind the shouted titular lyric.” – TheFADER Protomartyr have mastered the art of evoking place: the grinding Midwest humility of their hometown, as well as the x-rayed elucidation of America that comes with their vantage. Though Casey did have a humbling experience staring at awe-inspiring Sonoran rock formations and reckoning with his own smallness in the scheme of things, the group’s sixth album is not necessarily a nod to the sandy expanses of the Southwest. “Formal Growth In The Desert,” recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, proves Detroit, too, is like a desert. “The desert is more of a metaphor or symbol” Casey says, “of emotional deserts, or a place or time that seems to lack life.” On “Formal Growth In The Desert,” the desert brings an existential awareness that is ultimately internal. The “growth” came from a period of colossal transition for Casey, including the death of his mother, who struggled with Alzheimer’s for a decade and a half. Now 45, Casey had lived in the family home in northwest Detroit all his life. Immortalized in Protomartyr’s essential SPIN cover story, the neighborhood informed many of Protomartyr’s acclaimed albums, serving as a base through the band’s growth from scrappy punks to ones capable of touring the globe or bringing in the Breeders’ Kelley Deal as a touring member in 2020. In 2021, though, a rash of repeated break-ins signaled that it was time to finally move out. Protomartyr’s music — more spacious and dynamic than ever — helped pull Casey up. “The band still being viable was very important to me,” Casey adds, “and it definitely lifted my spirits.” Having long served as Protomartyr’s unofficial musical director, guitarist Greg Ahee co-produced “Formal Growth In The Desert” alongside Jake Aron (Snail Mail, L’Rain). Nigerian-born, Toronto-based DEBBY FRIDAY’s “So Hard To Tell” is the cosmically sublime, “intoxicating” (Stereogum) lead single from the newly signed Sub Pop artist’s upcoming debut album “GOOD LUCK” (out 3/24). Co-Produced alongside Graham Walsh (METZ, Holy F*ck), you can catch her roaming through rocky hillsides, psychedelic forests, and stone temples in the accompanying visuals below for Pitchfork’s ‘Best New Track’! “I have a lower register and speak with vocal fry so I don’t know what came over me when I made this track. I have never in my life sung like this before and I had no idea I could even make these kinds of sounds with my voice. There’s no pitch effects on ‘SO HARD TO TELL,’ it’s all me.” – DEBBY FRIDAY “a more grounded and vulnerable side to her music that shows a new side to her personality. Themes of loneliness and a need for emotional support take center stage on this new single. Friday appears to be parenting herself in the lyrics, wiping away tears and offering up heartfelt advise about how ‘big girls don’t cry’.” – TheFADER (’Song You Need’) “Even a context-free listen to new single ‘So Hard To Tell,’ however, reveals one of the young year’s most audacious bangers, a daring and cacophonous piece of pop that wants to entrance (or maybe pummel) its listener with its percussion.” – Billboard “As whirring clatter dissolves into bubbling synths, she creates room for private reflection. She rebukes and reminisces, thinking about her stubbornness and past difficulties….the loping beat and looping vocal melodies provide an atmosphere for easy vulnerability.”– NPR Music Following specialty shows’ Year To Date 7th Most Played Single, “I Wanna Dance With You,” rising Sydney pair Royel Otis share the effervescent and hypnotizing new “Sofa King.” This latest single off the duo’s forthcoming 3rd EP “Sofa Kings” (out 3/31) is alive with guitar strums and an addictive take it easy rhythm. “A baggy beat, jangly guitars and a soaring synth to bring home what you really want to say. You are couch royalty in a messed up world. Own it with pride!” – Royel Otis + Spotify’s newest RADAR Artist for AU/NZ. + Royel Otis will unleash their short play, “Sofa Kings” on March 31st. The EP spans seven tracks of sunny alt-pop, and is a progressive leap forward from the infectious melodies and quick-witted songwriting the pair are known for. Produced by Chris Collins and Royel Otis, the EP promises to continue captivating fans with visceral stories and quick wit atop blissful guitar-fuzzed haze. Prior to new single “Sofa King,” the band dropped the popular EP singles “I Wanna Dance With You” and “Kool Aid,” providing doses of summery perfection that earned praise among TheFADER, FLOOD Magazine, Paper Mag and others, and in addition to full on embrace from U.S. new music specialty shows, garnered consistent airplay from BBC Radio 1 and Apple Music 1. These two singles followed the release of Royel Otis‘ sophomore EP, “Bar ‘N Grill” in 2022. They have since amassed over 10 million streams, and garnered widespread playlisting support across community radio, US college radio and BBC Radio 6. Capping off a career-high year, the duo have also been named in Matt Wilkinson’s (Apple Music 1) ‘Ones To Watch’ list for 2023, after also featuring in his 2022 ‘Hidden Gems’ list with fan favorite, “Oysters In My Pocket.” Bully aka Alicia Bognanno has shared “Lose You,” a new, gorgeous and fuzzy melancholic rocker. Recorded in 2022, at MMK Studios and Alicia’s House in Nashville, mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound, and features vocal harmonies from Sophia Allison aka Soccer Mommy. Bognanno says, “When ‘Lose You’ came about it was the first time I’ve considered having someone else sing on a Bully song. I love Sophie’s voice and have always admired everything she does so to me it was a no brainer. Watching her soar out of the Nashville scene and dominate indie music world wide has been a joy. Writing ‘Lose You’ was a way for me to work through the pain and reality of impermanence. It doesn’t make it any easier but reflection is often followed by growth and to me that’s what life is all about.” Bully has announced new tour dates for the Spring and Summer of 2023. Highlights for this run of shows include: March 16th in Nashville opening for The Breeders, April 15th at the High Water Festival in North Charleston, SC, UK & EU dates May 20th-28th, and a 13-date run as main support for the Pixies and Franz Ferdinand June 8th-25th. See a full list of dates on our tour page. King Tuff shares “Tell Me” the third single from his new album, “Smalltown Stardust”, and this pop gem features backing vocals from the album’s co-writer and co-producer SASAMI, perfectly encapsulating Kyle Thomas’ knack for melody and songwriting prowess. “Almost every song in the world is about love, yet somehow there’s still not enough love songs,” says Thomas. “And if you took all the love songs in the world and added them to all the love songs that haven’t been written yet, well, there still wouldn’t be enough. There’s always room for more love and there’s always room for more love songs. Love is an endless well, you can do love songs about people, nature, passion, frustration, animals, joy, madness. Most of my songs are love songs, and I like it that way. But I’m still not satisfied! I want more! I want more love! And I want you to have more love! So here’s ‘Tell Me,’ a love song.” “Smalltown Stardust,” is “an album about love and nature and youth” Thomas explains. It’s a spiritual, tender and ultimately joyous record that might come as a shock to those with only a passing knowledge of the artist’s back catalog, as evidenced by the album’s new single “Tell Me.” On “Smalltown Stardust,” Thomas takes us on his journey to a place where past and present collide, where he can be a dreamer in love with all that he sees. Images of his youth abound. Sub Pop has released the astonishing new Weyes Blood full-length “And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow”, with ten new tracks written by Natalie Mering, and album production from Mering along with Jonathan Rado (all songs except for “A Given Thing,” produced by Mering and Rodaidh McDonald). The release is her follow-up to the acclaimed “Titanic Rising,” the first album of three in a special trilogy. Where “Titanic” was an observation of doom to come, “And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow” is about being in the thick of it: a search for an escape hatch to liberate us from algorithms and ideological chaos (spoiler alert: the next one will be about “hope”). “We’re in a fully functional shit show,” Mering says. “My heart is a glow stick that’s been cracked, lighting up my chest in an explosion of earnestness.” The album was mixed by Kenny Gilmore at 101 Studio, mastered by Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood at The Lodge, and features guest appearances from Meg Duffy, Daniel Lopatin, and Mary Lattimore. Australia’s Spacey Jane returned back to their homeland last December following a successful sold out North American tour (they’ll be Back here in May for Shaky Knees with more festival dates to follow!). With demand so high, the internationally acclaimed band have just released “Lots Of Nothing” (feat. BENEE) – originally on their #1 Australian album “Here Comes Everybody,” the four-piece have join forces here with the alternative pop icon for a dazzling rework of the original, featuring a dreamy new verse from BENEE! Spacey Jane frontman Caleb Harper has this to say of their very first collaboration, “We’re so excited to have BENEE on this track! We’ve been fans of Stella for a long time and ever since we played together on Laneway (way back in 2020) she’s been a dream collab for me. Stella really took the lead on her verse, it’s new territory for us so we were lucky to have something we were really happy with from the start. It’s so cool to see a song that I wrote over two years ago have new life breathed into it like this. We hope you like it as much as we do!” BENEE adds, “I love Spacey Jane and it’s always fun collaborating with ma Aussie mates hehe! We all met playing Laneway Fest, pre Covid, so I was stoked to be asked to jump on this track! I really hope we can perform this remix live together!!” Taken from the working title of Wilco’s seminal album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (one of the bands’ favourite albums), Spacey Jane’s “Here Comes Everybody” sounds and feels like an album that has truly been lived in. Every note is imbued with hard-earned wisdom now being passed down to a new generation. “I want it to be a guide to the experiences that are coming for those entering the period of life I’m leaving,” frontman Caleb Harper says of the new album’s aims. The beginning of Spacey Jane’s astonishing success arrived when the band released debut album “Sunlight” in 2020. Universal adulation followed for the band – vocalist and guitarist Caleb Harper, bassist Peppa Lane, guitarist Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu and drummer and manager Kieran Lama. The album debuted at #2 on the ARIA album chart, was voted Album of the Year in the triple j Listener’s Poll, was nominated for a J Award for Album of the Year and is now certified Gold. The sleeper single-turned-megahit, “Booster Seat” picked up Song Of The Year at the 2021 ARIA’s, the AIR Awards Best Independent Song Of The Year and is certified platinum. Coming off a string of show placements across FOX, NBC, and CW, Fort Frances’ newly released “Look At What Tomorrow Brought Us” is “a beacon of optimism amid a storm of global worries” (Chicago Tribune). Following last quarter’s Top 10 Single at SubModern “Seven Days Straight” comes the new single “Parentheses.” Perfectly apropos to the New Year just entered, it’s a memorable sing-a-long, urging our leaning into living in the moment. “Parentheses is a song about focusing on the moment you’re living in — not the moment you’re missing or the moment you’re waiting for. The past few years have been a reminder that what’s ahead and what’s behind simply don’t matter at all. As we emerge from this weird period in our lives, I’m trying to keep that truth at the center of my mind.” – David McMillin (Fort Frances) When you press play on Fort Frances’ “Look At What Tomorrow Brought Us,” you will hear David McMillin and Aaron Kiser having the time of their lives. Spending the past 10 years creating music about fears that the universe is teetering on the edge of doomsday, even if that’s true, the band figures we all may as well just enjoy it all while we can. On the new album Fort Frances leans into the thinking that if you look for the problems in the world, you will find them. But if you look for the things that are worth smiling about, you will find those too — it just takes a bit more work. Tomorrow is here. And it brought so many reasons to smile. Not Only has indie dynamo Windser (neé Jordan Topf) released his highly anticipated EP “Where the Redwoods Meet the Sea,” but shares that he’s signed to Bright Antenna Records (home to Sports Team, Wilderado, Fana Hues)! The newly unveiled “Paris” off the new EP continues the theme of longing for something far away, but this time it’s a person, rather the past. “I am thrilled to be signing with the Bright Antenna Records family. I can already tell they’ll be handling my records with love and care, and continuing to nurture my creativity as an artist/songwriter/producer. This project began in the Bay Area so there is no question that signing to a Bay Area label was fate.” – Windser “Where the Redwoods Meet the Sea” is a stunning collection of breezy tracks imbued with the well-worn indie rock tenderness and beguiling songwriting for which Topf and producer Jackson Phillips are best-known. Windser effortlessly captures the sound of his California roots with his coastal sound yet despite the carefree sonic world he’s created, there’s an immediacy woven throughout the threads of each track. The EP is a gorgeous sonic representation of both the heavy and light moments one endures and Windser’s captivating storytelling is evident throughout. Topf finds bleary-eyed beauty in joyful memories and painful loss, in the littlest experiences and the life-altering events. Adds Topf on the EP, “It was 2020 when I returned to Northern California to recount the past times and make a record that reflected the nostalgia of my early life. You can hear the reverberations of the waves against the cliffs, the darkness in the redwoods, and the fading feeling of youth. When I was a kid growing up in Santa Cruz, my dad used to romanticize where we lived. The fog that rolls in every morning through the woods and across the glowing pacific ocean. It was a sleepy, haunting, trippy little beach town which he often described as ‘Where the Redwoods Meet the Sea.’ The memories and echoes of my past never left me.”
Listen: modernlove. – “Only Ever Only You”
Listen: Protomartyr – “Make Way”
Listen: Debby Friday – “So Hard To Tell” (radio edit)
Listen: Royel Otis – “I Wanna Dance With You”
Listen: Bully – “Lose You (feat. Soccer Mommy)”
Listen: King Tuff – “Tell Me”
Listen: Weyes Blood – “Grapevine” (radio edit)
Listen: Spacey Jane – “Lots of Nothing” (feat. BENEE)
Listen: Fort Frances – “Parentheses”
Listen: Windser – “Friends I Barely Know”
Artist Development and Exposure–Specializing in Modern Rock Radio Promotion
